Growing Up Snape
By Teacherbev
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: I will answer questions if you will leave them in a review for me, and I thank all of you who have read and reviewed all of my stories. I appreciate each and every one of you (well maybe not the flamers).
AN: I am excited, my very first story, Harry Potter and the Guardians of Power, has been nominated for a Quills Harry Potter Fan Fiction contest under the action/adventure heading at http/ www. geocities. com /dragonhidequills/main.html (Just remove the spaces, for some reason ff will not download a link here). Please read it and vote for it. And thanks for all of those who have added my stories and my author name to their favorites and their c2 groups! Makes writing much more meaningful and fun when I know people like it.
Chapter 6: The Power of Emotions
Poppy pushed open the infirmary doors with a loud bang as she ran towards her locked potions cabinet, yelling back over her shoulder for Albus to retrieve the parchment listing spells safe for young children from the top left hand drawer of her desk. 'I really should just memorize that list, as often as poor Shaun winds up here!' She was placing vials of potions on the tray she had hastily conjured out of the handkerchief from her pocket as she thought quickly.
Severus had been helped over to a hospital bed and had lain down with his son still clutched in his arms. He rolled over, gently lying the boy onto the bed beside him, curling his own body protectively around him. His arm under the boy's head and shoulders was not only helping the boy breathe better, the rest of his arm curling down the boy's body, was roughly outlining exactly where the boy was since no one could see him. Severus used his free hand to brush his tangled, long, black hair out of his face as he called loudly, "Nippy!"
"Yes, Master Snape?" The tiny, elderly house elf was still cold and punctiliously proper in his manner toward his master, which let Severus know exactly how upset and outraged the old retainer was with his 'master'.
"Can you still see my son? I cannot and I am afraid we are greatly hampered in treating him without being able to adequately evaluate his condition." The anguish clearly visible in the countenance of the normally snarky potions master contradicted his calm and silky voice. Severus was very upset with Sirius, but he was even more disgusted with himself for getting so out of control with the flea bitten mongrel. Just because the man and his obnoxious friends had made his school days hell and had tormented him at every opportunity; that was no reason to let himself lose complete control of his own emotions!
Nippy nodded politely at his master, "Yes, sir. Nippy can still see young Master. His face is pale and sweaty, sir. If you would remove young Masters clothes, Nippy will tell you about his body, sir."
Severus hurried to comply, fumbling with the unseen fasteners and slipping the still too thin arms out of the sleeves, as Poppy hurried back and Albus came rushing out of Poppy's office, a piece of well used parchment waving in his hand like a flag in triumph. "Found it!" He said as he scurried back to the frantically moving mediwitch.
"Nippy, I am sorry for distressing Shaun and I truly regret making him fearful again in my uncontrolled rage, but I ask you to help me now, please?" Severus was actually apologizing to Nippy as he tried to get the elf to look at his son now that he had the boy stripped down to his underpants and socks.
Nippy looked at Severus with a little more forgiveness in his countenance as he looked up and down the small body lying so limp and lifeless on the large white bed, still cradled on his father's arm, which circled protectively around him.
"Yes, sir, Nippy sees a very large bruise from Young Master's chest, just below his shoulders, clear down below the top of his pants. It is making Young Master's stomach bulge out like he has swallowed a ball. He is having several ribs caved in on the left side of his chest, just above the bottom rib. Young Master is having a most difficult time breathing, he is gasping and his breaths is gurgling like he is underwater, sir!"
Poppy's face paled at the little elf's description as she reached her hand out and fumbled awkwardly until she found the area described. She uttered several strong cuss words that the men would have bet she had never heard before and that were anatomically impossible, as she felt that it was true, the boy's stomach was distended and rock hard with the blood pooled inside his skin from internal bleeding. Using one hand to keep the area clearly identified, she flicked her wand in a complicated motion as she chanted an even more complicated spell over the small frame. Severus gasped and his face blanched white as he recognized her incantation, "Surely that's not recommended for someone as small as Shaun?" he questioned incredulously at the very strong fluid reducer and healing spell she had just cast.
