So, not a huge chapter, but I was writing all day so I decided to stay up and finish the chapter there. I've also started a new story with the promised outtake scene/s of the Dursley's week at the farm, so there's that to read as well.
I forgot to mention in my other update that this author will soon be the proud owner of a Wizard's Collection Box Set, which is really exciting and I can't wait because OMG! It's so cool :) I can't wait to get a look at the production sketches, extended features and maps of Hogwarts which come with it!
As always, not mine, just my sandbox.
The craziness of the Weasley household when they were running late was distressing to Harry. Everywhere he looked, there was another person running around or yelling or throwing something. He had packed his stuff up quietly, after spending the night in Ron's room, talking about all the things that they were looking forward to about being back at Hogwarts. He'd been sitting, feeling lost, in the lounge room for about ten minutes, wondering how to be useful.
"Harry, we're getting in the car now," Mr Weasley said, poking his head through the door. Mr Weasley stopped for a moment, looking at Harry and how his bag was sitting at his feet. "Are you alright, son?"
"Yes sir," Harry said.
Mr Weasley laughed. "You don't have to call me sir, Harry. Mr Weasley or even Arthur is fine."
Harry smiled and nodded, "Thanks, Mr Weasley."
Mr Weasley looked at Harry with a sympathetic expression and then turned his head as he heard Mrs Weasley call for him. "I better go see what Molly wants. Can you take your bag out to the car and then stay out there near the car? It'll help if we can keep everyone out there so that we're all together."
"Okay," Harry said, picking up his bag. He slipped the strap of the bag over his shoulder and walked out of the lounge room door after Mr Weasley. As he came out of the door, Ginny rushed past him, screaming at George about something. Harry shook his head and followed her down the hallway, though he turned so that he was going out of the front door. When he got to the blue Ford Anglia, which Ron had told him could fly, he dropped his bag next to the boot. Since there was no one else at the car, Harry boosted himself up to sit on the trunk.
Ron was the first to appear, lugging Hermes' cage and muttering under his breath. He dumped his trunk with Harry's bag and placed Hermes' cage up on top of the trunk next to Harry. "Are you the only other person ready?"
"Apparently," Harry said with a smile. Ron snorted and then sat on top of his trunk.
Twenty minutes later, all the Weasleys had made it to the car and all the luggage was packed. Mrs Weasley had spent those last minutes rushing around, stressing about the fact that they were running late, but everyone else seemed much more laid back than they'd been half an hour before. The drive to London was quiet, with Ginny falling asleep on Mrs Weasley's lap and Fred and George reading out of Gilderoy Lockhart's book in comedic voices.
Harry shook himself back to full wakefulness as they approached Kings Cross Station, threading through traffic. Once there, Mrs Weasley started bossing everyone around and instructing them to get their stuff and look after all their things. "Fred and George, look after Ginny, Percy, go first and make sure everyone gets on the train," Mrs Weasley instructed. The boys nodded and Fred and George moved so that they were flanking Ginny.
Once they reached the barrier, Percy went through first with his owl on the trolley. Fred and George took Ginny through and Mrs Weasley gestured that Ron and Harry should follow the adults through before going through with Mr Weasley. Once Mr and Mrs Weasley had gone through, Harry nodded and Ron and they walked together up to the barrier, making sure to stay casual looking. They'd picked up a little speed to go through and so, when they hit the now solid brick wall, it was enough of a shock to make them let go of the trolleys. Ron's almost hit one of the waiting trains and Harry's tipped over next to the barrier, spilling his bag onto the cement.
"What the?" Ron said, looking up from where he'd fallen on the floor. "Why can't we get through?"
"I don't know," Harry said, rubbing his knee. "Isn't it supposed to stay open? Why isn't it letting us through?" Harry looked over and saw the clock strike 11 o'clock. "Oh no, the train's gone. It leaves at 11, it's gone, we're not getting to Hogwarts, Ron, what are we going to do?"
"Harry, if we can't get through, then are my parents going to be able to get back?" Ron asked. Harry looked at him with wide eyes, breathing fast. He couldn't be late to Hogwarts, Severus would think he was going to run away, and last time they'd talked he'd still been angry. Couldn't happen.
"Your parents will come back. They have to. They can Apparate, can't they? They'll know we didn't get on the train and they'll come find us." Harry got up, pulling Ron to his feet and grabbing his bag. "Get your trunk, we'll go sit by the car and wait for them."
