Halloween

Severus Snape was distraught. Lily, the only person he had ever truly loved, was dead.  She had been killed by Voldemort and it was his own fault. As he sat on the floor in the nursery of her Godric Hollow home, he cradled her lifeless body and reviewed his regrets. If only he hadn’t called her a mudblood, if only he had apologized sooner, if only he hadn’t allowed Lucius to persuade him to become a death eater, if only he hadn’t become a spy. If only, if only. None of it mattered now. Lily was gone. That’s when he realized that there was somebody else in the room.  Severus was sure that he was being watched. He slowly turned his head to find Lily’s baby staring at him. Severus had heard that the boy looked just like James Potter, and it was true. But those eyes were Lily’s. What was the child’s name? It was something common. As Severus pondered the child’s name, Harry, for that was his name, reached between the bars of his cot and said plaintively, “Mommy?”

As Severus got to his feet, planning to remove the boy from his cot and comfort him, he heard the unmistakable sound of Sirius’ motorbike. Severus froze. He couldn’t stand Sirius and didn’t want to see him, especially now. It seemed likely that Sirius, as the Potter’s secret keeper, had betrayed Lily. He’d betrayed James and Harry, too, but Severus wasn’t as concerned about them. Being indecisive, Severus just stood there until he heard a voice, “Anybody here?” It was Hagrid. That was okay, Severus had always liked Hagrid. Sure the guy was careless and had a strange love for dangerous beasts, but Hagrid was all heart and always meant well.

“In here,” replied Severus.

Hagrid pushed some rubble away and joined Severus in the nursery. Upon seeing Lily, he knelt beside her and gently touched her face.  “Oh, Lily.” Then Hagrid turned his head. “Dumbledore sent me to get Harry. I borrowed Sirius’s motorbike since I’m not…well you know.”

At that Severus picked up the still whimpering boy. “Where are you taking him?”

“The headmaster asked me to meet him at Harry’s aunt’s house.”

Severus was shocked. “You don’t mean Lily’s sister, do you?”

Hagrid nodded, “I think so. James was an only child. Wasn’t he?”

“I’m coming with you then. Petunia won’t be a fit guardian for him.”

“You can ride in the sidecar and hold Harry. I was worried about keeping him safe.”

One very hair raising ride later, Hagrid, Severus, and Harry arrived at Number 4, Privet Drive. Minerva and Albus were waiting for them. Severus, mumbling that this was exactly the sort of neighborhood that Petunia would live in, passed Harry to Minerva who immediately began cooing at the sweet baby. Sneering, Severus hissed at Dumbledore. “You don’t plan to leave him here, do you?”

“Well, of course I do. Lily gave her life for him. That will create protective wards as long as he stays with family.”

“What about his grandparents?”

“Voldemort killed the Potters, as you are well aware and the Evans’ died in a car accident.”

“Which Voldemort probably caused,” Severus added under his breath. “You can’t leave him here. There has to be somebody else.”

“There’s no other family. Petunia is all he has.”

“Well, he can’t stay here.”

“Why not?”

“Petunia hates magic.”

“Oh, but Harry is her nephew. I’m sure she’ll change her mind.”

“No, she won’t. Lily was her sister and she never treated her well. When we were kids, she told Lily that if she were to have a child who had magic she would beat it out of him.”

“That was a long time ago, Severus. I’m sure she’s changed,” Albus claimed as he reached in his pocket for a lemon drop.

Severus glanced over at Hagrid and Minerva. They were certainly enjoying Harry. “No, old man, she hasn’t changed. She wouldn’t even allow Lily to come to her wedding or to meet her baby. Lily sent a gift and Petunia sent it back. She wrote on the package that she didn’t want any freakiness to rub off on her little boy. It broke Lily’s heart.”

Minerva joined in the conversation, “Albus, I told you that these are the worst sort of muggles.”

“Do you have any other suggestions?”

Hagrid asked about Harry’s godparents.  Albus explained , “They are not Harry’s blood relatives. James and Lily named three godfathers, but I’m afraid none of them will be appropriate.” Albus counted on his fingers, “Sirius seems to have betrayed them, Lupin’s a werewolf, and Severus is a spy. None of them are suitable and we surely don’t want Harry living with just anybody. The death eaters are going to want to kill him to avenge Voldemort.”

