"But when will he wake up?" Harry demanded of the exasperated medi-witch who was monitoring the comatose Severus Snape's vital signs. "You said he was just sleeping, so when will he wake up? Now?"

"I don't know, young man!" she replied a bit sharply. The six-year-old had been pestering her with questions ever since her shift had started an hour ago and she was quickly becoming irritated with the child's endless inquiries. "If I did, I'd be a Healer. Now, go and sit down and color or read a book. Anything but ask me more questions."

"Okay," Harry said, his lower lip trembling. He couldn't understand why the lady in the starched white robe was so cross with him, really. All he wanted to know was the answer to a Very Important Question-when would his daddy wake up? The dark-haired child was growing very worried, since his daddy never slept late and was always awake before Harry was, cooking breakfast or making potions.

But ever since the attack by the black-robed iron-masked men, his daddy, whom most people called Severus, and his mum had called Sev, had been lying here sound asleep. It mystified the little boy, who couldn't understand why a bump on the head could cause his father to fall asleep for such a long time-hours and hours! It just didn't make sense. Harry wished his dad's partner, Healer Morgan, would come and talk to him, Uncle Matt would explain everything and not tell Harry to quit asking so many questions.

The six-year-old scowled at the nurse when her back was turned, casting a diagnostic on the unconscious Potions Master and Healer in the bed. Daddy never tells me to stop asking questions. He says that's how you learn, Harry thought irritably, and retreated to the chair and the little table that had been set up for him in the hospital room.

On it were a large coloring book, crayons, and a few of his favorite books, like The Silly Sea Serpent and The Hippogriff Who Wanted a Family, which his father had kept in his office for Harry to read when he couldn't get a babysitter for his son and was working the late shift. Severus was a certified Healer as well as a Potions Master, and sometimes worked odd hours, requiring his son to amuse himself for long periods of time.

That was fine with Harry, who didn't mind drawing or coloring usually, and could read quite well, he was very advanced for his age. At least his daddy always said that whenever somebody asked how come his six-year-old was carrying around five books in a satchel. Harry loved to read and he also loved to have his father read to him, Severus always used different voices for different people and made Harry laugh.

Harry went back to coloring in a picture of a dragon, maybe he could show it to his father when Severus woke up and Sev would put it on the art wall with all his other drawings and pictures. The art wall was something his mum Lily had begun, when Harry was two and started scribbling all over everything with whatever he got his little hands on-the wall, the table, the floor-in ink or marker or crayon. She got tired of scolding him and smacking his hands and finally decided the best way to get her son to quit making pictures all over was to create a special wall just for him. There Harry could put all the pictures he'd drawn on parchment or colored that week, so she and Sev and their friends could admire them. It was called the art wall, and Severus continued the tradition even after Lily's sudden death of a rare blood disease-lupus, it was called.

Harry had been only four when Lily had passed away, and since then it had just been him and his daddy. He was Sev's special boy, because he was "adopted", as the grown-ups called it. That meant Sev wasn't his real daddy, ‘cause his real daddy, James, had died when Harry was only a year old. Harry couldn't remember him at all, the only father he knew was Severus, who had married Lily when Harry was two. Sev had told him when he married Mummy that even though Harry was James's son, he could still be Harry's daddy, since he'd adopted him, though Harry's last name was still Potter and not Snape.

The nurse had finished with her diagnostic-the results were the same, Master Healer Snape was in a coma, due to trauma to the head from an attack by Death Eaters, it was unknown exactly what had happened, but he'd fallen and struck his head hard, resulting in a hairline skull fracture, internal bleeding and a coma. She arranged the blankets about her patient again and went to get herself a glass of juice and a bite to eat, leaving Harry alone with his father.

As soon as she had gone, Harry slid down from his chair and walked over to Severus's bed. He gently put a hand on his father's shoulder and shook him. "Daddy? Wake up, Daddy! You can't sleep away the whole day, you know!" he told the Master Healer (the designation was a combination of Severus's two masteries-Healer and Potions Master). "Come on, Dad. Rise and shine, lazybones!"

That was what Sev always said when Harry protested getting up in the morning. He shook his father's shoulder again, more firmly this time. "D-a-a-d! Wake up!"

He waited expectantly for his father to open his eyes and say, "All right, you little scamp, I'm up. Now quit being a pest and go to the kitchen for breakfast."

But Severus's eyes remained closed and he didn't stir.

Harry frowned. "They said you won't wake up ‘cause you're sick, but that's dumb. You're a Healer, you make people well when they're sick, so why can't they make you well, Dad? Why?"

"We're trying, Harry," came a familiar voice from the doorway. It was Healer Morgan, who was a tall slender man with dancing gray eyes and reddish blond hair, around his dad's age of twenty-six. He was dressed in the familiar white Healer robe with the blue caduceus on it.

"Uncle Matt!" Harry ran over to him and the Healer scooped him up and hugged him. "Why won't Daddy wake up?"

"C'mere, kiddo." Healer Morgan walked over to the chair Harry had been sitting on and sat down with Harry on his lap. "See, your daddy had a bad accident and hurt his head, so in order to get well, he has to sleep for a long time."

"How long?"

"Umm . . .well, it's hard to say. It was a nasty knock on the head he took, so it might take him several days to wake up."

"Days? But who's gonna take me home then?"

Healer Morgan paused, for this was not an easy thing for him to say, but nevertheless it had to be said. "Harry, if your dad doesn't wake up by tomorrow morning, you have to go and stay with another grown-up while your daddy's in the hospital."

"Who? Can I stay with Uncle Al?" asked Harry. Uncle Al's full name was Albus Dumbledore and he was the Headmaster of a school called Hogwarts.

"I'm afraid not, Harry. Uncle Al's busy running Hogwarts, he can't look out for you. And neither can I, scamp, I'm too busy trying to oversee my patients and your dad's now that he's sick," said Healer Morgan regretfully.

Harry bit his lip. This didn't sound good. "Then where can I go? Am I gonna have to go to an orphan home, like Oliver, in Oliver Twist?" He'd watched that movie last week with Severus at the cinema. His father liked going to the cinema and so did Harry, they saw a movie once a week usually, unless Sev was too tired or Harry was being punished.

Healer Morgan was startled. "An orphanage? Sweet Merlin, Harry, no! You're not an orphan, son, your daddy's not dead. Only boys who have no mum's or dad's go there," he hastened to explain. The child really was too perceptive for his own good. He tipped the child's chin up until he was looking directly into Harry's brilliant emerald eyes. "Do you remember your dad ever mentioning your grandfather, Harry?"

Harry shook his head. "Nope. I didn't even know I had one."

Matthew chuckled. "Of course you do, silly kid! Everybody has a grandpa, Harry. He's your dad's father. His name is Tobias Snape."

"Oh? Daddy never said nothin' ‘bout him before, Uncle Matt. Where does he live? How come I never saw him? Can he do magic like us?"

"Take a breath, scamp," ordered the Healer, which was what Severus always told his inquisitive son when he asked too many questions at once. "Now, as far as I know, Tobias lives in London, which is a little ways from here. You never really saw him because . . ." here Matthew hesitated trying to come up with a plausible reason, for he could not tell the little boy that he had never seen Tobias because Severus wanted nothing to do with his father, who had been an alcoholic and abusive to Severus all through his childhood. Recently, however, Tobias had checked himself into a clinic and was now sober for the first time in twenty years. ". . . Tobias traveled a lot," he finished lamely.

"Oh. Is he a wizard too?"

"No, he's a Muggle, he has no magic, Harry. But he knows about wizards and magic because your dad's a wizard."

"Okay. Does he know Daddy's sick and sleeping?"

Matthew nodded. By now Tobias would have been told of Sev's condition by Albus or Minerva McGonagall. "Yes, and he's who you're going to stay with until your dad's better."

Neither Matthew nor Albus had liked that idea at all, but the Minister of Magic had insisted Harry be placed with his next of kin until Severus was declared fit to take care of his son. That was Ministry policy. Matthew had tried explaining that Severus had never gotten along with the elder Snape and the last thing on earth he'd want was for Harry to spend time with his father, but Fudge was adamant.

"He must go and live with a relative and Tobias is his closest living relation."

It was times like these that Morgan wished he really were Sev's cousin or brother, so Harry could stay with him. Despite his schedule, he would've been glad to care for the little boy, or at least made sure he was properly looked after while at work. The hospital made provisions for Healers with small children. Harry had stayed at the daycare center before when Severus was on call.

"Oh. Is he nice, like daddy?"

"Uh, I don't know. I guess so," Morgan replied, praying that was the case. "He should be here to pick you up in the morning, if your daddy isn't awake by then."

Harry nodded, hoping his daddy would wake up soon. "Can't you fix him, Uncle Matt?"

"I'll do my best, Harry," said the Healer solemnly. "Now, why don't we go down to the café and get you some dinner?"

"Can I have chocolate ice cream after?" asked the six-year-old.

"If you eat all your supper, then yes," Matthew told him, knowing that was Sev's rule.

Harry scrambled off the Healer's lap and raced for the door. "Hurry up, Uncle Matt!"

Matthew rose and gave his comatose friend a concerned glance. "Damn it all, Sev, you'd better wake up, you hear me? Or else they're going to send your kid to live with your bastard father."

But even that awful news did not penetrate the other wizard's brain, which wander down paths best left unexplored. Severus Snape remained lost to the world, locked away in the realm between dreams and reality. Nothing the Healers at St. Mungos could do roused him, and so it was that the next day Tobias Snape came from Spinner's End to claim temporary custody of his grandson, Harry James Severus Potter.

If anyone had ever told Tobias that he would one day be required to take care of his son's child, he would have laughed in their face and asked what they'd been drinking. He hadn't seen Severus since that fateful night of Eileen's funeral, when Severus was eighteen. Tobias had been roaring drunk, as usual, and had said something cutting about his late wife, and Severus had taken offense at it.

An argument had followed and Tobias had tried to hit his son, forgetting that Severus was no longer a child, and was now bigger and stronger than his father. Severus had grabbed hold of Tobias's wrist in a painful vise-like grip and snarled, "Hit me ever again, old man, and I'll send you to hell in a bloody handbasket! I'm not the helpless kid you used to beat senseless anymore!" Then he'd slammed his father in the jaw with a sudden right cross that left Tobias sprawled on the floor and strode out of the house, saying over his shoulder, "Goodbye, old man, this is the last time you'll ever see my face here again. I only stayed because of Mum, but now she's gone, and so am I. Enjoy the solitude, you miserable son of a bitch!"

That had been the last time he had seen or spoken to his son, who had always been a pain in Tobias's arse, a rebellious disrespectful freak, just like his mother, Eileen. He had been glad to see the back of his son, who had always been a defiant headstrong brat, despite all Tobias's attempts to teach him discipline and respect for his father.

Now here was this ancient looking codger calling himself Albus Dumbledore-what the hell kind of name was that? Sounded like a flaming nancy-boy, thought the elder Snape scornfully-ringing the bell and telling him he was now the official guardian of Severus's brat Harry. And all because his dumbass son had gotten himself beaten up by some group of wizard fanatics called Death Eaters.

That was typical of Severus. He'd never known when to back down, shut up, and mind his own bloody business. He was always sticking his nose where it didn't belong. And now because of it Tobias was stuck with his brat, a six-year-old little snot, just like his father.

He would have slammed the door in the old codger's face, but something in the other's manner had prevented Tobias from doing that. Perhaps it was the fact that the man-Albus Bumble-whatever-managed to radiate a distinct aura of danger, even though Tobias was bigger and stronger than the old man, he got the impression that Dumbledore could take him apart if he chose. The old man claimed he was a wizard, like Severus and Eileen, and Tobias had never felt comfortable around those who wielded magic. Magic and Tobias had never mixed.

Not since the day his four-year-old son had summoned a glass off of a shelf because he was thirsty and Tobias had been too drunk to get it for him. Not only had one glass come at Severus's gesture, but seven or eight and all of them had shattered on the floor before the boy could prevent it. The horrendously loud sound had exploded in Tobias's eardrums like eight thousand grenades and he'd screamed and jumped to his feet, reached out a hand and grabbed his startled son and proceeded to whale the daylights out of him for being such a destructive little snot.

That had been the first time he'd beaten his son, though it wouldn't be the last. Tobias had a matchstick temper and little control over it when it flared. His son had always caught the brunt of it, and sometimes his wife as well.

But this old wizard with his pansy purple robes and spectacles frightened the elder Snape in a way he could not comprehend, but nevertheless felt keenly. So he had allowed Dumbledore into the house and permitted the wizard to tell him about how Severus was in a coma and he, as Severus's only living next of kin, was now to become guardian of one Harry James Severus Potter.

"Can't somebody else take the brat?" Tobias had growled, wishing like hell he had a beer. This was all he needed, to be saddled with Severus's whiny, mouthy, smartass kid.

"I'm afraid there is no one else, Mr. Snape," Dumbledore said gravely. "As Harry's grandfather, you are his closest living relative, his maternal grandparents are both dead these two years past."

"Wonderful. Bloody F-ing wonderful!" Tobias swore heatedly. "I just come out of the damn clinic and have plans to start my life over again and my idiot son has to go and get himself put in a coma. Bugger it all!" The man's dark eyes narrowed. "How come you or one of your little magicky pals can't take care of Severus's kid?"

"By our laws, Harry must be taken in by a relative first, if one is available. You are, being of sound mind and body and employed. You do have gainful employment, Mr. Snape?"

"Yeah, yeah. I work three nights a week down at the docks, helpin' them unload and all that. Good enough for ya, mister?"

Dumbledore nodded. "And I may assume from your earlier statement that you no longer imbibe alcohol?"

Tobias snorted. This guy talked like something out of an encyclopedia, almost like his son did, using four-syllable words when two would do, the arsehole. "Sure, old man, I don't drink anymore. Haven't touched a drop in three weeks," he assured the wizard. He shifted on the worn cushioned kitchen chair.

They were seated in the kitchen, at the scuffed old table, Tobias feeling acutely uncomfortable despite this being his own home, and Dumbledore looking completely relaxed and at ease, smiling slightly.

"Good. Good. I am relieved to hear that, Mr. Snape. We wouldn't want young Harry exposed to drunkenness at such a young age, children are far too impressionable. Very well, if you would please sign here," He pushed a form across the table and Tobias stared at it suspiciously.

"What's it for?"

"A consent form, a mere formality required by my Ministry, saying you agree to care for Harry until Severus is able to resume his duties as Harry's father."

Tobias scowled down at the paper. "How long will that be? I'm not gonna be looking out for the bloody brat forever, y'know."

"It is difficult to say, Mr. Snape. But thus far, your son's prognosis looks to be a case of severe brain bruising and a little internal bleeding. They do not fear brain damage, but he will remain in a coma for possible a month or longer, maybe up to a year."

Tobias groaned and wondered if there were any way he could palm the kid off on someone, but he had few friends and he had a feeling these people would take a dim view of him trying to sell the kid on the street corner for some extra cash.

He picked up the weird looking quill pen the old coot handed him and signed the bottom of the form in a swift scrawl. "Done. Now where's the kid? I need to lay down some ground rules right away, I ain't having Severus's brat running wild."

"He is at the hospital, waiting for you to arrive." Dumbledore answered. "Please try and be compassionate, Mr. Snape. Harry has already lost his mother and he is understandably fearful about losing his father as well. He will need your support and reassurance during this difficult time."

Tobias sneered slightly, not bothering to tell the doddering fool that he wasn't the touchy feely type at all. All that hugs and kisses crap was for sissies and women. Real men didn't do that and he never had with his own son, he sure as hell wasn't going to start now with his grandson. The kid was a boy, he'd learn to act tough and not be a whiny crybaby or Tobias would give him a reason to cry all right.

"Sure, whatever, mate. Just so the kid knows to mind his mouth and his manners, I don't put up with any disrespect. My son would tell you that."

"Harry is a very polite and intelligent boy, I'm sure you will have no trouble with him."

"Huh! If he's anything like Severus, he'll be more trouble than he's worth." Tobias rose to his feet, brushing back a stray lock of his blond hair, which he kept cut short in military fashion, he'd served a term in the army once. "C'mon, old man, let's get a move on. I don't have all day."

"Take my arm, if you would," Dumbledore instructed. "We shall be Apparating to St. Mungos, the hospital where Severus works at as a Healer and is currently being treated there as well."

Tobias reluctantly grasped the wizard's arm. "So, my son's a bleeding doctor then. Figures. He never had the stomach for a real man's job, like the military or working the docks or construction. Too bloody afraid of getting his hands dirty."

"I would not think Severus was afraid of an honest day's work," rebuked Dumbledore softly. "He is very well respected in his field and indeed has two masteries, Medicine and Potions, a very great achievement for one so young. You ought to be proud of your son, Mr. Snape. He is a very talented wizard."

Tobias rolled his eyes. "Severus was always too damn smart for his own good. I just hope this kid of his behaves himself and doesn't give me a hard time. I don't put up with no spoiled brats."

"Severus did not spoil Harry, I assure you. Now, close your eyes, Mr. Snape, and breathe in and out twice."

Tobias obeyed and Dumbledore Apparated, within seconds they had arrived at St. Mungos and Tobias was staring down at a bed in which rested his adult son, looking like he was taking a Sunday snooze, the bloody bounder.

Before he could say anything, a small voice spoke up from the opposite side of the bed, and a tousled-haired boy sat up from where he'd been nestled against his dad's side. "Hello. Are you my grandpa? My name's Harry. What's your name?"

Tobias scowled at the kid, with his messy dark hair and bright green eyes. An imp if he ever saw one. "Name's Tobias, kid. But to you, I'm sir. Got that?"

"Uh huh." Harry nodded uncertainly. His grandpa didn't seem too friendly, not like Uncle Al.

"That's yes sir, boy," reprimanded Tobias.

"Yes sir, Grandpa," Harry repeated obediently, wondering why he had to say that to Tobias when he hadn't done anything wrong. Daddy only made him say sir when he was in trouble. "Daddy's sleeping, ‘cause he was hurt awful bad by the masked men," Harry informed his grandfather. "So now I've got to stay at your house till he wakes up." He gazed wistfully at his father, his lower lip trembling. "Bye, Daddy. Get well soon. I miss you." He leaned over and kissed Severus's cheek. "Love you," he whispered and two tears fell onto the sleeping Master Healer's face.

"Let's go, kid. Get your stuff and move your arse," Tobias said gruffly.

Harry obeyed, picking up his backpack with all his books and Dumbledore shrank his trunk and stuck it in his pocket. "Come along, Harry. We musn't keep your grandfather waiting."

"Okay, Uncle Al. I'm coming," shrilled the child. He hugged the comatose Severus one last time, sniffling sharply. "Wake up soon, Daddy. Please. Then we can go home."

He hopped off the bed and came to stand next to Dumbledore, who picked him up and held him close, bade Tobias to take his arm, and they were Apparated back to Tobias's house on Spinner's End in a twinkling.

Dumbledore asked Tobias if he would mind if he helped Harry unpack. Tobias shrugged and told him to go right ahead. "But after you're done, kid, we need to have a little talk about the rules here. Got me?"

"Yes sir," answered the six-year-old.

"Come along, Harry," Dumbledore beckoned him up the stairs to the bedroom that had once belonged to young Sev. "This used to be your dad's room, I think. Let's get you settled in, shall we?"

"Okay, Uncle Al," agreed the boy and his eyes lit up when the old wizard drew his wand. He loved it when Uncle Al or Daddy or Uncle Matt did magic. It was like the coolest thing ever!

All too soon, however, everything was unpacked, put away in the small dresser and closet and Harry's favorite stuffed animal, a toy panther named Inky was resting on his pillow. His books were on the small desk next to the bed. The bed itself was covered in a plain faded blue comforter and the walls were painted in the same dusky shade. The floor was bare and Harry's shoes clattered upon it loudly as he ran and hugged the old wizard, burying his face in his robes.

"D'you have to go, Uncle Al?" he whimpered, clutching Dumbledore tightly. "I don't want you to leave me here by myself."

Dumbledore patted the boy on the head, already feeling guilty about leaving Harry with this unfriendly Muggle. "I know, little one, but you're not alone, you're with your grandfather."

"I . . .I don't know if I like him. He's grouchy. And he doesn't smile like you."

"Harry, perhaps you can make him smile, huh?" Dumbledore held the boy close, wishing he could assume responsibility for Harry himself. "By being good and obeying him like you would your daddy, okay? Can you do that for me, Harry?"

"Yes. I can do it. I'm good all the time."

"Really?"

Harry bit his lip. That wasn't quite true and so he said, "Uh, well ‘cept when I forget and I'm bad." Then he added, "But I'm good mostly all the time."

"I know, child. You try very hard to be a good boy and I'm proud of you. So is your daddy."

"I wish he'd wake up. I wanna go home!" the child bawled, tears falling rapidly down his cheeks.

"Hush, little one." The old wizard held and rocked the child, muffling his cries in his robes so the man downstairs would not hear. Albus sensed that Tobias was not the kind of man to be sympathetic to tears, even when Harry had a good reason for crying. He walked up and down the room, rubbing Harry's back gently while the child sobbed. "There, there. Everything will be all right."

How he wished he could believe that! He prayed Severus would awaken soon, for he had serious misgivings about leaving Harry here. Severus had never discussed his childhood or his father with anyone and Dumbledore worried that it was because he wished to forget it. After meeting Tobias, Albus could understand why.

Eventually Harry stopped crying and Dumbledore washed his face with a wet cloth he conjured and set the child down. "Harry, I'm sorry, but I really have to be going. Hopefully you and your grandpa will get along fine. Listen to him and don't ask too many questions and don't answer him back and you should be fine. Can you remember all that?"

"Course! I'm not stupid!" the boy said indignantly.

"Good. I hope your father awakes soon and you can go home."

"Me too." Harry sighed. Then he flung his arms around the purple robed Headmaster and whispered, "I'll miss you, Uncle Al. Goodbye!"

"Goodbye, Harry. Remember, once I'm gone, go downstairs and talk to your grandfather. He's waiting for you."

"Okay," Harry agreed, then reluctantly released Dumbledore's robes.

The old wizard vanished, leaving Harry alone in a strange house with a grandfather who did not seem to want him. Shrugging, the little boy went downstairs and found Tobias seated on the worn leather sofa, watching TV and eating a bag of pretzels.

Nervously, he approached the man.

Tobias looked up and a sneer formed over his handsome features. "Sit down, kid. I'm only gonna say this once, so listen up."

Harry sat down on the sofa on the opposite side and folded his hands in his lap, waiting for his grandfather to continue.

Tobias took his time beginning his little talk, setting down the pretzels and withdrawing a pack of cigarettes from his pocket. He lit one up, taking a drag on the cigarette, then blowing the smoke leisurely into the air, where it hovered in a noxious cloud, making Harry cough. He had taken up smoking ever since he'd sobered up, the nicotine relaxed him somewhat and quieted his craving for alcohol. He was dressed in a comfortable blue plaid work shirt and jeans with work boots, his skin tanned from his frequent work out of doors. He was in his late forties, around forty-eight or thereabouts, and he still had a handsome physique and a killer smile, when he cared to use it on the ladies. Yes, Tobias David Snape was still a handsome fellow, one who still drew the eye of the ladies when he strolled down to the waterfront or into the pub.

But his handsome exterior hid a shrewd mind and a selfish heart, one who cared more for his own pleasures first and anyone else's second. He had no tolerance for those who disappointed him either, and had held his son to an impossible standard as a child, despite being less than perfect himself. He eyed the skinny boy sitting near him with undisguised annoyance.

Harry did not catch the look, he was too busy wiping his streaming eyes and coughing from the smoke from Tobias's cigarette. "Smoking is bad for you, sir," he took it upon himself to inform his grandfather of this very important fact. "It can kill you. My dad says smoking can give you asthma and emphysema and cancer and other bad stuff like that."

Tobias raised an eyebrow in disbelief. It was unbelievable, the brat hadn't been here five minutes and he was already trying to lecture him, of all people. Little smartass, quoting diseases at him like a bloody professor! Then again, this was Severus's brat, he shouldn't be surprised at how bright the kid was or how quick he was to point out his elder's shortcomings. Which was something Tobias intended to nip in the bud right now.

"Let me get something straight with you right now, boy," he drawled, removing the cigarette from his teeth and holding it between his fingers languidly. The smoke curled in the air about his head, reminding the youngster of a pair of horns. "What I do in my house is my business, not yours. So if I want to smoke, you just shut your mouth about it, clear? I don't need no little snot telling me what's good for me. Understand?" He gave the child a fierce scowl, one that had always cowed his son when he was this one's age.

Harry shrank back into the couch instinctively. Tobias's stare scared him, it was like a nasty growling dog's. "Yes sir," he replied in a whisper. He didn't understand why his grandpa was angry with him, he was only telling him what his daddy had said about the dangers of smoking. But Harry sensed he better not question the man too closely when he was in this mood, and so he kept quiet. But he wished his grandpa would put the cigarette out, it really bothered his eyes, made them sting badly and tickled his throat too. Plus it smelled nasty!

"Okay. Here are the rules. What I say goes. You do whatever I tell you when I tell you, no backtalk. I don't take attitudes from little brats, so you behave and we won't have a problem. Don't and you'll get your arse whipped with my belt, like your dad used to." He folded his arms over his chest and gave the kid his most intimidating scowl. "Second, you have chores to do around here, you can pick up your room, wash dishes, and dust. Can you cook anything?"

Harry hesitated then said, "I can make cereal and toast. Dad wouldn't let me near the stove or the oven, said I was too little. I know how to make peanut butter and jam sandwiches and tunafish too. I like tuna with onions and celery, only I can't cut them myself, Dad always did that. Oh and I can make coffee too."

"Humph!" Tobias seemed unimpressed. "Good, then you can feed yourself, which is what you'll have to do if I'm not home at night. I work nights three days a week."

"You'll let me stay home by myself?" Harry cried, astonished. "But Dad never did."

Tobias's eyes narrowed. "I'm not your daddy, kid, and I do things my way around here. If I can't get a sitter for you, then you stay home alone, and mind you don't do anything destructive while I'm gone, boy, because if I find anything broken or out of place, I'll wallop you like nobody's business. Got me?"

Harry nodded. Tobias's threats were really beginning to make him nervous. He had rarely been spanked, he could only recall one time his mum had smacked him for drawing on the wall with her best peacock feather quill and magical imprinting ink. The only other times he'd gotten spanked was when he was three and had thrown a toy at Severus in a tantrum, and his daddy had only swatted him four times,and again when he was five and had flown his broom without permission off the property, but not with a belt. Harry shuddered. He didn't even want to think about how that would hurt.

"I don't like kids asking me a lot of pesky questions, so just be quiet and stay outta my way as much as possible. You can go outside as far as the end of the yard, but not across the street, the man there's got a Doberman and it eats brats like you for dessert."

"Oh. I like dogs," Harry said then, recalling how Uncle Matt had a golden retriever named Summer, that he always played with when he visited there.

"Not Butch you won't," Tobias laughed nastily. "So stay clear of him. No touching anything of mine either. If it don't belong to you, keep your hands off it. I hate kids putting their grubby little paws all over my things."

"Am I allowed to watch TV?"

"Yes, as long as I'm not watching it." His grandfather said grudgingly. "What else? Oh yeah, you're to be in bed by eight o'clock sharp, no later. Lights out at nine and if I find you up after that for any other reason except to use the loo, you'll regret it. Is all that clear to you, or do I need to repeat it?" Tobias's tone said that if that were the case Harry was an imbecile.

"No sir, I understand," replied his grandson, though he really wasn't sure if he understood why his grandfather seemed to think he was nothing more than a brat. He never smiles, thought Harry sadly, then recalled Dumbledore saying that perhaps he could make Tobias smile one day. He's my grandpa, why doesn't he like me? I haven't been bad or anything. And he doesn't sound like he likes dad either. He wished his dad were here now, he could make everything better, that was his job, healing and making potions for the hospital.

"Fine. Have you eaten anything yet?"

"No. But Uncle Matt, he's Daddy's partner, he gave me breakfast before he started rounds." The little boy glanced up at Tobias cautiously from beneath his thick dark lashes. "Uh, I am kinda hungry, Grandpa."

Tobias winced at the title, and said gruffly, "Sir will do, Harry. Go into the kitchen and make yourself some lunch if you want. Then go play or whatever, I'm going to take a nap. Oh, one more thing. If the phone rings, don't answer it, that's what the message machine is for. You do know what a phone is, don't you?"

Harry looked insulted. "Yeah, I'm not stupid. Mum had Muggle stuff in our house and I know what a phone and a TV is."

"Good. The last thing is you don't do any magic without permission. Not ever!" Tobias stressed this last with a scintillating glower that made the hairs on the back of Harry's neck prickle. "I'll not have any freaky magic going on in my house. You'll behave like a normal kid, or else."

"Yes sir. No magic," Harry agreed, feeling his heart sink to his shoes. He didn't know how he was going to meet that requirement, since sometimes things just happened around him.

Daddy said it was called accidental magic and wizard kids did that until they learned to control themselves when they were eleven and went to school. It was natural and nothing to be ashamed or afraid of. Except now Harry was afraid. What if he did magic by accident and Tobias got mad? He really didn't want to get spanked with a belt.

I'll just have to try extra hard not to do magic around where he can see it, the little boy vowed. Then he clasped his hands together and prayed that God made his father get well super quick, so he could go home to Aspen Avenue where he belonged, where magic was never forbidden and he didn't need to fear getting beaten either.

He slid off the couch and went into the kitchen which was dingy and the sink was filled with unwashed dishes. The green linoleum was cracked and the table was scuffed. Harry opened the fridge and peered inside it.

There was a half container of milk, some orange juice, several six packs of soda, and some cheese and ham. A half of a loaf of bread was also on the shelf next to some eggs and a slab of bacon.

Harry took out the bread, then looked about for the jam, finding some a moment later upon the door. He took that as well, then went looking for some peanut butter. There was a lone jar in the pantry, next to cans of soup and baked beans and other condiments.

The six-year-old set about making himself a sandwich. At least there was peanut butter and jam to eat. Harry loved it and could have lived off of it, but Severus insisted he eat proper meals, which meant bread, vegetables and meat as well. He wondered briefly if Tobias would be the same, then supposed not. The older man had made it pretty clear that Harry could make whatever he wanted for lunch.

One large peanut butter and jam sandwich later, washed down with a glass of milk, Harry was feeling a bit sleepy himself and decided to go up to his room and take a nap with Inky.

He crawled into bed and kicked off his shoes, snuggling next to Inky and whispering, "I miss you, Daddy. Get well soon." Then he fell asleep, and in his dreams he was back home again, his daddy holding him and smiling, just the two of them, the way it used to be.

Harry moaned in his sleep, tossing and turning uneasily, his pleasant dream of walking along the seashore holding onto Sev's hand and running into the waves morphing into the night when the masked men had come to their cozy house on Aspen Avenue, which was in the wizarding half of London.

It had been just after dinner, and Harry had been standing at the sink on his little stepstool, helping Severus dry the dishes. Severus could have used magic and dried them in two seconds, but then his son would not have been able to help in the kitchen. Harry enjoyed doing things "like a grown-up" and Severus thought it good to instill responsibility in the child by having him do small chores about the house and help with larger ones.

Severus put the dishes away with a flick of his wand, then helped his son down from the stepstool. "Good job, Harry! Now why don't you go into the den and read quietly for awhile, I need to firecall Uncle Matt and speak to him about a patient."

"Then can I have some ice cream?" Harry whined. He'd been pestering Severus for ice cream since before dinner.

"Well, did you eat your dinner?"

"Yes."

"Even your green beans?" Severus asked, pretending to scowl sternly at Harry, who giggled slightly.

"Ummm . . . .I ate six of them, one for every year old I am," answered his son. For that too was Severus's rule, he had to eat at least some vegetables, even if he didn't like them, at least one for every year he'd been born.

"Good, then I think you can have some ice cream, scamp," Severus reached out and ruffled the child's hair. "I'll get it after I talk with Uncle Matt, so you have time to digest what you've had for dinner."

Harry pouted. "But Dad, I want it now."

"Later. If you eat it now you'll give yourself a stomachache, and then you'll have to take medicine."

Harry covered his mouth with a hand. "No! I hate medicine!" Most of the potions his daddy made tasted awful, even though they made you feel better afterwards. Harry definitely didn't want one of those!

"Then you'd better wait like I said."

"Okay," and he heaved a martyred sigh that made his father chuckle. He turned to go into the den when suddenly a loud alarm began ringing. Harry clamped his hands over his ears and looked back at Severus fearfully. "Daddy? Why's the alarm going off?"

The alarm meant the protective wards about the property had been breached and Harry knew that was bad. Severus had told his son that Death Eaters had marked him long ago for his part in sending Voldemort to hell in the first wizard war. He'd brewed a potion that inhibited the evil sorcerer's magic for a time, allowing the Aurors James Potter, Sirius Black, and Remus Lupin to slay him, though James lost his life in the attempt. But Severus, along with the others had been credited with bringing down the most evil wizard in two generations, as the potion had been his own invention. He had never brewed it again and kept the formula safely hidden away where no one but he knew of it.

That in part was why the Death Eaters wanted him, and for revenge as well.

"Harry, listen to me," Severus knelt and put his hands on his son's small shoulders, which were stiff with fear. "Do you remember when I told you the wards are there to warn us if the bad men ever come here?"

"Yes. Are they here?" His eyes grew round with fright.

"Yes," Severus refused to lie to Harry, even though the truth was frightening. "Remember what you're to do if the bad men ever came here?"

"Uh-huh. I'm to go into the special room next to the fireplace and hide."

"Right. And don't come out until I, or Uncle Al, tells you to. No matter what happens, you are to stay in there, Harry. You are not to leave it, not for any reason. Promise me, Harry."

"But what if you're hurt? What if I have to use the bathroom? Am I s'posed to pee on the floor?"

"Don't worry about me, scamp. I can take care of myself. And the room has a potty in it if you need it, and some food and blankets and pillows too. Books and toys as well, you'll be quite comfortable in there until I come and get you, son." Severus reminded him. "Come, let's get you in there. We haven't much time."

The Master Healer quickly ushered his son into the den and pressed the secret sequence of bricks on the mantle that opened what Harry called the hide-and-seek room, because in it no one could find you, even if they played the best game of hide-and-seek ever.

The opening on the side of the fireplace was large enough for an adult to fit through and Severus showed Harry the latch on the other side that would re-open the door when it was safe to leave. "But you're not to touch it unless I or Uncle Al call you. Don't open the door for anyone else!"

"I promise," Harry said solemnly.

Inside the room were all the things Severus had said, plus a bed, a chair and a table and globes along the wall lit with the Lumos spell. "You'll be safe here, Harry, so just stay in here until I come for you."

"When will that be?"

"I don't know. Hopefully you won't be in there for more than an hour."

"It'll take you that long to kick the bad guys' arses, Dad?"

"Uh, maybe not that long," Severus amended, then frowned. "Harry, you know I don't like you using that word."

"Sorry," he apologized quickly, for he knew Sev had no problem washing his mouth out with soap for using bad words.

"I'll be fine, as long as I know you're safe, son." He picked up Harry and hugged him hard. "I love you, Harry. I'll see you later."

Then his father had gone out of the secret room, shutting the door securely behind him.

Harry had remained frozen in the middle of the room, unable to move, worry over what might happen to his father making his stomach hurt terribly. He went over to sit down on the bed, but found he was too nervous to sit still and jumped up again when he heard the alarm cease and the sound of heavy footsteps somewhere beyond the secret room.

"Where the bloody hell is he?" demanded an unfamiliar voice. "I know he's here, I saw him and the kid outside an hour ago."

Harry shivered, the voice sounded mean and Harry pictured the owner of it, a huge man with a beard and cold eyes and a scar on his cheek.

Clomp! Clomp!

The strangers' footsteps echoed through the house and one called out, "Snape, where are you hiding, you gutless coward!"

"There's no escape, we'll find you sooner or later and when we do, it's payback for brewing that bloody damn potion that killed our Lord!"

Harry huddled next to the door, his heart beating wildly. It looked like his daddy was playing hide-and-seek from the bad men too, though Harry didn't understand who their Lord was. Sometimes his dad said Lord God but Harry was pretty sure nobody had killed Jesus lately.

"I did us all a favor, MacNair!" came his daddy's voice, low and silky with anger, the kind of tone he only used when Harry was in very big trouble.

Harry shivered and was glad it wasn't him in big trouble this time. Better run away, bad people, or else my dad's gonna kick your arse and take names! He wasn't sure what that phrase really meant, but his Uncle Matt had used it once to describe a fight he'd won when he was in school. But he thought the arse part very quietly, he didn't want his daddy to hear and summon a bar of soap, sometimes it was like his dad could read minds, he always knew when Harry was planning something mischievous, because he would look at him and say "Don't even think about it, mister!"

Then he heard shouts and screams and thuds, and the sound of glass shattering.

Suddenly, he couldn't bear not knowing what was going on, he had to see if his dad was okay, and so he broke Severus's rule and slid the secret door ajar and pressed his face to the crack, trying to see what was happening.

The coffee table had been knocked over and the crystal candy dish on it had broken into a million little pieces on the floor. Uh oh! Somebody was in big trouble for that! Mum had gotten that from her wedding and Dad had always filled it with treats.

There was a hole burned into the floor as well, Harry gasped as he saw a tall figure in black robes and an iron mask with a scary face point a wand at his father and shout some strange magic words.

A jet of red light flew out of the wand towards his dad, who was backed into a corner, his ebony wand glittering as he fended off attacks from two other masked men as well.

The red light struck and bounced away, coming into contact with Severus's Shield Spell, which repelled the Stunning Hex easily. "That the best you've got, MacNair?" taunted the Potions Master. "You're out of practice. Catch, baby killer!" he made a complex pattern in the air with his wand and several strands of purple light exploded from it and streaked towards the masked wizard.

MacNair tried to duck, but the strands enfolded him and held him fast, entrapping him in a sticky web like a spider traps a fly. Helpless, the Death Eater writhed, unable to break free.

"Don't struggle, MacNair. It'll only become tighter and smother you," Severus told him with a sneer. Then he blocked curses from the other two and sent back some more spells of his own.

The shorter of the two masked men said to his partner, "Maybe we ought've brought Crabbe too, Lucius, he's damn good at combat spells for a bloody Healer."

"Snape wasn't a Healer always, Goyle," spat Lucius. "The bastard used to train with the Aurors once upon a time. Until he didn't have the guts for a real fight and slithered into the shadows and became a physician. How many lives have you saved, Snape?"

"Not nearly enough to balance those you've killed, Lucius!" spat Severus, shooting another spell at his former schoolmate.

"Oh yes, throw that in my face!" laughed the other, blocking the spell in a shower of purple and green sparks lazily. "But what of the one you killed, eh, Severus Snape? What does that say about you, Healer? First, do no harm, isn't that what you physicians preach?" sneered Lucius. "But you shattered that law all to pieces when you killed our Lord, didn't you? How does it feel, Snape, to name yourself murderer?"

"It was a mercy killing, Malfoy. I did the whole world a favor," Severus shot back. "Voldemort was like a rabid dog, he needed to be put down. My way was quick, at least, even you'll admit that."

"Pity your death won't be!" snarled the first masked man. "For we intend you to suffer a long time for your crimes, Master Healer."

"And where is your son, Severus?" inquired the second man sweetly, though the ice beneath the tome made Harry's blood run cold. "Where is little Harry?"

"Safe." Severus replied shortly. "Now shut up and fight, Malfoy. Or are you all talk and no action?"

He sent a barrage of spells at his old enemy then, and for an instant all Harry could see were brilliant flashes of light. He heard the masked men cry out in anger and surprise, then they too responded with their own spells.

To Harry, watching the duel with wide eyes, it felt like the battle went on for hours, though it was actually only twenty minutes since his father had shut him into the room and went to confront the invaders.

Severus knew he had to hold them for fifteen minutes or a little longer, giving Dumbledore and the Order time to get to his house and help him. The alarm on his property was tied back to another in the Headmaster's office, so they would know he was in trouble and come to his aid. Good as he was, Severus knew he could not hold off a concentrated attack of Death Eaters forever, and thus he took precautions.

Just then another masked intruder appeared, wand out. "What's taking so damn long, Malfoy? This was supposed to be simple, kill Snape and take his kid, why isn't it done?"

"Because Snape's not so easy to kill as all that, Dolohov," sneered Severus, though he sounded more confident than he felt. "Want to take a shot?"

"My pleasure, you skiving bastard!"

A blue wave of concussive force exploded from Dolohov's wand, and it shook the entire side of the house.

Harry was knocked flying from the blast, landing some two feet away, hard on his behind.

Blinking back tears, for it had really hurt, he slowly climbed to his feet and raced back to peer through the crack.

His emerald eyes widened in horror as he saw his father lying in a crumpled heap against the wall, his green shirt soaked with blood. He wasn't moving.

The masked men laughed and laughed.

Surely his daddy couldn't be dead!

It was impossible, his daddy couldn't die, then he would have no one, like Oliver in the movies and be forced to live in a terrible orphanage with bug-filled oatmeal and nasty men who smacked you for looking at them wrong.

But the masked men certainly thought his father was dead, they were sneering and laughing like it was the funniest joke ever.

Harry felt his hands clench into fists and his temper flare. He wanted to go out there and beat them up, scream at them to stop laughing at his dad, who was a hero and better than any of them, and who was NOT dead!

He also wanted to throw himself on top of his father and hug him and beg him to get up and fight the bad guys, not just lie there like that, so still and bloody. He had to bite his lip to keep from screaming, "Daddy, get up! Get up, please!"

He was to be quiet, and stay inside until the bad men were gone, he recalled Severus's gentle voice instructing him.

Stay here where it's safe.

Harry shut the door and slid down against it, tears falling down his cheeks. He huddled with his face against his knees and sobbed, unable to keep quiet. "Nooo! Daddy! You're not dead! You're NOT!" he wailed hysterically, slamming his fists on the floor in a frenzy of grief-stricken denial.

Luckily, the room had silencing charms over it, so the Death Eaters never heard the boy's wails.

"Daddy! Don't be dead! Please!"

Harry woke up screaming, shaking with terrible fear, his emerald eyes overflowing with tears. He hugged Inky tightly and sobbed, not recognizing where he was and desperate for one thing and one thing only-his father's strong comforting presence.

"Daddy! Where are you?" he bawled, crying uncontrollably.

Suddenly a large shadow appeared at the door of his room and Harry looked up, hoping it was his father come at last.

Only it was not his father who strode into the room, it was Tobias, who was grouchy from being woken up from his nap by the unwanted brat he'd taken in screeching like he was being murdered.

"What the bloody hell's the matter with you, kid?" he demanded, moving quickly to stand over the child, who was all tangled in the bedclothes, sobbing and shivering, hugging the stuffed panther.

"Daddy! Where's m-my daddy!" Harry hiccupped.

"For Godsake, kid, cut that racket! You know damn good and well he ain't here, he's still in that hospital. Now why the hell are you screaming?"

"I-I had a bad dream," sniffled the child, still gulping back sobs. "The bad men were there and they-they killed my daddy!"

"You're crying like that over a dream?" sneered Tobias, now truly annoyed. "What the hell's wrong with you, boy? What are you, some kind of little baby?"

"No! But I was-was scared!"

"Aww, poor little baby, scared over a stupid dream. You woke me up out of a sound sleep over nothing!" Tobias growled. "Stupid little brat!" He reached out and took Harry by the shoulders, shaking him slightly. "Stop being a crybaby! You're a boy and boys don't cry!"

Harry didn't understand that at all. And Tobias's tone frightened him even more and he began to cry harder. Whenever he'd had a nightmare at home, Sev had always held him and rocked him back to sleep, telling him there was no need to be afraid. Not like his grandpa, who yelled at him and called him names.

Tobias glared at him, sure Harry was just acting up for attention, like every other spoiled brat he'd known. "Knock it off, boy, I mean it," he warned. "Or else I'll give you something to cry about."

Harry sniffled, trying to do as he'd been ordered, but it was as if a floodgate had opened and tears kept pouring from his eyes and he kept on hearing the mocking laughter of the masked evil men in his head, over and over. Dead! Dead! Snape is dead!

"Goddamn it, boy!" roared his grandfather, furious now that the kid was ignoring him, weeping and wailing like a mama's boy or a little girl. "I said stop crying!" The boy's sobs pierced him like shards of glass, he had always hated it when kids cried, it disturbed him profoundly. "I'll teach you to cry over nothing and ignore me!"

Then he yanked off the covers and flipped the sobbing child facedown on the bed and landed six hard smacks to his backside. Then another for good measure. "There! Now you've got something to cry over!"

Which was what his father had always said to him and what he had said to Severus when he had cried over stupid things as a child. "Boys don't cry, got me?"

Harry was so shocked over the pain in his bum that he did indeed stop crying for a moment, gasping and turning over to fix his grandfather with a look of surprise and hurt and betrayal. He whimpered at the sting and one little hand crept out to cover his rear end. "Oww! Why'd you spank me? I didn't do nothin'!"

"You woke me up with your carrying on like a little girl. Boys don't cry over dreams. Or anything. Didn't your father ever tell you that?"

"No sir."

"Figures. Severus raised a little crybaby."

"I'm not a baby!"

"No? Then quit acting like one. Be a man and not a little coward. Only cowards and girls cry. Are you a coward, boy?"

Harry shook his head. He didn't think so.

"Good. Remember this, ‘cause if you wake me up again screaming like a baby over a dream, I'll use my belt and give you something to really cry about. Now get in bed and go to sleep." He picked up the boy and set him down on the bed again, and Harry yelped for his behind was still sore.

Tobias sneered at him and turned away, thinking, Little drama queen, crying over a dream and a few smacks. Kid needs discipline, just like his father. I'll be damned if I'm going to have some pansy for a grandson, who cries like a little girl over everything. Why, my father used to bust my bum with a belt and I never cried, I just took it like a man, he thought, retreating back down the stairs. The look of shock and hurt in the kid's eyes nagged at him though, pricking his conscience until it whispered, You never cried where he could see, Toby. He smothered the voice and the eyes, he had learned long ago that tears were a weakness he couldn't afford and he had taught that lesson to his son and he'd teach it to his grandson as well. No Snape would ever be a coward, not even an adopted one.

Back in the bedroom, Harry rubbed his bottom and wept quietly into Inky's soft plush fur. He wasn't a coward, not really, his daddy always said he was brave when he gave him his yearly vaccinations for dragon pox and pyromantic flu and measles because Harry didn't cry and scream and try to kick or bite Severus the way some of the little kids did.

"Some of them I have to cast a Body Bind spell on so I can give them the shots without hurting them too much," he'd told Harry when it came time for his yearly check-up. "But you're my brave boy, aren't you, Harry?"

"Yes, Daddy. I won't bite you ever," he promised, grimacing slightly as Severus gently turned him about, bared his bottom, and swabbed it.

"It'll only sting for a second, scamp."

Harry shut his eyes tight and waited, leaning over the exam table. He felt a sudden sting in his rear and then it was over. "Ow," he said, though it really didn't hurt much.

"See, that wasn't too bad, was it? One more, Harry. Stay still." Severus swiftly repeated the procedure.

"Ow!" He cried. "That one stung a lot."

"Yes, the dragon pox vaccine is a bit thicker, sorry." Severus rubbed salve over the spot and the stinging went away. "There! All done." He fixed Harry's clothing and gave his son a hug. "Better a little sting on your bottom now than getting very sick later on, son."

"I was brave, wasn't I? I didn't scream or cry or nothin'," Harry declared proudly. "I was brave like Merlin, right?"

"You certainly were."

"Can I have a chocolate frog now, Dad? You said only good kids get chocolate frogs and I was good."

Severus laughed and summoned a chocolate frog from the dish of treats he kept on his office desk. "Here you go, Harry."

