Barely Functioning, Deeply Loved by krosi
Summary: When six-year-old Harry Potter finds floo powder while cleaning the fireplace, he is accidentally sent over to Severus's Snape's house, where he discovers that Snape is his biological dad, he has a half-sister, and Aunt Petunia has been abusing him all his life. It's almost too much for little Harry to handle. Can Severus help this boy through the traumas he's suffered?
Categories: Parental Snape > Biological Father Snape, Parental Snape > Godfather Snape Main Characters: .Snape and Harry (required), Original Character
Snape Flavour: Snape Comforts, Snape is Kind, Snape is Loving, Overly-protective Snape
Genres: Family, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort
Media Type: None
Tags: Alternate Universe
Takes Place: 0 - Pre Hogwarts (before Harry is 11)
Warnings: Abusive Dursleys, Out of Character
Challenges: None
Series: None
Chapters: 31 Completed: No Word count: 131786 Read: 47026 Published: 23 Jan 2021 Updated: 20 Mar 2024
Kidnapped by krosi

 

               Iris’s breath slowly came back to her after the forceful disapparition. Her parents tried to refrain from apparition for safety reasons, such as to avoid splinting her and long-distance apparition is known to be very draining on younger bodies. She took several deep breaths as a lumpy looking man dragged her toward large, spiked iron gates reaching for the red sky as the sun slowly lowered behind a dark manor that sent shivers down Iris’s spine. She pulled against her captor, but he held tightly to her upper arm, dragging her through the opening gates.

               Another man apparated behind them and ran through the gates before the closed. He followed closely behind, a smug grin on his face.

               “Where are you taking me?” Iris demanded. “I want to go home! Now!”

               “Shut up, you little brat,” the man dragging her snapped. He pulled her into the entryway of the manor.

               A large great horned owl flew in above them as the doors began to close. It hooted above their heads, holding rolled up parchment in its claws. The men followed the owl as it swooped down the hall and veered toward the right into a room.

               Iris pulled against her captor futilely once more, but he pulled her into the room the owl had dove in to. The other man followed close, staying quiet but grinning all the while.

               As they entered the room, Iris watched as the brown colored owl fluttered toward another person sitting in a plush chair in front of the fireplace, the back of the chair toward the doorway of the room, so Iris could not see the person. Chandeliers with lit candles lit up the room, yet it still had a dark creepiness Iris did not like.

               The owl handed the rolled parchment to the person before landing on the arm of the chair and waiting.

               Suddenly, the person in the chair struck the bird with the rolled-up parchment it had just delivered, earning loud, startled cries as the bird flinched away.

               “You’re late,” a female voice said. “Useless bird. Shoo!”

               The woman struck the bird once more with the parchment, encouraging the owl to fly away, but it didn’t go far and instead flapped up to the mantle above the fireplace.

               “Alecto,” Iris’s captor spoke, shaking her arm a little, “look who we found.”

               The woman gasped excitedly as she hopped out of the chair and stared back at the two men and Iris. Her smiled dropped from her face however as she sneered down at Iris. Alecto frowned at the men; disappointment thick in her voice.

               “Clearly not the Boy-Who-Lived,” Alecto said. “What am I supposed to do with that, Amycus?”

               “It’s Severus Snape’s daughter,” Amycus, the one holding on to Iris, answered. He pushed her forward, finally letting her go.

               Iris stumbled a bit, but she caught herself before she fell over and glared up at the woman.

               Alecto’s eyes brightened at the news, and she stalked forward like a leopardess toying with prey, her stubby fingers looking much like paws and her sleeked back hair and sloping-shoulders giving her a predatory air as she advanced forward. Iris didn’t move or back away, even as Alecto bent forward to peer into her eyes.    

               “So, you’re the little princess,” Alecto said. “You know, hun, it’s not you we want but the little pest you call your brother. He’s who we’re after, so no need to worry. We’re just going to keep you here util your father gives us Potter.”

               “My daddy’s going to hurt you,” Iris said confidently.

               “Ooh,” Alecto giggled in a wheezy way as she looked up at her brother and the other man standing next to him. “She’s so feisty! Must be a redhead thing.”

               Alecto lowered herself to meet Iris’s eyes again, using the rolled parchment to push some of Iris’s hair back.

