Not every day in the Snape-Potter household was sunshine and roses. On one hand, a fairly miserable and grumpy man and on the other, a child unaccustomed to adult attention – both good and bad. It was early December now, and most of the students were eagerly anticipating the Christmas break. Talk of presents and food in abundance filled the now draughty corridors of the castle, excited students young and old all looking forward to a break from classes.
"What have you asked Father Christmas for this year Harry?" one friendly female Gryffindor student that Harry couldn't remember the name of asked as she closed the charms textbook she had been studying.
"Father Christmas?" he asked, for the man had never bought him any presents before. The man often seemed to leave his cousin Dudley many a present, but so far Harry had assumed he had worked his way onto the naughty list.
"Oh is that not a muggle thing?" she asked in surprise, having been sure she had seen reference to Father Christmas when she had gone to the Muggle theatre during Christmas time a few years ago. She glanced over to Charlie for confirmation when Harry failed to confirm.
Charlie, however, was distracted with a book on dragons. He had spoken to Harry about dragons last week and, after being taken on a trip to the Library by Snape, the child had picked him up a book on them. The child had excitedly bounded into him waving the book around after being dropped off at the tower by his guardian.
"I always thought the muggles spoke about Father Christmas" another student, who had overheard her, answered in thought.
"You wizarding lot are a right set aren't you?" another student piped up laughing "of course we've got Father Christmas, just the same as you" he continued in exasperation. "Say Harry, did your relatives buy the presents instead?" he asked, realising that some parents likely didn't buy into the fantasy.
Harry was not sure what to tell these people. It seemed as though they had all been good enough to receive some presents from this mystery man, and he hardly wanted them to know he had been bad enough to get nothing at all. "Yeah" the boy responded, knowing it was a lie but at a complete loss for something better to say "I gotta go Charlie" the child whispered "Snape said I have to be back when the big hand hits 12" he added.
"See ya Harry" Charlie waved, barely glancing up from the book he was so engrossed in. As the child approached the door to the common room, Charlie glanced up and flashed him a smile "and thanks for the book mate!" he called.
"Snape?" the child called softly as he slowly walked towards the door of the man's potions lab. He wasn't allowed to go in there by himself, in fact it was Snape's number one rule. He waited a moment, outside the laboratory door, for Snape to call and say he would be out momentarily. However, when no such response was heard Harry called out again, though this time with a more anxious edge to his tone "Snape?".
Harry stood for another moment as he thought briefly over his options. Snape had made it clear that, under no uncertain terms, he was not to go into the laboratory without express permission from Snape himself. But, Harry thought, Snape had also made it clear that it was because the laboratory was dangerous; that if one wrong ingredient were to mix with another, an explosion could happen. Snape had even said that some potions could melt skin! As Harry stood outside of the laboratory, a thought crossed his mind. What if Snape had knocked something over? What if, as Harry stood around waiting, Snape's skin was melting off his bones? For a moment the child considered running to another professor and telling them that Snape needed help, but he was not sure if he'd have time to get help before Snape's skin was gone for good.
The child took a hesitant hold of the door handle, preparing himself for the horrific sight that he was likely to experience. Taking a deep breath, he slowly pushed open the door to reveal a dark cellar – a small set of stairs leading down into the laboratory. "Ewww" the child breathed as he walked down the small flight of stairs, passing some jars containing questionable substances.
"Snape?" the child asked softly as he now stood in the laboratory, no sign of his guardian at all. There were, however, many an interesting thing to see in the room that Harry had never had free access to before. A cauldron sat bubbling on the counter, a low flame flickering gently beneath it. Harry thought this must have been the potion Snape was working on whilst he was with Charlie. Snape had said it was a really important potion and that it was crucial he complete it before the evening was done.
Pulling himself up onto a stool, to give himself a better view of the bubbling cauldron, Harry peered in to watch the thick liquid at work. There were a few jars out on the table too, some empty and some clearly laid out in preparation for being added to the cauldron. The child reached out to take hold of a particularly mesmerising jar containing some kind of thick red substance. He swirled it around in his hand, watching as the liquid coated the sides of the jar.
Harry hopped down off the stool, wandering around to observe each jar that lined the shelved walls of the laboratory. Fingers brushed along the varying jars as the boy briefly allowed himself to shudder at how Snape was likely to react should he find him in this particular room. A sound above him caused the child to whip himself around, half expecting Snape to be stood at the top of the short staircase, but the place remained empty. Glancing back at the cauldron which bubbled gently on the counter, Harry once again hauled himself up onto the work stool to peer in.
