Severus allowed Harry to mail the letter he had written to Tobias and a picture he had drawn of himself and his grandfather at the park. Tobias then wrote back a thank you note and sent Harry one of the pictures of Sev as a three-year-old with Eileen and Tobias together. Harry kept the picture taped to the wall near his bed, so he could look at it before he went to sleep. He had shown the photo to Severus before putting it on the wall, and the Master Healer looked at it and smiled sadly. He could just recall that day, one of the few where both his parents had been happy and content, with each other and with him, before Tobias had lost his job at the shipping company and turned to the bottle, before Severus's magic had surfaced and made his father wary and afraid of his son, who bore strange powers he could never comprehend.

It was odd how the winds of change blew, the Potions Master mused, slowly sipping a cup of tea in the den while perusing a magazine after Harry had gone to bed. For so long they had blown against him, well, at least in matters of his personal relationship with his father. Yet now it seemed the wind had changed direction again, and this time the change it brought was positive, a wind of hope and the promise of renewal rather than a hurricane of destruction. The nexus of the wind seemed to reside in his son, for it was Harry who had prompted the change in Tobias and was now prompting Severus as well.

Hardly two days went by before the small boy was asking his father when he could visit Tobias again, chattering on about carving panthers and lucky charms and Severus didn't know what all else. Harry's mind was like a grasshopper, never still, flitting from one idea to the next, his thought processes a blend of both Muggle and wizard, much like Severus's. Harry, at this age, was like a sponge, he soaked up the ways of both cultures equally, blending them to suit his own fancy.

Such as telling Severus that he needed to invent a magic band-aid for kids. "You know, Dad. One with cool moving pictures and it doesn't hurt when you take it off and it heals the cut magically. Why can't we have something like that?"

"Well, Harry, no one ever thought of doing that before," Severus had told him seriously.

"Then I'm the first?"

"Yes, you're the first."

"Neat!" Then the six-year-old had scampered off to play with Inky, leaving a bemused Severus looking after him. Truly, his son was a marvel and a wonder.

And he was slowly beginning to coax a reluctant Severus around to reconciling with Tobias. Though at the moment, Severus was far too busy with his practice to take any time off and go to Spinner's End, and Harry had just started school two weeks ago.

Harry attended the local primary school, it had a good reputation, and Severus was satisfied it would give his son a decent basic education. Unlike most wizards, Severus did not consider association with Muggles demeaning, he was a half-blood himself, and he thought it necessary for Harry to learn how to function in both worlds. So he supplied the necessary interaction with the wizarding community, aided by his friends Matthew, Sirius, Remus, Albus and Minerva, and Harry grew up a child of two cultures, with malice towards none.

Harry had school friends in the Muggle world and also a few wizard children he saw occasionally on the weekends if Severus had time to bring him to play with them. These included several of the Weasley brothers and also quiet Blaise Zabini, whose mother had been a fellow Housemate of Severus's. Maria Zabini worked at St. Mungos as well, she was a medical assistant, and Blaise and Harry often played with each other in the hospital daycare.

It was Blaise who told Harry about the circus that was coming on the weekend before the end of September. "I've never been, have you, Harry?" Blaise was almost as small as Harry was and he had chestnut brown hair and dark brown eyes and a pixie-like face. Blaise was shy at first, until he got to know you, then he came out of his shell and played everything Harry did. He had a stuffed koala named Eukie, short for Eucalyptus, and it went all over with him the way Inky did with Harry.

Harry shook his head no. "I've only read about the circus, Blaise. I've never actually seen one. When is it?"

"Saturday next, I think my mama said. I can't wait! A cousin of mine was an acrobat in a circus in Italy, until she hurt her back too bad to perform. But that was before I was born, and Lisa Maria doesn't like to talk much about it, so I've only seen pictures too."

"Is this a Muggle or a wizard circus?"

"Wizard one, since it was in the Prophet. I wouldn't care if it was one or the other."

"Me neither. I wonder if we'll see dragons? Or unicorns? Or flying elephants?"

"Flying elephants? You're silly, Harry! Whoever heard of a flying elephant?"

"It could happen." Harry argued. "You could put a flying charm and wings on one and make it fly, like Dumbo."

"Dumbo? What's that?"

"It's a Muggle movie about a flying elephant," Harry answered. "You should watch it sometime over my house. It's really cool. It's got pink elephants in it too."

