Session Transcripts by lastcrazyhorn
Past Featured StorySummary: What happens when a brain damaged Harry and a transgender Hermione both get sorted into Slytherin? Snape's not sure, but he thinks it's likely to be an interesting term. This story follows various first years through the trials of their first year
Categories: Teacher Snape > Trusted Mentor Snape, Parental Snape > Guardian Snape Main Characters: .Snape and Harry (required), Draco, Dumbledore, Flitwick, Hagrid, Hedwig, Hermione, McGonagall, Neville, Pomfrey, Ron
Snape Flavour: None
Genres: General, Hurt/Comfort
Media Type: None
Tags: Alternate Universe, Slytherin!Harry
Takes Place: 1st Year
Warnings: Abusive Dursleys, Neglect
Prompts: Minor Canon Character, Barrier to learning
Challenges: Minor Canon Character, Barrier to learning
Series: None
Chapters: 25 Completed: No Word count: 131482 Read: 179151 Published: 31 Oct 2011 Updated: 09 Jul 2017
Week 16, Christmas Week by lastcrazyhorn

"Are you sure you don't mind all of this, sir?" Vincent asked Professor Snape as they walked through the hallways toward the awaiting carriages. "I mean the schedule I wrote out. It's sort of complex and—."

"—And since I now think of Harry as my son, I assure you that it is not too much for me to keep up with," Severus interjected, placing a calming hand on the boy's shoulder.

Vince sighed and looked back at Professor with a serious expression. "It's not that I don't think you're capable, it's just that—," he paused and scratched his head thoughtfully. "I guess this is just the first time I've been away from him, and it's sort of hard, you know?"

"I do know," Severus answered with a slow nod. "You have been doing a very commendable job with him; more so than anyone has realised, I think, but now it's time to take a break."

"Yes sir," Vince answered after a moment of contemplative silence.

"You'd best get to the carriages now, Mr. Crabbe," Severus said, eyeing the growing crowd of students that had begun surging around them.

"Right," Vince answered with a small grin. "See you in January."

. . .

"My Daddy Sev said he's wants me ta make him a Christmas card, so that's what I'm gonna do, Caddy," Harry explained to the patiently listening older elf.

"Have you not drawn it yet, Master Harry?" Caddy responded, cocking his grizzled head to the side in question.

Harry shook his head in the negative. "You know whats, Caddy?"

Caddy smiled back at his young charge, and answered, "What's that, Master Harry?"

"It's not enough," Harry said with a frown. "Daddy Sev is the most bestest thing ever to happen, ever," he said seriously.

"To you?" Caddy prompted.

Harry nodded. "If I coulds," he flapped his hands in frustration. "Words. Don't like. Want to do big, be better, make my Sev happies," he panted and threw himself backward on the sofa with an impatient growl.

"You shall do your best, Master Harry, and that will be the most important thing that you give him for Christmas," was Caddy's admonishment.

Harry flexed his fingers several times as he tried to find the right words to counter Caddy's overly logical response.

"Can't do," he managed.

"What can you not do?"

"Best," Harry sniffled angrily, drawing a hand under his glasses to rid himself of the impatient tears. "Can see it my head, can see how ta say stuff, to do it, but can't. All wrong. Like 3D to flat. Like colour to grey. Feels like a four legged dog inside, but three legs outside," he said, sniffling again. "This works," he said, tapping his head. "But not dis," he added, pointing at his mouth.

"Master Harry," Caddy spoke gently, more so than was his usual. "Neither the Professor nor I think you are incompetent. In fact, he has spoken to me more than once about how very intelligent you are."

Harry had to turn his head away to hide his now very insistent tears.

"Christmas isn't about presents or necessarily about being worthy of the holiday, but instead a time for you to be with Master Severus as yourself, as his son. Do you understand me, little master?"

Harry sniffled into his sleeve, but still managed to nod back at Caddy. A moment later, they were both treated to the sound of a door opening and closing, and then the sound of footsteps heading toward Harry's room.

"Harry child?" Severus called out just before cracking the door open.

"Daddy?" Harry answered in a soft voice, before jumping up and running to hug the older man.

"What's wrong, little boy?" Severus asked, kneeling down to wrap his long arms around Harry.

"He was worried about being inadequate for your first Christmas together," Caddy answered, stepping forward into Severus' vision.

Severus' eyebrows lowered in concern over this statement, but Caddy did not elaborate. Instead, the house elf took a step backward and with a pop, he left them alone.

"I thought we agreed that you were going to make me a card?" Severus asked the boy still hugging him.

