A/N:

This is part of a one-shot series.

This is part 10

CAN BE READ AS A STAND ALONE.

Being a father wasn't easy. Though Severus didn't see himself as a 'father'. More like a sort of guardian. 'Father' felt like too big of a word for him. Too important. So, being a guardian wasn't easy. Trying to be so while also teaching incompetent children potions all day didn't make it easier. Especially not during the examination season.

It didn't help that almost every teacher was busy up to their ears with paperwork and essays. That meant no one had time to take Harry off Severus' hands for more than a minute or two. Severus was pulling through, though—he reluctantly had to agree—only barely. The workload wasn't lessening any time soon. Quite the opposite as the last month of school approached. It was more than hectic most days.

That was until Dumbledore came with a suggestion. It surprised Severus as much as it didn't.

"Why don't you let young Harry go to a preschool?" Dumbledore had said one day.

He said it like it was so simple. Severus almost thought he heard him wrong at first. When Dumbledore hadn't said anything more for a minute Severus thought he must've heard right after all.

"And what exactly do you mean by that? It's not like I can just pop off and leave the child at a muggle preschool for a few hours," Severus snorted.

"Well, whyever not?"

Severus had wondered if the old man had truly gone mad. He'd only stared at him.

"It would be good for him," Dumbledore continued. "He doesn't have anyone his age around here. Most professors and students are so stressed this time of the year. Some time away for him to play would be good for him."

Good for him indeed… Severus couldn't deny that he was a bit worried about the fact that Harry never met anyone his age. That didn't mean it wasn't dangerous for him to be left without supervision. Well, without supervision from someone who knew of the potential threats out there.

"Headmaster, I'm not sure it would be wise to trust someone else with looking after Harry. Especially for several hours a day," he said, slowly.

"Well, what do you think the boy's relatives would've done eventually?" Dumbledore laughed. The remainder of the Dursleys made Severus tense up. "Sooner or later he would've gone to school. A muggle one at that. I see no difference."

It wasn't an immediate decision; no matter how casual Dumbledore was about the idea. After more discussions, to set up rules, logistics, and evaluating risks, it was decided. Harry was to join a small muggle preschool for the rest of the school year, each weekday during Severus' teaching hours. (That included a small part of his office work hours too.)

He'd go to muggle preschool to prevent attracting unnecessary attention. Both for Harry's sake to not be recognised and overwhelmed, but mainly for safety.

They travelled there through the floo network. Each morning Severus and Harry went to Dumbledore's office. From there they could floo to an old safehouse cottage that was close to the preschool. Getting Harry approved and enrolled with such short notice wasn't too much of a hassle in such a small preschool (and with the help of a spell or two).

Severus had worried Harry would think Severus was trying to abandon him. He didn't know he'd been worrying for nothing, because on his first day, Harry was beyond excited. He'd understood that he'd get to meet lots of new friends and that was exciting enough. He'd seemed a little anxious when Severus explained he wasn't staying with him the whole time. He got over it when he heard they'd have lots of toys to play with and even an outside playground.

So on his first day, Harry wore his favourite green and purple striped shirt (a horrible combination for Severus eyes) and his new Batman backpack they'd bought that weekend. He'd proudly shown it to Dumbledore who met them by the floo before they left. Severus held onto Harry while they used the floo, scared that the boy would end up only Merlin knew where if he hadn't.

At the preschool, a lady greeted them inside the door. Harry made sure to show his bag to her too. Severus assumed she was a good actress given how she agreed with Harry that it was a very nice bag. She then introduced herself as Ms Dott, before showing Harry and Severus to the spot where he could leave his jacket, shoes and bag.

Soon Harry seemed roped in by some kids who were curious about who he was. He seemed a bit shy at first but seemed to open up rather quickly.

Severus knew he needed to leave very soon, or he'd be late for his first lesson.

He found himself hesitating when he was about to leave. His eyes stuck on Harry as he opened up to the other children. He seemed so excited to finally meet people his own age.

"It's hard to let them go, isn't it?" Ms Dott said low enough for only him to hear.

Severus turned his eyes from Harry to look at her. She had a knowing glint in her eye.

