Chapter Text
“Potter! Eager to earn yourself another detention are you? Get to work!” Snape sneered. Harry was currently in detention for “disrespect”.
He was just tired he didn’t mean to snap at Snape or call him a greasy git. And now his professor was lecturing him again on not paying attention.
Harry was just exhausted it wasn’t his fault he couldn’t focus on organizing Snape’s stupid potions by alphabetical order.
He was usually in bed by now, reading a book snuggled under his blanket and sometimes if he needed the extra comfort, with his thumb tucked into his mouth.
He felt stupid about it, nobody knew about this habit of his and he intended to keep it that way.
This just wasn’t fair. Harry was starting to feel little. No it isn’t supposed to happen here, not in front of Snape of all people. Harry thought. But he could feel the whine bubbling up in his throat.
As he continued sorting he started nibbling on the tip of his thumb without realizing.
“Take your thumb out of your mouth you’re not an infant Potter.” Snape scowled.
Harry scowled back. “Maybe you should mind your own bloody business!” He snapped.
Snape was on his feet in an instant storming over to Harry. “What did you just say to me boy?” He scowled.
Harry whined, he couldn’t help it he was feeling so small and the frustration at Snape wasn’t helping him have a clear mind.
“Enough with the whining you’re testing my patience Potter.”
“I don’t care! You’re such a git!” Harry said while kicking the desk. The potions clattering slightly.
“What is wrong with you Potter! You’re acting like a spoiled child! More than usual.”
Harry whined and covered his ears with his hands. It was too much noise, the yelling was too much and it was bringing back bad memories. The thoughts in his head were getting so loud, until they turned into petunia and vernon screaming at him.
“No no no no.” He repeated, shaking his head and covering his ears. Being little is supposed to be a comfort for him, not something that brings him back to when he was actually little.
“Potter. Potter!” Snape grabs Harry’s shoulders “Look at me.” He says.
The boy was too worked up, he couldn’t hear a word Snape said. The potions professor cursed to himself and grabbed Harry’s hands and gently pulled them away from his ears. “Potter look at me you’re fine, breathe.”
“No no gonna get in trouble.” He whimpered.
“No you won’t, listen to me.”
“No! No you’re just going to hurt me!”
“No Potter you’re absolutely insufferable but I would not hurt you.”
“Liar!!” Harry screamed and everything shook from Harry’s magic becoming unstable.
“Shhh shhh. Po- Harry.” Snape gritted his first name through his teeth.
“Merlin, I don’t know what’s gotten into you. You need to be admitted to St. Mungos at this point. Hush now.” Snape muttered as he started rubbing the boy’s back. He must be mad comforting Harry like a child, but he didn’t want him to work himself into a panic attack.
Harry started to finally calm down, the repeated rubbing calming him, he popped his thumb into his mouth and used his other hand to fidget with his robes.
“What are you- take your thumb out of your mouth this instant.” Snape started but Harry’s lip immediately started trembling.
“Oh for god’s sake- fine.” Snape scowled, he needed to pick his battles, he didn’t want Harry to fall into a crying fit again. He’d find out why he’s acting like this later.
Harry laid his head on his arms on the table, thumb still in mouth and Snape still rubbing his back.
“Potter…” Snape said uncharacteristically softly.
“Hm…?” Harry mumbled through his thumb.
“Are you…ill?” Snape asked and Harry shook his head.
“No…? Then pray tell why are you acting like…a child?” Snape asked, a hint of snark and annoyance coming through.
Harry whined.
“Potter. Answer me.” He said sternly, Harry didn’t want to tell him anything but he didn’t want to get lectured even more.
“Little…” He mumbled.
“Little?”
Harry nodded. “Potter, What do you mean by little?”
“‘m little! That’s it! Feeling little…”
“You’re feeling…little? As in younger than you are?”
Harry nodded and Snape sighed. He did not want to deal with this but he couldn’t just leave him like this.
“You’re not a small child Potter you’re 15 years old.” He said and Harry whimpered.
Snape groaned. “So enlighten me how old do you currently feel?”
