"Come on Siwi, Hagwid needs me!" Four-year-old Harry Potter was doing his best to pull his godfather toward Rubeus Hagrid's hut. Despite the truth coming out that Severus Snape was indeed Harry's biological father, the Ministry was adamant that 'Potter' be kept as the child's last name.

~~Flashback~~

The meeting between Fudge, Snape, Dumbledore, and Black was not going well at all.

"I don't understand!" Severus appeared ready to throttle the Minister of Magic with his bare hands. Albus and Sirius at that moment would probably gladly hold the official down. "You got your blood tests and we answered all your stupid questions! You know he's my son… what more do you need?!"

Cornelius Fudge puffed out his chest like an agitated owl. "The fact of the matter remains, Mr. Snape. James Potter became the legal guardian of little Harry the day his mother signed those adoption papers."

"The only reason I wasn't listed…" He was cut off.

"Yes, yes - we all know the story of why there's no record of a Harry Snape. But you don't understand… If we change his name now, everyone will want to know where the savior of the wizarding world has gone."

Understanding dawned on the room. "This has nothing to do with James Potter, does it?" Severus' voice grew eerily calm. Albus seemed to brace himself for the explosion that would surely follow. Sirius just smirked and sat back, enjoying what was sure to be a great show. "The only reason you insist on keeping his last name 'Potter' is so he will continue to be gawked at where ever he goes. Is that correct?"

Fudge paled slightly but stood his ground. "Well I wouldn't put it quite like that, but the boy's a symbol…"

"He. Is. A. BABY!!! Do you understand, you complete and utter waste of space?! He's MY son, and I'll not allow you to parade MY child like some circus sideshow just because it improves YOUR image!!" Severus pinched the bridge of his nose and forced himself to calm down before he was carted off to Azkaban for killing the Minister.

Fudge, on the other hand was turning a violent shade of purple. He obviously was not used to being addressed in such a manner. "Nevertheless MR. Snape -- Section IV, paragraph VIII of Ministry Adoption Laws states that if the adopted parent or parents are deemed unfit, or become deceased while the child is underage, ALL things concerning the child's welfare first fall to the Ministry, then to the godparent(s). You may be the boy's biological father, but when the parchment was drawn up the mother neglected to list you as such. And the Ministry's decision to keep the child's name as 'Potter' remains firm."

The Minister replaced his ever-present bowler hat and lowered his voice. "Just be thankful we're allowing you to keep your son, Mr. Snape. There are many in Child Services who voted against you. The reasons don't matter, sir. You gave up all ties to your child before he was even born and we're doing you a great service by publicly acknowledging you as a legal guardian now."

He opened the door to the headmaster's office. Before leaving, he turned once more to address Severus. "Oh, and the ruling can be overturned at any moment. Don't give us a reason to investigate further and there should be no more problems." Fudge stormed out the door.

The potion's master silently watched him go. He soon felt Albus' hand grasping his shoulder but didn't turn around. If he lost Harry…

"Don't worry, Severus. I suspect there weren't many, if anybody, who was against you being with your son. Cornelius has a way of bending the truth to make it seem as if he's doing you a great favor." Albus stroked his beard. "Strange that he was a Hufflepuff and not a Slytherin."

Despite his foul mood, Severus snorted. "I would have hung myself long ago had I been forced to share a house with that moron. It's not that I care if Harry still carries James' name. Yes it is aggravating that I can't pass my own name to my son, but it was my decision in the first place to waiver that right. But the reasons… basically he's exploiting my child. The worst part about it is, if I fight this - they could conceivably take Harry from me."

Black finally spoke up. "They wouldn't do that, Snape. If they did, they'd have to come to me since I'm his godfather. I may think you're a greasy bastard, but I wouldn't let them take away Harry's father. He's already lost enough for one lifetime."

The potions professor shook his head. "It doesn't matter. I'm not willing to take the chance. We'll just have to shield Harry from the vultures as much as we can. I'll not have the Daily Prophet print an article every time my son sneezes." He turned and nodded at Sirius. "But I appreciate the sentiments all the same, Black."

"Anytime, you git. What do you say we go rescue Harry from the house elves before they kill him with chocolate."

~~End Flashback~~

"Whoa, slow down squirt! Hagrid will be there. Now pull your shirt out of your pants. You look ridiculous."

Harry paused and looked down at his favorite 'Greg the Green Gryphon' shirt, then back up to Sirius. "But daddy made me fold it in, Siwi."

Padfoot knelt down and pulled Harry's shirt out. "I believe the word you're looking for is 'tuck', not 'fold'. Besides, what daddy doesn't know won't hurt him." He leaned in and whispered in the boy's ear. "And between you and me, your dad knows nothing about style. Why, I would bet he doesn't even own a Green Gryphon shirt like this."

Harry's eyes went wide. "He doesn't have one, Siwi. All his shirts are black or white!"

