A/N I wasn't intending to make this a chapter story but I got so many follows I felt like I had to cause so many people want it. So here is the second part. I have a HP story in the works but I won't upload it for a while so that I can have time to write out a few chaps. But it will take longer because I might continue this one depending on the way it is received so we'll see. Anyway Chapter two a bit longer than the first one as thanks for following and for the wait while I came up with some idea of what to do with this since I had intended it as a one-shot and last night it just came to me. It may seem a bit out of sync with the first part because I had intended it to be a one-shot. One day I might tweak it a bit but as of right now I think that they mesh well enough. But if there are any suggestions I'd be happy to edit it a bit faster. Oh yeah and sorry about the abrupt shifts last time I had breaks but they were cut in the upload.

I'm finished rambling now so on with the story.

Harry had hugged Snape! 'It wasn't my fault' he had rationalized later. He had just been overwhelmed at well you know being alive and Snape was acting all human and everything so technically it was his fault for causing the reaction in Harry.

Now they were sitting in Snape's living quarters because after he woke up Snape told him that he needed to stay awake for a few hours at least. Harry was in one green and silver chair and Snape was seated on the sofa that was decorated with Slytherin colors as well reading this month's edition of Potions Monthly.

"So when are you sending me back?" Harry asked as Snape turned the last page. Harry had rationalized that if his actions had come out of the circumstance then Snape's must have as well.

"What?" The man asked jerking his head up sharply knowing that he must have misheard the question.

"When are you sending me back to the Dursley's? I just want to know so that I can be prepared since they are going to be very mad because of what happened."

"What makes you think you going back!?" Snape snapped at him. 'The boy must be daft' the wizard thought, after all that happened how in the world could the boy think that he would be sent back to the very family that had nearly killed him. Snape could just imagine the headline in the Daily Prophet now. 'Boy-who-lived murdered by muggles'.

"Well you are my temporary guardian but when you get tired of me you're going to send me back right?"

"Wrong. You will not be going back there ever. Understand?"

Harry turned his shocked green eyes to the man. "But what about when whatever you're on wears off and you don't want me anymore?"

"I'm not on anything Potter!" Snape said harshly but he just couldn't control his temper because the boy was being purposefully irritating.

"But-" Harry started to say but was cut off by a very irritated Snape.

"Potter, listen to me. I don't know if the hits to your head bruised your brain or if you are just naturally as dumb as a brick but you are never going back there. Ever. Inevitably, I will be upset with you at times because you are a Gryffindor and a brat but that does not mean that I will ever send you back to that place. Those muggles are not fit to raise a hamster and even less qualified to raise a child. Do you really want to go back to that place? Is your sense of self-worth so shattered that you are fine with that kind of treatment"

"Not really sir. It's just that good things don't happen to me often and when they do I expect them to end because I know that the will. Anyway won't you be ashamed being guardian to a Gryffindor. What will your snakes think?"

"Oh so you call my students snakes but address you're House by name a little unequal isn't it?"

"Sorry. What will you snakes say when they find that you are caring for a lion?"

Snape rolled his eyes. That cheeky little brat. "They will say nothing because they respect me."

"Malfoy?" Harry asked in disbelief.

"Yes that includes mister Malfoy. Any other questions?"

"Since you are my Guardian I think I should know if you are dating because I don't want to be in the way."

"I'm not" Snape said quickly.

"It's okay if you are you know. I'd only be down here when you want me to and all the other nights will be spent in the tower. So do you have a girlfriend?"

"No." Snape said.

"A boyfriend then? I don't judge and I wouldn't tell anyone."

"Wha! No!" Snape sputtered. What was with this boy?

"I'm just asking," Harry said not understanding why Snape was taking offense.

"You're awfully comfortable with this. I expected more resistance from you."

"Well you are a big step up from the Dursley's and I was never one to look a gift horse in the mouth. I'm twelve but I'm not stupid enough to refuse a new guardian."

"But you hate me!" Snape said before he was able to stop himself. That bit of kindness didn't suddenly make him likeable did it?

"I never hated you." At Snape's look of blatant disbelief Harry continued talking. "I disliked you, of course, but it was hard to dislike you as much after finding out that you were trying to save my life last year in that Quidditch match. Then you go and rescued me and on top of all that you go and show me that you have emotions and stuff. After all that it's kind of hard to not like you just a little bit."

Snape had no idea what to say to that. Potter was not a typical abused adolescent boy. Any way that you looked at it this boy should be a fragile flower due to his horrible upbringing but this here was a young man that was seated across from him. A young man well on his way to meeting so many unreasonable expectations that many already held for him. Snape could see that easily although he would never admit it a loud because that would totally ruin his reputation.

Harry on the other hand was thinking that he would never have to see those Dursley's again and he found that he actually didn't cringe at the thought of Snape as his guardian. Ron and Hemione on the other hand…

"What will your friends think?" Snape asked as though he had read the boy's mind, which he hadn't.

"Oh they are going to have a fit." Harry laughed. He could just imagine the commotion it would cause.

