Severus turned to look at Harry in the eye to make sure he got his point across. The hardness of the floor, alerted him he wasn’t as young as he used to be. The boy in his arms however stopped him from moving.

“Do I have to talk in the trial against Uncle Vernon?” Harry asked softly.

“No you do not,” Severus said firmly.

“But the Headmaster said I did,” Harry frowned.

“Albus said a lot of things, you can give pensive evidence to the court in front of ministry personnel so they won’t think the memories are faked,” Severus told him.

“Why didn’t he say that then?” Harry asked curiously.

“I’m not sure, as I do not live in the mind of Albus Dumbledore,” Severus said dryly.

“Will you be there?” Harry asked quietly.

“I shall,” Severus said firmly.

“And you’ll sit by me?” Harry pressed.

“If I must,” he replied.Harry nodded, feeling more comfortable at the thought of the trial now.

 He actually felt like he could do it and would be ok. After all it wasn’t like he was lying to them, his Uncle liked to hurt him for no reason at all. He suddenly frowned as he realized something, his heart picking back up in fear. He felt the arms around him tightened protectively.

“Relax Harry, what’s wrong?” Severus asked quietly. 

“Don’t I have to be in the room when they show the memories?” Harry asked quietly.

“Not if you don’t want too,” Severus replied.

“That sounds good then, only one problem,” Harry said frowning.

“What’s the matter?” Severus asked softly.“I don’t know to take my memories out,” Harry murmured sadly.

“I will show you, not to worry about that child,” Severus promised.Harry nodded before sighing once more as he slowly removed himself from his Professor, so the man could get up.

“I’m sorry,” Harry replied softly.

“For what?” Severus asked as he stood up and stretched with a wince.“

Breaking down, and all of that,” he said embarrassedly gesturing as if that explained everything.

“Nonsense, you were due for another one after what just happened.” Severus said waving the apology off.

“Why did he tell me that then?” Harry asked as he flopped on the couch.

“He probably thought you would be happy to hear it, I’m sure Albus didn’t mean to upset you so. However he should have thought a bit more about this, what was he thinking?” Severus murmured.

Harry shrugged as he leaned back on the couch tiredly. Crying one’s eyes out tended to do that to a person and he slowly shut his eyes.

“Why don’t you go lie down in your bed and rest?” Severus asked gently.

“The couch is comfy,” Harry replied with a shake of his head.

“Your bed is more comfortable then the couch,” Severus said with a half grin.“Come on Harry,”

“No I wanna stay here,” Harry said quickly, his eyes popping open immediately.

“You’ll feel better once you nap, and the only way to get a good one is to be in your bed.” Severus told him firmly.

“I’m, I’m not sleepy anymore,” Harry said sitting up and blinking rapidly to wake himself up.

Harry was exhausted, and he wanted to sleep more than ever. But upstairs in his room alone, allowed the nightmares to come forth and he didn’t want that. He preferred the safety of Snape, and that was starting to scare him. He never realized how addicting the feeling was, but then again he had never had anybody of his own to care about his well being before.

“Yes you are child,” Severus said with a smirk as he shook his head.

“Why don’t you want to go to bed Harry?”

“Because you won’t be there,” Harry whispered out almost inaudibly.

“Alright then you can lie here then,” Severus said relenting, understanding immediately.

Severus was aware of what was going on with his charge at the moment, and wasn’t at all surprise. The boy was feeling vulnerable and as a result, he was a bit clingy. He shook his head accioing some of his work from his study as he took a seat in the chair opposite the couch Harry was on.

Severus was grabbing the tray from the side of the chair when he looked over at Harry. The boy was watching him closely as he was afraid that he would disappear any moment. Placing his papers on the tray he carried it towards the sofa and took a seat.

“I’m not going anywhere Harry, so you’re allowed to sleep. I promise I will be here when you wake up,” Severus said sincerely.

Harry nodded once before allowing himself to close his eyes. He could hear the scratching of the man’s quill and he sighed happily. He knew his Professor had never lied to him before and he found himself lulled to sleep.

