EDITED o7/2o11
BETA: itachisgurl93
Chapter Three - But I Try to Open Up to What I Don't Know
It was late afternoon the next time Harry awoke and this time he knew immediately where he was. He sat up in bed wearily and blinked to reduce the fog covering his eyes, he'd fell asleep with his contacts in. Once his eyes were cleared, Harry heaved himself out of bed. His clothing which, if he said so himself, had been impeccable this morning were now wrinkled thoroughly.
With a bit of a sigh he pulled his jumper over his head and fished a tee-shirt out of the armoire. The jeans went next and were replaced by lose sweatpants. He immediately felt a small drop in temperature but he also felt more comfortable, Severus kept the house fairly warm after all. At the thought of the man Harry hesitated. He'd said a lot more than he probably should have that morning. What had he been thinking, telling the man he'd once tried to kill himself? He probably thought he was out of his flipping head by now and would sooner kick him out on the streets then have some unbalanced teenager staying with him.
Deep inside Harry knew that wouldn't be the case, Severus had been more of a parent to him in the last twenty-four hours then Lily had been in the last eight years and he had promised he wouldn't get mad… so maybe he'd let him stay?
Harry rubbed his temple in exasperation. This was giving him an unneeded headache.
Quietly, so as not to invoke the man's wrath if he was upset, he left the room and slowly went downstairs. The house was silent and Harry frowned. It didn't sound like anyone but he was there. He strained his ears to listen but there was nothing. Though feeling a little disappointed that Severus had left him here by himself, it was better than being kicked out and so he sucked it up.
A small cramp in his stomach focused his attention on the fact that he was starving, which was understandable, he hadn't eaten since last night after all. With a last glance around the empty front hallway Harry headed to the kitchen.
The light came on when he stepped in, a feature he hadn't noticed the day before or that morning, and he went straight to the refrigerator. After a quick inspection Harry knew Severus had all the means to make several different types of traditional meals, but he wasn't much in the mood for traditional. Instead he grabbed some bread, ketchup and two bananas and headed back to than counter. It took him a few moments to find the right cupboard and drawer that held the plates and knifes respectively but once he had them he set about making a sandwich to satisfy the odd craving he had. He ignored the fact that at any other time he would have found this disgusting and it was sure to make him throw-up later on because, honestly, he just really wanted it at the moment.
"That can't possibly be healthy." Harry jumped at the soft voice and turned to face his father who was eyeing his banana-ketchup sandwich with both amusement and mild disgust. Harry quirked a smile.
"Probably," he agreed easily and then paused. "Where were you?" he asked. Though he hadn't been paying close attention he knew he probably would have heard the front door opening and closing meaning the man had to have been in the house.
"My office," Severus gave is odd little shrug. "It's sound proof," he added after seeing Harry's curious look. The teen nodded and turned his back to continue making his sandwich.
Silence feel between them and it was the same sort of suffocating silence from the day before in the car, the kind of silence where both persons were nervous but were afraid to say something that would set the other off. This time, however, it was Severus who broke the overcast mood first. "I was making a few calls to some of my contacts still back in England."
Harry felt his body tense and almost winced at the overwhelming feeling of sadness that incased his heart. So that was it then, he was being sent back to England. This almost felt as bad as his last conversation with Blaise. Almost. "I requested that they get in touch with some of their friends in the legal system." Harry blinked and turned to frown at Severus who was still in the doorway and looking perfectly calm.
"Child abuse of any kind is not something I tolerate, Harry. Especially when it's aimed at my own son." Harry's lips parted in shocked surprise. That was unexpected, but before he could say anything Severus continued. "And I would also be most obliged if you'd give me the contact information to… Blaise's family. I'd like to have a conversation with his parents myself."
Harry had to physically restrain himself from outright gaping at the man now. "That's- I- you don't have to do that…" Harry protested weakly. Severus merely shook his head.
"Yes, I do." He stepped forward until he was right in front of Harry who refused to meet his eyes. "What happened to you was wrong, Harry," he stated with a certainty that shocked the boy. "From what was going on in that house with those…people," he spit out the word as if loathed to call them something so tame, "to what that boy did to you. His response, however, was typical of those who don't wish to face responsibility and I'm prepared to be a bit more lenient, if you wish me too, with him. But this will be settled, his parents will know and Lily and James… Lily and James will not be forgiven."
Harry was quiet, but inside, his mind was racing and his heart was thrumming. He'd never had someone take up for him like that. Slowly, he looked up to meet Severus's eyes. "You really mean it…" he said, searching, "don't you?" Severus's eyes softened.
"Yes."
The next instant he had his arms full of the boy who was his son. The boy was trembling and had his face buried in Severus's chest so the man just held him close.
"I can't change what's happened to you, Harry. Though I wish I could, I can't. But I will try my best to do right by you now. You won't want for anything while you're here and I will make those who hurt you pay." Gently Severus tilted the boys head up so he could look into the moist green eyes. "Snapes don't take kindly to threats to their family." The older man hesitated for a moment before he gently pressed a kiss to Harry's forehead. Harry sniffed and his face flushed with embarrassment but he gave a faint smile and inside his heart swelled with warmth.
Then his stomach rumbled and they both laughed.
