The late evening sun dropped behind the tall craggy mountains as the train continued on towards Hogsmeade. Harry shifted in his seat as his stomach flipped with nerves. The last time he'd been at school had not exactly been his shining moment.

The last time he'd been at Hogwart's he'd almost brought the place down, literally. It was hard to forget the deep dread he had felt as Voldemort's dark power had pushed through his magical core, leaving him feeling filthy with evil. If it wasn't for his dad, he knew he would never have made it through these past three months. He rubbed at his wrists as he remembered how awful it had felt to wear the magical bracelets.

"Are you in pain?" his father asked, putting his papers aside.

"I was just thinking about the magical bracelets. As much as I hated those bastards, I'm glad that I was able to use them. Having Voldemort's magic running through me was pretty nasty stuff." A moment later he added, "I just hope everyone isn't scared of me now."

Severus could tell that Harry was feeling nervous about returning to school. He was nervous too. The newspapers had been writing all sorts of false reports about Harry since his sudden disappearance after Voldemort's demise. The latest newspaper article had stated that Harry had turned into a squib and was now living with his abusive uncle again. He knew how humiliated Harry would be to have stories of his former abuse from his uncle published again. Hopefully his friends would have enough sense to keep those false newspaper articles away from Harry. He knew that Harry would be under intense scrutiny once they returned, which was something the boy truly despised. Any attention was most unwanted when it came to his son.

"It may take some time for the students to realize that you are just a normal teenager," Severus stated, knowing how much Harry yearned to be like everyone else.

He watched as Harry shook his head and leaned further into the corner of the train bench and window. The boy's mood seemed to change right before his eyes. He could hardly be sure if that was just the typical teenage mood swing or if a trace of the Dark Lord's tainted magic was still clinging to Harry's magical core. He would need to keep a close eye on his son in the following days. When they were back at the cabin, the mood swings didn't effect him very much since he would just ignore the difficult teenager the moment he began to act ill tempered.

The boy huffed out in frustration before stating,"Yup that's me, just an average high school bloke, who killed old Voldy ... TWICE ... and was left with his disgusting, filthy magic. Oh yes, and let's not forget my parting gift to the students of Hogwarts - I almost killed everyone when my new magic exploded! Yup, just a regular guy."

"Stop feeling sorry for yourself," Severus stated, feeling less generous.

"How would you like it if everyone ran screaming when they saw you coming down a dark hallway?" Harry asked in a petulant tone.

"I like it just fine," Severus said with a smirk, "It suits me well."

Harry rolled his eyes, "Oh yeah, I forgot who I was talking to. Of course you would like it. Some of us are not going for the 'scary vampire' image that you seem to think is so popular these days. Some of us would rather just blend in."

"My 'scary vampire' image is not what it used to be," Severus said with a sigh. "I fear you have made me look soft in the eyes of the students."

"Soft?" Harry asked with incredulity, "I don't think anyone in their right mind would or could refer to you as soft, Dad." Harry subconsciously rubbed at his side. His dad had put him through his paces before they left, making double sure that Harry wasn't going to lose control and hex anyone now that his magic was so powerful. His dad would goad him into losing control just to test him.

"Perhaps, but I will be rectifying that image soon enough," Severus replied darkly.

Harry sat up straighter, raising his eyebrows as he asked, "What do you plan on doing?"

Severus looked his son in his eyes, "Now that we have put this whole Voldemort business behind us, I plan on being the strict father that you so desperately require."

"W-what does that mean?" Harry asked with alarm. "You can't get any stricter then you already are!"

Severus raised his eyebrow. "Once we get to that school, there will be no more secret night jaunts under invisibility cloaks, nor will there be anymore drummed up plans to save ANYONE, and I mean anyone! Should there be a need for someone to be saved, the ministry Aurors will need to do the saving. You are to keep your nose out of any secret plans that you or your friends wish to concoct. Your studies will come first - not your girlfriend, not Quiddich, not even your new found ability of defense. If you deviate from this plan in any way, I promise a very thorough punishment."

Harry kicked at the train bench his dad was sitting on. "Bloody hell! Haven't I done enough to prove myself in your eyes? I feel like you don't trust me at all!"

The windows began to shake. His dad grabbed his arm tightly causing him to wince.

"Pull it back, Harry, or we will take the next train back to where we have just left," Severus hissed out.

Harry quickly got himself under control. The magic came spiraling back to him as he began to occulude. Once he felt calmer he yanked his arm away from his dad. He would never admit that his dad's strong grip actually helped him focus enough to pull back his unbridled magic. It would take some time to fully learn how to keep his magic in check when he was angry.

Even still, Harry felt the need to complain, "You don't have to be so mean about it!"

"Get used to it," Severus said without apology. He picked his papers back up and began to read again.

Harry huffed out in frustration.

Severus put his papers down to reach for his wand when the train conductor knocked on the door. The conductor announced that their destination was a few minutes away, lingering a moment to look at the occupants. Once Severus shut the door on the man he turned back around and was momentarily caught off guard. The mangy black dog sitting in front of him began to wag it's tail.

"Merlin help me," Severus groaned as the dog stood up on the bench. He snatched his hand back when the blasted mutt bit his finger. "Harry James Potter!"

The dog barked back.

"You seem to be under the impression that I find you amusing, son?" Severus stated. He sat back down with the intent of ignoring his son. It usually just prolonged Harry's transformation into canine if Severus played into the boy's antics.

The dog jumped onto the bench next to him and began to paw at the papers. Severus picked them up and rolled them up. He smacked the dog on his nose.

"Don't you dare start ripping apart my papers again," Severus warned as he watched the dog shake it's head from side to side.

The last time Harry had transformed into a dog, he'd made a huge mess of several seventh year assignments that Severus had been grading. Once Harry had turned back into a human, the blasted boy had claimed that he couldn't help himself. He'd said that the compulsion to have dog-like behavior was so strong that all other thoughts had left him. He had also claimed that while in dog form, having his head scratched or his back petted was the best feeling in the world.

The dog put its head down on it's paws, subdued by the reprimand.

Severus took pity and began to scratch it behind the ears. "You're a rather good boy when you want to be."

_TBC?_I'm back! So should I continue? let me know you are out there!