Regress and Repress by krosi
Summary: After Harry accidentally deages himself to a baby during a Potions class, Severus is tasked with aging Harry back up to his correct age before any word gets out on Harry's condition. Severus is less than thrilled with the new job, and Harry is less than thrilled with his new caretaker. A novella, will contain mild CP. Set in the fifth year.
Categories: Parental Snape > Guardian Snape Main Characters: .Snape and Harry (required)
Snape Flavour: Canon Snape
Genres: Family, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort
Media Type: None
Tags: Deaged!Harry, Deaging
Takes Place: 5th Year
Warnings: Physical Punishment Spanking
Challenges: None
Series: None
Chapters: 6 Completed: Yes Word count: 37495 Read: 7349 Published: 29 Jan 2023 Updated: 11 Mar 2024
Accident in the Classroom by krosi
Author's Notes:
A new story to help me get back in the groove of writing after a long life block. This will be a novella with five to six chapters. The first three are already written. Mild CP in the story in the form of a spanking.

Severus paced his classroom while the fifth year students worked on a deflating draught. He criticized and corrected where it was needed as he sneered at how incompetent many of the students still were at brewing such a simple concoction. Honestly, if he had it his way, potions class would only be offered to students fourth year and up, and only to students with a true desire to learn its art and study its beauty. Otherwise, this was just a waste of his time and teachings.

As he paused behind the golden trio, his upper lip curled slightly as he watched Harry and Ron whispering quietly to each other over their cauldrons. The magnificent hero of the wizarding world who could hardly maintain an A in the classroom—weren’t they all so lucky to have such an accomplished wizard to rely on? He stepped a little closer behind them.

“Careful now,” he snarled in a low tone, “we wouldn’t want to have any exploding incidents with this particularly draught, now would we, Potter?”

Harry and Ron visibly bit back any retorts as they glared down at the ingredients laid out in front of their cauldrons. Severus noted the disarray of the ingredients and shook his head.

“Five points from Gryffindor for a chaotic workstation. How either of you haven’t thrown in the wrong ingredient yet is beyond me. Finish up, you’re two steps behind the rest of the class.”

With that, Severus walked away from the Golden Trio, ignoring Hermione’s potion as he knew the bushy haired girl would most likely have a perfect result if she wasn’t already finished with it. As much as he wanted a class with only successful students, he also wanted students that weren’t mouthy know-it-alls.

As he moved toward the front of the classroom, he spared one last glance in Harry and Ron’s direction, noting that they were rushing through the last few steps. He rolled his eyes. Every student in the classroom should know by now that rushing a potion only ended in disastrous results. He would not remind anyone of this at this stage in their schooling—he’d rather fail those who refused to remember and not have to deal with them in any future classes. Let’s see what Mr. Auror-to-be Potter thinks of that, Severus thought with a smirk. Ah, to crush the dreams of the wizarding world’s famous celebrity.

It was then that Severus noted a burnt citrusy smell that brought on a wave of nausea. It was rather unexpected, as from what he had observed, everyone had at least been following the potion correctly. Scanning his eyes across the room, he noted the angry, spitting bubbles in Harry’s potion as he added leaf by leaf in what should be the final step of the deflating draught. Sensing danger, Severus whipped out his wand and cast a shield charm around the classroom just as the potion fizzed up angrily like a shaken soda before exploding with a sharp pop.

Severus’s shield charm had covered everyone just in time . . . almost everyone.

“Harry!” Hermione and Ron cried as their friend was no longer standing where he had been, his cauldron empty save for a few blotches of the remaining potion.

Damn it, I’ve killed him, Severus thought as he moved swiftly toward where Harry had been standing. Merlin, have mercy on my soul and God be with me when I inform Albus his hero is dead.

Stepping around the table, Severus saw Harry’s robe on the ground. Preparing his stomach for the worst, he took a deep breath and kneeled, pulling the robe away to see what mess remained.

His eyes widened and, throwing the robe back over what he had seen, he shot up and glared at his students.

“Class dismissed,” Severus said quickly, “You’ve all passed. Leave your potions and get out.”

“But Harry,” Hermione started to say, her hands hovering over her mouth, tears welling in her eyes as she tried to step closer and look around Severus.

“All of you out!” Severus demanded, pointing at the doorway to his classroom. “Now.”

Though Hermione appeared affronted and distraught at the same time, she allowed Ron to drag her out of the classroom, the redhead glaring daggers at Severus as he left with his friend. Everyone else was quick to follow his instruction and ran out of the classroom, abandoning their cauldrons and ingredients scattered on the work benches.

Letting out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding, Severus turned around and kneeled once more, he pulled the robe down once more.

“Only you could manage something like this, Potter,” Severus said.

Blinking up at him with large green eyes was a very small infant version of Harry Potter.

