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

A/N: Father/son angst coming up. It won't last too long though =)

Severus had just come out of his lab when he heard a knock on his door. He was surprised to open it and find Minerva and Harry. "Is something wrong?" He asked in concern.

Harry just shrugged and moved past him, flopping down on the sofa with his arms crossed.

Severus looked at Minerva with a raised eyebrow.

"I found Harry and Ron outside by themselves. I know you don't want him out without an adult so I brought him here." Minerva said quietly. "He also appears to be upset about something, though he wouldn't tell me what was wrong."

"Hagrid wasn't with them?" Severus asked with a frown.

"No." Minerva answered. "They were halfway down the path and Harry was pacing a lot. I hope he is okay." She said in a concerned voice.

Severus nodded. "Thank you for bringing him to me." After Minerva left, he shut the door and went to stand in front of his son. "What is wrong? I thought you were in the library."

"I was but then Ron and I went to visit Hagrid." Harry mumbled.

Severus let out an exasperated sigh. "Then why was Hagrid not with you? He would have walked you and Ron back to the castle."

"He didn't know we were out there. He had guests." Harry answered, staring blankly at the wall.

"So you were outside without an adult the whole time?" Severus looked at Harry sternly. "You know the rules Harry."

Harry glared at his Dad. "I don't care about the rules! You never told me the truth!"

Severus stiffened. "Watch your tone young man." He warned. "What truth did I not tell you?"

"That Sirius Black is my godfather." Harry spat. He felt angry, confused, and scared. It made it more personal somehow that Black was after him, after his own godson.

Severus stared at him in surprise. "Where did you hear that?" He asked finally.

"Hagrid was talking to Professor Flitwick and Professor Sprout about him and mentioned it." Harry admitted. He knew he wasn't coming across to good with being outside without an adult and eavesdropping.

"I see." Severus said slowly. "I'm sure I don't have to tell you that eavesdropping is wrong and very rude."

"They didn't see us." Harry protested. "I just wanted to know if they were talking about Black and if anything new had come up."

"So you went to his hut to deliberately eavesdrop?" Severus narrowed his eyes. "I keep you up-to-date Harry, on the things you should be aware of."

"I shouldn't be aware that Sirius Black is my godfather?" Harry asked with a sarcastic tone. He lowered his eyes at his Dad's disapproving look.

"Perhaps I should have told you but the truth is he is not your godfather." Severus said curtly. "James Potter would have chosen Black because he trusted him but as he was not your biological father, it is void. I will choose your godparents."

"Oh. So he doesn't have any rights to me or anything?" Harry asked in a small voice.

"No of course not." Severus assured him, understanding why Harry was so upset. "Even if he wasn't a convict, he wouldn't have any legal rights to you. Parents appoint godparents so that if anything happens to them, their child has someone they trust who will take care of him or her. But the godparents only get custody if it is in the parents will. Sometimes parents appoint several godparents and they are considered to be like family. But Harry, your mother and I would have never have appointed Sirius Black. Unfortunately, the people who we would have appointed are now unable to do so."

"Who would it have been?" Harry asked curiously.

Severus hesitated. It would be hard to explain and Neville may not want any of his friends to know what had happened to his parents. "I will tell you when you are older. They are not exactly around anymore."

"Oh." Harry was confused but let it go. "So do you think Sirius Black knows you are my Dad? Does he still think I am his godson?"

"I don't know." Severus said honestly. "Since he escaped, he may have seen the papers or heard about it. Also if he sees you he would know, since you don't look like James anymore. Not that any of those things matter. He is not getting close to you."

"He probably wouldn't care anyway, since he just wants to kill me." Harry sighed. He bit his lip. "I'm sorry I was rude to you. I was taken off guard."

Severus sat down next to him. "Understandable. However, you should not have stayed outside without an adult. I don't care if you don't agree with my rule, it is important that you still follow it. I need to be able to trust you, understand? And eavesdropping is wrong, I know you know that."