"Harry, the car," Ron breathed. "It flies. The twins took it out before you came. We could fly to Hogwarts."
Harry's eyes widened as he considered the crazy idea. It would be dangerous, and rash, and all those things Severus was always telling him not to be. But maybe, if they got to Hogsmeade before the train, then no one would know they were missing. Or that they'd missed the train. "Yeah, let's do that. Come on, Ron, we can catch the train."
Ron and Harry rushed out of the station, ignoring the odd looks from the security guards. Once they reached the car, they loaded their luggage into the boot and Ron sat in the driver's seat. Once he'd started the car, he hit a button on the dash and the car started to float upward. Harry looked at the car in amazement, still trying to comprehend all that magic could do. It wasn't until they were ten feet off the ground that Harry remembered. "Um, Ron, Muggles aren't really used to seeing floating cars."
"Oh, right, it's got an Invisibility Booster. Just hit that button there," Ron said, pointing to a button on the dash in front of Harry. Harry hit it, watching the car around him in shock as it turned invisible before his eyes. Even after using the Invisibility Cloak, it was still freaky to watch things completely disappear around him. The car went higher still, until they were so high that London looked tiny.
"Okay, so all we have to do is fly over the station and then find the track that the train uses. If we're careful, we should be able to catch the train and get to Hogwarts at the same time as the train," Harry said happily. "Oh, there's the train!"
"Yeah, it'll be awesome. And we'll have a great story to tell at school," Ron said, steering the car so that it was over the track.
"Or not," Harry said. "I don't know about your Mum but Severus will go absolutely spare if he finds about this," Harry reminded Ron. "And I'd like to live through the rest of this week."
"Oh yeah," Ron said. He looked over at Harry and gave him a sheepish look. "We can't tell my Mum either. She'll be even worse."
"So we don't tell anyone, deal? As far as anyone knows, we were on the train, but none of our friends saw us," Harry said.
"Deal," Ron agreed. Suddenly, the car flickered and then reappeared around them. "Oh, no!"
"What's going on?" Harry said, hitting the Invisibility Booster. When the car didn't go invisible again, Ron drove the car into a cloud bank, masking it from view.
"The Invisibility Booster must be faulty. We'll have to stay in the clouds. I'll go a little higher," Ron said. He accelerated so that the car's nose tilted upwards and sooner than Harry thought, they were through the cloud bank and into the bright sunshine. They stayed that high for a while, talking about how jealous their friends were going to be when they got to Hogwarts and told them about it. The conversation started off a little awkward but soon both boys were laughing and joking. They checked the train every hour, making sure that they hadn't lost the path.
They'd been flying for a few hours when Harry realised that it wasn't the most comfortable way to travel. His mouth was dry and his t-shirt was sticking to his chair with sweat in the bright sun. Ron seemed to be uncomfortable as well and his next check on the train was sooner than the one before. Harry's eyebrows raised when the car started to whine, sounded sick.
"It's probably just tired," Ron said. "It's probably never been this far before..."
Harry was looking sideways at Ron in worry when he spotted the turrets of the castle on the horizon. "Look, Ron, we're almost there," Harry said, pointing. Ron breathed a sigh of relief and dropped the car lower.
"My brother's told me that there's nothing around Hogwarts for miles, because of the Muggle-Repelling Charms. So we'll be safe flying a little lower for the rest of the trip," Ron explained. Harry nodded enthusiastically, worried about the whine that was growing louder. Surely it wouldn't be too long to Hogwarts.
The whine had grown so loud that Harry and Ron couldn't talk, and it was dark outside, when Harry realised that they were flying over Hogsmeade station. Ron had the Anglia pointed over the gates that were looming in front. Harry guessed that it was late enough that they hadn't managed to beat the train, but hopefully they weren't running too late. He was just thinking about how they would manage to sneak into the Feast when the engine stopped whining.
"Ron..." Harry said. He didn't get the chance to finish his sentence as the car suddenly dropped towards the ground. "Watch that tree!"
Ron swore as the car scraped the top of one tree and then slammed into another. He pulled out his wand and tapped the dash, commanding the car to start. Harry heard a strange sound and turned to look just in time to duck as a branch came flying through the front windshield. It just missed him and he stared as it withdrew from the car for another strike.
