A/N: I'm happy for every feedback and constructive critisism but I will not respect straight out hate or trolls in the comments.

This is an M/M story with mentions of infidelity, violence and abuse (all of which I don't condone).

DON'T LIKE DON'T READ!

Thank you for all the reviews, follows and faves!

AchillesTheGeek: I'd say he either forgot or the floo was not open in the infirmary to keep people out ;)

Outofthisworldgal: Dumbles is an arrogant idiot who thinks he's better than everyone. Harry/Ron will only appear in Ch8 (maybe) and you just gave me an idea for that talk :D You'll see ;) All will be revealed...

Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling - I just played a bit in her universe.

Thanks to miu-sama95 for prereading, betaing and helping with the storyline ;)

Chapter 6: The first bits of information

Words: 1940

The moment Severus stepped out of the fireplace in his quarters he made his way to the second bedroom - Harry's bedroom actually. He had spent the whole school year - ever since he found out about his son - clearing out the spare room and making it into Harry's. There had been a lot of books he had needed to find a new place for but thanks to some expansion charms they now all fit in his other bookshelves.

Harry looked around curiously while Severus carried him through his quarters. They looked quite homey and warm, surprisingly. There were a lot of brown, earthy tones with touches of Slytherin green and silver of course. But the colors were complimenting the living room rather nicely instead of being overpowering. Severus meanwhile carried him into a bedroom that must be the guest bedroom.

'This is your room, Harry.' said Severus, once he got his son settled in the big four poster bed. 'Now tell me, how much pain are you in?'

'MY room?' asked the teen in awe. He had never had a room that truly belonged to him only. Never. Either it was Dudley's second bedroom or he shared one with Ron.

'Yes, yours my son. Now please answer my question.' Severus got confused by Harry's antics. He must have had at least a room at the Dursley's, right? But Severus thoughts were proven wrong once again when the boy answered.

'I've never had my very own room. Thank you.' explained Harry while getting a bit emotional.

Severus grew angrier at the Dursleys and at Dumbledore with every new detail he learned about his son's upbringing. He had to take a moment to calm himself down before asking Harry again.

'How are you feeling, son?'

'I'm fi- ' Harry started to reply automatically only to be interrupted by his father.

'Don't even think about telling me you are fine when you are obviously not! I want to know everything concerning your health. It doesn't matter how unimportant you think it to be. I'll be the judge of that. So, how much pain?'

'I have a pounding headache, my scar is burning up and my leg feels rather stiff. Also I could use something to eat. Happy?'

'Yes, very. Thank you for telling me. I'll get you a headache potion and a salve that will numb your scar. I cannot do much for the leg since it has to heal completely first but I will call for some food for us. We can have a late dinner together. Tell me, since when does your scar hurt?'

'I think since the graveyard? It was pretty bad back there but now it's a persistent dull burn, more like really sore muscles or something.' admitted the teen.

Severus got up from the side of the bed where he had been sitting and with a be right back he left the room.

That gave Harry a chance to look around and take in the room. There was a big window looking to be right at level with the water surface of the black lake with a desk right in front of it on the wall left of the bed. Weren't they in the dungeons? He would have to ask Severus about that.

A dresser stood by the wall opposite the bed, with a door next to it. Harry guessed that it lead to an ensuite bathroom. In the corner between those to walls was a fireplace with two comfy looking armchairs in front of it. The bed was situated in the diagonal opposite corner of the fireplace with a nightstand with a picture on it and floating shelves above, probably for books and stuff. There was also a big bookshelf on the other side of the door they had come through. Everything was made of a darker wood with red and golden accents as colours.

Harry was astonished, to say at least, that his dad had really gone so far as to use colors he hated, just for his son. Harry's attention was drawn back to the only picture in the room. He picked it up to study it and the first thing he noticed were the bright green eyes of the girl. They were the same as his own, so this must have been his mother when she was younger. The boy next to her had black hair and nearly black eyes that were filled with laughter. They were hugging and both of them wore big smiles and he could tell that they were not just for the camera. Harry recognized the boy to be Severus. The smile had thrown him but it looked really good on his father. He should do that more often.

'The picture was taken the summer before we went to Hogwarts.' Harry startled so badly he almost dropped the picture. Looking up he saw his father leaning against the doorframe, a tray with food floating behind him. Severus pushed himself away from the frame and walked over to Harry.

'I thought we could eat together and I can tell you about her and everything that happened. You should take the potions only after you have eaten and they will make you drowsy so you will probably fall asleep quickly afterwards.'

