“I still got in trouble for fighting,” Harry protested.

Severus sighed, “Yes, you did. We cannot condone fighting.”

Harry frowned, “That’s not fair.”

“Life isn’t fair, Harry. You’ll be reminded of this many times over the course of your life,” Severus told him.

This statement didn’t make Harry any happier.

“Yes, I know. It is an unpleasant truth, one we must all face from time to time,” Severus said seriously. “That incident of accidental magic was your first around Muggles. The next major incident was not magic exactly, at least at the start,” Severus continued.

Harry wasn’t sure where his father was going with this.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  

“Daddy,” Harry greeted Severus as he returned home for the evening.

“Hello Harry,” Severus said picking up the boy, and placing a kiss on the boy’s brow. “How are you this evening?”

“Good. Iris tried to crawl this afternoon,” Harry told his father excitedly.

“Did she?” Severus inquired. He navigated around Chaucer, who was entertaining herself chasing one of the girls’ jingling toys.

“Yeah, she landed on her face,” Harry said with a giggle.

“Don’t laugh at your sister,” Severus chided mildly. “Did Dahlia try her own hand at crawling?”

Harry shook his head. Severus walked into the kitchen. He found Lily at the stove.

“Good evening,” Severus and leaning down to give his wife a kiss.

“Hi,” Lily said as the kiss broke.

“Harry informed me that our youngest tried her hand at crawling today.” Severus said.

“She did,” Lily confirmed. “Did Harry ask you about what he was sent in there to discuss?”

Severus raised an eyebrow in confusion.

“So no then,” Lily asked.

“I’m afraid so,” Severus agreed.

“Harry, tell your father what you asked me this afternoon?” Lily instructed.

Harry began to ramble about something. Severus could not make out exactly what the boy was on. The boy was too excited to make much sense change.

“Harry,” Severus said softly. “Calm down, please. I have no earthly idea what you’re talking about.”

Harry stopped talking and squirmed to be let down. Severus put the wiggly child down. Harry walked out of the room to return moments later, a brightly colored piece of paper in hand. Severus took it from the boy.

Severus’ eyes scanned down the page. He saw no reason why Harry could not participate in the class outing the natural history museum. He turned to Lily, to tell her exactly that.

“I see no reason why Harry cannot take part in this field trip.” Severus said.

“Look at the bottom,” advised Lily.

Severus looked once more. They wanted parents to help supervise the outing. That made sense. One teacher could not be expected to watch over all the children in that sort of setting.

“Harry’s teacher strongly suggested we volunteer.” Lily continued.

Severus frowned. “And if we are not available?”

Lily shrugged, “But she made it clear she wanted one of us there.”

“Why us in particular?” Severus asked.

“I don’t know.” Lily told him.

Severus looked over the paper once more. He double checked the calendar on the refrigerator. His fifth years would be sitting their O.W.L.s that day. He could probably take the day. He would have to ask the Headmaster.

“I need to ask the Headmaster, but I may be able to accompany Harry,” Severus told his wife.

Lily gave a small nod. She wondered why this teacher wanted her or her husband to participate in this outing. It was very strange.

“You have a couple of days to respond,” Lily informed him.

“I’ll ask Headmaster in the morning,” Severus agreed.

The Headmaster agreed to let Severus have the day off. Severus made sure to re-schedule an exam for the third years who would have class with that day. The substitute would have a rather easy day that way. Or at least as easy a day of combined Gryffindor and Slytherin classes could be.

Harry was ecstatic his father was coming with him on the trip. Severus was glad to be able to provide the needed assistance. He would also be able to keep a watchful eye on Harry and limited the boy’s sugar intake. He was certain left to his own devices, Harry would gorge himself on sweets.

Harry bounced on his parents’ bed as the sun rose. Severus groaned, pulling the boy down between him and Lily. He didn’t have to be up for another hour and a half.  He wasn’t going to be up before that if he could help it. Of course, his desires were fulfilled exactly. The cries of his daughter woke him maybe thirty minutes later.

Severus rose to collect the crying infant. He returned a moment later with Dahlia in his arms. Severus let Lily’s each other daughter’s needs. As usual, the Harry was rather reluctant to leave the warm comfort of the bed. Harry was sleepily guided from his parents’ room to the bathroom to start his morning routine. In the meantime Severus oversaw the burping of Dahlia and the changing of the twins. Harry stumbled out of his room haphazardly dressed in school uniform by the time Iris was ready for all them to head downstairs to breakfast.

Severus fed the cat and set to making eggs, while Lily fixed the tea and toast. Harry helped cutting and peeling several bananas. The girls babbled to one another from their high chairs as they waited. Breakfast was a rather quiet affair.  Once breakfast was done, Severus set the dishes to washing themselves. The dining room was clean with a flick of his wand.

