Snape's Invisible Friend
Disclaimer: I am not J.K. Rowling, I am not a multinational bookselling company, nor am I a multi-million dollar movie company, so I don't own anything that you recognize. I am a retired former teacher with a bizarre sense of humor, who likes to twist plots and play with characters' minds, so enjoy.
AN: Thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed, I appreciated the time you have taken to send me a note, good or bad. I hope that you have enjoyed this light hearted tale as much as I am enjoying writing it. That said, on to Chapter 9.
From Chapter 8:
Shaun was standing in front of his daddy; his small hands pushing on the ball for the snowman's middle when a flash of red caught Severus' eye. He stood up, grabbing for his wand as the stunner hit his son directly in the chest. He shot a stunner back towards the trees the spell had come from but was quickly overpowered by the three stunners coming his way, his last conscious thought before the black swallowed him up was about his son, crumpled and motionless in the freezing snow.
The three dark robed wizards crept cautiously towards the stunned figure lying in the slushy snow, careful to approach, since the first stunner had apparently had no effect on him. They checked to be sure he was truly stunned, bound him in conjured ropes, grabbed onto his arms and swiftly apperated away, leaving a small crumpled form, unmoving and unseen in the afternoon sunset, as the snow started to gently fall, covering any tracks.
Chapter 9:
Severus Snape was trapped in a never ending loop of his dreams, unable to wake up, unable to stop dreaming, reliving over and over the events of the last six months. His shock and horror at finding a bloody and battered toddler in his potions lab, healing the child as best he could, the slowly growing relationship, the joys and anguishes that caring for a child brought, the horror of the sight of the small body, motionless in the snow, followed by the deep darkness. The dream would fade, only to begin again, the bloody baby appearing once again…
Severus turned and gasped at the sight. A baby, completely silent, blood, dirt and tears making an obscene pattern on the small face. He pushed all emotion down and went into professional mode, assessing and deciding on a plan of action as he moved toward the tiny form. At the flash of fear in the child's eyes, he knew he would have to be careful to maintain a soft and soothing voice.
"I won't hurt you child, but I must pick you up." He wasn't even paying attention to what he was saying, knowing a child that injured and that young was only hearing the tone of his voice rather than understanding words. He knew he must treat it as one of the injured animals he had been treating and caring for since he was a young child.
'Broken right arm, maybe left knee, hopefully just dislocated, hundreds of cuts, most with glass shards of some kind, forehead bleeding badly, perhaps hit in the face with something glass, eyes are out of focus, maybe concussion, I hope no skull fracture or bleeding on the brain. Breathing seems to be okay, skin, what I can see of it, doesn't appear sweaty or clammy." He saw the fear begin to die in the child's eyes and stooped to pick it up as gently as he could. He felt the glass shards push deeper into the skin, but the child made no response beyond a sharp intake of breath.
'This was no accident, the baby has been abused to make it suffer pain like this without crying out' he thought as he urged the little one in his arm to swallow several pain relieving potions. He worked for over two hours, talking all the time to the small child, saying nothing important, but keeping the tone of his voice gentle and calming.
Severus picked up the small bundle, wrapped up tight in the fluffy towel and carried it gently over to his bed, "Its all right child, I won't hurt you; you are safe here now." The boy was whimpering softly, holding himself stiff and rigid in his arms, as if afraid to be comforted or maybe afraid of making a sound.
Severus laid the boy gently on his bed, hoping Nippy would return soon with the supplies he needed, when with a soft pop, the tiny house elf was beside him. "Master Snape, I have what you asked for. Nippy has also brought soft bedding for the boy, Nippy hopes it is being okay?"
"Yes, thank you Nippy, would you go to my supply cupboard and bring the jar of healing salve, the purple one. And then I need you to find something to put the boy to bed in. I want him where I can get to him quickly when he needs tending tonight. I am worried he might develop a fever, some of these cuts and bruises look days if not weeks old and some of the ulcers on his bottom are deeply infected."
Nippy dropped the bags of supplies by his master, fetched the salve from the cupboard and popped down to the kitchen to find something for the boy to sleep in. All the beds in Hogwarts were big four posters, student size and then even larger for the staff. Nothing small enough for a small scared baby to sleep in.
