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Chapter 2 – Getting To Know You
Albus waved a cheery good-bye to the last of the investigators for the day, although he felt anything but cheery inside. So far everything was going as well as he could have hoped. The Ministry was accepting his decision to have used the older students in combat – something which even the dolts at the Ministry must have realized required pre-planning. And only a few of the parents of the children killed seemed to be holding him personally responsible. Most seem to have accepted that without the help of their child, all the students, including their own, would have been slaughtered. There was no way Hogwarts could have withstood the assault with only a dozen staff members standing in its defense. Still, the death of children was never easy to accept, especially for a Headmaster, and even the defeat of Voldemort and his minions could not bring true happiness to the old man's heart. Indeed Voldemort himself, and nearly all the Death Eaters, had once been Albus' charges, and he could not but help feel that their deaths were in some way his responsibility too.
This feeling was heightened as he looked at the baby on the floor near his desk. He had once been a Death Eater – one of the few whom Albus had managed to save. Or had he really saved him? After all, Severus had come within seconds of taking his own life earlier this week.
Albus sighed, and bent down in front of the baby and looked him over carefully. He had charmed a circle of limit around the child, but it seemed all for naught. The toddler had shown no desire to move from the spot he had been placed that morning, not bothering to try and touch anything that Albus preferred him not to. Indeed, he was plainly ignoring every toy placed within the circle and had spent the entire morning watching Albus with dark, curious eyes. As it had been for the last three days, Severus had uttered not a sound. He had taken food and drink when offered, had shown an amazingly early ability to use the toilet by himself, had fallen asleep when placed in his cot, and had allowed himself to be dressed and washed by Albus, but other than that, he had shown no other signs of being a living human being. All he did all day long was sit and stare.
So Albus sat on his haunches, and stared back at the boy. After a moment he mumbled 'Legilimens' and found himself looking at none other than his own self. Pictures and scenes of the last three days swirled around him; he carrying the boy, talking to the boy, dressing the boy, talking into the fireplace, talking with aurors, writing on parchment. Dumbledore decided to go deeper. It was very difficult. The grown Severus Snape was skilled at Occulumency, and it seemed his younger counterpart had indeed some natural skill. He was clearly trying to block Albus' attempts to go further. This startled and concerned Albus, for if the child clearly did not want him to go further, did he have a right to continue? Finally he decided against it and pulled back. When he cut the connection and looked at his charge he now found that Severus had a look of pure anger on his face. In any other situation Albus may have found such a look funny. Indeed to see such a scathing Potion's Master glare on the face of one so young clearly had its comical aspects. But Albus knew that whatever tiny trust he may have been building with the boy the last few days was now destroyed. Perhaps he should have gone all the way, since it obviously could not have made the child any angrier anyhow.
Albus' musing was interrupted by gentle multiple bell tones which indicted several people were making their way up his staircase. A quick glance into a small silver bowl on his desk let him know whom to expect. "We have company, my boy."
A moment later the door swung open to welcome Harry, Ron and Hermione. The three were smiling and looking much better then they had the last few days. They apparently had concluded all their interviews with the Ministry officials as well as reporters. Dumbledore welcomed them in and settled them all in comfortable chairs with cups of tea. For the first few minutes they all sat quietly, unsure where to begin. Finally Hermione broke the silence. "Did the Ministry give you a hard time about Professor Snape, Headmaster?"
"No my dear, not a bit. I simply told them Professor Snape has gone out of the country to deal privately with his loses. As for the child, he is a friend's son whom I am caring for. By the way, his name is Sebastian Venenum as far as they are concerned.
Hermione chuckled and both Ron and Harry looked at her quizzically. She ignored them. "They don't suspect anything then?" she addresses the Headmaster.
The Headmaster smiled smugly. "The Ministry of Magic would not suspect anything that is not written on their foreheads in India ink. They were the ones after all who would not allow aurors to be stationed at the school permanently, because there was after all no indication of a possible attack on Hogwarts."
The others nodded their heads in agreed disgust.
"Has he spoken yet, Sir?" asked Harry, looking over at Severus.
Dumbledore shook his head. "No, he has made nary a sound since...well, since his return to his current state. Madame Pomphrey – who by the way is aware of the origins of our guest – has found no reason for this lack of age appropriate sounds. Indeed she thinks he may be older than I originally thought. Possibly past two years of age. By all rights he should be speaking."
All eyes fell on the smallest person in the room, who was now clearly glaring at the lot of them, as if he wasn't the slightest bit pleased to be spoken about. Ron laughed and nodded towards him. "He's not nearly as scary this size, now is he?"
