Disclaimer: All recognizable characters and settings belong to J.K. Rowling.
While Kaiden was falling asleep, Severus entered Dumbledore's office where Bella and Albus were waiting for him. "Sorry for the wait," He said as he slipped into a chair next to his wife's.
"No worries Severus, you have head of house duties to attend to," Dumbledore said cheerfully. "I trust your new snakes are settling in?"
"They seem well," Severus said, looking over at Bella. "Kaiden appeared in good spirits, despite what happened earlier."
"Yes, Bella was filling me in," Dumbledore said slowly. "I regret what happened to Kaiden. I will be speaking with Ronald Weasley, along with Minerva, tomorrow. I spoke to her briefly after the feast and she was quite upset. She was ready to take points from Gryffindor but I dissuaded her from that."
"Why? You don't think that little bully deserves to lose points?" Bella asked, her eyes narrowing.
"Normally yes, if he had already been sorted." Dumbledore said calmly. "I'm not doing it for Mr. Weasley; it's not fair to the rest of the Gryffindors to lose points based on something that happened before the sorting even started. Detention for Mr. Weasley however, is quite fair. Minerva and I will also be speaking with Mr. Finnegan and Mr. Thomas as they were there with him laughing."
"I will take Mr. Weasley's detention," Severus said immediately.
"Now Severus, as you are personally invested –"
"My detentions are known to be something to avoid," Severus interrupted. "I'm not going to damage the boy for Merlin's sake."
"I know that Severus," Dumbledore said in an amused voice. "I will speak with Minerva tomorrow and see where her thoughts are. As I said, she was very upset on Kaiden's behalf. I doubt she will let Mr. Weasley off lightly."
Bella exchanged a look with Severus, then sighed and nodded.
"Now, I will be contacting the Ministry tomorrow first thing to let them know of Harry Potter's absence." Dumbledore said with a serious look in his eyes. "No doubt parents will be receiving letters from their children regarding the matter as well. The important thing for you two to do, as well as Kaiden, is remain as far away from the topic as possible. No one will be suspicious if you show indifference towards the matter, at least until his death his announced. Kaiden should follow his classmates lead in the matter."
"This is going to be hard for him," Severus said quietly. "He feels bad for the Potter boy."
Dumbledore nodded. "Your son has a very compassionate heart." He said gently. "It is very sad what happened to Harry but what we want to avoid is anyone else finding out that the boy they have heard and read about for the last ten years is really Kaiden."
"The public and the media would never leave him alone," Bella said uneasily.
"Are you going to be all right handling this?" Severus asked the Headmaster in concern. "What if the Ministry is upset with you?"
Dumbledore smiled reassuringly. "Yes, I will be fine. I already anticipate receiving flack for placing "Harry" with the Dursley's." He heaved a deep sigh. "And I will deserve it. I deeply regret that Kaiden suffered because of my decision that night."
"Albus -"
"It is late," Dumbledore said with a small smile. "You both have classes tomorrow. I do not want to hear of you being late or falling asleep." He teased, waving them off.
Bella let out a laugh as she stood, pulling Severus up with her. "I must admit, I am a little nervous." She admitted.
Severus pulled her close to him. "You will be wonderful. At least you do not have to worry about your students exploding anything or melting a cauldron in your class."
"I don't know," Bella hedged as they walked to their quarters. "I do have the Weasley twins in my class."
"Ah, that's right," Severus remembered with a chuckle. "Sorry my love, perhaps you should be a little nervous."
HPHPHPHP
"Ahhh!"
Kaiden woke up with a start, sitting up and looking around frantically. He spotted Draco standing in front of a mirror, a horrified look his face.
"Who put these bloody awful pajamas on me?" Draco demanded when he saw Kaiden grinning at him.
Blaise stirred and opened his eyes. "What's going on?"
"Take a look at what you are wearing," Draco suggested.
Blaise looked down and his brown eyes widened. "Hey!"
"Alright cousin, start talking," Draco pointed at Kaiden.
"Well, while you two were complaining about our bedtime you fell asleep," Kaiden began snickering. "I was going to wake you so you could change into PJs but Marcus stopped by to check on us and decided to just let you sleep." He shrugged as he got out his school uniform.
"How humiliating," Draco groaned.
Blaise jumped up. "I'm going to grab a shower before anyone else sees me."
"Me too!" Draco grabbed his clothes and toiletries before following Blaise, leaving Kaiden still laughing.
By the time they returned they were dressed and after the three boys had grabbed their schoolbooks, they headed downstairs to the common room. They were greeted by Pansy, who appeared to be waiting for them.
"Where's Tracey?" Blaise asked.
"She already went to breakfast with Daphne and Millicent," Pansy rolled her eyes. "Tracey likes them while they annoy me. So I waited for you guys."
"We're honored," Draco said sarcastically.
"Don't mind Draco, he woke up in a bad mood," Kaiden said with a smirk. "He and Blaise woke up wearing –"
"Let's go to breakfast!" Draco said loudly. "I'm starving." He glared at Kaiden, who responded by looking back innocently.
