“Dad? You have mail!”

Severus smiled as he got up from the desk in his office. After the success of having Julian out of the Hospital Wing for the few days they had spent in Spinner’s End, the decision was made to allow both Severus and Julian to move into Severus’s quarters in the dungeons. A decision both had been please about.

While Julian had done very well at Spinner’s End, his magic levels had steadily drained once away from Hogwarts. It had been a very slow decline, but it was enough that Julian was slowly becoming more lethargic the longer they were there. Without access to the floo, the situation could rapidly have become too dangerous and led to a regression in the progress Julian had made.

They both knew what would fix the situation they found themselves in, but Julian’s stomach resolutely refused to heal any faster.

Returning to Hogwarts, they had brought with them a new-found vigor. Julian was bound and determined to learn as much as he possibly could about the wizarding world while also becoming more physically fit so he would be able to manage the stairs and make it to classes. Severus, on the other hand, had stumbled across his next potion to experiment with. Or rather, series of potions.

The first and most important being the one he was currently developing: a blood based nutrient potion.

It wasn’t as simple as it seemed. Many of the ingredients which were essential for a standard nutrient potion immediately curdled easy sources of blood. If the blood was separated into its component pieces, it would be physically impossible for even a healthy adult to consume the amount necessary to have the most benefit of both the blood and the nutrient potion. At the rate Julian was able to run the feeding pump, he would have to be running various potions all day for five days straight to receive one proper drink's worth of blood.

The entire potion would have to be redesigned. And quickly.

Julian’s teeth had grown in rather quickly and with them an aching hunger which left him staring longingly at Severus’s neck on one too many occasions. It wasn’t until after Julian had sleep-walked into Severus’s room and stood at the head of the bed fangs bared that the gravity of the situation fully sunk in.

Julian was dangerous if left unfed by blood.

Standard nutrient potions would no longer suffice, especially if he was going to be attending school in the fall. Severus didn’t even want to imagine the carnage that would occur if he were to have another episode like that at full strength. Waking up to vampire drool was utterly terrifying, but, while Julian had apologized profusely for the incident, it was obvious how little control he actually had. That could not happen again.

He had searched through the few dozen books on blood based potions he had and had come up with a few ideas, but nothing concrete. And they were running out of time.

With only two weeks left before term started there simply wasn’t enough time in the day to do all the research necessary, so he had reached out to some fellow Potions Masters. A few refused to help due to the extremely dark connotation to blood magic and those that did were frequently reporting the same problems of volume, curdling, and even complete destruction of the blood itself.

Progress was being made, but even with several minds working on it, it would take several more months for a prototype to be ready for testing.

He had then begun trying to find which part of blood would satiate the feeding drive. He even reached out to the Care of Magical Creatures professor, Silvanus Kettleburn, who was more interested in how Severus knew a vampire and if he could convince it to be on display for a class. Severus rapidly denied the existence of a vampire he personally knew and made up a story about helping dark creatures, which Kettleburn enthusiastically agreed to assist with in any way possible.

It was shortly after the conversation with Kettleburn that he was contacted by one of his colleagues who happened to be muggleborn. Apparently her mother had been placed on iron tablets following a diagnosis of anaemia. The tablets couldn’t be crushed, however, there was a possibility this could curb the hunger drive at the very least.

Pure elements such as iron were not commonly used in potions making unless they were in the cauldrons themselves as they tended to interfere with the more magical ingredients of the potion. Severus recalled thinking ‘science and magic do not mix well’ when he first began experimenting with potion making.

Iron tablets could be gotten easily enough, but as muggles hadn’t formulated the tablets to be crushed and diluted nor was Julian’s stomach going to be able to handle a pill, a different source of iron was needed to even attempt relieving the blood hunger. If the muggles had made iron in pill form, it was a logical jump to assume that they would have a liquid form as well. The only issue was a prescription was needed for this formulation.

The muggle pharmacist had seemed quite put out when Severus had asked to purchase some. He had even asked nicely. A confundus spell wouldn’t have helped, however, as they did not do any of their own compounding and would need to send the prescription off to a compounding pharmacy to have it made. The muggle world was full of extremely frustrating bureaucracy.

Forging one posed its own challenges. While iron was not a drug to be abused, an incorrectly written prescription would be a major tip off that something was afoot. It wasn’t as simple as writing for potions ingredients.

He needed a muggle doctor to sign off on this venture, and he knew right where to find one.

It wasn’t until after he sent off the letter to Harry’s primary care office that he remembered he ought to have rang the office instead. In his defense, he had never had to do this for himself as he had been living solely in the wizarding world since he had turned seventeen. He hadn’t left a number contained within the letter to respond, choosing instead to leave instructions similar to what were given to new muggleborn first years on how to respond to an owl.

