#the dursleys are abusive

[weird-obsessed-girl]

Harry dealing with abuse trauma/people finding out about Dursley’s treatment

Ok so I didn’t know exactly how to word this particular genre of Harry Potter fanfiction, but I have been reading some fanfics where either the teachers, Sirius or the golden trio find out that Harry has been abused by the Dursley’s and how Harry deals or heals from that trauma. #cupboardreveal

so therefore below is a list of fanfics that deal with this topic, this is pretty obvious but TW for child abuse, some of these I haven’t read yet so i don’t think any of them feature active abuse, more so past abuse.

All of these will be angst but many with a hopeful/happy ending. Organised by word count. If you would like some fic recs that don’t focus on Harrys abuse here’s the link to my master list Harry Potter Fic Rec (mostly Drarry)

How Each Weasley Found Out About The Dursleys - burnthebodiesandbedonewithit

What it says on the tin, Harry/Ginny (very light tho), protective Weasleys | G | 1k

Food For Thought - LoveHP

Snape notices some things throughout the years, have not read yet so IDK | T | 1.2k

Bottle It Up - mallfacee

Disabled Harry, Severitus, hurt/comfort, hiding medical issues, apart of a series | T | 2.1k

Aftermath - CreateImagineWrite

Post-final battle, Harry is dealing with trauma, Ron helps him and finds out, Trigger Warning for food issues and trauma responses | G | 3.1k

Disguised as something else - aloneintherain

Everybody lives, au war ends early, Wolfstar custody of Harry, hurt/comfort, THIS IS SO GOOD #cupboard reveal | T | 3.1k

Muggle Management - LadyWinterlight, NerdyKat

Hermione recognises the signs of abuse, part of a series, Hermione finessing the muggle system | G | 3.4K

Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell - IamShadow21

Not focused on past abuse but is mentioned, Ron and Harry friendship through the years | T | 3.7K

The Cupboard - GreenEyesGreySkies

Drarry, panic attack, harmless prank that turns out to not be so | T | 4K

Bruised Hearts and Painted Skin - mikimouze16

Lupin, McGonagall and Snape find out, therapy, depression | G | 4.4K

Cascade - taradiane

Drarry, post-Hogwarts, Harry has nightmares, discussion about the Dursleys | PG | 4.7k

Claustrophobic- Annie1025

Summer at Spinner’s End, sevitus, 5th year, hurt/comfort, panic attacks | T | 4.8k

Where the Sunbeams Start - zedpm

Sirius/Severus, Soulmate au which leads to Severus getting Sirius freed, then they adopt Harry! T | 7.1k

Locked Cupboards - Lomonaaeren

Redemption, Draco is assigned to guard Dudley, Dudley talks about their childhood | T | 7.2k

Darker Than You Think - Lomonaaeren

Drarry, Draco is very much a psycho, bent on revenge, dubious consent | M (definitely should be E) | 7.8k

Fac Mihi Viam - MistressKat

Canon divergence, Harry stays at Grimmauld Plac, abuse not necessarily discussed but implied, Wolfstar | T | 7.9k

The Uncle - copprbadge

Wolfstar, gangsters au, Remus saves Harry from Dursley’s | T | 7.9k

Tugging Sleeves - Windschild178

Harry isn’t responding to Rons letters, POV Ron, Ron to the rescue | G | 8.1k

Harry Potter And The Summer At Grimmauld Place - Silver_Queen_DoS

What it says on the tin, Sirius is free, home renovation, book 3 | G | 8.6k

Listen - Marchling

Need to sign into Ao3, Sirius spies on Dursleys, hurt/comfort, misunderstandings, reconciliation | T | 10.9k

Finite Incantatem - skullcandy11

Rogue spell hits Harry and reveals some truths, manipulative Dumbledore, Harry joins the dark side | T | 12.3k currently, ongoing

Scars - pheonixgirl26

Some Gryffindor’s see some of Harry’s scar, and decide to help | M | 12.5k

Timeshare - astolat

Honestly i have not read this yet but it looks promising, Harry is spending summer at the Dursleys and then the Malfoy’s | M | 14.1k

Seven Plus One - ABlackRaven

Sirius adopts Harry, 7 times Sirius is called uncle and 1 time he’s called dad, Peter caught, hurt/comfort | T | 15.4K

What’s Left Unsaid - angel74

Post-Order of the Phoenix, Hermione and Ron look into Harry’s life at the Dursley’s, angst, hurt/comfort | T | 16.1k

A Hero - Celebony

Dudley begins to see his family in a different light | T | 18.1k

The Lioness - Aya_Diefair

Molly becomes suspicious of Harry’s relatives, she visits them, BAMF Molly, Sirius is freed | G | 18.3k

That’s Your Punishment? - slytherclaw7

Molly actually asks Harry questions, this is definitely a fix-it fic, Sirius is freed, Peter is caught, Dumbledore bashing, Tonks family taking Harry in | IDK how fanfiction.net ratings work | 19k

Pinky Promise - etymolodrarry, huffinglepuff

Remus is observant, angst with happy ending, Dumbledore bashing, implied self harm, Wolfstar | T | 19.5k

Listen Now - mrsfizzle

Harry confides in Remus, hurt/comfort, Wolfstar adopts Harry, moving into Grimmauld | G | 21.2k

Conquering the Dark - noeon (noe)

Healer!Harry and neuromagic!Draco, both work together, unearths trauma | E | 23.7k

The Chamber of Secrets and Half the Adults are Idiots - Des98

Apart of a series, Drarry, Harry recognises Lucius’ treatment of Draco, fix-it, inter-house friendships | M | 42.8k

The Article - LeeASherlook

outed by the Daily Prophet (not in the gay sense), 6th year, Drarry friendship | T | 43k ongoing

Burnt - lastcrazyhorn

Disabled Harry, Slytherin!Harry, have not read so refer to tags | T | 104.9k

Memories and Dreams - paganaidd

Series, one part Dudley’s POV | T | 140.3k

Malfoy Family Values - belana, Merry1978

This only really mentions Harry’s mistreatment but i thought it is an interesting fic to possibly explore, Malfoys adopt little Harry | G | 141.7k

Stronger At the Broken Places - enigmaticblue

More so focus’ on Sirius’ trauma, but it’s a whole Wolfstar family affair | T | 174.9k

Digging for the Bones - paganaidd

Hogwarts starts screening students for abuse, Snape conducts Harry’s screening, Snape is Harry’s bio dad, Severitus | M | 212.2k

The secret language of plants - Endrina

Severus/Remus, Sev rescues toddler Harry, this is a series of Severus/Remus being Harry’s parents, pre-Hogwarts to post, future Drarry | rating varies | 373k

Innocent - MarauderLover7

Ok so this does not focus on Harry’s abuse but Sirius gets freed and raises Harry when he’s 8 | M | 487.5k

A Year Like None Other - aspeninthesunlight

Disability, slightly Severitus, 6th year, canon divergence, Snape forces Harry to read letter from Dursleys | T | 789.5k

[pleeborp]

Guys I’m actually crying right now I’m so sad all the time over how Harry’s abuse is never addressed

He was ABUSED guys and NOBODY ever talked about it

And can you just imagine Harry James Potter waking up that first Christmas expecting nothing and then Ron Weasley his FIRST friend telling him he has PRESENTS. The joy the shock that boy must have felt. But can you imagine for a split second he doesn’t believe him. Can you imagine for one second that Harry thought Ron, his first friend, could be playing a cruel trick on him. You think Dudley never pulled that shit on him? You think he was never given false hope that he had presents before?

Or how about the fact that Harry probably woke up every morning for what was probably his first four months at Hogwarts at least, panicked and rushed to get up to make breakfast for the Dursley’s only to realize he didn’t have to. Can you imagine the relief? The weight off his shoulders. Or even worse can you imagine the guilt he felt? He had been raised to cook for them every morning and you think it wasn’t deeply engraved in his mind that in order to feel some sort of acceptance without doing something for others? You think he didn’t try to do things for his friends those first months at Hogwarts, believing it to be the only way he’d be accepted?

