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Chapter Text

McGonagall hadn't always wanted to be a mother. She had been content to work at boutiques and rise to the top of fashion trends when she was younger. Her obsessions lasted her through her first century, past the point where even witches could have children. 

And then.... then it hit. On her 112th birthday, she remembered it well. Friends came around, some with children in tow, and she had to excuse herself to cry. 

It had been very confusing, but she supposed that the heart, mind, and body were almost never on the same page, so why should they be on the same page about this? 

There was magic one could perform to have a child, no matter one's age or gender, but even then, it was dangerous and often resulted in debilitating dysphoria. And she didn't have a partner of either gender to help her. She had looked for a while, but she just.... couldn't find any. There were plenty of interesting mages that she could have just married, but in the end, she didn't really love them. She didn't really understand it herself, but she never could wrap her mind around the idea of a romantic partner. 

So, she had done the next best thing. She had taken classes, received training, and read all sorts of books before applying to be a teacher at Hogwarts. 

The headmaster, Dumbledore, welcomed her in and she became the Transfiguration teacher, and, eventually, the Head of house for Gryffindor. 

Now, it was like she had many children. She tucked in the ones with homesickness and helped those who caught that year's version of dragon pox. She laughed along with them, made sure they ate more vegetables than candy (or at least the same amount of vegetables and candy) and helped with any issues some of her new children had with their friends. 

Then, she would watch them grow up, and they would leave, but many would come back to spend some time with her and play a game of exploding snaps as though it were Sunday evening in the common room again. 

It was wonderful. Plus, Minerva was able to get children out of bad situations when she saw it. She didn't have too many that needed help like that, thank Merlin, but it happened often enough she knew exactly what to look for. She never missed those signs a second time as her mind replayed them to her in horror over and over again when she lay awake at night. 

Still, it was all worth it. Every second of it.

This year was different. The students were arriving and Slughorn was nowhere to be found, leaving his Slytherins without a head of house for the evening. 

Minerva didn't need to be asked. She elbowed past Professor Sprout to volunteer to handle the Slytherin students. 

Minerva had also taken on the duty of welcoming the first years to Hogwarts and telling them how the Sorting would happen. The first years were always her favorite. She never grew tired of their awe in the light of the school, having just crossed the lake and seen it in all its glory. She wished she could assuage all of their nerves and tell them it would be alright, but the nerves wouldn't go away until the Sorting was over. 

Still, Minerva tried. 

She stood in front of the new batch of first years, giving them her faint smile. This batch already looked like they would be a handful. Especially the three students whispering to each other despite her having cleared her throat to get their attention.

She knew exactly who they were. James looked just like his father. Potter genes were strong, after all. And Sirius Black was easily recognizable himself. It was interesting that the two should be talking. Potters were typically Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors while Blacks tended to be mostly Slytherins. With them was a boy Minerva had been told about. Remus Lupin. A werewolf child who certainly looked like one. Scrawny, aged beyond his years, and scarred. Still, he looked happy enough to be talking with Potter and Black. 

Minerva cleared her throat again and the boys looked up at her. 

She nodded and began her beginning of year speech. 

"Welcome to Hogwarts. The School for Witchcraft and Wizardry," she said, enjoying the shivers of nerves and excitement she drew from the group in front of her. "I am glad to see you have all made it in one piece. The Giant Squid must not have been hungry tonight."

There were a few looks of terror before the children seemed to realize she was teasing, and they started to laugh. 

Minerva smiled, about to go on when she saw him. 

The child looked so much like his mother, Eileen Prince. Minerva had heard that Eileen had turned down a marriage with Abraxas Malfoy and had love married a muggle. That, of course, wasn't a problem. What was a problem, however, was the child himself. He was thin. Too thin. His face was gaunt, his eyes just a little sunken in. He didn't have the puppy fat 11 year olds were supposed to have as they began to transition from children to teens. His hair was lank and greasy and tangled. A girl with red hair (perhaps a Weasley relative) was actually helping him with it, using a tiny brush she must have had in her bag.

He lifted a hand to grab her wrist, face twitching in an annoyed kind of pain, and Minerva felt her stomach sink when she saw how thin his wrists were. When the sleeve of his school robes slipped down, Minerva was certain she saw the edge of a bruise. 

Minerva cleared her throat and worked her way through the rest of the speech, explaining that the Sorting hat would put them in one of four houses, but her mind was already on that boy. 

Her Gryffindors could handle themselves for a bit. She would tell the prefects to take care of the children and keep them occupied while she went to the Slytherin dorms and spoke with them first. Then she would take the boy aside from whatever house he got sorted into and directly to Madam Pomfrey. Things should go normally from there and then she could give her lions their start of term talk then or in the morning. 

Tomorrow, she would have to visit Eileen and see if she was the one to do this, or if she needed help herself. Either way, it would be unpleasant. 

Minerva let the first years into the Great Hall where they lined up and she stood by the stood with the hat on it. 

Minerva knew the feast would be a long one, as every moment the hat took to sing made her more and more antsy. 

Finally, the Sorting got underway and she read each name, wondering which one belonged to that boy. 

