Retrieving the vial of Dreamless Sleep from his bedside, the Potions Master could not believe what he had heard from his employer's own mouth, the subject of said conversation lying only a couple beds away from him.  His mind was a turmoil of thoughts as he repeated the conversation in his head.   "Has to die."  As that one phrase, those three simple words, echoed repeatedly in his head, he knew what had to be done.    Clenching the vial within his hand, he made his way over to the bed, glancing at the closed doors of Madam Pomfrey's office at the opposite end of the infirmary wing before looking down at the sleeping child that was a thorn in his side.

Footsteps hurried through the deserted streets of Hogsmeade, the buildings dark and silent.  The sky was dark and the weather cold, yet if any looked out of their windows, they would see nothing amiss.   In his arms, he could feel the frail weight of his charge as he headed into the shadows of a nearby house and, after securing his charge, turned on the spot and disappeared. The pair appeared outside St. Andrews Bus Station before Severus canceled the disillusionment charm on himself and his charge, apparting again to a little village.   He knew that nobody would think to look for him or Potter in the Muggle world, much less in Scotland, but he put glamours on just to be safe.     Glancing around him, Severus continued walking, hoping the child would not panic when he woke.   Severus decided for both their sakes to get some rest and think of what to do tomorrow instead of heading to his cottage. He was glad that he had not mentioned its existence to anyone.   As he walked, Severus was trying to think of his next plan of action.  With kidnapping the Boy-Who-Lived, he would likely be labeled a criminal, if any thought of him but would no longer be teaching or spying.  No...the child in his arms was the most important thing now to him as well as his vow.  

The walk to the hotel was only seven minutes, the building being of grey stone and he swept in, heading towards the desk.  "I need a room for three nights," he said as he reached the front desk.

The receptionist looked at the sleeping child in the man's arms.  "Do you need help with your luggage?"

"I'm afraid it was stolen while coming here," said Severus.  "It's been a long day and we haven't gotten the chance to go shopping yet."

"You poor man," said the receptionist.  "May I have your name, and will you be paying in cash or card?"

"Tobias Urchin and cash," said Severus, using his middle name which he hated.   It reminded him too much of the man who hated magic and abused him and his weak mother.  

"We have a storeroom with clothes that you may look through," said the receptionist, writing the information in the guest book and typing it in the computer they had.  "Alright Mr. Urchin, that will be 409 pounds total."  Severus set Potter down on the floor and then pulled out his wallet, counting out the money and handed it over before getting a receipt and being handed a keycard.  "Breakfast is free here and we have housekeeping free of charge."  Severus took it and then crouched to pick up Potter before heading for the elevator where he hit the button for the third floor.  

Light filtered through the room's curtains, shining within the small boy's face and a tired groan escaped him.  It woke the child who fully expected to be within the infirmary, something he didn't like.  Harry fumbled for his glasses, unable to see otherwise, but didn't find them. The child blinked his eyes slowly open, the room blurry before him but he could feel himself lying on soft sheets and a warm blanket lay on top of him.   "H...hello?  Madam Pomfrey?  I...I can't find my glasses."  He didn't know where he was and it frightened him, what with not being able to see at all.  Sometimes he hated his eyesight, but Aunt Petunia had never deemed it necessary to take him to a doctor.

A weight sat down on the bed and he could just make out a hand holding his glasses which were slid onto his face.  "Thanks Madam Pom..."   His words died in his throat as he saw who was sitting on his bed and it wasn't the stern but kind nurse of Hogwarts.  Should he be relieved or frightened that it was not Madam Pomfrey?  "Snape?!  Where am I?!"

It had been a restless night for Severus as he drew the curtains over the windows upon placing Harry down in the single bed.  The hotel was called the Dalmahoy Hotel and Country Club, a place located an eight-minute drive from Edinburgh Airport, located in a little village called Kirknewton.  The hotel itself was located on a golf course, at least it was a minute walking to a golf course, so as far as Severus was concerned that meant it was indeed on a golf course.  But his night had been far from restful, the boy sleeping contently as Severus kept his wand within reach even though he knew it was unlikely anyone would know of his kidnapping the boy until at least the morning.  Hopefully, they would not start looking for a while.  As morning finally arrived, he parted the curtains slightly to see outside the window, keeping his wand behind his back and then headed to a chair to get a little rest.  Potter's stirring in bed, however, dissuaded him from taking a nap and he grabbed the boy's glasses before heading over and sliding them on the lad's face.   Used to Potter's moods, Severus still found himself having to bite his tongue and not lash out at the boy as he would normally if they were at Hogwarts.   

"Safe for now. Let's hope it stays that way Potter."

"Where's Dumbledore? We aren't in Hogwarts so where are?!"  He searched desperately for his wand; however, he didn't find it in his pocket where he usually kept it and then turned his head, desperately searching for his wand.   "Where's my wand? What have you done Snape?!"

"Be quiet," said Snape, his snarky tone coming back at the boy's panicked state.  Thankfully, he'd had the foresight to cast silencing charms on the room in the event Potter proved difficult and stubborn, as he was being now.   It was the only magic he had done with his wand that evening, not wanting to attract any attention from the Muggles in the hotel or outside.  "You do not understand why we are here.  Thinking only of yourself, just like your father did."

"That's not true! My father was a great man!"

