“Good morning, Mister… Stape, was it?” one of the young police officers said, nodding his head slightly.

“Snape. Severus Snape,” Severus said, feeling extremely exposed in the muggle clothing he had transfigured for himself. He knew Julian was more comfortable in more muggle-like attire and rarely wore robes, but he hadn’t worn anything outside of wizarding wear for nearly twenty years. Trousers were almost a novel sensation.

“What can I do for you, officers?” Severus continued, acting unaware of the purpose of their visit.

“Apologies Mr. Snape,” the older officer responded. “We’re here simply to do a wellness check. Is a Harry Potter here?”

Severus looked confused. “Yes, who was wondering? His aunt made it perfectly clear she did not want him back. Did she have a change of heart?”

The police officers looked at one another rather uncomfortably. This was a rather convoluted case, if you asked them. A doctor calling for a wellness check wasn’t unheard of. But for a child to be handed from one guardian to another without the new party knowing of the medical needs of the child was odd. But it wasn’t their job to question it unless they saw obvious abuse. Something about it just struck them as odd.

“No, sir. The doctor seemed rather insistent that the child be found, and we would just like to lay eyes on the child so we can report to him as to the boy’s location and physical state. He seemed to feel the child may be deceased.”

Severus nodded grimly and ushered the men inside.

“He was very ill when I picked him up from his aunt’s, and still is, if I’m being honest. Her late sister and I were good friends, you see. And when Ju-Harry’s illness became too much for her and her husband to handle, they reached out to me to see if I could take the boy.”

The officers nodded as they followed the man into the living room. They were shocked by the sheer number of books in the room. There must have been over a thousand in just this one part of the house!

“Harry is currently upstairs, possibly taking a nap, I’m afraid we have both had a very long night. He was ill most of it.”

The older of the two officers nodded in sympathy. His youngest daughter had caught the stomach flu a few weeks ago. Miserable thing it was. Led to a number of very long nights for both him and his wife.

“All we need is to see the boy so we can report back,” the younger officer said rather cordially.

“This way,” Severus said, leading the men to the stairs. “Careful, they’re quite steep.”

Severus went up the stairs with practiced ease and waited at the top as the other men struggled their way up. It was mildly amusing watching the muggles struggle, if he were being honest with himself. And he hadn’t even spelled the stairs to be difficult for muggles to climb!

“Here is his room,” Severus said, knocking on the door softly and looking inside. As expected, Julian was out cold.

He stepped back and allowed the officers to look in as well. He felt oddly ... protective … over the boy at that moment. He felt as intruded upon, but his bigger concern was if they would wake the child up from a much needed nap.

Both of the officers were immediately appalled by what they saw. The boy was so extremely thin and pale, he looked like a concentration camp victim. It was almost nauseating. It was no wonder the doctor was so concerned!

Having fulfilled their duty, they turned and left the boy’s room.

“Mr. Snape, has he been to see another doctor since you took over his care from his aunt?”

Severus had been suspecting the officers would not like the state of Julian’s physical appearance. The boy had gained just shy of three pounds since coming to Hogwarts, a fact everyone involved with his care had been pleasantly surprised of. These officers didn’t know that, nor did they know of all of the struggles with nutrition they had been having. They were simply doing their job, and Severus could respect that.

“Yes. The boy’s aunt neglected to give me the phone number to his old physician or specialists and I assumed the doctors would speak to one another about his case. I must have assumed wrong.”

The officers nodded in understanding. The NHS was a confusing mess on a good day, and to have a child you had just taken over requiring what seemed like an absurd amount of additional doctors and appointments… Well, it was easy for them to see what must have happened. At least the boy was alive, unlike the doctor’s fears.

“Is there anything else I can do for you, sirs?” Severus asked, leading the men back down the stairs.

“No, thank you,” the younger officer responded. “We will let Dr. Singh know Harry has been found and is alive and … well.”

“Thank you, Mr. Snape. We apologize for the intrusion,” the older officer said, heading for the door.

Severus nodded tiredly. The caffeine in his system was starting to wear off and he felt as though he may soon join Julian in dream land.

Suddenly a thought crossed his mind.

“Would one of you be able to give me the number to Dr. Singh’s office? I would like to speak with the good doctor myself, just to verify some things about J-Harry’s care.”

The younger officer looked at the older officer questioningly.

“Ah, um, gimme a moment,” the older officer said, fishing his pen out of one of his pockets and pulling out a small notepad before radioing the station to get the number.

A few short minutes later, number in hand, Severus bid the officers farewell. As soon as their backs were turned, he quickly whipped out his wand and cast a timed compulsion spell on the two. As soon as they relayed the information to the doctor about Harry’s status, they would immediately begin to think of something more interesting they had done the day they visited Spinners End. No use obliviating the men if the needed to call the doctor back, but it was too risky to not spell them to somewhat forget the visit.

No one could know of Harry Potter’s illness in connection with Severus Snape.

Now to deal with the doctor.

But first, sleep.