Disclaimer: See Chapter One.

Hidden

by Maven Cree

Part I: Odds and Things

Chapter Two: Aiden Caldwell

Harry moved very little for the rest of the day. He remained in quiet contemplation of the sad state his life had become.

He was alone now.

With only Snape to keep him company.

Harry Potter is dead, he thought to himself.

Harry Potter is dead.

Harry Potter is…

It became a sort of mantra in his mind. A chant repeated over and over and over again. But the more he repeated it, the more surreal it all seemed.

Harry Potter was dead…

So who was he?

Snape did not return the next day, or the day after that. The boy was glad, for that was the day he finally broke down and cried. That was all he needed: Snape to show up and bear witness to his childish sobbing. His grief was his own. He refused to share it with anybody, even if it was the man who'd apparently saved his life.

Two more days.

There were books in the cupboard as well as the food. Each day he'd tried to start reading one. He'd get several dozen pages in before he realized he hadn't the faintest idea what the book was about. It would resume its place in the shelf.

On the sixth evening, Snape returned.

The sudden sound of the lock releasing brought the boy out of his beginning slumber. He'd taken to sleeping to pass the time. He knew that wasn't healthy, but there was little else for him at the moment. When he came around fully, Snape was already seated in his previous chair.

"I am Professor Severus Snape. Who. Are. You?"

He rubbed his eyes wearily.

"Aiden Caldwell."

"Aiden. Fire. Good, you'll need that. What made you choose it?"

He shrugged. "In… Nursery School, there was a boy who was nice to me. Even my cousin's threats didn't scare him. His family moved away before the year was out. He was the last friend I'd had before… Ron…"

"And Caldwell?"

He nudged his chin towards the cupboard. "It was in one of those books over there… the author's name I think."

"Well, Aiden. It is time for you to meet your new face."

Harry's eyes widened.

"You didn't really expect to keep your same looks did you?"

He shook his head slowly. "No. No I guess not. I just never really thought about it."

Snape stood up and summoned a standing mirror out of thin air. It was placed in front of the boy on the bed.

"Nothing too drastic. Subtly is more often effective than dramatic change. Drink this first." Harry took the offered vile and downed it. It tasted like almonds. Harry felt his face go numb.

Snape observed him a moment. "Interesting," he mused to himself. He pointed his wand at Harry.

"This will not be simply an illusion charm I am placing on you. I will be transfiguring your face slightly. Only I will be able to remove the effect. Do you understand?"

He nodded.

"Then we shall begin."

Snape studied the boy's face. Potter-- No Caldwell had grown rather slowly over the years. He was nearly eighteen but visually could pass for three years younger than that. That was his first order of business. With a precise flick of his wand, Severus defined the boy's jaw line. He deepened his brow and straightened his nose from the childlike roundness it still possessed. The eyes became sharper in their definition.

Severus stood back and observed his work. He tried not to gape, but he had to close his eyes for a moment.

The boy looked exactly like James Potter had before he died. Potter had always strongly resembled his father, but now, if you took a picture the faces were indistinguishable, save for the scar and the eye colour. James too had never quite looked his age. He'd died at twenty-one years of age, but looked to be about eighteen… as his son now properly appeared.

The boy must have seen it too. He was staring mesmerized at the mirror in front of him.

"I look just like…"

"I'm not finished yet, Mr. Caldwell."

The young man shut his mouth.

"I have advanced the way you looked to match where your age should be now, around three years. However, this is not how your facial structure is truly advancing. This can be used to our advantage. Everyone expects that you will continue to look exactly like your father. The potion I just gave you shows that as you mature, your facial structure will soon begin to more resemble your mother's features. A more masculine version, but I dare say that in a few years, no one would have mistaken you for James Potter. So, I will use that. It is much simpler to advance your already existing gene sequence. Hold still."

