Harry never imagined that he’d have such a moment with this professor, of all people. In fact, he never imagined a softness from the man that was revered as the most scary professor in the school – yes, this was softness. Snape had done this because he felt that Harry had needed it and yet, the man had shown softness afterward.

And Harry had to admit, he had needed it.

This was different than the times his uncle had punished him. His uncle had done it simply to cause pain. He never scolded, just berated. Snape, on the other hand, had punished Harry to teach him a lesson; all so that he might learn from his mistake.

It was almost nice to get all that emotion out. He’d been keeping everything bottled up inside so much that this punishment had been the perfect occasion to let everything out. A burden had lifted from his chest now. Everything just seemed a little better now. There was still much to make up for, however.

Harry sobered.

“As my last action as a Potter—” There was an eyebrow raise at this. “—I wish to offer my sincere apologies for my…”

Harry trailed off, pausing for a moment; trying to grasp for the right word to describe his father. He no longer wished to acknowledge James Potter as such any more. Ancestor sounded too far back. Sire made James sound like a horse – not necessarily a bad thing, though. Then, he remembered Hermione mentioning something… Progenitor.

Harry was going to have to learn some new words after this.

“In the place of my progenitor, I want to apologize. I’m truly sorry for his actions and I’m sickened by them. You don’t have to forgive him, but I still want to say that to you.”

Snape only stared at him. Harry stared back. Well, it was a strange situation, but Harry was sincere.

“You never cease to baffle me,” said Snape after a moment.

“Oh…”

“In this case, I would say it is not a bad thing.” A smile began to lift Harry’s face. “However, I think you are overreacting to what you saw.”

“I don’t want to be like him,” whispered Harry, drawing a knee to his chest; not noticing that he was putting his shoes on the man’s sofa. A hand tapped his knee.

“Take your trainers off,” instructed Snape.

“But—”

“You’ll not be returning to Gryffindor Tower tonight, but will be sleeping on my couch. It is far too late and I don’t need an overemotional Gryffindor getting lost in the castle. I’m also quite sure you do not want any odd inquiries sent in your direction about what has your eyes red and puffy.

Harry flushed deeply, but he was thankful nonetheless. Within a moment, he had removed his shoes; the tips of his feet slipping them off at the heels one at a time. He curled his legs to his chest once done and wrapped his arms around them.

His cheeks were flushed a little at what had happened tonight. He never expected that Snape would do something like taking him over his knees. What a childish punishment! Harry figured that he could put up a fuss about it, but in the end, it wasn’t nearly as bad as being made into potion ingredients. Neither was it as impersonal and defacing as what Umbridge had been doing to him.

Snape also hadn’t made fun of him for crying. He hadn’t been his usual extremely cruel self, either. Sure, he was harsh, stern, and fierce, but that was to be expected now, considering what Harry had done. The man had also been something that Harry was greatly unused to when it came to authority.

He’d been soft afterward.

“I wish I was in Slytherin,” whispered Harry. The man sitting next to him went rigid. “Then, I would be nothing like them. There would be nothing to compare. I would be different.”

Not to mention… You’d be my Head of House. Would you have stopped me from doing all those crazy things I always felt I had to do since no one would listen to me? You’re giving me more attention than all my other teachers combined throughout the years. You’re actually listening to me.

Why?

I wish had tried to figure you out earlier.

The sigh that escaped Snape signified his pure exhaustion on the matter.

“Harry, listen. You realize there is no lost love between me and your father and his friends. However, I cannot deny that your father hated the Dark Lord and the Dark Arts. He fought against the darkness until his dying breath.”

“But what about my mother?” demanded Harry. “She hated him! How could she marry him?”

Snape looked away, his eyes darkening considerably.

“I knew Lily well. She would not have married Potter if… if she had not loved him.”

Harry sat there, taking in that meaning. Snape had called his mother by her first name. There was a softness when he spoke of her, something never heard in the man’s voice before. There had always been a hard edge when he spoke of James Potter. But that edge was not in his words about Lily.

“You… You were friends with her, weren’t you?”

There was a pained pause. Snape closed his eyes.

