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. 

Twilight Oblivion.  It was a potion he had not heard of before and the list of ingredients was rather long, with blood being one of the ingredients needing to be collected. Blood of both the intended parent and blood of the recipient were needed.  It was a potion that would not only deage one physically but mentally as well, a permanent deaging potion.  Since it was designed to be a permanent deaging potion, it would also erase one’s memories up until the point one was deaged to.  It seemed complex, yet Severus was hopeful it would work.  Considering it seemed to be an ancient and forgotten potion of borderline dark tendencies, he was uncertain if he could make it himself.  Even some of the ingredients, as he copied them down, seemed to be from creatures that might be difficult to come by. 

With the list of potion ingredients in the pocket of his coat, Severus grabbed the list from the coffee table.  “I am going out. Do you wish to come with me?”

“No thanks,” said Harry.

“Very well,” said Severus.  “You may explore the cottage or explore the backyard but do not wander the property in case you get lost.”

“Yes sir,” said Harry, watching as his professor nodded curtly and left the cottage.  Harry unwound himself from the chair and walked towards the window, watching Snape vanish down the path and through the fenced gate surrounding the cottage.  As the professor disappeared out of sight, Harry turned back to the living room and decided to tour the cottage for something to do, given he no longer had any textbooks to read from or anything to occupy his time.  Not that he ever read his textbooks beyond the bare minimum anyway.  He certainly wasn’t stuck in a book all day like Hermione was nor he as lazy as Ron with his own classes.  Harry thought he was average at best.  Oh, he could be brighter if he tried, but he didn’t want to lose either of his friends.   Years of trying to impress Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon with good grades on his report cards and homework…only to end up in failure…only to be beaten or shouted at for making Dudley ‘look bad’ and knowing that whatever he did, not matter how hard he tried to be a good boy didn’t matter to his uncle and aunt, had seated themselves deep within his core and made him stop trying.    What was the point when it only led to a slap or some other form of bodily harm if he dared to ‘show up’ his cousin?

One might think, being at Hogwarts, a chance to get away from his relatives for nine months a year and being in a new place, he would perhaps pick up his lost studying habits again.  However, he didn’t get the chance.  Everyone expected him to be reckless and a mirror image of his father…a prodigy at Quidditch…and…well he wasn’t sure what his parents were good at besides dying.   How could they have been so selfish to get married out of Hogwarts and then risk having a child in the middle of a war?  Everyone always said how much Harry looked like his father, how he had his mother’s eyes, but nobody really spoke to him concerning who his parents truly were.  As far as Harry knew, if his parents’ had had friends…then they might all be dead.  They were certainly nonexistent in his life.   

But then why do they owe you anything? If you’re such a striking resemblance to your father…famous Quidditch player and headboy…then why should anything you do matter? All they will see at Hogwarts…all they choose to see…is a mirror image of James.  The little boy inside you doesn’t matter.  Harry doesn’t matter to them. All you are is a carbon copy of your father…the savior of the wizarding world who defeated Voldemort…the one who has to become a murderer. 

Nothing you ever did at the Dursleys was good enough and everyone excepts you to know everything there is to know about the wizarding world, although you were raised by Muggles who belitted and abused you.   And if you try to be better than Hermione? She’d probably get affronted and potentially say there was no reason to try hard.  Ron…well…Ron may not be your friend anymore if you put effort into your studies.  No…just stay the ignorant little boy you are.  All you’re apparently destined for is to be a future killer.

Footsteps stumbled down the seaside path, the waves crashing against the shore as the child ran.  Tears blurred the boy’s vision and choked sobs made his lungs ache as his feet carried him away from Seafare Vista, jumping the small stone walls dotting the property.   As he reached the gravel road, his sneakers kicked up gravel as he skidded to a halt and bent to catch his breath, glasses falling off his face.  Not even pausing to pick them up, he bolted down the road and continued his mad dash, unsure where he was going, but needing to get away. 

What was once a clear and sunny day quickly turned overcast as the day progressed.  Whether that meant rain was coming was unknown, but for Harry Potter, he didn’t care about the sudden overcast sky as his feet continued to carry him down the gravel road. Stumbling as he ran, not used to walking on gravel, he continued until he could run no further.   His chest felt tight, and he clutched it with a hand as he slumped to the ground, tears falling from his eyes.  Eyes closing, he attempted to calm his breathing by taking shallow breaths and try to focus on the grassy hill behind him.

It was the sound of rain that woke him, the boy stirring and blinking stupidly as he squinted into the air.  Searching his surroundings, he lifted his head to have a few raindrops plop on his face and shivered at the cold wind that hit him.  Harry had completely forgotten to bring his coat with him when he had run away from his professor’s cottage. Stupid.  Slowly, he got to his feet and continued, his tears having stopped only to be replaced by rain.

Wiping his eyes, Harry stumbled along through the November cold and rain, his eyes squinting to see.   As he walked, he only knew that when he turned back briefly, he couldn’t see the property nor the gravel road anymore. Without realizing it, his feet had taken him off the gravel road and away from the countryside into a town.  It was not like Hogsmeade, in fact it looked even quainter than Little Whinging, a place he hoped to never return to.   Situated along the bank of a river,  the buildings and houses were of varying bright colors ranging from white, which was prominent, to red.  In the distance lay a church, its gothic towers stretching above the trees surrounding it which stood off to his left.   The road he walked upon was not of gravel like the one leading to Seafare Vista but of asphalt with grassy meadows on either side.  

