"Mr Weasley," said Snape silkily, "What is that you have brewed?"

Although Snape was not as angry as he had been in the past he was certainly party to a little sarcasm once in a while.

"It's a bone reconstruction potion," muttered Ron

"I think you will find it's much too dark to be any such potion," said Snape smoothly, "How many baby eels did you put in?"

"Two, no maybe three," Ron mumbled, "I'm not sure."

"Mr Weasley," said Snape sternly, "Potions making is an exact art. The consequences of 'not being sure', as you put it, can be dangerous, even fatal."

He pointed his wand at the cauldron in question, which was already beginning to bubble dangerously.

"Evenes….BANG"

Suddenly, Ron was lying on the ground, his robe singed and Snape was nowhere to be seen. The Gryffindors and Slytherins were staring in silent horror.

"You've done it now, Weasel," sneered Malfoy after a few minutes, "Snape's going to have you cleaning bats blood off his ceiling for months."

Crabbe and Goyle guffawed.

"I don't think so, Malfoy," said Harry quietly.

He had noticed Snape's black robe on the ground and it was moving. Pulling it back, he stared in horror.

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH. WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH. WAAAAAAAAAAAAH."

"Uh oh. The Headmaster is going to kill you, Ronald," said Hermione. She moved to pick up the screaming baby that was once their potions professor. The baby pulled back in terror.

"Everybody move back," Harry suddenly sprang into action, "You're scaring him."

It took mere seconds for Harry to send everyone out of the classroom. Even the Slytherins were too shocked to protest at taking orders from Harry Potter.

That left the trio alone. Baby Snape had stopped screaming but was still sobbing uncontrollably.

"I think you need to go and get the Headmaster," said Hermione, "Babies don't cry like that for nothing. It sounds like he's hurt."

"He is," said Ron, now ashen faced, "Look!"

They saw small cuts and dark bruises on the baby white skin and one ankle looked to be at a funny angle."

Hermione looked like she would be ill.

"I'm getting Dumbledore," said Harry.

"No need, Harry," came a deep voice behind him. All three spun around to see their old headmaster, wearing starry robes and a very concerned expression.

"Sir, I'm sorry. I made a potion wrong. Snape tried to make it disappear and…." Ron babbled.

"I know, Mr Weasley," said Dumbledore distractedly crossing quickly to the baby, who shrieked anew, his dark eyes full of fear.

"Perhaps you could collect some of the potion and bring it to my office?" the headmaster had softened his voice and crouched down on the ground. Hermione obeyed and the three were sent out of the classroom. This left Dumbledore alone with the tiny potions master.

"Severus," he said very softly, "I am just going to pick you up, all right? I'm not going to hurt you, my little one."

He reached out very slowly and picked the baby up. Severus cried out again.

"Oh, ssssshhhh, child. Shhh," Albus crooned as he gently wrapped him in a blanket, "We're going to go to Madame Pomfrey and let her fix all your hurts. My poor little baby."

He slowly got to his feet and walked to the hospital wing with Severus sniffling in his arms.

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"Gracious, Albus. What happened to him?" Nurse Pomfrey started to clean the cuts and rub healing salve into them. Baby Severus clung fast to Dumbledore's robes and began to wail again as Madame Pomfrey attempted to examine his ankle. Albus rocked him and murmured soft tender words in the small ear.

"It looks like it was broken and not healed. It has reset itself wrongly. Albus, I'm going to have to use a spell to break it again before I can fix it."

Dumbledore was horrified but did his best not to convey this to the shaking baby.

"Can you give him anything to numb the pain?" he softly asked.

" I can use a slight freezing spell to numb his ankle a bit," answered the witch, "I can't use a potion as we don't know what the potion causing his de-ageing was made of."

She conjured a soft chair for Albus to sit in. He held Severus carefully in his arms.

"It's best to tell him what we are doing and to be as comforting as possible," said the nurse softly.

Dumbledore hid his feelings of anguish at his child's suffering and cuddled him close. He noted that Severus was slightly calmer.

"Severus, Nurse Pomfrey here is going to make your ankle better for you. I'm sure it is very sore, hmm?"

The baby whimpered.

"Yes, I know it is, my poor darling. I know," Dumbledore cooed, "We're going make it all better and then we're going to get you a bottle and some nice warm clothes. Won't that be nice?"

"I just have to cast a little spell to freeze your ankle, dear," said Madame Pomfrey, taking out her wand. The child's lower lip trembled and Dumbledore shushed him again.