               “You know, you father was almost one of us,” Alecto said. “A Death Eater, a supporter of the world’s greatest, most powerful wizard that every lived. When he was still I school, he would hang out with some of the younger members of our group. He was going to join us after he graduated, go through the whole initiation, but a certain little redheaded mudblood talked him out of it. Pity, really.”

               Iris didn’t say anything. Everything in her was shaking and she wanted nothing more than to run and hide behind something until her father found her, but her legs wouldn’t move.

               Alecto hmphed and stood up tall once more.

               “Hopefully, your stay isn’t too long. Once your father hears that we have you, he’ll have no choice but to hand over Potter.”

               “He’s not going to give you my brother,” Iris said.

               “He’ll have to,” Alecto said rather nonchalantly with a shrug of her shoulder. “It’s either that, or we kill you.”

               Iris sucked in a shaky gasp and tears welled in her eyes.

               Alecto made a sad face at her.

               “Life is so full of tough choices,” she said.

               “Stop it! I want to go home! Where’s my mum?”

               “Dead, probably,” Amycus said with a lopsided sneer.

               Iris gasped, and her eyes flooded with tears.

               “Well, well, haven’t you boys been busy,” Alecto said.

               “We forced a muggle driver to chase after that mudblood’s car,” the other man finally spoke. “Then we made him crash the cars and flipped the other one right into a ditch. She didn’t look so good when we left her there, and we made sure the muggle didn’t know which was up when we were through with him.”

               Alecto was like a child on Halloween about to receive candy with the way she jumped up and down with giddy at the news.

               “This is so exciting!” she said. “We will rise in the ranks of the Dark Lord upon his return when we share with him all that we’ve accomplished—including the destruction of the Boy-Who-Lived. Athena!”

               Everyone paused and waited, and Alecto rolled her eyes and looked over to the left side of the room.

               The owl was attempting to open a bag of owl treats resting near a small owl cage in the corner of the room. She used her talons to pin the bag down while she tried to rip into it with her beak.

               “Stupid bird,” Alecto snapped. She swung out her wand and sent a small stinging hex toward her. “Leave it, Athena! You will eat when you are finished with your work. I’m not done with you.”

               Athena cried out as the hex struck her, but she left the bag of treats and flew over to land on the back of the chair, facing the trio and Iris. Alecto opened the parchment that was delivered to her and smiled at the headliner of the evening prophet: a missing child statement from the Auror Department, and a picture of Iris took up one side while a picture of Dahlia took up the other. In the wizarding world, news traveled very fast, and Alecto was pleased that the aurors were chasing after Dahlia currently. They would never suspect her, her brother or their accomplice Gibbon. Of course, they would reveal themselves soon, but they had time to come up with a plan to trap Severus Snape with the Boy-Who-Lived.

               “Boys, we are now in control of this entire situation,” Alecto began, smirking. She handed Amycus the prophet to look over while she spoke. “We must tread carefully, but the Boy-Who-Lived will be ours! We’ll need a place to set up a drop off for Severus Snape but one for the Aurors too, we have to make a clear threat to keep Severus from revealing the true location while sending the aurors elsewhere. . .”

               While Alecto spoke of her plan, Iris looked over at the corner of the room where the owl cage and treats sat. She slowly began inching her way toward it, glancing back and forth between Alecto and the cage. Finally, she could reach up to the table where the treats were and she slowly and as quietly as she could opened the bag of treats.

               Athena’s head snapped in her direction.

               No one else seemed to notice.

               Iris pulled out a couple treats and pocketed them before closing the bag. She noticed Athena’s piercing yellow eyes locked on her as she shuffled back towards the trio. Her eyes sweeped over the fireplace, wondering if any of the containers sitting near it held floo powder. While the three kidnappers were talking, she wondered if she’s be able to check without anyone noticing.

               “Little girl!” Alecto snapped. “What are you doing? Get over here.”

               Iris froze. She wasn’t far from the three, but she really didn’t want to go any closer to them.

               A huge gust of wind blew from behind her and pushed her the rest of the way to the trio where Amycus grabbed a hold of her.

               “No games, now,” he said in a deep voice.

