"So, how did things go with Severus, Headmaster?" Remus Lupin shifted in his chair a little nervously.
"It went quite well, I think," Dumbledore smiled, "I tried to prepare him for your arrival, but he didn't seem interested yet. We will have to see what happens tomorrow morning."
Harry turned to the werewolf. "Are you sure, Remus?"
"No," the man admitted honestly, "but this is likely my only chance. Severus is terrified of me. I don't want that. I never wanted that."
He took the glass of potion on the table. "This is it, then," he sighed, and downed the potion in one go.
A light surrounded him, too, and within seconds a small, brownhaired boy sat where the adult had been. Harry watched in amazement.
"So he's four?" he studied the child.
"Four'n HALF," the child corrected, indignant.
"Alright, four and a half," Harry grinned, "Hi, Remus. I'm Harry."
"Hi Harry," the boy responded before looking around, "why am I here?"
"Your Mum and Dad had to go to a conference, child," Albus began their prearranged story – Remus had written him a note with advice on what best to tell the child, "you are staying here for the summer until they are back. At Hogwarts," he added, realizing the child would not yet connect his office with the old castle.
"Hogwarts?" Remus bounced excitedly, "I get to go to Hogwarts when I'm big," he told them solemnly.
"Yes. Yes you do," the Headmaster smiled kindly, "Mum and Dad told us to give you lots of cuddles from them and to have a good time. But now, young man, it is time for bed."
"Where do I sleep?" the boy trustingly put his hand in Harry's as they followed the old wizard to the nursery.
"Here in this room," Dumbledore whispered, "but you have to be a little quiet."
Inside, Remus noticed the small bed as well as the cot. He also noticed the cot was already occupied.
"What that?" he asked.
"This is your companion for the summer," Albus told him, "he can be your sort-of brother. Would you like to be a big brother?"
Remus inspected the sleeping child. "He's really small," he said with a wrinkle over his nose, which they recognized from the adult Lupin – it meant that he was thinking deeply about something.
"What is his name?"
"Severus," Dumbledore patted the boy on his head as Harry peered into the cot curiously. He saw a small form, a round face and a tiny thumb still in the mouth.
"How many years is he?" Remus asked.
"Next week he will be two," Albus answered happily, "and we will have a party for him."
"Wif cake?" the boy's eyes shone.
"Certainly. How are we to have a party without cake? We shall ask the house elves to make us something delicious."
Remus bounced to his bed where Harry sat down with a book to read him a story. De-aging was quite tiring, and fifteen minutes later both children slept soundly.
sssssssss
"I thought he would be just two?" Harry informed later.
"Well, yes, but we cannot be entirely certain, so I decided that he will have his second birthday party next week. It will be fun and give us an opportunity to spoil him," Albus seemed even more eager than little Remus had been.
"Sir? What will happen if he is called?"
Dumbledore stared at Harry.
"By Voldemort, I mean. What if he calls the Professor and he can't respond? Voldemort won't be pleased."
Dumbledore frowned. "Oh dear. We will just have to leak what happened, then. Severus got traumatized and needed to be de-aged as a cure…I'm certain even Tom will understand there is no point in calling for a two-year old."
Harry bit his lip. "Pardon me, Sir, but I think that may be a mistake. Even if it worked and Voldemort wasn't suspicious, you would still give the Death Eaters access to something very private. Do you honestly think they would not use any weakness they discover against Professor Snape? Furthermore, how can you care for him and then when he is grown up again send him right back? How would that do anything to help him? It would only confirm that no one gives a damn about him."
"Language, Harry," Dumbledore admonished, but obviously his heart wasn't in it.
"It does seem like I have lost us our spy with this," he mused regretfully, "unless we can come up with another reason for his absence…"
"SIR!" Harry called out in shock, "do you not care about Professor Snape? Do you feel nothing for that boy sleeping in there?"
The Headmaster pinched the bridge of his nose. "Of course I do, Harry. It is just that we need a spy so badly…"
"Then teach me Occlumency and Legilimency," Harry insisted, "so I can spy on Voldemorts mind. We are still connected, and if you teach me how to control that link like he did, then we don't need a spy."
"There's more to spying than just Voldemort, Harry, and would you really want to stoop to his level? Use his methods?"
"And yet, you see little wrong with sending a child into the fray and deliberately endangering your best spy," Harry retorted, "so don't give me that being noble crap. It's not working on me anymore."
"No," the Headmaster studied him, "not since…"
"Not since Sirius died," Harry stated, "but that is not your problem. Your problem is regaining the trust of that boy in there, so that at the end of summer, he can return to the mind that your actions have driven him out of."
He studied the shocked face of the old wizard with grim satisfaction. "It seems Remus and I both grew a backbone the past few months."
ssssssss
Remus woke up the next morning, wondering where he was. His lip trembled as he realized Mummy and Daddy wouldn't be there for a long time, but soon he remembered the boy in the other bed. He climbed out and approached the cot, looking through the bars.
The other child was still on his stomach, his legs tucked under his belly and his arms alongside his body. The boy stirred a little and opened black eyes.
"Hi," Remus said brightly, but reeled back in shock when the child started to wail at the top of his lungs.
