When Dumbledore added another layer of protection surrounding Harry Potter, it unexpectedly came from the love of a Death Eater. Severus Snape said he would do anything for her, for Lily. He always would. However, he never expected to take the place of little Harry.
Severus dropped to the ground, wand falling from his grasp. "Don't kill me!"
"That was not my intention." The wind howled through the branches. Dumbledore strode forward, his robes whipping around as his face was illuminated in the dark by his wand in his hand. "Well Severus. What message does Lord Voldemort have for me?"
"No. No message," Severus spoke fervently. He wrung his hands, trembling with nerves, but unwilling run from what was set out to do. "I'm here on my own account. I—I come with a warning. No. A request. Please!"
Dumbledore flicked his wand and silence fell over the area they faced each other, wind still blowing but unheard. "What request could a Death Eater make of me?"
Severus flinched slightly at the name Dumbledore called him by. He was reminded of when Lily turned his back on him, when he slipped and called her a mudblood. She had said they had chosen their sides. But he had always chosen her. No matter his questionable interests and need of experimenting with magic, potions, and the limits of his abilities. It had always been her, even when his violent acquaintances offered protection by that title; he had always made sure Lily had come out all right in any of the skirmishes between the sides for either of the old men. This one was far beyond his abilities on his side, so he had come to the old man he didn't serve, heart on his Syltherin sleeve because it was Lily.
"The prediction—the prophecy—from Trelawney."
"Ah yes," said Dumbledore. "How much did you relay to Lord Voldemort?"
"Everything. Everything I heard." Silently he pleaded with the old man. Tell me I heard wrong, he pleaded. Say everything of it means something else, anyone else. "It is why—It is for that reason…he thinks it means Lily Evans."
"The prophecy did not refer to a woman. It spoke of a boy born at the end of July."
"You know what I mean! He thinks it means her son! He is going to hunt them down. Kill them all," his voice quavered.
"If she means so much to you, surely Lord Voldemort will spare her. Could you not ask for mercy on the mother in exchange for the son?"
Swallowing, hating himself. "I have—I have asked him."
"You disgust me."
Severus shrunk at the sheer contempt filling those three words, feeling as though his heart had been shot and yet he could still feel the grass moving under his numb fingers. He'd be killed had he asked to leave them all, he knew how Lily would hurt on the pain of losing her son, but he would be completely unable to do anything for Lily if he was killed.
Severus cared little of the war between the old men, who would win or lose. But he would not see Lily dead at the end of it.
He would spare Lily any pain possible. And he had come here, had thought that if Dumbledore knew, the old man could protect her and her son from the Dark Lord, Lily would be spared the pain, survive. Even…even sparing her the pain of losing…him, Severus spat inside his head. James Potter.
It meant danger of his own life for sure if the Dark Lord found out of Severus going behind his back for what many on their side would call a worthless mudblood. But it was Lily.
"You do not care then? The deaths of her husband and child? They can die? As long as you have what you want?"
Not daring to speak up on even wanting the horrid James to remain alive, Severus looked up at Dumbledore. "Hide them all then. Keep her—keep them all safe. Please!"
"And what will you give me in return Severus?"
"In return?" Severus gaped at Dumbledore. What would he give for Lily? For Lily, "Anything."
Severus stared up and bleary eyed at Dumbledore in utter disbelief. The old man could not be serious. Severus resolved to check if he was Sirius.
There was a knock on the office door and Dumbledore went to answer. Wide eyed, Severus hurriedly went to the side so to not be seen, feet tripping over excess fabric and sending him spiraling downward as he recognized the newcomer's voice. He squeezed his eyes tightly shut, desperate to absolutely not being seen. When the visitor left, he managed to get up and stepped back out to demand answers from the old man.
A miniature of James Potter blinked at Severus with Lily Evans eyes. Severus went wide eyed himself. Face puckered in a look of concentration, the child reached out and touched a cheek. Eyes widened in surprise and out burst laughter, smiling broadly in what was both his parents and all him. "Hi! I Harry." Obviously.
