The two Snapes had managed to find Hagrid before he had left the castle, and Severus was able to eventually get Shaun to accept that the giant man’s voice was just booming, he wasn’t angry and he wouldn’t hit the boy.

After a substantial tea that afternoon, Severus sat back on the sofa, gazing into the fire and finally asked what he had been wondering all afternoon, “Shaun, do you really want to take my name as your middle name, instead of my father’s?  It’s all right either way; I was just wondering which one you really wanted.”

Shaun burrowed into the familiar smell of his new father as he cuddled into his side, his father’s warm and comforting arm around him, “I don’t know your father, but you saved me, you keep me safe, you make me feel safe.  I want your name, not some one I don’t know.  Will I meet your father, Daddy?”

Severus rubbed his hand across the soft fuzz that was beginning to grow back from where he had shaved the child’s head to keep the cuts clean, and thought about his answer.  The boy’s trust and love was overwhelming at times.  To realize that to this one soul; he was the only one in the entire castle who was safe to show himself to made his heart ache in a totally unfamiliar but nevertheless wonderful yet frightening way.  He wasn’t sure he could ever live up to that expectation, but deep inside he knew that not only did he have to try but that he wanted to try. 

Just as the shocking first sight of the battered and bleeding baby had lodged itself indelibly into his mind and forced him at some deep instinctual level to care for and protect a helpless child; he was sure this conversation would be forever in his heart no matter what happened in the future.  He smiled at the thought of the strong patronus this moment would allow him to produce, and hugged the child … no his son… tightly.

“No, child, he died when I was just six years old.  I still don’t know exactly how he died, I just know that all of a sudden, his younger brother, my uncle moved into Snape Manor and instantly everything that had been my fathers belonged to my uncle.  My mother and I had no where to go, no money to live on except what he gave us; and my home was no longer safe and loving.  My mother died when I was just seventeen, and my uncle finally died when I was twenty-eight.  So it is just you and I, Shaun, though I think sometimes the Headmaster thinks he is my father, and sometimes I like to think that too.”

Severus sat with his new son curled comfortably on the sofa beside him as they talked and watched the fire until time for dinner in the Great Hall.  Severus carried the child in his arms down the corridors, pointing out sights and various portraits and suits of armor. To keep the child calm for what was to come, he had slipped a very mild calming potion into his nutrient potion before coming, so hopefully they would manage a full meal before the child disappeared again.  He thought to himself, ‘I better make a couple extra batches of calming potion as well as the new formula nutrient potion Poppy said she would give me tomorrow.  I have a feeling Shaun is going to need them for a while.’

The level of conversation dimmed slightly as the staff pointedly ignored the tall man who entered the hall. He had his head bent slightly and seemed to be talking intensely to his elbow, which was bent, while his other hand was rubbing the air in short comforting strokes at about chest height.  Everyone made small excuses to glance at the sight and then turned back to their own conversations.  Severus sat down at the chair that was left open between Minerva and Albus and began putting a selection of food on his plate.  Albus had turned to talk to Filius on his other side and couldn’t help listening to the decidedly one sided conversation the usually snarky man was having.

“There, you may eat anything off of my plate that appeals to you.  I would prefer that you not get food on my robes, but I can wand it off if you let me know…No, we will not run out of food, the platters refill themselves if needed… Magic, of course….”

Albus notice a plump chicken leg lift itself off of Severus’ plate and begin to disappear in small bites.  He couldn’t help himself, he had to turn and watch.  “Severus, I don’t know if it occurred to you, put it is rather disconcerting to watch a chicken leg disappear one bite at a time in mid air.  We shall have to explain something to the students; they can not help but notice.” He had whispered into Severus’ ear so as not to startle the boy.

Severus startled and looked down. To his eyes, he saw Shaun enjoying his chicken, savoring each tiny bite as he carefully chewed it.  He thought for a moment, “I don’t want him to have to eat on the floor, and I need to be here for the Slytherins, how high above the table can he be seen from the student tables?”

“Hm, I hadn’t thought about that, perhaps if we elevate the staff platform and then lower your chair, he could eat in your lap without anyone being able to see the food disappear.”  He looked at the staff in consideration, “Poppy, you are about the height of most students, would you mind sitting at various locations on the house tables and tell me when you can no longer see the child eating?”

Poppy looked startled and then understanding showed, as she stood up and walked down to the student tables.  Madame Pince and Pomona Sprout joined her, as well as Professors Grey and Vector.  Professor Grey was the new muggle studies teacher and had been taken aside and the situation was explained to him carefully.  It was finally decided that if they elevated the staff table another eight inches and they lowered Severus’ chair about four inches; no one would be able to see bites of food disappearing in mid air in the middle of Professor Snape’s chest.

