Chapter 11: Settling In

"I have taken the liberty of procuring a limited wardrobe for you. It should do for now. Once you have settled in a bit, we will augment it with some additional items or items more to your liking. Anything that does not fit can be shrunk to fit you."

Severus realized that Harry might not be listening to his speech. The boy was staring at the wardrobe full of clothes as if he did not quite believe it was there. To fill in the awkwardness, Severus just kept talking. Harry was still in pajamas and had made no move toward any of the clothes, so eventually Severus reached up and pulled a pair of navy green trousers and a white long-sleeved shirt from the wardrobe. These he handed to Harry with a gesture to follow him to the chest of drawers, from which he pulled a jumper, socks, and shorts.

"After you brush your teeth and get dressed, you can meet me downstairs for breakfast," Severus told him.

"Yes, Sir."

Severus nodded and then walked out of the room to leave the boy to it. He hesitated at the door but decided to leave it open in case the boy needed him. Sometimes it was hard for him to reconcile Harry's age with how thin and frail he looked. The child was so small and quiet that he did not look very self-sufficient, but he would have never lasted as long as he had with those relatives if he wasn't independent. That child had been taking care of himself for a very long time.

Once downstairs, Severus began making a modest breakfast of bacon, eggs, fruit, and toast. Most of his properties had house elves since he was never there, but since Harry had grown up with a completely non-magical existence, Severus wanted to keep things to just the two of them for now. He would need to bring one eventually, as he would be by himself with Harry. Fortunately, there were several who had experience with children.

Harry arrived and stood in the middle of the kitchen, waiting for Severus to tell him what to do.

"You go ahead and set the table, and I will finish up here. Do you remember where everything is?"

Harry nodded, and began setting out plates and cutlery. Severus filled Harry's cup with milk and his with coffee, and then served Harry a balanced assortment of the items cooked for breakfast. Harry waited for Severus to sit down and then sat across from him, eying the plates.

"You do not have to eat it all, Harry. Just eat a little of everything, please," Severus informed him.

Picking up a fork, Harry began eating slowly and then more quickly. He was clearly hungry but also unsure. Severus wondered if he was picking up on the awkwardness that he himself was feeling. He wasn't used to eating with children. Even at school, he dined in the Great Hall at the staff table and not with the students. Harry was not some random student though, and he was not one of many. Severus was Harry's guardian, and he was going to spend time with him.

After the awkward breakfast, Severus decided that it might be a good time to clear the air.

"Let's go into the parlor and have a talk," he told the boy in what he hoped was a neutral voice.

Whatever effect he hoped to produce with this invitation, he wasn't prepared for the look that crossed the boys face. It might almost be described as terror. Severus pondered it but decided not to comment yet. Instead he walked and waited for the boy to follow. Maybe the boy didn't consider spending time alone with him entertainment either.

They seated themselves in the same room where the Order of the Phoenix had met the night before. Harry perched himself on the edge of the settee, with his feet dangling off the floor. His face was a mask. It seemed to Severus that no child should be that devoid of emotion. He knew. His childhood had been one of suffering too, but in his case, his mother had been there to give him some comfort from time to time. Harry's life had been devoid of love until now. Severus had been able to provide him with safety and stability, but he was not sure that love was something that he was capable of bringing to the bargain. Maybe the rest would be enough.

"Harry," Severus began, "I thought you might want to know how you came to be here. You are probably wondering who I am and why I went to collect you from your aunt and uncle. No doubt you will find that your new living situation is an improvement over your old one in many ways. Nonetheless, I doubt I am what you dreamed or wished for."

This speech completed, Severus waited to see if Harry had any comment.

"Oh, no, sir, I am very grateful."

Severus nodded at this undoubtedly saccharine sentiment. He was beginning to understand the look that had crossed the boy's face before. He might have feared being sent away. On that note, at least, his fears would be laid to rest.

"Be that as it may, you are entitled to some answers. Your mother and I were friends. We knew each other as children, and until we finished school. At that point we … parted ways. I did not have much contact with her then. She married your father. We ran in different circles, so to speak. You will learn some of the details later, and you should know them, but there are many features of the story that you are, frankly, too young to know yet. It should be enough for you to know that I cared for your mother very much."

"Please, sir," Harry interrupted, "what about my father?"

"What about him?" Severus demanded.

"Did you know him?"

"Oh. Yes, of course. We all went to school together." Severus considered saying more, but Harry seemed satisfied with that response.

