Author's Note: Sorry this is a week late but these last two weeks were too hectic for me to write during. I'm hoping to get back on schedule this week.
A Memory Found
by: Mystical Dragon
Dumbledore, standing alone outside of the entrance to Hogwarts, waited for Ivan to show up with Draco and Severus. He wasn't sure what to do with Draco. Reprimanding him had been Dumbledore's first idea but the words Draco had spoken to him only a few days ago still haunted him. And Draco was no longer a child; he was eighteen, mentally if not physically. Dumbledore was going to treat him like an adult. He was determined not to mess up with Draco like he had with Severus.
But how was he going to convince Draco that what Draco had done was dangerous and he could have gotten himself killed? At least it all seemed to be working out right. Should he just let it go? He certainly 'forgot' about any misdeeds Harry did. And Harry had almost gotten himself killed several times. Dumbledore decided to be honest and admit that he had been worried about Draco just as he'd been worried about Severus.
Spotting a large dark green Muggle truck coming his way, Dumbledore raised an eyebrow. What were Muggles doing on Hogwarts grounds?
A short, black haired little boy with silver framed glasses was driving the thing while an older boy with long messy blonde hair was pointing out the way to go. Severus? Draco? He hadn't known Severus needed glasses. Yet another thing he had failed Severus on; feelings of guilt tugged at him.
As the truck came closer, Dumbledore spotted designs on the truck; dragons. Little ones and large ones were drawn all over it. They were very realistic looking but many of them did not actually exist.
The truck stopped and both doors opened. Ivan quickly slipped out of the truck, he had been too short for Dumbledore to have seen before. Severus slowly got of the truck and hid behind the door until Draco was out. He stayed behind Draco while Draco shut the door and together they nervously approached Dumbledore.
"Hello," Draco said, rubbing his hands together. "This is my little brother, Severus. We were wondering if we could stay here for awhile. You mentioned that we could."
"Of course," Dumbledore agreed, having been filled in on Draco's supposed use of the time turner to attend Hogwarts while still being with Severus at all times. "Come to my office and we can talk," Dumbledore said pleasantly, trying to put Draco and Severus at ease. "I would love to get to know your brother."
Draco grinned. "He's great, Professor. I'm sure you'll love him." Turning slightly, he looked down at his brother. "Sevvie, get your backpack," he said warmly.
"I'll get it," Ivan said and a backpack appeared in his hands. "Here you go Jacenty," Ivan said as he moved behind Draco and helped Severus put it on.
Dumbledore turned on his heel and slowly walked to his office, listening to the conversation behind him.
"Is he mad?" Severus's soft voice asked anxiously.
Before Draco could answer Dumbledore's cheerful voice broke in. "I'm very glad you brought Severus here. I was worried about both of you." Looking back over his shoulder, he added quietly. "I do hope you like it here Severus. Hogwarts is a nice place."
"See," Draco said. "He's not mad. He's happy we're here."
Once seated behind his desk, Dumbledore gazed at Draco and Severus, who were sharing a seat, and noticed their clothes. Draco was wearing heavy black jeans that had seen quite a bit of wear and a bright yellow shirt while Severus was wearing dark red pants, a dark blue jacket type shirt, and black slippers; all of which had silver... a silver something embroidered on them.
"Turtle," Draco grinned. "All his clothes have animals embroidered on them. My favorites are the dragon and snake clothes, of course."
"What are your favorites?" Dumbledore asked Severus.
Severus leaned back, trying to hide, and shrugged his thin shoulders.
"Dumbledore was in Gryffindor house," Draco said. "Harry Potter's house."
Dumbledore glanced at Draco. He didn't detect any hint of malice, jealously, or anger when Draco said Harry's name. That was big change.
"Can I get off the Quidditch team?" Draco asked suddenly. "With Sevvie here, I don't want to spend the time practicing. And I need to work on my other sports and interests."
Intrigued, Dumbledore leaned back. "What other interests?"
"Well," Draco said with a fond smile. "Swimming, rock climbing, hiking, flying, woodworking, stuff like that."
"It sounds like you enjoyed staying with the Lestranges," Dumbledore said softly.