               “Athena,” Alecto demanded, calling her owl over. The bird flew over to Alecto’s outstretched arm. “Deliver this letter to Rowle. I’m sure he could be of use to us in securing Potter in our grasps. I expect a response and do not be late this time or I’ll lock you in that cage again.”

               Alecto held out the letter. Athena flinched at first but then quickly took the parchment in her beak and flew off. Satisfied, Alecto turned cold eyes on Iris.

               “Take her to the dungeon and lock her up good.” Alecto said. “We can’t risk losing our only leverage.”

               “No!” Iris screamed as she was lifted and tucked under Amycus’s arm like an American football. “He won’t give you Harry. Just take me home. Take me home! I won’t tell anyone. I promise.”

               “Shut up!” Amycus yelled at her.

               It was a short trip to the dungeon which was down two flights of stairs. Amycus threw Iris into the first prison room they came across, and he closed the barred gate and locked the door with a key he hung across the hall.

               “Get comfy,” Amycus said with a grin, “It’s going to be a long night for you.”

               “Don’t leave me here,” Iris pleaded as Amycus began to walk away, leaving her in a dark and cold room. “Please, I’m scared. My head hurts. Can I have ice? Don’t leave me here.”

               Her cries were ignored and Iris sniffled as she looked around. The small space she was in had a small lumpy mattress on the floor with a blanket thrown across it carelessly, and a toilet sat in one corner. There was a barred window revealing a thick forest behind the manor, and the sky continued to darken, revealing the first stars and sending in a chilly wind.

               It was dark in the dungeon, and there were tapping sounds and creaks coming from the other end of the hall, which was too dark to see anything. Iris quickly crawled on the bed and backed up into a corner, pulling the blanket up close, prepared to duck under it should any monsters jump out at her. It was the only protection she had.

               A low hoot startled her, and she lifted the blanket up to her nose, her heart pounding in her chest.

               Athena appeared at the window, and she tilted her head at Iris curiously. She gave another low hoot.

               Iris slowly crawled out of the blanket and ran over to the toilet, stepping up on the lid and clinging to the edge of the windowsill with her hands. She used one hand to pull one of the owl treats out of her pocket and offered it to the owl.

               Athena hesitated. She shuffled a little closer then paused again, tilting her head at Iris.  

               “I won’t hurt you,” Iris promised. She stretched her hand out further. “Here. You look hungry.”

               Athena clucked her beak before shuffling closer once more. She slowly reached out and accepted the owl treat from Iris, crunching away at it.

               “Good, owl,” Iris said. She pulled out another treat and set it right in front of where she could reach. Athena moved closer and accepted the treat. Iris reached out to pet the owl but paused when Athena flinched and stared up at Iris’s hand hovering above her head. After a moment, the owl pushed her head into Iris’s hand, accepting a pet.

               Iris smiled and stroked the bird gently. She wished she could hug the owl like she did Mr. Cuddlywuddlytums, that would make her feel a lot better, but she also didn’t want to scare the owl away, and this owl didn’t seem like it would appreciate a hug. She offered the last treat she had managed to sneak out and the owl ate hungrily.

               “Please help me,” Iris pleaded to the owl.

               Athena tilted her head at Iris, staring intently.

               “Can you go to my daddy? Please? You can give him . . . umm,” Iris searched herself for something to give the owl and pulled off the green and blue friendship bracelet she had made with Ruth in school earlier that day. She held it out to the owl. “You can give him this. His name is Severus Snape. Then maybe he can find me with magic?”

               The owl continued to stare at Iris.

               “Please,” Iris asked again.

               With a low hoot, the owl took the bracelet in its beak before flapping away into the night.

               It was very dark now in the dungeon, and Iris jumped down and ran back to the bed, hiding under the blanket, hopeful that her daddy would come get her soon. She tried to ignore the scary noises all around her, ignored the small throb in her head, closing her eyes tightly as she shook under the blanket. How long would it take the bird to get to her daddy?

 

1am

 

Severus slowly swayed back and forth with Harry on his hip as he listened to an auror explain that Dahlia had turned herself in about an hour ago, and after a short interrogation, confessed to taking her daughter out of school. However, Dahlia no longer had Iris. A car had struck hers and thrown her off the road. She wasn’t sure how long she was unconscious for, but when she woke up, she was alone with an insane muggle who had obvious symptoms of having been severely obliviated. Iris was no where to be found. So Dahlia turned herself in and informed the aurors of where everything had taken place in order to find Iris.

