Severus looked up as Bill entered the room. He raised an eyebrow in inquiry when he noticed that Harry was not with him. "Harry's in the shower. He tends to shower quite a bit more than others."
Severus could no longer hold his comments in. "I'm surprised you didn't join him" he said sarcastically.
Bill smiled briefly and explained. "Harry has not yet gotten to the point where he feels safe showering with anyone else present."
This caught Severus' attention. "Has he ever told you why he finds showers so threatening?"
Bill shook his head. "I'm not certain but I can guess. I don't push him about things like this. He'll stop doing them when he is ready." Severus nodded briefly. "I'm glad that he trusted you enough to come here."
Snape looked at Bill in surprise. "He hardly trusts me. I still can't touch him."
"No but he trusted you enough to come to your house. Alone, in a strange place, with a man. Believe me, that is a sign of high trust from Harry. I find it absolutely incredible that he came here willingly. Not that I doubt you, I am just blown away. It is highly abnormal for Harry to trust so quickly."
Snape was deep in thought for a moment. "Frankly, it never occurred to me that he would refuse to come. I never really asked him, I just announced that we were coming here. He didn't object though, or even look as if he wished to." Snape quickly thought through their encounter. Did he force Harry into a situation he wasn't comfortable with? Merlin, he was a terrible father already!
"Don't worry about it. You would know if he didn't want to be here." He walked slowly over to an armchair and sat down. "I'm glad that Harry has warmed up to you so much. He needs a father, much as he wants to deny it. He still doesn't really understand what a father should do but we have been trying to help him over the years." The two men sat in silence for a while, both lost in their thoughts.
"I'm rather surprised that Harry was capable of being in a relationship with anyone, nevermind a man so much older and clearly larger than him" Snape suddenly said.
Bill smiled a bit. No matter how much Snape might want to deny it, he really did want to know about his relationship with Harry to make sure that he was good for his son. He would be a good father and friend for Harry. "I was surprised too at first. There are still times when there are problems, when Harry remembers things, but I do my best to keep him grounded and aware of everything. I won't let him close his eyes for more than a moment or two to keep him from slipping from reality."
Snape grunted, clearly wanting to strangle Bill at the very thought of him in bed with his son, but refraining. He was, after all, helping Harry to heal in some ways that he very obviously could not help with himself. His son had been victimized for his entire life in one form or another. He was probably lucky that it was someone as kind and trustworthy as a Weasley helping his son learn about relationships rather than someone who would take advantage of Harry's vulnerability. Harry didn't even know what a healthy relationship should be like. At least Weasley would never harm him.
"We moved very slowly. I think it helps that I am so different from anything he knew. As long as he is in the moment and not slipping into the past it would be impossible to mistake my touch for his." Bill was trying to get all the salient points out without telling his lover's father too much detail. "He hasn't had a problem for about 6 months now. I think it has actually helped him to heal, some. Having a boyfriend makes him feel normal, something that he desperately wants."
Snape grunted again. Yes, Harry did have an all-encompassing desire for normality. Everyone knew that. He still had questions though that he needed answers. He could tell where Harry was at now with relative clarity but he needed to know how he had been, what progress he had made. "How bad was he when you first met him?"
"Honestly? There were more times he was more wild animal than boy, operating on pure instinct, terrified of all of us. He came to the Burrow having fully accepted that our father would be using him much as his uncle did. When he realized that dad would not be doing anything to harm him he was shocked and clearly doubted our claims. He was still terrified of him but he was fascinated as well. He was constantly in defense mode. Being surrounded by seven men must have been the stuff of nightmares for him. It was no surprise that he latched onto Charlie so quickly.
"Charlie has a way with wounded creatures and he was somehow able to keep Harry calm and help him to relearn certain behaviors, to understand that he could expect to be physically safe at the Burrow. Harry followed him around the house for weeks, latching onto the only person he felt safe with. Although he has always felt no cause for concern around Ron he needed the added security of being near an adult who would protect him. He was able to see Charlie as a sort of mixture of an adult with power and a child who would not or could not harm him. Charlie helped him to feel more comfortable around adults, especially men."
