Chapter Seven; A New Friend
Harry raced around the yard squealing with laughter and giggles. "Come back here mister!" Lily exclaimed playfully as she caught him inside her arms and held onto him tightly as she spun him around in the air and then flipped him upside down blowing a raspberry onto his tummy.
"Mummy stop it! That tickles!" Harry cried as he continued making high-pitched squeals. That's when all of a sudden he gasped as he saw an upside down version of Snape walking down the hill and coming towards them. "Mummy put me down, I want to play hide and go seek." He said.
"Alright, come on sweetheart." Lily began before she took a deep breath and breathed a rather heavy sigh before placing him back down on the ground. "Who's it first you or me?" she asked him as his eyes glanced over in Snape's direction and a large grin stretched onto his face.
"You!" he exclaimed. "Alright Mummy come and try to find me!" he cried before he quickly dashed into the bushes and Snape halted in front of her.
"There you are. Dumbledore said that you would be here." He said.
"Oh, so that's why_" Lily began with a sudden moment of realization while she shook her head and rolled her eyes. "What am I going to do with that boy?" she wondered aloud as she smiled and continued shaking her head before taking another deep breath.
"Please, I just wanted to talk to you for a minute that's all. I'm sorry we sort of got off on the wrong foot, and I want to try and get a chance to get to know you and your son a bit better." He began. "After all, it was his idea." He explained with a grin.
"Oh no, what did he say to you?" she asked him reluctantly with a groan and another roll of her eyes.
"Not much. He just wanted to give our relationship a second chance that's all." He told her while continuing to grin at her.
"Harry said that?" she questioned him with disbelief. "But that's impossible, he doesn't even know how to read yet let alone offer you some romantic advice." She said.
"Maybe you should teach him then, who knows? He might surprise you." He told her when all of a sudden Harry ran back out of the bushes again.
"Come on Mummy, you're supposed to try and find me!" he cried.
"Well you better go, you already know my opinion." Snape said before he started to turn around.
"Wait Severus!" Lily called as he stopped and turned to look back at her.
"Yes?" he questioned.
"Do you want to finish this conversation tonight? Perhaps we can go down to The Three Broomsticks and_" she began.
"You're going on a date!?" Harry exclaimed before he pulled his arm down through the air. "Yes!" he cried with a rather large grin.
"Harry!" Lily cried with sudden shock and astonishment as they both turned to look at him.
"Oops." Harry began. "You didn't hear that." He said before he covered his mouth and Snape raised an eyebrow at him. That's when Lily suddenly busted out laughing and even Snape couldn't help but grin.
"Out of the mouth of babes." He said simply.
…
Harry followed Snape into his office and Snape suddenly stopped and turned to look at him in a huff. "Is this going to become a regular thing with you?" he wondered with a roll of his eyes. "What are you even still doing up anyway? Shouldn't you be in bed?" he asked him.
"No, my mummy said that she would tuck me in once she finished getting ready. Then gone a gull would watch me while you went out." He explained as Snape thought for a moment.
"Oh I see, you mean McGonagall." He realized.
"That's what I said." Harry told him.
"I thought you told me that if I gave your mother a second chance you'd leave me alone." He began. "Now tell me, what's it going to take for me to get rid of you this time?" he wondered as Harry looked over at pointed to the corner of the room.
"I want you to tell me what that thing is." He said as Snape turned to look and saw a large mirror standing there.
"It's the mirror of Erised." He responded.
"Oh." Harry began. "What does it do?" he questioned.
"It shows you whatever you want, whatever makes you happy more than anything else in the world." Snape explained.
"Oh." Harry began again. "What makes you happy?" he asked him.
"Your mother I lo_" he began while Harry continued to gaze up at him blinking his sweet and innocent green eyes every so often. "Well it's rather complicated but she's the only one who's ever cared about me." He explained.
"No she isn't. I care about you." Harry told him.
"Listen Pot_ Harry," he began. "there's some things about my life that you don't understand. I'm a bad man." He told him.
"Would you ever hurt me?" Harry asked fixing his eyes on him.
"No, of course I wouldn't." Snape told him.
"Then would you ever hurt my mummy?" Harry wondered.
"Never." Snape responded.
"Then you don't sound like a bad man to me," Harry began with a simple shake of his head. "you just sound like someone who needs a friend. Like me." He told him as he smiled up at him.
"Hmm,.." Snape began with a smirk. "you're rather naïve aren't you Potter?" he questioned.
"No," Harry began with a pause and another shake of his head. "because I don't know what that means." He said as Snape stifled a laugh.
"Very well, I give up. Come on, let's get you back to your mother before she starts getting worried sick about you." He told him as he grinned and slowly bent down. Harry reached up his tiny little hand and waited for a few moments before Snape accepted it and they left the room together hand in hand. Lily greeted them at the door with a warm and loving smile, for she knew at that moment that the famous Harry Potter and the infamous Severus Snape had finally become friends.