The Sorting nearly started off with a riot, as Sirius Black was sorted into Gryffindor. Gryffindors went wild and the pure blood Slytherins cried out in outrage. Minerva simply gave Sirius a smile and directed him to her house. 

James and Remus, it seemed, would not be separated from their new friend as they went to her house too. 

The red haired girl turned out to not be a Weasley or a Weasley relative. Lily Evans was also a Gryffindor. 

Severus Snape. That was the boy's name. 

He walked up to the stool, looking a little shaky. Minerva couldn't tell if it was from nerves or something else. 

He sat down, thin hands on thin knees and Minerva gently placed the hat on his head and hoped he would be placed somewhere he could be happy. 

"SLYTHERIN!"

At least it would be easy for Minerva to track him down. She watched him go, now noticing the limp he walked with and tried to hide. 

She looked back at the first years that were left and kept a sigh to herself, wishing she could just skip to after the feast. 

........................................

Minerva walked quickly to the dungeons after alerting the Gryffindor prefects she would be a bit late in coming to give the lions their talk. Slughorn hadn't shown up during the feast and the rumor was that he was sick after eating something a previous student had brought for him. 

She soon reached the Slytherin dorms and murmured the password, stepping in to find all of the students waiting for her. 

She looked around the common room and smiled. "I'm sure you're aware that Professor Slughorn is sick tonight, so I will be giving you your talk."

She cleared her throat and said, "The house of Slytherin is one of nobility and wisdom. Acting only after you think things through is an important part if being a Snake. You will watch out for each other, and be gentle with one another. Some of you young ones may be under the impression this is a house of backstabbers and Dark mages. I must impress upon you that it is not. You are to be leaders one day, and you are to work together with other houses to achieve your goals, understand?"

She got nods from the younger students and noticed a few eye rolls from pure-bloods, but no one said anything. 

"Now, that hall has the girls dorms. You will find three or four to a room and your names are on the doors. If you are to experience any difficulties with your roommates, you shall let me or your head of house know when he returns. Boys dorms are down that hall and the same rules apply. 

"Reminder that Madam Pomfrey will, over the course of this week, host lessons in puberty and other such things. The first years will have theirs before lunch tomorrow to start. Be sure to be there as this is a mandatory assembly. Are there any questions?"

She answered a few questions, now looking for Severus in the crowd. She began to panic internally when she couldn't see him. When the questions were over she pulled over a prefect. "Where is Severus Snape?"

"Hmm?" the teen asked, looking around. "Crap! Professor, I counted the first years twice, I promise! He should be here!"

"Don't worry, I shall look for him," Minerva said soothingly. "Help get the first years settled in their rooms and let me know if you have any trouble."

The teen nodded and she left the common room after looking around one more time. 

After a moment of consideration, she took her cat form, sniffing at all of the scents to be found in the corridor. 

Students, young and old, dungeon smells, lake, algae. 

There. Her heart nearly stopped as she smelled blood. Not menstruation blood, but the blood from a festering wound. 

She followed the trail down the hall where it stopped in front of a small one person bathroom. It was usually a looked over room, and one that could be locked from the inside. 

Minerva gave a soft meow of worry. She considered how to proceed, when the door opened and dark, almost black eyes, looked out at her. 

Severus was kneeling on the floor, and seemed relieved when he saw her. 

"Thought I was hearin' things," he said in an accent that was some strange mix of upper and lower class. 

Minerva considered transforming, but he opened the door wider and she saw he had taken off his robes. He didn't have the typical undergarments of a magus child on. Clothing made to be covering and treated differently than muggle undergarments. Mage undergarments were often meant to be decent for outer wear, as you needed to be able to strip out of contaminated robes quickly at times in public settings if you happened to get magic or potions on them that might eat through to you. 

Instead, he wore just muggle boxers. There was a worn out tank top on the floor with a simple kit of bandages he was trying to address wounds with. 

And the wounds were terrible. He had been belted severely enough the welts and cuts wrapped around his sides and over his shoulders. She couldn’t see the backs of his legs, but she didn't like the careful way he sat. 

He had hand shaped bruises on his arms, and, without the scarf he had worn through dinner, she could see the hand shaped bruise around his throat. 

She backed up quickly, aware that she was only seeing this much because he thought she was just a cat. 

She turned her tail to him, and began her transformation, her back popping in complaint as she shifted. 

She heard him gasp and the door slammed closed. 

She cleared her throat when she was back in human form and very gently knocked on the door. 

"Mr. Snape?" she asked. 

She could only hear the scrambling behind the door as he rushed to get dressed and grab his things. Then, it went silent and he made no move to open the door.

"Severus?" Minerva asked, so, so gently. 

He didn't respond again, and she tried to the handle. 

He hadn't re-locked it, and it opened under her hand. 

He was dressed again, complete with the scarf around his throat. He was pale and trembling and on the verge of tears. 

"Please, Ma'am, it weren't what it looked like."

"I think it was," Minerva said. "You're not in trouble, dear. I want to get someone to take a proper look at your back, alright?"