"You cannot be serious," Severus annunciated slowly. He scowled at how his voice sounded. It wasn't his own voice. Dumbledore peered down at him through his half rims, eyes twinkling with amusement. Severus glared, failing to cross his arms to show his severe disapproval of Dumbledore. Overlong sleeves got in his way. He drew down his mouth with the glare and Dumbledore's mouth twitched upwards in humor.
Severus was trying to be menacing, not funny! This was war and he was not to be made into a joke! His current size was not to be mocked!
Little Harry perked up and looked around Dumbledore's office. "Where Pafoo? He here?" Severus snorted. Dumbledore rummaged through a drawer and handed a green ball to the child, who took the distraction happily.
"I am serious Severus," Dumbledore said. "Not Sirius but serious. I always did enjoy that word play joke personally." He would, Severus thought irritated at the time being wasted. "Ah, but perhaps that can be talked on later, hm?" No.
The old man picked up the now empty glass, eyeing the bits of golden color left on the sides. Severus scowled, angry at both Dumbledore's act of falsehood and himself for not seeing the liquid for what it truly was. No drink at all, but a potion. Thankfully, it had not been poisonous, but Severus wished it had been. It would have made far more sense than...this. He didn't even have to look at a mirror to fully comprehend what Dumbledore had done for whatever inane reason.
Little Harry playing with the green ball gave Severus more than enough picture. Just as little Harry discovered Severus was not a mirror moments before.
"Lily will return shortly," Dumbledore informed Severus. His head snapped back up to the old man. How shortly was shortly? He did not want Lily to see him at all like this. But she perhaps did not wish to see Severus at all if time were not short enough.
The old man put the empty glass back onto his desk. "I suppose I should explain. This was an absent thought of mine a while ago and I prepared for the possibility for it, however, placing them into hiding seemed simplest and least complicated to create any additional issues. Unlike you, Lily and James are not putting final trust in me, concerned it would be too much on my plate. Their final trust for being placed into hiding will remain among one of their close friends."
Severus listened carefully, recognizing what sort of hiding the old man was referring to. Did Dumbledore have a point besides amusement to having Severus become a double of their child?
"I have my idea of who will be the one they will trust, but I have my concerns. People have breaking limits. To rely only on one person, one plan," Dumbledore trailed off. "Love is strong, but I know how your Dark Lord works Severus. He holds no love and has known no love, will never understand it, but has spent years cultivating his charm and power to gain whatever he needs to win his game of being in charge. It used to be through false kindness, now fear, but the manipulation of others is the same before he throws them away when he feels their usefulness is over."
"You plan to use me," Severus managed to spat out.
Dumbledore tilted his head. "Yes, I do. But it was your choice to come to me, your strong feelings toward Lily to do anything for her. To keep her safe. I am not your Dark Lord Severus. I do not like what you have done for him and you may not like what I will have you do for me, but I trust you with Lily just as you have trusted me in seeking my aid. How could I not? I believe love is powerful. I will never turn it away or deny it."
Severus fidgeted. The old man was unnerving him in alluding to Severus's true feelings for Lily. Feelings he had put so recklessly onto his sleeve for Dumbledore to see in his pleading, his fear of Lily dying. The implication of Dumbledore never turning him away or denying Severus was up there as well.
Little Harry made a small noise of surprise and Severus looked, glad of the distraction, to see those eyes bright in wonder as the ball shifted colors. "See ball Dum?"
Severus felt the urge to laugh at the child's inability to say Dumbledore's name, to have it shortened that way, and Dumbledore cheerfully granting the child's attention as though it were his real name.
Then he flinched, realizing the boy's father might have taught the child that on purpose and scowled at the idea of James teaching the boy anything. Anything. The unheard laughter tasted sour in Severus's mouth.
Dumbledore rolled the now purple ball back to little Harry, who toddled after it and fell onto it to stop it. "Got it," the child shouted out with a smile. With a focused heave, the ball bounced back in Dumbledore and Severus's general direction and stopped far short of them. "You got?"
