Potions and Snitches
Snape and Harry Gen Fanfiction Archive

Author's Chapter Notes:
Here it is, we're coming to an end, people, it had been a fun and joyful month.
Chapter 5

“As much as I would like to chat more, Headmaster, Harry is waiting for me,” Severus said as politely as possible. He’d been trying to get off the topic of Gwen Roslyn for the past Merlin-knows-how-long.

 

“Ah, Harry, yes, I shall come with you, Severus, see how the little one is doing and all. My, has it been three hours?”

 

Severus froze in his steps. He had been trying to get to the door in record time.

 

“Three hours...It had been three hours?” Severus exclaimed, then, without confirmation from Dumbledore, he rushed out of the headmaster’s office and sprinted towards the Hospital Wing.

____________________________________________________________________

 

Around one hour earlier...

 

Little Harry woke up to the sound of a heavy thunderstorm. He sat up groggily in an unfamiliar place and immediately got frightened. Outside the window panes, Harry saw that droplets of rain were attacking the glass viciously, as if trying to get inside the castle. Another clap of thunder and Harry jumped from his bed, clasping his hands over his ears.

 

Daddy...Where’s Daddy?

 

Harry climbed out of the bed gingerly as memories of the past 2 hours flooded back. The chess-cups (or was it chest-ups?) Madam Pomfrey gave him was over in half an hour. He nearly fell asleep while standing still and waiting for the mediwitch to finish the check-up (he suddenly remembered they were called). Madam Pomfrey saw the nine-year-old’s eyes closing and asked Harry to sleep it off while waiting for his father to fetch him.

 

However, Harry was sure that one hour had come and gone, but his father was nowhere to be found. He had fallen asleep in his new clothes, a dark red hoodie and long black pants, but his wizard’s robe was folded nicely at the foot of his bed.

 

Another bolt of thunder crashed in the distance, making Harry remember his unpleasant nightmares from last night. He had to find his father. His daddy would make everything bad go away. Hastily throwing his robe on and slipping into his shoes, Harry darted out of the Hospital Wing as fast as he could.

 

Hogwarts students were returning from their trip, seeking shelter from the unexpected rain. Most were making their way towards the Great Hall for a late lunch while others were making their way back to their dormitories to ransack their shopping treats. All around Harry, students were casting drying spells and chatting jovially, not put down by the storm.

 

Where was his daddy? The castle looked so huge and scary now that his daddy wasn’t around to hold his hand to make sure he would not get lost. Harry pushed past the thong of students and made his way up the first staircase he saw. This time though, his scar was peeking out from his fringe and several students saw around him saw it. Immediately, they began buzzing in excited chatter about the-boy-who-lived-and-returned-to-the-wizarding-world.

 

Oblivious to this, Harry ran up a few flights of stairs and turned into the right corridor on the fifth. He was panting heavily by the time he reached the fifth floor, but he still couldn’t find his father. In fact, he had no idea where he was going to look for his daddy.

 

When he saw the strange corridors with dark corners, though, Harry nearly tripped over his robe walking backwards. He ran back down the flight of stairs he came from, but never made it to the lower floor. The staircases were changing direction, jerking away from their original position. They never did that back in his daddy’s house.

 

Frightened, Harry held onto the railings of the moving stairs tightly, afraid that he would tumble down if he let go. When the staircases stopped, Harry ran back up the steps, climbed another flight and then turned left, sinking onto the parquet floor as his legs could not hold him upright any longer. The thunderstorm was still going on heavily, almost as bad as the one the previous night.

 

What if the reason he couldn’t find his father was because his daddy didn’t want him anymore? What if the medical check-ups were a ploy to get rid of him? After his episode that morning, he couldn’t really blame his father for not wanting a sobbing, snivelling little mess. If that was the case, was Severus his father anymore?

 

No, this was all wrong. He shouldn’t doubt his father. Daddy would be mad if Harry said that he didn’t believe what he said...maybe not mad, really, but sad...and he didn’t want his daddy to be sad.

 

But then, why hadn’t his daddy come for him? This was all very confusing for Harry. Usually, his daddy helped him figure all this out and now that his daddy wasn’t here for him, he supposed he should be brave, like daddy told him to be.

 

Harry covered his ears with his two hands and squeezed his eyes shut when a flash of lightning blinked in the distance, thinking that if he could not hear the thunder or see the lightning, those awful images from his nightmares would go away.

 

But they didn’t.

 

No matter how much Harry clawed at his ears, he could still hear the rain and the thunder. He didn’t feel very brave when those nightmares started playing in his mind.