Severus was ready to leave right on time. Severus felt uncomfortable dressed completely as a Muggle. He would still bring his wand. He could not let that go. Besides, you could never predict when you might need it, especially around young children.

Severus let Harry run ahead on the way to school. He had Harry’s pocket money for the day and his jumper since the boy refused to wear it out of the house this morning. Severus was certain that Harry would want it as some point.

Severus followed Harry into the schoolyard to wait for the bell. He wondered if he should’ve waited to come later. He didn’t see any other parents staying longer than usual to drop off the children.

Severus watched as Harry attempted to kick the football his friend tried to pass him. Harry missed by a mile. Severus frowned. With the number of falls and things Harry had recently suffered Severus was beginning to wonder if they should have the boy’s eyes examined. James Potter had dreadful eyesight, it would stand to reason that his son would as well.

The bell rang and Severus followed his son to his class. As suspected, there weren’t any other parents. Harry’s teacher however, didn’t seem to mind his presence. Severus listened as the teacher did roll call. About half way through, the classroom the door burst open. A blonde little boy, Todd, and his mother came in.

“Sorry,” the mother babbled, “We slept through the alarm.”

The teacher waved off the apology, “No problem, we were just taking attendance. We’ll be getting on the bus in a few minutes.”

The mother nodded coming to stand next to Severus.

“Good morning,” Severus greeted.

“Good morning,” the woman returned. “Are you one of the parents?” She asked.

“No, I am a random stranger who followed the children in this morning. The fact they are going on a class excursion provided me with the convenient cover of being a chaperone,” Severus returned flatly.

The woman turned to him. She had icy blue eyes, “That’s not very funny.”

“That is a matter of opinion,” Severus replied. “I’m Severus Snape, Harry’s father.”

“Melissa Williams, Todd’s mother,” she said. She did not offer her hand to Severus. “Which one is Harry?”

Severus frowned. He wondered if this woman even knew her son was a bully. Severus pointed to Harry and said, “The one with the messy black hair.”

“Did anything to comb it?” She said disdainfully.

“We did. However, the only way it will lie neatly us if we were to sheer the child bald,” Severus said reigning in his temper. Why must his interactions with Muggle women always be this way? Was there something about him that made them instantly hate him?

“Todd said that your boy cried for the whole first week of class,” Melissa said.

Severus sighed, “He may have. This is Harry’s first year of school. He took some time to adjust to being left. Harry said Todd...” Severus would have continued, but was cut off by the teacher telling the class to line up so that they could go get on the bus.

Severus was very glad he didn’t have to talk to the woman any longer. He could see where Todd got some of his unpleasant qualities. Severus did a quick head count, eighteen students. That was more than manageable for three adults.

The kids loaded onto the bus. Severus climbed aboard. After another round of attendance, the teacher sat down beside Severus. The bus pulled out the schoolyard, they were on their way.

“How are you this morning Mr. Snape?” Ms. Southwell, the teacher asked him.

“I am well,” Severus replied politely.

“That’s good,” she responded happily.

“May I ask you, Madam, why you were so insistent that one of Harry’s parents take part in this outing?” Severus asked politely.

“Mr. Snape, we both know Harry is a boy of…special talents.” The teacher explained. “There have already been a few minor incidents, who knows what can happen while we are out in the general public.” She continued.

“Are you worried?” Severus asked dumbfounded.

“No,” she said with a slight shake of her head. “My aunt is. Harry talked about Muggles one day and I knew what he was. I mentioned him to my aunt. By firt name, just called him Harry, she got very excited. She said that he’s very famous in your world.”

Severus frowned. “He is.”

“My aunt wanted to know all about him,” Ms. Southwell elaborated.

“Of course she would,” Severus grumbled.

“I told her Harry is like any other little boy his age.” The teacher continued. “Told her he likes to run, jump, get into things that he shouldn’t, all the normal things. She was rather surprised. She seemed to think he should be doing all sorts special activities.”

Severus was happy to hear that Harry’s teacher was treating him like any other child, even after being told that he was supposed to be special.

“Why is Harry famous?” The teacher asked.

“The unfortunate hand of Fate,” Severus said sadly.

The young woman continued to give him a questioning look.

“Harry is the only known person to survive the Killing Curse. It is why he’s famous. We do not know why he did. However, we strive to treat him like any other child. We do not want him growing up to be self-centered, or convinced that he is possessed of any special powers he may not have,” Severus explained. “This is why he’s grown up with limited contact with the wizarding world. They would see a prince when he is ‘just Harry’.”

“I can understand that. If most people are like my aunt, it would be very hard to have a child growing up normally in those conditions.” Ms. Southwell agreed.