She turned to Severus after she finished, "I had no choice, Severus, his abdomen was so distended that it was greatly interfering with his breathing and if I hadn't relieved the pressure internally, his other organs would have shut down and he would have died within minutes. How is his breathing now?" She knew that Severus would be able to tell because of the position he was holding his son in.
"It's still labored and I can feel he is very congested still, but it has eased up some. Perhaps the lung clearing spells now?" She nodded her agreement and both she and Severus aimed their wands and began casting healing spells onto the small body.
Remus and Albus stood by, feeling totally helpless as neither healer was telling them anything, they couldn't see or hear anything, and neither man wanted to disturb the two in their non stop healing. After an eternity where time seemed to stand still, Poppy collapsed back against the bed behind her and Severus dropped his head down exhausted onto the bed as if his head weighed too much for him to lift it any longer. They thought for a moment that Severus had passed out after the intense expenditure of magic; but a soft snore let the two know that he had simply fallen asleep from emotional and physical exhaustion. Poppy looked at the two men still standing, waiting in anxious anticipation, as she swung her feet up on the bed she had been sitting on. She lay down without even taking off her shoes. As her eyes closed in utter exhaustion, she managed to whisper, "He'll be alright now, he just needs…to…sleep…" and her soft even breathing let them know that she too was asleep.
Nippy came forward from where he had been standing out of the way and beckoned the two wizards away from the sleeping trio. As he led them out of the hospital wing, a burst of flame and a soft, peaceful trill announced the arrival of Fawkes, who settled down on Severus' shoulder, his neck stretched out so that his own head was on Shaun's chest. He continued to softly trill comfort and healing to the small boy that he loved.
Nippy led the two men to an empty classroom just beyond the hospital wing doors and waited for the two tired wizards to sit down before turning to them and looking down towards the floor in sorrow and defeat.
"I is telling you's something that we's house elves is knowing for some time. Young Master must be trained. He's magic is too strong for us to bind any more." Nippy looked ashamed at having kept something so important from the Headmaster and the boy's teacher and refused to make eye contact with the two very confused wizards.
They were still looking at him in astonishment at his confession when they heard another soft crack of displaced air and Ogden, the Hogwarts Head House Elf appeared before them. He bowed toward the Headmaster; his ears wiggling as his forehead almost touched the floor. Somehow he managed to make the stance retain a sense of stately elegance and dignity. His only outwardly visible sign of nervousness was the hand gripped in his immaculately clean tea towel with the embroidered Hogwarts School Shield on the front.
"Headmaster, we have information that we have been shielding from you for some time to keep the boy safe. We have been using our own elf powers to help the child cope, and give him time to recover from his past, before having to harness this gift, but the last week has awakened his magics to such a level that we are no longer able to shield him. He was injured because we were not strong enough to shield him as the emotional overload made him panic into flight." Ogden looked apologetic and contrite towards his boss.
Dumbledore looked stunned and Remus was absolutely speechless; his mouth opening and closing without him uttering a word. House elves were extremely powerful magical creatures and they, all hundred or so which were bonded to Hogwarts plus the phoenix Fawkes had been unable to continue to shield Shaun? How powerful was the boy; and what had they been shielding him from? Albus recovered first and asked Ogden, "Please explain, Ogden? What were you shielding him from and why?"
Ogden raised his ancient wrinkled face and smiled softly at Albus, "The boy is a remarkably powerful wizard, he will become the strongest wizard I have ever encountered eventually, and his powers are growing each day. But mostly we have been shielding him from the emotions in the castle. He is empathic, and one so strong that he does not require touch. The emotions of the past week opened his magic up fully and if he does not receive training in blocking his mind before the students return next term, the emotions will overwhelm him and drive him insane. Fawkes, the other elves and I have been blocking him since last year, but we can no longer shield him, he is too strong for us." Ogden dropped his gaze, clearly ashamed to have to admit this to the revered wizard sitting in front of him.
