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Chapter Text

Severus walked on the gravel path as he had done many times before. Beside him walked his fourteen-year-old daughter, fourteen, God, how fast time goes by. He still remembered that little girl he had found, the broken child who had decided that he was safe. Now walking by her she was slowly becoming a woman, it was wonderful to see her grow up, but also the most heart-breaking thing he had ever done.

No matter what he achieved in his future, nothing could beat this. Severus was so proud of his daughter, how she faced every problem head-on, how she did not hide and stood tall no matter what. She was his baby girl, he remembers her always holding his hand as they walked through the woods, but now there was no longer a hand in his.

Severus sighed and that caught Annalise's attention, she looked at his direction, not being able to fully face him correctly because she was blind. She tilted her head and reminded him of a puppy.

“Is something wrong Dad?”

“Oh, nothing is wrong, it is just the realization that you never know the last time you do something for your kid. You never know when that will be, so you don’t treasure it enough.”

Severus started walking again when his daughter grabbed his hand. He held her soft hand in his, warm and alive. Somehow, she had managed to figure out what he had not managed to put into words. Gratitude filled him, his daughter was the best.

Many times, Severus was left wondering what would have happened in his life if she was not in it. What would he have done? Finding Annalise was the most important thing that had ever happened in his life.

It had been just after graduation from Hogwarts; he had managed to keep Lucius at a distance telling him that he could not take the dark mark as long as he was in school. It would be too notable. He managed to convince him; he had managed to buy some time. But that time was up. He felt sick, Severus did not want to do this, but what other choice did he have?

Getting all of the ingredients he needed to brew dreamless sleep, he would need that in the days to come, something broke the silence of the woods. A cry, hushed harsh voices. Severus cast a delusions charm on himself and walked towards the sound.

There were four men arguing and pointing at a small bag. What was in that bag? Severus walked closer to hear what they were saying.

“She is worthless now; we have to get rid of her.”

“Where, if someone finds her then we are screwed.”

“You all need to calm down,” said the third man, clearly someone the other looked up to as they stayed silent while he talked. “We will just kill the girl and bury her, no one goes this deep into the woods.”

There he was wrong, cheap up-and-coming potions masters were willing to go anywhere to get their ingredients for free.

Severus watched them horrified, they were talking about killing a child as if they were nothing. He remembered how it felt when his father beat him, and told him he was worthless. But this, this was worse. The leader pulled the sack open and Severus got his first view of the child.

Her dark hair was matted to her head; the skin he could see was dark marred purple with bruises. But the most horrifying thing was that she had no eyes. It was not the unfocused eyes of someone who was born blind or went blind thanks to an illness. No there were no eyeballs in the socket. Someone had taken them.

Severus wanted to throw up, but it took all his strength and effort not to. Anger built inside of him; this was a child. Severus was often described as an angry child, teen, or adult. Almost everyone he meets says that he is an angry and resentful person. But even he who mostly felt anger had never felt this level of anger before.

The fury filled him and gave him more energy than he had ever had. He watched as one of the guys got out his wand and Severus lost it, for the first time in his life Severus lost control of his magic.

The temperature dropped; the ground started to shake as the plants reacted to his magic pushing them. The guys looked around and Severus started to cast spells. He knew many nasty spells and he was not afraid to play dirty.

It was probably thanks to the Marauders that he had learned to fight this way; thanks to them he knew how to take down four against one. When he had taken down two of the guys with his cutting spell the other two started to run away, but the awakened trees would not let them, grabbing them, and throwing them around.

Severus would have loved to stay and watched them get the beating they so deserved, not reflecting on how he had taken two lives, He ran to the girl who was curled up trying to make herself small. He took her into his arms and promised her that he would make sure that she was safe. And he knew that he would never break that promise.

Severus was brought out of his memories when Annalise stopped and looked around. The prosthetic eyes made sure that nothing hurt her eyes socked but her sight was gone for the rest of her life.

He saw that as one of his biggest failures. Oh, he had tried, he had done everything, taken her to so many people. But no one could give her sight. She lost her eyes when she was young and her body had cut all the blood supply that had been going to the eyes. Not even a magic prosthetic would work.

“Daddy, what is that?” Severus watched as his daughter walked off the path and walked into the woods.

Severus followed her into the woods, his interest high. Annalise had been running around here since he was a young girl. Severus often joked that she was a wood fairy. They would spend hours here, him collecting ingredients and her dancing around. Her magic connected to the trees so that she would not turn into anything.

But that it seemed like it was something new here? It was odd, how would it come here? The Prince family had owned this land for a long time, no one should be able to come in this close to the house. Severus made sure the wards were strong so that the wildlife would be safe as they had many rare species such as unicorns. But also, so that Annalise would be safe as well.

He took a large step so he was closer to his daughter, her only moving her head slightly as he came closer. While Severus knew that his daughter was capable of many things, his biggest fear would always be that someone would hurt her, and he would be all alone again. That he would not be able to keep his promise to her.

It was only weeks after the event that Severus understood what had happened. Severus had saved Annalise from an illegal human experiment and trafficking ring. They were looking into creating human weapons. By subjecting small children, they kidnapped them to many different experiments. All in the hope of being able to give them to he-who-must-not-be-named.

When Severus found the papers about Annalise he threw up. He had seen many things, heard a lot, and been through a lot. But it was too much for him. They had killed Annalise's mother after she just had managed to give birth to the girl. She never even got to hold her.

After that, they started her on many experimental potions. They wanted her to be able to see what wizards could not. They even tried potions they believed would give her Telekinesis. But nothing worked, they made higher doses, and gave her more and more potions.

It was then that someone had the idea that for her to be able to see what they could not, they had to take her eyes. But it had all been too much on Annalise’s malnourished and dehydrated body. She had gone into a coma for weeks, and when she woke up, and was proven to be a failure again. They decided to get rid of her.

It was only later when she had time to heal, with careful supervision that they found out that she had been a success in a different way. It all came from a little comment she made three months after Severus saved her.

“You are mostly dark green.” It was a small comment she made one day while they were eating breakfast. Severus stopped eating and asked what she meant. She then proceeded to describe his aura.

Aura was something every living thing had, but it was a very personal thing. It showed what magic people were best at, it showed how strong they were. Therefore, it was not something that was often talked about in public.

But somehow, something in the experiments had opened Annalise up to sense auras. Every person she saw she could say what they were good at and if they had ever practised dark magic. Severus scared of what people would do if they knew, did his best to keep the information hidden.

Annalise also had a deep connection to the earth, seeing almost through the ground. That was why she liked the woods so much, she could feel where all the trees were, she could feel what she could not see. After being with him for a year she would spend many hours running around barefoot in the woods.

Severus understood that she was sensing an aura, but what could have given off such a strong signal that Annalise would be able to see it so far away? It had to be something special. When she stopped Severus walked to her side to see what it was, she was looking at.

It was a small dark green plant, with one small white flower on each plant. Severus watched closely as Annalise sat down on the ground interested not caring about her skirt. She slowly put her hand forward and touched a leaf. Severus could feel a pulse of magic when she touched it. The flower on the plant stands up straighter than before.

Worry filled him as he noticed this unusual reaction. What was this? He did not recognize it at all.

“Tell me what you see Annalise,” Severus spoke in a low voice not wanting to break his daughter’s focus.

“It… it is glowing, it is so bright.” Wonder filled Annalise’s voice.

Severus thought back wondering if he had ever seen this plant before but just as before, he came up with nothing.

“What color is it?” Severus asked wondering why this small plant gave off such a bright aura.

“It is white, pure white.” Severus became a little calmer hearing that. White meant pure, healing. Hopefully, that meant that Annalise would not get hurt by it.

“I will sketch it so that I can see if we can identify it back at home.” Severus brought out his ink and paper and worked on painting a perfect replica. When he was done his daughter still looked at the plant entranced.

“Annalise, I think it is time to go home, you shouldn’t touch it until I know that it is not something dangerous.” She leaned her head back and he saw her calm face.

“No Dad, I… This plant would never hurt anyone, it… it is special.”

“Annalise, can you describe it to me?” While Severus and Annalise rarely fought most of their fights started because of misunderstandings. She could not see what he did and he could not see what she did. It led to confusion and sometimes arguments and both parties felt that the other was not listening.

“It only wants to heal, it’s so white, so pure. I think you will need it in a potion; we should carefully take one and bring it home.” Severus took a deep breath pushing away his worry, his daughter was fourteen, and he should trust her more. He had to trust her when she said that it was not harmful.

“Okay, but let me do it.” Severus carefully took the plant from the earth and put it into a pot. Walking back Severus did not like the way his daughter looked on the plant in his hands, it was like she was in a trans.

Severus took the plant into his study and closed the door, scared that his daughter might have gotten sick from touching the plant. He brought out all of his herbology books but nowhere was a plant like this one.

Its leaves were round and smooth, its flower small and white, now that he looked closer, he noted a lightly pink tone. He was stuck; it was not something that happened often with herbology but it only raised his desire to figure it out.

Went into the library and looked in the old books he had taken from the prince's property. It was a book from 1853 that had the answer.

The small and fragile plant of Bhola island is a plant that is revered for its healing powers, said to be able to heal broken nerves. But sadly, thanks to over harvesting the plant is now extinct.

Severus carefully compared the plant to the one on the paper. It was it, there was no question about it. But how was it in Britain? He walked to his daughter with his discovery of the plant. She listened carefully and then nodded.

“That makes sense, you will need it.” Severus turned to look sharply at his daughter.

“For what will I need it for?”

“I don’t know, but what I know is that Lady Magic wants you to do something with it.” Severus took a deep breath, his daughter since she healed and dared to speak again had always spoken about Lady Magic. The goddess of the old wizards, how she was the reason why Severus saved her.

How lady Magic made sure that she would go to a good home. But Severus ever the cynic had problems with that idea. If Lady Magic could make sure that Annalise came to a good home, then why had she not saved his daughter from years of pain? To believe that there was a higher power, hurt too much to think of.

But he had learned the hard way that it was always best to follow his daughter’s advice. Severus concluded that his daughter was a seer, and she spoke of what she saw by invoking the name of Lady Magic.

Lady Magic knew how her representative felt, he was the only representative she had ever had that did not believe in her. But she could understand why, Severus had been through too much pain to believe that she was there. Oh, how she wished her vision had never been clouded.

When her representative dies her Magic chooses the next one. Knowing this some dark spirits hid Severus away from her. To try to turn him away from her. It hurt so much to see her hurt children. But she was a goddess of her word, she had promised young Annalise while she was being tortured that she sent her representative to save her, and he had.

Severus looked over all of his old creations, he had patented many potions throughout his career. After saving Analise from those monsters he took her to his home, the small house which was empty now his mother was dead and his father was in prison for life.

He poured so much magic into the small girl doing everything to heal her, she had only turned stable after two days. Two days of a constant drain on his magic. It was only on the fourth day she woke up.

Severus had fallen asleep on the chair he put beside her bed. He heard the small whimper from the bed, the girl who had played outstretched on the bed had curled into a ball. Shaking in fear. Severus felt the familiar feeling of bile rising in his trough. A child should never have this kind of fear.

“Hey it is okay little one, I promise I won’t hurt you.” The girl flinched at his voice and then turned around. Severus was shocked when she threw herself towards him, Severus having to catch her so that she did not fall onto the floor.

The small child, still shaking curled up into his embrace. Severus was in awe when she clumsily took her hands around his neck and hugged him. He put his arms around her; it was only thanks to him being so close that he heard what she said.

“Thank you for saving me…” Small broken whisper. It was hard not to cry.

“You don’t have to thank me; I only did what anyone else would have done.” The girl shook her head and Severus decided that it was better not to argue with her.

“What is your name child.” He hands his hand in her hair which he had carefully detangled while she was unconscious.

“I… I think I am Annalise.” The answer sounded more like a question.

Annalise curled up in his arms and fell asleep on him. At that moment Severus was stuck with a sleeping child on his lap. The trust she had in him. Severus felt so protective over her, he would do anything for this child, anything.

It all changed the trajectory that his life had been going. He told Lucius that thanks to him being a half-blood he was not pure enough to be able to join the dark lord. Then he went to the goblins and managed the impossible, to get a loan to get his mastery in potions. He even managed to get a healer to look over Annalise.

What Severus did not know was that the Goblins who were much more intoned to the magic of the land could see who he was. How Lady Magic pushed them to help him. They never planned to look over the child, but when he had brought her with him, they could not help it.

Ids looked at the young wizard in front of him, only eighteen. The boy had come ready to argue, to fight to get a loan. Ids was not one of the high-ups in the Goblin hierarchy, but he could see the glow around him. He was the one, the new representative that everyone had been looking for.

People had started to be scared that there had been too few followers left of Lady Magic. That led her to discorporate that they were going closer to the end of the world. But now here he was, angry, defiant, spiteful, and ready to argue. Ids did not know much about the search but he knew that the previous representatives were close to nature, always kind. But there was no denying that the boy was the one.

The small child he had in his arms was also marked by her touch. It was horrifying when the child turned around, with no eyes. He went against all of the rules that he had been taught; he would have a healer look over her.

Telling the young Prince heir the boy looked at him in shock. The healers were also shocked when they were called in. But it did not take them long to see why.

After becoming the youngest potion master in Brittan’s history Severus went on to make many patents. The potions he made many said were impossible but Severus never backed down from a challenge. During the war, Severus had put everything into creating a potion to heal the effects of crucio. It had been good at stabilizing all of the fragile nerves, but it could not make them grow back.

Grow back, that was it.

It took a month but soon Severus turned in his potion for testing. A new crucio relief potion. The study now taking place. Many people wondered how Severus managed to find the plant, but he had no idea how to explain it. He and Alexandria Black a distant cousin of Sirius black had worked with him to preserve the rare plant.

Walking into the house Alexandria had been nervous about what she would find. She knew Severus only by reputation, people said he was a secluded angry man who was not afraid to curse anyone. Alexandria who had never been a fighter was scared of what she was entering into. She knew that Snape hated her cousin and she hoped that this was not just a trick.

Walking out of the floo She saw Severus for the first time, He wore black robes, it was common for potion masters, but what shocked her was the child beside him. The girl was small probably around eleven or twelve.

“Hi nice to meet you,” She did a small bow and he responded, and then she turned to the girl. “Nice to meet you I am Alexandria, what is your name?”

“Annalise,” Was the only answer she got. Alexandria grew worried as the child did not behave as any child she knew, was the child, okay? Was she hurt? Was Severus the mean man that everyone warned her about?

“How did you find the plant?” She asked Severus.

“I did not find it; Annalise was the one who did.” She looked at the girl again the girl was looking at her, but something was wrong. It took her a couple of seconds to realize that her eyes were not real, but instead made of porcelain.

“How?” She started to say then realized how rude she sounded.

“I can see what others can’t,” The little girl said, her dark brown hair carefully braided away from her face. Alexandria followed them into the woods, shocked when she saw the girl walk without any help.

The woods were deep and Alexandria realized that this must be some of the oldest woods preserved in Britain. Following the girl, she started to wonder if it all was a hoax, how could the plant be here? But she followed the girl.

Reaching the plant Alaxandria could not help but touch a leaf. She could feel the magic alive inside the plant. It was just as Severus had described it to the herbology guild.

“You have to be careful of who touches it, if they are dark, they will taint the plant and they will die. That is how they died out the first time, people succumbed to greed, that tainted the plant and made them die. “

“How do you know that?” Alexandria looked at the girl in shock.

“Lady Magic told me,” She turned to Severus and noticed that he had pinched his lips slightly.

"Annalise is a seer, after she touched the plant that night she started having visions of the plant. Seeing how greed corrupted people, how they killed off all of the old carers of the plant. And soon the plant succumbed to the same fate.”

Alexandria nodded; it did make sense from what she had read about it.

“Have you been able to transport it?”

“Yes, I have a couple back at the house, I am in the process of using it in a crucio relief potion.”

“So, you have started to harvest it?” Alexandria was a bit annoyed that they had just decided to use this rare plant instead of leaving it alone.

“We will need it; Neville needs his parents back,” Annalise said her voice now strong and determined.

“Who is Neville?” Alexandria asked in confusion.

“I believe the boy Annalise is talking about is Neville Longbottom, Annalise had a vision when she touched the plant of a young boy named Neville. Alice and Frank were tortured to the point of insanity, Annalise believes that my revised version of the potion will be able to wake them up.”

Severus explained, his daughter was a little shit, but it made him laugh. Annalise knew that she confused people and that when she spoke, she often spoke in riddles. But she found it funny to confuse people and decided to be a menace to society. Oh, how he loved her.

“Okay we will need to put up a system, if I take a plant I will try to see if we can make it grow at the Herbology guild headquarters so that we can make sure that if it is a powerful potion ingredient we won’t kill it.”

“The ground needs to be pure,” Annalise said, she was convinced that the reason the plant grew so abundant here was thanks to the unicorns on the ground. She told Alexandira this.

“There are unicorns here?” She asked in shock, usually, unicorns were never to be found on privet property thanks to the hunting of them.

“Yes, we have an active group of unicorns here, right now there are at least four foals that I have managed to see.” Alexandria looked at the plant determined; she would make this work.

In the end, it took her five tries to be able to establish the plant. They often dying soon after she planted them. Growing more and more frustrated she asked the higher ups what they thought.

“What was it that the girl who found them said?”

“She said the ground had to be pure for them to grow, the presence of the unicorn colony making the plant feel safe and be able to thrive.” The guild owned a lot of forest that was used in a lot of different ways, one that they have closed off thanks to unicorns starting to inhabit the land.

Now Alexandria with the head of the guild, Luise Carrol managed to get it set in the woods, and it thrived.

While Alexandria was working hard on establishing the plant, Severus worked hard on the potion. And now he had the finished result in his hands. He had waited until after the potion guild had gone through the first face of the potion testing.

The results in the report in front of him were unbelievable. People woke up from comas, and prisoners of war were able to sit up and speak for the first time in years.

Still, Severus was afraid, Agusta Longbottom was on her way here with Neville. Agusta was well known everywhere, but in the end, she was a mother and grandmother. Severus loved his daughter so much, if she had been hurt stuck in a hospital bed for eight years, not speaking, not moving. He did not know what he would do.

His worst fear was to give her false hope. To make her believe that her son would wake up and stay deep in his coma. But now with the report, it was time.

Severus laughed as his daughter’s hand clumsily hit him lightly in the face, then wrapped around his neck and hugged him. He put his hands at her waist and held her close. Annalise had asked him if he could braid some flowers into her hair today, and he could never tell her no.

Her dark brown hair was braided back; she loved it when her hair was out of her face. Annalise had been six years old when Severus took her to a muggle prosthetic office. No magic prosthetic had worked, so he decided to do this the muggle way.

His daughter stayed close to him; he had his arm around him. They had taken out her previous magic prosthetic for this appointment, which always gave her extreme pain and discomfort. But she knew that others thought that she was creepy.

Severus shielded her from all the eyes; he did his best to protect her from bigots. In the office, Severus saw the moment that the man saw her fully. He pulled back in horror; Severus had explained a muggle version of what happened before they walked in. Thankfully the man gathered himself quickly and was kind and careful to Annalise.

“I see no reason why she would not be a candidate for a porcelain prosthetic.”

“Oh, that’s good, all the others have given her so much pain.” The doctor nodded sadly as he looked at the girl.

“The good thing is that you can choose exactly how you want them to look.” He said trying to cheer Annalise up. The little girl scrunched up her face in thought, Severus finding his hand going through her hair.

“I want them to look like daddy’s!” Annalise said it with so much excitement. Severus could have cried right there and then. She wanted to look like him, he had wondered many times if he did the right thing by her to adopt her. He was always so scared to turn into his father; to hurt his baby, this was the biggest compliment he had gotten in his life.

Since she had gotten the prosthetic that looked like her father’s eyes Annalise never wanted to have them covered up. She went from doing everything to hide her eyes, to wanting to show them to the world.

Severus kissed her head; Annalise was right Neville deserved to have his parents. He was doing the right thing here. The floo lit up and soon Agusta walked out looking prim and proper. Then Neville came out, falling out from the floo.

Neville soon found his footing stood up, and hid behind his grandmother. Severus saw her disappointed face, but he did not think it was fair. He was just a kid.

“Neville, do you want to see the garden?” Annalise asked putting out her hand for the young boy to take. Severus watched as his daughter led the young boy away so that he could be alone with Agusta.

“I will have you know that it was improper for you to write to me without any pervious introduction.” Agusta’s voice was high and demanding. Everything Severus hated about the “Higher class” he found ridiculous. But he took a deep breath this was not about him.

“Here, I wanted to give you this report personally.” Agusta opened her mouth ready to argue when Severus pushed the papers onto her. He could hear her grumbling about proper etiquette and all of that. But he did not care.

Soon her grumbling tapered off, and soon there was only silence filling the room. Severus drank his cup of tea and waited for her to go through the report. He could see when she got to the man who woke up from a coma fifteen years later. Her hand stopped moving her eyes still.

“Is this a joke…” No longer was her voice high and mighty, but weak, scared, and hopeful.

“No, this is the result of a study made from the potion guild. I am the one who made the original crucio relief potion and now I have made a better version.” Agusta looked up at him.

“You, did you make that potion? But you are too young.” Severus let out a deep breath he was well known in the potion’s world, but not outside as he never liked being in the public’s eye.

“I am the youngest potion master in Brittan’s history.” It was not boasting but simply stating facts.

“Oh, I remember I read about you… Do, you think you can bring them back?” Agusta who had walked in with her head high and spine straight, was curling into herself. Filled with fragile hope.

“I never would have approached you if I did not think it would work. I was hesitant to show you this. Just to think about being in your position makes me sick. I never wanted to cause you even more pain.” Severus met Agusta’s eyes, he wanted her to see that he truly meant what he said.

Outside in the garden, Neville was looking at every plant. Back at the Longbottom manor they mostly had beautiful plants. But here, it was filled with fascinating once.

“And here is the plant that can heal nerves.”

“What? I had not heard about it?”

“It will soon be published in the herbology guild that the previously extinct plant of the Bhola Islands is back. I believe that this plant can change a lot.”

Neville looked at the small plant, not knowing what he was truly doing. But Annalise saw what he was doing. His magic was reaching out, entangling with the magic in the plant. The flowers stood up higher.

Neville was just happy that he was allowed to follow Agusta when she was going to this meeting. He was so happy that he was not forced to be with his Uncle Alby. He shivered, he hated his uncle, he always hurt.

Annalise sensed that the boy's mood lowering. But she did not know how to cheer him up, she was scared to tell him about this new potion in case Agusta decided not to use it. He was a young hurt boy.

“You’re really good with magic,” She started she heard the boy gasp in surprise.

“No, I am not, my whole family decided that I was a squid and said that I would not get my Hogwarts letter.”

“What, but you used your magic just now.”

“I did?”

“Yes, did you not see how the plants rose under your attention, how they grew stronger? You are really good at herbology I can see.”

“Yeah, Grandma says that herbology is weak magic.”

“What? She is wrong, so much of our society is the way it is because of plants. Without people protecting and taking care of our plants there would be no potions. We learn from nature; they are the oldest teacher of them all.”

They stayed there in the garden until Severus called them back. They walked slowly back into the manor Neville's head filled with new ideas. He wasn’t weak, he could do some good in this world. Never before had he received any compliment on his magic.

“Come here, Neville. I have some papers to look over when we get home.” And after that, they were gone. Annalise felt for the young boy; he sounded so hurt.

“Dad, I don’t think they treat him right.”

“No, I don’t think so either, but I hope that his parents will be able to set the record straight.” Severus put his hand on his daughter’s shoulder. It was a lovely summer day; they deserved some ice cream.

Chapter Text

The next day Severus got the letter from Agusta allowing him to put Alice and Frank on the trail. He contacted saint Mungo’s and gave them all the paper work. Then it was a waiting game.

While waiting Severus continued working making potions for the trial. Annalise often went on walks to the town exploring all the different things she could find. She had never managed to get any close friends no matter how hard she had tried. It hurt a lot when she was little, that people did not want to be with her because she was different.

“Hey give it back!” Annalise walked toward the noise. They were at the end of the woods were the woods meet the town.

“Oh, would you look at that the freak is here.” Oh, so it was Hugo that was the problem, what a surprise.

Hugo had hated her since they first met, he was a bully plain and simple. He had to push others down to make himself feel strong and powerful. He hated her even more when he realized that she could defend herself, after that he never attacked her just throwing insults in her direction.

