In Need Of A Family by JAWorley
Summary: After his friends abandoned him last Christmas Harry learned to stand up for himself, and learned he had friends in more places than he had imagined. Now Harry’s finding it hard to forgive Molly and Sirius for the way he feels they abandoned him. All Harry has ever wanted is a family, and he’s struggling to reconcile the meaning of family with those who claim to love him most. A Sequel to All I Want For Christmas.
Categories: Healer Snape, Teacher Snape > Trusted Mentor Snape, Teacher Snape > Professor Snape, Teacher Snape > Unofficially teaching Snape Main Characters: .Snape and Harry (required), McGonagall, Molly, Remus, Ron, Sirius
Snape Flavour: Canon Snape, Snape Comforts, Snape is Kind, Snape is Stern
Genres: Angst, Drama, Family, General, Hurt/Comfort
Media Type: None
Tags: None
Takes Place: 7th summer
Warnings: Neglect, Suicide Themes, Violence
Challenges: None
Series: All I Want For Christmas
Chapters: 3 Completed: Yes Word count: 21218 Read: 10925 Published: 02 Oct 2021 Updated: 08 Oct 2021
Story Notes:
I wasn’t going to write a sequel, but a lot of people expressed interest in seeing the issues between Harry, Sirius and Molly be handled.  A couple of people expressed disappointment in me for having Harry forgive his friends so easily in ‘All I Want For Christmas’.   I believe in forgiveness (not necessarily for every scenario but for most).  Forgiving and forgetting aren’t the same thing.  Harry didn't forget as he promised Ron he would never let that happen between them again or let Ron get away with that sort of behavior again.  Carrying around the burden of hurt and hate is oftentimes more harmful to the person carrying those feelings than the one those feelings are aimed at.  Forgiveness is one way of letting those things go.  Forgiving doesn't always mean forgetting and acting as though it never happened.  In ‘All I Want For Christmas’ for Harry and his friends forgiveness meant growth for all of them.  Going about life never forgiving those who have slighted or wronged us is a miserable way to live and I didn't want that for Harry.  Harry didn't want that for himself when it came to his friends.  He wanted the ordeal to be ‘over with’.  With that being said, it isn’t always easy to forgive those who have hurt us, especially if wary that it will happen again, and forgiveness doesn’t always happen quickly, as we will see is the case between Harry and the adults he feels have let him down.
The Letters From Molly And Sirius by JAWorley
Author's Notes:
You should really read "All I Want For Christmas" (by me, as there is another story of the same name by someone else), before reading this story as this is the sequel.

The letters from Molly and Sirius had gone unanswered for so long that Harry was starting to feel anxiety over them. Molly had started writing around Valentine's day, which was just a few days after Harry had made a fool of himself shouting at the whole of Gryffindor common room. Harry had finally stood up for himself and let people know he was done being stepped on just because it was convenient for them to always believe the worst in him. Some of the Gryffindors must have thought he was silly, because they hadn't done anything to him, and Neville had almost said as much, but others like Dean and Seamus had apologized to him, and Ron had gone out of his way in the weeks following to try to make amends to Harry.

Hermione had apologized to him too, but things remained strained between Harry, Ron and Hermione through February and into the beginning of March. It took them some time to find the rhythm of their friendship again. Hermione too had been trying to show Harry that she valued his friendship and wouldn't tread on it again as she had. While Hermione hadn't directly disowned Harry like Ron and his brothers had, she had chosen to stay out of the conflict to the point of acting as though she and Harry weren't friends at all. Harry hadn't found out until after he and Ron had made up that Hermione hadn't been spending time with him either unless it was to tell him off for creating the issue between the three of them in the first place.

Now Harry was halfway into the first week of summer and he felt like the issue with his friends had been settled. He felt like it was over and done with and not something he had to worry about anymore or think too much about. It was a blip in their friendship, albeit a big one, but one they'd worked past nonetheless. Ron had treaded so lightly around Harry in those weeks and months following that he'd barely said a word about Harry's new friendship with Draco, Teddy and Pansy. Ron didn't want to hang out with them, but if Harry went to spend time at Slytherin table or the library with them he didn't kick up a fuss, and sometimes even went along, even if he had chosen to remain silent until he was fully amongst Gryffindors again.