She stepped back, and he didn't follow, eyes brimming with tears. 

"Nothin'-nothin' is happenin'-," he said softly. "Nothin'. I'm just clumsy, see? Nothin'-"

"Severus. Come with me," Minerva said more sternly. 

He jerked as his legs moved before his brain was ready, and he followed her down the hall. 

She made sure he stuck with her as they left the dungeons and walked sown the halls to the infirmary. 

Severus couldn’t stop trembling, his gaze very distant. 

"What's wrong, dear?" Minerva asked. "What are you afraid is going to happen?"

"Ye'll call my parents," he said in a whispered. "And.... and nothin' happened but you think it did. And...."

"Will you be in trouble with them?" she asked, saddened by the notion, but it wouldn't be the first time she'd heard of it.

He nodded despite himself. 

"I'll ensure you are safe," Minerva promised. "Try to relax. I will handle everything."

Severus didn't relax. 

Chapter Text

Severus felt like he was going to have a heart attack and die. His heart was beating so quickly in his chest he felt like it was shaking him with every pulse. 

He dared a glimpse up at Professor McGonagall and wanted to shrink away from her fierce expression. She said he wasn't in trouble, and maybe he wasn't in trouble here, he would be as soon as word got back to his father that a teacher had seen his injuries. 

The last time it happened, social services had been called and they had investigated his family. His mother managed to talk them all through it and convinced them that Severus had been hurt by a stranger trying to mug them, but that they hadn't filed a police report because nothing had been taken and Severus hadn't been hurt enough to go to the hospital. 

The hand print on his throat had been too recognizable to call an accident. 

His father had beaten him bloody that night and warned him that if Severus ever let someone see his injuries again, he would make Severus so ugly he would have to pay double to make street walkers even look him in the eye. 

Afterward, when his mother was cleaning him up, she promised she would never let that happen and that she would leave Tobias Snape soon and take Severus with her. 

That had been when he was 9. She had never been able to keep Tobias from beating Severus. She always said she would leave, and then didn't. 

Severus hated her for it, which was very hard, because he did love his mother. She kept him mostly fed. About as fed as she kept herself, at least, and she cleaned his wounds and sometimes healed the more hidden ones with magic when she thought she could get away with it. 

But she never left Tobias. Not even for Severus's safety. 

Severus sniffled and was startled when Professor McGonagall put a hand on the back of his head comfortingly. He wondered why she didn't pat him on the shoulder, considering how filthy his hair was, when he remembered she had seen his wounds. 

He sniffled again, and Professor McGonagall slowly guided him to walk pressed into her side, her cloak falling around him and hiding him from the world. 

He grasped his hand in the back of her robes, trying to take calm, steady breathes, but they kept hitching in his throat. 

"He's gonna to make mama pull me out of school," he whimpered. "I haven't even been here for a whole day. Can't you wait to tell them, ma'am?" 

"You are not going to be leaving school, Severus," Professor McGonagall said fiercely, like they would have to kill her to take him away. 

He stared at the folds of her cloak in surprise as they kept walking down the hall to the infirmary. 

Suddenly Professor McGonagall was pulling back her cloak for a friendly looking mediwitch to see him. 

"Hello dear," the woman said kindly. "I'm Madam Pomfrey. What is your name?"

"Severus," he murmured. 

"Severus," Madam Pomfrey said warmly. "I want to help you out, okay?"

"We will want to see all of the wounds and then heal them," Professor McGonagall said calmly. "Do you want to be awake or asleep for that?"

Severus looked between the two of them. He didn't like being asleep when he didn't know if it was safe, but the two of them didn't really seem dangerous. Plus, the idea of having to be awake and aware, watching them as they looked at him and struggled to hide whatever reactions they wanted to hide.... that made his stomach hurt. 

"What's gonna happen when I'm better?" he asked instead, stalling for time to make up his mind or to distract them from the issue.

"When you're better you're going to rest here for a bit," Madam Pomfrey said cheerfully. "No running off and undoing all my hard work, you hear?"

"What about classes?" he asked, clutching at Professor McGonagall's robes even harder. 

"It will be alright, you won't be in trouble for missing classes," Professor McGonagall assured him. "They are mostly introduction classes, at any rate. And you should be fine to go to class the day after."

Severus nodded faintly, swallowing hard a couple of times. "And then my parents?"

Professor McGonagall wrinkled her nose. "I will be visiting them tomorrow to get their side of the story, but I want to hear yours first. I believe you will tell me the true version of events."

Severus trembled and shook his head. "I can't."

"Please, darling?" Professor McGonagall asked, crouching down to get a better look at him. "Please let me help you. I can't help you as effectively if you don't tell me, but I will help you either way."

He sniffled and nodded. He clung to her arm now, staring at his scuffed up shoes and whispered, "I don't know where to start."

"I'll help," Professor McGonagall said, nodding to Madam Pomfrey who got out her wand and cast something that made the edges of the room kind of flicker. 

"Recording spell, love," Madam Pomfrey said as Severus looked up curiously. "If you're alright with it. Then you don't ever have to say all this again."