Albus and Remus were drinking a glass of well deserved fire whiskey in the Headmaster's office several hours later, when they received a fire call from the hospital wing. A tired Madame Pomfrey was visible in a ring of green flames as she called to the men. "Albus, I thought you would like to know that Severus says that Shaun is starting to move. He thinks he will soon awaken and he would like you to be there in case Shaun is still frightened of him."
"Of course, Poppy, if you will step back we will step through right now." Albus was already putting down his still half full glass as he spoke. Remus followed right behind the old man and stopped just long enough to whisk away the ashes from his robes as he hurried to the only occupied bed in the open wing.
The two stood silently as they observed Severus speaking softly to his son, cajoling him to "Wake up for Daddy, Shaun. Please, Daddy's not mad at you, son. Please open your eyes. I love you, Shaun, and I would never hurt you, son, please wake up!" Severus was running his long, elegant fingers through the boy's hair as he continued, "Shaun, you're still invisible child, we need you to let us see you so we can finish making you all better. Please Shaun, let Daddy and Grandpa Albus see you!" His voice cracked with emotion as he pleaded with the small boy to understand and accept his love.
All four of the adults let out a simultaneous sigh as Shaun shimmered into view, opening his eyes and then wincing as he started to stretch. "Daddy, it hurts…" he whined so softly that if they hadn't been listening closely they would all have missed it. Poppy muttered a numbing spell over the boy, now that she could once again see her patient; she was much more comfortable using spells on him.
Severus shuddered as he held a hand close to the deep purpling bruise that marred the pale skin of his son, stretching from just below his shoulders to disappear below the waistband of his underpants, the deep lacerations still slightly visible where the child's ribs had been crushed from the force of the tree branch's impact. He hesitated to touch it, though he longed to just make it go away. Guilt welled up in him as he thought again of just why the boy had disappeared and been injured, running away and trying to hide from fear of him. Shaun started to tense up in his father's arms and Severus was afraid the boy was withdrawing from him because he was terrified of him.
Albus had explained to Poppy what Ogden had confided in them that afternoon so she knew that Shaun was withdrawing from Severus because of the intensity of his emotions rather than any fear; any strong emotions would overwhelm the small boy, even those of love and joy, and she had known Severus for many years and knew he was most likely feeling intense guilt at causing the boy to fear him so much that he had run in panic and been injured so severely.
Severus looked up startled as Poppy forced a calming potion into his hand and indicated that he should drink it, not feed it to Shaun as he had thought. He looked at Albus for confirmation and shrugging, drank it down when his mentor nodded at him. He instantly felt his emotions fade until he was completely under control for the first time since that miserable imbecile had started to accost him that afternoon. Poppy dribbled a small dose of Dreamless Sleep into Shaun's mouth and then helped Severus extract himself from the deeply sleeping child. She motioned at him to follow Albus and Remus out of the room without saying another word to them.
Remus patted Severus' shoulder in support as they reached Poppy's office and he broke off to head down the short hall to the quarantine rooms to return to his vigil at Sirius' bed side. He thought perhaps he would be slapping Sirius upside the head several times before the night was over.
Albus picked up his abandoned glass of fire whiskey after pouring one for Severus and banishing Remus' old one. He waved to the younger man to take a seat as he dropped heavily into his own comfortable leather desk chair. He sat his drink down on his desk and leaned his chin into his steepled fingers, deep in thought and contemplation about how they were going to managed this new complication. 'Shaun just refuses to be a normal child in anything!' He thought in exasperation.
The two men sat in contemplative silence for several minutes, letting the fine whiskey warm them and relax them after the extremely hectic and emotional day that they had endured. Albus took a deep breath and then heaved a deep and long sigh, "Severus, Ogden admitted something to us today that changes everything about Shaun once again." He waved a hand at the startled man, motioning for him to save his questions until he had finished his explanation, "No, let me tell you all of it before you begin to ask questions."
