One Shot In Life

Sometimes I have my bad days. Those days that are just too much. Everything is overwhelming and I just want to end it, that if I died on my sleep at night I wouldn't be mad. But then I think about all the shit that I've been through. All the shit that everyone has put me through. Every single exam that I had to pass, every homework, every decision. Every bad day that I just... Felt like I was a game for everyone to play with. And think to myself "I would be pissed if I died tonight and I didn't get to experience the 'gets better' moment, the time in which I would be happy, the moment that I suffered for," and that, ledies, gentlemen and nonbinary pals is what keeps me going, the moment in which I will be able to come here, in front of everyone to see and say" it does get better."

After a while, they were ready to leave the Manor and sleep, they would be back the next day for lunch to exchange gifts. Severus, Remus, and Harry said their goodbyes and flooed to Hogwarts.

The day was a gloomy one. The sun was hidden behind the copious amount of clouds that populated the sky. The birds and insects that, on a different day, may busy themselves with their little routines, insignificant to some, that day found themselves resting, waiting for the big storm to unravel. A young man was walking down the park. He seemed to ignore the bad weather in favor to enjoy his time alone. After all, it was a rare occasion, he had a part-time job, as well as working on his degree. While at the park, he felt quite alone. It is better to describe this feeling like a constant instead of a sudden appearance, considering that he had, indeed, felt lonely before. Either way, the desertic park did not help the feeling, quite the opposite, the park made it stronger. Jimin, the young man that walked alone, was not the most extroverted of people. In fact, he often found himself expending more time in his head than on what others would call the “real world.” He was a believer, or what his father would call, delusional, he believed in fairies and gnomes, magical creatures that populated the trees. That was one of the reasons why he was walking down that path. He looked up towards a birds nest that seated upon a branch of an old thick tree. He had never seen it before, but then again, he could only come to the park once a week. He spent some time looking at the little nest, taking pictures that he could later upload to some social media. On one of his photographic attempts, he tripped rather clumsily, falling to the ground. “Ouch!” he had definitely hit his head. He looked downwards, towards what had caused him to trip. A root of the tree had made his trip. Of course, such a big tree would have thick roots. “What…?” He could have sworn, not that Jimin swore much, that he had seen a dot where the light had shinned as if a coin was under the root where he tripped. He decided to inspect further, maybe he found a coin. He knelt in front of the root and saw how it was a bit elevated from the ground. ‘I must have hit my head harder than what I thought…’ he thought when he could not believe the sight in front of him. There was a little door, only recognizable as a door for the little handle on it. He was about to brush away the experience as a delirious thought when the little door opened, revealing the wonders inside. A small humanoid figure could be seen, apart from his size, he had horns, like tree branches, and big ears for them to be proportional, just like a little deer. But he had a human face and body, or so it seemed. The little creature opened his mouth and let out a little melody of rapidly sang piano notes, as if angry. “I… I am sorry… who… who are you? Wait, are you… are you a fairy?” Jimin was in complete disbelieve, he had found what everyone said it was impossible. He had found a fairy. He must admit that he could have handled the news in a better way, but his body gave the reaction that felt easier. He felt his eyes start to blur and his balance give up, before he knew it he was unconscious on the ground.

After an hour of work he wrote a letter to Remus explaining the situation and then looked up to see Harry playing with his animals, making up little stories like he has been doing the entire hour, he listened closely to the little mumbles of conversation before Harry looked up to him, probably because he felt like someone was watching him, and smiled "Dante is hungry… can we have dinner?" Severus smiled slightly "is Harry hungry too?" after Harry nodded, he picked him up, and carried the child and rabbit to the kitchen where he ordered dinner from the house-elves. He could definitely get used to this lifestyle.

Remus was about to cry, Severus was letting him have time with the only person left for him, even about what he had done to the man, he had been years without any news from Harry, nothing at all, it was hard sometimes. "you said he was ok… what happened to him, Severus?" he asked not lifting his head "the psychological abuse is the worst of it… it's the hardest to overcome and heal… but he is a strong kid… he will be fine, he needs us, but he will be fine" Severus seemed to be reassuring himself more than reassuring his guest, in another gesture of trust he stood up and went to the kitchen, showing Remus how willing was to let him slither into his life slowly, once he came back he poured the tea and handled one to Remus, noticing that he had way more scars that when they were children "are you drinking wolfbane?" at Remus' shake of the head he nodded, he didn't need to ask why, the wolf's clothes and his skinny figure talked by themselves "I will start brewing the potion, don't worry, you'll not have painful transformations anymore" the broke Remus completely, he started crying.

