It had taken Ginny four hours to calm her son down enough to get him back to sleep, but finally the child had fallen asleep in Ginny’s arms. She didn’t dare put him down for fear that he would wake up, so she had maneuvered them into a position on the couch that was comfortable for both of them.

“Love, are you going to work this morning or do you want me to call in?” Harry asked from the doorway. It was nearing seven, and the boys would be up soon.

“I’ll Floo Madam Monette, and tell her that we had issues with one of the boys last night. I want to try to get Sev to talk to me today. That leaves you free to take Sirius.” Ginny said. She wasn’t sure about Sirius going with Harry to the Dursley’s, but she knew that Harry was adamant, and something had to get through to the boy.

“What about the other boys? You haven’t slept.”

“I’ll be fine. I may ask Andromeda to come and get them, she asked the other day if she could have them, as she has missed them over the holidays. Mum probably didn’t get much sleep last night either.”

“Okay, Love. I will go start breakfast and then wake up Sirius. I know you have your doubts, Gin, but I honestly think this will work.”

“I hope so.”

~sdrawkcab~

Sirius was mad. First, Snivillus had been at Grammy’s, but when he got up, the prat was in the living room with Mummy.

Then, his Daddy told him they were going out. At first, that had excited him. He just knew that he was going to be taken to the quidditch store.

Well. His hopes had been bashed as soon as his Daddy told him that they were not even going to Diagon Alley or Hogsmeade, but to Privet Drive. They had apparated then, to a wooded area close to the Dursley house.

“I wanna go to the quidditch store.” The little boy pouted, his arms crossed over his chest.

Harry stopped and squatted in front of Sirius.

“Sirius, I am taking you to the house where I grew up. I think that it is important for you.”

“Fine.”

“Okay. Come, we are here.”

~sdradkcab~

“Mummy…” Severus moaned, his eyes still closed. He immediately moved his hand to search for Ginny.

Ginny walked into the living room, having put a charm on his to alert her the instant he woke up.

“Mummy!” Sev wailed, instantly sitting up and sobbing when he couldn’t feel her near him.

“Sev, honey, calm down. You have to tell Mummy what is wrong.” She told him…almost begging.

Severus put his arms up so that she would pick him up, which she did instantly, placing him on her lap.

“I don’t want to talk about it.” He cried, turning so that his legs were on either side of Ginny, his head was on her chest, and his hands wrapped in her hair.

“Sev, I have waited for you to talk to me. I have allowed you to clam up when you have nightmares. But, no more. I need you to talk to me, or I will do what needs to be done so that I can find out how to help you.”

Severus picked his head up and glared at his Mummy.

“No.” He said.

“Severus Harrison, I cannot help you if you will not let me.” Ginny said, exasperated.

“I don’t want to let you know! Therefore, I will not tell you! It isn’t even your business!”

Ginny sighed and looked at her son.

“Severus, I am sorry that I have to do this.”

Severus looked alarmed.

“Legilimens.”

~sdrawkcab~

“What the bloody hell are you doing here?”

Had Harry not recognized the voice, he would not have known who the man in front of him was.

He was huge. Grotesquely huge. The man would not fit through the door if he did not turn sideways. His flesh was red. His clothing tight against his skin.

“Hello, Uncle Vernon.”

“Freak.” The man hissed.

“Hey! Don’t talk about my Daddy like that you big, fat walrus!” Sirius yelled.

“Hush, Sirius.”

“So that is what you teach your brat. To disrespect their elders. Never put up with it myself. That’s what your cupboard was for, boy!”

“Where is Aunt Petunia?” Harry asked.

“What’s it to you, boy? Are you going to…” the man narrowed his eyes and whispered, “magic her?”

“No, Uncle Vernon. But, I would like to introduce her to one of her nephews.”

“Who would want to procreate with the like of you?” Vernon Dursley hissed.

“Vernon, who was at the door?”

Petunia.

“Hello, Aunt Petunia, I brought my son to meet you.”

Petunia hissed.

“I won’t let you freaks in my house! Leave!”

“I suppose we could stand here in the yard…”

Petunia shrieked.

“Get in here then! Move Vernon! Let the freaks in!” Petunia said, pushing her skinny frame against the huge man to get him to move.

Harry took Sirius’ hand and followed the two people that had made his life hell for so long. He was no longer afraid of them. He had stopped being afraid of them when he was probably around fifteen, but they still brought up a lot of bad memories for him. He did not plan on ever coming back after this visit.

“Are you going to invite us to sit down, Aunt Petunia?”

“Fine!” she practically barked.

Harry walked through the hallway and into the living room. Nothing had changed, except the pictures on the walls. They were all photo’s of Dudley, who had surprisingly slimmed down quite a bit, and of a small child, a girl, who looked to be about two in the most recent picture.

