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Five years, nine months, and twenty-three days.
That’s how long Harry Potter had been missing from England.
From home.
From him .
When he disappeared, he had done so as a thief in the night, believing that he would be…unappreciative…waking up next to him. As much as he cared for his partner, he didn’t want harsh words that may be later regretted to be flung about. And so he left with nary a word or even a note explaining why. He knew he was taking the cowards way out, but he didn’t care.
The news that he received from the healers just over three weeks later ensured that he stayed completely hidden. Learning that he was pregnant almost broke his resolve to stay away.
Almost.
When he learned that he was having a girl just three months later, he knew there was only one name that he could give her. And four months after that, when she came out with his hair and dark eyes, he knew he had made the right choice, not only when it came to her name, but also in the choice of staying away. As he watched her grow and start acting just like him , he started struggling with staying away, but the fact that he had kept their daughter secret…he knew he would never be forgiven.
What ultimately drew him back to London, however, was not his paramour, nor the daughter they now shared. No, what drew him back was his godson’s grandmother and her rapidly declining health. The letter that he had received from her sister, Narcissa Malfoy, had worried him so much that he had immediately packed everything in preparation for the long journey. He stopped by the local branch of Gringott’s to procure not only a long distance portkey, but also to purchase two goblin made amulets with disguise charms embedded in them. He may have made the decision to return rather hastily, but just because he was going back didn’t mean he wanted to be recognized. He knew he made the right decision about the disguises the moment they landed and he saw his undisguised face waving from multiple “missing person” posters that had been tacked up and down Diagon Alley.
He sighed in both relief and regret. Relief that no one had found him…and regret that he hadn’t stayed in touch with anyone except for the director of Gringott’s London. He shook his head, knowing that there was nothing he could do about it now. He took his daughter by the hand and knelt in front of her.
“Remember to show respect for the goblins, Eileen,” Harry told her gently.
“I remember, daddy,” Eileen replied in a quiet voice.
They swiftly walked up to the closest teller and patiently waited in line until it was their turn. They didn’t have to wait long.
“Next!” The teller snapped out.
Harry placed his hand on the counter and silently left the spell that hid his family rings. The slight widening of the teller’s eyes told Harry that the teller not only knew who he was, but also that he was not to say his name aloud. Harry and his daughter were quickly shuffled to a private conference room where he was unsurprised to see Director Ragnok already waiting.
“Director,” Harry bowed his head to the goblin. “May your enemies find swift death upon your blade while their gold overflows your coffers.”
“And yours, Mr. Potter,” Ragnok replied, smirking at the blessing Harry had bestowed. “It’s been many years since you’ve graced us with your presence. You are well, I presume?”
“Of course, Father,” Harry sighed, leaning down and giving Ragnok a hug now that the mandatory goblin greeting was out of the way. “I have missed you.”
“And I you, my son,” Ragnok whispered thickly. “Please don’t disappear like that again.”
“I won’t, I promise,” Harry swore.
They hugged for a few moments more before breaking apart.
“And who is this charming little lady?” Ragnok smiled at the child that stood quietly before him.
“This is Eileen Grace Potter,” Harry smiled down at his daughter.
“Not just a Potter, though,” Ragnok remarked. “Not with those eyes.”
“No, not just a Potter,” Harry whispered, knowing there was nothing that he could hide from his adopted father.
“They’re my papa’s eyes!” Eileen chirped, a smile brightening her face. Ragnok chucked at her exuberance.
“That they are,” Ragnok smiled before turning to Harry, an unspoken question in his eyes.
Does he know? Ragnok spoke the question in Harry’s mind. A single shake of Harry’s head told Ragnok all he needed to know. Will you tell him? Harry shrugged a shoulder, indicating that he hadn’t made up his mind yet.
It depends on how he reacts to seeing me again , Harry whispered in Ragnok’s mind. Ragnok nodded, then sat down at the table.
“So what brings you back after all this time?” he asked.
“I received a letter from Narcissa Malfoy informing me of Andromeda Tonks’ rapidly failing health,” Harry’s voice was full of unshed tears. “I wanted to come as soon as I could so that one, I could see her and two, to see if MACUSA has a cure for whatever ails her. Narcissa detailed her symptoms in the letter and I brought along several potions that may be able to cure her.”
“Well then, let’s get you to St. Mungo’s,” Ragnok said firmly. “Though you may want to put a notice-me-not on young Eileen, as St. Mungo’s is resistant to allowing children to visit any but immediate family.”
Harry nodded before kneeling in front of Eileen again.
“We’re going to a hospital to see an old friend of daddy’s,” Harry spoke gently. “I’m going to put my notice-me-not spell on you so that no one else is able to see or interact with you. If you can continue being as good as you’re being now, I’ll buy you ice cream from one of daddy’s favorite shops. Can you do that for me, sweetling?”
“Yes, daddy,” Eileen smiled. “Do I have to keep wearing the necklace if I’m under the spell?”