"Start, start, start, start!" Ron was yelling, banging the dash with his wand. Harry was just about to tell him to give up when Ron's wand snapped in two, leaving the other boy wide eyed with shock. Ron yelled as another branch punched through his window, barely missing impaling him. "Harry!" Harry reached back to the pet cages on the back, hearing Hermes screeching in owlish terror and Scabers squealing. He could reach Hermes to let him out and another branch attacked rocked the car, throwing Harry against his door. He tried opening it, meaning to jump from the car, but it wouldn't opened. He'd just spun around to kick it open with his legs when the car suddenly fired to life again. It shot backwards out of the tree, just as a huge branch came crashing down onto the front of the car.
Harry yelped as he bumped his head and then squealed as the car seats tipped, ejecting them roughly. Harry hit the ground with a groan and rolled over quickly, eyes watching for tree branches.
"Harry?" Ron yelled from where he'd fallen.
"I'm alright," Harry called back, picking himself up off the ground. He walked over to where the car had dropped the bags before driving itself off and picked up his. He checked on Scabbers in his cage and gave him to Ron when Ron came over to him. Hermes' cage had burst open as it landed and he'd flown away, screeching angrily.
"What the hell was that?" Ron asked.
"I don't know. I'll ask Dad later. But now, I think we'd best get inside before any more of the trees decide to, I don't know, KILL US!" Harry finished in a yell, starting to freak out just a little bit.
Ron looked at him, pale and eyes wide, and then nodded. "Yeah, we should go in. We're missing the feast."
They scrambled up the hill to the castle, where the Great Hall's brightly lit windows cast squares of light on the ground. Ron asked Harry if they could stop and have a look, to see if they'd missed the Sorting yet. Harry gave Ron a boost up to the window ledge and then clambered up after him.
"Look, she's sitting under the hat, right now," Ron said.
"Where do you think she'll get Sorted?" Harry asked Ron.
"Well, Gryffindor, of course," Ron said, looking at Harry strangely.
"You don't think Slytherin?" Harry asked. "Ginny's pretty sneaky and she's ambitious too. She might like it in Slytherin."
Ron gave Harry a look that told him he should shut up, immediately. Harry shrugged and looked back into the Hall.
"Severus isn't in the Hall," Harry breathed. Ron looked at him weirdly and then paled as he realised.
"He wouldn't be looking for you, would he?" Ron asked.
"No, of course not," An icy voice drawled. "He's not at all concerned that his son and his young friend have been missing for five hours and are now sitting outside the Great Hall they are meant to be inside." Harry looked at Ron in dread before turning around to see his Dad standing behind them with arms crossed and a very unimpressed look on his face.
"Inside, now," Severus hissed. He pointed towards the doors to the castle and stood aside until the two boys had started walking toward the doors. He didn't say a word as they walked into the castle and through the Welcome Hall. "I'm sure neither of you need directions to my office," Severus said when they looked to him for directions.
"No sir," Harry said, rolling his shoulders back anxiously as he walked down the stairs into the dungeons. Ron had to stop to look around but Harry led the way to the office that was Severus'. The décor hadn't changed, though it was missing the huge piles of paperwork that had possessed it all last year.
"Sit. Down," Severus said, haltingly. Harry sat quickly, looking at his knees. "I have seen hundreds of stupid stunts committed by students over my years as Head of Slytherin, but this has to the most idiotic, foolhardy thing I have ever seen a student do. What on Earth possessed you?"
"It wasn't, we didn't mean it, the barrier," Ron started to explain but Severus cut him off with a hiss and a held up hand.
"What did you do with the car?" Ron gulped and looked Harry quickly. "Nothing to say?" Severus asked dangerously. Harry shook his head. "You were seen," Severus hissed, holding up a newspaper. MUGGLES BAFFLED BY FLYING FORD ANGLA read the headline. Harry cringed and shrunk down in his chair. "Six or seven Muggles in all saw a flying blue car and reported it to Muggle authorities. Imagine the Ministry's surprise when they realised that the car in question belonged to one of their own; Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office, isn't it, Mr Weasley?"
"Dad, we," Harry started, only to be interrupted by his Dad hissing, "Silence!"
"I have never been more disappointed in any two students. Why would you have even thought that flying that car would be a good idea? And driving it into the Whomping Willow? What were you thinking?" Severus asked, pacing behind his desk.
Harry thought about trying to explain again but didn't know if his Dad would let him talk. When Severus lent against the desk and crossed his arms, obviously waiting for an answer, Harry risked trying again. "The gate wouldn't let us through. We couldn't get onto the platform and the train left," He explained.
