November 1, 1991
Severus had the door to his private potion’s lab slightly ajar while he was working. He wanted to make sure he knew when Harry was awake to not only check on him but make sure he talked to Harry about the complete recklessness he presented last night. Severus had actually taken notes on parchment for speaking tips. He wanted to make sure he didn’t leave a single thing out about how foolish the three Gryffindors were. He also wasn’t exactly sure how to be a father, so he had gone to the library after he left the hospital wing this morning and tried to find a book on parenting. Not only were there no parenting books in the Hogwarts library, but there also wouldn’t be a section titled ‘What to say when your child tries to get themself killed by acting like a dunderhead’.
Severus was just in the middle of adding in the two drops of dragon tears to the potion when he heard a blood-curdling scream come from the sitting room. Severus immediately dropped the entire dropper of dragon tears into the potion, which had caused it to erupt and splatter all over the table and the walls, but Severus wasn’t concerned about it for the time being. “Harry!” he shouted as he practically sprinted out of the lab. He saw Harry drenched in sweat and thrashing about on the sofa. “Harry!” he said again to try and wake him up. Severus reached over to shake him lightly, but Harry had immediately thrown off his hands and tried to punch and kick the air around him. Not knowing what to do, Severus conjured a bucket of water and poured it over his son. Harry instantly shot up from the couch and looked around the room with wide eyes. He grabbed his glasses off the table and saw Severus with concern written all over his face. “What the bloody hell was that for!” Harry shouted. “Harry, language!” Severus admonished. “Well, sorry I’m a little upset! It’s not like I didn't almost just drown from a bucket of ice-cold water!” Severus rolled his eyes at Harry’s dramatics, “you did not almost just drown, calm down.” Severus cast a drying charm on Harry and the sofa and motioned for Harry to sit again.
“Harry, are you alright? I heard you screaming?” Harry immediately blushed and looked away rubbing at the back of his neck. “Erm, yeah sorry about that. I just had a very umm… vivid dream you could say.” “Well, would you like to talk about it?” Severus asked after a moment of silence between the two. Harry sat there silently for another moment and then nodded, he figured his dad should know. “So, you know how Malfoy, Hermione, Ron, and I had gotten detention a few weeks ago?” Severus nodded, “I do recall hearing about your nightly escapade in the castle. In fact, I was the one who awarded Mr. Malfoy the detention,” Severus drawled out. Harry wanted to roll his eyes at him but knew that would never be a good idea in front of this man. “Yeah, well Professor McGonagall handed our detention off to Filch and he had us help Hagrid in the Forbidden Forrest to find a unicorn body. It was taking forever so we split up and Hagrid left me with Malfoy and Fang to cover one side of the woods while he, Ron, and Hermione covered the other side. Well, Malfoy and I found the um… unicorn, but when we were there, there was this shadowy figure that was um…” Harry wiped his hands on his jeans and rubbed the back of his neck again. He struggled with the images of this event, and he didn’t know if he could bring himself to finish the story. After a few moments, Snape cleared his throat and leaned forward on the couch so he could look at Harry’s face. He noticed the very pale look on his face and the fear present in his eyes. After another moment, Severus stood up and headed off towards the kitchen. Even though Harry didn’t necessarily want to talk, it hurt him sitting there watching his dad walk away.
As Harry was just about to get off the couch and head back to his dorm, Severus came in carrying a tea tray and biscuits. “I figured this may help make the situation a little more comfortable,” Severus said as he sat down and handed a cup of tea to Harry. After a few sips, Harry set the tea down and leaned back on the couch. “Where was I?” he asked. “The part where you found the unicorn.” Harry nodded “Oh right. So, there was a shadowy figure standing over the unicorn and then I guess it heard us because it started to float in the air towards us. Malfoy ran and I’m not sure where Fang went. I was curious to see what it was, but then my head started to hurt. Really badly too, so I started to back away but then… then I thought I heard someone say, ‘now’s not the right time’ and it sounded like… maybe Professor Quirrell? Then I heard another voice say, ‘he has the stone’, but I couldn’t make this one out. All I remember was that it was extremely hoarse. Then the shadow lunged at me and I truly thought it was going to kill me, but a centaur named Firenze came to help and Hagrid came back with the others and Fang.”
Severus sat there trying not to seem like he was absolutely appalled at the story his son had just told him. He almost choked on his tea when Harry had told him the shadow was approaching him, and then he had immediately wanted to smack the boy upside the head for just standing there. ‘Bloody Gryffindors,’ he thought to himself. The part that made his entire body freeze though was when Harry had said the shadow claimed he has the stone. ‘Does Harry know about the Philosopher’s Stone?’ he had asked himself. He wanted to ask Harry himself, but just in case Harry didn’t know he didn’t want him to then find out. He knew he would have to tell him about it then. “Harry, when you said you heard Professor Quirrell, was there a possibility he was with you?”
