章 46: A Mother’s Cruelty

"Shocked, really," Petunia continued. "I didn't think he was that brainwashed, but I did see a chance for an opportunity. I can torture you for the rest of your life by turning your own son against you. He'll come for visits with me, and I'll set him straight. Whatever trauma you think you'll have worked through, his next visit with me will obliterate it. I'll keep him on a short leash, eating out of the palm of my hand while you struggle to have any semblance of the relationship Harry thinks we have."

"Then consider this your first and only visit, Petunia. I am not letting you emotionally hurt my child any longer. You've had your fun. I hope you enjoyed it."

"You think Harry's going to accept that answer from you? You were so desperate for Harry to see the real me so he'd accept his new homelife that you brought him to me. In prison. You think denying him visits with me is going to give you affection points? Let alone help him settle down? He'll be resentful of you. No matter what you do right now, Severus, even if I never see Harry again, the damage is done. You can't fix him. He has no bloody clue what love is. He only knows my kind of love. And he'll always take my word before anyone else's."

"Don't be so sure of that," Severus said. "He might not know what it is, but he craves it. Friendship too. You denied him of that as well, didn't you? Well, he's got a sister now. And a family that adores him. They're already changing him, Petunia. He has grown so much thanks to my daughter and family friends. I'm going to show him what a family should have been like. It may not be tomorrow. It may not be ten years from now. But he will come to see the wrong you've done to him."

"Just remember," Petunia said, "you left him to me. You left him. To me. Don't forget that."

She was right. If he had just taken his son in, none of this would have ever happened. But it was too late to fix the past. He could only move on to a better future. A future Petunia would not be a part of. He shook his head at her, muttering a muffling charm around them.

"I won't forget that. Lily would be so ashamed of you. So furious. Why did you do it? Raise Harry the way you did?"

Petunia smirked at Severus, staying quiet for a minute.

"Wouldn't you love to know? Lily was always the gifted one, the talented one, the pretty one, the oh-so-caring one. She was just so special, and all because of what? She could do a little magic? Well, look where that magic got her. Dead. Killed. And it left her son orphaned. Not so special now, is she? And Harry? Special? No. Just because he has magic does not make him any better than my son or me. And look at him—he's far from special? No talent, no skills, he didn't even know magic existed. He can't even read. I mean, clearly, being a wizard doesn't guarantee brilliance."

"He's a child."

"I was a child once, too. And I was swept away under Lily's achievements. Well, I wasn't letting that happen to my son. I kept your kid alive. That was all I had to do."

"Just barely," Severus growled, cancelling he charm when he noticed the officer inching closer to them suspiciously. "You nearly killed him on several occasions. Every time you let him climb up that chimney, it aggravated his asthma, he could have died."

"Ah, yes that. I'm surprised he never did, even when I never gave him his inhalers."

Severus's eyes widened.

"You knew he had asthma? You had inhalers for him?"

"Of course, it's hard to miss it when the child coughs the entire doctor's visit. Do you have any idea how much inhalers cost? That child was taking money away from my poor Dudders. So, I never picked up his prescriptions."

Severus wished he had been recording this conversation. Even the officer in the room was shocked, his eyes wide. He would be bringing this up to his lawyer for sure.

"You're a sick monster, Petunia. Your son deserves better than you."

Petunia had the decency to look outraged at his comment before her face went neutral. She smirked as she sat back in her seat.

"Harry thinks I'm a great parent." Petunia snorted. "Sweet boy. So obedient. He'd do really well on the kiddie stroll if you ever find his emotional instability too much to handle."

That did it. Severus lunged for the woman. He didn't know if he was going to strangle her or beat the living daylights out of her, but before he could even touch her, the officer in the room grabbed him by his shoulders and threw him up against the wall, away from an unfazed Petunia, who sat there smiling at him.

"Calm down, sir," the officer said. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

....

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