“So I would assume that you are not adverse to me becoming your guardian?” Severus asked as Harry finally pulled back, his eyes wet.

Harry took the handkerchief the professor handed him, unable to keep the smile off his face even as he sheepishly wiped away his tears. Somebody wanted him! Him, Harry Potter, the Freak, the Burden. The Professor actually wanted him! “I would really like that sir,” he said quietly, smiling shyly at Severus.

Severus nodded, although he allowed a small smile to curl the edges of his lips. He was going to adopt Harry Potter. Merlin, this is most definitely not what he had suspected would occur when he met the boy. He had expected James Potter incarnate, arrogant and overconfident as his father had been. Instead, although in looks he resembled Potter senior and Lily, he appeared to have a similar life to Severus’s own.

“I will have to go to Wizarding Child Services, to obtain the necessary documents,” Severus said, shaking his head to dispel his train of thought. He didn’t want to remember his past; that would upset him, and he didn’t need the added stress right now. “A former student of mine might be able to keep the paperwork from reaching the wrong hands, and ensure that it is passed without interference from the Minister or the Headmaster.” He hated to think of Albus in that manner, but he knew the man had big plans for the Boy-Who-Lived, plans which did not involve him growing up a normal boy.

“Why would they care?” Harry asked curiously. “Aunt Petunia said nobody cared about me; that’s why I was left with them.”

“Why that sadistic…” Severus muttered, trailing off before he could use a few of the more colorful words in his vocabulary to describe Petunia Dursley, nee Evans. “I knew Petunia hated magic when we were children and she wasn’t allowed to go to Hogwarts, but to take it this far…”’

“Aunt Petunia wanted to go to Hogwarts?” Harry asked, eyes wide. His aunt hated magic, but she had once wanted to go to a magic school?

“Oh yes, she was always terribly jealous of your mother,” Severus said, realizing that his recollections were probably the only time Harry heard anything about his parents. “She already disliked me, because Lily would play with me and leave Petunia to her own devices, which often served to get her in trouble with her parents, as she was prone to disobey them when she was bored. When both Lily and I received letters to attend Hogwarts, that was the final straw. She wrote a letter to the Headmaster, after Lily received her letter, asking if there was a letter waiting for her that had been misdirected somehow.”

“How’d you know that?” Harry asked. His aunt didn’t seem to be the type of person who would share a secret like that with an enemy, and it sounded like she and the Professor were definitely enemies. The smirk on Severus’s face confirmed that statement.

“I was over visiting Lily one day, and she needed something from Petunia’s room. I think Petunia had stolen one of Lily’s barrettes, she had long hair and had all sorts of them to pull her hair back with, but I can’t remember for certain. While Lily was searching for whatever it was, I saw a letter sticking out of Petunia’s desk drawer. It was on parchment, not paper, which smacked of the wizarding world. I showed it to Lily, and we read it, seeing that it was from Professor Dumbledore and he was expressing regret that Petunia couldn’t attend Hogwarts. The rest came out when Lily confronted her, accidentally, when we were leaving for Hogwarts.”

“Wow,” Harry murmured, stunned that his magic hating aunt had wanted to go to Hogwarts to learn magic, once upon a time.

“Hm,” Severus agreed, standing and donning his coat, gesturing for Harry to do the same while he went to pay.

“Where are we going now sir?” Harry asks as they leave the café and Severus leads him into an alley, out of sight of any passersby.

“Now, we will apparate back to Hogsmede, to walk back to Hogwarts,” Severus said, looking around to ensure they were really alone before he used magic. He had too much to think about already to be bothered Obliviating muggles.

No one was in sight, so he took Harry’s arm and they were gone, reappearing miles away at the edge of the wizarding village, causing Harry to look around in fascination. Before, Severus simply waited until they were past the wards of Hogwarts to apparate. Now, however, there were a few ingredients he needed for the school stores, and the apothecary in Hogsmede carried the ingredients he needed. It was a good way to kill two birds with one stone, plus Harry would get his first glimpse at Hogsmede, one of the few truly magical villages left in Britain.

“I need to stop at the apothecary, to order some of the supplies your classmates seem fond of wasting,” Severus said, looking at the silent boy beside him. Harry was looking at everything as they walked, but it seemed that his gaze was straying more towards Honeydukes brightly colored displays than much else.

“Ok,” Harry said, tearing his gaze away from the shops to look at his professor. He remembered wait outside while his aunt and cousin went into the stores, and he can barely believe that the professor would actually take him in with him. He’s also distracted by the sweetshop. He’s never been inside a muggle one, so thoughts of what a magical one would be like are very distracting.

Severus understands the feeling. Growing up, he was lucky if his family had money for food, bills, and school supplies that his father didn’t drink away, let alone sweets.

After their short trip to the apothecary, Severus gently steers Harry into the shop, seeing the surprise flit through the expressive green eyes.

“Pick something,” he said, gently pushing the boy further inside. Harry moved as though in a daze, taking in everything.

Severus knew that if any of his students were here, they would probably make a comment about him coming to stock up on more blood-flavored lollies, but in reality he went to the display of chocolate frogs. He picked up a few, wondering about which card he would get, when he felt a slight tug on his sleeve. He looks down at Harry, who is holding a box of Bertie Bott’s beans up for inspection as though afraid Severus has changed his mind, causing him to mentally curse Petunia. Without a word, he leads Harry up to the counter, paying for both the frogs and beans before leading Harry out of the store, back to the school to face the others’ reactions.