Harry nodded. "I'm sorry." He offered timidly. Now that he wasn't angry anymore, he felt apprehension for his actions.

"Accepted. However, perhaps spending time with me in my lab cleaning some cauldrons would give us a chance to review the rules and our manners." Severus smirked and stood up, holding out his hand to Harry.

Harry ruefully took it and let his Dad pull him up. "You just use me for free manual labor." He pretended to grumble. Even though he knew he would likely still get a lecture as they cleaned together, he felt better knowing that his Dad wasn't that mad at him.

"A benefit to having children." Severus chuckled as they made their way to the lab.

"And assigning students detention." Harry joked.

"Ahh, yes that too." Severus gently pushed Harry ahead of him into the lab. He suppressed a grin when he saw the look on his son's face as he noticed the extra dirty cauldrons sitting on the counter. He supposed his son's slight disobedience had come in handy.

"Cruel and unusual Dad." Harry made a face as he grabbed the first cauldron which was coated with dried potion remnants.

"Start cleaning son." Severus said cheerfully as he stood next to Harry. "I'll dry." He laughed when Harry scowled.

HPHPHPHP

A few days later Harry was eating breakfast with his House in the Great Hall when a swarm of owls flew in to deliver the mail. Harry didn't pay much attention as he was talking to his friends so he was startled when an owl he didn't recognize dropped a long shaped object wrapped in gold onto his lap.

"You got an early Christmas present?" Ron asked as he looked at the gift. His eyes widened. "You know what it is shaped like? A broom!"

"Who is it from?" Hermione asked curiously.

Harry shrugged. "There's no note." He ripped the gold paper off and gaped at what he saw. A Firebolt! "No way!" He had already been practicing with his Grandfather's broom and though it was old, it was still pretty brilliant and flew extremely well. But this, this was the most amazing broom out there!

"It's a Firebolt!" Ron's eyes grew impossibly wide. He reached out a hand slowly. "Can I touch it?"

Harry laughed and handed the broom so Ron could hold it.

"Wow." Ron breathed, looking at the broom reverently. The rest of their classmates had moved closer and were whispering while examining the beautiful broom.

Harry couldn't stop beaming and looked over at the Head Table to see his Dad's reaction. His Dad was getting up and heading over to the Gryffindor table.

"Who sent you the Firebolt Harry?" Severus asked and his tone was slightly perplexed. When he had seen Harry unwrap the broom he had immediately looked to Albus, Minerva and Lupin as they were the only ones he could imagine getting Harry such a gift. All three of them had shaken their heads to his questioning look. Severus had been planning on getting Harry a Firebolt for Christmas but had not placed his order yet.

"I don't know Dad, there was no note." Harry said absently as he took the broom back from Ron. Students from other Houses had gotten up and moved closer to their table

Severus narrowed his eyes. No note? Who would send such an expensive gift without sending a note as well? He didn't like where his thoughts were taking him. He went back to the Head Table and took his seat.

"Severus? Who gave Harry the Firebolt? It is quite an extravagant gift." Dumbledore commented.

"There was no note sent with it." Severus said in a low voice.

"No note? That is somewhat…odd." Minerva frowned. Her eyes widened somewhat. "You don't think…" She trailed off but she didn't need to finish. Severus knew what she was thinking. And by the worried looks on his colleagues' faces he knew that he wasn't the only one who was concerned that perhaps the Firebolt had been sent for some other reason than Harry's enjoyment. Perhaps it had been sent by someone who wished his son harm.

HPHPHPHP

"Dad, can you believe it? I actually got a firebolt!" Harry beamed, holding out the amazing new broom. He couldn't wait to try it out after classes were finished. He had been summoned to his Dad's office right after lunch and figured his Dad wanted to put the broom somewhere safe as Harry had been carrying it to his morning classes and had had a hard time concentrating as he couldn't take his eyes off the Firebolt.

"Yes, I know." Severus said slowly, standing up from his desk. He had talked the issue over with Albus and Minerva and had come to a decision he knew his son would not like. "Harry." There was a twinge of regret in his tone.