Draco nodded his head, running a hand through his rather unkempt hair. "I did. Mom and Dad left me alone mostly. Me and Sevvie spent most of our time together."
"Were you two ever apart?" Dumbledore asked.
"Barely," Draco said, his voice stern. "Never. When classes start, can he attend with me? He won't cause trouble or anything," Draco asserted, putting a hand on Severus' leg.
"Of course," Dumbledore said with a small smile, inside his heart sank as he realized how close Draco and Severus were. There wasn't room for anyone else.
"There is room for you," said a hissing voice in his ear. Dumbledore would have jumped if he hadn't recognized Ivan's voice. Dumbledore hadn't realized the elf was nowhere to be seen. Neither Severus or Draco heard Ivan, they were busy trying to get the backpack off Severus. "You can be Severus's friend. Draco will let you. Or even his father, if you wish. Draco wants to use Dimitrius for that but I think you would like to be it instead. Yes?"
Dumbledore nodded his head.
"I will talk with Draco," Ivan said and then appeared by the chair Severus and Draco were sitting in. Neither one of them noticed it. They were probably used to Ivan popping in and out of sight.
"This is a scrapbook of Severus and me," Draco said, pulling out a black hard backed spiral book. "I thought you might like to look through it. Give it to him, Sev."
Severus took the book and shyly handed it to the Headmaster, blushing when Dumbledore looked at him. He was shy! Dumbledore had always known Severus was a bit shy but now he was painfully shy.
Smiling gently, Dumbledore opened the book and began to flip through it, asking questions about each picture. Maybe Draco having gone to be with Severus had been a good idea, he mused. Severus looked up to Draco and Draco enjoyed the 'big brother' role. The pictures really made it seem like Severus and Draco were brothers. Before long, Draco and Severus were standing beside him and Severus was talking a mile a minute. Once he got comfortable, he was a talker.
"And that's when Draco dyed my hair blue!" Severus said, sounding quite scandalized. "Can you believe he did that to me!? His own brother."
"It was an accident!" Draco defended himself.
Severus shook his head, disgusted.
"Never play a joke on him or have an accident around him," Draco said lightly. "And warn the Weasley twins about that. He takes great exception to it. Of course," Draco mumbled, scowling darkly at Severus, "Sevvie here likes to experiment on me with his newest potion."
Severus put his hands on his hips, looking very serious. "I have to know if the potions work!"
Draco playfully snarled at him and swatted his backside. "You just be careful. I'd rather not turn green again for an entire week while at school."
Severus giggled. "That was an accident."
"And dying your hair blue was an accident," Draco said.
Severus looked uncomfortable. "I know. I just don't like people looking at me like I'm weird."
Dumbledore noticed how Draco's face softened and he lightly hugged Severus to him. "I know. If your leg was broken you wouldn't say anything about it if too many people were around, would you?"
Severus blushed and since he didn't protest Dumbledore took it as agreement.
"I'm going to have to watch you," Draco said. "And Professor Dumbledore," he said, looking at him, "don't give Severus chocolate. He's allergic to it."
Severus looked defeated, his shoulders slumping. "Mmm!" he muttered.
"He also is very fond of chocolate," Draco smiled.
Another two things Dumbledore hadn't known but given the disappointment on Severus's face, Dumbledore wondered if Severus would have even told him he was allergic to chocolate if he'd known. He seriously doubted it which made Dumbledore feel slightly better.
Dumbledore was going to have to corner Ivan about Severus being turned back into an adult. Should they do it already or wait until...
"When Jacenty is ready," came Ivan's hissing whisper in his ear. "I will turn him into an adult when he is ready to become one again. Not yet."
Dumbledore slightly nodded his head, wondering how Ivan would know when. Ivan seemed to be able to read people's thoughts so he'd probably be able to tell when it was time.
"Do you have any pictures you've drawn?" Dumbledore asked. He knew Severus drew, but he'd never shared them with Dumbledore.
Severus nodded his head and a folder appeared on the desk. "That's my frog research paper. I just finished it last week and I illustrated it."
Interested, Dumbledore opened the folder. The title was simple 'Frogs', and the author's name, strangely enough, was Jacenty Raskov.
"Why this name?" Dumbledore asked. Did Severus remember his past?
