Disclaimer: NOT MINE! NOT MINE! NOT MINE!
Unbeta-ed so don't mind my grammar mistakes.
Spoilers: Books 1-4, ignore Book 5
Pairings: NO ONE ATM!
------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Weasleys
(Posted 06/19/03 - Thursday)
(Revision #1 06/30/03 - Monday)
(Revision #2 08/25/03 - Monday)
------------------------------------------------------------------
The room was so silent you could hear crickets chirping in the background, until Mrs. Weasley broke the dam. "Oh."
"THAT'S SNAPE?" Ron screamed, pointing a shaky finger at the quiet child. "YOU'RE KIDDING ME!"
"That's Professor Snape to you," scolded Percy. "Don't shout either."
"What happened to him Dad?" Ginny asked, wide-eyed.
"Potion accident," said Mr. Weasley. "Headmaster Dumbledore wants our family to watch over him until he either turns back to an adult by himself or someone brews a cure for him."
Severus was startled from his doze, half from their loud voices and half from finding out he was the result of a blotched potion. He spotted a hanging calendar and started calculating his age. The twins were whispering to each other.
Fred was amused. "He's Snape, which means - "
"We have a new guinea pig," George said, and then rising his voice to normal volume. "Mum, Dad, we're going - "
"To be in our room," Fred said, walking to the staircase with his twin.
"You two better not be inventing more Wizard Wheezes or I'll have you de- gnome the garden every week for the entire summer," said Mrs. Weasley. "Do something productive and read a book."
"Yes Mum," chorused Fred and George.
"Okay~~~" Percy said, seeing his father's serious face. "Since he's really Professor Snape, I guess it's okay for him to stay in our home. There's a problem though. Where will he be sleeping at?"
"We'll think of something," Mrs. Weasley said, looking tenderly at Severus pulling his bear's ears. "Maybe yours. It is on the second floor so he won't have trouble going up and down."
"I see," said Percy. "As long as he doesn't disturb me when I'm writing reports."
"You're taking this well," said Mr. Weasley. "That's good."
Ron was not taking this news well. "UNLIKE NORMAL PEOPLE, HE ENJOYED GOING TO SNAPE'S POTION LESSONS! OH MY GOD! SNAPE'S GOING TO LIVE UNDER THE SAME ROOF AS ME!"
Severus buried his face in his bear when he figured he was supposedly thirty-four this year.
"Ron, lower your voice," Mrs. Weasley said sternly. "You're scaring him."
"It's bad enough having him as a teacher but this is outrageous," said Ron. "I want him out!"
"I'm afraid that's not your decision to make," said Mr. Weasley. "Whether you like it or not, he's here and you're going to treat him as you would a younger brother."
"I'll bring some snacks out," Mrs. Weasley said, going into the kitchen.
"Oh! I'm not the youngest anymore," Ginny said, clapping her hands together in joy. "I get to be an older sister."
"Ginny! You're siding with them!" accused Ron. "Remember how Snape treated us Gryffindors? He picked on us, especially Neville, and took points from our House for no reason."
"Was, Ron, was," Ginny said wisely. "Take a good look at him. He's a harmless, defenseless child right now. A really cute one at that."
Ron gasped, appalled at the statement.
"Time for me to go back to the Ministry," Percy said, petting Severus on the head. "Nice having you in our family."
Severus jumped from the contact, trying to hide in Mr. Weasley's robes and shielding his face with his bear. Percy was shocked but Mr. Weasley expected something like this and rubbed his back in soothing circles to relax him. Ginny, and even Ron, were curious at the strange reaction.
"What happened?" Mrs. Weasley said, putting down a plate of cookies and glass of milk.
"I swear I didn't do anything Mum," said Percy. "I petted his head."
"It's alright," said Mr. Weasley. "I was about to tell you all that Madam Pomfrey checked him over and her diagnosis was child abuse. Severus shouldn't be touched without his permission and hasn't spoken either, since the age reversal."
