The next morning was Sunday and in the Snape household that apparently meant Severus planning lessons and marking work and Cassie setting up a table for arts projects and the rest of the time cooking a massive Sunday roast for the family. Harry thought it was great fun at first but soon became bored when the older children just kept telling him not to touch anything and to leave their stuff alone, he had been given a colouring book and crayons whereas the rest of them had glue and paints and fabrics and were making great landscapes although Toby was doing graffiti art for his dorm room and Lily and Charlie were making pictures of their day out yesterday which would no doubt end up on the fridge. Harry sat and sulked until when Mummy came back she put him in a smock and gave him some paints to play with and told Toby to make sure he didn't make too much mess or eat the paint. Harry started brushing the paint on squealing with happiness, Lily had finished and so had Toby so they went upstairs to clean up leaving Harry and Charlie to finish.
Charlie saw his opportunity to really get his baby brother in trouble, Harry took up a lot of his parents attention and he really hated that so took the paint Harry had been using and spread it on the walls beside the baby using Harry's hands to spread it everywhere and finally putting paint all over the table and onto his drawing, Charlie whispered to Harry 'you are gonna be in soo much trouble they will get rid of you 'cos you don't do anything except cry, you can't even go to sleep on your own.' Charlie then began to cry. Mummy rushed in to find the mess and immediately comforted Charlie whilst shouting at Harry. 'Harry, what have you been doing, you know we don't paint on the walls, apologise to your brother, Charlie worked really hard on his work and you've spoiled it.' Harry felt bad but shook his head it wasn't him. Mummy left him at the table as she took Charlie to get cleaned up and give him cuddles and kisses. Harry started to cry, he had been framed Severus entered the room 'What's wrong Harry?' spotting the walls he soon came to his conclusion. 'You naughty boy we are going to get you cleaned up and help Mummy with the lunch because you have definitely upset her today.'
Lunch was a quiet affair with Toby telling his parents that he was going to stay in his dorm for the week so he could get some decent sleep, the always quiet Lily showing her parents her drawing and Charlie telling his parents about present ideas. Harry was occasionally fed some pureed roast dinner and was pointedly ignored through the course of lunch. At the end of lunch he laid his head down on his tray and sulked, why did Charlie have to be so mean to him? He let himself be put down for a nap not whinging when he was left without a story or a bottle. He just went to sleep and hoped he wouldn't have been put in an orphanage when he woke up.
The rest of the afternoon Harry had been mostly ignored as he sat in the playroom telling his crocodile all about what had happened and how unfair it all was. After Harry had been bathed and put to bed Lily was sitting in bed waiting for Daddy to come and read her a bedtime story. She lay awake wondering if she should tell Daddy that it wasn't really Harry that painted on the walls, he was in a lot of trouble for it. As Lily lay in bed thinking Severus walked in with a book and sat beside her, he tucked her in gently and began to read, she usually fell asleep after being read to but this time she was still awake and worrying, 'Lily, is there anything the matter?' Snape asked softly seeing the sadden look on her daughters face throughout the story, Lily nodded. 'It wasn't Harry,' she said softly, looking at her Daddy's confused expression. 'It was Charlie, Charlie's been trying to get Harry in trouble for weeks and he painted on the wall and blamed Harry,' her eyes were tearing up as she looked at the shocked expression on her Daddy's face 'am I in trouble?' Severues looked at her carefully, Lily had never ever lied to him she was a lovely young girl and having thought for a while that Charlie was jealous of Harry he shook his head 'no darling, you're not in trouble, how did you find out though?' Lily looked at him seriously 'when I went upstairs to clean up I forgot to take off my overall I went back to take it off when I heard Charlie talking to Harry telling him that you were going to get rid of him because he was so much trouble, then he took Harrys hands and put them in the paint and put them on the walls.' Daddy looked at Lily and whispered 'thank you for telling me now off to sleep with you.' He kissed her gently on the head and turned off the lights leaving the door slightly ajar. He could hear Cassie finishing her story with Charlie and entered the room.
'You are in big trouble mister' Severus started, 'Severus what is it?' Cassie asked seriously, Charlie here painted the wall and blamed it on Harry and told his baby brother that we were going to get rid of him, Harry thinks we are going to get rid of him because he is too much trouble. I am also suspecting that those small marks on Harry's arms which I found the other day in the bath are also from this one, am I right Charlie?' Severus asked, Charlie shook his head 'You will be in much bigger trouble if you lie so have another think, was that also you?' This time tearing up Charlie nodded, 'you young man are going to have to do some serious apologizing to your brother tomorrow and you have lost your painting and outside play privelages for a week, am I understood?' Charlie nodded Severs and Cassie then gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek and left the room.
As they readied themselves for bed neither Snape was ready for conversation they were simply worried. As the Snape parents sat up in bed Cassandra was the first to speak, 'I'm worried about Harry.' Cassandra began leaving the statement to linger in the air 'me too' added her husband sadly sighing. 'I can't believe Charlie did that, all those marks on Harry and he never once cried or hit him back, how could we not have noticed?' Cassandra asked horrified that they had missed their infant son being bullied by their toddler. 'I guess we just thought that Harry was safe with Charlie,' Snape muttered, Cassie thought for a moment then tried to rationalise their behaviours 'ever since Harry was born we knew he was different to the other three, he was a small baby and always ill with this that or the other, but over the past week he seems so much stronger, he's really growing up, I believed it was time that Charlie had some of our attention back because of all the extra care Harry's always needed, I lost sight of Harry's age and how vulnerable he still was. With the others once they were crawling they became invincible but it's going to be different with Harry isn't it?'
Snape thought back to the day Harry was born, he was 5 pounds and blue when he appeared, Cassie was desperately asking if it was a boy or a girl and Severus was shocked at the sickly appearance, their previous babies had all been 7 pounds, pink and screaming when they arrived but with Harry he had been tiny, blue and unmoving, not breathing. After a few moments Cassie had begun to panic too asking why their baby hadn't been crying. Harry had been in the world for two hours when the parents were told by the doctor that their child wouldn't survive the next two hours, their baby boy. Just three days later though their son was allowed out of the incubator and was gaining weight fast, Severus had looked at mother and child as they shared their first proper feed and told their baby boy how proud he was of him and what a fighter he was. Cassie gave him a sad smile, 'he reminds me of Harry Potter, he's fighting hard to be here and he's not giving up.' Severus smiled at her with tears in his eyes, 'shall we finally name him then?' he asked through his tears which were now sailing down his cheeks. 'I like the name Harry' Cassie suggested 'for a real fighter who has the strength of those twice his size.' Severus agreed and nodded. As Harry was laid back in his cot fast asleep they shared a proud smile. Even after being told their child may well have received some brain damage the parents were still hopeful for their baby boy. A week later he was at home and well and truly part of their family.
'I believe he may also have that Gryffindor loyalty to his family that Harry Potter had' Severus said almost to himself as he came back from his memories. 'He will always be slightly disadvantaged, but he will always be a fighter, but most importantly he will always be our son and we will always love him.' Cassie said determined to make things better for him. The couple turned the lights off and drifted into sleep dreaming of their babies.