"I don't understand how Harry's fear of his uncle has transferred to all men."
Bill paused. "I'm not entirely certain that his uncle was alone in his abuse of Harry. I think he might have…shared."
Severus closed his eyes for a moment then summoned a bottle of scotch and two glasses. He quickly poured two glasses and Bill gratefully accepted one. "Harry hasn't told me any details. He rarely even alludes to his time with the muggles. He has just unknowingly dropped a hint or two before" Bill said after quickly draining his glass. He needed a bit of strength for this discussion. Talking about the muggles was difficult in the best of situations: talking about them with Snape was taxing in the extreme.
"What hints? Are you certain you understood the meaning?" Snape knew he was grasping at straws here, but he didn't want to believe that his son had to endure this too.
"When we were having sex for the first time he was surprised when I prepared him. He told me that 'none of the others ever did it before.' I didn't comment on the slip. It was hardly a time for an in depth conversation about all of the men who had raped him."
"What exactly are you doing fucking my sixteen year old son?" Severus nearly screamed as he slammed his empty glass down on the table. Although Severus was aware that they were dating he had refused to consider that they may have moved beyond kisses and teenage fumbles.
Bill raised an eyebrow. "That is hardly a major concern, given what we are facing with his past abuse. I will say though, that Harry wanted to be with someone who cared for him. Even if I hadn't wanted it myself I still would not have denied him. How could I possibly tell him no when all he has ever known of sex is pain and degradation? I needed to show him that there was more to sex than one man's desire to hurt and humiliate another."
Severus immediately calmed down, bringing his rage to a low simmer. "I see. I suppose given the evidence that you are correct in your assessment of his situation." Bill hid a small smile. Evidently they were done speaking of Harry's sex life and were returning to his life with the muggles—a much safer, albeit more painful, topic.
"Is there anything else I should know about my son?" It hurt to ask someone else that question…a Weasley no less, but Severus would do whatever it took to learn what he needed to know.
"Nothing as major as what I have told you. I know that the only students he trusts are my sister, Ron, Hermione and Neville and Ginny and Neville are on the fringes of his trust. He trusts few, if any adults. He loved Sirius Black dearly and was nearly destroyed by his death. He was the first adult father figure that he had ever trusted. To have him ripped way like that was devastating."
Snape didn't comment but thought he might have to reevaluate his opinion of Black. He may have been an irritating prick but he had helped his son, somewhat, before he died. At least he had evidence now that his son could potentially trust a male adult.
The men sat in silence for a moment, sipping their scotch. Finally Snape broke the silence. "What are your intentions toward my son?"
Bill wanted to grin at the showing of fatherly concern but managed to hold it in. It wouldn't do to offend Snape at this point. "I love him."
"Does he know that?"
"I don't believe that Harry actually knows what love it. I don't think he recognizes it as such."
Severus nodded as he stared into his glass at the swirling liquid. "You are much older than him."
"Yes. Eleven years." He offered no more. How could he possibly explain? Harry was an adult in every way that mattered. He had been through more in his short life than most men of Dumbledore's advanced age. No teenager could ever satisfy Harry at this point. He could not endure a shallow, meaningless, child relationship.
Snape evidently was experiencing the same thoughts because he didn't comment on it. "Turning to drink already are we?" Harry's voice rang out in amusement from the doorway. Both men hid their surprise well from years of masking their emotions. Bill was not quite as skilled as Severus was but he had learned quickly, after meeting Harry. All of the Weasleys had, after needing to mask their horror at the things that Harry would occasionally let drop. They did not want to make him feel even more abnormal.
"It's not that early" Bill defended weakly.
Harry snorted. "It's not even one."
"Ah, well, yes. There is that." Bill smiled at Harry sheepishly. "Enjoy your shower?"
