He couldn't believe the nerve of those two men. He was the Minister of Magic! How dare they not turn over the boy to him and how dare they dismiss him in such a way. He wouldn't stand for it oh no he wouldn't. The minister slammed his office door shut behind him and sat heavily into his chair. Putting his elbows on the desk he steepled his fingers together thinking. Oh he knew what he wanted to do but he had to think of a way to do it without Dumbledore catching on. It would do no good to have his plan in action only to have Dumbledore find out before he was supposed.

Grinning to himself he pulled out a piece of parchment, he had a letter to write.

Hafen,

There is an issue I would like to deal with but I require your assistance. I would like to set up a meeting with you as soon as possible. I will not disclose this issue in this owl for I am unsure whether it will be intercepted, mind you this is for safety reasons. Please contact me immediately.

Minister of Magic,

Cornelius Fudge

Satisfied, he summoned one of the ministry's owls and tied the parchment to its legs. “Take this to Hafen of the child services department and do not leave until he responds.” Opening the window for the owl, Fudge sat back into his chair to wait. It wouldn't be long now. That boy will be his and when he has Potter in his custody he can use him as he pleases. Once I have the brat my career will sky rocket!

Lost in thoughts as he was he missed an owl flying into his office until the bird poked him hard in his head with its' beak. Grunting, Fudge untied the letter and scanned it.

Minister,

I will gladly meet up with you. You have only to name a place and a time for us to meet. I am glad to be of service.

Head of Child Services,

Jason Hafen

The minister let out a harsh chuckle. My dear friend, I knew I would be able to rely on you. He quickly wrote a response for Hafen to meet him at his personal home the next morning. Quickly sending the owl back out the window, Fudge went out into the ministry halls to see what gossip he could pick up. After all, you never know what you will hear and what may come in handy some day.

- - - - -

A man in his early fourties knocked on the ministers door the next moring. Not that I am not glad that the minister asked for me specifically but meeting him at his personal residence? That is a little strange. He was startled out of his thoughts when the door was opened and he was ushered inside by a house elf.

“Welcome sirs! Follow me please, master is waiting in the lounge.” The elf led him through a series of cooridors and through a set of double doors. There is where the man spotted the minister, already seated in comfortable chair sipping on a cup of tea, or so he guessed.

“Minister, you wished to see me?” Jason Hafen took off his hat and placed in on the table next to the other chair before sitting down opposite of the minister.

“Ah Jason, it is a pleasure to see you again. Yes, I did wish to speak to you but I need your word that what we speak about will not be told outside this room.” He gave a meaningful look to Hafen hoping he would get the point. He nodded his head with a smile when he saw the agreement in the other mans eyes. “There is a matter that will take great care and subtle moves on. Of which I speak is in the matter of one Harry Potter. Now I will fill you in on the current situation and what I wish to do. Mind you this is all for the boys personal safety in mind...” The minister went on and told his tale, weaving it to suit his purposes.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - -- - - - -

The next day for little Harry was better. He woke up slowly with a large yawn and rubbing little fists against his eyes. He rolled over in his crib clutching his stuffed animal to his chest putting a thumb in his mouth. He rolled again in discomfort digging his face into his stuffed animals soft fur and let out a whine. Moving a little more he grew more unhappy letting out little cries of “Da.” He sat up when he heard movement outside of his room and cried a little harder with one hand grasping at the bars.

The door opened wider and little Harry stood up with his stuffed animal, tears rolling down his face, and held one hand out for the person coming through the door. He watched the person come closer and let out a small cry of delight at seeing his daddy coming to pick him up. His daddy reached under his arms and lifted him up and close to his chest, cradling Harry there gently.

“Good morning Harry, I hope you are feeling better this morning child.” His daddy rubbed circles on his back that made Harry relax more into his embrace, which was gently lulling him back to sleep. His daddy readjusted him in his arms and Harry was once more reminded why he cried out before and started squirming and whining. “I get it Harry, come on child let's get you cleaned up.”

As much as Harry was in discomfort, he let out a whine when his daddy laid him down on the soft table; he wanted back in his daddies embrace. He was quickly cleaned and redressed into his night-y; his daddy saying that there was no classes today so he could stay in it for a while, which was fine with Harry, he just wanted to stay with his daddy. He was lifted back into his daddy's arms and he laid his head into his chest letting out a giggle when he heard a thump.

“What are you giggling at you little monster hmm?” Severus' deep voice cut through the next thump that Harry was listening to causing him to look at his daddy.

“Daddy, der's a thump...thump..THUMP!” He giggled again as he heard it. His daddy let out a laugh when he realized what Harry was talking about.

“That's my heart Harry. Your's makes the same sound.” He let out another hearty laugh when Harry tried to place his own ear to his heart and was failing miserably at it.