 

First, a woman was looking at him through her emerald eyes, the same ones he had, using a hand to smooth down his baby curls and trying to tell her baby not to be scared. Next moment, the door came crashing down in sync with the sound of thunder, and a wizard walked towards them like a predator stalking its prey. The woman was screaming for mercy as the thunderstorm got more violent, as if howling in misery at the tragedy that was about to take place.

 

No...please...go away...don’t kill her...don’t kill my mummy...

 

 Harry’s soft cries could not be heard in the nightmare he was trapped in. He didn’t want to see the green light again, or hear anymore screams.

 

Mummy...mummy...please don’t kill my mummy...

 

“Mummy!” Harry jerked away at the touch of someone’s warm hand on his and saw a woman in maroon robes kneeling before him, looking at him in concern. She had been trying to get his attention, but Harry was still trapped in his nightmare. Without thinking, he threw himself into the woman’s arms, hugging her neck and calling for his mother.

_____________________________________________________________________

 

The crash of thunder seized the Potions Master’s heart, as he recalled that Harry hated thunderstorms, or he would not have looked for Severus the previous night when there was one.

 

“Severus, what’s wrong?” Dumbledore kept up with Severus’ pace, an amazing feat for a centenarian.

 

“I promised Harry I would be back for him within an hour,” Severus replied, failing to hide the worry he felt twisting at his gut. Some father he was. “Harry hates the thunder and lightning. He would be afraid without me.”

 

Severus saw Dumbledore merely nod and did not try to console him. Severus was thankful for that; he could not stand it if the headmaster told him that it wasn’t his fault. Right now, finding Harry was his top priority.

 

They arrived at the Hospital Wing, but of course, Harry was nowhere to be found. Severus panicked and felt his heart race much quicker. Dumbledore was questioning the school healer about Little Harry.

 

“I checked up on him two hours ago, he was sound asleep, so I went to prepare the medical report and the next thing I knew, Harry is gone and both of you are here.”

 

“Two hours?” Severus rounded on the healer angrily. “You didn’t think of placing a charm to inform you if my son left the infirmary or woke up scared? Or even a sleeping draught to ensure that he slept well?”

 

“Don’t yell at me, Severus,” Madam Pomfrey retorted. “I did give Harry a mild Sleeping Draught, for your information, and I didn’t expect you to take such a long time. You said you were going to be absent for an hour, not three.”

 

Severus didn’t bother to fight back. He rubbed his temples in frustration and guilt.

 

“You’re right, Pomfrey, my apologies, I overreacted. I just...I just think of Harry probably running out of Hogwarts to Merlin-knows-where. The forbidden forest, the shrieking shack, maybe? Last I heard, there were werewolves living there,” Severus said with a hint of sadistic humour.

 

Madam Pomfrey snorted. “Only one werewolf, don’t exaggerate, Severus, but I apologise as well, I should have kept an extra eye on Harry.”

 

 Severus just waved the apology away and sighed tiredly. Just when he was going to ask Dumbledore about where to start searching first, a silver Patronus in the form of a horse galloped up to them and conveyed a message.

 

“Headmaster, Harry Potter is with me in my office.”

 

Then, the silver horse vanished into wisps of smoke.

 

“Who is... where?” Severus grabbed Dumbledore’s arm and asked, his eyes wild, but slightly relieved.

 

“Sixth floor, first corridor on the left,” Dumbledore smiled genially and replied. There was no need to ask Severus hurry and collect his son; he was already out of the door and dashing towards the sixth floor.

 

Dumbledore, on the other hand, was in no hurry.

 

“Wasn’t that...” Madam Pomfrey began and then faltered when she saw the Headmaster making no attempts to run after the Potions Master. “Well, you seem to be in quite a mood.”

 

“Ah well, let the two young couple have some alone time, why not?” Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling madly.

 

“Couple?” Madam Pomfrey spluttered.

 

“My apologies, Poppy, future colleagues, I meant. Severus would be joining us as a member of the staff two years before Gwen does. Quite a pair, hmmm...?”

 

Madam Pomfrey just shook her head at the headmaster’s attempts at playing matchmaker and returned to her office, although she had a smile playing on her lips as well. With these young people around, Hogwarts would never be boring again.

_____________________________________________________________________

 

Severus pounded on the door, not caring if he was being unfriendly or impolite. He had been expecting the worst and now that he knew Harry was safe, his emotions caught up with him and so did anger. How could dare the little Potter nearly made him develop a heart attack?

 

When Gwen Roslyn opened the door, though, Severus remembered his manners last minute and schooled his expression and adopted calm and collected demeanour.

 

“You must be Severus,” Gwen Roslyn said after she opened the door to her office.

