Childlike Innocence
Chapter 8: Nothing with Crowns
It had been nearly a week since the werewolf incident in the study and things were going quite well. Severus was now able to limp around the house, no longer being confined to his bed. Miss Welch had returned as promised to check up on Severus and declared that he was progressing nicely, and should be back to normal by the end of the summer.
It was late afternoon in the stone house as Remus stood in front of the sink finishing the dishes. Severus was seated at the kitchen table, drawing another picture which would soon join its compatriots in adorning the rapidly disappearing fridge. For a four year old, Severus was a rather talented artist. In fact, he was better than some adults Remus knew. James, for example, was one of the most inartistic people Remus had ever met. He had no taste when it came to colors and couldn't even draw stick figures. It was rather sad.
"Well, that is a lovely picture Severus. Are you sure there is enough silver coloring?"
Remus whirled around in surprise to see the headmaster standing behind Severus, examining the boy's artwork. "Albus, I didn't hear you come in." Remus said as he dried his hands on a towel.
"Ah yes…there is something I need to speak with you about. Perhaps we could adjourn to the study?" the headmaster said, looking pointedly at Severus who remained studious over his drawing.
Remus nodded slightly before placing a hand on the small boys shoulder. "Severus, the headmaster and I need to have a grownup talk in the study. Can you stay here and work on your picture?" Severus nodded without looking up.
After shutting the study door firmly and warding it, the headmaster turned and sat in one of the worn but comfy, overstuffed chairs by the fireplace. "I realize this isn't the best time for a drawn out chat so I'll be brief. Severus' father was a brilliant man who had an incredible grasp and understanding on the theory of magic. He even developed and published several of his own theories. There was one theory, however, that never became public knowledge. Uncontrolled magic, especially in children, is an incredible power, but like we say it is uncontrollable." The headmaster had stood and was now pacing in front of the hearth, "Several years ago, while Severus was still a student at Hogwarts, there was a formal investigation by the ministry into Mr. Snape's work. An anonymous accuser had told the ministry that Mr. Snape had discovered how to harness that power. It is much like wandless magic but much more powerful. They never found any evidence supporting these accusations and after they questioned Severus, who was 13 at the time, with no result, the case was dropped. It was a bit of an embarrassment for the ministry, so the files were sealed and the press never got wind of it." Albus was once again seated and looking at Remus intently.
Remus' confusion must have shown on his face, because the headmaster sighed before hinting, "Remember what Severus said after we questioned him about entering your study last week?"
I'm not allowed to say.
Why not?
'cause daddy says I'm not to tell anyone.
The headmaster smiled grimly as understanding dawned on Remus' face. "But surely…surely that wasn't…but you said there was no truth in the theory and they questioned Severus…"Remus protested.
The headmaster held up his hand, "I said they never found any proof and Severus is very good at lying. He was a minor at the time and it is illegal to give veritasium to minors."
The silence stretched over several minutes until Remus said, "What are we going to do?"
"For now nothing, but we do need to keep an extra close eye on the boy from this point on." The headmaster hesitated slightly before continuing, "Another reason that this kind of magic is dangerous is because like underage/uncontrollable magic, it is untraceable and therefore impossible to monitor."
As Remus showed him to the door, the headmaster said "It's not that Severus is a bad child who hurts others, but we must watch this for his own safety." With that cryptic statement, he vanished without a sound.
ooO0Ooo
Severus was sitting in the kitchen quietly finishing his picture. This one featured the stone cottage surrounded by silvery flowers. He looked up as Remus entered the room, "What did Mr. Dumblydore want?" He asked curiously.
Remus smiled sadly at the small boy before saying, "Nothing kiddo. Are you finished with your picture?"
"Uh-huh…do you like it?" Severus said thrusting it under Remus' nose. Remus pulled it gently from the child's grasp and held it up to examine it.
"Well I must say, you have really outdone yourself this time Severus, I love it." He said with a smile as he attached it to the fridge. Severus beamed at the compliment.
"Now, how about some macaroni and cheese for dinner?" Remus asked.
ooO0Ooo
That evening after Severus had been bathed and tucked into bed with another story (This one called Florent the Water Hog, yet another of the Gilderoy Lockhart books), Remus went to his study and sat, contemplating his earlier conversation with Albus and the events after the incident up until now…
ooO0Ooo
It had been the day after the werewolf incident and the two of them were calmly eating breakfast, Remus idly scanning the Daily Prophet. There was no word of Severus' potions accident, so Albus was apparently managing to keep it quiet. He glanced at the boy in front of him who was thoroughly enjoying eating his french toast as messily as possible. At the rate he was going, a mere cleaning charm would not be enough. Not that it mattered much since the child was due for a bath anyway. Remus tried to swallow the nervousness that had been fluttering through him since he woke up this morning. He needed to talk with Severus about the whole werewolf thing. The problem was figuring out how to introduce the topic without rocking any boats. Since he could not think of a way to do that, he decided the best approach would be the most direct.
"Severus, I think we should talk about what happened yesterday." There, that had been easy enough.
Severus' mouth pursed and his eyebrows drew together into a tight frown. "I…I'm…I didn't mean to run off…I know I promised but…am I in trouble?" The child said looking most distressed, not able to meet Remus eyes.
"Severus, you're not in trouble." The child continued to stare at his plate. Remus sighed, "Severus, can you please look at me?" Expressive, dark eyes slowly rose to meet Remus' brown ones. Remus smiled in what he hoped was a reassuring manner, "You're not in trouble and I'm not upset with you. I know you spoke with Albus yesterday. I just want to make sure you understand everything. Do you have any questions you wanted to ask me?"
Severus was silent a moment before saying "No…I don't think so…Mr. Dumblydore splained it to me. Actually, there is one thing, why do you have to be locked up even with the wolfsbaned potion?"
"It's just an extra precaution in case for some reason the potion doesn't work, or something like that." Remus replied, not really wanting to elaborate. Severus, the adult Severus, had always been the one to make the wolfsbane potion for him. Now, however, someone else would have to do it, since the Potions Master was small enough to fit inside a cauldron, and currently covered with syrup and powdered sugar.
"Well," Severus began as he selected another french toast stick, "Whoever makes the potion for you must be an idiot if their potions might not work. You should buy them from someone else." Remus, who had been in the process of swallowing hot coffee, choked and barely managed not to spray it all over the table.
ooO0Ooo
A few days later, Severus was allowed to move about a bit on his own, though Remus still carried him up and down the stairs, and from room to room. The lack of activity was beginning to make the boy restless. Drawing and reading could only occupy him for so long. Knowing that a restless Severus spelled disaster, Remus decided a cooking activity would be just the thing: baking chocolate chip cookies.
He sat Severus on a high stool so that he could sit while he helped. Remus then premeasured all the ingredients and let Severus add them to the mixing bowl. When the batter was finally ready, Remus let Severus have a spoonful (Salmonella was overrated anyway).
"Remus, can we just make on really big cookie?" The small boy inquired as he licked a mixing spoon.
"No, because it won't cook right if it's too big." He explained. In the end, they made a couple dozen normal cookies, which Severus decreed acceptable through a mouthful of crumbs as he took a large swallow of milk.
ooO0Ooo
Overall, his time caring for Severus really hadn't been that bad. He was becoming rather attached to the little fellow. After changing into his nightclothes, he went downstairs and secured the house for the night. A quick check on Severus revealed him to be sleeping quite peacefully. When he returned to his room, Remus found a small red scroll waiting on his bed. It was blank but Remus knew what it meant. Tomorrow he and Severus would be going to number twelve Grimmauld Place to meet the Order.
(End of Chapter)
