Author's Note:
Keep your insulin and your toothbrush ready- because this is some super sweet fluff! Also, there is some amazing art to go with this chapter but I don't know how to embed it here, but if you search this fic on AO3, you can see the art. Hope you enjoy!
Master Barclay left early the next morning to track down ingredients, gone in the darkness before Snape and Harry ever got up.
As Snape showered and got ready, he was thinking about the day ahead with a new sense of purpose. He couldn't stop thinking about Harry and his abysmal childhood. He was determined that he would spend as much time doing "daddy" things with the boy as he possibly could. Harry deserved that. Even if it was only for a few days.
He knew it meant he'd have to put a lot of the burden on Barclay for the potions, but he knew his mentor wouldn't mind. He'd help out when Harry was sleeping, but he wanted to spend quality time with the little boy while he had the chance, he knew it wouldn't be long. It was the first time he could remember ever feeling like something was more important to him than work.
He made his tea and relaxed in his armchair for half an hour, trying to plan out all of the things they would do. Just when he was about to get up and wake Harry, the little blighter came shuffling into the parlor in his pajamas, his hair sticking in a million directions.
"Good morning, Harry."
Harry scowled a little bit and without a word, crawled on top of his lap. Snape picked him up and settled him in the chair with him, running a hand through his dark mop. "Did you sleep well?"
"Uh-huh," Harry said, rubbing his eyes and leaning into Snape's chest. Clearly, Little Harry was not a morning person either.
Snape let him sit there quietly for a few minutes while he sipped his tea and they both enjoyed a silent cuddle.
"I was thinking we could go to the park today," Snape said, looking down at Harry who was curled comfortably on his left side.
Harry popped up immediately. "We can?"
"Yes, we can. Why don't we have some breakfast first and then we'll get dressed and head out for an adventure."
"Yay!" Harry clapped his hands together and threw both arms around Snape before sliding off his lap and sprinting toward the breakfast table.
"Slow down, Harry. Do NOT run in the house."
Snape picked up his mug and followed behind Harry to the kitchen. While Snape prepared breakfast, Harry kneeled on his chair and chatted away to him.
"I want to go on the slide, and then you can push me on the swing. If you want you can push me really high, cuz I'm not afraid of heights. Maybe if you push me REALLY hard I can almost fly!"
Snape served up some French toast strips he'd cut up so Harry could use his hands, along with apple and orange slices.
After he set the plate down, he snapped his fingers and pointed at the chair. "Sit down properly, Harry. And yes, I'll be happy to push you on the swing."
Harry sat down and reached for a piece of French toast, dipping it in honey before popping it in his mouth.
The two enjoyed a relaxed breakfast, and Snape was pleased to see that Harry's appetite was strong. He ate two pieces of French toast, drank all of his milk, and even ate a good portion of fruit.
After breakfast, Snape set Harry on the counter while he did the washing up. Half the time Snape had no idea what the boy was blabbering on about but he just nodded his head in agreement as Harry rambled on about Dudley and what he hoped they'd find on the playground.
Snape helped Harry change into his day clothes, which he had to adjust several times to get them to fit. It turned out his 5 year-old proportions weren't exactly the same as his 12 year-old ones, so a simple shrinking spell didn't quite do the job. After several attempts, he managed to get a pair of shorts and a t-shirt to look somewhat normal (the first time around, the t-shirt ended up like a crop top when he shrank it to fit his tiny shoulders). Even though he knew Harry wouldn't be this size for long, he considered buying him a few pieces of proper children's clothes so he didn't have to go through the ridiculous exercise of trying to shrink every item of clothing sixteen times before it fit.
By mid-morning, Snape and Harry were ready to go. Snape had decided it might be best to floo them back to London through Barclay's fireplace, where they could visit a nearby Muggle playground and no one would know him or Harry. Not to mention, it was a nice neighborhood and Snape knew they would be safe. He also just had no idea where else to go.
Putting Harry on his hip, he grabbed the floo powder into his hand. "Hold on tight, Harry. I don't know if you remember using the floo, but it can be a very odd sensation. Just close your eyes and know that I've got you. Are you ready?"
Harry nodded his head. "Uh-huh"
"Very well, brace yourself."
Snape threw the floo powder down and they stepped into the flames, popping out moments later in Barclay's parlor.
Harry had his head buried in Snape's shoulder and Snape had his hands wrapped tightly around the boy, rubbing his back as they stepped out of the fireplace.
"Are you alright?"
"I'm OK," Harry said as he lifted his head up. It had been disorienting, but having Snape's arms wrapped tightly around him made him feel safe and secure, and he had kept his eyes closed the whole time.
Snape put the boy down. "Do you need the loo before we go out?"
"Nope! Let's go, I want to go to the playground!" Harry grabbed Snape's hand and led him toward the front door.
It was only a five minute walk to the lovely gardens and playground in a small little courtyard in Paddington. Barclay lived in an upper class neighborhood, so Snape was not surprised when they arrived at the playground to see several young kids who appeared to be there with their nannies. He noticed he was the only "Dad" around, and everyone stared at him when he and Harry walked through the gates.
Right away, Harry ran for the slide. He called back over his shoulder, "Daddy, watch this!"
Snape stood awkwardly as he watched Harry climb up the playground equipment and then slide down the slide, squealing with glee. He fell forward on his hands into the mulch before pushing himself up and dusting himself off.
"Did you see that? Did you see how fast I went!" Harry yelled out as he ran back to do it again.
