Disclaimer: I don't own any Harry Potter characters. They all belong to J. K. Rowling
After leaving Harry with explicit directions not to touch anything in his home, Severus Snape went to collect the boy's belongings from his aunt and uncle's home at Number 4, Privet Drive. The younger wizard had told him all about what the Dursley's were like, but Snape just assumed that the majority of this was Harry trying to be dramatic and gain even more sympathy of the people surrounding him. 'Exactly what his good-for nothing father would have done,' Snape thought to himself.
Number 4 Privet Drive looked just the same as every other house in the street, and the street after that, and the street after that. The two-storey house was positively plain, boring almost, perfectly groomed as if the inhabitants believed they were being judged by the position of the flowers in their front garden.
The home was very…bland. A silver car was parked on the drive and the door was painted a dark brown. Netted curtains hung in the living room, and upon looking through the window, Snape found that he could see a cream sofa and a large fireplace, which stood in the corner of the room. He could tell just from that one sight that this visit was going to be interesting, while the wail that came from inside told him that it was also going to be unpleasant.
"Mummy! I want more food," An intolerable voice howled from within the chasms of the house, followed by a loud banging that now filled the silence that Snape could only assume was a fork smacking off a table. Well, this child seemed very demanding.
'That must be the cousin Potter mentioned.' Severus' thoughts were interrupted by an even louder wail from the boy, 'Don't muggles teach their children any manners? No wonder Potter is so disrespectful. It's in the genes' Severus thought, turning his thoughts to focus on certain unhappy memories of a certain James Potter, forgetting for a small moment that Harry was also Lily's son.
"Okay Dinky Duddydims. Here you go," Petunia said, her high pitch voice, sounding like an un-tuned violin, grating off Severus' ears and making him tempted to turn straight around and just buy Harry new things, so he didn't have to enter that godforsaken place.
Severus just couldn't do that. He had made a promise to Harry that he would get his things and, although he was reluctant to, he intended to keep that promise. He knocked on the front door; rapping his knuckles soundly on the wood to assure he would be heard over the screeching symphony of simpering muggles. He waited and waited. At last, Snape was greeted with a large eyeball peeping through the hole in the door.
"I can see you. Please open the door or I will be forced to plant a 'stinging hex' on you," Snape said coolly, enunciating his words in hopes that the Muggle at the door would be able to hear him over the cacophony of sounds in the kitchen.
No response.
The eyeball disappeared from the hole, quickly, as soon as it's owner realised who was at the door; it was almost as if they thought running away from wizards was a viable option. Snape was not a patient man and didn't have time for these muggle games. He whipped out his wand and uttered "Alohomora"
The whale of a man, whom Severus presumed to be Harry's uncle, cowered away in fright.
"My name is Severus Snape, and I am the Potions Master from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I have come to collect Mr Potters' things," he told the beast of a man.
"You!" A shrill voice shouted. It didn't take a genius to work out who it was. Petunia hurriedly ran from the kitchen, down the hall and quickly shut the front door, a frantic expression glued to her face.
"You are the kid who tainted my sister with that… that unnaturalness," she screeched at him. "How dare you use that thing in front of everyone," she hissed pointed frantically at his wand in horror hoping the neighbours wouldn't hear. Severus sneered at her; he had always hated her and how she treated Lily.
"This, you horse," Snape said sarcastically, lifting up his wand "is called magic."
Vernon grew purple, with rage, when he heard that word, which was expressly forbidden in their household.
Snape smirked in satisfaction at their reaction; maybe messing with these muggles would be at least worth the entertainment. But no, he had a job to do, and he honestly wanted to get out of this house as soon as he possibly could.
"Show me to your nephew's room. He'll be spending the rest of his summer away," he commanded his upper lip, curling into a familiar sneer and advanced upon them, not waiting for them to move.
Vernon stuttered, the cheeks of his red face wobbling, before moving aside for the Professor after his wife whispered something about the neighbours being able to hear.
