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I hope you enjoy :) please be warned of implied child abuse and SB/RL implied coupling;
Severus Snape felt like his life had turned upside down, and in many ways – it had!
Here he was in his arch enemy's bed, snuggled against his chest trying to find the will power to move.
He had woken up hot, his little cheek pressed against the older man's naked chest. He heard the deep and consistent ba-dum ba-dum of the man's heart, assuring Severus that he remained asleep. He felt… safe? That couldn't be right… and if it was, it was due to this infernal, pathetic baby body he was trapped in.
The sun light shone in through the large bay window of Black's bedroom and heated the rear of Snape's head, the silky hair shining in the early morning light.
He experimentally rolled his body away from Black but was gripped tightly and apparently automatically by Sirius around his little torso. He wiggled away from the tight grip, uncomfortable and suddenly cold despite his romper. Oh, for Merlin's sake Black, let go of me this instant you filthy overgrown mutt! You're hurting me on purpose and I'm cold now! He kicked his legs in fury and his arms followed suit automatically. Snape momentarily completely gave in to his infantilised brain and threw the biggest tantrum he possibly could.
Sirius woke up groggily to an angry Snape, he looked down at the baby, his little face was red and scrunched up angrily, eyes screwed shut, nose scrunched up, his silky baby hair flopped around him in an adorable crown and his little fists were curled tightly and flying in every direction, his little pointy heels occasionally colliding with his lower abs. The baby was gurgling and crying angrily but Sirius sat in shock when he realised he could make some words out.
"Bla! Keee! Wahhhhhhhhhhhhhh! No!" Snape spat out angrily, meaning to say; Black you better move right now! I'm cold and my nappy is wet again! I don't want to be stuck here with an insufferable moron who can't take care of a potions master genius!
"Did you just say what I think you did Snape?" Sirius murmured down to the angry tot in an amused voice, raising himself up on one elbow for a better look at Snape "Are we going to go by Black… really?" Sirius continued in a patronising voice which angered Snape further.
You are a bastard and I hate you! Snape screamed in frustration, his little body wiggling on the mattress in sheer anger. However, Snape hadn't realised his little body couldn't manage to keep up with the emotions he was going through and he was suddenly so upset he couldn't stop crying. Sirius moved into a sitting position and sighed, watching the tantrum unfold.
Snape was so beside himself in misery that he allowed Black to lift him and rock him gently. He listened as Sirius murmured soft, sweet baby nonsense to him. And when he had calmed down sufficiently, he allowed the man to move his little head onto Black's strong shoulder, and curled his little legs to straddle the larger man in a cuddle, while Sirius rubbed his back gently.
Merlin, he's hard work thought Sirius, not wanting to disturb the little psyhco any further now he had finally calmed himself down.
"Now, let's get you ready for the day lad" Sirius said with a few firm pats on the back before he began walking into Snape's 'nursery'. The no nonsense approach the man took to changing the baby made it very difficult for Snape to complain, but he tried anyway because he wasn't a quitter in any shape or form!
Black leave me be! I can sort myself out, I want my dignity god damn it! Wahhhhh that's cold! What are you doing down there?!
The baby reacted angrily to the thick cream Sirius plastered on his genitals and upper legs, in hope of counteracting the terrible nappy rash which appeared to have gotten worse over-night. Poppy had said that Snape's body would behave how it had down when he was this age the first time around. Either Snape had some skin disorder, or he had been severely neglected at this age. Bile rose to Sirius' throat and he looked at Snape in pity.
How dare you look at me like that! How dare you think you're better than me! I'll kill you when I'm old enough you bastard Snape cried angrily at Sirius, who only heard "Ba tud".
Sirius looked sharply at Snape then, recognising the swear word. "Snape, you speak like that to me again and I'll scrub your mouth with soap!" Sirius growled angrily but continued "It's not my fault you were neglected as a child. I'm sorry that happened, but you're getting taken care of now so just deal with it!" he continued, his volume rising until he was shouting at the end. The baby lying in front of him levelled a glare which would have terrified first years if on the adult's face, but Sirius watched the lip wobble dangerously and to avoid another tremendous meltdown he quickly accio'd a dummy and shoved it unceremoniously into the little trembling mouth.
