Where Once Was Light by Ivy-Green
Summary: Severus is found out as a spy among the Death Eaters and runs for his life. Along the way, he makes some shocking discoveries about Harry Potter.
Categories: Parental Snape Main Characters: .Snape and Harry (required), Draco, Dumbledore, Hermione, Lily, Original Character, Remus, Ron, Sirius
Snape Flavour: None
Genres: Action/Adventure, Drama
Media Type: None
Tags: Alternate Universe, Resorting, Slytherin!Harry, Snape-meets-Dursleys
Takes Place: 4th summer
Warnings: Abusive Dursleys, Alcohol Use, Profanity, Violence
Challenges: None
Series: None
Chapters: 43 Completed: No Word count: 174704 Read: 342128 Published: 23 Jul 2009 Updated: 04 Jan 2012
Chapter 32: In the Snake Hole by Ivy-Green
Author's Notes:
Harry and Draco survive their first night as roommates, Severus sets up wards, and Harry begins a new day.

The moment the door closed behind the two boys, Severus walked around his desk and went towards the door, as though to follow them. But he stopped himself short and scowled. He could not follow them, he had to disappear silently through the night, to walk the halls of Hogwarts like the vampire they all accused him of being. There was no room to be weak and go crying back to the boys, begging their forgiveness. Severus Snape did not apologize, he did not beg, he did not feel anything but hatred, anger, and confidence as far as all the students knew. No, no one, not even Dumbledore, would suspect a kinder version of the Potions Master. It was just too risky.

Severus was not a kind man. He had been kind, once, when he had been young, growing up with Lily, but that was years ago now. When he had joined the Death Eaters he had stepped back to look at himself and realized that he would never be innocent again. There was no kindness in him anymore. What he did that people might view as kind, he had his own motivation for it. He rarely did things out of charity, since he saw everyone as having had it better than he had as a child and as an adult. He had suffered torture with the Dark Lord and in prison, and he had spent his life alone in the dark, bitter and sad.

Only, that had all been a lie hadn’t it? Severus was not that man anymore. There had been a time when he had lived in the light, the time when he had been married to Lily. Everyday Severus remembered something new, yet another memory of his beloved. He remembered a time being warm and happy. He had not always been the man everyone thought they knew today. There had been a time when he, too, had joy.

But what had happened? Dumbledore had taken it all away! He had taken his happiness, his light, his only source of life, away from him. The Headmaster had handed Lily over to the one man in the world that Severus knew did not deserve her: James Potter.

James Potter! How could Lily have stood marrying that worthless piece of trash?! He was everything despicable and vulgar and she knew how much Severus hated him. But then again, Severus really wasn’t all that upset at his wife. What could she have done? She was right in her concerns about the Death Eaters hunting down her son, especially if they did find out that Harry had been Severus’s. Although he was loathed to admit it, the safest place Lily could have put herself was with James Potter…at least, that is how it looked at the time. Severus still cursed himself to that day for giving the Dark Lord a bit of the prophecy. He had not known it was a real prophecy! He had needed to take something back to the Dark Lord, and since Dumbledore hadn’t felt like giving him something to tell…

Hitting his head against the stone wall, Severus hissed in anger. If only he could have made something else up, or told a different part of the prophecy. If only he had believed a little bit more in Trelawney’s abilities. Her predictions had never really been anything but stabs at guesses for years until that night. But even though Snape was tempted to blame the Headmaster and Trelawney, he knew that it had been him that had killed the Potters…he had been the one to put his family in danger. He killed Lily…

Shaking his head, trying to get the images of the night out of his head, Severus pushed down his guilt and panic by occluding his mind. That was not going to help him now. At the moment, he had enough going on in his life then to add past mistakes to the list. He had to worry about the Headmaster finding out that Harry was his son and taking him away, had to worry about the Death Eaters finding a way to resurrect the Dark Lord, worry about he and his son getting killed by Death Eaters, had to worry about Harry in Slytherin, had to worry about Draco’s loyalties and feelings, and had to worry about how he was going to keep control this year… No, he did not need the past to occupy his mind.

