Harry sat in the stiff wooden chair in McGonagall's office. His muscles ached and his mouth seemed perpetually dry. Next to him he could sense Lavender squirming in her seat. She constantly uncrossed and recrossed her legs. It seemed that she was stiff too. She sniffed quietly, but Harry didn't dare to raise his eyes to her. They both sat on the stiff chairs, heads bowed and eyes on the floor.

Professor McGonagall sat behind her desk scrawling out a letter to Mrs. Brown about what had happened. Every so often she would sigh and shoot the two students an angry glare. Lavender would sniff and her shoulders shake slightly in response. At this Harry felt another wave of shame sweep over him. Harry had enjoyed the sex he and Lavender had shared, but he was now certain that it hadn't been worth it. Now he had to face the consequences of McGonagall catching them in the unused classroom. She had told them she was too disappointed in them to discuss their behavior with them then. Instead, she had informed their parents.

She had written an owl to Harry's new-found father, Severus Snape, first. Judging from the length of the letter Harry was certain that she had explained the scene she had walked in on rather than a general "behavior unbecoming a Gryffindor" dressing down. She had sent the owl to the dungeons not five minutes ago, and Harry had no doubt his father would be storming into the office any minute. He had never so blatently disobeyed his father before.

Over the past 18 months Harry had, of course, crossed the man a few times. The arguements were over issues such as time spent studying, his invisibility cloak, and curfews. Those instances were different though. Harry had argued with his father and explained his point of view. If and when he chose to disobey his dad, it had been no secret why he had done so. Having sex with Lavender Brown in the old Charms classrom was entirely different. He had never initiated or even responded to any of his fathers discussions of sex. Harry had been told that if the situation ever arose, he should choose not to have sex due to his age, maturity level, and the possible repurcussions of such a serious act. He had nodded along and pledged to obey his father, and then the first chance he got he disobeyed.

McGonagall was attatching the tightly rolled scroll to Mrs. Brown to a barn owl's leg when a sharp knock came from the door. Harry's breath froze mid-inhale and his eyes fixed to a crack in the stone floor, unable to move. His head of house called for his father to enter, and Harry heard the familiar clacking of boots on stone behind him.

"Thank you for contacting me, Minerva." said Snape smoothly from behind Harry's chair. "I greatly appriciate your doing so and apologize for the actions of my son. It will certainly be delt with at home. Have you determined an appropriate school punishment?"

McGonagall sighed and looked down her square glasses are her most famous student. "No, Severus, I have not. In the intrest of leaving Argus some time to himself, I'm going to put off a decision until morning. I will certainly inform both you and Mr. Potter of the consequences of his actions as soon as I have them arranged."

Snape inclined his head slightly to acknowledge the witch before speaking to Harry. "Come with me." he instructed, turned on his heel, and swept out of the room. Harry followed without looking up from the floor.

The trip to the dungeons seemed both longer and shorter than it normally did. The anticipation and fright of his father's response made every step feel like a death march. He could not, however, escape the feeling that what he was feeling on this march would be far preferable to what he would be subjected to in five minutes time.

When his father had taken Harry from the Dursleys he had promised Harry that he would not hit, starve, or in any way mistreat him. Thus far in their relationship he had remained true to his word. Harry never went to bed with an empty stomach, nor was he beaten after a day spent scrubbing the sidewalk clean. When Harry was punished he found himself writting apology letters to the teachers he had disrespected, having privelages such as floo-calls taken away, or being made to write a paper on why his choice or actions were poor. So far his father had never treated him like the Dursleys did, but perhaps tonight was the night that Harry had given him cause to start.

He followed his father into his quarters behind a portrait of a witch in flowing red robes shooting fire at an army of Inferi. Snape gestured toward the sofa with his head and Harry sat on it obediantly. His father sat across from him his brown leather chair. The older wizard watched the younger one study the floor for several moments before he spoke.

"Harry, do you care to tell me what happened?" His voice was dark, but steady.

Without looking up Harry answered "Lavender and I decided to have sex. We used the old Charms room thinking we would not get caught. We were having sex when Professor McGonagall walked in."

Snape smirked. "You decided to have sex? How did this decision come about?" he asked.

Harry still did not look up, but blushed to the tips of his ears. "I- uh, we-uh..." he swollowed nervously. "Lavender and I were kissing and, well, fooling around a bit. We both, er, needed to make a decision. We chose to continue."

"I was not aware that the two of you were in a relationship. When did this start?" Snape questioned. When Harry didn't respond after a few seconds realization shown across his father's features. "You are not in a relationship with Lavender, are you." It was more of a statement than a question.

