Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter 3

Months passed, and Harry remained disappointed that no one had turned up anything about a lost wizard boy who knew his name was Severus Snape. The only sign that they had that he was still alive somewhere were the original wards remained on his house, rather than collapsing.

When Kingsley had enough of Harry, he candidly told him that even a furious Mad Eye could not find Snape after he killed Dumbledore because he had so many layers of spells woven into his very being. Without those, the Ministry would have found him within hours of being notified.

Harry did not quite believe that claim because he was now working for the Ministry. Sure, he was an auror in training, but he was seeing enough to have him know that the Ministry only concentrated on what it wanted to concentrate on. Missing children were a low priority. A child who was not really a child was even lower.

After Hermione found her parents, she made reform her top priority. If Shacklebolt thought hiring Hermione after she graduated with her NEWTs next year would shut her up, he was sorely mistaken. Her letters were full of ideas. Ron usually passed his over to Harry to digest so he could reply with something decent sounding. That would not work when Hermione came over to the Burrow for the Christmas holidays, when she was not with her parents.

Harry had mixed feelings about the Burrow. Harry still thought it was brilliant, and had moved into Percy's room at Mrs. Weasley's insistence. With the holidays coming though, it would be the first year without Fred. It was going to be rough, except that Ginny would also be home from school.

At work, Harry had agreed to a new program for the war orphans to celebrate the season. Actually, it was all orphans, not just the ones that lost their parents in the war. Not all of them were as lucky as Teddy to have someplace to live, and the Ministry now administered a large orphanage that housed close to a hundred children when Hogwarts was in session, about twice as many when it was the summer holiday. In addition to the propaganda for stable wizard families to do their share and adopt orphans, Harry was approached regarding Ministry members buying holiday gifts for orphans based on what they requested. He was allowed to pick a name in advance, along with Kingsley and a few others who were going to receive some press to encourage others to take part.

Ron came along for moral support, and was hoping he would be able to look through them to see if there was a Chudley Cannon fan among the boys that he could pick out. Harry was pleasantly surprised by how nice the display was with a beautiful tree with all the handwritten wishes from the children on cards attached. They all had comments added and written by one hand to help identify the appropriate gifts, such as 'Girl, age 3' and 'Boy, age 12'.

Snorting at some of the cards that he unfolded, Ron burst out in laughter, "Oh no. This poor kid."

"What?"

"Look at this poor sod's name," Ron giggled as he handed it over.

Harry looked at the outside 'Boy, age 8' then opened the card. 'I would like to receive a warm winter coat please. Thank you in advance. Severus.'

"Do you think it's him, Ron?"

"Who?"

"Snape?"

Ron looked at the card but the neatly printed block letters gave no clue. If it was in big red letters and had a big 'T' on the top, then that would be a definite hint. "I don't think so, mate. Notice the 'please' and 'thank you'."

Harry made a face at Ron and said, "I think I'll keep this one. If you find another one wanting a coat or some other clothes, let me see it. I can handle a few of these."

"All right," Ron replied. If he did not find a nice sounding quidditch fan, he may do that too. As long as they didn't have a stupid name like Severus, Draco or Lucius. Children should not have to ask for a coat. His may not have been new, but Ron always had one, along with a stack of hand-knit gloves, scarves and hats. "Don't forget gloves and whatever to match it," he added gruffly.

"Good idea. Do you think they'll let me meet him?"

"Who?"

"Severus, even if it isn't him."

"Why not? You are Harry Potter."

Harry rolled his eyes. That had not been any help when he tried to get people to look for Snape.

He ended up with a half dozen children asking for simple clothing. If it was not the Severus he was looking for, Harry would at least cheer up a bunch of children. He also had to shop for Teddy. And the Weasleys, and make sure he got something really nice for Ginny and Mrs. Weasley and George and he should give something really muggle for Mr. Weasley some thought … ah heck, he'd only get Percy something stupid, or should he? Percy was back to being a Weasley and did stay in George's room with him when he stayed over. It was really nice having a family.

Trying to sound innocent, Harry edged over to the lady running this thing and asked, "Is it all right if I take more than one? I feel bad that anyone has to ask for a cloak or red gloves."

"Oh please do, Mr. Potter. Just be sure to either take care of them by the twentieth, or there may be a disappointed child."

"No worries. Actually, I was wondering if I could visit the orphanage. I've been tied up with auror training, but I feel sometimes I'm not giving enough back to the community."

Harry felt a bit bad as he noticed an emotional shine come into the plump witch's eyes, "Any time, Mr. Potter. Many of our children admire you since you too are an orphan."

He had not forgotten that, but being idolized for having no parents … maybe. If it was orphans, it was all right. Living in a Ministry-run building with over a hundred other children must make hope pretty thin on the ground.

It took little effort for Harry to arrange his visit, and he flooed to the orphanage by the end of the week because he did not want to delay finding out if he had found Snape or not.

Harry had asked that his visit not be a big deal. He'd rather see the children during a typical school day, and that way he could interact with them in smaller groups, rather than getting them all together. Hopefully, eight year olds were a small enough group that he'd be able to study them closely.