There was no way he could call for his professor, not that he wished to do so.  It wasn’t like his professor would be able to see where he was anyway, for Severus Snape had gone first to the village near Seafare Vista for some groceries and then to another town along the southern coast to look for some potion ingredients and other things on the list.  Even though Harry couldn’t control his magic and still had accidental magical outbursts, something a child was supposed to have controlled by the time they started Hogwarts at age eleven, Harry didn’t want to be found.   All he wanted was to be left alone and so he took the time to wander the town’s outskirts to get a lay of the land so to speak and perhaps collect his roving thoughts. 

He didn’t have any money so he couldn’t buy anything but only two months in the wizarding world hadn’t been enough to sway him from the use of money that was natural to him. Rather it was the wizarding use of gold, silver and bronze that confused Harry as well as the varying amounts.    Yet how was Harry supposed to ask questions without looking like an idiot?  So, he had kept silent, even though he had been uncomfortable with the attention he got in the Leaky Cauldron.  Why did people expect so much of the child? It wasn’t fair!

---

Four days earlier-Hogwarts Infirmary, Scotland:

“Albus!”  Poppy’s voice echoed through the floo as she knelt in front of the fireplace.

“Poppy? What is it?”

“Harry is gone!”

“What?!”  The headmaster pushed back his chair and stood from his desk, turning to the fireplace. 

“I woke up today and he was gone!”

“Perhaps he just snuck out of bed and went back to the tower.  I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about.”

“Yes…perhaps,” said Poppy.  “Sorry for bothering you Albus.”

“It’s understandable my dear.  The boy doesn’t seem to like being in the hospital wing.” 

“Yes...I swear if he keeps coming here though, I’ll be making a plaque and designating a bed to him.”

Albus chuckled and bid Poppy good day, the matron leaving the fireplace and calling a house elf to bring her breakfast and tea.

---

Present Day-Ireland:

Continuing his trek through the town, Harry’s desire not to be found unconsciously caused his magic to react to fulfill his wish. As it was not conscious willful magic, it wouldn’t register on the gadgets within the Headmaster’s office, but it had no effect on the muggles who saw him wandering the town, let alone the creature that had spotted the wandering easy meal. While his magic hid him from other wizards’ sight, Harry also couldn’t be tracked due to not being within Scotland and not having his wand on him through the Trace, something put on all wands in Ollivanders that allowed the Ministry to track for underage use of magic.   The rain continued coming down, forming puddles in the streets that people splashed through on their way home, umbrellas opened to protect themselves from getting soaked. Harry was not so lucky as, without his glasses, he could barely see in front of him.  His vision was fuzzy without his glasses though he could see, and things were somewhat blurry as well.  Of course, his father had glasses as well, but he had no idea if there were eye tests in the wizarding world nor what his father’s vision had been. 

Unaware he was being followed, he continued observing the buildings and homes around him, the streets of cobblestone rather than asphalt.  The road was different to walk on, for the streets of Little Whinging and even in Hogsmeade were asphalt though Diagon Alley was of cobblestone.  It wasn’t smooth like asphalt or cement were and was hard on one’s feet if they weren’t used to walking on it.  Moving instead to the sidewalk, which was thankfully cement, he pushed on through the rain, raising a hand to shield his eyes from the downpour.

He found a library, however it appeared closed so he couldn’t enter.  A bit disappointed that he couldn’t read something about the country to find out where he was exactly and that he couldn’t get out of the rain, he instead studied the Georgian building. With a sigh he turned and sank down on the bottom of the steps leading up to the library, allowing the rain to soak into his skin and clothes.   A whine caused him to lift his head to see a dog standing on the sidewalk, head lowered and looking skinny.  It was a large dog, so despite its skinny appearance, Harry was wary of the canine.  Not having any good experiences with dogs other than Aunt Marge’s numerous bulldogs, Harry didn’t like dogs at all and was fearful of them.  So, as the dog approached him, he scooted back up at the steps in the hopes of putting as much distance between him and the dog as possible. 

“Ah you found my dog.  Thank you young one,” came a voice and Harry’s gaze darted towards a pale thin man who appeared out of nowhere, at least it seemed so to Harry for he hadn’t heard the stranger approach in his panic of the dog that remained close by but didn’t move towards the child.  Something about this man didn’t seem right to Harry.  It was like he was a predator with the way he stared at the child before him, the dog leaning into the man’s touch as he graced it with a pat.   “He’s been missing for some time.  What is a young child doing out here in the rain all by their self without a parent or guardian?”

“My parents are dead,” said Harry. 

“Ah, that’s unfortunate.  It’s always a tragedy when one loses their parents so young, but even worse when a child is lost before the parent can see them grow to their full potential.  Unfortunate for you that is.”   The man smiled, revealing long canines, and then rushed up the steps towards Harry, the dog remaining at the bottom of the steps.  Harry was frozen in fear as the thin man rushed towards him, shocked by the man’s sudden movement.  Unable to track the figure’s movement until the man was upon him, Harry screamed as the figure reached him before he could even think of moving, the man’s eyes glowing crimson.  The next thing he knew, the man had grabbed Harry and bitten into his neck, fangs piercing his skin as the child struggled desperately to escape.

Blood flowed from the boy’s torn neck as he ran through the streets, the blood mixing with the rain and washing away.   The sound of a dog barking behind him, its paws accompanied by the feet and growling of the…the monster…that had bit him could be heard behind him.  Lost and unable to see much with the rain that now poured from the heavens above, Harry struggled to navigate the streets, buildings fuzzy and the rain misting in his eyes.  Choked sobs emitted from him as he tried to catch his breath, lungs working hard to gather air, but the bite and ensuing struggle had widened, tearing more of his throat than intended. 