 -

“What are we supposed to do about this, Albus?” Severus asked as he watched his mentor bounce Harry in his arms. Harry was now wrapped up in his robe, which had been shrunk enough to be used like a swaddle blanket. His glasses that had been found on the floor were currently tucked away in Severus’s pocket as the baby kept yanking them off. Severus shook his head at the sight as he continued. “I have no clue how he has even managed to accomplish such a drastic change to the potion he made today. Of course, only Potter would find some way to create a deaging potion.”

“Now Severus,” Albus began as he adjusted Harry over to his other hip. “I’m sure it was an accident at best. I can’t imagine he wanted to turn himself into a baby of all things. However, we must act quickly and restore him to his proper age before wind gets out about his condition. Heaven knows this school is not known for keeping its secrets for long and the last thing we need is for—”

“The Dark Lord to know about Potter’s condition,” Severus supplied. He closed his eyes for a moment, occluding this very conversation into a deep, dark place in the back of his mind, as he often did on a regular basis when conversing with Albus. It helped to occlude often. It became almost second nature to do it when done on a regular basis that he didn’t even have to think about occluding when it mattered the most. These actions have saved him on numerous occasions, and the Dark Lord suspected nothing, even still. Opening his eyes, he studied Harry for a moment. At least the baby was quiet. He would probably lose his mind if the baby started crying.

“Precisely,” Albus said. “As this is potion-based magic, we all know the best counter will be potion-based. Do you think you could reverse this, Severus?”

“Potentially,” Severus said, not wanting to make any promises he couldn’t keep. He frowned as he looked over at Harry’s station. If I analyze the ingredients he was using and check for contaminants, I might be able to find out what went wrong. Then, I would simply have to neutralize the effects of those ingredients. It may take a single dose of a new potion; it may take several, depending on what happened. Potter could be stuck like that for days while trying to age him back up.”

“I see, I see,” Albus said while nodding his head, smiling at baby Harry, who gave him what could only be described as a concerned look. “Well, in that case, I’ll hand him off to you to get started right away.”

Time froze for all of three seconds as those words processed in Severus’s brain.

“What?” he snapped. “You can’t mean that you expect me to watch the little brat, fix his mess, and teach my classes at the same time?”

“Of course not.” Albus chuckled. “I’ll get a substitute. One of your graduates a few years ago is almost finished with his apprenticeship and needs a few hours working in a teaching position toward his curriculum. This might just be the perfect opportunity. That way, you can devote all your time to watching Harry and brewing the potions he’ll need.”

“Oh excellent,” Severus said with a forced smile. “All the time in the world to devote to one precious Potter.”

“He needs your skills right now, Severus,” Albus reminded. “And look at him, he’s just a helpless baby now. Try to be gentle with him. I’m entrusting you to restore Harry to his former self and bring him back in one piece.”

“And what am I supposed to do if I am . . . called away?”

“I am assigning one of our elves to be called upon in case of an emergency. I will send you a name to call for should you need to leave Harry for an extended period of time. Hopefully, it won’t be too long for you to restore Harry. I will inform the students that Harry has fallen severely ill following this incident and that you have taken him to a secure location to help him heal.”

“And where am I supposed to take him?”

“I was under the impression that you have an off-the-grid location that even the Dark Lord knows not of?”

Severus crossed his arms and threw his head back with an inconvenienced sigh. The place in question was his one escape from Hogwarts, students, and Death Eaters. It was a small but cozy cottage deep in the woods of Southern England, somewhere no one else was ever permitted to be, not the headmaster, not the Dark Lord, and certainly not the little prince who was currently a baby. Severus gritted his teeth. It would be a good location to hide away with Potter until he was returned to normal. However, he could only imagine what chaos Potter would unleash on his poor humble home.

“I still have ownership of the house on Spinner’s End,” Severus offered.

“Too risky,” Albus decided.

Right, because every Death Eater knew where that house was.

“What is wrong with hiding away in my quarters? Here?”

“We need you out of the castle in case Madame Umbridge tries to see what is wrong with Harry. If word of his condition gets back to the Ministry, Merlin knows what they might try to do.”

Excellent point, yes, but must he come to my one sanctuary? Severus bit his inner cheek and glared at the baby, but Harry was ignoring him, focused intently on fiddling with strands of Albus’s beard while the adults discussed his fate.

“I see I’m left with no choice but the Escape Cottage. Very well, Albus. I will take Potter and work quickly on getting him back to his fifteen year old self. Hopefully, we’re back within the week.”

“That would be excellent, Severus,” Albus said, grinning broadly. “We certainly don’t want Harry falling behind in school. Of course, Christmas holidays starts in a week, so if you are not back before then, you’ll have plenty of time to restore him and return him before the term starts back up.”

“Lucky me,” Severus said in a dry tone. He huffed before holding his hands out for Harry. “Alright then, Potter, let’s get this over with.”

Albus moved to hand Harry over, but the little brat cried out and gripped on to Albus, hiding his head in Albus’s shoulder. Severus bit back a snarky remark while Albus shushed and reassured Harry.