"Your father was arrogant and a bully," said Severus.   He pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration, annoyed with the child before him.  This was not how this was supposed to go and yet he wasn't surprised in the least by Potter's selfish nature and arrogant attitude showing itself before the ex-professor.  Perhaps this had been a mistake.  There was too much history between himself and the boy.  How would he ever manage to fulfill his vow to Lily and protect her son from those who would wish harm upon the child?   "Potter...if you would shut up and think, you'd realize you are safer here under my protection than at Hogwarts."

"And how is that Snape?  There's no safer place at Hogwarts and no safer place than with Dumbledore."

"Who told you that?"

"Hagrid.  He told me when he took me to get my Hogwarts supplies for the year."

Of course, he did, thought Snape.  Hagrid had a habit of not keeping secrets and making horrible food, Snape having eaten some of his ‘concoctions' as a student at Hogwarts but was a gentle sort, if not a bit obsessed with creatures.  Severus knew of the dangers at Hogwarts this year and couldn't understand why Dumbledore had borrowed the Philosopher's Stone from Flamel to hide in Hogwarts.  He frowned suddenly as he considered this before looking at the boy.  This...it wasn't because of Potter entering Hogwarts was it?  His eyes snapped to the boy who thankfully hadn't moved at all and was now sitting sullenly on the bed.    He had no idea how he was supposed to protect the boy or take care of him but was thankful the boy didn't have his wand on him.     He didn't feel like getting into a duel with Potter.   I suppose it's a good thing that most first years don't carry their wands on them when not in classes.

Was it possible that Dumbledore had arranged this stunt to draw the Dark Lord out of hiding? Or was it to see if the boy would die at the end of his first year if he came face to face with the Dark Lord?  What are you planning old man?  What do you have in mind with the Potter brat?  Despite helping with the Potions puzzle to guard the stone, he and the others that had participated in protections of the stone weren't entirely sure or been told why the stone was being brought to Hogwarts, other than the fact that Nicholas Flamel had wanted to hide the stone. 

He had no answer to his questions and no way to feasibly get in contact with Flamel to ask, nor could he be certain Flamel would even answer his questions.  Raising his free hand, he ran it down his face in exasperation, unsure of what to do with the situation he now found himself in.   How was he supposed to form a bond with a boy that was a reminder of the woman he had loved, the woman he had unintentionally pushed away and failed to protect?  If Potter found out that he had only wanted Lily to live and not either of the Potter males, then what would the boy think of him?   Was there more to Potter than his looks?  Had he been...wrong about the boy, basing his opinion on his hatred for a dead man?  No...Potter was just like his father.  Arrogant, self-conceited, and determined to torment Snape for another seven years.   

"Potter..."

"Just shut it Snape!  Where's my wand?!"

"You left your wand at Hogwarts you daft child!  Now shut up and listen!"   Harry blinked his eyes, startled at his professor shouting at him.  It might have been shock though at hearing that his wand was back at Hogwarts and he was defenseless with no idea where he was or what was going on.    It was a frightening reminder of his first ten years at the Dursleys, with his uncle yelling at him.  "You may hate me.  I'm well aware of what the other students say about me behind my back and how they wish I were dead.  It was exactly that way when I was at Hogwarts and nothing has changed since becoming a professor.   We are in the Muggle world and won't be here for long but you...we cannot go back to Hogwarts.  Your life is in danger there."

"How can my life be in danger?"

"Think Potter!  What did Dumbledore say at the beginning of the school year about the third-floor corridor?"

Harry frowned at Snape's words but did some thinking for the first time in his life since starting Hogwarts. "‘The third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds if we don't wish to die a painful death.'  But..."  Harry's eyes narrowed as he pondered what his professor had said.  "Are you saying there's something on the third-floor corridor at Hogwarts that can kill someone?"

"Yes," said Snape.  About time that boy used his brain for something useful.   "But you, yourself are in danger at Hogwarts over everyone else and you cannot tell anyone where you are, not even Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger."

"They're my friends! Dumbledore won't..."

"Dumbledore is exactly the reason why I took you from Hogwarts!"

"Hermione and R..."

"They will indeed say something to the headmaster if you were to somehow get a letter to them," said Snape.   "Miss Granger, for her exuberance and delight at being part of the wizarding community, understands nothing about the greater inner workings of the world she has been thrust into and believes anything an authority figure tells her or that she reads in a book.  She cannot even do an essay correctly without including extra inches or feet of parchment, let alone come up with ideas on her own.  Instead, she is tedious and her actions to be the best in all her classes and her know-it-all attitude result in her peer mates scoring her and her professors wishing she would follow the rules.  She cannot even do an assignment without parroting something from a book.  As for Mr. Weasley, the Weasley family is firmly in Dumbledore's encampment and believe anything the Headmaster says." 

"They won't tell anybody about  me being here."

"They will indeed.  If not Mr. Weasley then Miss Granger surely will and then we'll be in trouble."

"You mean you'll be in trouble.  You kidnapped me!"

For some minutes, the only sound was the breathing of man and boy or the squeak of the bed as Harry adjusted himself on it, trying to get comfortable.  The former Potions Master, though the boy didn't know that, tried to think of how to continue in a manner that would not cause any more distrust between them.  A difficult task, he had to admit, given their history and his dislike for the boy but he hoped to change that.  Now that he knew the Headmaster wanted the boy to die. Now that he knew the boy was...perhaps not all like Potter as he had believed...wanted to believe.   "You are...correct...in both assumptions," said Severus slowly.   "However, if you would merely stop shouting at me and let me explain, perhaps you would realize this was for your own benefit that you have been whisked away in the dead of night."  Heaven help me.  How am I to get through to the boy?