Fingers clutched at his throat, trying to stem the bleeding.  His gait slowed as he lost more blood until he collapsed outside a church.  “Pl…please.  He…help! An…”  Collapsing against a statue, the child pressed his hand against his wound as blood continued slipping between his fingers, his breathing becoming fast and shallow as he struggled to hold onto consciousness.  However, he wasn’t alone.   As he collapsed against the statue, the monster that had been chasing him appeared and loomed over him.  

“You run far for your throat being half torn out,” said the creature.  “A bit skinny for my tastes, yet full of blood…even if it is fading now.  I admire your will to live but this be where your life as you know it ends.”  The creature smiled at him, revealing sharpened fangs and leaned over the child. Grabbing Harry by his throat, he hauled the child up to eye level and then bit down like a snake, fast and nearly invisible as he bit into the child’s torn throat, crushing the child’s fingers in his bite and causing a strangled choked scream to emit from the child.   Harry screamed as the vampire bit into his already damaged throat and broke the bones within his fingers.  He felt a burning within his throat as the vampire injected their venom into him and then a pulsing as his wrist were bitten into and he could feel blood pumping through his body. 

Harry’s vision swam in front of him, the child feeling a burning sting in his throat.   He didn’t see the blast of light hit the man holding him, as he fell suddenly limp from the man’s grip onto the cobblestone street below.  Instead, the child lost consciousness, rain mixing with the blood that pooled around him.  The vampire was blasted away with a blasting curse.  “Sancti illuminatione ignis,” hissed a feminine voice and there was a yellow light that burst from the figure’s wand.  With a screech, the vampire fled as he was hit with the light and the woman turned back to the dying child.   Brushing the child’s fringe back, she glimpsed the lightning bolt scar on his forehead.  Frowning, she peeled back one of his eyelids and skimmed his surface thoughts before sighing.  Severus…what have you gotten yourself into? 

---

“Severus…you have a serious problem.”

“What happened?”

“I found him in a town a few miles away.  He was attacked Severus…by a vampire.  The boy’s near death.”

“I can see that,” said Severus.  “I told the boy not to leave the property.”

“Don’t get snippy with me Severus.  I’m aware who this child is, anyone would be.”

“Can he be saved?”  The child had been levitated towards the couch and lain upon it where he continued struggling to breathe.  He was angry at himself for leaving the boy alone, and at the boy for not listening to his words of staying on the property.  You never showed the boy the property lines either.  He tried to ignore that subconscious thought as he glanced towards the couch where the boy was coughing, feeling like he had already failed at protecting the boy.  It was a strange feeling when he felt nothing but animosity towards the child that was a reminder of his own screwups in life.  Lily had never accepted his apology, even when he had sat in front of Gryffindor Tower until Mary MacDonald told Lily he was out there, nor had he been invited to Lily’s wedding.  Despite that, and the fact that he likely wouldn’t have been wanted by Potter and his friends, Severus still had made a vow to Lily to protect her child from harm.

Severus’s potion ingredient quest had been successful, both for getting some of the rarer ingredients for the Twilight Oblivion potion and the blood adoption potion which wasn’t as rare as the Twilight Oblivion.  He had also purchased a few groceries and basic household necessities that were needed for life raising a child.  The only things he had not picked up were clothing and bedding for a pre-teenager.  “I don’t know Severus if the child can be saved.   I’m not sure if the vampire injected venom into the boy by the time I got there or not, however it seems there was a mixing of blood.  Both the boy’s wrists are slashed.  If we don’t try to at least heal him, he will undoubtedly die.  Now…what do you have here that can be used for dressing and bandaging of wounds?”

His friend threw the sheets that had been protecting the furniture into the dryer and turned it on before coming back to see Severus working on trying to stop the bleeding from the boy’s throat which was the biggest issue.   Yet both could see the boy was fading fast, his skin beginning to turn pale from blood loss, his breathing become shallower with each choking cough to bring air to his lungs.  “Potter, if you can survive a troll then you can survive this,” said Severus.  They used yarrow that the woman had on her to try to stem the bleeding, gently wiping the leaves over the slashed wrists.   It was no wonder the child hadn’t felt the injury when it had occurred…no doubt he had been preoccupied with breathing and trying to hold his torn throat together. 

“The yarrow will stem the blood flow,” said the woman.  “I just hope I got to the child in time.”

“Agreed.  The boy is too much trouble.”

“Children usually are at this age.  They’re nearly at the cusp of adolescence and that comes with its own set of challenges.”

“Don’t remind me,” said Severus as put pressure to the boy’s neck injury.   He was averse to using magic, unsure if it would end up harming the child even more than he was, and still worried over the fact that any use of his magic or the boy’s magic could attract aurors to their location. Even if they were still searching Scotland or even England, there was the possibility they might have decided to cover other areas close to the United Kingdom and that included Ireland.  Slowly they managed to stem the bleeding in his wrists and throat, applying pressure to the wounds and holding the boy’s wrists above his heart.   “Without magic, they’ll scar,” said Severus when they were done.  “But I think we’ve done the best we can.”

The child had been given some much needed blood donations, O- since Severus didn’t know the child’s blood type.   His friend had gone and nicked some O- blood from a hospital in Dublin once they’d gotten the bleeding to stop as well as the necessary IV line to transfer the blood.  “I fear the mixing of the blood has already proceeded,” said the woman, “and the blood should be bringing color back into the boy’s body. Instead, he seems to be getting paler and his body spasms occasionally.  It seems…the boy-who-lived’s life is to forever change.”

“How long?”