“Your aunt sounds rather tame compared to some. I thank you for your efforts to deter/appease her,” Severus said sincerely.

“Harry survived the Killing Curse, so  is that where his scar came from?” she asked.

“It is. Harry knows James, his biological father, died trying to protect him. He thinks it was simply a cut, not in fact a curse scar,” Severus confirmed.

The woman nodded. Severus listened as the children were led in a chorus of the “Wheels On The Bus”. Thankfully the bus came to a stop outside the museum before the off key singing was able to give Severus too much of a headache. Severus was the first person off the bus, making sure all students had their lunch and stayed in line until everyone is ready to go into the museum.

None of the children seemed to want to tempt the wrath of Severus. One pointedly looked down his long nose and they were back in place. That was, all except Harry. Harry just gave him a cheeky grin and went back to talking to his friend. Severus rolled his eyes at his son’s antics.

Severus led the group inside. They were met by a woman from the museum who would be leading their tour. Severus fell to the back of the group to keep an eye on the kids, making sure the kids were paying attention.

It didn’t take long for Severus to have to correct some wayward attention. Todd and his friends were busy talking while the woman from the museum was explaining something about frog habitats. What frustrated Severus was the boy’s mother made no move to correct the behavior. It only took a whispered word from Severus to get the boys to quiet down. The same was true when Harry started talking to his friends.

The woman finished her talk and the children moved to fill out some sort of worksheet. Severus walked around the children, spelling words when asked. He kept a special eye on Harry. His teacher was right, who knew what could happen here.

Harry was working on his sheet by a snake tank when Todd and his friends joined him. Severus could not hear what was being said. Harry stiffened, that was enough to have Severus crossing the room.

What Severus heard when he got there chilled him to the bone. Harry was hissing like a snake. Severus had only ever heard one person do that before, the Dark Lord, and here was his son doing it too. The other boys watched Harry in horror. They had no idea Harry was actually speaking to the snake behind glass.

“Harry,” Severus called to the boy.

Harry turned his dad. “What?” Harry demanded.

“You freak!” Todd hissed.

Severus spun on the boy, “Don’t call him that!”

“Dad what’s wrong?” Harry asked.

“We’ll discuss it in private,” Severus told him.

“Dad,” Harry whined.

“Not now, Harry” Severus snapped. “We will discuss it later.”

Harry’s expression was hurt as Severus leaned down. “You are not in any sort of trouble. However, we need to have a talk about this later. It can’t be around Muggles when we do,” Severus added in a whisper.

Harry gave a small nod.

“Stay away from me you freak!” Todd repeated.

“What’s going on Mr. Snape?” Ms. Southwell asked.

“It was a bit of an incident,” Severus replied. He had subconsciously moved Harry behind him.

“He’s a freak!” Todd accused.

Severus’s face darkened dangerously. “You have been told twice to desist in using that word Mr. Williams.”

“You leave my boy alone,” snapped Todd’s mother.

“Your son repeatedly called my son a name, even after being instructed to stop,” Severus snapped back.

“What happened exactly?” The teacher asked.

Severus shook his head. “I do not know. Harry?”

Harry violently shook his head.

“Harry you need to tell us what happened,” Severus urged.

“Come over and tell me what happened,” the teacher beckoned.

Harry looked up to his father as if begging for a reprieve. Severus gave him no such rescue.  Instead, he jerked his head in the woman’s direction. Harry dragged his feet, but made his way over to the woman. The two talked quietly. Todd meanwhile recounted his side of the story to his mother. With the two women busy Severus saw to rounding up the rest of Harry’s classmates. They would be breaking for lunch soon. Everyone would be to be together before they went to the canteen.

Harry came to stand by Severus as the last of the students lined up. Harry was surprisingly quiet.

“Are you okay?” Severus asked.

Harry gave a small shrug. Where had the boy ever learned such a deplorable habit? Then Severus remembered, he shrugged especially in times of emotional stress. It was easier to do than try and express the many complex things he was feeling. He had nobody, but himself to blame. He could try and ask the child to use his words, but how could he, when he did the very same thing?

“Very well,” Severus said giving Harry’s shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “Let’s see what your mother packed us for lunch.”

The group made their way to the canteen. All the way through lunch, Harry remained glued to Severus’ side. Todd too remain close to his mother. Severus was told the teacher had ordered them to stay apart. Harry seemed more than happy to comply. Todd on the other hand, kept drifting further off, not far enough to be out of view, but not right within his mother’s sight.

The rest of the afternoon passed relatively peacefully. The class explored the museum's gift shop. With Harry’s help, Severus picked a stuffy each for Dahlia and Iris. Harry chose Dahlia a brightly colored frog and Iris a fox. Harry couldn’t explain his choices, just thought they were cool. For himself, Harry picked up a book on dinosaurs.

