Silver and Gold 15/? DH Spoilers
SPOILERS FOR DH


Title: Silver and Gold 15/?
Author: Eriador117
Rating: NC-17, Snape/Harry, other pairings.
Spoilers up to and including Deathly Hallows
Summary: Things are never quite what they seem. Epilogue, what epilogue? ;)
Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns the Potterverse, I'm just playing in it.
Beta'd by Rakina, many thanks :)
Warnings: AU, Angst, Mpreg. There are some other things I am not warning for as it will give away the plot and I myself don't exactly know where the story is going yet.



Earlier Parts

Part Fifteen

Severus Apparated onto the back lawn of Arabella Figg's house. The autumn evening was drawing in; the sun was low down on the horizon and there was a sharp chill in the air. Arabella was expecting him, standing by her open back door, wrapped up in a winter coat, scarf and gloves. "Professor, come in," she said, moving aside so that he could enter the house.

Severus had seen the woman's house in Harry's memories during Occlumency lessons, but seeing the memory could not prepare him for the overwhelming smell of over boiled cabbage, cats and dirty litter trays. He almost gagged at the stench. There were cats sitting on the sofa, on the armchairs, curled up in front of the fireplace; some were asleep, some yowling madly as they curled around Arabella's and Severus' legs. "Shoo, Misty," she waved at a tortoiseshell kitten who padded off in the direction of the hallway.

There were hundreds of photos of cats on the walls; it was almost as if the room had been wallpapered with them. Severus shuddered; he never did like cats and hoped his visit wouldn't take too long.

"I was a bit surprised to get your letter, Professor," she said, shooing the cats off the sofa and inviting him to sit down with a wave of her hand. Severus remained standing; he could see the cat hairs against the fabric of the sofa and didn't want them on his clothes. "No one has ever asked me about the Dursleys before or how they treated that boy. They weren't interested. It was like he was just left there and forgotten about until he was needed."

"An oversight I intend to remedy. They can't get away with it. How long did you know they were abusing Harry?"

"Well, for a start, no one on the street even knew there was another boy living there until he was about seven. The Dursleys started leaving him with me then when they wanted to go on holiday without him."

"What did they do before that?" For Severus couldn't imagine that the Dursleys would forgo their holidays for six years just because they didn't want to take Harry with them. Had Harry ever been on a holiday?

"I believe they left him with Vernon's sister, Marge, but she refused to look after him any longer so that's how he ended up staying with me. When Harry turned up to stay that first time; he was dressed in these dirty, tattered hand-me-downs far too large for him and he was as thin as a wraith. He was supposed to be staying with me for three weeks, but those were the only clothes he had with him. Here he was all alone in a strange house and they didn't even leave him a teddy bear or a favourite toy!"

"They only ever gave him his cousin's broken toys," said Severus. "If any."

"That doesn't surprise me. When I took him upstairs for his bath, I couldn't believe the amount of bruising he had on him. It was as though someone had used him for a punch bag. I firecalled Dumbledore straight away but he refused to take Harry away from there! He refused! Something about blood wards because of Lily's sacrifice and that Harry was better off where he was. How could any child be better off there? I should have insisted that something be done. That poor boy."

"Is that why you contacted the Muggle authorities?"

"Partly, but it was mainly because Harry hadn't been to school. He couldn't read or write or count; the Dursleys never bothered to teach him anything except cooking and housework. I wanted to tell them about the abuse I suspected, but Harry wouldn't talk about it and told the social worker that he'd fallen. Without his evidence, there wasn't a lot they could do. I think Harry was too scared of what his uncle would have done if he'd talked. I don't think he understood that if he did tell them what Vernon had done, they might take him away from the Dursleys altogether."

"He's been talking about it now," said Severus. "But Harry is a very private man; I don't think he would want this knowledge made public. However, the Dursleys abused him for years and got away with it. I need your help to change that, Arabella."

"My help? What can I do? I'm a squib!"

"You’re also their neighbour. You know the enemy as it were. What would make them squirm?"

"Well, I know that Petunia is a snob; she puts great store in what other people think. Public humiliation would ruin them. Something that would get in the papers, perhaps even on the national news. Something they'd never be able to live down."

"Hmm," said Severus. "Something that would humiliate them but not invade Harry's privacy. I'll need to think about that. In the meantime, I think I need to pay them a little visit. A couple of spells should do it."

