Disclaimer: I do not own HP.
Snape followed Dumbledore into the retirement home. They pushed past a loitering couple to get to the service desk. Snape watched the pair with sceptical gaze. He wonder if the two really were going to miss the elderly man they waved to. Severus didn't think so. It looked more like guilt for ditching him in the first place. Snape turned back to the desk where a young woman sat on a wheelie chair. She was hard at work, using her wand to change the colour of her nails.
"Excuse me Ms." Dumbledore spotted the woman's name-tag half peeling off her claret top. "Abigail." The woman looked up glaring at the pair of them.
Her cool gaze turn to Albus, a single eyebrow raised.
"My eyes are up here."
Snape missed the few choice words she muttered but the last one he caught, pervert.
Dumbledore seemed oblivious the woman's distaste for them. While Snape found her mildly amusing.
"What can I do you for?"
Severus wondered if the girl realised what she had said or whether she had said it deliberately.
"We are here to see Merope Gaunt."
Abigail seemed surprised. Dumbledore thought she had few visitors and it seemed that Abigail thought it was rare. She let out sigh, their presence was clearly unwanted. Abigail didn't bother to get up, her service skills were non-existent. She just pointed to the woman in a wheelchair in the back corner.
"That's her in the corner, knock ourselves out."
"Thank-you Ms Abigail." She rolled her eyes returning back to her task of colouring her nails one at a time.
Dumbledore took the lead marching them over to the wheelchair bound lady.
"It was a pretty green but I think a lemon drop yellow would have suited her better." Albus mused.
Severus ignored him, refusing to ponder on such pointless things. He instead look to the woman now in front of them. She looked frail and old. Her frame was tiny and her hair, wiry and thin. The years hadn't been kind to her, and each year was etched into her skin.
"Good Morning Mrs Gaunt. Do you know why I am here?"
"Yes. It's about that abomination of a son, of mine. Disgusting. Sleeping with a girl half his age. Fathering a heir at his age, disgraceful." She tutted.
"We are here about Tom Riddle." Dumbledore said in a humble manner.
" I don't want to talk about Tom Bloody Riddle. He left me knock up twice. Just walked away and left me. So what if I did a little magic on him, doesn't give him the right to abandon me and his kids. Heard the older boy I gave away, killed him. Good riddance to bad blood, I say. Filthy dirty rotten scoundrel of a muggle." She huffed annoyed, but her rant wasn't quite over yet. " I gave up the older one, you know. Thought it would be better off without the knowledge of this. It was a demon baby. Almost killed me in labour. I was young and scared. Stupid too. I couldn't help myself, I had to have him. Not even the ring on his finger stopped me but when the time came and I took off the spell he took off again, back to that muggle of his. He knew I was having another brat to him and he still ran, bloody muggles." She sighed, the ache of her heart pouring into her anguished words. "I kept the second one Morfin, named after my brother. I was a bad choice on my part, he turned out just as horrid. In his fifties fathering an heir. Disgraceful. His woman isn't even old enough to know what to do with a baby, she just a child herself."
Merope anger burned and sizzled. Eating away at her insides. Snape watched her warily. He wondered if he would end up this way, lonely and angry. Simply bitter at the end.
" Do you think we could speak to Morfin?" Dumbledore asked softly.
"You can't he's dead. Good riddance to bad blood, I say."
She was beginning to repeat herself, her mind had slowly been slipping away from her over the past few years.
"What about the wife and child?"
"They have just moved to England. They live down Squire Street, sixty-six."
"Thank-you." Dumbledore stood to take his leave before asking one final Merope Gaunt one last thing. " You wouldn't happen to know when the child's birthday is, would you?"
"July thirty first."
"What is going on Albus?"
"The prophecy goes 'The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches...Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies...and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not...and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives.…'."
Snape waited impatiently for Albus's explanation.