Sighing once again, Severus looked back at the door and scowled. He had a lot of work to do tonight. He was just glad that he would not have been able to sleep anyway.

*******

As they walked from the Potions Master’s office, Harry followed Draco towards their new dorm. In two different study rooms that were off at different sides of the common room, Harry could see the two prefects that Snape had appointed giving specific speeches to the two groups of children. He wondered why his father wanted the two prefects giving the same lecture to be so far from each other, or that they had to separated at all. But then again, Harry was angry with his father at the moment and decided that the man was just stupid sometimes, like how he divided the two groups up.

Draco, on the other hand, did not pause to notice anything. The blonde stormed off, until he got to the stairs where he took them a bit slower as he twisted down the spiral staircase. Harry followed the other Slytherin and was amazed at the doors leading to the different rooms. There was one door that looked just a little bit different than the others, and alongside it was a statue of a woman. Neither boy knew who the woman was, but she held a potions beaker and wore a long cape the pooled around her feet. If she were not made of stone, the boys were sure she’d have been lovely.

Draco, however, was in no mood to admire anything, and Harry was almost as bad. Walking into the room, both boys stopped and stared at the sight that greeted them. Although the entire room was smaller than the dorm Harry had had last year, with only two people, there was certainly much more space. The floor was stone, but it had a beautiful green and silver carpet with Celtic knots and waves. There were wall hangings of the Slytherin crest and a tapestry of Merlin casting a spell. Straight ahead of them were their beds, two big, cushy looking beds with green curtains edged with silver. There were also two mahogany desks with matching chairs, one facing the left hand side, the other on the right along the walls. There were night stands, closets, dressers, anything anyone could need in a room it seemed. The room was also set up so that it could be evenly split down the middle if worse came to worse, Harry noted, and the two boys would not want to be on speaking terms. Probably one of his father’s brilliant ideas, Harry rolled his eyes.

“About time they remodeled this place,” Draco muttered sulkily before walking to his bed and flopping down, staring moodily at the wall, not even taking the time to look around the beautifully refurnished room.

Looking around the room, which just felt so large and spacious, Harry noticed that there was one door on his apparent side of the room that Draco did not have. Frowning, the boy stepped closer to it. Was it another closet, or perhaps it lead to the other dorm full of boys? Or it very well could be just a filled in door. One never knew with Hogwarts.

“What’s the matter with you, Potter,” Harry turned to find Draco scowling at him. “Never seen a lavatory door?”

Harry was about to growl back something not all too nice when a thought struck him. “We have our own lavatory in our room?”

The other boy looked over at his rival warily before frowning at Harry as though he were obviously stupid. “Yes, of course we have one. How else would we bathe? Or,” a mocking smile formed on the blonde's lips, “is that why all you Gryffindors stink? Because none of you’ve ever seen the loo?”

Getting angry, even though he knew Malfoy was just wanting to pull his chain, Harry scowled back at the other boy. “I wouldn’t know,” he lifted his chin to glare down at the other boy from down his nose, an act he had unconsciously picked up from his father this summer when the man got snippy. “I’m not a Gryffindor anymore.”

Harry’s words had the desired effect of deflating the other boy’s massive ego, but the bitterness behind his words caught Harry off guard, and he frowned at himself. He had not meant to sound so…frustrated, he supposed was the word.

Sitting down on his bed as well, Harry looked about the beautiful bedroom, soaking in all of the wonderful things that filled it. The only word that came to Harry’s mind that described the chamber was ‘cool’. It was not warm and bright like the Gryffindor Tower. As he sat there, Harry realized just how alienated he really was. Although he was sure that this felt like home to the other Slytherin, it certainly did not feel so to Harry. He wanted to go up in the tower, see the stars, open the windows, be with Ron, and Dean, and Neville, and everyone! He wanted to laugh with his friends again, not sit there in misery!

There was nothing left for it, Harry decided. He could not sit there forever and pout and cry. Standing up, he went over to his trunk and began the task of unpacking his things. He noticed that Malfoy was tracking him out of the corner of his eye, but Harry ignored it. He would have to get used to that, he supposed. No one was going to trust him here in Slytherin; and, quite frankly, Harry wasn’t about to trust any of them either. Why could his life never be simple?

