"Severus" Minerva said entering the younger wizards home office. After a long night Severus was tired and the last thing he wanted to do right now was face other people "come with me"

"Minerva I have to brew today I don't have time to go out" Severus muttered picking up the list.

"I know, I have something to show you" she said gesturing towards the door with a small smile.

"Okay" Severus said getting to his feet still holding the list as they made their way towards the potions lab "what are we doing?" Severus asked as she opened the door and led him inside.

Minerva smiled proudly at herself "I found you some new recruits" she said gesturing the five different stations where the students were broken into different pairs.

Fred and George grinned up eagerly from their station.

"Hello, sir" Hermione said smiling as she sat next to Ron ready to brew.

"Hermione" Severus replied completely confused as he looked over to see Harry and Draco were at another.

"You're supposed to be resting, Harry" Severus said turning his attention to the teen who only rolled his eyes lightly.

"I feel fine, I promise I'm up to it" Harry insisted.

"Well they're yours to use for help, I'm leaving now" Professor McGonagall said retreating from the potions lab.

Within half an hour everyone was briefed on what they were to brew and what quantities and everybody began working. Severus had thought to give the students potions they were going to come across in the near future but not ones that were beyond their brewing capabilities, although he had no doubts Hermione would manage just about anything.

Luckily with Draco being a natural he managed to keep Harry right as they stood side by side and discussed who would do what.

Severus began working on his own potion occasionally looking up to see what his students were doing and he was surprised to notice they always remained on task, except for the twins who seemed to be plotting something.

Silently he made his way over to see what they were doing; he quickly discovered George was watching the potion whilst Fred scanned the textbook for information. "What are you looking for?"

Fred jumped but grinned widely and pointed down at the textbook "we are trying to work out if we mix this with this, would it cause the drinker to have laughing fits?" Fred whispered.

Severus instantly rolled his eyes and shook his head "if you mix this with this it will cause intense burning, haven't I taught you anything?" he replied but there was no malice in his voice.

Fred sighed and looked down.

Severus raised a brow at the redheads defeated attitude "but if you mix this with this and add a drop of that it will cause your desired laughing fit as well `cause a purple tinge to their skin" he whispered.

"Thanks, sir!" Fred said as they both grinned.

"If you're planning on using this against one of your siblings or one of my children I'd rather make it with you, tomorrow morning at nine" Severus said simply before moving on to inspect Draco and Harry's potion.

Three hours later and the students staggered out of the potions lab, Ron especially had had enough of cauldrons and was ready to do something fun.

"I don't know why you're so moany, Ronald" Hermione sighed "Professor Snape basically just gave us a head start on this year's potions"

Ron rolled his eyes "if that's what you're into" he mumbled.

"What will we do now?" Harry asked to distract them both before a fight erupted, constantly having a professor in their presence was definitely causing Hermione to be more focused and Ron more annoyed at Hermione.

"Let's play hide and seek" Draco suggested.

"I don't want to be it" Ron stated instantly.

"Me neither!" Harry added.

"Or me" Ginny said meeting them as they entered the living room.

"I'll count to one hundred" Hermione said sitting on the sofa.

Instantly all the teens bolted from the room in various different directions, Ginny quickly pushed by Ron to claim the library as her own and with an angry growl he stomped down another hallway.

"Slow down the pair of you!" Molly shouted as the twins ran into the kitchen, Fred quickly hid in the pantry while George made his way into the dining room and hid behind one of the plant pots.

Draco walked down the corridor smugly, he had practically grown up in Snape Manor so he knew all the secret quirks to the house even Harry hadn't found yet, he made his way to the second floor of the house into one of the spare rooms and over to one of the wardrobes. Quietly he opened the door and then moved away one of the wooden panels within which revealed a secret door that led into a small room. Smugly he closed the cupboard door and returned the wooden panel knowing he was definitely winning this one.

Ron continued to run back towards the living room not entirely sure where was a good place to hide.

"No running in the hallways, Ron" Severus said appearing at his office door after hearing what sounding like an elephant running in his direction.

"I can't find a good hiding place" Ron gasped.

Severus raised a brow "who are you hiding from?" he asked.

"Hermione"

"Oh dear, what have you done now?" Severus smirked.

"Nothing!" Ron protested "we're playing hide and seek but I can't think of anywhere"

Severus laughed lightly "you can hide in here" he said gesturing Ron into the office.

