Field of Broken Dreams by JAWorley
Summary: After getting sixteen year old Harry out of jail over the summer, Severus Snape must deal with a number of things, including: trying to maintain a relationship with his future wife, building a relationship with his future step-son, and trying to figure out the ever-changing enigma that is Harry Potter.
Categories: Healer Snape, Teacher Snape > Professor Snape, Parental Snape > Guardian Snape Main Characters: .Snape and Harry (required), Dudley, Dumbledore, Hermione, McGonagall, Molly, Original Character, Other, Petunia, Ron
Snape Flavour: Snape is Angry, Canon Snape, Snape Comforts, Snape is Controlling, Snape is Desperate, Snape is Kind, Snape is Loving, Snape is Stern
Genres: Action/Adventure, Angst, Canon, Drama, Family, Fantasy, General, Hurt/Comfort
Media Type: None
Tags: Adoption, Hospitalization, Incognito!Harry, Injured!Harry, Injured!Snape, Runaway, Sibling Addition, Snape-meets-Dursleys
Takes Place: 6th summer, 6th Year, 7th summer
Warnings: Abusive Dursleys, Neglect, Physical Punishment Non-Spanking, Profanity, Romance/Het, Violence
Challenges: None
Series: None
Chapters: 20 Completed: No Word count: 74912 Read: 190207 Published: 06 Jul 2012 Updated: 30 Jun 2021
Verite by JAWorley
Author's Notes:
A/N: In the second half of this chapter, these pics are the street (or something similar) that I’m envisioning. And this bottom one is just eye candy for you to help you envision the entire area they’re in.
Harry wanted to tell them, he really did, but he was altogether too upset to think straight about it. Nobody had ever offered him help like that, or just an ear to listen (or in this case two pairs). Was this what it was like to have parents? Would he have told his own parents if someone had been mean to him? Harry liked to think that he would have. These weren't his parents though. How could he tell them the Dursleys had kept him locked in a cupboard for days on end, forgotten to feed him on purpose, made him do chores until he fell asleep standing? No, if he couldn't even tell them those things, then he couldn't tell them the rest.

With a sigh Harry wished he hadn't told Sam about his black eye or broken ribs. It was obvious now that he had told. No, secrets like that were just best kept to oneself. As Harry lay on his back staring at the ceiling of the guest bedroom, he wondered if there would ever be a time he would be able to tell someone who he really was. Maybe there was no one to tell, he thought, but unexpectedly his mind flickered to Ginny, and a small smile crept over his lips. Someday maybe, he thought. He'd have to make it through the summer first and ask her out.

Harry heard his door open and glanced over to find Sam, looking uncertain.

"Hey."

"Hi," Harry said quietly, eyes returning to the ceiling.

"So... did you catch anything?"

"Nope," Harry said.

"You know, I didn't think you ran away, but mum did. She sort of... had a melt-down."

Looking back over at Sam again, Harry said, "What do you mean?"

"She started crying. She thought we'd done something to push you away again or something."

"I told you the last time I ran away, didn't I?"

"Yeah," Sam said uncertainly.

"Well, stop worrying then. I'm sure you'll know if I do." Harry really wanted to say something to the effect of ‘I'm sure you'll tattle on me' but didn't.

"Do you wanna do something today?"

"No," Harry said in a bored voice. "I think I've had enough excitement for one day, what with your dad lifting me a foot off the ground, and then your mum accusing me of being abused as a child."

"What?" Sam came in all the way now and closed the door.

"Snape didn't even give me a chance to explain. He just picked me up and started yelling at me. And then when I freaked out ‘cause I thought he was gonna hit me, he put me down. But when we got back here your mum and him called me in to tell me that I can tell them all about how ‘abused' I must have been as a child." He ended with a rather solid glare at Sam.

"Well don't look at me, I didn't say anything."

Giving Sam another hard looking over, Harry let his face relax a little bit. Well, maybe he hadn't told after all. Even in the telling of the story Harry realized that perhaps he'd given them enough evidence. With a sigh Harry ran a hand over his face. Living with a family was hard. They expected him to confide in them, but he sure didn't feel like it.

