Disclaimer: All recognizable characters and settings belong to J.K. Rowling.
Severus crouched down next to his son, looking at his wound in horror. No healing spells would be able to fix this. "Harry." He whispered, cradling his son in his arms.
"Dad, it hurts," Harry said, feeling dizzy.
"It's going to be okay," Severus said as he held his boy. It had to be, he couldn't lose his son.
"You deserve to suffer, Severus." Voldemort hissed. "Look at you. This boy has made you weak and pathetic. And unfortunately, his death is taking too long for me. Kill him!" He ordered his host.
Quirrell spun around. "Avada Ked -" He began to cast at Harry.
"Avada Kederva!" Severus shouted, his wand pointed at Quirrell.
Quirrell dropped to the ground and a mist rose from him. It raced towards Harry and Severus.
Severus rolled them out of the way and the mist streamed past them and right into a transparent box that Dumbledore was holding.
"Albus?" Severus said in surprise. When had he arrived?
Dumbledore closed the box, which was now shaking violently. "He's trapped." He said calmly. "Is everyone okay?" His eyes focused on Harry's shoulder and he snapped his fingers. A moment later Fawkes swept into the chamber, landing on Harry's shoulder. Tears began to leak out of Fawkes's eyes and onto the wound, which immediately healed.
Harry looked at his shoulder in surprise. "The wound is gone!" He said in amazement.
"A Phoenix has healing tears," Severus told him, relief clear in his voice as he scooped Harry up into his arms.
"Dad, I can walk!"
"That's nice." Severus didn't relinquish his hold. He never wanted to let him go.
"I need to get Draco to the infirmary," Lucius said, also picking up his son, who had become conscious once Tom Riddle was destroyed.
"But Father -" Draco said, flushing in embarrassment.
"Hush, Draco," Lucius said, holding him tight.
Once in the infirmary, Poppy fussed over the boys as their fathers and Dumbledore stood to the side and watched.
"How long will that box hold him?" Severus asked quietly.
"Hopefully, forever," Dumbledore said. "I'm still looking for his Horcruxes. Once they are gone, if he is ever able to be brought back, then he will be mortal."
"Good."
"This was all my fault," Lucius murmured. "Draco almost died, because of my foolishness. That monster almost..." He trailed off, swallowing hard. "Narcissa is going to kill me." He sighed.
"How many nights will you be sleeping on the sofa, Lucius?" Severus smirked.
Lucius gave him a withering look.
"How did you know to bring that box?" Severus asked Dumbledore.
"After you told me your suspicions of Quirrell, I began to think. How he had changed since his travels last summer and I wondered," Dumbledore hesitated. "I wondered if it was possible Voldemort could possess one of his followers. And when Quirrell was so different, I thought there was a possibility. And if he needed a host, he couldn't be that powerful and could perhaps be contained. Which we now know he can."
"And yet said nothing?" Severus asked in frustration.
"I did not know for sure, Severus. There had been no evidence of Quirrell ever being a death eater but there were times I thought I saw something in his eyes that made me think he had joined Voldemort. Plus, he had mental defenses that he had not had before." Dumbledore sighed. "I am sorry, Severus. I regret very much what Harry and Draco have been through."
Severus stayed quiet. He was angry but the important thing was that the children were all right and Voldemort was trapped.
"Severus," Dumbledore said hesitantly as Lucius moved away to talk to Poppy. "There is one possible Horcrux that I will not destroy."
"What? Why?" Severus asked in surprise.
"I fear that Voldemort unintentionally made a Horcrux the night he killed Lily and James." Dumbledore looked at Severus intently.
Severus froze for a moment. "Harry?" Fear gripped him, taking hold of his heart and squeezing.
"I believe he was."
"Was?" Severus said weakly.
"The Basilisk fang Tom pierced him with, the venom damaged the Horcrux." Dumbledore smiled. "I ran several diagnostics to be sure. I can not say for certain but I believe he is not one anymore."
Severus sighed with relief. "Good. Merlin, I was so afraid I would lose him in that chamber."
"You mean that insufferable brat who is just like his father?" Dumbledore teased.
Severus chuckled. "Perhaps not so insufferable now. And he is more like his mother, thankfully. Although he has my temper."