“It is okay, Harry, you will be safe with Severus. He will take good care of you. He is a good man, you will see.” Albus bounced Harry and patted his back. He pulled out his wand and waved it around the baby, changing the swaddle blanket into a diaper and a dark green onesie as he said to Severus, “An age charm places Harry at about nine months old. Poor child must be so confused right now, having no idea where he is or who we are. Move slow with him, he’ll warm up to you, I’m sure. Harry has such a big heart.”

Severus fought a disgusted look as he reached for Harry once more, removing him from Albus’s hold. Harry whined and reached for Albus, but the older wizard waved goodbye to Harry before leaving the classroom, leaving Severus awkwardly holding Harry in the middle of the potions classroom.

Unsure of what to do, Severus slowly set Harry down on the floor, afraid if he moved too quickly, he might break the baby. Harry seemed able to hold himself up without any support, so Severus slowly backed away as if sudden movement might provoke some kind of reaction.

“Just stay there,” Severus commanded. “I’m just going to be right here at your station trying to figure out where you went wrong, Potter.”

Harry blinked at Severus. After watching Harry for a few seconds and deciding the baby wasn’t going to move, Severus stepped over to Harry’s workbench, which was only a few feet away from where he left Harry sitting on the floor. Peering through the mess of herbs, powders, and animal parts scrambled on the desk, Severus picked through everything, identifying all the correct components of a deflating draught on the table, frowning as he tried to figure out what Harry may have done differently from the other students. His hands pushed aside the ginseng—well, what should have been ginseng. He narrowed his eyes.

“This is ginger, Potter,” Severus snarled, holding up the root and glaring at Harry. The baby’s lip puckered out slightly. “You were supposed to grab the ginseng. Maybe, if you slowed down and paid attention to what you were doing in the storage room, you wouldn’t have made such a silly mistake. And while ginger certainly changes the use of the potion, it wouldn’t have done so this drastically. So what else did you add in to your potion?”

Harry didn’t say anything as he kept his lower lip pushed out, not that Severus expected his help in the matter anyway.

Severus turned back to the mess, shaking his head irritably.

“If you kept all your ingredients separated and in an orderly fashion, you wouldn’t lose your head trying to follow the recipe.”

Severus picked through the leaves on the table, feeling the texture of each one when he noticed a couple differently shaped leaves in the mix. He brought them closer to his nose, smelling them, then looking at Harry pointedly.

“Daisy leaves,” he said. “I’m assuming you didn’t grab these intentionally—knowing how you students raid the storage room collecting what you need, things always end up where they shouldn’t be. However, if you paid half as much detention to detail to your potion as you did to a snitch in a quidditch field, you would have noticed that a few of the leaves were not quite the same. Daisy leaves are very useful in age related potions, preserving youth and innocence. Combined with the ginger, which enhances an ingredients ability, then the ingredients of the deflating solution, naturally, you end up with something that deages the body. Well done, Potter. Your ineptitude never ceases to amaze me.”

If a baby could look annoyed, Harry had managed to accomplish the look. Severus thought nothing of it as he cleaned up every table in the room with a swish of his wand before sending all the cauldrons over to the wash sink. He walked back over to Harry, staring down at the tiny form on the ground.

“All we have to do now is figure out an aging potion that will bring you back to your rightful age.”

Severus reached down to lift Harry but jerked back when the baby let out a loud cry. He hesitated, studying the child before narrowing his eyes.

“Do not do that,” Severus said through his teeth. “I have to carry you whether you like it or not, you little brat.”

Harry slowly pushed himself over on his stomach, then began crawling away as fast as he could.

“Oh no, you don’t,” Severus said, scooping up Harry quickly, holding him out at arm’s length while Harry started screaming. The noise was ear piercing and Severus winced, his temper flaring up quickly. How anyone could stand having one of their own of these tiny human beings was beyond him.

“Stop that this instant before I cast a muffler on you!”

He hadn’t really expected the baby to obey, and much to his surprise, Harry grumbled angrily but stopped screaming. Severus halted in his tracks as something struck him. He set Harry down on a table, keeping a hand on him in case the child tried falling off. He stared directly at Harry, meeting his eyes.

“You understand me, don’t you?” Severus asked.

Harry blinked at him.

“Nod yes if you understand me,” Severus demanded, trying not to grow annoyed at the lack of response.

Harry slowly started tilting his head back, further and further, and when it looked like he might fall backwards, Severus had a horrifying image of a baby breaking his neck, and he quickly put his hand behind Harry’s head, stopping the child. Maybe the muscle tone wasn’t quite all there for nodding yet.

“Never mind that,” Severus said, sitting Harry up once more. “Seeing as your vocal abilities are less than subpar, is there anything you can control to help me understand you?”

Harry’s face morphed into a small frown before he opened his mouth then blew a loud raspberry. Unamused, Severus glared at Harry.

“Cheeky as ever,” Severus said.