Severus nodded eagerly and turned his attention to Professor McGonagall, trying to act like he didn't think the spell was the coolest thing ever. 

The only time his mother performed magic was when she was desperate, and she was so careful to hide it. Seeing it done out in the open made Severus feel so incredibly happy, and yet terrified someone would walk in and start screaming at them all. 

"Alright," Professor McGonagall said softly. "We''ll start with this. Who hurt you?"

Severus looked down and said, "Tobias."

"Your father?"

"Don' like callin' him that," Severus replied morosely. 

Professor McGonagall nodded. "Alright, Tobias, then. And Eileen?"

"My mama ain't never hurt me, ma'am," he replied firmly. "She does her best for me, she does."

"Alright. What does she do to try and protect you from Tobias?"

Severus looked down. "She, uh... she can't do much, ma'am. She ain't allowed to do magic in the house... and Tobias would beat her too iffen she tried to stop him."

The look on Professor McGonagall's face almost made Severus want to top talking. He looked down at his feet, unsure of what to say. 

Professor McGonagall put her hand very gently on his should, lightly enough to where she didn't cause pain in the welts there. 

"I saw your injuries," she said ever so gently. "Why did he do that to you this time?"

Severus sniffled and looked down. "He were drunk, ma'am."

"That's it?"

Severus shrugged. "He tried to tell me why, but I couldn't understand him. Not really."

Professor McGonagall nodded. "I'm sure that it wasn't a fair excuse anyway. How often does he hurt you like this?"

Severus shrugged again. "Nearly everyday. I try not to go home.... been stayin' with a friend a lot, but iffin I'm not home to take it, he takes it out on my mama."

Severus sniffled again, trying not to cry. Only Tobias ever saw him cry. Made him cry. He didn't want to cry in front of these very nice witches who weren't really doing anything to hurt him. Just asking gentle questions and figuring out how to help him. He knew they wanted to help, and something told him that they could help where the social workers couldn't. They had magic. Tobias didn't. Severus had been so looking forward to school so that he could have a wand and maybe, eventually, defend himself and his mother. Maybe he would be the one to get them both out since his mother wasn't strong enough. He couldn't actually believe that she loved Tobias, not after he had taken to beating Severus every day. 

"I think that's enough for now," Professor McGonagall said with a friendly smile. She was very friendly. She had seemed so stern on the steps, but now she was soft and kind and it made him want to hug her like he hugged his mother. "Alright, sweetheart. You've hurt for long enough. How about we get you healed up, hmm?"

He nodded and Professor McGonagall turned to Madam Pomfrey, who gave him an even warmer smile, patting a bed. "Hop up here and we'll start cleaning you up, darling," she said. "Now, did you want to be awake or asleep?"

Severus looked down, still uncertain, but he felt.... safe. Or safer. "Can.... can Lily Evans be here when I wake up? She's my best friend."

"Of course, honey," Madam Pomfrey said, glancing at Professor McGonagall who nodded. "Does she know about all this already?"

He gave the smallest of nods. 

Soon, she had given him a couple of potions to take, one for the pain, one to put him to sleep. He laid on his side, breathing slowly as Professor McGonagall stepped forward, very gently stroking his lank hair. "Everything will be alright when you wake up," Professor McGonagall murmured. "I will make sure of it. No matter what happens to you or what happens with your parents, I will be here, alright?"

He nodded under her hand and slowly sleep overcame him. 

Minerva glanced at Madam Pomfrey, who cast something and nodded, confirming that the small boy was asleep. 

Minerva pulled back the blanket she had put over Severus to make him feel safer as he fell asleep and started to pull off his school robes. 

She could sense Madam Pomfrey's distress in the slight shake of her hands as his injuries were revealed, but she cleared her throat and got on with it as they undressed the boy completely to make sure they didn't miss any injuries whatsoever. 

The poor thing had been whipped from his shoulder down to the backs of his thighs, and it took the two of them quite a while to disinfect and seal all of welts that had become open wounds, especially where they had become infected.

Early in the process, Minerva remembered her Gryffindors and sent her Patronus out with a message to the Head girl to do her speech for her and make sure everyone got to bed on time. Then she went back to work. 

Severus was covered in bruises, and Minerva gently rubbed Bruise Balm into every one, watching as they started to lighten under her applications. 

Madam Pomfrey checked for broken bones, finding several and a badly set collar bone. She had to re-break it, and that was the only time Severus stirred, giving a sleepy gasp before settling back down under the effects of the potions. 

Madam Pomfrey had tears tricking down her face as she used magic to reposition the bone and then set it, magicking Skele-gro into the boy's stomach so the bones would start to heal. 

Minerva found scars on the bottoms of Severus's feet that looked like they had been from some kind of punishment as well. They were completely healed, and the bones of his feet seemed fine, so she let it be.

Eventually, they finished. The boy's bruises were faded, his cuts and welts were soothed and sealed, leaving only red marks that would fade after 24 hours or so, and his poor little face had a little bit more color to it. 

Minerva accepted the clothing that Madam Pomfrey brought to her, and didn't mind when the nurse turned and left for her office to have a good cry. 