Severus opened the towel and took a good look at the child's diaper area. He flinched at the thought of the pain he must be feeling without a complaint. He knew he would need help and called for Nippy to assist. Luckily the last potions he had fed the child now had him deeply asleep, this was going to hurt.
"Nippy, I need you to roll him over on his side so I can rub this salve into the deepest sores, then I will need you to roll him over to get his front." Severus quickly washed his hands in disinfectant and scooped up a generous amount of thick purple salve; he gently rubbed and covered the boy's skin, making sure to separate every crack and crevice, finding splits, rashes, open sores and deep ulcers. He had to bite his tongue to keep himself from cussing out whoever had done this to a child. It was a shame he was no longer a death eater, he now had a few people deserving of even Lucius Malfoy's idea of 'fun'.
Severus had used almost the entire large tub of salve before he had every sore covered with the healing salve. He had at least two more tubs in his store room, so he should be able to have the child completely healed before he had to replenish the stock for the school year.
Washing his hands again, he returned to where Nippy was watching the child to make sure he didn't fall off the tall bed, he pulled a package of muggle nappies out of the sack. He opened one and turned it forwards and backwards, 'What in the world, how does this miserable thing go?' Finally deciding the sticky tape things must go in the back; he opened it and had Nippy gently lift the boy so he could place it under him. Even in his drugged sleep, the child cried out in pain before settling back down. 'Bloody hell, the nappy was bad enough, how does this sleeper go on?' He finally managed and even got the snaps to line up, sort of, then looked around to find that Nippy had found a large wooden box and made a bed.
Severus picked up the child and nestled him in the sheepskin that Nippy had bought and covered him with the soft angora wool blanket, carefully tucking it in around the child, it was very cold in the dungeons, even in summertime, and he didn't want the child to get chilled, sleeping on the floor.
Nippy brought him a sandwich and a cup of tea which he gratefully accepted before getting himself cleaned up and headed for bed himself. It had taken all afternoon to tend to the child's injuries, and it was still early in the evening, but he had a feeling he would not be sleeping much tonight. He laid a long delicate hand on the boy's forehead, finding a small spot that wasn't scabbed, 'Just a low fever, I'll need to treat that later, I don't dare give the boy any more potions; it would overload his system for sure.' He removed his hand and climbed into bed, asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.
The boy had fallen asleep the next day after only a small scoop of scrambled eggs and a juice glass full of milk. Severus had noticed how the boy ate everything, no scrap was left of the egg, no drop of the milk remained. He picked up the small boy who was already half asleep and dripped healing, pain reducing and nutritional potions down the inside of his cheek, stroking the small throat to make him swallow the nasty tasting medicines. The small head flopping and limp on his arm, Severus found he was reluctant to put the boy back in the box. Instead he sat down in his favorite armchair in front of the fire and contemplated what had happened and what he would have to do.
He knew that Albus had said to contact him if there was a problem at the castle that he couldn't handle, but really, could he not handle this? He knew that Poppy Pomfrey and her sister were taking a muggle cruise and were completely unreachable, and none of the other staff were even as trained as he was. After all a potion's master was just as much a healer as a mediwitch, it was just he was more of an expert in healing potionswhereas Poppy was much more familiar with healing spells
The small body sighed in his sleep and a small fist uncurled and then curled itself into the front of his robes. In spite of himself he let the corner of his mouth twitch up. No one would believe that an infant would ever choose to take comfort from being held by him!
It had been three days since he had found the child before he let his exhaustion and normal temperament flare up. The boy didn't want to swallow the nutrient potion he insisted he drink at least four times a day. Severus knew that they tasted like something dredged out of the bottom of a swamp, but how dare the boy shut his mouth and refuse to open it!
He snarled and demanded, "You will open your mouth and drink this now, Boy, if you know what's good for you!"
Absolute fear shining from those exotic green eyes, the child slipped out of his grasp and ran for the bedroom. Luckily Severus had warded the doors to the corridor, his private lab, his store room and his office so that the boy could not go through them without him. In fact the only places the boy could go were the living/eating area they were in, Severus' bedroom and the bathroom.
