Sorry for the long wait! I'm having really bad writer's block, and I can't guarantee a fast upload of following chapters either. Thank you so much for waiting and sticking with this story. I hope you enjoy this chapter.
Severus sighed, knowing that he wouldn't be able to put it off much longer. Not with Madam Pomfrey giving him a very pointed look saying that, unless he wanted to be treated like a bedridden patient, he should leave.
He decided to very wisely heed her advice.
He could feel himself dragging his feet as he made his way closer to the entrance to the hospital wing. And it most certainly didn't help that Lily was holding his upper arm and was not-so-sneakily trying to pull Severus towards the entrance. And towards him.
"Hello, Potter!" Severus heard from next to him, way sooner than he'd like to hear it. Had he really already reached the Gryffindor? He could have sworn that they had only been moving for a couple of seconds. He averted his gaze for as long as possible, childishly putting off the interaction as long as he could.
"Hey Evans," Severus heard from the side, in the cocky, boorish way that was common for Potter towards Lily. Severus grimaced and rolled his eyes at the playboy behavior. Of course Potter hadn't changed at all after the discovery. With Severus caring for a child of all things and being forced to the limits of his comfort zones to accommodate everyone else, of course Potter would get off easy.
He froze up when he heard a calmly muttered "Hi, Snape," in a much more mature way than was expected. Not that he was expecting to be addressed at all. Or wanted to be addressed.
Severus stubbornly kept his eye contact on the floor, unknowingly pouting slightly. His attention was diverted from the frankly very interesting floor to the child in his arms when Harry started giggling. "Papa is so cute!" he declared, bringing his chubby hand up and poking the Slytherin in the cheek.
Severus just stared at the child, affronted, not being able to say anything in response. Where did this child see any cuteness in this lanky, slimy individual? The almost exaggerated expression of pure dubiety on his face just made Harry giggle harder.
Unbeknownst to both, James had been focusing on the duo. And he almost didn't admit to himself that he saw, and understood, what Harry was talking about.
James just shook his head slightly, looking away and biting his lip. He just didn't know.
Both males got shaken out of their stupors when they heard a bright "Daddy!" Severus had to quickly readjust his hold on the child as Harry turned in his hands, reaching out to the Gryffindor.
James didn't have a moment to think before he suddenly had an armful of toddler, adorably grinning up at him, eyes sparkling. Harry's attention was diverted by the red and gold tie in front of him, and he moved his small chubby hand to grab at it curiously.
James unconsciously tightened his hold.
"So, Potter... why are you still here? Waiting for someone?" The redhead asked, clearly trying to prompt something out of the seeker. Her eyes very obviously darted over to Severus, who met her gaze with a scorching glare.
"Well, I just, um..." James started in response, not concluding as he was distracted by Harry tugging his tie a little too hard. "Uhhh..."
"How articulate, Potter" Severus uttered dryly, a little too loud to be muttering under his breath.
James pursued his lips, attempting to not rise up to the bait, and choosing to focus on trying to get his tie back from Harry instead. Severus looked away awkwardly. The Gryffindor was apparently trying to be civil, but since their entire relationship was defined only by severe animosity, there wasn't really anything else that connected them.
Besides the child right there of course. How that fact fell out of Severus's mind for even a second made no sense to him. This was a very big factor that literally changed EVERYTHING in his life!
Severus glanced back up at the duo, finding himself grimace as he witnessed them. It also didn't help that Harry being in Potter's hands emphasized just how similar the two looked.
"I just- I wanted to spend more time with Harry," James finally provided, gingerly placing a hand on the child- his son's- head.
Severus and Lily exchanged a glance, and he knew in an instance what she was going to suggest. Sadly, he didn't respond fast enough to prevent it.
He also may not have completely tried because, as a Slytherin, he knew that he wouldn't be able to stop Lily. He knew to quit while he was ahead.
"Well, Dumbledore suggested that Sev could show Harry around the campus since it's a free day today. Maybe you could join them?"
