After Harry's words, Severus immediately grabbed his son and ran to the safest place in the entire castle. He yelled Albus' password and didn't even pause for breath before jogging up the moving staircase.

The headmaster obviously sensed his Potion Master's frantic state, for he opened his office door immediately. Severus slammed the door closed before leaning on it and taking deep breaths.

The child in his arms wasn't quite sure how to react to his daddy's panic attack so he kept his arms wrapped around his father's neck and hid his face.

Remus Lupin, who was seated across from Albus had jumped up as soon as they came barreling through the door at breakneck speed. "What is it?!"

Albus had remained seated, but there was absolutely no sparkle in his eyes. He'd never witnessed a fear this intense coming from the man before him save one time -- the night he'd had to tell him of the attack at Godric's Hollow.

Severus, still breathing heavily, sat down beside the werewolf. He refused to relinquish his grip on his son while telling them why he was terrified. By the time he had finished, Harry was facing Albus with his daddy's arm holding him close. He nervously had his left index finger in his mouth while the adults discussed the matter.

The headmaster finally turned his attention to the child before him. "Harry, is Artie here in the room with us now?"

The child craned his neck and looked all over the room. "No, Uncle Albus."

The old man nodded before offering the boy a piece of candy, who happily accepted.

"Harry, why don't you tell us all about Artie. Let's start simple. What does he look like?"

The boy thought for a moment. "Um... he's blue and small but biggerer than me. He gots pointy ears and no nose."

Albus stroked his beard while the other two men wracked their brains. Remus stood and began pacing. "Why don't we set him down with a pile of Magical Creature and DADA books to see if he recognizes anything."

Severus nodded. "Sounds plausible. Harry, are you certain he has no nose?" Harry nodded and began swinging his shoes. "Have you ever seen any creature like him before? Maybe in one of your picture books?"

Harry stuck out his tongue as if deep in thought before grinning. "No, daddy. But I don't think Artie'd let anyone take his picture... he doesn't like being blue. He won't even let Kooky see him 'cause he's scared she'd laugh."

Sev paused before remembering that the boy was friends with the elf in charge of their quarters. "Why would she laugh?"

The child shrugged. "Artie doesn't like being blue.", he repeated. "He only lets me see and hear him. He says I'm his family now and he's mine and he'll take care of me forever!"

-----

After the meeting Remus headed toward the library to research the possibilities while Severus bundled Harry up in his cloak and flooed to Sirius' bachelor pad in London. The auror was nowhere in sight so Sev took the boy back to the only bedroom to lay down with him for awhile.

He turned up his nose as the normal state of disarray stretched into the bedroom. Sev moved various stacks of parchment to the desk along with a woman's brassier, which he sincerely hoped did not belong to Black. By the time he was finished Harry was rubbing his eyes.

"Daddy, where's my pony pajamas?"

Snape kissed the child on the forehead. "I'm afraid we left the school too soon to pack. I'm sure one night without your pony pajamas won't kill you. You'll be sure to tell me the moment you see Artie, right?"

Harry nodded and closed his eyes. Severus removed the sleeping boy's shoes and socks along with his shirt and trousers before pulling the thick blanket over him. He then cast a cleaning charm on the bedding... twice for good measure, and lay down with the child.

No sleep came for Severus, however. He had a feeling he would be getting precious little rest until the whole matter was resolved.

-----

Sirius stumbled in very late that night... or early that morning depending upon how you looked at it. He nodded at Severus, who was drinking a cup of tea in the kitchen then headed toward the bedroom.

Folding back the covers, he noticed little Harry and blinked. 'If I'm supposed to be babysitting, why was I at work? Who was watching Harry? Snape's gonna kill... hold on.'

Tossing his outer robe on top of the desk, and nearly triggering an avalanche, Sirius backtracked to the kitchen. He was met by a raised eyebrow and a snide comment.

"I see your brain is still in the same working order it was when we were in school."

"Ha ha, what are you doing here?"

Snape smirked. "Are we not welcome? Where's your sense of hospitality? I am the so-called father of your child, after all. Can your crankiness be attributed to this being your 'time of the month', or is your brassiere on too tight?" The professor laughed darkly, seemingly remembering something.

The auror snorted. "Harry is welcome here at any time. You, on the other hand, are far too cruel to a poor, overworked ministry employee."

Living up to his name (for once), he became serious. "What happened?"

The animagus grew pale as Severus relayed all that had happened in his absence. Sirius poured himself a cup of tea. "Arthur found traces of magic on the toy you gave me, but was unable to determine the spell or the source. The signature was either too old, or a brand of magic that he's unfamiliar with. He suggested sending it to his son Bill, who is well on his way to becoming a curse breaker."