Minerva would have one of her own later. 

She dressed Severus in the magically reinforced undergarments mages typically wore, giving the muggle underwear a scathing look. She gently pulled a nightshirt over his head and tucked him in. After a moments hesitation, Minerva pulled off her robes and put them over him on the bed, the protection charms in the fabric glowing faintly in response to her desires for them to keep him safe from anything that could possibly try to harm him. 

She sat in the bed side, running her fingers over the embroidery on her daywear clothing to try and soothe herself as she watched Severus's little face. 

This kind of protectiveness.... she had seen students abused before, and she had handled it. Severus wasn't even the worst case, but he was her youngest case. She found herself imagining tucking him into the bed in her guest quarters, at her cottage and at Hogwarts. She imagined smiling at him in class because he was hers and no one else's. She imagined him coming to stay with her in her rooms every weekend instead of going to his common room. 

Her fingers itched to sign papers she wasn't sure she would even be allowed to sign. She felt that urge return to her. The desire for a child that had been quelled up until this point by her job. 

She summoned her Patronus one more time to send a message to the Headmaster, and then settled in, watching Severus sleep. 

Chapter Text

When Severus woke up, there were two people by his bed. Professor McGonagall and-

"Lily," he hummed, untangling his arms from the blankets to reach for her. 

Lily and Professor McGonagall had been having a discussion about something that Severus didn't catch, but Lily turned, her eyes glittering with excitement. "Sev! You're awake! Are you alright?"

Severus, for the first time in what felt like his life, was alright. It lifted his mood in a way he thought was impossible, actually, to have his pains all taken away. There was an ache in his broken ribs, but nothing like how they hurt before, and his collarbone felt different, but in a good way. He smiled and nodded, reaching up to touch his throat where he felt no twinge of pain. "I am," he breathed before tears came unbidden. 

He covered his face, as a strange sob shook him, and Lily cried out, crawling onto the bed with him and grabbing him in a fierce hug. He clung to her, sobbing in quiet confusion as a wash of strange emotions hit him. 

He felt someone stroking his back, and Professor McGonagall said,"That's alright dear. You have had an incredibly difficult time. It's alright to cry."

That made him cry harder, and Lily nearly suffocated him with how her hold on him tightened. 

"Ugh, I wish I could go back in time," she whispered to Severus. "The hat couldn't decide if I should be in Slytherin or Gryffindor and it put me in Gryffindor since I didn't much care."

"'S alright," Severus said between sobs that were beginning to slow and quiet. "We're still friends."

"You are," Professor McGonagall agreed. "And very good friends at that. Perhaps it is better not to be in the same house. Sometimes that can destroy friendships having to live in such close proximity."

Lily and Severus both nodded, and Severus pulled back so he could rub his eyes. 

He looked at the bed, and recognized Professor McGonagall's robes on the bed. 

His mother had told him about how much mages cared their robes. They were a shield against the world. It protected them from spells and mundane danger alike. Adult robes tended to be extremely personalized to that mage, almost like a second skin. The first impression anyone would have of a mage. 

Laying your robes down on someone who was sleeping or giving them to someone else made you, in turn, more vulnerable and declared that the person you were protecting was more important than yourself. 

Severus knew all this. His mother had talked in length about it, how her gestures of giving her jacket to her husband were always overlooked because Muggles didn't have that culture. How she thought him giving her his jacket on their first few dates had been more special than it actually was. 

Professor McGonagall had laid her robes over Severus all night, and she was still only wearing her green daywear with it's loose sleeves and split skirt and lovely, simple embroidery. 

Severus burst into tears again, this time reaching out and clutching at the robes that were on the bed instead of clinging to Lily. 

Lily gave him a confused look, uncertain what was happening. She was from a muggle family, she didn't know how important robes were yet. 

Professor McGonagall did, though, and she cooed softly and leaned forward, scooping Severus to her chest. 

"It's alright," she said, grabbing her robes and wrapping them gently around Severus. 

Severus had never felt more safe in his entire life, and he couldn't stop crying.

He sat there, safe in Professor McGonagall's arms for a long time, Lily stroking his back through the teacher's robes until he could finally stop crying. More through sheer exhaustion rather than the fact that his emotions had run out. 

"You're probably really tired," Professor McGonagall said gently. "And your injuries still need time to settle after all of the magic we used last night. Miss Evens, I have cleared you from your next class if you would stay with him while I am gone."

"Where are you going?" Severus croaked nervously. 

"I need to go check that some things are in order for you," she said, running her hand over his head. "Do you want me to leave my robes here for you?"

He looked into her eyes, and seemed to know where she was planning on going. He leaned out of her arms and unwrapped her robes from around himself, holding them out to her. 

"You'll need them," he whispered. "Please be careful."

She nodded and took them, putting them back on before grabbing her cloak from a nearby chair. 

"I will be back later. Madam Pomfrey will bring you something to eat soon," Professor McGonagall said. "Please try and eat as much of it as you can without getting sick."

Severus nodded and watched as she left. 

Lily gave him a big smile. "Minerva said she was going to help you!"