He decided to give it a few days. If the physician didn’t respond, he would have to go to the nearest muggle town and use a telephone to make an appointment for Harry/Julian. He greatly hoped for a letter though.

A stack of mail had appeared in its slot by the door to his quarters, which happened to be directly next to the couch Julian had claimed and had covered in books about the wizarding world.

Severus reached over the growing pile of books and grabbed the mail: only two letters and the latest copy of ‘The Practical Potioneer’ which he promptly added to one of his son’s piles of potions literature. If there were something interesting in that rag Albus insisted on buying for him, Julian would find it and ask him about it.

The letters, on the other hand, were far more interesting. One was written on very fine parchment and obviously from one of the Malfoys while the other wasn’t on parchment at all, but rather the stark, bleach white of muggle paper.

Opening the parchment first, he found a rather cordially written letter from Draco asking if he and Julian would like to come school shopping with him and his father. Per his letter, he was excited to meet Julian however Severus doubted this. Draco was spoiled despite his best efforts and would have likely landed himself in hot water on several occasions had it not been for his father’s deep pockets. Though there was a distinct possibility Lucius had spoken with him as there had been an addition of “if Julian is feeling well enough to join” at the end of the letter.

The other letter was far more anticipated, however was addressed as though going through muggle post. There was a small stamp in the upper right hand corner and the envelope was preprinted with the doctor’s office’s address and NHS logo. There was no evidence of it having gone through muggle post, however, and there was a small puncture hole from where an owl had grabbed the envelope.

Opening the letter, Severus read:

Dear Mr. Snape,

I thank you for reaching out to me. This is by far the most odd request I have received in my career. Had it not been for one of my nurses recognizing the stationary you use, I likely would have thrown away your letter.

I am pleased that Mr. Potter seems to have found his way to someone who seems to care about his health. Unfortunately, due to the ambiguity of you letter, the fact I cannot give out patient information to non-guardians (unless you are acting in loco parentis), and the severity of Mr Potter’s condition, I cannot give you the prescription you are requesting without first examining my patient.

Please call the number listed at the bottom of the page or come into my office if you are more comfortable doing so and we will set up an appointment for Mr Potter. Our office hours are 08:00am- 4:30pm (16:30) Monday-Friday.

Thank you,
Dr. Hardeep Singh

Severus resisted the urge to throw the letter in the fire. He did not want to take a fledgling vampire into muggle Surrey for a damn doctor’s appointment. That would be by far and away the most stupid thing he could do. Especially with the muggle penchant for drawing blood for every test under the sun. If they tried to draw Julians blood and he had not recently fed, he was liable to attack someone.

“Dad? Is that from my doctor?” Julian asked quietly, staring at the bright white paper Severus had partially crumpled.

“Yes,” Severus sighed. “I had hoped he would be willing to provide me with a prescription for you for liquid iron supplements to hopefully curb your hunger pangs, however he would like to examine you first.”

“Oh,” Julian said looking glumly back at his pile of books for a moment. “Can we ask him for something for the nausea?”

---

Severus sighed for what felt like the fiftieth time in an hour as he tucked his wand into the discreet holder hidden under his sleeve. A sleeve which felt much too large and untailored to ever be considered proper clothing. Lucius would have thrown an even bigger fit than he had when he saw Severus’s non-uniform wardrobe when they were in school had he seen what Severus was wearing.

“Grunge” was how Julian had described the style, and it was an accurate description of how he felt. He had wanted to make a good impression on the doctor by dressing like a muggle, however his knowledge of muggle fashions was as out of date as his knowledge of how to set up an appointment muggle-style was.

This could not be a fashion. There was no way.

Yet as he strode down the street towards the office of Dr. H. Singh, he found he did not stand out nearly as bad as he had feared. In fact, the clothing seemed to mix well with his surly demeanor and led to him being avoided by most people.

Striding through the office door, Severus was hit by the pungent aroma of disinfectant. It was nearly strong enough to make his eyes water. Looking around the small room, he noted several other families seated in a supposed waiting area. Behind a frosted screen, he could see the movement of a secretary going about her business and could hear the chatter of the personnel.

Wrapping his knuckle on the screen, he heard the murmured voices stop as the secretary slid open the screen and said none too politely, “Can I help you?”

“I need to speak with Dr. Singh,” Severus growled. “And set up an appointment for one Harry Potter, the sooner the better.”

