“Who is dis Tom Widdle?” Harry asked surprised. He had never heard of that name and felt slightly confused.

Severus laughed and explained, “Tom Riddle is my second cousin, your Uncle Tom. We can go to Riddle Manor and see him if you wish.”

Harry looked at his father in awe. “Hawwy have mowe uncles?” he then asked curiously.

“No, Harry. Uncle Tom is your only uncle from my side. I don’t have any other relatives. However, I have to tell you a story about Uncle Tom before we go and see him. Therefore, let’s go back to Hogwarts first.”

Severus apparated them back to Hogsmeade, and the two Snapes silently walked up to the castle. Half the way up Harry stopped walking and held both hands up to his father. “Up, please?” he asked hesitantly, giving his Daddy a pleading glance.

Severus complied and put the boy onto his shoulders, carrying him home. They entered their quarters and sat down next to each other on the sofa in front of the fireplace, which lit when Severus directed his wand toward it. Harry stared at the brightly dancing fire in awe.

“You know Albus Dumbledore, the Headmaster of this school, don’t you, Harry?” Severus inquired.

“Yes, I know P’fessow Dumdowe,” Harry replied evenly, averting his eyes to the floor.

“Don’t you like him?” Severus asked. Harry’s reaction had taken him by surprise.

“I don’t know,” Harry said, shrugging. “He knowed dat you awe my Daddy, but he didn’t tell us, wight?”

“Exactly, my son,” Severus answered calmly. That’s why I’m also a bit upset with him. However, as he is the Headmaster of this school we have to try to get along with him. You especially, have to be very careful around him and try not to be alone with him,” Severus said urgently, giving the child a piercing look. “I trust all the other teachers here, but I don’t really trust Professor Dumbledore. Anyway, Dumbledore and Uncle Tom hate each other. They are both very powerful, and they’re the greatest rivals you could imagine. Moreover, Dumbledore is doing a lot of evil things, making everyone believe that Uncle Tom and his friends, the so-called Death Eaters have done them. Unfortunately, many people don’t know about this and blame Uncle Tom.”

Harry listened intensely to his father’s musings. However, he couldn’t understand much. At the Dursleys, he hadn’t had any chance of interacting with other people and he hadn’t had any experiences with the wizarding world either. The only point he was sure he had understood was that Uncle Tom seemed good and Professor Dumbledore evil. However, what exactly did that mean? Before, his father had told him that the Dursleys were evil. Somehow, this was too complicated for his four-year old mind, and Harry slowly became tired, just thinking of everything his father had said. He put the thoughts aside and proceeded to stare at his father, who seemed to be wrapped up in his thoughts.

In fact, Severus was thinking about all the things he couldn’t tell his son at this stage. How devastated Tom had been to find out that Harry, Lily’s son, was afraid of him and that he believed in the fake prophecy Dumbledore had put up in order to get Harry to help him when they found out during Lily’s pregnancy how extremely powerful her baby was. Fortunately, Severus could give Harry the chance for a second childhood, and he would definitely try to make everything better. ‘Maybe I should award Longbottom one hundred house points for giving me this opportunity,’ he thought and decided to speak with the boy as soon as he returned from the holidays. He would have to involve Harry’s friends at least a little in order to keep the boy safe from the manipulating old coot.

When Severus finally remembered that he had promised Harry he could visit Tom, and looked over to his son, he saw that the little tyke had fallen asleep, his stuffed dragon safely tucked under his arm. Severus frowned but at the same time remembered that it was only two days ago that Harry had taken the potion that had given him back his normal look, so that he no longer looked like the spitting image of James Potter. Probably, the boy was still suffering from the aftermath of the potion. He picked the child up into his arms and carried him over to his bed, tucking him in carefully. While Harry was asleep, Severus Floo-called Tom and announced that he was going to visit him later, together with his son.

-----

A few minutes later, there was a knock at the door. It was Minerva. When Severus asked her in and offered tea, which Dobby brought in a crack, she asked, “How are you and Harry faring, Severus?”

