1966
For the first time since he was ten, Hadrian spent the holidays alone. He didn’t spend Yule with Neville, as he had after Voldemort was defeated, or join the Weasleys and Hermione for Christmas and New Year’s, as he had since he and Ron both stayed at Hogwarts during their first-year winter break. The only positive he found was that this was the first year he wasn’t expected to kiss Ginny on New Year’s – though the New Year’s after Voldemort was defeated was just as uncomfortable for Ginny as it had been for him because she had finally gotten over her crush on him. The experience reinforced the loneliness he had been feeling since destroying the first Horcrux.The boredom he felt over being unable to work on his mission only made the seclusion worse.
So, tired of the isolation he had unintentionally placed himself in, Hadrian decided that he was going to do something to break it. However, if he was being honest with himself, he wasn’t really sure how to go about making friends. After all, he met all of his friends in his original timeline at Hogwarts, Dudley kept him from learning how to make friends when he was a child, and he was currently unemployed so didn’t have something like that to fall back on. The closest thing he had to that was the Wizengamot but that was all about power, so it wasn’t very conducive to friendships.
As he considered ways to rectify his situation, he realized that for the first time since Sirius died, he actually had living family members. Of course, his parents were younger than him now – which was an extremely odd thought – and not even Hogwarts age yet, so he had no reason to directly interact with them. His grandfather, Fleamont Potter and the current Lord Potter, was too eager to convert him to the light by citing how closely related their two lines are so he wasn’t particularly interested in interacting with him either. As for anyone else, he wasn’t even that sure of who he would be related to due to his sorely lacking knowledge of the Potters. His childhood had seen to that.
Hadrian stopped at that thought. For the most part, he had missed out on a childhood due to the Dursley’s and then Voldemort, but his parents hadn’t. He could see what he missed by seeing what their – well, what his mother’s childhood looked like; he pretty much knew what his father’s childhood looked like by Snape’s memories of his father being a spoiled brat turned bully for much of his time at Hogwarts. Shaking off the thought, focused back onto his plan of seeing his mother in her youth. Hadrian smiled, excited at the thought and began getting ready to leave his home for Cokeworth.
Hadrian apparated into Cokeworth and realized that he didn’t have a clue how to find the Evans’ home without giving himself away. He only knew they were living there due to Snape’s memories. Hadrian frowned at the flaw in his plan and decided to just walk around for now. As he walked, he took in the identical houses, litter, and the dark skies that were obviously polluted by the town’s factory. Overall, the place was rather dreary. The time traveler did not envy the place his mother grew up but knew he would have taken this place over Surrey any day if it meant he would have grown up with a loving family.
Distracted by his thoughts, it took Hadrian a minute to realize that he had made his way out of the packed area of the town and into the grassy outskirts. Suddenly, Hadrian remembered the tree that Snape and his mother met at that he had seen in Snape’s memories. Perhaps this meant he was getting close. Excited, the time traveler picked up his pace and began looking more intently at the houses. As focused on the houses as he was, Hadrian didn’t see the little boy until he ran into his legs.
Instinctively, Hadrian gently grabbed the boy’s shoulders to keep him from falling. He frowned when the boy flinched and pulled away quickly.
“Hey, it’s okay. I’m not going to hurt you. Are you alright? You ran into me pretty hard,” as he asked, Hadrian took in the worn clothes, skinny frame and dark hair. The boy’s family wasn’t very well off going by his thin frame and clothing.
The boy’s face stayed hidden by long hair and nodded, “Sorry.”
Hadrian smiled down at the boy, “Don’t worry about it. My name is Hadrian Peverell. May I ask yours?”
Sharp features softened by youth peaked out from the curtain of hair when black eyes met green. Hadrian blinked in surprise at seeing the dark eyes, realizing exactly who this was; he had just met a young Severus Snape.
A Severus Snape that had clearly been abused recently, going by the split lip and black eye.
