Whelp II The Wrath of Snape

could not carry on normal conversation for his last score of years. Not only because he wasn't used to it, but because no one trusted him near them anymore.' She shook her head. 'And Harry has enough issues with trust, don't you think?'

Nodding again, he looked away. He didn't bother to justify himself with his reasoning at the time; he'd been so overcome, himself, when Harry was panicking about dinner of all things, that he hadn't really let himself think of alternatives. But he wasn't sorry about doing it to the Muggles.

'Today,' Molly continued, when it was obvious Severus was not going to respond further, 'Harry had a recollection – I think they call it a flashback, amongst Mind Healers – of a time when his aunt grabbed his hand and forced it down on a hot stove as punishment for dropping some forks. So, when I reached for his hand, he . . . flashed on that memory, and thought I was his aunt, trying to punish him again.'

Unable to do anything but stare at Molly, Severus fought the rise of bile into his mouth. Oh, Harry . . .

'After he spoke to Hagrid and me about the memory, he seemed a bit better off, and was able to play with the other children for a while as if nothing was wrong. But,' Molly said, her voice very soft, as if she did not want to say what she was about to, and yet had to nonetheless, 'But Harry is a very troubled boy. I cannot imagine what other horrifying things they did to him, even just knowing the one. But I can tell you he will have more episodes like this. I think talking about what happened, however, before memories crop up like this, will help mitigate them somewhat.'

Severus shook his head. 'You think it will help. Maybe? I know it will upset him!'

Molly drew a deep breath. 'I know he should not have to suffer these memories alone! And that's what it means, when he thinks you don't want him to talk about it. It does him no good at all for you to know, but for him not to have unburdened himself. All that does is assuage your curiosity. If you want to be a good father to him, you will need to think of Harry's good in the long term, not your discomfort in the short.'

Rage, sudden and overwhelming, swept through him, and he leapt from his seat. 'You go too far!' he shouted.

Molly merely shook her head again, and kept her voice as low as it had been all through their conversation. 'And you do not go far enough. I know you care for him a great deal, Severus, and do not want to see him hurting. No parent wants that for their child. But you have a special case here, and Harry needs to know that no matter what he says about those horrible people, or what he remembers, that you will still love him.'

'Of course I will,' Severus insisted, his voice rough-edged. He collapsed again into his chair, wondering what he thought he was doing, trying to be this boy's father. He obviously was not qualified in the least.

'I know that. But Harry doesn't. Not yet.'

Severus put his face in his hands. 'I'm failing him,' he whispered.

'You aren't. You just need to get him to open up more. Talk to you, tell you when he's hurting, or when he's upset and why. But I can almost guarantee that he won't do so without prompting. Right now, he doesn't think he's worth anyone's regard.' She offered him a small smile. 'Though he desperately seeks to please you, and from the way he latched on to you each time we returned today, he obviously trusts you more than anyone else and finds comfort from being near you.'

'Indeed.' The word 'limpet' came to mind.

'Perhaps . . .'

Severus lifted his head when Molly trailed off. 'What?'

'Perhaps he would benefit from the expertise of a Mind Healer.'

'No, absolutely not.'