After re-reading Lily’s letter, Severus sat on the bed letting what he read sink in. With his memories back, he couldn’t help but feel betrayed. After all this time, his memories were only being returned now! Trying to calm his breathing, Severus stood up and began pacing. Biting his lower lip and pressing the palms of his hands into his eyes, his thoughts were on Potter, Harry, his son. What had he done to him all of these years! Finding out what the muggles did to Pot… Harry shocked him, however now, knowing that he himself had treated Harry the way he had; he was ashamed.

Knocking could be heard from another room in the house. Wiping his sweaty palms on his pants, the professor opened his bedroom door and peered into the hallway. Harry was slowly making his way downstairs. Quickly shutting the door, lest Harry see him, he sat back down on his bed. Checking the time, he realised that it was only 5:00am. What was he going to say to the boy that he had terrorized all these years? The boy hated him, and with the news of him being the boy’s father, this would crush the perfect image he had of James Potter. Deciding that he did not want to face the boy quite yet, he laid down on the bed gazing up at the ceiling. Having his memories back all at once drained his magical core. After 10 minutes of ‘counting sheep’ so to speak, the professor was now sound asleep. All that could be heard was Harry walking around in the kitchen preparing breakfast. 

As Harry sat on the kitchen table he rubbed at his eyes, trying to rid the sleepy feeling he had. He could vaguely remember what happened yesterday, it was all a bit of a blur. Looking at the clock he realised that it was only 5:00am. Deciding that he was actually quite hungry, Harry took out a pan and decided to make some scrambled eggs on toast. Ten minutes later Harry sat at the table slowly eating his food, whilst peering outside observing the weather. Even though it was summer, it looked quite chilly, the wind was blowing, and leaves were being thrown back and forth. After sitting in the kitchen for an hour, Harry turned to face the ceiling; hearing a creek from upstairs.

Severus Snape was tossing and turning in his bed. Only to be jolted awake as he heard a frying pan clank onto the kitchen floor. Listening intently to the noises, he realized that it must have been Potter.. the boy… his son. His ‘son’, how foreign the words sounded in his mind. Falling back onto his pillows and sighing, the potions master was at a loss once again. What should he do? How was he going to tell the child that he was his father? After pondering for what felt like 20 minutes, Severus decided to get up and have a shower.

After contemplating yesterday’s events in his mind, he got out of the shower, dressed in the same clothes which he charmed clean, and walked to stand at the top of the stairs. Taking a deep breath Severus found his courage and walked down the stairs. 

Striding into the kitchen the first thing he realized was the frying pans on the cook top. The boy had obviously cooked himself something to eat. The next thing he realized was the fact that the boy was openly staring at him. Swallowing, Snape walked over to the kettle and started to boil water to make some tea. Even when his back was to Potter, he could feel the teenager’s eyes on him. After fixing himself his tea, he turned to face the boy.

“Morning Harry” Snape said, shocking himself; only just realised what he said. He had meant to say ‘Potter’, however, somehow, he said the boys first name. Both father and sons face took on a similar appearance of disbelief. Shaking his head like trying to remove a bad memory, Harry responded.

“Good morning Professor. Umm (the boy hesitated) I’ve made some Bacon and Eggs, there’s some leftover if you want”. Harry spoke this in a soft tone and looked to the table when he saw that Professor Snape’s eyes continued to stare at him. 

Shaking himself out of his stupor, Snape was astonished that the boy had thought to make extra breakfast for him. Having done nothing but berate the boy during his years at Hogwarts. The child still showed him kindness. Only just realizing how like Lily he was. Still showing kindness to someone when they had done nothing to deserve it. Seeing as the boy was obviously frightened of Severus’ response, he was probably waiting for the onslaught of insults from his Professor, just like in every potions class.

Instead of making a snarky remark, Severus went to the cupboard and grabbed himself a plate; scooping some eggs and bacon onto it. After applying a heating charm, he took the plate back to the table and sat down. Looking at the boys hunched shoulders he finally spoke to the boy.

“Thank you, this smells very good” Immediately the boy looked up and smiled hesitantly.

Snape blinked at the boy, realizing that Harry’s smile reflected not Lily’s bright smile, but his own. It was a cautious smile, one that the young Severus would often wear. Damn those muggles, having made the boy feel cautious and worried that he would be immediately punished. The potion professors heart sunk however, when he realized he was more or less truly at fault for the boys reserved behavior.

