Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. This is a work of fanfiction made to resemble the original. I am making no profit from writing or sharing this.

A. N. I realise the part where McGonagall and Snape pick up Harry is a bit OOC because of the way they speak, but it's because they're talking to a toddler and the rest of the chap should be more in character. The average two-year old knows 100ish words by the time they're two. Since I assume Harry's aunt is the only one to speak much to him, and only a little, plus he's still one month shy of two, I'm giving him a vocab of about 50 words. It doesn't mean he's unintelligent or behind, but more that he hasn't had the opportunity to use his words.

P.S. I know I already told you about chapters, but this one is called one third instead of a half, because I'm squeezing two of my own original chapters between the original first and second chapters; so therefore I'll call the next one 'two thirds.'

Chapter One and one third: The Father Who Lived (and the One That Died)

Minerva McGonagall, though she trusted her headmaster explicitly and had no real prejudice against Muggles, being a half-blood herself, did not trust the Dursleys, no matter what Dumbledore said about leaving Harry with them. With a grim countenance, she recalled the scene not an hour ago, when the Dursleys had finally woken and that awful Petunia woman had come out to put the empty milk bottles on the stoop. Upon seeing her nephew lying there, the woman had let out an ear-splitting scream. Honestly, Minerva thought to herself, who does that when you find an infant on their doorstep? Granted, it's not an everyday occurrence, but surely there's a more appropriate reaction?

The blonde had then proceeded to holler for her husband, without even checking the child's well being. Said husband had arrived at the door, a look of hate-filled resignation on his face as he stared down at the young one.

"Well, Petunia," he had barked, "what does the letter say?"

Petunia had plucked the envelope gingerly from the infant's grasp and the pair had read it right there, their eyes darkening with each word. They would occasionally shoot dark looks down at the now awake baby. Once they were done scanning the letter, Petunia turned to her husband.

"Well, Vernon," she began, "what are we going to do?"

"I don't like it," the large man had grumbled. "Not one bit."

"Neither do I," she snapped, then her gaze fell on the baby and she murmured, quietly enough that Minerva almost hadn't caught it, her gaze softening fractionally, "but perhaps he's not like them?"

"Of course he is," her husband had proclaimed, "what else could he be?"

"Well," the woman looked nervous now, "if we…. if we keep him, perhaps we'll just make sure he doesn't become one of their lot."

"Petunia, I'm not having one in our house."

Petunia's gaze at her nephew snapped up to her husband and a steely glint appeared in them that Minerva hadn't seen all day. "He's only a boy, Vernon."

Vernon's face purpled and he raised his voice a little, "I'll not have one in the house!" With that, he had turned from the door, slamming it behind him, leaving his wife and her nephew out on the stoop.

With a cautious look around her, Petunia bent towards the baby, brushing a lock of his hair from his face. McGonagall had to slink closer, right up to the bush beside the door, to hear her next words.

"You have my sister's eyes," was breathed out sadly, then, as if afraid someone might have heard or seen her, she stood abruptly and gingerly picked up the bundle with an uneasy, but determined look on her face.

McGonagall peered through the living room window and watched as the letter from Dumbledore was burned in the fireplace by the blond whale of a man. She almost held her breath when Petunia appeared in the doorway with Harry, and Vernon's red face became clouded with anger.

"No. You let him in?"

Petunia squared her shoulders. "We won't tell him Vernon. He won't be like her."

"You think that will stop the old fool? You read his letter. They'll be wanting him back eventually."

"We won't tell him, Vernon." She spoke more firmly, "And we won't allow him to go to that school."

Vernon shook his head, glaring at his wife, but all he said was, "I swear, Petunia, if that boy gives me trouble…."

"He won't," Petunia assured him.

"He'd better not." Vernon left through the doorway to the kitchen and Petunia wandered towards the window and sat down heavily, whispering to the bundle.

"You hear that Harry? You need to be a good boy, can you do that for me?" She gently pulled her fingers down his cheek in a caress and glanced at the kitchen door nervously. She dropped her hand and sighed.

