Chapter Text
Severus paced outside of Rye's room on the first floor of Black Manor. Healer Renquiste was inside, waking Rye up from the magickally-induced coma he'd been in for just over five months.
They'd missed Rye's fifth birthday while he recovered from a dangerous, dark magick that had oozed out of his scar after a Bloodline revealing spell that Severus has used on him (in combination with a potion) more than five months earlier.
After, Regulus had come clean about the Dark Lord's horcruxes and Severus had vowed to help find and destroy each one made by the Dark Lord.
Regulus had been a rock -- steady and sure, for Severus to lean on. He'd accepted Rye into their lives with very few questions and without upset. He'd given Rye his old room, redesigned with a five year old boy in mind. He'd been there through every moment of the last few months when Severus hadn't known if his son would ever wake.
And now, the healer was in there; using complex magick and potions to wake Rye up, and all Severus could do was to stand outside the room and pace.
Horcruxes were dangerous, dark magick and having it removed from such a small little boy by error was more dangerous still. It was lucky that Severus was such an adept potion maker and that Regulus had such skill in healing magicks, or they might not have saved the young boy's life.
Still, now Rye was his own person - free to go through life on his own, unconnected to the Dark Lord and without that blasted scar.
While he'd been asleep, they'd had a healer come in and do all of his vaccines, they'd bought him a wardrobe fit for both his age and his status, and had his eyes fit for magickal contact lenses. The lenses would, over time, correct as much of his eyesight as they could and then dissolve when they were finished. They also darkened his irises from their bottle-green (a testament to his mother) to a sort of murky brown. The colour change would not be permanent.
Even Severus's' mother, Eileen, had visited. And though she'd been alarmed at how sick little Rye was, she'd been delighted to have a grandchild.
Lastly, they'd made up a family history for him. Using a touch of obscure mind-magick, Severus had hidden Rye's memories of Petunia, as well as his cousin and uncle and installed some vague memories about a woman with deep red hair and a gentle, lilting laugh.
On paper, Harry Potter still resided with his Aunt and Uncle, but they lived in France now (where Regulus had relocated them months earlier). In muggle France, the Dursley's would go relatively unnoticed and would be completely outside of the British Ministry's purview -- and outside of the influence of Albus Dumbledore.
Riley Emmerson Prince was the son of Margaret Lillibeth Petersen and Severus Tobias Snape-Prince (Professor Snape). Rye, as they called him, was born on the second of August, 1992. The story was that Severus had met Margaret during his apprenticeship after Hogwarts, and that she'd attended a specialized witchery school in London. Severus had vague memories of her, should he be checked for it, and he'd discovered that Rye was his son only after Maggie's death seven months earlier.
It would be believed that Rye had almost no memory of her, what with his extended illness and his age. The fact that Severus had told no one, save Regulus and Healer Renquiste, would not be considered that odd, because Severus was such a private person anyway. In two or three days time, Severus planned to tell Headmaster Dumbledore, but he wanted Rye to be awake and well first.
The bedroom door opened and Healer Renquiste strode out. "He needs to stay resting, in bed, for the rest of the day, until tomorrow morning, but I have given him a thorough examination and all the requisite potions," the Healer said.
"He is awake then?" Severus asked.
Healer Renquiste smiled and then nodded. "Yes, you may see him. He is perfectly fine. Just in need of a bit of additional rest. I expect him to bounce back smoothly, and to be up to normal play and the activities of a typical five year old by no later than three days from now. Take it easy for the next two days. Rest today, gentle activities tomorrow," he explained.
"Thank you," Severus said as he rushed inside the gently-lit room and shut the door behind himself.
"I'll send you my bill via floo-post!" Healer Renquiste called as he left.
Rye lay in the large bed, propped up by several pillows into a slight sitting position. He smiled widely at the sight of his father.
"Dad?" Rye asked.
Severus exhaled in relief and gave a short smile. "Yes," he said quietly. "You are alright now, Rye."
Rye gave a little laugh. "What do we do now?" he asked in his child-sized voice.
It was Severus's turn to laugh. "I have no idea. But we'll figure it out together," he replied.
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