Reaching Out by watercrystals
Summary: Severus and Harry wake to find themselves in an unfamiliar place where Lily is alive. The boys could have what they'd always wanted - a home and loving family, but there is one catch: Lily says they are father and son. Will their past resentment ruin a potentially happy future? Is any of it even real?
Categories: Teacher Snape > Trusted Mentor Snape, Parental Snape > Stepfather Snape Main Characters: .Snape and Harry (required), Draco, Dudley, James, Lily, Petunia, Remus, Sirius, Vernon
Snape Flavour: None
Genres: Angst, Family, General, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Mystery
Media Type: None
Tags: Alternate Universe, Snape-meets-Dursleys
Takes Place: 4th summer
Warnings: Neglect
Challenges: None
Series: None
Chapters: 5 Completed: No Word count: 27206 Read: 19060 Published: 21 Jun 2011 Updated: 19 May 2012
Disasters at Home by watercrystals

'Remember to behave yourself, okay?' Lily asked Harry while she stood in the doorway the following morning.

'I'll try.' Harry replied honestly, glaring once at Snape who was standing beside him as they said good bye to Lily that morning.

'That's all I ask.' Lily nodded and turned to Severus. 'I know you're still adapting, but please follow the schedule closely, and not just with the chores, but family time as well. It is important for you and Harry to take this time to bond.' She kissed Harry's cheek and then Severus', both who turned a little red at the loving gesture they were so unused to and not wishing to have a witness to.

They waved and smiled, until the door shut and Lily was gone.

Harry turned cautiously to Snape, remaining tensed as he expected the man to start shouting and making him to all the chores on his own. He wasn't sure if it was a false sense of security when Snape hardly looked at him as he pointed to the schedule pinned to a wall in the kitchen. It showed that at eight, which is was now, they were to do their chores of cleaning the kitchen, taking out the garbage, washing the clothes and dishes, and Harry had to tidy his room.

Not having any hopes for an outing, Harry went about his half of the tasks and then headed up to his room when he was finished. Waking up in this strange place where his mother and father were alive, only his mother was married to Snape, was disorientating enough, yet for the several days since it had occurred, Lily had always been there. Now she would be away for most of the week and it was only him and Snape left.

Harry was still rubbish at Divination, but he predicted with confidence that he would be spending the next seven days hiding in his room.

Unknown to him, Severus had made a promise to Lily before she'd woken Harry, to put in his best effort towards spend time with his supposed son. And therefore, when the boy emerged to make lunch as per the schedule instructed, Severus forbid him to confine himself in his bedroom like a sulking toddler. The remark earned Severus a glare in return, though the boy admirably kept his mouth shut as he continued to make sandwiches for them both.

Severus and Harry soon learned how awkward a single meal could be, as they sat across from each other at the table to eat. Harry was under the impression he was being ignored and the situation hardly bothered Snape, whereas the man himself prided in his own ability to appear that way.

'Uhm...' Harry fidgeted and wished he was allowed to flee to his room.

He did not fancy having Snape burst into his bedroom and hex his socks to strangle him, so Harry couldn't risk an escape.

'What exactly are we supposed to do for “family time”, dad?' He blushed at the realising of how adapted he was to calling his spiteful professor such a term it had slipped from his lips without prior decision.

'Stop using that ridiculous title.' Severus growled. 'I am undeserving of it.' He added before quickly answering the question. 'The schedule clearly states, for those who possess the ability to read, that you are to complete your homework whilst spending time in the company of the other residences.'

Harry looked at the schedule and read the description Lily had written there: “Help Harry with any schoolwork or just spend time together as a family.”. He wasn't convinced Snape had grasped the entire meaning of the instruction, though he remained quiet as he knew he should - if he didn't want to have pepper shakers shoved up his nose, which were positioned dangerously close to Snape on the table. Maybe he was being too paranoid, but with Snape...a certain Gryffindor Boy-Who-Wants-to-Continue-Living could never be too careful.