“Four…” Harry muttered.
“Four- merlin….and what is it you do when regressed?”
“Sleep…”
“That’s all?”
“Yes it’s supposed to be my bedtime but I had to do your stupid detention!” He stomped his foot.
“Watch your tone with me Potter.” Snape lectured, but Harry was cranky and frustrated.
“Or what!?” He challenged and Snape narrowed his eyes.
“Or i’ll put you over my knee like one would with an actual four year old. Don’t test me Potter.” He snarled.
Harry gasped and whimpered, he remembered being hit by Pentunia and Vernon and he certainly wasn’t eager to feel that again.
Snape took a breath to calm himself, trying to remind himself that Harry wasn’t currently in his right mind.
“You said it’s your bedtime, correct? Then we shall go back to your dormitory and you can go to sleep.” Snape said as he stood up. Snape had accepted that Harry’s detention wouldn’t be completed, right now he only wanted this situation to be over and the easiest way to do that would be to get Harry into bed.
Harry whined and stood up too. He followed Snape out of the office and back to his dorm.
“Now go to sleep.” Snape said as he opened the door for Harry to get inside. He turned to leave but Harry got out of bed.
“I said bed Potter, now.”
Harry whined and stomped his foot slightly. “I need my teddy!”
“Oh of course you need your teddy.” Snape said sarcastically with a roll of his eyes.
Harry took a worn teddy from inside his drawer and climbed into bed with it. He held it in his arms while he popped his thumb back into his mouth.
“Potter that’s highly unsanitary.” Snape couldn’t resist lecturing the boy one last time.
Harry glared.
“Don’t give me that look your hands carry germs, it’s a miracle you aren’t sick- how many times do you regress anyways?”
Harry didn’t answer.
“Potter.” He warned.
“None of your business!!”
“Oh no we’re not going back to this attitude, you will answer me now.”
Harry groaned and kicked his feet under the covers. “Everyday!”
“And you suck your thumb every night as well?”
Harry whined and he took that as a yes.
“Do you even wash your hands before??” He asked knowing the answer was probably no.
Harry once again didn’t answer. Snape pinched the bridge of his nose. He recalled reading about age regression once.
“Do you not have a…pacifier?” He asked, the word feeling foreign in his mouth.
Harry frowned and shook his head.
“Why not?”
“‘s for babies.” He huffed.
“Oh and sucking your thumb isn’t?”
Harry glared and kicked.
“Enough of that. Go to bed.” He scoffed and turned the lights off.
Once Snape left Harry groaned into his pillow and kicked his feet. Snape was so frustrating! The audacity he had to come into his dorm and police his life.
The next morning Harry woke up in a horrible mood, his anger at Snape just festered through the night. And now he had a growing anxiety that Snape would tell someone about this. Just the fact that Snape knew made his stomach churn.
But somehow he managed to get through the day without any incident, even Snape didn’t do much besides give him a few glances.
In all honesty after how horrible Harry felt he was eager to get to his room and regress. Ron and Hermione had offered to play cards together but Harry gave them the excuse of being tired.
He walked into his dorm and he opened his drawer to retrieve his teddy and his eyes widened when he saw something waiting there…a pacifier with a small note reading ‘No more sucking on your thumb’
Harry flushed with embarrassment and anger and…an odd warmth…at being thought about. He slammed the drawer shut not wanting to think about the fact that Snape of all people left that there for him.
There had to be some sort of catch, maybe Snape would use it as proof to humiliate him, or maybe it had a charm connected to it that would cause Harry to never be able to take it out of his mouth. Why would Snape just do something nice for him.
He laid in bed and clutched his teddy trying to regress but his mind kept wandering back to the paci in the drawer.
Harry bolted up in bed and cursed under his breath, opening the drawer and grabbing the paci, he plopped it in his mouth and laid back down.
It was a weird feeling at first not used to anything other than his thumb, but it began to calm him quickly, and it didn’t seem like anything malicious was done to it.
He didn’t know why Snape would do this but the repetitive suckling was pulling him into a deep sleep.