Twilight Oblivion.  It was a potion he had not heard of before and the list of ingredients was rather long, with blood being one of the ingredients needing to be collected. Blood of both the intended parent and blood of the recipient were needed.  It was a potion that would not only deage one physically but mentally as well, a permanent deaging potion.  Since it was designed to be a permanent deaging potion, it would also erase one’s memories up until the point one was deaged to.  It seemed complex, yet Severus was hopeful it would work.  Considering it seemed to be an ancient and forgotten potion of borderline dark tendencies, he was uncertain if he could make it himself.  Even some of the ingredients, as he copied them down, seemed to be from creatures that might be difficult to come by. 

With the list of potion ingredients in the pocket of his coat, Severus grabbed the list from the coffee table.  “I am going out. Do you wish to come with me?”

“No thanks,” said Harry.

“Very well,” said Severus.  “You may explore the cottage or explore the backyard but do not wander the property in case you get lost.”

“Yes sir,” said Harry, watching as his professor nodded curtly and left the cottage.  Harry unwound himself from the chair and walked towards the window, watching Snape vanish down the path and through the fenced gate surrounding the cottage.  As the professor disappeared out of sight, Harry turned back to the living room and decided to tour the cottage for something to do, given he no longer had any textbooks to read from or anything to occupy his time.  Not that he ever read his textbooks beyond the bare minimum anyway.  He certainly wasn’t stuck in a book all day like Hermione was nor he as lazy as Ron with his own classes.  Harry thought he was average at best.  Oh, he could be brighter if he tried, but he didn’t want to lose either of his friends.   Years of trying to impress Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon with good grades on his report cards and homework…only to end up in failure…only to be beaten or shouted at for making Dudley ‘look bad’ and knowing that whatever he did, not matter how hard he tried to be a good boy didn’t matter to his uncle and aunt, had seated themselves deep within his core and made him stop trying.    What was the point when it only led to a slap or some other form of bodily harm if he dared to ‘show up’ his cousin?

One might think, being at Hogwarts, a chance to get away from his relatives for nine months a year and being in a new place, he would perhaps pick up his lost studying habits again.  However, he didn’t get the chance.  Everyone expected him to be reckless and a mirror image of his father…a prodigy at Quidditch…and…well he wasn’t sure what his parents were good at besides dying.   How could they have been so selfish to get married out of Hogwarts and then risk having a child in the middle of a war?  Everyone always said how much Harry looked like his father, how he had his mother’s eyes, but nobody really spoke to him concerning who his parents truly were.  As far as Harry knew, if his parents’ had had friends…then they might all be dead.  They were certainly nonexistent in his life.   

But then why do they owe you anything? If you’re such a striking resemblance to your father…famous Quidditch player and headboy…then why should anything you do matter? All they will see at Hogwarts…all they choose to see…is a mirror image of James.  The little boy inside you doesn’t matter.  Harry doesn’t matter to them. All you are is a carbon copy of your father…the savior of the wizarding world who defeated Voldemort…the one who has to become a murderer. 

Nothing you ever did at the Dursleys was good enough and everyone excepts you to know everything there is to know about the wizarding world, although you were raised by Muggles who belitted and abused you.   And if you try to be better than Hermione? She’d probably get affronted and potentially say there was no reason to try hard.  Ron…well…Ron may not be your friend anymore if you put effort into your studies.  No…just stay the ignorant little boy you are.  All you’re apparently destined for is to be a future killer.

Footsteps stumbled down the seaside path, the waves crashing against the shore as the child ran.  Tears blurred the boy’s vision and choked sobs made his lungs ache as his feet carried him away from Seafare Vista, jumping the small stone walls dotting the property.   As he reached the gravel road, his sneakers kicked up gravel as he skidded to a halt and bent to catch his breath, glasses falling off his face.  Not even pausing to pick them up, he bolted down the road and continued his mad dash, unsure where he was going, but needing to get away. 

What was once a clear and sunny day quickly turned overcast as the day progressed.  Whether that meant rain was coming was unknown, but for Harry Potter, he didn’t care about the sudden overcast sky as his feet continued to carry him down the gravel road. Stumbling as he ran, not used to walking on gravel, he continued until he could run no further.   His chest felt tight, and he clutched it with a hand as he slumped to the ground, tears falling from his eyes.  Eyes closing, he attempted to calm his breathing by taking shallow breaths and try to focus on the grassy hill behind him.

It was the sound of rain that woke him, the boy stirring and blinking stupidly as he squinted into the air.  Searching his surroundings, he lifted his head to have a few raindrops plop on his face and shivered at the cold wind that hit him.  Harry had completely forgotten to bring his coat with him when he had run away from his professor’s cottage. Stupid.  Slowly, he got to his feet and continued, his tears having stopped only to be replaced by rain.

Wiping his eyes, Harry stumbled along through the November cold and rain, his eyes squinting to see.   As he walked, he only knew that when he turned back briefly, he couldn’t see the property nor the gravel road anymore. Without realizing it, his feet had taken him off the gravel road and away from the countryside into a town.  It was not like Hogsmeade, in fact it looked even quainter than Little Whinging, a place he hoped to never return to.   Situated along the bank of a river,  the buildings and houses were of varying bright colors ranging from white, which was prominent, to red.  In the distance lay a church, its gothic towers stretching above the trees surrounding it which stood off to his left.   The road he walked upon was not of gravel like the one leading to Seafare Vista but of asphalt with grassy meadows on either side.  

