A/N: Thanks for the reviews, keep them coming!! I love you all! And by the way, Sirius James is just a touch of irony I couldn't resist putting in, but only temporarily..
Severus Snape stood at the enterance of his son's room, watching the boy huddle in a small ball in the darkest corner of the room. Something had happened to the boy at the orphanage, or perhaps in his former life, judging from his odd behavior from the moment Severus had stepped in the room.
"Go to bed, this is no time for play." Severus said as his hands moved slowly and awkardly. The boy shook his head furiously, making his annoying yowling noises again. It was obvious the boy was afraid, but of what, Severus had to find out. He wished the book had all of the signs he needed, but it was difficult. Being the smart man Severus was, he conjured up a scroll of parchment and a quill, scribbling down a question on the paper, hoping the child could read.
"What Happened To You?" Severus wrote, handing the paper to the boy, who refused to touch him, nor awkenoldge him. Severus scowled down at the boy, his eyes dark and forboding. Someone had harmed the boy so severely in his past. The man glared down at the boy, swearing a swift vegenance and slow death for whomever had caused the distress in the boy. Severus gave up on the parchment, and moved his hands in sign language the best he could.
((A/N: the rest of the conversations here are in sign language, Severus is speaking as well as signing, being the smart man he is, he has picked up on sign very well, but still isn't the best))
"What is wrong?" Severus asked, sitting on the bed and keeping his eyes focused on the seven year old boy in the corner. The boy glanced up at him with cold eyes, the exact opposite of his warmly twinkling eyes at dinner.
"You will hurt me." The boy said, holding up his arm to reveal dark scars. Severus's jaw tightened at the ugly scars. Shaking his head no, Severus held out his own arm wordlessly to show his own Dark Mark.
"I hurt too." Severus said slowly. The boy remained still, but he had loosened his hold on himself, curiosity glinting in his dark eyes. The boy shook his head no. Severus scowled, remaining seated on the boy's bed. "Why would I hurt you?"
"I'm a mudblood." Severus's blood boiled at the sight of that word, amazed that word had wormed its' way into the boy's language.
"Hermione is a muggle born, just like you are. I don't hurt her, and Holly loves her." Severus explained rationally. "I am fairly certain that a teacher here has a muggle-born son your age." Severus added, keeping his expressions neutral and easy to read for his son's comfort. Slowly, the boy inched away from the corner, his eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"At night, they come to hurt." The boy said with a slight tremor in his words. Severus froze, keeping his hands in full view of the boy.
"Go to bed, and tomorrow, you can tell Albus all about it. He will take away the hurt. He took away my hurt, too." Severus said softly, rising from the bed and standing in the doorway, watching the boy keep a wary eye on him, slipping into his own bed. As he turned off the light and left the room, he could hear the boy's whimpering noises soften into snores.
The next morning, Severus made sure his boy looked presentable. He and the boy had recently engaged upon an arguement, the boy wanting to wear muggle style jean overalls with a black Muggle T-shirt underneath and bare feet. They had reached an agreement, that if he allowed Severus to put on a warming charm on his feet and wore a robe over his clothes, he would be allowed out of his rooms.
"Time to eat. You are eating breakfast with me in the Great Hall." Severus said as he made sure the boy followed him up to the Great Hall. "You will sit with Erin and Holly." Severus said, pulling out a chair for the boy to sit in at the childrens' table before heading up to the Staff Table to sit with the other faculty, taking a seat next to Stacey Wood, the new Muggle Studies professor and wife to Oliver Wood, the Flying intstructor. On Severus's left was Albus Dumbledore, and Severus took that opportunity to relay to Albus that his son would need some time with an person who was fluent in his language to explain the situation here in full.