Despite that things were settled with his friends, and while Harry would like to think the ‘blip' in his sixth year was one that was completely dealt with, the unanswered stack of letters from Molly and Sirius said otherwise.

When Harry and Ron had fought, resulting in Ron's broken nose and Ron letting everyone believe Harry had started the fight or hit him for no reason at all, Fred and George had gone home for Christmas and told Molly and Sirius about it. Molly, being Ron's mother had stuck by her child, and had decided not to send Harry the usual knitted jumper or any Christmas greetings at all. According to the twins Sirius had decided to punish Harry by not sending his gift to him over Christmas either.

Harry had tried to be logical about the Weasley's easy dismissal of him over the holiday. Fred and George were Ron's brothers, not Harry's, so they had to take Ron's side. And Molly was Ron's mother, not Harry's, and it was in her nature to be fiercely protective of her children. Harry understood why they'd reacted to the fight as they had, but it didn't make it any easier for him to accept. Over the years Harry had been so easily accepted by the Weasleys he'd let himself believe he was part of their family. Once when he'd spent the summer with them Molly had gone as far as to say he might as well be one of her own. Harry had believed her. It was the reason why what she and the twins had done had stung so much. Harry had spent so many Christmasses and birthdays alone wishing for a family to celebrate with... wishing for the Weasleys to celebrate with. When Ron had invited Harry to go home with him for Christmas it was all that Harry had wanted and wished for. He had been looking forward to it and to knowing he wouldn't be alone for yet another holiday. Then he and Ron had fought and Harry had been left behind at school for the holiday alone again and forgotten about. As an orphan he was easy to set aside.

Harry had tried to console himself over the months by telling himself, ‘at least they had a reason,' for what little comfort that was. Sirius didn't have a reason though. He was Harry's godfather, not Ron's. He was the guardian Harry's parents had appointed for him should something happen to them... a father for him in case he didn't have one. But Sirius had set him aside too as though it were nothing. It was all made worse in Harry's mind by the fact that the Weasley's had spent Christmas at Grimmuald Place with Harry's Godfather. They'd all made a merry Christmas of it while Harry was left to his own devices at Hogwarts, completely forgotten about. The only one who hadn't spent Christmas with them was Hermione who had taken the opportunity to escape the conflict by going home to her parents for the holiday.

When the first letter from Molly had arrived in February Harry had been wary, wondering if she had sent a letter to scold him for breaking her son's nose. Even though it wasn't a red howler he had taken the letter to the privacy of the 5th year boy's dorms. Instead of words of recrimination he'd been surprised to find an apology. One of her children had written to her to tell her the truth of what had happened and how things had been started by Ron.

‘I'm so incredibly sorry Harry,' she had written. ‘I had no idea Ronald would treat you that way and I'm sorry for my own actions as well.'

He hadn't been expecting her to apologize. He had no idea how to respond to her letter though. He'd forgiven his friends, and he felt like he should forgive her as well. She'd only been doing what any mother would do, wouldn't she? But what had happened with her and Sirius still sat wrong with Harry. It couldn't all be resolved in a letter could it? Ron had promised Harry he would never throw their friendship away like he had again, and Harry had promised Ron he wouldn't let him. Molly had made no such promises. He didn't want to be pulled back into a family he could never be a part of. At the first sign of trouble with any of her children, she would set Harry aside like he meant nothing to them again. Harry wished he knew what it was like to have his own mother there to stick up for him, and had spent a long time after that first letter from Molly trying to imagine what it would be like if Lily were alive.

When Harry didn't respond to her first letter, she sent another in the middle of March, apologizing again and asking if there was anything Harry needed. ‘Do you have enough parchment and ink to get you through the rest of the school year? Are you eating enough? Do you need some new socks?'