The woman looked from the child to Severus at the man’s hollowed tone.  She took in the man’s pale face as he sat there in the armchair, the woman seated on the end of the couch.   “You’re asking me?”

“You did take an interest in dark creatures for our thesis we had to do to get our mastery,” said Severus.   “So? How long?”

“A week.  But we’ll know for sure in two days if he will turn.  I just hoped I stopped the vampire in time to keep the boy from turning into a vampire and not the hybrid offspring.  Now…since all we can do is wait…why do you have the Boy-Who-Lived here?”

“How did you find me?”

“I peered into the boy’s mind with a minor Legilimency.  I realize it’s illegal, but I needed to know why the boy was in Ireland of all places,” said the woman.  “I got only a few surface thoughts, one which was a clear image of you and then the hidden missing spell.  Are you going to answer my question Severus?”

“It would be easier to show you,” said Severus.  He got to his feet and retrieved his pensieve, bringing it to the table and concentrated on his memory of his vow to Lily, his memory of his meeting with Dumbledore already residing in the swirling liquid. Together, the pair each touched a finger to the shimmering silver liquid and were swept into the past.

---

November 2, 1981:

“You said you would protect her!”  A younger Severus, face distraught glared at the Headmaster in his office.

“James and Lily put their faith in the wrong man and it cost them their lives,” said Dumbledore.  

“But you could have hidden them better! You could have told them they needed to flee the country or even let them hide in Potter’s childhood home.  Instead, you left them to die in Godric’s Hollow!”

“What about yourself Severus? Don’t pretend to be innocent, you were all for James and Lily’s son dying to get Lily.  Do you think Lily would have thrown herself in your arms if she had known you were the one to sentence her to death?  Or that Tom would have honored your request to keep her alive?  He hated muggleborns and sought to destroy them.  Lily had also defied him along with James.  She was dead regardless of what I did or didn’t do.  And you Severus, you have as much blame in her death as anyone.  Perhaps even more so.”

“I didn’t know it applied to her!  I didn’t…”

“Yet you probably felt extreme gratification at first when you realized Tom had chosen Harry to go after instead of Neville.  Regardless, Tom chose the half-blood child over the pureblood.  Harry must survive until it is time to face Tom once more.  The prophecy says…”

“Trelawney is a fraud! Don’t tell me you believe that a child Albus…a child…is meant to defeat the Dark Lord!”

“I’m sorry my boy but there is no choice.  Harry, for now, is safe and your job is to protect him when he comes to Hogwarts.” 

“I’ll protect the boy but not for you or the child.  I’ll protect him because he is Lily’s son.” 

“Indeed, and I think the best place to keep an eye on you Severus is to give you the position of Potions Master once Horace retires this year.”

“They will never accept me here at Hogwarts!”

“They will listen to what I say,” said Dumbledore.  “Remember Severus, I will not hesitate to put you in Azkaban if you go back to your ways.  That would be most unpleasant when Tom comes back.”

“He’s dead.  The Dark Lord isn’t…”

“He is still out there,” said Dumbledore.  “But that is not your concern now.  When the time comes, you will protect the boy or face Azkaban  and eventually resume your role of spy.  Dismissed Severus.  I will announce the news at the end of term feast.”

That hardly gives me time to prepare, thought Severus but recognizing he was being dismissed, he left the headmaster’s office.  The thought of being thrown into Azkaban was enough to cause the dour and grieving man to head back to his home in Cokeworth.  I promise Lily…I’ll do what I can for your son.  I’ll do what I can to keep him safe throughout his years at Hogwarts, even if he is not in my house when he comes in ten years’ time.

---

The next memory played out much the same way, Severus remaining silent throughout the playback. When the memory ended and they were both back in Snape’s cottage, the woman turned to him.  “You sold your childhood friend to the Dark Lord to get back at Potter? And then Dumbledore, the man in charge of the Wizengamont, threatened you with Azkaban if you didn’t agree to teach at Hogwarts?”

“I was stupid and foolish. I thought overhearing the prophecy would get me an edge with the Dark Lord. I didn’t realize until later that it referred to Lily’s pregnancy or that the Dark Lord would be foolish enough to go after the Potters and Longbottoms without hearing the entire prophecy or seeking it out.  Instead, he acted on the first part of the prophecy that I was able to give him.  I joined the Dark Lord when I graduated from Hogwarts. I’ve done some horrible things in my life as a Death Eater.  No matter what others said, such as Lucius, you can’t unwillingly take the Dark Mark.  I didn’t realize what a mistake I had made until after Lily was killed and knowing I contributed to her death.”

“Do you still love her? That’s quite unhealthy Severus to pine after those that are dead in such an…obsessive manner.”

“Lily was my only friend I had before Hogwarts.  Despite being sorted into different houses, we still managed to be friends.  How we managed it, despite the animosity between lions and snakes I don’t know. Maybe it was because we had been childhood friends and Lily was the only one there when my weak-willed mother didn’t stand up to my father and leave him.  He beat the magic out of her, and she was disgraced from the Prince family for marrying a muggle.  He didn’t like magic, my father.   I don’t know what my mother ever saw in my father.  He was an abusive drunk and I can’t imagine that he’s changed at all.  

