Entering the school the three wizards did not even glance around at the beautiful entrance hall. Dumbledore headed to his office, explaining that he needed to get the document to the Ministry immediately. Severus and Minerva continued with Harry to the apartment in the dungeons. Entering the apartment they headed directly to the nursery. Daisy meanwhile, seeing the absence of a changing table and rocking chair for the baby had procured both, for which Severus was extremely thankful.

While Severus was looking at the chair and the changing table Minerva was unwrapping the baby, after laying him on the table. Severus heard a gasp from the older witch.

"Severus, come look at this child! Oh, the poor little boy!! How could anyone let any child get in this condition? Especially their own nephew!"

 Seeing that his friend was almost in tears Severus crossed the room with long strides and stopped in his tracks when he saw his new son. The baby was wearing the pyjamas he had been wearing when he was left at the house on Privet Drive. They looked as if they had not been changed or laundered in the whole time he had been in the Dursley home. He was filthy and so thin that his little ribs could be counted just by looking at him. The baby didn't cry, he looked up at the strange man with so much sorrow in his green eyes that Minerva and Severus were both close to breaking down.

Severus put his hand on the boy's head and said "Minnie, he has a small fever. Please watch him so that I can get some potions for him."

Daisy had gone to prepare some bottles for the child but now she appeared from the kitchen and took the filthy pyjamas and diaper off of him.

 "Oh goodness!!" she exclaimed. "This poor baby has got the worst diaper rash I be ever seeing. "Oh, my poor little Master!! Daisy is going to be caring for you, you is going to  be happy and fat before I is done with you my precious one."

Upon returning Severus spooned some of the fever-reducing potion into the child. Having done this he proceeded to wave his wand up and down the thin little body.

"He doesn't appear to be in any danger or have any long lasting effects from his ordeal thank Merlin," he told the witch and elf who were holding their breath waiting for the results of the scan. "He is terribly malnourished, dehydrated, and has a nasty infection from that diaper rash. It's good that we intervened when we did or I doubt the outcome would be the same, his body would not have been able to survive the deprivation for much longer. Daisy, I brought this ointment for his rash, I thought he would have one when I saw the condition he was in. Please apply it after his bath and every time you change his diaper until it is healed."

Minerva just could not hold it in any longer. Tears were streaming down her cheeks and she cried out "WHY, why did Albus insist on taking Harry to those terrible muggles? I tried to make him realize that he was making a mistake, but he wouldn't listen to me. And now, just look how much this child has suffered."

"Albus was doing what he thought was right, Minerva," said Severus. "He was wrong and he knows that and he has to live with it. Don't blame the wrong person, you and I both know that the blame goes all the way back to Voldemort. Our Headmaster was desperate to ensure that Harry was in the safest possible place, and the fact that Petunia was related by blood convinced him to place him with the Dursleys. He was aware that Lily's sister and her husband did not like magic or anyone associated with it but he never dreamed that Petunia would harm the boy."

While the two professors were engrossed in their conversation Daisy had been busy with her young charge. She had given him his bath, which appeared to be the first one he had been given for a very long time. She was so upset about the neglect this child had suffered that her ears were flat against her head when she brought him back to the nursery wrapped in a fluffy blue towel.

Severus left the room to prepare a meal for the starved child while Daisy got him dressed. As soon as the house elf was done Minerva picked him up and hugged him. She breathed in the baby scent and smiled.

"Now that you are all clean young man, are you ready to eat?" she asked him with a smile.

 Harry just looked at her with big eyes and a solemn expression on his little face. He had not been hugged, or held, or cuddled since the night the bad man had come to his home and hurt his Mama and his Dad. Remembering his parents made him sad. Big tears started rolling down his face, but he did not make a sound. He did not know where his Mommy was because right after the bad man left the big man came and took him away. He had left him with the mean people. Uncle Moony and Uncle Padfoot had not come to see him either. He kept waiting for someone to come take him back to his mommy but no one ever did. Then these people came to get him, but they didn't take him to his mommy either. He did not know where he was, or who these people were and he was so afraid!