Minerva decided it was time to go. She still didn't trust either of the Dursleys, but at least, perhaps the sister was not as bad as the husband, she conceded, as she watched the blonde quickly and surreptitiously (albeit perhaps a little viciously) scrub a single tear from her cheek; then unwrap the bundle and place the baby on the floor over the spread blanket, going to tend to her own, now screaming, child upstairs.

McGonagall had proceeded to return to her office in the school where she taught and had just settled down on the settee for a quick rest when there was a knock at her door.

Wondering who on Earth would disturb her at this hour in the morning after all of the supposed celebrations yesterday, and with classes having been cancelled by Dumbledore, surely, she got up slowly and made her tired way to the wooden door of her office.

Standing there was the young new potions master, who had only begun teaching this year, a mere several months ago—though Minerva remembered him quite well from his days as a student.

Severus shuffled, then looked up at her and Minerva got a good look at his eyes, which were obviously red-rimmed and puffy from crying. Right, she recalled, he was young Lily's best friend. Of course he'd be upset.

"Professor?"

"You may call me Minerva, Severus. You are a professor now, too, as I keep pointing out."

"Profe—Minerva?" Snape sighed, looking up and down the corridor quickly. He then lowered his voice, as if afraid of being overhead.

"I must speak with you. It's urgent—and…. and there is no one else I trust."

This revelation puzzled McGonagall, but she gestured for the young man to enter her office nonetheless.

"Do you not trust our headmaster, Severus?"

"I do. To a certain point—I…. I do." The distraught young professor paced as Minerva sat behind her desk. His eyes snapped up and held hers for a time before he added, "But I trust you the most."

Minerva couldn't quite help herself, remembering the withdrawn Slytherin boy who had trusted practically no one other than Lily. So she asked, "Why, me Severus?"

"When I was a student here…. Even though I was in a different house than yours, you protected me the most. You were fair—not many of the other professors dared to discipline the…. the Marauders as severely as you for the things they did to me. Not even my own head of house." Severus hung his head, adding in a whisper, "And Lily always said I could trust you with anything. That you're…. simply a kind and determined person."

Minerva could see offering praise for others was difficult for the young man and nodded gracefully. "You can, Severus. You can trust me."

He sat down heavily in the chair opposite her. "Good, because I have quite a story for you, Prof—Minerva."

She inclined her head to indicate she was listening.

"I know that most people assumed I loved Lily as—well, romantically I suppose. That simply isn't true. I loved her dearly, but more as a sister. We grew up together, Professor."

She nodded, summoning a tea service to her desk.

"My life before Hogwarts wasn't…. pleasant. When I met Lily, I finally felt like I had someone to call family. Someone who was like myself. The incident in fifth year, when I called Lily—when I slipped up and used that word, she was angry with me for a long time. However, unlike most people assume, we did not simply stop being friends. We were too close for that, as I said, Minerva, we were family. It took a lot of work, but eventually, we made up. I even…. tried to get along with James for her sake."

Minerva raised an eyebrow. Severus coughed lightly.

"I said tried, Professor, not succeeded."

She smiled. "Of course."

"When she and Potter married, I was not happy but I supported them in any case. And when James came to me, telling me he could not father children, but that Lily desperately wanted them, I listened to him…. even though I did not like him."

At this, Minerva couldn't help but let the shock through on her face.

"He said that he was willing to adopt a child carried by Lily if someone they trusted were the…" the young professor, cool and collected as he usually was, seemed a bit flustered, "sire, I suppose, for lack of a better term. Potter was rich and assured me he could hire a private Healer that could perform the necessary procedures. He asked me because I was already like family to Lily and he thought that would be a comfort to her. He also stated that it would help that we both had dark hair and eyes, so no one might even suspect the child wasn't his. He told me he wanted me to agree, but that if he had to, he would call in the life-debt I owed him for saving me from the Shrieking Shack. Since he seemed to care so much for the woman that I considered a sister, I agreed."

