He hardly felt the inconvenient squeeze of apparition, though he was sure they had apparated away… He did not argue; he just let Snape take him where he wanted.

After the cold air, he felt warmer… they must have arrived at Snape’s.

Someone laid him in a warm and cosy bed… at least the sudden warmth seemed to suggest it. Then he felt something cold at his mouth and heard some barely recognisable voices.

"Drink this, you’ll be better."

He opened his mouth and drank the cool liquid, which helped to ease the constriction in his throat. Then, finally, he slept, no longer caring about the pain.

oO{~S~}Oo

It was strange to wake up not remembering what he dreamt of, nor how he had gotten where he was. Suppressing a yawn, he sat up in bed. He was stunned by the view. Just before him was a window, but not an ordinary one. Silver curtains fluttered along the window frame which was golden and looked extremely good. The whole room was resplendent in silver and green.

Harry smiled to himself. It was clear to him that the habitants were Slytherins. He was just about to get up when the door opened and a large figure appeared. Harry’s first thought was that Snape had aged several years, but… something was off. His teacher could not have aged so much, especially as this man had short hair. The man before him wore the same black robes as Snape, but looked much taller and stronger than his professor.

And, while his professor was a most formidable wizard, this man smiled while Harry stared at him. He came over to the bed and sat down on it. Harry rubbed his eyes then looked at the man in wonder.

"Severus said you weren’t in good shape when you arrived," the man said in a deep, foreboding voice. Without the smile, it would have been frightening.

Harry blinked at the man. "I don’t remember anything," Harry murmured as he fidgeted with the covers.

"Well at least I know that the potion helped." The man laughed quietly and extended his hand to Harry. "I did not introduce myself yet. My name is Cainus Marcus Snape." Seeing Harry’s incomprehension, he added: "I’m Severus’ father."

"Oh,” Harry muttered, unsure of what else to say. This man didn’t seem to be the same person he had seen in the pensieve. "But the man I knew … I mean heard about, did not really … care about the professor." Realizing that he’d spoken his thoughts allowed, Harry blushed.

The man clasped his hands and did not seem angry. "I heard that you happened to look into Severus’ memories," he explained and Harry’s blush evolved to full reddening. "You don’t have to explain, it was not entirely your fault,” the man continued. “And to answer your question, that was not me. Severus was with foster-parents at that time and they… did not treat him well. There had been a big misunderstanding in our family and I did not get custody of Severus. But that is a very sad story I do not wish to dwell on it now."

Harry nodded and decided to get up and have a look around.

"You should not get up yet," the man said, glaring at bit at him. "You are still very pale. I know from Severus that if you state you are well, it means at least two more days until it’ll be true."

"But…"

The man raised his brows the same way as Snape. "That was a distinct order."

Harry gulped and slipped back under the covers. He really did not feel too well but not so bad as to stay in bed the whole day either.

"Where am I, by the way?" Harry finally asked while the man poured him something that looked like pumpkin juice from the jug on the nightstand.

"In the Snape villa. I would not call it a manor. We moved here after the war started." He poked to the window, from where Harry could hear the sounds of a Christmas bazaar. "We were forced to take this decision due to Voldemort and his followers; they will not look for us here. We have only five guestrooms instead of twenty and our potions labs are not big… but the mood is quite nice, isn’t it?"

Harry smiled and lay back down on his side. "Yes it is. I have never been to a wizarding Christmas bazaar," he said sheepishly and yawned.

"It would be good if you would drink some more," said Cainus and held the mug out to him. Harry sat up a bit and drank. "A bit of Strengthening Potion. Not the one you know, but a bit different."

Harry leaned back in the bed and looked at him suspiciously. "How is it different?"

"Considering how seriously ill you have been," Cainus explained, "you are still quite weak. I don’t know why Mrs. Weasley thought that you should be with them. It’s a miracle I was able to restrain Severus from harming Hippocrates at St Mungo’s."

Harry remembered when he ran out the door and banged into Snape. The men had apparently had quite an argument about him afterwards.

"Well I have a lot of things to arrange," Cainus clapped his hands once, "and you have to rest more. Try to sleep a bit."

Harry nodded and closed his eyes. Before Snape’s father left, he heard the man stoke the fire in the hearth. Harry was finally lulled to sleep by the crackling flames even in this peculiar place.

oO{~S~}Oo

Harry woke to someone shaking him gently. He opened his eyes crankily and saw Snape in his black robes.

"You should eat something," Snape said quietly.

Harry rolled over and huddled deeper under his covers. "I don’t want to get up," he mumbled and went back to sleep.

oO{~S~}Oo

 

"Look at this sleepy-head," one of the voices said. "How many drops did you put in it?"

"Just enough."

