Okay, so spending the day in the Potions Lab wasn’t exactly the way Harry had imagined spending the first day of the Christmas holidays. It was the winter break during his third year at Hogwarts and almost all students had gone home, everyone else in Gryffindor Tower had, but that didn’t matter. However, there were so many other things he could be doing right now instead of sitting in the Potions Lab, especially as there was snow on the ground outside. But he didn’t particularly care. It meant that he got to spend time with his dad. And that was what mattered. It was there first Christmas together, after all. But why the man wanted to spend the first day of the holidays brewing Potions was completely beyond Harry. But since he wanted to spend time with his dad, he put up with it. Heck, he’d even done some of his Christmas homework, on the first day of the holidays, just to spend time with his dad. But he supposed that it was easier to concentrate on his homework when his dad was in the room. He wouldn’t allow him to get distracted. And the man was so strict about his marks, as well. Definitely no slacking off allowed! Harry just wished it was this easy to concentrate in Potions class. But of course, in Potions class, his dad wasn’t his dad, he was Professor Snape. And it was like the two were completely separate people, and Harry knew which one he preferred. Sure, he could understand the need for secrecy, and why his dad had to act the way he did, but it still sucked at times! Even Ron and Hermione didn’t know that he now considered Professor Snape to be his dad. They’d throw a fit when he was eventually allowed to tell them. But they’d throw an even bigger fit when they found out how long he’d kept it from them. And in a roundabout way, that was also why he’d started his homework on the first day of the holidays. Because he wasn’t going to be able to tell them that Professor Snape was his dad until after Voldemort had been defeated, and if he was the one who had to defeat Voldemort then he was going to need all the knowledge he could get. And the sooner he got his homework completed, and up to his dad’s standards, the sooner he could spend his evening study hour, which he just knew his dad was going to make him do, studying things that might actually be useful against Voldemort, instead of goblin wars.

For now though, he was bored of homework. And he was getting pretty sick of the Potions Lab, too. He cupped his chin in his hands and continued to watch his dad work, resisting the urge to sigh. It’d only make his dad annoyed with him. Something which he certainly didn’t want on the first day of the holidays.

It was a little while before he got tired of watching his dad working, but eventually he did. The man showed no sign of noticing his growing restlessness, which proved just how busy he must be, because nothing escaped the man’s notice. He tidied away his text books and his parchment into his rucksack, and took out his new practice snitch, which had been an early Christmas present from Professor Lupin. Or Remus, as he had been asked to refer to the man in private. Pro… Remus had been a good friend to his biological dad, and his dad had rather reluctantly agreed to allow him to spend time with Remus, on Remus’ request. Apparently his dad hadn’t got along with Remus and his friends when they had went to Hogwarts together, his biological dad included in that group of friends and his dad was willing to carry on the grudge, so it seemed. Remus wouldn’t tell him anything about the reasons why his dad held a grudge against him when he did spend time with the Defense Professor, mainly when everyone else was at Hogsmeade on a weekend, since his dad wouldn’t let him go because of the threat of Sirius Black. Remus instead often told him stories about his biological dad and his mum and the times hey had had at Hogwarts.

Taking the practice snitch, he let it float a little way into the air before catching it again. He focused all his attention on catching the small golden ball again as quickly as possible, attempting to hone his skills and sharpen his reflexes. He was determined that Gryffindor were going to win the Quidditch Cup this year! And his dad would just love that! Harry found he had much more patience when working with his practice snitch, then he did when he was studying, even though in essence there was not much difference, he had to focus on the same thing over and over again to learn it. But he’d happily take a snitch over lessons any day! And he’d definitely take a snitch over Potions any day! Even if his dad was the Potions Professor… Or maybe because of it! You couldn’t really say that he had much in common with his dad, who was definitely Potions mad and who had no or little interest in Quidditch.

Harry didn’t know how long he spent absorbed with his practice snitch, but he didn’t hear his dad come up behind him. “You seem to be concentrating pretty hard there. To bad it isn’t on your studies.”

Harry jumped and let go of the practice snitch. “Dad! You scared me!”

Potions Professor Severus Snape smiled. It still caused his heart to skip a beat when Harry called him ‘Dad’. And at Godric’s Hollow, James Potter was rolling in his grave! “Sorry, you were concentrating pretty hard there. I thought you would have heard me come up behind you though.” Harry smiled sheepishly. “Where did you get a practice snitch from anyway?” his dad asked. “It is a practice snitch, right?” his dad then asked, before he had chance to answer.

“Yes, it’s a practice snitch, dad. I wouldn’t bring a real snitch into a Potions lab. What do you take me for?!” Harry told him.

“Or anywhere in our quarters, I hope,” his dad told him sternly.

It was at this time that Harry realised that he had let go of the practice snitch when his dad had come up behind him. “I won’t, I promise,” he told his dad, as he looked around to see if he could see the snitch. He couldn’t. Some Seeker he was! He didn’t want to tell his dad that he’d lost it in the Potions Lab, especially after what he had just said! And it was a present from Remus, even if his dad didn’t particularly like his fellow Professor, Harry still didn’t think that his dad would be impressed with him losing a gift! Nor did he want to explain to his Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor that he had lost his Christmas gift.

A splash caught Harry’s attention, and he finally saw the practice snitch just as it dropped into one of the Potions his dad had spent most of the day preparing. Harry knew without looking at the man that his dad had saw what had happened too. He swallowed and looked at the floor. His dad hadn’t said anything and Harry was worried that it was because the man was extremely angry with him. He very hesitantly looked up at his dad, nervously biting on his lip as he did so.

“It’s a good thing that there’s only the dregs of a potion left in that cauldron and I’ve bottled the rest of it, isn’t it?” his dad asked him, sounding a lot less mad than Harry expected him to be.

“Yes, Sir,” Harry said quietly, reverting to formality when he thought that he was in trouble.

His dad flicked his wand and a moment later handed him a now clean practice snitch. “Why don’t you put that away and we’ll head back to our quarters for tea?” Harry nodded and done as he was told. Was he not in trouble then?

The two began walking along the private passage back their quarters in the dungeons. “Well, if I ever decide I need to use a snitch as a Potions ingredient, I’ll let you know!” his dad told him, as he lay his arm across Harry’s shoulders.

Harry couldn’t help but to giggle, as he put his arm around his dad’s waist. “Yeah, I guess Potions and Snitches don’t really mix,” he admitted. Potions and snitches might not mix or have anything in common with each other, but Gryffindor’s young Seeker was looking forward to his first Christmas with his Potions Professor as his dad.