"I'm so excited for classes," Pansy said happily as they walked to the Great Hall. "We're finally going to learn magic!"
"I'm excited too," Kaiden said in agreement.
"Of course you are as you already know that you will be teacher's pet."
Kaiden turned around with a frown. Theodore Nott stood with Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle.
"What's your problem Nott?" Draco asked in an irritated voice.
"Honestly Malfoy," Theo sighed. "No need to get upset. I don't mean it in a bad way. His parents are professor's, he probably will get handed the answers to all the tests beforehand so that he passes."
"You think my parents would help me cheat?" Kaiden asked incredulously.
Theo shrugged. "Sure. Mine certainly would. And it would be only right to share the information with your fellow Slytherins."
Kaiden couldn't help but laugh. "My parents would never do that." He exchanged an amused look with Draco.
"You could just study," Pansy said crossing her arms.
"Did I ask you for your opinion?" Theo sneered.
"Can we just ignore him and go to breakfast?" Blaise cut in, hoping they wouldn't be starting off the day with a fight.
"Just ask them to." Theo continued to Kaiden in a dismissive voice. "They owe you, don't they? They abandoned you after all."
"They did not!" Kaiden's voice rose in anger. "I was stolen from them!"
"It doesn't matter," Theo snapped. "You're a Slytherin, twist it around and make them feel like you feel abandoned. Then they'll do whatever you want."
"No," Kaiden turned his back on Theo, annoyed.
"You're an idiot Nott," Draco said with a shake of his head.
"Fine, I see how it is going to be." Theo pushed by Kaiden and Draco. "Goyle, Crabbe let's go. Turns out Snape and Malfoy are really Hufflepuffs."
Draco took a menacing step after them, his wand tight in his hand when Kaiden stopped him. "Relax Draco," He said, hiding a smile. Hufflepuff would be the worst insult in Draco's mind.
"That prat better watch it," Draco hissed. "He's just upset that he will have to actually study."
Kaiden briefly wondered what his parents reaction would be if he asked them for the answers to all the tests beforehand. He snickered quietly at the thought of the looks that would be on their faces.
"What's so funny?" Pansy asked as they took a seat at their table.
"What? Oh, nothing," Kaiden said quickly. He gave a wave to his parents as he sat down.
"What is our first class?" Blaise asked as everyone began to dig into the food that appeared on the table.
"Potions with the Gryffindors," Pansy said as she read her timetable. "Then we have Herbology with the Hufflepuffs."
Draco made a face. "Why do we have to share classes with the Gryffindorks?" He complained.
"They aren't all bad," Kaiden said, taking a sip of pumpkin juice. "The Weasley twins are cool."
"They aren't in our year though," Draco reminded him.
"Well, I met Hermione and Neville on the train and they seemed nice," Kaiden said. "They're Gryffindors."
"They weren't when you met them," Blaise said. "Maybe now they aren't nice anymore."
Kaiden frowned, hoping that that wasn't true. "People have misconceptions about our house right? So maybe we have misconceptions about the other houses." He said thoughtfully.
Pansy nodded approvingly. "Good point."
Draco rolled his eyes. "Ever the optimist."
"Ever the pessimist," Kaiden teased as he picked up a piece of bacon.
HPHPHPHP
Severus stalked into the potions classroom and stood by his lectern, slightly glaring at his new students. "Enough mindless chatter," He snapped. Immediately the students stopped talking and stared at him. Severus folded his arms. "I don't expect that many of you to appreciate the subtle science and the exact art of potion-making," Severus spoke in barely more than a whisper as he started his usual first of term speech. "I can teach you how to bewitch the mind and ensnare the senses, how to brew glory, bottle fame and even put a stopper in death. If you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I am usually forced to teach, that is." His gaze landed on Ron Weasley, who was whispering to his friends while Severus talked. He moved closer, his excellent hearing catching the whispers. "Speaking of dunderheads," He murmured.
"Harry Potter still isn't here," Ron whispered to Dean and Seamus in frustration.
"Ah, yes." Severus said, startling Ron so much the boy almost fell out of his chair. "Harry Potter. Hogwarts own little celebrity. How silly of me to talk of potion making when the boy-who-lived obviously doesn't deem school important enough to show up on time." He narrowed his eyes at Ron. "Do you think yourself in possession of such potion making abilities so formidable that you believe yourself above paying attention?"
Ron paled. He had heard from his brothers that Snape wasn't a professor you wanted to get on the bad side of, a fact that kept slipping his mind when he interacted with the professor's son. "Uh, no sir," He said nervously.
"Really?" Severus stared. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"
"Umm," Ron looked at his friends, who looked as clueless as he did. He noticed Kaiden and Draco raise their hands, along with a girl sitting next to them. In front of him he saw a Gryffindor girl, Hermione, raise her hand. "I don't know." He said finally.
Severus's eyes darkened. "I don't know sir," He corrected. "Did you not open your book before coming to class? How about this, what is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?"
Ron made a face when once again some hands went up. "I don't know sir."
Severus snorted and turned away, walking back up to his lectern. "Mr. Snape, can you answer the first question?"