"On second thought," Harry said, "I do wanna get out of here... that is if we're allowed to leave."

"What do you want to do?"

"I don't know. Is there some place far away from here we haven't been yet?"

"There's a hiking path in the hills outside the other end of town. It would take us an hour to ride there, but I've been allowed to go before."

"C'mon then. I don't want to be here right now." He was thoroughly embarrassed as it was and didn't want to sit through lunch and get odd looks from Sam's parents. Hm... that was odd, Harry thought as he followed Sam out. Odd how he had wanted Snape to be his parent so bad, but after this morning, he was suddenly thinking of him as Sam's dad. Maybe it was because Snape had automatically thought the worst of him, just like he always had. Even if Harry had run away, there was no mention of any difficulties Harry might have been having... only that he had worried Sam and Joanna sick.

Joanna was out when Sam and Harry went downstairs, so Sam told Snape that they were going hiking while Harry grabbed some fruit and a bag of nuts from the kitchen and put them into his backpack along with four bottles of water.

"Try to be back by dinner," Harry heard Severus saying to Sam. "You'll need to pack."

Interest piqued, Harry came out of the kitchen with his backpack in tow to listen to what Snape had to say.

"Pack? Where are we going?"

"Your mother and I have decided to go on vacation. It was a trip we had been planning, and decided now would be the appropriate time to take it."

"Where?" Sam asked. "Are we all going?"

"France, and yes."

Sam frowned and turned to look at Harry, who only shrugged.

"France?" Sam turned back to Snape.

"Your mother expressed a desire to visit there. We will be gone for four days, so you will need to pack accordingly."

"Four days. Got it," Sam said. "Back later!"

Outside, Harry looked at Sam and asked, "France?"

"Don't know. I never heard mum say anything about it. I've never been out of country before except to go to Hogwarts."

"Me too," Harry said.

So, he thought. This year, they'd be spending his birthday in France. There was a first time for everything.

* * *

Harry and Sam were surprised to find out that they were actually leaving that night. Sam was excited, but Harry was tired from their all day hike in the hills, and rather wanted to lock himself away in the guest room again for the night. Instead he packed four new pairs of pants and four new shirts into his bag along with his wand and several of Sam's Quidditch magazines, and went downstairs to sit on the couch next to Sam as they waited for Snape and Jo to be ready.

"Look," Sam said, pulling a camera out of his bag. "I got this Muggle digital camera last year for Christmas. But Mum's charmed it so that instead of using a computer to get the pictures off, we tap it with our wand next to a piece of parchment or canvas, and the picture that's on the review screen will come out."

"Let's see," Harry said. He took the camera Sam was holding out and took a picture of Sam sticking his tongue out. Then Sam grabbed a spare bit of parchment, nothing more than a scrap really, from the coffee table and transferred the image to it, making Harry laugh.

"Want to put it somewhere for Snape to find?" Harry asked.

Laughing, Harry and Sam ran to the front door and stuck it into Snape's suitcase on top of his folded shirts, before zipping it up again hurriedly and standing up straight as Snape and Joanna came down the stairs.

"We will apparate together," Snape said as Joanna shrunk down all of the luggage into candy sized pieces and packed it all into her purse.

Harry grabbed Sam's arm, and then Snape grabbed Harry's arm making Harry flinch. Harry knew that Snape gave him a look at that, but he refused to acknowledge it. Joanna likewise grabbed Sam's arm, and before the boys could expect it, they were gone, reappearing moments later on a dark street in France.

Expecting to see Muggles, Harry was surprised to find they'd been taken to a street similar to Diagonalley, only with a vastly different style of architecture. The street was well lit and full of witches and wizards in a variety of clothing. Some were in cloaks, and others were harder to distinguish from the average Muggle going out for a night on the town.

"So, we're in France now?" Sam asked as Severus and Jo let go of he and Harry.