Think even harder about how as the years went on and as he did more things for people it seemingly fed into those beliefs? How every time he saved someone, every time he did something for the school, everyone loved him for it? How Hogwarts was his safe haven, but even then they always expected something from him in return. And when they hated him, and he did something else to save them, suddenly they loved him again. You think he didn’t solidify in his poor, hurt mind that in order him for him to be accepted he had to do these things for the people around him?

Or even the betrayal he MUST have felt when he learned all of this was PLANNED. That he was raised and built and forged to be nothing else other than a hero for a society that always expected that from him.

That despite the fact that he escaped the Dursley’s, he would never be without expectations and responsibilities shoved into him from those around him.

Guys I’m so upset I just want to hold him. He deserved a loving, supportive home, where he should have had no expectations other than to be a child and to be loved. This is secretly a PSA that I fucking hate Albus Dumbledore for the pressure and the manipulation he put on Harry.

Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.

Also FUCK Jk Rowling

[aeligsido]

I wonder sometimes if Petunia ever had the chance to mourn her sister.

Like, not only did she learn of her death in a letter of all things, it was probably more of a footnote to the whole "btw here's your nephew if you don't raise him he'll die" situation.

So here she was, alone with two babies, one of which was just recently and severely traumatized, with probably so many emotions she didn't let herself feel because she didn't have that luxury. Also I doubt Vernon would have helped a lot in that regard, considering just how he was in general in the books.

So. When did she have the time to grieve Lily, in all of this?

[severussnapemylove]

Moments in Harry Potter that hit right in my heart. In Prisoner of Azkaban, when Severus has his wand against Sirius's neck and says "Do I detect a flicker of fear?"

That moment, when he finally got the upper hand against one of his abusers and said *It's your turn to be afraid*

Can't help but see a parallel to the start of the story when Harry aims his wand at Vernon and says "Try me."

These two moments, facing off against your abuser and taking the upper hand, these two moments here.

[sybill-the-seer]

Young ~3-y/o Harry following Petunia around the house while she does chores. Young Harry holding onto Petunia’s skirt and sucking his thumb while she does the dishes. Young Harry playing quietly in the grass near Petunia while she weeds the garden. Young Harry just wanting to be WITH someone at all times. Young Harry trotting along after Petunia all day being her little shadow until her patience wears thin and she sends him to his cupboard. Young Harry being a clingy child who desperately needs affection but never gets it.

[celestialseawitch-ff]

Under the Moon

Harry tugged on the thick iron cuff around his ankle. 

“Come on. Come on. Come on.”

It was getting darker in the forest now. The moon would be out soon.

Of all the ways to go, massacred by Fenrir Greyback hadn't really been on the list. Dementors had been higher up on the list. Actually, Seamus’ explosive magic during transfiguration class was higher than the famous werewolf.

Fenrir Greyback was a ghost story. He was the boogeyman under Remus Lupin's bed. He wasn’t supposed to be an actual threat to Harry. That honour was still tightly held by Voldemort.

Harry closed his eyes and sighed. 

The Death Eaters had come out of nowhere while he was at the park. He spent most of his summer there before being forced to return to the Dursleys. When he was younger, lingering around the house meant he'd get locked up under the stairs or forced to do labour. Now that he was older, loitering tended to get him beat with a belt. He could still feel the lashings healing on his back from his uncle's latest temper tantrum.

The Death Eaters pounced before Harry even knew they were there. One moment he was sitting alone in a park and the next thing he knew, he was wandless and unconscious on the floor of an unknown forest. 

Voldemort stayed only long enough to gloat.

“I want you to suffer,” he told Harry. “The way you have made me suffer for years.”

“Fuck you, Riddle,” Harry spat back.

Voldemort smiled coldly. “Let's see how much fight you have left in you when Greyback is done with you.”

Harry's eyes widened.

Voldemort's smile widened. “Oh yes,” he seethed as he bent down so they were eyelevel. “You've heard the stories, I'm sure. More wolf than man. Our furry cannibal is going to eat you piece by piece. He's special among wolves. He retains his human mentality and control without the Wolfsbane potion. He's assured me he'll make it a long, horrible process. You will live until just before dawn breaks. And then,” he clenched his fingers into a fist and Harry flinched, “he'll eat your heart out.”

“I thought you wanted to kill me.”

“My mind has finally settled since the restoration potion. The prophecy will shatter once you die. That's all that matters. Then the only one who can stop me is Dumbledore and he will be dead by the end of the year.”

“You can't beat the Headmaster.”

“I already have. He fell for a dark curse I cast as a young boy. It's poetic really. He was always so terrified of me as a boy. Now my youth will be his death.”

“Just let me go,” Harry pleaded quietly.

“You're the final piece, Harry. But how about this. If the prophecy is destroyed before you die, I'll let you live.”

“The prophecy was shattered during the battle.”

“Oh? Well, I suppose you'll die then.”

The Dark Lord stood and strode away. Harry closed his eyes and bit his tongue on the desperate pleas that bubbled up inside of him. They would fall on deaf ears. Voldemort had no pity. 

The air cracked with magic as he disapparated and Harry was alone.

He opened his eyes and glared at the metal cuff on his ankle. His skin was raw underneath and starting to bleed. His fingers had begun bleeding from tugging at the rough metal ages ago. Tears stained his cheeks.

He had never felt so hopeless. 

“Please,” he cried. 

His eyes fell shut and he prayed to every god and deity he could think of. The Weasleys worshipped a goddess, he knew. He thought it was a prank at first, but Hermione had looked unsurprised and curious at the revelation. He knew she'd read up on it. He wished he had too. 

“Please,” he begged into the forest as night began to fall. “Please. Please. I don't want to die.”

Not like this, came the unbidden thought. Because of course he was going to die. Probably soon. Probably painfully.

But not like this.

[sk1fanfiction]

on dursley revisionism

Random people with wrong opinions: "Harry wasn't abused by the Dursleys" (bonus points for 'just neglected', which is a type of child abuse btw or 'that's all fanon')

Things that the Dursleys canonically did that are abuse just off the top of my head:

Swung a frying pan at his head (at the age of 12)

Grabbed him by the neck and basically tried to strangle him (even light pressure to the neck can cause internal damage)

Starved him

Verbally abused him

Locked him alone in a small cramped space as punishment (which can cause permanent psychological damage btw, and that's in adults. It is literally a type of torture.)

Made him sleep in that same small cramped unhealthy space when they had an extra bedroom

Encouraged their son to bully him and beat him up

Left him to be possibly attacked by a vicious dog

Bonus: Hid the evidence of his existence to outsiders and didn't speak about him to others (a typical thing for abusers to do)

And more. That boy is unrealistically well-adjusted.

I know the shitty guardian trope is so common in British children's lit (think Roald Dahl) that it became normalized, but it's not. It's abuse. I am worried for the children in your lives tbh.

[seaskate]

Do you think Harry - small and not knowing any better - ever called Petunia mom? Do you think that they were in the kitchen and he was ‘helping her’ with the cooking, as he had thought of it at the time (not just being used to do the smaller tasks because he couldn’t reach the stove yet to do so, even though everyone else in his class can because they all get fed enough to grow as they should) and she told him to grab something and he said, “Okay, mommy,” just like how Dudley called her? Do you think that she swung the frying pan at his head? Do you think that this is how he learned to expect her to do that and learned to duck under it?

(Do you think that the first time it actually hit?)

[harryjpotter-shitpost]

I can give Dudley the redemption arch because he was a child following after his parents (very abusive behaviors) but people are really defending Petunia and Vernon???? What the fuck?? Like it pretty much says in the first sentence of the whole series that they’re assholes! And it is canon that both Vernon AND Petunia were physically, emotionally, and mentally abusive to Harry until the last moment he left private drive.