"P...Harry.  Will you please listen to what I have to say before you interrupt and start throwing a childish fit?"  Onyx eyes met emerald, emerald that was shrouded by the horrendous glasses that the child wore.   The defiance in the child's eyes was becoming annoying to him as he tried to think on how to explain himself without revealing too much of his own past but there was the possibility the boy wouldn't believe anything unless he showed the boy the memory of his conversation with the Headmaster.  But even then, would the boy believe me?  Memories can't be tampered with, yet he doesn't know that. 

"What reason would you have that could possibly make up for kidnapping me from Hogwarts and not letting me see tell my friends?!"

This was exactly why I never wanted children.   An exasperated sigh escaped the former Potions Master as he studied the boy.   This was not going as planned and he was beginning to lose patience with the child, as he was wont to do.   "Mister Potter.  Harry," he amended.  "I cannot trust your...friends...to not run to the Headmaster and inform them where we are. It is for this reason I snuck you out of the castle while you lay in the infirmary.  As I said, the Weasleys are a light family and the first chance they get, were they to know where we are, you would be whisked back to Hogwarts in a heartbeat and I....why I might get the Dementor's Kiss or be thrown in Azkaban for kidnapping their previous ‘savior'.   You would be under the control of the Headmaster were that to happen and I cannot be sure what he would do to make sure you didn't disappear again, even," he held up his hand to stave off an argument, "did not disappear of your own volition.  As for Miss Granger, she is likely to believe anything the Headmaster or another professor tells her about the world and could be easily swayed by other students, especially the likes of Mr. Weasley." 

Harry was silent as he listened to his professor speak, frowning as he was told that the Weasleys were a light family.  "That means they're a good family, right?"  His frown deepened as he thought of Hermione.  She set high faith in the Headmaster and he didn't want to admit or acknowledge that his potions professor was right.  He could just see Hermione in his mind's eye, getting a letter from him and rushing to tell Professor McGongall or the Headmaster.   She would then pester him, along with Ron making snide comments about Professor Snape, about what had happened while he had been kidnapped.  

"I can see you are refusing to see the truth of what I am saying.  Apparently, I need to show you instead," said Severus.  "Unfortunately, that will need to wait for I do not have my pensieve with me."

Against his better judgement, Harry found himself questioned his professor.   "Profess Snape.  If you kidnapped me does that mean you're out of a job?"

"I think there are more dire consequences of my decision than losing a job," said Professor Snape snidely.   "Still, I never much wanted to teach children.  At least not younger children.  They don't pay attention, nor appreciate the subtle and delicate art of Potions."

Harry felt a rush of defiance for Hermione, feeling the Professor was picking on the Muggleborn friend he had made after the disaster with the troll.   "Hermione is smart and pays attention!"

"Miss Granger, despite her exuberance for everything magical, demands to be the center of attention.  She cannot do an assignment to the minimum requirements without adding on three feet of parchment to a simple five-inch essay.  Her exuberance would be commendable if she didn't have to be right at everything and have a bossy attitude that causes her peers and professors to hate her.   She gives no other student the chance to answer a question posed to them and practically leaps out of her seat, as she did during your first Potions class.

"On the other hand, Mr. Weasley is one of the laziest students I have ever had the displeasure of meeting.  The only thing that he seems interested in is stuffing his face with as much food as possible during mealtimes which is disgusting to watch.  He doesn't seem to have any real skills of worthwhile note and his work is even worse than your own when he turns it in.  Mr. Weasley seems to be under the impression that he doesn't need to put effort into his classes and does the bare minimum possible to scrape by in his classes."

Harry's frown turned into a scowl as his friends were insulted.  "Git," he muttered. 

"Excuse me?"

"I said you're a git! You probably never had any friends in school."

"For your information Potter..." Severus started before sighing and shaking his head.  "This is getting us nowhere.   Are you hungry Harry?  We can go down for breakfast if you like."

"I'm not going anywhere with you!"

"Fine!  I am going down to breakfast and you can just in here and think on what I have said.  If that is even remotely feasible!"  Severus got to his feet and walked out of the room, taking a keycard with him, shutting the door behind him.  Harry remained sitting sullenly upon the bed before looking around the clean room and at the stone walls which reminded him of Hogwarts, crossing his arms across his chest. 

Why does this always happen to me, Harry thought morosely as he sighed and fell back on the bed, moving his hands behind his head so he could stare up at the ceiling.   "I hate you Snape," said Harry.  He had no right to take me from Hogwarts! I was happy there! 

"Where are we going?" It had been three days since Snape had kidnapped Harry from Hogwarts and they hadn't spoken to each other since.   Severus had attempted to speak to the boy over the past three days, but he had stubbornly refused to listen and so Severus, not wanting to do something he would regret and begging Lily's spirit to help him have patience with the boy, had left the child alone other than to bring meals to him so he would not starve. 

"It's better you do not know that Mr. Potter.  Remember, that we are in a Muggle village and cannot use magic."

"Not like I can use magic anyway.  You didn't bring my wand, did you?"

"Of course," said Severus.  "I already explained this to you the other day.  Mr. Potter...Harry.  Have you ever traveled by bus before?"

"No."  As the professor gave him a sour look, he tacked on ‘sir' at the end. 

"We will be traveling by bus," said Severus.   They had left the hotel and walked through the village along the main street, which had an enclosed feel to it. "Try not to get in trouble.  As I mentioned before..."

"I know.  It would be horrible if anyone were to find out about us."

"Quite," said Snape. "Therefore, for all intents and purposes, we are father and son." 