Severus woke up early in the morning, he was tired but also weirdly excited, he thought that it may have something to do with being officially the father of a little brilliant boy who was sleeping on the other room, he let himself smile before standing up to cook some breakfast. Today was going to be a busy one, they needed to meet with Dumbledore, just to tell him about the adoption and how everything went, he also wanted to introduce Madame Pomphrey and Hagrid to Harry, he knew that the half-giant was going to be really happy to see the little one, after all he had been counting down the years for Harry to attend Hogwarts. Once the breakfast was ready he went to wake up the little boy. It was incredible how his life and his hopes for a future had changed in such a little time before Harry irrupted in his life his only motivation to get by the day was to wait until his death doing productive things... Harry woke up the same way as the day before, with his dad shaking him awake gently, at first, he flinched slightly, the habits that eight years of being treated badly had built in Harry weren’t going to leave in a day, but right after he realized that his dad was the one waking him up he smiled and sat up. “good morning dad…” he said while he started to stretch, Severus led Harry to the bathroom like he had done the day before, with a small but genuine smile on his face. After breakfast and all the routinely affairs were dealt with they walked outside, adventuring the castle, they climbed the eternal staircase from the dungeons, where their quarters were, to Dumbledore’s office, where the old Headmaster was already waiting for them. “Very good morning, my boys” Dumbledore said in his grandfatherly voice when they entered his office, “good morning headmaster” The first thing that Dumbledore noticed about the little child was his eyes, proving to him how serious was Severus about kipping the child “oh… I see you performed the ritual, you look like the perfect blend of all of your parents Harry, my boy” Harry smiled shyly towards the grandfather figure of Hogwarts “thank you Sir” he mumbled before hiding slightly behind his father’s robes. “We just came here to let you know that the ritual was a success Headmaster, and also to ask you if Hagrid and Madam Pomphrey are available” Severus said in an unthreatening manner, which was unnormal for him “Madam Pomphrey had to leave for the morning, there was a problem in St. Mungos that needed to be addressed, they called most of the mediwitches and mediwizards on England, she should be back by lunchtime, Hagrid on the other hand is with Remus on his hut, they are trying to combine Christmas and Yule, to make the entire affair easy for the muggle-borns…” Severus was startled for a second, his nightmare was back in the castle, and near his son, he would not expose his son to that beast, how is that the Headmaster is letting him near the castle? Oh, yes, Gryffindor favoritism… Severus snapped back to reality when his son touched his hand lightly “dad… are you ok?” he heard his son ask “yes… I am fine… I just… didn’t expect Lupin to be around…” he mumbled to himself more than to the little boy “Severus… my boy, you should talk to him, I know I was not fair, or it seemed like I wasn’t… but believe me, he is sorry” Severus swallowed the bump on his throat in order to try and not be too rude towards Dumbledore, he knew that the Headmaster was right, he always was… well, most of the time, and Lupin probably was sorry, but Severus was not ready to see the man that holds the beat that almost killed him inside him. “I will think about it… we will be in our quarters until Lupin is out of the castle…” he said trying to appear calmed ‘or until I am ready to talk to him’ was implied, after all he would not take Christmas away from his son. Severus and Harry walked back to the dungeon, once they were inside their rooms Severus relaxed considerably and smiled slightly towards the little boy “let’s decorate your bedroom before lunch, then we can go outside and visit Madam Pomphrey” Harry nodded and followed his dad towards the newly added bedroom thinking that he would need to ask about said ‘Lupin’ later at lunch. The child’s bedroom consisted on a queen size bed, a little wooden desk with a matching wooden chair, an old closet that was slightly darker wood color and a couple of shelves where Harry had already arranged his toys “so, my son, what color would you like your room to be?” Severus asked while crouching down to Harry’s size so he would not look intimidating “you can pick any color or pattern” Harry thought for a moment if he could paint the walls any color he would paint them blue, but he also liked green, and red, and yellow, because they were the color of nature and freedom and they, were pretty “can I have a Hogwarts themed room? Like… there!” He said pointing at the wall across from the door where the bed was resting his headboard “I would like to have green, like the snake house… Slee…Slytherin!” Severus smiled widely and with a whispered “Colovaria” he changed the color of the first wall, adding