AN: Okay, and now I really have to get some real life work done. I'm just having so much fun with my characters it's hard to stop! Enjoy! Tell me what you think of post death eater Draco.
"I like being called Severus," Severus told him. "Snape is the person I was before."
"I see," Draco told him. "And do you always get what you want, young sir?"
"Of course not," Severus answered, rolling his eyes. "Nobody does."
"I shall call you Severus for now if that's what you prefer," Draco told him. "You may call me Mr. Malfoy for now. This is Mr. Longbottom, who is an old friend of your new parents, and an old nemesis of your former person. He never met a cauldron he couldn't melt in your class."
"I don't like talking about who I was before," Severus told the blonde-haired stranger, but was surprised by how much he found himself liking the strange man. The straight-forward approach he took towards him felt much better than the careful way most people handled him.
"I see," Mr. Malfoy nodded. "That is most inconvenient for people here, because that is the person with whom we were acquainted. You bear a striking resemblance to your former self, which explains Mr. Longbottom's terrified reaction to you."
"People don't need to stare at me so much!" Severus grumbled.
"People are perhaps curious," Mr. Malfoy acknowledged. "You can hardly blame them. The last time people saw you you were a middle aged man striding around striking fear into the heart of students. Yours has been quite the transformation."
"I just want to be left alone!" Severus declared, and was a little astonished by how close his words were to something that sounded like tears. Was he really that upset?
Draco looked at the boy and felt sympathy for his former mentor. How could be be reduced to such a shell of his former self? A sniveling brat that could barely keep ahold of his emotions? How could Professor Snape have made such a stupid mistake at potions to render himself such a helpless child? And at the mercy of a pack of Gryffindors to raise him?
"How old are you?" Mr. Longbottom asked him.
"Nine," Severus answered, not bothering to think of an obnoxious way to answer the question. "And before you ask, yes, it's permanent."
"Not many of us get a second chance at life," Draco mused, looking critically at the boy. "If I could have it to do over again, perhaps without the threat of a certain Dark Lord rising and threatening my family, I believe things may have turned out quite differently. Yes, I believe this a happy accident indeed."
"Surely you don't want to be nine again!" Mr. Longbottom gasped. "To be a helpless child again!"
"This child is far from helpless!" Mr. Malfoy laughed, a hard laugh that had a note of bitterness. "No, I think this to be a most fortunate accident. Tell me, Severus, do you have any marks on your forearms?"
"Hey there Malfoy, Longbottom," Severus heard George greet them. "I see you've met our young Severus."
"We've just been getting acquainted," Draco answered. "Tell me, how has he been adapting to life as a child?"
"Right as rain," George answered cheerfully. "He's been a right treat for us, he has."
"Come, come, we are nearly family here," Draco chided him. "There is no need for pretense. Severus Snape was, even at the best of times, barely civil to those around him."
"This is Severus now," George corrected him. "We are choosing to treat him as a whole new person."
"Indeed," Draco answered, looking the boy over critically. "A whole new person is he?"
"Do you like potions, Severus?" Neville asked, trying to come with something to ask the strange child.
"I don't know," he answered with a bite of resentment. "They won't let me try at them."
"We are having him schooled in the basics to start," George explained. "Professor McGonagall herself warned Harry about starting him too early on Potions. Here's his nanny now. Miss Stradling, do you remember Neville Longbottom and Draco Malfoy?"
"Gentlemen," she greeted them, a hard smile on her lips. "I believe we met a time or two at Hogwarts."
"It's always nice to see a fellow Slytherin," Draco greeted her, bowing slightly. "How did you secure the honor of teaching young Master Severus, Miss Stradling?"
"I'm afraid I was one of the few left willing to take the job at the agency," Miss Stradling replied. "Young Master Severus has proved to be a . . . challenge to the less prepared. But he has learned a lot from me, haven't you, Mr. Snape?"
"Of course," Severus replied, his voice pitched to communicate perfect sarcasm and purposely not using any form of honorific. "I find your lessons very . . . adequate."
