Potions and Snitches
Snape and Harry Gen Fanfiction Archive

A Bittersweet Day

               Severus woke early the next morning with a start, wondering how late it was and why his alarm never went off. It took him a moment to realize that it was a Saturday, and he had no classes to attend to that day. It had been a long week, with Harry returning to school and remaining behaved, thank Merlin, and Iris was excited to be apart of her dance school’s ballet production of Cinderella, a shortened version of the ballet for the school’s age range of toddler to ten-year-olds.

               Severus yawned as he stretched and climbed out of bed reluctantly, moving around his room as he dressed and readied for the day. He thought back to his conversations with Samuel and Albus throughout the week about the floo powder in the Dursley’s fireplace that started this whole chapter of his life with Harry. It was a frightening thought that another wizard—an intruder—had been inside the Dursley residence most likely looking for Harry Potter, and not with good intentions. Severus had asked Harry where he had been earlier that same day, and Harry said he had taken a nap in the cupboard since he wasn’t at school. Bringing up the subject of his old homelife brought tears to Harry’s eyes, so Severus spent several minutes after that talk holding and rocking Harry. He prayed that with time, Harry would heal from the trauma Petunia caused him.

               With the information Harry supplied, Samuel theorized that whoever may have broken into the house did so while Petunia was out and used no magic while in the house so as not to draw attention. It would make sense why no one would have found Harry as it would be unusual to look for a child in a cupboard. This also meant that someone had to have been surveilling the Dursely residence for a while, studying their schedules and movements to obtain the best opportunity to sneak into the house. Floo powder was useful as it left no trace once it was completely dissolved, and it wasn’t a magic the Ministry’s Trace could detect.

               None of this news settled well with Severus. He was glad Harry was with him now as clearly the blood wards at Petunia’s were failing to hold true and protect his son from outside danger. Albus explained that the blood wards were a two-way street: both parties had to see the residence as Harry’s home, and while Harry may have at one time considered it home, Petunia did not see Harry as a part of her family, and less a part of her home.

               And what was worse, Harry’s homelife situation was all over muggle and magical news. While Severus managed to keep his name and house out of the papers, everyone knew Harry was no longer at his relatives, and that he was living with a biological relative. It would not take someone with magical ties long to dig up information on the Potters and possible friends, family, and relationships.

               However, Samuel and Albus had presented the case to the Auror department, and several aurors were actively investigating the situation. Severus could only hope that whoever it had been would not pursue Harry any further than they already had, especially now that Harry lived on the border of the magical community surrounded by several wizards and witches. He knew finding the culprit would be very low at the moment as the only clue was the floo powder in the fireplace Harry had found and used to floo out of Petunia’s house and into his own.

               On happier thoughts, Severus had managed to schedule an adoption date for Harry, this time, at a wizarding court, which would transfer over to the muggle world. It was a much faster process and Severus wanted to have something good to celebrate with Harry that had no relation to Petunia. Harry was very excited to have his legal name become “Snape,” and that made Severus smile. Those plans were for later that afternoon.

               Severus exited his bedroom and walked down the hall slowly, pausing in front of Harry’s bedroom first but not surprised to find the bedroom empty. He moved on to the next room bedroom, smiling at his daughter who was curled up under her blankets snuggling her stuffed kneazle. She’d sleep all day if he let her. He gently shook her shoulder, and she stirred.

               “Time to wake up, honey,” he said softly, and Iris mumbled under her breath before sitting up with a yawn.

               He left her to do her usual things and headed downstairs, following the smell of coffee. As much as he loved freshly brewed coffee in the morning, he kind of hoped Harry would sleep in one of these days and enjoy life as the young kid he was.

               He found Harry sitting at the dining table, yawning and rubbing his eyes. Severus paused next to him, resting a hand on Harry’s back.

               “Did you sleep well, Harry?” Severus asked.