"You're right," Ginny said, replaying the last few minutes in her mind. "Not one word came from him."
"Is Madam Pomfrey completely sure?" said Percy. "When I was at Hogwarts, no one would touch him but I just thought Professor Snape was a very private man and touching him would be invading his personal space."
"Well, Madam Pomfrey is usually correct," said Ron guiltily. "Fine, I'll stop complaining about Snape staying but I'll pretend he's not here."
"I'm late," said Percy, frowning. "I'll see you tonight."
He raised his wand and left by Apparating. Severus lowered his bear and peered warily at the remaining people.
"Are you thirsty dear?" Mrs. Weasley asked, offering him the milk. "Or would you like a cookie? It's chocolate chip."
Mr. Weasley took the cookie from his wife when Severus didn't take it. "Here you go, little guy."
Severus was fine taking the cookie from him and broke it in half. He gave one half to Mr. Weasley and watched as he ate it. After Mr. Weasley finished, Severus began eating his own half slowly. He accepted the milk when Mrs. Weasley handed it to him a second time.
"I'll leave the plate here so help yourself while I look for old clothes that might fit you," Mrs. Weasley said, seeing as Severus was still wearing the blue pajamas from the Hospital Wing. "Ron, Ginny, you may play outside but be back before dark."
"Yes Mum," Ginny said, dragging Ron from his seat. "We will."
The two redheaded children went to the edge of their garden, far from the chickens and next to the pond. They lied down on the grass, sheltered from the sun by the shade of the leafy and gnarled trees.
"Is it me or there's another reason behind the cookie sharing?" pondered Ginny.
"How should I know?" Ron grumbled.
Ginny rolled her eyes at her brother's immaturity. "I mean a normal kid would gobble up a cookie in a flash but Professor Snape gave half to Dad."
"He's anything but normal," said Ron.
"Listen to me," said Ginny. "He didn't eat his half until Dad ate all of his. Don't you find that weird?"
"Snape has always been weird," said Ron. "What else is new?"
"Okay, I'm going to explain it to you one more time," said Ginny. "Professor Snape was ABUSED, as in hurt or injured by maltreatment. There are three common types of abuse: physical, emotional, and sexual. It's obvious he was hit before, considering how he reacted to Percy, and the not talking thing may be a self-protective technique so people don't notice him to verbally attack him."
"And sexual?" Ron asked uneasily.
"It's too early to tell," said Ginny. "His shying away from human contact could be both related to physical and sexual abuse. Simple molestation could have produced the same thing."
"Wait a sec," Ron said suddenly. "How the hell you know all this?"
"That is a secret," Ginny said mysteriously. "Back to Professor Snape's situation."
"Why?" Ron moaned.
"Think of it as an adventure of your very own without Harry or Hermione," said Ginny. "It'll be the Weasleys' challenge to uncover Professor Snape's past."
Ron thought about it for a few minutes. "I see your point."
"Good, I knew you would come around," said Ginny. "Anyway, Professor Snape was probably starved when he was at this age but still didn't eat the cookie like a hungry person would. I was wondering if his parents starved him and then gave him food with poison in it."
"That's crazy!" said Ron. "What gave you that idea?"
"It makes perfect sense to me," Ginny said calmly. "Considering you've accused Professor Snape of being a Death Eater, his parents must have been supporters as well. I think a future follower of Voldemort would be trained to be immune to poisons and pain starting from when he was really young. If he was captured, he couldn't be tortured to leak out any information."
"When did you become a carbon copy of Hermione?" Ron said, sitting up to look at his sister. "You're freaking me out."
"Excuse me for having a brain," said Ginny. "It's rational that if you consume small amounts of poison, so it's not fatal, your immune system would strengthen after a long period of time."
"You're making me feel bad," Ron said, thinking about his insults directed at the bitter Potions Master. "Because the Snape right now is like four or five - "
"He should be older than that," interrupted Ginny. "If he was malnourished, his body statue should be smaller than a normal child's."
