"He can't be that bad." The werewolf started, causing Snape to scoff.
"He's a child who somehow knows more than he should, and isn't afraid to use it against you." He snapped back, crossing his arms. Before them sat a young, five-year-old with messy hair the color of raven feathers, and the eyes as green as Lily.
They had made his heart ache with the dull throb of regret Severus had thought buried the first time he saw them, though the feeling was hastily withdrawn the moment the boy opened his mouth.
Snape didn't know what was worse, getting told off by a miniature Potter, or the fact that he was told off in a way that was essentially a miniature Lily Evans. If Lily Evans had suddenly known the past, present, and future of the person she was talking to, that is.
(Please do not ask Severus how this was possible. He didn't know either.)
"You're exaggerating," Remus Lupin continued to argue with him, much to Snape's displeasure. They'd been going in circles at this point, all while the little... whatever this child was, continued to draw in the haphazardly bought coloring book about Potions. "He's just a child. You wouldn't do something like that, would you Harry?"
The Slytherin closed his eyes, and for a brief uncharacteristically sympathetic moment, sent a prayer to the Gods for the poor werewolf. For the boy had wasted no time, not even to look up, to immediately counteract every belief that Lupin had said in the last 30 minutes.
"What, just like how you would never give up on your friends, but never bothered to fight for Sirius Black's innocence? How you never pleaded for someone to at least try to give him a fair trial?" The child snorted, putting down the purple crayon in his hand to pick up a red one instead. A quick glance told Snape that the boy seemed to be working on a page regarding ingredients for a Pepper-Up Potion. "Shows what you're willing to believe..."
Now, Snape didn't say 'I told you so' to the speechless werewolf beside him, but he had excused himself for a moment to get the man some salve for that sudden, boiling burn.
-----
"I wouldn't do it." Snape told Dumbledore later, not looking up from his Daily Prophet crossword. He had seen the Headmaster perk up during their conversation, and knew that Harry had likely come down from him room to grab a snack or two as he usually did during this time.
"Hello, young Harry." The old man said, cheerfully ignoring Snape's 'tch.'
The boy paused for a moment, and slowly turned to stare at Dumbledore. "Hello man with deep seated control issues who keeps making the same mistakes of his past that caused his sister to die, and a child to become a monster." Harry stated flatly.
He took the opportunity to duck into the kitchen while the old man gaped, leaving Snape to deal with the consequences.
"...Severus."
"Don't look at me," Snape insisted, "He came like this."
-----
"'lo 'arry!" Hagrid's voice boomed as Severus and Harry entered through Hogwart's gates to deliver some potions for Madam Pomphrey.
Snape tensed for a moment, knowing well after a year how Harry's usual 'greetings' went. However, the boy had merely smiled and waved back. "Hello Mr. Hagrid!"
The Slytherin paused, and when nothing else was added as Hagrid turned away, looked towards his young charge. "...What, no quips?"
"No quips." The six-year-old confirmed. "He's a little bit of a puppet but he means well."
...Fair enough.
-----
"You know, Harry." Minerva had started, despite Severus's warning look. "If you ever change your mind about staying with Professor Snape, you can always come to me."
Harry, in his usual fashion, did not bother to look up from the puzzle box that Severus had bought him. "No thanks, you're already too busy filling out paperwork everyday and forgeting how to take care of your own students, therefore neglecting them by doing the bare minimum and only if it's right in front of you despite the fact that caring about their well-being is in the description in all three of your jobs. You can "not approve" Snape's care for me all you like, but it doesn't stop your unnecessary bias or the lack of support for your students despite said bias towards them. So I'd rather not be another tally mark."
Snape did not say anything to his fellow professor, instead grabbing Minerva's biscuit tin while she was too stunned to stop him and pushing it closer to his charge.
"Have a biscuit, Harry."
"Thank you."
-----
Harry was starting to think that he was being too nice for Severus's sake, since despite everyone being warned about his unfiltered and all-knowing manners. Perhaps they were simply too ignorant to believe it. Perhaps they were so egotistical to think they would be an exception.
It was most likely the latter.
Ron stood awkwardly, looking off to the side as Molly Weasley saw the both of them, yet made a beeline for Harry. He knew full well the train wreck that was about to happen.
He also knew that, without Professor Snape, there was nothing to stop Harry from being truly unfiltered. Therefore he was ignoring what was about to happen in favor of finding his father instead.
"Hello there, Harry! It's so nice to meet you!" Mrs. Weasley gushed, her hands already moving to fuss over Harry like he was her own. Maybe it was simply muscle memory, but as Harry did not like to be touched by random strangers, regardless if they were his friend's parents, he was less than pleased with her actions.
"I'd say the same but considering how utterly unsupportive you are of your sons and daughter to the point of straight up ignoring their life goals and pushing your own standards of what they should be and what they should do, I honestly would not be able to say it truthfully." Harry responded, causing the hands on his robes to freeze up entirely.
However, if Mrs. Weasley was expecting him to stop there, she would be utterly disappointed.
"The worst part is that is not even the half of it. You're like the worst type of caring mother." Harry pointed out, as Ron stopped his scanning to turn to his friend in awe. "You care enough to support them, but even when you do support them, you still try to push what you want to the point that it's overbearing. You want them to grow up and mature, but then you refuse to let them be independent in the so many ways good for them just because you don't want to your 'precious kids' to be 'hurt' or to lose them to something you deem potentially dangerous. Despite the fact that what you're doing is very clearly making them unhappy with both you and themselves."
Harry threw his hands up in exasperation. "Bollocks, you still can't even tell the twins apart after more than a decade and I figured them out in less than 2 minutes of meeting them. How are you so loving to your own kids, and yet so blind to who they are and what you're doing to them, I'll never know. So maybe learn to parent your own kids first, before parenting a child that's not even yours to parent to begin with."
-----
"I don't know if I should be mad you made my mum cry," Ron admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. "-or if I should be relieved someone finally stood up for us."
Harry raised a brow, "Do you wanna follow in her footsteps and try me?"
"Absolutely not." The response was both automatic and immediate, and probably the smartest move Ron ever made.
"Then be relieved and eat your sandwich. Cause it's either the corn beef or the verbal beef, and I'm not gonna be picky on what kind I settle for."