At a loss, the three watched as Albus conjured a basket and began to place it on the doorstep. Just then Remus Lupin arrived, looking haggard as always. Breathing heavily he began to speak, “I was afraid  that you’d try to leave him here, Albus. You can’t.”

Albus patiently began to explain about the blood wards. “Harry does have another living blood relation,” Remus exclaimed. They all stared at Lupin, waiting for more information. “Well, you see, he didn’t smell quite right so I asked Lily. She told me that Harry was actually your baby,” he looked pointedly at Severus.  “She said that they had been pretty serious, but Severus broke it off because he didn’t want her to be in danger.  James had always been infatuated with her, so she let him think that Harry was his.”

Severus, who was usually calm, cool, and collected, had his mouth open. “He’s mine? You will not be leaving him here, headmaster.

“But he looks just like James. Doesn’t he?” questioned McGonagall. “That’s what everyone always says.”

“His hair is dark and it’s messy. I guess that was enough to convince people,” Remus commented.

“But look at that cute little button nose,” cooed Minerva.

That earned her one of Snape’s patented glares. “Honestly, have you ever seen a baby with a big nose?”

“It doesn’t matter anyway. He still needs to stay with his Aunt. She was Lily’s sister and Lily gave her life for Harry. Only her blood wards will work,” declared Albus.

“Are you saying that I can’t protect him?”

“The Order of the Phoenix still needs you. I’m sure that Voldemort isn’t gone for good and there are plenty of death eaters out there. Even if he is yours, he needs the blood protections provided through his mother’s bloodline, not his father’s. Lily gave her life for his. We’re going to leave him here for now.” He studied the frowns of his faculty members. “We’ll discuss it further back at the castle, but for now, he stays.”

Snape shook his head thinking about how Albus always got his way.

Christmas

A black cat suddenly appeared on Privet Drive under a bush. Even if you had been staring at just the spot where it appeared you would have just thought that your eyes were playing tricks on you. It sauntered out from under the bushes and ran down the road. It paused at each house and looked at the front door, almost as if it were reading the addresses, but of course, cats don’t read. When it reached 4 Privet Drive it walked up the sidewalk, paused on the front stoop, and then jumped onto the front window ledge where it stared into the house for several hours.

Severus, who had spent Christmas Eve with the Malfoys was appalled at the treatment his son was receiving. Draco, his godson, was certainly very spoiled, but it seemed that Harry’s cousin was even more so. He had received gift after gift while Harry had been left in a carrier all day. Dudley, Harry’s cousin, had crawled around playing with toys, gobbled chocolate, clapped, and giggled. It was very much like watching Draco, except that Draco didn’t eat nearly as much. Harry, on the other hand, just sat in the carrier which had been placed so that he could see the festivities if he turned his head, but he could also watch the black cat sitting on the window ledge. Severus had watched as his son had reached out his tiny arms to be held when the family was especially loud, but he had been completely ignored. Eventually the child had taken to staring at the black cat on the window ledge which was, of course, Severus himself.

When Severus left the window he jumped under a bush and immediately apparated to Hogwarts’ gate. There, he morphed into his human form, waved his wand at the gate and strode into the castle and right to the headmaster’s office. He didn’t even pause to knock. Headmaster Dumbledore was somewhat surprised to see his potion’s master who had entered with such force that the door had banged against the wall and then  slammed shut. Severus was now pacing back and forth in Dumbledore’s office. Albus noted that Severus had perfected his bat of the dungeons look.

“Severus, please sit down.” Severus glanced into the headmaster’s eyes and then sat uneasily on the edge of the most uncomfortable chair in the room. “Would you like a lemon drop?” Severus scoffed. “Then how may I help you?”

“You can allow me to rescue my child from Petunia Dursley.”

“What do you mean by rescue?”

Severus explained what he had observed and how different Harry was from Draco or Dudley.  “He needs to leave there now, before they damage him further,” he concluded.

“Now Severus, this was just one observation. Perhaps he was sick.”

“And if he were sick, do you think it would be proper to ignore him all day?”