"Like Harry," Ron said, cringing at the memory of meeting the Boy-Who-Lived on the Hogwarts Express for the first time.
"Yup," said Ginny. "Harry has bad Muggle relatives and Professor Snape has bad parents."
"We should tell Fred and George about Snape," said Ron. "If they gave him one of their Wheezes, blood will be spilt."
"Yea, we should," said Ginny. "But later, I'm taking a nap. I didn't sleep a wink last night."
"I'll take a nap too," Ron said, lying back down. "Ginny, why didn't you sleep last night?"
"That is a secret," Ginny repeated in the same mysterious tone.
In the Burrow, more accurately the forth landing, Fred and George were mixing a cauldron of something yellow. The room was a mother's worse nightmare and a child's heaven. Toys and other thingamajigs were strewn on top of everything. Clothing was pushed aside with their old schoolbooks. Two beds were on opposite sides and enough room between them for the twins to set their equipments for inventing magical items.
"How's it going with those new order forms?" Fred said as he stirred the cauldron vigorously. "We have a quota to fill."
"Almost done," George said, organizing them by date. "I have the letter draft to send to Honeydukes too. Last we spoke to the owner, he seemed really interested in our Canary Creams and Ton-Tongue Toffees."
"Thank god for Harry," Fred said, pouring the liquid from the cauldron into molds. "If it wasn't for his money, we couldn't have bought the major ingredients to create new batches of sweets."
"You want to give Snape our new candy?" said George. "The Tickling Marshmallows?"
"Nah, it's only our second revision and shouldn't be tested on people yet," said Fred. "How about just one Canary Cream? It's more liked by younger kids than the toffees."
"We should sell those toffees to third years and higher," said George.
"Yea," said Fred. "We should put an age limit on some of our stuff."
"Better safe than sorry," quoted George.
"Snape looks odd," said Fred. "But I can't put my finger on it."
"Same here but I know what's off about him," said George. "His nose is a lot smaller, his skin fair instead of sallow, and his hair is soft-looking clean."
"That's it," said Fred.
A knock and it opened to reveal Mr. Weasley holding Severus' hand. The little tyke was wearing a pair of worn shorts, reaching his knees, and an oversized T-shirt. There was no Dark Mark on his left arm, thus making a very pleased Mrs. and Mr. Weasley. His eyes darted all four corners and his frown deepened when he didn't see any other exit.
"Boys? I need a favor from you," said Mr. Weasley. "I have work to finish in my office and the Ministry doesn't allow children, and your mother has grocery shopping to do. Can you watch Severus for about an hour?"
"Sure," Fred said, grinning.
"We can start our brotherly bonding," said George.
"Alright, have fun and don't overexert yourself," Mr. Weasley said, pushing Severus into the room. "And boys, no gags or touching him without asking first."
He shut the door behind him.
"Don't just stand there," said Fred. "Come here Sev."
Severus walked up to him cautiously.
"I don't think he likes you calling him Sev," said George. "I never thought a person's mouth could bend that far down."
"If he doesn't like it, he'll say something," Fred said, removing the solidified Canary Creams from their molds. "I'm sure Snape at any age can offend someone."
"He hasn't say anything yet," said George, the observant twin. "And what's with Dad telling us not to touch him without asking first? That's stranger than having our former teacher stay in our home."
"Here Sev," Fred said, holding out a Canary Cream. "It's tasty."
Severus patted his bear and shook his head as he popped a lemon drop into his mouth. Fred shoved a wastebasket in front of him.
"Spit that out and try our Canary Cream," Fred said firmly. "Freshly made and invented by us."
"Hey," said George. "No need to force him."
"Do it," said Fred.
Severus spitted the hard candy into the bin and took the Canary Cream. He looked at Fred and ate a tiny bite. There was a mirror against the wall under the window and Severus watched, scared silly, when his body grew bright yellow feathers. They fell off a second later but Severus still had a shocked expression on.
