Chapter 1
Severus Snape stood in the center of the ritual circle and stared in surprise at the child who appeared out of nowhere. The alcohol that had clouded his mind up to that moment disappeared in the blink of an eye when a five-year-old boy literally wove out of thin air.
He just came out of the void.
At the ritual of finding happiness.
Maybe Severus made a mistake somewhere?
Obviously, conducting such questionable rituals is not the best idea, especially when drunk, but the problem is that if he were sober, he definitely would not have decided on such a thing. And Severus Snape wanted to experience at least a little happiness.
To be honest, he was ready for a lot, but not for this…
A dirty and smelly boy was not the limit of dreams and the source of happiness for anyone. But he appeared as soon as Severus Snape finished performing the ritual.…
Maybe he stumbled upon a defective ritual?
Gray eyes looked with curiosity and naivety at the young man, whose face was distorted by horror and disgust. However, despite this, the child grabbed the coarse cloth of the robe and asked in Chinese, bringing the potions professor to a quiet tantrum:
«Are you my dad?»
A nervous tremor seized Severus Snape's body. He had never been so panicked in his life as he was now.
Who did this little thing just call Dad?!
Suddenly, a powerful stream of magic fell on the ritual circle, and soon a golden thread was formed, linking a man and a child by magical kinship, once and for all ruining the usual way of life of a potions professor.
Severus Snape turned green with horror, realizing what he had gotten himself into.
«Dad!» the boy smiled, clinging to the leg of his newfound parent, who was ready to unleash his dinner at any moment.
«Don't touch me.… I don't like children...» the young man muttered in English, but he was obviously misunderstood.
«Dad!» The boy said again and laughed loudly.
Is he a parrot in human form?
***
Severus Snape was lying on the bed and staring blankly at the ceiling. How… Why did a ritual that attracts happiness into life turn into THIS?
The professor's black eyes looked at the child who was sleeping on the couch, and then back at the ceiling.
His whole life in an instant became even worse than it was....Where did this boy come from? Is he a Muggle or a wizard? Does he even have parents? He looked like a street kid and didn't seem to remember anything. Whether it was because of a head injury or because of magic is unclear. Severus tried to figure out where the child came from, but he just blinked uncomprehendingly.
"Who would have thought that I would become the Virgin Mary of the magical world?" Snape chuckled inwardly, suppressing a nervous chuckle. "What kind of nonsense is going through my head?"
To be honest, he never thought about becoming a father one day. At least because he didn't like children. That is, he didn't like it at all. These loud, cheeky troglodytes did not fit into his quiet, measured life, at least in his dreams.
Frankly speaking... Even in his wildest dreams about Lily, he never imagined that they could have a screaming ball of poop.
And so… Out of the blue, he became a father! Not even a godfather, but a magical father! That is, now he is forever connected with this cub! Not only that, but he will have to nurse this little bastard, provide and protect! Wasn't Potter enough for him?!
Grimacing with nausea, Severus got to his feet and went to the kitchen to get a soothing potion.
It's good that Hogwarts is on vacation now. Oh, Merlin… How will he explain to his colleagues the presence of a son?! What will they think of him?!
However... what difference does it make? What rumors has he not heard about himself yet? Everyone did not think the best of him.
«Dad!»
Suddenly, a boy slipped into the kitchen and clung to his leg, almost crying.
«A-Ying was afraid that Dad had disappeared!»
Startled by the word "dad", Snape drank the entire potion in one gulp and frowned at the black top of the boy's head.
Severus Snape's Chinese wasn't too good, but it wasn't bad either, at least it could be understood.
«Children should sleep at night.»
The child raised his head and with a beaming gaze that was impossible to resist, said loudly "Ah—Ying wants to sleep with you!"
The man sighed heavily and, picking up the child, returned back to the bedroom. Severus Snape may not have been a good man, much less a father, but he could take care of a little man so that he would not die under his care.
***
Taking care of the child was not as difficult as Severus thought. The boy turned out to be surprisingly quick-witted and not picky. Registering him as your child was also easy once it became clear that Severus Snape had become a father by the law of magic. Dumbledore accepted this fact with dignity, his other colleagues did not. Professor McGonagall wailed loudly and convinced Severus that he should give the child to someone more reliable to raise. Flitwick couldn't disagree more. Like the others... to be honest, Severus Snape was very offended by this. He decided to become a better father to spite everyone.
