Still holding his son's gaze, he said, "No. I will allow Harry to decide.
"But there is no way, short of Merlin, that I will require he make the decision now," he said softly. "Do not fear, Harry, I will not force you to do anything."
As the boy relaxed slightly into Severus' arms, he knew it had been the right thing to say. Both he and Harry had spent their childhood -- and he, much of his adulthood -- being forced to do one thing or another, on threat of beatings, torture or abandonment. In Severus' case, it was hard to know which of those was worst. Though many young children required the threat of punishment to obey, Harry did not. The boy already knew to his bones that disobedience for the least thing meant pain, but Severus wanted his son to learn to spread his wings and take chances, to learn that not everything meant as a suggestion was an order, and that he could do what he wanted . . . within acceptable bounds, of course.
He and Dumbledore spoke for a while longer, discussing when exactly Severus would return to work and how much he had to do to return his classroom to rights. Harry was exhausted, no doubt about it, mostly due to his nightmares and the tension of the last week of wondering when or where Black might show his ugly mug. The boy continued to cling to his "Daddy" even as he eased into sleep.
Severus was Daddy now.
That felt good.
A year ago, he would have sneered at the very idea. He would have railed against the possibility that a child would call him Father, never mind Daddy. He had given up all hope of such an occurrence, in fact, when the only love of his life gave birth, ten months after marrying James Potter.
And now he had Harry. A still-stick-thin boy who looked far younger than his seven years. A clingy little thing, with luminous green eyes, wary eyes. Hopeful eyes. A boy who trusted him, for no reason he could see, except that he had shown the boy kindness instead of cruelty. Warmth instead of cold disdain. Love, instead of antipathy.
He loved his son.
The thought hit him so profoundly it was almost frightening. And yet, a pervasive sense of peace swelled up to spread through Severus Snape, filling him and overflowing his heart, his lungs, everywhere inside, until he realized he was hugging Harry so close to his chest he could barely breathe.
He felt he could never let Harry go again.
Finally, Dumbledore took his leave, no closer to getting his way in the matter of Black than before. A victory, perhaps. A pyrrhic one, in that case, given what had happened to give Severus enough ammunition to thwart Albus' plans. But he would take what he could get. When offered only crumbs, he would not refuse them and starve whilst bemoaning the lack of a full loaf.
Severus had been sitting for many hours. Not long after Dumbledore left, he stood to work out a kink in his leg, with Harry still in his arms. He had thought, from Harry's slack mouth and the relaxation of his body, that they boy was asleep, but as soon as Severus stood, his eyes flicked open. Severus started to put him down, but Harry clutched at him still, so he just held Harry close. Harry settled on his hip, his little arms wrapped around his father's shoulder and neck. Eventually Severus would be more firm and insist Harry stand on his own, but if being held helped relax him for now, he would do whatever he could to mute Harry's anxiety.
"Daddy?" Harry whispered. He'd barely spoken above that level since he had been rescued.
"Yes, Harry?" Severus replied gently. He did everything gently the last two days.
Half of the boy's mouth turned up, but the smile did not seem real. The skin around his eyes tightened instead. "Are we going back to Spinner's End?"
Severus wanted to quell Harry's obvious fear about returning to the place from where he had been kidnapped. At the same time, he didn't want the fear to fester into a phobia. He watched his son's expression carefully as he said, "Not today, no. Perhaps we'll go tomorrow and collect our things before returning to school."
The immediate tension in Harry's limbs was unmistakable. Voice still soft, Severus continued, "You realize that the hospital Mr. Black is in, it's like a prison? He is unable to go anywhere on his own, except around the confines of his room." It should be a stinking cell, his inner voice cried. He quite agreed. "Not here, certainly, and not Spinner's End. He will not be able to get to you again, unless you wish to see him at some later time."
"I . . . I know."
What the head knew was not always believed by the heart, Severus mused. "We'll wait until tomorrow before going back, all right?"
Harry nodded quickly, apparently unnerved by the idea of returning to the place where he had been taken, when once he had been so comfortable there. He did not meet his father's eyes. "Will we sleep there, Daddy?"
"No. We don't need to stay away from the castle any more. I will return to teaching after tomorrow, and you will continue your lessons with Mrs. Weasley."
As if he had forgotten his lessons entirely, Harry's mouth opened with surprise. "Can't you teach me?"
Severus shook his head. "I have Potions classes to teach."
"I can learn Potions, too, Daddy. You said I could!"
"Of course you can," Severus agreed. "When you are old enough to attend Hogwarts, you will be in one of my classes--"
"But potions--"
Severus gave his head a sharp shake and Harry mashed his lips together. "But, if you had not interrupted me," he said quietly as Harry colored, "I would also have said that I will teach you some potions before you attend Hogwarts, too, like we did just last week. Ones which are safe and will be helpful for our household. Some that are even fun. However, loath as I am to admit it, Potions is not the only subject you need to know." He peered into Harry's eyes. "Mrs. Weasley has explained as much to you, hasn't she? That you need to learn to read and write and do your numbers, too?"
"Yes, Daddy, but . . ." Harry's mouth closed so quickly Severus could hear the click of his baby teeth. He had an inkling of what Harry wanted, but he thought it would be better for the boy if he were to speak his needs aloud, something he had never been allowed to do before.
"What is it, Harry?" he asked. "What do you want?"
Lips pressed together, Harry shook his head side to side, as if afraid he would let the words out otherwise. Fear rode in his eyes; fear he would be punished, fear he would be shunned or abandoned. Fear of hearing, "No," as he had always heard whenever he asked for something, before he had been taken from those loathsome Dursleys.
"Tell me, Harry. Please?"
With a hard gulp, Harry bleated out the words. "I want to stay with you. I don't want to go to Wheezys. Please, Daddy, let me stay with you. I'll be good, I promise. Please."
"Harry . . ." With that single word, as if he knew what was to follow, Severus saw his son's hope die and his face go blank, accepting the inevitable.
But Severus lived to foil expectations. Dumbledore would just have to deal with it or find a new Potions Professor. Harry needed him more. "Harry, yes. You can stay with me during my classes for a while at least. I . . . I don't care for the idea of being away from you either."
For the first time since this ordeal had begun, Harry offered him a honest -- though still tentative -- smile.
--WHELP II--
Harry wasn't exactly sure what "hectic" meant, but was pretty sure "really busy" was close. The next few days were "hectic in the extreme," according to Daddy. He had visits from Professor Dumbledore, Mrs. Weasley, Professors McGonagall and Flitwick, and some people from the Ministry and the Department of Magical Children's Services. The latter made Harry really uncomfortable with their questions, about the Dursleys and Mr. Black and what Daddy was like and how he treated Harry, asking about what he ate and what he wore and when and where he went to sleep. But Daddy told him he had to answer truthfully. He was pretty sure, from the looks they gave each other, that those people didn't actually want to hear the truth.