Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Going On	By : Relevant_Peach Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Snape Views: 6816 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I don't own the Harry Potter universe or the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 5
- 6
- 7
The next morning, Harry was up when Severus makes his way downstairs. Unlike most mornings, he’s sitting blearily at the table, a cup of coffee in front of him. “I’m afraid that it’s just toast and cereal for breakfast this morning” he apologizes. “Draco snuck one of my tablets into me, and it makes it hard to wake up the next day. I’ll make up for it tomorrow”

“Toast is fine” Severus says, making his way to the toaster. “How are you feeling this morning?”

Harry manages a feeble smile. “Not great” he admits. “It sometimes takes me a day or so to regain my equilibrium after having a setback.” He sits looking down at his coffee for a moment, then something occurs to him. “Sir? I’m just realizing that nobody else is here”

Severus regards him. Surely there’s a point to this, or he’ll need to speak to Draco about Pott-Harry’s mental state.

“It’s just…I don’t know when Draco left last night. Did he feed Teddy and put him to bed? I saw that Ted’s asleep and in pyjamas, so he obviously stayed here”

“I fed Theodore dinner and put him to bed” Severus says evenly.

Harry’s forehead crinkles. “Thank you, sir. I’m so sorry to be such a bother to you. This wasn’t part of the agreement and-“

“Harry” Severus fights to keep his voice gentle. “It’s fine. It was no great hardship.”

“I appreciate it, sir. More than you can say.”

To Severus’ surprise, Theodore is well-behaved in the lab. He listens avidly, and delights in performing the small tasks that Severus once set Draco to. With a small knife, spelled not to cut him, the boy painstakingly chops the Gurdyroot. Severus notes with some amusement that his chopping skills are already on-par with his Godfather. Once he’s completed the commissions for the day, Severus teaches Theodore a simple potion that releases rainbow coloured bubbles into the air. The child is delighted, and, as Severus dismisses him, he runs up to tell his Uncle Harry what he’s done.

The next day, at breakfast, which Severus has taken to eating in the kitchen, it being far too much effort to carry the tea things and plates into the Library, Teddy asks if he can return to the lab to help.

“Maybe another day, Ted” Harry says gently. “We’re to go to the Burrow today for lunch with everyone.”

“I don’t want to go to the Burrow” Teddy says mutinously. “I’d rather brew potions”

Severus knows that he could intervene, tell the child that he’s too busy today, but he’s curious to see how Harry handles tantrums.

“I know” Harry says understandingly. Perhaps if you’re very good, Master Snape will allow you to help him another time, but remember, he’s very busy. And for today, you are busy too”

“I won’t go” Teddy begins, his face becoming red.

“Ted?” Harry has crouched down in front of the child, so that his face is level with the boy’s. “I know you’re disappointed. But this one isn’t a choice, okay?”

It’s not okay, Severus can see, but with a huffy breath, Teddy finally says “I hate when it isn’t a choice”

“I know” Harry looks up at Severus. “No pressure, but you’re welcome to join us, if you’d like?”

“I have a great deal of work to do”

“Oh Master Snape, please? Please come with us?”

Theodore’s eyes are very like his father’s, Severus noticed. When they’re fixed on his, pleading and filled with hero-worship, Severus found himself unable to keep from saying. “Mister Lupin. I’ll agree to join you for lunch today if you show your Godfather your…achievement”

Teddy knew what he meant. His desire, strange that it was, to have Severus join them overrode his hesitation, and in front of Harry’s bemused gaze, Theodore screwed up his face and his hair was as blue as it had been a few days earlier.

Harry’s face lit up. Severus had heard the term before, but prior to this, had never seen how a perfectly normal face, could, when filled with happiness and wonder, glow. “Teddy” Harry breathed. “Teddy, you did it! Just like your mum! You’re magnificent!” He pounced on the child and flung him into the air, spinning him around and squeezing him tightly. Severus was surprised at how strong Harry was; the child was nearly as tall as he was.

“You don’t mind?” Teddy asked.

“Mind? Oh you wonderful kid, of course not. I’m so proud of you. I am so thrilled. This is the best day of my life” Harry’s eyes swam with tears.

“Uncle Harry, do you mean that?”

“What? That’s it’s the best day of my life? You’re darned right I mean it. This is the best thing that’s happened yet!”