"Other peoples get presents—buy presents," Harry whispered into his shoulder.

"When have we ever been other people?" Severus chided.

Aware of his knees slowly being pulverized against the hard stone floor underneath them, he stood up with a wince and motioned for Harry to follow him into the main room of their quarters. Once seated, Harry automatically crawled into his lap and curled up into a little ball.

"Sometimes," Harry whispered after a moment of silence, "sometimes I wants that, 'cause bein' normals seems real easy."

Severus thought over that as he pulled the boy in closer to his chest. "I, for one, have never been normal, but I think I can understand what you mean." He leaned his back against the cushion behind him and closed his eyes. A thousand images assaulted his eyeballs and he sighed.

"Whatcha thinkin' abouts Daddy Sev?" Harry's little voice broke thru the parade of memories and he opened his eyes to look down at the boy.

"People I knew from my past who were your so-called 'normal.'"

"Were they happies?"

Severus felt the corner of his lips curl up sourly. "Rarely. Perhaps things were too easy for them, as you said." How many of his so-called envied friends had gone on to become Death Eaters or simply become apathetic to it all? Too many.

Those friends of mine with families and money who sold their souls to the darkness simply because it was easier than the alternative; the thought made him queasy.

"Daddy Sev?" Green eyes were staring unblinkingly up at his and he blinked several times to clear his mind of the dusty cobwebs of the past.

"Yes?"

"We're tough, right?" Harry asked, lifting his arms and flexing much like a muggle bodybuilder might.

Severus fought the laugh that was threatening to break him from his melancholy. "You could say that."

"We're big and we don't gives up, right Papa Pa?"

The chuckles died off and instead a simple smile came to his lips as Harry's sudden about-face in mood.

"We do not."

A more comfortable silence fell between them as Harry finally uncurled and relaxed against Severus' chest.

"Papa Pa?"

"Yes?"

"You really don't minds just getting' a card for Christmas?" Harry's voice held just a touch of nervousness and Severus wrapped his hands around the boy's much smaller ones.

"I will simply enjoy the time we have together. You needn't get me anything at all."

"And I can stills invite Hermes heres to spend the night on Christmas Eve?"

"Ah yes, Mr. Granger. I had not forgotten about your request. I think our holiday will benefit from his presence."

More silence, but Severus was used to such things from their many conversations together.

"Can we be Hermes' family?" Harry was very pointedly not looking at him.

"For this holiday season or longer?" Severus asked softly, releasing one of the boy's hands to reach up and pet his soft hair.

"For always," Harry whispered, pressing his face into Severus' bicep.

Severus sighed; it was far more complex than simply wanting to do right by the child—both children really.

"I wish that we could," he admitted at last.

. . .

Christmas Eve

They found Hermes in the Slytherin common room, precisely where Harry had said he'd be. The room itself was quite deserted, Hermes being the only Slytherin present amidst the many empty couches surrounding the first year boy.

As soon as they entered through the portrait, Hermes' eyes flicked toward them and then back down at the reading material in his lap.

Harry didn't wait for them to walk to where his friend was, but instead began running toward Hermes at first sight.

"Hermes, Hermes, Hermes!" He chanted, clapping his hands excitedly as he came upon the other boy.

Hermes looked up at him and allowed a small smile to grace his face in the privacy between them.

"Hi Harry," he said. "Miss me?" Hermes lips quirked upwards in a wry fashion.

"Me and my Papa Pa worked on homeworks for all my classes like we usually goes to on Tuesdays!" Harry nodded energetically at Hermes before glancing back at the calmly waiting Severus. The man was standing a few feet back from them, waiting for Harry to finish before getting to the purpose of their visit.

"Well, I hope Professor Snape is a better History teacher than ol' Binns," Hermes said with a sour grimace."

"Considering that anyone would be a better teacher than that decrepit excuse for a professor, that isn't a very difficult task to achieve. I do hope that you did not mean to imply that I was in any way incompetent in the subject matter," Severus interjected, walking up beside them and raising an imperious eyebrow.

"Of course not," Hermes was openly grinning back at Severus; something that caused Harry to flap happily at. "Only an idiot Gryffindor would do something so foolish."

"Quite," Severus responded with a slight nod.

"And thens we worked on our Potions and 'Fessor Snape let me chop ingredients for his potions and I learned whole big lots about his 'periment with werewolves," Harry babbled happily, his hand now grasping Severus' own tightly. He gave it a little swing every so often, and Hermes desperately tried not to giggle at the sight.

