"Severus?"

Severus looked up from his reading to see Harry standing in the doorway. The boy's eyes, no longer fettered by the bulky glasses that had reminded Severus so much of James Potter, shone brightly back at him.

"What is it, Harry?"

Harry walked into the room proper and then perched on the edge of the sofa beside him.

"I was wondering," the boy started slowly, biting his lip nervously.

Severus put an arm around him and pulled him close before prompting, "What were you wondering?"

Harry sighed and then said very quickly, "Do you s'pose my mum would have liked me?"

What a question!

"Of course she liked you. She loved you more than anything in this world," Severus answered quietly.

"I mean," Harry shifted uncomfortably and twisted his hands in his lap several times before continuing. "I mean," He said again, "Would she have liked me as me?"

"In what way, child?"

Harry's cheeks turned pink in response to Severus' term of endearment and his lips turned up in a shy smile. "I mean, would she have liked me as a person? Do you think . . . would she have sat next to me on the train?"

Severus was silent as he remembered his first ride, and how a young girl with bright red hair and sharp green eyes had made his trip so much more enjoyable. He couldn't but help remember the sheer feeling of being honoured to be the one chosen to sit with, especially after watching her turn down so many other worthwhile invitations.

Glancing at the boy still waiting patiently on his answer, he forced himself to remember Harry back during his first year, but without the prejudicial tempering of his then tilted view of the boy. Harry had been small and shy; ragged clothes peeking out around his robes at the sorting ceremony reminding him far too much of himself.

"She would have liked you a great deal," Severus managed, blinking hard against the sudden wave of sadness his thoughts had caused to surge through him.

Harry nodded and then wrapped his arms around Severus tightly. Severus could feel Harry's body shaking and had to blink once more against the unfairness of it all.

I wish you were here, Lily. I wish it so much.

. . .

As the temperatures continued to warm, Harry found himself beginning to fall into a bit of a routine.

In the cool dark of the predawn morning, he would creep into Severus' room and stand at the side of his bed until the man noticed him.

"Well get in," was Severus' normal gruff greeting. This was accompanied by a lifting of the blankets on that side of the bed and Harry would dart in.

Severus didn't seem to ever wake fully with Harry there, which pleased him somewhat. It seemed that his guardian was comfortable enough with him that he didn't have to be always fully alert when in Harry's presence.

He would curl up against Severus with his back to him and wait for him to drape an arm over him. It always happened, but if Severus was a little too slow for his tastes, Harry would reach out and do it for him. Severus used that arm to pull him in a little closer, making him relax and close his eyes.

He had been far more tentative when he had started doing this, but now it was a comfortable place to relocate after waking too early and not being able to go back to sleep. Occasionally, Snitch would join him, but most of the time Harry went alone.

Harry was always amazed at how much heat the man put out. Sometimes he wondered why his guardian bothered to use blankets at all; it wasn't as though he needed them. When he was feeling particularly malicious, Harry would put his cold feet on Severus' warm legs and cause the man to jerk awake with a snarl.

"Haven't you got enough sense to wear socks!" Severus' voice, always rougher than usual in the morning, would growl out next to Harry's ear.

"I am!" Harry retorted with, more often than not. "I can't help it if my feet are still cold."

Much grumbling would be his response, but following that, Severus would usually either cast a warming spell on the bottom half of the covers, or simply cover Harry's feet with his own long legs. Both worked, but it depended on Severus' level of wakefulness as to which would happen.

Most of the time though, Harry would just revel in the secure sensation of being warm and safe next to someone whom he was beginning to regard as something of a parent. He would close his eyes and try to absorb the experience as fully as he could, from the feel of Severus' firm pillow to the slightly unpleasant smell of morning breath that was puffed out regularly against the shell of his ear.

It was at these times that he would think about calling Severus, "Papa," and see if he could get away with it. His wish had started as a passing thought that had grown into a hope, and he desperately wished he knew how Severus would take to the title.

He had a dad—well, James was dead, but he was still his dad. Harry's thoughts were very firm on this point, but that didn't mean he couldn't have a Papa, right? And Severus, he was so much more than his previous guardians had been; they weren't even playing in the same game, the difference was so great.