Severus shrugged. "That' what Ivan tells me to write. He says that's my name. It should be Severus Lestrange but Mom and Dad think using Jacenty Raskov is a good idea too and now I'm glad I use Jacenty Raskov instead since I had to leave Mom and Dad," he said, his voice quavering.
Draco slipped an arm around his shoulders. "It's okay, Sevvie."
Dumbledore was pleased about the name, especially since they could introduce Severus as Jacenty Raskov instead of Severus and no one, including Severus himself, would get suspicious. Dumbledore was worried about how upset Severus was. Leaving the Lestranges had certainly been a very hard decision for him to make.
"Severus," Dumbledore said softly. "I'm very proud you made the decision to leave the Lestranges. You're very brave."
Severus ducked his head, blushing scarlet. "No," he muttered. "I get scared lots."
"But you still do the things that are right," Dumbledore reminded him.
Severus looked embarrassed and Dumbledore decided to spare him. Maybe later they could talk more about it when Severus was more comfortable around him.
"Severus, I think using Jacenty instead of Severus around Hogwarts would be a good idea. We had a teacher named Severus, he's on vacation right now, and it would confuse the students. So use Jacenty or Jacek while you're here, okay."
"Okay," Severus shrugged. "Can I take notes in the classes I attend with Draco?"
Dumbledore looked at him, surprised he would want to do that. "If you want to you can."
"Good," Severus said, pleased. "I like taking notes. Well, actually, I draw my notes. I remember things better if I draw a picture instead of writing words down."
"Won't you get bored in the classes?" Dumbledore asked.
"Some classes he will be bored in," Draco said. "But some he will love. He'll just draw pictures in the classes that bore him."
Dumbledore flipped the page of Severus's 'research' paper and stared at the first page. The script was in italic, very nice script for a ten year old, and the picture was of a small green frog sitting on a large green leaf. The colors were very vibrant and glossy. Reading the paragraph, Dumbledore was quite amazed at the style. If he hadn't known it was a ten year old, Dumbledore would have assumed a teenager had written it.
"Did you help him?" Dumbledore asked.
Draco grinned widely, shaking his head, and patted Severus proudly on his head. "No, I didn't. Severus did it all himself."
Dumbledore smiled at Severus and began to read the paper. It was a paper dealing with the generalities of frogs. It didn't go into detail on any single species although on the last page was listed many species with space underneath each one for Severus to note if he had written a paper on them yet. He was about to start on researching poison arrow frogs. Dumbledore couldn't wait to see the illustrations that accompanied that one; this paper had some gorgeous ones.
"Very good, Severus," Dumbledore said truthfully. "How long did it take you to write that?"
"Six months," Severus said. "It takes me about six months to do my papers. I had one on dragons that I did before that. I'm going to have to redo that one some. I found some more information on dragons that I need to put in there."
"Muggle or Wizard dragons?" Dumbledore asked.
"Both," Severus said, his face quite serious. "They are both very interesting and maybe the Muggle dragons are real. Some of the creatures that Muggles write about we Wizards and Witches dismiss until we see them. Like Kappas and Hippogriffs. Muggles knew about them centuries before we did."
He had a point. There were probably many magical creatures that were yet to be found. Dumbledore didn't see any reason why Muggles couldn't see magical creatures just like Wizards and Witches.
"You like researching magical creatures?" Dumbledore asked.
"Some," Severus said, pushing his glasses up. "I like to read about all the magical creatures there are but I only want to research some. Like dragons, basilisks, werewolves and trolls."
"You know," Draco added, "the good ones," he said, smirking, though his smirk held none of the superiority it had always held before. This smirk was a mischievous one. "Are Vincent and Gregory around?" Draco asked.
Dumbledore shook his head. "No, they went home for the holidays. No Slytherin is left in Hogwarts, actually. Professor Logan has taken over being the Head of Slytherin again and he will be teaching Potions."
Draco smiled when Severus's ears pricked up. "Is there a Potion's lab here?" he asked.
Dumbledore nodded his head, his eyes twinkling. "A nice one too. Very orderly."
"Good," Severus said, his face stern. "I like order."
"You certainly do," Draco affirmed. "Even his sock drawer is orderly."
