Whelp II The Wrath of Snape

I let you get away with only having a slice of apple and a few sips of milk at lunch. Do you understand?'

'I think so, Father.' Harry worried his lower lip between his teeth. 'But Nelli is nice.'

'Yes, she is. But she is not an appropriate caregiver for you.'

Unaccountably, Harry's eyes filled with tears, though they did not fall. 'You're gonna send me away.'

'Oh, Harry.' Severus squeezed his eyes shut against the ache in his chest. But he had to be the courageous one here, and so he opened his eyes and held the boy's gaze. 'I will never send you away. But you remember, how Draco was here with us for a week, and then Ron was? I was thinking that perhaps Mrs. Weasley could come and spend some time with us again, and bring Ron with her. And then, maybe you could spend time at her house, in return. Maybe we could treat it just like school, like your day school, remember? Perhaps go to their house during the day, and then I would pick you up when I am done with classes. Would you like that?'

Treacle Tart, who had been lounging under Harry's chair for the last few minutes, now leapt into the boy's lap again, as if sensing his unease. Harry petted her and rubbed one of her ears in between his fingers. The tension in his shoulders dissipated somewhat as a result. The lip went between his teeth again, though, until he said, 'I don't want to leave here.'

'It wouldn't be for very long, Harry, and like I said, first, I would get them to come spend time here.' If they could. Severus would have to speak with Molly soon. Tonight perhaps.

Harry gave a hesitant nod, and Severus rushed to say, 'If you don't want to do it, we'll figure something else out, I promise. I don't want you to ever feel like you are in the way, all right?'

'Okay. It's okay, Father.'

Severus wasn't sure if that was the truth, but it was somewhere to work from anyway. 'Would you like to read some more?' he asked, and Harry's eyes lit up. 'We can sit in front of the fire and have cocoa.'

'Yes, please.'

'Let's get you into nightclothes first, all right, in case you fall asleep.' Severus smiled at the boy. 'Since I realize my voice can be very soothing.'

'I don't fall asleep,' the boy protested, though he had done just that the last two times they'd read together of an evening. 'I was just resting.'

'Of course you were,' Severus said, suppressing a smirk. 'All the same, nightclothes first.'

'Yes, sir . . . um, Father.'

Severus nodded, and watched Harry scamper off to his room and hurriedly change before scampering back, book clutched tight in his hand. It was one McGonagall had given him, a dozen Wizarding Fairy Tales with bright colorful pictures and words in large enough print that Harry could almost follow along if Severus read slowly.

Once the cocoa was ordered up, they settled together in the easy chair by the fire, with Harry on his lap and nestled in the crook of Severus arm. Treacle Tart, on Harry's lap, purred and kneaded his leg with her paws, though she kept her claws carefully sheathed, Severus was glad to see.

Severus leant his cheek alongside Harry's hair, which was as dark and thick as his own, and kissed his head gently. He opened the book to the next story, as they'd read several already, and started, 'The Tale of The Wizard's Glove. Once upon a time . . .'

As predicted, Harry was asleep before they had made through the second story, but Severus wasn't too surprised, as the boy had had a trying day. He carried Harry to his bedroom and settled him into bed, smiling slightly when the kneazle followed at his heels and then jumped onto the bed, to curl into the curve of Harry's arm, half under and half on top of the blankets. Severus kissed the boy's forehead, and smoothed his hair back from the lightning bolt scar. 'Sleep well,' he whispered, letting his fingers linger on the pale cheek for a moment before he left to go make a firecall to the Weasley matriarch.

---

Molly agreed to Floo through immediately, and speak to him in person, which was very good of her, considering how late in the evening it was.

'Can't get enough of me?' she asked with a grin as she settled her bulk in one of his armchairs.

Severus ordered up tea from the kitchens, and offered her some, which she accepted politely. 'In a manner of speaking,' he said quietly, not in the mood for her teasing.

Her smile vanished, even as she took a sip of her drink. 'What happened? Is Harry all right?'

Trust her to see into the heart of the problem. With a small sigh, he told her what had transpired that day, and he even confessed his own horrible behavior, willing to fully abase himself before her, so she would know how dire the situation was, and would be less likely to deny him what he needed. What Harry needed.

She was quiet for a long moment, when he was done, and sipped thoughtfully at her tea, watching him over the rim of the cup. Finally, she nodded. 'Well, that's a right mess, isn't it.' It was not a question, and so Severus did not answer. 'It's obvious the House-elves are nearly worthless. I should have listened to Charlie. He mentioned as much. Never held much truck with House-elves myself. Far too wishy-washy for my tastes.'

Severus forbore to say anything about how helpful they were in the right circumstances, since that would not help his cause. Instead, he nodded. 'You see my dilemma.'

Molly smiled knowingly. 'You need someone to take care of Harry while you're teaching classes. Someone who will care for him like their own child, who will watch out for him, and make sure he eats and doesn't find trouble, and who will clean up any scraped knees he has, or scrapes he gets into.' She paused, finished off her tea, and gave him another smile. 'Someone like me.'

With a sigh, Severus swallowed his pride; he would do right by the boy, if it took everything he had. 'Yes. Please.'

'I would be glad to, Severus. I loved Lily and James, too.'

Severus opened his mouth to tell her that this was his son, not James', and that she should love Harry on his own merits, like he did, but he closed it again with a snap. She would come to love the