"I did. Well done." Snape wasn't sure what he was supposed to say, but Harry was having fun and seemed to be proud of himself so he figured he should encourage him.
For the first few minutes Snape hovered close by, watching Harry and hoping he wouldn't get hurt. He also wanted to be nearby since Harry was talking to him the whole time, wanting him to watch and acknowledge everything he was doing.
When Harry got bored of the slide, he asked Snape to hold him while he tried to do the monkey bars. Snape knew his hands and arms would be too weak to do it on his own, but he dutifully held him up and walked with him as Harry grabbed each of the bars and pretended to swing himself.
"Can we do the swings now?" Harry asked, his face pinked up and the baby hair along his forehead plastered to his skin with sweat.
"Whenever you're ready," Snape said, setting him down so Harry could run off to the swings.
"Push me, daddy. Push me REALLY high," Harry shouted. He plopped down in one of the swings and waited for Snape to come up behind him.
"Hold on tight," Snape said, casting a wandless, wordless sticking charm for his hands and his bum hoping he wouldn't fly off of the swing.
He started off by pulling the swing backward almost above his head before letting it go.
Harry squealed with delight. "Higher! Push me higher!"
Snape couldn't help smiling to himself remembering the daredevil Seeker Harry was when he was on his broom, he was clearly a boy who loved to feel like he could fly. Obliging him, Snape pushed him on the swing harder and harder until Harry was laughing and satisfied, the chains jerking from gravity as the swing reached beyond its natural arch.
They played for another hour until the sky suddenly got dark and gray and they heard a rumble in the clouds. Snape looked up just as a drop of rain splashed on his forehead. He wiped his face before grabbing the swing and bringing it to an abrupt halt.
"It's about to storm Harry, it's time to go." Snape held the chains steady.
"No! I don't want to go home, please daddy?" Harry begged, turning his head around to look behind him at Snape.
Fat raindrops were starting to fall slowly, leaving random dark splotches on their clothes. Harry held tightly to the swing, refusing to budge.
"That's enough. We'll come back again, I promise. But it's going to start raining harder and there's thunder and lightning. It's not safe. Come on, up you get." Snape tapped him on the back, his voice taking a more serious tone.
Harry whined out loud. "I want to stay here."
"I know, but it's time for lunch anyway. Let's go." Snape reached down and picked Harry up off of the swing, nearly having to wrench each hand from the chain he was holding onto for dear life.
Hoping he could get them inside before they were sopping wet, and preferably before Harry had a complete meltdown, Snape carried Harry hurriedly from the park back across the street, walking briskly as the rain started to fall harder.
When they got inside Barclay's house, both of them were quite soaked and Harry was visibly disappointed and shivering slightly, goosebumps popping up on his arms and legs, his lips turning blue. Snape set him down in front of the fire and cast a drying spell on both of them.
"Let's go home and have lunch, and we'll find something else fun to do."
Harry frowned. "But I liked playing on the playground."
"I know. And I promise you we'll come back again. Now that's enough whining, come on, we're going home." He lifted him up and threw the floo powder into the flames, stepping in and taking the two of them back to the Welsh cottage.
After insisting Harry put on a jumper, they had a relaxed lunch at home. Snape made them cheese toasties and a cup of tomato soup. Since the rain showed no sign of stopping, after lunch they stayed cozy inside and Snape read while Harry snuggled up next to him.
Master Barclay had done a great job bringing home a selection of children's books, and Snape read him several different stories from his new collection.
"Can you read me 'Where the Wild Things Are' again?" Harry asked.
"You have ten other books, you know," Snape said. "It wouldn't kill us to have some variety."
"But it's my favorite. Pleaaaseee?" Harry begged, holding his dragon in one hand and wrapping his other arm around Snape's chest.
"Very well." Snape sighed and opened the book for the 3rd time today. He had never heard of the book before, but after two days of Harry insisting he read it repeatedly, he was pretty sure he could recite it from memory.
They flipped through the pages and then they got to Harry's favorite part. "I'll eat you up, I love you so"- and Snape tickled Harry and pretended to gobble up his stomach while Harry laughed so hard he could barely catch his breath.
"Again! Read it again!" Harry cried.
Snape closed the book and put it down next to the bed. "I think that's enough for now. Why don't you take a little nap."
"But I'm not tired," Harry complained, putting on a dramatic frown.
"Why don't we just rest quietly for a bit, I'll stay here with you." Snape pulled out his wand and darkened the room a bit, even though it was quite dark outside already from the storm clouds and the rain was still falling and making gentle sounds on the window. He pulled the blankets over Harry before pointing his wand at the ceiling and making an entire night sky appear, with stars and comets twinkling above them.
"Wow! Look, it's a shooting star!" Harry exclaimed, pointing up as a small streak of light flashed across the ceiling.
"Indeed. Keep watching, see if you can count them."
Within a few minutes, they had both drifted off, Harry curled up next to Snape with a smile plastered to his face.
Snape awoke first and glanced behind him out the window. The weather still looked ugly and he scowled to himself a bit. He was hoping he could take Harry back out, but, alas, fate did not seem to be on their side today.
Harry stirred next to him before rolling over and throwing an arm across his stomach. Snape just pulled the blankets up over the boy and laid there quietly watching the stars as Harry slept, trying to come up with new plans for the afternoon.
When Harry finally sat up half an hour later, he looked over at Snape. "Can we go back to the playground?"
"Not today. It's still raining."
