Dream of a Child
A shattering scream broke the silence in the stone room, when a man with long, dark hair was pushed out of a veil, hitting the ground and clutching his head. In panic he stumbled up the stairs, out of the door and ran against the edge of a table, threw an aquarium with frog eggs to the floor and fell over in his haste. The clear liquid soaked his ripped, dirty robes and he screamed again in terror, when a huge, black wizard rushed down from another corridor and pulled him up and out of the liquid.
Kingsley Shacklebolt stared in fear at his order comrade, who was believed dead and now shrunk with every second, until only the body of a small child remained. The boy, who had sunken back onto the floor clutched the wizard's robes and looked at him with big, waters, blue eyes: "Kingsie?"
"S..Sirius?", the black man stuttered and knelt down to come on eyelevel with the child.
"Yeah, 'tis me. Wha happened, Kingsie?"
"You, erg. had a little accident. Better come with me and we can contact Albus, shall we?"
"Uh? Uncle Albie? We are going to Hogwarts?"
"Yes. Come on, little man. Here we go!", Kingsley said faintly and took the boy's hand in his.
* * *
In his office, Albus Dumbledore smiled happily at the man's face in the fire. He had just received Kingsley's message, but could not leave the castle himself, as the students were about to return this evening and he had to make some last preparations.
"Ah, Severus. May I ask a little favour of you?"
"Whatever it is, Albus, it can't be good, when you are so cheery. Spit it out!", the potions master grumbled and glared at him.
"Yes, yes. But I can assure you, it won't take too much of your time. I'd like you to fetch somebody from Kings Cross for me."
"Don't even think about it! I won't guard Mr. Potter on his way here - forget it! The boy is a menace and I won't risk my cover to transfer him, oh no!"
"Severus, I think Mr. Potter is absolutely able to come to school by himself."
"Then what do you want?", Snape asked very annoyed.
"As I said, my dear boy, there is somebody who had to be fetched. He is small, about four years old and has black hair. Kingsley will bring him to the station, but I need somebody reliable to bring him here and there is nobody else I could trust with this."
"I summarize: you want ME to fetch a LITTLE BRAT from LONDON so he can go on MY NERVES for several HOURS just because I am available at the moment?"
"Yes. Sherbet Lemon?"
"NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
* * * One hour later a grumpy professor in a foul mood stood at platform 9 ¾, waiting for an auror and a child to appear. Confused or frightened students walked a bow around him and only this insolent little brat Malfoy annoyed him with his arrogant smile and a wave of the hand.
Then a black wizard with a boy at the hand appeared on the platform and walked towards him. He handed him a bag and smiled at the boy, kneeling down and whispering something into his ear. The boy giggled and hugged the man tightly, before Shacklebolt stood up again.
"Well then, Snape. Here's the boy, you have his bag and I'll be on my way now. See, that he does get something to eat on the ride. He was too unsettled to eat much this morning."
Then the auror walked away, leaving the boy and the professor alone.
"I am Professor Snape. The headmaster asked me to fetch you, so come on - or the train will leave without us. Who are you, by he way?"
"Me?", the boy smiled innocently and climbed into the train, following Snape to the last compartment and taking a seat next to the window, "I'm Sirius, Sirius Black. Don't you remember me, Sevvie?"
Snape's eyes darkened frighteningly and he brought his face near the boy's. Carefully, he analysed the child's features.
"Indeed. How on earth did you manage THAT, Black?"
"Tha veil did not want me and pushed me out again after a while. Dunno, I ran, fell over and landed in some liquid. Kingsie pulled me ou' and then we went to his house. Tha' was yesterday and now I'm here - with you."
"You fell into a youthing potion? Really, Black, only you could be so stupid!"
"Why are you so mean? I did nothin' to you!", the boy exclaimed fiercely and kicked Snape's leg, before he got up and tried to open the compartment door - in vain, as he was much too small.
Snape was furious. How could a small child kick him so easily. He grabbed the boy's collar in a very ungentle manner and pulled him back. At the instant the boy began to cry.
Huge tears welled out of the swimming, blue eyes and his lips shivered. The puppy-eyes got only larger, when Snape released the boy, who sat back down and stared at him reproachful.
Snape sighed and left the compartment, returning with a bag of Berty Bott's Every Flavoured Beans. The boy smiled coyly and Snape was sure, that he had done it on purpose.
Sirius picked a shiny, red bean and Snape eyed the treat warily.
"You better take one, that does not seem to be hot.", he said.
