Two days into the summer break a large explosion shook Hogwarts to its foundation. No student had remained or they would have panicked. As it was, most of the faculty had yet to leave, and they were both scared and worried as small pieces of debris came falling on their heads. Most of the Professors were enjoying some quiet time in the staff room, after the explosion, they stood wands at the ready waiting for Dumbledore to appear, or hear the sound of the attack alarms, but nothing happened.

In the Headmaster's office, Albus Dumbledore and Minerva McGonagall were enjoying a cup of tea as they discussed school business when the explosion happened. For a moment, both stood wands on their hands until the Headmaster consulted with the castle. His connection let him know what happened, and immediately he dismissed the possibility of an attack. There had been an accident in the Potions Master’s workroom, and the magical entity that was Hogwarts required his presence in the dungeons to asses the damage. Dumbledore had chuckled a bit at the indignant tone of the castle, it was not often that Severus blew something; he had not produced anything that was heard beyond his workroom in at least five years. Still, when he did cause something to blow up, Longbottom’s continuous potions accidents became mere child’s play.

“Relax Minerva, it’s just one of Severus failed experiments. I’m heading down to see if he’s all right and asses the damage,” He commented walking towards the door.

“Merlin Albus! I think this is one of his worst,” She exclaimed still a bit shaken up.

“It probably was,” he agreed. He really could not remember one that had actually shook the entire castle. The dungeons were extremely well built and resistant, they had been designed to be the area where Potions Masters worked and experimented. “The castle is not happy with this explosion. I believe it’s because we haven’t had one this strong in years, it probably got used to the respite.”

“Doesn’t Longbottom blow things often enough for Hogwarts to be used to explosions?” She asked using her wand to clean dust that had settled in the office. Severus was always complaining about Neville’s incompetence in potions.

“So far Mr. Longbottom has not produced an explosion that the potions classroom hasn’t been able to contain. Certainly none that have shaken the entire castle, as this one seems to have.”

“You’re right of course. This time Severus outdid himself, there was even a little debris falling from the ceiling. I’ll have to remember to bring this one up whenever he complains about Mr. Longbottom’s way with potions.” She smiled a bit, knowing the Potions Master was not going to be happy to be reminded of his failed experiments. It grated him to fail at anything.

“I’ll have to be present for that one Minerva,” Albus chuckled, he could already imagine Severus sputtering at trying to find a come back for something like that. Knowing him he would probably just storm out of the room robes flying.

“I’ll be sure to let you know in advance if possible,” she was thoughtful for a moment. “It’s strange that we haven’t heard from him yet,” she mused and began to feel the slight tingle of worry. “He’s usually reported almost as soon as the explosions happened, and he hasn’t yet. I’m having a bad feeling about this, I hope he wasn’t hurt.”

“You know he’s always careful with volatile concoctions. I’m sure he’s alright, Severus is probably ranting as we speak, and no doubt he’s already analyzing what went wrong. Would you be a dear Minerva and please reassure the rest of the faculty and the house-elves that there’s nothing to worry about?”

“Of course Albus, just go check on him already. He might be injured.”

With that, Albus Dumbledore went out of his office; Fawkes saw fit to accompany him on his way to the dungeons. The Headmaster did not like what he was seeing as he walked to Severus workroom, there was a lot of small debris and dust all over, a frown settled on his usually jovial face. The closer he came to the dungeons the worse things began looking. The golden phoenix on his shoulder began thrilling with worry, and the old wizard could not help but feel worried too. What he found when he finally arrived to the dungeons staircase was worse than he expected, it began looking like a battleground.

Parts of the staircase were gone; part of the ceiling had caved in. As he approached the Slytherin dormitories, there were more signs of destructions. Areas of the hallway leading to the potions classrooms, the storage rooms, Severus quarters and the deepest parts of the castle where the Potions workroom were located were almost completely blocked by large pieces of the ceiling and walls, the dust had not even settled yet and it was hard to see clearly and breathe.

The old wizard could only stare in shock as he tried to make his way through all the debris. The destruction was evident, and the fear that this time his Potions Master had not survived settled. None of the younger man’s experiments had caused something remotely like that, in fact he had not heard of a previous collapse of the magnitude he was seeing. He came to an area that had completely caved in and blocked his way to the Potions workroom.

The Headmaster talked to the castle again; he asked it to locate Severus, and asses his condition. He really did not want to believe the younger wizard was dead, but… No he would not give up the hope that his Potions Master was still alive. To his surprise, Hogwarts was not able to sense anything of the area; the castle was more than slightly worried at this. There was some kind of disruptive magic that had blocked its access to that part of itself.

Hogwarts was becoming increasingly worried as it checked the condition of its wards and protections; and what it found was not good. Several of the most important wards were either gone or severely weakened. The foundation of the wards had been tied to the first foundation stone of the castle, deep inside the dungeons. Quite a large number of the other wards that had been added later had either been built using the foundation stone or the original ones as a base. There were of course many other wards to protect the school added by some far sighted individuals, but still the strongest had been tied to the area. In lieu of the events the castle did the only thing he could, it raised and strengthened those wards that it could control. Some key areas of it were sealed for protection.

Albus was extremely worried now, he could not move forward, and Hogwarts was putting itself on high alert to make up for his weakened protections. To keep on going he would need the help of all the house-elves and the Professors still at the school. He hoped they were enough to rebuild the area and find Severus. It was also imperative that what had just happened remained a secret; a weakened Hogwarts was an easy prey for Voldemort and his Death Eaters. Even without students capturing the school would be a demoralizing blow for the wizarding population.

“Severus!” Albus called through the rocks. He hoped the young wizard was merely blocked from accessing the outside part of the collapse. “Severus, are you all right?”

When several attempts at getting a response failed, Albus decided to call the other professors and the house-elves. They would have to dig their way to the potions workroom and hope they would find Severus alive. His Potions Master had managed to survive quite a lot of things so he clung to the hope the younger man was probably either stunned or unconscious. After using the sonorous spell, he spoke.

“All professors still at Hogwarts are required at the dungeons entrance; there has been a cave in, and some damage. Head house-elf, report to me immediately. The rest of the house-elves are also required at the entrance of the dungeons.”

Albus Dumbledore then assessed the task as hand, with what little help Hogwarts could provide at the moment. They could not risk banishing everything outside; the higher levels of the castle might be affected. The dungeons were, after all, the whole foundation of the building. Accidentally removing a supporting wall or beam might result in worse structural damages that could compromise the stability of the whole castle. Taking this into consideration, he began carefully and meticulously removing the huge pieces of the castle that blocked his path, as he cast a few spells to strengthen the parts of the ceiling and walls that remained.

Dumbledore had to stop making his way to the lower levels as those he called for began arriving. Dubban, the head house-elf was the first by his side. The elderly house-elf was shocked to see the condition the place was in. He had had been born at Hogwarts about two centuries ago*, and had never seen anything of the sort before. He listened carefully to the Headmaster’s instructions and immediately set his house-elves to work. He himself tried to pop* to the Potions workroom, and managed to get inside but it was in ruins and complete darkness. There was barely enough space for him to remain standing in there, and he was not among the tallest house-elves. He popped back to the Headmaster’s side to inform him of what he found. Dubban had heard very faint labored breathing, but somehow it just did not seem right.

The Headmaster wanted the house-elves to start working in the room, the faint breathing indicated that Severus was alive, and the urgent need to get him out of there. There was not enough space for more than one house-elf, so Dubban chose one of his more experienced elves and had her working at slowly clearing enough space for more of them and to reinforce whatever structures remained of the destroyed dungeon.

For everyone’s sake Albus had to push his worry for the Potions Master, and distract himself with calming and directing the shocked professors into clearing a path to the lower areas. He needed to be strong for them, no matter how much he felt like digging with his own hands -if need be- to search for the vitriolic younger wizard, whom he loved like a son. They all were frankly worried about their co-worker. Despite the appearances, and Severus’s usually sour disposition; he was appreciated and respected by his colleagues. And although the Potions Master would not be caught dead admitting it, the old wizard knew it was mutual.

