You Can Live: Chapter 5

Chapters in between lots of angst/action are really hard for me to get through. I always lay out my big points of a story in my head, but the inbetween stuff gets me :/ Hope this works though! :)

No slash here, only guardian/ward psuedo-parent/child relationship and friendships.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of this, except for the plot. I would be able to afford school if that were the case.

Warnings: SEE CHAPTER 1 FOR WARNINGS AND OTHER IMPORTANT NOTES!

No One Can Sleep

Harry tossed and turned for the better part of an hour, before giving in. He sat up and turned on his light, rubbing his eyes, before reaching for his glasses. His hand brushed against the soft velvet of the bag from Gringotts. That whole incident was one of the main reasons Harry was having trouble sleeping.

The boy had done his best to obey Snape and finish what Snippy had served him, but he had finally managed to convince his new guardian and a very determined house elf that he simply could not eat any more. Hogwarts was where he typically got his food intake back on track, for the most part, but his stomach never quite got used to it. It seemed like it was perpetually shrunk from all of those hungry summers.

After though, he was at a loss of what to do. He had taken the liberty of exploring the house. All in all, it was pretty normal. The best part, he found, was the extensive library and a garden in the back. No doubt, Snape used it mainly for growing potions ingredients, but Harry knew a tomato when he saw one. Maybe his guardian would let him tend to it. It had been his favorite chore at the Dursley's.

Another interesting thing he had come across was Snippy's little home. She had been settling in for the night, but had heard him creeping about and came out to see if he needed anything. When he said he hadn't, that he was just looking around, Snippy got very excited and took him around the kitchen, before showing him her nook. It was not unlike Kreacher's little cupboard at Grimmauld Place. It was tucked away in a corner of the kitchen. A small blanket and pillow cushioned the bottom and in the corner was a couple of books. Snippy proudly explained that Master Snape had let her borrow whatever books she wanted from the library. Such a good Master he is. Harry Potter so lucky to have Master Snape as guardian. So lucky.

He couldn't have agreed with her more. The man had done so much for him, helped him through so much, and now he had taken Harry in and away from his Aunt and Uncle's place. He was really at a loss of how to pay him back. Obviously literally paying him won't work, as he had foiled Harry's attempts earlier, but what else was Harry supposed to give the man? Snape had already told him that he didn't want Harry to do a lot of housework, and Harry had had to stop Snippy from banging her head with a rolling pin when she caught him absentmindedly cleaning the kitchen. Snape gave him a good glare for that one, and Harry was almost sure he was out of the house on the first night. That would have been a new summer record for him; sleeping outside usually didn't happen until two weeks in. Not that he would have minded, given where they were really was a lot nicer than Privet Drive.

Harry finally shook himself out of his thoughts by yawning. He, however, did not settle back down to sleep. He could yawn all he wanted, but he knew for a fact that sleep would not come to him for a good time yet. So, he grabbed his wand and crept out of his room after casting a silencing charm on himself. His Uncle Vernon was livid when he got woken in the middle of the night by Harry just walking to the bathroom; he couldn't imagine that Snape would be too happy with him prowling about either.

The library was quiet, peaceful, and a lot less spooky than the one in Hogwarts that first year. The carpet felt good against his bare feet as he crossed over it to examine the books on the shelves. A healthy amount of them were potions books or books all about ingredients Harry knows are used for potions. Shocker. What did surprise him, however, was when he came across an entire section of Muggle science fiction and fantasy novels. Harry may have never gotten the chance to read them for himself, but he was very familiar with how popular Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones and Ender's Game were. He eagerly snatched the first of the Lord of the Rings trilogy and curled up in a nearby chair. Once settled, he cast a floating lumos charm and set about reading.

Severus had never been able to get much sleep. When he was younger, it was usually because of his drunk father always wandering into the house in the middle of the night. As he grew up to become a Death Eater and subsequently a spy, the constant stress and vigilance put him on edge so he would wake at any sound, a reason he was so good at catching students out after hours. In consequence, after years of restless nights, even having no threats looming over him, he could not sleep for more than a few hours at a time.

The small mantle clock he kept in his room told him it was only four in the morning, but that wasn't unusual for him. So, he decided to get a head start on some potion orders that he had been putting off. Donning a more casual set of robes, it was summer after all and his house, he quietly exited his rooms and crept down the hall. He spotted a light coming from the library not ten seconds later.

He quirked a brow. It was also not unusual for Snippy to have the occasional restless night and to exchange her books. The corner of his mouth lifted slightly, and he peeked his head in to catch a glimpse of the sneaky house elf. Both of his eyebrows drew up when he instead found his young ward asleep in a chair, a book open across his lap and a Lumos charm hanging next to him.

Snape couldn't truly say he was all that surprised. He knew of Harry's nightmares, and years of living with the Dark Lord in your head was not conducive to sleep. There was also little doubt that Potter's venturing out of his room in the night was in part due to being in a new place with Severus as his guardian. The little incident at dinner most likely chipped in as well. Snape stood and contemplated the boy for a few moments.

Harry might look a lot like his father, but there was definitely more of his mother in him than James. His love for reading and his too-big heart and his bull-headedness. Oh yes. Lily Evans Potter lived on in her son. The potions master softened ever so slightly, not that he would ever admit to such an outrageous conclusion, and quietly approached the boy. Carefully, Snape slid Harry's glasses off. Then, he pointed his wand at the chair and transformed it into a comfortable couch. He finished by settling some summoned blankets over the boy, and making sure he wasn't about to fall off the furniture.

Snape snorted and rolled his eyes. That would be just like the boy, to counteract his attempts to make him safe, or in this case comfortable. Finally satisfied, the man slowly stood, then proceeded out of the library and down the hallway. Snape thought about his young ward on his way to his lab.

It was evident by the page the book was opened to that Harry had been awake for a long time. How did Snape not hear the boy walking to the library? Anything moving about in the hall would have woken him instantly, unless... the boy had learned a bit about stealth from the war, and no doubt had to be cautious when at the Dursely's. Harry had to have placed a silencing charm on himself. Yes, that made more sense, for as far as Snape could recall from Harry falling asleep in his chambers at school, the boy snored like a dragon when not having nightmares. He must have fallen asleep in the chair without taking the silencing charm off beforehand.
Snape shook his head at the boy's actions. Harry acts very mature, yet there is something about him that can still make you think of him as a child. However, it was a bit too early for the potions professor's mind to be contemplating such a difficult, most likely sensitive topic, so he decided it best left until morning. Well, later in the morning.

He did have things to do after all.

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