“But everything was fine at Hogwarts as I had Lily. That was until my fifth year when I did something stupid and called her a Mudblood after Potter and Black used one of my own spells on me and I ended up upside down with my undergarments showing.   She stepped in to defend me but I was humiliated and snapped at her, calling her a Mudblood and saying I didn’t need ‘a filthy Mudblood’s help’.    It didn’t help that it was done in front of several Slytherins who were going to join the Dark Lord and in front of other students as well.   Potter taunted me, saying I needed Lily to protect me.  I snapped in a moment of weakness…or maybe I just always hated muggleborns due to my father.  Regardless, our relationship was ruined. Lily never forgave me and the only reason I join the O…Dumbledore’s vigilante group, was out of duty to Lily to repent.  It’s why I snatched the boy. I’m not sure if I ever loved Lily. I fancied her though I don’t think she realized and treasured her as a friend.”

“I’m not sure whether that answers my question or not,” said the woman.  “What are you planning on doing with the child?”

“I made a promise to Lily’s memory to protect the child.  Albus believes that Harry is meant to defeat the Dark Lord as he believes the Dark Lord isn’t dead but just in hiding, too weak to go on and fight.  All because of a prophecy I overheard the first part of and relaid to the Dark Lord in a moment of foolish eagerness to prove myself to my master.   If I had known it put Lily in danger, I likely wouldn’t have done it.  At least, that is what I tell myself at night.   Maybe I would have, just to get rid of Potter.  Lily thought he grew up but that wasn’t true.  I don’t know how he made Head Boy or Lupin made Prefect when Lupin was too cowardly to do anything to stop his friends from attacking anyone they didn’t like.   

“When I learned that Albus was planning on raising the boy to defeat the Dark Lord, allowing him to break rules as he wanted so he could have a chance to be a ‘child’ I knew I had to get the child out of Hogwarts and away from Albus…away from anyone that would seek to use him as a pawn in this war that adults should fight.   I may not like Potter and his son seems to have no magical talent whatsoever, but I’m not so cruel to believe the child should fight an adult’s battles or become a killer before he turns seventeen.  As for what I am going to do with the boy, if he lives, I am going to adopt him using a blood adoption potion.   I was hoping to just replace Potter’s genes and magic with my own while leaving Lily’s intact.  Even if it hurts to look at the boy but if he is in the beginning of his turning to a half-vampire, then….  Well, I am not sure what that will do to Lily’s DNA or if it will survive the transformation into a dark creature.”

“We will have to wait and see what happens, but I will help you make the potion.  For now, let’s get these groceries in the fridge but if it comes to it, I will donate my blood for the mother’s DNA.”

“Why?”

“Because from what I scanned of the child’s surface thoughts, it doesn’t seem like he has had a good life,” said the woman as she turned to the table to start putting the food away. “Go put the wash in the dryer Severus.”

Within two days of Harry being attacked, it was obvious there was nothing they could to do stop the venom spreading within the boy’s system.  It had taken a foothold and the woman had not reached the vampire in time to stop him from infecting the child.  However, it was a week from the day that Harry was brought back to Severus’s cottage where Harry finally woke form the coma that Severus’s  friend said was a part of the turning process.  When Harry finally woke from the coma, he was pale though not nearly as much as when he had been at death’s door.  He woke to quietness within the cottage, his mind foggy as the venom had attacked his brain.  

“Urrrnnnggghhh,” he groaned as slowly came to, not realizing where he was at first.  Eyes staring at the ceiling where he had been lying prone on his back, his head swam with pain and the loss of his glasses forced him to squint and slowly put a hand to his head to massage his forehead to quell the headache.   Movement from another part of the room and he attempted to call out but found his mouth would not work.  This only caused the child to begin panicking as he couldn’t speak.   A blurry movement came towards the couch and spoke.

“Easy child.  Speak not for you’ve been in quite the ordeal with your vocal cords being damaged in the attack.  It will be some time before you can speak properly once more.”  She gently pushed the child down as he attempted to get up, then called for Severus who came into the room.  Snape had collected blood from Harry while patching him up as blood of the intended parents and the adoptive child were needed for both potions.  There was a flurry of movement from somewhere within the cottage nearby and a blurry figure hurriedly rushed over.  As the figure got closer, he could make out the fuzzy outline of his Potions professor standing next to the woman.  

“S…Sna…”

“Shush child.  How are you feeling?”  He wasn’t good at this, this molly coddling and soft words. However, was he, a death eater turned spy, one Severus Snape meant to take care of a child? How was he to break the news to the child brought back from death that not only was he no longer human, but that the child would have to have his mother erased from his blood or the pain that would occur because of the Potter magic being ripped from the boy to be replaced by his own?  That his friend had agreed to substitute her blood for Lily’s was a welcome surprise but what would the child think of losing both parts of his heritage? Neither adult was sure of what this would end up entailing for the child or their lives but Severus believed it to be the only way to protect the boy.   If Harry ended up becoming someone else because of the blood adoption and being deaged, then perhaps the prophecy would fail to come to pass.   That was the man’s hope at least.

“R…ra…in.  Bl…dog chase…he…tried.  I tr…tried…get…s..so…sor…ry.”

“Nevermind your foolishness though it was stupid to run away when I told you,” said Severus.  “Nyguet, could you get the boy something for his throat?” 

“Of course,” said the woman as she got to her feet and headed into the kitchen to get a glass and fetch some water from the sink. 

At the child’s look, Severus helped the boy to sit up and spoke.  “Do you remember when I said that deaging you would give us the best bet of keeping you out of this war and safe from both the Dark Lord and Dumbledore’s machinations?”  At Harry’s nod, Severus continued.   “Do you also remember I mentioned that the degaing potion would allow you to keep your mind but replace your father’s magic with my own and erase James Potter, both in blood and magic from your body?  It would hurt if I gave it to you, however you were close to death when my…friend…found you and brought you back here. 