Sirius grinned and stood up, re-taking Harry's hand. "I knew it! Black and white shirts are meant to be tucked in, but not Green Gryphon shirts." He sighed and hung his head. "Your poor daddy! You think we should get him a shirt like yours? You know, just to spice up his wardrobe. It can't be any fun to wear only two colors all the time."

Harry thought about that for a minute and shook his head. "I don't think he likes the other colors, Siwi. He didn't like it when I got red paint on one of his white shirts. He just tossed it out when it wouldn't come clean."

Sirius was about to respond when suddenly the little boy dropped his hand and ran towards the giant figure of Hagrid coming out of his hut. The large man grinned at Harry and Padfoot before seating himself on his front steps.

Harry climbed into the giant's lap and hugged his neck. "I got your owl, Hagwid. I asked daddy if I could help you bake and he said I could if I could get Siwi to bring me when he came over today and Siwi didn't mind." He reached down to remove something from his pants pocket. "Here, I painted this for you when I was in daddy's office today."

Hagrid smiled as he unfolded the work of art. "Hey now, 'Arry. This is really good!"

The young boy beamed at the compliment and pointed to certain things on the page. He was obviously used to having to translate his drawings. "See, that's your house and there's the fowest. I know I'm not s'pposed to go in the fowest but I drew a unicorn close to your house so I could pretend I saw one for real and didn't have to get in trouble with daddy for going in the trees." He then pointed to a red heart in the corner. "And daddy helped me draw this heart so you'd know I love you."

As Hagrid was wiping the tears of happiness from his eyes, Sirius smiled and ruffled the boy's hair. "You know, Harry. That's a nice painting. I'll bet you'd make a really great artist some day."

Harry frowned at his godfather. "'M not gonna be an artist, Siwi. 'M gonna be a pwofesso like daddy. He said I could if I wanted to."

The animagus placed a hand over his heart and asked in a mock wounded tone, "What?! You mean you don't want to become an auror like me?!" He sniffled. "I thought you loved me!"

The little boy looked upset that he'd made Sirius sad, so he climbed down from Hagrid's lap and got into the other man's. He hugged the distraught man as tightly as he could. "Don't cry, Siwi. I can be an awor too if you want me to." Harry pet his head as though the man was currently in dog form. "I love you, Siwi."

In the next instant, Harry was on his back in the grass with his belly exposed. As Sirius went in for the kill, the young boy braced himself. Pbbbbbbbbbbbbbt!!! Giggles ensued followed by desperate squirming as the older man leaned down to blow against his stomach once more. "No Siwi! Bad dog!"

"Dog?!" Sirius sat back for a second with an indignant look upon his face. "Do I look like a dog to you, ya little munchkin?!" Before Harry could answer, a loud beeping went off on his wrist communicator. "Oh bloo… er, I mean phooey! I'm being summoned to the Ministry." He sighed and stood up. "C'mon kiddo, let's get you back to your daddy before I go."

Completely serious once more, Harry stood up and latched onto Hagrid's hand. "But Siwi, Hagwid needs me to help him bake, 'member?"

"I know love, but maybe you can help him another time."

Hagrid stood up. "Nonsense, Sirius! I'd be more'n happy to look after the little tyke fer a bit." Sirius could have choked the giant as Harry's eyes lit up. How in the world could he get out of this predicament without hurting the gentle giant's feelings and upsetting the little boy in the process. Ah well… Snape probably wouldn't be too mad if he left Harry. After all, there didn't seem to be any of Hagrid's 'pets' in the vicinity.

Another loud beeping broke the silence. The Ministry was getting impatient. He sighed and looked down at the child. "Okay, Harry. You can stay, but you mind Hagrid."

Harry grinned in triumph and ran to hug the auror. "I will, Siwi. We'll make a cake 'special for you!"

"I'm counting on it, kiddo. I'll be back as soon as I can, Hagrid." With a last wave and goodbye Sirius was heading for the front gate to apparate. He prayed he hadn't just made the biggest mistake of his life. Hagrid was a wonderful person, but had a completely different definition of 'danger' than most people. If anything happened to Harry, he'd be a dead man.

******

"Okay then 'Arry… stir it as 'ard as ye can while I add the syrup." The young boy was going blue in the face from the sheer effort it was taking to move the spoon. But he was a Snape at heart, and Snapes never gave up in difficult situations.

"Yer doin' fine. I don't know what I'd have done without yer help! Now all we got ter do is pour it in the pans an' let 'em get 'ard." Hagrid did the aforementioned while Harry watched.

He idly wondered how the cakes could get any harder than they were, but didn't mention it. They were called 'Rock Cakes' after all. "Did we 'member to make one for Siwi and my daddy?"

Hagrid grinned. "O' course we did. They'll be done in time fer you te take 'em with ye. It don't take 'em long te get 'ard."

A sudden pounding startled them. Hagrid cautiously opened his door to reveal one of the strangest creatures Harry'd ever witnessed. It had the body of a horse and the chest, arms, and head of a man. Remembering his manners, the boy quit staring at the newcomer. He was still extremely shy around strangers, and kept his head mostly hidden behind the groundskeeper.