some snakes into it. Then Harry pointed to the wall on the right, were the windows towards the lake were situated “Raven…claw?” he said unsure at the name receiving a smile and a nod from his dad who charmed the wall accordingly, they went on with Gryffindor, in front of the bed, and Hufflepuff, which held the shelves with the toys, it fitted perfectly. Harry nodded along and at the end, he stood up from his seat and hugged the man who immediately picked him up “there is nothing to fear dad… I will be there with you” Severus heart warmed and smiled at the beautiful child on his hands, he was so lucky to have him “you are right my son, and you do not have anything to fear either, I will always be with you to protect you and guide you” he kissed his son’s forehead and cuddled him close. Once they had finished eating Severus picked the little boy up and started their journey towards the hospital wing where Madam Pomphrey, already told about the situation by Dumbledore, was waiting for them to check on the child. Severus sat the boy, who was now shaking out of fear, on one of the little mattress “d-dad…” Severus squished his hand lovingly “everything will be fine my son, Poppy is a friend of mine and I will be here.” Madam Pomphrey introduced herself to the little boy who looked at her warily, normal behavior of a child towards a doctor, once the scanner was completed, achieved by demonstrating every single one of the charms in Dante the rabbit that Severus remembered to pick up before living, knowing that, even if Harry was too old for that kind of comfort, after the abuse, he would need some reassurance that often worked on younger children, the scanner showed how the main physical abuse involved burns and starvation which were easily cured with some cream and a proper diet. Even though the physical abuse was not too harsh, counting on any kind of physical or psychological abuse is harsh and completely unacceptable, the psychological abuse was the worst part, Severus would have to reassure the child about many things that a normal child make take for granted. Overall, the visit to the Hospital wing was a success, Harry had not been sexually abused which was enormous relieve for Severus, but he also had a diet plan and a potion plan for the little one to grow healthy. They were living in the Hospital wing, Harry eating a little sugar quill and talking softly with Dante while his dad took him back to the dungeons, when Severus saw the wolf, he tried to stay as calm as possible when he started to approach “Severus, we need to talk· Lupin said, looking at Harry softly and sadly, Severus, on the other hand, was trying to find a way to politely decline the offer so they could get back to the safety of their quarters.

After lunch, the Malfoy family left since they had to assist an important event, something related to Lucius' business in France, so the now Snape family was alone walking down the streets of Diagon Ally. It was a rather pleasant afternoon, not too cloudy even though it was December, it wasn't snowing either but the streets were white because of previous snow storms, you could say that Christmas was right around the corner, all the shops were decorated with colorful lights and extravagant ornaments, the children ran around the place trying to make their parents buy them that one toy they wanted Severus, on the other hand, was walking down the street with a quiet polite little boy who looked around in wonder but never asked for anything, this behavior worried Severus, he was expecting something different, maybe not as exuberant as the other children but definitely something, he looked towards Harry who was trying to figure out what everything was and softly said "Harry, we need to go find you some clothes, then we can go to the toy store" he, Severus Snape, was offering volunteer to go to a toy store, but Harry deserved it, he deserved some toys, it was a basic human right, children have the right to play. Harry, on the other hand, didn't want to hope for a trip to the toy store, it had happened before, Uncle Vernon or Aunt Petunia would say that he could get a toy if he behaved but, even if he didn't do anything he wouldn't get it because he was a freak, but his new dad seemed honest, he would be the best boy that way he would be able to get at least a little plushie. Harry nodded and followed Severus towards the entrance of muggle London, where they would shop first. The first shop was in a big mall so Severus made sure that Harry was by his side all the time taking his hand just in case, Severus tended to rush with everything and that usually ended up with people not following, he didn't want to lose the child, even though said child was already eight, he didn't seem to mind. Severus held various t-shirts in front of the child, mostly plain ones, for the one with designs Severus would let Harry pick out his favorites, the main color was, of course, green, like his eyes, the child pointed out that he liked blue, not any blue, Ravenclaw blue, even if the child didn't know just yet what that meant. At the end, he had