There was no way he could call for his professor, not that he wished to do so.  It wasn’t like his professor would be able to see where he was anyway, for Severus Snape had gone first to the village near Seafare Vista for some groceries and then to another town along the southern coast to look for some potion ingredients and other things on the list.  Even though Harry couldn’t control his magic and still had accidental magical outbursts, something a child was supposed to have controlled by the time they started Hogwarts at age eleven, Harry didn’t want to be found.   All he wanted was to be left alone and so he took the time to wander the town’s outskirts to get a lay of the land so to speak and perhaps collect his roving thoughts. 

He didn’t have any money so he couldn’t buy anything but only two months in the wizarding world hadn’t been enough to sway him from the use of money that was natural to him. Rather it was the wizarding use of gold, silver and bronze that confused Harry as well as the varying amounts.    Yet how was Harry supposed to ask questions without looking like an idiot?  So, he had kept silent, even though he had been uncomfortable with the attention he got in the Leaky Cauldron.  Why did people expect so much of the child? It wasn’t fair!

Four days earlier-Hogwarts Infirmary, Scotland:

“Albus!”  Poppy’s voice echoed through the floo as she knelt in front of the fireplace.

“Poppy? What is it?”

“Harry is gone!”

“What?!”  The headmaster pushed back his chair and stood from his desk, turning to the fireplace. 

“I woke up today and he was gone!”

“Perhaps he just snuck out of bed and went back to the tower.  I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about.”

“Yes…perhaps,” said Poppy.  “Sorry for bothering you Albus.”

“It’s understandable my dear.  The boy doesn’t seem to like being in the hospital wing.” 

“Yes...I swear if he keeps coming here though, I’ll be making a plaque and designating a bed to him.”

Albus chuckled and bid Poppy good day, the matron leaving the fireplace and calling a house elf to bring her breakfast and tea.

Present Day-Ireland:

Continuing his trek through the town, Harry’s desire not to be found unconsciously caused his magic to react to fulfill his wish. As it was not conscious willful magic, it wouldn’t register on the gadgets within the Headmaster’s office, but it had no effect on the muggles who saw him wandering the town, let alone the creature that had spotted the wandering easy meal. While his magic hid him from other wizards’ sight, Harry also couldn’t be tracked due to not being within Scotland and not having his wand on him through the Trace, something put on all wands in Ollivanders that allowed the Ministry to track for underage use of magic.   The rain continued coming down, forming puddles in the streets that people splashed through on their way home, umbrellas opened to protect themselves from getting soaked. Harry was not so lucky as, without his glasses, he could barely see in front of him.  His vision was fuzzy without his glasses though he could see, and things were somewhat blurry as well.  Of course, his father had glasses as well, but he had no idea if there were eye tests in the wizarding world nor what his father’s vision had been. 

Unaware he was being followed, he continued observing the buildings and homes around him, the streets of cobblestone rather than asphalt.  The road was different to walk on, for the streets of Little Whinging and even in Hogsmeade were asphalt though Diagon Alley was of cobblestone.  It wasn’t smooth like asphalt or cement were and was hard on one’s feet if they weren’t used to walking on it.  Moving instead to the sidewalk, which was thankfully cement, he pushed on through the rain, raising a hand to shield his eyes from the downpour.

He found a library, however it appeared closed so he couldn’t enter.  A bit disappointed that he couldn’t read something about the country to find out where he was exactly and that he couldn’t get out of the rain, he instead studied the Georgian building. With a sigh he turned and sank down on the bottom of the steps leading up to the library, allowing the rain to soak into his skin and clothes.   A whine caused him to lift his head to see a dog standing on the sidewalk, head lowered and looking skinny.  It was a large dog, so despite its skinny appearance, Harry was wary of the canine.  Not having any good experiences with dogs other than Aunt Marge’s numerous bulldogs, Harry didn’t like dogs at all and was fearful of them.  So, as the dog approached him, he scooted back up at the steps in the hopes of putting as much distance between him and the dog as possible. 

“Ah you found my dog.  Thank you young one,” came a voice and Harry’s gaze darted towards a pale thin man who appeared out of nowhere, at least it seemed so to Harry for he hadn’t heard the stranger approach in his panic of the dog that remained close by but didn’t move towards the child.  Something about this man didn’t seem right to Harry.  It was like he was a predator with the way he stared at the child before him, the dog leaning into the man’s touch as he graced it with a pat.   “He’s been missing for some time.  What is a young child doing out here in the rain all by their self without a parent or guardian?”

“My parents are dead,” said Harry. 

“Ah, that’s unfortunate.  It’s always a tragedy when one loses their parents so young, but even worse when a child is lost before the parent can see them grow to their full potential.  Unfortunate for you that is.”   The man smiled, revealing long canines, and then rushed up the steps towards Harry, the dog remaining at the bottom of the steps.  Harry was frozen in fear as the thin man rushed towards him, shocked by the man’s sudden movement.  Unable to track the figure’s movement until the man was upon him, Harry screamed as the figure reached him before he could even think of moving, the man’s eyes glowing crimson.  The next thing he knew, the man had grabbed Harry and bitten into his neck, fangs piercing his skin as the child struggled desperately to escape.

Blood flowed from the boy’s torn neck as he ran through the streets, the blood mixing with the rain and washing away.   The sound of a dog barking behind him, its paws accompanied by the feet and growling of the…the monster…that had bit him could be heard behind him.  Lost and unable to see much with the rain that now poured from the heavens above, Harry struggled to navigate the streets, buildings fuzzy and the rain misting in his eyes.  Choked sobs emitted from him as he tried to catch his breath, lungs working hard to gather air, but the bite and ensuing struggle had widened, tearing more of his throat than intended. 

Fingers clutched at his throat, trying to stem the bleeding.  His gait slowed as he lost more blood until he collapsed outside a church.  “Pl…please.  He…help! An…”  Collapsing against a statue, the child pressed his hand against his wound as blood continued slipping between his fingers, his breathing becoming fast and shallow as he struggled to hold onto consciousness.  However, he wasn’t alone.   As he collapsed against the statue, the monster that had been chasing him appeared and loomed over him.  

“You run far for your throat being half torn out,” said the creature.  “A bit skinny for my tastes, yet full of blood…even if it is fading now.  I admire your will to live but this be where your life as you know it ends.”  The creature smiled at him, revealing sharpened fangs and leaned over the child. Grabbing Harry by his throat, he hauled the child up to eye level and then bit down like a snake, fast and nearly invisible as he bit into the child’s torn throat, crushing the child’s fingers in his bite and causing a strangled choked scream to emit from the child.   Harry screamed as the vampire bit into his already damaged throat and broke the bones within his fingers.  He felt a burning within his throat as the vampire injected their venom into him and then a pulsing as his wrist were bitten into and he could feel blood pumping through his body. 

Harry’s vision swam in front of him, the child feeling a burning sting in his throat.   He didn’t see the blast of light hit the man holding him, as he fell suddenly limp from the man’s grip onto the cobblestone street below.  Instead, the child lost consciousness, rain mixing with the blood that pooled around him.  The vampire was blasted away with a blasting curse.  “Sancti illuminatione ignis,” hissed a feminine voice and there was a yellow light that burst from the figure’s wand.  With a screech, the vampire fled as he was hit with the light and the woman turned back to the dying child.   Brushing the child’s fringe back, she glimpsed the lightning bolt scar on his forehead.  Frowning, she peeled back one of his eyelids and skimmed his surface thoughts before sighing.  Severus…what have you gotten yourself into? 

“Severus…you have a serious problem.”

“What happened?”

“I found him in a town a few miles away.  He was attacked Severus…by a vampire.  The boy’s near death.”

“I can see that,” said Severus.  “I told the boy not to leave the property.”

“Don’t get snippy with me Severus.  I’m aware who this child is, anyone would be.”

“Can he be saved?”  The child had been levitated towards the couch and lain upon it where he continued struggling to breathe.  He was angry at himself for leaving the boy alone, and at the boy for not listening to his words of staying on the property.  You never showed the boy the property lines either.  He tried to ignore that subconscious thought as he glanced towards the couch where the boy was coughing, feeling like he had already failed at protecting the boy.  It was a strange feeling when he felt nothing but animosity towards the child that was a reminder of his own screwups in life.  Lily had never accepted his apology, even when he had sat in front of Gryffindor Tower until Mary MacDonald told Lily he was out there, nor had he been invited to Lily’s wedding.  Despite that, and the fact that he likely wouldn’t have been wanted by Potter and his friends, Severus still had made a vow to Lily to protect her child from harm.

Severus’s potion ingredient quest had been successful, both for getting some of the rarer ingredients for the Twilight Oblivion potion and the blood adoption potion which wasn’t as rare as the Twilight Oblivion.  He had also purchased a few groceries and basic household necessities that were needed for life raising a child.  The only things he had not picked up were clothing and bedding for a pre-teenager.  “I don’t know Severus if the child can be saved.   I’m not sure if the vampire injected venom into the boy by the time I got there or not, however it seems there was a mixing of blood.  Both the boy’s wrists are slashed.  If we don’t try to at least heal him, he will undoubtedly die.  Now…what do you have here that can be used for dressing and bandaging of wounds?”

His friend threw the sheets that had been protecting the furniture into the dryer and turned it on before coming back to see Severus working on trying to stop the bleeding from the boy’s throat which was the biggest issue.   Yet both could see the boy was fading fast, his skin beginning to turn pale from blood loss, his breathing become shallower with each choking cough to bring air to his lungs.  “Potter, if you can survive a troll then you can survive this,” said Severus.  They used yarrow that the woman had on her to try to stem the bleeding, gently wiping the leaves over the slashed wrists.   It was no wonder the child hadn’t felt the injury when it had occurred…no doubt he had been preoccupied with breathing and trying to hold his torn throat together. 

“The yarrow will stem the blood flow,” said the woman.  “I just hope I got to the child in time.”

“Agreed.  The boy is too much trouble.”

“Children usually are at this age.  They’re nearly at the cusp of adolescence and that comes with its own set of challenges.”

“Don’t remind me,” said Severus as put pressure to the boy’s neck injury.   He was averse to using magic, unsure if it would end up harming the child even more than he was, and still worried over the fact that any use of his magic or the boy’s magic could attract aurors to their location. Even if they were still searching Scotland or even England, there was the possibility they might have decided to cover other areas close to the United Kingdom and that included Ireland.  Slowly they managed to stem the bleeding in his wrists and throat, applying pressure to the wounds and holding the boy’s wrists above his heart.   “Without magic, they’ll scar,” said Severus when they were done.  “But I think we’ve done the best we can.”

The child had been given some much needed blood donations, O- since Severus didn’t know the child’s blood type.   His friend had gone and nicked some O- blood from a hospital in Dublin once they’d gotten the bleeding to stop as well as the necessary IV line to transfer the blood.  “I fear the mixing of the blood has already proceeded,” said the woman, “and the blood should be bringing color back into the boy’s body. Instead, he seems to be getting paler and his body spasms occasionally.  It seems…the boy-who-lived’s life is to forever change.”

“How long?”

The woman looked from the child to Severus at the man’s hollowed tone.  She took in the man’s pale face as he sat there in the armchair, the woman seated on the end of the couch.   “You’re asking me?”

“You did take an interest in dark creatures for our thesis we had to do to get our mastery,” said Severus.   “So? How long?”

“A week.  But we’ll know for sure in two days if he will turn.  I just hoped I stopped the vampire in time to keep the boy from turning into a vampire and not the hybrid offspring.  Now…since all we can do is wait…why do you have the Boy-Who-Lived here?”

“How did you find me?”

“I peered into the boy’s mind with a minor Legilimency.  I realize it’s illegal, but I needed to know why the boy was in Ireland of all places,” said the woman.  “I got only a few surface thoughts, one which was a clear image of you and then the hidden missing spell.  Are you going to answer my question Severus?”

“It would be easier to show you,” said Severus.  He got to his feet and retrieved his pensieve, bringing it to the table and concentrated on his memory of his vow to Lily, his memory of his meeting with Dumbledore already residing in the swirling liquid. Together, the pair each touched a finger to the shimmering silver liquid and were swept into the past.

November 2, 1981:

“You said you would protect her!”  A younger Severus, face distraught glared at the Headmaster in his office.

“James and Lily put their faith in the wrong man and it cost them their lives,” said Dumbledore.  

“But you could have hidden them better! You could have told them they needed to flee the country or even let them hide in Potter’s childhood home.  Instead, you left them to die in Godric’s Hollow!”

“What about yourself Severus? Don’t pretend to be innocent, you were all for James and Lily’s son dying to get Lily.  Do you think Lily would have thrown herself in your arms if she had known you were the one to sentence her to death?  Or that Tom would have honored your request to keep her alive?  He hated muggleborns and sought to destroy them.  Lily had also defied him along with James.  She was dead regardless of what I did or didn’t do.  And you Severus, you have as much blame in her death as anyone.  Perhaps even more so.”

“I didn’t know it applied to her!  I didn’t…”

“Yet you probably felt extreme gratification at first when you realized Tom had chosen Harry to go after instead of Neville.  Regardless, Tom chose the half-blood child over the pureblood.  Harry must survive until it is time to face Tom once more.  The prophecy says…”

“Trelawney is a fraud! Don’t tell me you believe that a child Albus…a child…is meant to defeat the Dark Lord!”

“I’m sorry my boy but there is no choice.  Harry, for now, is safe and your job is to protect him when he comes to Hogwarts.” 

“I’ll protect the boy but not for you or the child.  I’ll protect him because he is Lily’s son.” 

“Indeed, and I think the best place to keep an eye on you Severus is to give you the position of Potions Master once Horace retires this year.”

“They will never accept me here at Hogwarts!”

“They will listen to what I say,” said Dumbledore.  “Remember Severus, I will not hesitate to put you in Azkaban if you go back to your ways.  That would be most unpleasant when Tom comes back.”

“He’s dead.  The Dark Lord isn’t…”

“He is still out there,” said Dumbledore.  “But that is not your concern now.  When the time comes, you will protect the boy or face Azkaban  and eventually resume your role of spy.  Dismissed Severus.  I will announce the news at the end of term feast.”

That hardly gives me time to prepare, thought Severus but recognizing he was being dismissed, he left the headmaster’s office.  The thought of being thrown into Azkaban was enough to cause the dour and grieving man to head back to his home in Cokeworth.  I promise Lily…I’ll do what I can for your son.  I’ll do what I can to keep him safe throughout his years at Hogwarts, even if he is not in my house when he comes in ten years’ time.

The next memory played out much the same way, Severus remaining silent throughout the playback. When the memory ended and they were both back in Snape’s cottage, the woman turned to him.  “You sold your childhood friend to the Dark Lord to get back at Potter? And then Dumbledore, the man in charge of the Wizengamont, threatened you with Azkaban if you didn’t agree to teach at Hogwarts?”

“I was stupid and foolish. I thought overhearing the prophecy would get me an edge with the Dark Lord. I didn’t realize until later that it referred to Lily’s pregnancy or that the Dark Lord would be foolish enough to go after the Potters and Longbottoms without hearing the entire prophecy or seeking it out.  Instead, he acted on the first part of the prophecy that I was able to give him.  I joined the Dark Lord when I graduated from Hogwarts. I’ve done some horrible things in my life as a Death Eater.  No matter what others said, such as Lucius, you can’t unwillingly take the Dark Mark.  I didn’t realize what a mistake I had made until after Lily was killed and knowing I contributed to her death.”

“Do you still love her? That’s quite unhealthy Severus to pine after those that are dead in such an…obsessive manner.”

“Lily was my only friend I had before Hogwarts.  Despite being sorted into different houses, we still managed to be friends.  How we managed it, despite the animosity between lions and snakes I don’t know. Maybe it was because we had been childhood friends and Lily was the only one there when my weak-willed mother didn’t stand up to my father and leave him.  He beat the magic out of her, and she was disgraced from the Prince family for marrying a muggle.  He didn’t like magic, my father.   I don’t know what my mother ever saw in my father.  He was an abusive drunk and I can’t imagine that he’s changed at all.  

“But everything was fine at Hogwarts as I had Lily. That was until my fifth year when I did something stupid and called her a Mudblood after Potter and Black used one of my own spells on me and I ended up upside down with my undergarments showing.   She stepped in to defend me but I was humiliated and snapped at her, calling her a Mudblood and saying I didn’t need ‘a filthy Mudblood’s help’.    It didn’t help that it was done in front of several Slytherins who were going to join the Dark Lord and in front of other students as well.   Potter taunted me, saying I needed Lily to protect me.  I snapped in a moment of weakness…or maybe I just always hated muggleborns due to my father.  Regardless, our relationship was ruined. Lily never forgave me and the only reason I join the O…Dumbledore’s vigilante group, was out of duty to Lily to repent.  It’s why I snatched the boy. I’m not sure if I ever loved Lily. I fancied her though I don’t think she realized and treasured her as a friend.”

“I’m not sure whether that answers my question or not,” said the woman.  “What are you planning on doing with the child?”

“I made a promise to Lily’s memory to protect the child.  Albus believes that Harry is meant to defeat the Dark Lord as he believes the Dark Lord isn’t dead but just in hiding, too weak to go on and fight.  All because of a prophecy I overheard the first part of and relaid to the Dark Lord in a moment of foolish eagerness to prove myself to my master.   If I had known it put Lily in danger, I likely wouldn’t have done it.  At least, that is what I tell myself at night.   Maybe I would have, just to get rid of Potter.  Lily thought he grew up but that wasn’t true.  I don’t know how he made Head Boy or Lupin made Prefect when Lupin was too cowardly to do anything to stop his friends from attacking anyone they didn’t like.   

“When I learned that Albus was planning on raising the boy to defeat the Dark Lord, allowing him to break rules as he wanted so he could have a chance to be a ‘child’ I knew I had to get the child out of Hogwarts and away from Albus…away from anyone that would seek to use him as a pawn in this war that adults should fight.   I may not like Potter and his son seems to have no magical talent whatsoever, but I’m not so cruel to believe the child should fight an adult’s battles or become a killer before he turns seventeen.  As for what I am going to do with the boy, if he lives, I am going to adopt him using a blood adoption potion.   I was hoping to just replace Potter’s genes and magic with my own while leaving Lily’s intact.  Even if it hurts to look at the boy but if he is in the beginning of his turning to a half-vampire, then….  Well, I am not sure what that will do to Lily’s DNA or if it will survive the transformation into a dark creature.”

“We will have to wait and see what happens, but I will help you make the potion.  For now, let’s get these groceries in the fridge but if it comes to it, I will donate my blood for the mother’s DNA.”

“Why?”

“Because from what I scanned of the child’s surface thoughts, it doesn’t seem like he has had a good life,” said the woman as she turned to the table to start putting the food away. “Go put the wash in the dryer Severus.”

Within two days of Harry being attacked, it was obvious there was nothing they could to do stop the venom spreading within the boy’s system.  It had taken a foothold and the woman had not reached the vampire in time to stop him from infecting the child.  However, it was a week from the day that Harry was brought back to Severus’s cottage where Harry finally woke form the coma that Severus’s  friend said was a part of the turning process.  When Harry finally woke from the coma, he was pale though not nearly as much as when he had been at death’s door.  He woke to quietness within the cottage, his mind foggy as the venom had attacked his brain.  

“Urrrnnnggghhh,” he groaned as slowly came to, not realizing where he was at first.  Eyes staring at the ceiling where he had been lying prone on his back, his head swam with pain and the loss of his glasses forced him to squint and slowly put a hand to his head to massage his forehead to quell the headache.   Movement from another part of the room and he attempted to call out but found his mouth would not work.  This only caused the child to begin panicking as he couldn’t speak.   A blurry movement came towards the couch and spoke.

“Easy child.  Speak not for you’ve been in quite the ordeal with your vocal cords being damaged in the attack.  It will be some time before you can speak properly once more.”  She gently pushed the child down as he attempted to get up, then called for Severus who came into the room.  Snape had collected blood from Harry while patching him up as blood of the intended parents and the adoptive child were needed for both potions.  There was a flurry of movement from somewhere within the cottage nearby and a blurry figure hurriedly rushed over.  As the figure got closer, he could make out the fuzzy outline of his Potions professor standing next to the woman.  

“S…Sna…”

“Shush child.  How are you feeling?”  He wasn’t good at this, this molly coddling and soft words. However, was he, a death eater turned spy, one Severus Snape meant to take care of a child? How was he to break the news to the child brought back from death that not only was he no longer human, but that the child would have to have his mother erased from his blood or the pain that would occur because of the Potter magic being ripped from the boy to be replaced by his own?  That his friend had agreed to substitute her blood for Lily’s was a welcome surprise but what would the child think of losing both parts of his heritage? Neither adult was sure of what this would end up entailing for the child or their lives but Severus believed it to be the only way to protect the boy.   If Harry ended up becoming someone else because of the blood adoption and being deaged, then perhaps the prophecy would fail to come to pass.   That was the man’s hope at least.

“R…ra…in.  Bl…dog chase…he…tried.  I tr…tried…get…s..so…sor…ry.”

“Nevermind your foolishness though it was stupid to run away when I told you,” said Severus.  “Nyguet, could you get the boy something for his throat?” 

“Of course,” said the woman as she got to her feet and headed into the kitchen to get a glass and fetch some water from the sink. 

At the child’s look, Severus helped the boy to sit up and spoke.  “Do you remember when I said that deaging you would give us the best bet of keeping you out of this war and safe from both the Dark Lord and Dumbledore’s machinations?”  At Harry’s nod, Severus continued.   “Do you also remember I mentioned that the degaing potion would allow you to keep your mind but replace your father’s magic with my own and erase James Potter, both in blood and magic from your body?  It would hurt if I gave it to you, however you were close to death when my…friend…found you and brought you back here. 

“I managed to save you and patch you up the best I could through Muggle means and a bit of dittany.  There might be some scarring however, but you were in a coma. The thing that attacked you is called a vampire.”

“V…vam…pire?”  Harry had not heard of the creature in Defense Against the Dark Arts though it was rumored that Professor Quirrel had encountered and that the stuttering professor’s turban was stuffed with garlic to ward off the vampire finding him. “What…what is that?”

“A vampire is a nocturnal creature that was once human.  They are generally tall with sharp fangs and nocturnal, meaning they come out at night.  They use their fangs to drink blood from other living creatures though seem capable of eating food.   Sunlight is dangerous to them, from what the ministry teaches, and the bite of a vampire is incurable. That means it cannot be cured.”

“So…I’m…a…va…vam…”

“No.  Not truly,” said Severus.  “You are a half-vampire or part vampire as the ministry says.”

“The correct term is dhamphir,” spoke Nyguet as she came back into the room with the glass of water, having listened to Severus speak to the child.   “Dhamphir can be born or created though most find it difficult to believe that a vampire can have biological children.  They are in essence people with human ancestry and vampire ancestry and have pale skin with slightly exaggerated features such as smaller fangs than a vampire.   Vampires and likewise their dhamphir offspring, are considered neither wizards nor truly human.   The Ministry has a set of guidelines in place for the treatment of them which is known as Guidelines for the Treatment of Non-Wizard Part-Humans.”  Her face twisted into a sneer as she spoke of these set of guidelines and Harry looked to the woman, gratefully taking the proffered water as the woman handed it to him. 

“No, I’m not a vampire just because I have pale skin,” said Severus.   “It is just because I don’t spend a lot of time in the sun outside. I’m usually in the Slytherin common room, the Potions’ classroom or in my office.   Though pale skin can also be a sign that one is ill or isn’t getting enough blood flow and oxygen to their body or has fewer red blood cells.  I gather pale skin is a trait of dhamphir?”

“It is one of their features they share with their vampire parent,” said Nyguet.  “Greetings young child.  I rescued you from the vampire that attacked you and brought you Severus’s cottage here.  Severus patched you up the best he could but I’m afraid child that I couldn’t stop the vampire in time.”

“What…what…d…do y…you mean?”

“I’m sorry young one, but I was too late to stop the vampire injecting his venom into your blood.  When I reached you, you were close to death and your wrists were bleeding.  The only reason you were standing was because the vampire was holding you to get better access to your throat.  Child, you’re no longer human.”

It felt like his world was crashing down around him as he heard that he was no longer a human but a…a part-vampire instead.   Harry didn’t know anything about wizarding culture nor the creatures and beings that populated the area.  They had not yet covered vampires in Defense Against the Dark Arts and Professor Binns tended to focus on goblins so far this term.   Let alone knowing anything about the ministry of magic, of wizarding careers nor of the government itself to a world he had been a part of.   Though he could get behind and accept living in the muggle world again…living as a muggle…he was not sure he could understand not being human anymore. And what did it mean by him not being a ‘wizard’ anymore?  The confusion must have shown on his face because Nyguet and Snape looked at each other before Severus spoke.

“I think you would still be a wizard when you receive the Prince magic, however due to your transformation into a dhamphir, we will have to replace Lily’s blood as well within you as well as the magic she gave you.  I do not know who your mother’s magical ancestors were but muggleborns are possibly descended from squibs. Nyguet has volunteered to give you her blood to substitute for your mother.”

“Can’t I just have your blood? I…I don’t want…to…to give up…my mother.”

“I am sorry child, but a child cannot survive with one set of DNA in him.  He or she would not exist,” said Nyguet.   “Among muggles and wizards, it is a fact of life.  A child must have DNA from the father and mother to even form into a potential human.” 

They left Harry there to process the matter of losing his heritage from both his parents and the idea that he was no longer human.   The two adults gave the child some time to work it out himself.   He was not sure what to process first or what being human meant for him.   Harry had thought it was bad when he found out that he was destined to defeat a Dark Lord and the fame he got for something that he didn’t truly remember.  That he had to lose his father was one thing.  If it meant he was safe, he could accept it.  If he had to live as a Muggle then it was no loss for he hadn’t grown attached to the wizarding world and didn’t like the whispers and stares that had accompanied him on his first day at Hogwarts, nor of Hagrid introducing him to the patrons of the Leaky Cauldron when shopping for his school supplies.   He didn’t want to fight a dark lord or become a killer. Harry wasn’t sure what he wanted to be when he grew up, but he didn’t want to fight anyone.  All the fighting did, in Harry’s mind, was hurt people.   He knew what it was like to be hurt for Dudley often participated in his favorite sport of ‘Harry Hunting’ and his aunt and uncle often yelled at him.  Didn’t fighting equate to being a bully?  With his experiences with Uncle Vernon and Dudley, Harry didn’t want to turn out like either of them.

“I’ll…I’ll take the potion to become….your son.”

Severus and Nyguet looked up at Harry as he came outside onto the patio where they were sitting.  He stood in the doorway, the sliding glass door open to allow some fresh air to flow into the cottage, his head down.  The pair of adults looked at each other in surprise, both noting the hesitancy in the child’s voice.   Neither had thought the child would accept Nyguet being the substitute for Lily.   “It is natural that he doesn’t want to give up his mother Severus,” Nyguet had said earlier that week.   “It sounds like he doesn’t have the best life up to now and knows next to nothing about his mother.   Did he ever learn about her at Hogwarts?”

“Not to my knowledge.  Most were amazed that he looked like Potter and had Potter’s quidditch abilities.  I don’t know if any of Lily’s friends are even alive, but the focus seems to be on comparing him to his father.” 

“People see a shadow of what used to be.  It seems that Britain seems to believe this child is a mirror replica of his father and not a boy.  What he achieves in life compares to his father, both his popularity, his social and academic knowledge.  How many expected the child to be a mirror copy of his parents in both looks and talent?  I am not sure Severus but the child’s surface thoughts I gleaned do not speak well of his upbringing or knowledge of magic up until entering Hogwarts.  You and your country’s citizens…the staff of Hogwarts…everyone seems to see only what they wish to see and that is not a child but the ghost of those long dead.”

It had given Severus much to think about, their conversation while the child was in his coma.   He couldn’t deny to himself that he had seen only James in the child, never looking at the boy with an unbiased eye.  He knew McGonagall had done so.  James had been one of her favorite students despite his bullying and getting into mischief all the time.  He had hated the child on principal, confident he would be the bane of his existence for the next seven years. He had assumed the child would be just like his father, not just in looks but in personality.  Arrogant, big-headed, and popular.  Strutting around the school as if he owned it and having girls falling at his feet.   He had refused to see that Lily’s talent might be in the child, instead being so angry that the boy was a reminder of Lily choosing his tormentor over himself and that he had only himself to blame and that he had taken it on the child.   

“D…do you….n…not….not w…w…want…me?”

Harry’s voice brought Severus out his bitter thoughts, and he started blinking to get the scene before him back into focus.  Harry’s head was still down, studying his feet as Severus remained seated within the chair, the light breeze continuing to flow throughout the cottage.   “I’m sorry,” he said though it hurt to say. It hurt to apologize to the boy.   “Are you sure Harry that you want to become our son? As I explained before, I was looking for a permanent deaging potion that might take away your memories as well of your life. If you are deaged, you won’t be able to contact Miss Granger or Mister Weasley again for you will be a different child.  For all intents and purposes, you will be the son of myself and my friend as well as a dhamphir though I am not sure how that will affect the potion at all.”

“I don’t want to go back to the Dursleys and I don’t want to fight in an war.  I just want to be…normal.  I wish…I wish I didn’t have magic or had been taken to Hogwarts.  Everyone stares at me and thinks I’m great for something I can’t remember.”

“You were with Petunia,” Severus choked out. 

Harry nodded.   Of all the…damn you Albus!  “I can’t believe you were sent to Petunia of all people.  I can only imagine she’s as horrid a swine as she was when we were children,” he sneered. Petunia hadn’t accepted Lily being a witch when they were children.  He couldn’t imagine that had changed when she had been taking care of her nephew.   “What did she do to you child, that you wish to escape them so badly?”

Of course, from the memory that Severus had shown Harry, he knew now that the boy had been left his horrible shrew of an aunt, but he still couldn’t believe it. What were you thinking Albus? There were any number of wizarding families that would have taken the child in!  You knew that, but you put the boy with his magic hating aunt? 

“There’s no need to have the child relive his worst memories,” said  Nyguet.  “Not if he wishes to be our son.  Why give the child any more trauma?” Severus was silent as he considered Nyguet’s words and then nodded.  “We aren’t sure what age you will end up deaging to, but there will be pain as the magic of your father is taken from you and replaced with Severus’s own magic.  Nor can we be sure what you will look like or how your new status as a dhamphir will affect that.”  For now, the child looked the same as he had been born, barring the paleness in the child’s skin tone because of being a dhamphir and having suffered major blood loss.

Harry was led to the living room once more while Severus fetched the two potions.   The pair of adults had already added their blood to the blood adoption potion that Harry would drink first.  Severus had rushed through the process of the Twilight Oblivion Potion for though he had not been contacted by Dumbledore, there was no doubt the man was likely searching for him and Harry.  Harry was given the goblet containing the blood adoption potion and drank it down, grimacing at the taste.  As they watched the potion begin to take effect, Severus handed the other potion to Harry before he found himself in a world of pain and Harry found this potion more pleasing than the last, thanks to the hibiscus petals for flavor. Unlike most potions, the flavoring of the hibiscus didn’t alter the potion at all.  

As he drained the last dregs of the Twilight Oblivion potion, there was nothing for several moments as the potions worked on the child’s body.   Nyguet and Severus watched silently before Severus stepped forward and took the empty goblet from Harry, just as the child doubled over in pain.  Nyguet rushed forward to grab the child as he fell and dragged him to the couch where she laid him back down.  “Severus, help me hold him so he doesn’t injure himself!”  As Severus rushed over, the child began to scream as his father’s magic and the magic his mother had inherited was ripped from his body, including the ancient Peverell magic that neither adult knew lay within.  As the magic was ripped from him of his biological parents, things were also happening at Gringotts and the Ministry of Magic, unknown to the prospective parents.

From within Gringotts, an alarm began going off within the bank.  A goblin who was patrolling the lower areas of the bank, those twisted underground passages and caves that humans didn’t know of, heard the alarm and rushed towards its source. At the same time, an alarm went off in the Potter account office, saying the last of the Potters were dying. This was the second alarm within a week, the first having gone off and being thought of as a mere trick.  The goblin in charge of the Potter account stared at the alarm in disbelief before shouting for the chief of the goblins to come to his office at once.  

 Within the Ministry of Magic, there were two things happening.  The first was that a death certificate was being written and the second, deeper within the Department of Mystery was occurring within the Hall of Prophecies.  A non-descript orb that was clouded and small, nestled on a small claw-like pedestal on one of the many shelves, shattered to pieces, the swirling cloud that made up the prophecy of one Harry James Potter and the Dark Lord dissipating into mist which too was swept away through the lower bowls of the ministry until it got to the Death Chamber and disappeared into the Veil.   While at Hogwarts, the name Harry Potter faded from the book of records, but none were there now to see such information.   For as a child who lost their magic and became a squib had their name crossed out in the Book of Records, a child who died had their name erased by the magic of the book.   Such was the case of many children that had died before Harry’s time during the first wizarding war.  

It was an agonizing process as the memories of Harry, who he had once been, were taken away to give the child a chance at a normal life without fear of being hurt or unloved.   Something the potion couldn’t take away were the child’s fears of abandonment and of dogs.  Such things were ingrained into the child too deep to remove.   As the potions worked, the child shrank in body and appearance, his eyes and hair changing as well as features that made him a Potter.   When he stopped seizing from the pain coursing through his body due to the family magic being ripped and replaced, Severus and Nyguet slowly released the boy.   His hair, which had once been messy and black was now straight and dark brown while his eye sockets had become deep and he’d developed a double lid due to Nyguet’s Vietnamese ancestry.  

As for his eyes, they had changed to a midnight blue which was surprising, given Severus had black eyes and Nyguet had brown eyes.  His incisors changed to points and his fingers became long like Severus’s own fingers with the same hooked nose.   His skin remained pale with a thin build and slightly pointed ears making up his overall appearance   He looked nothing like Harry James Potter and Nyguet pulled out her wand to cast a spell to ensure the potions did their job.  “When will his birthday be? We shouldn’t have it be too close to his original birthday to avoid suspicion,” said Severus. 

“So not in summer, or at least not August,” said Nyguet.  “When do students in Hogwarts begin school?”

“They must be 11 before September 1st of the upcoming school year so that probably takes out autumn if we want him to be able to attend school and not wait another year. What about your school?”

“I went to Gaidastara in the Himalayan Mountains of India,” said Nyguet. She looked over at the child and then turned back to Severus.  “We need to come up with a story for him, in case anyone asks about him, but school starts at ten years old.  I was pregnant and went back to my family, giving birth to him in Vietnam.   He’s been living with me for the first few years of his life.  Perhaps February would be a good idea.  Didn’t you say when we were studying in Greece that you British wizards take pride in the old ways?”

“We used to.  Until there was an influx of Muggleborns allowed into Hogwarts and the Ministry decided the old ways were too dangerous along with blood magic,” said Severus.  

“British,” said Nyguet, rolling her eyes.   “Imbolc perhaps?  When is that?”

“February second,” said Severus.  “I didn’t realize the potion would make him so young.”

“Perhaps it was a self-conscious wish to experience a true and loving childhood,” said Nyguet.  “Shall I perform the spell to check his heritage?” At Severus’s nod, she waved her wand at the child.   “Originem vitae,” she said and the parentage appeared over the child’s head.  Father: Severus Snape.  Mother: Urquart Sen Nyguet.  Date of Birth: February 2, 1986. 

“February 2nd 1986,” said Nyguet.  “That makes him…five?  Yes…five years of age.  I suppose we should come up with a name for the child.” 

“Prince,” said Severus instantly.  “Are you sure you want to do this Nyguet? You aren’t…”

“Don’t say I’m not under any obligation Severus Tobias Snape,” said Nyguet.  “If I’d no intention of doing this, I wouldn’t have offered my blood to substitute Lily’s blood.”   She smirked as Severus fell silent.  “If we are going to live as a family and have disguised the boy, you should disguise yourself as well.  You’re too recognizable with your black hair.  Maybe you should dye your hair red and cut it.”  

“Oh God no,” said Snape.  “I’m not looking like a Weasley!”

“Yes…on second thought it would contrast with your skin,” said Nyguet.  “Apus.”

“Apus?” 

“It’s the bird of paradise,” said Nyguet.   “Apus Phong Prince then.”

“Phong?”

“A Vietnamese name,” said Nyguet.   “Giving him ties to his Vietnamese heritage.”  Severus nodded his assent to study the child who was looking at them.  “How are you feeling young one?  Are you in pain?”

The child shook his head and looked between the two adults.  He had dim memories of Severus and Nyguet, just enough to recognize them and not be frightened, but slowly nodded.  He wasn’t in pain anymore and there was a sense of safety with them, a feeling that felt foreign but at the same time something he couldn’t place.  This thought vanished as the last vegs of who Harry had been swept away as Twilight Oblivion finished settling into the child’s mind and soul.   Unaware that Hedwig had been sent out to look for him by Dumbeldore after not finding Harry anywhere within Hogwarts, the old man intent on using the bond between the two to find the boy.  However, this plan backfired as when Harry was near death, it began cutting the bond that tied the owl to her master.   She did get to Kirknewton  and rested there for a few days before circling the hotel in search of her master.   But with the ripping of magic from the child, it shattered the thin threads left tying Hedwig to her master and shattered the bond between the pair.   Hedwig, who had left the hotel and was beginning her next leg of the journey, ended up crashing as the bond snapped. She tumbled to the ground, hitting the ground, and dazing herself.  The owl was found a few hours later and taken away to a rescue center for help, but this was unknown to the small family of three residing in Seafare Vista. 

“It seems we’re in for a celebration,” said Nyguet.  “We’re parents now, after all.”

“Hard to believe,” said Severus.   “I suppose you want me to cut my hair now?”

“That would be the plan,” said Nyguet.  

“Ugh.”  But Severus went off to go fetch some scissors to cut his hair, leaving their new son with his mother.