"Well we'll see. You are starting classes tomorrow. I want you to rest for the rest of today just to make sure that you are healed enough. If you feel ill, get a headache or anything else tomorrow I expect you to come to me immediately just so that we can make sure that it is not a sign of something worse."

"Yes sir." Harry said.

Snape again was surprised. The boy was far too agreeable.

"Am I to stay here tonight or go to the tower?" Harry asked feeling a bit tired now which was ridiculous seeing that he had spent most of the last couple of days asleep.

"You will sleep in my bed," Snape said. "I want to be able to keep an eye on you tonight to make sure that there are no lingering effects from before."

"Where will you sleep?" Harry asked.

"On the sofa," Snape replied. "You can rest easy I won't be sharing the bed with you."

"Oh that's- I mean- it's just that I feel bad about you having to take responsibility for me and on top of that give up your bed."

"It's fine," Snape said dismissively he probably wouldn't sleep anyway with all the catch up he had to play from three days of missed lessons.

"Well I think I will head off to bed now."

"Fine but you need to eat first."

"I'm not hungry," Harry said getting up to walk back into the bedroom.

"When's the last time you ate?"

"A day or two before my uncle hit me I think. But that was fairly standard so I'm used to it."

"It's been three days since then."

Harry shrugged he couldn't help that he wasn't hungry.

"Well if you get hungry tonight I'll leave out a bit of food out on the table with a stasis charm for you."

"Thank you," Harry said sincerely surprised at the offer but grateful all the same. Then he went back into the bedroom.

Snape sighed. By tomorrow his 'bat of the dungeons impossible to please' persona would be shattered. He had worked very hard to cultivate that image but now Potter of all people knew that he wasn't naturally as abrasive as he was all the time in class and by lunchtime tomorrow it was sure to be all over the school. The other Professors were sure to get a kick out of that especially Dumbledore. Oh Merlin was this was going to be embarrassing!

Resisting the urge to sigh again he accio'd all the reports he had put off and began to grade them. The stack was incredibly thick and for the longest time he felt as though he were chipping at a mountain with a spoon.

Two hours later he had finally finished a huge chunk and he was just putting a grudging O on Granger's report, because Minerva said that she would string him up by a certain part of his anatomy the next time he took off points from Granger for no good reason and he had every reason to believe that she would because she never made threats lightly, when he heard a muffled sound coming from his bedroom. He got up and stretched passing it off as something his tired brain had imagined. But then he heard it again and it was slightly louder now.

Snape hastened into his room and was met with the sight of Harry Potter thrashing in his bed in the midst of a nightmare. What startled him is that the boy was more silent that he should have been for the level of terror displayed on his features.

For a moment he stood frozen not knowing what to do. Slowly he realized that he should probably wake him up. He moved quickly across the room and had barely touched the boy before Harry's eyes were opening.

Snape was startled. Potter was such a light sleeper and that spoke volumes about how he was treated in the past if he was able to wake up so fast from just a light touch to the shoulder.

"What a nightmare." The boy said shivering.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Snape found himself asking for some reason.

"It was just a rehash of an old dream but it was different at the end. I dreamed that HE came back and killed off everyone that I cared for. But the scary part is that right before he goes to AK me he starts tap dancing and then all his followers started a conga line."

Snape stood stock still for a moment letting the imagery of that sink in and then to the shock of both of them he burst out laughing. He just couldn't take it. The Dark Lord tap dancing while the Death Eaters marched around in a conga line the picture that it created was just too much for him to handle.

A whole minute had passed and Snape found himself choking back more laughter in favor of breathing. It was hard but he managed to do it. Under control once more he looked at Potter who returned his look and had a smile of amusement stretched across his face.

"I think that is the first time that I have ever heard you laugh," Potter remarked. "You should do it more." Harry suggested.

Snape scoffed.

"No I really think that you should and as a matter of fact I will make sure you will. As your… ward I think I am obligated to do certain things for you and so one of the things will be making you laugh at least once a day if for no other reason than to make you less snippy towards me."

"Go to sleep Potter, Snape said as he left the room.

The next morning Snape awoke to find that Potter was already gone. He checked the time. He still had an hour before breakfast. Stretching he went into his bathroom to get ready. A half hour later he was fully presentable and he had just walked toward the exit of his rooms when he saw a note on the table. It had Potter's messy scrawl on it. 'Why is the boy leaving notes?' Snape wondered.

How many wizards does it take to screw in a light bulb?

A: none a wizard would just use lumos

'That was awful' Snape thought. It was actually so bad a joke that it garnered a slight hint of a laugh.

Snape looked over the paper once more and tucked it into his robes.

Twenty minutes later he was in the Great Hall. He had arrived just in time for the morning post deliveries.

Harry was sitting with Ron and Hermione chatting happily. They didn't know what had happened yet and he wasn't quite ready to tell them yet. He was saved when he saw Hedwig fly in and drop a letter to him. He opened it quickly and saw handwriting that he had grown accustomed to seeing mostly accompanying a D on a paper. It had three words on it.

Dumb but effective

Harry looked up a Snape and the moment he caught the man's eye he smirked just a bit and started planning for tomorrow.