Lily's Charm- Severitus fanfiction

Never Enough

1996

"Sev, can you clean Harry's face?" Lily asked, as she waved her wand to move the dirty dishes to the sink.

Severus shook his head in amusement; his little boy's face was covered in sticky remnants of his half-eaten dinner. Severus flicked his wand to vanish all traces of the meal. Harry reached his stubby arms up toward Severus.

"Up," he demanded and Severus complied, pulling the clean child against his chest. Harry smiled at him.

"Come on, Harry," James said enthusiastically as he pushed back from the table, "let's go draw you a bath." Harry clapped his hands, wiggling a bit in his father's arms, his own excitement matching James'.

"James, sometimes I think you enjoy Harry's bath time more than he does," Lily said with a laugh as she cast a quick charm to begin scrubbing the dishes.

"I do not," James disagreed with a frown. Then he turned to Severus and said impatiently, "Come on, Severus. Harry's waiting!"

Severus raised a brow. And then his face stiffened as the Dark Mark tingled against his skin. Lily understood instantly.

"The Mark?" she asked, holding her arms out for Harry. Severus nodded and bent his head to kiss the top of his son's head before handing the little boy over to his wife. James had already moved to stand next to Lily. Severus took a quick step toward Lily as well; she reached out with her free arm to pull Severus close.

"Be careful, Sev," came the cold, almost inhuman voice and Severus reared back in shock.

Voldemort smiled his thin-lipped smile. His dark red eyes glinted as he pulled a struggling sixteen year-old Harry from underneath his robes. Harry was shaking, his green eyes wide with terror.

"Promise you'll save me!" Harry pleaded with him and as Severus watched in horror, Harry's features distorted around the emerald eyes as they dulled, until Lily was staring blindly up at him.

"No," Severus breathed. But the eyes paid no attention; the face twisted until it became his son again, the eyes glazed and unseeing as Voldemort shrieked with laughter.

"No," Severus moaned, forcing himself back to consciousness. Immediately, he checked his shields. They were as strong as ever but Severus still felt panic constricting his chest. He threw himself out of bed and not even pausing to put on his dressing gown, crossed the hall to his son's room in mere seconds. The door was ajar, exactly as he'd left it and the room was still dark. Severus stepped inside.

Harry was curled up contentedly on his new bed.

Safe.

Severus relaxed as he moved forward into the room. His lips curled slightly as he saw that Harry's blankets were tangled up near his feet. Moving quietly, Severus stepped closer to the bed and pulled the sheet and blanket back up to Harry's shoulder.

He gazed at his son for a moment longer, listening to the sounds of his even breathing before reaching out to stroke a hand over Harry's dark hair, and the contact eased the rest of Severus' tension. Satisfied, he turned away. He left the door open once more and cast a Tempus Charm. Only two hours had passed since he'd left Harry in his room.

Not wanting to attempt sleep again, Severus went back to his room to dress and then headed toward his lab. Chanting a quick charm to alert him when three hours had passed, Severus began crushing several delicate Fairy Wings. As he listened to the steady rhythm of the pestle while he hammered with precision into the stone bowl, Severus began the familiar debate.