“For a time.”

“And then, she abandoned you,” said Harry, his feelings hardening once again. How she have done that? How could she abandon her friend?! She should’ve known, she should’ve stood by him no matter what. In the end, she was no better than Lupin. She had walked away when a friend needed her the most.

And these people had been hailed as heroes?

“I had long fallen before that event,” said Snape, speaking quietly.

“Still doesn’t make it all right,” insisted Harry. “She should have never abandoned her friend.”

“Humans are imperfect, Harry.”

The owner of that name gazed into the man’s dark eyes, his body loosening up from its curled position. He realized that Snape stopped slipping up. The man was addressing him by name. Harry found that every time the man did so, a warm glow would fill his heart; as if Snape simply calling him by name also meant that he was acknowledging him for who he truly was.

“You keep calling me Harry.”

There was an amused snort.

“You wouldn’t answer to anything else.”

“I won’t,” said Harry, his heart hardening again. “I’ll only answer to Harry now. I don’t ever want to be called that other name again.”

There was a long moment where Snape merely stared at Harry, puzzlement entering those dark eyes. Finally, there was a shake of the head.

“You’re such a strange child.”

A smile tugged at Harry’s mouth. He rather liked the sound in the man’s tone as he said that. Suddenly, Harry didn’t want the moment to end. For some strange, odd reason, every part of his soul wanted to be near this man. He didn’t want their time to end. He didn’t want the attention to end. It was the first true time an adult had an interest in him – even more than the interest Sirius had shown for him.

This seemed more like the interest a parent gave their child and Harry craved that beyond anything in this world. He wanted that and he didn’t even care if it were Snape offering that. In fact, he found he didn’t mind that this harsh, stern, fierce man fulfilled such a role – because even through all that, there was a softness that existed there.

He had felt it. He was still feeling it. And he wanted to keep feeling it.

“I still want to do our lessons. Please, I’ll do better.”

Snape gave out a long sigh.

“I highly doubt you deserve another chance after what you did. It was inexcusable – no matter your intentions. I can’t safely allow you to continue if you have no regard for secrets that should not fall into the Dark Lord’s hands.”

“Please, Professor,” begged Harry, the words tumbling from his mouth quickly. His legs slipped back down, so that he sat normally on the couch once more. “Even if you have to punish me more, I don’t care – I’ll accept it. Please. I promise to do better. I won’t get into trouble. I’ll obey the rules. So please.”

Snape’s eyebrow seemed to twitch with mild amusement as he raised it.

“Oh, believe me, Harry, from now on if I ever catch wind of you breaking any more school rules – even a single one – you’ll be over my knees again for another lesson you soon won’t forget and faster than you can ever utter the name of that reckless game you call a sport,” said Snape, his dark eyes glinting sharply and severely. “And be rest assured that I will know every infraction you commit the day you commit it. The day will not end without a suitable consequence. No more foolishness will be tolerated by me. I will be watching you.”

For some reason, something warmed inside Harry’s heart – even with a fully loaded threat that would without a doubt be fulfilled should Harry step out of bounds. The man’s words were chilling, however, they also meant something bigger than either of them truly understood at that moment. Snape actually cared; he really and truly cared at that moment. He was going to invest his interest in Harry. That was what all that meant. ‘I will be watching you.’

Just like a parent.

“You promise?” asked Harry, an almost vulnerable, childlike yearning appearing in his expression. Snape sucked in his breath, his eyes widening – his usual impassive nature completely being unveiled. He let out a low breath finally. Then, something truly amazing crossed through the man’s face and it was at that moment, Harry knew the future had changed. He knew in that moment that everything was going to be different.

Even with the past animosity, a new era was about to begin.

Snape leaned forward and picked up something from the floor. Then, he sat back up and took Harry by the hand, placing a pair of round, black glasses into the palm there. Harry only glanced down for a minute, before looking back up at the man. His eyes were not lost behind the glasses. They were in their purity. There was a hard swallow and an Adam’s apple bobbed slightly. Dark eyes softened.

That hand hadn’t withdrawn its soft touch.

“I promise, Harry.”