Strength of a Child's Mind

Summary: Disaster and Harry Potter does not bode well… at all. And this particular disaster is determined to change both Harry's and the greasy potions master's lives!

Pairing/s: None.

Warnings: Severus!Father, Child!Harry. Spoilers up to the fifth book? Sirius not dead. Maybe something else but you'll see that.

Disclaimers: I don't own Harry Potter.

-o-

Update! How you enjoy it, and thanks for all the reviews -smile-

UPDATED 2011-01-02

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Chapter Two

Severus scowled at the look Dumbledore gave him and said:

"Shouldn't someone who actually likes Potter take care of him?"

"Exactly," Ron muttered but was quieted down by Hermione and her swift elbow into his side. The man's mouth twitched into a malicious smile for a moment at the sight.

"It seems like Harry likes you," Dumbledore said and looked at him somewhat sternly. For once Severus did not crumble underneath the stare and the headmaster sighed a bit before saying, "But we can try to see who he wants to be with if you really feel you don't want to, Severus."

"I don't want to," the potions master said like a disobedient child although he unconsciously tightened his grip on the sleeping child. He mentally swore. Treacherous body, DIE! He didn't like children! Or, he had been rather sure he hadn't liked children.

The Order began discussing amongst them of who would be the best, ignoring Severus' inner debate as they had no idea it was going on, and Molly Weasley was voted for by everyone. She knew how to handle children and she was almost the only one not busy. But she promised Sirius and Remus could visit. The potions master scowled; who the hell had asked Harry if he wanted to be with the woman? They did not seem to care for Harry's own opinion and had already started with plans of what to do. Dumbledore turned to him and said:

"Could you wake him up for just a little bit, Severus?"

Severus suddenly did not want to wake the boy up, but immediately tried to squash those thoughts. He was not successful, and began cursing his treacherous mind. Soon he would not have anything more to swear at. As gently as he could he woke Harry up. Said Harry looked up after a little while, his sleepily eyes informing Severus the boy was annoyed that his nap had been interrupted.

"Harry," the headmaster said and the boy looked at him with disinterest. Severus tried to hide his chuckle. Dumbledore ignored the look and continued, "Hi there. My name is Albus Dumbledore. You cannot, unfortunately, claim Severus as your sleeping post before we have decided with who you should be with. As Severus is a very busy man and not used to children, we thought of letting Molly Weasley take care of you."

The woman nodded as Harry's eyes settled on her; she would be delighted to be able to care of another child not to mention a boy she had practically adopted. Harry looked between Molly and Severus and let out a simple grunt before clearly demonstrating who he wanted to be with… by wrapping his legs and arms around the potions master the best he could and bury his head into a black-clothed shoulder.

Snape snapped his head down. He felt the boy was quite strong for being so young and fragile-looking and patted his back lightly to loosen up. He could not help but having some childish triumph though over the fact Harry chose him over Molly Weasley. He, the snarky potions master, was chosen over the goddess of mothers, the Molly Weasley. He was dancing a sort of weird victory-dance in his mind; Dumbledore would declare him nuts if the potions master did it in real life so he refrained. He was tempted though. Just to see their faces.

As the Order could clearly see who Harry wanted to be with, some of them looked horrified. Sirius changed back to his normal self, not caring anything about the possible consequences and moved to get his godson. Harry saw the movement and clenched himself to the black-dressed man like a leech. Severus grunted and backed off.

"He doesn't want you to come close," the man said to Sirius.

"Don't be ridiculous!" Sirius said. "He's my godson!"

"Sirius, calm down," Remus said, coming forward to drag Sirius away if necessary. "Harry doesn't know you are, so listen to Severus. Sirius!"

The Black ignored the warning, stretched after the boy who did something they did not expect; he turned enraged emerald eyes towards the man, towards his godfather who quite suddenly was thrown back towards the group. Sirius skidded to a halt and looked up in shock, as did everyone else.

Severus could feel the power radiating off the child. Harry calmed down easily enough when Severus rubbed his back and the child burrowed his head into the man's shoulder again. Most of the people in the Order looked at the potions master angrily, probably thinking he had made something with Potter to make him like that. He had the childish urge to stick out his tongue at them. He bit said tongue to keep it inside of his mouth. Merlin, the boy was making him crazy! Soon he would be dancing hula-hula on the Head Table at dinner with bright pink clothing and offering lemon-drops to all of his students. The man nearly shuddered at the thought.

