That night, Severus sat up cradling Harry, watching, waiting for something to happen. He just knew that at any moment the Headmaster was going to come and talk to him, or that the werewolf had gone and told Black, and the animagus was on his way, ready to come take Harry away from him. But Severus did not intend for anyone, be it werewolf, animagus, or Headmaster, to take his son away from him. No, Harry really was the only thing Severus had, anything that matter anyway, and he would be damned if he let someone take his son from him.

Each time Harry woke during the night, Severus was right there, always holding his son. It seemed almost impossible that almost two weeks ago the Potions Master had hated the very sight of this child. Perhaps it was mainly due to the fact that Severus had thought that the boy was the spawn of James Potter, and therefore a thing of evil, but that was all in the past now, right? After all, this child was perfect; Harry was the mix of Lily and Severus. Such a combination could be nothing short of perfect in the professor’s humble opinion.

It was not fair! Nothing was ever fair for Severus! He had had Lily, he had lost Lily, he had gotten Lily back, he had lost Lily forever, he had found a son, he was certain he was going to lose that son. It just wasn’t fair! There was no way Severus was ever going to let anyone take his Harry away again! Not EVER!

“I promise you this,” Severus vowed to the sleeping child that was cradled to his chest.

*******

Over the next several days, Severus became more reclusive and temperamental. He did not eat in the Great Hall anymore, nor did he attend the teachers meetings. When invites to have tea with the Headmaster came his way, the Potions Master flat out refused to go, and was content with locking himself away in his chambers in the dungeons. Detentions were not monitored by Snape that week and he absolutely would not stay after class if anyone had questions. The only thing the professor did was attend classes, teach, and then leave immediately before the Headmaster or anyone could talk to him. The only human contact that Snape had for days was with his students in class, which he kept to a bare minimal, and Harry. He did see house elves every so often, but they weren’t people in Snape’s opinion, so he did not count them.

Rumors started flying left and right about the Potions Master and his odd behavior. The students knew that something was going on, and that it had all started with the disappearance of Harry Potter and the appearance of Snape’s baby. Professor Lupin could also be seen back at the school every once and a while, adding to all the suspicion and wonder. Had Snape killed Harry Potter? Was the baby Harry Potter? Was Lupin back to find Harry Potter?

But of course none of these rumors lasted long as there was no real weight to any of them. But to Draco Malfoy, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger, the rumors were all getting uncomfortably curious. Draco and Ron had had several meetings, but each time neither boy had come up with any hard evidence. And since Professor Snape had, for some reason, turned against Draco and Hermione, the smart Slytherin boy and the smart Gryffindor girl found themselves in detentions almost every night.

One evening, when neither Hermione nor Draco had detention, they fled to the library where Ron was waiting for them. “I just don’t get it,” the Gryffindor scratched his head. “Why’s Snape hate you all of a sudden?” Ron wondered out loud.

“I don’t know,” Draco growled, sneered slightly at the redhead’s crude manners. “But I’d say it’s because he doesn’t like us snooping about.”

“And it’s obvious he’s angry with me for writing to Professor Lupin,” Hermione frowned. “But what I can’t understand is where Harry’s gone to. Professor Lupin told me not to worry about it.”

“And did he tell you where Potter is?” Draco asked, having become somewhat comfortable with the two Gryffindors over the past two weeks. At first he had been following his father’s orders and trying to find out everything he could, to play spy, just like his ‘Uncle’ Snape did for the Death Eaters, but after a time, Draco began doing it to fulfill his own curiosity, actually forgetting to report back to his father and the Dark Lord.

“No,” Hermione sighed. “He just said that Harry was fine and that he was going to get better really soon and be back in time for the end of term testing.”

“Lucky him,” Ron rolled his eyes.

“So we’re really no closer to figuring out anything,” the blonde sighed. “All right. I’ll go try and see if Professor Snape will talk tonight. He hasn’t been seeing anyone over the last several days.”

So with that agreed, the three children went their ways, each one not really realizing that they were actually working together even though they were in two different Houses. They were either worried or curious or both, enough so that they did not stop to think about much else. Had they known that they were working together, they might have stopped instantly just to keep the rivalry going. After all, rivalry was a tradition too.

But while the school was chattering and the all the other professors were frazzled, Severus was actually quite content to ignore the outside world. He had Harry, and that was all he really needed. Harry was a good companion, a lively companion. The boy only cried when he needed something, and the Potions Master had the greatest satisfaction of watching the boy crawl around and even try to stand on his own. Of course Severus had carpeted and padded every square inch of his chambers to make sure that Harry didn’t hurt his little hands or knees and even cleaned his chambers every day. He did not want the boy getting sick after all. But, alas, Harry always did seem to find some sort of mess to get into…

There was also the…task, of teaching Harry how to eat his food without spitting it back out or trying to fling it across the room. The first few times Severus attempted to feed his son, Harry had had the joy of making himself and his father so messy, they were hardly recognizable. But after about the fifth or so try, and after Severus had used a sticking charm on the baby’s hands so the little guy did not get so delighted he flung peas everywhere, the meal was a relative success, and both father and son had more or less come away unscathed.