Actually, Harry got nervous being around so many children. What if he did something wrong? The youngest ones ignored him. That was all right. Harry was not interested in babies, toddlers and whatever the boy found so interesting about trying to shove his drool-covered fist completely in his mouth. Not that he was not interested in them being cared for, he did not want them abused or neglected. They seemed all right, just weren't very interesting.

The next older group was finger painting and at this age, the children were dressed in uniform robes, all in a Ministry shade of purple. Harry was told these children ranged from four to six years old. He noticed their classroom was decorated with a lot of art and poorly executed print writing. The drawings were mostly of animals. Some would make interesting illustrations for The Quibbler.

Harry next visited the six to eight year olds. He found better printed letters and a variety of subjects for drawings. There was even something with a shock of tall, black hair and a purple, sparking lightning bolt that covered its whole face. He answered some questions while he studied the students. Some had black hair, but none looked like Snape.

There was only one more full class of students left. The older orphans that were squibs got a bit of a raw deal. They were put to work doing some helpful things around the orphanage at the age of twelve. Harry asked questions and was at least relieved that they still had a half-day of class. He wasn't sure if he'd consider their curriculum very helpful. It was more reading, writing, math and history with a large dose of muggle studies to help them transition to a somewhat normal life like Mrs. Figg. Wait, Mrs. Figg was not living a normal life. And if living like a muggle was so great, why didn't Mr. Filch do that?

Harry was shown to the nine through eleven year old classroom with desks arranged in groups of four, but there were no children. They were due back from recess outside in a couple minutes. The headmistress took the time to explain her philosophy regarding children and fresh air. Now Harry understood why they were asking for coats, cloaks, hats and gloves.

The middle-aged witch that taught this class was happy to show Harry their work. She had assignments on the board separated by level since not all the students were at the same place in their studies. He was not sure why art was still such a big deal at this age, but it made the classroom colorful. Harry spotted a couple representations of himself, and one of Nagini's head getting chopped off by him, instead of Neville. He may also be mistaken since the snake was so big that it could probably devour the giant squid and the Loch Ness Monster as appetizers. There were some interesting abstract art with waves of color. Harry moved closer when he realized it visually rippled in waves.

"How was this done? I have not been exposed to magical art techniques."

"Oh, that boy radiates a lot of accidental magic. He sometimes concentrates a bit too hard on his work."

"Is everyone all right?"

"Of course. It's harmless. Actually, he sometimes catches things that fall in midair. Between that and his thorough home schooling, he ended up in this class, rather than with the eight year olds, for an additional challenge."

Harry found the artist's name written in small print in the lower right corner, and his hope was renewed since it was 'Severus'.

"What's Severus's full name?"

"We never use last names here. It may unduly influence an adoption into a new family."

He gave that a moment of thought. That could be good, but on the other hand, it sort of disconnected a child from the family he or she used to have. What if Harry's name was changed to something else like Harry Dursley? Harry liked being a Potter, even if he questioned some of the things his father did during his life. It might also be shocking if Harry did have a different surname and then later in life someone claimed he looked like his dead father, but he did not know they were related, since Harry was so young that he would not know his name was more than Harry, if even that.

A wave of noise preceded the children into the classroom. Even in the cold, recess left them in high spirits. After a tall girl led them in the room and stood aside, Harry realized that the line had been arranged by height. The first student was a girl barely shorter than the boy he was looking for. Snape did not even look at him since the girl in front of him was walking almost backwards and talking to him. Harry knew immediately that it was him from both Snape's and Dumbledore's memories.

Harry stood motionless watching him cross the classroom to a desk in front of the teacher's. His little friend took a seat at a different grouping of desks, also towards the front. He didn't know if his feelings should be hurt since Snape looked at the board and then opened the top of his desk to get whatever he needed out, rather than noticing Harry. Some things never changed. Or maybe they did, three girls sat down in Snape's group and they weren't adverse to talking to him either.

Severus had noticed Harry Potter lurking at the front of their classroom. What nonsense was Saint Potter up to now? Was he going to strut around and tell them all how grateful they should be to the Ministry? Every other week there was some nitwit in here checking on them and telling them how wonderful it was for them to be orphans with the Ministry to take care of them. Shacklebolt was no different than any of the others. Potter was even posing in front of the Minister's portrait that was high up on the wall to protect it, in addition to the anti-vandalism magic on it.

To annoy Potter, Severus had gotten Alice going when they walked in by asking her a simple question. She was a talker. He also chatted with the girls that sat with him in class. Severus had not been trying too hard to fit in, but he enjoyed some company when he was so surrounded by others that would be at Hogwarts with him the second time around. If any rich snob thought they could push him around this time, they'd find out he had made allies in all four houses in advance. No matter what house they were sorted in, dead mother jokes would not be funny.

