Severus knew he had a problem, even as he gripped Potter's forearm and apparated them both to an alley near The Leaky Cauldron.
He liked the boy.
The Dark Lord was coming back sooner or later, and Severus would be expected to once again act as spy. Being publicly friendly with the Boy Who Lived would be a very dangerous complication, for both of them. Either Severus would be exposed as having truly switched sides, and executed, or The Dark Lord would order Severus to use the boy's faith in him to draw him into a trap, possibly even kill him himself.
He would sacrifice himself for the brat's sake, if it came down to it, of course, but that would be traumatic for a boy who had already lost so much, and would certainly be less than ideal for Severus, himself. It would be better for him to play it cool, and keep the boy at a disdainful arm's length.
He simply was not sure if he would be able to do that.
The boy might look like James, but he was Lily's son, through and through. He had her intelligence, her stubbornness, and her helpful nature. James Potter would have scoffed at the notion of rejecting his natural-born privilege to earn a reputation through hard work and merit. Harry's eyes had lit up at the suggestion. James Potter would have thrown a tantrum before agreeing to help with household chores. Harry had volunteered. James Potter would have hidden his ignorance behind sarcasm and misdirection. Harry asked questions openly and eagerly.
"No one can see your scar, but do your best not to make eye contact with anyone, regardless. You look enough like your parents that if someone pays attention to you, you are bound to be recognized, and then this will take all day. Is that understood?"
"Yes, Sir," Potter replied dutifully, pulling his unruly hair forward in an attempt to cover more of his face, and hunching his shoulders, slightly.
"Stay close," Severus said, and led the boy through the pub to the entrance to Diagon Ally, where he demonstrated the method of entry.
The boy looked fascinated, with a jumble of questions piling up on his tongue, so Severus pre-emptively hushed him. He should save his questions for a little later, after they'd been to the bank, at least. Potter nodded, and clutched absently at Severus' hand as they entered the alley, and began weaving through the crowds.
Severus had to subdue a smirk as he felt Potter radiate a sense of wonder as he took in the sights of the Wizarding World as they hurried past. Dumbledore had wanted the boy to have a positive first impression of their world, and it seemed that this simple excursion was enough to do the trick, and then some.
"Won't they need to know my name at the bank?" Potter asked worriedly as they got in line.
"The goblins take confidentiality very seriously, so as long as you don't make a scene, we should be fine," Severus answered.
"Goblins? Are they friendly?"
"They… that is actually quite a complicated question, Potter. The goblins abide by a treaty signed with wizardkind long ago, but they are an independent people with grievances that remain unresolved to this day. They respect honesty, directness, and politeness, but not platitudes or time-wasting courtesies. And they despise being patronized."
"So do I," Potter said, with a lopsided smile. "I hope my manners are good enough. Aunt Petunia was always too embarrassed to let her houseguests see me."
"You'll do fine, Potter. You can let me do most of the talking, anyways."
"Thanks, Sir."
Potter was quite fidgety and distracted by the time they made it to the front of the queue, and Severus put a placating hand on the boy's shoulder, to make sure he did not wander off, as he spoke to the goblin behind the desk.
"We will need to visit two vaults today. I am here on behalf of Albus Dumbledore to retrieve a package from vault 713 for Hogwarts, and Harry Potter here needs to access his family's vault."
Severus produced a letter from Albus and the key to the Potter vault, which were both quickly inspected and verified, and then they were ushered through, to where another goblin waited for them.
He introduced himself as Griphook, and led them to the appropriate minecart.
Potter seemed to enjoy the trip into the bowels of the bank, if his giggling and raised arms were any indication. Severus rolled his eyes, and even Griphook looked mildly amused.
They arrived at the Potter vault, and Griphook showed the boy how to open it.
"Would you like me to wait here, Potter, or would you rather I help you look around?" Severus asked.
Potter hesitated, chewing his bottom lip as he lingered at the threshold to his family vault. "You can help," he finally decided.
Severus nodded curtly, and ushered Potter inside. The boy stopped short and gawked at the piles of coins that overwhelmed the small room. Severus quickly explained the relative value of knuts, sickles, and galleons, and gave a rough conversion rate between galleons and British pounds.
"How much is here?" the boy asked, in awe.
"I will have a full report drawn up for you, once we return to the lobby, Mr. Potter," Griphook said.
"Thanks, Mr. Griphook," Potter said with a bow.
The bemused goblin bowed in turn.
"Potter," Severus said, "take this money pouch and go ahead and fill it with a mix of coins. Don't worry about taking too much. You clearly won't be destitute if you overindulge a little today, and the pouch will keep whatever you don't spend today safe for you. Be careful not to touch any artefacts or objects unless I say it's safe, though. Your parents were light wizards, but you have at least one Black ancestor, and you can never be too careful. Something might be cursed or trapped."
"I'll ask before touching anything."