"You just wish you could have joined me" Harry quickly returned then froze for a moment and looked nervously at his father. Snape showed no sign of having even heard the last few sentences and Harry breathed a sigh of relief. "So, what did I miss?" he said, trying to break the awkward silence.
Severus cleared his throat. "We were just discussing our plans for the upcoming school year."
Harry sat down on the arm of Bill's chair and leaned into his lover slightly. Even sitting up that much higher than Bill he could barely match his height. "Did you two come to any conclusions?"
"Not without discussing them with you first" Snape assured him. Bill listened to Snape closely, trying not to betray that he had no clue what the man was talking about. "I have found a small school that was recently opened by a distant relative of mine, Rianna Veyle. I contacted her late last night to discuss the possibility of providing you with papers. She agreed to allow you to come and sit your exams later this week."
"How large is the school? How are we going to take care of the fact that no one knows me?"
"There are only five in each year and there are only five years. Students are home schooled for what is considered to be your first two years at Hogwarts. Many of the students are relatives of some fashion or another and will be more than willing to stretch the truth. Those who seem less than willing will be given some false memories to fill in the blanks. We will also fabricate some school memorabilia—uniforms, books and photographs and such, to lend credence to our claim."
"It sounds pretty fool proof. Are there any drawbacks?"
"A few. We will be counting on a large portion of the students keeping their word. That makes me nervous. Rianna refused to allow us to memory modify very many of her students though. Not to mention that we need to track down all of the students who are at their summer homes, many of which are unplotable or under other strong spells."
Bill stepped in now that he had some idea of what they were speaking of. "Do you know how many of them are relatives? Of either you or me? Between the two of us we are related to most of the pureblood population."
Harry's face turned gray. "Merlin, I forgot."
Bill and Severus looked up quickly and noted his pallor. "What is the matter Harry?" his father asked gently.
"Aren't all purebloods related? Siri told me they were. Am I related to" he swallowed hard "the Weasleys now?" He twisted his hands together nervously.
Bill took his small hands in one of his larger hands and squeezed lightly. "There is nothing to worry about. The Weasleys and the Snapes are very far removed from each other. There are a few families that never cross over. The Weasleys have never married into the Snape, Black, or Malfoy families. We have been known to marry Potters though, just not for quite a few generations."
Harry let out a shaky breath. "It just never occurred to me that you might be related to me some way."
Snape smirked. "Back to the issue at hand. I believe, Weasley, that I am related to around a third of the students and you to about half. The Weasley family certainly does like to breed."
Bill smiled at this. Ron would have taken offense but he no longer took issue with comments about his family's breeding habits. Most comments, after all, were completely true. "Please call me Bill." Snape looked slightly nauseous but inclined his head in agreement.
"I suppose" he muttered "you may call me Severus." It sounded like the words pained him to speak.
"At any rate, can you get a list of the students? I can probably tell by looking at it which of my relatives will be safe for us and who we will need to implant memories in."
"This is an awful lot of trouble just for me. We can come up with another plan that will be easier. Or we can just tell everyone who I am."
"No. This is the best idea by far. It keeps you safe and far away from the media and it will allow you to progress in school to the level you should be at. This won't be hard at all."
Bill hid his surprise. The actual operation of the plan would be incredibly hard. Telling Harry that though would ensure that they couldn't do it though since Harry hated having people fuss over him. Severus knew his son better than he thought he did.
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A/N: yes, I remember Snape saying the he and Harry were the only Snapes…they still are. They still have relatives though, that have different last names (more will be mentioned later). And yes, that can (and often does) happen, even in very large families. I personally have a total of 28 aunts and uncles and 61 first cousins (plus most of them are married now and have kids of their own) yet only 5 of them have my last name. So it does happen. Their case is a bit more tight than mine, but it is possible.
That little insight into Vingilot's family life done, I wish to thank all of my reviewers. It still shocks me that someone aside from myself wants to read this. It thrills me to see all of your reviews everyday. Thanks for your kind and encouraging words!