"We can't call him Severus," Minerva sighed. "I don't know why I thought we could. It's too uncommon."

"It would be more difficult to explain," Albus agreed. Despite how stressed Minerva was, the old wizard seemed vaguely amused.

"He says his dad calls him Toby? Should we use that? I don't think anybody else would make the connection."

"Now, now, he doesn't look like a Toby."

"Because he looks like Severus Snape," Minerva sighed, exasperated. "Which will raise questions. Was this really the best possible plan?"

"The plan has deviated slightly," Dumbledore admitted, "but it's perfectly safe, I assure you."

"Except that he certainly knows his own name is Severus Snape."

"Sevastian," offered Albus smoothly.

"Sebastian?"

"Sevastian. With a v," Albus smiled, "and Sev for short, don't you think? I recall that he went by that as a student."

Minerva cannot remember him being anything other than Mister Snape in school, and some less-than-nice nicknames from James Potter and his friends. But Albus spoke with such confidence that she was forced to agree.

He might have gone by Sev. It's certainly less of a mouthful than Severus.

"I think you'll find that most people will simply assume the most logical explanation," Albus went on, "and it's not logical to assume that boy is Severus Snape, even if he looks like him."

"Well, that's no help to us!" Minerva sighed. "They'll certainly expect he's related to Severus."

"Ah, but we will stick to our story. Simple minds will accept it, and the more curious ones will come to their own conclusion. But they will go along with our lie anyway."

"How can you be sure?"

"Because what would we gain from lying, and what would they gain from revealing what they think is the truth?"

That was sound logic, Minerva had to admit. It would be foolish to assume the most outlandish explanation, even if it was, in this case, true. Even if anyone suspected Severus was an illegitimate child (nobody would believe Snape was secretly married, after all) then it would be pointless to make the accusation. If Severus Snape was dead, there would be no reason to attempt to ruin his reputation after the fact. And there were plenty of orphan children who were taken in by strangers, surely.

"And what story have you concocted?"

"That he is your nephew."

"I have nephews," Minerva pointed out. Both of her brothers had sons of their own, and even if she was not forthcoming with every bit of personal information to his coworkers, most would know she had one surviving brother. "I think it would be strange to suddenly have one I've never mentioned before. And Malcolm is very much alive and capable of looking after a child."

"Not a direct nephew, more like a distant relative. He's the son of your second cousin's daughter, whom you had never met but died quite tragically just a few weeks ago."

"That is needlessly complicated."

"That's exactly the point. We'll tell the story once and, after that, everyone will understand when you just claim he's a distant relative and you are the only one suited to take him in."

"And why can't he be your distant relative?"

"I feel as though that is less believable."

"You're right. But, Albus, I do have a very busy job. I don't have time to.."

"I hardly expect you to completely raise Severus.

And it will be temporary. I think our brilliant minds together will be enough, don't you?"

"There must be more qualified individuals who can take him."

"The fewer who know, the better, Minerva. And as you said, he knows his name is Severus Snape. I don't trust memory charms on a mind so…undeveloped. But with a little prompting, I'm sure we can convince him to respond to a different name."

She sighed. "He's not a dog, Albus. I think he's probably very bright."

"I'm sure he is," said the wizard confidently. "All the more reason to keep an eye on him ourselves. And he already likes you."

"I'm not sure about that," Minerva replied with a frown, "did you think he was acting strangely?"

"How so?"

"I don't know. Worried, I suppose? I can't tell if he likes me or he was…appeasing us."

"From his perspective, this must be a very strange situation. Stranger than it is for us."

"You're right. And he will be safer here, of all places."

"I agree." Dumbledore smiled. "Oh. It almost slipped my mind. We need to set fire to the potions classroom."

The fire worked a little too well. Most of the contents of the classroom were gone, reduced to ash and melted globs of metal that resolidified into odd shapes as they cooled. Albus alerted the Board of Governors and they sent two men to survey the damage, one of whom was Lucuis Malfoy. Albus thought that the man looked genuinely sad, under his carefully cultivated stone-faced demeanor. There was not much either man could do, other than make vague, sympathetic statements while Dumbledore promised that the classroom would be repaired in time for the next school year.