Harry grinned up at him. "Can I have a lollipop too? Since I got two shots, I should get two treats."

"Oh really?" Severus smirked. "You are a sly little thing, Mr. Potter. You and your sweet tooth!"

"Can I have it, Daddy? Please? Please?"

"Yes, quit giving me puppy dog eyes, you wretched scamp!"

And then Severus gave him a red lollipop also, which he immediately started sucking on.

Thinking about his father made Harry's tears come even faster, try as he did to stop them. But it was hopeless and in the end he buried his face in the pillow and let them come. He missed his father awfully and he wanted him back, and he didn't care if his grandpa thought him a coward or a little girl either, because he was Sev's brave boy always, his daddy said so and Severus never lied.

But he would be careful not to cry in front of his grandfather from now on, since it made him mad and Harry didn't want any more spankings. Boys don't cry, he could hear Tobias's deep voice saying sternly. But I'm a boy and I do! He thought defiantly. Only I'll do it where you can't see, you mean old grouch! So there!

He wondered sadly if he would ever get along with his grandfather, who seemed determined to think the worst of him. Maybe if he tried really really hard and did everything Tobias wanted, his grandfather would love him, the way his daddy and mummy did. Mummy's in heaven but she still loves me, and daddy still loves me even though he's asleep and hurt. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, looking out of the window.

It was nearly night and the first stars of the evening had just begun to light the sky. Harry gazed at the bright twinkling and recalled Severus telling him that the stars twinkling were a way for the people in heaven to remind those on earth that they loved them. Every time you see a star twinkling, it means somebody up in heaven loves you.

Harry counted two twinkling stars that night and whispered, "Somewhere up there someone loves me, like Mummy and James." He smiled and blew them a kiss. "Love you too."

Then he settled back on the bed with Inky and fell asleep again, only waking up when Tobias shook his shoulder and told him to wash up, it was time for dinner.

After dinner, which was hamburgers and fries, Harry helped Tobias wash the dishes and wipe the table. The older man didn't speak much, but Harry got the feeling he wasn't angry at him anymore and he even let Harry watch cartoons for half-an-hour before telling him it was bedtime.

Harry wasn't tired at all, but he went to bed without arguing, for he knew better. He asked Tobias to read him a story, but the man stared at him and snorted. "If you can read yourself, you don't need me to read to you, now do you?"

"No, but . . ." Harry trailed off, not knowing how to explain why he still enjoyed being read to, especially when his father did different voices and all.

Tobias scowled and picked up a book off of the bookshelf. "Here. Read your own bedtime story, kid, I don't have time to waste with that, a rugby game's on." He made sure the boy was tucked into bed, reminded him about going to sleep by nine, then departed

"Night, Grandpa," he heard a small voice call.

"Night, boy," he replied, then went back downstairs to watch his long awaited rugby game.

One month later:

It had been four weeks since Harry had come to stay with Tobias, four long weeks of having to deal with a hyper, too-curious child, one that somehow managed to aggravate Tobias nearly every day. It was a miracle he hadn't yet throttled the child, nor taken his belt to him. But since going sober, Tobias had discovered a bit more restraint, and his temper was not quite as abrasive the way it had been when he'd raised Severus. Back then, his temper had been boiling over uncontrollably, exacerbated by the alcohol he poured down his throat, and any little thing used to set him off. Now that he thought about it, he'd walloped Severus over things that wouldn't even have earned him a beating with his own father, who had been a strict no-nonsense collier.

It was odd, but lately he'd been thinking a lot about his son, who was still lying in that hospital bed, lost to the world, and his initial resentment and anger at the mess Severus had landed him in had begun to fade a bit. The old wizard Dumbledore had come by two weeks ago to check up on Harry and tell Tobias that the boy could visit his father if he wished.

"What good's that gonna do? He's dead to the world."

"No, not precisely, Mr. Snape," Dumbledore corrected. "It is known that patients in comas, while they cannot respond to outside stimulus, nevertheless can hear or even feel it. So it may do the both of them some good if Harry was to visit his father. That way Severus might have something to fight for and to come back to."

Tobias looked skeptical. "Sounds ridiculous."

"I assure you, it isn't. Severus loves Harry, the two are very close, Harry considers him his true father, since he doesn't even remember James. I think it would do them a world of good if Harry were allowed to see and talk to Severus."

"Very well, old man. I'll bring him over an hour before I go to work tonight." Tobias rolled his eyes, anything to get the barmy old coot out of his house.

Perhaps if he took the little brat to see Severus, Harry would shut up about all the things he used to do with his daddy, a list that seemed endless and Tobias was sure was probably made up, because no parent that worked like Severus did had time to spend with a kid at the end of the day. Tobias had never felt like doing anything after he'd come home from work except eating, sleeping, and drinking. The way Harry babbled on about Severus made the elder Snape feel slightly guilty that he had rarely done anything like go to the park or to the movies with his son.

He did recall going fishing once with Severus, but then he'd ended up getting drunk on the boat and nearly drowning, so that wasn't a trip he wanted to remember, it was humiliating having to be rescued by his eleven year old son, and he wondered if Severus ever regretted doing so, for Tobias had not been very grateful afterwards.

"I shall come and pick you both up on Wednesday then," Dumbledore said pleasantly, then bid him good day.

The old man was as good as his word, coming to Apparate both of them to the hospital, where Tobias grudgingly allowed Harry to spend what those stupid psychologists labeled "quality time" with his comatose father.

Harry spent the entire time sitting curled on the bed next to Severus, holding his hand and talking to him nonstop. His chatter would have given Tobias a colossal headache and he counted it lucky that Severus was sleeping. Tobias just leaned back in the chair while Harry chattered away and took a nap, bored out of his mind.

When the nurse came in to perform some freshen-up charms on his son, Tobias decided it was time to leave and bid Harry to say goodbye and come along, Dumbledore was waiting. Harry reluctantly came when called, pouting a little.

"I don't wanna go," he whined. "I wanna talk some more with Daddy."

"Enough!" Tobias ordered sharply, he hated whining. "You had an hour, count yourself lucky you got that long. Don't know how you can stand talking to someone who can't answer you back. It's like talking to yourself."

His grandson shook his head stubbornly. "Isn't. Daddy can hear me, Uncle Al and Uncle Matt said so. He just can't talk ‘cause he's sleeping right now. But maybe he's answering me in dreams."

"You're nuts, kid," muttered Tobias. The things that came out of the boy's mouth sometimes. People talking in dreams, what nonsense! Oh, this was Severus's and Eileen's child all right, full of crazy notions and magical thinking, living half in another world, and sneering at the real one in front of him. The way it seemed all wizards did. They even had a name for normal folks like Tobias, called them Muggles. Tobias hated that name. He was the normal one, not them! God had created men first, not wizards.

Though once Severus had shouted in a temper that God made wizards because He wanted to improve on the human race, resulting in a whipping for his smart mouth. No way was Tobias going to tolerate his own son saying he was inferior because he didn't have magic, like half the freaks Eileen associated with.

"Am not! I'm smart for my age," Harry replied cheekily, though he didn't know it.

"Mind your mouth, young man," Tobias reprimanded sternly. "You don't contradict me. Got a bloody answer for everything, just like your father."

Harry shut up, recognizing the warning tone in Tobias's voice. He had learned the first week in Tobias's care that the man was not one to test, his hand was lightning quick and hard, and though his grandfather never struck him in the face, he had no qualms about smacking Harry's bum good and hard for what he called a disrespectful attitude.

Tobias also had remarkable hearing, and he had once caught Harry muttering to himself after Tobias had smacked him how he was going to tell his dad when he woke up how mean Tobias had been, "He thinks hitting's the answer to everything, and he doesn't know about time-out, guess I'm glad, ‘cause I hate getting sent to time-out, it's so boring. I hate it worse than a smack."

Tobias had cocked his head, wondering what the hell punishment his son had invented that was worse than a smack to a child? But he was resolved to find out, so he asked one of his co-workers that night as they worked.

"Time-out's when you stick the kid's nose in a corner or make ‘em stare at the bloomin' wall for a certain amount of time, like ten or fifteen or twenty minutes. Kids hate it and they behave afterwards, at least my five-year-old does," replied Carl Middleton. "Though if he's been really bad, I combine the time-out with a good bottom-warming, that usually gets it through his little head that he needs to listen when I tell him to do something."

Tobias had nodded sagely, not bothering to tell Carl why he'd asked in the first place.

The next time his grandson acted up, Tobias had given the kid five smacks and then made him stand with his nose to the wall for ten minutes. Harry had sobbed, "No! I hate time-out!" squirming and rubbing his backside until Tobias ordered him to be still, else he'd get an extra five minutes. Harry had halted immediately. Tobias added that to his disciplinary methods, admitting grudgingly that it worked very well. But still, nothing made a kid shape up quite like a good couple whacks with a belt, in Tobias's opinion.

Thus far, however, Harry had managed to avoid that dreaded punishment, for he was trying quite hard to mind his grandfather. Since it was summer, Harry had no schoolwork to do and was basically free to do what he wanted during the day after he'd completed the chores Tobias dictated to him. They usually included picking up his room, dusting, and dishes, occasionally Tobias had him do a load of laundry and sweep out the porch, which was always gathering dirt and leaves on it. There was one chore that Harry detested and that was emptying out the ashtrays and washing them.

He hated the way they smelled and how the smoke clung to his hands even after he'd scrubbed them. He wished he could throw out all Tobias's cigarettes, but didn't dare act upon that impulse for fear his grandfather would whip him senseless. Once he'd asked Tobias what was so great about smoking and the other had answered that it calmed him down, whereupon Harry had said that maybe he should try it and Tobias had glared right in his face and snarled that if Harry laid a finger on his cigarettes or lighter he'd whip him senseless.

That was the last time Harry had asked Tobias about smoking.

But it didn't stop Tobias from telling Harry to empty out the ashtrays every other day and wash them. Harry didn't see the point in it, since they just got dirty again the same day, but he obeyed.

When Tobias was home, Harry did his best to stay out of his way, as his grandfather preferred, playing in his room or out in the yard, or drawing pictures. He'd drawn dozens of pictures for Severus, some of himself, some of other people, like Uncle Al and Matt, and many of himself with Severus. Nearly all of them had the words "I Miss You" or "Get Well Soon" on them and were signed, "Love, Harry". He had read every book he owned dozens of times and wished he dared asked Tobias to take him to the bookshop to get some new ones.

Three nights a week, Tobias worked the night shift on the docks. On Wednesdays, Callie, the teenage daughter of one of Tobias's co-workers, watched Harry, but on Mondays and Tuesdays, Harry was left to fend for himself because Callie had swim practice and band practice and tons of homework.

Most of the time, Harry didn't mind being on his own, because then he could watch TV whenever he wanted, stay up later than nine o'clock, and play loud noisy games with Inky, like Hogwarts Express, where Harry pretended to be the train on its way to Hogwarts with Inky as the first-year wizard. Tobias hated when kids were loud and Harry was glad when he worked, because then he could run and jump down all the stairs without getting screamed at and told to "Freeze, mister! Now quit running about like a demon, brat!"

He'd been scolded by his father for running in the house as well, but Severus had always tempered his scoldings with promises to go for an outing in the park or flying on his broom if Harry quit racing about and settled down. Harry had obeyed quite willingly then, for the few times he hadn't, he'd been punished with a time-out and the loss of a walk or flying.

But Tobias never offered him any rewards for being good, only warned him about what would happen if he were bad. Granted, the consequences for misbehaving were scary enough to keep the child obedient for a long time, but no child is perfect, and Harry was a curious imp who was being given no real outlet for his energy and intelligence, stuck in the house all day with no one to play with and nothing interesting to do.

When Tobias went off to work that evening, he left Harry a tuna hero for dinner along with a glass of iced tea, which the child preferred to milk, and once more admonished him to be good and wash up and go to bed at nine o'clock, keep the door locked and let the machine get the phone. It was the usual litany, and Harry paid it half an ear, while pretending to listen, which was why he missed Tobias's final order to empty out the ashtrays, since the trash pickup was tomorrow.

"Got all that?"

And Harry nodded and said, "Yes sir," just the way Tobias liked.

"Good. You better be asleep when I get home, kid. See ya." Tobias was not a demonstrative man, especially not with children, he did not give hugs the way Severus or Uncle Al did, but something about the way his grandson looked at him that night made him reach out and rest a hand lightly on Harry's head before departing.

It was the first time anything like that had ever happened, and it made Harry think that perhaps Tobias was beginning to like him a little. Harry wasn't sure how he felt about the elder Snape, except that sometimes Tobias scared him with his glares and scoldings and he hated when Tobias smacked him, it really hurt! But to be fair, the man didn't hit him all the time, and he did feed him and make sure he had clothes to wear and didn't leave the house without shoes or a jacket. Harry supposed Oliver had it worse living at the orphanage, dressed in rags, cold and eating buggy porridge and getting beaten with a cane.

Of course, Harry would have rather stayed with Uncle Al or Uncle Matt or even one of the nurses at the hospital, but since that was not an option, he was determined to try and make the best of it. But oh, how he prayed every day for his father to get better! He wished he had magic enough to help Severus, he'd use all of it to make his daddy well again. Someday he was going to be a great wizard, or so Sev was always telling him, but Harry wished he could have his magic now, because now was when he really needed it.

Harry wandered into the kitchen, decided to eat his supper, and when he was done, carefully washed and dried the dish and the glass and left them on the counter. Tobias would put it away when he came home, or else just re-use it the next morning for breakfast.

It was six-thirty, if he was following Tobias's schedule, that meant he had two and a half hours before bedtime. Harry knew how to tell time and add and subtract a little, he was very good with numbers. But since Tobias was out, Harry decided to bend the rules and stay up until ten that night. Tobias worked until midnight usually, so he would never know.

That little detail taken care of, Harry went into the den to watch TV. But there was nothing on he liked, it was all boring grown-up stuff and he turned off the TV after an hour of flipping through channels. Utterly bored, he went upstairs to get Inky and color, but after a few minutes of coloring he threw down his crayons and scowled down at the bare boards of his room. "Why is it so bloody boring around here, Inky?" he asked the stuffed panther moodily. "There's nothing to do!"

Inky stared at him with his green glass eyes and said nothing. Harry huffed a sigh. "I don't feel like playing Hogwarts Express, there're only so many times you can be kidnapped and held for ransom by train robbers, or saved from drowning by the mermaids in the bathtub," Harry said mournfully. "Or eaten by a dragon or get lost in the Forbidden Forest and nearly get eaten by a werewolf. What should we do, Inky? I'm so bored I could die!"

That was an expression the grown-ups used sometimes and Harry had never really understood what it meant until now, when he was so bored that even dying would seem like an interesting thing to be doing.

Sick of looking at the four walls of his bedroom, Harry left, dragging Inky by a paw, and went down the hall to the room Tobias called his study. He'd been in the room before and found it very dull, it contained a small bookshelf with mostly carpentry manuals, Tobias did woodworking on the side sometimes, and a desk and a chair.

Normally Harry wouldn't even have ventured into the room after his initial exploration, but tonight he was so bored even the study looked inviting, and it was better than his bedroom. He climbed up on Tobias's big leather swivel chair and began to try and open the desk drawers.

The first two small drawers opened but only had things in them like blank paper, pencils, and pens that Muggles used to write with. Harry knew of them because his grandparents on his mother's side had been Muggles and they'd taught him how to write with them. Both of them had been killed in a car accident soon after Lily had died, however, which was why the Ministry considered Tobias Harry's closest living relative. His next closest would have been Lily's sister Petunia, but Harry barely knew her, she didn't associate with her sister once she had married Severus.

He shut those drawers, disappointed. Then he tugged on one medium-sized one below the long one and found it wouldn't open. It was locked. "Damn it!" Harry swore, then bit his lip and looked around, even though he knew no one was in the house. A good thing too, else he knew he'd be in for it.

The next drawer held more boring things, a stapler, staples, paper clips, some erasers and envelopes, stamps, and address labels. Harry couldn't figure out who'd be writing to his grandfather, he was such a Grumpy Gus, but then he remembered that grown-ups used letters to pay bills, which was something they all hated but had to do anyway. He had overheard Tobias muttering more than once over "the blasted electric bill" or the "son-of-a-bitching heating bill" and whenever he started on that Harry ran and stayed in his room, because Tobias was always in a foul mood afterwards.

Then he slid off the leather chair and tugged at the bottom drawer and after a sharp pull, the drawer slid open. Inside it were some rather glossy magazines with pictures of naked women on them. Harry wondered what was so great about them, they were kind of pretty, but who cared? He removed the magazines, there were only three of them, and underneath he found a shoebox, which he pulled out and opened.

Inside he found several pictures, pictures of his grandfather with a tall black-haired woman smiling and several of a little black-haired boy that Harry at first didn't recognize as his dad, but then he read the back of one of the photos and on was written Severus, age 3. "So this is what Daddy looked like when he was small, Inky!" he exclaimed in delight. "And then this lady here must be Dad's mum, Eileen. She looks nice. Bet she was a lot nicer than Grandpa."

Also in the box was a heavy certificate that Harry thought said "Marriage" but couldn't understand anything else except the date and the names on it. There was also a birth certificate, it was his dad's, Harry knew what it was since Severus had shown him his own. "When a baby is born, we Healers make a record of it, so everyone knows and no one forgets," Severus had explained.

His dad's birth certificate read, Severus Tobias Snape, 8lbs and 21 inches long was born on January 9th, 1959 to parents Tobias David Snape and Eileen Margaret Snape.

"Huh. Daddy's middle name is Tobias, Inky. I never knew that. I wonder why he has one middle name and so do Grandpa and Grandma, but I've got two? My middle names are James and Severus, like both my daddies." His forehead crinkled in puzzlement. "Maybe it's so I won't forget them."

He continued looking through the box and found several yellowed letters wrapped up in tissue and when he went to read one he discovered it began:

My dearest Toby,

I can't wait to see you again. Meet me by the statue of the bronze bowman in the park, my parents are leaving tomorrow for the seashore and I pretended I was sick, so I'm staying home with Arliss for company, and she won't tell if I slip off to the park for a few hours. You won't be late, will you? Even if you are, I'll wait for you.

Yours forever,

the one and only,

Eileen Prince

Harry frowned, he knew Eileen was the name of his grandmother, who had died long before Harry was born, his dad talked about her sometimes, he had loved her very much and still missed her. Could this be a letter to his grandfather from his grandmother? It seemed so, but it was funny to think of his grandpa and grandma as kids with parents that told them what to do.

There were several more letters like that one, love letters he thought they were called, and he found them hysterically funny and laughed for quite some time over them. But then he grew bored and the box was empty, so he quickly placed all the letters, pictures, and the documents back inside the box.

He'd been sitting there reading for over an hour, though he did not know it. He was just about to put the shoebox back inside the open drawer when he felt an urgent need to go to the bathroom.

He quickly got to his feet and ran down the hallway to the bathroom. He was just washing his hands and drying them when he heard the front door opening. He froze. Who was there? Was it a robber? Scared silly, Harry crept out of the bathroom and tiptoed down the stairs, peering over the banister. He was shivering and expecting to see big men in black mask, but all he saw was his grandfather removing his jacket and hanging it on the coat rack.

Yikes! What's he doing home so early? Harry wasn't exactly sure what time it was, except that it was unusual for Tobias to get home this early, it was probably after nine o'clock. He slipped back upstairs lickety-split and got undressed, into his pajamas, and huddled under the covers, shutting his eyes and trying to fall asleep before Tobias came upstairs.

He heard his grandfather's footsteps coming up the stairs. He remained still, feigning sleep as best as he could. Then a horrible thought struck him. He had left Inky in the study when he'd gone to use the potty. Not only that, but he'd forgotten to put the shoebox back in the drawer too! It was still right out on the floor where Tobias would be sure to see it.

Oh no! No, no. If he goes in there and sees . . .he'll be so mad. Harry felt his stomach clench in dread. Please, please don't go in there, Grandpa. Just go into your room and go to sleep.

Tobias's room was before the study, and if the elder Snape went into there first, it would give Harry time to sneak out and replace the shoebox and get Inky. He knew if Tobias caught him out of bed he'd be in trouble, but not huge trouble the way he would if his grandfather discovered he'd been touching his things.

No such luck. Tobias was careful with leaving lights on and so the first thing he noticed upon coming up the stairs was the sliver of light beneath the study door. "What the hell . . .? Why is that on?" Harry heard him mutter and then he listened to his grandfather walking down the hallway and opening a door.

Harry shut his eyes tightly, knowing it was hopeless.

Five seconds later he felt Tobias's hand on his shoulder, shaking him sharply. "Get up, you little brat! Right now!"

Harry opened his eyes and yawned. "Huh? What?"

The big man flicked on the light, and Harry shrank away, for Tobias's eyes were glittering with anger and disappointment. In one hand he had the stuffed panther. "Care to explain this, boy?"

"Uh . . ." Harry pretended to still be sleepy, though his little act didn't fool his grandfather in the least. Harry's eyes were too clear for him to have been sleeping. "That's my panther Inky, Grandpa."

"And what was Inky doing in my study, young man?" Tobias demanded sternly. "Where no little boys are supposed to be?"

Harry swallowed hard, not sure what to say. His daddy had told him the truth was always better than a lie, but Harry knew the truth was sure to get him in big trouble. So he whispered, "I don't know, sir."

"You don't? Let me tell you what I know then, mister. A certain little brat disobeyed me and went where he shouldn't of with his little toy and touched my things. Did you think I wouldn't know you'd been pawing through my stuff? Do you think I'm stupid, boy?" Tobias growled, lifting Harry up and shaking him hard.

"N-no!" Harry stuttered. "Please, sir, I-I only wanted to look at them."

"Did I give you permission to touch my things, Harry? Did I?"

"No," he answered in a very soft voice.

"Then why the hell did you? Answer me!"

"I-I was bored. I-I didn't mean to, but there was nothing to do, so I just-"

"You just decided it was all right to go through my private things like a little sneak. You're just like your damn father, kid, never know when to mind your business and you've got to touch everything. And then I ask you to empty the ashtrays for me and what do you do? You ignore me! D'you think your better than me because you're a wizard, boy? Is that what Severus taught you, huh?"

"N-no, sir! Daddy says having magic doesn't make me better, only different from Muggles. I-I'm sorry, Grandpa! I won't touch your things ever again. Promise! And I didn't know about the ashtrays." Harry quickly blinked back tears. The last thing he needed was to start crying, Tobias was furious enough as it was.

"Don't lie to me, boy!" roared Tobias, shaking the child again. "I told you just before I left and you shook your head and said yes sir."

Harry gulped, for he recalled not quite paying attention. "I didn't hear you tell me anything about the ashtrays, sir. I must have missed it."

He was telling the truth, but Tobias thought it sounded like a patented falsehood and he was angry all over again that the kid dared to lie to him instead of just admitting his mistake. Well, lies were another thing he wouldn't tolerate.

"Still lying, huh? We'll see about that, mister. Maybe a good licking will teach you to tell me the truth, boy!"

"No! Please, don't! I'm not lying, sir! Honest!" Harry wailed. "I really didn't know!"

"Oh yeah? Well, you deserve one anyhow for disobeying me and touching my things, you sneaking brat! Maybe next time you'll remember not to touch things that aren't yours." Tobias considered removing his belt, if this had been twenty years ago, it wouldn't have even been a question, but tonight he was too tired to tan the brat's arse properly, and so he settled for giving Harry a bare-bottom spanking instead.

Harry was reduced to tears and sobs after five smacks, Tobias's hand was hard and unforgiving, or so it seemed to the child, who had never been punished like that before. He wriggled and kicked to no avail, the older man held him firmly and continued spanking until the child's bottom was quite red and Tobias was sure his lesson had been learned.

By then the child's sobs were getting to him and he couldn't take it any longer, so he stopped after a good dozen smacks. Harry didn't even acknowledge that it was over, he just kept crying. Tobias shook his head and replaced the child's pajamas and turned him around to face him.

"Enough, kid. It's done, now stop bawling, damn it all."

Harry gazed up at him, his green eyes bright with remorse and a flicker of fear that had never been there before. It made the older man uncomfortable, though he didn't know quite why. His son had looked at him more than once with that same expression, though he couldn't recall it bothering him so much then. Then again, the booze had drowned out most of his kinder emotions, leaving behind only anger and resentment.

"Sorry! I'm sorry!" the kid was sobbing that over and over.

"Okay. Okay. I forgive you," he coughed, for he'd never said those words to anyone save his wife before, after one of their worst arguments ever. Then he added, lest the kid think he was going soft all of a sudden, "But you deserved it and you know it. Now get in bed."

But Harry made no move to get in bed, and Tobias sighed and picked him up. When he started to set him down, the kid wrapped his arms about him and clung to him for a brief moment, startling the blazes out of him. No one since his wife had ever hugged him, Severus had shied away from him like a wild animal after years of his temper.

He froze, not knowing how to respond. After a moment, however, Harry let go, and allowed Tobias to put him down on his stomach. He was still sniffling and for a moment the older man rested his hand on the child's back, patting him slightly. "Go to sleep and don't make me come in here again." Then he placed the stuffed panther beside Harry and left the room.

Harry seized Inky and hugged the soft toy hard, guilt warring with anger. He knew he deserved to be punished, he had disobeyed his grandfather on purpose, but he hadn't lied to him and why did Tobias have to hit so hard? He was sure he wouldn't be able to sit down for days. If my dad were here, this never would've happened, he thought resentfully, rubbing his bottom gently. Dad would've never left me alone with nothing to do and if I'd touched something of his, he'd of never spanked my bare bottom! Which was true, though the six-year-old knew he might have still gotten spanked or grounded to his room for a day. Yet another part of him whispered, it could've been worse, you could've gotten the belt. The little boy quivered, Tobias's hand hurt plenty, he didn't even want to imagine what the belt would be like. No sir!

All the physical and emotional turmoil had worn him out, and in a matter of minutes, Harry's eyes closed and he was asleep.

Downstairs, Tobias was smoking cigarette after cigarette, trying to calm himself down. He couldn't fathom why his grandson's emerald eyes haunted him, nor why he felt guilty for giving the brat a well-deserved spanking. He never had felt guilty when he'd walloped Severus. Then again, I was mostly drunk at the time, so I'm surprised I remember anything. Back then, he and the bottle had been very good friends, in fact it had been the only friend he had after awhile. Eventually it had replaced everyone and everything, becoming wife, son, and sustenance.

It felt odd now to think back on those years, which were colored a hazy red and black. But it was even odder to realize that however much Harry had deserved that thrashing, he hadn't enjoyed doing it to the child. The boy's cries had touched something he'd thought dead and buried years and years ago-empathy, for he could recall with sudden shocking clarity himself as a boy, whimpering and sobbing as his father laid into him for some transgression, real or imagined, with his belt. In his memory, Harry's sobs and his own mingled, and then combined with Severus's as well, until Tobias thought he would drown.

He jerked up from the couch and went outside for some air, it was suddenly stiflingly hot inside the house. The cool air caressed the back of his neck and he released a quick breath, shaking his head.

God, but I need a drink, he thought longingly, recalling the familiar biting tang of whiskey and gin. Then he lit up another cigarette and stared out across the yard, wondering if the child upstairs had fallen asleep finally and if another one had woken up yet.

Strangely enough, the incident in the study marked a small turning point in the relationship between Harry and Tobias. Tobias was still gruff with the child, but he no longer regarded his grandson as an annoyance, as he discovered when Harry came downstairs the next morning, still rubbing his bottom. Tobias felt a twinge of guilt settle somewhere in the region of his breastbone. Surely he hadn't hit the kid that hard?

"Still sore?"

Harry nodded warily, wondering if his grandpa was still angry with him.

Tobias coughed uncomfortably, his conscience was reproving him with Eileen's voice now, the way she used to when he'd whipped Sev for something totally uncalled for, only this time he couldn't block it out or ignore it or drown it in alcohol like he used to do years ago. This time there was no escape from the voice that scolded him, yelling that he carried his discipline too far. Dammit, Toby, you were angry when you punished him and you hit him too hard, if he's still sore this morning. D'you want him to hate you the way his father does, you dumbass? He concealed a wince, for he knew only too well that his son hated him, and if he were being brutally honest with himself, he knew he had done much to cause his child to hate him, indeed the reasons Severus hated him were all his fault. He couldn't blame his son for not wanting to be around him, just as he had not wanted to be around his father once he was grown. It was why he'd moved from Yorkshire to London.

He eyed his grandson, wishing like hell he'd waited to punish the boy, he hated feeling guilty over something he couldn't change. Harry's emerald eyes stared back at him, uncertain and wary, like the eyes of a deer poised to spring at the slightest movement. Tobias looked away for a minute then quickly back. What the hell was happening to him? So what if the kid's bum was a little sore, it would remind him not to cross his grandfather in the future. And yet, and yet, his conscience was still pricking and poking at him, recalling memories he'd wanted forgotten, of how it felt after one of his father's thrashings, and the way his mother used to hold him sometimes and tell him to take a bath afterwards, it would soothe the welts.

Abruptly, he came back to himself with a start, and blurted, "Go and take a bath, Harry."

"Why?"

"It'll take some of the sting away. Don't argue with me, boy. Just do it."

"Okay, sir," and then he turned and went back upstairs.

It was a small thing, but it was the first baby step towards acknowledging that perhaps his treatment of Harry was a bit harsh.

In the days and weeks that followed, Tobias found himself paying more attention to Harry than he had previously, although this was mostly Harry's doing, since the child decided that even his grouchy grandpa was better than no company at all and began watching Tobias do things around the house.

Tobias had always been handy with tools and could repair things quickly, he was a sort of jack-of-all-trades, though his real love was working with wood. But his family never had money to send him away to school or apprentice him to a carpenter and so he picked up carpentry here and there, by reading or observing others at work. For a self-taught man, he was surprisingly good, and anything he built lasted for years. Woodworking had been his passion, until he discovered spirits and that need had obliviated anything else.

One evening Harry was washing the dishes, standing on tiptoe to reach the sink, and spraying water all over as a result. Tobias looked over and shouted, "Hey, kid! Watch what the hell you're doing, you're getting water all over."

"Sorry. But I can't help it," Harry cried, wondering if he were now in trouble. "I can't reach the sink. At home, Dad always lets me use a stepstool when I help him wash dishes and stuff."

Tobias grunted, then rose to his feet and nudged Harry away. "Clean up the water, I'll finish here."

Harry obeyed, getting a dry towel to wipe up the droplets of water scattered on the floor.

"A stepstool, huh?" the big man murmured, half to himself. "That shouldn't be too hard to make."

"Make it? Why not just buy it?"

"Because I can make one better than the cheap crap they sell in the stores these days," replied Tobias gruffly.

"You can? How?"

"With a couple of pieces of wood and a saw and a hammer and some nails."

"Neat! Can I watch?"

Tobias considered. Normally he didn't like anyone watching while he woodworked, he preferred no one gawk at him or ask dumb questions, it threw off his concentration. Then again, perhaps watching him might keep the brat out of trouble and learn something useful at the same time. He'd tried to get Severus to work with him, but his son had always been off doing some magic thing with his wife or had his nose buried in a book like a nerd.

"All right. You can watch, but only if you're quiet and don't ask me any dumb questions and stay still and don't touch anything. My tools aren't to be played with, boy, they're sharp and dangerous, so you keep your hands still, understand? Otherwise I'll-"

"-wallop the living daylights out of me?" Harry guessed.

"Exactly. So unless you want that to happen, you'd better behave."

"Okay sir. I'll be good."

Tobias finished drying the dishes, then led the way into his workroom, which was off the kitchen and had been kept locked until now.

Harry found himself in a medium-sized room which had a long workbench built into the wall and above it hung tools of various shapes and sizes. In one corner was a machine called a jigsaw, though Harry didn't know that and in another was a large sander and a bandsaw. On a table in the center of the room were small pieces of wood, mostly pine, oak, and maple. Larger pieces were stacked neatly against the wall along with a broom and a shovel. The whole place smelled of wood shavings and sawdust, though it was not unpleasant. Everything was very neat and orderly.

Harry heard the hum of an air conditioner and glanced up to see five light bulbs hanging from the ceiling, providing enough light for Tobias to whittle and cut anything he needed. Two folding chairs leaned near the workbench, his grandfather unfolded one, brought it to the table in the middle of the room and pointed to it.

"Sit there and don't move."

Harry slid onto the chair, his green eyes glowing with undisguised curiosity.

Tobias brought over the other chair and a selection of sharp knives and sandpaper and a ruler and a level and sat down at the table. Tobias poked among the small blocks of wood, at last selecting several lengths of maple which he then began to measure and mark with a graphite stick.

"See here, first you measure everything, that way you know where and how to cut it," he explained at Harry's curious look.

For the next hour, Harry watched avidly as Tobias cut and shaped the blocks of wood into four small legs for a stool. When he was finished with one leg, he set it aside on the table and began on the next one. At first, Harry was riveted to the spot, but soon he wriggled and leaned his elbows on the table. Sawdust swirled in the air above their heads.

"Sit up," Tobias ordered abruptly. "You want to get sawdust in your eyes? It hurts like bloody blazes."

"No sir."

"Didn't think so." He turned back to the leg he was shaping.

Harry sat up, but he eyed the nearly finished leg longingly. The maple had small golden streaks running through it and it looked soft and Harry's hand inched over and stroked it. The wood felt smooth and silky, even though Tobias had yet to sand it. He ran his hand over it.

Then he jumped when his grandfather smacked it. "Ow!"

"What'd I say about touching, boy?"

Harry snatched his hand back. "I just wanted to feel it," he pouted.

Tobis shot him a warning look. "Look but don't touch. Don't you understand English?"

"Yes, but I wasn't hurting anything."

"Doesn't matter. Would your dad let you touch his potion ingredients while he was making one?"

"No sir," Harry answered. Severus never even allowed him in the lab if he was brewing something complicated, and the one time he'd snuck in there, Severus had caught him and yelled at him, given him a swat and made him stand in the corner for fifteen minutes.

"It's the same here." Tobias then turned back to the wood he was carving.

Harry was still for a few more minutes, but sitting still was not something he was particularly good at, or rather it wasn't something he could do silently. "Who taught you how to do that? Your dad?"

Tobias bit back a laugh. Jeremiah Snape, carving wood! The old man was probably spinning in his grave at the mere suggestion. "The only thing my dad knew about wood was that you cut a tree to get it and burnt it for firewood. He was a coal miner, he worked the mine up in Yorkshire. No, an old man named Jim taught me how to whittle wood, lived down the road a piece. The rest of it I picked up here and there." He picked up some sandpaper and began to sand the leg he was working on.

Green eyes followed him intently.

"Can I help?"

Tobias almost was going to say no, but then he recalled old Jim letting him occasionally sand the little animals he'd whittled out of scrap wood. Tobias had been eight, only a little older than Harry. "Okay, kid. C'mere."

Harry jumped off the chair and ran over to him. Tobias picked up one of the legs and handed Harry a piece of sandpaper. "Hold the leg like this and then rub the paper up and down in a smooth motion." He took the youngster's hands and positioned them upon the wood and the sandpaper, then showed Harry how hard he had to rub. "Like that. Got it?"

"Yes sir. I can do it myself."

"Independent little brat, aren't you? Just like your father," Tobias drawled, but for once there was no real bite to his tone when he said that.

Harry returned to his seat, industriously sanding the block of maple.

Tobias watched him for a moment to be sure he was doing it right, then turned back to choosing the wood for the step and top of the stool. He wondered how long it would take for the kid to get bored and run off.

The soft shush of the sandpaper filled the room and Tobias rose and went over to another stack of wood, picking through it for the right sized piece. He would never admit it, but he actually didn't mind the company, especially now that the kid was behaving and doing something useful instead of just running around causing trouble.

* * * * *

The stepstool his grandfather had made him was perfect for reaching the counter, Harry thought happily a week later, as he used it to climb up and reach the biscuit tin Tobias kept to the right of the sink. Tobias wasn't strict like Severus about mealtimes and snacks, and Harry took full advantage of this and ate biscuits and sweets whenever possible, one reason why he was so hyper during the day.

Tobias hadn't figured this out yet, and Harry wasn't about to tell him either. So he gleefully reached into the tin and took two rather large chocolate chip shortbreads, then climbed down and put the stool back in the corner where it belonged.

Then he poured some milk in a little glass and ate his two biscuits at the table. Tobias was outside, trimming the hedges or some other weird grown-up chore, and he had told Harry to go inside and fix himself a snack if he wanted, since today Dumbledore was coming to take them to St. Mungos to see Severus again. "We'll grab a bite while we're there for lunch or whatever, but if you're hungry now, go make yourself something while I finish these hedges. Damn things grow like ivy," Tobias scowled at them and turned back to wielding the shears with vengeful purpose.

Harry was excited at seeing his father again, he'd drawn him ten new pictures since the last visit and he wanted to hang them up on the wall near Severus's bed, so he'd see them first when he woke up finally. He'd told his grandfather and Uncle Al that it was just like the art wall at home.

The folder with his pictures was sitting next to him on the table and Inky was sprawled atop it, ready to go on the trip as well. Harry rarely went anywhere without the panther, it was his security toy, purchased for him just before Lily had died by his mother. Severus kept it looking new by casting mending charms and freshening charms on it, so its fur wouldn't fall out and it wouldn't smell musty or dirty.

Finishing his snack, Harry ran outside to see if Tobias needed any help, he was sick and tired of being inside, it had rained nearly the entire week before and Harry had been stuck inside driving Tobias crazy until the man taught him how to play cards and checkers, recalling the old board he'd made years ago for Severus and put away after he'd gone off to school. He had also shown Harry the pictures in the shoebox, which he had found after Eileen had died and saved to remind him of the few years they had been happy, before the shipping company Tobias had worked for went bankrupt and he'd been unable to find work and turned to drinking as a means to dull the pain of failure. After that, it had been rare that he'd been completely sober and had moved from one job to another, barely making ends meet. He'd been a frustrated angry son-of-a-bitch back then, and his son and occasionally his wife paid for it, he'd thought with regret.

But there was no sense in dwelling on the past. What was done was done and couldn't be changed. "Regrets fill no bank account", was an old saying of his mother's, who had died when Tobias was eleven, leaving him and his brother Evan to be raised by their strict father, who treated Tobias much the way he had treated Severus. What was important was now, and right now Tobias's grandson was tugging on his sleeve, asking hopefully, "What're you doing, Grandpa? Can I help? It looks like fun."

"Fun? Trimming hedges isn't fun, boy, it's work," the older man snorted. Then he pointed to all the sticks and pieces of foliage scattered about. "Pick those up and put them in a trash bag if you want to help so much, Harry."

"Okay!"

Harry ran around picking up all the sticks and leaves eagerly, happy to be helping out like a grown-up for once. He was finished in a matter of ten minutes and Tobias told him to go in and wash up. "You're sticky and dirty, kid, now get!" he scolded when Harry pouted. "You can't visit your dad looking like a refugee, change your shirt too."

"But this's my favorite shirt," the six-year-old whined.

"Harry Severus, don't make me count to three," Tobias warned softly. That was yet another tip he'd picked up from Carl Middleton. "Now go up and change your shirt."

"Fine!" Harry huffed, turning and stomping back into the house.

"Lose that attitude, boy!" yelled Tobias. "Or else you'll be over my knee."

"Sorry," he tossed back half-heartedly over his shoulder.

Tobias went to put away the shears and wash up himself, the old wizard ought to be here any minute now.

Sure enough, just after Harry had put on a clean shirt and Tobias ran a comb through his hair, trying in vain to make it lie down flat, the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it!" shrilled the little boy, and raced to the door, happy to escape the comb.

He threw open the door and cried, "Uncle Al!"

Dumbledore stepped into the house and Harry threw his arms around him. "Hello, Harry! How are you?"

"I'm good. I helped my grandpa make a stepstool, he carved it himself and I sanded it and then I helped him pick up sticks and do you think my daddy will wake up today?" Harry said, practically all in one breath.

"It sounds as if you are getting along well with your grandfather," Dumbledore said, pleased.

Harry nodded. "He teaches me things, like how to play checkers and stuff, and that's fun, but sometimes he's mean."

The old wizard arched an eyebrow. "Mean? In what way, child?"

Harry squirmed, then said quietly, "He, uh, he spanks me when I'm bad sometimes. And it really hurts!"

To his surprise, Dumbledore chuckled. "It wouldn't be much of a spanking if it didn't hurt, child. Did you deserve it?"

Harry nodded reluctantly.

"Ah, well, child, my grandfather used to do the same to me once upon a time."

"Really? You mean you were bad too, Uncle Al?"

"I'm afraid so, Harry," laughed Dumbledore. "I was a mischievous scamp, like most children are, and when I was naughty, my grandfather spanked me."

"Ow! Did he use a belt?"

Dumbledore shook his head. He didn't want to tell Harry that his grandfather had used a hairbrush, he winced to this day in remembrance. "Does Tobias?" he asked in concern.

"No. But he says he might if I don't shape up."

"Child, saying and doing are two different things." Dumbledore said calmly, thinking that if Harry had answered that question differently, there would have been problems. As it was, Severus was going to be none too happy when he awoke and found Harry living with Tobias, there would have been hell to pay if Tobias was abusing Harry. But Dumbledore saw no sign of abuse, Harry was well fed, clean, and acting like a normal six-year-old.

"Harry, will you let the man in the door before you start pestering him," called Tobias, sounding faintly exasperated.

"I did, Grandpa. He's in the house."

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled at the boy's remark, and Tobias just rolled his eyes, a gesture reminiscent of his son. "C'mere, let me put on your jacket, Harry." he beckoned the boy over, holding out a bright green jacket.

Harry trotted over to him and while the child's back was turned and Tobias busy assisting the boy with the coat, Dumbledore cast a swift diagnostic over the boy. It came up perfectly normal, and the old wizard heaved a sigh of relief. He would have felt dreadful if Harry had shown any signs of being hurt.

"All right, we're set," announced Tobias, shrugging into his own jacket, for it was bit windy today, despite the sunshine.

"Wait! I gotta get my pictures and Inky," Harry exclaimed, then ran over to the kitchen table and snatched them up. "Okay, I'm ready, Uncle Al!"

He ran back over to them, grinning happily, for he loved it when Albus Apparated with him. Unlike some people, Harry did not get sick or dizzy with Sidelong Apparition and neither did Tobias, or if he did, he never showed it.

The Headmaster picked Harry up in his arms and grasped Tobias firmly by the shoulder before he concentrated and then they were gone in a flash of bright blue light.

They emerged just before the doors to St Mungos, Albus had explained that it was safer Apparating before a building then into it directly, unless you had a designated Apparition point beforehand inside, since people walking about could interfere with a wizard Apparating and result in a nasty accident.

"Kind of like a head-on collision," Tobias surmised and Dumbledore nodded, knowing enough of the non-wizarding part of the world to understand where Tobias was coming from.

Harry was so excited to go and see Severus that he was practically spinning like a top. "Hurry up! Why do grown-ups take forever to go somewhere?" he cried, tugging on Albus's hand impatiently.

Tobias reached out and put a hand on his shoulder. "Now you just hold on a minute, Mr. Impatience. There's no need to go racing about the hospital like a little hooligan. People are sick here and need their rest, not to be woken up by a hyper brat running down the corridor. So you just calm your little butt down, boy, and walk next to us."

"Aww, but Grandpa, you all walk too slow!"

Dumbledore had to turn away to keep from bursting out laughing.

Tobias frowned sternly down at his grandson. "Harry, that'll do. If you can't walk down the hall like a big kid, then I'll treat you like a baby and carry you over my shoulder."

"No! I can walk myself," cried the child, plainly horrified at the threat. "I'm not a baby, I don't need to be carried."

"Then I suggest you behave, Mr. Potter. Because if not, everyone will see you being treated like a baby, and maybe even smacked like one too."

"No! No, please. I'll walk slowly," Harry cried, aghast, putting a hand over his bottom, as if afraid Tobias would swat him right then and there.

"Take my hand," ordered his grandfather, and Harry obeyed.

Then the three walked calmly and sedately down the corridor to the information desk, where Dumbledore informed the witch on duty that they were here to see Master Healer Snape and signed their names on a clipboard.

"Have a nice visit, sirs!" she called cheerfully after them.

Dumbledore led them up the stairs to Severus's room, which looked more like a hotel room than a hospital room. This was because Severus was one of the staff's own, and therefore got the best sort of room and top-notch care as well, which was not to say that the other patients were neglected or anything, but simply that Severus was given the best of everything since he was their Master Healer and well-respected.

There were deep blue curtains at the window, which overlooked the park, and the walls were done in a serene eggshell blue. The bed was spelled to conform to the sleeper, so they would never wake up stiff or sore, and so were the pillows. There was a small table, two very comfortable wing recliners, and a nightstand upon which rested a glass with a straw and various potions and a special cream to prevent Severus's skin from getting too sore and dry from remaining for days in a bed, even one that was magically kept cool and the sheets were changed twice a day.

The wall opposite the bed was decorated with Harry's artwork and there was a vase of fresh flowers upon the table. It was cozy and homey and it was a pity Severus was not awake to appreciate it.

When they arrived, they found his attending physician, Healer Morgan, performing a set of exercises on his comatose partner designed to keep his muscles flexible and limber, so they did not atrophy. He was working on Sev's hand at that moment, bending and flexing all the Healer's long fingers gently and placing a rubber ball in his palm and squeezing the hand about it several times.

"Uncle Matt!" shrieked Harry as soon as he crossed the threshold. He shoved Inky and the folder on the table and climbed up on the bed next to the blond Healer and his father. "Hi! Did you miss me? What are you doing with daddy?"

Matthew turned and gave the boy a one-armed hug. "Hi, scamp! I missed seeing your trouble-making face around here all right. I had no one to blame when something went wrong," he teased, smirking. "And right now I'm playing a little game with Sev called flexing and exercising." He demonstrated, flexing the Potion Master's wrist up and down ten times.

"Oh? Why?"

"Because your dad's sleeping so long, we don't want his muscles to become all weak and limp, like wet noodles," answered the Healer. "So we do exercises like this to keep him strong."

"Oh. Can I try?"

Healer Morgan shook his head no. "Sorry, buddy, but this is a job for a certified Healer. You could hurt your dad if you aren't careful, which is why I'm doing this and not one of my nurses." Harry's face fell. "But you can help me brush Sev's hair if you don't mind." He paused in his ministrations to summon a brush and hand it to Harry.

Harry took it and crawled to the sleeping wizard's head and began to tenderly comb the dark hair. "I'll be real gentle, Dad," he said softly, drawing the brush through the silky locks. "I won't pull when there's a knot, promise." He was true to his word, stopping each time the brush encountered a knot and detangling it with his fingers.

"Very good, Harry!" Matthew praised, then spoke to his partner. "You've got a very compassionate son there, Sev. You ought to be proud of him, buddy. Now, let's start on the elbows, mate." He began to bend and stretch Severus's arm firmly yet gently, working the muscles well so they were not totally useless.

"How long is it before he wakes up, do you know, Doc?" asked Tobias, a note of concern creeping into his tone.

Healer Morgan didn't answer for a moment, waiting until he had finished fifteen reps before replying, "Well, the swelling on his brain has gone down greatly and we've managed to mend a good deal of the initial bruising using a new potion developed by Sev himself." Matthew's lips twitched into an ironic smile. "Ironic that Sev's the first patient we ever used it on so far. But it worked exceedingly well, not that I'm surprised, Mr. Snape, because your son's a bloody genius, as I'm sure you know."

To Tobias's surprise he felt a sudden surge of pride in Severus, this was the first time he'd ever heard anyone acknowledge his son's achievements or seen the results of them, and he found himself longing to whisper in his son's ear that he was proud of him-something he'd never said to Severus ever.