“No, no, you’re right, but I beg you to observe one more time before you remove him. Those blood wards are very important.”

“They aren’t important if Tuney damages him. However, I will do as you wish. I will observe for a few hours tomorrow before I remove him.”

“I will trust your judgment, Severus, but I can’t impress upon you enough how important those bloodwards are.” Severus nodded and left.

The next morning, the black cat slipped inside 4 Privet Drive, unnoticed, when Petunia opened the door to grab the newspaper. It stared at a wall full of portraits of Harry’s round cousin, but none of Harry. For that matter, it could hear Dudley in the kitchen banging and asking for food, but it couldn’t hear Harry. The cat was slowly making its way to the kitchen to look for the boy when it heard some quiet sniffling. It sounded as if it was coming from a cupboard. The door was slightly ajar so the cat slipped inside.

Inside the cupboard was Harry. His diaper obviously hadn’t been changed for at least a day and he had bruises on his arms, as if he had been grabbed many times. The cat immediately changed into Severus and lifted the boy out of the carrier. Then he strolled into the kitchen to confront Petunia. “I’m going to need a clean nappy and some wipes.”

Petunia turned suddenly, saw Snape, and screamed, “You?! What are you doing here?”

“Rescuing my son,” he answered calmly, but he was seething underneath. “Where are the necessary supplies to clean him?” Snape paused, but Petunia just stood there. ”Nevermind, accio nappy, accio wipe.” Snape laid his son on the kitchen table and began to change him.

“Not there,” shrieked Petunia. Severus ignored her. Then he transfigured a kitchen towel into a romper. The tablecloth was transfigured into a blanket which Severus used to warmly wrap Harry.

“This is not the last you will hear from me. You will be punished for abusing Lily’s son…my son.”

With that, he walked out the door. Nothing that Albus could say would convince him to leave his child in those conditions. He would leave Hogwarts, if it became necessary.

---

It was New Year’s Eve when Severus received a floo call from Remus Lupin. “What do you want, Wolf?”

Remus answered gently. “I hear that you have taken Harry from the Dursley’s.”

“Obviously,” Severus answered silkily as he tickled a giggling baby.

“May I come through? I’d like to talk with you.”

“If you must.”

Remus came through. Harry stared at him as he brushed the soot from his shoulders. “Hey, Harry,” he cooed.

“What do you want, Wolf?”

“I’d like to help you with Harry.”

“And why would I let you do that?”

“He’s my godson.”

“He’s my son.”

“You can’t do it alone. You’ve got potions to make and classes to teach. I can be his nanny.”

Severus smirked at this thought. “And your little problem?”

“There’s always the shrieking shack.”

“Give me a few days to think about it.”

---

A week later, the size of the Snape quarters had doubled. There was a nursery for Harry, a playroom for Harry, and a suite with a kitchenette for their live-in nanny, Remus. At first Severus tried to keep Remus in his suite only speaking to him when they exchanged caretaking roles. Remus didn’t push it, but he  had something he wanted to discuss so a few days after he arrived he broached the subject.

“Severus,” he said softly after Harry had been tucked into bed.

“What do you want, Wolf?” Snape crossed his arms.

“I’ve given this a lot of thought and I think you should give up your spying.”

“Dumbledore would never allow that.”

“You’ve promised to protect, Harry, correct?”

“Yes, even before I knew that he was my son.”

“Can you protect him as a spy?”

“Possibly, but it would be very difficult.”

“Also, what would happen to Harry if you were killed?”

Severus felt a cold chill pass through his stomach. “Albus would give him back to the Dursleys.”

Remus nodded. “I’ve considered this and I think I know how to get it past Dumbledore.”

Severus stared at the man for a minute, then gestured with his hands saying, “Well, spit it out.”

“We’ll let it slip to the news that you were never loyal to Voldemort. Once everybody knows, Dumbledore can’t make you go back to spying.”

“Agreed,” answered Snape, but he was thinking of his Dark Mark and wishing he could be rid of it once and for all.

---

Two days later an article appeared in the Daily Prophet.

Severus Snape, Father of Boy Who Lived, and Spy for the Light?