"Yes," Severus answered. "This is Vérité Rue. It is a long lane hidden from Muggle's in the middle of Paris. There is also a magical street on either side of us, Vérité Ruelle, and Vérité Route. The entire area within the magical bounds is called Vérité."

"What's Vérité Sam asked."

"I think it means truth," Joanna said then. "And Rue, Ruelle, and Route all mean Lane or road."

"Should we have drank the potion?" Harry asked then, suddenly aware once again that there were quite a lot of people around them, although no one seemed to be paying them much attention.

"No," Severus said, motioning for them to begin walking down the street. "We're under a charm I placed before we left. We see each other as we are, but others will not be able to distinguish our true appearances. I believe if you look in the mirror once we're at the inn that you'll see how you look to any onlookers."

"How long will it last?" Harry asked, feeling all business. It wasn't only his life at stake after all, was it? If anyone found out he was staying with Sam and Jo, then their lives would be at risk as well.

"It will last the remainder of the trip, which is why we're only staying four nights. It's unsafe to use the charm for any longer than that, and no more than a few times a year, four at most." Harry and Sam could tell he'd gone into teaching mode as Joanna opened a door and lead them inside a five story building.

"Nommé?" the attendant asked, and Snape stepped forward, rambling off a long list of French words that nobody but the desk clerk seemed to understand.

After a few minutes Snape had been given a key and he lead the way up a narrow staircase. Harry thought that while the hotel was very small, with long narrow rooms, it was posh, with hanging chandeliers and high ceilings, and walls with golden embossed wallpaper and gold painted trim.

"I didn't know you spoke French," Sam said.

"Another charm," Snape told him as he unlocked a door up on the fifth floor. "We'll preform it on you tomorrow morning before going out so that you can converse with people."

"Cool," Sam said, looking impressed.

The room was small, but it had a large bed at one end and a bunk bed at the other. In the very center of the room there was a door that lead to a small bathroom.

After Harry had claimed the top bunk, Severus conjured tall screens to put around his and Joanna's bed, and two more to put around the bunk bed so that everyone could have some privacy.

Harry was immediately drawn to the entire wall of windows. Because they were on the fifth floor, Harry could see for quite a ways. He was sure he was seeing outside of the magical streets and out into Paris. It was a good view from his bunk.

Seeing that it was nearly ten when they had finally gotten there and gotten settled in, everyone was tired and had decided to turn in for the night, but Harry spent another hour laying in his bunk and staring out the window. He'd never been much of anywhere before, and he was fascinated that in the space of a few hours he'd been transported to another part of the world. Maybe he wasn't known here... maybe Voldemort didn't have his grips on this place yet. Maybe he would come back here in the future, and make for himself a new life. They were sweet thoughts that lulled him into a peaceful sleep, for which he was thankful in the morning.

* * *

Joanna wanted to go shopping in the morning, so after they had breakfast in a small café next to the hotel, they set to exploring the cobbled Vérité Rue, which was once again crowded with people, much as it had been the night before.

"Is there a Quidditch store?" Sam asked, as his mother tried to drag them into a third store that only sold candles.

"I believe there is one down on Vérité Ruelle," Severus said then, also looking bored with the candle store that held candles carved into every animal imaginable.

"You boys go ahead," she said then, preoccupied with a candle in the shape of a phoenix, one of the symbolic creatures used to represent healers at St. Mungos. "I'll probably just be a shop or two down when you get back."

"Indeed," Severus said as he followed Harry and Sam out into the fresh air again.

Harry and Sam watched interestedly as they made their way to the end of Vérité Rue and the architecture began to change into something more modern, with clean lines and simple color schemes. By the time they had turned the corner and made their way onto Vérité Ruelle, it was as if they'd entered a different world altogether.

"It looks like it's all clubs," Sam said in awe. "It's so different."

"Most of this street holds clubs, pubs, art galleries, coffee houses, and writer's guilds. The Quidditch store is down near the other end," Severus explained.

"Wow, bet this is packed at night," Sam said, and Harry nodded, noting that there were a lot more young people on this street than on Vérité Rue.