This was awful news.

“Is Dahlia okay?” Severus asked.

“She had a deep head wound and a concussion, two broken ribs and several bruises, but otherwise, she’ll make a full recovery.” Frank waited to see what Severus’s reaction would be to that news.

If Dahlia was that injured from the car crash, what shape was Iris in right now? Whoever had her, were they even treating her wounds? Probably not, what kind of ridiculous question was that? Severus closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

“We’re going to change the missing alert in the paper to state we are now looking for just Iris,” Frank continued. “I do need a few signatures from you regarding what will go in the paper and if you have any other recent photos of Iris we can use, that would help us greatly.”

“Of course,” Severus said. He rubbed Harry’s back, knowing his son was still awake unfortunately. “Honey, I have to put you down for a minute.”

               Harry wrapped his arms tighter around Severus’s neck in protest.

               “Just for a minute,” Severus encouraged as he set Harry down in the chair in his living room, then reached up and gently pulled Harry’s arms off of him. Harry sniffled and started crying softly, even as Addie moved from the sofa to the arm of the chair to comfort him.

               Severus felt bad, but he had already tried taking Harry to bed three times so far that night. The first time was at his usual bedtime, but an hour later Harry had reappeared while Severus was talking to aurors about locating Dahlia. Severus tried to push away his anxiety by rocking Harry back to sleep, but after he settled Harry in bed again, Harry woke just as he was leaving the room. It took two hours before Harry started to drift off again while Severus tried reading to him, shushing him, and rocking him once more. Harry was an emotional wreck with Iris missing and Severus high strung, but he had finally fallen asleep.

               Then the floo had flared, announcing Frank’s arrival, and Harry woke up and sought Severus out again. And if Severus tried to leave Harry anywhere, Harry cried. Severus was sure Harry’s emotions were all over the place and his poor son simply had no clue how to manage them all. Addie had stayed over in the guest room in case Severus had to leave at any time during the night, and she tried offering tricks to help Harry fall asleep (and hopefully stay asleep), but the warm bath, honey milk and tea, and the white noise in Harry’s room had not helped.

               Severus signed the papers he needed to for the Daily Prophet to consent for the use of Iris’s photos, then he used his memories to take pictures of Iris and create a physical copy of it as Addie had shown him how to do when Harry first arrived at his house covered in soot. He felt a heavy weight on his chest as he stared down at the pictures, fear constricting around him like a snake. His worst fears were happening now—his child was kidnapped by people with every intention of hurting her. And he was sure they were the same people who had sent that threat to him, so not only did they have one of his children, but they also wanted his other child. Severus closed his eyes tightly and handed the photos over to Frank.

               “I can’t pretend to imagine what you are going through right now,” Frank said softly. “This is every parent’s worst nightmare, losing a child and not knowing where they are or . . .” Frank shook his head sadly. “We are doing everything in our power to track down who took Iris. We have our best aurors at the scene of the crash going through every little piece of evidence while a couple aurors work on trying to identify the magical signature left on the obliviated muggle. We will find Iris.”

               “I know you will,” Severus said, more to encourage his own faith in the aurors than to assert his belief that they would in fact find Iris.

               “I know it would be too much to suggest trying to get some rest,” Frank said, “given the circumstances, but you should try to calm your nerves a little. You don’t want to make yourself sick. And Harry might be feeding off on your emotions just as much as his own.”

               Addie was holding Harry and rocking him as she walked over to where Severus and Frank were talking. Severus looked down at Harry, who held his arms out for him.

               Severus sighed and stretched his arms quickly before accepting Harry from Addie.

               “Do you think a sleeping potion might help at this point?” Addie asked.

               “No, I don’t think his body is quite ready to handle sedatives,” Severus said as he adjusted Harry on his hip. He brushed back Harry’s hair and planted a kiss on Harry’s forehead. “How are you feeling, Harry?”

               “I want Iris,” Harry muttered.

               “Me, too. We’ll get her back. Right now, how about you and I go lie down, hmm? Want me to read you another book?”