Severus nodded. "It couldn't hurt. He may be able to at least tell us what sort of creature we're dealing with."

Sirius yawned. "Listen, I'm not going to be much more help until I get some sleep. You take the room with Harry and I'll crash on the couch. We'll come up with something tomorrow."

The other man nodded. "Yes, you're right. I will endeavor not to worry any more about the matter at hand. And you have my gratitude for allowing us to remain in your domicile in the meantime."

Sirius sighed. "Why can't you just say, 'I'll try not to let all this get to me. By the way, thanks for letting me and the kid crash at your place'?"

Severus turned back around to face him. "That is what I said, is it not?"

The auror levitated the dishes to the sink and cast a dish washing charm, shaking his head all the while. "You're hopeless, Snape."

"Good night, Black. May your slumber be imbued with gratifying cerebrations."

Sirius' growl followed him down the hall.

-----

The next morning found young Harry Potter waking up long before his father and Sirius. He pushed his daddy's arm away from him and jumped off the bed. Soon he was dressed in the clothes he'd worn the day before because all the other clothes he found were way to big for him.

After taking care of his morning needs, the boy was soon making a spectacular mess in the kitchen. Milk was steadily dripping off of the table and the cereal he spilled littered nearly the entire floor.

He ignored the crunching beneath his untied shoes as he made his way to a cleaner chair with his breakfast.

Harry was almost finished when a familiar popping sound reached his ears. He turned and was faced with his not-so-imaginary friend Artie. The boy scowled at the noseless creature before him. "You scared my daddy, Artie. I don't like you anymore!"

Artie didn't appear ashamed in the least. "You is not needing him, little Master. I is being your family now. And you is being Artie's. It is taking Artie all night to find where he is taking you and now we must be leaving."

Harry took a step back. "I don't wanna. I'm telling daddy!"

He turned and ran toward the door but he was grabbed by the wrist before ever reaching it. Instead, he screamed for his daddy and Uncle Sirius to help him.

Moments later the two bedraggled men burst through the kitchen door and slid to a stop while brandishing their wands. Though the actual stopping was difficult with soggy cereal coating the floor, Sev and Siri managed by grabbing a hold of each other.

Sirius took one look at the creature and gasped.

-----

Harry's scream instantly broke through the peaceful dream Sirius was enjoying. Pausing only long enough to pull his wand from beneath his pillow, he jumped up and nearly tripped over a frantic Snape on the way to the kitchen.

After a few seconds spent trying to find traction on the slippery floor, the auror had his wand targeted on the small blue house elf who had obviously foregone his invisibility charms. Recognizing the being instantly, he couldn't believe he hadn't made the connection before now.

Of course! James had long ago told him of his parents' newest house elf who'd been caught looking through his former master's private things. The being had been punished and forced to remove his own nose for being 'nosey' before receiving unwanted clothing.

Years later there was an incident where the unfortunate elf had been cleaning in James' childhood room. He'd accidentally stumbled across one of the marauders' failed pranks. The powder they'd made was designed to turn skin and hair a bright blue. Unfortunately Remus had discovered that the color was permanent and they'd cancelled the plans to use it.

On the plus side, Remus' blue owl was the most unique familiar the halls of Hogwarts had ever seen.

It explained so much. Harry wasn't old enough to recognize the creature as a house elf. There were too many differences between Artie and the elves the child had grown up knowing. The missing nose, the blue skin, and the partial invisibility charm that only Harry was able to see through, to name a few.

What worried Sirius the most was the insanity lurking behind the wide, panicked eyes. This elf had lost three families already. The first had abused him, obviously, and then James' dad had welcomed him into their home. Then they'd died, leaving Lily and James to keep him briefly.

Harry, being the last remaining link to the Potter household, was literally all he had left. And the determination in his expression hinted that he wasn't letting this child go without a fight.

"Okay Artie, let him go." Sirius knew very little about house elven magic, but he did know that this one would have one hell of a time trying to apparate Harry through the many wards he had erected. This left the being with few chances to escape with the small child. "We don't want anyone to get hurt here. I know you're upset, but you don't want Harry to be scared do you?"

-----

Severus was nearly frantic. He watched as Black attempted to calm the little monster down but all he could focus on was the look of fear in his little boy's eyes. He never wanted to see that expression there again as long as he lived. The oddly blue-colored elf had a fierce grip on Harry and seemed to be using him as a human shield, effectively keeping the two men from throwing hexes his way.

Pointy ears flopped as the would-be kidnapper jerked his head left and right, looking for an escape route. Severus would be damned if he'd give him one.

