kbinnz - Harry's New Home

Snape scowled. "Do you imagine that I pay any attention to the nonsense you spout when you are clearly beside yourself?" He rapped Harry on the head with his knuckles. "Use your brain, Mr Potter. Do you imagine you are the first child to rage at their parent or guardian in such a fashion? Did your whale of a cousin never shriek at his parents?"

The corner of Harry's mouth twitched. "Practically every time they said 'no' to him. Not that they said it very often." At least he hadn't thrown anything or bitten anyone the way Dudley used to do. He peeked up at Snape through his fringe. He couldn't believe his professor was being so calm and matter of fact about the whole thing. Harry had been sure that channeling Dudley in full-on, screaming tantrum mode would have been enough to make anyone тАУ even his professor тАУ have second thoughts.

"And did your aunt and uncle cart him off to an orphanage when he did so?"

Wonderingly, Harry shook his head. "But they l-love him."

Snape scowled even more fiercely and wished he had warded the door. It would be just like Albus to burst in right now with a camera. "Yes? And your point, Mr Potter?"

"You mean, youтАж?"

Snape swore he would be crucio'd before he'd say anything so sentimental, but the boy was staring up at him with such hope in those green eyesтАж "Well, what do you think?" he grumbled impatiently. "Do you imagine I would go to all this trouble for no reason? Foolish child! Didn't I tell you to use your brain?"

And then that pointy forehead impacted his breastbone again, and Harry was clutching his robes and crying hysterically and saying how sorry he was over and over and over.

"Yes, yes, all right, Mr Potter." He put an arm around those thin, shaking shoulders, and tried to pat them reassuringly. What does 'reassuring' feel like? He recalled how that Gryffindor girl had been cuddling Harry after the fight and he tried to emulate her posture. Marvelous, now I'm imitating Gryffindors. What's next? Asking Hufflepuffs for advice? he wondered sourly.

It must have worked though, because Harry's sobs began to lessen, and his frantic grasp relaxed into more of a tired leaning or тАУ oh, Merlin тАУ a snuggle. After what felt like an eternity тАУ of emotional agony for Snape and incredible bliss for Harry тАУ Harry finally roused himself enough to ask, not without a feeling of trepidation, "Wh-what are you going to do to me?"

Snape noticed he hadn't felt confident enough to emerge from where he was currently burrowed into Snape's robes, with the man's arm spread over him. "I am going to keep you as my ward, you foolish brat. Didn't I say so?"

"No, I mean, what else are you going to do?" Harry persisted.

"Beyond endeavoring to drive concepts of civilized behavior and erudition into your skull?"

Harry actually giggled a bit. "Yeah. B'sides that. I mean for punishment." There. He'd come out and said it.

"Mr Potter, though I realize your inhuman relatives did not grant you the right of free speech, I am not such an ogre as to prohibit you from expressing your opinions. You may, in the privacy of our quarters, say what you wish to me, though you will find that screaming will do little to convince me of the merits of your argument."

Harry sat up straight and stared at him. "You mean you're not going to punish me? But I said really horrible things to you!"

Snape looked bored. "After teaching at Hogwarts for all these years, do you really imagine I have not been subjected to numerous childish outbursts of spite? You did not swear at me, Mr Potter, nor did you make rude remarks about my parentage or leisure activities. You said nothing anatomically impossible nor particularly offensive. You expressed your own feelings and used several adjectives that, while descriptive, are nevertheless easily located in an abridged dictionary. I see no reason to punish you for your statements, though neither am I going to rescind or delay the punishment which caused your explosion in the first place. You are still grounded for a week, including today's match."

"Yeah, well, I figured that," Harry admitted ruefully.

"Are you now sufficiently composed that you can wash and dress and return to the Gryffindor tower? I must take Mr Weasley to obtain a new wand, and you will recall that you are to be in your dormitory or common room when you are not supervised by a professor."

Harry blushed. "Y'sir. I'm okay now. Sorry for тАУ for all that."

Snape rose. "Such emotional lability is not unexpected for someone in your situation, Mr Potter. You are recovering from an extended period of mistreatment, and adapting to appropriate standards of discipline and care will beтАж challenging at times."

He paused, recalling what he had promised Minerva. Oh fine, now the brat will think I'm doing this to be - he shuddered тАУ nice. "Potter, while you are not to participate in this afternoon's match, you will attend it."

Harry blinked incredulously. "I will?"

"Yes. You are to escort Miss Granger тАУ she or Professor McGonagall will explain further тАУ but when the match is over, you are to return immediately to your Tower. Do you understand?"

And just as he had predicted, the little monster was smiling mistily at him. "Y'sir. Thank you, sir!"

Snape huffed. "Enough of that. Get washed and dressed!"

And that annoying little body shot out and wrapped itself around him. "I love you too, Pr'fessor," Harry whispered into the folds of his professor's robes, then fled to the bathroom before the man could react.

Oh, no. No no no. This was not supposed to happen. The brat was NOT supposed to get attached like this. All of these emotions were supposed to be lavished on the Weasleys, not him. What was he supposed to do or say after a revelation like that? He was a spy, a Death Eater, a Potions Master, an Evil Bat, a greasy git! Not someone to love.

But wait! What had the Weasley boy said? Something about how children often said things they didn't really mean. That must be it. Yes, of course. That was all. The boy was so emotionally confused that he didn't know if he were coming or going. It was impossible to take anything he said seriously, and he probably wouldn't even remember it. Yes. He was hysterical and everyone knew that hysterical people babbled. That was it. Just some hysterical babbling. Nothing to take seriously. Nothing to count on. Nothing to believe in. Nothing to dream of. Nothing at all.

TBCтАж

*Chapter 26*: Chapter 26

By the time he had come out of the bathroom, Harry had been overcome by mortification. Why had he been foolish enough to say that? Surely it wasn't the sort of thing any self-respecting male over the age of three said out loud. The fact that his professor hadn't exclaimed in disgust or shoved him away тАУ as the Dursleys would have тАУ was sufficient indication of how his professor felt, along with the man's earlier, tacit confession. Harry really needed to learn not to blurt things out. He was so embarrassed that he only mumbled a quick goodbye to both Snape and Ron before fleeing the chambers.

Well. That was that. Snape looked after the little brat with an odd mixture of relief and hurt. Obviously he had been right. The child had been confused and had simply blurted words out without any concept of what he was saying. No meaning should be attached to them, as witnessed by the boy's speedy exit at the prospect of being able to rejoin his classmates. Clearly the brat was all too happy to escape his presence and felt neither desire nor obligation to linger.

Good. That was very good. The last thing Snape needed was another complication. The boy would naturally reserve his softer feelings for Molly тАУ and that mutt of a godfather, once the two met. Snape was the Evil Bat, the disciplinarian, the horrible bastard who had just barred the boy from his first-ever Quidditch match. Snape snorted. How could he have ever imagined the boy to have been sincere? He was probably just relieved that Snape hadn't given him a worse punishment for his tantrum, the way those despicable Muggles would have done. The words were motivated by sheer relief, nothing more.