'Quit dawdling, Potter!' Severus barked. 'Go upstairs and fetch your homework. You shall complete it at this table.'

Grumbling under his breath, Harry shoved away from his seat and stormed upstairs to get his school belongings. He loudly dropped them on the table, which had been cleared by Severus, and plopped grumpily back into his chair. At least homework would be a distraction, Harry thought.

'If you require assistance, I will be in the living room.' Severus said as he turned and walked towards the bookshelf in the mentioned room, extracting the book he had previously hidden amongst less-suspicious topics focused on matters he cared so little for. Flipping to the page on Muggle Folklore and their magical counter-parts, Severus glanced once at the back of the boy's head before he lowered his gaze to read.

'Stupid Potions.' Harry muttered as he jabbed his quill too hard against the parchment and caused a small tear. He shoved it aside and tried to write his Charms essay instead.

He remained there for over an hour, so it seeped into his free time, yet Harry didn't mind as much despite his overall lack of progress. Once he ran out of homework to do, he would no longer have it scheduled and therefore he would gain extra free time, Harry reasoned. Unless Snape gave him more homework just to be a git and make him further miserable. He liked Snape a little more than he usually did, but Lily's absence was sorely noticed as they slipped back to their accustomed ways. Stumped with his Potions assignment, Harry refused to ask Snape for any help, so he gathered his things and headed towards the staircase.

And he had been so close, too.

'Let me see.'

Harry clenched his teeth and turned to glare at his professor. Reluctantly, he handed over his feeble attempts to complete his work and stared daggers at the floor while Snape read over them. Twelve mocking comments later and Harry was able to dump his things in his room.

Relieved, Harry looked around for something to occupy his time with until he had to start making dinner at five. He had some books and various items in his room - things he'd never have imagined at the Dursleys, yet he wasn't too interested in most of them. He ended up sitting on his bed with a practise snitch fluttering around his head while Harry allowed his mind to wonder. It was why he was profoundly startled when his shouted name broke the silence of his musing.

'Potter!'

Furious and wanting to hold on to his peaceful moment, Harry didn't think first as he inhaled and yelled back at the man downstairs.

'My name is Harry!'

'Potter, get down here this instant!' Snape's angered tone replied with no space to consider what the boy had said, only that the brat had been so rude about it.

'Ugh, fine!' Harry shoved his snitch into a drawer and stomped down the stairs, taking his time until he reached the last one. Glaring at his professor, he crossed his arms over his chest and waited for the agony that was sure to follow.

'Disrespect shall not be tolerated.' Severus narrowed his eyes. 'You will be doing the chores on your own tomorrow as punishment. Now cease your theatrics and observe the schedule.'

Growling, as he expected Snape to have added ten more things to do, Harry didn't see anything different about the schedule at all. Until he realised what time it was, as shown on the cauldron clock on the wall.

'Oh!' He couldn't believe he hadn't been paying close attention because it was almost quartered to six. He had missed nearly an hour of preparation time for dinner and his mother would be home soon!

'Why didn't you tell me sooner?' Harry rounded on Snape, who glared back with contained fury.

'It is not my duty to remind you of your tasks.' Snape retorted. 'One would assume you were capable enough to do it yourself.' He added dryly.

'Git.' Harry muttered as he rushed to the kitchen and stared making dinner.

He was, convinced Snape hadn't told him on purpose just to make him look bad to his mother and fail in his promise to have dinner ready when she got home.

-- 

And when Lily did walk through the door, she found Severus and Harry seated at the table with a very simple dinner of rice and chicken waiting for her. She greeted them both with a smile, before she sat down to eat and asked them about their day.

'It went by really fast.' Harry said.

He wanted to tell her about how unfair Snape had been and the punishment he'd gotten for nothing, as well as reveal how he was breaking the name rule by calling him “Potter”. His mother was so happy, though, he didn't have the heart to say anything. Looking over at Snape, the man appeared to be thinking similar thoughts - if only revealed by his equal silence and simplistic answer.

