"Password," said the portrait of Salazar Slytherin.
"Non lacerant animam tuam," Severus stated.
The portrait swung forward, and Severus led Harry through the hole.
Harry gasped. "It's so big!" He stared in wonder at the elegant flat.
"It's actually small compared to most..." Severus trailed off, realizing that Harry was not paying attention, having made a beeline for the books.
Severus' entire first floor had no walls. It contained a sitting room and a library, as well as a cozy fireplace and a little bar for coffee and snacks. A set of stairs led to the second floor, where his kitchen, bathroom, and guest room were. Another staircase led down to his personal potions lab.
"Harry, some of those books aren't meant for children," he called gently. Harry froze, looking guilty and panicky. "You are welcome to borrow whatever you like, as long as I veto the more dangerous topics."
Harry relaxed. "'kay." The boy suddenly jumped. "Professor, I promised Hagrid I'd see him after your class, with some of my friends."
"Would you like to postpone this appointment, and see Hagrid now?" Severus questioned. Harry hesitated, then shook his head. "I'll write Hagrid, then." He whistled, and Noctis, his raven, flew down the stairs onto his shoulder.
"Oh," Harry breathed. "He's gorgeous."
Noctis cocked his head at Harry and cawed. Severus conjured a piece of parchment and a pencil and scribbled a quick note to Hagrid. Noctis snatched the paper as soon as he'd finished and disappeared in a flash of feathers. Harry gasped.
"He's an Umbra Avis," Severus explained, vanishing the pencil. "Come sit down," he invited, gesturing to one of the beanbags by the fire. "I'll go get your mother's things." He headed up to the second floor and soon returned with a box.
Harry watched curiously as Severus placed the box on top of the coffee table. "Why do you have some of mum's stuff?" he asked.
"She left some things with me before... before we had a falling out," Severus said carefully, feeling another flash of grief. "Would you like some hot chocolate?"
"You don't have to..." Harry trailed off and looked down at his feet, hugging himself.
"I would like to," Severus told him. "I'm making coffee for myself, anyway. Merlin knows I need several cups a day to deal with so many brats," he added in a mock exasperated tone.
Harry giggled. "Can I really have hot chocolate?"
Severus nodded and headed over to the bar. "There's a scrap book of your mother's first five years of school in there. Why don't you look for it?"
"Okay."
Severus came back over with Harry's hot chocolate, his coffee, and a plate of cheese, crackers, and sliced up apples. "This will take a while, so here's lunch," he told him. "And I expect you to eat as much as you can." He had noticed that Harry was underweight and didn't eat much at meals.
Harry frowned, but said nothing, handing the book to Severus and accepting his hot chocolate. "Thank you, Professor."
"You're welcome." Severus took a sip of coffee and opened the scrapbook. "Ah! This is the day after Lily and I met."
Lily and Severus were wrestling in the picture, Lily's red hair flying everywhere as she laughed and Severus shouting indignantly.
"They're moving! You're moving!" Harry exclaimed in awe.
"Wizard photographs and portraits have a spark of life in them," Severus explained. "I have books about that, if you'd like to read them."
Harry nodded eagerly.
"My mother took that picture," Severus recalled. "She couldn't stop laughing. Lily had stolen my favorite quill and wouldn't give it back." He reached into the box and pulled out an old black quill. "This one."
Harry tried, and failed, to muffle his giggles.
"Brat," Severus said fondly. "And this is a picture of us getting on the train...."
It was... comforting to relive the memories. Severus enjoyed telling stories of Lily to her son, every once in a while giving him a souvenir of a picture and story: a funny hat, a stuffed Basilisk, Lily's diary. Harry enjoyed it, too; he smiled and laughed a lot, and his eyes shone.
He looks so much like Lily.
He closed the scrapbook and handed it to Harry. The child tried to give it back, but Severus said, "Your mother would have wanted you to have it. And all this," he added, gesturing to the objects strewn across the table. "If you do not want it in your room, I can keep it here for you."
Harry swallowed. "I... I can't take it home. They... Aunt Petunia-"
"The old fool gave you to Petunia?" Severus exclaimed. Harry flinched, and Severus lowered his voice. "That idiot! He gave you to a Muggle, who wouldn't know how to raise a wizarding child, and he gave you to a Muggle who hates wizards! The fool!"
Harry looked both worried and amused at Severus' ranting. "Who gave me to Aunt Petunia?"
"Albus Dumbledore," Severus growled. "Harry, I need you to tell me: is she hurting you? Is that oaf of a man hurting you?"
The boy paled and looked away. "...yes," he whispered.
Severus snarled quietly, and Harry flinched again. "I am not mad at you, Harry," he said stiffly. "You did nothing wrong. Those stupid Muggles..." He trailed off, muttering dark threats under his breath. Finally he said, "I'll contact Wizarding Child Protective Services, and they'll make sure you are given to someone who will care for you properly."
"You... you would do that?" Harry whispered, his expression shocked and longing.
"Of course," Severus retorted. "Every child deserves to be loved."
Harry swallowed. "That's not what..."
Severus moved around the table and pulled the child into a hug. "You deserve to be loved, Harry."
Non lacerant animam tuam: don't tear your soul