"And your curiosity," Dumbledore said cheerfully. "Or do you forget the escapes you got into?"
"If you are referring to the shrieking shack, Black got me into that." Severus sniffed.
"Yes and you went to investigate instead of telling a professor or simply ignoring him," Dumbledore said with a smirk.
Severus scowled. Drat, he was right. He had ended up in a dangerous situation because he had listened to Black, he hadn't stopped to consider that it might be some sort of trap. He'd been too impulsive, just like a Gryffindor. He shuddered at the thought. He'd also impulsively joined the dark lord because he had been angry and hurt. "Be that as it may, Harry needs to learn to stop and think before reacting. Going into the chamber was extremely dangerous." He said finally.
"He did it to help someone." Dumbledore reminded him.
"If I had a gallon for every time I was told that this year," Severus huffed.
Dumbledore chuckled. "Harry is a remarkable child. You should be proud."
"I am proud," Severus admitted. "But I also want him to be safe."
"Of course," Dumbledore said smoothly. "He is much safer now, with Voldemort locked away."
Severus nodded. "As long as he doesn't get out."
"There are extra wards and protective measures to make sure that does not happen," Dumbledore said seriously. "I got that box from the Ministry, I had it made specially to hold him. And we are keeping his capture quiet so that even his followers won't know where he is."
"Good." Severus paused. "Have you killed the Basilisk yet?"
"No."
"No? Why not?"
Dumbledore beamed. "I shrunk it and let it go in the forest."
Severus stared at him.
"It helped Harry," Dumbledore pointed out. "I felt bad killing it, it was used by Tom to hurt people but it chose to be loyal to Harry, who didn't want it to hurt anyone. And by shrinking it to a normal-sized snake, it can't hurt anyone even by looking at it."
Severus took a deep breath. Only Dumbledore. "And its venom?"
"Oh, I removed the venom with a spell," Dumbledore said dismissively. "It's a harmless snake now. I also have sealed up the chamber."
"Good."
HP
Harry shifted uncomfortably on the sofa as his father just stared at him. He had been just quietly looking at him, ever since bringing him to their quarters after Pomfrey released him from the infirmary. "I know you're mad!" He burst out.
"Oh? What could I be mad about?" Severus raised an eyebrow.
Harry sighed. "That I went into the chamber. But I only did it -"
"To help someone." Severus finished with a roll of his eyes.
"Well, yeah," Harry said sheepishly.
"You have a good heart and caring heart, Son. And I hope you know that I am proud of you. However," Severus said slowly. "I need you to think of your safety. You should have waited for me. You can not keep jumping into dangerous situations, even if it is to help someone." Severus leaned closer. "I will not lose you, Harry. I just got you in my life and I can not imagine," He paused and when he continued, his voice was gruff. "I can not imagine not having you in my life. Do you understand?"
Harry nodded slowly and then flung himself at his father. "I love you, Dad."
"I love you too, Son." Severus held him. "But you're still in trouble."
Harry pulled back. "And you're still mean and strict." He said cheekily.
Severus lightly tapped his hip. "And don't you forget it." He said in mock anger.
HP
Harry grumbled to himself as he wrote his lines, I will not disregard rules put in place for my safety... He was also grounded from his broom for the first two weeks of summer. At least his father was letting him wait until summer as he still had a Quidditch game coming up. Summer, Harry mused. A summer he would be spending with his father. He smiled at the thought. A home.
"Smiling while enduring a punishment? Perhaps I wasn't hard enough on you." Severus said mildly.
"Huh? Oh, no. I'm miserable. See?" Harry gave the saddest face he could manage.
Severus bit back the grin that wanted to form. Cheeky brat.
HP
"So all you got were lines and being grounded from your broom?" Ron asked. "That's not too bad."
"It's pretty fair of him," Hermione admitted.
"Well, he understood I wanted to help Malfoy, that I wasn't trying to deliberately defy him," Harry said. "But he also said if I did anything like that again, I would be on restriction for a month and have a massive essay on safety to write."
"Now that sounds like Snape," Ron commented. "Oof!" He glared at Hermione as he rubbed the arm she had just slugged. "That hurt!"
"Good." Hermione rolled her eyes. "You do know the end-of-year exams are almost here, we should be studying."