               “Yeah,” Harry said. “I’m just still sleepy.”

               “You know, you can always sleep in whenever you want. I appreciate the coffee every time you make it, but don’t feel obligated to make it every morning. I’ll live if it’s not ready the moment I wake up.”

               “I like making you coffee.”

               “I know. I’m just reminding you. Is there anything you want for breakfast?”

               “No.”

               “As usual,” Severus said as he poured a cup of coffee. He took a small sip then said, “I’ll let Iris decide when she gets down here. I’m going to check for mail; I’ll be right back.”

               Harry nodded and rested his head in his arms, staring after his father as Severus stepped outside of his house with the cup of coffee. Severus waited a moment, leaning back against the door. He always let Tum outside every night before bed so the owl could hunt for himself before picking up his daily newspaper and other letters should he receive any. Occasionally, he’d see a ministry owl return with Tum if the load is too heavy, but those were rare and usually due to educational plan changes on the Ministry’s behalf for Hogwarts.  

               A few moments passed and Severus took another sip of his coffee as he waited. He saw a flutter of feathers in the sky, and he held out the cup, spelling it to float in the air before letting it go to take the paper Tum carried. Severus held an arm out for the eagle owl to land on, and Tum’s gripped Severus’s arm in his massive talons with one leg then he held out the paper for Severus to take with the other.

               “Thank you, Tum,” Severus said, giving the bird a stroke on the beak.

               Another deep hoot sounded above them, and a great horned owl slowly circled above as it descended from the sky toward Severus, a rolled parchment in its grasp.

               “You’re new,” Severus said as Tum hopped to a railing while the new bird hovered above Severus, holding out the parchment while refusing Severus’s offer to land on his arm.

               “Suit yourself,” Severus said while he took the parchment from the bird, which began flying away almost immediately.

               Severus unrolled the parchment one-handedly.  

               The Daily Prophet fell from his grasp.

               “We know where you live. We know who you are. The Boy-Who-Lived will pay for his crimes. Hand him over or your whole family will burn in fiendfyre.”

               Severus’s eyes widened as he felt his heart lurch. He looked up at the retreating owl and frowned.

               “Hey!” he called to it. He whistled sharply. “Come back here!”

               The bird did not respond to his calls. It flew away faster.

               “Tum, fetch,” Severus ordered, pointing at the bird.

               The large eagle owl took flight, chasing after the great horn, catching up to the bird quickly. The great horn spun and lashed out at Tum with its talons, forcing Tum to stop suddenly in the air. Tum did not retreat. He lashed back with his own talons.

               The two birds danced briefly in the air, sizing the other up and trying to claw at each other.

               Then, the great horn dropped in a daring dive, Tum following at a slower pace. The great horn leveled out and retreated to the sky, flying too fast for Tum to pursue. The bird disappeared in the clouds.

               Tum returned to Severus, who had taken his wand out to hex the bird, but the moving target had been too difficult to aim at. Clearly, the bird had been trained to deliver and retreat as quickly as possible. Tum landed on the rail and gave a low grumble, as if apologizing for failing to catch the other bird.

               Severus shifted his weight from one foot to the other as he stared briefly in the direction the owl had gone before glancing back at the note, his knuckles white from gripping it so tightly. He wanted to tear it to shreds, burn it, or even feed it to the owl that had delivered it, but he could not act on any of those impulses. This was new evidence, and it may be related to who had broken into the Dursley residence. The aurors might be able to detect some kind of signature magic off of it. Still, the note drained the color from Severus’s face.

               He took several moments to collect himself. He shoved the note in a shirt pocket for now before picking up the paper he had dropped and snatching his coffee out of the air. He stepped back inside the house, Tum following him to head to his birdcage.

               Iris must have decided to have cereal that morning if the mess in the kitchen was anything to go by. Severus paused in the doorway.