               “No, I want Iris.”

               “I know. We have to be patient. And you need to settle down, you’re aggravating your asthma. Would you like more tea with honey and milk?”

               Harry didn’t get a chance to answer as that moment, a loud commotion broke outside. The aurors on guard of the Snape residence began shouting as they fired curses, lighting up the dark outdoors.

               “Owl!” one shouted clearly, catching Severus’s attention.

               There was a loud screech, and then two aurors were stepping inside, Frank quickly directing them to the dining table. They set the stunned owl down on the table. Severus stepped closer to look at it. It was a great horned owl.

               “That’s it,” Severus said, nodding his head. “That’s the bird I told you about.”

               “That’s Iris’s!” Harry said, pointing down at the bird’s beak.

               “What?” Severus asked, looking at his son then at what he was pointing at. He spotted the blue and green bracelet in the bird’s mouth.

               “Iris and Ruth were making those at school today,” Harry explained. “That’s the one Ruth gave Iris. She was wearing it when she left.”

               “You’re sure?” Severus asked Harry, who nodded his head.

               “Ross, check the bird for any magical signatures,” Frank began ordering. “Jackson, start working on a flight trail spell, we need to know where this bird came from.”

               “Those take a few hours to map out, Longbottom,” the auror, Jackson, said.

               “Then I suggest you move quickly.”

               Severus stared down at the owl for a moment before turning to Frank.

               “What if the bird leads us to Iris?” Severus asked.

               “I cannot put my trust in a potentially dark wizard’s owl,” Frank said. “You said it yourself, the bird evaded you and your owl when it delivered that note to you. It is most likely trained to avoid us and not reveal its owner’s location.”

               “But it brought this,” Severus said, snatching the bracelet and holding it up. “Why would it do that?”

               “I don’t know,” Frank said. “Maybe it’s a warning from the kidnappers. A sign that they have her and she’s alive—for now.”

               “It’s too subtle,” Severus insisted, “why this bracelet and not a lock of Iris’s hair or something? Something’s not right.”

               “Sir,” Jackson interrupted, “the flight pattern is untraceable. There’s some kind of spell on the bird keeping ours from working and it would take just as long to break it as it would to trace where it came from.”

               “We don’t have that kind of time,” Severus said, adjusting Harry to his other hip. “We need to wake that bird up and follow it to wherever it came from.”

               Frank sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, frustrated but also considering his options. He slowly started to nod his head.

               “If the bird did come of its own free will, this could give us a head start on our kidnappers’ plan, whatever that may be. Very well, we’ll give it a try. Ross, keep looking for magical signatures and match them to what we have in our database. Jackson, get ready to wake the bird.”

               “I’m coming with you,” Severus said.

               “You bringing your son along too?” Frank asked, frowning at Severus. “Don’t be rash, Severus. I cannot allow an untrained wizard on this mission.”

               “This is my daughter we’re talking about,” Severus said. “I’m coming. You’ll have to arrest me if you want to stop me.”

               An auror was all prepared with magic-restraining cuffs and took a step forward to stop Severus from acting on his crazy idea, but Frank held a hand up, stopping the auror from advancing any further.

               “This remains off the record,” Frank said. “And you will do as any of these aurors tell you.”

               “Of course,” Severus agreed. Anything to be allowed to go. That didn’t mean he’d follow every order though.

               “And your son?”             

               “I’ll take him,” Addie said, offering her arms out.

               “Noooo!” Harry cried, tightening his arms around Severus’s neck.             

               “Harry, please go to Addie,” Severus encouraged. “I have to go get your sister.”

               “I want to stay with you,” Harry pleaded.

               “Looks like you might be staying back after all,” and auror said smugly.

               Severus sent that auror an annoyed look before attempting to remove Harry from his person, but the child kept a death grip on him.

               “I have an idea,” Addie said suddenly. She turned to the aurors. “If you would give us one minute.”

               Everyone nodded and continued working on their jobs while Frank discussed his plan should the bird obediently lead them to where Iris was being held captive.

               “Follow me,” Addie said, and led the way to the floo.

               They floo’d over to the Brown residence, where Samuel greeted them from the top of his staircase after hearing his fireplace go off.