"So, instead of waiting for Mr and Mrs Weasley to return, you decided to fly a car to Hogwarts?" Severus asked, his voice deadly calm.
"Sir, I think, well, we panicked. We thought that our parents wouldn't be able to get back through the barrier and Harry was freaking out," Ron explained.
Severus eyebrow raised sceptically. "Percy Weasley informed his parents that he'd left his owl behind in the car. We found his cage out on the lawn as well as your luggage. Did you not think to, I don't know, send him with a letter? Or wait, and see if your parents returned?"
Both boys remained silent, knowing that there wasn't really a good answer to the question. "Indeed," Severus said. He looked away and shook his head, looking more disappointed than Harry had ever seen him. He was prevented from saying anything more by a knock at the door. "Enter."
The door opened to admit Professors McGonagall and Dumbledore. Professor McGonagall was tight-lipped, looking so angry Harry was almost scared of her. Professor Dumbledore's emotions didn't show on his face, but Harry guessed that he was disappointed as well. "Oh, Severus, thank goodness you found them," Professor McGonagall said.
"Safe and sound," Severus drawled, glaring at both of them. "Since I am rather biased when it comes to Harry, Professor McGonagall will be the one deciding your punishment. Though, I must admit, expelling the both of you would be very satisfying right now."
Ron looked up at the angry expression on Professor McGonagall's face. "I guess we'll go get our stuff then."
"And why would that be, Mr Weasley?" Professor McGonagall asked.
"Because if Professor Snape wants to expel us, then you probably do to," Ron explained.
"Well, first, Professor Dumbledore and I would like to hear the story, from the start," Professor McGonagall said.
Harry let Ron explain, noticing that Professor Dumbledore's expression had turned grave after taking in the sight of the two boys. When Ron had finished, Professor McGonagall looked disbelieving and Professor Dumbledore looked even more solemn.
"This was a grievous infraction of both the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Magic and the International Code of Wizarding Secrecy," Professor Dumbledore started. "And while I know that Professor McGonagall will definitely be able to assign a punishment that is suitable to this act, I would like to add that I am very disappointed in you and that you will both be on very thin ice this year. Any more wilful rule breaking, and I'm sorry, but I will have to insist on your expulsion," Dumbledore finished. Harry cringed and looked back down at his knees, wondering if he could possibly feel any worse. He nodded to both of the teachers and left the office.
"I am highly disappointed in both of you. I thought that you, at least, Harry, might have gained some wisdom from living with your Dad. Instead, I find that you are still making rash decisions and putting yourself in immeasurable danger," Professor McGonagall said. "For punishment, you will have a week of detention and you will write letters of apology to every person who was put in distress by your actions tonight. Mr Weasley, I'll be writing to your parents tonight, and I'll expect they'll have something to say about it as well." Ron had shrunk down in his chair with a groan. "Now, Mr Weasley, did you realise that you're bleeding?"
"Wha-, no," Ron said, putting his hand to his head and then looking at it. "Oh, look at that."
"To the hospital wing, Mr Weasley. Madame Pomfrey will give you a plate of food from the Feast when you go up. Mr Potter-Snape, I'm leaving you to the tender mercies of your Dad. Whether he adds any punishments to mine are his decision, but they won't be with the authority of a teacher." Harry got the feeling that this last was a reminder to his Dad, who had been standing stock still against his desk since the other Professors had entered the room. Ron seemed to sense his dismissal and stood up, getting to his feet.
"Goodnight, Professor Snape, Harry," Professor McGonagall said, holding the door for Ron to exit.
"Of all the stupid, crazy things to do," Severus muttered after the door closed. He was still tense and apart from a glance upwards, Harry didn't feel much like moving from his seat. "You're grounded for a month. You go to class, you go to detention and you go to meals. Then you come back to our quarters and you do your homework and you go to bed. You get no visitors, even if it's Lupin and you don't go to visit anyone either."
Severus looked up to check if Harry understood and Harry nodded quickly. "I understand. I'm sorry."
"Trixie has probably put food in my quarters for you. If she hasn't, call for her and she'll fetch you some. I need to go see to my House," Severus said, pointing at the door into their quarters. Harry stood up, rubbing at his jeans nervously and then stepped forward to hug his Dad quickly around the waist. Severus' hand came down to rest on his head briefly and then his Dad stepped to the side, disengaging from the hug. "Go eat, Harry, I'm sure you're hungry." Harry nodded and then walked quickly through the door into their quarters.