If Minerva had looked shocked before, she was positively flabbergasted now. As Severus paused to take a calming sip of his tea, she regarded him carefully.

"You're telling me this because?"

"Because I was the witness to both of the Potter's wills, as was Professor Dumbledore. Instead of a godmother and godfather being selected, James chose Sirius and Lily chose myself, two godfathers for Harry in case anything ever happened to them. It was agreed upon between the two of them that given my other connection to the child, that I would be named guardian in the case of their deaths. Before they went into hiding, we even spent a great deal of time together—they intended to tell Harry the truth eventually, but raise him as if I were an uncle. Dumbledore doesn't know I am Harry's biological father—only the Healer, Lily, James and I know that. However, he does know the Potters will. And he still took Harry away. I—"

Severus, though a very stoic man, needed to pause and catch his breath before continuing. "I have looked everywhere, all day, Profe—Minerva. And I cannot find Harry. Dumbledore has taken him away and when I ask, he only says it is for the best though he knows he is completely ignoring Lily and James' last wishes. I…." it seemed difficult for the dark-haired man to finish his request, unused to asking for anything from others, but he pushed the words out anyways. "I need your help."

Minerva placed her teacup on the desk and began, sitting forward, "The prophecy said—"

Severus cut her off. "I know. I heard it. But Minerva—you are a sensible woman. You and I both know that Divination is the fool's gold of magic. The majority of prophecies are only fulfilled because they are self-fulfilling. That is why the department of mysteries hides them, so that they do not fulfil themselves. And if is the wording that is the problem, well…. James may not be Harry's biological father, but he adopted him and has raised him as his own for a year; and I have defied Voldemort more times than even he and Lily even though he is unaware of that…. so either way you look at it…." he trailed off.

"Severus, what of your ties to Voldemort himself? How do I know—how do I…." she trailed off, uneasily.

"I never willingly joined him, Minerva." Severus lifted his sleeve. "Yes, I took this disgusting mark, but I did it because I was already close with Mulciber and Avery from school, who were both willing Death Eaters. The headmaster himself asked me to join Voldemort as a spy for the Order. When I overheard the prophecy, I was not worried, as I believed it was more likely to be the Longbottom boy—because of our situation. However, someone else must have heard Sybil's declaration to Dumbledore, as I later heard Voldemort knew of the prophecy and planned on going after the Potters himself while sending the Lestranges after the Longbottoms. It was at that point that I tried to bargain with Voldemort, to buy the Potters more time. I asked him to spare Lily, because that was the most believable cover, given that no one knew of the relationship I still had with Lily and James and the circumstances around Harry's birth and parentage. Now, after all that I have done for the Order, all I have done for Dumbledore himself at his request—after losing my friend," he paused and begrudgingly added, "and even James, Dumbledore hides Harry from me. With both Lily and James gone, I am the only family left he has. And do not tell me that his aunt Petunia is acceptable. I grew up with that woman. I do not want her anywhere near my godson…. son—" he struggled trying to define their relationship, and finished with, "My Harry."

Minerva sighed. She thought back to the Dursleys, then looked, really looked at the man sitting in front of her. "It won't be easy."

A very, very uncharacteristic smile lit up the potion master's face.

…...0.0.0…

Minerva and Severus had decided on a course of action. It was a complicated plan, but one they thought would serve them well, both to allow Severus to raise Harry and to convince Dumbledore that he wasn't. The only problem, much to the young potion master's dismay, was that preparations, both magical and otherwise, would take a long period of time—meaning Harry, at least for now, would still be at the mercy of Vernon and Petunia Dursley.

Severus had insisted that Dumbledore did not know about his childhood home in Spinner's End, so they had decided that Minerva would help the potion master to magically repair, enhance, conceal and ward the home. It would be where Severus brought Harry once they retrieved him from the Dursleys'. The complicated magic required for such strong protective and concealment charms, in particular, would take even a pair of powerful and clever witches or wizards, such as Minerva and Severus at least two or three months to properly set up and they didn't want to take any chances of anything going wrong. There was also paperwork that would need to be done (ahem, forged or fabricated, ahem), as well as a search for the perfect…. candidate.