As Harry smiled Severus saw the boy scratching the back of his head. All of a sudden Snape’s memories came flying forward, yesterday’s events and Harry’s fall in particular. Dropping his cutlery with a clank he spoke. 

“How is your head? I apologise for forgetting” Drifting off Severus started to think about what a bad parent he would make for the boy. His son had been hurt, but by him being so worried about the Lily’s letter, he got side tracked and had neglected to see if the boy had any residual pain from the fall. He only snapped out of his thoughts when he realized Potter was speaking to him.

“I’m ok, my head is just a little saw, it’s slightly itchy” He said, continuing to scratch the back of his head.

Snape stood up abruptly and strode to the basement, aka, his potions lab.

Snape was acting very peculiar Harry thought. He seemed distant but had been nothing but decent to him. Apologising for forgetting about his fall, then even thanking him for the food. Watching Snape walk back into the kitchen, the potions master sat down and placed two vials on the table in front of Harry.

“The first vial is for the tenderness and pain in your head, the second is to prevent infection. Just a top up from the potions you digested yesterday. Again, I apologise, I should have given you todays doses as soon as you woke up”

Harry could only stare at his professor, again he was apologising! “It’s ok, I’m not in that much pain” Harry spoke in a soft voice. The only reply was a ‘mhmm’ as the potions master looked out the kitchen window and continued to eat his breakfast with a distance in his eyes. 

After Snape finished eating his food, he cast a scourgify on the frying pans and dishes. Walking back to the table Snape’s face turned serious. 

“As you are aware our possessions have been lost in the fire. Therefore, we are both in need of purchasing new clothes, not to mention bed sheets, towels etcetera. The muggle world would be the best place, considering as we are now both wanted by Death Eaters. Do you think that you will be well enough to venture outside? Mind you, we might be gone for the whole day”

“Yes sir, I will be fine. If we can’t go to Diagon Alley, how will we have access to Gringotts?”

“There is no need to go to Gringotts. I have an emergency safe in this house. I believe the money to be more than substantial for both of our needs” Severus could see the boy getting a little uncomfortable.

“I… Um… Ok well, If I messaged Gringotts could they send me my money?”

“I’m sure they could, although there is no need for that. As I’ve stated there is enough for the both of us. Where we will be going, there will be no need any prank items, therefore you will need no wizard…” Cut off by Harry, the boy began to speak heatedly.

“I know that, I meant for the clothes!” Having understood why the boy was so jumper, the professor replied.

“I have taken on the role of being your guardian have I not? Therefore, it lies within my role to give you the basic necessities.”

“But the Dursley’s…”

“Were despicable, and poor excuses for guardians, you should have been given so much more than what they gave you. They will get what’s coming for them Potter, you can be assured of that.” The professor spoke with such a vindictive tone, the boy shrank a little.

“Harry”

“I beg your pardon?” Snape looked confusedly at the boy, his brow furrowed.

“That’s my name, Harry. Like you said, your my guardian, you should call me by my first name.” Harry said looking straight into the Professors eyes.

“Alright Harry, go upstairs, brush your teeth; a new toothbrush is in the bathroom cupboard. I will meet you back downstairs in 30 minutes.

After Harry could be heard rummaging around in the bathroom, Severus Snape held his head in his hands. Overcome with a mixture of emotions, he locked them away deep inside. This was not the proper moment to get lost in thought. Pulling himself together, he made his way upstairs to get ready.

After apparating to a shopping center just outside of London, Severus and Harry walked throughout the shops in silence. Severus was frustrated by the amount of shops in the center, he was truly grateful for the amount of shops in Diagon Alley. After walking into over 10 stores, Severus was not happy with the collection of garments on display.

“Professor, just asking, since you glamoured us to look like different people, why couldn’t we have gone to Diagon Alley?” Harry asked, whilst sorting through clothes on a rack.

Severus stopped abruptly and looked in front of him, once again lost in thought. What could he say? the potions master thought. ‘Was he truly being that cautious. Potter, Harry was not only his student but his child’. Looking back at Harry he tried to figure out what to tell the boy.

“It would be dangerous to shop there” Looking around, Snape did a 360 of his surroundings. 

“We can get the basics from here. Wizarding wear can be bought at a later time, once I’ve made some Polyjuice Potion. That would be the safest way to disguise ourselves, a glamour could easily be removed.” Snape whispered so only Harry could understand what he said.

