kbinnz - Harry's New Home

Snape forced himself not to show his shock. Him? Acting Headmaster? Or even Deputy Headmaster? There would surely be riots in the streets, or at least the Great Hall. And why was he being sidelined in this hunt for Dark objects? Surely he was among the most qualified тАУ

"Severus," Dumbledore had тАУ as usual тАУ correctly guessed his feelings. "Whoever else may come with me, you cannot." He held up a hand to halt the automatic protests. "Leaving aside the very real issue of Harry's welfare, recent events have proven that Voldemort is well aware of your true allegiances. You will be closely watched by those loyal to him, and it is likely you will be the target of further assassination attempts. Today's extraordinary events notwithstanding, you will be safer here behind Hogwarts' wards than anywhere else. And with you and Filius sharing the Headmaster responsibilities, you will be even more attuned to the castle and better able to guard both it and yourself."

Out-argued, Snape knew he had no choice but to accede. He nodded grumpily and slouched in his chair, arms folded. The others pretended not to notice his less-than-enthusiastic attitude.

"We shall start this summer. There is no reason to cause even more upheavals this term," Dumbledore decided. "That will give you two several months to determine how best to divide the duties and prepare for your new roles."

"But oh dear, that will mean we will need a new acting Head of Gryffindor as well as new professors of Transfiguration and DADA," Sprout pointed out.

The Headmaster glanced over to where his youngest professor sat sulking. "I have a suggestion," he offered.

Thirty seconds later, the others in the room were wincing and covering their ears as Snape shouted and threw things.

"Now, Severus," Dumbledore finally managed to get a word in edgewise. "You know perfectly well that they are the ideal solution. If Minerva and I are off hunting for horcruxes, we can hardly have any strangers or Ministry minions lurking about."

"But Black and Lupin?" Snape shouted. "Those two тАУ"

"Remus will be a perfectly responsible Head of House and DADA instructor, and he will likely be able to prevent some of Sirius' more, erm, flamboyant stunts." At Snape's continued glare, Dumbledore played his trump card. "And if you allow them to see you and Harry on a daily basis, I imagine I could persuade Sirius to consent to your adopting the boy." Dumbledore was far from certain that he had any such influence over Sirius anymore, but he hoped the argument would prove persuasive for Snape.

Snape paused. He had had no intention of permitting Black and Lupin to be brought in without a fight, lest his new relationship with them тАУ and their mutual activities тАУ become known. On the other hand, having them here certainly suited his own plans, and he wasn't deaf to the the arguments Dumbledore had made either. Besides, without such highly visible arm-twisting from Albus, how was he to explain Black's willingness to allow him to adopt Potter?

"Fine!" he snapped. "But when that cretin burns down your castle or the werewolf eats his way through the Tower inhabitants, don't come crying to me!"

"Excellent." Dumbledore smiled happily. "And now that we are all agreed on our plans to thwart Voldemort, perhaps we can take a few moments to discuss the house elves' complaint about excessive laundry usage?"

##

Later that evening, having checked on Pansy in the Infirmary and floo'd her parents, Snape returned to his quarters, determined to make it an early night. To his irritation, there was a knock on the door, and a smirking Minerva escorted Harry inside. "Harry wished to spend the night with you," the witch informed him, pushing forward a suddenly shy child. "As it is nearly curfew, I thought it best to walk down with him."

Snape huffed with irritation at the high handed way that McGonagall had commandeered his evening. "And if I -"

"I said," the witch interrupted him, giving him the Look that made even Dumbledore think twice, "that Harry wished to spend the night in his room here."

A mental image of Umbridge rose unbidden to Snape's mind and he cleared his throat. "Ah. Well, Potter knows perfectly well he has free run of his rooms. He does not require my permission to come here."

For the first time, the brat looked up, a smile of relief brightening his expression. "Thanks, Da!"

McGonagall patted the boy on the shoulder and gave a small nod to Snape. "Good night then."

"Thanks for bringing me, Professor!" Harry called after the witch.

Snape regarded the small figure with disfavor. It had been a long day and his skin still crawled with the memory of Nagini's touch. Between the horcrux revelations and his duty to first Pansy and then the rest of his House, he hadn't even had time to change his clothes since the attack. He'd merely cast a quick repair charm where her fangs had ripped his robe. And now he had yet another child to look after before he could attend to his own needs. He forced back a grumble. It had been a long day for Harry too, and the boy was still emotionally fragile. No wonder he wanted to retreat to his guardian for further reassurance and -

The fragile child in question yawned widely. "I'm really tired, Da. 'S it okay if I just go to sleep?"

Snape blinked. "You do not need to talk about today's events?"

Harry shrugged. "Mostly I didn't want t'have to be in the dorm when Ron had his nightmares. When he dreams of spiders he practically screams the place down, and he said that Nagooni was even worse than a spider. I figure he's gonna have bad dreams all night long."

Snape was torn between concern at the boy's callousness and pride at his Slytherin approach. "I... see. Yes, you may go to bed."

"Okay. G'night, Da," Harry gave him a quick hug then vanished into his room.

Snape blinked then, shrugging, headed to his own bedroom. A long scrubbing in the shower, in the hottest water he could stand, mostly erased the feel of the snake's scales from his skin and he collapsed into bed, determined to pretend this day had never happened.

He managed a few hours' sleep before the small noise at his side sent him bolt upright, one hand grabbing for his wand while the other flew up to protect his neck. As his mind cleared and he recalled that Nagini was well and truly dead - and cremated - his eyes fell upon the small, tousel-headed figure standing uncertainly by his bed.

" 'M sorry," Harry mumbled. "I didn't mean to wake you."

Snape lowered his wand and dragged a hand down his weary face. "No, of course not. Why would you imagine that entering my bedroom at - " he checked "- almost two in the morning would wake me?"

Harry hung his head. "I can go back to my room."

"What is it, Potter? I am awake now, so you might as well explain your presence here," Snape ordered.

"I just wanted to say sorry."

Snape bit back a curse. He was really too tired for this. "What have you done now?" he demanded, imagining the worst. Insomniac Harry deciding to try to invent a new potion and raiding his stores. Or going to procure an unauthorized dose of dreamless sleep and knocking over an entire shelf of laboriously crafted potions. Or -

"I meant for before."

Dear Wizarding Parents Magazine, When woken in the dead of night by an incoherent child, is it considered poor form to Stun said child, levitate him back to bed, and tell him in the morning that it was all a nightmare?

"Potter, what in Merlin's name are you talking about?"

Harry fidgeted. He had messed this up so badly! First he had chickened out about the apology when he had first come down, babbling something about Ron as his excuse for being there. Then, having decided to talk to his da before breakfast, his conscience had nagged him so badly that sleep was impossible. And as he lay in bed, his busily working mind served up one horrible "what if" scenario after another until he thought he would burst into terrified tears. So he had blundered in here, thinking it best to get the apology over with, only to have realized - too late - that he had disturbed his da's much-needed rest.