The only reason I can give Dudley any kind of redemption or forgiveness is because we see him change in the books after the Dementor attack. I don’t think he and Harry will ever be close or very friendly, but I can see them having a civil relationship at least for their children. Or even just to make up for their shitty childhood that they shared together, as Dudley was also abused too. But this would definitely be after years of therapy and trying to make amends, it wouldn’t happen until many years after the war was over.

You would be surprised on how many posts I’ve crossed where people almost worship Petunia and say that Vernon is the one who forced her to hate her sister!!!

I believe that Dudley deserves redemption cause as you said he was a young person living in a very toxic environment. However, I’m always rather conflicted on how his relationship with Harry is post-war. I’ve read a few fics that had different perspectives on what their relationship have come to, and they’re all very interesting! But I’m not set out on one opinion. Sometimes I think Harry would try to leave it all behind him, but sometimes I think that maybe they’d reconnect as Dudley was obviously a very huge part of Harry’s life (even though it was horrendous) and the same goes the other direction. But I’m sure of one thing; I don’t think they’ll ever have a “close brotherhood” kind of relationship. Maybe sending presents over the holidays or reconnecting every few years, but never close, yk?

But anyways let me get back to my rant about Petunia. It’ll be under the cut :)

CW: mentions of abuse

Let’s get one thing straight: Vernon did not make her hate Harry nor was he pulling the strings in that house and the abuse regarding his nephew. It was Petunia. She collected ALL the hatred in that house and made sure it was taken out on Harry. Why? Because she’s a petty, small-minded and disgusting woman who abused the power she had over a child. All that to let out some of the childish jealousy she had against her DEAD little sister.

Here are some quotes from the books to use as a starting point:

“Mrs. Dursley pretended she didn’t have a sister,”

“They didn’t want Dudley mixing with a child [Harry] like that.”

“she [Petunia] always got so upset at any mention of her sister.”

"He [Vernon] cleared his throat nervously. ‘Er — Petunia, dear — you haven’t heard from your sister lately, have you?’ As he had expected, Mrs. Dursley looked shocked and angry. After all, they normally pretended she didn’t have a sister. ‘No,’ she said sharply.”

“Mr. Dursley wondered whether he dared tell her he’d heard the name ‘Potter.’ He decided he didn’t dare.”

“‘Harry’ [Said Petunia]. ‘Nasty, common name, if you ask me.’”

So these quotes are from the first chapter of the first book (Philosopher’s Stone).

As you can see, pretending the Potters don’t exist is a mutual decision from both sides and it seems that Petunia is more bothered by the mention of her sister than Vernon is because when he tries to bring up the Potters his main concern is upsetting Petunia. Never once does he mention his own disgust with them when trying to bring them up. No, it’s Petunia’s reaction he’s worried about. This doesn’t seem like a behavior of someone who is forcing his wife to hate her sister.

If anything it seems to me that Petunia have explained to her husband how much she dislikes the mention of her sister (and her sister’s entire family too) and so Vernon got the memo that the Potters should never be brought up. Which shows that Petunia is the one who fuels the hatred for the Potters in their household.

Now I’m not saying that Vernon is completely innocent, no he’s hates the Potters too. But his is more personal. After the whole double date incident when he felt that James was taking the mickey out of him and undermining his power. A bully like Vernon who likes to show off his money and power being insulted by a teenager made Vernon hate James’ guts.

“…James was amused by Vernon, and made the mistake of showing it. Vernon tried to patronise James, asking what car he drove.”

“Vernon could not tell whether he was being made fun of or not, and grew angry. The evening ended with Vernon and Petunia storming out of the restaurant.” -Pottermore

And I think that Vernon usually likes to pretend that the people he hates don’t exist, he’s way to high to be bothered by a cocky teenager who ‘doesn’t have a future’. He feels way too superior. During his wedding he made sure not to give James any attention, but made sure to return the humiliation he felt during the double date.

“Vernon refused to speak to James at the reception, but described him, within James’ earshot, as ‘some kind of amateur magician’.” -Pottermore

After Vernon obviously felt satisfied with his comeback, he never gives James a glance.

That’s why when mentioning the Potters he doesn’t even mention the double date incident because technically who’s that James next to him?? No, his wife’s reaction is the main concern.

And that’s the difference between the hate Vernon has towards the Potters and Petunia’s hatred. Whereas Vernon hates James specifically for undermining him and his money and power, Petunia hates them all because she ‘knows’ she’s less superior and special. This fuels her jealousy and anger towards them.

Therefore; Vernon’s ultimate superiority and Petunia’s ultimate loathing.

And you can see that Petunia already has it out for Harry even though she hasn’t met him yet; calling his name “Nasty”. Now I know some of you might interpret her sentence as Petunia criticizing her sister’s choice of names, but if that was the case she would’ve claimed the boy’s misfortune of having such a name or the kid’s misfortune on having parents like the Potters. But no, she mainly focused on the child. Which gives the impression that she’s disliked Harry the moment she knew about him.

“she [Petunia] received from Lily and James the announcement of Harry’s birth, and after one contemptuous look, Petunia threw it in the bin.” -Pottermore

These things sets the foundations for her dislike towards Harry. So when the moment comes where she actually meets him, he will be connected to the ‘detestable’ announcement and the ‘nasty’ name.

Then the times comes where she has to handle that child’s responsibilities and raise him.

And she did take him in, no one’s denying that, but this happened:

“She did it grudgingly, and spent the rest of Harry’s childhood punishing him for her own choice.” -Pottermore

She spent the rest of Harry’s childhood punishing him for her own choice.

She took him in. She hated every single moment of having to raise him. So she made sure he was punished for it.

If that is not abuse as some people like to say, then what is exactly???? Punishing an innocent child for taking him in? Are you guys serious?

That’s why her character disgusts me so much. I cannot stand her at all. Because if anything this is a psycho level of behavior. A sane person wouldn’t dream of hurting a small animal let alone a child. Her nephew.

And as for Vernon’s hatred towards Harry it stems out of the humiliation he felt when he met James. The fact that Vernon made sure to return that humiliation during the wedding satisfied Vernon and he didn’t have to think about James anymore. But Harry ( the carbon copy of James) serves as a constant reminder of that feeling, so his hatred towards Harry stems out from his injured masculinity. As Pottermore says:

“Uncle Vernon’s dislike of Harry stems in part, like Severus Snape’s, from Harry’s close resemblance to the father they both so disliked.”

So ya this is my rant about them. Sorry if this is all over the place, English isn’t my first language and this topic pisses me off so much🙂.

And I’d like to conclude that I hate them both, but hate Petunia at tad bit more :)

[beans-core]

At the age of six, Harry first finds himself thinking of God. It’s hard not to when the Dursleys go to worship Him in church around a few different holidays.

Every time they do, Harry stays locked in his cupboard until they get back to the house. He wonders, is God real? What does he teach? What has he done to make so many people love him?

Hopefully God can help Harry be less freakish. It’s only happened once or twice— whatever it actually was, he wasn’t sure, but the Dursleys hated it— and those few times got him the most harsh punishments he’d ever received. It’s easy to say that he has some motivation for what he does next.

He tries to nick Aunt Petunia’s Bible so he can read it that evening and discover more, but she catches him. She slaps him so hard it feels bruised, her manicured nails leaving a few scratches in its wake. She screams and screams at Harry for daring to touch The Holy Book until his ears are ringing and he’s left with a pounding headache alongside the scrapes on his cheek. Despite knowing how to hold back his tears, they brim his eyes anyway because he knows he deserves it this time.

That night, curled up on his tiny cot, Harry thinks maybe he doesn’t want to know much more if people like the Dursleys love God. If God loves the Dursleys back.