~*~*~*~*Grimmauld Place~*~*~*

Remus sighed once more from his place at the kitchen table. He idly stirred his tea, as he thought about what the Healer had said was wrong. He couldn’t understand it fully, but he got the gists of it. Sirius had come out of Azkaban slightly insane, which was cause by the dementors.

The Healer had been a half-blood wizard who had lived in the muggle world and had compared it Sirius having a loose wire (whatever that was) that caused his system to go a bit haywire. Remus had been a bit confused, but they had sorted that all out and he and the healer were once more on the same page.

The man wanted Sirius to stay in the hospital longer for treatment, but Remus knew that wasn’t possible. At the moment they had agreed on daily treatments, Remus would bring Sirius to the healer and they would begin the treatment. He wasn’t sure at all what that meant, but he felt a bit confident about this. The man had also told him that there was probably a significant event in his life, which seemed to tell him what he was doing, was ok.

It wasn’t the first time that Remus had to question his friend’s upbringing. As Sirius was currently sleeping, he was reluctant to wake him up. He mused to himself that it could wait until tomorrow. At the moment however he was just glad that Sirius was on his way to getting better.

~*~*~*~*Hogwarts~*~*~*~

Minerva smirked as she took a seat at the dinner table. She knew that Filius had been furious when she told him what the toad had done and Pomona had been in tears. He could see the woman sitting near the edge of the table where Severus usually sat. She could feel the woman’s gaze towards her every now and again, but every time she looked at the woman she turned away. No matter, she was ready to put her plan into action.

“Albus, have you seen Severus? There is something I wish to discuss with him,” Filius said casually.

“He’s gone home to his manor for the holidays,” Albus replied.

“Oh really, I’ll just floo him them,” Filius replied.

“That would be the best, at the moment he has a number of projects that he is working on.” Albus said his blue eyes directly on Delores.

“As do I,” Minerva said quietly.

“I can’t wait to test them out,” She said with a glint in her eye.

Pomona had to fight off a grin as the toady woman gave a small shriek. “Is there something wrong Delores?”

 “No nothing at all,” Umbridge squeaked. She didn’t feel safe at this table, and had it not been Dumbledore’s stupid rules, she would be eating in her quarters. She wasn’t as slow as one might think, and she knew that her days were numbered. Minerva hadn’t liked her since she got here and the same for Flitwick, especially since she had measured him. The half-breed deserved it, and she shuddered at just the thought of him teaching her future children.

 “He’ll probably be coming tomorrow to speak with me,” Albus replied quietly.

“Oh why is that?” Minerva asked questioningly.

“I think I made a grave error,” was all Albus replied.

Minerva nodded, but all she could think about was Harry. She had the oddest feeling that Severus was becoming because of something Albus had done to the child. And she hoped that he hadn’t done something to damage him a bit further.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Harry slept for awhile, his exhausted body nearly shutting down as he slept. He hadn’t been getting the proper sleep, due to his current ailment if you could call it that. Insomnia was rearing its head and he spent the majority of his early mornings in his room, afraid to leave out of it. He knew now that Snape wouldn’t hurt him, but was drilled into him at an early age not to leave his room.

He rolled over in his sleep, his head unconsciously moving so he could rest it in his teacher’s lap. His body relaxed as he slept, the worry lines on his forehead all but fading away.Severus checked on him as he worked, musing that the boy looked so much younger when he was sleeping. Maybe it was because he had no worries then, but that wasn’t always true.

He sighed, Harry had only gained 3 pounds since he’d been here, granted Severus only had him for about 5 days, and though he knew it was an accomplishment he didn’t feel like it was. Harry was so far under his weight class, it scared him to think on how the boy had survived all these years. He sighed, hoping Albus had thought of something of where the boy could stay next summer.