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Breakfast the next morning was progressing quietly, except for the almost irresistible urge of the staff to stifle giggles as pieces of bacon, sausage links, and tiny cut up pieces of pancake seemed to disappear in midair.  Breakfast was almost over when Albus felt a small, sticky something climb into his lap and start playing in his beard.  He chuckled and the invisible fingers stilled.

Severus had noticed Shaun leave his lap, but thought the boy had just climbed down to sit below his chair as he had done before when he was done eating.  He looked over at Albus and noticed that Shaun had both hands twisted and stuck in the old man’s luxurious, long beard.  “Shaun, did you ask if you could play with the Headmaster’s beard before you touched it?”

The small green eyes widened as the boy nodded solemnly, “Yes, Daddy, and he nodded so I climbed up.  I asked, Daddy” The boy instinctively cringed, his shoulders slumping as he tried to make himself as small as possible, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” His voice pleaded for forgiveness but traces of resignation tinged his tone, as if he knew it was a futile effort but one he had to make anyway.

Albus chuckled again as he felt a small head nod against his chest, “It’s all right, child, I don’t mind, though I would prefer if we removed the pancake syrup first next time.  It does feel a little sticky.”

Severus thought for a moment, “Child, it’s all right, no one is going to hurt you anymore.” Shaun looked intently at his new father’s face and then back at the twinkling blue eyes of the Headmaster, reassured by the love and understanding on both faces, his body went limp as he lost the tenseness suddenly.  “Tell the Headmaster your new name, I haven’t told anyone yet.” Severus encouraged Shaun with a soft pat on the back.

Shaun straightened back up, secure now that he wasn’t going to be punished as he looked up at the man he was sitting on and said proudly, “My name is Shaun Severus Snape, just like my daddy’s name!”

Albus smiled down at his apparently empty lap and waited… and waited… and finally looked up expectantly at Severus, who looked back startled, “You mean you can’t hear him talk either?  So he’s invisible and silent?”

“I would suspect so, I have never heard him say anything back to you; I just assumed he was too shy to talk around other people or whispered too softly for anyone else to hear him.”

“No, he just said, quite clearly, ‘My name is Shaun Severus Snape, just like my daddy’s name!’ and then waited for you to talk back to him.”

Albus lifted a hand until he found a shoulder and then ran his fingers up until he could feel soft fuzz and rubbed the boy’s head. “I’m sorry child, I not only can’t see you; I can’t hear you either.  I think Shaun Severus Snape is a fine name for a fine boy.  And I know now that you did ask me if you could play with my beard.  I was nodding at something else, but it is fine for you to play with my whiskers, but if I laugh it’s because it tickles me too.  Severus, if you wouldn’t mind, could you remove the syrup, I would, but since I can’t see his fingers…”

Severus’ black eyes sparked with the hidden mirth his face never showed as he spelled them both sticky free.  Unknown to anyone, the name Harry James Potter faded and disappeared from the Registry of Magical Children in the drawer of Albus’ large oak desk.  Moments later a new name appeared, Shaun Severus Snape; guardian: Severus Sebastian Snape, Potion’s Master, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

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For the next few days, Severus took every opportunity to teach Shaun a new game, called ‘Fool the Students’.  Severus told Shaun the rules were simple, Severus would yell, insult, and scowl at the students and Shaun would know it was a game and he wouldn’t be scared or try to hide.  Severus had Shaun practice walking beside him up and down the aisles in the classroom while Severus ‘practiced’ yelling at the dunderheads and idiots he had to teach. He attached a soft leather strap to his belt on the back of his trousers for Shaun to hold onto instead of his robes or his hand so that the boy had a secure anchor and yet he had both of his hands free for teaching.

He would always touch a finger to Shaun’s head or shoulder to let him know he was going to yell loudly so the child was prepared and then he would let loose with his worst insults and bellows.  It was a good thing no one else could hear the child, it wouldn’t do for everyone to hear his soft giggles as he enjoyed the insults his father was spewing at the pretend students.

After a couple of days, the two decided that they would ‘practice’ with the staff members so that Shaun could practice scowling with his daddy and not giggling all the time.  It broke daddy’s concentration on the game!

Shaun held tight to the strap on the back of his daddy’s trousers, because it looked too strange for him to be holding hands with nothing and the students would surely notice.  Severus felt as if a great weight had been lifted off of his shoulders, he could scowl and snarl now without worrying about Shaun’s reaction.  He was going to enjoy this!  He swept into the Great Hall, outer robes billowing out, hiding the invisible form of his son under them.