Harry shook his head. “No, I looked around and didn’t see anyone. I mean maybe he wasn’t there at all and the pain in my head was just making me think he was. I’m not sure,” he ended with a shrug. Severus was also curious about the other voice Harry claimed to have heard. He would definitely have to look into it later. Severus ran a hand through his hair and then looked at the boy. “So, is it safe to assume that the reason you were screaming was that you had dreamt of the shadow figure?” Harry hesitated for a minute before nodding yes. “I-I have been almost every night since…” he said as he studied a loose thread on the hem of his t-shirt. Severus sighed and leaned back onto the couch. “Harry,” he said sounding a little upset, “why didn’t you say anything?” Harry shrugged and continued to stare at the loose thread. Severus wanted to hex the boy for shrugging, he absolutely hated shrugging. “Harry look at me please.” Harry looked up and met the dark obsidian eyes and bit his lower lip. He didn’t want this man to think he was weak. ‘What father wants to know that his son is weak? What eleven-year-old still has nightmares?’ he thought to himself. “Harry, remember I told you that you could always come and talk to me, right?” Harry nodded. “I meant it. I do not care what it is. You could talk to me about your darkest secret and I will never judge you or tell anyone. You could talk to me about Quidditch, and I would listen. Painfully listen, but I would listen because if my son is talking to me, I want to make sure I am listening to every single word he has to say. I want to hear about all your good days and bad days. All your likes and dislikes. All of it. I have eleven years of your life to catch up on and I do not want to miss anymore. I promise you, I will be here for you from this day on no matter what.”
Harry looked up at Severus and felt tears stinging his eyes. He turned his head away from Severus’s gaze and roughly swiped at them. When he felt Severus put his hand on his shoulder, something inside him broke and he was no longer able to hold back the tears. Severus wrapped his arms around Harry and pulled him so tightly into his chest, Harry thought he was going to suffocate. For the first time in his life, he felt like someone truly cared about him. No one has ever said that to him before. Sure, he has two amazing best friends, but there are just some things you don’t share with your friends. Harry felt safe and possibly ... loved? He wasn’t sure yet about the last one but knew he liked the warm feeling in his chest.
After a few minutes, Harry finally stopped crying and leaned out of the embrace. “Thanks,” he said before looking away and wiping at his cheeks. Severus nodded and grabbed his tea again. Severus had to admit that he was not a fan of personal contact, but he had grown accustomed to it when he was friends with Lily, and she would hug him all the time. After all these years of being alone, he realized he forgot how good it felt to have someone you care about wrapped in your arms, knowing that they are safe.
Severus looked at the clock on the mantle and realized it was getting close to dinnertime. “How are you feeling by the way? Does your head hurt or anything else? I probably should have asked earlier,” Severus said to Harry. “I’m fine. Better after the nap… and better after telling someone about what happened in the Forrest.” Severus nodded, “any dizziness or nausea?” Harry shook his head no. he truly did feel loads better now. “Okay good. Now I have something I would like to talk to you about,” Severus said as he stood up, silently going over the two pages of notes he wrote in his head. “What you and your two Gryffindor friends did last night was absolutely foolish. Do you not realize you could have been killed? Not only you but Weasley and Granger as well?” Harry winced at this. “Trolls are very difficult to deal with. They do not respond well to magic. Furthermore, do you know the damage caused to the third floor’s girls’ lavatory? It’s nearly irreparable, even with magic! I need you to understand that you cannot just run off into situations. You need to find an adult and tell them. I understand that may be hard sometimes, but please tell someone. Anyone. You could have told Percy. You could have told me or Professor McGonagall or even Professor Sybil for Merlin’s sake. If anything and I mean anything, like the troll situation or the situation you just described to me in the Forbidden Forrest happens again, I want you to promise me that you will tell someone.” Harry nodded, “yes, sir. I’m sorry. I understand and I promise I will tell someone next time.” he said looking down at his hands. Severus nodded, “very well then. I believe it is almost time for dinner, why don’t you head back up to your dorm and meet up with your friends. Do you think you will need a vial of dreamless sleep tonight?” Harry stood up and grabbed his bag to leave “umm no, I’ll be okay. I truly feel loads better after talking about it.” Severus nodded again “if you do, or need to talk again you now know where my quarters are. Also, make sure that if you feel dizzy or ill that you go to the infirmary. I will know if you do not,” Snape said giving him a stern look. Harry knew that Severus would know; he always seemed to know everything and that made Harry smile to himself. “Thank you again,” Harry said as he reached the door leading to Snape’s office.
“Oh Harry, I forgot to mention one more thing. I would like a 4-foot essay by the end of the week on the dangers of trolls and what to do when you come across one.” Harry groaned and Severus smirked and closed the door behind his son.
Chapter 14