Whelp II The Wrath of Snape

he's ever talked to, but he was getting ready to sleep, and then Rose scared him away, and that's when I fell over.'

Severus thought as much, but it was still a blow. 'And have you spoken to snakes before?'

'Yes, Father. There was one in the garden at Spinner's End, and one . . .'

'Yes?'

Harry's face took on a different sort of mask. Hard, yet almost brittle. 'I thought . . . I thought I was dying.'

Severus' heart skipped a beat. 'Explain.'

'At . . . at my . . . my Uncle's. I was so hungry, and it had been a long time since I'd even got water, and I thought maybe boys could only talk to snakes when they were dying.'

'Just before I took you away from there, yes?'

Harry nodded, the slice of apple forgotten in his hand. His lower lip stuck out just a little. 'I'm sorry, Father. I didn't know I wasn't s'posed to talk to snakes. I won't do it anymore.'

With a sigh, Severus rubbed a hand over his eyes. 'I have not forbidden you to speak to them. It's a gift for wizards to be able to do so. I would ask, however, that you be a little . . . circumspect in your conversations.' At the boy's confused expression, he added, 'It means, you shouldn't let everyone know you are a Parselmouth. Some people would not understand.'

Harry drew a slow breath. 'Like with the Dursleys, and any magic.'

Snape's gut reaction was to tell the boy that no one and nothing would ever treat him the way the Dursleys had, but he knew that he could not make promises like that. Not and be honest. He knew -- as did Dumbledore -- that the Dark Lord would rise again one day, and that Harry would be caught in the thick of it again. The very idea chilled him, and yet, he knew it was true. Too, the world was a fickle place, and those who sang praises over Harry's success in the past would be just as likely to condemn him in the future.

Thus, against all desire, he admitted, 'Similar, yes. You must pay close attention to who you allow to see your special powers. I also want you to be very careful when you decide to befriend wild creatures, Harry. The snake you were talking to today is poisonous and the venom from its bite could have killed you. Made you very sick at least.'

'Oh. But it wouldn't have bitten me.'

'You don't know that.'

'But it was nice!'

'Harry!' Severus took a slow breath. 'Please. I don't . . . I don't want to lose you, son. Just please be mindful of the danger. There are all sorts of creatures around Hogwarts that are not nice, and will bite you, and poison you, given half a chance.'

A mulish expression stole over Harry's face, and it angered Severus. How was he to keep Harry safe if the boy insisted on charging into dangerous situations with squids and snakes and who knew what else? 'I am completely serious, Harry. You will obey me in this.'

Cowed, the boy nodded. 'Yes, Father. I'm sorry.'

'Good. Now, eat your lunch. I'll be in my lab. You are to remain on that couch until I return.'

'Yes, Father.'

---

Harry watched him go, feeling stupid and in the way and not hungry anymore. He was a freak, even among wizards. He should have known it was weird to talk to snakes, but he liked them, and they were nice, all the ones he'd met. But Father had said to be careful of them, 'cause they might bite. Yet, how was he to know which ones would and which ones wouldn't, unless he talked to them first? He buried his head in his arms and curled into the corner of the couch.

Treacle didn't let him stay like that, but leapt onto the couch and butted at his arms with her head until he acknowledged her. He ran thin fingers through her fur, loving the softness of it. Sitting back up straight, he fed Treacle some of his lunch – she didn't want apples, but did want the slices of sausage and the pepper crisps, and he poured a little of his milk onto the tray for her to lap up, then finished the rest of that.

And then he realized he had to go to the loo.

How long till Father came out of his lab? Harry wondered. He could hold his pee in pretty well, had learnt how at the Dursleys, but it had been hours since he'd been last. And he really had to go. The lunch was gone, the tray and plates vanished, and Treacle had curled up against his knee on the couch, cleaning her whiskers by licking her paws and then rubbing them over her face.

How much longer?

It got to the point where he was gripping himself hard to stop from peeing on the couch, and biting his lip, too, 'cause sometimes pain let him keep his mind of awful things, like what would happen if he went all over his father's couch. He rocked back and forth, eyes squinched shut. Please hurry, please, Daddy, please hurry, please . . .

Suddenly Treacle jumped down from the couch, and the sound of her paws hitting the floor startled Harry enough to make him lose control. Tears welled in his eyes, to run in hot streams down his cheeks, as warm liquid spilled into his trousers and dripped down his legs. Once the flow started, he couldn't stop it until he was empty and sopping.

Sorry, I'm sorry, oh Father, oh, sir, please, I'm so sorry, please . . .

---

Severus had lost track of time. This was not an infrequent event when he was engaged in making potions, especially one as tricky as the Fidelity Draught. His lab was soundproofed, of course, and spelled to stay as fume free and humidity controlled as he could make it, with various bubbling cauldrons always going. The lighting was