Harry gasped and grinned widely, resorting to nod rapidly to express his excitement. He wiggled around, forcing his daddy to reinforce his grip on the child so he wouldn't fall.
James, on the other hand, didn't respond immediately. He just looked at Lily, blinking. His eyes darted over to the Slytherin, who simply broke eye contact without saying anything, which surprised James. He would have expected the other to protest considering everything that happened so far in the day. "Uhm, yeah. I'd really enjoy that," he concluded.
Harry squealed, his arms gripping his daddy's. "Me and daddy and papa goin' outside an' we're goin' to play and have so much fun an'-" he continued, babbling on and on in excitement, and making Severus feel a confusion meld of emotions. He felt very heartwarmed and loving with how excited the boy was, but he also started to feel guilty as the boy went on. He knew he wouldn't enjoy the outing as much as Harry would hope.
"Anyway, Sev," Lily said, turning to address the Slytherin. "I'm going to stay here with Mary for now, but I think I'll drop by your room in the afternoon. Have fun without me, and tell me everything that happens, alright?" Lily gave him a pointed look, before waving goodbye to Harry and skipping back into the main part of the office.
"Bye-bye," Harry uttered softly, waving a small hand from his position in his Daddy's arms, before reaching out to his gobsmacked papa, who absentmindedly took the child while looking at the redhead's retreating back.
Next thing Severus knew, he was outside walking on the grass alongside the Great Lake with a child in his arms and motherf*cking Potter walking next to him. No wonder everyone was staring at them.
Harry didn't seem to mind from where he was being carried in the raven's arms. He was waving at the people behind the trio as he peeked above his papa's shoulder with his sparkling eyes.
Severus wanted so badly to yell at the man besides him and let all of his concerns spill onto the grass hill below, but all he could do was grit his teeth. And even that didn't work since Harry quite easily noticed the tenseness, expressing concern and making Severus feel guilty.
All of this turmoil because of him.
Severus could feel the Gryffindor beside him leaning closer, most likely to grab Harry (Severus couldn't tell since his eyes were stuck to the grassy floor), but Potter was halted when Severus stopped short.
Maybe Severus was clairvoyant, or maybe he just had a gram of a terror-filled self-preserving sixth sense, but somehow Severus knew something was about to go wrong. And when he raised his head his eyes rested on a certain pair, standing far enough that he wouldn't hear them easily but close enough for them to notice him easily, who were currently missing their leader and their pet rat.
Severus was extremely tempted to turn around and book it, because even though he could take on the marauders if he wanted to, somehow he wasn't feeling up to having a repeat of what happened earlier that day, where the entirety of his world turned upside down and covered him in rotting wildlife and sewage. Okay, maybe the description was a bit much, but he earned it, by Merlin!
But before he could act on his decision, he stiffened up at the blatant intrusion of a large hand on his shoulder. Just there without permission. How dare he? The raven turned his head with barely sealed contempt towards the seeker, who surprisingly was not looking at the raven. Rather, he was looking ahead towards his group of idiot Gryffindors.
"Wait here," Potter said calmly, and before Severus could get a scathing word in, James started making his way towards the pair, leaving the Slytherin fairly gobsmacked.
Severus just stood there holding Harry, who started wiggling with his desire to be put down. The raven absentmindedly placed him down and squatted, engaging the toddler, but still not fully present. He was wary of the others, but they were unluckily out of earshot for him, leaving him a bit frustrated.
His attention was taken off the Gryffindors at Harry's incessant attempts to capture his papa's regard, holding up several blades of grass and a flower up to his papa. Unknowingly, the child did an excellent job of distracting the Slytherin from the most probable imminent doom, and he even managed to almost forget about the tormentors.
Sadly, that didn't last very long.
Severus was startled when a large foot stomped into his line of vision, subconsciously bringing Harry into his arms to protect him.
Feeling like he was stuck moving in slow motion, his eyes travelled up the leg of the intruder to land on the face of the very livid guard dog of the moronic pranksters.
