Chapter 2
Snape’s glare was as sharp as ever as he folded his arms, his dark robes billowing slightly as he turned toward Harry. "Stay here, Potter. I will return in an hour."
Harry nodded wordlessly, eyes fixed on the floor.
Snape’s fingers twitched in irritation. "I said, stay here. I will be informing the Headmaster of your idiocy.. and of your relative's failure to act like responsible guardians." His voice was cold and clipped, filled with barely concealed annoyance.
Again, Harry only nodded.
Snape's patience snapped. "For Merlin’s sake, must you always be this insufferable?"
Harry finally glanced up, startled by the sharpness in Snape’s tone. He hadn’t meant to annoy him. His mind was simply too occupied. still stuck on the memory of what had happened at the park.
Snape had seen him. Playing.
Heat crept up Harry’s neck again, his face burning with humiliation. How could he have been so careless? He had been rolling in the grass like a little kid, swinging on the playground, sliding down the hill, and Snape had seen all of it.
"Pathetic." Snape had called him. And Harry felt like he had never been more pathetic in his life.
He barely noticed when Snape swept toward the door, muttering something under his breath before disappearing with a sharp crack.
Now alone, Harry sat stiffly on the couch, hands curled into fists against his lap. But he wasn’t thinking about being left alone in the house. He wasn’t even worried about what Dumbledore might say.
All he could think about was the park.
He groaned and buried his burning face in his hands.
Why did Snape have to see that?
Meanwhile, Snape arrived at Hogwarts, already irritated beyond reason. Storming through the castle, he made his way straight to the Headmaster’s office, ready to report the absolute incompetence of Harry Potter’s so called family.
Snape stormed into Dumbledore’s office, his black robes flaring behind him like a furious shadow. His patience, already thin, had worn itself to the breaking point.
"Headmaster," he snapped, barely waiting for the enchanted staircase to finish moving. "Potter’s Muggle relatives have vanished—left the boy alone for Merlin knows how long!"
To Snape’s utter disbelief, Dumbledore chuckled.
"Ah, Severus~" the old man said, eyes twinkling as he folded his hands together. "I trust you found Harry in good health?"
Snape’s expression darkened. "You’re laughing?" he repeated incredulously. "That insufferable brat has been abandoned, unsupervised, outside of the protection you set up, and you laugh?"
Dumbledore merely smiled. "You worry too much, my boy."
Snape's hands clenched into fists. Too much? Too much? Was this man truly this insufferable?
"You sent me to watch him." snape seethed, "not raise him!"
"Ah, yes. And now, I must ask you to do a bit more than watch." Dumbledore’s eyes twinkled mischievously. "You’ll be looking after Harry until his family returns."
Snape felt something inside him snap.
"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" he bellowed, his voice echoing through the office. "Do you honestly expect me to allow that insufferable, arrogant, reckless—*"
Dumbledore hummed, pretending to inspect one of his silver trinkets. "You fret too much, Severus."
"DO NOT IGNORE ME!" Snape roared.
Dumbledore turned back to him with an amused smile. "Severus, my dear boy, you’re being dramatic."
"Dramatic?" Snape repeated, nearly shaking in rage. "Do you expect me to allow that idiotic child even a step into my house?!"
Dumbledore chuckled. "Oh, my dear Severus, you really do worry too much."
Snape opened his mouth to argue, only to realize that arguing with Dumbledore was like arguing with a brick wall. a brick wall that enjoyed playing games and giving vague, infuriating responses.
He gritted his teeth. "What about the Weasleys? Surely the blood wards—"
"The Weasleys' home is being watched."
"Lupin, then! That mangy wolf would be delighted to—"
"Remus is in no position to care for a child at the moment."
"Anyone else?" Snape snapped. "Literally anyone other than me?"
Dumbledore’s smile never wavered. "Severus, I trust you will do the right thing."
Snape stared at him, beyond irritated. "You baby him too much, old man," he muttered.
Dumbledore merely chuckled again.
Snape gritted his teeth so hard he thought they might break. But no matter how much he refused, how much he argued, how much he yelled, Dumbledore remained as infuriatingly calm as ever.
And so, in the end, he lost.
With a furious swirl of his robes, Snape stalked out of the office, cursing Potter, Dumbledore, and the entire bloody universe under his breath.
He had a brat to retrieve.