"Sir, do you love me?"

Severus snapped his head up from the book he was reading and stared at the person who had just uttered those words.

He was tempted to just say "of course" to make the boy feel secure, but he had promised the boy months ago that he would not lie to him.

Severus Snape, contrary to popular beliefs, was not one man to break promises, although he was a Slytherin.

Severus thought for a while. Since Lily's death, he had believed that his heart was dead, but after Dumbledore -that manipulative old coot!- had forced him to adopt Harry, he was not so sure after all.

When Harry was sorted into Slytherin, Severus was shocked like everyone else and also a tad more unhappy than usual, as he had to take care of the new celebrity.

Then, Severus found out about Harry being abused, he was, you could say, outraged, because after all he knew how it felt like and moreover, it was one of his own Slytherins.

Thus obviously, he went straight to the Headmaster to get Harry out of there but lo and behold, he was manipulated into adopting Harry. Maybe Dumbledore was not that senile after all!

After finding out about Harry's so called family, needless to say, Severus' view of Harry changed a little. He had lived with him and after months of making Harry trust him, he realised that he might not be that bad. Now, without Harry, he might even feel a bit empty.

Was this love? Severus had forgotten how it was like to love and to be loved.

Did worrying about the boy, trying to get to know him better, caring about every single thing about him, getting heart attacks whenever he did something dangerous, trying to make him happy count as love?

Was it even possible to ... ... love again?

Perhaps it was. Severus' instincts told him that it was, no matter how unbelievable it was.

Finally, he said quietly, "Yes, Harry, I love you."