My fate decided, I tromped off to the dungeons with two children in tow. Minerva had taken the liberty of going to Hogsmeade for clothing and a few toys, which she brought by floo to my quarters. At the moment she was down there setting up my spare room for the two little snotballs.

"Mr. Snape sir where do you live is it true my parents and Harry’s Uncle and Aunt went on holiday and magic really exists and we get to stay with you for a little while because they want to keep us safe and this castle is thousands of years old and-"

"Herm- he… Mynee I think Mr. Snape is a little like my Uncle and likes it better when we are quiet."

Thank you Potter, I appreciate it.

"Oh I didn’t realise we had to be quiet why didn’t you say so earlier Harry and sorry Mr. Snape for being annoying I hope you won’t suck my blood now because you are a vampire aren’t you?"

Oh, I could feel the throbbing in my temple. I quickly growled that I was not a vampire and if anyone mentioned that again I’d go and get bitten by one just so I could suck her blood. She shut up nicely. When I look back on it I do feel a tinge guilty, but it was an extremely taxing day and I hadn’t quite figured out how to cope with small children yet. This I learned quickly.

***

"Mr. Snape this book is weird and it’s trying to bite my feet could you please save me because it ate my sock and I’m a little worried it will get the other-" Granger said, shortly after a quick dinner of sandwiches.

I groaned inwardly while Minerva giggled herself to death; not a single student would believe just how much of a giggle-box Minerva McGonagall can be. With a wave of my wand I immobilised the book and put it up on a high shelf along with the others I had to move.

"Grange-" I began. Minerva glared. "Hermione, please do not touch my books, Minerva got you a few for you and Po-Harry and they are on the shelf over there." I pointed to the little toy cupboard in my newly outfitted spare room. With that she ran off babbling about reading.

"I must be going Severus," said Minerva, eyes alight with laughter. "Good luck."

Oh yes, good luck she says, knowing full well that I will need a whole cauldron of felix felicis to make it through this without dying a painful death. And to think the muggles go on about this Jeezus (or something along those lines) character who suffered and died. Well guess what? Severus Snape can’t come back to life after being mutilated by the demands of annoying children! Take that Jeezus! I scowled darkly again before bidding Minerva farewell. She only left after being hugged to death by Miss Granger (who had taken quite a liking to her) and she was given a shy goodbye from Potter.

"Where’s my toothbrush is it gone Mummy and Daddy will be unhappy if I don’t brush my teeth and they feel icky and I can’t go to sleep without my blanky have you seen it-" Hermione rushed off.

"In the bathroom drawer," I groaned, sinking onto the couch.

"My blanky is in the bathroom drawer that’s a weird place for it-"

"Not your blanket, your toothbrush!" I exclaimed, rolling my eyes as she let out a long “Ohhhh!”

"Mr. Snape Sir, what’s your cat’s name?" Harry whispered, stroking my cat's ears.

"Hmm?" I looked up wearily. "That’s Munkastrap." Munkastrap was a very good looking cat, his black fur and white markings.

"That’s a funny name, where’d you get it from?"

"A friend of mine liked a musical called Cats. Munkastrap was one of the character’s names." I paused briefly, lost in thought. "She sang the songs from it day and night… I’ve never seen the musical but I know exactly what happens anyway," I finished, surprising myself a little bit. I hadn’t talked about Lily a lot to anyone really. Not that Potter knew it was his mother I was talking about; he didn’t need to know that.

"Can I call him Strap cuz I don’t think I can say M-mu ... I can’t say his name," Harry said embarrassed, burying his face in Munkastrap’s fur. The cat purred in response.

"He sounds alright with it." I said, chuckling slightly, a little taken aback at my cat liking Potter so much. He generally wasn’t too social; we were quite alike, Munkastrap and I. Oddly, the cat found something good in Potter. If Munkastrap liked him, maybe Potter wasn't all bad. I pondered on this for some time, watching Potter gently pat my cat. 

A loud series of knocks startled me into life again. They came from the door to my office, which was connected to my quarters.

"Ooh someone’s at the door someone’s at the door!" Granger screeched as I went out into the office to open the door.

Potter peered out from the entrance to my quarters as I opened it. Much to my surprise, Ronald Weasley stood there, looking sheepish and carrying two of the strangest items I figured he normally wouldn’t be caught dead with. In his arms was a worn, patched purple baby blanket and an extremely ratty stuffed red dinosaur.

"Blanky!" shouted Granger.

"Rexy!" cried Potter as the two ran toward Mr. Weasley.

"Rexy?" I whispered to Weasley, who just shrugged his shoulders and bent down to give the special items to the children.

"Here you go," he said, setting Potter’s stuffed dinosaur in his arms and giving the blanket to Granger.

"Oh thank so much who are you you look familiar do I know you where did you get Blanky I missed her she is my best friend!" she said, hugging her blanket then throwing her arms around Weasley, much to his surprise.

"My name’s Ron," he said when Granger let go, red and blushing. "Your Parents sent your Blanky Hermione, they knew you forgot it for your trip. And Harry, I wrote to your Aunt and Uncle, they sent Rexy by post."

"Thank you!" Harry said, smiling a shy smile, hugging the battered Red T-rex lovingly.

"You two run along and brush your teeth; I need to speak with Mr. Weasley alone," I said, taking pleasure in the look Mr. Weasley gave me. Yes, pure horror indeed.

"Come on Rexy, time to brush our teef!" Potter cried joyfully, following Granger.

"Am I in trouble sir?" Mr. Weasley asked hesitantly.

I chuckled rather evilly for a moment, just for kicks. Weasley looked terrified. And people say I have no sense of humor.

"For once no, I merely wanted to ask you something."

"What is that sir?" Weasley inquired, fidgeting.

"Where did you really get those? Owl post is not that fast and I know for sure both Potter and Granger’s families are not connected to the floo network," I said, narrowing my eyes and wondering if he did something illegal to get them.

"Oh, um …" Weasley squirmed. Ha! He must have broken rules! "I’ll only tell you if you don’t let Harry or Hermione know that I said this or make fun of them to anyone."

"Deal. Fire away," I said after a pause, I was burning to know what rules Weasley broke. His answer was nothing like I expected, however. If anything it was rather cute. Er… enlightening, yes, enlightening.

"Well, Harry still sleeps with Rexy, his mum gave it to him when he was a baby and it’s really special to him," Weasley said, defending his friend’s habit. "And Hermione always has her blanky when she travels, she really dreads getting sick and she still likes it around when she is. I know because she got a cold at my house over the summer once," he added the last part hastily at my scowl.  "Oh, and McGonagall went up to fetch it for me, as I can’t get into the girl’s dorm."

"I won’t say a thing Weasley," I replied after a moment, dropping the steely tones. "You aren’t such a terrible friend to them after all. Five points to Gryffindor, I suppose." The children hopefully would be more settled, so I supposed I might as well praise him in the only way I knew how. 

Weasley must have gotten the point behind it for he briefly grinned like an idiot before I shooed him away. I wondered what golden trio would say If they knew I still had my favourite hippogriff quilt for when I was ill as well. No matter. If they found out I’d obliviate them.

A few minutes later I stood, arms folded, against the bathroom doorframe while the two kids brushed their teeth, or at least attempted to.

"Harry you’re supposed to brush your teeth for two minutes not thirty seconds your teeth will get icky if you don’t brush longer!" Granger scolded before stuffing her toothbrush back into her mouth. She looked a little deranged with all that foam on her face; it was really quite funny.

"But Mynee, my uncle Vernon says it’s better when I brush my teef quick," Potter said softly.

"Why why why?"

"Uncle Vernon says freaks don’t get to have nice teef," mumbled Potter.

Wait, what? Freaks don’t get nice teeth? What the hell was he going on about? That sounded like it came straight from Petunia’s mouth. Seeing as she had frequently indulged in her favourite insult while I was around: “Severus Snape you freak!”

"You aren’t a freak Harry you are very nice so I think you should have nice teeth so brush away why don’t you!" Granger exclaimed before spitting a bunch of toothpaste into the sink. She was followed by Potter, who sprayed a bit.

"Potter, you are getting toothpaste on my mirror," I scolded lightly. He looked up at me, eyes wide and rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet.

"S-sorry sir," he said, shaking a bit. "I didn’t mean to, don’t be mad."

"I am not angry, I just want you to try not to do that again," I said, lowering my voice a bit in order not to frighten him.

What was with this kid? Something about the way he acted was setting alarm bells off somewhere deep inside me. I ignored these and waved my wand at the dirty mirror, ridding it of the flecks of toothpaste.

"See, the mirror is clean again," I told him.

"You’re not gonna punish me?" he whispered, green eyes peeking out from his messy black hair to look at me.

"No, it was an accident," I said calmly, but on the inside I was feeling everything but calm, for the young boy before me had suddenly reminded me of myself as child. I knew someone who would punish for something as silly as that. But his aunt and uncle couldn’t be anything like my father could they? Mind you, Petunia might have gotten along well with old Tobias Snape; they both thought I was worthless. Arseholes.

All of this made little sense to me. Surely Potter wasn’t … was he? No, he can’t have been. Potter was a prince, a spoiled brat! Wasn’t he? I shook my head, clearing all thoughts and following the kids out of the bathroom.

"Mr. Snape?" Granger inquired, suddenly shy as she tugged at my robe. I looked down at her.

"Yes?"

"W-will you read me a book? Mummy and Daddy always read to me before bed," she said in a small voice.

"Er, alright. Go and pick out a book. And Harry, you can pick one too," I replied.

  I was suprrised to find that it was worth adding that last part to see the boy smile. It was remarkable how it looked almost identical to Lily’s. Funny how I didn’t see her in him before.  I suddenly felt a fleeting wish to see that little smile more often. 

"And get your pyjamas on as well!" I added as they ran into their room.

"Okay I will and then I’ll pick out a book to read and Harry put your pyjamas on first then you can pick one out and I like your batman pants I like batman he reminds me of the man out there except Mr. Snape’s kinda scary looking but he’s kinda nice and-’

I rolled my eyes; trust Granger to compare me to a muggle superhero. Actually, that reminded me of when I was really young and I used to put my mum’s red cape on and pretend I was Superman and that Lily was Lois La … Er … OBLIVIATE!!

Anyway. In a few minutes I had both children in their pyjamas and sitting on either side of me on the sofa. I waited for them to settle in before I spoke.

"Okay Hermione, we’ll read your book first because you were the one that suggested reading, and then we will read Harry’s. Is that alright?"

They nodded.

"Yes here it is it’s a good looking book and I think I’ve read this book before and I liked it-"

"I will start if you can be quiet Hermione," I said rather irritably. Ha-Potter giggled as he cuddled “Rexy”.

"Green Eggs and Ham, by Doctor Seuss," I began. Trust Granger to pick something that would get my tongue in knots. I’ll have to thank Minerva for the book - a nice howler should do.

By the time I had finished the first book I had reconsidered the howler and decided that it was actually a rather fun book to read. Not that I’d ever admit it to anyone. Potter looked at me expectantly and so I asked for his book. He grinned and handed it over, not letting go of that ratty dinosaur for an instant.

"What is it ooh what’s it called?" Granger asked, dragging her blanky with her as she practically climbed on me to see the title.

"My Dog Rosie," I told her as I opened the book. Potter edged closer and leaned cautiously on my arm to see the pictures. For some reason I didn’t mind.

Halfway through, Granger fell asleep, snuggling into my side as Potter did his best to keep his eyes open. By the time I was finished Har-Potter was snuggled into my arm and looking as if he would drop off any moment.

"Bedtime Harry," I whispered so as not to wake Granger. She was much quieter asleep.

Potter got up slowly, swaying from exhaustion. He looked like he would fall over any moment so I edged off the couch and picked him up, awkwardly carrying him to his bed. He seemed a little surprised, almost as if he was not carried often, but he soon relaxed. It was strange to have a child in my arms, light as a very small cauldron, but with the fragile feeling of life that was quite unlike any cauldron could be.

When I entered the children’s room I saw that Minerva had done plenty of decorating. The room had light yellow walls with a border of dragons near the ceiling. There were two small beds, one with a flowery purple bedspread on it and the other with a blue bedspread with stars on it. I carried the boy over to the bed with stars and set him down. He looked a little confused.

"What’s wrong?" I inquired, wondering what it could possibly be this time.

"Why did you put me on the nice bed?" Potter asked in a hushed and confused tone.

"It is your bed," I stated, feeling just as confused as the four year old in front of me.

"Aunt Petunia says I don’t deserve a room or nice bed."

"Does she?" I forced my face to stay calm, but my blood was boiling. I’d have to have a chat with old Tuney.

"Well, as long as you are in my home you get a nice bed because your aunt is wrong, you do deserve a nice bed and room. Don’t you listen to what that woman says," I told him, unconsciously lifting the covers and tucking them around the boy.

"’Kay," Harry smiled, cuddling his Rexy.

"Goodnight Harry," I said before retrieving Hermione and putting her to bed. She was totally knocked out. She didn’t even stir.

***

As I lay in bed that night I realised that I had seen a whole new side of Harry Potter, one I’d never known existed. One I had never even considered existed. In such a short time I had finally come to understand that he was very little like James Potter, if anything Harry was a lot like me as a child. This thought brought a few of Harry’s words to the front of my mind once again. I whispered them aloud in a moment of revelation.

"Potter is only my last name…"

He was right, wasn’t he. More than he knew. The comments he'd made about his relatives made me sick. And to think, I had never realized ...

Despite my troubled thoughts, I smiled slightly as I recalled the way his face lit up when I told him he could pick a book as well. He looked just like Lily. It was that thought that took me off to sleep, and I fell into a deep slumber, sleeping far better than I had in years.

Until Granger woke me up.

"Mr. Snape sir Harry’s making scared noises in his sleep I think he’s having a bad dream and I really think you should come sir because he looks really scared-" Hermione said breathlessly as she poked my forehead.

"Ungg," I said unintelligibly as I opened my eyes. They were greeted by the sight of two large brown eyes and a mass of bushy hair. Damn, and here I thought all of this had been a dream.

"Okay, okay 'm coming," I mumbled sleepily as Granger tugged at my sleeve.

Putting my dressing gown over my faded flannel pyjamas, I followed the little girl into her and Harry’s room. Once inside Hermione jumped up onto her bed and hugged her blanky, watching the scene play out.

"Harry, Harry," I said, rubbing his shoulder to get him to wake.

The boy was mumbling and shaking in his sleep, the blankets twisted around him. Rexy had fallen on the floor; I picked him up and sat him next to Potter. Suddenly the boy’s eyes snapped open. He gasped and grabbed his dinosaur, burying his face in it’s worn material as soft sobs wracked his body.

"What happened, Harry?" I asked gently.

"Don' wanna talk 'bout it," he mumbled through Rexy.

"Please tell me, you’ll feel better if you do," I wheedled, wondering what sort of monster was plaguing his dreams. Serpent, dragon, giant spider, what?

Harry looked up at me from behind the faded red dinosaur.

"The bad man."

"The bad man?" I asked, puzzled. "What did he do?"

"He made the green light get me," whispered Harry as he rubbed his scar, tears now running down his face.

Oh, that monster.

I had bad dreams about that monster too.

I sighed, surprising myself and Potter by pulling him into a hug, my own memories of nightmares getting to me. I had had no idea that he still dreamed about the night his parents were killed. No kid should have to see that. The recreation of the death of Lily (something I had not even been present for) very nearly wrenched me in two each time that I woke in a sweat, her eyes swimming with tears before me, not unlike mine. 

"Cross my heart Harry, the bad man will never get you while I’m around," I said as I felt Harry’s grip tighten around me, as if he was afraid for me to let go. I could feel him shaking, something that scared me deep down, although I would not dmit that to anyone. What this boy had gone through, what I thought he’d been through … I suddenly wished to leave old prejudices behind, and make it all better. This was not James Potter. 

"Is Harry okay he looks sad who’s the bad man and what’s with the green light I really don’t think it sounds too scary but should I be scared because-" Granger spouted, poking her head over the side of the bed.

"Go to bed Hermione," I sighed. "The both of you don’t need to be afraid while I’m around."