The next few days, Harry spent the majority of his time in his bedroom. He was angry with himself. A man who didn’t really like Harry had taken him into his home and put so much effort into getting him healthy and instead of thanking him, Harry had thrown a small tantrum all because he wasn’t able to fly his broom. He should have been grateful just to have a room and food.

The way he saw it, he ruined everything. He’d insulted his professor and made him remember why he hated Harry in the first place. He almost feared interacting with the man outside of mealtimes because he didn’t want to bother Snape to the point where he would turn into the Dursleys. He couldn’t avoid him forever though because Harry was reminded one night that he needed to be examined again to see if he could quit the potions full stop.

“You’ve gained an acceptable amount of weight, though I can still see your ribs. You’ve been eating closer to normal portions at mealtimes. You may stop taking the potion.” Severus nodded to Harry.

Harry grinned slightly and slid his giant shirt back on.

“You may also go outside from now on… as long as you stay on this property and don’t fly higher than the roof of the house. But tomorrow I think we need a trip to Diagon Ally. You are in dire need of a new wardrobe.”

“Oh… no, but I don’t know if I can afford… I mean, I think my parents left enough money for school and stuff, but not for things like that. I really don’t mind Dudley’s hand-me-downs,” Harry protested.

“James and Lily left more than just enough for school, believe me. There is a whole other vault that you will inherit when you reach adulthood. But that is beside the point. I am your guardian and I will be providing for you from now on… that means for your education and essentials such as clothing.”

“But… but I thought you wouldn’t… I thought you hated me again.”

Severus froze in the middle of putting a parchment pad back in a drawer. He turned to Harry and looked at him in a way that made Harry feel as if he was under a microscope. Was the man actually almost squinting in concentration?

“Why?” The man’s face finally relaxed a bit and almost looked like he was trying to pass off as uncaring and casual.

“Well, I yelled at you and I thought that now you realized you still hate me as much outside of school as you do in school.”

Severus hesitated before speaking, choosing his words carefully.

“Harry… I don’t hate you. I admit that I did once… I know I can’t deny that with my behavior in the past. I don’t hate you now, though. I won’t start again when school starts either.”

“But you were ignoring me and I thought you were staying away just so you wouldn’t be tempted to-”

“I haven’t seen you much these past days because you didn’t need to be monitored as closely anymore and I’ve been working on the wards outside. You’ve also been sulking in your bedroom, don’t forget. Harry, you apologized for losing your temper and that was that. I didn’t mean for you to think I hated you.” Severus furrowed his eyebrows. “I certainly didn’t think you would care at all about my attentions.”

Severus put the last of his things away and put his hand on Harry’s shoulder to steer him out of the room.

“I don’t… or I didn’t. I didn’t think I would,” Harry admitted as they walked out and into the living room. Harry quickly sat down on the left corner of the couch, which was quickly becoming his usual spot.

“It is okay to care.” Severus assured him. Severus was surprised that Harry had formed an emotional connection to him so quickly after spending only a little over a week in the house with him and almost half of it Harry was too drugged for it to even count. Then he considered the events that had taken place at the end of this last school year. Harry had found Sirius, an adult to look up to, and he consented to moving in with him after having just met the man. Harry was clearly deprived of any parental figures and latched on quickly to whomever he could.

“Well, what changed your mind?” Harry’s voice broke Severus out of his contemplation.

“Pardon?”

“Why did you decide not to hate me anymore?”

There was a question that Severus could not fabricate an answer to. Anything other than the truth would never be believed as basis enough for such a drastic change.

“Does it matter?” He tried, not meeting Harry’s eyes.

“I guess not.”

Severus wouldn’t take the chance of the true answer ruining the shaky relationship they seemed to be forming. He was relieved that Harry had let it go so easily. Days of politeness and a semi-sort of trust were not enough to build a father/son relationship on. He wanted to know that such a blow would not push Harry away before he would let loose with the information.

“Now that we’ve gotten that cleared up, I think we should discuss rules, chores, and discipline.” It didn’t escape Severus’s notice when Harry’s eyes widened at the word ‘discipline’. Harry’d already denied being beaten and Severus figured there were three possibilities here. Harry could have lied. Harry could actually believe that the way he was treated was normal. The Dursleys could have thought up a punishment that frightened Harry more than being beaten.

“Alright.” Harry’s voice was quiet and his posture more stiff and upright than before.

“Rules… there will be no swearing or cursing. You will keep your room tidy and clean up any messes you make around the house. You may not leave the property without an escort as your fame does, unfortunately, make you a target in the wizarding world. You must be in the house when it is dark. You will have a bedtime of ten at night. I expect you to use your common sense for anything else not mentioned, but if you find yourself in a situation that you are unsure about, do feel free to ask. Understood?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Chores. You did mention that you had them at the Dursley house. What did you usually do there?”

“Er… a little bit of everything. I was given a list of what needed to be done before the end of the day. I didn’t have as many chores this summer as I usually do.” Harry shrugged brightly, choosing not to mention that the reason he had less chores because he was kept in his cupboard most of the time.

“What was usually written on the list? I’d like to have an idea of what you know how to do… some common chores for children in the wizarding world are quite different from those in the muggle world. For example, you probably wouldn’t know the first thing about de-gnoming a garden.”

“Actually, I got to help with that at The Burrow. I can do that if you want me to and I can do other chores too. If I don’t know what to do, you can show me.”

“Yes, but I’m trying to make this transition a little easier on you by having you do chores that you are at least somewhat familiar with.” Severus couldn’t tell if Harry was trying to be helpful by not showing a chore preference or if he was being deliberately vague.

