DAF
Chapter Three: Babysitting
By: Torina
Severus Snape growled as he threw the covers off his previously sleeping form and marched over to Harry's crib for the third time in as many hours. "What!" he snarled, shocking the screaming baby into silence. Severus sighed and rubbed his temples. This was exhausting- how did the Dark Lord- not to mention Dumbledore- expect him to take care of a child? Voldemort hardly cared about his condition as long as he did what he was told, but Albus was constantly admonishing him to take better care of himself. So the man instructs him to offer to take care of the child for the Dark Lord! He was a teacher and a spy, not a babysitter! How was he supposed to care for the wretched thing? The Potions Master was ticked off, to say the least. Playing daddy to Harry Potter wasn't exactly on the top of his To Do list.
The child seemed to have sensed his frustration, and he was curled up into a ball and cooing quietly, a frightened expression on his tiny face. Severus groaned. The boy was empathic? Wonderful. Just wait till he turned two the next afternoon- the slightest agitation would set off a temper tantrum.
He released an exasperated breath and picked the child up, awkwardly balancing him in his arms. He had never held a child before, it was strangely calming. He rocked him back and forth tentatively, hoping to lull the child to sleep. He stiffened as the boy smiled and cuddled into his chest, but quickly recovered. He listened to the child's breathing a moment in silence, and walked back over to the crib when he was sure his steady breaths were indicative of deep sleep. He tried to place the boy in the makeshift bed, but he refused to let go of his robes, his grip tightening further with every attempt Severus made to dislodge the child. He sighed and slowly walked back over to his bed on the other side of the room, gently sitting down and covering them both with his warmest blankets. It wasn't as if Harry would remember this, anyway.
The first thing Severus noticed upon wakening the next morning was that Harry had grown considerably. He looked to be at least eighteen months old, and had apparently acquired the habit of sucking on his thumb overnight. Loath as he was to admit it, the child painted quite a pretty picture while asleep, lying there with such an angelic look on his face. One would never have guessed him to be James Potter's son.
Just as Severus was pondering the problem of how to appease his grumbling stomach without waking the child who was still clinging to his robes, Harry stretched his arms, yawned, and blearily blinked his eyes.
The Potions Master sighed. Well, there was one problem solved. He lifted the child into his arms and made his way down towards the kitchens. He sat down at the dining room table and snapped his fingers, triggering the appearance of a house elf.
"Myinci here, Master Snape sir. What can Myinci do for Master Snape sir and Young Master sir?" the elf queried.
Severus blinked at this unexpected revelation. What did babies eat? He glared half-heartedly at the child who was looking around the room at the pictures of his ancestors in awe. This situation was forcing him to realize that there were many things he didn't know and couldn't be prepared for, and he didn't like it one bit.
"I don't know, Myinci," he replied, gaining a startled look from the house elf. None of the Snape elves had ever heard their Master express indecision before. "I'll have bacon, eggs, toast, and milk. Do you have any idea what children his age eat?" he asked, indicating Harry, who was now toddling out of his chair in order to get a better look at the portraits. As Severus listened to Myinci list everything she knew of that was safe for small children to ingest, he found himself unwillingly following Harry around the room with his eyes, concerned for the child's safety despite himself.
"Yes, yes," he said distractedly, startling the elf for the second time, his eyes still following Harry's progress, "any of that will be fine."
Myinci nodded hesitantly and prepared to pop into the kitchens, but then stopped and said, "Master Snape sir?"
Severus turned his eyes away from Harry for a single precious moment. "Yes?"
Myinci hesitated once again. "Myinci knows it is not her place, Master Snape sir, but is there a problem, sir? Myinci is good house elf, sir, Myinci will help, Myinci will not tell her Master's secrets, sir."
Severus' expression softened for a moment. "I'm fine, Myinci, really. Thank you for your concern."
Myinci nodded and popped out to prepare their breakfast, and Severus turned back to Harry, his heavy heart feeling strangely lighter.
Severus sighed and pulled a tiny T-shirt over Harry's head. He had had no idea how messy young children could be! He shuddered to think that he had been one once. Surely he hadn't been so unruly and disrespectful? The child was a terror- it was hardly good etiquette to throw food all over the dining room, and Severus felt lucky that drying charms were second year material; the bath Harry had required to wash the pancake syrup from his hair had been… Wet, to say the least.
He lifted the child into his arms and glanced at the clock. 4:55. He tensed. Five minutes until the aging process was complete for the year. He gently placed the sleepy child down in his crib and waited anxiously for 5:00 to come.
4:56. Would Harry survive this? All the obscure potions journals he had read on the Aegis Potion had described different results; it appeared as if each subject reacted differently to the re-aging process. Some fell asleep (the reaction which Severus desperately hoped for after such a long day), some were merely bathed in light for a moment or two before the effects wore off, some were awarded strange, unearthly powers, and some… Some were killed in ways that made even Severus, a seasoned former Death Eater, cringe in disgust. Severus was unable to shake the feeling of foreboding that encompassed what was left of his soul- nothing was ever normal with him, he just knew that something strange would happen…
4:57. Harry shifted slightly, and Severus felt as if his heart had been ripped out of his chest. As hard as he had tried to fight it, he had come to care for the child… And the thought that he might not survive the next few moments of his frail young life made him feel something he had not felt in years, decades- fear. Fear for the boy in front of him, fear for what he would do without him… There was none of the usual things he felt that could be likened to fear, fear for what Albus would say if he didn't survive, fear of the disappointed look on the Headmaster's face as he told him of his failure, fear of the Dark Lord's punishment if he failed… He felt none of this. His entire being, mind, body, and soul, were occupied with only one thing- the act of worrying about the child who had been placed in his care.
4:58. Harry looked up into the Potions Master's eyes, and there Severus saw many things. Innocence, trust, fear, and love… Children were such fools. Trusting someone who he had known for less than a day, loving anyone at all… Such a fool, such a fool… Severus felt unwilling tears springing to his eyes, but he held them back. This was what would be the end of him, this emotion, this love, this trust… This was what would kill him, if Severus' own potion did not kill him first.
4:59. Oh, how he wished he had refused to brew the potion for the Dark Lord in the first place! How trivial his own life now seemed, in comparison to the life of this innocent little child! Severus was unable to make a connection between the boy before him and the arrogant fifth year he had taught the last year, they were not the same person, not the same soul. This child was kind, innocent, too trusting for his own good… The complete opposite of the Harry Potter he remembered. This was the Harry Potter he loved…
5:00. Severus braced himself as the clock chimed, and his eyes widened as the boy was lifted into the air by some unseen force. There was a flash of green light, and a small, lightning-shaped scar appeared on the child's forehead before he floated softly back down into Severus' arms, who let out a sigh of relief. He hugged the child to his chest and breathed in deeply. He then smiled in grim satisfaction,
the Dark Lord would not be happy with this. Albus would be pleased. And thank Merlin Harry was all right.
By the time dinner arrived that night, Severus had finally calmed down. He spooned some eggs onto Harry's plate and motioned for him to eat.
"Nak oo, da," he said.
Severus raised an eyebrow at this, bewildered. "Excuse me?" he asked.
Harry rolled his eyes in a long-suffering manner. "Hawwy say nak oo dada!" he repeated.
Severus stood absolutely still in shock. Good lord. The child thought he was James Potter.
Haha. I'm so evil. I'm gonna leave it here. Sorry it's so short… :( Anyway, what do you think? Like, hate? Either way, please R&R! The ending was a little abrupt… Ah well. Byeness!
Torina Archelda
P.S. Check out some of my fics on