purchased plain t-shirts sporting the four main Hogwarts colors, a couple white dress shirts and four pairs of jeans, all the way Harry seemed completely overwhelmed by all the things that Severus was buying and didn't ask for anything at all. Harry followed Severus holding his hand tightly, everything was a first, even the holding hand part, it was a normal gesture from a parent to a child and at Harry's age would be something to be embarrassed about, but he could not be happier, the gesture only reinforced the idea that Severus, his father now, wanted him. When they walked out of the store Severus stopped him and looked at him crouching down to seem less intimidating, Harry really appreciated this, "We are going to this other clothes store before we go to the toy store, be patience I know this might not be entertaining but it is necessary" Harry just nodded at this even though he thought to buy all these clothes was really fun and unnecessary "In this store there is more colorful and variate clothing so I want you to pick two t-shirts and one pair of jeans, you will need also a pair of sport shoes, alright my son?" Harry nodded happily, his dad just called him "his son" and he said it with affection and not in a sarcastic way, not like the Dursleys, who a couple of times before had pretended to care just to mock him. Harry started walking through the stands, still holding Severus hand tightly, he didn't want to lose his dad, suddenly a black t-shirt with a dark red dragon on the front caught his attention, he loved animals and dragons were fascinating, a book that he read for school said that dragons were mythical creatures, some had wings, others didn't… and they could control elements. Severus noticed how the child staid looking at the t-shirt in thought so Severus reached to the stack of shirts and looked for the right size, admiring the hope that radiated from his son's eyes "here, this is your size, it is a little bit big but you will grow to fit it properly" the adult handed the shirt to his son who smiled and pressed it tightly to his chest "now, one more shirt, then we will go get jeans." Harry look through some more finding a white shirt with a dark green and yellow snake, this time Harry asked for it instead of thinking too much if he could or could not have it "I like snakes… well I like reptiles in general" he had some trouble with the pronunciation of "reptiles" and Severus thought it was adorable, "Slytherin at its finest" commented Severus while picking the right size "I will tell you about Hogwarts houses when we get there, don't worry" Harry nodded and walked towards the jeans to repeat the process and pick some up, they ended up buying two instead of one because Harry seemed to have trouble deciding which one he wanted, then they picked the last item, some white trainers, paid and head outside. "Let's go to the toy store now, we will go to Madam Malkins on another date" Severus said while leading Harry towards the colorful store, while Severus did not like the idea of going into a toy store, the look of pure excitement on Harry's face was more than enough argument to adventure himself in such a place. Once on the store, Severus crouched down in front of Harry to be at the same level "Alright child, we are going to go to a magical toy store but I know you may want some familiar toys too so, anything at all that catches your attention tell me, understood?" Severus wasn't expecting to have his arms full of Harry at the end of the sentence, but hugged him back nevertheless "come on Harry, where do you want to start?" Harry looked around thinking for a moment, it felt weird, he had so many options, he could go anywhere, it felt a bit scary but Severus' hand on his shoulder made it better. He started walking toward the plushies and found a fluffy light pink rabbit, he didn't want to point it out at first because pink is a girl's color, but Severus seemed to read his mind and picked it up "he looks like a good friend Harry" the child smiled at this and squeezed his new friend "his name is Dante" Harry said holding it for Severus to see "really good name my son" Harry had heard the name to a couple of older girls on his school and always seemed like a great name. After that Harry was more confident at pointing out what he wanted, he still hesitated a bit a couple of times but Dante was the proof that Harry needed to trust that Severus was, indeed, buying him toys. They got an animal set, a couple more plushies, and a remote-control car, everything was exciting but the other children never stopped screaming and running around, even if it looked fun, their behavior was not the best and it made Harry get a headache. Once outside of the mall Severus held out his arm for him to reach, they were going to apparate back to Hogwarts where Severus believed necessary to hold a little "family meeting" in which Severus would explain basic human rights and explaining to the little one the Houses at Hogwarts. Immediately after they got into their quarters, Severus started to put the clothes on Harry's wardrobe while the child arranged