Even after four hours of hard work, they had not really made much progress. Filius was hard pressed to cast charms strong enough to provide support for the weakened ceiling as they cleared their way. At one point the floor of one of the kitchen’s storerooms –located above the section they were working on- came crashing down on them. Kendra* Vector had the presence of mind to cast a shield and Minerva to transfigure the falling debris into feathers, but none had been fast enough to keep two of the house-elves from getting trapped under the rocks, unfortunately, one of them died. His death cast a somber shadow over all of them. After that, the progress slowed even more, although the resolve to find Severus strengthened.

After almost eight hours of non-stop work, one of the four house-elves that had laboriously managed to get into the potions workroom finally had some good news to report. There was now enough space to take one of the Professors inside, they had yet to find Professor Snape -as they had not finished cleaning all the rubbish- and because the faint sound of breathing was, strangely, very difficult to place. Dumbledore himself volunteered to be transported to the room; the house-elf grabbed a hold of him and took the old wizard to the dungeon.

The Headmaster barely recognized the place they were in, and it only served to increase his worry for Severus. There really was no place where a grown wizard could be trapped under; most of the rubble and what was left of the furniture and equipment had already been removed from the middle of the room. The odd labored breathing kept resonating strangely and he searched the place with his eyes until he located -at the back of the room near the fireplace- an upturned and extremely battered cauldron that still was half buried in the debris.

The cauldron was one of the largest –if not THE largest- Severus had in his stores, and he usually occupied it to brew the infirmary supplies. Albus knew that so soon after the summer break started his Potions Master was not going to work on school business. In that Snape was quite predictable. So the thing should have been stored somewhere else. Unless, whatever it was that he was brewing, had been required in great amounts by Voldemort. The thing was large enough that a grown man of Severus size could fit in it, although, it was a very tight fit. There was the slight chance he had been able to hide under it when the structure collapsed.

Albus directed the house-elves to remove the debris that still covered the cauldron, they found it was battered beyond recognition in some parts but it had held strong, with only a couple of small holes and tears that allowed some air inside. After about 30 minutes of careful work they managed to clear the area and Albus removed it. To his surprise there was no grown wizard trapped inside. His dark robes and wand were there, but instead of Severus Snape there was a very small child.

“My dear boy, what have you done to yourself now?” Albus inquired even if he knew he would not be getting an answer from the unconscious infant; who appeared –at first sight- to be in a terrible condition.

Albus carefully covered the naked and battered baby with the dark robes, and picked him up. With most of the wards down, the headmaster decided it would be best to apparate out of the place. He went straight to the infirmary and called for Madame Pomfrey who was there having just finished checking her stores and making an inventory of what was lost in the explosion. Her ‘domains’ had suffered more than just a little dust and debris from the ceiling and walls. A few of the cabinets where she stored her potions were upturned, and not all of the vials in there had unbreakable charms.

“Dear Merlin Albus!” She exclaimed when she saw him come in carrying the child. “Is… is that Severus? Minerva said he was the cause of the explosion.”

“It all points out to this child being him Poppy,” he responded and deposited the infant on the bed she signaled. “There was no one else in the potions workroom, and he was under that big cauldron Severus uses to brew your supplies for the school year. Can you get him back to normal?”

“I don’t know yet, it will depend on what he was working on, let me check him over. He does not look good,” was her response as she began casting diagnostic spells.

Working with a Potions Master -and a few generations of students- that loved to do research and experiment had given Madame Pomfrey a lot of experience in the area of potions accidents. In some cases she had even been called to aid the medi-wizards at St. Mungos, when they were not able to solve a problem. She had, in fact, developed more than a few spells that helped her identify the type of potion used and/or the majority of the ingredients so she could undo the effects. So the medi-witch had been fairly confident that she would be able to return Severus to his real age, despite her words to the Headmaster.

At first she cast the spells that would tell her what the baby’s physical condition was; as the most pressing issue was to heal him. The child had a couple of cracked ribs, and one of his little arms was broken, those were marked as recent and the lapse of time since they were inflicted matched the time elapsed since the explosion. But there were other injuries that were not easily explainable and that were slightly older. There were bruises on his little arms -finger shaped ones- his legs, and his face. His bottom had a ring shaped mark, that was clearly the result of a burn with hot water and he was suffering from a severe case of diaper rash that seemed untreated for some time. On top of that, despite the infant appearing to be around three or four months, she found out he was seven –almost eight- and suffering from malnutrition. A more specific spell diagnosed that the baby had the ‘failure to thrive syndrome’, and that without proper attention and loving care he would die soon.

Poppy did not like the conclusion her diagnostic spells indicated. Severus had been a neglected and abused baby. She had suspected he had been an abused child when he was a student, but she had not been able to provide concrete proof and Severus had stubbornly refused to speak about it. The condition she found him in proved beyond reasonable doubt that he suspicions had been right on target. She was also able to confirm that he was indeed Severus Snape, and that he had de-aged himself in a bout of uncontrollable magic.

The medi-witch did not like what she was reading in her diagnosis parchments. She could deal with de-aging caused by potions, charms or even transfigurations. But she had no way to reverse a de-aging caused by an uncontrollable bout of magic. This worried her, since she knew the Potions Master was too controlled in both emotions and his own magic, had been even before he arrived to Hogwarts as a ten year old, to be a victim of something like that. Poppy could find, and did, probable causes for it. Something terrified Severus to the point of whishing to return to an age when he felt safe. It was then that she discovered that he would have de-aged himself until he was a fetus in his mother’s womb, which would have killed him, if something had not stopped him. After working non-stop on the infant for two hours, she finally came out to talk to Albus and Minerva, who had joined him.

“You don’t look happy Poppy, is everything all right with Severus?” Minerva commented upon seeing the medi-witch’s tired and serious expression.

“It depends…” she began and gestured for them to move to her office. Once inside and with everyone seated she suggested that Albus cast some locking and silencing spells. “I was able to heal most of his physical injuries and those that remain are not life threatening, and should heal on their on in about a week.”

“Were you able to age him back?” Albus inquired.

“No, and frankly I don’t know of anyone who could…”

“But… surely you can have an antidote brewed, de-aging by a potions accident has happened before; and you’ve been able to return them to their right ages.” Minerva stated worried.

“It was not a potion that turned him into a baby. In fact, it was the potion that stopped him from de-aging as far back as the time he was inside his mother’s womb. And that’s something strange as I can’t really detect more than that of the potion, no ingredients, and no other effects.”

“What? But… that shouldn’t be!” Minerva was clearly aghast. What had Severus been working on that left barely any traces? All his potion experiments before did, just in case something like the accident of this afternoon happened, and he needed Poppy to help him deal with the effects of the potion.

“No, it shouldn’t. That’s a precaution he always took with new potions.” The medi-witch agreed.

“So, did you find a possible reason that made him return to that young age?” Albus inquired.

“Yes and you are barely going to believe it. It was a bout of uncontrolled magic…”

“Uncontrolled magic and Severus don’t fit in the same sentence Poppy! Of all the children I have taught in my career as a teacher he is the only one that never had one such episode since he came to Hogwarts!”

“I know Minerva, believe me, I know. I’m not sure what happened but something frightened him to the point of needing to feel safe.”

“And he only felt safe in his mother’s womb? That’s… that’s…”

“You know his parents did not love him Minerva,” Albus finally spoke. “They would not have been nurturing.”

“That’s an understatement Albus! They were downright abusive; those injuries that have to heal on their own were caused by mishandling him.”

“Is there anything we can do to have him back?”

“I really don’t know Albus, but if it’s any consolation he has all of his memories intact, although not accessible to his infant self. For all that I know he’ll have to grow back the hard lengthy way, year by year. At the moment, he is seven months old.”