Harry gave up and settled his head back into his daddy's chest to listen to his heart some more. He was jostled from his listening when his daddy tried to pull him away while trying to place him in his seat. Harry let out a cry and held onto his daddy's robes in a tight fist.

“No dow' daddy! No dow!” A tear leaked out of the corner of his eye and he gripped tighter to the robes already clamped in his hands. He felt a warm hand rub his back and he calmed down a little.

“Harry child, what's the matter? It's breakfast time and you need to sit in your chair so you can eat, aren't you hungry.” Severus continued rubbing his back, gently walking back and forth to help calm the toddler in his arms. Harry nodded but Severus could only tell by what he felt coming from his chest as the boy had his face buried in his robes.

Confused as to what to do Severus continued walking around his rooms rubbing the small back. He quickly walked to the sitting room when he heard the portrait open shifting Harry into one arm and hold him tightly. Harry was completely undisturbed by this and continued his silent cries, still clenching his robes. Severus calmed when he saw the blonde head of Draco walk into the room.

“Ah high Sev, you planning on hexing me? Should I pull my wand out?” Draco laughed quietly at his own joke falling silent when he saw Harry crying in Sevs arms. “What's the matter?” He asked gesturing to Harry.

“I am not quite sure to be honest. He seems to be a bit clingy and wouldn't allow me to set him in his chair even though he admitted to being hungry. I need to consult that book I had bought a while back. Let's see if we can get him to eat some then I want you to play with him to keep him occupied so I can see if I can find anything about his behavior.” Draco nodded in agreement and went to the table where there was food laid out ready to be eaten.

Severus once again walked over to Harry's chair and tried placing him in it but failed when Harry let out another whimper and clung even tighter than he had, This boy has one tough grip! “All right Harry I won't set you down. You can eat with me.” Severus let out a sigh and settled himself and Harry into his chair. Luckily things proceeded smoothly after that with Harry taking pieces of food off of his daddy's plate while Severus was wishing he had remembered the boys cloth as he was making a terrible mess.

Harry sat in his daddy's lap happily munching on a piece of pancake he took from his daddy's plate, though he still kept one hand clamped into his robes to make sure he wouldn't go anywhere. Harry was so very happy to be sitting with his Daddy, happy that they didn't have to go anywhere that day. He let out a startled whimper when he felt a warm cloth over his face and tried to squirm away but as hard as he tried to the cloth followed. Finally it was taken away and Harry sat grumpily in his daddy's lap.

“All right Harry? Why don't you come over here and play with Draco? You always have fun with him Harry.” Severus sat Harry on the floor where Draco had already set up some of Harry's favorite toys but Harry turned his head to his daddy. However when he turned his daddy was moving out of the room. With a cry Harry ran after him with tears trailing down his plump cheeks.

“Daddy!” Harry cried when he finally caught up with the man and clung to his leg. Severus looked down at the toddler then at Draco who was just as perplexed as he was. He bent and lifted Harry into his arms

“What's wrong Harry? I was only getting a book child, I would have been right back. Come on you can get it with me.” He quickly retrieved the book from his night stand and went back out to Draco who was waiting for them. He sat Harry back on the floor, having to pry his hands away from his robes and sat back on the couch. “I am going no where Harry, play with Draco.” He opened the book and prayed to merlin that the boy would let him read.

Harry glanced at his daddy as if to make sure that he was staying. Satisfied he turned to Draco and started playing happily, glancing at his daddy to make sure he was there every once in a while.

Severus opened his book skimming through the pages to see if he missed anything that could possibly tell him about Harry's current behavior. He found a few things odd with the child currently. He found it quite astounding that the boy would be testing his boundaries already as he did last night considering his previous experience the first time around as a two year old. The second being this sudden attachment to his self, he didn't know if this was the after effect from leaving Harry in the room last night or if it was something completely different.

He flipped through a few chapters that he had already read and skipped a few that looked insignificant, promising himself to go back and take a peek at those later. He stopped when he found something that he valued as useful upon reading it.

It is found that children come upon an age where they are testing their security situation. Most childrenattachthemselves to the dominant adult figure in their life. It is not uncommon for said child to put up a fuss when the adult leaves their sight making

them feel insecure and the need to be with the person. This usually occurs with children

age three through five; of course this is dependent on each individual child's situation...

He skipped the rest deeming it irrelevant seeing as he got the gist of it from the small portion that he read. Making sure he got it all he re read it a few times to let it sink in.Okay he could handle this, the child was attached, granted at an earlier age than when the book suggests but it did say that it varied at each child's situation and he would definitely deem Harry's situation different from that of a normal child.

Glancing at said child he gave a great sigh. Draco looked up from his playing with Harry giving him a questioning glance.

Waving him away he heaved another sigh, “I have merely found out a bit about why Harry is attached to me. It apparently is normal in children around his age; though I am not sure how long this will go on, nor how this will effect my teaching. I will merely have to wait and see.” Draco nodded and went back to playing with Harry.

