Chapter Six: The Memory:

Hogwarts:

Severus had not the heart to try and see the memories in his son's mind that might still be there after his mother's death. It was only by gentle but firm insistence by the headmaster he reluctantly took the boy to the headmaster's office on the insistence Poppy was there as well. He had carefully explained to the boy he needed to look into his mind and it would be a bit uncomfortable but not to block him. Max had agreed and it had torn at Severus's heart. He did not want to hurt the boy and here he was about do to the very thing he hated.

He thought this then must have been how his father felt when he had to discipline him as a child. Yes he Severus had been a handful, his father had been proud of him most of the time, that is unless he stepped over the line. Max was a good child and really had not stepped over the line himself as if yet. There was that key word yet, he knew Max would get in trouble and he would have to discipline him. However if he could not even handle it when Max got a scrape or bruise, this was a thousand times worse for him. Severus was a very protective parent as he had grown so very close to his son.

"You wish me to do this Severus?" Dumbledore had asked Severus earlier that day.

"No, I will, he trusts me, I mean he trusts you as well headmaster but as I am his father." Severus said.

"I understand my boy, I do indeed." Dumbledore said.

He put a hand on his boy's shoulder for Severus was his boy. When Severus had come back from the dark lord humbled, broken and hurting Dumbledore knew he needed protection. After Severus had punished himself brutally after James and Lily Potters deaths and Moody had used Vertaserum on him to ease that old Aurora's mind Dumbledore had the papers drawn up and made himself Severus's guardian. The head of Slytherin really was his boy and he did not allow Severus to forget that fact on a daily bases. He understood the bond a father and son could have for though Severus could be sharp with him he did look up to him most of the time. Dumbledore knew he made mistakes, but he tried so hard to be as good a father figure to Severus as Severus's own father had been. It was not always easy as he failed at times as do all parents but he did redeem himself in the end.

"Are you ready Max?" Severus asked his little boy.

"Yes daddy." Max said.

"Okay relax, this is going to be a bit uncomfortable, if it hurts too much just say stop and I will." Severus said his heart torn for his son.

"Okay daddy." Max said.

Severus knelt before the chair his son was on and said the spell and entered his boy's mind. He was as gentle as he could be and he found that Max's mother had been a good mother, she had to work and when she did she left the boy with a kindly old house elf who spoiled the boy a bit much but clearly loved him. That elf had been found dead along with Max's mother, the boy was asleep in his room and so no-one thought he had seen a thing. Severus saw Max's mother reading to him Severus came to a memory that was mixed up and garbled and knew this was the one. He gently took the memory with his wand and extracted it from Max's head. He put it in a jar and at once Poppy was over the child to make sure he was alright.

"I done daddy?" Max asked.

"Yes, we found what we needed." Severus said giving him a large piece of chocolate. "There little one that will help with any pain."

"Thank you daddy." Max said before he started on the chocolate. "It not hurt at all daddy."

"You are welcome little one." Severus said. "Poppy if you could take Max to Remus and tie up Sirius I would be much appreciated."

"That is not nice, Sirius is not that bad." Poppy said as Max giggled at his father wanting to tie up "uncle Siri" he did not say a word as he concentrated on his large piece of chocolate.

"Yes he is, last time you gave him pain potion he tried to fly through Hogwarts, on a school broom." Severus shot back.

"Good point, come Max, let's go see Remus." Poppy said holding out her hand for Max to take.

"Okay, see you later daddy!" Max said.

Once he was gone Severus followed Dumbledore to where his pensive was and let Dumbledore pour the memory into the bowl. Both wizards bent forward and at once they were tugged into Max's memory.

They landed in a small but clean bedroom where a little boy lay sleeping. The memory was flickering in and out much like what the TV does with bad reception. Still Severus could make out his son sleeping under a large warm quilt. Max woke up at the sound of voices and walked from his room and down a narrow hall. He saw a witch and wizard arguing, Severus knew the witch as Max's mother, Aurora. She was just the same as he remembered her, dark near black hair, brown eyes and olive skin. The man she was arguing with was tall, fair and blond.

