Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. All characters belong to J.K. Rowling.

A/N: Thank you to all who have reviewed! =)

Severus waited as the Hogwarts train came to a stop. As students filed out some of them gave him startled looks as it was not custom for him to be there when the students arrived. He gave a smirk as the new first years gaped at him. He knew he must look intimidating as he had on his robes, arms crossed across his chest and was standing tall. His black eyes scanned the growing crowd as looked for his son. When he saw Harry emerge from the train, relief went through him. His son looked a little pale but otherwise fine. Severus stepped forward and got Harry's attention before Harry got into the carriage.

Harry threw his Dad a surprised look and headed over to him. "Dad? Is something wrong?"

Severus resisted the urge to hug his child as he knew that would embarrass him. "I wanted to check on you. I heard about what happened. Are you all right?" He asked with concern.

Harry nodded slowly. "Yeah, I'm okay now. It was horrible though. I felt so cold and hopeless." He felt his face turn red. "I passed out." He mumbled.

Severus put his hand on Harry's shoulder and squeezed gently. "The Dementor's are nasty creatures. They drain you of everything happy and light and fill you with the worst nightmares you have lived through. That is why they affected you so much; you have lived through many horrible things."

"It's humiliating. No one else fainted. And no one else heard that woman scream." Harry sighed.

Severus stiffened slightly. A woman's scream? No, it couldn't be. The idea that Harry could hear Lily's last moments was too terrible of an idea to contemplate. It was probably something else.

Harry was looking at the carriages curiously. "Where are the horses?" He asked.

Severus looked at the winged horses that carried the carriages to the school. "There are horses there. They are called Thestral's. They are very rare creatures and can only be seen by those who have witnessed and fully accepted the concept of death."

"Wow really?" Harry watched one of the carriages begin moving, being led by something he couldn't see. He frowned in thought. "Why can't I see them? I mean, since I was there with Mum and James and Quirrell?"

"You were only a baby when James and Lily died. Although you were there, you were too young to understand what was going on. You were also found in your crib, so you most likely did not see your mother actually die." Severus said softly.

"Oh." Harry said with his eyes downcast.

"As for Quirrell, you had been knocked out before he actually died." Severus continued, wanting to get off the subject. "You've definitely had some near misses seeing death." He murmured almost to himself.

Harry looked at him ruefully. "I hope I never see those horses."

Severus gave him a sad smile. "I hope that for you too."

"Hey Harry, are you coming?" Ron called from a carriage.

"Go ahead and ride with your friends. When you get to the castle, meet me in the infirmary." Severus told his son.

"Why?"

"I want Madame Pomfrey to check you over." Severus said smoothly.

"What for? I'm fine!" Harry protested.

"For my peace of mind and it will only take a minute." Severus replied, raising an eyebrow.

"But that's ridiculous! I'm fine and if I go to the infirmary, everyone's going to think I'm weak or something." Harry continued as he crossed his arms.

"This is not up for discussion. You will head straight to the infirmary when you get to the castle." Severus said firmly. "No one will know as they will be busy going to their dorms and getting ready for the sorting feast. Now your carriage is about to leave so you had better hurry." When Harry didn't respond he looked at him sternly. "Unless you would rather walk back with me?"

Harry rolled his eyes and turned around, resisting the urge to stomp to the carriage where his friends were waiting for him.

Severus narrowed his eyes at the attitude and spun on his heel to return to the castle. Was there something wrong with wanting to make sure his son was alright after such a harrowing experience? He knew this was going to be a tough year with trying to make sure Harry was safe and his son was just going to have to deal with having an overprotective father and that was that.

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"What was your Dad doing here?" Ron asked as the carriage began moving.

"He wanted to make sure I was okay." Harry answered as he watched the scenery. "He also wants me to go to the infirmary." He added in a quieter voice so that no one else would hear him.

"Oh, because of what happened on the train?" Hermione nodded. "I don't blame him."

Harry looked at her in surprise. "Really?"

"Of course mate. If that had happened to me and my Mum was here she would be dragging me to the infirmary." Ron said with a shrug. "It's a parent thing."