After viewing the memories in his Snape’s pensieve, Hadrian had known that his professor had been abused as a child. However, knowing it was true and seeing the evidence were two completely different things. Seeing the black eye made Hadrian immediately scrutinized the boy’s appearance further; he saw the subtle hitches to the boy’s breath that indicated bruised, if not fractured, ribs, making him even more concerned.
“Severus Snape, sir.”
The time traveler snapped out of his thoughts, “Please, call me Hadrian. It is a pleasure to meet you Mr. Snape.”
The boy wrinkled his nose at the honorific, “Severus is okay, sir.”
“Only if you agree to call me Hadrian, Severus”, he told the boy with a smile.
The boy hesitantly nodded in agreement. Hadrian thought quickly, not wanting to stop talking to him. Now that he’s seen Sna-Severus, he couldn’t just leave him to be abused, especially when he knew the bitterness the boy would harbor by being left to his fate. Hadrian had to find a way to help him. The only way he’d be able to do that would be to get to know the boy to trust him first. With that in mind, he began to improvise, “Perhaps you could help me, Severus. I am looking for a place to have a bite to eat but I do not know my way around. Would you show me the way to a good place to eat?”
Severus looked at him with narrowed eyes, “What’s in it for me?”
The time traveler had to stop himself from laughing at such a Slytherin move, “Hmm, well, let’s see… Are you hungry? I could get you whatever you’d like to eat.”
The boy’s stomach growled, giving him away. Hadrian chuckled as the boy’s cheeks went red, “Can I take that as a yes?”
The boy hesitantly nodded again before leading the way. Hadrian followed him silently, trying to figure out the best way to get Severus out of his abusive home. He wasn’t entirely aware of the situation, so he wasn’t sure how to proceed; vague images from his professor’s memories made him believe it was only his drunk father who beat him, but he couldn’t be sure. He also vaguely remembered Hermione telling him that it was Snape’s mother who was of Prince lineage back when he had been obsessed with the Half-Blood Prince’s book. It was looking like he’d have to get Severus trust him to a certain point before just asking about it. Hadrian inwardly nodded to himself and refocused on Severus as the boy led them into what looked to be a tavern. They slipped into an empty booth and were given menus by the waitress. Hadrian ordered a water and Severus did the same before the woman left.
“You can get anything you’d like off the menu, alright, Severus? There’s no limit.”
Hadrian watched as the boy frowned but nodded. When the waitress came back, Severus hesitantly ordered a sandwich while Hadrian followed suit and ordered another type of sandwich. He was glad to see that Severus didn’t order the cheapest thing on the menu like Hadrian had been expecting. The waitress left once more, and the time traveler turned to the boy.
“So how old are you Severus?”
“Six, sir-Hadrian.”
“Hmm… that means you are in primary, yes?” at Severus’s nod, Hadrian asked, “anything you’re learning that you are interested in?”
Severus shrugged, “I like reading.”
“Good choice. A good friend of mine almost always had her nose stuck in a book. She is one of the smartest people I know.”
The waitress returned once more and set the sandwiches down in front of them. Hadrian watch with a mix of amusement and concern as Severus eagerly devoured his sandwich. When the boy was about half-done with it, he seemed to realize what he had done because he hid behind his hair again as the blush returned to the boy’s cheeks.
Hadrian smiled at the boy, “There’s no need to be embarrassed for being hungry, Severus. If you want more food after you finish the sandwich, you are welcome to order more. After all, I promised to feed you in exchange for your company.”
Severus peeked at him through his hair and hesitantly asked, “How come you are being so nice to me? You don’t even know me.”
The older man paused before gently asking, “How did you get that bruise on your face, Severus?”
The boy immediately dropped a neutral mask, “I fell.”
Hadrian raised an eyebrow and waited for Severus to tell him the truth. After a minute, Severus put his sandwich down.
“I don’t want pity, sir.”