 

She was, as Dumbledore said, quite a beautiful woman. She looked about the same age as Severus, with straight brown-mahogany hair falling around her shoulders and had her fringe swept to one side. Gwen Roslyn’s most piercing features were her light blue eyes, peering at Severus almost coldly. She wore a smile that looked like she lifted the corners of her mouth with great effort. At least, something they had in common.

 

Severus noticed the witch’s heavy eye bags that contrasted with the brilliance shining in her eyes, showing how tiring life was as an assistant at Hogwarts, but other than that, Gwen Roslyn seemed to hide herself well. She seemed to have distanced herself from the rest of the world, as if to protect herself from any danger. At least, that was what Severus thought he saw in the woman’s eyes...and a light touch of wandless Legilimency, an old habit he couldn’t get rid of.

 

“Yes, and you are...?”

 

“Gwen Roslyn.”

 

Severus raised his eyebrows. “Indeed.”

 

“I’m sorry...you’ve heard of me?” Gwen cocked her head a little, her curious eyes examining Severus just as he assessed her. Again, it was habitual for Severus to see if someone he had just met was up to something. After all, most people Severus ‘socialised’ with were Death Eaters.

 

But so far, Gwen Roslyn did not spark any memories about connections with anyone from the Dark Lord’s side.

 

“Headmaster Dumbledore has informed me that Harry is going under your tutelage in the next few months,” Severus replied, keeping his voice neutral.

 

“I wasn’t sure you’d agree, but it seems everything’s settled now. Imagine my surprise when I found my new student crying at my doorstep.”

 

Gwen stepped aside and let Severus in. Harry was sitting on the couch with a blanket tugged around his legs, nibbling on a chocolate cookie. He was oblivious to the fact that his father was in the same room with him. As Severus sat down beside Harry, grateful that the sound of the thunderstorm could not be heard from within the room, he put his arms around his son and called softly, not wanting to startle him.

 

“Harry, I’m here now...can you hear me?”

 

Little Harry raised his head to face Severus, his spectacles sliding down the bridge of his nose. Severus, much to his sadness, saw that there were two rows of tear marks along Harry’s cheeks.

 

“Daddy...”

 

“Daddy’s here, Harry,” Severus said, pulling Harry towards him.

 

Predictably, Little Harry pushed himself into Severus’ robes and sobbed loudly.

 

“I’m so sorry, Harry, I shouldn’t have broken my promise...I honestly didn’t know the time. I would have come earlier if I did,” Severus apologised, resting his cheeks against his son’s hair.

 

Gwen had turned away, not wanting to intrude on the father-and-son moment, for which Severus was thankful.

 

Harry turned into his father’s embrace and cried for a long while, his cookie abandoned on the carpet, releasing a flood of emotions.

 

“I thought...you...you didn’t w-want me...anymore,” Harry choked in between sobs. “I thought...thought...”

 

“Hush now, Daddy’s here, you’ll be fine,” Severus patted his son’s head comfortingly.

 

As Harry’s cried subsided, Severus heard a cough behind them. Turning, he saw Dumbledore standing a few metres away with Roslyn. Severus pulled Harry from his arms and dried his tears using a handkerchief, which he then passed to his son to blow his nose.

 

“Are you alright now, Harry?”

 

“Y-yes, Daddy,” Harry replied, though he did not looked like he was fine. There were still traces of worry and anguish in his frown. He immediately clutched his father’s hand when Severus pulled away, like he was scared that his father would disappear anytime soon.

 

“We’ll discuss this when we get home,” Severus said firmly. He made his way over to the Headmaster and Roslyn with Harry in tow.

 

“Thank you for taking care of my son, Professor Roslyn” Severus shook hands with the witch formally.

 

“Please, just Roslyn or Gwen, I’ll be your son’s teacher soon, it’ll get confusing if both of you started calling me Professor.”

 

“Then Miss Roslyn it shall be,” Severus said. He caught Dumbledore’s disapproving look, but ignored it.

 

“That will be fine. I won’t keep you here for long, till next month then,” Roslyn nodded at both Dumbledore and Snape.

 

“Would you mind terribly if we used the Floo network, Gwen?” Dumbledore asked. “It would be much less tiring for Little Harry, see, and we wouldn’t want the entire school to spot him just yet.”

 

“A little difficult, headmaster, don’t you think so? The whole school was talking about it when we came out of your office.”

 

“Were they now? Ah, a celebrity even before coming to Hogwarts, Harry...why, you exceed your father’s reputation I must say.”

 

Harry looked at his daddy in confusion. “You were famous at Hogwarts, Daddy?”

 

“I assume the headmaster was talking about your biological father, Harry...James Potter,” Severus said evenly, glaring at the headmaster as he did so. However, this caught Gwen Roslyn’s attention as she raised her eyebrows in curiosity. Severus felt a little hot around his collar as he found Gwen’s gaze scrutinising him

 

“Oh...he was famous, then,” Harry stated, having nothing else to say.