The Dursleys had hated him and he had accepted that. Originally, he had thought Severus had hated him, but in the past few weeks he had come to grips with being wrong about that. Severus had told him that he loved him. He loved Harry, not The-Boy-Who-Lived, not James' son or Lily's child or anything else. He loved Harry, and so if that was possible, then Harry could love him, and if that was possible, then it meant that Severus wasn't just Severus. He was more and people who were more deserved better names.

Like Papa.

. . .

After the sun would come up, Severus would inevitably awake and raise an eyebrow at finding Harry snuggled so firmly into his side. Of course he had been aware of inviting him, but he was always a bit surprised at finding him still there upon waking.

He wasn't sure when Harry had started this little routine of theirs, but he already knew that he would miss it whenever it inevitably stopped. That's how things worked. He got used to one thing and it would stop, so he'd enjoy it while it lasted.

Extricating himself from the warm tangle of arms and legs—and hair, mustn't forget the tangled mop that was Harry's hair—Severus headed to the bathroom and took a shower. Sometime while he was gone, Harry would wake and head back to his room to get dressed and prepared for the day.

After breakfast, he would have Harry assist him on any number of potions, from the mundane to the vitally important. Severus smiled to himself in the privacy of his shower as he remembered Harry's excitement at being able to assist him on the brewing of his Eye Strengthening Solution.

"And I really won't need to wear my glasses anymore?" Harry asked; his face mixed with both hope and apprehension. Severus knew that he had experienced far too much dishonesty from the adults around him to simply believe what he was told.

Yet another reason Harry would have done well in Slytherin, was Severus' additional thought.

From potions to studies to teaching Harry the finer intricacies of playing chess, Severus made sure that he and Harry had enough to do without trying to be overbearing. They took walks every day, weather permitting—and occasionally when it wasn't. At least once a week, they took a walk down to visit Elena and talk about her work with the reserve's dragons. Less frequently, she would contact them with an offer to go and see a dragon in the flesh, as it were.

Of course, Severus always preferred to get an idea beforehand of exactly what sort of dangers they were submitting themselves to, but thankfully Elena had the same sort of mind set and always made sure he was as informed as possible. It was obvious that she had grown fond of them, although Severus often wondered whether she would have ever talked to them if not for that early intervention by Snitch.

Elena Magija was, by all rights, every bit as antisocial as some of the students thought he was. It wasn't true, but it helped his image as the all-knowing dungeon bat, and in turn that helped keep discipline within the ranks.

. . .

One afternoon, after a brisk walk down to a nearby creek, Severus and Harry had inadvertently stumbled over Elena in deep conversation with a rough looking man.

"Ah Severus," Elena waved them forward, glancing back at her companion as they made their way over to her carefully. The trail that they were on was a lesser used one, and as such, there were more rocks and roots to trip over.

After catching Harry by the elbow when he nearly tripped over the edge of a hidden root, Severus turned his full attention to the two people standing opposite them.

"This is one of my colleagues," Elena announced before introducing the man as something completely unpronounceable. Translation potions or not, some things simply did not make sense unless one had the cultural background for the necessary understanding.

At their blank looks, the man laughed loudly and added, "Your friend Hadwyn calls me 'The Trail Guide."

"Is something the matter?" Severus asked, not caring for the still serious air that continued to hang around them.

"Poachers," was Elena's hissed response.

Severus felt Harry's hand slip into his own and he squeezed gently in silent assurance.

"Seen or suspected?" Was his next question.

"Both," The Trail Guide answered.

"I thought most spells bounced off of dragons," was Harry's hesitantly voiced supposition.

Severus' eyes narrowed in thought.

"They're not here for the dragons, lad," The Trail Guide answered gruffly. "They're here for the eggs."

In Severus' peripheral vision, he noted that Harry's eyes had gone wide, and a heartbeat later, he felt the boy's hand squeeze down tightly around his own.

"For the babies?" Harry squeaked, clearly distressed at the idea.

"Where were they seen?" Severus interjected.

"A little over 20 kilometres west of here, Severus," Elena answered softly, her eyes looking on in concern at Harry.

That wasn't quite next door, but it was close enough. A thousand questions whirled through Severus' mind, but one was more important than the others.