After their conversation with Poppy, Albus and Minerva returned to the dungeons to help with cleaning the debris and start preparing the reconstruction. While the transfiguration Professor talked to the head-house-elf about searching the original plans for Hogwarts construction, the Headmaster could not take his mind from the problem of Severus’s de-aging. Voldemort was not going to be happy at loosing his ‘spy’. If the recent reports he received were to be believed, Severus was not in HIS good graces.

The rumors among the lower ranking Death Eaters, where he had other spies posted, were that the Dark Lord suspected the Potions Master was passing information to the light. But since Snape was still useful he had been allowed to live. Voldemort would not hesitate in killing the Potions Master now. Severus Snape’s career as a spy was finally over.

After turning himself into an infant, Severus lost all his usefulness to the Dark Lord, especially because there was no chance of turning him back in the foreseeable future. Poppy was going to investigate with some of her colleagues, but she could not guarantee to find a cure anytime soon. Their best chance at the moment was to find Severus work journal.

Keeping an infant Severus at Hogwarts with all they had to do; including reconstructing the dungeons was not going to be neither easy nor safe. A child that young required constant attention, and he was sure none of the female professors would mind baby-sitting. But they all had things to do for the Order now that Fudge had no choice but to admit Voldemort was back. Most of the Professors had not been members of the Order of the Phoenix before, although all were trusted colleagues. Now it became imperious to enlist them. Thankfully all of them volunteered aware of the seriousness of their situation.

Despite having more Order members at school, it was still not completely safe. Voldemort’s people had managed to infiltrate into the school before, and even with increased security it was no guarantee that he would not find a way to do it again. Dumbledore decided it was better to keep quiet the details of Severus ‘injuries’ to avoid accidental slips. So far only three people and five of their most trusted house-elves knew. The old wizard wanted to keep it that way for as long as he could. He had already come to the conclusion that he needed to create a decoy to keep the appearance that the Potions Master was in a coma. They could keep it in one of the private rooms the infirmary had. Now the only thing left was to find a safe place away from the public eye for the real Severus.

Albus was brought back from his pondering as a house-elf moved him to safety. A large wall of the dungeon hall they were currently working at crumbled and it would have crushed him if it was not for Winky’s quick action. The damage was really serious and the castle still could not sense that area of itself. It worried that some of the main wards had either been damaged or worse, disabled and it could not do much to solve the problem. So far Hogwarts had been able to asses that the anti-apparition wards for inside the castle’s walls were not working, although those that extended outside were functioning all right. In other words, wizards or witches inside the castle’s wall could apparate anywhere inside the castle, but no one from outside could get in or those inside out.

Dumbledore thought that it really was a miracle Severus had survived the cave in of his workroom. He did not want to think what would have happened to the students had this took place during term, when the children were at the school. After several long hours of non-stop work, Dubban finally convinced him to go back to his quarters and rest. Albus was not as young anymore despite still being one of the most powerful wizards of the world. The old man made his way back to his office –which connected with his private quarters- tiredly, looking dirty and disheveled. To his surprise Alastor Moody was in his office waiting for him.

“What happened old friend? You look terrible!” The retired Auror asked apprehensive. He stood up to offer help but Dumbledore signaled for him to remain seated. So the Auror called a house-elf to bring tea and a light dinner. Winky complied explaining that she had been assigned to the Headmaster, while most of the other house-elves were working in the dungeons.

“A severe potions accident is what happened my friend,” he responded after he seated in one of the comfortable chairs near the fireplace. Mad-Eye sat on the one facing him. “Half of the dungeons lower levels are either gone or turned into rubble. The higher levels are a mess too, and the castle itself has been cut out of that area”

“So Snape finally showed his true colors? I’ve told you…” He gloated. The old wizard had never trusted the Potions Master. In his opinion, once a Death Eater always a Death Eater; of course, the paranoid Auror did not trust anyone beside Albus Dumbledore and that only to a point.

“Alastor please, we’ve talked about that enough,” Albus said tiredly, there was probably no meeting with the old Auror that he did not bring up his misgivings about Severus’ loyalties. “I do understand your reservations about Severus’ loyalties. He became a Death Eater in his youth, it wasn’t completely by choice. You know we all make mistakes in our youths. Severus saw his almost immediately, he came to me for help and he has been loyal to our cause since then.”

“You were always to trusting Albus,” he said reproachfully.

“And you too paranoid Alastor,” Albus stated tiredly. He took off his glasses to clean them with his robe before he spoke again. “But we have agreed to disagree in this, and really you should believe me when I tell you Severus is loyal to us.”

“After destroying the dungeons you still…”

“It was an accident,” Albus interrupted waving a hand in a dismissive gesture. “It has happened before, and probably will happen again as long as potions are taught down there.”

“You really believe it? Where is he anyway?” His magical eye swirling as he searched for the younger wizard. “I can’t find him anywhere.”

“He’s in the infirmary. He was gravely injured and at the moment we don’t even know what he had been working at. Some of the house-elves are looking for his potions journal. He meticulously recorded everything he worked on there, even those things he did for Voldemort.” The old Auror did not cringe at the name like most people, but he looked disapproving at the mention of it.

“How bad is he injured that he can’t tell you himself?” he began to believe that it might be as Albus suggested, and accident. No Slytherin would risk his or her hide to achieve their goals. He purposely ignored the fact that Snape risked his every time he went to a meeting with his ‘other Master’ to get information. “And for your information he does not appear to be in the infirmary.”

“Oh he is there, believe me. He isn’t able to leave on his own, as he had a few fractures, and concussion among other things,” Albus said thinking about the signs of abuse Poppy had found in Severus’ seven month old body. He did not like it at all, but perhaps now that he was back to being a small child they could make it up for him. Give him the happy childhood he did not have the first time around until he was returned to his right age. “He was also completely doused in the potion; whatever it was caused him to… to have some unexpected and frankly strange reactions.” Dinner arrived and both wizards began eating. “Now, what brings you here old friend?” He asked wanting to change the subject of the conversation for a moment, he needed to think if it would be wise to inform Alastor of Severus’ condition. The man had, with no doubt, already seen the baby in the infirmary.

“The Potter boy’s situation,” he stated, his voice a mixture of worry and anger.

“Harry? What happened? He should be safe with his relatives.” Albus commented unconcerned.

“Albus, your idea of safety greatly differs from the rest of us if you believe that. From what I’ve seen he’d probably be safer in You-Know-Who’s hands than with those despicable muggles.” The disgust at the muggles was barely contained and it made Albus wonder. He knew Alastor was not prejudiced against them.

“Now, now Alastor, they are his family. Surely you’re…” He tried to soothe his friend’s anger only to be interrupted by a furious Auror.

“Albus you’re blinder than I thought. Those muggles HATE the boy! We threatened to hurt them if they did not treat him well this summer, and what do they do? They are blatantly defying us, and those extra wards you put on their house won’t allow us to do anything! We promised to help him if they treated him badly and WE CAN’T! Did you know he’s not allowed out of the house, they overwork him, and he has barely eaten since he left two weeks ago!”

“He’s bound to be depressed and mourning Sirius, it’s a normal reaction for grieving. I see nothing to worry about if he keeps to himself for a little while; it’s been only about a month since his Godfather died.” Albus reasoned, although he began to worry a bit, it was not good for Harry to loose more weight; he had already lost a few pounds before leaving for Surrey, and he was already such a skinny and small fifteen year old.

“That’s not it. They don’t feed him; I’ve seen it and heard them threaten to starve him like they used to! Like they used to Albus! What does that tell you about those despicable muggles?” At this Albus frowned, why would they starve Harry? And if they did, why did the boy never mention it before? “They all have gone so far as to hit him for not finishing the massive list of chores they give him, not even with magic would he be able to do so. The fat ‘thing’ they call a son has a game called ‘Harry Hunting’. Believe me, it isn’t nice to watch, especially when the boy has no where to escape. Do you know how hard it is to watch and know that due to the reinforcement of the house’s protections we CAN’T do anything to help? Albus this can’t keep going, you ARE going to loose the boy. It’s a wonder he hasn’t sided with You-Know-Who yet, but mark my words if you don’t do something soon you WILL loose him.” He was very angry and did not feel any remorse as he saw his friend sag tiredly on his chair, a worried and sad expression on his face.