Kaiden straightened in his seat. "Asphodel and wormwood make a powerful sleeping potion known as the Draught of Living Death, sir." He spoke quietly, feeling shy even though he knew the answer was correct. He had practically devoured his text books during the summer, especially potions.
"Correct, five to points to Slytherin," Severus said. He hoped Kaiden was not upset about how his was acting. He had tried to warn him that he was strict and unfair, though he knew he would have to soften up a little. He noticed the Gryffindor girl still raising his hand. He glanced at his parchment of student names. "Miss Granger, are you able to answer the second question?"
"Monkshood and Wolfsbane are the same plant, which also goes by the name of aconite," Hermione said confidently.
"Correct, five points to Gryffindor," Severus said, trying to hide his distaste of awarding points to Gryffindor. He wasn't used to doing it but he had to work on being fair, at least a little, for his son. "Well, Mr. Weasley, at least one of your housemates came prepared."
Ron was glaring at the back of Hermione's head. "Know it all," He muttered, shifting his glare to Kaiden.
"Five points from Gryffindor for talking without being called on," Severus said smugly. He noticed Kaiden giving him a knowing look and swallowed the grin that wanted to break out. He began his lecture on the Boil Cure and then set the class to begin making the potion.
"Merlin, Uncle Severus can be scary," Draco said as he and Kaiden began to work.
"He does seem strict, but I suppose he would have to be," Pansy said as she added six snake fangs to her mortar.
Kaiden was already crushing his fangs using a pestle. "He told me that potions can be extremely dangerous so he has to remain strict so that students will concentrate on their work. It's too easy for someone to make a mistake that could cause an explosion."
"He sure put Weasley in his place though," Draco said gleefully as he measured his crushed fangs.
"He did that because of me," Kaiden said somewhat guiltily.
"He did it because Weasley was talking during his lecture and wasn't prepared for class," Pansy corrected him.
"And because of how Weasley treated you on the train," Draco added with a grin.
Kaiden chuckled ruefully and focused back on his potion. The class mostly worked in silence and Kaiden was engrossed in watching his potion turn orange after he added the Porcupine quills, which he made sure to do only after he had removed his cauldron from the fire. His father had made this particular step very clear in his lecture, as well as on the instructions on the board. He had just finished and was carefully pouring his potion into a vial when he heard a gasp and a loud wail. He turned to see Neville staring at his melted cauldron, painful looking boils popping up on his arms. Kaiden's eyes widened in alarm.
Severus hurried over to banish the potion and ruined cauldron, glaring at Neville. "Did I not clarify that your cauldron must be taken off the fire before adding the porcupine quills?" He snapped.
"I'm sorry sir," Neville whimpered, wincing from the pain of the boils.
Severus tried to reign in his temper; he did not tolerate foolish mistakes, and summoned a pain reliever. "Mr. Snape, bring me your potion," He called to his son. "Drink this," He handed the pain reliever to Neville.
Kaiden walked over and handed his dad the vial. "Neville, are you okay?" He asked in concern.
"Yeah," Neville said glumly, looking embarrassed.
Neville Longbottom, Severus inwardly winced. He handed Kaiden's vial to Neville. "Take one swallow." He instructed.
Neville obeyed, shuddering from the taste as he handed the vial back to Severus. He watched in fascination as his boils disappeared. "Thank you sir," He said quietly.
"Thank Kaiden for brewing a successful potion," Severus said sternly. Normally he would be verbally ripping the boy to shreds for making such a stupid mistake but the memory of seeing the Longbottom's tortured through Bella's eyes made him stop from doing so. This time anyway. "I hope everyone appreciates the danger that not paying attention to the instructions can cause," He said loudly. "You must read each line of instructions carefully and do not ever try to hurry through the process. This was minor injury but there are much worse consequences that can happen."
Neville looked so dejected that Kaiden couldn't help but say something comforting. "Don't worry; it's your first potion. You'll do better next time," He encouraged.
Severus had to admit he felt a surge of pride for how kind Kaiden was being. The child had a heart of gold that was for sure. After collecting the vials from his students he assigned an essay on the Boil Cure and told Neville that if he wrote about his own experience in the dangers that missteps can cause, he would give him a partial grade for his potion.
Kaiden hung around after everyone had left except for Draco who was waiting patiently at the door. "Thanks Dad," Kaiden said softly.
Severus looked at him curiously. "For what?"
"Being nice to Neville," Kaiden said. "And for giving him a chance to not get a fail today." He grinned mischievously. "You're really a nice professor." He laughed at the indignation on his dads face. "I'm kidding. You're right scary, actually."
"That's better," Severus said in a mollified tone. He ruffled Kaiden's hair. "You better go; I'm not writing you an excuse to be late."
"Yes sir," Kaiden grabbed his books and left with Draco.
Severus shook his head ruefully. He had already suspected his stern reputation wouldn't ever be the same now that he had his son back in his life. And he wouldn't have it any other way. He already couldn't wait to boast to his wife about how well Kaiden had done in his first class.
TBC: