The next morning, Tuesday, a surprisingly hangover-free Severus Snape headed down to Hagrid's hut just before lunch.
"Hagrid?" Severus knocked on the door of the gamekeeper's hut. "Are you awake?"
"Good morning, Professor!" Hagrid came around the side of the hut with a bucket of water and his dog, Fang, close on his heels.
"You said you had a cake for young Mister Potter. I am here for it, as I will be picking him up this evening."
"That's right, professor!" Hagrid motioned for Severus to follow him into the cottage. "Fancy a cup of tea?"
"No, thank you, Hagrid." Severus waved away the offer.
"Here it is! Made it myself yesterday." Hagrid proudly motioned to a white box on the table near the fireplace. "It should be all right if ya shrink it," the half-giant moved the box closer to Severus.
"I agree."
"Do ya reckon he'll like it?" Hagrid asked, opening the cake box to show Severus the confection within.
The cake was iced bright pink and read "Happee Birthdae Harry" in shaky green icing.
"I'm sure he will be most appreciative, Hagrid." Severus cast a preservative charm on the box, closed it, then shrunk it to be able to fit in his robe pocket. "I must be going. I will make sure Mister Potter receives your cake."
"Thanks again, Professor!" Hagrid waved cheerfully as Severus left the hut.
Severus pulled a scarf and a pair of flying goggles from another pocket in his robe, donning them as he headed for the school gates.
Armed with Harry's vault key, the Hogwarts acceptance letter addressed to a Hut-on-the-Rock, and a broom, Severus walked to the gates of Hogwarts and Apparated away.
It was nearing midnight and pouring by the time Severus arrived at the aptly named 'Hut-on-the-Rock'.
Were it not for very good waterproofing charms on his outer robes, he would likely be soaked to the bone. As it was, there were icy pools of water in his shoes that squelched as he touched down on the tiny dock. Dismounting from the broom, he rested it on one damp shoulder.
The boat that indicated occupation of the Hut was there, barely. It was secured with rope but heaving wildly in the rough seas. Severus just barely squashed the cruel urge to sever the rope and leave the Dursley family stranded on the tiny island.
Severus was tired and a little cold from the long journey this far including his flight across the water. Not to mention simply wanting to get out of the rain, Severus stalked up the path leading up to the tiny, battered hut. He checked his watch before knocking. It had just gone midnight.
"Too bad." Severus raised his fist and pounded thrice on the door.
When no one answered, a simple Alohomora had the locks undone and he slipped inside.
"What's all this, then?" Vernon Dursley came waddling down the stairs, rifle in hand. "I demand that you leave at once, sir! You are breaking and entering (1)."
"I am here for Harry Potter." Severus started looking around the hut. His wand was at the ready should Vernon try anything with his weapon, but his face was otherwise impassive.
"You!" Petunia shrieked from behind Vernon. Her normally pale face was red with anger. "Get out, out, out!" she commanded, pointing to the door behind Severus.
There were two other occupants, children both. The blonde whale of a boy was staring at him agog, mouth hanging open long enough to catch flies. A tiny boy, who could be none other than Harry, was standing behind a support beam for the second floor. It did nearly camouflage his presence. Severus noticed a crude drawing of a cake in the ash before the fireplace and scowled.
"I will not repeat myself, Dursley." Severus raised his wand when Vernon aimed the rifle at him. "I am here for Harry Potter."
"I don't know who you are, sir, but you will leave at once!" His grip on the gun was clammy and shaking.
"It's that rotten boy Lily always went 'round with," Petunia hissed, peeking over her husband's shoulder. "Snape," Petunia pointed at the door, "get out!"
At the mention of his mother, the Potter boy poked his head out from behind the post but came no further. Severus dipped his head in acknowledgment of the boy, pleased when he mirrored the motion and stepped out from behind the post.
"Leave immediately!" Vernon commanded.
"Or what, Dursley?" Severus asked, flicking his wand at the gun and smirking. "You'll hit me with that... fish?" (2)
A flick of Severus' wand and the gun had indeed become a giant fish that flopped about in Vernon's hands.
Both Vernon and Petunia recoiled as Vernon dropped the mammoth fish. Petunia pushed past Vernon, leaped over the fish, and tried to hide the plump boy behind her lean form.
"Stay behind me, Dudley," Petunia commanded, backing up so they were against the unlit fireplace.
