Author's note
Dear readers,
Thank you for dropping by. I hope you enjoy. Your reviews are welcomed and cherished, always ;)
THE TOYS' TALE
Passing by his old bedroom, Severus takes a glance through the ajar door. It's a habit developed recently since the room received a new inhabitant.
Hearing the footsteps of the passer-by, said inhabitant half runs, half bounces to the door and peeks out:
"Sir?"
"What?"
"I found a box of toys under the bed. Can I play with them?"
"If the fact that you were sitting on the floor and searching in said box is anything to go by, I would imagine you are already playing with them."
The boy's eyes drop.
"What did I say about things that you might discover around the house?"
"Nottotouchthemuntilyouhavepermitted," he replies to the tops of his shoes.
"And which part of that confused you?"
"I'm sorry," he fidgets.
Severus pushes the door open and steps in. He doesn't have to use magic to determine what the things in the box are - they are toys. His toys.
"You should thank Merlin that they are indeed toys and not something dangerous that look like toys."
"I'm sorry, sir," the boy mutters, still to the tops of his shoes.
"I will let you off easily this time, but if you ever fail to follow that simple instruction again, expect a very long essay to write," Severus says sternly.
"Yes, sir."
Severus looks down at the mop of hair and the stiff little form and sighs to himself. He sits down on the edge of the bed and softens his voice:
"What do you mean you want to play with them? They are old and broken. Not to mention dirty."
"I'm sorry, sir. I will put them back to their place."
"I didn't mean that."
The boy timidly looks up:
"I can clean them."
"You definitely can, although it is beyond me why you would be so interested in a box of broken toys from more than two decades ago."
Emerald eyes blink.
"Two decades?"
"That's the distance between my age and yours."
Emerald eyes blink again.
"Are they yours?"
"They were. Are you not aware who owned this room before you?"
The boy nods, and then they both slide into awkward silence. After the clock has ticked away several seconds, Severus decides to take initiative.
"Scourgify."
A soap-like beam escapes the wand tip and dives into the dusty box. In no time the old toys come clean, although that still doesn't considerably improve their attractiveness.
Nevertheless, they are obviously attractive to the room's new dweller. He carefully shoots Severus an expectant look. Severus amusedly nods. Without delay, the boy drops himself to the floor again and continues exploring the box.
Severus looks around the room and registers for the first time that besides nutritions, a decent place to sleep, decent clothing and time to do homework, toys seem to be the next item on the list of the necessities that Harry was denied while in the care of Petunia. Having a Snape for a new foster father didn't help much in that regard either.
"Do you have a favourite toy?," Severus asks.
"My Nimbus 2000," Harry answers absentmindedly.
Severus facepalms. Like it or not, half of the blood flowing in his veins is from James bloody Potter.
"That is hardly a toy."
"I don't know. What is this, sir?"
He holds out an item from the box. Severus sighs:
"I have no idea. It's still beyond me why you are so interested in a box of old toys broken beyond recognition."
"I play with broken toys my whole life. Works just fine," he puts away the broken item, sticks out his tongue and continues the search.
Harry has no idea his words have just stabbed Severus in the chest. He opens his mouth to ask for a confirmation to his reasoning, but decides against it. It's unnecessary to bring up the boy's sad memories now and ruin the humble fun he is having.
"Do you know where these toys came from?"
Harry quits searching and turns around.
"When I was a child, my parents were very poor. They struggled to put food on the table. Toys never even made it to the list."
Harry listens attentively while his eyes keep blinking with curiosity.
"Once your mum got a fascinating new toy that she adored. She brought it to the park to show me. It was then that she discovered toys to me were an out-of-reach luxury. From that day on, whenever your grandparents bought new toys for your aunt and your mum, they made sure I have one as well."
A smile spreads on Harry's face at the mention of his grandparents.
"You grandparents - Mr and Mrs Evans - were the kindest Muggles I have ever known."
Severus bears the shame crawling through his being when he realizes how he has paid back to their kindness. He offended Lily's parentage - he offended Mr and Mrs Evans themselves. He joined the Death Eaters, of all things, and supported a cause that sought to suppress Muggles. He didn't so much as send flowers to their funerals and has never visited their graves either. On top of all that, he tormented their grandson only because he happens to be a Potter. How very grateful returns to the couple who cared to make sure he didn't make it through childhood without toys.
"What was the toy that my mum adored?"
"I don't remember any more. It has been more than twenty years."
"How about yours?"
"How about my what?"
"What is your favourite toy?"
"My potion lab."
That leaves the boy dumbstruck.
"You asked what is," Severus smirks.
"Oh. What was your favourite toy then?"
"My mother's potion lab."
Harry giggles.
"So you didn't like them?," he points at the toy box.
"I did. It's just that they were not my ultimate interest. My mother's lab was off limit most of the time anyway."
"Like it's off limit for me now?"
"Glad to know you are keeping that in mind."
Harry beams. Severus still hasn't got over the awkwardness of seeing children being happy around him.
"We can get you some new ones," he says dryly.
"Some new what, sir?"
"I believe we are being on the topic of toys."
Harry stares at his foster father with disbelief. A long silence later, he replies quietly:
"It's not necessary, sir. I don't need new ones. Toys are not that important."
"Are you explicitly in no uncertain terms rejecting my offer?"
Harry swallows, then nods.
"One hundred percent sure?"
Unknowingly, he starts playing with the seam of his shirt again.
"Quit acting. It's written all over your face."
Harry flushes but doesn't look up. Severus grabs his arm and gently stands him up.
"What's wrong?"
Still looking down, Harry shakes his head.
"If there is nothing wrong, then change your clothes. We can go today as I am having some spare time."
"But sir, today is not Christmas or my birthday or anything."
"Today is a random day on which I want to buy you new toys. Problem?"
It's almost funny watching an eleven year old stuck in the midst of his contradicting emotions.
"Can I still keep them?," he eyes the box of old broken toys.
"You do whatever you want with them."
A soft smile comes back to his face as he finds himself once again in Severus' half embrace.
"A friendly reminder though that by 'toys' I mean toys. We are not shopping for new broomsticks."
"I don't need a new broomstick. I have my Nimbus 2000."
"I am well aware of the brand of your broomstick Mr Potter. Now get prepared before we run out of time."
"You are mean but you are generous."
"Indeed."
Severus gently detaches the boy's arms from his neck so that they can depart on the first toy shopping trip ever in their lives.
Both of them.