"Pink elephants? Mama mia!" Blaise cried, then burst out laughing. "I want to see some acrobats and fire eaters and shapeshifters!"

"Me too! And what about some dragon tamers and tiger riders and clowns?"

"Yeah, and they've got really good food to eat at the circus too. Like ice cream and taffy and buttered popcorn," Blaise said. "Cotton candy too and hot dogs and hamburgers."

"Merlin, I can't wait either. I wish it was here now," Harry sighed wistfully.

Blaise smiled quietly, he had more patience than Harry. "It'll be here soon enough. You wanna play with the magic sand table?"

"Sure," Harry agreed, then they went off to play with the magical sand table, which had sand that could mold into any shape and changed color on command and was soft like clay, not gritty. Both of them came to the hospital daycare after school, since Blaise's parents worked long hours just like Severus did.

When Severus came to pick Harry up after his rounds were done for the evening, Harry was so excited he couldn't stop chattering about the circus. Every so often his predictions about it would be interspersed with, "And we can go, Daddy? If I'm good all week, then you'll take me, right?"

"Yes, scamp. As long as you behave, I'll take you. Maybe I'll even ask Uncle Matt to come along, he probably won't mind."

"Yay! And Blaise will be there too and probably Ron and Fred and George and Ginny too."

Severus figured half the wizard kids in the surrounding area would be there, and over half of them would be patients of his and Matthew's, most likely. Severus made a mental note to remember to carry a prescription pad in his pocket, some of his patients had no qualms about asking him for a potion script outside of the office. One of the drawbacks to being a well-known Master Healer, he thought ruefully, you were always in demand, even when you weren't on call.

* * * * * *

After his nightly bedtime story, Harry found he still couldn't fall asleep. He stared at the picture of his daddy and grandparents, but tonight his eyes just refused to close. So, after what seemed like hours of tossing and turning and flipping his pillow over, the boy crawled out of bed, went to his desk and started a new letter to Tobias. He hadn't written to his grandfather in a week, and he quickly scribbled a letter informing Tobias about the circus that was coming to town. He wrote that it was too bad Tobias couldn't be there, but it was a wizard event, and Tobias wouldn't be able to find it unless he had a wizard escort him to it.

He folded the letter in half and tucked it into an envelope. He'd give it to Severus to post tomorrow with Severus's midnight black owl, Brighteyes. Now he felt ready to go to sleep. He carefully put away his pen and paper and slipped back under the covers, hugged Inky tight, and drifted off into sweet slumber, where flying pink elephant cavorted in loops and spirals above his house.

When Severus came in an hour later to check on his son, he found Harry soundly sleeping, a whimsical little smirk drawing up the corner of his mouth. Severus gently smoothed the covers over the little imp and brushed the hair from his forehead. Harry never stirred.

"Pleasant dreams, little wizard," whispered his father, spelling the nightlight to glow till dawn and then kissing his son on the forehead before slipping from the room to seek his own bed.

* * * * * *

The circus was the big event of the season, for it was rare that a wizard circus with Santorini's reputation came around for a week, even in London. The circus was set up on the wizarding side of Hyde Park, and it had the typical huge billowy tents of colorful fabric, music, concession stands, a small side show where you could view the magical animals, and even some game booths such as you'd find at a carnival, plus a special "Meet the Performers" booth where you could speak with some of the circus folk and get an autograph.

There were so many people there that Severus placed a locator and anti-kidnapping charm upon his son before setting foot in the place, even though Harry would be within view the whole time. He was taking no chances with some Death Eater trying to snatch his son, since some of the original group that had attacked him, like Lucius, were still at large.

Harry, Severus, and Matthew had arrived at the circus early and met Blaise's mother, Maria, and his older sister, Violetta, they wanted to play some of the games before going in to see the show, which started at two o'clock. Harry and Blaise wanted to look at the magical animals first, there was a young unicorn, a baby dragon, a winged lion, a feathered rainbow serpent that Violetta said was called a quetzalcoatl, and a medium-sized sea monster in a large salt water tank. There was even a small petting zoo, where you could feed a bottle to a baby unicorn and hold a fuzzy fairy kitten.

"But no flying elephants, Harry," she teased, and Harry made a face at her.