So, in the twenty-fifth year of his life, Severus Snape became the parent of Incent Snape, or simply A- Ying.
«Okay...» Severus thought resignedly, looking at his son with a book in his hands. The kid looked at the pictures with interest and tried to repeat the familiar letters. «You're a pretty cute kid and you're not even annoying...»
Shaking his head, the man approached his son and began to teach him to read. He had never done this before and had to admit that it was quite soothing. A-Ying was a quick-witted boy.
«If all the children were even a little bit like you, I wouldn't waste so much nerves trying to squeeze a little bit of knowledge into their heads...»
A house elf, Tiki, whom Severus had acquired as a nanny, was fussing nearby.
«Master, children love fairy tales...» the elf muttered uncertainly, wiping the window with a dry cloth. «Maybe you should read the tales of the Bard Beadle, and not «how to make a potion that causes indigestion»?»
Severus Snape frowned. He had thought about it earlier, but it was interesting for Inesent to listen to how to prepare potions correctly, what certain ingredients look like and where to get them. So why load your brain with unnecessary nonsense when it is clearly interested in useful and practical information?
«Don't equate him with other children» the man eventually chuckled. «My child is a genius. Why does he need any fairy tales?»
The house elf nodded uncertainly, not daring to contradict the owner, but still decided to read some legend to Innocent before going to bed.
Tiki loved the young master very much and almost prayed for him, literally blowing dust particles off him, and he often muttered something about pure, uncluttered magic. Severus tried to find out a little more about it, but he couldn't find anything, and the elf couldn't really explain anything.
***
Time passed. Innocent was growing up. Severus couldn't get enough of him. Although Ah Ying liked to fool around, but how smart this kid was! They lived at Hogwarts most of the time, so they knew almost everything about Innocent. Almost everyone liked him too... no, Severus wasn't jealous, just… His child was so smart, kind and charming that he was afraid he would be stolen. Tiki was also afraid, so he was always close to the young master.
«Severus» Minerva McGonagall shifted uncomfortably in her seat. «Could you ask Innocent to stop bringing me valerian and mint sweets as a gift?»
Despite being human, she was still an animagus, and her feline form often influenced the human one. That's why mint and valerian slightly drugged her, which had a bad effect on her lessons.…
The man chuckled softly and asked sarcastically «What's wrong? He gives you gifts from the bottom of his pure heart.»
It was precisely because his gifts were made from the bottom of her heart that she couldn't scold the boy. He looked so sincere when he gave "Aunt Minerva" what makes her "happy." How did he even know?
Minerva suddenly shuddered and realized whose handiwork it was…
«What a vindictive man.» McGonagall thought, pursing her lips and looking at Snape. «I don't understand how father and son can be so different.»
«The boy will receive a letter next year» Dumbledore decisively changed the subject so that the deans would not quarrel. «Severus, where do you think he's going to end up?»
«Slytherin.»
«I don't agree!» objected McGonagall. «Innocent is too kind for this faculty!»
Severus Snape felt his eye twitch "And too smart for a Gryffindor!"
Flitwick nodded involuntarily, and then, coming to his senses, shook his head, wisely saying:
«What's the point of guessing now? We'll wait and see.»
Realizing that there was no point in arguing about it now, everyone decided to follow Flitwick's advice.
When the time came, the distributing hat was silent for a long time, and then grumbled with displeasure:
«Slytherin…»
Severus had never been so proud. He had no doubt in his son, who, upon hearing the name of the coveted faculty, waved to his father and went to his desk satisfied. McGonagall and Flitwick were slightly disappointed. Both deans wanted this little genius to join their faculty.
A-Ying was beaming proudly, sitting next to Draco and laughing loudly. Lucius' son was also quietly choking on laughter, leaning on his friend's shoulder.
Innocent suddenly looked seriously into his father's eyes and tapped his temple with his index finger. Severus involuntarily arched an eyebrow and applied legilimency, reading his son's superficial thoughts. He immediately felt the intrusion and showed his father his acquaintance with Harry Potter. A very good acquaintance.
«This rascal… I told him to stay away from the chosen one!» thought Severus Snape indignantly.
He loved his child very much, he didn't believe it himself, but he really loved! Only this little rascal was constantly doing what he wanted! He always needs to be looked after!
Hogwarts was in for a hard time... Severus Snape too…