Hagrid, on the other hand, seemed to be close friends with the strange horse man. "'Ello Firenze! Yer jus' in time fer some rock cakes me 'n 'Arry made!" He moved aside so the other could enter, but Firenze shook his head and gestured to the forest.

"I'm afraid I can't, my friend. I desperately need your help in the forest. An unknown creature has ambushed my clan and one of our foals is injured. We think it may be the same beast that went after the unicorn last month."

Hagrid looked from Firenze to Harry. Then he bent down to face the little boy. "I'm afraid I've got ter go into the forest, 'Arry. It's an emergency, so you go ter yer dad as fast as ye can before it gets dark, okay?"

Harry nodded and took off for the castle. He was still afraid of the dark and daddy had to always leave a candle burning in his room at night. Even though it wasn't dark yet, Harry's imagination was working overtime. He remembered the strange creature saying something about a monster attacking unicorns and the little boy could almost feel it chasing him. He didn't understand about the protective wards set up around the castle making such things impossible, but a child's imagination was a very powerful thing.

He reached the doors and pushed inside only seconds before his 'attacker' caught up with him. Harry breathed a sigh in relief and started toward the dungeons. Unfortunately, the castle was a pretty big place - especially to a four-year-old. He thought he remembered the way to his daddy's office, but he'd never been there without a grown up. After walking around for a long time and not seeing anyone, Harry was starting to get scared again. What if he was all alone in the castle and never found his daddy?

His daddy didn't know he was in the castle. He thought he was with Siwi and Siwi thought he was with Hagwid. But Hagwid was in the forest with that horse man and Harry didn't know how long he would be there. It might be weeks before his daddy even knew he was lost! Tears began to blur his vision, but the child stubbornly refused to cry.

He had to find his way home.

********

Severus sighed and leaned back in his chair. He'd finally finished his lesson plans for his 6th year students for the spring term. Now all he had left was the 7th years and the advanced courses. He stood and stretched. Glancing to make sure the newest batch of dreamless sleep potion for Poppy was safely simmering, he picked up his stack of papers and headed to his rooms.

He rolled his eyes and smiled at the newest password to his and Harry's quarters. 'Green Gryphon' had been chosen, (of course), by his son. Well, he supposed it was better than 'I'm a little teapot' - the password Harry insisted on after Black taught his son that infernal muggle song. 'I swear that man did it only to drive me insane'.

As he entered the rooms, he grumbled under his breath after tripping over one of Harry's toys. With a sweep of his wand he sent all of the boy's treasures back into his toy chest. How one little kid could make such a mess was beyond him. "I specifically told that boy that he had to pick up his toys before leaving these chambers."

He strolled into his son's room and couldn't help but smile at the collection of Green Gryphon books in disarray around the room. After placing them back in order on the bookcase, he made up Harry's bed remembering his own childhood when he'd been obsessed with an obnoxious singing purple dragon. Severus knew he had to have driven his father to the brink of insanity by making him actually sing the silly little songs in the high squeaky voice when he'd read to him at night.

Memories of his father always brought a pang to his heart, so he returned to the sitting room to read his new potion's book and wait for Harry to come home. Soon he became deeply engrossed in his book and never noticed Harry's hand of the magical locator in the corner move from 'At Hagrid's' to 'Lost'.

*~~***~~*

Harry, meanwhile, was traveling deeper and deeper into the dungeons and becoming more upset by the minute. He had never been taught to stay in the same place if he was lost, so he kept going in the feeble hope he would soon come across some sign of friendly life.

Hungry and half blinded by tears, he never noticed the heavy coating of dust on everything in the corridor before him. He was, however, acutely aware of both the lack of lighting and the eerie grinding sound of stone rubbing together echoing all around him. Terrified into motion, he immediately turned to go back in the direction he had come from… and found himself face to face with a stone wall.

Frantic, the boy pushed as hard has he could on every part of the wall he could reach, looking for a secret button to release him from his prison. His daddy had told him that the castle had many secret corridors and rooms and sometimes liked to move things around. His Uncle Albus told him Hogwarts had a personality and was alive but daddy said it was just ancient magic. Then Uncle Albus winked at Harry and gave him a cookie. It was funny how the loveable old man began and ended all his conversations with sweets. Maybe that's why daddy hardly ever let him be babysat by Uncle Albus.

Of course, Fawkes was usually the one keeping a careful watch on him. For instance, there was the one time when Harry had climbed up the bookcase to look at the singing hat up close and lost his footing. The scarlet phoenix immediately flew up and grabbed the back of Harry's trousers in his talons, safely floating the small boy to the ground before Uncle Albus had ever known what had happened.

A creepy clicking sound brought Harry back to the situation at hand and he tried to keep his tears from falling as he slid down to the ground with his back to the wall. He knew the clicking was probably just a rat scurrying across the stone floor, but unfortunately the monsters inside his mind were being brought to life once again. The lack of lighting was making them even more terrifying than they had ever been in his room at night. Especially since his daddy wasn't there to scare them away.

