The usual disclaimers apply.
xx
Harry was overwhelmed. There were sooo many things that he had never seen, so many things that he had never believed possible, so many things that were just beyond everything he could grasp and 'fesser Snape did not answer any of his questions. Maybe because he asked too many at once. And it was okay, he would ask again, one after the other so he could answer. He was fascinated, yes, but also a little scared. This place was huge. And his clothes were comfortable, the fringe bobbing but hiding his scar and the little man called Peeves was hovering behind them as they walked towards somewhere.
And suddenly, they stood in an enormous hall, the ceiling not even there, it was open or seemed open and showed the clear, blue sky with the sun just risen. And there when he looked around, there were five tables in total.
Four down in the hall and one a bit raised. And there were banners hanging around. Like flags but longer and strange looking. With animals on them. And on the fifth table, there were three people sitting.
An old man with grey hair and a long, grey beard and next to him a woman with wrinkles and dark hair, and next to her another woman with curly, blondish sort of hair who looked rather curiously at him. Actually, they all looked rather interestedly at him. The old man seemed to look through his eyes and into his insides and the other woman looked so stern and forbidding.
He didn't know those people and suddenly, 'fesser Snape said three names and said he would be leaving. Harry wanted to fight it, wanted to be brave but he couldn't. He couldn't leave them with those strangers. Strangers were not good and he didn't know whether Aunt Petunia or Mrs Figg knew those people. And he didn't want to stay with them. They all stared at him. And the woman in the middle looked as if she was about to throttle him.
the 'fesser and the old man still looked deeper than his eyes and it wasn't a nice feeling.
The 'fesser was about to turn and all Harry could do was clutch the back of his robes. He couldn't possibly leave him there alone. He trusted the 'fesser who had taken him away and now he was leaving him again? That couldn't happen. He couldn't let it happen.
"Please," he said quietly and pleadingly, shaking his head, "Where are you going? Are you coming back soon? Please? I don't...Please?"
'fesser Snape looked down at him with his eyebrows raised way up and he said in that nice voice of his. "Please what, Potter?"
"Please," he didn't know how to say this, how to express it, and then decided on honest, brutal truth but he had to force his voice to say the words and had to force his body to produce enough breath to get it out, "don't leave me here alone."
He looked at the 'fesser and he knew that there were a couple of tiny tears stinging at the edges of his eyes. He knew he was behaving like a baby but he didn't know how to hold them back, how to stop himself. His fists clenched in the woolly material of his Batman-cape and he didn't want him to go. Wanted to hold him back and if he actually went, he would have to drag Harry with him. He couldn't just go.
"Severus," the old man said and Harry realised that he was probably the Headmaster, 'fesser Snape had talked about. He smiled a little and there was an odd twinkle in his eyes but Harry did not feel comfortable under his searching gaze and so he hid a bit further behind 'fesser Snape. No, Harry did not really like the way the old man looked at him. Even though he did look rather friendly and almost like everyone pictured a wizard.
Uncle Vernon would probably find him especially weird.
And so Harry held on tightly to 'fesser Snape's Batman-cape but he also hid behind it a little and the 'fesser let him. He had not yet made a move to walk away and that was a good thing, Harry thought.
xx
Severus stiffened. He had no other choice, really. The boy did not want him to go. The boy did not want to be left alone. The boy did not want him to leave him alone. The boy wanted to stay with him.
Up there sat three people who were considered the best, and two some of the kindest in the Wizarding World. And the Potter boy was afraid of them. It showed. It showed in the way that he clenched his fists into the material of his robes and it showed in the way he was hiding behind him. Behind him. Harry Potter was hiding behind Severus Snape.
"Severus," Albus said and he could see that he was trying to use Legilimency on the boy and maybe it was good that he hid behind him. Hid his little aching legs because he had dragged the boy through the castle and because he had scared the boy. And Albus would not like that at all.