Snape was surprised when his tantrum ahem he meant his lecture was interrupted by a foreign object being shoved into his little mouth. He was too weak to prevent the invasive thing, but suddenly realised he didn't want to get rid of it. His little tongue moved along the teat of the dummy and he automatically suckled at it, finding comfort in this he continued the motion and marvelled by how wonderful it felt. He was vaguely feeling guilty for having the object but was unsure why. Black had given it to him; therefore it must be ok, right? It must be age appropriate too. He was battling against his logical adult brain and his weak childish one, and he eventually allowed the baby brain to win momentarily, just because he liked the sensation of suckling on the dummy in his mouth.
Sirius was overjoyed when the little potions master accepted the dummy and didn't spit it out. He took the momentary reprieve to get Snape dressed for the day. The older house was draughty, and he didn't want to accidentally give Snape a cold and kill him on day 2 of daddy day care(!)
He sealed the nappy on the baby, and summoned a long-sleeved white baby grow along with super soft knitted grey trousers and a thin navy striped jumper. He noted the bare feet of the tot and summoned some warm navy woollen socks as well. Before putting them on the baby Sirius remembered Lily used to use a spell on Harry's clothing to warm it up before putting it on him and therefore, using "Lily Logic" as they used to call it, he applied the same spell to the clothing for Snape.
Snape had been vaguely aware that Black was preparing to dress him but was still absorbed with the sensation of the dummy in his mouth. He was finally distracted when he heard Black utter a warming spell on the clothing before putting it on him and he was immediately reminded of Lily doing this for him in second year after she realised Sev's clothing was always too thin to warm him in the winter. Severus was suddenly overcome by both the gesture by Black, but also the memory of his Lily and he started to sob.
Sirius looked at the baby in alarm, he had watched the infant's face move from shock, the little beetle coloured eyes widening, small ebony eyebrows raising, and the little red lips form a small "o" of shock, to the baby sobbing. Snape's eyebrows had collapsed in knitted desperation, his eyes scrunched, and his mouth tore open in sheer agony. At first Sirius thought he had done the spell wrong and burned the baby, but he realised quickly that Snape was simply being a brat, making life hard for him for sport.
He rolled his eyes dramatically at the screeching baby, hauled him up roughly under his little delicate armpits and dumped him not so gently into the 'play pen' in the room. "Right, Snape, stop your snivelling; you're dry, warm and dressed. Give me 2 minutes to get showered and changed and we'll have breakfast, okay?" he stated to the general direction of the crib with a sigh. Snape continued to screech in anger and Sirius turned on his heel muttering "Ungrateful brat" under his breath and walked towards his room.
Snape, who had taken great offence at what had just been said to him, particularly the words snivelling and brat, had nearly rolled over in anger. He screamed at the top of his lungs, not saying anything in his own voice or the baby voice, merely wanting Black to suffer and feel an ounce of how he felt. He was suddenly aware that a silencing spell had been placed over the prison he had been forced into and he was livid. This quickly turned to something like heartbreak at being ignored and then eventually fear.
What if he forgets he put me here? Snape thought in a panic. What if he remembers he put me here but leaves me here anyway?! He thought in double alarm.
Sirius meanwhile was blissfully oblivious to the sounds of the screeching brat in the other room. He leisurely showered and dressed, taking 15 minutes in total, hoping Snape would have calmed himself down or wised himself up!
He was therefore alarmed when he entered the nursery that had become Snape's room and flicked the spell off the crib and heard the heartbroken sobs from the baby "Siwi gasp Siwi gasp siwi ussssssssa! Swee - us!" Snape cried, sitting on his bottom in the crib with his legs sprawled in front of him. His little arms reached out ahead of him blindly towards the edge of the crib and shook with every breath the baby dragged into his little lungs. His face was red and shining in tears, snot had clumped under his little nose and his top was drenched in tears. His face was scrunched up in sorrow and Sirius immediately felt terrible.
