Is Kidnapping Legal if the Dead Parent Orders It?

by Mollylou95

Summary:

Severus Snape kidnapped a baby! But the kid’s dead mom told him to do it, so it should be fine, right? Right?

Notes:

This idea just kinda came to me, decided I needed to get the story worm out of my brain. This is not my first fanfic, but it is the first of the fandom, so any kind of feedback or constructive criticism would be appreciative.

Chapter 1: Guess I Have a Kid Now

Severus Snape was the first one to arrive at Godric’s Hollow on the night of Samhain, 1981. The second he remembered where his best friend and her husband had moved shortly after Hogwarts, he knew something had gone horribly wrong, and he also knew that it was all his fault. He was the one who had told the Dark Lord about the Prophecy, or at least the small portion that he had overheard. He was the one who begged that madman to spare his best friend’s life, even though he knew she would never stop protecting the life of her baby. He should never have joined the Death Eaters.

 

He once again cursed the faded Mark on his arm as he Apparated to the home that he knew would hold a destroyed family, a family whose lives had all been cut short by his own indirect hands.

 

He first encountered the young father, collapsed in a heap within the entryway, his glasses askew, a determined look upon his face. No longer would this man torment him with his friends as he once did at school, no longer would this man be able to laugh with those same friends. Severus stepped over James Potter and made his way to the first floor.

 

At the top of the stairs was the child’s nursery, the door still ajar, the wall and roof blown partly off by the blast of some wayward spell. The damage was significant for what seemed to be such a quick job. A pile of black robes caught Severus’ attention, and he recognized them as what his evil Master had been wearing that night when he left to go “deal with” the Potters. (Severus realized he must have lost a little bit more of his sanity in the last few years than he had thought, when his initial reaction was to wonder what the Dark Lord was doing wandering around Britain in nothing but his skivvies (and the next thought being whether the man even wore anything under the robes in the first place with how long and thick the thing seemed)).

 

Severus shook his head to stop his weird thoughts from spiraling further and turned to the body on the floor, knowing full well what he was going to find, but dreading it anyway, and the confirmation of seeing Lily there, her red hair like a red puddle haloing around her head forced him to have to stop and take a deep breath before he could even approach.

 

He knelt down next to the only friend he had growing up, knowing he would never hear her voice again, never watch her eyes sparkle in joy just from performing feats of magic. He was the one who taught her about the magical world, how could she be lying here on the floor like some forgotten garbage?

 

”Lily…” the man whispered as he reached out and ran his hand through her hair one last time. Her forest green eyes gazed unseeingly up at him and he reached with his other hand to close them, knowing they would never again look at him in fondness. (He had lost that right the second he told the Dark Lord about the Prophecy and learned the possibility it could mean her child.)

 

Severus slowly stood, ready to look at the most devastating part of the whole ordeal, the infant whose life was cut far too short because of his poor choices, only to be shocked into stillness by the rustling of sheets and whimpers of pain coming from the cot in the room. Without wasting time, the man, whose eyes had been withholding tears even while mourning the loss of his best friend, finally let them fall as he caught sight of the most beautiful thing he could have seen on this horrific night: Harry Potter was still alive. Through everything that had happened, with the wind blowing through the hole in the wall and ceiling directly overhead, this tiny being had somehow survived.

 

With trembling hands, Severus picked up the small child, as though he were made of the finest china, and cradled the small body against his own, feeling how chilled the late October air had made the infant. The baby squirmed and snuffled against his chest slightly, before grasping at his robes and settling. Severus, having never dealt with anyone so young, wasn’t sure whether Harry was capable of communicating his own wants and needs yet, or whether he would have to guess them as one would have to do with a small pet.

 

”Po-Harry, are you cold, or hurt anywhere?” He decided to ask, trying to go for the gentlest voice he could possibly use, though unsure if he truly could accomplish such a feat.

 

The small boy pushed himself away from Severus’ black robes so he could look at his face, and the man had to take a sharp inhale, the green eyes staring back at him so similar to the ones he had so recently closed he had to slam down his Occlumency barriers to prevent himself from breaking down right then.

 

”Cold…” the infant-toddler? responded, giving a slightly exaggerated shiver to showcase. “Owie, too.” Before Severus could ask where, he pointed to his forehead, where Severus noticed a small trickle of blood trailing from a lightning shaped cut.

 

“Let me do something for the little… owie… you have there,” Severus said uncertainly, setting the child back down on the cot and pulling out his wand. He pointed it at the small wound and quietly whispered, “Episkey,”  and waited for the small cut to heal. It didn’t. That fact worried him, it made him wonder what had caused, not only the cut, but also the hole where the ceiling and wall used to be. He remembered the Dark Lord’s purpose for coming to this house, to kill the child looking up at him so innocently, and startled at the realization that, maybe he hadn’t been as thwarted as Severus had first assumed.

 

Taking the evidence into account, could it be possible that the Dark Lord had actually succeeded in using the Killing Curse on an infant? But then how would that have caused the… hole… His eyes widened as he came to the only possible conclusion he could. Something had countered the Killing Curse, caused the magic to backfire and blow out the back of the room, and also destroy the body of the thought to be greatest dark wizard since Grindelwald. But what could be so powerful as to counter a curse that could wipe out such a lo-. That was it. It was love. Somehow, the Dark Lord’s greatest weakness, the one thing that was able to beat him, was love. Which meant that Harry needed to go to a family that could provide him more love, more than he could possibly know what to do with.

 

While Severus was coming to this conclusion, there was a roar of a motorbike from outside, followed by the sound of great heaving sobs, before lumbering steps made their way up the stairs, the wood creaking under the great weight of whoever was coming up. Severus was pulled out of his deep thoughts by the sounds of Hagrid blubbering as he walked into the room.

 

”Oh James, oh Lily,” Hagrid sobbed into a hanky the size of a tablecloth. He looked up and stopped short at the sight of Severus, standing next to the occupied cot, the tiny child within staring wide-eyed up at him. “‘Arry, y-you’re alright!” He started crying for a different, happier reason this time.

 

Severus, knowing what Hagrid being there meant, scooped up the young boy once again and handed him over to the half-giant, patting his hair after making sure he was secure in his arms.

 

“You’re bringing him to Albus, correct?” Severus asked, trying to keep himself together for as long as he could. He knew he would be able to break soon, it was almost done, just one more task.

 

“Yup, th’ Professor has a place all picked out for the li’l tyke to go an’ all.”

 

“With a family who will love him as their own? It’s the only thing he deserves after this kind of tragedy.” Severus had to hope it wouldn’t be an orphanage or somewhere.

 

“Far as I know. Heard he was goin’ to an aunt’s place.” Hagrid took a moment to think of who Dumbledore said he was to take Harry to. “Er, some kind of flower, I think.”

 

Severus froze, hoping against hope that he was wrong. There was only one aunt who he could think of that would have a flower name who Albus could give Lily’s only child to.

 

“Please, Hagrid, tell me you do not mean Petunia?”

 

Hagrid grinned and snapped his large fingers, nodding his large head in confirmation.

 

Severus pinched the bridge of his nose. Because of course Albus would choose to place this young child with the one relative who had the possibility to be extremely jealous of his magical ability. ‘The only thing I can do at this point is hope the old fool will allow me to keep an eye on the house on the off chance they happen to mistreat him,’ Severus thought with a sigh.

 

“Did Albus at least provide you with an address so you could find this place?” Severus asked the oaf before him.

 

Hagrid nodded again. “O’course he did. It’s, er… I got it ‘ere somewhere…” The half-giant passed the infant over to Severus as he began patting down his large overcoat, and Severus noticed the boy nodding off. Obviously the events of the night were too much for such a small child and he required sleep soon.

 

Severus adjusted his hold on the child and soon felt as the infant’s breaths evened out into slumber.

 

Suddenly, Hagrid pulled out a piece of parchment with a look of triumph over his face. “‘Ere we go! It’s Number 4 Privet Drive, over in Surrey.”

