Severus' and Harry's Family Experience
by Healer Teddylonglong

All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes.

COMPLETELY AU! Partly OOC! sick!Harry, sick!Severus

It is my story, and I intend to write it the way I want it. If you don't like it, don't read it.
Reviews are very welcome, as they inspire my muse.

Severus had to try hard to concentrate. From the time when he had woken up in the morning, his head had been aching terribly, and his throat had somehow become scratchy during the day. Not enough with that, he had to spend the evening supervising Harry Potter's detention. Potter had missed his lesson in the morning because Poppy had kept him in the hospital wing, and Albus had insisted that he had to give the boy the chance to brew his potion in the evening.

While Harry was sitting at the table right next to him trying to brew his potion flawlessly, Severus was trying to concentrate on brewing an antidote to the aging potion he intended to let the seventh year students brew the next day.

Harry looked over to the teacher when he let out a series of harsh coughs, noticing that he had dark rings under his eyes and his cheeks were flushed in contrast to his pale face. "Are you all right, Professor?" he asked, his voice laced with concern.

"I'll be all right as soon as you finish your potion, Potter," the professor spat, hating how hoarse his voice sounded.

'Maybe he meant that well,' he mused, suddenly recalling how concerned Harry's voice had sounded. 'Nobody except for Albus, Minerva, and Poppy ever show concern for me,' he thought, shivering a bit, when he absentmindedly added the asphodel, which was the last ingredient, forgetting to stir counter-clockwise.

Suddenly, the potion let out an angry hiss and exploded all over the teacher, who couldn't get away in time. Seeing what was happening, Harry hurried to the professor's side, trying to pull him away from the cauldron, with the effect that he was hit with the potion as well.

HP

A few minutes later, Severus tried to get rid of the black robes and much too large clothes that covered his body and even his head completely. 'Where am I?' he wondered, frightened, finding himself in what looked like a classroom. His head and his throat were sore, and he didn't feel well at all. Suddenly, he noticed a wail coming from his right side and saw a bundle of black robes that looked as if something small was hidden inside. Forgetting his own uncomfortable feeling for a moment, he carefully reached out for the bundle and pulled a small boy out of the huge black cloth.

"Hello, I'm Severus," he said hesitantly, not really used to other children.

The smaller child that had beautiful green eyes replied, "I Hawwy."

"Hello Harry. Where are we?"

HP

Harry tried to scramble to his feet but fell back on his backside, noticing that his legs suddenly became wet. For some reason, he wasn't wearing a nappy. Feeling very uncomfortable now, he began to cry, while he tiredly leaned on to the older boy, who seemed very nice to him, not at all like Dudley.

"Can you stop crying? My head hurts already," Severus admonished him, and Harry quietened down immediately, not wanting to anger the nice boy. Severus thought about exploring where they were, but he felt so unwell that he couldn't muster the energy to stand up and walk around. He decided to place his achy head on the floor and tried to sleep until his mummy would come and look for him. He pulled Harry down with him, and soon they were both lying on the floor side by side, peacefully asleep.

HP

Hermione looked at her wrist watch in concern. "Ron, it's nearly midnight, and Harry is not back from his detention with Professor Snape. We have to go and alert Professor McGonagall."

"Wait; let me see if he isn't in the dormitory," Neville told her, already running up the stairs. "No, he isn't there," he confirmed a few minutes later.

Hermione and Ron went to their head of house's office, telling the teacher that Harry hadn't returned from his detention yet.

Minerva's mouth turned into a thin line. She motioned the students to take a seat and stepped over to the fireplace, trying to call the Potions professor in his private rooms as well as in his office. When she didn't receive a response, she tried the hospital wing.

"No Minerva, since I released him in the morning, I didn't see him, nor did I see Severus," Poppy replied, her voice laced with concern.

"All right, thank you, Poppy," Minerva replied and called the headmaster's office. "Albus, Harry was supposed to be in detention with Severus tonight and hasn't returned yet, and nobody replies when I Floo-call his quarters or his office."

"I'll Floo over and have a look if I can find them," Albus replied calmingly and cut the connection.

"Please return to your common room, or better even go to bed," Minerva turned back to her students. "I will send him up if I find him, or if I know more, I'll inform you."

HP

A few minutes later, Albus was just searching Severus' quarters in spite of the fact that they were dark, when Minerva stepped out of the fireplace.

"Maybe they're still in the Potions classroom, Albus," she suggested, heading over in the direction of Severus' office. Seeing light under the door that led to the classroom, the two teachers hurried into the Potions classroom that seemed to be empty on the first glance.

