The entire populace of the damn castle seemed to be positively exuberant. Students darted through the halls like wild beasts with no sense of decency. It was like they had injected sugar straight into their veins and they went half mad with it, bouncing off the walls and screaming at the top of their lungs. No matter where he was, their laughter and yelling seemed to follow him.

It made his already sour mood even darker, though he had no idea how that was possible. Any child that had the terrible luck of crossing his path was given the meanest of glares until they found somewhere else to be. If that still didn't work then he assumed that taking house points would suffice.

Hell, at the mood he was in, he would start taking them from his own damn house if it gave him some peace of mind.

One hapless child darted out in front of him, arms filled to the brim with sweets. Without looking where he was going he nearly collided with the professor. Sprawling backwards, he nearly sent his entire collection to the ground but managed to hold on tight to most of them.

" Professor I didn't see you there,"

Severus seethed and curled his hands into fists. "20 points from Ravenclaw, Mr Montana, for your utter lack of grace and decorum."

"But sir-" the boy started.

"One would think that someone from the house of the intellectually inclined would have devised a better way to carry his sweets and know that arguing with a teacher is a lost cause."

" sir" Montana's cheeks flushed red.

"Now get out of my sight before I give you a detention!" Severus snapped and stalked away before his anger could grow anymore.

Montana fled the scene as soon as he was able, keeping a tighter hold on his horde this time.

Halloween was in full swing. Somehow it was an even bigger spectacle than the last year. With its countless larger than life pumpkins dotted around that spoke their own spooky tale when one got too close. Or the bats transfigured to fly through the whole castle. Or the ghostly music that hung on the air; just faint enough to think it a figment of your own imagination. Or...Merlin forbid, the damn fireworks that lit up the night sky and reverberated through the foundations of the building.

Thankfully, things were finally winding down but it was nowhere near enough to stave off his growing headache or that awful sense of sorrow that got lodged in his throat.

Most people saw halloween as a thing to celebrate. Not only was it Samhain, it was also the day that the Dark Lord was finally defeated. Even two years on, people celebrated like the war had ended yesterday. They acted like it was a happy time rather than a tragedy. No one else seemed to care about what had to be lost in order for them all to be saved.

Two years had gone by since Lily had died and Severus wasn't sure how he had lasted that long. A part of him had been severed the moment that she was gone. It had started to tear the moment he called her that damn word and she had avoided him. But he had contented himself that as long as she was happy and she lived that he could cope with that. Obviously that was not to be either.

Now he just felt empty and angry. He doubted there was anything in this world that would ever stop that feeling. He would just have to cope and hope he didn't fall off the deep end in the meantime.

Having to look after these dunderheaded, hormonal pre-teens wasn't exactly helpful for his psyche either. Every day one of them nearly blew up their hands, burnt their eyebrows off or poisoned themselves. None of them seemed to grasp even the basics of potion safety no matter how much he tried to drill it into them. He was only 23 but he swore he was already going grey.

When he finally reached the sanctity of his own quarters he sighed tiredly and leaned against the door. Everything just seemed harder today. Talking, teaching, hell even moving felt like a monumental effort at times. If he had his way he would have been drowning himself in firewhisky from the moment that he clawed his way out of bed. And he didn't even like firewhisky. Though that may have been a part of it. A punishment of sorts. Or he just didn't want to waste any of his good liquor on a miserable pity party for one.

Severus closed his eyes and took a deep breath in through his nose. He held it there for a moment before breathing out and then tried to compartmentalise his thoughts. He stored the more irksome memories of the day behind his carefully constructed shield walls to deal with some other time. Right now he needed some peace and some clarity.

He could never thank Dumbledore enough for pulling him away from the side of the dark and giving him the opportunity to actually make something of himself after the war. Most former death eaters were either locked away or jobless. It was only the lucky ones that had managed to find a way to continue after the Dark Lord fell.

But it was days like today that he regretted taking that lifeline. A filthy gutter somewhere was easier to live with than some of these kids. How he survived teaching 7 years worth of kids as well as marking, creating lesson plans, supervising NEWT projects, he would never know. Surely it was too much for one teacher to do. He always envied the likes of Professor Vector who only had to teach third years and above.

With thoughts thoroughly tucked away, Severus finally stood from the door and moved further into his sitting room.