"If things are neat and in order then you can get to them real quick," Severus said, using an argument that he had once used on Dumbledore, when he had seen how disorderly Dumbledore's desk drawers were.
Dumbledore smiled fondly, recognizing a part of Severus's real personality he'd let slip as an adult. Dumbledore was going to have to remember how much Severus disliked disorder and try to respect that. He doubted if Severus would appreciate being teased for it.
"Well," Dumbledore decided, knowing how much everyone else wanted to see Severus and Draco, "let's go eat lunch in my rooms. There are some people that want to meet you, Severus," Dumbledore said gently, noticing Severus paling slightly. "As well as see Draco again."
"Is Harry Potter there?" Draco asked curiously.
"Yes, he is, along with Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Fred, George, all the Weasley's, Minerva, Dimitrius, Sirius, Remus, and Hagrid," Dumbledore finished.
Severus paled even worse.
"Don't worry, Sevvie, I'll protect you. And Harry Potter fought a basilisk, Remus Lupin is a werewolf, Hagrid is a half-giant, and Charlie Weasley takes care of dragons in Romania!"
Apparently, Severus's curiosity overrode his fear of such a large group and while he was still pale he didn't protest about having to eat with them all.
"I'll go first," Dumbledore said. He needed to warn everyone not to fuss over Severus. "And then you two follow after me in about two minutes."
Dumbledore got up and went through the door that led into to his private rooms. Everyone was anxiously waiting; when he came in alone their faces fell.
"Where's Severus?" Remus asked.
"Where's Snape?" Harry asked at the same time.
"They're coming," Dumbledore assured them. "They've both changed, especially Draco. Don't bother Severus much. He's very shy and leaving the Lestranges was extremely hard for him. Talk with Draco as much as you want but don't talk with Severus unless he talks to you first."
"All right," Remus agreed. "Should we start eating before they get in here?"
"Let's sit down," Dumbledore suggested and seated himself at the head of the very large table, indicating that the two chairs next to him should remain empty. He wanted Severus to sit between him and Draco to make him feel more comfortable.
Arthur Weasley sat next to the seat for Draco. None of the students believed Draco had changed and wouldn't risk sitting next to him. Dumbledore didn't blame them, he wouldn't have believed it either if he hadn't seen it, but hopefully they were in for a pleasant surprise.
The door opened and Draco came in, grinning at everyone, while Severus stayed hidden behind him. Ivan walked behind Severus, making it seem almost natural for Severus to be behind Draco.
Severus, seeing the seat next to Dumbledore, almost flew into it and slunk down in his seat, trying to hide. Draco sat next to him and Ivan conjured a stool to sit on between Arthur and Draco.
"Let's begin eating," Dumbledore said, noticing how everyone was staring at Draco.
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Harry stared at Draco, unable to believe what he was seeing. Not only was Draco wearing Muggle clothes correctly, but his hair was long and rather wild. Harry had never seen his hair any other way but slicked back. The change it made to Draco's face was rather remarkable: it was no longer arrogant and definitely no longer rat-like.
And Snape! He had glasses and was gnawing on a pickle while staring at his plate, occasionally looking around the table out of the corner of his eyes, hoping no one was looking at him. He looked.... cute. Something Harry never would have believed he could look, even as a baby.
Harry glanced at Dimitrius and wondered what he thought of Snape. And Harry really hoped Dimitrius wasn't lying about no longer wanting to kill Snape. Ivan would take care of him if he were lying. Ivan, according to Dimitrius, could no longer be bound by any means. Even Emerald agreed with that.
"Where is Emerald?" Ivan asked as he looked at Dimitrius.
"Right here," Emerald said as she appeared next to Dimitrius.
Severus dropped his pickle. "Another Dark Elf!" he cried, quite happy about it until he realized what he had done and slid out of sight.
Harry had to put a hand over his mouth to keep from laughing, as did quite a few others, since he didn't want to embarrass Snape, though Snape had had no trouble embarrassing anyone as a teacher. But Snape wasn't a teacher, he was just ten right now. Even Sirius had agreed to treat ten year old Snape nicely. In fact, he had agreed quite readily to it.
"So how are the dragons in Romania?" Draco asked Charlie as Draco helped Severus sit back on his seat properly. "I hear you have had lots of burns from them, right?"