Harry laughed, then blew another raspberry.

Annoyed, Severus snatched Harry up, tucking him under his arm in a football hold, earning loud squeals of complaints and protests.

“That’s enough out of you,” Severus said as he paused in front of the stone wall behind his desk. He pushed in a stone and a doorway opened. “It’s your fault we are in this mess and now I have to tend to you and make your potion to get you back to normal. You just had to be the center of attention, didn’t you, Potter? You have to be in the spotlight causing problems and forcing others to fix your mistakes. You had to make every moment of my life miserable somehow this year, didn’t you? Well, I promise you, you will not be pampered or coddled during this. I will return you to your rightful self and then you can serve detention with me—no, with Mr. Filch—every night for the rest of the school year. That ought to strike your fancy, eh, Potter?”

Harry’s cried increased in volume, growing angrier as Severus cut through his office from the secret passageway to the door on in the back of his office that led to his quarters. It was a quaint but comfortable living space, with neutral colors setting the theme, not too dark but definitely not too bright. The door from the office brought them through a small kitchenette that was immediately connected to the parlor, where he set Harry down on the floor once more, ending the angry cries, but Harry still glared up at him.

“Don’t give me that look, you’ve no one to blame but yourself for this. Wait here, I need to grab a few things then we are leaving to my place to fix this mess you’ve made.”

Harry blew another raspberry at Severus as he made his way deeper into his quarters. While the sound grated at his nerves, he chose to ignore it and focus on the task at hand. He needed a few tomes from his study that he knew discussed age related potion consequences and then he needed to pack for his emergency stay at his cottage. He couldn’t believe he would be bringing Harry of all people to his secret location. He would be the first person beside Severus to have set foot in the house in ten years. Special Potter, indeed.

Severus packed a suitcase and stuffed the tomes in with his robes, then shrunk the suitcase and pocketed it. He wondered if he should pack any of Harry’s belongings, but he was sure he wouldn’t have Harry long enough to need any of his things, especially when he wouldn’t fit in them anyway. He would just have to transfigure things along the way. He was sure this would be a multi-potion process. Aging up would have to be done in steps regardless of the quickest solution he found—a slow process was the safest way to recover from a sudden deaging event.

Taking a moment to collect his thoughts, Severus rubbed his hands down his face. Of all the people to end up as Potter’s caretaker, even if temporarily, he had never in all his years imagined something like this happening. Was this some sort of sick karma? As much as he hated this, and he was sure he would hate every minute he had to spend with Harry, he had been given a job. And just as with any job, he would fulfill it to the best of his ability. Though he was making no promises both of them would come back alive. Harry was already pushing his limits, and he wasn’t sure how much more of his impertinence he could take.

Finally stepping out of his bedroom, Severus headed for where he had left Harry.

Except Harry was no longer there.

“Potter?” Severus called out as he whipped his head around looking for the tiny baby. “Show yourself this instant!”

No baby appeared, and when he heard nothing, Severus growled loudly before pulling out his wand.

“Point me Harry Potter.”

He felt his wand tug and followed its pull, walking slowly through his living room. The wand kept tugging against his hold, so he followed it ahead, walking past the door to his bedroom and pausing in front of his study as he felt it jerk to his right suddenly. He slowly stepped into his study, glancing around as there were only so many places to hide. He moved around his desk and glanced under his desk, then shoved his wand up his sleeve and snatched the baby, earning an angry shriek.

“Just what do you think you’re doing?” Severus demanded, holding the baby out at arm’s length.

Harry blew a raspberry.

“You really are a despicable child,” Severus commented. He hesitated as he thought about what to do next. Throwing the child under his arm resulted in screaming, so he wondered hos he could carry the child without any drama and without keeping him at an arm’s distance. He remembered what Albus had done earlier. Slowly, he pulled Harry toward him and rested the child on his hip, supporting him with one arm. Harry grumbled softly but obligingly accepted the carrying style.

Nodding in victory, Severus carried Harry out to the parlor and headed for his floo.

“I don’t know what you were attempting to do,” Severus said, “probably looking for some adventure no doubt. There will be none of that under my watch; absolutely none of that Gryffindor foolishness you so proudly embrace. Is that clear, Mr. Potter?”

Harry blew another raspberry.

Severus’s upper lip curled but he resisted snapping at the child and instead, grabbed a handful of floo powder, then said a long string of enchantments before dropping the powder. Unlike a regular floo, they did not start falling through a hundred chimneys. Instead, a gold shimmer swallowed them and they slowly faded out of sight, the breath knocked out of them in a familiar feeling as apparition before they reappeared in a chimney thousands of miles away from Hogwarts.