He didn’t allow the thought of the boy coming back here run through his head again; it would do no good to tell the child he could only to have it backfire when Albus said no. It wasn’t right to give either of them false hope, and he frowned. Shaking his head, Severus turned back to grading his papers. A few hours later found Severus carefully removing himself as he got up and ready for dinner, he went and made sure everything was ready before going to wake up Harry.

“Harry, come on sleepy head time to eat,” Severus said gently.

He knew his abused Slytherins didn’t take too kindly to being woken up by loud noises, and he only assumed Harry was the same way. He knew from personal experience, loud voices usually were accompanied by violence of some sort.

“I’m not hungry P’fessor, let me sleep,” Harry mumbled out, ignoring his growling stomach. This was the best sleep he could remember getting.

Severus smiled fondly.“I would Harry, only you know you’re not allowed to skip any meals,”

“That’s the opposite of the Durselys, there is was a rule that I had to skip at least 2 in order to eat,” Harry grumbled out tiredly.

Severus stilled, Harry had been pretty tight lipped when it came to discussing the Durselys abuse. His statement disturbed him greatly and as much as he didn’t want to talk about it, he knew they had too.

“Well that rule doesn’t apply here, you get to eat whenever you like,” Severus said calmly.

“Am I allowed snacks? Dudley always got those,” Harry asked sleepily as he sat up.

“Of course, don’t you get snacks at school?” Severus asked quietly.

“Sometimes, but I feel kind of bad, is it considering stealing if the house elves give it to us?” Harry asked worriedly.

“It’s not stealing at all, Hogwarts caters to its students,” Severus replied as he lifted the slight teen to its feet.

“Oh, well then I don’t think I’ll feel guilty anymore,” Harry replied happily as he blinked the sleep from his eyes.

“Good, are you ready to eat Harry?” Severus asked.

“Mhmm, I am. What are we having?” Harry asked; not that it mattered. He wasn’t a picky eater and he would eat anything that was set before him.

“Buttered Brussels sprouts, mashed potatoes, and baked chicken. For dessert we will be having treacle tarts and ice cream.” Severus said wondering idly if the boy would complain about the vegetables. He knew most of the boys in his house had to be threatened with detentions in order to get them to eat their vegetables. He also knew that the youngest Weasely boy was the same way. The question was, was Harry?

“That sounds good,” Harry replied his mouth watering. “Will I get an appetite stimulant potion today?” He asked. He wanted to be able to finish his food, this meal sounded really delicious to him.

“Do you want one?” Severus asked curiously.

“Yes sir,” Harry said shyly.

Severus nodded; Harry was going to get one anyway even if he hadn’t asked. They headed to the table and took a seat, their food already served on their plates. Harry eagerly drunk the potions by his plate, feeling like his stomach expanded a bit and he was hungrier than ever.

“Do you have a house elf sir?” Harry asked as he took a bite of his sprouts, barely able to stop moaning in delight.

“Why do you ask Harry?” Severus asked curiously.

 “Because the food is always on the table, even if you’re sleeping. I’m not saying you can’t cook, but I’m just curious is all,” Harry asked.

About a week ago if Harry had asked this Severus would have narrowed his eyes in suspicion wondering if the boy would use the poor elf for his personal gain. But now that he knew the child a bit, he could see he was genuinely curious. It seemed that despite all that Harry had gone through he still had a bit of his innocence left. Severus would do anything to keep that little bit of it in the child.

“Albus has given me one, he says I don’t eat on time when I’m on my own,” Severus admitted.

“Oh I can see that, you are kind of skinny,” Harry said with cheeky smile.

“And you aren’t?” Severus said arching his eyebrow playfully.

“Well I am yes but we know its’ not by choice.” Given the option, he would choose to be healthy like Ron. “But your skinny, it makes you looks sick, especially since you’re so pale,” Harry replied thoughtfully before gasping as he realized who he was talking to.

“Why you little…” Severus started with a rare grin on his face before stopping.

“I’m so sorry sir; I didn’t mean to be rude or cheeky. I’d forgotten who I was talking too, please sir, don’t be mad,” Harry said nearly panicking.