"Harder than one would've first assumed," he answered, thinking back on when he'd first met Harry. He had only meant to care for the boy for a short while. First, he hoped it would've been less than a month. He never thought he'd stand here.

Unknowing of his—almost disgustingly sentimental—train of thoughts, Ms Dott called out for the children's attention.

They had some morning gathering to start. Harry hugged Severus' legs before he left.

"Do try to behave now," Severus said as he awkwardly patted Harry's head.

Harry nodded. For a moment, he did seem a bit hesitant, but in the end, he ran after the other children further inside the house.

The rest of Severus' day went on smoothly (with only minimal worrying about Harry).

The students noticed Harry's absence, but none seemed brave enough to ask about it. Not until at the end of his last class of the day when Aaron Clarke—a fifth-year Slytherin—approached him.

"Professor…" he said. "Where's Harry today?"

Severus looked up at him with an unimpressed raised eyebrow. The boy was almost stupidly brave like a Gryffindor at times. Severus wondered how on earth he ended up in Slytherin most days. Severus went back to checking the samples the class had left on his desk before answering.

"Don't look so scared Mr Clarke, I haven't disposed of the boy yet," he didn't say anything more. It wasn't any of the student's business. "Don't forget you have detention with Filch this evening, Mr Clarke. Don't be late."

"Yes sir," Clarke said, picking up on the fact that Severus wouldn't elaborate and took his leave. At least he wasn't dumb enough to continue prying.

After Harry joined preschool, Severus' work days became more efficient. That they were also more quiet was both a blessing and a curse. He found himself missing something, while simultaneously feeling grateful to finally get his job done in peace. Only on the first day, he'd managed to read more essays than he felt like he had the whole previous week.

So life continued, as both Harry and Severus got used to the newfound routine. Harry gained a few friends, that he never seemed to stop talking about. Severus felt less like he daily wanted to rip students' heads off whenever they so much as made a sound, as his workload got more manageable. Win-win situation.

He could even take having to wait for Harry to get ready in a loud, rowdy and odd-smelling, preschool foyer if it meant less stress at work. Harry came home happier too with no pent-up excess energy after having run around all day.

At the end of the third week with their newfound pace, Severus was used to the routine. He finished his classes, even an hour earlier than usual on Fridays. Thus he had a bit of extra time to catch up on paperwork so everything was done come weekend. He even had time to look through the potion storage before leaving to pick up Harry. Despite the rather slow day, he'd looked forward to settling down on his sofa with a good book. But first, he had to pick up Harry.

He'd made his way to Dumbledore's office, and for once, the Headmaster wasn't in. He used the floo to get to the cottage, putting an illusion charm over his clothes before heading out on the muggle street.

A fear he'd had before enrolling Harry in preschool had been that Harry might talk about magic. He'd tried to explain to Harry that he couldn't talk about magic, but he wasn't sure the boy had fully understood. Either way, children said odd stuff all the time. He hoped that if Harry said he lived in a magic castle filled with students and ghosts, people would assume it was a child's imagination.

In Severus' experience, most muggles wouldn't believe magic even if it hit them in the face, so he thought they'd be safe.

Severus approached the small building, seeing coloured cut-out stars taped to the window and a few toys left by the playground outside.

Inside the volume was much higher. He could distantly hear children talking (shouting). That odd smell he couldn't fully place was also present and he scrunched up his nose.

Thankfully he didn't have to go further inside since Ms Dott passed by the foyer, catching sight of him. She greeted him with a smile before going to get Harry.

He waited, expecting it to take a moment for Harry to finish what he was doing. He tried to tune out the shouts from different children playing. It was worse than his loudest first-year class. On top of it all, he already had a headache from being in potion fumes all day. With a heavy sigh, he closed his eyes and rubbed his temple trying to ease some of the pressure.

Then he heard small footsteps running and a loud: "Severus!"

Severus opened his eyes, seeing a bright smiling Harry running up to him to hug his legs. Ms Dott a few steps behind, stopping in the doorway to watch, smiling at the happy child's antics. It wasn't uncommon for Harry to be happy to see him, but it was also just as common that he'd be hesitant to leave. Severus has had his first few experiences with 'toddler who doesn't want to leave' quite a few times now. But this day, Harry was happy to see him.

