Harry rolled his neck from side to side, hearing the satisfying click, and turned another page of his book. In the quiet of the library, he felt the magic of Hogwarts reaching out to him, tapping his spine and thrumming at his fingertips.

"Are you reading Hogwarts: A History?" Hermione suddenly asked, so surprised that she forgot about being quiet and earned a sharp stare from Madam Pince.

Harry shrugged, "Just a couple of chapters."

"Harry," Hermione said seriously, remembering now to use hushed tones. "I've been telling you to read Hogwarts: A History since… well, since the day we met."

"Yeah," Harry whispered. "So I'm reading it."

Hermione stared at him as though he had grown a second head. "But – but… why?"

Harry shrugged noncommittally. "Wanted to know about the wards."

"Oh," Hermione paused for a moment before she began again excitedly. "Well if it's wards you're interested in you should have a look at some of our Arithmancy textbooks. The stuff we're on now is a bit heavy but I could lend you the beginners' book that we used in 3rd year, if you want?"

"Yeah, that'd be great actually. Thanks, 'Mione."

Across the table, Ron looked mildly horrified at the thought of voluntarily doing reading for a subject which he wasn't even taking. Then he remembered who his girlfriend was and settled on an eye roll and a disbelieving shake of the head.

"Harry," Ginny nudged his elbow nearly 20 minutes later. "Aren't you seeing Professor Snape tonight?"

"Huh?" Harry looked up, startled out of his engrossed reading. "Oh, yeah, I better get going." He started packing up his bag. "Stay together, yeah? I'll see you later."

"We'll wait up." Ron confirmed.

"Night, Harry." Ginny said.

Harry returned a warm smile as headed out. "Night."

"Tell me about the Dursleys." Severus started without any preamble. After his conversation with George, the Professor was determined to hear the truth about how Harry was treated by his relatives.

"What about them?" Harry countered, mask of indifference already in place.

"You said the other day that you don't get on well with your relatives; that you didn't really feel as though you fit in."

Harry waited for a question.

"Were they kind to you?"

"Does it matter?"

"It matters to me." Severus urged. "So?"

Harry shrugged. "They took me in. Some would say that's a kindness."

"Giving a child a house to live in and providing them with a loving home are two very different things."

"That's true."

"And the Dursley's provided the former rather than the latter?"

"I guess." Harry shrugged again.

"You never went home during school breaks." Severus noted.

"They didn't want me there." Harry stated without sentiment. "And I didn't want to be there."

"Tell me about what life was like with them."

"Like what?"

"Tell me about your best memory with them." Severus suggested.

Harry thought about it for a moment before he smiled boyishly. "I set a snake on my cousin Dudley once."

Severus' eyebrow rose; he hadn't expected that. "Explain."

"On his 11th birthday we went to the zoo and Petunia and Vernon didn't trust me to stay in the house alone so they brought me along. Anyway, Dudley was being a prat and my accidental magic must have kicked in 'cause the glass disappeared, and well, y'know," he gestured to his mouth. "Parselmouth."

Severus was amused by the boy's amusement. "And this was your favourite moment?"

Harry shrugged unapologetically. "Well Dudley screamed like a girl and Vernon's face went sort of purple so it was totally worth it."

"Worth it? You were punished for your accidental magic?"

"Well I didn't know that's what it was at the time, but, yeah, Vernon wasn't happy."

"How were you punished?"

Harry hesitated.

"Harry?" The Professor prompted becoming slightly anxious.

"I don't want you to overreact." Harry said cautiously.

Severus frowned. "I promise to take 10 deep breaths before reacting in any way. Will that do?"

Harry inhaled deeply before rushing out, "He locked me in my cupboard. But it wasn't a big deal."

"He locked you in a cupboard?!"

"Ten deep breaths, remember!" Harry injected.

"I am not overacting, Potter. Outrage is a perfectly reasonable reaction to hearing that a boy of ten was locked in a cupboard for something he didn't even –" Severus stopped suddenly and the look in his eye intensified. "What did you mean by 'my' cupboard?"

Harry swore internally at his rookie error. What was it about the Deputy Head which seemed to make him give up all his secrets?

"You have to understand that they never wanted to take me in. Dumbledore never gave them a choice." Harry began cautiously. "They were scared of magic, and maybe a little resentful, and that made them resentful and scared of me."