"Yeah, Severus has always been brilliant, got top marks in every school he ever went to." Unlike me, who skived off every chance I got and barely squeaked by. School bored me silly, and I'd rather get whipped than stay in class, which happened as soon as I got home and my father found out I'd cut class again. That had been one of the few times Tobias recalled actually deserving a thrashing, though he'd always resented his father for it, since Jeremiah had not even graduated secondary school, being forced to leave and work in the mine. He supposed, looking back, that his father had wanted his son to get the education he never had, but Tobias was rebellious and stubborn and hadn't cared about school then.

"Figures. Around here we call Sev the Scholar, ‘cause he knows the damn Healer Codes and the formulas inside out and invents new spells and potions practically every day. It's been . . .really rough not having him up and about these past months," Matthew admitted, coughing slightly. "All his patients are very concerned, ask about him constantly, send him cards and flowers and gifts, we've put most of them in storage to show him when he wakes up."

"When will he wake up, Uncle Matt?"

"It's hard to say, Harry, but hopefully soon."

"You always say that," whined Harry petulantly. "I want it to be now. He's missing my whole summer."

"I know, kiddo. I know it's hard, seeing him still asleep like this. It's hard for me too," Matthew admitted softly. "But you can't give up hope, Harry. He's getting better every day, it's just a long slow process."

Severus's son gave the Healer a mulish scowl, clearly not happy with that response. "Why? You can do magic, Uncle Matt, so why can't you just fix him?"

Tobias had been wondering that same thing also, and he waited for Matthew's reply eagerly.

"Because, Harry, fixing up a person, even with magic, is not like fixing a broken watch or a stuffed toy. People are a lot more complex and delicate. If I sewed a stitch wrong on a toy, say, all I'd have to do to fix it would be to pull the stitch out and start over. But if I made a mistake on a person, I could kill them, so we have to be extra careful and sometimes, Harry, it's better to let time heal someone. Not even magic can cure everything, kiddo. Though we come pretty close."

Harry peered at his sleeping parent and said, very softly, "I bet if my magic were awake, I could heal you, Daddy. You said once that in order to cast a spell you have to really want to, and I want you to get well more than anything, even more than a real broom, even more than a puppy!"

Dumbledore smiled at the boy, who was gazing at his father with such fierce devotion it brought tears to the sentimental wizard's eyes. "When Severus wakes," he deliberately used the word "when" and not "if", not wanting to dash Harry's hopes or Tobias's either, because he could sense the other man was very concerned over his son, despite being estranged from him for years. "-will you be able to tell if he suffered any memory loss or other trauma?"

"Yes, although we can tell right now that he hasn't suffered any memory loss and his dreaming patterns are normal too. We had one of our best staff empathy psychologists read Sev, and she swore Healer's Oath that he was not brain damaged permanently."

"But you don't know for sure?" Tobias pressed.

"Well, Mr. Snape, the human mind's as complex as the body, and given it's Severus, his mind's more complex than most, so it's hard to be one hundred percent sure. But we'll know as soon as he wakes up."

He gently turned Severus on his side and began massaging and lifting his legs, bending his knees, rotating the ankles, making sure the blood was circulating properly. Once he was satisfied, he rolled Sev onto his stomach and began to massage his back.

Harry resumed brushing Severus's hair then, running the brush through the blue-black strands until Tobias asked him if he wanted something to eat. Harry considered, then nodded, slipping from the room to get lunch with Tobias.

Dumbledore waited until the two had departed before questioning Matthew again. "Was there any damage to his magic, Matthew?"

"No, as far as we can determine." Then the Healer asked a question of his own. "Have you caught the ones responsible yet?"

"Unfortunately, no. But the Aurors are out in full force and eventually we will identify them and send them to Azkaban," Dumbledore said chillingly, with a look in his eyes that promised a swift death if he found them first. Severus was very like a son to him and he was terribly protective of the younger man. "And then they had better pray that I am not a judge at their trial."

Matthew shivered involuntarily at the dark tone in the wizard's voice and counted his lucky stars Dumbledore had never looked at him that way. Then he said with a quiet chuckle, "You know, Sev's patients really love him. We had a seven-year-old kid come in here yesterday and sit there, holding his hand and begging him to get better. The kid told him he'd let Sev give him a dozen needles in his bottom if only he'd open his eyes. And this is coming from a kid who's absolutely petrified of them and has to be restrained magically when it comes time for Sev to give vaccinations, he's kicked and bitten Severus more than once, to his mum's mortification. Last time Stevie's mum threatened to spank him if he didn't behave for us, right in front of everyone in the office."

"I take it that worked."

"Yeah, he let Sev get as far as an alcohol swab before he started to shake too badly and he had to resort to a Body Bind. And yet he volunteered to get shots to make Sev better. Amazing!" Matthew laughed. He patted his friend on the shoulder, continuing his massage. "I wish you'd come back, Sev. You'd get a real kick out of all the care packages and what not and I can't wait to see the look on your face when I tell you about Stevie! And here you were sure the kid hated your guts and would be pleased if you drowned yourself in your cauldron one night."

Dumbledore chuckled and said quietly, "He is loved more than he knows."

Matthew nodded. "If only that were enough to heal him, damn it all!" He gave the wizard lying in the bed a fierce glower. "C'mon, Snape, get your act together and come back to the real world. Before the hospital falls apart. You know it will without you there to whip all of our lazy arses into shape. Nobody can browbeat the potions crew into getting test results done in less than two days the way you can."

Sadly, Severus did not respond to Matthew's words with anything more than a soft sigh and the Healer shrugged and said, "Anytime you're ready to wake up, Snape, I'll be here. And so will that hot new Healer Apprentice Amy Turner, who thinks the best medicine for you is a kiss, mate! She's got eyes only for you and you aren't even awake to see her!" Matthew sighed in longing. "Maybe I ought to get myself mugged and in a coma, I might get some hot woman to feel sorry for me then. You've all the luck, Snape!"

Matthew finished the massage, applied the cream to Severus, spelled several potions into his stomach, cast a diagnostic, then pulled the covers back up and said, "I'm finished here for now, Albus." He made several notations down on Sev's chart with a silver quill. "If there's any change, you know where to find me, in my office trying to get through a mountain of paperwork."

The busy Healer departed then and soon after Harry and Tobias returned. Harry immediately climbed up on the bed and snuggled next to Severus, resting his little head on Sev's shoulder. "I ate chicken nuggets for lunch, Dad," he informed his father casually, holding the older wizard's hand. "And Grandpa let me have a milkshake too. I made you another picture too."

He continued talking in this manner, telling his father what he had done with Tobias and concentrating at the same time, trying to summon his dormant magic with all of his heart. Please, please! Help me make daddy get well. He felt a strange thread of fiery energy run through him, but it did not appear to have any effect on Severus that he could tell. Disappointed, tears welled in his eyes, but he quickly turned and wiped them away with the hem of the sheet. He was no coward crybaby. Sorry, Daddy. I tried. I'll try again next time.

He felt a sudden headache coming on and he felt tired and cross for some reason.

Tobias rose and came over to them, saying, "It's time to go, kid. Visiting hours are nearly up."

"So? I wanna stay here."

"We'll come back soon. Now say goodbye, Harry," Tobias instructed with a touch of firmness.

"Nooo!"

"Harry," Tobias said warningly and gave the little boy a Look.

"Okay," Harry said quickly, he knew what the Look meant-behave or else! He bent and kissed Severus on the cheek. "Bye, Dad. Love you forever. See you soon." Then he held out his arms to his grandfather, who picked him up and held him.

"What's this, boy?"

"M' sleepy. And my head hurts a little."

"Sounds like someone needs a nap," remarked Dumbledore softly, then took hold of Tobias's arm. "Get well soon, Sev."

Tobias leaned down and let his fingers brush Severus's forehead. "You may not believe this, but I really hope you wake up soon, Sev. Harry and I miss you."

Then Dumbledore Apparated away with them and reappeared on the Snape's front porch. Tobias unlocked the door and they all went inside.

But once they were home, Harry wanted to be put down. He was sulky and cranky, refusing the asprin Tobias offered, and the dreamless sleep potion the Headmaster wished to give him. "Harry, this might make you feel better," urged the old man.

"No! Don' want it! Leave me alone!" he cried, then turned and ran upstairs.

Tobias stared after him. "Sometimes I just don't know what gets into that kid. He's a moody little brat all of a sudden."

"I think most of his moods come from fear and frustration that his father is here and yet not here. It's a great deal for a little child to comprehend."

Tobias nodded in understanding. "Hell, it's a lot for me to understand, and I'm an adult. What should I do?"

"Perhaps you might talk with him or hold him, children his age need reassurance that you still like them even when they act up. I think he's cranky because he's tired and upset. You might try reading to him, Harry always enjoys being read to, it might put him to sleep."

Tobias looked doubtful. "I guess so . . .uh, would you care for a drink before you go, Headmaster?"

"No thank you, I am fine. I shall see you both next month, unless Severus regains consciousness. Farewell."

Once the old wizard had vanished, Tobias headed upstairs to deal with his grandson.

Harry was flopped on his bed, pouting and worrying that his words to Uncle Al had gotten him in trouble. Tobias didn't like it when he talked disrespectfully to adults and he wondered if the man were going to take him over his knee. He sniffed, feeling sorry for himself. He hadn't earned a spanking in a long time (a month was long to him), and he really didn't want to get one now.

So when Tobias entered the room, Harry looked up at him warily and asked in a small voice, "Are you mad at me, sir?"

"A bit, yes. I taught you better than that, Harry. You don't yell at an adult that way, no matter what. Is that clear?"

"Yes sir. I'm sorry." He peered up at Tobias through thickly fringed lashes. "Are you gonna spank me?"

Tobias didn't answer for a minute, instead coming to sit on the bed. "I should. But I won't, this time. You're tired and out of sorts ‘cause you miss your father, so I'll let it slide. But only this once, mind. You pull this attitude with me tomorrow, young man, and your bottom's going to be very unhappy."

"I'll be good," Harry promised. Then he rolled over and Tobias began to rub his back, which Harry found very soothing.

Even so, fifteen minutes later, Harry was still awake and Tobias asked if he were hungry.

"No. I can't sleep."

"Hmm. If . . .if I read to you will you fall asleep?"

"Uh-huh."

"All right, here goes," he plucked a book from the shelf and began to read the story of the Too-Trusting Unicorn. Tobias couldn't do voices like Severus, but he did read with a certain amount of emphasis, and not just a monotone. He actually did quite well, if only Harry had known, since this was the first bedtime story he had ever read to a child. When Sev was a child, he'd never had the time or the patience to tuck his son into bed and read to him, that had been Eileen's job. By the time he'd turned the last page, Harry was fast asleep.

"Well, I'll be damned. It worked!" He got up and replaced the book, patted his grandson on the head, and then left the room. He glanced back to see Harry sleeping peacefully, one hand curled about Inky, and smiled slightly. I guess that wasn't too bad. Maybe I'll do it again tomorrow night. He suppressed a sigh of regret, thinking of how he might have done that with Severus long ago, and if it might have made a difference.

What's done is done, Toby. Just try not to make the same mistakes with this one as you did with Severus, he reminded himself and then went downstairs to watch a bit of TV before turning in as well.

* * * * * *

Back in the hospital, silvery motes of magic swirled around the comatose Severus and began nudging the wizard infinitesimally back towards consciousness-a son's love accomplishing what all of the Healing mysticism and treatments could not.

Two weeks later:

Severus felt as if he were struggling through a very thick fog, for some unfathomable reason he had lost his way and was now reduced to feeling his way forward, one small step at a time. He groped along, hands outstretched in front of him, searching desperately for a landmark, a sign, anything to guide him out of the endless mist. He had no idea how long he'd been walking, entrapped in the grayish cold fog that had sprang up from nowhere, obliterating everything and leaving him helpless, lost, alone, and frustrated.

It reminded him of the stories his father used to tell him, when Tobias wasn't drunk and nasty, such moments had been few and far between, but Severus could recall them still. Tobias had grown up on the moors of Yorkshire and he had said sometimes the fog along the moor was so deep and thick that a man could wander forever in it and never find his way out, stumble into a bog, and die, and no one would be the wiser. "The fog of the moor claims its own, boy," Tobias used to whisper and Severus would shiver in delightful fear and be glad he lived far from Yorkshire and the dreaded mist of the moors that swallowed you up forever.

The fog had that same haunted, elusive quality, every time Severus moved, it hunched and hissed and grappled at him, keeping him from reaching . . . something . . .somewhere. There was somewhere he needed to go to, someone who needed him, only he couldn't remember what it was, the fog drained away all of his energy and all he could think of was getting away from it, or through it, if that was even possible.

At times he thought he heard voices-his mother, Dumbledore, Matthew, even his father, though God only knew why Tobias would be calling him. If I were fifteen years younger, it would probably be to fetch him another beer or wallop my backside for some imagined attitude he used to claim I had with him. It had never taken much for Tobias to fly off the handle and thrash his son till he howled, Severus recalled, scowling. A look or a word spoken in a slightly less than respectful tone would do it, or sometimes nothing at all. Severus remembered one time Tobias had beaten him simply because he'd said Severus looked like he needed it and probably had done something to deserve it anyhow.

Oh yes, those had been the days, when he'd prayed to get through a day without getting smacked for some reason, he thought bitterly, or having to listen to another argument between his parents over money or Tobias's temper or Eileen's turning Severus into a magical freak.

Severus shook his head, those were memories he didn't want to dwell on, the fog was depressing enough as it was, if he dredged up those dark memories, he might go postal, and that would not help him find his way out of the mist.

One step . . .and another . . .and still another . . .

Then he heard Harry's little voice . . .calling him from far away, his son sounded as if he were yelling through a tunnel, but Severus could still hear him.

"Daddy! Wake up! It's time to wake up, you've been asleep ever so long, Daddy. Please, please, wake up NOW!"

That last word was shouted with all the desperation and need the child could muster, and it drew Severus onward like a beacon. His son needed him, needed him badly and Severus had promised Harry he would never leave him alone if he could help it, since Lily had died Harry had been clingy, not wanting Sev to leave him for very long, so Severus had taken him along to the hospital and put him in the child daycare center there for a time, until the boy had started school.

"I'm coming, son! Hold on!" he called back and began to run through the fog.

He saw a glittering trail through the mist and he followed it, knowing without quite knowing how that it would lead him home again. . .

* * * * * *

He blinked, wondering why his eyes felt like they'd been coated in glue. His eyelids felt heavy and he twitched a hand, trying to rub them with a finger, only to discover that his arm had no real strength in it. Grimacing, he concentrated on bringing his arm and hand up to his face-why was it so damn hard? Eventually, his arm lifted, but it ached like seven bloody hells, and he managed to rub his eyes.

His eyes watered, it was so bright in here. Where was he? He turned his head slightly, and caught a glimpse of eggshell blue walls and a nightstand with eight different vials of potions on it. On the vials was the distinctive stamp of St. Mungos, and he groaned, knowing where he was now. They must have brought him to the hospital after finding him passed out. But what had happened to Harry? Had Albus recalled the secret room and gotten Harry out of it? By now his son must be frantic and scared.

Severus grunted and tried to sit up, only to discover he could just about lift his head off the pillow. What the hell's the matter with me? Did those bastards cast some kind of nerve weakening hex on me? He wouldn't have put it past Lucius to do something that vile.

He coughed, his throat was dry and he could use a glass of water. Once more, he tried to sit up, and this time he managed to get up halfway before flopping back down, his whole body felt stiff and unfamiliar as if it were weighted down with sand.

The door opened, and a very attractive young intern bustled in with a tray and said brightly, "Hello, Severus, I'm back again to give you your morning Nutrient Potion and a shave too, since Healer Morgan's busy fixing up Stevie Perkins, he fell out of a tree and broke his arm, crazy little kid! It's a beautiful day out and it's too bad you can't see it because . . ." she trailed off in astonishment as she noticed the Master Healer had his eyes open and was looking directly at her, one eyebrow quirked questioningly.

"Oh sweet Merlin! You're awake!" she exclaimed, and for a moment Severus thought she might toss the tray up into the air, she seemed so delighted to see him awake. Then she regained her composure and said, "Can you talk at all, sir? My name is Amy Turner, I'm an Apprentice here. We've been so worried about you, Sev-I mean Healer Snape," she corrected herself, blushing faintly.

She set the tray to hover and came over to the bed, helping him to sit up, propping him up with several pillows. Then she gave him small sips of water with a straw. "There! How do you feel, Master Healer?"

Severus coughed once then said, "I . . .feel strange. Not like myself, I mean." He frowned, even his voice sounded different, hoarser. He beckoned for more water and she handed him the glass reluctantly. His hand felt clumsy, but he managed to hold it without spilling the water all over and he sipped slowly.

"Not too much, Master Healer," she reminded him gently. "Else you'll throw up, we've been spelling the potions into you for the most part, so your stomach has to get used to drinking the normal way again after so long."

"So long? How long was I knocked out?"

"Uh, sir, you've been in a coma for nearly three months." She gently began washing his face with a warm damp cloth, removing the last of the gunk from his eyes.

"Three . . .months!" he repeated incredulous. "What happened? Where's my son?"

"Sir, please don't get excited," she soothed. "I can get Healer Morgan, he knows all the details, he was the one who diagnosed you and he's your primary attending physician besides. I'll call him right after I shave you, if you'll permit me, sir?"

Severus considered, he wanted to demand she get Matthew right bloody now, but then remembered Matthew was with a patient, the accident prone Stevie, who was also petrified of needles. Severus was glad he didn't have to deal with the boy's hysteria this time, last time he'd nearly ended up losing a finger to the kid's teeth.

"Very well, Miss Turner, right?"

"Yes, Healer. I'll be done in a jiffy, sir," she said and gently began to lather his face, shaving him with a few deft flicks of her wand.

It was a little disconcerting and embarrassing having this fresh faced young woman probably fresh from her Healer Medical Boards performing this intimate service for him, Severus thought with a sigh, but he could hardly complain, he was too weak to do more than sit up and hold a glass of water. No wonder, his muscles were in sorry shape after nearly three months of lying in a bed.

Once Amy was done with his shave, she gave him the Nutrient Potion to drink and then she went to call Matthew, who hopefully was done setting Stevie's arm, and tell him his partner was awake.

* * * * * *

Matthew greeted Severus with a huge grin when he came into the room. "Merlin and all the saints be praised, Snape! Thought you were gonna sleep for a hundred years, like Sleeping Beauty in that fairytale the Muggles tell. That hot little number wake you up with a kiss, buddy?" he teased, his blue eyes sparkling with mischief.

"I was already awake, unfortunately," Severus drawled, his own eyes dancing. "But I could always have a relapse."

Matthew roared, then shook a finger at his friend belatedly. "Now, now, Snape. You know the rules, no seducing the interns in the hospital."

"Does it count if she seduces me? Some women find helpless men irresistible," Severus joked, smirking.

"If she does, then she's in the wrong profession, mate." Then he added slyly, "Want her number and address? I can look it up in the records."

"Wicked, Morgan!" gasped his partner, laughing softly. "Seriously, Matt, I've no time to date yet. Between my work and Harry, who the hell has time to go out?"

"I know what you mean, mate. We're a slave to our Healer's Oaths." Matthew groaned, then shrugged. "Ah, well, it's not like we didn't know that before we attended medical school." He drew a wand and ran a quick diagnostic.

"Well? What's the prognosis, Healer?"

"Good. Everything's working normally, except you're going to need a week on Strengthening Potions and Muscle Builders before you're able to really move about again on your own."

"And some of your physical therapy too, no doubt."

"That too. You were remarkably lucky, Sev. You suffered almost no trauma to your frontal lobe and you missed hitting the major nerve at the base of the head by an inch. If you'd of damaged that, you know as well as I do what would've happened."

"I'd have been paralyzed," Severus said evenly. "Where's my wand, Matt?"

"I've got it locked in the vault, don't worry."

"I want it."

"Nu-uh, Sev," Matthew shook his head. "You know the rules, no wands for patients."

"Matthew, I'm not just a patient, I'm a physician."

"Sorry, mate. Long as you're in that bed there, you're my patient."

"Morgan! Give me my damn wand!"

"Sev, you know as well as I do if I give you your wand, you'll only end up trying to heal yourself too soon and too quickly and maybe suffer a relapse." His colleague scowled ferociously at him. "I know, it's a pain in the arse being without magic, but trust me. You'd be the same if it were me, Sev."

"I would not!" said the other grumpily.

"Would so. Now quit the attitude, mister. The doctor knows best, remember?"

Severus gave him a long look before addressing the second most important thing on his mind. "Where's Harry? Has he been staying with you or Albus? I wasn't sure which of you would be able to take him in, so I named both of you as temporary guardians if I became incapacitated."

Matthew went pale. "You named us as guardians . . .Sev, when did you do that?"

"Recently, I added a codicil to my will, once I realized I was still in danger from the bloody Death Eaters," replied Severus, puzzled. "I'd name you as guardian or Albus before I'd even think about choosing the only other relative I've got left-my father. Why? Has something happened to Harry? Is he okay?"

"Harry's fine, Sev. But . . .uh there was a bit of an issue over where to put Harry while you were sleeping."

"What do you mean? There should've been no problems, I spelled it out in black and white."

"Uh . . .we never knew about the will, Sev, and because of that the Ministry . . . .you're not going to like what I've got to say next, Sev," warned Matthew.

"The Ministry what?" Severus prompted. "What did those pompous fools do now?"

Matthew heaved a martyred sigh. "The Ministry ruled that Harry couldn't stay with either me or Albus. They insisted he go and live with your father."

Severus blinked and his mouth opened and shut, but no sound emerged.

"Excuse me?" he said, in that deadly soft tone that always meant trouble for whoever was on the receiving end of it. "They gave my son to Tobias Snape to look after for three months? Are they bloody insane? Do they know what that man did to me growing up? Do they?"

Severus's eyes were glowing like hot coals and Matthew thanked his lucky stars Sev didn't have his wand, for he would have been a dead man. "Sev, we didn't have a choice . . ."

"Of COURSE you did!" shouted the Master Healer. "You could have bloody kidnapped Harry and taken him away or something. Even that's better than living under the same roof as that-that bastard! He made my childhood a living hell, Morgan, and I vowed never would my son know the fear and helplessness and pain I did! Never again! And now I find that you've gone and given my son-my precious child-to my drunken abusive father to look after!" Severus looked as if he were about to start to laughing hysterically. Either that or start crying. "What have you done, Matthew Morgan?"

Matthew winced at the look of betrayal and hurt flashing in the dark eyes. "Sev, please, don't go off half-cocked. We had no recourse to your will, the Aurors that found you just brought you here and left you, all we had to go on were Ministry protocol and Fudge insisted it be followed to the letter."

"Merlin's balls! And you two just went along with it and let my father get hold of Harry." Severus's hands were clenched to white-knuckled fists on the comforter. "Has anybody gone over there to make sure he was still breathing?"

Matthew nodded. "Dumbledore goes every two week to make sure everything is well."

"Did he ask Harry if everything is all right? Because when I started school, I had to wear long sleeved shirts and make up excuses so no one would know that my dear old dad beat me," sneered Sev.

"Sev, Dumbledore has reassured me that Tobias treats the kid decently."

Severus nearly choked. "What is this, fable and story hour, Matthew? Tobias couldn't take care of a pet properly, much less a kid. He took wonderful care of me growing up, Morgan, I still have scars to show for it, as I'm sure you've seen while I was sleeping. Damn it all to bleeding hell!" He looked as if he were going to try to leap out of the bed at any minute.

Matthew tried again to soothe the agitated and furious wizard. "Sev, maybe Tobias has changed over the years. You haven't seen him since you were, what, eighteen? Time can change a man."

"Only if he wants to change, and believe me, my father didn't. D'you know how many times he promised my mother he'd lay off the bottle? And after a week he was right back on it, all his promises broken. What makes it any different this time?"

Matthew sighed. "First off, Tobias doesn't drink any more. So that's helped a lot in the way he treats Harry."

"What, you mean he's only slapping him every other day instead of every day?"

"Actually, last time I saw him, Sev, he and Harry looked like they were getting along very well and I didn't see Harry get hit and he didn't seem afraid of him either."

"He was here?"

"Yeah, him and Albus and Harry came to visit you every two weeks or so. Your son drew all those Get Well pictures over there," Matthew indicated the second art wall in front of Severus's bed.

Severus allowed a small smile to tug at his heart. "Harry's a very good artist, I think." Then his expression turned stormy. "I want my son out of there, Morgan. There's no telling when Tobias will lash out at him. I refuse to have my son go through what I did as a child, Matt."

"Sev, I think you're overreacting."

"Overreacting!" exploded the other wizard. "Shall I show you the scars from his bloody belt on my arse, Morgan? Then we'll see if you think I'm overreacting! I should have had the bastard thrown in jail years ago, but I didn't because of my mother, who loved the bloody bounder, don't ask me why! And now you've gone and given my son to the miserable sodding bastard! Damn it, Matthew!"

"Sev, I'm sorry, if I had known there was a codicil . . .but we'd never put Harry in danger, Snape! At least give me that much credit!"

Severus fumed and muttered, "If only I could get out of this blasted bed, I'd show Tobias who was in charge now. Poor Harry, having to live with him for three bloody months." He fixed Matthew with an icy look. "Morgan, I swear, if he's hurt Harry . . ."

"Severus!" snapped his friend. "Quit going off the deep end, won't you! Stop freaking out. I don't think Tobias is the same man you grew up with."

"Ha! Leopards don't change their spots." He tried to get up, but his legs wouldn' t hold his weight. He swore angrily, his face a mask of determination.

"Sev, stop trying to get up," Matthew ordered briskly. "It's too soon, you'll injure yourself. Lie back down, Snape."

Severus just gave him a glower and continued trying to move.

"Sev, damn it! You're acting worse than some of our seven-year-olds," scolded Matthew. "Now settle down this minute, I'm warning you. I'm your attending, Snape, and I can cast a Body Bind on you if necessary."

At that, Severus lapsed back onto the pillows, gasping and shaking.

"Here," Matthew moved over and gave the other a Calming Draught. "Look at yourself, Snape. You're getting yourself too worked up over nothing. Now relax, mate. Relax. You're going to give yourself a bloody coronary."

Severus's eyes started to close and he murmured, "Matthew, please promise me you'll go check up on Harry. Promise me that at least."

"I'll do better than that, Sev. I'll tell Dumbledore to bring Harry here so you can see him, all right?"

Severus nodded wearily. "Yes, but not him. I don't want him here."

"Sev, he was really worried about you . . ."

The other sneered. "Oh sure. Real worried I'd up and croak and leave him saddled with my kid. Don't let him fool you, Matt. Tobias never gave a damn about me. I was a disappointment and a freak, why do you think I never speak of the man? Because there's nothing good I can say about him."

"All right, Sev. I'll do as you want. I'll call Dumbledore and have him bring Harry to you tomorrow, today you need to rest and take some Strengthening Solution and stop making yourself insane with worry. Y' hear me, Snape?"

"Yes."

"Good. Now get some sleep, doctor's orders," Matthew said and clapped his friend lightly on the shoulder. Severus was already asleep, exhausted from his display of temper.

Healer Morgan then departed to firecall Dumbledore and tell him the wonderful news. No doubt about it, Harry was going to be walking on air when he learned his dad was awake. It was too bad Severus's awakening would be marred by old wounds, thought the physician sadly.

Bright and early the next morning, it was a Saturday, Dumbledore arrived to tell the two Snapes the good news. Harry was beaming from ear to ear, looking like he wanted to jump up and down, but was restraining himself with a monumental effort. It worked! My magic wish worked! My dad's awake again!

Tobias was smiling too, happy that his son was once more among the living, for when he'd been in that coma, he had resembled a corpse, at least to Tobias's way of thinking. "How is he? There isn't any . . .um . . .brain damage is there?" he queried the old wizard in a soft tone, too soft for Harry to hear.

"No, indeed. Severus is fully himself again, Merlin be praised," said Dumbledore, the twinkle back in his brilliant eyes once more. Then he sobered when he recalled the unwelcome news he had to tell Tobias. "He wishes to see Harry immediately. He was the first thing he asked about once he was conscious. I can take him over as soon as you've finished breakfast."

There was a plate of toast, ham, and cereal on the table, as well as chocolate milk and orange juice.

Harry shoved his mostly full plate away and jumped up. "I'm ready now, Uncle Al! Let's go!"

"Whoa, not so fast," Tobias held up a hand. "You go nowhere, little boy, until you eat something. I won't have your father thinking I starve you. Now sit down and eat."

"But I'm not hungry!" whined Harry. "I wanna go and see Daddy, Grandpa!"

Tobias gave him one of his famous Looks. "After you eat, Harry."

The child pouted, his lower lip sticking out adorably. "Aww . . .but I don't feel like eating anything. Can't I just skip it?" He shot his grandfather a pleading glance from his big emerald eyes.

Dumbledore would have given in, he never could resist children when they looked like that. But Tobias was made of sterner stuff. He frowned at his grandson and said, "Harry, you need to eat, no arguments. The longer you sit here staring and not eating, the longer you'll wait to see your dad. So, if I were you, kid, I'd eat at least a piece of toast and some ham and drink your milk. Because I'll make you sit here till tomorrow morning if you make me, clear?"

Harry groaned. "You're no fun, sir!"

Tobias placed a piece of toast and some ham cut into small bites on the six-year-old's plate. "Eat, boy. Or else you won't see Sev at all today," he warned, playing his trump card.

At that, Harry quit pouting and started eating, discovering he really was hungry after all.

With Harry taken care of, Tobias sipped a cup of coffee and offered Dumbledore some as well. The old man declined courteously, then said softly, "I dislike having to tell you this, Tobias, but Severus has told me that he wishes only to see Harry at this time. I regret that I couldn't make him see reason, but he was most insistent."

Tobias sighed, Dumbledore's words came as no surprise to him. "Don't worry, Sev can be stubborn as fifty mules once he gets something in his head. I'm not surprised he won't see me. After what I did, I wouldn't want to see me either. We sure didn't part on good terms last time, if you know what I mean." He rubbed his jaw in remembered pain. His son had a damn good right hook, he thought with rueful pride. "It's okay, you and Harry go on, I've got some things to do around here anyway," he lied glibly. The truth was he hadn't planned on doing much this weekend except mowing the lawn then maybe taking Harry to the park and taking a nap afterwards.

"Tobias, I'm truly sorry," Dumbledore apologized, feeling awkward. "Perhaps after a time . . ."

The older Snape waved off his apology. "It's not your fault, you've nothing to be sorry for, Albus. The fault's mine, it always has been, I just never was sober enough to see it until now. I hope that someday he may give me a chance to tell him I'm sorry, but I'm not holding my breath. My son can hold a grudge with the best, he gets that from me, I'm afraid."

Dumbledore nodded sadly, wishing there were something he could do, but he knew that any reconciliation between the two had to come from Severus first, and his interference would not be welcome in such a private matter. Despite his reputation as a meddler, Albus was smart enough to know that he should not get involved in this family affair and so he kept his opinions to himself for once.

Harry ate at top speed, anxious to get breakfast out of the way so he could go and see his father. He was done in ten minutes, and he quickly brought his plate and glass to the sink and rinsed them. Then he washed his hands, recalling Sev's insistence on clean hands, dried them, and sprang down from the stepstool.

"Okay, Uncle Al, I'm finished! Now can we go?"

"Let me see you, Harry," Tobias beckoned him over with a finger. The child came and endured his grandfather's inspection, wriggling a bit until Tobias nodded at last. "You'll do. Go on then, Harry."

The little boy looked up at the blond man in puzzlement. "Aren't you coming too, Grandpa?"

"Nope. Got too much to do round here today. So it's just you and Albus. I'll see Sev another time, Harry. Behave now, y'hear."

"Yes sir." Harry turned and grabbed Dumbledore's hand. "Bye, Grandpa!" he called just before he vanished along with the elder wizard in a flicker of blue light.

* * * * * *

"Daddy! Daddy!" screamed the ecstatic six-year-old when he reached Severus's room, running in the door at full speed and nearly knocking over the nurse who was just leaving. Harry's eyes were glowing and he squealed in delight and raced over to the bed and sprang up and into Severus's arms.

"Hello, Harry!" whispered Severus, hugging his son tightly, burying his face in Harry's dark hair, and breathing in the familiar scent of his child-soap and chocolate and the slightly sweet tang of sweat that was uniquely Harry's own. "I guess you missed me, huh?"

Harry clung to Severus like a limpet, burrowing into the older man's shoulder like a sand crab. "I missed you so much I almost died," he told his father. "I dreamed about you every night and prayed you'd wake up and I even tried to use my magic on you and then you woke up. See, I drew all those pictures for you, Dad," He removed one arm to point at the wall opposite, upon which were hung dozens of crayon and marker drawings, all of them signed Love, Harry.

"They're wonderful, Harry," said Severus, a lump coming into his throat. He cradled his son close, content just to be able to speak with and hold his child again. "I missed you too, son."

"You did?" Green eyes regarded him in awe and delight. "Even while you were sleeping?"

"Even then, scamp," Severus replied, gently running his hand through his son's soft black hair. "You were the reason I came back, you know. I was lost in a fog and then I heard you calling and I followed your voice back home."

"I'm glad, Daddy. I love you."

"Love you too," Severus said hoarsely, brushing a tear from his eye.

"I'm so glad you're awake now, Daddy. You were asleep soo long, I was afraid you'd never get up and you'd sleep forever," his son admitted, his lower lip trembling. "Or-or that you'd go to heaven like Mummy and Granny and Pop Evans." He started to sniffle, tears inching their way down his face.

"Oh, Harry! Hush, son. I'm all right, I was never ever going to go to heaven like your mother," Severus told him, tears prickling his own eyes. He held the little boy close and rocked him gently. Harry wept softly into his thin hospital robe. "There now, scamp. Don't cry. I'm back and I'll never go away again. Unless it's to work," he amended quickly.

"Promise?"

"Promise. And you know a Snape always keeps his word, right?"

"Uh huh." Harry nodded, trying hard to stop crying, lest his father think he was a crybaby. He sat up and wiped his nose on his sleeve.

Dumbledore had to turn away and wipe a hand across his eyes as well.

"Here," Severus plucked a cloth from the nightstand and handed it to him. "Blow. Good job." He gently wiped the tears from his son's face. He felt terribly guilty for making the child so upset and wished he could comfort the boy better than with mere words. He settled Harry in his lap and stroked his flyaway hair. Harry leaned his head on his shoulder, content to be held, Severus's mere presence acting like a balm to his wounded spirit.

Severus cleared his throat and decided to tackle the next hurdle, the fact that Harry was currently living with his father-a man who had proved an unfit guardian once in his life already. Severus was not about to allow another child to be harmed the way he had, especially not his own. "Harry, Uncle Matt tells me that you're living with my father right now, is that correct?"

"Uh-huh. How come I never knew about Grandpa before, Dad?"

Now it was Severus's turn to look away. He paused before he answered awkwardly, "Well, uh, your grandfather and I . . .we don't get along all that well, so I thought it best if I didn't visit him so much."

"Oh. He was a mean old grouch to me too at first, but now he likes me," Harry stated artlessly.

Severus's eyebrow rose into his hair. "Really? What do you mean by that, son?"

"Well, when I first went there, Uncle Al brought me, he was very grouchy and he looked at me all nasty and called me a brat. And he didn't want me doing nothin' without permission, ‘cept go potty," Harry added. Severus fought to keep from laughing at his son's recitation. "He smokes too and I told him not to, that it was bad for him, but he told me to mind my own business."

"That sounds like him." Severus remarked dryly, wondering when the hell Tobias had taken up smoking. He never had before. He supposed if Tobias had really quit drinking, perhaps he chose to smoke in place of it. Then he told Harry to continue. "Where do you sleep when you're there, Harry?"

"In your old room," the child answered promptly. Then he made a face. "Grandpa makes me go to bed at eight and then I gotta fall asleep by nine, when he shuts out all the lights. He didn't used to read me bedtimes stories like you, Dad, but now he does. Only he can't do all the funny voices."

Severus was shocked that Tobias was even willing to read to the child, much less do impressions. "Has he ever shouted at you, Harry?"

"Uh-huh. When I'm bad he yells really loud and he's really scary."

Severus nodded, knowing all too well just how scary Tobias could be. "What did you do that was bad, Harry?"

"Uh . . .I answered him back once and-and I, uh, woke him up with a nightmare about the masked men and . . ." he hesitated over the last transgression, squirming guiltily.

"And?" Severus eyed his son sternly.

Harry hung his head. "And I went into his study when he told me not to, ‘cause I was bored and took out the shoebox with the pictures of you n' Grandma in it and looked at them and . . .I left them all over the floor with Inky." He sucked in a breath, glancing sidelong at his father, who wore a look of disapproval, then added, "And Grandpa was really mad at me and he yelled at me and . . .hespankedmybarebottom," Harry mumbled.

"Excuse me? What happened?" Severus demanded, his heart gone cold within him. He knew all too well how fanatical Tobias was about his personal privacy. One of the worst whippings he'd ever gotten had been because he'd gone looking in Tobias's old footlocker for something to play with. "Did he whip you, Harry?"

Harry shook his head. "No sir. He-he said he would, but he didn't. He just spanked me on my bare bum. It hurt a lot."

"Mmm . . .yes, I know," his father said feelingly. While he felt a flash of indignation and anger at his parent for spanking the child that way, even he had to admit the punishment was warranted. "However, you do know it was wrong to go and touch other people's things without asking, right, Harry? So, much as I disagree with your grandfather on some things, I can't say you didn't deserve it."

Harry was shocked. "But-but you wouldn't have spanked me like that, Dad!"

"True, but you would have gotten a good couple of whacks from me and well you know it. What's my rule, Harry James Severus Potter?"

Harry sighed, he hated it when his dad made him repeat the rules over and over. "If it's not yours and you didn't ask permission, don't touch it."

"Good, at least you remember that rule now. Has he ever taken his belt to you, son?"

"No. He says he will though, unless I shape up, but he never has."

Severus tilted his son's chin up and looked directly into Harry's eyes. "You're absolutely sure about that, child? You needn't be afraid to tell me if he has."

"No, Dad. Grandpa never hit me with his belt," his son repeated, gazing into his father's dark eyes steadily. "He only spanked me three times since I was there."

"Why?"

Harry told him, and to Severus's astonishment, he found that in two instances, Tobias had a valid reason to punish his grandson. The first time was uncalled for and made Severus want to punch his father out, but otherwise he was forced to agree with Tobias, though he would have used different methods to punish his son for the most part. Still, compared to what Severus had gotten as a child for misbehaving, Harry had gotten off lightly.

That doesn't sound like the Tobias Snape I used to know. The Tobias I knew used wallop my backside for just about anything. "Your grandfather is stricter than I am, but you deserved to be punished, and you know it. Has he ever drank around you?"

"Drank what?"

"Beer, whiskey, do you know what I'm talking about, son?"

Harry shook his head. "No. All we drink is soda and tea and he makes me drink milk sometimes too."

Huh. Well I'll be damned. Looks like the old man has finally gone sober, at least for now. "What do you do over there, Harry?"

"Lots of stuff. I color and watch TV and one day I helped Grandpa make a stepstool. He made it himself out of wood, Dad, and I got to help sand it. Now I can wash the dishes without getting water all over the floor."

"You do chores around there, I take it?"

"Yeah. I have to clean my room, wash the dishes, and empty the ashtrays," Harry grimaced. "But it's not too bad, really, and sometimes he teaches me how to play cards and checkers, we did that when it rained all last week."

Severus listened to Harry's account of his time with Tobias and felt as if he were still dreaming, for the man Harry described was almost nothing like the man Severus had grown up with. It almost made him believe in miracles. Almost. But a part of him was still wary and cautious, and he did not fully trust Tobias, not given what he knew of the man. Sure, he was sober now, but how long would it last? Severus could recall the times when his father was sober on one hand and it had lasted no more than a week at most.

"Daddy, when can we go home?" Harry asked after a bit. "I don't mind staying with Grandpa, but I really want to go home."

Severus sighed, relieved that his son seemed to have suffered no real harm at his father's hands. "I know, scamp, but I'm not quite better yet. Your Uncle Matt needs me to stay here for awhile longer and rest and take some more potions."

"For how long?"

"A week, I'd say," answered Severus.

Harry's face fell. "That's too long. I want you to come home now."

"I know you do, but I need to get better first, son."

Harry scowled, temper flashing in his green eyes. "It's not fair! I've been waiting forever for you to wake up and now you can't come home. Why can't they just magic you all better, Dad? It's no fair!"

"Harry, what have I told you about fair and unfair?" asked Severus quietly, but with a hint of sternness in his tone.

"That not everything in life is fair and sometimes you just have to accept it," the boy recited irritably. "But I don' wanna!" he snapped.

"Now that'll be enough of that, young man," his father said firmly. "You're acting like a spoiled brat, now stop it."

"Don't care."

"No? Would you like to get a time-out?"

Harry shook his head.

"Then stop whining this instant," Severus ordered.

Harry sniffed, he hated it when his father used that tone of voice. "'Kay. But I really do want you to come home."

"I'll be home at the end of the week. It's not that long, only seven more days," Severus reminded him. "Tell you what. Ask your grandfather if he has a calendar, and see if you can put a check mark on each day as it goes by. Then you'll see how many days you have left until I'm released from the hospital. It'll make the time go by quicker."

"All right. I'll ask him." Harry agreed.

He spent the rest of the day looking at all the presents Severus had gotten and listening to Matthew tell Severus all about the patients who had visited him while he was asleep. The funniest story was that of little Stevie Perkins, who had volunteered to get a dozen shots in his bottom if Severus would wake up. Harry was brave about getting shots, but even he would be scared to get twelve all at once!

"He must really like you, Dad."

Severus chuckled. "I guess so, but he sure doesn't act like it when it comes time for me to give him his vaccinations for school. Then he thinks I'm Voldemort reincarnated."

Harry laughed at that. "You're silly, Daddy. Voldy's dead and he was ugly, but you're not and besides he was a mean nasty murderer and you're a Healer."

"And you are too smart for your own good, mister," said his father and then he tweaked his son's nose, making Harry smile.

* * * * * *

When Harry arrived home that afternoon, he immediately asked Tobias if he had a calendar and when Tobias showed him the one that hung on the wall in the kitchen next to the phone, Harry asked if he could draw a checkmark in the boxes for the rest of the week until Severus came to pick him up. Tobias agreed and handed Harry a black marker to check off that day.

"But that better be all you use that marker for, boy," warned Tobias. "Because if I see you drawing on anything else with it, you're going to be very sorry."

"I wouldn't do that!" Harry exclaimed indignantly. "I'm not a baby anymore, Grandpa, I know not to draw on the walls, only paper."

"Just so you know, imp." Tobias smothered a smile at the kid's expression and said, "Now go and wash up for supper."

Harry climbed onto the stepstool and washed his hands obediently, then came back to the table and sat down to eat his chicken and mashed potatoes and carrots.

The next day he pestered Tobias into taking him to the park, since it was a cool day and Tobias agreed, anything to keep Harry from asking ten million times when he could go back and see Severus again. At the park, which was a short way down the street and could be walked to in a matter of ten minutes, they met one of Tobias's co-workers, Carl Middleton, and his son Bobby and his big sister Callie, who sometimes watched Harry while Tobias was at work.

Bobby was five to Harry's six, but the year's difference in age didn't mean a thing to either of them. They got along like a house afire and ran all over the park, playing on the slide, the swings, and the jungle gym.

Callie watched their antics with a martyred air, while her father and Tobias discussed the latest rugby and cricket matches. Tobias paid the kids half a mind, at least until he caught his grandson doing a handstand on the top of the monkey bars.

"Harry, what the bloody blazes d'you think you're doing?" he cried. "Get down off there this minute before you break your neck!"

"But I'm fine, Grandpa!" called back the intrepid youngster. "I can do this all day, it's fun."

"Never you mind, boy. You do as I say, right now, or else I'm going to tan your bum with my belt."

Harry, no fool, got down.

Carl just shook his head. "Kids! They have no fear, that's why they get hurt so much." Then he said, in a much softer tone, "Not that I'm criticizing you or anything, Toby, but if I were you I'd watch how I spoke to my kid in public."

"What are you talking about?"

"That comment you made before, about taking a belt to Harry, well, you gotta be careful ‘bout saying stuff like that nowadays, is all. Somebody might hear you and report you to Child Welfare for cruel and unusual punishment."

Tobias just stared at the other man. "You've got to be kidding me. Who the hell would do a dumbass thing like that?"

"People who don't know how to mind their own business, mostly." Carl answered, brushing a lock of dark hair from his eyes. "I know, you probably got threatened the same way by your old man when you were a kid. Me too. But those were different times, and back then it was all we knew. Now though, they got laws ‘bout how you can discipline your kid and all, and if somebody ever heard you talkin' like that, they could report you and maybe even have you arrested."

"Arrested? Bloody hell, Carl, I never laid a hand on the kid!"

"I know, Snape, no need to get all steamed. I'm just warning you, is all. Child Services would come and take your grandson away if they suspected you'd been walloping him with a belt."

Tobias was stunned. He'd never heard of anything like that before. "I've never taken a belt to Harry. Thought about it, but I've never actually done it. You're telling me they'd arrest a man for disciplining a child? That's ridiculous! Why my dad used to wallop my arse on a regular basis and nobody ever questioned it, much less arrested him for it."

"Like I said before, Toby, times were different then, and a licking with a belt was nothin' out of the ordinary. But not now. Now they'd have your arse in jail for abuse and whatnot, trust me. That's why I only spank my kid with my hand or at most a wooden spoon." Carl shrugged. "Works just as well as a belt ever did on me."

"Unbelievable!" muttered Tobias, then he turned back to watching Harry, making sure he didn't get into anymore trouble. Still, Middleton's words made him think, and he knew that if such laws had been in place when Severus was growing up, he'd have probably been in jail long ago. Then again, he'd been different back then, drunk and nasty and without the patience God gave a gnat.

Now however, he doubted very much if he could bring himself to use a belt on Harry, though of course he'd never admit it to a soul. Something had changed in him the night he'd caught the little mischief maker in his study, and that odd empathy he'd felt then would not permit him to truly harm the child.

At last Tobias called Harry in and said it was time to leave, it was getting on towards evening and he was hungry. Harry reluctantly bid goodbye to Bobby and Callie and went with Tobias back to Spinner's End. Tobias walked along calmly, but Harry was like a hummingbird, here, there, and everywhere. Tobias wondered where he got the energy and wished he had a tenth of it.

They had just reached the house and were crossing the street, Harry running a little ways ahead of Tobias, when the older man caught sight of the garden hose abandoned in the middle of the lawn in an untidy heap.

Tobias scowled. "Harry, didn't I tell you before to roll up the hose after we watered the plants?"

His grandson shot him a guilty look. "Uh, I forgot. Sorry."

"If you can't remember to follow instructions and put things away right, I won't let you help me anymore," Tobias scolded, going over to begin coiling up the hose.

"I'll remember next time, sir," said Harry, looking a bit crestfallen at the reprimand.

"See that you do. Go and get the mail, it ought to have come by now."

Harry ran to get the mail, hoping there was something interesting in it. But when he opened the mailbox, all he saw were letters and none of them were his. Disappointed, he pulled out the envelopes and shut the mailbox.

He had just begun to turn around and go back up the drive when he heard a menacing snarl from behind him.

He froze, and then slowly turned his head to see what had made that awful noise.

To his horror, he saw a large black and tan Doberman standing not two feet away, head lowered and growling deep in his throat. From the dog's spiked leather collar dangled a length of chain.

Harry gulped and trembled, not daring to move. He couldn't even breathe, he was so terrified. He knew this dog, he'd seen it dozens of times, chained to a stake in the yard across the street. This was Butch, old man Skinner's guard dog, and it hated small children with a passion. Tobias had warned him about the dog the first day he'd arrived here and had since stressed the danger of going anywhere near the property, for Butch was trained to bite trespassers.