Feeling even more hopeless than before, he pulled his knees close to his chest and did the bravest thing any four-year-old could have done in his predicament… he cried for his daddy.

***~~**~~***

Severus jerked awake, instantly pushing his neglected book off to the side as he tried to figure out what he was doing sleeping on the couch. He rubbed his face and stretched to get the blood flowing again. Frowning at the time, (nearly eleven o'clock), he stood up to make sure Black had put Harry to bed for him. 'Why in the world did he let me sleep through dinner? Crazy mutt.'

Harry wasn't in his bed. His frown deepening in confusion, he went to see if his own bed was occupied. Sometimes his son found the bigger bed to be more comforting after a bad dream, but usually only if Sev was in it.

No Harry there, either.

He glanced at the locator and just about panicked when his son's picture was hovering over the word 'Lost'. He grabbed his cloak and sprinted toward Hagrid's hut.

As soon as the tiny cottage was in his visual range, he felt his insides clench. There were no lights on. Even as his brain tried to inform him that this was the time the keeper was usually patrolling the grounds with his boarhound, Severus never slowed his pace. Perhaps Harry and Sirius fell asleep here and Hagrid didn't have the heart to wake them? It certainly sounded like the giant man.

When his frantic pounding met with no answer, Professor Snape immediately tried the knob. The door easily swung open. He knew there was no way his son was inside, especially not if his locator was working correctly. But fear for the life of the one most precious to you tends to override rational thought. Severus found himself turning on the lights and even going so far as searching under the bed in desperation.

Just as he turned to go back to the castle to try to contact Sirius at every place he could think of, something caught his eye. There, tacked up amidst the organized clutter was a child's drawing. He took a closer look at the proudly displayed piece of art and a soft smile came to his face as he remembered this morning when it was painted.

***Flashback***

Severus was scowling as he marked through an entire paragraph of one of his students' essay on the uses of Mandrake Root in medicinal potions. 'This dunderhead wouldn't know a cauldron from a glass vial if both items were placed in front of her and neatly labeled.' He proceeded to tell her so in the margin of the scroll. By the time he was through, it looked as if a mini massacre had occurred upon the parchment.

He really loved the effect red ink had on his grading. Scratching a giant 'D' on the paper with barely concealed glee, he glanced up to make sure his son was still painting peacefully at his table before reaching for the next essay.

Another twenty minutes went by before Severus heard the telltale sounds of a chair scraping on the floor as its small occupant jumped up. With a half-full jar of red paint in one hand, a freshly finished drawing in the other, and a brilliant 100 watt grin on his face, Harry ran to show Sev his new masterpiece. Unfortunately, nearly there his foot caught on a chair leg and the paint in his hand went flying… directly onto one of his daddy's brand new shirts.

Harry looked as if he were about to apologize, but Severus (who had been nursing a headache since he began marking) jumped up and away from the desk to keep the wet paint from dripping onto his hard work.

"Harold Jamison Potter!! What have I told you about running?!" Harry went pale at hearing his whole name emerge from his father's mouth. That was never a good sign.

"I'm sorry daddy… I just wanted to…."

"I don't care what you wanted, Harry!" During his tirade he grabbed his wand and began every cleaning spell he knew. In the end all that happened was he got a not-as-vibrant-shade-of-red shirt. He looked as though he'd just committed murder. "You know better! And because you decided once again that you don't have to listen to me, you've ruined one of my fav…."

Severus shut up and went pale realizing he was about to do to his son what his mum had always done to him. Ever since he could remember, his mother had tended to make Sev feel guilty about every error he'd ever made. As a result, instead of learning from his mistakes, Severus had lived in terror of making them. He'd actually cried for three days over a broken vase which he'd found out later in life that his mum had never liked anyway.

He sighed and looked down at the trembling child. Harry was trying very hard not to cry, but failing as the red cheeks grew increasingly more damp.

Ashamed of himself beyond words, he immediately crouched down and opened his arms wide. Harry rushed to hug him and Sev could feel the child's tears soaking into his ruined shirt. "It's okay Harry. It was an accident… I promise I'm not angry. Calm down."

He picked up his son and took him through the back door to the wash room. Severus wet a cloth and sat his son on the sink as his sobs were dissolving into hiccups. He then gently began mopping up the tears. When Harry's breathing finally evened out, he threw the cloth into the hamper and carried him back into the office.

When they were settled in the big chair, the father pushed his son's unruly hair out of his eyes and kissed the top of his head. "I'm sorry Harry, I didn't mean to yell at you."

Harry, still miserable, just nodded and leaned back into the comforting warmth of his daddy. They sat there for a few minutes before Harry looked back at him. "You can have the sickle Siwi gave me for candy to get a new shirt daddy."

Severus smiled softly. "No son, that's your money. It was just a mistake… everyone has accidents. And you know what?"