Severus sighed before he rose from his seat and went over to the shelf, where he had put Harry’s birth certificate. He knew that he could completely trust Minerva. His old teacher had always been on his side and had often helped and advised him. Without comment, he handed the card to Minerva, who looked at the certificate curiously. “Oh, congratulations, Severus!” she exclaimed, obviously surprised by his quick action.

“You know, Minerva, that I cannot trust Albus with my son,” Severus replied. “Therefore, I have to take all necessary precautions in order to keep Harry safe.”

“Of course, Severus,” Minerva agreed, throwing a strong silencing charm around them. “I am very disappointed with Albus, too. I have known about his actions and everything for a very long time. However, until now I have kept quiet for Albus’ sake. You might not know, but we have been best friends for more than fifty years. But this time, he has really overdone it. I love Harry very much, and I never could understand Albus’ decision to place him with Lily’s horrid relatives. It is so important to me now that he gets a happy childhood, that I’m even prepared to blow my cover in order to keep the boy safe.”

Severus was impressed by this declaration. Minerva really seemed to love his child if she was ready to blow her cover. However, noticing that tears were welling in his older colleague’s eyes, Severus contradicted, “No, Minerva. Let everyone believe that you’re on Albus’ side. People on our side of course know about you being our spy, but there is no need to let Albus’ people know. That’s the reason, by the way, why I’ve asked Poppy and not you to become Harry’s godmother. I know that Lily would have wanted you to be Harry’s godmother, but I thought it would be too dangerous for you… at least as long as Albus is still the Headmaster here.”

“I thought so, Severus. All that I can ask for is that you let me be his unofficial grandmother,” she said, smiling.

“With pleasure, Minerva,” Severus replied, smirking. “As soon as Harry wakes up, we’re going to visit Tom, and I will ask for his advice in several matters, mainly concerning Albus of course.”

“That’s good,” Minerva had to admit. “However, before Harry joins us I’d like to give you some advice, too. Go to Gringotts, tell them that you are Harry’s guardian and enquire about his accounts. Sorry, but I can’t tell you more. And before you get angry, I’ve only known about it since Sirius died half a year ago.”

“In this case, we should go there first of all. All right, thank you, Minerva.”

Suddenly, a very sleepy Harry entered the room, heading straight to Severus, who pulled him up onto his lap and gave him a kiss on the forehead. Seeing the professor sitting opposite his father he remembered his manners and mumbled tiredly, “Mowning, P’fessow.”

Minerva laughed. “Good morning to you too, Harry. And you may call me ‘Aunt Minerva’ or ‘Granny’ if you want.”

Harry gave her a small nod and smiled. “Yes, tank you, Gwanny.”

Minerva threw Harry a smile and rose from the sofa. “All right, Severus. I will leave you to do what you need to do. Will I see you at dinner?”

Severus shook his head. “Probably not. But I know where to find you in case there is something to discuss.” He put Harry down and accompanied his colleague to the door before he took the child to the bathroom to wash his face in order for him to become a bit more lucid.

“Harry,” he started to talk to the child, while he conjured a glass of pumpkin juice and biscuits for him. “Minerva – or Granny if you wish – has alerted me of something that we need to do in London first. Therefore, we will go into the town for a while before we can visit Uncle Tom. Are you ready for an afternoon trip?”

Harry, who was still busily drinking his juice, quickly put his glass back on the table, saying, “Yes, Daddy. Can my dwagon come too?”

Severus glanced at the dragon Harry was cuddling and gave his son a comforting nod. As soon as Severus had cleaned Harry up from afternoon snack, he took Harry with him into the fireplace and Floo-ed over to the Leaky Cauldron.

-----

Harry didn’t know what happened to him. Everything turned and turned around endlessly. When they had Floo-ed to the Ministry the day before, he hadn’t felt so bad about it. Fortunately, his Daddy held him close in his arms, and finally, they were thrown out of the fireplace. Harry took in their surroundings, frightened because he had never seen this place before. On their way through the pub, Severus introduced Harry to Tom, the barkeeper, as well as to several other people as his son Harry, and the boy relaxed a little as everyone was very friendly to the cute child.