“One moment please,” she said, sounding as displeased as they come as she handed him a clipboard and ball point pen. “Fill this out. Name, date, birthday, allergies, and what is bringing him in.”

Severus scowled at the woman, repeating, “I need to make an appointment.”

“Fill out the form, then I can put your child in the books.”

“He is already in your books, woman!” Severus growled, continuing to refuse to fill out the form and itching to draw his wand on the woman.

A vaguely familiar looking nurse in the back saw him and lost all color in her face as though she knew him. She raced over to the secretary and frantically started whispering in her ear.

“..... letter….. Potter…… school….”

Severus was rapidly losing his patience. How hard was it to make a simple appointment? Must muggles always make things so difficult?

“Professor Snape?” The nurse finally addressed him.

“Yes,” he growled.

“My name is Lisa Clearwater. You teach at Hogwarts School for the Gifted, yes?”

Severus glared at the nurse and cocked his head. That was the name given to muggle families of Hogwarts students, she must be a muggleborn’s relative.

“That I am.”

“My sister, Penelope, just finished her fourth year. She’s a Ravenclaw.”

Severus huffed impatiently. He just wanted to get this bloody appointment scheduled so he could get the necessary prescription to get the liquid iron supplement. And something for Julian’s nausea.

“Did you happen to bring guardianship papers for Mr. Potter?” she asked, suddenly business. She must have heard stories of the potion master’s notoriously short temper.

Severus pulled out the copy of the paternity paperwork Dumbledore had given him. Julian’s name was spelled on the paper’s to be Harry Potter for the time being. There was no point to trying to change the name on the muggle files to Julian as it was safer to keep one consistent name on muggle paperwork.

“Thank you. Would you mind if I make a copy of this?” the nurse asked, taking the paperwork to the copier without waiting for his answer.

Severus raised an eyebrow at the large machine. It was no surprise to him when the machine malfunctioned. It hadn’t been spelled to allow it to continue working when exposed to magic. Even without the spell on Julian’s name, the parchment would have caused great difficulty for the copier due to having been stored at Hogwarts for an extended period of time.

A few choice words later, the nurse and secretary gave up on the copier, claiming that it had been on the fritz for a while.

“Would you be able to provide a copy of this paperwork, sir?” the nurse asked, still rather frustrated at the copier’s failure.

“Certainly, though I will not be able to do so in this room.”

“Understood,” the nurse said, smiling knowingly. She hoped she was there to see it when he made a copy. Penelope had had bouts of accidental magic when she was younger, but she hadn’t been able to show them any of the things she had learned in school.

“Could you please take a seat for a few minutes? Dr. Singh is almost done with his last appointment for the day.”

Disgruntled at having to wait, but thankful that someone here knew what they were doing and who he was, Severus sat down in the corner of the waiting room. The room itself was quite bland with plain white walls with a television hanging from one showing some inane childrens show. There were a few magazines placed on a table in the center of the room, though none of them caught Severus’s eye as they all seemed to be geared towards women.

It was likely only about fifteen minutes before the nurse called Severus back into the back, but it felt as though he had been waiting a lifetime. He hated doctor’s offices and healer’s clinics more than life itself.

As she led him through one of the doorways from the waiting room to the rest of the clinic, Severus couldn’t help but note the compilation of chintzy artwork and medical posters which adorned the wall. It was strange to him to see such detailed diagrams as most magical diagrams continued to be hand drawn and lacked such detail until one began to study a topic more in depth.

Leading Severus to an office in the back corner of the clinic, she cracked the door slightly and poked her head in to speak with the doctor.

“Dr. Singh? Mr. Snape is here to speak with you.”

Severus heard some papers rustling around before a rather accented voice called out for him to enter. A spike of anxiety ran through him, however he quickly squashed that feeling. This had to be done for Julian’s sake.

Shivering slightly at the memory of waking up to the boy sleepily standing over his bed, mouth open and drooling while staring at his neck, Severus entered the office. Rows and rows of filing cabinets lined one wall with bookshelves stacked on top of them. The desk was smashed into the corner of the room and was rather clean and organized with only one, rather thick, folder open on the desk.

The doctor himself was a small, nearly bald, possibly Indian man. What little white hair he had was neatly trimmed and combed into place and he had dark brown eyes partially hidden behind a pair of gold framed wire glasses.

“Ah, Mr. Snape!” the doctor said, standing and coming around the desk to shake Severus’s hand. “It is a pleasure to meet you, though you look nothing like what I expected.”

Severus nodded curtly while shaking the man’s hand. He wondered what the doctor thought he ought to look like, though honestly he was relieved the man had agreed to meet with him at all due to the strangeness of the letter he wrote.