'Indeed.'

Harry knew then that they needed Lily. He couldn't wait for the week to be over because without her...he and Snape could hardly breathe the same air without causing trouble. And with the first day going the way it had, Harry dreaded the next six days ahead of them.


 The next two days passed by in relative silence.

Harry had been permitted to hide in his room during free time, but struggled with his homework beforehand as he continuously refused to give Snape the satisfaction of asking him for help with anything.

On the fourth day without Lily, Harry was being far more reckless in talking back to Snape when the man annoyed him. It resulted in Snape shouting as he gave Harry more punishments. Having been denied his wish to fly around on his broomstick and then being yelled at, Harry had stormed up to his room and slammed the door, refusing to come out for the rest of the afternoon.

Severus had never missed Potion-making so badly. He let the boy lock himself away for the day, if only to preserve his own sanity.

It looked as though the week was going to end twice as badly as it had begun, yet on the night of day five, Harry went to bed early and buried himself under the covers. His pretending that Snape was his father so he could live his dreams of having a family and doing family things he'd always been neglected to participate in, had been shattered. He didn't cry at the loss, but squirmed and sulked to himself. He felt bad for missing the chance to see more of his mum as she was home so little, and Harry could not stand to be around Snape even a second longer.

His eyes finally closing, Harry's mind drifted to subconscious as tears did slide down his cheeks and onto his pillow.

He hadn't meant to start the arguments, really. Other than refusing to admit he needed help with his homework, Harry had only tried to be a good son and experience the family moments he had missed out on. Nothing he did worked and Snape only got mad at everything. Harry didn't realise how much it was pulling him down, until his slumbering mind conjured a nightmare he had been unprepared for.

--

Harry was standing by the lake at Hogwarts.

It was night and the Dementors were approaching. He could feel their chilling cold and looked around for Sirius, but his godfather wasn't there. Desperate, Harry ran to the forest to search for Sirius, only he found James instead.

'What's wrong, Harry?' James asked him and looked around for the threat.

'The Dementors!' He said breathlessly. 'Where's Sirius?'

'I'm right here.' Sirius stepped forward with a smile. 'Don't worry, your dad will keep you safe.'

'You're my dad.' Harry pointed at James. 'Not Snape! He's just a git.'

'But when Remus died, Snape looked after you.' James frowned. 'He protected your mother and you. He loves you, Harry.'

'That's not real!' Harry shouted, pleading them to believe him. 'It's not real! You're my dad, James.'

It was too late, his words weren't heard because his two father-figures were gone.

He was not longer in a forest as the Gryffindor common room came into view. Ron and Hermione were sitting by the fire when Harry hurried to them, searching his robes for his wand.

'Ron! Hermione!' Harry gasped. 'I've missed you.'

'What's wrong, Harry?' Hermione asked. 'Is your dad okay?'

'Snape's not my dad! Anyway, the Dementors are coming.' Harry told them. 'We have to find Sirius.'

'I dunno, mate.' Ron frowned. 'You're not the same any more.'

'Of course I am.' Harry was shocked by their dark expressions. 'What are you talking about?' He saw his reflection in a nearby mirror, showing him dressed in the Slytherin school uniform.

'No!' Harry denied. 'NO!' He squeezed his eyes shut. When he opened them, he was in Hogsmeade and the Dementors were mere feet away, closing in on him with their darkness and cold. He raised his wand to say a spell he had forgotten the incantation of, but all it did was shoot sparks and dishes appeared in front of him to wash themselves.

'Don't ever leave me, Harry.' Lily's voice whispered and he realised he had to find her, except there was so much fog now so he couldn't see. Calling for her and crying as he feared losing her, Harry wondered what was going on. James wasn't his dad, Sirius couldn't help him, Ron and Hermione thought he was too Slytherin to be their friend, and his mother was fading away.