 

With that, the half-giant took the sleeping baby from Severus’ arms, grabbed a blanket from the cot, and left the room, leaving the silent Potions Master standing in the destroyed nursery.

 

With a final look behind him at Lily’s body, and great heaving sigh full of grief, Severus too left the house to return to his Hogwarts quarters.

 

——————

 

Severus spent what felt like hours in bed simply grieving for the lost friend he felt responsible for, the young mother who would never see her child grow up.

 

When he finally passed out from exhaustion, it was not a restful sleep. He struggled with nightmares, feeling like he was being haunted by the ghost of his best friend, blaming him for her death.

 

He spent the next several days simply going through the motions. He woke up after a night of endless nightmares, made himself a strong tea, before heading to his potions lab to brew for the day, barely remembering to eat. By the time he pulled himself out of the lab to go to bed, it would be well past midnight, and he hardly made it back into his bed before passing out, and the cycle would repeat.

 

At one point he believed he might have seen Albus, maybe even heard his voice, but by then he was so far gone from reality he couldn’t be sure if it was the truth, or if the man had joined Lily in her nightly haunting ritual.

 

One singular nightmare changed everything.

 

Severus had once again brewed into the wee hours of morning, it was about two weeks after that fateful night. He dragged himself into his bed, closed his eyes, and prepared himself for more dreadful nightmares and another fitful sleep.

 

“Severus…” came the recognizable voice. “ Severus…”

 

He turned in the direction the voice was coming from, but all he could see was black. He was standing in a void. Suddenly, she stood before him, just as she had been in all of his previous nightmares, ghostly and haunting. Lily Potter, come to haunt him, blame him for her death once more.

 

“Severus… help me…”

 

This part, however, was different. In previous nightmares, she never asked for help. She always immediately blamed him, said she wished they were never friends.

 

 

“Save my baby… He needs you…”

 

“What do you mean? Is he in danger?” Severus asked, against his better judgement. He knew better than to question his dreams because they always grew worse when he asked questions.

 

“Remember my letters about my sister… You must save him…”

 

Severus, of course, knew that Harry was with Petunia, but hadn’t initially realized quite how bad it could have been, until Lily, for this must be the true Lily, reminded him.

 

Petunia was extremely jealous of Lily when she first received her Hogwarts letter, to the point she sent a letter to Dumbledore asking him to allow her to go. The Headmaster, of course, denied her, stating that she was a Muggle, and therefore unable to attend a school for Magic. After that, Lily would tell Severus about different instances of Petunia being more and more aggressive towards her.

 

It seemed to all come to a head after Petunia and her husband got married, because the Dark Lord led a raid the same day, and Lily was on the front lines defending Muggles against his forces, missing the wedding. When Lily and Potter got married after, Petunia told her she had her chance at finally having a decent relationship, but missing Petunia’s wedding was the last straw, and the two sisters were estranged.

 

Severus believed he still had the letters tucked away somewhere.

 

“What do you want me to do, Lily? Albus placed your son there.”

 

“I, Lily Potter née Evans, grant Severus Tobias Snape Magical and Legal Guardianship over my son, Harry James Potter, until such time that he shall either adopt Harry or find him a more suitable home, so mote it be.”

 

There was a burst of magic within the void space and Severus woke with a start, only to find himself standing in the middle of his sitting room, staring at the blank wall across from his bookcase.

 

The next few hours were spent preparing his quarters for a toddler. He asked a House Elf to create a room and filled it with all manner of items perfect for a small child. The walls were green and blue, the new cot was grey with blue blankets over green sheets. There was a small blue and green snake plush on a bookshelf in the corner, with a red and yellow lion right next to it (because despite Severus’ dislike for the House, if he was going to have blue for Ravenclaw and green for Slytherin, plus a snake plush, he had to have a lion for Gryffindor and make it red and yellow to represent the other two Houses).

 

With a final look over the transformed space, Severus Apparated to Surrey, and found his way to Privet Drive. Almost every house looked the same, same manicured lawns, similar flowers and bushes growing by the front walks. It looked about what Severus would expect from Petunia, wanting to look just like everybody else and appear normal.

 

Severus knocked on the front door of Number 4 and was greeted to harried voices from within, what sounded like the slamming of a door a muffled cries. When the door was finally opened, Severus looked into the face of Petunia Dursley née Evans, who was attempting to redo her hair quickly and smoothing out her floral print dress, like she didn’t want her neighbors to know she not only had her own toddler, but had recently taken custody of her nephew as well.

 

“Yes, how can I—?” Petunia started distractedly, before looking up and realizing who exactly was standing on her front porch. “You! You’re that freak boy from down the street my freak sister was friends with! What do you want with me?!”

 

“Petunia? Who’s at the door?” A lumbering whale of a man loomed into the doorway behind his wife, took one look at Severus, and his face took on a red hue. “You’re just like those freaks I’ve seen running around making a ruckus lately, aren’t you? Well, I’ll have none of that on my doorstep!” With that, the large man attempted to close the door, but before he could, Severus brandished his wand and forced his way into the house.

 

Both Petunia and her husband turned pale and took retreating steps back, fearful of the wizard before them.

 

“Now,” Severus drawled after he closed the front door behind himself, staring down the pair. “I’m here to check on your nephew, make sure he is receiving adequate care. If I find everything to be up to my standards I will leave and return periodically; however, if I find that you are lacking in your duties as his guardians in any way, you will both regret it.”

 

“You can’t do anything to us, your laws prevent the use of magic on Muggles,” Petunia stated bravely, though the tremble in her voice portrayed her true fears.

 

“That may be true to those who are ignorant to magic; however, to the ones who are in the know, they also do fall under those laws as well, which means if a magical child comes to harm at the hands of a Muggle with knowledge of magic, then they can also be punished by said Magic laws.” Severus felt a hint of satisfaction as he watched the color drain from both faces.

 

Severus turned away from the pair with a flourish of his robes to face the rest of the house, still hearing the muffled cries coming from somewhere.

 

“Now, take me to your nephew so I can determine his safety and wellbeing.”

 

Petunia gave a sniff. “He’s not here.”

 

Severus simply turned his head and gave her his signature look , one that conveyed he thought her to be the most idiotic dunderhead he had ever had the misfortune of being in the presence of.

 

He turned back toward the house, brandished his wand once more and cast, “Homenum revelio,” and watched as the spell not only revealed the two Dursley’s behind himself, it also revealed a single presence upstairs, which Severus surmised to be their own toddler, as well as a shocking presence in the boot cupboard beneath the stairs, a location which he was not expecting. He turned a furious glare onto the couple before storming toward the door, where he noticed a lock. With another flick of his wand, and a silent alohamora, the door was opened and he revealed the source of the crying.

 

There, beneath the stairs, in the dark, cramped boot cupboard, was the same small child he had held just two weeks prior, sobbing his little heart out. He was sitting on a ratty blanket, situated on what looked like a very thin mattress, possibly one used for a travel cot. With what little light that was coming in through the small door, Severus could see the child was still wearing the sleeper he had been wearing the night his parents had been killed, which meant in the two weeks that he had been left with the Muggles, he had either not been bathed, not been changed, or possibly both.

 

Severus knelt in the doorway of the little boot cupboard and spoke with that soft voice he used that very first night he met this child. “Harry? Do you remember me?”

 

Within seconds of speaking, the boy’s sobs quieted to only sniffles, he looked up with those same luminous green eyes, and focused on the man before him.

 

“You back…” he said softly, before crawling forward toward the man.

 

“I am. I have returned for you. I apologize for how long it took me to reach you.”

 

“It ok…” Harry crawled right into Severus’ waiting arms and with swift moves, the pair were standing in the hall.

 

“Are you alright, child? Do you hurt anywhere?”

