“You hungry?” Severus felt the shoulder nudge him again and he nodded into the warm robes, too tired to lift his head up yet again. “Yeah, I’m hungry, too.” He felt Harry walking, and the abrupt sounds of closing cabinets and drawers, and the clanging of silverware on porcelain, piqued his curiosity. Severus turned his head and leaned his ear against his transport’s chest instead, allowing the heartbeat to calm him like before.

“Alright…five months old, five months old…” Harry was looking around at the food in his kitchen, wondering what he could feed Severus. “Let’s consult the book, eh?”

Severus saw Harry glance down at him briefly before reaching a hand out. Almost immediately, a book from the desk flew across the room, over the counter, and into his waiting palm. Severus sat up in surprise, taking his thumb out of his mouth and widening his eyes at Harry. Wandless magic? Potter can do wandless magic?! Wandless, wordless magic?! That’s…that’s… “Ah!” His infantile form articulated, sounding quite surprised. 

Above him, Harry chuckled. “Well, thank you. Coming from you that’s quite a compliment. Now…five months old…” He set the book down on the counter and held a hand over it. Baby Severus could feel a magical wind blow through the room. Suddenly, the book burst open, its pages flying to the side as if some invisible force was flipping through the book at lightning speed. Then, after a moment, it stopped. “Ah! Here we go—five to six month old babies.” Severus gripped Harry’s robes tighter as the teen leaned over the counter to read the book. “It says your diet includes the mother’s milk…well that’s not happening, unless, of course, Ginny would volunteer to lactate, but I highly doubt it…so we scratch that one out. Then there’s baby formula…” Harry looked down at Severus with a raised eyebrow. Severus looked back up at Harry questioningly.

“Mo.” He shook his tiny head slowly.

“Too disgusting?”

This time, the baby nodded.

“I figured.” Harry nodded, readjusting the infant on his arm. “Anything made from powder is bound to be disgusting. Okay…” He looked back at the book, “That leaves pureed foods. Unless…have you got your teeth in yet?”

Severus looked at him quizzically.

“May I take a peek in your mouth, please?” Severus opened wide.

“Oh…no, not yet.” He tapped Severus’ chin gently and the baby closed up, “But I can see a couple peeking up from inside the gums. We have to get you some teething supplies.” He snapped his fingers and a flying quill and parchment flew to them from across the room. “Note—teething supplies.”

Severus thought the quill and parchment looked like the kind that bitch gossiper from the Daily Prophet carried around with her. He saw the quill scribble furiously on the parchment and idly wondered what would happen if he pulled on the end of the thing. He’d always wanted to do that when he was taller, but his reputation and everything had prevented him from doing so. Now, though…

He glanced up and saw that Harry was busy looking for some soft fruits for his meal. His eyes darted to the quill and parchment following them rather closely. The pretty, green, Slytherin-looking quill—with its rather long tail—flew just within his reach. It was bobbing up and down enticingly. And he really had no reputation to care for right now…not really…and Harry was still distracted…and the quill was still writing…and it was right there…

YANK!

A delightfully crooked line now ran down the hitherto neat little page with its neat little handwriting.

The quill pulled itself out of his grip and straightened up, looking rather indignant for a quill. It shook its tail at him reproachfully before returning to write on the parchment, as Harry had yet to stop dictating to it.

Severus grinned. It still floated well within his reach.

“And I suppose we’ll need pacifiers, though I imagine you won’t need them very much…” Scribble! Scribble! Scribble!

YANK!

Another offensive line appeared on the paper. Again the quill pulled itself away. Now it was looking rather frustrated with the infant. Severus started giggling. Not having a reputation to protect really was fun, now that he thought about it!

“I guess I’m going to have to read about what other things infants your age might need. Although…Ginny could probably guess rather well, considering Teddy and everything…” Scribble! Scribble! Scribble!

YANK!

Yet another offensive line. This time, the quill wretched itself away from him so forcefully, its tip ran straight into the parchment, poking a rather big hole in the paper. Now it was the parchment’s turn to straighten up and look indignant. The quill looked slightly alarmed. It pointed its tail frantically at the laughing baby, but the parchment paid him no attention. It looked about ready to beat up the quill! Suddenly, the quill jumped and hysterically pointed to something behind the parchment. When the paper looked back to see what it was, the quill hurriedly bounced in the opposite direction. The parchment, which looked to be running on a pair of corners for legs, soon dashed after him. Severus began laughing hysterically at the antics of the normally inanimate objects, twisting his body this way and that to watch the drama unfold around the kitchen.

Harry closed the icebox, discreetly peering down at his giggling charge with an unnoticeable smile on his face. He hadn’t expected the dictating quill to become the object of amusement for the thirty-eight-year-old infant, but somehow it had. This behavior just continued to prove his earlier theory about the disconnection between Severus’ memories and his state of mind. The situation was proving to be quite a delicate balance. Harry had to talk to Severus like an adult, while he discreetly treated him like a child. 

“So how does a mashed banana, apple juice in a bottle, and Wizard Cheerios sound to you?” He nudged the infant to get his attention and waited patiently.

