~*~

Albus sighed. He knew what this small family had gone through in the last month. Depression had befallen them all, and he was very concerned about them. Seeing Poppy happy about an accident like this made it even more clear how desperate they had been. "What about Severus' magic?"

Poppy's face fell. "It's the same, but if he remains young long enough, he may be able to get it back, and he can learn much more easily from the beginning rather than if he was an adult. The only thing I really worry about is whether or not they still have their adult minds and memories." She sighed heavily. "I don't know what to wish for, Albus."

When tears ran over Poppy's cheek, Albus hugged her. "If they revert back to their young minds, they won't remember our family. They won't remember what we went through and how we loved them. I feel bad for wishing that they still remember because if this potion is permanent, it would be much easier for them to live without the old memories," Poppy explained between sobs.

Albus rubbed calming circles on Poppy's back. "Shhh, Poppy. I know. We will just wait and do the best we can. Maybe you should take a Calming Draught."

Poppy pushed out of the embrace and straightened up. "No, I have to be fully aware when they wake. Come on, I'm sure you want to see them."

Albus followed Poppy to the two beds close to her office. Alastor was sitting between the beds, watching his sons. Albus' hand laid on Alastor's shoulder was all that was needed to express his feeling to his old friend.

"They haven't woken up yet, Albus," Alastor stated.

"Then we just have to wait." With that, Albus summoned another chair and sat down beside Alastor to keep him company for a while.

~*~

"What's wrong?" Harry asked, confused. He grabbed his throat when he heard his insanely high voice.

"Calm down, Harry," Alastor said and took Harry's hand from his throat to hold it with his own.

Harry looked around frantically. "What happened? What's wrong with my voice?"

"Poppy will be here in a second, Harry. Then we will explain," Alastor said, and as if on cue, Poppy sneaked through the curtain that was around Harry's bed.

"What happened, Poppy? Why do I sound like a girl?" Suddenly, Harry started to really panic and tried to peak under the blanket. Only Poppy's quick reflexes stopped him.

"Harry, calm down and tell me what you remember last," Poppy said, holding Harry's hand.

Very scared, Harry looked back and forth between Poppy and Alastor, who each held one of his hands. Something very bad must have happened. He racked his brain until he remembered the Potions accident. It was crazy because feelings overwhelmed him that almost felt like they were not his own. He was not normally so panicky and easily scared like he was right now. Seeing the accident in his mind made him almost wet himself in fear what could have happened. "Severus? Where is he? Is he okay?"

"What do you remember, Harry?" Poppy asked again while sitting down on Harry's bed, placing Harry's hand in her lap.

"The potion...it exploded...Severus threw himself over me. What happened to him?" To Harry's great confusion, he felt tears running down his cheeks. He wanted a hug. Never had he felt like this. Not even when he was younger. His relatives never gave him the feeling that a hug would make him feel better. The time with Poppy and Alastor had changed him, but he had never felt like this. It was immature in Harry's eyes. Pleadingly, he looked at Poppy for an answer.

"He is alive, Harry. Don't worry," Poppy said, stroking Harry's hair.

"Is he hurt badly?" How much worse could it be? Harry thought, but then pictures of Severus without his hands came to mind, and Harry turned green. "Poppy, I-" He could not finish his sentence because he felt the urge to throw up. Poppy was a better Mediwitch than she gave herself credit for lately and quickly had a basin placed in front of Harry.

Alastor sat down behind Harry and steadied him through his dry-heaving.

While Harry leaned, tired, over the bowl, he saw his hands for the first time. He put his right hand in front of his face. "My hands...they are too small and soft." Questioningly, he looked up at Poppy.

Alastor pulled Harry against his chest while Poppy sighed. When the basin was Vanished, Poppy sat down again and took the hand Harry still was examining, puzzled. "Harry, what were you two brewing?"

Harry looked confused at Poppy. "It is a surprise for you. I can't tell you."

Poppy breathed deeply. "You obviously must have made a mistake as I don't expect you wanted to surprise me with a De-Aging Potion," Poppy said carefully.

"De-Aging? No, we...damn, don't tell me...oh, Merlin-"

"Harry, calm down, lad." Alastor pulled Harry tighter to his chest. "We will find a solution for this."

"What... how old am I?" Harry asked, scared. Again, crazy feelings overwhelmed him, and he wanted to melt into Alastor's embrace, not only to find comfort like his sixteen-year-old self would want, but also to feel safe and to let Alastor take all the fear and responsibility from him.