 

“Owie… um…” Harry looked like he tried to think of where he might be hurt before pointing a few places, like his head, belly, and Severus’ arm, which the man took to mean his nappy was bothering him. This fact worried him. Based on the little evidence he was collecting, it was possible Harry was suffering from a nappy rash, though he wouldn’t know how severe until he got him changed.

 

He took a better look at the boy now that he was in better lighting, and had to force himself not to break something. Harry’s lips were chapped, his cheeks and eyes were dry despite him having been crying, which meant that he was dehydrated, going along with the headache he had. And being such a young child, though Severus was only used to dealing with older children (although used to is strong language given he had only been a professor for about two months before he became a bed blob for the past two weeks), the stomach pain could also be attributed to the dehydration if he hadn’t been being fed enough.

 

Suddenly, Severus was very glad that he had been haunted by the ghost of his best friend, because now he has the means to take care of this boy in his arms, as well as the rights to do so since Lily gave them to him ( re: forced them on him ).

 

With his arms full of child, Severus turned to the pair still standing in the hall, right where he left them.

 

“As for you two, I believe I promised you would regret if I found this young man in a state less than satisfactory, did I not?” Severus brandished his wand and pointed it at the pair.

 

—————

 

Severus, with Harry in tow, made their way through the halls of the Hogwarts Castle, Harry taking all the sights around him. He seemed to be a very curious child, and Severus was very grateful he had the foresight to get nurmerous children’s books to fill the small bookcase in the child’s new room.

 

they ventured up a few staircases, before they reached a set of double doors. School was in session of course, and Severus had to be careful, he didn’t want the students to see Harry before the boy was ready to be seen, especially while he was still wearing two week old pyjamas.

 

As soon as the doors opened, Madam Pomfrey bustled out, expecting a student who had had an accident, but stopped short at the sight of Severus with the young child.

 

”Severus? Who’s this with you?” She asked swiftly.

 

”This is your patient today, Poppy. This is Harry. He is 15 months old, is suffering from dehydration, possible hunger, and suspected severe nappy rash,” Severus read off his list of both facts and suspicions based on the evidence he collected as he placed the small child on the bed. Because of the boy’s size, the cot seemed to engulf him in an almost comedic fashion.

 

Poppy stared at Severus in an odd way before turning to the small boy and casting several diagnostic spells. Her eyes widened as she realized the extent of the nappy rash. Severe didn’t seem to cover it. She immediately summoned rash cream, as well as some mint balms and soothing salves to apply to the area.

 

“How long has he been in that nappy, Severus? And please tell me you’re not the one that left him in this state while you’ve been wallowing in your own self pity,” Poppy warned as she worked.

 

Severus smoothed back Harry’s hair, as the pain from the rash seemed to get worse as Poppy tried to heal it. He spoke distractedly while trying to keep the baby calm, “Considering the clothing he was wearing was the same thing I last saw him in two weeks ago, I’d see it’s been about that long. If you don’t mind, while you work, I’m going to my quarters and fetch him some fresh clothing, something he might appreciate a little better than two week old pyjamas.”

 

Now that Harry was calmer, and had the most pressing issue dealt with, he seemed about ready to fall asleep as it was, so Severus felt comfortable making his way to his quarters to grab a few items Harry would need while he was staying in the Infirmary, before making his way back, via the Floo.

 

The second he stepped back through, however, he realized he had made a mistake leaving, because Albus had walked into the Wing at some point while Severus had been gone and was looking intently at the small child sleeping on the bed.

 

The older man looked up at the sound of footsteps and gave Severus his usual Grandfatherly smile before turning a questioning look at Harry.

 

”Severus, my boy, it’s good to see you out of your quarters again!” Albus said by way of greeting. “And who is this young lad?”

 

Instead of answering, Severus removed the items from his robe pockets that he had grabbed, enlarging the ones that were normally too big to fit, including the snake plush, a canister of baby formula, and a bottle. He gently placed the snake next to the sleeping baby before gently filling the bottle using an aguamenti and placing a few scoops of formula powder to mix together.

 

”Hello, Albus,” he responded finally, after he was finished with his tasks. “This is Harry. I rescued him from a very neglectful home situation I was informed of by a ghost of all things.”

 

Severus turned to the baby on the bed, gently scooped him up, snake and all, and held him in his arms, needing to the feel the weight of him, and know that he was finally safe.

 

“Harry,” Severus, called softly, “I know you’re sleepy, but I think you’ll feel a lot better if you have a bottle of milk before you go to sleep, what do you think?”

 

At the word milk, the little boy stirred slightly, opened his eyes, and smiled at Severus as if he hung the moon. “Okay, Daddy.”

 

Severus’ breath caught at that word, daddy, as he never thought he would ever have that title for anyone. Instead of reacting further, he simply smiled at the small boy, his son, and sat down on the now vacated cot. He picked up the bottle of formula and proceeded to feed little Harry as the small being in his arms slowly drifted off to sleep once more. Severus didn’t even notice when Albus left the room, to preoccupied with watching his son slowly get better before his eyes.

 

‘Thank you, Lily,’ Severus thought as he stared at the little boy. ‘Thank you for this precious gift you’ve given me.’

Chapter 2: Adoption Time!

Harry spent the next couple days in the Infirmary, healing from the rash; it was really, much worse than Severus had been expecting it to be.

 

The entire time the small child was sitting in that too big bed, his new father was right there by his side, reading stories from the new bookshelf in the little boy’s bedroom, telling him all about his new room, and even telling him about magic. Severus even blew colorful bubbles for the young boy with his wand, which delighted the boy to no end, giggles falling from his lips in almost unending peals. The laughter warmed Severus’ heart and made him more glad than ever that he had listened to Lily’s ghost and taken in this sweet child.

 

His sweet child, because Harry was his son. And all he had to do was make it official with the goblins. He wouldn’t do a blood adoption quite yet, because he wanted to make sure that Harry maintained the option for himself when he was older. Plus, doing a blood adoption then would give Harry the opportunity to change his name if he so chose.

When Poppy had finally released Harry from the Infirmary, with Severus promising to make sure Harry returned for his inoculations at the proper times, the father-son duo finally made their way down to their home, Harry continuing to be fascinated by the moving portraits on the walls. Most of them waved at the boy, who waved back with a mostly toothless grin.

 

His excited chatter about everything, despite the man being unable to understand most of the gibberish, made a small smile blossom across Severus’ usually expressionless face as they made their way through the quiet castle.

 

Thankfully, it was a Friday, which meant that the students were in their classes, so the halls were mostly empty. That also meant that Severus had the entire weekend to get his son settled in his new home. And get used to calling Harry his son. Then on Monday he would have to either figure out how to keep a toddler occupied in a potions classroom while also making sure none of his students got too distracted they caused their cauldron to blow up, or figure out how to play Pass the Baby with his colleagues during the day without making their own jobs more difficult in the process (and no, leaving Harry in Dumbledore’s office so only the old coot had a hard time as revenge was not a good plan, no matter how much easier that might seem, because Severus had a very good feeling that the goat would take that as an opportunity to return Harry to his relatives “for the greater good”).

 

In the meantime, Severus decided the most immediate course of action was to show Harry around his quarters, show him his brand new room, (yes, Harry, a whole room, not the boot cupboard under the stairs), followed by scheduling a meeting with the Prince family account manager.

 

Severus grabbed the lion plush and a cardboard book from the shelf in Harry’s room and took them out to the little boy in the sitting room, playing on the floor with the snake plush. With the child occupied, Severus chose to display another type of magic to him, though explained that, as scary as it might seem, it wouldn’t hurt him.

 

Harry didn’t seem convinced.

 

Severus knelt in front of the hearth, threw a handful of floo powder into the flames, and called out for Gringott’s Bank, Ribcrusher’s office, sticking his head in the green fire. When the call was answered he was greeted by the wrinkled, worn face of the Prince’s account manager.

 

“Greetings, Master Ribcrusher, may your gold flow endlessly,” Severus said, the polite greeting rolling off his tongue casually.

