kbinnz - Harry's New Home

Molly instantly pushed the box out at Severus and folded Harry into her arms, rocking and murmuring to him as he wept. Arthur took Snape, now holding the precious box like a religious relic, into the kitchen. He took one look at Severus' face and left, returning a moment later with a tumbler of fire whiskey. He put the glass at Severus' elbow and left him alone.

Snape delicately stroked the fine wool in much the same way Harry had. Lowering his face to just above the box, he inhaled deeply and let Lily's fragrance fill his mind. Memories overpowered him. The Muggleborn child who had first befriended him, the teenaged Lily of their Hogwarts days, the young woman he caught an occasional glimpse of at an Order meetingтАж She was here тАУ and yet she wasn't. Her eyes lived on, and her compassion, her boundless capacity for love тАУ they all lived on in Harry. Her child. Her son who, he abruptly knew, was now the most important thing in his life.

Lily's presence pressed upon him, and suddenly, although far from a spiritual man, Snape was convinced that she was there with him. Watching. Waiting.

"I promise, Lily. I promise I will care for him as you would have. I promise." As he made his second Unbreakable Vow, he could swear her fragrance intensified. He closed his eyes, desperate to see her one last time even if only in his mind's eye. He felt something brush his cheek, but when his eyes flew open, he was alone, Lily's sweater sitting beside him in the box.

It was some time before Snape left the kitchen, his eyes reddened, the sweater safely returned to its box and stasis spell, and the fire whiskey still burning his throat. He found Arthur and Molly sitting quietly in the living room, Harry fast asleep in Molly's arms.

"He cried himself to sleep," Molly explained in a whisper. "It's been such an emotional day for him."

"Indeed," Snape said stiffly. He held the box out to Molly but she shook her head. "It's Harry's, Severus, and I know no one will safeguard it for him better than you."

He fought down an uncharacteristic lump in his throat. "This was very тАУ thoughtful тАУ of you."

"To know Lily was to love her, Severus, but I think you, Harry, and James knew that better than anyone."

He automatically bristled to hear his name linked in any way with James Potter, but he couldn't find the energy to sustain his outrage. He nodded and shrank the box to fit it in his pocket. He reached down and scooped Harry up into his arms. The boy lolled bonelessly and he maneuvered him around until Harry's head lay against his chest.

"Thank you for your hospitality," Severus said formally.

"It was our pleasure. We'll see you again this weekend," Arthur said. Molly waved as Arthur threw the floo powder into the fire for him.

Severus stepped out into his quarters and contemplated the small child in his arms. He knew the proper thing, the Snape-like thing, to do would be to shake him awake and send him up to his dormitory. The boy was eleven, after all, and long day or no, he was old enough to put himself to bed. So why on earth was Snape laying him down carefully on his couch and tucking him in with a heavy afghan?

Severus scowled as he pulled off the brat's glasses and placed them on the adjacent table. He was not going soft. It was just that it was nearly curfew and he had no intention of hearing McGonagall complain about his keeping her students out after hours. Besides, he was the boy's guardian, so it was nobody's business if he chose to keep the brat here. Better to do that than run the risk of the Weasley brats interrogating him on where he had been. Yes, that was it. He was keeping the boy here so as to prevent him from having to face awkward questions from his Housemates. Perfect. That was it. It had nothing to do with a blue sweater and a raft of memories. Nothing at all.

TBCтАж

*Chapter 9*: Chapter 9

Severus groaned in torment, longing for the blessed escape of death. He couldn't believe he'd been stupid enough to be captured in this fashion. He should have known better. He did know better. But somehow he'd been distracted, let down his guard, and this was the result.

Severus had survived the tortures of his father, his Housemates, the Marauders, and Voldemort. He had suffered under the Cruciatus more times than he wanted to remember, to say nothing of the lesser тАУ but still excruciating тАУ Dark curses, humiliating and painful hexes, and of course, the Muggles' favorite, brute force. He probably had endured more punishment than any other living Wizard (except for those who enjoyed that sort of thing), and his pain tolerance was remarkably high. But not high enough. Not for this.

He bit back a whimper of anguish. He would not beg. He would not scream aloud. He would not give his tormentor that satisfaction. Even when he had writhed under Voldemort's wand, he had not wept for mercy, and he would not start now. Surely he would slip from consciousness soonтАж

The only thing that remained for him now was vengeance. It was what kept him clinging to life, what prevented him from actively seeking the release of suicide. This was all the fault of that wretched brat Potter, and if it was the last thing he did on this earth, Severus vowed to exact bloody retribution from the little fiend.

He saw his torturer approaching, an eager gleam in his eye, and he prayed for deliverance. Please, please no more. Please тАУ a portkey. A massive aneurysm. The return of the Dark Lord. Anything to rescue me from this agony.

"Severus!" Albus Dumbledore exclaimed happily. "Look! They have a version of Wizards' Chess, only with Quidditch! Harry will love it! Do you want to give it a try?"

Severus still couldn't believe he hadn't been smart enough to lie when the Headmaster had noticed him leaving the castle that morning and asked where he was going. He should have known that Dumbledore would insist on accompanying him on the shopping expedition to outfit Harry's new room, and he should have expected that the crazy old coot would turn what should have been a brief, efficient mission into endless, hellish hours.

No store was omitted. Why Dumbledore thought they needed to examine kitchenware had entirely escaped Snape. Did he imagine Potter was going to participate in the 83rd Annual Super(natural) Sweets Bake-Off? They had actually spent over an hour in a bloody linens store, debating whether Harry would prefer animated dragons or hippogriffs on his bedsheets. Or rather, Albus debated about the sheets and Severus debated bludgeoning himself unconscious. And after the dotty old man had finally decided on hippogriffs, then they had to start all over again on the color of the draperies. Severus had pointed out тАУ with the last threads of his self-control тАУ that he lived in a dungeon. A windowless dungeon, but that had only deflected Albus from draperies to carpeting.

At the Magical Body Shoppe, Snape had at first thought it might sell some kind of wizarding pornography and he had been about to argue with Albus that while Harry might be a growing boy with a natural, healthy curiosity, Snape was not about to encourage that sort of thing. But then he had realized тАУ to his infinitely greater horror тАУ that it was a sort of fancy toiletry shop in which no self-respecting man, wizard or Muggle, should be caught dead. Amidst what appeared to be a million different soaps, lotions, shampoos, creams, powders, and cosmetics (not to mention vaguely obscene-looking gadgets whose function Severus did not want to think about) Albus began a lengthy dialogue with the witch behind the counter. Severus hid as best he could amongst the cluttered, aromatic merchandise тАУ the store made Ollivander's look empty тАУ and hoped for an attack by Death Eaters.

While Severus endured the curious stares of the other customers (all female, of course), Albus discussed proper skin care for pre-teens with more concentration than he normally brought to meetings of the Wizengamot. After the headmaster had purchased a bagful of products that the witch insisted would guarantee Harry a spot-free adolescence, Severus made a beeline for the door, only to be dragged back by Albus' magic.