“Hugo, what a surprise.” Her voice was filled with sarcasm. She could see that there were five auras where she was walking, one of them was new, filled with blue and yellow. He must be the one who yelled before.

“Hey, can you just give me my book back?” The new boy said.

“Why, is it because you are too poor to buy a new one.” Hugo taunted, “I know all about your Weasley’s too many children and no money.”

“Hugo, are we stealing again, what would your mom say about that?” Annalise spoke in a soft voice.

“She is not going to say anything because if you tell her, you are a dead blind freak!” Annalise let out a small disappointed sound.

“Really Hugo, do you feel strong and powerful when you threaten other people”

“Hey you stop it this has nothing to do with you!”

“Hugo, just give the book back. I have beaten you all before, and I will do it again. Save yourself that embarrassment.”

Percy watched as the girl said her threat, he was scared for her. These were not small boys, but she was a small girl, but it seemed like she knew what she was doing. He was surprised at how uneasy the group of boys got at her threat. He could not see her winning but there was clearly something here he was missing.

He had just wanted to get away from his loud house and found a quiet spot where he could read. But of course, a bully followed him. Why can he never just be alone? In his house there was no alone time, people were always running around.

He had just gotten his own room because Bill had just moved out. But of course, his bother always ran into his room giving him no peace. And his mom always said that he was not allowed to have a lock on his door.

He looked back at the girl; she was dressed in a flowy dress with flower print. Percy could see that her parents must have money. Her hair braided back and her eyes unfocused. But she did not seem to be afraid at all, which was the thing that surprised him. She just took out her hand and waited for his book to be placed in her hand.

To Percy’s surprise Hugo gave her the book. Mumbling about how he was just joking and that she did not need to take things so seriously. But the girl just looked at him and told him to go. Percy watched as the four boys left leaving him alone with the girl.

“Here, I believe this is yours.” She gave him his book with a small smile on her face. To his surprise she sat down beside him leaning her head back letting the sun on her face.

“Thanks, I am Percy by the way.” He held out his hand and then he realized that she could not see his hand so he put it away.

“Nice to meet you Percy, I am Annalise.” Percy found himself smiling back at her.

“How did you manage to scare them away?”

“Oh, it’s very easy. I have known Hugo for most of my life; he is a bully. He feels bad so then he has to make everyone else feel bad. Like a baby having a temper tantrum. He saw you probably being at peace and because he feels angry, he wanted you to be hurt and angry as well.”

“Oh, I never thought of it that way.” Percy thought back to the bullies he knew and found that Annalise was right. They were all baby’s having a temper tantrum.

“Not many do.”

“Thank you for helping me by the way.”

“Oh, it was no problem, when you know how to deal with Hugo it is easy to scare him off. He knows that if he gets into a fight with me, he will lose, and then he will look stupid losing a fight to a small blind girl.”

“How did you learn how to defend yourself?” Percy asked, wondering if she could teach him. He was sick and tired of people thinking that they could push him around. He was always the good boy, following the rules, and making sure that everyone was safe. And he was tired, of always having to take the shit and never be able to do something back.

“My dad taught me; he says that the world is an angry place and everyone should know how to protect themselves.”

They kept talking and Percy found himself entranced in the girl in front of him. Her perspective of different things and how she saw the world, it was all fascinating. He was surprised when he looked at his clock to find that he needed to make his way home now if he did not want to be late. As they were saying their goodbyes, Percy decided to do something bold for once in his life.

“Do you want to meet up again?” He did not know how he even dared to ask but here he was scared shitless waiting for her response.

“That sounds fun, can you on Saturday?”

When Percy got home, he was late but he did not even mind the scolding his mother gave him for being late. For once in his life Percy felt like the scolding was not an attack on his person. The rest of the day Percy was a lot in his head, but no one in the family noticed.

When Annalise came back home, she found her father in the living room. She sat down and made herself comfortable, even though she was hurt a long time ago, things took a lot more energy out of her. And after being out and about she was exhausted.

“Where have you been all day?” Severus looked at his daughter, she rarely was out of the house for long. He hated the fact that she never had an easy time making friends, it all reminded him too much of his own lonely childhood.

They had gone to a mind healer when she was young to help her work through everything. There Severus had brought up the issue she was having making friends. The healer said that thanks to her trauma she had trouble relating to other children. It created a disconnect but as long as Annalise tried to be a bit with people her age every week there should not be a problem.

“I, think I made a friend?” Annalise voice was unsure and Severus took her hand, ecstatic that someone finally was able to see through her differences and see who she truly was.

“Who?”

“Percy Weasley, Hugo, and his friends were bothering him, so I stepped in. After that we just talked, it was fun. He has a really big family; it sounds so hectic. He asked if we could meet again on Saturday.”

“And what did you say.” Severus knew very little of the Weasley boy but he would put some feelers out to see if the boy was genuine. But how he hoped that he would be a true friend.

“I said yes, it can’t hurt right,” Severus reassured her that she had made the right choice in accepting the invite.

It was funny that being a parent you had to give advice on areas where you were horrible. Severus had never managed to keep any long-time friends. He always scared them away in the end. But here he was, trying to advise his daughter on how to make friends. Being a parent was hard.

On Saturday Severus helped his daughter get ready to meat Percy. He had asked around a bit and it seemed like Percy was a calm studious boy who did not really stand up for himself. So, it did not seem like he had any bad intentions. But still Severus was more nervus than his daughter.

While he waited for Annalise to come back, he looked through all of his letters. Saint Mungo’s had just agreed to put Alice and Frank on the list of people in the trial. They were wondering when he could come over with the potion.

They were going to start with Alice as the study showed that women often responded better to the potion than men. It seemed like they had an easier time to regrow nerves easier. He wrote back that they could start Alice on the potion the next week if it was okay.

Annalise walked to the clearing in the woods nervus, what if Percy decided not to show up? But her worries were for nothing because when she arrived, she found Percy sitting in the clearing.

After greeting each other they were left with what they wanted to do. Annalise asked if he wanted to go into the woods. But Percy was worried because it was privet property.

“It is fine Percy; Dad lets people go into the woods all the time. He has wards up that everyone who has no mal intention to animals can enter the wood. But you can’t get close to the woods near the manor, those no one can go through but me and him”

“Wait is your father Severus Snape?” Percy had read a lot of the man; he was a potion genius who had broken so many records.

“Yes, that my dad.” Percy looked over at Annalise she sounded so proud, he knew that Snape was younger than his parents so he must have had Annalise when he was very young. But really who was he to comment on it.

“I have heard that there are a lot of magical creatures in these woods.”

“Yes, we have a lot of them, we have unicorns, dad has seen at least four foals. Then we have many different critters. This house was abandoned a long time ago; dad fixed it up. Thanks to it being abandoned the animal life is extremely well preserved. So, Dad kept it that way, he only comes here to take some potion ingredients.”

“That is so cool, I hope we see something today, oh, well…”

“It’s okay Percy, I am not fragile, I think we will come across some animals today.”

They walked in the woods and Percy was fascinated by all the plants. He looked at everything and found it so peaceful here. He was very surprised that Annalise had no trouble walking around the woods. When he asked, she said something about her magic connecting with the trees. Percy did not understand but it sounded cool.

He found that time went by quickly with Annalise, going around in the woods, laughing filled the air. Annalise could identify all the birds based on what sound they made. After being there for at least an hour, Percy saw them, the unicorns.

“Annalise, they are here, the unicorns.”

“Oh, how sweet. Can you see the foals?”

“Yes, I see, one, two, three, four, maybe a fifth one as well.”

“Dad suspected that there might be more. Here let’s sit down.” Percy sat down beside her and watched the unicorns. He had never been able to see unicorns before. When he heard a sound from Annalise's side, he looked over at her. She had her bag opened and was looking around.

“Here, can you take a picture for my dad.” Percy carefully used the camera and made sure to fit all the foals into the picture. Giving back the camera he was surprised when she gave him some sugar cubes.

“Hold them in your hand like this and just hold it out. If we are lucky, they will come and eat some.”

Percy held out his hand and waited, he held his breath as the unicorns came closer. Then they were there in front of them. One came forward and sniffed him, it tickled but he made sure to stay still. Then it leaned forward and ate from his hand. He looked over at Annalise and saw that a foal was with her, eating from her hand as she was carefully petting it.

He slowly lifted his other hand and waited for the unicorn to make a move. It pushed its head into his hand and he petted it. It was the softest thing in this world. They stayed there for a long time feeling all the unicorns. Annalise brought out a bag of feed that they threw for all the unicorns. Then after forty minutes, they left.

“That was so cool!” Percy looked at Annalise, his face filled with wonder. She smiled at him and for the first time in months, his smile was genuine.

Severus heard the door open and his daughter’s calm steps. He relaxed she was not hurt. He looked over her as she walked in, she yawned and curled up beside him. He held her close, asking how her day had been.

She told him about her day and the unicorns, exploring the woods with Percy. Severus was filled with hope. He hoped that Percy would be able to see past his daughter’s blindness, be able to see that she was a wonderful person as he did. Soon she fell asleep and Severus carried her to her bed, charming her into pyjamas and tucking her in.

Now it was time for Severus to start with his potion. Annalise was with them, he told Agusta that she would gladly look after Neville while they were focused on Alice. Neville was filled with so much nervous energy. The healer placed them in an empty children’s room with different toys and books. Annalise assured him that she would be fine over there.

Severus looked over the lax face of Alice Longbottom. He had not been her friend, but he knew her. Seen her running around laughing. The shaking of her hands, her muscles spasm. It was all so wrong. Severus made eye contact the healer and then approached the bed.

He found that it was best to do this the muggle way, as the potion needed to enter the blood stream. He set up his own version of an ivy-drip, his potion slowly dripping into her blood. Severus kept a careful eye on her, he noticed the moving of her eyes, the twitching of hands. And soon she started mumbling. It took forty minutes until the potion was fully in her blood stream.

Severus carefully detached the needle from her arm, and he set a timer. If they were lucky Alice would wake up within ten minutes. The time ticked on, nervus excitement filled the room. And then he heard it a gasp. Alice sat up fast and her face was filled with panic.

“Neville, I need to find Neville!” She was screaming and Agusta walked forward as Severus had instructed her.

“Alice… Alice I have him, I have Neville, he is safe with me.” Alice looked around in panic and soon she focused on her mother in laws face.

“He is safe?” It was a broken whisper.

“He is safe, you saved him.” And that she had, she had flooded over Neville when she realized that they were under attack. Something that would be dangerous to do, but she saved Neville.

“Oh, thank god.” Alice leaned back and looked around. “Were, am I?” The healer walked forward.

“Alice you are at Saint Mungo’s, you have been in a coma.”

“A coma? For how long?”

“Eight years.” There was no easy way to break the news to her. And Severus saw her break down. Eight years gone. When she last saw her son, he was a baby in diapers, now he was a year from Hogwarts.

“Alice, you have to breathe,” Severus spoke in a calm voice and she looked over at him.

“Severus?”

“Yes, I just gave you a potion, your nerves were broken from the use of crucio. You will experience pain while your nerves reattach themselves. I will be back tomorrow to give you your next dose and then we will see if you need further treatment.” Alice would need physical therapy to reconnect all of the nerves that were broken, but he was no help with that. She had a long healing journey in front of her, but she would get better.

“Is… can I see Neville?”

“I can go and get him.” Severus left the room so that Agusta could talk a bit with Alice while they waited for Neville. He came to the room and saw Annalise was trying to distract the boy with different things but was not having so much success.

“Neville,” The boy jerked and looked up, his eyes so hopeful. “Your mom is awake.” Neville broke out in tears, and Annalise took him into her arms.

Neville did not know why he was crying; he has been dreaming of hearing those words as long as he could remember. But he could not stop the tears from falling down. He took some deep breath as he was instructed to do and soon calmed down a bit.

“Do…. Does she want to see me?”

“She is asking for you,” Tears filled the boys eyes but they did not fall this time. Severus helped the children up and they walked to the hospital room. Annalise having her hand firmly in Neville’s grip. They opened up the door and walked in, Neville took one step forward, then another one.

“Mom?”

“Oh, my baby boy, how big you are,” Alice started crying and Neville too, he ran to the bed and the healer helped him up into his mother’s embrace. Severus and Annalise walked away to give them privacy.

They were sitting eating lunch at the cafeteria when the healer came to them.

“I… I can’t believe, you read something on paper, but seeing it.”

“It can be overwhelming.” The healer nodded and sat down with them.

“Shall we start the treatment on Frank today as well?” Severus asked.

“Yes, I believe that is a good idea, we know that he probably won’t wake up today, but maybe tomorrow. It would be good to start on him when the family has given him time to calm down.”

They sat there in silence, something Severus knew his daughter detested. He was not surprised when she brought out the camera to show the healer the pictures that Percy Weasley had managed to take of the unicorns.

After an hour Agusta walked over to them, her eyes were a bit puffy but no one commented on that.

“Shall we start on Frank’s treatment?”

They walked over, Neville was asleep in his mother’s arms and Severus focused on Frank. He watched as the potion dripped, there was movement from him but he did not wake up as predicted. Severus could see that it weighed on Agusta that he did not also wake up today but Severus reminded her that tomorrow there was a good chance for him to wake up.

Coming home Severus held Annalise hard, he wondered what it would be like to wake up missing eight years of his daughter’s life. He hoped he would never have to find out. They ate at the living room. Finishing with ice cream as desert.

The next day when the paper came, he read the front-page news.

Alice Longbottom awakes after eight years!

After the tragic happenings at Longbottom Manor during the last day of the war Alice and her husband Frank have been in a coma for eight years. Now she is awake and talking.

It all happened because of a new potion invented by Severus Snape. He was the creator of the first crucio relief potion that has helped many people in the country gain the ability to talk and walk again. But it was not strong enough, thanks to a mysterious find of a long though dead plant (read more on page 16) he was able to create a stronger version of the potion. This is what he had to say:

“The first potion I made, was great at stabilizing the nerves. Help them work as they did before the use of crucio. But the problem with the more severe cases was that the nerves were not simply unstable. The connection was broken. Now with this new potion, we can create new nerve endings, new connections. To bring back what they lost.”

Severus was at least happy that there was the only point where they mentioned him. He hated being in the public eye. Always preferring the calm of his life. He helped Annalise with her hair and then they were off to Saint Mungo’s to hopefully wake up Frank Longbottom.

Breakfast at the Weasley home was always a loud affair. Percy rubbed his ear after Ginny screamed because Ron stole her bacon. Peace and quiet were all he wanted, God he felt like an old man. But all the noise was broken through when his mother let out a scream of delight as she read the paper.

“What is it darling?” Arthur asked his wife.

“Alice is awake!” That got everyone’s attention and Percy listened carefully as his mother read the article. Annalise had been hinting that something big would happen soon, and this must have been it. Her father is in the paper. She must be so proud.

“That is wonderful, we must send her a letter, maybe I should bake something for her?” The children chimed in that they would gladly eat any cake she made and Molly laughed.

“I am just surprised that Snape was the one who came up with the potion.”

“Why?” Percy asked.

“Well, I always thought that he was a part of the death eater crowd, you know he was a Slytherin after all.”

“Mom, everyone in Slytherin is not evil.” Percy rolled his eyes as his younger brothers disagreed with him. Oh, how he wished that his parents would not be so biased.

Alice sat in her bed still in shock, eight years gone, just like that. She could hardly understand, how, what is she supposed to do. She read on and found out that Lily her best friend died, eight years ago. Her boy, who was supposed to be Neville’s best friend had never met.

Harry survived the killing curse. Alice wanted to cry again, but she simply did not have the energy to cry. Everything was so wrong. She could not understand anything. There was a light knock on the door and she told them to enter. In walked Severus.

He looked refreshingly similar to the boy she knew before. His hair was still long and black, his nose still crooked. But his eyes were different, he had the beginning of wrinkles on his face. He looked at her with so much sympathy that she almost broke down.

“How are you coping?” He sat down beside her bed, and Alice was shocked when she saw a girl sit down beside him, she was holding something in her hands.

“I don’t even know, but Neville is here. And that is what matters in the end.”

“I will give you the second dose, thanks to you being on the first crucio relief serum for so long you might be done with potions after that. I will also give Frank his second dose, we will see if he wakes up.” She took in a sharp breath, Frank, oh, her Frank how she wanted him here with her.

“Is it okay if I start the potion drip?” Alice nodded and gave him her arm. His touch was light and careful as he warned her about the needle. Alice focused on the girl in front of her instead of the needle.

“Who are you?” She asked after the drip was set up.

“Oh Sorry, I forgot to introduce you two, Alice, this is my daughter Annalise.” Alice looked at the girl in shock, she was older than her Neville, and she had Neville when she was only nineteen.

“How old are you?”

“Fourteen soon fifteen.” Annalise smiled and Alice smiled back.

“You're very old,” She looked at Severus with questioning eyes.

“I adopted Annalise,” Alice looked at him in shock she never knew that Severus wanted to adopt, but she did not know much about Severus.

“Here, this is for you,” Annalise handed her the box she was holding and Alice carefully opened it. Not liking how hard it still was to control her movements. Inside was small cakes, with frosted tops.

“Oh, thank you, that was very sweet of you.”

“They are chocolate raspberry, I… I didn’t know what you liked and Dad always says that everyone likes chocolate raspberry.” Alice laughed, this was a nice conversation, where she did not have to think about all that she had lost.

Severus helped her take a cake out of the box and she ate it. It was wonderful, she praised Annalise until her cheeks were red. It was sweet of her to do this for her.

Soon Agusta came with Neville and Alice gave them cake as well, holding her boy was the best thing in the world. He was so much bigger, but she could see clearly that this was her boy. She kissed his head and held him close. Enjoying this moment as long as it lasted.

“I believe that it is time to give Frank his second dose, I want either Alice or Agusta to be by his side ready to help him when he wakes up.” After a discussion it was decided that Alice would stay with Neville and Agusta would go to Frank. Severus left with the healer and soon Alice was alone with the children.

“Neville, have you done any accidental magic?” She did not like when her boy shrunk into himself at her question.

“Not really,” He mumbled and Alice was filled with worry, what had happened here?

“Now that is a lie,” Annalise said and it surprised both of them so that they looked up at her.

“I, haven’t really done anything…”

“Yes, you did, in the garden you made a plant grow almost ten centimeters Neville, don’t sell yourself short like that. You are very good with the plants.”

“Oh, that is wonderful, you like the garden?”

“Yes, it is nice there. Calm, plants are always there no matter what.” He gave her a sad smile and Alice held him close, what had happened to her boy?

After an hour the door opened and in came Severus. All eyes were on him wondering.

“Frank is awake,” Alice started to cry and held Neville close, who had also started to cry. He held his mother close and cried onto her shoulder. His dad, was back. He had parents.

Severus walked over to his daughter and hugged her close, the pain in them hurt so much. He did not know what he would do if he was them. But it all was for the better, better late than never. After they all had calmed down, he moved Alice bed into Frank’s room.

“Alice!” Frank sat up fast from where he had been lying down, Severus placed them close so that he could hold her. That was when he noticed Neville at her side.

“Neville,” Frank started crying and held his boy tightly, so big, he was so big.

Severus and Annalise left the family reunion and made their way home. Back at home, a letter waited for her. Severus carefully checked it for curses and opened it when he did not find any.

Hello Annalise, and potion master Snape

Sorry I did not have any talking letters, so I hope that your dad can read them to you. (sorry) I just wanted to congratulate you both on this amazing find and new potion. I read in the news that Alice was awake.

Hope you both have a wonderful evening, with care Percy Weasley.

“That was sweet of him,” Annalise said with a smile. This was the first letter that she had ever gotten, that was meant for her. It was very sweet of Percy to write to her. And also, that he understood that her dad would have to read it to her.

“Yes, he seems to be a good friend,” Severus said and hugged Annalise again.

Chapter Text

Summer came in full swing and it was an extremely warm day that Annalise and Percy met. She had a light dress on but still she was so warm. Percy was wearing shorts and a light shirt both of them enjoying the cooler air in the woods.

Percy noted as they lay there in the woods, all of the scars on Annalise's arms, he wondered where they came from, sometimes in certain lights, he could swear that she had a scar around her throat as well. But he would never ask her, if she wanted to share then that was her right.

“Hey do you want to get ice cream?” Percy blushed he was very thankful that Annalise could not see it.

“I… I am sorry… don’t have any money.” Oh, the poor Weasley everyone knew that they did not have much money. And how people teased and harassed them. Why could they not just leave them alone? Percy was scared that Annalise would not want to be with him because of it, but she just twisted herself so she was facing him.

“We have ice cream at home, it is no problem, do you want some?”

“I… Yes, thank you.”

Annalise scrunched her face, not liking the way Percy sounded so unsure about himself. He was a very smart boy and was very funny, so it hurt to hear him curl into himself. She stood up and brushed off her skirt. She then decided to take a risk she held out her hand and Percy put his hand in hers. Smiling Annalise started to pull Percy deeper into the woods.

Percy had no idea where they were but Annalise seemed to know where they were going. The closer to the house, the woods got thinker, darker, older. It was beautiful. Then a house came into his sight.

It was a nice house, not as big as some of his other friends who lived in mansions. It was a red brick house with tilting roof, the garden around was beautiful someone must have placed a lot care in it. Annalise pulled him in.

“Dad, we are home getting some ice cream!” She screamed and Percy looked at her in shock, she was often quiet but now she was so loud.

“Okay, make sure to close the freezer correctly!”

“That was one time!” Annalise huffed pouting a little.

“Right, you have never been here, so here to the left is the living room.” Percy looked in, there was a fireplace at the centre of the wall, around was some cozy looking sofas and loveseats. Around there were bunnies walking around. “This door is down to the basement, that is where dads potion room is therefore a no go. Here is the door for, dad’s study and here is the kitchen!”

He was pulled into a clean kitchen which had different herbs growing on the counter. Annalise let go of his hand, and he surprisingly missed the feeling when it was gone. She opened the freezer and counted down and then opened a tray.

“Here they are, these are my favourites they are ice cream boats!” Percy looked at the two packets she drew out; they both did look good. “Which one do you want?”

“Which do you recommend?”

“Well, I always will prefer the original you know, the nostalgia, the other one is a new flavour that they make every year, these years it is rhubarb and cardamom. It is really good, but you know nothing beats the original.” She took out an original for herself and waited for him to answer.

“Well, then I have to try the original right, it is only right.”

They walked out in the garden and ate their ice cream. After Percy made sure that the freezer was correctly close and not left opened as had happed once. The ice cream was good and they sat under the shade. Percy liked the peacefulness of this house. It was so different from his.

Soon Severus Snape came out to where they were sitting, to check on them.

“Are you done with the new doses?” Annalise asked.

“Yes, it just has to steep now for an hour. Hello Percy I am guessing?”

“Yes, sir Percy Weasley,” He held out his hand and Severus shook his.

“Nice to meet you, I will have to go and check the plants to see if they are ready for harvesting yet.” Percy watched him leave; he wondered if he took Annalise home to his place if his parent would notice her.

Soon there was no shade left in the garden and they walked into the house. Thankfully the living room had cooling charms so that it was not too hot. Percy watched the bunnies as Annalise took one into her embrace.

“Do you want to hold one?” Percy who had never held a bunny before told her of this fact.

“Then you have to hold one!” Was the response, Annalise carefully sat a bunny down in his lap and he carefully petted it. The fire was so soft.

“You know your father was younger than I expected.” It slipped out of his mouth before he could stop himself. He carefully looked over at Annalise to see if he had offended her in some way.

“Oh, yeah, Dad he adopted me when I was four years old… I forget, most people I meet know the story so I just assumed that you knew and was being kind.”

“You don’t have to tell me, really you don’t,” Percy added quickly.

“No, you should probably know, someone will tell you sooner or later… dad found me, deep in a forest. You know he was being cheap, getting his potion ingredients for free. Then he heard something, the sound of men arguing…”

She went on to tell one of the most horrifying things that he had ever heard. His heart broke as she spoke, how people could be so horrible. There came the explanation about the scars as well. It hurt to know that someone you cared about had been so hurt before.

“That is why I am good at defending myself, most parents can tell their children that monsters don’t exist. Dad never could, so he did the other thing, he taught me how to fight. We are Snape’s we fight dirty and we win.”

“Could you teach me how to fight?” Annalise looked up in thought.

