"Very good Simon." Severus gave him one of his rare smiles. "You've just about mastered it, couple more tries and you'll have it." The boys shadow suddenly separated from him and stood next to Severus; Severus nearly cursed it. "Shadow! How many times have I told not to do that!"

"He says it's time." Simon said in his soft voice. Simon always spoke quietly.

Severus turned to him. "We knew this day would come Simon."

"I don't want to go Sev'rus, what if my uncle hurts me again?"

"The ministry can't track wandless magic; you'll be able to stop him if he tries. Besides, you'll get your Hogwarts letter in a couple of months. I'll come get you when term ends alright?"

"But how're you going to do that when we don't know my real name?"

"I've known who you really are since four months after you got here." Severus admitted.

"You have?" Simon looked at him wide eyed.

"You'd finally settled down and were acting like a normal, if rather studious child, if I'd told you; you'd have been right back where you started. And there are a lot of expectations that are going to be placed on you when you re-enter our world. I wanted to give you a chance to grow up away from all of that. Had you asked if I'd figured out who you were I'd have told you, I promise."

"Who am I then?"

"Oh you're my Simon; never forget that; but to the rest of the wizarding world, you're Harry Potter, The-Boy-Who-Lived."

Simon stared at him stunned, then he lifted his hand to his forehead and traced the scar there, realization dawning.

"Oh." Then he glanced at Shadow when a whisper went through the room. He sighed, and nodded. "I'll miss you Severus."

Severus gave him a one-armed hug.

"It's only a month, Simon; the time'll fly, I'm sure."

"I hope you're right." With that he turned and left the house; he left Severus's mind for the first time in six years.

When Harry first opened his eyes he had to shut them again immediately. Cautiously he tried opening them again. The light was still bright, but it was no longer blindingly so. He looked around himself slightly confused. He wasn't in his cupboard; and there weren't any white rooms in the house, so where was he? It was when he looked to his right that he realized he wasn't alone. An elderly woman was asleep in a chair next to the bed he was laying on, a book slightly open in her lap. He turned his head when the door opened quietly and an elderly man entered followed by what looked to be a doctor, they both stopped in their tracks when they saw he was awake.

"Meredith!" The elderly man snapped out of his surprise first and hurried over to the woman. "Meredith, wake up!"

"Wha-what is it? What's wrong?"

"He's awake!" She sat up quickly and turned to him.

"Oh! This is absolutely wonderful! When did you wake up dear?"

"About five minutes ago."

"Can you tell us your name? Your real one? We all here at the hospital call you Johnny because we couldn't identify you." The doctor asked him sweetly.

Simon gave her a confused look. "Harry Potter, but my godfather calls me Simon."

"You had a rather nasty bump on the head when you arrived here. Did your godfather give it to you?"

"Severus? You're kidding right? Sev wouldn't hurt a fly! Besides, I don't live with Severus, he works at a private boarding school in Scotland, and I only see him a couple of times a year."

"If it wasn't your Godfather, then who gave you the bump on your head?"

"My uncle Vernon. I live with them."

"Actually, you don't. You haven't for the past six years. Meredith and Edward found you at the side of the road, quite badly off and brought you here. You've lived here ever since. When we couldn't find your guardians, they adopted you. We haven't heard of anyone by the name of Severus looking for a young boy of your description, or we would have told him where you were."

"They probably told him they left me at an orphanage."

"Now why would they do that?"

"They hate us both. May I write him?" He looked at the older woman pleadingly. She laughed.

"No need to give me that look, I don't think we could deny you anything." She grew serious. "How is that you've been unconscious for six years, and yet you talk like someone several years older than your nine years?"

"I've always talked all grown up, Sev wouldn't stand for less. He called me a prodigy once, I think. And six years? I'm eleven then, not nine. Or at least I will be, what's the date today?"

"May 3, 1991."

"I'm ten then. My birthday's not until the end of July. May I have some paper and a pen please?"

"We need to do some tests on you, but after that you can write your letter to your godfather, all right?"

"'Kay."

An hour later all tests finished, Meredith handed him a notepad and a pen.

"Here you go sweety. If you need any help I'll be right over here all right?" Harry nodded already focusing on his letter, then paused.

"What hospital are we in?"

"Surrey Children's hospital. Room 206."

"Thanks."

May 3, 1991

Dearest Godfather,

Hi! I'm alive. Apparently Uncle Vernon dumped me on the side of the one day when I wouldn't wake up. An elderly couple found me and took me to the hospital. They say I've been here for six years! Did you miss me? I hope you did. Is that mean?

Guess what! The couple who found me adopted me when they couldn't find out who my guardians were. Their names are Meredith and Edward. Almost as strange as Severus wouldn't you say?

We're in Surrey Children's Hospital, room 206. If you can get away from the school long enough to come for a visit, please do so. I miss you.

Shadow says to tell you that apple sauce and pickles don't taste good when put together.*

Love, Simon Potter.

Harry folded his letter and went to the window.

"Harry? What are you doing?"

"Sending my letter. And please call me Simon." With that he gave a whistle and an owl came flying and landed on the window sill. "Can you take this to Severus Snape please?" The owl hooted, and took the letter in it's beak before flying off.

"That has got to be the weirdest way of delivering letters I have ever seen. I never got used to it when Eileen did it in front of us." Edward said as he entered the room.

"Eileen?" Harry asked, the name sounded familiar for some reason.

"Our daughter-in-law. She married our son Tobias." Meredith answered, that niggling feeling in the back of Harry's mind increased.

"I don't know where we went wrong with him." Edward sighed. "He beat her really bad one day after catching her sending a letter like that." He nodded towards the window. "She was pregnant at the time and it caused her to miscarry. When we confronted him about it he left and he took her with him, we haven't heard from them since. That was in, oh, '57 wasn't it?" Meredith nodded. Harry quickly did the maths in his head and inhaled sharply.

"Is your last name Snape by any chance?" He asked suddenly.

"Why yes it is. Why?"

"My Godfathers parents names were Eileen and Tobias." He said softly. "His last name is Snape. I think, I think he might be your grandson. Did Eileen ever mention a school by the name of Hogwarts?"

Edward shook his head but Meredith frowned and then slowly nodded. "I think she did, said she was head girl."

"That's where Sev teaches. It's an old castle, that's been a school for over a thousand years. My parents went there, and Sev says that I'll be going there when I turn eleven."

"Did you say Sev? As in Severus?" Edward asked. Harry nodded.

"She named him after my father." Meredith whispered. "Just like she said she would."


A/N: My sister had an applesauce and pickle craving while she was pregnant, And we brought up the question if it actually tasted good, or if was just her pregnancy making her think so. It got to the point where her fiancée said screw it and took a bite when she wasn't looking, he immediately went to the sink and spat it out. Turns out it was just her pregnancy hormones. On another note, this is the code they decided on if Simon needed to send him a letter before his letter reached him.