"Christmas?" Harry asked quietly.
"Yes, Harry. Christmas is in a few weeks. Is there anything you want?" Severus asked. Harry cocked his head to one side in confusion.
"Want anything?"
"Yes... Harry, do you know anything about Christmas?"
"Yeah... You get people things that they'll like?"
"Right. But, you also get things from other people. Is there anything you want for Christmas? Like a new toy, or something?"
Harry cuddled against Remus as he thought.
"Ca' I have a new bed in Daddy's room?"
Damn you, Umbitch, Severus thought as he sighed. Ever since the whole deal with Umbridge, Harry had changed. The nightmares were worse. He wet the bed. Most nights, he would be found, trying to stay awake by playing with his toys on his bed, under his blanket.
The only 'good' thing to come out of it was that Harry had most definitely gotten closer to Lucius and Draco, though he was still rather shy around the young Malfoy.
"Oh, bambi..."
"I-I don' wanna stay in my room no more!"
"Why not?"
"C-Cause the mean lady's gonna take me away again!" Harry exclaimed.
"Harry... Oh, Harry... How about you sleep in my room for now? We'll figure it all out, but you still need your own room."
"Why?"
"Well, where else are your clothes and toys going to go?" Remus asked. "And where are you going to hide when we're playing hide and seek?"
"I dunno!"
"How about we go to a toy store today?" Remus suggested. "You can look around, and we'll make a list of things you maybe want?"
"You won't get everything on your list, and everything you get might not even be on your list, 'kay?"
Harry nodded. "Okay... Do we hafta go now?" he mumbled.
"No. We'll go after lunch."
"Daddy?" Harry moved from Remus' arms to Severus'. "The lady's gonna take me again, isn't she? She's gonna take me 'way forever, an' I'll never ever see you again..."
"Oh, bambi, that isn't true-"
"Yes it is! Sh-She's gonna take me away forever! A-And then I'mma hafta go back to Uncle and Auntie's!" His eyes welled up with tears.
Severus felt like panicking.
"Hey, no. No, she won't do that, you aren't back there!" he exclaimed. "She went away, okay? What she did was illegal, she can't come near you ever again!"
Harry sniffled. "Y-Yes she w-will... Sh-she will, she'll c-come for me!"
"Harry, listen. She won't. She won't come for you. Ever. Never, ever, I promise."
"She can't, Harry," Remus joined in. "Severus is right. She can't, ever again. She went away, she's in jail."
"J-J-Jail!?"
"Yes, jail, so she can't come here."
"How about," Remus started. "We take a little vacation. We can just get away for a little bit, calm down, relax. It'll just be the three of us."
"V-Vacation?"
"Do you know what that is, Harry?" Severus asked, thankful Harry seemed to calm down a bit. The boy shook his head. He had heard of them before, he knew his old family went on them a lot.
"It's sort of... You go to a place that is not home. Maybe a hotel, or a cabin, or a house you rent for the vacation. You just relax, take it easy for a while. A few days to a few weeks. It is a lot of fun."
"J-Just us three?"
"Of course, cub."
"Does that sound okay?" Severus asked. "Maybe that's where we could go for Christmas?"
"O-Okay... 's long as she don't take me 'way again."
"She won't. Never again," Severus promised.
Harry fell asleep shortly after. It was no surprise. In fact, the two men were shocked he hadn't fallen asleep at the table earlier that day. He really was having trouble sleeping, but the last thing either of them wanted to do was give him sleeping potions every night. They could be damaging for children, especially if taken every single night.
"What are we going to do?" Severus asked after placing Harry in his bed to sleep.
"I don't know, Sev."
Severus chose to lay across the couch with his head on Remus' lap. "You know, for a dungeon bat, you are quite cute when you do stuff like this."
"One, no I'm not. Two, don't say anything to anyone else. It would ruin my reputation," Severus mumbled, though a small smile was placed on his lips.
"Do you think therapy might help at all?" Severus questioned. He highly doubted it, but as Harry's 'Pappy', he thought Remus should have a say in the matter. "I mean... I know it can help, but he's so young. Wouldn't that just be forcing him to talk to a stranger?"
Remus stroked Severus' dark hair, which made the man blush and cover his face with his hands. "Oh, none of that now. And no. I really don't think that would help him... At least not right now."
"Not right now?"
"Well, it could be helpful if he were... say... thirteen, and was still... struggling. I don't think it would help right now because he is already afraid of people. He's afraid of almost all the staff, besides Poppy and Minerva. He is still cautious around Lucius, and while he isn't afraid around Draco, he is horribly shy. Now imagine sending him to a random person he's never met before, and locking him in an office for an hour."
Yeah... That would not work well.
"He's even cautious around Thomas, now. Umbridge did a number on him," Remus pointed out.
"I wanted to kill her... when she pulled his hair. When she tried to hit him."
"So did I..."
"All I wanted was to shout the curse, because she'd be gone. She wouldn't be able to hurt my little boy anymore. I think the only reason I didn't was because then, I wouldn't be here for Harry. I'd be in Azkaban. Speaking of which, how's it going with getting Bla- getting Sirius out?"
"It's a struggle. No one wanted to represent him in court. Kingsley is going to do it, and the Minister is going to be the final judge. No Wizengamot, thank Merlin. They'd never give him a chance...
"From what I've heard, it should be over with within the next month. I haven't been allowed to see him yet... I hate myself for letting him go there..."