The boy shrugged his shoulders and bit on the bean, when he choked and spit it on Snape's new brought, expensive, black robes.
"WE ARE ONLY IN HERE FOR TEN MINUTES AND YOU HAVE ALREADY MANAGED TO RUIN MY ROBES! COULD YOU NNOT JUST STAY WHERE YOU BELONG - AT HOME?"
"What is home?", the boy asked timidly, near tears again.
"THERE WHERE YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO STAY FOR MOST OF YOUR LIFE!"
"But I don't want back there - to Askaban!", the boy wailed and hugged his knees to his chest, "I don't undastand why you are so .mean, and I don' wanna .to be here. WHY?"
Snape sighed and tried to calm the child with some gentle words, but it would no help. He cast a silencing spell over the compartment not to alert the other students and lifted the crying, confused child into his arms, cradling the tiny head against his chest.
/This is SO wrong. I HATE children. WHY ME?/
Sirius had fallen asleep in his arms and his legs began to arch with the weight on them, but Snape refused to wake the boy again /NOT AGAIN!/ and so he stayed seated, staring out of the window.
After a while he woke, only then realizing he had taken a nap, too. The landscape showed him it was only about another fourteen minutes to school. The boy was snoring softly in his arms, cuddled against Severus' chest. A prickling, warm feeling spread through his heart - crazy.
The train stopped and he shrunk the boy's bag and put it into his pocket, before he carefully lifted the child again and stepped out of the compartment and onto the platform in Hogsmeade. Some students looked at him funny, when somebody approached him from behind. Potter.
"Is that your son, Professor? You look so much alike, really!"
"What? My. "
"Really cute. I didn't know you had a child. See you in Potions."
/Fuck!/
* * *
When he encountered Albus on the stairs, no alone, the headmaster chuckled slightly.
"Ah, Severus. I heard this rumour, that you have a son. Tell me, why did you keep that from me?"
"I don't have-"
"But the document are in your room, Severus. I'm happy little Sirius Snape arrived here, after that terrible accident at the orphanage and the Death Eaters! I'm sure he will be enlightened to be with his father! A terrible accident, but since you adopted him. I'm so proud of your generosity to let him stay with you, Daddy Sevvie!"
Snape fainted.
A shattering scream broke the silence in the stone room, when a man with long, dark hair was pushed out of a veil, hitting the ground and clutching his head. In panic he stumbled up the stairs, out of the door and ran against the edge of a table, threw an aquarium with frog eggs to the floor and fell over in his haste. The clear liquid soaked his ripped, dirty robes and he screamed again in terror, when a huge, black wizard rushed down from another corridor and pulled him up and out of the liquid.
Kingsley Shacklebolt stared in fear at his order comrade, who was believed dead and now shrunk with every second, until only the body of a small child remained. The boy, who had sunken back onto the floor clutched the wizard's robes and looked at him with big, waters, blue eyes: "Kingsie?"
"S..Sirius?", the black man stuttered and knelt down to come on eyelevel with the child.
"Yeah, 'tis me. Wha happened, Kingsie?"
"You, erg. had a little accident. Better come with me and we can contact Albus, shall we?"
"Uh? Uncle Albie? We are going to Hogwarts?"
"Yes. Come on, little man. Here we go!", Kingsley said faintly and took the boy's hand in his.
* * *
In his office, Albus Dumbledore smiled happily at the man's face in the fire. He had just received Kingsley's message, but could not leave the castle himself, as the students were about to return this evening and he had to make some last preparations.
"Ah, Severus. May I ask a little favour of you?"
"Whatever it is, Albus, it can't be good, when you are so cheery. Spit it out!", the potions master grumbled and glared at him.
"Yes, yes. But I can assure you, it won't take too much of your time. I'd like you to fetch somebody from Kings Cross for me."
"Don't even think about it! I won't guard Mr. Potter on his way here - forget it! The boy is a menace and I won't risk my cover to transfer him, oh no!"
"Severus, I think Mr. Potter is absolutely able to come to school by himself."
"Then what do you want?", Snape asked very annoyed.
"As I said, my dear boy, there is somebody who had to be fetched. He is small, about four years old and has black hair. Kingsley will bring him to the station, but I need somebody reliable to bring him here and there is nobody else I could trust with this."
"I summarize: you want ME to fetch a LITTLE BRAT from LONDON so he can go on MY NERVES for several HOURS just because I am available at the moment?"
"Yes. Sherbet Lemon?"
"NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
* * * One hour later a grumpy professor in a foul mood stood at platform 9 ¾, waiting for an auror and a child to appear. Confused or frightened students walked a bow around him and only this insolent little brat Malfoy annoyed him with his arrogant smile and a wave of the hand.
Then a black wizard with a boy at the hand appeared on the platform and walked towards him. He handed him a bag and smiled at the boy, kneeling down and whispering something into his ear. The boy giggled and hugged the man tightly, before Shacklebolt stood up again.
"Well then, Snape. Here's the boy, you have his bag and I'll be on my way now. See, that he does get something to eat on the ride. He was too unsettled to eat much this morning."
Then the auror walked away, leaving the boy and the professor alone.
"I am Professor Snape. The headmaster asked me to fetch you, so come on - or the train will leave without us. Who are you, by he way?"
"Me?", the boy smiled innocently and climbed into the train, following Snape to the last compartment and taking a seat next to the window, "I'm Sirius, Sirius Black. Don't you remember me, Sevvie?"
Snape's eyes darkened frighteningly and he brought his face near the boy's. Carefully, he analysed the child's features.
"Indeed. How on earth did you manage THAT, Black?"
"Tha veil did not want me and pushed me out again after a while. Dunno, I ran, fell over and landed in some liquid. Kingsie pulled me ou' and then we went to his house. Tha' was yesterday and now I'm here - with you."
"You fell into a youthing potion? Really, Black, only you could be so stupid!"
"Why are you so mean? I did nothin' to you!", the boy exclaimed fiercely and kicked Snape's leg, before he got up and tried to open the compartment door - in vain, as he was much too small.
Snape was furious. How could a small child kick him so easily. He grabbed the boy's collar in a very ungentle manner and pulled him back. At the instant the boy began to cry.
Huge tears welled out of the swimming, blue eyes and his lips shivered. The puppy-eyes got only larger, when Snape released the boy, who sat back down and stared at him reproachful.
Snape sighed and left the compartment, returning with a bag of Berty Bott's Every Flavoured Beans. The boy smiled coyly and Snape was sure, that he had done it on purpose.
Sirius picked a shiny, red bean and Snape eyed the treat warily.
"You better take one, that does not seem to be hot.", he said.
The boy shrugged his shoulders and bit on the bean, when he choked and spit it on Snape's new brought, expensive, black robes.
"WE ARE ONLY IN HERE FOR TEN MINUTES AND YOU HAVE ALREADY MANAGED TO RUIN MY ROBES! COULD YOU NNOT JUST STAY WHERE YOU BELONG - AT HOME?"
"What is home?", the boy asked timidly, near tears again.
"THERE WHERE YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO STAY FOR MOST OF YOUR LIFE!"
"But I don't want back there - to Askaban!", the boy wailed and hugged his knees to his chest, "I don't undastand why you are so .mean, and I don' wanna .to be here. WHY?"
Snape sighed and tried to calm the child with some gentle words, but it would no help. He cast a silencing spell over the compartment not to alert the other students and lifted the crying, confused child into his arms, cradling the tiny head against his chest.
/This is SO wrong. I HATE children. WHY ME?/
Sirius had fallen asleep in his arms and his legs began to arch with the weight on them, but Snape refused to wake the boy again /NOT AGAIN!/ and so he stayed seated, staring out of the window.
After a while he woke, only then realizing he had taken a nap, too. The landscape showed him it was only about another fourteen minutes to school. The boy was snoring softly in his arms, cuddled against Severus' chest. A prickling, warm feeling spread through his heart - crazy.
The train stopped and he shrunk the boy's bag and put it into his pocket, before he carefully lifted the child again and stepped out of the compartment and onto the platform in Hogsmeade. Some students looked at him funny, when somebody approached him from behind. Potter.
"Is that your son, Professor? You look so much alike, really!"
"What? My. "
"Really cute. I didn't know you had a child. See you in Potions."
/Fuck!/
* * *
When he encountered Albus on the stairs, no alone, the headmaster chuckled slightly.
"Ah, Severus. I heard this rumour, that you have a son. Tell me, why did you keep that from me?"
"I don't have-"
"But the document are in your room, Severus. I'm happy little Sirius Snape arrived here, after that terrible accident at the orphanage and the Death Eaters! I'm sure he will be enlightened to be with his father! A terrible accident, but since you adopted him. I'm so proud of your generosity to let him stay with you, Daddy Sevvie!"
Snape fainted.