"Awwwwww," Harry pouted slightly. "It's not fair."
Snape's lip curled into a small smirk. "I hate to be the one to tell you this, Harry, but life isn't fair. The sooner you learn this lesson, the less disappointed you'll be. But I think we can still have some fun this afternoon. Come on, up you get."
Snape patted him on the hip and then put his hands under his arms, lifting him onto the floor. "Why don't we do some arts and crafts? We can draw and color, you also have your Play-Do, it will be fun. Then maybe we can bake some cookies for Master Barclay later, what do you think?"
He knew Barclay had a sweet tooth, so he was hoping that might butter him up a bit since he was leaving most of the brewing to him while he spent time with Harry. Plus he figured Harry would enjoy the activity.
Harry smiled. "Yeah!"
They collected Harry's art supplies and brought them to the kitchen table. Snape helped set up the coloring books and all of the crayons, markers, and colored pencils. He shook his head to himself as he looked at the table, Harry had somehow accumulated more things in a few weeks than he probably had in his entire childhood. So much for not spoiling the boy.
Snape made himself a cup of tea while Harry got to work in his coloring book.
Over the next hour, Harry colored diligently in his book, choosing his colors carefully and trying very hard to color within the lines, although usually about halfway through a picture he came up with a new idea and made additions to the illustration, coloring way outside of the bounds.
"How come it doesn't move when I color outside of the lines?" Harry asked, disappointed that the snowman he'd drawn on the hillside of one of his pictures refused to move.
"It's a charmed coloring book, and it is only the printed illustrations that can move," Snape replied.
"Oh."
"But, lucky for you, I'm an exceptionally talented wizard." Snape pulled out his wand and said an incantation and suddenly Harry's purple snowman came to life on the page.
"Wow! You did it! You made it move!" Harry exclaimed, ecstatic that his addition to the picture was now jumping around the page as well.
Snape couldn't believe he'd been reduced to using his incredibly powerful magic to make a purple crayon drawing of a snowman dance on the page, but if it made Harry happy, he was happy.
At Harry's insistence, Snape began to draw as well. He was an exceptionally gifted artist, and he used to draw all of the time as a teenager, but it had been years since he'd drawn anything for fun. He mostly just did academic drawings of plants and illustrations of dissection techniques in his lab notebook. But since Harry begged him, he pulled out a blank piece of parchment and began to sketch.
"What's that?" Harry asked as he looked down at the paper.
"What does it look like to you?"
"It looks like Max from Where the Wild Things Are. But it's not Max, it looks like me!"
"That's because it is you."
Harry clasped his hands together. "You drew me like Max! What does it say?" He pointed to the black words on the page, in Snape's elegant scrawl.
"It says: 'Wild Thing, I'll eat you up, I love you so!' Signed Daddy." He blushed a little as he said it.
"Is it for me?" Harry asked, leaving his chair and crawling up to sit on Snape's lap.
"Of course it is. Trust me, I don't know another Wild Thing as wild as you." Snape held him tightly and kissed him on the head.
"I love it, daddy! You're the best drawer in the world!"
"I'm glad you like it. Why don't we put away the art supplies and then we can make some biscuits."
After a long and trying day seeking out potions ingredients from all over Europe, Master Barclay was thrilled to come back to an exuberant Harry and a smiling Snape. He looked at the young Potions Master and saw he was almost drunk on pure bliss. He had known the man for 15 years, and he had never seen him this relaxed, and dare he say, happy?
"We baked you some gingersnaps, Master Barclay!" Harry said, looking adorable in a tiny little apron Snape had clearly transfigured for him, flour in his hair and on his cheek.
"It smells delicious, Harry. Hopefully I've been a good boy today and if I eat enough vegetables at dinner, maybe Professor Snape will let me have some for dessert," he quipped, giving the boy a small wink.
Harry laughed out loud and Snape shot him a look of quiet indignation. Barclay clapped him on the back and smiled.
The freezer stocks were dwindling, but Snape cooked up one of their last cottage pies and they all enjoyed a relaxed dinner together. They each indulged in quite a few of Harry's (and Snape's) snickerdoodles and ginger snaps for dessert.
After Harry had been given a bath and put to bed (with several readings of "Where the Wild Things Are"), Snape joined Barclay in the parlor for a nightcap.
"Harry seems to be doing well. I take it you had a nice day?" Barclay asked, the answer already apparent on Snape's face.
"We did. Unfortunately it started raining, but I think we managed to make the most of our afternoon."
"I'm glad you're getting to spend time with him. He's thriving."
Snape took a sip of his whiskey. "I hope you don't mind, Master Barclay. I know much of the work is falling to you right now, but I feel that it's important that I spend quality time with Harry right now. He had such a horrendous childhood. Even if I only have a few days with him at this age, I want them to be filled with happiness."
"Of course, Severus. I don't want you to worry about that at all. I told you I'm here to support you. I absolutely believe you're doing the right thing. For both of you. I know I can count on you if I need anything, otherwise I think we've done most of the hard work. Now I just need to start brewing."
"So, you think you have everything now to move forward?"
Barclay nodded his head. "I've got nearly all of the supplies. I've set up a tank downstairs for the plankton. I'll let them settle tonight, but I think we can start brewing in a few days. I'm extremely confident we'll have the potions ready to test within a few days, a week maximum."
"Excellent," Snape said, although his heart sank as the words fell from his mouth. He knew they would have to re-age Harry and bring him back to his 12 year-old self, but he couldn't help feeling a bit sad at the idea of losing his Little Harry.