"Certainly, I would be glad to spend time with your son." Albus said with a smile. "Erin and Hale really have taken a shine to him. I think he will love it here." Albus continued, wearing that all-knowing smile on his lips. Severus sneered and turned back to his meal, vaguely listening to Stacey Wood chatter on about a cartoon character named Tweety Bird, of whom her daughter completely adored. Severus glanced up at the children's table, seeing Sirius James scowl down at a girl wearing a muggle T-shirt embalazoned with a hideous yellow bird. If that was Stacey Wood's daughter, Severus thought, I would be scowling also. That bird scares me, Severus thought with a shiver. That thing should have been the mascot of Hufflepuff House instead of that badger.
Holly Granger and young Remy Lupin both had taken a shine to his boy, Severus thought as he watched the triumverate all chatter away with their hands, their eyes glinting with feral childlike joy. He shivered, he would not want another Golden Trio to grace the halls of Hogwarts. His attention then turned to his House table, making sure the brats could control themselves. He set an wary eye on a pair of twins, the two girls seeming all too confident for a first day of studies. He knew he would have them first thing after breakfast, and vowed to keep his eye on those two as he swooped down from the Staff Table towards the dungeons, not bothering to stop by the children's table. Albus would take care of it.
Severus knew his instincts had been right. Not five minutes after he had released the brats to do their work, the twins' cauldrons both had exploded, one smoking puprle smoke, and the other consumed with black flames, of all things. He prayed that the two girls were not Longbottoms. Much to Severus's chagrign, they were Weasleys.
"Luciana and Deirdra Weasley, at your service." the shorter one said with a grin as Severus took fifty points off of Slytherin. He was consoled by the knowledge that reliable Molly Weasley would see to it that they recieved an Howler at breakfast tomorrow. For a fleeting moment, he wished he was as deaf as his own son as he pinched the bridge of his nose, praying for the Slytherin/Gryffindor class of first years to be finished already, he was getting one of his dreadful headaches, and wanted to escape to the staff room as soon as possible for some migraine toxic.
"Why don't you come with me, young man?" Albus asked, taking Sirius James gently by the shoulder. "I would like you to visit with my bird, Fawkes. Have you ever seen a Phoenix?"
"No.. I have read about them, though." Sirius said with a smile as he bid goodbye to his new friends and walked off with Albus to his office for a nice chat. The two reached his office, and Sirius James had a seat in a comfy armchair, and accepted Albus's offer of lemon drops eagerly before Albus began the discussion that Severus had brought to his attention.
"Do you understand what you are doing here?" Albus asked first thing, his eyebrows arched in question. Sirius James looked up, and shook his head no. "What do you know?"
"I ... I was taken away to here." Sirius James said, trembbling as he put down the lemon drops and drew his knees up to his chin. Albus leaned back in his chair, and shook his head.
"Let me explain things to you. Do you know Voldemort?"
"Uh-uh. His snake people killed my parents. He tried to hurt me. He said that at night, the snake people would try to hurt me because I was a mudblood." Sirius James said with a sharp frown, tears threatening to fall from his eyes.
"Voldemort is dead. You can't be hurt anymore. The Snake People are called Death Eaters, and your adopted father was one a long time ago before you were born." Albus explained slowly, making sure Sirius James understood each and every word. "Because Voldemort killed your parents, Severus adopted you, and became your new father."
"Is that his name?" Sirius James asked.
"Severus Salazar Snape. That is his name, and your name is Sirius James Ravenwood." Albus said with a smile. "Severus hasn't signed the paper to change your name yet."
"Why did he cry when I told him my name?" Sirius James asked, his fears put aside for the moment, he felt he could trust the nice old man with the twinkling blue eyes named Albus.
Albus shook his head sadly and ate a few lemon drops before continuing, it was an hard subject to talk about, especially with a boy so young.
"He was hurt, like you were hurt by the Snake People, by four men, two men were named Sirius and James. Of those four men, three are dead, and only one is alive. The one who is alive is a good man, and said he was sorry for hurting your father."
