Severus, who ran after Harry, had nearly reached the boy, when Harry suddenly shouted, “Uncy Moo-ey!” Incognisant to the adults’ eyes, Remus Lupin had entered the Hogwarts grounds, and Harry ran over to the man, whom he knew very well when his parents were still alive.

“Harry!” Remus shouted happily. “Do you still remember me, my child? I’m so glad to see you, little one.”

“Yes, Uncy Moo-ey, Hawwy wemba. Hawwy gwad too.”

Noticing that the werewolf was going to pull the boy into an embrace, Severus, caught up to them. “Lupin,” he acknowledged the other man’s presence. “Don’t touch the boy,” he added warningly.

“Hello Severus. I take it Harry was the surprise Albus had spoken of when he offered me the Defence post,” Remus asked, ignoring Severus’ scowl.

“Probably,” Severus said shortly, took Harry by the hand, and started to move back where the others were watching them.

“Uncy Moo-ey, come eat picic wif us,” Harry told his old friend happily, and Remus threw him a huge smile.

During the next weeks, Harry spent much time with his Uncy Moo-ey, who could tell a lot of stories about his parents. Probably triggered by these stories, Harry started to get nightmares about the night his parents died. However, he didn’t tell anyone, and Poppy even didn’t notice at first. It was not until later in the summer that Poppy realized that Harry seemed to be always tired and worried about what was wrong with him.

-----

One day, Poppy woke Harry up, after she checked on him as she did every morning, and said, “Good morning, my sweetie. Do you know what day it is today?”

Harry lazily opened his eyes. “Mownin, Aun Poppy.”

“Today is your birthday, little one. You’ll be two years old today,” Poppy told him, putting a kiss on his forehead. She washed Harry’s face, changed his nappy and dressed him. When Harry started to move in the direction of their living room for breakfast, she said, “No Harry. Today, we will have breakfast together with the other teachers.” She called Aberforth, and the three of them walked down to the Great Hall.

When they entered the Great Hall, Harry froze in his tracks. He frightfully hid in Poppy’s robes, grasping her robes as to hide his shaking hands. The whole Hall was decorated with hundreds of balloons in every colour imaginable, and a birthday song could be heard throughout the large room. A huge birthday cake in the form of a miniature version of Hogwarts was sitting on a table in the middle of the room, another table piled with presents next to it.

“Harry, it’s all right,” Poppy whispered soothingly. “Look, sweetie, it’s all for your birthday.”

Harry carefully glanced around Poppy’s robes and hesitantly let Poppy take him by the hand and guide him to the dining table, where all the professors were already waiting for them. When Poppy had put him into his child’s seat, everyone came around to wish him a happy birthday. Harry blushed deeply and tried to bury his head in his aunt’s robes, which was, however, difficult from his seat. He hated to be the centre of attention, especially with so many people there. As soon as everyone had finished congratulating him, his grandmother motioned him to look at the table. In front of Harry’s seat, a wooden set of animals was placed. The animals were all connected together, and a crocodile was carrying a ‘2’. Two others, a zebra and a cat, each carried a candle that lit themselves the instant Harry glanced over.

“Amaws,” Harry whispered excitingly and reached out a small hand.

“Animals,” Minerva carefully corrected her grandson and told him, “Now, Harry, do you think you can blow the candles out?”

Harry gave her a frightened glance, and she said calmingly, “You have to blow, and then they will go out.”

Harry tried, but he couldn’t blow strongly enough. He sat back, oblivious to the fact that everyone was watching him, and just thought, ‘Pwease go out, candwes.’

He didn’t notice the incredulous look that spread on the faces along the table, but he beamed with pride when Poppy told him, “Very well done, my boy!” Finally, breakfast appeared on the tables, and Harry was stunned. The meals at Hogwarts were always delicious, but this morning, the house elves had really outdone themselves. Although Harry couldn’t eat much, Poppy and Minerva piled just a piece of everything on his table, and Harry obediently tried to at least taste everything.