"Good. Would you mind if I looked through some of the paperwork on this shelf, to see if anything is relevant for you to see right away?"
"Yes, please. Just let me know what you find."
"I will, Potter."
Severus found several deeds to various properties and patents to various potions and trinkets. They were interesting, but they would keep. He did not want to overwhelm the boy. He did find a small pile of letters addressed directly to Harry. There was one from Lily's parents, one from James' parents, one from Lily and James themselves, one from Alice Longbottom, one from Remus Lupin, and one from Sirius Black.
Severus nearly dropped the last one. How dare Black write to the child he had a hand in orphaning? All of the letters had to have been written in the year and a half between when Harry had been born, and Lily had died. They had all known that their lives were in danger, and they had clearly all wanted to leave a personal memento for the boy, if they did not survive. Black would have already known that he would betray them.
Considering the small pile, Severus decided to leave the letters from Black, Lupin, and Longbottom in the vault, but took the others to give to Harry. He also found an old yearbook of James, signed not only by his friends, but from what appeared to be the vast majority of the student body and faculty. For a moment, Severus felt a very old jealousy and resentment that he had been one of a very few who had been excluded. It was silly; he would have refused Potter outright if he had been asked to sign it, but it still hurt.
A gaudy gold ring bearing the Potter family crest had been hidden under the yearbook, and there was also a small picture of Lily and James on their wedding day, set in a delicate silver frame. It made his stomach lurch to see Lily so happy with a man that he hated, but he added both to his pile of keepsakes for Harry. He was about to turn back and ask Harry if he was ready to leave, when one more thing caught Severus' eye. It was a small leather wand holster that Severus recognized. Lily had made it for herself in her fourth year at Hogwarts, and had charmed it to retract and extend her wand more smoothly than a standard holster, and to resist summoning charms. With a soft smile, he took it, as well.
"I found some letters for you, and a few keepsakes. Would you like to look at them, now?"
Harry's eyes widened as he glimpsed the photograph of his parents, and his hand reached out reflexively, but the boy stopped himself short, blinking rapidly and swallowing hard. "No, later, I think. I should probably have some privacy when I look at them. Can you hold them for me until we're finished?"
"Of course, Harry."
Harry smiled tremulously, and rubbed brusquely at his eyes, before saying he was ready to leave. Severus wondered at how overwhelming it must be for a child to discover that his dead parents were heroes, that he had a special place in a secret world, and that he was loved and looked after, all in one day.
They made short work of retrieving the package from vault 713, and grabbed the paperwork for Potter's vault, before leaving the bank.
"Do your relatives have a trunk they would let you use for all of your things?" Severus asked as they walked past the luggage shop.
"I don't know," Harry said, with an awkward shrug.
"Let's start there, then. You should have plenty of money to get a nice one, that will last you for years."
Potter nodded and followed him into the luggage shop. They looked over several different sizes and designs, before the boy settled on a simple but sturdy trunk that had a built-in featherweight charm, and could be keyed to his magical signature so it could be locked, shrunken and re-enlarged without needing to use a wand.
After that, they headed to a shop that sold magical hardware. To Severus' amusement, Harry wanted to buy a gold cauldron, so he explained why pewter was better suited to the types of potions they would be brewing in class, and the specific situations where a gold cauldron was required. Harry asked a lot of questions, and Severus took his time in lecturing the boy about the basics of potioneering as they picked out a sturdy set of brass scales and weights, and a collapsible telescope.
They went to the apothecary next, where they picked up a comprehensive set of basic potions ingredients for the boy, a selection of pamphlets that explained each ingredient's properties and proper usage in more detail than the first-year textbook, and Severus took advantage of the moment to restock a few ingredients that he was running low on, too.
Severus figured that they might as well head to Madame Malkin's next, but Harry caught sight of a crowd of children huddled around the quidditch shop, and stopped short. "What's that?" the boy asked.
"That would be the latest model of flying broomstick," Severus answered. "Brooms can be used as a form of transportation, but they are most famously used to play quidditch, which is the most prestigious wizarding sport. Hogwarts has an intramural league, but you'll have to wait until your second year to try-out, since first year students aren't allowed their own brooms, and the school brooms are older than I am."
That made Potter laugh, which in turn made Severus smile. He was far too fond of the boy; he needed to create some distance between them.
"Potter, are you brave enough to get fitted for your school robes alone? I have a few errands to run, and they'll go faster without you underfoot."
Potter scowled and a stubborn glint settled in his green eyes. "I can do it."
"Good. I'll meet you at Madam Malkin's in a few minutes. Don't wander off."
Potter rolled his eyes, and scampered off to the robes shop.
Severus sighed, and pinched the bridge of his nose. He needed to get a grip. This was the son of his tormenter and bully. This was the boy he needed to pretend to hate, for the sake of his own safety.
But he was also Lily's boy.
Merlin, he needed a drink.