George muffled a laugh as Miss Stradling's smile changed from hard to murderous. Draco was able to suppress his guffaw with a well-timed cough, and Neville spilled the last of his punch as he tried hard not to laugh.
George, seeing the mounting tension, decided to intervene. "Miss Stradling, I'd like to introduce you to my mother," he directed her. "I believe she wanted to ask you some professional advice as she's caring for Teddy during the day and wanted to start him on learning his letters. Could you help her?"
Draco watched as Miss Stradling was hurried away, and then as Neville Longbottom quickly made himself scarce as well. Good, he had been hoping since he heard of the accident to have a word with this particular child. But he knew he had to handle it well; even at nine Severus Snape was no fool.
"Brilliant, Weasley," Draco snorted. "Like Molly Weasley needs child rearing advice from a twenty-four-year-old."
"Perhaps she could have some advice for Miss Stradling," Severus observed. "I believe her to be lacking."
"She's going to get you for that one, you know," Draco casually remarked. "That witch does not like to be mocked."
Severus shrugged as if it was not a concern, but Draco could see a trace of worry on his face. So, Draco decided. Miss Stradling was still the same person she was as a prefect.
"So it will be the cane, then?" Draco pushed.
"My new father has forbidden that," Severus evaded. "I need to go, I need to get Teddy his punch."
"George Weasley already got it for him," Draco pointed out. "Look, Severus, I know something that you don't, and something those blasted Gryffindors don't know the first thing about. Floy Stradling was prefect over me at Hogwarts, and I know how she operates. I also know that it was technically against the rules for her to use the cane on younger students as prefect, but she in fact perfected a spell that Professor Snape used on occasion that mimicked the effects of the cane. And while Professor Snape used it incredibly rarely and always with good reason, she was more indiscriminate. I would assume in a situation where she was forbidden the cane, she would use the spell that mimics one."
"But . . ." Severus began to protest.
"I am not going to argue with you," Draco held up his hand in defense. "We both know the truth, and we both know that your 'new father' would not put up with that Nanny if he knew the truth about her. Which begs the question as to why you have not informed him about her . . . methods."
Another shrug was his answer, which caused Draco to employ occlumency to not employ that same caning spell that he was just repudiating. How did Potter manage to raise such an impudent child – did Gryffindors really not care about basic respect? How had he not beaten that shrug out of him yet? Draco would have that shrug out of him first thing if he had had charge of the lad.
"Ah yes, it's obvious," Draco mused, not showing his anger at Severus' disrespect. "Miss Stradling said it herself. She was the last available option at the agency due to misbehavior on your part. So what did she say? That you would not have a Nanny if she quit? No, that wouldn't be threat enough, especially given what kind of Nanny she is. Oh I have it, and it is the only logical threat in this situation - she threatened you with a boarding school, didn't she?"
Severus looked up at Draco with raw emotion, and Draco almost flinched at the intensity he felt coming from the boy. It was quickly cloaked behind the child's natural occlumency, but the fact of its presence told Draco a lot. First, Severus loved Harry and accepted him as a father. Second, he was terrified of losing the family he had come to love and would do anything to prevent that from happening. Even endure abuse at the hands of that sadistic witch.
"I am not going to allow you to keep this secret," Draco told him carefully.
"NO!" Severus protested in a hushed panic. "I don't know how you guessed so much, but you can't tell!"
"I can and I will," Draco told him firmly but not unkindly. "But I will let you buy some time if that is your wish."
"How?" Severus asked miserably. "What do you want from me? I have no money."
"Money, while certainly useful in these troubled times, is not the only currency," Draco replied.
"What else could you want?" Severus asked suspiciously.
"Are your forearms bare?" Draco asked, gesturing to his arms. "I am willing to take your word and not ask you to bare them."
"My dark mark is gone," Severus answered, knowing what Draco was asking. "The others were surprised as well."
"Did you mean to do it?" Draco asked. "Was this really a Potions accident or was it on purpose?"
"How should I know that?" Severus answered pugnaciously. "I am merely a child in all of this."
"You know," Draco answered, his eyes narrowing. "You know or you would not have evaded like that. And, child or not, you are Severus bloody Snape. Answer me or I go to Harry this minute."