"Minerva?" he asked. 

"She told me to call her than while we weren't in class," Lily said. "She's really cool! She's the Transfiguration teacher!"

Severus nodded distantly and groaned a little when Madam Pomfrey brought him something to eat. He didn’t think he would make it through three mouthfuls before he passed out. 

Sure enough, he fell asleep halfway through his yogurt and Lily had to save him from getting it all in his hair. 

...................................

Minerva walked down Spinner's End, eyeing the houses lining the streets. The houses were all fairly run down, but not terrible. Some even looked cozy. 

The Snape house, though, did not. 

It loomed over her, and she could taste the despair leaking through the boards, as though a dementor lived here. 

Or a very sick witch. 

She knocked on the door and waited. 

It took a long time for anyone to open it, but it did eventually open. 

Eileen was.... she was just as thin as her son. Minerva knew that if she undressed her former pupil, the woman's hips and ribs would jut out just like her son's did, but she would never bounce back like Severus was likely to.

"Eileen," Minerva breathed as the smell of stale magic and sickness hit her from inside the house. 

Eileen looked down, ashamed and embarrassed. "You know, then?"

"I'm here to help."

"No one can help me, Professor," Eileen said, her tone dull and dead. "I can't save myself and no one else can.... and my son-" Her voice broke and she covered her mouth, tears tracking down her cheeks. 

"Eileen," Minerva said softly. "What's happened?"

Eileen shook her head and gestured for Minerva to follow her into the house. 

The house was dark and rather... crusty. There were cigarette smoke stains on everything, and the floors looked like blood and vomit had been applied to it consistently and almost washed all the way off every time. 

Minerva followed Eileen to the kitchen, where she sat down at the table covered in random clutter and overdue bills. 

Eileen sniffled and got a hold of herself.

No, that wasn't quite right. She put herself somewhere far away, where she would be deaf and numb to the words she was about to say. 

"I bound myself to him."

Minerva gaped at her. "Eileen-"

"I knew my parent would break the marriage up and give me to someone else, so I bound my magic with Tobias. I can't.... he controls me through it. It was foolish, and I knew it was permanent, but I thought-" her voice broke again. She shoved her emotions farther away and said, "It doesn't matter. I thought I could withstand the pain of losing my magic completely. I tried. A couple of times I've tried to leave just to see if I could do it. I didn't take Sev. He didn't need to see it.... I'm dying, Professor. I will die if I leave. I bound too much of myself in Tobias and I can never get out."

Minerva shook her head. "Professor Dumbledore will surely know what ton do. I-"

"I've reached out to him. There is nothing," she whispered. "And I have already pushed too far. I can't.... I will die. I have until the end of the week, I think. I haven't told Tobias..... I knew he will follow me when I die. I have stopped him from killing himself twice this month, and as soon as I am gone, he will go."

Minerva knew what Eileen was asking. Still, Minerva felt out Eileen's magic, just to be sure. 

It was broken, a limb hanging on by a thread. It couldn't be repaired in time to save Eileen. She was a dead woman walking. 

Minerva reached across the bills and rotting plates and took Eileen's hands in hers. They were freezing, and the tips of her fingers were too grey to be healthy. 

"I will take care of him," Minerva promised. "I will take him as my own."

Eileen sniffled and nodded. "I know how you wanted children," she said, choked up. "I wish... I wish I had given him to someone sooner. Before.... before Tobias-"

Eileen broke down, and Minerva got up to come around the table to hold her. 

They sat like that for a very, very long time. 

Eileen finally looked at the clock, all out of tears and hope and care. "You need to go. Tobias will be back. He can't see you here."

Minerva nodded and ran her hand trough Eileen's matted hair. 

"I am so sorry," Minerva whispered. "I am so sorry this happened. I am so sorry no one was there for you. I wish I could go back."

"You were there for me," Eileen whispered. "My last day of school you spoke with me and we had that afternoon chat.... You sent me letters asking if I was okay, and I lied in every single one of them. I wish.... I wish I had been smarter."

Minerva couldn't help but agree, but chose to comfort her. "I will make sure your son remembers you. And to know that you loved him."

"No.... no, tell him I'm sorry I wasn't strong enough to get him out before now... and then let my memory die in him," she whispered. "You will make a much better mother than I."

Minerva swallowed hard, trying to come up with something to say, some comfort to give, but she was too choked up. 

Eileen stood and pushed Minerva toward the door. Minerva turned on the doorstep, offering a hug, which Eileen accepted completely. 

Then, Minerva took off her robes, and put them over Eileen's head. "Please keep them," Minerva whispered, tears beginning to spill down her cheeks. "Please wear them. And I will ensure you are buried in them."

Eileen held the robes close, awe and gratitude in her eyes. She nodded. "Thank you."

Minerva nodded, and she left. 

She had to stop at a friends' house before going home first. Harvey and Elizabeth, as always, were incredibly kind and helped her calm down immensely. She cried herself out of tears, and took some time to freshen up. Harvey helped her draw up some plans for her next set of every day robes, including teaching her some new enchantments she might like to lay in the fabric, and then, she went back to Hogwarts. 

