AN: Alright chill readers I realize I've made a horrible mistake, Benjamin James Snape is now Benjamin Severus Snape (name credit to Crapounette from the reviews). And I do agree the Lucius' decision in the last chapter was a little OC but one he was scared and not thinking straight and two at the very end of the books he chose to walk away from Voldemort to protect his family, so maybe in this story he just learned his lesson faster. Anyway, thanks again to all you wonderful readers for reviewing, following, and favoriting and I hope you enjoy!
Chapter 19- A New Life
Harry slept through the preparations so when he awoke late on April 21st he was not aware that he woke up as a new person. In fact, Harry was not aware of many of the happenings of the night before. He had faint, blurred bits of memory- he remembered going with the Malfoy's after the trial, he remembered his scar burning and someone screaming, and then he remembered Mr. Snape at his side.
Harry blushed slightly- had he really called Mr. Snape "dad"? And more importantly had Mr. Snape really said he loved Harry? The thought filled Harry with warmth that pushed away any embarrassment. He looked around the room lit up with morning light with a smile. Nothing had changed since the day he'd run away. Harry felt his stomach rumble just as the scent of something delicious cooking hit his nose. Harry sniffed and smiled even more brightly- it was pancakes, Harry's favorite.
Looks like Mr. Snape had kept his promise Harry thought to himself as he pushed himself out of bed. He was safe. Relief flooded through Harry lifting the weight from the past few weeks. The Ministry indicting him didn't change the fact that he had killed, but it did tell him that they shared Mr. Snape's opinion- that the murders weren't his fault. It didn't fix everything but it was a start.
Harry walked into the living room to find Minerva, Albus, and Tucker sitting in their chairs chatting amiably. He rushed over and practically tackled Tucker into a hug, "I'm so sorry about your house Mr. Tuck," Harry gushed out squeezing him so tightly that Tucker had a little trouble breathing.
Tuck patted Harry's head, "That's alright Kiddo. Me and Professor Dumbledore fixed it up, good as new."
Harry beamed gratefully and then rushed over to greet Minerva and Albus with just as strong hugs. "I'm so glad you're back my dear boy," Albus told him.
Unsurprisingly, Professor McGonagall hugged him back then turned a strict look on him, "It's good to see you, but if you ever try to run away again I will charm you so that you can't move more than a foot from my side."
Harry just smiled, "That's what Mr. Snape said."
Speaking of Mr. Snape, just then he walked into the room. He opened his mouth to say good morning when he was hit with a bullet of child as Harry hurtled into him and wrapped his arms around him. He returned the hug and the boy reluctantly pealed himself off of him when the growling in his stomach reminded him that it was time for breakfast.
They all clambered in and sat around the kitchen table filled with plates full off steaming pancakes. The adults were satisfied just watching Harry demolish an alarmingly high stack of pancakes for a while before they started on their own breakfast. Harry frowned when he saw the assortment of colorful potions in front of his plate. Swallowing his bite of pancakes he gave Severus puppy- dog eyes, "Do I have to take the potions? They taste yucky and make my tummy hurt."
While Albus and Tucker would have certainly fallen for the display Severus did not. "First of all the potions do not make your stomach hurt and second of all yes you do have to take them because you are still scrawny and malnourished. And if you don't drink them now I will be forced to take away your treat."
Harry scowled at Mr. Snape, he was no fun. "Fine," he whined, "But I think I should get two pieces of chocolate becauseā¦" He was cut off by Severus's sharp look after which he quickly downed the potions. He made sure he wrinkled up his nose at the taste because he knew if he did that Professor Dumbledore would smuggle him a lemon drop and Mr. Tuck a chocolate frog.
Severus smiled internally at the boy's antics, deciding to let him get the extra reward from the old fools. Looks like Harry was much more cunning than Severus would have thought from someone with Gryffindor blood. He handed Harry the piece of chocolate.
He felt slight butterflies in his stomach at the thought of telling Harry what he and Albus had arranged that night. You've been a double agent for Lord Voldemort, he told himself, you can handle this. Severus took a deep breath, "Harry I have something to talk to you about."
Harry straightened up, his smile disappearing off his face as he heard the seriousness in Severus's tone. "Yes?"
Severus felt like he might throw up from nerves. "Yesterday the Ministry officially handed over your guardianship to the Malfoys." Harry opened his mouth to tell Mr. Snape that he didn't want to stay with the Malfoys, he belonged here, but Mr. Snape cut him off, "Please, just listen before you ask any questions. Now, last night Mr. Malfoy witnessed one of your particularly violent nightmares and he agreed to turn over custody to me, however the Ministry would have never allowed that without another hearing on your behalf so Professor Dumbledore and I figured out a way to keep me as your guardian for good."
Severus summoned up the courage to continue, "According to the rest of the world Harry Potter died in an ambush from the Dark Lord last night that the Malfoys were unable to stop. From now on, you will be Benjamin Severus Snape, my son by blood."
Severus watched unreadable emotions flash across Harry's eyes as the room fell into silence. Harry opened his mouth, "I-." With that he burst into tears.
Albus, Tucker, and Minerva shared panicked glances and quickly excused themselves. Severus felt his heart freeze over as he struggled to comfort the boy- of course he didn't want to be his son- how could Severus have been so stupid? Severus stood up and walked around the table to the boy and was cut off from whatever he was about to say when Harry hurled himself into his arms, burying his sobbing face into Severus's robes.