Looks like Snape forgot some things the child thought, as he remembered the man explaining that potions were very time sensitive – if one didn't add the correct ingredients by a certain point then the potion would be ruined. Harry studied the jars on the table before him, noting that Snape likely took them out of the supply cupboard ready to add to the potion. Picking up his favourite bottle, the small boy popped the stopper out before pulling himself higher onto the stool to watch the bubbling of the potion as he poured the liquid in.
Barely a second passed before the liquid in the potion began frothing wildly, spurting up and over the sides of the cauldron as Harry grabbed a tea towel off the stool next to him.
A blood curtling scream startled the Professor, standing with such speed that the mug of tea he had been reaching for was sent tumbling to the floor. He paid no mind to it, barely registering that as he headed towards the source of the scream, tea continued to soak the parlour carpet. The Professor had not run so fast in his life as he took the stairs down to the laboratory two at a time.
"Harry!" the man shouted in panic as he saw the child stood bawling, a tea towel pressed firmly against his face as loud cries echoed off the walls. Snape approached the child, crouching down and gently removing the cloth from the childs face, in an attempt to inspect any damage the potion may have caused. He could feel his heart pouding in his chest as he did so.
"Am I melting?" the child coughed out through sobs, his face covered in tears and snot from his fear. If Snape hadnt been quite so concerned, he might have laughed at the child. His warnings of the dangers of potions had clearly resonated with the boy, who now feared that the gooey potion dripping down his face was actually his liquified skin.
Snape took ahold of the childs arm as he carefully guided the boy up the stairs and out of the laboratory. The child continued to cry, though the tears had quietened down since his initial shock of the potion. The fact that Professor Snape was so calm alleviated the childs fears that he might wind up faceless by the end of the evening. Walking the child through the parlour and over to his armchair, the stern professor took a seat before situating the boy between his spread knees.
"Look at me" the man spoke sternly as he tapped the small chin of the child in front of him. He waited, looking at the top of the boy's messy head of hair before green eyes slowly travelled upwards, meeting his own. Accoing a wash cloth for the childs face, he began gently cleaning away the remnants of potion which had been mixed with tears and snot. "Why is there a rule about you going into the lab alone?" the man asked softly as he dabbed at a potion-stained cheek.
Harry flicked his eyes up to the scary professor, sure that this would be an offence worthy of return to the Dursley's. His fingers played nervously with the buttons of his shirt before his chin was once again lifted, his eyes meeting those of the potions master. A raised eyebrow encouraged his response "Cause it's dangerous?" he asked cautiously, worried he may provide the wrong answer. He had been in trouble a bunch of times with Aunt Petunia, though she'd rarely talk to him about it. Usually she'd scream a lot, but rarely did she ask Harry to identify why what he had done was wrong, let alone accept whatever response he might have for his wrongdoing.
"Very dangerous" the man nodded solemnly "You were a lucky boy indeed to have come across such a harmless potion" he sighed, his own heart now only just regaining a normal rhythm.
"I'm sorry" the child pouted, now calmed enough to realise that his face was very much intact, though scared enough of the professor that he wasn't sure if he would still be intact by the time the man was done with him. Not going into the lab alone was Snape's biggest and most important rule, and here he was already in breach.
The professor released a deep sigh at the apology. It was difficult sometimes to remember that he was not dealing with one of his students but instead a child much younger than the first years he was acustomed to. The child also evidently had no understanding of the dangers of magic, thinking it more akin to something in a muggle circus than its reality. "What possessed you to go in there alone?" he frowned, studying the child before him.
Harry took a step back at this, in an attempt to put some distance between himself and the professor. "Sorry" the child offered again nervously, pulling at the hem of his tshirt as he shuffled under the angry glare.
"Thank you for your apology" he acknowledged "but that does not answer my question" he continued with a raised brow. Harry, on the other hand, was content standing there as though if he remained quiet enough, the professor might just forget that he existed at all. "Well?" the man pressed, when no response was forthcoming.
"I was lookin' for you" the child whsipered hesitantly, biting his lip afterwards as though he had just shared a secret he should not have. Tears began to pool in the emerald eyes, causing a sharp pain in the Potions Masters chest.
Snape sighed again in response as he reached forward to lift the nervous boy onto his lap. In fairness to the child, he had told him to meet him back in the parlour for 12pm sharp. However, he also needed to ensure that should the same circumstances arise again, the child would not go wondering into the lab in search of him. "Are you allowed to look for me in there by yourself?" he asked as he began rubbing the childs back, if only to stop the hitched breathing caused by the boys tears.
"No?" the child asked in return, small fists raising to rub the tears that continued to threaten to fall away.
"No indeed" he agreed, grabbing a hankerchief to dab at the childs eyes, lest he rub them raw with his fists. "What are you to do if you cannot find me?" he asked, tapping the childs back as he did so.