'That would be great.' said Harry. He didn't care that he sounded a bit overenthusiastic but the food smelled amazing and his stomach rumbled loudly. With a smirk on his face Severus settled next to Harry on the bed before pulling the tray onto his lap. He passed Harry a bowl of soup and some bread rolls. Harry started as if he hadn't had a meal in the last few days. On second thought his son probably hadn't had enough food for ten years of his life and for every summer he had to spend at the Dursleys.

'Slow down, Harry! You will make yourself sick otherwise.'

'Sorry, I'm just so hungry!'

That statement gave Severus a thought. 'When was the last time you actually had a decent meal?'

'Ehm….Yesterday evening? I just couldn't eat before the task, I was too nervous. I only had some toast before we went into the maze and I kind of puked that all out in the graveyard when the pain in my scar got too much.' Harry admitted quietly while looking into his bowl.

'Harry please make sure not to miss meals anymore from now on. I know you are used to going without them but I want to get you up to a healthy weight and skipping meals is not the right way to get there.' Severus admonished calmly.

'And now the story I promised. It seems I grew up in rather similar circumstances as you did. My father was a Muggle, always drunk and trying to beat the magic out of my mother and me. My mother was not a lot better in her last few years. I will never understand what she saw in him and by the time I understood that my mother had not always been so detached, it was too late. He had broken her spirits a long time before I was born. To me she was not as bad as he was but I wouldn't call her loving either. She had been immensely talented in potions but she threw that talent away to be with my father. After they married and she told him about magic, everything changed. He forbid her to brew and the use of magic altogether and after I showed the first signs of being a wizard he tried to beat it out of me as he used to say.' the Potions Master told his life story in such a monotone voice one could think he was impersonating Professor Binns. Harry was also surprised that his father had had a similar fate in life as he had had.

'I spent hours in a nearby park just to not be home. My mother died out of despair and left me with that drunk bastard. It only got worse from there but since he didn't have a lot of money he didn't protest against me going to Hogwarts. At least he wouldn't have to look after me there. When I was sixteen the headmaster called me into his office to tell me that my father had killed himself the only emotion I felt was relief. I would never have to go back to him. During all those years before Hogwarts the only ray of sunshine was your mother.' At the mentioning of his mother Harry finally saw some emotions lighting up Severus' eyes. He couldn't decipher what it was but it had been there for a short moment.

'We practically grew up together. She lived on the other end of the park near my house and one day I saw her doing accidental magic. I told her that she was a witch and all I knew from my mother what it meant to be part of the wizarding world. I told her about Hogwarts and I was the first person she showed her Hogwarts letter.' Severus remembered with a serene smile on his face.

'You had been friends for so long?!' Harry couldn't believe it. He had heard many stories about James and his times at Hogwarts but nobody seemed to know a lot about his mother.

'Yes. She was my only friend. Don't forget the potions, son.' Dutifully Harry took the vials his dad passed him and gulped them down quickly, wincing at the taste. He passed the vials and his empty bowl back to his father and snuggled into his dad.

'Happy, dad? Would you tell me a story from back then? Wait! Does that mean you know aunt Petunia as well?'

'I will never grow old of you calling me dad' Severus said with a smile on his face but Harry's exclamation made him laugh out loud.

'Yes I know Petunia. Come on and lay down and I will tell you the story of how I met her.'

Harry scooted under the covers but stayed cuddled up to his dad who put an arm around his shoulders.

'So Lily and I must have been around eight years or so and we both had managed a few little magic tricks as we called them. We didn't know that it was quite unusual to be able to control accidental magic. It was harmless things like making leaves fly and flowers bloom and such things. Tunia was always very jealous of our friendship and ever more so of our magic. But she was also very afraid of it. One day in the park,...' Severus broke off, when he heard a small snore.

Looking down, he saw his son fast asleep next to him, his glasses still perched on his nose but for the first time all day he looked peaceful. The potions professor disentangled himself carefully from his son's embrace and after taking off Harry's glasses and putting them on the nightstand he picked up the tray with the empty bowls and left the room. After a moment he had a thought and turned in the doorway to cast monitoring charms on Harry and the bed to alert him if anything were to happen.

It was rather late so Severus only put the tray on the kitchen counter before retiring to his own rooms. After changing into his pyjamas he settled in his bed and pulled a small handheld out of his nightstand drawer. He held it up to his face and said the name of his husband to call him.

'Marvolo!'

TBC

First posted on: 09. April 2017

Next update planned: 16. April 2017