Severus watched the exchange, his chest tight. Harry wasn’t just saying that, Severus realized. Of all of the things Harry had accomplished in his life, Teddy’s simple triumph gave Harry greater joy than anything else. He was full of pride, and his own lack of magic in no way reduced his delight in Teddy’s. As he watched Teddy and Harry chatter excitedly, Harry wanting to know exactly how Teddy did it, was it difficult, did blue hair feel any different, Severus felt the slightest pinprick of guilt. If Harry’s Muggle relatives had been as truly awful as they seemed, had anyone ever delighted in Harry’s accomplishments? Possibly Harry’s own Godfather, the insufferable prat. Black was useless of course, an overgrown child, but he did seem to delight in Harry. Whether his delight was at having a replica of James to pal around with or for Harry’s own sake remained to be seen. At any rate, Harry had just two scant years with Black before the dog found himself on the wrong side of Bella’s wand.

With a sick feeling of recognition, Severus remembered Albus’ words about Harry’s capacity to love. It was remarkable, how, despite the adversity dealt him, Harry continued to love those around him fiercely. Perhaps, Severus allowed grudgingly, he could see why Draco had some misguided fondness for the boy.

Any budding fondness that had sprouted for the young man dissipated quickly as they arrived at the Weasleys. Harry was all smiles as he made his rounds, hugging each redhead in turn. The children were thrilled to see him, and, like a diminutive pied piper, he made his escape to the garden with a half dozen screaming tots trailing after. Severus stood awkwardly, feeling out of place. “We won’t see him until it’s time to eat” a voice beside Severus said, and he turned to see Arthur Weasley smiling at him. “Hullo, Severus. It’s good to see you here”

“Thank you for having me” Severus had always rather liked Arthur. He lacked the hectoring tones of his spouse, and had always seemed rather reasonable, in an affable sort of way.

“We all so appreciate what you’re doing for Teddy and Harry” Arthur continued, gesturing Severus towards a comfortable chair under a leaf-laden tree. Severus nodded at him. “I’ll admit though,” he continued “it seemed an uncharacteristically kind thing for you to do. It must be awfully disruptive. What made you decide to help Harry?”

Severus considered the possible answers: Life debt, scrying bowl, the fact that he can’t seem to help himself when it comes to bailing the dark-haired menace out of his latest calamity. Finally he shrugged and said “Draco can be surprisingly persuasive.”

Arthur laughed. “He was considering going back, you know? To the Muggle world?”

“Not his Dursleys?” Severus asked, in spite of himself.

“No, I rather think not. He’s awfully independent. I imagine he would just disappear into London and we’d not hear from him again. I still worry about it”

“He looks happy enough” The man in question was underneath a pile of screaming, laughing children, who seemed intent on pummelling him into submission. With a great roar, he barrelled to his feet, little bodies flying everywhere, and stomped about, sending children running, screaming in mock terror.

“Mm” Arthur said. It’s not an agreement, but not an outward disagreement either. “Molly and I’ve considered Harry our son ever since the end of his first year in Hogwarts. He’s always been a good boy, too good. Do you know how many times he’s asked us for anything?”

Severus frowned at him. It was a strange question. The Weasleys were a hands-on family, sharing everything, including favours with one another. They were always in and out of each others’ houses, and Severus knew that the now-adult children relied on Molly and Arthur for meals, and babysitting, and a myriad of other little things.

“Twice. Twice in his life. Other than twice, he’s never asked for a second helping of food, or a piece of parchment, or to borrow a screwdriver”

Severus didn’t know where this conversation was leading, but he acknowledged that it was a bit odd that Harry hadn’t felt easy amongst such a welcoming family.

“The first time was after the Ministry…well, after Sirius.” Arthur’s kind, basset-hound eyes regarded him mildly. “It was the last day of term, and, with everything going on, Molly and I had flooed to Hogwarts to gather the children. It was one of those times when you wanted to gather your loved ones close. Harry took me aside. He was shaking like a leaf. I’ve never seen anyone more nervous. He wondered if Molly and I would take him in for the summer. He knew about the blood wards, knew that he had to go home to his Muggles, but I’ll never forget the way his hands trembled as he stammered and said that he would try to stay out of the way, and that he wouldn’t eat much, but could we possibly keep him? Severus, I knew that Dumbledore wouldn’t let him stay with us, knew that it was too dangerous, but it broke my heart. I told him that we’d love to have him, and that we had to ask Dumbledore. The moment I said that, his little pinched face closed up, and he said ‘Never mind, Mr. Weasley. We both know that Dumbledore isn’t going to allow it. Thank you for saying that you wouldn’t have minded. I just needed to hear that you would have taken me, if you could have’” Arthur cleared his throat, his eyes a little misty.