After unpacking his things as well, Draco announced that he was going to shower, before he strode off, and slammed the door shut behind him. Glaring at the door, Harry listened as he heard sounds of the water running before he flopped himself on to his new bed and continued to glare, only this time up at the fabric above him.

Half an hour later, Draco came out dressed for bed, and flung himself in bed before drawing the curtains around him angrily. Harry waited a few minutes before he got up and used the washroom to get ready for bed. Staring at himself in the mirror, the former Gryffindor could not help but be disgusted with the face he saw. This was not him, this was a lie, and now he knew it was a lie too. The whole world would soon know it was a lie…wouldn’t they? What if everything fell apart now? What if he and his father couldn’t keep up with all the lies? What if Dumbledore found out?

Slamming his hands on the counter, Harry turned his back on the reflection of James Potter, and flopped into bed. Snuggling down into the blankets, he prayed that by some miracle, things would be better in the morning.

*******

That night was one of the worse Severus had had in a while. There were so many things running through his mind he didn’t know how he could possibly be thinking of them all. Mad-Eye Moody, one of the few men that he hated more than the Marauders and the Death Eaters, was here at Hogwarts, here to teach. The thought of having to see the man everyday disgusted Severus to the core. He was not sure he could handle seeing the old auror. He had already proven to himself that he did not handle seeing the man well tonight. Merlin, he had even threatened to quit!

And where would you have gone? A voice asked Severus when he shut the door to his chambers. He was an ex-Death Eater with a mark over him. At that moment, Severus was sure that Lucius Malfoy and other influential Death Eaters were discrediting his reputation; probably telling Fudge that he was some sort of child rapist to flush him out of Hogwarts once Dumbledore was forced to sack him. That’s what Severus would have done had he been in their position.

And what then if he had managed to leave Hogwarts without the Death Eaters knowing? They would have spread out over the country looking for him. He could have gone to Prince Manor as he had, after all, inherited the mansion. But Severus never liked going there. He had actually thought about selling the stupid place, but heritage and history kept him from doing so. And he was not sure he could have hidden there for long. Lucius knew where Prince Manner was, after all, although he did not know who the inheritor was. Lucius knew that it was “abandoned” and he would eventually think to search there as well.

There was a time when Severus would have thought about fleeing the country all together, but he knew he could not, especially now. Severus had essentially made an Unbreakable Vow with Lily after her death, promising that he would look after her son had kept him here in England, had helped keep him in the land of the living. But now, now that he knew Harry was really his son, Severus knew that he could never leave the child, especially after he had been resorted into Slytherin. Who would watch after the boy? Certainly not Dumbledore. At least not the way Severus knew the child needed to be watched after.

Sighing heavily, the Potions Master looked about his chaotic chambers with disgust. Severus Snape was known for his organization and to see his personal chambers in such disarray was infuriating for the man. By his fireplace, there were all of his things from Spinner’s End lying in a careless wreck from when he had flooed them here to Hogwarts the night he was found out as a spy. Somehow he had managed to forget about that mess after a time having had other things on his mind.

With a simple, tired wave of his hand, he sent all of the books flying to the shelves, all of the paper to his private, personal office, all of his potions to his lab to be stacked neatly on the shelves, and sent everything else to pack itself in a trunk in his bedroom closet. He would deal with all that later.

Walking around his chambers, the Potions Master felt a bit odd and yet content. Hogwarts had been his permanent home for almost the past thirteen years. It had been so odd to be away after so long, and now that he had been gone for more than a few days, it was odd to be back. It was comforting in a way…and yet terrible. If Dumbledore were to find out his secrets it would be here, and Severus was not sure that he would be able to go on without his son. No, no he would fight to keep his son!

After looking about his chamber for a bit, Severus set up wards all around his home again, making them stronger than the ones he had had before. He was certain the Headmaster had disconnected the floo line to his room with the exception of the other Hogwarts fireplaces like he had asked with summer. It would not due, after all, to one morning wake up to Death Eaters flooing into your home. After that was done, he looked at the clock. Almost midnight.