Petunia glared at him and said, "Good. We were hoping those other freaks who picked him up would keep him. His room is upstairs and his things are in the cupboard." They had already been notified by the Headmaster that someone would come to collect the Freak's things and were happy that for once they would have a 'normal' summer without worrying if the neighbours would notice anything.
Snape's eyes narrowed at her as soon as the word 'freak' left her lips. He remembered how much pain and hurt Petunia caused Lily when she called her that.
Resisting the urge to place some sort of nasty curse on the whole horrid family, he made his way up the stairs and entered the largest room, which was filled with junk and toys littered everywhere. Television sets, most of them with the screen punched through, sat upon scratched-upon tables. Clothes and unmatched socks made a sort of carpet upon the floor. 'Spoilt, just as I predicted' he thought, satisfied with how the sight of the room agreed with his feelings towards Potter. He knew that Harry Potter was just as spoiled as James Potter had been. Lily was nothing like her husband or her son. Or this crazy family, for that matter
"Mummy, what's Mr Vampire doing in my room?" Dudley, the boy who'd obviously been whining for more food earlier, yelled in a frightened voice, as he saw the shadow disappear up the stairs and into the cluttered room.
"Get out of our Dudley's room!" boomed Vernon's voice, his face growing purple again, "You do not have the right to waltz into our lives. Just get the brat's things and leave! It's Freaks like you, doing freaky things that we kept the dreaded boy locked up in his cupboard" Vernon yelled in anger at Snape, scared that he might use another magic spell. They wanted the wizard out of here.
Severus blinked, before he registered what the obese man was saying. He then realised that the room with locks and bolts was the lair of the so called Chosen One's'. It wasn't fit for an animal let alone a human being. The cat flap sitting at the bottom of the door had food stains from Petunia trying to stuff the remnants of her meal through it for him to eat.
'How dare she-they...how dare they treat their own nephew like some sort of criminal?' Snape had wanted to believe that Harry had been a nuisance and caused the family much turmoil and grief in order to deserve such punishment. However, judging from what he knew of Petunia and everything else he had seen, he couldn't bring himself to think those thoughts.
As much as Snape hated the boy, he just couldn't bring himself to believe that Petunia would treat their own nephew, the only son of her dead sister in such a cruel fashion. Surely she would want to treat him as least half as well as she did her son.
Snape collected Harry's photo album, clothes, spare quills, potion notes, some chocolates that the Gryffindor probably had to keep hidden from the fat lump downstairs and mince pies that were probably needed for survival when living with the Dursleys'. Then, he let Harry's owl free after telling her where Potter was, and shrunk her cage, along with everything else to fit in his pocket. He scanned the room once more, before making his way back downstairs to fetch the rest of the boy's things from the cupboard.
'Perhaps the boy does study then?' Snape mused to himself. 'No, if he stayed here the whole time, at least Potter would have read the entire potions book or at least attempted to hand in better homework than the typical chicken scratch; lazy as usual.' he tried to reason with himself, still not wanting to believe that Potter didn't live the life of luxury he'd believed the boy had for all those previous years.
He grabbed Harry's trunk, Firebolt and his school books, from where they'd been stuffed into the cupboard. Severus didn't know why, but he somehow had a feeling Harry had spent a lot of time in that confined space, especially after what Harry's uncle had revealed.
"This isn't the last you'll hear of me, Dursleys" Snape snarled finally, allowing his anger at last to get the best of him before storming out of the front door, his robes whirling behind like some fierce angel of death.
The expression on Vernon's face was one of pure terror as the door slammed closed behind the Potions Master.
"Is the vampire coming back?" Dudley asked in a frightened voice, coming to his parents with a box of chocolates in his pudgy hands.
"No Duddy-poo. It's not a vampire. Just another one of Potter's Freaky friends," Petunia answered for her husband, her eyes trying to hide any terror that may have been lurking there.
"Thank goodness. We had no garlic left so I was worried," The Young Whale said before waddling away, stuffing yet another chocolate in his mouth.