Charlie rubbed his arm with the shiny burn. "Yes. I have a new one on my back too. Dangerous job sometimes but I do love it."
Mrs. Weasley clucked her tongue. "If I realized how dangerous it actually was I might not have given you permission. You might get yourself killed!"
Bill grinned at his brother, slightly shaking his head so his fang earring shook a bit. Harry smiled. Mrs. Weasley had been after him since he had arrived about that 'thing' in his ear and his long hair. Now, after Charlie had told them a rather nasty tale of a rouge dragon, she was after him to quit his job. Ron said that Mrs. Weasley occasionally got after Charlie about his job but would forget about it in a few weeks.
"Mom," Charlie said patiently, "I don't need your permission."
Snape leaned against Draco and whispered something to Draco.
"That's for sure," he muttered back. "If me or Sevvie had spoken to our mom like that she would have let us have it," he said, looking at Mrs. Weasley. "Well, do something to your son."
Harry stared at Draco, unable to tell if he was kidding, being sarcastic, or what. Mrs. Weasley glanced at Charlie.
"He's a little old for me to discipline," she said, although everyone could tell she wanted to.
Draco shook his head. "Mom said that me and Sevvie would never be too old for her to discipline. She spanked me once. It was horrible."
Snape giggled into his plate and stuffed a dumpling in his mouth while Draco scowled at the air, remembering. Harry exchanged odd glances with Ron, unable to believe it was Draco sitting there, he had changed so drastically.
"What did you do?" McGonagall asked.
"Nothing terrible," Draco shrugged. "I just backed my truck into the house and over some of Sevvie's garden. I was learning how to drive and the thing was in reverse."
"You have a truck?" Ginny asked.
Draco nodded. "Sev and I use it for camping. Mom didn't care about the house but she did care about Sev's garden. Very upset about that."
Harry noticed that Snape's shoulders sagged. He certainly did miss the Lestranges, though they were evil. Well, Snape had figured that out and left them although it hadn't been easy for him. They had just adopted him four years ago, in his mind, and now he was leaving them. The first parents he thought he had ever had. The first people to love him. Snape didn't look like it right now but he was made of some strong inner fiber. Still, Harry couldn't help but feel sorry for him. At least he had Draco, though. And Dumbledore wanted to get to know him too. Snape would be all right.
Draco rubbed Snape's back while Draco started talking about his truck and how he had restored it. Harry slightly paid attention to it but he was watching Snape mostly. And the way Snape would glance at Draco occasionally, his face adoring; Snape really thought of Draco as his older brother and probably his best friend too. Draco's use of 'Sevvie' and the fond way he kept looking at Snape showed that Draco thought of Snape as his little brother. Harry wondered how that would work once Snape was an adult again.
Snape didn't say anything else for the rest of the lunch time and they were all dismissed so Snape could relax his first day of being away from his parents with only Draco and Dumbledore around him.
"I wished we could have stayed in there longer," Hermione said, glancing at Harry as they collapsed on the sofa in Lupin's rooms.
"No," Hagrid said, shaking his head. "Give 'em time alone."
"Severus was close to tears near the end, Hermione," Remus added. "Maybe we shouldn't have even been in there. Severus needed some time to adjust without anyone bothering him."
"When is he going to be turned back into an adult?" Ron asked.
"When Ivan says so," Dimitrius said, looking at Emerald. "Emerald, can I talk with Ivan?"
Emerald popped out of sight and then back in. "Not yet. He is staying with Jacenty for awhile. Tonight, when he is sleeping, you can."
Harry wondered what Dimitrius wanted to talk about as the discussion turned to Christmas plans. All the Weasley's were staying over for the holidays (except Percy) because their house was being painted. Bill and Charlie wanted a break from their jobs and so had decided to come too. They all wanted to have a very special Christmas this year (slightly afraid they would never had another one). Harry was very excited. It would be his first real Christmas. The Weasley's were the closest thing to a family he had (a family that wanted him). It was going to be wonderful.