"Look there!" Minerva suddenly exclaimed, pointing to two children that were lying on the floor, fast asleep and completely naked. The bigger boy held the smaller one close in his arms, and two piles of clothes were on the floor beside them. She picked up the small boy, giving him a piercing look and pointed to the scar on his forehead. "It is Harry," she whispered to Albus in order not to wake the children up.

"Then this must be Severus," Albus replied, taking the older boy into his arms. "It was obviously a Potions accident. We have to ask Poppy if she can brew the antidote; however, seeing that it's past midnight, we should take the children to either your or my private quarters and ask the house elves to add a nursery, where we can care for them until they can be aged back to their normal age." He quickly filled a bit of the potion that had remained in the cauldron into a phial and pocketed it.

"All right," Minerva replied, carrying Harry out of the room. "Thank Merlin that it's only three days until the beginning of the summer holidays," she uttered, sighing, causing Albus to chuckle.

"You're right, my dear, as usual," he replied, seeming much too pleasant for Minerva's liking.

HP

While the house elves added a children's room with several doors, leading into Minerva's private quarters, Albus' private quarters, and into the headmaster's office, Minerva conjured a nappy and a light jump suit for Harry and Albus dressed Severus into light pyjamas. Suddenly, he frowned. "Minerva, can you feel Severus' forehead please? I think he feels very warm to the touch."

Minerva reached over to Albus, who was sitting next to her on the sofa, and carefully placed a hand on the older boy's forehead. "Oh, he's burning up, Albus. We should call Poppy."

"It's one o'clock in the night," Albus replied thoughtfully. "Let's take his temperature and see how bad it is first."

Minerva quickly took a tissue out of her robe pocket and transfigured it into a thermometer, which Albus cautiously stuck under Severus' armpit, before he cuddled the sleeping boy close.

"We is finished with the children's room," the house elves suddenly called out from the doorway to the children's room, and Minerva carefully carried Harry over into the new room, placing him into the cot on one side of the room.

Albus followed her, lying Severus into the bed that stood next to the cot. Between the two beds, the elves had placed a night table and two chairs; however, the teachers sat down on the edge of Severus' bed, and Minerva quickly conjured a cool cloth, handing it to Albus, so that he could bathe his flushed face. In the meantime, Albus had taken the thermometer back and placed it on the night table. "Minerva, can you please go and call Poppy? He has a fever of 39.5 degrees."

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A few minutes later, Poppy bustled into the room, waving her wand over Severus. "He has the wizard's measles, which is a very rare disease. I will contact St. Mungo's and retrieve a potion from them, which we will add to breakfast tomorrow, so that everyone else in the castle will be safe from it. However, Harry will be a problem, since he is too small to take such a potion."

"How old are they, and what do we have to do with Severus?" Albus asked, absentmindedly popping a lemon drop into his mouth.

"Severus is six years and three months old, and Harry..." She quickly waved her wand at Harry, "... is two years and nine months old. I'll take the phial you gave me to St. Mungo's and ask them to brew the antidote. However, we can't give them enough of it to re-age them at once, we'll have to do it in several steps as they are so small. For Severus, it'll take at least three weeks until we can give him the first dose of the antidote, since we have to wait until he doesn't have a fever anymore. As I expect Harry to fall ill in a few days too, knowing that he just recovered from the wizard's flu, so that his condition is not good enough to resist the disease, I suggest giving him just enough of the potion to re-age him up to the age of six, just as Severus is."

"Then they have at least company, especially if they'll be ill for a while," Minerva agreed, and Albus nodded his head.

"He doesn't have to stay in bed all the time," Poppy said thoughtfully. "Only if his fever is too high or he feels too bad. If he feels well enough, he may get up and play quietly. No running around of course and you have to check on him frequently. Small children can get worse quickly. I have a healing salve, which you have to apply on the red spots Severus will be going to spike in the next days. Apart from that you cannot do much but give him a fever reducer if his fever gets too high. I'll come and check on him and Harry twice a day."

The healer spelled a fever reducing potion straight into Severus' stomach and stepped into the fireplace to floo to St. Mungo's.

Minerva gave Albus a tired smile. "If they love each other as much as their older versions do, we'll have much fun during these holidays."

"Well, my dear, at least we have each other, and if they can't get along and fight all the time, we can always separate them for a few hours. But maybe they'll get along, seeing how they were cuddled to each other when we found them," Albus replied softly. "Now, let's go to bed; who knows how early they will be up and about in the morning."