"You were a child." Severus insisted.

"Yes, I was."

"Explain the cupboard." Severus asked again, not willing to let the matter drop.

"It's not as bad as it sounds…"

"Harry."

"It was my cupboard because – because that's where I slept."

Harry had expected a burst of furious outrage but instead was met by silence and a stony faced Professor.

"Sir?" He prompted.

When the Professor finally spoke, it was closer to a hiss than normal speech. "They made you sleep in a cupboard?"

"It was a big cupboard!" Harry defended.

"It was a cupboard!"

Silence fell between them; Harry unsure of what to say and Severus still calming down.

"What else did they do to you?"

"It wasn't so much what they did to me as what they didn't do." Harry said, willing to be honest, to a point. "I only ever had hand-me-down clothes. There were never any toys or Christmas presents or birthday parties. They didn't…care for me."

"Did they ever hurt you?"

"Not really." Harry lied, thinking absently of Petunia hitting him with the frying pan. "Vernon liked to push me about a bit but I was usually able to dodge him."

"Why did you not tell someone?"

"Would anyone have cared?"

Severus was, for a moment, dumbfounded. "Would anyone have cared?" The Professor repeated. "Your head of house, the Weasleys, your Godfather. Would they not have cared?"

Harry shrugged, "I suppose so." The boy flattened his hand with one hand and sighed. "You have to understand what it was like. I went from having no-one to being one of the most famous people in the Wizarding World, a world I didn't even know existed until I was 11 mind. It wasn't easy for me to trust adults and I didn't really have a relationship with any adults in this world until 3rd year."

"But you never did tell Lupin or Black."

"By the time I was close to anyone in this world I already knew about the blood wards surrounding Privet Drive and then of my role in the coming war. Besides, it wasn't that bad. It's not like I was abused or anything."

"Merlin." Severus breathed and dragged a hand down his face. This explained a lot; from the boy's tendency to deal with problems himself instead of seeking help, to his need to check on the well-being of his orphaned Godson. Most worrying of all was his insistence that what he had suffered was not an issue.

"Harry, neglect is abuse."

"It wasn't like that. It wasn't that bad."

"And what if Teddy was the one being looked after by the Dursleys? Is it still 'not that bad'?"

Harry's face turned stony with anger at the mere thought of the Dursleys harming Teddy. Severus hadn't seen an expression like that on Potter's face in a long time and he was suddenly reminded that this boy had defeated Voldemort.

"I wouldn't let the Dursleys anywhere near Teddy." Potter said vehemently.

"Why would it matter, if the Dursleys were, as you say, 'not that bad'?"

Harry's frown was almost petulant. "It's not the same."

"Why? Because you do not deserve the same love as everyone else?"

"Teddy's a child." Harry argued.

"As were you." Severus countered. "You were a child and you deserved a safe, loving home."

Harry shrugged, defeated. "What does it matter now? It's over."

"It should never have happened."

"No." Harry agreed. "It shouldn't. But it did."

"Did you know?"

Minerva looked up startled as her office door was slung open and Severus stormed inside.

"Did you know?" Severus repeated furiously and Minerva was about to express her confusion at the question until she realised that her Deputy was not addressing her.

Severus looked past the Headmistress to the portrait beyond. "Did you know what they were doing to him?" He addressed the old man's painting severely. "Did you know he was neglected?"

The portrait of Albus Dumbledore morphed into a saddened expression but he did not yet speak. Instead he looked sadly at his most trusted former colleague.

"What is going on, Severus?" The headmistress interrupted.

"Harry." Severus hissed. "Harry was abused and neglected by his relatives the whole time he was in their care. All sixteen years of it."

Minerva's devastated expression almost made him regret telling her. The witch's face soon turned to anger however as she too turned to their former employer's canvas. "I knew it!" She pointed an accusatory finger at the portrait. "I told you that they were no good."

"You knew?" Severus now whispered, not sure that he wanted to hear the answer.

The portrait finally spoke, pained and quiet. "Not that he was abused. I suspected, believed, when Harry started school, that they did not love him as a family should, and this was confirmed by the things Harry said and did." Dumbledore admitted sadly. "But I never suspected that it amounted to abuse."

"They left him locked in a cupboard." Severus hissed, furious once more, though with more people than just the Headmaster, including himself.