"Hello to you too Harry," he said patting the boy's head. "Has your day been good?"

Harry looked up at him and nodded. Then he seemed to remember something. He held up a folded paper he carried towards Severus. Seemingly another drawing.

"It's for you, Severus!" Harry said.

Now, Severus was used to getting drawings from Harry. So much so that it felt like he was drowning in them at times. He couldn't put them all up for display. They had a rule that a maximum of three drawings could be broadcasted on the kitchen cupboards. The rest, he didn't really know what to do with. He put most of them away in a drawer in his office, but it was at risk of overflowing soon if this habit continued. Thus, Severus wasn't too excited about yet another drawing.

Still, he thanked Harry and took the folded paper. Only when he took it did he realise the paper was a little thicker than normal. It also looked to be rather carefully folded, only once.

When he unfolded the paper he saw what appeared to be a card. Inside there was a picture of what he thought was himself and Harry. Severus had a rather over-proportioned nose and big black clothes. But little drawn Harry had a big smile on his face. This wasn't too uncommon, though most pictures Severus got from Harry were usually different animals.

What surprised Severus was what he found above the drawing. On the paper was writing. It said in big letters "Happy Father's Day, from Harry". Most written in a neat adult's handwriting. All except for Harry's name, which was clearly written by the boy himself.

"I got help from Ms Dott to write it!" Harry said. "But I drew the picture! And I wrote my name, look!"

Severus looked at where Harry pointed.

Severus was… rather speechless. He looked at the drawing, seeing the bright smile on Harry's face. He'd even drawn what appeared to be a wonky-looking heart to the side. It was disgustingly affectionate…

Really. It was childish and rather ugly. Harry had even spelt his name with both R's turned the wrong way and the A looked odd.

Yet, he couldn't help but feel a bit honoured.

He didn't expect to. But, the fact that Harry saw him as a father was rather flattering. He knew he meant a lot to Harry but… This? This felt almost too big.

"Thank you, Harry," Severus said, swallowing. Why did his throat feel odd?

Harry smiled back and reached up his hands. Severus picked up the boy—despite knowing he could very well stand on his own two legs. Harry held his arms around Severus. Green eyes peeked up at him, sparkling with joy and for a moment, Severus saw the ghost of a similar pair of eyes. It hurt and felt comforting at the same time. He took a deep breath.

"Now where are your things, Harry? We have to get home in time for dinner," Severus said. He carried the boy to the spot with his bag before letting Harry down again.

Harry got his backpack and shoes on before they waved goodbye to Ms Dott and left.

On the way to the house, they'd floo home from, Harry skipped along next to Severus. Severus kept an eye on him so he didn't decide to run away somewhere. Harry didn't usually misbehave, but he was so easily distracted.

As the boy skipped along a few steps in front of him Severus found himself smiling at the sight. It was not a big bright smile. It was small, almost invisible.

But it wasn't a smirk or a sneer; nor a frown or a grimace. It was a small content smile.

And since no one else was around, he let it stay there. Perhaps he was becoming soft, not that it mattered too much.

He was a father after all.

A/N:

Thank you for reading! Don't feel shy telling me what you think of the story 3

I hope I didn't miss any typos but I edited this while being very tired sooo… Won't make any promises.

Father's Day is on a Sunday in the UK if I got it right. I assumed they made cards on Friday at school to give to their father figures on Sunday, but Harry was a bit too excited ot wait.

Okay so, disclaimer that is probably not needed: If people wonder why Harry is in preschool and not in anything else; I tried to follow a Scottish school system? (Because Hogwarts is in Scotland?) But I am not from Scotland or UK so I'm very confused and might have it all wrong. Tbh my brain just couldn't analyse the differences after quite a while of research, so I apologise for any mistakes. (On top of all this, I didn't even want to try and look into specifically how the Scottish—or other parts of UK—school system worked exactly in 1984 sooo… Yeah I'm hoping you'll all just let this slide haha)

(I'm crying I have so many tabs up on my computer with different links explaining UK early age school system, and I still don't understand)