“Silly child, I’m not offended, relax Harry before you make yourself sick. I’m alright, you had a point there now calm yourself,” Severus said firmly.

Harry forced himself to take slow deep breaths, slowly coming back to himself. When he had calmed down and was more or less back to the way he was, he stared at the table in anticipation. Of what exactly he wasn’t really sure.

“Eat your dinner before it gets cold child, can’t have you as skinny as me,” Severus said playfully.

Harry grinned brightly at that as he eagerly resumed eating.

Severus was inwardly sighing in relief at the crisis that nearly happened. He mused to himself that Harry and he had come a long way in a short period of time. He made a promise that nothing would break that. It was true that they did need each other.

~**~**~The Next Day**~**~**~**

The next day found Harry looking carefully at the vials on the bed in front of him. They had collected basilisk venom, skin, and its raw hide. He frowned, wishing he had the strength to grab the teeth before sighing, hoping Snape would like it.

He had also been able to grab two feathers from Fawkes, and was nearly done with his teacher’s present. He grabbed everything and set unbreakable charms on the vials before placing them in an empty box. As he placed the feathers over them he frowned, he was still missing something.

The only problem was he wasn’t sure exactly what it was. He stilled as he heard his name and shoved the box under his bed.“Harry, come to the top of the stairs please,” Severus called.

“Coming,” Harry replied before doing just that.

 “What is it Professor?” He asked curiously.

“I’m going to Hogwarts this morning to talk to Albus about something important,” Severus explained patiently.

“What about me?” Harry asked carefully.

“Well I’m not sure I feel comfortable allowing you to come to Hogwarts. I would like for you to stay here,” Severus said trying to gauge the child’s reaction.

“I don’t like being alone,” Harry admitted inaudibly.

“Why not?” Severus asked gently.

“I was always alone at the Durselys, I don’t like being alone with just my thoughts for company,” Harry replied, his eyes taking on a distressed look.

“Alright well would you like to go to the Burrow?” Severus asked quickly, no sense in starting the day off on the wrong foot.

“Not r

eally, it’s kind of loud there,” Harry replied, looking anywhere but at the man.

“Then where do you want to go Harry? There are only a few places I trust to leave you,” Severus murmured.

“Last time you had Ron come here,” Harry pointed out.

“Do you want him to come here today? I’m sure that can be arranged,” Severus said tapping his chin as he accioed the floo powder.

“No! I don’t want him to come,” Harry said hurriedly.

“Why not, did you two have a fight or something?” Severus asked in confusion.

“No I just don’t want him to come,” Harry repeated softly.

“Then what do you want child?” Severus asked, running out of patience.

“I want to come with you,” Harry whispered out, his eyes pleading.

Severus frowned as he stared at the child silently. He didn’t want to risk it, bringing Harry where the Durselys were, not to mention Delores. This was a bad idea, but he could never refuse that particular shade of eye color.

“Please let me come with you,” Harry pleaded his eyes so wide they were starting to water. He knew he was fighting a bit dirty, but he was living with a Slytherin and he knew he had to use everything to his advantage. He couldn’t explain it but he was feeling a bit clingy to the man at the moment. His safety blanket if you will was leaving, was it bad that he wanted to go with it?

“Accio invisibility cloak,” Severus ground out. If Harry had been a Slytherin he would have gotten his way a lot, especially when he had those eyes open that way.

Harry smiled, hurrying into his room to grab his new tennis shoes and traveling cloak. It was an amazing feeling to him to wear a pair of sneakers meant only for him. They were so comfortable, and he didn’t look at all like a waif like he used too. When he wore his new clothes, he felt like he belonged to somebody, that he belonged to Snape.

“Thank you for letting me come with you sir,” Harry said gratefully as he headed down the stairs.

“That was a very Slytherin move Harry, don’t think I hadn’t noticed,” Severus said casually.

“I know, but then again I’m not really surprised. The sorting hat did want to put me in Slytherin,” he said with a sly smirk.