“I can if you want to learn, but I won’t go easy on you.”

“I wouldn’t expect you to.”

The two of them often meet up during the summer holiday, and while they hang out Annalise brings in small lessons every time they meet. And she did not go easy on him. Percy often came back sore but more content than he could remember ever being.

For the first time in his life, someone saw him as him. She did not see his family; she did not see what he should be. She saw Percy, a guy who liked to stay in the world of books, but also liked to explore the woods. Who always wanted to learn new things.

When there were so many people in a family someone always got forgotten. And Percy had always been the easy child, the twins coming after him, and all the attention was always on them. His mom often said that Percy was so easy, the easy one, he could take care of himself, and he could take care of his siblings. And he was tired of it; he was tired of being Mister Perfect all the time.

But the second he tried to stop being mister perfect his mom would get mad. Ask him why he was acting out. He knew his place in his family, he was the easy child no one needed to pay attention too. But now, he was something more and he loved that.

His birthday went the same as everyone else’s, he was woken up by his mother and they had a very good, but very greasy breakfast. Then he opened presents, and as every year he was disappointed.

It was not that he wanted more expensive gifts or anything like that. It was not that. It was the simple fact that everyone always gave what they thought they would like. No one asked him, and when he tried to tell them they shut him up. So, he smiled took the impersonal gifts, and walked out. They would have cake after dinner but for now, he was free.

It came as second nature to walk the long walk to the woods, he walked in a bit and then sat down. Looking at the new book he got. It was about how to get perfect grades. It felt like a slap in the face.

He heard a noise behind him and looked over. He was surprised that there was Annalise, bare foot, in a yellow dress.

“Hi, I noticed that you were here. If you want to be alone you can just say so. I just wanted to say Happy Birthday.” Percy smiled back.

“Thank you, you can join I just wanted to get away from my family.” She made a questioning noise as she sat down beside him.

“I… it just feels like they look through me. I was always the easy child, the one that no one needed to look after because I looked after myself. The only way I know how to get my mother to notice me is to get perfect grades, that is the only time I get attention.” Annalise laid her head on his shoulder and he took a deep breath.

“I… I am just tired. They don’t even know what I like, I got a book about how to get perfect grades from mom. That is what she thinks I like. I only care because that is the only time someone notices me. Oh, for fuck sake.” Tears started to fall, and he felt like a fool. His childhood was so much better than Annalise and here he is crying about it to her.

“You are not a fool; I am sorry that no one pays attention to you. It is something I feel like every child should get. You are more than your grades Percy; you are so much more.” That just made him cry even harder and Annalise twisted herself so that she hugged him. He held onto her tightly.

He focused on her warm skin, the way she smelled just like the woods she loved so much. Percy focused on the fact that she was there for him.

“Do you want to go home to me; I have your gift there.”

“Oh, you did not have to buy me anything.”

“I wanted to.”

The walk was slow and soon they were in front of Annalise house. Severus saw them, and Percy knew that he must look a bit of a mess. His eyes must be red and puffy, but thankfully he did not comment on it. Walking up the stairs and into Annalise room.

He had never been there before; it was a light yellow color and was filled with a lot of different things. The floor was clear so that she would not stumble around. He sat down on the floor as Annalise did. And she dragged a small present over to him.

“This is the first one.” Percy carefully took the gift from her hands. It was two mirrors and Percy knew what it was imminently. “I know I am hard to write to so I thought this would make it easier to stay in contact.” Percy smiled and thanked her.

Beside the mirror there was muggle chocolate, Percy had eaten it one time when he was over and mentioned that it was really good, and she remembered. He felt warm and happy.

“Now the next one you can say no, but as you know my familiar Hecate had some chicks and now, they are old enough to fly on their own. Well here.” Annalise whistled and soon Hecate Annalise’s falcon came by her side a smaller falcon who was beautiful. “She is yours if you want her.”

“Annalise that is too much, you really should not…”

“I want her to go to someone who will take care of her, someone who will love her. I believe that you would be a carer for her.” Percy held out his hand and the falcon landed. He carefully stroked the bird and it was so soft.

“See, you have even connected with her now.” Percy smiled and took Annalise's hand in his.

“Thank you, it means a lot that you trust me with her.”

They played chess and then went out to play with the birds. They were so beautiful, that Annalise taught him how to call Athena back to him. They even let him stay for lunch. A salad with goat cheese and homemade bread. It was wonderful.

Soon it came time for him to go back home and he made sure to thank Annalise again for the wonderful gifts. Walking home Athena flew over him, he wondered how he would explain it to his mom. But he was not letting her go.

“Percy really liked your gifts.” Severus said, Annalise had been so worried that she would get him something bad. But then he remembered how upset, the boy had been when he first came in. Seeing his red eyes Severus had wanted to comfort the boy.

“What was he so upset about?”

“He feels like no one in his family knows him, he was the easy child, the one that could take care of themselves, and did not need so much attention. His mother gave him a book about how to get perfect grades.” Severus blinked, what, that is not something you get a child for their birthday.

“He only gets perfect grades because that is the only time she notices him. When she will give him praise and hug him.”

“I understand that she has a lot on her plate, but it is easy to know what a childlike. They will tell you, and show you when they are happy. It is not hard to see if a child is happy or sad. Also, there is no such thing as an easy child, I have intertwined too many parents for me to believe that. Maybe you should invite him over one day, for a sleepover.”

“I can!” Annalise looked at him surprised. “I forgot that it was something I could do.” And Severus laughed, his daughter was one of the smartest people he knew, but she was also one of the dumbest.

Chapter Text

Alice was getting stronger every day and now she would move out of Saint Mungo’s and into her home again. She felt a lot stronger than before but she still would have liked to get better faster. But sadly, fast was not something her body could do.

Frank would come home in a week. They had spent a lot of time as a family again, and it hurt a lot. But it felt so right. Now she would be strong enough to go home and take over the care of Neville.

She knew that she needed to work on his self-confidence. It was something that Annalise had made her aware of and she had not forgotten it. Her boy seemed so beaten down that she did not know what to do.

Alice also wrote a letter to the goblins about Lily Potter’s will. It was there but no one had read it which was very odd. So, she wanted to know what stood there and what someone has been trying to hide.

“Alice are you ready?” Her healer asked. Alice looked over the room she had everything. She would have to get check-ups every month for a while but now she was not confided to a bed. Still, she got very tired quickly when walking.

Back at home Agusta had moved Neville’s room into the home where they would move. They could not live in the manor, it was too big, too hard for them to get around. But the Longbottom’s had a cabin close to the sea, and it was just what Alice needed.

Her and Frank’s room was ready; a house elf was there waiting. Neville was already there unpacking. She walked into the floo and was greeted by her son on the other side.

Molly simply did not understand what was happening. Percy had gone from always being there, always being ready to help to being so distant. He was rarely found at home these days and he was much less willing to help her.

She was at the end of her rope; she needed help with all of the childcare that she has. Percy was fifteen years old he should help her. But now he was often busy, often out with friends. Who was it now? Molly blinked; she had no idea of who his friends were.

Shame filled her, now she remembered. Percy has tried to tell her many times. But she has been so busy so she never let him speak. Is that why he is so angry now? That she hasn’t listened to him. She has neglected him a bit right now, she hasn’t been so fair.

And then the argument of his new falcon. What friend gave that? The falcon was a great bird much stronger than their Hermes. But Molly thought that it was wrong that he got a bird and none of the other children. So, she tried to make him share, but he refused.

It was the first time Molly had argued with Percy. He said many hurtful things. Like that, she would not notice if he was gone. Of course she would, she was his mother. But then the shame filled her again he had not been home for many meals, now that she thought back. But she never noticed it.

But how could she be expected to notice him when she had so many things to do? She had to take care of Ginny, and Ron and make sure the twins stayed out of trouble. Charlie was gone at his internship so she only saw him during these few months, Bill was gone from the house having his first job. How was she supposed to notice everything? A small part of her whispered that she was his mother, but she pushed it aside. Percy was in his room angry; she had things to do.

Charlie had been home back from his internship during the summer when the arguments started, and now it seemed impossible for Percy and their parents to be in the same room as each other. Always going into a fight. Percy was so distant now; it was like he had stopped caring about them.

But that was also not fair on him, when was the last time Charlie spoke to him. He could not remember; Percy was always the one who made the time to talk. Shame filled him, when was the last time he went to talk to his brother? He did not know. He had sent Bill many letters about the situation.

The two of them always being very close to each other. The twins were close together, and Ron and Ginny thanks to their close age. Who was Percy close to? No one. Charlie sighed and walked over to Percy’s room knocking but opening the door before Percy answered.

He saw Percy climbing into his room from the window, the younger boy flushed and sneaked inside with practiced ease. When did Perfect Percy start breaking the rules? Charlie raised an eyebrow at him.

“I was you out with Athena,” The falcon landed on his shoulder.

“And you decided that door was not for you?”

“Oh, you know how mom is. The second I walk past she wants me to look over someone. I can never go by her without her giving me some responsibility.” Percy spit out the words anger filling them. Charlie just nodded.

“What did you want?”

“Can’t I just want to speak to my brother?” At the look Percy gave him, Charlie realized that he never went to Percy to talk, it was always something he needed.

“I just wondered if you had seen any new dragon books at the library.” Percy laughed and Charlie took that as a win.

Everything was changing and Neville was having a hard time adjusting. It was great having his parents back, but still it was new. He loved that he could hug his mother, talk to his father but still. He looked at his new room, no uncle Alby here at least, he smiled, he was free from that man now.

He heard his mom come and he ran over to her. Getting used to have his parents back might be hard, but he loved it. She always called him her sweet brave boy. He did not feel brave but hearing her say that made him feel better. It made him feel like he wasn’t such a mistake.

Helping his mom to her room and going into the garden with her. Neville felt like he had to pinch himself, was this real? It all felt like a dream.

“Oh, and we will need to get so many plants, you love them you have to tell me what are your favourites so that I can order them.” Neville felt like he could cry, he never got to choose the plants at the manor, it was all about what looked right and proper.

“Oh, and we have to get you a familiar for school. What do you want?” Neville thought it over.

“Maybe an owl that way I can write to you as much as I want.” No, his mom was crying, what did he do wrong?

“I love that idea, Neville; you can write to me fifteen times a day if you need it.” Neville started crying, he could write to his mom. Holding each other they were a family.

Severus looked at the man in front of him like he was something that he found on the streets. He understood that the man had a job to do. But still, why the hell was he bothering him? Severus listened to what he was saying closely but without showing it.

His mind was spinning; his alarm bells were going off. Something was wrong here. He was thankful that Annalise was out of the house in the woods with Percy, she was safe away from this man. He looked over him, nice clothes nice accessories someone who wanted everyone to know that he was rich, which meant that he was not that wealthy.

“Well, what I mean is that how do we know that Alice is in a state of mind to be able to hear the contents of Lily’s last will?”

“You mean Mrs. Longbottom, I do not believe that you know her.” Severus sharply corrected, during this time Severus had started to somewhat like Alice. She was a devoted mother and Severus was ready to help her with all her questions.

“And, I can state, for a fact that she is fully aware of what she is doing and is not in any way near an emotional breakdown. I just wonder, what are you hiding?” The man started spluttering and Severus took great pleasure in taking him down a notch.

“It must be something bad, why do you not want Lily Potter’s will read?” It hurt to think of his old friend, but he cut his losses when he was fifteen. He understood now that their friendship had never been healthy.

“No, look no one is hiding anything, it is just that Dumbledore…”

“Dumbledore what? He has no say in Lily’s will now does he? What is he hiding here? You should leave, now. And I do not want to see you here again.” His voice was strong and soon the man fled.

Just before Annalise and Percy walked in. They were talking and laughing when Annalise stopped.

“Dad is something wrong?”

“I will find out; I will close the floo. A man had just been here and he was very concerned that Alice wanted Lily Potter’s will read. Trying to call her insane and therefore stop the reading.”

“What? That goes against the law, in section…” It turns out that Percy knew a great deal of the law. Severus listened closely to the laws that concerned wills and how the government had no right to step in unless they believed that the person wrote the will under duress. But that never happened because the goblins never accepted such wills.

“Thank you, Percy. I will go over and speak with Alice about this; I have a bad feeling about this… Yes, a bad feeling.” Severus walked out leaving the children.

“Your dad can be very scary when he wants to.” Percy just blurted that out.

“Oh, I know that he can seem scary. I have never been able to see him that way. In my mind, he has always been a protector. But Dad’s hunches are rarely wrong… I wonder… Oh, I think I know what is going on here. Come on Percy let’s do some investigation!”

They rushed to the library where Percy carefully went through the old papers that were kept there. There it stood clearly that Harry Potter because of the absence of a will became Albus Dumbledore magical ward. He looked closely into the dealings of the man after the Potter’s death.

He looked through the income disclosers and saw that his money went up quite a lot after Potter’s death. That he took the Potter’s seat in the Wizengamot, getting a lot more of his policies trough. He gained a lot by the Potter’s not having a will. But now they had one, now someone was demanding answers.

Percy had always looked up to the old man, he thought that he was great. But now his view darkened. In the end he was a man in a lot of power. Why did no one question his choices. Who was deciding that he should get so much power, he was not voted into office. No, he had a lot of money and influence. And that could corrupt anyone.

They collected all their finding into a letter that they sent to Severus. Who was talking to Alice at the porch with Neville at her side. Neville held onto his mom tightly, scared that he would lose it all so soon after he got it back.

Alice was in a state of shock; she had gotten wiser during the war. She learned that no one man could be infallible. Everyone could get bought. People you knew were ready to stab you in the back. But she had not believed that she would get stabbed in the back by Albus.

They were talking for a long time when they were disturbed by a falcon flying in. Alice recognized it as Annalise’s. It landed and Severus took the letter, it was long, he went through it and after he was done, he looked furious.

“Here read this,” Alice read the letter, and she felt her heartbreak. Someone had gone this far for money. Was they worth that little to him? Then she got to the end.

Annalise wanted me to add that the only reason this has been able to happen is because no one has looked into it. It has stayed hidden for a long time. She is wondering if it is time to shine a light on this nest.

Oh, she would shine the light on this. Alice was angry, she had lost everything in the war. And now they were ready to hurt her again, hurt her child! No, she would not stand by and let this happen. She let out a sharp breath, it was time that they felt her fury.

“Can you arrange an interview for me?”

“That is easy to fix, where do you want to have it?” Severus smiled; Alice could see that he was pleased that she decided to fight this. He understood, he was a fighter as well.

“Here, tomorrow, if that can happen it would be perfect. No one is going to take me away from you Neville, no one.”

Chapter Text

Bill was at the Borrow getting some time off as the master he was learning under was away on holiday. Going back home was nice and he let himself relax. Being on your own was hard, there was so much responsibility. Greeting his family, he looked around someone was not there.

“Oh, it is so nice that everyone is here now.”

“Where is Percy?” Bill interrupted his mother.

“Oh, is he not here, no, I have no idea where he is.”

Bill looked at his mother in shock, what the hell has happened. He would have never been able to go away without her knowing it. Was this what Charlie also had started noticing. He met his brother’s eyes, yes, something was wrong here.

“Why don’t you look for him and I will get dinner ready.”

Bill and Charlie walked down to the town where they believed Percy was. Charlie was filling him in on everything, it was harder to hear it in person than to read it. Percy wondering if their mother would notice if he was gone. The answer was that she did not.

Bill knew that their parents were not perfect, he had many troubles with them growing up. But he had felt like he was suffocating, like there was no place where he could be free. But it seemed like Percy was having a different problem.

They came into town and walked towards the library they believed that they would find Percy there. But to their surprise he was not there. Asking the librarian did not give them many answers.

“Oh, he was here, doing reaches with that girl. Looking into income disclosers, they were very focus yes, then I think they walked back to her place.” Bill made eye contact with Charlie, so it was a girl. That could maybe explain somethings.

“What girl was it?”

“Oh, you know her, the blind one. Such a tragedy you know.” Bill felt a bit offended for the girl, really that is all you have to say about someone.

“What is her name?”

“Oh, don’t you know, I believe it is Annalise Snape.”

Snape, wait that was the potion professor, right? They walked out and Charlie believed that he knew how to go. They went into the woods, dark and deep in color. Bill looked around; this was such an old wood. He had no memory of ever being here.

They walked for almost fifteen minutes before they arrived at the wards around the house. Then they waited to see if someone would arrive.

“So, I think we are right.” Charlie sounded as unsure as he was. All he could see was more trees. No house in sight. But these were very strong wards. In a professional capacity, he was fascinated by these wards.

“Who is it?” The soft voice of a girl came through scaring them both.

“This is Bill and Charlie Weasley, we were wondering if Percy was here?” It was quiet for a second before everything started to blur. Soon they saw what had been hided from them before. They walked to the door, through a well-kept garden. When they came there the door opened before he could knock.

“Hi! Sorry, we have been so busy I did not even realize what the time was!” Percy looked more energised than Bill has seen him for a long time. “Wait do I have everything, no, one sec!” Then he ran up the stairs. Everything in his manors showed that he was comfortable here.

“Hi, you can come in while you wait.” He looked over to see the girl speaking. She was small for being Percy’s age, Bill could see the scars on her skin, and her dark hair was pulled up in braids that were a bit messy now. Her eyes were very deep brown but very still, unnaturally still.

As they walked in, they both made sure not to track in any dirt they followed her into the living room where Percy must have come from. It was nice and comfortable. The girl sat down and they did as her. On the table were many papers strewn around, chocolate as well. Three bunnies were jumping around on the floor and Bill watched as she took one into her lap.

“Hi, I am Annalise.”

“Hi, I am Bill, and this is Charlie.” She smiled and nodded, but before anyone could speak, they heard noises upstairs.

“Don’t forget the library books they are in your name!”

“Okay!” Percy screamed back.

“Are there just the two of you here?”

“Yes, Dad had to go and see Alice Longbottom. He is helping her with the Goblins.”

Now that was why he remembered the name Snape. The Goblins rarely spoke of anyone but Snape had been mentioned more than once. He made a potion that helped the king’s son. That was it!

“Was he the one who made the potion that woke her up?” She nodded but before she could say anything she yawned.

“Sorry, it has been a long day.”

In came Percy rushing in looking in his bag, mumbling to himself. Taking papers from the table and placing them in folders.

“Now, I think I got everything. I will see you tomorrow.” Percy smiled and Bill knew just from that, yes something was going on here.

“Oh, can you remember to ask Ron about the… is it called playdate?”

“Yes, I will ask him, I will just write that down otherwise I will forget.”

They said goodbye and started the walk down to the Burrow but he could see that Percy was on a different planet.

“So, what are you thinking about, a pretty lady?” They laughed as was the right of every older brother when Percy flushed.

“Will you stop it, but no, I was thinking of the law against will tampering.”

“Is that what you have been doing all day?”

“Yes, there is something wrong about the will of Lily Potter. A man was at their house today talking about how he wanted Alice Longbottom declared mentally unstable. It was clear that he was doing something dodgy, he did not want her to request the will reading of Mrs. Potter.”

“Are you serious?”

“Yes, well you see the law states…” Percy went onto a rant, a long one. He cited laws left and right, cases that had gone through court. What punishment there were, and he lost both of his brothers while he was speaking.

Charlie smiled this was the most excited he had seen his brother ever. Did they pay that little attention to what he liked? He was so immersed in law, this was not from one evening of reaches, no this was months even years and he remembered it all.

They came closer to the Burrow and Percy had gotten all of the information out, still mumbling of what they needed to make sure to include in a dispute. Walking inside Molly showed up at the door.

“Oh, there you are, Percy what have you been doing all day?”

“I was at the library…”

“One sec, have to make sure Ginny is okay.” She walked away and they watched as Percy made himself smaller, with a sad smile he walked up to his room.

They made eye contact, so that was what was wrong here.

Alice sat in front of the interviewer, she was dressed in nice expensive robes, her hair made up by Snape (he had a lot of practises having a girl) her makeup was tasteful. It all had the desired effect, she looked well, and most importantly sane.

“How is it being back”

“It is hard, but it is so wonderful. Having my Neville here, he is the sweetest boy, getting to raise him with Frank it all is lovely.”

“Do you have any plans for what you want to do?”

“I plan on spending time with my son, we are planning on fixing the gardens here, we want it full of life! I want to learn how to be a mother again, so other plans have to wait until Neville has gone off to Hogwarts.”

“I was wondering why you have requested Lily Potter’s will to be read?”

“Oh, it was because Lily promised me that she wrote me as a potential guardian to Harry, her boy. I want to get in contact with him. Meet him, we always planned on Harry and Neville being best friends so I want them to meet. But the goblins said that I could only meet him after they have read her will.”

“So, you are planning on taking Harry Potter in?”

“No, I just want to know that he is happy with his guardian and to show him all of the pictures I have of his mum. I also know that Lily put down more people as potential guardians than me. She knew that none of us was safe during the war. So, both she and I put down a lot of names so that at least one would still be alive.”

The interview went on but Alice knew that she had said that most important things already. Planting the seeds in the journalist mind. She and Severus agreed that it was best to talk about the will with Harry in focus. Showing them that she is a worried godmother, who just want to meet the boy.

Lily Potter had a Will
Many readers will be shocked to hear that Lily Potter who we have believed left no will, has one at Grindrod’s. Her will has been requested to be read by Alice Longbottom. She talked about a desire to meet her godson but the goblins told her that they will be needed to be read first.

Why has no one talked about this will before? That is the question on everyone’s mind. Everyone else’s will be read after the end of the war, but the ministry said that Lily Potter left none. A spoke person from the ministry said that it was because of the confusion after the war….

It was out there, Alice hoped that she had done the right thing. She was so scared that someone would take Neville away from her. Everything that she had ever wanted was now at risk, so she had to tread lightly.

Percy was fixing the meeting between Neville and Ron when the Hogwarts letters arrived. Everyone was at the kitchen and Ron got his first Hogwarts letter. Percy opened his and was surprised to see that he would be a Perfect.

When he told his mom she got so excited and talked about that he needed new robes and different things. But now, her attention it just felt fake. He was not worth any attention yesterday but now that he was a perfect now, she noticed him?

But he kept silent tired of fighting and just took the fussing noting Ron’s look of jealousy. None of them was okay it seemed. After enduring so much fussing he went to his room. There he saw Scabbers on his bed, odd, he had given the rat to the twins when they started school, and now Ron would be the one who had him.

He brought up his mirror to see if Annalise was busy. He smiled as she picked it up, and then proceeded to drop it on the floor. He listened as she called for her dad to help her find it. Now the smile on his face was real at least.

“Percy, what is that beside you?” Percy knew that Annalise could see auras but he was surprised at her question. She never noticed something before. He had spent a good fifteen minutes venting to Annalise about how now his mom wanted to shower him in attention.

“Oh, that is just Scabbers he is an old rat that Dad found and brought home, he is much older than we believed that he would be able to get. So, we believe that he is a magical rat.” Percy looked at Annalise not liking how worried she looked.

“I think you should come over, and bring Scabbers with you.” Percy could see something was wrong but when he tried to ask Annalise just shook her head lightly.

He went out through his window and walked to Annalise. The walk now came as second nature. But he was surprised when he was not let into the woods. The wards blocked him, what was happening? Out walked Annalise and Severus. He tried to speak but Severus indicated that he should be silent. Carefully he took the rat from his pocket and into a cage.

Scabbers realized that he was in a cage only after the door closed then he started to run around panicking. Percy was surprised over how he acted; he had never behaved that way before.

“What is going on?”

“When I was talking to you, I saw an aura tainted by dark magic beside you. I wanted to see if the wards would let the rats in or not. They saw him as a threat. This meant that this was not an ordinary rat, I think that we have an animagus on our hands. Isn’t that, right?”  He watched in shock as the rat started fighting, trying to attack Annalise. He felt sick.

“I will go to the auror’s Percy why don’t you go home with Annalise for a while okay.”

They walked home and Percy felt like nothing was real. How could that be a man? He had been living in the house for a long time. What man would do that? He felt sick, Scabbers used to sleep in the same bed as him. He only came back to full awareness when a bunny was placed on his lap.

“How are you feeling?”

I, I don’t know I feel sick.” Annalise hugged him close hitting him a bit with her shoulder. Making him laugh a little.

“I am sorry; I did not mean to hit you.”

“Don’t worry about it, it is what makes your hugs so special.” Percy hid his face and just breathed. Having no idea of how much those words meant to Annalise. Soon he had calmed down.

