"What?" Severus said as he looked to the headmaster. He was brewing down in his chambers while Harry and Draco were down on the quidditch pitch when Albus summoned him up to his office.
"I said, Sirius Black has been released from Azkaban a few weeks ago and he requested to see young Harry. And I am telling you to let him," the headmaster replied back.
"When did he insist on visiting?" he strained out. The last thing he wanted was Black to invade in his life again.
"He will stop by sometime this afternoon, I believe he is aiming for lunch. I haven't yet told him you are currently Harry's guardian."
"Albus! Do you know what he's going to say to that?" Severus half screamed back at the old man. What if Black threatened to take him away? Severus couldn't live without having Harry in his life again. The castle has already seen him slip into one depression. And he doesn't think Lucius could handle him going through another one.
"Harry will remain in your care do not worry about that," Albus said sensing his potions masters uneasiness.
"But what if Harry would rather go with him?" he voiced very quietly. And he didn't realize he spoke it out loud till Albus answered him.
"I feel you have nothing to worry about there," Dumbledore stood and walked to his window and looked down at the quidditch pitch. The boys have stared there way back to the castle. Harry was laughing and lightly shoving Draco who looked as if he wished the ground would swallow him up. "I believe Harry is happy where he is."
Severus let out a great sigh. Let's hope that was true. He wished the headmaster a good day and returned down to his lab for the boys should be back soon and then... Black would grace his wonderful presence in his home. Again he sighed to himself. He tried his best to be a good father to the boy. Sure, he didn't let him do certain things like all parents did. But what if Black walked into his chambers, spewed this nonsense and promised Harry anything he wanted? Would Harry leave him just like that? He was brought out of his thoughts when he heard footsteps running towards him. He looked up just in time to see Harry and Draco running towards him. Harry got to him first, he was a little faster than Draco running or flying and threw his arms around him then came Draco.
"And what do two think you are doing?" Severus asked with a smile as he hugged the two children.
"Can Draco stay for lunch today? Please, dad?" Harry asked as he looked up at him, his green eyes shining.
"He can stay," Severus told him as he releases released the two boys.
"Come on, race you to the chambers," Harry said to Draco and the pair took off again with Draco still trailing behind him. Severus smiles to himself as he watched them leave. He began walking towards his chambers as well and walked quicker than normal so he wouldn't leave the boys standing at his door to long. Who knows what conversation Salzar would start.
"Sal who got here first?" He heard Harry say as he turned the corner. The two were huffing and puffing, Draco particularly was breathing heavy, and Sal was in his portrait laughing at the two of them.
"Severus!" Salzar shouted as he saw the man in black walk around the corner. Harry looked confused at first but then turned around.
"Dad!" Harry shouted as he turned around and faced him.
"Sal, what have you been doing?"
"We were having a discussion on who beat who to the door," Salzar was explaining when Harry cut him off.
"And I won," he said with a smug look on his face.
"You always do," Severus said as he gave the password and stepped into his quarters. He did some remodelling over the years. Draco stayed in the chambers more often than in the dorms. Hermione and Ron visited him frequently. The red-headed boy could get on his nerves sometimes, but the bushy brown haired girl could strike up a conversation that makes even him question somethings. She truly is the brightest witch of her year. Instead of just having Harry's bedroom and his own, he had to make a similar one for Draco. He stayed on the weekends or during break. Lucius would normally visit them during Christmas break and during Summer, they would bounce back and forth between Malfoy manor or Spinners End. Instead of potion catalogues on his coffee table, he had some children's books, games, and homework papers scattered across it. Potions, vials and cauldrons were not scattered around the room or on bookshelf's or above the mantle. Now there were collectable figurines of different animal's. Potted plants of all species were placed in the corners of the room. On the mantle were pictures of him, Harry, Lucius, Draco, more of Harry's friends or just fun occasions. Severus looked around the room and smiled to himself. His life completely changed since Harry came into his life. He can remember how many times he sat on the same couch but the room had a much darker feel to it, and he was alone, drinking fire whiskey, and read a potions catalogue.
Harry noticed the change of expression on his fathers face. He knew sometimes his father would begin to remember the past and his face would go cloudy with sadness. Then after a few minutes, he would glance around the room and smile to himself and return to normal. Harry didn't know what specifically the man remembered of what brought him out of it but he was happy none the less that his father comes out of it. He truly did love his father and would be nowhere else. He had everything he wanted here. Friends, a father, a nice place to live and goes to a great school and his father teaches him and Draco some regular schooling during the summer.
"Hey Harry, I'm gonna lay down for a little before lunch, give me your broom and I'll put it back for you," Draco said as he reached out for his broom. Harry passed it to him and he then proceeded to walk down the hall to their rooms.
"Harry I need to talk to you about something," Severus said as he made his way to the kitchen. He stole a glance at the clock and found noon was fast approaching.
"What is it dad?"
"I never told you this -I was gonna wait till you were older- but you have a godfather," Severus started out nervously.
"Really? Who is he?" he questioned the older man.
"You already know him," he said, "he was in the papers recently." Harry thought for a moment or two before his face turned to shock.
"Sirius Black," he said as a statement and not a question.
"Yes, that is him. I am telling you this now because he has scheduled a visit with the headmaster to see you this afternoon, preferably around lunch. Don't worry I'll take Draco and do... something for a little while and then come back. But I must warn you, Black and I didn't really get along while in school."