“But of course,” was all Severus could choke out. “How did you talk it out of it?”

“I kept chanting not Slytherin, and it finally said Gryffindor,” Harry grinned happily.

“Unbelievable,” Severus said shaking his head.

 “We are flooing to Albus’s office,” he said absently as he tried to muddle through this new information. It did however explain so many things that the boy seemed to get away with. Not to mention, he had them all fooled for almost 5 years about his abusive home situation. Severus could see the snake side in Harry and not just because he was a parsel tongue.

“Alright, you’ll tell him I’m using the pensive right?” Harry asked cautiously.

“Yes Harry, I will inform him of your choice,” Severus promised as he held out the floo powder.

“Do we have to go right now?” Harry asked warily as he looked at the powder but didn’t yet touch it. He didn’t fancy going back to Hogwarts just yet. He really just wanted to stay here, and lay on the couch next to the man. He shook his head, he was getting greedy. Since when did he want Snape all to himself? Just because the man cared for him, he shouldn’t relish in it, should he?

“Yes I like to get things out of the way so I have the rest of the day to myself,” Severus murmured

.“But I wanted…to um talk to you,” Harry said stalling.

“Talk to me about what child?” Severus asked gently. He knew a stalling tactic when he heard one, but he would take it if Harry started talking.

“Um…uh…why don’t you have a family?” Harry blurted out before cringing.

“I can see how that would make you curious,” Severus stated dryly as he placed the powder on the mantel and took a seat on the couch.

“I’m sorry sir, I know it’s none of my business,” Harry said quickly as he stood there awkwardly.

“It’s quite alright Harry and you aren’t the first to ask. However you are the first I am considering telling the reason why. Why don’t we make a deal,” Severus said casually, gesturing for the boy to come closer.

“What’s the deal?” Harry asked softly, a warm feeling bubbling into his chest at the man’s words.

“I tell you why I don’t have a family, and you tell me why you won’t give up on Sirius,” Severus said calmly.

Harry gulped softly, before nodding. He was always a curious person, and finding something about the man that no one else knew would be brilliant. He ignored the part of his brain that ignored the part where he would have to explain why he couldn’t let his godfather go like that. The man wouldn’t understand would he? Not to mention Snape trusted him that much to know. He eagerly bounced on his feet as he waited.

“You might want to take a seat Harry, “Severus said pointing to the chair across from him.

“Can…canIsitbyyou?” Harry rushed out, before he started blushing brightly.

Severus didn’t bother asking him to repeat that knowing he wouldn’t. It had taken him a lot of pride to ask that, and he understood the request perfectly. He nodded patting the cushion next to him.Harry smiled widely unable to help himself before taking a seat next to the man. He slowly and cautiously arched his body so he could lean on the man.

He stiffened suddenly when the man moved his arm, but that was only to pull him closer. He nuzzled the man’s cloak with a sigh; he could stay right here all day.Severus grinned, waving his wand and summoning the camera. He winced as it made an obvious bright flash of light, knowing Harry would probably realize it now. It didn’t really matter if Harry knew or not.

He knew how much the boy valued sentimental things; and he would continue taking pictures until Christmas Eve. He knew already from asking the Weasely boy that Harry would love this type of present the most.

“That was a camera,” Harry said dumbly as he looked around for it.

Severus sent his back to the mantle with a nod. “So it was,” and that was all he said.

“Where is it? Who’s taking pictures of us?” Harry asked curiously.

“No matter child, where were we,” Severus said unable to prevent his grin.

“You were going to tell me how come you don’t have a family,” Harry said shyly.

“Don’t you want one?” He asked softly, he could barely handle the thought of being alone, so why was the man?

“You know what I am Harry, the life I chose. If I were to have a wife she would have to be taken to the Dark Lord to make sure she was ‘appropriate’ for one of his most faithful Death eaters.” Severus stated matter of factly.

Harry shuddered. “What if he didn’t find her appropriate?” He dared to ask.