his toys very carefully and thoughtfully "these are so many toys…" Severus heard his son mumbled, he sighed and sat down beside him on the floor "Harry… my son… you deserve them… it is your right as a child and I am sorry that you didn't have them before" Harry looked confused, he didn't know what "right" meant but he had heard it before, his uncle use to say it a lot "Uncle Vernon says that freaks don't have rights…" he said while looking down, ashamed of his past. Severus sighed and hugged the little boy, Petunia and Vernon where monsters and did not deserve anything, hopefully someday he will actually get revenge, for now, though he had to fix his best friend's, and James Potter, son "Harry, even though the world is an unfair place to be we all have rights, they are called human rights and as long as you are a human you have rights which are basically certain freedoms that are guaranteed" Harry nodded slowly, taking in all the information and trying to figure out what it meant for him "also, being a 'freak', which you are not, isn't bad… it just means… unusual, eccentric, rare, and believe me, when you get to adulthood we all want to be different" Severus laughed a little when Harry wrinkled his nose at the word "adulthood." Harry then rested his head on his dad's shoulder, he was tired and his dad was telling him all these things that flipped his world upside down "Dad? Do I look any different?" Severus looked down and took his son's chin "your cheekbones are a little sharper… I think your face is getting a bit longer in general, not a big deal but if you look at it you can definitely see it… and your hair is getting darker… I think it will end up being black, instead of the dark brown that was James' hair, you kept the crazy curls… and I like them…" Severus smiled widely "your parents, James and Lily, were good-looking people, especially Lily… so it is not a surprise how handsome you are" he kissed Harry's forehead "tomorrow we will redecorate this plain room and go visit some of the staff here at Hogwarts… so go get your pajamas and brush your teeth, I can tell you are tired, if you do it fast we can read something in bed" Harry listened to his dad carefully before sprinting towards the bathroom to get ready. Once both where ready Harry got under the covers Severus sat down next to him "so, what do you want me to tell you about?" Harry thought for a moment before saying "Hogwarts" in an excited voice, Severus smiled and started telling him about the founders of the school and how it was built, the child fell asleep soon after Severus started talking but the adult stayed to watch over him for a bit, just to breath calmly and get the idea of actually having this child with him to settle. After a couple of minutes, Severus stood up, took the camera that Lily had given to him a long time ago and took a picture of Harry sleeping, the first one of many others, then he went to bed, happy for the first time in many years.

The next morning Harry woke up to the feeling of someone shaking him softly, it was a new experience, no one had ever woken him up that way. He opened his eyes slightly and saw the potions master looking at him with a straight face but tender in his eyes, Harry smiled and whispered, “good morning Sir.” Severus picked the little boy up and went to the bathroom with him “take a shower, you have some towels over there and some clothes here, if you need me just call, I will be in the kitchen” he said while pointing at the items that he listed, the clothes were some Severus’ shrunken ones but it worked for the day. Severus let the child take his shower and went to the kitchen to fix some breakfast, the elves usually served the meals but Severus thought that Harry would be upset upon seeing one of the little creatures, just because it was new and the child had had enough new things for a day, taking in account that he was going to meet the goblins today. Harry took a quick shower putting on the clothes which fit perfectly and made him look like his soon-to-be guardian, the feeling of the fabric was very nice, like it was new and well-kept, Harry was confused, he didn’t deserve clothes, his relatives always said that he didn’t deserve it… he went to the kitchen to find Severus finishing the breakfast, he sat down on one of the chairs and looked up to Severus “Sir? is this clothing for me? Don’t get me wrong, I love them, it’s just…” Severus' heart hurt for the little child, he knew what the child meant, he smiled slightly and put breakfast on the table and sat own “Harry those are yours and we will buy more after we go to the bank, where I will become your father” he stopped there to give some time for the child to process the information “you will be my dad?” upon Severus nod in confirmation Harry smiled brightly before standing up and hugging the adult who hugged him back “let’s finish our breakfast child, we will go to Malfoy Manor and then we will go to the goblins” Severus explained Harry what floo was and how it worked while they were having breakfast, Harry even asked some questions about the theory behind it, Severus