Madame Pomfrey did the highly unpleasant job as quickly as possible, gently speaking to the baby along the way and helping Albus to comfort him. Another small spell took the last of the pain away. She motioned to Albus that she was finished.

"There, there, sweetheart. It's all finished now. All done, my darling," Dumbledore paced the room, comforting the crying child while Pomfrey got some baby clothes, a bottle and a nappy.

Severus would only let Dumbledore dress him and was very soon in the strong arms once again. He did allow the mediwitch to examine him and she gave her report that from what she could tell, the potion hadn't done any lasting damage and would probably only last a few weeks. She also informed Albus that Severus was approximately nine months old. That done, she handed Albus the bottle and promised to go into Hogsmeade for toys and more baby things.

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Albus entered his office and was surprised to find the three Gryffindors still waiting for him. The offending potion was now sitting on his desk.

He sat down calmly in his chair and heated the bottle with a spell, gently encouraging Severus to drink it.

"Did Madame Pomfrey see his ankle?" asked Hermione at last.

"She did indeed, Miss Granger," said Dumbledore softly, "And she made it all better, didn't she, poppet?" Dumbledore was now addressing the dark haired infant in his arms.

"Yes, she did. You were such a brave boy, weren't you, Severus? Such a brave little boy." He kissed the dark head and smiled as Severus snuggled against him.

"Sir," said Hermione quietly. Dumbledore looked as though he had forgotten they were there, "It was not the potion that hurt him, was it?"

"I wouldn't think so," said Dumbledore, almost in a whisper, "It is probably an injury he had when he really was nine months old."

Ron and Hermione looked scandalised. Harry, however, looked merely sad.

"Small wonder," thought the Headmaster, "He comes closest to knowing what that feels like."

He decided that now was not the best time to berate himself. It was of no help at the moment. Instead, he looked up at the three teenagers, a very serious look in his clear blue eyes.

"I would ask all of you to keep what you know to yourselves," he said, "This is a very delicate situation and we have to consider Professor Snape's feelings. I hope, however, that it will help you understand why he can be a little unpleasant sometimes as an adult. It is difficult to show kindness and compassion when one has little experience of what they feel like."

Dumbledore looked at Harry as he said this and Harry saw the sorrow and the unspoken apology in the old man's eyes.

"We won't say anything," Harry said earnestly and his look said "I'll try to forgive you. I'll try to understand."

The Headmaster smiled softly at them all as Ron and Hermione voiced Harry's promise to keep the information quiet.

They left the office shortly afterwards and Dumbledore called a house-elf to bring the potion to St Mungo's. Madame Pomfrey had arranged for a healer at the hospital to examine it.

Severus finished the bottle, which was packed full of nutrients, the nurse had reported that Severus was malnourished and promised to send for some more nutrient rich baby foods.

"There, sweetie pie. Are you feeling better now?" Dumbledore crooned as he rubbed the baby's small back, helping him to bring up his wind, "Madame Pomfrey is going to get you some nice toys to play with. Yees, you'll have lots of fun. I've a feeling you didn't have nearly enough before but not this time, my treasure. You're my child and I'm going to make sure you enjoy yourself."

He cuddled Severus and continued speaking to him in a warm singsong voice, which kept the baby calm. It wasn't long before Severus was rubbing his eyes with small fists.

"Time for a little sleep," Albus cooed, "You're a tired boy, aren't you?"

Madame Pomfrey arrived just in time with all the baby supplies including a large box of toys. She smiled when she saw how calm Severus was with the headmaster. The child clearly trusted him.

Albus ran a small baby bath for the child (Madame Pomfrey had warned that Severus might be afraid of a large bath-she had seen the boy's medical files) and he gently lowered the child into the warm water. The baby sighed in contentment and then looked up fearfully, expecting the water to turn cold and the Headmaster's soft voice to become harsh.

"Oh that's lovely warm water, isn't it?" Albus said tenderly, "Lovely splashy water, little one. Let's get you washed, hmm. There's a good boy"

He proceeded to gently bathe the small child and encouraged Severus to kick his feet in the water. Dumbledore was delighted to hear the infant's first little noises of childish pleasure as the water rose into the air and he laughed merrily, letting the child know that it was all right to play.

When the water began to cool, Albus took Severus out and wrapped him in a warm fluffy towel. Once he was dry and dressed in sleep clothes from Madame Pomfrey's purchases, he gathered him into his arms again and rocked him, humming a lullaby. Soon the baby was fast asleep, a small thumb in his mouth.