 -

It was a small, one-story English cottage, but the inside was comfortable with a large sofa and a plush armchair surrounding an ornate chimney in the parlor. The small windows did not fail in bringing in plenty of sunlight to brighten the room, but there was also muggle electricity to add additional light, and Severus flicked a switch to brighten the room more. Following the room flow, they were led into a tidy, old style kitchen with appliances dating back to the forties’ and a large pantry. The kitchen led to a hallway that would bring them to two bedrooms connected to a single bathroom, and adjacent to those rooms was a small closet and a large room Severus had converted into a makeshift potions lab. Down the hall led to a newly constructed outdoor deck mahogany stained and overlooking a pond in the far backyard and the forest that surrounded the house.

Severus settled Harry onto the armchair in the parlor.

“Stay here. If you fall off and crack your skull open, it’ll be your own fault for disobeying. I have to babyproof the house for your stay.”

Harry grumbled as he relaxed in the chair, his lower lip puckering out.

Severus ignored him as he checked his house for anything that could harm a baby, plugging up electrical outlets, removing loose cords, and placing a lock on his potion lab door. He wasn’t about to tell Harry he was Potter-proofing the house more than he was baby-proofing it. The cords and outlets were more for sure. Harry clearly still had his fifteen-year-old mind intact, he should know better than to put his fingers in an outlet.

There was also another advantage to having his mind intact. It meant that the deaging process was complete. Harry hadn’t mentally deaged, just physically shrank to his infant self. And growing a body back up to its correct age was much easier than restoring a mind with memories and knowledge to its correct age without screwing something up in the process. The potion he needed for growing a body was a simple potion, but it required several hours of simmering to complete, then it needed to cool down to room temp before it could be consumed. Easy enough, and it would make aging Harry much smoother.

As long as he cooperated of course.

Severus checked the protective wards around his property, then set up a charm that would let him know if Harry every stepped outside of the property boundaries. He debated setting a charm that would keep Harry locked inside but the potion was at least a three to four dose process, and it could only be take every forty-eight hours to prevent over exhaustion on the body from the rapid aging. He would also brew a few painkillers for Harry to take with the potion as well, knowing the growing pains would not be pleasant.

Satisfied with what he had accomplished, Severus headed back to his parlor in time to catch Harry sliding off the armchair, his feet inches from hitting the ground. Severus grabbed the child before he crashed to the floor, holding him up and glaring at him.

“Are you incapable of minding me for more than one minute? If that’s the case, I’ll transfigure you a crib and you can stay there all day while I brew your potion.” Harry pouted at Severus, but he ignored the look. Instead, Severus rested Harry on his hip and carried him to his potion lab. The room was a modern contrast to the rest of the house with its sterile tables and organized shelves of ingredients lining the walls. It had an industrial sink along with cupboards where cauldrons were stored to avoid dust collection.

“You should be very grateful, Potter,” Severus spoke as he moved around the room, grabbing a book off the shelf and slamming it down on a table. He flicked through it. “The potion is simple enough but I could have done without having to look after you and fix your mess. If you’re going to screw up, you have to go all out, don’t you? You never do something halfway. Well, I hope this humiliation will teach you to mind yourself in the future. Slow down and pay attention to what you’re doing in potions class, honestly—is it not the first thing I teach you as a first year?”

Harry remained quiet as Severus bantered, unable to do anything as Severus carried him around the lab, grabbing a cauldron and several ingredients.

Once everything was set out, Severus sighed as he looked at Harry.

“I suppose I can’t work with you attached to my hip all day, now can I? I guess a crib will have to do.”

Severus transfigured an old wooden shelf into a tall baby crib, making sure the side bars were extra high in case Harry got any ideas of crawling out. He remembered hearing stories from older staff members of nieces and nephews crawling out of cribs as tiny babies, and he wasn’t taking any risks.

Transfiguring a pillow into a thin mattress, he summoned a blanket and tossed it in the crib before lowering Harry into it.

Harry screeched angrily, kicking his feet at the bed before Severus plopped him down on the thin mattress.

“I’m afraid you have little choice in the matter. I can’t keep an eye on you and brew the potion at the same time. You’ll just have to make do.”

Harry growled angrily before throwing himself back and crying out, glaring up at Severus.

“Knock that off, you uncouth child. Would you like something to do?”

Severus smirked, then grabbed a stirring rod and transfigured it into a rattle. He offered it to Harry, who’s glare deepened.

“What, not good enough for our little hero?” Severus asked. He set the rattle down next to Harry. “I’m afraid other toys might be too dangerous for you at this size.”

Severus walked to his work table and started prepping ingredients for the potion, glancing at the book for instruction on how things needed to be prepared. He started with mincing the herbs when the rattle struck the edge of the table as it soared toward him, startling Severus as it dropped harmlessly to the floor, landing next to Severus’s feet. He swung his head in Harry’s direction, who had a satisfied look. Severus narrowed his eyes at Harry.

“Impressive throw, Potter,” Severus said as he returned to his work. “But you’re not getting it back.”

Harry babbled as he rolled away from Severus, staring at the plain wall. The silence gave Severus a chance to work through the potion, mincing and chopping and shredding ingredients as he needed and adding them to the potion as instructed, timing everything to the second with his pocket watch. He glanced at Harry now and then, but the baby managed to fall asleep. He was sure Harry was running on a baby’s schedule anyway, a small body could only handle so much after all.

It was an hour and a half later that Severus finished the potion, but now it needed to simmer for six hours, and then it needed to cool until it was room temp before it could be consumed. Severus glanced at the time: it was nearly two thirty in the afternoon. What a long day it was turning out to be.

He glanced at Harry, noting for the first time the pained look on the baby’s face.

Concern washed over Severus as he ran over to the crib. Could he be having a late reaction to the potion’s accident? Was something going on internally that he and Albus had missed?

“What is it?” Severus asked. “Are you alright? What hurts?”

Harry’s face seemed to turn red and he looked away from Severus, refusing to meet his eyes.

Severus wasn’t sure why he bothered asking. Harry couldn’t answer him even if he wanted to, so Severus reached down to lift the boy and check him over when a particular smell struck his nose. Realization hit and Severus pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to keep down the contents in his stomach and remain stoic about this. Merlin give him strength to do what he never thought he’d ever have to do. Was there a spell for this? Some kind of charm mother’s knew that he might be able to look up? Would a cleansing spell work? If only he had stopped by the library for a book on useful parenting spells. Now he would have to change Harry bloody Potter’s diaper the old fashion way. Hopefully he could figure that out.

“I suppose you are in need of a change, Mr. Potter,” Severus said, as he reached down to lift Harry.

The child’s head swung his way and Harry let out a loud shriek, startling Severus, who jerked back. He paused, slowly deepening his glare at the baby.

“Stop doing that!” he scolded. “Do you want to stay in a dirty diaper all day, Potter? You can’t drink the potion until tonight, and even then, it’s an overnight process where you will age, hopefully painlessly in your sleep. I, for one, do not wish to smell your business all day, so let’s do us both a favor and get this over with.”

Severus reached in the crib once more, where once again, Harry screamed, but Severus grabbed the baby and moved him over to a work bench, ignoring the baby’s protests. Harry did not help matters as he struggled to roll away from Severus as he attempted to undo the seat of the onesie, and Severus’s growing frustrations did not make it any easier.

“Be still before I stupefy you,” Severus threatened, though he was sure it was illegal to stun a baby. Harry didn’t need to know that though. Using one hand on Harry’s stomach to pin the baby down and his other hand to undo the snaps, Harry’s angry shrieks turned into a genuine baby cry, much like any other baby with dislikes for a diaper change. The noise was like nails on a chalkboard to Severus, but at least Harry was holding still now.

Now that he had access to Harry’s diaper, Severus tried a more hands off approach as he lifted Harry’s legs up to raise his bottom off the table, then with summoned warm wash cloths ready, he vanished the diaper and the washcloths cleaned Harry’s bottom before a clean washcloth appeared and Severus transfigured it into a diaper. He applied a baby powder potion solution he did have in stock for selling and applied a generous amount on Harry before doing up the diaper three times before he was sure it looked correct. Finally, he sighed and fixed Harry’s onesie before lifting the baby and casting a self-wash charm on his work table, and cleaning supplies attacked it vigorously. Severus carried a red faced Harry back to the crib and set him down.

“There, it wasn’t so bad, was it? Hardly worth the tantrum you threw.”

Harry pouted at him, his face red.

“It’s not fun being humiliated, is it?” Severus continued. “Perhaps you’ll remember this for a long time and think twice before not paying attention in Potions class again.”

Harry moodily dropped on his back and rolled away from Severus. After going through the horrible action of changing a diaper, Severus expected for more gratitude, though he should have known Harry would give him none. Something boiled over in Severus and he bared his teeth at the baby.

“Such ungratefulness,” Severus growled. “You’re just like your father. Ungrateful, reckless, careless, and an absolute idiot.”

Harry made a small noise of protest, glaring up at Severus.

“You have no argument to prove otherwise. Your father would do something this rash and get away scot-free. Except he would have made sure someone else suffered the humiliation of becoming a baby. He was rather partial to that sport—humiliating others for fun.”

Harry squealed louder at Severus.

“What—don’t believe me? What would you know about him? You never met him. You probably think he was some great hero, but he was far from it. Nothing but a pig-headed scoundrel, he was.”

Harry’s eyes watered then he screamed angrily at Severus, repeating it when Severus snapped back.

“Stop it, you’re getting upset over nothing at all,” Severus scolded over Harry’s screaming, raising his voice louder as his anger grew at the noise. “I’m only sharing the truth with you, and you know what, Potter, sometimes the truth hurts. And the truth is your father and his friends were just like you: conceited, thinking themselves above the rules, and getting away with everything without so much as a slap on the wrist. You can go around thinking highly of him all you’d like—stop screaming!—but I was unfortunate enough to meet him and the bully he lived up to be. You can’t imagine how it pains me to have to deal with you every day, a constant reminder of him and his wicked ways, and the product he made with my best friend!”