Walking in the direction of a home wear store, Harry jogged to keep up with his professors long strides. After inspecting the store for over 20 minutes, both Severus and Harry had picked their own bed sheets and quilt covers. The potions master selected a light gray set with a white and navy quilt cover. Harry’s bedsheets were light blue with a quilt cover that consisted of a mixture of green and deep blue tones. The professor after seeing what the boy had selected insisted that he select some bedside lamps as well as a rug.

Severus knew that Spinners End hardly compared to Snape Manor, however he still wanted Harry to feel comfortable in his/ their home. After purchasing all bedding, towels… etc., they ventured into a shoe shop. 

Snape forced harry to purchase not 1, 2, 3 or 4 shoes but 5. Harry having only every received Dudley’s cast offs, found himself overcome with emotion. Harry was now the owner of: 2 sneakers, 1 pair of summer sandals, 1 Dressy shoe and the last, a pair of timberland boat shoes. Snape also mentioned that the boy should purchase (from Diagon Alley) some Dragon Hyde boots for the cold Scottish winter. Snape also purchased 2 pairs of shoes, the styles were formal yet practical. 

After walking out of 3 clothing stores Harry’s arms were ready to fall off, as he was grasping 7 bags, Snape with the same amount. The potions master chose only a few muggle garments, as his normal everyday closet consisted of wizard wear. Harry on the other hand had purchased everything from socks/ underwear, swimmers, t-shirts, dress shirts, jeans, jumpers, jackets; the list went on.

Dropping half of his bags Harry looked sheepishly at his professor, who merely rolled his eyes. After helping the boy, they retreated into an empty corridor, where Snape shrunk their purchases and apparated them both to the outskirts of Spinners End.

Not realizing that most of the day was wasted shopping, they had forgotten lunch. Apologising to Harry, Snape told the boy to unpack his belongings whilst he went about making dinner. 

Once upstairs, Harry sat on the bed and stared in awe at all the bags in-front of him. Suddenly feeling choked up, he silently began to cry. No one had ever cared enough to buy him any clothes; especially this amount. The professor had gone beyond buying basic pieces. Whenever he saw Harry looking at anything he would insist that the boy try it on. Once the size was correct he would grab the item and take it to the cash register. Whatever the emergency fund pile was, it must have been a lot of money, because the professor did not once check the price for any of their items.

Wiping his tears with the back of his thin jacket, he began to strip the old covers off the bed; and replacing them with his new ones. Harry stood back admiring his work, he walked over to the bed and stroked the covers. They were even softer than the ones he slept on at Hogwarts. After placing the rug on the side of his bed, he then placed the lamps on the side table. Frowning, Harry wondered how muggle lamps would work without electricity. Looking at the bottom of the wall his eyebrows rose; a power socket. Having been delirious from yesterday’s fall, he remembered that this house was powered by electricity. 

Professor Snape in that moment walked into Harry’s room to see how he was fairing. Standing and analysing the room, he asked Harry “Would you like for me to change the furniture?” Harry’s only reply was a shrug.

Without waiting for a proper response, the professor went about charming each piece of furniture so that it looked brand new. The colour was much improved and the timber contained no nicks and scratches; The colour a deep brown. The bed had been changed into a four-poster bed; similar to the ones at Hogwarts. There was an added dresser and closet. The potions master smirked admiring his work. He had charmed the closet with an extension charm, the closet once the doors opened, would now contain a large room stocked will shelves around the room; there was even a large mirror, from ceiling to floor in length. Walking back into the boy’s room he transfigured a table for study purposes and a chair for the boy. Looking at Harry, he could tell that the boy was lost in thought, his face gleaming with amazement. As Harry was preoccupied, Severus used this time to look at his son. How young and happy he seemed in this moment. Turning to his professor, Snape quickly schooled his features. 

“Dinner should be ready soon, put your clothes away then come downstairs.” With that being said, the potions master strode out of the room.

As Harry started to put his shoes on the lower shelf the professor popped back into the room.

“Oh and Harry, as it’s slightly chilly tonight I feel that it would be a good idea to light the fireplace. Do feel free to use any of the clothes the Dursley’s gave you as kindling” The professor winked at Harry, retreating back downstairs.

Still kneeling on the ground Harry smiled, grabbing all of his old clothes; saying goodbye to his past.