Once that that skill was learned, Severus and Harry underwent the crown jewel of father/ son bonding; Severus took Harry into his private potions lab.

And although Severus actually found himself wanting to take Harry into the lab, he was also more than a little worried. The potions lab was full of all kinds of dangerous, poisonous, and over all explosive things…but then again, Severus had not really stepped foot inside his private lab for a while, and he did have to finish brewing that potion for the Dark Lord, and Harry did need to be looked after…

Transfiguring a stool into a highchair, Severus plopped little Harry into the seat and kissed the top of his soft, baby fuzz head. “Now you will see how dada works,” he smiled down at the grinning little boy.

Harry gurgled and smiled back at his father. And although he did not quite like the smell of the room, he thought he would be okay since in a strange way these smells reminded him of his dada. Besides, he liked being with his daddy. He did not like it when his daddy left him in his playpen and went into this room alone. It was much more fun to be where his dada could look at him all the time.

Looking over his potion, Severus frowned in concentration as he looked at the dark, boiling brew. He felt cold as he realized just what it was he was brewing, but he could not fake the potion, after all. Even the slightest tampering with and the potion would not only not work, but it would look different, and if it looked different, then the Dark Lord would suspect Severus of trying to poison him. And then were would Harry be? The Dark Lord would kill Severus and the poor little boy would be an orphan again. Severus just couldn’t let that happen.

So, devoting himself to the problem at hand, Severus set to work, forgetting about all the grading he still had to do, all the people that wanted to talk to him. He began chopping and dicing ingredients left and right, began his work, looking very much like the wizard in old Muggle stories. There was nothing that mattered save his work, and that was why Snape was a Potions Master.

While dada worked, little Harry watched. What his father was doing looked like such fun! But Harry was a little sad that his daddy was not letting him help. Harry was a good helper! He really was! So, to improve himself, the little boy watched and soon began to think that what his father was doing was not so very hard after all.

When Severus had his back turned was when little Harry thought that he could be of use. Reaching out with his chubby little hands, the baby grabbed a handful of he knew not what. It was squishy and made him giggle. And with all his might, the baby threw the squish maroon thing into the big pot that he had seen his dada throw things in. Harry clapped in joy when the cauldron steamed and gave a slight hiss after dissolving the eagle heart.

Hearing his son laughing, Severus looked over his shoulder from where he stood rereading through the instructions, just to make sure he was brewing the potion correctly. But when he looked, all he saw was Harry smiling happily, clapping his little hands. The father could not help but smile back. Severus felt his heart glow at the thought that Harry was enjoying watching him brew. “Want to be a Potions Master someday too, do we?” he grinned at the baby. Harry’s giggles turned into shrieks of laughter. Severus laughed, not knowing that Harry was pleased thinking that his father had seen just what he had done and was pleased with him.

Since that was the case, when Severus turned away again, Harry grabbed for something else that he might add into the pot. It was very easy, after all, and his dada did seem to need all the help he could get! So, the little boy grabbed for something else. He could not quite reach it, so he tried harder. He struggled and struggled, but he could not reach it. But just when Harry began to pout, the jar came over to him, as though it were magic!

Taking the jar, Harry grabbed some of the powder that was inside. With a giggle, he tossed that stuff into the potion too. It didn’t seem like it would hurt anything, so he added more in, just for good measure. But that was when Severus turned around. “Harry!” the man yelled, rushing over to the baby. “What are you trying to do? Ruin daddy’s potion?” But the Potions Master froze. Had he really just referred to himself as daddy? “Bloody hell,” he rolled his eyes.

Taking the jar from the little boy, whose lower lips was starting to quiver, Severus set it aside and went over to his potions, praying that by some miracle, the potions was not ruined. As he inspected it, however, the professor could not tell that there was anything wrong with it. He’d only ever brewed his particular potion once, and he could not quite remember how it was supposed to smell, but it looked right, at any rate, and that was fine with him.

Sighing in relief, thinking nothing had gone wrong and that he had caught Harry in time, Severus was comforted with the fact that he would not have to be tortured for failing to deliver the potion on time. He turned back around to look at his son. Big, watery eyes looked up at the Potions Master. “Dada, ang’y,” the boy sniffled.

“No, no, dada’s not angry with you,” Severus walked over to his son and picked him up. “And it’s angry, Harry, not ang’y.”

“Ang’y,” the boy mumbled into his father’s chest.

Severus sighed. He’d been trying to teach Harry how to say and pronounce words over the past few days, and the boy was a pretty quick study, but still had a tendency to mispronounce his words. But at least Harry was beginning to use words instead of just screaming all the time, Snape thought. The more adult-like the baby acted, the better Severus was sure his nerves would be… Although he could not deny he liked holding the child, something he would never even consider doing for another adult.

“No, I’m not angry,” the man began bouncing the boy in his arms. “I was just…concerned is all.”