Snape pointed his wand at Potter again and slowly began to advance the contours of his face with a powerful aging spell. A millimetre here and there. Slowly and precisely. The potion he had given the boy was also a type of cementing base he'd concocted himself. It would hold the advancing spell in place like a pair of invisible hands. If he were hit with an anti-glamour spell or someone tried to end the incantation, the potion would hold the image in place. If you touched his face, the image felt real. He lowered his wand. The young man who now sat in front of him was a stranger. A familiar stranger. If you saw him, you would have sworn you'd met before, but would never be able to place him. There was the strong presence of Lily Evens there. James Potter was also there if you looked for him. There were also other additives, no doubt from Harry's grand or great-grand parents. A history in one young man's face.

Snape moved to the other side of the young man. Potter was still staring wide-eyed at his new image.

Again, Snape aimed his wand. He placed glamour over the first spell. One that looked exactly like Harry's new face. It hovered centimetres from his skin. This was the most difficult part. He needed to carefully weave the second onto the first. Tiny magical tendrils, hair like in their consistency and numbers, reached out to the first image and latched on. The glamour merged onto the new face. This step was not really necessary, but Snape wanted to leave nothing to chance. Harry's face glowed golden for a moment and he closed his eyes at the brightness of it. He covered his face with his hands.

Harry didn't recognize the face beneath his hands. It was a strange sensation. He didn't normally go around feeling people's faces, but the sculpt of his own had become second nature to him. And now, there were someone else's features beneath his fingers.

He dropped his hands and looked into the mirror.

Hello Aiden, he thought. The young man looking back at him was not Harry Potter. If you excluded the scar and the bright green eyes, you would never associate that face with Harry Potter's. True to his word, Snape's changes were not that drastic. His eyes seemed a little further apart, but only minutely. His mouth was a little wider, the lips slightly fuller. He had to admit he looked more his age, the older side of seventeen, the onset of manhood. His skin was still soft, but tighter around the cheekbones and chin. The baby-fat, which persisted in tormenting him was completely gone. He was… attractive.

Damn attractive if he did say so himself. In fact, if he were looking at someone else rather than himself…

Harry shook his head. This was just too weird. It would take some getting used to, and quick. He couldn't go around getting aroused at his own image. Talk about your Narcissistic nightmare.

"Satisfactory?" Snape asked sourly. Harry nodded.

"Here." Snape handed him a small container. Harry opened it. Inside were two soft light-brown coloured lenses. Contact lenses. Harry touched one gingerly.

"These don't feel like plastic."

"They are created from the lenses of eagle eyes. They do not need changing. They are not detectable and they will not dry out. Nor will they fall out. You need a special solution to remove them."

"They sound great," Harry said, slipping one in. "Why don't more wizards use them?"

"Because blinding an eagle tends to go against most wizards' morality."

Harry blinked at him with one brown eye and one green. "Blinding?"

"For the lenses to be effective, they must be taken from live eagles."

He looked down at the remaining lens in the container.

"It is too late to restore the sight of that bird Mr. P--Mr. Caldwell! It has long since been cut up for ingredients. Put the lens in."

Harry hesitated only a moment then put the second lens in. He blinked several times then looked at himself in the mirror. The image was much clearer now.

Wow, you are attractive.

I must stop that.

Snape handed Harry another bottle. "Go in there and wash this into your hair. It will lighten it a shade. Rub some into your eyebrows as well."

"Is it permanent?"

"It should last approximately six months. I will give you the instructions to produce more. Even you could not mess up this potion."

"You're faith inspires me," Harry muttered as he stood and moved towards the washroom.

Snape reached into his robes and retrieved a small package. He placed it on the bed and resized the object.

It was a medium sized Muggle duffle bag. From it, he withdrew a pair of blue jeans, a t-shirt, a thin jacket a pair of shoes and a set of under-things. He scooped up the clothes, knocked once on the washroom door and entered. Potter was already in the shower. He dropped the clothes on the sink and closed the door. He then set about disposing of the food and bed sheets. The books he placed in the bag. It surprised him that the boy had begun to read them. He might wish to continue.