While the two children looked at the animals and did the petting zoo under Maria's supervision for the second time, Matthew and Severus watching indulgently off to one side, Healer Morgan said discreetly, "So, have you heard anything more from your father, Sev, since you saw him that day in the hospital?"

"Yes, he writes to Harry every other week or so. Harry shows me all of his letters and it seems like he's finally making a focused effort at staying sober for good."

"Well, that's a good thing, right? Strange as this is going to sound, Sev, I think Harry has a wonderful influence on Tobias."

"Mmm . . .and who would have thought it?" Severus agreed.

"Sev, I just want you to know that I wasn't happy at all when the Ministry decided to place Harry with your dad at first. I was the one who insisted Albus go check on Harry for all those months. I knew there had to be a reason you and your father didn't get along, but I didn't know the whole story until you told me after you woke up. I felt terrible when I found out what had happened to Harry that day you were discharged from the hospital. I honestly believed that Tobias had turned over a new leaf."

Sev nodded. "You meant well, Matthew, I know that. But this wasn't the only time my dad had tried to dry up, this time simply lasted the longest that I can remember. That's why I'm skeptical if this is the last time he'll ever drink, though he swore on my mum's grave that he'd not touch a drop ever again."

"So, are you going to let him see Harry?"

"I'm considering it. I'd have to be present at all times though."

"That sounds reasonable." Matthew cleared his throat, then said softly, "Whatever decision you make, Sev, you can count on me to stand by you, buddy. It's a hell of a choice you have to make and I know what you're going through since I went through something similar with my own father."

"Matt, didn't your father pass away last year? I seem to remember you took off a month before he died to try and make him comfortable."

"Yeah, he did and I went back to the States not only because he was dying, but also because I needed to reconcile with him. You know I'm a transplanted American, I was born and raised in New York City, and I left when I was seventeen and moved here to go to medical school."

"So you've said, and I can still hear that New York dialect in your speech, for all you've lived here for eleven years."

Matthew grinned. "Well, y'know what they say-you can take the New Yorker out of Manhattan, but you can't take Manhattan out of the New Yorker." Then his smile faded. "What you don't know is that I wasn't here only for my Healer mastery, I could've got that back in America, but I came here because I was running away from my father."

Severus's eyes darkened. "Was he an abusive bastard too?"

"No, he wasn't like Tobias, he didn't beat the crap out of me. What he did do was hold me to a standard I could never meet-the one created by my sainted brother, Brian."

"You have a brother?" Severus was astonished.

"Had. He died when I was thirteen and my parents thought Brian walked on water, which is why I never mentioned him until now. Brian was their firstborn and their favorite, though to this day my mother denies it. To hear them talk, Brian was perfect, he got top marks in school, was a Quidditch player, nice, good-looking, the freaking paragon of the world. Brian was ten years older than me, I was a late-in-life baby, and a handful according to my mother. Brian went and followed in my father's footsteps and became an Auror, which was a family tradition, only they call Aurors Guardians over in the US. And he was a good one too, the perfect one according to my father. He even died a hero's death, he was killed in the line of duty, trying to rescue a kid taken hostage by some necromancer cult."

"I'm sorry, Matthew. It must be hard, losing a sibling that way."

"Yes, but though I was upset, we were never really close. But his loss devastated my father, and once my brother was buried, he began to try and make me, his remaining son, as close to Brian as possible. Only it didn't work, because I wasn't Brian, and I didn't want to be anything like him. I refused to model myself after my so-called sainted brother and my dad and I were at daggers drawn for most of the time. But it escalated when I told him I wanted to be a Healer and not a Guardian, like the rest of my family. We had one argument after another over my choice of career, until finally I'd had enough and I decided to move away, far away, where I wouldn't forever be held up to a ghost and found wanting. We were both stubborn and he had said some things that he later regretted to me, but my dad was never one for apologies. So we didn't see or speak to each other for years, nine years to be exact. Until one day when my father contacted me that he was terminally ill and dying. I Apparated over to his house and examined him, finding that it really was true."

"What did he have, Matt?"