 

“Greetings, Lord Prince. May your enemies lie crushed at your feet,” the goblin responded in kind, his mouth twisting in the goblin approximation of a smile. “What is your business with me today? We don’t have a meeting planned, unless you were wanting to schedule one?”

 

Before Severus could respond, he felt a body rubbing along his chest. He didn’t even get a chance to react, suddenly there was Harry sticking his head in the flames below his own.

 

“Hello, young one, and who might you be?” Ribcrusher asked, smirking as if he were watching an enjoyable show playing out before him.

 

“I Hawwy. He Daddy. Who you?” the small child asked in his adorable baby voice that Severus was already loving the sound of.

 

“I am Ribcrusher, young Harry. I am your father’s account manager. Though I was unaware your father had a child.” At this, he looked at Severus for an explanation.

 

“Why don’t you continue playing with your lion and snake, Harry, maybe tell them the story I brought out for you now that you know I’m not being hurt by the green flames?” Severus looked down at the boy as well as he could from his vantage point, above Harry.

 

“Okay, daddy.” With that, the little boy moved from the flames, and Severus felt his body move away from under his own, presumably to go do as he suggested.

 

Once he was away, Severus turned back to Ribcrusher. “That’s actually why I called. I would like to set up an appointment to adopt him.“ Severus explained the entire situation to the goblin, including the visit by Lily, which set the whole thing into motion.

 

Upon completion of the story, the goblin sat at his desk and tapped his chin. “Yes, I can see how that would be worrying, especially the issue with your employer.” He contemplated for a few moments before snapping his fingers and a stack of parchment appeared on his desk. “Come through, bring the child. I am free this afternoon, we shall do the adoption today, less risk of the Headmaster trying to take your child if you can prove without a doubt that he is legally yours, besides of course a simple dream of your dead friend telling you so.” The goblin smirked at the last comment, and Severus couldn’t help but chuckle as well.

 

Severus backed out of the flames, and turned to the little boy, finding him curled up on the floor with his snake and lion plush, fast asleep. He scooped up the adorable bundle, toys and all, and walked back to the hearth, grabbing another handful of floo powder and calling for his account manager’s office once again. This time he stepped through and removed the soot from both himself and Harry with a simple wave of his hand.

 

He sat with his precious bundle in front of the mahogany desk and nodded at Ribcrusher in greeting.

 

“What kind of adoption are you looking to do for the boy?” Ribcrusher started off with asking, pulling forward two stacks of parchment.

 

“I want to do a standard magical adoption for now, with the understanding that, should Harry choose for me to blood adopt him at a later date, we have that option available to us.”

 

Ribcrusher nodded and pulled the relevant stack in font of himself. He started filling out all the information he already knew, asking Severus for any information he needed clarification for.

 

By the time he reached the end of the parchment, Ribcrusher glanced back up at the young Potions Master, who was paying attention to the sleeping bundle.

 

“Before we go on, I have just one more question for you. Would you like to officially claim your Lordship? I know you hold it in name only, but if you officially claim it, it would make it that much harder for your employer to go against the adoption.”

 

“Why would my Lordship have any standing over how easy or hard it would be for the old fool to fight my adoption of my son?”

 

“When it comes to magical adoptions such as this, the adopting party’s standing in the magical world becomes a factor, not just whether the child is doing better in that family’s care. So, say a family adopting an abused magical child has no real standing in the magical world, but the child’s previous parents were a Lord and Lady of a Noble house. The parents could contest the adoption, and despite the circumstances the child was removed from, they have a higher standing than the adopting parents.

 

“Now, because your Lordship is for an Ancient and Noble house, you would have a much higher standing than, Dumbledore, who, as far as Gringotts is aware, has no standing aside from his elected titles in the magical world. If he were to try and lay claim to the child as his magical guardian, you would have the backing of not only your Lordship, but also the binding magic placed posthumously by Lily Potter herself.“

 

 

“And if I didn’t take up my Lordship my only standing in the magical world would be as a half-blood Potions Master, while he is also a half-blood, but also holds two elected titles and is the headmaster of the only magical school in Britain. I see where you’re going with this.” Severus considered everything the goblin had told him before nodding his assent. “I’ll claim my Lordship then, if it will make sure my son is safe with me.”

 

Ribcrusher pulled out a box and passed it along the desk to Severus. When the man opened it he gazed at the ring within. It was large and chunky, a silver band with what looked like a large amethyst in the middle, a small wolf carved within, and surrounding it were small black pearls. Severus placed the ring on his left index finger, and felt a cold shiver run up his spine, as if someone had suddenly come up behind him and was looking over his shoulder. The feeling was gone as quickly as it had come, and was replaced by a feeling of belonging. He was accepted by the ring, and the Prince family magic as the Lord.

 

With that finished, Ribcrusher finished the parchment for the adoption, and Severus took Harry back to his—their—quarters to finish his nap.

 

———

 

The next two days, Severus and Harry spent in their quarters, allowing the small child to get settled in fully before he was forced to interact with the rest of the residents of the castle.

 

There were a few Slytherin students who knocked on the door to Severus’ office, which echoed into their quarters, and Severus needed to handle it, taking the small child with him. It turned out that his Slytherins were concerned about him after not seeing him for two weeks and wanted to make sure everything was alright. Though, the second they saw the small child in his arms, they became distracted from their reason for coming in, and either focused completely on Harry, or asked questions regarding him, and assumed that was the reason behind their professor’s sudden absence.

 

Severus allowed the assumptions to pass, knowing they were better than allowing them to know the truth and it getting back to their parents, because having the Dark Lord’s followers aware his absence is because he suddenly needed to take care of a relative’s child is a lot better than them knowing he was a wreck that their Lord had killed his only friend.

 

Finally, on Monday, Severus took his small son with him to the Great Hall for the first time, in order to have breakfast with the rest of the castle, and see what everyone else’s reactions would be. He knew his Slytherins were already aware of the child’s presence thanks to the small handful who came to check up on him, but the other three houses, and the teachers, had no clue.

 

He wished he had popcorn.

 

The second he walked into the Great Hall with Harry babbling away in his ear, all conversation from 4/5 of the room completely ceased, Slytherin being the only House behaving like nothing was wrong, though Severus knew they were enjoying the show as much as he was.

 

Harry, the adorable child that he was, looked around the room in childlike wonder, gazing first at all the new faces, and then up at the enchanted ceiling.

 

“Wow …” he said in absolute awe. Severus couldn’t help his chuckle, which echoed in the almost silent room.

 

“Yes, Harry, isn’t it pretty? It’s enchanted to look like the sky outside. I think you’ll like it during the holidays too.”

 

He continued walking through the hall to the Head Table, talking to Harry all the while. He took his seat at the table, and looked out at all the students staring at him and his son. He gave them all a smile before going back to focusing on the boy in his lap, filling up a plate of soft foods Harry could eat with ease and then getting himself set up with breakfast.

 

“I say, Severus,” Filius said from a few seats over, “that is the cutest little child I have ever seen. What is the little tyke’s name?”

 

“This is my son, Harry,” Severus replied, taking Harry’s unoccupied hand and waving it at the diminutive teacher.

 

The half-goblin gave a delighted squeak and waved back at the boy. Harry gave him a mostly toothless smile before resuming his meal, enjoying the soft fruits he could mash in his mouth.

 

Severus made up a small bowl of porridge and added a dash of honey to it before offering a small scoop to his son. Harry opened his mouth and hummed in delight, clapping his hands as he chewed, before he opened his mouth for another bite.

 

Before long, breakfast was over, which meant it was time for Severus to take Harry down to his Potions classroom and get him set up with some toys in a protected corner before the students arrived.

 

“Severus, my boy,” a voice called out from behind as the Potions Master was reaching the stairs to the dungeons.

 

He turned around to face Dumbledore catching up from the Great Hall.

 

‘Here we go again,’ Severus thought before greeting the Headmaster.