Potter emerged from the washroom ten minutes later. His hair was now a dark shade of brown. He was drying it with a towel. Snape pointed his wand at him.

"Augmentos."

Potter started as his hair grew just under an inch longer than it had been. It now reached just above his lightened eyebrows.

"Siccio."

His hair dried instantly. He looked at himself in the mirror.

"Castigatos"

The horror that was Potter's coif tamed itself for the first time in his life. He ran a hand through it. It re-settled.

"Wow," he said quietly.

"Oh, yes. That reminds me…"

Snape pointed at Potter's throat.

"Speak, Mr. Caldwell."

"What do you want me--"

"Summitrere Vox."

"--to say…?"

Harry grabbed his throat. "What?" His voice was slightly lower than it had been.

"And finally…" Snape uttered another incantation, this time aimed at Harry's scar. Harry stumbled back a bit from the power of it. When he regained his balance, the Boy-Who-Lived's infamous scar was gone… or at least it appeared to be. Harry ran a hand over his forehead as he looked at himself in the mirror.

"It's still there. I can still feel it."

"Well, of course it is. There isn't a magic known that can erase that disfigurement. It can however, be hidden. Just make certain no witch or wizard runs their hand across your face."

He nodded absently still rubbing the invisible mark. Snape gave him a once over.

"I believe that is sufficient."

"What happens now?"

Harry watched as his former Professor reached into the black bag and withdrew an envelope and a piece of paper.

"You will take a Muggle taxi to this address," he told him, handing him the paper. "It is a shop called 'Odds and Things: Antiques, Books and Holistic Cures'. There you will meet a man by the name of Liam Delvin. This is where you will be staying. You will work in this shop and earn your keep. You are to do as he says and not make yourself a nuisance."

"He's expecting us?"

"No. You will give him this letter."

"You--You're not coming with me?"

Snape narrowed his eyes.

"I have other responsibilities aside from you, Mr. Caldwell."

"What if he turns me away?"

"He won't. Liam is a… friend, who owes me a great debt."

"But if he's a wizard, won't he… I mean, does he… will he know who I am… Er… Who I was?"

"It's in this letter. And Liam is a Squib. He has very little to do with the active Wizarding world if he can help it. You will be safe there as long as you do no active magic and don't draw to much attention to yourself."

"It's in Oxford. Are we in Oxford?"

"About seventy kilometres outside of it."

"That's a rather expensive trip."

"There is more than enough money in this jacket's inner pocket. Spend it carefully as it is all you will receive from me."

Snape handed Harry the jacket on the bed. "When you reach the shop, knock loudly on the front door. Keep knocking until he answers. He will eventually."

He nodded. Snape handed him the bag.

"There are copies of the Daily Prophet since Harry Potter's arrest in there. I thought you might like some confirmation of the situation other than my word. When you've finished with them, burn them. Accio robes."

Harry's former robes flew out of the washroom to the Professor's hands. He tossed them into the fire.

"They should be done by my return," he muttered to himself. "Follow me," he commanded and swept out the door. Harry took one last look around, ignoring the heavy feeling in his chest and the fluttering in his stomach, and trailed after the dark man.

His knuckles were sore and he was sure, close to bleeding. He'd been knocking for fully ten minutes on the wooden frame of the glass door. 'Odds and Things: Antiques, Books and Holistic Cures' was located on a mostly quiet street amongst other small homes and quaint shops. It was a two story, square, red brick building. The large windows on either side of the door were covered with thick maroon drapes.

Harry wearily dropped his arm and raised the other. He struck the door twice and it flew open, startling him.

A man, perhaps in his late thirties (who looked very bitter) stood in the doorframe.

"You do know that it's three o'clock in the bloody morning, don't you?!"

"Yes, sir, but I…"

"Then bugger off! I open in six and a half hours!!"

He made to slam the door shut, but Harry grabbed it and held it open.

"Severus Snape sent me!"

The man stopped trying to squeeze the door closed. "Severus? He did, did he?"

