Disclaimer 1: World of Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling.

Disclaimer 2: For the 2nd Round of the Quidditch Fanfiction League (Season 2) Competition.

Team: Falmouth Falcons

Position: 2nd Chaser

Theme: Molly Weasley cooking.

Round Prompts:(poem) Sonnet 18 by Shakespeare; (dialogue) "Hatred knows no bounds, huh."; (quote) "Don't walk behind me; I may not lead. Don't walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend." -Albert Camus.

A/n: Story takes place, summer after fifth year. FemHarry AR/AU One-Shot.

xX Summer Child Xx

x
"Don't walk behind me; I may not lead. Don't walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend."
-Albert Camus
x

It wasn't his first time in the Burrow, though Severus made it a point to avoid the Phoenix's "new" Headquarters as much as he was able to. The thought of being on the home turf of so many red-headed terrors was simply a bit too much for his nerves.

He felt himself getting too old to stand anymore Weasleys. Thankfully, he was finally rid of the twins. All that was left of the Weasley clan at Hogwarts now was the Weaslette and the- Buffoon? Clueless berk? Freckly git? The third, completely untalented part of the golden trio?- Severus wasn't completely sure what to term the youngest, male Weasley.

How the Weasley matriarch dealt with her brood, was a mystery to him. Perhaps she put something in the food she devoted so much time to, that helped her keep them in line.

Severus couldn't be certain because no matter how enticing Molly Weasley's cooking smelled, Severus refused to consume it. Perhaps because it smelled so enticing; as far as he was concerned, food was for sustenance and nothing more.

He really shouldn't be there, he felt. Especially at the present hour, with the summer sun at it's highest point in the sky, and making the atmosphere completely unbearable. It was suffocating and completely stifling, and no matter how many cooling charms he put on his clothes, he could still feel the heat getting though his chilled armor of black cloth.

But... for whatever reason, he couldn't keep himself away.

Potter arrived at the Burrow, delivered there personally by the Headmaster a few nights ago. And though Severus would prefer to die a million horrible deaths before he admitted it, what he heard from the Headmaster concerning the girl had him worried. About her.

Now as he stood staring at the seated girl in the Weasley's patch-work parlor, with Molly Weasley making her presence known by her busy bustling in the kitchen to make lunch, he found that he was even more concerned.

Somewhere far in the recesses of his mind, as he stared at the girl with his neutral mask in place, words floated like waves of heat and lingered in the air.

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou are more lovely and more temperate.

Harriet Potter was a summer child. And though he knew her to have quite a temper, knew that the fire of fury burned brilliantly in her emerald gaze quite often... the girl who only became lovelier with age, looked more like a wilting flower at present.

The girl was sitting rather meekly, gazing without actually seeing, somewhere at the floor. The teenage girl was far too thin (Wasn't Molly feeding her?!- he wondered with alarm though he knew that was impossible considering what a mother-hen the woman was) and pale, more so than he'd ever seen before.

There were dark bags beneath her very dull eyes and the usually, highly unruly locks of jet-black hair fell almost limply around her. Her hands were on her knees, playing with the frayed edges of the holes on her jeans and he had yet to fully meet his gaze.

Gone was the anger, the defiance, the impertinence. In it's place, was a broken little girl, who seemed to have given up hope.

Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date.

It was difficult to see her like this. And Severus cursed Sirius Black a million-and-one ways from Hell for allowing his stupid arse to be killed; not because Severus gave half-a-shit for the selfish moron, but because of what it did to the girl.

This wasn't like the death of that Diggory boy, though he knew that the event had shaken the girl and stolen some of the innocence from her gaze.

For all that the girl had suffered, she was still an innocent child and Severus didn't want to see that tarnished; though he knew that it was inevitable.

But the death of Black... it was different. And Severus envied the bane of his existence, because he meant so much to the girl.

...And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance, or nature's changing course, untrimmed;

Vaguely, Severus was aware of the sound of running water. He could hear the sound of a knife on a cutting board. For a moment, he could pretend that he was back in his Potion's lab, instead of at the Burrow, listening to Molly cooking in the adjacent room while he himself struggled with the words to say.

He couldn't bear to see the girl so downtrodden. To see her colors so faded. To see her summer fade to winter with no colorful fall in-between. She was too young to become jaded.

Aware that he'd been standing there like a silent dolt for far too long, Severus cleared his throat. Harriet's eyes lifted but come to a stop on his shoulder, much to Severus' vexation.

He would give almost anything, to see her glaring at him in defiance, to see her small chin tilted up at him challengingly.

He didn't care that the world looked to her as some kind of leader in the war against Voldemort. He didn't care that Dumbledore was grooming her to be some kind of savior. He cared that she was Lily's daughter, and she was caught in a world of grief and despair.

"Professor Dumbledore thought that perhaps it would be prudent for you to take up Occlumency once more; now that you realize what is at steak, perhaps you'll actually put in the effort," Severus lied through clenched teeth, wondering why even when he was worried for her, he had to be such a bastard to her.

Dumbledore hadn't actually asked him to take up Occlumency with the girl again, but he needed an excuse to see her himself and he found he didn't have the patience to wait for September.

"Hatred knows no bounds, huh," Harriet stated in a quiet voice, turning away from him and looking out the window acting for all the world as if she hadn't taken in a worse he said. It was a statement, but it sounded somewhat like a question. He simply didn't know what to make of it, or how to respond.

"You were right about my dad... he was an arrogant bully... and Sirius too," Harriet admitted painfully in a small voice, and Severus almost didn't hear her with the cacophony of sound Molly was making in the kitchen. Somewhere inside, he felt his stomach clench. "I get why you hated them... why you still hate them. I guess... just because they're gone, doesn't mean hate just evaporates."

Severus stared at the girl, wondering where the hell she was going with this, but content to hear her talk, even if her voice was distant and numb. Clearly there was something she needed to get off her chest, and Severus too dumbstruck, and had no idea what to even say in response.

"I always wondered why you hated me so much... from the moment you laid eyes on me. But now... I don't think I just inherited the hate you had for my dad. I used to think... I didn't understand how you could hate me when you don't even see me. But now... I hate me too sometimes" Harriet admitted and Severus felt like his heart was caving in.

And really... what the hell was he supposed to say to that? Severus had never comforted anyone, he was no good at it. And in spite of teaching for most of Harriet's young life, he had no idea what to do with emotional, teenage girls.

"I'm so stupid. It's ALL my fault Sirius is dead!"

Severus remained quiet, though he shot a look towards the entryway behind him as Harriet became more emotional, her voice raising as her rant continued. He really hoped Molly was busy with her cooking, and not paying too much mind to what they were discussing. Briefly he wondered if he should have put up a privacy ward, but that would have been suspicious to the red-headed woman.

"I was so angry at myself, for my stupid curiosity! I resented you so much for being right about my dad! I couldn't understand how dad could be... a bully and still be a called a good person! My head was so twisted around, I didn't even think about going to you and asking you to check on Sirius! And now... Sirius is gone and even though he didn't see me either... even though he was as bad or worse then my cousin... I still miss him! Because I'm the stupid, little girl that no one loved... that I cling to anyone who cares about me even a little!"

Severus was at a loss as the girl broke into tears; choking sobs as she curled herself into a small little ball, burying her head in her arms while hugging her knees tightly.

He felt completely horrified that the girl had broken down before him of all people. That she poured out her heart to him, was completely mind-boggling.

And Severus had never felt more useless in his entire life as he watched the girl, wondering what to make of her guilt-ridden, self-loathing tirade.

In panic, he searched the furthest recesses of his mind for something to do or say. But touching her was completely out of the question. And every useless platitude he'd ever heard, simply refused to entice his vocal chords.

He could not bring himself to lie to lie to her.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, he came to the startling realization that Harriet had devoted a lot of time to actually thinking. That in doing so, she'd reached conclusions he doubted she would have ever thought of previously. And further, admitted them aloud, along with her mistakes.

Harriet Potter was maturing, and while a part of him was hopeful that she would stop being so reckless and impulsive; a part of him couldn't help feeling saddened that the girl with hardly a childhood, had already outgrown it.

As Harriet's began to quiet, Severus found the only response he could think to utter.

"I... don't hate you," Severus admitted through gritted teeth in very quiet tones.

Red-rimmed eyes focused on him for the first time, as Harriet quickly rubbed her fist beneath her glasses and fixed him with a confused gaze.

Severus glared at her for turning those tear-stained, emeralds on him and dragging this confession from him.

"You're a giant pain in my arse," he groused at her. "You make it incredibly difficult to look after your safety with your thoughtless heroism. I'm sure you could be brilliant, if you properly applied yourself, but you don't. You have potential, but you squander it, as youth does. But... I expect you'll grow out of that.

"No one is perfect, everyone makes mistakes. It is important to learn from them," Severus finished, looking at her meaningfully.

For a while, the girl merely blinked owlishly at him, her expression disbelieving. Severus was starting to become uncomfortable when finally, the tiniest of smiles tugged on the corners of her lips.

She opened and closed her mouth a couple times, but couldn't seem to decide on what to say. Finally, she shook her head and looked at him with amusement coloring her eyes.

"You said arse," she said with a slight snort.

Merlin save me from bloody teenagers, Severus thought as Molly Weasley called extremely loudly to her wayward spawn that lunch was ready.

He really hoped, that wasn't all she'd taken from what he'd said to her.

Before the girl disappeared into the kitchen, she very quickly and briefly wrapped her arms around him, causing him to stiffen.

"Thank you, Professor," she whispered in a small voice, before quickly beating a retreat.

For a moment, Severus merely stood there, wondering what the hell just occurred. Turning around, he felt his cheeks turn red when he saw Mrs. Weasley smiling at him gently.

"That's the first time I've seen her smile again."

But thy eternal summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st;
Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st;
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

-END-

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