A Potion's Miracle by Maraudering

“Yes,” Neville breathed out, his voice shaky, lips trembling.

Severus took a deep breath to steel himself for the rest of the conversation, but he was glad that Neville chose to open up to him, despite everything.

“Thank you, Neville. I understand that this is difficult for you, but you will need to talk about it. That is the only way I can help you,”

Neville just nodded, looking at his knees in a look of shame that tore at Severus’ heart.

“What’s going to happen now?” Neville asked shakily.

“I have to admit that you are a bit more of a difficult case than others I have worked with,” he saw a look of panic in Neville’s eyes and rushed to reassure him, “That doesn’t mean I can’t or won’t help you, Neville. We just have to be quick, and delicate about it before certain people find out, and because your grandmother has a strong reputation behind her,”

Neville cringed and Severus rested a hand on his shoulder to try and comfort him.

“It’s okay, Neville. I will get you out of there, no matter what it takes,”

“T-thank you, sir,”

“First things first, we need to set up a meeting with the goblins and an Auror friend of mine. They are the ones who help me with abused students, and they will be able to be discreet about it, until, or unless, you are ready for things to be made public,”

“Okay, when can we do that?”

“I will see if I can get one set up for tomorrow morning, as it is a Sunday, and I will write you a letter when I know the time. The sooner, the better. You won’t have to talk about any of it with me now, but when we meet with them, they will need details. The more that you are able to give us, the better. I am just letting you know so you can prepare yourself for it,” Severus said, and Neville gave a shaky nod.

“Thank you, sir,”

“When we are away from all the other students and professors, you may call me Severus, Neville,” he doesn’t know why he said that, it was just an instinct, but it felt… good.

Neville smiled shyly, “Thank you, Severus. And thanks for the hot chocolate and biscuits… And for wanting Harry,”

The way that Neville looked at Severus’ flat stomach in awe, and love, and amazement made Severus’ lips tug up at the sides.

“Can I… Can I be part of Harry’s life once he’s born? I don’t mean to intrude or anything… but he is my best friend, and…” he trailed off nervously and looked at his knees again.

“I happen to think that a big brother figure around to teach, love, and protect him would be good for Harry. And I think I will be needing some help, also, someone trustworthy to babysit and such. You are the right person for the job, I believe. So yes, you may be part of Harry’s life when he is born, and for the rest of his life after that,” Severus said, smiling when Neville beamed at him brightly, the last of his nervousness fading.

“Awesome. Thanks, Severus,”

“No worries, Neville. I do believe, though, it is almost lunch time and your fellow Gryffindors will be heading to the Hall. I will send you a letter later with a date and time for our meeting in a few hours or so,”

“Okay. Thanks again, for everything. Erm, even if you can’t get me away from there, thank you for wanting to try anyway,”

“I will get you away from there, no matter what,” he said sternly, though the small smile on his lips took away from it somewhat, “Nevertheless, though, you deserve a good home, Neville. Every child does, and you are not an exception to that. You don’t deserve pain, of any kind, from anyone. And I will do whatever I can to protect you, and every child in this school from anything that dares to try and harm you,”

“Just… Just try not to get harmed in the process, Severus. Harry needs his mum,” Neville said gently, smiling at Severus as he stood from the sofa and shouldered his bag.

“I’ll try my very best to not get hurt in the process. I promise,” Severus said, reassuring both his son, and his son’s friend with that statement.

“Good. I’ll see you later, Severus,”

“Indeed, Neville,”

Neville left and Severus took a shaky breath as he leaned further back into the cushions, his hand going to his stomach and stroking gently.

“Thank you for helping him, mum. He deserves somewhere safe, where he is loved,” Harry said.

“I know. And he will have it, I promise,”

He stood up and walked through the door connecting his office to his private quarters, grateful that he didn’t have any duties that day until after dinner. He went over to the bookshelf directly beside the sofa and pulled out the book, which wasn’t a book, that he dreaded having to pick up each and every time he had to do so.

He sat on the sofa, his legs crossed under him, and he opened the book to the secret compartment which held two two-way mirrors which he specially adapted for his needs. He tapped them both with his wand, and he waited.

Kingsley was the first to appear in the one designated for him.

“Sev, you are positively glowing,” Kingsley greeted, a grim smile on his face as he saw the potions’ master, and for some reason his cheeks blushed a little, not much, but enough for Kingsley to grin somewhat childishly.

