You Can Live: Chapter 8

Hope this chapter's length is more to your liking! :) I've introduced a couple of OC's in here. I normally am not a fan of OC's but these kind of came to life on their own. I'm not sure about there role in the rest of the story, but there will be an OC villain coming in to play in this story, a bit later on. Can't wait to introduce you ;)

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!

Proud

Harry loved the walk to town. It was a bit long, but the scenery was beautiful and the whole area was peaceful and quaint. The young man was having a hard time containing his excitement at being outdoors and seeing a new place. He caught Severus giving him amused looks a couple of times, and blushed. He would calm for a little bit, stop acting like such a child, before getting excited once more.

Snape was glad to see the boy so happy. Harry obviously loved being outside, so the man made a mental note to either take Harry to town at least once a week, or send him out to go flying in the far field inside the wards. Severus decided to point out some of the different plants they came across as they walked and describe to Harry how they could be used in potions. The boy soaked it all up like a sponge. That made the man curious.

"I never noticed you to care this much about learning when you were in school. You fell asleep in my class enough times to make me believe you did not care." Harry rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment.

"I really would try to study, but with the nightmares and everything else going on every year, I could never get all of it to stick or make sense in my head. I was up most nights, cause I couldn't sleep, and ended up sleeping during classes. And, to be honest, Sir, you were a bit of a git in school. After a while, I figured you were probably going to fail me whether I actually managed to brew a potion correctly or not, so I focused on other things. Hermione managed to pull me through most of the time, so I owe her a lot for getting me through school each year, despite everything going on." Snape took this information in and decided to clear a few things up.

"I can't say I am completely sorry for being a git, as you say. It would not take long for the Dark Lord to hear I was being companionable with the Boy-Who-Lived, and he would surely have used that as a way to get close to you. I must also admit, that I had made...unjust assumptions of you the moment you walked through the doors. All I saw was my old school nemesis, and I kept that at the forefront of my mind. It was a bit unfair to you, and might have pushed me to be harsher to you than I would have, but again, it would have done more harm than good, if I was found to be close with Harry Potter." Harry nodded and didn't skip a beat in saying,

"It's alright, Sir. I understand. Thank you though, for continuing to watch out for me despite the danger to yourself and the bad memories my attitude brought up." They both let the matter drop, then as they were getting really close to the town. Snape could have sworn Harry was vibrating, and the thought quirked the corner of his lip up.

It wasn't too busy in the square. Most people didn't come out until lunch or after, so they were beating the crowds. That was Snape's intention. He decided it would be best not to press his luck and throw Harry head first into a giant swarm of strangers. From what he had gathered, Harry had very little experience in the Muggle world, despite growing up in it. His world consisted of to and from a terrible Muggle elementary school, an eventful zoo trip, and a Muggle play ground. Snape had been surprised to find that Petunia hadn't sent him to the stores to do the shopping for her, but he assumed they didn't want to risk anyone seeing him and connecting his 'freakiness' to their 'perfect little family'. The very thought made Severus want to hex something.

Instead, he settled for pointing things out to Harry, all of the different shops and vendors. He wasn't surprised, as much as he would have been at least, to find that Harry's favorite store had been the small, limited book store. They spent a good half hour in there, before Snape steered them towards the farmer's market. The day was still young, but all of the farmers were there and had their produce out.

Harry was practically drooling. At the Dursley's, he took care of the garden, but was never allowed to try anything he grew. It always ended up in a salad for the Dursley's, but wouldn't get eaten. It was just too healthy for Duddykins. The fruit at Hogwarts was great, but he couldn't help but wonder if using magic on them changed how they would taste. While Harry was busy roaming the booths, Snape approached a booth manned by an older couple. The woman smiled brightly at him, while her husband was taking some more produce from the truck.

"Hello there, Dearie. Gotta say, we've lived around here for a long time, but never seen you here." Snape didn't smile back per say, but he didn't give off his usual 'I just smelled something horrible' expression.

"I've owned a house nearby for quite a few years. I would visit occasionally, but I never had the opportunity to really make it my own. Now that we've officially moved in, I thought I should get more acquainted with the town." The husband had come to the front towards them and heard the last bit of the conversation.

"Always good to meet new neighbors. I'm George and this is my wife Clara." Snape took the proffered hand and was pleased with the firm handshake. An alias was on the tip of his tongue, when he realized...there was no need for one. The war was over; he was no longer a spy. They were in a pre-dominantly muggle town where no one would recognize their names.

"Severus. And..." He looked around to see if he could spot Harry when he spotted the boys unruly hair only a couple booths away. Clara had been following his eyes, and smiled when she found what he was looking at.

"Is that your son? He looks like a sweet boy." Snape's lips curled up at that, but then he forced himself to shake his head.

"No. He's...I'm his god father. I went to school with his mother, and we were very close friends. Harry lost both of his parents when he was very young, and I was only just able to get guardianship of him." Not entirely false. Snape knew Lily would have made him a god father if...things went very differently. Clara put a hand over her heart and sighed.