“I have no idea what to say to my family.”

“Tell them the truth or an Auror will be by and tell them,”

“No, I think I should tell them.”

Back at home Molly had realized that Percy was gone and was looking for him. Her temper was in full force when Percy came home. And she started yelling and yelling when Percy yelled back.

“Scabbers was an animagus!” And at that moment everyone in the house stopped. Arthur walked into the living room and looked at Percy.

“What?”

“An auror will come by and speak to us about it. He was a man, not a rat. That is why I was away. Now if you will excuse me.” Percy pushed his way through his shocked family into his room and just laid on his bed.

Soon he would be gone and at Hogwarts, it would be nice to be away from it all. But it hurt not to see Annalise during the school year. The mirror was nice but still not the same. He would have to ask her if she wanted to meet him when they had Hogsmeg weekend. Soon he was asleep.

Arthur ran up to Percy’s room after the family had gathered their thoughts if the boy was telling the truth and Auror would soon come by. He opened the door and saw that his son was asleep on his bed. Smiling softly, he tucked him in. When was the last time he tucked Percy in?

Percy had been so good at tucking himself in since he was small. He looked around the room and the wall Percy had placed a poster of unicorns. When did he do that? Athena was sleeping on her perch and on his desk laid many books.

Law books, lots of them, and then books about magical creatures. Then also books about Blindness? Why did his son have that? It is not every day you come home from work feeling like a stranger in your own home like you do not know your son.

Athur had no idea of when Percy got interested in law. He always had trouble relating to his third child. Bill was easy to play with, Charlie too, then came Percy, Athur did not know how to play with him. So, he was happy when the twins came and he knew how to play with them. Percy always on the side reading his books, watching the rest of them play.

As he rose, he accidentally pushed down a book. Lifting it up he saw that something fell out. Lifting it he saw that it was a picture. It was a girl smiling widely as she petted a unicorn foal. Flipping over the picture he saw the date it was taken and Annalise. That must be the girls name.

How had he missed his son growing up? He did not even know that his son was meeting girls yet. But here was the evidence. Athur placed back the picture in the book. Feeling melancholy as he left his sons room. When did he grow up?

Bill had not been with anyone seriously yet; Charlie had no interest in any of the sexes only focused on his dragons. Arthur seemed to have missed the first relationship among his kids. How had it slipped past him? When had he become so absent?

Percy was awake when the auror came just after dinner. The atmosphere in the house was tense everyone was on edge. Then a man knocked on the door, auror Jeffrey and sat down with them all.

“The rat that you had in your home was indeed an animagus. We have identified him as the previously assumed dead Peter Pettigrew who was an unregistered animagus.” Percy took in a sharp breath; he had not doubted Annalise but to have it confirmed by an auror made it hit even harder.

Chapter Text

Alice was called to Grindgods and they were going to read Lily’s will. Severus was also summed which surprised him but not Alice. Lily had spoken about how she lost her best friend because she was so narrow minded during the war, she had cried many tears over it. The goblin entered the room and read the will.

This is the last and final will of Lily Potter nee Evans.

I want to start the will with the fact that our secret keeper was not Sirius Black but instead Peter Pettigrew. If you are reading this that means that he has betrayed us, he is an unregistered animagus and his form is a brown rat.

For my best friend Alice Longbottom, I leave the belongings marked for her.

For my old friend Severus Snape, I leave the books I own, for your mind always were much sharper than mine, and an apology in one of the books.

The rest I leave is for my son Harry Potter, who in case of my demise should go to either Alice Longbottom, Severus Snape, Victoria Johnson or Vivian Svenson. Under no circumstances should my son go to my sister Petunia Dursley nee Evans, he should also under any circumstances go to Albus Dumbledore the man who betrayed me.

Lily Potter Nee Evans

“I want this realized to the press.” Was the first thing out of Alice's mouth.

Severus sat still in shock; he wondered what had happened with Lily. He knew that she meant that she could never forgive him, but she could forgive James for all he had done. That was when he decided that it was best to drop it. Lily was dead to him that moment she got together with James.

But it seemed like now he was not dead to her. It was all very confusing and he went home not knowing what to say. Back at home he gathered his thoughts and told Annalise that he was placed as one of the people that Harry should have gone to.

“She made a rash decision when she was angry, but I think that with time she realized that Potter was not the person she delusion herself that he was. And then she started to regret it all.”

“Well, I don’t, I regret nothing. I know it was unfair what I said to her. But she laughed at me. When they were bullying me, she laughed. I think I said it because I knew, that I did not want to ever be her friend anymore.” And Annalise just hugged him harder.

It was interesting what a spirit was allowed to hear and see from behind the veil. Lily had to watch her son being emotionally abused and worked like a house elf. And by some cruel fate, she also got to see how good Severus' daughter had it.

Lily had screamed, cried, and cursed her past self many times. Why did she trust Dumbledore, he must have known that she was drugged during the wedding but he did nothing to stop it. Potter knew no boundaries and giving her love potion was not something he was against.

She only realized what had happened after she gave birth. The love potion is out of her system because he did not dare drug his heir. Why did she push Severus away, none of her friends noticed except for Alice who was quickly shushed by the rest of her friends. Severus would have noticed; he would have fought for her.

But she killed it all, to fit in. To be popular, she wanted to blame the potion for her actions before then. But she could not. She chooses to be the worst friend ever, and then she is shocked when Severus reacts back. He was supposed to take everything she gave him. But he was never allowed to do it back.

How arrogant she was, she thought of herself as higher up because she had more money. She had been no better than the rich purebloods who disliked her because she was “poor” in their eyes. She heard the words Severus said from behind the veil and wept.

The only saving grace was that James was not allowed here. He was in the punishment fields. So, she was all alone and finally free from that man. She hoped, that Severus would be the bigger person as he often was and take Harry in.

That night Severus read the letter Lily left for him. She apologized for a lot that happened during their childhood. How she believed that she was better than him because she had more money. How she was angry that he had the nerve to insult his better.

And then she told him the truth of her marriage. And Severus became furious. This would have never happened if it was not for Albus Dumbledore. He had been the officiant at their wedding; he was the one who should check if any of them were under the influence of potions. But he had not acted. He always let James Potter get away with everything.

The last of the letter was a plea, a plea that he should take her son. To not punish him for her past mistakes. Severus could sense the desperation in her words. He would have to talk to Annalise; she deserved a say in if someone could come into the house. If she said yes, then he would take the boy, he knew that Alice could not handle two children at the moment and that the other two were dead.

Severus sent a copy of the letter to Alice and asked if she was okay if he published the last bit of the letter in the news. Everyone was at an uproar against Dumbledore now so it was a good time to realize it.

Percy was laying on his bed complaining to Annalise about the back-to-school shopping he had to do. He hated Diagonal ally with all of his being; sure, he liked people but he was a true introvert.

“That is why Dad has never taken me there; it is hell for everyone who can’t see.”

“I had not even thought about that, were do you go shopping?”

“The smaller district of South Sea, they have everything that you need plus a lot less people and also the sea.”

“Wish I could convince mum to go there, but she is all about tradition, her mother took her diagonal ally so she will take us there.” Percy was intruded by the knock on his door.

In walked his father looking concerned. Percy looked at his dad, he had been odd ever since they realised that Scabbers was not a rat but a human. Then they learned that the man who killed the Potters lived with them and let’s just say that went down well.

“What is it, dad?”

“Who, are you talking to Percy? There is no one here.” Percy pointed to the mirror and his dad only looked more confused.

“Where did you get that?”

“It was a birthday gift.”

“Oh,”

“Is there something you want?”

“No, I will leave you alone.” Percy watched his dad leave suspiciously, what was going on with him?

Arthur was very concerned with all of his children’s mental well-being. Having a man hidden here for so many years. How had he not noticed? He had started to listen closely as he walked by his children’s rooms, to see if all of them were okay.

He was mostly worried about Percy; the boy had been closes to the rat after all. Hearing him talking in his room scared him, is there something else that he had missed? But then he was talking to the girl in the photo. He tried to calm his racing heart but he could see that Percy noticed that something was wrong.

His children were safe, and there was no mass killer in the house anymore. His children were safe, if only he could believe that.

“That was weird, but also what did you say about Harry Potter?”

Annalise told Percy about the letter Severus had gotten, and that his dad was wondering if the guardian he had now was bad and if they should take him in.

“That would be very kind of him, what do you think?”

“I know that if he is being abused then that dad will take him. You know that he never had a good childhood. He was brutally abused during his whole childhood. He would never leave a child who is hurting.”

“Yes, I understand that, but how do you feel about it?”

“I always wanted a sibling, but Dad always scoffed at the idea so I dropped it. Do you think I would be good at it?” Percy heard the uncertainty in her voice.

“Good at it, Annalise you would be great at it! You are the kindest person I know, don’t put yourself down like that.”

“Thank you,”

That night Annalise went to bed falling asleep quickly. She had exhausted herself with a training session with her dad that left her both proud of what she could active but sore and tired. After a cup of hot cocoa, she soon fell asleep.

She heard the quick laboured breaths of a child. Looking around her, she could not see anything it was too dark. But she knew that she was in a small space. She heard someone reaching for something and soon the light turned on.

There was a small boy, his black hair a mess, his arms so skinny. He was shaking scared, Annalise understood what her father must have seen when he first rescued her. He was talking to himself.

“I have to eat something; it has been three days. But I can’t. If they catch me then I am dead. But Harry if you don’t go out then you are dead. Only a different way. Yes, but this is a nicer way to die.”

Annalise felt sick, her chest felt heavy and she understood that she felt the fear of the young boy. She knew that it was Harry Potter, how she did not know. But she knew. Privet Drive 4 came to her mind. She had no idea of where it was.

Annalise sat up with a gasp breathing heavily, she could hear the sound of her dad rushing to her room. He had wards to alert him of her being in distress. As she grew up, she never asked him to take them away. She loved the fact that he cared so much that he wanted to keep them there.

“Annalise, what is wrong, was it a vision.”

“Dad, we have to go and get Harry.”

“Do you mean Harry Potter?” She heard the shock in her father’s voice.

“Yes, he is in a really bad shape, he hasn’t eaten in three days.” That put her dad into action he charmed them into warm clothes.

“Do you know where?”

“Privet Drive number 4.”

They got a map of where they should go and found the closest apparition point. They soon left. Severus knew that trying to keep Annalise in bed while he went to see if the kid was alright would not happen. There was no way his stubborn daughter would accept that.

Thankfully if they had to take the boy the law would be on their side. Severus had gotten Annalise registered as a seer which meant that she would be able to act on what she saw and only alert the authorities after if needed.

Severus walked through the posh neighbourhood worried out of his mind. He hated seeing hurt children. He never could stomach seeing them hurt. Finding Annalise almost broke him, and his belief in humanity. But racing her gave him hope. He hoped that they would not be too late. Why had he been so slow?

Annalise held his hand and she knew the house before Severus said it was number four. She could feel it. This was the place. They walked to the front door and Severus unlocked it, inside Annalise walked inside and came to a small door.

“Are you sure?” Annalise nodded in response. She heard her dad opening all of the locks and soon she opened the door. She heard the cry of surprise from the small boy she saw in her vison.

“Hello Harry, we are here to save you, you must be so scared and hungry but I promise you we will never hurt you.” She held out her hand and soon a small one slipped into hers. She could feel Harry stiffen when he saw her dad.

“That is just my dad, he will take us somewhere safe, somewhere no one will hurt you again.”

“Promise?” The fear in his voice hurt her more than she could describe.

“I promise you, and I never break my promises.”

She helped Harry out of the room and they walked out of the house.

“Harry has someone been here who told you all about magic?”

“Yes… a big man, Hagrid.” His voice was soft only a whisper and Severus made sure that he could not see how angry he was. Not that he was angry at the boy, but at Petunia. How dare she hurt a child!

“Well, you see, I have a different kind of magic than you, I am a seer, which means that I can sometimes see when people are in trouble. Tonight, I saw that you were in trouble so we are here to help you.”

“Really?” The wonder in his voice made her feel sick but she kept the smile on her face.

“Yes, really. You will never go back there again.”

Taking him home Severus left him with Annalise while he made some food for the both of them. He knew that Harry would be more comfortable eating if someone was eating with him so he heated up left over soup for them all and bread.

The wonder in the boy's eyes when Severus gave him the food hurt his very core. He knew that he would take the boy in. There was no question about that. Harry would never have to go hungry like this again. Never.

Soon the boy got tired and Severus helped him into his bed. He got the boy some new clothes that he charmed to fit; the shower would have to wait until tomorrow. Then he and Annalise stayed until he was asleep. Severus cast all the wards and then made sure that Annalise was back in her bed.

Now there were two children under his roof. Two to protect, two to keep happy but Severus remembered how much Annalise wanted a younger sibling. Yes, he thought that she was happy about this development.

Lily cried full of relief when Severus and his girl rescued her boy. Her sweet baby boy, now he was in a nice bed, warm and his belly full. She heard Severus promise that he would never go hungry again and Lily she just cried.

She had never felt so useless until she was dead stuck in just watching. Other spirits tried to pull her away, but how could she focus on her life here when her boy was hurting? She looked up when a hand landed on her shoulder.

“Your son is safe now.” She looked up at the woman’s face, she had soft white curls flowing around her.

“What's your name?”

“Pandora Lovegood, now I think it is time that you let yourself rest Lily. Severus will keep watch for a while now so that you can sleep.” Lily felt so tired and drawn out that she went with her, soon finding comfort in her dreams.

Chapter Text

Percy was an early bird in his family, which did not say much considering they went up late. Annalise was a true early bird. She was awake at six and could not fall asleep again. Percy woke up from his slumber when he heard his name.

“Percy, hello, Percy, are you awake?” He rolled over and grabbed his glasses and then the mirror. There he saw Annalise her hair not done still in her nightgown.

“Yes, I am here.”

“I had a vision last night, it was about Harry, we have taken him from his pigs of relatives and he is now here, at our place.”

“Wait really? Tell me what happened.” Percy listened closely as she told him what had happened. He felt sick when she described how skinny the boy was.

“So now you have that little sibling you always wanted.” Percy smiled at her excited face. It was good to see the positive in this situation.

“Annalise good you are awake, honey did you have to wake up Percy?” He heard Severus on the other end.

“Well, I had to tell him what happened, I let him sleep through the night Dad so I was good.” Her answer made both of the men laugh. The curse of loving a morning person.

Percy went down to breakfast and made himself porridge because his mum was not awake yet. There was no chance that he would be able to fall asleep again after the news he got. Percy looked up from his book as Molly walked into the kitchen.

“Oh, Percy, why are you awake?” Molly looked at her child perplexed; all her children liked to sleep in. She usually had to drag them out of their beds. She was also surprised that he made himself breakfast.

“Oh, sorry Mum I did not mean to wake you up. I just woke up and could not go back to sleep.”

“That is okay darling, we will go and buy everything for school today so it is good that you had an early start!” Molly went and started with breakfast laughing as her son groaned.

Harry Potter should have gone to Severus Snape!

Said the headline Percy read in the morning paper. There it was the will of Lily Potter and some papers that she had written. Percy wished that he could get out of shopping so that he could be with Annalise. But then Harry was there so it might be hard for him to visit.

His family’s reaction to the news was as predictable as ever. They wondered why Lily liked a Slytherin, why would she ever trust one of that crowd? By this time Percy knew just to keep his mouth shut.

Harry was confused when he woke up in a nice bed instead of his “room”. He had the second bedroom at the Dursleys but he had been “bad” so they had locked him into his cupboard. But now he was in the softest bed he had ever been.

Memories of what happened yesterday came to his mind. He had been sure that it was a dream but he was proved wrong. He smiled; he hoped that he was safe. He had always dreamed of someone coming and rescuing him and now it had happened. But still, he was scared.

He heard voices downstairs and he did not know if he was allowed to leave his room or not. But his curiosity won and he walked down the steps silent as ever. He saw the girl who saved him sitting on a sofa and her father beside her. He was the one who noticed him.

“Harry, how did you sleep?”

“I slept well, sir.” He kept his eyes down; Vernon always gets angry if he looked at him.

“What do you want for breakfast?”

“I… I get breakfast?” He had never gotten breakfast, he might get something for lunch and dinner, but never breakfast. The girl made a sound and Harry knew that he must have said something wrong. He made himself small trying to hide away.

“Harry, you will never have to miss a meal again, I promise you that.” The dark man said, Severus? Harry did not know what it was in his voice that made him trust him, but somehow, he did.

After getting his breakfast he sat down on the sofa with a bunny. It was so soft, and he made sure not to pull on its soft fur.

“I know this is a lot for you Harry, you know that Annalise saw a vision of you?” Harry nodded and waited for the man to continue. “Well, we had already planned on coming and checking on you.”

“Why?” It came out before he could stop the words were out of his mouth.

“It was long believed that your mother did not leave a will, that is why you were placed with her only blood relative. But a week ago her will be found and we have just listened to it. There it lists that you should never under any circumstances go to your aunt Petunia. I was listed as one of the possible guardians. You see, your mother and I were childhood friends.”

“So, I was never meant to go there?” His voice broke, his throat thick with tears. He felt a soft hand on his shoulder Annalise's dark hand on his soft shirt and he started crying. Willingly going into her embrace.

“Harry, I promise you, you will never go back there ever again. I promise you that.” Severus said and Harry just cried more. This was beyond his wildest dream.

Percy was going to kill his family, not really but they were all walking on his every nerve as they went shopping. He hated shopping, he was at his wit's end and he hid away in the bookstore.

The only good thing was that Ron's meeting Neville had gone without a hitch and the boys were now under his mother’s eye. Sadly, that left him making sure the twins did not destroy anything and making sure Ginny was okay. But now his dad was making sure they were okay so he was free.

Charlie looked around; he followed more as support because he had no things he needed to buy. But as his days in England were getting near the end, he thought it would be a good idea. He also decided to make this an experiment of sorts. Percy was doing everything not to be with their parents so he wanted to see how everyone acted when they were together.

The first thing he noticed was that even before they left the home Percy was responsible for his younger brothers. It had never been a question if he should be responsible. It seems like they have just decided that Percy is the one and no one else would do. Even though Charlie offered and was pushed back.

Charlie watched as their father walked away alone with no care in the world, their mother fussing over Ron and Neville and thereby leaving Percy to do the real parenting. Percy asked for help many times when the twins and Ginny were out of control but he was ignored over and over again.

He could see the anger rising in his brother and saw how he became harder and harder towards their younger siblings. Percy was at the end of his rope and he was taking it out on them. But even though both Percy and the twins and Ginny wanted to be separated their parents did not step in.

Charlie thought that it was pathetic that Percy had to ask their father more than ten times before he took responsibility for his own kids. When Ginny needed something, she did not go to their dad or mom, no she went to Percy. Charlie made eye contact with Bill; the problem was right in front of them.

Both of them knew that their mom and dad had a lot going on. They were willing to help, but now it was clear that Percy was not “helping” anymore, he was acting as a parent. And it was causing a lot of resentment on both sides. Percy resents their younger siblings and their parents.

And the younger ones resent Percy because he was always left in charge. It was a disaffection mess and Charlie was surprised that it had taken so long for his brother to snap. Bill decided to stay and help their mum while Charlie followed Percy into a bookstore.

He looked around having trouble finding his brother, but soon finding him looking at books. Charlie observed Percy for a while, he could see the stress and anger clearly and also, sadness. He wondered when it all got so bad, Charlie never noticed it when he lived in the house. But now that he thought back, it had been going on since they were young.

“Hey, are you okay?” Percy looked up at him with defeated eyes.

“Yes, everything is fine, just fine.” He could hear how exhausted his brother was, but he did not know what to do. It scared Charlie, he would have known what to do with every single member of their family, except for Percy. When had they become so distant? When have they ever been close?

“I know it must be hard…” But Charlie was interrupted before he could finish.

“You don’t know anything. Now can you please leave me alone?” Percy’s words were hard, anger bubbling clearly behind them. Charlie looked over Percy’s angry but defeated eyes. Charlie walked out wondering how they could ever fix this situation.

After Charlie left Percy put his head in his hands. It all hurt too much, he did not mean to get angry at his brothers. But all he can see is that they got to have a childhood. The one that he had been robbed of. It all just hurt too much.

Charlie and Bill were speaking of what to do, they had no idea how to fix this. Percy was out somewhere reading trying to calm down which meant that his room was empty. It was wrong but they did not know what else to do.

Inside Percy’s room, one could see a bit of the true him. He had decorated the room with a lot of pastel colors and everything was clean and minimal. They looked around and then they found it, the mirror. They did not want to go behind Percy’s back but they were at their wit's end, and Annalise, she would know.

“Hello?” Bill waited and soon Annalise's face came into view.

“Why do you have Percy’s mirror?” Her tone was harsh and judging.

“We, it is wrong I know. But we don’t know what to do. Percy is not feeling well and we just want to help.”

Annalise looked beside herself, what the brothers did not know was that Percy was beside her at this moment. She took his hand and turned back to the mirror.

“What do you want?”

“We know what the problem is, it was clear during this shopping trip, but we don’t understand what is going on.”

Annalise rubbed her fingers against Percy’s hand trying to figure out what she should say.

“Have you ever heard of parentification?”

“No, is that what has happened?”

“The definition is: The phenomenon of parentification occurs between a caregiver and child when the caregiver relies on their child for emotional or practical support. This dependence forces the parentified child to take on adult responsibilities.
As parentified children take on a giving rather than receiving role, they don’t receive the emotional and physical support they require to grow and develop healthily. This can influence their view of themselves and relationships with others.” After Annalise was done silence was the only thing on the other side of the mirror.

“Is… is that what has happened?” Bill asked, he knew that there was a problem but not that it was this big.

“That is for you to decide, parentified children often find themselves resenting or hating their younger siblings as they see them as the reason why they never got a childhood. It is also often that they hate their parents for forcing them into their responsibilities that they cannot handle.

Parentified children often hear how responsible they are, and how emotionally mature they are. This is caused because they never get to have a childhood. They see themselves as responsible for the well-being of the family which in turn causes long-term effects on the child. Because their development was stunted by the parentification.”

Bill and Charlie looked at each other, the definition hit a bit too close to home. And they did not know how to respond to that. How can one fix this? Was there even such a thing as fixing it? They said goodbye to Annalise leaving them alone in the silence.

“You never told me that?” Percy looked over at her. They were resting outside and soon they would go inside and he could meet Harry. Annalise had asked him if he could explain Hogwarts as the boy was nervous.

“Well, I wanted to look into it, I hate seeing you in pain. So, I did some reaches. Are you mad?” Percy looked over at her in shock.

“No, of course not, I… thank you for caring.” Annalise pulled him close and he buried his face in her hair.

“Never thank me for something like that, you deserve much more.” And if Percy cried a bit, then that was his secret.

Bill and Charlie made their way to the library; it was time for them to give their parents some books on this situation.

“So, you are Gryffindor?” Harry asked the red-headed boy. He felt more comfortable with him as Annalise vouched for him.

“Yes, I am Gryffindor, and there are three other houses. Many believe that what house you get into depends on who you are. But I always thought that it is about what you value. So, depending on what you value you will get sorted into one of the houses.”

“Values? How do they know?” Harry felt fear rise he was not allowed to ask questions. But when he looked up neither of the teens seemed annoyed at him.

“So, many keep it a secret but I will tell you, they place a hat on your head and it can see what you value and so on. So, for example, Gryffindor values bravery, Slytherin's ambition, Ravenclaw knowledge, and Hufflepuff Loyalty.”

“So, I get placed in one of those?”

“Yes, and the hat can allow you to change its opinion, but I would not do that if I were you. It wanted to place me in Ravenclaw but as everyone in my family is Gryffindor I asked to be placed there. Which is something that I have grown to regret, so trust the hat Harry as it knows best.”

“Does it matter where I am placed?”

“No, not at all Harry we will be happy anyway the sorting goes. I believe that you will do great at all of the houses.” Annalise said reassuring the boy that there was no wrong choice.

“Are you in a house?”

“No Hogwarts is not fit for blind students so I am home-schooled.”

“Oh,”

“But Percy is there at school so you will have him there if you need help, okay.”

“Okay, what house do you believe you would have been in?”

“Hufflepuff Annalise here is the most loyal person I have ever met.”

