Two chapters instead of one! Is there anything this author can't do! Yes, make sense.

Okay, so I still don't own the Potter series and I shall not EVER own Naruto either. So yeah, grilled cheese and grape jelly and delicious.

(**)

Haku launched from the soft surface he had been on. He looked around wildly to face the men that were coming to kill him for having gifts. He had to leave. He had to stop them from killing mama. He had to wake her up from the red tinted river. He had to pull the rusty sword from her chest and force her to wake up. She couldn't sleep in the water…

"Hi," a voice said. Haku whipped around to see two boys standing behind him. One was rather skinny but taller than the plumper one. The taller one had tan skin, big blue eyes and blond hair that was very, very uncontrollable and spiky. The shorter one had very pale skin, teal eyes that were surrounded by black circles and red hair that looked fluffy in its unruliness. He didn't recognize either of them and they were definitely noteworthy. Not a single being in his village had such a unique coloring with their eyes or their hair. Haku and his mother were the only ones with any lightness in their eyes.

"Are you okay?" the redhead asked, eyes blinking aloofly at him.

"Yeah, you look kinda gray!" the blond shouted in concern, taking a step towards him. Haku scuttled backwards, hitting the wooden wall and still trying to go through it. The blond held up his hands in a peaceful manner though he hadn't taken another step. "Hey, hey calm down. What your name? I'm Naruto, this is my little brother."

"Gaara," the redhead nodded politely. The Naruto boy stepped towards him again but the Gaara boy shook his head and grabbed ahold of his brother. Haku thanked the smaller boy mentally and peered around the room curiously. He had yet to see anyone else in the room—he was sure that there was a man with black eyes before he found passed out—but there was a suspicious looking bundle about five feet away that looked distinctly human but it was completely still.

"Where… where am I?" Haku whispered, licking his lips to try and bring some moisture. The blond walked away and left through a door while Gaara plopped onto the ground after bringing a rather thick cover to shield the redhead from the cold that was seeping through the wood.

"Our papa brought you with us—we're in a house far from your town… we're still in the Mist," Gaara answered straightforwardly, burrowing into the blanket. Haku shivered and watched as Naruto left the room and came back only he was now holding a cup of what appeared to be water.

"Here you go, Sev said that your mouth would be dry because of his to medicine," Naruto stated, coming close enough that pushing the cup to Haku couldn't cause it to spill. Haku reached forward and stopped it from hitting his leg, gulping it down swiftly. He flexed his shoulders experimentally, noting that he was indeed without any pain.

"Sev is your… papa?" Haku whispered, staring at the glass that was already more empty than full. He was really, really thirsty. He drunk the rest quickly, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand once finished.

"Not by blood. He adopted Naruto from the Leaf and me from Suna," Gaara corrected Naruto before the boy could even finish nodding. Naruto turned to Gaara and gave a huge pout as he glared slightly at the younger boy.

Gaara shrugged out of his cocoon to toddle over to the very unmoving bundle, forcing his chubby hand into an opening. He held still for a moment or two. Whatever he had discovered caused him to grin so large that his face nearly broke before stepping away and sitting next to his brother who was now wrapped in his blanket.

Forcing his way inside wasn't hard.

"My name… is Haku," Haku whispered, playing with the rim of the glass.

"Why did Snape-sama kill those men?" Gaara asked, not knowing a single thing about delicacy. Haku flinched and looked away while Naruto turned a faint shade of green once again as he thought of the pierced bodies of the men strewn on the dirty, cold ground and surrounded by their blood but most of all he thought of Severus, covered in said blood as he raced across the grounds to Haku.

Naruto did not have to see the man's face to know that it had been cold and cruel. He didn't want to believe the dark, taciturn man that was sleeping off his strain not ten feet away from him had been the cause of all those deaths.

"He didn't… I did," Haku admitted, not wanting to lie to the two boys about their papa. He didn't want to think him some kind of monster but lying was never the way as his mother always taught him. Well, it wasn't really a good lesson because the truth caused her to fall asleep in the lake.

"What, you did that!" Naruto squawked, waving his arms about like a chicken in Haku's opinion. Neither boy seemed intent on running away from him in terror so Haku nodded, crawling closer as the redhead held open his blanket. He was used to the cold but it didn't make it any better so he really appreciated the warmth that the blanket and boys created around him.

"How did you do it?" Gaara questioned. He didn't really have a problem with death or killing—it was not only the way of life but the way of ninja. It wasn't all just stealing back scrolls or spying, to be a ninja meant to have blood on one's hands.

"With my chakra," Haku whispered.

"No, no… chakras don't do that. It's your family thing," Naruto corrected. Naruto was happy that it hadn't been his adopted papa that had caused so many deaths though he wasn't too sure that he wouldn't have done it had it been necessary.

