During Harry’s third year after he’s blown up his aunt and he had been in Daigon for about a week, he decides to take a walk around muggle London, to try and get the “teenage experience” as adults call it. The Dursleys dropped Dudley and his friends off at London a couple times a year with some “pocket money” to have fun. Harry decides to try it out but after a bit of walking around he realises he’s most definitely ended up in some druggie area. He saw people peering at him from alleys and some had grabbed him to ask if he had the “good stuff”. He gets out of the area only to realise someone is definitely following him.
He had heard of this a couple times from some warning commercials on the telly and even Aunt Petunia had warned Dudley before he left for London to watch out for “Pee-doe-files” After hearing of it enough times anyone could understand what they are. Aunt Petunia always told Dudley if he was being followed to find a “Safe Adult” that he knew or a person who looks like they have a bike, because if he couldn’t find someone safe then find someone to scare them away.
Harry knew he didn’t know anyone in Muggle London, so he started scanning the crowd for a “Biker” as Aunt Petunia says. His eyes landed on a person who was wearing a leather jacket with a Skull and Roses stitched into the back. They were wearing those cool joggers with pockets down the sides and some leathery black boots. Harry looked behind him and back at the person trying to make a quick decision. When the “pee-doe-file” started inching closer as the crowd thinned out, Harry made the quick decision.
He ran through the crowd, zigging and zagging through people as quickly as he could. He was sure he heard some cursing him out but he didn’t care. He finally reached the person and ducked around them using the adult as a shield. But in his haste got too close and bumped into them knocking them slightly back.
“Sorry,” Harry whispered, “I need to hide, please help me” He ducked his head out to see the man still pursuing him through the crowd. He snapped his head back behind the person.
“Mr. Potter.” Harry couldn’t help but flinch back. He knew that voice, he hoped he was mistaken and it was just someone who had a voice similar. He looked up at the man, but alas it was him. Professor Snape, his potions professor who seems to hate him for no reason at all. “Why exactly are you using me as a human shield?” Snape’s eyebrow quirked at his inquiry. “Are you and your friends playing hide and seek? I refuse to take part in such a childish game”
Harry opened his mouth but before Harry even got a chance to speak the assailant tapped Snape on the arm. Snape turned around and shoved Harry a bit to the side. ‘Rude’ Harry thought but turned his attention to the two adults.
“Have you seen a boy?” The assailant croaked, sounding like he smoked a pack a day for the last 20 years. Harry’s nose scrunched at his odor. Snape's face seemed to do the same, whether it was because of the odor or the situation, Harry didn’t know. The assailant continued, “He's about yeay high-” He gestured to his side to try and convey Harry’s height, “Brown hair?”
Snape looked behind him at Harry and seemed to consider giving him over. He clearly made a decision when he snatched Harry's upper arm and pulled him out from behind him. Harry immediately regretted this entire day, clearly nothing goes right for the boy-who-lived.
“This him?” Snape asked the man and didn’t let go of Harry’s upper arm. Harry clawed at the man's hand drawing the tiniest bit of blood with his nails. When that didn’t work he considered biting the man, that worked with most of his neighbors when he was little.
“Ah yes! Thanks for finding him! You know kids these days can’t stay with their parents for a second!” The man said, reaching for him. But Snape didn’t hand him over, instead he jerked him back behind him. Harry stopped struggling at that point, instead now wondering what the man was doing.
“Strange,” Snape drawled, “the fact that your son-” He gestured to him, “-seems so intent on running away from you.” Snape’s voice was dripping with sarcasm as he eyed the assailant. “Tell me do you know his name? How about his birthday? As a parent you should know these things, just precaution you know.”
As Snape kept questioning the man he seemed to grow more mad. The assailant's hands seemed to twitch while raising and lowering, as if he were debating if he could just snatch him and run.
“Hahaha,” the man chuckled, “You know kids right? Well I have so many, they all just get mixed up in my head! Lemme think.” The man seemed to be trying to think of a convincing name, but was clearly thinking of ways to get to Harry. He looked up and had clearly decided on a name because he announced it.
“Toby! Come on Toby let's go home! You promised to play monopoly with your Sister, Elanor, tonight!” Harry sneered at the man with hopefully enough vitriol that even Snape would be impressed. Harry was snapped out of his glaring when a hearty laugh came from the man who he was sure could not laugh. Snape composed himself quickly and glared at the man with his eyes but smiled sinisterly with his mouth.
“Well if you're truly going to try and steal my son then you’ll need to try better than that.” Snape said as if it were matter-of-fact. Harry’s head snapped towards the man so fast that he made himself slightly dizzy. Both Harry and the assailant’s faces matched with utter confusion and stunned looks. Before the assailant could say anything Snape grabbed his arm again leading him away saying, “Let's go son”
“Your son? NO, you're clearly lying! Give him to me!” The assailant screeched and leaped at Snape, who pushed Harry away in time so only Snape went down with the force of the man's charge. Snape rolled with the inertia and landed in a pose similar to Spider-Man. The man got up as fast as he fell though. Snape smirked and pushed the man away with enough force to land him on his back, his head hit the concrete hard enough that Harry was sure that he’d have a concussion.
“He may not be my son,” Snape said wiping some blood from his nose, “but he sure as hell isn’t yours fucker.” Had this been not a jarring situation he might have started laughing at the fact that his teacher was cursing at a man.
Snape grabbed Harry’s lower arm this time and led him down the street and down a couple alleys. Harry was only a third sure that Snape wasn’t going to kill him. Before that spectacle he would have been a hundred percent sure that Snape would have killed him by now. But now, Harry wasn’t sure.
After a couple more streets and alleys they emerged on a street Harry recognized as the street that the Leaky Cauldron was on. Snape let go of Harry’s arm but kept walking, tucking his now free hands into his jacket's pockets. Harry had to jog to keep up with the man.
Not even five minutes later they were standing in the Leaky Cauldron. Snape whirled around to face Harry once they were in the back where no one could see them.
“What exactly were you doing in muggle London alone?!” The man hissed and paced back and forth. “Clearly any brain space in that skull of yours is filled with air! I’ve never seen anything so stupid in my life! Even the purebloods know to stay away from that area of town!” Snape stopped in front of him, hand dragging down his face.
“I’m sorry-” Harry began but didn’t get to finish when Snape interrupted him.
“I would hope you would be! What would have happened had I not been there? You would have been abducted or worse!” Snape snarled getting closer to his face, a similar action that Uncle Vernon would do often.
“I know,” Harry replied, knowing that there was no reasoning with adults that are this angry. He bowed his head so he didn’t have to look at the man who would soon be giving his punishment.
He knew Dumbledore probably wouldn’t condone whatever punishment he got, but this wasn’t school, this was the real world. Where punishments are harsh and hurt much more than being sore from detention.
A sigh was heard from the man which made his head snap up in confusion. He eyed the now calm man, who was angry not even a second ago. This was weird, adults never just let go. They have to get their anger out somewhere right? That's why the punishment is correct, because he deserves it and it allows the adult to not be angry anymore. So why was the man calm now?
“Just go up to your room Potter.” He waves his hand in a ‘shoo’ motion. “I will be telling Dumbledore of your excursion. I hope you have learned your lesson and will stay in the safe parts of London.” Snape turned on a heel and started walking off. But before he could walk out the door Harry yelled,
“Professor Snape!” The man turned around with an eyebrow quirked, as if saying ‘what now’?
“Thank you for saving me!” Harry called out. Snapes face contorted in confusion before shaking his head and calling out as he left,
“Whatever Brat”