"I said a Strengthening Potion, not a Sleeping Draught," said the first voice coldly—Snape’s voice, Harry realized

"I wonder who has more degrees in this room," the other voice snarkily replied.

"I don’t want to hear it."

"I was, after all, the main healer at St Mungo’s…" started Cainus but his son interrupted.

"Enough already!" Snape said. "I’ve heard it a thousand times."

"Be quieter, please," Harry implored moodily. "I’m not awake yet." He opened his eyes just to see their expressions. The elder Snape stood not far from him while his professor was positioned at the end of the bed. Cainus folded his arms with satisfaction.

"You see? I did not overdose him."

Snape did not answer, opting to approach the boy instead. "How are you, Harry?" he asked.

Not Potter, but Harry, Harry mused. It was so distinct when he cared… "Hm… fine," answered Harry.

"Alright. Then you’ll have dinner with us?" asked Cainus. "There might be some newts-eyes for dessert."

Harry looked disgusted as the man hurried away.

Snape nodded at Harry to get going and smiled when opening the door for him. "I see you met my father," Snape mocked.

Harry raised his eyebrows. "Yes. You two are hard to mistake for one another," he said solemnly. "Both of you have an interesting disposition."

That statement wiped the mocking smile from Snape’s face.

Harry stepped into the hallway satisfied and was not surprised to see silver and green dominating here as well. There were portraits of different wizards on the walls, some with names on silver plates. Some of the portraits looked at him with clear disdain, others just nodded to him.

 After a few steps they arrived in a spacious room. From all of the delicious smells, it seemed to be the dining room, and when they reached the food-laden table, it became obvious.

It was, of course, a good question as to who was all sitting at the table. Snape lead him promptly to two empty places near each other. Harry sat down and looked around, quickly realising that some of the people he saw were from the Order.

Harry did not think much more about it as Snape spooned out some soup for him and he began to eat. When he finished the vegetable soup, he wanted to spoon out some potatoes for himself but Snape took the ladle. Harry pulled back his plate sullenly as he got a big portion of meat as well.

The others were talking during the dinner but Harry did not pay much attention to them. He could barely finish the food Snape had put on his plate. Then he noticed the tapestry behind Cainus. It looked very similar to the one at the House of Black. He was so curious that he quietly stood up from the table and went to study it more closely.

It looked a bit different than the one he saw in Grimmauld Place, maybe because every member of it was a man. There were Malfoys and Blacks among the Snapes. But when he looked closer, he saw that the Malfoys were mainly present in the beginning. Perhaps because the Snapes were really on the light side while the Malfoys were always followers of Voldemort.

"Does it look familiar?" asked Snape from right next to him.

Harry squinted at the man. Of course his professor often visited Grimmauld place; surely he had seen the tapestry there.

"Yes, it does. It’s strange that there are hardly any women in the family," Harry commented.

"Oh yes," Snape murmured. "There’s a curse on us in a sense …"

The potions master quieted as more people arrived and the voice of the headmaster could be heard distinctly. Harry turned and saw Dumbledore shaking hands with Cainus. It was strange that if they knew each other, how come he himself had just seen the man for the first time today?

As though Snape read his mind he commented: "Cainus and Albus are very good friends."

Harry just hemmed. He found the place overcrowded but did not want to leave without a word. He watched them for a while but when Snape joined them as well he decided it was time to go. He had just started to leave the room when the headmaster accosted him.

"Ah, Harry! I’m very glad to see you! How are you?"

Harry smiled wryly. "Fine, thanks sir." He wanted to shout at the old man that he was not at all well but stayed quiet.

"I’m sorry we could not meet in the past weeks," the headmaster apologised, "but... "

"Oh, leave it! We both know that you only need me to fulfil the prophecy and finish off Voldemort!" he shouted angrily. The whole room became quiet.

"Harry…"

"No, I don’t care what you say!" Harry interrupted angrily and pointed to Snape. "Even my teacher who hated and despised me took care of me, but you…!"

"Potter, don’t be disrespectful to the headmaster!" Snape snapped at him.

Harry looked daggers at both of them.

"If you’ll excuse me, I’d like to be alone now," he bit out and then turned around and left the adults. He hurried down the hallway and escaped to the room where he had woken up. He sat cross-legged on the rug before the hearth and stared sadly at the flames. He did not think to search for Snape and demand to be taken somewhere else.

It was pleasant to sit before the fire and listen to the sounds of the Christmas bazaar despite the fact that he’d never been to one before and never bought presents at one. He’d have to order his friends’ presents by owl-post again this year. After all, who knew when he’d be able to go out shopping without Voldemort attacking…

He realised that someone had sat down beside him, also cross-legged, to watch the flames. Harry stayed quiet waiting for his professor to say something.

