Professor Severus Snape arrived in the graveyard mid morning. This was his third graveyard and he was in a very good mood. He had really found some roses – frozen, but still very pretty. He hoped to find more and that at least one of them would be the right one. He did not know which graveyard this was; he had taken the ones into the south west from the last one, so he would move in a section. All he knew was if he would go more west, he would end up in Spinner's End. Maybe, he would just go there, spend the night and go back to Hogsmeade in a different section the next morning.
This graveyard was different from the others he'd been to. The rows were longer and the gravestones were all black; all the same in every direction. Not far from him was a little church with a tall steeple. The graveyard was silent and the ground was white from snow. Except for a couple of bird prints, there were no footprints or any other sign of life and the snowing had slowed to a few flakes once in awhile. The professor went along the rows, leaving footprints in the freshly fallen snow. He checked each grave for a new rose, but soon realized the snow had covered up the most plants, so he sighed and walked up to the little chapel. Walking around the evergreens, he checked the graves which were more sheltered from the wind and weather. He found some roses in between the evergreens, but he really wasn't successful.
Standing on a grave which had a very beautiful dark pink rosebush growing behind, he reached for a twig to cut it off and to put it in one of his paper bags, when his eyes caught on something under a different bush standing almost next to him.
It was a small child and it looked like sleeping.
He blinked, wondering if he was hallucinating. Children do not sleep under bushes in graveyards in the middle of winter, do they? He had been sure no one was there, and when he looked again, he still didn't see anyone – so why was there a child sleeping here? And whose was it?
Shaking his head in wonder, the professor kneed down in the snow next to the bony body. The child didn't seem to be moving, and he prayed it wasn't dead.
Not knowing if he wanted to find out, Severus laid his hands on the skinny shoulder and gave it a little shake. "Hey, there, little one?" he asked softly. When the small child didn't move, Severus moved his chin gently out of the way and felt for a pulse. Finding one, the young professor moved his hand to the little child's head, petting his hair softly as he thought of what to do next. The boy had a pulse, but he still didn't look as if he was breathing. He didn't really think of using magic on this child right now. Feeling a little unsure how it would affect the boy, the little one seamed so young. He wasn't a medi-wizard and he was not sure if his spells would harm the child more than do him good.
He did remember the first aid training he had to go through when he started teaching though and so he focused on the found pulse first.
Still trying to understand, he moved his head back a bit to check the closest gravestone – which was from 1842 – and guessed that no one had died yesterday or a few days before.
Suddenly, he had an idea. He licked his own forefinger with his tongue and held the now - wet finger under the child's nose. He could feel the coolness coming from the nose – and now feel the softly breathing.
"Thank Merlin!" he said, more to himself. He then reached down to pick up the small creature and sat back on his heels. Now he could feel the almost-quiet heartbeat. Pulling the child closer to him on his lap, he held him in one arm like a mother would hold a baby. With the other hand, he draped the cloth the small body, covering him as much as he could with his thick winter cloak. Then, he very carefully got up from the icy ground. His lower legs had almost fallen asleep…
He looked at the child more closely. He noticed pale red lips and long black eyelashes, the pale face and the little nose. His face looked so familiar, but he could not place it. The child looked as if being maybe five or six. Or even younger. Then he discovered the burn on the child's face. Oh my, that doesn't look too good. I wonder what happened there… He felt sorry for the child and a warm feeling spread though his body. Touching the boy's forehead of finding his skin cold, he brushed away the hair. His sight fell on the lightning bolt shaped scar.
"Harry Potter!" escaped him in total horror and almost dropped the child. 'That can't be!' was the only thought that had room in his mind.
He felt disappointment run through his body. This child ought to be with his loving relatives, getting ready for Christmas; not here in the icy cold – he felt completely confused. What's going on here? Something isn't right...
He looked down at the child again in his arms, and realized Harry looking at him with big emerald green eyes. Now he knew why this face looked so familiar. Lily's eyes. He was looking in Lily's eyes. He felt completely lost. It seemed those eyes were begging him, but also as if they knew – knew everything. They looked so alive, as if the child could see through Severus' eyes into his soul, and very carefully touch his heart in a lightly caress.
Longing, Severus remembered the feelings he had had for Lily and how much he wanted a child of his own. And then he heard it. It wasn't a question; it sounded more like a relief, a realization: "Daddy."
Severus wasn't even shocked. He had wished to hear it so often in his lonely times – some children he had met in his classes were so special to him, he had wished sometimes they were his. No, he wasn't surprised; he wasn't even surprised to hear it from Harry Potter! It was so unreal – "Yes," he whispered back. He felt Harry's cold hand on his cheek, softly touching, as wiping tears away.
"I found you," Harry whispered so silently the Professor almost missed it. The pale lips almost not moving, he still felt so tired. Harry was one hundred percent sure he was dreaming or dead. Did his daddy finally come for him? Taking him home to be with him and Mummy?
Severus loved this light touch of Harry's hand. He took the little hand of his face and placed a kiss onto the palm.
"We'll go home," he said and got a warm smile from Harry. But then, suddenly, the smile faded. "What?" Severus pulled one eye brow up in question.
"But... I can't go anywhere," said the child silently.
"Why?" What? Now, the first time since finding Harry, he was wondering why Harry was on this graveyard – alone. Where were his relatives?
He did remember the night Albus placed the toddler on his family's doorstep in Surrey. Actually, that night wasn't so long ago, maybe about seven years…
Harry smiled at Severus. He couldn't see much of this man, but he could see the man had black hair, just like his own, and he was keeping him warm. "I have to wait for Sir Frederick to come back," he said.
"Who is Sir Frederick?" Severus wondered now if this child was alright, or if there's something wrong with him.
"Sir Frederick is a pirate, with a great ship, the Mary Grace, and he visited me at the Dursley's, when they had locked me in, and brought me here to meet you and –" he started looking around as much as he could see "- and mummy." He realised that he was still on the graveyard; it was still freezing cold and still snowing. The only difference was the daylight. And he also realized this man – Daddy – was alone.
He couldn't be with his parents. This just didn't look like heaven.
Severus didn't know what to say. He was completely lost for words.
Harry looked at him, the big green eyes full of tears. "My mummy." He started to cry and was clinging to Severus' neck. "I want my Mummy."
"Oh my…" Severus sighed and hugged the little one close awkwardly. What in the world happened? What in the bloody hell went wrong here?
Harry laid his head on Severus' shoulder and was exhaustedly sobbing quietly. With the crying child in his arms Severus Apparated to Spinner's End.