"That is just terrible. I can't imagine what he had to go through if you were trying to get custody of him for so long. We have two boys, and they have their own families by now. If one of them, Heaven forbid, was lost to us, we would certainly take in the children. Can't have them growing up with strangers." Snape nodded, while deciding not to correct her. He would have wanted to take custody of Harry if he knew what was going on in the Dursley's house and if he wasn't a spy. Circumstances forced his hand. At least, that's what helps him sleep better at night. He gave the couple a surreptitious glance, wondering what it was about them that made him loosen his tongue so much.

"Yes, but he is a very strong boy. He has been through a lot, yet still smiles almost everyday." Snape looked over at Harry just then, and found him beaming at a farmer that offered him a free apple. The boy looked up and caught Severus's eye. The potion's master gestured for him to come over, and Harry waved goodbye at the nice man before wandering towards his guardian. Harry had just reached Severus and was about to say hello to the couple the man was talking to, when a small gang of roughhousing teens ran past, violently knocking Harry into the booth. He pitched forward, unable to stop his descent.

In a matter of seconds, the fruit was everywhere and the baskets were destroyed, leaving the whole thing in shambles. The few bystanders about all cried out in surprise, but walked off to gossip about the happenings with their neighbors instead of helping. George and Clara, instead of bemoaning the fate of their produce, went to see if Harry was alright as Snape helped the boy up.

"Oh Dearie, are you alright? Those boys are always causing trouble." Severus was a little surprised to find Harry shaking slightly. Then he saw how the boy's gaze was locked on George, no doubt waiting for some sort of blow up. The minute the boy was set to rights he dropped back down to the ground and began picking up salvageable fruit.

"Harry-" Severus was worried at the glazed over look the boy was getting.

"I'm really s-sorry, Sir. I'll help you. I can pay for all of t-this, or I can come by and work it off for you if you'd rather-" George stepped forward then and crouched in front of the boy. He laid a gentle hand on his shoulder, and Harry flinched slightly even as he kept his gaze firmly locked on his task and never met the man's eyes.

"Son, it's alright. Thank you, but Ol' Clara and I've got this." Snape was sorely tempted to whip out his wand and clean in all up in seconds, but that was obviously not an option. So, he crouched down and began helping.

"No, we shall help you." Harry paused for a moment, startled to see Severus on the ground helping an old couple pick up their fallen produce. Shaking his head, Harry went back to his task, and in no time things were cleared away and whatever fruit was salvageable was put in fresh baskets and set back out. Clara turned back into the booth and came back to Severus and Harry bearing a small basket of beautifully ripe blackberries.

"These are for your trouble, and maybe a bit of welcome to town. Just picked yesterday." Severus began to shake his head.

"We couldn't. After you just lost so much-" Clara put a hand on her hip and raised a brow at the potions master.

"I am not asking you to take them. I'm telling you to. They're good for you, and besides..." She eyed Harry up and down, and shook her head.

"You barely even squished the raspberries, young man. You're too skinny." George came up behind them and as he was walking into the booth, called over his shoulder,

"She's right, son. Always is. Best take the berries." Harry blushed and took the basket shoved at him, with a muttered ,'Thank you'. Snape smirked at the boy and thanked George and Clara at a volume that normal people could hear.

With a few more kind exchanges, the two parties parted ways, one back to their booth, the other to start the walk back towards home. Snape put a featherweight charm on the items he carried, and Harry kept a hold of the berries. Harry was unusually quiet during their walk, and kept looking back towards town as if he would never see it again.

"Did you enjoy yourself, Harry?" The boy glanced towards him through his dark fringe and nodded.

"Yes, Sir. Thank you for taking me to town." Snape raised an eyebrow at the tone; it was if Harry thought he would never be allowed back in town. Severus decided to test this theory.

"I have not before been able to explore all there is in town. These trips will no doubt have to become a weekly occurrence at least. I noticed that you enjoyed the book shop a great deal. A visit there every other week should hold you between books, unless, of course, you read like your mother." Harry full on hit the breaks, causing Snape to stop as well. His eyes were wide, and he gazed at Severus in wonder.

"You- you mean...I can go back?" Snape was correct then. This could be an opening into more serious things if he worked it right.

"Of course you can. I would prefer that if you were to go alone you told me first, but I was hoping you would accompany me on the weekly trips to town. Why would you not be allowed to go?" A smile burst across Harry's face at the beginning of Snape's statement, but his cheeks turned bright red, and his eyes met the ground at the question.

"Well...after what I did to George and Clara's booth...I thought...I'd embarrassed you. I didn't think you would want me to go back." Snape shook his head and freed a hand to place it on Harry's shoulder.

"Harry, you didn't embarrass me. What happened wasn't even your fault. Some horrific children ran into you and shoved you into the display. It wasn't your fault, but you immediately started to help. That was a good thing, Harry. I'm proud of you, not embarrassed by you." Harry smiled at that, and he would never admit to the tears that started to make his eyes shimmer. He had never heard that before and actually believed it. If people told them they were proud of him, it was because of some heroic thing he did that got a lot of people killed, or Uncle Vernon and...and...someone?...were feeling especially twisted. But here Snape was, telling him that he was proud of him, just for helping someone.

Harry smiled all the way home.

What do you think of Ol' George and Clara? I like 'em. :) Glad to be back and updating for you guys. :)

Please Review :)