               Harry and Iris were standing in the middle of the kitchen with guilty smiles. Cereal was scattered all over the counter. There was also milk splattered all over the counter as well where it clearly had been attempted to be poured into two bowls before the jug had been dropped on the floor, crushed and empty, and a large pool of milk swirled around the kids’ feet. Severus pinched the bridge of his nose.

               “Sorry, Daddy,” Iris said. “We were just trying to make breakfast by ourselves.”

               “I can clean it,” Harry said, clasping his hands behind his back.

               “So can I,” Severus said. He flicked his wand at the mess in the kitchen and everything vanished. “Both of you, sit down at the table please.”

               The two kids hurried out of the kitchen, taking their seats at the table before turning in their seats to watch Severus.

               Severus set the paper and his coffee down.  opened the fridge, then closed his eyes as he realized that the dropped jug was the last gallon of milk they had had. He shut the fridge and looked at his children, offering the best smile he could muster. Now he had to make a grocery list.

               “Who wants oatmeal instead? Toast? Yogurt?”

               “Can I have hotcakes?” Iris asked.

               “I do not believe that was an option.”

               “But I don’t want oatmeal.”

               “Then there’s toast or yogurt. I think we still have some blueberries I can add to the yogurt if you want.”

               “Fine,” Iris mumbled. “I’ll have yogurt.”

               “Me too,” Harry agreed.

               Severus scooped up yogurt into two plastic cups, layering it with blueberries and some crumbled granola. Once the cups were filled, he grabbed a spoon for each one and then set the breakfast in front of each kid. He leaned between them as he asked, “Orange juice or water?”

               “Orange juice,” the two chorused.

               Severus made their drinks and set them in front of the kids. He sat at the head of the table with his coffee and the Daily Prophet, but he didn’t read the paper. Instead, he sipped his coffee as he watched his two kids eat. He couldn’t bring himself to eat anything. The weight of the note hidden in his shirt pocket was heavy, and it pushed down any appetite. He needed an auror to see this as soon as he could send his kids off to play until their appointment later that afternoon.

               When the two had polished off the yogurt and their juice, and Harry and drank all his nutrition potion, they took off running back upstairs while Severus cleaned up. He realized that with the way Harry was eating lately, he would no longer need the nutrition potion. It was such a happy thought, but Severus’s brain did not stray far from the threat he had received that morning.

               Heading to the fireplace, Severus threw a handful of floo powder in, and when flames appeared, he stuck his head in and called out for the Auror Department at the Ministry. An older woman appeared before him.

               “May I help you?” she asked.

               “I need to speak to the auror taking lead on the Floo Powder in Muggle Residence Case,” Severus said. “The case number is 10A3578.”

               Severus had memorized the number as soon as it had been given to him so he could stay up to date on the progress of the case.

               “Hold tight,” the woman said.

               Severus waited as the woman walked out of sight, leaving the office space the fireplace was connected to where several other workers took care of paperwork and filing while awaiting any calls. After a few moments, a dark-haired man in a maroon robe stood before Severus.

               “Mr. Longbottom,” Severus greeted, a bit taken aback. “You’re leading this case?”

               “Severus,” Frank Longbottom greeted in return. “I am very interested in this case and made sure to take lead on it. Anyone targeting young Mr. Potter can only be a supporter of You-Know-Who.”

               “I see,” Severus said. He paused for a moment before asking, “How’s your wife?”

               “Healing more every day,” Frank said, nodding his head confidently. “She remembers more of her past with each session at the Mind Healer’s. She spends most of her day tending to our son, happy to finally be well enough to remember she even had a son. I think she’ll make a full recovery from . . . that night.”