Harry shook his head slightly. He wasn't going to speak if he could help it. There was no sense in risking saying something that might further enrage his father. Besides, the shame and embarassment he was feeling would probably make his voice shake. This was it, he was sure of it. His father would surely rage at him for his stupid behavior. Just then his father stood up and took a step toward Harry. Harry flinched, but did not look up.

Snape looked down at his son for a moment after seeing the boy flinch. He then continued to the kitchen and quickly returned with two cups of tea. He handed the sweetened one to Harry and then sat down on the couch next to him.

"Do you think I am going to hit you?" Snape asked softly.

Not knowing how to respond, Harry said "I do not wish to upset you, Sir."

Snape took a sip of his tea before continuing. "Harry, I have not once hit you since taking custody of you. Why do you think I would do so now?" Harry shrugged his response. His father arched a black eyebrow before commanding "Speak to me Harry; and for Merlin's sake I'm not going to hit you."

"I just thought you might be angry." Harry answered meekly.

"I am angry with you Harry, but I am not going to hit you." Snape answered. "I've been angry before and haven't hit you, why would this time be different?"

Harry shifted uncomfortably. "This is different though."

Snape nodded in agreement. "This is different. I would like you to explain to me the reasons why that is so."

Harry took a breath and launched into his answer. "You told me not to have sex at my age. I agreed that I wouldn't. I never approached you on this, I simply did what I wanted. You have also always told me that sex is something that is meant for communicating feelings in relationships. You told me why I was to respect it. By doing what I did, I was not thinking about what you had taught me. I also placed myself and Lavender at risk for punishment from Professor McGonagall, as at risk for pregnancy and STDs. I acted as if I didn't have a father."

"That is a particularly accurate answer. You are correct, you acted as if you did not have a father. However, you do. Let's go through the list, shall we?" Harry nodded, and for the first time looked his father in the face.

"You said the two of you were at risk for infection and pregnancy. Does this mean that you did not use any sort of protection?" Snape asked.

"No, we did not. We weren't planning on having sex, and then when we did everything happened too fast to really think about it." Harry answered softly.

Snape sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Harry, I understand that you got carried away, but this was a very serious mistake."

"It could have been... I mean, the risk isn't too bad." Harry blushed bright red again. "You see, I didn't.. we got interupted so I never, uhm, I never really finished."

To Harry's horror, his father smirked at his stuttering. "Child, you do not have to be embaressed about sex. It is a very natural part of life. Your intrest in it, as well as your arousal, are completely natural. You are a 14 year old male, I understand that your intrest and arousal are somewhat all comsuming, but I assure you that they are natural.

"As for your risk analysis, it is still possible for Lavender to have gotten pregnant even if you did not ejaculate. The fluid that leaks out before climax can contain sperm cells." Snape explained.

"But that's just a tiny bit." Harry argued. "The amount that usually comes out couldn't fill a thimble. How could it get her pregnant?" Realizing what he had just said, Harry looked away from his father."

"Don't worry child, I didn't for a moment labor under the pretense that you did not masturbate. Again, it is natural and completely normal. As for your question, it only takes one sperm cell Harry. It has been known to happen."

"I'd never..." Harry trailed off.

"Never what?" his father prompted gently.

"I'd never be able to care for a child. Neither would Lavender. We're still in school, not even allowed to use magic outside of Hogwarts."

Harry felt his chin being tipped upwards by his father. The older man looked the younger in the eye. "I am not going to abandon you. If it happens that you do find yourself with a child, then I will take care of the both of you until you are independant. Both you and any children you have will always be cared for. Do you understand?"

Harry nodded yes and after only a moment of hesitation through himself against his fathers chest. Harry felt Snape hold his head and neck into his teaching robes with one hand, and use the other to rub small circles into his back. This was the acceptance and reassurance he needed.

After Harry's breathing returned to normal his dad pushed him back onto his spot on the sofa. "You pointed out before that you did not speak to me about having sex beforehand. I assume this means that you had considered the possibility before today?" Harry nodded sheepishly. Snape continued. "Why did you not approach me then? You always have done so in the past."

With his arms wrapped tightly around his chest Harry stammered out "I didn't bring it up because it is an akward subject. I thought it would be too much to really talk about- it is sex after all. Nice people don't even say the word. How could I just casually bring this up? Besides, you would tell me not to, and then I would have done it anyway. What would the difference have been?"

"The difference would have been that you would have had a sounding board for your thoughts, you would have come to realize that honest and frank conversations about sex and sexuality could be good things, and I certainly would have gotten you condoms. You would have known that I would be here for you, and that I care about you even when you are choosing to behave in a way I disapprove of."

Eyes back on the floor, Harry bit his lip. "I just didn't think that it would be something we would be able to understand eachother about."

