Blood Stones (Snarry)

Just Like Home

"Oh?" Severus found himself more interested to hear about the letter than he probably would have been otherwise.

"Does she miss you at home?" He stepped away from his desk, hands surprisingly unstained, despite being dead.

He noticed the potion like smell in the room, and with a wave of his wand, cracked open the window nearby. They walked together down the hall into a living space of sorts, each sitting on a chair of their own.

Harry pulled the letter from his back pocket. The address was written shakily, nearly unreadable, the wax seal on the back imprinted with a small flower, a lily. Harry opened the envelope, pulling the letter out and unfolding it. He waited patiently to hear what she had said.

"Dear Pa, you know I love you a lot, right?" He read with a chuckle, sending Snape a knowing look.

They both knew what typically went with such proclamations from children.

"-But the neighbor boy is a crybaby. Ma says I gotta tell you what happened, but he started it-" by this point, he had such a large grin, and the words were broken up by some chuckles.

"As you well know, my growed-up teef-" he read out, his heart swelling with love at his daughter's endearing attempt at spelling 'teeth' and 'grown-up' mixing with his sheer amusement from her trying to word it as properly as she could to escape a grounding nearly overflowed from him.

"Are coming in far too slow. I have two in front, but the rest are not wanting to leave yet. Ma says It's because I'm too likable, but I think they are just lazy!" he was almost having to break each sentence with a wheeze as he continued, obviously catching how his daughter was trying to prolong it before she admitted her crime.

"James says my teef were ugly buckteef, and I got mad. I bit him real hard and said I'd use my pretty buckteef to take off his finger." He said, this part making him facepalm at his daughter's behavior.

"Then she goes on to say Ginny grounded her and made her write the letter and say sorry." he explained.

"She also asks that I hurry up fixing this house so she can come to play and spend the night." they'd been separated since she was three and typically had the kids six months each with split weekends.

"Sometimes I worry I may spoil her a bit, but she's such a character It's hard not to laugh and be serious!"

Smiling ear to ear would have been an understatement, he found the letter quite amusing and even managed several chuckles.

"A sleepover? I'm sure that would be more than amusing what with the ghost that also lives here." he mused

"She sounds remarkably like yourself when you were younger Potter. Curious, mischievous among other things, and I'm sure she is spoiled, but in a good way." Severus had secretly always wanted children of his own.

There was some weakness inside him that desired the baby eyes that would look up to him, the soft pink lips and button noses, and the angelic little hands that could curl up around his fingers... but he had never been married. Thought of it once to a man he had gone through school with- another potions master, in fact, they had fooled around some with dating among other activities but when things got more serious, he was shot down and left for a woman. He had stopped dating following this. Occasional one-night stands but always hoped he would one day marry and have children. Alas, he no longer could.

"Shall we have something for supper? I realize it's early still but I'm quite intrigued by the subject of eating"

"Alright! we'll make some strong-tasting stew. See how much flavor you can catch. What's your favorite?" he asked.