At age 8, he’s pretty sure that God is not real. Harry’s heard more about his ideals now, and what he is supposed to stand for.

Why would he stand for this? Harry thinks it as he is locked in his cupboard once again. It is the third day in a row without food. If God was real, would he really let this happen? Harry had done something freakish again, though now he could barely remember what it was. He didn’t even know he’d done anything until it was too late to beg for forgiveness— not that ‘sorry’ was ever enough for his Uncle and Aunt.

Harry didn’t do bad things on purpose. Surely he was still good enough to help— and wasn’t God supposed to help? Save those that need saving?

“I need saving,” Harry whispers to himself in the darkness, clutching his stomach through hunger pangs. He wants to yell it, shout so loud that the Dursleys and the neighbors and the whole entire world hears him, so loud that God hears and he comes to rescue Harry. But supposedly he doesn’t need to scream for God to hear him. God should be able to hear his pleas even as the hoarse whisper it comes out as.

And that settles it, really. God can’t be real, because if he was, surely Harry wouldn’t still be here.

(It angers him, but he can’t stop himself from praying. He copies what he sees Petunia do and does the same, prays desperately for the savior he’s been hearing of his whole life.)

(When Harry is finally, finally saved, prayers answered, he quietly wonders if God is magic too.)

(As he is introduced to this magical world where Harry Potter is the savior to those who believe in his supposed power, Harry feels like this is a chance to provide these people with the savior he was never given. Live up to the expectations, and be the person to save those who need saving.)

When Harry is 11 years old, and it is his first week back at No. 4 Privet Drive from Hogwarts, he is certain he knows the truth now.

God is real, there is little doubt in his mind. All the grace he’s been granted this past year had to have been divine intervention— Harry’s been at Death’s Door more times this year than he’d been his entire life. There was just no fathomable way even magic could render that type of skin-of-the-teeth dumb luck.

But then Harry remembers the feeling of flesh burning and bubbling beneath his hands, the wails of Quirrel-Voldemort writhing under Harry’s grasp. Remembers that unremarkable day in Spring, all those years ago, when Harry had asked Aunt Petunia if he could come to church with them: “You are devil spawn. If God ever looks your way, it would be to smite you.”

God is real, he has learned. God is real, has looked Harry’s way, and decided to curse him.

He’s cursed Harry with everything he’d ever wished for, but with awful twists around every corner. One step forward, two steps back.

Harry finally got his escape, but it wasn’t as much of an escape than it was a swap. He feels like his cupboard just got traded for a cage, and that all these people who are supposed to be like him have shut him in— are poking at him and rattling the bars.

He thinks back to what Petunia called him; devil child. He thinks back to what she said. Now, Harry would probably choose be smited. At least it’d be quicker.

[theenemyod]

Why do the books completely ignore that Harry was abused? Like mf was starved and locked in a cupboard I think he'd have some trauma from that.

[heidi891]

Snape didn’t know Harry had been abused

Albus kept everything he knew to himself (and I don’t think he knew much either, because he wasn’t really interested, as long as Harry was alive).

Professor McGonagall could have told others that the Dursleys spoilt their son. While it could mean that he was their golden child, it could also mean that they spoilt children in general.

According to the additional story, it was James who caused the breakup of Lily and Petunia’s relationship. At that point Snape wasn’t Lily’s friend anymore, so he didn’t know about it.

But he knew that when they had been friends, Lily cared about her sister. He also knew that Lily’s parents had been happy that their daughter had been a witch and that Petunia had wanted to be a witch too.

He didn’t know Vernon who was probably the main reason behind Harry’s abuse.

When Harry showed up at Hogwarts, he had a lot of money and could buy whatever he wanted, everything new and of excellent quality. If Snape had used some Legillimency during the first Potions lesson, he could have seen that Harry wanted to buy a golden couldron.

Harry’s traits—like arrogance or love for sweets as a child—were caused by home abuse, but they could have also stemmed from being spoilt.

In the third year the Dursleys didn’t give Harry a permit to visit Hogsmeade. While we know they were mean, the teachers could have understood that they were afraid for Harry’s safety when Sirius Black was on the loose.

Because of all the above, Snape could believe that Harry was simply spoilt, not abused.

It wasn’t until the Occlumency lessons when Snape saw Harry’s memories and realised that Harry had been abused.

Curiously, it was that year when the Order members talked to the Dursleys at the train station. What changed? Harry had always been talking that the Dursleys were horrible… but he had also never added any details, so it could just have meant that they were so "Muggle" and boring unlike the Wizarding World. Dumbledore wasn’t interested in Harry’s situation. The Weasleys ignored Harry’s situation even when Ron and the twins brought him home after the first year. The only thing that changed was Snape having had access to Harry’s memories. He could have told Dumbledore about it, then Dumbledore informed some Order members and told the Dursleys off himself when he was picking Harry up at the beginning of the HBP.

[aeligsido]

Hellooo! Because I cannot resist it. How is Daisy-raised-by-the-dursleys? I feel like having a sibling at least, does it make it better? Oh. And it just occured to me. Daisy would be left alone for two years, wouldn't she, when Harry goes to hogwarts?

AAAAAH I'M SO GLAD YOU ASKED!!!

Daisy, at her core, is brave, smart, curious, and kind, no matter how (or by who) she's raised (she's also pretty stubborn). But it does translate differently in her words & actions depending on which!

For example — she likes to know things. When her parents raise her, it's because they fostered and nurtured her natural curiosity, and made her want to know things. When she's raised by the Dursleys? She needs to know to better protect herself and Harry. It's less about curiosity and more about the safety of knowledge.

So, with that being said—

Daisy raised by the Dursleys is quiet, observing, because she learned it was the best way to deal with them and anticipate their moods. She's pretty skittish, and like Harry, has a hard time trusting people, adults in particular (even more so after he tells her everything that happened in his two first years at Hogwarts!!). She's kind of always on the defense, waiting for the other shoe to drop, especially with settings & people she's unfamiliar with. By the time HBP comes around, for example, she's pretty at ease around the Weasleys and Hermione, at Hogwarts, or with the people in her dormitory.

And like Harry, her bravery tends to go toward self-sacrifice a lot of time. She's very protective of the people she loves, and kind of internalized that she's less important than,,, anyone, hence the self-sacrificing thing.

She also holds grudges like no one else, especially when it's a matter of betraying her or her brother. Always worse when it's her brother, even! OotP was hell for her, she was angry at everyone, probably argued with so many students, ended up in detentions so many times, etc. Harry was angry because he was grieving and traumatized, she was angry because they were all hurting her brother (and she couldn't help). Also she loathes Rita so much.

And aaaaaah Harry & Daisy's relationship in those circumstances is something I love bc. A lot of angst!!! They were always aware they only had each other in life, so they're very protective of each other. Harry assumes that as the older one he has to be the one protecting her (and she always feels safe with him, no matter what — she always finds comfort with him) but she does protect him too, as much as she can. Mostly because she hates seeing him hurt. They're each other's most important person (she's the one in the lake in GoF, not Ron!), and it shows. They usually don't really hide anything from each other, either. They may not say things right away, but they will end up doing it still! Honesty is important for them and between them.

And yeah, as you say, it's a bit easier to have a sibling by their side when raised by the Dursleys! They can support each other and help each other out — they have less chores, or at least they can do it together and create games out of it! But it's also harder, because they have to see each other being hurt, and the Dursleys absolutely use one to hurt/control the other. If Harry tries to escape Dudley and his gang, Dudley tells him they'll go after Daisy. If Daisy burns the food, Harry will have to eat it (even if it's carbonized). And in general, if one is punished, so is the other!

So, it's a bit of both.