Dumbledore looked at Severus and said:

"Seems like he doesn't give you much of a choice, Severus."

"Seems that way," the man replied absently, releasing his abused tongue and telling his mind to shut up as he was going crazy. He was also in need to sit down, NOW. That decided he went to a chair and did sit down. Harry loosened his tight hold and now sat in Severus' lap, his legs dangling back and forth on either side of the man's thighs.

"You'll need some things to be able to take care of him," Dumbledore said, clapping his hands in delight. Severus resisted the urge to roll his eyes; the man looked hilarious with the silliest grin on his wrinkled face, dressed in bright purple robes and now almost jumping up and down. It seemed like most of the Order shared the potion master's thoughts. "Trying to minimize the risk of having Harry hurt, we shall let him go as your… cousin's son?"

Severus quirked an eyebrow.

"Your cousin just passed away in a tragic accident, leaving her only child behind," Dumbledore said, thinking quickly while tapping one of his fingers at his chin. "Harry there. His name will not be Harry of course, and now he has come to live with you."

"Sounds manageable," the potions master agreed. "However, I decide the name and since I'm supposed to be his guardian I will be the only one taking care of him."

"Of course, as long as he's fine with you," the headmaster said. "Any objections?"

Sirius looked like he wanted to object but thanks to Remus' gentle hand on his shoulder he calmed down.

"One question," Fred said to Snape. "Can I babysit him when you're too busy, professor?"

"Why would you want that?" Severus asked.

"Because he's adorable!" the almost grown man said with a pout. Harry looked up at hearing Fred's voice and turned to look at the redhead.

"Who's adorable?" Harry asked and tilted his head, his small hands on Severus' shoulders.

Damn… he is cute. Severus tried to ignore the voice that had said that in his head but found it very hard as several of the people in the room agreed out loud.

This was not looking good for Severus' reputation when the child seemed hell bent on making the potions master act like a fool.

-o-

At least the boy was quiet. Harry looked around Severus' quarters with curious eyes as Severus had put him down on the floor. First thing was to shop clothing, and the potions master prayed to Merlin Dumbledore would not tag along. Both he and most likely Harry would bang their heads in frustration and horror at the clothes he presented to them. The man had a tendency to pick the brightest colours imaginably, add them together and then wear them. Severus was convinced the man was completely colour-blind.

The boy grasped a bit of his robe and looked up at him shyly. The man felt lost all of a sudden. Not even two hours ago he enjoyed teasing and taunting Potter and now he got angry if anyone Harry was not comfortable with came within ten feet of the child. This day was too weird for his taste, even more so when he had indeed realized it was not a dream.

Severus lifted Harry again and placed him on a couch. The sweater looked horrible as it hung on his thin frame, and the pants did not fit the child at all. The boy's feet were cold the man noted and Severus rubbed them a bit to heat them up, almost absently. Harry giggled at the feeling, tugging at the sleeves of the sweater.

"First thing, shopping," the potions master muttered to himself. "Second, clean out these rooms. Merlin knows what trouble a child can do."

"What are you talking about?" Harry asked.

"Nothing, just thinking aloud. Are your feet still cold?"

"Not much," the boy said. "But I'm hungry."

Severus was too, when he thought about it. Dumbledore had given him the rest of the day off for shopping but they needed lunch before going.

The lie was complete now as no one outside the Order knew what had happened. Harry Potter had been sent to an unknown location to recover and Severus had to rush away to London because of the death of his cousin on his mother's side. She had a child (Harry) whom needed a parent, and the potions master was the one signed up for it.

Severus only hoped it would hold, and if he ignored any summons from the Dark Lord he dearly hoped the man would not torture him too much. He could not always go to the summons now; he had a child under his wings. And yes, Fred Weasley along with his twin would be baby-sitters but not in the middle of the night or during one of their classes. Oh well… Severus was glad he knew how to endure pain at the very least.

The potions master looked on as Harry ate. The boy was small and fragile but he could eat! After a little while he looked up at the man, slightly sheepish before cleaning off his hands on the napkin he had been given. The boy had manners, good.

"You seem very hungry," Severus said with a smirk.

"It feels like I haven't eaten in days," Harry said, a frown on his forehead. "A kind of hollow pain when you don't know if you're really hungry or not until you take the first bite."

The boy used a very polite and formal way of talking for a six-year old. While he did not have memories, his body would have been the same as when he was six years old at the Dursleys. Did they starve him? Severus pushed that thought back; he had time to think about it later.