Severus fell silent quickly, his eyes widening at what he had just said. Harry had also stopped screaming at Severus and was staring wide eyed, then he made a sad face up at Severus. Severus groaned and rubbed his hands down his face as he turned away, sliding down until he sat on the cold floor of the lab, his back against the crib. He shook his head softly.

“I can’t believe I’m yelling at a baby,” Severus said. “Lily’s baby, nonetheless.”

Harry made a soft coo and Severus turned his head to look at him. Harry opened his mouth, ready to make another sound when his stomach growled loudly.

Taking that as cue to move on to a new subject and totally forget about his little outburst, Severus jumped to his feet.

“Ah, I see you’ve made room for food. At your age, you’d still be on formula, so I should find a potion for that, I’m sure one exists. In the meantime, . . . err, here.” Severus summoned a banana and set it in the crib with Harry.

Harry looked at the banana, then gave a pointed look at Severus, making a disgruntled noise.

“Right,” Severus said, snatched the banana and peeling it for Harry before setting it back in. He headed for his table, ignoring another disgruntled cry from Harry. Surely the child could figure out how to eat a banana from there.

As he grabbed one of the tomes that discussed emergency potions, he glanced at Harry, who was busy taking fistfuls of banana and stuffing it in his mouth, making an absolute mess of one piece of fruit. Severus returned his focus to the index, scanning for anything that might be of use. He finally found the perfect potion, an emergency baby formula potion. He flipped to the correct page and studied the instructions.

“Alright then, easy enough,” Severus said, setting up a cauldron and collecting the ingredients he needed. “It’s almost the same as making a nutrient potion, except everything is diluted and pureed a little more. I think I’ve got this. A tablespoon of standard ingredient, three drops of honey, chopped ginger root . . .”

As Severus worked on the potion, Harry finished his fill of the banana, shoving the rest aside and lying down to watch Severus work, blinking blearily. When Severus was finished, he frowned at the thin but slimy looking green liquid that remained, ladling some and letting it pour back into the pot inquisitively.

“They feed this to babies?” Severus questioned. He glanced in Harry’s direction. “You wouldn’t want to sportingly try it, would you?”

The aghast look on Harry’s face quickly morphed into tears as Harry started crying.

“No need to be so judgmental,” Severus snapped. He looked down at the book and studied the side binding. “I suppose this is what they did two hundred years ago. I should really update my collection.” Severus sighed, feeling completely exhausted. And he still had four hours to go on the simmering potion.

Then, two bottles appeared on his table, filled with prepared formula. A parchment slip appeared next to them in very familiar handwriting.

Thought you might need this, the parchment said. Save the other in the fridge for dinner. Also, Frilly agreed to be available to watch Harry for you in the event of an emergency. Just snap your fingers twice and will her access to your home and she will come.

Thank you, Albus, Severus thought in his head. He tapped one of the bottles and it vanished to his fridge for later. He handed the other bottle to Harry, who accepted it and brought it to his mouth. However, he took one gulp and chucked the bottle away, whining pitifully.

“You need it, Potter. That is what your stomach can handle. I will not have you starve under my care.”

Severus picked up the bottle and offered it back to Harry, but the little brat turned away with a whine.  

“Drink it, Potter,” Severus demanded.

Harry took the bottle from Severus, then threw it at the man as hard as he could, hitting Severus in the nose.

“Ow—you incorrigible little brat!” Severus held his nose for a moment, walking away to cool his temper before he reached into the crib and pulled the kicking baby out. Harry screamed briefly before clamping his mouth shut when Severus picked up the bottle. Severus adjusted Harry against himself in a way he had seen young mothers do at parks or in muggle towns. Harry struggled against him however.  

Severus tried to jam the nipple into Harry’s mouth, but the baby kept it shut while turning his head every which way.

“I’m not exactly sure what you were expecting, but regardless of its taste, you need this. Now knock it off and open your mouth.”

Harry refused, whining out a negative answer in response to Severus’s statement.

“Drink this or I’ll force feed you the green slop. And trust me, Potter, I will enjoy every second of it.”

Harry obediently opened his mouth and accepted the bottle, hesitantly drinking from it. Sighing in relief, Severus wondered what he should do now, if he should let Harry continue to feed himself in his crib or hold the baby until he was done.

Severus decided he didn’t want to risk Harry deciding not to finish the bottle so he walked out to his parlor, leaving the Age-Up potion to simmer in the lab. He settled down into his armchair, leaning back slightly so he could support Harry’s weight against him rather than just all in his arm, which was growing tired from the baby’s weight. Harry seemed to have found a rhythm with the bottle and was nursing away, but he did frown slightly up at Severus, who stared down at him, watching to make sure he drank enough, that was all.

After a few minutes, Harry’s eyes began to droop, and he jerked himself awake a couple times, much to Severus’s amusement. However, as Harry faded, Severus found his own eyes closing against his will . . .