"Pancreatic cancer. By the time he called me, it was too widespread for even magic to help, the most I could do was make him comfortable. When I'd left, we had the argument to end all arguments, I was a hot-tempered seventeen-year-old snot and I said things I should never have said and so did he. He damn near disowned me and I said I didn't give a rat's ass, because I was never the son he wanted and he agreed and said it was too bad Brian wasn't here instead of me. So I said fine, go to hell and have a nice life with your perfect son's memory, and I came here to start over. When I returned I was still resentful and angry, but the more time I spent with him, the more I realized that we had more in common than I'd thought and he truly regretted what he'd done to me. We chose to forgive each other and soon after he died and I regretted all those years we'd wasted, all the times we could have spent together, that now I'd never have, because I was too stubborn to forgive him for his stupid pride and his worship of my dead brother. I'd stayed away as much to punish him as I did because I was building a life here, Sev, only once he was gone, I learned I'd punished myself just as much and I wished like hell I'd gone back sooner and mended things between us. I know it's not quite the same situation, Sev, but I figured it might be good if you at least tried to reconcile with him if possible, that way you wouldn't spend the rest of your life regretting missed chances like I do."

"Matthew, I had no idea . . ."

"No reason why you should've, Sev. I don't talk about my dad much or my past, it's not something I enjoy reliving, but I thought maybe if I told you, you'd understand why I was trying to convince you to give your father a second chance when you woke up from your coma that day. Of course, that's your choice and you've got a lot more to get over with Tobias than I ever did with my dad. And whatever you finally decide, I'll back you up."

"Thank you, Matt," said Severus sincerely. Then he added, "I would say your father abused you just as much as mine did me, if in a different fashion. Yours might not've busted your arse with a belt but he thrashed the hell out of your self-esteem, Matt. And nasty as Tobias was to me when I was a kid, at least he never told me he wished I was dead or disowned me. If anything, I disowned him, in a manner of speaking." The Master Healer looked pensive, watching his son and Blaise trying to hit a pyramid of glass beakers with a ball to win some kind of child's potions kit. "I can only hope I don't copy my father and make the same mistakes with Harry as he did with me. I have some of his flaws, my temper is very similar, only I make an effort to keep mine under control where he never did, I don't drink, but that's because I'm afraid if I started, I'd become an alcoholic too, and I'm stubborn and a perfectionist."

"True, Snape, but you're also compassionate and kind, like your mother, so it balances out. Funny, isn't it, how we try and try not to be like our fathers and then we realize that we're more like them than we ever knew."

Severus nodded, for that was his greatest fear, that one day he would lose it and treat Harry the way Tobias had treated him, becoming the very thing he hated. He didn't want Harry to fear him, the way he used to fear Tobias, but neither did he want to seem as if he was a pushover either. It was a delicate balancing act, as hard as the one they would see performed in the center ring tonight, and all Severus could do was hope he didn't slip, or if he did that he caught himself in time.

As for Tobias, he would see if the older man really was sincere before he made any more judgements about whether or not he should see Harry. This upcoming visit would set the tone for previous ones, if there were to be any.

Just then Harry rushed up to him , his green eyes sparkling and tugged on his sleeve. "Dad! Dad! There's this really cool potions kit and you can win it except you've gotta knock over all the beakers and I can't do it butmaybe youcan!" the child said all in a rush at the end, his words tumbling over one another in his haste to get them said.

"What was that last part?" Severus asked, putting his hands on Harry's shoulders to stop the youngster from jumping about. "Speak more slowly, Harry, I can barely understand you. Now, tell me again what you want."

Harry repeated his request, slowly and clearly, and Severus eyed the Beaker Ball Toss, as the game was called, before saying, "I was never very good at sports, Harry, but I can give it a go."

"Better let me, Sev. Before you waste your money on three balls for nothing," Matthew volunteered.

"You think you can knock them all down?" Severus gaped at his fellow Healer.

"Yup. You're looking at the former star pitcher of my town baseball league. They used to call me Morgan the Meteor once upon a time."

"You played on a team, Uncle Matt?"

"Yes, when I was a teenager." Matthew answered, following Harry over to the stand.

"Is baseball like cricket?" Harry wanted to know. "It's a Muggle game too, right?"

"Yeah, but baseball's better, in my humble opinion," Matthew laughed. "It's America's favorite pastime, or at least it used to be." He paid three Sickles for three balls to the carney running the booth. "Okay. Let's see if I still have my fastball, Harry."

Matthew took the ball, which was similar in size and weight to a baseball and focused on the first beaker on the pyramid. Then he wound up and drew back, all in one smooth motion. Harry's eyes were riveted on the doctor's arm, which suddenly blurred forward and sent the ball shooting right towards the beakers, knocking down three out of the six.