               Severus closed his eyes. Shortly after Voldemort’s fall, Frank and his wife, Alice, had been captured by a few of the dark wizard’s followers. Those wizards tortured Frank and Alice for nearly an hour before help managed to arrive. The Death Eaters, as Voldemort’s followers were called, were captured and imprisoned. However, the two fearless aurors were not well. Alice had taken the worst hits and her memory had been completely erased. Meanwhile, Frank had been a bit scrambled from the torture. He spoke in strange riddles that sounded backwards most of the time, and he was very jittery. Thankfully, they were not lost causes, and over the years had improved. Frank fully recovered two years ago and returned to work quickly while Alice continued to heal.

               “You wanted to speak about the case?” Frank asked, pulling Severus from his thoughts.

               “Yes,” Severus said. “I . . . received a very concerning note this morning.”

               “May I come through?” Frank asked, sounding very intrigued.

               “Please do.”

               Severus pulled out of the flames and stepped back, leaving the connection open so Frank could simply step through into his home. The flames grew as Frank emerged from the fireplace, then, they extinguished themselves.

               “Do you have the note?” Frank asked.

               Severus reached into his shirt pocket and pulled it out, handing it over to the auror.

               Frank read the note first, then shook his head slowly at it. He turned the parchment over repeatedly, then pulled his wand out and cast a few spells.

               “Have you received any notes like this before?” Frank asked.

               “Never. This is the first.”

               “Did you see the owl?”

               “It was a great horned owl, I think. Those are the ones with the tufts, right? It wouldn’t let me touch it or even come close to me. It just made sure I got the note then took off.”

               “I can’t pick up any magic off the note, unfortunately. And without that owl, we can’t identify an owner or place a tracker on it. This worries me, however, so I’d like my team to come by and place up some new security wards around your house. We don’t want to risk anything happening to you or your kids. This will not be taken lightly.”

               “They claim to know who I am and where I live. Their owl found my home, for Merlin’s sake. How can I even go out in public without fearing they might try something like . . .” Severus didn’t even want to name the possibilities.

                “A public attack would draw too much attention. I do not believe you need to fear that. We are dealing with someone who does not want to be noticed or seen. They prefer working in the shadows and leaving no trace of their presence behind. This is someone who is more likely to come to you directly than try anything in a public space with witnesses. That is why I am more concerned about warding your house and making sure no one can get through them without your express permission.”

               “I can’t live like this. Harry deserves better after what he’s been through.”

               “We will find this person, Severus. I promise you that. Now, let me call my team up and we’ll begin work around your property. It may take a couple hours, but we’ll just need you and your kids to stay inside while we work on this. We don’t need anyone getting zapped accidentally while wards shoot up.”

               “Of course. Do whatever you need to.”

               Frank used the fireplace to call his team. Severus moved to his study to sit for a moment and breathe. While the extra security was nice, someone was after his kid. Someone was willing to hurt his family to get what they wanted. He couldn’t let that happen. Why today of all days did this have to start now? Severus stared down at the piles of essays that needed grading, and his notes for the nest House meeting that needed revision. How could he focus on anything with such a threat replaying in the back of his mind over and over? He closed his eyes and practiced his occlumency, hoping it might clear his mind enough for him to get some work done.

               The house phone rang, startling Severus.

               It was rare for the house phone to ever ring. So it took him a moment to find where it was located in the house, which was in a corner of the kitchen mounted to the wall.

               “Snape residence,” Severus answered.

               “Hi, Sev,” Dahlia’s voice said on the other side. “It’s me, I was hoping we could talk about my next weekend with Iris.”

               “What, did you forget how to floo call?” Severus asked.

               “In a muggle café right now,” Dahlia muttered through her teeth quietly. “They had a phone line available. Look, I was hoping I could move my weekend up to next weekend. My parents are finally back in town from a business trip, and they’d love to see their granddaughter.”

               “I feel like you just had your time with her.”

               “Well, I feel like I don’t see my daughter enough, but you don’t hear me complaining.”   

               “No, you like to do that behind my back. Along with piercing our daughter’s ears. You know she got an infection from that.”