“Hadrian. And I don’t pity you, Severus. However, I do want to help you, if you’ll let me.”
Severus frowned, “How can you help?”
“Well, if you tell me how you got that bruise, I will make sure that it will never happen again.”
The boy narrowed his eyes and just watched the older man. Hadrian patiently waited for Severus to decide on whether to trust him. After another moment, the boy looked away and hid behind his hair again.
A barely audible whisper then said, “My father hit me.”
“Does he do that often?” Hadrian asked gently. When Severus nodded slowly, he swallowed and asked the question he was scared to hear the answer to, “And your mother?”
“He hits her too”, still in a whisper, the boy paused before continuing, “Mostly when she is protecting me.”
Hadrian felt relief that one of Severus’s parents care. He saw that Severus’s shoulders begin shaking in what Hadrian knew was an attempt to keep from crying and asked the most important question.
“Do you want to live with him, Severus?”
The boy shook his head no and quiet little sobs began to escape him. Hadrian left his booth and slipped into Severus’s. Slowly, so as not to startle the boy, he wrapped an arm around Severus’s shoulders and pulled the boy close. Surprisingly, Severus went with the movement until he had his face buried into Hadrian’s side, small fist gripping the older man’s shirt as he cried. Hadrian brought his other hand to card his fingers through the small boy’s soft hair in comfort, but otherwise just remained where he was, hugging Severus to him, letting the boy cry himself out.
He was even more determined than before to get this little boy out of this situation, even if he has to take him in himself. Hadrian paused at the thought but continued to just comfort the still-sobbing boy in his arms, and began thinking over the implication, wondering if he could make it happen. Hope began to bloom in his chest as Hadrian heard the sobs slow. Severus immediately tensed up, obviously just then realizing their position. When the boy pulled away, Hadrian just stayed where he was.
“I’m sorry,” Severus immediately began to apologize.
Hadrian smiled gently, “It’s alright, Severus. It is perfectly alright to cry. There’s no harm done.”
Severus stared at him for a moment before hastily wiping the tears off his face. The older man didn’t move, letting the boy compose himself. When Severus seemed in control of himself once more, Hadrian smiled again and decided to see if he could make his newest idea work.
“Well, I think I know of the perfect way to help. How would you feel about coming to live with me?”
Severus’s eyes widened in shock, and hope flickered in those black eyes. Then all of a sudden, the neutral mask was back, “Why?” When Hadrian raised an eyebrow, the boy clarified, “Why would you want me? What’s in it for you?”
Hadrian couldn’t stop the smile at the Slytherin thinking, “Nothing, besides your good company. I don’t have very many friends these days so a companion would mean more to me than you could ever know. But mostly, though I doubt you will believe me, I would just like to see you safe; even if that means you want nothing to do with me, I will still make sure you never have to return to the abuse.”
The time traveler watched as the boy considered this for a long moment.
“What about my mother?” Severus hesitantly asked.
“I’d have to speak with her before any decisions could be made, but my offer is open to her as well,” when Hadrian saw how conflicted Severus had become, he decided to make it a bit easier for the boy, “How about this. I will speak to your mother and we will get her input before we decide on whether the two of you will come to live with me. Is that acceptable?”
Severus thought about it for a moment but nodded, “She doesn’t like it when people come over, but I can go get her and bring her back here.”
Hadrian looked at him in concern, “Is your father home right now?”
When Severus shook his head, Hadrian agreed to the plan, causing Severus to dart out the door. Hadrian settled into the seat to wait for his return.
A half an hour later, Hadrian watched as Severus – whose eyes lit up momentarily at seeing him, obviously worried that Hadrian had left – entered the tavern with a tall, thin, dark-haired woman following him. She had black eyes and long nose just like her son, making Hadrian wonder if they were Prince traits the way the Malfoys had blonde hair.
When the two approached the table, Hadrian smiled at Severus before he stood and introduced himself to the woman, “Hadrian Peverell.”