Harry and Sam didn't need to read French to figure out which store sold brooms. Halfway down the street there were thirty or more young boys staring into a massive shop window displaying the newest and fastest brooms.

"What- is that?" Harry asked in awe, drawn to the display as well, where a highly glossy red broom floated by itself. The paint seemed to shimmer as he stared at it, and Harry rather thought that the black bristles looked as if they might burst into flame at any moment. The sign under the broom read: "Les Coulées De Lave Quake." While Snape had performed the language charm on Harry and Sam before breakfast that morning, it didn't allow Harry to read French.

Severus moved past Sam and Harry's open jaws and said, "It reads: Lava Quake."

"We have to go in," Harry said then. He pushed past the throng of children and into the store, which was surprisingly empty. There was a sign just inside the door that Severus told him read: "Quidditch players, guardians, and associates only."

"Well, that explains why all the kids are out there and not in here," Harry said.

There were several brooms, all of different colors, and while they seemed of interest to Harry, he went straight to the Lava Quake. He could feel the magic emanating from it when he got close.

"Thees eez some broom, yes?" the tall French shop owner came over and motioned towards the broom in a heavy French accent.

Harry nodded. "I had a Firebolt," he said then. "How does this compare to that?"

"Thees broom is considerably faster," he said, "eet moves so fast zat ze tail catches on fire as you move."

"What about these?" Sam asked then, motioning to an electric blue broom.

"You play Queeditch too?" The shop owner asked skeptically.

"Yes," Sam lied, and the shop owner nodded and came over to him.

"Zat is ze Water Beam. Eeet's movements are said to be so fluid, zat opponents will not even see you move through ze air."

Tearing himself away from the Lava Quake, Harry went to look at the Water Beam, and then moved to a shiny silver broom that looked as if it were made of solid metal.

"What's this?" Harry asked, and the man smiled before he crossed his arms.

"You cannot afford zat broom."

"Ok, but what is it?"

"Thees is ze Steel Mimicry. Ze boys out in front, ze just call eet ze Mimic."

"What's it do?" Harry asked. Even Snape seemed interested.

"What does eet do he asks me," and then the man laughed. "Eeet senses your thoughts before you even think them, and then acts, taking you where you need to be. It flies fast and brakes hard, giving players like ze beater a throw that will knock a player out cold for a week. Last month a chaser on ze French National team threw a Quaffle from one of these Mimic's, and eet hit ze metal goal post, knocking eet off the pole." By the time he was finished, it was obvious that he'd worked himself up into quite an excitement just in describing the broom.

"Eight ‘undred Galleons thees broom costs."

"What about the Lava bolt?" Harry asked.

"One ‘undred Galleons. Both ze Seeker and three of ze Chaser's on ze French National Team fly the Lava bolt."

"How does it compare to the new Lightningbolt?" Sam asked then, and the man threw his hand into the air and laughed.

"Ze Lightningbolt? Nothing but a poor attempt by those Britons to catch up with what ze French National team flies."

"They sell the Lightningbolt in Germany too," Sam said, "and Quidditch Weekly said the Chinese National team is outfitted with it too."

"Well perhaps zen you should go and buy a Lightningbolt. You will never beat a person on any of these brooms with it."

After leaving the shop, Harry repeated, "One hundred Galleons? That's a steep price. The Lightningbolt is only seventy five and that's twenty more than the Firebolt cost when it first came out."

"He sure got into a huff when I started asking questions," Sam said.

Harry shrugged. "Maybe it's just the French way."

Grinning suddenly, Sam bumped shoulders with Harry and said, "Guess you're French then huh?"

"Hey!" Harry chased Sam a little ways down the street, both boys laughing as Severus watched. They seemed to get along so easily. How was that, when Severus had to work so hard to get along with either boy?

* * *

Harry had been having quite a lot of fun on their surprise vacation, and had almost forgotten that his birthday was the last night of their trip. To celebrate their last night, Joanna had decided that they should go out into Muggle Paris to a nice restaurant for dinner. They all dressed up, and Severus had helped Sam and Harry with a spell to help flatten their hair.