Harry considered this for a moment. He supposed he had overreacted. His Dad was already worried for him and then hearing about the Dementor on the train, of course he would want to ensure that his child was all right. It was better than being ignored like the Dursley's would have done. Harry supposed that despite it being a year since finding out his Dad was Snape he still wasn't completely used to how being someone's kid worked. Suddenly Harry felt guilty for acting like a brat to his Dad. He wouldn't trade having a Dad that cared about him for anything. Harry vowed to be extra good and responsible this year no matter what. Well, he would try anyway.

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As soon as the trio entered the castle, Professor McGonagall called Hermione and Harry over. "Miss Granger, I was hoping to have a word with you about your classes." Professor McGonagall looked at Harry. "How are you Mr. Snape?"

"I'm fine Professor. I need to go to the infirmary though." Harry said resignedly.

Professor McGonagall nodded. "Let me walk with you there. Miss. Granger, wait for me at my office so we can discuss your studies this year."

Hermione nodded. "Yes Professor. See you soon Harry."

Once they reached the infirmary Professor McGonagall gave Harry a nod and left him to go meet Hermione. Harry walked inside and saw his Dad waiting for him.

"This will only take a moment Harry." Severus said quietly.

"I hate that they have those horrible things around our school." Poppy grumbled as she waved her wand over Harry, running a diagnostic. "The children should not be subjected to them."

"The Dementor's should not have boarded the train." Severus said, watching the diagnostic intently. "I'm not happy about it myself."

Poppy lowered her wand. "Everything appears fine. Do you feel dizzy or sick at all?" After Harry shook his head no, she turned to Severus. "I don't blame you for wanting to be sure, especially as he fainted. But there are no injuries or affects of the Dementor's that I can find." She turned back to Harry. "If you would like I can give you a calming draught."

Harry shook his head. "I'm okay, really." He looked pleadingly at his Dad.

"If he changes his mind I will supply him with one." Severus told Poppy. "Thank you."

Poppy nodded. "I'll see you at the sorting feast."

Severus guided his son out of the infirmary. "I'll walk you to the tower. There is still a little time before the feast starts, I'm sure your friends are still getting settled in."

"Okay." Harry agreed. He stayed silent for a moment while they walked. "I'm sorry I was a brat earlier." He said finally.

Severus glanced over at his son. "I can understand that you don't want to be coddled over but all I wanted to do was make sure you were okay. I was certainly not trying to embarrass you." He sighed. "I didn't appreciate the attitude but I know you have just been through a traumatic experience. You're just going to have to tolerate that my number one concern is your safety."

Harry stopped walking and threw his arms around his Dad. "I'm glad it is. I know what's like to have no parents and have no one care if I was safe or not. I was just being a brat."

Severus chuckled and hugged his son back. "It's okay Harry, and you are not a brat. Also, you never have to worry about having no one care about you again. You will always have me."

"You love me so much and the Dursley's hate me so much. It's still weird for me sometimes." Harry mumbled into his father's robes. Thank Merlin no one was around to see him behaving like a three year old.

Severus frowned. "Harry, did running into the Dursley's this summer bring up old issues for you?" He asked in concern, running his hand through his son's hair.

Harry pulled back and shook his head. "No, I was just saying." He didn't want to tell his father that he still sometimes had nightmares of living with the Dursley's and that they had escalated since running into them. They arrived at the Tower and Harry offered his Dad a smile. "I'll see you at the feast Dad. Make sure you eat some vegetables!" He gave a cheeky grin and hurried up the stairs.

Severus shook his head with an amused smile and headed to the Great Hall to help oversee the students arriving for dinner.

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"Welcome, welcome!" Dumbledore stood at the Head Table and addressed the students once the sorting was finished. "I hope you all had a marvelous summer! A few things I would like to announce and then we can enjoy a wonderful feast. First, we have two new Professors' that I would like all of you to welcome. As Professor Kettleborn has decided to retire from teaching so he doesn't lose the rest of his remaining limbs, our new Care of Magical Creature's Professor is none other than Rubeus Hagrid!"

The Great Hall filled with the sound of clapping. Harry looked at Hagrid who was grinning at the Head Table. No wonder Hagrid had sent him the text book as a present! And he had been acting a little mysterious that day Harry had seen him during the summer. He was excited for his friend and knew that Care of Magical Creatures would at the very least be quite an interesting class.

"As for our new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor, I would like to introduce you to Remus Lupin. He is a former student of Hogwarts and we are very pleased to have him back." Dumbledore continued, smiling as the room politely clapped for Remus.