Harry leaned back and thought about it, it felt better now that he knew a bit more about Hogwarts. He hoped that he would not annoy Percy too much if he came with questions to him. He bit his lip, everything was new, new home, new school, even a new world. He did not know what to think of it all yet, but as of now, it had been an upgrade.

“Hello Harry, I have gotten all of your things from that horse, but I saw that you do not have the introduction material.”

“Hagrid made sure that I got everything on the list.” Harry looked at the older man scared, had he done something wrong?”

“Hagrid, was he the one who helped you?” Harry nodded and Severus continued. “Usually that is Minerva’s job, I wonder why? I understand how this miss happened; Hagrid is unused in helping students raised in the muggle world to understand the wizard world. Some books explain the most common questions and things that are good to know before you go to Hogwarts. But that is no problem, we will just go and buy what you need.”

The feeling of getting something was so new to Harry. It felt like he was waiting for the other shoe to drop. This was too good, there was no way this was his life now. It felt like he was waiting for someone to knock on the door and take him away.

Seeing the boy's surprised face Severus felt his anger rise again but made sure not to show the boy anything. Now all he had left was to give the ministry a report of what had happened and why they had to remove Harry. Thankfully he had managed to set up a meeting with Auror Miller who was a kind man.

Auror Miller was the man who got to the Snape house after he had taken care of Annalise. After she was back up and running, he reported the crime to the ministry. And the man had been nothing but kind to the young girl that Severus had started to care about.

Filip Miller was a man who was not new to the Auror profession when he took the case. He remembered that day clearly, he got the report of a hurt girl and an interrupted murder. He got the case from another Auror who refused to go into the muggle town as he felt it was beneath him so Filip got the job.

He remembers looking around and seeing the obvious poverty in the neighborhood but he focused on the case and walked up to the door. The man or the boy who opened the door looked angry. That was always a bad sign and Filip’s guard went up.

“Auror Miller to take your report on the girl you found.”

“Come in.” He walked into the room and saw the old furniture and run-down walls. It was clear that here money was tight. He listened as Snape explained what had happened and Miller felt like the man had poured a bucket of cold water on him.

Sick did not even start to explain what he was feeling as the boy in front of him listed out all the injuries he found on a girl he believed was four years old. Miller asked the boy why he did not take the girl to Saint Mungo’s and was not surprised when he said that he had no way to get there.

There was no floo in the muggle house and apparition with a child in that unstable condition was out of the question. There was also no one near who could have helped him out. He had been the only option. Snape explained that he noticed that the girl had a different reaction to potions and from what he understood she had been forced to feed a lot of potions during her young life. Leaving her hard to treat and needing 24-hour observation.

As he walked up the old and worn stairs, concerned that they would break down as they creaked. The room was bare and on the floor was a mattress with a chair beside it. At first, Filip did not see the child but as Snape moved closer to the bed a head popped out.

“Hi Annalise, I am here with the policeman, do you want to talk to him?” He was surprised at how much the boy's manner and voice changed as he turned his attention to the little girl. She shook her head, her hair laying measly on her shoulders.

Snape sat down beside the bed and the girl threw herself into his arms. It was something that Filip saw often as his children did the same when he came home. There was a connection between these two. Snape bundled her up in his arms and stood up. Pushing the hair out of her face Miller saw what the boy had been speaking of. Wounds covered her arms and face and there were no eyes. He steeled himself and did not show any discomfort, he knew that the boy was watching him with hawk eyes.

Auror Miller was now ten years older when he came to the new house where the Snapes lived. He had always kept his eye on that girl making sure that she was okay and safe. Both of them showed to be more resistant than Filip believed was possible.

The boy became the youngest man in two hundred years to get his potion mastery. And the girl grew no matter how much the world tried to push her down. Now there was a new child, a new abused child who Snape has decided to protect. He knew that Snape would excel at being a parent again.

The new house was nice and as he came in the first person, he saw was Severus. They greeted each other and he was told that Percy Weasley was also over at the time. Walking in he saw Annalise, no longer a small child who hid in Severus' arms. No, here she sat with her head up high beside Harry and who must be Percy on the other side of the younger boy.

“Annalise, how nice it is to see you again.”

“Filip, nice meeting you again. Harry Percy and I will just go out in the garden over there, but Dad will stay with you okay.” The little boy who must be Harry Potter looked nervously at him and then nodded. Filip knew that he would make sure that the boy stayed here where he knew he would be loved and cared for.

Percy hated shopping but he still said yes when Annalise asked him if he wanted to go with them to the South Sea. He told himself that he wanted to see how it looked. Not at all that he wanted to spend even more time with Annalise. After the Auror left Percy soon left and when he got home his older brothers looked at him differently and Percy hated it.

He would not break; he had been doing this since he was young. Percy hated the sympathy in their gaze and he loved it at the same time. Back at home, everything was the same and soon it was morning and Percy got ready to leave. He brought with him some money that he had saved up from doing different odd jobs.

The market at South Sea was calm and much nicer than Diagonal Ally. Percy could see how much better this place was for Annalise and also for Harry. Percy made sure to answer all of the boy's questions about Hogwarts as he must have been so nervous. He did not know what he would do if he had lived like a muggle his whole life and then someone knocked on your door throwing it all out of the window but the child took it with stride.

The shopping went well and Annalise was deciding on which candle she should get. Percy sadly had no idea how one chooses a candle so he stood beside her as Severus and Harry got some things. He had started to feel nervous as he knew that Annalise's birthday would be coming up soon and he had no idea of what to give her.

He thought going around in the market would help but it did not. All it did was make things harder. It showed him how much Annalise could not appreciate. None of the common gifts would work, Wizard candy was hard for Annalise to eat and not worth the fuss when it moved and she could never catch it.

He did not have money to buy her a necklace or something like that. He looked around for inspiration. But then Annalise's dress caught his eye. Embroidered flowers in an intercept pattern then he remembered what Annalise told him.

“Dad always made sure to get me embroidered clothes because I can’t see what they look like but he wanted me to have something nice for me.”

He would embroider something that was it! As he and Annalise looked around, he saw a cheap embroidery kit, he would be able to create a bouquet for her. He hoped that she would like it, he carefully bought it and made sure to hide it. It would be a surprise for the latter.

Chapter Text

Alice looked at Annalise in front of her Frank looked as shocked as she felt.

“A troll!”

“Yes, it would have killed a muggle-born Hermione Granger.”

“A troll! At Hogwarts!” Annalise nodded again and Alice felt sick. Her Nevile was there, she trusted them to take care of her baby. But then there was a troll!

“They will not get away with this.” Severus brought her back to reality. Severus was right they would not get away with this because they were not going to let Hogwarts forget it.

Sending a letter to the prophet came easy and she signed off with “A concerned Parent”. After that, she was still fuming. Frank’s hand in hers was the only thing calming her down.

“But Percy was able to save her?” Frank asked again, still in shock, a student could have died.

“Yes, he managed to get a female Perfect to get her out of there. Harry is fine and so is Neville, Percy checked on them both. You should expect a letter soon from Neville he said that he would write to you.”

“To think, Dumbledore never cared for students' safety,” Frank mumbled.

“Well, it was not that bad while we were at school,” Alice responded but Severus just cleared his trough and she blushed. It had not been that bad for her. But for Severus… She had seen a lot while being a student there. But it had not affected her so she had ignored it. Now that it affected Neville, she was able to see for the first time how bad it truly was.

“Someone must have planted the troll there, but why? What did they win by having a troll walk into the castle?” Frank asked pondering.

“Distraction, I believe. All the students left in a rush, and all of the teachers went to the troll. Or lest say, all except one I believe.”

“What could be worth it at the school, it must have been expensive and hard to steal a troll.”

“I don’t know yet… but I will figure it out.” Severus looked determined; he would not let the matter rest until he had a solution. Harry had told him things; things that have made him suspects.

The next day the headline read.

“Troll invasion at Hogwarts! Are your children safe?”

There it detailed the lack of safety wards around Hogwarts and how it should never be possible for a troll to be planted there. It also demanded an investigation of who could have planted the troll.

Minerva knew that the news was out before she read the paper. The letters started coming, and they kept coming. At first, she felt bad for Albus having to take care of all of the angry parents. Then she saw Hermoine Granger sitting at breakfast, Percy going up to her and checking on her.

That girl would have died, she felt sick. She took a deep breath and thanked God for sending Percy to be at the right moment at the right time. The fact that he had that friend, the fact that she spoke up, so many things could have gone wrong. No, Minerva did not feel bad for Albus anymore.

She and Pomona had set up a meeting later in the day and she hoped that Albus would let the Auror investigate, or she would take her power as deputy headmaster and she would threaten to leave.

It was long overdue, she should have done this long ago, put pressure on Albus. It had been easier to please the students who had parents who complained, and it was easy to push the students without present parents to the side.

She had also started her investigation, why had Albus thought that it would be a good idea to hide a powerful artifact at a school? She should demand that it be removed, Albus said that it would be no risk for students. But now he had been proven wrong, and he had promised that he would remove it if any student came into harm's way. She would make sure that it happened.

When Harry first told Severus that his scar hurt when he was around Quirrell he had thought nothing of it. But now… he and Annalise had gone through all of Lily’s papers. She was working on a spell, a charm so strong that it could block the killing curse. When they got attacked, she must have thrown it up in a desperate attempt to save her son, and she succeeded. Severus would have to give this to someone to research, if it was in there, then it would be one of the biggest breakthroughs of all time.

Severus knew that Harry’s scar was not normal, and there were stories of cursed scars hurting. It is believed that once you have been hurt, your magic becomes sensitive to the magic signature that hurt you. The scar remembers, and the scar will react when the one who cursed you is around.

He and Annalise were working on this theory and told Harry to stay as far away from the professor as possible. They had no proof yet… but soon… soon.

Isabella was having a nice time with her friends outside when she saw Percy walking with determined steps… towards her. If there was another troll in the castle she would quit. She would leave; her mom would have to find a new school.

“Isabella you are a half-blood, right?” All her thoughts went away; whatever she believed he would say this was not it. Her friends stopped and looked at Percy. It was never good news when a pure-blood asked her that. She took a deep breath she was not ashamed; how could she be, her parents were the best.

“Yes, why?”

“Could you ask your dad to buy me some candy?” Isabella laughed, having no idea of what she expected to hear.

“Yeah, why? Don’t you like wizard candy?”

“Well, it moves, so no good idea. Can’t buy a birthday gift that she can’t eat without the help of her father. I have a list here, I will pay you back of course,” Percy held out a list but before she could answer or even take it, she brought it back to him.

“Wait, I have to add something that Harry could get, or maybe Severus should be in charge of that? Well, it won’t do any harm if you buy her one more chocolate orange.” He took out his quill and added that to the list. Gave it to her, and he was gone before she could say anything.

Isabella looked at her best friends, trying to see if they saw what she saw. But seeing their faces, she had to laugh, they looked so shocked and confused. They soon joined and she put away the list, she would make sure that her father would buy the candy. If Harry was involved it must be Annalise that she had heard the boy talk about.

Annalise stood by a shop, her dad beside her. She was thankful that he was by her side, she had no idea where anything was here. She knew that the reason for it was because Dad had so many bad memories from here. It warmed her to know that he would do this for her.

She heard the students getting closer and knew that Percy would soon be there. She fiddled with her glove. It had been so long since she saw Percy, that it felt wrong to have him so far away. Then she heard a voice that she recognized and soon Percy was beside her.

She hugged him and he hugged her back. Dad said that he would stay at the café so when they were done, she could go home. She took Percy’s hand in hers and told him to show everything that was around.

Isabella kept a close eye on Percy since he had been so weird. He usually did not go to Hogsmeg, instead enjoying the library with so few students but now here he was walking alone looking excited.

“What are you looking at?” Penelope asked her.

“Percy is acting weird again.”

“Oh, not that again.” She laughed as her friends joked around, but still kept an eye on that boy, he was hiding something. Isabella would give him the candy after dinner, but that did not mean that she would not investigate.

She saw him break off from the crowd and walked to the less populated part of the town. She followed a bit behind him and her friends did the same thankfully quiet now. The first thing she noticed was the dark-clad man who stood there, his long dark hair making him distinctive.

It took some time before she saw the girl by his side. Isabella was a social bird and she knew most people around here but she was sure that she had never seen this girl before. She was short with brown hair pulled up and out of her face. Her skin was chocolate brown, and she smiled when Percy walked to her. Isabella watched as they hugged and then she realized who this must be.

Pulling away her friends they walked for a while until they dared to speak.

“Who was that?”

“I know who it is!” Isabella said triumphally.

“Who do you know her?”

“No, but when I saw them together, I remembered a conversation I had with Harry. He said that his sister Annalise was friends with Percy so that was how he knew him before Hogwarts. But… Harry also said that he believed that Percy and Annalise were together but they did not know it yet. This is the girl he got the candy for!” She said it triumphant. Josephine and Penellope just laughed. She did still not understand how they managed to be a couple without knowing it. But she guessed if there was a boy who could be that dense then it probably was Percy.

Harry sat in the library reading his books, knowing that Annalise and Severus were so close but still he could not see them was hard. He understood why but that did not make it any easier. Ron had been jealous that his older brother got to go out but he had to stay. But when Harry asked him if he wanted to go to the library the boy had scoffed at the idea.

Harry still did not know what to think of Percy’s younger brothers. The twins were a lot and Harry was thankful that he did not have to stay with them. Ron, the boy seemed constantly jealous. It was odd for Harry, never before had someone been jealous of him.

Ron had everything that Harry had ever wanted, a family, big dinners with no chores. Harry wondered what he had that Ron could be jealous over but he came up with nothing.

“Hi…” Harry looked up surprised and saw Hermonie in front of him. She had not been around much and Harry did not know how to approach her. Still unused on how to make friends.

“Hi, is something wrong?” Harry asked her trying to see why she was there.

“No… nothing wrong I was just wondering if I could sit with you.” Harry smiled when he heard her request, he offered the seat beside him to her and soon they were talking about the most magical things about the new world that they were in.

Harry was happy that he found someone who could relate to not knowing that wizards were excited. He found that Hermonie was a very fun girl when she was not nervous which caused her to ramble.

Percy led Annalise through a lot of different streets but she was not scared and worried. She had come to the realization that she truly trusted Percy. She knew that he would never take her somewhere dangerous. That he was her eyes at the moment as her dad forced her to wear shoes.

She listened carefully as he spoke about everything that had happened since they last saw each other thankful that their friendship still was as strong. They had been talking almost every night but still, it had not been the same. And Annalise got worried that when they met again Percy would not want to be with her anymore. But all her fears were proven wrong and instead, Percy seemed excited to see her.

Percy let them off the most common streets and took her to some shops that he knew she would enjoy. There was one that sold fancy soap and candles and while he would never understand why someone wanted fancy soap but Annalise loved it.

She always loved things that smelled nice and felt good. The color of the soap did not matter to her at all. Percy guessed that her love of all things that smelled good was the reason why she always smelt good. She smelt like the woods, roses, and lavender. It was an intoxicating smell and Percy was hooked.

Minerva patrolled the streets making sure that she was visible if any of the students wanted any help or needed to be stopped doing something stupid. She walked down the street as she heard giggles and small screams from a group of girls. They had found a snake and were watching it with fascination.

Removing them from the animal so that the poor thing could leave was harder than one believed that it would be. Minerva might not like snakes but after all of the loud noises, she felt sympathy for the poor thing. Just as she was about to walk away following the girls back to the main street, she saw something in the corner of her eye.

It was the long black hair that she first noticed. And then she saw the crooked nose. Minerva walked slowly closer and saw that the man could only be Severus Snape. He had changed a lot since she last saw him. His clothes were better than before, his eyes calmer and no longer filled with all of that anger.

Minerva knew that he was the one who made the potion that saved the Longbottom’s. She had at first been surprised but then she remembered the boy that she knew. There was never a challenge that Severus Snape would back down from. He was ruthless when he had a goal that he wanted to reach.

What was he doing here? She was wondering, Minerva could see no reason for him to be here. He was reading what looked like a big potion book cross-referencing and going between the pages in his work. But he could have done that anywhere so why here?

The uncomfortable feeling that had been growing inside her grew even more. The feeling of shame that she felt was so strong that she almost felt like she would throw up. Minerva wondered if she should go in there, say hello and apologize. But before she had time, she saw Weasley’s red hair.

Minerva hid herself in the shadows and saw that Mister Weasley was walking hand in hand with a girl. They were so focused on their conversation that they did not notice anything around them. They walked into the cafe and sat down with Snape who put away his books and spoke to them. What was going on here? Minerva wondered if she would ever find out.

Chapter Text

Back at Hogwarts, Percy felt like he had much more energy. It had been lovely to meet Annalise again, and he had missed her. Now with his candy, it was time for him to study. He hoped that now it would be a calm year after the troll.

The next day, he was walking to his next class when he heard the commotion. Walking towards it, he saw that Harry was there, and in front of him, a fourth-year Gryffindor.

“Oh, I bet your parents would be so embarrassed by you! You could not even make it to Gryffindor, you softie!”

“I guess we will never know, considering they are dead,” Harry said in a tired, depressed voice. Percy pushed his way through the crowd.

“Oh, smart ass! You think you're so great! It is time someone put you in your place.” Percy saw everything in slow motion. He saw Max getting ready to hit Harry, and he acted; he did not even have time to think.

Going in front of Harry and catching the fist now came as second nature to him. He remembered what Annalise had taught him. Get the fist and then twist it.

“Really, Max fighting with a first-year.” Percy’s voice was low and filled with anger. The group watching took a step back.

“Hey, Weasley, we were just joking around, right, Harry!”

“No, we were not.” Harry sounded so bored, and Percy loved him at that moment.

“Max, you should be careful with what you do. We would not want you to get hurt, right?” Percy twisted a bit more, and Max let out a groan and fell to his knees.

“No…” Max said with a shaky voice.

“Twenty-five points from Gryffindor for abhorrent behaviour.”

“What you can’t do that!” Max's friend Alex said, but Percy just let go of Max's fist and smiled.

“I believe I just did it. Now leave, any more trouble and I will remove more points.” People started to scatter, and soon Percy was left with Harry.

“Oh, come here.” Harry did not know what he believed. He had been having flashbacks of Dudley as the older boy had started going. But then Percy intervened, something that had never happened before. Scared that Percy would be angry with him, he was surprised when he pulled him into his embrace.

Hugging Percy back, he felt like he was in a dream. It had hurt so much to hear the nasty words. Harry did not know why, but he started to cry. And Percy, he just held him tighter, pulling him away. Harry was sad when it felt like Percy was pulling away.

“I am just sitting down, Harry.” He followed Percy down onto the floor, and Harry just cried.

“Why are they so mean to me?” Harry had calmed down enough to talk again, still not leaving Percy’s embrace.

“I… I don’t know Harry; I am so sorry.” Harry was surprised that Percy looked so upset; the older boy looked like he might cry, too.

“Do you want to talk to Annalise? Severus might be able to talk to.” He thought about it, but only for a moment before he nodded. He wanted to speak to them.

“Annalise, are you there?”

Annalise was bored; she spoke to Percy a lot and Harry, which was nice. But the problem was that she was bored. She had gone so long without friends, so why was it so hard now? She had a lot to do, but still it was not the same.

Once you knew how wonderful it felt to have a friend there, beside you, it was hard to go back to how it was. She did like Percy, but it was all hard to explain; her feelings were a mess.

Lying down on the grass, exhausted after a training session with her dad. He did know how to challenge her. She hated it, but she mostly loved it, the fact that her dad never treated her like something broken. He never treated her like she would break.

Hearing Percy call her made her confused. Percy usually waited until school was done before he called her. Taking the mirror that was always close by, she answered. She could hear that something was wrong in Percy’s voice.

“Hi, what’s wrong?”

“There was an incident today, and Harry and I wanted to speak to you.” She noticed as her dad sat down beside her. He usually left her alone to spend time with Percy, but if it was something with Harry, then she was happy that he was here.

“What happened?” To anyone else, her dad sounded usual, but Annalise knew him too well; she could hear the worry in his voice.

“Well, Harry, do you want me to explain or do you want to?” It was so quiet that Annalise almost did not hear Harry’s answer. “You,” Was all he said, and Annalise knew that something was very wrong. He had not sounded like that since he first came there.

Percy explained, and the fury in her grew even more. How dare they say that to her little brother! Why the hell did they feel entitled to Harry? he was a child, and that was no way to treat a child. After he was done, she sat in silence, filled with anger.

“Thank you, Percy, for stepping in.” Her dad broke the silence. She could feel how tense he was when she leaned against him. Annalise understood what had happened. She did not know everything about his childhood, but she knew enough.

She knew that the first time they had their big argument when she was eight years old, they had only had small arguments up to that point. But she had gone into his potion room without Dad there, and then she lied about it. His anger was deserved, but she saw his fear of his anger.

Annalise knew that her grandfather was not a good man, that he had killed her grandmother. That he, that man, hurt her dad. He had been small and vulnerable, and he had not protected her dad. She also knew about the bullying. So, she understood that he must be filled with a lot of bad memories.

“You don’t have to thank me for that; it was wrong. Anyone would have stepped in.” Percy, her lovely Percy, was still naïve about how the world worked.

They comforted Harry, showering him in love, but it did not feel enough. Annalise wanted to be able to hug him, but she could not. They were interrupted after a while by someone walking into the room where Percy and Harry were.

“Mr. Weasley and Mr. Potter, I have been looking for you. I heard there was an incident. I wanted to check on you to make sure everything was alright.” Annalise recognized the voice eminently; it was the teacher who had to tell Hermione's parents that she was dead. It was jarring to hear her voice again. Bad memories filled her brain.

Severus had not heard that voice since he was seventeen. Hearing McGonagall talk brought back so many bad memories. But this was not the time for that. This was about Harry. Minerva always took good care of her Gryffindor, letting them get away with everything. He hoped that she would treat Harry well, even though he was not Gryffindor, hoping that she would not care that he was the boy’s guardian.

“Are you okay?” McGonagall’s voice was softer than Severus had ever heard. Hope was starting to flare in his chest. Maybe she had changed?

“I… yes…” Harry’s low voice hurt Severus. He had gotten used to Harry starting to speak out, to get comfortable. To hear him sound so much like when they first met, hurt.

“Thank you, Mr. Weasley, for handling the situation so well. I will have a private word with the perpetrator. Fifteen points to Gryffindor for standing up and helping others in need.”

Percy helped Harry to his next lesson, thankfully, Sprouts already knew that he would be late, so there was no big problem. Going back to his lessons, he was tired, but also proud. He had managed to help someone, and that felt great.

After the lessons, Percy was trying to have a calm afternoon when he was cornered by his brothers.

“That was so cool.” It was the first thing Ron said, and Percy felt his cheeks flush. He had never been called cool before.

After entertaining his brothers, he went back to his embroidery. It was harder than it looked. He had seen Severus work on one of Annalise’s dresses, adding details that had been lost after many wears. He was working as fast as he could, which was very slowly.

Severus and he would help Harry with his gifts, as the boy had no idea what to give. He had never given a gift before, never had a friend before. It hurt to think about it, and Percy wanted to help him feel involved. He and Severus came up with the idea that Harry could make some sculptures for Annalise, but Harry did not understand that she would like the gift. And that just hurt even more.

Harry looked out of the window. Everything was new, and he liked his new life. But he was scared, so scared that something would come and take it all away from him. The Dursleys would take him back, and Severus and Annalise would not be able to save him.

It was a rainy day, and Harry just felt alone. It was great having friends; he loved it. But… it was hard to relate to them, to join conversations. It hurt to see how different he was from everyone else.

Isabella had comforted many first years in her days. She was a big sister, and while they were annoying, she would kill for her sisters. Looking at the window, she saw the black hair that she had been keeping an eye out for.

The amount of anger she felt when she heard about what had happened to Harry was that no one had intervened. They all stood there and watched as a first-year Got attacked by someone many years older than him! She felt sick. Noticing the slump in his shoulders, she walked up to him.

“Hiya Harry, something up?”

“I don’t know…” It was a mumbled response, and Isabella’s sister senses were tingling.

“Then something is up, is it about what happened yesterday?” Now, at least the boy looked up at her, and she smiled, but he did not smile back.

“No… not really… it… it is just hard to explain.”

“Why don’t you start at the beginning?” She waited for Harry to find his words.

“I… I really like it here… I like it with Severus, and Annalise, even Percy has been so nice to me… But, what if it's not true?” Isabella felt like she had gotten cold water thrown at her; this was not something an eleven-year-old should think about.