"It wasn't the sames as working with my Vince-y, but I still hads fun and learned lots, and my Daddy Sev said that's what's 'portant," he finally finished with, leaning into his Papa Pa's side with a contented look on his face.

"Yes well," Severus said, trying to appear stern, but failing rather spectacularly with the gentle hold he had on the little boy currently using him as a large teddy bear. "We did not come here merely to detail our day's exploits."

"Yeah?" Hermes' eyebrow raised; making Harry think of his Papa Pa using the same expression and how similar they were.

Hermes must be practising in his spare time! Was Harry's fervent thought.

Then, with a nod from his Papa Pa, Harry launched into his invitation.

"Hermes, please please please come spend the night tonight at my house, please please please!"

With a smirk, Hermes said, "I always spend the night in your House, Harry."

"No no no! That's not what I meants," Harry corrected, shaking his head back and forth as he failed to get the joke. "I wants you to spend the night with me and my Daddy Sev for Christmas Eves!"

The wary mask that seemed to exist over a majority of Slytherin faces was one that Hermes had unusual control over—especially for a first year. But at Harry's request, it slipped very briefly, allowing Harry and Severus to see a look of pure longing and wistfulness for all of about three seconds.

Then it was back up and Harry squeezed his Daddy Sev's hand meaningfully, feeling somehow that his observation didn't warrant words. In response, Severus gave him a slight nod and he felt his insides flutter at the implications.

"Will you comes?" Harry prompted, trying to look imploring and only managing to look slightly pitiful instead.

"You want me to?" Hermes asked, lifting his chin challengingly, visible doubt still showing in his eyes.

"We both would like for you to," Severus answered gently.

Hermes shrugged and gathered his books up carefully before answering, "Well, why not? Sure."

. . .

They had gone to retrieve Hermes just before dinner and now having arrived back in his quarters, Severus motioned both Slytherin first years to the dining table before summoning Caddy.

"Would you bring us a sampling of what they are serving in the Great Hall tonight?"

"Yes Master Snape," Caddy answered simply, giving a nod to Harry and Hermes before popping out of sight. A moment later he returned, and then dinner was on.

After dinner, Harry entertained Hermes by showing the other boy where his room was and also the presence of a transfigured bed that Severus had put in there.

"It's okay that I sleep in the same place with you, Harry?" Severus overheard Hermes ask at one point.

"Sure, why wouldn't it be's?" Was Harry's innocent response.

"Well . . . I don't sleep in the same room as you in the dorm," was Hermes' careful answer.

"Neither does Teddy or Gregs," Harry answered. "Why's it matter? We're both boys."

A pause and Severus leaned in closer to the partially open door.

"Yeah," Hermes said slowly. "We're both boys."

Severus heard the sound of happy clapping and he smiled briefly before going back to his own business.

. . .

"Daddy Sev?" Severus looked up and saw Harry and Hermes both hovering in the doorway to his lab. They were already in their pyjamas, and somehow managed to both look much younger for it.

"Yes?" Severus asked after casting a stasis charm on the potion in front of him.

"My Hermes says dat Father Christmas won't forgets me this year."

Severus glanced at Hermes to see a tight lipped expression gracing the other boy's face, and gave a nod of understanding.

"No, he will not. But what did I tell you about that?" Severus asked, walking over to his Slytherins and kneeling down in front of them.

Harry's face scrunched up as he visibly thought. "Dat Father Christmas needs a fireplace and dat the Dursleys didn't haves one?"

"And?" Severus prompted.

"Dat you—that we haves one now and so Father Christmas can finds me and Hermes and you and we can have the bestest Christmas evers?"

"Something like that," Severus answered, standing up and extending a hand to each boy.

Harry grasped his hand immediately and though Hermes was slower to it, he eventually did as well. He led them back to Harry's room, depositing each of them in their beds before summoning a chair. Putting it in the narrow space separating them, he sat down and lowered the lights of the room with his wand.

"Harry, would you like to say goodnight?" He calmly asked, knowing both from Vince's descriptions and from his own experiences that this was an important part of the Harry's usual night time routine.

In response, Harry reached out a small hand and grabbed Severus' own tightly.

"Goodnights Daddy Sev! Goodnights Hermes! It's times for sleeps and times for dreams and times for all good little boys to close their eyes and curl up and be kissed by their Papa Pa's and their 'Fessor Snapes. Right Papa Pa?"

"Correct, little one," Severus responded, leaning down and pressing a kiss to Harry's forehead. Harry giggled at being called 'little one,' but managed to calm down enough to give Severus a kiss back.