Startled glances from the head table changed to worried frowns as they noticed the return of the snarky professor that very few of them had missed the last ten days.  Severus growled a semi greeting and sat down on his specially lowered chair between Albus and Minerva.  He glared up through the curtain of his greasy black hair as if daring any one to talk to him.  He loaded up his plate as usual and began eating in silence.  Albus and Minerva both sighed as they noticed food disappearing off of his plate just as it had been.  For a few moments they had worried that the child had disappeared once more, or that someone had managed to claim him from Severus’ care.  Albus ate, talking about mundane matters until he noticed the child had climbed into his lap once more.  He heard a small scourgify from Severus’ wand; before ten little fingers began to try to braid his beard.  He relaxed and looked quizzically at the man finishing his own lunch.  “Anything wrong, Severus?” he asked with a raise of his eyebrow.

Severus sat back, placing his silverware on his now empty plate, “Practicing our new game for when the students return tomorrow, Headmaster.”

Albus sighed deeply and rubbed the bridge of his nose with a pained expression. “And do I want to know what game that is?”  Albus looked over the top of his half-moon spectacles, one eyebrow raised in question.

“It’s called ‘Fool the Students’ and Shaun is getting quite good at it.  It is rather off putting though when he starts giggling right in the middle of a good rant of insults though.”

“Ah, yes, I imagine that would put you off your stride somewhat.  I had thought perhaps you would not be ‘playing’ that game this year.” Albus had a look of mild reproach as he softly glared at his potions professor.

A raised eyebrow was the only response he got.  “Well, I had hoped that caring for Shaun would have perhaps changed your opinion of the other children.” Albus continued his argument, even though it had never worked before, he had had hopes that this year would be different.

“But Shaun isn’t like any other child, Albus.  He never speaks unless spoken to, he sits quietly where you put him, he loves to read, he doesn’t talk back, and he immediately apologizes for any misdeed… sometimes even if he didn’t actually do anything.  What’s not to like about Shaun?”  Severus was genuinely puzzled.

Albus shook his head sadly, “Surely even you recognize that his behavior is not normal.  Shaun was abused for years, he doesn’t know how to behave like a normal child, you should encourage him to make noise and ask questions.  It’s not natural to be so quiet, Severus, I am worried about the child, aren’t you?”

“Well, yes, but sometimes I don’t actually mind his quiet behavior.  I mean, we can sit together and he just listens to me talk and read to him.  It’s almost like having a very intelligent familiar rather than a child.  I do understand he needs to become more like a normal child, but I also need to learn how to become a normal father, my own died when I was so young, and no one in their right mind would want me to learn parenting from my uncle!”

Albus reluctantly nodded his head slowly in agreement, “Well, as long as you are the only one who can see him and hear him, I guess it is probably better that he stays where you put him, just make sure he learns to be a child too Severus.  And it wouldn’t hurt for you to be a little more child like either.  Why don’t you take him out in the sunshine this afternoon before your appointment with Poppy for his checkup?  I daresay you could both use more sun.  And have you thought more about moving your quarters?”

“Yes, Shaun and I have discussed it, and he has agreed that we should move to a warmer room, but make sure the house elves replace everything exactly as it is.  I can have extra rooms, but for now make sure everything in my bedroom and the lounge is placed exactly as it is.  Shaun isn’t ready for a bed yet, he likes the box too much and he still needs me in the middle of the night, he would panic at the idea of his own room.  He has nightmares that wake him up screaming and crying almost every night still, though I can get him to calm down quicker now, so perhaps they will begin to fade as he grows more comfortable and confident that no one here will hurt him.”

“Excellent, I shall have the elves move the two of you this afternoon while you are outside.  May I have the use of Nippy to supervise?”  Severus nodded and picked up the now sleeping Shaun from the headmaster’s lap, carefully untangling the small fingers and laughing at the mess in the headmaster’s beard.  “Nice braid, sir.” He smirked as he carried Shaun out of the Great Hall and to their quarters for his afternoon nap.

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Shaun had enjoyed riding on his daddy’s broomstick with him.  The strong arms encircling him made him feel too safe to be worried about the outdoors or the height they were flying at.  He had enjoyed playing the game with his daddy at lunch, it was fun to fool everyone and his daddy made such funny faces at everyone that he had laughed and giggled while he ate; which only made his daddy make funnier faces!