During dinner, Harry started to feel down because he wished they were out celebrating him that night instead of the end of the trip. He'd never had a proper birthday party before, having always been stuck with the Dursleys in the summer when his birthday came around. Not wanting to feel sullen after such a nice few days, Harry decided to just pretend that they were out celebrating his birth, and put on a wide smile, hoping that if he looked the part, he might feel it as well. No one appeared to be any the wiser.

In the taxi on the way back to Vérité after dinner, Harry watched the night time streets of Paris pass by, and tried to imagine that they'd given him presents for his birthday too, but his fantasy was ruined when he couldn't imagine a single thing they'd give him. They had given him clothes, Harry thought, but he only remembered his feelings of being indebted to them for the large purchase. By the time everyone had settled down for bed, Harry was in a sour mood, everything the opposite he'd wanted to feel on his birthday.

Feeling conflicted about his feelings, Harry got out of bed and snuck past the sleeping occupants of the room, and out onto the balcony to look out over Vérité Rue and Muggle Paris. By all rights he shouldn't be upset. This time last year he was sleeping on the floor of the cupboard under the stairs on his birthday, wishing he was just allowed out to have a shower for a birthday present. Now he was in Paris of all places, and feeling angry... disappointed even that nobody knew it was his special day. I must have some nerve, he thought. Maybe uncle Vernon was right for all those years and I really am ungrateful.

Harry was so deep into his own thoughts that he didn't notice the door slide open behind him, and Snape stepping out onto the balcony, fully dressed.

"Why are you still up?" he asked quietly. Harry was surprised to find him there, and also surprised that he didn't sound angry.

"Couldn't sleep," Harry said. He couldn't help letting a little of his bitter feelings seep into his voice.

"Because?"

Harry shrugged and looked back out over the city lights, leaning on the black rail.

"You appeared to be... unsettled on the way back to the hotel."

"Oh well," Harry said. "Nothing new there. I'm sure you and Jo will try to harass me about it later, right? Maybe next time you can get Sam in on the action."

With a sigh Severus crossed his arms. He had been right when he'd told Jo they shouldn't approach Harry like they had. On the one hand they'd needed to tell Harry that they were there for them, but on the other, they'd clearly embarrassed him.

"I see no need. I was merely curious. I will leave you to your thoughts."

Severus turned to go back into the room, but Harry said quietly, "It was my birthday tonight," and Severus paused, hand on the door. When he turned back, Harry was still leaning on the rail in the chill night air, staring out over the city.

"You didn't say anything."

"No reason to," Harry said, still not looking up at Severus. "Nobody ever celebrates it."

"You've never had a birthday party?"

"No," Harry said. "And we're in France this year, so my friend's couldn't send me presents... not that they'd know where to send them anyhow."

Long minutes ticked away as they stood on the balcony in silence, before Severus put a hand on Harry's shoulder, and said, "Come with me. Be careful not to disturb Sam and Jo when we go in."

Curious, Harry followed Snape inside, where he swapped out his PJ's for jeans and a pair of sneakers, and then followed Snape out into the hotel hallway.

"Where are we going?" Harry asked.

"Out into Muggle Paris."

Harry felt his stomach clench tightly then, and he wondered if Snape was going to pull an uncle Vernon and just drop Harry somewhere without a way to get back. Was there a French Version of the Knight bus or magi-cabs?

"What are we going to do?" Harry asked.

"Get something to eat," was the only reply Snape gave him.

Out on Vérité Rue, Snape lead Harry to one of the exits, where they came out onto a distinctly Muggle street. Where Vérité Rue was still full of people despite the late hour, the Muggle street was completely empty. There was not even a stray cat to break the stillness, which Harry and Snape were now doing.

"Is there anyplace open?" Harry wondered out loud.

"Yes, but we'll need to make our way there. A few streets over is a night district similar to Vérité Ruelle."

Harry had a silly thought then that Snape desired to go clubbing, but stifled a laugh with a thought that he did not seem the type.