It was selfish, but part of him wished he could keep Harry as he was, and give him the chance to live his life over again. He secretly hoped it would take more than a few days. He wasn't ready yet. He wanted to give Harry just a little bit more time to show him he was a loved little boy.
"Harry, it's time to wake up," Snape said softly, running his hands through Harry's hair as he perched on the side of his bed. It was 8:30am and he was afraid if he let him sleep too long he'd never go to bed at night.
"Mmmm" Harry moaned and rolled over onto his stomach, pushing his face into the pillow and letting his arm hold onto Snape's leg.
"Come on, up you get, we have a fun day planned." Snape gently picked him up, and cuddled him against his chest.
He waited a few minutes before he spoke again. "Don't you want to see the dinosaurs?"
Harry lifted his head up. "What dinosaurs?"
"I thought we could go into London today and see the dinosaurs at the Museum," Snape said, smiling down at the drowsy little boy.
"And then I thought we could go to the park and feed the ducks. Maybe have a picnic?"
The little boy was now wide awake. He sat up, his eyes bright with excitement. "Can we go now?"
"We'll eat breakfast first, and then we'll go."
Harry scrambled off the bed toward the kitchen, filled with an excitement that rivaled Christmas morning.
Once again, they floo'd to London using Master Barclay's fireplace, their first destination the Museum of Natural History in Kensington.
"Hold my hand, Harry, and don't let go" Snape said sternly as they walked through the streets of Paddington. It was crowded near the train station, and he didn't want to lose Harry in the crowd or have him step onto the street.
Suddenly Harry stopped and pointed. "Look! Look at that boy's shoes, they have lights in them!"
Snape looked down to see a flashing light every time the little boy walked. "I see."
"Can I get shoes like that? Please? Please!" He pleaded with his eyes, pulling down on Snape's hand. Harry was completely preoccupied, turning his head to watch the boy walk away from them, lights flickering from his heel with each step. Harry looked up again at Snape. "Please, daddy?"
"You have perfectly good trainers," Snape replied flatly.
"But they don't have lights," Harry pouted slightly, careful not to overdo it, as he knew Snape would not put up with a tantrum. He readjusted his tone and decided to try a different approach, putting on his most innocent face. "Please can you get me shoes like that?"
Snape rolled his eyes to himself. If he wasn't standing in the middle of the street he was pretty sure he could cast a charm to make his shoes light up everytime he walked. He didn't need to buy the boy a new pair of shoes, especially if he was only going to be here for another few days. Still, it was hard to tell him no, he wanted nothing more than to make Harry happy, but he didn't want to spoil him.
"Not right now. Come on, let's walk. Don't you want to see the dinosaurs?"
Harry nodded his head sadly and let Snape pull him gently down the pavement, his head turning back every few seconds to see if he could still see the boy with the light-up shoes.
Over the next half-hour, Snape became aware that nearly every kid in London had shoes that lit up. And without fail, every single time Harry would stop walking and cry out, "Look, daddy! Look at their shoes!"
"I see." Snape replied, getting more exasperated with each sighting as he pulled on Harry's hand to keep him moving. Between Harry's tiny stride and his easy distraction, they'd barely made it out of Paddington in half an hour and Harry was starting to drag his feet.
"My feet hurt."
Snape paused and looked down at the little boy. "Let's rest for a bit. Are you hungry, do you want a snack?"
Harry shook his head. "Can you carry me?"
Snape bent down to pick him up when Harry pulled back. "No, not like that. I don't wanna look like a baby."
Snape arched an eyebrow at the tone. "Very well, then how?"
"Can't you let me ride on your back?" Harry asked, looking up at him with big green eyes.
In his entire life, Snape had never given a piggyback ride to anyone. Come to think of it, he'd never had anyone do it to him either. It seemed so…undignified.
"Why don't we just sit for a little while and let your feet rest. I hardly think it's proper to walk down the streets of South London with a human rucksack glued to my back.
Harry's face fell. "But other dads do it all the time. I'm not that heavy. Dudley is a lot bigger than me and Uncle Vernon always lets him ride piggyback."
Snape furrowed his brow. "Of course you're not heavy, you don't weigh nearly enough for a boy your age. That's not the point."
"Then how come you won't carry me?" Harry looked up to him with questioning eyes and Snape felt his heart twinge. Why didn't he want to do it? Was he afraid he was going to look stupid? He didn't even know anyone here. It just felt like such a…public display. It made him uncomfortable and he didn't know why.
But one more look at Harry's innocent little face and he remembered why he was here to begin with. He wanted to give Harry the "dad experience"—and he wasn't really asking very much.
"Fine. But I'm not going to walk you through the museum like this, it wouldn't be proper. If your feet are still hurting when we get there, we will take some time to rest them in the cafe."
Harry's face lit up with joy as Snape bent down to allow the boy to climb onto his back. "Come on, then, up you get."
"Thank you!" Harry exclaimed, wrapping his arms around Snape's thin shoulders as he stood up. The boy really was as light as a baby bird.
Since it was a nice day, and Harry was comfortable riding on his back, Snape decided to cut through Hyde park to get to Kensington. In fact, with Harry on his back, he was able to move much more quickly and within 40 minutes they'd made it all the way across the park. Snape was actually rather pleased with the efficiency of traveling this way.
When they reached the museum, Snape set the boy down and the two walked in together hand-in-hand, Harry's feet doing much better after their rest.