“I see…” He finally was able to say. “I never thought they were that bad, I knew of course they did not like him, but he never hinted at abuse from them. He has asked me many times not to send him back there though.”

“Of course he would never have, do you think that boy wants people to know how he’s treated at his so called ‘home’? I bet Potter has never called that place home.”

“He must for the wards to work efficiently, but I have not checked them conscientiously in a very long time. It seems a revision is in order. If his home life proves to be what you’re telling me, then we’ll have to make arrangements to remove him from their care,” He sighed. That was going to be difficult as Hogwarts was not an option at the moment and he was sure the boy did not want to be at 12 Grimmauld Place. “Fudge has finally got some sense and agreed to lower the age for students to use magic outside of school.”

“So I heard yesterday. They lowered to sixteen for all types of spells, and to fifteen for any defensive spells, jinxes, or curses. The fifteen year olds have, of course, to prove that they cast them in self defense,” he said approvingly. With the Dark Lord around he was sure it would be needed, just as better DADA classes would be required at Hogwarts. He had heard of Potter’s little club, it might be a good idea to continue it with some supervision and open to more of the children. It was important to keep constant vigilance for their safety.

“That was still not enough to keep Harry, and those children members of the DA that were at the Department of Mysteries safe. There’re a few weeks until Harry’s sixteenth birthday, and both Miss Weasley and Miss Lovegood are a year younger than the others. So I managed to convince Cornelius to grant those children permission to use all types of magic during the summer break and to take specialized training.”

“That is good. Potter is too small and scrawny to fight on his own strength. But the boy is a strong wizard; being able to use magic at all times should keep the muggles off him.” He approved of this with a nod; it would give the boy the edge he needed to avoid a beating and to get the nourishment he needed. “and the girls would have still been at a disadvantage with the new law should they need to defend themselves.”

“I had planned on sending Fawkes with a letter informing Harry and the rest of the children today, but with Severus’s accident…” he trailed off, and then all of a sudden he seemed to come back to life, eyes twinkling madly.

“You’re twinkling Albus, that’s usually not good for the rest of us mortals. Should I begin to worry?” Alastor inquired wearily, it was never good for most people when Albus twinkled. It meant that he just had one of his crazy ideas and planned to set it in motion.

“Not at all Alastor, not at all; there’s nothing for you to worry about. But I just found the answer to some problem I had been pondering all afternoon. I just could not find a place where I could keep Severus safe, as he can’t go back to spying…”

“Why would you need to keep him safe? The man can protect himself, besides, why has he to stop spying? The Order still needs all the information we can gather, even if it comes from him.” The wizened Auror asked intrigued, he might not have trusted Snape, but he did know the younger wizard was a worthy opponent. If he admitted it to himself, he was among the best duelers he had seen during his long career in Magical Law Enforcement.

“The accident left him quite defenseless, and in need of constant attention.” At the retired auror’s puzzled expression he explained. “He had a bout of uncontrolled magic and turned himself into a seven months old baby…” He had to stop because Mad-Eye Moody, the hardened Auror was laughing so much that he was crying.

“Snape… turned himself… into a baby…” he wheezed and then was off laughing again. That was something he would not have believed of the stoic Potions Master, that wizard was famous for being extremely controlled, except when in a rage.

“Seriously Alastor this is no laughing matter,” Albus reproached him, although he was sure that once he had Severus back to himself he would probably end laughing just as much.

“I really think it is, so when are you turning him back, I want front row tickets for that,” he chuckled.

“Actually, we can’t change him back,” Albus stated sadly. This got the old Auror’s undivided attention.

“What do you mean you can’t? I know for a fact magical accidents are Madame Pomfrey’s specialty.”

“They are; she’s actually one of the best in the country. But this was caused by uncontrolled magic, and apparently assisted by whatever concoction Severus was brewing. She can’t change that kind of accident, and does not know who cans. Poppy has asked for time to investigate and consult, but in the worst of cases Severus will have to grow back to himself the long way, year by year.”

“What about his knowledge, is it all lost?” Alastor frowned, whatever he thought of the younger wizard’s loyalty he had been extremely useful to the Order, and the best Potions Master in Great Britain.

“According to Poppy’s diagnostic spells, the knowledge and his memories are still there. It is just not accessible to Severus at this age.” Albus looked sad and at the same time resigned, “He is, for all effects, seven months old with no recollection of people or things he knew when he was older. But maybe Poppy will find a way for Severus to access his knowledge.”

“That does not sound good at all; I guess I understand why you want to keep him safe.” Despite not liking the man he did sound a bit preoccupied by the turn of events.

“Good, you know we need to keep this as quiet as possible. Voldemort won’t hesitate in killing Severus if he is no longer useful to him. Now that I’ve thought about it better Harry’s relatives’ home is the safest place against Voldemort that we have.”

“Albus have you forgotten already what I told you about the boy’s relatives? Those people are abusive and hate magic as much as You-Know-Who hates muggles. You’re precious Potions Master won’t be any safer there than Mr. Potter is at the moment.”

“No Alastor I haven’t forgotten. We will deal with that, don’t worry. But I believe you must be grossly exaggerating.” The old Auror harrumphed; his friend was too trusting in human kindness for his own good. “Think about it, if we leave Severus in Harry’s care then we have the pretext to keep a closer eye on the both of them. The muggles will be forced to treat the boy better if they don’t know when someone will be visiting, and as I said Harry will be receiving extra tutoring this summer.”

“Albus, Mr. Potter is not yet sixteen. He is still a child; you can’t expect him to take care of another child, especially when he is grieving over the death of his Godfather. I don’t think this is a good idea at all.”

“I think believe it might be Alastor. You said Harry’s depressed, and he has a right to be. He barely had a chance to get to know Sirius, but he was family none the less. He probably blames himself for it, although the blame is not sorely his. A lot of us made mistakes in handling last year’s situation,” Albus admitted regretfully. He was where most of the blame rested; he should not have kept so many things from the boy.

“I did warn you Albus, but at least now you have finally seen what kind of damage comes from keeping things from that boy.”

“Yes you were right old friend. Going back to Harry, I believe that if he has someone to look after, that needs him for himself and not because he is 'the-boy-who-lived' might help him come out of his depression. Feeling needed and loved should do the trick. ”

“Albus I did not say he was depressed. I said the boy was grieving, and that’s not the same thing. Besides, this idea of yours is completely crazy! We’re talking about SNAPE! That man does not love; he does not have feelings at all, save anger.”

“You’re wrong Alastor, Severus does have feelings. He just had a hard life and prefers to keep them to himself. He’s a really accomplished actor, has to be to survive this long as a spy. But anyway, now he is only a small, skinny baby, not the sour and vitriolic man he used to be. If this works all right, and I know it will, he will have good memories of Harry and his childhood when we manage to get him back to his old self.” He assured the old Auror.

“I still think it’s not a good idea my friend, the boy hates Snape. I would not put it past him to blame the git in some part for Black’s death. Even though against my better judgment, I believe Snape holds little blame in those events at the Department of Mysteries. He did what he had to do in order to remain a spy,” Alastor admitted grudgingly.

“You’re right; Severus has no more blame than the rest of us. Perhaps his most grievous error was to have stopped the Occlumency lessons; and I can’t really blame him for that. Severus is a very private man and Harry did invade that privacy by looking in the pensieve.” The Potions Master had reluctantly told him his reasons for refusing to teach the boy occlumency, and Albus in turn had informed his most trusted Order members; Remus Lupin –who was barely able to function in his grief- and Alastor Moody. “He did warn Sirius it was better to remain at Headquarters, that he believed this to be some kind of trap. But Sirius would never listen to him.” Albus sounded tired and sad; the death of Sirius Black had been bad for the Order’s morale. He was appreciated by most. It had hit Harry, Remus and Tonks especially hard. The young Auror spent a long time recovering in St. Mungos.

