Haja
Chapter 5
The street was as orderly as a toy village set out on a table. The houses were nearly identical in size and the way they were painted. Lawn sprinklers made rainbows in the sun and a few men were trudging behind mowers. The morning was already hot and the two wizards could see the sweat rolling down red faces as the men worked.
They had transfigured their clothing into Muggle dress and they looked like your every day sales people who went door-to-door. Only these two ignored all the walkways leading to other houses, a simple spell insuring that it was unnoticed.
At the walkway of Number 4 Privet Drive, they stopped. The lawn here was even more immaculate than the others on the street. There was not a single weed in the flower beds. The edges were precisely trimmed, the hedges perfectly square cut. The wizards walked up the sidewalk until they stood outside the front door. Through an open side window, voices were heard.
"… the lawn must be done! Now who will do it?" a woman's nasal whine.
"If the freak hadn't run off we wouldn't be in this predicament. Now we'll have to pay for someone to do it for the summer." A gruff male voice growled.
"But dad! You promised me a new car, now that I've got my permit, and a new computer—"
"Duddykins, we'll do the best we can," the nasal voice soothed. "The money will only go so far and now the lawn needs attending to. We have to think of the neighbors and the impression Daddy's clients get when they come here for dinner."
"…little freak… if he shows his face around here again, I'll teach him to go off and leave us with this mess…"
"I told you, dad, it was those weird people who took him away… right when we were having a good time… and they made me fall into that ivy patch, mum… I itch something fierce!"
"Come, Duddy, mummy will fix you a nice bath to sooth the itching."
Lumbering steps moved away and more grumbling was heard. "I still want that car you promised with the freak's money…"
Severus looked at Minerva. Both of them had identical expressions of outrage on their faces. Severus went to the door and knocked. There was a few moments of silence before Petunia opened the door a crack and peered out at them.
"We aren't interested in anything you're selling."
Before she could close the door Severus had his wand out and the door flew wide, knocking the woman backwards. The two entered and Minerva shut the door behind them, spelling it locked.
"We aren't selling anything. But I believe that we all have an interest in what has happened in this house with your nephew." Severus's voice was low but the dark threat under it was palpable.
Vernon and Dudley had come into the front hall when the door had crashed open. Now they stood poised as if unsure whether to try and protect their mother and wife or to turn tail and run out the back door.
Minerva waved her drawn wand and petrified them all where they stood so that they no longer had to make that decision. Between the two of them, she and Severus levitated them to the living room. They tied their feet and hands with magical bindings before releasing the Petrificus. Now they sat piled against one another on the sofa.
Vernon was the first to sputter in outrage, his face purpling and mustache quivering. "You have no right to barge in here and treat us like this! You're freaks like that boy!"
Severus pulled up a chair and sat down, resting his elbows on his knees, wand held deceptively casually in his hand dangling between. He stared at Vernon with piercing eyes.
"Dursley, I dearly want to understand what happened in this house. Now, I have some questions. You can either answer them honestly and quickly and this will be nearly painless. Or you may choose to be difficult and I assure you, the results will be quite unpleasant."
Severus proceeded to question the Dursleys. Minerva stood nearby, occasionally asking her own queries to clarify what they were hearing. She fetched financial record books from a desk drawer and they both scanned copies of them with their wands to take back. Minerva found the original notes from Albus to Petunia tucked into them, as well as statements from the Muggle branch of Gringotts.
Three hours later Minerva made a final sweep with her wand with a Show Me Harry Potter's Belongings. It revealed the hidden floor boards in Harry's room. Underneath they found the photo album, the tattered blanket he had probably been wrapped in when he arrived at Privet Drive and the remains of a food care package from the Weasley's.
Severus and Minerva spent several minutes looking around the small nearly barren room. In glaring opposition to the rest of the house, it was furnished with broken and threadbare cast-offs. The bars on the window tore at something inside Severus, as did the locks that lined the outside of the door, and the cat flap in the bottom of that door.
' I well and truly failed you, Lily! I spited your son because I thought he was pampered and spoiled all these years! I was so wrong…'
Minerva wiped tears from her cheek with the back of her hand. "Merlin, Severus! I feel like the worst fool! I let Albus convince me Harry was fine here. Look at those bars…and that bed—the linens are so thin!" Her voice went higher with disbelief. "Did you see the locks on the door? They kept him locked away in here as if he were an animal!"