Severus could almost see the cartoonish puff of air exuding from the Gryffindor's nostrils, but this situation was not the exaggerated anger that resulted in childish amusement. This would undoubtedly be much more crippling. "That CHILD-"
Sirius was halted when James caught up to him and grabbed his shoulder, intending to accost his friend judging from his stern expression. However, neither of them were able to start the unquestionable yelling spout due to someone else interrupting them.
"Uncle Padfoot!" Harry called with glittering eyes from his place in Severus's arms. This exclamation caused a reaction similar to the one earlier that day; the present marauders and Severus were shocked into silence. At least until the child started wiggling in the Slytherin's arms from excitement.
Remus, who at this point had leisurely caught up and was standing on the other side of Sirius, merely stared at the boy, almost lost in thought. "Uncle?" he remarked softly.
Severus was startled once again when James leaned closer to him, basically jumping as he sat and jostling Harry enough to have the boy be concerned about his papa. Wow, it's not like the emotional trauma Severus went through that morning was happening again against every one of his conceivable wishes.
Why can he never get a break?
Although this time Potter wasn't being very forceful with his demands. Which was actually even more unsettling to Severus.
Potter held his hands up, attempting to calm the panic the raven was going through. "Hey, uh, I just wanted to ask if Siri can carry him? He seems really excited to see him," not fully being able to hide his joy. The Gryffindor was elated that his friends were seemingly in his child's life in the future, having to bite his lip to avoid the giant smile from spreading on his face.
Severus gazed at James, still overwhelmed and tense, but it was very clear by the tightening of his grip on Harry what his response to the question was.
This no doubt miffed the dog, who started snarling at the Slytherin, stepping forward and intimidatingly hovering over him. "You sleazy, slimy snake. How dare you act like that boy would be in danger with me, I am a much better role model to him than any Slytherin would be, let alone his papa Snivellus."
Severus's expression hardened with each sentence said, and a sneer emerged on his face when the Gryffindor attempted to reach a hand out towards the child. He tightened his hold on his son, but it turns out that Severus didn't need to do anything, as Harry scrunched his face and batted the Gryffindor's arm away.
"Don't hurt papa!" The child declared, adorably and stubbornly glaring at his godfather, who just stared back at him in utter shock. "Papa is kind," he continued softly, wrapping his arms around his papa's.
Sirius shook himself out of his shock, where he then tried to inform the child of the blatant lies he was clearly fed. "Harry-"
"No!" Harry cried, rubbing his face against his papa's arm. "I'm mad at you. Say sorry to papa!"
Sirius's calm expression started showing his trepidation. "Harry-" he attempted again.
"Say sorry!" It was clear that Harry would not allow him to continue without apologizing to the Slytherin, who himself was just watching in anxious dismay as to what was happening.
Severus watched Sirius, alarmed at what could end up happening. He didn't want any interaction with the Gryffindor, not even a coerced apology. Though Severus would have normally enjoyed seeing the other squirm with long-coming comeuppance, this was not the time and place for it.
Sirius's eyes shifted around, trying to determine what he should do. Once he locked eyes with Severus, however, he clearly made a decision, as he grit his teeth in anger, turned around, and stormed off towards the castle. Remus looked back at the father-son duo, before turning and following his friend.
Severus watched them retreat, before remembering that there was another member of the group still present and shifting his gaze towards the final Gryffindor.
James had stood up, focused also on the retreating pair, before drawing his attention back at the Slytherin. "I'm sorry, uh, about him." It seemed like James wanted to promise a change in his friend's behavior, but he just sighed, not letting the words leave his lips.
He smiled down at Harry, with a loving expression that was so foreign to Severus, though he knew what it was. He had lost hope that the expression would ever be shown towards him by anyone anymore.
"Bye Harry. I'll see you again soon," James promised lovingly, before his eyes darted up towards the other father, his smile fading, as he then turned and ran off after his friends.
Severus was left kneeling with Harry tightly clutching his arm, completely befuddled, with the boy waving at his daddy's retreating back.