Nearly two hours later, everyone at last got up from the dining table. Harry, who had happily noticed that his Aunt Rolanda indeed had returned for his birthday, ran over to her immediately, pulling at her robes. She picked him up carefully and swung him playfully through the air. Harry’s face changed from anxious when Rolanda picked him up to happy when she started swinging him around. Finally, Rolanda put him down and said, “Now, let’s see what your presents are, shall we?” She pulled the boy over to the table where the presents were piled on and handed him a long present that provoked a groan from several of the other teachers even before Harry had unwrapped it.

Harry excitedly opened the present and found… “A bwoom! Fanku, Aun Wowanda,” he shouted happily, before he turned to Severus. “Uncy Sewwy, go fwyn wif Hawwy now?”

Severus smirked, but Harry saw that the edges of his mouth turned slightly up, which he had already learned to recognize as a sign of amusement. He gave Harry a short nod and said, “Yes, Harry, I shall take you flying today. However, I suggest that you open your other presents first.” He handed the boy a big box, and Harry happily started to unwrap the gift. It was a Potions kit for toddlers. When Harry gave Severus an unsure glance, he explained what it was and told him sternly that he wasn’t allowed to play on his own but he had to wait for Severus to show him how it worked first. “Is that clear, Harry?” Severus asked sternly.

“Hawwy not woud pway awone, cwea,” Harry confirmed and glanced over to the other presents. The rest of the gifts contained books as the teachers had noticed that Harry seemed to be quite fond of books. He also received a few funny clothes, and from Poppy he got a huge floor puzzle of Sesame Street with the letters of the alphabet, while from Aberforth he received a red ball with animals all over it. Harry immediately liked the ball very much, and Aberforth promised him to play ball after Harry came back from flying. Finally, Poppy gave him a stuffed, green dragon. Harry carefully hugged the dragon, holding him very close. Then he threw Poppy a truly happy glance, which didn’t go unnoticed.

When Harry was finished opening his presents, Poppy put a jacket over Harry’s shirt, and Severus and Rolanda took Harry out for his first proper flying lesson. Harry was so excited that he didn’t notice everyone else coming after them to enjoy the spectacle. He couldn’t wait for Severus or Rolanda to mount their brooms – he just took off and enjoyed himself immensely. Fortunately, his broom was charmed not to exceed a certain height and speed and not to leave the Quidditch pitch. After a while of flying, Rolanda called Harry down and everyone proceeded to play with the ball together. At first, it was merely a game of Harry running behind the ball, but after a few minutes of practising he very quickly learnt how to catch the ball.

Too soon for Harry it was time to go into the castle for lunch. From all the overwhelming excitement, the now two-year-old ‘big’ boy fell asleep as soon as Poppy put him into his chair. Minerva just managed in time to pull the food away before Harry’s head hit it. Severus volunteered to carry Harry to bed and stayed with him until Poppy returned from lunch. Three hours later, Poppy had to rouse a very sleepy Harry.

As soon as they entered the Great Hall, Harry noticed two things. Two large candles were lit on top of the huge cake, and next to his chair at the dining table was another child’s chair. First, he looked at the candles and thought intensely, ‘OFF’. To the great amazement of everyone in the Hall, the candles went off. When he approached the dining table, still at Poppy’s hand, Draco suddenly emerged from behind Severus and pulled Harry into a fierce hug, not noticing that the small boy flinched back vehemently.

“Happy birthday, Harry,” Draco shouted happily.

“Fank you, Dwaco,” Harry returned, slowly calming down from his surprise.

After they had managed to eat a huge part of the cake, Draco and Harry went flying, supervised by Rolanda and Severus. Fortunately, Draco was even allowed to stay overnight, and Harry couldn’t believe his luck, having his friend with him for the whole evening. It was the happiest day for Harry after last year’s Halloween.