"On purpose," Severus told him, feeling defeated and hoping he wasn't making a really huge mistake. "I don't know all of the details, but apparently my adult self couldn't live with the trauma of the war or whatever anymore and chose this."
"Can you change back?"
"No," Severus answered. "I had left Harry one bottle of potion to change me back if he wanted to, and Harry destroyed it. My adult self had destroyed all the notes and everything, George was quite keen to get everything. He said it wasn't simply a de-aging potion but an actually time travel one. But apparently my adult self made it impossible to replicate what he did."
"You would have," Draco answered, smiling keenly. "Very, very interesting. And you, young sir, have against my better judgment bought yourself a fortnight of time with that Godforsaken excuse for a Nanny. I will visit in exactly two weeks and if you have not revealed yourself I will."
"What could I give you to not tell Harry at all?" Severus calculated.
"There is nothing you can give me that would outweigh the benefits of protecting Harry's beloved son," Draco told him. "You may not realize it, but your father is quite important in this world after the fall of the Death Eaters, and I have worked hard to build trust with him, despite our schooldays rivalries. It has not been an easy task, but I have been up to the challenge. What he values is trust and honesty, so I have had to live up to those standards. Ghastly undertaking for someone trained in the Slytherin political halls of power. "
"He didn't like you in school?" Severus asked, surprised.
"Not at all," Draco admitted with a smirk. "It was mutual. But now, with my parents in disgrace it is up to me to reclaim the political power of the Malfoy family, and I believe part of the path to that power lies with you, my boy. So, I am happy to be your rescuer if you don't save yourself by then. I will tell him how you confided with me at the wedding, and how you swore me to secrecy. And anything past two weeks will backfire on me and make me look heartless for making you suffer. Don't worry about me, though, I will couch my delay in telling him as 'wrestling with my conscience' over not wanting to 'betray poor Severus' confidence' and of course not wanting to disturb their honeymoon, but will say that I couldn't stand it any longer. Of course, you could always rob me of my glory."
"How would I do that?" Severus asked.
"Trust those bloody loyal pack of Gryffindors and tell them yourself!" Draco exclaimed, giving him a gentle smack on the head. "Use that head of yours! Potter would no sooner send you off to a boarding school than he would feed you to a pack of Trolls. Surely you have known him long enough to at least see that about him?"
"Maybe . . ."
"Be a Slytherin for Merlin's sake!" Draco chided him. "Open your eyes and stop acting like a wounded Hufflepuff! Use their affection for you to your advantage and start believing what they tell you."
"But what if they're lying to me?" Severus pressed. "I'm not a lovable child, how can I believe them if they say that they love me?"
"These Gryffindors, for all their faults, don't lie very much," Draco told him. "Now off you go and enjoy the simpering fools that want to fawn all over you. Stop taking offense at it, foolish child, and use it for your advantage."
"What advantage can there be to everyone staring?"
"Do I really have to spell it out?" Draco rolled his eyes. "Right now they're all thinking 'poor lad' and 'brave soul,' you could work this room any way you want. Hold the hand of Lupin's orphan and you could get your own broom, I'd wager."
Severus looked at Draco with incredulity, but was saved as Hermione came over and ushered him off for the start of the meal. He could feel Draco smirking at him as he found his seat beside Harry.
"I see you met Draco," Harry smiled at him. "What do you think of him?"
"Arrogant prat," Severus observed. "But he might also be really brilliant."
"Excellent observations," Harry laughed. "I think the war and everything really changed him, he's actually a decent bloke these days. But watch out for him, he's wicked sly about things."
"He told me to believe you," Severus told Harry truthfully.
"Apparently smart too," Harry laughed. "It might be good for you to know some decent Slytherins. Maybe we can have him over sometime?"
"Maybe," Severus answered without commitment, wondering if that's really what he wanted. Did he want a relationship with the man that blackmailed information out of him? Should he tell Harry everything that happened? Should he steal Draco's glory?
"What a perfect day," Harry sighed, looking at Ginny who was walking over to their table, chatting happily with other guests.
No, at least not right now," Severus decided. Let him enjoy the day.