Also, yes! She does spend two years alone with the Dursleys while Harry is at Hogwarts, which is. Not great. I do have a lot of ideas about all of this — mainly, Lily's second pregnancy was very secret, with only a handful of people knowing about it (partly because they were in hiding, partly because either the people they would have told were dead, partly because Lily wasn't sure who they could trust anymore). So, of course, Sirius knew, as well as Remus, Peter, and Mary (Macdonald). Add to this Dorcas (who was Lily's healer), and Dumbledore, who last saw Lily when she was very obviously pregnant. Generally, I also add Alice & Frank (Longbottom) bc i HC them as close friends (with James & Alice knowing each other since they were toddlers).

(Peter was going to be her godfather, btw :D)

And out of all of them... Well outside of Sirius, who was here in the aftermath of the attack, and Dumbledore, who dropped them off at the Dursleys (and you can add Hagrid & McGonagall here), no one knows she's alive. There was nothing about her in the newspapers, just about Harry surviving the Killing Curse and James and Lily dying, and since her birth was not announced, they assumed she died with Lily. (So at the beginning of PoA Remus has an instant where he thinks he's hallucinating lmao.)

People are going to be very surprised when it'll come to her Sorting! (She's a Gryffindor all the way.)

So! Harry's first year, she goes to Diagon Alley with him & Hagrid. Her and Harry had a convoluted plan about getting her to Hogwarts secretly so she would be away from the Dursleys but it just never happened because the Dursleys locked her up before dropping Harry at King's Cross. The year is pretty hard on her but she does her best to make it better! She exchanges letters with Harry (Hedwig knows to only come at night and be very quiet), she manages to sneak into Diagon Alley a few times and sit down in a corner of the bookshop to read about this new world, and when she has moments alone she tentatively tries to make her magic work without a wand. (She's pretty successful too!) Harry still stays at Hogwarts for the holidays (she convinces him to), and he sends her a gift bought with his (!!!!) own money. She doesn't know how to access her vault (she thinks she'll get turned down if she doesn't have the key), so she sends him a homemade gift as usual. Harry mentioned her to Ron and Hermione (not a lot because he's still protective and he feels like he has to hide her to keep her safe), so when Ron tells his mom about Harry, he tells her about Daisy too (he tries to keep it vague as to not betray Harry though). So she gets a Weasley gift too!! She's overjoyed and specifically makes a gift for both Molly and Ron, as a thank you. And that's about it!! She spends the rest of the year trying to stay away from the Dursleys (Vernon is even more awful than usual, Petunia is hot and cold bc she misses her son and wants to coddle someone but also ugh magic u know), and doing what she has been doing. Harry and Daisy hug a lot when he comes back (they've never been apart so long before).

The beginning of CoS is basically the same — Dobby comes by, messes things up, and they get terribly punished for it, Ron and the twins come to save Harry. Harry refuses to leave without Daisy, so they sneak her in. She's amazed by the Burrow but also very very quiet and constantly hiding behind Harry. He's not phased, but Ron is very confused (mostly that it doesn't annoy Harry, because if Ginny did that with him he would hate it).

(Bonus points for imagining Scabbers' reaction to seeing Daisy lmao. He probably didn't catch Harry mentioning her before, and here she's in, in the flesh, the girl who would have been his goddaughter. Feel the regret, Peter.)

The Weasleys have to send her back when the summer is over, though :C Molly did want to keep her with them (she wasn't happy about the empty and hey!!! new daughter!!), but it just couldn't happen. The Dursleys are not happy, and she does get punished for what happened, but otherwise things go the same way as the year before. Harry doesn't tell her everything about the petrifications & all right away (he only does it when he's back for the summer), and they both get a bit confused because Daisy is a Parselmouth, too (which doesn't quite work with Dumbledore's theory about why Harry is one).

For PoA — well, Marge is her delightful self once again, she gets blown up like a balloon but neither Harry nor Daisy is sure which one of them did that, and they run away together. They end up at the Leaky Cauldron, meet Fudge (who has a moment of utter confusion when seeing Daisy because he has no idea who she is), get a room for two, and have a blast for the two (three?) weeks they live here. She also has to do her first year shopping, which she's excited about, and they do it together! Which is great! The whole Sirius Black thing is a bit worrying, even more so when Harry learns he's apparently the target, but oh well. Daisy decides to be optimistic. Then they meet the Dementor on the train — Harry has the same reaction as in canon, of course (what he hears changes slightly). Daisy reacts very badly too! She completely freezes up, and basically dissociates. Remus thought for a moment here (when he comes back and she's still not doing well) that she got Kissed with how vacant she looks. (After the Quidditch match, she ends up in the infirmary for the whole weekend.) So that's not a very great start for her first year.

The rest is better, but still bittersweet — she's amazed and curious about everything, but scared by all the new things and people and easily overwhelmed. Also, Snape is creepy and looks at her weird (she looks like her mother). Good point is, ofc, Professor Lupin™, and Daisy joins Harry in his Dementors lessons! She doesn't manage to get anything but a small silver cloud, but she's just a first year, so that's still pretty amazing lmao. (She keeps on training the following years, just in case.) She's very fond of Hagrid too, so she follows Buckbeak's case closely (her best friend is a Ravenclaw by the name of Astoria Greengrass, and she helps her out). Which means she's here when the night™ happens. (The Golden Trio caught her sneaking out and took her with them.) Things really much go the same way, with Sirius promising both Harry and Daisy to take them in, the Full Moon, Peter escaping, the Dementors. She's totally knocked out after so she misses the time travel, though :C (she's knocked out for days to the point they're worried they'll have to get her transferred to St Mungo, which also means she misses Remus leaving, and she's not happy about it.)

GoF goes the same — Quidditch World Cup, attack, Triwizard Tournament, etc. She obviously never believes Harry would put his name in, and yells at the other Gryffindors who plans a party that Halloween's night. She's Harry's most important person, as said previously, and she manages to get herself invited because she wants to go to the Yule Ball too!! She's staying at Hogwarts anyway!! I'm hesitating a bit if she rushes to Harry right away after he and Cedric appear again, and follows him and fake-Moody, or not. Probably yes. In any case, they end up cuddling in his infirmary bed bc she needs the reassurance he's still here (Padfoot's here too!) (Harry probably snuck her out of Hogwarts once or twice so she could visit Sirius in his cave lmao.)

OotP... Idk if she would be here when the Dementors attack or not. I'm not sure yet. She goes to Grimmauld Place, of course, and also she asks Remus to be her godfather because Harry has one and she wants one too (Sirius is laughing his ass off). Remus is flaggerbasted but accepts. She absolutely hates Umbridge, joins the DA, and she comes to the Ministry at the end. I think it would be the year where she really starts wondering about the connection between Harry and Voldemort, and tries to look into it. Ginny says it's not possession and she trusts her, so it must be something else, and she's determined to find out what.

Again, the main events of HBP don't change. She knows about the prophecy (re: Harry and Daisy not hiding anything important from each other), meets Slughorn with Harry, and while she's not in the office with Dumbledore and Harry Harry still tells her about what happened there. Not the details, but the basis, at least, so she ends up knowing about the Horcruxes (she doesn't link it up to Harry right away, though). She's not here in the cave, but she participates in the battle.

For DH, she's probably smuggled out of Privet Drive before Harry, maybe at the same time as the Dursleys. She's not going with them, though, lmao. She ends up at the Burrow too, helps out with the wedding, and is very happy about it. Idk if Dumbledore would leave her something. When the DE attacks the wedding, Remus is the one to take her with him out of danger, so she stays with him for a bit. Either they get found out or she tries to go back to Hogwarts, but in any way the DE tries to get her to use her against Harry, fails, and she ends up living at Shell Cottage with Bill and Fleur during the whole year. She sees Ron when he ends up here and they talk a bit, and then months later she gets reunited with her brother!! Harry updates her on the Horcruxes and everything she helps them out with their plans. She can't come though. She does come to Hogwarts with Luna and Dean for the Battle :D Harry is not Happy™ but she doesn't care, it's her fight too, and she's not leaving him alone in it. She kind of does her own things during the first half of the battle (mostly surviving, trying to find her friends, etc), and then waits for Harry when he's watching Snape's memories. She kind of guessed the Horcrux thing by now, but hoped to be wrong. She makes him swear to come back and then let him go alone in the Forest. She's devastated when Voldemort says he's dead, but then well, the rest happens and she knows he's alive :)

And that's. About it. For Daisy raised by the Dursleys. Jsjdndjndjdbfb I realize that I. Wrote a lot. Probably a lot more than what you expected. Sorry!!!! I couldn't stop. But also while I do have fics planned with her none is a fic following her during her school years in a canon-universe-but-she-exists so... Yeah kdjdjf.

