Whelp II The Wrath of Snape

his best to stay awake, since as long as he was awake, Daddy would stay by his side. It was hard to stay awake, though, when he was so very tired. When he did eventually fall asleep, he always woke again soon after, startled by a noise or movement or something, and when he found his Daddy gone, he always crawled into his clothes cupboard to hide. No kidnappers would never find him there.

Treacle always climbed in afterwards, and the two of them huddled close together, wary as could be, hiding from dreams and bad men, until Daddy found them in the morning.

The third night after this happened, Daddy did not take Harry to his room, but to his own room instead. After Harry's teeth were brushed and he was in his nightclothes, Daddy said, 'How about you try sleeping in here with me? That way you needn't worry I'm gone, or that you'll be taken away.'

Harry nodded solemnly, and then smiled a little more when Daddy took out his wand and waved it around. In a trice, his big bed divided into two smaller ones, both with sheets and blankets. The bed farthest from the door had a green coverlet with little golden snitches on it, being chased by brooms. Harry looked up at his father, who nodded. 'That one will be yours, all right?'

'Yes, Dad,' Harry said. 'Thank you.'

'You're welcome.'

He tucked Harry in, and sat with him until Harry fell asleep that night, knowing his father would always be with him.

--WHELP II EPILOGUE--

Six Months Later:

On the steps leading up to the main entrance of Hogwarts, Severus Snape stood braced against the chilly March wind and watched his son at play on the lawn. Hagrid's great hound was chasing Harry, and the boy's kneazle -- now full grown -- was chasing both of them. Harry's shrieks of laughter carried to the steps, and Severus was warmed by the sound of it. A few times over the last several months, he had not been sure he would ever see Harry playing and laughing like other children.

Every so often, Harry glanced up the hill, ostensibly to wave at his father or to make a silly face, on the off chance he could get Severus to laugh or wave in return. In truth, Severus knew that his son was simply making sure his father was still there. It was the single biggest issue they had dealt with over the winter. Due to the angling of both Harry and himself, Severus had barely been out of sight or hearing range of his son since the boy's kidnapping six months ago. Neither of them wanted to lose that sense of contact.

Severus waved back, careful to use the hand not holding a much abused letter.

A minute later, a rush of red-haired children raced past Severus to join Harry in outdoor play. Far more sedately, Molly Weasley joined Severus on the bottom step. In comparison to his plain black cloak and robes, her outer robe was bright yellow, making her looking rather like a plucked canary. She pulled it more tightly around herself, to ward off the cold, then clasped her gloved hands together at her waist.

'Good morning, Severus.'

'It's half past one,' he replied curtly.

She smiled, well used to his chilly greetings. 'Of course. Time does fly, after all.'

'Only on winged clocks,' he murmured, but she had a point. The winter had truly flown by, what with schooling Harry on top of his other classes, and taking care of his son, especially his beautiful, yet still fragile, trust. It was a wobbly thing, easily bumped and bruised, but thus far still intact. Severus aimed to keep it that way.

'March is blowing in like a lion, indeed,' Molly continued, hitching up her robe again.

Severus had heard enough. 'Spare me your old wise woman mantras. If you have something constructive to say, by all means, spit it out. Please.'

A spark of something lit Molly's eyes, but Severus did not think it was anger. Not really. 'How has Harry been this week?' she asked finally.

It was the question he had expected, yet he still didn't know how to answer. This week was the first one since last fall where Severus was actively encouraging Harry to do things independently. Though still 'incarcerated' at St. Mungo's, Sirius Black had all but ruined Harry's sense of security at Hogwarts or Spinner's End, and the boy had worried for all this time that he would be taken again, and worst of all, taken back to the Dursleys. Today was the first time Harry had voluntarily