“Then she would be killed, and the reason would be she wasn’t good enough. He liked it when they were faithful to his cause,” Severus said frowning.

“Why not just take a wife in secret?” Harry asked softly.

“That might work wouldn’t it? But I’ve only ever loved one woman and I can never see myself with anyone else,” Severus said quietly.

“Who was she?” Harry asked curiously.

“It doesn’t matter, she didn’t choose me,” Severus said trying to keep the bitterness out of his tone.

“It matters to me, I want to know,” Harry replied quietly.

“Ask me some other day Harry,” Severus replied softly, swallowing the lump in his throat.

“Alright, is that why you chose not to have kids too?” Harry asked, reminding himself not to forget to ask Snape tomorrow.

“Partly, I didn’t want them to grow up with a father like me. I’m no role model, or a saint, they would be ashamed of me. I hear what the kids say about me at school, I know what I look like. It would hurt my soul to have my child deal with that type of abuse. To know that someone would try to hurt them just to get to me,” Severus said with a shake of his head.

“If I was your kid I wouldn’t be ashamed of you,” Harry said softly.

“Thank you Harry, but you don’t know what you’re talking about,” Severus replied with a sigh, trying to keep his emotions in check.

“I do know what I’m talking about, I would not be ashamed to have the youngest Potion’s Master in the all of Britain as my dad,” Harry said firmly. “I mean that,” he promised.

Severus smiled softly; it actually felt good to hear that.

“Wanna know a secret?” Harry whispered childishly.

“Sure,” Severus replied softly.

“Sometimes I really do wish you were my dad,” Harry replied shyly.

Severus found he couldn’t say anything over the giant lump in the middle of his throat that made speaking impossible. He could only nod his head, gently kissing the top of the raven haired head, as he rapidly blinked his eyes.

How is it that the child knew what to say, without really meaning to say it? It took a few minutes, but Severus was able to reign in his emotions’ though his eyes were suspiciously brighter then what they had been.

Harry for his part was beaming brightly; he could hear the man clearing his throat, even though there was nothing in it. This time he was sure he felt a kiss at the top of his head like a father might do, and he wasn’t dreaming! He sighed happily as he melted into the man’s side.

He idly wondered what the man would do if he heard him call him dad? Harry shook his head, knowing he had to tread slowly. He was already calling him dad in his head; he would need to be careful that it didn’t accidentally slip out.

“If I could have any child in the world, know that you would be my number one,” Severus said when he could speak.

“Good, cause it would suck if I wasn’t,” Harry said laughing effectively breaking the sad mood it had moved into.

Severus breathed a sigh of relief as the mood visibly lifted. “Is that all the questions you had Harry?”

“What would name your child?” Harry asked questioningly.

“Do you mean a boy or girl?” Severus asked curiously.

“Both,” Harry answered.“If it was a girl I would name her Lilianna Eileen Snape, and if it was a boy it would be Jacob Matthias Snape.” He said instantly.

“Why did you choose those names?” Harry asked inquisitively.

“Your maternal grandfather’s name was Matthias, and Lily was very partial to the name Jacob; I have no doubt that had it not been tradition to give the oldest boy his father’s name you would have it as your middle name. The girls name is pretty obvious, I would have named her after your mother and my mother,” Severus said quietly.

“You and my mom were friends right?” Harry asked to clarify.

“We were,” Severus said, wondering where Harry was going with this.

“Did you want to be more then friends?” Harry asked curiously. He had noticed that in the names they all had something to do with his mother. He was sure he knew the answer to his question but he knew he wasn’t going to get an answer today. He wasn’t blind now; he could see the man literally closing up on him right now. He sighed; his Professor was such a hard person to crack.

“That’s irrelevant Harry, I think that’s all of your questions on that subject,” Severus said quickly his blank mask coming back into play.

“I just wanted to know is all,” Harry replied softly before nodding.

“Some things you don’t need to know,” Severus said firmly.