"Harry Potter, my name is Severus Snape," he said, directing his attention to the reason he was here: the boy. As he took measured steps across the drafty room, Vernon sputtered and trundled towards him. "I am a Potion Master and professor of potions at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."
"He'll not be going!" Vernon snapped. "I forbid it!"
Severus walked past where Dudley cowered behind his mother and approached the tiny form of Harry Potter. As he approached, Harry drew into himself, trying to make himself smaller.
"Going where?" Harry asked, voice timid.
"Hogwarts, of course." Severus took another step towards Harry. "Don't you know what you are?"
Vernon came up to Severus' back and stomped one meaty foot. "Stop right there sir! I forbid you to tell the boy anything!"
Harry winced at 'boy' and drew back, retreating behind the support beam again.
"We swore when we took him in we'd put a stop to all that rubbish, swore we'd stamp it out of him!" Vernon proclaimed.
"What is he talking about, sir?" Harry asked Severus, hands clenched around the wooden beam.
"You, Mister Potter, are a wizard. And if you're anything like your parents, you are likely to be an adequate one, once properly instructed," Severus told him.
"He'll not be going!" Vernon snapped again, reaching out and nearly grabbing Severus's arm.
Instead of making contact with Severus's damp outer cloak, he grasped at the air as Severus whipped around and had his wand pointed right between Vernon's eyes.
"Ask your dear wife, Dursley," Severus growled, "if touching me has any real merit beyond ending your miserable life."
"Vernon, Vernon, dear," Petunia simpered, holding out a hand. "Come over here, darling. Stay away from the nasty wizard."
"You knew?" Harry demanded, looking over to his aunt. "You knew that I'm a – a wizard?" Harry came out from behind the support beam and frowned at his aunt.
"Knew!" shrieked Petunia, shoving both Dudley and Vernon behind her. "Knew! Of course, we knew! How could you not be, my dratted sister being what she was? Oh, she got a letter just like that and disappeared off to that – that school - and came home every vacation with her pockets full of frog spawn, turning teacups into rats. I," she pointed at her chest, "was the only one who saw her for what she was - a freak! But for my mother and father, oh no, it was Lily this and Lily that, they were proud of having a witch in the family!" (3)
Severus opened his mouth to defend his childhood friend, only to be cut off by Harry.
"But, if you knew-" Harry started to say, his posture changing as anger overtook him.
Here was the Potter Severus was familiar with. Chin up in defiance and fists clenched.
"What else could you be?" Petunia demanded. "She met that Potter at school and they left and got married and had you, and of course, I knew you'd be just the same, just as strange just as – as abnormal - and then, if you please, she went and got herself blown up and we got landed with you!"
Harry had gone pale as a sheet.
"Mister Potter?" Severus stepped into his field of vision, blocking out the Dursleys where they were huddled near the fireplace.
"Blown up?" Harry's voice was small. "Blown up?!" he repeated with a little more fire. He looked at Severus. "They told me they died in a car crash! That my father was a drunken sod that – that had gotten himself and my mother killed!" Harry moved around Severus and pointed a finger at Petunia. "You said it was a car crash!"
"A car crash?" Severus turned his attention to the Dursley family. "As if something as simple as a car crash could kill Lily and James Potter."
"Now, you listen here, boy," Vernon snarled, suddenly finding his spine again. "I accept there's something strange about you, probably nothing a few more good beatings wouldn't have cured - and as for all this about your parents, well, they were weirdos, no denying it, and the world's better off without them in my opinion - asked for all they got, getting mixed up with these wizarding types - just what I expected, always knew they'd come to a sticky end -" Vernon cut himself off with a squeak as Severus whipped his wand in a quick motion.
There was a flash of blue light and there was a fire roaring in the grate behind the Dursleys.
"Do shut up, Dursley," Severus drawled.
"Don't, Vernon," Petunia hissed. "He'll hex you or something. Just-"
"I will not repeat myself," Severus said. "Be quiet."
The trio huddled beside the fireplace. Dudley held his hand towards the fire and marveled silently at the warmth.
"Mister Potter, you have the opportunity to go to Hogwarts, should you so wish," Severus said.
"Should I wish?" Harry echoed.
"Haven't I told you he's not going?" Vernon hissed from behind his wife. "He's going to Stonewall High and he'll be grateful for it. I've read those letters and he needs all sorts of rubbish – spell books and wands and -"
Severus raised his wand again in warning. Vernon cut himself off and shrank his bulk behind Petunia.