Congrats if you read all of that, and thank you so much! ❤️✨🥰

[scarlettwriter91]

Say His Name

This is like a revenge on the Dursleys fic. I wrote it a few years ago, right after I rage quit my last job and wanted to take out my frustrations on something lol. Anyway, I thought I'd share it here. It is technically part of the As Potter is to Snape Universe, but to be clear, it doesn't ever actually happy. Snape promised to never actually hurt the Dursleys and he keeps his promises.

Word Count: About 3K

TW: Just because I kind of feel like this probably has some psychological torture in it. Please don't read if it could upset you!

Say His Name

“No! Please, no!” 

The strangled cries caught the attention of Severus and Remus immediately. They had been talking in the living room but as soon as they heard the sound of Harry’s scream, they both leaped from their seats and ran upstairs.

Bursting into Harry’s room, Severus went to his bedside as Remus waved his wand so that the candles ignited, illuminating the room. 

Harry didn’t even seem to notice they had come in. He was sitting up in bed, his knees were brought up near his chest and his hands were carded through his hair, pulling it tightly as his body was wracked with sobs. The blankets were in a tangled heap on the floor.

“Harry?” Severus said as he attempted to coax Harry into looking at him by putting his hand on his back; his shirt was soaked in a cold sweat. Harry jerked away violently and dug his heels into the mattress, pushing himself away from Severus and up against the wall. 

“No! Don’t touch me!” Harry shouted. His breathing was erratic and shallow as if he couldn’t take in enough oxygen.

“Harry, it’s me., Severus said as gently as he knew how. “It’s Snape and Remus. No one’s going to hurt you, Harry. I promise. But you need to calm down, alright?”

The books on the shelves and the glass chess pieces that were laid out on the coffee table began to shake.

“Severus,” Remus said quietly as he watched a bishop come perilously close to falling off the table.

“I see it,” Severus replied, not taking his eyes off of Harry. He slowly reached over and picked up Harry’s glasses from where they sat on his nightstand. “Harry, how about you put your glasses on?” He laid them on the bed and pushed them over, careful not to startle him with any sudden movements. He knew all too well what this was like for him. He was sure that he wouldn’t even need to ask Harry what the nightmare had been about. 

Even as tears still streamed down Harry’s face, he picked up the glasses and put them on his face. “Please,” Harry begged and Severus felt his heartbreak for the child. 

“Harry, please calm down. Let’s take a breath. Can you do that for me?” 

“I-I c-can’t,” Harry stuttered. He clutched at the sheets so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

“Yes, you can,” Severus nodded. “Just try. In your nose, out your mouth.” Harry closed his eyes and tried to take in a deep breath. It was ragged and unsteady but it was better than nothing. He let it out as slowly as he could. “Good job, Harry,” Severus praised him, “Now do it again. You can do this.” 

Harry did his best to breathe evenly for the next few moments and Remus watched as slowly the books and chess pieces began to stop shaking. He also breathed a sigh of relief.

Severus continued to talk to Harry in quiet tones that he hoped were calming enough to help Harry relax. He figured he must be doing something right because, after a while, Harry opened his eyes and released his grip on the sheets.

“Snape?” Harry said suddenly.

“Yes?” But Harry didn’t say anything else; he simply launched himself into Severus’s arms and held on tightly to his robes. Severus sighed. “It’s alright, Harry. I’m here.” 

It took a while, but eventually, Harry had fallen back to sleep and Severus and Remus went back downstairs. As they retook their seats in the living room, Remus sighed.

“How often does that happen?” he asked. 

Severus reached over to the table between their chairs and opened the bottle of firewhiskey he had there before pouring two glasses, passing one to Remus. 

“Not as often anymore as it used to,” Severus replied before taking a drink and relishing the way the amber liquid burned his throat on the way down. 

“Do they often involve him making things shake?” Remus was staring resolutely at the flames in the hearth, his own glass resting on the table beside him. 

“Sometimes, though he’s never actually broken anything yet.” 

“Yet,” Remus spat the word as if it were something that tasted awful in his mouth. “I don’t want to imagine how bad it would need to be before he broke something. He’s thirteen years old, Severus! He shouldn’t be having nightmares like this in the first place.” 

“I know, Remus,” Severus said quietly. “You have no idea how badly I would like to make them suffer for what they did to him. How much delight I would take in watching them beg for mercy.” He shook his head, “But that only happens in my dreams.”  Severus froze, his glass halfway to his lips. “That’s it,” he murmured before replacing his glass on the table. “Jenka,” he called and immediately the small elf appeared.

“Yes, Master Snape?” 

“Jenka, please watch over Harry for a little while. If he wakes up, come and find me, alright?” 

Jenka nodded enthusiastically. “Yes, Master Snape. Jenka will be watching Master Harry Potter very closely.” 

“Where are you going?” Remus asked when Jenka disappeared and Severus stood up. 

“Little Whinging. Would you like to come?” 

“Sev?” Remus was already on his feet and following Severus towards the front door. Once out on the front porch, Severus disapparated on the spot and Remus followed suit a second later. 

Severus and Remus apparated to a spot just down the street from the Dursleys’ house. The houses on Privet Drive were mostly dark at this time of night, but that didn’t deter Severus in the slightest. His robes billowed like a cape behind him as he stalked up the street to Number Four.

Remus kept pace beside him, though he still had no idea what they were doing here. 

Severus raised his fist and knocked loudly on the front door as Remus eyed him in confusion. “Severus, it’s late, no one is awake. What are we doing?” 

Severus paid him no mind and knocked again. This time he rang the doorbell for good measure, and sure enough, a moment later a light flicked on upstairs followed by the sounds of very heavy footsteps coming towards them. Severus pulled out his wand and Remus did the same, ready to back up his brother in whatever plan he had concocted. 

“Who in the devil is it at this hour?!” Vernon Dursley growled just before opening the door. 

“Evening, Dursley,” Severus said, his tone dripping with disdain as he pointed his wand at the whale of a man in front of him. 

“W-who are you?!” Vernon spluttered as he backed away into the house, nearly knocking over the small table that sat just inside the hall. “You-you’ve no right to be here!” 

“Vernon!”

Remus cut his eyes to the stairs where Petunia was now standing, peering down at the scene in front of her. He pointed his own wand at her. 

“Do come and join us, Mrs. Dursley,” Remus said pleasantly, “We were just about to start the introductions.” 

Petunia tried to back away but Remus simply flicked his wand lazily at her and she levitated down beside her husband, screaming the entire way. 

“Now see, if you’d just come down when I asked, I wouldn’t have had to do that,” Remus said with a small grin. He turned to Severus, “Perhaps we should put up a silencing spell?”

Severus smirked. “Already did. Thought we might need one.” 

“Oh, good.” Remus smiled at the Dursleys. “So no one will hear any screams.”

“Not even their sleeping child upstairs. Tell me, Dursley.” Severus moved in close to Vernon, pointing his wand at his neck and pinning him with a look Remus had never seen before. It was so cold and malicious, he was sure only Death Eaters had ever witnessed it. In that moment, Remus knew why he’d been so good in his role as spy. He knew why he had been picked out by Voldemort himself. Severus Snape was not someone to be taken lightly.