“Eileen Snape”, she introduced herself with narrowed eyes. He motioned for them all to sit, and once they had, she said, “My son has informed me of the offer you made him, but he did not inform me of your… heritage.”
“I believe he didn’t recognize the name when I used it, just as I hadn’t recognized the Prince features until meeting his mother.”
“You’ve heard of me then.”
“Only that people believe you were disowned. Your father has not been… forthcoming on the truth of that belief during Wizengamot sessions, but I do not particularly care either way.”
The woman studied him for a second, “Lord Peverell, you expect me to believe you are offering us shelter out of the goodness of your heart? Not to be rude, but my experience with Lords has shown that to never be true.”
Hadrian smiled lightly, “Just Hadrian is fine, I assure you. As for the question of my motives, as I told your son, I have been rather… low on friends recently due to a recent move on my part, so offering sanctuary would provide me with the companionship I seek. I do not expect you to believe me, but I would just see the two of you out of your… situation. I have… personal experience with your position, which makes the desire to remove you not as selfless as it seems, but neither do I expect anything from either of you for my offered sanctuary and would gladly arrange sanctuary elsewhere, should you choose it.”
She considered him not unlike the way Severus had earlier. Again, Hadrian just waited patiently from the woman to make her decision about him. She closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath before opening them once more.
“You will raise him as your own? Even if you have other children?”
“I promise.”
Eileen nodded and turned to Severus, “My boy, I want you to go with Hadrian as I know you want to.”
Severus frowned, “What about you?”
She smiled sadly, stroking his cheek, “I cannot. I have tied myself to him in a way you may never understand. But don’t you worry about me, Severus. I’ll be alright, after all I have magic to protect me, remember? And Hadrian will be able to teach you magic just like I learned it. I want that for you, so much, Severus. So, you are going to go with Hadrian, pick up your things from the house while I make sure your father doesn’t return, and you are going to live a good life for the both of us. Alright?”
“Yes, Mother.”
Eileen smiled at her son and hugged him fiercely. She turned to Hadrian as she did so, mouthing a thank you. Hadrian nodded and watched as she left the tavern, knowing there was nothing he could say that would convince her to accept any more of his help. He turned back to Severus who was still looking at the tavern door. He looked devastated at his mother’s decision, but when the boy turned to look at Hadrian, hope flickered in his eyes. Hadrian smiled at him reassuringly.
“Well, you heard your mother. Let us retrieve your things and I shall take you to your new home.”
Severus nodded and began to lead the way to the Snape home. When they got to the small house, identical to all the ones surrounding it, though clearly not as well taken care of, Severus led them inside and to his room, where he pulled out a worn trunk that Eileen had given him, going by the initials on the front, and started packing it up. Hadrian helped gather the small number of books and put them in as he watched Severus pack up some school supplies and more second-hand clothes but nothing else. Inwardly frowning, Hadrian made a note to rectify the small number of things and the worn clothing the next chance they got. Once the trunk was packed, Hadrian shrunk it and put it in his pocket before turning to the six-year-old.
“Alright, is that everything?” The boy nodded so Hadrian continued, “Have you ever heard of apparition before, Severus?”
Hadrian frowned when Severus shook his head, once again refraining from speaking, but explained what apparition was.
“So, it would be safer if I picked you up for your first apparition. Is that okay with you.”
When Severus nodded, Hadrian sighed and knelt next to the boy.
“Severus, I know you are sad to leave your mother and that you hardly know me, but I promise everything is going to be alright. I have a home that I think you are going to love, and you never have to worry about money ever again. And I promise, I will never, ever hurt you. I’ll do everything I can to protect you, just like I promised your mother I would. Okay?”
Severus scanned his face once again before throwing himself into Hadrian’s arms, nearly knocking them over. Hadrian almost missed the whispered, “Okay.”
With a smile, Hadrian hugged the boy back. After a minute, he picked Severus up and apparated them home.