"If I have a name of someone who hurt my daddy, I won't want it. I want my own name. I want to be my own person." Sirius James said solemnly, a slow nod of his head sealed his decision and wise words. Albus smiled sadly, he wasa a fine Snape, after being in Severus's company for only one day.
"Very well, That sounds like a grand idea. What would you like your name to be, young man?"
"I have a new home, a new family... I want my name to be something like my daddy's." the young boy said, thoughtfully chewing on his lip. "Something he would like."
"How about Peresus Evans Snape? It is your daddy's name, but spelled a diffrent way." Albus said with a smile, appreciating his clever anagram of Sevrus's name. He frowned slightly at the boy's shake of his head.
"No. I don't want to be just like my daddy, I want to be me. I want to be... Samuel Sebastian Snape. That feels like a good name for me." the boy replied, holding on to the memory of his new father's name, Severus Salazar Snape. The new name had the same feeling as his daddy's name, and he liked it.
"Very well, young Samuel. Welcome to Hogwarts. Why don't we walk over to the day centre and I can have Miss Granger explain everything about this magic school to you?"
"Is magic when you wave around that stick? Daddy got mad at me for doing that. But it was fun, I could move things just thinking about it and pointing at it."
"When you get as big as Hale, you can try it for yourself." Albus said, internally reminding himself to send an owl to the nearby deaf school to send over a tutor for the newest Snape. A small smile graced his lips, things were going to get very intresting around here, and he was eager to witness the fun he would have overseeing a new generation at Hogwarts, of which included his own children.
"Let a new life begin." Albus whispered, his eyes settling on the raven-haired boy who was walking at his side, pointing at things and asking questions endlessly. Severus was going to have his hands full with yet another one of those, what did Severus call them.... know-it-alls.
A/N: hope this was all right, I thought since he was starting a new life, he could use a name change. Plus, since I have a cold, I'm not really into writing sad stories about Snape's past or the little boy's past. but of course, the past has a way of rearing its' ugly head once in a while. Next chapter, some SS/HG goodness, courtesy of Holly Minerva, the little matchmaker.
Severus Snape stood at the enterance of his son's room, watching the boy huddle in a small ball in the darkest corner of the room. Something had happened to the boy at the orphanage, or perhaps in his former life, judging from his odd behavior from the moment Severus had stepped in the room.
"Go to bed, this is no time for play." Severus said as his hands moved slowly and awkardly. The boy shook his head furiously, making his annoying yowling noises again. It was obvious the boy was afraid, but of what, Severus had to find out. He wished the book had all of the signs he needed, but it was difficult. Being the smart man Severus was, he conjured up a scroll of parchment and a quill, scribbling down a question on the paper, hoping the child could read.
"What Happened To You?" Severus wrote, handing the paper to the boy, who refused to touch him, nor awkenoldge him. Severus scowled down at the boy, his eyes dark and forboding. Someone had harmed the boy so severely in his past. The man glared down at the boy, swearing a swift vegenance and slow death for whomever had caused the distress in the boy. Severus gave up on the parchment, and moved his hands in sign language the best he could.
((A/N: the rest of the conversations here are in sign language, Severus is speaking as well as signing, being the smart man he is, he has picked up on sign very well, but still isn't the best))
"What is wrong?" Severus asked, sitting on the bed and keeping his eyes focused on the seven year old boy in the corner. The boy glanced up at him with cold eyes, the exact opposite of his warmly twinkling eyes at dinner.
"You will hurt me." The boy said, holding up his arm to reveal dark scars. Severus's jaw tightened at the ugly scars. Shaking his head no, Severus held out his own arm wordlessly to show his own Dark Mark.
"I hurt too." Severus said slowly. The boy remained still, but he had loosened his hold on himself, curiosity glinting in his dark eyes. The boy shook his head no. Severus scowled, remaining seated on the boy's bed. "Why would I hurt you?"
"I'm a mudblood." Severus's blood boiled at the sight of that word, amazed that word had wormed its' way into the boy's language.
