Child's Play by libertineangel
Past Featured StorySummary: When Draco accidently uses a black curse on Harry and turns him into a baby, Dumbledore appoints Snape as his carer. Follow Harry's slow, strange journey back to fifteen - accompanied by Snape ...
Categories: Parental Snape > Guardian Snape Main Characters: .Snape and Harry (required), Draco, Dumbledore, Hermione, Lucius, McGonagall, Arthur, Molly, Remus, Ron, Sirius, Tonks, Voldemort
Snape Flavour: None
Genres: Angst, Drama, General, Hurt/Comfort
Media Type: None
Tags: Baby fic, Child fic, Deaging
Takes Place: 6th summer
Warnings: Alcohol Use
Challenges: None
Series: None
Chapters: 29 Completed: No Word count: 98036 Read: 169343 Published: 08 Aug 2006 Updated: 02 Sep 2008
Bedtime Fun by libertineangel

‘Er - do you want to take him then, Sir?’ Hermione said as Snape finally returned to his dilapidated quarters. She had spent the last hour and ten minutes playing with Harry and, though he seemed to be fighting hard against it, it was obvious from his flushed face and droopy eyes that Harry was ready for bed. She bent to pick him up and he put up little resistance as she took him in her arms. ‘I think he’ll sleep now and I have to be getting back to Gryfinndor Tower.’

Even though it was only eight o’ clock, Hermione herself felt quite tired. Harry had made it impossible for them to ‘play quietly’ or read a book. Instead he had somehow managed to manipulate her into playing a repetitive game of ‘peek-a-boo’ with the stuffed canary (which actually had seemed alive at some points). That game had been okay until Harry had thrown the bird across the room in frustration causing its squawking to go into overdrive – he was definitely a very wilful baby!

This had been followed by a game of throw and catch with an oversized, fluffy snitch. Actually it had been Harry throwing it and Hermione chasing it around the room like a mad thing to catch it, as though the elder Harry was a fine seeker, the young Harry didn’t seem to have the hand and eye coordination quite mastered.

Hermione hoped that she had tired Harry out enough so that he would sleep through the night – she didn’t think Snape would appreciate being woken up by his least-favourite student and she was quite worried about what he might do to silence Harry; after all she hardly expected that he had had much experience with children.

Snape raised an eyebrow as he looked down at the boy. He had purposefully spent extra time in his study in the hope that Harry would be in bed, asleep, before he returned.

‘Madame Pomfrey said he would probably want a bottle before bedtime,’ Hermione added tentatively.

‘I’m well away of Madame Pomfrey’s instructions,’ Snape said shortly. With that he unceremoniously removed Harry from Hermione’s grasp, holding him awkwardly and at least five inches away from him as though he was a garden gnome and not a baby. ‘You may go now Miss Granger.’

Hermione hesitated. She wondered if she should offer to get Harry a bottle and get him settled in his cot. Harry’s eyes had opened widely as he was passed to the potions master and she could see his bottom lip beginning to stick out. Unfortunately Snape didn’t give her the chance.

‘I said you may go.’

Hermione had no choice but to reluctantly leave the quarters. ‘Night, night Harry,’ she said waving, earning her yet another contemptuous look from Snape.

Harry had been quiet up until the point that he saw his friend ‘Her- mwione’ leave the room. He had thought that ‘batman’ had been about to participate in the fun game they had been playing with the furry ball, but as soon as Hermione had gone Snape sent both the ball and the stuffed canary flying back into the toy box.

‘No!’ Harry said indignantly, ‘No. No. No. NO.’

But the nasty man didn’t seem to take any notice of Harry’s ever-louder protests. He tucked Harry firmly under one arm and crossed the room to pick up a bottle, placing Harry on the counter top. Harry didn’t like where this was leading and Snape found he had to hold tightly to Harry’s red and gold pyjama suit to stop him wriggling away. Harry pouted as he realised that the mean man meant business and his green eyes showed the first indication of angry tears.

NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!’ he shouted stubbornly.

‘That’s enough of that,’ Snape said abruptly. He took out his wand and pointed to the bottle, instantly filling it with creamy-white liquid. He could feel the first twinges of a headache at his temples. Potter really could make a lot of noise for such a small thing.

Realising that he was getting nowhere, and quite startled by the harsh tone of the man in front of him, Harry resorted to his usual trick. He opened his mouth wide and began to scream.

