Whelp II The Wrath of Snape

'Oh, no. No, Harry, you are not a freak. Not at all.'

'Am,' the boy said stubbornly, but his gaze was back on his hands, and Treacle Tart, who was curled around his arm, her great blue eyes watching Harry's face solemnly. 'I talked to snakes and lied to you, and peed and cried, too, like a baby. S'okay, Daddy, I know you don't like freaks. You can send me back.'

Severus felt his face flush. 'I will never ever send you back. I know it might be hard for you to believe, after what I put you through this afternoon, but I love you, Harry, and you are my son, and I am never sending you back to those awful people.'

'Even if I'm a freak?'

Severus shook his head, and wanted to reach for the boy, but made himself keep his hands still. 'You are not a freak. You are a perfectly normal Wizarding child. You happen to have a talent that most other Wizards don't have, but I'm sure other Wizards your age have talents that you don't. Everyone is different, and we all have different skills.' He paused, took a breath, and waited till he thought Harry really was listening. 'I'm very good at Potions, you know, which not everyone is. And also, remember how we've worked on keeping your nightmares away?' Harry nodded, and he continued, 'That's part of a skill called Occlumency, which I am also very talented at, but which very few other Wizards are. Does that make me a freak?'

'N-no, sir.'

'That's right. And neither are you, just because you can speak to snakes. In fact, being a Parseltongue is a very useful skill to have.'

Another darting glance. 'Really?'

'Really. Today, for instance, it is possible that the snake you met in your explorations might have been angered and bitten you or Treacle Tart, if you hadn't spoken to him and made friends with him first.'

'But . . .' Harry nibbled on his lip. 'But you said . . .'

'That the snake was dangerous, and so it was. But there's no telling how much more dangerous he could have been if you had not spoken kindly with him.' Severus twined his hands together, to keep from touching his son. Harry was too afraid yet, for that, he was sure.

'So you're . . . you're not angry wiff me?'

'No, Harry.' Severus longed to brush the hair out of his son's eyes, and pushed back his own instead, looking away for a moment to gather himself. 'I am angry with me, since I was the one who behaved poorly. I put my classes and my potions ahead of my son, and I am ashamed of myself.'

'No, Daddy,' Harry whispered. 'You're good, not like me—'

'You are good, Harry. And you are not a freak. Remember what I said about that word.'

'I'm not to use it.'

'That's right.' He swallowed hard, again. 'Harry, I . . . please, I need to know that you forgive me, that you'll give me another chance, let me prove I can be a good father to you. Will you do that for me?'

Harry gave a jerky little nod, and with a gentle push to get the kneazle off his lap, threw himself into Severus' arms. Severus rocked back with the force of the little boy hitting his chest, and grabbed him tight, never wanting to let go. He pressed his lips to the boy's hair and whispered over and over, 'I'm sorry, I'm so sorry . . .'

'It's okay,' Harry whispered back, patting him on the back as if he were the one that needed to give comfort, 'It's okay, really.'

Severus knew it wasn't, still, not by a long shot, but he would take what he could get for now.

---

The rest of the afternoon and evening – as Severus had no further classes today – they spent together, with Harry on his lap as they read together from his favorite Quidditch book, and then a quiet dinner just the two of them . . . and Treacle Tart of course. Severus did not have it in his heart to tell the boy not to feed her from the table, since she had looked out for the boy on more than one occasion. This afternoon, for instance, knowing that Harry was in distress, she had obviously been trying to get Severus' attention while he was in the lab. Unlike Severus himself, she seemed only to have Harry's best interests in mind.

After dinner, as Harry finished with his pudding, very nearly licking the bowl of chocolate ice cream clean, he smiled impishly when Severus lifted an eyebrow in his general direction, a look Severus was very glad to see. He set down his bowl sheepishly, and Severus let the dishes be cleared away by the kitchen House-elves.

Clearing his throat, Severus said, 'Harry, we need to discuss a few things.'

The boy's face immediately went blank with fear, and Severus rushed to reassure him, 'It's nothing bad, you've done nothing wrong. We just need to talk about how we can better spend our days, so you're better taken care of.'

'You can take care of me, Father.'

'I want to, Harry, you don't know how much. But I also need to work, so we can continue to live here.'

Harry frowned. 'Can't we live at Spinner's End?'

'I'd still have to work, though. I'd just be doing different work, and sometimes, not even at home. And I'd still need someone to look after you when I can't be there.'

'But Nelli looks after me here. And Fern, too, right?'

'Not as well as I'd like. They're used to older children, not to younger boys like you, nor to parents who want something different for their son than the son sometimes wants.'

Harry gave him a confused look, so Severus elaborated, 'Sometimes, Nelli and Fern let you do things that I would not have let you do. I think it's because they are used to being around children who are older, and who make most of their own decisions. For instance, I wouldn't have let you go near the Lake at all that day, nor would