Searching for Wellness by DesertPlanet

“Sir?” Julian asked as Severus approached the doors to the infirmary with the child in his arms. “Sir, the windows are over there.”

Severus snickered Poppy opened the door for them. Though excruciatingly weak, the boy had tried very hard with the leg and arm exercises he was given. He had been surprisingly well behaved, a fact which relieved Severus to no end. Despite being ill, despite the endless barrage of testing, despite everything he had been up against, Julian was proving himself to be a driven student.

He deserved a surprise.

“Sir? Where are we going?” Julian whispered, noticing the portraits on the walls moving and talking to each other.

“You wanted to see the carriages, yes?” Severus said, adjusting how he was holding the boy. Julian wasn’t doing much in the way of helping keep himself in a decent carrying position and his boneyness was making carrying uncomfortable.

Julian nodded, frantically grabbing onto the potion master’s robes as the man shifted him around. He wasn’t used to being carried and his legs and arms were already starting to feel sore from physical therapy. Occasionally, his legs would twitch involuntarily and he was afraid he might kick the man.

“We’re going to go outside and see them off.”

Julian froze, “Outside? But what about the sun?”

“It’s quite cloudy today, in fact it may rain later. Remember the spells I cast before we left? I made it so all of your clothing is spelled to help shield you from the sun, including your hat. Your cloak has a hood that we’ll pull up when we get to the ante-chamber of the Great Hall. And both Madam Pomfrey and myself will be there. You will not catch on fire, if that was even a remote possibility.”

Julian nodded, but definitely seemed unsure of the plan. Now that he knew what was wrong with him, he was scared all of the stories he knew might be true.

As they got closer to the Great Hall, Julian could hear the students chattering away to each other as they worked out who would be taking which carriage and if they were planning to see each other over the break. Their voices ricocheting off the walls and echoing around him. There had to be several hundred students out there!

His mouth immediately went dry as he whispered, “Are you sure I can go out there?”

Severus nodded then stopped briefly and shifted Julian around so they were face to face.

“I want you to understand a few things before we encounter any students or other professors. First, the only person on staff who knows you are here other than myself and Poppy is the headmaster. Second, if anyone asks who you are, you are my son. I doubt anyone will try to talk to you other than the professors, I … have a reputation with the students.”

Julian nodded and Severus maneuvered him onto his other hip. They really needed to get some meat on the child if they were planning on taking him anywhere else.

Severus took a deep breath as they stood outside of the antechamber. What was he thinking? They could have easily just taken the boy to the windows and let him watch the carriages from there! But it was too late now.

Besides, Professor McGonagall was already asking questions about why he wasn’t going back to Cokeworth this summer. Her questioning had only gotten more intense when Albus had told her to drop it. Her Gryffindor curiosity was peaked and she wasn’t dropping the topic any time soon. And she was spurring the other professors on to ask him as well.

Well, at the very least, this would get them to be quiet. It would also introduce Julian to the world before it became obvious Harry Potter was missing, and the students would most certainly be gossiping about the potion master’s child when they went home.

This was as convoluted as something Albus would come up with. The batty old man must be wearing off on him.

“Are you ready Severus?” Poppy said from behind the pair. “Julian?”

Both males nodded and Severus pulled Julian’s hood over his head, helping hide the boy from the masses as well as any errant sunlight.

Poppy opened the door and the cacophony of noise increased dramatically in Julian’s ears.

Severus entered the room with his normal long, sweeping strides, walking over to where the other professors were standing and chatting about nonsense while Poppy continued on through the throngs of students, checking to make sure no one was hiding an illness or injury that she could quickly take care of. .

Professor Sprout was the first to notice him. If there hadn’t been students around, he would have likely burst out laughing at the double take she did in seeing the bundle of robes he was carrying. Her mouth dropped open as she looked between the pale man and the exceedingly pale chile he carried.

“Oh. Oh. OH!” She squealed, abandoning the conversation she had been having with Professor Burbage and Professor Flitwick. “Severus!”

She was quickly followed by Professors McGonagall, Sinestra, and Madam Hooch.

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Professor McGonagall said, admonishing the man.

“He had to be hospitalized and technically still is,” Severus said. “He’s been extremely ill for several years.”

All of the women immediately got looks of pity on their faces and began berating him for not taking time off.

“We could’ve helped you with your classes or grading, you stubborn man!”

“Or given you some time off!”

“Or helped you with taking care of him!”

“Absolutely not!” Severus said sternly. “I would like a classroom to come back to, not a crater in the dungeon! And while I appreciate the offer, none of you are trained even remotely in the healing arts and would have been unable to manage him should his condition deteriorated even in the slightest.”

