The students returned to school and Severus tried to get him life back on track.

The recent events had totally shaken his whole existence, he was no longer a professor and spy. Now he was professor and father and he believed that being a spy was easier. He was used to unruly pre-teens and the even more unruly teens. He didn't know how to take care of this child that Fate and Lily had decided he was to raise! Then the letter came back into his mind.

Severus had loved Lily, more than she had ever realized and he had known that she regarded him as a big brother and best friend. They had met as children and had been best friends from day one. When he joined the Death Eaters she had stopped speaking to him entirely. It killed him that he couldn't explain that he had joined Voldermort's legions as a spy or that Dumbledore had asked him to do so. He knew though, that she would be safer if she were not near him anymore. If he stepped out of line or was discovered as a spy the Dark Lord would go after anyone Snape cared about. He could not let the egocentric maniac know how much he cared for her.

When she married James, Severus was drunk for five days. The sixth day he woke up miserable, sick and filthy, but he also woke up determined. He would never let anyone get that close to him again. He would not give pain a chance to come at him again in this way. He might not be able to control pain coming from outside sources, but he could control pain coming from the inside. He would just close that part off and build a little more ice around his heart. And so he became the Terror of the Dungeons, the most feared wizard in the whole school. He knew the students did not like him, but he was glad.

Time continued and Severus grew to care about Harry more than he had thought possible. He was still feared by the students, but the enjoyment had gone out of it for him. He had even caught himself wishing that one of them would just smile at him one time. He quickly got that thought right out of his head, but the memory remained. Lily had not come to him as of yet, but then there had been no emergencies. He almost wished one would arise so that he could see her again.

Harry had begun to shadow his daddy when he was in his lab. He was extremely interested in the potions he watched Severus brew. He still had not spoken one word and even though he acted frustrated sometimes when he tried to communicate, he refused to even try to speak. He loved to sit in his father's chair and pretend to read his father's books. Since these were books that Severus had picked up over the years and were about extremely advanced spells and potions and even ancient magic he always chuckled when he saw the baby sitting there "reading."

Harry did not go to the potions classroom while class was in session very much. The child drew so much attention that the students didn't pay attention to the lessons. When he was four years old his Dad asked him if he would like to go to class with him on the first day of school. Would he! Harry had nodded his head, smiled and ran to get his cloak. --

Harry was sitting at a small desk beside his father's desk with a piece of parchment, drawing pictures of flying flame breathing dragons and flying snitches when the students came into the class. Snape waited for the class to take their seats and began the lesson.

He wrote gillyweed on the blackboard with his wand and looked at a red haired boy sitting in the third row who had been trying to be inconspicuous so that he would not be called upon. Charlie Weasley was fourteen years old and was the seeker for Gryffindor. He also possessed the dubious reputation of being the Romeo of the school. He loved girls and all of the girls loved him. Studying was definitely not high on his list of favourite things to do.

"Mr. Weasley who discovered the properties of gillyweed and how did it come about?" the Professor asked.  When he did not get an answer he stalked over to stand in front of the young man, who by now was red faced as well as red haired. Sneering at him and putting his face very close to the now shaking Gryffindor he hissed, "Surely the wonderful Mr. Weasley, loved by all the girls and famed as a brilliant Quidditch player can say something! Any second year would be able to answer that question, but of course you have to have a brain to be able to use it you dunderhead!"  As he opened his mouth to say something else equally blistering he heard a voice from the front of the room. He whirled around and there stood his son glaring at him.

"It was Elladora Kitteridge! And she discovered it because she was drunk and ate some and stuck her head in a bucket of water," shouted Harry. "And you're mean!  And you're a BULLY!"

With this Harry burst into tears and ran out of the room.

Snape stood there thunderstruck. He couldn't believe it! Harry had talked; moreover, it appeared that he had actually been reading all those books, as that was the only explanation for him knowing the answer to that question. Then it struck him; Harry had called him a bully! He remembered what it had felt like when the Marauders had bullied him while he was a student, and he also knew how it felt to be bullied by Voldermort. He had to find Harry; he could not bear the thought that his son thought that he could be like that!

He hurriedly dismissed the class and called for Dobby. The elf appeared with his ears flat again. "Yes Master Professor sir, you called for Dobby?" he said.

"Dobby, have you seen Harry?" asked the worried wizard, fear lacing his panicked words.

"Yes sir, Dobby is knowing that Little Master is needing him so I's is getting him and taking him to his nursery. Harry is being crying and Daisy is with him," replied the elf with reproach in his voice.

"Thank you," said Severus. "You may go back now, tell Daisy that I will be there shortly."

He turned and walked into his office and sat down at his desk. He knew that it was his treatment of the student that had given Harry the impression that his father was mean, was a bully, and was to be feared. He knew that somehow he had to make the little boy understand that he wasn't really like that. He never wanted to see his son look at him with that look in his eyes again.

He also could not understand just why Harry had picked this time to speak aloud when he had never spoken one word before. He didn't know how he was going to handle this and didn't know whom to talk to for help.  

As he was sitting with his head in his hands he felt a wave of magic in the room and heard Lily's voice saying, "Severus it will be fine, you just need to talk to him."

He looked up and she was standing in front of him. Smiling gently she said "Severus, Harry has been talking to you for a long time, you just weren't listening to him." Seeing the confused look on his face she continued, "Listen to him with your mind, he is talking to you with his mind Sev, you just have to be still and hear him." With this she disappeared leaving Snape with a stunned look on his face and joy in his heart.

Hurrying to his quarters he went straight to the nursery. Daisy was rocking Harry and singing a soft lullaby to him. The boy was still crying and Severus took him from the elf's arms.

"Son, I'm sorry. I would never do anything to hurt one of the students; I am just trying to teach them and get their attention. I know they fear me, but at least they learn. I don't want you to think that I'm a bully, Harry."

As he looked down at his child, Severus knew that he would have to change. How could he expect Harry to grow up to be the kind of man he should be if grew up watching his father terrorize children? He knew that he needed to do some deep soul searching, so he kissed his son and placed him back on Daisy's lap. Retreating to his study he spent the rest of the night watching the fire and thinking.

The next morning Harry was not in the classroom, but the students saw the beginnings of change in their Potions Instructor.