"Nice one, Morgan!" Severus praised, and Harry shrieked excitedly. "Looks like you've still got it in you."

Even the carney was impressed. "Merlin, mister, but you're the best I've ever seen with a ball."

"Thanks," Matthew said modestly, then he picked up the second ball.

"Do it again, Uncle Matt! Do it again!" Harry yelled, jumping up and down.

"Hush, Harry, he needs to concentrate," Severus reproved softly.

"Oops," Harry stopped shouting and went still.

Matthew drew back his arm again, and once more the ball exploded into the air, but with a slight curve this time. It took out two out of the three remaining beakers, which were spelled to be shatterproof.

"Third time's the charm, buddy," Matthew told Harry.

"Do it!"

Matthew wound up and threw, but this time his throw was softer though just as accurate. The ball struck the beaker, the beaker teetered, and then it fell down. Harry was in transports. "We won something! Yay!"

"Go ahead and pick a prize, kid," smiled the carney.

Harry chose a blue potions kit and the carney asked Matthew if he were a professional ballplayer. "Uh, no. But I'm a professional Healer."

"Merlin! Well, you throw like a pro, sir! Amazing!"

Harry went over to show Blaise and Maria and his father what he'd won.

Blaise looked a bit jealous, so Harry returned and asked Matthew if he couldn't win Blaise one too.

"If it isn't too much trouble, we would be very grateful," Maria said.

"No trouble at all," Matthew smiled and took the money she handed him.

Five minutes later Blaise was holding a green potions kit.

Then they strolled about, eating hamburgers and hot dogs, or cotton candy sticks, in the case of Harry and Blaise, until it was time to go into the tent and see the show.

None of them noticed the tall blond man standing a ways back, observing them quietly. When they went inside the tent, the man followed.

* * * * * *

Three hours later, both Harry and Blaise were still spellbound by all the tricks and stunts they'd seen and the animals who had performed, like the dancing unicorns and the flaming firebirds and the amazing aerial acrobatic hippogriffs. It was a class act and everyone was impressed and enjoyed it. Severus had a feeling he'd be hearing about this for a long time, and probably seeing it too, as Harry attempted to recreate it in his artwork. But that was all right, he was happy his son had enjoyed himself.

As they walked out of the tent, surrounded by a crush of people, Severus scooped up Harry and put him on his shoulders so he wouldn't get lost or trampled on. Matthew did the same with Blaise and they all made their way out of the tent, never glancing behind them.

The blond man was still trailing them, but staying far enough away so as not to draw attention to himself.

Harry asked Severus if he might get Dagger the Dragon-Keeper's autograph, as he was in the booth at this time greeting the customers. Severus rolled his eyes, but agreed, and then they stood on line for ten minutes. The line barely moved and Severus sighed.

"Dad, are we almost there yet?" Harry whimpered, wriggling on top of Sev's shoulder.

"No, there are still five people ahead of us. Quit moving, Harry, before you fall off," he ordered his son.

"I-I can't help it. I really gotta go pee, Dad." Harry whined. "But if we leave, we'll have to go to the end of the line and I wanna see Dagger." The child looked very distressed.

"You're certain you can't wait?"

"Uh-huh." Harry grimaced, then whispered in his father's ear, "If I wait till we get to him, I-I might wet myself. But I don't want to lose our place either."

"I knew you drank too much soda, son." Severus gently removed Harry from his shoulder and said quietly, "I can Apparate you to the bathroom, Harry, or I can perform an elimination charm on you. I'd prefer it if you just used the bathroom like normal and we can have Uncle Matt hold our place on line, but if you insist, I can work the charm on you."

"Will the charm hurt?"

"It's a little uncomfortable for children, which is why I don't use it unless I have to."

"Apparate me, Dad!"

"All right." He picked up his son and called over to Matthew to hold their place while he Apparated directly in front of the men's lavatories and accompanied his son inside.

Afterwards, they Apparated back and found the line had moved up and they were next.

Dagger the Dragon Tamer was a large individual with bulging muscles from taming the dragons, he was wearing a skin tight black leather outfit studded with scales and a long golden cloak and a helmet made with dragon horns. In one ear was a dragon talon earring. He had braided red hair and piercing blue eyes and a necklace of opals and rubies in a collar about his neck. On his belt was a baton and a net, a long dagger, and a coiled lash.

