Work Text:
“Take him Severus.” Those were the first words out of Minerva McGonagall's mouth as she attempted to hand over a three year old frightened Harry Potter.
Now some of you are probably wondering why McGonagall would be handing Snape a three year old child. Well to answer your question, it began about a few months ago. Minerva couldn't stand the thought of leaving the Boy Who Lived at his relatives, The Dursleys. As soon as summer had come, she went back to their house to continue looking out for the child, because it was becoming very obivous to her that Dumbledore didn't care about Harry that much if he left him in the care of those horrible people. Blood wards be damned.
“Severus Snape. I have had it with Potter living with them. You need to look out for him.” Minerva almost looked desperate, she knew how Severus felt about Harry and was hoping that the fact that this was Lily's son would help sway him. She rocked in an attempt to calm the child.
As Snape looked into little Harry's green eyes, he thought about the last time he saw those eyes. Snape sighed as though he had the weight of the world on his shoulders.
“Why me? Why not have those Weasleys take care of him? Or what about any other Order members?” Snape was thinking about taking the child, but he needed to know why McGonagall would choose him over everyone else.
“You know why, Dumbledore would know almost instantly if I gave him to any Wizarding family, he probably knows that Harry isn't where he's suppose to be right now. Besides Severus, even though you may not think so, Lily still did care about you, as her best friend. She also named you as a Godfather for Harry besides Black.”
Snape had to think about that. Lily still wanted to be his friend, even after all this time? She even named him Godfather to her offspring?
“I still don't think this is a good idea Minerva. What if Albus comes looking for him? What then Minerva?” Snape hoped that for both of their sakes that this would work. “Hand him over.”
Minerva was delighted that Snape was agreeing to this, hoping that this would end better for everyone involved.
As soon as McGonagall passed little Harry, he stopped wailing and looked up at the new person holding him. He didn't know this person either, and he didn't look very happy to see him, especially with the big frown on his face and his scary clothes.
As Minerva apparated away from Spinner's End, Snape looked down at the toddler, who he was apparently now responsible for. Just as he thought this day couldn't really get any worse.
“Hungwy.” Little Harry looked up at Snape as though he expected Snape to glare at him for even asking for food this early. However what took Harry by surprise was the answer he got in return.
“Fine, let's see what I have that you can actually eat.” With that Severus took Harry into the kitchen to find food.
~Six month Time skip~
What Minerva conviently forgot to mention was the fact that someone had to watch Harry during the time he was teaching at Hogwarts.
Finding a Muggle day-care wasn't too hard. Except for the fact that the women there tended to look at you funny when you come dressed in muggle business attire, scowling and holding a little toddler who seemed to wonder what was going on.
Eventually Severus settled into a routine that was beneficial to both of them. He would floo to his house before breakfast began, apparate a block away from the day-care and then drop Harry off, then safely return home and then back to Hogwarts. This routine has been easy for the last few months as Harry didn't complain about anything.
Even when Albus found out, as he always does, he wasn't too mad. Especially when he had new material in which to bug him with.
However, it was a faithful sunny day in the beginning of June that things became different.
Harry started to notice that when most kids his age got picked up by their daddy's, that they told them they loved them and the dads would say it back to them.
He wondered if he asked Mr. Snape that, would he tell him he loved him too? Little Harry had already asked Mr. Snape about the muggle dads, to which he responded to Harry that he wasn't his father.
Even though Harry knew that Mr. Snape was not his dad, he had to know if he loved Harry liked those dads loved their kids.
Just as a very bushy brown haired girl was picked up by her dad, Snape walked through the door looking for Harry, to which Harry ran up to him and hugged his legs.
“Come along Harry, it's time to go home.” With that Snape picked Harry up and headed out the door without so much as a word to anyone else.
Just as they had gotten back to Snape's house, Harry asked him the question he needed to know.
“Do you love me Severus?” Even if he said 'no', which Harry hoped he didn't. He knew that Snape still did a lot more stuff for him than the Dursleys ever did.
Snape sighed as he put the boy on the ground and went and sat in his chair. “Why do you want to know?” Snape knew the boy would ask something like this after his question of, 'Are you my daddy?' those two months ago.
Snape really didn't want to answer that question, because he really didn't know how to answer the boy.
“All the other dad's tell their kids they love them. I love you Mr. Snape. I wanna know if you love me too.” Harry looked down at his feet as if he knew what the answer was gonna be.
Snape sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.
“Harry, why do you think I do not care about you?”
“Cause you never say it.” With that Severus gently picked the boy off the ground and put him on his lap and made the boy look at him.
“Harry, you need to know this. Just because, I have never said this, does not mean that I don't care about you. I care about you a great deal, more than you could imagine. Just because, I did not have the privilege to be your father, does not mean that I do not love you.”
“Then why are you always angry when you come get me?”
Snape rolled his eyes at that, “Because there are idiots in my classroom, who don't listen to instructions very well. It has nothing to do with you. Because I'm going to teach you how to brew a decent potion when you get to Hogwarts.”
Harry smiled up at Severus and got up on his knees and reached his arms out and put them around Snape's neck to hug him. “I love you too Mr. Snape. You're a better person than my uncle!”
Snape rolled his eyes one last time and returned the hug, “I would certainly hope so”