This letter too went unanswered. Harry did have enough parchment and ink because he'd told Professor McGonagall he was running out and she'd given him some. He was eating enough, and while he did need some new items of clothing, he didn't think he should ask her for any. She wasn't his mother and while it had taken him some time to really come to terms with that, he had decided it would be best if he didn't act like she was. Mrs. Weasley sent him a pair of socks and some ink and parchment anyway. He used them, but didn't write back to thank her as her third letter went into his top desk drawer with the others.

It was after her third letter when Sirius started writing. His first letter acted as though nothing had happened at all. He didn't apologize or make mention of the incident with Ron, or of Christmas. ‘Hey kiddo, how are you doing? Easter holiday is coming up. Are you up to spending the holiday with me at Headquarters? What team are you playing next? If I remember right there's always a Quidditch match right around Easter.'

Harry seriously thought about replying to Sirius' first letter, and had even pulled out a quill and parchment to do so. He couldn't find the right thing to say to his godfather though. How did he respond to questions about Easter and Quidditch when he had so much to say to him about what had happened over Christmas? He was afraid to respond to the question about Easter at all, because he didn't want to be punished by having a trip to Grimmuald Place cancelled because he'd done something wrong. Sirius' letter ended up in the drawer with Molly's letters.

More letters had followed from both of them through the end of the school year. Sirius had written to ask if Harry was getting his letters, and then again to ask what was wrong and if someone was keeping Harry from writing. A final letter from Sirius the night before the term ended asked Harry to go home with him for the summer and to meet him at the train station. Harry hadn't gone home on the train though, he'd gone to the dungeons with his things instead and knocked on Snape's office door the morning the train had departed and asked if he could still stay with him. The man had signed a ‘contract' earlier in the year to show Harry he was serious about Harry staying with him, and Harry wanted to take him up on the offer. He couldn't return to the Dursleys, and he didn't know how to return to Sirius or the Weasleys, who had also invited him to stay with them for the summer.

Harry and his two stacks of unanswered letters moved into Snape's quarters without Dumbledore's permission, though the Headmaster seemed willing to give Harry a break after the issues he'd struggled with that year.

"What do I tell them when you don't get off the train with us?" Ron had asked him before leaving Hogwarts.

"Tell them I went home with the Malfoys," Harry had said. Ron knew he was headed for the Dungeons to stay with Snape, and Harry didn't know if he had told his parents and Sirius that Harry had gone home with the Malfoys or not. He almost wished Ron had, and as the first few days of summer passed uneventfully in Snape's quarters, Harry toyed with the idea of answering Sirius and Molly's new letters with something like, ‘I'm joining the Death Eaters. Draco and the Slytherins have been so nice to me they've convinced me I'll have a home with Voldemort.'

The only thing that stopped him from writing it was that he didn't want a visit from Sirius.

"Sir?" Harry asked Snape Thursday morning. Snape was sitting in his favorite armchair drinking a cup of coffee and reading the Prophet. Harry had always assumed the staff used the summer to prepare for the next year, but was interested to see they spent most of their free time relaxing.

Snape lowered the paper and raised his brow to indicate he was listening.

"We'll be here all summer right? At Hogwarts I mean?"

"Yes. I sold my home in London almost ten years ago."

"And in the summer the rules for the castle are still the same?"

"As we went over Monday," Snape said.

"I mean, for visitors and stuff? People can't just come visit because they want to? They have to clear it with the Headmaster or something?"

"The Headmaster, McGonagall or myself. Is there someone you wish to invite to the castle?"

"Well, maybe Draco or my other friends," Harry said. "But that's not why I was asking. I was wanting certain people not to visit me. I didn't want them to show up unannounced."

"Who are we talking about specifically?"

"Erm..." he felt awkward now. "Sirius."

"You believe he will come see you?"

"He's been sending letters. He invited me to stay the summer and I didn't respond. He told me to meet him at the train station and when Ron asked what to tell him when I didn't show up I told him to say I went home with the Malfoys."

Snape snorted then and had to set his cup of coffee down so he didn't spill it laughing. The laughter startled Harry. He'd spent some time with Snape in the months since Christmas, but he had yet to see him laugh outright like that.