'It's all Snape's fault!' Harry decided.

He prepared to attack the fog with his wand when a blurry image appeared before him. It was him, only as a very small child. He couldn't see his parent's faces as they were a blur. His younger self was laughing and playing with a fluttering snitch. Then a man approached and bent down, picking up toddler Harry to allow the boy to reach the object. It was Snape.

'No, it's all wrong.' Harry shook his head, unable to accept it. 'He hates me. Why can't he just leave me alone?'

Suddenly, at his words, Harry was standing alone in a field.

The blue shy overheard was peaceful as parrots with blue and green feathers flew overhead. He looked around and saw a gravestone on the top of the hill. Curiously walking towards it, Harry was shocked to see “Severus Snape” written on the stone. Behind it more tombstones were visible. There was one for James, Sirius, Remus, and Lily. His younger self, aged about four, was standing at those ones with four roses in his hand.

Harry approached his younger self and looked down at him.

'What about Snape?' Harry asked. 'Did you bring him a flower too? I don't want him to die, just leave me alone.'

'Daddy doesn't love me.' Little Harry said. 'Daddy died with mummy in the house. Uncle Remus and uncle Sirius left too. I love them and they loved me.' The child turned and glared at Snape's grave, which was now facing them.

'What about Snape?' Harry asked again. He felt the child was going to say something else, and when he did...Harry was shocked by the hateful answer shouted by his younger self.

'No one loves Snape!'

--

In a flash of white, Harry opened his eyes and felt the warm morning sunlight shining on his face.

He swallowed and lay in his bed for a moment, trying to comprehend what he had just seen in his nightmare. No one loved Snape. Those who loved Harry had died and left him alone, and then no one loved Harry. Not the Dursleys at all, even if they were supposed to be his family. Sadness filled him, not for himself as he had regained some of those he loved, but in the realisation that maybe Snape wasn't very loved either.

Here they were in this real-or-not world where Lily was married to Snape, while James was alive and Sirius was there too. They were all connected to Harry, but not Snape. There were no cousins or other aunts and uncles, grandparents or friends from Snape's side, whereas he'd heard mentioning of Lily's parents and some of her friends. Snape was more alone than Harry, stuck in this place with a woman he may have once loved while forced to endure those who had hated him.

Harry wondered how he would feel if he'd woken up to have to share with Draco Malfoy.

'Harry-Oh, you're awake.' Lily peered into the room. 'Are you okay, sweetheart?' She asked with a concerned mothering expression when she saw his sweaty face.

'Yeah.' Harry lied and sat upright. 'I'm okay.'

'I hope I didn't wake you.' Lily said as Harry got out of bed and gave her a hug. 'I have to leave early and wanted to say goodbye.'

'Thanks.' Harry said and looked into the emerald eyes he had once shared. 'Have a good day, mum.'

'You too.' Lily kissed his cheek and turned to leave.

Harry remained standing there and turned to work out what to wear. He had gained a whole new perspective from his nightmare. His recently resurfaced rage towards Snape had faded, replaced with sadness and confusion.

If Snape died, would anyone attend his funeral or would no one care? Maybe Draco or Dumbledore would show up, perhaps. If Harry died, his friends would come and some of the staff, he was sure. He also thought so highly of his mother that he thought if she died (again), the whole world would be there to mourn. Harry never had a real family since he'd thought they'd died, and now he had a second chance. He was being selfish, because having a family meant he had a role to play as well.

And in regards to Snape, Harry felt he wasn't being a very good son...even if the man was being a git.

Dressing in a pair of jeans and a black shirt, Harry took his time waking up as he formed a new tactic. Simply going through the motions wasn't working any more, and he was determined to make this work. Hurrying downstairs, he saw Snape in the kitchen cooking what appeared to be scrambled eggs. Harry realised now, though he felt terribly guilty for it, that despite the anger he and Snape exchanged in the past few days, Snape always had breakfast ready for him in the morning. He always offered to assist with his homework if he needed. And not once did he command Harry to go to his room for the entire day. Family time meant they had to be in each other's company, regardless of how they behaved to each other, and Snape always followed through with the pre-arranged schedule.

