Chapter 2 – The Boy Still Lived

Against all sinister predictions of Professor McGonagall, Snape was very well capable of raising a child. Admittedly, first he had been reluctant to even look at the child and had handled him with magic only, but after some time he found himself restless when Minerva took the little one out for a walk and discovered that he had sort of become fond of the brat.

Daily, at least one member of the staff came to visit Harry to make sure he was all right and to spoil him with sweets and magical toys (Snape destroyed them immediately once the visitors were out of sight).

Harry seemed to be happy with Snape, too. Harry's first words were "Wowoo" and "Sevvus", which Snape was very proud of, not because Harry had spoken his name, but because he had correctly pointed at a pile of Wormwood when he had brabbled the first word.

At the age of three, Harry was able to name any potion ingredient Severus knew himself. During the school year, Harry was to stay in Snape's rooms and study or read. He was only allowed to go out in company of a teacher and with a concealment charm over his scar, the reason for which of course he didn't understand but he complied without any question. Harry knew that Severus wasn't his father and neither was Dumbledore, but he had given up asking about his parents, just as asking about his scar. The adults always told him that he was too young to know.

When he became five, Harry was allowed to go out alone for the first time and he took great delight in hiding somewhere in Hagrid's hut and jumping out at the right moment, scaring Hagrid half to death each time. He had become a right little Slytherin. At least twice a day he caused trouble, be it for testing which potion ingredients reacted explosive with each other or sneaking into Aunt Minnie's office and setting a pile of third-year tests on fire.

Snape regarded all this wordlessly and let Harry write yet another essay about the properties of moonstone and its use in the middle ages for punishment, but what he didn't know was that Harry enjoyed studying potions. He could not imagine what it would be like not to live among wizards. Once or twice he had heard Uncle Albus talk about 'muggles', which seemed to be people without magic, but then, Harry thought, they wouldn't be able to brew potions or do those great things Aunt Minnie could do with her wand (and that he would be able to do, too one day, as Severus had told him) and it was out of question that everybody could do that, so he must have misheard what Albus had said.

"Severus?" Harry whined, throwing himself across Snape's lap, effectively concealing the book he had been trying to read.

"What is it now?" he grumbled, but Harry saw that he wasn't really angry with him, just tired and exhausted from teaching.

Harry sat up and looked him straight in the face. Today he was determined to get a proper answer to his question.

"When can I go to classes like everybody else?" Harry asked expectantly.

Snape sighed and lifted him up, retrieving the book and setting it down on the table. Then he turned back to Harry.

"When you are at least as tall as the other students are." he repeated the answer to Harry's usual question once again. And Harry seemed to just have waited for this answer. He grinned broadly.

"Ha! Today I've found a boy that's even smaller than I am! So that means I can go, too?"

Snape rolled his eyes at the ceiling. "No, you can't. Students aren't accepted at Hogwarts until they are eleven. You are seven and currently behaving like a three-year old."

Harry screwed up his nose. "So I have to wait four more years?"

"Yes."

Harry still didn't give up. "But I'm bored, nearly all day long I have to study and when I go out I always have to stay out of the children's way. That's no fun."

Snape pondered any occupation for Harry but the only playmate he could come up with was Lucius Malfoy's son, Draco, and he had tried to keep the two of them apart as hard as he could. He still didn't trust Lucius, the bastard, and wouldn't bring Harry in danger by telling Lucius that he lived here. On the other hand, Hogwarts was quite safe... He'd have to think about that again. For now another thing came to his mind.

Slowly he got up, placing Harry on the sofa, and put the book back to its place.

"Would you like to go on a trip to muggle London tomorrow?" he asked, already dreading the noises of glee Harry would make. And too right he did.

Laughing and shouting he jumped around on the sofa. He had never been to muggle London before! By now of course he knew that there were non-magic people but he still couldn't understand how they managed their lives.

Still grinning madly, Harry darted to Snape and hugged him. A few years ago Snape would have hexed him off and run away screaming but now he only pried off Harry's fingers and pushed him towards his bedroom, mumbling something uncomprehensible about children, Dumbledore and vendetta.

The next day Snape woke at five o' clock, alerted by the silently creaking sound of the door of his bedroom. He heard a pair of small feet tapping on the cold stone floor towards his bed and lit his wand, just to see a happily grinning, fully clothed Harry come into view. He was presenting a tray laden with food, undoubtedly the work of an overenthusiastic house elf.

"What is it?" Snape yawned, struggling to keep his eyes open.

Harry looked at him reproachfully. "You said we were going to London today!" he sang.

"Not at five o'clock..." Snape objected and pulled the covers over his head. Harry set down the tray and crawled in beside him. "Pleeeeeaase!" he begged, trying to push down the covers.

"You promised!"

Finally Harry agreed to lie still and let Snape sleep just one more hour if they went to the zoo later. Harry was happy with that, although he wasn't quite sure what a zoo was.

At ten o'clock and after much more fighting they were finally ready to go. The travelled by floo powder, which was always an exciting experience for Harry because it was so mysterious and so dangerous and Snape was always so concerned that something might happen to Harry, but as usual they made it unharmed to the Leaky Cauldron. Snape steered him straightly out, he didn't want to get involved in a conversation, lest someone ask who Harry was.

Harry had been trained to tell people that his name was Harold Porter, nevertheless Snape was anxious that someone might recognize him.

When they had left the pub they packed away their robes and Harry proudly presented his new muggle clothes. Snape had even allowed him to choose a red shirt, something that occurred not often as he despised the Gryffindors. Harry didn't mind them, he liked the change of colour, usually he was permitted only black and green robes.

Excitedly, Harry zoomed around between the shopwindows, pulling Snape with him to show him 'a lentivator!' and Snape had to go and explain that the muggles used them instead of Cooling Charms. "Not so stupid, the muggles, are they?" Harry asked then, already mesmerized by yet another wonder of the non-magic world.

When at last they entered a book shop, Snape let Harry run to the children's books and amused himself strolling along a shelf about 'Esotericism and Magic'.

When Harry finally found a shelf that looked remotely interesting to him he opened a random book, just to find out that the pictures were frozen.

"Severus!" he called loudly, surprised that the pictures in other books didn't move either. Suddenly a little girl with lots of bushy hair and a brace stormed around the corner.

"Do you mind?" she snapped and regarded him haughtily. "I want to read."

In the girl's hands was a book whose title said something like 'Chemisty' and the pictures looked vaguely like potions. Harry was sure that he didn't like this girl but Severus had taught him not judge people by their appearances.

"Hi. What is your book about?" Harry asked her shyly. He seemed to have said the right thing because suddenly she was talking and talking about certain substances and how they had to be mixed and so on and Harry honestly didn't know how to stop her. She told him at least half of what was standing in the book, he was sure of it.

When she made a small pause to catch her breath he interrupted her.

"So basically this is just like potions, only without magic?" One second after he had said this he regretted it already. Snape had told him not to talk about magic in front of muggles, but this girl hadn't seemed as stupid as the others. But now she was looking curiously at him.

"You don't honestly still believe in magic? I mean, how old are you?"

Harry was really irritated now. He wished Severus would come and show her magic, all right.

But Severus had disappeared. No one to consult here.

"No, of course I don't," Harry changed tactics. "But I mean, in theory..?"

"In theory, yes. By the way, what's your name?" she asked, a bit friendlier.

"Harold Porter, but everybody calls me Harry. And yours?"

"Granger Hermione." She turned around and sat down at one of the tables. Harry followed her and sat beside her. Suddenly something came to his mind.

"Are you big enough to go to school?" he asked her curiously.

Surprised, she turned her big eyes towards him. "I've been going to school for two years." she said proudly. "I'm best in my year."

"Wow.." Harry was jealous of her. He was at least as tall as she was!

"Don't you go to school?" Hermione asked back.

Harry shook his head. "Severus says I must wait until I am eleven. He teaches me now. He's nice, but I'd like to see other children too.."

The girl seemed astounded by the idea of not going to school. "That must be boring... Why do you call your father Severus?"

"He is not my father," Harry corrected. "My parents died when I was very small, but he won't tell me how."

"I'm sorry..." Hemione was at a loss of words.

"It's all right. I never even knew them."

Hermione looked for a moment at him and then pulled him to a corner behind a bookshelf.

"Do you really believe in magic?" she asked, almost pleadingly. Harry didn't know what this was all about but he understood that an honest answer was called for. He nodded slowly.

The girl sighed, relieved. "See, we had a test on the geography of Scotland last Monday, and I couldn't remember the name of the third most important city. So I thought about a map, and suddenly a map of Scotland flew from the cupboard to me and opened and I could read it all!" she hastily told him, terrified of what had happened. "I didn't tell anyone else, because I knew they wouldn't believe me, but you do, don't you?"

Harry smiled. Maybe she wasn't that bad after all. Could it be that she was a witch?

"I believe you!" he assured her. "I can let my hair grow about three inches overnight!" he told her smugly.

"Harry!" a deep voice suddenly called. Harry realised that they were still standing behind the shelf, so he hurried outside. Snape was standing in front of him, suspiciously looking behind Harry.

"I thought I heard you talking about magic...?" he said.

Harry stepped to the side and let Hermione come out of their hiding place.

"Yes, I was. It's okay. That's Hermione – she's also a witch." Harry explained.

Snape glared at her. "Where are your parents?" he questioned her.

"At home. Where are your parents?" she snapped back. Harry was astounded. Most people were afraid of Severus but if Hermione was, she hid it quite well. Looking cautiously at Severus, he saw that Severus was hiding a grin. He liked that girl too.

"How did you come here when your parents are at home?" Snape asked.

"By the London Underground." Hermione answered in the same icy voice.

"Rubbish. Little children like you can't travel alone by the Underground."

"I can." Hermione put her book onto the nearest table and waved at Harry. "Good bye, Harry!"

"Where is she going?" Harry asked, concerned. If Severus said she couldn't go by Underground alone, then she couldn't. Why wouldn't she listen?

"I suppose to the London Underground," Snape answered dryly. "Come on, let's go, too."

The zoo turned out to be a boring park with a lot of boring animals. Only the reptiles could draw Harry's interest at themselves. Patiently, Snape explained the name, origin and characteristics of each snake, until they arrived at one snake Snape didn't know.

"What's this one called?" Harry asked enthusiastically.

"I don't know."

"Where does it come from?"

"I don't know."

"What can it do?"

"Ask the snake."

For a second Harry pondered if Snape was making fun of him, but why should he?
So Harry bent down to the eye-level of the snake and spoke.

"Hi! My name is Harry, and who are you?" To his surprise the snake opened its eyes and answered.

"Greetingssss, human boy. My name is Hasssan.."

"And where do you come from? Was it nice there?" Harry asked, intruiged.

"Ssssspain...Very niccce micccce there..." the snake hissed, then closed its eyes again and curled up. Harry turned around to find Snape staring at him. "You're a parseltongue." Snape said.

"I'm a what?"

So Snape explained what exactly he was, dreading the answer to the question why Harry could talk to snakes.