He’d done something wrong, but he didn’t know what. Severus sighed, pensive over Sunday breakfast. Harry was sitting with his friends, smiling and laughing.

They were fine. Harry hadn’t been cold or anything like that, but Severus could tell there was a change in the air around them. Harry didn’t call him Professor, but he didn’t call him Severus either. Everything was normal.

Except for this weird avoidance the boy was doing.

Severus had thought suggesting that Harry call him by his first name was a step in the right direction, an effort on his part to pull away from student and teacher. They were family now. It’d be odd if Harry called him Professor all the time.

Yet, when Severus had said as much, he hadn’t been prepared for the look of utter despair and disappointment from Harry. Severus had no idea what he did wrong, let alone how to fix it.

He sighed again, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Something the matter, Severus?” asked Minerva, glancing over at him. “You’ve been brooding all morning.”

“It’s nothing,” said Severus.

There was another sigh. He ignored the eyebrow raise from Minerva.

Well, there was nothing to it. He would simply have to discuss it with Harry. He was a blasted adult. Severus Snape was more than capable of having a productive conversation with an adolescent.

Yes.

Absolutely.

Mmm…

He didn’t have to convince himself – or really lie to himself – any longer as his musings were interrupted by the post. It arrived with a cacophony of fluttering wings and screeching owls. An owl landed in front of Harry, not his beautiful snowy owl, and held out a leg. The boy removed the small slip of paper.

The color drained from his face and worry rushed into his expression.

And it was every ounce of Severus’ control not to swoop to his side in parental concern for his son.

***

Harry’s hands shook.

He stared at the letter.

He knew this handwriting. He could see the intensity of the writing, as if the sender had learned something shocking and didn’t want to waste a moment.

Gryffindor Common Room. 1AM.

Harry looked over at the teacher’s table, locking gazes with Snape. The man knew something was up. They needed to talk. Alone. Maybe he should’ve sat with the other teachers since he was the Headmaster…

But that thought made him ill. He still wanted to be one of the students.

Wrangling his courage together, he stood up and strode towards the teacher’s table. He stopped in front of the table and in front of Snape. The other teachers glanced over at him, interest in their eyes. But they quickly continued with their breakfast.

“We need to talk,” whispered Harry.

Snape stood up without hesitation. He nodded to McGonagall. “Excuse me, Minerva,” he said, before sweeping away. The other students burst into hushed whispers as all eyes were on the pair of them. The second they crossed the threshold of the Grand Hall, those whispers exploded in volume.

“Way to make a statement,” said Snape with a light smirk, coming to a stop once they were further away.

Harry didn’t comment and handed the man the letter.

“From your… godfather, I take it?” asked Snape, his tone tight.

“What am I gonna do?” asked Harry, panic rushing through his chest. His breathing quickened. “I can’t let him be in the common room at that hour. He’ll probably use the floo again like last year.”

“Not to mention you’ll be in bed at such an unholy hour,” said Snape, sneering. “The man doesn’t have a lick of sense. Tomorrow is a school day. You can’t be going to bed at such a late hour.”

Harry had to admit he’d gotten used to going to bed at a reasonable hour ever since he’d moved into Snape’s quarters. He wasn’t sure he wanted to give that up yet, even for Sirius.

“I’m pretty sure that’s the last thing on Sirius’ mind right now.” Harry sighed, already exhausted at the thought of waiting until after midnight for a floo call. “I could send a letter saying I can’t make it, but he might not get it in time. I’ll just have to watch for him.”

“Absolutely not,” said Snape with a huff. He put a hand to Harry’s back and pushed him lightly down the corridor. “We will floo over to Grimmauld Place immediately and be done with this.”

“What?” said Harry, blinking. “We could, really?”

“Of course, Headmaster. You’d think you didn’t have complete control over an entire castle.”

Even the castle was laughing at Harry now.

It wasn’t long before they were in their quarters in the dungeons and standing in front of the fireplace. Snape strode to the mantle. The man looked back at him.

Harry hesitated.

“Harry?”

He bit his lower lip. “What if he gets mad at me?” Harry whispered. “I haven’t told him about anything that’s happened these past few months. What if… What if he doesn’t want to be my godfather any more?”

