Chapter Text
Vernon wasn't sure if this was the right thing to do but it needed to be done. He knocked on the door and waited. "What?" The door was thrown open. "If you are selling something I am not interested." The man standing there was tall, lean, and had a huge nose.
"I am looking for Severus Snape." Vernon heard the man was surly but he was hoping this would work. It really needed to work.
Severus stepped out of the house and winced at the sunlight. "Who are you?" He was ready to hex the man if he was a salesman. The man was smaller in height but looked like he was double in weight.
Vernon didn't back down despite how he was being glared at. "I am Vernon Dursley. May we speak inside?" Vernon looked around and noticed that no one was on the street but he didn't want to take a chance.
"We can speak out here." Severus snapped. What would it take to get rid of this man.
"Mr. Snape trust me when I say this would be better to speak inside. It's vital." Vernon had to do this. There was no other way.
"Fine, get in." He leaned out the door and checked the street. He didn't need anyone seeing him having visitors. They might get ideas and he didn't want that. He frowned, he needed a hangover potion and badly. "Don't sit there, that is my chair." Severus moved to his chair and sat down. "Well what do you want, I have an appointment." He didn't add with a bottle of scotch.
"I am unsure if you know who I am but I am married to Petunia Evans."
"My deepest sympathies." Severus shivered at the idea of even being in the same room as Petunia much less married to her.
"I agree. I am here for a reason. I am hoping you can help. Someone by the name of Albus Dumbledore dropped off Harry Potter off on my doorstep. In the middle of the night, he slept outside all night." He held up his hand stopping Severus from speaking. "Let me finish, I have a limited time frame, Petunia will be expecting me home at my usual time and we have a lot to speak about. I will keep it as short as I can."
"Please continue." Severus quickly went through a small list of poisons he could deliver to the Headmaster that would make him wish he had never heard of Severus Snape.
"Petunia hates Harry. I found her starving him and locking him in the boot cupboard. I got home last night from work and found my son hitting Harry and my wife was allowing it. It wasn't the usual type of hitting that babies do. He was using his fists and Harry was crying. It was the last straw for me. I am going to be filing for a divorce, I have already spoken to a barrister a few months ago about it. I will be keeping my son. She has no job skills and the house is mine. I am, however, worried about Harry. I can't take him because he isn't really my nephew if we get divorced. Petunia will get worse as he ages if we don't do something to protect Harry from her." Vernon cautioned. "She has been spitting venom about your world since we found Harry on our doorstep in the morning."
Severus had sat up straight as Vernon was speaking. He knew Petunia and she was a shrew when they were younger, he couldn't imagine what she was like now that her parents weren't around to control her. "I knew Albus put him with relatives. He never said who." He needed a headache potion and a hangover one now. "Give me a second." He went to his potion stores. He took the required potions, waited for them to kick in before he returned to his seat. "He left him on your doorstep?"
"Yes, with a note basically saying if we didn't take him in, we would be in danger." He pulled out the letter. He handed it to Severus.
Severus opened the letter and began to read. His eyes were the only thing that showed how betrayed he felt as he read the letter. It said:
I am entrusting your nephew into your care. James and Lily were killed last night defending him. You need to take him until I am ready for his return to our world. I have provided wards that will keep your family safe for those in our world. Do not allow him any knowledge of our world, he isn't to know about his parents, his heritage, and must be taught to obey, be submissive, and how to serve. Do not worry about his treatment as long as he is alive.
Albus Dumbledore.
He lowered the letter and looked at Vernon Dursley. "You are here, why?"
"When I was at the Potters' wedding, I met James, Sirius Black, Dumbledore, and few others, needless to say, I wasn't impressed by any of them. I found James and his friends were the male versions of Petunia. Dumbledore was too good to be true, calling everyone my boy and going on about the protection love can provide. However, when Lily mentioned you that Black fellow and James went off about how dark and evil you were, Lily defended you. When I asked Petunia about you, I got an earful. All about how you corrupted her sister and how skillful you were in protecting yourself. She didn't word it like that but I got the message. I figure if anyone would be able to protect Harry it would be you. Petunia told me you were with the one who killed the Potters' but I figured if this Dumbledore couldn't protect the Potters and is willing to allow a boy to be abused as well as keeping Harry ignorant of his world then Dumbledore shouldn't have anything to do with Harry. I don't care what anyone says any man who is willing to leave that type of letter is giving permission for abuse to happen."