“Those two never did get along, and you know Black also influenced Potter on Snape’s regard. Not that Snape did anything to prove Black wrong. In fact, he did his best to make the boy hate him, when what was needed was to earn his trust.” Alastor argued. He did not believe anything good would come of keeping Harry Potter and Severus Snape living under the same roof.

“I have to admit that they don’t get along, and that Severus is greatly to blame here. But… what can a small defenseless child do to Harry now? Severus is completely helpless and completely dependent on others to survive. I also know Harry still has a good and compassionate heart,” Albus countered.

“That is, if the muggles have not darkened it by now.” He warned the Headmaster, as there was only so much abuse someone could take. Then with a sigh he added. “I know you won’t change your mind regardless of what I say, so, when are you going to visit him.”

“Tomorrow, early in the morning since I want to talk with his relatives; I would appreciate it if you would come with me.”

“Of course, I wouldn’t miss the boy’s reaction for anything.”

The next morning the two old wizards with a solemn looking baby Severus apparated to the alley were the previous year the Dementors had attacked Harry and his cousin. Then they just walked leisurely toward Privet Drive. They wore disillusionment charms, so no one noticed the oddly dressed trio as they made their way to number four. It was early in the morning, around seven thirty, so Vernon Dursley was still at home. That had been Albus plan all along, since he needed to speak with the man and his wife.

It was not a particularly good day for Harry so far. Actually, it had not been a particularly good two weeks since he arrived from Hogwarts. The Dursley had not heeded the Order’s warning of treating him better or else… and so far they had not done anything to stop the blatant abuse his ‘relatives’ foisted on him.

It was not as he did not deserve it. He had, after all, gotten his Godfather killed and his friends hurt because of his ‘saving people thing’ as Hermione put it. He had been so stupid and now he lost the only link to his family, the Dursleys -of course- did not count. His heart and soul were weighted down because of Sirius death, and yet during these two weeks he had some time to think.

Harry was still angry with Dumbledore as he had come to realize he was as responsible for his Godfather’s death as he was; and as much as he wanted to lay all the blame on Snape, it was clear he did not have as much as he originally thought. The man was mean and a git, but if he had really applied himself to learning occlumency and not invaded his privacy, the Professor would not have suspended the lessons.

That morning Vernon had awoken in a terrible mood, and he had already slapped Harry several times. The ruddy ‘freak’ had kept them all awake with his screams. Then he had overcooked the eggs and served him warm tea instead of hot. With a final slap and a hard shove that sent Harry crashing to the floors, Vernon sent the boy to see who was crazy enough to ring the bell so early. It did not occur to him that under the ‘normal’ people laws he was incurring in child abuse, and it was considered a crime. In his opinion, his wife’s nephew was ‘abnormal’, and therefore not considered people and not protected by any laws. So what if the neighbors saw the ‘freak’ with a black eye or a split lip? He had only gotten what he deserved.

It was a battered, scruffy and scrawny looking Harry Potter that opened the door and froze like a deer caught in the wand light. Albus Dumbledore looked the child over; and he noticed every detail of his appearance. The boy had lost significant weight; he sported a black eye, a split lip, a minor nose bleed –that he hurriedly wiped off with the overlarge sleeve of his worn T-Shirt. He also had a hand imprint on his left cheek –a large hand- that would surely bruise later, as it appeared quite recent. There were other details the old wizard noted, like the dark circle under the eye that was not swollen, and finally the condition of his clothes and shoes. They were rags, not fit to be worn.

Dumbledore’s usually affable expression darkened with fury once he took in how this precious child was treated. It was so unusual that Harry gave an involuntary step backward, flinching. The boy had only seen the Headmaster looking so angry once, when he fought Voldemort at the Department of Mysteries. Not even when Fudge had the Dementor Kiss Barty Crouch Jr. at the end of his fourth year had he looked so dangerous.

“What’s taking you so long freak, who is it?” Vernon shouted from the kitchen. “Or do I have to give you another beating to get you to obey?”

Dumbledore’s face, if possible, became more forbidding. Without a word he handed the baby to the still gaping Harry; who barely got a good hold on the infant, as he scooted out of the way from his enraged Headmaster, only then did he notice that Mad-Eye Moody was there too. The old wizard drew his wand and stepped inside without waiting for an invitation. When he had no answer Vernon thundered to the hallway ready to punish the boy, and then froze mid-step when he noticed the wizards inside his home. The scary looking freak was there, along with a very old one that appeared murderous and the ‘boy’ was carrying a baby.

“Headmaster Dumbledore,” Harry was finally able to utter nervously.

The boy unfortunately had his back to Vernon or he would have enjoyed seeing him pale and shiver at having Dumbledore himself there, looking fit to murder him at any minute. They had heard him yell at the boy and there was no mistaking the marks he left on his face, he had said it was him who did it. The man had gotten too confident when the ‘freaks’ had not shown up after the first punishments.

‘God! They heard me yell at the brat!’ Vernon thought desperately. ‘I shouldn’t have slapped the damn freak this morning.’

“What are you doing here Sir?” Harry asked recovering from his surprise and getting slightly suspicious.

They were only two weeks into the summer break, something must be wrong to have Dumbledore himself visiting. His scar had not done so much as twinge since three weeks ago, but Voldemort might be doing something to hide what he was doing. It did not occur to him that they might have come to fulfil the threats the Order made at Kings Cross. Harry was not happy with the old wizard yet, but he was trying to come to terms with the man’s actions. He was also beginning to be curious about the baby’s identity, was he one of Dumbledore’s grandchildren?

“Some things and situations regarding your home life have come to my attention,” he responded giving Dursley a death glare that would make Severus Snape’s pale in comparison. This time the boy was watching, and had the satisfaction of seeing his uncle quiver with fear; it served him right and Harry allowed himself the first smile in a long time.

Harry’s eyes opened wide at his words, this was the least thing he expected. Since no one from the Order had stopped his uncle or Dudley, he was sure the threats issued had been empty. They of course would not believe a muggle would not heed their warnings, and since Vernon was monitoring his correspondence he had no way of telling anyone that his uncle was being abusive. Harry also believed that the Headmaster was aware of what his life was at the Dursleys and that for the older wizard, being safe from Voldemort and the Death Eaters was more important than being mistreated by his relatives.

“There are also some other things you and I need to discuss. But they can wait until your… relatives and I have a little… chat.” Albus went on, his glare toward the muggle unwavering.

Without waiting to be invited he walked to the living room and took a seat while Mad-Eye cast some locking and silencing charms on the house. Now there was no way for the muggles to escape, as his charms covered all doors and windows. Harry did notice this and could not help the slight wicked smile that came to his face, as he too glared at his uncle. The Dursleys were finally going to get what they deserved.

“Wait a minute! This is my home, you have…” Vernon reacted trying to hide his fear of the two menacing freaks.

“You were warned Dursley. You only had to treat Mr. Potter well to keep us away,” Mad Eye drawled in a dangerous tone, his wand trained at the fat muggle’s chest. “You did not heed it. Now you must face the consequences of your actions. In there,” he ordered pointing to the living room with his wand.

“I will not be intimidated in my own home!” Dursley bellowed, trying to appear in control. “Get out! Get out NOW, I won’t have you freaks contaminating my home!”

“Call your wife and son here now,” Alastor ordered ignoring the furious muggle and casting a partial body-bind when Vernon tried to attack him. “That wasn’t a very smart move muggle. Now call your family, especially your son. That lump of grease does not seem bright enough to listen to warnings in plain English.”