Severus bit his lip, thinking of himself at sixteen, begging Albus not to send him home to his father over summer break. Albus had said all the right things, had offered him an infernal lemon drop, and patted one of Severus’ tightly fisted hands, but Severus had still found himself on board the Hogwarts Express when summer came. “Albus had rather unconventional opinions about the importance of blood family” he mused. Arthur looked at him intently for a moment, but the moment soon passed, and he continued.

“The second time Harry asked me for something was after the war. He’d found out that his magic wasn’t going to be returning, and he was being pushed and pulled every which way by the Ministry, and his awful fans, and there were families of Death Eaters spitting on him in the street because he hadn’t testified for their loved ones like had had for Draco and Narcissa. It was late one night. Molly had gone up to bed. It was just us, Ginny had already left to join the team, and I was so surprised to hear a knock at the door. As you know, this place isn’t all that easy to get to, if you don’t apparate or floo, but despite all of that, there was Harry on the doorstep. He looked like a child, lonelier and more frightened than I’d ever seen him. He asked if he could come in, apologized for bothering me. As though he had to ask! Of course I bundled him inside by the fire and asked him what was troubling him. It took him forever to get it out. Severus, the child wanted me to Obliviate him, and send him away. I asked him what was the worst part, what troubled him the most. He said he couldn’t bear that he’d let people down. Remus, and Tonks, and F-Fred. I looked at that tragic, broken boy, and I turned him down again. When I did so, he gave me this look. Severus, it contained a galaxy of hurt and regret and disappointment. I did the only thing I could, what a father would do…I held that hurting boy in my arms and cried because I couldn’t fix things for him.”

“Why are you telling me this?” Severus said gently. It was deeply personal, and he suspected that Harry wouldn’t thank Arthur for revealing his innermost torments.

“I’m not sure, exactly. I suppose I want you to understand how difficult it is for Harry to ask for anything. If I’m being truly honest, it’s because I think that you can maybe give him something that he doesn’t have to ask for.”

“What might that be?”

“Ah, if only I knew, Severus. Forgive me, I’ve become mawkish in the years since the war. I’m pretty sure that everyone else has likely privately approached you and warned you that if you hurt Harry in any way that they would bedevil you in all sorts of clever ways. Ginny alone is awfully gifted with creativity when it comes to hexing those she’s mad at. I’m not worried that you’ll hurt Harry, Severus. I think you have a capacity for endless kindness if you’d allow yourself. Perhaps I just wanted you to know more than the boy who once acted so impetuously.”

They sat companionably for a while. The light was lengthening, and as the leaves moved above them, their shadows danced around the two men. Severus idly picked some grass, smelled it. After a time, the conversation moved on to the Ministry, and whether Kingsley had any chance of affecting true change as Minister of Magic. Before long, one of his younger granddaughters, chasing the crowd of children, tripped and fell, banging her knee. She came bawling to her Granddad, who, with a wave of his wand, healed the scrape and scooped her up into his lap. “You haven’t done it properly” she pouted, a hint of a French accent making her words melodic.

“Haven’t I? How silly your Granddad is” Arthur said. He placed a kiss on the injured knee, and whispered something into her ear. “Better?”

“Much. Ta Granddad.” she slipped off his knee and ran off to join her cousins.

“You seem deep in thought, Severus” Arthur remarked.

“I was just thinking that, if there was ever any doubt that Voldemort had lost his war completely, one just needs to look around here. You have a beautiful life, Arthur”

“It hasn’t been without its cost, but yes, we’re very lucky.” Just then, Molly emerged from the house, her face deeply red and not a little harassed. She was flanked by two of her daughters-in-law who looked equally rumpled. In no uncertain tones, Molly barked out orders to the men in the garden, directing that tents, and tables and chairs be conjured. With an ear-splitting whistle, she beaconed the boys down from the air, where an impromptu Quidditch game had been going on for most of the afternoon. Arthur viewed his cranky bride with unfettered delight. “Very lucky” he whispered, laying an affectionate pat on Severus’ knee before jumping to his feet and beginning to wrangle his troupe of children and grandchildren.

As evening approached, and Harry, sated from an immense dinner, lay languidly under the same tree that Severus and Arthur had sought shelter from the sun. Hermione lay on his one side, and Ron on the other. Severus watched them from a distance. From time to time, one of them would laugh. At one point, Hermione lazily slapped at Harry’s knee. “Would you have ever thought we’d be standing here, watching them with something approaching fondness?” Draco had sidled up beside him without Severus noticing.

“Indeed, it does feel rather surreal”

“You see it now, though, don’t you?”