"It wasn't your fault, Remus."
"But it is. I knew how protective he was over Harry, over Lily and James. I knew he would go batshit crazy if anything happened, and when something happened, I wasn't there to calm him down."
"What... What... happened, to him...?" Severus asked softly. "When we were in school..."
Remus let out a sigh. "He... His mother, mostly... At first, he was their pride and joy... He was everything to them. He played piano, he played Quidditch, he was handsome and polite. The perfect little Black, to please his parents. But then he got sorted into Gryffindor. He was... ecstatic to be in Gryffindor.
"His parents should've just disowned him after that. His mother degraded him. He was worthless at home. He... it was so bad. He was so tired of everything. He wasn't even allowed to talk to Regulus..."
Severus felt a sharp stabbing feeling in his chest.
Regulus Black. His first ever boyfriend, and late lover.
"He started smoking cigarettes in sixth year. He wanted to try and smoke pot, but I found out, and wouldn't let him. I helped him get clean, and a year after he got clean... Lily and James were gone."
"I... I didn't know..." Severus confessed.
"It... You didn't know because he hid it. Really well. Even so, he was still a prat in school. So was James. You were, sometimes, but they were the worst out of you three..."
"If... When he gets out, I want him to be a part of Harry's life," Severus whispered, shocking himself and his partner.
"Really?! You mean it!?"
"I... I think... yeah. I don't know why, but I think it would be nice for Harry to have him around...
"Do you ever think about the war?" Severus asked out of nowhere.
"What war? The five year ago war?"
"No... The war that is going to happen. The war that our son is going to be in the middle of. The one where the Dark Lord is going to try and-and... and kill m-my little boy..."
"I thought you said You-Know-Who would make a deal?"
"I... For a little while yes, but... but..."
"Well... Is there any way we could start defeating him now? He's immortal. He was born human, so he had to've done something!"
Severus froze.
"Horcruxes..." he mumbled.
"What?" Remus asked. "I couldn't hear you-"
"The Dark Lord made Horcruxes... I'm positive... if we destroyed them before he came back-"
"Then someone would just have to give the final blow," they said in unison.
"Most likely Harry, because of the prophecy, but he only has to be the one who kills him. By turning him mortal again, we technically are not killing him..."
"I have research to do," Severus said. He made to stand, but Remus pushed him down.
"Not so fast."
"But-"
"I've done advanced research on Horcruxes, Severus. I understand how they work, how they are made, and how they are destroyed. I guess it was a good idea to take advanced Defense in sixth and seventh... Anyway. If he does not have his body, which he most certainly does not, he can only return with a potion. To make that potion, someone has to have some part of his soul that is not a Horcrux."
"He's too weak..."
"Precisely. You can wait until after holiday to research."
"Why? We aren't doing anything right now-"
Remus' pink, chapped lips landed on Severus' pale ones. "Well, who said I didn't just want to sit here all day?"
"Cheeky wolf."
"Aww... my little bat made a pet name for me!"
There moment of peace was interrupted by a loud scream.
Remus got to Severus' room first, where Harry was laying on the floor, clutching his head in one hand, Lily in the other.
"Shit," Remus muttered. He took Harry off the floor and set him on the bed.
"Harry," he said softly. "It's Pappy. Can you move your hand? Please?"
"N-No! Daddy! W-Want b-b-both!"
"Daddy's here," Severus joined. "I'm here, bambi. Can you move your hand for us? Did you get hurt? What happened?"
"M-Me fell... H-Having a nigh'mare! N-Nigh'mare! L-Lady made me go b-back to-to Uncle! U-Uncle hurt!"
"Oh, honey, it's okay. We're here, it's okay, it's all okay."
"H-Hurt me 'gain!"
"That was a dream, honey. Just a dream. It wasn't real," Remus said. "I'm going to heal your head really quick, alright? It won't hurt, okay?"
Harry nodded. Remus Accio'd a bruise salve, and gently spread it over the spot on Harry's forehead that was quickly bruising.
"It should feel better in a few minutes, okay?"
"What was your nightmare about?" Severus asked. The small family was sitting side by side, both Remus and Severus hugging Harry close.
"I-I got taken 'way..." Harry started. "And I got put back to the Dursley's... U-Uncle was there. H-He got the belt, and it hurt... a-and Auntie was w-watching... sh-she didn' do nothing..."
"Oh, honey. It wasn't real, okay? It was just a nightmare..."
Remus kissed Harry's hair lightly. "Do you want to read for a little bit?"
Harry shook his head. "Christmas?"
"Christmas shopping?" Severus asked.
"Wanna go outside... inside is... it..."
"You want to go outside for a while?" Remus asked. "You don't want to be inside for now?"
"Outside is nice."
The two men shared a look. "We can go outside. Diagon alley shouldn't be too busy today. Want to make your list while we're there?"
"Like... books an' toys?" Harry asked quietly.
"Yeah. It might be a good distraction from everything for now, okay?"
"Kay... Doggy hat?!" Harry, of course, got excited whenever he could go outside, because it meant he could wear his hat with the ears on it. Even if he was quiet, he didn't see as down as he was before.
"Of course, bambi. You can wear your doggy hat."
"Yay!" he exclaimed quietly. After a half hour of their cuddle-hug session, they were on their way to Diagon Alley, Harry wearing his beloved doggy hat.