Taking out his wand, Severus quickly cleaned Harry’s hands, making sure that when the baby stuck those little chubby fists into his mouth, which he was sure the child would, so Harry would not accidentally poison himself or something. Once that was done, the father rocked his son a little bit longer before setting him back into the highchair.

“Wait just a bit longer and soon daddy will be all done, okay?” Severus asked, as though the baby actually understood everything.

When Harry saw that his father was not angry with him, he smiled brightly up at the man. Harry was a very lucky little boy, and he knew it too. He loved having someone take care of him, someone that cuddled him and fed him and kept him away from the bad people outside. With his dada, Harry was safe, and no one could hurt him.  He was lucky had had a patient daddy.

While Harry entertained himself with his teddy bear and a few old boxes Severus had transfigured into blocks, the Potions Master went to finish up his potion. It would not be long now. That next night, Snape would be once again facing the Dark Lord, and giving him a potion that would make him stronger…at least for a short time. It was fortunate he did not know his son had tried to help him make this potion…

*******

The next day, after classes, Snape went to the Headmaster’s office. He did not like it, but he knew that he could not leave Harry alone tonight when he went to the Death Eater meeting. If something were to happen, and Severus would not come back…well, he did not want Harry to be left alone without anyone to care for him. Perhaps it was silly to be this paranoid, but then Severus had survived this long because of his well bred paranoia.

Severus knocked on the door, but no one answered; so he opened it and beheld not only Dumbledore, but Umbridge, and Lupin there as well. All emotions leaked off the Slytherin’s face as he stared at the group. Albus was sitting at his desk, like normal, while Umbridge was standing rather close to Lupin, her finger out as though she were scolding the werewolf. It would have been a laughable scene had Severus not had business to take care of, business he really did not want Lupin or Umbridge to hear.

“Why, Severus,” the Headmaster smiled. “What a delightful surprise! Please do come in.”

Walking in timidly, the Potions Master sent a vicious glare over to Umbridge while he dipped his head to Lupin; not that he liked the wolf mind you, but he knew being polite to the werewolf would royally piss off the old toad, so he was pleased to do it. He could always think up a good insult to say to Lupin later after all, just to remind the Gryffindor that he still hated his guts. And besides, he needed to anger the woman enough so that she’d leave, and then Severus could just demand that Remus leave too.

“What brings you here, my boy?” the Headmaster asked kindly.

“Headmaster!” Umbridge exclaimed. “We were in the middle of a…debate before Professor Snape rudely barged in,” she huffed.

“I did not barge in,” the Potions Master hissed. “I did knock.”

“Dolores, my dear, perhaps we should talk about this later?” Albus whispered, but loud enough so that anyone could have heard it.

The witch’s face turned bright red as she scowled at the Headmaster.“I will not be chased out of here while-”

“I did not say ‘chased out’,” Albus smiled. “Now be a dear and go to your office and spruce everything up. I’ll call you once I’m done talking to Severus and Remus.”

“But-!”

“Out you go!” the Headmaster looked far too cheerful as he literally pushed her out the door.

Once she was out, he sat back down in his chair and smiled back up at the two wizards that had remained in the room. “Lemon drop?” he offered, holding out the jar.

Neither Remus nor Severus moved to take the offered candy, but little Harry reached out to take one of the colorful candies. But Severus stopped the infant, foreseeing that the little one would probably choke on the sweet, and the last thing he needed at the moment was his son choking to death. Or if Harry didn’t die, then Snape was sure that he’d have a heart attack.

After no one moved, Albus shrugged, setting the jar on his desk and popping in a candy. “More for me,” he smiled happily.

“Leave, Lupin,” Severus hissed after a moment. “I need to speak with the Headmaster.”

“Well I need to talk to him too,” Remus frowned at his peer, but then found his eyes drawn to little Harry who actually graced him with a smile.

“This is important!” Severus growled.

“Mine is too,” Remus shot back.

“Well, I work here!”

“I was here first!”

“Boys!” Dumbledore chuckled. “Please. Remus, could you please sit down and wait just one moment. Severus, what is it you need?”

Angry that the wolf was being allowed to stay, the Potions Master grumbled under his breath. “There’s a meeting tonight,” he answered after a moment. “Someone will need to watch after Harry.”

“The boy doesn’t like anyone but you, Severus,” the Headmaster frowned, wishing very much that little Harry did like him.

“But I can’t very well bring a baby to a Death Eater gathering, now can I?” Severus rolled his eyes. Sometimes he thought that he was the only smart person left on the planet.

While Snape and Dumbledore talked, Remus watched the little boy in the Slytherin’s arms. Harry was smiling at him, and Remus found that he could not quit smiling either. The little boy was precious! And then something unheard of happened, Harry reached out his arms to Remus, as if expecting the werewolf to pick him up!

When Severus felt the child shift in his lap, he looked down at his son to see what the child was doing. What he saw horrified him. “Well then,” Dumbledore’s voice was light and cheerful. “Looks like we found a babysitter!”