Harry didn't know how the dog had gotten loose, nor did he care, except for the fact that Butch looked ready to make a meal out of him. The dog took a step forward, head lowered and teeth bared, snarling loudly.

Harry whimpered, trying to back away slowly, his dad had told him once to never run away from dogs, it made them chase you.

Butch followed, still growling.

Harry began to pant, fear creeping up all of his limbs. He'd never been afraid of dogs until now. He gulped sharply, shaking, there was an awful sick feeling in the pit of his stomach and he felt his bladder tighten in warning. He backed away another step, so frightened he nearly wet himself.

"Nice, Butch. Nice doggy," he whispered.

Butch advanced, now barking and growling.

That was too much for the child. He threw the mail at the dog and fled, shrieking in terror, up the drive. "Grandpa! Help! Butch's after me-e-e-e!"

Tobias had been coiling the hose near the side of the house, grumbling over Harry's forgetfulness when the little boy's scream reached his ears. The sheer terror in his grandson's tone struck an answering chord in him and he bolted around the side of the house, the hose still clutched in his hand.

Now he could hear the dog growling and his heart nearly came up out of his throat at the sight that met his eyes.

Harry was running up the drive and hot on his heels, slavering and snarling like hound from hell, was the Doberman attack dog.

"Go away! Leave me alone!" Harry wailed, sobbing, as he tried to run faster. The dog was a scant four feet behind him and closing fast.

Then his foot caught on the uneven grade in the drive and he tripped, sprawling flat on the ground, skinning his hands.

Before he could get up, Butch was on him.

Tobias yelled in horror and ran forward, snatching up a rock from the ground and throwing it hard at the dog.

But just before the rock struck, something amazing happened.

A bright blue shield snapped into place around Harry and the Doberman's teeth could not penetrate it.

Harry's mortal peril had brought his magic surging to the surface, and it acted to protect him without conscious direction.

Then the rock struck the dog on the shoulder and it yelped in surprise and turned to face this new attacker, a crazed gleam in its eyes.

Tobias slowed, glaring at the dangerous animal. "Come on, you bastard! Come and get me, you blasted hound of hell!" He waved his arm about, trying to get the dog to focus on him.

Butch sprang forward, a paroxysm of growls springing from his throat.

But Tobias was ready. He lowered the hose and pointed it at the beast and opened fire with the nozzle, for Harry had forgotten to shut off the water as well.

The hard jet of water caught the dog full in the face, knocking it back and down.

"There! That'll teach you, you bastard animal!" growled the former soldier, spraying the dog again when it tried to come for him.

The Doberman yelped and backed off, not liking the hose at all.

"Get in your own yard you mangy insane beast! Get!"

Faced with the hose, Butch turned tail and ran, bolting back across the street and disappearing behind his own house.

Tobias waited a moment more before turning and dropping the hose upon the ground, where it sprayed water everywhere.

But the man ignored the water and raced over to where his grandson lay sprawled, still encased with that blue shield. "Harry! Harry! Are you all right?"

Harry gasped, not knowing quite what had happened. One minute he'd seen the jaws of death coming at him and the next there was a blue shield in front of him. Did I do that? Wow! He thought in awe, then he recalled his grandfather didn't like him doing magic and he became frightened and the shield collapsed.

He looked up at Tobias, who was looming over him, his blue eyes wild, and started to cry. "I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to do magic!"

"Are you hurt?" Tobias demanded, kneeling down next to the child and feeling him over. He couldn't see any blood on the boy except for some nasty scrapes on his palms. "He didn't bite you, did he?"

He gently lifted Harry up, turning him around to check his legs and backside. There was no sign that the dog had bitten him. Tobias felt his heart begin to beat again and he grabbed his grandson and held him tightly. "You're okay, Harry. He didn't get you, thank God!"

Harry was bawling loudly now, clinging to Tobias for all he was worth and Tobias was trembling slightly as he took his grandson into the house. He had never been so terrified in his life as he was that split second before the shield had snapped around the child. He had known he would be too late to prevent the dog from savaging the little boy, and then the shield had appeared out of nowhere and Butch had been unable to penetrate it.

Accidental magic, Eileen had called it.

Tobias had never been so grateful for it as he was then.

He carried Harry into the kitchen and sat down on one of the chairs, the child cradled on his lap. He patted the boy on the back awkwardly and murmured to him, reassuring him that he was safe and unharmed.

Harry continued to cry hysterically for a few minutes more, until he was spent, and only then did Tobias sit him up on the table and ask him to stay there while he got some water and antiseptic for his hands.

Harry simply nodded, still shaken from the dog's attack. Tobias returned with a wet cloth and a bottle of peroxide and some gauze pads and cottonballs. "This might sting, kid, but I have to clean your hands, otherwise they'll get infected, okay?"

Harry shook his head and allowed Tobias to gently wipe his hand with the wet cloth first. He yelped when his grandfather cleaned the scrapes with the antiseptic, but he made no move to get away, as the son of a Healer he understood the importance of cleaning out cuts, though Severus had never hurt him when he'd cleaned scrapes because he used magic.

"Almost done," Tobias said, doing the other hand.

"Oww!"

"Yeah, I know, it hurts like a bitch, but I have to do this."

At last he was satisfied and he wrapped Harry's hands with the gauze pads and taped them. "You hurt anywhere else, kid?"

"N-no. Am I in trouble?"

"In trouble? For what? Nearly getting your backside chewed up by that crazy Doberman?"

"No. For doing magic. I didn't mean to, sir. It was an accident!"

"Hey. Calm down, will you? I'm not mad at you."

"You're not? But you said if I did magic without permission you'd whip my bottom."

Tobias winced, only now recalling that he had said something like that when he'd told Harry the rules of the house all those months ago. Before he'd grown to love his grandson and look upon him as family and not an unwanted brat thrust upon him.

"I-I didn't mean that," he said haltingly, for apologies didn't come easy to him. "That magic of yours saved your life so I guess you can do it if you need to."

"You don't mind? Really?"

"No," he answered honestly and meant it. "C'mere, mister." He held out his arms and Harry jumped off the table into them.

Tobias couldn't speak all of a sudden, so profound was his relief that his grandson was unharmed, so he settled for holding the little boy close and rubbing his back. They remained that way for a very long time, until Tobias's heart calmed and Harry stopped shivering.

"Harry, you scared me to death," Tobias admitted softly.

"I'm sorry. It wasn't my fault, sir."

"I know. I'm not blaming you. I'm blaming stupid Skinner. After dinner I'm going over there and giving the bloody arse a good piece of my mind. That damn dog's a menace and if it ever comes on my property again, I'm going to shoot it."

"Like with a gun?"

"Exactly. No damn dog is going to threaten my grandson, not on my watch."

Then he hugged Harry again before going to put away the first aid kit and start supper, which neither of them felt like eating after their scare, but Tobias needed to do something and figured cooking was a good way to calm down. While he cooked he smoked, for his nerves were shot, and all he could think about was that Harry was okay, for if anything had happened to the child, he would have never forgiven himself. And neither would his son.

While Tobias cooked Harry went upstairs to change, for his clothes were dirty and bloodstained and to his embarrassment he'd wet himself a little. It was a good thing Tobias hadn't noticed, he'd really think Harry was a baby. He quickly changed into dry things and went downstairs, his stomach was reminding him that he had not eaten in a few hours.

Tobias was making cheesesteaks and they smelled heavenly. Harry inhaled the aroma and thanked Merlin for accidental magic and for Tobias, who had saved him from being eaten by Butch. He wondered what his dad would say when Harry told him the story.

"He saved you from a dog that was attacking you?" Severus repeated in disbelief the next day. Now that his father was awake, Harry insisted on coming to see him every day, and Severus had arranged to have him picked up and brought home by either Albus, Matthew, or Amy, the young Apprentice who still assisted him sometimes.

Harry nodded. "Well, first my magic made a shield and then Grandpa made the dog run away by turning the hose on it. I was really scared, Dad, but Grandpa was great! And then he went over to Mr. Skinner's house and yelled at him for letting Butch get loose and almost eating me. And he didn't even mind that I used magic, Dad."

"Now that really is amazing." Severus conceded. He wasn't surprised that his father had protected Harry from the dog. Tobias would never hesitate to protect his family from an outside threat. But his family had always needed protection from him, Sev thought with a flash of bitterness. Still, he had to admit that Harry's account of Tobias' acceptance of his grandson's use of magic relieved him immensely, for that had been one of the things that his father had been adamant about his son not using when he was at home. Perhaps he was indeed changing, as Dumbledore and Matthew had been telling him ever since he'd woken up.

Even so, Severus was not yet ready to see or speak with his father. He could not get his mind set on this new Tobias, there was too much emotional baggage left from his childhood to deal with. The old Tobias had been his nemesis as a child, the hard bitter alcoholic who had nothing good to say about his son ever and who resented him for having magic or feared him, Severus was never sure which. His mother had always said that drinking turned Tobias into a stranger, someone who was not at all like the man she had fell in love with and chosen to marry. But Severus had never known the man as anything else.

Right now, he wasn't ready to face the older Snape, he was still injured and vulnerable. A part of him was wary of showing weakness in front of the man who had tolerated none all during his childhood, and so he continued to reject all attempts at reconciliation made by Albus and Matthew.

He allowed Harry to stay with Tobias because he saw no reason to yank the child out of familiar surroundings, Harry had enough upheaval in his life to deal with without adding more. He was monitoring the boy carefully, but Harry showed no signs that Tobias was hurting him and because he seemed happy, Sev was content for now to let him remain at Spinner's End.

There were six more days before he was released from the hospital, and then Harry could come home with him to their town house in the wizarding side of London and their lives would be back to normal. Dumbledore had told him they had mended all the damage done to the house by the Death Eaters, so Severus need not worry about coming home to a shambles. Severus was very grateful for his mentor's thoughtfulness.

Now all the Master Healer had to do was to concentrate on getting better. He picked up the rubber ball Matthew had left for him and began to squeeze it while Harry chattered away about going to the park and playing with a boy named Bobby Middleton. 

The next five days passed in a whirlwind, or so it seemed to Harry, who was marking off the days his father had left eagerly. Severus was growing stronger every day, thanks to his iron constitution and Matthew's regimen of potions and exercise. He could now walk around and left his room for short periods of time to go into his office and begin tackling all of the paperwork that had mounted up while he was in a coma for three months.

In that he was assisted by Lana, one of the hospital secretaries and Amy, who had attached herself to him as his unofficial resident medical student, much to Matthew's dismay. His partner grumbled about Sev always getting all the hot interns, but the truth was Severus noticed Amy less for her looks and more for her keen mind and analytical abilities. She was twenty to his twenty-six, but he wasn't about to start going out with her, he enjoyed her company but she was no Lily. He had loved his late wife with everything he had, and a part of him always would.

He treasured her son because of it, though he had quickly grown to love Harry for his own sake and not just because he was Lily's offspring. It was not hard at all to love the child, who was bright and sweet-natured and generous, though he could also be stubborn and mischievous when the mood struck him. Hell, he'd even won over Tobias, the grouchy curmudgeon, and that was something Severus had never managed to do, despite being the man's flesh and blood.

While Severus was mending, Tobias and Harry were finding their newfound relationship a thing of wonder and beauty. Tobias had never really spent time with a child, teaching and participating in that child's daily life. With Severus, he had spent much of his time either drunk, or working, or both, and what free time he did have he'd selfishly spent with his mates from the tavern and not his family. Small wonder that the boy had bonded more with Eileen than with him, who was usually criticizing or punishing the young boy for everything.

He wished sometimes, looking at Harry, that he could go back in time and relive Severus's childhood, erase the mistakes of the past and start anew. But even magic could not do that, and Tobias had to deal with the choices he had made, past and present. He could not erase the past, but perhaps he could smooth over the scars, that is, if Severus would meet him halfway and cooperate.

In the meantime, he had his grandson, who was proving to be both a delight and a headache at the same time. Harry seemed to be possessed of boundless energy, he went from dawn till dusk, playing, reading, watching and assisting Tobias with chores and odd jobs. Tobias soon grew to like having company while doing the same old boring tasks, like sweeping or washing dishes, despite Harry's ability to talk nonstop about anything and everything that came into his head.

He even enjoyed putting the child to bed and reading to him, something that he would've never in a million years thought he would have enjoyed doing before. Harry now would sit on his lap while Tobias read and that simple gesture roused feelings of protectiveness and tenderness in the older man that he had never known before. Or if he had, he had never admitted it. With Harry it was almost as if he had been given a second chance at fatherhood, and he was determined not to waste it this time around.

He would prove to Severus that he could be a responsible and caring grandparent and perhaps that would be enough to convince his stubborn son to give his father another chance and they could be a family once more.

Little did he know that fate and chance would combine to conspire against him, dashing all of his hopes on Friday night, the night before Severus was to be released from the hospital.

The day had started out ordinary enough, though for some reason Harry was tired and cranky, and his whining and pouting got on Tobias's nerves until he couldn't take it and sent the child to his room for an hour. "Go take a nap or draw or whatever, but I don't want to see your face until you can quit being such a grouchy little brat."

Whereupon Harry had muttered that he'd picked up that attitude from Tobias, which was probably true, but Tobias wasn't about to let the boy get away with that kind of talk and gave him two smacks for his cheeky tongue and then sent him upstairs.

Harry sulked and pouted and cried a bit before finally falling asleep. When he woke from his nap he felt better, and went down and apologized to Tobias, who gave him a brief hug and warned him to watch his mouth next time, then sent him out to play until supper.

It was then Tobias received a phone call from Mike Breton and some of his old tavern mates, inviting him to play poker at a local pub he used to frequent. Once upon a time, Tobias had been an avid poker player, but he hadn't played a hand since coming out of the clinic. He considered his old pal's offer, then thought perhaps it would do him good to get out, he deserved a break after three straight months of minding a hyper six-year-old.

What harm could there be in a game of poker with old friends, even if it was at a bar? No one would force him to drink if he didn't want to, and he could enjoy himself for once. So he told Breton yes and called Callie, who would babysit Harry upon request, and everything was settled.

The poker game began at 8:30 and would probably be over at 11, so Tobias figured he'd be home by 11:30, midnight at the latest. Plenty of time to get a good night's rest and be awake to make sure Harry looked presentable for when Severus arrived in the late morning to pick up his son. Tobias hoped the meeting between himself and Severus would go well, unlike the last time they had seen each other. Things were different then, Tobias reminded himself. I was still drinking, I was upset over Eileen's death, but didn't know how the hell to express it as anything except disapproval and sarcasm, and I said things I didn't mean, as usual. I can't blame Sev for getting riled or for decking me one. But now, things are different, and perhaps we can at least have a civil conversation, like two adults.

* * * * * *

Harry played several games of checkers and gin rummy with Callie before they decided to watch TV. They watched Beethoven and Bambi on the Disney Channel until it was nine o'clock (Callie didn't adhere to Tobias's schedule for bedtime) and then Harry took a bath and went to bed. Callie read him two stories before he finally closed his eyes and the girl could go downstairs and curl up on the sofa with a book and a glass of soda until Tobias came home.

Meanwhile, at the bar, Tobias had met with four of his old drinking buddies. He waited until they had finished the first round before moving over to an unoccupied table and setting up the cards for the game. Tobias was the dealer first, and then it rotated clockwise around the table. Before long the game was in full swing, with bets being made, won, and lost on the turn of a card.

Tobias was doing quite well, despite not having played a decent hand of poker in quite sometime. He had already made several pounds and was having a great time, even though he was not drinking like his mates were. He had missed the company of adults these past months and it was a relief to have a conversation without having to watch what and how he said something, for fear his grandson would repeat it. As it was, he knew he didn't watch his language as much as he should around Harry, though he was doing his best to correct that.

As the night wore on, the pot became bigger, and his friends became more inebriated, and riskier. Tobias watched and waited his chance, and finally he scored big with a royal flush and swept the entire contents of the pot into his wallet. It was 152 pounds, quite a nice sum for only two hours of play. His buddies grumbled and moaned over their ill luck, complaining that Tobias had witched the cards.

Tobias just rolled his eyes, if only they knew that his son and grandson were the real McCoy and could actually do magic! It was then that Tim Murdoch said they should all raise a glass to celebrate the recovery of Tobias's son, who had just recently awoken from a three month coma.

"I'll drink to that!"

"Me too!"

"Right-o!"

Tim shoved a pint of dark ale over to Tobias. "C'mon, Toby, even you can drink a toast."

Tobias shook his head. "No, Tim. I really shouldn't." He could smell the deep brown tang of the ale and suddenly his long dormant craving for beer awoke and began shrieking and begging like a two-year-old throwing a temper tantrum.

"It's for your son," the other persuaded. "Surely you can drink to his health, Snape."

"Yeah, what kind of father are you?"

Tobias winced, for he knew quite well he had been the worst kind of father. He stared at the pint of ale longingly. Maybe . . .but what if he couldn't stop after one drink? He hesitated, but was urged on by his mates, and he seized the mug and lifted it. "Here's to Sev, who beat all the odds. A son any father could be proud of!" Then he took one quick gulp and set the mug down.

"Here! Here!" And all of them drank.

"Now let's play another round and see if we can't win back the money, Snape!" cried Jack Burton, a skinny red-headed man who worked in a grocery store.

"Yeah, let's see if Lady Luck's deserted him yet."

So they played another hand, but Tobias's streak of luck had not faded and he won that hand as well. He decided to quit while he was ahead and declined another hand. But it was close and hot in the pub and Tobias was thirsty. Before he realized quite what he was doing, he had drank the rest of the pint.

Then he was about to signal the waiter to bring him a soda, but Murdoch got there first and ordered a round for everyone.

Before he knew it, Tobias's one drink had become two, then three, then four. By then his companions were quite drunk and he was well on his way to joining them. His resolve had been drowned in the dark amber ale, and the next thing he knew, he was looking at nine empty mugs in front of him.

He felt a slight buzz, but was not yet slurring his speech or unable to walk. It would take more than nine pints to do that, Tobias could hold his liquor, and in his heyday could drink all of his buddies under the table. Still, he knew he'd better quit now, while he could still see straight.

He paid his portion of the tab and then bid his friends goodbye and walked out of the pub. Luckily it wasn't far from his house, about a good fifteen minute walk, so he hadn't need to bring his pick up truck.

He began to walk towards Spinner's End, his gait only slightly off, but the average passerby would have never been able to tell he was drunk just by looking at him.

The night air cleared some of the alcoholic haze from his brain, enough so that when he arrived home, Callie was not even aware that her employer was three sheets to the wind. He paid the girl handsomely, including a very generous tip, laughing slightly at Callie's shocked look. "I had a good night at the tables, girl. Did Harry behave for you?"

"Oh yes, Mr. Snape. He was good as gold. He's sleeping now. Thanks so much! I can use this when we go on holiday next week." Callie beamed at him.

"You're welcome, Callie. Tell your dad I said hi," Tobias chuckled, then waited until she had phoned her father to pick her up.

Five minutes later, Carl was honking the horn and Callie waved goodbye and left. "Bye, Mr. Snape! I'll babysit Harry any time!"

Tobias locked up, then made his way up to bed, hoping he could sleep it off before his son arrived the next morning. He just managed to kick off his shoes and pull off his shirt before he collapsed on his bed in a drunken stupor.

* * * * * *

Harry awoke at the crack of dawn the next morning, too excited to sleep much past the sunrise. Today his daddy was coming home and they could return to Aspen Avenue. Harry was so excited he could barely sit still, and he quickly ran about his bedroom, putting all of his things into his trunk except the clothes he wanted to wear and Inky. Tobias had taken him to the bookshop that week and purchased several new books for him. Those Harry put in his satchel, with his other favorites.

That done, he quickly dressed and went downstairs, expecting to find Tobias already up and making coffee. But the kitchen was dark. Puzzled, Harry flicked on the lights and called softly, "Grandpa?"

There was no answer from the den, so Harry knew Tobias was not sitting on the couch reading the paper, the way he sometimes did. Sighing, Harry opened the fridge and got himself a glass of chocolate milk. He looked longingly at the eggs and bacon on the shelf, wishing he were old enough to use the stove and make himself scrambled eggs and bacon. But the last time he'd tried to put bacon in a pan on the stove by himself, Tobias had grabbed him by the arm and told him next time Harry touched the stove without adult supervision, he'd get his bottom blistered.

So Harry sighed and shut the fridge, not wanting to risk a spanking on his last day here. He slowly drank his milk, wondering why Tobias had chosen to sleep late on this day of all days. Normally the older Snape was an early riser and had already completed ten chores before Harry had opened his eyes.

The six-year-old chewed his lower lip nervously. Perhaps Tobias was sick? Could that be why he hadn't woken up early? It was hard for Harry to imagine his tough no-nonsense grandfather sick, but he supposed it could happen. Tobias was not immune to disease. Maybe he needs me, but is too sick to get out of bed, Harry thought worriedly. Once I was sick that way, my tummy hurt really bad and I threw up all over my bed before I could run to the loo. And Daddy didn't even yell at me, he just cleaned it up with magic and gave me a pink potion so I'd feel better. He could remember crying as much from embarrassment as from being sick, and Severus had hugged him and told him it was all right, he couldn't help it, and had given him a bath after.

Harry considered whether or not to go and check on Tobias. He'd never really gone into the older man's bedroom to wake him up, the way he sometimes did Severus, on holidays like Christmas or Easter. Still, he'd feel really bad if Tobias was sick and he hadn't gone to see what was the matter. So he went back upstairs and knocked softly at the bedroom door.

There was no answer.

Cautiously, he opened the door and peered inside.

The bedroom was dark, the only illumination came from a nightlight on the wall and the partially open blind on the window. Harry tiptoed into the room and saw Tobias sprawled on the bed, snoring slightly. Harry walked over and peered down at the sleeping man, whose face was twisted into a slight grimace of pain.

"Grandpa? Are you sick?"

Tobias muttered something.

Harry leaned over and shook Tobias's shoulder slightly. His grandfather smelled oddly of tobacco and some other scent he could not name. "Grandpa, it's time to get up. Wake up, Grandpa!"

Tobias's dark blue eyes popped open at Harry's announcement, the child's voice was like a steam whistle in his ears, which were ultra sensitive from his hangover. He reacted with the speed of a striking adder, his reflexes honed from years of lashing out at the nearest object when awakened suddenly from a drunken sleep.

"Goddammit, Severus! Leave me the bloody hell alone!" he snarled, only half-awake, his sozzled brain thinking he beheld young Severus instead of his grandson.

The palm of his hand darted out, catching the startled Harry on the cheek and knocking the little boy backwards.

Harry stumbled and fell, one hand going to his cheek, which was hurting something awful. "Owww!" he howled. "You didn't have to hit me, Grandpa!"

"Get out, brat!" the inebriated Tobias growled, then passed out again.

Harry hadn't heard that tone in over a month from his grandfather, and it shocked and upset him. He began to cry, muffling his sobs with his hand, then he raced out of the door quickly, afraid Tobias would hear and spank him for being a crybaby. He couldn't believe his grandfather had hit him across the face just for waking him up, and the hurt and betrayal cut him deeply.

He threw himself on his bed, grabbed Inky, and sobbed heartbrokenly. He didn't know what he had done, but now it seemed as if his grandfather hated him, and he could not bear it. "I wanna go home, Inky!" he wailed, clutching the toy close. "I want Daddy to come and take me home now!"

Tears poured unrestrained down his cheeks as he turned his face into the pillow and cried and cried.

* * * * * *

Tobias awoke a scant half-an-hour later feeling as if a herd of horses had trampled him. His mouth tasted furry and his head throbbed, though the pain was more tolerable now than it had been when Harry had woken him before. He rubbed his eyes and groaned, wondering what time it was.

He sat up cautiously, all too aware of what would happen if he attempted any sudden movements. Right then his stomach was content to stay where it was, but if he tried to jerk up from the bed too quickly . . .

His eyes sought his alarm clock and saw to his dismay that it was 10:30 AM. He swore softly, he hadn't meant to sleep away the whole morning. Severus would be here in an hour and a half and he wasn't even showered or shaved.

He padded into the adjoining master bath, wincing as the light hit his rather sensitive eyes. It was only after he'd been standing under the hot shower for five minutes that his hazy brain recalled being woken up earlier by a child screaming in his ear-a child whom he had thought was Severus. Of course it wasn't Sev, don't be ridiculous, Toby! You were half-asleep and hung over, so it's only natural you'd mistake Harry for Sev when he was that age, the kid looks a lot like him, even though he's not blood. He recalled the little voice calling him and then he cringed in horror. Oh my God! I-I backhanded him across the face. I didn't mean to, not really. But he had been hung over and had quickly fallen back into his old patterns when he'd been awakened, where his first reaction to any kind of noise or movement was a snarl and a smack.

He quickly finished his shower, shame, guilt, and remorse jockeying for position in his heart as he remembered his grandson crying. He cursed himself for an irresponsible fool over and over, wishing he had never agreed to go to the poker game and especially never agreed to drink that toast. He had known better, but he was weak and couldn't resist the lure of the alcohol. And now his grandson, like Sev so long ago, reaped the whirlwind.

Tobias felt like banging his head into the wall. Maybe then he could knock some sense into it.

He made his way down the hall to Harry's room, finding the little boy huddled in the middle of his bed, tears still streaking his cheeks, for he'd cried himself to sleep. Tobias approached the child on cat's feet, then knelt and reached out to stroke the little boy's hair. Oh, Harry. I'm so damn sorry.

It was then he saw the slowly darkening bruise on the boy's cheek.

"Oh Christ," he murmured, feeling ill. "What have I done? Severus is going to kill me."

* * * * * *

Harry woke to something cold on his hurt cheek. But when he opened his eyes all he saw at first was the pillow. He reached up a hand to feel what was numbing his cheek and encountered a cool rag and a hand. "Daddy?"

"No, imp. It's me," came his grandfather's voice, low and filled with remorse.

Harry stiffened. "W-what are you doing, sir?"

"Fixing up your face as best I can. The ice'll help with the bruise." Tobias said awkwardly. "Please lie still, Harry."

Harry obeyed, then asked a moment later, "Are you still mad at me, Grandpa? I'm sorry I woke you."

The little boy's heartfelt apology only made Tobias feel worse. "That's okay. You don't . . .you don't have to be sorry for anything, Harry. I'm the one who's sorry. I. . .I didn't mean to hit you, but I was . . .not feeling too good . . .and I just . . .aw, hell, kid, I'm sorry, this never should've happened."

You just had to go and drink that pint, didn't you, Toby? His conscience was scolding him and once more sounding remarkably like Eileen used to when he stumbled home drunk after promising her he'd lay off the bottle for good. You just couldn't resist and now look what the hell happened. You stupid, good-for-nothing arsehole!

While he flogged himself mentally, he kept holding the ice against Harry's cheek and tentatively he began to rub the child's back. Gradually he felt the little boy relax as he repeated the soothing motion over and over.

"You called me Severus," Harry told him abruptly.

"What?"

"When you yelled at me to leave you alone before you slapped me. You called me Severus."

"Oh. That. Guess I was dreaming. You look sort of like him at that age, you know. How's your face feel?"

"Cold," Harry admitted.

"Does it hurt?"

"No, least not any more."

Tobias awkwardly apologized once again and this time Harry said quietly, "I know you didn't really mean it, Grandpa, so I forgive you."

Harry's generosity was like a balm to the guilt ridden Tobias, and he suddenly lifted his grandson into his arms and held him close. "Thank you, Harry," Tobias whispered, and he prayed his son would be as understanding.

* * * * * *

Severus was so glad to be out of the hospital and able to cast spells and walk without assistance that he almost considered dancing a jig in the hallway. He couldn't wait to see Harry again and the only thing that marred his perfect joy was the fact that he would have to speak with Tobias, whom he hadn't seen in eight years and who was probably still holding a grudge from that punch on the jaw after Eileen's funeral.

He hoped his father would not start on him and he could just nod politely, say thank you for taking care of Harry and leave. It was safer that way, for he doubted if Tobias wanted a bloodbath in his living room. Severus had discovered long ago that he and his father both possessed a flashfire temper and if it ignited at the same time . . .the house would be lucky to be standing afterwards.

Merlin's blessed staff, guess I just better get this over with, the Master Healer sighed and then he Apparated himself to the front porch of Spinner's End. He buzzed the front door and braced himself. In another minute, the door was opened and Harry came rushing into his arms.

"You're finally here, Daddy!"

"Yes, I'm here, scamp," laughed his father, squeezing him tightly. "We'll leave as soon as you've packed."

"I'm already packed," Harry declared proudly. "All my stuff's in there," He turned his head and pointed to the open garage.

It was then that Severus caught sight of the huge bruise. "Good flaming Christ! Where the hell did you get that?"

"Umm . . ."Harry debated, not wanting to tell Sev that it was his father who had accidentally hit him. But Severus was looking at him with what Harry called his truthteller's stare and Harry swallowed sharply and answered, "Grandpa did it, Dad. But he was real nice too when he got some ice for me."

Severus was unimpressed. "I knew it!" he was muttering to himself. "I just knew it was too good to be true!" He gently tilted his son's face up to examine the fist sized black and blue mark on Harry's pale face. "Son-of-a-bitch! Nothing ever changes, does it? I was an idiot to believe Dumbledore, he doesn't know Tobias like I do. Harry, when did this happen?"

"Uh, this morning. But it was an accident, Dad. Grandpa was asleep and I woke him up and he didn't mean to hit me, really." Harry said earnestly, not liking the look in his father's eye. "He thought I was you."

"Typical. He always was ready to give me the back of his hand," sneered Severus. "Don't make excuses for him, Harry. He doesn't deserve it. He did to you what he used to do to me all those years ago, the very thing I'd been hoping to avoid, damn it all to hell. I swore that never again would I permit him to hurt me or mine and look what's happened to you."

"Dad, please! Grandpa didn't mean to hit me. He said he was sorry."

Severus scowled. "Don't cover for him, Harry. I spent ten years doing that and all it ever got me was a sore backside. But not this time. This time I'm going to do what I should've done a week ago, which is take you the hell out of here." Severus's eyes were like chips of obsidian. "After I give Mr. Tobias bloody Snape a piece of my mind." He set Harry down and turned him towards the stairs. "Harry, go upstairs and don't come down until I say so."

Harry glanced up at his parent uneasily. "Why, Daddy? Are you gonna have a fight with Grandpa?"

Yes, and it's about time too! Severus longed to say, but he restrained himself and replied only, "No, we're going to have a long talk about what just happened and why it won't be happening ever again. Now go on, scoot!" And he gave his son a firm pat on the bottom to send him on his way.

Harry hesitated on the third step. "Do I have to? I don't wanna, Daddy."

"March, young man," Severus ordered. "Right now, unless you want to spend the first twenty minutes after we get home with your nose in the corner."

Harry went, knowing that it was no idle threat. Severus never threatened, he only promised, like Tobias.

Severus stalked into the kitchen, knowing that was where he would find Tobias, who was sitting at the table smoking cigarette after cigarette. "How dare you lay a finger on my son, you miserable bastard?"

"Severus, it's not what it seems like," Tobias began, not bothering to get to his feet. "I didn't mean to hit him."

"No, you meant to hit me instead!" mocked his son. "Big improvement there."

"Severus, listen-"

"No, you listen, old man!" the Potions Master exploded. "There's nothing you could say to me that will excuse what you did. Nothing! You were drunk again, weren't you? And Harry just happened to annoy you and you reacted the way you always do-you hit first and ask questions later. It's always the same, nothing ever changes. Don't know how you fooled Albus though, he's usually pretty sharp. He said you'd gone sober and were taking great care of Harry. Ha! If that's a sample of your "great care", I'd hate to see what Harry would look like if you neglected him." Severus was so angry he was practically foaming at the mouth like Butch the Doberman. "But I swore long ago that never again would I permit a child to be put through the terror and pain I went through. NEVER AGAIN, d'you hear me?"

Tobias winced. "I've never hit him that hard before, Sev, it was a mistake."

"A mistake?" sneered his son. "Yes it was and it was the worst one you'll ever make. Or rather it's the one you keep repeating over and over, because I guess it'll never make a damn bit of difference. You're still the same bloody drunken bounder you always were, whose answer to everything a little kid does is a good whack or a whipping with a belt, right?"

"It used to be," Tobias admitted heavily. "I . . .I was wrong to treat you that way, son. But I didn't know any different."

"Enough excuses! It's too damn late for them! It's too damn late for you to come along and beg my pardon for what you've done."

"Severus . . ."

"No! I don't want to hear it. D'you know I amended my will so in case of an emergency, Harry wouldn't be forced to live with you? Want to know why? Because I didn't trust you. And I was right. You might have hoodwinked everybody else, Dad, but not me."

Severus's eyes were hard as flint as he said in a soft deadly tone, "Well, I've had it! No son of mine is going to go to school praying nobody asks him what happened and he has to lie to keep up appearances. Never again!"

"You don't understand, dammit!" Tobias began angrily, trying to get a word in edgewise.

"You know what, Dad?" snarled his son, gritting his teeth. "I don't care! I put up with your drinking and your bloody fists and temper all of my life and it's enough. I'll be damned if I'm going to let my son go through what I did. Hope you said your goodbyes because this is the last time either of us will darken your doorstep-that I can promise you!"

"Severus, wait. All I want-" Tobias reached out a hand to touch his son gently on the shoulder.

"Don't touch me!" Severus cried, jerking away.

Tobias withdrew his hand quickly, looking like he'd just been slapped.

Severus looked like he was about to spit nails. Tobias was so lucky he had some qualms about hexing Muggles, otherwise bits and pieces of his father would be scattered to the four winds. "There is only one reason why you're not in pieces all over this floor, sir!" sneered Severus, sarcasm dripping from that single word like venom. "And it has nothing to do with the fact that you're my relation or that I'm a physician. It's because my mother taught me better! Someday you ought to thank her, if you see her before you go to hell."

Afraid that his control would evaporate the longer he remained in Tobias's presence, Severus spun on his heel and went upstairs to make sure Harry was packed.

"Let's go, Harry. You've spent enough time in this hellhole." He pointed his wand at Harry's trunk and shrank it. Then he put it inside his pocket. "Do you have everything? Make sure because we're not coming back here for a long time, if ever."

"But aren't I going to say goodbye to Grandpa?"

Severus shook his head. "No. I did it for you." He held out his arms and Harry jumped into them. Then he Apparated away with Harry nestled close, leaving a stricken Tobias staring after them.

Tobias slowly walked into the room that used to belong to both his children, younger and older, and sat down on the bed. He could not believe how things had fallen apart in the space of a few hours. And once again, it was all his fault. Now the gap between him and Severus was wider than ever and he didn't think he could bridge it. And Harry, the grandson who had managed to win his heart in spite of everything, was now gone as well. All of his hopes were destroyed beyond redemption, he thought bitterly, leaving nothing left but the ashes of what could have been.

Then Tobias did something he had not done in over twenty years.

He put his head in his hands and cried.

Harry had never been so happy to see the familiar soft cream and green trimmed siding of the little town house on Aspen Avenue again. There was no sign that the masked men, whom his daddy called Death Eaters (disgusting name!), had ever been there. Uncle Al had come with Aunt Min, who was known as Professor McGonagall to her students, and several other teachers and Aurors, to set their house to rights. Aurors Black and Lupin, affectionately known as Padfoot and Moony to Harry and Severus, had placed triple strength wards about the property that far eclipsed the old ones Severus had cast. They also were keyed into a silent alarm back at Auror Headquarters, so if one layer were breached the alarm would sound and a team of Aurors would come ready for battle.

Many of the Aurors were chagrined that Severus had been attacked within a stone's throw of one of their roving strike forces and they hadn't known until it was too late. They considered the Master Healer almost like one of their own, since he had completed their primary training program before deciding he wanted to be a Healer instead. Then too, he was also a hero for bringing down one of the most infamous wizards that had ever lived-Tom Marvolo Riddle. So no expense was to be spared this time around when it came to guaranteeing the safety of Severus and Harry.

Severus explained all of this to his small son while he helped Harry unpack, not wanting the child to feel uneasy or afraid now that he was back home again. Once they had put everything away, Severus took Harry into the bathroom and dabbed some special bruise balm on Harry's cheek. "There! That nasty bruise should be all gone by tonight. How does your face feel, Harry?"

"It's okay," his son said, wincing as his father gently probed around his bruised cheek with one finger.

"Humph! There's no sign of a fracture, just a bit of swelling." He ruffled Harry's hair. "Open your mouth for me, please. Let me check your teeth."

"Daddy, I'm fine!" protested Harry.

Severus just looked at him and Harry groaned and did as he had been ordered. The Master Healer deftly felt his son's lower jaw and the inside of his cheek, thankful he'd not cut it when Tobias had smacked him. "No teeth are loose, so that's good. All right, I guess you'll live."

Harry closed his mouth and said quietly, "Will you ever forgive Grandpa, Daddy?"

Severus hesitated a long moment before answering. His anger towards Tobias was still simmering and his first response would have been no. At the same time, though, he wanted his son to learn the importance of forgiveness, which was a lesson he had been taught by his mother, though he'd never quite managed it with Tobias. So he answered, "Right now, Harry, I'm very angry at your grandfather and I don't even want to talk about him. But maybe in a few weeks I can start thinking about forgiving him for what he did to you."

"Oh. Does that mean we can go see him again someday?"

"Maybe. I'm surprised you want to go back there after what happened."

"Grandpa's not so bad once you get to know him, Dad. We have fun together," answered his son. "I can almost beat him in checkers and once I won a game of gin rummy too. And he said he was gonna teach me how to carve Inky out of wood, only we left before he could do it."

"Your grandfather was going to teach you how to whittle?" Severus repeated, astonished.

"Yup. He promised. So we gotta go back there someday, Daddy. ‘Cause I want to make Inky and put him on a cord to wear. It's good luck, you know."

"Actually, I didn't." Severus chuckled. "We'll see, scamp. Right now how about you and I go and eat something for lunch?"

"Okay. Can I have peanut butter and marshmallow fluff?" Harry wheedled. He held up his arms and Severus picked him up.

"Yes, if you also eat carrot sticks or apples along with it," Severus bargained, knowing full well Harry had probably not been made to eat any kind of healthy snacks living with Tobias, who loved junk food.

"Aww, Dad!" Harry whined. "Do I have to? Grandpa never made me eat vegetables at lunch."

"I'm not your grandfather and we're home now, so that means you follow my rules," Severus said, giving his son a stern look. "What's the rule about snacks, Harry?"

The little boy rolled his eyes and recited, "I have to eat one healthy snack for lunch before I can have a sweet for dessert, and not more than two sweets a day."

"And what happens if you break that rule?"

"Then I don't get any sweets the next day. But why, Dad?"

"Because too much sugar makes a certain little scamp way too hyper." Severus replied. "So, will you have apples or carrots with your sandwich, Harry?"

Harry considered. "Apples. What can I have to drink?"

"Milk, no soda, otherwise you'll be bouncing off the wall," answered his father.

His son scowled. "Why is it that grown-ups can eat whatever they want?"

"Because we've earned the privilege," Severus smirked. Then he shifted his son on his hip. "You're almost too big for me to carry this way."

"Nuh-uh." Harry disagreed. "You said I'm small for my age, Daddy."

"Not if you keep eating sweets like you did at your grandpa's," teased Severus, giving the boy a light pat on the rear.

"I'm not fat!" Harry cried indignantly.

"No, but you might be if you keep eating all that sugar."

They went into the kitchen, which was spotless, and Severus made Harry his sandwich and cut up an apple into slices. He also made himself a sandwich of ham and cheese and ate a banana. He suspected Minerva had restocked the fruit and vegetables for him, because Albus was as bad as Harry when it came to sweets. He probably had a kitchen full of assorted chocolates and lemon drops and considered it healthy. Then again, Severus supposed that once you passed a century, you were entitled to whatever you damn well pleased.

Once they had finished their lunch, Severus suggested Harry take a nap while he read over some patient files.

"But I wanna go flying, Dad. I haven't been flying in forever!"

"Three months is not forever," his father chuckled.

"Well, it's like forever to me," Harry stated grumpily.

"Nap first, mister, you're getting cranky."

"Am not!" Harry made a face at him.

"No? Then what do you call that?" Severus made one right back at him. "Does that look happy to you?"

"Yeah. If you're a monster," the six-year-old giggled. Then he screwed up his face and growled. "Rrr-ow-err!"

"That couldn't frighten a baby mouse," Severus snorted. Then he roared loudly, making his son jump in pretend fear. "Now that's scary!"

"Ahhh! It's the big bad, mean and nasty, humongous, horrible Harry eater!" Harry jumped off the chair and pretended to hide under the table.

"Who eats naughty little boys named Harry for supper," said Severus in a deep and menacing tone, stalking the little boy around the kitchen. He cast a see-through glamour over himself to make himself appear to have shadowy claws and a large mouth full of teeth, horns, and a tail and bat wings. If you looked hard enough you could see the man beneath the seeming, he'd made the glamour that way so Harry wouldn't get too frightened the first time they'd played this game, back when Harry was two.

"Not me! Can't catch me!" Harry taunted. He crawled under the chairs and raced out the other side, escaping from the kitchen just as the horrible Harry eater snatched the back of his shirt with one clawed paw.

"Run, run, as fast as you can, but there's no escape from me!" snarled Sev. "And when I catch you, wretched child, down my throat you'll be, along with all the other Harry's!"

Harry shrieked, half in fear and half in glee and darted behind the sofa and the recliner. He remained very still as the humongous horrible Harry eater sniffed the air loudly and purred in the back of his throat, muttering about all the ways that he was going to cook Harry when he caught him. "Boil him, mash him, baked in a pie, stewed with tarragon, or fricasseed with a dragon's eye. Yum!"

"Ugh, gross!" Harry muttered from behind the sofa.

"Ah ha! Methinks I smell a child. Mmm . . .young, tender, juicy. Perfect for steaks and cutlets. Dipped in flour and fried in butter, is the tastiest treat ever!" Severus sniffed, then pretended to move about the room, looking for Harry. He slipped over to the sofa on cat's feet, then leaned over and tickled the back of his son's neck.

"Ahhh!"

"Got you!" the monster yelled triumphantly, scooping the little boy up into his arms.

Harry pretended to struggle, crying, "Oh, please Mr. Monster, don't eat me! I taste awful."

"Oh really? But you smell wonderful! Like a nice Sunday roast fresh out of the oven with gravy and roasted potatoes."

"But I don't taste good, honest!"

"Oh? And why is that?"

"Because I'm one of the good Harrys."

"You, good? Don't make me laugh. Why I'll bet you're the naughtiest child ever!"

"Am not! Taste me and see."

"All right. Let me nibble on your arm."

Harry giggled uncontrollably as Severus pretended to eat him, squirming all over his father's lap.

"Ugh! Yuck! Disgusting!" spat the monster. "You taste of sunshine and sweetness and light. Who wants a child that tastes like that? You're too good to eat and so . . ."

"You'll let me go?"

"Nope. I'll put you on the shelf and wait until you get ripe," snickered the monster, then he set Harry on the couch next to him and canceled the glamour. "And now, you clever imp, it's time for a nap."

"But Daddy, I'm not sleepy," Harry began, hiding a yawn.

"C'mere, you." Severus ordered, pulling the boy over to lie with his head in the Master Healer's lap. Then he began to run his fingers through Harry's hair over and over while singing a lullaby very softly. It was how he used to put the two-year-old to sleep long ago and it worked just as well now as it had then.

Before long, Harry had worked his way completely onto Severus's lap and curled up against him like a puppy, reveling in his father's strong arms and the soothing thump of his heart in his ears. He had missed being held this way so much! He nestled his head in the crook of Severus's shoulder and within moments was fast asleep.

Severus smiled tenderly down at the messy black head and kissed his son. "Love you forever, my Harry." Then he shifted the boy in his arms slightly and lay down as well. He was tired too, his body was still not up to par yet, and soon both father and son were fast asleep and dreaming pleasantly. It was good to be home at last.

Later on, refreshed from his nap, Severus did take Harry flying as he had promised. Harry had his own smaller broom which Severus had cast dozens of safety charms upon, but which he was not allowed to fly on his own without adult supervision. Harry had learned the hard way never to break that rule. The one time he had, Severus had taken his broom away for two weeks, grounded him, and spanked him too. He had been five then, and had gone flying with some other seven and eight year old's from the neighborhood while Severus was brewing a potion for work, and his father had been so furious when he discovered what Harry had done that once he'd caught up with his son, he'd spanked him right then and there, in front of the eight and seven year old's, much to Harry's mortification.

He had never forgotten it.

But he hoped the other kids had.

And he never disobeyed Severus's flying rule again.

They flew for an hour or so before Harry grew tired and Severus said he had to go over some charts, a few of his patients were pregnant and their due dates were coming up within the week. So he retreated to the peace and quiet of his office while Harry went into the playroom and played with his toy dragon figures and the haunted house playset Uncle Al had bought him last year, complete with real doors that opened and shut, spooky sounds and students and monsters.

He played contentedly for three hours until Severus called him to wash up for supper, which was roasted chicken and rice pilaf and corn tonight, one of their favorite dinners. For dessert there was chocolate pudding with whipped cream and oatmeal bars-you put an oatmeal bar on a plate and topped it with the pudding and whipped cream, it tasted delicious and was both sweet and somewhat nutritious too.

Severus allowed Harry to have two helpings of it to celebrate his homecoming, then put the rest away for tomorrow.

Later he regretted it when Harry was too restless and hyper to go to bed, and he had to endure an endless litany of "I want another story, Dad," or "I need a drink of water," or "I have to go potty," or "I'm not tired any more, why can't I stay up like you?"

At last an exasperated Severus told his son that if he couldn't go to bed, he should just stand in the corner until he was good and tired. The six-year-old pouted and sulked, "Fine, I will, anything's better than this dumb old bed! So there!"

"Mind that mouth, young man!" Severus pointed to the corner. "Nose to the wall and don't come out till I tell you." He set a small timer for fifteen minutes and settled down on the bed to wait.

At first, his son acted like he had St. Vitus's Dance, squirming, wriggling, and scratching his ankle with his left foot. Harry had always hated time out, because he disliked being still and staring at nothing but a blank wall, it was so boring! Severus scolded him twice for moving, but Harry was so wired he couldn't stay still until Sev got up and put his hands on the boy's shoulders.

"Now, freeze, mister!"

Harry obeyed, sticking his lower lip out. "I hate bedtime!"

"So do I, when you behave like this, Harry James Severus," said the Master Healer exasperatedly. "I knew I shouldn't have let you have seconds of dessert. That's the reason you can't fall asleep now."

"Is not. I'm just not tired," grumbled his son. "You don't have to stand here, Daddy. You can go back and sit down."

"No, not yet. Not till you prove to me you can stand still without twitching an eyelash."

Harry pouted but had no choice but to stand there, unmoving. It was so boring that he actually started yawning and his eyelids began to droop. When he saw Harry's head begin to nod, Severus scooped the boy up and put him in bed. The child fell asleep instantly and Severus left the light on just in case, tucked him in, and went back to going over files.

That's the last time I ever fall into a coma, Severus thought with a sigh. I've got paperwork coming out of my ears! Oh, the joys of being a certified Master Healer in the modern era! He quickly scribbled his signature on another surgical prep form and moved on to the next patient's chart.

It had been three weeks since Tobias's ill-fated visit to the pub. During that time he had gone back to the local AA meetings, something which he had neglected while watching Harry, and it was something which he knew he could not afford to do again. But other than that, he found his days and evenings were dull and lifeless compared to when his grandson had been there, filling the house with his noisy presence. He missed Harry more than he wanted to admit, even Carl noticed and remarked upon it one evening at work.

"So, Toby, when are you going to visit your grandson?"

"Dunno, Carl. Whenever Sev lets me, I guess."

"You still on the outs with him?" Carl replied in surprise. "Name of God, why? You'd think he'd be grateful, you taking his kid in all those months."

