1. Playing with Trains
Draco was spending the day at the Zabini's. Even though Draco had been living with Severus for close to ten months now, he still spent a lot of time with the pureblood families that Lucius and Narcissa used to associate with. This was Draco's third play date this month. Severus felt bad, but Harry never attended any of these. One reason was that Severus didn't trust the boy with old death eater families, and, two, Severus truly didn't think the boy was ready to interact with other children yet. Harry had been living with him for close to four months, and, even though the boy had gotten used to the situation, there was still many things that made him uncomfortable. It wasn't that Severus kept the boy sheltered; Harry had been to the Weasley's house several times to play. The problem was the fact these play dates were with Draco's friends, and Severus didn't want Harry to relate Draco's friends to his bullying cousin's.
So, on days like today, the quarters were usually quite quiet. Harry didn't make much noise while he played, so this allowed Severus to work on school work or other such work. He did enjoy doing things with Harry, but the boy was usually quite content just playing by himself. The first time Draco went to play without Harry, Severus feared that Harry would have some kind of breakdown or throw a tantrum. Harry surprised him, though. He had merely given Draco a small wave and smile goodbye, and he played quietly the rest of the day. Severus figured that the boy enjoyed just being able to play, whether it be by himself or with others, because he had been denied for so long.
Now, Severus was reading one of his potions journals while Harry sat a few feet away playing with a train set. Harry had been quietly playing for about a half hour before he broke the silence. "Sev'vus, is Gramma Eileen coming over today?"
Severus set his journal down and stared at the green eyed boy who never looked up from his trains. "No, Harry. Gramma is busy today. It's Saturday, so she doesn't need to come over."
"Okay." Was Harry's answer and Severus went back to reading his magazine. His mother had moved to Hogwarts about a week after Harry had come to live with him. They had finally convinced her to leave Severus's horrible father, and she stayed with the boys everyday while Severus was teaching. She was not only their caretaker, but she was also their teacher. Harry would often ask him on the weekends if she would be coming over or not. She usually did, but Severus had asked her not to today, so he could spend the entire day with Harry.
"Sev'vus?"
"Yes, Harry?" Severus asked never looking up from his journal.
"Does magic power trains?"
Severus marked his place and set the journal on the side table with his reading glasses on top of it. "Some are, but most trains are not powered by magic."
"Well, which ones are powered by magic?" Harry asked turning his attention away from his toy trains.
"Well, the only one that I know of is the Hogwarts Express. The rest are powered by muggle means." Severus explained.
"Well, um, how are muggle trains runned?" Harry asked, grabbing ahold of his stuffed duck, Bill.
"Some are powered by coal, which is kind of like a rock, and some are powered by electricity," Severus explained.
Harry shuffled around on the floor before asking, "You've rode a train before right?"
Severus smirked while he nodded. "Harry, I was a student here, so I rode the train several times."
Harry's eyes grew wide with that knowledge. "Is it fun?"
"Yes, Harry. It was fun to ride the train," Severus told him.
"When…I mean…could I…could I ride the train?" Harry asked nervously. Harry was still nervous to ask for things, but he was much better than before.
"When you turn eleven, you and Draco shall both get to ride the train." Severus told the boy, but he frowned when he noticed the boy's look of disappointment.
"I have to wait a long time. That's really long, Sev'vus." Harry gloomily told the man.
Severus gave the boy a sympathetic look, but he was trying not to laugh at the situation. "Well, maybe Albus will give us permission before then. We shall have to ask him."
Harry perked up at that news. "Really? I wanna ride the train!" Harry exclaimed happily, but he suddenly looked fearful. "I'm sorry! I shouldn't ask for things like that!"
Severus sighed and mentally cursed the Dursleys. "Harry, you do not need to apologize for asking for something. I told you before, if you ask for something, and it is within reason, you will most likely get it. Now, tell me about these trains that you're playing with." Severus said, trying to change the topic.
Harry turned his attention back to his trains and studied them. Severus used the time Harry spent studying his trains to move from his chair to sit next to Harry on the floor. Severus noticed that the boy handled the toys with the upmost care, and the sight brought a smile to Severus's face. He knew that this behavior was most likely a result of his life with the Dursleys, but it reminded him so much of Lily. Harry pulled Severus out of his musings by holding up a small blue train in one hand and a slightly large green one in the other. He handed the green one to Severus. "That one is Draco's favorite, but you can play with it. My favorite is the blue one."
"I see. Well, would Draco mind if I played with this," Severus asked as he held the train delicately in his hand.
Harry shook his head as he placed his own train on the wooden track. "Draco won't mind. He shares his toys with me."
Harry said nothing more on the matter, and Severus decided not to push it. He placed his own train on the tracks and waited for Harry to make the first move. Harry started to push the train around on the track for a while, then looked up at Severus and said, "Sev'vus, you can push your train around the track, too. It's fun."
"Alright," Severus answered as he began to push his train around the track that Harry had constructed. They were both quiet at first, but, soon, they were both laughing. After playing for some time, Harry appeared to be getting tired and stopped pushing the train around. Severus also stopped and looked at the young boy. He was about to say something when Harry surprised him by leaning up against him. Severus pulled the boy close and gently stroked his messy hair. "Are you tired, Harry?"
Harry nodded and rubbed his eyes with one of his fists. "Can you read me a story?"
Severus placed a kiss on top of Harry's head and rose with Harry in his arms. "Which book should we read, Harry?"
Harry shrugged. "Can we read one about trains?"
Severus chuckled as they made their way to Harry's room. "Of course we can."