The parchment had effectively chased the quill into the next room and back to the desk, where the two had simultaneously stopped mid-chase and flopped back down onto the table, going inanimate again and ending the impromptu show. It took a few minutes for Severus to calm down from his laughing fit, but once he did, it occurred to him that Harry had asked him a question.

“Uh?” He peered up at the teenager quizzically.

“I asked if a mashed banana, apple juice in a bottle, and Wizard Cheerios is good enough for dinner tonight.”

“Oh.” Severus thought about it. “Meh…eh?” He patted his chest, then opened and closed his hand, then patted his mouth, then patted his chest once again.

That took Harry a moment to translate. “Er…are you asking if you can feed yourself?” The infant nodded. “Right. According to the book, your fingers should be nimble enough to hold the bottle of juice and grasp at the Wizard Cheerios. However, it’s not yet nimble enough to hold the spoon. I’ll have to feed you the mashed bananas, but I promise to allow you to practice with the spoon near the end. Is that acceptable?” He hoped the compromise would be enough to convince the adult mind to act babyish, at least in this respect.

Severus thought some more. Well…he didn’t really have to rely on Potter too much for that. He could eat most of the meal by himself. Plus, Potter had promised to allow him to be able to practice his dexterity later. It looked to be a good deal. He should be suspicious. He really should. Potter was never this nice—not to him, at least. He should be very suspicious of Potter’s niceness. But…he wasn’t. Huh. Why wasn’t he? Where was the suspiciousness he was supposed to feel?!

“Severus?” He looked up at the mention of his name, and Potter’s gentle gaze banished the conflicting thoughts momentarily.

“Uh-huh!” His voice sounded approving—enthusiastic, even! He scowled. Why was he excited about the prospect of feeding himself?! He’d done that most of his life; he shouldn’t be this excited about it now!

“Excellent.” Potter ordered the high chair to pull out from under the table and prepare itself with a wave of a hand. Severus’ scowl disappeared. The wandless, wordless magic Potter was suddenly exhibiting was still surprising and…absolutely wicked! Wicked?! Where in Merlin’s name did that come from?!

Harry set Severus on the high chair, then pulled a box of Wizard Cheerios out of one of the cabinets. He placed a handful on the table of the high chair. “Here you go. Bit of an appetizer while I get your dinner and my dinner ready.”

“A ba!”

While Harry made sure the high chair was secure, and that the baby was sitting straight, and that the baby wouldn’t fall out, Severus enthusiastically dove a hand into his bunch of Wizard Cheerios. Cereal went flying in whichever direction, landing on the floor, the table, and…Harry’s head. A few O’s had stuck themselves to Harry’s hair! Ha! Ha! Ha! Now that was funny! Severus giggled.

Harry’s eyebrows furrowed, “What?”

Baby Snape grinned, patted his head, and giggled some more.

“Ha! Ha! Very funny.” Rolling his eyes, Harry brushed the cereal off and then turned to prepare the rest of their dinner.

“So I was wondering…” Harry started, as he chopped up some vegetables for a soup, “We don’t have a whole lot of baby stuff for you so we’ll have to go shopping for some tomorrow.” He glanced back to check if Severus was listening, and to his relief, the infant was gazing at him with wide eyes while he chewed on his fingers and Wizard Cheerios. “But here’s the catch—the goddamn press won’t give me one moment of peace when I go out, and it’ll be even worse if I go out with you, so…” He stopped his chopping and looked directly at the child, “…would it be acceptable if I had my girlfriend—Ginny Weasley—do the shopping for us? Her taste is infinitely better than mine, and she’ll have Tonks with her, and Tonks just had a baby so she would know exactly what to get for you, and…how about it?”

The baby just looked at him and continued to chew on his fingers and Wizard Cheerios.

Could this be? The infamous Harry Potter refuses to go out because it would draw too much attention to him?! Severus scoffed internally. As if Potter never liked the attention! The insufferable brat basked in the limelight! He would do anything to draw attention to himself. Yeah, and that’s why he’s refusing to go out with you—so he can draw attention to himself. Right, Snape! Think, you bloody idiot! Severus scowled. Why was he defending Potter…to himself? He doesn’t want to turn this into a media circus. He just wants to go about this quietly. But then again, when had Potter ever done anything quietly? Well, there was that whole Dumbledore’s Army thing a few years back that nobody knew about for months, and weren’t supposed to know about at all. That had been quiet. Severus paused. Bloody hell! Why do my thoughts keep jumping around from one thing to another like this?

“Look, Severus, you need things. Nappies and bottles and formula and baby food are definitely a necessity—even you can’t deny that. We only have an overnight change of clothes right now, so you need clothes. I’ll make sure Ginny buys stuff in black, silver, and green, but I can also tell you those aren’t the only colors she’ll buy. Not to mention you need a playpen, things to keep you entertained and to practice your dexterity with, a walker so you can build strength in your legs, teething supplies, and so on and so forth. I’ll just write Gringotts authorizing Ginny to draw from my vault, and she could go about buying all those things tomorrow, rather than us schlepping around Diagon Alley all day long. Besides…Ginny likes shopping anyway.”

Did he just say he was going to draw money from his vault? What about Dumbledore? I thought Dumbledore was going to pay for my things.