"Have at least breakfast with us before you leave," he continued kindly. "Harry, what would you like for breakfast?"
Severus turned and looked down at the boy who still had that pleading look in his eyes. And he had to stop himself from thinking how much he would have done for Lily had she looked at him like that. This was not Lily. This was Harry Potter.
"Well?" he asked the boy. "I...you won't go?"
Rolling his eyes, he disentangled the boy's hands from the back of his robes. "The Headmaster asked you a question," he added and more careful than Albus, he delved into the child's mind. Again, there were only flashes
– flashes of cold porridge and mushy, soggy cereal, carefully protected from the greedy hands of his cousin, leftovers, lukewarm milk. Flashes of him wanting to have a decent breakfast like the one he had to help make. But clearest of all in the boy's mind – clearer than all the memories of breakfasts and wishes for breakfasts, there was trust for Severus. Trust and the wish to stay with him. The wish for Severus to answer all his questions. It was more visible than anything – tangible. Fear of the place he had been taken too, and fear of those people sitting up there, trusting only Snape to answer him, to take care of him.
It puzzled Severus, it confused him. The boy had only been with him for less than 24 hours. And he trusted him. He just trusted him. Merlin knew why. He was so confused, that he merely grabbed the boy's arm and pulled him with him up to the table. He wasn't sure what he should do. But probably stay until the boy trusted one of them as well. He could not forget that this was the child that had the power to vanish the Dark Lord. That his life depended on that child whenever the time came. That was the reason, the only reason. And if the boy trusted him for the time being, it was his task to make sure he trusted those he could trust. And that he could achieve rather quickly.
Would just have to sit with him for a while and explain in simple words that those three were not dangerous at all and could be trusted.
"Come along," he hissed at the boy and pulled a chair out for him – next to Poppy. Poppy was probably kindest in a situation like this.
And then tea – finally.
xx
Suddenly, out of thin air, there were plates in front of him. A plate full of breakfast. There was bacon, there were mushrooms, there were fried eggs, there was fried bread, there were sausages, tomatoes, black pudding . A huge bowl full of cereal. Toast. Stacks and stacks of toast and little pots of jam and marmalade and a pot of tea, a tall glass of milk and another glass filled with something orange.
Harry didn't know where to look first. And he wasn't sure whether it was for him at all. But the smell only, it made his stomach churn and growl and hurt.
"Eat, my boy," the old man said and the woman, 'fesser Snape had put him next to smiled at him.
"What would you like, Harry?" she asked very kindly. "I'm sure the house elves would bring you anything else you'd like."
His eyes widened. This was like – paradise. He had never seen so much food at once. Not even when Aunt Petunia had him help prepare some party. Never. And he could eat it? What he liked? Everything that stood before him?
"Mr Potter, you decide what you like and then you eat," 'fesser Snape explained and Harry looked up hopefully.
"Really?" he asked carefully.
"Yes," he replied.
"Oh," Harry felt himself smiling a little and his smile grew steadily. "Really?"
"Do I have to feed you, Mr Potter?" the 'fesser asked jokingly and Harry smiled broader, giggled even a little and shook his head. His eyes roamed over the plates and the bowls and the glasses. He had never seen the kind of stuff that was in the one glass. Orange.
"'fesser Snape, what is that?" he asked, pointing at the glass.
"That is pumpkin juice," the woman in the middle explained and Harry turned his head. She was old too. But not as old as the old man and somehow, she didn't look so stern anymore. She even smiled at him for a moment and he just had to smile back. But he was so glad that 'fesser Snape sat right there next to him and hadn't left. He wouldn't want to stay on anyone else's couch but his.