-x-
After he'd finished eating Harry had went upstairs to finish unpacking and Severus joined him, after all, there was only so much he could have done last night before dinner and he'd been so tired afterwards he'd just went up, changed into pajamas and gone to sleep. "I don't have too many things," Harry said shifting through his one of the four suitcases he brought with him. "But I brought everything I had. I cleaned out my whole room except for the bed sheets and towels form back at James'. I even cleaned out my locker at school."
Severus raised an eyebrow and Harry blushed lightly. "I kept a lot of stuff in there," he defended and Severus just snorted and reached out to ruffle Harry's hair affectionately. Harry flinched a bit but didn't move away. Instead he stared doe-eyed up at Severus with a small smile.
"So what all did you bring?" the man asked.
"Er, clothes, underclothes, pajamas, trainers, shoes, boots, my sketch books, my notebooks and all my reading books. Everything."
"Hmm," Severus hummed eyeing the things Harry was unpacking and putting away. The clothes went in the armoire as did his footwear along the rack at the bottom. His notebooks and things went on the desk and his reading books were placed in the bookcase with care, answering one of the questions Severus had held about his son's personality.
"Do you like to read?" he asked just to be sure. Harry nodded.
"Sure, all sorts of things. I'm a fan of fiction, but if a non-fiction author catches my attention I'll read just about anything they write."
"Example?" Severus asked folding his arms and leaning against the doorway. He wasn't helping much at all he supposed but Harry seemed like he knew where he wanted everything.
The boy hummed in acknowledgement of his question before pulling down a paperback book he'd just placed on the shelf. "This is The Tipping Point, by Malcolm Gladwell (1), it's about how ideas and products and messages and behaviors spread like viruses. It's about the point in which something like…a television show or a book or…the rise in crime rate, becomes a social epidemic." Harry smiled.
"It caught my attention and I loved it and I started reading his other works like Blink, which for the most part talks about the power of first impressions and then I read a bunch of articles he wrote for the New Yorker." Harry trailed off for a moment as he looked at the book before smiling brightly.
"But I also really love the book World War Z by Max Brooks (2). That one was about zombies."
Severus started for several seconds before he started to chuckle. "You have very interesting taste."
"I like to think so," Harry smirked before he continued on with his unpacking, Severus pitching in when the mood struck him. It wasn't until he was almost finished that a thought occurred to Harry. "It's the middle of the week." he stated suddenly. Severus raised a brow.
"Indeed." Harry resisted the urge to roll his eyes.
"Why aren't you at work?"
Severus smiled slightly. "I took a few personal days. Trust me, I've saved up enough of them. I'll return once your transfer paperwork goes through."
"I'm going to the school you teach at?" Harry asked curiously.
"Would you prefer not to?"
Harry quirked a smile. "No, I don't mind. I'm just surprised is all." Severus nodded.
"Everything should be set by Monday, the headmaster is doing me a favor and making sure the paperwork goes through personally. Do you think you'll be ready to start on Monday?"
Harry bit his lower lip and smiled tightly. "No reason why I shouldn't be."
Severus considered him for a few moments. "You're not nervous?"
"I didn't say all that," Harry muttered as he put away the last of his sketchbooks into the drawers of his desk. "But… it's not like anyone will know unless I say something. It'll even still be a few months before it'll become obvious, so… I have nothing to worry about."
Severus stared. "But you are still worried." It wasn't a question and Harry gave him a sheepish look.
"Maybe a little. I don't want you…well, there's sure to be talk because I'm your son. I just…I don't want you to be embarrassed."
Severus smiled softly at him suddenly and beckoned Harry after him as he turned from the door. "Come here, I want to show you something." Harry frowned but followed after the older man. Severus only led him as far as the door next to him.
"I wanted to wait until you'd settled in a little more but…" Severus opened the door, flicked on the light and stood aside to allow Harry in. The boy stepped through the door and after a moment he realized what he was looking at. He looked sharply at Severus.
"I had all this delivered after I talked to Lily. I haven't gotten a chance to set it up yet of course and we can paint it an appropriate color in a few months."
Harry was silent as he walked slowly forward and looked around. The room was a bit smaller than his own and painted an off-white color. The window was large and the floors were, of course, hardwood, and scattered across it were large boxes, each with a picture on the side portraying what it was. One showed a picture of a bassinet, another of a changing table and still others had pictures of a dresser, a tiny armoire, a toy chest, and a shelf.
The only piece of furniture in the room that was actually set up was a rocking chair. It was white with a padded seat and looked to be made out of a wicker material. It was…lovely.
Harry blinked his eyes rapidly and turned to Severus with a watery smile. "Thank you," he said softly and Severus smiled back. He reached forward and pulled Harry into his side.
"I thought you needed to know. No matter what happens at school, you will always have a place here. I'm certainly not embarrassed to have you as my son, and when you walk through those doors, hold your head up high and don't let what anyone says get to you."
Harry looked over at the rocking chair and smiled.
A/N -
(1) This is a very real and very awesome book. I'm doing some shameless advertising for one of my favorite authors here. He's funny and actually has a good idea of what he's talking about.
(2) Another very real and very awesome book. Yes it is about Zombies and it's actually very, very realistic. In fact, I'm pretty creeped out whenever I read it and I do so like reading it.
By the way, there is really a rocking chair that I adore, if you want to see it the link is:
h t t p : / / b a b y c a r e n u r s e r y . c o m . a u / P r o d u c t _ D e t a i l . a s p ? P r o d u c t I D = 8 4 5 & P r o d u c t G r o u p I D = 7