"You don't understand," Tobias sighed, rearranging a bunch of crates to make room for others coming into the warehouse. He found himself talking haltingly about his past drinking problem and what had occurred that Friday night and Saturday morning.

To his surprise, Carl was sympathetic, though he did say, "You really ought've known better, Toby, than to go and tempt the devil by going to a pub."

"Aye, Middleton, I've learned my lesson good now. Never again, as my son would say. One drink is one too many." He ran a hand through his short blond hair, wishing like hell he could somehow get in touch with Severus. Before he had gotten drunk, Tobias had intended to ask Sev for his address, but now that plan was shot all to hell.

"Perhaps now that you've started going back to the meetings, you can contact Sev again," suggested Carl.

"I would, if I knew his address and his phone number," Tobias replied despondently.

"Oh. Well, what about that friend of his that used to come by and take you two to visit Sev at the hospital? Al something or other? Wouldn't he know?"

Slowly, Tobias nodded. A lone glimmer of hope surfaced. "Yeah, he might. Thanks, Carl. I'll see if I can get a hold of him." Of course Dumbledore would know where Severus lived. The only question was whether or not the old wizard would be willing to give him the information.

The next morning, Tobias penned a hasty note to one Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and placed it in a small wrought iron stand near his garden gate. The stand had a slot in the shape of an owl that would hold a letter and Dumbledore had assured Tobias that if he ever needed to contact him, he should place a letter on the stand and it would be delivered.

Tobias watched out the kitchen window and sure enough, half an hour later a large brown owl flew down and plucked the letter from the stand and glided away. It was the first time he had ever seen the owl post at work, that he could remember anyhow.

The next day, instead of a letter in response, Dumbledore himself showed up. "I thought it best to come in person. I have since spoken with Severus and I'm not sure that he is amenable to speaking with you right now, Tobias."

"I know he doesn't want to see me, but I need to see him," Tobias argued. "Look, I know I screwed up, nobody knows that better than me. But I just want a chance to speak with him, because I don't want to go the rest of my life without knowing my grandson, or Sev either. I used to think what I wanted most after my wife died was to be left alone. But since Harry came, I don't feel that way any longer. I . . .I don't want to be the nasty hermit anymore, Albus. I want to be part of my family again, the family I threw away once before and never knew what I was missing. Will you help me?"

Dumbledore nodded, his blue eyes grave beneath his half-moon spectacles. "I will. Severus believes I was mistaken about you, you know. But I believe that you are sincere and that you deserve a second chance. Therefore, I will take you to St. Mungos, and find Severus for you. Hopefully, you can begin mending fences."

"If Severus is willing to hear me out."

"Ah, that is a problem I cannot help you with," the old wizard said sadly. "But Severus gets his stubbornness from you, so perhaps you know best how to get around it."

"Yeah, with a sledgehammer to the head," muttered the ex-sergeant wryly. "That stubbornness is bred in us Yorkshiremen, Albus. We drink it in along with our mother's milk."

"Ah, well, we all have our flaws, Tobias. Though that stubbornness probably saved Sev's life. I promised myself I would not get involved more than necessary, yet in this instance I feel you need a small nudge in the right direction." The crafty wizard grinned, looking for all the world like a small boy with a very naughty scheme up his sleeve. "So . . .take my arm, if you will, Mr. Snape."

Tobias did, thinking whimsically, We're off to see the wizard. I just hope he doesn't hex me all the way to bleeding Kansas.

* * * * * *

"What are you doing here?" Severus demanded frostily upon nearly running headfirst into Tobias as he was coming out of his office. The ice in his tone could have frozen a bonfire.

The older Snape actually looked uncomfortable, he avoided the other's eyes as if he were ashamed, which he was. It was something that Severus would have never failed to note if he hadn't been in a hurry and startled by his father's sudden appearance in his hospital ward. "Severus, I'd like to speak with you," Tobias began.

His son cut him off with a swift slashing gesture of one lean hand. "I have nothing further to say to you. I said all I'm going to say. Period, the end. Now, if you don't mind, I have a patient in labor that I need to attend to."

Tobias's jaw dropped. "You-you're going to deliver a baby?"

Severus gave him a withering look. "Why yes, Dad, because I am a doctor, and that's part of my job. Wizard Healers do nearly everything, like a Muggle GP, and some specialists. My particular specialty is spell damaged individuals, but I also handle routine pediatric cases and obstetrics. Now, if you don't mind . . ."

He made as if to push past Tobias, but his father lifted a hand. "Severus, I wanted to tell you that I truly regret what happened with Harry and I promise you it'll never happen again."

"You're right. It won't. Because you won't be seeing him."

"But what if I want to see him again?" Tobias said quickly. "He's my grandson, Sev."

Severus ground his teeth together. "I don't have time for this now. Whoever brought you here can just Apparate you right back where you belong-in the damn pub with all the other bloody alcoholics! Go home and drink yourself senseless. It'll be like old times then." Once more he tried to go around Tobias, but the older man refused to budge, and in fact was now glaring at him with a look Severus knew all too well. It was a look that would have sent him scurrying for the nearest closet to hide in when he was a boy. Now he absorbed it without flinching.

"Now you listen here, Severus Tobias Snape! I'm still your father, dammit, however much you might not like it, and that means you'll not speak to me that way. You've got some nerve, boy, talking to me with such disrespect."

His son sighed, reluctantly acknowledging that he had been out of line with those last cutting remarks. "All right, Dad. I spoke without thinking, but what I said is true. After what occurred three Saturdays ago, I can't trust you around my son. And until I say differently, you won't be allowed to come within ten feet of him. You caused enough damage to me, I won't let you do it to Harry."

"Severus, I was a drunken bum then. I'm not now. I started going back to the AA meetings and I've sworn off drinking for good and all."

"That's what you said last time."

"You're going to condemn me for one mistake, boy?" Tobias snapped, frustrated.

"Why not? It's what you used to do to me growing up," Severus flared. "Any mistake I ever made you threw in my face and made sure I never forgot it. Turnabout's fair play." He glared down at his father, for he was a good half an inch taller than the older man. "Now, unless you want to have a war right here in the corridor, Dad, I suggest you move the hell out of my way."

Tobias stepped back, for Severus held his wand in one hand, and he did not want to be hexed by his own stubborn son. "Go on then, but I'll be back to discuss this at another time."

"Fine! Tell Albus to quit meddling in my life, I know it was him that brought you here," snapped the Master Healer, pulling on his gloves and striding down the corridor.

Tobias followed at a discreet distance, curious for the first time about his son's occupation.

Severus reached a large white door labeled Labor and Delivery #3 and muttered a quick disinfecting and sterilizing charm before waving his wand at the door. It opened and he disappeared inside.

Tobias stared at the closed door in dismay, wondering what else he could do to convince his son that he truly wished to make amends. Before he could move, a young intern wearing hospital whites came pushing a cart with a metal bath and loads of fresh towels and scissors and salve on it towards him.

"Excuse me, sir. I need to get these into Healer Snape stat."

Tobias blinked. "Oh, sorry. Uh, you're a doctor here too?"

"Yes, but I'm an Apprentice Healer, doing my final year of internship. My name's Amy Turner. I'd shake your hand, but I need to maintain a sterile field. Are you one of the patient's relatives? If you'd like to observe the birth, you can watch through here, in the OB office next door. I know Healer Snape only allows two relations inside the delivery room, and one of those is usually the husband and most times the other is the woman's mother or other female relation."

She pointed her wand at a wooden door and it unlocked and swung open.

Tobias went where she gestured and found himself in a tastefully appointed wood paneled office with a huge desk and a leather swivel chair and a window running the entire length of the office.

"There. You can observe the whole thing from here, it's a one way viewing spell, so you can see and hear it all but the patient won't ever know you're there. It's what we Apprentices use when we need to listen in and take notes on an examination but don't want to distress the patient. Go on, step right up. Is this your first time observing, sir?"

"Uh, no," Tobias managed to reply. "I've seen one birth before this. My son."

"Oh well then, you'll know what to expect, which is more than poor Dan and Marian will, since this is their firstborn." Amy said with a soft laugh. "Good thing they've got Healer Snape doing the delivery, he's the preferred obstetric Healer on the patient preference poll."

"You people rate your doctors on a poll?"

"Uh-huh. Oh, we don't tell them, of course!" she giggled. "But we all know who rates what and where. And Healer Snape, besides being #1 on the Sexiest Single Male Healer poll, is rated as one of the best Healers at St. Mungos. Anyhow, I'd better scoot, before he gets in a snit, he hates tardy interns."

Then the Apprentice was out the door and closing it behind her before he could respond. Tobias chuckled softly as he saw the Apprentice enter the delivery room with the cart.

"Put that over off to the side, Miss Turner," Severus instructed calmly. "I won't be needing it just yet."

"Yes, Healer," Amy said respectfully, moving the cart off to the side as he had indicated.

Tobias was amazed. He could see and hear them as if he were right in the room, almost like watching a TV show. Some of the things they could do with magic truly were incredible. He leaned against the window and watched his son take charge of the action going on in the delivery room.

Severus moved towards the young woman seated upon the large raised bed, which was draped in clean sterile white sheets. She looked to be about twenty-five with short curly brown hair and dark eyes that were filled with pain. She was wearing a short skimpy blue hospital robe that tied gently in front. Her husband was standing next to her, allowing her to hold his hand, though from the expression on his face, he was regretting it. Marian grimaced as another contraction shot through her.

"Good afternoon, Marian," Severus greeted his patient pleasantly. "How are we doing here?"

"Uh . . .okay, I guess." Marian panted. "But the contractions . . .oooh! They're really starting to bloody hurt . . .!" She winched her hand onto her husband's who gasped.

"Uh, honey . . .do you have to grab my hand so hard?" he whimpered.

"Shut up, Dan!" his loving wife growled. "Just be glad it's not another part of you I'm grabbing. Because I swear to God this is the last time I'm going through this." She moaned as another contraction rippled through her. "Merlin, Healer Snape, can I please have that pain block spell now? Please?"

"You may, in just a minute," Severus replied, waving his wand over her. "Let me see how the baby's doing first."

Suddenly a loud ka-thump! ka-thump! was heard in the room, and both parents glanced around in alarm.

"What's that?" cried Dan.

"That, Mr. Amberly, is your baby's heartbeat," answered Severus, tilting his head slightly and listening.

"Is it normal?" asked the mother.

"Oh yes. Nothing to worry about there." Severus reassured her, then he gently felt her belly to determine the baby's position. "Good. The baby's positioned correctly, head down and seems to be quite impatient to get born."

"Well, so am I, believe me." Marian said, gasping. "Oh my, that was a big one! Healer Sev, can I have that spell now?"

"Not quite yet, Marian. I need you to walk about a bit more first, the baby's not presenting as low as I'd like, and walking will make it move down more rapidly. Come, Dan, help me get her up." Severus gently took the elbow of the laboring mother, whose forehead was beaded with sweat, and helped her to rise.

Then he and her husband began to walk slowly about the room, Marian supported between them. Severus talked soothingly to her as they walked, monitoring the baby's progress with a spell, explaining to the mother in a soft even tone what was happening inside her.

The contractions were coming more rapidly now and twice they had to halt and brace the poor woman, who was whimpering and sobbing. "Oh, sweet Merlin! I think I'm gonna die!"

"You're doing fine, Marian," Severus rubbed her back comfortingly. "Now breathe like I taught you. That's right!"

He made the woman complete one circuit of the room before bringing her back to the bed. Then he ran a repeat diagnostic. "All right, the baby's head is down. Can you feel the difference?"

Marian nodded. "It feels like I'm about to explode."

"Yes, you're just about ready for that spell." Severus pulled out his wand.

"Wait, Healer Snape!" Amy cried. "She's not full dilated. I just ran a quick check and she's only eight and a half centimeters."

"What difference does that make?" cried the expectant mother. "Just cast the damn spell, Snape!"

"Easy, Marian. Eight and a half centimeters isn't enough. Trust me. You need to be ten in order to start pushing."

"Well, what am I supposed to do about it?"

"Relax. You don't do anything. That's my job," Severus answered, and pointed his wand and spoke some words in Latin Tobias didn't understand.

A bluish-white light shot out, enveloping the laboring woman's pelvis for a brief instant.

"There. How's that feel?" queried the physician.

"Better," Marian panted. "Now are you going to do the spell?"

"Yes. Lean forward just a bit, I'm going to touch the base of your spine with my wand and you should feel a bit of a twinge and then . . ." Severus suited action to words as he spoke, tapping the base of the woman's spine gently with his wand and chanting another spell.

"Merlin be praised! I'm numb! Oh, thank you, Healer Snape!" She looked as if she were about to start weeping again.

"Don't thank me yet," Severus remarked, giving her a half-amused smile. "It's not over. Now, even though you can't feel the pain of the contractions, you will feel pressure and that's going to tell you when you have to bear down. What are you feeling now?"

"Uh . . .not much." Then she frowned. "Umm . . .I think that pressure you talked about, doctor? I'm feeling it."

"Good. Right on schedule. Come on over here," Severus led her over to an odd looking padded chair that Tobias thought rather resembled a torture device. The chair legs were metal and extremely high and the bottom was an odd assortment of straps and a gaping hole in the center.

"What-what in hell's that?" asked the husband.

"That is a birthing chair," Severus answered. "It's the latest in medical tech and ninty-five percent of women in labor swear it makes the delivery much easier."

"Easier? Oh God, put me on it," Marian urged. "Hurry!"

Severus pointed his wand and spoke a spell to levitate the woman up on to the chair. The armrests were padded and made of some kind of sturdy rubber so Marian could grip them tightly, for which Dan was immensely grateful. There were also soft rubber footrests for her to brace her feet.

"When can I push? Now?"

"When I say and not before," answered the Healer, running a quick diagnostic on the baby. It was normal. "Ten centimeters, head correct, good presentation . . ." he turned to his intern. "This should be a textbook delivery, Miss Turner." He straightened and said, "All right, Marian. First give me four deep breaths. Like so." He demonstrated.

She copied him.

"Excellent. One. Two. Three. Four. Well done! Now, focus on that pressure you're feeling in your lower abdomen and on three. One. Two. Three. Push!"

Marian obeyed, bearing down hard.

"Don't forget to breathe," Severus coached. "Good job!" He checked the baby's position again. It was halfway down the birth canal.

"How's my baby, Doc?"

"Doing fine, and so are you. Now relax a little, I want you to push when you feel the next contraction." He turned to Dan, who was hovering nervously at his wife's elbow. "Dan, you might want to massage the back of Marian's neck and shoulders so she won't be so tense."

"How can I not be tense at a time like this, Healer Sev?" muttered Marian irritably.

"Think about what it will be like to finally hold your baby," Severus said softly.

"You've been through this too, right?" asked Dan, gently massaging his wife.

"Yes. I delivered my son. Lily wouldn't have anyone else do it but me," replied Severus. Even though I wasn't married to her at the time, she insisted I be her attending. It was the first time I ever did a delivery all on my own, and I was as nervous as she was, the Master Healer recalled with a smile. James nearly passed out, Lily slapped him, and I was so damn nervous I just barely caught Harry. Definitely one for the record books, Snape.

It was over an hour later, however, when Severus told his patient to give him one more good push and then the baby was born.

He caught the child in his arms and patted the little back twice to clear the nasal passages, performed a quick cleaning charm to remove most of the birth fluids and suddenly the cat-like wail of a newborn was heard.

"Congratulations, Mum and Dad, you're the proud parents of a baby girl," Severus announced, smiling broadly. "And she's going to be a heartbreaker, right sweetheart?"

The baby wailed loudly and Marian held out her arms. Severus gently placed the baby in them, and the new parents hugged and exclaimed and cried over the tiny miracle.

"Well, Miss Turner? Not so bad for your first delivery, right?" he asked the apprentice in a very soft tone as she cleaned up the new mother.

"Sir, I almost passed out," whispered Amy, flushing redly. She was certain he was going to order her out of the room in disgust.

Instead he laughed. "Don't feel too bad, Miss Turner. It's a common occurrence at your first delivery, even if you're not the husband."

He allowed the new mother fifteen minutes to bond with her child before he gently took the baby away to give her a warm bath, diaper her and swaddle her in a velvet soft pink blanket, using the items on the cart Amy had brought in earlier.

That gave Amy time to deliver the afterbirth and freshen up the exhausted mother.

"She's so beautiful," Marian kept repeating softly.

"She is indeed," agreed Severus, carrying the tiny bundle over to her mum. The baby was whimpering softly. "There now, don't fuss. Here's your mum."

Marian took the baby and held her while Severus summoned a clipboard and a quill. "And what are we going to call the little lady? Have you decided on a name yet, or shall I just call her Baby Amberly for now?"

Marian and Dan exchanged glances and then they bent over the baby, whispering. In a few minutes, they straightened and Marian said, smiling, "Uh, Healer Sev, we'd like to name her after you, if you don't mind? Her name is Severina Elizabeth Amberly."

Severus blinked, for this was the first baby he'd ever had named after him before. "I . . .I'm honored. Thank you." He wrote the baby's new name on the chart with a flourish. Then he smiled down at the newest member of the wizarding world. "Welcome, Severina. Merlin bless you and God keep you, child."

All four of them were grinning delightedly and so was Tobias, watching from the window. Seeing little Severina get born made him recall Severus's birth, which had been nowhere near as quick as this one, or so it had seemed. Still, he could remember quite well the feeling of utter joy and awe and protectiveness he'd felt when he first saw his baby. He had loved little Severus with a fierce indulgent love then. And he still did. Just the way he loved Harry. It was also the first time he had ever seen his son as something more than just a smartass wizard with a wand.

Watching Severus deliver the baby had shown Tobias that his son was a very competent and compassionate individual, one who was, as Amy and Dumbledore had said, the top in his field. It was not an idle boast, but the simple truth. Tobias looked at his son, who was still speaking to the new parents, and felt a surge of pride suffuse him.

He had to find a way to communicate that to Severus. Turning around, he took a piece of parchment from the desk and dug in his pocket for a pen. Then he began to write quickly. If Severus refused to listen to him speak, then perhaps he would read what Tobias could not say.

* * * * * *

Two hours later, Severus returned to his office for his lunch break, where he planned on working on some more pending cases, he had a surgery and was on call tomorrow. On the top of the pile of charts he found a folded piece of parchment with his name on it.

"What's this? Another thank you from a patient?" he muttered. Patients were always leaving him small tokens of their gratitude. He unfolded the parchment.

Dear Sev,

I figured I'd better write this now while I had the chance, before you summoned some kind of wizard security to throw me out of here. I want you to know that I watched you deliver that couple's baby today and I thought you were an excellent doctor, just what they needed. I know I've never said this to you before, probably because I'm a hard-nosed perfectionist bastard, just like MY old man, but you made me very proud today, Sev. Yeah, I know what you're thinking-does he really mean it, or is he just saying it to get back in my good graces so he can see his grandson? And why the hell is he saying it now when he never did before?

To answer those questions-I really mean it, Sev. It's not a trick or a line, it's the truth. I'm sorry it took me this long to see it, son. Your mother always told me I should stop criticizing and start opening my eyes-then maybe I'd see what was right in front of my nose. Pity I never listened to her back then. I was selfish and drunk and I thought of myself as a failure, because I couldn't get a decent job and whatnot. I took my frustration out on you because you were there and an easy target and it was wrong, but there's nothing I can do about it now except say sorry and hope that someday you can forgive me a little. If not, I'll understand, because I had a hard time forgiving mine for doing basically the same thing to me.

I guess I never said I was proud of you because I didn't want to be shown up by my own son. You were brilliant, hell you were smarter than me even before you went to that damn wizard school, and I knew it. I should have been pleased as punch, but instead I just felt . . . inadequate, I think is the word I want here. Stupid, right? Well, add that to everything else and that's why I never said anything. It was no way for me to act, I can say it now, because I see that now, when I couldn't then.

God knows I screwed up good with you and I can't blame you if you hate my guts, Sev. But I'm grateful that you let me know Harry, he's a great kid, too smart and a little mouthy, just like his father, but nobody's perfect. I'm sorry I ever hurt him, I'd like him to know that, since you won't let me see him. I know you told me that it's too late for us to mend things between us, but I just want you to remember one thing, Sev.

Your mum always used to say this to me when I got all mad over something. She said, "It's never too late to apologize and start over, Toby."

I did that with her a hell of a lot and should've with you.

Well, I'm doing it now.

Think about it, okay?

I hope you read this and don't just chuck it in the nearest bin. I lost my family once because I was an arsehole and I'd really rather not repeat it again.

Your father,

Tobias

Severus read the letter four times before he actually comprehended what his father was saying. To say he was shocked speechless would be an understatement. Never in his life would he have thought his father, of all people, would humble himself and actually admit he was wrong. All throughout his childhood, Tobias had always been right, no matter what. He was right even when he was wrong, a thing that had caused much friction between him and his son. It had always been Tobias's way or no way at all, the stubborn ex-sergeant didn't know the meaning of the word compromise.

And never ever had he told Severus that he was proud of him.

Until now.

"Son-of-a-bitch, old man!" he swore furiously. "You tell me this now-now when you should've told me this ten years ago, fifteen years ago, when it would've meant so much more! I used to pray for a kind word from you, damn it, and all I ever heard was that I was no good, a smartass, and a freak. But now you tell me-now, when I couldn't give a Goddamn?"

He swallowed hard, because he knew deep down that it wasn't true. He still cared, still craved what all children craved from their parents, no matter how old they were, approval and recognition. Tobias's simple words had touched him deeply, loathe as he was to admit it.

He half crumpled the letter in his hands, awash with anger and resentment and sorrow. Damn you, damn you, damn you! This was the last thing he needed. To be made to realize that the demon of his childhood was but a man after all-a flawed human being who could admit his mistakes. Could perhaps learn from them, enough so he wouldn't repeat them with the next generation.

It's never too late to apologize and start over.

That had been one of his mother's maxims, he knew because she had said it to him whenever he got into an argument with Lily or Remus or even James and Sirius. For he too possessed the Snape temper and it had often led him into saying things he didn't mean. Or doing them as well.

The Master Healer put his head in his hands and groaned.

I can't deal with this, not now. I've too much to handle with all the backlog of patients and Harry starts school in another week and a half. I need time, time to think, time to make sure that if I let Tobias back into my life, he won't try and run it the way he used to, and that he won't hurt Harry. That's the most important thing right now, that my son is safe and happy.

Yet Harry liked Tobias, he reminded himself. Harry actually wanted to spend time with the man, proof that whatever Tobias had done hadn't harmed his child the way he'd feared. Perhaps someday, like in a month or so, he would be willing to test Tobias, and allow him to see Harry as long as he was there.

He looked at the letter again, and then, on an impulse, he folded it and put it away in the top drawer of his desk. He knew Tobias had been expecting him to throw it away, but Severus wanted proof that Tobias had offered an olive branch to him, and also he was just contrary enough to do the opposite of what Tobias thought.

Then he rubbed a hand across his eyes and whispered, "Okay, Mum, I'll take your advice. It worked once, maybe it will again. But not now. He'll have to wait until I'm ready, for once."

He then took a drink of water, he usually kept a glass on his desk, and started filling out the birth certificate form for the Amberly's new daughter.

* * * * * *

Later, Severus and Harry went out to Harry's favorite restaurant, Lazy Joe's, for dinner. Harry loved their hamburgers and Severus liked their chicken and rib platter. While they waited for their dinner to arrive, Harry glanced about the restaurant at the other patrons, and to his surprise spotted two people he knew just being seated.

"Dad! Dad, look! It's Padfoot and Moony!" Harry shrilled, grabbing Severus's elbow and pointing across the room.

"Harry, lower your voice," Severus ordered, for people were turning around to look at them. He could feel his face start to flush in embarrassment. "You don't shout like that."

But Harry was so excited at seeing two of their oldest friends that he paid no attention to Sev's reprimand. Instead he stood on his chair and waved frantically, yelling, "Hey, Uncle Sirius and Uncle Remus! Over here!"

The two Aurors looked up and smiled upon seeing their enthusiastic nephew again, whom they hadn't seen in over three months, and rose to make their way over to the Snapes' table. Other people turned about to stare at the child, some wearing amused indulgent expressions and others frowning in disapproval.

Severus was mortified. "Harry James Severus!" he hissed, giving his son his best patented glare. "Sit down this instant and quit behaving like a little hooligan! You know better than to stand on chairs and shout across a room, young man."

Harry gulped and flashed his father an apologetic grin before sitting down. "Sorry, Dad. I forgot."

Severus scowled at the little boy. "Well, don't forget again, or else this will be the last time I take you anywhere. If you're going to act like a two-year-old, we might as well just stay home and spare me the embarrassment."

Harry hung his head. "M' sorry."

"Hey, Sev, what're you yelling at the kid for?" asked Sirius, coming up to Harry and swinging him about before setting him down. "How ya doing, Harry?"

"Fine, Padfoot. ‘Cept Dad's mad at me for jumping on the chair and calling for you."

Sirius grinned. "Ah, he'll get over it."

"Black, don't encourage his bad behavior."

"Aww, c'mon, Severus. He's a little kid, give him a break."

"Did your mother ever let you jump up and down on chairs and scream at the top of your lungs, Sirius?" Severus pointed out.

"Uh, well . . ."

"The answer to that is definitely not," chuckled Remus. "Casseopia Black wrote the book on proper manners."

"Tell me about it," grumbled Sirius. "And she made me memorize every one."

"Looks like you forgot most of them," snorted Severus.

"Who wouldn't?"

"How are you doing, Sev?" asked Remus, coming over to clap the other on the shoulder. "You look good for a man who was asleep for three months."

"He's right. Maybe I ought to try it," joked Sirius. "A three month nap might be just the thing I need to attract the ladies."

"Why? You don't think you attract enough of them as it is?" Severus asked dryly.

"Yeah, but they're a little older than what I'd like, Sev." He seated himself casually in the chair next to the Master Healer. "So how's the practice? Get any interesting patients lately, Snape?"

"I delivered a baby this morning."

"Oh? Boy or girl?" asked Remus, sitting next to Harry. The werewolf still had blond hair and dark eyes.

"It was a girl," Harry put in. "And guess what, Moony? They named her after my dad. They called the baby Severina Elizabeth Amberly. Isn't that funny?" He began to giggle hysterically.

"Really? They named the baby after you?" Sirius looked astonished. "Poor kid."

"Shut up, Black," growled Severus, pretending to be angry.

"Okay, okay, it was just a joke. Merlin's beard!" he glanced sidelong at Harry, who was still giggling a little behind his hand. "So, what brings you here?"

"Harry wanted to eat here tonight," answered the Potions Master.

"So did I," laughed Remus. "They've got the best ribeye steak and potatoes."

"And hamburgers," Harry added. "That's what I'm having." He looked at the two Aurors. "Hey, why don't you sit with us, Uncle Sirius?"

"Sure, kiddo. Y'mind, Sev?"

"If I did, I'd have said so," drawled the doctor, his dark eyes sparkling. "I have no trouble asking a person to leave if they're annoying me. I say it to patient's relatives all the time."

"You do?" Remus raised an eyebrow. "You just tell them to get out?"

"Yes. Sometimes they make the patient worse just by being there, and that's usually when I tell them to go and wait in the waiting room till my exam is over. Some of the children actually behave better for me when their mum or dad isn't in the room with them. One child whined and fussed for me every time I saw him for his school checkup when his mum was there, but once I told her to leave, he settled down and let me do what I needed. He was acting up so she'd feel sorry for him and buy him something, I think."

"Smart kid," chuckled Sirius. "Too bad that didn't work with my mother."

"It won't work with Dad either," Harry informed them, and the two Aurors laughed.

The waitress returned and asked Sirius and Remus for their order, and once she had taken it, snapped her fingers and drinks appeared on the table. "There you go, gentlemen! Enjoy!"

"Thanks! But I'd enjoy her more," murmured Sirius lasciviously.

"Black, for Godsake!" scolded Severus. "My son's right here! Kindly wait till you're alone to start eyeing up the waitress."

"Oops. Sorry, Sev," the other apologized, wearing a guilty look very similar to Harry's previously.

Severus rolled his eyes and Remus sighed and whispered, "He's like Peter Pan. He never really grew up."

"How do you stand it, Moony? You're his partner, you work with him on a daily basis."

"Uh . . .I count to ten a lot, Sev. And sometimes I threaten to make him stand in the corner if he doesn't behave."

Severus burst out laughing. "You must be intimate with the wall a lot then, Black."

"Aww, stuff it, Sev!" Sirius retorted. "Remus might be senior to me, but that don't make him the boss of me." Then he added, at the werewolf's glare, "Not off duty, that is."

Harry nudged Sirius. "Don't feel bad, Padfoot. Daddy makes me stand in the corner too sometimes. I hate it though! It's so boring, I'd almost rather get spanked."

Sirius pretended to wince. "Not if you had my dad, kid. He used to wallop me with the business end of a slipper and it hurt like the dickens."

Harry's eyes widened. "Merlin, that sounds awful! Dad would never do that to me, right?" he eyed Severus warily.

"I might, if a certain little boy doesn't mind his manners," Severus threatened lightly.

"No, please! I'll be good!" Harry whimpered.

"Only kidding, scamp," his father smirked. "You know my rule with spankings."

Sirius's jaw dropped. "Whaddaya have a rule for everything, Sev?"

"Most things, Sirius. It saves me a lot of aggravation and this way he knows exactly what to expect if he misbehaves, no surprises."

"Humph. But what kind of rule d'you have for a spanking?"

"Tell him, Harry."

Harry cleared his throat. "You only get spanked if you did something terrible bad, like leave the house without permission or, uh, fly your broom by yourself. And a spanking is never more than six swats and Dad only uses his hand."

Sirius whistled. "That's fair. Better than what my mum or dad used to dish out."

"Mine too," added Remus. "Though my parents didn't hit as much as the Blacks. Or the Potters. Seemed like James was always getting walloped for something."

Severus snorted. "And that surprises you, Moony? It was James, the kid who invented the word mischief. Thank God Harry didn't inherit that side of him. Much."

"Yeah, but boy did we have some fun, eh, Moony?" Sirius laughed wickedly.

Remus groaned. "Oh yes, it was real fun spending every week in detention, Sirius."

"Thank Merlin I never hung around you that much in school," Severus said feelingly. "I'd never have graduated Hogwarts."

"Don't ask him how he did it," Remus said, and Sirius mock punched him in the arm.

"I graduated the Auror Academy with honors, Moony. And that's what counts."

Before Remus could reply, the waitress returned with their food and they all stopped talking and started eating, for the food at Lazy Joe's was something to be savored, not wasted.

Severus ate slowly, enjoying the tender chicken and ribs, and the company as well. Perhaps he and Harry should go out to eat more often. You never knew when you might run into some old friends.

Harry bit into his burger and sighed in bliss. He could eat here every night. But the best thing was Moony and Padfoot showing up to eat here too. Then it was almost the way it was two years ago, when his mum was alive, and they would all eat dinner together on Sundays. Harry missed that and thought that perhaps his dad might be talked into going back to it, until he remembered that sometimes Sev worked on the weekend. But at least he was able to see Remus and Sirius now, and that was better than never seeing them at all.

Good things come to those who wait had been a favorite saying of Lily's.

Perhaps, the six year old thought, if he waited long enough, his grandfather would be allowed to come visit. Harry hoped so, for it wasn't good for anyone to be alone, unless you were one of those bad masked men.

Harry Potter was mad clear through. It was the end of the first week of school, and Severus had promised him that if he did all his homework and cleaned his room, he would take him to the park to play with some of his friends. But instead Harry was stuck at home while Severus spoke with Uncle Matt about patients and surgery. This always seemed to happen right before Sev was supposed to do something fun with Harry, and the six-year-old was sick of it.

Sometimes I wish my daddy wasn't such a good doctor, then maybe people would leave him alone on the weekends like they do other dad's. Harry sulked, kicking a chair leg in the kitchen. It wasn't fair. They were supposed to go to the park before twelve and now it was one o'clock. But he didn't dare go back into his father's office and pester him again about leaving.

When he'd done that the first time, bursting into the room singing, "This Old Man," which was a song he'd learned from Lily as a toddler, at the top of his lungs, Severus had snapped, "For the love of Merlin, Harry, can't you see I'm talking here?" He waved the two-way magic mirror pointedly at his son. "Uncle Matt and I are discussing a patient, now quit making a racket and go into the den."

"But D-a-a-d," his son whined. "You promised we could go to the park after I finished my room."

"Yes, I know that, Harry, but right now I'm busy with a patient and I can't hear myself think with the way you were shouting."

"Wasn't shouting. I was singing!"

"It sounded more like screeching from where I'm sitting," Severus commented. "Now, please go and wait for me outside, I should be finished shortly."

"But why?"

"Because this is a private conversation not for a little boy's ears. Now go away and go play, color, watch TV, read, anything but disturb me for the next hour or so!" Severus ordered, pointing towards the door.

"But that's too long, Daddy! I wanna go to the park now!"

Severus set down the mirror, ignoring Matthew's chuckle. "Harry, if you don't leave me in peace right this minute, we won't be going to the park at all and you'll be spending twenty minutes in the corner for not listening. Is that what you want?"

"No sir."

"Then do as I tell you, Mr. Potter."

So Harry had left, pouting and dragging his feet and slamming the door behind him in a temper. This day was turning out to be the most boring and disappointing day ever.

He was mad at the stupid patients his daddy had to discuss. Why couldn't they go and see another Healer? There were lots of them at St. Mungos, it wasn't like his dad was the only doctor there. He was also mad at his dad for not telling Uncle Matt to wait until he got back from the park to discuss medical stuff. He'd promised Harry first, after all. It wasn't fair! Why were grown-ups more important than kids? Harry had been good all day and going to the park was supposed to be his treat.

But now it looked like it would be wasted.

Harry kicked the table leg again, not caring if Severus heard and yelled at him for attacking the furniture. He kicked the chair legs too for good measure, then he stomped into his playroom and knocked over the tower of blocks he'd been building as well. It felt good to stomp things sometimes. He wished he could stomp on the magic mirror, then nobody would be able to call his daddy and they could be left alone in peace to enjoy the weekend.

He tried to do what Severus had said and just read a book or draw until the Master Healer had finished with his conversation, but he'd already read all of his books, even the new ones Tobias had bought him, over and over. He tried to draw, but it came out terrible, and he threw his crayon down in disgust after coloring for only five minutes. This sucks! He thought rebelliously. I'm so bored it'd be fun watching the grass grow or flobberworms move.

Thinking of the flobberworms made him recall the one time he was in Severus's lab and had helped his dad prepare flobberworms for a potion, cutting them into equal pieces. It had been fun then. Not like today.

The sulky boy left the playroom and headed back down the hall to the office, wondering if his father were done yet. But no, he could still hear Severus talking. Harry felt like singing another rendition of "This Old Man" and then adding in "Hey Diddle Diddle" for variety.

Huffing in annoyance, Harry headed back up the hallway, passing the potions lab as he did so. Normally, he wouldn't even have considered going in there, he knew the lab was forbidden territory, unless Severus were in it with him. His father had told him many times while brewing that there were dangerous substances in here and he could get badly hurt, maybe even killed, if he were to touch or play with them. Therefore, he was never to enter the lab without an adult.

But today, he was so bored and so angry at Severus that he chose to forget that rule and he pushed open the door to the lab.

As soon as he entered, a set Lumos spell brightened up the room. It was spotless, almost like the exam rooms in Severus's medical office. The Master Healer was obsessed with cleanliness and organization. The stainless steel lab table used to chop ingredients was so shiny you could see your face in it. It had a small sink built into it which would run hot or cold water on command. Knives and small scrapers and other tools to cut, pound, and dice were in the drawer on the table. On top of it rested several mortars and pestles. There was even a stand with different sizes of stirrers, measuring spoons, and cups and beakers.

Along the back and sides were several large cabinets, some were locked and some weren't. Those contained all the potion ingredients. There was another large shelf that held various sizes and types of cauldrons, from a tiny thimble sized gold one to a huge wrought iron black one.

Next to the lab table was a large blackened holder for the big cauldrons. Harry knew there were matches somewhere and small blocks of wood starter, which were all Sev needed to start a fire, or he could use magic and usually did, unless he needed the fire to be a wood burning one.

Harry walked quickly over to the shelf of cauldrons and chose a rather small one, large enough to carry without dropping it. He lugged it over to the long table and set it down. Then he dragged over a padded stool as well. If his dad were so busy, he'd just go to work too and show his father that he could make his own potion. How hard could it be, after all?

There was a bookshelf behind the desk where Severus kept mostly all of his potions texts and Harry trotted over to it, glanced briefly at the titles, chose one at random, something about excellent elixirs, and brought it to the table. Then he flipped through it, found a recipe for creating a potion that would make you fly and started reading the list of ingredients.

The list was long and had many things on it Harry couldn't read, or didn't know what they were, so he skipped those. Once he'd recalled most of the ingredients-did it really matter if he had them all?-he walked over to the cabinets and tried to find them.

Now Severus, neat freak that he was, had organized all of his potion ingredients according to type and alphabetized them, making it easy for him to find or summon them. So Harry didn't have a problem finding most of them, though some things were in cabinets that were locked tight (the dangerous and poisonous ones) and he couldn't open them.

But he gathered what he could find, and brought them over to the table. Then he started to chop everything that looked like it needed to be chopped, like the hawk's liver and the marigold stems and he ground the blue sylph wings up. He threw all of it into the cauldron, measured out some water and added it, then began to stir it lazily. He let the potion, it looked awful nasty, sit for a few minutes while he ground up some weird looking roots and chopped some green acanthus. He had just about finished that and was adding them to the cauldron, stirring away and humming, when he heard his daddy calling.

"Oh no! It must be time to go!" he thought in a panic, and went to jump off the stool. His arm knocked over several jars though and a glass beaker, which rolled off the table and shattered on the floor.

The sound of breaking glass was like a lodestone, and before Harry could move, he was still half on the stool, the door to the lab opened.

"What the devil was that?" Severus demanded, coming into the lab. He stopped dead upon catching his son red-handed, playing about with his potion ingredients, glass scattered all over the floor at his feet, and a sharp little knife in one hand.

The Master Healer's eyes blazed and he gave his intrepid and disobedient child a look that would've frightened a Hungarian Horntail.

"Harry James Severus Potter! What the bloody blazes are you doing in here touching my potions?" he said in an exceedingly soft but deadly tone.

Harry froze, trembling, and started to stammer a reply, but no words came out. He knew he was in serious trouble.

"Well?" Severus demanded, advancing on him. "Answer me!"

Harry looked up at the very irate figure of his father and knew he was in so much trouble that he considered trying to run away, but Severus was blocking the only egress from the lab and the look on his face was enough to freeze the disobedient little child in his tracks.

"Uh, hi Daddy." he tried for his best puppy-dog look, the one that could usually get him out of trouble, but Severus wasn't impressed. He continued to glower down on his son, and Harry's heart sank to his shoes. He knew perfectly well he'd been awfully terribly naughty sneaking in here and touching Sev's potions, and now he wished he hadn't lost his temper and disobeyed one of his dad's most important rules. Oh, how he wished that now!

"Well, young man?" Severus crossed his arms and gave Harry a very disapproving and disappointed look. "I'm waiting for your answer."

Harry swallowed, then said in a very soft voice, "I . . .came in here ‘cause . . . I was mad and-and bored . . .You were never coming out of the office, Dad, and I got sick and tired of waiting so . . .I came in here and-and tried to make a flying potion."

"So I see. You deliberately disobeyed me and tried to do something you knew was wrong, correct?"

"Yes sir," Harry stared at the floor, blinking hard. He could tell that Severus was very angry and disappointed and he hated it when his daddy spoke in that tone, it made him feel so guilty.

"Look at me, please," Severus ordered in an even tone, trying very hard not to raise his voice, though he felt like shouting at the child. He waited until Harry had lifted his head and looked up at him before continuing. "Why did I tell you not to come in here without me, Harry?"

"Umm . . .'cause there's lots of, um . . .dangerous things in here and if you don't know what you're doing, you could get hurt really bad."

"Or killed if a potion created a toxic gas or an explosion," Severus reiterated. "You knew that and still you chose to come in here and go through my stores and make God knows what out of them. Merlin's beard!" He peered over at the smelly brown goop that was supposed to be Harry's flying potion. Then he banished it with a word. He knew that none of the ingredients in the unlocked cabinets were poisonous or deadly, at the most they'd have given Harry a severe stomachache if he'd drank the potion. But he was not about to tell that to his rebellious offspring.

Another thing nagged at the back of his mind, why had the alarm not sounded? Until he recalled that he'd not reset it after he had finished brewing his Headache Remedy that afternoon, normally he did that as soon as he left, but Matthew had called with a question on the mirror, and he'd gone to get Abigail Sanders's chart, intending to return after a few minutes and reset the alarm, but the ten minutes had turned into an hour when Matthew told him the test results on the young woman were abnormal and they needed to discuss treatment methods right away, because delaying Abigail's medical care could prove fatal. So this was partially his fault, for not resetting the alarm, though Harry had known better.

"And not only that, but you're using a knife and you've broken a beaker too! I can't believe you would do such a thing, Harry. You know my rule about touching knives and glass containers, young man, don't you?"

"Yes sir." Harry laid the knife down on the table. "I-I'll clean up the mess, Daddy," he offered, hoping to mitigate his punishment.

"No, I'll do it, before you bloody cut yourself to ribbons," Severus said, then waved his wand and the shattered glass was cleaned up. Once that was done, he reset his alarm, locked the door, then took his son by the arm and marched him down the hallway into the den.

He stood Harry in front of him and sat down on the couch, still wearing a severe expression. "You are in some of the worst trouble ever, little boy. I thought I could trust you to wait until I was finished with Uncle Matt before I took you to the park, didn't I tell you we would leave as soon as I was done?"

Harry nodded, for the first time he had asked, before he'd begun singing, Severus had told him they would go as soon as he finished talking. "Yeah, but you were taking forever!"

"That was not something I could control, Harry. One of my patients is very sick and I needed to discuss treatment with Uncle Matt, which was why I took so long. What did I ask you to do in the meantime?"

"Uh, to go and read or watch TV or draw till you were done," Harry recited, hanging his head.

"So why didn't you?"

"I did, but then I didn't feel like it no more," his son said with something resembling defiance in his tone. "I was bored and . . .and I wanted to make a potion like you do."

Severus sighed. "Harry, you know you're too little to make potions without me, how many times have I said that to you?"

"A lot."

"Just yesterday, right?"

His son nodded.

"And how many times have I said that being bored is no excuse to go looking for trouble?"

"‘Bout a hundred times," the child admitted sheepishly, for this was not the first time he'd been bored and gotten into something he wasn't supposed to.

"I thought I could trust you to play quietly while I was using the mirror, but clearly I was very mistaken, since the minute my back was turned you decided to ignore my rules and do whatever you pleased. How do you think that makes me feel?"

Harry sniffled. "Mad and . . .and disappointed. I'm sorry, Daddy! I'll never touch your potions again." He began to cry quietly.

"That's all well and good, but it doesn't get you out of your punishment now," Severus told him. "What did I tell you would happen the last time I caught you sneaking into my lab two days ago?"

"When you were brewing the Dreamless Sleep Potion?" Harry asked, trying to stall for time, since he knew perfectly well what his father had told him.

"Yes, then, and I had asked you to stay out that time and instead I found you hiding under the table?"

"You said that sometimes I can't watch you because the smoke could make me sick and you always have a good reason to tell me not to do something and I need to listen to you so's I don't get hurt and if I disobeyed you again. . ." He trailed off.

"Go on. What else?"

"That . . .you'd spank me," he replied in a tiny voice.

"And since you not only entered my lab without permission, but you touched dangerous knives and potion ingredients as well, I'm now going to have to add another consequence to your bad behavior. It's something I had hoped I'd never have to do, but you've earned it this time."

Harry trembled suddenly, wondering what other thing his dad had in mind, but before he could ask, Severus said, "Come here and let's get the first part of your punishment over with."

Harry backed up, putting his hands over his bottom. "No, Daddy! I-I don't want a spanking. I'm really sorry." His bottom lip trembled pathetically. He hadn't earned a spanking from Severus in a very long time, not since the broom incident, and he really didn't want one now!

"I'm sure you are, but all actions have consequences and this is one of them," Severus reminded, hardening his heart at his son's pleading green gaze. "Come here now, son. If I have to come and get you, it'll mean an extra swat."

Feeling very sorry for himself, Harry obeyed. Severus bent the child over, wishing like hell this wasn't necessary, and delivered five firm spanks.

Harry wailed loudly after each swat, even though Sev didn't hit half as hard as Tobias had, he hated when his father spanked him, because he knew it meant he had tested Sev's patience to the limit and had made his daddy very disappointed. Severus's disappointment hurt more than the actual spanking, which was why Harry was crying so much.

Severus lifted his hand for the final swat, informing his son beforehand that this was the last one. It was harder than the others, though not by much, it left a tingling sting across Harry's bottom.

The six-year-old sobbed and squirmed, but it was over and Sev turned him about and hugged him, letting the child bawl into his shoulder. "I'm sorry you made me do that, scamp, but maybe next time you won't sneak into my lab, huh?"

Harry nodded against his shoulder and Severus patted his back soothingly until he'd stopped crying. Harry had to admit that his bottom stung a lot less after this spanking than the ones Tobias had given him, but he still hated it. "M' sorry, I'll be good, sir," he sniffled.

"Will you now? I'm not sure I can believe that, Harry. Your actions today were so disappointing to me, son, that I can't bear to look at you." Severus said, then deliberately looked away from his son. "Since you chose to ignore my rules and do what you wanted, I think it only fair if I do the same to you for the rest of the afternoon. From now until then, an hour-" he checked his watch. "-I will neither see or hear or speak to you, young man. Then perhaps you will learn not to ignore my instructions, which I've made for your safety, Harry James Severus Potter."

Harry gaped at him. "No, Daddy! Please!"

But Severus did not answer him, he set him down and stood up, looking at a point over his son's head. Then he left the room without another word, leaving his son staring after him.

Harry couldn't believe this was actually happening. Surely his daddy was bluffing, he couldn't just ignore Harry for the rest of the afternoon! But when he ran after Severus, he discovered the older wizard acted like he wasn't even there, ignoring him utterly and walking into his office. Little did he know Sev wasn't totally ignoring him, he'd cast an observation charm upon Harry so he could see what his son was doing during his punishment.

Harry stood in front of the door for a few minutes, sniffling and rubbing his bottom, which was still a bit sore, wondering what he could do now. He considered kicking the door, but quickly decided against it. His dad was mad enough already, he didn't want to make him even madder.

So he trudged back down the hall and into the bathroom, where he washed his face and sulked a bit before going into his room, picking up Inky and flopping down on his bed, which was covered in a bright green comforter with yellow lightning bolts and wands embroidered upon it. Lily had made the comforter for Harry when he stopped sleeping in a crib and Severus had since enlarged it to fit Harry's bigger bed.

"I hate this punishment, Inky!" he told the panther in aggrieved tones. "It's just like time-out only it lasts almost forever and it's so-o-o boring and Dad's a mean nasty grouch for doing it to me, even if I did deserve it." He smacked a hand down on his comforter, then did it again for good measure. He pounded the bed for a few minutes, indulging in a rare temper tantrum, then shouted loudly, not caring if his dad heard him, "You're MEAN, Dad! MEAN, MEAN, MEAN!"

Then he waited to see what would happen.

Nothing. Severus did not come to investigate, did not come in and scold Harry for screaming or for acting like a brat.

Harry jumped off his bed and stamped hard on the floor.

Not even that got a response.

It was as if he were home alone.

He ran into the den, turned the TV up loud, and pretended to watch it, but actually he was waiting for Severus to reappear and yell at him for having the volume up so loud. Five minutes went by. Then ten, and still Severus did not reappear.