Vernon was looking terrified and paler than Harry had ever seen him. He could not move anything but his head, and could not help but worry about the fate of his beautiful family, although at the moment he had no choice but to call them. He did wonder what Dudley had done to piss the… scary looking freak. The boy was a bit bruised, and probably sore, but it was nothing serious. Dudley and his friends had been allowing the ‘boy’ to play one of their games, they were doing the little, useless freak a favour. The game was a bit rough, but boys always ended bruised while playing, right?

He had also been careful not to hit him where it would be too visible at first. But he had gotten a bit carried away yesterday night and this morning. The boy had not cooked dinner well –the meat had been too though- and then he had dared to steal a slice of roast, when he knew he was not allowed more than bread. The ‘freak’ had also not completed a single list of chores since he arrived, and it was only Petunia’s goodness that had allowed him to have some food -three days ago- despite not completing his chores. Seeing as he really had no choice but to obey the ‘wizards’ Vernon called Petunia and Dudley to the living room.

“Do sit down,” Albus instructed the woman and her son taking charge of the situation.

He was not pleased with Harry’s appearance and deep inside he had believed Alastor was being too paranoid and that what he had heard about the Dursley family treatment of Harry had all been exaggerations. But Alastor was not, and neither had been those rumours he heard, in fact, the situation was much worse than the rumours credited. The old wizard felt the onslaught of guilt. It was because of his overly optimistic views that Harry was hurt. He had condemned this child he loved like his own grandson to a life of misery. It was now that he finally understood why the boy was so angry with him.

Keeping him safe from Voldemort did not imply letting other people abuse the poor boy. He would have found some other way to protect him; he would have even taken the child himself. But he had not wanted to see it, despite Minerva’s warning that night so many years ago. Harry had never mentioned outright that he was abused, but who was he kidding? Not many children in similar situations would speak up; he had been a Professor and Headmaster long enough to know that. Still, Harry had expressed firmly that he did not want to return to his aunt’s house. It should have been enough to give him a clue that something was seriously wrong. But he had deluded himself, just like he did in Severus case, and both of them had suffered for it.

“What are you doing here? You said you would leave us alone if we kept the boy,” Petunia hissed furiously as he sat beside her son. The howler the year before had been about that, but so was the letter he left with the freak outside their door. “We had a deal, you’d leave us alone if we kept the boy; and we KEPT the boy!”

“I did make that deal Mrs. Dursley. I left young Mr. Potter in your care for ten years, despite the reservations of a very good friend of mine. You were after all Lily’s sister and she had a kind and loving nature. I had hoped you’d have raised Mr. Potter as your own.” Harry scoffed at this, but Dumbledore went on. “It’s obvious you didn’t. So it’s you who did not respect your side of the deal,” he stated in an icy tone that would have frozen hell over. Harry had never heard it before.

“Of course we did!” Vernon protested. Moody had removed his body-bind once they were all in the living room. “We clothed and fed him like you wanted. We spent our money in…”

“You did not!” Albus interrupted him curtly. “Are you forgetting the stipend from Harry’s inheritance that you received each month to pay for his expenses?” At this the boy’s eyes widened, he had never heard that the Dursleys received any money for his sustenance. “You received eighty gallons a month that have increased through the years to one hundred and fifty. In pounds you were receiving 400 until now that you receive 750. That is more than enough to pay for a child’s basic needs like clothing, school material, toys, and even medical expenses. You got double for birthdays and Christmases. I can tell you spent nothing on Harry. Look at him, he’s wearing rags! Probably discards from your son, and he’s skinnier than ever!” He practically growled and both Petunia and Dudley shivered, but Vernon was not that smart to notice the righteous anger of the wizard.

“That money was only our due for keeping him!” Vernon argued enraged. “We never wanted the filthy freak here!”

“You will not call him or any wizard a freak again Dursley,” Alastor threatened pointing his wand at him. “It is you who’s the freak here, do you know that your authorities would have you in prison if they saw Mr. Potter’s condition? Child abuse is against both muggle and wizard laws.”

“That’s no child! It’s an abnormality, just like your entire KIND are!” the huge muggle roared.

“Oh? So you want to tell that to the muggle authorities? I’ll gladly call them and see what they do to you.” Alastor told him, very willing to do just that. It would serve the fat muggle good; he was not needed after all for the protection.

“Vernon stop,” Petunia asked her husband as she was more than aware of the trouble they would get into if the authorities found out the way they had treated her… nephew. Their reputation would be ruined and they could even loose her precious Duddykins. “Don’t call the police…”

“You were getting money to pay for my needs?” It took Harry a bit to process the fact that he had never been a charity case and why despite hating him so much they had never sent him to an orphanage as Vernon threatened time and time again. When it finally did he asked. At first incredulous, then he began to get angry, very angry.

“Yes my boy, it was stipulated in your parents Wills. They set a trust fund with the Goblins at Gringotts so you would receive what you needed while growing up in case they were not able to be there for you,” Dumbledore told him gravely. “I was named executor for their Wills.”

“And you made me believe I was a charity case?” He snarled as he glared hatefully at his so called ‘family’. “You could have bought me decent clothes, instead of your pig of a son’s ratty discards. You could have given me enough food. Hell, I could have paid with that money a decent hotel room instead of being locked in the bloody CUPBOARD for ten.fucking.years!” Harry was beginning to shake with the effort of containing himself. “No wonder you did not want me to go to Hogwarts, you were afraid that they would find out you were stealing MY MONEY. You… you…”

He was so angry that he found no words to describe the Dursleys. Also no matter what he did he began to loose control of his magic. Several of the things in the living room began to rattle furiously. Dumbledore stopped them with a wave of his wand and a whispered incantation. The Dursleys stared at Harry frightened, they still remembered what happened to Aunt Marge that was why neither his uncle nor his aunt dared to say anything; they did not want to end victims of that… magic. The baby was scared by the noise and he whimpered and trembled in fright the voices reminded him of other people, people that hurt him.

“Harry my boy, please calm down,” Albus told the child in a reassuring tone of voice, even when deep inside he was fighting not to turn the Dursleys into lab rats, and donate them as testers for the students potions; Neville Longbottom’s potions preferably.

Severus probably would not have restrained himself, and for the first time, Albus would not have restrained him if he had been his adult self. How dare they keep this precious boy locked in a cupboard? But he could not do anything so drastic; it was not good for the wards, and neither was the blatant hatred they felt for each other. He needed to scan the wards later, if Petunia had felt like that for Harry since he had been sent there, then the blood wards were not as strong as he needed them to be.

“Please my boy. It’ll do you no good to be this angry. You have every right to be, with them and me for placing you in their ‘care’,” he spat the last word. “But remember child, you tend to do uncontrolled magic when that happens.”

“Yes Sir, I don’t want to face the Wizengamot again,” Harry said once he had his anger under control, although he was still seething inside. He also unconsciously began rocking the little baby; oddly enough it calmed the both of them. Little Severus buried his head in the older boy’s shirt searching for comfort and safety. Harry tightened his hold on the little body in his arms; the gesture was comforting for both.

“You wouldn’t have Harry. Last summer it was Cornelius Fudge who demanded it.” Harry grimaced at that, he actually despised that man, probably as much if not more so than Umbridge. She had been his underling after all. “He wanted to discredit the both of us; but he can’t do that anymore.” His voice turned grave. “With the severity of recent events the legal age for using magic has dropped to sixteen; and because you and your friends were involved in the Department of Mysteries… attack, all of you have received a special permit to use magic during breaks.”

“I can do magic any time I want?” Harry asked exited for the first time in a long time.

“Yes…” Dumbledore began but was interrupted by Dursley, who had finally recovered from the fright of Harry’s uncontrolled magic.

“No, absolutely not! You will not use that… that… abomination in my home!” Vernon raged, turning an interesting shade of plum.