Harry frowned at that but didn't speak as they made their way to the bus stop on Braekirk Avenune.  Severus, pleased the boy was neither speaking nor fighting him, nevertheless kept an eye on the child as they waited for the bus to arrive, the man pulling out enough pounds for the tickets.  "There will be several stops Mr. Potter and at some points we may need to walk to the next station.  You are to remain close by me for I don't have the patience to be chasing after you and your foolish trouble that you get into at school can cause us to miss our next bus. This will be a long bus ride.  Is that clear?"

"Yes sir," said Harry.  He tapped his foot on the ground as they waited for the bus to arrive and after a ten-minute wait, it finally did.  A red bus pulled to a stop at the bus stop where they were waiting, and Harry was guided onto the bus by his professor who put a hand on the boy's shoulder.  There were some sleeping passengers aboard the bus for it was 5:13 in the morning, others were looking at newspapers.  Harry didn't hear the destination that the professor asked for but upon pocketing the tickets, Harry was led to a seat in the back of the bus and collapsed within it, Snape taking a seat beside him.  At least he's nice enough to let me have the window.  Or maybe he just doesn't want me to try making a break for it, he thought sourly.

---

Gravel crunched underfoot as Severus Snape walked down the road that led to his property.  Glancing down at the child he carried in his arms, the former Potions Master again noticed how light the child was but continued, the gravel road he was on turning to grass as he left the road behind.   Inhaling the fresh salty air that could only come with living near the sea and in the countryside, Severus hurried along as he ran his mind over the ingredients for a deaging potion.   It was the only way he could think of that would protect the boy from both Dumbledore and the Dark Lord, if that twisted man ever came back to life.   He'd give anything to take back his foolish mistake he had made at seventeen and have never bound himself to the man that had killed his former friend...the only woman he had loved.

Setting the boy on the couch, he went into his bedroom and began removing the white sheets he had placed there over the furniture to protect them from fading and dust.  The cottage would need some cleaning to be livable and that would take time without magic but the decision to take Harry from Hogwarts had been so sudden, he hadn't time to hire anyone to clean the cottage and make it presentable.  There was still the matter of Potter, not to mention a trip into town was likely necessary for food.  Coughing at the dust he headed out of his room and past the bathroom until he got to the utility room, removing other sheets from the furniture, and carried them into utility room where the washer and dryer were.

"Urrrnnngh."

"Mr. Potter. I see you're awake."   As Harry's vision into focus, he saw the blurry figure of Snape that soon cleared as he sat up and grabbed his glasses from the coffee table.   He could hear a washer somewhere in...wherever they were.   "I assume you are well rested enough to have a conversation, hopefully without throwing a temper tantrum like a toddler."

"Where are we?"

"Seafare Vista," said Snape.  "If you're speaking of what country, we're in Ireland, but this is my home.  Now that we are home, I can show you my memory and prove I'm telling the truth.  Though I warn you that it will be a shock."

"How much worse could it be than being kidnapped by the greasy bat of the dungeons?"

Snape glared at the child before getting up.  "Come along Potter.  I don't trust you not to get into mischief."   Harry did not care much for the professor keeping him here, nor letting him contact Dumbledore or his friends.  Even if Snape did have a point about Hermione likely running to a teacher the first chance she got, should he manage to get a letter to her and that was a tricky thing as he didn't have Hedwig.   He was curious as to what a pensieve was, though he wouldn't admit that and so got up after a moment of sitting there on the couch, staring at Snape's back before following the tall man.  

Snape led the insufferable child into the utility room and opened a cabinet where he pulled out a stone basin carved with a strange language.  Harry peered into it and saw a silvery liquid swirling around, a liquid that didn't slosh as Snape carried it back into the living room and made Harry sit down. "Sir what is this?"

"This Potter is a device that is used by wizards and witches to place their memories and view them later.   You won't find this in most wizarding stores in Britain, let alone among Muggleborns.  The headmaster has a pensieve himself of which he places his memories, and it has been passed down from headmaster or headmistress to the current one throughout the ages.  I believe the one at Hogwarts dates to before the founders, sometime around the 9th century.  For your information, the school was founded the 10th century."

Setting the device on the coffee table, Snape took out his wand and put it to his temple, concentrating on the memory of his conversation with Dumbledore that had led to him kidnapping the child before him from Hogwarts.  Harry watched as a silvery strand was pulled from the man's temple and deposited into basin, briefly clouding the silvery mixture before it swirled around too.   "Now, to view this memory, you only need to touch your finger to the liquid, and you will be sucked within.  Unless you feel like shoving your face inside, it won't hurt.  Nobody will be able to see you within the memory, it will be as if you don't exist.  This is not to be viewed without permission or there will be consequences," said Snape.   Harry frowned but leaned over to touch a finger to the silvery liquid, Snape doing the same and he found himself being sucked into the silvery substance...into the memory.

Harry found himself within a large office, at least he assumed it was an office, with several portraits hanging on a wall.  There were bookshelves and a large desk atop a dais with steps leading up to it and a circular staircase going up one end to rooms further above him.  The room itself appeared to be circular and as he looked around, he could see Professor Snape and Dumbledore within the office, Dumbledore standing at one of the windows looking out onto the grounds and Snape next to a large telescope within the office, pointed towards a skylight within the ceiling in a connected room.

"Professor Snape?"  But the image of Professor Snape didn't hear him, however Snape also appeared beside him, silently watching the memory with pursed lips.

"We are in my memory Potter.  The memory of myself or Dumbledore cannot hear us or see us.  It is if we do not exist."