HP

When Albus entered the children's room in the morning, Severus was still peacefully asleep, and Harry was standing in his cot, quietly holding on to the bars at the side, while tears were streaming down his face. Albus scooped him up in his arms and spoke to him quietly as not to wake Severus up, "Good morning, little one. What's wrong?"

Harry gave the old man a frightened look before he suddenly discovered the long white beard. His eyes lit happily when he grabbed a bit of the white stuff, pulling it to him with delight. "Hawwy wike," he whispered to the old man with the funny face.

Suddenly, Minerva entered the room, and Harry quickly tried to hide in Albus' beard. "Good morning, Harry," Minerva cooed, and Harry finally threw her a hesitating glance, whispering, "Good mownin."

"How is Severus?" Minerva asked.

Albus sighed and handed Harry over to Minerva. "He's still asleep, but I haven't checked on him yet, since Harry was already awake when I got up."

"Well, shall we change your nappy?" Minerva suggested, noticing a strange smell coming from the small child, and when he gave her a hopeful glance, she quickly waved her wand, causing him to sigh in relief. "Thank Merlin, he seems to remember magic from the time his parents were alive," Minerva said to Albus, who was just taking Severus' temperature.

"38.8," Albus informed Minerva a short while later, entering his office where Minerva was sitting on the sofa with Harry on her lap, reading a story to him.

HP

Severus was still asleep when Poppy stepped out of the fireplace. She handed Minerva a phial. "In case you won't attend breakfast in the Great Hall, you need to drink this potion with your breakfast, so that you won't get the wizard's measles from Severus." She quickly checked on Harry, nodding contentedly. "I suggest that we give Harry the aging potion right now. It'll be the best if you make him lie down on the sofa," she told Minerva, who complied immediately.

Unbeknownst to Harry, Poppy spelled the aging potion straight into his stomach. A few minutes later, his body began to stretch and he began to cry silently. The whole process took about two minutes. Seeing that Harry was still whimpering soundlessly, Poppy waved her wand at the child and sighed. "He is six years and a few days old and he seems fine except for the fact that his joints ache because of the aging potion, and he has a slight fever." She sat down on the edge of the sofa and talked to the child. "Harry, can you sit up and drink this potion for me, please? It'll make you feel better."

Suddenly, Severus stepped out of the children's room and walked over to Harry. "Hello Harry," he croaked, not noticing that Harry was three years older than the Harry he met the day before. Seeing that Poppy was making Harry drink a potion he asked, "May I have a potion too? My throat is sore."

Albus stepped over to Harry making the child sit on the sofa, so that he could take his potion and Severus could sit next to him. "Of course my dear boy; I'm sure Poppy will have a potion for you too."

As soon as Harry had hesitantly swallowed his potion and visibly relaxed, Poppy turned to Severus. She waved her wand over him for a general check, pointed her wand at his head to take his temperature, and peered into his throat and his eyes, before she handed him two potions. "You have the wizard's measles, Severus," she explained gently to the frightened child. "Will you let me take your pyjama top off and see if you already have red spots on your skin, so that I can make you feel better if you have any?"

Severus gave her an anxious glance, unconsciously moving a bit nearer to Harry, and slowly nodded his head. Albus carefully took Severus' pyjama top off, causing the child to shiver a bit. "No, there's nothing to see yet," Poppy spoke again. "Severus, if you notice red spots, feel more unwell than you do now, or if you want to lie down, you have to tell Albus or Minerva, so that they can help you. You can also tell Harry and he will fetch Albus or Minerva for you. You will help Severus feel better quickly, won't you, Harry?" she asked softly, and Harry slowly nodded his head.

"Are you sick?" he asked gently, giving Severus a hesitant glance.

"Yes, but the potions already made me much better," Severus replied.

"We are all very happy to hear that, Severus," Albus spoke up. "Now I believe it's time to have breakfast, since Minerva has to go teach her classes afterwards.

While Poppy stepped into the fireplace, leaving a few potions for the children, the adults ushered the boys into Minerva's small kitchen, where breakfast popped up on the table in a blink. Severus only picked at his food and Albus asked concerned, "Don't you like your toast, Severus? Would you prefer something else, hmm?"

Severus looked up from his plate, frightened. "I'm sorry, sir, it's just that I'm not very hungry, and my throat is still sore," he replied in a hoarse voice.

"Maybe soup would be better," Minerva spoke up and ordered a house elf to bring chicken broth that appeared seconds later.

Albus gently spooned a few spoons full of soup into the sick boy's mouth, while Minerva suddenly noticed that Harry wasn't eating at all. "Harry, what's wrong with you? Are you feeling sick too?" she asked worriedly.