He stood motionless in the doorway for a nanosecond taking the scene in before he jumped into action. He scooped the child up immediately and held him close to his chest, shushing him and gently bouncing him in his arms. The child barely noticed he was there and continued to sob. These cries were different to the angry ones before, and Sirius knew he had fucked up badly. He walked to the rocking chair in the room and gently repositioned the baby in his arms, he spelled Snape's jumper clean and dry and summoned one of his own fresh t shirts and transfigured it into a comfort blanket for the child. He anticipated Snape pushing it away in anger but when he tucked it round the child he seemed to relax. He apologised to the child over and over, repeating that it was his fault and he was going to make it right.
Sirius also summoned the dummy which he manoeuvred into Sev's little mouth and was suckled on immediately.
"Come on Severus, I'm sorry pup. Let's go downstairs and have some nice yummy breakfast together huh?" Sirius tried brightly, but the baby only levelled him a wary stare, somehow this was worse than the usual glare.
Snape had completely lost control of himself in the big emotions for his tiny body. He was overcome with anger and heartbreak and the memories of neglect from his previous childhood. He stared at Black with no emotion, which had been his usual go to when he was mistreated by his father, after he had stopped trying to earn his father's love and approval.
Downstairs Sirius had fixed the bottle with a calming draught and nutrient potion for Snape. He was trying to coax the baby into breakfast, attempting to move the dummy from his mouth but to no avail. Snape clamped down on the object and swiped at Sirius when his hand tried to forcibly remove the pacifier from the piranha like mouth. "Mine!" Snape shouted around the dummy as best as he could making Sirius snort in laughter.
"Ok it's yours, but can I show you what I got with it?" Sirius asked conspiratorially to the toddler, producing a little silver chain which attached to the dummy easily and clipped (at the other end) to the clothing the child was wearing. Sirius quickly marked the dummy with an S shaped like a snake and plonked it from his mouth to show Snape. There was a hint of a smile on the baby's lips which pleased Sirius intensely. He showed the little one the clip and dramatically dropped the dummy off the side of them to show it wouldn't fall too far.
Snape had whimpered when his favourite new item had disappeared from view and was devastated momentarily before Sirius placed the silver chain in his hands and he realised how it worked. "Well I don't know why you're so proud of yourself Black, it's rudimentary magic to entertain infant dunderheads" Snape snarked, Sirius hearing the happy babbling of the child instead.
30 minutes later Snape had been wrestled into finishing a bottle and was currently sitting on the floor of the living room on a warm blanket inside the prison ahem play pen. Sirius had transfigured a few toys to keep Snape's attention, a little cube with shapes to be pushed into and some empty plastic coloured tubes which changed colour when interacted with. Snape quickly worked out that a shake of one changed the colour, and a squeeze of another worked the same way. "Clever lad" Sirius had said to the baby without thinking, placing an affectionate hand on the head of the potions master.
Snape had been in shock from not only the items Sirius thought to provide him with, but the compliment, and his little body filled with delight and pride at the compliment (despite his inner monologue calling himself an idiot!).
Sirius earlier had ensured Snape wasn't watching him, busy with the toys in the room, and had asked Poppy to come see them urgently. There was something strange with the baby which Sirius couldn't work out. The sudden fits of emotion were one of the things, but the clear growth spurt and talking was another. He needed expert assistance and it wasn't long before she entered via the floo in the kitchen.
"Severus, I'm going to grab something from the kitchen, I'll be a moment and then I'm coming back" he called over his shoulder.
Snape was on his feet immediately and wobbly, crying after Black before he realised. He was embarrassed but couldn't control himself or stop the crying or pathetic longing for the man to return.
Sirius didn't like ignoring the child's cries but determined to help him he met Poppy and half dragged her with him.
"He's been crying uncontrollably Poppy, any little thing sets him off. He's also grew and he's saying words now! I don't think I'm the right person for this Poppy, he needs more care than I can give him" Sirius finished in a hurt whisper, smoothing his immaculate hair self consciously.
"Let me examine him Sirius, why don't you get some rest and I'll come get you soon?" Poppy suggested, looking at the young man who was dead on his feet.