"That wasn't so bad," said Fred.
"Err, there's something wrong," said George.
"What?" Fred said, staring at Severus.
The boy hugged his bear tightly and sniffled. Tears flowed down his pointy face, wetting the bear's fur, and his sniffles became sobs. George reached his arm towards him but he ran from the room surprisingly fast on his skinny legs.
"Oh bugger," said Fred. "We'll be in trouble if Sev gets hurt or lost in the forest."
"Let's go," George said, running out.
Severus ran out through the backdoor and into the garden. He spotted Ginny and Ron's sleeping forms. The single girl in the Weasley family was jolted from her nap by an annoying poking in her side.
She groaned and cracked open her eyes. "What~~~"
"Hmm," Ron woke from hearing Ginny move.
Seeing his Potions Master crying and attempting to squeeze the life from his sister was not what he was expecting. He could hear the twins' voices and footfalls.
"Shh, it's okay," said Ginny, embracing him. "Shh."
Fred and George came out. They sighed in relief that Severus hadn't run away into the forest or fell into the pond.
"What did you do to him?" Ron ordered when the identical boys came close.
"Yea," Ginny said, glad at Ron's over-protectiveness. "How can you pick on a kid?"
"We didn't do anything bad to him!" swore Fred. "I gave him a Canary Cream."
"Uh-huh, it's true," said George. "Then he ran from our room crying."
"Professor Snape is insecure at the moment," Ginny said, wiping Severus' face with her handkerchief. "Ron, explain to him."
"You two better sit down," said Ron. "It's a long story."
Fred and George sat on the green grass. When Ron repeated what Ginny had told him earlier, they had the same response.
"WHAT!!!"
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WOW! I can't believe I got so many reviews for the first chapter. Guess I have to continue this fic after all. I know Ginny and the twins were a bit OOC but I needed them like that to make my story work. Promise I'll try to update faster.
Unbeta-ed so don't mind my grammar mistakes.
Spoilers: Books 1-4, ignore Book 5
Pairings: NO ONE ATM!
------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Weasleys
(Posted 06/19/03 - Thursday)
(Revision #1 06/30/03 - Monday)
(Revision #2 08/25/03 - Monday)
------------------------------------------------------------------
The room was so silent you could hear crickets chirping in the background, until Mrs. Weasley broke the dam. "Oh."
"THAT'S SNAPE?" Ron screamed, pointing a shaky finger at the quiet child. "YOU'RE KIDDING ME!"
"That's Professor Snape to you," scolded Percy. "Don't shout either."
"What happened to him Dad?" Ginny asked, wide-eyed.
"Potion accident," said Mr. Weasley. "Headmaster Dumbledore wants our family to watch over him until he either turns back to an adult by himself or someone brews a cure for him."
Severus was startled from his doze, half from their loud voices and half from finding out he was the result of a blotched potion. He spotted a hanging calendar and started calculating his age. The twins were whispering to each other.
Fred was amused. "He's Snape, which means - "
"We have a new guinea pig," George said, and then rising his voice to normal volume. "Mum, Dad, we're going - "
"To be in our room," Fred said, walking to the staircase with his twin.
"You two better not be inventing more Wizard Wheezes or I'll have you de- gnome the garden every week for the entire summer," said Mrs. Weasley. "Do something productive and read a book."
"Yes Mum," chorused Fred and George.
"Okay~~~" Percy said, seeing his father's serious face. "Since he's really Professor Snape, I guess it's okay for him to stay in our home. There's a problem though. Where will he be sleeping at?"
"We'll think of something," Mrs. Weasley said, looking tenderly at Severus pulling his bear's ears. "Maybe yours. It is on the second floor so he won't have trouble going up and down."
"I see," said Percy. "As long as he doesn't disturb me when I'm writing reports."
