The moment Severus stepped inside he had the breath knocked out of him as Harry ran into him and squeezed his head directly against his stomach, nuzzling against the older man. He’d almost fallen back, but at this point he’s become used to this aggressive yet loving greeting. He came in and as usual Lily greeted him with a shorter and much less intense squeeze around the shoulders. James stared blankly at first, just like always, slowly stretching his hand out for a shake. Severus, just as he’d always done, grabbed his hand for a mere second before dismissing him.

It’s been almost ten years since Severus had come into the Potter family’s life yet the two men still were like oil and water.

For Lily this was nothing new. James hadn’t liked Severus since their school days and still believes that somewhere deep down the long haired man was just as bad as he was during his teens. She’d thought it was a tad hypocritical, as James wasn’t exactly an angel in his youth yet he’d greatly matured after all these years.

During their early years of rekindling she tried getting the two a little closer, subtly trying to push them together by having them talk and take care of Harry together…but it did not work, James at most tolerates Snape and vice versa. Still it was at least a bit of progress and she found herself happy that the two men could sit down next to each other without instant thundering between them.

Lily found herself simply accepting this reality…but another was feeling puzzled.

Harry hadn’t really paid much attention to it before, but ever since coming back he’s begun to notice that Sev and his father tended to not get along. Heck, they seemed to absolutely hate each other. He couldn’t understand why, no one would really explain either. Whenever he asks his father about this strained relationship he had with Snape, James would just try to change the topic. Whenever he asked his mother, she simply said that they had a history together.

What the heck does that even mean? Of course they had a history together, they went to the same school and are the same age. Like yeah duh they have memories and times they likely spend together. How come neither of them would explain what exactly happened during that time?

One day he worked up the courage and while the two were alone, relaxing on a blanket in the gardens on one of the last days of summer, he asked bluntly: “How come you and dad dislike each other so much?”

Severus was surprised at the sudden question and nearly dropped his cup of lemonade. He didn’t understand the question at first due to just how out of nowhere it seemed. Harry hadn’t asked much about his past before, aside from magic related questions and happenings in his former classes, so this was new and a tad anxiety inducing. He ended up answering Harry’s question with another question, “What brought this topic on?”

“It’s just…Mom likes you, I like you, how come dad doesn’t?”

Severus gave a small smile, Harry’s train of thought was childish but ultimately understandable. Sirius may not exactly enjoy Severus’ presence but he certainly acts friendly-ish, especially when Harry is around. Remus had never had as much malice for Severus as the rest of Potter’s little group, so they had a pretty neutral relationship. James however? Oh, James was something else.

“We never got along, we were…just too different, I suppose.” Severus said, as a sort of vague explanation.

At first it began with them fighting for Lily’s attention as both had feelings for the redhead. Then it became a cold war as Snape had pushed Lily away and directly into James’ arms. Finally it had come to this, randomly showing up in the man’s life again with no warning and becoming their main babysitter. James likely still thought that Severus also had…negative opinions about those who aren’t pureblooded. Lily may have forgiven and forgotten, but the same could not be said for the man with oval glasses.

Harry didn’t seem happy with his answer and prodded again, “Too different?...Sev, I don’t understand. Did something happen between you two? Like, I dunno, did you have a fight or something?”

“Ah, um…something like that.” It’s best if Harry doesn’t hear about all the mischievous pranks his father had done. Such as the one with the werewolf where James then swooped in and acted all glorious when he led him to his near doom in the first place. Then there was that time he’d stripped Severus nearly bare. Then there were the several times where James had humiliated him directly in front of Lily. Severus grumbled, not too happy as all the horrid memories that he’d stuffed away had begun flooding back into his consciousness.

Harry scooted closer to Severus until his head reached the man’s chest. He lay upon it and listened to the man’s heartbeat for a while. “Your chest is beating really fast…you’re not lying to me, are you?”

“Not at all.” Severus was merely not disclosing information, that’s not the same as a lie.

“Hmm…Are you just nervous about me being so close then?” Harry spoke with a teasing tone, climbing up on the man until his small body lay completely on top of Severus’ skinny frame. “You’re wearing some pretty loose clothes today…I could tickle any info out of you right now.” He said while menacingly wiggling his fingers.

“Oh no~ Whatever shall I do~!” Severus responded with a theatrical tone. He wasn’t the most ticklish sort but just in case he put his glass of lemonade down. “Have mercy~!”

Harry ran his hands across Severus’ neck and under arms, getting a few giggles out but never quite a loud laugh as whenever the boy himself was tickled. “How about this!” His tiny hands shot towards Severus armpits and a sort of panic came across Severus face as the noises coming out of him had become louder and louder. “Hehe~! I found your weak spot…”

“Hahah- Harry- Hold on- Ahahahah!” Severus had no idea he was so sensitive in that area, he really began regretting showing up with a short sleeved sweatshirt. From now it’s definitely back to long sleeves only, even in prime summer weather. “Ahahahaha~!” Tears were starting to form around the rims of his eyes as the boy continued his onslaught.

Finally after what felt like an eternity Harry let go. He sat back and watched as Severus panted, his body heat had picked up and he was sweating quite a bit after the attack. Severus' chest went up and down with each breath he’d taken, he was wearing a pretty light colored shirt and due to the sweat it had become a tad see through.

Harry felt a weird squeeze inside his stomach and he climbed down from the man. “Are you ok, Sev?”

Severus' face had been flushed and it took him a while before he responded. “Warn me next time before you do things like that…I’m an old man, things like that are rather intense for me.” He said in a tone that strengthened the squeeze in Harry’s stomach.

“S- Sorry, haha…” Harry grabbed Severus’ glass and handed it over to him.

Snape gulped down the cold liquid until no drop was left, each swallow caused his adam's apple to bob. Harry stared wide eyed at Severus’ throat. His hands had gotten sweaty and his skin had turned almost as pink as the older man’s had.

“Oh no, are you getting…sunburnt?” Severus looked up at the sky, although there was some blue to be seen it was still pretty dang cloudy high above. “Or maybe it’s heatstroke…we’d best head inside.”

“Uh…Yeah…Ok…” Harry spoke robotically, feeling really really weird.