"I'll make arrangements," said the blond stiffly.

"Arrangements?" Albus repeated. Lucius visibly tried not to scoff.

"For the funeral. Severus Snape was an old school friend of mine, and I would be remiss if I did not handle this grim task."

Albus thought that Lucius and Snape had not quite been friends at school, but they were close. As close as two Death Eaters could be. And Snape did have some fondness towards the older man, even after they both evaded imprisonment. This was clear, although both men tried to hide it.

"That is very generous of you."

"I know."

Crying and finding yourself in a strange, magical school took a lot out of a toddler. So, Severus slept even though the explosion in the dungeon. Though, in his defense, that did happen in the basement and not the tall tower of the Headmaster's office. With this in mind, the two adults felt he would probably sleep through the quick visit from the board. These things rarely took very long, even with the unfortunate death of a professor; after all, they went through a new DADA teacher every year and they didn't always make it out alive.

Severus, however, woke up about fifteen minutes after Minerva and Albus went down to meet the visitors. And he woke up with a start, panic seizing his little heart. He was in a strange, and very comfortable, bed with a thick blanket tucked around him. He didn't even know they made blankets so thick; it didn't have holes or frayed hems!

"Ma?" He called softly. His mother did not always wake him up, but sometimes she did. Sometimes she would come into his room after his father left for the day and snuggle with him until half the day was wasted away. And other times, he would find her in the kitchen, staring dispondantly at the wall with a cold cup of tea and a spent cigarette at her fingertips. He would have to crawl into her lap to get her to notice him.

This might be one of those mornings.

It was one thing to take food from strangers and sleep in their very comfortable bed for one night. But I'm the light of day, he missed his mother. He missed his father, too, despite everything.

So Severus Snape had to come up with a very daring plan to go home. The problem, of course, was that he did not know where he was or where his house was. Severus was often told to play outside and he would wander for hours, from sunup to sundown, but he always managed to find his way home eventually. If he would get outside, his little mind reasoned, then he would simply walk until he found Spinner's end. He was sure he would find his mother there, staring into space and waiting for him.

Finding the staircase that led out of Dumbledore's office was surprisingly easy, easier than it ought to be. Getting down that staircase was another problem altogether. He recalled how painful it had been to be pushed down the stairs by his father, and these were much longer, set in a seemingly endless spiral, and made of hard stone instead of wood. The safest option, Severus decided, was to sit on each step and scoot down to the next one. Falling on the stone was slightly painful against his skinny backside, but certainly better than falling face first. Finally, he arrived at the bottom of the stairs and the stone moved, all on its own, to reveal the hallway.

And Severus realized, to his horror, that despite all those stairs he was still not on the ground floor.

So he took a few minutes to cry with his back against the wall, and then brushed himself off and tried to find the next staircase.

It was likely, he had decided on his trip down the first stairs, that his mother might also be in the castle. She was a witch, after all, and she always said that she liked going to school. He did remember the old wizard had said his mother knew he was here. So, he thought, maybe she had followed him because she missed him terribly. And then he wouldn't need to walk all the way to Spinner's End!

So, every so often, he would softly call for her. He had been very impressed by the castle the previous day, but now it felt overwhelmingly huge and cavernous. A single room was bigger than his entire house. The hallway was bigger than his house.

Even the stairs, once he found them, were ridiculously fancy. Severus took careful steps down, clinging tightly to the banisters. But he made it down just ten before he decided that he was too exhausted to go on. Was it possible that a house — no, a castle — could be bigger than all of Spinner's End? Severus was starting to think so. While he was grappling with the idea that the world might be much bigger than he ever anticipated, the sound of heavy footsteps sounded down the hallway.