Dumbledore, still half asleep, rushed into the fray.
"Oh dear, such a noise this early in the morning," he smiled as he lifted the baby from the cot, "shhh, now, it's alright, Severus, shhhh," he rocked the boy and smiled at Remus, who had recovered from his fright and came closer to better examine the other boy.
"He cries," he observed.
"Yes, I think he got a bit of a scare," the Headmaster replied, "isn't that right, little one?"
Severus had stopped his wailing and hid his face in Dumbledore's sleepshirt.
"Look, Severus. I told you that you would meet your new big brother today," Dumbledore cuddled the boy, "this is Remus. Remus, this is Severus."
"Hi Sev'rus," Remus looked around and spotted a small stuffed cat with a very soft fur coat.
"Here," he held it out to Severus. The last whimpers died as Severus looked to see what was offered to him. Hesitatingly, he reached out, looking up at Dumbledore for permission, who nodded brightly.
"Ca'," he said softly as he pulled it to his chest and rubbed his cheek against the soft fur.
"Yes, a caTttt," Remus spluttered in his attempt to tend to Severus's lack of t in that particular word.
"Cat?" Severus tried again, looking at Remus for confirmation.
"Yay, you got it!" Remus clapped. "Can you say 'Remus'?"
Severus got a little frown. "Eems?"
"Well, almost," the four year old allowed, "REEE-Mus, hear?"
"Weeeee-mus," Severus laughed a little. This game was fun, it was just like the game they had played the day before with the pictures in the book!
"Yay!! You got it!" Remus clapped again, making Dumbledore suspect that his parents used the expression and clapping to encourage their small son.
"Now that introductions are out of the way, what do you boys say to a bit of breakfast?" he suggested.
"No yucky porridge," Remus set his conditions, and Dumbledore was pleased to inform him he would be getting toast and jam.
"Let's go," the Headmaster settled Severus on his hip and took Remus' hand, "I bet Harry is already there."
Remus looked up. "What is your name?" he asked.
"You can call me Uncle Albus, or Granpa if you want," Dumbledore replied.
"Gam-pa," Severus tried the new sound, and Remus beamed up at him.
"Granpa, then," he chose.
sssssssss
Harry smiled brightly at the two boys. "Hello Remus, goodmorning Severus," he poured them both a cup of milk, "what would you like to eat?"
"Toast and jam, Granpa said we could!" Remus responded immediately.
"Certainly," Harry nodded. He pointed his wand at a chair and the legs became longer, pushing the seat up to a convenient height for Remus. It was wonderful being able to do magic in summer, he thought.
Albus strapped Severus in his high chair as Harry busied himself with settling Remus and giving the boy his breakfast.
"What would you like, Severus?" he asked.
Severus pointed at the eggs, and Albus put a scoop of eggs and a piece of buttered toast on his plate.
Harry, who had to make up for three weeks starvation at the Dursleys, dove into the eggs as well, with a modest amount of bacon. Dumbledore buttered a muffin and added a liberal amount of jam.
"Done!" Remus announced proudly a little while later, showing off his empty plate.
"Very good, Moony," Harry praised, "only your milk left and then you can leave the table."
Severus was picking at his eggs with his fingers, putting pieces into his mouth, taking them out again and plucking his bread.
"Do you need help, Severus?" Harry asked.
The boy nodded shyly, and Harry put some eggs on the toast, cut it up in small pieces and offered Severus one of them. The boy happily munched and swallowed.
"You are a natural, Harry," Dumbledore praised.
Harry shrugged. "That's what Aunt Petunia did for Dudley – come to think of it, she might STILL do it for Dudley."
"And you?" Remus asked.
"No, kiddo. My aunt isn't very nice. I couldn't have any eggs. If I was really, really, REALLY good I sometimes got a piece of dry toast."
"That's not FAIR!" Remus exclaimed, using the universal complaint of all toddlers.
"Nope, it isn't," Harry said, continuing to feed Severus, "that's why you and Severus both get yummy food and nice toys. Not the same food and toys, cuz you like different things, but you both get them."
"But fair is the same!" Remus tried to wrap his four-year old brain around it.
"No it isn't," Harry disagreed. "You don't like porridge, do you?"
Remus scrunched up his face and shook his head. "It's yucky."
"I like porridge a lot. So, if we both had to eat porridge every single day, we would get exactly the same. But I would be happy and you would have to eat yucky food. Would that be fair?"
Enlightenment dawned. "No, because I don't like porridge."
"Exactly. And if I said, 'Remus and Severus both have to climb all the way up to the big slide in the park' would that be fair?"
Remus caught on well now. "No, because he is only small!"
"Good boy, you got it!" Harry ruffled the brown hair, "let's get the jam off of you and put you in your clothes, so you can play."
Dumbledore freed Severus from his chair after helping the boy drink his milk and followed into the bathroom. He quickly changed the boy's nappy and dressed him in day clothes too.
"Book, Gampa?" Severus nearly whispered.
"I'll read you a book," Dumbledore promised, feeling guilty as he looked into the innocent face. Harry's words had struck home. "My little reader," he rubbed his nose over the child's belly, eliciting Severus's first tiny giggles.