“How does your son sleep? Like a baby? Is he plagued with nightmares, memories of being beaten and starved? Of being locked away in a closet not big enough for a dog?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Vernon insisted in a voice that he hoped sounded calmer than he felt. 

“Do you hear that, Remus?” Severus asked as he stepped away, though keeping his wand raised. “He doesn’t know what I’m talking about. He must have a very short memory. I think it’s time he remembered, don’t you?” 

“Definitely,” came Remus’s reply. 

Severus waved his wand and suddenly an image appeared out of thin air. It was of Harry and Vernon but they appeared to be greyish-silver like the ghosts at Hogwarts. The scene began to play out and it was the same one that had played that day in the hospital wing when they finally learned the truth about what had been happening to Harry at the hands of his relatives. 

Severus, having seen it before, didn’t watch, but Remus’s attention was caught and he found himself growing angrier with every crack of the belt that hit Harry’s skin, every scream that forced its way out of Harry’s mouth, every time he begged for this “man” to stop hurting him, Remus wanted to tear him apart limb by limb.

The video ended as it had the last time it was played, with Vernon breaking Harry’s ankle by stepping on it. Anger flowed from Remus in waves. His eyes flashed amber as he snarled at Vernon, a growl from deep in his chest growing louder as he took a step closer towards him. 

“He deserved it!” Vernon clearly hadn’t taken any notice of the obvious change in Remus as he shouted at the two wizards in his house. “That freak was nothing but a menace and a burden! I’m glad to be shot of him!”

Remus’s wand was suddenly in Vernon’s face, a hex on the tip of his tongue, but suddenly Severus was in his peripheral vision, placing a hand on his chest and pushing him back slightly.

“Not yet, Remus,” Severus said. 

Severus turned back around, satisfied that Remus wouldn’t do anything yet. “Deserved it, did he? How so?” 

“He was just dropped off here without even asking us if we would take him in, but we did it anyway. Out of the goodness of our hearts, we took that brat in. Clothed him, fed him, gave him a place to sleep. He should be bloody grateful we did as much as that! But what I wouldn’t do is take from Dudley to give to him! As far as I’m concerned, that boy was just fine with the scraps from the table. There was no need for him to go complaining because we asked him to do a few chores in return for our kindness. And he can’t even do those right!” Vernon pointed to where the screen had been, “I’m not about to stand around and let him disrespect me in my home! If he can’t obey me, he’ll take the consequences!” 

Severus, though seething inside, simply turned to Petunia. “And is this how you feel as well?” 

Petunia nodded. “Yes, the boy needed to learn some manners. You couldn’t take him anywhere without him showing his freakish ways everywhere we went. I didn’t want that around my Dudley. He’s perfectly normal! We all are. We are just a normal family, in a normal house on a normal street, living perfectly normal lives. Just as it should be! I’ll not have that boy come in here and mess that all up! If we couldn’t squash those abnormalities out of him, then he simply wouldn’t be allowed out.” 

“So then you admit to keeping him locked up?” Severus asked. “Your own nephew. Your blood. Lily’s son?! You admit to neglecting and abusing Lily’s son?! Her child?! The very person she died to protect. You treated him like rubbish! And you have no remorse? None, whatsoever?” 

“I do not,” Petunia replied, her head held high and her eyebrows raised. “My sister was nothing but a freak just like her husband and just like that boy.”

“Harry!” Snape thundered and for the second time that night, Remus watched as things began to shake, this time more violently. Books fell from their shelves and china rattled in the cabinet. The pictures that hung on the walls and sat atop the mantle were shaking as well, the frames in a few even cracked. “His name is Harry!” Severus pointed his wand at the locks that were still fastened onto the cupboard under the stairs and immediately the door flew off its hinges, making Petunia scream and cling to her husband. “Let me hear you!” Severus shouted, now standing so close to Vernon that the mustached man could feel his breath on him. “Let me hear you say his name!” Severus punctuated each of the last three words with a sharp wave of his wand and with each wave, a hole was busted into the wall above their heads.

“Harry!” Vernon and Petunia screamed at once. 

“Again!” Severus demanded and they obliged once more. 

Just like that, everything stilled. Remus stood quietly off to the side, and though he was no less angry than he’d been before, he was calmer now. He put a hand on Severus’s forearm and Severus glanced at him before taking a deep breath. 

“Alright,” said Severus as he waved his wand in several complicated swirls around the house. “As far as I’m concerned, what you’ve done to Harry in this house is unforgivable and this is how we’re going to settle it.” He turned to Petunia. “You cared more for how the rest of the world saw you than you did for your own family. Because of that, the rest of the world will never see you as normal again. No matter what you do or how hard you try, they’ll always look at you as if there's something strange about you that they can’t quite put their fingers on. They’ll talk about you in whispers and whenever they see you walking up the street, they’ll close their doors and lower their blinds, not wanting to be seen talking to the freak in Number 4. And it won’t matter if you move, because it will be the same wherever you go. ‘Petunia Dursley, there is just something so abnormal about her.’”

Petunia didn’t speak. She wanted to, but suddenly found that she couldn’t open her mouth or even make a sound! Her eyes went wide with shock as she looked from her husband to Severus and back again. 

“Oh, that’s from me,” Remus said with a smile, “I simply find the sound of your voices to be absolutely irritating. Like nails on a chalkboard, you know?” He gave a dismissive wave and said, “You don’t have to answer that; I know you’re a bit tongue-tied. But no worries, it should wear off an hour or so after we leave. And if it doesn’t, well, I’m sure Dudley wouldn’t mind it much if he never had to hear your voices again either.” 

Inwardly, Severus was quite proud of Remus at that moment, though he tried not to smile too much. Instead, he turned back to Vernon and calmly said, “Now, what about you?” Severus twirled his wand between his fingers as he paced back and forth in front of Vernon for a moment before coming to a stop once more in front of him. “Do you know that I can break your legs with a quick wave of my wand?” Though he couldn’t speak, it was clear what Vernon thought of that! He seemed to be trying to press himself back against the wall in some feeble attempt to escape. “It wouldn’t even be hard,” Severus continued. “With another wave, I could charm that belt of yours to follow you around endlessly, beating you till you were a bloody mess on the floor, and even then, it wouldn’t stop. I could cut you without ever lifting a knife. Slice your body a thousand times and then heal those cuts just so that I could start over. I could make you feel pain beyond your comprehension. You would beg for death assuming you could stop writhing and convulsing on the floor long enough to get out the words. You would feel so much pain that you would wet yourself and not even notice or care.”

Severus moved away from Vernon and took a step towards the table where several framed photographs of Dudley sat proudly atop the rich mahogany. He picked one up and inspected it closely before walking back over to Vernon and holding the picture out to him.

“I could do all of that and more without even flinching. Fortunately for you, I’ll only be that monster in your nightmares. I hope you were sleeping well before I knocked on that door, Vernon Dursley, because you’ll never have another peaceful night's rest in your life. You’ll learn, and rather quickly, what it’s like for Harry, living with what you’ve done to him. Waking up panicked, unsure of where you are or if it was real or just another nightmare. And it won’t just be nightmares of how you treated Harry, though of course there will be a lot of those. No, Dursley, I suspect your nightmares will take a different shape entirely.” Severus gave a pointed look at the photograph before he turned on his heel and made his way to the door, Remus right beside him.

“Oh,” Severus turned back around, “and you can’t have a father like mine without believing in second chances, so the spells can be broken of course, as most spells can, but I won’t tell you how. Let’s just say, that if and when it ever happens, you’ll know.” 

Severus opened the front door and stepped out onto the porch. Remus nodded to the Dursleys and followed him. A moment later, they disapparated from the street, leaving the residents of Privet Drive in their peaceful slumber. 

Most of them anyway. 

