Harry Potter's Real Dad

Harry accepted that answer and began drying himself off. Severus let Harry be and rejoined the ladies in the kitchen to see where he could help. He was quickly shooed out, however, so he went back to his study, remembering he would make a copy of the picture Harry liked so much. He duplicated the picture with a charm then shoved it in an inner robe pocket. Pausing outside the bathroom door, he knocked.

"Harry? Do you need any help?"

The door opened and Harry jumped out with a roar.

"Oh my," Severus smiled. "I've created a little monster."

"I'm a dinosaur," Harry said. He held out the edge of his shirt. "See."

Severus pulled the hem out of Harry's hands and flattened it out, adjusting the pajamas on Harry. He was quite pleased Harry liked them so much.

"I'm sorry," Harry suddenly said, looking contrite, his head lowered, and his lower lip puckered out. "I shouldn't have tried to scare you like that."

"You were playing," Severus said, summoning a comb and combing out Harry's hair. "It's what kids do."

"Aunt Petunia said I shouldn't play like that. It's a waste of what could be good work."

"You're not working here," Severus said. He pulled at some knots, surprised at how messy Harry's hair actually was. And how long it was. "You need a trim."

"No one's ever combed my hair before," Harry said. He patted his hair when Severus was done. "You made it flat. It looks like yours now."

"It's curling back up," Severus said. "I don't believe there's much taming of those. Come on. Dinner is ready."

It was hard convincing Harry to eat any more than three bites of his soup and a bite of his salad. Addie, who would normally leave before dinner was served, decided to stay until the police arrived, who Severus had called right before sitting down to eat. He watched Harry mostly, his own food forgotten until Iris took it upon herself to scold him for not eating his vegetables.

After dinner, Iris showed Harry around the manor, running upstairs and downstairs to show off rooms in a random order, both kids laughing all the while. Severus took the chance to capture a picture from his memory of Harry covered in soot with Addie's help, then he turned one of the guest rooms into Harry's new bedroom, painting the walls blue and putting dinosaur bedsheets on the full-size bed.

The police arrived just as he finished with the bedroom, and Severus showed them the picture and shared the story Addie had come up with earlier, Addie piping in as a witness. Harry was called down and the boy obediently answered the officer's questions about chimney sweeping, and he even went into great detail about how he did it and how often. Harry even said that he wasn't allowed to eat much because he had to stay small enough to fit up the chimney. He sounded proud of himself. When asked about the cupboard, he once again said he wasn't allowed to talk about it.

With that, the police had enough information, and when Severus explained he was Harry's godfather and provided the paper proof, they allowed Harry to stay with him while the situation was sorted out.

When that was finished, the two kids went back to exploring the house, Iris excitedly showing off every inch of her pink room.

Finally, eight o'clock rolled around and Severus captured both kids, throwing them over his shoulders. They squealed and shrieked in his ears, but he was quite used to the volume. He settled Iris in her bed first, giving her a kiss goodnight and turning out the light.

He set Harry down at the doorway of his new bedroom.

"Well, what do you think?"

"It's so cool." Harry ran in the room and stopped short of the bed. "This is where I will stay?"

"It's your room," Severus said, picking Harry up and putting him on the bed.

"Oh, I'm not supposed to be—"

"Rest day," Severus reminded. "Remember? It's your room and this is your bed."

"My room?" Harry looked down at the blanket, then grinned and crawled down to the big dinosaur on his blanket. "Look, T-rex."

"Very good," Severus commented, sitting on the edge of the bed. He helped Harry get under the blanket, the young boy yawning as he curled up before his eyes widened and he sat up.

"I have to take the garbage out. And clean up after dinner. And make sure to lock the front door."

"Relax," Severus said, pushing Harry back down. "You're not at your relatives. Besides, Addie's already taken care of all that. You're tired. Go to sleep."

"I've never slept in a bed like this before," Harry said, rubbing his eyes.

"Then enjoy it," Severus encouraged.

"When am I going back?"

"I don't think you'll be going back."

"Why not?" Aunt Petunia will miss me."

"Miss you?" Severus stroked a thumb across Harry's cheek. "Honey, she made you crawl up a chimney. And it's making you sick."

"I have to. No one else can clean it. She needs me."

Severus sighed, staring down sadly at Harry.

"We'll talk in the morning about this, kiddo," Severus said. He leaned down and gave Harry a kiss on his temple. "Go to sleep."

Harry blinked up at him with a smile before closing his eyes. Severus set the copy of the photo he made and set it on the nightstand next to the bed. He walked out of the room quietly, closing the door behind him. He paused outside the bedroom door, leaning back against it and staring at the ceiling. All those photos of a happy, healthy, little boy flooded his mind, and he now knew how much of those were definitely fake. Or at the least, manipulated. He closed his eyes as he sank down to the floor, resting an arm over a knee and staring at the opposite wall.

Severus didn't know how to feel about it all—how to feel about Albus messing with the photos he secretly collected; how to feel about Petunia abusing her son; how to feel about the floo powder in a muggle fireplace; or how to feel about his failure as a father to Harry. He should have checked in on Harry himself, despite Albus's wishes to keep away. He didn't understand Albus's ulterior motives, but the logic seemed sound: Harry was settled in at his relatives and doing well. That had been fine to live with until Harry showed up in his house.

A chimney sweep. Of all the things in the world, his poor child was subjected to that. He ran a hand through his hair, tugging at the ends. He wasn't ready to add another child into his life. He struggled enough as it was with Iris and the problems her mother presented. He would have to make it happen, though. There was no way he was sending Harry back to those wretched people. He was the only family Harry had left now.