jharad17 - Whelp II The Wrath of Snape

It might take a lifetime to undo the fearful instincts the Dursleys had instilled in his son, but by Merlin, he would undo them.

He only left Harry's room once he heard the chime for a call coming through the Floo. Likely Molly, but it could be the Headmaster, meddling or being otherwise annoying.

To his relief, it was Molly.

"May I come through?" she asked when he acknowledged her presence in his fireplace.

Severus inclined his head, and she was in his sitting room moments later. He offered her tea and biscuits, she accepted, and a few minutes later, his own cup sat on the nearby table while he waited as patiently as he could for her to speak.

She took a long draught of her tea, and watched him over the brim of the tiny cup. Finally she said, "How much do you know about how . . . those Muggles treated Harry? Specifically, I mean."

Severus' eyes narrowed, but his tone was nothing if not polite when he answered. "A fair bit."

Molly's eyes widened with surprise. "Harry's spoken to you then?"

"About the Dursleys?"

"Yes. Or about today's situation, particularly."

Severus sat forward. "What happened?"

With a frown, now, Molly said, "So, he didn't tell you?"

"Tell me what ?" He considered hexing her on the spot, but forbore to do so, at least until after she answered his bloody question!

Instead of answering, though, she asked something more. "How do you know about what happened to him, if he hasn't spoken to you about it?"

Severus gritted his teeth. "It doesn't matter!"

"But it does, Severus," she said, in a tone that implied she was speaking to a small, dull child. "Harry needs to talk about these things, and if you aren't encouraging him to do so, he will keep all those feelings bottled inside, and we'll see far more episodes like today."

Severus found that he was gripping his wand through the pocket in his robes, and it took a supreme act of will to let it go. And another to unclench his teeth. His voice was dangerous when he growled, "Tell me what happened to Harry today. Now ."

Molly looked startled, as if she couldn't imagine Severus taking umbrage with her obtuse behavior. But then she sighed. "He panicked, when I made a move to help him with his writing. I tried to take his hand in mine, to show him the proper way to hold a quill, when he turned pale as a ghost, ducked under the table and fled the castle."

Severus gaped at her for several moments before he found his voice again. "Obviously you found him."

"He had gone to Hagrid's. He was still pale and shaky when I got there, but between Hagrid and myself, we got him to tell us what was wrong. Now, I would like to know how much you know about how the Muggles treated him."

"Why?"

"Because when I asked if he had told you, he said he wasn't supposed to speak of what happened to him there. I imagine it was one of their rules."

Taken aback, Severus nodded slightly. "He's said as much before. But . . ." He waved a hand helplessly. "He doesn't want to talk about them. I have to drag him through every mention of them, every conversation in which their specter is raised."

"He may not want to," Molly said quietly. "But he must, nonetheless. Or he will never truly recover."

Since Albus had said much the same thing, Severus was more convinced than he would have been otherwise. But he did not want to upset the boy, and he knew speaking of his relatives upset him.

"You used Legilimency , didn't you?" Molly asked, into the quiet that followed.

He stared.

"On Harry, or on the Muggles?"

Feeling like a fish out of water, suddenly, he heard himself say, "Both."

Her frown returned, multiplied. "It's a dangerous habit to get into, Severus. A great uncle of mine was a Legilimens, and relied on it so heavily he could not carry on normal conversation for his last score of years. Not only because he wasn't used to it, but because no one trusted him near them anymore." She shook her head. "And Harry has enough issues with trust, don't you think?"

Nodding again, he looked away. He didn't bother to justify himself with his reasoning at the time; he'd been so overcome, himself, when Harry was panicking about dinner of all things, that he hadn't really let himself think of alternatives. But he wasn't sorry about doing it to the Muggles.

"Today," Molly continued, when it was obvious Severus was not going to respond further, "Harry had a recollection – I think they call it a flashback, amongst Mind Healers – of a time when his aunt grabbed his hand and forced it down on a hot stove as punishment for dropping some forks. So, when I reached for his hand, he . . . flashed on that memory, and thought I was his aunt, trying to punish him again."

Unable to do anything but stare at Molly, Severus fought the rise of bile into his mouth. Oh, Harry . . .

"After he spoke to Hagrid and me about the memory, he seemed a bit better off, and was able to play with the other children for a while as if nothing was wrong. But," Molly said, her voice very soft, as if she did not want to say what she was about to, and yet had to nonetheless, "But Harry is a very troubled boy. I cannot imagine what other horrifying things they did to him, even just knowing the one. But I can tell you he will have more episodes like this. I think talking about what happened, however, before memories crop up like this, will help mitigate them somewhat."

Severus shook his head. "You think it will help. Maybe? I know it will upset him!"

Molly drew a deep breath. "I know he should not have to suffer these memories alone! And that's what it means, when he thinks you don't want him to talk about it. It does him no good at all for you to know, but for him not to have unburdened himself. All that does is assuage your curiosity. If you want to be a good father to him, you will need to think of Harry's good in the long term, not your discomfort in the short."

Rage, sudden and overwhelming, swept through him, and he leapt from his seat. "You go too far!" he shouted.

Molly merely shook her head again, and kept her voice as low as it had been all through their conversation. "And you do not go far enough. I know you care for him a great deal, Severus, and do not want to see him hurting. No parent wants that for their child. But you have a special case here, and Harry needs to know that no matter what he says about those horrible people, or what he remembers, that you will still love him."

"Of course I will," Severus insisted, his voice rough-edged. He collapsed again into his chair, wondering what he thought he was doing, trying to be this boy's father. He obviously was not qualified in the least.

"I know that. But Harry doesn't. Not yet."

Severus put his face in his hands. "I'm failing him," he whispered.

"You aren't . You just need to get him to open up more. Talk to you, tell you when he's hurting, or when he's upset and why. But I can almost guarantee that he won't do so without prompting. Right now, he doesn't think he's worth anyone's regard." She offered him a small smile. "Though he desperately seeks to please you, and from the way he latched on to you each time we returned today, he obviously trusts you more than anyone else and finds comfort from being near you."

"Indeed." The word 'limpet' came to mind.

"Perhaps . . ."

Severus lifted his head when Molly trailed off. "What?"

"Perhaps he would benefit from the expertise of a Mind Healer."

"No, absolutely not."

"But if you aren't willing--"

"I am! I will! Harry . . . he can't go to a Mind Healer. For one thing, the Ministry doesn't even know he's not with the Dursleys. It's a tricky situation, but I won't put his status, and thus his safety, in jeopardy."