The man shrunk a robe of his own and slipped it over Harry's shoulders. They were going shopping but he was not going to let the child feel cold. He already had a pair of shoes on him (Harry's old ones shrunken down) but Severus would buy at least two new pairs at him.

"Harry, I want you to listen to me," Severus said and looked at the boy. Harry stared back, unblinkingly. "We can't use your real name. It's better if we come up with a new name for you. Temporary of course."

"New name?"

"Yes… a name fitting for my family naturally; you can't take whatever you want."

"What's your family name?"

He hesitated for a moment. He had to say his mother's maiden name. "… Prince."

Harry thought for a while.

"Coran?" he asked.

"You want to be called Coran?" Severus asked, amused.

"I don't know but it feels like I've always wanted to have that name," Harry said. "Or at least… I didn't want to be called Harry. Not that I don't like the name Harry but… it feels wrong when people call me that, just a bit though. Maybe it will go away soon."

Severus looked at him for a little while, then shook his head a bit and said:

"Very well then, Coran, shall we go?"

-o-

Severus groaned at his bad luck as he saw Lucius coming striding into the shop. The potions master tried to hide but was not successful.

"Severus!"

The black-haired man turned, cursing his misfortune mentally, to face the blonde.

"Hello Lucius," he said tiredly. Why did he always meet the Malfoy when he did not want to meet him?

"I thought you were at Hogwarts," the man said and raised an eyebrow.

"I am not as you can see. I have a very busy day so I must continue."

Lucius saw the child half-hidden behind Severus and said:

"And who is the child?"

"This is Coran," Severus said through gritted teeth. It was too soon for his taste but what could he do? At least Lucius was polite when he asked. "My cousin's child. Coran, this man is Lucius Malfoy. Be kind and say hello to him."

Wide emerald eyes stared at the blonde, black hair framing the thin face. Lucius found himself blinking. The boy looked much alike Severus except for the colour of the eyes. Thin fingers gently gripped the snarky professor's robes and Harry said shyly:

"Hello, Mr Malfoy."

Lucius smiled at the child, nodded his greetings before looking at Severus again.

"My son told me of an interesting accident during your potions class earlier today."

Severus wanted to groan but controlled himself and said:

"Yes, Potter blew up his potion today and was shipped off immediately somewhere I don't know. I had no chance to hear anything else before I was contacted regarding my cousin's death."

"His mother is dead?" the blonde man said and looked at Harry who was not following their conversation.

"Yes," the man gritted out.

"I thought at least your mother's part of the family was rich," Lucius said. "Why is he dressed in such rags?"

"Only because the main family was rich, does not mean everyone else in the family is," Severus said. "Now I must leave as I see our packages are ready. Come, Coran."

The boy looked at Lucius one last time before quickly following his 'uncle'.

-o-

They returned late in the afternoon, Harry having falling asleep on Severus' arm, his head resting on the man's shoulder. The potions master took out the shrunk packages out of his pockets and while unshrinking them put the boy down onto the couch. He would like to let Harry sleep for the rest of the day but the boy had not eaten since lunch. He was skinny enough as it was, and one thing that Severus did not do was starving children. He had to check that up with the Dursleys as well; if they starved Harry in the past they may as well have continued with that.

However, Severus did let him sleep as he packed everything up. No toys though; Severus had gone ashen as Dumbledore had told him that the child must of course have toys. Harry had saved him during their trip when he simply rejected the idea of toys. The boy had taken one look around the toy-shop and then said he wanted out. Severus had happily done so. Instead he had bought a series of story-books as Harry seemed to like to read. Or at least he liked it when Severus had read aloud for him a bit.

Harry woke up as the potions master ordered some dinner from a house-elf. The boy looked groggily around the place and yawned. He was tired and hungry at the same time, but for the moment the hunger won over the tiredness.

A small thump made Severus turn around only to see Harry struggling to get up. He had fallen from the couch. The child did not look injured, merely disoriented. Severus walked forward and scooped the child up.

"Dinner will be here in thirty minutes," the man announced. "You will have a shower and dress in some of your new clothes. These rags are going to be thrown away."

"Rags?" Harry looked down at himself. He shrugged, not up for arguing. "'Kay."

It took Severus less time than he imagined showering Harry and dressing him. The boy was obedient and did not complain. As Severus rubbed Harry's hair with a towel he heard the food arrive. Not wanting to let the boy's feet get cold, or so the potions master told himself, he carried Harry to the table. No he did not carry the child because he wanted it, and no he DID not carry Harry for the sake of taking care of a child. Severus did not like children! ... Right? Great. He doubted his own thoughts.