"Harry, how do you feel about what you and Lavender did?" Snape asked inquisitively.

"It felt... good."

"No doubt, but what I am asking is how do you feel about it now?" the older wizard pressed.

"Now I guess I feel ashamed and kind of dirty. Suprised too, I guess." Harry admitted.

"Suprised?" Snape asked.

"Well, yeah. I've been listening to the other guys talk about their sex lives. They don't ever mention feeling like this. They seem to have enough pleasure to last them days, until they get some more. I was expecting this huge great feeling, and all I get is this overwhelming sense of guilt and shame." Harry explained.

"Are these other young men your classmates?" Snape asked, with his curiosity obviously piqued.

"Dad, please don't ask who they are." Harry begged half heartedly. "Yeah, they are in my year and yeah, they are sleeping with girls in my year. It's been happening since last spring actually. I actually got in on it late."

Snape sighed. "Child, listen to me. Sex, by nature of what it is, creates a bond between the people involved. For somebody to voluntarly have sex, but not even really know who they themselves are throws off your sense of self. It is like building a bridge over a river without first building bases for it to rest on. I think on some level you know this, and that is why you feel the way you do."

"Then why did I do it? Why do the other guys do it?" Harry asked.

"I would wager that your classmates have sex because they are too immature to realize the seriousness of their actions. You are more mature, but only enough to be able to see the error of the behavior. As for why you did it, I can make a fairly good guess. You and Lavender discovered your ability to indulge your sexual urges in eachother and when it came to the point where you had to decide either to have sex or stop, you could not see past the fact that a pretty girl was willing to do this to with you."

Harry shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "I've gotten to that point with other girls, and we've always just backed off. This time I didn't even consider it."

"Why was that?" Snape prompted.

Harry blushed bright red and spoke softly, keeping his eyes off his father.

"This time I was rock hard, and she seemed to be checking to make sure that I was. She touched... me, and I, uh, just never considered stopping."

"Part of getting to know yourself is getting to know yourself sexually. This includes learning when is the best time for you to stop and make a decision before your mind is too clouded with arousal. Consider your earlier escapades a learning experience." Snape said with a hint of amusement in his voice. "I think it might be beneficial for you to find other ways to explore your sexuality Harry."

Confused, Harry looked at his father. "What do you mean?"

"You are going to want to continue exploring yourself sexually. It will only be natural for you to want to seek out new... information. However, the idea of you contuing with your sexual activity is one I wish to discourage. I am suggesting the use of erotic literature and images as a substitute."

"Porn?" Harry couldn't believe his ears. "You want me to use porn?"

"I want you to have an alternative to rushing into fly by the moment sexual encounters with girls you don't know. If pornography, masterbation aids, or explicit books allow you a pressure valve, then yes- I would prefer that you use them over sex." Snape answered.

Harry sat quietly for several moments before nodding a concent to his father's plan.

Snape nodded back slightly. "I will take you this weekend to Hogsmede. There you will be able to find some... items of intrest."

Harry grinned shyly. "I didn't know there was a place in Hogsmede that sold that sort of thing. Imagine how delighted Ron will be to find out."

Looking both amused and somewhat disgusted Snape retorted "It doesn't matter if you tell him. The store does not cater to students as a favor to the Headmaster."

Harry looked confused. "Why will I be able to go then? I am a student."

"You will be able to go because you will be brought there by a parent. If Dumbledore were to let students go freely, he would be innundated with angry parents." his father answered.

"Yeah, I guess he would sort of be buried in Howlers... Dad, um, this store... Have you ever been there?" Harry asked.

That blasted eyebrow quirked again and Harry looked away. "You are asking if I shop there myself?" Harry nodded to his father, who continued. "Yes, I do shop there. I find that as I am not in a relationship, pornography often helps meet my sexual needs."

Harry was obviously trying to look mature and accepting, but the was a definate current of uncomfortability playing across his face. The akwardness couldn't hold back his last question, though. "Dad? How old were you...?

His father looked him in the eye ans answered without shame. "I was 16 when I first had sex. She was the first girl I ever had a relationship with."

Harry nodded. "Oh. Uh... were you ready to have sex when you did?" He couldn't help but ask.

Snape shook his head. "No, I wasn't, although the relationship was, and still

is, important to me. I do not wish your first experiences to seem wild and out of

control. I've learned from my actions, and would like to help you learn from them

too."

Harry's mouth twitched into a tight smile that looked like it was barely holding

back a wide barage of emotions. He leaned over and hugged his father again.

"Thanks, Dad."

Snape stroked Harry's unruley hair and murmured into his child's ear. "It is what parents are for, child."

"I love you, Dad."

"I love you too, Harry."