"This child has just moved to England. The prophecy says approaches, which would imply he or she already exists. His birthday is the correct date, I assumed it would have been his brother Morfin. They shared the same blood, they are equals but with Morfin dead the line falls to the child. If I am correct this child will become the saviour of the wizarding world. We must take the child, raise him to fight, to become the hero we need him to be."
Snape held his tongue but his scowl was eminent. He would not put his faith in a child, this was their war, no child should have played a part in it. Snape frowned thinking of baby Eileen. He wouldn't put her at risk not in the way Dumbledore was going to demand of this child. This was the first time Severus had ever found himself doubting Albus and he didn't like it one bit.
Sixty-six Squire street was a dump. Pieces of the roof fell into the overgrown garden beds. The front door was left wide open. It looked as if it had been raided by a bunch of rowdy death-eaters. Wands drawn, Dumbledore went in first followed by Snape. They both froze at the sight in front of them. A small boy tugged on his dead mothers sleeve. He looked up when their shadows loomed in front of him. His eyes grew wide and he ran further into the house with a scream.
"Check her." Dumbledore nudge Snape towards the woman while he went after the kid. Severus sighed dropping down onto one knee. He study the young woman's face. She would have been younger then twenty, a beauty once. Now she look terrible. She had been dead a few days at least. Snape wonder how long the child had been here alone with his mother's body.
He moved to the nearest bedroom, pulling a shabby blanket of the bed to drape the woman corpse. He covered her moving down the dark hall to the kitchen where Dumbledore was trying to coax the child out of the pantry.
"We are here to take you somewhere safe. A magical place." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled hypnotically.
"I don't want to go with you." The boy sobbed from deep within the cupboard.
"We are here to help you. Look after you." Dumbledore promised.
"I don't like you!" The child growl. "Go away!"
His fierceness warmed Snape's cold heart.
He smirked. "I don't think it's working, perhaps a woman's touch is required."
"Who's that?" The boy's voice was frightened and stiff now.
"Severus. He is a good friend of mine." Dumbledore motioned for Snape to come over to the front of the cupboard door with him.
"Wouldn't you like to come with us. We can teach you magic, real magic."
"I don't want to go. I want to stay here. It's safe here. Mummy promised." He sniffed.
"We can look after you." Dumbledore said softly.
"No you can't. your just an old man, like my Grandma. You don't know how to look after kids."
"I run a magical school. I look after lots of kids."
"I don't care! Go away!" The boy yelled.
Dumbledore sighed shaking his head. He looked to Snape. "You try."
Snape scowled. He sighed leaning against the counter top opposite the cupboard.
"What is your name? I am Severus" Snape said as softly as he could manage.
It was a long moment before the child responded.
"Sal."
Dumbledore stayed silent, smiling at Severus.
"What's that short for?"
"Salazar."
"Ah." Snape smiled. "Named after Salazar Slytherin. One of the greatest founders of Hogwart's school of wizardry."
"Really? Wow." the boys head poked out from the door. His eyes large and blue, glowing with fear and curiosity.
"I was in Slytherin house in my school days. When you turn eleven I bet you'll be in it too."
"Really?" He looked so hopeful and nervous, that Severus couldn't help but crack the smallest of smiles.
"Well only if you come out of that cupboard and come with us. I am sure we can even get you something nice to eat."
The small boy slowly came out. He took one look at Dumbledore and ran to Severus latching onto his leg. Snape was startled by the boy's action. Gently he untangled the child from his limb. The boy looked up at him, staring at Snape like he had never seen something so fascinating. It was the same look Eileen got when Lily's bracelets would jingle together.
"You have a really big nose." Sal factually told him.
He stared dumbfounded while Dumbledore chuckled away to himself.
"Thank-you?" He said awkwardly. Children ran from him. This was very wrong, the boy wasn't the least bit scared.
"I bet you can smell real good." Sal grinned. "Can we get some food now?"
AN. Sorry it's taking longer to get chapters out then normal I just haven't got enough hours left in a day, do you think I could order a few more on eBay? :) R&R Please :)