Severus snarled at himself and quickly took a sip of a calming potion before he stalked into the bedroom after the small boy, surprised the child could move that fast with his still healing injuries; that must have really hurt. He looked under the bed, in his walk-in closet, nothing. Not in the clothes hamper in the bathroom, or under the cabinets in there. He walked back into the bedroom, was the wardrobe door open a crack before? He couldn't really remember. No, it definitely hadn't been. He closed his eyes, counted to twenty to calm himself even more and softly walked over to the barely cracked door. "It's all right child, I won't hurt you. Please come out, I know the medicine tastes bad, but you need it to make you better."
The door didn't open any but a small voice, quivering with fear, asked, "You aren't going to hit me? Or lock me in a cupboard?"
Severus had known about the hitting, that much was very obvious but this was the first he had heard about being locked in a cupboard. "No child; and I won't take away your food from you either." The child had never said anything, but it was obvious from the way he was severely malnourished, and the way he savored food and always looked like he was afraid that Severus was going to remove his plate that they had.
"I get to eat, too?"
Severus knelt down and finally just sat cross legged on the floor beside the almost closed door, 'Yes child, in fact you may eat as much and as often as you like, I just need you to swallow this medicine and then you can have a juice or a piece of fruit if you like."
"Could I have a peach, the picture in the magazine looked so good; I'd like to taste a peach."
"Yes child, I will ask Nippy if there are any peaches in the kitchen, I'm sure if there are no fresh ones, they have tinned ones."
The door crept open and a small body climbed up into his lap, obediently opening his mouth just like a baby bird for the nasty tasting potion to be poured in.
The child had been shadowing Severus for almost a week and Severus had been talking to him almost continuously. He sat on a high stool, carefully watching as Severus prepared ingredients and brewed potions for the infirmary and to restock his personal stores. His own supplies had been seriously depleted by caring for the boy's injuries and he was also trying to make a nutritional potion that both tasted better and was more concentrated so the child wouldn't have to swallow so much each time.
Severus was in the middle of brewing the third batch of pepper up potion for Poppy when he noticed he had forgotten to bring another bottle of scarab beetles over from the storage cabinet to replace the now empty one. He turned to find the boy behind him, handing him the bottle with the missing ingredient. "Thank you; I was missing the scarab beetles." He was surprised the boy not only recognized that he had forgotten them; he had found them and brought them to him.
He found that if he put the child beside him as he read aloud after the boy's bath each evening, the nightmares were less severe and less frequent. It didn't matter what he read, the soothing deep tones of his voice as he read potions journals or DADA books, it was the closeness and the sound of his voice that calmed the child better than any sleeping potion.
He found himself on more than one occasion softly rubbing the stubble on the back of the boy's head as he read and the child just stretched out on the sofa, head in his lap, not sleeping but not moving, as if he was soaking up the feeling of human contact. And Severus was soaking up the warmth of giving human contact with the non-threatening physical touch of the boy. He fondly remembered his parents doing the same for him when he was a child and felt the walls he had built around his heart begin to melt. After his mother had died, the pain of her loss was so great that he had refused to ever feel that way about anyone ever again. So he pushed away anyone before they had a chance to even get close to him, if he didn't care about them, it didn't hurt when they abandoned him.
The barricade holding in his emotions had begun to thin and even crack with the caring and attentions from the headmaster. This one small lost soul, who drank up even the smallest of kindnesses, who was so starved for physical touch and love that he never judged; whatever was given, no matter how awkwardly or hesitantly was gratefully accepted, even craved; was shattering his self imposed isolation.
Severus had opened up more and more as he had to talk almost constantly to the boy. Since it didn't seem to matter what subject he spoke on, the boy just needed the soothing baritone of his voice, he had begun talking of his own childhood, of missing his own parents, the cold and cruel uncle who had dominated his life, his loneliness and shunning at school. As the child remained silent, he poured out the deepest, darkest secrets of his soul, purging himself of the emotions he had kept so tightly barricaded for so many years.
Between keeping his hands busy brewing familiar potions and the catharsis of telling another human being all of his hopes and fears, his good experiences and his awful ones, he found the heavy burden that had held his heart hostage for so many years, growing lighter every day.