He took another couple of deep breaths as he organized his thoughts once more, "He told us that Fawkes and all the house elves have been shielding Shaun for the last year. He is an empath; one so strong that he doesn't need touch to experience the emotions of everyone around him. But Ogden admitted that after this week, Shaun is too strong, they can no longer shield him from raw emotions. It explains how he felt your argument while still sitting with me in my office this morning. And they are afraid if he is not taught how to shield his mind before the students return that the overload of emotions will drive him insane."
"You need to know that he also told us that Shaun is the most powerful wizard he has ever come across. I feel that you should know that Ogden is over four hundred years old, so he is including both me and Voldemort in that assessment. And everyone else for the last four centuries!"
He sat in silence, watching as Severus tried to process the information he had just been given, his emotions hidden from anyone who didn't know the sarcastic man as well as he did. He could see the flash of turbulent emotions showing in his deep dark eyes before being suppressed behind the man's tight mask. Severus' thoughts roiled as he sat in silence, occasionally sipping his drink to have something to do with his hands as he tried to process everything and come up with some kind of a workable plan. 'Merlin, how do you teach a four year old to shield his mind? I doubt there is a book of Occlumency for Toddlers out there. Albus taught me, and I have taught several others, but can I teach my own son? Oh, my god, his memories! How can I put him through that, it will make him relive his life with the Dursleys! I can't do that to him, I just can't make him go through that! But if I don't the elves say the emotions in the castle will make him go insane. Perhaps I should just give up teaching and take him away for a while? But where could we go that would be as safe for us?"
Severus took several minutes to realize that Albus was holding his hands across the solid width of the scarred top of the massive old oak desk. Albus squeezed his hands, finally drawing the man's morose thoughts to a close. "Severus, you don't have to do this alone, we will be there to help you. But we must begin soon or the students will be returning. Go to sleep now, and we will talk in the morning and devise a plan to help him. We can do this and we will do it, even if I have to permanently Silencio Sirius to get him to listen to reason!"
Albus let go of his hands as he walked around the desk and drew the obviously still flabbergasted father into a hug which Severus actually let him do, a sign of just how distracted the potions master really was! "Now, go on back to your son, I'm sure Poppy knows you will be sleeping with him tonight. I will see the two of you in the morning and we will begin working on a solution. Good night child, remember that I love you, both."
Sleep did not come easily for anyone in the castle that night, except the two still drugged in the infirmary. Poppy had decided that the best thing for Sirius would be to keep him mellow with calming potions and semi-awake with sleeping potions until he had time to recover completely. Such emotional turmoil had set back his healing by several days and she would just not have it. It had nothing to do with him not being able to upset Shaun in that condition, no it was strictly for the man's recovery!
Shaun had slept most of the next day as his body healed itself. He finally felt well enough the next morning to sit up in his bed and eat porridge while his daddy sat behind him on the bed and played with his long hair. The boy found it remarkably calming to have his daddy run his long, graceful fingers through his hair, softly scratching his scalp and soothing him. Severus let him finish before bringing up the subject he had been waiting two interminably long days to bring up. A flick of his wand moved the now empty tray over to the nightstand while another swift motion cleaned the boy up. He leaned back against the headboard, comfortable against the pile of soft, fluffy pillows as he drew Shaun back onto his lap, leaning against his chest, his fingers still lazily playing with the boy's hair.
"Do you remember what you felt when you were in Grandpa's office the other morning, Shaun?"
"Yes, Daddy, I was reading to Grandpa and I felt that you and Mr. Black were really, really mad and it made my head hurt so bad I just wanted you to stop. And I thought if I went to you, you wouldn't be mad at him any more, but when I 'popped' here, I couldn't even breath anymore, 'cause it hurt so bad. And my eyes were all cloudy and I just hurt bad like Uncle Vernon used to make me feel. I just had to get away!" He was acting upset at the memory so Severus just hummed softly like he had when Shaun had first appeared and he had been healing him of the injuries his uncle had inflicted upon him. His hand never stopping it's rhythmic brushing through Shaun's hair. He waited until he felt the boy relax against his chest once more.