"Where are we professor?"

"The Headmaster's Office," spoke Snape.  "Now shush and listen if you want to learn something.  I will explain again Potter, that memories cannot be tampered with, and I assure you, I am a skilled Legilimens and Occlumens...mind magics," he explained at the boy's dumbfounded look.   "The only thing that could tamper with a memory is if someone were to cause the memory charm and target one's memory, thereby erasing it from the person's mind.   In that case, there would be no way to reverse it without killing the person and/or damaging their mind, however it involves torturing the person to break the memory charm and gain access to said memories."

Severus raised a hand for the boy to be quiet as his mirror image turned from the telescope to look at the man, Harry then noticing a bird that looked as big as a swan sitting on a perch near to the headmaster's desk.  It was a bird unlike he had seen before with scarlet red and gold feathering.  Its head was tucked to its chest, and it seemed to be sleeping, so far as Harry could tell, but when his professor turned to his memory image, Harry did as well, straining his ears to listen.  The boy hoped to glean some information on why the professor had kidnapped him and how he could get back to Hogwarts.

---

"I cannot believe you and McGonagall let Potter become a member of his house team. There is a reason that first-years cannot have their own brooms and play on the team.  It's dangerous and seems to have gone to the boy's head.  He's showing exactly how arrogant he is, just like his father.  Not to mention, it had some of my first years questioning why they weren't allowed on the Quidditch team, but Potter was. What were you thinking Albus?!"

"There's nothing wrong with the boy being a bit like James," said Albus.  "I thought the boy would enjoy being on the team and Minerva...."

"Minerva only suggested he be on the team because she didn't want to lose the Quidditch cup for another year to my house!  It isn't my fault that she cannot find a decent seeker in these years since Charlie Weasley graduated.  Are you trying to turn the boy into an arrogant clone of Potter? He already shows a lack of decorum and respect for authority!  Not to mention he doesn't seem to have inherited Lily's brains for anything."

"The boy deserves to have a chance to be a child," said the old wizard as he continued to stare out the window.  "He is destined to defeat Voldemort Severus and I don't expect him to survive the encounter."

"You can't believe in that prophecy," said Snape.  "A child, even Potter's spawn, cannot defeat the Dark Lord who is older and more experienced than himself.  It's a job for adults."

"Fate cannot be changed Severus.  Neither can one's destiny.  The boy is destined to fight and defeat Tom.   He will be tested during his time at Hogwarts to see how his power fares against his enemy."

"What are you talking about?"

"You didn't think I had the Sorcerer's Stone moved here due to it being safe, did you? The promise of getting his body back will lure Tom out of hiding and that will be the first test Harry will take."

"And if he dies?  He is not a match for the Dark Lord Albus!  This should be left to the adults!"

"Then the Longbottom boy can serve as a backup. He was also a child of the prophecy."

"Trelawney is a fraud!  She's never gotten a prophecy right in her life.  I cannot believe that you are the one willing to sacrifice the boy to fight your own battle."

"Harry must die Severus.  He must face against Voldemort and kill him or be killed trying.  It is the only way we will have peace within the wizarding world." 

Memory Snape fell silent at the older wizard's words and a trill soon emitted in the air, causing Harry to turn his head towards the bird sitting on the perch.  He felt his heart lighten at the song despite it being a memory, but it didn't seem to soothe memory Snape at all.   Harry, was however, stunned at the Headmaster's words.  There was no lying in the man's voice and as Dumbledore turned to Snape, Harry could see he believed wholeheartedly in what he said.   But what was this about a prophecy?

Snape, for his part frowned at the Headmaster and his memory version before looking towards the boy whose face had paled.  "Mr. Longbottom is about as useless as Potter and has difficulty performing the most basics of magic.  Neither of them should be made to fight in a war."

"Mr. Longbottom will not be facing Voldemort, nor does he have the power to do so.  It was Harry who was marked by Tom that night in Godric's Hollow and he shall face Voldemort.  You shall protect him as you are able until that time comes and when the Dark Lord returns, will take up your role as spy again in his ranks."

"What power could the boy possibly have over the Dark Lord?"

"Love.  Lily Potter, by casting herself before Voldemort's wand, sacrificed herself and activated ancient blood magic over the boy. While at the Dursleys, under the care of his aunt, he cannot be harmed or reached there by any Death Eaters or sympathizers to the dark.  Nor can Tom reach or harm him while he resides in his home."

"Petunia?! You left the boy with Petunia? She's a shrew Albus and always had it in for Lily.  She'll hate the boy!"

Does Professor Snape know Aunt Petunia? How? Does that mean he knows my parents?  However, his face fell, and he collapsed to the floor, only being dimly aware that Snape caught him in his arms before he could hit the stones and hurt himself as the headmaster continued speaking. 

"Petunia took Harry in.  She may not like the boy but she took him into her home and thereby activated the blood wards that will keep her and her family safe as long as Harry calls the place home. There is no safer place for him against Voldemort and his supporters, nor any others that would wish harm on the boy.  Whether she loves him or not is not the issue."

"Not the issue? Albus, you could very well be making a second Dark Lord with the boy's treatment at the hands of that shrew and who knows how her husband will treat the boy?"

"Oh, there's nothing to worry about Severus.  A little neglect and abuse will shape the boy's character and make it easier for him to die when the time is right."

"..."  Memory Snape froze at the man's callous disregard for another child's life, nevermind the potential danger for the Potter spawn...Lily's child for Merlin's sake.  "I swore to uphold my vow to Lily that I would protect the boy!  This...this goes against everything..."

