By request.
James trudged down the staircase towards the dungeons.
When he had first received the note from his grandfather requesting that he join him for supper he had been elated. Having shared the man with his siblings his entire life this was the first time that he could remember ever spending time alone with just him.
His first week at Hogwarts hadn't gone quite as he had hoped it would. He had been so excited to be at school. He had made so many plans about how things would be. The reality had been a disappointment at best.
James really loved his father. He loved that he was known for being a hero. He idolized him in a way that most boys do their fathers. He was proud to be a Potter. And he thought that he liked being compared to him. Or rather he liked when his mum said he was acting like his dad or when one of his relatives did. He had learned that week though that he didn't like it when the entire world expected him to be just like his father.
It seemed that every Professor he had had taught his dad at some point or went to school with him and instantly expected James to be just like him. It didn't matter that James happened to think that Herbology was more interesting than Defense Against the Dark Arts. He had already been approached by the captain of the Quidditch team to tell him that he would likely be granted special permission to try out early. He wanted to play Quidditch more than anything but he wanted to earn his spot, not be given it because he was Harry Potter's son. Professor McGonagall had even mistakenly called him Harry twice in one class. It was on the second time that he had snapped back that his name wasn't Harry. His classmates had looked at him with shock in their eyes as had Professor McGonagall. James had expected to receive detention or at the very least lose some House points. He had been confused when she had simply gone back to teaching, ignoring his outburst altogether.
He loved his father; he just wanted to be his own person.
The feeling of being lost in his father's shadow had put him in a horrible mood. He wanted nothing more than to skip dinner altogether and go to bed early. He knew he couldn't back out on his grandfather though. He had already said he would join him and if he changed his mind now he would just worry him.
He knocked on the door of his grandfather's private quarters and a moment later it swung open on its own accord.
James walked inside to find his grandfather sitting in his armchair.
The door shut behind him as he walked across the room and sat down on the couch.
"Hey grandpa," he forced his voice to sound much more cheerful than he felt.
"James," Snape replied happily. "How is your first week at Hogwarts going?"
"Pretty good," James lied. He hadn't thought about not telling his grandfather the truth but in the moment it seemed like the best route to take.
"I spoke to Professor McGonagall this morning, she informed me that you had a bit of an attitude in her class yesterday."
Snape couldn't help but reflect on the fact that had this conversation been taking place twenty years earlier with Harry he would have started lecturing the moment that Harry walked through his door. He wouldn't have been nearly as calm or rational as he was now. He supposed that was the difference between children and grandchildren though.
It was extremely rare that he was ever stern with his grandchildren and aside from one incident with Albus, he never actually punished them. As a grandfather he had never felt the need to do so and he was quite pleased about it.
James shrugged. "Not really." He knew it was a lie. He had been surprised when he hadn't been reprimanded on the spot. He hadn't expected his grandfather to say anything about it though. He didn't feel like he could tell him why he had acted out without sounding like a total prat.
Snape raised an eyebrow at these words. "You know you are fortunate that you didn't receive a detention. Professor McGonagall isn't usually quite so lenient."
Snape's words were met by a silent shrug.
He worked hard to keep his temper at bay. He found shrugging as a reply to anything to be quite possibly the most annoying action in the world. It was a lesson that he had made sure that Harry learned quickly once in his care.
James felt his annoyance at the whole situation growing. It wasn't supposed to be this way. His first week had been full of everyone treating him like he was his dad. He was looking forward to dinner with his grandfather being a breath of fresh air and now he was getting a lecture instead. He knew he deserved it but still, it wasn't supposed to be this way.
"It will do you well in the future to remember that."
Another insolent shrug.
"You know if your father would have acted the way you are right now he would have found himself in quite a bit of trouble with me," Snape said in a voice that he hoped was coming across sternly.
James felt his anger boiling over as he leapt up off the couch. None of this was right and he had had enough.
"I am not my father!" He yelled. "So just shut it!"