Harry shook his head.

The potions teacher leaned forward until their foreheads were touching. "It's okay to have accidents because that, Harry, is how we learn and grow." He ruffled the inky black hair. "And if you learn from your mistakes now… well you'll find yourself making less of them when you get bigger."

Severus smiled. Harry smiled back and wrapped his arms around his dad's neck. "I'm sorry daddy."

"Me too, son. Me too. Now what were you going to show me?"

Emerald green eyes grew wide with excitement as he pushed himself off Severus' lap and went to where he'd dropped his picture. He frowned slightly as he noticed a smudge of red paint in the corner. "Oh no! I messed up Hagwid's picture, daddy."

Severus winced at the puddles of paint on his floor but gave a reassuring smile to his son. "Let's see it, son." He viewed the crooked lines of what could only be Hagrid's hut and indecipherable smudges as if he were seeing the Mona Lisa. It was then that he noticed the 'flaw'. Evidently when the boy dropped the picture in distress it landed in some paint. "This is very good Harry. We can fix that smudge… bring me your brush."

Harry watched with worshiping eyes as his daddy took the brush and made a perfect heart out of the still wet paint. When he was done he pulled the young boy back onto his lap so he could see the change up close. "There you go… now you have a heart in the corner so Hagrid will know how much you love him."

He was rewarded with a big sloppy kiss on the cheek. "Thanks daddy. You always make it better!"

***End Flashback***

Severus reached out and gently traced the heart with his hand. "We'll see, Harry. I'll do my damndest." Abruptly, he straightened and stalked out of the hut, spelling the lights out as he left.

***~~*~~***

Auror Sirius Black was exhausted. He was currently seated at his desk at the ministry surrounded by towering piles of paperwork. It was the threat of demotion from his supervisor which kept him working late in the attempt to have his write ups filled out correctly, (and on time), for once in his distinguished career.

Setting his quill down and massaging his aching fingers, he was about to go pour himself a cup of tea when a voice behind him caused him to jump and knock over the nearest stack of parchments. He'd never even heard the floo activate, but there was Snape's scowling face floating in the flames.

Sirius sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Yes, Your Surliness? Have you been taking lessons from my boss on sneak…" He paused when he noticed how pale his friend's face was. "What is it?"

"Black, where the hell is my son?"

The auror paused and blinked. Checking his watch and ignoring the icy cold fear creeping up on him, he said the first thing that came to his mind. "He's not in bed?"

Severus glared at him. "Don't you think I would have checked there?! I looked both there and Hagrid's hut. You did bring him back to our quarters, I presume?"

Sirius immediately stood up, knocking more papers off his desk. He didn't even notice. "Well not exactly, but Hagrid promised me…." He trailed off when he noticed the involuntary twitch of the professor's eye which meant something was about to explode. "Don't worry Sev, we'll find him. Meet me at the front gates. I'll apparate there as soon as I get outside Ministry wards."

Inadvertently stepping on some loose paper, the auror paused long enough to grab his cloak then ran to the nearest apparition point. Before he knew it he was standing in front of an irate Potions Master, whose fists were clenched at his sides most likely to keep from wringing Sirius' neck. He gulped audibly.

"Explain." Black flinched at the terse command and proceeded to tell him everything he knew, finishing with a heartfelt apology. The two men turned as one and wordlessly went back to Hagrid's only to discover the Giant had not yet returned home. This was not surprising, considering it was part of his job and was not normally back until close to daylight.

They then went back to the castle and woke up every single professor beginning with the headmaster, and when that didn't turn up Harry they sent the heads of houses to wake the students with Professor Sinistra acting in place of Severus. Soon even the ghosts and portraits were on the lookout. Peeves claimed to know where the wayward Potter was but, (after being threatened by both the Bloody Baron and Snape), admitted he knew nothing.

At a quarter to 1am the castle had come alive and students and teachers alike could be heard calling out Harry's name from the tallest towers to the deepest parts of the dungeons. Even Filch, who professed to hate small children with a passion denied himself sleep in order to patrol the halls with Mrs. Norris by his side. Sirius wondered if it had anything to do with Harry always giving his leftovers to the feline on the days they had fish. Everyone knew the way to Filch's heart was through his cat.

Albus had finally managed to track down Hagrid, who had been busy laying traps deep in the dark forest to catch the creature stalking his friends. While on their way out of the wood they each told every centaur, fairy, elf, and other friendly creature they came across to keep an eye out for a missing human child. Hagrid had even thought to ask his friend Aragog for help but Dumbledore didn't think it to be a good idea to let the huge colony of giant spiders know that there may be a potential meal for one of them wandering around.

House elves were seen popping in and out of closets and other places that the young boy may have wandered into. By 3am Sirius had decided to attempt sniffing out Harry in his animagus form, angry that he hadn't thought to try before the swarms of students began searching. It seemed every trace of the tiny raven-haired child had been covered with other, newer scents.

The students were tiring, so Professor Snape offered 100 points to whomever found his son. The Gryffindors especially worked harder seeing as how that would be the first time Snape had ever threatened to award points to their house. This, in turn, caused the Slytherins to search faster to prevent that from happening.

As the sun rose that morning everyone except Severus and Sirius met in the Great Hall to rest and regroup.

When noon approached, Aurors were called in and Poppy nearly had to stupify the head of Slytherin to get him to take a calming draught. She then forced a soothing elixir into him to ease the achiness of his throat caused from calling his son's name incessantly. By 12:03pm, he was back on the hunt.

Two hours later, Severus was in the Great Hall with the group of Aurors and other professors. They were going over a map of Hogwarts, trying to come up with a more organized way to search when a startled gasp cut through the crowd. Everyone looked at the female auror who had made the noise, then followed her gaze to a brightly glowing golden orb floating in the center of the room.

~~~**~~**~~~

Near 11:30 the previous night, Harry had long since awakened from his nap. Having no idea when the wall would open up again, (and due to an increasingly urgent need to go to the loo), he reluctantly crept forward into the darkness.

He kept one hand instinctively on the wall to his right to ground himself. Harry gained courage by pretending his daddy was standing behind him, encouraging him like he did when Harry got his toy broomstick last year. A tiny smile came to his lips as he remembered what it felt like the very first time he found himself flying. His daddy had been so funny… running after him - excited by the milestone reached, but terrified. It made no difference that Sirius kept explaining to him that the short broom was charmed to never allow him over five feet above the ground. Nor did it matter that it was impossible for the toy to fly over the lake (or even past Hogwarts wards).

Ironically, it wasn't until Harry had 'crashed' and begged to ride his broom some more that Severus had realized his son wasn't going to break. Not to mention the fact that he was as stubborn as a mule. Sirius had mentioned the fact that if he let his stress levels get too high now, he'd never survive Harry's teenage Quidditch years.

The father had agreed and instead of fretting, he began giving his son tips on how to gain more control from his broom. Everyone's expectations proved correct… Harry was a natural in the air. However, he'd crashed into trees and toppled off the toy enough times that Severus was heard muttering in the hall that Harry wouldn't be getting a real broom until he was at least thirty-five.

Sirius' retort that Harry would be 'getting my motorcycle when he turns sixteen anyway' had Severus downing a calming draught with one hand while the other was attempting to strangle the auror.

Harry was startled suddenly when he walked face first in what felt like a huge spider's web. Determined that such a web could only contain a giant, (possibly man… er, child-eating) spider, the young boy yelped with fright and began batting at the sticky threads clinging to his face. In his desperation to be free of the strands, one of his flailing elbows knocked into something protruding from the wall. Harry didn't hear the resounding 'click' and grinding sound bouncing off the walls, however. He shuffled backwards and screamed when the floor suddenly gave out from beneath him.

**~~***~~**

The boy soon found himself sliding in a downward spiral to an unknown location. After the smooth surface of the slide finally leveled out, Harry found himself slowing down considerably. He finally came to a stop in a brightly lit corridor.

The first two doors he came to were locked, but the third was easily pushed open revealing a bathroom. Briefly forgetting his fears for a minute, Harry gratefully took care of his needs before continuing on his trek.

Unlike the hallway from which he had just left, this one was cheerful and clean. He came across two more locked doors and three which were completely devoid of anything. There was even one that had dozens of chairs lined up, facing a raised platform. On the platform stood one large chair in the center flanked by four more cushioned seats, two on each side. These chairs were all facing the others.

Harry shook his head and backed out of the boring looking room. Finally he came to the last door at the end of the mysterious corridor.

There was no handle. The young boy cocked his head to the side and reached out to see if he could push it. As soon as his hand made contact with the smooth wood, a golden light formed around the tips of his fingers and spread outwards.

Soon the golden light grew so bright that Harry had to turn his head. Oddly enough, the boy wasn't frightened by this display.

When the light dissipated he looked back and gasped. The door was gone! Harry inched into the huge room and his eyes grew wide. The round chamber was divided into five equal spaces, four bearing the colors and mascots of each of the houses of Hogwarts. The last section was painted in a variety of reds, oranges, yellows, and golds. It's mascot, drawn to perfection, was undeniably a phoenix.

Occupying each area was a weapon hanging on the wall, a huge book on a stand, a table, and a cupboard. Harry eyed the ornate dagger in the Slytherin area with interest before he realized he wasn't alone in the room.

Sitting in the center of the chamber was an old man Harry didn't recognize. The stranger was smiling warmly at the boy and Harry felt safe around him.

The man's gray beard hung almost as long as Uncle Albus'. He was dressed in lilac robes with a shiny rope belt which looked like real gold. In one hand was a long, wooden staff.

Harry slowly approached him and was in awe of the man's eyes. They were also lilac, yet deeper than the color of his robes and they shone like diamonds.

On a table before the man was a crystal ball. Harry had seen one in Auntie Sybil's room before his daddy told him he couldn't go there anymore.

The woman had told him he was going to die within the next week and Harry wouldn't leave his dad's sight until he was sure she was wrong. To say dad and Aunt Minerva were livid would be an understatement.

The strange man waited until Harry was a few feet away before he spoke. "Hello, young one. I have been waiting for you for many years."

The boy's eyes grew wide. "But I'm just a little kid!"

Laughter rang through the air. "So you are. But I meant to say I have been waiting many years for you to be born."

Unphased by the strange answer, he stated, "My name's Harry, what's your name?" Harry climbed onto a stool next to the wizard.

"I am known only as the Guardian of the Phoenix."

Confusion clouded the emerald-green eyes. "Didn't your mummy give you a real name?"

The guardian smiled gently. "She did, but it has been so many years ago that I have forgotten it. You may call me 'Guardian' if you'd like."

Harry thought about it. "That almost sounds like a name... Uncle Albus has a phoenix. His name is Fawkes and he likes me."

"Then Fawkes must be a good judge of character. Tell me Harry, do you know why you're here?"

The boy nodded. "Yes sir. I was helping Hagwid make cakes and I got lost trying to find my daddy. Then I fell down a big slide like the one at the park Siwi took me at for my birthday and came here." Harry suddenly looked sad. "I think I broked your door. I'm sorry."

The Guardian smiled reassuringly at him. "There is absolutely nothing to be sorry about. The door is most assuredly not broken, else you wouldn't have been able to enter." He stood and picked up the small child before walking over to the cupboard located directly under the painting of the large phoenix.

He set Harry down on the nearby table, pulled out a small box and opened it. "Actually, fate has endeavored to bring you here so I could give you this."

The Guardian clasped a chain around the boy's neck. Hooked to the chain was a stunning phoenix pendant. Its golden wings were spread open. The tail was a detailed mixture of flames and feathers, and the eyes were bright green emeralds.

All Harry could say was, "Wow."

The old man chuckled. "This charm will be with you throughout your entire life, and cannot be removed by any force. You are the one we all will look to for guidance in times of darkness. You are the hope of our world in more ways than one, young master, and this will offer you help whenever you are in need of it -- as will I."

The boy looked up. "But... It's yours. Don't you want it?" Harry could scarcely believe this nice man was giving him something so beautiful.

"My sweet child, this is not the phoenix I'm destined to protect... you are. One day you will come back to this place, for you now hold the key to returning. Sleep now, child and find your daddy. Know that I'll be watching over you always." Guardian smiled and touched the end of his staff to the pendant.

Harry suddenly felt very sleepy. He rubbed at his eyes and was vaguely aware of the soft golden light surrounding him once more before he gave into the urge to rest.

***~~**~~***

Everyone in the Great Hall had their wands out, pointed at the sphere of light. Without warning it exploded silently, causing everyone to shield their eyes from the blinding flash.

Severus was the first to look back and gasped at what he saw. His son was laying on the floor exactly where the orb was. "Harry!"

He shoved everyone out of his way in his desperation to reach the boy. Severus knelt down at his son's head and felt for his pulse. He gave a huge sigh of relief after finding it.

The distraught father ignored Sirius' incessant babbling and gently picked the boy up. He shed his cloak in the process and wrapped it around the child. Snape cupped Harry's cheek in his hand and softly rocked the boy.

"Harry, baby, wake up." The professor began to get worried when the boy gave no sign of waking. "C'mon, Harry, open your eyes for daddy. Albus, why isn't he waking up?"

Dumbledore knelt down beside the two men after forcing the crowd to move back and give Severus some room. He placed a wrinkled hand on Harry's temple and gently pushed back the silky hair. "He seems to be under a spell."

Albus closed his eyes and concentrated. Suddenly the boy in Severus' arms began to groan and the headmaster pulled his hand away.

Bright green eyes fluttered open and focused on the man holding him. "Daddy?"

Severus gave out a laugh that half-sounded like a sob and held his son more tightly. Tears were streaming down his face and he reached down to kiss the beloved forehead. "Oh Merlin, I was so worried. I'm never letting you out of my sight again... I love you so much!"

The father couldn't believe that just yesterday he was complaining because Harry's toys weren't picked up. A few minutes ago he would gladly have endured wading through Green Gryphon toys for the rest of his life if it meant his son would come home safe.

Harry began to grow upset. "Daddy, why are you and Siwi crying?"

Severus shifted so Harry was sitting in his lap, facing him. "We're crying because we're happy to see you again. We missed you very much."

Harry gave a bright smile and wrapped his arms around his dad's neck. "I missed you very much too."

***~~***~~***

After a brief, (but thorough), checkup from Poppy, Harry was pronounced healthy. Severus picked him up and walked beside Sirius in the direction of the gargoyle guarding the headmaster's office.

Albus ordered a late lunch of soup and sandwiches to be brought up to his rooms and for the first time in history Harry willingly cleaned his plate. Oddly enough this made Severus feel worse, for he thought of how hungry his child must have been while he was lost.

When the boy finally finished his pudding, Sev cleaned the squirming child's face and they all adjourned to the sitting room.

It took a lot of prodding and patience to get the full story out of the four-year-old. Snape wasn't quite sure how much of it was real and how much was proof of his son's active imagination. But when he pulled out the phoenix, everyone gasped.

Examining the strange piece of jewelry closely, the men could find no clasp. Severus didn't know if he trusted the man Harry called 'Guardian', but Albus' next words reassured him.

"There is an extremely powerful spell keeping this chain around Harry's neck. I do not believe there is a wizard alive today that could break it." The headmaster smiled at Harry, who was now telling Fawkes of his adventure. "But I wouldn't worry, Severus. There are absolutely no traces of darkness on the pendant. I have a feeling that young Harry's 'Guardian' was truly meant to bestow the necklace upon this child."

Sev nodded and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Can I take him home now?"

"By all means, my child." Albus squeezed his shoulder. "But do bring him back for a visit soon. I daresay you're not the only one who needs reassurance that Harry is safe and sound. Even Fawkes is paying rapt attention to the boy's every word... and he just got his new feathers!"

Sirius opened his mouth to say something, but Severus cut him off.

"I don't want to hear it, Black." He turned to make sure Harry was still across the room and couldn't hear him. "I trusted you to see my son home and you didn't do it. That means no babysitting until I'm assured that your priorities are once again in the right places."

"Severus, you weren't there... Hagrid got this look on his face, and I couldn't tell him that you didn't trust him to keep an eye on Harry."

"Black, I would much rather hurt Hagrid's feelings than lose my son!" He took a deep breath and forced himself to be calm. "He's as nice as he can be, but he's too naive to be in charge of a small child. And what's worse is that you knew this and still let Harry stay!"

Sirius hung his head in defeat. "I'm sorry. It won't happen again."

Severus looked him over and nodded. "I accept your apology. But if you ever make a mistake like this again... even if Harry does come home safe, I'm going to wring your neck."

That said, the father walked over to his son and lifted him onto his shoulders. Harry giggled and latched onto his daddy's hair. "Let's go home, squirt."

*~*~*~*~*~*

Severus set Harry down on the couch as soon as they arrived home and took his place next to him. "Harry, you're getting to be a big boy now... I think it's time to have a 'big boy' talk."

The child's eyes widened when he heard his daddy call him a 'big' boy. "Really?"

Severus smiled. "Really. I just now realized that I never taught you what to do if you get lost like you did yesterday." He took a deep breath. "First of all, when whomever's watching you tells you to come home by yourself, I want you to tell them that you don't know the way. Unless it's an emergency.

"If it's an emergency, I want you to run to the Great Hall and hide under my place at the table. I want you to stay there quietly, no matter how long it takes. Do you understand?"

Harry nodded. "Stay under your place at the table."

"Silently -- correct. In this situation don't come out for anyone besides me, Uncle Albus, Aunt Minerva, Uncle Filius, Aunt Sprout, Poppy, or Sirius. If someone else calls your name, I don't care if you know them or not, do not show yourself."

"Okay daddy, I won't."

Severus smiled and hugged the boy. "Do you have any questions?"

Harry shook his head.

"If you're not at Hogwarts and you get lost, I want you to go into a crowded shop you know well and sit in the middle of the floor until I find you. If anyone picks you up that's not supposed to, what do you do?"

The boy smiled and giggled. "I kick, bite, and scream 'Help!' and find an auror or a mummy witch with small children!"

"Good boy. How do you floo here?"

Harry bit his lip and thought hard. "Umm... throw a pinch of floo powder into a fire and only step in if it turns green. Then I call out 'Hogwarts Dungeons, Severus Snape's Rooms' when it stops spinning I say the floo password: 'Fawkes'."

Severus smiled. "That's perfectly correct, son. One other thing, then you can go play. If you're with me or anyone else in a place you are unfamiliar with or where there are no other people around, and you suddenly find yourself alone, you're to plop yourself down on the ground and stay exactly where you are until I find you. Understand?"

The boy grinned. "Stay on the ground 'till you find me, daddy. Okay!"

As soon as they had finished their talk, the boy ran to his toys. Severus contentedly watched his son play and even joined in when asked.

Father and son dallied the day away and enjoyed a hearty dinner of roast chicken and corn. When night came Harry could be found snuggled peacefully in his daddy's arms as the older wizard read aloud from 'Greg the Green Gryphon and the Muggle Who Lost His Shoes'.

Severus made sure to sing all the silly little songs in all the requested squeaky voices. As he neared the end, he glanced down to see Harry out like a light. He set the book on the table beside his bed and put out the candles with a simple spell.

As he was laying down and shifting his dozing son into a more comfortable position, Severus realized that there was nowhere on Earth he'd rather be than here with his son.

No matter what the future held for little Harry, Severus would happily be there beside him to help see it through.