Da's home, is Severus' first thought. The footfalls are louder than the sound of Tobias' workboots on the steps at Spinner's end, and the gait was clearly different. But Severus was not in the right mind to make such specific comparisons.

Usually, he would try to hide in his room and try to figure out if his dad had a Good Day at Work or a Bad Day at Work. These footsteps sounded like a Good Day, which meant Severus could probably sneak by if he was quiet without even a warning glance.

He just had to find that gargoyle again...

Severus ascended the stairs back to the third floor and almost immediately ran into another person. It was a man, much larger than any man Severus had ever seen in his life. He was bigger than his Da. And to a child, that was a particularly frightening thought.

Severus screamed.

Hagrid let out a surprised yelp as well and a huge step backward. Somewhere behind him, a chorus of barking dogs rang out.

It was an altogether very stressful moment.

Hagrid, being an adult, recovered first. Severus had decided his best chance at survival was to crouch against the wall and cover his head protectively.

"I didn't mean to scare ya," Hagrid said, and then the situation caught up with him. "You're not supposed to be here. Who do you belong to, then?"

Severus wailed in response.

Hagrid was used to students being a bit wary around him. This was something he had to quickly adjust to, even before he was an adult himself. He was so focused on calming the boy down that it did not strike him odd that Severus was there at all.

"Did ya get lost? It's a big castle. I don't suppose you're supposed to be on this floor. It's off limits. Or it will be, after summer. Where are you meant to be?"

Severus' eyes were as wide as saucers. This guy was a giant. Literally. Severus had never seen anyone so tall. First Father Christmas, and now a giant?

Oh, but what was that man really called? Had he even said his name? The woman had told him her name: M…something. Something fancy-sounding.

"I…" began Severus, trying his best not to cry. That was a very tall order, considering how frightened he was. "I wanna go home."

Hagrid crouched down, though he was still too tall to be anywhere near the boy's eye-level. Severus jumped back, his heart hammering in his chest. He looked so like a cornered prey animal that Hagrid hesitated a moment.

"I'm sure Professor Dumbledore can help with that. That's his job, y'know. Helping students. Well, you're not a student though, are ya? A bit too young for that, I'd reckon."

It was at that moment that the Headmaster and Deputy Headmistress ascended the staircase to the third floor. They were greeted by the sight of Hagrid looking quite guilty and Severus looking quite terrified.

"What are you doing out here?" Albus did not seem alarmed, though he was also not particularly pleased, to see the boy. "Did you walk all the way here on your own?"

"That's not your kid, is it?" asked the half-giant as McGonagall plucked Severus off the ground. "He's a nervous little thing. Sorry 'bout that."

"This is my nephew," Minerva said after a moment, "Sev."

"That's a great name. Nice to meet you. The name's Hagrid. Sorry about giving you a scare earlier." Hagrid extended his hand towards Severus to shake but Severus cowered against Minerva's chest with his arms raised protectively over his face.

"He's shy," Minerva said, because Hagrid looked like a kicked puppy at that reaction.

"I reckon he's more than shy. I gave him a scare, didn't realize anyone would be here at this hour."

And Severus did appear more than shy; trembling and terrified was a more apt description.

"Unless he's just afraid of dogs," Hagrid continued, "I got Fluffy in place, like you told me, Dumbledore. Started barking when the lad shouted but that's not a bad thing."

Albus tried not to sigh at the very private bit of information Hagrid casually let slip. Minerva knew that the third floor corridor was set up to protect something, but she didn't know every detail.

"Thank you, Hagrid."

"Be polite and say hello to Mister Hagrid," Minerva said gently. Severus, who was no longer crying but trying very hard not to look at the half-giant, shook his head.

"That's alright.

Severus, who was not used to adults apologizing to him, finally looked at Hagrid with dark, intense eyes. The half-giant took that as his cue.

"I best be getting back to Fang. Let him outside the doors. Hope he didn't run off." Fang rarely ran at all, if he could help it. Hagrid turned to address Severus directly. "Have fun with your auntie."

When McGonagall had walked

"What's that?"

