Childlike Innocence

Chapter 5: Something Appealing

"But I cannot possibly care for him!" Remus exclaimed as the headmaster calmly stirred his tea.

"Why ever not my dear boy?"

"Why not? Why NOT?" Remus ran his hand agitatedly through his rapidly graying hair.

"Albus…" his voice was pained, "First of all I am a Werewolf. Second, he hates me, and I…well I don't really like him either…I mean as an adult." The headmaster's right eyebrow rose slightly and a faint smile graced his lips. "Well ok, yes, we have been getting on okay for the last couple of days, which is probably due in large part to the fact that he can't remember a God Damn Thing!" his cheeks had a light pink tinge to them as he finished.

The headmaster regarded him thoughtfully for a moment or two, then set his teacup on his desk and leaned forward, looking the former Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher directly in the eye.

"My child, you are ideal for the position for several reasons. One, you are wonderful with children. Two, Severus seems comfortable with you. Three, no one will ever look for him to be with you because of the unpleasant history between the two of you."

During this speech the headmaster stood, and came around to the front of his desk and placed a hand on the werewolf's shoulder.

"Lastly, and most importantly, I trust you to not let any harm befall my little friend." The trust evident in Dumbledore's eyes was quite gratifying to say the least.

"All right…but what about the werewolf thing?"

"I think if proper precautions are taken this should not be a problem. If there is a problem, we will deal with it when it appears. Now," the headmaster said clapping his hands together, "I have already made all the arrangements. The both of you will leave on the Hogwarts express tomorrow morning, pick up whatever you will need in Diagon Alley, and then fly to your home."

"Have you told him yet?"

"Told who what?" the Headmaster asked quizzically, looking confused for a moment.

"Oh, you mean Severus," His eyes began to twinkle. "I plan to tell him when he awakes tomorrow. Initially I planned on telling him this evening, but I am afraid that any more excitement today and he might never fall asleep."

At this, Remus became quite fascinated with the carpet. The headmaster let out a hearty laugh and said, "Not to worry, I am sure the castle will recover nicely before the school year begins."

"Well," Remus said, keeping his voice light, "I must bid you good night headmaster," and he exited the room.

As Remus lay in his bed that evening, he thought over that day's events.

ooO0Ooo

The tour of the castle had started out quite innocently. They had arrived outside of Gryffindor tower and were greeted by the image of the Fat Lady. After Remus had supplied the password, he led Severus into the common room.

As Remus stood by the fireplace, caught in a wave of nostalgia, Severus walked around, examining the room for a good five minutes, and then he walked up to Remus, looked him straight in the eye and said, "Gold is tacky." With that, he turned on his heel and exited the tower.

Remus stood still, gaping in shock at an empty room. "Gold is Tacky"? Where in heavens name had a four year old picked that up? Alternatively, was this perhaps another suppressed feeling surfacing? Remus closed his mouth with a snap and exited in the wake of the little future/past Slytherin.

He was five steps out of the entrance when he realized that he had walked straight past Severus, who was standing next to the Fat Lady's portrait, his little arms crossed over his tiny chest, a sullen expression on his face. This was a pose that Remus had often observed Severus in, both when they were in school together and as an adult. While normally when affecting this look Severus looked even more sullen and repulsive, the tiny figure looked kind of cute.

Remus hid a smile behind his hand, all indignation at having his beloved former house colors called tacky now forgotten.

"Hem…well, I guess we could visit the Owlrey next, if you'd like."

Severus' eyes widened, and as the sullen pose vanished, a small smile appeared to take its place, and he shyly placed his hand in the Lycanthrope's. They began the long walk to the Owlrey with Remus lost in his own thoughts.

"Severus?" Remus inquired of the dark haired child as they walked. "Why do you think gold is tacky?"

Severus looked confused for a moment, and then he shrugged. "Oh…it's just something Aunt Danni told me."

The conversation was halted as they entered the room. Severus' eyes widened as his nose simultaneously wrinkled at the smell. The smell, Remus reflected, was not as bad as it was during the school year, but it was still rather pungent. And from the looks of things, Filch had not yet given the Owlrey its summer scouring. Since the students were gone for the summer, only the school owls remained.

Severus had released Remus' hand and walked closer to an owl on a low perch to examine it. It was not a particularly attractive bird, an Owl, Severus decided. Then again, Severus was not fond of birds in the first place. He thought Peacocks were pretty enough, but owls definitely did not belong in the same category. Their body shape was weird and he hated their eyes when they looked at you.