Harry quickly grew sick of sitting still and turned off the TV. He went into the kitchen to get himself a snack, only to find that after he'd gotten a handful of oatmeal biscuits he wasn't in any mood to eat them. Food always tasted better when there was someone around to eat it with. He left the biscuits on the table and went back towards Severus's office.

This time he found Sev was busy writing something on a patient's chart.

The older man didn't so much as raise an eyebrow when Harry entered.

Harry walked into the room and came to stand before the desk. "Dad? I've learned my lesson now and I want you to stop ignoring me."

Severus kept writing.

"Dad, please? I don't like this punishment anymore."

The Master Healer kept scribbling, totally ignoring the child in front of him.

Harry felt like a ghost and he couldn't stand it.

He came around the desk and tugged on Severus's sleeve, he was wearing a soft blue day robe.

Severus glanced right through him and flicked a finger at Harry's hand, as if brushing away a speck of dust.

Harry sighed exasperatedly. This was turning out to be the most horrible, no good, awful day ever! He made faces at his father and sang softly, but Severus didn't even flinch. It was as if his son were not even there.

Harry stamped his foot and left, yelling that he was going out in the backyard.

He played on the swing set there for fifteen minutes before growing utterly bored. It had been almost forty minutes and Harry still had twenty minutes left.

The six-year-old went back and took Inky and told the panther that he wished he'd never gone into the potions lab. "I shoulda wrote Grandpa a letter or read The Too Trusting Unicorn over. Then I wouldn't be so bored I could die, Inky." He flopped back on his bed with a groan. "This is the worst punishment ever."

Maybe I should take a nap. I'm kind of sleepy. But he discovered he couldn't sleep very well, his conscience kept dragging up how disappointed his father had looked when he found Harry in his potions lab and he tossed and turned for five minutes before giving up.

"Now what, Inky?"

Harry picked up his pencil and a fresh piece of paper and began to write a short letter to his grandfather. It only took five minutes though. Then he wrote another, slightly longer one to his dad, saying how sorry he was. After that he drew two pictures and made all the people and animals in them with sad expressions and tears, since he was miserable.

But finally the hour was up, and he heard a tap at his door.

He didn't bother answering, but the door opened anyway to admit his dad. "All right, Harry. The hour is over."

Harry turned away, not answering.

Severus raised an eyebrow. "What's this? You're giving me the cold shoulder?"

Harry nodded. "It was the worst punishment ever, Dad!"

"Then I hope you never do anything so naughty again, scamp. But it's over now and you can stop sulking. Come here," his dad ordered gently, holding out his arms.

Harry turned around at the soft tone and ran into them. "I'll never ever do that again. Promise!"

"I'm so glad to hear that, Harry. Because I hate punishing you as much as you hate being punished."

"You do?" the little boy stared at his father. "Then why d'you do it?"

"Because you need to learn that all actions have consequences, son, and if I don't correct you, who will?"

Harry shrugged. "Are you still mad at me, Daddy?"

"No, scamp. It's over and done with and I forgive you." He hugged Harry to him.

Harry hugged him in return, then whispered in his ear, "I forgive you too, Dad."

"Oh, Harry!" his father laughed. "You are something else!"

"Am I still your special boy?"

"Always."

"And will you love me forever, no matter what?"

"Forever and ever, child," the Healer reassured him, stroking his messy hair. Harry's stomach growled. "Now, I'd say it's about suppertime, and I'm starving."

"Me too. Can we have grilled cheese sandwiches and crisps, Dad? Please?"

"Yes. Go and get me the bread and cheese, Harry." Then Severus set him down and Harry ran over to the fridge and took out the bread, sliced yellow cheese, and butter.

He handed Sev the bread and the cheese and asked, "Dad? Since it's too late to go to the park now, can we go tomorrow?"

"Yes we can, I was calling you to leave when I discovered you in my lab, you know. In fact, we can go to the park tomorrow, so long as you behave, how about that?"

Harry nodded happily. It was such a relief to not have his father angry with him any more, the boy thought, and vowed to never misbehave like that again.

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.

It had been a week since the circus had come to London and as Severus had predicted, Harry was still talking about it. He had told Blaise and Violetta and Ron and any other wizard kid who would listen all about Dagger and how he was proud to shake Severus's hand and had given Harry a small replica of a Chinese fireball to keep for his very own. Most of the kids were torn between awe and envy and Severus finally had to tell his son to quit talking about it, because it was starting to sound a bit too much like bragging.

"Is that bad?"

"Well, let's just say that it isn't very nice to point out the fact that Dagger gave you something and not all the other children who came to see him that night." Severus explained. "They might think you're getting above yourself."

"Huh? What's that mean?"

"It means that you think you're better than they are, because Dagger gave you a dragon figurine and not them." He and Harry were sitting on the sofa in the den, it was just after supper and Severus had been intending to have this discussion earlier, but inbetween supper and Harry needing help with homework, the opportunity hadn't presented itself until now.

"But Dad, you always say that I'm special. So why's it wrong if Dagger thinks so too?"

Severus remained quiet for a moment, then replied, "Harry you are special to me, because you're my son and all parents-almost all parents-" he corrected himself swiftly, "-think that their children are special. Because they belong to them and are unique and everyone is special in his or her own way. But that doesn't make you any better than Blaise or Ron, and while it was kind of Dagger to give you the dragon, I don't think you ought to go around telling other children about it nonstop, otherwise they'll become jealous and refuse to play with you."

"Oh." Harry pondered this for a moment, his little brow crinkling. Then he said, "But what if I share the dragon with them, Daddy? Then they won't need to feel bad or jealous or anything, ‘cause they can play with it too."

"That is an excellent idea, Harry, and I'm proud of you for thinking of it."

Harry beamed, when Severus said he was proud of him it meant he'd done something extra special and good. "But I'll watch and make sure they don't break it, cause some of ‘em don't know how to play right with things like that," he added and Severus had to turn away to keep from laughing at the way he said that, with a touch of exasperation and utter sincerity, like a teacher who had repeated a lesson to distracted students one too many times.

"You do that, Harry," Severus said, and reached out to finger comb his son's dark hair. Harry had inherited James's wild hair, that never stayed flat and looked rumpled even after Severus had just combed it. Severus knew it needed to be trimmed again, but even that didn't tame it for long. Still, he would have the child no other way, and he continued to gently detangle Harry's hair while Harry curled up next to him.

This nightly ritual usually served to calm and relax his little mischief maker, who sometimes had trouble remaining still for more than five minutes, even when he was exhausted. Severus could tell Harry was tired, however, by the way his eyelids drooped over the sparkling emerald orbs and how he kept lowering his chin to rest on his chest and then quickly jerking his head up. He had done the very same thing as a toddler, hating to sleep because he might miss something.

Severus patted his knee, inviting Harry to put his head down on his lap. Harry yawned and did so after a moment, and Severus resumed running his hand through his son's hair. He did that for several minutes, then moved his hand from Harry's head to the little shoulders, rubbing in a small circular motion. Harry began to relax even further, his breathing evening out.

Severus could remember Eileen doing this to him when he was a child, on the nights she wasn't working and Tobias was down at the tavern drunk. It had always made him feel warm and safe and loved. He had learned much of gentleness and kindness from his mother, who like him had been abused verbally by his father. It was yet another thing Severus resented Tobias for and something else which he would bring up when he went over to have the long-awaited talk with him. Eileen had died when Severus was eighteen, but she had tried as best as she could to counteract his father's legacy of alcoholism and violence. She had stressed to her son the value of thinking first and then acting and trying to find nonviolent means to express emotions, meditation, and controlling one's temper.

 Severus valued her teachings and tried to follow them as best he could, one reason why he had opted to become a Healer rather than an Auror at seventeen. As she lay dying and Severus had held her hand, he had told Eileen of the career choices he had to make and how he wasn't sure which one he should take. She had squeezed his hand and whispered, since a whisper was all she could manage, "You and you alone can decide what path is best for you, Sev. The choice must come from you, but you need to know where that choice will lead you. Think carefully, son. But remember, if you choose wrong, it's not the end of it all, you can always choose again." In Eileen's view, one wrong decision should not brand you for life, she believed in giving people second chances, which was one reason, perhaps why she had stayed with Tobias. Severus never had a chance to ask her about that.

But he had considered her words carefully and ended up becoming a Healer rather than an Auror. Both were useful occupations, but the path of an Auror was hard and lonely, filled with danger, and while Severus knew he could've dealt with it, that the job would have allowed him to release some pent-up aggression, it might have proved to aggravate his temper as well and encourage his more violent side. The path of the Healer was much more rewarding and he would never be alone there, for a Healer was part of a community, of doctors and patients, and he truly enjoyed helping people with his magic. It was also one more way in which to distance himself from his father's legacy.

He continued rubbing Harry's back, the boy was almost all the way asleep now, and he moved his hand slightly, gently patting Harry's bottom. He could remember doing that too when Harry was smaller, and cradled against Sev's shoulder.

He could also recall Lily doing much the same thing to him whenever he'd had a particularly hard night on call, only she had interspersed the rubbing with a massage on some nights. Lily had been another who had helped heal him, for in the beginning months of their marriage he had been self-conscious and insecure, not wanting to let her see him without clothes, embarrassed and ashamed of the scars he bore from Tobias's beatings. Not that they were so visible, or so many, but they were there and Severus knew it. He had always undressed in the dark or in the bathroom, so Lily would never see them, until one evening, she had walked in without bothering to knock, he had just finished a shower, and she saw.

Severus blinked, that unexpected side trip down memory lane had nearly caused him to fall asleep as well. He shook his head, gently picked up his son, and tucked him into bed.

But tonight he wasn't tired, and he sat up, looking through old photo albums of himself, Lily, and Harry. He smiled reminiscently at some of the pictures, Lily had been so pretty, and he had loved her with a deep undying passion. I miss you, Lil. Now and always. You were my rock and now I just hope I can stay afloat and raise Harry like we planned. I never figured on doing this alone, y'know. I hope to God I don't screw up the way my father did. He brushed a few stray tears from his eyes, even after two years, seeing a picture of Lily could make him tear up and get a huge lump in his throat. Tobias wants to actually be apart of my life-of our lives-Lily. I don't know what I should do. Should I let him back in? Can I trust him not to hurt Harry? Or me either? What would you do, Lily?

Oh, how he wished his wife were beside him now, so she could hold and reassure him that allowing Tobias to become a part of his life once again was not a huge mistake. What kind of can of worms was he opening by letting the man near his son and himself again? Could Tobias really change for the better? Or was it all a sham?

His thoughts tumbled over and over in his head, like leaves blown in the wind, and he shut his eyes and tried to organize them. It all came down to one thing-he was afraid to trust Tobias fully. Tobias had to earn his trust, Severus decided. Mere words were not enough. Even actions were not enough. No, there had to be more, something else that Tobias could do to ensure that Severus could begin to trust him, that he was sincere in his desire to change for the better. And it was more than just attending AA meetings and abuser counseling.

He chewed his lower lip thoughtfully. The problem with trusting Tobias was that the man had never really tried to understand where Sev was coming from, he had never viewed what he had done to his son as abuse-back then Tobias had considered it discipline, no more than Sev deserved. Severus wondered if a part of him still did, and pondered on what he could do to make sure that mindset was erased from Tobias's memory. A simple Memory Charm would do it, but that's illegal and would get me nothing but a swift trial and a one-way trip to Azkaban. I can't risk that. No, there has to be something else. Lily, you were always an ace at charms, I wish you could help me.

He nodded off over the photo album, still trying to come up with a way he could have Tobias prove his trust and sincerity.

He was awakened around dawn by Harry crying out in his sleep.

He rushed into Harry's room, "Harry? What's the matter?" he called, and his son sat up and held out his arms.

Severus crossed to him immediately and gathered him up. Harry buried his face in his dad's shoulder and wept quietly. "I-I had a bad dream!"

"Shhh. It's all right, scamp. You're okay, nothing's going to hurt you, I'm here." Severus walked about the room, holding Harry and patting his back, letting him cry until he was finished, then he sat him up on his lap, conjured a handkerchief, and gently washed his son's face and handed Harry a tissue to blow his nose. "Do you want to talk about your dream, Harry?"

Harry sniffled and said, "Yes, but I gotta go potty first."

Sev let him off his lap and Harry left the room at top speed, returning a few minutes later to once more be cuddled on his father's knee. "Okay, I'm ready," his son took a deep breath and said quietly, "In my dream, the masked men had come back here, and they-they shot spells at you and Grandpa and they killed you both dead and I saw it and I cried and they laughed and laughed at me and said now I was an orphan and I'd have to go live in the orphanage like Oliver. It scared me so bad that I-I woke up." He buried his head in Sev's shirt, trembling.

"There now, son. It was just a dream," Severus soothed. "The Death Eaters, that's the name of the masked men, can't come here, Harry. Moony and Padfoot put up extra-strong wards around here so no evil men can come here and if they do, the Aurors will know and they'll come here and arrest them."

"And put them in Azkaban, like the rest of the bad wizards? With the dementors?"

"Yes, scamp. They'd go right to Azkaban for trying to hurt us a second time. Some of them are even in there for attacking us the first time. So you don't have to worry about the Death Eaters hurting me or your grandfather or making you into an orphan, Harry mine."

"Really and truly?"

"Really and truly." Severus patted his back, then said quietly, "Can you fall asleep on your own, or would you like some warm milk and me to stay with you?"

Harry considered for about ten seconds before he answered, "Milk, please. And you after."

Severus summoned a small cup of milk, heated it with a warming charm, and handed it to Harry, who sipped it while leaning against his father. Severus remained silent while Harry drank, knowing the warm milk would further soothe and calm the little boy and make him sleepy.

But once the milk was all gone, Severus tucked Harry back in bed, and sat next to him in a transfigured desk chair. He'd enlarged it so he could sit and keep watch over his son.

Harry kept his eyes turned toward Severus, reassuring himself that his dad was there before slowly drifting off to sleep. Severus remained until he was certain Harry was soundly sleeping, then he went back into the den to watch TV before going to bed.

His own sleep was none too peaceful, since tomorrow he would return to Spinner's End and speak with Tobias about his intentions towards Harry and himself. Hopefully, they could talk like two rational adults and not end up arguing like angry Dobermans, the way they usually did.

God grant me patience and help me keep my temper, so I don't hex him into next week, and help me to find a resolution we all can live with.

* * * * * *

Severus Apparated to Spinner's End after he'd brought Harry to school . He could have allowed Harry to take the bus, he'd done it before, but ever since the Death Eater attack, Severus felt that extra caution was needed, and so he walked to school with his son. Mabry Primary School was about ten blocks or so from their house, it would have taken Harry longer to get there on the bus, since it had to stop and pick up the other children, but with Severus, Harry could get to school in about fifteen minutes, especially if the Master Healer cast a Quickstep Charm on them.

The Quickstep Charm was Severus's own invention, it was a spell that made you move at three times the normal rate, but looked as if you were merely strolling along, the illusion was for Muggles, it was built into the spell weave, and it was impossible to dispel.

Severus made sure Harry had his lunch, homework, and signed permission slips for day trips in his backpack and Inky as well. Harry played with Inky at recess and slept with the panther at naptime. Harry's teacher, Miss Wilkins, believed it was necessary for her students to have a bit of a lie-down in the afternoon, and provided soft mats and pillows and blankets. Severus thought Miss Wilkins was a smart teacher, her students were probably more manageable after napping, six-year-olds tended to be cranky if they didn't get their rest.

He cast the Quickstep Charm on both of them and they strode away. Harry loved this spell, it made him feel like a giant when he walked, and it was fun to travel so quickly and not have to worry about Muggles seeing and passing out in the middle of the street. He held Severus's hand obediently when they crossed an intersection, and once they were at school, Sev canceled the charm, hugged his son and told him to have a nice day.

"I will. Dad, you're going to see Grandpa today, right?"

"Yes."

"Oh good. Then maybe after you talk, we can go and visit?"

"We'll see, Harry. I can't make any promises until then. Now, go on inside before you're late," he urged, turning his son around and giving him a gentle nudge towards the blue entrance doors. "I'll see you this afternoon."

He watched until Harry was inside, then he walked swiftly away, around a corner, and behind a stand of rhododendrons. Making sure no one could spot him, he took a deep breath, and Apparated away to his childhood home.

He found Tobias weeding the flowerbeds, dressed in a pair of old jeans, sneakers, and a red polo shirt. He was gently sifting through the marigolds and tulips, pansies and geraniums, tugging the persistent weeds free of the soil and tossing them behind him in a heap.

It had always seemed ironic to Severus that a man who was so careful and gentle with flowers, so conscientious about them, could then turn around and treat his son so terribly, belittling him and hitting him for the least little infraction. He squared his shoulders and glided across the grass, keeping his movements slow, languid, and graceful, like the panther Harry was so fond of. No matter how nervous he was, Severus would never show vulnerability like that in front of this man.

Severus himself was wearing Muggle garb, a deep green shirt and black pants and casual black loafers, he'd even trimmed his hair, it was now just below his ears. When he'd been younger he had worn it shoulder length, but in his profession, long hair was a hazard and the devil to keep out of a sterile field, so Severus now wore it short, though not as short as Tobias's military cut. He had inherited Eileen's thick silky black hair, legacy of a Roman grandmother.

He approached Tobias soundlessly, and cleared his throat, having learned the hard way as a kid to never sneak up on the ex-sergeant. Tobias turned about, a weed clutched in one hand, nearly as graceful as his son in his movements.

He looked up at his son with something akin to shock in his dark blue eyes. Then he rose to his feet and dusted off his hands. "Severus. Nice of you to drop by. You could've called."

Severus shrugged. "I wasn't near a phone. I just finished dropping Harry off at school. Shall we continue this discussion inside? We wouldn't want to alarm the neighbors."

Tobias nodded and led the way into the house.

Severus seated himself at the kitchen table, it was still the same one from his childhood, with its natural maple wood grain and scuff marks from countless plates and cutlery being passed over it. Tobias had made it as a honeymoon gift for his new bride, back before he'd turned into an alcoholic. Once, when Severus was in his rebellious teenage phase, he had thought about carving his name in the table, but he'd quickly nixed that idea, for fear that Tobias would beat him senseless. Now he found his finger tracing a soft golden whorl over and over, until he forced himself to stop.

Tobias had his head stuck in the fridge, but he soon emerged with two tall ice-cold glasses of iced tea. He slid one over to Severus and the other he set in front of himself, opposite his son.

Severus took it with a nod and a thank you, the manners his mother had drilled into him were automatic, even though this was not a social call and he didn't really want anything to drink, he accepted the hospitality because it would've been rude not to.

After taking a rather large swallow of the sweetened tea, he set down the glass and said as calmly as he could, "I guess you know why I'm here."

"You want to discuss terms about me seeing my grandson," replied his father evenly.

"Yes. But I want you to know that any terms I dictate are non-negotiable, Dad. I call the shots now, not you. Any contact you have with Harry will be supervised by me, you will never be left alone with him. Any discipline of my son will be handled by me, so if he misbehaves, I will deal with it. You're not to lay a finger on him in anger, and if you do, I will cancel all further visits and you'll never see him or me again."

Tobias raised an eyebrow. He wasn't sure he liked his son's tone, it was borderline sarcastic, and he also didn't enjoy his son dictating terms to him. Still, when he'd agreed to meet with Severus, he had also agreed to listen to the younger Snape's proposal. "I told you before, Sev, that last time I wasn't intending to hit him. He woke me up from a blasted hangover and I just reacted."

Severus's mouth thinned. "Yes, you reacted all right. The same way you always reacted to me, with the back of your hand. You were lucky you didn't knock out his teeth."

"I never knocked out any of yours."

"You came bloody damn close," Severus said, feeling his temper flare. "I can't trust you not to do that to my son, so that's why I'm going to stay with you at all times."

Tobias looked annoyed. "Severus, I'm not drinking anymore, so I'm not going to haul off and slap him one just for the hell of it. What d'you think I am, an axe murderer?"

Severus laughed softly, bitterly. "No, you were a drunken abusive bastard for over half my childhood, and you used to hit me over nothing sometimes, so who's to say you won't do the same to Harry? I refuse to take that chance. So either I stay or you go. Take your pick."

"Fine. But you needn't act like you're so high and mighty, doctor."

"I'm not. I'm simply telling you how things will be. You've already proven to me that you can't be trusted, Dad. I warned you that if you wanted to earn my trust back, you'd have to work at it."

"One mistake and you hold it against me forever?" queried the older man sharply.

"Damn straight I do," Severus leaned forward, his dark eyes glittering with suppressed emotions, chief among them anger. "That's what you used to do to me, or don't you remember? The smallest mistake and you were on my back, reminding me of it every chance you got. And when you weren't doing that, you were walloping my arse for things no normal parent ever would have, like looking at you wrong. So don't expect me to just say, okay, you can have time alone with my son, since you've decided not to beat the shit out of him the way you did me. Trust has to be earned, Dad, that was one lesson I never forgot."

Tobias felt himself flush, both from anger and shame. "Look, I know what I did to you was wrong. I have a nasty temper, I get that from my father. But half of the time I was so drunk I didn't even know what I was doing or saying."

"Oh, that's a real nice excuse," sneered Severus. "I just beat up my wife and my kid because I was drunk and didn't know what I was doing. Do you have any idea what kind of hell you put me through, growing up? I used to be afraid to walk into the same room as you, most times. Because I never knew what would set you off. I used to wish I went to boarding school so I wouldn't have to come home and see my own father!"

"All right, most of how I treated you was wrong, but you can't tell me that you didn't deserve some of those thrashings, Severus. You were no angel."

"True, but I wasn't the devil either. I tried my damndest to please you, but after awhile I gave up, because you never said anything encouraging to me. It was all "you're a lazy bum, Severus, now move your arse!" or "why the hell did I have to get a son that knows more about books than sports"? Everything I did was wrong. And if you think I'm just going to forget all of that, think again, Mr. Snape! I've a right to be angry with you."

"Yes, but you had a smart mouth on you sometimes, and I had a right to correct you."

"It doesn't matter, don't you see that? Smartass or not, I didn't deserve to be beaten bloody with a Goddamn belt, Dad! Correction would've been twenty minutes in a corner or a smack or two at the most. Not twenty stripes with a belt until I couldn't sit down for three days! No normal father does that to his child!"

"Oh, really? Shows how much you know, boy, for all your fancy medical degree." Tobias snapped. "What the hell d'you think I got when I misbehaved? A pat on the head and a scolding? Give me a bloody break! My dad used to whip my arse with a belt, a switch, whatever the hell he happened to have in his hand, and back then it was called discipline and everyone did it. My father was never one for all that touchy feely crap, he worked long hours, came home, ate, and went to sleep or occasionally read the paper or went down to the pub. I barely even spoke to him, unless it was to ask permission to go somewhere, and normally the only time he ever spent time with me was when he was whaling the hide off me for something."

"And did you ever wish you had another father? Did you ever say to yourself, I can't wait till I'm old enough and I can get the hell away from him?"

"Yes, I did wish that sometimes. But he was still my father, and I owed him my respect."

"That's a ridiculous thing to say. You didn't owe him anything, since he proved to be unworthy of anyone's respect, let alone his son's. And furthermore, I don't buy the old excuse that the sins of the fathers are carried over to the children. History does not have to repeat itself. You and your father might have been abusive, but that doesn't mean I'm going to be. I have a choice, just as you had a choice, Dad. But you chose the old way and look what the hell happened. You made your son and your wife's lives a misery until the day she died and I moved out. Now there's something to be proud of!"

"Well, excuse me all to blazes, but I only disciplined the way I was raised, and I never knew there was another way!"

"Didn't you? You knew how it felt, Dad, so why in hell would you ever do the same thing to your kid? Drunk or sober, no child deserves what you did to me! Can't you see that? Because if not then why am I wasting my time here? So you can lose your temper one day and whip Harry for talking back to you?"

"I've never taken a belt to Harry and you know it. I already apologized to you once for what I did back then, which was more than I ever got from my father. I was a drunk nasty bastard and I'm sorry, but what's done is done. What do you want from me, Sev? Blood? My head on a stake in the front yard? You can't change the past."

"No, but you can bloody well learn from it, Dad! You want to know the one thing I learned? Not to bloody treat my kid like a punching bag and to make sure no else ever did either!"

"Well, you're a better man than I am, Sev. Congratulations."

"I won't -what did you just say?"

"You heard me. You're a better man than I am," Tobias repeated. "Now can we stop wrangling and just agree to let the past remain in the past? What about forgiving me for my mistakes?"

Severus glared at him. "You just don't understand, do you? I can't forgive you because it won't mean anything until you acknowledge that what you did was terribly wrong, that there is nothing that can excuse it, and then, maybe, I could forgive you a little. But it has to be on my terms and not yours. You've lost the right to dictate terms to me and if you're truly serious about this, you'll agree and shut your mouth. This is your last chance, Dad. I'm not like Mum, who gave you an infinite number of them. You screw this up and you won't ever see us again, then you can be alone with your bloody marigolds."

Tobias stiffened, trying to control his own temper. "I never wanted to be alone after I met Harry. He was what made me realize that I needed to change before I did something to him that I regretted."

"And what about me, Dad?" Severus rasped softly. "Do you regret what was done to me?"

Tobias nodded. "Yes, I do, or else I wouldn't be here now. What else do you want me to do, Severus? Get down on my knees and beg your pardon?"

"I want to be able to trust you the way other children trust their parent. But words and actions aren't enough. You need to prove to me that you will never hit Harry the way you did me."

"Prove to you how?"

"By allowing me to take you on a little trip using my magic. It won't take long and it won't physically hurt you." Severus bargained, revealing his hand at last.

Tobias looked acutely uncomfortable. "Magic was never part of this deal. You know how I feel about it."

"What? That you're afraid of it?" Severus shot back.

Tobias reddened. "Don't you sneer at me, buster! According to your psychology courses, it's normal to fear the different."

"Not when the different is your own son or your wife!"

"It is when your own child nearly sets you on fire," Tobias countered softly, his eyes far away.

"What do you mean? I don't ever recall using my magic that way."

"And you wouldn't, since Eileen made you forget, you were much too young to be using magic anyhow, but it had awakened early-too early, she said, you were two and had wanted something, I can't remember what, and I told you no, and you pitched a tantrum. Threw yourself on the floor screaming bloody murder, and I went to pick you up so you didn't hurt yourself, not to punish you, and you look at me and your eyes turn this weird yellow and the next thing I know, I'm on fire. My hands and arms are covered in fire. I start yelling, sure that I'm going to die, your eyes turn back to normal and you start bawling, and Eileen, thank God, cancels whatever spell you cast and heals me up after it. Accidental magic, she called it, and then she made you forget about it, said you were too little to even know what the hell you did, and she made your magic sleep for two years, until you were four."

"And I summoned a whole shelf of glasses and they crashed all over the floor," Severus recalled. "For which you called me a destructive little snot, even though I had no idea how I'd even done that, and whipped my backside. I was only four!"

"Yeah, and I was drunk, most likely, and terrified out of my wits that your magic had returned and the next time you were mad at me I'd end up a human torch. I was scared and hung over and did something I shouldn't of-like I usually did when I drank too much. And for that, I'm sorry. You're right, no father should be so scared of his son that he beats the daylights out of a four-year-old."

"Then why the hell did you drink, if you knew what the alcohol did to you?"

"Because I didn't know. Whenever I'd gotten drunk before, and it wasn't all the time, only occasionally with my mates, no one ever noticed what I was like, probably because they were so drunk they didn't even remember their own names. I wasn't married and didn't have kids. I never drank during the early years of our marriage, there was no need, it was only later, when the shipping yard folded and I was out on my ear, searching for a job where I could support my family without asking for government handouts, that I started hitting the bottle as a way to forget what a damn failure I was. No, that's not an excuse, it's simply the way things were. Then I found out what happened to me when I was drunk, because I couldn't remember much after. Fact is, all those times you recall me whipping you, I can't remember half of them."

"Well, they happened!" Severus snapped. "And being drunk when you did it is no excuse either!"

"I never said it was. But I can't feel sorry for what I don't remember, Sev. Or rather I can, in a way, but it's not the same. And I don't like magic being worked upon me."

"I'm not going to set you on fire," Severus replied with a touch of exasperation. "I've learned to control myself since then."

Tobias looked skeptical. "Well, you could always do it on purpose."

Severus flinched. "D'you think I would ever burn my own father alive? Bloody hell, Dad! I'm a doctor, I take my Healer's Oath very seriously, which is first use thy magic to harm none. That includes you, no matter how much you make me want to throttle you. I don't use my magic to kill."

"You killed that Voldy fellow."

"No. I brewed a potion that inhibited his magic. My friends the Aurors, Sirius and James and Remus-they actually killed him. I wasn't even there at the final battle, I was at the hospital, healing the casualties. The only time I use combat spells are in self-defense, and no offense, Dad, but I don't need them to take you out. A simple Body Bind would do the trick."

Tobias looked somewhat relieved at that statement and also somewhat annoyed that Severus had implied he was helpless against him. He wasn't used to feeling that way since he'd grown too old for Jeremiah to wallop, he was an ex-sergeant in the Royal Army, for crying out loud. "I still don't like it."

"Well, too damn bad. Because this is the only way I'll trust you," Severus said implacably. "You say you can't remember all those times you hit me over nothing or whatever? Well, this spell will help you with that. It's a spell where you walk into my memories and experience them the same way I did. It's not permanent, you won't go mad, all it does is give you the necessary empathy to understand where I'm coming from."

"I don't need your damn hocus pocus to see that I was wrong to whip you," Tobias argued. "I'm not stupid, Severus. I understand right from wrong."

"Yes, but as an abstract. In order for you to truly comprehend just how badly you hurt me and why I'm so damn angry and reluctant to trust you near my son, I need to cast this on you. Not for revenge, but because without this understanding you will never heal and neither will I. And if you refuse me, Dad, I'll walk out the door right now and we're done for all time. So if you truly mean what you said, that you want to be a part of my family again, then you'll make the damn sacrifice and let me cast the charm on you. Those are my terms. Take them or leave them." And he flashed Tobias one of the elder Snape's own challenging uncompromising sergeant's glares.

Tobias was silent for a long moment, his eyes bright with a myriad of emotions-anger, fear, regret, and uncertainty. At last he took a deep breath and nodded. "Fine. Do it and get it over with. I told you before I wasn't kidding, that it wasn't a trick. I want my family back. Cast the damn spell, Severus."

Severus peered hard at him. "Very well." He drew his wand from his holder on his leg and placed the tip against his father's temple, and the base against his own. Then he concentrated hard and whispered, "Legilimens memorium!"

A silvery mist shot out of the ebony wand and enveloped Tobias's head. The big man blinked, his eyes going wide and unfocused as he was pulled into a memory, and suddenly the kitchen looked much bigger, for he was no longer an adult, but a small dark-haired child.

Severus stared longingly at the jar of biscuits that were on the counter far above his head, too far to reach even if he stood on tiptoes. But he was getting hungry and his mummy wasn't home yet and his daddy was behaving strangely again, drinking that funny yellow drink out of the brown bottle. Sev didn't like how that drink smelled or tasted, he'd sneaked a tiny sip one time when his daddy was using the potty. It had tasted disgusting! He couldn't understand how his daddy could like it or why he kept drinking it.

Unless it was some kind of medicine. Once, when he'd been sick, his mum had fed him some kind of icky yellow syrup and it had tasted almost as bad as the stuff in the brown bottle. Maybe that's why his daddy was so grouchy and cross all the time now. Because he was sick and the medicine he was taking tasted gross. Yes, that would explain why he'd yelled at Sev today for playing in the den, or asking him a question about the new TV Tobias had bought.

It was the first time Sev had ever seen one, and he had wanted to know how it worked, but Tobias (Toby was what Mummy called his dad sometimes, unless she was mad), had growled at him to go away and quit pestering him and had given him a look that scared him. So Sev had obeyed and done what his dad had told him, going to play with his toy broom and stuffed puppy.

But now he was hungry and he was afraid to bother his dad again, he hated it when his dad got all loud and scary. Sev scowled up at the biscuit tin, then remembered that sometimes his mum got stuff by standing on a chair.

So he pulled and tugged on the chair and just managed to push it up against the counter. Then he could get the oatmeal biscuits his mummy had baked yesterday. He took two of them and jumped off the chair and pushed it back under the table.

Too late he remembered that he usually had a glass of milk with his oatmeal biscuits. He went to the fridge and took out the carton of milk, it was just low enough for him to reach and not too heavy. The four-year-old carried it to the table and then he went back to the counter where the biscuit jar was. Above it was the cabinet with the glasses, but Sev knew he could never get them by himself. Or even with the chair, they were too far away.

Now what? His only other option was to ask his dad for help. So he sighed and crept back into the den. His dad was sitting in the recliner, one hand holding a brown bottle of that nasty medicine. His eyes were closed and he was snoring softly.

Sev put out a hand, intending to shake his father awake, then remembered his mummy telling him that daddy never wanted to be woken up like that. He groaned. Why did his dad have to fall asleep now? He wished his mummy hadn't gotten that new job, she was always working now and Sev barely saw her, except late at night, when she would come in to kiss him goodnight.

"Daddy?" he whispered, very quietly.

Tobias kept right on snoring.

Severus decided to try and get the glass himself. Maybe if he climbed on the counter he could reach the cabinet?

But when he got back in the kitchen, he discovered his arms were too tired to drag the heavy chair all the way over to the counter again, and so he had no way to get a glass, which made him very angry and upset. He needed milk with the oatmeal biscuits, they always made his throat a little dry.

I wish I was big, then I could get the glass myself. I wish I was big like Daddy, then I could just reach up and grab it. I hate being little! I need that glass. I can't eat my snack without milk, I ALWAYS have milk with my biscuits. He stamped his little foot on the floor. I wish I could just get a glass down, RIGHT NOW!

He felt something flare inside of him, something hot and swirly and all of a sudden the cabinet flew open and a glass floated down into his hand. "Wow! I got a glass by myself!" he cried, amazed. "I think I did wish magic, like Mum does."

Before he knew it, the uncontrolled magic had also summoned seven or eight other glasses as well, only these flew off the shelf and crashed onto the floor about his feet, since he wasn't fast enough to catch them. Severus's eyes widened in horror at the mess he had made.

There were eight broken glasses all over the floor and the child stepped back so as to avoid stepping on the broken fragments glittering on the floor. He put a hand to his mouth. Uh oh. Did I do that? I didn't mean to. Daddy's gonna be so mad, but it wasn't my fault. All I wanted was one glass. Sev bit his lip nervously. I know! I'll tell him it was an accident, it was really, I didn't know my magic was gonna do that, and he never gets mad if it was an accident.

The little boy had dropped things before and it had never been any big deal, his mum had always mended the broken object with a quick repairing charm, or his dad had simply thrown the broken cup or whatever away.

So Sev had no reason to fear his father coming to investigate the huge crash in the kitchen, right?

Yet, for some odd reason, he was uneasy, perhaps because his dad had been acting so strange lately, cross and yelling at his son for no reason sometimes.

"What the bloody hell have you done, Severus?" Tobias snarled, striding into the kitchen, holding his head, his eyes bloodshot and as angry as a grizzly woken up early from winter hibernation.

"I-It was an accident, Dad!" whimpered Sev, scared of the way his daddy was eying him. He'd never seen Tobias look like that before. "I-I wanted to get a glass of milk, but I couldn't reach the shelf, so I-I wished them down."

Tobias's eyes narrowed. "You wished them down? You used magic?"

"Uh-huh. But I didn't know I did, Dad." Severus said in a small voice, looking down at his feet. "It just happened. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make all the glasses break."

"Well, you did, you destructive little brat! Look at the damn mess you made!" Tobias roared, his blue eyes flashing like indigo lightning. "I've had it with you, boy! All you do is cause trouble!"

Severus sniffled. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!" Tears welled in his eyes.

"Didn't mean to! You're a bloody destructive little snot, mister, and I'm sick and tired of you thinking you can do whatever you damn well please and not pay the price. C'mere!"

Severus shrank away from him, but Tobias was like a striking cobra, he moved quicker than Sev could run and the next thing Severus knew was he was being held in a rough grip and his dad was removing the belt he wore.

It came free with a soft hiss and swooping motion.

Severus was trembling, why was his father taking off his belt?

"Daddy, I'm sorry! It was an accident!" he wailed, but his pathetic statement had no effect on Tobias, who was deep in a drunken rage.

The next thing Severus knew was he was face down over his father's lap and the belt he'd wondered about was hissing through the air to land with terrific force on his unprotected bottom.

Severus howled, it hurt so much, it was the very worst thing. He began to cry hysterically, not understanding why his dad was so very angry over a few broken glasses or why he was punishing him like this.

He sobbed and sobbed, but Tobias ignored his wails and laid the belt on again and again, giving the child a total of ten wallops before stopping and standing him up and saying, "Next time keep your damn hands where they belong, understand?"

Choking on his sobs, the four-year-old stammered, "S-sorry, s-sir! M'sorry!"

"Quit that crying, you little baby! Now go, get out of my sight!"

Sev turned and ran, or tried to, but his poor backside hurt so much he could only manage a fast walk. But he walked as quickly as he could out of the kitchen and up the stairs to his room, where he threw himself on his bed, sobbing hysterically into his pillow. His bottom smarted and stung like a thousand bees had attacked him and all he could think of was that his dad had suddenly turned from a fun and loving person into a cold hard and terrifying stranger, one who had hurt him horribly for an accident.

Mum, I need you! I want you to come home! I'm afraid and-and Daddy's become a-a monster! He thought, still weeping, half the pillow stuffed into his mouth to muffle his sobs.

Little did he know that one taste of Tobias's belt was only the beginning.

* * * * * *

Tobias gasped and jerked as the memory he had absorbed ended. But the spell was still active, and no sooner had that memory released him, than the white mist swirled over him again and whisked him away to yet another time, when a six-year-old Severus sat on the couch one sunny Saturday, watching cartoons, grateful for once that his father was not at home, having gone somewhere to look for work, and had not yet returned.

Severus hoped he was gone a good long time, for when Tobias was home, he did nothing but drink, swear, and yell at Severus for everything. He had the boy out weeding the flowerbeds this morning and then sweeping the porch. Eileen was still asleep, she'd worked the graveyard shift at St. Mungos the previous night. Sev wasn't about to wake her, so he had quickly fixed himself a bowl of cold cereal and a glass of juice before going out to finish the sweeping.

Now he could watch TV until his father came home, but once Tobias arrived he wouldn't be able to watch anything fun, only his dad's endless sports and variety shows. Severus couldn't stand them, he thought they were boring and stupid and he wished they could afford another TV, because then he could watch it and not get kicked off all the time.

He was watching one of his favorite cartoons, Batman, when he heard the screen door slam and his father's familiar footsteps in the hall. Sev groaned and wished Tobias could've stayed away for just twenty minutes longer. Now he wouldn't be able to watch the end of Batman, and he really wanted to find out if the Joker got caught this time.

He continued watching, praying that his dad was in a good mood and all had gone well.

No such luck.

"Goddamn lazy good-for-nothing kid!" he heard Tobias muttering, and he felt his stomach clench in dread. Oh God, what was the matter now? Severus tried frantically to recall why his dad would be mad at him, but couldn't come up with a reason. He'd done all the chores and he hadn't forgotten to put away the hose like last time, after he'd watered the flowers.

"Severus! Get your lazy arse over here now, boy!"

Gulping, the little boy slipped off the couch and went slowly towards his parent, who was standing in the hallway, holding a pair of muddy work boots by their laces. "Yes sir?"

"Didn't I tell you I wanted these clean by the time I came home?" demanded Tobias, scowling at his son in a way that made Severus's heart turn cold.

"No, Daddy," Sev answered honestly. "You never told me that."

"Don't lie to me, boy!" Tobias snapped, lifting a hand and smacking his son on the ear.

Severus flinched, but clamped his lips shut at the yelp that wanted to escape. Don't cry, Sev. Don't cry. He hates boys who cry. He repeated that over and over. Then he said in a soft voice, "I'm not lying, Dad. Honest. Y-you told me to weed and to sweep, but you never said nothin' ‘bout your boots."

"You weren't paying attention!" insisted Tobias. "I told you I needed those boots cleaned for tomorrow and here they are, still dirty! Don't you understand English, brat? You're supposed to be so smart and yet you can't follow simple directions."

"I-I didn't know, sir!" protested Severus, his lower lip trembling in spite of himself. There was a sick feeling in his stomach now, for Tobias had that Look in his eye again, and he could smell the taint of beer on his father's breath.

"Don't answer me back, boy!"

"I'm not, sir! I-I'm sorry!" he apologized frantically, for answering back Tobias was a terrible thing and one that would guarantee him a thrashing.

"Sorry for what? What did you do?"

"Nothing, sir!"

"Exactly! Nothing! You're a lazy little brat, Severus, just like every other kid today, all you want to do is sit on your bum and watch TV. Well, from now on the TV is off limits and as soon as I'm done walloping your lazy arse, you can clean my boots." His hands went to unbuckle his belt.

Severus backed away, his hands moving to cover his bottom. "No, Daddy, please! I'll clean them now, promise! I don't wanna get spanked, please!"

"Quit whining and get over here. You're going to learn one way or the other to listen when I tell you to do something, boy. And if I have to bust your arse ten times in one day, I'll do it. Now quit sniveling and take your licking like a man."

Knowing it was useless to resist, but longing to run away and hide under the bed, Severus walked over to his father, head down to hide the tears he dared not shed. It wasn't fair! But he knew even then that fair had nothing to do with Tobias Snape's punishments.

Tobias bent him under his arm, bared his bottom, and lifted the belt.

Five minutes later, Severus stood on the porch, one hand covering his mouth to stifle his whimpers, slowly scrubbing at the pair of dirt encrusted boots, his backside throbbing from the latest whipping. He knew he shouldn't have talked back, knew he should've just kept his mouth shut, because then Tobias wouldn't have lost it and given him an extra five besides. Don't cry, Sev! Boys don't cry!

But in spite of himself, tears mingled with the soapy water , as he scrubbed the cracked leather over and over with the scrub brush. Why was it that everything he did was wrong? Maybe he really was a good-for-nothing brat, the way his dad always insisted. Otherwise why would his daddy keep punishing him this way?

Next time I'll have to pay attention. And don't talk back and don't argue. Then maybe he won't get mad like this and whip my arse. I hope. Owww! Severus sniffled, bringing up a hand to swipe at his nose, trying his best to ignore the awful stinging pain, wondering if he'd be able to sit down for dinner.

* * * * * *

Tobias came up out of the memory gasping and wincing, for a part of him could still feel the stinging pain of the welts he had left on his son's bottom. But before he could so much as gather his thoughts, the white mist surrounded him again and he fell into yet another memory. . .

Nine-year-old Sev fidgeted as Eileen straightened his small red tie and adjusted his jacket. "Hold still, imp!" she ordered, running a comb one last time through his ebony locks. "There! You look very handsome and so grown-up." She kissed his cheek.

"Aww, Mum! That's for girls!" he pretended to wipe it off, but he was smiling. The truth was, he loved Eileen's kisses and hugs, even now when he was supposed to be too old for such mushy stuff.

"Nonsense, young man," she scolded gently. "A mother can always kiss her son, no matter how old you are, you're never too old for a kiss from your mum. Especially when you've made me so very proud, Sev, by winning the science award and getting a First in your class in natural science too!"

Severus shrugged, embarrassed. "Aww, it wasn't that hard, Mum. I like to learn about anatomy and animals and all that. It's interesting." He tugged irritably at his tie.

"Sev, leave it alone," Eileen batted his hand down.

"It itches, Mum! Why do I have to wear it?"

"Because you have to look presentable, dear. Muggles set great store by it and I won't have people whispering that my son doesn't dress like a gentleman, especially on the night of his award ceremony." She waved her wand and the tie suddenly quit itching and fit perfectly. "There! Now quit wriggling, child. I'm sorry I won't be able to be there, Sev. I really wanted to, but Mr. Crabtree, he insisted I work and finish up those Invisibility Potions before tomorrow morning. I'm really sorry, Sev, if we didn't need the money, I'd tell Crabtree to go jump off a bridge."

Eileen looked so downcast that Severus hugged her and whispered, "It's okay, Mum. We gotta eat, and you're the one who brings home the Galleons, so . . ."

She stroked his hair and whispered, "Oh, Sev! You're a dear, love! But your father will be there in my place."

"He will? He said he'd come?" Severus lifted his face from his mother's soft lavender blouse. Tobias had never attended any school function that Severus could remember, even though he insisted his son go to a Muggle primary school. It was always Eileen who was there to cheer him on or to applaud when he took a First in some subject and received a certificate or a trophy. Never Tobias.

But that didn't stop Severus from hoping that someday his father would manage to make it to an award banquet or a ceremony and see for himself that his son was a brilliant scholar, and say he was proud of him. Now that day was finally here.

"Yes. He promised me he would make sure he left the hardware store early, so he could make it to the school on time. So you'll still have someone there when the Headmaster presents the award, Sev."

"Good," Severus said feelingly. He'd been afraid that he would be left with no family members to watch him receive his award, but now his father would be there. Sev hoped he'd be proud when he saw his son go up and accept the small brass beaker and the certificate he'd won by being the best science student in the school, as well as his class.

Eileen gave him the once over before Apparating him to his school, then telling him to go into the cafeteria, which was where all those who were supposed to receive awards that night were gathered.

Severus tried not squirm in his chair as he peered out into the audience, searching for one particular face among the dozens seated there. Tobias had promised he'd be there, but it was almost time for the awards to be presented, and Severus couldn't see him anywhere. He fought back the urge to stand up and shout, "Dad? You out there somewhere?" Or to start biting his nails to shreds. Tobias would come. He had promised his mum, and he never lied to her.

Calm down, Sev. He'll be here, don't worry. He probably couldn't get off of work until now. But he'll be here. I just know it.

He scanned the sea of faces again, but still Tobias was absent.

He tapped his foot nervously, only ceasing when another student sitting next to him snapped, "Quit it, Snape! You're making me batty."

Now the Headmaster was ascending to the podium, microphone in hand, to read off the list of those who had won Firsts in their class to start. Severus was on that list, of course, but his name was at the end of the alphabet, so he had time to sit and watch the others' name being called as well as continue looking for Tobias.

Now the Headmaster was reading off the names. "Brian Ashbourne, a First in history. Congratulations, Brian!"

Everyone clapped as Brian rose to accept his reward, his proud parents waving and cheering and snapping his picture.

Severus kept looking for his dad.

But Tobias was nowhere.

Severus bit his lip hard.

Now the Head was announcing the R's. Once he got to S, Severus would have to go up and get the little certificate that said he was First in his class in natural science.

He didn't really care if Tobias missed that, it wasn't the important one. The important one was the natural science award, which the best student in the whole school won.

He heard the Headmaster announce his name and he stood up to get his certificate.

The Headmaster shook Sev's hand and gave him the certificate, Severus smiled and thanked him politely. Then he went to sit down, holding the certificate crumpled in his hand.

Come on, Dad. What's taking you so long? You promised Mum you'd be here, so where the blazes are you? They're gonna announce the awards for the best academic students in the school soon.

Once more he looked hard at the many faces watching. Once more he tried to imagine the look on Tobias's face when he saw his son get the award. Then maybe Tobias would be proud of him, and not call him a stuck-up bookworm.

All the other parents in the audience were standing and clapping for Charles Manning now, he'd took the mathematics award, getting a point or two higher than Severus.

Severus was near to biting his lip in a frenzy.

Still no Tobias.

He has to be here. He just has to! Or else I'm going to be the only one without a parent or a family member here to watch them. What's keeping you, Dad? Please tell me you didn't forget. Or that you're not down at Sal's Bar, playing a hand and having a few for the road. Please, Dad.

