Paintings That Talk

The Headmaster's Tower

Harry was delighted when the funny-looking creature came for him in dungeon. They were called house elves and Harry had met the Slytherin house elf, Fry, last night before dinner. Fry woke him in the early morning and as soon as he was dressed they 'popped' to the Headmaster's tower. Harry giggled as he felt his insides tickling him when he arrived in the Headmaster's office.

The old man with the long beard was absent but all the portraits were there, and they waved, or even said hello to Harry.

"Come closer, young Master Potter," said a pretty portrait of a witch with raven-black hair that fell in gentle waves to her elbows.

Harry had not had a portrait address him before so he hesitated before stepping forward. "Hi, Ma'am." He spoke softly. He then recalled how The Shadow had bowed to the Headmaster so he made a little bow to the woman in the portrait.

She clapped, as several other ex-Headmistresses did, and Harry beamed. "What a polite little wizard!" The woman rose and graciously curtsied. "I am Dame Phyllida Spore, and you must be the Harry Potter we've been hearing about."

"I'm the only Harry Potter I know," stated Harry. He received a few chuckles so he smiled shyly.

"How do you like our castle, Master Potter?" asked the portrait of a tall man with red hair and an equally red, pointy beard that curled stylishly at its point.

"It's great. Did you know there are ghosts here? A real spooky one came to the Slytherin common room last night and he was all silver with silver blood on his chest," informed Harry.

"The Bloody Baron," intoned a third portrait. The Headmaster in that one wore a green robe, had black hair, and a mustache and small, pointed beard that made him look like a devil. "You don't sound like you were properly frightened, boy."

"Well, I was, when I first met him but then Sha… I mean Professor Snape introduced us and he was actually kind of nice. The ghost has an odd accent but I understood him."

The red haired Headmaster spoke haughtily, "A fib! The Bloody Baron has never spoken."

Harry scowled. He did not notice the devilish looking Headmaster smirking knowledgeably. "He did too! When he came back after Professor Snape left the ghost spoke to me and we talked about all sorts of things like sword fights and damsels that needed rescuing. He was a knight, you know."

The sinister Headmaster in robes as black as The Shadows spoke softly to Harry, "The Baron chooses only Slytherins to speak to, young wizard. Therefore, you are a Slytherin."

Harry was about to reply but a beautiful melody filled the air and wrapped itself around him like warmth. Harry smiled serenely. He turned towards the sound and was greeted by a bird almost as tall as himself with feathers of red/orange fire, and gold. Harry felt a yearning within to touch the bird and even though it had a beak that could take his hand off he stretched his hand out and the bird remarkably bowed its head and allowed the small boy to stroke its crest. Harry felt a shiver of giggly delight that he was permitted to touch the beautiful bird.

"Fawkes likes you, my child," spoke the Headmaster.

Harry, caught completely off guard dove under the nearest piece of furniture which was a desk near the bird. He had curled up and covered his head. Moments later a hand was gently stroking his back.

"Shh, Harry. It is all right. It is just me, Albus. I am sorry for frightening you." The boy slowly unfolded himself. "There you are." The Headmaster smiled and extended his hand towards Harry.

"M'sorry, Sir," Harry mumbled as he pushed himself out of his hideaway. He had not taken the hand of assistance the Headmaster had offered.

"There is no need to be sorry at all, Harry. Come, I ordered up a nice breakfast for us. Professor Snape will be joining us shortly," said Albus. His voice was constant, a soothing tone that served to put Harry at ease. He directed the boy over to a round table where there were several dishes covered by silver domes. Harry's eyes lit up as the Headmaster revealed bacon, sausage, pancakes, butter, syrup, cubed fruit, and carafe of various juices and one pot of coffee.

"Sit down, child, and help yourself."

"Are you sure, Sir?" asked Harry with hesitation.

"Very. This is all for you."

"Thank you, Sir!" Harry lifted a pair of tongs and grabbed several pancakes, then lots of butter, and syrup. In moments he had a plate a diabetic would lose consciousness over.

Albus chuckled as he poured the boy a glass of pomegranate juice. Harry shook his head. "That's really tart, Sir. Shad… um… Professor Snape likes it."

"Ah," nodded the old man in understanding. "What sort of juice would you prefer?"

Harry studied each of the carafe's of juice and then pointed at one that looked like watery, milky light-brown mud with an edge of pale-red to it. "What's that one, Sir?"

"Apple juice*. Fresh pressed this morning by the house elves." Albus poured some into a new glass for Harry, handed it to him, and he took an experimental swallow. He grinned. Albus returned the smile. "You approve, Harry?"