“They care about you, that is true. I have known Percy for a long time; he would never play a prank on you or be mean. And I don’t believe Annalise or Severus would do that to you; from what I have heard, they are nice. What brought this on?” Harry sat silent for a moment before speaking again.

“Annalise's birthday is coming up, Percy and Severus are trying to come up with birthday present ideas, they said I should make something out of clay…” Isabella looked confused at the boy having trouble seeing the problem.

“What is wrong with that?” She asked, and Harry curled into himself even more.

“I… She… Why… Why would she like it?”

“Because you made it,” Isabella said with a kind voice. She was thinking back to all the handmade birthday cards she had gotten, and she had loved every single one of them.

But seeing the confusion on Harry’s face, Isabella was reminded again that Harry’s childhood had been messed up. It made her sick to think of all the people who said that it was all a lie and that Harry’s aunt had loved him like her own.

Chapter Text

After the troll attack, Annalise had thankfully been able to sleep through the nights again. Her nights had always been filled with nightmares. Thanks to her first years of life being so bad, things always popped up when she slept. But it had been a long while since she had that vivid vision.

Now it had been a while since the attack, but of course, she was never allowed to have some restful sleep. She saw the dark creature moving around, and she knew what it was trying to do.

Annalise had always loved unicorns. They were a symbol of lady magic; they were pure, kind, soft, and they were protectors that could turn nasty if you tried to hurt the foals. But there in her dream, she had to watch, unable to intervene as this dark creature hunted down a unicorn.

How she wanted to stop it, she tried to scream, but nothing happened. She had to watch as the creature started to drink the unicorn's blood, and she watched the light leave its eyes.

One could think that one would not have to see these horrid scenes when one was blind, but being a seer of some sort made it so that it was almost everything she saw.

Waking up, she was distressed, and she heard the alarm that her dad had gone off. Soon, he was there by her side, holding her as she tried to breathe through the panic. After she had calmed down, she explained what she had seen, and they got up and sat in the living room. They tried to figure out how they could protect the unicorns.

Now, Percy had known Annalise for a good while, so he knew what she looked like when she was upset. And that day she was really upset. She told him of what she had seen, and soon he understood.

Percy knew that Annalise loved unicorns and felt a deep connection to them. So, to see one be brutally killed would be distressing for anyone, but even more so for her. But it also raised the question of how they should protect the unicorns, as Annalise believed that they were the same as those that were in the forbidden forest.

Annalise and her dad would work on an idea of how they would be able to save the unicorns, and it was decided that he would go and speak to McGonagall and tell her about the problem. It was a bigger problem than it being a dark creature killing unicorns, but also the fact that it could potentially attack and kill students.

So, after breakfast, when McGonagall had her open office hours, in walked Percy to tell her about the news. And well she took it as well as one can expect. At first, she was in shock over something killing unicorns, and then she got worried. Which was fair, as there was a dark creature in the woods.

Before Percy left, his head of house promised him that she would take care of this and keep an eye on it. She also said that during lunch, she would warn every student to stay out of the woods.

So, after that, Percy went on with school, and he finally got the clay that Harry could use. But now he needed to find a way to convince the boy that she would like it.

“I don’t even know what she likes.” Harry almost cried as he sat in front of the lump of clay with Percy there.

“She loved unicorns, you could make that to her, do you like that idea?”

“Yes, but…. She won't like it.” Harry was working himself into a worse and worse state.

“Yes, she will. Why won’t she like it? Harry, she cares about you. Annalise would care way less about a gift that you bought her.”

“Dudley always gets a lot of expensive gifts; he never likes anything handmade,” Harry whispered, but Percy heard him.

“Harry, Annalise is not Dudley, the same way that Severus is not your aunt and uncle. I understand that it is hard for you. But trust me on this, I would never ask you to do something that I thought could get you hurt, emotionally or physically. Okay, so why don’t we just try?”

Alice got the letter back from the Auror department. It was decided that there would be an investigation into Hogwarts and how few wards they had. The investigation would give the school recommendations on wards that they could add to protect their students.

After she read through that letter, she went on to the next one. When she first woke up, there were a lot of letters to her, and everyone wanted to speak to her about her recovery. She had been so overwhelmed that it had taken her weeks to answer all of them.

But now that there was no longer big news that she was better, she got a lot fewer letters, and it felt a bit lonely. Everyone had moved on; a lot had happened in eight years. And she had no idea where she fit in.

Alice looked up and saw Frank in front of her. Maybe it wasn’t so bad. At least she had her Frank with her, and she had her lovely little boy. If something had happened to Neville, she did not know what she would have done now.

Her boy wrote to her every day, and she looked forward to the letters every time. It was weird going from raising a two-year-old to be thrown into raising an eleven-year-old. But she and Frank were doing the best they could right now.

Here she was lost in thought again. Alice scolded herself. Since she woke up again, she had been so stuck in her thoughts. Shaking her head, she opened up the letter in front of her.

“Hello Alice,
I understand if you do not want to hear from me. I read about you waking up, and I am so happy that you are on your feet again. I do not know how to feel anymore after all of the revelations of Lily’s will, trying to work through all the feelings, when I remembered I never wrote to you.
I hope you are getting on well, and I am so happy that Neville got his parents back. How has he been now? I heard he started school, and I have started to feel so old now.
If you don’t want to write back to me, I understand, but I send well wishes to you and Frank.
With love, Remus.”

She sat back in shock; Remus had slipped her mind completely during these last months she had been back. She wondered if she had even asked if he survived the war.

While she and Remus had not been good friends, they had been friends at least. She got so mad with Lily when James and Sirius started to exclude him from the order. Saying that he was a werewolf and therefore would benefit from the one who shall not be named.

Alice had no idea how to feel about him; she also had no idea what she should write back or if she should even write back at all. Frank must have seen her distress as he soon called for her, asking if everything was alright.

Back at the Snape household, they were still brainstorming different ideas on how to protect the unicorns. The only way they knew how to protect them was by moving them. But sadly, unicorns were quite territorial, and they had nowhere that would be safe enough for them without an already established herd.

They were sitting in their living room, Annalise having Jackie one of the bunnies on her stomach as she lay down on the floor. Severus had multiple books in front of him. There have been situations like these in the past, and many different solutions have been tried and tested, but not many have worked, and there seemed to be even fewer that would work in their situation.

But as they were there in silence, their stillness was broken by movement outside. While the animals from the woods could move freely in the woods, most animals preferred to keep to themselves. But both Severus and Annalise felt the presence of something in the garden.

Moving outside, Severus carefully looked before opening the door. And for the first time in ten years of living there, there were a couple of unicorns in the garden. It seemed like they wanted them to get outside, and Severus could not see the harm in it.

There was a weird feeling in the air as they stood there looking at the unicorns. Annalise held his hand, as Severus watched the moon, which was a full one. A full moon always made him think of Lupin, but now was no place to think about that. Pushing the thoughts to the side, he went back to observing the unicorns.

There were a couple of the older ones there; he could see that the small foals were still in the woods with a member of the herd. Then, a big one walked in front of them, obviously leading the herd. It got towards them, and when it was close, it bowed down.

Severus had no idea of what to do in this situation, and he had Annalise bow down instinctively, matching the unicorn's movement. It felt like it was trying to tell him something, but Severus could not understand what.

“Dad, I think they are trying to say… that we should invite the unicorns from Hogwarts here,” Annalise spoke in a soft, small voice, and when she said it, Severus realized that it was probably true. The unicorn in front of them let out a neigh; it seemed pleased to be understood.

“How do we tell them that you invite them?”

To Severus' surprise, the unicorn seemed to understand the trouble they were in. It walked towards the shed and pushed on the door. Severus opened it up, and it went straight to the brush that they used sometimes for the animals in the forest.

Taking the brush, Severus carefully carded it through the unicorn's hair; it was soft and shining in the light from the moon. He hoped that this would work; he did not tell Annalise, but he knew what the dark creature killing the unicorns was. He knew it was he who must not be named.

It scared him that the man was still out there. Severus had lost and gained a lot during the first war. But he was not alone anymore; he loved Annalise with all of his heart, and to lose her would kill him. While she was very competent, even though she was blind, she was still disabled. He had done everything to protect her. What would happen to her when he was gone?

The unicorn grunted, bringing Severus out of his thoughts. Looking over at Annalise, she was carding her hand through the foal's fur; she looked peaceful there. Severus thought that her sight was a curse. Why is it that she is never able to see anything but the worst? She had already lost her sight; was that not enough?

“We will send the brush to Percy, and now I think it is time for us to sleep.”

“Can I sleep with you?” It was not often that Annalise asked that, as she grew up, she needed him less.

“Of course.” He helped her up, and they walked back into the house. As Severus lay in bed, he could hear Annalise's calm breathing, still worried out of his mind over what he had realized.

Chapter Text

That morning, when Percy ate breakfast, the brush came, and he would tell McGonagall what the plan was, as she wanted to be with him in the forbidden forest. He just hoped that it would work. It scared him that in a school filled with children, there was something so dark inside the wards of Hogwarts.

Why were there no wards to protect them all? The youngest students were eleven years old. And while they felt old Percy had realized that they were so young, much younger than they realized. It scared him; while the warning had been issued, Percy could see that his brother did not understand the seriousness. Thankfully, Harry understood; he knew better, he knew that there were people out in this world who would not hesitate to hurt a child.

Reading the news, he saw that the trial of Peter Pettigrew would soon start up he was being charged with being a Death Eater and being the man who betrayed James and Lily Potter. It still felt so weird to read about the man who hid as a mouse in his home. The thought of him still made Percy sick.

Later in the article, it said that they would do another trial for Sirius Black, who was still being charged with the murder of twelve Muggles. But now that they knew that he did not betray the Potters, lawyers were taking another look at the case. They had found so much malpractice that it was decided that a new trial was needed.

Percy wondered why no one had kept an eye on the trial before. Sirius Black was an affluent pureblood; he would always have people supporting him just for that fact. So, what had happened? Who had managed to convince everyone not to look into his trail before? Not that he would ever be able to figure that out.

Taking a look at the rest of the mail that had been sent to him, Percy felt warm when he saw a letter from Bill. He had never been so close with his older brothers, but the fact that they were trying made him feel warm. He did not hate his siblings; he didn’t, he just hated the positions that his parents put him and his siblings in.

Looking over the table, he saw that Harry was eating his breakfast with Hanna. He was glad that Harry had found some friends, knowing how nervous the boy was. Percy would have to check on him today, and later, they would send the clay figurines to Severus so that he could give them to Annalise on her birthday.

Severus read the news that day and was surprised that it took them this long to realize that, thanks to Lily’s will, they knew that Sirius Black did not betray the Potters. A new trial seemed like a good idea, and while it might be petty or childish, Severus hoped that Sirius Black would stay there and rot in Azkaban, just like Peter soon would join him.

The fact that the boys were never punished for what they had done to him made it feel good to see them get punished. It was all that he had wished for when he was younger. Seeing the Marauders punished had been a dream for him for much of his life.

Well… he always wanted to see Black, Pettigrew, and Potter behind bars. Remus was a bit of a different story. Severus had a lot of mixed feelings after the attempted murder of him by Sirius. Severus had gotten a real apology from Remus. He had seemed genuinely betrayed and hurt by what had happened, but he acknowledged that he should have said something before he became a perfect and let the bullying slip. He had let it go to the point where Black could attempt to murder him.

Severus had not believed him at that moment; he had thought that Remus only felt bad for himself. But it was when he saw that Remus could no longer hang out with Black as before that he pulled away from that friend group, and that Severus started to believe his story. He had also been used by the marauders; they knew his secret, which could get him thrown out of the wizard world.

They had something to control and manipulate Remus with, so that Remus never dared to stand up. He was afraid of the possible blackmail that could come from him standing up, so he let it slip. And while it hurt Severus, he could understand that it simply was the easiest way for Remus to deal with his situation.

Severus looked at the clock again. Annalise was still asleep; everything lately had been hitting her hard. She was usually up before him. When she was small, she would run into his room and jump onto his bed. Taking a deep breath, he would not let his mind wander, but the feeling of failing hit him just as hard.

Annalise would forever be more fragile than anyone else, thanks to her early days of life. She would always be blind; she would always be short, her growth stunted from the torture. She would always have nightmares, get tired easily, and have to rest often.

Severus had been able to heal so many people, so many that he had never met and would never meet. But here he was, incapable of saving one of the people that he loved the most on this earth. It was almost comical; he knew Annalise would never complain to him about how he failed, he almost wished that she would, that she would be angry with him, resent him. Something, anything to force him to find something to help her. It was not that he had not tried before, but he should find something.

Shaking the thoughts out of his head, Severus went back to opening the letters. He smiled when he opened the packages from Percy. Taking out Harry’s and Percy’s gifts warmed him. Severus had often blamed himself for Annalise not being able to have friends. If he had a lot of friends with children, then she could have had a lot of childhood friends.

It had always felt like he had robbed her of that. Now that she was done with her education at fifteen years old, Severus was so proud of her, but it had not been easy. She had not been in school, meeting friends every day. And Severus was worried that Annalise took too much after him, that she would end up like him, with no friends. But Percy was a good friend; he was not scared of her blindness and saw the girl that Severus saw.

The embroidery Severus could see must have taken a lot of time for Percy to do; it was beautiful, and Severus knew that Annalise would be over the moon when she got it. Harry’s gift was carefully wrapped in paper. Severus opened it up carefully, and there it was, three unicorn statues made of clay. There was an adult, a bigger one, and then the smallest one.

Severus had not been able to spend so much time with Harry before he had to leave for Hogwarts, and he was worried that the boy did not yet feel comfortable with him. But seeing this, their little mismatched family represented in unicorns made him smile so much. Annalise would love it so much.

Lastly, he opened up the letter from Alice. She spoke about the letter she had gotten from Remus Lupin and asked if he could be there when they met. Severus had never expected to become one of Alice’s trusted people, but it seemed like he was one now. It scared him a bit to have more people close, more people to disappoint, protect, and so on. But he did also like this change.

Taking out his quill, he first wrote a letter to Percy telling him that the gifts came home unharmed and that they were beautiful. He then wrote a similar letter to Harry, and lastly, he wrote a letter to Alice.

“I can be present when you meet with Remus. I understand that it must be hard for you to receive visitors and will gladly help.”

As he was finishing his letters, he heard Annalise moving around upstairs. He could hear from her steps that she was unsteady on her feet. Closing his eyes, he sighed. He should have seen this coming. Annalise, having so many visions so close by, had taken a toll on her body; it often led to dizziness, mind fog, and fatigue. He had so hoped that this would not trigger an episode. Severus hid away the gifts for Annalise, started the fire under the kettle, and went upstairs to help his daughter down, even though she was too stubborn to ask for help.

Minerva had no idea of how this would go; she had figured out that it was Severus Snape's daughter who kept having these visions. When she told Pomona about it, the other lady was as shocked as she.

There was so much happening at Hogwarts right now, there had been a troll in the school, and now something was going around killing the unicorns, feeding on their blood. She was hounding Albus to pay for some new wards, but it felt like she was getting nowhere. And now she would take one of her students into the forest where the unicorn killer was as well.

“Stay close to me, mister Weasley, we don’t want to have any nasty surprises.” The boy had the brush in one hand and his wand in the other. She hoped that the unicorns would understand the message.

Walking into the woods, Weasley blew on a small whistle that would tell the unicorns that they were here, and they were here to help. Minerva walked first but made sure that Mr. Weasley never got too far behind her. They only had to walk for five minutes when they saw a unicorn.

It still took her breath away every time she saw them. The sun was starting to set, and it made its fur glow. Percy got up beside her and bowed to the unicorn, and she copied. To her surprise, the unicorn bowed back.

“We know that there is something in this forest hunting you, and we are here to offer you sanctuary until your territory is safe again.” Percy held out the brush, and the unicorn sniffed it carefully.

“The hoard already there welcomes you, and there will be no shortages of food as extra food will be provided to both of you so that your fowls can flourish.” For a moment, they stood there still waiting for the unicorn to do its next move. It seemed to think for a while, and then it ran away neighing.

“Those that mean it worked?” Minerva asked in surprise as it left.

“I have no idea.” When she got the answer back from Percy, she let out a surprised laugh, and then they moved back to Hogwarts.

It was the next day when Percy walked up to her with a smile after breakfast, and she got the good news that the unicorns were now spotted on the Snape property, safe from the killer in the woods. After Percy left, Minerva was left wondering, now that the unicorns were gone, what would the creature eat? She hoped that she would not have to find out that it would go away and starve. But she did not know if she dared to hope.

Annalise was out with the unicorns now that there were two groups of them; there were officially ten foals on the property, and she was over the moon. Severus watched her as she held out sugar for them, and how they carefully leaned into her.

Somehow, the unicorns knew that Annaise was blind; they knew not to push her suddenly, and that she did not see them if they did not make a noise. The foals happily let her know where they were located. A bit farther away were some older unicorns watching to make sure everything went well. But Severus knew that they must be happy for some babysitting.

Tomorrow was Annalise's birthday, and she would turn sixteen. Severus had gone a bit overboard with the gifts, but who could blame him? He had money now; when he first got Annalise, he could not give her all the gifts that he felt she deserved. And now that he was able to, he always went a bit overboard.

After the success of the new Crucio Relief potion, he had started on his next creation. After speaking to Alice about Remus, Severus had gotten interested in looking into the wolfbane potion. Severus had an idea on how to tweak it, but no test subject. Maybe he could change that; he has to meet Remus after all, so why not use that opportunity?

Severus took one last look at his daughter before going inside. The wards would keep her safe, as well as the unicorns; she could now keep herself safe. But still, he worried as always, but he guessed that this was what it was like to be a parent. Now it was time for him to brew for a while.

Chapter Text

Severus was up early so that he knew that Annalise would still be asleep. He did not dare to count on her sleeping in late today. It was her birthday, and he wanted everything to be perfect for his girl. It was sad that Percy and Harry could not be here today, so he wanted to make sure it was as special for his girl.

Later, Alice and Frank would come over to celebrate his girl; it was a change that they would have guests, but it was a good change. They always started the day with him coming up with all of her gifts in her bed. He would sing to her, and they would stay in bed, cuddle a bit, and then she would open the gifts.

He put every gift on a tray so that he could move them all at once. He always went a bit overboard for her birthday, it was when the aurors had found her birth date, and that she was born in that horrible place. The realization that she had never had a birthday gift or party struck him hard, and even though he did not have money then, he tried to go all out.

Now, amongst his gifts, there were Harry’s and Percy’s gifts besides his. It felt good to see that his girl was getting more love and attention than from him. He was often scared that Annalise would end up like him, that she would be all alone as an adult with no close friends. But now she had a close friend and a sibling that she had always wanted.

Waking her up was easy, as she was always a light sleeper. She gave him a sleepy smile as he sang Happy Birthday. Severus hugged her close, kissing her head, and watched as she opened up all the gifts.

Annalise always “saw” things differently, and Severus was often in awe of how she saw and navigated the world. She always opens the gifts carefully, and she always manages to keep the wrapping paper intact. With swift fingers, she carefully got her first package, putting the paper to the side. She unfolded the dress in the pack, laying it down flat and feeling the textures of the embroidery.

It was one of the things that Severus implemented when he realized that Annalise would stay with him for a long time. At first, when he saved her, he had no thought that she would stay with him. He thought that he would hand her over to the Auror, and he would make sure she got to a good home. He was in no way ready to be a parent.

Then the Auror came, and when they spoke about taking her away… Severus had never seen a child in so much emotional distress; she threw up from how fast she was breathing, and soon was knocked unconscious from the pain her body was in, thanks to her injuries and stress.

That was when Severus realized two things: Annalise wanted to stay with him, and he… he might want her to stay with him as well. But he was eighteen years old and had no idea how to take care of a child.

Severus had no idea what brought him to churches with Annalise, but thankfully, he did. There, he meets an older woman, Brigett, who helped him through everything. What he needed to take care of his “little sister”. And she was the one who brought up the idea of embroidering her clothing. After that, he made sure that every piece of clothing that Annalise got had some texture, some motive sticking up so that she could enjoy the feel of them.

Annalise felt the embroidery and guessed what it was he had stitched on. She got most of them right, and after she was done, she moved on to her next gift. Then, after all of his gifts were opened, she came to Percy’s gift.

“That one is from Percy.” He said as she grabbed one of the packages. He noticed that she perked up; she often only got gifts from him and one from the Auror who worked with them.

Severus again studied Percy’s embroidery, and one could tell that he had put a lot of effort into it. It was not perfect, and it reminded him of his first attempts at embroidery, but the wonky flowers made it even more beautiful. The fact that the boy had gone out of his way to make this and buy Muggle candy so that Annalise could enjoy it. It warmed his heart to know his daughter had a good friend.

Then Annalise opened Harry’s gift. Severus should have anticipated the young boy's nervousness about making a gift, but he had not. And that was his fault; he, as the boys' guardian, should have seen that this would happen. Annalise was even more careful than usual with his gift. Severus watched as her fingers carefully felt the hardened clay.

“Is it a unicorn?” She asks in a soft voice.

“Yes, it is, do you like it?”

“I love it!”

They ate breakfast, and soon it was time for them to speak to Percy and Harry. Annalise was so happy with her gifts, and it was so clear that not even Harry could have a doubt left about whether he mattered to Annalise. Soon, they were getting dressed and ready for the Longbottoms to arrive.

Soon they showed up, and they ate lunch, and then Annalise asked if they could go on a walk. As Frank and Alice still needed slow exercise, they went slower than usual. After a while, they reached a clearing where Severus put down a blanket and brought out the cakes.

As they were finishing up, some of the unicorns arrived. It was always fun to watch people who were unused to unicorns see them. Their eyes lit up, and they watched in awe at the majestic creatures. Now that the foals were a bit older, they gladly wanted a play friend and managed to pull Annalise into a race.

Severus watched as she ran around with them, her laugh high and happy. He hoped he had given her a good birthday. Soon, he saw that Annalise was worn out after all of that running, as she had never fully recovered from the torture that happened during her childhood.

Walking home, they sat down talking in the living room when there was a knock on the door. They were not expecting anyone, but Severus had a good idea of who it was.

Auror Miller, who had been the Auror working on Annalise’s case, always gave her a birthday gift. Often, he would mail it to him, but this time, there had been no gifts by owl. Severus had been confused by it but decided not to think too much. Letting the older man in, Severus saw the gift in his hand.

“I know I have not been invited, so I just came to leave this to you.”

“Won’t you stay for a bit?” Severus turned around and saw his daughter standing by the door to the living room.

“I don’t want to impose.” Miller tried to argue, but there was no way he was going to win an argument with Annalise. Soon he was in the living room with a cup of coffee in his hands.

Annalise carefully opened first the present from the Longbottoms, where she had been given candles and perfume. And then she opened the one from Miller, and there she got a beautiful berlock.

Severus watched as Annalise's energy started to dip and she started to lean more and more against the sofa. And soon she was out, having fallen asleep. Severus just watched her for a while; the others talked on, but his thoughts were interrupted by Miller.

“You can’t still blame yourself for this, Severus.” He spoke in a kind voice that made him bristle. He hated it when people spoke to him like this. It was the kindness, the feeling like he could see right through him.

“I should have done better.”

Alice watched, confused as the two men spoke to each other. She had no idea that an Auror would show up for Annalise's birthday, but neither Severus nor Annalise seemed surprised by his appearance. And the older man was kind, so she did not have anything to complain about. But she had felt like she was left out of the loop as soon as the knock on the door.

Now she was even more confused. Miller was looking at Severus, but Severus had his eyes stuck on Annalise. She had noticed the looks Severus gave Annalise, and the girl could not see them. It was a look that she herself gave Neville when she felt guilty, like she had let him down; she had seen the look on Frank as well.

“Severus, all the healers say that it is a miracle that you could save her.” Now, Severus looked away from Annalise, his eyes going hard as he looked at Miller.

“I should have done more.”

“Severus, how long are you going to torture yourself about this?”

Severus turned away, standing up, saying that he should take Annalise to her bed so that she could rest. Alice watched, still confused, while Severus gathered up his girl in his arms. He held her like she was something beautiful, the same way she had held Neville while he was just a baby. She watched as he left, then she turned her eyes to Miller.