               “What’s going on?” he asked in a whisper. “You find Iris?”

               “At least a clue to where she might be,” Severus said in a soft voice. “Mind if my son stays the night?”

               “No, no, come on up,” Samuel waved them up the stairs.

               Severus explained the current findings on Iris’s situation as he followed Samuel to a room down the hall. Samuel was shaking his head and letting out slow breaths. He couldn’t imagine one of his children in the hands of kidnappers. He might go spar if anyone dared to harm his kids or keep him from searching for them.

               “I want to stay with you, Daddy,” Harry said.

               “I know, but I need to get your sister and it might be dangerous.” Severus walked into the bedroom after Samuel. “I need to know that you are safe. Joshua is going to be with you all night, okay?”

               “Joshua?” Harry asked, looking down at the bed where Samuel was carefully sliding his son over to make room for Harry.

               “What’s going on?” Joshua asked sleepily as his eyes fluttered open and he stared up blearily at his father.

               “Hey, buddy.” Samuel smiled at his son. “Harry’s going to spend the night with you, okay? He’s feeling a little scared right now and his father has to leave for a little bit.”

               “Yeah, that’s okay,” Joshua said through a yawn. “He can sleep with me.”

               “Is Iris going to be okay?” Harry asked his father.

               “As soon as I get to her, she will be,” Severus answered. He kissed Harry’s temple. “Think you can stay here with Joshua?”

               Harry hesitated, then nodded.

               Severus slowly settled Harry in the bed next to Joshua, who was already fast asleep again. Severus tucked Harry in and rubbed his back for him until he began to blink sleepily. Finally, Harry fell asleep.

               “Thank you, Samuel,” Severus said as he followed him out of the bedroom. “I have to warn you, he could get up again. He’s a night wanderer. He may also be up super early in the morning messing around in your kitchen.”

               Samuel chuckled.

               “I’ll let Tori know,” he said. “We’ll probably take bets on who will be up first, your kid or Esther. Thing about Esther—she can’t hear, but, damn, does she know how not to make a noise. We find her out of bed at five in the morning eating Grandma Addie’s homemade cookies in the pantry I can’t tell you how often.”

               Severus snorted at the story, remembering when Iris was guilty of similar behaviors.

               “So Harry will be nothing new for us,” Samuel concluded. “You do what you need to do.”

               Severus thanked Samuel one last time and wished Addie good night before stepping back through the floo. He frowned as he watched the four aurors circling his dining table. The great horned owl was awake and clicking its sharp beak at them.

               “You woke the bird up while I was gone?” Severus asked. “You were planning on leaving without me.”

               “Well, we were,” Jackson admitted, “but the bird won’t leave. We keep trying to make it fly, but it won’t go.”

               Severus looked at the owl. It was visibly shaking where it stood on the table, but it clicked its beak defensively at the aurors.

               “I don’t know what its afraid of,” Frank said. “But if I were to guess, this bird did act of its own free will delivering that bracelet to you. It’s probably afraid of backlash from its owner.”

               “Come on, bird,” Ross said, waving his hands at the bird and giving the universal command all owls in Britain were taught, “Go home!”

               The owl shook violently but didn’t move.

               Desperately, Severus moved toward the bird, kneeling so he didn’t seem as intimidating. The owl watched him cautiously.

               “Please, bird,” Severus said. He held the bracelet out to the bird. “This is my daughter. She’s hurt and she’s scared, and she needs me to find her. You know where she is. You have to lead the way. Take me to her. Please.”

               The owl stared at the bracelet, then tilted its head.

               It gave a low hoot.

               Then, it snatched the bracelet and took off, flapping wildly around the room as it looked for a window.

               “Bird is on the move,” Frank announced, “let’s go, let’s go!”

               The bird flew for a window that opened for her while aurors summoned their brooms and jumped on, flying after the owl. Frank handed a broom to Severus, who mounted quickly and followed Frank out the door, chasing the owl as it flew higher and higher into the night sky, the moon offering enough light for the aurors to track the bird.
               Severus kept himself right behind the bird, refusing to allow it to slip from his view. He would get to his daughter if it was the last thing he did.

               And he would strangle whoever dared to take her from him.

 

To be continued...


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