“Dumb…dow?”

“Dumbledore? What about him?” Harry wondered where this conversation was going.

“Peh…fo…meh?” Severus tapped on his chest.

“Pay for you?” Harry thought for a second. “Uh…he didn’t say anything about any of that. All he said was that we had to buy everything else we may need that they didn’t already provide. Frankly…that’s just about everything. Um…and he didn’t say anything about paying for you, why?”

Severus frowned at this. “Ooo peh fo meh?” He pointed at Harry, and then tapped his chest.

“Yes, of course!” Harry answered, as if that should’ve been obvious. “I mean, who else am I going to spend the money on?” He shrugged. “There’s Ginny, but she’s not really a materialistic kind of girl. And I’m not really a materialistic kind of guy, either. I already have a house in Godric’s Hollow—my parents’ place—that I’m renovating at the moment. I already have all the clothes and books I can possibly need. I have nobody else to spend the money on but you.”

Severus’ frown deepened. This was…new. Potter wasn’t…Potter didn’t…Dumbledore wasn’t…Severus shifted in his seat, unsettled. Several thoughts kept running through his mind—the Headmaster wasn’t going to pay for him like he originally thought, Potter was going to pay for him instead—willingly, and Potter—who was, unknowingly, the richest young wizard in Great Britain at the moment—didn’t have anyone to spend on except him—Severus Snape, former Death Eater turned spy turned baby who verbally abused him yet saved his life for seven years?!

This doesn’t add up. He told himself. He had thought Dumbledore was going to pay Potter for taking care of him until this situation was resolved. Or, in any case, he thought that the Headmaster would pay for his baby supplies, at the very least. He had assumed the old man would perhaps find some way to draw from his, Snape’s, Gringotts account to pay for the child support; or, perhaps, he would classify Snape’s situation as a medical accident and provide Potter with Hogwarts money to pay for him. But no. Dumbledore had dumped him on Potter wholly and completely, with not a knut of compensation, just a simple word of thanks. And Potter had accepted! Potter had accepted responsibility for him—physically and financially—without so much as one complaint. With the way I’d treated him over the years?! This doesn’t add up.

Normally, at this point, Snape would assume that this would be some sort of publicity stunt on Potter’s part. Yet the teenager had just told him the reason he wanted Ms. Weasley to be told was because he didn’t want to go out and face the press just because they needed a few baby supplies. So it’s not a publicity stunt. Perhaps he is doing it to impress Ms. Weasley, then? Yet if he had to be honest with himself, the prospect of raising himself didn’t sound very appealing in the least. So why would he do this?!

“Severus?” Harry interrupted his thoughts, looking at the infant with concern. “So how about it? May I tell her?” There was a subtle note of apprehension in his voice.

The baby frowned once more, but then relaxed his face and shrugged.

“Uh-huh!” The infant answered finally, once he got his fingers out of his mouth.

“Alright then. Thank you. Very good!” He turned back to his chopping while Severus switched his focus to trying to grasp the cereal on his little table.

They stayed like that for a few minutes before Harry approached the table. Behind him, the knives were chopping the vegetables by themselves. Taking off his outer robe, Harry hung it on a chair before placing a mirror on Severus’ table. “This is a two-way mirror.” He explained, “The other end is with Ginny. She’s probably going to call tonight sometime soon, but I’m busy cooking at the moment. Will you do me a favor and just watch it for me while I prepare dinner?”

Severus eyed the mirror curiously. He’d never seen something like it before. It would be an interesting new thing to explore. He decided he wanted to find out more about it. Looking up at Harry, he nodded. “Mm-hmm.” He mumbled through the fingers in his mouth.

“Thank you.” Harry replied, heading for the cast iron stove. “When she calls, invite her over for dinner, if you please.”

Severus immediately abandoned his cereal and instead endeavored to pick up the mirror. His progress was slow, but after a long while he was able to rake the mirror over to the edge of the table and tip it upward, grasping one of its edges as he did so. He studied the mirror in his hands curiously. It was a light, round, palm-sized little thing with edges protected by green plastic, big enough to chew on but not small enough to fit entirely in his mouth. It looked very much like an ordinary sort of mirror, but he could feel a bit of magic tingling just beneath his fingers on the surface of the mirror. Suddenly, Severus got this overwhelming urge to put it in his mouth!

How absolutely preposterous!

Then he paused.

Severus looked up at Harry. He was busy cooking. He looked down at the mirror. I must put this in my mouth! He frowned. He looked up at Harry again. He was still cooking. He looked down at the mirror. Put in mouth! Put in mouth!...I’m going absolutely bloody mental! Harry was still cooking. Put in mouth! Put in mouth! Put in mouth! And still, Harry kept cooking. Put in mouth! Put in mouth! Put in mouth! Oh, bloody hell!

He stuck the mirror in his mouth.

The strange tingling sensation from the surface of the mirror tickled his gums. Severus grinned around the mirror. Wow! That feels good! He took it out of his mouth, examined it again, then popped it back in. Ha! Ha! So good…He eyed Harry warily, taking the mirror out of his mouth when Harry was looking, then popping it back in when the teenager was turned away. His Slytherin sense tingled. This is fun!