End

[sybill-the-seer]

A Bath or Two

Read on AO3

Summary: Bathtime at Number 4 Privet Drive in 1984 is very different to bathtime at Harry and Ginny's house in 2002. Harry plans to keep it that way.

Note: Thank you so much to @turanga4 for her incredible beta help, and to the TTB discord server for their wonderful wizarding bath toy ideas (all credit goes to @not-steve42 for the Grindylow idea)!

TW: Child abuse

Harry sat, stiff and cold in the tepid bath water, trying to cheer himself with the thought that his ordeal would soon be over. Aunt Petunia scrubbed his arm roughly, then let it splash back down into the now nearly opaque water. As she reached for the shampoo, Harry only just stopped himself groaning in despair.

“Please don’t let it get in my eyes this time!” he whinged, but he knew it was useless. Aunt Petunia never listened to him.

Sure enough, Aunt Petunia merely pursed her lips at his words, scooped up some water with the plastic cup she used for bathtime, and dumped it on his head unceremoniously, wetting the dark unruly strands in preparation for a scrub.

Harry screwed up his eyes as the water poured down his face, bracing himself for what he knew was coming next. Now he felt Aunt Petunia’s bony fingers on his scalp, rubbing the shampoo into his hair none too gently. Harry felt her fingers leave his head, heard the splash of the plastic cup in the water behind him, and reached up to cover his eyes, but it was too late. The soapy water cascaded down through his bangs, straight into his eyes before rushing down the rest of his face and dripping off his chin.

“Ow!” Harry cried, as the stinging began, his fingers flying to his eyes automatically. But rubbing only made it worse, and Harry began to cry as another waterfall of water and shampoo fell over his head.

Harry was crying in earnest now – he was blinded by the soap and the stinging, and Aunt Petunia’s dumping was only making things worse. Now he could taste the foul, bitter soap in his mouth.

“Stop!” Harry wailed, pushing Aunt Petunia’s hand away in an effort to make the water cease. It worked for a moment.

“Stop this nonsense, boy, I have to get the soap out of your hair!” she snapped, scooping up another cupful of water.

Still blinded by water and soap, Harry thrust out his hand again to block the water cup, but missed. At least, he didn’t feel his hand make contact with anything other than the slippery side of the bathtub. And yet he still heard Aunt Petunia screech at the same time as a splash – but the splash didn’t land on his head. He heard the thump of what he thought was a crouched Aunt Petunia losing her balance and hitting the floor before –

“What in heaven’s name do you mean by it, boy?!”

Harry tried to open his eyes to see what had happened, but he was too late. Aunt Petunia’s hand had grabbed his hair roughly, and now he was face down in the water.

He couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t come up for air, the hand was holding him down and Harry tried to yell at her to let him go but only bubbles came out…

It was only a moment before his aunt’s grip loosened abruptly, though it felt like an eternity, and Harry sat up, gasping and spluttering, blinking the water out of his eyes in shock. He looked over to see Aunt Petunia staring at her hand with astonishment and horror, water splashed all down the front of her blouse, the plastic bath cup far away from the tub on the floor. He wanted to ask what had happened, but stopped himself, deciding it would be unwise in Aunt Petunia’s current state. Instead, he watched her warily until she seemed to come back to her brisk self, ordering him out of the bath and tossing him a faded towel. He thought he heard her mutter something about “unnaturalness,” and “abnormalities,” before he scurried back to his cupboard to change into his pajamas.

________________________

Almost a lifetime later, Harry sat near his own bathtub looking down at the small boy splashing happily in the water. He held up a rubber duck to show Harry (a gift from Ginny, who found Muggle children’s toys delightful), chattering away about the story he was creating with all his bath toys. As he did so, his hair turned exactly the same shade of yellow as the duck.

“- he’s just crashed into that ship, see, and now the ship’s sinking – uh oh –” Teddy reached for the small ship, snatching it up into his little hand just before it hit the bottom of the bathtub.

“Saved it!” he cried, now holding both the ship and the duck in the air victoriously.

“That’s good,” Harry replied, “because we’re nearly done, and I don’t think we’d want to end bathtime with a shipwreck.”

But Teddy had already turned away, his mind lost to his imaginings once more. Harry filled the bath cup with water, cupped his hand to Teddy’s forehead, and poured the warm water over his bright hair. Teddy hardly noticed, now muttering an imagined conversation between the rubber duck and some sailor figurines who were shaking their little fists furiously.

While once Harry’s unpracticed hands had moved tentatively and unsteadily, unsure of how to angle the cup and his hand to avoid Teddy’s eyes, afraid of somehow slipping up and making him cry, now they were well used to the bathtime routine. In fact, Harry quietly prided himself on the fact that bathtime was never protested whenever Teddy came to stay.

Harry reached for the shampoo now, poured it smoothly into his other hand, and began massaging it gently into Teddy’s vivid hair, which slowly changed from yellow to black as he relaxed at Harry’s touch. Bath toys momentarily forgotten, Teddy tilted his head as far back as it could go and grinned up at Harry, his hazel eyes sparkling.

“That feels good.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

And with a little hum of contentment Teddy rolled his head back, Harry’s hands following his movement as he continued to massage in the shampoo. Teddy then reached for his little enchanted grindylow figurine that had been swimming lazily through the bathwater. As his hand approached it, it darted quickly away, and the boy laughed.

“Ok, time for a rinse,” Harry said, reaching again for the bath cup. “And then we’re all done.”

“All done?” Teddy whinged. “But I’m not done yet!”

“I’m sure Ginny will be waiting for us though – she probably has a game for us to play before bedtime. And don’t you want to try the hot chocolate we made?”

“I forgot about hot chocolate!”

“I thought you might have,” Harry chuckled, as Teddy turned away, now waiting impatiently for him to finish rinsing his hair.

Soon, Teddy had been helped out of the bath, into a warm towel, and finally into his pajamas covered with tiny custard puffskeins.

“Ginny!” he cried, rushing into the sitting room where Ginny sat, curled up on the sofa with a cup of hot chocolate. “Where’s my hot chocolate?” he asked, looking intently at her mug.

“Hmm, are you sure I didn’t drink it all myself? You were in the bath a long time…”

She grinned over at Harry, who shrugged helplessly. He had never been good at getting Teddy out of the bath promptly – it always took more than one coaxing to get Teddy out of the tub when Harry was in charge, and Ginny knew it. He didn’t mind though, as long as Teddy was having fun.

“No you didn’t! That cup’s not big enough for it all! I’m going to go check.” Teddy turned to race into the kitchen, Ginny getting up off the sofa to chase after him.

“You’ll have to beat me to it!” she called, and Teddy squealed happily.

Harry grinned and followed after them into the kitchen.

Note: I have a feeling I might get questions about this, so I’m just going to address it now: Petunia was NOT trying to drown Harry! It was an act of both rage and fear after the first instance of accidental magic, and an attempt to startle him out of crying. Still a completely unacceptable thing to do, and blatant child abuse, but no, she was not intending to drown him and I can’t see her ever attempting to go that far.

[thecarnivorousmuffinmeta]

Do you think if the Dursleys had been insanely physically abusive and obvious about it (almost killing him) Dumbledore might have removed Harry? Or potentially Mrs. Figg would’ve reached out for help?

Canonically, Petunia once hits Harry in the head with a frying pan, which very well could have killed him. They also starve him for punishment, which could easily have led to his hospitalization or death.

Later, Dudley's gang beats Harry up during the summers around the neighborhood.

The Dursleys were very physically abusive and not entirely subtle about it.

Dumbledore did not remove Harry, his only intervention is in the sixth book, where he awkwardly shows up at the Dursleys and makes fun of them and says, "I am terribly disappointed in all of you, now come on Harry, let's go bother Horace Slughorn."

Remember, also, that at least as of book 2, Dumbledore is planning Harry's death. If Petunia gets a little too overeager with that frying pan... unfortunate but it was going to happen sooner or later.