Searching for Wellness by DesertPlanet

This was what it was like to be a father, he was sure of it. Immense pride at what his child had accomplished, unbridled joy at watching him achieve goals, overwhelming delight as he learned new skills.

And utter frustration at his complete lack of organization and timeliness.

Severus pinched the bridge of his nose in an effort to ward off the impending migraine. Julian had known for a week now that he was going to be riding the train with the other students. There was a whole list of stipulations for both his safety and for the safety of the other students, but Albus had agreed it was in the boy’s best interest that he have the most normal beginning to the school year he possibly could.

He would continue to live in Severus’s quarters until it was proven he was feeding appropriately and was not going to attempt to feed on students. He was going to be required to have a tracking spell on him at all times which would monitor his vital signs as well as his magic output. He wouldn’t be allowed to take Herbology or flying this year as both classes required he be outdoors during the day. He wouldn’t be able to attend more than one class per day for the first month so they could monitor how his body was responding.

There were so many things he wouldn’t be able to do and so many facets of his life which would austrocise him from his classmates, it seemed almost cruel to prevent him from riding the train to school with them. He would be indoors the entire time, he would sit with the prefects, and he would be watched. Professor Kettleborn had agreed to ride the train as well, though he knew not to interfere unless Julian lost control.

It wasn’t an ideal situation, but at least he could meet some of the other students this way.

The last requirement which was decided on for Julian to be able to ride the train was he had to be continuously running albumin through the entire trip. Which meant he had to pack and prepare to run an extremely sticky product on a moving train. And, as they had found via trial and error, he would also have to pack at least two bottles of water for the trip so he could flush his tube a couple of times on the trip. If he didn’t, the tube would get gummed up very quickly with the albumin and require quite a bit of work to get open.

Not something he wanted to have to deal with on a train.

Despite all of the preparations on other fronts, and the fact he didn’t even need to pack his trunk before leaving, they were still running rather behind. They would be apparating to the King’s Cross, where Julian would then get on the train. This meant a trip outside to the edge of the wards. Which meant finding the Sun Repellent cream. And his cloak.

And where did he put his boots again?

“Julian,” Severus groaned. “You’ve been doing the cleaning for the past how many weeks? How do you not know where things are?”

“I put them in a good place at the time!” Julian said, looking in the trunk at the end of his bed. “Ah! See! Found them!”

“Alright, now let’s go over the list one more time,” Severus said, ignoring Julian’s groan.

“Pump?”

“Check,” Julian patted the bag which hung from his shoulders and sighed. This would be the fifth time at least they had gone over the list.

“Two vials of albumin?”

“Check.”

“Two bottles of water.”

“Check.”

“How many syringes did you pack?”

“Six. Two for the water, two in case the pump stops working, and two for back up.”

“Did you pack an extra set of pump tubing?”

“Yes.”

“Sun repellent?”

“Check.”

“Sunglasses?”

“Check.’

“Gloves?”

“No, I’m not bringing the gloves. I’ll keep my hands covered when we go outside, but by the time we get back the sun will be down.”

“Put your gloves in the bag then.”

“I don’t want to bring the bloody gloves! It’s summer!”

“Fine. Hat?”

“Check.”

“Have you taken an ondansetron. We are apparating directly onto the platform.”

“Yup.”

“Cloak?”

“It’s on the rack. I have everything packed, Dad. I’m ready to go.”

Severus paused before nodding. Julian had only been living with him for a short period of time, and already he had managed to worm his way into Severus’s life. If Julian disappeared tomorrow, he didn’t think he would be able to go back to how he had been living his life before. Even now, the idea of having Julian away from him for even a couple of hours was nerve wracking.

“Come along then, unless you want me hoisting you over my shoulder so we can make better time.”

Julian smirked slightly at the thought. He was still slow on the stairs and had to stop frequently if walking long distances, but he hadn’t needed to be carried for the last two weeks. He had managed to make it up to the hospital wing and back down to the dungeons every day, and every day it was easier to make the trip.

If only the sun wasn’t so bright every time he needed to go outside. Even with the sunglasses on and the hood of his cloak pulled up, he swore he could still feel the sun beating down on his skin. Not to mention how washed out it made the world. While he had once enjoyed being outside as it kept him away from the Dursleys, he was finding it unbearable now.

“Why couldn’t I stay in the dungeons until the other students got here?” Julian sighed as they approached the edge of the wards.

“Are you wanting to go back? We can just explain to the headmaster…”

“No,” Julian interrupted. The man seemed slightly too excited about the idea. “I just want the sun to not be so bloody bright all the time.”

Severus snorted slightly as he placed a hand on the boy’s shoulder. While still painfully thin, the progress was evident to anyone who had seen him when he had first come to Hogwarts.

“Ready?”

Julian nodded, already feeling slightly nauseous at the idea of apparating, but he was excited to see the train and the students. The last time he had seen them was the first time he had been outside since coming to Hogwarts. He had seen them do double takes and had seen their stares. He was actually interested to see what they would think of him being on the train with them.