Ron tilted his head slightly surprised Snape was willing to play along "thanks, sir" he said following Snape in.

With a mighty shove Severus moved one of the book cases and it glided out of the way revealing a second part to the room with a large chair and some books "get in" he said simply and quickly Ron ran in and Severus pushed the case back to its' rightful place.

"Coming!" Hermione shouted.

Hermione quickly made her way into the kitchen and almost instantly she found Fred in the pantry eating a packet of crackers "really?" she laughed lightly.

"I got hungry, you count slowly" Fred smirked.

"Do not!" Hermione protested "out of everything you picked the most obvious hiding place"

"I thought it would be that obvious you of all people wouldn't even consider it" Fred admitted kicking himself lightly, of course Hermione would check everything "I'll help you find the others"

Quickly they found George and made their way to different rooms to continue exploring; they searched Harry's room, Hermione's, Draco's and Ron's before giving up with the bedrooms and retreating to the library.

"Nobody will be in here" Fred smirked winking at George.

"Definitely not" George replied.

"Only Ginny would be stupid enough to hide in here" Fred replied.

"I am not stupid!" the hot-headed redhead shouted appearing from behind one of the large curtains and she looked even angrier as her older brothers high fived each other before running out the room.

"Let's find Harry, Draco and Ron" Hermione said fighting back a laugh as Ginny stomped past her.

Quickly the teens marched towards Severus' office still determined to find the others "do you recon Draco's really in the office?" Fred asked.

"Or Harry" Ginny added.

"Would they be allowed?" Hermione asked "Professor Snape is working"

Fred shrugged "Draco would use that to his advantage" he added and they all nodded.

"Ginny, you knock" George suggested.

"No, you do it!" she insisted.

"Hermione?" Fred suggested.

"Why can't you?!"

Suddenly the door opened and the potions master was standing looking more amused than irritated "is there a reason you have all gathered to bicker outside my office door?" he asked.

Hermione cleared her throat "Professor Snape, we have reason to believe you are hiding either Draco or Harry in your office"

"Do you now?" he smirked.

"Yes, we need to check it immediately" Hermione said looking up at the clearly entertained professor.

"I suppose I cannot deny you access for such a serious matter" Severus said sarcastically before returning to his desk "don't break anything or move any of the paperwork"

The students flooded into the room and instantly began looking behind the curtains, under the desk and behind the sofa before looking defeated.

"Nobody is in here" Fred stated simply.

"Somebody is!" Hermione insisted.

"We've looked everywhere" Ginny reminded her.

"Professor Snape wouldn't let us look if nobody was in here" Hermione argued.

"Perhaps Professor Snape decided it would be amusing?" Severus added and Hermione instantly rolled her eyes with a small groan.

Only then did Hermione's eyes lock with the book shelf and slowly she made her way over whilst getting on her hands and knees to inspect it further.

"Even Harry wouldn't fit under that tiny crack unless McGonagall has dropped by and transfigured him into an ant" George said sarcastically.

Hermione rolled her eyes getting to her feet "honestly, don't you pay any attention?"

"Explain" George said crossing his arms.

"The book shelf is about two centimetres off the floor" she said simply.

"So?" Fred asked.

"It's being held off the ground for a reason, look!" she said pointing at the tracks in the ground "it's a sliding door"

Severus smiled "incredibly well spotted Miss Granger, if we were at school you would receive points"

Hermione blushed at the praise and with a giant shove slid the door alone to reveal Ron standing on the other side "Ron?" she gasped shocked.

"No way" Fred said as him and George shared a laugh.

"Did I win?" Ron asked eagerly.

Ginny shook her head "we haven't found Draco or Harry"

"Let's keep looking" Hermione said and after a quick goodbye they left Severus smiling to himself knowing they'd never find his Slytherin.

Harry ran up to the third floor of the house, he could hear the others moving around and talking and he could tell a lot of them had been found already. Sighing heavily he was now paying no attention to where he was going but was more focused on finding a place that wasn't obvious.

The third floor was a level of the house he had never been to before since Severus didn't seem to use this floor at all. He instantly noticed the décor was a lot more old fashioned compared to the rest of the house and although it was obviously maintained by Dolly it didn't look homely compared to the rest of the house.

Curiously Harry made his way further down the corridor and something about the door on the far left had caught his attention, maybe it was because it was the last room in the hallway and therefor probably the last to be checked?