He was almost being an okay dad, in that aspect.

Harry looked towards the books in the main room and knew Snape had been spending the days reading when he wasn't dong his tasks or mocking Harry. The teenager wondered if he missed brewing potions or having the freedom to do as he wanted. Instead, he remained in the house and read books while Harry complained and tried to avoid him. Harry wondered who was really the one being unfair.

'Thanks.' Harry said when Snape hovered a plate of breakfast in front of him, which joined the large glass of milk. He avoided looking at the man as he ate and thought about how he could fix things.

'You're quite good at cooking.' Harry commented nervously. 'What's your favourite food to eat?' He asked a couple of seemingly random questions and, for some reason unknown to Harry, the man answered.

Harry went about his chores afterwards, which were still his task entirely (other than taking out the rubbish), as punishment for his previous day's behaviour, which he was feeling really bad about now. Still without any plans for an outing, Harry returned to the kitchen rather than his bedroom and sat on the floor in a corner with a pile of books he had taken from his room. He flipped through the pages until he found something interesting in the cookbooks. Rising, he moved about in search of the ingredients and was relieved to find he had enough to work with.

-- 

For four hours Harry remained in the kitchen, moving back and forth while trying to work out the combination of muggle and magic techniques. He was worried Snape would check on him, but the man remained in the living room with his books and appeared to not care what Harry was doing.

As long as his peace wasn't interrupted and the house remained standing, Severus was content.

Storing biscuits in a tin and placing some custard tarts in the fridge, Harry turned to the counter where his masterpiece sat on a very large plate. He had brought Snape a sandwich at lunch, which he knew the man was surprised by, as it had all the ingredients he had found out Snape liked from their conversation at breakfast. Harry only received a nod in acknowledgement before they distanced once again. This time he hoped Snape would really like what he'd made and Harry had worked so hard on it. He had two failed attempts and had to clean the kitchen at least eight times, as well as himself.

It was a variety of cake, for the most part, and was very large. It had icing on the top with the word “Snape” written on it in green. He enchanted a steaming cauldron and fluttering snitch on either side of the word. Underneath was a flower petal from a lily, which he had painstakingly created himself from sugared dough. It had been so much agonising work to make and decorate the entire delicious-looking cake. His accomplishment shone on his face as he admired his work.

'I believe you ought to be doing your homework.'

Hearing Snape's reminder, Harry smiled as the man had stated it wasn't his duty to remind Harry of his tasks and yet the man continued to do so.

'Okay!' Harry called back quickly as he didn't want Snape to come check on him and ruin the surprise. Actually, he was fearful of Snape laughing at him and saying the cake looked stupid, but it was a risk he would take. All he had to do was keep it a secret until dinner and all would be fine.

Exhaling as he stepped backwards, Harry headed to his room to gather his school belongings, glad to have finished at least two of his essays over the course of the week. Not even his half-started Potions essay could ruin his mood as he looked to the far back counter where the cake was barely visible.

'Inform me if you require assistance.'

Harry looked over his shoulder towards where he could see Snape reading another book. He paused and looked down at his dreadful essay. Biting his lip, Harry growled and turned around in his chair.

'I er...could you, I mean...' Harry frowned with embarrassment. 'Could you have a look at this, please?'

Severus looked over the top of his book to make sure he'd heard correctly. With a nod, he rose from his seat and approached the teenager. The grimace on the boy's face showed he was expecting to be criticised for the little progress he had made on his essay. Severus only directed Harry to the correct sections of his textbooks because he knew it was a big step to be called upon for help, when the brat had been stubbornly trying not to for days...if the groaning and whining to himself was anything to go by.