"Now then, Mister Potter." Severus turned back around. He heard whispering behind him but paid little attention.
Instead of feeling pleased and proud, a brush against the boy's mind showed he was quite sure there had been a horrible mistake.
"Professor Snape, sir," Harry wrapped his thin arms across his tiny chest and hunched into himself. "I think you've made a mistake sir. I don't think I can be a wizard."
Severus approached Harry and knelt before him. "I can state for a fact, Mister Potter, that you are," he said in a low voice. Behind him, the whispering was reaching a fever pitch.
"But, I'm Harry, just Harry," he replied meekly.
"Not hardly, Mister Potter," Severus assured him, reaching one hand out slowly and setting it on his shoulder. "For example, have you ever made things happen when you were upset? Scared, or angry, or the like?"
Realization dawned on Harry, lighting up his expression like the sunrise, thinking of how even most recently he had set that boa constrictor on Dudley at the zoo.
"I turned my teacher's hair blue once," he admitted. "On accident!"
Severus nodded, unsurprised.
"Now then," Severus pulled Harry's acceptance letter from the depths of his robes, "you'll want to look this over.
Harry took the letter from Professor Snape as if it were made of glass.
"Thank you, sir." Harry opened the letter carefully.
"Dear Mr. Potter," Harry read aloud. "We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment." Harry looked up at Severus with a quizzical look. "What equipment, sir?"
"There is a list enclosed, Mister Potter," Severus pointed out. He noticed Harry squinting terribly despite his glasses. "Do move to the fire if you are having trouble seeing."
Harry looked from the parchment to Severus, from Severus to where his relatives cowered in various states of distress and back again.
"I reckon I'm all right sir," Harry said.
Severus rolled his eyes. "Merlin save me from stubborn eleven-year-olds," he muttered.
"How do you know how old I am?" Harry asked.
"I'm magic," Severus deadpanned.
Harry giggled, pushing his glasses up his nose. "Today is my birthday," Harry told him proudly.
"Ah, yes, about that..." Severus remembered all of a sudden. He pulled a small box from his pocket and with a tap of his wand un-shrunk it. "I come bearing gifts. A friend of your parents, Rubeus Hagrid, the keeper of keys and grounds at Hogwarts, requested I give this to you." Severus held out the cake box and waited.
"For me?" Harry wrinkled his nose in confusion. "Why would he send a gift?"
"It's a birthday cake, Potter," Severus scowled, "surely you've had one of those before."
"No, sir," Harry said, honestly. At Severus' dark look he hurried on. "But I got a nice pair of socks for my last birthday! I, uh, didn't…" He looked to the Dursleys, Vernon in particular who looked thunderous in his anger. "I didn't ask for a cake?"
It sounded like a blatant lie at best to Severus.
"Take the cake, Potter," Severus commanded, handing the boy the box. "And here." Severus conjured up a few small plates and forks.
Harry put the letter in his trouser pocket and took the cake box from Severus.
"Would you like a piece, sir?" Harry asked. He opened the box and smiled at the lopsided contents. "It's wonderful!"
"I suppose a little snack would not go amiss. And happy birthday, Mister Potter," Severus used a conjured knife to cut the boy a decent-sized piece of cake, taking a much smaller piece for himself. He wasn't certain of Hagrid's cooking abilities, but he had a bezoar on hand should anything go awry.
Harry sat down on the ground to tuck into his cake. "It's good!" Harry took a second bite. "It's a spiced cake and it's good! Do you want some, Dudley?" Harry asked around a full mouth.
"Yeah!" Dudley said. He took two steps towards them, only to be yanked back to his mother's side.
"Absolutely not," Petunia hissed. Her nails dug into Dudley's arm.
Harry shrugged one shoulder and continued enjoying his cake.
Severus had to admit the cake wasn't entirely inedible.
Vernon cleared his throat, once, then again.
"Something in your throat, Dursley?" Severus arched a brow at the large man.
"Snape." Petunia positioned herself once more between Dudley and Severus.
"What is it, Tuney?" Severus snarled the childhood nickname with distaste.
"If he goes, he stays there. None of this coming home for the holidays nonsense. He'll be your problem. In your care."
Severus arched a brow. Her phrasing may have given him a way to make a most drastic change.
"In my care," he repeated the phrase carefully. "You wish to make me the boy's proxy, then?" Severus drawled, tapping his wand against his thin lips as he thought.