Severus found himself watching the boy and saying and doing things to make that small wan smile flicker across the tiny face. He found himself having to stifle any emotions that were not positive ones; because the boy was either empathic or extremely good at reading body language. He thought he had kept his voice calm when the boy told him his name was 'Freak' but his clenched fists and the tight line of his lips had telegraphed his anger to the boy and the boy had reacted negatively to him.
And as each day with just the two of them passed; he found himself wanting more and more to make the boy smile. Perhaps someday the child might even laugh!
Severus pulled the small toy broom out of his pocket and removed the shrinking charm on it. He picked up the boy and placed him on it, holding him steady while he grabbed it with both hands. "Now, grip it tightly with your knees and hold on tight, don't let go." Severus pulled his wand out with his right hand and aimed it steady at the boy. He pushed forward with his left hand, a gentle push as the instruction booklet had said. He moved the boy about ten feet down the corridor and turned him with his wand in a slow gentle circle and actually smiled widely at the look of sheer delight on the young child. The boy made not a sound; but the joy of his smile finally lit his eyes for the first time since he had appeared almost three weeks ago.
He relived the shock of finding out that Albus couldn't see the boy, even when the evidence of the mirror proved it. He felt the sorrow and grief that had gripped his heart when he heard that Harry Potter was missing. He felt guilty at never telling Albus that he thought there might be a faded scar under the new one on his son's forehead. But if he never said anything out loud or even admitted it to himself, then it couldn't be true!
He replayed his nightmares of finally finding someone who loved him only to have that child belong to his childhood enemy. His gut feeling that if he denied it enough it wouldn't be true, his Shaun, his gift, would not be Harry Potter, it just couldn't be; because he didn't want it to be.
He remembered squashing every feeling down as he realized they had figured out just who Shaun was, hoping he could keep his heart from breaking, never wanting to return to the heartless bastard he had been. His life had been a mere existence, no substance, no joy, no purpose without one small boy in it.
Every memory, good and bad, replayed like a bad muggle movie in his head until finally he forced himself to wakefulness, only to wish he was still asleep. He hurt; every bone, every muscle, even his hair hurt. His eyes were crusted shut, his mouth tasted like week old potions, and the bright lights told him he was in the hospital wing. He tried to sit up panicking at the memory of Shaun's limp body lying in the freezing snow, and shouted for Poppy before he realized he wasn't in the Hogwarts infirmary. He could only turn his head from side to side, but the ceiling was much too low and the room was much too small. There was only one bed in this room and the windows were much too tiny to be in the castle.
He tried to sit up again and realized he was strapped down to the bed by soft medical restraints! He needed to get out, no one knew where Shaun was; or even that he was no longer with his son!
He forced his mind to calm and think rationally, hmm, he wondered, "Nippy, can you come to me?"
"Yes, Master Sn…Oh Master Snape, Nippy is getting you untied from that bed, who is doing this to you, Master?" Nippy was wringing his hands in distress.
"Shh, Nippy, I need you to go to the Headmaster and Mr. Lupin and tell them that Shaun was stunned and he is all alone in the snow. We were making a snowman by the Shrieking Shack, they must find him, before he freezes or gets sick. Please go now and then come back and tell me when they find him. Go Nippy, go now!"
"Yes, Master Snape, Nippy is going now! Nippy will save Young Master and return him to you!" And with a soft pop, Nippy was gone just as the door began to open.
Professor Dumbledore was showing Remus Lupin around his new quarters as a nearly hysterical house elf popped into existence right in front of them.
"Headmaster, sir, Master Snape is saying that Young Master was stunned and is out in the snow all by himself. Master Snape was all tied down in a bed and Nippy was going to help him but he sent me to Headmaster and Mr. Lupin to find Master Shaun. We's must hurry, sirs, Master Snape is worried that Young Master will freeze in the snow!"
Remus snapped up the heavy duvet on the bed in the room that the Headmaster had been showing him, grabbed up his heavy winter cloak from the sofa in the lounge and headed out toward the corridor without waiting to hear more.