"Ogden told us that you have been feeling what other people feel all year. Why didn't you tell Daddy?"
Shaun just shrugged and tipped his head, "Didn't know you couldn't." Well, that was logical, at least to a four year old.
Severus smiled even though he knew Shaun couldn't see it, "No, child, very few people can feel what other people are feeling. It's called empathy and Daddy would like to teach you how to block other people's emotions out of your head. Would you like to learn to block your mind?"
Shaun twisted in his daddy's lap so he could look up at him, "Can you teach me? I hate feeling everyone around me. It makes my head hurt and it makes it hard to think. I don't like it, Daddy. Can you make it go away?"
Severus bent down and kissed the top of the child, "No, I can't make it go away forever. But Grandpa and I can teach you how to block it unless you want to feel other people. You can chose, just like you chose who can see and hear you. Do you know how you do that now child?" He asked curiously, Shaun had never been able to explain it to them no matter how or who asked.
Shaun remembered promising the house elves to never tell, "No Daddy, I don't know how it works. I just twist my magic and I do it!" That was true, he didn't know how it worked, the house elves had just show him how to do it, not told him exactly how it worked!
Severus put both hands around the boy's chest and squeezed gently in a comforting hug, "That's okay, someday you might be able to explain it to me, but it's okay that you can't. Now, what happened outside? How did you get up in that tree? I've told you before to stay away; the Whomping Willow can be very dangerous as you found out!"
Shaun hung his head and whispered, "I was afraid you were mad like Uncle Vernon, and my head hurt so bad that I popped outside. And then this great big dog came running from Hagrid's hut and I was so scared of it that I just ran and I didn't pay attention to where I was. A great big branch hit my stomach and flung me up in the air and then more branches hit me and I couldn't get away and it hurt so bad and I couldn't call you and…" He was getting more upset with each word, panic beginning to sound in his voice as he remembered.
Severus kissed his head again, taking one hand from the boy's chest he reached up and soothingly stroked the small head rhythmically, over and over, feeling the tenseness bleed out of the taught muscles. He continued to stroke, alternately humming and talking softly about nothing until the boy's even breathing and the increasingly heavy body on his lap let him know that his son was once again asleep.
It had taken several days for Shaun to recover enough for Poppy to release him from the hospital wing, and Albus, Remus and Severus had taken every day of that time to plan, and then to set those plans into motion. They had moved Sirius to a set of quarters near the Gryffindor towers that were as far away from the Snape's quarters as they could be and still be inside the castle. Albus and Severus had warded the Snape's rooms against mental intrusion and Severus had brewed a mild calming potion specifically for long term use by small children. It had been developed for children that had been traumatized by surviving death eater raids or other violent experiences and could be used for up to six months at a time without adversely affecting their growth or development. So they had six months to teach Shaun how to block others' emotions or the two would have to move out of the protection of the castle and live somewhere else, something none of them particularly wanted to happen.
Albus had talked to several trustworthy mind healers from St. Mungo's and had received quite a lot of helpful information. It seems that they could use a pensieve to help Shaun deal with his traumatic experiences one at a time, and also to help him learn to block them. They would start by planting an obviously false memory for Shaun to find; it would help him eventually figure out which emotions belonged to him and which ones were invaders from another's mind.
But first they had to help Shaun bring some pleasant memories to the forefront of his mind and help him bury his traumatic memories so deep that they wouldn't be dredged up during his training to block emotions. After he had learned to block others, they could help him work through the traumatic memories that they had buried but at a pace that the adults around him controlled rather than having them overwhelm him and bring on nightmares or even withdrawal.
This morning they were going to begin the long slow process and Severus was much more nervous than Shaun was. After the fright last week, it seemed that Shaun had managed to figure out that the overwhelming emotions were not directed at him. Severus wondered just how much Shaun was able to 'talk' with Fawkes and how much the phoenix had helped his son over the last year, especially the last week!
