Harry opened his eyes and immediately smiled, remembering that he had a new dad, a new home, and now, new clothes! He was even wearing them now-well, sort of. Most of yesterday, he'd spent the day in a brand new pair of robes, and after his evening bath, he'd put on his new night shirt to go to bed in. Wizards, his dad had explained, didn't usually wear pajamas, and as a wizard child, Harry needed to learn how to dress like one.
Both had been very comfortable, made with really soft fabric, and a lot easier to move around in than trousers.
He wondered what would happen to his old clothes. Would they throw them out, or cause them to disappear? Aunt Petunia might occasionally take clothes to her church to be donated, making a big show out of it, but if wizards didn't wear muggle clothes, his dad wouldn't give them away. A part of Harry wanted his old clothes from the Dursleys to disappear entirely, but another part was a little scared at the idea. It might have been a rotten home, with dreadful people, but it had been his home for almost seven years. Getting rid of anything that had anything to do with them...
Well, Harry wasn't going to think about that. Not unless he had to.
After he changed into a new pair of robes and brushed his teeth and his hair, he walked downstairs. His dad had never really told him before when to get up, not like Aunt Petunia, with her banging on his cupboard door every morning. Harry wasn't sure if he slept in at his new home or not, but his dad was always up before him, and never made any comment about his getting up too early or too late. He supposed that if he slept too late, his dad would let him know. Nicely, of course, because that was how Severus was.
"Good morning," Severus greeted, turning around from his work on the stove. Unlike muggle stoves, this one operated by magic, not electricity. Probably, witches and wizards didn't even use electricity, come to think of it.
He extended his arms, and Harry immediately nearly ran into them. Severus laughed, hugging him tightly (but not too tightly), and lifting him up in the air. Harry let his head rest on his shoulders before his dad put him down, still holding him close. He let go of one arm to run a hand through Harry's hair. He sighed, happily.
"Good morning, Dad," Harry answered, letting go of him.
"Did you sleep well? Were you quite comfortable in your new attire?" he asked, watching Harry closely.
"Oh, very! The new night shirt was really soft," Harry said, truthfully, and happily. "I reckon I like it more than pajamas."
Severus smiled, and Harry noticed it reached his eyes. "I rather thought you might." He wrapped an arm around his shoulders for a minute. "Come, let's have breakfast."
He flicked his wand at the stove to turn the heat off, and then moved the bacon and scrambled eggs from a pan onto two plates. After handing Harry his plate, they walked to the table, and began eating quietly.
After a few minutes, a loud noise came, causing Harry to start. A great amount of owls had suddenly appeared, all carrying letters. Why, there must be almost a hundred! Harry's jaw dropped as they placed their letters on the table, then disappeared as quickly as they had come.
He was used to the way the owls appeared and disappeared inside the kitchen. Severus had explained to him that the security measures he'd placed didn't allow them to enter through a window, so through magical means, they appeared (but did not really) to Apparate and Disapparate after performing their job.
Of course, the he had never seen so many owls at one time!
His dad merely chucked. "Oh, if you think that's a great number of owls, you'll be astounded when you see a typical morning in the Great Hall at Hogwarts," he said, stirring his tea. "In a school of several hundred, owl post is quite a regular occurrence."
"B-but not so many here at once, Dad!" Harry countered, now peering at the great stack of letters.
"You're famous, and the Daily Prophet just ran an article that I became your guardian," Severus explained, still smiling. "It's a natural consequence that every mother and father with children even remotely close to your age now wants to meet you."
Because he was The Boy Who Lived, he supposed.
Still...
"I'd like to have friends, I think. I've never had one before," he admitted.
Severus placed a hand on his. "You will, I daresay, have quite a few wishing to be your friend before this summer is out. I shall read over the letters, and pick from suitable families to determine...who is, shall we say, sincere. Once we set out for school, it will be more difficult for you to spend time with children your own age. Not impossible, mind, but rather more difficult."
"Yes, sir," Harry answered. Quickly, he added, "I mean, yes, Dad."
Severus squeezed his hand. "You've been calling me 'sir' for nearly a month. It's not surprising you will continue to call me that, on occasion."
"I'd rather call you 'Dad.' I want to feel it...I do feel it." Harry frowned. "Does that make any sense?"
Severus pulled his chair out, and reached out his hands. Immediately, Harry climbed into his lap.
"It does, very much so. I love you very much, as a son, just as you love me as a father. But going from Professor Snape to a father figure can take a bit of time for us both to adjust to, and I expect it will be some time before we're fully at ease with one other. The main thing to remember," Severus added, hugging Harry to him, "is that I love you, very, very much."
"I love you, too, Dad." Harry smiled at him. "Uh, may I finish my breakfast, now?"
Severus laughed. "You may."
After breakfast, instead of brewing, Harry's dad sent him outside to play. "You may use your broom, or go on the playground equipment, or both," he offered. "I'll sort through these letters and see if there are any children who you can meet before we leave for school. After lunch, I expect, we'll brew for a spell."
Harry noticed that Severus had put on a pair of gloves, but didn't want to be nosy and ask about it. So, he just nodded, grabbed his broom from its place with the coats and shoes, and headed outside.