“Afraid Dursley?” Moody sneered. “Mr. Potter is now within his rights to curse you in self-defence; and there’s nothing you can do about it. It is wizard law after all.” Harry had never seen Mad-Eye gloat, but he was just doing that and he looked downright scary. “Besides, you lost any chance you had of being taken into consideration for any decisions when you did not heed our warning.” His wand was again pointed at the man’s chest.

“As I was about to say before I was rudely interrupted.” Albus glared at the plum coloured man. “Mr. Potter can use magic freely. Because of this, he will be receiving private tutoring by our best wizards and witches. We will be visiting regularly. He will also be receiving correspondence from…” Again he was interrupted.

“I won’t have those foul birds coming. What would the neighbours think?” Petunia exclaimed alarmed.

“No worse than they already do Mrs. Dursley,” Alastor informed her, and had the satisfaction of seeing her shocked. “In just two weeks time, you and your husband have been reported to the muggle authorities for child abuse by EVERY SINGLE NEIGHBOR you have!” Moody was furious, and his hard gaze made Petunia squeak in alarm, Vernon only looked outraged. “We stopped the reports from progressing, but not because of you. We simply can’t allow muggle authorities to take Mr. Potter away. You should also know that it was one of our people who has already bailed your son out of prison twice. Young Mr. Dursley has a trial pending for ten counts of assault to minors. He has been caught red handed in the act of beating younger kids.”

“Those are lies! I won’t tolerate those kinds of lies! You only want to slander our good name!” Vernon had turned a very ugly shade of plum.

“My Duddynkins is not like that! He’s a sweet boy, he would not beat others!” Petunia defended her offspring.

“Am I lying boy? When were you going to tell your parents about the trial? Auror Tonks is NOT going to impersonate your parents again. You know that so far ten youngsters have agreed to testify, and you know they are looking for the others.”

“I… er…” Dudley began. He really had not planned on telling his parents, they would not have believed it anyway. He had stupidly hoped the freak’s friends would keep helping him.

“You framed him! You… you despicable people! He’s just a boy! Come on Duddynkins tell mommy it’s not true.” Petunia looked fit to have a conniption or start crying. It was unthinkable that her precious son would be no more than a thug.

“Your nephew Mrs. Dursley is also a boy. Yet you did not have any qualms in abusing and stealing from him,” Dumbledore stated in that eerie icy voice.

“It is true Mum. The gang and I did beat those and a lot of other kids. Piers believes we almost killed one of two of them. No one has pressed charges for those, so they are probably alive and well,” Dudley accepted looking ashamed for the first time.

“But… why son?” Vernon was shocked; his precious son was a thug. “Why behave like that?”

“Because I could.” He shrugged, it had been fun. “You never minded when I did that to the freak, you said Harry hunting was a good game. But since there was no Harry then we had to hunt someone else. Besides, when I told you about the other kids you always seemed so proud of me, even when the teachers complained.”

“That can’t be true Dudley,” Vernon said not wanting to believe his precious and well educated son was a common criminal. That was not normal, and he worked so hard be normal despite having one of the freaks at home.

“You should learn to accept the truth Mr. Dursley,” Albus suggested.

“This is your entire fault boy!” He yelled Harry; he needed to place the blame on someone before admitting he had been too lenient with his own son; so much so that the boy had gotten out of control. “Dudley is in trouble because of your abnormality!” He would have hit the insolent whelp by now, but with the adult freaks there he did not dare no matter how angry he was.

“I didn’t ask for him to beat me! You taught him it was alright to beat people up, you always let him do as he pleases, so don’t blame me because you both are a lousy parents.” Harry snarled at them furious. With Dumbledore and Mad-Eye there he had no fear of retaliation from his uncle.

“You only got what you deserve, useless and lazy whelp!”

“I’m NOT the one who’s lazy here. He wouldn’t be as fat as he is if he helped with the chores!” He pointed at Dudley for a moment, and then his arm went back to holding the little baby that was whimpering again.

“Take him, take him and leave us alone. I don’t want you contaminating my home and family anymore. You can’t force me to keep him here!”

“Can’t we? Do you really believe that? We basically need your wife Dursley, and maybe your son, but certainly not you. We don’t even need your ‘family’ human. They’ll probably make some interesting lab rats,” Alastor threatened and was pleased to see the muggles cower in fear.

“Now, now, Alastor,” Dumbledore spoke in his pacifying tone. He did not want the muggles scared witless, although it would do them good to be reminded what wizards could do.

Although Dumbledore’s attention was mostly on the muggles, he spared a few glances in Harry’s direction. The boy had enjoyed Alastor’s comment too much, but he really could not blame him. Those muggles were despicable. Harry also spared curious looks to the baby, who, besides the occasional whimper when the voices were raised, was unusually quiet.

Harry did not know how to handle infants because he had never been near one so small. But he was finding out that he actually must be doing something good, because it seemed the child liked him, and oddly enough he did too. He looked content and when the voices scared him, he sought refuge in by burying his face in his overlarge T-Shirt. So far they seem to be getting along, which the teen supposed was good.

“I don’t think that would be necessary, I believe Mr. and Mrs. Dursley capable of being reasonable.” At that both, Mad Eye and Harry, snorted. “Isn’t that so?” Dumbledore asked the muggles in a tone that let them know that they better be.

“Er… yes, yes of course,” Vernon agreed nervously. He let his eyes linger on his ‘nephew’, who had started a sort of game with the other child. The baby wanted to grab his glasses; the boy let him and then put them on again. He wondered why they had brought the infant, but he would be damned if he was the one to ask.

“Good, just remember Mr. Dursley. We would have left you alone if you had been proper guardians. Had you provided Mr. Potter with a decent home life, there would not be the need of… supervising you.” It was Moody who spoke pinning each Dursley with a glare and extra spinning of his magical eye. They all recoiled, and he smiled maliciously, he really had nothing against muggles in general, but the trio before him was an exception.

“Now that this is settled, we can move to other things.” Albus turned to Harry who seemed to like the quiet baby very much; which was perfect for what he had planned. Who would have thought he was a babies person? Severus also seemed to be quite taken with Harry. He must remember to tease his Potions Master, when he returned to his normal age, about it. “Harry, there was an accident at school yesterday.” He addressed the teen seriously.

“Is everyone all right Sir? Was the school damaged?” The boy asked worried and looked over the Headmaster. He did not seem hurt.

“Yes, Hogwarts was damaged. It was more extensive than we originally thought. We really had a hard time assessing it yesterday. Unfortunately we lost two house-elves in a cave it, but I’m assured everything will be repaired by September, and the house-elves will have a small memorial for the two that died in a couple of days.”

“I’m sorry to hear that Sir, it wasn’t Dobby or Winky?” He dreaded to hear that his two house-elves friends might have died, and that was the other reason why he was there.

“No, no my boy, both are fine. Winky has no experience in building so the Head house-elf assigned her to me.”

“That’s good to hear, was it really an accident Sir? Voldemort had nothing to do with it?”

‘Maybe it was not an accident but an attack?’ Harry thought even more worried since his scar had been normal yesterday.

“No child, Voldemort had nothing to do with it. He has been lying low lately as he lost too many of his inner circle members,” he paused for a moment then decided to add. “I don’t really expect him to make any major moves for a few months at least. Going back to the castle, it was as I said an unfortunate accident. But at least now the dungeons are getting re-built and re-decorated, which was long overdue. It was not originally designed to become classrooms, dormitories and Professors habitations, now we can make sure they would be better suited for that. Professor McGonagall and Dubban -our head house-elf- were working re-designing them.”

“Was Professor Snape injured?” He asked suspecting that it might have been a potions accident. Imagine that? The ‘greasy git’ actually causing a worse explosion than any Neville had ever produced. “I… I might not like the man, but… I’ve been thinking… and… and I know he isn’t to blame for… for what happened.” His voice broke. He could not bring himself to mention Sirius name aloud yet.