He didn’t quite know how he and Kingsley became friends, but they had, sometime during the war. After countless Order meetings, and meetings between the two to discuss Death Eaters, plans, and more, it was hard not to become friends with the man who was both intelligent, and fun.

“Can’t you be serious for once, Kingsley?” Severus said, trying to sound annoyed.

“I am always serious, just in a fun way,” Kingsley chuckled, “In any case, you are glowing. It suits you, whatever it is. But this isn’t the time for personal talks, I gather,”

“It certainly is not the time for a personal talk,” Severus grumbled.

King Ragnok appeared in his mirror and Severus sighed thankfully.

“Severus, I take it another child is in need of assistance,” Ragnok said.

How Severus became a friend to the goblin nation he wasn’t entirely sure. He just remembered their names, treated them with respect, and helped make a few potions they struggled with. Ragnok would never tell him what he did to earn their respect, but he wasn’t going to complain. He helped them and they helped him. Together they helped children find the homes they deserved.

“Indeed,” Severus said.

“Who is it this time?” Kingsley asked, concerned.

“Neville Longbottom,”

“Are you sure?” Kingsley sounded shocked, but also not, “I mean, I know Augusta is strict, and has said some… things. But I didn’t think…”

“I don’t think anyone thought anything other than she was grieving what she lost. I don’t know the full extent of it. But he is being hurt in some way, and we need to see what we can do to help him. We need to be quick and discreet about this also. A lot of other things have come up and he is in danger from more than just his family,”

Ragnok growled, “Who else is he in danger from?”

“Dumbledore,”

“Why is he in danger from Dumbledore?” Kingsley asked, shocked.

Severus rolled his eyes, “Besides the fact that Dumbledore is trying to get children involved in things they shouldn’t be involved in, like war. Dumbledore can no longer use Harry Potter as his weapon against the Dark Lord. As a result, I fear that he may turn to Neville and try to make him into his weapon instead. And given what he has done to Harry to try and achieve that, I can’t imagine what he is going to do to Neville to make him a weapon in a drastically shorter amount of time,”

“I have a feeling there is a lot we need to be caught up on,” Ragnok said roughly.

“Indeed there is. It would, however, be easier to talk about it in person. Are you both free at any point today to do so? And are you free tomorrow for a meeting with Neville?”

“Well, it is my weekend off, and I have no other plans. I can be at Gringotts in about thirty minutes if that works for you both? And yeah, I am free tomorrow also,” Kingsley said, his voice rich and silky.

“I can meet in 30 minutes, my office. And I can meet at 8 tomorrow morning if that works for you both?” Ragnok said.

Kingsley and Severus both agreed and Severus ended the call.

He sat there for about five minutes, just thinking about, well, everything really. Part of him didn’t want to tell his friends about Harry yet. He wanted time for it to truly sink in first, but also just time to cherish him on his own.

He was going to be a mum.

But he knew that he needed to not only help Neville, but he had to help his son too. He needed to make sure that his baby wouldn’t, couldn’t be sent back to Petunia, ever. No matter what. He knew Albus would try something, anything he could think up to get his weapon back. And he needed to protect his baby, from everything and everyone who would dare try to harm him. His friends could help him with that. He was sure of it. And the sooner they got started, the better.

He sighed and stood, making his way to the bathroom to empty his bladder. Something he knew he would need to do a lot more often now that he was pregnant. Not that he minded. He would do anything for his baby, happily.

When he went back to the living room, he found a worried looking house elf and a trunk in the centre of the room.

“Master Snape's, sir, this be Harry Potter’s trunk and Missy be’s bringing it to you cause Master Weasleys be trying to steal things,”

“Thank you, Missy. Which Mr Weasley tried to steal from it?” Severus asked, annoyed that someone would dare to try and steal from his son.

“The youngest one, sirs,”

He felt a flash of pain from the ball of magic in his stomach and his annoyance turned to a brief anger at the boy who tried to steal.

“Thank you for saving my son’s belongings. You can leave it in my room for now and I will sort it all out later,” Severus said.

Missy nodded and popped away with the trunk. Severus pinched the bridge of his nose with a sigh.

“Mum, why would he try and steal from me?” Harry asked nervously.

“I don’t know, Harry. But I can assume that the Headmaster has told, probably everyone, about what happened in potions class, and where you are. It is lunch time after all, and he has been known to make announcements at lunch time on occasion,”

“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”

“That would depend on how everyone reacted to the news. Most of the students, I can imagine, won’t be reacting well. Those who know about bearers are probably wondering why I am the way I am. And since I wasn’t there to do damage control there may be a number of issues. And it does mean that I will have to do damage control throughout the week. Not that it makes much of a difference, I was going to start being myself now,”

Severus sighed again and went to his floo, he needed to get out of the castle as soon as possible. If Albus had actually told everyone then he wouldn’t be surprised if he started getting knocks on his door, from teachers and students alike.

He walked down Diagon Alley, embracing how peaceful it was during term time. He took his time, seeing as he had about twenty minutes before their meeting, but he was surprised when he arrived outside the bank ten minutes before the meeting and found Kingsley there already waiting for him. His friend smiled at him when he saw him. Severus still didn’t know how he and Kingsley became friends. But he wasn’t complaining as the strongly built man held the door to the bank open for him.

“You’re here early,” Kingsley said, his tone light but still silky.

“I could say the same for you since you were waiting for me,” Severus said, “In any case, though, I needed to escape the castle before I was potentially hounded by everyone,”

“Why? Are you okay?” Kingsley sounded genuinely concerned about him and it shocked Severus to his core that someone could care enough about him to ask how he was.

“I am fine. But you will find out why during the meeting. And I don’t know if Albus has told the school yet, I just have a suspicion,” a very large suspicion, but a suspicion nonetheless. Why else would the Weasley boy think he could get away with stealing from his friend’s trunk? Surely the only possible reason would be for him to believe, or know, that Harry no longer has a need for it.

They arrived at the door to Ragnok’s office, the goblins having let them through the bank on their own as always. The perks of being friends with the goblin nation.

Severus knocked and they were bade entry. It was just Ragnok in the room and they sat in the chairs opposite the goblin king’s desk. Severus tried to ignore the way Ragnok grinned at him the whole time, a spark of knowing in his eyes.

“Congratulations, Severus,” Ragnok said as soon as Severus was situated in his chair.

Severus blushed slightly, he couldn’t help it really, and the goblin smirked as Kingsley looked at Severus in confusement.

“What’s going on, Sev?” Kingsley asked.

“I’m pregnant,” Severus said, he was going to take the time to explain, but he delighted, instead, in the look of complete shock mixed with a hint of awe that alighted Kingsley’s face.

“Oh, erm, I didn’t realise you were seeing anyone. Congratulations!” Kingsley said, smiling slightly, though Severus thought there was something else, though he didn’t know what, behind it.

Severus snickered, “I’m not seeing anyone, but thank you for your congratulations anyway,”

Kingsley’s eyes widened even more, “Then how are you pregnant? Wait, you’re a bearer? And you didn’t tell me? That’s amazing, Sev, you know I wouldn’t have done anything to you because of it, right? I’m your friend. I wouldn’t hurt you,”

Severus gave him a small smile, “I know you wouldn’t have done anything to me, Kingsley. But I also wanted to try not to think about it too much given my position,”

Understanding filled Kingsley’s eyes, “Right, yeah, that makes sense,”

“And in answer to your question of how I became pregnant,” Severus sighed, crossing his legs and trying to get comfortable, “Yesterday, in my third year potions class, we were making a de-aging potion. Despite my warning at the beginning of the class, an idiot of a student threw an unknown ingredient into the potion which belonged to Harry Potter and Neville Longbottom,

“Harry managed to push Neville out of the way when the potion exploded, but wasn’t able to get out of the way himself and was hit with the potion. He was de-aged, and I tried everything I could to stop it. But it didn’t work. At least, not to the point where Harry is currently a walking, talking student like he was yesterday morning. Harry Potter is currently an eight week old foetus, in my womb. My magic and body absorbed him into my womb, and my magic has also changed his magic and DNA. I am now Harry’s biological, magical and physical mother,”

Kingsley looked more shocked and awed than before, and Ragnok also looked somewhat shocked.

“You’re pregnant with Harry Potter?” Kingsley asked for clarification.

“Yes. That is why I needed to escape a bit earlier. I believe Albus has told the school, but I am not completely sure. He wasn’t happy in the slightest when I filled him in on what happened. Nor when I told him that Harry wouldn’t be his weapon anymore now that I have the ability to stop him. It also didn’t help that I started the meeting by going off on him for leaving Harry with abusive muggles,” Severus growled the last bit.

“Harry was abused?”

“Indeed. And we will be punishing the Dursleys for what they did to him also. But Neville will be the main focus for now. I don’t want Albus to turn him into a weapon. And he may just do that if whatever he plans fails, which it will. Neville is the second child of the prophecy after all,”

“Right, yeah, we have to get Neville away from his abusers and with someone who won’t let Albus use him as a weapon. Are you sure Neville is abused?”

“Yes. The signs are all there, and he has admitted to being abused in some way. He hasn’t gone into detail but that is what tomorrow is for, and he is aware he will need to share details also,”

“Good,” Kingsley nodded.

“I also need to confront Poppy,” Severus said.

“Why?”

“Well, because usually an abused child will do whatever they can to avoid the hospital wing. So Poppy doesn’t have any or much evidence towards abuse for the cases we have covered so far. However, Harry is in the hospital wing fairly frequently, at least a couple of times a year, always for something major, which would require a slightly more in depth scan than the one she usually uses. As a result, Poppy should have some sign that Harry has been abused by his relatives. And yet, she has done nothing to help him as far as I am aware. I need to find out why, and if any other children have been affected because of something similar,”

Ragnok tutted, “And here I was thinking that children were meant to be precious. The staff of that school have gone a lot downhill since I took over as king. Severus, don’t go stressing yourself out too much, or putting yourself in danger, for the sake of yourself. And for us. We don’t want to see you hurt,”

Kingsley nodded at the words, looking at Severus sternly, but also with deep emotions in his eyes that Severus couldn’t quite pinpoint. The care in Ragnok’s eyes also threw Severus, although he knew his friends cared about him, he hadn’t thought they had cared this much.

It was weird.

But it was good at the same time.

“I’ll be careful, I promise,” Severus said sincerely.

“Good. What are you going to do about your position?” Kingsley said.

“I’m no longer a spy. I don’t care what Albus says or does, I’m not going back to it. And I am going to show the students that I care, and protect them, more than I have been able to before. I’m going to be myself,”

“Good,” Kingsley smiled.

They spent another hour going over things regarding the meeting tomorrow with Neville, about what they could potentially do with Harry’s ex-relatives, and just figuring things out.

“If Pomfrey has indeed hidden child abuse from you or the authorities,” Ragnok said, “And you don’t feel comfortable with her as your healer during or after your pregnancy, feel free to come to us, Severus. You know Healer Greyclaw is wanting to see you again,”

“Wanting to mother me, more like,” Severus snorted, “But I will be sure to keep that in mind, thank you,” he said softly, grateful to have people who cared about him in his life.

Severus and Kingsley said their goodbyes and left the office, walking out of the bank together. Severus saw, in the corner of his eyes, that Kingsley kept looking at him with something akin to awe, but also as if he had about a million questions to ask.

Severus sighed, “Kingsley, if you really want to talk about it, you can come back to Hogwarts with me and Neville after our meeting tomorrow and we can talk,”

Kingsley beamed at him, “Okay. I will be sure to do that,”

Severus rolled his eyes fondly.

“Do you want to go back to Hogwarts yet? Or would you like to go to get something to eat?” Kingsley asked.

“I am going back to Hogwarts. I have to write to Neville, and do some marking. I also have to ward my quarters more strongly than they already were so that I don’t get hounded by people every five minutes,” Severus said.

“Okay. Well, be careful, Sev. I don’t want to see you hurt,” Kingsley said gently.

“I’ll be as careful as I possibly can be in that school. I promise,” Severus said sincerely, his hand going to his stomach. He didn’t want to be hurt either, nor for Harry to be.

He didn’t know what he would do if something were to happen.

“If you or any of the students are in danger, come to me. I don’t care what time it is, come to me, or the goblins, call me, anything. Just get out of there. I know we’ve been building a case against Dumbledore because of the abuse cases, and such, but we can do without more stuff to add if you are in danger, if things get too bad. If you are hurt,” Kingsley said, almost desperately.

“Okay,” Severus nodded.

Kingsley nodded back, “I’ll see you tomorrow, Sev,”

“See you tomorrow,”

Kingsley walked away and Severus couldn’t help but watch him go.

No one had ever been that genuinely worried about him before. It was striking that he had gone thirty three years without someone to worry or care if he was hurt. It hurt, really, that he had always been alone. Even Lily hadn’t cared that much, worried about him enough to tell him to leave everything and go to her if things got too bad. She had cared, but they were children, she didn’t know how to deal with abuse or anything, had no experience with it. But Kingsley was all in, he cared enough about Severus that Severus was his priority above everything else they were doing.

It awed him to be someone’s priority for a change. He had never been that before. He had never been number one.

His stomach fluttered a tad but he pushed it aside. He needed to get back to the castle.

And so he went.