"I like it!" Harry swallowed down more of the juice.

Albus floated over a bowl of cubed fruit as he poured more apple juice into Harry's glass. As he put the refreshed glass in front of the boy a brown clay bottle of his potion arrived and settled beside the juice.

"A little fruit and don't forget your Nutrition Potion, Harry. Severus would be displeased if I forgot," chided Albus.

For several minutes they both enjoyed their breakfast. Halfway through the Headmaster spoke up. "I must confess something to you, Harry." Harry had taken a large bite of his pancakes so he could only look at the elder wizard while he chewed his food. "I truly thought your relatives would do their best by you. I have found as I have grown older that I am oblivious to the darker side of human nature."

Harry swallowed his food. "Aunt Petunia hated my mum. She said she was born an 'evil freak'."

Albus was shocked. "Harry, I am so sorry I left you there… had I…"

"S'okay," said Harry so nonchalantly Albus could detect that it was not all right. Thinking of his relatives had soured Harry's appetite. He stabbed at his pancakes but did not push the plate away. "Why didn't you ever come and visit, Sir?" he accused sharply. "I didn't even know about you… this world."

"I have no excuse for you, Harry. I should have visited, or had someone else check on you. I truly did think…"

"Well, you were wrong." Harry pushed away from the table and went over to the bird, Fawkes. He wondered what the magnificent bird was but that thought was fleeting as his memory showed him all the times he made wonderful breakfasts for the Dursleys and he had been left with barely a few scraps.

Albus sighed heavily. Lily Evans had easily stolen his heart the first time he saw her in the Great Hall as a child. He had seen a spark in her that he had not seen in any other child before. Lily was intelligent, but she had the capacity for a large heart. Albus knew he often saw her as an unblemished child, just as he had done so with James Potter, and his friends. A favouritism that Severus never tired of scolding the older man about. Albus knew he had seen much of his life through rose-coloured glasses, and he had made very many prejudicial judgements. Those judgements had hurt Severus who had forgiven him, but not without a price. After all, Severus was a Slytherin and nothing was ever 'up front' with them.

Severus had also made bad decisions but in the end he had turned to the only man that could help him. Albus, at one time, had not looked favourably upon the skinny, sullen boy, but as each had grown older and learned more about each other, and their respective flaws, they had grown close.

Albus had been correcting many mistakes of the past but he was still a foolish, old man and his mistake had injured another small boy who might not be as forgiving as Severus Snape. And that was not saying very much in regards to the younger man's forgiving nature; he rarely did forgive. Anyone.

"Harry… please?" The child took a deep breath before turning just enough to reveal the glimmer of tears in his eyes. Albus was an old man, and it was no longer an easy thing for him to kneel down upon one knee, but he left his chair, and forced himself to bring himself level to Harry. "I was wrong, child. I relied upon memories of the past and never thought to discover if those memories were right or wrong. You suffered for my neglect and I am so very sorry." Harry's gaze was still hard, pained, and Albus' knees were screaming arthritically to him. "I do not ask your forgiveness, Harry, but would you allow me to do right by you now?"

The breath Harry drew into his body caused him to shudder, and that was all he would reveal of his hurt and anger. "You'll let me stay here?"

Albus stretched out his hand to brush the small boy's cheek. Harry flinched but did not step backwards. The Headmaster smiled. "Of course you will stay."

At that moment Severus, as neat as a pin and as formal as the teacher he was, stepped through green flames and into the Headmaster's Tower. Once more Harry was startled but instead of hiding under the furniture he had latched onto the older man; a sign of beginning trust.

"Albus! Whatever are you doing on your knees?" Severus chided but strode over to help the old man to stand. "Lean on Harry. Harry, take the Headmaster over to the breakfast table. I need to Summon a potion for Albus."

"Okay, Professor Snape." Harry agreed quickly and helped the older wizard back to the breakfast table. Even though Albus tried not to lean heavily upon the boy Harry thought the adult felt like a dried twig.

Moments later Severus had a pinkish potion in a glass bottle that ended in a bulb that he handed to Albus. "All of it, Albus. This will ease the pain and return a bit of your mobility."

Harry was hovering over the older man, and he laid his hands on Albus' forearm. "I'm sorry for being annoying and hurting you, Sir."

Albus cupped the boy's cheek. "No, no, no, dear. You have nothing to apologise for. Let's both start anew and put the past where it belongs." He glanced up at the Potions Master. "Severus, let's all have breakfast first and then we shall discuss with Harry his future."