 These thoughts made the tears keep coming and he couldn't stop, even though he knew that people did not like little boys who cried. He knew that little boys who cried were put in the cupboard and left there by themselves in the dark where the spiders lived, but he just could not stop.

Stepping back into the room Severus found Minerva rocking the baby and both of them had tears streaming down their faces. Severus bent over to take Harry and immediately the child flinched.

"Why child, you are afraid of me!" he exclaimed.

 After transforming a toy building block into another rocking chair Snape took the child and sat down with him in his lap. He sat there for several minutes silently holding the little boy while gently rubbing his back. He was silent for a long time because he was almost in shock. Where were these feelings he was having coming from? He wasn't supposed to be experiencing feelings like this! He could actually feel it and he wasn't sure he liked it. He looked down at Harry, who was quiet now. The baby looked back up at him with those eyes and he felt it again.

It felt as if something was tugging at his heart. Snape's heart had been encased in ice almost all of his life. Whenever his father hit his mother or beat him the ice grew a little thicker and a little colder. It had to be that way, because if he reacted or tried to stop his father, it just became worse for his mom and for him. Severus didn't realize that the feeling was the ice beginning to melt, he just knew that something was different now.

"Hush Harry, it is going to be all right. No one is going to hurt you because I am not going to let them. You are my little boy now and I will take care of you. You are going to live here with me and Daisy is going to take care of you. Don't be afraid anymore, you are safe here with us."

Minerva was observing all of this with her jaw dropped. Where was Severus? Who was this man holding Harry and crooning to him? This could not be Severus Snape, the terror of the dungeons! As she watched she realized that this was indeed Severus Snape. Maybe Merlin was right, maybe Severus was the one who should raise Harry. Harry was considered the saviour of the wizarding world and Minerva was beginning to believe that the child was going to be Severus Snape's saviour as well.

They took Harry to the kitchen and seated him in a brand new high chair. Severus set a bowl of oatmeal in front of him and put brown sugar and milk over it, Harry needed good food and lots of nutrients. After looking at the cereal for a long time Harry began to realize that this was really for him. His mommy had taught him to feed himself and this looked so good, but Uncle Vernon said that they could not afford to feed him all that food. They gave him the food that was left after Dudley had eaten, and that was usually just a couple of spoons full. Timidly he reached out and picked up the spoon and when he realized that no one was going to smack him he proceeded to begin to eat.

Severus watched him carefully and realized that he was obviously afraid to eat. This fact made him so angry that he almost lost control but knowing that this would frighten the little boy more than he already was, he managed to control the anger.  Minerva had the same reaction and managed to control her anger too but she feared that she would not be able to contain it very much longer so she stood and said goodnight to father and son.

Harry had finished eating and his little eyes were beginning to droop. Severus carried him back into the nursery and sat with him in the rocking chair again. He sat and rocked the child, holding him close until he saw the baby's eyelids close and he dropped off to sleep. He put him in his crib, covered him with a soft blanket and called Daisy. She appeared with a pop and Severus took himself off to bed too, it had been a very long and confusing day.

A few hours later Severus awoke with a start. He jumped out of bed and ran to the nursery, something was wrong, he just knew it.

 Harry was lying silently in his crib with big tears rolling down his face again. He had woken up and it was dark and he didn't know where he was. He knew he was alone, and he knew that he could not call for anyone because little boys who woke grown up people in the middle of the night had to be punished. He did not want to be put into a cupboard so he cried silently. Seeing that Harry was distressed Severus picked him up and held him close. He sat and rocked with him for a while but Harry refused to let himself go back to sleep. He did not want to wake up alone anymore. Finally Severus looked down at him and seeing the big green eyes looking back at him, he sighed.

"Harry, would you like to come sleep with me tonight?" he asked.

Harry nodded his head and burrowed into the nice man's chest. So Severus took Harry and went back to his own room. He put the baby into the bed and climbed in himself. He waved his hand and the lights went out. Feeling the little body next to him stiffen up he waved his hand again and a very small night-light appeared in the air on Harry's side of the bed. The baby immediately relaxed and father & son went to sleep.