woken and soothed, and thus, by the time his morning alarm woke him, Severus felt he had gotten almost no sleep at all.
But Molly Weasley was there just after breakfast, and helped Harry through the day, while Severus groused his way through classes.
Dumbledore stopped him as he was retreating to his quarters for lunch, to remind him he was expected to make an appearance for at least two meals a day, every day, in the Great Hall. He had a House to look after, too, he should recall.
Of
Dumbledore merely peered at him over the half moons of his spectacles, and Severus back tracked, apologizing curtly and saying he would do his best to be at dinner that night.
With a benevolent smile, Dumbledore let him go, and Severus fretted about taking Harry to dinner for the rest of the day.
He needn't have worried so. Harry was well behaved at dinner, and though he was quiet, and perhaps a little withdrawn, he did not seem actually frightened of the students or staff. He even smiled at Hagrid, and waved at Miss Parkinson at the Slytherin table, the young lady who had been with him when he talked to the adder on the hill.
Altogether, it could have been worse.
---
The next few days passed smoothly enough that Severus began to worry again, sure that something would go horribly wrong any moment now.
He and Harry had settled comfortably into a bit of a routine. Molly came with her four children each morning and stayed until dinner time. In the mornings, Harry usually had lessons in which he practiced writing, spelling and maths, and then had practical experience looking for and identifying plants -- as an introduction to Herbology or Potions -- or learning simple household charms, such as Lumos and Nox, taught to most wizarding children. After lunch, the children had plenty of opportunities for outdoor play, running about like rabid crups, or flying on children's style brooms, or playing Exploding Snap and Gobstones.
Meanwhile, Severus taught his classes, met with students from Slytherin or his Advanced Potions sections during his office hours just after lunch, and graded papers and sample potions for the ten to fifteen minutes he had between each of his classes.
In the evenings, after dinner in the Great Hall -- Severus tried to eat breakfast there, too, after making sure Harry was safely ensconced with Molly and her brood -- he and Harry would retreat to their quarters, where Severus would have Harry get ready for bed, read him a story or two, then tuck him in with their before-sleep-preparation of Occlumency. The boy was usually so exhausted by his day that he would fall asleep during story time, but was awake enough after being carried to his room, that he could follow the breathing exercises that were supposed to help with his nightmares.
Severus would then spend a few hours finishing his grading, preparing for the next day's lessons, and dealing with any issues that had come up with his Slytherins, before crashing into bed for the hour or two before the first of Harry's nightmares hit.
By the weekend, he was more than ready for a break, and when Molly invited him to bring Harry to the Burrow so the boy could get to know the place before he started spending the days there next week, he readily accepted. He and Molly agreed that he could stay for the morning, and then go back to Hogwarts in the afternoon. That way, Harry could get a feel for being there without his father, and Severus could finally get caught up on his grading at least.
Thus, Saturday morning found Severus ushering Harry through the Floo to the Burrow. Immediately upon exiting the large fireplace, both were surrounded by redheads clamoring for Harry, primarily, to 'C'mon and play!'
After greeting them both warmly, Molly shooed the children outside with a, 'Show Harry around, dears, and don't forget the pumpkin patch. There you go.'
With only one backward glance at his father, Harry followed the Weasley boys and Ginny outdoors for the grand tour.