He swallowed the lump in his throat and looked down at his hands, still clutching the heavy yellow paper with his name on it. He carefully wiped his palms on the knees of his good pants and carefully folded the certificate into thirds and stuck it in the pocket of his jacket.

Now they were calling Susan Brown to receive the Literature Prize, a certificate and a set of novels by Jane Austen.

Susan's dad was standing up and yelling and pumping his arm up and down like he was at a rugby match, much to his wife's mortification. But Susan was grinning and waving to him.

Severus watched enviously. He wished his dad were like Susan's. But he'd be lucky if Tobias showed up, much less cheered on his son so enthusiastically. He looked towards the door of the cafeteria, hoping against hope to see a familiar tall blond-haired man enter and sit down in the back, where all the late parents had to sit.

But the door remained shut and Tobias did not come.

Severus glanced up at the clock. It was eight forty-five, they only had fifteen more minutes before the award ceremony was over and Tobias had missed nearly all of it. He squeezed his eyes shut and prayed hard. Please, please, please, let him come in time.

But five minutes went by and then he heard the Head say, "And now, ladies and gentlemen, I am presenting the Natural Science Award, a very prestigious honor, won by Mr. Severus Snape. Mr. Snape, come up here if you would."

Severus had no choice but to climb to his feet and go over to the podium. He walked as slowly as he could and tried not to look out into the audience.

He knew what he would see.

A sea of strangers and no Tobias.

Well, did you really think he'd come, Sev? He's probably too busy playing cards or drinking himself senseless to care about his son's award ceremony.

He felt his eyes sting with tears that he furiously blinked away, the disappointment settling in his chest like a stone.

"Congratulations, Mr. Snape!" the Headmaster was saying, shaking Severus's hand and giving him the certificate and the brass beaker. "Your parents must be very proud of you. Why don't you give them a wave?"

Severus wanted to sink into the floor. "Uh, they-they couldn't make it, sir. But thank you anyway." He quickly made his escape from the podium, before he looked up and saw the flash of pity in the Headmaster's eyes for the only child with no family members present.

I should've known better than to expect he'd come for me. He doesn't care about anything I do, unless I do something wrong. It's never gonna change, so I might as well accept it, he thought bitterly, hurt beyond words at Tobias's absence, but too proud to show it. Guess I know how much your promise means to me, huh, Dad? Absolutely nothing!

* * * * * *

The white mist grasped Tobias one final time, as Severus sent forth the last memory he wished his father to see, one of the worst ones of all. It had occurred a year after the missed award ceremony, on a lazy Friday afternoon.

Severus had been outside, playing ball with a kid named Ryan that lived a few houses down, when he realized it was time for supper and had gone home. He crept carefully into the house, trying to determine if Tobias was inside. His truck was there in the drive, which meant he was home from the pub. But if Sev were lucky, Tobias was sleeping off his latest binge and not awake and looking for someone to blame his latest failed interview on.

He peeked around the doorframe of the den, trying to see if Tobias was sitting in the recliner, watching the TV, beer in hand. The TV was going full blast and his father was dozing, several empty bottles lined up next to him on the end table, next to a bowl of pretzels.

Severus debated on whether or not to try and sneak past him to the kitchen to get a drink. He was awfully thirsty after running in the muggy heat. Tobias was snoring softly, which usually meant he was passed out, and that meant he wouldn't notice if a brass band and a circus came through the house.

Severus slipped off his shoes, padding lightly across the worn wooden floorboards in the den. Tobias remained asleep. The boy crept swiftly past the big man and into the kitchen, where he poured himself a glass of iced tea and drank it down. Then he poured himself a second glass, drank that one more slowly, and rinsed the glass off in the sink.

Now he had to finish up his homework and then maybe he could start reading the new potions text his mother had borrowed from the hospital library.

Severus started back across the den, confident that his father was still submerged in his beer-soaked dreams.

"And where do you think you're going, boy?"

Sev froze, like a deer caught in headlights. Merlin, no! Why now? He turned slowly about to face his father. "To do homework, Dad."

"Really?" sneered his father, raking him with one of those cold glares that never failed to make Severus's blood chill. "You look like you're up to something, boy. What've you been doing?"

"Nothing, sir. Just playing ball with some kid." Severus tried to edge backwards out of the room.

"That so? Then why d'you have a guilty look on your face? Like you've been getting into trouble on the sly?"

Severus did his best to look puzzled and totally innocent. "What look, sir?"

"The one you're wearing right now, you lying little bugger. I know you, Severus. You can't go for more than a day without sticking your nose somewhere it doesn't belong. What've you done now, boy?"

"Nothing, sir." Sev shifted uneasily. "May I go now?" When Tobias was in this type of mood, he knew discretion was the better part of valor.

"Not so fast, boy! If you aren't in trouble now, you probably will be later," growled his father. "You're always in trouble."

"I'm not in any kind of trouble, sir!" protested Sev.

"You are now for talking back to me, young man." Tobias was on his feet, a nasty gleam in his eyes. "You know I don't tolerate no backtalk from you, boy."

"I-I wasn't!"

"Like hell you weren't! You were smirking at me, you disrespectful little brat!"

"No . . ." Severus cried, knowing all the while it would do no good.

"You're overdue for a licking anyhow, boy. Come here."

Sev backed away, furious and defiant. "No! I didn't do anything. Why should I get whipped for nothing?"

Tobias's eyes narrowed. "Boy, I'm warning you. Come here now, or else."

Severus glared at him, his own temper rearing its head. He shook his head stubbornly.

Tobias snarled wordlessly and lunged at him. Sev ducked and tried to run, but his father was deadly quick when he wished to be, and he snagged his son by the shoulder, dragging him over to the couch.

"When I tell you to come here, you do it!" he rasped, pushing the boy face down on the couch and slipping his belt free. Severus struggled, but he was no match for Tobias's strength, and all he could do was grit his teeth as Tobias whipped him.

That was the worst whipping he'd ever gotten, the one that left the most scars later on, and the ironic thing was that he had been beaten for having a guilty look on his face and for no other reason. The elder Snape had walloped him until he had howled, then had shoved him away and stalked out of the house, leaving his son bruised and battered, sobbing in a fit of despair and helplessness and betrayal.

That had been the first time Sev had ever wished he could use his magic to hex his father until he begged for mercy. Or that he'd been born to someone, anyone else, because anybody was a better father than Tobias, who seemed to use any excuse to hurt his son, who was nothing to him but a disappointment and a freak.

He wept himself hoarse, from pain and humiliation, and he hated his father and at the same time longed for Tobias to treat him the way other fathers treated their sons, with love and kindness. Other kids had that, why couldn't he? He wondered bitterly, as tears tracked a salty river down his face. Why don't you love me, Dad? Why?

* * * * * *

The white mist abandoned Tobias with a shocking snap, and he blinked and came back to himself. His mind reeled with all that he had witnessed, all the emotional turmoil his son had felt, until he feared he would go mad. The images were burned into his brain, in vivid Technicolor, and for the first time in his life, Tobias could not escape the results of his drinking, nor make excuses for himself that he had only been disciplining his son.

"Now do you understand?" he demanded softly.

Tobias nodded, not looking at his son. "Bloody hell, but I've become my father!" he whispered brokenly. "The man I hated and feared and swore I'd never become. I always . . .always blamed my temper on the drink or you, but it was me. It was always me."

He looked at Severus then, and in his eyes was self-loathing and regret and a terrible empathy. "I treated you the way my father treated me. The very same." He shut his eyes, trying to shut out the memories rising in his head, the bitter tear-drenched memories of a broken childhood, his own and his son's, of innocence lost never to be regained, and found that they would not leave. The guilt and shame clawed at him remorselessly, until he gasped and whispered, "I'm sorry, Sev! So damn sorry!"

"And so you ought to be," came his son's silky sharp rejoinder.

But that bit of sarcastic sharpness was all Severus could manage, for he too was raw and hurting after reliving those memories. He glanced away from Tobias, trying desperately to compose himself, for he'd be damned if he'd cry in front of his father now.

At least now he was sure Tobias comprehended the depth of anguish he had suffered for all those years, though those four memories were by no means all the trauma he'd endured, simply the most vivid. He took a deep breath, willing the tears pressing on his eyelids to go away.

Then he heard it.

A soft choked sound.

He jerked his head around, startled, and his eyes widened.

His father, the indomitable, harder than iron, sergeant of the Royal Marines, was crying.

Hunched over, his face buried in his hands, Tobias Snape, the demon of his childhood was crying, tears dripping through his clasped hands to fall upon the scarred tabletop.

For one moment, Severus just stared. Could this be? Could the man who had hurt him worst of all actually feel remorse and pain for him?

Tobias's shoulders shook, he trembled violently, like a leaf blown about in a gale, as the pent-up tears of a lifetime suddenly surged up within him, and his control shattered to pieces. Gut-wrenching sobs tore through him, inexorable as the tide, and he cried for Severus, and for himself and for Harry, for all of the harm he had caused, knowing and unknowing, that now had come back to haunt him.

He had been blind, but now he saw. Saw true and clear and he hated what he had become.

Severus watched, mouth agape, and for one moment the selfish part of him hissed, Good. He deserves to cry for what he's done. But then something broke in him as well, and he was no longer ambivalent to his father's pain. They had shared too much in that hour he had cast the Legilimens Memorium, he had opened himself up wide and now he could not help but respond to the astonishing and yet awful sight of his father sobbing like a lost and hurt child.

He reached out a hand, touched Tobias lightly, and said softly, "Dad, don't. Please."

It felt so terribly awkward, seeing the man he had once worshipped for his strength and feared for his temper reduced to nothing more than a little child, sobbing alone in the dark because no one cared.

Except . . .except someone did care, the Master Healer realized.

He cared.

He had waited all of his life for his father to admit he had been wrong, to apologize for all of the hurtful words, for all of the unjust whippings, for never being there, and now that it had happened, he felt somehow hollow, and his victory was not at all what he had expected.

He did not know how or why he felt compassion for this man, yet he did and he could not deny it. His Healer's soul was crying out for solace, urging him to reach out to the man who had been at once his son's nemesis and his own worst enemy.

He rested a hand on the lean shoulder and Tobias jerked his head up and said hoarsely, "Severus, can you ever forgive me? God knows I don't deserve it, not after . . .but maybe someday . . .I see now . . .through your eyes, child, I see . . ."

It was too much.

He dissolved into tears again, only this time he found his head resting on a broad shoulder, and he realized that his son was holding him, the little boy he had hurt and belittled was comforting him. He held tightly to Severus and knew that the impossible had occurred, that the child he had caused so much anguish had forgiven him, at least somewhat.

He turned his head and gazed at his child, who was honest and true and compassionate and whom he did not deserve at all, and saw that Severus's eyes were wet too, with tears he stubbornly refused to let fall. Clumsily, for he had never learned how to be demonstrative, he reached up and patted his son on the back. "It's okay, Sev. It's okay, son."

As if those words were a trigger, Severus began to cry too, and the two wounded spirits clung to each other and found, for the first time, comfort and solace in the other's embrace.

After that immensely emotional and cathartic experience, though necessary, Severus resorted to giving both Tobias and himself a Calming Draught. Once he had drank it, the Master Healer felt extremely sleepy and told Tobias he needed to go home, he had some things to do before Harry arrived home from school. "I'll call and let you know when we're going to visit," he said softly. "The number's the same still?"

Tobias nodded. "You still remember it?"

Severus arched an eyebrow. "Of course. You might want to take a rest, Dad. The Calming Draught often makes you tired." Then he Apparated, leaving his father alone to either sleep or mull things over, whichever came first, though Severus was betting on the nap.

His eyes were shutting in spite of himself, and he quickly entered the house, kicked off his shoes, and headed straight for the couch. He just had time to note that it was ten after twelve and to set an alarm to wake him up by two so he could pick up Harry before falling onto the couch and into a deep peaceful slumber.

Harry was ecstatic when Severus told him the good news, that he could see his grandfather again, probably this weekend, as long as Tobias didn't have anything planned. Severus knew quite well he probably didn't, or if he did, he would happily rearrange his schedule. He then told Harry to quit bouncing up and down, settle down, and take out his homework.

The six-year-old made a face at him. "Aww, do I have to do it now, Dad? I wanted to watch TV."

"Harry, it's best if you do your homework now, that way you can do as you please later." Severus reminded him, with just a hint of sternness.

Harry pouted, he'd just got done with school, the last thing he wanted was to have to sit through more boring assignments. Still, he knew his dad wouldn't let him do anything fun until he completed his homework, Severus seemed to love homework, and was a stickler for making sure Harry completed it. The few times Harry had been unwise enough to argue about it, he'd ended up with no TV for the afternoon and a fifteen-minute time-out.

So he dragged out his workbooks, pencils, and homework folder with a huge sigh and began his spelling. Five minutes later, he paused and said, "Can I have a snack, Dad? M' starving."

"Yes. Work on that page while I get it." Severus ordered, and set about making apple slices with peanut butter served with a glass of ice-cold milk. He didn't dare serve Harry anything too sweet, otherwise the youngster would be off the wall, and unable to concentrate on his assignments.

Harry looked up when his father set the plate down, concealing another sigh, he'd been hoping for a cupcake or a donut. Then he decided that apples and peanut butter didn't look so bad, and ate a slice while scribbling down the words colour, moon, and bright ten times.

After Harry was done with his homework, Severus checked it, making sure it was legible and correct. That was something Eileen used to do with him when she had been home, and in that way he was kept informed of what his son was learning and if he were having trouble with a subject. "Okay, scamp, you can go and get changed and watch TV."

Harry jumped to his feet, nearly knocking over his chair in his haste to leave the kitchen table.

Severus just rolled his eyes as his son stampeded down the hallway to his room. Kids! He tucked the books and folder away in Harry's backpack, ready for tomorrow morning.

Five minutes later, Harry stuck his head around the doorway of his room and yelled, "Hey, Dad! Can I go over Ron's instead? His mum's home today and she said it'd be okay. I wanna play Quidditch with him and the twins."

Severus considered. "Yes, but first let me firecall Molly and make certain she wishes to have an extra guest." With four of her seven children still at home, the last thing Severus wanted was to add another child to Molly's noisy brood, the witch already had enough to do minding her own.

But Molly reassured him that it was fine. "We love having Harry here, Severus. He's such a good influence on my harum-scarum rascals."

"He is?"

"Oh, yes. He says please and thank you and remembers to use his napkin and doesn't burp at the table. He has very good manners for his age, Sev. You taught him well."

"Thank you," he replied, glad to hear that at least Harry remembered his manners away from home. It was too bad he often forgot them when he was eating at his own house.

They Flooed over to the Weasley residence, nicknamed the Burrow, and Severus told Harry he would be back to pick him up in time for supper. "I've a few things to go over back in my office, but I should be back before suppertime."

"Oh, Sev, you needn't rush," Molly put in. "Let Harry stay for supper, what's one more around here?"

"I wouldn't want to put you through any trouble, Molly," began the Master Healer.

"What trouble, Sev? Harry's like one of my own, practically. Now you go and take care of your patients and let me worry about what in Merlin's name I'm going to make for supper, all right?"

"Thank you, Molly," Severus said, then turned to Harry. "What do you say, Harry?"

"Thanks, Mrs. Weasley, for having me stay for supper."

"You're so very welcome, luv." Molly patted him on the cheek, chuckling when he ducked away. "Go on, run and find Ron, he's probably outside with his brothers, helping to de-gnome the garden."

Harry scampered away, calling, "Ron! My dad says I can stay for supper!"

"What time shall I come and pick Harry up?"

"Oh, not much after seven, we ought to be finished by then." Molly said, then shooed him back into the fireplace. She had been in school with his mother, though younger than Eileen, and sometimes she tended to treat Sev like a younger brother.

* * * * * *

But when Severus arrived promptly at five after seven to collect his son, he found trouble brewing at the Burrow. No sooner had he stepped from the fireplace and brushed the soot off his pants then Harry came racing up to him, his hair sticking up every which way, green eyes bright with concern. "Dad! Dad! You gotta come help Ron! We were gonna call you, ‘cause we were playing Quidditch and Ron fell off his broom and he . . .uh . . .we think he broke his arm!"

"Calm down, Harry," Severus repeated, summoning his doctor's kit with a snap of his fingers. "Where is Ron now?"

"With his mum in the back room, he says his arm hurts real bad, Dad."

"Yes, I imagine it would." Severus followed Harry through the kitchen into what was used as a guest room on occasion.

Ron was sitting on the bed, white-faced and crying, cradling his left arm in his lap. Molly was sitting next to him, patting his back with one hand and trying to get him to take a pain reliever, but the six-year-old was refusing.

"But Ronnie, sweetheart, it'll make you feel better," Molly coaxed.

"No! I don't want it, Mum!" He clamped his mouth shut stubbornly and turned his head away.

"If you won't take it for your mother, Ron, will you take it for me?" Severus queried, walking quickly into the room and kneeling before the injured boy.

"Healer Sev!" Ron cried, sniffling. "You came. Harry said you would."

"Oh, thank Merlin! I've told those boys to watch their flying a million times, but do they listen?" Molly said exasperatedly. "No, and then this one gets knocked into a tree by a Bludger!"

"Accidents happen, Molly." Severus replied calmly, scanning the little red-headed boy with a quick diagnostic. "Well, Ron, you've broken two bones in your arm, one's a fracture by your wrist and the other's right here," Severus pointed his wand at Ron's elbow. "And you've also sustained a few scrapes and bruises as well."

"Uh-huh. My bum hurts too," Ron admitted softly.

"Yes, you've bruised your tailbone," Severus replied matter-of-factly. "But we'll fix that later. Right now I need you to take some potions for me, starting with the one your mum has in her hand. Is that a Class Five, Molly?"

"It is, Sev," she answered, handing it to him. "You brewed it for us."

"Right. Here you are, Ron. Drink that all for me, child."

Ron made a face. "Do I have to, Healer Sev? It tastes nasty!"

"Only for a minute and then I'll give you some butterbeer to wash the taste away. It'll help you stop hurting, lad. Take one swallow," Sev urged, placing the rim of the vial against the reluctant child's mouth.

Ron obeyed, swallowing and grimacing. "That's right, now another. Good! One more." Severus gradually coaxed the pain reliever down the child's throat, then allowed him to take small sips of butterbeer. "How's that? Better now?"

"Yeah, I can't feel any pain at all."

Severus nodded, then removed several other potions from his kit. "I'm going to set the arm first before I give him the Bone-Knit Elixir, Molly, and the Anti-Inflammatory Draft." He turned back to Ron, who was looking frightened. "Now then, Ron, I need to take your arm and pull it straight. You shouldn't feel anything, but if you want, you can hold your mum's hand while I do this, all right?"

Ron nodded. He gripped Molly's hand tightly. "Y-you're not gonna give me a needle, are you, Healer Sev?"

"No, no needles today, Ron," Severus answered, gently taking the child's arm and feeling along it expertly. Harry watched intently as his dad rotated Ron's arm and then pulled it straight with a quick firm motion.

Ron shivered, but didn't cry out and then Severus tapped his wand to Ron's arm and said, "Immobilius locari," freezing the arm so the boy could not move it. "All right, and now I'm going to have you swallow another rather nasty potion, Ron. This is a Bone-Knit Elixir, and it's going to mend the broken bones in your arm."

He gave Ron a small squat vial to drink and then another red potion as well. Once he had ingested them, Severus removed the bind on his arm and conjured a sling for it instead. "This will have healed in a few hours, but you're to keep the arm in the sling for three days to give the swelling time to go down and the bone to knit fast."

"Does it hurt, Ron?" Harry wanted to know.

"Nope. It feels great now. Thanks, Healer Sev." Ron smiled shyly at the tall Healer.

"You're welcome, lad." Severus reached into his medical kit and pulled out a chocolate frog, he always carried a few around with him, for rewards after treating children. "Here, since you were a model patient and didn't bite me."

Ron opened the chocolate frog eagerly, pulling out the card and exclaiming, "Wicked, Mum! I got Sirius Black!" Then he looked at Harry and offered him half of the chocolate.

Once the chocolate had been eaten, Severus removed one last item from his kit and said, "Now that we've taken care of your arm, mister, next we'll fix all those bruises you picked up." He uncapped the container of bruise balm and gently applied it to all the bruises Ron had gotten, even the one on his bottom.

Ron whimpered a bit when Sev did that, since the bruise was very painful, but Severus numbed it with his wand and told Molly to give the little boy a hot bath before bedtime with some special bath salts he handed her, saying the bruise should go away within a day or two. "And if anything else should happen, he complains of pain anywhere else, just let me know, but he should be his old self in three days."

"Severus, I don't know how I can ever repay you," Molly began, hugging her son.

"You already have, by watching Harry," Severus said firmly, refusing her attempts to pay him for his services, knowing they couldn't afford it. "We should be going, Harry has school tomorrow. If you need me, you know how to reach me."

The two bid goodbye to the Weasleys and left the Burrow to return to their small home on Aspen Avenue, weary yet happy as well. And now Harry had something else to share with his grandfather when he visited over the weekend.

* * * * * *

That first weekend proved slightly awkward for the two adults, who were reminded of the shared memories every time they looked at one another, but having Harry there helped ease their discomfort until finally it went away altogether. The first day they spent with Tobias, he showed Harry how to choose the right kind and color of wood to carve the panther charm, and also how to use the small knives and sandpaper on a practice piece of wood first.

"You should always have a piece of wood to practice with first, Harry," Tobias instructed, patiently showing his grandson how to hold the carving knife. "That way if you make a mistake, no big deal, you throw it out and get a new piece."

Severus sat slightly away from the pair in the woodshop, listening and observing. He was amazed that Tobias possessed the patience necessary to teach a young child, but the ex-sergeant showed no annoyance when Harry asked him to repeat something or needed to be shown how to hold the sandpaper again. Clearly, his father was tapping uncharted depths with Harry, and Severus was happy that Harry would know a different Tobias than Severus had growing up.

While Harry practiced on the scrap wood, he chattered away to his grandfather, telling him all about his visit to the Weasleys and Ron falling off his broom and breaking his arm. "But Dad fixed it good as new, and Ron says it didn't even hurt. Dad's the best Healer in St. Mungos."

"That's a matter of opinion, Harry," laughed Severus.

"Well, I think so," his son insisted.

"I'd have to agree," Tobias added.

Severus raised an eyebrow at that. Tobias rarely gave out compliments, and almost never had Severus gotten one. "How would you know, Dad? You've never required my services before."

"And hopefully I won't, but if I ever did, I'd trust you over any other doctor I could name," said the older Snape sincerely.

Severus felt a warm glow deep inside of him at those words, words which he knew the old Tobias would have never uttered. "Thank you."

Tobis favored him with a rare half-smile, then turned back to showing his too-eager grandson how to carve an ear from the block of pine.

On Sunday, Tobias had Harry begin tracing the outline of the panther charm on the block of wood he'd chosen, and then he did the preliminary carving, which meant that he carved most of the figurine, leaving Harry just enough extra wood to get a few quick strokes in with the knife and it was finished. Tobias carved the details, like the eyes, nose, mouth, and whiskers. He even added fur, then had Harry sand the finished charm smooth, before boring a hole in the panther's neck and stringing it on a leather cord.

"There you go, Harry," he handed the finished charm to his grandson, who then ran over to show it off to Severus.

"Look, Dad! Isn't this the coolest charm ever? And I helped make it."

Severus examined the intricately carved panther and said, "You did a great job, Harry. But how would you like to have it be even more special?"

"How?"

"I could put a protection spell on it, if you'd like." Severus offered.

Harry nodded and Severus took out his wand and intoned a protection spell, which settled over the wooden carving in a soft glowing light. Once it had been absorbed into the charm, Severus gently placed it about his son's neck and told him to go inside and wash up for lunch.

Harry obeyed, he couldn't wait to show Blaise and Ron his lucky panther pendant, which he'd helped his grandpa carve.

When he mentioned that over lunch, Severus smiled and said to his father, "Better watch out, or before you know it, Harry will have you on commission to make pendants for all of his school friends."

Tobias shrugged. "There are worse things to be doing." He tapped his chin thoughtfully. "You know, I haven't been fishing in over ten years, what do you say to a fishing trip?"

"When?" asked Harry. He'd never been fishing at all.

"It would have to be sometime after September," said Severus decisively. "I'm much too busy to take time off from my practice until at least the end of October."

Harry's little face fell. "But that's so long, Dad. Why can't you tell your patients to go find another doctor?"

Tobias bit the inside of his cheek hard.

"Why, Harry, would you want to deny my patients the best medical care at St Mungos?" queried Severus, also amused at his son's impassioned declaration.

"Well, no, but . . .you're always so busy," the child muttered grumpily.

"The good ones usually are, lad," said his grandfather, tousling Harry's black hair affectionately. "Besides, you know the Snape house rule-work before play. October‘ll be here before you know it, and in the meantime, you can practice learning how to tie on weights and flies and bait a hook, okay?"

Harry shook his head yes, figuring that would at least pass the time until October whatever arrived. He fingered his lucky panther charm and smiled, then picked up his peanut butter sandwich and took a large bite out of it. He was happy that he could finally visit his grandpa again and that his dad and grandpa had mended whatever had been wrong between them now.

Severus was a bit skeptical about the fishing expedition, the last one he'd gone on with Tobias when he was eleven had nearly ended in disaster, with Tobias getting drunk, falling overboard, and having to be rescued by Severus.

Hopefully, history would not repeat itself any more, and the fishing trip would prove to be a good experience for all concerned.

* * * * * *

"Dad! Dad! C'mon, Dad, get up!" Harry cried, practically jumping up and down on Severus's stomach.

The Master Healer opened one eye and scowled warningly at his son. "Harry, what did I tell you the last time you woke me?"

"Umm . . .that you'd turn me into a toad if I woke you before five AM anymore. But it's not five, Dad, it's six! And today's the day we get to go fishing up near Hogwarts with Grandpa, remember?"

"How could I forget? You've only reminded me every five minutes yesterday." Severus groaned. "Listen, scamp. I need to get a bit more rest here, since I was on call last night, so you need to go back to bed. Or read quietly in your room if you can't sleep."

"Can I stay in here and read?" asked the little boy, for he didn't want to be alone in his room, it was boring.

"Yes, you may stay in here, so long as you don't jump all over the bed or be loud and obnoxious." Then Severus turned over and drew the covers over his head.

"But, Dad, when are you going to get up?" Harry pestered, afraid his father would oversleep and miss the fishing trip.

"When I'm damn good and ready!" he snapped. Then he added more gently at his child's hurt expression, "I won't miss it, Harry, but I need to get more than three and a half hours of sleep in order to catch any fish. So please, for the love of Merlin, let me go to sleep!"

"Sure, Dad," Harry agreed, then hopped off the bed and ran to get his new book to read.

He curled up in the big queen-sized bed next to his sleeping father and began to read the story of The Velveteen Rabbit, which Tobias had found in the attic in a box of old books that Severus once owned.

Harry had just gotten to the part of the story where the Skin Horse in the nursery explains what it means to be real to the Rabbit when his eyes started to shut in spite of himself. He stuck a scrap of parchment inside the book to mark his place, then snuggled under the covers next to Severus for a quick snooze.

* * * * * *

Four hours later, Sev had Apparated Harry, Tobias, and all of their fishing gear plus a cooler with food and drinks to a small lake very close to the border of Hogwarts. They had stopped briefly at the school to say hello to Dumbledore and Minerva, who hadn't see Harry since the summer, and was amazed at how he'd grown.

"He's shooting up like a weed, Severus."

"Yes, well he's finally eating more nutritious things other than peanut butter and jam or noodles with butter," Severus told her. "His appetite's much better now than it used to be. Remember how he used to pick at his food?"

"And play with it," Minerva chuckled. "Once you ended up wearing half of his dinner, if I remember correctly."

Severus nodded, one corner of his mouth twitching up into a smile. "You do. That was the time when all he wanted to do was throw spinach and mashed potatoes at me."

Harry giggled. "I did?"

"Yes, scamp and it wasn't funny."

"I think it is," Harry said, snickering. Then he sobered when Tobias flashed him one of his Looks.

Though Tobias had promised Severus he would abide by the terms of their agreement, Harry didn't know that his grandfather wasn't allowed to discipline him, and so he behaved upon catching the warning glare. He didn't want to get put in time-out or spanked before the fishing trip even began.

But at last they were ready and Severus Apparated them over to the crystal clear lake where Tobias had said were some great looking rainbow trout and chubbs. He had been there earlier in the week, courtesy of Albus. The lake was overlooked by a gorgeous stand of willows and an aspen grove, it was still and serene and peaceful, an excellent spot to fish.

Unless you were a hyper excitable kid on your first fishing trip ever.

Tobias had set the cooler a ways back from where they would stand to cast, and placed the tackle box on top of it. The small pail with the nightcrawlers and meal worm jar was on the ground next to the red cooler. Harry was wearing a red windbreaker, jeans, trainers and a long-sleeved gold shirt-Gryffindor colors, Minerva had remarked, raising an eyebrow-but Severus merely shrugged and said that was what Harry had chosen to wear today. He was like a dervish, here, there, and everywhere. He was unable to remain still and wanted to bait his hook immediately, nearly upsetting the pail of nightcrawlers in his impatience.

"Harry, watch what you're doing!" Tobias scolded, just catching the pail in time. "Lord, kid, you're like a bull in a china shop."

"Sorry, Grandpa. But can we put the worm on the hook now? Please?" Harry waved his pole about eagerly, nearly hitting the kneeling Tobias in the eye.

"Harry! Settle down, you almost caught your grandfather with that hook," scolded Severus, moving over to pick up his son and move him out of range. He set the child down on a large flat rock and knelt in front of him, his face serious and set. "Harry James Severus, this is the last time I'm going to tell you to stop jumping about like a grasshopper and swinging that pole all over. That hook is dangerous, young man, and I'd rather not spend our fishing trip trying to extract it from your eye or hand or one of our faces, clear?"

"Yes sir," the little boy hung his head. "I'll be careful. Promise, Dad. Am I in trouble?"

"You will be , mister, unless you sit here and don't move until your grandfather or I tell you. I know you're excited, but you need to control yourself and stop getting in the way, son. Your grandfather knows what he's doing, and he'll tell you when it's time to bait the hook and cast. Now you need to practice waiting."

"I hate waiting. Waiting's boring!" sulked Harry.

"Would you prefer twenty minutes in time-out and an early bedtime?"

"No sir. I'll be good." Harry bit his lip and stroked his necklace, he'd left Inky at home for once, not wanting to lose the panther by the lake.

"That's my boy," Severus ruffled his son's hair, then went to attach weights and flies on his pole.

"Kid's as bad as you were at that age, " Tobias remarked, securing a pretty orange and yellow lure to his line.

"He's worse," Severus disagreed. He reached into the container of meal worms and impaled one on his hook. "Where did you say you saw the biggest trout, Dad?"

"Think you're clever, do you, Sev?" his father snorted. "As if I'd be stupid enough to tell you the best spot to fish here. Figure it out yourself, Master Healer."

"All right, I will. Why don't we have a little contest? Winner with the biggest or the most fish doesn't cook dinner tonight. Deal?" he held out his hand.

"You're on, doctor," Tobias smirked and slapped Severus's palm. "Hope you know a good recipe for trout, Severus."

"You ought to be thinking up one yourself, Dad. Last time, if I remember correctly, I caught more fish than you."

"Only cause I was drunk!" Tobias blustered. "I'm not now."

"Does that make a difference?" teased his son, his dark eyes glittering with good humor.

"You bet your magical arse it does, Sev. Just watch me." Tobias baited his own hook with a nightcrawler.

"Can I get up now?" whined Harry, squirming on the rock. "I've been waiting forever."

"Hang on a minute, rascal," Tobias called, picking up the can of worms and a feather lure. "Let me get you set up." he moved over to tie and bait Harry's hook, while Severus moved around the lake, searching for a perfect spot to cast.

Tobias had unofficially volunteered to coach Harry, since he enjoyed watching his grandson learn new things. Harry was bright and eager and quick to learn, like a rambunctious Labrador puppy, Tobias thought fondly.

"Okay, Harry. Let's go over here, by this stretch of the lake," Tobias led Harry to the lake, in a spot where there were no trees for the youngster to get his line tangled in, then showed his grandson how to cast the line out into the water. "Now, once it's cast, you've got to leave it in and be still. Otherwise you'll scare the fish."

"How, Grandpa? The fish are in the water, so how can they see me?"

"They can see your line moving about, and sudden movement scares them, ‘cause they don't want to be eaten. So, you've got to be quiet and not move."

"Okay. I can do it." Harry said, then cast his line out.

It settled some twenty feet into the middle of the lake.

"Good! Now you sit here and wait. Remember, if you feel a tug on your line, don't get all nuts, that's a fish taking a nibble. If you feel a sharp tug, call me, and I'll help you reel him in. Okay?"

"Yup." Harry was gripping his pole tightly, his green eyes focused upon the water.

Tobias moved about ten feet away and cast his own line. Severus was down the lake from them, fishing serenely. Ten minutes after they'd cast their lines, Harry felt something nibble on his. But he waited and then after a minute, he felt the fish bite down hard on the worm and the lure.

"Uh, Grandpa, I think I got one," he called softly.

"Hold on, Harry. I think I do too." Tobias played out his line, then brought it in close. The fish on his line wriggled and fought, but Tobias was an excellent fisherman and he soon reeled in the first catch of the day.

Or at least he thought it was the first, until he saw Severus holding up a mesh bag with a cold spell cast on it. Inside was a large rainbow trout, and his son smirked at him.

"Damn!" Tobias muttered, then reeled his in and went to assist his grandson.

With Tobias's help, Harry soon reeled in a large rainbow. "I got one! I got one!" he shrieked delightedly, stroking the fish.

"We all did. Let's go give this to Severus to keep in that bag so it doesn't spoil."

They placed the fish in the spelled bag, though soon those three were joined by two more, caught by Severus and Tobias.

Harry pouted, until he felt another tug on his line, and this time the pole was nearly ripped out of his hand. "Help!" he cried, hanging on to the pole with both hands.

"What the hell?" Tobias ran over, grabbed the kid's pole and began to wrestle the huge trout on the other end.

The fish fought and jumped, but it couldn't get away, it had the hook sunk deep in its mouth and eventually Tobias had played it until it was exhausted, then together he and Harry reeled it in.

The six-year-old's eyes were as big as saucers as he stared at the eight pound trout. "Bloody hell, Grandpa! Look at him!"

"Yeah he's a big one," Tobias said, grinning proudly. Then he shot his grandson a Look. "Watch your mouth, young man, before I ask Sev where he keeps a bar of soap."

Harry gulped, looking alarmed. "Sorry, I forgot."

"Okay, I'll let it go. This time. Come on, let's go show your dad what we caught. Looks like I won't be cooking tonight."

"Why?"

"Because your dad and I made a little wager, kid. Whoever caught the biggest fish doesn't have to cook."

"Oh" Then Harry said slyly. "But you didn't really, Grandpa. He was on my pole, so I caught him. You only helped."

Tobias gaped at him. "What are you, a damn lawyer?"

"Nope. But I'm right."

"You're a conniving little brat, is what you are," the older man laughed, and gave the boy a pretend swat.

Harry danced away, laughing, and ran down the lakeshore, calling for Severus to see the gigantic fish he caught.

Severus was very impressed and soon the huge trout was resting inside the spelled bag along with its relatives.

Tobias and Severus looked at one another.

"I don't believe this," Severus began, staring at the huge trout.

"Me either. We just got our backsides whipped royally by a six-year-old," Tobias groaned.

"Beginner's luck," Severus huffed.

"No, it's not, Dad." Harry smirked, grinning from ear to ear. He held up his lucky panther. "My panther charm brought me luck. And now you can both cook me dinner."

"Cheeky brat," Severus mock-growled.

"What d'you say we throw him in the lake?" Tobias teased.

"Now there's an idea," Severus agreed, playing along.

"No way!" cried Harry. "Besides, you'd have to catch me first and you're two old slowpokes."

"Severus, this brat of yours needs a lesson in manners."

"Teach him one for me, Dad. I've got a fish biting."

"My pleasure. C'mere, you little rascal!"

Harry turned and ran, his little legs were wiry and quick, but he was no match for Tobias, who had much longer legs and could run like a deer.

"Gotcha!" shouted Tobias, and he scooped the wriggling Harry into his arms and tossed him over his shoulder. Then he walked back to where Severus was fishing and dangled his squirming giggling grandson upside down. "Sev, I got me a minnow here that needs his hide tanned."

"Oh?" the Master Healer stuck his pole into the ground and came towards the pair, pretending to scowl ferociously.

"No! No! Lemme go!"

"Do you know what happens to naughty little boys?" demanded Severus.

"He started it!" Harry cried, wriggling frantically to no avail. "He tried to steal my fish!"

"If it weren't for me, you'd never have caught that fish, buster!"

"Would so! Put me down!"

"Nope, not yet. Well, Sev? What should we do to this disrespectful brat, hmm?"

"I think we should . . .tickle him to death!" cried the Potions Master and he attacked Harry with his very deft very quick fingers, tickling him all over.

Harry shrieked and squirmed, much like a fish on a hook, but Tobias held him firmly, and he was helpless to avoid his father's hands, which sought out all his most ticklish places, and tickled him until he begged for mercy.

"Okay! Okay! Stop!"

"You going to behave, young man?"

"Yes! Yes! Now please put me down! Before I pee my pants."

"All right, minnow. You've been disciplined enough," Tobias allowed, hiding a grin. Then he turned Harry right side up and set him on the ground.

"Uh, Dad? I really do have to go pee."

Severus sighed. "Go inbetween those two trees there, Harry," He indicated a stand of aspens some ten feet beyond the lakeshore.

Harry ran, emerging a few minutes later, and announced, "I'm hungry. Can we have lunch now?"

So they all settled down and had sandwiches and iced tea for lunch. The two men ate leisurely, content to bask in the fall air and sunshine, for it was a glorious day. Tobias took a nap while Severus walked about, gathering a few specimens for his potions lab from the local flora. Harry watched, nibbling on the raisin scone they'd brought, and absently rubbing his thighs and backside, which itched for some reason.

Fifteen minutes later, Severus returned from his herb gathering to find his son scratching frantically. "Harry, what in Merlin's name?"

"I'm itchy, Dad," he whined. "I can't stop scratching."

"Hold still," Severus ordered. Harry obeyed, or tried to. Severus gently removed his son's jeans and underwear, and saw the tell tale red rash of poison ivy. "Oh, Merlin! Harry, where did you go before, when I told you to relieve yourself?"

"Inbetween the trees, like you said. But I didn't want anyone t' see, so then I went behind the bush with the vines."

"The bush with the vines was poison ivy, son," Severus shook his head. Though normally poison ivy was not native to the British Isles, there had been a wizard botanist a few years back who had imported some species of plants native to the Americas over here and tried to experiment with them.  Clearly, the results of said experimentation were still around, since the wizard had lived right around this area.

And of course, Harry, with his penchant for trouble, had found the only wild specimen of poison ivy. Typical, only his son could manage to get poison ivy on a fishing trip.

"Poison ivy!" Harry wailed. "Am I gonna die now?"

"No, no, of course not!" Severus said, trying very hard not to laugh. "It'll only make you have a rash, Harry, it won't kill you."

"You sure?" Harry wondered if he were going to just keel over.

"Positive. It's called poison ivy because the leaves secrete a sap that makes people get a rash, and so it's poisonous to our skin."

Harry went to scratch, and Sev batted his hand away. "Stop! If you scratch, it'll spread."

"But it's really itchy!" The poor kid was twisting and wriggling, for his father was holding his hands so he couldn't reach back and scratch the red spots. "Dad! Make it stop!"

"Oh, Harry. Give me a minute and I'll summon my Rash Away Salve." Severus concentrated and the salve appeared in his hand. Then he gently smoothed the salve all over his son's bottom, making sure the rash was covered. Harry sighed in relief as the prickly maddening itch disappeared. "There. Better, scamp?"

"Yeah. Thanks, Dad."

"You're welcome," Severus chuckled, fixing his son's clothing. "Next time don't go near any bushes with vines."

"Okay. I'm gonna take a nap like Grandpa." Harry told him.

"An excellent idea, Mr. Potter. I'm going to also."

Then father and son settled down in the soft grass next to their elder relation and drowsed away the afternoon, waking only when their stomachs reminded them it was time for dinner.

And then Severus and Tobias cooked, making an excellent fried trout with watercress, wild onions, parsley, and mushrooms, which Severus had gathered along with his herbs. Harry devoured every bit of it, then proclaimed it was the best dinner ever, because he had caught it.

Tobias eyed his grandson fondly. "Minnow, are you asking for another tickle torture session?"

Harry shook his head rapidly. "No, Grandpa! But . . .umm . . I do have a question."

"What's that?"

"What's for dessert?"

"Ah, now there's a true Snape!" Tobias chuckled heartily, and then was echoed by Severus.

Harry glanced from one to the other. "What? What's so funny?"

"You, scamp. Because anyone who knows me knows I love sweets, though I don't like to advertise the fact too much." Severus said. "I get that from your grandfather, oddly enough."

"Yeah, I'm the king of junk food," Tobias admitted.

"Me too!" Harry sang, eliciting another round of laughter from the two adult Snapes. "Y'know what, Dad? This is the best fishing trip I've ever been on."

"It's the only fishing trip you've ever been on, Harry."

"That's why it's the best," the little boy insisted, giving both his relatives a brilliant smile, before tagging along behind Severus to help wash the dishes off in the lake before going back home.

It was Halloween at last, and Harry was going trick-or-treating with his dad, Ron, Blaise, the twins, and Violetta, Blaise's sister. For a costume, Harry wanted to be a Dragon Tamer, like Dagger from the circus, so Severus transfigured an old outfit of Harry's into leather pants and a vest and a gold cape. He transfigured a pot into a helmet too and shrank a pair of his own boots to fit Harry's feet. He even bought a small belt with a fake dagger, a baton, and a pretend whip.

"But what about my hair, Dad? I want it long and in braids like Dagger had."

So Sev cast a charm that would force grow Harry's hair until it was long enough for him to braid and gave him a fake earring too. Harry put the Chinese fireball dragon in his pocket, picked up his pillowcase, which had a featherlight charm on it, so that no matter how much sweets Harry received, the bag would not be too heavy for him to carry, and they were off to the Burrow to fetch Ron.

Ron was very impressed with Harry's costume, he was dressed as a Firecaster, which had been a wizard who could summon fire at will back during the Middle Ages, and there were still some around, but the talent was dying out. Firecasters traditionally wore deep crimson robes with flames on the hem, sleeves and front and a black skullcap and a ruby pendant and they carried a staff with a dragon's head on it.

Molly had transfigured a stick into the dragon-head staff, and Fred and George did the robes, Ron reported. The twins were dressed as jesters, complete with bells and fool sticks, which performed a variety of harmless pranks when someone touched one. Violetta was a harem girl, much to the twins delight. Severus raised an eyebrow at her costume, but said nothing, it was not his place to comment on what other parents allowed their children to do, though Violetta reassured him that she was wearing a flesh-toned body suit underneath the wispy pants and top. Blaise was dressed as a Hippogriff Rider, with a blue spangled cape, white pants and a billowy white shirt plus a feathered cap, and a whistle about his neck.

Severus wasn't dressed as anything, he was wearing his normal white hospital robe with the caduceus on the front, and the pin with his last name, which was what he wore to work almost everyday. Harry had tried to get him to dress up, but Severus said it wasn't necessary. "Trick-or-treating is for kids, not adults. Muggles will think I'm a wizard anyhow, wearing my hospital whites and carrying my wand."

They would visit Tobias later on in the afternoon, Harry had already helped decorate his house, putting cobwebs around the trees and fake headstones in the flowerbeds and Tobias had allowed him to paint creepy faces on the windows in washable paint and he'd made a dummy and hung it from the big tree and called it the Hanged Man. The three had also carved jack-o-lanterns and ate pumpkin seeds afterwards, toasted with lots of salt.

So early in the afternoon, Severus shepherded the children all over the nearby wizarding community and the Muggle shops and residences as well, until Ron and Harry were tired and starting to whine that their feet hurt and the twins were tired of playing pranks and Violetta was tired of telling Blaise to quit blowing the darn whistle in her ear.

Maria's daughter had a spitfire temper and she snarled at her little brother, "If you don't quit blowing that blasted whistle in my ear, fratellino, I'm going to transfigure it into a stick and beat you with it, capice?"

Blaise ducked her swat and ran to hide behind Severus. "Healer Sev, Violetta's being mean to me."

"And you're being annoying on purpose, young man," Severus frowned down at him sternly. "Now, I'll have that whistle, Mr. Zabini. You'll get it back when you go home." He held out his hand for the whistle, which Blaise reluctantly surrendered to him.

Blaise stuck out his tongue at his sister, who smirked at him. Then they decided to go to one last house before heading back home.

Halloween was a major holiday among wizards and Muggles alike, and the hospital was throwing its annual Halloween bash that same evening, which Severus had been invited to, but he almost never attended since Lily had died. Usually he was home with his son, making hot apple cider and donuts and telling Harry scary stories. Severus had considered going this year, but then he remembered that Tobias would be expecting them that evening for dinner and decided it would be better to spend time with his family, he wasn't much for social events lately.

Once the last house had been visited, Severus led his weary bunch of children back to his house, where they were then picked up by their parents via Apparition or the Floo Network.

Harry was busy examining all the loot he'd gotten, though he wasn't allowed to eat any sweets unless Severus had first inspected them magically. "I think I got lots more than last year, Dad!" he told his father, dividing all the candy into different piles-one for chocolate, one for sour sweets, one for magical sweets, and one for Muggle sweets.

Severus just rolled his eyes at that declaration, for the last thing his child needed was more sugar. Still, it was a holiday, and so he allowed Harry to choose three pieces of candy to eat after supper. Then, after he had inspected all of the sweets to make certain they were safe to eat, he placed them in a large bowl and put it on top of the refrigerator, out of Harry's reach. He knew better than to leave the bowl where his son could eat from it freely, and that way he could use the sweets as rewards when Harry completed chores or as dessert.

Sev changed into Muggle attire before calling Harry and telling him to get ready to leave to go to Spinner's End.

"Okay, Dad! Lemme get Inky and the Halloween card I made for Grandpa." Harry tore down the hall to his bedroom, where he snatched up the stuffed panther and the Halloween card he'd made before racing back into the den and running over to his father.

Severus picked him up, then Apparated to Spinner's End.

They found Tobias sitting on the porch wearing his old Marine sergeant uniform. Harry ran up and gave him the card, which Tobias said would go on the corkboard next to the other drawings Harry had made for him. "Cool costume, Grandpa!"

"It was the best costume I could come up with on short notice," he told his grandson, who thought the uniform was wicked.

Severus thought he was going to fall over, for who would've guessed Tobias enjoyed Halloween enough to wear a costume? "I didn't know you still had that uniform, Dad."

"I had your mother cast a preserving spell on it, but I never thought I'd fit in it again." Tobias laughed. "Not bad for twenty-eight years later."

"Were you really a soldier, Grandpa?" asked Harry curiously, examining Tobias's rank lapels and pins with interest.

"Yes, once upon a time I was, minnow. I used to be a sergeant in the Royal Marines, way back when, until I met your grandmother and resigned once we were married, since she didn't want to be the wife of a soldier and be made to travel all over the country." Tobias explained, lifting his small grandson onto his lap.

"Did you ever fight in a war?"

"No, the big one had already been fought, that's World War II, by the time I joined the service, and that's one reason why I made sergeant at only nineteen, since we had a shortage of men due to losing so many during the last war. Plus, the Marines know command material when they see it."

"They took one look at you and said, now here's a tough, nasty, hard-arsed, perfectionist son-of-a-gun, which is just what we need, huh, Dad?" Severus remarked dryly.

Tobias nodded proudly. "Yup, that's pretty much what they said, and it's what they got too."