"Wait Remus, Nippy did Severus tell you where Shaun is?" The Headmaster had flicked his wand turning his indoor robes into thick outdoor gear and conjured heavy gloves and boots on his hands and feet.
"Yes, sir, Master Snape says they is making a snowman down by the Shrieking Shack and that Young Master was stunned in the snow!"
The two wizards took off down the corridor through the Great Hall and out the main entrance, Dumbledore yelling back at Nippy, "Tell Madame Pomfrey to prepare for a hypothermic child, possibly frost bitten."
They carefully maneuvered down the slippery front steps and took off running through the softly falling snow, turning right to run around the end of the lake and past Hagrid's hut. Dumbledore stopped to take out his wand and laid it on his palm, "Show me, Shaun Snape!" The wand just spun lazily, never stopping to point the way. "Bollocks!" Remus thought he had never heard the Headmaster swear before, but the situation definitely deserved a few choice words now! "Point me, Shrieking Shack!" His wand steady as a beacon, the two men began running again.
It only took twenty minutes, but to the two worried men, it seemed like hours before the muffled dark shape of the shack appeared through the swirling white of the snow. Remus opened his werewolf senses up to their full extent and turned to the left, "This way Albus! I can smell him, this way!" Remus followed his nose, and Albus followed Remus. The werewolf kneeled down beside a rapidly disappearing vaguely round ball of snow and thrust a small form at Albus, as he quickly began unbuttoning his robes. He took the small boy and put him next to his bare chest, involuntarily shivering as the cold child touched his skin.
He explained to Albus as he buttoned his robes up around the small lump, "Werewolves have a higher body temperature than a normal wizard, I remember Lily always wondering if I had a high fever when she would touch me." He had both hands under his winter cloak, holding the small curled up ball of boy. "Now put the duvet around us both and tie it in the back."
Albus draped them both and magically stuck the two ends together, shortening the heavy comforter so that Remus could walk without tripping. He put his arm around the younger man and steadied him so he could concentrate on the precious cargo in his arms. With his free hand he brought up his wand and said, "Point me, Hogwarts!" Since the snow was now falling in large wet clumps, their footsteps were already disappearing into the snow.
They pushed their way through the rapidly deteriorating conditions, the wand in Albus hand the only proof that they were going in the right direction. Only the absolute flatness of the lake allowed them to realize how close they were getting to the castle. They turned left to retrace their steps and could see the dark looming presence of the castle appear through the near whiteout conditions. Hogwarts had never appeared so welcoming and warming.
The two barely made it into the entrance hall before Poppy was divesting Remus of his burden and then she took off running toward the infirmary, leaving the two men, who resembled animated snowmen, to Minerva and Pomona to help up to the infirmary as soon as they were able.
By the time the two shivering men were being helped into the infirmary and into beds, Poppy had removed the snowsuit, gloves and boots off the boy, using feel alone she continued to strip him until he wore just his Marvin the Mad Muggle pants. "Blast! How can I tell how he is if I can't see him? Severus, how is his skin color, he's not shivering so he's too cold. My wand is only registering 33 degrees." (91.4 F) She had both hands flat on his chest, evaluating his heart rate and breathing.
She turned and looked around, startled, "Where's Severus? I'm sorry Remus; I thought you were Severus under all those covers and snow! Good job putting him next to your skin; that was the best thing you could have done, since you are so warm with your…condition."
"We don't know where Severus is; Nippy came and warned us of young Shaun's predicament. He said that he had been stunned and left in the snow, that's all we know."
Remus took the Pepper-up potion that Minerva handed him and chugged it down in one big gulp, the familiar steam spewing out his ears, but warming him up instantly from the inside out. "I can see Shaun, Poppy and his skin is blue; but not mottled or purple. He has a large bruise forming in the middle of his chest, from the stunner I suspect."
Albus, the steam from his own potion starting to dissipate, came to stand beside the boy's bed, motioning for Remus to come beside him. Remus put his arm behind Shaun and dribbled the potions the mediwitch handed him down the inside of the boy's cheek. She turned to Albus and directed him to a folder on the bed beside her. "Albus, inside that folder are the parchments from St. Mungo's telling me the spells I can safely use on Shaun. I know I can't use an Enervate, it's much too strong for one so young, but check for me, I think I can use a weak wakefulness spell without difficulty. We need to get the boy awake as soon as we can."