               “That’s not my fault the lady didn’t know what she was doing,” Dahlia snapped. “She should have told me what I needed to do with Iris’s piercings, and I would have showed Iris as well. Besides, Iris wanted her ears pierced and she looked so cute with her birthstones. But of course, you would find some reason to remove them.”

               “I had no choice but to remove them. And you and I need to discuss things like that before you go piercing our daughter’s skin with needles.”

               “Is that Mummy?” Iris asked as she ran into the kitchen, wearing a pink tutu over her clothes.

               Severus paused, ignoring Dahlia’s voice as he stared at his daughter for a moment before saying, “Yes, it is. She has a question for you.”

               Severus handed her the phone and stepped back.

               “Hi, Mumma,” Iris greeted happily, a big smile on her face.

               The phone was loud enough for Severus to hear Dahlia’s voice.

               “Oh, hi, sweetie! How are you?”

               “I’m good.”

               “How’s school going?”

               “It’s okay. Guess what? My dance class is doing the Cinderella ballet. I get to be the Autumn Fairy because my hair matches the dress so perfectly. Wait till you see it! Are you coming to the show?”

               “I would love to! You would make the perfect little fairy. You’ll have to tell me all the details. And you know what, you can do that at our next visit. What do you say about moving our weekend to next weekend?”

               “Next weekend?” Iris’s smile fell the slightest bit.

               “Grandma and Grandpa would love to see you again, and it’s so rare that they have the chance to. What do you think? Want to come visit with Mummy next weekend?”

               “Err.” Iris looked up at her father.

               Severus shrugged his shoulders, trying hard not to sway her choice, which his choice would be a flat-out no. This had to be Iris’s decision.

               “Er, yeah, okay,” Iris said, smiling again.

               “That’s so wonderful. We’re going to have so much fun together, I promise. Can you put your dad back on the phone?”

               Severus held his hand out for the phone and Iris handed it to him.

               “Happy now?” he asked, ready to hang up the conversation with Dahlia.

               “You’re just upset that she agreed. But yes, I’m very happy. Anyway, now that that is taken care of, I will pick her up after school on Friday and have her back to you Sunday night. Unless you’d like me to drop her off somewhere of your preference?”

               “The house will do,” Severus said dryly.

               “Great. It was nice talking to you, Severus. As always.”

               They both hung up the phone at that and Severus ran his hands down his face. What was with today? Was it jinxed? Maybe if he could start the day over and wake up again, everything will run differently. Iris spun around the kitchen in her tutu, landing in different positions as she did.

               “Mum did ballet, too, right?” Iris asked.

               “Yes,” Severus answered, turning to look at his daughter. “She was in a muggle school like you as a child, then joined Hogwarts ballet dance club to continue practicing. She was a very good dancer.”

               “Why did she stop?”

               “I’m not sure. Perhaps you can ask her that yourself.”

               Iris shrugged at that, then ran out of the kitchen. Severus snorted at her retreat. He went back to his study to attempt grading now that his mind was no longer hyper focused on the note from that morning.

 

               Later that evening, Severus sat next to Harry at the wizarding court near the Ministry of Magic. While the adoption was more of a formality and to make legal proceedings much easier, such as the name change, Harry’s wiggling form next to him told him how excited Harry was for this. Despite everything that had occurred that morning and the ongoing investigation, Severus couldn’t keep the smile off his face.

               “Do you believe it would be in Harry’s best interest for you to the child?” The judge asked Severus.

               “I do,” Severus said.

               “Young man,” the judge addressed Harry now. “Can you state your full name?”

               “Harry James Potter,” Harry said, and Severus could see how Harry resisted throwing Snape at the end.

               “How old are you?” the judge asked.

               “Six.”

               “Do you agree to Severus Snape adopting you and becoming your legal parent?”

               “Yes!” Harry said enthusiastically.

               “Do you agree to your name being changed to Harry James Potter-Snape?”

               “Yes!”  