"No, but I'm not allowed to eat at the table," Harry replied in a very small voice, glancing hesitantly at Severus.

"Why not?" Severus asked hoarsely, looking up from his soup.

"Harry, you and Severus, you're going to stay with us here during the summer holidays, and you are not only allowed to eat at the table, but we want you to eat as much as you can," Minerva told the child in a gentle but firm voice. "Now, please eat your breakfast," she added, putting a little bit of everything on Harry's plate.

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When Minerva left for her classes, Albus took the two boys back into his office. He made them sit on the sofa, giving them a piercing look. "Now tell me something; what do you like to do? Do you like to read, draw pictures, play with blocks, or what do you like?"

"I like brewing potions," Severus spoke up.

Harry gave him a shy glance. "I don't know poshuns, but I can try with Sevvus."

"My name is Severus," the other boy corrected him in a slightly upset voice, ending up in a coughing fit.

"I'm sorry, Se-ve-rus," Harry corrected himself and instinctively put a hand on Severus' back, slightly moving it around his back to help him cough. None of them noticed that Albus eyes were starting to twinkle in amusement.

"All right, but we can't brew potions today. Maybe you can teach Harry a bit about potions first, and then we can ask Poppy if she has time to brew potions with you in a few days," Albus replied. "What would you like to do today, Harry? If Severus wasn't sick, I'd take you out on the grounds, but I don't think you're well enough to walk around a lot today."

"May we really draw a picture?" Harry asked cautiously. "I'd like that very much."

"Yes, let's draw something," Severus agreed.

Albus quickly conjured crayons and parchments for the children, placing them on a table, which he moved in front of the children, before he retired to his desk to work for a while.

Severus was very happy to be able to stay with such nice people, having kind of a brother at the same time, even if he didn't feel too well and noticed that his whole body was starting to get icky. He quickly began to draw his picture, glancing at Harry's parchment from time to time.

Harry was over the moon with joy. He had no idea how he had managed to move from his cupboard to such a nice place with friendly people, and he liked the other boy very much. He seemed to be much nicer than Dudley, and he still hadn't called him a freak even once. Wondering what the thing was that he could see in Severus' drawing, he slowly began to draw his own picture.

Suddenly, Harry noticed that Severus was shivering. "Severus, are you all right?" he whispered cautiously, afraid that the boy would become angry at him if he asked.

"No," Severus replied, tiredly leaning his head on Harry's shoulder.

"I think Severus is feeling sick," Harry called out to Albus, who was so engrossed in his work that he didn't hear the boys' whispered conversation so far.

Albus sat next to Severus on the edge of the sofa and carefully felt his forehead. "You seem a bit warm, Severus. Do you want to lie down in your bed, hmm?"

"No, I want to stay here with you and Harry," Severus whispered, closing his eyes.

"Then let me take your temperature, child; just to be sure that you don't have a bad fever." Albus summoned the thermometer from the children's room, noticing the mix of horror and amusement in Harry's eyes when he watched the thing move from their room straight into Albus' outstretched hand. Of course he had seen Poppy doing magic earlier that day, but he had been to dizzy and unwell from the aging potion to properly notice what was happening.

Albus carefully stuck the thermometer under Severus' armpit, before he conjured a cool cloth and began to bathe the child's flushed face. "Harry, are you feeling all right?" he asked the boy in a small voice in order not to disturb Severus.

"I'm fine," Harry whispered back uncomfortably. He wasn't used to others enquire about how he felt.

"Are you sure, my child?" Albus asked again and put a hand on Harry's forehead. "You feel slightly warm too, but it's not too bad I think. Otherwise you must tell me immediately, do you understand me?"

"Yes," Harry whispered anxiously, giving Albus an astonished glance when the thermometer beeped.

"That means that the reading is finished," Albus told him and pulled the glassy thing back from under Severus' armpit. "39.5," he read, frowning. "Severus, I'm sorry, but I have to put you to bed. You are too ill to be up at the moment." He scooped the child up in his arms and carried him into the children's room. When he laid him down on the bed, tucking him in carefully, he saw that Harry was lingering at the doorframe.

"Why don't you come in and keep Severus company for a while, Harry, hmm?" he invited the child gently.

Harry happily stepped over to Severus' bed and hesitantly sat down on the edge of the bed. Albus handed him the cool cloth and asked, "Would you stay with Severus for a while and wipe his face from time to time? If he gets worse or you don't feel well, call me please."

"All right," Harry replied, feeling very happy to be able to care for his new friend, and carefully began to bathe Severus' face, glad when he heard Severus mumble, "feels good."

