21st of November 1981 – Bottesford, Lincolnshire

Severus was pacing back and forth once again. He looked back down at the letter in his hand, even though he knew it by heart at this point, the parchment no longer curled, but smooth.

Dear Mr Snape

You are expected to present yourself at the Ministry of Magic no later than the 20th of November for a disciplinary hearing.

At this time, you will be questioned about He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, the part you played in the death of James and Lily Potter and the subsequent disappearance of their son, Harry.

Should you fail to appear on this date, we will be forced to assume you a loyal Death Eater and declare you a fugitive, as well as the kidnapper of Harry Potter.

Sincerely

Mafalda Hopkirk

This blasted letter had arrived just after he'd put the brat back into his crib, a few minutes after midnight on the 21st. This was Dumbledore's doing, he was sure. What he wasn't sure of, was what he could do about it. He was deemed a fugitive, so he could hardly walk into the Ministry and explain his situation. Yet that seemed to be the only thing to do. He paced back and forth again, before letting out a frustrated sigh and dropping into his favourite chair. He gripped the armrests tightly as his mind went back over all the non-options it had been running through since he'd gotten it late last night.

He was startled out of his contemplation by a loud cry from the brat. Sighing, he got up to change and feed the boy. As he went through the motions the brat eventually stopped his crying, instead looking at him inquisitively. He picked Harry up and walked back into the living room, settling into his chair again, this time to feed Harry. He lost himself in his thoughts again. He didn't think he'd have a chance at hiding out with Harry anywhere in the UK, neither in the Wizarding nor Muggle world. But leaving altogether would undoubtedly be equally problematic.

Before this mess, he'd have turned to Dumbledore for guidance, but he wouldn't; not now he was aware of exactly how far he was willing to go. Sending the brat to the Wizard-hating Muggles indeed! He stood up agitatedly, barely remembering in time he still had the brat on his lap. He walked back into the brat's room and put him on his dresser, by now almost easily dressing the squirming thing.

Walking back out again, he was about to attempt to aid the boy in his latest endeavour of walking when the bell rang. He froze as Harry giggled. Who? It wasn't possible! There were a million spells and wards around their house to prevent anyone from noticing it, them and even the spells and wards themselves. Snapping back out of shock, he quickly silenced the boy and put him down in his chair, knowing someone standing at the door wouldn't be able to see him from there.

He waved a spell at the door to check for the intentions of the person or persons standing there. It came back as good, but that wouldn't necessarily mean they wouldn't harm him; Dumbledore's intentions were always good as well. Hiding his wand behind the door in the unlikely event of the visitor(s) being Muggle, he cracked the door open a bit.

He was met with a bouquet of flowers and a gift basket in the arms of a small woman with light brown hair. She smiled and went on the babble about how she was hoping she wasn't intruding, just wanting to welcome the newcomers to the neighbourhood. After a few seconds of Severus blinking owlishly, he managed to croak out a "Who?'' after which she startled and breathlessly apologized profusely, saying she was raised better than that and she was being rude, which hadn't been her intentions.

Severus had finally managed to get himself together again and raised an eyebrow at the prattling woman. "For all your apologies, you still haven't answered my question." He said, amused but trying hard to appear annoyed. The woman flushed and nodded "Hello, I'm Claudia Dam. I'm the closest thing you have to a next door neighbour. I just thought I'd welcome you to the neighbourhood, point out a few shops, thing like that."

She looked at him expectantly, obviously wanting to get invited in. Severus merely looked at her. He didn't speak a word. "Well, anyway, here's a basket with a few things you might need and a bouquet to brighten up the place." She said, sounding more and more like she expected to have the door slammed in her face, but still bravely holding out the items she just named. Severus was meanwhile thinking that maybe, just maybe, he could use her to keep the boy safe for a while, as he fought for his freedom at the Ministry.

He accepted the basket and stepped back, inviting her in. As she walked by, he pointed his wand at her and whispered "Imperio". She stiffened for a second, then walked the bouquet to the kitchen table and set it down. "Take care of the child in the chair." He commanded as he went out the door and locked the door with every spell he could think of, as well as with several locks. He sighed once more and apparated to the Ministry to face the music.

A/N: This is a little shorter than normally, as it wasn't meant to be a stand-alone chapter.

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