               “I find this adoption to be in good faith and in the best interest of Harry Potter.” The judge smiled at Harry after signing a paper. “Congratulations, Harry, you are officially adopted.”

               Harry hugged Severus tightly, who returned the hug.

               Addie and Iris clapped and cheered behind them, while Tori and her kids did a mix of cheering and jazz hands. They all shook hands with the judge and a photographer took a curtesy picture of the whole family with the judge and the adoption paper. The hearing hardly lasted ten minutes, but Harry was having the best time of his life with it as he took the adoption paper and showed it off to everyone in the family. Severus allowed him to carry it as the family left the courthouse. They used the floo to head over to Diagon Alley, where everyone was treated to an ice cream at Florean Fortescue’s Ice Cream Parlour.

               Severus, Addie, and Tori sat at one of the tables while the kids ran around the area playing tag while eating their ice cream. Suddenly, Harry stopped a bit too abruptly while reaching out to tag Ruth, and much of his ice cream fell off the cone and to the ground below.

               Harry’s lips quivered for a moment, and Severus almost jumped up to ask for another when Joshua held out his half-eaten ice cream to Harry. Severus smiled as he watched Joshua insist on trading their cones, and Harry handed the rest of his cone to Joshua and accepted Joshua’s chocolate ice cream, happily enjoying the treat. Joshua began eating the cone as they resumed their game.

               “How did you raise such a good kid?” Severus asked Tori.

               “Oh, that is all Joshua,” Tori said, holding her hands up. “He’s always been such a good kid. You’re doing a good job yourself, though, Severus. You’ve got some pretty brilliant kids.”

               “Look at how far Harry’s come,” Addie said, shaking her head as she watched Harry run with the other kids. “He was such a quiet, timid thing when he first showed up, and now look at him.”

               “Yeah, he became quite the terror,” Severus commented lowly.

               “He did not.” Addie swatted at Severus playfully. “He’s still a sweet boy.”

               Tori snorted and watched the kids play. After another fifteen minutes went by, then Esther ran over to her mother and held her hands out in front of her and patted the palm of one hand to the back of her other.

               “You want more?” Tori asked her, signing at the same time. “I think you’ve had enough ice cream for one day, don’t you?”

               Esther shook her head with a smile.

               “Want to share mine?” Tori asked, then she pushed her dish closer to Esther before using her hands to sign again. “It’s chocolate raspberry.”

               Esther stuck her tongue out and shook her head before running off after the other kids. Tori shrugged.

               “I offered,” she said. “How’s the investigation going? Any news on the . . . note you got?”

               “Nothing,” Severus said. “I try not to think that someone might be spying on my kids, waiting for a moment to attack them.” Severus’s heart started racing just at the thought.

               “They’ll find this awful person,” Tori said confidently. “And when they do, I’ll make sure he never sees outside of Azkaban again. He’s messing with the wrong family.”

               Severus smiled at Tori’s confidence. Perhaps everything would be okay. A death threat could simply be a threat after all, empty and not one that may be acted upon.

               Finally, everyone seemed to tire out and they sat at the table with their parents. Harry sat next to his father and leaned against him. Severus wrapped an arm around his son.

               “Are we going home, now, Daddy?” Harry asked.

               “In a minute,” Severus said. He rubbed Harry’s back soothingly. “Are you getting tired?”

               “A little.”

               “Me too,” Iris agreed.

               “I guess that’s our cue,” Tori joked as she stood up. “Come on, kids, let’s get going.”

               They said their goodbyes, then Joshua grabbed Esther as the little girl tried to run off. He playfully swung her around before carrying her while following their mother, Ruth at Tori’s side, and they headed for the floo network in the Leaky Cauldron.

               “I should head home as well,” Addie said, standing up. “Everything will turn out for the better. You’ll see, Severus.”

               Severus nodded. He stood up and held Harry’s and Iris’s hand in each of his own, leading them to the floo network to head home.

 


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