Shortly afterwards, they stood before a high stone wall, and Harry watched in awe when his father tapped several stones with his wand, so that the wall opened up, revealing a busy street with many people around. Severus and Harry then entered Diagon Alley, and Severus explained to his son that this was the shopping area of the wizarding world.

Finally, they reached Gringotts, and Harry anxiously glanced at the Goblins, who were sitting there watching them with stern expressions. Severus explained to Harry what they were, before one of the Goblins, who introduced himself as Griphook, guided them into his office. After Severus provided the Goblin with the proof that he was Harry Potter’s guardian, Griphook gave him an approving nod.

“Thank you, Professor Snape. I shall fetch the documents, so that you can have full sight into the books of Mr. Harry’s vaults.”

“Thank you, Griphook. I appreciate your help in this matter,” Severus replied curtly. It took Severus only a minute to understand Minerva’s reason to send him to Gringotts. Dumbledore had helped himself to a lot of money out of Harry’s vaults. He had taken money every month and had even sent a monthly amount to the Dursleys and to the Weasleys. In case of the Weasleys, the transfer was specified as ‘compensation to Ron Weasley for befriending Harry’ and ‘Hogwarts school fees for Ron’.

‘He has done this over all the years, making Harry believe that he was something like a kind grandfather to him. Moreover, the Weasley boy only played being his best friend?’ Severus thought angrily. “That manipulating old coot,” he mumbled so loud that the Goblin smirked.

“It is not my place here to voice my opinion, Professor. However, I am more than ready to assist you the best I can. We can stop these transactions immediately, Professor Snape,” Griphook said. “Moreover, we can call back all money that has been paid from Mr. Harry Snape’s vault from the death of his father onwards.”

“Yes, please,” Severus agreed immediately, glancing to Harry, who was sitting next to him. The child was still too small to understand anything of this business. However, in a few years’ time, he would explain everything to his son.

Harry stared at the Goblin, whose behaviour seemed very friendly, his demeanour in sharp contrast to the frightening expression on his face. The child couldn’t understand what this talking was about, but he knew better than to ask any questions. He put a little thumb in his mouth and leaned back in his seat, still watching the Goblin, while his other hand was busily cuddling the stuffed dragon.

Twenty minutes later, the transactions were finished and all money that had been taken from Harry’s vault had been returned.

“Professor Dumbledore and the Weasleys are in for a huge surprise,” Griphook announced, smirking. He handed Severus a card. “If you encounter any problems concerning this matter, just fire-call me. I shall be glad to assist you.”

“Yes, thank you,” Severus replied, helping Harry to put on his snowsuit again in order to leave the bank.

-----

“Do we have to go twough de fiweplace again?” Harry asked worriedly when they re-entered Diagon Alley.

“We can apparate to Riddle Manor if you prefer that. Let’s try and later you can tell me which you like more, all right?”

“Awwight,” Harry confirmed, nodding his head.

As relatives to Tom, Severus and Harry could directly apparate into Riddle Manor. Harry, however, didn’t take the apparition well. His stomach churned with the movement, and when they finally appeared in the Entrance hall of his unknown uncle’s manor, he couldn’t help getting sick. Still feeling queasy and very afraid of his uncle’s reaction he buried his head in his father’s robes. With a flick of Severus’ wand, the floor in front of them was clean again when Tom entered the room, alerted by the wards that someone had entered his property.

“Hello Severus, Harry,” Tom said, smiling.

Hearing his uncle’s friendly voice, Harry turned his head towards the man and said, “Hello, Uncle Tom. I am Hawwy.”

“Hi Harry! I’m glad to finally get to know you. You’re the spitting image of your father, do you know that? Except for the eyes – amazing! Is everything all right?”

While Harry gave the man a confirming nod, Severus felt inclined to explain that Harry had just experienced Apparation for the second time and that he obviously felt a little ill afterwards.