Severus was so shocked by this sudden turn of events that he just pulled Harry close and let him cry. Finally the sobs started to subside and Severus pulled away slightly so he could see Harry's face. "What's wrong?" he asked, his mind pulling a complete blank.
"Wrong?" Harry choked out, "I- I-." He couldn't seem to get the words out and instead buried his face back into Severus taking deep breaths until he had regained control. Finally pushing himself away he looked up at Severus. "You really want to be my Dad?" he asked, his eyes filled with innocent vulnerability.
"Of course," Severus answered simply. Harry broke down into tears again but this time he was able to pull himself together much faster.
"So my name is Benjamin Severus Snape?"
Severus nodded, "Your birthday is still the same, July 31st. Your mother died in the first war, her name was Emily Murdock, a muggle born."
Harry thought over this new information for a moment. Severus watched the cogs roll in his head as another problem struck him. "Won't people be able to recognize me?"
Severus smiled, digging through his robes until his hand closed around the familiar bottle. He pulled out the small flask filled with deep red liquid. "That can be fixed permanently if you wish. If not a bit of polyjuice potion in your drink each morning should do the trick."
"How do I fix it permanently?"
Severus swirled the bottle around thoughtfully, "This is what is known as an inheritance potion. Mixed with the blood of one wizard and one witch it changes the genetic makeup of the drinker. One drink of this will not only alter your appearance so that you appear to be the offspring of myself and Emily Murdock, who did not die in the war but escaped to the Muggle World and cut off all ties with our kind, but it will also make your blood test as being our son."
Harry grinned widely, "That's wicked." He thought about it for a moment then added more seriously, "Then we can be a family in every way."
Severus nodded, certain that he would be unable to say anything if he opened his mouth at the moment. He handed Harry the vial, finally forcing out, "Are you certain?"
Harry gave him the most serious expression he had ever seen on a ten year old boy. "I want to be your son." He downed the potion in one gulp, feeling a strange warmth settle in his stomach as the tasteless liquid started to take its effect. Severus watched as before his eyes Harry started to morph.
His wild hair flattened and fell longer across his face. His pale skin grew darker into a slightly more tanned, healthier glow. His legs and arms grew as he filled out to make up for the sudden stretch in size. His nose turned slightly hooked and his ears grew. The last thing that changed was his eyes as the emerald faded into the light blue that Severus assumed came from Emily Murdock. Benjamin Severus Snape stood before him with a shy smile, "How do I look?"
Severus smiled, feeling tears well up in his eyes from pride and joy- this was his son. He cast a mirror charm on the wall. Ben examined himself exclaiming happily, "I'm taller!" He pulled back the now long bangs from his face and slowly approached the mirror, examining his forehead which still had a jagged scar running angrily down it. He sighed sadly, "I've still got that ruddy scar."
Severus muttered a disillusionment charm and watched as Ben gasped, turning to him excitedly "Is it gone?"
"It's just hidden for now."
Ben examined his forehead for a moment more and nodded in satisfaction. "Well that's good enough for me! Can I go show Mr. Tuck and Professor Dumbledore and McGonagall now?" He was practically bouncing with excitement.
"Go ahead."
Severus cleaned up the kitchen with a few cleaning spells as he heard the adults flock over Ben in the living room. He smiled as he heard Ben announce multiple times that he was Mr. Snape's son now and correct Minerva when she called him, "Harry." Once the excitement had died down a little Severus joined them in the living room.
Ben was sandwiched between the three adults on the couch jabbering excitedly about Hogwarts as Albus and Minerva told him about the ancient castle. Tucker grumbled "a bloody insane school," a couple times but was listening just as attentively as Ben (he had been crushed when he couldn't go to the school because of his inability to control his power and had only heard snippets about it from his older brothers).
They all fell silent when Severus sat in the armchair across from them, Ben's eyes shining when they landed on his new Dad. "We have to discuss the rest of Ben's schooling before he's ready for Hogwarts."
Ben's eyes immediately fell to the floor as he squirmed guiltily. He wanted to make his Dad proud but no matter how hard he tried it seemed that his magic was impossible to control. "Well I think making sand castles is out of the question," Tuck joked lightly.
When he saw Ben's face fall he added, "You'll be able to come back and do it eventually kiddo but with power like ours there isn't just one form that fits all. What worked for me isn't working for you so we'll just find something else." Ben nodded, still looking a little unsure. What else could help him?
"It seems to me that before Ha- I mean Ben can work on controlling his power he first needs to find a way to get over his past," Minerva suggested.
Severus thought about it- it seemed to make sense but how could the scars of almost 10 years of severe abuse be erased in a few months? And knowing what he knew about the connection between Ben and Voldemort it would be much harder for the boy to heal.
Ben kept his eyes fixed on the ground, his face flushed with embarrassment. He wasn't a baby, he could handle it himself. Of course his Dad saw right through this (his uncanny ability to read minds seemed to extend even when Ben wasn't making eye contact with him). "Ben there is no shame in getting help for trauma. Emotional scars run much deeper than any physical ones."
Ben looked around at the adults around him. None of them had a hint of laughter written on their faces- they didn't think he was a baby, didn't think he was a freak. They were sincere and they wanted to help. Ben relaxed and gave a hint of a smile, "All right."
"I know quite a few child psychologists," Albus told Severus brightly, "They are all wonderful people and are under an unbreakable vow to keep patient confidentiality so anything Ben says will be kept a secret."