After a while Harry became tired, and he didn't feel too well either due to the after effects of the aging potion that made his joints ache again now that Poppy's potion was wearing off. He laid his head, which was sore as well due to the slight temperature he was having, next to Severus on the bed, and when Minerva returned from her morning lessons at lunchtime, she found both children peacefully asleep next to each other.

"I wonder if Harry is getting sick too," she said, entering Albus' office.

"Why is that, my dear?" Albus enquired, smiling at his best friend.

"He is fast asleep on the bed next to Severus. Normally, six-year old children don't take naps, Albus."

"When I asked him if he was feeling sick, he told me he was fine."

Minerva let out a snort. "Who knows what his relatives told him if he complained? Not being allowed to eat at the table. Have you heard that before, Albus? I will take his temperature; maybe I'm wrong. Albus, why don't you go to the Great Hall for lunch? I will eat something here and look after the boys."

While Albus headed for the Great Hall, Minerva returned to the children's side and carefully felt Harry's forehead, causing Harry to wake up with a jolt.

"I'm sorry," he began to whisper an apology, making Minerva frown.

"Harry, you don't have to apologize at all. If you're tired or unwell, you should lie down and sleep; that's all right."

"Yes, but I promised to look after Severus; he's sick," Harry replied, horrified that he had neglected his duties in spite of being allowed to look after Severus.

"Harry, I believe that you have a slight fever too," Minerva replied softly."You will probably get the same illness that Severus has," she began to explain patiently. "Therefore we have to watch you closely. If you don't feel well, we want you to tell us. Why don't you lie down on your bed for a while?" she suggested and, noticing that Harry did not protest, she gently helped the child lie down in his own bed, glad that the house elves had already taken the bars off Harry's bed.

"Thanks, feels good," mumbled Harry, when Minerva tucked him in and placed a cool cloth on his forehead.

HP

The two boys slept through the entire afternoon until they both woke up by Severus' coughing. In a blink, Harry was at Severus' side, noticing that he felt much better now. "Severus, are you all right? Shall I call Albus?" he asked worriedly.

"No thanks, I want to get up and finish my picture," Severus replied. "Have you already finished yours?"

"No, I just got up," Harry replied and happily ran back into Albus' office, closely followed by Severus. Fortunately, the two pictures were still on the table.

Minerva and Albus, who were having a conversation at Albus' desk, looked up when the two boys stormed into the room. "Not so fast, young men," Minerva scolded the children, worried that they might aggravate their condition. "You should not run as long as you're not completely well."

"Are you feeling better, my boys?" Albus enquired softly, walking over to the sofa.

"Yes," Severus and Harry replied at the same time, causing both of them to laugh heartily.

Albus sat down next to Severus and placed a hand on his forehead, before he checked on Harry too. "Severus, you are still quite warm. Are you sure that you feel well enough to be up for a while?"

"Yes, and I want to finish my picture," Severus croaked and engrossed himself into his drawing.

Harry as well turned back to his drawing, a happy smile playing on his lips. Twenty minutes later, Severus stated, "Finished," causing Harry to look up from his work and throw Severus' picture a curious glance. "What is that?" he asked interestedly.

Severus looked at him astonished. "That's you," he explained, pointing to one of the two children in the picture, "that's me, and that's our cauldron, in which we brew a potion."

"Wow," Harry said, completely amazed. "It's absolutely gorgeous," he commended the other boy.

'If he likes it so much, maybe I should give it to him. Nobody ever liked my pictures, especially not when I drew a cauldron,' Severus thought and pushed the picture over to Harry. "You can have it if you wish."

"Really?" Harry asked eagerly, hesitantly pulling Severus into a light hug. "Thank you so much. I never received a present before, and it's very cool!" He pushed his own picture of Severus and him drawing pictures over to Severus. "You can have mine then."

"Thanks!" Severus replied happily. "Is that me? And that are you?" he asked hoarsely, causing Harry to give him a confirming nod.

None of them noticed the two adults watching them in amusement and concern.

HP

In the morning, Severus woke up by someone climbing into his bed. He noticed immediately that he didn't feel well at all. His head and his throat were still very sore, and his whole body felt achy and icky. Nevertheless, he pulled the slightly smaller figure close into his arms, noticing that Harry was silently sobbing. He carefully put up a small slender hand to Harry's face that felt cold to the touch and stroked his cheeks. "Now Harry, why don't you tell me what's wrong? Are you sick too?"

Harry vehemently shook his head and started to cry even more, trying hard not to make a noise in order not to make the other boy angry, especially since he noticed that Severus still felt very hot to the touch. He just slowly began to confide into Severus, when Minerva entered the room.