"You are twelve, Harry. Your body has de-aged and even a bit of your magic has regressed. I fear it's the part you gained in training over the last year, maybe even more from before that. I cannot tell for sure before I take some more tests, but it seems you still have your sixteen-year-old memories," Poppy explained.

"I feel weird. Overwhelmed. Do you think it's just a side effect?" Harry asked, worried. So many questions were in his head, and he could hardly decide which to ask first.

"No, Harry. That's how a normal twelve-year-old would feel. Your memories are everything you have of your sixteen-year-old self. Like I said, I fear your magic has regressed to what you were capable of at twelve, but as you still have the memories, your magic will develop more quickly than the first time," Poppy explained softly.

"First time? You mean this is permanent? I have to grow up again?" Harry looked shocked at his surrogate mother.

"I cannot say, Harry. I sent a sample to St. Mungo's. De-Aging Potions are almost always reversible, but whatever you two were brewing was not a De-Aging Potion," Poppy said gravely.

Harry stared into the distance for a while. When he was able to sort all the thoughts in his mind, he remembered Severus. He had shielded him from most of the potion, right? "What about Severus? Is he...I mean, is he de-aged as well?"

"Yes, Harry. It seems Severus was hit by the potion almost completely. He is thirteen now," Poppy said, smiling insecurely.

"Thirteen?" Harry said, lost in thought. Looking at Poppy, he finally asked, "Can I see him?"

Alastor ruffled Harry's hair and shifted off of the bed. "He is still sleeping. We will inform you as soon as he is awake and ready to speak with you."

Poppy lifted the headboard up so Harry could sit up. "I will bring you something to eat, Harry." She gently cupped his cheek and kissed his forehead. "We will work this out. We are here for you and Severus as we have been all along. We will remain your guardians."

After Harry had eaten his meal, he asked to be left alone for a while. He regretted the decision after only a few minutes because he felt very alone. This feeling stopped him from forming clear thoughts. I have to go to school again. I have to learn it all again. Ron and Hermione are in their 6th year without me now. Oh, Merlin, do they already know? When was the accident? Damn, why didn't I ask Poppy? Maybe Ron and Hermione already are worrying where I am. Or was it still the weekend? Harry looked around and hoped Poppy or Alastor would come back. He forced down the urge to cry out for them. Twelve-year-old emotions are annoying, Harry thought, frustrated.

The beginning of Harry's sixth year had been hard enough with his depression and nightmares. He could hardly concentrate on school. To be honest, he could not concentrate at all. All he could think about was that Severus was getting worse and worse instead of better. Now it was in the middle of October, and Harry had learned almost nothing. Without Hermione, he would have given up. Professor Dumbledore did not find it very surprising or alarming. ‘You can repeat the year, Harry. Take time to heal,' was all Dumbledore ever said about it. Now I have to repeat almost my whole school career, and I have to go to classes with kids that are younger than me. Harry pulled a disgusted face. He did not want to go to school again. The knowledge was all in his head, right? Yeah, maybe I can convince Dumbledore to let me just stay in sixth year, Harry thought hopefully.

_______

His head hurt, and he grabbed for it. Groaning, he opened his eyes, but a bright light blinded him.

"Shh, Severus. Easy," Alastor said when Severus tried to sit up. "I will help you. Just stay where you are."

Alastor pulled the headboard up and sat down beside Severus. "How are you feeling?"

"My head hurts," Severus said and rubbed his temples. He began to see clearer and notice his pale hands. There were almost no yellow stains from Potions brewing. The first thought was that he had burned off his skin and Poppy had had to regrow it, but then he would have been out for weeks and it did not feel like it had been that long.

"Severus," Alastor said, but did not know what to say. He just took Severus' hand in his and drew gentle circles with his thumb on it. "You remember the accident?"

"Of course, I do. I knew something was wrong when the potion turned that particular shade of yellow, but I had not thought it would react so violently," Severus muttered almost to himself. He threw a quick glance at Poppy as she entered through the white curtain, but then he looked at his hand in Alastor's. Something was off, but he could not put his finger on it.

"Severus," Poppy said affectionately, stroking his cheek.

Something was definitely off because he enjoyed this way too much, and it did not felt as awkward as it normally did. "I feel...strange," Severus said, and was surprised by the slight screech in his voice. Confused, he looked around. "What's wrong with me?"

"Severus, promise me that you'll remain calm and let me explain," Poppy said.

Severus looked, shocked, at her. What the hell is wrong with me? What could be worse than the last few months? The Dark Lord had made sure he was a cripple, so what could be worse?

"I'm waiting for an answer, young man," Poppy said sternly.