"It's the best broom out there!" Harry continued, oblivious to the frown on his Father's face. "I know I shouldn't have been taking it to classes with me but I didn't want to let it out of my sight!"

"Harry." Severus said a little more firmly.

Harry looked up, finally aware that his Dad didn't look happy for him. "What's wrong?"

"We don't know who sent you that broom. After you told me that there was no note, I asked the staff and no one here sent it to you. Therefore…" Severus took a deep breath. "I need to take the broom and have it thoroughly looked over to make sure it has not been tampered with."

"What? No way! You can't take it!" Harry held the broom closer to him. Was his Dad mental?

"Harry, you will get it back once I am sure it is safe." Severus said patiently. "Madam Hooch and Professor Flitwick need to inspect it for any Dark Magic that may have been embedded in it."

Harry couldn't help rolling his eyes at that. "How long will that take?" Harry asked, still holding his broom protectively.

"It could take several weeks." Severus admitted. To do a true in-depth check of the broom, it needed to be stripped down and it would take awhile to make sure the Firebolt was indeed safe.

Harry's mouth dropped open. Weeks? He hadn't even ridden it yet! He needed to practice with it so that he was ready for the next Quidditch game! How could his Dad do this? "No."

"Excuse me?"

"You can't take it. The broom is fine!" Harry backed away a few steps, looking defiantly at his Dad. This wasn't fair!

Severus eyes darkened slightly. While he knew Harry would be upset and understandably so, that did not mean he would tolerate blatant disrespect. "Watch how you talk to me Harry." He warned in a low voice.

Harry was too upset to realize how he was speaking to his father. "The broom was given to me as a present. You can't just take it. I won't let you!" Harry turned to leave, the Firebolt tight in his hand.

"Accio Firebolt!"

The broom suddenly flew from Harry's hands and to his Dad's. Harry spun around and glared at him. "Hey! You're not being fair!"

"No, you are not being fair." Severus shot back. "You have been given a very expensive broom from who knows who and you only have to wait a few more weeks for it. Most students will never even receive such a broom! Never mind that you are not taking your safety into consideration at all and for what? A broomstick. What if Sirius Black sent this as a way to hurt you?"

Harry rolled his eyes. Right, Sirius Black somehow managed to buy him a Firebolt.

"Roll your eyes at me again and I may spell them to continue rolling for the rest of the day!" Severus threatened, though he would never actually do that.

Harry huffed but refrained from anymore eye rolling.

"I understand that you are disappointed and upset but that does not give you the right to talk to me this way." Severus said firmly. "The attitude stops now. The broom will be checked out thoroughly no matter how long it takes. In fact, you will be lucky if I let you have it back at all if you keep this up."

Harry's green eyes widened. He opened his mouth to argue more but stopped at the warning look at his Dad's face. He looked away. "Fine, take it then." He muttered. "You know, you're being a-" He stopped before he said something that would get him grounded for the rest of his life.

Severus gritted his teeth. "Go to class Harry. After your classes are done you are to go to your dormitory where you are restricted for the rest of the day, except for dinner. You also will give me three hundred lines due before breakfast tomorrow. I want you to write, I will speak to my Father with respect and refrain from throwing a tantrum like a two year old when I do not get my way."

"On top of my homework? That will take me all night!" Harry protested.

"Too bad." Severus responded without sympathy. "If you start as soon as your classes are done, you should have plenty of time. Now go and I will see you in class later."

Harry turned and walked off without saying anything, still feeling furious with his Dad and thinking the whole thing was unfair. What had started out to be a great day had ended being anything but great. His broom had been taken away, he was being punished, and he was in a fight with his Dad merely days before Christmas. Just great.

TBC: Please review if you get a chance! I know Harry is being a brat but he is a teenager and sometimes, well, they are brats. Lol And we know Severus is overprotective, he can't help it. He already missed so much time of Harry's childhood and he just wants him safe. Please be patient with both of them! =)