Severus had given Shaun a very weak mind opening potion and now had the boy sitting on his lap on a pillow so that they were looking eye to eye comfortably. Albus was sitting directly behind Shaun, both hands cradling the boy's head. Poppy was on one side, carefully monitoring all three of them, wand and potions at the ready. Shaun's brilliant green eyes went glassy and dull and Severus knew the boy was ready. He took a deep breath and let it out, blowing it though his teeth in a soft whistle as he gathered his courage and determination for the difficult task ahead.
"Legilimens." He whispered so as not to startle the boy out of his drug induced trance. Severus felt himself falling as his mind was drawn into his son's memories. He saw flashes of dark, frightening glimpses of anger, pain and unbelievable hate. He dove, parting the boy's mind to find his memories of the days before his parents had been murdered. Ah, a flash of red hair, laughing and smiling, a man with hazel eyes and unruly black hair twirling a giggling child in the air as others looked on in love. Severus latched on tight and drug that memory forward into the conscious part of Shaun's mind, anchoring it securely as a focal point.
He dove deeper and found more pleasant memories for the boy, tying each tightly to his awareness, severing the bonds that held his memories of the nightmare he had lived with his aunt and uncle, letting them fall back into the deep subconscious, burying them under more and more pleasant memories, both those with his parents and, smiling in delight, those that involved Severus himself and the others in the castle.
Severus dragged himself backwards, up and up until he left the boy's mind and collapsed against the back of the chair in exhaustion. Poppy handed him a Pepper-Up potion, her thin lips pursed in disapproval at the amount of time he had spent in deep Legilimency with his son.
Severus grimaced at the taste of the potion, irritated at the steam now pouring out of his ears as he lifted his now extremely heavy head and managed to tell Albus, "I did it. He now has happy memories only in the forefront of his mind. The time with his aunt and uncle are now buried as long forgotten memories." That said, Severus clutched Shaun to his chest, dropped his head back down and the two slept. Albus covered them with a warm blanket, and then standing up, he told Poppy that he would watch them and call her if she was needed. After the mediwitch left the Snape's quarters, he selected a book from Severus' extensive library and settled into a comfortable sofa to read. He stopped just long enough to transfigure Severus' chair into a comfortable recliner, smiling at the sight of Shaun sleeping peacefully on his daddy's chest as he picked up the book and began reading.
Each morning Severus would give Shaun a nutrient potion laced with a calming draught before breakfast and then both Severus and Albus would work with the boy on building a mental shield. After flying into a cloud bank one afternoon while flying with his daddy, Shaun started to picture himself flying into the fog when he wanted to block his daddy or grandpa. It worked so much better than anything else they had suggested!
Severus thought, ruefully, knowing how much the boy loved to fly sitting in front of his daddy, he should have known that Shaun's shield would incorporate flying or the sky in some way. It certainly wasn't fire or a green meadow for his boy. He smiled as he thought of the wonderful progress they had made in just two short weeks.
Severus' mind was on the remarkable abilities his son was developing as he worked on Remus' Wolfsbane for the coming full moon. He had thought it was a hopeless task to try to teach such a small child Occlumency, and in only two months time. But it had only been two weeks and Shaun was already able to consciously block both his father and his grandfather. And Severus knew it would be only a matter of continuing practice before Shaun wouldn't have to concentrate on shielding others' thoughts and emotions, it would be second nature and need no more conscious thought than breathing would.
His thoughts were definitely not on the potion that he was brewing or he would have noticed that the new jar of salamander ash that he pulled out of his storage cabinet wasn't the same dark grey ash as the last of the old jar. In fact, this ash was so fine and light grey that it was almost white in color. But he was thinking of the progress that his son was making in his studies and the play group that Albus had arranged for him to supervise with Shaun, Neville, and Blaise. They wanted to test Shaun's shields around his friends and those two were the calmest emotionally for Shaun. Too bad it had been arranged for the day before the full moon so Remus wasn't available to supervise them!