 

“I was just wondering what you were doing with young Harry Potter. Now that he is no longer in the Hospital Wing, I thought you would have returned him to his relatives’ house. They must be worried about him.” The Twinkle in Dumbledore’s eye was in full effect, which just made Severus wary.

 

“I’m taking my son with me to class right now, sir. You see, I adopted him this weekend, so as of Saturday, his name is Harry Prince .”

 

Albus blinked at his employee for a few seconds, stunned at the response before shaking off the shock. “Are you sure that was wise, Severus? Being at his relatives’ house would have kept him a lot safer.”

 

Severus had to take deep breaths to rein in his temper. “Safer, sir? You mean with the people who were already trying to starve an infant within the two weeks they’d had him? He was safer at  a place that kept him locked in a small cupboard with barely room for him to stand up to his full height as a toddler without hitting his head on the stairs above, and ignored him when he cried? He was safer at the home where they left him to sit in his own filth until it rendered his bottom so painful that the simple touch of air was enough to make him whimper? Those relatives?” By the end, his temper got the best of him anyway, and he couldn’t hold it in any longer.

 

This was the man who put his child in that place. This was the man who left his child with those monsters . And his knew that if Lily hadn’t told him to save Harry, if he hadn’t listened to her spectre and actually gone to that house himself and saved this boy in his arms, Harry most likely wouldn’t have made it to Hogwarts. Or if he had he would’ve been so malnourished, so underfed he would’ve been practically a ghost himself. That’s if the Dursley’s stopped at simply starving him.

 

Severus turned on his heel and left the Headmaster reeling with his parting words, his teaching robes flaring out dramatically behind him. He didn’t even deign to say a by your leave to the man. He headed down to his classroom, and prepared a corner for Harry with a one-way privacy spell. That way, the boy could see out, and hear everything that was going on in the room, but the students wouldn’t be distracted by a tiny human being in the corner. He also made sure to cast a monitoring spell so he could make sure Harry was alright. then he called a House-Elf to grab a few of Harry’s favorite toys and books to put in the corner as well, so he could stay entertained.

 

With the corner and the rest of the classroom set up, it was time to start the day.

 

Oh boy.

Chapter 3: Settling into a Routine… a Little Too Hard

Notes:

I know, I know, I took forever to get this out. But I was working on it slowly but surely. I’m definitely not one of those authors that outlines and then writes. I just kinda go with what my brain decides to put forth, read to my SO as a way to edit, and post.

It was a Hufflepuff in his 6th year NEWT class who finally realized there was something different. Marigold Something-or-other. He hadn’t bothered remembering their names off the top of his head. The Puffs cried when he spoke too loudly and the Ravens were studious. The Snakes performed alright and the Lions were too dunderheaded to do much besides melt cauldrons and talk back about detentions and lost points.

 

“S-sir? Marigold stuttered out hesitantly, obviously afraid of getting yelled at. ‘She’s sixteen, shouldn’t she have a grown a backbone already?’

“Yes?” Severus replied, trying not to sneer just at the sound of her stutter.

 

“Wh-why is the corner hazy? Is there something hidden over there?”

 

Severus was surprised someone had finally noticed. It had been 3 days since he had started bringing Harry to class with him, and nobody had said anything.

 

‘It would stand to reason that at least someone in this castle would have better Magical Sight than most. I’m just surprised it took this long.’

Thankfully they hadn’t started brewing anything so Severus decided to cancel what he was going to have them do.

 

“That is a very good observation, five points to Hufflepuff for noticing that privacy spell.” He took down the spell and everyone stared as it revealed the small child that had been the talk of the school since their dour Potions professor showed up to breakfast with him. He walked over to the toddler and scooped him up in his arms. “Class, this is Harry Prince, my son. Today, thanks to your classmate’s Magical Sight, you get to spend part of class asking a few questions about Harry, and then we’re going to have a study period.”

 

Hands instantly rose. Severus called on students, and the questions ranged from, how old he is, to why didn’t he have the child until just Monday. He had to stretch the truth with some of his answers, but he did answer most of the questions. At the end of the Q&A session, he assigned a reading and essay, allowing the students to begin it in class and see how far they came with it.

 

He knew by the end of the day more rumors would be flying through the halls based on his answers, but at least he felt good. He had been able to hold his child during a class period instead of simply observe him from afar.

 

Over the weeks that followed, Severus slowly introduced Harry to his classes, first at the end of the classes, and then earlier and earlier, to see how they would handle having a small human in their vicinity. He still made sure to cast protections spells around the boy so he didn’t get splashed with anything, but his slow integration seemed to work well. There were no incidents of students being too distracted to pay attention, nor blown up cauldrons that resulted.

 

A month passed, and Severus was able to completely divide his attention between his students and his son, no longer concerned with maintaining the small corner for Harry to stay for the entire day. Instead, it morphed into a small nap/play area for the child. A silencing spell would be put up around him so he wouldn’t be disturbed by the noises of the classroom, but otherwise his attendance would cause no further distraction to the classroom than, say, a student turning a page in their textbook.

 

One evening, Severus took Harry into the Great Hall for dinner, and realized the decorations were up for Christmas. Between classes and taking care of Harry he’d somehow completely lost track of the days. ‘That would explain why there were so few students at breakfast this morning,’ Severus thought.

Then another thought occurred to him. He had completely forgotten to buy anything for his son. And while Harry, being only 16, almost 17 months old, wouldn’t exactly remember his second Christmas, nor what presents he received, it was the fact that this was the first Christmas they would spend together, and Severus wanted to make it special for his son.

 

“Pr—Minerva,” Severus began, stumbling over his words due to still being unused to being a colleague and not a student himself.

 

The Transfiguration professor turned to him with a kind smile and a nod.

 

“Would you mind too terribly watching Harry tomorrow afternoon? I seem to have completely forgotten what time of year it is. The days were getting a little away from me lately.”

 

Minerva smiled in sympathy. “Of course, Severus. Is there anything I can do to help you further?”

 

Severus had to think about her offer for a moment. Was there anything else he could possibly need help with?

 

“Would you mind terribly helping me with grading my students’ essays? I’ve been trying to keep on top of everything, but then I hear a sound, whether it be a squeak or something and I’ve completely forgotten what I was supposed to be doing because I desperately need to check on Harry, only to discover he’s fine, but he is just too precious I can’t return to my work, I have to play with him instead, and…” Severus tapered off when he realized he was starting to speak faster without taking a breath, or pausing his sentence.

 

Minerva was smiling at him fondly now, and Severus felt his cheeks heating up.

 

“Yes, I dare say I could help you grade a few of your essays, as well as stop you from getting too distracted by the adorable being you live with.”

 

She was openly teasing him now. Severus wished he could crawl into a hole somewhere. Or perhaps at least take back his request for help.

 

He scowled at her but she merely grinned back.

 

“Please just watch my son for me tomorrow so I could go shopping for him.”

 

“Of course, Severus.”

 

With that they resumed their meal.

 

———

 

The following morning, Severus gave Harry to Minerva after breakfast, ensuring his son knew he wasn’t leaving for good, and was simply going out shopping. Once the boy was rid of the skeptical look on his face (he really was too much like Severus at times it made the man wonder), Severus left for his shopping trip.

 

It was hard to figure out what to get for his son for Christmas. What kind of things do you get for a toddler?

 

He decided to go to Diagon Alley, because, while Hogsmeade was closer, there weren’t any stores there that catered to young children in the small village, as it was more geared toward the students at Hogwarts. He carefully picked his way through the alley to the small toy shop nestled between Flourish and Blotts and Scribbulus quill shop. It was small enough that most people overlooked it while gathering their school supplies in the summer. At least, it was small on the outside. It contained quite a lot of wizards’ space so was quite spacious on the inside of the quaint shop.