"You're taking this well," said Mr. Weasley. "That's good."
Ron was not taking this news well. "UNLIKE NORMAL PEOPLE, HE ENJOYED GOING TO SNAPE'S POTION LESSONS! OH MY GOD! SNAPE'S GOING TO LIVE UNDER THE SAME ROOF AS ME!"
Severus buried his face in his bear when he figured he was supposedly thirty-four this year.
"Ron, lower your voice," Mrs. Weasley said sternly. "You're scaring him."
"It's bad enough having him as a teacher but this is outrageous," said Ron. "I want him out!"
"I'm afraid that's not your decision to make," said Mr. Weasley. "Whether you like it or not, he's here and you're going to treat him as you would a younger brother."
"I'll bring some snacks out," Mrs. Weasley said, going into the kitchen.
"Oh! I'm not the youngest anymore," Ginny said, clapping her hands together in joy. "I get to be an older sister."
"Ginny! You're siding with them!" accused Ron. "Remember how Snape treated us Gryffindors? He picked on us, especially Neville, and took points from our House for no reason."
"Was, Ron, was," Ginny said wisely. "Take a good look at him. He's a harmless, defenseless child right now. A really cute one at that."
Ron gasped, appalled at the statement.
"Time for me to go back to the Ministry," Percy said, petting Severus on the head. "Nice having you in our family."
Severus jumped from the contact, trying to hide in Mr. Weasley's robes and shielding his face with his bear. Percy was shocked but Mr. Weasley expected something like this and rubbed his back in soothing circles to relax him. Ginny, and even Ron, were curious at the strange reaction.
"What happened?" Mrs. Weasley said, putting down a plate of cookies and glass of milk.
"I swear I didn't do anything Mum," said Percy. "I petted his head."
"It's alright," said Mr. Weasley. "I was about to tell you all that Madam Pomfrey checked him over and her diagnosis was child abuse. Severus shouldn't be touched without his permission and hasn't spoken either, since the age reversal."
"You're right," Ginny said, replaying the last few minutes in her mind. "Not one word came from him."
"Is Madam Pomfrey completely sure?" said Percy. "When I was at Hogwarts, no one would touch him but I just thought Professor Snape was a very private man and touching him would be invading his personal space."
"Well, Madam Pomfrey is usually correct," said Ron guiltily. "Fine, I'll stop complaining about Snape staying but I'll pretend he's not here."
"I'm late," said Percy, frowning. "I'll see you tonight."
He raised his wand and left by Apparating. Severus lowered his bear and peered warily at the remaining people.
"Are you thirsty dear?" Mrs. Weasley asked, offering him the milk. "Or would you like a cookie? It's chocolate chip."
Mr. Weasley took the cookie from his wife when Severus didn't take it. "Here you go, little guy."
Severus was fine taking the cookie from him and broke it in half. He gave one half to Mr. Weasley and watched as he ate it. After Mr. Weasley finished, Severus began eating his own half slowly. He accepted the milk when Mrs. Weasley handed it to him a second time.
"I'll leave the plate here so help yourself while I look for old clothes that might fit you," Mrs. Weasley said, seeing as Severus was still wearing the blue pajamas from the Hospital Wing. "Ron, Ginny, you may play outside but be back before dark."
"Yes Mum," Ginny said, dragging Ron from his seat. "We will."
The two redheaded children went to the edge of their garden, far from the chickens and next to the pond. They lied down on the grass, sheltered from the sun by the shade of the leafy and gnarled trees.
"Is it me or there's another reason behind the cookie sharing?" pondered Ginny.
"How should I know?" Ron grumbled.
Ginny rolled her eyes at her brother's immaturity. "I mean a normal kid would gobble up a cookie in a flash but Professor Snape gave half to Dad."
"He's anything but normal," said Ron.
"Listen to me," said Ginny. "He didn't eat his half until Dad ate all of his. Don't you find that weird?"
"Snape has always been weird," said Ron. "What else is new?"