Once they passed through admission, Snape took Harry straight toward the dinosaur bones. Harry was in awe of the giant fossilized skeletons, and they walked slowly through the hallways as Snape read him the details from the placards. Harry's favorite was the Stegosaurus, but he also loved the Wooly Mammoth skeleton.
"They are so big! Is it real?"
"Indeed they are, but they died a long time ago."
"Do they have dragons here too?"
Snape bent down to whisper in his ear. "No, I don't think they do. Dragons are magical creatures, Harry, not everyone can see them."
"I want to see them! Can you take me to visit some dragons?"
"Maybe one day, when you're older." Snape stood up and grabbed his hand and walked him to the Minerals and Gems- where Harry was excited to see different rocks glowing under the black lights.
Snape made a few mental notes as well, recognizing that some of the minerals and stones might have magical properties that could be useful in his bioluminescent studies.
It didn't take long before Harry's interest began to waiver. Since Snape had a lot of other activities planned for the day, he decided they'd had enough. Unfortunately, there was only one exit and the gift shop was on the way out the door.
"Daddy! Can I get a dinosaur?" Harry asked, pulling at Snape's hand as they passed by the gift shop.
"No. You have plenty of toys at home."
Just as he was about to drag him away from the shop, Snape looked at a sale rack of t-shirts and saw one with a Stegosaurus on it. Maybe he should just get him the t-shirt and save himself the trouble of transfiguring his clothes every day. He grabbed a green dinosaur t-shirt off the rack and held it up to Harry to gauge the size.
"Would you like a dinosaur shirt?"
"Yes please!"
Snape nodded and brought the t-shirt up to the register and pulled cash out of his wallet while Harry browsed the plastic dinosaurs.
As soon as they were out the front door, Harry complained again, "My feet hurt."
Snape immediately bent down and Harry hopped on his back, grinning from ear-to-ear.
"I was thinking it would be nice to have a picnic in the park, are you hungry?"
"Yeah!" Harry exclaimed.
"Good. We'll pop into Tesco and then we'll find a nice place to sit by the lake in Hyde Park."
After grabbing sandwiches and crisps, along with some drinks and a bag of bread to feed the ducks, the two headed back into the park to find the perfect spot for a picnic. They settled on a cool patch of grass near the lake and Snape looked around before quickly transfiguring a tissue into a picnic blanket where they could lay out all of their things.
"I've never been on a picnic before, it's so much fun!" Harry said as he shoved another prawn-flavored crisp into his mouth.
Snape tried to remember when he'd last been on a picnic. Of course, it had been with Lily. As kids he and Lily would often spend all day outside in the summertime, and although he never had any food to bring, sometimes her parents would send her out with a couple of extra sandwiches for the day and they would sit outside and enjoy them together under their favorite tree. There was something nice about remembering Lily as he enjoyed the picnic with Harry, he was sure she'd be pleased if she could see them now.
"I'm glad you're enjoying yourself. Finish your milk first, and then we can feed the ducks."
Harry smiled and took a sip of his milk. He was radiating pure joy.
Once they finished eating, they took their trash to the bin and went to feed the ducks. This was another thing Snape knew "normal kids" did, but his parents had never taken him to feed ducks. He wasn't even sure there was a non-polluted water supply anywhere in Cokeworth where ducks could survive. It was definitely something he only knew existed because he'd read about it in books.
"Don't get too close to the geese, Harry, they are evil little creatures."
Harry ripped off pieces of bread and threw it to the ducks, delighting in watching them come flocking. He chased after them, and then turned around when a goose started to chase him.
"Save me! Save me, Daddy!" Harry ran to Snape and jumped in his arms. Snape shooed off the goose, as he carried Harry toward the water.
"Are you sure you don't want me to feed you to the ducks?" Snape joked with him, holding him by one arm and one leg and pretending he was going to toss him into the lake.
"No!" Harry squealed as Snape spun him around and hung him upside down before finally setting him back on his feet.
When the bread was finished, Snape allowed Harry to climb onto his back and they walked back toward Marble Arch.
"Can we see a movie?"
Snape arched his brow and tilted his head back toward Harry. "A movie?"
"Yeah. I never got to go to the cinema before. Aunt Petunia took Dudley and his friend, but I didn't get to come."
"I suppose. We can see if there's anything appropriate playing."
They exited the park at the Northeastern corner, and headed north to Edgeware Road, and they walked for a little while until Snape found a corner shop.
Snape nodded at the man behind the counter and set Harry down on the ground.
"Do you know if there's a cinema nearby?"
"About ten minutes from 'ere if you just keep walking straight that way," the man pointed to the left.
"Thank you," Snape said as he grabbed Harry's hand and the two walked out the door and to the left. As they walked, they passed lots of stores selling souvenirs, luggage, cheap housewares, and several off-license shops. They weren't in the best of neighborhoods, but Snape had grown up in much worse, so he wasn't concerned at all that they'd left the more "bougie" neighborhood and were crossing into a more working class area.
As they made their way to the cinema, Harry stopped and pulled back on Snape's hand and pointed in a shop window. "Look, they have light up shoes!"
Snape paused for a moment to look. The store looked like it sold a lot of bootleg goods- ripoff Premier League jerseys for 10 quid, fake purses, and apparently cheap knock-off versions of the light-up shoes.
Harry looked up at him. "Please, can I try them on?"