He was awfully nervous about going to the hospital this afternoon, he didn’t really know what a hospital was but it didn’t sound very nice.  And daddy had said they would be moved to new quarters while they had been flying and then visiting the hospital.  He wondered where they would be. He hoped they would have a nice window; he had liked looking out the window at the garden at his aunt’s house even though she never let him out into it.

Daddy put him down on a bed in a row of beds in a very white room and called “Poppy” before the lady he had met several days ago came bustling into the room.

“Is my patient sitting there in front of you, Severus?”  She asked, rather exasperated with the situation.  But no one had yet found out how or even how long the child had been invisible and silent to everyone but Snape.  It was a bizarre situation that was for sure.  ‘I hope he never gets really hurt, it is difficult enough to evaluate a patient you cannot see or hear.  I would write this up in a paper, but no one would believe me, I’m sure!’ She thought to herself.

“Yes, he is right here, Poppy.”  Severus stood directly behind Shaun and placed a warm, large hand on each of his shoulders, to reassure the child and to help Poppy find her patient.

She cast several diagnostic spells on the area in front of Severus and nodded, “Well, you’ll be happy to know he now weighs just over two stone, he seems to have grown slightly, his protein levels are better, though still a little low.  Continue with the nutrient potions, and I don’t see any long term effects from the calming potion you have been adding to them.  I think you might be able to gradually reduce the calming potion though as time goes by.  But he might need a little stronger dose for the first few weeks of school, just until he gets used to the noise and bustle of the crowds.”

She put away her wand and continued, “His bones are healing nicely, no sign of the ulcers returning and everything else appears to be improving.”  She walked back into her office and returned with a pentagon shaped package.  “Here you go Shaun; you were such a good boy!”  She held it out somewhere around the middle of Severus’ waist only to have him point over toward the nearest window.  “He’s looking at the lake, Poppy.  Shaun, come get a treat and say thank you to Poppy…he said thank you, very much Madame Pomfrey.” As the chocolate frog box floated out of her hand, Poppy startled and then recovered quickly.

Severus sat on the edge of the bed and apparently picked up the small boy to help him open the treat.  The jump of the frog made Severus grab one hand for the boy and the other for the frog.  Poppy thought how odd it was to hear the gentleness in the cold man’s speech as he explained to the air, “No, it’s not a real frog…just one jump….Yes, it’s the Headmaster…”  Severus threw back his head and laughed the first genuine deep laugh that Poppy ever remembered hearing from him.  “No, it’s really him….I’ll ask him tonight if you like….”

Severus jumped down, put his hands out and caught something, bending to place it on the floor, he then put out his hand and walked out the door, still talking to the air, ”Shall we go find our new quarters and get ready for dinner…..okay….Nippy!” She could no longer hear the conversation as the heavy infirmary doors shut.  She spelled clean sheets on the bed and walked back to her office, shaking her head as she went. This was going to be one interesting year!

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Dinner the last night before the students returned was always unique.  The staff was always a little excited about the new students, apprehensive about the beginning of teaching duties once again and a little silly about their last night of freedom before the heavy responsibility of taking care of that many hormonal and magical teenagers began once again.

Apparently Shaun really liked the tender steak that had appeared on his own little plate in front of Severus, every one else had a t-bone, but his little teeth would do much better on the small tenderloin the elves had prepared especially for him.  He did love the tender baby carrots and Severus supposed that one day he would actually start to use a fork to eat them instead of his fingers, but Severus had to feed him the steamed rice, his hands weren’t coordinated enough to keep the grains on his spoon without spilling half of them onto Severus’ lap before the spoon reached the small mouth.

Severus waited until everyone had food when he turned to Albus and asked him, “Headmaster, Shaun got a chocolate frog this afternoon, and he wanted to know if that was really you on the card?”

Albus’ eyes twinkled merrily as he looked at where he could see small carrots disappearing. “Why yes Shaun; that is really me.  Did you like your chocolate frog?”

Severus relayed his answer, “He says ‘yes I did very much, sir.’”  Severus waited until the headmaster was taking a drink of his pumpkin juice, “He says ‘If that’s you when I open the card, and you’re taking a shower, are you naked on my card?’”  Severus laughed, they had done it!  Not only did Albus spray pumpkin juice down his beard, he heard Minerva choke on her rice and Professor Flitwick fell off of his pillow.  He could hear Shaun giggling at their success and he clapped hands with the small boy in triumph.

Albus was still coughing up pumpkin juice when he glared at Severus and saw the small twitches of the man’s mouth.  “You did that on purpose, didn’t you?” He demanded.

Severus looked down slightly and slyly admitted, “Well, yes, but he did ask me this afternoon in the infirmary.  So are you naked?”