“I managed to save you and patch you up the best I could through Muggle means and a bit of dittany.  There might be some scarring however, but you were in a coma. The thing that attacked you is called a vampire.”

“V…vam…pire?”  Harry had not heard of the creature in Defense Against the Dark Arts though it was rumored that Professor Quirrel had encountered and that the stuttering professor’s turban was stuffed with garlic to ward off the vampire finding him. “What…what is that?”

“A vampire is a nocturnal creature that was once human.  They are generally tall with sharp fangs and nocturnal, meaning they come out at night.  They use their fangs to drink blood from other living creatures though seem capable of eating food.   Sunlight is dangerous to them, from what the ministry teaches, and the bite of a vampire is incurable. That means it cannot be cured.”

“So…I’m…a…va…vam…”

“No.  Not truly,” said Severus.  “You are a half-vampire or part vampire as the ministry says.”

“The correct term is dhamphir,” spoke Nyguet as she came back into the room with the glass of water, having listened to Severus speak to the child.   “Dhamphir can be born or created though most find it difficult to believe that a vampire can have biological children.  They are in essence people with human ancestry and vampire ancestry and have pale skin with slightly exaggerated features such as smaller fangs than a vampire.   Vampires and likewise their dhamphir offspring, are considered neither wizards nor truly human.   The Ministry has a set of guidelines in place for the treatment of them which is known as Guidelines for the Treatment of Non-Wizard Part-Humans.”  Her face twisted into a sneer as she spoke of these set of guidelines and Harry looked to the woman, gratefully taking the proffered water as the woman handed it to him. 

“No, I’m not a vampire just because I have pale skin,” said Severus.   “It is just because I don’t spend a lot of time in the sun outside. I’m usually in the Slytherin common room, the Potions’ classroom or in my office.   Though pale skin can also be a sign that one is ill or isn’t getting enough blood flow and oxygen to their body or has fewer red blood cells.  I gather pale skin is a trait of dhamphir?”

“It is one of their features they share with their vampire parent,” said Nyguet.  “Greetings young child.  I rescued you from the vampire that attacked you and brought you Severus’s cottage here.  Severus patched you up the best he could but I’m afraid child that I couldn’t stop the vampire in time.”

“What…what…d…do y…you mean?”

“I’m sorry young one, but I was too late to stop the vampire injecting his venom into your blood.  When I reached you, you were close to death and your wrists were bleeding.  The only reason you were standing was because the vampire was holding you to get better access to your throat.  Child, you’re no longer human.”

It felt like his world was crashing down around him as he heard that he was no longer a human but a…a part-vampire instead.   Harry didn’t know anything about wizarding culture nor the creatures and beings that populated the area.  They had not yet covered vampires in Defense Against the Dark Arts and Professor Binns tended to focus on goblins so far this term.   Let alone knowing anything about the ministry of magic, of wizarding careers nor of the government itself to a world he had been a part of.   Though he could get behind and accept living in the muggle world again…living as a muggle…he was not sure he could understand not being human anymore. And what did it mean by him not being a ‘wizard’ anymore?  The confusion must have shown on his face because Nyguet and Snape looked at each other before Severus spoke.

“I think you would still be a wizard when you receive the Prince magic, however due to your transformation into a dhamphir, we will have to replace Lily’s blood as well within you as well as the magic she gave you.  I do not know who your mother’s magical ancestors were but muggleborns are possibly descended from squibs. Nyguet has volunteered to give you her blood to substitute for your mother.”

“Can’t I just have your blood? I…I don’t want…to…to give up…my mother.”

“I am sorry child, but a child cannot survive with one set of DNA in him.  He or she would not exist,” said Nyguet.   “Among muggles and wizards, it is a fact of life.  A child must have DNA from the father and mother to even form into a potential human.” 

They left Harry there to process the matter of losing his heritage from both his parents and the idea that he was no longer human.   The two adults gave the child some time to work it out himself.   He was not sure what to process first or what being human meant for him.   Harry had thought it was bad when he found out that he was destined to defeat a Dark Lord and the fame he got for something that he didn’t truly remember.  That he had to lose his father was one thing.  If it meant he was safe, he could accept it.  If he had to live as a Muggle then it was no loss for he hadn’t grown attached to the wizarding world and didn’t like the whispers and stares that had accompanied him on his first day at Hogwarts, nor of Hagrid introducing him to the patrons of the Leaky Cauldron when shopping for his school supplies.   He didn’t want to fight a dark lord or become a killer. Harry wasn’t sure what he wanted to be when he grew up, but he didn’t want to fight anyone.  All the fighting did, in Harry’s mind, was hurt people.   He knew what it was like to be hurt for Dudley often participated in his favorite sport of ‘Harry Hunting’ and his aunt and uncle often yelled at him.  Didn’t fighting equate to being a bully?  With his experiences with Uncle Vernon and Dudley, Harry didn’t want to turn out like either of them.

“I’ll…I’ll take the potion to become….your son.”

Severus and Nyguet looked up at Harry as he came outside onto the patio where they were sitting.  He stood in the doorway, the sliding glass door open to allow some fresh air to flow into the cottage, his head down.  The pair of adults looked at each other in surprise, both noting the hesitancy in the child’s voice.   Neither had thought the child would accept Nyguet being the substitute for Lily.   “It is natural that he doesn’t want to give up his mother Severus,” Nyguet had said earlier that week.   “It sounds like he doesn’t have the best life up to now and knows next to nothing about his mother.   Did he ever learn about her at Hogwarts?”

“Not to my knowledge.  Most were amazed that he looked like Potter and had Potter’s quidditch abilities.  I don’t know if any of Lily’s friends are even alive, but the focus seems to be on comparing him to his father.” 

“People see a shadow of what used to be.  It seems that Britain seems to believe this child is a mirror replica of his father and not a boy.  What he achieves in life compares to his father, both his popularity, his social and academic knowledge.  How many expected the child to be a mirror copy of his parents in both looks and talent?  I am not sure Severus but the child’s surface thoughts I gleaned do not speak well of his upbringing or knowledge of magic up until entering Hogwarts.  You and your country’s citizens…the staff of Hogwarts…everyone seems to see only what they wish to see and that is not a child but the ghost of those long dead.”

It had given Severus much to think about, their conversation while the child was in his coma.   He couldn’t deny to himself that he had seen only James in the child, never looking at the boy with an unbiased eye.  He knew McGonagall had done so.  James had been one of her favorite students despite his bullying and getting into mischief all the time.  He had hated the child on principal, confident he would be the bane of his existence for the next seven years. He had assumed the child would be just like his father, not just in looks but in personality.  Arrogant, big-headed, and popular.  Strutting around the school as if he owned it and having girls falling at his feet.   He had refused to see that Lily’s talent might be in the child, instead being so angry that the boy was a reminder of Lily choosing his tormentor over himself and that he had only himself to blame and that he had taken it on the child.   

“D…do you….n…not….not w…w…want…me?”

Harry’s voice brought Severus out his bitter thoughts, and he started blinking to get the scene before him back into focus.  Harry’s head was still down, studying his feet as Severus remained seated within the chair, the light breeze continuing to flow throughout the cottage.   “I’m sorry,” he said though it hurt to say. It hurt to apologize to the boy.   “Are you sure Harry that you want to become our son? As I explained before, I was looking for a permanent deaging potion that might take away your memories as well of your life. If you are deaged, you won’t be able to contact Miss Granger or Mister Weasley again for you will be a different child.  For all intents and purposes, you will be the son of myself and my friend as well as a dhamphir though I am not sure how that will affect the potion at all.”

“I don’t want to go back to the Dursleys and I don’t want to fight in an war.  I just want to be…normal.  I wish…I wish I didn’t have magic or had been taken to Hogwarts.  Everyone stares at me and thinks I’m great for something I can’t remember.”

“You were with Petunia,” Severus choked out. 

Harry nodded.   Of all the…damn you Albus!  “I can’t believe you were sent to Petunia of all people.  I can only imagine she’s as horrid a swine as she was when we were children,” he sneered. Petunia hadn’t accepted Lily being a witch when they were children.  He couldn’t imagine that had changed when she had been taking care of her nephew.   “What did she do to you child, that you wish to escape them so badly?”

Of course, from the memory that Severus had shown Harry, he knew now that the boy had been left his horrible shrew of an aunt, but he still couldn’t believe it. What were you thinking Albus? There were any number of wizarding families that would have taken the child in!  You knew that, but you put the boy with his magic hating aunt? 

“There’s no need to have the child relive his worst memories,” said  Nyguet.  “Not if he wishes to be our son.  Why give the child any more trauma?” Severus was silent as he considered Nyguet’s words and then nodded.  “We aren’t sure what age you will end up deaging to, but there will be pain as the magic of your father is taken from you and replaced with Severus’s own magic.  Nor can we be sure what you will look like or how your new status as a dhamphir will affect that.”  For now, the child looked the same as he had been born, barring the paleness in the child’s skin tone because of being a dhamphir and having suffered major blood loss.

Harry was led to the living room once more while Severus fetched the two potions.   The pair of adults had already added their blood to the blood adoption potion that Harry would drink first.  Severus had rushed through the process of the Twilight Oblivion Potion for though he had not been contacted by Dumbledore, there was no doubt the man was likely searching for him and Harry.  Harry was given the goblet containing the blood adoption potion and drank it down, grimacing at the taste.  As they watched the potion begin to take effect, Severus handed the other potion to Harry before he found himself in a world of pain and Harry found this potion more pleasing than the last, thanks to the hibiscus petals for flavor. Unlike most potions, the flavoring of the hibiscus didn’t alter the potion at all.  

As he drained the last dregs of the Twilight Oblivion potion, there was nothing for several moments as the potions worked on the child’s body.   Nyguet and Severus watched silently before Severus stepped forward and took the empty goblet from Harry, just as the child doubled over in pain.  Nyguet rushed forward to grab the child as he fell and dragged him to the couch where she laid him back down.  “Severus, help me hold him so he doesn’t injure himself!”  As Severus rushed over, the child began to scream as his father’s magic and the magic his mother had inherited was ripped from his body, including the ancient Peverell magic that neither adult knew lay within.  As the magic was ripped from him of his biological parents, things were also happening at Gringotts and the Ministry of Magic, unknown to the prospective parents.

From within Gringotts, an alarm began going off within the bank.  A goblin who was patrolling the lower areas of the bank, those twisted underground passages and caves that humans didn’t know of, heard the alarm and rushed towards its source. At the same time, an alarm went off in the Potter account office, saying the last of the Potters were dying. This was the second alarm within a week, the first having gone off and being thought of as a mere trick.  The goblin in charge of the Potter account stared at the alarm in disbelief before shouting for the chief of the goblins to come to his office at once.  

