"You are the child of blood traitors who fought against the Dark Lord," Snape said, speaking slowly and distinctly. "Your maternal uncles were martyred in the war. Neither the Prewitt nor the Weasley family is beloved among Death Eaters. Had Pettigrew murdered you in your bed and then appealed to a known Death Eater, your death would likely have purchased the sanctuary he sought."
"Aaaaaack, Mum!" Percy squeaked in protest as Molly's arms reflexively tightened around him.
"Percy," Arthur spoke urgently to his son (once he had prevented further maternal smothering), "you must see that this is not your fault. You did what any child would do тАУ you adopted a friendly animal as a pet. The Death Eater tricked you, just as he tricked all of us, but you were the most innocent of all."
Percy sniffled. "Yes, but I was тАУ well тАУ cross with you for bringing Harry into our home. I thought we have enough kids and Harry was just going to put us in danger if You Know Who ever came back." Snape scowled. "But all that time, I was the one who brought the most danger to Burrow. I blamed Harry, but I was more at fault than he was!"
Arthur sighed. "Son, it's not fair to blame Harry for being a target any more than it's fair to hold you accountable for not recognizing Pettigrew for what he was. Both of you are children, caught up in events that are entirely beyond your control. There are things in this world that we can't control, Percy. Things that don't follow the rules."
Percy dragged out his handkerchief and wiped his eyes. "But that's not fair," he whined, sounding even younger than Ginny.
Snape ground his teeth together and thanked Merlin that Harry appeared to grasp the essential unfairness of life much better than the average Gryffindor.
"No, it's not fair," Arthur agreed. "But it is the way the world is. And that's why there are times when people of good conscience have to take a stand, even if it does put them at greater risk." His voice became more firm. "That is why your mother and I chose to welcome Harry into our family. You are not old enough to fully understand our reasoning, but I expect you to trust us to do what is right for the entire family. I don't want to hear any more of this talk about Harry not belonging with us. Do you understand?"
"Yes, sir," Percy said, a bit shamefaced. "I'm sorry."
Arthur relented and ruffled his son's hair. "I know you are. Now тАУ have we made it clear that you're not to feel at all responsible for Pettigrew?"
Percy managed to extricate himself from Molly's embrace and stood, squaring his shoulders. "Yes, Dad. Thanks. Thanks, Mum."
"You're very welcome," Molly replied, brushing his hair back from his face and visibly restraining herself from hugging him again. "Do you want to floo back to the Burrow with us now, dear? It sounds like you've had a very stressful day. No one will mind if you leave Hogwarts a bit early." She looked to Snape for confirmation and he shrugged. He certainly wouldn't care.
Percy blushed. "Erm, well, I тАУ ah тАУ sort of promised to sit with Davidella at the Feast," he explained awkwardly.
Molly and Arthur exchanged an amused look. "Well, then, you surely don't want to keep her waiting," Arthur said, patting his son on the shoulder. "We'll see you at the station tomorrow."
The two adult Weasleys turned to the floo. "Thank you, Severus," Arthur smiled.
"You're welcome," Snape said, managing тАУ barely тАУ to keep his tone courteous. Unfortunately, his polite reply to Arthur allowed Molly to grab him, and he was caught in a crushing hug and noisy kiss before he could dodge behind a suitably bulky piece of furniture.
"You are such a good man, Severus Snape!" Molly announced, before following her husband into the floo.
Snape snarled as he fought his robes back into position, then turned a deadly glare on the young Gryffindor who was the cause of all this aggravation.
"Erm, ah, uhтАж" Percy trailed off in complete confusion.
"Have you disturbed my evening sufficiently, Mr Weasley, or is there another absurd confession you wish to make? Perhaps you are the one responsible for the Great Gringotts' Robbery of 1673?"
Astonishingly, despite his most snide tone, the redheaded fiend had the temerity to smile. "No, sir. Thank you, sir. I'll try not to be so foolish in the future."
"Do not make promises you are unable to keep," Snape spat, striding to the door and throwing it open with a gesture even a Gryffindor could not mistake.
"Erm, right. Um, well, thanks for everything. Well, everything except the whack," Percy added cheekily, sounding almost like one of the twins.
Snape gripped the door harder, fighting down the urge to give the newly annoying brat a real smack. "Out."
Even Percy couldn't miss the glint in Snape's eye. "Right." He hurried out the door, pausing only long enough to call back, "Good night, Uncle Sev!"
"Don't call me that!" Snape shouted after him, knowing even as he did so that it was futile. The Weasleys were like an infestation of garden gnomes, nearly impossible to dislodge once they had established a foothold.
TBCтАж
*Chapter 41*: Chapter 41
To Snape's surprise, the winter holidays went remarkably smoothly. Oh, the faculty went through their usual bout of Christmas insanity, only worsened by the fact that it was тАУ for all intents and purposes тАУ Harry's first Christmas. But despite Snape's fears that Harry would use the holiday as an excuse for all sorts of excesses, the boy was actually rather more subdued than usual. He stuck close to Severus and appeared content merely to spend time in his guardian's company, preparing potion ingredients or doing his holiday homework while Snape corrected student papers. Snape found himself rather enjoying the brat's quiet companionship, and his anticipated longing for his previous solitude never materialized.
Christmas Day itself was somewhat problematic. Snape's dire predictions were, of course, realized: the rest of the Hogwarts faculty showed up on his doorstep at daybreak in order to witness Harry's first real Christmas. As annoying as their blithe disregard for his privacy was, the presence of the other teachers became positively disastrous when Harry flatly refused to believe that all those presents under the tree were for him. Amidst loud whispers of "Awwwww" and "How sweet", not to mention Hagrid's noisy sobbing, Snape found himself in the unexpected position of having to publicly reassure Harry that he did deserve to enjoy the holiday and to urge the child to accept the gifts. There was more than one bout of "happy tears" as the boy reacted to the largesse shown to him, and despite his most menacing growls, the little monster flew to him for reassurance each time - smearing his dressing gown with alarming quantities of snot and causing the other faculty to suffer minor apoplexies as they struggled to restrain their glee.
Snape was fairly certain that Flitwick had ruptured something in his effort to suppress his hysterics, and it was the only bright spot of his morning. Harry destroyed any reputation for harshness Snape might have regained after giving the brat that oh-so-public smacking in the Great Hall by planting himself on Snape's lap to unwrap and exclaim over every single present. By the time the pile of gifts under the tree had been exhausted, Sprout and Hagrid had practically sobbed themselves sick in a rhapsody of joy over "poor little Harry's happy new life", and Hooch's smirk would have done credit to a Slytherin. Snape was close to his breaking point, and when Dumbledore suggested that they all share some eggnog and sing Christmas carols to welcome in the day, it was only Minerva's quick intervention that saved the Headmaster from receiving an Unforgiveable right between the eyes.