Chapter 5
Diagon Alley, a large shopping district dedicated to magical supplies. Exactly as its name indicates the whole thing is Diagonal.
Children screech, cats sleep in the morning rays, Owls deliver letters, witches and wizards go about their day.
Snape glanced down at Harrison. He looked pale and was trembling violently. Calanon had clearly attempted to straighten his hair; however two particular strands refused to lay flat. The white ones. They resembled two little horns poking from his forehead, Snape actually found it quite cute.
The boy stumbled back into Snape, his breath quickening. He turned around and grabbed Severus’ cloak pulling it open and running to hide under it. The child does not handle social situations well. Snape doesn’t blame him, people are far too loud and unpredictable for him to be comfortable.
“Severus? Is that you, dear?” Snape could recognize that voice anywhere, Narcissa Malfoy.
Snape turned towards her. “Narcissa. Hello, I see you’ve brought Draco?” Draco is a rather spoiled little boy. Dispute that he is actually very friendly and has excellent manners, although he is not fond of sharing. His hair was a white blond and his eyes were the color of thunderclouds, a unique shade of silver to the Black family.
“How did you get him to be so comfortable? I don’t know why Dumbledore thought I could raise a child, I’m literally the worst role model.” Snape grumbled as he opened his cloak to reveal Harrison hiding under it holding onto his leg. Snape had despised Harry at first, even if he hadn't really known him and was really just hating some foolish fantasy his mind had procured. But, after actually seeing Harrison and learning about him Severus knew. He could see Lily in the boy. So much of Lily, the way he observes the things he finds fascinating. Not allowing his eyes to leave it. And the way he tilts his head in confusion.
Lily was like a sister to Severus, although many people believed otherwise. She made his pathetic life just a little bit more tolerable. All of his fondest memories were of her and as a result he patronus matched hers. If he were in love with her his patronus would be a stag, not because of some heteronormative bullshit but because it would be a representation of himself mixed with his romantic interest in her. But it’s not. His patronus is merely a representation of the happy memories he had of her.
“Oh! Isn’t he just a sweetheart! Look at his little horns. You just adopted him recently, yes? I can’t believe any orphanage could be so cruel” Narcissa cooed at Harry. She was always good with children. She took care of Severus while he was at Hogwarts and would heal the wounds his father would give him. Severus had told Narcissa that Harrison was adopted from some random orphanage. He and Dumbledore both agreed it would be best to keep Harrison a secret. They knew Voldemort would be back at some point and he couldn’t have his position as spy disrupted. As far as the wizarding world knew, Harry Potter was currently located in some foreign country.
Draco darted towards Harrison. “Hello! I’m Draco, Draco Malfoy. I’m Sevs Godson. Who are you?” He stuck out his hand for Harry to shake.
Harry attempted to hide further in Snape's cloak. “This is Harrison. His rather skittish Draco. You’ll have to excuse him.” Snape drawled. Draco ignored him and pushed his way into Snape’s cloak.
“It’s rather impolite to ignore me. Come on then I’m not going to be mean. I like your Horns! You look like a daemon. Can I touch them? Oh come on now, they look cool I promise. Don’t run, that’s rude!”
Narcissa giggled quietly as Draco and Harry ran circles under Snape nearly knocking him over twice. “Cissa Help!” Snape shouted as Draco tackled Harry and pinned him to the ground. Narcissa was full on laughing at this point. She attempted to muffle it behind her hand.
“Now Now Draco. You can’t force people to be your friend.” Narcissa giggled.
“Aw, but mom-“ She grabbed Draco’s arm. “Alright Sev, we can totally plan a playdate or something later. Come along Draco we have some errands to run.”
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“That boy was scary.” Harry whimpered. He buried himself further under Snape.
“He means well. Let’s go get your supplies.” Snape sighed. He sounded exhausted.
Snape grabbed Harry’s hand and gently pulled him towards a shop. He didn’t force Harry to leave his cloak and Harry was happy about that. He really didn’t like being around so many people.
“Hello, welcome. Can I help you?” The old shop owner asked. There were various children in the shop with their parents. Scissors, measuring tapes, and fabrics floated around them. “Yes, I am in need of clothes for him.”
Snape pulled open the cloak to reveal Harry. “I see, I see. His eyes are the most beautiful shade of green I’ve ever seen. Have him stand there so we can get his measurements. You come with me to pick out the styles you are looking for.”
Harry was brought to stand on a platform. A measuring tape, quill and paper floated over. The tape flew around his body while the quill started taking notes.
