eccedentesiast || severitus

chapter sixteen | confessions and apologies

Severus did his best to ignore the silence of the hospital wing, save for the clicking clock and the occasional shuffle of bed clothes or a clink of silverware from the child in front of him. You'd think after witnessing the deepest darkest depths of someone, one would be able to sit in silence without it being devastatingly awkward.

That was 100% not the case here.

The boy seemed as if one wrong word would snap his fragile nerves and send him running. Honestly, Severus had never been this involved in a child's home life. Sure he's brought the cases to Albus but after that he was done with it.

Not only was Albus apart of the problem, but Severus has somehow, someway, stuck himself dead smack in the middle of this situation.

Damned Potters. They always make things ten times worse.

The boy coughed, a little, quiet noise in the quiet hospital wing, but it broke Severus' practiced patience.

"Alright, I'm going to say this once and only once, so you had better listen up Potter," the man placed a hand on the boy's bed, and if that was supposed to be comfort for himself or Harry, he did not know.  "As I'm sure you realize, I have been wrongly mistaken about you. From the very first day I saw you sitting in my classroom, I immediately thought you to be someone else, that someone being your father."

Severus swallowed thickly, feeling as if the room was getting progressively warmer and chillier at the same time. He needed to say this to the boy, needed to make him realize that Severus was on his side now. He knows he's jumping right into this, and he will most definitely regret it later. He knows it's going to be a long while until the boy trusts him, but if this is what it takes to start mending the broken path between the two of them.

Well...

"You see," and god help him he could not believe he was about to say this, "I knew your parents, more specifically, your mother."

He held his breath, waiting for Potter's reaction and, ah, there it was.

The boy looked up at Severus from his plate so forcefully, his already messy hair sprang into several different directions. Shock was the only thing written on his face, and the man quickly moved on to avoid yet another awkward panic attack.

"Oh alright, stop the histrionics Potter. I knew your mother and father growing up. They passed the godawful trait of being a Gryffindor down to you. During my time at Hogwarts, let's just say, your father and I didn't - get along. Long story short, when you arrived at Hogwarts, you reminded me of him."

Snape seemed to be at a loss for words after that. He opened his mouth multiple times, but nothing came out. Harry shuffled awkwardly on the bed, and Snape heard the deep inhale from the boy. "Professor Snape, sir, you don't need to - to do - well this," he motioned with his hands to the two of them. "I understand that you've helped me these past few weeks, and I really do appreciate it, honestly sir. But - but, I'm not..."

Worth your time.

Severus heard the unspoken words and felt his heart clench painfully. How could a child think so lowly of himself? How could the boy believe that it was a hassle to help him in an extremely difficult situation?

No more.

Snape swallowed thickly once more and said, "I do not believe I said this was something that I was doing for you. In fact, it's rather selfish of you to assume that. If you will please stop your blabbering and allow me to talk, that would be greatly appreciated."

Harry hurriedly put his head down to his chest, doing his best to hide his appreciation for the man's words. He hated when people did stuff that made them uncomfortable specifically for him. He never wanted the attention like that and he'd rather people not waste their time doing something that makes them unhappy just to make him happier.