"Will he leave us in peace if I do?" Petunia demanded. "Your Dumbledore?"
"I cannot speak for the actions of others," Severus replied. "Only my own."
"What can be done then?" Petunia demanded, crossing her arms over her chest. "We should have never taken him in the first place," she said, then let out a screech of fright when the fire flared brightly for a moment.
"Mister Potter." Severus looked at the boy. "Keep your temper," he chided.
"Sorry," Harry mumbled around a mouthful of cake, eyes downcast. "I didn't do it on purpose."
"Hmmm." Severus cast a glance over his shoulder at Harry but gave no further reproach.
"What would you have me do?" Severus turned his attention back to Petunia.
"Take the boy." Petunia took a single step towards Harry and Severus. "That Dumbledore of yours said we had to take him in. Didn't give us a choice. Left him on our doorstep in the middle of the night." Her finger waggled as she pointed at Harry.
"You're his blood," Severus glanced at Harry and then focused back on Petunia, "his family."
"Don't you have a potion that could fix that?!" she demanded.
Harry made a small sound of distress but did not join the conversation.
"No, I do not." Severus scowled at the harridan of a woman. "You are his family," he repeated. "He was placed in your care." Petunia shrank back as Severus lazily flicked his wand in her direction.
"He's your problem now," Vernon snapped, pulling Petunia back to them. "He's a freak, just like his parents."
"Take him, Snape," Petunia said as she shrugged out of Vernon's grasp. "Blood or not, he's no family of mine."
"He is, though." Severus scowled at her.
"We don't want him," Petunia insisted, whipping one hand in front of her as if to smack away the association. "I'll sign whatever you want, swear whatever you wish."
Severus looked to Harry, who had stopped eating the slice of cake and was pushing bits of cake around his plate.
"Mister Potter." Severus crouched down before the child.
Harry didn't look up from his plate.
"I would appreciate it if you would look at me when I speak to you."
"I'm not a freak," Harry insisted in a small voice. "I'm just Harry."
"You are not a freak," Severus agreed, waiting until Harry raised his tear-filled gaze to meet Severus's before continuing. "You are a wizard, Mister Potter," he told him. "And you will be going to Hogwarts."
"Do you…" Harry hesitated. "That is..." He looked over at Petunia and her family, then back to Severus. "Do you want me?"
There was a bright flash of lightning. Thunder shook the small shack for a moment and Harry curled in on himself again.
"Mister Potter." Severus reached out, rested a hand on the boy's bony shoulder.
Harry looked up at Severus, setting his plate of cake aside. "I'm not much trouble," Harry tried to smile. "I know how to cook and clean and I can garden, too!"
"That is not necessary."
"But I can! And-and, I know my maths. I'm not a troublemaker, sir." Harry glanced over at the Dursleys and frowned. "Well, I try not to be."
"Mister Potter." Severus's tone was sharp, cutting off his ramblings.
"Yes, sir?"
"What do you want?" Severus asked. "I am willing to take you to Hogwarts, but only if that is what you wish."
"What I want?" Harry wrinkled his nose as he considered it. "I want," he paused, trailing off.
Severus gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze. "Go on, Mister Potter."
"I want a family that wants me," Harry admitted, looking at the fire.
Over the sound of the storm, Severus would swear he could suddenly hear the cawing of crows. There was an odd weight to the air. Even Vernon and Dudley could feel the odd energy in the air as they looked around for the unseen birds.
"What's going on?" Vernon asked. "Stop all this freakishness!"
"Mummy, I'm scared," Dudley said.
The cawing grew louder, even louder than the storm, but Petunia didn't seem to notice.
"Snape!" Petunia tried to grab his attention.
"Do shut up, Tuney." Severus glared over at her. He turned his attention back to Harry. "I am not a tender man," Severus told Harry, releasing the boy's shoulder. "I am strict. I've no patience for tomfoolery."
"Yes, sir." Harry nodded.
"I do not think I would be a good paternal influence, but we seem in short supply of alternatives." Severus was hardly being sarcastic, though his tone was nearly sardonic.
"Would we be a family?" came the quiet question.
Severus frowned, feeling the weight of magic pressing down on them as if waiting for his reply. He stood, as did Harry.
"You don't know me, Mister Potter," Severus said. "I am not the fatherly type. You have no idea who I am. Are you so willing to leave your family and go with a stranger?"