Severus had of course seen owls before when they delivered the post or the news. They did not have any owls at home because father preferred falcons. They were faster and less likely to be apprehended. He wondered what the owls felt like, and reaching out with his free hand slowly he prodded it in the side.

Most owls as you know are rather calm and peaceful creatures, especially these owls since they were quite used to children. Unfortunately, for the little potions master, this was Fredrick. Fredrick was not like the other owls. He was vicious, foul tempered and downright hateful. So a little poke, which most owls would probably ignore, was met with talons and a fiercely snapping beak.

Remus, who had been gazing out one of the windows, whirled around at the sound of a squawk and a shriek. Severus was shielding his face and his head while Fredrick relentlessly attacked. The other owls had fluttered from their perches and were flying around in confusion. Remus came forward, pulling his wand out of his robes to try to protect Severus, when suddenly, it all stopped.

Remus blinked. Then closed his eyes tightly. When he reopened them, the odd scene had not disappeared. Every owl had been transformed into what looked like little roasted turkeys on silver platters, complete with the trimming.

Severus, who had fallen on his little backside, looked around with huge, frightened eyes. As his eyes met Remus', the child's bottom lip started to tremble and his eyes started to tear up. Remus felt an odd sense of déjà vu.

"Severus?" Remus said softly as he knelt down in front of the distressed child. "Are you okay? Is anything hurt?" He asked as he began to check the boy over for injuries. Miraculously, the psycho owl hadn't even managed to scratch him.

Severus shook his head and with a few sniffs, his eyes cleared and he stretched his arms up in a silent request to be picked up. After scooping the boy up, Remus also grabbed the boy's cup and blue elephant. Once Severus was completely situated, with his toy tucked under one arm and his cup clutched in the other, Remus walked up to one of the "mini turkeys." He shifted Severus to his left hip and pulled out his wand.

After trying several spells in an attempt to undo the spell, Remus sighed and pocketed his wand. He would leave it for Albus to deal with.

Half an hour later, after viewing the astronomy tower and the divination room (which was actually rather nice when properly aired and Trelawney free), Remus took Severus out to see the Quidditch pitch.

The little boy was delighted. He squirmed out of Lupin's arms, handed him the Blue elephant and cup, and began running around the poles that held up the hoops.

Remus smiled as he watched the boy. His thoughts drifted back to when they were still in school. Severus had never seemed to enjoy Quidditch much. He was very supportive of Slytherin winning, especially against Gryffindor, but other than house competition he rarely showed any interest.

While Remus was busy reminiscing, Severus had stopped running and had squatted down to examine an odd little button at the base of one of the end poles. It was shaped like an upside down teardrop and was only a shade darker than the gold pole it was on. So, being the curious child that he was, he pushed it.

For a moment, it seemed as though nothing had happened. Then the pole detached itself from the base and began to fall sidewise. It slammed into the middle pole with a resonating GONG. There was a cracking sound as the middle pole broke three feet above the ground. The first pole had bounced to the side and slammed to the ground. The second pole had fallen into the stands, Gryffindor stands to be precise, and the domino effect began. Luckily, the poles on the other end of the pitch separated the falling end of the pitch from the other, effectively keeping the rest of the stands from harm.

Remus had been jerked from his thoughts by the GONG and watched in frozen horror as half of the Quidditch arena was leveled. Severus was standing next to a hole where the first pole used to stand looking petrified.

"Oops." He whispered softly, eyes as round as dinner plates. Remus hurried over and grabbed the small child by the arm.

"What did you do?" he demanded. Realizing that he was frightening the boy, he loosened his grip and knelt down until he was eye level with the child. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you, but I need to know what happened," he said, striving to keep his voice calm.

Severus' wide eyes stared back at him as he answered in a whisper, "I just pushed the little button."

Remus frowned slightly before saying "What button, can you show it to me?"

Severus nodded slowly and walked over to the fallen, first pole and pointed to the little button. Remus stared at it. He had never seen it before, but then, he had never examined the base of the poles before so it was little wonder.

Severus looked like he was going to start crying again, so Remus picked him up and assured him that he was not in trouble, it was just an accident. With a sigh, Lupin turned and headed back to the castle as Severus clung to him. Since it was almost noon, he decided to go ahead and go to the great hall for lunch.

When they arrived the headmaster was already there waiting.

"Ah here you are. Good, I imagine you are both quite famished after your tour. I hoped you enjoyed it Severus?"