“Hello? Hellooooo?” A decidedly feminine voice sang from within the confines of his mouth. “Is anybody there?”

Severus frowned. Taking out the mirror, he looked into it again. The curious face of one Ginevra Weasley looked back at him from within. “Oh! Hello! And who might you be?”

Severus glanced at Harry. The boy was busy adding ingredients into the soup. Looking back at the mirror, Snape cleared his throat. Now to see if she has the same gift for understanding idiot-speak that her boyfriend has. He opened his mouth to speak, but soon frowned and closed it again. Curse the fact that my name is so hard to pronounce! He growled internally. Severus Snape. How am I going to bloody say that without sounding like a lunatic?!...Alright…Go slow, Snape. Go slow…

Severus sighed. “Eh…eh…eh…beh…oof. Eh…eh…beh…oof. Eh-beh-oof. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm…Mmmmmmmmmmmehp.” He heaved an even greater sigh and tried again. “Eh-beh-oof. Mmmmmmehp.” He looked into the mirror pleadingly.  

Miss Weasley was now giving him an inquisitive look. She blinked. “Can…can you understand me, child?” She asked.

Severus was so relieved he had broken through, he overlooked the child reference. He smiled at her, nodding frantically.

“Merlin me!” Ginny gasped, studying the baby face in the mirror for any familiar features. “Do we…do we know each other? Do you recognize me?”

Severus nodded again enthusiastically.

“Yes, we know each other?” Severus kept nodding. “Yes, you recognize me.”

Ginny nodded. “Okay. Now…tell me…” She thought for a second, and then turned back to the mirror. “Alright…tell me how you would pronounce my name, please?”

Severus cleared his throat. This was an easy one! “Immy!” He grinned at her. “Immy…Weeeeeeeeewe.”

Ginny seemed satisfied with that for she gave him an approving smile. “Alright. Good! Now will you pronounce your name for me again, please?”

Severus nodded eagerly, “Eh-beh-oof. Mmmmmmmmehp.”

It didn’t take her long to put the pieces together. “Severus Snape!” She gasped, eyes widening. “Severus Snape?”

The baby nodded and giggled.

“Oh! Alright. Alright. Very good! Very good! Okay…” She thought for a second. “Do you have all your memories?” Severus nodded vigorously. “That’s how you can understand me.” More nodding. “Alright. Okay. Good!” She contemplated something for a minute. “Alright. Is Harry there?”

Severus nodded, pointing to somewhere behind the mirror. “C…oo…k…ing…” His eyes widened. Bloody hell! I just pronounced that right! “Coo…king…” He looked at the mirror and grinned at Ginny. “Cook…ing…Cook…ing…Cooking!” Abruptly, turning from the mirror, he called his caretaker enthusiastically.

“Haweh! Haweh!”

Harry ran to him, alarmed. “What?! What?!”

“Cooking!” He grinned at the teenager. “Cooking! Cooking! Cooking!” He banged his hand and the mirror against his table in excitement. “Cooking! Cooking! Cooking! Cooking! Cooking! Cooking! Cooking!”

“Cooking?” Harry echoed him quizzically. “What about cooking?”

Severus gave him a look as if to say, ‘How thick are you?’ before remembering he was excited and renewing his banging. “Cooking! Cooking! Cooking!”

“What about cooking?!”

“Harry! How thick are you?!” The mirror cried as it was banged repeatedly against the table. Severus stopped his slamming and smiled at it. He was starting to like this girl! He offered it up to Harry.

“Ginny?!”

“It’s the first word he ever pronounced correctly. Don’t you get it?! You should be proud of him! Praise him, you idiot!” The mirror screamed at him.

Harry looked dazed and confused for a bit, and Severus laughed at him. He would remember that look on Potter’s face for the rest of his days. It was priceless!

After a moment, Harry shook his head and looked back down at the baby. “It’s the first word you ever pronounced correctly?” Severus nodded enthusiastically. Frankly, I beg to differ, but I have the feeling now’s not the time for that. Harry thought.

When Harry rewarded him with a genuine grin, Severus grinned right back. “Well how about that? Your first real word! Well…your second first real word, but who cares about the technicalities. This is a cause for celebration! Gin?”

“Yeah?” The mirror replied.

“You want to come over for dinner? Maybe make some of your mum’s famous chocolate pudding? How’s chocolate sound to you, Sev?”

Severus smiled and nodded. His secret guilty pleasure was chocolate. He couldn’t get enough of the stuff! “Pay…beh!”

“It’s your favorite?” Severus nodded. “Excellent! Then you’re in for a treat. What do you say, Gin?” Harry took the mirror from him gently and looked into it. There was no one there. “Gin?” He shook it slightly. “Ginny?”

Severus stopped smiling now and looked at him questioningly. Harry met his eye and shrugged.

Suddenly the floo flared brightly and out of the green flames stepped a beautiful angel. “Ah! There you are!” He walked across to the living room fireplace and gave her a kiss.

Severus stretched around to catch it and gagged silently. Eew! Yuck!

“Did they move you to different quarters? This place is big!” He could hear them talking in the background.

“Yeah. I guess Dumbledore put a forwarding service on my old floo to come to this fireplace.”