"Kekkei Genkai like my sand," Gaara clarified even further. Haku nodded to the words. "We both use elements… the Kazekage taught me how to use my sand in fights. I use it for other things too like to get stuff for me. Can you do other stuff with your ice?"

Haku bit his lip, looking at both the boys. It was obvious that neither the redhead nor the blond would raise a hand against him. They both probably had previous knowledge on chakra; they wouldn't think him a freak so what harm was it to show off his pretty ice?

(*/*)

Severus had always made it a habit to wake up silently. He had learned long ago that if no one knew you were awake, information would pour out. So he had opened his eyes without moving from the warmth piled onto him and saw the three boys. Each one was sharing a large, thick blanket but they were making noises of utter fascination and awe.

The wizard let out a mental sigh, cursing his curiosity. The blankets were deliciously warm against his skinny body and he was hesitant in getting up. He stretched discreetly and eased quietly from his blankets, not wanting to alert the children of his awakening. He used the silence he was known for in Hogwarts (among other things) to slink up behind the children. He stood behind them, keeping his breaths measured and low so as to not alarm them. Looking down he saw a… was that an ice ballerina dancing atop a stage of sand?

He looked to the long haired boy who had a look of utter concentrated glee on his face. He was obviously controlling the ice which wouldn't be strange except Severus knew for a fact that the clan that had this particular jutsu was long gone. They were wiped out by a stronger, more aggressive clan. Haku and his parents (who were more likely than not dead) were probably the last ones.

"Brava," Severus said drily when the ballerina stopped dancing and bowed to the clapping jinchuuriki. The sarcastic man stepped to the side easily whilst the ballerina's sharp feet tried to implant themselves into his forehead. She hit the wall behind him with a lifeless sound and Severus turned his impassive eyes to the boy.

"You must become quicker than that, boy," he said softly, ignoring the shiver that went down the small spine. Gaara and Naruto looked up at him, still sitting in the covers and gave a smile. "If any of you are to become ninjas, then you must be more attentive of your surroundings. Had I been an adversary, you would all be dead."

"Sev, it took you forever to wake up!" Naruto shouted, standing to his feet, and completely ignoring what Severus had just said. He ran over to the man, arms splayed wide for a hug only for the wizard to sidestep and cause him to fall onto the covers Severus had been using.

"Stop butchering my name, brat," Severus snapped lightly, lowering himself to the floor. He turned to the hazel eyed boy who had been watching him the entire time, a wary look etched into his young face. Severus rolled his eyes; this kid had to be the only person in this godforsaken land that actually had a healthy dose of fear for him.

Gaara, who was now running his little fingers through the black and white hair, respected him like a child should any adult but he probably didn't really find Severus to be a threat (what with the sand protecting him at all times) whilst Naruto, who was whining about something or another and playing in his hair also, didn't fear him in the least.

"My name is Severus Snape," he introduced himself.

"Haku…" the boy whispered. "T-thank you for not leaving me there… I know that I hurt you and I'm sorry. And about the… just now."

"Nonsense, you were frightened both times. Are you hungry Haku?" Severus brushed off the attempts of apology. It wasn't because he was a nice guy—he wasn't in any sense a 'nice guy'. It was the simple fact that the kid had been startled just then and scared for his life earlier. It helped the fact that Severus had actually attacked Haku too.

Severus cracked his back, ignoring Gaara's huff about moving around, and pulled himself to his feet.

"Come now, we are off to the market and I expect you all to be on your best behavior or I will put in timeout," Severus added the last part satirically. He really had little knowledge on children but he heard of witches doing that to their rowdy children, he'd seen Andromeda swat her daughter on the seat of her pants, and lecturing was something he seen Molly do to her own child so he supposed taking lessons from them wouldn't be such a hard thing to do.

(*_*)

Naruto grinned happily, bouncing from cart to cart. The market was not as large as the one in Konoha but it was, by no means, small so there was a lot to pick from. Naruto would normally have to steal from these carts before he met Sev but now the man said that they each could pick five things that he had no influence over.

Naruto salivated as he picked the small meat pie that a woman was boasting about (his fourth item) then hopped over to another woman selling jewelry. He noticed that Gaara and Haku was standing there too, their five things already picked. Well, they only had four so he figured they must have saved their fourth item from the jeweler.

"Ah, three brothers so different in their looks," the old woman cooed, leaning down to get a good look at them. Naruto squinted at the woman and tried to figure out as to why she seemed familiar. He felt like, maybe… just maybe he'd met her before. She did bear a strange resemblance to the old woman that had sold Severus the house. It was a miracle that Severus had stayed long enough on his feet to negotiate price, deal out the healing potions, and gather enough cover to go under to pass out for the several hours he stayed unconscious.

"We aren't… uh—we aren't… uh, related," Haku stammered, face turning a delicate pink. He wouldn't mind being with the unconventional family but who would want him after seeing what a monster he was and how he attacked their father?