He still loved the playground, especially the swing set, and planned to spend time on it that morning. But flying was so incredible that he wanted to do that immediately. He recalled that the broomstick was a child's model, so it didn't go as quickly as the older ones, and contained protective charms to keep Harry from falling off. Harry was glad for them-he rather expected it was like riding a bicycle with training wheels, not that he'd ever had the chance to do so-but he hoped to become good enough that he wouldn't need them. Could such charms be removed, or did you have to buy a new broom? Harry still wasn't used to getting gifts, so even thinking about a more advanced broom felt greedy, but that didn't mean he couldn't become really good at flying with the one he had.
Maybe, he thought as he flew around one of the trees, his dad could help him learn Quidditch. Harry knew there were a bunch of balls involved in the game, and it was the players' job to catch them and keep them from the other players. There was the Quaffle, of course, and the Bludgers which everyone tried to avoid, and then, the really tiny ball called the golden Snitch. But they didn't have to use real Quidditch balls. Maybe stones or something would work. Severus could throw them, and Harry could try to catch them. He'd ask-not right away, but soon. The worst his dad could do was say no, after all.
Harry landed his broomstick, and after swinging for awhile, decided to climb the monkey bars. He hadn't tried those, yet. They were quite tricky, and he had just managed to get across once when the door opened, and his dad was calling him in for lunch.
"There are a few children from good families who would be good playmates for you," Severus said, after a silence. "In particular, there's a girl your age named Susan Bones. She lives with her aunt, Amelia Bones, who works at the Ministry of Magic. I wrote to her aunt to arrange a visit."
Harry brightened. "Thanks! What's she like?"
"I'm not sure," Severus admitted. "I do know that most of the family was sorted into Hufflepuff, so they value friendship and loyalty, as well as hard work. I expect that Susan's aunt is raising her niece with the same values."
"Then Susan's mum and dad are...?"
His guardian nodded. "They were murdered by Death Eaters, along with the majority of her family. Amelia is Susan's only living relative."
Then she was an orphan, just like Harry had been.
"I-I hope she's nice to Susan," Harry murmured.
"I'm certain that she is," Severus answered, his voice soft. Gentle. "Your aunt's mistreatment of you stemmed from her hatred and envy of your mother, Harry. That's no excuse, of course. Amelia and Susan both have magic, and they are the sole family the other has. Consequentially, I imagine that Susan views her aunt much like a mother, and the same goes for Amelia."
Harry nodded. This made sense. "That's good. I think Susan sounds nice, Dad."
He chuckled. "I'm glad you think so. I'd like you to meet several children before we leave for school, so you can develop friendships with boys and girls your own age. It may be rather difficult once we're at Hogwarts, but as muggles say, we will cross that bridge when we come to it."
They kept to the schedule Harry knew well over the next few days. Handwriting in the morning for him, although "due to his much improved abilities", according to his dad, it was only a half hour or a copied page, whichever came first. Then, Harry was allowed to play with his Potions kit while his dad brewed. Every day, it was a new potion, and always so much fun! Lunch, then Harry went outside to either play on the playground or fly, or both. After a few hours, Severus would call Harry inside, and they would spend some time together, just being together. Sometimes, they read together. Harry loved this, because it meant curling up against his dad with his new, favorite blanket. His dad would stroke his hair, making Harry feel a bit like a cat, and often, he'd fall asleep completely. After he woke up, or they had finished reading and relaxing, they had dinner and dessert. Harry got to play outside afterwards, and then he had his usual bath, which, with his new shampoo, was always so relaxing it was hard not to fall asleep. Once he had brushed his teeth and put on his new night shirt, his dad would hold him and read him a bedtime story, then tuck him into bed.
He loved this. The way things mostly stayed the way they had been ever since Harry had come to live with Severus, but also the way things felt so safe with his dad. He didn't have to a mean muggle family who hurt him, or tried to, or who locked him in a cupboard when they got angry (which was most of the time, really). Harry didn't have to worry about Dudley or his gang, either. It was just him and his new dad, who only ever touched him to hug him, or put his arms around him, or run a hand through his hair. Who smelled nice, rather like a mix of spices, and almost never got angry-and when he did, he immediately realized it and apologized. Was this what it was like for most kids? To have a mum or dad, or both, who just loved you and took care of you? It was still new to Harry, and while he thought he could trust Severus never to hurt him-the way he'd promised more than once-he didn't think he would ever take it for granted that he suddenly had this man caring for him, loving him.
A couple of days later, Harry's dad told him that Amelia Bones wrote back to offer a meeting between her niece, Susan, and Harry in three days time.
Harry felt a mix of nerves and excitement at this news.
Author's note:
In "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire," an angry fan of Rita Skeeter sends Hermione a letter coated with raw bubertubber pus, which (I believe) results in boils on her hands. Severus is well aware that not everyone who sends a letter wishes him well, and uses gloves for this purpose. They're probably charmed, too. He's not going to TELL Harry this because he doesn't want to scare him, but he doesn't trust people enough not to do so.
Up next: Harry and Susan meet!
Question for readers: Dumbledore, of course, still has James's invisibility cloak in his care. Harry will be given it for his personal use upon entering his first year of school. Before then, Severus will hold onto it (with Harry's knowledge) and they will sometimes use it together. What sort of adventures can an eight year old and his guardian utilize the cloak for in a safe and harmless way, which doesn't give the secret away to other students?