The store looked a bit sketchy, if he was being honest. Boxes of shoes were piled up the walls while hundreds of jerseys and fake Louis Vuitton street wear hung on overcrowded racks.
Snape looked at the price tag. The shoes were 18 quid. Not exactly cheap, but he was guessing if this was the price for an off-brand, the real ones would be way too expensive.
Snape debated. He was completely opposed to the idea of spoiling children, he only had to think about his little God-brat Draco to know just how kids turned out when they were given everything they ever wanted. But another part of him wanted Harry to have everything he was denied in his first childhood. If a stupid pair of light-up shoes meant that much to him, would it really hurt to indulge him? Just this once?
I can't believe what a pushover I've become. He reached up to massage his brow. "Fine. We'll have a look, but I'm not buying you anything else today, do you understand? So have a think- are you sure this is what you want?"
Harry practically jumped up and down. "Yes!"
"Very well, let's see if they have your size."
Snape actually had no idea what size shoes Harry wore now- he'd just shrunk his trainers down until they fit. He looked up at the man by the till. "I think my son needs to be measured for a new pair of shoes."
"It's not a shoe shop, mate. The sizes are marked on the box- he'll just have to try them on."
Harry started opening boxes and looking inside. "I like the white ones with the blue," he said as he tossed open box after box to look inside.
Snape tried to eyeball the different shoes to figure out which ones would fit. He finally pulled out a pair of black ones that appeared to be Harry's size. "Try these on, see if they are your size."
Harry sat on the floor and pulled off his shoes, slipping his feet into the new ones. Snape was glad to see these had Velcro straps instead of ties- he'd had to spell the laces on Harry's trainers to keep him from having to re-tie the damn things ten times a day.
"How do they feel?" Snape asked as he pulled Harry up from the floor.
Harry jogged a little and shrieked loudly as the trainers lit up under his feet. "They're perfect!" He threw himself around Snape's legs in a tight embrace.
"Size 9, let's see if we can find them in white."
Snape looked through all of the boxes until he found a pair of the blue and white trainers in Harry's size.
"Can I wear them now? Please?" Harry took the box out of Snape's hand when he nodded.
Five minutes and twenty quid later, Snape led a bouncing Harry out of the store, his feet flashing red with each step. Harry was practically skipping down the pavement and Snape had to pull back on his hand to keep him from bouncing away. "Walk properly, we're on a public street, not at the park."
But Harry couldn't contain himself and Snape didn't want to spoil his joy.
When they got to the cinema, the only children's movie playing was Aladdin. Snape scoffed to himself knowing there would be all kinds of ridiculous notions about magic, but Harry was thrilled.
Snape caved in and bought them some popcorn and a small soda. Thankfully the theater was fairly empty with it being a weekday afternoon. A few other kids and parents were scattered across, but Harry picked out some seats right in the middle and there was no one sitting in front of them.
Once again, Snape thought back to the last time he'd been at the cinema, and it was with Lily sometime during the summer after their 3rd year at Hogwarts. Unfortunately Petunia had come along as well, and had sneered at him the entire time because Lily had spent the money their parents had given them to buy Snape a ticket, leaving no extra money for snacks. Petunia had made sure Snape felt like a charity case, and it was the last time he ever let Lily or anyone else do anything for him again. He hadn't even been able to enjoy the film, and he'd never gone back to the cinema again, considering it a ridiculously muggle form of entertainment that was now beneath him.
He looked over at Harry who was smiling and munching on popcorn, his small legs swinging back and forth while he waited for the movie to start, an occasional light flashing from his shoe. Snape reached his hand into the popcorn container and pulled out a few kernels. "Don't eat it all before the movie even begins, we'll need something to munch on during the scary bits"
Harry smiled and nodded before shoving another fistful of popcorn into his mouth as the lights went down.
"It's starting! Daddy, aren't you excited?" Harry turned to him and clapped his hands together in excitement.
"Thrilled," Snape said sarcastically, although it was lost on Harry who was so hyped up he was practically bouncing out of his chair as the Walt Disney logo and music appeared on the screen.
As they exited the theater after the film, Harry couldn't stop talking about the magic, asking Snape all kinds of questions about what was real and possible.
"Are there really flying carpets?"
"There are."
"Have you ever ridden on one?"
"I have not. They are more like magical artifacts, people don't really use them any more. They are quite expensive and rare."
"Can't you make any carpet fly by using your wand?"
Snape thought for a moment. "I'm sure you could, however, the real magic carpets have special magic woven into them. It's not quite the same as charming an object to float."
"Can you make me a flying carpet when we get home?"
"I don't think that would be very safe or sensible. Not to mention, you're still restricted from flying after your little broom fiasco."
"Please?" Harry whined as he pulled on Snape's hand.
Snape paused and looked down at Harry. "I don't want to hear you whining, you've been indulged quite a lot today, do not make me regret it." He cocked an eyebrow and Harry recognized his tone was a warning and closed his mouth.
It was getting to be late in the afternoon and Snape could see that Harry was getting tired and he should probably get him home before he tempted fate too much and the day ended with a tantrum.
"Come along, why don't we take the tube back to Paddington, it will be faster."
Harry nodded his head. "Can I ride on your back? My legs are tired."
Snape let him climb on as he headed into the tube station. He could tell Harry was getting tired as he had become a lot quieter.
When they came out of the tube at Paddington, Harry pulled at Snape's hand and ran off ahead as something caught his eye.
Harry came to an abrupt stop in front of a Photomatic photo booth. "Daddy, look! Can we take a picture, please?"