Harry began eating with enthusiasm, and had actually Severus staring at him. The boy seemed to be almost as hungry as Ronald Weasley during meals, and Weasley was what, nine years older? Severus shook his head; stop thinking and start eating. Oh, he was getting a headache.

It appeared that once Harry had a full belly he wanted to sleep again. Severus gave in, knowing it had been a long and rather trying day for the six-year old boy (not acknowledging it had been a long day for him as well). He switched on the lights to the spare room he had and looked around the bleak room.

It held a desk, a chair and a wardrobe. He waved his wand, clearing the dust away as he had sneezed twice upon stepping inside of the room. Fresh air filled the room with the next wave and with a flick he had conjured a bed more than big enough for Harry's small body, and lots of pillows and blankets. With another flick the wardrobe started filling up with Harry's clothes and the desk and chair were banished. Instead he put in a couch, a small table and a nightstand next to the bed. That would do for the moment.

Harry peered inside behind Severus' leg. The man found the sight amusing.

"What's this room?" the boy asked innocently.

"It's yours," the potions master said.

"Mine?"

Harry stepped inside, his feet making no sound on the stone floor. Severus, after hesitating for only a moment, conjured some carpets to spread around the place. Harry seemed to fancy walking barefoot.

Harry gave out a startled yelp as a carpet slid in underneath him and fell on his bum. The potions master's mouth twitched, his control not quite being able to fight off the smile.

"First you have to brush your teeth before going to bed," Severus said.

"Brush my teeth? Why?"

"Or else your teeth will rot."

Harry's eyes widened and Severus chuckled.

"I'm joking, you silly boy. They won't rot but it's important to take care of your teeth as well as the rest of your body."

Harry let himself be led to the bathroom once more and shown how to brush his teeth. He copied most of Severus' moves; the older man did not notice it.

-o-

"Hello Severus. I trust it went well?"

Thank Merlin that the man was quiet. Severus opened the door wider to allow the headmaster in.

"Everything went fine. I met Lucius, and told our lie. He probably didn't suspect anything considering Harry looks a bit like me when he is that young." But it was still annoying as hell the first one he had to tell the lie for was the Malfoy. No doubt Voldemort was already aware of what happened to Harry, and about Severus' supposed cousin-child. Lucius was worse than any gossiping woman in the whole Wizarding World. At least when it came to tell things to the Dark Lord.

"Good, good. We don't want you two endangered. May I see him?"

"He's asleep," Severus said. "The day's activities pretty much knocked him out after dinner."

Dumbledore peeked into the door the potions master had pointed at and saw Harry curled up on the bed, the covers tucked in around him and several pillows creating a sort of mountain around him. He looked at peace.

"Well, it seems like you won't be having any problems," the man said happily to the potions master. Severus groaned at the chirpy tone.

"Are you high on lemon drops, Albus?" he asked. "I thought Minerva would keep your hands away from them."

"Oh, I have a hidden stack," Dumbledore said. "Don't tell her that!"

Severus shook his head; the woman would never be able to win against Albus when it came to those damn lemon drops. The man was obsessed with them.

"As you have checked in on us, can I be left at peace for now? I have grading to do."

"But of course, my dear Severus! Have a good night and don't stay up too late!"

As the headmaster almost bounced out of the door, Severus let his head rest on the desk. Well, at least he was not Minerva… the poor Transfiguration teacher was probably tearing her hair due to that man. Really, sometimes Albus was worse than a child.

The word child brought Severus back to Harry. He glanced up at the slightly open door to where Harry was sleeping. It had not even been a day and yet he was melting this fast. He stood no chance to the boy's charms. He rubbed his eyes before taking a stack of parchments and placing them in front of him. With a flick of his wrist, a quill was in his hand and a bottle of ink popped up. He grinned evilly as the top one belonged to Draco Malfoy. Maybe he could make his point clear to the boy with this…

He cackled evilly and put quill to parchment.

Tbc…

Severus is way out of character I know but I need him to be it for this. Plus it's fun writing him like this.

Yes, Dumbledore is going to be like this in the story when he doesn't have to be serious. I've never really written Dumbledore as nice, and wanted to make him really, really hyper. I'm hoping I'm doing well.

Chapter three: The shock of the students as they enter the Potions classroom to a sight they had never, ever in their lives expected! Oh, the horror!

Until later,

Ja,

Tiro