Severus banged his fist against his table to get their attention. “AH! Ahhhhh…AH!”

Ginny saw him first. “Well, good evening, Mr. Snape!” She gave him a gentle smile, speaking to the infant as if she would’ve spoken to the man. “It’s good to see you up and about again. And alive! It’s very good to see you alive.” Harry took her coat and she sat down in a chair across from Severus as her boyfriend finished his cooking. “So? I got it right, didn’t I? That was the first word you pronounced correctly in this form?” Severus smiled and nodded. Ginny clapped her hands together once and grinned. “Ha! Yes!” She looked over her shoulder, “I can speak baby better than you can, Harry!” She stuck her tongue out at him. He stuck his out right back. Severus giggled. “So…” She took something out of her pocket, enlarged it, and then turned to Severus. “May I keep you company while you enjoy your cereal and I make my mother’s delectable chocolate pudding from scratch?” Severus nodded, focusing on scooping up another piece of cereal. “Thank you. Oh, and congratulations on your first correct word, by the way. It’s a stupendous milestone! Would you like to help me make pudding?” Severus’ eyes widened and he grinned, nodding enthusiastically.

Over the next ten minutes or so, Harry finished his vegetable soup while Ginny and Severus sat at the table, making pudding and conversing about his situation and all its advantages. Harry had given Ginny a brief account of the situation when they talked outside of the infirmary, so she was slightly prepared when she saw the baby for the first time. What he hadn’t given her, however, was the identity of the professor who had been de-aged. She was somewhat surprised to find out it was Snape, but she quickly decided to play the situation by ear, and it had paid off. Baby Snape now seemed to trust her, in addition to Harry. Whether this was a conscious decision or not on the baby’s part remained to be seen.

“Mr. Snape—”

“Ah! Ah!” The baby interrupted her, raising his hand. First, he pointed at Harry. “Haweh.” Then he pointed at her. “Immy.” Then he pointed at himself. “Eb!”

Ginny’s eyes widened in surprise. “Sev?” The baby nodded. “Are you sure about that, sir?”

Not really. Severus thought. He actually didn’t know why he was doing this. He didn’t know why he was telling them to refer to him by the nickname he only allowed Lily to call him. He speculated that it was perhaps partially due to his five-month-old mind. Another part of him felt that it was also partially due to the fact that—ironically—these two people were the only people in the world he could trust at the moment. That could have also been attributed to his five-month-old mind. He didn’t feel like he could trust Dumbledore anymore. It hurt slightly, for he had solely trusted the old man for so long, but that was the way things were now.

When Dumbledore had chickened out at the last minute and forced not only Potter to complete whatever dangerous and important mission they were on alone, but also forced him to be the bearer of bad news to the boy—even when Dumbledore knew the last person Potter would listen to was Snape—Severus had lost all faith in the old man. Truth be told, he had started losing faith in Dumbledore and started having faith in Potter the moment Dumbledore told him about the boy’s true destiny—to die at the hands of the Dark Lord. Snape had been incensed! What kind of cold-hearted fool would raise a child only to have him die at the right time?! Dumbledore, obviously. And he had used Severus to ensure the boy lived! Now Potter didn’t trust him, either. Good riddance to the old man! He deserved the cold shoulder for the rest of his days.

Now Harry knew his life story, as only Dumbledore did before. No doubt Ginny did too. Severus doubted anyone else knew about it…completely. Potter wasn’t the brightest lumos globe in the world, but he was smart where it counted. Severus could sense the teenager was in full-blown protective mode right now; and the object of his protective instincts was him—Severus! His baby instincts told him this protection extended against anyone who would do him any sort of harm; Harry would protect him against friends and family if he had to. Severus could feel it in his bones. The most important thing, though—at least to Severus—was that Potter had willingly taken him in beyond all reason. He received no monetary compensation, nor wanted any publicity. He highly doubted Potter took him in out of pity. And Potter, so far, was treating him relatively well. Severus knew that had to count for something. The fact that Potter was not the scheming, conniving type, like Dumbledore, was also a definite plus.

Severus—again, ironically—didn’t trust anybody but Potter now. Potter trusted the Weasley girl. So Severus trusted the Weasley girl by extension. Severus refused to extend his trust any further than Harry’s girlfriend. Granger, the rest of the Weasley clan, Lupin, and Black can all be damned! Even though Harry trusted them didn’t mean Severus had to!

He shrugged at Ginny and nodded again.

The poor girl looked shocked. “Well…alright! Wow. Thank you, Sev!” Then she remembered what she was about to talk about. “Anyway…”

Severus grinned. He liked how Ginny’s mind jumped about from one topic to the next, just as much as his little mind now did.

“…I have an idea that could improve your communication problem.” This really got the baby’s attention. “It’s called baby sign language. I had a friend a few years back who was teaching it to her newborn little brother, who was about your physical age. It’s derived from regular sign language, but it’s designed with babies in mind—specifically, your hands. Harry! Are you listening?”

“Yes, Gin!”

“She taught me a few signs and I still remember them. But as for the rest of them, I’m going to need to buy a book from a muggle bookstore, because baby sign language is not very well-known in the wizarding world. What do you think about the idea?”

