Severus was not having this conversation, not now. He was ill-prepared for it. “I apologize, Mr. Potter, but we shall continue this conversation later. I have some matters that I must attend to.” Severus lied, though he nearly felt guilty for doing so. He felt even worse when he saw the boy's face fall slightly, but told himself that it would be easier on both of them if they didn't have this conversation at all.

Harry was disappointed, but he nodded in acceptance. After all, he had been waiting years to find out more about his parents. A few more hours wouldn’t make much of a difference. 

Severus Snape had never cared about anyone before. If you were to ask his students, they would most definitely agree with this statement. Some said there was just an empty space where his heart should be, while others believed it was black. Even Severus himself had long been used to and agreed with the notion that he was cold and distant emotionally. So why did he find that he was nearly concerned about the Potter boy?

As he sat in his living room, still lost in his thoughts, he heard someone calling his name from behind. Whirling around, he saw that once again, Dumbledore’s head was in his fireplace. “Dumbledore, I think I made it quite clear that I do not wish for you to contact me!” Severus yelled. Severus had informed him of that the day beforehand and while Dumbledore was quite old, he had no problems with his memory!

“Forgive me, Severus, but I have an inquiry,” Dumbledore said, his tone even more gentle than usual. “I am curious as to whether you had any clue as to when Harry will have made a full recovery.”

“As he was very close to unconsciousness from the numerous beatings he’d received from his Uncle for quite some time...” Severus said, giving him a pointed glare. “His health is still fragile, Dumbledore. Why do you ask?”

Dumbledore paused, anticipating the uproar that his next statement would cause. “I must owl the Dursleys and let them know that their nephew will be returning to them next summer. I would like to give them an update on his condition in this owl.”

And indeed, the uproar that Dumbledore had anticipated did come. “Return him to his relatives so they can injure him again, Dumbledore? Return him to his relatives where he may be killed the next time? I highly doubt his relatives even give a damn about his condition!” Severus roared.

“Now Severus, I am sure that you have gathered what the reason is that he must return there. The wards—”

“To hell with the wards, Dumbledore, I am not allowing him to return there!” Severus bellowed. “There are numerous other places that have wards of similar strength! I believe I understand now, Dumbledore. You want him to continue staying there because you know they will keep on abusing him! You think this will make him a stronger person and will make him more equipped to defeat the Dark Lord!”

“I—” Dumbledore began, but Severus cut him off yet again.

“As I’ve said, he is not going back to live with those horrible muggles. Do not contact me again.” Severus said coldly, and he cut off the connection.

Sitting at the kitchen table, Severus sighed. He did not enjoy being at odds with Dumbledore, but he couldn’t agree with his ideas on this particular subject… at all. I had better see how the boy is doing, Severus thought. And continue that conversation. Potter is expecting it. He got up, walking through the kitchen and into the hallway. He made his way up the rather large flight of stairs and made a left into Harry’s room. However, when Harry saw Severus enter the room, he looked apprehensive.

“Mr. Potter, is something wrong?” Severus asked, when he saw the boy staring out the window with a rather blank expression

“No, sir, nothing.” Harry said, snapping back to reality.

“Ah. Well Mr. Potter, I had rather thought that you would wish to continue our previous conversation now."

“Oh!" the boy exclaimed. Severus couldn't help but notice how his eyes lit up.

The boy seemed so excited to be close to hearing about his parents. Obviously the Dursleys hadn’t mentioned them much... not that Severus was the least bit surprised.

Snape took a deep breath before speaking again. “Your mother, Mr. Potter…  she was the kindest person I have ever known. She was very opinionated and stood up for what she believed in. She would give almost anyone a chance. She excelled in her classed. Lily was quite brilliant.”

Harry looked at Snape with wide eyes. The way he was talking about her… well, it just sounded slightly odd. But maybe that was because he rarely heard Snape give compliments. But it sounded as if Snape had liked his mother. If he had, then why did he hate Harry so much?

“Sir, Dumbledore said that you knew my dad too,” Harry said.

“I did,” the Professor confirmed. “Your father… he was arrogant in the extreme." He forced himself to stop at that. Hearing his teacher rant angrily about his father would not do much good at all, especially when he was in a more weakened state.

Harry looked down at the ground. He felt almost sick to his stomach. Everyone that had known his father, other than the Dursleys, had always spoken highly of him.

Snape looked at the boy, his expression softening slightly as he realized that the boy looked crestfallen. Speaking more softly, he said “I do not say this to upset you. Life is full of disappointments and no one can shield you from all of them. I think that you would rather know the truth rather than believe a lie. I am sure that you would have heard this from another source eventually, at any rate.”

“I idolized my father even though I hardly knew him! It’s more than a disappointment!” Harry shouted, anger boiling up inside of him.

“Your father grew up, Mr. Potter. Everyone is an idiot when they are young.” Severus said, as much as it pained him to do so. He never thought he'd see the day he stood up for James Potter.

“I’m not so sure,” Harry mumbled.

“All one can hope is that people learn from their mistakes as they age, Mr. Potter. And your father did. He was a good man.” Snape said, feeling a little bit as though a part of him had just died... he never thought he'd see the day that he would speak almost highly of James Potter. The boy stayed silent and stared out the window.

Harry did not acknowledge it when the Professor left the room. He just continued to stare out the window. He missed his friends and he missed Hogwarts. About now, they were probably in their second period class. Who would they have for Potions now? Were they happy that Snape was away? Did they suspect, perhaps, that Harry was staying with Snape?

Harry’s housemates would be eating together, playing chess matches and going to watch Quidditch games together. He felt that right now, he would give just about anything to be able to go back to Hogwarts. Sure, Snape was being close to nice to him. But still, Snape’s improved behaviour and attitude toward Harry could not possibly make up for everything that he was missing out on, everything that he had taken for granted during his first year.