“Are you ready for your questions?” He asked, pushing the thoughts of what ifs that Harry had unintentionally brought up.

“It’s really only one question, so let’s just get it over with,” Harry grumbled out.

“Why can’t you give up Black?” Severus asked.

“Because if I do, I’ll have nobody left on the earth that loves me.” Harry replied hoarsely.“I want you Harry; I already love you as if you were my own son. We’ve gone through this already,” Severus interjected.

“It won’t be the same,” Harry said struggling to keep his tears at bay.

“He’s family, it doesn’t matter how many times I wish it, you won’t ever be my family,” Harry said tearfully.

Severus heard nothing for a moment and then it was all clear. Then he wasn’t sure he heard it correctly and he found himself asking to clarify it.  

“You want me to be your family?” He asked softly.

“More then everything,” Harry replied gulping down a sob.

“Then we will find a way child,” Severus promised as he held him. The previous promise to himself that he wouldn’t mention it to the boy, was going out the window. He couldn’t live with himself letting the boy believe that no one else would be here for him. There were so many people who loved this child, none more than he did. He loved Harry for being Lily’s child by default; he had never planned on loving him for just him though.

“How will we do that?” Harry sniffled out.

“I don’t know, but we will. If I have to kidnap you and skip town, we will find a way to keep you with me,” Severus said firmly.

“You are starting to say things you don’t mean, take it back,” Harry said quickly, refusing to allow himself to hope.

“I won’t take it back, because I mean it. With every fiber of my being Harry Potter, I will find a way to make this work,” Severus said with even more conviction.

Harry looked at the man closely, not wanting to surrender and believe it. It would kill him if it didn’t come true. He knew in his heart that everything he touched burned or died. It would never work, Snape would regret it but for once in his life he didn’t care. He wanted to believe that this could work.

He wanted to show everyone else that he was special, and not just because he was the boy who lived. He wanted that feeling everyone else had when they hugged their parents’ good bye or when they received gifts from them.For the first time in his life, he wanted to be selfish, to do this just for him. He didn’t stop and think how this would affect the war, or how his godfather would react to this.

 He didn’t bother wondering how Ron would take it; he only stopped to think about one thing. How Snape would feel if he said no.

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep professor,” Harry replied quietly, barely able to prevent himself from answering.

“Who said I wouldn’t be able to keep it?” Severus said with an arched eyebrow.

“Life is never that simple, especially mine,” Harry replied softly.

“Oh I’m aware child, but you chose me. And I will fight for you, because you don’t deserve any of this,” Severus replied softly.

“You should not have to bear this burden,”“My relatives used to say I was the burden,” Harry said dumbly.

“They were wrong; fate has dealt you a horrible hand Harry Potter. But know that when you feel like you’re alone, and no one else is there. I will always be there, you may not see me, but I will always be in the shadows protecting you,” Severus replied.

“If you could adopt me today, right now, would you?” Harry asked softly.

“In a heartbeat,” Severus replied thickly.

 “Now if that is all, we have to head to Hogwarts,” he murmured

"Can’t we just stay like this a little bit longer?” Harry asked softly.

“Why don’t you want me to go?” Severus sighed.“

Because, in the Manor here with you; everything is different. I don’t notice the war going on the outside. I feel like it protects me from it, am I wrong to want to relish in that?” Harry asked softly.

“No, we are wrong for not providing that in the first place,” Severus said thoughtfully.

“So we can stay?” Harry asked.

“For just a little bit longer,” Severus replied finally.

“And I can pretend for just those few moments, that I know what it feels like to have a dad, and how it feels to be cherished,” Harry replied almost inaudibly his eyes tightly to squeeze back the tears.

Severus couldn’t say anything else as they sat there on the couch silently, enjoying the other ones company. He didn’t know how he would do it, but he would be keeping the boy some way or the other. He sighed trying to rack his mind to think if there was some way around that Prophecy. He needed to speak to Albus ASAP, but as Harry needed him right now he guess Albus could wait for just a little bit longer.