“Oh, that’s not nice at first but you get used to it rather quickly. Do you prefer to Floo?”

Harry shook his head. “No, I didn’t like dat eidew.”

Tom threw him a stern look. “I know that it’s unpleasant, Harry. However, you have to get used to it as fast as possible.” Tom led them into a bright living room with a huge fireplace. He motioned his guests to take a seat before he continued to speak to Harry. “You know that I’m your godfather, don’t you?” When Harry gave him a curious nod he continued, “In case that you get into trouble at Hogwarts you can put a bit of Floo powder in any fireplace and just shout, ‘Riddle Manor’, and you will be taken here.” He handed Harry a tiny pouch. “Here, keep this always with you. There is just enough Floo powder in it to Floo once. You never know when you could need it.”

“Tank you vewy much, Uncle Tom,” Harry said gratefully. It was a strange feeling having people around who seemed to worry about him and his safety. His other relatives had never been concerned about him. But his Daddy, Aunt Poppy, and Aunt Minerva or Granny seemed to care about him, and Uncle Tom obviously did too. He threw his uncle a bright smile.

Tom handed him a small parcel, wrapped in Christmas paper. “I’m sorry, Harry, that my Christmas present is a bit late. But I hope you’ll enjoy it nevertheless.”

Harry looked at his uncle, stunned. It had been a huge surprise to get presents from Santa at Christmas but to get a present from an uncle just like this… He threw his father an uncertain glance.

“It’s all right, Harry. You may take your present from Uncle Tom and open it,” Severus said, smiling at his son. ‘What did these terrible Muggles do to my son?’ he thought, trying hard to hide his anger so that Harry couldn’t think it was directed at him.

Harry hesitantly took the present from Tom and carefully tried to open it. “Oh, just tear the paper away, Harry. There’s no need to be so careful,” Tom advised the boy.

Harry obeyed and soon held a floor puzzle with the Alphabet in his hands. As he hadn’t had any possibility of learning anything at the Dursleys, he still couldn’t read any letters. However, he loved books very much and was therefore eager to learn reading. He gave Tom a grateful look. “Tank you so much, Uncle Tom. Hawwy wants to leawn to wead vewy quickly, so dis is gweat. Tank you!”

“You’re welcome,” Tom told the enthusiastic boy and proceeded to help Harry with the puzzle while he started to talk to Severus at the same time.

“So the f… old b… just kept this from you for sixteen years?!” Tom shouted, enraged. “Sorry, Harry, I’m not angry at you but at Dumbledore, the old coot,” he apologized, seeing Harry’s anxious expression.

“Wait until you hear this,” Severus replied and told Tom about what they had come to know at Gringotts.

At first, Tom sat there, stunned.

“Uncle Tom, what comes after de ‘G’?” Harry suddenly asked.

Tom quickly answered the boy before he turned to Severus. “I believe it’s time to really do something against the f… old coot. In fact, I know a very dark potion, which doesn’t poison the person who takes it, but it slowly makes them oblivious to everything. How about we feed this to Dumbledore? You could put it into his lemon drops, couldn’t you?”

Severus was just thinking about the matter when Tom pulled him out of his thoughts. “No, Severus. Don’t do that. You brew the potion and then give it to me. I will ask my House elves. Some of them are very close to the Hogwarts House elves, and they will surely be able to help. Now, as it’ll take about a month to brew the potion, it will be better to brew it here I suppose.” Seeing Severus’ surprised expression he added, “Yes, Severus, I already checked that out. Although I can’t brew potions, I’m at least capable of reading.”

Severus smirked. “All right. Please show me the recipe and I shall see when I can brew it.”

“T like tiger,” Tom told Harry, who immediately started to frantically search the floor for the piece with the tiger on it.

“As you know we’re going to have our Christmas Death Eater meeting at Malfoy Manor tonight. Will you be going to join us?” Tom asked, turning back to Severus.

“I don’t know,” Severus replied thoughtfully. “What am I going to do with Harry?”