Aiko greeted him with a loud miaow from the lounge and curled around his legs as he walked into the familiar room. He noticed the plate of food on the table, obviously Trixie's work, before he spotted something different on the bookcase. He walked over to it, wondering why the photo frames had changed, when he realised what it was he was looking at. Where previously there had been multiple photos of Severus and Lily or frames containing quotes that Harry didn't know, there was now three photos of Harry. The first frame had a picture that Harry thought Professor McGonagall may have taken, of Harry and Severus playing chess in the Great Hall last Christmas. The second was Harry and his friends on the last day of school, waving from the train. The third was one Harry hadn't seen yet, a candid taken over the summer. Harry and Severus were sitting on his bed at the farm, both heads bent over the photo album that Hagrid had made for him, filled with pictures of his parents and Severus. Harry hadn't even noticed Lupin taking the photo.
His stomach growling tore his attention from the picture and he grabbed the plate of food from the table. He thought briefly about sitting at the table but decided against it and curled up on the couch instead. There, he picked at his food, drinking in the magical atmosphere of Hogwarts. It was comforting and strange all at the same time, bringing back all the comforting memories from the last school year.
Harry had been sitting there in silence for almost an hour when the door to their quarters opened and Severus came in. Harry lifted his head from where it leant sleepily on the lounge arm, and looked questioningly at his Dad. "There are 12 new Slytherins this year. Eight girls and four boys. Abigail, the one in your year, she didn't come back. Apparently, her family moved to Italy over the summer and she is attending a school there. Theodore asked after you. You are not to let him gloat over the car. If I hear him gloating, he'll join you in detention," Severus finished threateningly.
"I won't. I know it was stupid. Actually, I think I knew it was stupid before we even did it," Harry said. Severus raised his eyebrow and gave Harry a derisive look.
"I'm not even going to touch that one until I've eaten. If you're tired, you should go to bed," Severus said.
"I'm not that tired, really. Just kind of quiet," Harry explained. Severus fixed him with a look and Harry realised why his Dad was saying it. "But you want me to go to bed. Because you're angry with me."
Severus looked away as Harry finished talking. "Harry," Severus began.
"No, it's alright, I'll go. Maybe I am tired after all," Harry said. He stood up from the couch and stooped to pick up Aiko. "Can I have Aiko for the night?"
"If she'll stay with you," Severus said, sounding defeated. "I'll come in and check on you once I've eaten."
Harry nodded and walked into his bedroom, dumping Aiko on the bed. He smiled when he saw his trunk on the floor next to his bed and the bag that he'd taken to the Weasleys on top of his trunk. He dug into it to pull out his pyjamas and changed into them quickly, wincing as he twinged some bruises from the tree's attack. He picked up his toiletries and ducked into the bathroom, brushing his teeth quickly.
He was lying down in bed, sketching what London had looked like from the sky, when his door opened and Severus looked in on him. "Not tired?"
"Not really. I wanted to finish this sketch first," Harry said, sitting up and holding up the pad to show Severus.
"Is that a map?" Severus asked, coming up to his bedside and taking the pad from him.
"It's London. From the car," Harry said, softly, knowing that it might make his father angry again.
"Ah. It does indeed look like London. Can I ask you a question, Harry?" Severus said, sitting on the edge of Harry's bed.
Harry gave his Dad a inquiring look as permission to ask away.
"You said you knew better. So why didn't you owl me? Why didn't you wait for the Weasleys?" Severus asked.
Harry looked at his knees again, realising that he didn't really want to answer those types of questions. Severus put two fingers under his chin to tilt his head up again and raised an eyebrow. "I panicked. I thought, well, it's really stupid, but I thought you'd think I'd run away and I was thinking about the other day and how stubborn I was being," Harry rambled. Severus' finger moved to go across Harry's lips, silencing him and Severus moved so that he was sitting back against the headboard with Harry.
"I was wrongly angry out of fear, that day in Diagon Alley. I shouldn't have yelled. I was merely scared that Mr Malfoy would seek to silence you if he knew you'd overheard what was probably a very private conversation. You were right to be angry. And if you're stay angry about things sometimes, then that's okay as well. Not to mention that it wasn't the easiest of days for you. But Harry, surely, even if you couldn't see it then, you can see now that I was just as worried hearing that you were missing, if not more, as I would have been if I'd thought you'd run away?" Severus asked., brushing the hair back from Harry's forehead.