“Yes, sweetling,” Harry replied softly. “It’s for our protection. If no one knows who we are, no one can hurt us.”
“Would you like me to cast the spell on her?” Ragnok asked. “That way if something -or someone - startles you, the spell won’t fail.”
“That’s a good idea, Father, thank you,” Harry breathed a small sigh of relief.
Ragnok waved his hand around Eileen, then walked out of the room.
Eileen reached for Harry’s hand as he stood. He was grateful that it was the end of the work day and there was less of a chance they would run into someone Harry might know. Thoughts swirled through his mind as they walked up the street towards the hospital. Would he even want to see him again? And if so, would he want to share a child with Harry? Was he married? Did he have other children? These thoughts and more bombarded his brain as he walked through the front doors of St. Mungo’s. He made his way to the front desk, once again thankful for his disguise, as he recognized Pansy Parkinson as the Welcoming Witch.
“Welcome to St. Mungo’s,” she greeted with a smile. “Is there something that I can help you with?”
“Hello,” he smiled back. “Can you point the way to Andromeda Tonks’ room, please?”
She looked through her list, then looked back up with a small frown.
“Fifth floor, room 509, unknown illness ward,” she replied.
“Thank you,” Harry replied, making sure he kept a firm grip on Eileen’s hand.
As they silently made their way through the hospital, Harry hoped beyond hope that he had made it in time. He stood in front of the closed door for a moment to gather himself, then gently opened the door. If he had been grateful for his disguise before, he was ten times as thankful for it and the spell now. He remembered every touch and every inch of every plane of the man who stood before him.
The sight of Severus Snape momentarily froze him in his tracks.
“May I help you?” His familiar drawling voice shook Harry from his daze. He was glad that Ragnok was the one who cast the notice-me-not on Eileen, as this would have shaken his concentration enough to disrupt the spell.
“I just wanted to visit an old friend,” his voice came out far smoother than he was feeling. “How is she?”
“Stable for now,” Severus sighed as he turned back to Andromeda and rested his hand on one of the guard rails on the bed. “But she won’t be for much longer if we can’t figure out what is wrong with her.”
“May I cast a few diagnostics on her?” Harry offered. “I trained for a year with the Unspeakables in MACUSA before training for four years with their healers. I may be able to find something.”
“You may,” Severus replied, moving to the side of the room. Harry nodded to the far corner of the room, silently indicating to Eileen that that was where he wanted her to go.
Harry raised his wand and cast the spell he had created with MACUSA. The spell was designed to simultaneously read a person’s physical and magical health down to the smallest cells, while writing out the results on a special piece of parchment. When the spell was complete, he grabbed the parchment and started reading. While he wasn’t surprised to see her suffering from magical exhaustion, he was surprised to see the magical strain of flu that MACUSA’s healers had only recently developed a cure for. What made it worse was that it was badly interacting with her magical core. He immediately knew what she needed, but he also knew that he had to be alone with her in order to give her part of the cure. Before giving her anything, though, he turned to Severus and offered him the parchment.
“She’s suffering from magical exhaustion, which is extremely evident as she’s still with us,” Harry said softly. “She’s also suffering from a particularly virulent strain of wizard flu. It’s a strain that MACUSA was recently able to create a cure for. Team the cure with a low grade vitality potion, as well as reinforcing her family magic, and she’ll be right as rain within a fortnight.” He paused for a moment before continuing. “I have the cure and the vitality potion with me.”
“Give her the cure and the vitality potion,” Severus gently ordered. “As for the family magic reinforcement, Lord Black has not been heard from in six years. Will the cure take longer without it? And how long?”
“Yes, the cure will take longer without it,” Harry confirmed. “Three months rather than just two weeks.”
“I’m certain she won’t mind waiting longer to be fully cured,” Severus smirked in the way that caused Harry’s insides to boil. “But she will need someone to help her with her grandson.”
“Does he have any other guardians that can mind him?” Harry asked, though he already knew the answer.
“His godfather went missing many years ago,” Severus replied softly. “But I can ask his godmother, Hermione Malfoy, if she wouldn’t mind helping out.”
It took everything in Harry not to choke on air. Hermione had married Malfoy?
“If you’d like, I can give Andromeda the potions if you’d like to go speak with her now,” Harry said carefully, not wanting to give anything away to the man he had run out on.
“That would be acceptable,” Severus replied, gathering his things. “It was nice to meet you…”
“Hadrian,” Harry replied distractedly, belatedly realizing he had given Severus his full legal name. He mentally smacked himself and glanced over at Severus, but if he had noticed, he wasn’t giving anything away.
“Hadrian,” Severus nodded, causing Harry to exhale a small sigh of relief. “Will you be back tomorrow?”
“Yes, I want to see how she does after the potions and a night of sleep,” Harry replied.
“Til tomorrow, then,” Severus nodded to him before departing.
“Til tomorrow,” Harry whispered as he waited for the door to close behind Severus.