“Okay, Okay. Leave him alone now! You have more than enough. Sorry, they love their jobs.” The old man chuckled. He walked over with some very expensive looking fabrics. He pinned some together and tossed others to the side.
After what felt like hours he finally left. “Alright then! That is all. Come along boy, your daddy is waiting just over here.” Harry didn’t bother correcting the shop owner about Snape. He might as well be his daddy right?
Snape and the man talked for a while. Something about 500 gold galleons and a magically expanded bag to carry all the items.
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The next shop was a toy store. There was a large group of people with hair like fire and freckles kissing their skin like the sun was in love with them. Their eyes were a piercing blue, overwhelmingly so, and their clothes were patched together. There was a boy about Harry's age wearing a shirt far too large for him and pants far too small.
“Alright, Ronald you can get a toy. Your dad has worked many extra hours for this dear. Happy birthday.” A kind faced and round woman told the boy Harry’s age. The boy bounced up and down excitedly and immediately ran to a section with brooms and jerseys.
“What do you like to play with Harrison?” Severus opened his cloak to look down at Harry. “Erm- I usually play with the toys Dudley broke. I guess I like stuffed animals the most, and they're easy to fix.” Harry murmured anxiously. His eyes tracking the red head boy nervously. His hands fidgeted with Snape's cloak.
“Well then… Let's get you your own stuffed animals. And they will be new. You shouldn’t have to worry about fixing them.” Severus leads Harry to the stuffed animal section. The toys were a bit too high for him to see. “Would you like me to lift you so you can see them better?” He asked.
Harry nodded and stepped out from the cloak so Severus could lift him. He lifted Harry up with one arm and settled him against his waist. “There you are. Pick as many as you like.”
There were hundreds of different kinds of stuffed animals. Some were normal but others moved. They moved like real animals. There was one that immediately drew Harrisons attention. A white and blue fluffy stuffed Dragon. Its wings, horns and spikes sparkled. The Dragon curled up against itself and blew soft puffs of smoke that smelled sweet, like cotton candy.
Snape reached out and grabbed it. “Is this the one you want? Very advanced magic. Any others?” He handed the little dragon over to Harry. The toy would be expensive but Snape could honestly care less. He could but tens of thousands of those little dragons and it wouldn’t even dent his bank account. His family was incredibly old, rumored to be descendants of Merlin himself. The goblins loved him of course.
“No, I like this one.” Snape nodded and walked over to the store owner to purchase it. The red haired boy, or Ronald, was Already there with his mom. He had a little broom in his hands. His mother rustled through her purse for coins, apparently one silver short.
“Why does he want a broom?” Harry asked as he tilted his head to the side curiously. He felt very tall sitting on Severus’ side. “So he can fly.” Severus answered simply. The little boy turned around so fast he nearly smacked one of his brothers with his broom. “Don’t you know? Brooms are awesome! One day I'm going to save up as much money as I can to get the best broom in the world!” He shouted.
The mom seemed to have found the coin and was finishing paying the owner.
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By the time they finally finished, Harry was exhausted. Severus had to carry him for the last hour. The sun was at its highest and also its hottest.
“Looks like it's time to get home. I’m sure you’ll be needing lunch right about now and the sun is making my skin feel like I need to tear it off.” Severus growled before he apparated them into Harry’s bedroom. “Go shower and change into more comfortable clothes. All of your clothes are in that closet there.” Snape gently sets Harry down and sweeps off.
Harry places his new dragon on the bed. She waddles over to his pillows and rests atop them. Still blowing candy smoke from her nostrils. “I’ll call you Adhara, because your wings look like they have stars on them.” Adhara blinks at him Lazily, her tail curls around her body.
“I suppose I’ll have to get dressed and shower. Do you think Calanon will be upset if I wash my hair? I hope not.” Harry dug through his dresser and grabbed a simple pair of black jeans and a black button up shirt. He walked over to the shower, it looked incredibly fancy. The water poured down from the ceiling like rain during a monsoon. The water felt warm, so warm. Petunia always had Harry shower in cold water to save money and he only had five minutes. But here, he can shower in warm water for as long as he wants.
Harrison cried. He fell to his knees and wailed. He wailed as loud as he could because he can. It’s such a simple thing to cry over really, but it felt like so much more. He has his own room, his own clothes, his own books and toys. He can eat as much as he wants and shower in hot water. He doesn’t have to cook or clean. He can just be a child and for Harrison, that's a lot.