Severus reread the letter and thought about the last eight months. It was almost the end of June and Harry would be two soon. "What do you have in mind?"
"In my car are the trunks that belonged to James and Lily. They got left at our house about a week after we got Harry. We were told the trunks were all that was left. I don't believe that as James and Lily mentioned that James didn't have to work. I heard about it from Petunia as she went off on another tirade that night about how Lily had such an easy life. I opened the trunks and found all kinds of books, pieces of parchment, and other things that were their personal items like photos. I have been reading those books and I found something I believe we can use."
Severus grinned, he understood what the man was speaking about. "How soon can you bring Harry to me?"
"Tomorrow." Vernon wanted to bring the boy sooner but he had a lot of things he needed to arrange first..
"I will get everything on the magical end, can you take care of the muggle side?" Severus asked.
"Already have. When I went to the barrister a few months ago, I had him draw up adoption papers for Harry, I had him leave the name blank. I knew you taught at Hogwarts and I didn't know where it was." Vernon looked at his watch. "Since tomorrow is Saturday I can bring Harry here by noon. I took the afternoon off of work to come and speak to you."
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Severus opened the door before Vernon could knock. He was carrying a sleeping Harry in his arms. "He fell asleep as soon as I got him into the car. He doesn't have much." Vernon laid Harry down on the couch. "I was able to feed him some breakfast before I left."
"I pick up some food that I believe is suitable for him. I also set up a room for him, a temporary one as I believe I will be moving to a safer place." Severus had spent the remaining day and night getting everything ready. He even set up an appointment for them at Gringotts. Severus looked down at Harry. He looked so much smaller than Draco and Draco was a month older. "I can fix the damage she did to his body."
"I read about what your potions could do." Vernon looked down at Harry. "She turned my son into the exact opposite. I am going to have to put him on a diet." He caressed Harry's head. "I am not sure what name he will get at your bank but I signed the adoption papers and Lily mentioned blood adoption potions providing a new name based on the parents. I am not sure if I got it exactly correct but I am assuming that it will cover who he is and you will be able to protect him, completely." He knew he sounded tired and he was. He was just thankful that Harry and his son were now protected.
Severus sat down and sighed. He was still trying to process what Dumbledore had done. Dumbledore had been telling everyone how loved he was, how safe he was, how he was going to get special training. It was all a lie. He looked over to Vernon. "Let me explain what will happen concerning the blood adoption. Last night I brewed the potion required. I will add my blood into the potion I made last night, Harry will have to willingly drink it. Once he has swallowed it, magic bonds my blood to his genetic make-up, giving him my family's attributes, he will still be a Potter and Evans but he will now be a Snape and Prince. He will be my son, in all ways, not just in name."
Vernon smiled. He got Harry away from his soon to be ex-wife and the old coot. "So Dumbledore won't be able to take him away?" He liked this idea. He didn't like that sly old coot. He didn't when he first met him and leaving Harry behind on a doorstep didn't endear the man to him.
"No, and after it's done I am going to speak to a few of my powerful friends as added protection for him." Lucius hated Dumbledore and would aid him. The man would love a chance to go after Dumbledore and he wanted a piece of the man himself.
Vernon pulled out the paperwork. "I had her sign too. I told her she signed or she wouldn't get to see Dudley. I gave her the divorce papers last night too. My barrister says the papers will just need to be filed. It will be a closed adoption so Dumbledore won't be able to find out. I already paid for the fee."
"I have an appointment to take care of the magical side this afternoon. I made a promise to protect Harry and I will."
"Thank you. I will be at my sister's this weekend, I will leave you my contact information. I gave Petunia this weekend to move out of the house. I am not sure if that will buy you time to get everything done. I am not sure how long those wards will remain up. There wasn't a lot of information about wards in their information."
"I am not sure since I haven't seen them but the weekend will be enough time to get everything set up. All Dumbledore ever said is that they were based on Lily's blood."
"Crazy old coot." Severus thought Vernon's words summed up Dumbledore really well.