“That man is the biggest perfectionist on this earth; nothing he ever does is good enough for him. He saved that girl from a certain death, but it is still not good enough.”

“What happened?” Alice carefully watched Miller as he chose his words carefully.

“Do you know the state Annalise was in when Severus found her?”

“No, only that she is adopted.”

“Well, then this is not my story to tell.”

And that just left Alice even more confused than she was before. Soon, Severus joined them again, and she was no wiser than she was before. After finishing his tea, Miller left. Severus told him that Annalise would be sad that he left while she was asleep.
“My lunch hour is up, but tell her Happy Birthday one last time for me.”

While they were left alone, Alice thought about how she had never once questioned how Annalise came to be in Severus' life. She had thought that he had just adopted her because he wanted to be a father, but that did not seem to be the case. Thankfully, Frank broke the silence.

“So, what happened?” Severus looked up at them from his cup of tea.

“What do you mean?”

“What were you and Miller talking about?”

“Oh… I forgot we never told you about it.” So, Severus went on to explain what had happened, and Alice thought that nothing could surprise her about the cruelty of man after the war. But she was surprised, she was horrified.

Annalise woke up and managed to convince Frank and Alice to stay for dinner. Severus had been worried that the two adults would behave differently now that they knew her backstory, but was pleasantly surprised. It seemed like he and Annalise had found some good friends in the Longbottoms. It was a surprise, but a pleasant one.

Chapter Text

Severus woke up, and he was not excited; today was the day he would go over to Alice and meet Remus Lupin again. Sadly, he was doing this to help out his friend. He had forgotten how hard it was to be friends with somebody, but sacrifices had to be made.

Annalise would stay home and rest, as Severus did not want her there for the first meeting. It was not that he believed that anyone would be violent, but just that he wanted to get a good reading on Remus again after all this time before he could meet his daughter. People could change, and that was something that disturbed Severus; he no longer had a good idea of who Remus was now.

Severus moved silently; he could go down the stairs as Annalise was still in bed, that girl hated resting as much as he did. When he left her alone to rest, he would often come home to a messy kitchen and a lot of baked goods. Annalise had taken on his bad habit of not taking care of herself and distracting herself from bad feelings rather than working through them. He wished that his bad habits would not become hers, but sadly, this one seems to have slipped through.

Reading the paper, he saw the news that Sirius Black was still found guilty of killing the eleven Muggles during that fateful day. His punishment was reduced from life in prison to fifteen years, and then he would be out again. Severus felt that it was a bit too little considering that eleven people died, but he also understood that it had not been his intention to kill the muggles. Like the old saying, the way to hell is paved with good intentions.

Peter Pettigrew’s trial was still ongoing and was expected to continue for two more weeks. He had made the whole situation worse for himself by pretending to be a rat. Just that offence of pretending to be a pet would land him years in prison. And the fact that James and Lily Potter were so loved by the people, he would likely get life in prison.

Still, Severus was filled with a lot of complicated feelings for the two of them. Feelings that he rather ignores, but what surprised him when he read the news that Sirius Black would be let out again, was the fact that he did not feel anything. Nothing at all, he was no longer afraid of his old bullies, and he knew that he had a better life than any of them. That realization probably should not have filled him with this much satisfaction, but it did. He had done more out of his life than any of them.

Severus wondered briefly about how Remus was feeling about all of this happening, but he pushed his trough to the side. It was not his place to wonder about that; he was not Remus' friend, and he would probably never be his friend.

After making breakfast, he could hear Annalise moving upstairs; it seemed like she was still a bit disoriented because he could hear her walking into a door. Severus really hoped that Annalise would take his advice and only rest today. It was hard for her to do so, and Severus knew he would not understand how she felt, her body almost betraying her, making her stuck at home.

They had a quiet morning, and Severus managed to annoy Annalise with all of his fussing over her. She pushed him away towards the floo, telling him to go, but he knew that she was not mad at him; she still had a smile on her face when he told her, “I love you”.

Alice looked up when the floo lit up and Severus came through. She felt calmer than she did before. It was weird about how much could change. If you had told her that Severus Snape would be her closest friend, she would never have believed you, but here she was.

All of her original close friends were dead, and everyone else had moved on while she was stuck in that hospital. It felt like she did not know them anymore. And maybe that was why she liked Severus' company so much, because she had not been close to him before. When she was with him, she did not think of everything she had missed out on.

“I am covered in animal fur, I swear Annalise does that on purpose,” Severus said with an annoyed voice, and Alice laughed. It was often that Severus complained about all the animal hair. The rabbits were dropping a lot of fur, and now, with the unicorns often playing with Annalise, when the girl hugged you, it transferred all that onto you.

“Oh, come on, it is not that bad.” She said with a smile.

“You only say that because you do not wear black,” Severus answered deadpanned, and that was true; all the fur was white, so it easily stood out on Severus' dark clothing.

Frank joined them and they spoke about the news. It was weird reading the news today, but Alice, after speaking to her mind healer multiple times every week, was starting to understand her feelings. It still hurt that someone killed her best friend, someone whom they both had trusted. But she no longer cried every time she thought about it, so that was progress.

As the time was getting closer for Remus to arrive, they shifted the topic so that they would not make him uncomfortable. None of them knew how he felt about his old friends, and they did not want to start on a bad note.

Soon, the floo lit up, and out walked Remus Lupin. The years had not been so kind to the other man; he had scars covering his face. While he had never worn brand-name clothing before, he was now wearing clothes in worse shape than when they knew him. But his eyes were still the same, and that brought some comfort to Alice. A lot can change about people, but not their eyes.

When Remus read in the newspaper that Alice Longbottom was up and talking, he had trouble believing it. He had visited his old friends at Saint Mungo’s when he could. Always watched their slack faces as he drank his cup of tea. And to tell the truth, he had given up hope for them to ever wake up.

The fact that it was Severus who made the potion that woke them up did not surprise him. Severus had always been brilliant, and Remus had followed the other man's career in awe. Being the youngest potion master in two hundred years, he had won all of the duelling completionists he had won, and he had so many prizes to his name.

His career had not even been close to Severus Snape, and Remus could not blame that only on the werewolf problem. After the war, he lost his friends' trust, realizing that the Marauders were not good. That he had been the bad guy throughout everything. It crushed something inside of him; he had always thought of himself as a kind person, but that was no longer true.

Remus had gone into a deep depression and was stuck there for a long time. It was when he was forced by one of his old mentors to see a mind healer that he was able to work through it. He still tried to see his mind healer semi-regularly and had spoken to him about contacting Alice.

Writing the letter had been hard, had taken him weeks before he believed that it was good enough. And then he got stressed over the fact that everyone else had written to the Longbottoms as soon as the news broke, and he was way behind. But when he got a sudden energy, he just sent the letter away, and then regretted it deeply for the next few days before Alice responded.

The fact that she wanted to see him with Severus present surprised him. But it probably should not have. Severus was the man who brought them back, the one who made sure that they could be with their son again. Of course, they would stay close. Remus did not know if she wanted Severus there, as she and Frank were still weak, and Severus would easily be able to take him down. But he did not want to mess up a good thing, so he just said yes to meeting them.

And then Remus spent the rest of the week regretting that he said yes and that he should probably cancel. But as his mind healer said, he had to work on facing hard things and not running away. So, he would do this, and he built up all his courage before walking into the floo, as ridiculous as that sounds.

“It is lovely seeing you all again.” That was the first thing out of his mouth, that was not what he had planned to say, but it was how he felt.

“Oh, Remus, it is lovely seeing you again.” Alice stood up and hugged him. When was the last time someone hugged him? Remus could not remember, and the touch felt so nice, comforting. Then Frank stood up and hugged him as well.

It was more noticeable on Frank than on Alice that he had lost a lot of weight and muscle. They both felt thinner than he remembered, but that did not matter as they were here now. After Frank let him go, Remus looked at Severus, while the Longbottoms looked a bit worse for wear than Remus remembered. Severus looked a lot better.

His skin had a nice tint to it, so he could not have spent all that time locked inside. He had put on much-needed weight, as he had always looked underweight as a teen. His hair was longer, his nose still a bit crooked, but it was his eyes that surprised him. Severus' eyes were so much calmer; no longer did they look like he was fighting a war in his mind; he looked almost at peace.

Severus held out his hand, and Remus shook it. The handshake surprised him, but he did not want Severus to think that he was declining it. All of them smelled differently now than before. Thanks to being a werewolf, Remus could always identify people by their scent.

Alice smelled weaker than she had before; a more sterile smell was coming from both her and Frank. He could smell that they were still not good, still sick. And Severus smelled completely different; he smelled like the woods combined with potion room and some other smell, someone else smelling faintly of lavender.

They all sat down at the table and started eating. Remus made sure to eat slowly. He did not want the others to know how hungry he was, how he had not eaten dinner yesterday or the day before that. Money was tight, and while he did his best to budget, there was only so much you could do with so little pay and a high rent.

The food was great; it was a warm salad with kale, nuts, goat cheese, and honey. And thankfully, there was a lot of it to go around.

“We are eating healthy over here because Severus is so strict with his diet requirements. He is even worse than the healers.” Frank joked, and Severus just waved him away.

“The kale has a lot of vitamins that are vital for the nervous system. And you will take seconds, Frank, there is no arguing with me.” Alice laughed at their interactions, and Remus let out a small chuckle.

“Severus has been giving the house elf so many recipes that I think they are drowning in them. You should see how he gets when Neville is here.” Alice said with laughter still in her voice.

“Yes, because Neville is a growing boy, you have to make sure he is not deficient in anything; he needs good nutrition as much as you do,” Severus argued back, and Remus could see a small smile on his lips; it was subtle, but it was there.

The banter continued, and everything was so different from how it was before. But as he watched Alice poking fun at Severus and Severus matching her energy, it was something good and different. After they had finished their portions, Severus did indeed force Frank to eat more as he put more food on his plate, then on Alice's plate. Then he gave Remus a sharp look, making him scared for a second that he had done something wrong.

“Come on, Remus, you are not getting out of this either,” Severus said with a stricter voice than just made Frank and Alice fall into more laughter.

“Just do what he says, Remus. This is a fight you won't win.” Frank said, in between gasping breaths from laughing too much. And Remus did as he said and accepted his second portion.

Once they were done with their second portions, they moved to the living room. This house was different than the manor where they had lived before, smaller and cosier. It felt more like a home than a museum. Remus found himself relaxing into the couch cushions with a cup of coffee in his hands.

“So, what is it you are working with now, Remus?” Alice said after a small pause in conversation. Remus tried not to cringe as she could not know how bad he had it right now.

“Oh, I am working in a bookstore helping out old Miss Ramsey with the day-to-day stuff that she can no longer handle.” To his surprise, Alice smiled at that answer.

“That sounds nice, something you would love.” She had a sad smile on her lips. And not for the first time, Remus wondered how they were dealing with everything. Waking up from a coma, their friends were either shattered or dead, with no one left. And Remus felt so glad that they had Severus during that difficult time, someone they could lean on and who took care of them. As Severus was mother Hening them.

The conversation went much smoothly than Remus had been worried about. It was so nice to be among friends; it had been too long since he had something like this. After the coffee was gone, Remus heard a small voice. Severus sat up straight and took out a two-way mirror.

“Dad, a new unicorn showed up. I think something is wrong; she seems to be hurt.” It was a voice that Remus had heard one time before, when he was at the library in a city a bit from central wizard London. He had no idea why that girl had made such an impression on him; she had just spoken to an old lady. But this girl seemed to be Severus' daughter, and that realization threw him for a loop.

“I will go and check on her, Annalise. I want you to go inside, no, don’t argue with me, go inside now.” Severus was using such a dad voice that it surprised Remus. He then stood up with a small smile and said that he might be back and goodbye.

“That was Annalise Severus' daughter.” Alice filled him in when Severus left.

“How old is she?” Remus asked, curiosity filling him.

“Sixteen now, she just had her birthday last weekend.” Remus did the math in his head and must have made a face as Alice laughed.

“Yeah, don’t do the math, Severus adopted her.” Remus could hear that there was something they were not telling him, but that was fair, as he had no reason to know Severus' personal life.

He was surprised when the floo lit up again; there must not have been something wrong with the unicorn. But he was even more surprised when a girl stood there instead of Severus.

“Annalise, we are here,” Alice said, and he thought of it as odd. The girl turned around and walked towards them.

“Dad banned me from the house, apparently, I am a distraction.” She said with a huff as she sat down on the sofa beside Alice. Alice put her arm around her and hugged her.

“Well, we are happy that you are here with us. We will have dessert soon, so you can have that to look forward to.” Alice said with a smile.

And it was during that conversation that Remus noticed that something was wrong with the girl's eyes; they were completely still, no movement. He took a quick look at Frank, who nodded. The girl was blind.

“Hi Annalise, I don’t think we have met before. I am Remus.” He said with the kindest voice he could. She turned to his direction, made a bit of a face, and then said.

“Yes, we have, you were at the village library.” And Remus was very surprised that she had noticed him, and also how. Because he had not spoken to her and she was blind?

“Now that you say it, I think I remember you.” He added, and the girl smiled.

Soon, a conversation about unicorns was started by Alice, and Annalise gladly spoke about them. Remus was surprised to find out that the Hogwarts unicorns were now at the Snape property, but he did not want to seem rude, so he did not ask more about it.

Desert was taken out, and Remus was again surprised by Severus coming back. He sat down where he had before, and Annalise went to his side, leaning on him. Remus could smell on her that she was not feeling good, drained, and he was a bit worried about her. He could see the same worry in Severus, Alice, and Frank’s eyes.

“It seems like someone has cursed the unicorn I handed her over to Animal healers who are used to dealing with unicorns.”

“Who would want to curse a unicorn?” Alice asked.

“Your guess is as good as mine,” Severus answered, but Remus could see that Severus knew, and what he knew was making him stressed.
 

Chapter Text

Writing that letter to Alice had gone better than Remus had imagined, and now he visited them every week; sometimes Severus was there with Annalise, other times it was just Annalise. And it was so nice to be a part of a friend group again. Remus knew he had missed having friends, but the yearning inside of him surprised him.

It was so long ago that he let people get close to him, too scared that they would find out his secret. But they all knew, and none of them cared. He was also surprised by how much he had started to care about Severus' daughter; she was a bright young girl.

He wondered about her; Remus knew that she could not see. But… there was something the way she looked at you when she entered a room. Even though he was completely silent, he had enhanced hearing as a werewolf, and she was still able to spot him.

Remus was over at the Longbottoms again; he was helping Frank with some of the things he needed to get done. He was happy to help his old friend. He had not been able to save the Longbottoms when they were attacked, nor heal them, but he could help them now that they were here.

Severus was apparently at some potions convention, and Annalise was feeling a bit lonely.  Annalise was over speaking softly with Alice; they were doing simple memory exercises. Even though both Frank and Alice were getting better, they still had to make sure to do everything their healers said or else they might get worse again. But then Remus heard a voice that he had not heard before.

“Annalise?” Annalise looked away from Alice, taking up a two-sided mirror; she had one to speak to Severus, but this was someone else.

“Hi Harry, something's up?” There it was, it was Harry Potter. Remus still did not know what he would do about the fact that he was now close to the guardian of Harry. Should he meet the boy? Should he avoid him? Remus had no idea. James Potter had never been nice to him, but Lily had been a good friend. But then she turned her back on him as well, and he thought he had been abandoned, but now he knew the truth: she had been forced to drop their friendship. But it all left him confused and unsure of how to act.

“I had one of my headaches again, it was at the great hall this time.”

“Oh, I hope you feel better soon. Did you take your potion?”

“Yes, I did, already feeling better.”

“That’s good. What lesson are you going to have now?”

Remus listened to the small talk; being a big sister suited Annalise. He knew that she had just thrown into the role recently, but really, it did fit her so well that it seemed like she had been a big sister for way longer. It looked so natural for her to be caring and taking care of Harry. Soon, they had to say goodbye as lessons would soon start.

“Is he okay?” Alice asked before Remus had the time to, the same question at the tip of his tongue.

“Yeah, Dad wants to make sure to document all the time he gets these headaches.” Now that seemed odd, sure, Severus was an attentive father, but not a mother hen.

“He thinks something is wrong?” Frank asked, and Annalise turned to them.

“The pain is not just a headache; it is that his scar hurts badly. Dad thinks something is up… I think he is just gathering evidence.”

“What?” Remus asked in surprise, What could be wrong with Harry?

“Dad thinks something at the school is influencing these pains. They always happen at certain times, and I think I know who he thinks is the cause. But I don’t know for sure.”

“Wait, Severus thinks someone is hurting Harry?” Alice asked in shock. Remus could see her concern clearly on her face.

“Yes, he is waiting, collecting evidence, can’t do anything without proof. Why do you think that Dad has requested that he go to Hogwarts to pick Harry up instead of putting him on the train?”

It was then something clicked for Remus; he always knew that Severus Snape was as Slytherin one could get, cunning, smart, always ready with a plan of attack. But this was Annalise, his daughter, and while she was in some ways so different from her father, she truly was her father’s daughter.

“Why are you telling us this, Annalise? Is it something you want?” The girl turned in his direction, and Remus could see a small, pleased smile on her face.

“Dad is planning on going alone to Hogwarts; he won’t let me go, and I don’t like it. I tried to convince him. But he is right that I will have to wear shoes and I won’t be able to do much help. But if someone else went with him… then some could make sure that dad doesn’t do anything stupid.” And Remus knew that it was him she was directing all of these comments to; Alice and Frank were still recovering, while he was, for the most part, an able-bodied adult.

“I am sure your dad won’t do anything stupid, Annalise.” Frank tried to reassure the girl, but she just shook her head.

“You don’t understand as I do, all you have seen of my dad his when he is calm, cool, and collected. But if he believes that his children are in danger, he gets aggressive, and he could kill this man there and then. I don’t want to read in the newspapers that my dad killed a Hogwarts professor. He did not even know me when he found me, and he killed four men for me. I want someone to be there with him when he is at Hogwarts.”

Remus leaned back and took in what Annalise was saying. It was surprising to hear, but not that surprising. He knew that Severus would defend his children; they had all been through a war, and they all could be violent if provoked. It made him realize that there was a lot to Annalise's story than he knew.

“What do you mean he found you?” Remus asked after a moment. He wanted to know what had happened. He saw Annalise take a deep breath before she answered his question.

“I always forget that not everyone knows what happened… Well, I might as well tell you. There was the rise of the one who must not be named. Many people wanted please him to give weapons that had not existed before. Some of them got drawn into the notion that they could modify babies so that when they grew up, they would become a human weapon for them to use. I was one of those babies.

Dad looked into it as well as the aurors; they documented all their attempts, so it was easy to find information. They kidnapped pregnant women and held them captive until they gave birth. Once they had given birth, they killed the mother and kept the baby. My mom never even got to hold me.”

Remus felt the words hit him like a brick. How had not everyone been made aware of this after the war? Why was this not top news when it was found? While he knew that Alice and Frank knew it, it seemed like Severus had been the one to tell them, and Annalise was giving them more details. Alice had pulled Annalise into an embrace, jarred by what had happened to her poor mother. But they all stayed silent so that she could continue speaking.

“I was there for three years, I was given a lot of different experimental potions, that is why I can’t take the usual one today, Dad has to make them specially for me. During my last time there, they decided that for it all to work, I needed to be blind, so they took my eyes… I was so sick and weak that they soon decided that I was another of their failures and that they had to get rid of me.

That was when they took me to the woods so that they could kill and dispose of my body. And that was when daddy showed up I could not see what was happening, I was so scared…  There was screaming, and then there were these arms around me, and for some reason, I knew I did not need to be scared anymore, that I was safe.

The healers say that Daddy made a miracle happen, that there was no way that I should have survived all of those injuries I had. I know it was bad, but I was so young that I never understood how bad it truly was. But dad knows, he can’t forget how bad I was…” Annalise let out a breath and then leaned into Alice's arms. Remus looked at her for a while before he broke the silence.

“Okay, I will go with Severus, but you will have to be the one convincing him that I should go with. There is no way that I could win that fight alone.” Annalise let out a small laugh, which made him smile.

“Trust me, I know how to convince my dad,” Sha said, and Remus believed her.

Annalise went home that day still so tired; she was getting really angry that her body was just so tired all the time. But she knew getting angry at her body did not help anything. She had at least managed the first part of her plan that Remus would go with her dad to Hogwarts to pick Harry up. Now she just has to convince her father.

She could hear that he was tired when he got home; if that was a good or bad thing was something she would soon find out. She did not bring it up at first, as she wanted her dad to have some time to get comfortable before she asked him. Annalise knew that her dad knew that something was up, but he was thankfully waiting for her to speak.

“I was wondering when you are picking up Harry, if you should not go alone.” Her dad set down his mug at the living room table.

“Oh, and who would that be?”

“Well, I thought it might be good for Remus to get out a little, he is always stuck at his flat or at the Longbottom. I think it would be good for him to get out, and maybe seeing Hogwarts again will get him in better spirits.”

“Oh, really, is that what you are so concerned about?” Annalise could hear in his tone that he did not believe her; she had never been a good liar.

“Yes, it is,” She said, trying to sound certain.

“Annalise,” He put his hand under her chin, pulling her face up so she was facing him. Annalise had no idea why he wanted her to face him; it was not like she could see him.

“Tell me the real reason, okay, and then I will consider it.” She thought about how she wanted to explain it.

“I don’t want you to get hurt…” Her voice sounded weaker than she wanted, but it was the truth; she was scared.

“Annalise, I won’t get hurt going to Hogwarts.” He argued back.

“Dad, both of us know who is behind Harry’s pain, both of us know who it is that he is not dead. I do not want you to get hurt and be all alone.” She felt the tight feeling spreading from her chest as panic started to fill her. Dad pulled her into an embrace, but she still felt a sense of unease.

“Okay, fine, Remus can go with me if that makes you feel better than I will do it. You are too smart for your own good sometimes.” After he was done speaking, Annalise felt him kissing the top of her head, she knew that she would be able to get her over to her plan.  
 

Chapter Text

Christmas was coming nearer, and now Severus was out on the town with Alice and Frank; he had left Annalise at home with Remus. She was pouting as he left her, but he knew that she was pleased that she did not have to go into the Christmas crowd.

It was nice to have more people that one could rely on so that he did not have to leave Annalise alone. She has been getting terrible nightmares and has been sleeping in his bed for a week now. It had been a long time since it was this bad. He wanted to stay with her, but he really needed to get her and Harry’s gifts, and he had to get a lot of potion ingredients for his newest experiment.

It was weird being able to rely on Remus Lupin, but the man had not been as bad as Severus had feared. He was kind, and he could easily read Annalise. He knew when she wanted to touch and when she wanted to be alone. It felt good leaving her with him because, in a way, he had started to trust the other man.

Alice and Frank were so unsure of what to get Neville for gifts, as they had not been following his upbringing. They had not had the same experience as he had with Annalise when you upgraded the age of the gift to the child’s age. He was still a bit unsure about what to get Harry, but he at least had experience to pull from.

“Come on, let's start now, the crowd will only grow.” They were not at the diagonal alley, as he thought it would be too much for the two of them. They were stronger, but he did not want them to get overwhelmed by people wanting to talk to them. And he did like to do his shopping in peace.

They started with the potion ingredients, as that was the easiest to get out of the way. He managed to get the price down to something reasonable and then carefully put his package away. Now he had everything he needed to try out to make his new and hopefully improved wolfbane for Remus. If everything went to plan, it did at least most of the time.

Then came the hard part, picking out gifts. They started with the bookstore. Severus looked around for anything that would be interesting for Harry. It was so much that he did not know about the wizard world, and Severus was doing his best to fill the gaps. But he did not want to give the boy “boring” presents, so he picked out some books that would be fun as well.

Alice and Frank managed to find books about herbology that Neville had not read yet. The boy would be ecstatic about that. Severus had never met someone with such a strong talent for herbology. It would be great to see how the boy flourished.

Severus took a look at the books that read to you, but sadly, he could not find one that would interest Annalise. She preferred nonfiction, and rarely were those books that read to you. The section is full of all kinds of different children’s books. As he paid for Harry’s stuff, he asked the clerk if anything new was in, and he placed a special order for Annalise.

After they were done, they walked out on the now even busier street. The streets were decorated with lights, and people were fumbling around. Many going forward but some walking sideways to get into a store, the once walking sideways breaking the flow of the crowd. Severus could see that Alice and Frank were a bit taken aback by the number of people. He gave them what he thought was a calming smile and led them to the herbology store.

