Maybe One Day

Severus thought he could easily get used to nights in this cozy little house with Hermione and Ron. They both realized how shocking his return to the land of the living must be for him, and tried to give him as much space and time as he needed. As the sky darkened outside, though, they would always go through the same routine.

Hermione glanced up at the clock on the mantle and smiled. "Sev, it's time to get ready for bed. Let's go, yeah?" He nodded and followed her into the bathroom. The first time she had helped him bathe had been the worst; he had felt like his blush might actually set his skin on fire. Hermione was sweet and patient, though, and had taken it all in stride.

As Severus shrugged his clothing off, Hermione knelt down and filled the tub for him. He threw himself into the water and took the cloth Hermione handed him and began cleaning himself off. Hermione, meanwhile, busied herself washing his hair. Severus was a very quiet, stoic child, and very self-sufficient. Hermione knew full-well she could leave him to clean himself up completely, but felt that if she helped him, he might allow himself to relax better around her.

"Sweet, tilt your head back. We don't want anything getting in your eyes, now," she muttered, and Severus did as she asked. With his eyes pressed tight together, Hermione rinsed him down and then helped him from the tub, wrapping him up in a warm towel, drying him off playfully, reaching out to tickle him. She helped him tug his clothes into place and then shooed him off to his bedroom, where Ron was waiting.

"Hey, kiddo!" Ron said with a grin, reaching out to set him on his lap and kiss his wet hair. "What shall we read tonight, hmm?" Severus glanced up at him hesitantly, then went over to the bookshelf and carefully selected the story for the night, bringing it back for Ron to read to him. Though in his mind he knew he was far too old to be bathed and read a bedtime story, this body he was stuck with sucked it all up like a dry sponge. He almost craved it, and all the attention he garnered here was almost overwhelming.

Hermione tucked the blankets around Severus's tiny body and kissed his forhead, then left them alone together. Hermione had her alone time with the child and Ron had his.

The stories always had Severus blinking blearily up at Ron at least halfway through, and by the end he was always struggling to keep his eyes open at all. He would hold out until Ron would set the book back on the shelf and then tug the blankets back up to Severus's chin, bending down to press another kiss to the boy's cheek.

"Goodnight, Sev." Severus grinned sleepily, closed his eyes, and nodded off as Ron left the room, silently dimming the lights and watching the little boy's face slacken in sleep.

The first morning after Severus had come to live with Ron and Hermione was very quiet, as each member of the tiny family tried to find their place in the unit. Ron rushed about getting ready for work, Hermione showed off her limited cooking skills by making up toast and cereal and porridge for them all. Severus, meanwhile, watched them both carefully, trying to commit their morning routine to memory.

As the clock struck eight, Ron smiled and pressed a quick kiss to Hermione's cheek and then ruffled Severus's hair as he passed, calling a goodbye over his shoulder.

"Have a good day, you two! I'll see you around five." Then he stepped into the Floo and disappeared in a flare of green fire. Alone once again, Severus glanced up at Hermione, wondering how big of a fool he would make of himself today. One part of him desperately wanted to embrace the child he was, but the other was still hanging on to the adult he remembered being. He couldn't seem to balance the two out properly.

"Well, what shall we do today? You have me for a whole week, before I have to go back to work." Severus shrugged, lowering his eyes to the tabletop. What did normal children do? He wouldn't know. He had no clue!

As Hermione tapped her chin in thought, Severus fidgited in his seat, wishing she would just tell him what to do and get it over with. This awkward waiting was just painful.

"Why don't we go out shopping, hmm? Do you think you're up for that?" Severus looked up at her in confusion, but shrugged his consent nonetheless. Hermione watched him oddly for a moment, almost as if she wasn't quite sure what she was seeing, before shrugging it away and smiling, grabbing his hand up and tugging him towards the fireplace.

"We'll wander around Diagon Alley and see what we can find. I've never really had to shop for children, before." As they flew through the fireplace to their destination, Severus clutched at Hermione's hand in panic, a fear of being seperated and ending up somewhere where she wasn't consumed him and he refused to let go of her, even when they reached their proper destination.

Kneeling down to be face-to-face with the boy, Hermione smiled and wiped the soot away from his tiny face. "Now, don't you worry. We won't lose each other, I promise. I've got a firm eye on you, I won't lose you." She brushed some hair out of his dark eyes and smiled again, getting a timid half-smile in return.

Hopping up to her full height, Hermione reached down and took Sev's small hand in her own before leading him out of the bar to the Alley. They wandered for a while before they found a suitable children's story, carrying clothing, toys, and furniture.

"Hah! One stop shopping, I think!" Hermione dragged him through the door and Severus was subsequently exposed to several hours worth of having clothing held up against him to see if he would like it or if it would fit or if it would clash with his skin tone! Hermione had gone into a sort of frenzy, and grin spread across her face. She didn't seem to realize that she was having far more fun with this than Severus was. But he decided to indulge her. She was, after all, paying for all this and taking time out of her own life to look after him for an indefinite amount of time. The least he could do was stand still while she gushed over the tiny clothing.

But really, there was a limit to the amount of time he could spend doing nothing at her side. It was nearing noon and his stomach was growling angily, but he ignored it. He had spent many days without eating; surely, he could go a few hours without snacking. As he shifted from foot to foot restlessly, he noticed they had gravitated closer to the children's toy section.

He tried, he really did. But they were all so colorful, and things lit up, and he was drawn forward, away from Hermione's side, to study the odd toys. He had never had wizarding toys, he had barely had Muggle toys, just a few cheap, broken things that were either found in the trash or given to him as charity.