Both Dumbledore and Harry laughed aloud, but Hermione gave the toddler an apologetic look, just in case he was holding her responsible for the idiocy of her friends, which he probably was.
Harry then got to his feet and walked over to the boy. He kneeled down a foot or so in front of the child. "Hello there little man," he said. "My name's Harry. Is your name Sebastian?"
The toddler got to his feet and took a step back. Then he glanced back to Harry and to the floor, as if he was asking Harry to come closer again to him. Harry stood up and walked forward, unknowingly stepping right past the invisible barrier that Severus could not cross. The tiny Potions Master dropped to his knees and Harry followed suit. Then to everyone shock, and Albus' horror, Severus picked up a carved wooded toy horse and swung it directly into Harry's nose. Blood spurted everywhere and Harry's glasses dropped, cracked and mangled, to the floor. He jumped to his feet, holding his nose the best he could, and trying to suppress a roar of anger and agony. Ron was frozen in horror but Hermione and the Headmaster reacted quickly. Hermione cast a quick spell to stop the bleeding and repaired Harry's glasses. Then another spell to bring down the swelling and guided Harry to a chair so he could relax until the pain subsided. Dumbledore dropped the circle limiting spell and snatched up Severus, though not before reducing the offending horse to sawdust. He placed Severus in a chair with his two hands held firmly in place by Dumbledore's large right hand and touched his left pointer finger directly to Severus' chest. The boy's eyes met his with a challenge, but Albus had enough experience with Slytherins to know not to back down.
"You did that on purpose. I know you did. And I know you can understand me too. YOU WILL NOT HURT OTHERS. Not ever again. Understood?"
Hermione and Ron watched in amazement. Dumbledore looked quite angry, and while they found it a bit frightening, the small boy was clearly holding his own. He gave only the tiniest of nods to acknowledge his understanding, and then he turned his head towards Harry. Upon seeing him holding his nose with his eyes tight shut, Severus smirked. It was just enough to send Hermione and Ron into fits of laughter.
Once Harry was recovered, Albus sent him to the infirmary to have his nose correctly positioned, for there was little doubt it had been broken. With a few snickers from Ron about "not wanting to look like Professor Snape", his friends ushered the still angry Harry from the room. At that point Albus turned on his young Slytherin whom was no longer staring at him. Instead he seemed to be glaring at a goblet of juice that Dumbledore had given him earlier. Severus had drunk only half and now it appeared to the older man that the boy was trying to will the remainder to come to him. Magic at that young of an age was rare, and as far as Albus could see, if the boy was trying to move the goblet to himself with wandless magic he was having absolutely no luck. "You may fetch the goblet if you like Sebastian."
Severus swung his head at the sound of his artificial name and once again tried to glare Albus into the floor. "If looks could kill," Albus chuckled to himself.
"I know you don't like the name, but you are safer this way. The Ministry may be a bastion of dunderheads, but never underestimate the ability of a large group of fools to do harm."
Severus seemed to agree with this statement. He dropped the scowl, turned himself around on the chair and wiggled down. He then went to fetch his juice.
At that moment the fire burned green and Madame Pomfrey's head appeared. "Albus, the records you requested on Severus have arrived from St. Mungos. I had a look through them and, well, perhaps you might stop by for a chat in a bit?'
"As soon as possible," Albus assured the mediwitch, and her head disappeared from the flames.
Albus motioned for the child to follow him and set out in the general direction of the infirmary. He did not take a direct route however, preferring to assure that Harry and company were finished at the infirmary before they arrived. It was a Saturday, so those few students whose parents where not taking advantage of the one week emergency recess the school was taking, were happily frequenting Hogsmeade or enjoying the warmth on the restored Quidditch Pitch. Albus made his way slowly down the empty corridors with a tiny Severus Snape trailing behind him. The walk had taken nearly twenty minutes already when they came across Mrs. Norris outside the infirmary doors. She had been prowling that particular hallway ever since the demise of her beloved owner in the battle. Albus bent down to scratch the poor cat's ears and she responded by sinking her teeth into his hand. Faster than Albus would have thought possible, Severus flung himself at the cat. His small body landed squarely on top of her and his small fingers gripped her neck. He pushed her head to the ground and stared into her yellow cat eyes. Then he let out a guttural growl that was as menacing as anything Mrs. Norris had ever managed. The Headmaster quickly moved to remove the boy's fingers from the poor animal's neck and lifted him off her. The cat flew like lightening down the hallway, a bit of mangy fur remaining in Severus's hand. The boy remained shaking in fury, and Albus could feel his heartbeat through his small shirt.