Maybe I can get away with one drink. He thought to himself. Minerva had left some of her homemade gin here the last time she came over and it seemed like just the thing he needed right now. You would think with being a potions master it would be him making alcohol in secret. But surprisingly the transfiguration professor had a knack for it. She even had a conjured bathtub full of the stuff that she kept in a locked room.

Severus and the other heads of houses had tried to convince her to sell it but she wouldn't hear anything of it. Apparently selling illicit alcohol was too much of a Slytherin endeavour for her tastes.

More for them he supposed.

Before Severus could even take a step towards his drinks cabinet he was thrown back by a sudden buffeting wind. He crash landed into one of his squishy arms chairs and felt the springs groan as his whole body was compressed against the fabric. He could scarcely lift his head against the barrage air that was swirling around the room. A vortex had formed in the centre of his sitting room, sending anything not weighed down flying through the air. It was tinged a deep red with sparks of green running through. So thick he could not see what lay at its epicentre.

He was going to kill whatever asinine fool thought it would be funny to lay a trap in his own quarters. Whether it was supposed to be a prank or not he didn't care. With gritted teeth and fierce determination he managed to reach for his wand.

But the second his fingers graced the wooden surface, the vortex sucked inwards and dissipated in a puff of red smoke. Rather anticlimactic after the original display. The parchments and feathers that had been caught in the swell listed downwards until his entire floor was littered.

With a snarl, he was about to set his room to rights. However, when he finally glanced down at the centre of the mess he couldn't help the curse that slipped out.

"Fuck!" Severus clambered to his feet in an instant. His eyes glued to his sitting room floor "Sweet Merciful Merlin what is that?!"

Because Severus was no longer the only person in the room. Where there was once only a rug there now lay a miniature human. They were curled up in a ball so tight they looked implausibly small. It was hard to determine their age but he doubted it was very old. This was a child! An infant! How had a small child found themselves in his room?

Their hair was almost as black as his own and their skin looked decidedly pale. It could have been a natural colour but when Severus spotted the first hint of blood in their hairline he realised that this child was hurt.

He may not have a lot of patience when it came to children but he wasn't going to abandon one when they were hurt. Severus rushed forwards and kneeled down next to the child. Luckily, they seemed to be breathing. If only in shallow pants.

"Er...hello there" he patted their back. Then cursed himself for how awkward he was being. "Can you hear me, little one?" At the sound of his voice the child seemed to stir. With a slight pained groan they seemed to be trying to move towards him. Severus reached forwards and lifted the child up as gently as he could.

Now that they were no longer in a ball he could see that it was in fact a little girl. Probably no older than 4. There seemed to be a cut of some kind on her forehead but thankfully nothing else he could see. Her eyes were still screwed up tight and her bottom lip was wobbling. With a pained kind of sob, that would invoke paternal instincts in anyone, the little girl began to cry.

"Shhh. It's okay, you're okay." Severus began to rock her in a way he could only hope was soothing.

What am I doing? What's going on? How did she end up here?

Severus didn't have the time to contemplate any of that right now. He had an injured infant to deal with. Wide eyed, his gaze flickered around the room, trying to decide where to start.

"Right!" he said, maneuvering them into a standing position. A task that became a lot harder with a sobbing child in his arms. "We need to deal with that cut first. That I can do. Let me just…"

He rearranged the child until she sat a little higher in his arms and moved forwards. He had never held a small child before and was absolutely terrified of dropping her. But the child lay her head on his shoulder seemingly completely comfortable in his arms.

"Daddy," a tiny voice mumbled into the fabric of his robe.

Severus froze at the sound. What was he supposed to say to that? "Er...daddy's not...here right now. But I will endeavour to find him. Don't worry."

Severus walked briskly towards his potions cabinet and began to pull out what he needed. Clean cloth, wound cleaner, cut sealer. He even had a pain tonic that was fit for children to consume from when he had run out willow bark and had to make a weakened version. He had been annoyed at the time but now it was a blessing. It was difficult to juggle it all with only one arm free but he somehow managed.

He decided to deposit her onto one of the armchairs and kneel down next to her. It would be more comfortable than propping her up on top of the table and this way he knew she wouldn't fall down. The medicines were arranged below him in some semblance of order. The pain tonic would be needed first so he grabbed that and lifted his head.

Only for him to gasp at what he saw.

