Severus Snape swept through the corridors of Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The students unlucky enough to find themselves in his way were ruthlessly pushed aside with biting comments and a severe loss of points.

Severus was not a happy man! To think that he had ever considered that man a friend!? No, friend would imply someone you cared about, or who cared about you! No, a friend would never do something like this to you…

In all fairness, the man was not unreasonable, okay, he was actually quite sensible and decent about it, but that did not matter to Severus.

The conversation he’d just had with his best friend ran through his head like an old broken car with no brakes.

Flashback

“Severus! So glad I could find you. Would you care to join me for a cup of tea?”

Severus spun around at the sound of the familiar voice. Raising an eyebrow at the man standing behind him he gave a tight nod and followed his friends to his quarters.

“To what do I owe this surprise visit Lucius? Surely your wife hasn’t driven you out of your house,… again!”

The scowl directed his way had absolutely no effect on Severus as he himself had taught the man how to do it effectively. Lucius Malfoy might have grown up with etiquette lessons hammered into his head but ‘scowling’, no, that he had learned from Severus.

“Not that it concerns you Severus, but no, my wife has behaved decently enough since her last unfortunate accident. She complained for days about a lingering scent of moss and grime.”

Severus smirked at the memory before turning serious again.

“If not to complain about demanding wives, what brings you here?”

Severus watched with confusion as his normally stoic friend actually squirmed in his seat.

“Someone came to visit me over the weekend and I’m afraid that it was not a very…. enjoyable visit. Patricia Parkinson has proposed the suggestion of her daughter becoming betrothed to Draco. She feels that as soon as the children leave for school, various things might interfere and influence the children, thus pushing them apart. I think you can see for yourself where this is going…”

Severus sat back in his chair as he studied his long time friend.

For Lucius to come to him with the ‘problem’, would suggest that it was not just a mere suggestion from Parkinson’s side but an actual formal request.

A Formal Request for a marriage proposal between two such prominent wizarding families was not to be taken lightly, and was definitely not refused without considering the consequences.

“I take it that she’s invoked ‘Marriage Proposal Act 15 of 1852’?” At Lucius’s nod Severus continued. “I can understand your reluctance in promising your son to her daughter but what is it you want from me?”

Lucius focused his complete attention on Severus and the foreboding feeling which had formed in his chest as soon as Lucius had started talking, now blossomed into outright panic – which he ruthlessly squashed down.

“No Lucius, you can not possibly be asking this from me! I might be in need of an heir, I know that the family name can not continue without any offspring of my own, but I’ve come to grips with that, I’ve made peace with that!”

End Flashback

Of course, Lucius had pointed out some very valid points after that but Severus refused to let his righteous anger diminish even one tiny bit. This was asking too much of him.

He had known for years that it was possible to obtain an heir through adoption; he even knew that you could pass down generations of magic through an adoption bond – which would make it possible to adopt an ordinary muggle and make him/her magical.

If, and only if he went through with this ridiculous notion, he would make sure to take revenge the best way possible! An heir, any heir, would just mean one thing – the family name would continue – it doesn’t mean that he would like the brat or, Merlin forbid, look out for him! No, what it would mean is that his godson, who just happens to be his best friend’s son, would have someone else he could become betrothed to.

What would Lucius say when he found out just who, or rather, what Severus planned to adopt. Oh, the man would learn his lesson and learn it well!!

*****

The orphanage before him seemed to be fairly well cared for. Even though some of the paint had begun to peel, the windows were all still in-tact and actually clean; which was more than he could say of the previous two he had ‘visited’.

With a disgusted sneer, Severus made his way up the path and rapped three times on the door. If he had to wait more than one minute, he would leave; as he had with the first orphanage he had visited. He did not have time for any dallying!

Just as he made to turn around the large oak door creaked open and a timid voice beckoned him, “Yes sir?”

Looking down at the filthy brat who’d opened the door, Severus put on his most menacing expression before stating curtly that he wished to speak with the ‘manager’ of the orphanage.

The brat looked at him with wide, fearful eyes but nodded hastily and retreated inside the building.

Severus followed slowly, taking in his surroundings; he thanked his lucky stars that he had never lived in such a deplorable place.

A strict looking woman beckoned him to follow and he made his way slowly after her.

Lucius was so going to regret dragging him into this mess!

*****

The office they entered had a surprising number of photos and pictures. Apparently, the caretaker had lost her mind after the many years of dealing with snot-nosed brats. That was the only reason Severus could think of that someone would keep such a number of photos in her office.