She stopped to see Severus first. Lily was gone, and he was asleep. Minerva stood over him for a long time before leaning down to kiss his head. 

He would be an orphan in a week or two, and he didn't even know it. Minerva wasn't even sure how she was supposed to break it to him. How did you tell a child that his parents were gone? That his world would change forever?

That's where Dumbledore found her. He seemed to know what was going on without her having to say anything, and he gave her a hug and pulled her favorite sweet, a strawberry bon bon, from his pocket. 

She sucked on it, watching that child that Eileen had declared hers. 

Her child. Severus Snape.

Chapter Text

Eileen had been right. She had only been dead a few hours when her husband killed himself. 

Minerva left Tobias to be buried by his cousin, and she took over Eileen's burial. She arranged the time, invited people, made sure the body would be prepared correctly to make her look as lovely as possible, and ensured that Minerva's own robes would be buried with Eileen. 

She just had to tell Severus. 

Severus had taken to his new classes like a duck to water. He looked cleaner, and he was eating well, it seemed. He would sometimes sit at the Gryffindor table and other times, Lily would sit with him at Slytherin, no matter what anyone said to them. 

Minerva loved him, but she didn't really know him that well. An 11 year old had likes and dislikes and a budding personality. She didn't know how he would react to this, but it had to be done. 

She waited until a weekend, where she tracked him down and smiled at him and Lily where they were playing in the shallows of the Great Lake. 

"Severus," she called, and her heart sang at the sound. That was the name of her son! Her mind tried to quell it, to remind her heart that this was a sad thing, but her heart would not listen. 

Severus came eagerly. They had spoken a few times, and she had asked how he would liking school, what he enjoyed, if he was getting enough food, and if Madam Pomfrey was happy with his weight gain after his last check in with her. 

He seemed to enjoy talking to her. 

"'Lo, ma'am," he said. 

"I need to speak with you in my office... I'm afraid it is sad news," she said carefully. "Will you want Lily to come with you?"

"Is it about my mum, ma'am?"

"It is."

"Then she's dead?"

Minerva hated how certain he was of the fact. And that he was right.

She nodded. 

"How?"

"Would you prefer to have this conversation out here or inside?"

Severus looked down and sniffed. "Inside," he murmured. 

He turned to Lily and said, "I'm going to talk with Professor McGonagall. See you tonight?"

"Yeah," Lily said warmly. 

She ran over, quite damp from playing in the lake and gave him a hug before he followed Minerva back to the castle, carrying his shoes rather than putting them on. 

Minerva didn't say anything about it. 

They reached her office, and instead of sitting at the desk she gestured to the small sofa. 

They both sat, turned to one another. 

"Was it da?" Severus croaked. 

Minerva almost didn't know who he meant for a moment. Severus never called Tobias his father or his dad, and Minerva couldn't bring herself to think of the man as such either. 

"No. No, Severus. She.... your mother was afraid when she was younger that someone would take her from Tobias. They truly loved each other, in the beginning. I know that's hard to understand. I struggle to understand it myself."

Severus nodded bravely. 

"And, well, she did something rather foolish. She bound her magic to Tobias. So she couldn't leave without losing her magic."

Severus closed his eyes and nodded again. 

"She tried to leave him recently, and it... well, we are magical creatures. We don't survive without it."

Severus sniffled and Minerva gave into the urge to pull him closer, settling her loose sleeved arm over him as though to hide him from the world. 

"Then it's just.... him."

"No, he is dead too," Minerva said gently. 

"Did ma kill him?" Severus asked in surprise. 

Minerva pursed her lips, trying to decide how much to tell him. "No, she didn't. No one did."

"Oh....." Severus seemed to draw his own conclusions and was satisfied with the end result. Minerva could confirm or deny them when he was older and was ready to learn about his father's suicidal tendencies, if he didn't already know.

"Now what?" he whispered. 

"Well.... the funeral is on Wednesday, for your mother. Your- Tobias was already buried yesterday."

Severus nodded. "Dint wanna go to his."

"Me neither," she replied. "Do you want to go to your mother's?"

He slowly nodded. 

"Alright. I will take you. And as for after that, I spoke with your mother before she died, and she had a sort of will made. It was... somewhat unofficial, but no one else was listed to take you, so the Muggle government and the Ministry agreed. I will be taking you."

Severus's head snapped up so quickly he nearly head butted her jaw. 

He winced in apology and said, "You? Really?"

"Yes," she said warmly. "I am. And I am very, very happy to take you in. You will stay in the Slytherin dorms, but there will be a room within my rooms for you as well. You can choose where you want to stay throughout the week. I will take you out tomorrow and buy you new clothing, and we shall make sure you have everything else you need for school. Alright?"

He nodded, clearly stunned by the information. 

She waited for a moment before she cupped his face in her hands. "I don't want to replace your mother," Minerva said softly, "but if you would like to consider me as your mother... you may."

She hoped he would. 

He nodded, still dazed. She wrapped her arms around him, holding him close to her wildly beating heart. She didn't notice for a long while when he had fallen asleep against her.