"Hm?"

"Auntie?"

"Somebody related to your mum or dad," Minerva said, choosing the most simple explanation. "Like a brother or sister."

His mother did not have siblings. His father did, but Severus had never met his sister. But, according to Tobias, she was a frigid bitch. Severus assumed that was a bad thing.

"You know Da?" Severus asked cautiously. His father did not like magic, and this woman was clearly magical. She was wearing a witch's hat, after all.

"Your mum," Albus corrected smoothly as he fell into step beside the witch. After thanking Hagrid, he had sent the man off on another errand. "Your mother is from a long line of witches and wizards. She went to this school when she was a girl, as I said yesterday."

"Ma says they don't like her," Severus admitted softly.

"I'm sure that isn't true," the witch said quickly.

"Ma had a baby," Severus pointed to himself, as if it would not be clear that he was that very same baby, "and they got mad. And we can't see them. And Da says that's good."

Children, especially very precocious children, love to gossip. Severus was no exception. Minerva wanted to object, on the grounds that children shouldn't be spreading rumors about their own parents, but Dumbledore did not have the same standards.

"The Princes are a very traditional family," he said, as if he was speaking to a peer and not a toddler, "but just because something has always been done, doesn't mean it's correct."

Severus' eyes narrowed, a very intense look for such a small child. Albus could almost see the gears in his mind turning as he tried to decipher that statement. Finally, he simply replied:

"Oh. Okay."

To his dismay, the boy was brought right back up the stone steps to Dumbledore's office rather than to the ground floor so he could walk home. But, he supposed, at some point the wizard would go to work or to a pub and the witch would go lay in her bed and lock the door to her room, like his own parents did, which would leave Severus alone to attempt his plan again.

Unfortunately, they didn't seem interested in doing either of those things. The adults, having not expected to see Severus awake and roaming the castle, were mid-conversation when they found him. They picked up where they left off, with equal parts humor and horror at how unaffected the apparent death of a professor had been, and more importantly what to do next.

"Will it be difficult to replace two professors over the summer?"

"I have already found a wonderful replacement for Defense Against the Dark Arts," Dumbledore said with a twinkle in his eye. When Minerva pressed for more details, he simply raised a hand, "I won't spoil the surprise."

"Do you at least think he'll stay for longer than a year?"

Albus did not answer right away. Finally, he hummed, "I would hope so."

Severus was starting to get dizzy from watching each adult as they spoke. From his position of relatively safety on an overstuffed chair, his eyes darted back and forth, back and forth. But he was not quite following the conversation, even when the topic switched to him, his own sleeping arrangements, and the fact that he was still dressed in a hospital gown, it did not occur to him that he was the subject until Albus turned to him. He jumped, dark eyes wide at the sudden attention.

"Sev, my boy, would you like to go shopping in town?" Severus looked as if Albus had grown two heads, because (like the offered food the day before) it sounded like a Trick. Albus gave him a moment to respond and when he didn't, he simply nodded. "Another time, then. Would you like to get acquainted with the castle instead?"

"Severus," he mumbled.

"What was that?"

"Se-ve-rus," he repeated more slowly, but at the same mumbled volume. "Severus."

"That is a very wonderful name. But, a very long one. May I call you Sev?"

Severus hesitated. His mother had always said his name was very special. He could tell she was upset when Da didn't use it, and he suspected she would be upset if he let someone else call him something other than Severus as well.

But, he also did not want to Argue With Grown Ups. His own compromise was to simply not answer. Albus continued as if he had answered in the affirmative.

"I've always wondered if I should have gone by a nickname in my youth. My brother had a much longer name than I, and he had always gone by his full name. So, it never seemed fitting for me.

"You are going to bore him with stories like that," Minerva said, not unkindly.

"This is a boy who likes to be spoken to like an adult," Albus winked at the boy, "isn't that right?"

And Severus did like how the man was speaking, even if he didn't quite understand all that he said. It made him feel very grown up. He did not respond, but he ducked his head, embarrassed, and let his hair fall in his face to obscure it.