“Now dear sir, what can I help you with?”

Severus focused on the woman before him and in the most calm and collected voice he could manage; he presented his case to her.

He was a very accomplished business man with more money than he could ever use himself. In a very selfless attempt to reach out to his fellow man, he had decided to take in three orphans for the summer holidays. All his credentials and any other ‘useless muggle rubbish’ – as he called it – had been prepared and presented to the woman. Of course, as he knew would happen, she was delighted and with the ‘permission’ he had gained from the local authorities, she was only too glad to hand him over three of the little brats.

“Only boys for now please, we wouldn’t want any unnecessary ‘accidents’ to take place, now would we?”

The woman regarded him with a thoughtful expression before nodding and leading him to one of the dormitories.

“I think it would be best then to keep them to the younger kids. No one older than twelve I’d say.”

Severus nodded in consent. The thought of having to deal with three teenagers made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. Younger kids he could handle, just scowl at them and snap a few times and they would learn their place. Older kids usually had more ‘guts’ or ‘foolish Gryffindor bravery’ as he called it and would most likely get the idea in their heads that they could actually talk back to him!

No; better to keep this little ‘experiment’ to the younger kids.

Of course, Severus was not planning on returning all three brats by summer’s end. He would, if he was lucky, return two of the brats after a week and the last one… well, the brat he finally decided on keeping would learn what it takes to be a Snape, his heir and above all, magical.

Entering the dorm for the younger kids, the woman called out five names. Terry, John, Henry, Peter and Shaun.

Severus eyed the boys with well disguised disgust. He was so not cut out for this!

Severus once again wracked his brain for any other possible payment of the life-debt he owed Lucius but he knew it was a futile endeavor. He had gone over every other possibility only to realize that nothing else would satisfy a life-debt.

Promising his heir to Lucius’s son; that unfortunately, was enough to satisfy such a debt and Severus had to pay it.

Looking the brats over, Severus picked three of them out with his eyes. Shaun, the last brat Madam Kitchener had called was not even an option. The boy looked to be about eight years old while the others were all about ten, maybe eleven. He was scrawny, the smallest of the bunch and looked as if a strong wind would blow him over. No, not Shaun.

After careful consideration, Severus finally picked Henry and Terry. They looked to be the strongest of those called over to them and even made an attempt to stand upright and keep their heads high, it didn’t quite succeed but they did make the effort.

Facing the last three, Severus once again looked them over carefully. Just as he was about to call out that he’d take John with him as well, he caught Shaun’s gaze. He couldn’t quite explain it, not even to himself, but there was an inner strength he could see in the boy’s eyes and the name that slipped from his lips was not John, but Shaun. The boy in question blinked at him before turning around to gather his belongings.

Wondering just what on earth had happened, Severus beckoned the three brats out before following them. Signing the last of the necessary papers, Severus ushered the boy’s out and down the street to a deserted alleyway.

“What I am going to tell you and show you now will not be repeated to anyone, ever! Understood?”

“Yes sir.” Three voices chorused. Severus nodded once before pulling out the portkey he had acquired just for this occasion.

“Touch this book and on the count of three, close your eyes. One, two, three!”

As the portkey whisked them away, Severus once again caught Shaun’s eyes and instead of seeing fear and bewilderment in them, all he found was awe and excitement.

*****

So what you’re saying is that magic is real, you’re a wizard and flying carpets are not only found in fairytales?”

Severus bit back the urge to snap at the boy. It had taken the better part of an hour to explain what had happened when they had traveled by portkey, where they were now and what would happen for the rest of the holidays.

“Yes, that is exactly what I am saying. Now, if you please, the three of you can choose any room you wish on the ground floor. You will stay here for at least a week so choose something you are comfortable with. The first floor has a pool, a bar and just a general relaxing area. You are allowed to go there whenever you wish. The second floor is strictly forbidden however. That is where I live and work, you will not enter there under any circumstances. Understood?”

“Yes sir.” Three voices chorused and Severus closed his eyes in resignation. He would have to deal with three brats for a week, a week! Worse even, he would most probably have to ‘keep’ one of them… That prospect left a bitter taste in his mouth.

*****

Shaun Petersen looked around him and smiled in satisfaction. The man – Snape – had left them to their own devices about an hour ago and Shaun had finally settled into a room that he felt suited him best.

The décor of the place was simply outstanding and the fact that they each received their own room was more than he had ever expected to have.