Harry loved Sirius with all his heart, but his godfather was like a wild loaded cannon that could go off at any minute. How would he react about Snape? About Umbridge? Sirius had spent thirteen years in Azkaban because he was an impulsive spitfire.

Sirius could jeopardize his freedom or worse.

“If he does that, then he only fortifies my stance on his character.”

“That’s not helpful,” said Harry with a wan smile. “That will just make things worse. I won’t be able to explain anything if you two have a go at each other.”

“My apologies.”

Well, that’s promising.

The man didn’t sound like he was sorry, but Harry wasn’t about to mention that. He took a deep breath and grabbed a handful of floo powder. He shouted the address and disappeared in a blaze of green flames. The fireplace spat him out. Harry toppled out with the elegance of a newborn foal, soot coating his uniform. He coughed. The flames flared once more. Snape glided out with perfection and not a speck of soot on his robes.

“How do you even do that?” asked Harry, looking up at the man in disbelief. He winced; pain laced through his knees.

“Practice,” said Snape with a smirk. “And plenty of skinned knees.”

Harry couldn’t imagine the man ever needing practice for anything. Snape helped him to his feet. With two waves of his wand, soot disappeared from his clothes and the pain in his knees vanished.

“Thanks.”

Harry swallowed, looking towards the door of the living room. Panic surged into his lungs. Maybe this wasn’t a good idea. Maybe they should leave and come another time. Maybe—

A hand rested on his shoulder. Harry let out a huff of breath, glancing up at Snape. The man gazed at him with unbending eyes.

“He’s gonna be angry,” whispered Harry.

“About what?”

“Sirius invited me to live with him at the end of my third year,” said Harry, running a hand through his hair. He tugged on it, his hand clenching with his fear. “He’s going to hate me. Because I chose you.”

He’s not going to see reason. How can I explain this to him?

“You tell him everything,” said Snape, his lips thin. It was clear he was restraining himself. Harry was thankful. He didn’t need another adult going immature and crazy on him. “Circumstances played a part in this. Dumbledore, Mr. Malfoy, the Dursleys – many hands altered our course. Do you regret the adoption?”

Regret?

Never.

Having an adult, a parent, a father, in his life was precious. Most took it for granted. Ron certainly took his parents for granted. Often, his friend didn’t realize Harry was without proper parents or proper guardians who loved and cared for him.

Their new family was small, but perfect.

Harry had wanted that with Sirius, but Snape was right: circumstances had changed everything. Sirius was his godfather and should’ve raised him. He hadn’t been able to because of his choices. Harry didn’t begrudge him. Remus was like a secondary godfather and uncle. But he hadn’t been around because he was a werewolf. Harry didn’t fault the man for not wanting to put a baby in danger.

But Remus still made a choice, as did Sirius.

Those choices had affected Harry’s life. Their choices forged a different path in all of their lives. Because of their choices, an innocent baby had been condemned to a life of neglect and abuse.

“I don’t regret this,” whispered Harry.

Dad.

He wasn’t angry they had made those choices, but they had better give him the same courtesy. They were not allowed to be angry because Harry had chosen his path. His choice of becoming adopted by Snape didn’t radically change their lives down a path of neglect and abuse that would haunt them for the rest of their lives.

Harry was still here.

“Uhm… Maybe you should wait here first… I’d rather not everyone attack each other before I can get a word in,” said Harry. “Sirius might…”

“Might act like a petulant child?” said Snape, his signature sneer gracing his features.

Harry raised an eyebrow.

“I will hold my tongue to the best of my ability.”

Harry stared.

“Enough out of you,” snapped Snape without any bite. He placed a hand to Harry’s back and pushed him forward. “I am capable of civility. I simply choose otherwise.”

He snorted at that, but walked out of the room. Harry quietly stepped through the hallway, making sure not to wake Mrs. Black. He stepped into the doorway of the opened kitchen. Sirius and Remus were sitting at the table, eating a late breakfast.

Sirius looked up and brightened like the sun at the sight of Harry.