Harry looked again between the Dursleys and Severus.
"I am," Harry said as he nodded his head firmly. "They don't want me. And I don't want to go back to the cupboard under the stairs."
"Shut up, boy," Petunia hissed. "Are you taking him or not, Snape?"
"Come here, woman," Severus commanded. The strange pressure in the air grew and the sound of crows was undeniable now; even Harry seemed to wonder where the sound of birds was coming from.
Petunia hesitated, looking from Harry to Severus, scowling all the while.
"What are you going to do, Snape?" she demanded to know.
"Do you want the boy to go with me or not?" Severus snapped.
Petunia crossed the small room, still lit only by the fire burning without wood, and stood next to Harry. She crossed her arms over her chest.
"Hmph. Now what?" she asked.
"Now, we cast a spell." Severus sneered at her sour face and looked at Harry. "With your consent, Mr. Potter?"
Harry nodded, then cleared his throat. "Uh-huh," he said. "I mean, yes," he hurried to clarify when Severus arched a brow. "Yes, sir."
"Very well." Severus raised his wand, then lowered it. He was unsure as to how to proceed. "I do not have a spell for this ready," he admitted, more directed at Harry than the Muggle annoyance of his childhood.
The cawing outside reached a fever pitch and a flash of lightning lit the room a moment, almost as if it was inside the cottage. The roar of thunder shook the dust from the rafters and it rained down on the occupants of Hut on the Rock.
Between one blink and the next, the howling wind and cries of crows ceased entirely. An odd, hollow silence followed where not even the fire dared to crackle to break the stillness.
"Professor?" Harry whispered. "Who are they?" He pointed to behind Severus where a familiar trio stood.
Severus turned on his heel and nearly rolled his eyes at their dramatic entrance.
"They are the Morgana," he said, inclining his head, greeting them.
Vernon and Dudley both jolted in surprise and stared at the newcomers with wide eyes but Petunia didn't seem too impressed. She crossed her arms over her chest and pursed her lips. "Some freaky friends of yours, Snape?"
"Hush, you harridan," Severus hissed at Petunia. "Show some respect."
"Harry Potter..." Macha motioned for him to approach.
Harry hesitated, waiting until Severus made a motion for him to move before approaching the goddess.
"You are a child of destiny," Macha said. "And we have come to bear witness to your path changing."
"Are you sure?" Harry asked, voice small. He looked up to Severus, then back to the goddess. "Me, I mean?"
Macha closed the remaining distance between them slowly and knelt on one knee before him.
"We are sure," she told him. She took his chin in one hand. "You are destined for great things," she told him. "And we," she started.
"We are here to help," Babd cut in. Her eyes locked onto Petunia. "For the mother that should have been will be another."
"Another?" Severus demanded. "I'm not-"
"Hush now, Severus." Nemain rested a hand on his shoulder. "You are not meant to do this alone. That is all we meant."
"Ah." Severus nodded, unsettled by the goddess's touch. "I see."
"Sisters," Macha still held Harry's face in her grip. "I think it is time."
"Petunia Dursley," the three goddesses spoke in unison, "come forth."
She winced at their weighty gaze. "What?" she demanded, her hands going to her hips. "Why should I?"
"Step forward, Petunia," Macha commanded. She released Harry's chin and stood, moving to stand beside him. She rested a hand on his shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze. "It will be all right, Harry."
"Do you offer this boy freely? Into the care of another without hesitation?" Nemain asked her.
"We never wanted him," Petunia said, taking a few hesitant steps forward as instructed.
"Do you offer him freely?" Babbdasked her again.
"Yes!" Petunia snapped, pointing at Harry. "I offer him freely! Anything to be rid of him."'
Harry looked up to Macha, then to Severus.
"And do you, Harry, offer yourself?"
"Yes, ma'am." Harry nodded for emphasis.
"And you, Severus Snape." Nemain turned to him, motioned for the Potions Master to stand beside Harry, opposite Macha. "You take him freely?"
"I do," Severus said.
"Then let us begin."
Thunder shook the tiny hut again and a crow cawed, taking wing from the rafters and swooping around them. Petunia screeched and ducked as if to avoid it.
"Calm yourself, woman," Severus said. "It's a bird, not a dragon."
"Dragons are real?!" Harry's eyes were wide. He shrunk back in on himself when all eyes turned to him.
