Harry Potter and the Vulnerability Charm Part II

Chapter 5: The Fountain

Harry watches his Daddy work. It's interesting to watch him move seamlessly between shelves, picking ingredients and brewing them in thick iron cauldrons. Harry wanders around a little, feeling restless in this dark room with nothing to do. Daddy gave him a colouring book, but he's a big boy and doesn't use those anymore. The package on the book says ages 3-5, and he's already 6! Such an oversight from his Daddy is unforgivable. "Daddyyyyyyy!" he whines. "I'm bored,"

Snape turns to see his son traipsing around the fountain and sighs. "I have an idea. Would you like to see what I was like when I was your age?"

"Okay," Harry nods.

Snape places the tip of his wand in his ear, groaning a little when a whisp of white, like a feather, is extracted. It glows against the black wall and he drops it into the fountain. "Now dunk your head in, don't be shy,"

Harry nods, putting his face to the water. He puts his head down and blow bubbles, the bubbles make him giggle. A strange light appears from below, and he concentrates hard on it.

An image appears, one of a young boy who looks his age, with a middle part of curtains of jet black hair. It's Daddy! He's sure of it.

Young Snape is sitting in his garden, picking grass from the corner by the fence. Why? Harry wonders. Young Snape lines up two sticks and makes a bed of grass between them. From there, he impales a leaf on a stick and puts it in the ground. The leaf creates a little canopy over the grass bed, like a tent roof.

"What are you doing?" Harry asks, knowing his childhood Daddy won't be able to answer.

To his surprise though, the memory looks up at him, right in his eyes, and smiles. "I'm making houses for the worms!"

Harry doesn't know what to make of that. On one hand, that's such a great idea! Then they can live there and don't need to worry about being stood on. On the other hand, that doesn't sound like his Daddy at all...

"Can I help?"

"I'm almost finished..." Young Snape frowns. "I'm Sev, by the way!"

"Harry,"

"Harry," Sev nods. "Would you like to play? I know lots of games!"

"Like what?"

Sev grabs his hands and starts to spin. Harry does too, faster and faster. Air rushes past them as they whirl around the garden, beams if sunlight obscuring the sky to bright white, and casting gleams on the surrounding flora.

He feels the water rush past him, his body drawn from the memory as it ends. Harry is back in the potions room, water dropping from his face. "Pfft," he spits out some of it. "Daddy!"

Snape starts drying him with a thick towel, wrapping him in it. His potion is steaming now, how long was Harry in that memory? "Daddy, you were there! You were six!"

"Yes Harry, that was me," Snape chuckles and ruffles his damp hair. "Did you have fun?"

"Yeah! You saw me... Sev saw me and we spun, we played!" Harry declares enthusiastically.

"What?" Snape laughs. "Don't tell fibs Harry,"

"But I did!" he assures. Snape picks him up and kisses him on the nose.

"You're so silly today Harry. Come, I'm finished with work so we can do whatever you'd like," he announces happily. He bounces his son in his arms a little, making him giggle.

"Can we go draw?" Harry asks.

"I'm not such an artist, but yes we can,"

A couple of hours later, Remus Lupin appears in the fireplace of their little quarters. Taking off his hat and placing it on Snape's mantel,h e strips from his overcoat. "Hello?" he calls through the house. Walking into Harry's bedroom he sees Snape sitting on the floor, helplessly covered in paint as Harry finger-paints on easels set up around the place. Everything is paint, from the floor to the walls to the bed. The bed!

"Help me," Snape whimpers, reaching up for him.

"Oh Severus, what happened?" Lupin chuckles endearingly, using his wand to whisk away the paint coating Snape. All traces vanished.

"Thank you," Snape stands up and clears his throat, blushing with embarrassment. "We started drawing and... this is the end result,"

"Well, go and run Harry a bath, I'll clean up what I can here with magic," Remus offers.

"Thank you," Snap picks up his son again, which only results in him being covered by paint once more. I didn't think this through, he sighs as he carries the wriggling child through to the bathroom.