A cracking sound interrupted the moment, which was unmistakeably the sound of failing magic. Severus looked around and wondered if he should have checked on what the brat was doing earlier when he'd been making all the noise in the kitchen. He hadn't, though, because he was tired of the scenes the teenager had been causing each day.

'Oh, no!' Harry jumped up, nearly knocking into Severus as he did so, and rushed to the kitchen. 'No, no...I did the movements right. Please, no!'

Severus tried to see what had caused the boy in such despair, but Harry's back was blocking the view. Sensing unpredictable magic, Severus snapped for Harry to stand aside and the boy did so just in time. A series of sparks shot from what appeared to be a cake, likely the result of mis-charmed icing.

With a final shudder of magic, the cake slipped and crashed onto the floor.

The yell of distraught from the teenager shocked Severus so much he was unable to react at first. Harry dropped to his knees and stared at the crumpled cake he had spent so much time making.

'It is hardly a matter of profound stress, Potter.' Severus said.

'I made it for you.' Harry's hurt tone reached him as he looked up at Severus, his eyes brimming with tears. 'I spent ages on it and I thought...I thought I did the spells right. I'm sorry.' He sniffed. 'I ruined it. I ruin everything!'

With a jerk of motion, the boy stood and fled the room, running up the stairs and slamming his bedroom door shut before he dove at his bed and shoved his face into the pillow.

Severus felt confused.

He looked down at the mangled cake and knew there was a 2-minute rule for food to be repaired without going to waste, something he was certain the brat didn't know about. With a wave of his wand, the cake re-formed and hovered back onto the counter exactly as it had been, minus the poorly made enchantments.

Severus was shocked. He saw the word too clearly, “Snape”, written in the middle with the obvious symbolism for each of them. A cauldron for himself, the snitch for Harry, and the flower petal for Lily. What statement was the child trying to make? He hadn't made it for his mother, as he'd said...Harry made this for Snape. But why? Why would the brat who hated and annoyed him go to such trouble to make a cake from muggle and magic methods and then become terribly emotional when it was ruined? And what had brought it on? Only a day ago the brat was back to his usual rebellious self and now...

'I'm a fool.' Severus exhaled as he walked to the table and sank into the seat he usually occupied during meals.

He saw it now, as he put the pieces together - right from the very first clue. The boy called him “dad” not with a sneer or mocking, but a willingness to use the title to describe Severus even if he was sure Harry didn't think of him as his father. He had dragged Severus along to a store to buy something for Lily, an action he had not performed to James or Sirius. Harry had ventured across his path multiple times in the past couple of days, regardless of how badly it turned out each time. He'd asked questions to get to know Severus better, he never objected to being in the same room with him even if it didn't like it, and once Harry had even sat in the living room with him to read a book rather than do so in his bedroom.

Severus realised, with renewed guilt, that the boy had been trying. To pretend, to be civil, or to grasp something he never had...Severus wasn't sure. He only knew he had failed the boy. Harry tried to reach out to him and Severus hadn't even noticed - instead he'd given punishments for the child's frustrations and sneered at his failings. Despite all of that, Harry then spent most of his free time making something so hard just for Severus.

He was being a good son.

Rising, Severus turned and headed up the stairs on the way to Harry's room. He stood outside it and paused, wondering if he should leave the boy alone for a while. His nerves got the better of him, so Severus turned and retreated back downstairs to plan a new strategy.

It was time he tried a little harder as well.

--

Severus waited until Harry would emerge to prepare dinner, as he always did to make his mother happy. The boy looked like a mess. Severus watched Harry pause at his homework and see the notes Severus had made for him and references to books to speed along the process.

It seemed to make Harry feel worse.

'Harry.' Severus rose from his seat from the living room and stepped towards the table.

Harry had flinched at his name and frozen to the spot, unable to face him. 'I am rather surprised you have yet to learn the effectiveness of household magic.' He grasped the boy's shoulder and sheered him to the kitchen.