He had his own skills, but Severus did not receive anything but punishments then, even when he did not do anything truly hurtful or when he only defended himself, rather than waiting to ambush the stupid Marauders. He definitely could not count on the staff being lenient. They might decide to remold him while they thought they had him under their thumbs for seven years. No one saw their real selves better than him that horrible year he had been headmaster. They were no friends of his. Never had been. What exceptions would the good, yet very strict, Headmistress McGonagall make for him? Would he even be allowed to be sorted into Slytherin? Would Mr. Filch be allowed to bring back his preferred method of punishing students since Severus was a special case? Would he even be allowed to set foot in Hogsmeade? Though that was the least of his worries, he didn't bother the first time he was a student since he had no pocket money. There were no butterbeers and candy for children with no money.

He also kept his mind occluded and was making many delightful and happy memories to fill it, even if he felt reluctant to take advantage of young children. Childhood friendship was special, and Severus was only mimicking reciprocating their feelings. Severus kept in mind he would be ready when he met Albus Dumbledore again, ready to show how much he loved being in an orphanage. It was infinitely better than being a student at Hogwarts. Now he also had a teacher who thought he was special and encouraged him. Severus did not overdo it with anything that a child would not be capable of doing occasionally. He also pretended he never held a wand so had to rethink things in order to perform a bit of wandless magic.

It felt strange to have people who considered him as a friend, since it seemed the Wizengamot and Minsitry were on a rampage against whoever they thought was a dark wizard, other than the Malfoys. Lucius was largely responsible for how nice the orphanage was. He donated the building and land, besides providing a great deal of funding. Of course, Severus was more than happy that the Malfoys kept their distance from the filthy orphans housed here.

He was not sure if his name was kept almost classified with regards to the war against the Dark Lord. Harry Potter was the hero and he had the support of many people to try to bring him out of hiding. Was Dumbledore not fooled by his act? Or just too busy now that Severus was no longer usable as a child? His plan could be to recruit him all over again. Severus could pretend to be flattered for a short while before he suddenly appeared to think for himself which would label him a traitor all over again.

Overall, Severus was satisfied with his second childhood since an orphanage was preferable to Azkaban. He was fed three real meals a day, not beaten, and they all had the same sort of robes so no one mocked his clothing. If he was not aware that he was not really a child, Severus would have found the orphanage to be paradise after Spinner's End.

Their teacher introduced the famous Harry Potter and the little dunderheads clapped. Severus had already established that he knew next to nothing regarding current events, in case someone found him.

What he wanted to know was where was the photographer, or had they already gotten their shots with the younger and more adorable children?

Since Harry was used to saying normal things, rather than grand political speeches, speaking to preteens was easy enough. Snape was doing a good job at not caring and even made faces at some of the girls. How could he dislike him now? He had not gone to school with James Potter yet, and if he regained his memories, Snape would not be sitting in an orphanage coloring and enjoying recess.

During his talk and questions, Harry tried to catch Snape's eye while trying not to ignore the other children, but Snape was looking anywhere but at him. Perversely, Harry tried to get Snape in trouble by pointing at him and asking, "Can you recall the names of my friends who helped me defeat He Who Must Not Be Named?" Harry knew better than to say 'Voldemort' in front of children.

Harry smirked as Snape's eyebrow cocked in response, then actually laughed when he replied, "Why the bloody hell would I care?"

He was not sure if the children were laughing with him, or it was some sort of joke amongst them, but their teacher shushed them quickly while whispering, "Don't mind him. He is horrendous at modern history."

Modern history? If only Snape would author history texts, Harry thought whimsically. He would then be addressed as 'Harry Who'?

After a rousing series of questions that were more detailed than those of the younger children, Harry considered he liked these questions a lot more than ones from reporters. After seeing some of the things that got printed, Harry had no patience with that profession, even now that they were supposedly on his side. If The Prophet was in the Ministry's pocket, why was he attacked whenever they thought up some new and utterly ridiculous idea? Harry worked for the Ministry and as an auror trainee, he was behaving himself, but the stories in the paper made him out to be an embarrassment at times.

The headmistress had entered the room and waited till Harry answered some final questions, before escorting him out.

While walking alongside the stout, past middle age, witch, Harry asked, "I was thinking … how difficult would it be to adopt a child from here?"

Seized with the opportunity to highlight the Ministry's efforts to find all these poor children suitable homes, or at least to reduce the burden and creatively make Mr. Malfoy's generous contributions be funneled to other worthy causes, the headmistress restrained herself and commented, "There are a lot of forms, and some invasive questions. These little lambs have known so much pain already," knowing that if Harry Potter wanted something done, it would be done.

"Yes," Harry agreed, ready to try out a few things he had learned. "I was only wondering … you know maybe I was just overcome by their simple Christmas requests and seeing them in person. I shouldn't be so impulsive."

"Without you, Mr. Potter, I'm sure my hands would be full with many more unfortunate angels by now."

He restrained his impulse to smile. She was willing to make an exception for him? Harry knew that he was not ideal parent material at this point in his life, however Snape was not getting any younger, or at least he hoped not. Dumbledore never did explain what happened that both he and Snape were no longer dead.