"Oh, adopted brothers. You know they say that blood is thicker than water," the woman nodded wisely.

"Who cares? He gonna be my brother," Naruto said stubbornly, folding his arms though he was careful to not spill any of the food inside. Who was this woman to tell Haku that, because they were not blood brothers, their bond meant nothing? Well, they weren't bonded yet but Naruto was sure that Severus would soon agree to take in Haku too if only the boy showed a bit of willingness to be with them.

"Besides, I always thought water tasted better," Gaara added, standing next to Naruto. Being blood had very little to do with whom he would consider his brother. He met Kankuro and Temari once and they practically spat on him—they hated him much more than the Kazekage (for the man was his Kazekage and not his father)—so blood wasn't all that great.

"Oh ho!" the older woman smiled, displaying her lack of thirty two teeth. Haku wasn't even sure if she had a total of fifteen. "Brothers stay together but I sense that there is another missing. Another young one that will complete this circle of lost brothers bought together by a dark man."

"Huh?" the three boys tilted their heads together, thoroughly confused. The old woman ignored them and ducked behind her cart, fumbling and moving things around. The redhead, blond, and brunette all contemplated leaving to find Severus. Before they could take a single step away the old woman was standing straight once again, grinning widely.

"Now let's see… a bracelet for you, anklet for that one, necklace for him, and the hair ties can go to the last of you," the woman said handing them each a package though Gaara was handed two. "You give that one to your papa."

(*.*)

Severus stared at the fish before him then looked up at the men that were smiling at him. He was silently contemplating which man he should slap across the face. He reached the verdict that they all merited his hand print across their gray tinted their faces.

"These fish are disgusting! They are a week past their fresh day and I believe the one to the far right is still breathing. You are incompetent and, clearly, pathetically dull if you believe that anyone would buy this filth," he spat, causing the three hulking men to actually cower. He opened his mouth to continue his tirade when he suddenly found himself on the ground with one man on his chest and the other two holding his arms down

"What did you say, bitch?" the man holding his left arm smirked. Severus opened his mouth to say what he said five seconds ago only to hear the angry shout of a blond and redhead.

"Gaara, Naruto, Haku—stay back!" Severus ordered as he twisted his head enough to see all three standing not too far away. Gaara's hands were trembling and, not to Severus' surprise, his skin was rolling in minute waves that threatened to spike out and attack. Haku appeared frightened, standing slightly behind Naruto who was shaking with hidden rage.

"Your boys? We'll take care of them next," the man on his chest hissed. Severus remained perfectly still, not fighting against the men. It would just be a waste of strength seeing as he was definitely weaker.

"Oh you get quiet sharp tongue?" the last man patronized.

"No, I am merely giving you a chance to release me or face a mental collapse," Severus explained, taking a deep breath. He stared up at the sky only to feel rough hands grab his face and force him to look deep into small, pig like brown eyes. Immediately Severus tore into the vulnerable mind, taking horrid memories and throwing them to the forefront of the strong man's mind. Every single moment he regretted, every time he was frightened, any time he was hurt Severus forced him to relive it.

Leaving the man's mind as roughly as he could Severus noticed that he was standing with the three children behind him by a mere few inches. He sneered down at the whimpering man, curled into a ball as the memories coursed through his mind then looked to the two men that were scrambling away. The weak minded man had probably let out some kind of scream when Severus used his magic.

"Would either of you like to join your friend in his misery I heard that it loves company," Severus threatened, taking a step forward. The men didn't even consider staying and grabbed their friend to pull him far away from the wicked variegated hair man. Upon their leaving Severus turned around, facing his… the boys who were looking awed.

"What did you do to him?" Gaara inquired.

"It is not to be discussed here now have you all gotten your five items and paid for them?"

"Yes!" Naruto nodded rapidly, grabbing the pale hand before him. Severus didn't shake him off as he usually did and faced Haku who was shaking his head as Naruto and Gaara nodded theirs.

"No, the jewel lady gave us these for free," Haku stated, holding up his package. Severus raised a brow, accepting a small package from Gaara. He didn't open it; instead he placed it inside his basket before looking around. He hadn't seen a jeweler in the area and he still found himself not seeing one.

Whatever, the children had an extra gold piece to spend and Severus had somewhere to work if the old woman was anyone to believe. He had asked a mother of five if the woman was authentic and, apparently, she was the local doctor seeing as none of them trusted the ninja medic who used chakra to heal those around them.

\O.o/

"Mr. Snape-sama, I can't stay with you. I want to but… I can't," Haku stated, stopping the trio from entering the small house they had rented. Severus turned around and quirked a brow at the boy, pondering on what he was blubbering about. Haku looked up at him, fat tears rolling down his cheeks.