"And you believe he will come to the castle to check?" He didn't ask why Harry didn't want him to come. He knew how hurt Harry had been after the events surrounding Christmas.

Harry shrugged. "I haven't responded to any of his letters... or Mrs. Weasley's. I was thinking of sending a letter saying to leave me alone because I'm joining the Death Eaters."

"We will talk about what you just said in a moment. How many letters have they sent?"

"A dozen maybe from Mrs. Weasley. Four or five from Sirius."

"If you wish them to stop sending you correspondence you can continue to ignore their letters or send one that states your direct wishes. Unless you want to stir up a hornet's nest I advise against telling anyone you plan on joining Voldemort's ranks."

"I wouldn't really join him," Harry said at Snape's serious look.

"No," he agreed, "but given your new friendships with several Slytherins, one whose father is a Death Eater, and given my connection with the Death Eaters and that you are staying with me, you will bring more trouble on all of us than it's worth dealing with."

"Yes sir."

Harry turned to head out of the dungeons for the day, planning on checking out several books in the library, but Snape cleared his throat and Harry turned to look at him.

"Between you and me," Snape said, picking the Prophet back up again but not looking at Harry, "that sort of thing would best be said in person to your Godfather, preferably when I am present so I can see the look on his face."

"Yes sir," Harry said with a little smile.

* * *

Hogwarts was boring when it was empty. Harry had read through several novels and half a dozen Quidditch books. He had visited Hagrid and Fang daily and even pestered Professor McGonagall in her office several times, though she seemed to enjoy his visits and always offered him tea and chocolate biscuits. There was a difference for Harry between now and when he'd last been here over a holiday. Over Christmas there hadn't been that many students around, but he'd been lonely not because there was nothing to do, but because he knew when students returned he'd still be alone even in the midst of them. Now as Harry roamed the halls and took his broom out to the Pitch by himself, he knew when the students returned his friends would be happy to see him.

Unlike the letters from Sirius and Molly, Harry had been answering his friend's mail regularly. He had even needed to borrow a few school owls so he could respond to all the letters he had been getting.

He used Hedwig to send two letters at a time to the Burrow, one for Ron and one for Ginny. Ron had been sending Harry old Quidditch Magazines, and Ginny had been writing about how much she missed him.

Despite that Harry enjoyed hearing from Hermione, she wrote long detailed letters and Harry found if he only responded to her once a week she wouldn't send as many for him to read.

Even Draco and Teddy had written to him, and Pansy had sent him a letter two weeks after summer holiday had started. Severus had advised Harry to only use school owls when corresponding to his Slytherin friends, and not to sign his name to the letters. He also told Harry to write nothing of real consequence in case Draco's parents looked at the correspondence. He didn't want Harry to reveal anything that could be used against him or Severus. Only a few people knew Harry was staying with Snape, and they were all in the Order. Draco knew Harry was staying at Hogwarts but Harry had made it unclear if he was staying with his Head of House or the Headmaster for the summer. Harry had a feeling Draco knew the truth, but they'd never spoken about it outright.

"You seem to be popular this summer," McGonagall commented to Harry one morning at breakfast, eyeing the stack of mail that had just been delivered to him by several owls. Harry was sitting with McGonagall, Sprout and Hooch at the Ravenclaw table eating breakfast. Over the summer the staff all sat at one student table and wandered in between nine and eleven for breakfast or coffee. Harry found he enjoyed sitting in the Great Hall in the mornings and had been interested to find that the food served to staff in the summer was a bit different than what the elves served during the term. Usually porridge, eggs and pancakes were on the menu each morning along with things like bacon, sausage and fruit. In the summer many of those things were served but there were also pastries, donuts, yogurt and other sweet things on the table.

"Yeah, Friday seems to be a good day for getting mail," Harry told her. For some reason his friends seemed to prefer writing on Fridays and Mondays.

"What are your friends up to this summer?" Madam Hooch asked.

"Let's see," Harry said, pulling open the letter from Hermione. "Hermione's been pestering her parents to take her to this huge bookstore in Bristol for ages and they finally took her. She's been saving up her money since last year. She says she bought eighteen books and her parents bought her another five for getting good grades."