Thinking back on exactly how they had arrived at Mr Snape’s home, Shaun found himself considering all the possible implications.

He had known for years that he was different from other kids. Something strange always happened around him – which was the main reason his relatives had left him at the orphanage in the first place.

When Shaun had reached the age of six, the strange phenomena that always happened around him had reached a whole new level.

On his first day of the second term of school, his cousin Dudley had decided it would be lots of fun to chase his cousin around the school. Being smaller and faster than Dudley had helped him quite a bit, but, Dudley’s friends had soon joined in on the ‘fun’ and Shaun had had no choice but to think up something really quickly…

Thus, he had found himself on the school’s roof after wishing with all his might that he could be somewhere his cousin would never be able to get to him.

Of course, this stunt had landed him in a whole lot of trouble but the sense of freedom he had felt when he’d disappeared from the ground had stayed with him ever since.

That was also the same day he had found himself left on the steps of the orphanage.

His aunt and uncle had not even bothered to take him in and explain anything to the caretaker, no; they had just left him on the steps and driven off, never to see him again.

Shaun still wondered to this day if his aunt and uncle had ever told him the truth… When he had first been enrolled in the school, his aunt and uncle had had a debate as to what to call him. Before going to school, he had always been freak, boy or just ‘you!’. Starting school, he had learned that he was Shaun Petersen and that was that.

No one told him about his parents, whether they were alive or not. No one told him why he had always been ‘freak’ and ‘boy’, no, he was just to know that he would forevermore be known as Shaun Petersen and that any questions he might have would not be answered – except maybe with a slap to the face…

Shaun brought himself back from his gloomy thoughts and turned towards the magnificent bed. His life had just taken a drastic turn – hopefully for the better – and Shaun couldn’t wait to find out what would happen tomorrow.

*****

Severus locked up his private potions lab and silently made his way through his house. Quiet had descended on the place a while ago and Severus dearly hoped that it was because his three charges had gone to sleep and not some other sinister reason – like children plotting pranks…

Making his way through the hallways, Severus peaked into each bedroom and was relieved to find both Henry and Terry sound asleep. As he opened the door to Shaun’s room, Severus once again frowned in thought as he remembered the little brat.

The boy had absolutely nothing going for him, short, scrawny, way too thin to be healthy and with a bird’s nest for hair. What then had made him choose this little twerp?

Questions upon questions raged through his mind and Severus knew he could come no closer to any answer by just standing in a doorway, looking at a brat.

Shaking himself out of his thoughts and scolding himself thoroughly for even contemplating the idea to look deeper into this whole mess, Severus made his way over to his own rooms and settled in for what he hoped would be a good night’s sleep.

Shaun woke early the following morning. It took him a while to remember where he was, but when the memories of the previous day rolled through his mind, he smiled brightly and snuggled more deeply into the covers.

Life had taken a drastic turn for Shaun, but it was the chance he had been waiting for. He understood that Mr. Snape had only taken them for a week or two, but something about the man warned Shaun not to take things at face value. There was something else going on here, and he was determined to find out what it was.

He could hear Terry and Henry roughhousing in the next room, and a long forgotten feeling reared its head. Shaun had never had friends before; while living with his aunt and uncle, his cousin had made it his personal mission in life to scare away any potential friends of Shaun. When they’d left him at the orphanage, he’d thought that maybe things would change. They had not. At first, some of the younger kids had tried to make friends with him, but because he was older, they found it difficult to play with him. For the most part, Shaun found their games entertaining, but he could never relax enough to actually play along because of things drilled into his head by his relatives.

The older kids at the orphanage thought him something of a ‘freak’. He was much smaller than the other boys his age, and he usually kept to himself. At first, Terry had sought him out, wanting to get to know him, but after Shaun started talking about schoolwork – mathematics, no less! – Terry decided that Shaun was just no fun to be with.

After years without friends, Shaun had finally come to terms with the fact that he would never have any.

Stretching languidly on the bed, Shaun sighed a bit before standing up and getting dressed. He would go down to the kitchen and begin the breakfast preparations. Terry and Henry were never any good at making breakfast, usually ending up cleaning after everyone instead.

The hallways were a bit spooky so early in the morning, but Shaun squashed the anxiety that tried to rear its head. He was no sissy or wimp; he would show Mr. Snape just what he was capable of!

After several minutes of walking, searching, and opening doors with a building sense of frustration, Shaun finally found the kitchen, but before he got two steps into the room, he stopped dead.