.................................

Professor McGonagall warned Severus about giving his mother her robes for the funeral. She knew just how deeply the culture around robes affected him, and he was glad for the warning when he saw his mother wearing Professor McGonagall robes in the casket, her battered old wand laying on her chest under folded hands, the tip pointing down. 

He had been terrified to walk up to the casket during the viewing. He hadn't actually seen a dead person before, and he didn't really want his first one to be his mother. Still, he had been brave, holding Professor McGonagall's hand and walked up. 

She looked.... so peaceful. It didn't look like his mother laying in the casket. She didn't have any fear in her face, or concern or guilt or despair. 

This was something his mother left behind, and Professor McGonagall had clothed it anyway.

Severus sniffled, staring at his mother, memorizing her face. He decided that this was the face he should remember forever. Here, when she was at peace and seemed mildly happy, even if someone had worked to put that expression on her face. 

It was better than the rest of his memories of her. 

Professor McGonagall led him away and hugged him again. She did that a lot and while Severus knew other kids his age would start to be embarrassed, he just.... couldn't. It meant so much to him that she would keep hugging him. Little, ugly, grubby Severus Snape. 

Professor McGonagall leaned back and looked at him as though he was her whole world, and she cupped his face. "I promise I will always be here for you, Severus," she said firmly. 

"Ta, Professor," he replied very quietly. 

"Please, Severus. Call me Minerva. Or... or perhaps Minny if you wouldn't mind."

"Minny," he said, trying the name out. Something softened in her eyes, and he decided he loved it. 

She stood up and held his hand, leading him out of the hall and to the room the memorial service would be held in. 

It was short. There weren't many people that had some to talk about his mother, but those that did gave him stories he knew he would treasure forever. 

Profe- Minny, blew her nose through the whole thing, clutching Severus to her side like she was afraid someone would try to take him away. He clung just as fiercely to her. 

Then, they watched his mother's burial and he got to put flowers on top of the casket before stepping back and grabbing a handful of dirt, alongside Minny. They scattered the dirt over the casket and stepped back as others took over burying it. 

Everyone else left, but the two stayed to watch the whole thing before they went to the luncheon. 

Severus didn't remember the luncheon, but he did remember tea in Minny's office afterward, sitting on the sofa wrapped in Minny's robes while she had a meeting with a 6th year student that he didn't pay much attention to. 

Severus felt he had used up all of his emotions for the next year, and he stared into his cup, wondering if they would ever come back. 

............................

Severus was quiet for the next week or so, and he stayed in Minerva's guest room every evening. 

She expected that. What she didn't expect was on the second night being woken up by Severus, who stood with wet eyes and shaking shoulders. 

He mumbled something in his peculiar accent about a dream and she let him crawl into bed with her, where she held him close and he curled against her, head tucked under her chin. 

He stayed there, and Minerva wished desperately that he wasn't so small and skinny. She could still feel all of his bones, even with the weight he'd put on. At least his hip bones didn't jut out as painfully as they used to, but it still made her-

Severus mumbled against her, and she tilted her head to try and hear him better. 

"What was that?" she asked gently. 

He was silent for a long moment, clutching at her nightgown. 

Finally, he took a breath and said, "I wish you were my real mum."

Minerva scooped her arm under him, holding him even closer. 

"Oh, sweetheart. I know. I wouldn't mind if you wanted to call me mum, you know."

"Really?" he whispered, voice trembling. 

"No. I would love it very much, in fact."

He sniffled. He felt his jaw against her collarbone move, but heard no words. 

She held him like that until he had fallen asleep, then loosened her grip so she could get comfortable. She laid awake, holding the boy until sleep finally remembered her too. 

......................

Severus didn't start calling her mum the next day. Or the day after, but after about a week she heard him talking to Lily as the came down the hall in her direction as she was taking a break between classes. 

"Come on, Lils!" he said, sounding almost like an 11 year old should. "Let's ask mum!"

Minerva felt her heart nearly stop in her chest as the two ran around the corner, holding hands. 

"Oh! Minny!" he said, delighted, and he smiled. 

That smile would be the death of her, she was sure. 

"Minny, can we go out to Hagrid's hut, please?" he asked. "He invited us for tea and I wanna see his dog!"

"Fang? Oh, yes. He is a very friendly dog," Minerva said with a smile. "Go ahead. Try not to be late for your next classes, dears."

The two beamed at her, and they were off again. 

He really didn't need to ask for permission to see Hagrid, since he lived on the grounds, but something in Minerva's heart warmed at the fact that he did anyway. 

When Lily and Severus finished their classes that day, they came to her rooms and had some snacks after dinner, playing one of the card games Minerva had taught them. 

 When Lily left that evening, Severus asked to stay the night again. 

"Of course, my dear," Minerva said with a sweet smile. "You are always welcome to stay here, though your head of house may start to blame me for stealing such a star student so often."

Severus grinned and hugged her tightly. 

After a long moment, he whispered, "I love you, mum."

"I love you too, Sev," she replied, leaning down to kiss the top of his head.