Childlike Innocence
Chapter 2: You've Gotta Eat Your Spinach Baby!
Severus slowly opened his eyes and quickly took in his surroundings. He was lying on a bed in a room filled with several other beds. It had large windows along the wall opposite where he was currently lying, and from his vantage point, he could see that it was a bright clear day. That was about it.
As any child suddenly thrust in a completely unknown environment, he began to become rather fearful. The only thing that prevented this fear from becoming full-blown panic was a feeling in the back of his mind that he was safe. He slowly sat up on the small hospital bed and pushed aside the covers. He slid quietly to the floor and hurried over to the large double doors he could see to the right. He stretched up as far as he could go and grasped the large handle. He started to turn it when it flew open, throwing him to the stone floor.
"Headmaster?" Remus Lupin called as he threw open the hospital wing door. He heard a WHUMP and looked down. There, sprawled on the floor was a tiny little boy with black hair. A tiny little boy, whose eyes were rapidly filling with tears. Lupin knelt down quickly and lifted the child to his feet.
"Are you alright?" Lupin asked concernedly. The tears were now spilling over and the child began to sob. Lupin was perplexed and quickly picked the child up, trying to comfort him.
Severus was so confused. He did not know where he was and his head hurt from making contact with the stone floor. He clung to the strange man and continued to sob burying his face in the man's neck.
"Ahhh Severus has woken up," came the soft cheery voice of the headmaster. Remus spun around and stared at the old man. The headmaster reached out, pulled the weeping child from Remus' grasp, and rubbed comforting circles on his back. "There, there little one, it's alright. I know it is a bit of a shock, but you are safe. Would you like a Lemon Sherbet?" Inquired the headmaster. The little boy sniffled and turned his tear stained face to look at the man with the long beard. His breath was now coming in little gasping hiccups, as he reached out his hand to accept the proffered sweet.
Remus meanwhile was staring at the headmaster, mouth agape. "Severus?" exclaimed Remus, sending a horrified look in the direction of the child. "But…wha…I don't unders.." While Remus struggled to articulate a coherent thought, the headmaster chuckled.
"Yes, yes, it is Severus Snape. I will have to explain later, but right now, I have a little one to calm down and feed, as I am sure he is quite hungry. Are you hungry Severus?" asked the headmaster, looking at the boy kindly. Severus nodded slowly, his eyes widening. He was hungry and, as testimony, his stomach let out a small rumble. Albus chuckled again and with Severus still in his arms and Remus trailing behind, he headed for the great hall.
As they reached it, Severus looked up at the ceiling and was positively entranced with the enchanted ceiling. He had never seen anything like that before. When they reached the head table Minerva McGonagall looked up from her plate and nearly dropped her fork in surprise.
"He's awake? How is he? What brings you here Remus?" She asked immediately.
"Yes as you obviously see he is awake and is quite alright apart from a little spill, and as for why Remus is present, I am awaiting his explanation." The headmaster replied gaily as he settled Severus in a chair with several large books stacked on it. Remus sat on the other side of McGonagall, as far away from Severus as he could get. The headmaster sat next to Severus and began to pile food on the boy's plate as well as his own.
"I suggest we save explanations until after we have eaten" The Headmaster stated before quickly stuffing a large bite of roll in his mouth. McGonagall pursed her lips, feeling slightly miffed at the lack of information, but returned to her meal.
Remus stared at his plate. What the hell was going on? He was hoping to avoid any interaction with Snape whatsoever when he had come to the castle to discuss something with Albus, and yet here he was having dinner with him, except he was much smaller than he normally was. Remus glanced over at the tiny boy and noticed that he was not eating anything either. The small boy looked as though he was about to cry again. Remus quickly looked at Albus and Professor McGonagall to see if they had noticed, but they both seemed to be focused on their own meals. Despite how relations were between Snape and himself, he felt the need to do something.
"So Severus…um…how are the holidays going?" He asked awkwardly as he started to eat. Severus looked up, the tears now forgotten, his face conveying his confusion. Was there a holiday? He did not know this man, who was he? Like most small children, he had no hesitation in blurting out that very thought. Remus dropped his fork and stared at the boy then turned his gaze on the Headmaster, with an expression that demanded an explanation.
After calmly sipping from his goblet and patting his mouth with his napkin he said, "Well, as you can see Severus is not himself, not only in appearance but also in mind. He had a bit of a potions accident and has been transformed into a three year old." At this, Severus looked rather indignant.
"I'm not three! I'm 4 and a half!" he said with a dark scowl. If he had been his adult self, the expression would have caused Longbottom to wet himself, however, in his current form he just managed to look even more adorable. McGonagall hid a smile behind her napkin, as Dumbledore chuckled aloud.
"I beg your pardon Severus. Remus, He is 4 and a Half."
Even Remus privately admitted that little Snape was rather cute. Besides, it would be very unfair of him to hold any animosity he held against Snape, against this child, who obviously had no clue what was going on, and was quite fragile and innocent. With a hesitant smile, Remus addressed the Headmaster, "What is being done to reverse the situation? I mean with Vol…Voldemort on the loose and Severus' situation, this could get very bad for the Order."
The headmaster looked pensively at the small child, who was occupied with pushing the spinach as far away from him as he could get it with a disgusted look on his tiny face. "Actually this has turned out much better than I originally thought. Severus was under suspicion and Voldemort was getting much to close to discovering his treachery. I have been trying to convince Severus to quit but he takes his duty so seriously, still thinking he has to earn redemption. In a way this is a blessing, because now I can keep him safe."
"But Albus, what are we going to do with him over the summer? He cannot stay here a Hogwarts; we are all leaving." Minerva McGonagall asked anxiously.
"I'll have to give it some more thought. In the meantime, I think we should adjourn to my office as we all seem to have completed our meals and Remus can tell me what he needs."
(End of Chapter)