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Molly glanced at Harry and hid her smile. Dumbledore, thankfully, had given them all permission to stay at Hogwarts this Christmas. Trelawney had mentioned to her in a letter that Harry had never had a real Christmas and that it was something he really wanted so Molly and Arthur had thought up this plan. They would get their house painted, Bill and Charlie would take a small vacation, and they would all stay at Hogwarts. A good idea since all their kids at Hogwarts didn't want to leave with Draco and Snape coming back during the holidays. Percy would be coming in for Christmas Eve and Christmas. The whole family would be here, something that was already making Harry happy. Molly just hoped this wouldn't be the last Christmas they all had together but with Voldemort's rise to power, it was possible that one of them might not survive the upcoming war against the Dark Lord. She frowned at the thought, hoping they would all be together for the next Christmas too.
The conversation turned to how much Draco had changed and how shy Snape seemed to be. Molly hoped they go to see more of those two over the vacation, she wanted to get to know them both.
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Dumbledore nodded his head at Ivan and the two of them silently appeared in his bedroom, which was now Draco and Severus's bedroom for the time being. Draco was sitting in his chair, which was now a rocking chair, and rocking Severus while he cried.
"Why is doing the right thing so hard?" Severus asked, wiping at his eyes.
"I'm not exactly sure, Sevvie," Draco said, hugging him close and rubbing his back.
"I'm going to start an orphanage when I grow up," Severus said. "So all the kids can come and be wanted and loved and not have to worry about leaving if I turn out to be evil because I will never turn evil."
"Good idea," Draco said as he grabbed a nearby blanket and tucked it around Severus's small body.
Dumbledore frowned. Severus would never get enough money to do that with. And the Ministry, with Fudge knowing he was a Death Eater, would never let him start one. Dumbledore glanced down at Ivan.
Ivan nodded his head. "He will start one. I will help." Dumbledore believed him.
Dumbledore had time now, time to fix his relationship with Severus, and Dumbledore was going to take it. He just needed to take it slow.
Severus fell asleep and Ivan dropped whatever it was that was keeping Draco from seeing them.
Smiling slightly, Draco rested his chin on Severus's head.
"How is he?" Dumbledore asked anxiously as he sat on his bed.
"He has some emotional problems. Not too many but he does have a few, like most people," Draco answered. "He can't stand being alone at all, he gets scared easily, doesn't like being teased at all, doesn't like attention, and he still sleeps with me. His problems have been worse these last few months and I think it was because Severus realized that the Lestranges weren't nice people and he needed to leave them. I don't envy what he must be going through right now. They were the first people he thought ever loved him."
Dumbledore didn't either. But at least he had done it.
"He might be too scared to get close to you right now," Draco warned. "But don't give up. Just let him take his time."
"I will," Dumbledore promised. He was being given a second chance and Dumbledore wasn't going to ruin it. He was always giving others second chances and it felt good to be given the same opportunity.
Dumbledore stood up and gently slipped Severus's glasses off his face, handing them to Ivan. He just watched Severus sleep for awhile.
"Can you dance?" Draco suddenly asked.
"Yes," Dumbledore confessed. "When I was in school it was a subject."
"Severus loves dancing," Draco said. "Teach him some dance steps tomorrow. He'll really enjoy it. No one at home could dance so it isn't something that will remind him of the Lestranges."
Dumbledore was beginning to realize that Draco actually thought of Severus as his little brother. In those three years Draco had forgotten that Severus was actually his Professor and not his younger brother. But that was okay, Severus needed an older brother right now. There would be time to sort out Draco's feelings later.
"Do we have to tell my parents I'm back?" Draco questioned, his face showing slight worry.
"Yes," Dumbledore said. "I'll let you handle that. Draco, I'm not totally happy with what you did but I'm glad you did it. I don't think Severus would have been able to come to Hogwarts, back to me, without your help."
"He would have," Draco said, grinning at being praised.
"Maybe. But he would have been much older when he made that decision if he made it at all," Dumbledore said, glancing at his sleeping friend. "Thank you."
Draco, for the first time since arriving, turned quite red. "Thanks," he muttered. "I enjoyed it. It was wonderful living there and not having anyone to please but myself... and Severus," he added, rubbing Severus's back again. "I'm going to help Severus with his orphanage idea. We can draw up plans for the building, make the furniture, and things like that," Draco sighed suddenly. "I guess you better contact my parents," he muttered.