The entire table stopped to listen to the answer, most had never thought to wonder about it having grown up with the treats, “No, it’s not really me, they just take a picture and duplicate it over and over, the picture moves, but it never changes its clothes or where it is.  If that was really me, I would never get any work done, now would I?”  He glanced up and down the table, glaring at everyone over his glasses, his cheeks still slightly pink with embarrassment.  They all smiled and began to choose from the wonderful selection of desserts the house elves had prepared.

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Severus sat nervously at the head table, idly running his hand up and down his son’s back.  He could feel the slight trembling of the small body sitting on his lap, hiding under the front of his robes.  He had give Shaun a full dose of calming potion half an hour before coming down here, so the potion should be at its full effect right now.  By the time the potion wore off, he would have Shaun safely ensconced in their new quarters and hopefully asleep. 

The returning students were coming in the doors in a rush of sound and sights.  After the silence of the mostly empty castle, it sounded like the roar of a waterfall, or the noise of the Hogwarts Express train.  But since none of the incoming students approached the table, it was still okay.  Albus had a hand under the table and Shaun had one of his clutched tightly to it, the other one was gripping his father’s vest in an iron grasp, head buried deep in the comfort and smell of his father’s warm vest.

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The sorting had been completed, the beginnings of term announcements were over and the feast had appeared before the first of the students noticed anything funny happening at the head table.  Two Gryffindors were first to notice that the snarky potion’s teacher was rubbing his hand up and down his robes his head bowed as he appeared to be talking to his chest. 

One of the Slytherin sixth years pointed out to two seventh years that food was disappearing into Snape’s robes with some regularity, and a group of fifth and sixth year Ravenclaws thought it was awfully odd that not only had the Headmaster not stood up for the opening announcements, he appeared to be holding hands with Snape under the table!  None of the Hufflepuffs noticed anything untoward and so they ate in ignorant bliss.

Snape waited until all of the students had left the Great Hall for the Common rooms and breathed a deep sigh of relief.  Halfway through the evening he had felt Shaun go to sleep on his lap, still clutching his gnawed chicken leg tightly in one greasy little fist.  Albus had finally been able to reclaim his hand when the child’s grip slackened in sleep.  He had laughed gently as he wiggled his fingers and shook his hand to restore the circulation.  “Quite some grip young Shaun has, Severus.”

Severus slipped the sleeping child out of his robes and placed him on his shoulder before saying good night and leaving through the back door at the side of the staff table.  He was grateful that their new quarters were directly behind the Great Hall so the two of them could enter and leave without ever going out into the public corridors.  He could imagine what it would look like for him to be carrying an invisible child all the way down to the dungeons.

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Severus and Shaun had been among the first to arrive for breakfast the next morning and Shaun had decided he would prefer to eat his scrambled eggs, bacon and toast on the floor, it was easier to manage a fork that way.  Severus had put his son’s breakfast on his extra plate and surreptitiously leaned over and handed it to the child.  Shaun said thank you and dug in.  Severus was happy to note that Shaun was not only eating faster, he was now eating a more normal amount for someone his age.

Severus sat up and began to glare at the students who were shuffling still half asleep into the Great Hall.  He looked at his schedule once again before folding it and replacing it in his vest pocket.  Sixth year N.E.W.T. class first; well they already knew the rules and if they had managed the ‘O’ necessary to enter the class, he wouldn’t have to supervise them too much.

Next was a combined first year class of Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, why did the Headmaster always insist on placing Slytherin and Gryffindor together, it was an accident waiting to happen… or blow up as it frequently was in the potion’s classroom!

Then a Gryffindor/Slytherin second year class; and then the rest of the afternoon was free.  Perhaps he could get some grading done outside while Shaun played down by the lake.  Surely if he took papers to grade, no one would come close enough to notice anything unusual.  He dropped a napkin to his son and stood up, waiting until he felt the strap being lifted and the boy straightening his long teaching robes to completely cover himself.  He dropped his hand and gently touched the top of the boy’s head.  He felt a small nod and knew that Shaun was ready to ‘play’ the game.

Severus glared over at the Gryffindor table, snarled at the stupid Hufflepuff first years and generally felt much better than he had in a while.  Maybe he could even get some of the little girls to cry!  Ah, what a happy thought!  What was that small twinge he felt that small voice telling him not to scare them, Shaun hated to be scared, and so would they.  He pushed the small voice deep into his subconscious mind, back to where it belonged and swept from the Great Hall, robes billowing out ominously, to prepare for his first class of the new school year.