Taking a deep breath, the Head of Slytherin decided that it was time to look in on his son and godson. It would not due to have the two of them killing each other, now would it? There were moments when Severus questioned himself on that account, but he decided that he had only done what was for the best. If he could teach the two boys to tolerate each other early on rather than later it would save him headaches in the long run.

Walking out into the hall, Severus promptly changed his password before stalking off for the Slytherin common room. Although he often commented to the Headmaster that he hated the position of Head of House, even with the raised pay, he had to admit this year would go by much more smoothly with that power. Had he been just a regular professor, he would not have access to many of the secret passages that ran within the school and he would not be the one to have to look after Harry. Being Head of House ensured that his students, whether they hated him or not, had to be careful around him as he had the power to expel, and since the Slytherins knew that he was close to the Headmaster…they would all have to watch out for him this year.

Opening a secret passage that lead to the office within the Slytherin common room, Severus emerged after a moment in his sparse office. He never really used this office much since he had two others he liked to work in instead, plus a classroom. There had only been one other teacher in the history of Hogwarts that had been Potions Master and Head of House at the same time and Severus was certain that they must have felt the same as he did with regard to the abundance of work space. He thought it was quite ridiculous really. Minerva only had two offices; one in her classroom, one in her chambers, not three.

Severus usually only used this office to punish his Slytherins away from the other students, usually keeping the door open so the other Slytherins got the message that Snape was not to be toyed with. After all, he knew how the young Slytherins’ minds worked. And despite what the rest of the Houses believed, Snape actually did punish his own students and rarely let them off the hook. Severus was of the mind that his Slytherins were, in a sense, abused and persecuted enough and did not need the other Houses to jeer at them because their Head of House screamed at them. No, Severus handed out his detentions and lectures to his Slytherins in the privacy of their common room, so not to hurt their tender egos too much. He knew his students were judged immediately by their Houses, and ever since he had become a professor at Hogwarts, he had worked to protect them from the sting of the outside world without babying them too much. He had been their champion, the only professor that any of them felt they could go to that wouldn’t judge them, even if he did punish them from time to time.

Shaking his head, trying not to think about such things at the moment, Severus made his way out of his office, please to see that there was no one in the common room. It appeared everyone was following his schedule, same as every year. He prayed that the students would at least continue to respect him, even if he had betrayed the Dark Lord…or at least fear him, either way would be sufficient.

Forcing himself to walking down the staircase, slowly, the Potions Master came to the room that had been added to accommodate Harry and Draco. Opening the door soundlessly, the professor perceived that it was dark. That was good, that meant the boys were more than likely asleep already. That was well, because Severus did not want the children to be awake when he got there.

Taking out his wand, the Head of Slytherin began the work of warding the room. He placed spell after spell all around, just to make sure that if the boys got into a fight, they could not seriously harm one another. It was tiring work, but he managed to do it to his own satisfaction before he had to quit before he harmed his magical core. In fact, he began to sway slightly from exhaustion.

Ignoring his weariness, Severus walked over to a bed, sensing that it was his son. He had always felt a spark whenever Harry was near, and it had taken this summer to figure out that it was the mythical parental spark that some wizards have. It worked as a sort of bond to help the parents find their child if one of their children ever got lost. It was interesting to Severus that he felt such a strong bond with his son, a son he had not even known he’d lost. Was there any limit to the wonder of magic?

Pulling back the curtains silently, Severus lit his wand and peered down at his child. Harry was sound asleep, his messy hair splayed all over his pillow. A smile formed on the father’s face. Not even Severus could deny the affection he felt towards his son. Sleeping, Harry looked so young, so vulnerable. A wave of protectiveness swept over the Potions Master like a wave on the beach. He would not let anything happen to his child. He would protect Harry until his dying breath. “I promise you, Lily,” Severus whispered in the dark as he lightly stroked his son’s hair. “I will not let anything else hurt him.” His black eyes hardened with determination. “I would die for him.”