couldn’t believe that a person of that intelligence was only eight years old. When they finished eating their breakfast they flooed to Malfoy Manor where the pureblood family was waiting for them, “very good morning Severus and Harry” the patriarch of the family shook Severus hand before brushing Harry’s hair softly “this is my son, Draco” Lucius said putting his hand on the other child’s shoulder who looked so much like him “It is a pleasure to meet you Draco, I’m Harry Potter” Harry smiled and shook Draco’s hand when it was offered “it’s a pleasure to meet you too, I hope we can be friends” Draco said with a soft voice, he wanted to have good real friends, like his parents and Severus were. Narcissa was introduced to Harry by Lucius, she was a beautiful woman, she had an aristocratic and intimidating look, as if she believed that she was better than anyone but also, she looked like a mother, the way she looked at Harry and fixed the neck of his little shirt made Harry trust her and think of her as a kind woman. Once everyone was introduced they flooed to Gringotts, Harry was instantly amazed by the little creatures with mean faces that worked at the place, “they are goblins, really good with money but they aren’t very friendly” Draco whispered to Harry when he noticed his confused look. One of them walked towards Lucius and asked if he needed anything, once Lucius asked for a private place to talk the whole group followed the goblin to an enormous office full of shelves with shiny things on them, Harry was fascinated and so was Draco, both of them had to be led by the adults towards the chairs. “Lord and Lady Malfoy, Professor Snape, what can this institution help you with?” Griphook, the goblin, asked politely, he seemed honestly curious, “Mr. Griphok, I know for a fact that your people host a ceremony called ‘blood adoption’ and my friend Professor Snape was wondering if it would be possible to perform this ritual, he wanted to adopt this little boy, Harry Potter” he gestured towards Harry and the goblin looked at him surprised, Severus took his hand and squeezed it slightly, making Harry clam a little even though Griphok’s look was intimidating. “It will definitely be possible, it will be prepared while you filled the needed papers for the Ministry” Griphok handled the papers to Severus and then left the place to get the ceremony prepared. Severus asked some questions to Harry while filling the papers, the last question was the most important one “do you want to take my surname?” Severus looked at Harry closely “Can I have both? I would love to have your name but I also want to keep mine… something like Snape-Potter?” Severus smiled slightly and hugged Harry with one arm “Snape-Potter sounds perfect” he wrote it down and signed at the end of the page. When the goblin came back he asked the group to follow him, they were led into a dark room with an altar in the middle, Griphok told Harry and Severus to step near the altar, where other goblin started to speak in a strange language, soon they were asked to share seven drops of blood, Severus helped Harry first, he poked the child’s finger with the blade before doing it on his own. The goblin mixed it with a special potion and gave three quarters to Severus and a quarter to Harry because Severus was taking the responsibility over the child while the child was only going to take some of Severus’ features, the changes would appear from the first half an hour to twenty-four hours after the ceremony or so the goblin said, it was something that Harry was looking forward to. The ritual ended soon after, it was rather simple unlike wizarding rituals which were extremely complicated, the goblins rituals were simple but needed a lot of magic and power. The group went to have lunch at Malfoy Manor after thanking the goblins, while they were eating Harry and Draco talked about the things that they saw that day, occasionally asking for an explanation which Narcissa was more than happy to answer, while the adults talked about changes in Severus life and how he was going to manage to teach while taking care of Harry, after all, school would start again after the Christmas break which started today. They concluded that he always could ask for help within the castle, Minerva was the first name to come up, she loved Harry, Hagrid was also a good option after all the half-giant had a huge mother hen and couldn’t hurt a fly. “Sir? I was wondering… can… can I call you dad?” Harry said while looking down, Severus gently moved his head so he could look into his eyes, then he noticed, Harry’s eyes, were changing, one of them was obviously turning black, it was amazing how only one of them was changing “I am your father now Harry, of course you can call me dad” he kissed Harry’s forehead “your eyes are changing, one of them is turning black like mine” everyone turned to see the change while Severus conjured a mirror for Harry to see himself into “cool…” the child breathed out “it is really pretty” Draco said smiling “I can’t wait to see how I look after the twenty-four hours” Harry said excitedly.