 

Walking in, Severus was rather pleased to note it was surprisingly quiet given the time of day. Then again, it was the day before Christmas, so most sensible people would have already accomplished their holiday shopping. The only reason he hadn’t was because he had been so bogged down by everything he had completely missed time going by. The students had left for break a week ago and he only noticed last night.

 

He shook himself out of his thoughts and returned to the task at hand, finding his son some good presents. He wanted them to be educational enough that he would get some learning value out of them but not so difficult that he would grow bored before he would truly learn how to use them.

 

He began his search and quickly came upon his first choice, a toddler sized Potions kit with plush ingredients. It could make two pretend potions, draught that makes multi-colored sparks and a color changing potion. He thought if the child enjoyed the kit, he might teach him further about Potions.

 

He also found a small toy broom, and thought he might have seen one somewhere in Harry’s nursery at Godric’s Hollow, only to have to shake his head and get rid of the sad memories even thinking about the house brought up.

 

By getting the broom and the potion toy, he figured he was honoring the Potter heritage, because not only was James Potter an excellent chaser, but the Potter family were known for their potion inventions through the generations. After all, how could they tame the famous Potter hair without Fleamont’s Sleakeazy hair potion? (Yes, Severus is justifying wanting to get his son an early start in his passion for brewing by using his grandfather. No he will never regret the decision.)

 

Severus was just about to head to checkout when he spotted it. The single largest snake plush he’d ever seen in his life. He knew Harry adored his snake, even more than the lion (ha, take that James), so he wondered what the child would think about a snake that was as long as his own father, and thicker than Severus’ arm. It reminded him of what he expected the mythical basilisk to look like, in toy form of course. It had dark green, almost black plush scales, a large blocky head, and yellow glass eyes. His son had to have this snake.

 

He grabbed it and headed to the registers before he could get sidetracked further. After paying for his gifts, and having them wrapped, he took his purchases and returned to the castle after shrinking them into his pockets.

 

Of course, his day would not be complete without a run-in with the headmaster, would it? He was almost to Prof—Minerva’s quarters when he heard the old man calling out to him. He released a heavy sigh and pulled up his shields.

 

“Severus, my boy,” Dumbledore began, “I’m glad I caught you. I wished to inform you that a social worker from the DMCW (Department of Magical Child Welfare) was just here to assess young Harry Potter, and has determined that he would be better suited to return to his relatives. They cited that family relations were important and necessary to the welfare of the child.”

 

Severus’ breath hitched. He knew Dumbledore would try something. He knew the old fool wouldn’t leave it alone. But to remove his son, to place his child back with abusive people? This time knowingly? That was inexcusable.

 

Severus took a deep breath to calm down before responding. “You’re telling me, that you contacted the DMCW, had them remove my child from my custody, and returned him to his abusive relatives, while also holding the knowledge of their abuse?”

 

“Well, I wouldn’t say it was abuse, Severus. I’m sure it was just a simple misunderstanding. You know how those things go. And infants are so susceptible to diaper rash, it’s possible it was more recent than Poppy was making it out to be.”

 

“I’m going to say this in the most gentle way possible, old man. You are the biggest, most manipulative asshole I have ever had the misfortune to know. You went against my rights as his father, you went against the goblins, and you also went against Lily’s will, when she declared me his guardian posthumously. I am going to get my son back, and then you are going to wish that you had kept your crooked nose out of my business.”

 

Severus swept passed the headmaster and first went to Minerva’s quarters, to find a distraught deputy headmistress.

 

“Severus! I tried to stop them. They insisted that you no longer wanted Harry and had requested they return him to the Dursleys. I knew at once it wasn’t true, but they wouldn’t listen to reason.”

 

“I know, Minerva. Dumbledore stopped me in the corridor on my way here. I know it was him. And now I know that he impersonated me, which means he not only broke the law of facilitating abuse, but he also made me seem like I was unfit. Now we can get him. How long ago did they leave? Maybe I can stop them before they get off campus.”

 

“I’m sorry, Severus, they got here shortly after you left. I’m not sure if they arrived by floo or if they walked through the gates.”

 

“No matter. I know where they’re taking Harry. Hopefully I can get him back before more harm is done to him by those awful people.”

 

With that, Severus left the room and headed through the castle toward the entrance hall. He had a son to rescue.

Chapter 4: Privet Drive, Reprise

Notes:

Sorry it took so long, writer’s block is a pain, and of course, it’s also shorter than the others. I decided to make Christmas and the Bumble’s punishment a separate chapter.

Severus appeared on the street of Privet Drive. It didn’t look any different from the last time he was there, though being Christmastime, there were lights strung up on almost every eave of every house on the street.

 

Severus headed toward Number 4, knowing what he would find there, but hoping that he wouldn’t.

 

He knocked on the door, but instead of an answer, he heard shouting from within.

 

“—believe you allowed those people to bring the freak back!” The first voice Severus heard belonged to that of a man. He recognized it as belonging to Petunia’s whale of a husband.

“What choice did I have, Vernon? It was either take the freak or they were going to question why we didn’t want him! I am not going to sacrifice my reputation in this neighborhood to be rid of the freak for good!” That was obviously Petunia.

 

There was silence for a few seconds before the husband spoke up again. “You have just given me an idea. There is a way we can… be rid of the freak for good , if you know what I’m saying.”

 

The suggestive tone was all Severus needed to understand what Vernon was implying. And he wouldn’t let these monsters try to kill his son.

 

He blasted the door of its hinges, believing that since he already tried knocking, he was able to enter their residence after alerting the homeowners of his presence.

 

Before the couple could make a noise, Severus hit them both with a Body Bind, watching in gleeful satisfaction as their limbs locked and they fell to the floor like a pair of statues.

 

“Hello again, Dursleys, so lovely to see you once more,” he said sarcastically.

 

Severus watched as fear graced the couple’s faces at his voice, recognizing him instantly as the wizard who came just a short month prior.

 

Removing the body bind around the man’s head, Severus allowed him to speak his case.

 

“Y-you can’t be here! I-I thought you gave the freak boy back! Wh-why are you back?!

 

“I don’t have to give you an explanation. Just understand that I was not the one who sent my son here. That was a manipulative old man who shall be dealt with presently. As for the child, I want him returned to me posthaste. Is that understood?”

 

Before the man could respond, there came a tentative knock on the small cupboard door under the stairs, followed by a muffled, “Dada?”

 

“You put him back in the cupboard?”

 

His words were said so quietly, so dangerously, that the pair knew their days were numbered.

 

Without waiting for a response, Severus walked towards the boot cupboard, shrunk the door with a wandless spell, and held his arms out for his child. Harry didn’t disappoint, he leapt into Severus’ open arms with a giant grin and a happy giggle. Severus wrapped his arms around his sweet boy, grateful to have the child back with him, and (mostly) unharmed.

 

“Let’s go home, Harry,” he said into his son’s hair.

 

He flicked his wand uncaringly at the couple, and cast a spell over Vernon where every sweet he will ever eat tastes like ash (that includes sweet breakfast items and desserts, not just candy). For Petunia, every plant she tries to nurture would end up either dying or poorly grown. (No, these obviously aren’t real spells, figured you take their favorite things from them and maybe they’ll be nicer people)

 

With that, he left the house, for hopefully the final time, with his son in his arms. He had a headmaster to deal with.

Chapter 5: Endings and New Beginnings

Summary:

Final chapter!!! For now… Dumbledore gets his just desserts and Snape finally gets some rest.

Notes:

I can believe how long I left this sitting! I’m so sorry! Writer’s block is a bitch! Glad I could get the final chapter out finally. Had some help from my fiancé with figuring out how things should go and whether it seems too rushed or forced. Hopefully it’s ok. Kinda an open ending, but that leaves room for possibly a sequel if anyone wants one, to explore more of Harry’s school years

The door to Dumbledore’s office blasted off its hinges in a flare of colorful sparks, followed by a flurry of delighted sounding clapping and child giggles.