“I thought I heard the floo!” cried Sirius, leaping up and throwing his arms around Harry. The man gave him a suffocating bear hug. Harry laughed inside the man’s chest, wrapping his arms around in kind. He breathed in deeply, taking in the strong scent of the man’s cologne; his hands trembled. Sirius pulled back, smiling brightly. “What’re you doing here? How’d you get passed your professors? Shouldn’t you be at school? Didn’t you get my letter about tonight?”

Oh, dear. This was going to be harder than he thought.

“Give him a moment,” said Remus in a soft chiding voice. He smiled, pulling Harry into a hug. “Oh, it’s so good to see you, Harry.”

Harry nodded, tightening his arms around Remus. The man’s smelled of old dust and fresh shaving cream. As Harry pulled away, Remus frowned. He encased Harry’s face with his warm hands, gently turning his head side to side.

“You’re so pale and even thinner than you’d been when you arrived during the summer. Is everything all right?”

“Merlin, how’re you not getting fat at that school?” said Sirius with a bark of a laugh. His eyes twinkled with mischief. “All right, so, what’s this I hear about you being the Headmaster of Hogwarts? What a prank of the century! James would be so proud!”

A prank…

Wonderful. Harry hadn’t counted on convincing Sirius of that as well.

“No, that’s…” Harry blew out a low breath, dropping his gaze for a moment. He sensed the confusion in the air. He lifted his eyes and smiled weakly. “You should probably sit down for this. I’ve got a lot to tell you guys.”

“What?” asked Sirius, his good mood dropping. “What’s going on? Is something wrong?”

“Well… I mean, I have something important to tell you,” said Harry, motioning for them to sit down. “Some stuff happened. Some good, some bad. But look, you can’t get angry, all right?”

“Is Snivellus giving you a hard time at school?” demanded Sirius. “I’ll curse him! I’ll shove his cauldron right up his—”

A shiver of fury rushed through Harry.

What—

“—did you say?” whispered Harry, his eyes narrowing. Something in the air shifted. Remus stiffened, his head jerking to look around the room. Sirius stopped his ranting, slowly noticing the change. “What did you say?” Harry hissed.

The air pressure dropped further.

What name was that? Sirius was talking about Snape, wasn’t he?

“Harry, control yourself. Your accidental magic will suffocate them.”

That smooth voice brushed against his ears. What had once been associated with fear and injustice now warmed his heart with security and peace. Harry breathed, the tension eased from his body. The air slowly became normal.

Remus stared, looking between Snape and Harry with an expression of scrutiny.

“Snape!” snapped Sirius, oblivious. “Who invited you?”

Snape rolled his eyes. “I escorted Harry here. You didn’t think he would come here unsupervised?”

“Of course—wait, Harry?”

Remus patted Sirius, still staring. The patting became harder, with an air of intensity. “I think we should sit down,” he whispered. He jerked on Sirius’ shoulder, shoving him downward into a chair away from the table. Remus sat down beside him. “Sit down.”

“Ge’off, Remus,” snapped Sirius, struggling. “I want to know what he’s done—”

“He hasn’t done anything!” cried Harry, horrified at the thought. “Would you calm down already? He only walked into the kitchen.”

“But—”

“You’re the one who’s jumping to conclusions!”

Sirius sputtered.

Harry whirled away with a huff. Ignoring the other two men, he glared up at Snape. “This was a bad idea. Maybe we should just go back.”

“Hang on—”

“As much as it pains me to say, they are family to you,” said Snape, his expression impassive. “You must face them.”

“Yours, too,” whispered Harry. Snape inhaled, appearing sick.

“What’s going on?” asked Remus softly. A dark light entered his eyes, their color shimmering dangerously. “For two people who hated each other at the start of the year… You both seem… close. Perhaps… inappropriately close?”

A strange sense of insinuation hung in the air. Harry frowned, slow to realize what Remus was suggesting. Oh, but Snape understood, though.

Yes, indeed.

“How dare you,” hissed Snape, pure fury blazing through his features. In a flick of movement, his wand was in his hand and raised towards Remus. His chest rose in a deep, aggravated intake of breath. “If you dare suggest any further that I would debase myself to pedophilia, then—”

What the—

“Of course not,” said Remus hastily, instantly seeing his mistake. He lifted his hands into the air with a placating gesture. “I wasn’t—”

“Oh, but you were, mutt.”