Gently Harry opened the door and he was surprised when it creaked, none of the other doors in the house creaked. Curiously Harry looked around the room, it was old and freezing cold compared to the rest of the house and the furniture was cracked.

Harry quickly noticed some old high school textbooks stacked neatly at an old desk and he smiled realising they belonged to Severus and that one day he had to learn potions just like he was.

Harry turned around and jumped at the figure in the doorway.

"What are you doing in here?" Severus said simply but his tone was low and cold, he felt the sick rising in his stomach at the sight of Harry in the room that held so many painful memories, the child he had vowed to protect was now in the room of his nightmares.

"H-hiding from Hermione" Harry stuttered but he instantly grew confused when Snape didn't enter the room but only continued to watch him from the doorway.

"Get out" Severus said simply.

"Why?" Harry asked pushily.

"Because I don't want you in here" Severus replied not taking his eyes off Harry.

"Has something happened?" Harry asked subconsciously stepping further into the room and further away from Snape.

"I said out!" Snape shouted causing Harry to jump and look around nervously before falling over a stool and landing on the bed with a hard thud and a gasp.

Snape watched wide eyed as his son fell onto the bed, that bed and he knew instantly he had to get Harry out of the room and back to the safety of the rest of the house.

Before Harry had a moment to note what he had happened Snape was hovering over the top of him and pulling him to his feet and away from the bed.

"No!" Harry shouted in a complete panic before lashing out as Severus held his shoulders tightly in an attempt to re-steady the teen whilst removing him from the room.

With the word 'no' echoing in the air Severus dropped his hands to his side and his eyes met Harry's "did you think I would-"

Harry instantly froze at his father's tone as the room fell to silence, he could see how haunted and scared Snape was. Slowly shook his head "no, of course not" he said but Severus only looked down "I know I'm safe with you, dad"

The word 'dad' caused Severus' head to shoot up "Do you believe that?" he asked.

Harry didn't answer but threw his arms around his dads' neck, he didn't protest as Severus took that as an opportunity to pick the teen up and carry him completely out of the room before entering another room and sitting on the bed with Harry next to him.

"I'm sorry" Severus finally said breaking the silence.

"Was that the room he…?" Harry asked and Severus nodded "I'm sorry dad"

Severus sighed lightly "you have nothing to be sorry for, but I don't like the idea of you being on this floor never mind in that room"

Harry nodded "I promise I won't come up here again"

"I shouldn't have shouted at you" Severus said softly "I panicked at the idea of you being in that room because I dread to think of something like that happening to you, I wasn't trying to hurt you and I never would"

Harry nodded "I know you wouldn't, I just got scared because you moved so quickly"

Severus shuffled back and rested his back against the headboard "I need to learn how to control those emotions when it comes to you and Draco"

"It's still early days, dad" Harry reminded him crawling over to cuddle into his dads' chest.

"I would never hurt you though" Severus repeated himself.

Harry rolled his eyes "I know you wouldn't, not stop saying that because you're beginning to sound like a parrot" he said and Severus laughed lightly.

"Did you get hurt when you tripped?" Severus asked but Harry only shook his head and cuddled in.

Back downstairs Draco stomped into the living room "how did you find me before Harry?" he half shouted throwing his arms up in the air completely annoyed at being found.

"It's a house with tones of trap doors, of course we would look for them" Hermione argued back.

"You cheated!"

"Did not!"

"What's with all the shouting?" Molly asked entering the living room.

"Hermione cheated" Draco said simply.

"I swear, Draco!" Hermione half shouted surprised at herself.

Molly raised a brow "I think you were found fair and square" she smiled

"We found Harry" Fred said entering the room.

"Where is he?" Molly asked.

"Upstairs asleep with Professor Snape" Fred replied.

Molly rolled her eyes "if this is Severus trying to get out of setting up the BBQ it's not happening!" she half shouted before making her way back into the kitchen.

. . .

That night everybody gathered on the patio in front of the large fire pit. Ron, Hermione and Harry were all huddled in a corner under a blanket laughing at old memories while Draco was in a deep discussion with Molly about babies, she was surprised at Draco's curiosity but she was happy to share a mother's perspective.

Dumbledore was deep in discussion with Arthur and Remus about Ministry business as Severus and Sirius bickered over who was making the food.

