Tried to use Brit-isms as much as I could, but I apologize if I don't get everything. In later chapters, I'll be using Americanisms, with the Brit-isms reserved for British characters.

Prologue

Unknown Location

March ?, 1981

"Please, Severus, you have to take care of my son."

He looked at the small black-haired boy in Lily's arms. The boy yawned, and his eyes opened a crack. Green. Just like his mother's.

"What is wrong with Black? Or are you regretting your choice?"

She sighed. "If something happens to James and me, he's likely to be brash. And you know why Remus can't, especially if he's the spy. But you have the means of protecting him…"

"Lily, a Death Eater, even a repent one who is masquerading as a loyal one, is a risk to your son, if what you say is true. It is even more so when said repent Death Eater is a spy within the Dark Lord's ranks."

"Sev, I don't care if you have to flee the country! I want you to take care of my son to the best extent you can."

"I will try, Lily. That is all I can promise."

"That is all I ask." She smiled, the gesture seemingly sad. "That's all I ask."

O-o-O-o-O

Little Whinging, Surrey

July 31, 1982

Silently, Severus Snape walked up the street to one Number 4, Privet Drive. From Albus, he had gotten a simple 'The boy is safe, Severus, no need to be concerned.' From Minerva…

She'd given him the address and everything she could remember from watching the Muggles that lived there.

He didn't really need it; not when he clearly remembered what Petunia was like in her youth. It sounded as if she hadn't changed a bit, and her husband wasn't much different.

As he approached the door, he could see the lights on behind the curtains. Sounds emanated from within.

"No good freak!"

Even over the din raised by what must be Petunia's husband, the cries of a toddler rose higher and louder, and Severus could barely hear Petunia's voice saying, "Don't cry, sweetums, Mummy's here. Here's the toy back, see? That nasty boy doesn't have it anymore."

There's my answer on how he's being treated, Severus reflected as he reached for his wand. The boy may look like his father, but no child deserves a life like that.

He cast Alohomora quietly, the click of the lock silent compared to the noise within. He opened the door, slipping inside with no one seeming to notice.

In the living room, a walrus-like man who could only be Vernon Dursley played with what looked like a pink beach ball, but upon second glance turned out to be a very blond, very round boy. Petunia was holding out a toy to her son, but the boy only batted it away and wailed louder. Her eyes looked up, and froze as she saw him.

Severus inclined an eyebrow, and he felt it inch higher as Vernon looked at him. The man swelled, turning puce.

"What the hell are you doing in my house?" he shouted, shaking a fist at the black-clad figure.

"I am here to retrieve Harry Potter," Severus said, voice low and very nearly a growl.

"Take him, the little freak," Vernon muttered, glaring angrily at him. "Taking food out of Dudley's mouth, he is."

Severus' eyes flicked to the boy on the ground. "It would seem he does not need the help," he said. "Where is Potter?"

"Under the stairs," the blond man said, gesturing. "Only place he'll shut up for more than a minute."

"Indeed," Severus said blandly, but he could feel his anger rising. He turned to the stairs, noting the door with the lock. A simple charm had the door swinging open.

Within, a small boy sat sniffling on a cot mattress. He was skinny, not enough to be dangerous, but much more than a two-year-old should have been. He was naked save a nappy, which, at the very least, seemed recently clean. Green eyes stared at him.

"Da'ee?"

"No, I am not your father," Severus said, picking the boy up.

"Pa'foo'?"

Severus vaguely recalled the nickname of 'Padfoot' belonging to Black. "No, I am not him. I am Severus."

"Sev'us?"

"Close enough." A quick examination of the toddler revealed no injuries, for which he was glad. "We are leaving."

"Sev'us?"

Pausing in the doorway, Severus looked at the child. "Yes?"

"P'ongs."

The boy squirmed, and Severus allowed him to get down. He toddled over to the cupboard, pulling out a stuffed stag.

"Ah," Severus murmured. "A toy."

Someone gasped; a quick turn revealed it to be Petunia. "But we…I mean…"

"You never purchased him a plaything, I take it?" Severus asked, picking Harry back up. The boy protested, but he paid him no mind. "If I am correct, Lily has more than likely charmed the toy to come to him when he wants it, as many parents are apt to do for their children."

"Now see here-" Vernon began, but Severus was already out the door. He found a nearby alley and Disapparated with a resounding crack.

O-o-O-o-O

Batcave, Gotham City

July 31, 1982

With a slight thump, Severus and Harry landed in what looked like a high-tech computer lab, the ruler portkey in hand. A man wearing a dark cape with the hood resting on his back turned in his seat.

"Severus Snape."

"Bruce Wayne," Severus acknowledged, setting Harry and the ruler down on a nearby medical table. The boy immediately looked around, sleep heavy in his eyes. "I am in need of some assistance. Do you have a bandage that will mimic the color of someone's skin?"

"Can I ask why you need it first?" Bruce asked, looking at the child. His eyes narrowed. "Severus, you didn't kidnap him, did you?"

"Only in the interest of saving his life," Severus growled. He lifted the boy's fringe. "His Muggle relatives were not treating him the least of what they could give him, let alone what he deserves."

Bruce grunted. "What do you plan to do with him?" he asked as he applied a bandage to Harry's forehead. It looked white for a moment, settling to fade to the skin tone around the scar. A very fine edge, which could barely be seen when you were looking for it, was the only indicator something was there.

"I have a distant cousin, Mary Grayson. She and her husband John have been trying to have a child. They will care for him, and a glamour to his eyes, coupled with his current memories put into a Memory Sphere, will have no one the wiser."

Bruce nodded. "I assume you will need a birth certificate as well as registration in the social security?"

"If you would."

Bruce turned to the computer, already typing. "You may want to take Harry upstairs; Alfred is in the kitchen making applesauce, and he would surely appreciate a taste-tester or two."

Severus didn't reply.

O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O

It happened so many centuries ago that no one really remembered what happened.

The one side said it started when the other family turned away from the beliefs most held dear; the other said it was purely bigotry on the part of the other.

No matter why or how it happened, the Malfoy family and the Weasley family had been feuding for centuries, and that was all anyone knew.

O-o-O-o-O

Keystone City, Kansas

July 31, 1982

Approximately 1300 miles away from where Severus Snape currently held Harry Potter, Lucius Malfoy was quietly setting a small redheaded boy down. A glamour applied to the boy's eyes had them away from brown to a dark green. The child himself was sleeping, a side effect of having his memories semi-permanently removed. The sphere containing them was pocketed, and Lucius smirked.

There was no better way to get revenge against Arthur Weasley than separating his family.

Good? Bad? Scrap it and move on with life? Keep going? I'm not sure.