"Hermione is a muggle born, just like you are. I don't hurt her, and Holly loves her." Severus explained rationally. "I am fairly certain that a teacher here has a muggle-born son your age." Severus added, keeping his expressions neutral and easy to read for his son's comfort. Slowly, the boy inched away from the corner, his eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"At night, they come to hurt." The boy said with a slight tremor in his words. Severus froze, keeping his hands in full view of the boy.
"Go to bed, and tomorrow, you can tell Albus all about it. He will take away the hurt. He took away my hurt, too." Severus said softly, rising from the bed and standing in the doorway, watching the boy keep a wary eye on him, slipping into his own bed. As he turned off the light and left the room, he could hear the boy's whimpering noises soften into snores.
The next morning, Severus made sure his boy looked presentable. He and the boy had recently engaged upon an arguement, the boy wanting to wear muggle style jean overalls with a black Muggle T-shirt underneath and bare feet. They had reached an agreement, that if he allowed Severus to put on a warming charm on his feet and wore a robe over his clothes, he would be allowed out of his rooms.
"Time to eat. You are eating breakfast with me in the Great Hall." Severus said as he made sure the boy followed him up to the Great Hall. "You will sit with Erin and Holly." Severus said, pulling out a chair for the boy to sit in at the childrens' table before heading up to the Staff Table to sit with the other faculty, taking a seat next to Stacey Wood, the new Muggle Studies professor and wife to Oliver Wood, the Flying intstructor. On Severus's left was Albus Dumbledore, and Severus took that opportunity to relay to Albus that his son would need some time with an person who was fluent in his language to explain the situation here in full.
"Certainly, I would be glad to spend time with your son." Albus said with a smile. "Erin and Hale really have taken a shine to him. I think he will love it here." Albus continued, wearing that all-knowing smile on his lips. Severus sneered and turned back to his meal, vaguely listening to Stacey Wood chatter on about a cartoon character named Tweety Bird, of whom her daughter completely adored. Severus glanced up at the children's table, seeing Sirius James scowl down at a girl wearing a muggle T-shirt embalazoned with a hideous yellow bird. If that was Stacey Wood's daughter, Severus thought, I would be scowling also. That bird scares me, Severus thought with a shiver. That thing should have been the mascot of Hufflepuff House instead of that badger.
Holly Granger and young Remy Lupin both had taken a shine to his boy, Severus thought as he watched the triumverate all chatter away with their hands, their eyes glinting with feral childlike joy. He shivered, he would not want another Golden Trio to grace the halls of Hogwarts. His attention then turned to his House table, making sure the brats could control themselves. He set an wary eye on a pair of twins, the two girls seeming all too confident for a first day of studies. He knew he would have them first thing after breakfast, and vowed to keep his eye on those two as he swooped down from the Staff Table towards the dungeons, not bothering to stop by the children's table. Albus would take care of it.
Severus knew his instincts had been right. Not five minutes after he had released the brats to do their work, the twins' cauldrons both had exploded, one smoking puprle smoke, and the other consumed with black flames, of all things. He prayed that the two girls were not Longbottoms. Much to Severus's chagrign, they were Weasleys.
"Luciana and Deirdra Weasley, at your service." the shorter one said with a grin as Severus took fifty points off of Slytherin. He was consoled by the knowledge that reliable Molly Weasley would see to it that they recieved an Howler at breakfast tomorrow. For a fleeting moment, he wished he was as deaf as his own son as he pinched the bridge of his nose, praying for the Slytherin/Gryffindor class of first years to be finished already, he was getting one of his dreadful headaches, and wanted to escape to the staff room as soon as possible for some migraine toxic.
"Why don't you come with me, young man?" Albus asked, taking Sirius James gently by the shoulder. "I would like you to visit with my bird, Fawkes. Have you ever seen a Phoenix?"