"I can. And I'm sorry," Harry said, leaning into his Dad.
"I know. Perhaps we should talk of happier things. Are you looking forward to tomorrow? The start of a new school year?" Severus asked.
"Yeah, a lot more than I was last year," Harry admitted. "I can't wait to see Teddy again."
"You saw him not one week ago," Severus said. "I hoped you looked forward to seeing me again as much," Severus teased.
"Of course I did. Dad, I really missed you," Harry admitted, hugging him and breathing in the scent of potions that clung to his Dad. "But it's different seeing Teddy at school. At home, it's like being in the dorms all the time. At school, I get to see a different side of him. And oh, Quidditch," Harry said as he remembered.
"Yes, Quidditch," Severus drawled. "I really should ban you from the tryouts as punishment but since Ron Weasley won't be banned, it would be unfair."
"It would, Dad, please, don't do that," Harry pleaded. Severus smirked at him and Harry shoved at him good-naturedly. "That's mean, Dad."
"Hmm, not really," Severus said.
"Do you think I have a chance?" Harry asked, going back to a serious thought.
"At tryouts?" Severus clarified. When Harry nodded, he said, "I think that you are a very good flyer and that you have been practising most of the last year in order to be a good flyer. I also think that there are good flyers on the Quidditch team already and that you shouldn't be too disappointed if you don't make it on the team. But you should definitely try, Harry," Severus assured him.
"I want to, but, I don't have a broom," Harry said slowly. The students on the Quidditch team all flew on their own brooms, even the Weasley twins. Without a broom, Harry wouldn't even qualify. And it hadn't occurred to him to ask for something so expensive for his birthday. Severus looked down at him, looking like he was thinking about something.
"I probably shouldn't be telling you this on the night that you did something so horrible, but your Aunt Narcissa sent me a package today," Severus began. Harry looked at him, confused. "She was broom-shopping for Draco, mostly because he insisted, and thought of you, and the fact that she hadn't sent you a birthday present yet, while she was out." Severus paused for a moment, waiting to see if Harry would figure out his point. Harry couldn't, so he shook his head in confusion. "She sent you a broom, Harry. A Nimbus Two Thousand, like the one you saw in Diagon Alley and told Ginny about." Harry sat up in amazement, scattering his sketchpad from his lap.
"Really?" Harry asked, sitting up eagerly. Severus smiled indulgently and pointed at the closet. Harry vaulted over Severus' legs and scrambled over to the closet. He opened it, quickly, taking in the sight of his new broom. "It's awesome. Did you tell Aunt Narcissa thank you from me?"
"I thought that a letter from you might be more appreciated, so I left that task to you. She'll probably Floo over tomorrow, as she was planning on giving Draco his new broom then as well. So you may even get the chance to thank her in person," Severus said.
"I will, lots, thank you," Harry said, lifting his broom up to inspect it. "When can I fly it?"
"Tomorrow, after class. You can tell Teddy about it tomorrow. And I'm sure Flint will be interested. Now, my delinquent child, you need to go to bed, or you'll never wake up in time for class. And I won't be the one dragging you out of bed," Severus said, standing up and motioning for Harry to get back in bed. Harry smiled, put his broom down, and then walked over to the bed. He hopped up and shifted around so that he was sitting with his sketchbook back on his lap. "No, no sketching."
"It helps me sleep," Harry protested.
"Potions help you sleep, and I have yours here. How did you sleep without it?" Severus asked, getting a potion vial out of his pocket and holding it out to Harry.
"Not good. Does that mean I'm becoming dependent on it, like Madame Pomfrey said I might?" Harry asked.
"Not necessarily. It might just mean that you're still a stressed twelve year old with the weight of the world on your shoulders," Severus said gently, taking the now empty potion vial and Harry's glasses from Harry. Harry lay down, turning onto his side so that he could still face his Dad. "Go to sleep, Harry, and sleep well for tonight. I'll check with Madame Pomfrey tomorrow about whether we should vary the dosage." Severus bent down and kissed Harry on the forehead. "Sweet dreams, Harry."
"Sweet dreams, Dad," Harry replied, snuggling into his pillow as sleepiness hit him. The last thing he saw was his Dad placing his glasses on his bedside table and the room turning dark as Severus turned off his bedside light.