-----

A few weeks later, Harry suddenly went back from one nap after lunch to two naps during the day. At first, Poppy thought it was because he was still recovering from the muggle flu he got after she had taken him for a trip to the zoo in London, but as he continued sleeping so much during the day, she became suspicious. She also noticed that he often seemed to have headaches in the morning but she couldn’t find anything wrong with the boy. One evening, she discussed the topic with her friends.

“Maybe he has nightmares,” Severus suggested immediately.

“But Poppy would know, wouldn’t she? She is always in the next room,” Minerva contradicted.

They decided to meet in Harry’s room instead of Poppy’s office for a few evenings, hoping they would be able to solve the puzzle. The next evening, they sat in the nursery around a table Minerva had conjured earlier, a silencing charm around them, so that they wouldn’t disturb the small boy with their talking.

“Only a week until the dunderheads return to pester us again,” Severus said, sighing.

“Yes,” Poppy agreed. “However, as much as I love the quiet, I cannot say that I don’t miss the kids.”

Severus raised an eyebrow. “I thought you were busy enough with your own one,” he said, smirking.

Suddenly, Minerva let out a loud gasp. “Harry!”

Everyone looked at the crib, where Harry, his stuffed dragon tucked under his arm, was tossing and turning around, however, without making any sound.

Severus pointed his wand at the crib. “Finite incantatem.”

Suddenly, everyone could hear Harry moving and sobbing, “Mummy! No!”

“A nightmare,” Severus stated dryly, while Poppy went to wake the boy. “And nobody noticed so far, because he managed to throw a silencing spell around himself, consciously or unconsciously I do not know.”

“Harry,” Poppy softly tried to pull her baby out of his dream. “It’s only a dream, sweetie; come on and wake up.” She picked Harry up and returned to the chair she had just vacated, covering the boy with a thick baby blanket.

“Do you remember what your dream was about?” Severus asked in his soft, silky voice he had reserved for Harry and Draco.

Harry gave him a short nod, before he explained. “Bad man, gween wight, and my mummy way, den mowe gween wight, hawt Hawwy.”

“Oh, my poor baby,” Poppy cooed, while the others were trying hard not to gasp. “But this is not real, you are safe here, and nothing will happen to you here. The bad man is gone, and he will never come back.”

Harry shook his little head. “No, dweam impowtant. Hawwy see ewwy night. Awway dis dweam.”

“Harry,” Severus caught his attention. “Would you mind me watching this memory? You know how I did that before. It didn’t hurt you, and we managed to put the Dursleys into prison because of your memory. Will you allow me to try and watch this one too? Maybe I can help you then.”

Harry threw him a pleading smile. “Pwease, hewp, Uncy Sewwy. Hawwy not sweep good, Hawwy tawyad and head hawt.”

“All right, Harry. Try to look at me and think about the dream, then it will be easier for me to find it and it will hurt you less.” Severus entered Harry’s mind and found a very interesting memory in front of everything else. It only took him a few minutes to have the complete memory ready to put it into a Pensieve. “Very good, my child,” he commended the boy and pulled a soft pain relieving potion that he always carried around in case Harry needed it out of his robes. “Here, drink this, little one.”

Harry gulped the potion down and relaxed visibly. “Fank you, Uncy Sewwy,” he said, before he yawned and closed his eyes, snuggling deeper into Poppy’s warm robes, a small thumb wandering into his mouth.

“Albus, we need your Pensieve NOW. This is something you all have to watch,” Severus whispered urgently.

-----

A door slammed. “Lily, it’s him. Take Harry and run,” he heard his Daddy shout. Then he heard steps on the stairs, coming upstairs in the direction of the nursery, where he and his Mummy were.

His Mummy turned white and mumbled, “Oh, let me survive this and get to Peter – such a traitor, selling us to Voldemort.” A moment later, she was pleading with Voldemort to kill her and not Harry, before she was hit by a green light and vanished from the spot.