"Okay, I'm going to explain it to you one more time," said Ginny. "Professor Snape was ABUSED, as in hurt or injured by maltreatment. There are three common types of abuse: physical, emotional, and sexual. It's obvious he was hit before, considering how he reacted to Percy, and the not talking thing may be a self-protective technique so people don't notice him to verbally attack him."
"And sexual?" Ron asked uneasily.
"It's too early to tell," said Ginny. "His shying away from human contact could be both related to physical and sexual abuse. Simple molestation could have produced the same thing."
"Wait a sec," Ron said suddenly. "How the hell you know all this?"
"That is a secret," Ginny said mysteriously. "Back to Professor Snape's situation."
"Why?" Ron moaned.
"Think of it as an adventure of your very own without Harry or Hermione," said Ginny. "It'll be the Weasleys' challenge to uncover Professor Snape's past."
Ron thought about it for a few minutes. "I see your point."
"Good, I knew you would come around," said Ginny. "Anyway, Professor Snape was probably starved when he was at this age but still didn't eat the cookie like a hungry person would. I was wondering if his parents starved him and then gave him food with poison in it."
"That's crazy!" said Ron. "What gave you that idea?"
"It makes perfect sense to me," Ginny said calmly. "Considering you've accused Professor Snape of being a Death Eater, his parents must have been supporters as well. I think a future follower of Voldemort would be trained to be immune to poisons and pain starting from when he was really young. If he was captured, he couldn't be tortured to leak out any information."
"When did you become a carbon copy of Hermione?" Ron said, sitting up to look at his sister. "You're freaking me out."
"Excuse me for having a brain," said Ginny. "It's rational that if you consume small amounts of poison, so it's not fatal, your immune system would strengthen after a long period of time."
"You're making me feel bad," Ron said, thinking about his insults directed at the bitter Potions Master. "Because the Snape right now is like four or five - "
"He should be older than that," interrupted Ginny. "If he was malnourished, his body statue should be smaller than a normal child's."
"Like Harry," Ron said, cringing at the memory of meeting the Boy-Who-Lived on the Hogwarts Express for the first time.
"Yup," said Ginny. "Harry has bad Muggle relatives and Professor Snape has bad parents."
"We should tell Fred and George about Snape," said Ron. "If they gave him one of their Wheezes, blood will be spilt."
"Yea, we should," said Ginny. "But later, I'm taking a nap. I didn't sleep a wink last night."
"I'll take a nap too," Ron said, lying back down. "Ginny, why didn't you sleep last night?"
"That is a secret," Ginny repeated in the same mysterious tone.
In the Burrow, more accurately the forth landing, Fred and George were mixing a cauldron of something yellow. The room was a mother's worse nightmare and a child's heaven. Toys and other thingamajigs were strewn on top of everything. Clothing was pushed aside with their old schoolbooks. Two beds were on opposite sides and enough room between them for the twins to set their equipments for inventing magical items.
"How's it going with those new order forms?" Fred said as he stirred the cauldron vigorously. "We have a quota to fill."
"Almost done," George said, organizing them by date. "I have the letter draft to send to Honeydukes too. Last we spoke to the owner, he seemed really interested in our Canary Creams and Ton-Tongue Toffees."
"Thank god for Harry," Fred said, pouring the liquid from the cauldron into molds. "If it wasn't for his money, we couldn't have bought the major ingredients to create new batches of sweets."
"You want to give Snape our new candy?" said George. "The Tickling Marshmallows?"
"Nah, it's only our second revision and shouldn't be tested on people yet," said Fred. "How about just one Canary Cream? It's more liked by younger kids than the toffees."
"We should sell those toffees to third years and higher," said George.
"Yea," said Fred. "We should put an age limit on some of our stuff."
"Better safe than sorry," quoted George.
"Snape looks odd," said Fred. "But I can't put my finger on it."