The little girl had now opened her eyes and was now looking at him. There was no fear in them, just a hint of pain and an almost expectant kind of look. But it wasn't that that caused him to gasp. No, that was because he was looking into the eyes of Lily Evans. He had looked into them enough times to know what they looked like and these were undoubtedly hers. Though how this little girl had inherited them he did not know.

"Daddy, my head hurts," she whispered, one hand reached up to her head while the other wrung around an object he had not noticed before.

"I'm not your-no stop, don't touch that you'll make it worse" Severus had to grab her tiny hand to stop her from messing with her cut. Her hand grabbed readily onto his with a strong grip.

Her eyes were open now, why did she still believe him to be her father? Was she just confused or was there something else going on. Then with a look back to the head wound he realised that she might be concussed in some way. He had to get a move on.

He extricated his hand from hers with no small amount of effort. Even children as small as this one could have a surprising amount of strength when they were scared or wanted something. With a steadiness that came from years of potion making, he managed to unstopper the pain tonic in one go.

"I need you to drink this," he said, placing the phial against her lips. But her mouth was sealed like a steel trap. She shook her head and refused to drink it. Some liquid managed to spill down her chin but that was it "It's to help you, you foolish child."

"Donwanit," she murmured through closed lips. "Is yakky"

"Yakky?" Severus asked dumbfounded. He had never heard that word before, if it even was one.

Then he nearly slapped his forehead for being an idiot. He was a fully trained mediwizard; he should know that most kids struggle with taking potions. Even some of the fourth years were bad at it, nevermind an infant. With a flourish of his wand he spelled the contents of the tonic into her stomach. It didn't take long for the magic to work its way into her system and he saw her visibly relax.

Now suitably anesthetized he could get a start on her head. First he poured some of the wound cleaner onto the cloth until it was adequately soaked. Then he hesitantly went to move her hair out of the way. Unsure if she would want him to touch her. When she was completely unaffected-even going so far as to give him a look that clearly suggested he was being odd-he dived right in to cleaning the cut.

Thankfully, it didn't look very deep and it no longer seemed to be bleeding. Though when he wiped the surrounding blood away to reveal a rather familiar lightning bolt shaped scar he nearly had a heart attack.

How is that possible?

It wasn't a normal cut he could tell that much. The outer edges were almost bleached white and had tiny offshoots and fractals like a Lichtenburg scar. It positively radiated a dark and malignant energy. Though, as he kept on cleaning the taint of evil seemed to leach away. He had heard of only one other person who had a scar like that. Harry bloody Potter. The boy-who-lived.

There was no way this child had survived a killing curse like he had. It was just impossible. There had to be some other explanation for the shape of her wound. Though the fact that she was hurt at all made Severus want to curse someone. He didn't even know her but just the idea of someone raising their wand to hurt this little girl made him feel sick and furious.

He had no idea where these feelings welled up from but he put them out of his mind for now.

When the wound was sufficiently cleaned, he applied the topical cut sealer and watched as the threads of new skin began to knit together. It took about a minute for the cut to heal and then it only looked a slightly inflamed pink. A fair sight better than what it had been.

"Right, I think that's better," he mused "So...er...do you have a name?"

He cursed himself for asking such a stupid question. He hadn't been this ineloquent in years but it was hard to concentrate with the way that she stared at him with those big green eyes.

"My name Selena," she smiled at him and shook her head "Daddy, being silly,"

That smile could make anyone melt and Severus had to shake his own head. "no, no I'm not your dad. My name is Severus."

"Daddy," she pointed at him.

"Severus,"

"Daddy!"

"No. Severus,"

"You are daddy!" she all but yelled, her bottom lip stuck out in a frown

Severus pinched the bridge of his nose, knowing that this was a losing battle. "Okay let's agree to disagree,"

Selena picked up whatever had been in her arms and began to study it intently. The look of disgruntlement did not leave her face. As if Severus had gravely offended her somehow. He couldn't help but feel that it looked incredibly familiar but he couldn't quite think of why. His attention was drawn towards the object. It looked to be a stuffed animal of some kind. Its fabric was a worn green and had probably been held more time than he could count. As a way to divert her away from the whole father issue he directed towards the item

"What's this then?" he asked, softly.

Selena perked up and proudly showed off her cuddly toy. "It's Dave. He's a dragon. RAARR." She thrust the object into his face and he finally got a good look at it.