"I don't think so. I'm not really a fan of taking photographs. Come along, let's go." He reached down to grab Harry's hand but the boy pulled away.
"Please? Look, you can take four pictures and make different faces for each one. It will be fun. Then we can remember today forever!"
It was three pounds, change only. Snape reached into his pocket to pull out whatever change he had, hoping that would be the perfect excuse not to take these pictures, but alas, he had exactly three 1-pound coins.
He looked down at Harry's pleading eyes. "Fine." He dropped the coins into the slot one at a time while Harry jumped up and down with excitement.
When the last coin clinked in the machine, Harry pulled him into the photo booth. "Come on! You have to make a funny face, like this!" He tilted his head to the side as the flash bulb went off.
Snape didn't smile. He hated having his picture taken.
"Make a face, like this" Harry said as he put his fingers on each side of his mouth, pulling his lips wide. Snape was caught at the beginning of an eye roll when the flash went off a second time.
Harry looked at him and giggled. "Come on, Daddy! Don't just sit there, you have to make a funny face!"
"Trying to tell me what to do, now, are you?" Snape reached his hands up and put them jokingly around Harry's neck, which made Harry burst out laughing and Snape smile just as it flashed a third time.
"Last one, daddy, do something funny!"
"As you wish," Snape said as he grabbed Harry's face between his fingers and scrunched his face together.
When the camera flashed for the fourth time, Snape released Harry's cheeks and the boy was practically crying with laughter.
Just then, the machine made a sound as it began to spit out the strip of photos. Harry reached out to grab them but Snape moved his hands out of the way.
"Not with those grubby fingers, you'll smudge them." Snape sat Harry on his lap while he held the strip of photos in front of them.
Snape smiled as he looked at the photos. An actual, honest to goodness real smile, not a half-smile or a smirk. It felt weird on his face. He was glad Harry had forced him into the booth, he knew he would be really happy later when he had these photos to remind them of their wonderful day out. He tucked the photo strip safely into his breast pocket.
"That was fun, but you're not very good at making silly faces," Harry said.
"Indeed. I like to think I was rather blessed with other talents. Come on, let's get home."
As they walked out of the tube station, they passed by a Burger King advertising kids meals featuring an Aladdin toy. Harry stopped to look at the window where a giant Genie was coming out of the lamp holding a Burger.
"Can we have Burger King for dinner?"
Snape scoffed at the very suggestion. "Absolutely not. You're malnourished as it is, you should be eating proper food, not this kind of rubbish."
"Please, daddy?" Harry tried his best to put on his most innocent face. He figured it was worth a try, Snape had been surprisingly amenable to his charms all day.
"No. We have real food at home."
Harry went for his trump card. "Please? I never got to go to Burger King or McDonald's when I was with the Dursleys. They let Dudley have it all the time, and they never let me have it once. I always went hungry. And they have Aladdin toys."
"Oh for the love of Merlin." Snape sighed in exasperation. "Fine. But you're going to eat vegetables with it at home. And this is only a one time deal. And don't even think of asking me for anything else today."
Snape opened the door and Harry walked in, skipping to the front, his shoes lighting with each step. "I hope I get the toy with the flying carpet!" he said as he pointed up at the Aladdin-themed toys on the promotional poster. "Or the genie!"
"Do you want chicken or a burger?" Snape could barely contain his disgust.
"Chicken nuggets please!"
Snape placed the order and paid the spotty teenager at the till. When he returned with the bag, Harry immediately snatched it from his hands and opened it up, reaching inside to find the toy.
He pulled out a figure of Aladdin and a pink plastic carpet on little wheels. "Yay! I got the magic carpet!" He popped a chip into his mouth before throwing his hands around Snape's legs. "Thank you, daddy!"
"Come along, let's get you back home before you end up talking me into buying something else ridiculous.
Once back at the house, Snape felt like he'd run a marathon. He knew Harry had to be exhausted as well, since he didn't even have an afternoon nap.
After washing his hands, Snape let Harry sit at the table with his food, figuring he and Master Barclay could eat together after he put Harry to bed (hopefully on the early side). He dumped the nuggets and chips onto a plate along with some roasted vegetables from the garden.
Harry was playing with the magic carpet- it turned out it could roll along the table on wheels.
"No toys at the table. You can play after you eat." Snape set the plate down in front of Harry and took the toy carpet and set it on the kitchen counter.
"Can I wear the crown while I eat?"
"What crown?"
"The Burger King crown. It's inside the bag. Then I can look like Max from the book!"
Snape looked into the bag and sure enough there was a paper crown. He rolled his eyes, but pulled it out and folded it, inserting the paper tab into the slits before handing the blasted thing to Harry.
Harry put it on his head with a giant grin. "Do I look like Max now?"
"You're much cuter than Max. And you better eat all of your vegetables."
After dinner, Snape ran a bath for Harry. "Can I take my magic carpet in the bath?"
It was a dumb, cheap little toy, but for whatever reason Harry didn't want it out of his sight. "Fine. But take the crown off, it will disintegrate in the water."
Harry climbed into the bath, which Snape had already filled with bubbles.
"I wish it could fly like in the movie," Harry said as he zoomed it around, crashing it into a pile of bubbles in the tub.
Snape figured he was already way beyond any sense of propriety today, so what was one more absurd request. "Your wish is my command," he said with resignation, and with a flick of his wand he cast a charm on the damn thing so that the plastic carpet began to fly around in the air.