He stood there with a rather intimidating look on his face, but Harry wasn't the least bit afraid. He'd had worse scowls from Tobias. "Hi, I'm Harry!" He held out his hand.

Dagger took it and shook it once. "Pleased ta meetcha, kid. Name's Dagger."

"Is that your real name?" Harry asked.

The man chuckled. "It is for the show, boy. You're the first one that's asked me that."

"He has a habit of asking disconcerting questions," Severus put in.

"How long does it take to tame a dragon, Mr. Dagger?"

"Just Dagger's fine, Harry. And taming a dragon takes a very long time, because dragons are wild creatures and resist taming by any means at first." The man went on to talk briefly about the different breeds of dragons and what was the easiest and hardest to tame. Harry listened, enraptured.

Once that was over, Dagger pulled a photo from a packet, it showed him riding a black Horntail, which he said was called Blackout, and signed it with a flourish. "Here you go, Harry. A souvenir to show all your friends at school, the ones that aren't here, that is!"

"Awesome! Thank you, sir." Harry beamed.

"You're welcome. You're a lot more polite than the other kids I get to deal with sometimes."

"That's cause I'm my dad's son," Harry informed him.

Dagger laughed. "You've taught him well."

"Thank you. I try," Severus replied, sounding very pleased. He put a hand on Harry's shoulder and smiled down at him.

"You got a good dad there, kid. Make sure you appreciate him."

"I do. I want to be just like my dad when I grow up," Harry declared proudly. "He's a Healer and he can fix anybody and his name's Severus Snape."

Dagger looked at Severus and gasped. "You're not . . .the Severus Snape, are you? The Potions Master that made the anti-magic potion that-"

"-killed Voldemort?" Severus finished. "Yes, I am."

Dagger looked very impressed. "Then may I say, it's an honor to be speaking to you, sir?" He held out a hand to Severus and the Master Healer shook it. "You're my daughter's hero and she'll be tickled pink when I tell her I actually spoke with you and shook your hand."

Severus didn't know what to say to that, fame made him feel awkward and uncomfortable. "Oh. Err . . .I'm flattered and tell her I, uh, said hello."

"I will, oh and here's a little something extra for your son, Mr. Snape." Dagger reached into a pocket and withdrew a small wooden carving of a Chinese fireball that moved a bit and breathed illusionary fire on command. "This one's my favorite, Harry. I love the red dragons." He placed the animated toy into Harry's hand.

"Wow! Thanks, Dagger!" Harry held the toy gently.

Severus frowned, wanting to reciprocate in kind, but not having anything on him except for a quill. It was a good veridian and golden speckled quill however. He quickly pulled it out of his pocket and said, "Give your daughter this from me and tell her I used this to write many of my recipes down when I brew."

Dagger looked as if Sev had given him a million Galleons. "That's very generous of you, Mr. Snape. Samantha's gonna be over the moon. A quill from Severus Snape!" He pocketed the quill and shook Sev's hand again. Then he turned to Harry and said, "I don't blame you for wanting to be just like him, Harry. You're real lucky, y'know. Probably the luckiest kid in Britain."

"Yes sir." Harry said, and reached up to clasp Severus's hand. "My dad's the very best dad in the world, even if he does yell at me and put me in time-out."

Dagger burst out laughing. "Harry, every dad does that. It's part of our job. You'll understand one day, when you've got a kid of your own. And now, I've got to move on to the next person, before I have a riot on my hands. It was nice meeting you two!"

Harry waved goodbye and Severus picked him up once more, settling him on his hip.

Unknown to them, the same tall blond man who had followed them to and from the tent was still nearby, and had heard every word Harry had said to Dagger about his dad. When Harry had said he wanted to be just like his dad, a wistful and sad expression had darkened his eyes. Those were words he knew he would never hear from his own son.

He continued to watch the pair until they were out of sight, that same wistful longing stealing over his features. Then he turned away and went to find the old wizard in the purple and silver star robes, who would take him back home to his empty house, where once a child had filled the rooms with laughter, tears, and smiles. And maybe one day that would be true again, thought Tobias, if Severus could ever bring himself to trust his now repentant father, who could admit at last that he had been wrong all those years ago and was now proud to claim Severus as his son and Harry as his grandson.