As the potion reached a place where he could leave it simmering without him for a few minutes, he cleaned up his work station, replacing unused ingredients back into the storage cabinet, wiping down the work table, cleaning his measures and knives as he made plans on what to do with three small boys all by himself. The timed simmer coming to a close, he began working again, his thoughts never once completely upon the Wolfsbane he was brewing.
He had taken the three down to feed the giant squid, they had visited Hagrid and played with the now two month old Kneazle kittens, then they had walked back to their quarters for a snack. Hmm, two more hours and then he could feed them lunch and the two boys would be picked up so they could go home for naps! two more hours, what could he do for two hours with three four year old boys that wouldn't have either Albus or the boy's parents killing him? Who would believe that time would go so slowly, after all it was only a total of five hours with three boys, he had been a spy for the light, he was a potion's master; he could do this! Hmm, potions…
"Neville, don't add the snail bile…" too late, the small cauldron was boiling over, emitting a noxious greenish grey smoke. 'How in the world did he accomplish that with these ingredients? Okay, no more potions…what to do now…?'
"Daddy, can we play Hide and Seek? Can we, Daddy, can we?" Shaun was bouncing in excitement as he pestered his daddy.
'Hide…and…seek? Yes, that could work for the last hour and a half…' Severus agreed quickly.
"Okay boys, I'll sit here on this couch and count to one hundred slowly. You go hide, the potions lab and my bedroom are warded so that you cannot enter so don't even try. Shaun, no 'special' hiding, is that understood?" Shaun nodded his eyes wide and bright in innocence as he understood his daddy.
Severus sat down and started to count, "One…two…three…" He paused between each number, giving the boys plenty of time. He picked up the latest potion journal from the low table in front of him and began to read, saying a number out loud whenever he remembered to, "thirteen…fourteen…seven…eight…" He furrowed his brow as he became immersed in the new formula he was reading about.
Severus had managed to finish the entire twelve page technical discourse when he remembered he was supposed to 'find' the children now hiding. 'Now where would I be hiding if I was four?' he thought to himself. 'Ah, under a bed!' He tiptoed into Shaun's room and crouched down to look. He chuckled; Blaise had given up, being still and quiet to not be found he was now sleeping under Shaun's bed, curled up on the thick rug in his son's room. 'One down, two to find!'
He thought back to his own days of playing with a distant cousin, the closets! Sure enough, a sleeping Neville was curled up in the bottom of Shaun's wardrobe. 'Just Shaun left, I wonder if he gave up and went to sleep too?'
Severus looked in every likely space that he thought his son might be hiding, but no luck. Had the boy not understood and popped somewhere or become invisible? He had talked to him about not doing it in front of his friends but he might have forgotten in the excitement of the game. Hmm, he really didn't want to yell out for Shaun, that might wake the two sleeping in the bedroom and he certainly didn't want that to happen before time to feed them lunch! Wait, he hadn't looked up high and knowing Shaun, he would have climbed like a little monkey. The boy had no fear of heights at all, not even when he should have one. Sure enough, there was a still little foot sticking out of the front of the tallest bookcase beside the fireplace!
Severus quietly pulled a chair over and climbed up to see his son. 'Yes, he was sleeping too! It worked! Now, I know I can pick him up and move him when he's sleeping, let me see if I can get him down from here before he rolls over and falls off.' Severus gently brought Shaun down into his arms, carefully stepped down from the chair and laid his son down on the couch, covering him with the knitted throw that Minerva had given them last Christmas that had been draped across the back of the couch.
Severus settled back into his chair, picked up his magazine once again and settled back, conjuring a cup of hot tea. 'And Remus thought I wouldn't be able to handle three small boys! Ha, I'm not Head of Slytherin House for nothing!'
AN: Hope you enjoyed this chapter! The next will deal with mis-brewed potions and the long awaited beginning of magical training for one mischievous or is that devious little boy!