Chapter 7

Severus looked down at the wide eyed boy, still sitting gingerly on the floor. How old did the child think he was? He decided to voice his displeasure to the boy.

"How old do you think I am?" Yes, his voice was dripping with just the right level of ice needed to make the boy flinch, although that didn't mean much as the dratted child flinched at every little thing. Potter looked down at the floor, face heating up.

"I dunno, I just never really think about how old my professors are."

"Obviously." Severus decided to take pity on Potter when he noticed that the boy was slumping even further to floor, as if hoping it would swallow him whole.

"I was the same age as your parents. For a time I was friends with your mother, however your father was, less than pleasant to deal with." Severus felt his upper lip curl when he told the boy of Potter senior. Potter's eyes shot straight up to his when Severus had revealed the part about going to school with the boys parents.

"You were friends with my mum?" Potter's voice sounded odd, some mix between an impending doom and a burgeoning hope. Severus sighed, exasperated. Did the boy do nothing but parrot words back to him.

"Yes Potter, I believe I said that." Potter looked back down at his harsh tone and swallowed.

"Do- er, do you think you could tell me about her sometime?" Severus took a step back. He wasn't sure if he wanted to spill the memories he held of Lily Evans to Potter's spawn, however, the boy was also Lily's child as well.

"We will see." The boy nodded, Severus could see a small tentative smile forming on his lips. Severus frowned disapprovingly. The boy should not be smiling so, he had to do something.

"Potter." Said boy looked up.

"Yes sir?" Severus swallowed. This would not be an easy fight.

"You need to go see a mind healer." Predictably the boy frowned.

"Like a psychologist?" Severus nodded. Small wrinkles formed between Potter's brows.

"But I'm not crazy or anything like that." Severus sighed and pinched his nose. The boy obviously did not realize that very often, fairly regular individuals had to see a mind healer, even if it was just for an injury.

"No, Potter you are not, what you are though, is damaged." Potter flinched at the implication and stood up angrily, staring at Severus with those painfully familiar green eyes.

"I am not broken! I'm fine! I don't bloody well need a psychologist, Uncle Vernon didn't break me!" Severus stared.

…..

Harry panted with the amount of willpower he had used to stand up to Snape. It had hurt when Snape said he was damaged. Harry knew that he wasn't broken and hated to think that Uncle Vernon had done anything to change him. Harry stared at Snape from under the fringe of his hair, daring him to say differently.

"He didn't break me." Harry repeated determinedly. Snape with no noticeable change of expression on his face, nodded.

"No, Potter, he did not." Harry stared.

"But, you just said-" The professor cut him off.

"Potter, I said that you had been damaged, not broken. There is a difference, if you had been listening you would have heard the distinction." A flash of annoyance hit Harry.

"I was listening! You said I needed a magical psychologist. You might not have said as much, but you think I'm going crazy or something!"Snape sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"Potter, I think you are many things, annoying, irritating, arrogant-" Harry hotly opened his mouth to abuse Snape of that notion, but Snape lifted a hand to stop him.

"but crazy is not one of them." Harry closed his mouth with a snap.

"It is my belief that you may need help to get back to your normal state of dunderheadness." Snape finished. Harry thought about it for a moment, did he really need that much help? He had always faired fine before.

"Professor?" Harry started.

"Yes, Potter?"

"What if I just try to recover on my own first? I don't really think I need someone to fix me yet, just hear me out." Harry said hastily at the darkening expression on Snapes face. "I have you to monitor me for now, and if you really want to get rid of me, I could go to Ron or Hermione's house, and Hermione is great with all that common sense stuff." Snape snorted at that. Harry went on "I think I'm actually getting better, I mean, I just yelled at you, er, sorry about that, but I don't want someone I don't know poking around in my head, trying to fix what they don't know about me." that summed it up rather nicely, Harry thought. Snape stared at Harry inscrutably. If Harry didn't know better, he would have thought Snape had been trying to read his mind.

"Very well Potter, we will try it your way." Harry grinned.

"Thanks, Sir." A thought flew into his head.

"Er, Professor?" A sigh came from the Professor.

"Potter?"

"Would this be a bad time to tell you that a house elf called Dobby has been keeping my mail from me?" A series of loud swear words, some of which Harry had never heard of, came from Snape.