Severus and Remus exchanged an uneasy look. Remus carefully set Severus on his stack of books next to the headmaster before he seated himself on Severus' other side.

"Well…err…we had a few accidents."

"Ah, you are referring to our temporary deli I presume?" his eyes twinkling madly, "though I must confess curiosity as to how that occurred."

Severus shot Remus a pleading look. The werewolf sighed and told the headmaster what had happened. When he had finished, the headmaster smiled kindly at Severus and assured him that he was not in trouble, and Professor McGonagall would restore the birds that afternoon.

Suddenly the food appeared, putting an end to conversation. Remus served Severus and cut up the little boy's food before turning his attentions to his own plate. The headmaster observed all this with a knowing smile. Severus had refused the pumpkin juice and opted instead to finish his tea.

They were about halfway through with the meal when Professor McGonagall rushed in looking extremely upset. She skidded to a halt in front of the table.

"Albus…there's…something wrong with the Quidditch pitch…it has been destroyed!" She gasped out, collapsed in the chair opposite Severus, and tried to catch her breath.

The headmaster's eyebrows rose and he sent a wry look at Remus before saying, "This doesn't happen to be another one of these accidents you referred to, would it?"

"Err…maybe…yeah" Remus mumbled, unable to meet the headmaster's eye.

"And how, pray tell, did this occur?"

Remus once again found himself explaining an incident to the headmaster.

"A button? I have never noticed a button." McGonagall said when he had finished.

The headmaster sighed, "It is the button which allows the poles to be removed."

"Why would they need to be removed? And why hasn't something like this happened before?" McGonagall questioned, voicing Remus thoughts as well.

"It has never happened before because the button is charmed so that it cannot be pushed accidentally. It is also small and difficult to find, as to why the poles would need to be removed who can say? The only reason it has ever been done was to replace them." The headmaster explained. They all sat in silence for a few moments; the only sound was made by Severus as he noisily drank his tea, ignoring the adults' conversation.

"Well," the headmaster began briskly, "I will have to recharm the button to ensure this won't happen again, that is, after the pitch has been repaired of course. I will take a look after we finish eating and alert the school board."

After lunch, Albus suggested that Remus take Severus back to the temporary nursery. There Severus could be entertained quietly and, hopefully, avoid any more mishaps.

As they reached the door, Remus muttered the password, and as he heard it unlock he reached for the handle. He had barely touched it when stinging pain surged through his arm. He immediately let go. The handle was made of silver. How could he have forgotten? He had been here last night. Severus was regarding Remus with a concerned, curious expression.

"Ah…could you open the door for me Severus?"

Severus regarded the handle suspiciously. Sensing his thoughts, Remus hastily assured the boy that it wouldn't hurt him. Severus tentatively touched the handle with one finger. When nothing happened, he opened the door.

Several hours later, after dinner and after Severus had been put to bed that the headmaster and Remus sat discussing arrangements for the little potions master.

ooO0Ooo

Severus felt incredibly comfortable. He was warm, and the blankets were soft and the blue elephant was wrapped securely in his arms. He opened his eyes slowly and blinked sleepily at the headmaster.

"Good morning Severus." The headmaster said softly, smiling at the cute figure in front of him. Severus sat up and looked around the room.

"Where's Remus?" He asked the headmaster with a pout.

Albus smiled at the small boy. "I imagine he is already in the great hall having his breakfast, and speaking of Remus, I have a surprise for you."

Severus' small face became eager and inquisitive.

"You will be spending the rest of the summer holidays with him at his house."

Severus sat very still. He did like the man in the shabby robes; he was gentle,

kind and fun to play with. He grinned at the headmaster, "When do I get to go?"

Albus chuckled and placed the outfit he had brought with him on the bed. "As soon as we get you dressed and fed."

Before dressing Severus, Albus decided that the boy needed a bath, and with the help of a house elf, the task was soon accomplished. After a few rubs with a towel and a drying charm, Severus was dressed and then taken down to the Great Hall.

Breakfast was a hasty affair, and it took the combined efforts of the headmaster, Professor McGonagall, and Remus, to get the excited child to eat any thing. In the end, they had to be satisfied with three bites of toast and half a glass of apple juice.

After quickly packing a few things for Severus (his special cup, blue elephant, a change of clothing and a few books), the headmaster walked Remus and the boy down to Hogsmeade Station. The scarlet smoke that the steam engine emitted in great, billowing clouds fascinated Severus.

Remus and Severus settled themselves in one of the compartments and as the train pulled away, Severus stood in one of the seats, waving through the window at the headmaster, who was shrinking in the distance. When Severus could see him no more, he sat back and began to examine his surroundings.