"Now, about your clothes. Do you have a favorite color?"

Severus had not thought about it before. He shook his head.

"That's fine. I think pink might suit you."

Albus fully expected the boy to protest. But, surprisingly, he did not react at all. His intense gaze was locked on the man, as if he could not comprehend the conversation at all.

Minerva scoffed. They both knew Severus Snape wore shades of black or green exclusively. Perhaps, if he was feeling bold, he might wear grey. "Albus, at least get him something green."

"I think black and pink go well together," Albus laughed and Minerva put her hands on her hips, "what about purple?"

From the way they argued, Severus wondered if they were married.

He wanted to ask, once Dumbledore had descended the spiral staircase. Unfortunately, the words husband and wife were not yet in his vocabulary. He had heard the word married before, but it escaped him just then.

McGonagall could tell that Severus was upset about something, because he was huffing and scrunching his face. He was more expressive than she had ever seen Severus Snape before as he exhaled and muttered to himself. Delicately, she asked; "Is something the matter?"

Severus spun towards her and, sounding completely exasperated, he demanded; "You're in love?"

Minerva blinked at him.

"What?"

Severus, having not been immediately understood, only looked more upset with himself. He pointed towards the door Dumbledore had left through. "You're in love?"

"Professor Dumbledore and I?" Minerva asked finally, absolutely baffled. In what world? "Oh, no! No, no, no. What makes you say that?"

"You talk like it."

"We're good friends. I'm not the type of person he fancies." Now, why had she said that? Minerva could kick herself. That was the sort of cheeky joke she would make privately with her Severus Snape, but not something a small child had any business knowing. Luckily, Severus did not seem interested in that answer at all.

But he did wonder what fancying someone had anything to do with being in love.

"You live together."

"We live at Hogwarts," Minerva explained, "because we both work here. We're professors. Dumbledore is the Headmaster, actually, so while he doesn't teach any classes…" she trailed off, "this must be confusing. But we are friends, and you're our friend as well, Severus."

That caught the boy off guard. His eyebrows furrowed. "We're friends?"

"We are. I'm your friend, and I care about you very much."

Severus did not look convinced. "I dunno your name. I forgot."

"Minerva McGonagall. You can call me Auntie," she added, although that felt like a strange offer to give to someone who was not actually related to her.

"I dunno his name." Severus added, since they were on the subject.

"Professor Dumbledore," she smiled, feeling a bit mischievous, "but, I think you should call him Albus."

While Minerva, and every other professor, referred to the man as Dumbledore or Headmaster in the presence of students, Minerva had known the man long enough to use his first name. But Snape, to her knowledge, had continued to use the surname even though she supposed they were somewhat close. And Dumbledore, she predicted, would not correct a child if he called him something more intimate than Headmaster.

If she had felt more mischievous, she would have suggested Brian.

"His hair is long," Severus said, having a seemingly one-sided conversation, since he wasn't responding directly to anything the witch said. But he did enjoy the fact that she was responding; sometimes, he would have to repeat himself several times before his mother responded.

"Yes," Minerva smiled. She, unlike Severus, was not content with the simple conversation and she herself could have to steer it into a linear direction. "Your hair is quite long too."

It was also rather unbrushed and unwashed.

"Da's gonna cut it," Severus mumbled. He liked the long hair, but it was long in an unintentional sort of way; from a lack of haircuts rather than the intentional length his adult self kept it at. Tobias Snape threatened to cut it every time he looked a little too long at the boy, but he rarely actually did.

"I like the length as it is," McGonagall said, not because it was true but because she thought it would make Severus happy. It did. He brushed the hair out of his eyes and gave her a look that was almost a smile.

"I remember now." Severus informed Minerva with a sudden earnestness.

"What did you remember?"

"The nick-name," he said, saying the newly learned word slowly, so slowly that it sounded like two separate sentences altogether. "Ma says I'm her Prince."