When Severus awoke the next morning he saw Harry, still curled up clutching his robes in what appeared to be a desperate attempt to keep him close. Sliding from underneath him, Severus went into his room, dressed quickly, and then called for Lucy.

"Could you make a fresh pot of coffee; I feel a headache already coming on?"

Lucy went off to do as she was bidden, and Severus sat down at the table, pinching the bridge of his nose, trying to stave off the remnants of last nights meeting. He had refused to allow himself to heal after the effects of the curse, thinking of only Harry, as he begged him to stay.

"Would sir like cream or sugar?" Lucy asked, snapping Severus from his thoughts.

"Black will be fine."

Severus sat and sipped his coffee and thought of the best solution to his problem, which was the Dark Lord questioning his loyalty now. That could, in turn, result in his untimely death, leaving Harry with no one. He was so lost in his thought he did not hear Harry wake, and only realized it when he heard the big intake of air. Turning to face Harry's room, Severus saw the child standing there with huge tears in his eyes. When he opened his arms, Harry took off running towards him.

"I was afraid you were just a dream," Harry sobbed.

Severus stood the child at arm's length. "As you can see, I am really here."

"But they hurt you, Daddy; they did awful things to you, and I saw it," Harry said, a fresh set of tears rolling down his face.

Severus sat Harry down at the table and passed him a plate with eggs and bacon on it, as he grabbed his own, though his stomach lurched at the thought of eating it.

"Eat something and then we shall have a talk."

Once Harry had eaten all he wished, which by the looks of the nearly full plate was not a lot, Severus took him by the hand and led him to the couch. Not knowing how to explain everything to a child, Severus sat for too long.

"Daddy, I thought you were going to tell me something."

"You are correct, Harry."

Severus proposed the best way was how the old cogger Dumbledore said -- at the beginning. He explained, without the gory details, how Lily and James had passed on and how Sirius had been placed in Azkaban for his misdeeds.

"You see, Harry, the Dark Lord was angered by you, for you did something no one else could do. You hurt him."

"I hurt that big man?" Harry said, while his eyes grew to the size of saucers.

"Yes, my boy, you really did. Now my loyalties have been questioned, and I know of only one way to calm their fears."

Harry wrinkled his forehead, trying to figure out what Severus was going to say next, but he did not have to wait long.

"Harry, I feel I must against my better judgement reveal to the Dark Lord that I have a son. He must be told that your mother was a witch and that she was going to expose him, so I killed her."

Harry's chin started to tremble, but he put on his bravest face. "What do I have to do, Daddy?"

"Harry, you do not have to do anything. I shall invite Lucius to the manor, and the rest is taken care of, as the man can't keep a secret to save his life. But, Harry, we must place a glamour over your scar when around others. They must not ever know who you really are, and you must never reveal to them your true name."

This was a lot for a four year old to take in, so Severus gave him a few minutes to absorb the information. He could see Harry's brow again wrinkle as he thought long and hard on his father's words, and Severus made sure to keep a stern face to let Harry know of the seriousness of the matter.

"What will I look like with this glamour, Daddy?"

Severus had to fight back the chuckle that was forming before he answered. Leave it to a child to overlook how he could die at the whim of another and only be concerned with what he would look like.

"You will look as you always do, nothing will change except the hiding of your scar, and I think perhaps we will change the color of your eyes to blue when around others."

"Why do you have to change my eye color?"

A piece of Severus heart was broken off as he answered, "Because they are the eyes of your mother, Lily."

Severus spent the next two hours schooling Harry on the do's and don't's in front of Death Eaters and loyal supporters of the Dark Lord. He had gone over each thing twice to make sure Harry remembered, and hoped the child would not forget them at some point, causing both their deaths. Once he was sure Harry had a firm grasp on everything, he picked him up and placed him on the floor in front of him.

"Go and get dressed. We shall go out for a little while, perhaps a picnic."

Harry ran off to his room, and Severus was glad, for he walked over to the fireplace and threw in a pinch of floo powder, before calling out 'Malfoy Manor'. When he stepped from the floo, he came face to face with Lucius Malfoy. The smirk on his face made Severus wish to kill him outright.

"Severus, what brings you here?" Lucius said, the condescending voice driving Severus to take a deep calming breath before answering.

"I came by to invite you and Draco for dinner. I have something I recently found out that I wish to share with you."

Severus watched as Lucius processed that he would find out information, and he held the sneer on his face that he reserved for people like Lucius. He loathed the man and wished he did not have to go through with the plan, but it was the only way Harry would survive.

"Draco and I would love to accept your invitation. We shall be there at six."

With a curt nod, Severus stepped back into the floo and went home. When he stepped out, he found Harry waiting for him, dressed in his new green jumper.

"Where are we going, Daddy?"

Severus walked over to grab both of their coats, and Harry tugged on his arm.

"Daddy, it is the middle of July; we do not need a coat. We will burn up outside."

"We shall need a coat where we are going, Harry; it gets quite windy there."

Harry didn't ask anything else, but the sulk on his face at being burdened down with the hot coat was noticeable. They stepped into the floo, but Harry had been too busy hanging on to Severus to hear where he had called. But when he stepped from the floo, he could see he was in a dirty an old house.

"Daddy, it is dirty in here. Are we supposed to stay here?"

Severus walked Harry over to the window and watched in gleeful fascination as Harry gasped out loud.

"Daddy, we are above the clouds!" Harry squeaked.

"Yes, we are. Stay here while I go and find Ms. Thromble. Severus did not think he would have to worry about Harry wandering away from the window, as he was now giggling about the hawk that had flown by.

Severus walked to the back of the small house and found Thromble hovering over a cauldron, as he always found her. She did not look up when he entered the room, but he instead found himself pinned to the wall instantly by some spell he had not even heard her utter.