Remus had picked the small boy up and tucked him into his robes against his bare chest again, warming the boy with his body heat, Poppy noticed what he had done and nodded her approval. Albus quickly scanned the parchments and told the mediwitch, "Yes, you are right about the wakefulness spells, and it says to give the boy one tablespoon of Pepper-up potion for every year of age, so four tablespoons would be okay."
Poppy fetched the potion and measured it out carefully before handing it to Remus to administer; it did look rather strange to see the steam appear on either side of his bare chest without seeing the boy at all. She used the smoke to let her know where the child was and cast the wakefulness spell. A moment later, Remus was talking to him softly, "Shaun, it's time to wake up, come on child, you can do it. Yes, just open your eyes. Shh, I'm sorry child, we don't know where Daddy is…shh, we'll find him, don't worry."
'Nippy, I need you!" The Headmaster called the Snape's house elf, and when he appeared with a pop, the small creature rushed to Remus and reached up to pat his young master in comfort. "Young Master, your daddy sent me to tell Master Dumbledore where to find you, and he is a great wizard, he is rescuing you. I is to take you to your daddy now; that is the order Master Snape is giving to Nippy. Have the great Headmaster Dumbledore find you and then take you to your daddy."
Before anyone could stop him, Nippy plucked Shaun out of Remus' arms, scooped up the child's clothes and disappeared with a sharp pop of displaced air, leaving five very stunned people, mouths open and gaping in shock in the Hogwarts infirmary. They still had no idea where Severus Snape and now his son were!
Severus Snape was fighting against the blackness again, he knew there was something very important that he had to do, he couldn't sleep, he must wake up, it was imperative! He struggled, unable to force his eyes open, vaguely aware of a warm body cuddled against his side, a small hand patting him gently on the cheek and telling him, "I'm here Daddy, I'm here. Nippy helped me find you and he says you're just sleeping." He registered the sound of a huge yawn before he felt the presence of a familiar small head dropping onto his chest. He gave up the battle and let the darkness overwhelm him once again, unconscious to the growing heat and the increasingly labored and rattling breathing of the small body beside him.
Severus awoke the next morning with the awful taste in his mouth of old Dreamless Sleep potion. He could feel the weight of Shaun sleeping curled into his side, the loud wheezing and congested rattle informing him that his child had contracted pneumonia from being stunned and left in the snow. The boy's head was unnaturally hot and sweating against his chest. Severus tried to lift his arms, to find himself still strapped down to the bed, so he started yelling for someone to come and release him.
"Wherever you are, whoever you are, my son needs medical attention! I demand to be released at once, how dare you stun my son and just leave him to freeze in the snow!"
The door opened and two men in healer's green robes rushed into the room. "Now, now Mister Snape, you need to calm down or we will be forced to stun you again! There was no one with you when the aurors brought you here, you have no son; you just need to be calm now."
Severus snarled at the Healer, how dense could the man be, Shaun was lying right beside him, wheezing and breathing heavily! Oh, right, Shaun, invisible son, right. He forced himself to calm down; using every trick of Occlumency he had learned in spying for Dumbledore and masked his emotions.
"Healer, if you would just release my arms for one moment, I would explain to you. You can leave my legs and torso bound, the other Healer can have a wand on me, and I have no wand. I promise to remain calm, but I can clear this up in just one minute." The expression on the face of the Head Healer of the St. Mungo's Psychiatric Maladies ward didn't look too promising, so Severus took another tactic. "If you don't want to release me, allow me to call my house elf and have him provide you with the explanation. I just need five minutes and this will all be cleared up, please."
The two Healers consulted in whispers away from Severus and finally came to a conclusion, "All right, call your house elf, but our wands will remain on him at all times."
Severus sighed and called, "Nippy!"
"Yes, Master Snape, what can Nippy do for you, sir?"
"Please hand Shaun to the Healer standing right there. Healer, would you put your arms out?" The Healer looked confused but put his hands out, only about a quarter of the way out from his body. Nippy carefully picked up the unconscious boy and turned toward the shocked Healer, placing the invisible, but very sick boy into his hands.