It was a replica of a welsh green dragon with lopsided amber eyes. Its head had been torn off at some point restitched with red thread and some of the felt scales had fallen off. But the most distressing part about it was that Severus recognised it.

That dragon was his. There was no doubt about it. He remembered when his father had ripped its head off in a fit of rage. His mother had diligently stitched it back together the muggle way so that he could have his beloved toy back. A toy that he knew to have been destroyed years ago; along with most of the other possessions in his house. He had destroyed it all in a fit of despair on the day of Lily's death.

The fact that this child was holding a near perfect replica worried him greatly. It shouldn't physically exist. Nevermind clutched in the hands of a random little girl that appeared in his room.

It was also definitely not called Dave. His dragon had been called Demitrious

"Are you sure it's called Dave?" Severus raised an eyebrow.

"Yes," she nodded very seriously "Daddy calls him Demi-trus but he's not. Mummy calls him Dave. And Selena calls him Dave. He is Dave."

She barely stopped for breath as she explained and Severus' mind was reeling. But she said something about her mother, maybe he could work with that.

"Do you know where your mother is?" he asked, hopeful.

Selena looked away and profound sadness filled her big eyes. "Mummy's not here anymore. But she was very brave and loved me lots and lots." she spoke as if it was something that she was told often and Severus felt a sharp pain in his chest.

So her mother had died but it was long enough ago for her to know about it. If she had passed at the same time that Selena ended up here he doubted she would know that she had gone.

"I'm sorry," he said quickly, not knowing what else to say.

Someone had sent this child to him deliberately. He couldn't think of any other explanation for her being here. It must be some kind of message for him. Though what kind of message was not inherently clear. But he'd been a spy long enough to know that it probably wasn't good.

Quickly, he set off a barrage of revealing charms around the room, admonishing himself for not doing it sooner. Selena marvelled and giggled at the flashing display of lights but he did not miss her flinch when he cast a spell with a shade of green reminiscent to the killing curse. He filed that thought away for later.

Objects around the room began to glow faintly but none of it was unexpected. The only hint of darkness came from a lingering energy near the girl's scar. When nothing obvious began to show up Severus physically deflated. Whether from relief or disappointment he was not sure. While it was a good thing that he found nothing nefarious or out of place, it would have benefited him if he knew where to start.

Sighing, he ran a hand down his face. "I'm going to require some assistance. I think it's time we get professor Dumbledore involved."

"Dumbeedore" Selena repeated.

"Wait, do you know Dumbledore?" he asked

Selena nodded with a smile "He's funny. Let's me play with his beard."

"He does, does he?" he said distractedly. If she truly did know Albus then he may finally be getting somewhere.

Severus climbed to his feet and leaned down to lift the child up. Her arms were already up, waiting for him and she settled against his shoulder like before. Holding her didn't seem as daunting the second time around.

Albus was most likely in his office by now so it was a simple matter of using the floo to get to him. He walked over towards the fireplace with Selena in hand. His spare hand had just reached to grab some floo powder when Selena began to protect quite vocally.

"NOO"

Shocked by the noise, his hand slipped and caught the edge of the dish. It sent the whole thing careening towards the floor where it stained the carpet black.

Severus screwed his eyes shut. He had to grit his teeth to prevent himself from shouting. Instead it came out as a very strained grumble "Why did you do that?"

"Don't like the floo. Is all spinny and goes in my eyes."

"It goes in your eyes," he repeated with an incredibly resigned sigh.

They didn't have to go through. They could have called Albus and asked him to come through. But now even that wasn't an option. With a dawning horror he realised that he was going to have to brave the halls of Hogwarts and make his own way to the headmasters office. Curfew wasn't for a couple more hours so there were undoubtedly countless children still up and wandering the grounds like a horde of inferi on a sugar high. And the very last thing he needed was for rumours to start when they saw him with a small child.

With that in mind he brought up his wand and cast a notice-me-not charm onto Selena. It would hopefully detract any attention away from her as he stalked through the castle. So with everything in hand Severus finally made his way out of the room.

Thankfully there were few people in the dungeons. Most of his snakes knew not to roam about down here and those that were out had somewhere better to be when they saw him. A fierce reputation was good for something at least.

It all seemed to be going well except for one small thing. Selena would not stop talking.

"Are we in hogwarts?"