At the same instant as he saw the green light, a bout of magic left his body heading into the direction of his mummy. He noticed that his head started to hurt, and he began to cry. Suddenly the bad man was standing in front of him, sending a green flash to him too. He was hit by it, but at the same time, another bout of magic left his body and pushed the flash back, until it hit the bad man causing him to fall back onto the floor. He didn’t move anymore, and Harry lay back, crying exhaustedly.

-----

When they emerged from the memory, Albus spoke up. “This is very interesting, isn’t it? There are three points, which I didn’t realize so far. First of all, Harry is more powerful than any other wizard alive. Secondly, we have the wrong man in Azkaban. And the third point is that we don’t know what finally happened to Lily.”

“Please excuse me if I’m not up to your standard of information,” Remus spoke up reluctantly. “Here in this memory, there is a body of um… Voldemort, but as far as I heard the Aurors only found James’ body, no other bodies.”

“Yes, that’s correct,” Albus replied immediately. “However, I found Voldemort’s body and have destroyed it completely – just to be on the safe side.”

They spent hours discussing the memory; especially about Lily vanishing from the spot, although later nobody was any wiser. No one noticed how fast the time passed, until Aberforth came looking for Poppy. It was already three o’clock in the morning, and the friends adjourned their meeting until the next day.

-----

After a late breakfast in the Great Hall, Dumbledore and Lupin floo-ed over to the Ministry for an urgent meeting with the minister, Millicent Bagnold.

“I am sorry, Millicent, to disturb you on such a short notice,” Albus apologized. “However, we discovered a shocking memory last night that we need you to watch immediately.” He pulled his Pensieve out of his robes, enlarged it, and put it on the table. Noticing her questioning look, he elaborated, “It is a memory from two-year-old Harry Potter of the night his parents were murdered. Professor Snape took it from Harry with his permission last night in order to help the boy, because he is constantly having nightmares about it.”

“So you are sure that the memory is authentic?”

“Yes,” Albus answered. “Both of us have watched them, while Severus took the memory from Harry.”

“And a few other teachers were with us as well,” Remus added. “Excuse me,” Remus continued. “Before you watch the memory, please let me give you a short explanation.” On the minister’s nod, he told her about the Marauders and Peter being an Animagus.

When the minister left the Pensieve, she had turned white and seemed to be wrapped up in her thoughts. “This is horrible,” she said. “Mr. Black hasn’t even had a trial. I’m sorry, Albus, but Azkaban is not easy to reach. Therefore, it will be tomorrow morning until we can have Mr. Black here. However, I will see to it, so that he will have his trial tomorrow. I need both of you and whomever of your colleagues wishes to attend, preferably Professor Snape and Harry. I will notify you later today about the time and place the trial will be held.”

Albus and Remus thanked her and floo-ed back to Hogwarts.

The trial was held in an open court room, which meant that the press was allowed to listen in. However, it was a fairly quick affair. Sirius was questioned under Veritaserum, and he confirmed that Peter Pettigrew was responsible for everything that he had been accused of. Remus confirmed his declaration that Peter was a rat Animagus and could have feigned his own death easily after blowing up the street and killing thirteen Muggles. Afterwards, the judges viewed Harry’s memory in the Pensieve, which spoke for itself. Severus had to tell that the memory was authentic and he had taken it from Harry, which Albus, Remus and Minerva confirmed.

Finally Harry was questioned if he could remember his mummy saying something about Peter being a traitor, and Harry gave the judge a very frightened nod, busily cuddling his dragon. Accompanied by angry looks from all Hogwarts teachers present – because of asking a two-year-old things that he saw in nightmares – the judge announced the verdict.

Sirius was free.

-----

Sirius came up to the group of Hogwarts teachers. After pulling Remus into a fierce hug he turned to Harry, who was standing between Minerva and Severus, holding onto Severus’ hand. “Harry!” Sirius shouted and took the boy up. This, however, didn’t go well with Harry. He started to scream immediately, so that the reporters, who were still lingering at the door, came over interestedly.