"You are still protecting the boy Severus and will continue to do so until it is time to face Voldemort," said Dumbledore, ignoring the way memory Snape flinched every time that name was said.   Dumbledore turned to face Severus, walking towards the younger man, and placing a hand on his shoulder.  "Don't pretend to care for the boy Severus.  If you must, just pretend that he is James Potter reincarnated.  Protect him as you would do for Lily and continue to bully the boy.  Yes, I am aware of your opinion of the boy. You've been ranting about him ever since last year when you knew the boy would come to Hogwarts. 

"This is why I allowed him to have his own broom and be put on the Quidditch team.  It is why I am willing to let him slide and commit numerous infractions to test his power.  For you see, my boy, the child has potential, and we need to test his magic throughout these seven years to make sure that he is ready when the time comes.  If he faces some bullying from you or accidents within the hallways of Hogwarts, he'll be more likely to die when the time comes.  He'll see this world as the place that saved him from the Dursleys and a horrible muggle life and be all the more willing to sacrifice himself for the world that has brought him so much."

"Weasley will not stand for Ha...Potter...going off and dying," said Severus.  "He'll likely throw a fit."

"The boy must face Voldemort alone, without friends or staff or loved ones with him. Your job is to protect him Severus, which shouldn't be too hard.  Just think of him as James and remember that you are teaching the children of Death Eaters in your house.  You cannot risk blowing your cover to them.  As for Mr. Weasley, children can be easily swayed to doing things that they must for the greater good."

"Dumbledore this is insane!"

"You may not see it now my boy, but it is for the best that Harry know adversity from a young age so he can do what is right when the time comes. He must face Voldemort and he must destroy Tom or be destroyed.  His mother's love will protect him until that time."   With that, Dumbledore dismissed Severus and turned to head back to his own rooms at the top of the Headmaster's tower.

---

 The memory ended and Harry found himself back in the Professor's living room, still being held by his Potions professor.  He slipped away from the man and stumbled back into a chair, collapsing within it, his face as white as a sheet and his mind a whirl with thoughts and what he had heard and seen.  Severus looked towards the boy and then picked up a list of groceries he had been making while Harry had been asleep, busying himself with double checking what was needed while waiting for the boy to get over the shock, though he was unsure if anyone could get over such a shock.  As Severus sat on the couch, Harry tried to process what he had seen and heard.  He wanted to believe that it was nothing but lies.  That it was surely something that snape had made up and this was all some sick joke but somehow...deep down...Harry had a feeling it was not made up.   Snape seemed to be the only person he could trust and he hated that...hated that he had to rely on his most hated professor to protect him.  Harry also knew, however much he tried to deny it, that his professor was correct in his assumptions about Hermione willingly telling a professor where he was but as for Ron...what would Ron do?

"Mate, I can't believe Snape kidnapped you! Git.  He was probably trying to sell you out to You-Know-Who.  Dumbledore would never let you get killed.  He probably tampered that memory to make himself look good."

"It's impossible to tamper with memories Ronald," came Hermione's condescending voice in his head.   "But really Harry, I can't imagine the Headmaster allowing you to die and go up against a dark wizard.  That would be insane.  You probably misheard what he was said due to the shock of being kidnapped.  If you're worried, I'm sure you can go to Professor Dumbledore and he'll explain what he meant."

Harry shook himself as his friends' voices faded in his head.   If he told Ron and Hermione that he felt Professor Snape was the only one he could trust, he knew Ron would blow up and start going on about him being bewitched or something and Hermione would likely defend the headmaster, saying there was no safer person to protect Harry than the headmaster himself.  But how could he possibly trust the headmaster after what he had seen and heard in Snape's memory?   What could Snape gain by making up a memory like that and having Harry watch it?  

"He can't...he can't have me killed.  I don't...I don't want to be a murderer! I'm not! There's no way I can kill the Dark Lord," said Harry, his voice beginning to rise in pitch. 

"Potter, breathe!  Look at me and breathe.  Slowly now. You'll suffer a panic attack otherwise," said Snape as he got up, the list of groceries crumpling in his hand as he moved to put his arms on the boy's shoulders.   "Focus on my voice if you can't bear to look at me."  A hint of sarcasm laced his tone as he spoke, brought about by two months of having to put up with the brat before him.  "Good...just try to relax," said Snape and slowly it worked.  Slowly the panic left the boy's gaze though the paleness and shock remained visible within the boy's features and body language.  

"Do you wish to talk about it?"

"Why?  Why would the Headmaster want me to kill someone?"

Snape sighed.  "The Headmaster, as do many in the wizarding world...at least in the United Kingdom, believe that you defeated the Dark Lord that night in Godric's Hollow when they attacked. For that, you are their ‘savior' and the reason they could celebrate after ten years for the first war was bad for both muggle and wizard alike," said Snape.  "The Headmaster believes there was a prophecy about you and the Dark Lord.  The Dark Lord, however, heard only the first part of the prophecy and that was why he set out to attack your parents though you were the intended target. He believed, due to this prophecy of whose contents he hadn't heard fully, that someone would be born at the end of July that would destroy him. The Dark Lord...he fears death and wishes to be immortal," said Severus with a shudder.  "He was a snake of lies and full of charisma.  Handsome too, at one point in his school days, but using dark magic changed his physical appearance and his mental state as well."

"How did the Dark Lord know of the prophecy? What does it say?"

