Severus Snape sat on his couch in the Hogwarts' dungeons with a tumbler of fire whiskey after his long day. A day that did not go anywhere near planned. He had been working on his latest potion for the last several months, since the little dunderheads he was forced to teach went home for the summer. With all his responsibilities during the school year he was unable to experiment with his potions, which was his true passion. If it wasn't for his Slytherins, the gratitude he felt for the Headmaster would have long ago dried up and he would have left this blasted job.
Still, it was the summer and he was able to spend all his time working with his potions. This particular summer he had set his sights on developing a pain reliever that could be administered with Skele-gro. Normally the two potions had a very negative effect when they interacted within the body, causing more pain instead of reducing it. Poppy had been complaining that she could not help the children under her care while healing their broken bones. Severus could care less for the idiot Gryffindors that injured themselves through their own rash actions. Perhaps the pain would serve as a lesson, although he doubted they would ever learn it. He took this potion on for those children that were harmed by someone else, for those who were hurt and abused and did not deserve to be in any more pain than they already were.
He had been experimenting with the potion for over two months now trying to get a workable recipe. It was a complicated and delicate potion which took two days to brew. He had only gotten a few hours of sleep the night before between brewing steps and was up early that morning to continue on his most recent attempt. Everything had been working perfectly and he came to one of the most difficult steps, ones that were time sensitive and could not be put in stasis. He had gotten further than ever before, and he knew if he could get through the next stage he would have a working potion.
Of course, this was the exact moment that Albus bloody Dumbledore decided to send him a patronus saying that something most urgent had come up and that Severus was needed immediately in the Headmaster's office with no delay. He looked at his potion in despair, knowing he needed 45 minutes to complete the current stage before he could put the potion in stasis. Angrily he turned off the fire and stormed up to the Headmaster's office, swearing that if the world wasn't ending he would wrap that old man's beard around his neck and pull.
When he found out that he was called away from his work just because Harry Potter decided to play a prank, he wanted to murder both the Headmaster and the Potter boy. No doubt the brat was trying to get the school to give him special treatment as they begged him to attend. He could not believe he ruined all of his work and his potions ingredients, some of which were quite expensive, just because Dumbledore's idea of an emergency was a bloody prank by the Brat-Who-Lived.
He of course protested when Dumbledore asked him to go to Potter's house and straighten up this misunderstanding before taking him to Diagon Alley for his supplies. When asked why Minerva was not doing so, she would be his Head of House no doubt, he was given some weak excuse about her having too much paperwork to complete before the school started up once more. In the end, he gave into the man's demands that were phrased as polite requests.
Severus wanted to murder the old fool for forcing him into these situations. Wasn't it bad enough that he would have to teach the brat for the next five years, as he was sure the boy would never be able to get into his NEWT class? Why did he have to interrupt his last free summer for such an odious task? Certainly anyone else would have been better to go cater to the spoiled Boy-Who-Lived, even Hagrid for Merlin's sake.
His thoughts kept up with the same theme as he made his way out of the castle and grounds so he could apparate to Little Whinging and the boy's house. The neighborhood he landed in was so disgustingly normal and muggle, with every house identical to the one next to it and all containing perfectly green lawns with their white picket fence. While it wasn't the huge manor that he imagined the brat growing up in, like the one his godson grew up in, it was still a substantial improvement over the house he himself was raised in.
Grudgingly he went to knock on the door, knowing that the sooner he got this over with the sooner he would be able to get back to his potions. He received his first look at the boy when he answered the door. The brat had the same unruly black hair and glasses as his odious father, but Severus faltered for just an instant when he saw Lily green eyes behind those glasses. When he requested Potter's guardian, the boy ran off without a single word or offer to come into the house. Of course, the eleven-year-old had no manners.
At least he did not have to wait long until he heard lumbering footsteps make their way towards the door. The man that came out of the room that Potter had disappeared in was easily the widest muggle Severus had ever seen. If this was the role model that Potter grew up with than he had more to worry about than he had originally thought. The only miracle he supposed was that the brat wasn't already the size of his uncle.
The following conversation confirmed his suspicions. Potter's guardian, Vernon Dursley, had no knowledge of the brat receiving his Hogwarts' letter. The man said he thought the letters were coming late that year. When he yelled at the brat and told him he would receive no special treatment Severus couldn't help his amusement. He doubted anyone had ever yelled at the boy before, so he would cherish the memory. Potter stayed silent through the full thing, probably pouting at his plan failing.
The trip to Diagon Alley was simple and Severus was quick to pass over the things that the headmaster had given him. He did wonder why the headmaster had Potter's Grongotts' key instead of the boy's guardians. At least the boy or his family were unable to squander the whole fortune before he even got to Hogwarts that way. With a few instructions and a glamour, he left to return back to his potions. He would have enough time to get the potion started and the first stage complete before he had to collect the brat.
He spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing into his potions and when he went to collect the boy he was in a much better mood. Looking back, he regretted leaving Potter alone to shop. No matter what, he was still an eleven-year-old child and should not have been left to fend for himself. He was also quite harsh with the child, more so than he would have normally been, even with the annoying Potter brat.
Severus was relieved when he found the child in the same spot he left him with no obvious damage. Dumbledore would not have been pleased to learn his precious hero was injured while Severus left him alone in Diagon Alley. When he saw the child with no obvious purchases anger began to stir again, but he reserved judgement. A single question revealed the boy's shrunken trunk, a rather ingenious idea as loath as he was to admit it. He didn't bother to confirm the purchases, if something was forgotten than Potter would just have to deal with it and learn to be more responsible in the future.
One last trip to the odious Privet Drive and then he was able to return to his student free summer and potions experiments. Now sitting in his living room, he looked back on his experiences with the boy. Not once could he recall the child speaking. He assumed the brat was just throwing a fit like a three-year-old, just like holding their breath until they got what they wanted. He also noted the boy's rather dismal clothing. He expected him to be dressed similar to the Malfoys or even what he remembered of Potter in school. Instead he was wearing hideous oversized muggle clothes that Severus thought were better served as rags or a fire starter than actual clothing. Clearly his guardians gave into whatever he wanted, even horrendous muggle styles.
Still, he was sure of one thing. The short visit with the Potter brat did not ease his fears about the newest school year. No, all it accomplished was making him even more unwilling to have to deal with the boy for the next seven years.