"Now my Hermes!" Harry instructed, pointing at the other bed.

Severus turned and reached out his hand to touch Hermes' head. "Sleep well, little snake."

His words were met by a very real, albeit brief, smile. "Goodnight sir."

"Times to go to sleep?" Harry interjected.

"Yes," Severus and Hermes answered together, causing them both to raise an eyebrow at each other.

In turn, Harry clapped happily at the sight before settling down under his covers.

. . .

2.07 AM . . .

"Daddy Sev?"

There was a small hand prodding him in the back and he grunted.

"Papa Pa? I needs to talks to you, please."

He managed to roll over.

"Daddy Sev, it's 'portant!"

Cracking one eye open, Severus waited for his vision to adjust and then asked, "Harry, what's wrong?"

Harry immediately clambered into the bed with him, so he moved back and opened up his covers to cover them both.

"Daddy Sev," Harry whispered just next to his neck. "The Dark Thing is back and it's in da forest."

Severus was abruptly much more awake.

"The Dark Thing? Did you have a bad dream?"

"The Dark Thing," Harry confirmed with a nod that he felt more than saw. "It's in da forest and it's bein' scary and—and," Harry broke off with a hitch of his breath. "It tore open somethin' white and nice and good and it tore it open and sucked on it and now the white thing is dead!"

Severus blinked hard as he tried to process the rambling line of information that Harry had just spouted at him. One particular detail stuck out at him.

"The white thing, did it have a horn on its head?"

"Uh huhs!"

Severus sucked in a breath. Harry had dreamed about something killing a unicorn and sucking its blood.

"Have you had this dream before?"

"It wasn't a dream!" Harry argued.

"But you saw it while you were asleep?"

"Yes!" Harry sounded out of breath and Severus wondered just how much of it was leftover from the terror of his nightmare.

"Do you think that this 'Dark Thing' is really out there doing things like this?"

"And we have to go help!" Harry added after nodding repeatedly against his shoulder.

"The unicorn? Harry, if this really happened, then the unicorn is dead and we can't do anything about that," Severus said gently.

The killing of a unicorn was just about as heinous a crime as someone could commit, but once it was dead, there was nothing to be done except catch the creature—or person—who had done it. And he didn't want a small eleven year old boy with him while in the forest looking for evil.

"But we have to helps it!" Harry argued back stubbornly.

"There is nothing we can do, child."

How many times had he wished otherwise in his past?

"But—," Harry tried in a softer voice.

"It is the middle of the night. The outside world is covered in deep snow and the temperatures are frigid. However, in the morning if you still feel as strongly, I'll contact Hagrid and he can go look in the forest for it."

Harry sniffled against his chest before pulling away and sliding out of bed.

"Goodnights, Daddy Sev," Harry whispered.

"Goodnight child. I am sorry."

. . .

Harry walked dejectedly back into his room.

"Harry?" Hermes' soft voice called out.

He sniffled in response.

"Did you have a bad dream?"

"Something bads is happenin' in the forest, Hermes," Harry said softly.

"Lumos," Hermes whispered, lighting up the space between them. "Is someone in trouble?"

"There's a baby and it's all alones," Harry answered, stepping close enough to Hermes that he could sit next to the other boy.

"Why is it all alone?" Hermes' voice was suddenly very intense.

"'Cause the scary bad Dark Thing just killed its mama."

He heard Hermes suck in a breath at his words.

"Is it still alive? Did you tell Professor Snape?"

"He said ta wait 'til the morning 'cause it's cold and dark and stuff, but it's just a little baby!"

"Did you tell him about the baby?"

Harry shook his head in the negative. "He didn't asks. I thought—I thought that he'd help 'cause he's the best and knows e'erything, but he didn't ask, so he said go backs to bed, but I can't because it's a baby and it needs me!"

Hermes' face took on a calculating look that was visible even in the dim light between them.

"If I don't help you, you're going to do this on your own, aren't you."

Harry just stared back at him with wide eyes and a trembling mouth.

"Well, come on then," Hermes answered, standing up. "But we're dressing first, because Professor Snape was right about it being super cold outside!"

. . .

Severus had fallen back into a restless doze after Harry had gone back to bed. Not quite twenty minutes later, the image of Harry leading the troll down the corridors abruptly entered his mind and he sat up wide awake.

If I had been awake to begin with, I would have never let him go back to his room, he thought as he rushed out of his bedroom to Harry's.

Flinging open the door, he lit his wand and looked around in dismay.

The boys' beds were empty.

To be continued...


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