"Yes, they are, dear boy," Nemain said.
"Wow." Harry looked to Severus and smiled.
"Now, then. We shall continue. Outstretch your hands," Babd said. "Palms to the ceiling."
Harry, Severus, and Petunia did as instructed. A flash of lightning lit the room again. The fire in the fireplace grew and then settled again as if breathing.
Macha pulled an athame from the sheathe on her belt and moved around the trio gathered.
Nemain pulled a vial from up her sleeve. It had a swirling black liquid in it.
"Give me your hand, Petunia." Macha touched the tip of the athame to the tip of Petunia's ring finger.
"By blood begun and by blood undone," the goddesses chanted as one while Nemain uncorked the potion and let three drops of blood drip into it.
"For the child who was born under Leo's bright sun." Babd took up the chant alone as her sisters worked. Macha moved to Harry and quickly pricked his finger, again the ring finger, and moved aside for Nemain to catch three drops of blood as it fell from his hand.
"For he who bears the yew's mark," Babd continued. "May he find the light in the dark."
Macha and Nemain paused before Severus, his palm still outstretched. He arched a brow at them as if demanding to know what was taking them so long without actually saying so.
Nemain nodded, amused by something only she knew.
Again, the press of the athame broke the skin and three drops of blood were added to the potion.
At the last drop of Severus' blood, the potion flashed and turned a moonlight white, pearlescent, and shot through with silver-like clouds across the surface. The odd potion gave off a faint glow, much like moonlight fighting through a fog.
"Here we gather, this stormy night, and ask the Lady's blessing for this rite." They spoke in unison, voices clear and strong.
"Daddy, I'm scared!" Dudley whimpered, hiding his face from the goddesses and magic and blood.
Their voices raised over the suddenly whipping winds and the door rattled on its hinges.
"We cast this circle three times round," they said, "for this spell by blood be bound. This child is given unto Severus Snape's care, for many are the burdens there are to bear."
A circle of blue flame sprung up, running clockwise around the six gathered within its boundaries.
"Once for Macha, young and bright, we ask your blessing for this rite," Nemain said.
Macha nodded to give her blessing and the flame went red, now a few inches off the ground.
"Once for Babd, the blessed mother, May their hearts grow with one another," Macha spoke for her sister, who nodded as well.
The flame turned to gold, glowing brightly but giving off no smoke.
"Once for Nemain, the beloved crone," Macha said, "for this boy shall be Severus' own."
The circle turned killing-curse green and then settled to a more emerald hue before extinguishing itself and leaving a ring of glowing white.
"This circle is cast, thrice in power." Again they spoke in unison. "For now is the witches' hour."
Nemain withdrew a wand from up her sleeve. She swirled it thrice, the tip going the same pearly white as the potion and circle boundary. She tapped the vial with the tip of her wand, three times. It grew darker, more silver than white. Then, she tapped it three times more. It was almost all silver now, with only flickers of white showing through. But still, it glowed.
"By blood and wand, by thought and word." She tapped the now brightly glowing vial three final times with the glowing tip of her wand. It was all silver now, the contents writhing as if alive for a moment, then settling to motionlessness.
The three goddesses approached Harry, each laying a hand on him. Macha rested her hand on his left shoulder. Babd laid her hand atop his head and Nemain let her hand rest on his right shoulder.
"With heart and hand the blessing conferred," they said. A final strike of lightning lit the room and then there was a weighty silence where the wind but whispered outside.
"If you drink this," Nemain paused and held the bottle before Harry's face.
The glow it gave off made him look deathly pale.
"If you drink this," she said again, "naught shall be the same. He," she jerked her chin towards Severus, "will be your blood, your father, and nothing we can do will change it back again. This is a great step off your path, Harry Potter," she warned.
"But they won't have to look after me anymore?" Harry asked, pointing to Petunia. "Just him? I mean the Professor?"
"It takes a village to raise a child, young Harry. Severus will not have to do this alone," Nemain said.
"And…" Harry looked to Severus, to the goddesses and back. "You really want me, Professor?"
"Mister Potter," Severus scowled at him. "I don't bleed for just anyone." It wasn't the answer Harry wanted, but it was good enough.
"Okay," Harry said. He took the potion bottle, nearly too big for his hands to hold, and swirled it around a bit. "It smells like toothpaste," he said after an experimental sniff. "And spinach," he wrinkled his nose in distaste. "And an overripe banana."