He set that letter down and opened the one from Draco. "Books are also on Draco's mind as he's written me again with recommendations on novels."

Harry informed them that Ron was spending a lazy summer avoiding chores, Ginny had been learning to draw birds and had sent a nice drawing of Hedwig, and Pansy hadn't revealed anything about her summer but wanted to know what Harry was interested in doing for a career after school if he wasn't going to try out for a Quidditch team.

"What are you planning to do?" Professor Sprout asked.

"You wanted to be an auror didn't you?" said Professor McGongall.

"I'm not sure," Harry said truthfully. He wouldn't mind being an auror or a Professional Quidditch player, but he didn't know if he was thrilled about doing either job. "I thought about teaching maybe."


"Really Mr. Potter," Sprout said, sounding impressed. "I had no idea. I always thought Miss Granger would want to teach."

"I think she's interested in law," Harry said. "She wants to get laws changed on Fae rights."

"What is it you want to teach?"

"Defense maybe," Harry said.

"That sounds reasonable given your success with the DA."

"What about the other letters?" McGonagall asked after finishing her blueberry muffin and taking a sip of tea. "It looks like you have a great deal of friends."

"Erm-" Sirius and Molly had both written to him again. In fact, Sirius had written twice. There was also a letter from Remus, and Harry was actually interested in reading that one. "One is from Remus," he said. He opened it and his eyes scanned quickly down it. Remus wanted to know if everything was all right. Sirius had told him Harry had cut off communication with everybody, which wasn't exactly true.

"I think Remus wants to visit," Harry lied. It was more than he could put into a letter to explain it all to Remus and he wished he could speak to him in person. "Is that allowed?" Harry asked McGonagall.

"Oh," said McGonagall with a smile, "I think we can make an exception."

Harry looked up at her and wondered at her smile. He noted the other two professors were smiling too.

"What?"

"He's coming back to teach Defense this year," she said. "I expect he'll be coming to the castle sooner rather than later in the summer."

"Parents won't make a big deal about him being back?"

"The Headmaster has cleared it with the Ministry. With Remus' knowledge of Defense and skill with a wand, they see him as an asset."

"Because of Voldemort?" Harry asked, and Hooch and Sprout gave him an unhappy look for using the name. "Sorry," Harry said. "Because he's on the rise?"

"Something like that. Aurors and the Headmaster will be reworking several security wards over the summer."

Harry thought that was a good thing. Since Voldemort had attacked the Ministry in fifth year he'd gone silent. Harry had had a blissfully uneventful sixth year at school when it came to Voldemort. But he'd been gathering followers to him in his silence and the Ministry was growing uneasy. Harry for his part was just trying not to think about it.

After breakfast Harry took his stack of letters back to his room in Snape's quarters and read Molly and Sirius' letters in private. Molly was asking if Harry was ok and if he'd like to come stay with them to celebrate his birthday. It was nothing new and he put her letter with the rest of the ones she had sent. It was Sirius' letter that startled him.

‘Harry, I'm not sure why you haven't written back to me. If you're upset with me I wish you'd talk to me, but I understand that a boy your age might decide not to. You really need to write back to Molly however. She's sent you school supplies, clothes and snacks and you haven't even written back to thank her.'

A loud bang in Harry's room startled Severus, who had been reading a Potions Journal on the living room sofa. He made his way down the short hall and opened Harry's door, wondering if the Gryffindor had tripped and hit his head. Instead he found him looking angry and the desk chair lying on the floor.

"Has the chair done something to offend you?"

Harry looked contrite for a moment when he realized his host was standing in the doorway. "Sorry sir." But then anger flared in his eyes again as he knelt down to set the chair upright, crumpled letter clutched tightly in his hand.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"I didn't ask for anything they sent me," Harry said hotly. "Mrs. Weasley sent me school supplies, some socks and some snacks and I didn't ask her to. I didn't respond to any of her letters or give her any indication that I was interested in talking to her and she sent the stuff anyway. Now Sirius is hounding me in a letter about being rude to her and not writing to thank her for the things she sent me."

"I see. Would you like me to write a cease and desist letter to her?"

"What?"

"Would you like me to send a letter to Molly Weasley telling her to stop sending you items and missives immediately?"

"You would do that for me?"

Snape gave him a hard look. "You will do that if you want her to stop sending things," he said. "If there is something you are truly incapable of handling, myself or Minerva will help you. This is something you are old enough to handle on your own however. You are about to be a seventh year, and beyond that you will graduate and step out into a world which you will be little prepared to enter if you do not start handling your own affairs now."

Harry nodded.

"If you would like help with how to word such a letter, I will help you. Or if you have thoughts on how to handle the situation in a different manner, I will give you advice."

"Yes sir."

Severus gave him a hard look and said, "Perhaps it is time for a trip to get summer clothes. Some time out of the castle will do you good."

"I just need to stop and get some money out of my vault."

"We can stop at the Gringotts branch in Hogsmeade and get your money exchanged for Muggle notes and then take a trip into Perth. There's a shopping center."

"Is it by the sea?" Harry asked hopefully, and Severus had to resist rolling his eyes. Harry reined in his hopeful look at the nonplussed look his Potions Professor was giving him. "I just haven't been before," he said, looking at the floor.

"Get ready for a trip to Perth," he told him, and left the room.

Harry got his shoes on and began digging in his trunk for his money pouch and took a few minutes to count his remaining coins. He ran his fingers through his hair and was about to go into the living room when a familiar voice came from the doorway.

"Where are we going?"

Harry looked up and found Draco.

"What are you doing here?" Harry asked.

"Uncle Severus just floo'd and asked if he could spend the day with me. He said he'd take me to get summer clothes. Mother gave me a handful of galleons and practically shoved me into the floo. When I got here a moment ago he said you were waiting for me."

"He said we were going to Perth. She was that eager for you to leave?"

"I might have been getting on father's nerves all morning," Draco said with a grin.

"Are you ready to depart?" Snape called from the living room, and Harry and Draco hurried out. Harry gave Snape a grateful look and the man tried to ignore it, but ended up giving Harry a small nod of acknowledgement anyway.

They'd only spent an hour in Perth at the shopping center. Harry had gotten new shoes and sandals, several pairs of shorts and almost a dozen new t-shirts. Draco had purchased an armload of polo shirts and shorts as well and then Severus had shrunk their purchases in a back alley and apparated them to the sea somewhere east of Dundee.

They were on a deserted stretch of shore far from the eyes of Muggles or wizards and Harry and Draco set off along the shoreline, pulling off their shoes and leaving them with Severus who opted to conjure a chair and relax in one spot.

The boys spent an enjoyable afternoon talking, throwing rocks and driftwood into the ocean and sitting in the sand. Harry had gotten into the water briefly up to his knees, but it was cold so he didn't stay in for very long.

Severus bought them fish and chips for dinner in Monifieth and then took them back to the castle.

In his quarters Snape gave Draco a serious look and said, "You spent the day with me. You and I bought clothes and walked along the shore as we talked about your future plans after Hogwarts. Then I gave you a suitably stern lecture about associating with students on the ‘wrong side' of political matters."

"That description of our day sounds crystal clear," Draco said. He turned and flashed Harry a smile and then went home through the Floo.

"Thanks," Harry said after he had gone. "For bringing me along."

"You are mistaken."

"Sir?"

"You and I brought Draco along to our day at the sea." Harry couldn't help but give the man a smile. "Go put your new clothes away."

Harry continued grinning as he took his bags of clothes to his room and hung them in the wardrobe. Snape was Draco's Godfather, but he hadn't invited Draco so he could spend the day with him. He'd taken Harry for a day out and had invited Draco to keep Harry company. Was this what it would have been like if his mother and father had been alive? He really hoped it was. Harry was short on these kinds of experiences. It underscored for him again his want for a family he could call his own. He pushed the longing back down inside of him for the moment though. It had been one of his best days and he didn't want to spoil it.

The End.


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