Harry relaxed some. "I'm sorry to knock so late, but he told me to knock and keep knocking till you came to the door." He shrugged. "I'm not in much of a position to be ignoring him right now."

"Who ever is?" The man stepped back into the shop and waved him in. "Well, young sir, my name is Liam Delvin. How are you addressed?"

"My name is Aiden Caldwell and Professor Snape told me to give you this, before speaking further." He handed Delvin the envelope. The man shut the door before slitting paper open and removing the letter inside. He watched as Delvin read the two pages of script, his lips moving slightly with the words.

Harry took this opportunity to observe his new keeper and their surroundings. Liam was a handsome man. Sandy coloured hair with eyes to match. He was tall, not as tall as Professor Snape, but taller than Harry by a few inches. He was clean-shaven, and his hair was short and neat. He was wearing a long night robe, which had pinstriped pyjamas peeking out.

They were standing in the middle of a small, congested shop. There was a shop counter that ran almost the entire length of the store. Antique looking furniture crowded every corner and was piled in front of the wide, full windows on either side of the front door. Behind the long wooden counter were shelves built into the wall that, like everything else in the shop reached up to ceiling. They were stocked full of bottles and boxes and vials, all behind locked sliding glass doors. The two remaining walls were covered with thick books, richly bound. It was a pleasant looking shop, Harry thought. Warm and friendly. It reminded him of the apothecary shops in the Hogsmeade and Diagon Al-- Harry stopped himself. He didn't want to think about the Wizarding world just then.

Near what had to be the end of the second page, Delvin chuckled and shook his head. He looked up.

"So, Harry Potter is it?"

"Aiden Caldwell," Harry repeated.

"Liam smiled. "Well, Aiden lets see about getting you settled then, shall we?"

He led Harry through the crowded shop to the open doorway behind the counter. Just through the doorway on the right was a dark winding stairwell, which they ascended. They went down a single hallway that seemed to run through the centre of the house.

"Here's the loo on your right," he said. He popped open a cupboard next to the washroom and pullout a pillow and some blankets. He kicked the door shut and continued. "That's my room," he said nodding to an open door on the left. As they passed, Harry could see the tossed about sheets and felt another pang of guilt for having drawn this man from his bed at such an hour.

"Spare room," he nodded to his right, "and yours is here on the left."

He opened the door and stood aside to let Harry enter.

It was a comfortable room. A double bed, chair and desk. A single clothes cupboard and a standing mirror. A night table and lamp. It was the largest room Harry had ever had to himself.

"Something wrong?" Liam asked. He dropped the bedding onto the thinly covered mattress, and turned on the lamp beside the bed.

"No, no. It's fine. More than fine actually. Are you sure it's not an inconvenience? I don't mind the sofa…"

"Oh, Fah. Don't be ridiculous! I live here on my own and the only person who ever stays over is Severus, and he prefers the room across the hall."

"Professor Snape stays here?"

"Only on rare occasions, or when it's late and he doesn't feel like travelling and such. We can discuss this more and get better acquainted come morning. …Or, rather, later on in the morning. You get settled in and I'll see you in a few hours."

"All right," Harry said and Liam headed for the door. "Again, I'm really sorry about the late--"

Liam waved him off. "Don't say another word about it. I've got a letter to finish… and then burn, and then I'll be turning in. A few hours of sleep and this will all be a moot point."

He clapped Harry on the shoulder.

"If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask. You know where I am, Ha--Aiden."

"Thank you, Mr. Devlin."

"You're welcome, and it's Liam," the older man said, heading out into the hall.

"Liam," Harry repeated.

The man smiled and nodded.

"Goodnight then," he said and closed the door after him.

Harry turned around and looked at his new living space… and suddenly he was more tired than he had ever been in his life.

He quickly dislodged the two blankets and draped them unceremoniously over the bed. He stripped down to his underwear and climbed in, burying his face in the pillow.

Aiden Caldwell, he thought, welcome to your new life.

To be continued.