 

Then, Roslyn ushered the lot of them towards the fireplace, as none of them seem to have anything else to say. After final formalities were exchanged, Severus and Harry went up the Floo network first, with Dumbledore following closely behind.

 

When they arrived at Dumbledore’s office, Severus dusted his son’s robe, then snorted when he realised that Harry had put it on the wrong way.

 

“Daddy?”

 

“Yes, Harry?” Severus answered as he took off Harry’s robe and helped him wear it the right way.

 

“Why did Professor Roslyn say that she will be my teacher soon?”

 

“Because she will be,” Severus replied simply and then kneeled down to talk to Harry. “Next year, I would be taking up the position as Potions professor here in Hogwarts. You would need someone to take care of you while I’m teaching and Miss Roslyn would be your teacher starting next month. Will that be alright for you, Harry?”

 

Little Harry nodded slowly, thinking it over. “Professor Roslyn is really nice. I mistook her for mummy when she found me.”

 

Severus neared choked even though he wasn’t eating anything. Before he could get the facts though, Dumbledore arrived in the office and Severus had no intent on listening to another round of Dumbledore’s lectures on how a female presence in his life would be good for both Harry and him.

 

“Severus, why are you on the floor, come now, both of you, have a seat,” Dumbledore said jovially, as if the past hour never happened. “Lemon drops, Harry?”

 

Flicking his eyes towards Severus for permission, Harry accepted the sweet with a polite thank you. Severus felt a hint of pride in his son. Other nine-year-old boys would immediately snatch the sweet and stuff their mouths with the treat without any signs of gratitude.

 

“So Harry, tell me, how would you like to be your father’s son officially?”

 

Severus rolled his eyes. “You make no sense at all, headmaster.”

 

Harry nodded. “I am Daddy’s boy now, aren’t I, Daddy?”

 

Severus turned to Harry and affirmed his question. “Of course you are, Harry, but we should get this on ink and parchment, so that no one around us would doubt it. A wizard...or a witch...would visit us later and ask us a few questions so that we can become father and son officially.”

 

Harry shrugged. “I doubt I need someone else to tell me that. As long as I know it, who cares what other people might say?”

 

My sentiments exactly... Severus nodded to show he agreed, feeling another glow of pride warming his chest. He then sat up and met his eyes with the headmaster, who looked like he was tearing up.

 

“Well, they should be sending someone from Young Wizarding Services soon enough, in the mean time, why don’t we enjoy some biscuits and tea?” Dumbledore smiled at both wizards, who had no idea how different their lives would have been without the adoption papers.

_____________________________________________________________________

When Severus and Harry finally emerged from the castle and walked towards the apparition point in Hogsmead village, it was already dusk. The last of twilight shone down at them from the horizon, signalling the arrival of the night.

 

“Twilight used to be my favourite time of the day,” Harry told his father. “It meant that I could go back into the house after a day of housework under the bright sunlight that always burnt my skin red.”

 

Severus frowned a little at the mention of the Dursleys indirectly. He squeezed Harry’s hand a little.

 

“And what’s your favourite time of the day now?”

 

“When dawn is breaking,” Harry answered cheerfully, “because I wake up every day and see that I wasn’t dreaming about this...that I’m at home with you, Daddy, and I could spend the whole day with you.”

 

Severus smiled.

 

“I personally hate both times of the day, one signifies the end of a tiring day but I still can’t go to sleep and the other signifies the start of another tiresome day,” Severus remarked.

 

“Then what’s your favourite time of the day, Daddy?”

 

Severus was going to reply that he didn’t have one, but changed his answer. “My favourite time of the day is when a new phase of moon is high in the night sky because I get to watch your drooling face when you sleep.”

 

Harry giggled and then protested, “I do not drool.”

 

Smirking, Severus insisted that he did and then proceeded to tickle his son in the stomach mercilessly, causing him to shriek and run away from his father’s grasp.

 

As Severus caught up with his son, he thought about their lives ahead in the Manor, with Gwen Roslyn coming in to tutor his son and how that would turn out. He thought about the conversations he had yet to have with Little Harry, about staying put when you get lost outside of home so that Severus could find him where he last was.

 

He also thought about the adoption papers he held in the deep pockets of his robes, the confirmation to the world about Harry being his son and about the years ahead, especially with Harry going to Hogwarts, where he would be teaching at next year.

 

“Daddy, come catch me!”

 

Harry’s shout brought Severus out of his musings. He would think about them later - the worries, dangers, expectations and fears he had. Right now, he was going to enjoy every single moment he had with his son.

Chapter End Notes:
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