Professionalism overtook astonishment, "This child is sick, I can feel a fever, he is shivering and his breathing is shallow and labored and very congested. But why..And…how…he's invisible?"
"That's my son Shaun, no one knows why or how he is invisible, and your blasted aurors stunned him and left him in the snow to freeze, that's WHY he's sick. He was poisoned on Halloween by an incident involving the accidental mixing of potions ingredients, his lungs were weakened by the toxic gas and he was just getting back to normal!"
The Healer that wasn't holding Shaun flicked his wand and released the bonds on Severus who leaped up out of the bed and snatched his child back to his chest. He laid a long delicate hand on the boy's chest, snatched his wand from the dresser against the wall and began casting healing spells on the boy's lungs. Shaun's breathing eased slightly and his color improved. Severus looked at the still stunned Healers, "I suggest you get Poppy Pomfrey here immediately, she knows my son and has been responsible for his care since last summer."
The Head Healer shrugged and gestured for the other Healer to leave the room. The wizard pulled his own wand out and focused diagnostic spells towards the potions' master's chest. He looked surprised but, nevertheless, began fetching potions from the cabinet in the corner. By the time he had chosen and returned with several different potions, Poppy Pomfrey, Albus Dumbledore and an unknown wizard had rushed into the room, led by his trainee.
Poppy and Severus took over the care of the child immediately, while Albus drew the Head Healer aside and explained the situation to him, as much of the explanation as they had, which wasn't much since no one had figured out how Shaun was invisible, they of course speculated that the why was simply that the boy had figured out if he couldn't be seen he couldn't be hurt. Albus thought it might be a severe manifestation of 'wish' magic, but he really couldn't explain it at all.
Three potions and a half dozen healing spells and Severus placed Shaun into the bed he had recently been strapped in, climbing in beside his son and curling up protectively around the small body. He was asleep himself in minutes, totally unconscious of the fact that his skimpy hospital gown wasn't covering him very well at all, before Poppy grabbed the blankets from the floor and tucked her two patients in securely.
Poppy and Remus walked over and joined Albus and the two healers in quiet conversation. Healer Smythwick was explaining, "The aurors had several reports from the parents of students from Hogwarts that Professor Snape's behavior was peculiar and becoming more and more erratic; and then we got a complaint from Mrs. Rockwood stating that her son had been targeted by an irrational and delusional professor. We had to check out these complaints, and when Mr. Snape was first revived and was ranting about leaving a baby out in the snow to freeze and the Auror's were trying to kill his son, when the records don't show him having a son at all, I'm afraid we thought he was delusional. We could find no physical reason, no curse or spell for his supposed hallucinations, so we treated him with calming draughts and placed him in a healing sleep until we could devise a plan of treatment."
Albus patted his shoulder reassuringly, "Well, we do acknowledge that it is a very unusual situation, but I would have appreciated a chance to explain the situation by talking before you resorted to having Professor Snape ambushed and stunned without even an opportunity to explain himself. And since Professor Snape had just expelled Mr. Rockwood for injuring his son on Halloween, his mother's complaint falls more into the category of revenge than actual fact." He turned to Madame Pomfrey, "How is Shaun and Severus, Poppy?"
"Shaun's lungs are still weak, I'm afraid the pneumonia combined with the stunner on one so young might have some residual effects, especially when he hadn't completely overcome the poisoning on Halloween. And Severus is suffering the aftereffects of three powerful stunners, all hitting on his chest. He is going to have to take potions every day and take it very easy for several weeks, and you know how well he will respond to that!"
Albus' eyes twinkled for the first time all night, "Yes, but if he wants his son to follow your orders, he must show him how, am I correct, Poppy?"
Poppy got a decidedly evil grin on her face, "Yes, I do believe that you are right, Albus, he must set a good example for the child, after all."
Albus conjured a comfortable recliner for himself and settled in for a long night keeping a quiet vigil by the bedside of his two 'boys' while the others all left, allowing the two to rest and begin to heal in restful sleep.
Next: Christmas at Hogwarts