"Now, now child. She did not harm me. She is simply upset herself. She and Old Argus go back many a year."
Severus seemed to relax a little, so Albus placed his feet back to the ground and took his small hand in his own. He then led him into the infirmary.
Madam Pomfrey was sitting at her desk in the office on the other side of the room. She smiled and entered the main area as they approached. She greeted the Headmaster and then lowered her head towards Severus. She was careful though to keep a bit of distance Albus noticed amusedly. "I must say young man, you did quite a bit of damage to Mr. Potter. Took me a good ten minutes to set his nose properly." She tried to say it with a stern face, but Albus could see the corners of her mouth twitching as she tried to hold back a smile.
The mediwitch went to fetch the file while Albus carefully placed Severus on one of the beds. He transfigured some play things from various items even though he knew full well that Severus would not touch any of them. Still, it seemed rather cruel to leave a child sitting on a bed with absolutely no toys for what might take a considerable amount of time. He felt pretty certain though that when he returned he would find his charge doing nothing but glaring at the wall.
The file from St Mungos was quite thin. There were only a few pieces of parchment from the days that proceeded Severus' Hogwarts education. The first recorded his birth, which had taken place at home, but he had been visited by a mediwitch shortly thereafter. The next entry involved a consultation with a healer concerning the early use of magic on the part of the child. The child was less than a year at the time, and the healer noted that he explained the impossibility of magic manifesting itself at that stage. The third visit was at age three. Severus' hearing was tested and his vocal ability checked. Apparently he was not speaking. No obvious problem could be found. The last three visits all involved potions accidents caused by experimentation on the part of the youth. Most apparently involved contaminated ingredients, since the boy had located the necessary items himself.
Once he had read through the file, Albus turned to the mediwitch. "Does this file tell you anything that might be helpful?"
The mediwitch shook her head. "No, it doesn't tell me anything. Indeed, what it does not tell me that I find helpful. Where for instance is the broken nose that you and I both know he must have had before coming to school here? Where is the explanation for the scar that runs along the side of his ribcage? It is quite clear now at age two, but was even visible at age 39. He told me once that it he had been cut by a broken crystal goblet. Why is that not listed here?"
Albus shook his head and sighed. "Poppy," he said quietly, "we both know, and have known since he was a first year, that Severus was mistreated most dreadfully by his parents. I doubt that they would bring him to St Mungos to have treated what they themselves inflicted. Now I ask you again, tell me what it is you see in that report."
Poppy smiled slightly. The Headmaster knew her far too well. She had been stalling, setting up her case for her argument, as ludicrous as it might sound, so that Albus would be more likely to accept her hypothesis. Especially since it would involve some horrible design on the part of the boy's parents that even she couldn't quite figure out. "What if, as odd as it might seem, that Severus really did do magic before he was a year old?" she queried.
Albus chuckled. "Well, it certainly would be something. I supposedly did my first bit of magic at 16 months. Although I am aware that anything prior to age three is rather unusual." Then his tone became more serious. "If they somehow stopped him from producing certain sounds, that could indeed dampen his ability to produce magic. But why would they do that? And once he could speak, the magic would have returned. Severus was powerful, but not as powerful a wizard as one who performed magic at under a year would be. Besides, why take away his ability to make these sounds and then bring him to St. Mungos to find out why he couldn't?
The mediwitch shrugged. "I don't know Albus, but something is just not right. We know the Snapes were horrible people, well, the father anyway…"
They were interrupted by the sound of a small explosion in the main room. Both of them ran out of the office as quick as they could manage, only to find the young Slytherin standing silently next to a small burnt side table. On the table where several vials, most half broken or completely upended, their liquids sizzling and smoking and creating swirls of unnatural colors. In the center of the table was a half melted porcelain washing bowl in which the budding alchemist had clearly poured all the vials he could get his hands on.
Madam Pomfrey closed her eyes and shook her head. "That's nearly all the supplies I had left. The battle used nearly everything else out."
Dumbledore cleaned up what mess he could with his wand before he approached the boy and murmured a cleaning spell over him as well. "Trying out a bit of potion making, now are we?" he asked in as stern a voice as he could muster since he was more amused than angry. After all it was his own fault. He had forgotten to place a circle of limit on the child.
Severus just stared at the empty bowl for a moment more. Then the toddler picked up the bowl with both hands and headed towards the door.
"We are taking our cauldron with us," Dumbledore called out over his shoulder, his eyes twinkling, as he followed the small boy out.
Author's note: The last name given to Sebastian by Albus is Venenum. Which according to the online English-Latin dictionary I used means "Potion". That is why Hermione laughed.