“You will bring him with you, of course. You have to introduce him to everyone as your son. And while we will be talking about the Order of the Phoenix’s recent attacks, we could ask Draco to look after him, couldn’t we?”

“Dwaco!” Harry shouted happily. Draco was a very big boy, and he had been staying with him at Hogwarts playing with him all day long. “Hawwy likes Dwaco,” he eagerly told Tom.

“So, that’s clear, isn’t it?” Tom laughed.

“Tom, I’m not too sure about this,” Severus said pensively. “Harry doesn’t have any experience with people. As far as I know from what he has told me during the last week, the Dursleys kept him in a small cupboard under the stairs and he didn’t have any possibility to interact with people. That’s why his talking is a bit behind other children of the same age.”

“Oh, but you are here and I and Draco. I’m sure he’ll be alright. Harry, would you like to join us tonight when we go to Malfoy Manor to see Draco and his family?”

“Yes,” Harry replied, his eyes twinkling.

“Tom,” Severus asked considerately, “Do you know if there are any other Death Eaters, who have children in Harry’s age? As all his old friends are twelve years older than him now, he doesn’t have any friends and I somehow have to remedy that.”

“Umm… I don’t know, but let’s just ask the others tonight,” Tom decided resolutely.

In the meantime, Harry had finished his puzzle and had already put it back into the box. Now, he tried to climb up onto Tom’s lap. However, a few minutes later, it was time to Floo over to Malfoy Manor. “Maybe we should go a few minutes earlier,” Tom suggested. Then we won’t have to introduce him to everyone at the same time.”

“Yes, I believe that would be better. Moreover, he will be very scared of you when you put your ‘Dark Lord’ face mask on,” Severus replied, frowning.

Severus pulled Harry close and stepped into the fireplace with him. This time, Harry still didn’t like the sensation of Floo-ing but at least he realized that taking the Floo Network was much better than Apparating. Severus and Tom introduced Harry to everyone present as Severus’ son, and their friends greeted the child in a friendly way. Apart from the Malfoys and a few Death Eaters, several of Draco’s friends and their families were attending the Christmas dinner.

During dinner, Tom asked the students if any of them had younger siblings, who happened to be about the same age as Harry.

“I have a younger sister, Evelyn,” Millicent Bulstrode spoke up. “She turned four in October.”

“I have a little brother, Marc. He is also four, and my sister is five,” Blaise Zabini said.

“And I know for a fact that Susan Bones has two younger siblings, twins actually, who are the same age as my sister,” Millicent added pensively. “From time to time, they seem to be playing together.”

“Oh, that sounds good. Let’s invite them to Riddle Manor in order to have a belated birthday party for Harry. What do you think, Harry? Severus?”

While Harry threw him a shocked glance, Severus sneered and was just going to say, “A whole afternoon with a bunch of dunderheads? I’m glad that there are no lessons at the moment.” However, seeing Harry’s anxious face he kept quiet and said instead, “Why not?”

-----

After dinner, Tom and his Death Eaters got ready for their Death Eater meeting. The students were not allowed to attend the meetings until they turned seventeen. Therefore, Severus and Tom had arranged with the students that Severus would take Harry with him for a few minutes and then send him out, so that the students could take the child with them into Draco’s room.

Finally, Tom had put on his snake like ‘Dark Lord Voldemort’ mask and Severus his Death Eater mask, and together they entered the huge room with Harry in tow.

Harry was a tiny bit afraid seeing so many unknown faces in the badly lighted room. However, knowing that his Daddy and Uncle Tom were with him, he hurried to keep up with their fast paces, his dragon safely in his hand.

“Now, my faithful servants,” Tom addressed the Death Eaters. “Today, I want to introduce someone to you.” He took Harry by the hand and walked up to the front row of the Death Eaters. “Do you know this boy? This is Harry Potter, who…”

Before he could say anything else, Harry saw himself confronted with what seemed to be dozens of wands pointed at him and let out a bloodcurdling cry.