“I’m sure I don’t know what you mean”

“You understand why everyone loves Harry”

“He is not intolerable”

Just then, an almighty caterwauling ensued, coming from the vicinity of the pond. Before long, Bill came into view, a sobbing Victoire in his arms, and a furious, spitting Teddy levitating in front of him. Harry had leapt to his feet and was on them in a moment.

“What happened?”

“Just a little spat. Teddy’s accidental magic is starting to show itself a bit more frequently, isn’t it?”

“Theodore Lupin, what did you do?” Harry’s voice was stern.

“Nothing. She started it” Bill had released the charm on him, and his face was bright red.

“Teddy” Severus heard a warning in Harry’s voice.

“It doesn’t matter. She deserved it”

“Deserved what?” Harry demanded

“A stinging hex. No worries, Harry, it’s easily healed. But Ted, you’ve got to work on your temper a little, okay?”

“Whatever” Teddy was sullen, making his way for the copse of trees.

“Teddy, stop! Come back here and apologize”

“I won’t! You can’t make me anyways” Teddy ran off.

Harry looked stricken. Hermione hastened to his side. “He’s right, you know” Harry said quietly. “As his magic grows, I’m not going to be able to control him”

“That’s why children are taught to manage their magic, Harry. Think about Muggleborn children. My parents didn’t have magic, and let me assure you, they had no problems getting me to behave”

“Of course they did” Harry couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re you, Hermione. I imagine you were getting them to behave”

“Right, but I also learned how to control my magic, and Teddy will too. Don’t worry, Harry”

“I should go talk to him”

“Allow me” Severus said, and before Harry could protest, Severus was striding towards the trees.

Teddy was hunched miserably against a trunk of a friendly looking maple, his face thunderous. Severus sat beside him. “What happened?” he asked quietly.

“It’s stupid. Victoire is stupid, and I hate her. I wish I wasn’t in this stupid family”

Severus didn’t reply. Dozens of years with children not much older than this one had taught him to bide his time.

“Anyway, it wasn’t my stupid fault. It was her!”

Again, Severus waited. He had the patience to allow the child to dig his own grave.

“Uncle Harry says that being loyal to family is the most important thing.”

“Mmm” Severus agrees

“But Victoire wasn’t being loyal at all. She said that Uncle Harry isn’t even a Wizard any more.”
The small face was mutinous, but Severus could see that he was hurt and uncertain.

“Do you think that she’s correct?”

“No!” A pause. “I don’t know”

“Let’s think about this logically. If you were a Chaser, but you broke your broom, would you cease to be a Quidditch Player?”

“No, but I could get another broom”

“Indeed, but is a broom the thing that makes you a Chaser? Or is it simply a tool you use to play the game?”

“A tool, I suppose. Uncle Ron said that Harry was a Seeker, and even when he played with a school broom, he was the fastest flyer there was. So it wasn’t the broom that made Uncle Harry a Quidditch Player, he was one all the time”

“Well then?”

“I suppose he’s still a wizard, even if his tool doesn’t work anymore”

Severus quashed his inner 14 year old, who sniggered at the reference to Harry’s tool. “And on the other hand, if our reasoning had led us to the conclusion that Harry were no longer a Wizard, what would that change?”

“It’s a mean thing to say! She’s calling him a Muggle!”

“What’s wrong with being a Muggle?”

“Nothing, it’s just better to be a Wizard” Severus spared a moment to consider the irony that a former Death Eater were schooling the child of a Werewolf on blood politics and modern Wizarding ethics.

“Despite that, if Harry were a Muggle, but he were still your Godfather, who loved you and took care of you, would you think less of him?”

“No”

“So why are you letting Miss Weasley’s words affect you? You know how you feel about Harry. Her opinion changes nothing. You must learn to control your temper, Mr Lupin.”

“I know. I have to apologize to Victoire, don’t I?”

“Just so”

Harry didn’t look at all pleased when Severus and Teddy rejoined the rest. As he opened up his mouth to speak, Teddy ran into his arms. “I’m sorry, Uncle Harry. I’m sorry Victoire” he called over to his cousin, who, healed, and sitting comfortably in her father’s lap, was no worse for wear.

“Teddy, you could have hurt Victoire” Harry said quietly. “I know you didn’t mean it, but you need to be more careful, okay?”

“I’ll try, Uncle Harry.”

“Thanks. I love you kiddo. Now, it’s time we were going home”

They said their goodbyes, and, as Severus accompanied Harry through the floo, he whispered quietly, “Thank you Severus”
- 5
- 6
- 7
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Going On