kbinnz - Harry's New Home

"Sorry." Harry swallowed and repeated himself.

"We are going into the Forest in search of snakes."

Harry blinked. "Y'mean like Slytherins?" he asked, finding it hard to imagine any member of Snape's House would be foolhardy enough to sneak into the Forest. If their Prefects didn't get them, their Head of House surely would.

"No, no, you foolish child. Real snakes. I expect you to speak with them and enlist their assistance."

Harry's chest swelled with pride. Wow! He was a really important part of this operation! His father must really trust him. "Okay," he agreed quickly. "What do we want them to do?"

"When Pettigrew is revealed, I will do my best to keep him contained, but in the event that he is able to return to his animagus form, it is critical to ensure he is unable to escape. This castle is old and has many cracks and crevasses down which a rat can disappear. The snakes will be present to prevent this from happening."

"Ooooh." Harry looked at his guardian with admiration. What a great plan! "So if he tries to get away as a rat, the snakes'll eat him?"

"Exactly. I suspect that Pettigrew will revert to his human form rather than allow that to happen, but then he will be unable to slip away."

"That's a brilliant idea!" Harry said sincerely. "So I just explain what we need the snakes t'do?"

"Precisely. I understand from Hagrid that there are many magical snakes in the Forest who remain active all winter long. I suspect that if a Parselmouth ventures into the Forest in the dead of night, calling them, they will come out to investigate."

"Cool! Erm, what time is it, anyway?"

"Nearly two in the morning. It is obviously important that we remain unseen during this activity. Finish your meal and we will go. It is very cold out, so dress well, and I will put a warming charm on you before we leave the castle."

Just before dawn, a tired but immensely pleased eleven year old reentered the castle. Behind him, Snape carried a large basket that was hissing suspiciously.

"I bet we've got thirty snakes in there," Harry whispered happily to his guardian as they made their way down the dark hallways.

"Indeed," Snape replied, trying hard not to think of the several dozen snakes he was carrying mere inches from his person. The Forest had positively come alive with serpents after Harry started hissing, and Snape had been hard pressed not to scramble up the nearest tree in a panic as the snakes, in their excitement, slithered over his feet in their haste to reach Harry. It was just as well he hadn't, as a moment later more snakes started dropping from above. He shuddered at the memory of how one serpent, as thick around as his leg, had used his body as a way to leave the tree more hastily.

Whatever the boy had said to them had won their instant cooperation, and Snape had been able to pick and choose from a wide variety of volunteers. He was confident that within the basket were snakes that were small enough be able to pursue Pettigrew's rat form no matter where he went, yet were still large enough to be able to dispatch and consume him. He permitted himself a small smile of pure malice at the thought of what lay ahead for the traitor.

At his side, Harry yawned. "C'n I take a nap before breakfast?" he asked beseechingly. "Please?"

Snape rolled his eyes at the inconsistency of children. "Very well," he told the brat. "But if you do not wake up when I call you, be prepared for Aguamenti."

Harry nodded sleepily and leaned comfortably against his guardian, smiling as the man reached down and draped a strong arm around his shoulders.

Little pest, Snape sniffed, guiding the half-asleep child through the corridors. I'm surprised he doesn't expect me to carry him the rest of the way.

Sure enough, no sooner had they entered Snape's quarters, then Harry went directly to the couch and fell upon it, face down and asleep before his head touched the cushions. Snape huffed and put down the basket, then lifted the boy in his arms.

"Da," Harry mumbled and wrapped himself around his guardian, resting his head against the man's neck. Snape stood stock still, a bolt of pure happiness jolting through his body. He closed his eyes, tightening his grip around the boy and wishing that this moment could last forever: Harry safe and content in his arms, all threats and dangers far away.

But then the hissing of the snakes roused him and he shook himself. Sentimental fool! he scolded, carrying the child into his room. He laid Harry on his bed, giving the slumbering brat a quick swat on the bottom for being such a nuisance. The boy didn't even stir, but the light slap did much to restore Snape's sense of self. See? I'm still an Evil Bat, smacking poor innocent children. I'm not a maudlin, doting parent, overcome by the mere scent of my child's hair.

By the time he roused the boy three hours later, Harry was fully restored, while Snape was feeling increasingly haggard after his sleepless night. As a result, the refusal of the house elves to provide him with a pot of coffee brought him to new heights of invective.

"What's the matter?" Harry demanded, entering the kitchen with his hands over his ears and staring at where his father was shouting at an unmoved house elf.

"No, naughty Master Potion Professor, you is not to be having no coffee," the house elf scolded. "Coffee is only making Master Potion Professor more cranky. You is not having no coffee today, naughty Master Potion Professor!"

Before Snape could hex the horrible little creature, Harry intervened. "Why?" he asked the elf innocently. "What did he do?"

Snape forced himself to put his wand down while the child was in the line of fire. "Naughty Master Potion Professor was being horrid to poor Master Harry Potter Sir," the revolting little creature turned a sickening gaze of adoration upon the brat. "The house elves is deciding that naughty Master Potion Professor is not to be having any coffee until he is being not so grumpy with poor Master Harry Potter Sir."

Harry blinked. "Well," he said slowly, "you know that Pr'fessor Snape's my guardian now, right?"

The little elf nodded vigorously. "Oh yes, we is knowing that! We is seeing how happy Master Harry Potter Sir is!"

"An' you saw what I did in the Hall the other day, right?"

"Ooooh, yes. Master Harry Potter Sir was flying his broom inside the castle and making a very big mess! Naughty Master Harry Potter Sir!" To Snape's great irritation, the elf waggled an almost playful finger at the brat. Unlike the tone of denunciation the elf had used when referring to Snape, his tone was one of amused indulgence when he spoke to the boy.

"Yeah," Harry agreed. "I really shouldn't've done that, right?" The elf nodded. "An' so I had t'be punished, yeah?" The elf nodded again, though it was with a little less assurance than before. "An' so that's what my Da did."

"Is Master Harry Potter Sir not being angry with Master Potion Professor?" the elf asked in surprise. "Even though naughty Master Potion Professor smacked poor Master Harry Potter Sir so hard that poor Master Harry Potter Sir couldn't sit down at breakfast yesterday?"

"Erm, well," Harry blushed. "I might have been exaggerating a little," he admitted.

The elf frowned. "But if Master Harry Potter Sir wasn't so sore, then he should not have been making the elves so angry with Master Potion Professor!"

"I didn't know you'd be mad at him," Harry protested. "It's not like I asked you to punish him."

"Naughty Master Harry Potter Sir!" the elf repeated, a lot less indulgently. "Now the house elves has been being mean to poor Master Potion Professor for no reason! We is now having to go and punish ourselves for being so wicked!"

"Da!" Harry looked over at Professor Snape in a panic.

Snape growled. Although he wouldn't have minded seeing the little creatures bang their heads against the castle in penance for daring to withhold his morning coffee, the noise would probably echo in his dungeons and disrupt his classes. And it would upset Harry no end. "No, you are not to punish yourselves," he ordered sharply. "I appreciate how much you care for my ward, even if he is a naughty brat who deserves many more smacks on his bottom," he added, looking pointedly at a sheepish Harry. "Bring me my coffee and our breakfast and we will say no more of this."