"I truly did not know the extent of it." Albus said softly, his own voice strained. "Is Harry alright?"

"He is coping." Severus snarled. "Though he doesn't accept that what his relatives did to him was abuse. He defends them half the time; makes excuses for their behaviour."

"My boy, I am so very sorry." A drop of paint seeped from the canvas, rolling down the Headmaster's face and Minerva realised with some shock that she'd never seen a portrait cry before. She'd never seen Albus cry before for that matter."

"You should have checked on him." Severus said, unmoved. "You put him there, you should have made sure he was safe!"

Albus tried to respond before Minerva intervened. "Albus go and find another portrait." She ordered. "Severus and I need to speak and your presence here will not help matters."

For a moment it looked as though Albus might object but then with one sad nod of acquiescence the deceased wizard turned and left.

Minerva turned back to her Deputy who was still glaring at the now empty frame. "Severus, it's not really him. Albus is gone. Taking your grievances out on his portrait will bring you no comfort."

Severus turned away, still angry and now frustrated, pacing around the office. Minerva let him stalk the room while she made some tea for them both, hoping the Professor would calm somewhat.

"Sit down, Severus." Minerva ordered when the tea was done and it became clear that Severus was not going to come back to the desk by himself.

The Professor flopped into the chair opposite her, visibly irate. "What happened?" The headmistress asked, handing Severus a cup of tea and waiting while he calmed himself.

"Albus told me that Potter didn't have the best home life." Severus began. "But back then I was too blinded by hate and guilt and bitterness to see what he was saying. I knew though, really. I never would have guessed the extent of it though. I just assumed that Albus knew what was going on in the house."

"What changed?" Minerva asked and Severus dragged a hand down his face.

"I was talking to Harry last week about Teddy Lupin. He's very protective over the child. He mentioned something about ensuring Teddy did not have a childhood like his own, but when I pushed the topic he shut down."

"But you found out more?"

Severus nodded. "Do you remember that incident years back when they flew to school in Arthur's flying car?"

"That deathtrap would be hard to forget. They could have been killed."

"I was thinking about who had actually been to Potter's residence over the years. The Weasley boys went to fetch Harry from there that year."

"That's why you spoke to George at the order meeting." Minerva connected to Severus' nod of confirmation.

"He wasn't able to tell me much but it was enough to set alarm bells ringing." Severus informed sadly. "I spoke with Harry about it this evening."

"Was he forthcoming?"

"Not to begin with." Severus admitted. "But he let some things slip and in the end he began to open up."

Minerva wasn't sure if she wanted to ask the next question. "Did they hurt him?"

"He says not, but..."

"You think he's lying?"

"Perhaps. He's definitely not saying everything."

The pair of professors were quiet for a minute before Minerva spoke, quiet and despairing.

"Merlin. That poor boy." She closed her eyes for a moment. "What now?"

"We continue to support him the best we can."

"And the Dursleys?"

Met with silence, Minerva looked up into Severus' face. His expression was calculating, malicious, and she was reminded of Severus in his role as a Death Eater spy.

"Severus." She said sternly. "Do not do something irreversible."

Severus made no comment but his expression remained unchanged.

"I mean it, Severus." The Headmistress pressed. "For whatever reason that boy has opened up to you more than he has anyone else. What happens to Harry if the one person he trusts if thrown in Azkaban for killing his relatives?"

"Fine." Severus huffed. "I shall not kill them."

"Do nothing illegal." Minerva persisted aware of the malicious gleam that still resided in the young professor's eye.

"That excludes practically everything!" He exclaimed, frustrated.

"Severus." She glared.

"You cannot mean to let them get away with it!"

"Certainly not!" Minerva cried. "I assure you, Severus, those…muggles will regret what they have done to that boy."

Severus was startled by the witch's sudden ferocity.

"Nonetheless," She continued. "We mustn't act rashly. I'll speak with Arthur and Kingsley about what can be done, legally, to bring them to justice."

Severus snarled but nodded his acceptance anyway. He wouldn't kill them, for now at least.

"Focus on Harry, Severus. It is he who needs your attention."

"Yes, Headmistress." He conceded her point, beginning to rise from his seat.

"And Severus," She added. "If you ever need to talk, you know where I am."

"Yes, Headmistress."