"Stop it, Black!" Severus hissed at Sirius charmed the spatula to go floppy "why don't you go entertain your wolf friend"

Sirius smirked "I find ministry discussions boring and I am glad I have you here to save me from such a discussion"

Severus glared "put that fork down" he threatened as Sirius turned the sausages.

"I'm helping!"

"You're ruining my system"

"You don't need a 'system' to turn sausages!"

Dumbledore rolled his eyes "share, boys" he called out simply gaining himself a glare from both of them.

"It's okay, Albus" Sirius said retreating to the sofa "I'll leave him to overcook the sausages"

"Sirius" Dumbledore warned.

"I'll overcook you in a minute"

"Severus!" Dumbledore sighed completely exasperated.

But Severus was instantly distracted when he noticed Harry was giggling, as much as he disliked that the pair of them bickered the bickering was growing less malicious and more childish and he knew they wouldn't actually hurt the other.

Harry quickly moved over to sit next to his godfather and Sirius was soon telling him a story of the time him and Remus went on a night out and it got messy, Harry laughed along with the story as he rested his head on Sirius' shoulder.

Quickly Severus served the food and Sirius couldn't bring himself to admit the Slytherin could BBQ better than he could.

"What's the plan for the rest of summer then?" Dumbledore asked curiously.

"We're beginning work on the burrow tomorrow, but it's going to take at least another week to restore" Arthur said sipping his tea.

"What needs to be done?" Dumbledore asked.

"We pretty much need to rebuild and reward the entire house" Severus said simply.

"Well if need be the students can come to Hogwarts while you work" Dumbledore suggested.

"That would be helpful" Severus smiled, he wasn't keen on leaving them running riot for eight hours a day while they all worked.

Quickly the conversation descended into the magical world and magical creatures and within the hour Draco had completely passed out on Severus who was on his third glass of wine. Harry was also asleep next to Sirius and Ginny didn't seem too far off falling asleep either. Ron and Hermione quickly decided it was getting cold and they were ready for bed and quickly the twins followed having grown bored of the adult conversations.

"He's completely passed out" Arthur said smiling over at Harry.

Dumbledore noticed the warm, yet sad, smile that developed on Severus' face as he looked over at Harry and he could tell something had happened.

. . .

Later that night once everybody had gone to bed, except for Dumbledore and Arthur who were still debating muggle devices, Severus found himself sitting awake unable to stop himself reflecting on the day's events. He had been in the room his father had assaulted him with his son and he couldn't help but feel completely uncomfortable.

"That's me heading off, my boy" Dumbledore said appearing in the doorway.

"Okay" Severus said simply.

Dumbledore frowned "what's the matter?" he asked sitting on the bed next to Severus.

"I found Harry in my childhood bedroom today and I almost flipped out" Severus sighed "I tried to drag him out the room and for a second I thought he thought…"

"And did he?" Dumbledore asked understanding the unspoken words.

Severus shook his head "I scared him because I was out of character, but even just being in there with him…"

"Why does that upset you?" Dumbledore asked willing the man to open up.

"I know it makes no sense but I've barely been back in there and it's all so raw and just the idea of now being the father and seeing my son in there. When he noticed me in the doorway his eyes reminded me of my own when I saw my father"

"You probably startled him if he didn't know you were there" Dumbledore reassured him "Harry understands"

Severus sighed "I need to get over that room, I need to put it behind me"

"Would going back in help?" Dumbledore asked.

"It's too scary" Severus said dropping his head into his hands.

"I'll be there with you" Albus reassured him.

"I don't want to"

"That's okay, you don't have to do anything you don't want to do" Albus said offering the younger wizard a light smile "but I think in time you should"

"Maybe another day" Severus admitted "just not tonight"

Dumbledore nodded "that's understandable, but I'm sure we'll work through it"

Severus nodded more to himself, not only did he know he had to work through it but he wanted to; he wanted to do it for the boys, for Dumbledore, his mother and most importantly for himself. "We will" he whispered with a weak smile.

Okaaaaay so I think this chapter is slightly more uplifting! It's a completely new chapter so hopefully it's a good one!

Again, thank you for all the reviews that were left on the last chapter, it was a tough chapter to write and edit so I'm glad people were moved by it!

I'm not entirely sure when I'll be able to write the next chapter as I don't know how much I want to write fresh and how much I want to take from the original files. I'm also going on holiday so I don't think I'll have another chapter out for the next 2-3 weeks but I will be back before you know it : )

Have a great day and review if you can!