Severus flipped through the book some more hoping to find answers to Harry's other behaviors. Gracing Merlin, he found the chapter he was looking for. Is Your Child Becoming Daring? The title didn't seem to fit but the summary said it all. He flipped the next page and read:

There is a period when the child turns two that they begin to test their boundaries against the limit that the parent(s) put on them. This is very common and often called the terrible two's because the child becomes testy and often fussy and hard to keep in control. It is important that the parent(s) keep firm but also consoling to the child to help them not feel trapped. This is often a hard period for parents for they don't know when they are going to far or are being too lenient.

Severus leaned back pinching his nose to stave off a headache. Well that clears that up a little bit but there is still the part that Harry would par take upon this “terrible two” stage so soon, considering his past. Harry Potter was a mystery at this moment but at least he had some idea what may be going on. He was pretty positive that Harry was going through this attachment stage but he was unsure about the “terrible two's” one. Only time will tell he supposed.

----- ------- ---------- ----------- ------------ ------------- ------------ ------------ ---------- ----------- ---------

One Jason Hafen opened the doors to the castle holding a piece of parchment in his hands. He stopped to take in the great castle that he himself had attended years ago grinning at the familiarity of it all.

“Mr. Hafen, how may I help you?” The wizened Headmaster stepped out from around the corner with a bright smile on his face waving the man further into the castle. “Would you like to accompany me to my office?”

“No, I am sorry Headmaster but I am here for one purpose and one purpose only and that is to collect Mr. Potter.”

“Why ever would you need to do that?” The headmasters grin faltered slightly and the gleam in his eyes was gone, slowing hardening.

“I was informed that the boy was de aged to the age of approximately two years of age. Seeing as the boy has no parents and it would be a bother to send him back to his aunt and uncle the ministry has taken the liberties to giving the boy a place to stay while we figure out how to return him to his proper age.” Hafen gave the headmaster the parchments he was holding.”I have the proper documents here to make Mr. Potter a ward of the Ministry.”

Dumbledore frowned staring at the parchments. “I am sorry but I cannot allow you to take Mr. Potter off of the school grounds. He is currently being taken care of. I have to power to my students until such a time as school is out of session.”

“Understandable Headmaster. However, Mr. Potter is not currently playing the role of student and therefore is not under your jurisdiction. The ministry can provide the boy with everything he needs.”

“I do not think you understand Jason. The boy is comfortable here and adores his caretaker to move him now would damage his psyche.” Dumbledore pushed the papers back in the other mans hands moving to push him from the castle.

“Not this time Dumbledore. These papers allow me to take the child now. I am sorry, truly I am however the minister himself has come to me concerning the boy. If you truly find this unsatisfactory you may submit a complaint to the board and make a hearing. I am sorry to have to insist but I must have the boy now.” He gave the old man a sad look. “I really am sorry Headmaster but my hands are tied at this moment.”

“Follow me Jason.” The Headmaster responded coldly and with a glare. “Everyone will live to regret what you and the minister are doing now. These are circumstances you will never understand.” The headmaster led the other man to the dungeons and the Severus Snapes' rooms. Knocking on the portrait he waited for a answer. There was a slight pause before unexpectantly Draco Malfoy opened the portrait.

“Hello professor Dumbledore. Can I help you?” The young man gave the headmaster a questioning look, looking at the man behind him.

“I am sorry this has to happen Draco but is Severus here, I need to speak with him.” Draco ushered the two men into the room taking them over to where Severus sat with Harry in his lap playing.

Severus looked up upon hearing the noise and sent a look to the man behind Dumbledore. “No.” He grasped Harry tighter to himself and stayed where he was.

“I am sorry my boy, but Mr. Hafen here has the proper documents to make Harry a ward of the ministry. All hands are tied at this moment but I plan to file for a court immediately to help you gain custody of Harry.” He gave the other man a sympathetic look.

“No. I will not stand for this. The boy is fine and comfortable with where he is. Not only that but he is currently going through an attachment stage. To take him now will surely ruin the child. No I will not allow this...man to take Harry from me.” Severus curled on the floor, cocooning the boy between his chest and legs. Harry let out a small giggle, completely unaware of his situation.

“I am sorry Mr. Snape but the boy must come with me. As the headmaster has said you may file for a court but for now the boy must come.” Hafen moved forward to take the boy but Draco went and stood in his way.

“Were you not listening? Harry is at a critical stage right now, do you want to be the one responsible for ruining the psyche of Harry Potter?” Draco gave the man a cold glare refusing to budge when the other man made to move him aside.

“That is not my concern young man. Now move aside before I have aurors come in and make you all!” He quickly moved, more like shoved, past Draco and all but yanked the now hysterical Harry from Severus' arms. “There now I will be off.” And before anyone had a say in the matter the other man was practically running out of the door with a screaming Harry Potter.