“Ukkew?” He asked.

“Muggle? Yes, baby sign language is a muggle idea. It has actually quite recently began making its way into the wizarding community via some magical families adopting the practice of communicating with their babies via sign.” She paused for a moment and gave him a strange look. “Why? Does it being a muggle idea bother you, Sev?”

At this, Harry looked over at him as well.

Well…it’s not really that it’s a muggle idea…Severus mentally kicked himself. There is nothing wrong with muggles! There is nothing wrong with muggles! There is nothing wrong with muggles! Part of Severus cursed the fact that he ended up in Slytherin. Growing up in that house—especially during that period of history—had sealed his fate. Well, actually…who was he kidding?! Growing up with his verbally abusive father had sealed his fate even before Hogwarts came along! Home was where he had developed that intense hate he used to have for muggles. Well…all muggles except Lily. There’s nothing wrong with muggles! I don’t hate muggles! I don’t! Then he realized. I don’t! This seemed to astonish him a bit. Wait, aren’t I supposed to?...NO, you bloody idiot! There’s nothing wrong with muggles!...Right. I don’t hate muggles…Do…DON’T!

“Mo…” Severus answered cautiously. Then he suddenly began slapping his head in an effort to clear his jumbled thoughts.

Ginny looked alarmed. “Sev, stop it! Don’t do that!” She grabbed his hand and held it firmly in her grasp.

Harry was eyeing him warily. “Ginny, would you mind finishing up this soup for me, please? And mashing Sev’s banana? I think he and I need to have a talk.”

Severus’ eyes widened. A talk?!

“Don’t worry. You’re not in trouble or anything. It’s just…I think I may know what’s going on in your mind.” Harry told him as he and Ginny exchanged places.

You do. Sev thought skeptically. I highly doubt that.

“Let me guess—your memories tell you that you should act a certain way, while your brain tells you that you should act another way. Sometimes the other reaction is the complete opposite of what your memories tell you is the appropriate reaction. This leaves you confused. How am I doing so far?”

Severus’ eyes widened and he nodded.

“Your thoughts also jump from one topic to another without rest. If you think about a certain topic long enough, you either end up right where you started or you end up on a completely different topic simply because of your thought streams. This distresses and frustrates you. It also puzzles you when you realize your mind and body do something your memories say you normally would not have done. Am I hot or cold?”

Severus’ eyes narrowed. “Ow ooo mow?”

Harry shrugged, meeting the child’s eyes with a serious look. “Well I don’t know. It’s just a theory I came up with. But may I offer you my advice?” Severus eyed him warily. “It’s completely up to you whether or not you wish to take it.”

Severus considered him for a minute, and then nodded.

“Try to go with the flow.” Harry said gently. “Don’t dwell on memories or reactions too much, lest you end up with jumbled thoughts—much like what happened right now. Unless the situation calls for it, do what feels natural at the moment, then give it more thought later—at night before going to sleep, perhaps. Things are only as complicated as you make them, Sev.” He eyed the contemplating baby. “Alright?”

Severus took in his words and turned them over in his mind. Potter was right. He thought too much sometimes and it frustrated him to no end. Things really were only as complicated as you made them. He made a big deal a while ago about the whole name thing. He could’ve just saved himself a lot of trouble by just admitting to himself that he trusted them enough to want to use their first names and have them reciprocate with him.

Severus shrugged and nodded. “Just think on it.” Harry’s gaze then caught on the bowl of chocolate pudding Ginny left on the table. “Hey! Chocolate pudding! The best chocolate pudding in the world!” He then leaned closer to Severus conspiratorially. “What do you think? Does eating half a banana warrant an entire bowl of chocolate pudding?” He whispered and winked at the baby.

Severus grinned.

“Harry, I heard that!” Ginny cried from the stove. “One whole banana and half a bowl of chocolate pudding!”

“Aw, Gin, you’re no fun!” He got up and turned his back, grabbing the side of the bowl and moving it closer to Severus while Ginny was turned away. Now the bowl rested well within the baby’s reach. “No fun at all…” He walked over to her and his arms encircled her waist from behind. Before he dipped his head to kiss her neck, he met Severus’ eye and winked.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Potter is actually a Slytherin in disguise! Who’d have thought! He grinned back at the teenager.

They exchanged nods and Harry began distracting Ginny as Severus reached over and grabbed a handful of chocolate pudding.

“Harry!” Ginny giggled, and then whispered, “Harry, not right now.” Her boyfriend just made a grunt of agreement before lightly sucking on her collarbone.

Oh, please! Yuck! Then he began licking his fingers clean and his tune changed completely. Merlin, me! Potter was right—this is the best chocolate pudding in the world! No sooner had he finished licking his fingers clean that Ginny called his name. “So Sev—”

Severus quickly hid his guilty, sticky hand under the table and plastered an innocent look on his face. Behind Ginny, Potter’s eyes shone with amusement. “Uh-huh?”

“What do you think about the baby sign language thing? Do you want to give it a try?” She asked him. “It’ll be a lot less frustrating for you because then you’d be able to communicate more effectively while you learn how to pronounce things correctly again.”