'You fixed it.' Harry couldn't believe the sight in front of him.

Not only was the cake repaired as though it was still freshly made, but the animated icing was proper and spark-free. He turned and beamed up at Snape, which startled the man, and gushed his appreciation.

'Thank you!'

'I hardly did anything to warrant your gratitude.' Severus said defensively. 'I merely repaired your work. I cannot fathom why you would go to the trouble of making this for me, however I...it does look to be quite tempting. I expect your mother will enjoy it also.'

'Do you really like it?' Harry faltered a little. 'It's okay if you don't. I know it's a bit silly.'

Severus was about to scold the boy for accusing him of lying or doubting his own work. He paused as he remembered something he'd told Harry and then Lily later confirmed without even knowing he had said it. If Harry was trying to be a good son, than Severus couldn't let the boy get the upper-hand as he had to strive to be a non-dreadful father.

'I believe your craftsmanship to be quite impressive, if not because it is an admirable success, but also as a sentiment you created for me.' Severus stated. 'A gift should always be cherished, Harry, if delivered with the best of intentions.'

Had Harry not been thirteen, he might have hugged Snape then and there. However, because he was a dignified teenager, he was at loss of what to do without turning the entire moment into mush.

'Thanks, dad.' Harry smiled up at Snape. 'I'm really glad you like it.'

'I do.' Severus said. 'However, I believe preparations are to be made for dinner. Need I constantly remind you of your tasks or are you actually capable of doing so yourself? I shall place the cake in a secure location in the fridge, so enough dawdling, Harry!'

Harry cracked a smile and nodded, turning to work on a meal he knew Snape liked as he always showed up at the table faster on the nights it was served.

Severus paused nearby and remembered a few days ago, the outburst in which should have caused emotional grief rather than the smashed cake. He should have gone to the boy's room that day, he should have done more than watch the child walk away in tears as he had earlier.

He shouldn't have been so cold.

They had argued, and Harry tried to pull back a bag of prank items bought in Hogsmeade, which Severus had threatened to confiscate. The man released the object and Harry slid to the floor. He hunched there for hardly a minute and then started yelling. He'd shouted about how Severus was always so mean to him, always being unfair for things that weren't his fault, and he could never change it. Harry said he'd tried and it hurt him to want his parents, but instead be stuck with someone who hates him.

Severus should have seen the clues then, but he hadn't. He deliberately denied them, shoved the sentiments aside to deal with the angry teen who was being rude and disruptive. The boy had grabbed his belongings and hurried to his room, which appeared to be his sole safe haven in the house. Severus had let him leave, had turned and sat back down to read, and pushed the existence of the brat from his mind. Had they told her nothing more than lies every night at dinner to keep her smile shining brightly upon them, Severus knew Lily would have been profoundly ashamed of him. He saw it now. He saw the child's hurt, his loneliness, and his attempts to be kind to a man who wasn't his father and had previously been so unkind. For so long after Lily's supposed death, Severus had tried to redeem himself in her eyes, and now...now he wanted to redeem himself to her son as well.

Her son, who called him “dad”.

It stirred unfamiliar feelings inside him, feelings he feared, yet no matter how many times he felt out of place in the house and family...his cauldron symbolism had been included on the cake made by Harry. He had been accepted by a child who had no reason to accept him. It was only fair for Severus to do the same, in his own way.

'Right. I'll start dinner now.' Harry nodded. 'And thanks for the homework notes, dad. They'll really help.'

'They would not be necessary if you could complete your work in sufficient time without constantly losing focus.' Severus replied as he turned and walked back to the living room. A small smile secretly appeared on his formally stern and scowling face. Maybe Harry wasn't so bad...maybe Severus had a chance here too, to claim something he had once longed for. And he realised this now - not in the forgiving, loving presence of Lily, but the accepting, determined company of Harry.

His son had showed him the truth.

To be continued...


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