Together the two of them turned, apparating directly onto the designated apparation area at Platform 9 ¾. Other wizarding families were popping into existence around them as they walked out of the area and onto the platform proper.

“How are you feeling?” Severus said in a low voice, knowing Julian could hear him despite the din in the room.

Julian nodded. He was feeling a little nausea, but the nausea medication was working wonderfully to keep it at a low simmer.

As they made their way through the crowd towards the front of the train, Julian noticed they were already getting stares.

“Is that…?”

“Snape’s kid? It’s gotta be.”

“Snape’s not riding the train this year, is he?”

Severus ignored the murmurs as he led Julian through the crowds, instead he was keeping his eyes peeled for any of the Prefects. He hoped to find one of his Slytherins first, but a quick scan of the area and he was dismayed to find he couldn’t see any of his. He did see one Prefect badge though, as the owner of it was proudly puffing out his chest in his nice new robes and allowing his mother to dote over his appearance.

Of all the people to be made into Prefects….

Severus sighed as he led Julian over to the gaggle of red heads who had just come through the barrier. They must have had to find other forms of transportation to get there as a family as there were too many children in their family to make one apparation trip.

“Weasley,” he said, brusquely to the oldest boy in the group. “Which car are the prefects sitting in this year.”

Percy Weasley jumped slightly as the potion’s master's voice startled him. He quickly whipped around and saw Professor Snape standing behind him, looking just as menacing as ever in his normal black robes. But it was what was behind him that was the biggest shock, for behind him was…

“Blanket boy!” George cried out, ducking around his brothers and approaching the small, dark haired boy who was standing slightly behind his father. “Where are your blankets?”

“Left them in the Hospital Wing,” Julian said, smiling slightly. He was surprised the red-haired twin remembered him.

“You know him?” Severus asked, rather worried about his son’s safety if he was already making friends with the twins.

“Not really,” George said calmly. “He was in the hospital wing at the same time Fred was and had all of the blankets on him, then he threw up. That was about it.”

Julian nodded, resisting the urge to plug his ears as the train blew its whistle.

“Alright lads, let's get you on the train!” An older, slightly balding, yet equally red-haired man said, beginning to herd all of the red-headed children towards the train.

Severus and Julian followed suit, following Percy Weasley to the first car. Severus crouched down next to the child and began straightening his tie and school robes, ignoring the increase in the volume of whispers behind him.

“If anything happens, tell a Prefect to find Professor Kettleburn. He will be in the same car as you.”

“I know.”

“Don’t forget to take the ondansetron when you get to Hogsmeade.”

“I know.”

“Remember to keep the blinds in your compartment mostly pulled. And don’t forget to put more Sun Repellent on your skin.”

“Dad,” Julian said slightly too loud, ignoring the gasps around him. “I know. I’ll be fine. It’s a nine hour ride. I have more than enough of everything to last me.”

Severus smirked slightly at the boy’s attitude. “Fine. Behave yourself.”

“Thanks, Dad,” Julian said, grasping the hand rails which led up a small set of stairs to compartments. He paused momentarily before giving the man a small wave before disappearing into the belly of the train car.

Severus turned and walked away from the car to the back of the platform, ducking into the shadows. From his new vantage point, he could watch the pandemonium ensue as the train blew its final whistle. Students quickly hugged their family goodbye, mothers cried as their child left for a year, and under it all he could see the rumor mill beginning. He was glad the decision to put Julian in with the Prefects was made, he wouldn’t have gotten a minute alone otherwise.

Looking at the first car, he had a vague idea as to where Julian was as there was only one window which had the curtains pulled. If he looked closely enough, he thought he could just make out Julian’s silhouette in the window.

The train lurched forward once before steadily beginning to pull away from the station to begin its long trip north. Looking at the families surrounding him, Severus realized he could commiserate with the other parents. Even though he knew he would be seeing Julian in just a few hours, it was hard to let his child leave.

He had never thought he would feel this way about a child.

Julian wasn’t the perfect child by any stretch of the imagination, nor would he likely ever be. However, Severus couldn’t help but feel proud in a way he had never felt for any of his potions. The frail waif of a child he had retrieved from Lily’s sister had managed to survive the unthinkable for the second time. He had brought together two worlds in the most unexpected of ways. He had begun a line of deeper research by potion’s masters around the nation into humanoid magical creatures that many would benefit from despite never knowing he was a part of it.

He had a long way to go, but he had the resilience to make it. But as with everything, he had to take it one day at a time and boldly strive towards goals many would believe to be unachievable.

The train had long since left the station when Severus finally made his way to the apparition platform, relieved the majority of the throngs of people had already left. As he pulled out his wand to apparate, two realizations struck him.

A celebratory drink sounded very nice, and Albus still owed him a bottle of wine.