Severus could not say he knew much about the topic. It was something that never caught his fancy, but it had Harry’s. In fact, it seemed to interest almost all of the Muggle children. Severus supposed it was similar to that of the wizarding children and dragons.

Finally, the group fell back into the bus. Harry and his friends sat close to the front, just behind Severus and Ms. Southwell. Todd and his friends, along with Todd’s mother sat back. This ride was much quieter. Severus suspected at least some of the children had fallen asleep on the drive.

Severus sighed to himself. He was not looking forward to the discussion he would have to have when they got home. Harry was a Parslemouth. Severus had very little doubt there was a direct connection to Harry surviving the Dark Lord’s attack. What he could not figure out was how. He supposed he could tell the Headmaster, but what would Dumbledore say? What could this mean?

“Penny for your thoughts?” Ms. Southwell asked.

“Pardon,” Severus asked coming back to earth.

“I wondered what had you so lost in thought,” the woman said. “I wondered if you would like to share.”

“Ah,” Severus muttered. “No, not really. It is not something you can help with. Although perhaps you can tell me exactly what happened between Mr. Williams and Harry this morning.”

“That I can do,” she agreed.

She told him how Harry had been working on history. Todd and his friends had come over. The snake whose enclosure they had been standing in front of was not moving. Trying to get it to do so, the other boy started banging on the glass. Harry told them to stop; that is it was mean to do to the snake. Harry had muttered sorry to the snake which turned out to be hissing. The other boys were scared of Harry doing so, especially after the snake seemed to respond. That was when Severus arrived.

Severus thanked her for her account. He was sure Harry would tell him when he got home, but still, hearing it from someone who had heard both sides was useful. He would tell Lily this, before they had their talk with Harry. The bus pulled up to the school the students headed back to class to retrieve anything they might have left in the cloakroom. Severus chose to walk them directly home. Lily was a bit surprised to find them home early, but was glad to see them.

Severus set Harry up with a small snack in the dining room, while he and Lily talked about the day’s events. He was very glad the girls had at least another hour of their nap. He was not sure he could deal with one more thing on his plate at the moment, even if it was simply nappy change. Lily had a very similar look on her face by the time Severus finished his tale.

“What does it mean Sev?” Lily asked uneasily.

“I do not know,” he replied, just as uncomfortable.

“Should we tell someone? Dumbledore?” She asked.

Severus nodded. “I will. Though, he may not have any better idea of what is going on than you or I. There is a chance, however, how small, Harry might have had this talent naturally.”

“You don’t believe that for a second,” Lily countered.

“No,” Severus agreed with a small sigh. “I am certain it has something to do with his encounter with the Dark Lord. What exactly it is, I do not know. The thing that matters is Harry’s well-being. You must make sure he does not… Feel as if he were a ‘freak’. Today’s experience, did little to prevent such feelings from occurring.”

Lily gave him a small nod though she did not want to admit she was scared. She was not scared of her son, but rather for him. Severus had told her how Parslemouth was often considered dark, a prejudice at least in part perpetuated by Voldemort.

“Harry,” Lily called from her seat on the sofa.

Harry came in, his face half covered in raspberry jam from his snack. Lily patted the cushion beside her. Severus stood by the fireplace. Severus conjured a wet towel from the tip of his wand before passing it to Lily to wipe the boy’s face. Harry did his best to avoid his mother’s gentle ministrations, but she persisted until all the jam was gone.

“Harry,” Severus said trying to redirect the boy’s attention. “Could you please tell us what happened this morning between you and Todd?”

Harry told them his version of events. It was much like the account he had heard from Harry’s teacher. It appeared she had little faith in Todd’s version of events.

“Then you were there, Daddy,” Harry finished.

“Harry, did you realize at any point you were speaking like a snake?” Severus asked.

Harry shook his head, “Did I do something bad?”

“No,” Severus returned firmly. “You did nothing wrong.”

“Todd said I was…” Harry started.

Lily gave the boy a reassuring squeeze. “Never mind what silly old Todd said. He doesn’t know what he’s talking about. There are very few people in the world who can do what you can. This talent just makes you even more special.”

“Your mother is right,” Severus agreed. “You should never think of yourself using that word.”

Harry cocked his head to the side, “What word?”

“The word Todd used this morning,” Severus clarified.

Harry frowned, puzzling it out. “Fr-”

“You need not use it,” Severus snapped. “My apologies, Harry. You don’t have to say it. But yes that is the word I meant. You should never let anyone call you, or make you feel as if you are that word.”

“Okay,” Harry agreed.