Arabella smiled and shook his hand. "I always knew there was a reason I liked you, Professor."

***

Severus walked along Privet Drive, shuddering at the sight of all the boxy houses. His own childhood home had been a small terraced cottage and he'd hated it. Hated the fact that the neighbours were always spying on each other, the twitching net curtains gave him nightmares to this day. It was the same on Privet Drive. As he made his way down the street there were the residents pulling back their curtains so they could have a good view of the stranger. Frost sparkled on the pavement in the orange glow of the street lamps as he made his way to number four.

There were two large silver cars in the Dursleys' driveway; the driveway itself was swept clear of the golden leaves that decorated some others, as if they couldn't bear any sort of untidiness, even in nature. Severus rang the doorbell, the tinny sound of Rule Britannia echoed inside the house.

A few moments later the door was opened by a large man who resembled a walrus rather than anything human. Folds of fat quivered on his short neck; his forehead was beaded with sweat despite the coldness of the day and he was panting like a racehorse.

"Yes?" he barked out. "I'm not changing my religion and we don't want burglar alarms or double glazing, so if you're selling something you can just clear off now!"

"I'm not selling anything, Mr. Dursley. It might be best if you invite me in, otherwise your neighbours will be wondering why you're talking to a wiz–"

Vernon Dursley yanked Severus forward by the lapel of the Muggle jacket he was wearing and slammed the door hard behind them.

"How dare you! How dare you freaks keep harassing us! I'll go to the police, I will! They'll soon sort you out!"

"Go ahead, Dursley, and while you're there perhaps you'd like to tell them about the abuse Harry Potter suffered at your hands?"

"Abuse? Abuse? Who the ruddy hell do you think you are? Coming into my house and making unfounded accusations! We took in that freak and we looked after him! Fed him, clothed him and gave him a home!"

"You never fed him, at least not properly. The only clothes you gave him were your son's cast-offs and he never had a home here, he had a prison with locked doors and bars on the windows."

"What's he been saying, eh? What has that fucking freak been saying? He's nothing but a lying, good-for-nothing freak! If he was here now..."

"You would what, Dursley?" asked Severus dangerously. Vernon seemed to sense the threat for he didn't answer.

"Vernon, who is it? Why are you shouting?" asked Petunia Dursley as she entered the hall, drying her hands on an apron. She stopped short in the doorway leading to another room, a kitchen Severus guessed from the dusting of flour on her cheeks. "You!" she gasped.

"You know him?" demanded Vernon, turning round to his wife.

"He was that Snape boy. They lived a few doors down from us and he was always sneaking around, spying on us."

"I see you remember me, Petunia."

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm here about restitution."

"What? They're finally going to pay us some money for looking after the Potter brat?" said Vernon, rubbing his hands together in greed. "About time something good came out of all this. Do you know how much he cost to bring up?"

"Very little I should imagine, considering you did not feed him very often, nor did you buy him any clothes or school books. There were no expensive birthday or Christmas presents either. I am not here to pay you any money, Dursley. I'm here to make restitution on Harry's behalf."

"Eh? What do you mean?"

"I'm here to avenge Harry," Severus removed his wand and smiled cruelly when he saw the flicker of fear in their eyes. How much fear had these two caused to Harry over the years? Every night Harry had spent in this house he'd been alone and in pain, seeing no way out.

The spells were cast in quick succession. When nothing seemed to happen, both the Dursleys seemed surprised that they hadn't been tortured or worse.

"What did you do to us?" snapped Vernon.

Severus roamed his gaze over the fat man in front of him and made a snort of disgust. "For your greed, Dursley, you will eat and eat and eat, but you will never find satisfaction. Like Harry through all the years he spent in this house, you will always be hungry. No matter how much you eat, that hunger will never abate."

"And me, what did you do to me?" asked Petunia, horror-struck, her hand to her throat.

"Since you were so enamoured of magic as a child, but yet punished Harry for his magic, you will now be able to sense any magic, anywhere. You will sense it and you will yearn for it, but you will never know what it is you yearn for and it will never be fulfilled. Both of you will lead lives that will never satisfy you; you will never be happy no matter what you have. Obliviate!"

Severus left the two of them standing there, glassy-eyed and incurious as he made his way out the door. Once on the path he heard Vernon's booming voice. "When's dinner, Petunia? I'm starving!"

Severus smirked to himself. It wasn't nearly enough to make up for what they had done to his Harry, but it was a start.

TBC