-

He wasn’t sure how long he was out for, but he felt small fingers brushing against his cheek and his eyes slowly opened, catching Harry jerking his hand back and staring up at him wide eyed. Severus blinked and pulled out his pocket watch, checking the time. Two hours had passed—how on earth had he slept for so long? He also realized Harry was snug against his shoulder. He must have moved him to a more comfortable position in his sleep, though he wasn’t sure who it would have been more comfortable for, himself or Harry. The bottle was long forgotten on the floor, but the majority of it had been consumed.

“I’m not sure what’s come over me,” Severus said, as he sat up on the chair. He adjusted Harry in his arms before giving him a look. “How long have you been awake?”

Harry blinked at him, then scrunched up his nose as if that would answer the question. Rolling his eyes, Severus settled Harry on his hip and carried him to the potions lab, checking on the potion.

“It’s almost done now. I should make us some dinner. With what little chompers you have, I’m sure you’ll manage soft foods well enough.”

Severus moved the crib into the kitchen before setting Harry inside it. While he made a meal of mashed potatoes, broccoli, and chicken, Harry managed to push himself up in his crib, gripping the bars for support until he was standing.

“Nape,” Harry shouted.

Severus turned sharply, looking at Harry, who bounced slightly on his feet.

“Congratulations, Potter,” Severus said dryly. “You found your voice.”

Harry pouted, then repeated, “Nape!”

“Not now. I’m busy.”

“Nape! Nape!”

“What, is that all you’ve figured out how to say?” Severus said turning away from the food and walking over to the crib. “What do you want?”

Harry let go of a bar with one hand and held it out toward Severus, who frowned, then seemed to get the hint. He wasn’t the least bit fooled that Harry wanted to be held by him of all people.

“Fine, but you stay where I can see you in the kitchen.”

Severus lifted Harry out of the crib and set him on the floor. Harry crawled after Severus when the man went back to the stove, but after watching him for a minute, he crawled around the kitchen, exploring the new place.

He pulled himself up using the chairs for support, looking around at new heights to take everything in.

“What is it?” Severus asked. “Too small for our hero? Not enough gold silverware? It will have to do for the time being. You’ve nowhere else to go while you’re in that condition.”

Harry spared Severus a glance before dropping to all fours and crawling over to Severus. He gripped Severus robe and pulled himself up against Severus.

“Nape,” Harry said, looking up at Severus.

“What do you want now? Food isn’t ready yet.”

Harry’s bright green eyes met Severus’s, and it was as if he was trying to communicate sentences with them. However, as he could not make Severus understand him, he looked down, then leaned into Severus’s leg, wrapping his little arms around Severus. Then he dropped back down to all fours and crawled away.

Severus wasn’t sure what to make of Harry’s actions. He brushed it off as Harry losing his balance. Nothing more.

After dinner and another bottle (and another dreadful diaper change), Harry was given free range to crawl around the house while Severus cooled down the potion. Harry pretty much just followed Severus, ever so inquisitive about what he was doing. Severus nearly tripped over Harry at one point, almost kicking the child in the process, at which point Harry was set in his crib once more, much to his contempt.

Finally, the potion was ready, and Severus changed Harry out of his onesie and into a toddler sized t-shirt and strapped on a pull up over the diaper.

“I highly doubt the potion ages more than a few years at a time, so this will be a slow process, Potter. Do not be disappointed when you are only three or four tomorrow morning, but I expect you to be an obedient toddler or I’ll lock you in a room the entire time you are here, is that understood?”

Harry blinked up at Severus, clearly making no promise of such behavior.

Biting back snide comments, Severus lifted Harry and carried him to the lab. He grabbed on of the bottles and poured a dose of the potion Harry needed into it. He used a dropper to administer three drops of two different kinds of pain killers, which Harry obediently opened his mouth for. Then, he headed to the chair to sit with Harry and feed the potion to him.

Harry opened his mouth to accept the nipple and began drinking quickly, his face scrunching up in obvious dislike of the potion, but he didn’t stop.

“Good boy,” Severus commented, unable to stop himself in time.

Harry’s eyes softened as he blinked up at Severus, then his eyes slowly drooped close. Severus watched Harry closely, making sure he took in every last drop of the potion. Harry continued to drink it even as he appeared asleep. Unfortunately, Severus would have to brew a fresh batch again, as the potion broke down completely after twelve hours. Such a time sensitive potion, but it made sense for what it was treating. Severus leaned back in the chair, holding Harry close so as not to wake him. The bottle fell from Harry’s mouth, but the potion was gone. Harry smacked his lips a couple times and curled into Severus.

Severus didn’t move for a long time as he stared down at Harry. Such a small bundle of trouble he was. He was in for one hell of a week; Severus was sure of it. But for now, there was at least peace while Harry slept. And Severus didn’t want to set him down quite yet. Just to make sure he had no reaction to the potion, of course.

The End.


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