 

Albus Dumbledore stumbled to his feet in his puke green robes, brandishing his wand, only to be shocked into lowering it upon spotting his potions professor carrying the small child he’d just sent back to the boy’s relatives for Severus’ own good.

 

“What is the meaning of this, Severus?” Albus asked in surprise. “And why do you have the Potter child with you? Isn’t he supposed to be back home already?”

 

Severus stepped over the remnants of the door, and allowed the red-robed auror that had been standing behind him to enter as well.

 

“Funny you should mention his home, Albus, as that’s exactly where I didn’t find him when I returned from shopping for presents. You see, I had left him in the care of Minerva so I could go and pick up some last minute Christmas gifts, as I had been so caught up in caring for my son and my classes, I completely missed the end of term, so I requested Minerva babysit while I rectified the situation.

 

“Imagine my surprise when I return to the castle with my purchases and find out from said babysitter that someone from the ministry had shown up and taken my son away, back to his relatives, claiming that I had reported no longer wanting to keep him. Imagine my further surprise when I discovered that it happened immediately upon my own departure from the castle grounds, which means someone else had called ‘on my behalf’ and informed them of this decision.

 

“So I went to find my son at the only relatives I know of, and heard them shouting through the door, that they wanted to be rid of him for good. You can imagine the conclusion i drew from that. Especially when I found my son locked up in the boot cupboard under the stairs. The same boot cupboard I’d found him in the first time I saw him at his relatives’ house just last month.

 

“The only conclusion I could draw from this, the only thing that makes sense after everything that happened since I brought my son here, is that you’re responsible. You kidnapped my son by proxy. Kidnapped him using a government agency with the authority to place children in other homes. Sadly for you, old man, I knew it was you the second Minerva told me what happened.”

 

“Severus, My boy, I did it for the Greater Good. That child doesn’t belong to you, and when Voldemort returns,” the auror and Severus flinched at the name, though Dumbledore didn’t seem to care, “having the child would make your duty as a spy much more difficult. It would be easier if you just allowed his relatives to raise him. Besides, are you sure you aren’t exaggerating everything? Families discipline naughty children all the time, as you are no doubt aware from your own childhood, are you sure you didn’t misinterpret what you saw there either time?”

 

Even the auror was shocked by the old man’s gall and sheer dismissal of everything that he deemed imperfect with the narrative he wanted to create.

 

The man in red looked at Severus, only for the sallow man to nod an affirmative, that is how he handles anything he doesn’t like, pure dismissal or disappointment.

 

“Do you wish to press charges? I am certainly going to see if I can’t swing it for the false claim and forgery when he claimed you didn’t want your son anymore, but is there any other charges you want to press?” The auror seemed very much on Severus’ side, thankfully, especially after Dumbledork’s display.

 

“Is there a way we can swing neglect, child abandonment, complicity in abuse of a magical minor child, and dereliction of duty as well? Prior to my taking over as his guardian and then adopting him in short order, Albus Dumbledore was Harry’s magical guardian, and was the one to place him with the relatives who abused him in the first place. If you speak with Minerva about the night Harry ended up with the Dursley’s you might even find out how exactly he came to be in their care and that may lend credence to my claim of abandonment.”

 

With that, Severus and the auror walked out of the office, the man in red telling Dumbledore he was not allowed to leave for he would be returning quickly with backup to arrest him.

 

“I’m not sure how well the arrest will hold with how powerful the man is,” the auror told Severus when they were far enough away from the Headmaster’s office for them to not be overheard.

 

“I think if the world knew exactly who he had harmed, they would ask for his head on a silver platter,” Severus replied, gently lifting Harry’s bangs on the sleeping boy’s forehead. In the duration of the conversation and subsequent walk through the halls, Harry had decided he’d had enough excitement and his Daddy was the perfect place to take a nap.

 

The auror let out an audible gasp before a layer of steel entered his expression. “Of course, I understand what you mean. This changes things. You’re correct about their reaction.”

 

————————————————————————————————————

 

Headmaster Behind Bars?! Albus Dumbledore Arrested for Forgery and Kidnapping?!

Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, former Supreme Mugwump of the ICW, and former Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot was arrested yesterday after allegations were made and immediately confirmed by the man himself of forgery and kidnapping by proxy using a government agency. The famous headmaster, who is best known for his defeat of the Dark Lord Grindelwald in 1945, was arrested after a conversation with his Potions Professor, Severus Prince, where Lord Prince had accused the Headmaster of kidnapping his son using the power of the WFCS in order to return the infant to his maternal relatives.

 

While that alone would be concerning, he then went on to explain that the child had been discovered in a boot cupboard under the stairs at said relatives’ home, while they were discussing getting rid of the poor child. Without missing a beat, the headmaster, while in front of one of the members of the Auror Corps, confirmed these accusations, claiming he had done so for his potions professor’s “best interests”. If this wasn’t bad enough, there are more charges still pending, when it was discovered that Albus Dumbledore was also the child’s magical guardian, and responsible for placing the young boy with the family in the first place. While the pending charges aren’t being released at this time, one has to wonder, what kind of home life was this young child living in for a professor to feel it necessary to remove him? I for one am going to be following the news closely, and will make sure I keep my faithful readers updated.

 

Rita Skeeter

 

————————————————————————————

 

Further Charges Leveled Against Abusive Headmaster! Who Has Been Teaching Our Children?

 

Last time, I said I would keep my faithful readers updated on the case being built against Albus Dumbledore! Today, I bring you further news! It has come to my attention that not only is he being charged with kidnapping by proxy and forgery by pretending to be his own potions professor to get the man’s child taken away, but news has come to light, and new charges have been filed, including complicity in abuse of a magical minor child, child abandonment, neglect, and child endangerment. Every single one of these new charges are due to his actions against one singular child. A child that all of us in the wizarding world would be up in arms to defend. A child who, up until recently, had been believed to be living in a loving home being sheltered from the world so he could grow up with a good childhood. Instead, it has come to light that the child the wizarding world looked forward to meeting had been abused, neglected, and abandoned by the very world he was meant to grow up in.

 

Now the question becomes, just who has been teaching our children if Albus Dumbledore has allowed the Boy-Who-Lived to spend even a small amount of time within an abusive home? How many students at Hogwarts are abused by relatives and still sent home by this man? How many students don’t return the following term due to his actions or lack thereof? Now there’s a morbid question I’m sure my readers are asking themselves as well.

 

Rita Skeeter

 

—————————————————————————————————

 

Courtroom number ten was packed with people, the public wanting to see Dumbledore finally pay for his crimes. Since Rita’s articles, many in the public were calling for his blood. Especially when Aurors realized her questions had darker answers than they were expecting. They didn’t think there would be so many students that had been abused by their parents. Then again, magical children were seen as precious, so no witch or wizard would dare harm their child. Obviously, that wasn’t true when it came to the muggle side of things.

 

With the help of the four heads of house, as well as the previous Slytherin head of house, Horace Slughorn, it was discovered that Dumbledore had been aware of more than 50 muggleborn and halfblood students who were sent home into abusive situations every summer, as well as seven who were sent home and never returned. When Minerva realized why these students hadn’t come back, it nearly broke her. She vowed that, as the new Headmistress, she would take a more active role in making sure her students were cared for at home, and making sure that any concerns that her staff and students came to her with were listened to and followed up on so the same mistakes were never repeated.

 

When Amelia Bones finally called the courtroom to order, it was standing room only. The doors were sealed and the noise finally died down.

 

“Send in the accused, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore. He is being accused of forgery, kidnapping by proxy using a government agency, neglect, 58 counts of child endangerment, 58 counts of complicity in abuse of a magical minor child, 7 counts of complicity in abuse resulting in the death of a minor magical child, child abandonment, and dereliction of duty while acting as the magical guardian of a magical minor child.”