"Go ahead Severus," Dumbledore suggested.
"No."
"Vrrus got ball?"
"No," Severus spat out at the child.
Dumbledore gave it another roll back, changing the ball's color over to a swirling blue. Harry pushed himself up fully and went after it again. "As Alice has her own budding family to worry about, Lily is most likely not to ask her friend to hide them. It will likely be a friend of James hiding them."
A disgusted noise riled up his throat. Fantastic. The same friends that nearly killed a person in their younger years because they thought it would be funny. A joke.
"Yes. They have been friends since they met, but yes."
"You got Dum?"
Turning it yellow, Dumbledore rolled the ball back to the child's direction.
"While they care deeply for James, they only really started to get to know Lily at the end of their time at Hogwarts. This is where I will be having you enter in Severus. The Dark Lord will not spare Lily to reach Harry. This way, Lily will have extra protection if the secret is broken and the goal your Dark Lord wishes will remain far beyond his grasp."
"You cannot be serious," Severus repeated. Reasons for it or not, Dumbledore could not be serious about going through with this asinine notion.
"I am Severus. The idea has already been brought up with Lily, although," he paused and smiled in remembrance. "True to her fashion, she dismissed the idea because she did not wish to have another wizard or witch being placed into danger for her. Is this an issue for you?"
Severus wrinkled his nose sourly. "No."
"I thought not. You are already placing yourself willingly into danger for her by coming to me." Don't just offhandedly assume such things about me old man, Severus thought. I am not doing this for you, you aren't important at—
Severus jumped at the knock at the door.
Little Harry beamed when he heard the voice. "Mum!"
Lily.
Then Dumbledore had her come inside, brightly informing Lily of finding a willing wizard to go into danger to help her, James, and Harry. Lily's mouth dropped in surprise and it was then she noticed Severus standing off to the side, his overlarge clothes swimming over him.
The time was short enough, that only Severus knew Lily was seeing him like this.
Tears falling, she thanked him repeatedly.
He swallowed, feeling bad that she didn't know it was him she thanked. She wouldn't feel the same if she knew it was him. Severus vowed she would never know. He could live like that. Lily would be kept safe. He could live with that.
Severus watched in rapt attention as Lily poured extra attention onto her son before she left again, making him beam brightly. Her son. It ate at Severus a bit differently than he expected it would. The old man ushered him to the side, to give mother and son the air of privacy, and then handed Severus a change of clothes. Severus fumbled more than a few times, but managed to change without aid from behind the desk into the smaller set of clothes.
When he came back out, Dumbledore stepped back toward Lily and Harry. The old man assured Lily he would take good care of Harry and gave her a large potion vial that shone with golden liquid.
"You take care Lily."
She returned the social niceties with an ease Severus never had. Lily had always done so for him if needed or helped direct him to the proper ones for the occasion when they were kids. Carefully, she picked up one more thing before heading out the door, a little awkward at picking up that thing. Him.
After getting past the gargoyles, Lily spoke thickly.
"I don't know who you are, but thank you. You're putting your life in danger and I can never repay you. We can never thank you—"
"You do not need to. Keeping you safe is all the thanks I want or need," Severus assured her.
But she never knew it was him. Never would if Severus had his way about it. Her safety meant more than any acknowledgement or recognition. He was the childhood friend she had not talked to since the day he destroyed it all, forever trying to make up for it in this time of war and survival. And Severus was not going to ruin this. He was not going to see her die. He would be there, far more able than his appearance currently displayed in being able to keep her safe.
He was going to make sure Lily never knew. If he could help it, Severus would never tell Lily he was the one who took her son's place when she went into hiding with the arrogant Potter she married.
Potter even more than Lily.
Potter would never let Severus live down the fact he was looking to live as a toddler for as long as Dumbledore or the war made him.
Ugh.
Lily was one thing, but he just realized he was half covered in Potter genetics.
Disgusting.