"Drink of your own free will, Harry Potter," the sisters said in unison, removing their hands from him. "And drink all of it."
"Here goes," Harry muttered under his breath, trying to knock back the potion in one go. It took three tries, chugging the thick potion down, for Harry to empty the vial.
"Ew," Harry said. "That tasted awful."
Lightning flashed and thunder roared again, lighting up the Hut on the Rock and the pleased smiles of the three goddesses. Macha clapped her hands together and chuckled.
Harry's stomach was warm, the warmth spreading through him like the warmth of a bonfire on a cold day.
"I feel funny," he said aloud. He turned to look at Petunia and opened his mouth to say something. "Oh. Wait." He turned, head and body towards Severus. "It feels warm, sir," he said. "Like… like a fire in my tummy."
"I have no basis of knowledge in this potion, Mr. Potter, but I would think that their reaction," he indicated the trio of sisters with a wave of his hand, "means it is a good thing."
"You can call me 'Harry', ya know?" Harry looked down at Severus' shoes. "We're a family now."
"Indeed you are, young Harry," Nemain said.
"Indeed," Babd echoed.
"It is done," Macha said softly. Again she gave a little laugh. She approached Harry and knelt before him again. "Congratulations, young Harry. I welcome you to Morgana's line, as your Father before you," she glanced up to Severus, who arched an eyebrow again but remained otherwise impassive. "Know that you are loved, are watched over, and will do great things."
"Thank you, ma'am," Harry said.
Macha opened her arms to him, smiling with all her might. "Welcome to the family, my boy," she said.
Harry inched forward and tentatively wrapped his skinny arms around her shoulders. Macha hugged him tightly until he relaxed in her arms and returned the hug.
There was a snuffling noise as Harry's eyes began to water, tears falling freely down his cheeks.
"I dunno why I'm crying," Harry said as he stepped back from Macha's embrace. She held his shoulders loosely as he swiped tears from his face. "I'm sorry," he hurried to apologize. "I don't know what's wrong with me."
Severus rolled his eyes as the boy scrubbed harshly at his face. "Goodness sake, boy," Severus mumbled and gave a gusty sigh. "You've been blessed by goddesses. You're allowed to be a little emotional." He conjured a handkerchief and handed it to Harry.
Harry wiped his face and dabbed at his nose.
"Merlin save me from stubborn children," Severus grumbled. He took the handkerchief and pressed it to Harry's nose. "Blow properly so you're not getting snot everywhere, child."
Harry did as he was told, smiling when Severus pulled the used handkerchief away from his face and vanished it in mid-air.
Macha stood, releasing Harry, and moved back to her sisters.
"Can I go back to my family now?" Petunia demanded, drawing the attention of both the deities and the newly-formed family alike.
The sister goddesses shared a conversation in glances and mental speech.
"You, Petunia Dursley, will leave this place and never again speak of your nephew," Nemain told her.
A flick of her wand shot a bright blue orb that smacked rather forcefully into Petunia's chest. Harry moved to try and help her balance and she pulled away further as if his touch was poisoned.
"You will always remember him, but never speak of him," Macha said, scowling at her. "You will know that he is loved, well cared for, and a miracle beyond your knowing."
Babd cut in, "But you cannot utter his name again."
"Fine by me," Petunia spat, glaring at Harry. "You'll see, boy," she said snapped at Harry. "You're a freak and that's all you'll ever be!"
Harry visibly deflated, curling in on himself at Petunia's harsh words. "Am not a freak," he mumbled. He looked up to Severus. "I'm not a freak."
"Of course, you aren't, dear boy," Nemain assured him, glaring in warning at Petunia. "You're just Harry."
"Just Harry," he echoed her words and gave a weak smile.
"The hour is all but gone," Macha said. "Our time grows short."
"Ah yes." Nemain held out a hand to Babd and her other to Macha. "Now, we say farewell."
"G'bye, then," Harry said. He inches closer to Severus as Petunia grumbled unintelligibly under her breath, glaring at him.
"In this dark and magical hour, we have summoned and stirred this power. To the West, the South, the East, and North: go you now and set forth. We say 'blessed be' and farewell to all, to the spirits that answered our call. Your blessing we ask for this new family. And as we will, so shall it be!"
As sudden as their entrance, so was their exit; a flash of white lit the room and when it dimmed to nothingness and the trio of goddesses was gone.