“How is Dudley?”

“Not that it is any concern of yours, but he has moved out! It is all your bloody fault! He moved out after your blasted war; said that he had to live his own life, Freak.”

“Stop calling my Daddy that!” Sirius said again, this time, however, a few tears fell down his cheeks in anger.

Harry cleared his throat and looked directly at Petunia.

“This, Aunt Petunia, is my eldest son. His name is Sirius Arthur. He is nearly eight.”

“Ha. Knocked up some whore while you were in school. That bloody school didn’t let us know that.”

Harry stared at her. Sirius jumped up, but Harry immediately grabbed him and placed Sirius on his lap.

“Something like that, Aunt Petunia. Sirius is my oldest son. Then comes Theodore, who is seven, Severus, who is nearly six, James, five, and Albus, 2.”

“You named one of your brats after that bloody Snape man? What the bloody hell were you thinking?! He is the one that turned your mother into a freak! A freak!” Petunia ranted.

“Aunt Petunia, one is born magical! One person cannot turn another into a magical being!”

“I should have drowned you as a child! I should have thrown you in the garbage! I should have let Dudley go ‘Harry Hunting’ more often! You were and still are worthless! A scrawny, worthless Brat who took the food out our mouths and put us in danger!”

Sirius watched everything that was going on in front of him. Honestly, he didn’t understand. Harry Hunting? Brat? Garbage?

“Daddy, I want to go. Please. I don’t like her.”

“Yes. We can leave now. Aunt Petunia, have a nice life. Tell Dudley I said hi.”

Then Harry grabbed Sirius and apparated directly out of the house into the wooded area they had used earlier.

Putting Sirius on the ground, Harry sat down and looked at his soon.

“Do you have questions?”

“What is Harry Hunting?”

Ah, Harry thought, so he did latch onto what he wanted him too.

“When I was little, my cousin would hunt me down and beat me up. Most of the time I was faster than he was, so I could get away. But, sometimes, I wasn’t fast enough.”

“I don’t understand, Daddy. How could he do that?” Sirius looked at Harry with confusion.

Harry took a deep breath and pulled Sirius to him so that they were able to look at one another eye to eye.

“I don’t know, Sirius. How could you do the exact same thing to Severus?”

Harry watched as Sirius’ eyes grew large and tears spilled over his cheeks.

~sdrawkcab~

Severus stared across the table at Ginny. He was fuming.

Ginny was staring at Severus with one eyebrow arched. It reminded Severus eerily of his former self.

“Why didn’t you tell me, Severus? I could have helped you through the nightmares.”

“Why didn’t you tell me that you were supposed to be one of my snakes when I was a grownup?”

Ginny smirked at the small child.

“Your nightmares are nothing to be afraid of. Sirius will not hurt you here; if he does he will be punished. James Potter is no longer here to hurt you, nor is Remus Lupin or Voldemort. But I know that those were not the one whom you feared most in those dreams.”

“Stop.” Severus said, pointing his finger at her.

“Severus, had I know what he did to you…I was not fond of the man because I could see through him, but I can promise you if he were still alive I would murder him for you. You are my son, and if I will never allow anyone to hurt you. Even someone like Dumbledore.”

Severus’ brow creased in thought.

“He is gone. I don’t know why I have those dreams.”

“I think, Severus, from now on you and I, or you and Grammy, or you and Daddy, any adult you want, are going to talk before you go to bed. It is obvious the main reason you are having these dreams is because you no longer have control of you magic and cannot occlude. But, talking will help. However, Severus Harrison, you should not try to use legilimency on anyone. Your magic is not mature enough for that yet.”

“Mummy…”

“Yes, Sev?”

“When are you going to tell me your real story?” Severus asked.

Ginny looked at him, deeply in thought.

“How do you mean, Severus?”

“When I looked inside your head…I saw things. Like I know that you are really a snake in lion’s skin. I know some of the things that you saw during the war…”

“One day, perhaps, Sev, I will let you know exactly what the Sorting Hat said to me.”

“I remember that day. Barely, but I remember that you were under the hat for nearly five minutes.”

Ginny laughed lightly.

“Yes, the Sorting Hat and I became friends.”

“You will tell me one day? Perhaps if I tell you about my dreams, every night you will tell me a story about you?”

Ginny looked at Severus.

“Perhaps we can do that, my little snake. Perhaps we can.”

The Floo opened up then, and before Ginny or Severus could make heads or tails of what was going on, Sirius ran into the kitchen, frantically looking around.

He spotted Severus and ran at him.

Severus flinched, and covered his head.

Ginny gasped.

Harry ran into the kitchen and stopped in the doorway.

And Sirius Arthur Black-Potter hugged Severus Harrison Snape-Potter.