“Well, are you going to introduce us?” Minerva asked, trying to get a glimpse of the boy under all of the robes and cloak. “You don’t get off with just bringing a child in and having us not ask questions!”

“Fine,” Severus said, shifting Julian around so he could look forward better.

Julian looked up and saw all of the professors staring at him, the women more than anyone, though there was one professor who was extremely short who was looking at him oddly. It wasn’t anger or malice he could see, it was just curiosity beyond what the other professors had. As if he could sense something about Julian.

“This is Julian. Julian, these are some of the professors of Hogwarts,” Severus said, pointing out each of the professors as he named them. “This is Deputy Headmistress McGonagall, Professor Sprout, Professor Burbage, Madam Hooch, Professor Sinestra, Professor Flitwick, and Professor Vector.”

“Hullo,” Julian said, turning rather pink and tucking his head back into Severus’s shoulder.

A quick look at his wrist watch confirmed Julian’s vitals were fine, he was just embarrassed or shy.

“Hello, Julian,” Professor McGonagall said gently, trying to get closer to him to see him better. Severus had said the boy had been ill for several years, but the poor boy looked awful, like he had never eaten a day in his life! “How old are you, dear.”

“I just turned eleven,” Julian said, trying not to look at the woman. He wasn’t ready for twenty questions.

Minerva’s eyes went wide and she looked at Severus who nodded in confirmation. There was absolutely no way this child was eleven. Maybe eight at best. If he was going to be a first year in the fall, the other students would eat him alive.

“Are you excited to come to Hogwarts in the fall?” Professor Sprout asked. The boy may be small, but she would protect him as one of her own if necessary. He would never be cast out of Hufflepuff, she would make sure of that. Though he did look like a proper Slytherin wearing all that green!

Julian perked up a bit at the thought, but he was a realist. He knew with hard work he would be able to walk again, but by the end of summer? He didn’t know if he would be able to make it all over the castle.

“I hope I can! I feel much better now, and I’m going to work hard, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to make it to all the classes,” Julian said, his voice fading out by the end of the sentence. He didn’t want to admit he was weak, but these professors seemed different from his primary school teachers.

“Of course you can make it to all the classes, dear!” Professor Sprout said. “You aren’t the first student who is intimidated by the size of the school.”

Julian blushed and laid his head on Severus’s shoulder.

“Pomona,” Severus said quietly, sensing Julian didn’t want to discuss his current difficulties on his own. “His fear of not making it to class is not based on intimidation of the size of the school but rather the physical demands of the size of the school.”

Professor Sprout looked confused at the statement, but a glare from her former student was enough to let her know to leave well enough alone. Minerva, on the other hand, took it as a challenge. Why was the boy’s ability to get to class a concern? What was wrong with him that made this a concern at all? She was going to find out.

“Ah, Severus!” Albus’s voice carried over the crowd. “Came to see off the students?”

Severus just scoffed as he readjusted Julian once more on his hip. Really, there had to be some sort of cushioning charm he could use. Julian was extremely small and light weight for his age, but he was certainly not an easy weight to carry.

“Good morning, Headmaster,” Severus said as the old man approached.

“Julian, my boy, how are you?” Albus asked, seeing what all the fuss amongst the professors was.

“G’morning, sir,” Julian responded quietly. “I’m doing well.”

“He was wanting to see the carriages and has been more stable in these past few days that he has been in a long while. I thought it better to bring him down here and let him see the carriages more closely.”

“Marvelous,” Albus said, eyes twinkling. “A very good plan indeed. And perfect timing too, the carriages are just about to leave!”

Minerva and the other professors’ jaws dropped. Albus knew about this child and hadn’t told them?

Slowly, the throngs of students meandered outside, urged on by the professors who followed behind the crowd. The occasional student would catch a glimpse of their potions professor carrying something, but not enough to be curious. Eventually, the entire student body was loaded into the carriages, leaving the professors standing on the steps bidding them farewell. As the students waved goodbye to their favorite professors and the school, many of them noticed their potions professor setting down the object he was carrying on one of the flat stone banisters on the stairs and wrap his arm around it almost protectively.

Molly Perkins said she saw a small hand poke out of the bundle of robes. Octavia Septer knew she had seen a pale face under the hood of the robe. Oliver Wood swore up and down that he saw Professor Snape smile. The Weasley twins confirmed they had seen the boy in the infirmary.

By the time the carriages were at Hogsmeade station, word had spread to all of the students: Professor Snape had a child.