"It's not nice to sneak up on someone unannounced, Severus."

"It is of the utmost importance that I came. There was no time to tell you of my arrival."

"Just what is so important that you could not first inform me that you were coming?" the haggard old witch asked as she moved closer to the still pinned Severus. She had almost made it to him when the door flew open and Harry walked in.

"Daddy, guess what I saw!" he yelled, but he stopped short when he saw his father pinned to the wall, a look of annoyance on his face.

"Daddy?" Thromble said, releasing Severus from the wall.

"I would like to introduce you to my son, Agatha," Severus said, his eyes gleaming with glee as he had finally stunned the usually unflappable witch into silence. When she looked at the child clutching Severus' robes, the same one glaring at her now, a look of question came over her face.

"It's a long story," Severus supplied. "Why don't we discuss it over tea?"

Agatha ushered Severus from the back room and went to make the tea. When she came into the sitting room, she handed a cup to Severus and offered Harry a glass of milk. She sat down in the chair opposite them both and shook off the eerie feeling that had come over her.

"Your son, you say, Severus? Perhaps you could enlighten the boy as to who I am, so he will stop glaring at me as if he wished me dead."

Severus pulled the still angry Harry into his lap. "Harry, this is Agatha Thromble. She was a friend of your mother and the only one to escape from the Dark Lord. She lives here now so that he cannot find her. No one else knows of this place, so I will trust you can keep it secret."

Harry sent another glare at the witch before he answered, "She was trying to hurt you, Daddy, I saw her."

"Nonsense, boy! I was caught unaware is all. Your father is still in one piece."

"Harry, Agatha would never harm me, or you now, for that matter. She was merely frightened that we showed up without telling her."

The humph at being called frightened sent a smile across Severus' face. "Why don't you show Harry the aviary, and then we can discuss the matter for which you came here."

"We have no time for small talk, Agatha, not today. Lucius Malfoy will be in my home at six tonight, and he must not know that this in fact is the famed Harry Potter."

"Harry Potter! Your son is Harry Potter?"

Severus, in his annoyance, lifted Harry's bangs to reveal the scar, and Agatha dropped her teacup.

"What is it you require of me, Severus?"

Severus flattened Harry's bangs back down. "I need to know a charm to disguise him when he is in the company of those who would wish him harm."

"Couldn't you perform it, or have one of those at Hogwarts?"

"I would rather not reveal that I have placed Harry in a situation near the Death Eaters to Dumbledore. I feel he would show me the true meaning of fear should he find out. As for my doing the charm... you know Lily was the one gifted in Charms, not I."

Agatha seemed to think things over for a moment and then stood up, pointing her wand at Harry. 'Esconda a cicatriz,' she incanted, and Severus watched as Harry's scar seemed to dissolve.

"This is a very old incantation, Severus, used only in Portugal, and not one known to many, if any at all. The result will only last for five hours."

"I understand," Severus said, silently thanking the witch for knowing what to do.

"What about my eyes, Daddy? You said you would change my eyes from green to blue."

"That is a simple charm that even your father knows," Severus said, pointing his wand at Harry and saying, "Puteulanus." Harry's eyes went from vibrant green to crystal clear blue that matched the sky.

"Now enough of all this talk. I think we should show Harry the aviary before you have to head back."

Severus knew it was a ploy to grab Harry's attention while the adults talked, so he led Harry down the hall and out of the door at the end of it.

"Daddy! There is nothing underneath us! We are going to fall!" Harry screamed.

"The floor is charmed invisible, Harry, as to not alert the birds that they have come inside. You are safe."

Severus watched as Harry slowly edged away from him, trying to sneak up on a nearby falcon perched on a tree. When he thought Harry was far enough away not to hear their conversation, he and Agatha spoke about how everything had come about and how Harry had come to Severus after Lily's death.

Agatha placed her hand over Severus' when it started to clinch into a fist. She knew his darker side. She had been there when Lily had found out about Severus joining the Death Eaters. Severus had come to her after Lily had sent him away. That night they had stayed up for hours talking about his decisions, about how they would only lead to more heartache.

"Severus, you are a fine man, and your son will grow to be a fine boy."

"Am I the one to raise him? Or will my judgements only lead him down the wrong path?"

"Do not doubt yourself so, Severus. True, you are a hard man with little patience in some matters, but I know the man behind all those smirks and sneers, and he has a heart of gold."

Severus let the slightest of smiles cross his face and looked over to where Harry had not only climbed the tree the falcon was in, but now had the prestigious bird perched on his arm and was rambling on and on to it.

"Harry, it is time to be going. We have dinner guests coming soon."

Harry, he could tell, was pouting, but he placed the falcon on the tree limb and walked back over. He grabbed his father's hand, and both started walking toward the floo when Agatha stopped them.

"Wait, I have a gift for Harry."

The surprised look on Severus' face told Harry he didn't know either, but when Agatha placed the necklace in his hand, Severus knew. Severus watched as Agatha placed the necklace around Harry's neck.

"This is a special gift I am giving to you, Harry. Should you ever find yourself in danger just hold it tight and say,'ut salus'. It will return you here."

Harry nodded in understanding, but Severus knew what the necklace was. He himself had been given the necklace when he was small. It had taken him from his room many times after his father's harsh punishments and into the caring arms of the waiting Agatha. He knew if Harry had it he would be safe. They said their good byes to Agatha and stepped into the floo.

Severus had told Harry of Lucius and how he should never know who Harry really was, but how did someone keep a five year old from slipping up? He only hoped Harry realized the danger of doing so. Severus caught a glimpse of the right fireplace, and he and Harry stepped out to have dinner with a Death Eater.

'Esconda a cicatriz- Conceal the scar

Puteulanus - blue

'ut salus' - to safety