Thankfully, it was calm in there and they walked around looking at the different plats. It was hard to choose a plant for Neville; there were so many, and the boy would have loved them all. So, after they spent a ridiculous amount of time in that store, they moved on to a café for a break.

Severus would rather just get done right away, but he could see how tired the Longbottoms were getting. It was so easy for him to push on and ignore everything about his health and body. But he could not do this now; he needed to take care of them.

They went to Annalise favorite café, she loved this place as it was calm, it smelled of tea, and it had wonderful desserts and lunch options. It felt wrong to be here without his daughter, so he decided to buy things for Remus and Annalise, and had it sent to them. He wondered how it was going for the two of them, but he would not micromanage his daughter.

At the house, Annalise was bored, and Remus was trying his best. Really, he had no idea what to do with a bored sixteen-year-old girl. Now they were outside in the garden, Annalise was petting a unicorn, and he could see on her face that she was not having a good time. She did try to hide it; it was not that she was mean at all, but Remus could see it anyway.

“What do you usually do when your dad is away?” Remus asked as he sat down beside her.

“Usually, I would be all over in the woods; it sucks that I can’t do that right now.” She sounded so disappointed that it tugged on his heart.

“That must suck.” It was the only thing he could come up with.

“Yeah, I hate that I can never be normal.”

“Hey, your dad loves you for being you, not for you trying to be normal, whatever that means. Would you like to… maybe bake something?” Remus must have said something right because he could see Annalise perk up at that idea.

So that is the story of how Remus ended up in Severus Snape's kitchen with his daughter, and flour was everywhere. But Annalise was smiling and having a good time, so that was at least something. They decided that they would make cinnamon buns, and now the dough needed to proof. He needed to first clean up the whole kitchen, and then find something for them to eat.

There was still flour in the kitchen; he had used so many spells, and most was gone, but not everything. Remus was usually patient, but now he had reached the end of his rope. He decided to leave it for now; he would deal with the rest of the mess after they were done baking. Sitting down on the sofa beside Annalise he petted the bunny on her lap. Now he had to deal with his second problem: what should they eat for lunch?

Thankfully, it was like Severus could read his mind, and an owl came with food and baked goods. It all smelled so good and they dived into the food. After the food was done, it came to the filling of the dough. Annalise had asked him to put on some music, so there was soft music in the background. It all felt so domestic, Remus wondered how his life would look if he had a child and a partner.

It felt like he was getting a glimpse of how good his life could be, but it was a way of life that Remus would never be able to get. He was a werewolf, he was unreliable, and could never pay for a family. He was also a coward who lacked a spine. He knew all of his flaws, and he knew that family life was a reality he could only dream of.

“Hey, you, okay?” Annalise asked in a soft voice. Remus was again surprised by how attuned she was to everyone else’s emotions, even though she could not see their facial expressions.

“Yeah, everything is fine, just got stuck in some thought.” Remus tried to brush it off, but still, the nagging feeling did not go away.

After the cinnamon buns were done, they sat out in the garden eating them with milk as Annalise had insisted (apparently it was a crime to eat them without milk). They decided that a calm walk could do no harm to Annalise health and she had a great time in the woods.

Remus could understand the feeling of being stuck in your body, no way to do what you wanted. They had different causes of the problem, but the feeling was the same. He wanted to give Annalise some feeling of being free, not being a prisoner in her own body.

When they were getting back to the cottage, the rest arrived back from their shopping. There were so many bags, and Annalise inspected the things she had asked Severus to buy for her. Severus had his arm around her, talking softly. He was a truly good father.

They all stayed and ate dinner; it was a calm affair, but Remus was soaking up every minute of it. He was in a warm house with good food on the table and nice company; it was all so far away from how he was living at home that it felt like a dream. Thanks to the weather getting colder, his place was freezing. Right now, he could not pay for heating, so he was doing his best with many layers of clothes.

The Longbottoms left, but just as Remus was also going to take his own leave when they left, sad that the nice day had to come to an end, Severus dragged him into a new conversation. They sat talking about many different topics. Annalise left to talk to Percy.

It was so fun to have discussions with Severus; his mind moved so fast, and it was really engaging. Later, Annalise said goodnight and went to sleep, but they had a cup of tea after. Now they sat in silence just enjoying each other’s company.

“How fast time moves when you are having a good time,” Severus said when he looked at his watch. Remus was surprised as well; time had flown by.

“I will take my leave. It has been really lovely to be here today.” Remus started to stand up, and Severus did as well.

“Come on, you can sleep in the guest room,” Severus said as he grabbed the mugs from the table.

“No, I can’t intrude,” Remus argued back. But somehow, he still ended up in the guest room, lying down in one of the most comfortable beds he had ever been in. A better bed, in a warm house, and not alone, as Severus and Annalise were on the floor as well. For the first time in weeks, Remus had no problems falling asleep.

Severus had no idea why he had convinced Remus to stay; he could not understand why he had felt such a strong urge to have the other man stay here just a bit longer. He would have to come up with some explanation to Annalise why Remus was still here.

But that was a problem for tomorrow, Severus decided. Annalise had not had a nightmare yet; he was feeling calm, tired, and content. For some reason, it felt right to have Remus here. Severus might not understand it, but for now, everything was alright.

Annalise woke up from a new vision that she had not had before. Or, she had it once when she was little and had no idea what it meant. But now she was older, and she knew exactly what it all meant.

In her vision, there had been her father and Remus standing at an altar getting married. Her dad had looked so happy, and Remus looked to be over the moon. She smiled; this was the first time in a long time that she had a nice vision. She turned around and made herself comfortable. The future that she saw was one she would gladly live in.

Chapter Text

Today was the day Harry would go back to be with the Snapes again, and he was so excited. Everything was new at school, and there had been a tough week with all of the exams. But he had a great time here at Hogwarts; he managed to find good friends for the first time in his life.

Percy was always there, checking on him. Harry spoke with Annalise and Severus multiple times during the week, so while he had not seen the two of them during the school term, he felt a lot closer to them now than before. It felt like a stone that had been on his shoulders had lifted. He was starting to believe that he was a part of the Snape family and that he belonged with them.

It was such a weird feeling, going from being the disappointment of a nephew to now being something that was valued. He was still scared that everything would get taken away from him, that someone would show up and say that it all was a mistake, that he had to go back to Petunia again.

He looked over all of his bags; everything he owned was neatly packed away. It still felt so novel to have his own things. He did not want any of the other boys destroying anything, not that he believed they would, but he would not want Severus thinking that he was being careless of his new, lovely things.

Harry would meet up with Percy soon; apparently, the Weasley family would be split up for Christmas this year. His parents went to Egypt with Ginny, and the rest would stay at Hogwarts or could make other plans. It seemed odd; in his mind, all families spent Christmas together.

Taking one last look over everything, he was sure that he had not left anything. He walked out and waited for Percy outside the Hufflepuff door. It was a bit weird that they would be picked up at Hogwarts instead of going on the train like everybody else.

Harry was not dumb; he could see that something was up, something was going to happen here while Severus was at Hogwarts, but he just had no idea of what. He thought it might have something to do with the headaches, but he was not sure. It made him a bit frustrated to be out of the loop, but he tried to focus on the good things, as he would be going home today.

Remus looked at Severus and made sure they had everything before they left for Hogwarts. Annalise was in the living room with them, and Remus could tell that she was not happy about the situation. She wanted to go with, and while Remus understood her frustration, he fully agreed with Severus that she would stay.

It was not often from what Remus could see that Annalise sulked, but this time it was clear. The pout on her face, and she was fidgeting, not happy. Remus promised her that he would take care of Severus, and he meant it; he would make sure that nothing bad could happen at Hogwarts.

Finally, they were done and took the floo, and it was Professor McGonagall who met them. It felt weird to meet his old teacher again. He wondered if he had lived up to her expectations, but he knew the truth; he had disappointed her, but that was okay; he had disappointed himself already.

They got a few odd looks, but soon Severus managed to get them going to “collect” Harry. It was not a lie; it was just that they were going to do a detour first. Once they got out of the office, Severus walked with quick steps, and he struggled to keep up with him.

Soon, they were in front of the door for the Defending Against Dark Arts classroom. Remus had just that morning managed to get Severus to say who he suspected, Professor Quirell. It was not one of their old teacher, and he had no idea who the man was. But Severus must have a lot of evidence to suspect him.

“So how are we getting in?” He whispered.

“Wait just one moment.” After that, he was silent as Severus poured something on the door handle. After a while, they heard a click and the door opened. They walked into an ordinary-looking classroom, and Severus did all of the checks to make sure that they were in here unnoticed.

“He has no real protection at all, just a couple of small spells.” Severus sounded almost disappointed.

They continued inside. Now it was time to get into the teacher’s office. Remus was scared that the man would show up and ask them why they were here. Severus said that Percy got it handled, but Remus felt like they were putting a lot of trust in a sixteen-year-old for something they could get in a lot of trouble for. But it was not like he had a better idea.

This door was a bit more guarded, but thankfully, they got in quickly. Now they just needed to find a way into his chambers. All teachers had a way to go to their chambers through their office, apparently. Severus placed something small on the walls, and Remus tried to see what it was. It looked like a small beetle that would easily hide in the stone wall.

“What is that?”

“This is going to listen and take in everything that happens in this room, then after three weeks, it will come back to me with everything.” So, this was how they were going to get their evidence, he was impressed. He had wondered about how breaking into a teacher’s chambers would help them until now.

They started to look at all of the walls, looking for anything that could be a door. It was hidden so that students would not be able to find it. Running a hand on the walls, he was trying to feel for anything. Wondering if it could hide behind the cabinet, he carefully moved it to the side. He knew something was up when it rumbled and the doors of the cabinet opened.

Looking at what came out, he saw the full moon staring back at him. A boggart, why would this teacher just have a bogart in his cabinet without any looks? Taking out his wand to cast ridiculous, but before he could cast the spell, Severus turned around and saw it.

During the war, Remus had seen a lot of bad things, including people who were hurt and dying slowly. He had seen more injuries than he ever wanted to see again. But this sight was worse than anything he had ever seen before.

In front of them sat two small, extremely malnourished children. The boy with black hair did not have any clear injuries, but the girl… she was covered with scars, wounds, and bruises. She turned around and looked at him, and Remus felt like he would throw up.

“Why did you not save us?” The girl said in an accusing voice towards Severus. Thankfully, Severus seemed to get his wits back and cast a ridiculous spell. The girl and the boy turned out to be how they look today, healthy and happy. There was no doubt about it; it had been Annalise and Harry. Severus's worst fear was that he had not been able to save them. Looking at them, Remus was surprised he was able to save them, especially Annalise.

Remus shook his head and helped Severus get the boggart into the cabinet again. After that, the only sound was their harsh breathing. And Remus remembered something that Annalise had said to him, but he had not understood before.

“You know, I think I understand now.” Severus turned to look at him, almost as if surprised, like he had forgotten that he was there as well.
“Annalise told me that a part of her was happy that she never had to see how bad she looked in the end. I didn’t understand before, I do now.” Remus watched as Severus took it in and then let out a sigh.

“Let’s find this door,” Severus said curtly, and Remus was glad to start looking again.

They managed to find the door without any more surprises. In the living room, Severus put on another bug, and then they were out, making sure to cover all of their tracks.

“Come on, I want to go home,” Severus said, and he understood what it meant. Severus wanted to be home with Harry and Annalise, to see them, hear them, to know that they were fine and alive. And Remus would really not mind doing that himself either.

They moved to where the meeting spot was, and there Harry and Percy were. Remus had wondered before what it would feel like to see Harry for the first time; would he be sad, happy? Now seeing the boy, he felt a bit confused with all of his feelings, but the overpowering one was happiness.

He was so happy that the Harry in front of him, while he was a small boy, was not undernourished. To see Severus pull the boy into his arms felt great. Severus was a great dad, and it was wonderful to see him with his son.

“Hi, I don’t think we have met before.” Remus held out his hand, and Percy shook it. The boy was covered in freckles, had a bit of crooked classes, and his hair was wavy. He could tell that Percy knew something must have happened; he could see a bit of the desperation that Severus had when he looked over Harry.

They moved towards the headmaster’s office to floo back home, and Harry started to talk about everything that had happened. It was nice to just listen to him being all excited.

Back at home, Harry jumped into Annalise embrace; it was a lovely sight. They all sat in the living room eating small cakes. Severus was trying to convince him to be here for Christmas, but he did not want to intrude. Sadly, Annalise heard, and there was no way to win an argument with her. He pretended to be a bit annoyed. But in reality, he has never been so happy.

Remus would get to spend Christmas with family; there would be no cold apartment with no food. He would be here with his friend and the children. In this big house that was always nice and warm, there was a lot of food. It was the best Christmas gift that they could have ever gotten him.
 

Chapter Text

Annalise always woke up early and as Remus had the guest room Percy was sleeping in the same room as her. While she did not need any light to entertain herself, she always managed to make more noise than what she intended. It was so frustrating and when something rolled away it felt like it was mocking her. Thankfully Percy did not seem to care, he never did.

But as she knew that Percy was tired, she wanted to let him sleep for as long as possible. She wondered if her need to use the bathroom was acute or if she could wait a bit longer. After a while she decided that it was acute and she did her best to silently slide out of the bed and out of her room. Soon she was outside of her room carefully closing the door.

First, she went to the toilet and then she walked downstairs into the living room. There she sat listening to her book as she cuddled with the bunnies. It was so nice to have the whole house full, even though it made the need to be quiet a bit more pressing than usual.

Severus woke up and went out to start breakfast, as he was going down the stairs, he could hear that Annalise was already up and listening to her books. She had been very successful today in not making to much noise while going down, Severus had not woken up from it wish was unusual.

Greating her by kissing her head Severus made his way into the kitchen where he started with putting the bread into the oven. Severus had found out that he could make a dough before he went to bed and then just bake it in the morning. It was so nice with fresh bread for breakfast with a lot less work than usual.

It felt odd to have so many people in the house and Severus had to make sure that he did not nitpick how others did things. But it was very nice, he had Harry and Annalise here and safe under his roof. Percy was so kind to both of his kids and they played around for hours. It was a nice surprise having Remus here, while Severus loved his children with everything, he got it was so nice to have an adult here with him. Someone he could talk to, someone who could help him make this Christmas magical for all the children.

It was the 24 of December today and Severus was making it his mission to make Harry’s first Christmas spectacular. Alice and Frank were also prepping for their first Christmas with Neville so they all were going big. It was decided that tomorrow they open up their gifts and then meet at the Longbottom’s place. Were they would have a calm Christmas celebration with a lot of food.

As soon as the bread started to smell Severus could hear the other people in the house waking up. Annalise helped set up the table and Severus made sure to cut up fruit. He wanted to make sure that his kids diets were as good as possible.

They sat and had breakfast and then the kids went out to play in the snow. Soon Neville would join them and Severus sat in the living room watching them.

“Want some more coffee?” Remus asked, Severus was surprised that he was so close. Often Severus was so aware when anyone was close to him, but it seemed that his body had decided that Remus was no threat.

“I would love that.” Soon Remus sat down beside him and they had a new cup of coffee each.

“It is so wonderful to be around kids during Christmas.” Remus said after a while, and Severus agreed.

“It is all in making that Christmas magic.” He said with a chuckle.

“It was very nice of you to let me stay during Christmas.” Remus said after a while. Severus turned and looked at the other man; he had figured out that Remus seemed to alone quite a while.

“No one should be alone on Christmas; it is part of the magic.” He answered and Remus smiled; Severus could see the gratitude in his eyes.

Soon the Longbottom’s arrived and the kids were outside playing while the adults were inside. Severus wondered if this was how it felt to have a large family, he never really had a family before but he found that he quite liked it.

The next day Severus made sure to wake up before Annalise walking down stairs he looked at the tree; it was full of ornaments and nothing matched. It was beautiful, after looking at it for a while Severus put on some Christmas music and started with breakfast.

Soon everyone was awake and they ate before they could open the presents. Severus could see on Harry that he was a bit overwhelmed but also that he did not know how to act in this situation. Just as Severus was going to talk to Harry Annalise beat him. She hugged Harry close and Severus could see the small boy starting to realise. Annalise truly was a great big sister; he could not be prouder of his kids.

Annalise and Harry handed out all of the gifts; there was a lot of them. It seemed like dad had gone even more overboard than usual. But she should have expected that as it was Harry’s first Christmas with them. Dad did not want her to feel left out so when he went overboard for Harry, he decided to also go overboard for her.

She started opening her gifts to show Harry how to do it all. She always opened the gifts carefully then you thanked the person who gave it to you. She started with the gifts from Percy. He had given her a bracelet that he had made himself. She put it on, it had charms hanging from it so it made some clicking noise when she moved around, she loved it.

From Harry she had gotten some earrings that also made some clicking noises when she moved. She made sure that she showed harry how much she liked his gift not liking how uncertain he sounded still. From the Longbottom’s she had gotten a beautiful set of matching bracelets, neckless and earrings.

Remus had gotten her some candles that smelled wonderful. And as always, her dad had gone overboard. He gave her three new dresses, a broach, two necklaces, earrings, a ring, mutable books, some nice shoes and perfume. She made sure to thank everyone for her gifts and then dad asked her to put on one of the new dresses as they should be ready for the family photos.

Percy was finding that Christmas was so calm and wonderful here at the Snape house. He loved his family a lot but there was always so much noise and movement everywhere. You got overstimulated from just a second of everyone being in the same room. One could see the big difference in how the gift opening happened here from his family’s traditions.

At the Weasley house all the children ran down and grabbed all of their gifts in a freeze. Then they tore trough their gifts and loud thank you were yelled out. Then after everything was opened the children ran away and started to play with their gifts while mom prepared a big breakfast.

Here they ate breakfast first then calmly opened all of their gifts. It was nice but a part of him also felt a bit homesick. It felt so weird that his parents and Ginny were away at Egypt while he was at the Snapes and the others at school. It felt weird that their family was this fragmented.

Percy opened his gifts starting with Annalise, she had given him a new game that he had not seen before. It looked really fun and they said that they would start playing later today. Harry was so sweet and had given him a sculpture of Athena. He was surprised when he got two gifts from Severus, he opened them with extra care. To his surprise in one of the presents were a book about law, how one studied it and how one could choose the different career paths.

It shocked him that his friends dad paid better attention to what he liked then his own family. At that thought it felt a bit bitter sweet but he could not let that affect his mood. He thanked Severus and opened the other gift. There was a set of nice clothing. They were nicer than anything he had ever had, the material of the shirt was so soft, the pants were black and there was a blazer there as well.

“Hope it was okay to give you some clothes, I always have a Christmas photo shoot so decided that you should match the rest of the kids.” Percy smiled at him and told him that there was no trouble.

Remus got him some new note books and pens. Then Percy opened the gifts from his family, his mom as always made a P shirt for him. He got some different things to help you study and some baked goods. From Bill he had gotten a small figurine of Justitia, and Charlie had given him a book about the history of laws. It made him feel warm that his brothers saw him, and they cared enough to give him gifts that interested him. He was surprised when he got a gift from the Longbottom’s, inside there was some nice buttons for the nice shirt, apparently some nicer things did not have buttons so that you could put these in instead.

Harry was overwhelmed, he had no idea of how to act or how to do this. His only example was how Dudley acted during Christmas and that was no help at all on how he should act. He decided to follow how Annalise did it, he found that she opened her gifts slowly unlike Dudley who just tore trough everything.

It shocked him that he had so many gifts waiting for him. Annalise had warned him that Severus would go a bit overboard but this seemed like a bit more than just a bit overboard. He had never received these many gifts ever.

From Severus he had gotten a lot of gifts, clothing that was so nice that Harry just wanted to put his face in them as it was so soft. There was also some nicer formal clothing that Annaise had said he would get, they had to take pictures after all. Then he got books on different myths and mysteries a mix of muggle and magical books. He also got new games that he was exited to try out with Neville later.

From Annalise, he got a teddy bear that was so soft. He remembered when he told her that he never had stuffed animals and how horrified she had been at that. But now he had one and he loved it. He also got some nice pens as well. The Longbottom´s gave him a matching bracelet to Annalise’s and similar buttons to Percy’s that he had no idea how they worked but they looked really nice.

Percy had gotten him a mix of candies that he had not tried before. Remus got him some notebooks that were charmed so that only he could see what he had written down. It was a surprise that he got a gift from Mrs. Weasley, a shirt with an H on it. On the letter it said that he was such a good friend of Ron and therefor he got a shirt as well. But what confused him was that Annalise got no gift and she was a lot closer to Percy than he was to Ron.

Severus watched the children open their gifts while he opened his. There was a good mix of what he got, some coffee with different flavours from Annalise as she wanted him to try new things. He got slipper’s from the Longbottom’s; Percy had gotten him a new potion paper. Harry gave him a statue of a raven and Remus got him some mugs with puns.

“You to conspired together, didn’t you?” Severus asked Annalise and Remus and Annalise just smiled at him. Remus at least admitted that they thought it would be a wonderful idea for him to try new things.

It was a long time ago that Remus got gifts, it was a long time ago that he was in this setting. With people in front of a tree that was filled with gifts. He had gotten everyone a gift and he hoped that they liked them, he did his best to budget during the last months so that he could afford to buy them something.

The gift’s he got were so nice, it was sweet that even Harry and Percy who did not know him well got him things as well. There was a good mix of candy, coffee, tea, mugs, slippers and so on that he got. From Severus he also received some clothing, the reason well you have to match in the picture. Remus had not understood that he would be in these Christmas pictures as well as the rest of them.

Soon after everything was done everyone had to get into their nice new clothing. Then they went over to the Longbottom’s. It seemed like Severus had gotten them to join in taking pictures as well as they match, Alice dress had the same pattern as Annalise’s and Frank and Neville had matching clothing as the ret of them.

Then they spent an hour of getting nice pictures, everyone needed one to be taken of just them, then everyone in different smaller groups, some family photos and then mutable group photos with different backgrounds. It was a whole project and Remus had believed that Annalise was exaggerating before of how meticulous Severus was about his pictures, but he had been proven wrong. He had no idea that Severus liked pictures this much.

Then after Severus was happy, they all could finally go and sit down. The kids were trying out the new games they had gotten. It was all so wonderful, Remus hoped that he would be allowed to spend Christmas with them all next year as well.

Remus was brought out of his musing by Severus letting out a grunt and saying Knee to liver. Remus looked to see what was going on and it seemed like Annlise had decided that it would be a good idea to clime on Severus.

“I don’t understand how you always manage to hit my liver.” Severus claimed while Annlise hung from his back.

“It takes skills.” She just said back. Severus just sighed and pulled out a long piece of paper.

“See how many times you have hit my liver.” Remus don’t know why he was shocked that Severus kept an account of how many times Annalise hit his lived but he was very surprised.

“Can’t because you know, I am blind.” Annalise said back.

“Oh, right I forgot.” At that Remus let out a laugh.

“Don’t be surprised daddy is good at forgetting loads of stuff. He has forgotten that I am in fact adopted on mutable occasions.”

“Not that many times, just a couple of times.” Severus argued back like that made his case any better.

Annalise dropped her grip of Severus now apparently bored at climbing on him. As she was moving away Severus made a grab for her waist. And she let out a scream and grabbed Percy.

“No tickling!” She said now dragging herself behind Percy.

“I wasn’t tickling you.” Severus argued back not looking innocent at all. “Percy protect your liver from her.” He added and Percy just looked confused now that he had been pulled in between the two of them.

“I don’t know were my liver is.” He said and Severus just answered, “Trust me you will feel it.” Annalise then started to giggle madly pulling in the rest of them into laughing. As she tried to stop laughing but could not hold back.

It seemed like even the calm Christmases also had a bit of chaos in them. Not that Remus would complain, it was lovely with a bit of chaos.

Harry watched the interaction between Severus and Annalise in awe, but also with a bit of jealousy. He wondered if he would ever be that comfortable with Severus, to be able to play and try to climb on him. If Severus would ever try to tickle him. He wondered if he would ever get that relationship, because that was the one thing he truly wanted.

He looked up when Percy laid a hand on his shoulder, Annalise was still behind him. Percy smiled at him and said “let it take time”. Harry had no idea what that was support to mean, or well he hated the fact that Percy was able to see right trough him. But it was nice to have the older boys reassurance, he would just have to let it take time.