He didn't know why he had accepted the five items when he couldn't stay. He didn't want to wait for them to get tired of him before tossing him out. He didn't want to cause another person to die like he did his mama. If he was alone then maybe everything would be okay. It would have helped his mama, at least. Then he tried to kill Snape-sama earlier!

Haku held out his basket, forcing Naruto to take it and bowed to the three of them though he kept his package from the woman. Before he could turn he found his basket back in his hand and Gaara's smaller body latched onto him.

"Don't go Haku, we want you to stay," Gaara said into his shoulder, being only tall enough to rest his mop of red hair there.

"If you do go then you should take your food with you and the gold piece, you never know what might happen," Severus simply stated, face indifferent to the child leaving his care. Haku nodded and peeled Gaara off of him, not looking at the large teal eyes spilling over with tears. If he looked at him, he would cave and beg Snape for a place in their family. Haku nodded to Naruto who wasn't looking at him, hurt clearly written across his face before he turned on his heel and started to walk away into the fog.

(*_*)

"Sev, you have to go after him!" Naruto shouted, pulling at the black shirt that Severus had purchased.

"I most certainly do not. The child does not want to stay with us. He is scared after killing grown men not even a full day ago and nearly killing me not even two hours ago," Severus said calmly. It was horrible that he wasn't overly saddened that Haku had left. That was one less imp to deal with in the long run though Naruto's whining was definitely going to give him a headache.

"Please, he's our brother! We can't just leave him out there!" Naruto argued, trying to get the black haired man to look at him. Why wouldn't Severus just understand that Haku needed to be with them? Deep down Naruto knew that if Haku left then they would be short one limb even though Naruto couldn't even name Haku's age. Haku wanted to be with them! He wanted to be in their family for that was what he, Severus, and Gaara were—they were a family and Haku was a part of it!

"What would you like for dinner?" Severus asked, stepping into the small kitchen. It wasn't much but it had all the essentials including dishes which was a real deal on the landlords part though Severus was sure to clean them with a purifying potion. It was lucky that they had gotten a whole house to rent out instead of just a hotel that would surely kill his money pouch.

"Please get Haku… please!" Naruto begged, curling his fingers into the skinny man's shirt. The tears in his eyes refused to fall even as he laid his head on the flat stomach before him. He wanted Haku to come back!

"Naruto, understand that you cannot save everyone. You cannot always get your way," Severus stated firmly, pulling the blond off of him. A wet sob caused Naruto's small body to shudder under his thin hands. The blond tilted his head up, tears and snot finally running down his face.

"Papa, please go… after Haku…!" Gaara's voice drifted into the kitchen's doorway. Naruto let out a little hiccup sob at the same time. Severus bit his tongue and stared at the wooden wall for a long time. How was it that these boys were so attached to a kid that hadn't even been there for a full day? Hell, they hadn't even talked to him for that long so why was it that they desperately wanted him back? Severus groaned loudly and threw down the white apron he was going to put on.

"Don't leave this house," Severus gritted out and stomped in the direction he had seen Haku amble off to. Gaara and Naruto both nodded rapidly, rubbing at their eyes to rid their faces of tears.

Merlin, Severus hated children.

(-.-)

Haku walked slowly down the bath, his toes a bit cold even though he had on straw sandals that Severus had bought him. He frowned as he thought of the man and two boys that he had left behind not even five minutes ago. Maybe he should turn around and beg for them to let him stay. Then again they were probably glad he was out of the way. Well, Naruto and Gaara weren't but Severus was and he was the daddy so that meant that he called the shots.

Haku sighed and kicked a rock as hard as he could.

"Ow you little brat!"

Haku looked up… and up… and up at a very tall, very brawny, half naked man that was stumbling and covered in something… and growling angrily at him.

d-.-b

Severus stomped swiftly through the wet ground, following the little footprints that were dragging slightly. He couldn't believe that he allowed some damn puppy eyes convince him to go after a child that wanted to stay but was too dumb to admit it. He was Severus Snape!

He was a Master of Potions. He didn't allow others to sway him in his thoughts. He could hold his own against wizards and witches four times his age! He didn't obey children that were crying. He was a spy against the Dark Lord! And he certainly didn't track down stubborn brats that actually made it a far distance in the short time he left!

"Let… get off!" he heard a voice that had an uncanny resemblance to Haku's only it was slightly muffled. With several colorful words Severus dashed forward and came upon the scene that made his blood boil, his eyes narrow, and his magic spike.

The End

So I am sure you know who is the mystery man… come now, it's not that hard. Uh so that's another chapter and I'm already in the makings of another.

So, I wanted Haku to leave because he's a scared child that doesn't want to hurt anyone. I thought it would be befitting.

Uh, the "water tastes better" may sound weird but it was something my friend said as a joke and I didn't actually hate the concept.