"Are we in danger from these criminals?" Severus asked, his mind already thinking of what wards he should add to Hadwyn's cabin and the surrounding woods.

Elena hesitated and in her place, The Trail Guide answered. "If you cross 'em, yes, but the bigger danger comes from the dragons themselves. You do not mess with dragon eggs. Even people who are trained to work with dragons stay away from their eggs unless specifically invited. Dragons are real protective of their young. They find out someone's been tampering with their nests, and they are more likely to lay waste to the entire countryside, rather than hunt down one measly creature."

Fire protection. A great deal of fire protection, Severus thought, already making lists. He was fairly certain that Hadwyn's cabin was already warded against such things, but he wasn't willing to take any chances.

He had promised to keep Harry safe, and by Merlin's soul, he was going to come through on that promise. He was shaken from his mental preparations when Harry spoke again.

"Can we do anything to keep the nests safe?"

Severus fought to keep a rueful smile from showing on his face. He was pleased that Harry was beginning to regain some of his old behaviours, but he almost wished that the boy's strident selflessness hadn't been one of them. Helping people was one thing; helping people—or dragons—without concern to one's own wellbeing was an entirely separate issue.

Previously, he had thought that such behaviours stemmed from an arrogant need to be recognized and constantly in the limelight, but over the past months, Severus had realised that Harry's lack of regard for himself was almost certainly due to an extremely low self-esteem.

"Harry—," he began, only to be cut off by The Trail Guide.

"Me and El were talkin' about this as you two came up. Most of the nests can be protected pretty easily, but there's a few—," here, The Trail Guide broke off to briefly glance at Elena, who gave a nod back. "There's a few that are a bit more difficult."

"Such as?" Severus raised an eyebrow.

The Trail Guide crossed his arms and then answered softly, "Like Big Blue."

At Severus' look of confusion, Elena spoke again. "Big Blue dragons are one of the oldest—and rarest—dragons in the world. Plitvice Lakes is one of the few places left that they still nest in. Many of the other nesting grounds have been invaded by wizards and muggles alike, effectively destroying the chances of those dragons returning there."

Severus nodded. This was old news. Dragons and magical creatures across the world were retreating farther and farther back into the wilderness in order to escape the far reaching effects of mankind.

"Where do these dragons nest?" Was his next question.

"The larger of the lakes," Elena answered with a small smile. "Like the one nearest your cabin."

Severus' eyebrows rose quite of their own accord. That was unexpected news.

He glanced at Harry and was perturbed by the strange look that had come over the boy's face.

"Why have we not noticed the presence of a large dragon living next door?"

The Trail Guide's face broke into a smirk and Severus automatically scowled. He didn't care for the idea that the other man was laughing at him.

"I s'pect you have noticed the presence, but you weren't aware of it. Dragons interact with the flora and fauna surrounding their nests, same as anyone, but they tend to have a bigger effect on it than most."

"Like what precisely?"

The Trail Guide grinned back at him, seemingly unconcerned with Severus' growing bad mood. "Might say that the land changes to fit them; gives them a bit of camouflage even."

"You mean stuff like flowers?" Harry interjected softly, causing all three of the three adults to look at him.

Clearly flustered at their sudden attention, Severus watched as Harry shrunk down and hid slightly behind him, his hands now gripping the back of his robes instead of his hand.

"You seen something like that, lad?" The Trail Guide asked softly, squatting down to look Harry in the eye.

Severus felt Harry nod and his lips twisted as he wondered exactly what Harry had seen.

And why he did not tell me.

"One more question," The Trail Guide said, finally glancing up at Severus as though to gauge whether it was acceptable to continue. Silently, Severus jerked his head in permission and The Trail Guide turned back to Harry again.

"You ever dream about the water? Bein' in the water even? Maybe, dreaming about something bein' in there with you?"

A part of Severus wanted to argue that the man had asked far more than one question, but the look on Harry's face stopped him.

Kneeling down to pull Harry's eyes back onto his own, Severus asked gently, "Have you dreamt about such things?"

Silently, Harry nodded his assent and then tightly wrapped his arms around Severus' neck. "They were scary, Papa. I don't want to remember them. Can we go home now?"