Then, the pair would also have to convince the Dursleys of the merits of their plan. Minerva explained how Vernon was extremely opposed to wizard-kind and how Petunia herself was not exactly open about the subject either (Severus could attest to that at least). She also explained how Petunia seemed softer because it was a baby and how preoccupied Vernon seemed with material wealth. Severus knew they could use this to their advantage. They decided that to convince Dumbledore, there would need to be someone living with the Dursleys, but neither one wanted to risk putting a magical child into that type of home. They had decided that they would find a Muggle orphan that resembled Harry and use magic to make it appear to others (particularly Dumbledore) that he was Harry convincingly enough that Severus and the true Harry would be left in relative peace. That way, the Muggles wouldn't resent the child. Finding the right child, though, and getting all of the legal documents in order took another several months.

When Minerva first approached the Dursleys (she did not think it prudent for Severus to be there just yet), she told them that while Harry had, in fact, lost a father to Voldemort, that he did have another one (it confused them for a while, but even Vernon managed to wrap his thick skull around it eventually). She told them, however, that the man that had written the letter wanted Harry to stay with the Dursleys at all costs for some reason. Vernon was livid and claimed he should not have to suffer the boy's presence if he had a father of his own kind. So Minerva outlined their plan.

Once the Dursleys were assured that the child would be an average, normal, Muggle child and that Severus would be paying a monthly stipend out of the small vault his mother had left to pay for the child's expenses, along with a bit extra, the Dursleys were far more agreeable. Vernon's beady eyes looked positively alight with greed when the money was mentioned and Petunia quietly told Minerva it would be nice to have another child, as after Dudley she had been told she wouldn't be able to carry another—as long as it was, in fact, a Muggle child (she said this with a furtive glance at her husband).

Severus and Minerva discreetly spent a few weekends out of the castle searching Muggle orphanages until they found the perfect child. The baby in question was the only survivor of a car crash that had killed his parents. He was only a couple of months older than Harry himself and had green eyes and hair of a dark enough brown that he could pass for Harry, who had black hair himself. Using a bit of magic, Minerva and Severus recreated the lightning bolt scar on Harry's head on the other boy's and used remnants of Lily and James' magical signatures from their wands to seal the magic. They prayed this would be enough to convince Dumbledore's wards around the Dursley property.

Petunia had convinced Vernon that because it was a Muggle child, they should legally adopt him and raise him as their own son instead of their nephew. Minerva and Severus allowed this, but said that to convince Dumbledore, the boy would have to have Harry's name. The Dursleys weren't too happy, as they thought Harry a rather common name, so they compromised with Minerva. They would call the boy Harold (in their opinion a much posher sounding name) as that could have the nickname Harry and that they would drop the James because they didn't want a boy of theirs named after one of that lot, but they would keep the Potter if they had to, as a middle name and tack on Dursley at the end. Minerva thought that seemed like a good compromise, as even Dumbledore couldn't fault the Dursleys for adopting their nephew and rearranging his name a bit, now could he?

Severus was adamant that the real Harry still be called Harry, as that was the name Lily had chosen and to Minerva's surprise, he was even insistent that the James be kept to honour the man who had captured his sister's heart and chosen to raise the boy as his own. However, he did recognise the fact that in order to hide, precautions did need to be taken. While he would raise his son as Harry James, on paper the boy would be known only as Henry J. P. Prince (Minerva thought it a funny irony when she learned Snape's mother's maiden name and thought that since there had been multiple Muggle princes of Great Britain who were named Henry but called Harry it would be an interesting play on words to have Snape's son called the same thing—particularly since he couldn't take Snape's last name as that would be a dead giveaway or keep the Potter name for the same reason, but using the Prince last name as a tie to Severus' family was a good way to tie him even closer to his biological father. In this way, his name would honour all three of his parents). It could also explain why Severus would suddenly inherit a child—they would simply say he was the child of one of Snape's Prince cousins that had died during the First Wizarding War, discovered after their deaths and in need of a guardian.