He tried to ignore her: notice-me-not charms tend to not work very well when one drew attention to oneself. But when she kept asking relentlessly he had no choice but to give in.

"Yes," he hissed.

"I'm gonna go here when I'm bigger," she said, staring around her in wonder. "But mummy said that I have to go to Pi-mary school first."

"Primary," he corrected before he could stop himself.

Though it was quite surprising that she mentioned primary school. Not many wizarding children ever ventured into muggle schools before Hogwarts. They tended to go for tutors instead. But those with a muggle education did tend to have better literacy and maths skills when they arrived. An advantage most of them did not realise that they possessed.

"Hello!" she waved and called out to a group of students before he could stop her.

"What did I say about talking? You need to be quiet," he whispered forcefully.

The group of three second year boys jumped at the sound. They quickly hid something behind their backs and faced Severus with wide, terrified eyes. But Severus didn't have time for them and stalked past them as fast as he could, hoping that their eyes would not linger long.

"He didn't take any points!" One of them said in absolute astonishment "He didn't even shout!"

"Was he talking to himself?" Another questioned, the stink bomb he had behind his back all but forgotten.

The last boy shoved him "Shut up, Adrien or do you want him to come back and give us detention?"

Selena continued to babble on no matter how many times he told her not to but thankfully they were finally nearing Albus' office. He almost cried with relief when he saw that damn Griffin statue.

"Sugar Quills," As soon as he said the correct password the Gryffin jumped out of the way.

"I'm not allowed Sugar Quills," Selena said

"Absolutely fascinating." He replied in complete monotone.

The door opened to reveal a very bemused Dumbledore, sitting behind his desk. "Ah Severus, my boy, what can I do for you?"

Selena began to wriggle in his arms and he had to place her down to prevent himself from dropping her.

"Dumbeedore!" she yelled. As soon as her feet touched the ground she was off towards the headmaster like a flash.

Albus' eyebrows rose into his hairline and Severus did not miss the look of complete astonishment. The headmaster reached to help her up when she all but yanked at his robes. He sat her across his knee, looking very much like an attentive grandfather.

"Well hello there and where have you come from?" Albus asked, sounding completely at ease.

"My house," Selena said very confidently. It made Severus want to drop his head into his hands.

Selena's hands immediately found themselves entwined in Albus' impressive beard. She lifted it up and hid her face in it. To Albus' credit he did not react in the slightest. Instead he turned to Severus with one raised eyebrow and a quizzical look.

"Would you like to tell me how such a wonderful little girl found herself in my office, Severus?"

Severus couldn't help but feel like a chastised school child underneath Albus' scrutiny. He hated how he could feel his cheeks burning.

"This is Selena and she appeared in my rooms only an hour ago. Are you saying that you have never met this child?" he asked skeptically.

"No I cannot say that I have had the pleasure." Albus paused. Selena flicked his beard into his face but he remained unperturbed. "Though you seem surprised at that statement, my boy."

"Well she is under the impression that she knows both of us but I have most certainly never seen this child in my life!" he was growing more hysterical with every passing second.

"Hmm, and you say she just appeared?"

"Yes! Some kind of magical vortex deposited her into the middle of my living room. I've never encountered a spell that could transport a person like this before. I really do not know how she came to be here."

Albus looked down at the girl in a new light. His attention seemed to be drawn towards a strange pendant around her neck. It must have been tucked away before because Severus had not noticed it. But it appeared to glow a muted gold.

"There is a charm laid upon this necklace. I wonder what-" The instant his fingers grazed the metal an image sprung forth. It leapt out of the necklace and hung in the air like a muggle projector. His mouth dropped open at what he saw.

It was him. Standing in an unfamiliar building wearing muggle clothes he didn't even own. He looked vaguely different too. More muscular. He even held himself in a different way.

"My name is Severus Snape and if you are seeing this then that means I am dead."

WHAT?!

"The child that you have is my daughter Selena Eileen Snape. She has been targeted by the Dark Lord because of some preposterous prophecy. Her mother, Lily," his voice cracked "Has already lost her life trying to save her and I fear that it won't be long before the same befalls me. I have devised a ritual so should the worst happen, she will be sent to the person best equipped to protect her. This is you. I implore you to look after my daughter and protect her with everything that you have."

The image flickered and faded away, leaving nothing but a stunned and frozen Severus in its wake.

"Well that clears that up," Albus said

WHAT?!