"I do not know why you are here!" Aurora snapped at the man. "I have a son, you will wake him."

"I need that book, you must give it to me." The man snarled in heavily accented English.

"I cannot see what you want with a children's book, it is my son's!" Aurora said.

"Do not toy with me girl, you understand what the book means." The wizard said.

"I do not have it anymore." Aurora said.

"Too bad then." The wizard said.

"Come master Max, you cannot stay here!" A small elf said tugging at the boy's sleeve. "Not safe, come!"

Max fought the elf who was matched in strength with the boy. She tugged gently as she could but she could not stop Max from seeing the man send a flash of green light that hit his mother and caused her to fall dead to the floor. Finally the elf managed to hide the boy and mutter enchantments over him, clearly to block the traumatic memory.

Severus felt himself tugged gently back from the memory and lead to a chair. He wept quietly as he gave into his grief. He rarely ever shed tears, he was not a man, a wizard to do so, but what he had seen drove him to tears and he could not help but sob as his heart broke for his son.

"That elf, she blocked it but did not remove it." Severus said looking up at Dumbledore tears streaming down his face. "She died for him."

"Yes she did, Severus I want to show you something." Dumbledore said leading Severus to his library. "You need to see this."

"See what?" Severus asked, drying his eyes as Dumbledore reached down and picked up the very book that Aurora had been reading to Max.

"This is a wizards children's book." Dumbledore said. "One of three that still exists."

"Is in runes." Severus said taking up the ancient book. "I can read these as I need to for certain potions."

"It is time I share with you something from my own youth." Dumbledore said taking a seat at his desk. "You remember when you first came to me after you found out what Voldemort was going to do?" Dumbledore said. "You remember what I said?"

"You knew how it felt to be betrayed by one who promised great things?" Severus said. "How easy it is to fall for the allure of evil?"

"Then it is time for me to tell you something very few know but I feel you should know." Dumbledore said. "I was at one time friends with Grindlewald in our youth, I was foolish and thought his dreams of a world ruled by witches and wizards in peace and harmony spoke to my heart."

"It sounds familiar." Severus said. "Voldemort took me in with those lies though I knew deep down he was evil."

"I took knew deep down what Gellert was, my younger brother Aberforth warned me and warned me but I would not listen. It took the death of my sister to come to my senses. Grindlewald fled and finally after many years I did meet him in battle and you know the rest."

"Yes, yes I do, so that is why you have trusted me sir, you believe I am good and I made a mistake." Severus said.

"Yes and that is why I adopted you my boy." Dumbledore said. "I knew you needed family, I had a brother, nieces nephews, great nieces and nephews, you had nothing my boy."

"Thank you sir." Severus said looking up at Dumbledore. "For all you have done for me."

"Sometimes my boy I am a foolish old man, take last year, if not for my brother I would have run off on my own to take down all the Horcruxes. He would not have me do that, probably why he was sorted to Hufflepuff, the best house here at Hogwarts."

"Hnn, headmaster you are forgetting Slytherin did create a chamber to protect the school." Severus said smirking.

"Yes, lemon drop my boy?" Dumbledore said offering the sweets to Severus.

"No thank you headmaster." Severus said.

"One day I will get you to try them at least" Dumbledore said popping one in his mouth his blue eyes twinkling. "One more thing Severus, read the story of the three brothers, you may find some interesting things in there."

"Yes headmaster." Severus said getting up with the book and leaving the office to find his son. "As long as I do not have to try those lemon sweets."

He heard a laugh as he left the office and he smirked. He so loved to get the last word in, it made his day, though he was sure Dumbledore let him do that because he did care so much. Leave it to the old headmaster to try and cheer him up, and dammit most of the time it worked, though one Severus Snape was not going to say that out loud. He was Slytherin after all…

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

I hope the memory explains how Max knew his mother was dead and how he did not remember seeing it. That memory was blocked by the elf as she knew it would be needed later. However she did not want the boy to be traumatized by it at this time. It is why Max has coped so well with his mother being dead too. The little elf made sure to give him comforting magic as well, plus Max, like most kids is a very resilient child. He had a strong temperament too.

Please do review!