Harry Potter : Echoes of magic

Walking beside Harry down the street in Surrey, Severus knew what happened next would greatly impact the future. He hoped he would not need to get too rough with the Dursleys . . . well, that was a lie. He hoped he would, but that there would be enough left over to keep the blood wards up, even if only barely.

Coming up to the front door, Harry looked anxious, and Severus couldn't blame him. Before ringing the door bell, Severus pulled Harry's shrunken school supplies from his inner robe pocket.

"Here are your things. To unshrink them, just tap your wand on them, but remember you cannot cast any spells outside of school."

"Yes, sir."

"When we go inside, I want you to go up to your room and wait for me there, and close the door. I want to have a private chat with your aunt and uncle." Severus' lip curled with disdain.

Maybe a single hex would be alright. Something small, something undetectable, even by normal wizards. The Flatulence Hex perhaps? That could last for months, and any gas medication would only make it worse. Or maybe he could be a bit more aggressive? It would be nothing more than they deserved.

"Sir?"

Severus looked down at Harry who had been watching him intently.

"Um, don't hurt them, okay? Please?"

It never ceased to amaze him how much of Lily was in Harry. Even after everything they had done, or rather had not done, he still did not want to see them hurt.

"I will try not to," he stated. He wasn't about to promise any more than that.

With that, Severus rang the door bell.

The door opened, revealing horse-faced Petunia.

"You!" she gasped, her face quickly contorting in rage.

"Yes — me," Severus replied smoothly, stepping forward and placing his foot firmly within the house so she could not shut the door.

She remained just beyond the doorway, glaring.

"Petunia, who is at the door?" Vernon asked from the other room.

"It's the boy and . . . one of them," she answered briskly.

Vernon stormed over soon after, his face growing red just behind Petunia's shoulder.

"Are you going to continue standing in the way, or are you going to let us in? You know, people can see us," Severus sneered, undeterred by Vernon's massive size and now purpling face. Harry shifted a little further behind Severus.

"Why should we? Your kind has been hounding us non-stop! First with owls, and then last night!" Vernon snarled. "The giant man who whisked the boy away last night broke down the door!"

"I doubt the door was all that sound to begin with," Severus replied.

"How dare you! Dudley has been scarred for life!"

"I'm sure. Now, are we going to stand here all day, becoming a spectacle for your neighbors, or are you going to let us in?"

Petunia huffed. "Fine." She stepped aside, letting them in, before quickly closing the door with a slam. "What do you want?" she asked nastily.

Vernon was glowering beside her, his hands clenched.

"Mr. Potter." Severus looked to the stairs.

"Yes, sir." Harry hurried up, not risking a look back, though he had seen Dudley hiding behind the couch.

Severus and the Dursleys heard the door close.

"I will not bother suggesting we sit, for I will make this quick. I understand your hatred for my world and may have been able to . . . sympathize with that, but right now the fact of the matter is — I don't, because I don't bloody care. From now on, you are going to treat Mr. Potter like a human being and not like an unwanted guest you hide in the basement or in . . . a cupboard." Severus glanced toward the little door under the stairs and glared. "I don't expect you to be kind, but simply responsible adults. You can be responsible, can't you? You will give him full, balanced meals from now on, and will not lock him up anywhere — whether that be a cupboard or a room. And you will leave his things alone and in his room as well. You will also not have Mr. Potter doing more than three hours of chores a week — I suggest having him set the table and garden, that's fair. If I discover you are treating him as you have in the past, I have secret, untraceable ways to make your lives miserable. I promise."

Vernon was now shaking in rage, while Petunia was growing pale.

"Y-you have n-no right to say such things to us!" Vernon declared. "We have sheltered, clothed, and fed the boy for years now and have had to handle his unnaturalness!"

Severus raised a sarcastic eyebrow. "Out of the goodness of your hearts, of course."

"We were not given a choice! And then he went into that cupboard, of his own free will, soon after he came here! He would not go into the spare bedroom without wailing!" Petunia shrieked.

"Did you ever think of why, you daft woman? He had witnessed the murder of his mother in such a place, and that memory was still fresh! Of course he would take refuge in a small, secluded location. Any child would!"

Petunia inhaled sharply and even Vernon paused. Severus heard Dudley gasp from behind the couch.

"But then you turned his haven, which would have been temporary if you had bothered to help him, into a prison — placing locks on it for Merlin's sake! And you think my people are barbaric and medieval. Pathetic." Shaking his head, Severus took a few steps into the living room, pulling out his wand.

"Don't you begin doing any freakishness here!" Vernon bellowed.

Severus paid him no mind and flicked his wand toward the huddled figure behind the couch. "Finite."

Dudley gave a yelp, clutching his bottom and hopping out.

"Dudley!" Petunia cried, hurrying toward him as Vernon swung his meaty fist at Severus. Severus easily leaned out of the way.

"I-it's gone!" Dudley cried, his eyes wide with amazement. "It's not there anymore, t-the tail!"

Vernon stumbled forward after over extending in attempt to hit Severus.

"Now that you have one less 'freakish' thing to deal with, you will promise to do as I said regarding Mr. Potter, otherwise I'll just put the tail back and carry through with my promise. Got it?" Severus asked, flaring his magic out from his center for emphasis.