Hi there (^^)/

Another year gone, I'm starting a fic as a birthday gift to myself again~

(As almost always) I'm keeping the basic line up to 4th book, then, though the basic is the same, I'll play with the content a bit. I will explain all the changes along the way, so hopefully you won't get lost (-w-')

I am sorry to all you who are waiting for my updates, I will try to update as fast as possible. I love you (0w0)/

Warning: De-Aging, Mentions of child abuse (& some flashbacks tied to it) Later on: Slash, Mpreg (possibly)... nothing else I can think of for now

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, J. K. Rowling does... Lucky her... (QmQ)

… Fallax Iuvente …

1. Illusive Youth

It was cold in the castle when Harry went to the dungeons with his friends. That however was nothing out of ordinary.

Everything seemed peaceful and normal.

Monday the thirteenth, a day which was to be followed by Valentine's, truly might have seemed that.

It however was mostly because of that perspective, which everyone seemed to have, that Harry felt confused about warning bells going off in his head. He simply could not shake off the feeling of dread, it increasing on intensity when he saw the group of students in red and green colours pour inside the just opened Potions classroom.

There was something about the day which made Harry feel more than slightly uneasy. A strange feeling of expectation irking his senses.

Just how the first lesson of the week was to turn out though, he could everything but expect.

...

"The potion we shall be brewing today is not a time-consuming one, it however is quite complex. Be it as may, it still is one a competent fifth year should be able to do halfway through the year." Snape started talking as soon as he swept into the classroom, his cloak billowing behind him.

"The potion is called "Fallax Iuvente", which means "Illusive Youth"." the professor lectured, walking through the classroom. "It makes the one who drinks it younger by half his age for a few hours if brewed correctly. Not that I expect many of you to achieve that." the Potions Master sneered as his eyes swept over the class of joined Gryffindor and Slytherin fifth years.

"You will be working alone, the instructions are on the board." Snape said as he strode to his desk in the front of the classroom. "You better be careful with it, it can get into your system through skin also and I have no need of screaming brats here... not that most of you are any better now." the black eyes slid critically from one side of the class to the other again, then back to where Gryffindors sat, the gaze staying there significantly.

"Now, I believe I gave you a work to do. Whoever does not manage to brew a decent potion - asking perfect would be too much - until the lesson is over will be repeating the process with me during a detention... and will do so for as long as it will get you to do it right. Understood?"

A lukewarm "Yes, sir." rang through the class, soon followed by scrapping of the chairs as everyone decided they better not anger Snape by not getting to work quickly enough.

And so the class started.

...

It was a normal Potions lesson and as such there was an accident almost sure to occur.

If asked it would also be no wonder as to with whom the source of the chain reaction was to be found.

After all who else to commit an error in the class of the feared teacher if not Neville...

...

"Longbottom, you thorn in my eye, what do you think you're about to add to that potion?" voice of one Severus Snape rang through the dark, dungeon classroom.

"Where is it written in the instruction that you should add dragon scales to the potion now? Where is it written that you'll even need them at all?"

At the teacher's words Neville paled considerably and retreated his hand which was about to drop the scales into the potion and few of the Slytherins snickered. Needless to say both of that increased on intensity when the teacher strode closer to the Gryffindor's workplace.

"These are not needed, neither are these... Valerian roots? Sopophorous beans? Are you preparing a Draught of Living Death Longbottom?" saying that the two ingredients were sent with a wave of wand back to the ingredients storage.

"You have somehow managed to add right ingredients, even if completely out of time and not prepared according to the instructions... For that I'll take five points from Gryffindor for cheating. I am sure Miss Patil knows that it is something I do not tolerate in my class." Snape's eyes slid accusingly to the young witch who only turned her eyes away, knowing better than to protest. She did help Neville after all... even if it was more of a self-defence with the boy sitting just behind her... Not that having Snape behind her back as of that moment was any better.

"Now you take all those excess ingredients back to the storage and sort them properly. Properly, I say, it's not like you'll escape the detention to redo the potion anyway... better not add to it, right?" the teacher narrowed his eyes at the boy, scaring him effectively.

"Ye-yes s-sir" Neville stuttered out as he paled to almost invisibility. He then got up and took the wooden board on which all the unneeded ingredients were.

Being increasingly clumsy when nervous Neville however did what most may have suspected, he stumbled and fell... causing half of the ingredients from the board to fall into the cauldron.

As Snape stood than a a meter away still, he saw the incident firsthand, and was glaring at Neville who still did not manage to even get up, already dreading the teacher's reaction.

"What do you think you're doing you..."

What creative insult the Potion's master wanted to use, however, no one got to know. For it was in that very moment that the cauldron exploded... its contents drenching the professor from head to toe.

...

Harry, who was sitting three desks away, as well as rest of the class were waiting for the screaming to come... However when it did, it was in a form no one expected.

For those were not screams of anger.

They were screams of pure, agonizing pain.

Soon the professor was writhing on the floor, which someone managed to clean up with a spell in a moment - someone from Slytherin probably.

It was about at that time also that a bushy-haired girl who sat next to Neville in the last row - one of the reasons for the class not to be affected, for the professor got to be an unwilling shield of sorts - ran to get Madame Pomfrey.

It was however sooner, than when the medi-witch of Hogwarts came, that the results of the potion shown themselves.

There, on the potions classroom floor, sat a very small, sobbing, and all in all very much confused version of one Severus Tobias Snape.

So? What do you think? (o.o) I'm curious. (Did you expect the young-ed one to be Harry?)

It's short, I know, but my 1st chapters usually are... I promise they will get lengthier. (^^)

See ya~ ( "-.-)/