These things, though, were brand new, still in the packaging. They even smelled new! He wandered through the aisles, trying to keep Hermione within sight but frequently getting distracted. Often, he had to remind himself sternly: You are nearly forty! Toys should not be this interesting to you! Yet they were, and a painful longing flowed through him as he looked at all the things he never would have even seen in his previous childhood.

"Severus! Where are you?" Hermione's panicked voice snapped him back to the present, and he blushed furiously. What would she think of him now, wandering off on his own to look at bloody children's toys?! He silently rebuked himself as he ran back to her side, looking duly chastened as she sighed in relief.

"Sweetheart, please don't wander off. I didn't even realize you were gone until a moment ago! Anything could've happened." She noticed Sev's painfully bright face and the embarrassed tears beginning to leak out of his eyes as he stared at the floor, and instantly felt like a terrible person. Of course he would grow bored. What child wanted to stand around getting fitted for clothing with nothing to do? Berating herself, Hermione took his hand softly, easily wiping away his tears before leading him back to the toys.

"Why don't we look round here for a bit. Have you seen anything interesting here, yet?" Severus peeked up at her through his fringe, looking confused and slightly hopeful. She hadn't laughed at him, or yelled at him, and was actually offering to get him a toy? What was going on?!

"I was just looking around. I'm sorry I walked away," he mumbled, his eyes finding his feet again, taking a cautious step away from her in embarrassment.

"It's alright, love. Come on, why don't we browse for a while, and see if anything catches your eye." Tugging at his hand insistently, Severus followed her through the aisles, stopping every now and then when she saw something that she thought he might enjoy. He was a very passive shopper, refusing to point out anything he might like, but not arguing when Hermione would notice a longing or curious look cast at a toy a pluck it from the shelf for a closer look. If he glanced up at it long enough, she would place it with the other purchases.

By the time they left the toy area and headed toward the furniture, there was a considerable pile of clothing and toys trailing behind them. Severus eyed it with a hint of fear, wondering how she could possibly expect him to pay her back for all these things she was purchasing. He had never really had any expenses as a teacher, but his savings was not truly that extensive, either.

As he worried away at his lip, Hermione moved through the furniture, looking at the desks and beds and shelves. She picked out a simple set for Sev's room and finally led them toward the front of the store, failing to notice Severus' awkward fidgiting.

As the clerk began totaling the purchases up, Severus turned white. Fearfully, he tugged on Hermione's robes. When she looked down at him, her distracted look focused into one of concern. Kneeling down, she stroked his shoulders, noticing how anxious he seemed.

"Sweetheart, what's wrong?" Severus frowned, glancing up at the clerk, who seemed to be totally ignoring them.

"I'm not sure I can pay for all this. I don't even know how much is left in my Gringott's account, or if I even have an account anymore." He bit his lip and watched her in fear, not wanting to have all these new, nice, clean things dangled in front of him just to have it all snatched back. Unbidden, he realized he had begun to cry silently, the total unfairness of it all washing over him. He had never had nice things, and now they were right there, and he was going to have to give them all up because Hermione hadn't thought to ask him if he had sufficient funds for a shopping spree!

Suddenly realizing what was going through Severus' mind, Hermione let out a strangled sigh. "Oh, Severus. Stop. You're not paying for any of this, I am. Please, don't cry." She tugged him to her chest and softly rubbed his back, willing him to calm down.

"What are you talking about? Why would you pay for this?" He sounded truly confused, and Hermione felt terrible. Had he spent the entire trip tallying up the purchases and worrying over the price, instead of enjoying the experience?

"Severus," she said sternly, pulling away slightly to look him in the eye, "you are my child, now. And guardians pay for whatever their children need. And you need clothes and toys and furniture, alright? Now, no more silly worrying. It's time to go hom, I think. You're looking a bit peaky. Probably time for a nap, soon."

Severus just stared up at her in a mixture of awe and trepidation. She was either doing this all out of the kindness of her heart, or she wanted something from him. She had been so kind to him, and the only time people were kind to him were when they were using him. But what could she possibly want from him?

He followed her out of the building in a daze, frowning down at the back of her shoes as a suble exhaustion started stealing over him, bit by bit, until he was dragging his feet and looking at the ground through slitted eyes. They had finally reached The Leaky Cauldron, where Hermione glanced down and discovered his state.

"Oh, Sev. You need to tell me if you get like this." She scooped him up into her arms, shushing him as he tried to protest, but it was half-hearted at best. He could barely move as it was.

She Flooed through to her house, and quickly deposited the child on his bed, tugging his shoes off and tucking him into his bed with a sigh. The boy was a mystery. She wasn't sure from one moment to the next which Severus she was likely to get, the adult or the child or the one that was awkwardly somewhere in-between.

He hadn't expected her to take care of him so thouroghly, that was obvious. She knew he hadn't had the best childhood before, but surely his parents had given him things without telling him their costs or where the money had come from to acquire them.

But, then again, maybe they hadn't.

Sadly, she stared down at the little boy snuggled down into the blankets, snoring lightly. He looked so tiny and precious, there. How could anyone treat something so sweet so terribly?

In that moment, she vowed to herself that she would make his time with her and Ron the best she possibly could. Set in her decision, she nodded to herself and began resizing all their purchases, putting away th clothing and toys, leaving the furniture for Ron to put together during the weekend. Severus could make-do for the rest of the week with adult-sized things until the weekend.

Perhaps it would be another opportunity for Ron and Severus to bond. Snorting to herself in amusement, she shook her head in laughter. Ron already adored Severus, no matter if he was acting like a tiny adult or a hyper little boy excited for a bedtime story. The weekend would truly cement their relationship, she hoped.