Harry clapped his hands in delight as he reached up to grab it. "Your magic is even better than the genie!"
Once again, Snape couldn't help but roll his eyes. His magical prowess, which had taken years of hard work to master, was now being compared to that of a Disney cartoon character. "Oh how the mighty have fallen."
He let Harry play around in the bath for a while before he helped into his pajamas. "Can you make my pajamas look like Max?"
"I beg your pardon?" Snape said, looking down at Harry as he fluffed his hair with the towel.
"Can you use your magic to make my pajamas look like Max from the book?"
"You want me to transfigure you a pair of footed pajamas?"
"With ears and a tail, and claws on the feet too!"
"It's nearly May, you're going to burn up."
"Please?"
Snape was pretty sure if he heard Harry say please one more time today he was going to lose his mind, but he didn't have any fight left in him. He pulled out his wand and attempted to transfigure the pajamas into a white sleeper with ears and a little tail.
He had to admit, Harry looked beyond adorable, although he was sure he was going to get hot later.
"Don't forget my crown."
Snape grabbed the paper Burger King crown from his desk and set it on the boy's head. "All dressed up, nowhere to go."
Harry giggled. "Do I look like Max?" He then ran over to his desk and pulled out the drawing Snape had done for him. "Do I look just like your drawing?"
A small smile crept across Snape's lips. "It's a perfect match."
"Read it again to me, please." Harry walked over and handed Snape the drawing.
Snape couldn't help but be touched. "It says 'Wild Thing, I'll eat you up I love you so!'"
Harry took the drawing and put it next to his bed.
It was not even 7pm yet, so even though Snape hoped to have Harry in bed before 8, he knew it was too soon to start reading to him.
"Do you want to color for a bit in the parlor or work on a puzzle?"
"Puzzle! But I'm going to bring my flying carpet."
"Very well." Snape sat on the couch while Harry sat on the floor and worked on the puzzle.
They were sitting quietly when the fireplace made a whoosh and Master Barclay stepped through looking a bit haggard. But as soon as he saw Harry, all dressed up in his Wild Thing pajamas, his face softened and he smiled.
"Hi Master Barclay! Guess what we did today?"
"I can't wait to hear all about it, Harry. Just give me a few minutes to freshen up."
Snape gave him a nod. "I fed Harry earlier, but I figured we could eat after I put him to bed."
"Perfect. I'm quite famished, actually."
Master Barclay went to his room to freshen up and change out of his formal robes before returning to the parlor. He sat in an armchair while Harry excitedly recounted their day in London. At some point, Harry got off the floor and walked over to Snape, climbing onto his lap.
Snape sat quietly while Harry leaned back in his lap and continued to tell Master Barclay all about the museum and the park, and going to the cinema.
"It sounds like you had a wonderful day, Harry," Master Barclay said, smiling at both him and Snape.
"It was the best day of my whole life!" Harry beamed.
Snape looked up at the clock and then tapped Harry on the leg. "Say goodnight to Master Barclay, Harry. It's time for bed."
"But I'm not tired," Harry whined, and as soon as the words came out he opened his mouth in a wide yawn.
"You've had a long day, little boy. Come on, off to bed." He gave Harry another encouraging pat to the side of his thigh.
"Goodnight Master Barclay," Harry said as he walked over to the man in the armchair.
Barclay couldn't help but to chuckle after seeing Harry fully in his adorable white sleeper with ears and a tail. He gave him a small pat on the head. "Sleep well, Harry. I'll see you in the morning."
After putting Harry to bed, Snape and Barclay enjoyed a nice adult dinner with a glass of wine. Barclay updated Snape on his progress and they discussed the potions.
As Snape got ready for bed, he pulled out the photobooth pictures of him and Harry. He sat on the edge of his bed and looked at them, running his finger down the edge of the shiny paper. Harry had said it was the best day of his life, but Snape couldn't help but think it was one of the best days of his life too.
He pulled out his wand and copied the photo strip, placing one copy of it in his wooden keepsake box where he kept his only heirlooms, the Prince cufflinks and his father's watch. The other copy he would carry in his wallet. He opened up the black leather billfold and pulled out another photo, this one old and worn, the sepia colors fading. It was a picture of Lily she'd given him when they were kids. An old muggle school photo of hers from before Hogwarts. On the back it said "To Sev From: Lily 1971."
He looked carefully at the photo and realized Harry looked more like her than he realized. Of course, he had her eyes, but he also had her mouth. And the cute little freckles on her nose. He kissed the photo and slid it back into the secret pocket in the wallet, this time sliding the pictures of him and Harry along with it.
Snape laid awake in the dark thinking about Lily. He tried to imagine what she would say to him. He couldn't help but feel her presence all day today, from the picnic in the park to the cinema, memories of her had cropped up throughout the day and it haunted him. He just hoped, wherever she was, she was happy that Snape was looking after her little boy.
"I promise I'll take care of him, Lily. I won't ever let him feel unloved or unwanted ever again."
Author's End Note:
Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed this super fluffy chapter. Poor Snape is going to have a really hard time changing Harry back, Little Harry has been so free with his love and affection. Do you think he's going to manage?
Please let me know what you think! I love hearing from you!
I haven't gotten a lot of feedback recently, so if you are reading and still enjoying, please let me know. If no one is still reading, I don't really feel motivated to keep writing.
For the pictures- I can't post links here- but if you post a review and ask me, I'll send the artwork- they are SO cute!