With that promise made, the Potions Master departed as the clock struck two. He had other work to do, other things to work on…

*******

In the morning, when Harry first woke up, he panicked. Why couldn’t he see? He calmed himself almost immediately as he remembered that he no longer had his perfect vision, that he was a Potter again. So he went to grab his glasses, only to discover that there were green curtains in his way. That’s when it hit him: he was in Slytherin now. Last night had really happened. He was a Slytherin…

Peeling back the curtains, Harry shoved his glasses on his nose, and looked about the cold dungeon dorm. His heart pounded as he truly realized that he was in the viper’s layer now. How he longed to be in the lions’ den!

Grabbing his wand, Harry lit it with a simple lumos before glancing over at Draco. The other boy was still sleeping- thank Merlin- but when he looked over at the clock, he realized that it was only six in the morning. He was still in the habit of waking early thanks to his father. But the thought of the Head of Slytherin infuriated Harry, and he decided to push aside all thoughts of his new father and went to get ready for the day.

After only a seven minute shower- Harry didn’t want to keep Malfoy waiting too long, as he was not sure what the other boy would do if angered- the young Snape hopped out and quickly got dressed and when through the usually morning activities. Looking over at the mirror again, Harry didn’t know what to think. James Potter’s- the man that he had always thought of as his father- face was looking back at him, as though James was mocking him, and Harry wanted to get rid of it. He did not want to be reminded of how terrible that man had been to his father. Yet his true father, Severus Snape, was a bad tempered, sarcastic man that had willingly made his son’s worst enemy Harry’s roommate and then went on to lecture him about not hurting Draco!

At the moment, Harry didn’t know who he really wanted for a father. Deep in his heart he knew, but he was angry with Snape, hurt that his father, the first adult that had ever really cared about him, would suddenly turn his back on him and betray him. Where was the man that had stood up to the Dursleys on Harry’s behalf? Where was the man that had taken care of the neighborhood bullies? Where was the man that fought with the Albus Dumbledore, fighting to keep Harry away from the Dursleys? Where was the man that had given him a real home, a normal life for the summer? Where was the father that had been relatively patient with him, had talked and told him to truth, had even comforted him? That man had slithered back into the shadows in hiding, apparently, and was going to let everything go back to the way it had been.

But I don’t want things to go back to the way they were! Harry thought desperately. He did not want to be angry with his father, but he was. Making him live with Draco Malfoy was like sending him off the Azkaban…only worse. Draco hated him, and he didn’t care much for the billionaire brat either, and his father knew that! He knew! And yet, Snape had threatened to quit Hogwarts if the new professor, Moody, stayed. Harry was certain he could not survive his school year if his father left!

Sighing, Harry decided that he had nothing left to do but go down to the Great Hall and forget about his problems for at least as long as he could. He did not want to be here when the other Slytherin woke anyway. Who knew what they’d do to him if they saw him. Harry shivered at the thought.

Upon opening the door, Harry almost fell backward and screamed. But the hand around his arm and another over his mouth effectively stopped both from happening. Looking up, Harry beheld the familiar wall of black towering over him. He sagged with relief when he realized that it was just his father.

Severus, for his part, had been waiting for his son to emerge from his dorm room for over half an hour, and had been afraid that he would have to go wake the boy up. He was going to when the door opened and out stepped his son. He had stalked enough people in his line of work to know that Harry would cry out, so instinctively, he had grabbed the boy and silenced him when Harry realized that there was someone there. Severus knew he should probably be ashamed of how he had obtained his skill, but it did come in handy…

Releasing his son, Severus pressed his pointer finger to his lips, indicating that Harry should be quiet before he walked off, expecting his son to follow. Thankfully, the boy got the message and followed his father out of the dorm, out the door, and together, the Potions Master and the new Slytherin student walked on in silence down the hall. They walked for some ways before finally they came to the potions office, and Snape let Harry in.