Severus sat down and while Harry was scooping some scrambled eggs onto his plate, the wizard greeted him, "Good morning, little Magpie. Did you sleep well last night?"

A sigh of pleasure at hearing his nickname of affection eased the child. He smiled, and replied, "G'morning, Shadow. I slept real good last night…"

"Very well…" corrected Severus.

"I slept very well," Harry smiled. He then addressed Albus. "Professor Snape gave me some… No Dreaming Sleep potion last night…"

"Dreamless Sleep Potion," Severus smoothly corrected. "I have been experimenting with toddler-sized dosages of adult potions. "Harry kindly agreed to be a test subject." He nodded to the boy. "No dreams, then, Harry?"

Harry shook his head as he ate a piece of bacon. "I did sleep kind of long, though. Aunt Petunia tells me to get up at six to start my chores. The house elf that woke me told me it was 8am."

"What chores do you do?" asked Severus as he poured himself a cup of the steaming hot coffee.

"Well I always have to clean the house, and make the beds but I only have to clean Dudley's bathroom every other day. Breakfast is first, though. I make breakfast because I'm a good cook." Harry took a breath, swallowed a gulp of apple juice, and poked at his fruit with his fork. "The vacuuming is the last thing I do and then I go work outside. Once a week is lawn mowing day, once a week I water the trees, and the garden always needs something… pulling weeds, removing dead buds from the plants, aerating the soil, planting. I'm a busy boy. Do you want me to clean your room, Professor Snape?" Harry politely waited for a sincere answer.

Severus and Albus were both stunned at the large amount of daily chores Harry had blithely related to the two men. He spoke as though his "slavery" for the Dursleys was normal. Severus sipped at his coffee and dearly wished to pour a dram of whiskey into it. Albus had simply stopped eating.

"You do this daily, child?" asked Albus softly.

Harry hesitated. He was just now picking up the vibe of the two adults having been disturbed by what he'd said about his chores. "Aunt Petunia says that "idle hands are the devil's playthings". She can't have me "wasting space" and not contributing to her family."

"Your family," Albus whispered, and knowing at once he should not have said a thing.

Harry glowered for just a moment, then spoke, "My Aunt and Uncle both have told me that my family is dead. I'm an orphan."

Severus tossed his napkin to the table. "I have lost my appetite, Albus. Let us speak to Harry of the future."

"Quite so, my boy." He Summoned a rolled up scroll from his desk. He then had the dishes for himself and Severus but Harry was still eating. "Harry, there is no need for you to end your breakfast but if you don't mind Severus and I shall tell you what we have decided."

"I don't get to stay here?" Harry asked both men worriedly.

"You do stay," replied Severus. "However, I was hoping you might agree to stay with me."

Harry eyed the Potions Master who now sat nervously, ram-rod straight. He smiled shyly, his own nervousness peeking out. "With you, Shadow? Did you want me to cook and clean for you?"

"Oh… well, you would have chores but tailored more to what a four... hm nearly five year old boy ought to do. Such as keep his room clean, set the table for meals, keep his things in his room…" began Severus. Harry was not understanding and frowned in puzzlement with each thing Severus listed. "Harry, would you like to be my son?"

Harry was terribly, awfully quiet. He was almost afraid to reply on the off-chance he had not heard what The Shadow asked of him. Pushing his plate of breakfast away he purposefully sat upon his hands because they were sweating all of a sudden.

"Son? Shad… erm, Professor…? You want to be my f-father?" Harry asked so softly.

"If you wish, Harry," smiled Severus with just a small quirk up at the corner of his mouth.

Harry's green eyes sparkled. "We'd be a… a… family! You'd have someone and I'd have someone. YES! Oh yes, please, Shadow! I want to be your son!" Not able to sit still another second Harry jumped up from his chair and threw himself at the Potions Master so hard he nearly knocked him backwards. He whispered in the man's ear. "I'd be your Magpie forever and always?"

"And, I would be your Shadow." Without thinking of what he was doing, he kissed the small boy's smooth forehead. Harry threw his arms around The Shadow's neck and kissed his cheek.

"My Shadow," he sighed.

"My little Magpie," smirked Severus as he felt the joy of knowing Harry wanted to be his warmth flowed along his cold blood.

Albus clapped his hands as Severus caught the boy, and held onto him tightly. "That is settled then! Harry? Severus? Let's make this formal now." He unrolled the paperwork from the Ministry of Magic.


a/n: *Raw Appple Juice that has been freshly pressed tends to look a bit cloudy and muddy but it is ever so delicious!