“Give him to me, you imbecile,” hissed Severus and took Harry from Sirius, who nestled deep into his uncle’s robes, still crying silently.

“Now, now, let’s quickly take this Portkey and be on our way before they reach us,” Dumbledore said gently, pointing to the reporters.

Severus pried one of the tiny hands off his robes and held it in his own hand, touching the Portkey as the others did, too, and soon they felt a pull behind their navels, before they found themselves in the Headmaster’s office. Albus offered everyone a seat and called Twinkle, who brought tea and biscuits.

“I don’t know how I can thank you for what you’ve done for me today,” Sirius spoke up pensively.

“You only have to thank Severus and Harry for that,” Remus replied immediately and told him the story about the memory.

Sirius’ face darkened, but he stood up, went over to Severus, and extended his hand. “Thank you, Severus. I owe you, and I will never forget what you have done for me!”

“It’s all right. You don’t owe me, mutt.” Severus mumbled the last word, his face void of emotions.

“What is wrong with Harry? Doesn’t he remember me?” Sirius asked sadly.

“He will, probably, but what happened to him is a long story, which we can’t tell you in front of the child,” Albus explained calmly and tried to address his grandson.

However, Harry was hidden deep in Severus’ robes. He didn’t feel well after the unusual way of travelling, and it had been a shock when an unknown person tried to pick him up right from his uncle’s hand. Fawkes seemed to notice that the little boy was not his usual self. He flew down and sat on the arm rest of Severus’ chair, who threw the bird an astonished glance.

#Harry, what’s wrong with you? Speak to me, little one,# Fawkes coaxed him out of his hiding spot.

Harry slowly turned his face to his phoenix friend. “Nofing wong wif Hawwy. Hawwy onwy afweight. Stwange man pick up Hawwy an den Hawwy’s bewwy sick.”

“Here Harry,” Minerva held out a biscuit for Harry, “eat, this will help your belly.”

Severus brought Harry into a sitting position on his lap, and Harry quietly munched on the cookie.

“Harry, don’t you remember Padfoot? Uncle Sirius?” Remus asked softly.

Harry carefully glanced around the room and saw the man, who had tried to pick him up before. Yes, he could remember someone called Uncy Pafoo, but he couldn’t recall having met this man before. He slightly shook his head, leaning back onto Severus’ chest.

“Now, Sirius, Remus,” Dumbledore interrupted the silence. “I suggest that Remus takes Sirius to Poppy in order to let her check on him and keep him as long as she wants. Afterwards, I would like to ask you to come back here, Sirius, so that we can discuss what you are going to do. Do you want to return to the Aurors or would you be interested in a teaching position here at Hogwarts? Maybe you can think about it, and I shall see you whenever Poppy lets you go.”

“Shall we go flying for a while, Harry?” Severus whispered into the child’s ear as Sirius and Remus were leaving the room.

“Yes, fank you, Uncy Sewwy. Go fwyn now. Yeah.” Harry suddenly seemed to have returned to his usual self.

They spent the time until lunch flying. Severus transformed something he had in his pocket into a golden Snitch, threw a charm on it, so that it would move slowly and wouldn’t gain height. Then he coaxed Harry into flying after the tiny ball and trying to catch it, noticing immediately that Harry was very good at it.

In the evening, before Poppy went to bed, she waved her wand around Harry to cancel any Silencing spells the boy might have put up, astonished as she couldn’t find any. Maybe sharing his nightmare with Severus and speaking about it had already helped Harry to get over it. She couldn’t help doubting it but at least he hadn’t put up a Silencing spell. The night before, he hadn’t put up any spell either and obviously didn’t have a nightmare. For once, she went to bed very calmly, leaving all doors open as usual.

Very early in the next morning, shortly after Aberforth had returned home, Poppy woke up. Sitting up lazily, wondering what had woken her, she realized that Harry was screaming his head off.