Ch 4: Privet Drive

Her words echoed in his mind.

"Can you get him out of there?"

Could he? Was it ever that simple? He had been ready to pound down her door with accusations. Where had she been while they treated Potter that way? The morning had been just the beginning. Driving one boy to school while the other one walked in the rain in rags might have been an aberration, but it was unlikely. Severus had seen the look Petunia had given him. The venom in her voice, the attempted slap, and implication that the candy was for her son and only her son—all of it had given Severus an uneasy feeling.

At first, he'd watched the house. When the vile woman left, he let himself in the front door with a quick Alohamora and did some snooping around. His trained eye quickly took in his surroundings and deduced plenty from the sickeningly spotless muggle house. It didn't even take a spy's training to tell that something was very wrong.

There was no indication that four people lived there. The pictures in the parlor showed only the two Dursleys and their overweight little horror . There were fancy holiday place settings for three people on the dining room table. By the time Severus went upstairs, his worst suspicions were confirmed. There was a master bedroom, a child's bedroom, a disused guest room, and a small room filled with broken toys.

Where did Potter sleep?

The answer was clear enough. The dreams had not indicated a kidnapping at all. Severus realized with sickening horror that they might have been conveyed in real time. For weeks now, probably longer, the boy had been sleeping in a sort of dungeon.

But where?

Not finding anything that seemed to fit the bill upstairs, Severus returned downstairs and looked for doors that might lead to some kind of basement. Returning toward the front door, he saw it. Under the stairs there was a door. With a sickening feeling, he opened it.

Severus had spent time in some of the foulest hovels known to wizard kind. He had, after all, kissed the Dark Lord's robes for far too long. He also knew that depravity often lurked beneath the surface of supposed normality. Still, the contrast between the antiseptic perfection of the Privet Drive home and the reality of keeping a small boy locked in a cupboard was more than enough to turn his stomach.

Inside the cupboard, was a thin mattress, a threadbare blanket, even the crotchety spiders. It was all there, exactly as Severus had seen it in his dreams.

Harry Potter, the hero of the wizarding world, was abused and neglected by his muggle relatives.

Unfortunately, Severus wasn't sure if there was anything he could do about it. Severus had closed the cupboard door quietly and returned to his post across the street from the house. The overweight cousin was driven home from school. Potter walked. Severus watched. He watched as Potter weeded the yard and mowed the lawn, still without a coat. When Petunia and her tubby son left for trick or treating, he remained, wondering how the neighbors could not see how the man handing out candy to the neighborhood children was a monster.

When the porch lights began to blink out one by one, Severus was still contemplating barging into the house and hexing at least the two adults inside and taking the boy. It was no use though. He wasn't even supposed to be here, let alone do that. He could only imagine Dumbledore's reaction. He was already thinking of ways to spin the conversation his way and get the older wizard to see his point of view. But unfortunately, Severus knew how amazingly stubborn Dumbledore could be. From his point of view, he was playing the long game.

Potter was alive. Severus had confirmed that. No Death Eaters knew of his existence. They were more of a threat to the boy than the muggles were. As far as he could tell, the Dursleys weren't threatening his life, just his peace of mind, Severus tried to tell himself.

No, what they were doing was slowing whittling away at his soul.

Severus was well-aware of what that was like. He had seen the fire in the boy's eyes that morning when his aunt had targeted him. He had played the part of the downtrodden, but Severus could still see Lily Evans's fire and—he loathed to admit it—James Potter's insolence. Unfortunately, Severus was also aware of the type of depravity that lurked beneath the surface of people like this. If they hadn't harmed the boy physically yet, it was only a matter of time.

What good would it do for Harry Potter to arrive in the Wizarding World not a hero but an empty shell?