"Can you tell me about them?" Harry asked wistfully. "My mother and father, I mean?"

"What do you know about them?" Severus knew that this was going to be a difficult conversation, and this wasn't really how he had planned the talk to go. He should have foreseen this detour.

"Not much." There was more bitterness in this response than befitted a small child. "Just that they were drunks and my dad was unemployed. And they died in a car crash."

Dumbfounded by this response, Severus did not speak at first. Keeping magic from her nephew was one thing, but spewing vicious lies against her sister was something that Severus hadn't expected even of Petunia.

"That is … hardly accurate."

"Which part?"

"All of it. Your parents were not unemployed, either of them. The truth is more complicated, but they were fighting a war, against an evil wizard. That is what killed them. They were murdered."

Harry nodded. He seemed to find this easier to accept than Severus thought, as if he expected it on some level.

"The evil wizard who murdered them also tried to kill you. They died trying to protect you. That is why you have that scar. Your parents loved you, Harry. You should never forget that. You have many people who love you. Your aunt and uncle were despicable people, and you should never judge your parents by what they told you.

"I am not going to lie to you, Harry. Part of the reason I took you in was because I cared for your mother. I also came to worry that you might not be … cared for … as well as you should be. That does not mean, however, that you are here out of an obligation. You are my ward, and I will do everything in my power to make sure that you grow up to be healthy and taken care of.

"Perhaps most importantly, it is also my job to keep you safe. You would not be here if I did not think I could do that. I am not telling you this to scare you. That evil wizard had supporters. You are not very popular among them. There is also the possibility that he may return some day to come looking for you."

"What? Why?"

This statement got a reaction out of Harry more than anything else Severus had told him, and it was no wonder. He had basically just told the boy there was a murderer and his band of bloody followers after him. Oh well, no one would accuse Severus of being cuddly or coddling.

"Well, yes, that is the part I left out. When you received that scar, it was due to a rather extraordinary event. That is a curse scar. It resulted from the killing curse rebounding from its caster onto you."

"He tried to kill me?"

"He did. He did not succeed. For some reason, you survived. You are actually rather famous in the Wizarding World because of it."

Harry stared at Severus in disbelief. "Why?"

"Why indeed? No one else has ever survived a killing curse. Also, the evil wizard, whom many refer to as He Who Must Not Be Named in order to avoid saying his name, has not been seen since that day. For this reason, many people feel that you vanquished him."

"Vanquished?"

"Defeated. Killed."

"That's ridiculous! I was a baby. How could I kill a wizard?"

"Hmm. It does beg the question. No one exactly knows. However, for this reason, we must be careful. We must protect you both from your adoring fans and from the Dark Lord's followers."

"The Dark Lord?"

"The evil wizard."

"Oh."

"In the Wizarding World, children attend school beginning at age eleven. At that time, you will begin at Hogwarts. That is where I am employed. Naturally, you cannot begin there yet. We will enroll you at a muggle school until that time—one with good security. I have taken the liberty of investigating the school the neighbor's child attends and found it satisfactory to the purpose. Do you have any questions?"

"What do you teach?"

"Potions."

"Brilliant! Can you teach me?"

"I suppose some early education in wizarding basics would not be remiss. I will give you a tour of the rest of the house, including the potions lab. You are not to enter it without me present though, understood?"

"Yes, Sir!"

All told, it seemed that the told had gone better than Severus expected. He had not thought that Harry would be so interested in potions. It gave him some small hope for their future together. If they could find a common interest, things would go much easier.

"Would you like to see it now?"

"Yes, please!"

Severus took Harry into the potions lab, where the two of them whiled away much of the morning. He even let Harry dice and slice some of his less rare ingredients. Apparently, the boy had spent a fair amount of time cooking for his relatives. By the sound of it, they rarely cooked for themselves. The upshot was that with only minor correction, Severus was able to teach the boy to prepare simple ingredients.

They ate lunch, and then Severus had the boy take a nap. He could tell the child was tired. As was becoming his custom, he set a warding spell to alert him if Harry was in any distress. The child fell asleep almost instantly but had not been asleep more than a half an hour before Severus was alerted.

"Harry," Severus soothed, gently shaking the boy awake, "you're having a nightmare."

The boy's eyes opened. Severus was haunted by the look in those big emerald eyes.

"Do you want to tell me about it?"

"There was a green light … and then …" Harry was unable to continue, but he didn't have to.

"Shh, it's all right." Severus sat down next to the boy, putting his arm over his shoulders. "I'm here now."