Severus thought it sounded like a good idea, so he nodded. “Uh-huh!” 

“Great! I’ll teach you a couple of signs over dinner.” With that, she placed a bowl of hot vegetable soup on the table along with two bowls and spoons, while Harry presented Severus with a bowl of mashed banana accompanied by a shrunken spoon, as well as a bottle of apple juice. Severus quickly picked up the apple juice and drank greedily. He was parched!

“Sev, why are your hands so sticky?” Ginny frowned, and as she wiped his hands with a wet towel, he and Potter exchanged a look and a smile over her head.

Over the course of dinner, Harry fed Severus while Ginny taught him several different signs. She would name the sign and demonstrate, and then he would copy her. She encouraged him to say the word while signing so he would be able to practice his pronunciations. Severus caught on and memorized all the signs fairly quickly. He was beginning to think whoever invented baby sign language was a genius!

“Okay, what’s the sign for hungry?” Severus cupped a hand over his neck and ran it down his front. “Excellent!” Ginny smiled. Severus grinned, basking in the praise. “What about if you want a drink?” Severus made a ‘c’ over his mouth and imitated drinking a cup. “Excellent!” The more Ginny praised him, the more excited Sev got. “Harry, you got all that?”

“Yes, yes...Open up, Sev.” Severus accepted more banana, but kept his eyes on Ginny.

“Alright. What if you want more of something?” Sev touched the tips of his fingers together and ran both hands into each other three times. “Very good!” He liked it when Ginny got excited, because he did too. “Okay. What about if you want to say ‘sorry’?” Sev made a fist and rubbed it over his chest. “Excellent! And please and thank you?” Sev rubbed an open hand over his chest, and then placed the same hand on his chin and brought it out. “Ah! Excellent! Now…what about if you need a nappy change? What’s the sign for ‘potty’?” Sev scowled at that. “Oh, come on, Sev, you can’t stay with a dirty nappy forever. Look at it this way—when you’re out in public or Harry takes you to class or you’re in the Great Hall, and you need a change, but you don’t want to say it out loud, then you can use the sign and Harry will know what you’re talking about but no one else will. It’s like a private message! Besides, I think it would be more embarrassing if you just let it sit there and stink up the place. Then everyone would really know about it. So…what do you say?”

Severus thought about it for a minute. As humiliating as it was, she had a point. He made a fist, sticking his thumb between his pointer and middle finger, and waved it at them.

“Very good! Now…can I give you a kiss…” Ginny kissed the tips of her fingers and placed the same fingers on her cheek, “…and a hug…” she wrapped her arms around herself and swung from side to side, “…because I’m so proud…” she pointed her thumb at her stomach and ran it up to her chest, “…of you.” She pointed at his chest and smiled.

Sev grinned. He imitated the kiss and hug and reached out to her. Ginny beamed and hugged him, kissing his cheek as she did so. “You are a brilliant little man. Now…let’s see if Harry was smart enough to pay attention.” Sev giggled.

It turned out Harry was. By the time they were finished with the chocolate pudding, all three of them were effectively able to communicate…somewhat. “We’ll have to go to a muggle bookstore to find a good book with the rest of the signs. I’m pretty sure you two will be able to come with me to some shopping mall in London, right?”

Severus looked at Harry, who nodded. “Yes. It’s only in the wizarding world that I can’t wander about effectively. It’s quite annoying, really! I can’t even visit Diagon Alley without the press hounding me about something or another.”

“Don’t worry, Harry. It’ll die down eventually.”

“Hopefully…”

“But in the meantime, I’ll do the shopping for you two in the wizarding world. So how about it, Sev? Any special requests? This is your one and only chance.”

“Back…weem…ewbew…”

Ginny rolled her eyes and smirked. “Black, green, and silver. Yes, I know. But I’ll have you know this—those aren’t the only colors I’m buying for you, okay?”

“Told you.” Harry muttered in his ear.

“Where’s your desk, Harry, I need to make a list. Plus, you need to write me that authorization for Gringotts.” She said, getting up and heading for the desk in the den. “Plus, I need to talk to Tonks.”

Harry sighed. “You tired?” Severus nodded sluggishly as he finished his bottle of juice. His eyes were already half closed. “Alright. Let’s give you a bath and get you ready for bed. I think a bit of Tales of Beedle the Bard will be enough, right?” But the infant didn’t say anything. He just put down the empty bottle and wordlessly reached out to Harry.

Severus clung onto Harry’s robes as the teen picked him up. He rested his head against his transport’s chest and allowed the steady heartbeat and rumbling voice to lull him once again. “Make sure you add baby soap and shampoo and teething supplies to that list, as well as a walker.” A pause. “My vault at Gringotts is 687, and you have to remind me to give you the key.” Another pause. “Oh! And I think Remus, Tonks, and their little one are staying at Andromeda’s place at the moment, so when you floo call—”

“Call for Andromeda Tonks’ house. I know. I talked to Tonks just this morning, Harry.” Ginny interrupted.

“Alright.” After Harry transfigured the playpen back into a crib and returned it to its place next to his bed, he carried baby Snape into the bathroom.

Severus became a bit whiny when it came to taking a bath; but when Harry reminded him that it was better than the alternative in the long run, Severus screwed his eyes shut and gave in. Unfortunately, his resolve to remain utterly mortified didn’t last for long. Harry had transfigured several sponges and bathroom odds and ends into bath play toys, and placed them into the sink along with Severus. It was then that Severus’ long-dormant imagination finally reawakened.

Before long, he was directing wizard divers on underwater rescue missions to deep-sea merpeople castles in order to rescue red-haired damsels in distress. As Harry shampooed his hair, he and the other divers battled non-docile giant squids and merpeople and sirens, while dodging white balls of flesh-eating foam that fell in the water from somewhere above. When Harry soaped his body, Severus imagined being hit by one of those flesh-eating foam balls and dying and telling his men to leave without him. Then when Harry rinsed all the soap and shampoo off, Severus found himself resurrected on a ship somewhere in the arctic, near the edge of the world. He and his men had to navigate the waters carefully, else they hit an iceberg and die in the frigid water. They needed to find the edge of the world so they could rescue the red-haired damsel in distress from Davy Jones’ locker—which is off the edge of the world. When Harry tipped his head back and ran the water down his hair, he imagined falling down the big waterfall off the edge of the world and screaming his lungs out for someone to help him. Then, when he finally landed, he found himself wrapped securely in a big fluffy towel, being carried by his men to the big bed in Heaven, because he had somehow died in that horrendous fall.

Ginny smiled adoringly, from where she leaned against the doorframe, as her boyfriend dumped the giggling baby on the bed and toweled him off. The sound of Sev’s imagination revealing itself drew her and Harry’s camera to the bathroom door, where she was able to capture an entire roll of film of Sev and Harry playing together at bath time. Watching the two of them interact was absolutely adorable.

“What’s going on in that head of yours, huh?” She heard Harry ask the squealing child. Severus was still hanging on to one of his bath toys—a tall, wooden ship. He was steering it around in a figure eight in the air, making funny sounds as he did so.

Soon enough, Sev was dressed in a nappy and blue footsie and was riding on Harry’s arm to the bookshelf. Ginny watched as Harry picked up The Tales of Beedle the Bard and proceeded to read to the infant on the rocking chair. Sev was asleep—his thumb in his mouth—after only one story. Ginny made sure to take plenty of pictures.

“Remember, Harry, ‘Back to Sleep’.” Ginny whispered as Harry made to put Severus in his crib. “Sudden Infant Death Syndrome is real, so don’t take chances.”

“I know, love, I know.” Harry placed the sleeping infant on his back and laid a stuffed baby snake next to him. “Goodnight, Sev.” Leaning down, he placed a gentle kiss on the sleeping babe’s forehead. “Sweet dreams.”

He lowered the lumos globes and made to walk out, but paused in the doorway. He looked back at the slumbering child.

Sweet dreams…

That gave him an idea. As quietly as he could, he opened his trunk and dug around until he found what he was looking for. It was a dreamcatcher. He had bought it one day in fifth year, out of impulse, from an eccentric old witch in Hogsmeade. She had been kind to him that day, helping him find the place he had been looking for, and he felt compelled to repay her kindness. She had offered him this dreamcatcher, saying how it had been imported by the witches from America. Rare, for it was real and one of only ten in the world. She had given it to him at such an absurdly low price that he was hard-pressed to believe it was everything she said it was. 

“You guard that dreamcatcher well, my child. I have infused it with my white magic so that it may keep the darkness from your dreams. When one day you feel the need to pass it on, infuse it with your own white magic, child, and it will keep the darkness out of your children’s dreams as well. Sweet dreams, my child. Sweet dreams…”

He had turned away to examine the object more closely. When he turned back to ask the old witch a question, she had disappeared. There was not a trace of her anywhere, and after that day he had never seen her again. Yet she had been right—the dreamcatcher was real. It had helped him master controlled Occlumency that year, and kept Voldemort out of his mind. He had kept it with him throughout the years, taking advantage of its legendary power.

He looked back at Sev’s crib. But now I feel a need to pass it on. He fingered the soft leather of the net and toyed with the silky feathers and charms dangling from the snare. He’s going to need it more than I will now. No doubt he’ll have nightmares about evil tonight. Harry set his jaw. Well…not on my watch, he won’t!

Slowly, Harry approached the crib. There, he held the dreamcatcher between his palms, closed his eyes, and focused his power. He directed all his energy into infusing the dreamcatcher with his white magic. He poured his love into the object, as well as all the protective spells he knew about. Harry even ensured that the spell he invented to counter the Killing Curse was inlaid into the dreamcatcher. He was taking no chances.

After a while, when Harry believed the dreamcatcher finally felt right, he opened his eyes and examined his work. To his surprise, a new charm now hung next to the others, dangling from the snare. It was a small silver lightning bolt. He smiled. It worked!

Harry opened his palm and watched as the dreamcatcher floated up high above the crib and suspended itself in midair, right over the baby’s head. He could feel wave upon wave of white magic emanating from the sacred object, driving the darkness away into the night.

Harry smiled and ran his fingers through Sev’s soft baby hair. “Sweet dreams, my child. Sweet dreams.”