"You two went to school together?"
"He was in my year," Severus told him, "He was one of the most popular of our year, along with your father, Lupin, Pettigrew and your mother."
"What about you?" Harry asked him.
"I was at the very bottom of popularity. Hence, why I was mostly picked on." Severus turned to the stove and began to prepare lunch while Harry sat at the table. He has a godfather, who doesn't like Severus, the man he considers his father. How bad don't they like each other? Was it like him when he was with Pansy? He didn't mind the girl, he just wasn't particularly fond of her.
At around twelve there came a knock on the door. Severus and Harry had finished eating and Draco was still in bed sleeping -Severus didn't want to disturb him- when the knock sounded. Growing more nervous then what he let on, Severus rose up from the couch and opened the door. Before him stood a man who was only a few inches shorter than him. His wild curly black hair that ran to about his shoulders still looked like it had back in his school days. Harry watched the interaction from his seat on the couch.
"Black," Severus said his voice neutral.
"Snivellus," he replied back. Harry took note of the horrid nickname. Already he didn't like the man.
"Hmm, seems we can't give up childish games now can we?" Severus said his voice laced with sarcasm. Sirius sneered at the man and pushed past him. He glanced around the room before his eyes landed on Harry. He let a big, almost comical, grin spread across his face. "I'll be in my lab if you need me," he said more to Harry then to Black.
When Severus was out of sight Sirius crossed the room and sat in an armchair near the boy.
"You look identical to your father. Except for your eyes of course. Those eyes are pure Lily," was the first thing he said.
"I've been told that quite a few times," he said in a low voice. Merlin did he wish Severus was still out here.
"The headmaster didn't tell me what you are doing down here. What, Snape giving you potion lessons?"
"No, I'm quite good at potions. And I'm down here because I live here," Harry said carefully.
"Live here? What, so Snivellus is acting like your father and pretending to care?" Black said in a mocking tone. The boy had to be joking with him. But Harry was not, and this is where he lost his fuse.
"He actually does care thank you very much," he said very pointedly, "And I would appreciate it if you would stop calling him that ridiculous name." Black sat there in shock. The boy had to be out of his mind.
"Obviously he's never told you about all the things that happened in school-" he got cut off.
"No, he's told me. Other people have told me. But you know what? He's moved on. He's an excellent father to me. I'm happy living with him. You can judge his childhood self all you want but you can't judge him as he is now," and with that Harry rose up from his seat, walked to Draco's room and slammed the door. That did two things. One, it woke up a cranky Draco, and two alerted Severus that there was something wrong. He slipped out of his lab to find Black sitting on the couch with the expression of a fish.
"Care to explain what you said to my son Black?"
"Your son? Don't make me laugh. What did you do? Poison him into liking you? Do you try and buy his affection? Do yo-" he was cut short when Severus slapped him across the face.
"You can either respect me or you can leave. I'm not tolerating this, Sirius" he said as he said the man's name, " I do care. You can ask anyone in this school and they will tell you the same thing. I love Harry more than anything. I would do anything, I would give anything for him. And you need to keep in mind that he feels the same way. You may lose him before you even have him, Sirius. I can tell from his reaction he doesn't care too much for you right now. It would do well to change that."
Sirius looked at the man in front of him. Really, truly looked at him. He found him to not be the small boy from their school years. He could see the emotion behind his words that he meant every word of it. He would do anything to help Harry, to care for him and give him anything he needed. Then he recalled Harry's reaction. The boy truly did care for the man in front of him. He let out a great sigh and stood from his seat and walked over to the mantel. He looked at a picture of Severus, Harry, Lucius and Draco Malfoy all at a beach.
"He hangs around the Malfoy's?" he questioned him.
"Lucius is an uncle to him, or as he calls him uncle Luc, and Draco is a brother to him. He's actually here," Severus told him as he got himself a drink.
"I need to apologize to him," Sirius said at last after a few minutes of silence. Severus nodded his head and went down the hall to show him were Harry's room was located. As they passed down the hall, he also took notice of the pictures hanging on the wall of more family moments. Soon they came to a room that had a snitch on the front of it. Severus opened the door to find the room empty.
"Where is he?"
"I wonder..." Severus said as he turned around to the other door that had a broom on it. He slowly opened it to find a sleeping Harry and a protective Draco wrapped around him. He looked at his two boys and smiled. Draco would do anything for him, and Black figured this out as well. He quietly shut the door and made his way back out into the living room. To buy sometime Severus showed him some photos he took throughout the years of Harry and the family. What he didn't realize that at the beginning of one of the albums, was a picture of him.
"Severus," Sirius said on the brink of laughter, "I need to ask something."
"What is it?" the man called from the kitchen.
"You in a princess outfit," he said trying to keep the laughter out of his voice. From the kitchen, you heard a cup drop and Severus running into the living room.
"Excuse me?" Sirius passed him the picture and burst out laughing at the expression on his face. Harry chose that moment to come out of the room and found the two men like that. Severus set the picture on the table and sat down on the couch with his head in his hands and his face beat red.
"What?" Harry asked them. Sirus just pointed to the picture and Severus just looked more embarrassed. Harry took a look at the picture to find it to be a young Severus in a maid outfit. He instantly burst out laughing.
"W-why?" Sirius laughed out.
"Lily."
"How did he get you to do that?"
"I'll say one thing. I am a prisoner of chocolate."