Author's Note: Written for the No Background Information Challenge by Love from A Muggle on the HPFC forum. True to the challenge, I'm not going to explain this, although if you keep an eye on my fics you'll certainly be able to figure it out eventually. (;

When Severus sits down at his desk around midnight, he realizes that the stack of papers that awaits him is taller than his head. Of course, he's seated, and the stack is on the desk, but it's still not the way he wanted to spend his evening… morning.

He's just about relaxed into the flow of grading when a small hand wraps around his elbow. Severus turns to look down at Harry.

"Shouldn't you be in bed?" he asks.

"Shouldn't you?" Harry grins up at him.

"Cheeky." Severus sets down his quill so that he can drag Harry onto his lap, ignoring the boy's squeak of protest. "Answer the question."

"Couldn't sleep."

"Ah. Well, you can help me grade," Severus offers, retrieving his quill from the mess on his desk.

Harry looks up at him with wide eyes. "Can I really?"

Severus chuckles. "No, but you can watch. Perhaps you'll even learn something."

"My essays aren't that bad, are they?" says Harry with a worried frown.

"No, but there's always room for improvement."

They sit like that for a few minutes, Severus scribbling over the papers with red ink while Harry observes. When Harry's eyelids start to droop, Severus puts down his quill again and stands up to carry the child back into his bedroom.

"'m not tired," Harry mumbles.

"Your lying skills could use some work." Severus places Harry on the bed and arranges the covers over him. "Go to sleep, little snake."

Harry smiles sleepily. "Night, Dad."

"Good night, Harry." Severus presses a kiss to Harry's forehead before leaving the room and closing the door behind him.