“And I see I was very wrong to even think that,” said Remus, backtracking with a weak expression. “Please forgive me. I’m sorry. Let’s just start over.”

Well, this was going from bad to worse.

“It’s just… Put yourself in my shoes, Severus,” said Remus, glancing between Harry and Snape. Meanwhile, Harry was frozen to the spot, trying to comprehend what in Merlin’s saggy backside was going on. Sirius looked like an elf in wandlight; any moment, there would be yet another explosion. “You two have been quite hostile towards each other ever since the beginning and to see you both suddenly be…”

“Cordial?” hissed Snape.

Never mind that. This was going from worse to horrific.

“Perhaps,” said Remus with a nod. “But it’s more than that. There’s a closeness between you both, an underlining trust. Without any context, it was disconcerting, to say the least.”

“Disconcerting to see me,” snarled Snape, a hidden light of deep injury in his eyes, “the evil Slytherin, have a normal, cordial, healthy teacher student relationship with one of my students?”

“Of course not. But what teacher calls their student by their first name?”

“What does that say about you, you mangy wolf!”

“Stop,” whispered Harry, dropping onto the bench of the kitchen table. He dropped his elbows onto his knees and grabbed his head. “Just stop. Everyone stop.”

Was Remus really suggesting…

“What is wrong with you?” whispered Harry, glaring at the pair of them. “What is wrong with you?” he repeated, the pain in his heart making him breathless.

Did they both think so badly of Snape? How could they think such things? How could they be like this? What could’ve caused such enmity between them? How—

Something inside of him burst.

Glass shattered. Shards glittered the surface of the table. Sirius and Remus jumped. The cabinets burst open. Dishes fell out, shattering as they struck the floor. Harry ducked, covering his head. Exhaustion burned in his chest, sinking deep into his muscles. The strain of the accidental magic wore on every part of his being. Someone came to his side, drawing him close.

This comfort smelled of dried herbs.

It was home.

“Get your hands off my godson!”

“Enough!” cried Harry, looking up at Sirius and Remus. “Sn—”

Harry broke off, hesitating. He bit his lower lip.

No. 

He wasn’t going to call this man ‘Snape’ or ‘Severus’ or anything like that. The man was supposed to be his father. No more distance. If Snape didn’t like it, then he would tell Harry, right? 

Screw permission.

“Professor Snape adopted me,” said Harry, his tone powerful. “He’s my father now and I’ve never been happier in my life. And… And—” Harry swallowed. “And I’m going to call him Dad and you’re not going to give me any grief about it.” Snape stiffened at his side. Sirius went white. They were ignored. “You don’t have any idea what’s it been like all these years, having no one to care about me. I’ve had to watch other kids have parents who loved them. Well, now I have a Dad of my own again. And… And you can just suck it up and accept it. Stop fighting. Stop being prats. If you don’t want anything to do with me, then—” His voice wavered. “Fine. Fine, then. So be it.”

Fine, then.

Fine.

I’ll be fine.

It’s not like I haven’t been abandoned before. It’s not like people have hated me for stupid things – for stupid reasons. I get it. It’ll be okay. I have Snape now. I have someone. I have… Dad. I have Dad.

“Maybe you’re right,” said Remus, his voice high. “Maybe we should sit down.”

He nodded. He was already sitting.

“Is this a prank?” asked Sirius, smiling in stress. He laughed weakly. “This… a prank. This a prank, right. This is a prank, right? James would… This has to be a monumental prank for you to get even Snape in on it. Getting revenge on me, eh, Snivellus?”

What a horrible name.

“Stop calling him that. It’s not a prank,” snapped Harry, glaring at Sirius. “I was trying to tell you everything, but you wouldn’t shut up and calm down. So, here it is: I was poisoned by Umbridge with a Black Quill, so I can’t control my magic any more, as you can see; I can’t hold a wand without it exploding on me; at this rate, I’ll probably never be able to properly do magic again; I’m the Headmaster of Hogwarts; and Severus Snape adopted me. No pranks.”

The color drained from Remus’ face. Sirius’ eyes rolled into the back of his head and he promptly fainted.

Harry sighed in pure exasperation, gesturing to nothing, before dropping his face into his hands.

“Well, this went wonderfully well.”