A/N: I do not own Harry Potter

Written for The Houses Competition

House: Hufflepuff

Position: Prefect

Category: Standard

Prompt: [Speech] 'The more you do it, the more you'll like it.'

Word count: 1980

Written for The Golden Snitch Forum

School: Hogwarts

House: Hufflepuff

Challenge: Ollivanders Wand Shop

Prompt: 10–11 inch: Write about a Slytherin character.

AU: No Voldemort, which affected various relationships. Set when Harry is around the 'toddler' age.

Kidditch

Severus and Lily were roused in the early hours of the morning by a very excited child. It was Saturday, and Harry—their son—would be playing his first peewee Quidditch match.

"'Daddy, Daddy!" Harry shouted as he tugged on the duvet. A duvet that was strategically covering his face, blocking out the light of the early sunrise.

Severus groaned into his pillow and mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like 'It's too early' and rolled over.

"Mummie! Mummie!" Harry then climbed up the bed, over Severus' face—more like sitting on his face—and pulling the blankets away. "Kidditch! Kidditch!"

"Harry… sleep," Lily mumbled, pulling up the covers.

"I go Kidditch," Harry sighed. "Pease!"

The morning didn't improve from there as far as Severus was concerned. Harry whined until he got his favourite breakfast, chocolate spread on toast.

Severus then had rearranged Harry's outfit, which was a disaster, not just because of the vibrant shades of red and green—which clashed terribly—but because Harry had somehow managed to confuse an 'armhole' with the 'head-hole,' and now they were strangely hanging off the tiny child.

"You did so well, it was a very good try," he praised as he righted the child's attire. Harry beamed at his daddy.

Then there were the shoes – both on the wrong feet. Severus could at least find this amusing as somehow it made Harry walk like a penguin, both feet pointed outwards! Severus had to be told it was 'bad form' to laugh at your child without fixing the problem, so after a little amusement on his part—which was fair considering the hour the little monster waked him—he put both shoes on the right feet.

~~Flashback~~

Severus and Harry were outside in the garden, Severus hiding a long slim package. He couldn't wait; it was one of those moments that every Wizarding father looked forward to — teaching your son to ride a broom.

Soon, Harry was holding up his brand new broom giddily, and Severus smiled, almost as excited at his son.

"Harry, like this," Severus said as he gently guided Harry.

Once Harry was sat properly on his broom, Severus stood behind him, steadying the little boy. Harry sat shakily on the little wooden stick, petrified that he might fail.

Harry looked at his father, and his tiny lip wobbled. "What if I fall off, Daddy? Will da uva boys laugh at me?"

"No one will laugh," he smiled, far more sweetly than he had ever smiled at anyone else. "This is just one of those things we have to practise so we can be the best. I'll be here the whole time, I promise. The more you do it, the more you'll like it! Now, try leaning forward, I'm right here."

Harry took to the lesson with gusto, and soon Severus followed the little boy as he completed a lap. It was just a matter of confidence in his opinion. Severus smiled as he watched as Harry then fly a solo lap, without realising that Severus was no longer holding him. He knew that his little Harry was ready for the big game.

Harry was overjoyed when he realised he did it all alone. With a huge hug, Severus told Harry how proud he was for trying, even if he had been afraid.

"Just like a Giffindoor, like Mummie!" Harry smiled goofily.

"Of course! You'll do great, Harry-bear, that was outstanding for your first time."

All he received in reply was a beaming, toothy smile.

At the field, Harry's mood changed. He went from over-excited and confident to incredibly shy, hiding behind both of his parents, probably due to not knowing any of the children. The field was full of people, children, and those running the little league. Kids ran around everywhere, all with little brooms that hovered only slightly off the ground.

"I wanna go home," Harry whimpered, tugging on his father's long black robes.

Severus knelt beside Harry, who was worried and teary-eyed. "What happened to all the excitement?" he asked.

Harry shrugged, his head bowed. Severus, however, waited for the little boy, knowing he couldn't resist saying something sooner or later.

"I'm fwightened, and I could fall, and then evwyone will laugh at meeee!" he finally burst into tears.

"But you were the best little broom flyer!" Severus smiled.

Harry still shrugged, wiping snot and tears all over his once pristine robes. "I wanna go hooome!" he cried.

"We are not going home, Harry!" Severus replied kindly. "I understand that this is new, and sometimes, new is scary. But you will enjoy it. In fact, the more you do it, the more you will like it."

"But, what if I'm wubbish, and then the 'uver boys laugh at me?" he whispered.

"You will be great," he promised. "And I imagine you will make a few new friends, won't that be nice?"

"Otay." Harry nodded, though still very unsure, clinging to Severus' robe.

His father took his hand and led him away to the centre of the field to the man that had organised the league, Arthur Weasley. Arthur was stood with a small boy, who had the same bright red hair like his father, blue eyes, and a long thin nose. The child had a goofy, adorable smile—at least that's what Lily said.

"Ah, is this little Harry Potter?" Arthur asked.

Severus pursed his lips but nodded.

"Yes, but it's Harry Potter-Snape," Lily said smiling. "Harry is very excited, but I think he's a little nervous about joining in."

"That's okay. Ron can introduce him to everyone, can't you, Ron?" Arthur smiled.

"Yes, Daddy. Come on, Harry." The little boy held out a hand to Harry before taking him off to the other children.

Lily had paid Arthur the joining fee, which was only three sickles, and they both went to sit on the sidelines.

"I'm going to get a coffee; do you want one?" Lily asked.

"No," he replied.

Severus stood there stewing. He understood the need to keep that name. James would always be his father, even after death. How could Severus compete with that? The incident had been tragic, and Severus would not have wished it on anyone. Despite his past feelings about James, he couldn't deny the man's bravery, and courage to stand up to those wizards the way that he had. James had fought and died, protecting those that he loved, and Severus loved them just as much. In many ways, he owed James a great debt, but the jealousy still reared its ugly head from time to time, no matter how much he gave to his family.

Severus had been determined to get Lily back, and being the best friend that he had always been had undoubtedly been the right approach. He helped her deal with the grief and loss of James. At first, Severus found he resented the boy and how similar Harry looked to one James Potter, and then Severus realised that he reminded himself of his father, and he would not have that. Soon after, Severus fell in love with the little boy, his little boy.

A friendship had been the best basis for their marriage, and there was a trust and love that couldn't be shaken. Lily had always been the one person to stand up for Severus, never abandoned him, and he was adamant that he would be the same for her. It was through this that Severus managed to heal so many old hurts, but not all of them.

It wasn't long before Arthur approached Severus.

"So, you adopted Harry, Mr Snape?" Arthur asked brightly. He too had bright blue eyes, and his smile was a wide, genuinely happy one, the kind of smile that you would never see on Severus' face.

"Severus," he clarified in a far more reserved manner. "You have children that play?"

"Yeah, six of them!" he smiled. "We also have Ginny, but she's far too young yet."

"You have seven children!" Severus exclaimed. Suddenly, his bright demeanour was a lot more impressive. Severus would have gone grey or bald by now with seven children to keep track of. "I struggle with just one."

They stood there in awkward silence, waiting for the game to begin. Occasionally, Arthur would make a polite comment about the weather, how fun it was, and each time it was simply met with a curt smile or nod. Lily had apparently decided to keep her distance, instead of talking to a redheaded woman who was running the tea and coffee stand. Severus remembered how she insisted that he make friends, and stated that having friends with children would be good for him. The table was filled to the brim with home-baked goods, and a seemingly never-ending supply of tea, coffee, and hot chocolate. She only returned when the children were supposed to be playing Quidditch.

"They aren't even playing," Severus complained, though his tone was lighter than usual. He reached out and squeezed her hand.

"You expect four to six-year-olds to play serious, competitive Quidditch?" she asked with a grin.

"They aren't even flying!"

"They are, just very, very, very close to the ground," she laughed. "Would you like Harry to be on a broom thirty feet in the air?"

"So close that their feet touch the floor! I'm just saying; this isn't Quidditch."

It was then that Arthur leaned over to Lily. It transpired that it was his wife that ran the coffee stand, and baked all the cakes. They umm'd and ahh'd about that for some time. Then they discussed their children; it took Arthur ten minutes to point out each of his, and he even got confused over which twin was which. Lily pointed out Harry, who was sat on the grass, looking afraid and sucking his thumb.

"Give him a few weeks. They're always nervous on the first game, and they don't know anyone, and then everyone's watching."

Arthur spoke like he truly knew what he was talking about, and Severus was willing to believe anything the man said. He was still sane—well, sort of—after seven children! Severus even ended up enjoying his company, talking about the joys and pitfalls of fatherhood. They avoided the topic of married life; wives were listening.

"Harry!" he shouted.

The little boy looked up, smiled, and waved.

"The Snitch, Harry!" Severus shouted pointing to where a tennis ball-sized golden snitch—a plushie again—floated a little down the pitch.

Harry put the broom between his legs and nodded seriously at Severus. Without even hovering on the broom, he ran, the broom between his legs as he chased the stuffed golden ball. The broom swayed from side to side between his legs and Harry stumbled more than once before he gained on the ball. Finally, he dropped the broom, and dived on the Golden Snitch, clasping it in his hands.

"DADDY!" Harry shouted, running over.

Getting down on one knee, arms open and waiting for Harry. Harry ran full pelt and collided with Severus arms wrapped around his neck.

"I did it! I got it! DADDY, I WIN!" he shouted.

"Yes, you do! You are the best little Seeker ever, aren't you?" Severus smiled, kissing Harry's cheek. He began pretending to gobble Harry up while littering his face with kisses, causing the 'toddler' to explode into happy giggles and squeals.

After the high-pitched squealing had died down and Severus had gotten a few extra snuggles, Harry looked at him with a beaming smile. "I pwactised more by myse'f so I could get t'e Snitch 'nd win!"

Severus acted amazed for Harry's benefit and whispered, "You did? Daddy is so proud of you!" he said smiling. "What did Daddy say? 'The more you do it, the more you will like it.' I also imagine you are a lot less afraid and nervous now?"

Harry nodded ecstatically, raising the first snitch he ever caught in the air.