 Within the Ministry of Magic, there were two things happening.  The first was that a death certificate was being written and the second, deeper within the Department of Mystery was occurring within the Hall of Prophecies.  A non-descript orb that was clouded and small, nestled on a small claw-like pedestal on one of the many shelves, shattered to pieces, the swirling cloud that made up the prophecy of one Harry James Potter and the Dark Lord dissipating into mist which too was swept away through the lower bowls of the ministry until it got to the Death Chamber and disappeared into the Veil.   While at Hogwarts, the name Harry Potter faded from the book of records, but none were there now to see such information.   For as a child who lost their magic and became a squib had their name crossed out in the Book of Records, a child who died had their name erased by the magic of the book.   Such was the case of many children that had died before Harry’s time during the first wizarding war.  

It was an agonizing process as the memories of Harry, who he had once been, were taken away to give the child a chance at a normal life without fear of being hurt or unloved.   Something the potion couldn’t take away were the child’s fears of abandonment and of dogs.  Such things were ingrained into the child too deep to remove.   As the potions worked, the child shrank in body and appearance, his eyes and hair changing as well as features that made him a Potter.   When he stopped seizing from the pain coursing through his body due to the family magic being ripped and replaced, Severus and Nyguet slowly released the boy.   His hair, which had once been messy and black was now straight and dark brown while his eye sockets had become deep and he’d developed a double lid due to Nyguet’s Vietnamese ancestry.  

As for his eyes, they had changed to a midnight blue which was surprising, given Severus had black eyes and Nyguet had brown eyes.  His incisors changed to points and his fingers became long like Severus’s own fingers with the same hooked nose.   His skin remained pale with a thin build and slightly pointed ears making up his overall appearance   He looked nothing like Harry James Potter and Nyguet pulled out her wand to cast a spell to ensure the potions did their job.  “When will his birthday be? We shouldn’t have it be too close to his original birthday to avoid suspicion,” said Severus. 

“So not in summer, or at least not August,” said Nyguet.  “When do students in Hogwarts begin school?”

“They must be 11 before September 1st of the upcoming school year so that probably takes out autumn if we want him to be able to attend school and not wait another year. What about your school?”

“I went to Gaidastara in the Himalayan Mountains of India,” said Nyguet. She looked over at the child and then turned back to Severus.  “We need to come up with a story for him, in case anyone asks about him, but school starts at ten years old.  I was pregnant and went back to my family, giving birth to him in Vietnam.   He’s been living with me for the first few years of his life.  Perhaps February would be a good idea.  Didn’t you say when we were studying in Greece that you British wizards take pride in the old ways?”

“We used to.  Until there was an influx of Muggleborns allowed into Hogwarts and the Ministry decided the old ways were too dangerous along with blood magic,” said Severus.  

“British,” said Nyguet, rolling her eyes.   “Imbolc perhaps?  When is that?”

“February second,” said Severus.  “I didn’t realize the potion would make him so young.”

“Perhaps it was a self-conscious wish to experience a true and loving childhood,” said Nyguet.  “Shall I perform the spell to check his heritage?” At Severus’s nod, she waved her wand at the child.   “Originem vitae,” she said and the parentage appeared over the child’s head.  Father: Severus Snape.  Mother: Urquart Sen Nyguet.  Date of Birth: February 2, 1986. 

“February 2nd 1986,” said Nyguet.  “That makes him…five?  Yes…five years of age.  I suppose we should come up with a name for the child.” 

“Prince,” said Severus instantly.  “Are you sure you want to do this Nyguet? You aren’t…”

“Don’t say I’m not under any obligation Severus Tobias Snape,” said Nyguet.  “If I’d no intention of doing this, I wouldn’t have offered my blood to substitute Lily’s blood.”   She smirked as Severus fell silent.  “If we are going to live as a family and have disguised the boy, you should disguise yourself as well.  You’re too recognizable with your black hair.  Maybe you should dye your hair red and cut it.”  

“Oh God no,” said Snape.  “I’m not looking like a Weasley!”

“Yes…on second thought it would contrast with your skin,” said Nyguet.  “Apus.”

“Apus?” 

“It’s the bird of paradise,” said Nyguet.   “Apus Phong Prince then.”

“Phong?”

“A Vietnamese name,” said Nyguet.   “Giving him ties to his Vietnamese heritage.”  Severus nodded his assent to study the child who was looking at them.  “How are you feeling young one?  Are you in pain?”

The child shook his head and looked between the two adults.  He had dim memories of Severus and Nyguet, just enough to recognize them and not be frightened, but slowly nodded.  He wasn’t in pain anymore and there was a sense of safety with them, a feeling that felt foreign but at the same time something he couldn’t place.  This thought vanished as the last vegs of who Harry had been swept away as Twilight Oblivion finished settling into the child’s mind and soul.   Unaware that Hedwig had been sent out to look for him by Dumbeldore after not finding Harry anywhere within Hogwarts, the old man intent on using the bond between the two to find the boy.  However, this plan backfired as when Harry was near death, it began cutting the bond that tied the owl to her master.   She did get to Kirknewton  and rested there for a few days before circling the hotel in search of her master.   But with the ripping of magic from the child, it shattered the thin threads left tying Hedwig to her master and shattered the bond between the pair.   Hedwig, who had left the hotel and was beginning her next leg of the journey, ended up crashing as the bond snapped. She tumbled to the ground, hitting the ground, and dazing herself.  The owl was found a few hours later and taken away to a rescue center for help, but this was unknown to the small family of three residing in Seafare Vista. 

“It seems we’re in for a celebration,” said Nyguet.  “We’re parents now, after all.”

“Hard to believe,” said Severus.   “I suppose you want me to cut my hair now?”

“That would be the plan,” said Nyguet.  

“Ugh.”  But Severus went off to go fetch some scissors to cut his hair, leaving their new son with his mother.