He saw the look of shock and then anger on his grandfather's face but it didn't stop him.
"Everyone in this stupid castle thinks I'm just like him and I'm not! All I've heard all week is Harry this and Harry that."
"Now just a minute," Snape tried to intervene as he stood up but James ignored him and kept going.
"I don't want to be on the Quidditch team just because I am his son and I like Herbology! I am sick of all the Professors in this bloody school just expecting me to be good or bad at something without even knowing if I am."
He was crying now. Hot angry tears were running down his face. In the past year he had tried his hardest to never cry. Under any other circumstances he would have been absolutely mortified but in the moment he didn't even care.
"My name is James- not Harry! Just because I look like him doesn't mean I am him! Doesn't anyone bloody get that?"
"That is enough!" Snape said firmly and loudly.
James stopped as he looked up at his grandfather. He no longer felt angry, just sad and slightly scared. Had he really just yelled at his grandfather like that? Had he really said those words? If there was one thing he had learned in his first week at Hogwarts, aside from the fact that everyone expected him to be just like his father, it was that the older students feared his grandfather. James had always heard stories growing up from his dad about how strict his grandfather could be. There was also a story that he had once spanked Albus. He had never experienced it first- hand but then he had never done anything to make the man angry either.
James quickly sat back down on the couch in hopes that if his bum was hidden it wouldn't be punished.
Snape fixed his grandson with a stern look as he sat back down in his chair.
He crooked a finger at the child. "To me."
"Grandpa I'm sorry," James quickly tried to explain making no attempt to stand let alone walk towards the man. "I didn't mean to talk to you like that."
Snape ignored the boy's pleas as he beckoned to him once more. "Do not make me come to you."
James quickly got on his feet. The last thing he wanted was to be punished by his grandfather but he also knew better than to keep angry parental figures waiting.
He walked across the room stopping when he was in front of the man. He was no longer crying but he had a feeling that that would change in a moment. Tears were already clinging to his eyelashes. His fate was sealed and he knew it.
He was expecting his grandfather to pull him across his knee, what he wasn't expecting was for the man to pull him into his arms. James couldn't help the small gasp of surprise that escaped his lips.
Snape hugged James tightly for a long moment before gently releasing him.
"I know that you are not your father," Snape said softly. He was surprising himself by how calm he was reacting. He knew that if Harry had acted in the way that James just had he likely would have given him quite the punishment. James was right though, he wasn't Harry and Snape was not the one that needed to discipline the child for every wrongdoing. "Unfortunately you may have to work a bit to convince the rest of the world that you are a different person. Life isn't always fair and I'm afraid that when it comes to your last name and who your father is it won't be very fair to you. You shouldn't hold people's opinions of you against them though. Your father is a very beloved person and being compared to him isn't a bad thing."
James digested these words before nodding quietly in agreement. He supposed that if he had to be compared to someone his father wasn't horrible.
"You also must remember that some of your Professors taught your father and knew him very well, it's only natural that they would mistakenly call you Harry. I know that I have accidently called your cousin Louis Bill."
James thought about this for a moment. He had to admit that he could see where Professor McGonagall could have made an honest mistake.
"I'll apologize to Professor McGonagall," James said softly.
"Very good," Snape nodded approvingly. "Next time you are feeling upset about something I would suggest that you talk to myself or someone else before exploding in a tantrum."
James nodded quickly. "I will. I promise. I'm sorry I spoke to you like that."
"See to it that you never do so again as the next time I promise you the outcome will be much different."
James nodded seriously as he felt the tips of his ears burn with embarrassment. His grandfather did not need to spell it out for him he knew exactly what he was referring to.
"Go wash your face and we'll eat dinner," Snape instructed as he stood once more.
Without giving his actions a second thought James quickly wrapped his arms around the man's torso hugging him once more. "I love you a lot."
"I love you too," Snape couldn't help but chuckle. "A lot."