"Poppy I think he's also constipated" Sirius called over his shoulder intending to go to bed for a rest, not seeing the impressed look on the matron's face. He must be taking good care of him to notice all these little things Poppy smiled proudly, and turned to the source of noise in the living room, hands on her hips she fixed Severus with a firm smile and announced "Nana Poppy is here to make you better Sevvy!"
"fuh kk" the baby whispered, fooling no-one with the lisped swear word.
Poppy woke Sirius a while later with her report. Snape had definitely aged, Sirius was correct. He was around 13 months old now. The growth spurts and the mixture of his memories and adult feelings in the tiny body, along with a few teeth which had came in over night, meant Sirius was handling a very volatile little one.
"I think if he had been in anyone else's company he would have been far worse though Sirius, you obviously are managing him well" Poppy complimented him.
"Now, I've left the medicine for his little issue on the sideboard, but I've already given him enough that if he's holding anything in it will all come out soon! Keep up with the pain potions, calming draughts and the nutrient potions because his next growth spurt may be a bad one" Poppy said, grimacing to Sirius over the sleeping form of the baby. "Severus was hospitalised for a severe "incident" when he was 2 years old Sirius, his parents said he fell down the stairs but… Well, I've never seen injuries like those. I thought it would be helpful for you to read his file. It might give you a better idea of how to care for him" Poppy sighed and left a chunky pile of papers on the kitchen table.
It was afternoon time; Severus would be waking from his nap soon for lunch and more mischief Sirius thought to himself. Hopefully Remus would join him for dinner this evening, as they usually did on a Friday. It was Halloween this weekend and he had hoped they would spend it together for a mini feast; however it was looking less likely with Snape now.
"I'll leave you to it Sirius, the order is meeting this evening. I'll see if I can pop by on Saturday to see how he is progressing hm?" Sirius just nodded gratefully in response and watched the medi-witch leave.
Sirius glanced into the travel cot which Snape was currently asleep in, it levitated from room to room if needed which was a great benefit when you couldn't trust a baby to be alone.
He decided to begin to prepare a light lunch for them both, Snape getting mash potato and gravy and Sirius having a BLT. The smells of lunch filled the kitchen and Sirius realised it wasn't only his stomach which was grumbling, he walked over to the baby who was lying flat on his back but rubbing his eyes tiredly. "Well hello little one, did you enjoy that nap?" Sirius asked annoying Snape instantly who glared at him. "Oh ho ho! We are grumpy when we first wake up aren't we?" Sirius crowed and turned back to preparing lunch to allow the child to wake himself gradually.
Snape lay in the cot for a moment clutching his stomach which was grumbling wildly. He wasn't feeling good and he wanted out of this infernal prison. Sirius let me out this instance! He called to the man's back, Sirius only hearing "Siwi up". Sirius smiled at the boy indulgently and lifted him up and into a highchair at the table, ignoring the irritated grumblings from Snape.
As he sat in the chair Snape was even more aware of his stomachache. He whimpered and grumbled, clutching his tummy in a miserable way.
Lunch was a difficult affair; Snape was hungry and wanted to eat but his stomach had other ideas. He cried and pushed the spoon away numerous times, only eating a quarter of the meal in front of him. Sirius knew Snape had been intentionally holding back on his toilet habits and he understood why but this was no time to be proud. The potion Poppy had given him would make Snape poop whether he wanted to or not! That would be a shit show Sirius would deal with later, pun intended!
After lunch, Snape was allowed to play again. He sat mutinously in the corner clutching his tummy and ignoring all the attempts Sirius made to play with him. As evening came closer and dinner was attempted and swatted from his hands by Snape, the order members began arriving and Sirius was aware that the toddler was in pain and sweating. He decided to speak to Snape.
"Snape listen, I know you're uncomfortable and I know why" he said, levelling the child with a knowing look which made Snape red in the face in embarrassment. "Listen lad, I don't want to do this anymore than I'm here to take care of you" he said softly with as much compassion he could muster. He was trying not to laugh at the situation as he was said if the roles were reversed, he would be just as stubborn.