“Unfortunately Professor Snape was injured child. We believe one of his experimental potions went terribly wrong. It’s been a while since he blew something up…”

“He would have us believe that he has never blown up a cauldron, Sir”

“I imagine he does,” he said eyes twinkling a bit. “But Professor Snape has been known to blow up a cauldron or two while experimenting and creating new potions. It is part of the risks of being a Potions Master. But so far there has not been an explosion like yesterday’s recorded in Hogwarts’ history. It took a while to dig him out…” He informed him gravely.

“Is he going to be all right? I… I never…” The look both older wizards were giving the baby odd looks and that stopped Harry in his tracks. It could not be, could it? He stood the infant up on his lap and turned him to face him critically. “He… he’s Professor Snape, isn’t he?” Harry finally asked noticing the familiar features of the adult wizard on the infant.

The little one sensed some of the boy’s tension and fuzzed a little, letting out small distressed whimpers. He did not like attention, in his short experience, most of the times it brought nothing good. Harry thought it was odd that the baby did not make too much noise; he then looked at Dumbledore for advice on what to do to calm the child, as he sat him on his lap again.

“Just hold him and rock him gently my boy,” the old wizard offered, and it helped. “And distract him with this,” he pulled out a small snitch-like rattle from a baby bag he had been carrying concealed in his robes. Harry flicked the toy before the whimpering baby’s face a couple of times and he quieted looking decidedly curious about the toy but a bit… reluctant to grab it. “Just make sure that he doesn’t hit himself with it, and I’m sure he’ll be happy for a while. To answer your question, the baby is indeed out esteemed Potions Master Severus Snape.”

“Why is he still like this Sir? Madame Pomfrey usually has all the antidotes for potions accidents.” Harry remembered that some students had de-aged themselves in class before, including Neville. They were always back to normal in no time.

“For those potions on the Potions syllabus she does. Professor Snape makes sure of it. As to why he’s still a baby… well… we don’t know how to turn him back. It was an experimental potion, although Madame Pomfrey assured me it was not the potion that de-aged him. It was his own bout of uncontrolled magic that turned him into a baby. He’s going to be like that for some time, my boy, until we find someone capable of finding a way to return him to his right age.”

“I see… So why did you bring the professor here?” Harry asked though he was beginning to guess what Dumbledore wanted, and he was not sure he liked the idea; although Snape as a baby was not so bad.

“Well, I wanted to ask you if you could take care of him for some time.” Albus asked eyes twinkling madly.

“You want ME to baby sit SNAPE?” Harry exploded. Ok, he did not blame the wizard anymore, but they had never gotten along. The little boy whimpered in fear at his tone of voice, and Harry distracted him with the rattle. He also made a mental note not to raise his voice if he did not want to deal with a crying Snape.

“Yes my boy. Voldemort wasn’t all that pleased with Professor Snape recently, and with this… accident he’s no longer useful to him. I fear for his safety. Because of the wards we have here, your relatives’ house is one of the safest places for him.” Albus confessed.

“Would Voldemort kill the professor even though he’s a baby?” This was more a statement than a real question. Harry knew the answer; Voldemort had no heart and no mercy.

“I believe he will, and we don’t know when we’ll be able to get him back or if we ever will. With the repairs to Hogwarts and the work for the Order, Severus he needs a safe place to hide and someone that can take care of him.”

“Professor, you think he’s safe HERE?” Harry asked looking straight at his relatives and pointing at his bruised face.

“From Voldemort and his Death Eaters yes, he is safe here. About the others… I believe we have reached an agreement and solved that problem. Do not worry my boy.”

“But Sir, I don’t KNOW anything about babies, this is the first time I even hold one and… and he hates me!” Harry argued, hoping against all hope that the Headmaster would see reason.

“It doesn’t look like he does now Mr. Potter,” Mad-Eye pointed out. Snape actually looked quite content on the boy’s lap, torn between getting the glasses or the rattle. Harry had to admit that it looked that way, and well, he was beginning to like mini Snape too, he seemed to be a nice and quiet baby. So different from the snarky and grumpy git that he became as an adult.

“I can show you the basics of how to care for an infant today Harry; and later I’ll have Madame Pomfrey and Professor McGonagall come over and teach you a bit more. Don’t worry about that my boy.”

“But… but… I’m just fifteen! Why can’t Mrs. Weasley care for him? I mean, she’s raised seven children already.” He kept trying to convince the Headmaster that there were better places for a baby Snape than with him. But he knew that was probably not going to happen. Albus Dumbledore usually got his way, and without having to threaten or bully anyone.

“I’m sure Molly Weasley would do a superb job Harry. But The Burrow isn’t as protected as it is here. You already have Order members on permanent guard duty here. I can’t spare anyone else; we are already stretched thin keeping an eye on Voldemort’s followers and the Ministry. Professor McGonagall or Madame Pomfrey would not mind taking care of Severus, but Hogwarts is not safe for him either, and won’t be for a while. Most of the faculty knows about the accident, but they don’t know Severus is a seven month old infant. We’re going to pretend Professor Snape is in a coma. It’s the only way I can think of to keep him safe; Voldemort was only letting him live because he needed his potion making skills. With the wards here he won’t be able to find any of you. Do you understand my reasons Harry?”

“I do Sir,” he sighed. If he did not take the professor in, and Voldemort killed him it would be another death in his conscience. He could not take one more. “It’s just… well… He IS Professor Snape… and we never got along.”

“Right now Harry he’s only a seven month old baby. He has no access to his adult memories. He only remembers what little he learned and experienced since birth to being the age he is now.”

“All right Headmaster. I’ll take care of him.” Harry agreed resignedly.

“Thank you my boy. I know I’m placing a big responsibility on your shoulders, but there really wasn’t any option.” There was, but he believed that it would benefit both Harry and Severus more to keep them together. He could not allow the young teen to drown in his sorrow; having a baby to look after might help him focus on something else. Severus was going to claim a lot of his attention and free time that would otherwise might be used for brooding and self-pity.

“You pretend to leave us another child?” Petunia finally gathered the courage to speak, and she was furious.

“What do you think we are? An Orphanage? We won’t spend another pound…” Vernon exploded outraged.

“No one’s asking you to spend money on either child. You never did anyway, why pretend?” Albus sighed and made an effort to keep from hexing the Dursley adults. These people were the limit and he would be glad not to see them ever again.

“Remember, you lost your chance to decide and be taken into consideration, so now you have to comply with what WE decide.” Alastor snapped.

“Mr. and Mrs. Dursley,” Dumbledore began pinning each with a steely glare. He looked quite dangerous. “Everything Severus might need will be provided. We will also provide for Harry’s heeds. You have proven unable to do that. I will also order the bank to stop making your monthly deposit, as it is no longer necessary seeing as we’re the ones who will be providing for the boys’ needs.”

“It’s our due! You can’t do that!” Vernon protested. An important part of his income came from the freak’s monthly allowance. It was what they spent on Dudley’s things; there would be no way for him to provide his son with what he wanted without it.

“I can and I will Mr. Dursley. You have already benefited enough from Harry’s money. From now on, you only have to allow them to stay and leave both children alone.” He paused for a moment as he thought, then came to a decision and added. “In fact, you won’t even see either of them. But, if Harry or Severus are harmed in ANY way, and that includes you and your friends young Mr. Dursley, I will personally make sure you regret it. I am a Master Transfigurator, unlike Hagrid who did not finish his schooling, and believe me, earning a pig’s tail will be the least of your problems” The half-giant had told him what happened when he picked Harry before his first year. He had been a bit reluctant to admit he had attempted to turn the boy into a pig, but in the end confessed everything. “With this I conclude our conversation. Now Harry, why don’t you show me your room? I believe we need to make some changes to make it suitable for you and Severus.”

“Ah… yes Sir,” Harry said standing and offering Snape to him. To his immense surprise he refused to go to with the Headmaster and clung to him.

“Keep him, my boy. I believe young Severus has taken a liking to you.” He said eyes twinkling madly.