"One of his servants...one of his servants...in their quest to prove themselves to the Dark Lord overheard the prophecy by chance one evening in the Hogs Head.  That's a tavern in Hogsmeade," said Snape.  "The servant followed the Headmaster and overheard the first details of a prophecy before being thrown out after being caught by the tavern owner and bar keep.  He rushed to his master who made plans to end the child that was most likely to defeat him.  However, the Dark Lord only got the chance to try killing one of the children and the other boy was left alive.  Until three of the Dark Lord's servants found out where the Longbottoms were hiding and tortured Frank and Alice Longbottom, leaving them permanently in a room in the Janus Thickney Ward at St. Mungo's and their son...the other boy of the prophecy...orphaned.

"As for the prophecy, the servant only heard the following: ‘The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies...' and it was that part that the Dark Lord believed and chose to follow.  It was that which led him to attack you and led to his defeat."

Harry was flabbergasted and he stared at his professor with wide eyes.  "Both Vol..."

"Do not say his name," said Snape, instinctively grabbing his left forearm and releasing the child before him.  

"Sorry. The Dark Lord...both the Dark Lord and Dumbledore believe I'm the child of the prophecy?"

"Yes," said Severus.  "They believe that scar," Harry raised his finger to touch the scar on his head, "marks you as the Dark Lord's equal and that none other than yourself can defeat the Dark Lord once and for all when he comes back."

"But I can't possibly defeat the Dark Lord! I'm just a child with no magical education or training!  Why can't the Headmaster defeat the Dark Lord or some other adult?"

"The Headmaster is a fool," said Severus, "and believes himself incapable of making mistakes.  I believe he views the rest of us commoners as his chess pieces in a game between himself and the Dark Lord.   There is nothing saying you must defeat the Dark Lord or even kill him.  Therefore..."

"That's why you kidnapped me isn't it? To save me from this...this prophecy?"

"Yes," said Severus.  

"And I cannot tell Ron and Hermione where I am because Dumbledore will learn where I am and try to force me to fulfill the prophecy?"

"Indeed."

"So, what can we do to stop it? What do we do now?" Harry's voice broke at the realization that he couldn't contact his friends and that he was stuck here with his potions professor, but it seemed that maybe...maybe...his potions professor wasn't as bad as he appeared.  Harry hoped so, because he didn't know if he could bear being mistreated like he was at the Dursleys.

Getting to his feet, Severus uncurled his hand and turned back to the couch, sinking into it.  During this time, they had been talking and viewing the memory, the washer was continuing to run in the background.  "I think the best thing for us to do is not use magic at all," said Severus.  "This means, living like Muggles. Most wizards, especially purebloods, want nothing to do with Muggles and thus won't think to search for us in the wizarding world.  They won't believe I will have taken you into the Muggle world and we are safe as I never left any mention that I had this cottage.  If anything, they will go to my home in Cokeworth to start searching there but I think they might search the wizarding world first."  

Harry nodded as he didn't mind living in the Muggle world or without magic.  He hadn't, unlike what Dumbledore thought, become attached to the magical world in his two months of living there though he would miss being able to fly and speak to his friends.   But, Harry, who had lived without magic for ten years could easily go back to living like a Muggle if it kept him safe and away from the Headmaster's machinations about his life.  "Do you think the Headmaster knows we are gone yet?"

"Possibly," said Severus.   "I hoped to give us a three-day head start on their searching for us, but we will have to change our appearances."

"How?"

"I can adopt you but will need to purchase potion ingredients or the potion itself," said Severus.  "I believe that the best course of action would be to give you some type of deaging potion."

"Deaging Potion?"

"Correct," said Severus.  "I am sure you can figure out what it does on its name alone?"

"It..." Harry bit his lip as he thought of it.  "It causes someone to regress in age?"

Snape seemed surprise.  "Five points...to Gryffindor," Severus said, causing the boy's mouth to drop open in shock.  "No that will not affect things at Hogwarts," said Snape, causing the boy's mouth to shut with an audible click.  "A deaging potion does not cause the mind to deage.  It merely affects one's physical appearance.  In a way it is like Polyjuice potion."

"Polyjuice?"

Snape sighed though he was pleasantly surprised the boy was asking questions.   "Polyjuice is a potion that allows someone to become someone else for a limit of ten minutes to twelve hours before they change back, depending on the competence of the brewer and how well the potion was made.  They take on the form of the person they wish to be, but the potion is long and complicated and is an advanced potion.  It is not designed for animal transformations or partial animal transformations and even after the potion has been brewed, it must steep before it is able to be used.  The entire process takes a month, and the lacewing flies themselves must stew for twenty-one days.  The Polyjuice Potion also changes one's voice and any physical deformities.  An example was, if you were to take a piece of my hair and use it in Polyjuice, you would not need your glasses as you would have my eyesight while under the effects.  In effect, it is a time consuming and challenging potion that even most adult wizards and witches cannot brew correctly."

It would be nice not to have to wear glasses anymore, Harry thought to himself.  "Can I just do that?"

"No," said Severus.  "As I said, it would take a month to brew and would need to be repeatedly taken, plus I don't fancy having my hair plucked out every few hours to pass you off as my child. Therefore, that is out.  Now, there is the potential of a deaging potion but that would not change your voice or your mind.  Your memories would remain intact and all that would change would be your body.  It is also not a permanent solution to our problem."

"What's the blood adoption do?"

"The blood adoption potion would remove your genes from one parent," said Severus.  "In this case, it would remove your Potter genes and replace them with my own as I see no reason, nor desire, to remove your mother's DNA from your body.  It would be as if..."