“Seriously, Professor. Anything is fine. Tell me what to do and I’ll do it… and I won’t complain, I promise.” Harry knew that nobody would ever want to hear about his chores at the Dursleys. He had been called a liar in grade school by a teacher and another kid had told him to just stop whining. Harry thought that maybe his professor would end up doing both since he’d always accused Harry of being spoiled and stuck up in the past… but this man was different than before and he’d believed Harry about the food. He’d even helped him, but was it worth the risk?

“Alright, let’s try a different approach. What is your least favorite chore?” Severus asked.

“Dudley’s bedroom… or the shed… no, Dudley’s room. It’s disgusting and smelly. His underwear are all streaked and his shirts are soaked with sweat and smell terrible.”

“You cleaned your cousin’s room? Why didn’t he clean it himself?”

“Dudley doesn’t clean anything. I do so I can earn my keep… ya know, because I’m not really part of the family but they took me in and stuff.” Harry explained as if it made perfect sense even though his voice contained a hint of bitterness.

“You should not have had to earn your keep. You are a child. Chores are mostly meant to teach the importance of hard work for when you got out into the real world,” Severus insisted. “Now the shed. I don’t have one, but I would like to know why you dislike it so much so that I can avoid giving you a chore that is reminiscent of it.”

“Well, most of it was okay. I didn’t mind most of the cleaning up in the shed. I just hated when I had to clean up the sprayers. He- Uncle Vernon kept these big sprayers in the shed that I had to use on the gardens and stuff. They burned my hands and made me feel sick when I had to mess with that stuff.”

Severus was vaguely aware of what Harry was talking about and knew that the chemicals used in many pesticides were only to used with protective gear and never by a child.

“Harry...” Severus’s voice cracked. The more he ran scenarios through his mind, the more he realized that Harry could have died any number of times if something had gone wrong of he’d been exposed one too many times to the harsh chemicals. He sat down next to Harry and put his hands on Harry’s arms as a comforting gesture. He had an urge to hug the boy, but Harry immediately jerked away and stood up.

“What are you playing at anyway? I know you said you don’t hate me, but that doesn’t automatically mean we’re friends and you can get all… all touchy feely and affectionate.” Harry slowly took a few steps away from the couch. “Besides,” he added. “It’s no big deal. So I had a lot of crappy chores. It’s no reason to throw a pity party. There are plenty of kids who have it worse, so I have no reason to complain.”

“I apologize for invading your personal space,” Severus acknowledged with a raised eyebrow. He was beginning to see a pattern. It seemed that whenever a situation made Harry feel vulnerable, he lashed out with anger to make himself feel stronger. It was a trait that certain cheeky headmasters would say must have been passed genetically from Severus.

“As for this being ‘no big deal’, I must disagree with you. Your uncle forced you to expose yourself to harmful chemicals on a regular basis. You could have died… if you had swallowed any by accident or if one of the containers exploded. Merlin knows what other child abuse you’re hiding because you think nothing of it. I will find out everything eventually, I promise you that.”

Harry let out a resigned sigh and relaxed his stance.

“Fine.. How about this? I can clean the kitchen each day, cook when you want me to, and vacuum and dust all the rooms in the house.” Harry put an offer on the table, starting with a minimal amount of chores, ready for Snape to bargain for more chores.

“This instead. You can cook when you want to and on the nights when you do cook, I will clean the kitchen. I don’t own a vacuum as the floors are spelled to stay clean. You can dust the living room and dining room. Libraries should always have a bit of dust and I don’t want you to get hurt by accident in my labs.”

It was the opposite type of bargain than Harry had been expecting so he nodded slowly with surprise.

“And now that leaves discipline…” Severus watched Harry carefully and didn’t miss the stiffness in the body as Harry slowly sat back down, his posture perfect and his gaze down on his knees.

“For small infractions you will get a warning of what will happen if the action is repeated. Maybe an extra chore, taking away privileges such as flying time. For major infractions, including anything that could get you hurt, killed, or expelled from school. There will be no such warning. You will receive punishment.”

“Like what?”

“Planning on a deadly escapade already?”

“No! But… well, it seems to happen each year no matter what I want, though.”

“Well, I assure you that any punishments will be as fair as possible. There will be no hitting, taking away meals, or confinement in small spaces. I think the best thing would be to wait until something happens and we will discuss a proper punishment for you. I don’t think it would be prudent to decide anything ahead of time because the punishment should fit the crime,” Severus explained. He was slightly amused now that Harry had forgotten his fearful posture and was now openly gawking.

“Is this agreeable, Harry?” He called the boy out of his surprise.

“Yeah, uh.. Yes. Yes, sir… very agreeable.”

“Good. Chores will begin tomorrow. As for now, I think it would be best if you did some school work and then went to sleep.”

Harry nodded again in agreement and stood to leave. He paused as he passed by the fireplace and he turned back.

“Yes?” Severus asked. Harry took a breath to build his confidence, wondering how far this agreeable relationship could extend.

“I was wondering… well, I’m kind of stuck on my potions work and if you have free time tomorrow… well, could you help me? I’m not asking for the answers or anything, but could you point me in the right direction or tell me where to look?”

“I could help you. Bring your work to my lab tomorrow after breakfast. I think I have an idea of where your problem is… based on where you’ve been stuck in the past in my class. We’ll work through it together.”

“Thank you!” With a bright smile, Harry left for his room once again.

Severus’s heart ached wonderfully when he realized it was the first real smile on Harry’s face that he had contributed to.