“It is a pleasure to meet you as well,” Severus said, closing the door behind him. “I’m sure you have many questions for me about Mr. Potter. I must admit, I was quite shocked when I heard the muggle police were looking for him. It is relieving to hear there was someone in this world who cared about his well-being.”

Dr. Singh frowned slightly at the word “muggle.” He wasn’t sure if that was a slur or not, but there was much he didn’t know about the man sitting in front of him.

Clearing his throat, Dr. Singh said, “Yes, actually. I have many questions. But first, do you have proof of guardianship?”

Severus pulled out the paternity paperwork yet again, glancing at it to make sure the charm was still working to disguise Julian’s name, and placed it in the doctor’s outstretched hand.

“Ah, very good,” Dr. Singh said, looking curiously at the parchment before reading the document. “His father?”

“Yes, I retrieved him after his aunt decided she no longer could care for him.”

“Thank goodness for that. He should have been removed from that house long ago. Do you have any… normal… paperwork?”

Severus looked at the paperwork the doctor was holding. He had never seen muggle adoption paperwork or paperwork proving paternity. For the wizarding world, the paperwork the doctor was holding would be more than adequate, especially with the signature of Albus Dumbledore on it.

“That is the paperwork I was given.”

“Interesting,” the doctor said, scratching his chin as he looked over the paperwork once more. “I have many questions about this ‘magic’ you spoke about in your letter, however I feel those be best kept for a later date. You said you had discovered the source of Harry’s many health problems and I, for one, am very curious about this.”

“Before I begin,” Severus started, knowing that none of this story would be taken seriously without someone bridging the gap and helping validate what he said. “I would like your nurse, Ms. Clearwater, to be in this room as well. She has some minor experience with the magical world as you already know.”

Dr. Singh nodded and went to the door to see if he could find Lisa Clearwater. If it hadn’t been for her insisting that her sister knew the man writing, that she had seen this type of paper before, and that every part of this was legitimate, he would have immediately assumed this was a scam of some sort. Magic was a preposterous idea and he could not wrap his mind around it without some form of proof it existed, and to make claims that a patient was having some sort of magical problem and that was the reason for their illness only compounded his disbelief.

Lisa happened to be standing just down the hall, as though she knew she would be needed for this meeting, and came over as soon as the door opened and Dr. Singh ushered her in.

Severus nodded to her as the doctor waved her to sit as well.

“In telling you what I will be telling you,” Severus began. “I will be breaking magical law if I do not spell you to prevent you from passing along any of the information you are about to hear. Should you choose to cut ties with Mr. Potter as his physician, I shall be required to wipe your memories of this entire encounter.”

Dr. Singh’s wiry eyebrows immediately shot to his receding hairline. What sort of secrets were they about to hear?

“The boy you have been seeing going by the name of Harry Potter is a wizard. There is an entire world of magic contained within your own. He, I, and Ms. Clearwater’s younger sister are a part of this world. For the most part, it is … well contained. However, roughly two years ago, there was an attack on a muggle, non-magical, community. Only one person was injured in this incident, and due to it being in a muggle community and the symptoms not showing up immediately due to an incomplete ritual of transformation, it was missed by the magical world.

“Harry Potter, was the victim of this attack.”

Severus paused momentarily as the doctor and nurse sitting in front of him mulled over what he had just said.

“An unregistered vampire came into a muggle community in Surrey, fed on Harry’s blood as he had been locked outside by his muggle relatives, and left. Had Harry been a muggle, this would not have been an issue and he would likely not have retained any memory of it. As he is a wizard, however, his own magic bound with the vampiric magic and began his transformation in order to save his life.”

“Are you saying Harry is a vampire?” Dr. Singh said rather bemusedly.

“I am. I know this may sound absurd, but magical creatures routinely walk among both our worlds.”

“Absurd doesn’t even begin to cover it. Do you have any proof of this ‘magic’ you speak of?”

Severus smirked in a way that made Lisa’s insides turn to jelly. She had heard stories from her sister of the aftermath of that smirk. Generally, it was related to the ‘loss of house points’ or ‘the worst detentions you could possibly imagine,’ but she got the feeling that the man in front of her had done some terrible things or had the potential to do so.

“If you would take the paternity papers I handed you and look through them once more. Make sure there are no duplications and no additional pieces of parchment shoved in between.”

Severus pulled out his wand as the doctor did as he asked, smirk still plastered on his face. There were many things he could do to provide the proof necessary for the doctor to believe what he was saying, but most of them could land him in trouble with the ministry more than what he was doing now.

“Geminio,” he said, tapping his wand on the parchment’s surface.