"Did you ever shoot a gun, Grandpa?"

"Yes, but only at targets and practice dummies, I never fired a gun at a person. When we practiced maneuvers, we used blanks, though I used to be a top marksman." He removed his sidearm from its holster, it wasn't loaded, the ammunition was in his belt pouch. "This is not a toy, Harry. You are never to touch this unless I'm with you, understand? It's not to be played with."

"That gun is like my wand, Harry," Severus put in, sitting on the other chair opposite the two. "You don't lay a finger on it without permission, little boy. Or else you'll be in serious trouble."

"Like time-out for life and a spanking?" Harry guessed.

Severus nodded gravely. "Yes, and your grandfather would be giving you the spanking, so if I were you, I'd keep my hands off it. A gun is very dangerous and can kill someone in the wrong hands. So look but don't touch."

Harry promised he'd never touch the revolver. It looked neat, but he didn't want to risk being in time-out for life nor spanked by Tobias, for Tobias's spankings hurt like the dickens.

Tobias slipped the revolver back in his holster, and said, "It's starting to get late, why don't we all go inside and have a bite to eat? Before the trick-or-treaters arrive and we have to hand out some more chocolate bars."

So they went inside to the kitchen, where Tobias had a salad and roast beef sandwiches and macaroni and cheese. They all ate heartily, and Severus made hot spiced cider and had picked up a box of donuts for dessert.

Harry had a small mug of cider and was allowed one chocolate cream donut plus the three treats from his trick-or-treating haul. Severus was sure he was going to regret that later, when it came time to put the child to sleep, but right then he couldn't resist those pleading emerald eyes.

Dusk had fallen now and the older kids were out wandering the neighborhood trick-or-treating. For awhile, Tobias was kept busy handing out chocolate, until Severus volunteered for a bit, along with Harry, who was still wearing his Dragon Tamer costume.

Some of the teen girls squealed when they saw him and declared he was too cute.

Harry rolled his eyes. "I'm not cute, I'm scary! I'm a Dragon Tamer, don't they know anything?"

Severus chuckled and said, "All teenage girls think boys your age are cute, Harry. At least they didn't try and pinch your cheek."

"Ugh! I'd of thrown the chocolate in their face if they did that!" his son declared disgustedly. "That's girl stuff!"

"Then it's a good thing you never knew your grandmother, scamp. Because she'd of kissed you or pinched your cheek every time she saw you."

"But that's different, Dad. Grandmas are allowed to do that. Like mums. But nobody else is," Harry stated firmly. Then he ran to the door again as the doorbell rang and more kids arrived.

By nine o'clock, though most of the trick-or-treaters had gone home, and Tobias said it was a good thing too, for he was nearly out of chocolate bars. The tray by the door held only six or seven and that was it. Harry was growing drowsy by then as well, and Sev made him change out of his costume finally and into pajamas.

He was trying to coax the somewhat cranky child into listening to a bedtime story before Apparating home so he could just put Harry to bed when they arrived, when the doorbell rang again.

"I'll get it!" yelled Harry, and he slipped off the couch and raced towards the door.

"Hold it, minnow," Tobias caught Harry by the shoulder. "This late at night, I get the door, not you. Go fetch the chocolate."

So Harry went to pick up the tray while Tobias, still in his uniform, answered the door to this lone trick-or-treater.

He opened the door and saw, by the porch light, a rather tall teenager in a black robe with a very scary iron mask. Tobias wondered what movie that was from, for it looked like some kind of horror flick castoff.

"Trick-or-treat," said the masked figure, and Tobias could've sworn the voice was more mature than a teenage boy's.

"You're out late tonight, lad. Half a moment, my grandson's bringing the chocolate."

"Oh? But that's not the treat I'm after, Muggle," hissed the iron-masked intruder, and then he pointed his wand directly at Tobias.

Harry, who had just started to take a chocolate bar off the tray to give to the kid at the door, caught sight of the familiar black robe and mask and froze.

Then he threw the chocolate at the Death Eater and screamed, "Daddy! The masked men are here! They've found us!" Then he turned and bolted back towards the den, utterly terrified.

Harry's scream brought Severus in an instant, but before he could hex the Death Eater at the door, five more masked figures appeared in the yard and Apparated inside.

"Harry! Stay behind me!" Severus ordered, and snarled a binding spell. How the hell did they find us here? He wondered as the spell bounced off the other's shield. Unless they had someone watching and we were followed. Damn it all to hell!

Harry obeyed, coming to hide behind his father, whimpering and sniffling. Last time the masked men had come, they had left his father badly hurt, but this time-this time they meant killing.

Severus quickly cast the Patronus Charm, sending his silver doe out to get help from the Aurors, who should have been somewhere nearby patrolling, as was usual on Halloween night. The doe bounded away through the wall and then Severus turned to face his newest opponent, who just happened to be Dolohov, the one who had nearly killed him before.

Meanwhile, Tobias, no fool, reacted with the reflexes honed into him by the Marines, and karate chopped the Death Eater on the porch, making him scream and drop his wand, which Tobias stepped on and broke.

Tobias's eyes flashed and he promptly punched the masked invader hard in the stomach. The Death Eater doubled over, retching in agony, for the ex-sergeant had not pulled his blow. These were the people who had harmed his son, and Tobias was not minded to be merciful.

He pushed the Death Eater off the porch, but more masked figures were Apparating in from out of the air and Tobias quickly slammed the door and locked it, not knowing such measures were futile. He whirled around, drawing his gun and shoving a clip into it all in one smooth motion, instinct taking over.

In the den, Severus was defending himself against three opponents, the fourth, unknown to him, had slipped around behind him and grabbed Harry by the wrist, dragging the little boy out from behind Severus and holding him fast.

"Daddy! Help! The bad man's got me!"

Harry's scream pierced Severus's heart like a sword thrust, and he spun around to see his worst nightmare made flesh-Harry in the hands of his enemy, helpless and vulnerable.

"Be still, you little whelp!" snarled the Death Eater, whose voice Severus recognized as the suave cultured tones of none other than Lucius Malfoy. "Surprise, Snape! Did you really think you could avoid us forever?"

Severus hesitated. If he tried to hex Malfoy, Harry could get caught in the crossfire. "Let my son go, Lucius. It's me you want, not him."

"On the contrary, Snape. I want you dead, true, but I also want you to suffer first. And what better way to do that then to kidnap your precious son and put him to the question?" Lucius sneered. "Putting him to the question" was a euphemism for torture in Death Eater parlance. Harry struggled hard, biting down on the pale hand that held him. Lucius swore and struck the boy hard across the face. "You little savage! That'll teach you!"

"Bastard!" Severus cried, just as Harry began to sob. But before he could attack Lucius, the other three Death Eaters trained their wands on him, and he was forced to dodge their hexes, using Shield Charms and Anti-Repelling Charms.

Lucius chuckled and held tighter to his prize, who was still struggling like a greased pig, much to his irritation. Which was probably why he never noticed Tobias, who crept up on him from the hallway.

Tobias's heart was in his throat as he beheld the evil wizard holding his grandson in his arms. He knew he would only get one chance to free Harry from the Death Eater's dark embrace.

The ex-sergeant was quick to scope out the terrain before he aimed the revolver at the Death Eater, making sure that Harry was not going to be in the way of his shot. Then he fired.

The bullet sped directly to where he'd been aiming, Lucius's wicked cruel heart.

The Death Eater staggered as the sudden sharp agony hit him, and he released Harry, who tumbled to the ground.

"Run, Harry!" Tobias yelled, trying to get his grandson out of the line of fire.

Harry picked himself up, shaken and crying softly, but he knew better than to disobey Tobias when he used that tone, and he ran quickly up the stairs.

Severus had heard the report of the revolver, and knew that it meant his father had joined him in battle. Without turning around, he called, "Dad? Where's Harry?"

"Safe."

Severus breathed again. "You all right?"

"Fine, Sev. I've got your back," answered the elder Snape. Then he stuck his arm around the side of the den entrance and fired at another Death Eater who was pointing a wand at his son.

That one caught a bullet in the abdomen and crumpled with a choked scream, blood blossoming over his robes in a crimson rush.

Severus cast yet another Stunning Hex at Goyle, and this time the burly Death Eater could not block in time and fell, like a rock, to the floor. "Care to test your luck again, Dolohov?"

"My pleasure, you slimeball! Eat this, Healer!" And he sent a barrage of fiery missiles at Severus, who quickly conjured a Reflective Shield, making the fire darts bounce away harmlessly.

Tobias was lifting the revolver again to fire, when the front door was suddenly blown apart and five more Death Eaters entered. The ex-sergeant was knocked off his feet by the blast, but managed to fire one last round before an incoming Death Eater slammed him with a sheet of purple lightning.

Harry, watching in fascinated horror from the top of the stairs, saw his grandfather crumple to the ground, the purple lightning sparking over him, and screamed.

"Grandpa! Nooo!"

The Death Eater who had cast the lightning looked up at the small boy and laughed. "One less Muggle in the world, boy!"

Then he started up the stairs towards Harry.

The little boy glared down at the masked figure and for the first time felt not fear, but a terrible burning rage. This man had hurt his grandfather, maybe even killed him. "Go away! I wish you were DEAD!" he screamed, and for the third time in his life, his magic responded to his need and red fire shot from his hands, knocking the Death Eater down the stairs to lie in a crumpled heap, his head hitting the ground with a snap.

Severus knew he was outnumbered, he heard Harry's scream and knew with a sudden sinking despair that something had happened to Tobias, but he couldn't afford to let his concentration slip while dueling Dolohov. Goddamn it Padfoot and Moony! Where the hell are you? My Patronus should've contacted someone by now! "Incendio!" he chanted, and a fireball exploded from his wand, catching the gloating Dolohov unaware for once and setting his robes aflame.

Screaming, the dark wizard stepped back, beating at his robes in a frenzy, and Severus disarmed him and cast an Incarcerus Charm, tying up the Death Eater neatly.

Then he spun about to face more dark wizards coming in through the back door, but before he could cut loose with a gust of wind charm, Sirius, Remus, and Dumbledore arrived.

"About time you got here, Black! What took you so long?" Severus shouted, dodging a Paralyzing Jinx.

"We thought you were home, so we went there first by mistake," answered Sirius, pointing his wand and the Death Eater who faced him suddenly became a tiny little bug, which the Auror stepped on. "And that's how we deal with termites where I come from!" he declared, his eyes bright with battle fever.

Remus ducked another's Withering Curse and sent back an Ice Storm in return, freezing the two who were trying to get into the den.

And Dumbledore remained in the yard, fighting those who had Apparated in at Lucius's signal, dueling the five other dark wizards with quick easy motions of his wand.

The dark wizards had thought the old man easy prey, but they soon learned differently, as Dumbledore blocked all their hexes and responded with spells of his own that they never learned how to counter. His normally placid face was set in a terrible fierce mask and his blue eyes were cold as ice in winter.

This was the second time the lives of the man he considered a surrogate son and the child he regarded as his grandson were threatened and he was not about to let them go unpunished. He lifted his hands and a rolling boom of thunder rang out, slamming into the knot of dark wizards before him, stunning some and knocking over others.

Inside the house, Sirius had just disarmed another opponent, calling out to Sev as he did so, "Y'know, Snape, if you wanted to throw a party, all you had to do was call us. Why bother hanging out with these losers?"

"They came uninvited," drawled Severus, stunning the last dark wizard who was coming in through the kitchen window.

The loud crack of thunder shook the house, and Remus glanced up in alarm and cried, "What the bloody hell was that?"

Sirius smiled grimly, "That, Moony, was the wrath of Albus Dumbledore. I'll bet you any amount of money that the only one left standing out there is him."

Harry, who had been crouched on the stairs, feeling weak and sick after his magic had attacked the dark wizard, now got to his feet and charged down the stairs, yelling, "Uncle Sirius! You gotta help my grandpa! The masked man hurt him with purple lightning!"

He threw himself into the Auror's arms, crying hysterically.

"Harry, are you okay?" Sirius asked, hugging the boy tightly.

"Yes, but Grandpa's over there!" he pointed towards a shadowy corner of the hallway, where Tobias lay still and unmoving.

Sirius stepped over the Death Eater lying on the floor and called, "Severus! You'd better get over here. It's your father!"

Severus came at a run through the kitchen, face pale and drawn, to kneel down beside his stricken parent. "Dad?" He gently lifted Tobias's head from the floor, there was a trickle of blood at the corner of his mouth. "Merlin help me!" he whispered in horrified disbelief. "He's not breathing!"

When Harry heard those dreadful words from his father's mouth, he began to cry even harder. Sirius hushed him and stepped back, trying to give Severus space to work. Dumbledore entered and took one look at Severus, holding the limp Tobias in his arms, and his eyes darkened in sorrow. "Sirius, take Harry upstairs," he ordered softly, not wanting the child to be present if the worst should occur.

The Auror obeyed without argument or a wisecrack, for once, carrying the distraught six-year-old up the stairs and into the bedroom that used to belong to Severus, he had visited here occasionally when school was out, though always when Tobias was gone. He didn't know too much about the older man, except that Severus and he had never really gotten along until recently, and apparently Harry liked the man enough to bawl hysterically because he was injured.

Sirius settled down on the bed and rocked Harry back and forth. "Hey, little buddy, it's going to be okay."

Harry had his face buried in Sirius's shoulder, hiccuping and sniffling. "N-not if m-my grandpa dies!"

"Kiddo, who said anything about dying?" Sirius asked, striving to keep his tone light.

"I-I heard my dad say Grandpa wasn't breathing!" wailed Harry. "And you're dead if you can't breathe, Padfoot! W-when you die-you stop breathing an' your h-heart stops and then you go to heaven. Like m-my mummy. But I-I d-don't want Grandpa to go to heaven yet, Sirius!"

Sirius patted the poor child on the back awkwardly, wishing for the first time that Harry wasn't so bright, or that, as the son of a Healer, he didn't know so much about life and death. "Listen, little buddy. Your grandpa might not be dead at all. Sometimes people stop breathing but the Healers can revive them, and I know your dad, Harry. He ain't going to give up, if there's a way that Tobias can be saved, he'll save him." Sirius told Harry in a firm even tone, with as much conviction as he could muster. Then he prayed it was true, for he did not want to get the child's hopes up for naught.

"Then y-you think my dad can fix Grandpa?" Harry snuffled, raising his head and looking Sirius in the eyes. "B-because I had a-a nightmare awhile ago that the masked men came back and they-they killed my dad and grandpa! And tonight it came true."

Oh, Merlin's toenails! This is not something I'm trained for, Sirius thought, groaning inwardly. What do I tell a kid who thinks he can predict the future with dreams? He coughed and cleared his throat. "Uh, Harry? That was just a nightmare-it doesn't mean it was, uh, destined to come true. In fact, it didn't come true, because your father is okay and all of the bad men are dead or captured. And we don't know for sure, but I think your grandpa's going to be okay too."

"You do?"

"Yeah. He was a soldier, right?"

"Uh-huh. He was a Royal Marine sergeant."

"A Marine sergeant, huh? Well, they don't make ‘em any tougher than that, Harry. And if he's tough as nails and your dad's determined to save him, then I'd say ten to one your grandpa's going to be right as rain in a day or two."

"You really believe that?"

"Absolutely. Now, how about you turn that frown upside down, little buddy?" And Sirius smiled at the child, who gave him a small tentative grin back.

* * * * * * *

Back in the hallway, Severus was running a diagnostic on his father, and the results were grim. The spell that had struck down Tobias was not your run-of-the-mill combat spell, but something that had been tinkered with, resulting in a spell with unknown parameters and effects. Still, one thing he could and did do was to resuscitate his father with two quick spells, making sure that his heart was beating normally and oxygen was still circulating to his brain. He knew his father would curse him to kingdom come if he were ever revived and ended up brain damaged.

But Tobias was still in very poor shape and Severus needed more medical help than he could supply by himself. He looked up at Dumbledore and Remus, and said, "I need to take him to St. Mungos, he's alive, but just barely. I can stabilize him and do a more thorough evaluation of the spell damage there."

"Lucky that's your specialty, Sev." Remus reminded him quietly.

"Yes. Please, take care of Harry for me. Tell him that I've taken his grandfather to the hospital and I'll see him soon."

"Don't worry, my boy, we'll look after Harry," Dumbledore reassured the Master Healer. "You just concentrate on making your father better."

Severus nodded, not trusting himself to speak, then he conjured a stretcher, levitated Tobias onto it, and Disapparated.

"Well," Remus sighed. "I guess the best thing to do now is to contact the rest of our team and get the Death Eaters that are still alive to Azkaban and bring the dead ones to the morgue at Headquarters."

"Indeed." Dumbledore said calmly. He peered down at the still form of Lucius Malfoy. "Ah, Lucius. Did I not say that one day your arrogance would be your undoing? And so it was."

"He's dead, right?"

Dumbledore nodded. "Yes, even one of us doesn't survive a bullet to the heart, Remus. Unless you also happen to be a werewolf."

"A bullet would still put me out of commission for awhile, Albus." Remus disagreed softly. "I hope, for Harry and Sev's sake, that Tobias makes it."

"I, too. But that, as they say, is now in the hands of the Almighty." The old wizard gestured and the door the Death Eaters had shattered was mended. Then he made another pass with his wand, and the blood that had soaked into the carpet near Lucius was cleaned as well.

Remus began to gather the bodies of the Death Eaters who had been killed and placed them on stretchers with black shrouds over them. Besides Lucius there had been three other casualties. The rest were neatly captured and trussed up like a Sunday Christmas goose, ready for transportation to Azkaban pending their trials.

With several loud pops, Tonks, Moody, and Arthur Weasley arrived to assist Remus with the prisoners.

Albus, seeing the Aurors had everything under control, went upstairs to comfort Harry and make sure he had sustained no injuries during the battle.

* * * * * *

"Miss Turner, I need a Muscle Relaxant Draft, a Nerve Stimulant, and a Burn Salve, stat!" Severus barked at his intern as soon as he Apparated with his father into the emergency ward of the hospital.

"Yes sir. Coming up," answered Amy, who was on duty that night in the ER. She Apparated to the potions lab and the intern on duty there brought her the requested drafts and she transported back with them in a carryall.

"Sir, your potions, sir," she said, setting the bottles next to the Master Healer, who had since transferred his father to an exam table and removed his uniform. The lightning had left second-degree burns over Tobias's chest, abdomen and arms and had done something to his nervous system as well, though Sev was unsure yet just how much damage had been done. The big man was also experiencing some muscle spasms in his legs, another thing which Severus did not know the cause of, but he could treat them with potions for now.

He had Amy monitor Tobias's vitals while he spelled the Muscle Relaxant and the Nerve Stimulant directly into his father's stomach, and then gently applied the Burn Salve to the deep angry red burns. "Miss Turner, what are his vitals reading?"

"Heart rate, normal. Pulse, normal as well. Blood pressure, a little elevated 130 over 90, sir. He doesn't appear to be in shock, Healer."

"Good. I treated him for it just before we arrived here." Severus said, continuing to scan his father, trying to determine just what kind of spell had been cast upon him, so that he could provide the best treatment. He gently spelled a hospital robe and briefs on his patient, then said, "I want to take him up to the fourth floor, the Spell Damage Ward, and then I shall try and determine exactly what curse was used on him."

Amy nodded and summoned another floating stretcher, levitating Tobias on it with a wave of her wand.

Then Severus left, Tobias floating gracefully after him, bringing him to the ward where the spell damaged patients were resting and treated. As Remus had said, that was one of Sev's areas of expertise, and once he had made his dad comfortable, and set a monitor to alert him should Tobias wake or begin feeling more pain, he began trying to figure out the mystery spell that had struck Tobias down.

He had access to the hospital library and went immediately to the section on curses and hexes and curse-breaking. He took down several volumes, brought them back to his office, which was on the fourth floor, and began perusing them. I won't fail you, Dad. You said you were proud of me for being a Healer, and by Merlin's blessed staff, I'll make sure that you're well again. My Healer's Oath on it, may Merlin bear witness.

It was then that Severus's analytical mindset and photographic memory proved to be a Godsend, as hours passed and the Master Healer read through pages of spells and counter-charms, searching for the base spell that had been altered by the dark wizard. It was a pity Sev didn't know who had cast it, or if that person were still alive, because then he might be able to make the wizard tell him the spell's origin under Veritaserum. But he knew most of the dark wizards left alive had been those he had fought, he was bound by his Healer's Oath not to kill, and he knew Tobias had killed Lucius and probably one or two others during the course of the battle.

Regardless, he would discover the spell's origin, and once he did that, he could prescribe the best course of treatment and attempt to reverse the majority of the damage Tobias had suffered. Abruptly, he recalled Harry's little voice, saying something about purple lightning. Could that have been the spell that had nearly killed his father? Purple lightning, purple lightning, the Master Healer mused. The lightning could only be produced by a Storm Summoning Spell or a Wizard Bolt. But the one only summons natural lightning and the other summons a concentrated burst of a wizard's magic, which is normally colored blue, or red, for the strongest of wizards. But the purple color indicates that something else was added to the lightning, and it's this that damaged my father's nervous system.

Severus went back to the library to gather more information on all the curses that involved nerve related damage and similar symptoms.

Then he spent the next two hours reading through them, until finally one seemed to stand out. It was a nasty curse, a lesser version of the Unforgivable Cruciatus, and it manifested as lines of purple force. It was known as the Interrogation Curse, and wizards who had worked for Voldemort years ago had been known to favor it, since it cost less energy to cast than the Cruciatus and was eventually just as effective.

A slow smile of triumph spread across the Master Healer's face. I think I have our culprit here. Yes, that would make the most sense. What better way to harm someone than by combining a Wizard Bolt and this Interrogation Curse? Severus studied the spell for a few more moments, then went into a small room next to his office, which was a spell-warded experiment room that he often used when testing new spells he had invented, and attempted to combine both spells.

At first he was unsuccessful, but after the fifth try, he hit upon the right combination and inflection, and a sheet of purple lightning shot out of his wand to slam against the far wall.

Severus grinned. Now that he had figured out the spell itself, treating Tobias had become ten times easier.

He rubbed the back of his hand over his eyes, they felt gritty and sore from all the hours of reading he'd done.

He knew he was too tired to concentrate properly on creating a spell to reverse the nerve damage at the moment, and so he decided to spend the night at the hospital and sleep in the on call room, which was a room the Healers had set up so the doctors who worked round the clock could sleep in if there were no pressing cases. The room had several beds and privacy screens, so Severus could sleep undisturbed till morning and then, once he was rested, he would finish healing his father.

As soon as the sun crested the horizon, Severus was awake and he returned to check on Tobias, who was still unconscious, though his vitals were normal. His father did not appear to be in any pain, so Severus did not bother spelling a pain relieving draft into him, but he did give him seconds of the Nerve Stimulant. He checked his parent's chart, noting that an intern had been by earlier on rounds and performed a standard freshen up charm, which was like a magical sponge bath of sorts, and an elimination charm as well, and had also given Tobias some ice chips to moisten his throat.

"Okay, Dad," he said, speaking aloud to his father because it felt more natural that way. "I'm going to try and reverse some of the nerve damage this bloody spell caused. Hopefully, it'll repair most of the damage done to your spine and torso, and the rest I can treat with potions. You might be a tad stiff on occasion or achy when it rains, but I'll make sure you can still walk and you won't be paralyzed."

Had Severus not figured out the exact spell used, there would have been a chance that Tobias could have been paralyzed, since the majority of the damage had settled into the nerves in his spine and torso. But since he knew the spell, he could now come up with an effective reversal charm.

He returned to the small room and experimented for over an hour with various reversal charms until he was certain he had found one that might work, and would not cause harm to his patient.

Then he returned to Tobias, took a deep cleansing breath, and chanted the spell. A soft bluish-gold mist wafted from his wand and drifted down over the comatose man in the bed. It sparkled on Tobias's skin like fairy dust, and a second later was absorbed into him.

Almost immediately, there was a change. The ex-sergeant regained some of the ruddiness he'd lost and seemed to relax. He stirred for the first time, a mere flickering of his eyelids and a twitch of his hand, but it was definite movement and Severus's heart thrilled to see it, for it meant that some of the nerve damage was now reversed.

He ran a quick diagnostic and discovered that most of the spell damage to Tobias's spine had been reversed and repaired. Several nerve bundles were still unresponsive, but Severus cast the reversal again and gave his father another Nerve Stimulant, and this time there was even more improvement.

Still, Tobias's body was still weak and tired from the spell, and Severus knew it was best if he continued to sleep for the morning, so he made a notation on Tobias' s chart that he had treated the patient for spell damage and wished him to remain asleep, the next intern on duty should spell a Sleeping Draught into Tobias. It was too soon after giving the man the Nerve Stimulant for Severus to administer the Sleeping Draught, the two did not mix well and would end up giving Tobias a terrible stomachache if combined.

Severus moved to clasp the lean shoulder and say quietly, "You're going to be fine, Dad. You might need a couple of days here working with Matt on an exercise program, but you'll mend, you old serpent. For once I'm glad of that Snape stubbornness, old man, because a lesser man would've died last night. Luck and all the angels were with you, Dad. Now, I've got to get back and see how Harry is, the poor little minnow was very upset when I left with you. Pleasant dreams, Dad."

Before he left, he firecalled Albus, and the old wizard was delighted to find that Tobias was out of danger and told Severus that Sirius and Remus were at his house with Harry.

"We thought it best, Severus, if we put Harry in familiar surroundings, since he was so shaken by what had happened. And your house is warded from any attacks as well."

"Thank you, Albus. I'd better get over there, no telling what Sirius has done to the place in the meantime." As Severus withdrew his head from the green flames, he heard Albus chuckling.

* * * * * *

When he arrived home, he found Sirius, Harry, and Remus in the kitchen attempting to make breakfast. Attempting being the operative word, since neither Auror or Harry knew how to cook anything resembling edible food. There were frying pans and bowls scattered everywhere, with remains of something that looked like eggs, a thin runny batter, and burnt bacon was resting on another plate, next to the sorry remains of what was supposed to have been a waffle.

The kitchen looked like a bomb had hit it, and Severus took one look at it and said, "I should have known. Turn you three loose in a kitchen and you end up with the disaster of the decade. Don't any of you know cleaning charms? Or how to make an egg or toast without burning it to a crisp? Merlin's ever-loving eyebrows!"

Harry turned around, he was holding a wooden spoon, and his whole face lit up when he caught sight of his father. "Daddy, you're home! Is Grandpa okay? He's not gonna die is he?" The little boy's voice trembled on the word "die" and his eyes filled with tears.

Wanting to head off any waterworks, Severus quickly said, "No, scamp, your grandpa's going to be fine, he's just sleeping right now at the hospital."

"Like when you were sleeping, Daddy?" Harry asked, running to him and hugging him about the waist.

"No, he's not in a coma, son. Just a normal sleep, and he ought to wake up sometime this afternoon, once the Sleeping Draught I gave him wears off." The Master Healer reassured him, patting his back. "Now, suppose you tell me just what is going on in here?"

"Um . . .we're making breakfast!"

"I hope you don't expect me to eat it," Sev teased.

"Real funny, Sev," Sirius scowled. "It's not my fault I never learned to cook. My parents always had house elves for that and so did Remus's."

"Excuses, excuses. You know how to wash dishes, right?"

"Yeah. Why?" the Auror asked warily.

"Because that's what you can do while I make all of us something that won't make us get deathly ill and require a trip to the hospital," answered his friend with a smirk. "I'd really rather not have to treat us for food poisoning."

"Oh, come on, Sev! We're not that bad," protested Remus. "The bacon is edible . . .sort of."

"Sure, if you eat charcoal. Move over, Lupin, and let me show you how it's done." Severus rolled up his sleeves. "Harry, get me five eggs, the sausage, and cheese. Remus, the butter's on the top shelf of the fridge and so's the biscuit mix."

"Hey, no fair. Why do they get to help you and I have to wash dishes?" Sirius complained.

"Because it was probably your idea to try and cook breakfast, Black," said Severus knowingly.

"So what if it was?" Sirius grumbled, but began casting a Scourgify charm and levitating the dirty dishes into the sink. "They helped make this mess too."

"Oh, quit whining, Siri," scolded Lupin, smacking the other Auror on the back of the head. "You complain worse than a six-year-old."

"I do not!"

"Do too! You don't see me complaining," put in Harry with a Snape-like smirk.

"You be quiet!" Sirius ordered. "Children should be seen and not heard." Then the Auror put a hand over his mouth. "Dear sweet Merlin! I sound like my mother. Uh, forget I said that, Harry." He quickly turned back to drying the now clean dishes.

The other two were chuckling quietly, though Remus and Harry went to set the table soon after, leaving Severus in peace to cook up a wonderful sausage and cheese omelet and a batch of fluffy biscuits.

By then, Sirius had finished the dishes and was seated at the table along with the others, eagerly awaiting Sev's culinary masterpiece.

Severus levitated the omelet and the biscuits to the table, along with coffee for the adults and milk for Harry.

Everyone fell on the food like starving wolves, or in Remus's case-a werewolf-and soon they were stuffed and declared it a good thing that Severus had arrived home when he did. "Otherwise we'd of been stuck hitting up Molly for some food," Sirius said, and buttered another biscuit and ate it. "Maybe I ought to learn how to cook. Women like guys who can cook, right? How about giving me lessons, Sev?"

"How about I just ram my head into a wall first? Because I'm going to end up with a migraine anyhow, with the way you pay attention, Black."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sirius pretended to sound injured.

"Don't play innocent with me, Sirius. I went to school with you and I know you've got the attention span of a two-year-old, unless you're planning a prank, that is."

"That was then and this is now."

"And you've changed?"

Sirius shot him a dirty look, just as Harry chimed in with, "Padfoot, you'd better not try and prank Dad when he's teaching you something, otherwise you'll end up in the corner."

Remus was snickering quietly and then he added, "He'll probably end up there anyway, Harry, for his smart mouth."

"Like hell I will. I'm not letting you put me in a corner, Sev. No bloody way."

"You have to, Uncle Sirius. When you're the student, the teacher's the boss and if you don't listen, then you get in trouble."

"Oh yeah? Where's that written?"

"In Dad's rule book," answered the child.

Remus burst out laughing. "Harry, you're a real gem!"

Sirius looked at Severus and muttered, "Tell me you don't really have a damn rule book, Sev, for Godsake!"

"Of course I do. That way when Harry's a teenager and wants to argue with me over everything, I can pull that out and he won't have a leg to stand on."

"Oh, Merlin help us all!" Sirius hit himself in the forehead.

Remus continued laughing, sometimes being around Severus, Sirius, and Harry was better than stand-up comedy, in the werewolf's opinion.

Later that afternoon, Harry accompanied his father back to St. Mungos. "Do you think Grandpa woke up yet, Daddy?" queried the dark-haired imp. He was carrying a get-well package under one arm, consisting of a handmade card, three drawings, some chocolate and a paperback book he'd picked out at the hospital gift shop, one of the ever popular James Patterson novels called Kiss the Girls.

Severus cocked an ear and sure enough, heard his father's familiar grouchy tone from all the way down the corridor. "Oh, he's awake all right, Harry. And already giving my nurses a hard time from the sound of it."

" . . .what do y'mean, I have to stay in bed? I feel fine. You tell that attending doctor, whoever he is, that I want to speak to him, pronto!" Tobias grumbled, glowering at the intern standing next to him.

The young woman looked both irritated and nervous, which was par for the course when dealing with Tobias Snape. "Sir, he isn't here right now, but as soon as he returns, I shall inform him . . ." she trailed off as Severus entered the room with Harry in tow.

"You can go now, Miss Vanner. I'll handle it from here," the Master Healer told her. The intern smiled gratefully at him and vanished. Severus turned to his father, who was sitting up in bed wearing a scowl that would've done a mule proud. "Hello, Dad. Guess you're feeling better if you're terrorizing my interns."

"Severus! That silly girl told me that I wasn't allowed out of bed. Said some blasted attending physician told her I'm not to move until he comes and signs my chart. I feel perfectly fine, so you can tell whoever gave that order to just-"

"That would be me, Dad," Severus interrupted, his eyes dancing. His spell had worked like a dream, if Tobias was back to his usual grouchy old self. "I'm your attending, and the reason I have you on bed rest is because your nerves were damaged pretty badly by that curse and you need rest to heal them fully."

"Humph!" Tobias gave Severus one of his Looks. "I'm not an invalid, Sev."

"Dad, who's the doctor here, me or you?"

"You are, but . . ."

"Then trust that I know what I'm doing, okay?" Severus scolded mildly. He drew his wand and ran it over Tobias. "You're healing nicely, but you shouldn't overexert yourself, and your muscles are stressed and sore from the curse, so you'll be achy and tired for three days yet. I can give you some potions for that, but the only real cure for it is rest."

"I'll get enough rest when I'm dead," grumbled the ex-sergeant.

Severus frowned sharply. "Dad, if you won't follow my instructions willingly, I can always give you a Sleeping Draft."

Tobias gaped at him. "You wouldn't dare!"

"Try me."

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

"What, you having to do what I say for once?" Severus clarified. "Every minute."

Tobias muttered something under his breath about cheeky brats who thought who the hell they were just because they had a diploma.

Harry, who had been standing a little ways behind Severus, now spoke up. "Hi, Grandpa! I'm really glad you woke up and didn't sleep forever like Dad. Look, I brought you a present, so you can get well quicker." He came over to stand beside the bed and held out the get-well package, which was inside of a colorful paper bag.

"Hello, minnow!" Tobias grinned at his grandson. "C'mere and give me a hug, kid." Harry obliged, jumping up on the bed and hugging his grandfather tightly.

"Hugs are the best medicine, even better than potions," the child stated, beaming. Tobias smirked.

"Tell that to your father, Harry."

"Oh, he knows that. But you really ought to listen to him, Grandpa," Harry continued, his little face serious. "Because he's the best Healer in St. Mungos, you know."

Severus chuckled and Tobias snorted. "I don't believe this. How long have you been brainwashing the kid, Sev?"

"Quit complaining, Dad. Harry knows that I always have a very good reason for my orders, right, Harry?"

"Yup. Even when I don't agree with them," his son answered.

Tobias just groaned. "I give up. The two of you are like the wind and the tide, you just keep on coming and wearing me away, bit by bit."

"Look who's talking. You could give a mule and all his relations lessons in stubborn, Dad."

"When am I allowed to get up, doctor?"

"For now, only to use the bathroom. I'm going to start you on a potion regimen today and by tomorrow your muscles should be healed enough so that you won't risk tearing them if you walk around further than two feet. I'm also going to ask Matthew to come and evaluate you and see if you need to do a few hours of physical therapy, since that's his specialty."

"Are you sure that's really necessary?"

Severus sighed. "Yes, since the curse you were hit with nearly killed you, Dad. By the time I got to you, you weren't breathing and I had to revive you. That spell also damaged a good portion of the nerve bundles in your spine, which I managed to restore just last night, so even though you might feel pretty good, you still need to rest."

Tobias raised an eyebrow. "It was that bad?"

"I thought you were dead, Grandpa," Harry said softly. "The masked man laughed and said he was glad cause it meant one less Muggle in the world, and then he tried to get me, but my magic blew him down the stairs."

"You used magic against a Death Eater, Harry?" Severus was astonished.

"Uh-huh. But I don't know what I did, I just told him to go away, and then this red light came out of my hands and knocked him out."

Severus looked impressed, since a conjured Wizard Bolt was not something a six-year-old should have been able to cast, even accidentally. Clearly, his son had a great potential, and would need to be watched closely to see what further powers might develop. He made a mental note to speak with Albus regarding Harry's unusual display of raw power.

"You did good, minnow," Tobias praised, ruffling the dark hair playfully. "‘Cause nobody messes with a Snape, right?"

"Right. Aren't you going to open your present, Grandpa? I made the card and the pictures myself."

Tobias thanked him and said this was just what he needed, if he was going to be stuck in bed all day.

Severus made another notation on his chart while Harry was chattering to Tobias, then summoned the first round of potions, which were a Strengthening Solution, another Nerve Stimulant, and a Class Four Pain Reliever, plus a cup of chamomile mint tea, since taking so many potions at once sometimes caused an upset stomach.

He waited until Harry was finished telling his grandfather about the almost breakfast disaster this morning before giving his father the first draft, which was the Nerve Stimulant.

Tobias took it in one gulp, then frowned and asked, "Is it supposed to taste like that?"

"Yes. And no, I can't make it taste better, otherwise the potency will be ruined. But you can have some tea and juice after," answered his son, and handed him another vial of a blue potion.

* * * * * *

By the end of three days, Tobias was ready to start climbing the walls, he was so sick of being confined to the same room in the hospital, though it resembled a posh hotel room more than a hospital ward. Severus came by every day to examine him, and usually was accompanied by his intern, Amy Turner, whom Tobias liked, or Matthew, who had Tobias on a light exercise program using small hand held weights and a rubber ball.

Still, the confinement was wearing on him, since he was unused to doing nothing all day except sleep, and he wished they had a TV in this place. But he read the book Harry had brought, and once he'd finished that, Harry gave him another, so he wasn't dying of boredom.

Still, his recovery was proceeding at a good pace, far faster, he knew, than it ever would've in a normal hospital, so he did his best to not complain too much, and followed Severus's orders with a minimum of grousing. The staff was very grateful, since a moody Tobias was scarier than a starving bear.

On the morning of the fourth day, Severus announced that Tobias was nearly recovered and could probably be released that afternoon, once the last batch of potions had a chance to work.

"That's the best news I've heard since Albus told me all those Death Eaters you brought in got sentenced to life without parole, Sev." Tobias said, smiling. Albus had been a frequent visitor as well, keeping the elder Snape occupied by playing several card games and checkers with him. "So, where do we go from here?"

"Home, but I think it'd be better if you stayed with me for a day or so, Dad. Just to make sure there are no side-effects from the potions you've been taking."

"Side-effects?"

"Yes, they rarely occur, but I want to monitor you just to be sure. Sometimes prolonged use of the Nerve Stimulant can cause you to become dizzy or disorientated, and you've been taking two of them every day for four days. So I'd prefer it if you were at my house, so if you passed out on the floor, I'd know before two days went by."

"All right," Tobias agreed, by that time he'd have agreed to having his toenails painted if it got him out of that hospital. Besides, he was also secretly thrilled to have been invited into his son's home, which he'd never set foot in, and was looking forward to spending more time with both of his boys.

He took the last set of potions Severus gave him, by now he was so used to the taste that he didn't even grimace, and thought how different his life was now that he had a family, and was no longer the grouchy curmudgeon, content to hide himself away at Spinner's End, allowing the sins of the past and old wounds to fester.

His little family was by no means perfect, and he knew they would disagree and argue still, for they had much to overcome, but two things Tobias knew beyond the shadow of a doubt-was that never again would he tear the family apart with his addiction, and never again would he be lonely, now that Severus and Harry had forgiven him for his mistakes, past and present.

When Tobias arrived at Aspen Avenue, he was surprised to find his son's home looking so very . . .ordinary. He glanced around at the spotless kitchen, done in cream and a deep hunter green, with black appliances, all save for a dishwasher. The den was done in southwestern earth tones, beige, sienna , burnt orange, and some turquoise accents. It contained a large TV and a VCR, and looked amazingly modern. One would never know that a wizard lived here, until you took a closer look at the books in the bookcase and some of the curiosities scattered about the room, or had a look in the closet, where Sev hung his cloak and their brooms.

Tobias remarked upon it, and Severus looked amused. "You were expecting bats hanging from the ceiling, perhaps? Or a cauldron on the hearth, simmering away with eye of newt and leg of frog? Sorry to disappoint you, but we wizards have moved into the twentieth century."

"If you say so, but I was expecting some of those gnomes that clean houses or whatever." Tobias admitted.

"House elves, Dad. And we don't have one here. I got so used to doing chores around our house growing up, that I felt it was wrong to hire servants to cook and clean for me, magical or ordinary. I know some wizards claim they couldn't get along without theirs, but I think having a servant makes one lazy, and I don't want Harry to grow up being waited on hand and foot, he'll become a spoiled brat in no time."

"That's for sure. Besides, chores teach a kid responsibility," Tobias added. He only had a small overnight bag in his hand, for he wasn't planning on staying more than a few days. "Where shall I put my bag, Sev?"

Severus thought quickly, his house only had two bedrooms. "If you want, you can sleep in Harry's room, and he can sleep with me."

"Now I don't want to kick the kid out of his bedroom. The couch looks pretty good to me," Tobias said quickly.

"I can transfigure it into a bed if you'd like."

"Nah, don't waste the magic, Sev. The couch is fine, I don't mind sleeping on it. I slept in a lot worse places, believe me." He set his bag down beside the sofa, eyeing the room consideringly. "You've got a nice place here, Sev. But there's only one thing missing."

"What's that?"

"A woman's touch," his father answered softly. "You're still young yet, Sev. You could find someone else, because good as you are, I think Harry would like a mum. And you wouldn't be so alone either."

Severus's eyebrow climbed up into his hair. "Dad? Are you trying to-to play matchmaker for me? Because I assure you, I have no trouble getting dates if I want them."

"That intern of yours at the hospital is sweet, Sev. I'm sure she wouldn't mind going out to dinner with you after work." Tobias hinted.

"Dad, please! I don't date my interns, it's bad policy. Then the whole staff gets involved and before you know it, they're accusing you of favoritism. Amy Turner is a friend, nothing more. Besides, right now I don't have time to find the right woman. Lily was very special and I still miss her, even after two years. Any woman I'm involved with would have a damn tough act to follow, considering she has to put up with me, love my son, and tolerate my pain-in-the-arse father into the bargain. I don't think she exists."

"You'll never know until you look, Sev."

Severus huffed and rolled his eyes. "Dad, enough. When I'm ready, I'll date. But I've enough to deal with right now without adding a new relationship to the mixture."

Tobias smirked and held up his hands. "Okay, okay, no need to get so tetchy, Sev. It was just a suggestion."

"You and Matthew should get together and write a book. You could call it No More Single Doctors or something, since he's another one who's always bugging me to go out with this or that nurse or Healer. I think he feels it's unnatural for me to be without a woman for so long. He's been dating one of the young Potions Mistresses for six months now, but before that he went out with one of the botanists. He claims that Lily wouldn't want me to spend the rest of my life alone, and he's probably right, but a girlfriend is the last thing on my mind at the moment."

"All right. I won't push you, son," Tobias conceded and then changed the subject. "You know, I never really thanked you for saving my life, Severus. I would've been dead if not for you, or so Albus told me."

"You don't need to thank me, Dad." Severus said, feeling awkward. "That's what sons do for fathers. If they can."

"But I haven't been the kind of father to you that you deserved, Sev. So regardless of your Healer's Oath or whatever, I'm doubly grateful for your excellent care. Harry was right, you really are the best Healer in St. Mungos."

Severus felt a slow flush creep up his cheekbones at Tobias's words, which he sensed were not just an empty platitude, but honestly meant. They struck a deep chord within him that resonated in a warm golden glow through his entire being. He had waited all of his life to win his father's approval, and now at last he had done it.

"Thanks, Dad. But you saved me too, back there when the Death Eaters attacked, and I'm extremely grateful for that."

"You're welcome, son. That's what fathers do for sons. The good ones, anyhow." Then Tobias did something totally unexpected.

He turned around and hugged his son.

It was a brief hug, nothing long or drawn out, but it was a hug, nevertheless.

Severus was startled at first, but he made no move to draw away, and then he tentatively put his own arms around Tobias and hugged him back.

"I love you, Sev," Tobias whispered gruffly.

Severus froze. Had he heard correctly? For one endless instant, he could not find his voice, it had been stolen away by astonishment. Sudden tears blurred his vision. He swallowed hard, then managed, in a voice hoarse with emotion, to say, "I . . .I love you too, Dad."

And with those heartfelt words, the rift between them was bridged.

* * * * *

Two days had passed since Tobias had been released from St. Mungos, and he was quite recovered from his ordeal, though reluctant to return home to Spinner's End just yet. He was enjoying the time with his son and grandson, despite Severus's busy schedule, and though he would never be fully at ease with the magical world, he was gradually coming to accept that magic was both good and bad, a force for darkness and light, and he no longer feared it the way he once had.

He had also come to realize that the wizards were people very like himself, except for the fact that they had the gift of magic, which had been something Eileen had told him long ago, when she first revealed that she was a witch to her sergeant fiancee. Tobias had thought he'd understood what that meant then, only to discover he never really comprehended it at all until now.

But he had Severus to talk to now and explain things that were unclear, such as this business of accidental magic, which Harry had displayed several times already. "So, kids his age shouldn't be displaying that much magic until they're what, around nine or ten?" Tobias clarified, Severus and he were sitting on the couch in the den, it was just after supper, having one of their nightly discussions about magic and the wizarding world in general.

For years, Tobias had closed his eyes and his heart to the presence of magic, but now he realized that if he were ever to have a true relationship with Severus and Harry, he was going to have to accept the fact that magic was a part of their life, and his as well. So he was trying to learn as much as he could about the force that had shaped his son and grandson, and the world that existed invisibly beside his own, seen yet unseen.

Harry had grown bored with listening and gone into his room to play before bedtime, leaving the older Snapes free to discuss him and his unusual abilities.

"No, normally a child will have incidences of accidental magic beginning around seven or eight, and generally they're mild occurrences, making an object float through the air, having a pear change into a bird for fifteen seconds, making your skin change color or your hair grow longer. Nothing earth-shattering, just minor spell-like incidents."

"But Harry was different."

"Yes, his magic manifested as a survival instinct, when he was attacked by the Doberman and again with the Death Eater. Even so, to display that level of power at so young an age suggests to me that someday Harry will have power to rival the greatest wizards in the world, like Albus or Merlin."

"Or you, Sev. You're no mouse in the magic department yourself."

Severus looked pleased, even now a compliment from Tobias meant a great deal to him, and Tobias made a point of giving him one whenever he saw his son, to make up for the dearth of them during his childhood. It was a subtle way for the former alcoholic to make amends for his past actions, without becoming all mushy and melodramatic.

"Thanks, Dad. But even so, I don't know what he's going to be like when his magic fully awakens, if it's this strong now. All I can do is to teach him responsibility and control over his emotions as best I can now, because I have a feeling his magic is going to be wild and not inclined to be reined in easily."

"Could he become dangerous to people around him?"

"Intentionally, no, Harry isn't the sort to go around hexing people for the fun of it. But unintentionally, if he loses his temper, then yes." Severus conceded. "Which is why I'm so strict with him, and don't let him get away with those little temper tantrums most kids are allowed to indulge in. I can't afford that, and he needs to start controlling his temper now, while his magic is still sleeping, otherwise it'll be ten times as hard when he's eleven. Magic reacts proportionately to strong emotions, the will of the wizard is often the driving force behind a successfully cast spell."

"In other words, if you're mad at your friend and you feel like punching him out, don't pull a wand, otherwise you might end up with your friend in pieces all over," Tobias surmised.

"Exactly. Which is why dueling is forbidden at Hogwarts and magic is restricted to underage wizards outside of school. There's too much temptation to use magic unwisely and so we have to put some kind of safeguards in place, for us as well as them."

"Looks like you've got your work cut out for you, Sev," remarked Tobias.

The Master Healer sighed. "Yes, God help us all. But I still have a few years before I really have to watch him, his magic should go back to sleep now that he isn't in any danger of being killed by mad dogs and dark wizards, and he can be a normal six-year-old."

However, Severus had forgotten that around his son, nothing was ever ordinary.

Five minutes later, they heard Harry shouting, "Daddy! Daddy! Grandpa! Come quick, you gotta see this! I made Inky come alive!"

Father and son traded horrified glances.

"Bloody hell, Sev!"

"Merlin's flaming staff!" Severus groaned, rising to his feet. He could hear the soft purring of a large cat coming from the direction of Harry's room. "Why did I ever let him read The Velveteen Rabbit?"