Upon shutting the door, Severus spun around on his son and looked the child over. It was quite a change to see that face, the face of James Potter, wearing the colors of Slytherin. It was oddly satisfying in a way. The colors went so much better with the child’s eyes…

“Did you want something, sir?” the boy’s cold question caught Severus unguarded for a moment. He had been use to familiar conversation with Harry over the last month or so and realized now that it was going to be a struggle in maintaining their act of hatred for one another. That is, at least for him. Harry seemed able to slip into their old habits well enough. It hurt Severus to recognize that.

“I wanted to know if you had any trouble last evening,” he made sure to keep his voice neutral.

“No, not really,” Harry’s tone was barely civil.

Raising an eyebrow at the tart responses, Snape found that his temper was starting to raise its ugly head up. “Indeed,” he went around his desk and sat down. “So you are telling me that you are finding the arrangements comfortable?”

“No!” Harry all but shouted.

Scowling, Severus looked over his child. It would so much easier if he could see the child’s true face! Every time he stared at Harry now, all he could see was James Potter glaring at him, and that never did his temper any good. Careful Severus or you’ll say something you will regret, he warned himself sternly.

“Then tell me what’s troubling you,” the professor demanded. “What has Draco done?”

“It’s not him, it’s you!” Harry blurted out before he could stop himself.

The room fell silent. Harry looked over at his father with wide, horrified eyes. How could he have just said that to Snape, of all people? This man had done terrible things to students over the years for less than what Harry had just said. And by the shocked expression on Snape’s normally stoic face, Harry knew that he was about to get into some serious trouble. The old Snape was back, after all. He wouldn’t feel bad about punishing Harry Potter again.

Regaining his composure, Severus folded his hands on top of his desk professionally and scowled at the boy before him. “Indeed?” he asked again, one eyebrow rose.

“I-I didn’t mean it t-the way it came out,” Harry fumbled around for words.

Looking up at the formidable wizard before him, Harry could tell that his father was not at all pleased with him at the moment. The once hated face had become stern and all but emotionless, the same as it always had this past summer when Harry had said something stupid. He knew that his father was trying to cover up some emotion that he was hiding, but Harry could never tell what it was.

But today, he noticed that the Potions Master looked utterly exhausted. Although Harry was sure he could not have been able to tell several months ago, now that he knew his father, he could tell that the man was tired. There was grimness to him, a hardening, as though his father were trying to deny the fatigue he felt. There was stiffness to the man as well, his shoulders too square and his back too straight… There were dark circles under his eyes; the dark purple contrasting sharply with the pale skin. Harry suddenly felt terrible for having been so thoughtless with his words before.

“I see,” Severus said quietly. “Well, be that as it may, you will have to handle that as best as you can. This year is not going to be easy for you, Harry. The both of us must keep on constant alert, no matter what happens. We must not show our true regard for one another, whatever that may be, and we must act our respective parts.

“I as I said before, I will escort you every morning to the Great Hall for breakfast and back here today so you may retrieve your books. Tomorrow on you will have to bring your work with you in the mornings. You may either come to me in the dungeons and wait until classes begin, or you stay with your friends…if you can. And once classes are finished, you will go to the Great Hall for lunch before resuming classes and then go to dinner. I will escort you to the dorm after dinner unless you have previous engagements or we find a better plan.”

Letting his head fall, Harry tried hard not to scream in frustration. This was totally unfair! He hadn’t done anything, and now he was resorted away from his friends, his father was being a git, he had to room with the one person in Hogwarts he hated most, and now he had to basically hold daddy’s hand and follow him around! It was too ridiculous, and Harry found that he was growing more and more frustrated with all of these events. It wasn’t fair!

“Do I have to?” he asked quietly.

“You want me to leave you prey to your new house?” Snape scoffed, falling into old habits.

Letting his head fall again, Harry looked down at his shoes with an intensity that made it clear to his father that he was not going to answer. Finding that he was having little patience with the boy at the moment, Severus took the opportunity to take several deep breaths before speaking again. He just knew he was going to lose his temper again, and the boy didn’t need an abusive professor at the moment.

“Tonight we’ll make a schedule,” Severus repeated quietly.

Standing to walk around his desk, Severus was stopped by the small voice from beside him that said, “All this just isn’t a dream?”