Minerva had also decided (though Snape was set against it) that the summer before Harry was to start Hogwarts, he would need to spend the summer with his aunt's family, and fake Harry would need to be scarce during that time, so that Dumbledore would have no suspicions about Harry's residence when the Hogwarts letters were magically addressed during the summer. The issue of hiding Harry's scar also came up when Minerva remembered Dumbledore saying it could not be removed, even by magic—this would make it difficult for Severus and Harry to hide. Severus, thinking a bit differently, suggested that they hide it in plain sight—that they layer another magical mark on top of it to disguise it. They decided this was their best option, but that they should choose a semi-permanent spell rather than a permanent one—so that during the school year, the lightning bolt scar would appear only as Harry had received it. They accomplished this by placing a charm of their own creation. The charm worked with old family magic—since Snape (despite being considered unfit to inherit by his own grandparents—being labelled a half-blood by them because of his father—he was the only surviving Prince of his generation, and therefore whether his ancestors would have wanted it or not, he was the heir of the Prince family as the ancient magic itself did not care about the nomenclature of his blood status, only that there was a surviving blood heir—no matter what purebloods claimed) could tap into their ancient magic. The charm made a small v shape appear on the end of the lightning bolt, giving it more the appearance of an arrow, or a crack through glass or ice—the charm was only activated, though, when near the blood wards of a Prince property (including the now newly-warded home in Spinner's End) or another member of the Prince line, such as Severus himself. Therefore, Harry would have the mark in their home and when he left as long as he was with his father. Once he was old enough to control his own magic, as Severus' only child—he too would become an heir of the Prince line and as such, would be able to vanish or call the mark himself.

Therefore, by the time all preparations had been made and Minerva finally allowed Severus to accompany her to the Dursleys to drop off the Muggle toddler, cast the charm on Harry's scar and take him home, three quarters of the year had already passed. Minerva, having been teaching all year and working on preparations had not had any time to check on the real Harry, as much as she had wanted to and was a little apprehensive of the state they would find him in, if his uncle's attitude towards him had been anything to go by. With a worried glance at Severus, she chose to remain silent on the subject as they prepared to make the journey to Privet Drive.

…...0.0.0…

Severus had not seen Harry since the last time he had visited with Lily and James shortly after they went into hiding. At the time, the infant had been only three months old. The night of his parents' death had been a year later and with the time he and Minerva had spent preparing, nearly another nine months had passed. It was only a month from his son's second birthday, he realised, as they waited for the darkness of evening to fall before approaching number four.

Just as Minerva made to go towards the front door from where they were hidden, Severus stopped her with a hand to the shoulder. Grasped by a sudden bout of the nerves, his monotone cut through the night to her ears.

"Professor?" she turned back slightly towards him, wondering why, after nearly a year of working together, he had reverted to calling her professor. "What if—" he took a deep breath, "what if I cannot do it? I am only one man. With Lily and James…. he would have had two parents. And as much as I hate to admit it, the mutt and the wolf would have supported them too. I would have been there as an uncle as well. But—I am alone, and…. My own father—he was…. he was not what I would call a good father, Professor."

Realising his slip was because he was feeling vulnerable; she turned around fully and though she was aware he was a little awkward with receiving physical affection, took his one hand in both of hers. "The very fact that you are worried, my dear boy, is what tells me you can do this. If you care enough to worry that you will get it right, then you will make a fine father." She let go of his hand and patted him on the shoulder. "And you are not alone, Severus. I will be there if you need me. I have no children of my own, as you know, but my nieces and nephews are just a touch older than you and I would be glad to be the same support for you as I am for them."

Never one good with emotion, Severus simply nodded curtly to hide the tear that was forming in the corner of his eye. Minerva nodded slightly in return and made her way determinedly up to the door, trusting that the young potions master would follow.