"Or we could play chess," Ron suggested.
Harry's eyes lit up. "Yeah!"
"Just remember, you have a parent to show your final grades to," Hermione said with a smug look. "A strict Professor father who will expect good grades."
Harry's face fell. "Yeah." He said glumly.
"Fine, let's study." Ron sighed. "My parents won't be happy if I get bad grades and I don't want to be de-gnoming the garden for a month."
Harry had started to take out his potions book but paused. "What is de-gnoming?"
HP
"I have good news and very bad news," Dumbledore said, his normally twinkling eyes serious. "First, I have hired a new Defence teacher to finish out the year. Remus Lupin."
"Oh, that's wonderful," McGonagall said brightly.
Severus scowled. "So what is the good news?"
"That is the good news. The bad news is that there has been an escape from Azkaban. Bellatrix Lestrange and Sirius Black are nowhere to be found."
"What? How could this happen?" Severus shouted. Black was a menace who had betrayed James and Lily and Bellatrix... "If I find her first..." He trailed off.
"You will alert the Aurors," Dumbledore said firmly. "You can't risk being hurt or put into Azkaban yourself. Harry needs you."
Severus wanted to hunt down Bellatrix for what she did to Lily. Because of her, he had been separated from his son, separated from Lily, and spent so many years angry and alone. But Albus was right, Harry needed him so he needed to be smart.
Severus drummed his fingers on his armrest. "She'll try to get to the dark lord."
"Only a select few know that he is locked away at Azkaban," Dumbledore said. "And trust me, the wards I helped put in place will keep her away from him." He had set wards similar to the ones he had placed protecting the sorcerer's stone. The only one who had no desire to free Voldemort could open his cell.
"What will she do, then?" McGonagall asked worriedly.
"She'll want revenge for her master's downfall," Severus said grimly. "She'll want to kill my son."
HP
Harry happily ate the biscuits his father had put out after summoning him to their quarters. "Do you want to play some chess?" He asked as he chewed.
"Do not talk with your mouth full," Severus said as he sat across from him. "I need to talk to you about something."
"What?" Harry asked after he swallowed.
"There are new restrictions in place. Your curfew is now at seven. You will not walk alone anywhere in the castle. You will not go outside without permission. For your Quidditch practices, I or a prefect will take you to them and walk you back to the castle."
"Why all the new rules? Is this for everyone?" Harry asked with a frown.
"No, just you," Severus said.
"What? Why? Because of the chamber? I've been punished already!" Harry whined. "I had to write like a thousand lines and I lose my broom for the summer."
"My, how dramatic you are," Severus was amused despite the serious situation. "You had to write three hundred lines, not a thousand. And you will be grounded from flying for two weeks when summer starts, not all summer. Of course, that can change depending on your attitude," He warned.
"But why?"
"There has been an escape from the wizarding prison, Azkaban," Severus said. "A man named Sirius Black and the woman who cursed your mother, Bellatrix Lestrange, are loose. Black pretended to be a friend to James and your mother and he betrayed them to the dark lord. And you know what Bellatrix did."
"Will they come after me?" Harry asked quietly.
"They might," Severus said honestly. "Hogwarts is one of the safest places...well," He frowned, thinking of all the times Harry had been in danger this year. Too many to count. "For most students it is and I intend you to be safe so you will follow my rules."
"But seven is too early for a curfew, usually we are in the library or walking around the castle..." Harry trailed off, seeing his father's stern face.
"You will either be in the Tower at seven or you will be here," Severus said firmly. "You can study in your common room or our quarters and your friends are welcome to visit here, of course."
Harry brightened a little.
"I just want to keep you safe, I need your help to do that," Severus said seriously.
"Okay." Harry sighed. "But what if people notice? I'm going to look like a baby!"
"You are not," Severus said. "Now, if I were to have you sit at the head table during meals while I spoon-fed you, then you might have something to complain about."
Harry's mouth dropped open. "You – you wouldn't!" He gasped in horror.
"Wouldn't I?" Severus raised an eyebrow.
Harry stared at him. His dad just stared back.
"So you will follow these new restrictions?" Severus asked smoothly, inwardly smirking.
"Yes." Harry nodded hastily.
"Good boy."
TBC: