Fic rec: "The Care of Infants" Wait, wait. Hear me out before you run away in droves at the phrase, "Harry magically becomes a baby..." Because this fic is
good. Stellahobbit has excelled, taking a silly cliche to realms of earnestness and emotion it had previously never dreamt of. This is good stuff!
I admit that I had to force myself to read the first bits; babies are not my thing. Even descriptions of babies leave me scrubbing invisible drool off my hands. But I persevered, and it was worth it! Snape is so very much himself, gloating that even he has done a better job than the Dursleys--that competitive spirit that makes a contest out of everything, even things he was forced into doing in the first place, is very much how I see Snape. It's always about being better than anyone else, about being respected. Furthermore, the relationship between Snape and Harry is delightful; the way Harry's growth both furthers and interrupts it is exactly the sort of unsteady beginning one expects of such a pairing. And the ending made me smile like a loon; it's so sweet and so gently perfect I couldn't help it. Put aside your doubts and read it: you can find the entire story
here, or read it in parts
here and
here*, in her LJ.
*EDIT: JF is being an arse, and--apparently--will not accept any HTML'ed links. You may copy/paste:
http://archive.skyehawke.com/story.php?no=5803 or simply find it via my LJ mirror journal (link at top of page).