"As if you and my mom had copulated  and had me?"

That's certainly one way to put it.  "To put it lightly, yes.  What many do not realize is that the deaging potion does more than take away the genes of one parent and give them the genes of a different adult.  It also takes away the magic of the parent that is being replaced.  The magic of the Potters and Peverells...they are an ancient wizarding family that survives only in the Dark Lord and Potter senior...a family that has been forgotten...would be replaced by my own magic."

"Would it hurt?"

"I'm afraid so," said Severus.  "It would feel like your body was being split in two and, if I gave you the deaging potion first, it would be excruciating for a child.  Though you would lose the Potter and Peverell magicks, you would gain my family's magic, that being of the Prince line.   It will be as if James Potter never existed in you and make you the son of Lily and myself."  Which should have happened if I hadn't messed everything up and she had forgiven me.

Severus sat back and waited for the boy to ponder over his words.  Severus felt there was no other course of action than to deage the boy and blood adopt him. He knew if he blood adopted the boy, then it would be as if he had sired the boy himself and nobody, not even the Headmaster or that incompetent idiot Fudge, would be able to take the boy.  Smoothing out the list on the table and trying to think on what he could possibly need in terms of supplies, he added clothes to the bottom of the list as he could use some new Muggle clothing and, if the boy agreed, clothing for a young child. 

"I'll do it," said Harry after several minutes of silence.  "I hate losing a part of my father but...I don't want to be related to the Dark Lord, however distantly."   He took a breath and let it out shakily, his hands clenching into fists that rested in his lap.  "Can...can I be excused sir?"

"You may, however, allow me to give you a tour and show you where the bathroom and laundry are," said Snape.  "I will need to look and see if there is something among my books that speak of a more permanent deaging potion.   "I think, the best course of action, is to find a deaging potion that will potentially erase your memories as well."

"Sir?"

"A potion that can take away your memories, thereby causing you to forget the childhood you may have suffered as well as any ties you formed.  Normally I would not suggest such a thing, were I advising someone on the matter but for our current situation, it seems the best bet.  I was planning on doing the deaging potion regardless."

Harry nodded absently and stood up as his professor got to his feet.  "What will happen to my vault when I become...become your son?"

"The Ministry might try to take control of your vault," said Severus.  Under normal circumstances, it would collect interest and sit at Gringotts under the care of the goblins until a heir was found to the Potter line, however as you are...or rather, as Potter senior will be the last Potter, the Ministry will likely take control of it."

A frown crossed the boy's face but he nodded without complaint and Snape was perturbed at the boy's apparent agreement with everything being said so far.  "This is the living room, as you can see and near it is the dining room. It's an open floor plan so I will be able to see what you do when I am cooking or something of such a nature," said Severus, gesturing around them.  "There are two bedrooms on the main floor and a loft above us.  The entry is small, but you can hang your coat there when you come inside on the coat rack.  Off the living room is a covered patio with sliding glass doors leading out and the kitchen."  He led Harry to the kitchen with some open cupboards that were dusty.  "I expect you to ask before you use the stove," he said and Harry nodded.  Turning around, they passed the stairs that led to the loft and into a short hallway which led past the bathroom and a door that Snape said was his own bedroom. 

"You will knock before entering my room," said Severus. "The utility room houses a washer and dryer, some shelves and a sink.  You can leave muddy shoes in there.  The water heater and furnace are located within the garage which has a door in the back which you can use to go into the backyard."  He then pointed out the second bedroom which was across the utility room.   "I will let you choose where you wish to sleep and furniture can be purchased at a later date." 

"I'll decide later, if I may sir?"  At the professor's nod, Harry breathed a sigh of relief.  This was all too much, and he wasn't sure how to take everything he was hearing.   Offering to help Snape clean up the cottage, to the professor's surprise, Harry used it as an excuse to busy his hands and mind.   It took only a couple of hours to clean the house, Harry discovering that there were some muggle devices such as a vacuum and mop in a cupboard.   Severus left Harry in the living room while he went to look through his books to see if there were any information potions that were more permanent than a deaging potion.  Heading into his room, he went to a bookcase covering a wall and read the spines. Finding a book called Ruin Ancients, he removed it from the shelf and flipped through the contents, searching for anything that could help him.  Finding the section on potions, he flipped to the section and began reading. 

Harry curled up in the chair, attempting to get comfortable as he looked around at the living room.  Now that the cottage was clean, he could admire the coziness of the cottage and try to imagine himself living here, as a different boy, as Snape's son.  If he had been asked at the beginning of the year, whether he could imagine himself as being Snape's son, he would have said they were off their rocker, but...well it was likely to happen for his own safety.  At least Snape has never lied about his hatred of me, thought Harry to himself.  No, his professor had made it obvious from the day he had stepped foot in Hogwarts, that he hated Harry's guts and he wondered how this would change when he ended up being deaged and becoming Snape's son. 

Harry couldn't deny something else.  The thought of getting a family was something that he had wanted since he was a child, a family that would love him and care for him.  A family that would see him for who he was and not as the shadow of his parents, nor as a hero which seemed to be what the wizarding world thought of him.   The chance to be someone different, even if it meant being deaged into a younger version of Snape and potentially losing his memories...well he couldn't say he'd had a good childhood.   Maybe...maybe he would get a chance to have a normal life once this all happened.   As for the pain...well pain was something Harry Potter was used to.   "Found it," breathed Snape after a while, his eyes alighting on the potion's name.