 

Dumbledore was led in by the arms with an auror on each side of him. His hair, while always looking unkept in a styled way, now looked like it was simply unkept and needed a good brushing. He was shoved into the wooden chair at the center of the courtroom unceremoniously, where, because of Amelia Bones’ current distrust of the man, the straps on the chair activated, and Dumbledore was strapped down in his seat.

 

“Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, you know your charges, there are too many for me to repeat as I’ve already read them out. How do you plead?” Amelia asked.

 

Dumbledore looked up at her with a sad, disappointed face. Inside, though, he was furious. He couldn’t believe that this was happening, all because he had wanted to protect his potions master from giving up his chance to spy by becoming a father to the child that would ruin it. “Not guilty, Ms. Bones. And I have to say, this whole thing seems to be a huge misunderstanding.”

 

“It’s Madam Bones, Mister Dumbledore, and I don’t think it’s a misunderstanding, and neither do the 50 students who have been repeatedly returned to abusive homes over the course of your career at Hogwarts. And those are just the ones who survived. Why don’t you ask the 7 who were sent home and didn’t return for the following school year, and not because their parents pulled them out, if they think it’s a misunderstanding that they never finished their magical education? Why don’t you ask the students who sought sanctuary within those walls and you turned each and every one of them away, not because Hogwarts was incapable of keeping them for the summer, but because you didn’t want to? Why don’t you ask them whether they think their pain and scars are a misunderstanding?”

 

Dumbledore had a hard time figuring out how to counter her statement.

 

“Do you consent to answering questions under Veritaserum, to prove your innocence or guilt, Albus Dumbledore?” Amelia asked, finally fed up with Dumbledore’s silence.

 

“I consent, of course, Madam Bones. I have nothing to hide.”

’We’ll see about that,’ Amelia thought, before she waved to the auror who held the vial of potion. The red robed man brought the vial over to her to have her read the label, verifying its viability.

 

“The potion is dated yesterday, it was brewed by Master Severus Prince, and he claims this to be a more potent brew, and much harder to trick.” After reading the label, she returned the vial to the auror, who stepped up to the accused’s chair, and waited for Dumbledore to hold out his tongue.

 

Hearing that it was brewed by his potion master, Dumbledore believed that he would be in the clear for everything. There was no way Severus would allow his boss to be taken away so easily. He stuck out his tongue with that thought in mind and felt the potion begin to work immediately upon the final drop landing.

 

After the test questions were administered, Amelia began the more difficult questions, the ones she and most people wanted the answers to.

 

“Did you leave Harry Potter on his relatives’ porch in the early morning hours of 1st November, 1981?”

 

“Yes.” That was an easy one. He could answer that. It was known well enough at this point.

 

“Did you place any charms around him?” She would ask more elaborative questions depending on his answer to this one.

 

“No.”

 

“Did you leave anyone to watch him until his relatives discovered him later that morning?”

 

“Y-y-y-no.” Damn. He tried to say yes, though it wasn’t fully true, because while he had assigned Arabella to live in the area, he hadn’t specifically told her to watch the child that night.

 

Amelia noticed his desire to answer in the affirmative, and wondered what he was thinking of.

 

“Did you leave anyone in the area in general, even if it wasn’t to watch him at that specific time?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Who did you ask to monitor him?”

 

“Arabella Figg.”

 

“You put a squib in charge of monitoring a wizarding infant in the care of muggles.” She pinched the bridge of her nose. While she didn’t necessarily have anything against squibs in general, leaving the protection of the wizarding world’s most targeted child, the one known to have been targeted by the most recent Dark Lord, with the possibility of the man’s followers wanting to show up and finish the job, in the hands of an elderly squib whose only capabilities are maintaining a floo and at most brewing a potion. You’d think Dumbledore would at least put someone with more experience and ability on the scene.

 

“Was placing Harry Potter with his maternal aunt in accordance with the Last Will and Testament of Lily and James Potter?”

 

Dumbledore really struggled to answer in the affirmative, because he knew, the second the truth came out, everything would change.

 

“Y-y-y-y-n-n-no……”

 

There was a burst of sound as everyone in the gallery began whispering and muttering. That one answer changed the entire course of the trial.

 

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Dumbledore Found Guilty! Where are the Wills?!

 

In a twist that everyone saw coming, Albus Dumbledore was found Guilty on all counts during his trial yesterday. The one question everyone wants to know though, what happened to the wills of Lily and James Potter? Thanks to a question asked of Amelia Bones, it was brought to everyone’s attention that Dumbledore had acted completely on his own when he sent the final member of the Potter family to live with his maternal aunt. He had no authority to do so, either given by the Ministry or by the Potter family themselves in their will, considering their bodies weren’t even cold by the time the now former headmaster so callously left an infant on a doorstep on a cool November night.

 

So what happened to their wills? Why did nobody go looking for them prior to this moment and assume that everything Dumbledore did was what they wanted? I for one believe he did it because he was still riding on the belief that, since he defeated Grindelwald all those years ago, that somehow gave him the ability to know better than everyone else, even the parents of a child, and where they wished to send him.

 

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Severus put down the newspaper on the table and leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. Finally, someone was asking questions, which meant that someone was most likely going to investigate.

 

He looked over at the other occupant of his dining room, where Harry was sitting in his highchair, eating breakfast. More accurately, painting his face with his oatmeal and eating what he managed to miss getting on his cheeks. Severus simply shook his head, thankful he hadn’t given the child a bath before feeding him, knowing this was a fair possibility.

 

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Severus was reading a potions journal one night, relaxing after a long day of teaching and raising a rambunctious toddler. Harry was quietly playing with his toys and finally settling down as well.

 

Before too long, Severus felt a tug on his trouser leg; he looked down and found Harry standing with a book by his feet and rubbing his eyes with his hand not holding the trousers. He put down his own book and scooped up his son and the book on the floor.

 

“Hey, bud. You getting sleepy? Is it time for bed now?” Severus asked gently.

 

“Stowy?” Harry asked sleepily, pointing at the book he had dragged over. It was a rather large tome, so too heavy for him to simply carry, being such a tiny person.

 

“Of course, my child. Which story did you want to hear tonight?” Severus settled Harry into his arms, Harry resting his head on his father’s chest, and opened the book.

 

“‘Tales of Beedle the Bard,’ good choice tonight. Let’s see which story do you want? I know, how about ‘ The Tale of the Three Brothers’? That one was always one of my favorites.” Severus opened the book to the story and began reading, feeling the weight of his son settling on him. “‘ There once were three brothers…’ ”

 

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1st September, 1991

 

Hadrian James Prince walked with his father through King’s Cross Station toward the gateway to platform 9 3/4, excitement coursing through him. This was it, he was finally going to be a student at the school he had grown up living in for as long as he could remember.

 

When he was eight years old, his father had sat him down and explained how he had come to live with him, the fact that he was actually adopted, and what had happened to his birth parents. At the end of that conversation, his father had informed him there was another method of adoption, an even deeper one than the legal adoption his father had performed when he was a baby.

 

When Hadrian had asked why he hadn’t done it back then, Severus replied saying that he didn’t feel it was right to take away his choice in the matter. Because while the adoption was a legal thing and necessary at the time, a blood adoption meant they would be more like biologically father and son. Severus had wanted to wait for Hadrian to be older and have an informed decision in whether he wanted to be blood adopted by Severus, or simply remain his adopted son.

 

With all this new information, and understanding that was also the reason the man hadn’t changed his name, Hadrian decided it was time to do both. And he had picked the perfect one. Hadrian sounded more formal, plus it could be shortened to Harry if his father so wished (he never did after the name change), James as an homage to his birth father, and of course Prince, because that’s who he was now as Severus’ blood adopted son.

 

“You remember how the gateway works?” His father’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts, and he shook his head to return to the present.

 

“Yes, sir. All I have to do is walk toward the brick wall. Don’t slow down and speed up if I get nervous.”

 

“Perfect. I’ll be right behind you, my child.”

 

With those encouraging words, Hadrian walked toward the brick wall and his future as a new Hogwarts student.