Severus was desperately trying to negate what he was learning, what he was seeing. But it was all painfully clear that everything he had ever thought about Harry Potter had been wrong. This physical evidence was beyond belief. He could not believe that the boy had managed to hide all of this so well… or had the hiding been done by Albus? Had he known of this? Had he known and still believed that this was the best place for Potter to be?
Severus wordlessly stormed back down the stairs. In the living room, the Dursleys were sitting in a huddle on the sofa, waiting for the wizards to leave. Severus grabbed Vernon by the shirt collar and hauled him to his feet. Petunia shrieked as Vernon sputtered angrily in protest.
"Legilimense!" he hissed, as he glared into Vernon's eyes. "Show me exactly how the boy was treated here by you and yours!"
Fifteen minutes later, Vernon was a moaning puddle on the floor. Severus was looking at him with a mixture of shock and disgust. He sat down in a chair and rested his head in his hands. Minerva was waiting near the door and she went to him, putting a hand on his arm.
"Severus?"
Severus shook his head. "It's a wonder the boy is alive, let alone sane. This—" he motioned towards Vernon, "—despicable Muggle could give lessons to the Dark Lord. If half the things he encouraged his son to do—" he broke off, shaking his head again.
They cast some containment wards on the house so the Dursleys could not leave the area except for routine errands and work. If they tried to flee, the wards would yank them painfully back to the house. If Severus had his way, they would be tossed into whatever amounted to Azkaban in the muggle realm. He was sickened by what he had learned, and even his Death Eater history had not kept him from being stunned by the days' revelations.
Until then, the original spell set to give Dudley poison ivy was recast to include the whole family. In addition, Minerva cast a hex that would have them all shrieking in fear at the sight of the tiniest kitten. She made sure that a good quantity of catnip was growing in the flower beds around both the front and back doors. Severus moved the cat flap from the upstairs bedroom doo to the back door. It was spelled so that it could not be locked against any animal that wanted to come into the house. A few potted plantings of catnip were secured to the kitchen floor, spelled to be ever-growing and unremovable. The Dursleys would be unable to lift a finger against anything that chose to enter through the door or inhabit their yard. A number of neighborhood cats and some strays were already wallowing in the catnip, and wandering in through the cat flap before Severus and Minerva left. The fearful cries of the family inside were like music to their ears and they smirked at one another in satisfaction. It was not perfect revenge, but it was a small payback on behalf of one traumatized boy.
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By the time Severus and Minerva had informed Albus of their findings, and endured his endless questioning, it was late afternoon. Minerva accompanied Severus back to his rooms in the dungeons to check on Harry.
They found Poppy on her hands and knees, peering under the bed. She raised up at their entrance and explained, "He had a nightmare. I don't know how, with all the potion he had in him. I tried to spell him calmer, but he transformed before I could finish it."
The other two bent down and looked under the bed. All that they could see was two reflective eyes as the small cat looked back at them.
"How long has he been under there?" Severus asked.
"About an hour. I let him be for awhile, and I was just beginning to try again to get him out."
To the women's surprise, Severus said, "I'll handle it. Thank you for watching him, Poppy. I'll let you know if he needs you."
The women felt dismissed, but Minerva had to ask, "Do you want me to transfigure and try to coax him out?"
"No. He needs to learn to trust humans again. Go back to your sisters. I'll contact you if there is a need."
Minerva stared at him for a long moment. "Severus, you've never even liked Harry. Are you certain that you are the best one to be here for him now?"
He stared back at her before answering. "I have made many mistakes in my dealings with him. Many were made due to erroneous assumptions. I will attempt to start now to change where we went wrong." He looked at his feet, jaw tensing before he looked back at Minerva. "I need to do this for Lily."
The women recognized that Severus really did need to do this. Both of them nodded before Poppy said, "I left a supply of the Calming Draught. It's your own brew, but it will keep you from having to make more so soon."
Severus inclined his head in thanks and followed them to the door of his quarters. After they were gone, he went to the lab and mixed another small plate of food.
In the bedroom, he set the plate on the floor by the bed. Without bending down to look underneath, he said, "You might be hungry. I put a small amount of Calming Draught in the food. I'm telling you so you will not think I am trying to trick you. You need to get your fears under control enough to transform back." He waited a few moments. "I am going to take a shower now. No one else is here, so you need not fear coming out to eat."
He did as he said and went into his bathroom, closing the door. A few moments later the sounds of running water was heard.
Under the bed, Harry trembled. He had backed himself into the corner and made himself as small as possible. He had been dreaming of Dudley, harsh hands stuffing him into the dark backpack, the backpack swinging through the air like some carnival ride from hell.
He awakened as the backpack hit the tree at the end of an upward arc. Terror and remembered pain had him transformed from human to cat again and he was leaping up off the bed, fur raised and eyes dilated. Poppy had been startled and had given a shriek at his sudden movement. The shriek had set Harry to yowling and scrambling for shelter under the bed. She had been trying unsuccessfully to persuade him to come out when Severus and Minerva had entered the room.
He listened as the water ran. The feline brain had heard the reassurances from the Potions Master. Now that he was beginning to calm, he could smell the food on the plate that was sitting on the floor. He had seen the black-clad feet as Severus stood there beside the bed. He had watched as they disappeared into the bathroom. Slowly, he crept out from under the bed and approached the plate. As Severus had said, no one else was here. He grabbed a couple of quick bites before scurrying back under the bed when he heard something fall in the bathroom.
A few moments later, Severus padded back out into the room. Harry watched as bare feet stopped beside the plate.
"I'll leave the plate. Perhaps you will feel like eating a bit more."
The feet disappeared into the other room and soon returned. "I will be reading for awhile. If you are able, come out and join me. We can talk or not, it's up to you."
The bed above him gave a small squeak as Severus sat down on it. The feet disappeared as he drew them up off the floor. The chair next to the bed was transfigured into a smaller bed, a fluffy pillow and warm blanket appearing.
"You may make use of this other bed if you transform back to yourself."
The feline brain was having a very difficult time comprehending that this human was the awful, greasy, Professor Snape. This human was speaking in an even tone that was reassuring. This human was feeding him and offering him acceptance and security. He could not help but think again that the man must simply like cats; he must like cats much more than he liked students. He had never been tolerant of Harry. He had never had a kind word for him. He had always been scathing and sarcastic when he spoke to him.
Above him, he heard the sound of pages being turned in a book. He started when the deep voice began to speak again and he soon recognized that the professor was reading aloud from the book. Harry relaxed a bit more as he listened to the calming voice that was so like and yet so different from the professor he was familiar with. He settled more and winced at the coldness of the stone against his paws. It would be warmer up on the bed.
He waited until he couldn't stand it any longer. Crawling out from under the edge of the bed he looked up over the top. Snape looked down at him and said, "Try to eat a bit more. The Calming Draught in the food will help."
Harry obediently went to the plate and ate a few more bites. He sat back on his haunches and licked his whiskers, looking back up at the man on the bed. When Snape extended a hand, he leaped backwards in fear. His back was bowed upward, ears laid back and tail fluffed out like a bottle brush.
"Harry, I have no intention of harming you. I give you my word. I was only about to invite you up off the floor. The dungeon stones can be very cold." Black eyes gazed down at him calmly. "Where is your Gryffindor heart? Surely it beats there inside you. Gryffindors are part lion after all."
Harry blinked wide green eyes and the slit pupils constricted a bit. Gryffindor heart… brave in the face of danger… yes, he could feel that within himself, even after having it nearly drowned. Gathering himself up, he leaped up onto the end of the bed near Snape's crossed ankles and sat down.
The professor merely went back to reading his book out loud. Harry listened to the soothing baritone and gradually settled down and curled his paws up underneath himself. Eyes closed, a soft rumbling purr sounded from his throat. Snape read until he noted that the small cat had fallen back to sleep, curled next to his feet, tail over his nose.
Severus took his wand from the bedside table and whispered another sleeping charm over the cat. Then he gently gathered the limp form in his arms and sat holding it, stroking the fur and giving some scratches behind the cat's ears. He laid the cat on the other bed and drew the coverlet over it before extinguishing the lights. With a weary sigh, he laid down and put his arm across his eyes.
How in Merlin's name had he come to care so quickly for the pitiful boy? He never would have thought that his feelings could change so rapidly. But the evidence was clear. The boy had been abused, and badly. Not only mentally and physically, but the blasted relatives had essentially stolen from him. Money that had been sent to them monthly to care for Harry's needs had been spent on extravagances for the cousin and to pay for lawn and cleaning services when Harry was away at Hogwarts and unavailable to be their servant. He had been begrudged even the cost of clothing that fit as the stupid Muggles bought high-end brand names for the whale and sent him to that exclusive boarding school, Smeltings.
When they returned to Hogwarts Albus had questioned them relentlessly, seeming to disbelieve the unauthorized inquisition he and Minerva had conducted. The Headmaster's reproach had left him feeling curiously unsettled. He had always known that the old wizard had played the cards dealt in this war like a master strategist. He always thought several steps ahead and no one knew what might come next. It was his way of preventing leaks in the organization and Severus understood that as well. As a spy, it was to his advantage to be able to claim ignorance of plans whenever the Dark Lord questioned him.
A soft sigh from the other bed had him casting a dim lumos and peering over. Harry was still asleep, but had transformed back to human. That, at least, told Severus he was calmer.
It was good that it was summer. No students around meant that Harry would have more opportunity—
Severus shot up in the bed. What was the date? How could he have forgotten?
Cursing under his breath he took up his wand again and cast a date spell. As it hovered there in the air like wispy blue smoke he stared at it.
Draco would be arriving here today. He had promised his godson that he would give him the opportunity to see what the life of an apprentice to Potions might be like. Draco thought that he wanted to pursue that avenue after graduation. While Severus agreed that Draco had the intelligence and the orderliness of mind for that career, he secretly held a doubt that the boy was selfless enough. A Potions Master gave up a great deal of freedom, brewing for days and weeks on end for the more complicated and involved potions. Draco saw traveling to exotic places to gather fresh ingredients as a plus. Severus had intended to show him the down-side of that; the drudgery, the wading through dense hot rain forests and the hottest, driest deserts to obtain most precious ingredients without the use or aid of magic, which altered their value.
Now Severus had Harry Potter here. Draco could not see that. His father, Lucius, was a high ranking Death Eater and Draco would do anything to gain his father's approval. He looked over at the boy, illuminated faintly by the blue lights. The shadows under his eyes were more pronounced in this dimness. Severus could only imagine what nightmares he would be having if not for the potions he had been given.
He needed to stay in his human form and practice shifting back and forth when he desired it, not out of reaction to events around him. Severus had sent Minerva back to her sister's. Poppy would probably gladly have Harry in the Infirmary, but Severus knew Harry would not be happy there. Why his happiness should be a concern of his, Severus didn't want to think about. Albus would also gladly watch him, but Severus was still wary of whatever the old wizard's motivations had been to keep Harry with those pitiful excuses for relatives. Severus would not put it past the codger to put Harry back with them if given the chance.
He had barely agreed to let Harry go to stay at Grimmauld Place. Knowing what he knew now, Severus no longer believed that Grimmauld Place was right for Harry. The boy needed to be with someone who would be supportive of his animagus training. Lupin would, but he wasn't there all the time. He had missions amongst the werewolves to be attending to.
Granger and Weasley had said that Harry had wanted his own secret, something no one else knew about. Severus understood that all too well. Minerva was the only one who knew that he was an unregistered animagus. She had discovered it only by chance, during one of Severus's midnight prowls around the castle. It had been years ago, but Minerva had agreed to keep the secret. It was added insurance and it made sense to keep the information to themselves. Severus was a double agent. He needed at least one advantage that was his alone. That was the only reason she had agreed to go back to her sister's. She knew that Severus was an experienced animagus.
Now, he lay there, listening to the quiet breathing of the boy on the other bed. Every few moments there would be a soft whimper. The Calming Draught and the sleeping charm were not holding the nightmares away. He would have to devise a plan to give Harry the needed Dreamless Sleep. He had to be in human form when it was given… perhaps next time Harry would have gained enough control to remain human.
Draco Malfoy… his godson. He wished he could believe that Draco would not go running to his father if he found out harry was here and an animagus to boot. He hoped to influence the boy away from the dark grasp that his father held him in. For that matter, Severus wished that it would be possible to lure Lucius away from the Dark Lord. It was entirely too dangerous to attempt it now, for either of them. But in the future…
Sighing heavily, Severus sat up. It seemed he would not get the sleep he had been searching for after all.
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A/N: Okay, this is where the done portion is used up. From here on out it will be all new to me too! I have a few scenarios in mind that are still taking shape. Feedback, ideas, comments… they all help feed Miss Muse. You never know when your review may be the one that turns something around in another direction.
What is 'Haja'? You will be finding out soon. Any guesses? I'll let you know if you're right, and I'll let you know if you help the story behind it along with your commentary!
Reminder that this is AU, summer after sixth year, going into seventh. It cannot be held as compliant with any of the books, so don't try. I won't be.
It's too hot here in Texas. The "cold front" brought it down from around a daily 103 to high in the mid 90's. But the humidity negated any benefits from the drop in temp. I'll just mow the yard when everyone else is leaving for work on Monday morning. Heck, maybe I should get up and do it while it's still dark out!