The funniest, ugliest creature stood in the middle of the kitchen chopping a block of cheese into smaller pieces. What surprised Shaun the most – even more than the creature and its strange appearance – was the way various knifes, forks and spoons were swirling in the air and doing various tasks.

As he watched, a whisk floated over to a bowl that Shaun could see held some eggs, beating them to a yellowish froth as a large jug poured some milk into the bowl.

“Are you just going to stand there the whole day, or are you going to take a seat?”

The menacing voice coming from behind him shocked Shaun out of his stupor, and he quickly moved forward, intent on helping the strange, short creature with breakfast.

********

Severus grumbled to himself as the boy stepped up to the table and reached for a fork. The morning was not going well. After waking with a crick in his neck, Severus had showered and dressed before going to find the boys. The other two little menaces had taken it upon themselves to rearrange one of the bedrooms – Terry’s if he wasn’t mistaken – and had moved the bed to a corner and the couches right next to it to form some type of barrier, then taken bed sheets to form some makeshift tents.

Well, he did say the rooms would be theirs, so he supposed they had taken that to mean that they could do whatever they wanted.

He had moved with some trepidation from there to Shaun’s room, only to find the room clean and neatly ordered. The boy, he’d seen, was nowhere to be found, and so Severus had gone ahead down to the kitchens.

Severus watched with confusion, uncertainty, and some small measure of amusement as the boy reached for a fork and moved over to the gas stovetop. Severus really hated the contraption, and he watched as Shaun then proceeded to make scrambled eggs with the proficiency one would expect from a mother of five or a house elf but certainly not a short, ratty orphan.

The boy seemed confident of what he was doing, and Severus just watched him for a while. Even though the boy was small for his age, he was tall enough to see into the pan he was using. After a few minutes of mixing and stirring, the boy looked around for something – what the something was, Severus had no idea.

The boy stepped away from the stove and took one of the kitchen towels in hand before returning to his work.

Severus finally understood what the idiot was about to do and quickly stepped up to stop him.

“Drop that towel right now you little brat! Do you want to end up with burns on your hands or the rest of your body? What if you should drop the pan? What if your hand slips and you burn yourself?”

The ungrateful boy actually had the audacity to look insulted by what Severus had said, but before he could reply, Severus took the towel out of his hand and quickly moved the pan of eggs over to a cooling rack.

Footsteps sounded on the stairs, halting any further argument between the two of them.

Brats number one and two came crashing into the kitchen just then, and only Severus’s swift reaction time saved them from tumbling into chairs and onto the floor.

Both boys quickly apologized before moving sedately to the table and sitting down.

“I see we are going to need some ground rules if I’m to let the three of you run loose in my house.”

The three boys looked at him with varying degrees of dread.

“There will be no running, no shouting, no fist fighting, no arguing, no taunting, no belittling, no criticizing, and – most important of all! – no back chatting. Is. That. Clear?”

Terry and Henry looked suitably chagrined, muttering a soft “Yes, sir.” Shaun, on the other hand, looked at Severus with a curiously blank face. What the boy was thinking right at that moment was anyone’s guess, as his face betrayed nothing. Severus toyed with the idea of using Legilimency on the boy but disregarded the idea quickly. Not only was it dangerous to use mind magic on one so young, it also went against Severus’s own morals – he would not lower his own standards just for the sake of a passing curiosity.

“First things first, then. We will all eat breakfast here together every morning at eight. We will discuss the day and what you would like to do after breakfast and then go from there.”

The boys all nodded their heads in agreement.

“This morning, the first thing we will do is get each of you a decent haircut. Those bangs hanging in your faces are not good for your eyes.”

Terry and Henry once again nodded, but Shaun for some reason looked panicked.

“What is the matter now Shaun?” Severus asked impatiently. He did not want to deal with stubborn brats who refused to get a haircut.

“N…nothing, sir. It’s fine. I’ll, er… I’ll just go wash my hair, then.”

Before Severus could say anything else, the boy was up and running out of the room.

********

Shaun paced his room restlessly. He didn’t want to get a haircut today – not while they stayed with Mr. Snape. There would be too many questions, and Shaun really did not want to go into that again.

He had taken to wearing a bandanna to hide the scar on his forehead, because someone always commented on it, but that was not what bothered him the most.

His lightning bolt scar he could explain as part of the accident where his parents died when he was little – that was the truth, after all. No, what truly bothered him was that if he got a haircut, the hairdresser would surely see all the other cuts on his head and ask even more questions.

The cuts on his head were all healed up, but if someone knew what they were doing, the scars could tell them approximately how old the wound was. He did not want to go into what had happened every time he got a cut on the head!

Some of them he would be able to explain away as falling down on the pavement or cutting his head on the table when tripping over a chair.

Other scars, however, he would not be able to explain away as easily, as they ran deeper or in certain patterns.

Shaun came to an abrupt stop in front of the mirror. Mr. Snape had just yesterday explained to them about magic and what he could do and everything. Shaun now understood that the things that used to happen to and around him could also possibly be magic. What if he tried to use magic now? What if he tried to use it deliberately and for something specific? Would it work?

He would never know if he didn’t try, so Shaun started pacing again. He thought of what he wanted, what he needed. The scars on his head would have to disappear. He needed the scars on his head to disappear, but Shaun had absolutely no idea how he would make the scars on his head disappear! Should he ask Mr. Snape to help him? That would require him to do some explaining – something he really did not want to do!

Sighing in frustration, Shaun stepped back in front of the mirror and looked himself over. Something looked a bit different, but he wasn’t sure what it was. Just as he was about to shrug it off as his imagination, he realized something. He wasn’t wearing his bandanna at the moment, but the lightning bolt scar that usually hid behind the bandanna wasn’t there either! He rubbed lightly on his forehead, and to his shock he could feel the scar on his forehead. But he still couldn’t see it!

Shaun leaned a bit forward and parted his hair on the right side of his head where he knew the deepest, most noticeable scar was. Seeing nothing there, Shaun lightly traced his finger over his scalp. Again, he could feel the scar exactly where it should be, but he couldn’t see it.

So this was magic!!!

Shaun tied a bandanna around his head as he looked himself over in the mirror. It wouldn’t do to go down there without his bandanna and sans scar. Terry and Henry both knew about his lightning bolt scar, and they would certainly say something if it suddenly disappeared.

He would have trouble keeping them from noticing as it was.

Taking a deep breath, Shaun exited his room and entered the kitchen with some trepidation.

Mr. Snape glowered at him for a few seconds but didn’t remark on his abrupt departure. They all finished eating breakfast before Mr. Snape directed the three boys to a room they had not seen before.

“Terry, you shall go first. Sit down on the chair in front of the mirror, and do try to keep your shock and excitement to a minimum.”

Confused, Shaun listened as Mr. Snape ordered the boys to separate areas, each with their own mirror in front of them.

He finally understood what Mr. Snape had meant when he saw a pair of scissors and a comb float into the air before practically attacking Terry’s head.

The comb ran through Terry’s hair a few times to sort out any knots in the hair. A bottle then lifted itself into the air and sprayed Terry’s hair and face with water.

Shaun couldn’t help but laugh as Terry sputtered and coughed as the water continued to spray over his face.

“Ah, yes. Unfortunately, the water bottle can not distinguish which part of the head actually contains hair, so it saturates the entire head.”

Mr. Snape said it all in a calm, reasonable voice, and Shaun looked at the man curiously. Obviously, the man had no qualms about subjecting them to this kind of humiliation. The way the man stated everything in such a calm and completely reasonable tone only served to ignite Shaun’s curiosity.

It was almost as if the man was finding the whole thing amusing but didn’t want to show it.

Shaun certainly found it amusing…

The full implications of what was happening finally hit him and he couldn’t help but sag with relief.

He’d obviously been overreacting when he’d run out of the room earlier. But honestly, he hadn’t known that Mr. Snape would be using magic to cut their hair! Still, he wasn’t regretting his earlier actions. At least Shaun now knew that he was also magical; he just had to learn how to use that magic.

If they had been taken to a real hairdresser, Shaun would still have worried about the hairdresser actually feeling the scars on his head which would bring him back to square one. Now though, he had nothing to worry about anymore.

Shaun looked up when he heard Terry mutter something about ‘can do it myself’ and watched as the boy proceeded to snatch a towel out of the air. Shaun guessed that the thing was about to try to dry Terry’s hair by itself.

Henry was next, but by then they were prepared for the whole fiasco, and Henry kept his mouth and eyes closed as the water sprayed his face.

Henry’s haircut was done much faster than Terry’s had been, as he only had to get his ends trimmed up. Terry had insisted on a whole new hairstyle, commenting that “Since I’m getting a haircut I could just as well get a whole new hairstyle,” and Mr. Snape had allowed it.

Shaun was last, and he watched the equipment floating over with some trepidation. He had always been humiliated by his peers, and this was just another chance for them to do so. Terry and Henry would use every opportunity they had to humiliate Shaun this week, since they didn’t know if they would still be able to do so after that week.

Mr. Snape had explained that one of them would remain with him for an undetermined length of time, but the other two would be sent back to the orphanage with no memories of what had transpired.

Shaun closed his eyes and just concentrated on the hair on the back of his head. The water could spray there all it wanted, but he really didn’t want to be choked with the spray in his mouth or nose.

He heard a sharp intake of breath to his left and opened his eyes.

In the reflection in the mirror, he could see Mr. Snape quickly blanking his expression, but Shaun had still seen the surprise there. Mr. Snape now knew that Shaun also had magic in him.

Terry and Henry had not realized that the water bottle stayed at the back of his head, and Shaun debated on whether or not to let go of the magic keeping the bottle in place.

“Perfectus,” Mr. Snape said as he waved his wand at the bottle.

Shaun gave him a grateful smile but was only rewarded with a sneer. Clearly, Mr. Snape was not happy with him.

The scissors took to his hair. In just a few minutes, Shaun had short spiky hair that stood up at all ends. The back of his head had been cut almost to the scalp with a clipper, then leaving the rest of his hair to gradually lengthen out to short spikes of about two centimeters.

“Now that this tedious task is done, we can actually move on to something productive.”

Mr. Snape suddenly sounded more menacing than he ever had before, and Shaun looked at the man with building panic. This would not go over well.

“Terry, Henry! The two of you have effectively changed one of my rooms into some absurd playhouse – remedy that immediately!”

The two boys in question scurried out the door without protest.

As the door closed behind the other two, Shaun turned to face Mr. Snape’s glowering form.

“Just when were you planning on informing me that you are a wizard?”

****

Severus pinched the bridge of his nose.

He was really not cut out for this. The boy standing before him looked simultaneously terrified out of his wits and defiant.

“I’ll ask again. When were you planning on telling me that you are a wizard, Mr. Petersen?”

“I… er… I didn’t, I wasn’t…”

Severus cursed his fates for sending him a boy with the vocabulary range of a two year old.

“I didn’t know for sure until this morning!”

The boy looked surprisingly out of breath after he’d rushed that out, and Severus directed him to a chair. He didn’t want the boy fainting or anything.

“You weren’t certain until this morning, but you still had your suspicions?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Why did you not come to me with your suspicions? After what I told you yesterday, you must have realized that nothing you have to say could surprise me.”

The boy looked at him incredulously, and Severus was forced to admit – only to himself, of course – that he was not the most approachable person in the world.

“So you were too scared to come to me yesterday. When did you realize for certain that you and I were of the same ‘sort’ and that you are a wizard?”

Severus watched the boy squirm in his seat for a while, glaring down at the brat.

“Er… this morning, sir. I um… I didn’t know… I… scars… didn’t … explain...”

Severus had to bend his head down to hear the boy’s mutterings, but he still couldn’t hear everything.

“Speak up, boy!”

The brat jerked his head up at Severus’s harsh tone, then he cringed back as far as the chair permitted him.

“Sorry, sorry. I’m sorry, sir!”

Severus could feel a headache coming on and really didn’t want to deal with this right now.

“I gather from you barely coherent mutterings that you are a vain, conceited little twit who wanted to disguise some shameful scars and wished them gone. Would you consider that an accurate assessment?”

The boy looked a bit hurt, but he nodded his head.

There was something really strange going on with this boy, and Severus hated him for it. Severus was not someone who could let a new puzzle or mystery go without finding the last missing piece. The fact that this boy had ignited his curiosity did not sit well with him.

“You will refrain from doing any more magic until we have talked it through,” Severus admonished the boy. “There are certain regulations to be adhered to in the wizarding community and until you know them all, you will not do any more magic. Is that clear?”

“Yes sir. No more magic. Got it.”

Severus sneered down at the brat one last time before he swept out of the room.

He had to go see Albus. He couldn’t remember there being a ‘Petersen’ on the list of first years, and as the boy was turning eleven in July, he would have to be on there.

That was another thing Severus had to add to the mystery of Shaun Petersen. The boy looked to be no older than eight or maybe nine, yet the boy was turning eleven in a few weeks.

He would handle one thing at a time, however, and the first order of business was to go and see Albus. They would work things out together from there.