"Same here but I know what's off about him," said George. "His nose is a lot smaller, his skin fair instead of sallow, and his hair is soft-looking clean."
"That's it," said Fred.
A knock and it opened to reveal Mr. Weasley holding Severus' hand. The little tyke was wearing a pair of worn shorts, reaching his knees, and an oversized T-shirt. There was no Dark Mark on his left arm, thus making a very pleased Mrs. and Mr. Weasley. His eyes darted all four corners and his frown deepened when he didn't see any other exit.
"Boys? I need a favor from you," said Mr. Weasley. "I have work to finish in my office and the Ministry doesn't allow children, and your mother has grocery shopping to do. Can you watch Severus for about an hour?"
"Sure," Fred said, grinning.
"We can start our brotherly bonding," said George.
"Alright, have fun and don't overexert yourself," Mr. Weasley said, pushing Severus into the room. "And boys, no gags or touching him without asking first."
He shut the door behind him.
"Don't just stand there," said Fred. "Come here Sev."
Severus walked up to him cautiously.
"I don't think he likes you calling him Sev," said George. "I never thought a person's mouth could bend that far down."
"If he doesn't like it, he'll say something," Fred said, removing the solidified Canary Creams from their molds. "I'm sure Snape at any age can offend someone."
"He hasn't say anything yet," said George, the observant twin. "And what's with Dad telling us not to touch him without asking first? That's stranger than having our former teacher stay in our home."
"Here Sev," Fred said, holding out a Canary Cream. "It's tasty."
Severus patted his bear and shook his head as he popped a lemon drop into his mouth. Fred shoved a wastebasket in front of him.
"Spit that out and try our Canary Cream," Fred said firmly. "Freshly made and invented by us."
"Hey," said George. "No need to force him."
"Do it," said Fred.
Severus spitted the hard candy into the bin and took the Canary Cream. He looked at Fred and ate a tiny bite. There was a mirror against the wall under the window and Severus watched, scared silly, when his body grew bright yellow feathers. They fell off a second later but Severus still had a shocked expression on.
"That wasn't so bad," said Fred.
"Err, there's something wrong," said George.
"What?" Fred said, staring at Severus.
The boy hugged his bear tightly and sniffled. Tears flowed down his pointy face, wetting the bear's fur, and his sniffles became sobs. George reached his arm towards him but he ran from the room surprisingly fast on his skinny legs.
"Oh bugger," said Fred. "We'll be in trouble if Sev gets hurt or lost in the forest."
"Let's go," George said, running out.
Severus ran out through the backdoor and into the garden. He spotted Ginny and Ron's sleeping forms. The single girl in the Weasley family was jolted from her nap by an annoying poking in her side.
She groaned and cracked open her eyes. "What~~~"
"Hmm," Ron woke from hearing Ginny move.
Seeing his Potions Master crying and attempting to squeeze the life from his sister was not what he was expecting. He could hear the twins' voices and footfalls.
"Shh, it's okay," said Ginny, embracing him. "Shh."
Fred and George came out. They sighed in relief that Severus hadn't run away into the forest or fell into the pond.
"What did you do to him?" Ron ordered when the identical boys came close.
"Yea," Ginny said, glad at Ron's over-protectiveness. "How can you pick on a kid?"
"We didn't do anything bad to him!" swore Fred. "I gave him a Canary Cream."
"Uh-huh, it's true," said George. "Then he ran from our room crying."
"Professor Snape is insecure at the moment," Ginny said, wiping Severus' face with her handkerchief. "Ron, explain to him."
"You two better sit down," said Ron. "It's a long story."
Fred and George sat on the green grass. When Ron repeated what Ginny had told him earlier, they had the same response.
"WHAT!!!"
------------------------------------------------------------------
WOW! I can't believe I got so many reviews for the first chapter. Guess I have to continue this fic after all. I know Ginny and the twins were a bit OOC but I needed them like that to make my story work. Promise I'll try to update faster.