Halting immediately, the Head of Slytherin looked back over to his son. “No,” he shook his head lightly. “No, this is not a dream.”

“I won’t wake up and find myself in some old cupboard?” Harry’s voice was small and weak.

With his heart bleeding for the boy, Severus turned to face his emotionally distressed child. “No,” he said soothingly. “No more cupboards for you. Not ever.” His body stiffened from anger at the thought of the Dursleys and what they had done to this child.

“But I’ll still wake up in the snake hole.”

Severus had to close his eyes from the slight against his house. He was quite proud of his house, proud to be from the noble House of Slytherin, and yet he was always distressed when others talked poorly about it. Now listening to his son so distressed talking about his house in such a way hurt Severus more than he cared to admit. When had he gotten so soft? Perhaps when you had to stop using anger around the boy, the professor couldn’t decide if it was his conscience speaking or logic.

“I’m afraid you will,” the Potions Master answered quietly.

“But you’ll still be here, won’t you?” Harry looked up with terrified green eyes that stabbed his father in the heart. “You’re not quitting? Not because of Moody?”

There was a moment when Severus longed to forget himself, longed to grab his child and embrace him the way he knew the child so desperately needed to be. But there was a part of him that could not. Harry had only ever once sought out Severus for physical comfort and that had only been a spontaneous event brought on by sheer distress. Although it was painful to admit, the Potions Master knew that his son was still not quite comfortable with physical contact just yet, especially with him, with their history and all. But even with all of the facts present, Severus could not banish his own longing.  Seeing those desperate green eyes was worse than staring a displeased Voldemort in the eyes.

“Harry,” Severus’s voice was low, soothing, yet full of emotion. But that was enough. The child launched himself into his father’s arms, grabbing the professor around the waist tightly, as though the man was the only lifeline he had.

Momentarily shocked, Severus just stared down at the boy clinging to him, and for a moment he thought perhaps he was dreaming as well. But after a moment, he gave into instinct, and wrapped his arms around his child, holding Harry to his chest as though he were not a fourteen-year-old boy, but a child much younger. Unknowingly, Severus began to sway on his feet gently, cupping Harry’s head with his hand while his other arm was still protectively wrapped around the boy’s middle.

“Please…don’t go,” Harry’s muffled plea cut into Severus’s heart.

“I am not going anywhere,” the elder Snape murmured softly.

“I mean it,” Harry cried. “I don’t want you to go. You said you’d go if Moody stayed.”

 Guilt surged through the Potions Master like a cold poison, freezing his veins and making him feel ill. “I say many things, Harry,” Severus worked hard not to let his emotions over power him. “I just say many things.”

“But I saw him glare at you!” Now Severus could feel tears soaking into his shirt, but he did not care. “And you said that he hated you!”

“That’s none of your concern,” Severus continued to sway. “Hush now, child. There’s nothing for you to worry about. I’m not leaving you. Ever.”

Harry began to still, his sniffling quieting, but he did not lessen his hold of his father, and Severus would have it no other way. They stood there for several minutes longer, neither one speaking. Severus carded his hand through his son’s messy hair affectionately, rejoicing in the physical display of love his son was showing him.

After another moment, Harry lessened his grasp around his father, enough that Severus could see the boy’s face, and embarrassment. “Are you ready to go to the Great Hall, Mr. Snape?” Severus asked after an awkward moment. He was still getting use to being a father as much as Harry was getting use to being a son.

“Yeah,” Harry nodded, wiping his eyes. “I’m…I’m sorry about that. I really didn’t mean-”

“There is nothing to be sorry for,” Severus said sternly, wanting to make sure the boy knew he bore no resentment. “Come, let us go.”

And following his father, Harry went to face his first day as a Slytherin student.

To be continued...
End Notes:
Sorry for the delay, by real life can be terribly inconvenient sometimes :( So here's a nice chappie for you all until next time. Hopefully you won't have to wait as long for it. (And maybe evil geography teachers will go away by then *plots evilly*)

So PLEASE review and I shall give you all warm thanks and even warmer hot chocolate! Thanks to all who do!!


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