"Wait for you" yawned Harry as he looked up at the man from his slouched position in his lap. Aunt Petunia had never given him a cuddle when he was in trouble before and, while Snape would probably claim that this wasn't a cuddle, it felt very much like one to him.
"Yes, that is one thing you can do" the man confirmed, "What else can you do?"
The child thought over the things he had considered doing before entering the mans laboratory. It had briefly crossed his mind to get one of the other professors to check if Snape was stuck down in the lab with a melted face. "Ask someone?" the child turned the older mans hand over in his own, studying the lines that marked his palms. The fingers were ever-so-slightly stained, and Harry noticed that unlike his own hands, this hand was covered in tiny little marks that he gently traced with the tip of a finger.
"Very good" the man acknowledged with a nod.
The pair sat in silence for a few moments, Harry intently inspecting the hand he continued to hold as he worked up the courage to ask the question weighing heavily on his mind. "Am I in trouble?" came the quiet question, green eyes refusing to meet those of the professor.
"Do you think you ought to be?" the man returned. He knew now that Harry had not been treated well by his relatives, and he could imagine that the 'trouble' Harry feared was likely due to their cruel and unusual punishment techniques. Alas, he did not want to invoke any more fear in the child than he already had.
Harry pondered the question for a short while, the professor refraining from interrupting the childs thoughts. If he was being honest, Snape had told him a bunch of times that he wasn't to go into the lab by himself. However, he was also a small child and there was no way he was going to readily admit that he ought to be in trouble. The boy settled for offering a simple "Maybe" as he glanced back up at the man.
"Why might you be in trouble?" he asked the boy. While many students likely assumed that his punishments consisted of hanging naughty students from the rafters by their toes, Snape actually adopted a more civilised response. In his dealings with students, he had swiftly come to the conclusion that unless they understood why they were in trouble, no amount of punishment was likely to be effective.
"Because I didn't listen?" Harry sighed, looking off into the fireplace. He was really regretting whatever had made him so desperately want to go down to the lab, and whatever part of his brain had encouraged him it would be a good idea. At a lack of response, the child added "an I broke the rules".
Snape hummed in response, continuing to rub slow circles on the childs back. "A very important rule, wouldn't you say?" the man asked gently, conscious that the child was clearly quite sensitive to a scolding, but also firmly convinced that he did need to impress upon the boy how serious this rule was.
"uh huh" the child nodded with a slight pout to his face. By now his tears had dried and were no longer threatening to fall, but his eyes remained slightly reddened and puffed from the tears that had previously fallen.
"I think there is a corner over there with your name on it" the man pointed to the far left-hand corner of the parlour as he nudged the boy off his knee. Harry, glancing back at the man in hesitation, and trudged over to said corner at the encouraging nod he received.
Snape watched the clock from his armchair, considering a ten minute time-out to be appropriate for the transgression.
The child had started his time in the corner in still silence, an occassional sniffle the only sound. As the 8th minute ticked by, the restlessness was beginning to show and the child lifted a foot, gently scuffing it against the baseboard. If only to save his walls from scuff marks, the older man cleared his throat, ending the time-out a minute early "Come here please Harry".
"I'm sorry" he answered, turning around to face the man but not moving towards him until the man lifted an arm, beckoning him over with a crook of his finger. With a soft sigh, the child shuffled over to the man, sure that his real punishment was now about to take place.
"I know" the man assured him, reaching to lift the child onto his lap once again as the child approached him. Snape ran his hand through the child's hair with his own sigh "and you are forgiven" he added.
Harry gave the man a small smile as he leant against the older mans chest, his fingers easily finding the buttons on Snape's robes. The cloth covered buttons intrigued him and, given his uncomfortability over the ease at which Snape had forgiven him, he found the buttons a welcome distraction. He was likewise comforted by the soft slow rubbing of circles on his back.
"I was very worried when I heard you scream from the lab" the man spoke after some time, tilting his head so that he could more easily see the childs face as he spoke.
"Really?" Harry asked in surprise. He had not thought that Snape would worry about him. After all, surely it was the ingredients that Snape was worried about ruining.
"Really" Snape nodded seriously, "How would you feel if you heard me screaming from there?" he asked the boy softly, shifting him into a more comfortable position as the child was overcome by sleep. Silence reigned for a short while, Snape looking down into the sleeping face of the small child who had managed to worry him so.
"I'm sorry I scared you Snape" the child muttered, his eyes flickering open briefly to look up into the man's face.
"Yes, well lets try not to do that again" Snape retorted, before placing a brief kiss to the childs brow. Harry, however, had sucumbed to sleep and only half-imagined that somewhere in his dream, his dad had given him a goodnight kiss.
"Trouble in paradise, Severus?" Dumbledore asked with mirth at the sight of the pair as he entered the Potions Professors quarters.