Snape's evening bottle was warmed, and Sirius made a last-minute decision to add further laxative to the mixture. He attended the meeting with Snape on his knee. He was clearly uncomfortable to be viewed by so many of the order members as a helpless brat, but he put on his best brave face and sat (with Black's assistance) through the meeting, his little back against Sirius' front.
Some time passed before he became bored and the words were making less sense to him. He was agitated and Sirius presented the bottle to him lips without hesitation. Moving the toddler around to lie down for his final meal Snape conceded, mostly due to tiredness allowing his baby brain to overtake his adult one. He was warm and comfortable in Black's arms, suckling milk greedily. He realised he was very hungry, having refused most foods all day and the bottle tasted nice and agreed with his tummy.
Snape had finished most of the bottle and was sleeping lightly when he felt his stomach sharply knot and unknot. He hardly had a chance to react before his bowels had acted in accordance with the potion. Sirius had spelled the nappy for Severus to make sure no leaks were possible, as he suspected this would be a tough night for him. He had also taken Poppy's advice of adding a scent blocker to the nappy as she believed this would help Severus feel less self-conscious.
Snape lay on Black's knee mortified as the potion continued to work. He felt like he had been pooping for hours and was so uncomfortable in his mess. Several minutes later, Snape felt like the sensation had stopped and breathed in uncomfortably. He was grateful no smell reached his nose, and no noise had brought attention to him over the noise in the room.
He looked up at Black from his position laying in his arms and tried to convey he needed urgent attention, but Sirius was in deep conversation with Lupin beside him. Sirius was giving the werewolf all the best charming smiles and one liners, one hand on the man's leg under the table and Severus was instantly jealous and furious. Here he was lying in his own waste while Black tried to get into Lupin's threadbare pants!
He let out a frustrated cry and kicked a leg up, which only made him more uncomfortable in his position lying flat. He whimpered miserably.
Sirius I need you to help me urgently please! I've went to the toilet and I'm really uncomfortable Snape called, Sirius heard the babbling of "Se wee… me! ... Yuck!" and realised instantly what had happened. He looked down at the baby in his arms and seen that the child was mortified and devastated. He lifted him instantly so his face was hidden in Black's chest and he heard Black whisper in his ear "I know Snape, don't worry I'll get you cleaned up now", rubbing his little back in comfort.
Sirius excused himself from the meeting while Snape hung limping against this shoulder.
Once they were upstairs Sirius got to work instantly, he stripped the baby save for the full nappy and moved him into the main bathroom down the hall where another changing table was perched. Sirius lay Snape down and gently undid the nappy, the stench hitting them both instantly. It was horrendous but the embarrassment was so much worse for Snape. He avoided eye contact with Sirius completely while he was stripped and moved into a baby bath. He sat in silence, red faced and allowed Black to clean him.
When they returned to the changing table Severus realised, he was crying silently in humiliation. Sirius' gentle touch made it even worse. They worked in silence which Snape was grateful for.
PJs were selected for Snape, a midnight blue onesie with shooting stars. The stars moved across the fabric and Snape was distracted by the magic on his clothing. He had never had clothing like this as a child. He whimpered slightly in awe.
"Now Severus, you're nice and clean again. Do you want to wait up here until the order leave?" Sirius asked him knowingly.
Sev nodded slightly, looking down again and red faced.
Sirius just scooped the baby up easily and said, "Well then, what about a story while we wait hmm?" He walked them back to him own room, where he settled into a comfortable leather chair which was pooled in light from a nearby reading lamp and accio'd a children's book from his own collection; Babbity Rabbity and her cackling stump.
He tucked Snape up in the blanket he had transfigured earlier and transfigured a nearly quill into a small plush dog for Snape to cuddle with. He wasn't surprised when the baby cuddled it and they settled in for a story, they had just had a traumatic experience together and needed the quality time alone.
"Cozy Severus?" Sirius asked and was rewarded with a mewling coo from the tot "Alright then lad, let's begin" he murmured beginning the story and cuddling the child close.
Well I think Sev and Sirius are starting to get closer? I'm hoping for a fluffy Halloween chapter next, any suggestions for baby Sev's costume will be considered if you want to submit them!
Thanks again for the support and please review if you can!