August 1995

Severus walked into the sitting room in his home on Spinner's End after spending another night of long hours in his potions lab. This summer he had been working on a commissioned project and although it paid well, it also made for a lot of late nights. It was after midnight, so he was surprised to see Harry still up and sitting at the desk writing.

"You're up late," Severus said quietly so as not to surprise his son from behind.

Harry, who celebrated his fifteenth birthday only two weeks ago, turned around - not at all surprised - with an apprehensive look in his eyes.

"Aunt Petunia died three days ago," Harry said in a daze holding up what Severus assumed to be the latest correspondence with his cousin Dudley.

Severus would have been happy if Harry had never spoken to the Dursleys ever again, however the Gryffindor had a capacity for forgiveness that rivaled Lily's, so when Dudley asked to meet with Harry last summer, Severus supported him. The meeting had gone surprisingly well and since then the two boys had been writing to each other regularly and even met up over the last Easter break. Now, the professor could hear the confliction in his son's voice from this news.

"How do you feel about that?" He asked treading lightly; planning to follow Harry's lead on it. He pulled up a chair next to the desk Harry was sitting at.

"It was a car accident, isn't that ironic? For all the times they lied to me about how my parents died... It's karma," Harry said unprompted, then he paused before continuing, "I feel bad for Dudley. Besides that, I don't really feel much of anything. Is that wrong of me?"

"Not at all," Severus said, squeezing Harry's shoulder in support. "In fact, I think that's quite normal given the situation you were in."

Severus wished he could understand what Harry was going through. This was another example of Harry's pure soul because when Tobias Snape died only two months after Severus took the dark mark, he didn't even feel an ounce of grief for his father's death nor any guilt about not feeling any grief. If anything he was happy to never see the man again. Harry, though, was visibly torn by this news and his feelings regarding it.

"Dudley asked me to attend the funeral this Sunday," the young wizard said, turning his attention fully to Severus. "Will you come with me?"

The professor paused, frozen in time; was this really a good idea? No, he knew that without even thinking too hard about it. The last time he'd seen the Dursley's he had more than made a scene in their pristine, perfect neighborhood. That being said, he could not deny Harry the request if he needed the support.

"Of course," he said knowing this was going to be a bad idea all around.

It was raining when Severus woke up Sunday morning, the day of Petunia Dursley's funeral. The night before, he had transfigured their dress robes into black muggle suits so they wouldn't stand out for the occasion. The last thing anyone needed was to have Vernon Dursley running his mouth about magic and freaks, however that also meant he could not use any spells to keep themselves dry from the pouring rain. It was bound to be a miserable day for them all.

They were dressed and ready in plenty of time and Severus disapparated them near the cemetery in Surrey. They walked to the cemetery in silence; Severus running through all the things he should not do today should any issues arise.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked Harry one more time before they made their way into the crowd.

"Yeah," Harry said leaning onto his father, "I have to do this, not just for Dudley, but for myself too."

"I understand," the professor replied solemnly, pointing to a couple of chairs in the back row. He had plenty of practice in his life trying not to stand out in a crowd. "Just in case, let's sit near the back."

They took their seats for the small service by the graveside, covered in an awning to protect the guests from the heavy rain, and watched carefully as Dudley and Vernon approached. It was a lovely service and somehow they managed to find four people to speak of what a wonderful woman, wife, and mother Petunia was causing Severus the need to use every Occlumency shield he had to remain calm. The woman was vile and deserved none of what was being said. When they asked if anyone else had words about Petunia they would like to share, it was difficult for Severus to resist, but a funeral was no place for a fight.

After the service, as everyone was gathering before heading back to Privet Drive for the reception - luckily something Harry did not wish to attend - Severus walked with Harry slowly up to the gravesite of his aunt. There were framed pictures all around showing a seemingly perfect life that she had lived with her husband and son and zero evidence that her nephew had lived with them for 10 long and painful years.

"Excuse me," an elderly woman with short curled grey hair tapped Harry on the shoulder and Severus was instantly on alert for any trouble. "Are you that Potter boy? Petunia's nephew?"

It was obvious Harry recognized this woman and was surprised that she specifically called him out, "Hi Mrs. Carewell, yes that's me."

"It is so good to see you son," she patted his arm in sympathy, "I had wondered what happened to you. It seemed you just never came back one summer after... What school was that? Venon said something for criminals?"

Severus couldn't stand to listen to anymore of this nonsense and cleared his throat to interrupt the conversation, "Harry goes to a school for the gifted."

Mrs. Carewell started to blush, "That makes much more sense. You were always such a quiet boy. And who are you?" She asked of Severus; his dark hair and black suit made him look intimidating to anyone who didn't already know him - and maybe a few that did.

"Oh," Harry said without missing a beat and a smile on his face for the first time that day, "this is my fath-"

"YOU!"

Severus was instantly on alert, standing directly in between Harry and the direction of the unmistakable sound of Vernon Dursley yelling across the lawn. If that arsehole thought he was going to try to lay a hand on Harry, it would be the last thing he did on this Earth. Severus wouldn't care one bit that they were at the funeral for the man's wife, he would do whatever it took to protect Harry.

On cue, Vernon waddled up to them faster than a man of that size should be able to; his face purple with rage.

"How dare you show your face here?" Harry's irate uncle growled at him beyond Severus's shoulder.

The other guests were murmuring - Mrs. Carewell had long left - but none attempted to step in and help even as Vernon reached for Harry. Luckily, Severus had been well trained, just in case, as both a Death Eater and spy and grabbed the man's arm, inches from Harry's chest, twisting as he pulled the large man away from Harry. As expected, Vernon bellowed in pain, something that Severus didn't feel bad about one bit.

"Dad!" Severus turned at the word, not lightening up his grip at all, but it was not Harry that called him. Instead, Dudley was coming down the hill towards all the commotion speaking to Vernon. "Leave 'em alone Dad, I asked Harry to be here."

With Dudley now directly in front of them and, if possible, even more spectators looking on, Severus let go of his grip simultaneously backing up closer to Harry. Dudley pulled Vernon away, talking quickly to the man, until somehow he convinced Harry's uncle to leave them be.

"Thanks Dudley," Harry greeted his cousin while watching Vernon walk away with a defiant look to his face. "I'm sorry about you mum."