"No.. I have read about them, though." Sirius said with a smile as he bid goodbye to his new friends and walked off with Albus to his office for a nice chat. The two reached his office, and Sirius James had a seat in a comfy armchair, and accepted Albus's offer of lemon drops eagerly before Albus began the discussion that Severus had brought to his attention.
"Do you understand what you are doing here?" Albus asked first thing, his eyebrows arched in question. Sirius James looked up, and shook his head no. "What do you know?"
"I ... I was taken away to here." Sirius James said, trembbling as he put down the lemon drops and drew his knees up to his chin. Albus leaned back in his chair, and shook his head.
"Let me explain things to you. Do you know Voldemort?"
"Uh-uh. His snake people killed my parents. He tried to hurt me. He said that at night, the snake people would try to hurt me because I was a mudblood." Sirius James said with a sharp frown, tears threatening to fall from his eyes.
"Voldemort is dead. You can't be hurt anymore. The Snake People are called Death Eaters, and your adopted father was one a long time ago before you were born." Albus explained slowly, making sure Sirius James understood each and every word. "Because Voldemort killed your parents, Severus adopted you, and became your new father."
"Is that his name?" Sirius James asked.
"Severus Salazar Snape. That is his name, and your name is Sirius James Ravenwood." Albus said with a smile. "Severus hasn't signed the paper to change your name yet."
"Why did he cry when I told him my name?" Sirius James asked, his fears put aside for the moment, he felt he could trust the nice old man with the twinkling blue eyes named Albus.
Albus shook his head sadly and ate a few lemon drops before continuing, it was an hard subject to talk about, especially with a boy so young.
"He was hurt, like you were hurt by the Snake People, by four men, two men were named Sirius and James. Of those four men, three are dead, and only one is alive. The one who is alive is a good man, and said he was sorry for hurting your father."
"If I have a name of someone who hurt my daddy, I won't want it. I want my own name. I want to be my own person." Sirius James said solemnly, a slow nod of his head sealed his decision and wise words. Albus smiled sadly, he wasa a fine Snape, after being in Severus's company for only one day.
"Very well, That sounds like a grand idea. What would you like your name to be, young man?"
"I have a new home, a new family... I want my name to be something like my daddy's." the young boy said, thoughtfully chewing on his lip. "Something he would like."
"How about Peresus Evans Snape? It is your daddy's name, but spelled a diffrent way." Albus said with a smile, appreciating his clever anagram of Sevrus's name. He frowned slightly at the boy's shake of his head.
"No. I don't want to be just like my daddy, I want to be me. I want to be... Samuel Sebastian Snape. That feels like a good name for me." the boy replied, holding on to the memory of his new father's name, Severus Salazar Snape. The new name had the same feeling as his daddy's name, and he liked it.
"Very well, young Samuel. Welcome to Hogwarts. Why don't we walk over to the day centre and I can have Miss Granger explain everything about this magic school to you?"
"Is magic when you wave around that stick? Daddy got mad at me for doing that. But it was fun, I could move things just thinking about it and pointing at it."
"When you get as big as Hale, you can try it for yourself." Albus said, internally reminding himself to send an owl to the nearby deaf school to send over a tutor for the newest Snape. A small smile graced his lips, things were going to get very intresting around here, and he was eager to witness the fun he would have overseeing a new generation at Hogwarts, of which included his own children.
"Let a new life begin." Albus whispered, his eyes settling on the raven-haired boy who was walking at his side, pointing at things and asking questions endlessly. Severus was going to have his hands full with yet another one of those, what did Severus call them.... know-it-alls.
A/N: hope this was all right, I thought since he was starting a new life, he could use a name change. Plus, since I have a cold, I'm not really into writing sad stories about Snape's past or the little boy's past. but of course, the past has a way of rearing its' ugly head once in a while. Next chapter, some SS/HG goodness, courtesy of Holly Minerva, the little matchmaker.