Snape, however, didn’t seem to be falling for it. Instead of pandering over him like Madame Pomfrey and Hermione had, he simply watched him with a slightly bored (and somewhat pained) expression. After a few minutes Harry increased the volume and added kicking legs and flailing arms in the hope of getting a reaction – in the process managing to shrug Snape’s grip from his pyjamas, nearly ending up on the floor.

‘Really Potter!’ Snape snapped catching Harry and holding him still in his arms in a vice-like grip. ‘If you think I’m going to give in simply because you’re kicking and screaming then you are even more horrendously spoiled than I gave you credit for. Now you are going to have this bottle and then you are going to sleep. And first thing in the morning we are going to start figuring out exactly how we can get you back to your older self as soon as possible.

With this Snape picked the bottle up and held it out to Harry. Harry stopped crying and turned suspicious eyes upwards. He was feeling very thirsty after all the playing with Hermione but he knew that if he took the bottle he would probably end up asleep.

‘You surely do not need me to feed you it Potter?’ Snape said disdainfully. ‘You are a toddler not a baby!’

Though unwitting, this remark had the desired effect. Harry immediately snatched the bottle from Snape’s hand, putting it to his lips immediately to drink. He most certainly wasn’t a baby, he was a big boy.

Snape set Harry down in his playpen. Whilst he watched Harry slurp the bottle hungrily, milk dribbling down his chin, he wondered for the tenth time that day why on earth he had ever allowed Albus to talk him into this.

‘Not so fast,’ he said irritably.

Harry simply paused and wrinkled his face up for a minute before starting on the bottle again, twice as fast as before. He had been watching the man carefully. He wasn’t as nice as Hermione and his arms were very unfriendly, but he had given him milk - Harry’s favourite. Suddenly a thought formed in Harry’s head. He pulled the bottle out of his mouth to share it with the man.

‘Snape,’ he said clearly.

A thin eyebrow arched on Snape’s pallid face.

‘Snape, Snape, Snape, Snape …’

‘Alright Potter, I heard you the first time,’ Snape said scathingly. ‘Anyway it’s “Sir” or “Professor” to you.’ He had actually been quite taken aback by the boy’s sudden memory and he made up his mind to add it to the notes he had been making.

‘Snape, Snape, Snape,’ said Harry gurgling happily. He had finished his milk and pulled himself to his feet for more play time. Regrettably, Snape seemed to have other ideas.

‘Sleep Potter,’ he said. He reached forward before Harry had chance to bolt away and transferred him to his cot.

‘No!’ Harry said. ‘No ba – da’, or No Bed.

‘Yes,’ said Snape. ‘Lay down!’ Harry wriggled and squealed as Snape tried to wrestle him under the covers. He was glad that Snape had decided to play with him after all and giggled happily, racing from one end of his cot to the other.

Snape narrowed his eyes as he tried to settle a shrieking Potter. He considered briefly using a body-binding, or even a silencing, spell but he knew that any magic he did on the boy might interfere with the speed with which he could reverse the black curse - and anyway he didn’t think Madame Pomfrey or the headmaster would be very forgiving if they found out. After a few more attempts he realised that Potter thought that he was playing a game with him. He decided to simply dim the lights and ignore him in the hope he would simply drift off by himself.

Harry was disappointed that the fun seemed to have stopped. He started slightly at the sudden darkness. ‘Snape,’ he whimpered, wondering if he was playing hide and seek, ‘Snape … ?’

‘Go to sleep Potter,’ Snape said, ‘it’s bed time!’

At the mention of one of his most hated words Harry realised that he had been tricked. A fresh round of crying began. A long ten minutes of bawling later Snape was almost at breaking point. Pushed to the edge he did the only thing he could think of. He crossed to the toy box and picked up the stuffed canary that he had heard Harry playing with earlier. He turned the lights up slightly.

‘Here Potter,’ he said through gritted teeth.

Harry looked up at the man. He couldn’t decide what he wanted more – to stay awake and keep bawling (which was beginning to get very tiring) or to have his stuffed friend to cuddle. In the end he decided on the latter. He rubbed tears from his eyes and grabbed the bird’s neck in his chubby hand. He grinned at Snape.

‘Ta – ba,’ he said gratefully.

‘Humph,’ Snape said, uncomfortable with the smile directed towards him, ‘go to sleep.’

With that Harry eventually laid down under the covers, canary in arm. It was a long time before he drifted off to sleep as he had many important things to gurgle to his new friend, but he didn’t cry any more and he left Snape, for the time being, free to carry on with his research.

To be continued...


This story archived at http://www.potionsandsnitches.org/fanfiction/viewstory.php?sid=1196