Rita Skeeter

According to my trusted sources, Severus Snape, “former” Death Eater, is actually the father of the Boy Who Lived, Harry Potter. He and Lily Potter, nee Evans, were in love, supposedly. Now Little Harry is living with Snape at Hogwarts. Snape has claimed that he was actually a spy for the light. This has been confirmed by several members of the Order of the Phoenix, the secret organization that fought against He Who Must Not be Named.

It’s up to you to believe or not believe that this man, who simply reeks of evil, could have actually been on the same side as Professor Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Order of Merlin (first class), Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards, and Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, who refuses to make a statement.

The news of Severus being a spy had spread through the wizarding world like spilled milk streaming across a table. Surprisingly Lucius had made an appointment to meet with Severus. He explained that he represented a fairly large consortium of Death Eaters who had wanted out, but didn’t know how to do it. Now that Voldemort was gone, or at least missing, they could all be honest. It was true that Lucius and his gang still thought that purebloods were superior, but that didn’t mean they had to kill and torture those who were not or those who disagreed. He presented Severus with an old diary of Voldemort’s, declaring that perhaps Snape could use it to find a way to rid them of their dark marks.

Two weeks after Remus had moved in with Harry and Severus, there was to be a full moon. Poppy came to their quarters to retrieve Lupin and escort him to the Shrieking Shack. Remus reluctantly put the sleeping Harry in his cot and knocked on the door of Snape’s potion lab. Suddenly the door opened and Severus came out with a smoking potion and an exhausted look in his eyes. “I can’t guarantee that this will work, but it might.”

“What is it?” asked Lupin.

“It’s a potion that I’ve been working on. It should help during your transformation. If it works, you’ll keep your mind and just transform into a wolf rather than a werewolf.” Minerva and Remus just stared. “Well go on, drink it. Then you’ll still have to go to the shack in case it doesn’t work.”

“Are you sure it’s not poison?” Poppy questioned.

“Of course I’m sure, woman,” Severus hissed. “Now are you going to drink it or not?”

“Bottoms up,” stated Lupin as he downed the potion. Remus grimaced as he handed the goblet back to Snape, but he didn’t complain. Then he turned to go with Poppy to the miserable shrieking shack.

With Remus out for the night, Severus felt he could take some time to study the diary, but first he checked on the soundly sleeping Harry. Then he settled on his sofa to study the diary. It was blank. “How is this supposed to help?” mumbled Severus.

Severus began casting spells on the diary and soon realized how it worked. He got out a quill and scribbled, “Are you there, Lord Voldemort?” He was soon conversing with the future Dark Lord by writing in the diary and receiving written answers. Although Severus knew nothing about horcruxes, he suspected that there was more to the diary than met the eye. He gained Riddle’s trust and ascertained Voldemort’s plans for enslaving his future “Death Eaters” with a type of tattoo and also discovered that Riddle had created the diary as a horcrux. He was horrified to discover that Riddle planned to split his soul into seven pieces, creating six horcruxes. Since the diary horcrux had been created fifty years ago, it was likely that Voldemort had succeeded.     

As Severus contemplated his discovery and its ramifications, he heard the door to his quarters open.  It was morning and Lupin was already back accompanied by Poppy.

“Thank you, Severus, that was the best transformation I’ve ever had,” stated Remus genuinely. He held out his arms, “See? No injuries.”

Poppy was very enthusiastic. “Severus, we really must share this. It can really help those who have been infected.”

“Let him finish the research on his guinea pig, first,” said Remus as he yawned and headed for bed. “I’m still pretty tired.”

“You can let yourself out, I assume, Poppy,” Severus stated. Poppy got the hint and left. Severus who hadn’t slept all night stretched out on the couch and was just getting comfortable when he heard the tell-tale signs of Harry awakening.

First there was the soft cooing, then the thumping of the boy pulling himself to his feet, followed by the yelling. “Ma Ma, Ma Ma.” Severus shook his head for the sad child who still didn’t understand that Lily wasn’t coming back. Slowly, Severus rose to his feet and headed for the nursery.  Harry brightened and called, “Sev, Sev, Sev! Where Ma Ma?”  Severus gently picked up the child and carried him toward the bathroom.