Immediately, the parchment quivered slightly then jumped apart into two identical copies for the same paperwork. Severus quickly checked to make sure the name on the copy read ‘Harry Potter’ and not ‘Julian Snape.’ Thankfully, the spell copied the incorrect name, thus allowing Severus to give the doctor an un-spelled version of the paperwork.

Both Dr. Singh and Lisa’s jaws hit the floor. Lisa, having only ever seen accidental magic, was just as floored by the display as the doctor.

A few more flicks of his wand and the door was locked and the blinds to the window closed. Severus noticed the light flickering overhead as he continued to use magic and stopped after removing the charms on his clothing which made them into that absurd muggle get-up.

Much more comfortably attired, Severus straightened his robes and relaxed back in his chair.

“How?… what?” Dr. Singh tried to articulate, however he was unable to form a sentence.

“Magic,” Severus stated, tucking his wand back into the holster on his arm. “Harry Potter is a vampire. Unfortunately for muggle technology, this affliction is not able to be tested for by any muggle means.”

“So, all of the testing he went through, all of the specialists who were baffled by his case, all of the pain and problems he endured were because we simply couldn’t see what we were looking for?” Lisa asked quietly as she personally had been the one to struggle finding a decent vein on the child when he would come in for blood work.

“Precisely.”

“So why come to us? If you are able to diagnose him and treat him in the magical world, why come and ask us for help?” Lisa asked.

“As muggle medical technology has advanced, it has surpassed wizarding abilities in some ways. True, had Harry been in the magical world when the attack occurred, he would have been diagnosed sooner, however I do believe he would not have been alive for nearly as long as he has been without a proper diagnosis if it hadn’t been for the sheer wit and determination of his muggle physicians.”

Severus nodded in appreciation to the doctor who was still sitting rather slack-jawed behind the desk.

“The iron?” Dr. Singh finally croaked out. “What was it about the iron?”

“You are aware that he has a feeding tube which was placed when his gut began to slow. As his intestines have begun to reawaken, we have been trialing different ways of getting the nutrients he needs as a vampire into his system. This included giving him blood orally, which his stomach still isn’t quite able to handle. We don’t want to give him blood through the feeding tube as he requires whole blood and it would likely clot within his tube at the rate we would have to run it. Unfortunately, oral blood consumption was what was needed to complete his transformation and he now is feeling the urge to feed on blood whether he can actually consume it or not.”

“And the iron will… stop that urge?” Dr. Singh said, catching on to what Severus was saying.

“That is the hope. The plan is to send him to school in a month, but if he is attempting to feed on their blood then this is not a viable option for him. As of right now, there are no potions which are compatible with the residuals of the nutrient potion we have been giving him through his tube which would curb this urge, nor are there any whole blood based nutrient potions in existence. We have found ourselves between a rock and a hard place and are rapidly running out of time.”

“And what happens if he gets held back?” Lisa asked.

“Tutoring is a possibility, however we are trying to keep him in the same age grouping as magical growth is stunted by being held back a year. It would greatly help his magical health if he is able to stretch and utilize his magic in a controlled environment.”

Dr. Singh nodded faintly. This entire situation felt surreal in a way he couldn’t put to words even if he tried. He had always felt there was something different about Harry, but always chalked it up to his family being overbearing and potentially abusive.

“Before I prescribe anything for him, I still need to see him.”

Severus nodded. He figured as much. If he had a client asking for a specific potion, he would require the same. No point wasting potions ingredients if the client didn’t know what they were actually asking for or an exact parameter required for safe potion administration.

“That is fine. Do you have any questions for me at this time?” Severus said. “Unfortunately, I am not able to give detailed information about the magical world without prior authorization by the Ministry of Magic.”

Dr. Singh shook his head, all of the questions he had thought of leaving his brain as soon as the man in front of him asked. He was still in awe of what he had just heard and witnessed.

“Before I leave, I will have to put you under a compulsion spell. You will not be able to speak about Harry Potter’s case with anyone outside of this room other than you know of him and any information you know of his case from prior to today.”

“Will it hurt?” Lisa asked.

“It may tingle slightly,” Severus said, pulling his wand out for the second time and casting the much more complicated compulsion charm over the two before re-transfiguring his clothing into muggle clothing. “Thank you for your time, Dr. Singh.”

“Thank you for your … explanation,” Dr. Singh said faintly.

“I make the appointment with your secretary correct?”

Dr. Singh nodded, continuing to look rather pale as he stewed over the information he had just received.

“I’ll go with you to speak with her. Marjory can be a bit… difficult… sometimes.”

“I noticed.”