Chapter Text
In his defence, Severus hadn’t gone out that night intending to kidnap the Boy Who Lived. Then again, it did take the Wizarding World another seven years before anyone realised he was no longer living with the Dursleys.
He had only gone to check on the boy. Albus had promised everything was under control and that Harry was being well taken care of. Only Severus knew Harry’s Aunt personally. A ghastly woman who hated his sister and anything to do with magic. So forgive Severus for being sceptical the boy was indeed in good hands. The night he decided to check on him, he’d woken up in a cold sweat. It was as if all the alarm bells in his head were sounding off all at once, screaming at him one thing and one thing only.
Check on Harry Potter.
Severus figured he owed Lily that much. And one secretive check on the household wouldn’t hurt anyone. Upon arriving at Privet Drive it was just gone three in the morning. The street and its houses were asleep and the air was cool. He easily walked in using a spell on the door handle. Inside the house was exactly what he expected from Petunia. Perfectly arranged furniture. Family photos on the walls. None of which included two children. Just one very portly boy, whom he doubted was Harry.
He silently investigated the house, becoming unsettled when he found no trace of the boy in question. The third bedroom, which he had assumed must be Harry’s, was in fact a toy room. Toys of all kinds were scattered across the floor, with two massive toy chests under the window with the name ‘Dudley’ embossed in blue on the lids. He searched the entire house, even the garden, and still couldn’t find the boy. He was about to leave and alert Albus when a sharp gasp from the cupboard under the stairs caught his attention. The cupboard had locks on the outside which wasn’t a good sign.
Severus silently used magic to unlock the locks and slowly opened the small door. The light from his wand shining inside. What he saw would haunt him for years to come.
A boy, rake thin with rags for clothes looked up at him with big green eyes behind broken glasses. He sat and a moth-bitten camp bed. Bruises covered his arms and Severus caught sight of some scarring on both wrists. “Who are you?” he whispered, dreading the answer
The boy blinked “I’m Freak”
“No, I – I meant your name” he tried again, startled at the insult the boy called himself
He curled in on himself “I’m Harry, Sir. Just Harry”
Severus stood to full height and covered his mouth with his hand. This was Harry. Lily’s son. The son she died to protect. Being treated like an animal. He could barely comprehend it. Did Albus know? Did anyone know? How long had this been going on? He couldn’t just leave him here. Not while knowing this. Lily would never forgive him if he walked away now. With that in mind, Severus took a deep breath.
“Would you... Like to come with me?”
Harry frowned worriedly, glancing up at the angled ceiling “I’m supposed to make breakfast...” he mumbled under his breath.
The Wizard had half a mind to storm up those stairs right then but thought better of it. Harry needed to be away from this place as soon as he could manage. “I think they can manage one day without you” he said knowing that Harry would never be coming back if he had any say in it “It’s ok, you can trust me. I was a friend of your mother” he added hoping that would ease the boy.
Harry looked him in the eye before gingerly taking his hand. Severus helped him out of the cupboard and then picked him up in his arms. Harry was even thinner than he first thought. His ribs could be felt under the sorry excuse for a shirt and his cheeks were gaunt with hunger “Where are we going?” Harry asked
“Somewhere where you can get a real meal for once” Severus muttered before disaparating with Harry in tow.
---
Severus had expected the news to break the next morning. Surely Petunia would report her nephew as missing once she woke up and discovered him gone. But that day never came. Days turned to weeks and no one was looking for Harry Potter. It occurred to Severus that literally no one was keeping track of the Boy Who Lived. He was meant to defeat the darkest wizard of their age, and yet seemingly no one cared enough to even check up on the boy aside from him. A year soon passed and still, the discovery was never made. Petunia kept receiving money for upkeep of a boy who was, as far as she knew, missing and possibly dead.
He went to investigate when a year passed, finding that the Dursleys were living life happily as a family of three. It was as if Harry had never once been inside the house. Even the cupboard where he found the poor boy had been turned back into storage. He once decided to test the theory and asked Albus how Harry was doing with his relatives.
Albus either lied to his face or was as unaware as everyone else, because he told Severus that Harry was being well taken care of. He lost a lot of respect for Albus that day.
Due to Harry being so young, he eventually began to forget the Dursleys and, to Severus’s relief, the abuse as well. There came a point where all he knew was Severus as his guardian and a life as a normal growing boy. The first time he called Severus dad, Severus had to leave the room to compose himself. He never intended to take James’s place. Despite loathing the man, he wasn’t as vindictive as that. Still, the thought of having Harry as his son, able to be the father he never had, it cracked something open in him he’d sealed away years ago. Severus knew he couldn’t hide Harry away forever. He had to find a way to give him a real life while still keeping him safe. And so, Severus chose to adopt him by way of a blood bond.
Thus, Harry Potter became Hadrian Snape. He kept the middle name James. Lying to everyone that the name came from a maternal uncle. That way, Hadrian would keep some connection to his birth father. Even if he’d never know it.
It felt like a blink of an eye before Hadrian turned eleven. He was the spit of Severus with the same black hair and pale skin. He kept Lily’s green eyes, and the lightning bolt scar on his forehead had faded into a faint line that was barely noticeable. Severus had changed his birthday on his new birth certificate, making his birthday August 1st instead. Hadrien received his Hogwarts letter on August 1st exactly. Hadrian had no idea why his dad looked so relieved at that.
It was on that day that the news he’d been dreading finally reached the newspapers. Harry Potter was finally declared a missing person by the Ministry sending the Wizarding World into a panic. Apparently, it took dozens of owls, hundreds of Hogwarts letters, and one very firm visit from Hagrid before Petunia broke and confessed that she had no idea where Harry was and hadn’t for years. Now the Ministry was spiralling trying to find the missing Chosen One, meanwhile Hadrian was happily eating his pancakes, oblivious to the fact he was the boy in question.
Severus intended to keep it that way.
“Dad? Who’s Harry Potter?” Hadrian asked curiously
Severus chose his words carefully “Someone who was supposed to be in your class this year. But his aunt appears to have lost him”
Hadrian frowned “How does someone lose a kid? They’re not a pair of socks”
“You’d be surprised” he muttered “Anyway, have you thought about where you want to go for your birthday?”
His attempt at changing the subject worked like a charm “Can we go to the zoo?” Hadrian asked with pleading eyes
Severus set down the newspaper with a warm smile he saved only for his son “The zoo it is”
---
The night before, Minerva had been writing out the addresses for the soon-to-be First Years to receive their letters. Among them was the one meant for Hadrian. She smiled with delight in seeing his name on the list. He was, after all, the closest thing she had to a grandchild. Lovingly called Grandma Minnie by Hadrian, she made it no secret that he was her favourite. Even now, she was still shocked that Severus managed to hide him from them for so long. As far as she knew, he had no family outside of Hogwarts. Only to one day turn up at the castle with a five-year-old in tow, claiming him as his son. The resemblance was uncanny so Minerva never doubted his story. She just wished he had felt more comfortable in telling them he was a father. They could have helped in the early years.
Her smile faded when she came upon Harry Potter’s name. Her heart had broken in two when she heard the news. Albus had been left in a state of shock for days. Unable to comprehend that the Ministry had been lying to him all these years. Harry had vanished years ago and no one had realised until far too late. They didn’t know where he went, what happened to him, if he was even still alive.
She had no idea the boy she considered her grandson was really the missing Chosen One all the Wizarding World was looking for.