Please...

Chapter Thirteen

"No... I just don' wanna sleep alone... Daddy's bed?" Harry asked timidly. "Me and Remus are talking, Harry. Do you want to go lay on the couch for a bit until we're done?" Harry shook his head.

"I... last weekend... both of you... Want both of you, Sev. Can I sleep with both of you tonight? Please? I'll be extra good tomorrow, I promise!" Harry cried, lower lip trembling. "Okay, Harry, okay. If Remus says it's okay, then I'm okay with it."

"I'm okay with it," Remus said. "See? It's okay. What scared you?"

"I don't know! 'M sorry." He cuddled his head into Severus' chest. "Like I said, it's okay. Me and Moony can finish our talk later." Severus gave Remus a look, signaling for him to follow. "Your room or my room, Harry?"

"Daddy's room."

"So?" Remus questioned after Harry was dozing peacefully once more. "Will you let me at least try?"

"I'll give you a chance, Remus. One chance. If you throw it away, then that will be it. No redos. There will be no bringing up what I did wrong, because I've had five years of practically isolation to think about it. Where were you, by the way?"

"Hiding. After Greyback got caught purposefully... eating... children... werewolves aren't exactly popular, and that stupid Umbridge woman thinks we ought to be rounded up and in kennels."

"He eats..."

"Children. On purpose." Remus visibly shuddered. "That's why I was hiding last year. I could have come out, but I knew I would've gone to Harry, and Wolfsbane was only just created. What if I hurt him? Or worse. What if I k-ki-..."

"You wouldn't've. I'll make wolfsbane for you once a month, I've heard it's rather expensive to buy from St. Mungos." Remus let out a sigh. "Thank you."

"You said we should try and get along. I can't let you go from paycheck to paycheck and not have a vital potion."

"Severus, you never told me what happened after I found you, you know..." Remus whispered after some time. "You don't have to, I was just wondering..." Severus thought for a moment before he decided to talk. "After you... found me, as you put it, Regulus and Lucius found me next. They took me to McGonagall, had her heal me, told her we got into a fight. She didn't believe them, or me, but she let it go. I stopped talking. All I wanted was to get through school and get a job, so I could have enough money to move. A few years later I got what I wanted. I moved out. Started renting a flat. Then I got a job here. I told her the truth. She knew. For a long time, a year after they took me to her that time. The Ministry didn't help. I was about to turn seventeen. Why would they care?

"I got therapy. I stopped going last year," Severus stopped talking, pace paling as he realized just how much he had said. "Dammit."

"You didn't have to tell me all of that," Remus replied softly. "McGonagall told me I should try and be vulnerable. I didn't realize I was rambling..."

"In all honesty, I like that you better than the other."

"Why?"

"Because feelings make you human. What, should I love someone who shows no emotion whatsoever, hides his personality, and is cold all the time?"

"Well, no, but-"

"I like people who feel, Severus. And maybe you'll like me better when you let your guard down a bit."

"You know..." Severus whispered. "At first I joined Dumbledore for Lily and only Lily... but now... the more I think about it... the Dark Lord is doing exactly what Harry's uncle and my father did; torturing innocent people to prove he has power, that he has control. I can't help someone who stands for that."

"You should go to sleep, Severus. You have a son now, you need energy."

"Yeah... sleep." He realized he hadn't slept in a week. "Yeah."

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"Daddy?" Harry mumbled. "What were Moony and you talking about?"

"Some adult stuff. Harry, do you want to go to a park today?" Severus asked, handing Harry and Remus both a plate of eggs. "Can we?!"

"I don't see why not. Today is Saturday, so I have no classes today. We'll go in a little bit, when it's warmer." 

Breakfast was over soon enough, and Harry was full of energy. "Maybe we go in the morning instead?" Remus asked Severus as Harry started throwing a rubber ball at the wall, which would ricochet back to Harry, and the cycle would repeat. "There would be less people, and maybe it would get his energy out. I'm pretty sure he's denting your wall, Severus."

"He can't dent a stone wall, you doof. Crack, maybe. Dent, no. Harry, do you want to go now or later?"

"Now!"

"Then go get dressed. Make sure to have on a thicker jumper, it's getting colder."

Harry ran to his room after setting Lily on Remus' lap. "Good thinking, Remus," Severus mumbled as he got a start on dishes. "This is his first time really being out, besides two times we went shopping. More like one time, he had an attack the first."

"I'm ready!" Harry exclaimed. "Can we go now? Please?!" Severus nodded, letting out a chuckle. "Of course we can. We are going to apparate there, alright? But first we have to floo to the Three Broomsticks."

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"Have fun today, Harry?" Severus asked as Harry sat happily on his shoulders. "Yeah! And I beat you and Re!"

"Yes, you're very fast."

"Why did Moony have to go, Daddy?" Harry asked. His eyes were drooping slightly and his chin was resting on Severus' head. "He had to go home, bambi."

"Can he come live with us?"

"Honey, he has his own home. Maybe if he becomes a teacher, but I don't think that will happen."

"Nigh' nigh', Daddy."

Severus continued walking as Harry lightly dozed, the gears in his head turning. Maybe having a second person to support him would help? If having Remus there full time helped Harry's recovery, it was something he was willing to consider.