It was Vernon who answered the door, glancing around nervously, then ushering them in as if afraid the neighbours would see (which he probably was). When they made their way into the living area, Petunia let out a short gasp.

"You!" her eyes widened comically.

Severus sneered. "Yes. Me. Surprised?"

Petunia's mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water.

"Did you miss me, Evans?"

She snapped her mouth shut as her husband answered for her, "It's Dursley to you."

"No," Snape mused quietly, remembering his childhood, "it will always be Evans to me."

The small Muggle toddler they had brought with them peeked out from behind Minerva's robes. They had told him he was going to finally meet his new mummy and daddy today and he peered curiously at the large man in the room. As Petunia caught sight of the little boy, a small smile appeared on her face.

"Is that him?" she whispered breathlessly.

Severus just barely refrained from rolling his eyes. "Obviously."

Petunia was undeterred. She held out her arms to the little boy and waved him forward. Vernon watched, then turned to Minerva presumptuously. "You're sure he's normal, then?"

Barely containing his rage, Severus bit down on his tongue as Minerva replied, "Yes, Dursley. I can assure you, this boy is no wizard."

The whale of a man nodded, "Good then."

Losing patience, Severus intoned coldly, "Where is my boy, then you filthy—"

"Severus!" Severus shot Minerva a small glare, but corrected himself anyways, making sure to pronounce the two syllables of his name with as much disdain as he could muster (which, as you know, is quite a lot, actually).

"Where is my son, Durs-ley?"

The blond walrus snorted. "You'll not go poking about my house. And I'll not dirty my hands with the boy. You'll just have to—"

Before Severus could attack her husband (as she knew him well enough to know he might) Petunia finally looked up from where she now had the brown-haired toddler in her lap. "He's in the kitchen, Severus. I'll fetch him."

Minerva placed a restraining hand on Severus' forearm and he nodded at the blonde woman tersely.

Upon seeing the boy come stumbling in holding his aunt's hand, both Minerva and Severus eyes widened in concern. The boy, though average height for his age, was obviously underweight. His clothes were too big and looked worn out. His large green eyes, staring out from a sunken face were sad and as he and Petunia passed Vernon, the boy shot a gaunt, fearful look at his uncle as a whimper escaped his lips and he hid in the folds of his aunt's skirt as best he could. At this, Severus hand went instinctively to his wand and his eyes narrowed dangerously at the blond man.

Minerva again placed a restraining hand on his arm and intoned carefully, "It's all right, Severus, we're taking him home. We just need to cast the charm on his scar and we'll be on our way."

Vernon's eyes bulged. "Oh, no you're not! You will not do your silly little tricks under my roof. I'll not allow it."

Petunia turned to him and said, "Vernon, please take Harold upstairs to his new room and put him to bed. Then check on Dudley. I'll see them out."

"Petunia," he began, puffing out his chest and stepping forward menacingly, "their tricks are not welcome here and I'll not have—"

"Vernon," she said, a little more firmly, "Please."

Vernon huffed, but obeyed his wife nonetheless, picking up the brunet and heading upstairs. He made certain to glare at the witch and wizard on his way past.

Petunia watched him go, while the pair of professors watched her face. As soon as she was certain her husband was out of earshot, she turned an (surprisingly) apologetic and sympathetic stare on the professors. When she finally spoke, it was very softly.

"I know, Snape," she began, "that we have never seen eye-to-eye. And I'll not pretend I love the wizarding world." She looked up from where she'd been looking at Harry's small hand in her own and made eye contact with Severus. "But I realised, after my sister died…. that I was holding onto a hate for her that—that I shouldn't have. I did my best. It was hard, with Vernon, once the boy—once Harry started showing signs of accidental magic like Lily had done." She pulled her hand forward, guiding the toddler more into the open. "But I tried."