"Good riddance," Petunia said, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Mind yourself, woman." Severus' tone was heavy with unspoken threats. "I am going to sleep here tonight."
"Hmph." Petunia sneered at him. "We're not giving up our bed. You can take the floor."
Petunia stalked back to where Dudley and Vernon were, ushering them both towards the stairs of the loft.
"We are going to bed." She paused long enough to snatch the pillow and blanket from the couch. "Keep your freakishness down here," she snapped. She started pushing Dudley when he didn't move.
"I want to sleep on a magic bed!" Dudley insisted.
"No, you don't, darling," Petunia told him. "You don't want anything to do with them."
She shoved him more forcefully towards the stairs. She kicked the no-longer flopping fish out of the way to ascend the stairs in the wake of Veron and Dudley.
"Good riddance to bad rubbish," Severus muttered.
"Um, sir?" Harry gave his outer robe a gentle tug. "Where are you going to sleep? I mean, Dudley had the couch and there aren't any more beds."
"And where were you sleeping?" Severus asked.
"In front of the fireplace," Harry answered quietly, face burning with embarrassment. "But it's fine! The embers were still…"
Severus held up a hand to forestall any further information. "I shall transfigure beds for both of us." Severus took a cushion from the back of the couch and set it on the floor near the wall.
"I can sleep on the couch if that's easier?" Harry offered.
Severus took a look at the threadbare blanket left on the floor before the fireplace and scowled. "No child of mine is sleeping on the couch when we have magic at our disposal," he said firmly.
"Yes, sir." Harry looked to his shoes because he could not keep a smile from his face. The professor had called him his child!
If Severus noticed Harry's glee, he made no motion to acknowledge it. Instead, he turned his attention back to the ratty couch cushion.
"Forment de lectulo(4)," Severus said as he swirled his wand twice in the air and flicked it twice towards the pillow.
Harry watched with great interest as the pillow began to swell and elongate. Legs popped into existence at the bottom of the growing mattress. It rattled across the floor as it finally stretched and came to a stop. A pillow popped into view with another flick of Severus' wand, followed by a plain quilt.
"Wicked!" Harry whispered, looking back and forth between Severus and the bed. "Can I learn that one?"
"I do not teach Transfiguration," Severus said, "and I am not about to give you my wand."
"Do you need a wand to do magic?" Harry asked.
"You do, typically. Hand me another pillow, Mister Potter." Severus held out a hand, waiting for him to move. "Well?" he demanded turning towards Harry to see why he dallied.
"My name is Harry, sir," he reminded Severus. He clutched a cushion to his chest so that it nearly obscured his face. "Just Harry."
"Harry," Severus put great emphasis on his name and held out a hand for the cushion again, "may I please have the cushion so that I may transfigure you a bed?"
"Here you go, sir!" Harry gave him the cushion with a small smile.
Severus took the offered cushion and tossed it to the floor next to the newly-made bed.
"Forment de lectulo!" Severus repeated the spell to the same effect. "Now, Pott-" He cut himself off at Harry's immediate frown. "Harry." Severus corrected himself tersely, rolling his eyes when Harry beamed a smile at him. "We will get changed and go to bed."
"What do I do about the cake?" Harry picked up the box and grinned at his name still visible in green icing.
"The box should keep it from going off before morning," Severus told him, flicking his wand to levitate the cake box to beside the second bed. "Is that what you're sleeping in?" Severus dipped his head towards Harry's oversized shirt and baggy shorts.
"Yes?" Harry looked down at his secondhand outfit. "It's what I have."
"Very well," Severus said. He removed his outer robe and draped it over the back of the couch.
Harry climbed into the second bed, settling down quickly under the quilt and turning to face the other bed. He watched as Severus unbuttoned the cuffs of his shirt and undid the top button of his collar.
"I did not bring nightclothes, so I will be sleeping as is." Severus pulled back the quilt and looked over at Harry. "Do you need something?" he asked him.
"No, sir," Harry said, watching Severus sit down on the other bed and take off his shoes.
Severus got into bed and laid down, tucking his wand under the pillow before pulling the quilt over him. "Go to sleep," he said, keeping his back to the wall. "Tomorrow will be a busy day." He waited a few long moments until Harry shut his eyes and snuggled down in the quilt. He pulled his wand out and cast a basic ward around their sleeping space.
"Good night, sir," Harry murmured, drifting off to sleep with a smile on his face.