"Young man? What is wrong with you, Poppy?" Severus asked, annoyed, but the feeling he got after this remark frightened him. He felt sorry for saying it. He feared Poppy would be mad at him for being disrespectful. What the hell is wrong? Why do I feel like this? Severus asked himself, starting to panic.

Alastor stood up again and towered over him. Towered over him? Since when was Alastor that big? Slowly, Severus put two and two together, and then he screamed bloody murder.

"Calm down, Severus!" Alastor commanded after Poppy had tried unsuccessfully several times to soothe him.

Severus stopped abruptly, looking shocked and a bit scared at Alastor. Automatically, Severus scooted closer to Poppy.

"Severus, please calm down," Poppy tried again and hugged the shocked child. "We will sort this out. It's not as bad as you think it is. It even holds much advantage for you."

"Advantage? How can being a kid be an advantage? Kid?! Damn, I do not use words like that. My mind and feelings are tricking me," Severus said, and to his great embarrassment, he felt hot tears run over his cheeks. "And I do not cry!"

Poppy shook her head and hugged Severus tighter. "It's okay to cry, Severus. We know it must be hard for you to accept being a teenager again. The bright side is that I can heal your fingers now, Severus. Maybe you can use your hands in a few months with as much mobility as you had before Voldemort tortured you. That's something good, isn't it?"

Severus shook his head in misery. "I want to be adult again. We must find an antidote."

Alastor leaned over and cupped Severus' cheek. "You know as well as we do that an antidote for an unstable De-Aging Potion will be almost impossible to find. We will try our best. The potion is at St. Mungo's for testing, but until we know for sure if something can be done, we have to make the best out of the situation. You and Harry-"

"Harry! Oh, Merlin, how is he? Is he-?" Severus started to panic and tried to free himself from Poppy's grip, but it was useless; he was not strong enough. He was just a skinny thirteen-year-old.

"Severus, stop, or I will get a Calming Draught for you," Poppy said warningly.

The threat worked, and Severus calmed down enough for Alastor to go on. "As I was saying, you and Harry are teenagers now. Harry is twelve and you are thirteen-" He stopped because Severus had started to hyperventilate, and Poppy finally summoned a Calming Draught. Without much resistance, Alastor gave Severus the potion while Poppy held him.

"Severus, there is nothing bad about being thirteen. Calm down. Shhh...." Poppy gently calmed Severus.

"Severus, can I continue?" Alastor asked patiently.

Severus nodded sadly, and Alastor felt real pity for the boy. "As you are under-aged now as well, you need a guardian. Poppy and I have taken custody of you and Harry. We hope that this is okay with you, but we had to act quickly so that the Ministry could not interfere. At the moment, you will be treated like any thirteen-year-old under Wizarding law, and with your magic problems, we feared the youth welfare office would send you off to St. Mungo's if we did not act quickly."

Alastor waited to see if Severus would react verbally to this, but Severus just cried silently. Sighing, Alastor went on. "We know it isn't easy for you because you loved your independence. We will try to respect this, but as you are thirteen now we need to treat you as such. Your feelings, emotions, and mind are that of a thirteen-year-old. In the next few days, your mind will most likely shut a few memories away to handle the amount of memories in your brain right now. See it as a chance for a better childhood. You lived freely with us as an adult, so it's nothing to panic about as a child. We will take care of you."

"But I am an adult," Severus said miserably.

"No, Severus, you aren't. You just have the memories. The feeling of being adult will fade soon, and it will be easier for you to accept it."

"I won't remember being an adult after a few days?" Severus asked between sobs, looking up into Poppy's face.

"Of course you will remember. It will just be less troubling for you to think and feel because you will start to think and feel like a thirteen-year-old. Memories of complex spells or from your time as a Death Eater will be the ones that you mind will suppress for later. This is only a guess, Severus; we have to wait to know for sure how your mind will react," Poppy said, stroking his hair.

"I do not have to go to school, do I?" Severus asked, worried.

Alastor sighed. "You are thirteen, Severus. The law treats you as a thirteen-year-old, and that means you have to go to school. You need to rebuild your magic, and you have a much better chance to do so in this state. Going to school again will help to become as good as you were before Voldemort destroyed your magic. Or at least almost as good. We will train together, Severus, if you would like to. You really have a much better chance to heal right now. We love you, Severus. We will take care of you."

Severus sobbed and threw himself at Alastor. The old man pulled him closer until Severus was on his lap. The soothing sounds Alastor made and the calming circles he drew on his back finally made Severus fall asleep.