Harry was about to hesitantly spear a bit of bacon on his fork when he felt the admonishing look of 'fesser Snape on his face and Harry felt a tiny bit embarrassed. The 'fesser even had to remind him, with a look, not a slap to the fingers, that he was no baby anymore and perfectly capable of eating with knife and fork. And since he was surrounded by older people, he was glad for it. Old people usually were stickler for these things and those three didn't look as if they'd accept him eating like a baby. Or a pig. And he had the feeling that the old man, if he was indeed the Headmaster, had a say in the matter of him staying there. And he wanted to stay. He wanted to sleep on 'fesser Snape's couch until he was grown up and would have a couch, or maybe a bed, of his own.
He sighed softly to himself, then, gingerly, took the glass full of pumpkin juice in his hands and sipped on it. Oh the food was wonderful and this was wonderful. Just wonderful. The best stuff he ever had in his life.
And the best morning he could ever remember having.
xx
"Well, Severus, it seems someone has taken a liking to you," Minerva smirked and did not even bother to hide it behind her teacup.
And yes, it was true. Weird though it was. The boy sat close to him, the boy looked at him every time before he tasted something, the boy smiled at him as if that was his doing.
"I'm sure Severus won't mind to watch Harry until we find a family for him," Albus added with the most annoying twinkle in his eyes.
"As a matter of fact, I do mind," he hissed and was horribly aware of the fact that the boy's eyes snapped up and – oh no. Hurt. He looked hurt. He did not want to hurt the bloody child, he just did not want to...
"He does look like Lily, doesn't he," Poppy said quietly. "He's got the same eyes. And he's very well behaved too."
There were two choices he had in that moment, Severus knew. One choice was to get up in a huff, to complain loudly that he was no babysitter and to just go back to Spinner's End for the rest of the summer and let them deal with the boy. The other choice was to take him in. If, and only if, there was no other alternative. Because the boy had indeed taken a liking to him and because he was responsible for the hurt in his eyes earlier. And now. The boy did truly want to stay with him. But 7 year old boys had no decision to make. It was his and he had wanted a quiet, peaceful summer. Full of brewing and spells and jinxes that needed to be explored.
Hurt. Oh, he remembered the feeling of not being wanted. He remembered it very, very clearly in that moment. And...
"Is there nobody else?" he asked, trying to sound bored.
"No. Except us, there is nobody at the moment. And I doubt Harry wants to stay with either one of us," Minerva explained.
"We're old," the Headmaster added.
"But the staff?"
"All gone for the summer, Severus, you know that," Poppy shook her head.
"But Sinistra? Hooch? Sprout? Flitwick? Blackwell?"
"You should really come out of your dungeons more," Minerva quipped. "Aurora left last week for her summer holidays that she'll spend with her boyfriend in France, Hooch is somewhere on the continent since three weeks ago, Pomona left at the weekend for Cornwall, Filius is with his daughter in Italy and Barnabas moved out the day before yesterday and the new Arithmancy teacher, Septima Vector will not arrive until next week."
Severus looked puzzled. "Right. Blackwell retired. I forgot about that. But it can't be that they're all on holidays."
"It's the summer, Severus," Poppy smiled.
"You wanted to stay for the whatever herb it was you wanted to pick and the wards," Minerva added.
There was a tug on his sleeve and when he looked at the boy, there were those eyes again. "Do I have to go back to Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia and Dudley?" he asked very sadly.
Severus grumbled. What could he do? "No. You don't have to go back and if there is no other way, you can stay with me until we find a suitable family for you," he said swiftly. Couldn't think about what this meant for him. Bye bye peaceful summer.
And the mayhem already started a moment later, barely a heartbeat when suddenly, the boy attacked him. From the side, his little boy's arms flung around his middle even while he was sitting and the little boy's head pressed against his chest.
"Thank you, 'fesser Snape," he said over and over again and Severus tried to breathe deeply, tried not to shake him off, tried to just let it happen for a moment.
He had surely died anyway and had gone straight to hell.
xx
Poppy waved her wand and made sure that the boy could not hear what was spoken. "Physically, he's almost fine. He's undernourished but I found nothing serious. The odd healed bruise and everything you would expect in a boy that age. It seems that his magic made sure that that cousin of his could not hit him too hard."