Meanwhile, Remus had curled up in the corner and fallen asleep. The full moon was that evening and he was exhausted.

An hour later Severus was bored and hungry, a bad combination for any little boy. He tried to wake up Remus with no success, so he set off to explore the other compartments.

ooO0Ooo

Remus awoke with a start as the train lurched. He rubbed his eyes, trying to clear them, and glanced at his watch. He had been asleep for almost four hours. He looked around the compartment and it suddenly hit him what was wrong, Severus wasn't there.

He ran out the door and began throwing the doors to the other compartments open calling Severus' name. After searching every compartment twice, he was absolutely frantic. Horrible images of what could have happened to Severus running through his head as he turned towards the front of the train planning to tell the conductor to stop, when suddenly he heard a flushing sound.

It had come from the bathroom in the back of the train. He threw open the door and there stood Severus, on tiptoe, washing his hands.

As the door opened, Severus twisted his head around to look at Remus. "Oh good, your awake. I'm really getting hungry." He then turned off the faucets and dried his hands. With a feeling of extreme relief, Remus picked Severus up and carried him back to the compartment.

"Severus," Remus said once they were both seated, "You cannot run off like that, it isn't safe, okay?"

"But I was bored and I didn' do anything wrong" Severus muttered, a stubborn pout forming.

Remus sighed, "Severus, this time it wasn't really dangerous, but in the future I want you to promise me you won't run off, can you do that for me?" he said, looking Severus in the eyes.

"'kay." Severus muttered.

"Okay what?"

"I promise not to run off."

"Okay, we are almost to platform 9 ¾ and then we will go to Diagon Alley and get some lunch."

ooO0Ooo

Half and hour later, they found themselves walking through muggle London, headed for the Leaky Cauldron. Their clothing was charmed so that any muggle who looked wouldn't see anything out of the ordinary, even though they were in Wizard Garb.

The Leaky Cauldron was a little crowded when they reached it but Remus managed to find an empty table in the corner where they could have lunch. Severus' appetite had dramatically improved from that morning and he ate every bit of his lunch, as well as some of Remus'. Before they left, Remus had old Tom fill Severus' cup with juice so they could take it with them.

After tapping the correct bricks with his wand, the archway appeared and they entered Diagon Alley.

Severus was fascinated by all the other witches and wizards, and of course the shops. He had never seen anything like it. In fact, he rarely left the grounds of Thistle Grove, the Snape ancestral home.

"Okay then, let's go to Madame Malkin's first and get some clothes for you."

ooO0Ooo

Three exhausting hours later Remus pulled a miniature broom out of his pocket and with a tap of his wand, it returned to normal size. Remus attached their shrunken purchases to the back of it and then straddled it settling Severus in front of him. Severus was not at all pleased about this.

"I don't want to be on the broom."

"Severus, I don't have time for this, you have to be on the broom so you can come with me." Remus said tiredly.

The little boy struggled to get off.

"Severus stop. If you don't behave I'm going to have to punish you."

Severus stopped struggling, but was now as white as a sheet and trembling.

"Please don't make me fly on the broom," Severus whimpered softly.

Remus frowned with concern, something was really bothering the boy.

"Why not Severus?" he asked gently.

"Because," the little boy whispered, "I'm afraid of heights."

"Oh." was all Remus could say. That explained a great deal about Snape. No wonder he did not like Quidditch.

"Well we do have to fly on the broom to get to my house, but I have an idea." Remus said. He picked the boy in front of him off the broom and turned him around so that Severus was facing Remus. "Hold onto me very tightly and keep your eyes closed. I promise I won't let you fall." The little boy hesitated for a moment before throwing his arms around the Lycanthrope and burying his face in his soft and shabby robes, his eyes squeezed tightly shut.

"Ready?" Remus asked gently. He felt Severus nod against his chest.

"Okay then here we go." And with that, he pushed off the ground and they were airborne. Severus was clinging to Remus so tightly it hurt. With one arm wrapped around the terrified child and the other on the broom for steering, Remus headed west, towards his home.

ooO0Ooo

An hour later Remus landed in a meadow. "We're here Severus; you can open your eyes now."

Slowly the little dark haired boy complied, but he would not release Lupin from the death grip he had on him. Remus got off the broom still holding Severus, shifted him to his left hip, and rested the broom against his right shoulder. He then walked along a small path until he reached a rather lovely stone house.

(End of Chapter)