A/N: I'm glad this has been so well received. I'll update as often as I can, but it's going to take some time. Each chapter will cover one or more events (depends on how inspired I am) of a year or so of his life. However I won't necessarily do every single year of his life. That would be a bit tedious.

Enjoy. And Review!

Chapter One: The Terrible twos

It was the beginning of another new year at Hogwarts and as the older students filed in they noticed a new addition to the head table. A high chair in between the chair of the Headmaster and the deputy headmistress. In the chair was a toddler with dark hair and green eyes. It had been rumored for a few years now that Professor McGonagall had a child, some of the wilder rumors even said she was caring for Harry Potter, but no one had ever seen the child. He spent most of his time either with McGonagall herself or with Dumbledore, when she was teaching. Upon closer inspection, the students noticed the lightening bolt shaped scar on his forehead and a buzz went up in the room, for everyone then knew who the boy was.

McGonagall stood and leaned over to the boy, looking him directly in the eye. He stared back at her. "I'm going to get some of the students Harry. You sit quietly, and patiently. Understand?"

Harry nodded, his wide eyes not blinking. His eyes followed her as she swept from the room, but once she was out of sight he picked up the small stuffed Pegasus sitting on his tray and began to fly it in the air. He was content to play until the oak doors to the hall opened and Professor McGonagall entered with a line of first years behind her. A pout trembled on his lower lip as she approached with the other children. Harry dropped the toy and reached his hands out. "Mama!" He demanded petulantly.

With a sigh at the chuckles that arose from the older children, Minerva turned to face her young charge. "Yes Harry?"

He stretched his arms toward her. "Mama, out!"

"No."

He screwed his face up tightly and she recognized the temper tantrum forming. She sent a pleading glance to Dumbledore, who smiled in amusement at her. But he picked up his golden cup and twisted it in the light, fascinating the boy with the patterns it made. McGonagall sighed again, this time in relief and returned her attention to sorting the first years.

It was two weeks into the term when James Potter's success in sneaking away became apparent in his son. Harry was coloring on the floor of the headmaster's office when he became bored. So he abandoned his crayons for his animals. He picked up two of them, a hippogriff and his Pegasus and brought them over to the big desk. His wide eyes stared up at the man sitting at it. "Papa, play!"

"Uncle Albus." The old man corrected automatically. No one was quite sure where Harry had learned the word papa, or why he chose to bestow it on Dumbledore, but it was a habit McGonagall wanted him broken of. So even though he didn't mind it, he tried to do what she wished. "And I can't right now. I have to finish my letter first."

Harry frowned and walked away. He set the toys down and looked at the locked door. He wanted out, he decided. With a smile, he slipped over to one of the little round tables and grabbed Dumbledore's wand. He'd had to climb rather carefully onto a chair to get it, but he'd managed. Then he tip-toed over to the door and pointed the wand, exactly the way his mama did. "Open." He whispered. The door moved a bit, but it was locked. Harry glared at the door in frustration. He spent a few minutes trying to remember the words the grownups said when they wanted to open the door. "Alo…Alo…ha…moor…ha…" He heard a click as the door unlocked. With a smile he commanded the door to open again, and this time it did. He walked over to the door, then at the last second, he turned and stuck his head back in. "Bye Papa!" He called cheerfully.

Dumbledore chuckled. "Bye? Where are you going Harry?"

"Mama."

Dumbledore nodded, but didn't look up, secure in the knowledge that the door was shut. "Well, have a good trip Harry."

Harry ambled down the stairs, trying to remember how to get to Mama's classroom. When he couldn't find it he kept wandering looking into every room where he heard voices. Finally he made it all the way down to the Dungeons and Snape's classroom.

He walked into the open door, right in the middle of the Gryffindor/Slytherin lesson. Harry made his way to the front of the room, and as he passed the tables the students stopped what they were doing to stare at him. Finally at the front table, Snape noticed the silence and looked up. He caught sight of the toddler and frowned. "Mr. Potter, where are you supposed to be?"

Harry shrugged and grinned mischievously. Then, using the professor's robes to help he scrambled into Snape's lap. None of the students could resist a chuckle as their no-nonsense potions instructor adjusting the baby so he could sit comfortably. Once he was settled, Harry threw his arms around the potion master's neck. "Hi Uncle Se'rus."

Snape ran his hand over the boy's unruly hair and kept him close. "Hello Harry. Where are you supposed to be right now?"

Harry shrugged again. Then he noticed the bottles sitting on Snape's desk and the cauldron next to it and smiled. "I do?" He began to reach for the vials.

Snape pulled him back a bit. "You may help." Snape measured out a portion of the liquid and handed it to Harry. "Pour that into the cauldron Harry. Pour it slowly."

Harry stuck his tongue out as he very slowly poured the liquid in. Snape watched, both amused and a bit proud. "Harry James Potter, what are you doing down here?" Came the stern voice of Minerva McGonagall from the doorway.

Harry dropped the bottle into the cauldron, much to Snape's dismay and reached out happily for his Mama. "Hi Mama!"

She lifted him out of Snape's arms. "Thank you for watching him Severus." Snape nodded and began to fish the pieces of glass out of the pot. "Harry, you were supposed to stay with Uncle Albus. What are you doing down here. We were both very worried about you."

He glared at her petulantly. "Papa boring!" He declared, crossing his arms in front of him. "I wanted play. Uncle Se'rus play with Harry."

"That doesn't matter, you were supposed to stay where I told you. Now you have to have a time out."

"NO!"

"Yes Harry." She leveled a very serious gaze at him over the tops of her glasses.  She swept out of the room, child in her arms.

McGonagall carried him back up to the Headmaster's office and set him on the steps. "Three minutes Harry." She told him. Then she turned her back on him and walked over to where Albus sat at his desk. "He was down in the dungeons with Severus."

"I still don't understand how he got out. I locked the door." Albus muttered to her. He sounded bewildered, but his eyes clearly showed how amused he was.

"We'll ask him later." McGonagall assured him. "I don't understand why he's doing this. He knows better than to wander off in the castle and this is the third time this week he's done it."

"He's bored Minerva. He needs to have playmates his own age."

"Who? Lucius Malfoy has a son his age, but Harry is not going to be exposed to that kind of prejudice. Remus doesn't have children…."

"What about the Weasleys? Bill and Charlie have a large number of siblings and I believe there are few close to his age."

She thought for a moment. "Yes. Perhaps that will do. I'll talk to Molly tomorrow about setting up a play date for him."