Snape, not expecting any kind of apology for the state his son was in, nor the treatment he had obviously been afraid of from his uncle—particularly from a woman he had known to belittle others—namely himself, nodded his acceptance, albeit a little stiffly. Petunia let go of Harry's hand and he looked afraid for a moment, so it was obvious his aunt had been somewhat of a protector for him, which made Severus uncharacteristically vocal for a moment.

"Thank you, Petunia."

She nodded and headed towards the kitchen door. "I understand you'll have to place a charm on him before you leave, but…. I'd rather not be here for that. I'll just fetch his things from the kitchen."

Minerva nodded and as Petunia left the room quietly, she watched as Severus sat on the edge of the sofa and reached a hand out to the little boy. Harry looked at his hand questioningly, then up at Minerva and finally, towards the door where his aunt had disappeared. He turned back to Severus shyly.

"It's all right," Severus tried to soften his normally brusque voice as much as possible, "I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to say hello."

Harry looked at him from wide green eyes, but didn't move an inch. "Hello."

Minerva held back a small chuckle. Severus sighed and tried again.

"Would you…. would you mind coming and sitting on my lap for a moment?"

Harry looked at him for a long moment, then silently shuffled over. He stopped right in front of Severus, but didn't make a move to sit with or even beside him and spoke. "No sofa."

"Yes, I'm on the sofa," Severus responded quietly, taking in the innocent face before him, "will you sit with me?"

Harry frowned and shook his head in what seemed to be frustration. "No. No so-fa." he pronounced each syllable purposefully.

Severus slowly (so as not to frighten him) took one of Harry's tiny hands in his own. "You don't want to sit on the sofa?"

Harry shook his head. "No. No-no. Harreee no-no sofa."

Severus sighed sadly as understanding dawned on him. "Harry's not allowed on the sofa?"

Harry nodded quickly. Severus picked him up carefully and sat him on his lap. "It's all right, Harry. I promise I will not let you get in trouble. You can sit with me on the sofa. Do you see that nice lady over there?" he pointed towards McGonagall. Harry nodded.

"She's going to come help me look at your forehead for a moment. Is that all right?"

Harry scrunched up his face, then tried to sound out a word. "Laay-dee."

Severus smiled. "Yes, the nice lady. Her name is Minerva. And I'm…."

Harry looked at him expectantly. Minerva piped up after a silence. She made her way over and crouched to be at Harry's level. "This is your daddy. And we are going to take you to your new home today. Would you like that?"

Harry looked back and forth between the two for a while, then asked, "Harreee's daddy?" he looked puzzled.

Minerva nodded. "Yes, wee one. Now, we're going to look at your forehead and it will feel warm, but we're not going to hurt you, all right?"

Harry nodded, so they quickly cast the charm to make the v appear. Harry scrunched up his face as he felt the warmth of the magic on his head. Petunia slipped in unobtrusively from the kitchen with what looked like a small fabric book bag, from where she had been waiting and watching from the corner of her eye. She handed the bag to McGonagall quickly and nodded to Snape as he stood with Harry in his arms.

She peered up towards the stairs, almost as if checking her husband wouldn't see, then leaned in nervously towards Severus to plant a very small kiss on her nephew's forehead. "Good-bye, Harry."

Harry looked puzzled again. "Bye Harreee?"

His aunt nodded. "You're going to go with your daddy now. You won't have to stay with Auntie Petunia or Uncle Vernon anymore."

Harry repeated after her, looking a bit disappointed, "No Aunteee Toon-yah?" She shook her head. Then he looked relieved as he added, "No Unc-a Vurr….," he tried again, "Vurr-vurr-nun?" She shook her head again. Harry smiled and reached out his two tiny hands on either side of her face.

For a moment, even her snobbish air fell and she smiled softly. "Take care, Harry."

Then, with a nod at both professors, she was gone upstairs.

"Well." Professor McGonagall straightened her robes. "We should be going then."

Severus buried his long nose in his son's hair and took a deep breath. "Yes, Professor. Let's."

And they disappeared with a little crack.