"Do you want to talk?" asked Snape after a while.

Harry just shook his head.

"Nevermind," announced the potions master, "we’ll still talk."

Harry looked at Snape questioningly and a bit angrily. "Then why did you ask?"

Snape just shrugged. "I wanted to get your attention."

The man stayed quiet and together they watched the flames. After ten minutes Snape said:
"Lily Evans was a good friend of mine, unlike her husband. You were not even planned when I promised her that I’d look after her child if anything happened to her." He sighed and continued: "But I didn’t do it. Can you imagine, Harry, how sorry I am for thinking that you resembled James? And also for thinking that you had been spoiled at your aunts’?” Snape shook his head and mumbled. “Instead, I had a fierce desire to vent my anger on you."

Silence.

Harry sighed, stirring the ashes before the fire. "I believe you, professor," he mumbled, still reeling from Snape’s frankness. "I believe you now… after these past few weeks."

Again came the silence, but now for a longer period.

"Well, I can’t promise to be kinder during classes or to not deduct points when you explode your cauldron," Snape added, "but I’d like to know you better, to fend for you… which I have not done until now. Maybe if I had had an unbreakable vow with your mother I would have tried sooner to look past James, to consider only you. But it was not easy, especially as you showed a different image to the world."

The last sentence sounded mocking.

"I’m sorry, professor… but I never told anyone…" Harry suddenly shut up and looked questioningly at Snape. "How do you know how they treated me?"

Snape looked at the fire again and seemed to struggle for words. "You don’t remember it, but when you were very ill from the virus, you had a very hard night," he explained. "You had nightmares the whole night which seemed very real. Every bad thing that happened at your aunts’ house resurfaced… Finally Lupin arrived and could explain."

Harry almost heard the unspoken words. He never would have thought that Snape could be shocked or rattled. Especially that he himself could be the cause of it. "What did he explain?" Harry asked though he suspected he knew the answer.

"The circumstances you were raised in," Snape sighed. "I spoke a lot with Lupin before, but not about you. I know that not a lot of things have changed, but I would be… happier... if you never set foot in your aunts’ house again."

Harry froze totally and blushed a bit, looking stunned at his teacher.

"I’m serious," the potions master said. "You needed great courage to come down to the dungeons to me instead of going home."

"Yes," Harry mumbled and dropped his gaze. "Your know-it-all candle."

"Indeed."

Harry was still watching the rug. "You… want me to stay here with you, during the holidays?" he asked, just to clarify.

"What do you think, Potter?" Snape angrily retorted but then calmed down. "Yes, I insist. Not just because of the reasons I mentioned, but because you would also be safe in the future and you don’t have anyone else. Even if you were disrespectful towards the headmaster you were right. Albus never considered you as he should have. Of course that does not mean that you should not apologise."

"Fine," Harry mumbled and then looked up sadly. "What will happen to me now? After all this?"

Snape raised his brow in question. "I don’t understand."

"Where will I live, sir. If I… accept what you are offering."

"Where do you think, Potter? In a cupboard?" Snape mocked. "Here with us, of course. You’ll have an ordinary room, clothes, and an excellent table where you can make up for your abysmal knowledge of potions."

This did not sound bad. In fact, it sounded very good. He preferred staying here with Snape and his father than at Hogwarts with the headmaster. "That sounds good," he finally said.

"Of course. That is what a child needs. Not wearing rags and being starved the whole day." Snape subsided into silence. "What’s wrong?"

Harry did not realise that his face was wet with tears. He never would have thought that he’d be so moved by the words and consideration of a man whom he had hated not long ago. "Nothing’s wrong," he whispered. "Just… I have never been this… I don’t know… happy. Long ago, I really hated you, but now… it’s so different."

Harry felt Snape hug him briefly and did not resist.

"Well then, I’m happy to welcome you home, Harry," said Snape quietly and conjured a blanket to cover them both. They listened for a while to the Christmas carols that filtered in through the windows. "If you want, we could go shopping. You must be curious as to what a Christmas bazaar looks like."

"Yes… but I’d like to sit here for awhile longer."

"Fine."

Harry didn’t want to move, he was afraid that this moment would dwindle into nothingness and disappear forever.

But…

But Snape said he’d be welcome. As well for the holidays…  And now he wanted to take Harry shopping. The whole thing had a familial feeling to it. Maybe this was what it was like to have a family.

Harry rubbed his face with one hand and bundled himself up in the blanket with the other. Then he put his head on Snape’s shoulder.

They sat there for awhile listening to the crackling hearth and for the first time Harry felt that he belonged to someone, someone who cared for him and gave him something the headmaster never could …

… a family.

oO{~S~}Oo