Snape growled. "Why do you tell me this?"
"Because you're his temporary guardian, Severus," she said sternly. "And you have to know what you're dealing with. At the moment he's fine emotionally as well. He kept telling me during the examination how comfortable your couch was and that you helped him with the clothes and the brushing of teeth and that you answered almost every question he had. Believe it or not, he likes you. I don't know why but he does. And he feels safe with you."
"Pfh."
"Don't pfh me, young man. He says he feels safe with you. You were the one who rescued him and you will take good care of him now. He doesn't want to stay with anyone else but you for the time being. He's Lily's son, Severus. I know you liked her very much. Do her that favour."
"He's Potter's son as well," he snapped.
"Yes he is. He's a child. Put yourself in his position. Imagine being 7 and hating where you grow up, I know you can. And then imagine someone is taking you away from there, giving you a place to sleep, answering questions, decent cloths. Brings you to a magical world. I know you," she poked him in his chest, "and as a 7 year old, you would have never wanted to leave this person either."
"I would have," he tried to protest meekly but knew it was in vain. She was right.
The mediwitch raised and eyebrow. "You would have never and you know it. You have the chance to give Harry the childhood you never had and to give him the childhood he never had. He gets a chance if you want to give him a chance," she said and turned away, back towards the boy but had not yet cancelled the charm. She looked over her shoulder, "He can be happy. And happy boys grow into happy, content adults. And those know what they're fighting for," she added mysteriously and a second later, cancelled the charm, leaving him there, struck dumb.
He hadn't received a talking to like this since – years before. And the matron was right. He did not like to admit it, not at all, but she was – right. He would have followed anyone who would have taken him away from that home like a little dog. Would have done everything for that person.
And he would have, probably, never made the mistakes he had made in his youth had it not been for his childhood. And there had been rumours that the boy had only been able to vanish the Dark Lord because he was a more powerful Dark Wizard in the making. If that was true, an unhappy childhood could seal his fate. A childhood lived under the protection of any decent Wizard-family, anyone on the side of the Light, could, possibly, stop that.
Severus realised with a jolt that he had, now, in his hands, the fate of the entire Wizarding World.
xx
Harry skipped happily next to 'fesser Snape, more than glad that he had finally been allowed to leave that place where that Madam Pomfrey had prodded and poked him with her wand and had tutted and then spoke, silently, to the 'fesser. And then she had given him something absolutely icky to drink and it was even worse than the stuff that the 'fesser had given him before. This one had tasted like mud. Liquid mud.
The 'fesser was very strange now though. He looked kind of into the distance and then his eyes again, and then into the distance again. Harry had asked but he had only grumbled. Said nothing real and so Harry had decided that maybe it was better to be silent as well. Couldn't hurt even though he had trazillions of questions in his head buzzing. For example – why was the Peeves-man still or again, hovering behind them? And he had seemed so talkative the day before and today he was very, very quiet? And where were they going?
Oh – well, that one question was soon answered when Harry recognised the portrait of the swimming, bathing bat. They had passed it on their way from where 'fesser Snape lived to breakfast. And his stomach was still so wonderfully full from breakfast. It had been absolutely marvellous. And nobody had taken anything away from him or had rushed him. Nothing. He had been able to eat in peace.
"Well, there we are," the 'fesser said suddenly and Harry recognised his door.
"Okay, sir," Harry replied.
"Pass the time and try not to touch anything," he said strangely.
"But what will I do? Can I read? Can I borrow one of your books? Will I get mine from the place we left it yesterday? I can do some stuff for school," he asked, then his eyes fell on a door that had not been there this morning. "'fesser, look, there's a new door," he exclaimed.
"What?"
"Look," Harry pointed, then followed the 'fesser as he strode quickly towards it and flung the door open with his wand raised.
"Oh Merlin give me strength," he muttered and Harry peeked past him into the room.
It was the coolest room he had ever seen in his life.
xx