"I is not scaring little Master Harry!" He seemed incredibly offended at the accusation. "Artie is a good elf. He is taking Master away so Artie is getting his family back."

Artie raised his fingers and a flash lit up the room, causing the two men to look away from the blinding light. Then a loud crash sounded and when they turned back there was a huge gaping hole in the wall and Harry was missing. Severus knocked Sirius down and ran with all his might through the hole leading outside, but it was no use.

Artie had taken Harry beyond the wards and transported him to only Merlin knows where.

"Damn it to bloody hell!" Severus repeatedly kicked the nearest tree, ignoring the crowd that had formed when hearing the blast coming from their neighbor's dwelling. He ignored the concerned questions and stormed back inside, casting a repairing spell on the wall as he went in order to keep the slack-jawed idiots out.

He found Sirius placing a frenzied firecall to the ministry and then to Dumbledore. As they were waiting for the aurors and the order members to arrive, Severus paced worriedly. He was clutching the plush black cat his son had left at his godfather's home a month before.

Black sat on the couch in a daze. He kept clenching and unclenching his fists.

Albus was the first to arrive, followed by some order members. Severus was expecting this, seeing as every move the ministry made had to be accompanied by paperwork -- filed in triplicate. At least that was what he'd gathered in listening to the excessive grousing coming from the mutt.

-----

Albus Dumbledore was a powerful man. He was also an old man. But seeing Severus, (a man he'd come to know as a son), in such a state he became a very determined man. And now he was going to use this determination in conjunction with the power and wisdom to bring this man's son back to him.

"Severus, you need to sit down." He guided the professor to the couch and pushed him into a sitting position. The distraught man immediately buried his face in his hands.

Dumbledore was about to speak when the floo flared up once again. A wild-eyed Remus Lupin stumbled out of the fireplace and paled upon seeing the expressions of the others. His shoulders immediately slumped. "I'd hoped the information was false, but I can see it wasn't. What are we going to do, Albus?"

"I understand that Sirius has had some experience with our kidnaping elf? Mr. Black, if you would tell us everything you know about the mysterious 'Artie'?" He waved his arm and the auror faced the others. "All I know is that he used to belong to a wizard who was cruel to him. His master caught him snooping and forced him to cut off his own nose as punishment. Shortly thereafter, however, he was given clothing and sent away." He finished explaining about the two generations of Potters claiming him as well as the traumatic situation which resulted in the creature having blue skin. "He was hardly ever seen by both James and his father after that. I guess that's when he started using the invisibility charm on himself out of shame... though I honestly didn't know house elves could be embarrassed."

Albus nodded and stroked his beard. "House elves, you will find, are some of the most emotional beings that we know of. They will very seldom go against the wishes of their masters, however, so we can assume that the Potters allowed Artie to hide his humiliating blue state."

Suddenly a glass tumbler crashed into the brick wall, causing the occupants to jump in fright as the glittering pieces dispersed. Severus, who had thrown it, stood up and glared at Black. "This is all well and good, but could you please let me know how all this talk is going to FIND MY SON?!"

Sirius looked away and ran a hand through his hair. The others, save Albus, began to fidget in the awkward silence that followed his emotional outburst. The old headmaster reached out and placed a calming hand on the other's shoulder. "We will find him, Severus. But we need to be able to think like Artie before we can get a clue as to where he would take Harry. We'll need to get inside his head, so to speak."

"He'll take him home!" Sirius jerked his head up as the idea had come to him. "Harry is the master... he called him that in the kitchen before they disappeared..."

"Don't be absurd!" Auror Candace Cassidy spoke up. "Godric's Hollow has been completely destroyed! Even the remaining rubble had been removed years ago. And I'm sure the senior Potter estate has been condemned. There hasn't been wizard magic there for years! Since our magic, not that of the house elves, is what holds a wizarding home together, the floorboards probably would break under the boy's weight by this time."

Everyone was silent for the moment while they thought about her words. It stood to reason that the first home of Artie's was out of the question because of the fact that when given clothing, the elves were forbidden to return. "Sirius?!" Black looked at Severus, startled out of his thoughts by the panic in his reluctant friend's voice.

"What is it?"

Severus appeared even more frightened that he did previously. "Are there pointy spikes anywhere on the grounds of the Potter Estate?!"

Both Sirius and Remus gasped, remembering the incident that had the young child in tears screaming, 'I'm gonna fall on the pointy spikes!' "At the western side of the manor! James and I were never allowed to fly our brooms there because of the spikes. His mum was scared we'd fly into them and impale ourselves. There's a small part of the house where the fence is extremely close to the wall."

-----

Sev didn't wait for another word. He'd immediately cast floo powder into the grate and yelled out 'Potter Manor'. When nothing happened, he changed his command to 'Hogsmeade' and whirled away in a cloud of soot and green flame. After arriving, he wasted no time apparating to a house he'd only ever been to once with Albus. Luckily he had a wonderful memory and was soon standing in the parlor.

He gasped and instantly had his wand trained on the group of people standing there before recognizing them. Keeping his voice low so as not to alert the infernal elf to their presence, he demanded, "How in Merlin's name did you get here before me?!"

Albus smiled benignly. "The name of this house is 'Cloverdale', my dear boy. Had you not been so impatient, you would have known."

Remembering the reason for his impatience, Severus moved toward the stairs. He was vaguely aware of his mentor heaving a great sigh, but too occupied with his mission to care. Though trying very hard to avoid making any noise, the groaning and creaking wood beneath his feet was being extremely uncooperative. When wizards passed away or moved, their houses simply died when left untended. All that was left behind was the mere shell of what once was a live, almost sentient being.

He broke out of his thoughts when he saw something. Crouching down, Sev picked up a shiny button. There was no dirt on the item, so he could only assume it belonged to Harry.

"What is it?"

Severus jumped in fright when Sirius' voice whispered the question from behind him. Evidently the auror had some skill after all. "Black don't do that! Where's everyone else?"

"They've fanned out. Albus thought it would be more productive to search the entire house. Hopefully there's enough people here that our combined magic will awaken the house long enough to keep us all safe." He paused and gestured to Sev's pocket. "Did you find a clue?"

"Yes, it's Harry's button. Now shut up and keep your eyes open." He continued creeping down the hallway, gently opening doors as he walked through the west wing. Severus listened heedfully for any voices. He'd already forgotten the presence of Black as he focused on his son.

He paused and held up his hand as a tiny whimper met his ears, followed by muffled words. They inched over to the last door on the right and leaned in to listen.

"But Master Harry must tell Artie what to do! Artie is not knowing how to run a wizard house!"

This was met with more sobs from Harry. "I don't know! I just want my daddy!!"

That was enough for Severus. Nodding to Black, he steadied his wand and kicked the door in. The house elf barely had time to gasp as two stupify curses were zooming toward the blue creature. Unfortunately, his reflexes were good and he popped over to where Harry was standing in front of the back wall.

"Daddy!!" The child started to run to his father when the curses suddenly met with the wall and caused the room to shake ominously. Unbalanced, the boy fell but was immediately grabbed by Artie, who was backing up to where they were previously standing.

Severus was furious. He thought of every single spell he knew, trying to figure out which one would permanently sever the ties between him and Harry. Finally it came to him... the perfect spell. It was ideal because it had to be cast at the human in order to work. Artie was currently using Harry as a shield, so he wouldn't be expecting it. The spell was originally designed as a punishment when a wizard was exiled. That way, he or she would not even have their personal servants to fall back on as recourse for crimes against society.

Swishing his wand twice, followed by a short vertical slice through the air, he pointed it at his son. "Nexcomunie Fidels!" Harry flinched as the bolt of red light hit his chest, though Severus knew for a fact that he was in no pain. The house elf began panicking when the same red light encompassed him.

"Nononononono..." Shaking his head back and forth in denial, Artie desperately grabbed Harry and yanked him backwards. Unfortunately, Harry tripped on a loose floorboard and fell back, pushing the little elf into the wall. Weakened by time and the earlier stupify curses, they both crashed through the wood and fell to the ground.

"NO!" Severus rushed to the hole and fearfully looked for his child.

The boy was wide-eyed and hovering upside down about an inch from the long iron spikes. Remus was standing below, carefully maneuvering Harry's body safely away from the fence and to the ground with a spell. Sirius and Severus collapsed against each other in relief.

He vowed to himself at that very moment to work harder on improving Remus' potion in thanks for his intelligent decision to wait by the fence.

Before making his way back to the ground level, Sev couldn't help but notice that Artie hadn't been so lucky in the fall. He hoped Remus also had the sense to keep his son from the grisly sight of the small blue being pinned through the heart and unmoving.

-----

"How is he?" Sirius dropped in a few days later with Remus. They had both wanted an update on their favorite little boy.

Severus looked up from his novel as the two flooed in. "He bounced back a lot faster than I did. He doesn't talk about it much, but he seems happy. He's in his room playing with his toys right now."

Sirius nodded. "Why don't we all go fishing?" When the others looked at him, he continued. "It seems that our dear Harry does have the gift of foresight and it would simply be a shame for such a wonderful vision to not come true. It may even get our own minds off the recent scare."

Sev and Remus looked at each other before laughing. Maybe things would get back to normal sooner than they thought.