Harry watched his Dad clap though there was a slightly sour expression on his face. Did his Dad and Professor Lupin not get along? He wondered if he should ask. Harry was interrupted by his thoughts by the Headmaster's next announcement.

"I would like to caution you all that the Dementor's from Azkaban will be guarding our school until the escaped murderer Sirius Black is caught. They shall be stationed at the all the entrances to the grounds. While they are not to interfere with our activities, these are quite vicious creatures and will go after anyone they think is in their way of finding the one they hunt." Dumbledore warned in a serious voice. "Do not give them any reason to harm you." His face relaxed once again into a smile. "I believe I have spoken enough. Everyone, tuck in!"

Ron immediately began filling his plate with the bountiful food that appeared on the table. "What did Professor McGonagall want to talk to you about?" He asked with his mouth full of pot roast.

Hermione gave him a disgusted look as she put carrots on her plate. "She simply wanted to talk about my schedule." She answered absently. "I take it Madame Pomfrey didn't find anything wrong with you?" She asked Harry.

Harry took a gulp of his pumpkin juice. "No, of course not. I'm fine." He heard laughter behind him and turned around in his seat. At the Slytherin table Theodore Nott was doing an impression of someone fainting. He had a sinking feeling he knew who Nott was imitating.

"What a prat." Ron said, glaring in the Slytherin's direction.

"Well, now that's surprising." Hermione nodded towards where Draco was sitting.

Harry looked and saw that instead of joining in the teasing, Draco was ignoring Nott and those who were laughing and instead was talking to Blaise Zabini and Pansy Parkinson. "Hmm, I would think Malfoy would be leading in the put downs of me."

"He's probably planning something Harry. You know the Malfoy's." Ron scowled in Draco's direction.

Harry shrugged and was about to turn back to his meal when he noticed his Dad glaring one of his famous glares at Nott. Harry smirked as the Slytherin quickly returned to his meal, his face red. Ah, it definitely helped having a Dad who was also a scary Professor.

"I can't believe Hagrid is going to be our Professor! It makes sense though, who else would assign us a text book that tries to eat us?" Ron shook his head in disbelief.

Harry laughed. "Well, at least class won't be boring." As they ate, Harry noticed Hermione putting bits of pot roast in a napkin and folding it up. He caught her eye. "Fancy on needing a snack later?" He teased.

"No this is for Crookshanks." Hermione said happily, stuffing the napkin into her bag.

Ron rolled his eyes. "Your cat is probably only wanting to find rats to eat."

Hermione shrugged. "It is a cat's nature." She scooped up a spoonful of mashed potatoes.

Ron huffed. "The only rat around is mine!"

Hermione sighed. "Crookshanks will not eat your rat Ronald." She said irritably.

"Better not." Ron mumbled into his food.

Harry stifled a yawn and was actually happy when they were instructed to go back to their dorms. The day's events were catching up with him and he was feeling exhausted. It felt great to bury himself into his bed and he quickly fell into a deep sleep.

"Harry, I have some very sad and shocking news." Dumbledore told him.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked, confused as to why he was in the Headmaster's office to begin with.

"It turns out that Severus is not your real father." Dumbledore said sadly. "Since he has no claim to you, you will have to return to the Dursley's."

Harry stared at him in shock. "What? No! My Dad would never let that happen!" He began to shake and a feeling of fear filled him.

Dumbledore shrugged. "You're not his son so why would he care? Don't worry Harry; at least you have the Dursley's."

"No! They hate me! I want to talk to my Dad. Please!" Harry begged, tears spilling down his cheeks.

Harry woke up with a start and quickly looked around to make sure he hadn't woken up any of his dorm mates. He wondered if he had made any noise. He would have to make sure to cast a silencing spell around his bed from now on. Harry settled back down and tried to breathe evenly. The dream had felt so real. Part of him wanted to tell his Dad so that he could be reassured that the nightmare would never happen but he didn't want to burden his Dad any more than he already was. He has enough to worry about, Harry told himself. Besides, he knew it was silly. It was just a nightmare. Harry sighed and grabbed his wand to cast the silencing spell just in case he had another bad dream. It took awhile but finally he was able to fall back into a restless sleep.

TBC: Review if you get a chance! =)