After a fifteen minute walk, they rounded a corner and met a street full of people with lots of businesses that were still lit up.

"Right here," Snape told Harry, who took a seat at a small sidewalk table in front of a little café. There were Christmas lights along the trellis and overhang in front of the café, and it lit the outdoor seating area nicely.

"Won't Jo worry if she wakes up and we're gone?"

"I left her a note," Snape said then, and Harry nodded. Should he have left a note when he went fishing? It wasn't in the rules he thought. If only they would tell him the rules...

The waiter came out after a moment and Snape ordered a coffee. When he turned to Harry, Harry ordered a milkshake, but Snape held up his hand and told the waiter to bring out two pieces of cake as well.

"As you wish," the waiter said as he moved off into the café.

"Cake?"

"Does one not customarily eat cake on their birthday?" Snape asked, and Harry turned red.

Harry was about to open his mouth and say that he'd never really had birthday cake before, except the one Hagrid had baked him, but was surprised with the speed that the waiter came back out with their order. It had barely been two minutes.

"Thank you," Harry said. He'd asked for a caramel latte milkshake, and as he took a sip, he thought that he didn't even need the cake, because this was desert enough. As Harry looked up though, he saw Snape taking a bite of his chocolate caramel crumb cake, and decided to give it a try anyway. Somehow, everything tasted better in France.

After they had taken their time eating their midnight desert, Harry and Snape continued walking through the clubbing district, and then out into a residential neighborhood that looked similar to Vérité Rue.

"Have you been to France before sir?" Harry asked then. He did seem awfully familiar with the area.

"I did six months of apprenticeship here to a Potion's Master on Vérité Route."

"What about Jo? Sam said he didn't know she wanted to come here."

"She also did an apprenticeship here, in a different year from when I was here. France is known for its magical healers. I believe this is where she met Sam's father."

"Oh," Harry said. "Sorry." He hadn't meant to make Snape think about Jo's previous husband. Great, he thought to himself, now it's awkward.

"Why?"

"Well, I didn't mean to make you think about Sam's dad."

"Do not be sorry. He is a part of hers and Sam's lives, even if he is gone."

That was true, Harry thought. His parents were a part of his past. He still wondered what James or Lily would have done in some of the situations he got himself into.

"I knew your mother," Snape said then, and Harry looked up in the darkness as they walked.

"You did?"

"Yes." He was silent again and Harry thought it wasn't very nice to just mention that he knew her and not say anymore, but Harry kept quiet anyway. It was a few more minutes before Snape continued with, "We were friends before we went to Hogwarts. She and her family lived a few streets over from me in London. Just after we graduated... we dated briefly."

Harry stopped walking then and just stared at Snape's back. It took him a moment to notice that Harry had stopped walking, and when he turned around, Harry picked his jaw up off the ground and caught up to his Professor.

"Dated?" Harry was astonished. "Why does nobody tell me these things?"

"It was not... pertinent," Snape said. Harry noticed that they were nearly back to the entrance of Vérité now.

"Because you hated my dad?" Harry asked, and Snape gave him a serious look, though not one that made Harry want to back away from his question.

"We will leave it at this," he said. "We are nearly back to the hotel." Harry looked up and realized it was true.

As Harry lay back in his bunk that night at nearly two am, he thought about a lot of things, like how his birthday hadn't been so bad after all. But his mind kept flitting back to the more serious issue that Snape had dated Lily. He dated my mother right after school, Harry thought. My mother. What did my father have to say about that? Oh... damn. Harry was sure if someone had seen him then that his face would have gone ghostly white, because another thought had entered his mind. He wasn't sure how old his parents were when he was born... but it did seem possible that Lily was fairly young. Did that mean? Harry didn't fall asleep until the sun came up, because he was too busy questioning, ‘Is Snape really my father?' and the only answer he got was, ‘I wish he were.'

To be continued...
End Notes:
What did you think? What do you think will happen next? Why did Snape tell Harry that? Anything you guys would like to see?


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