After perusing my schedule leisurely, I decided on Friday and maybe an occasional Sunday was a good day to hold classes. That way Alaina and the Grangers and I wouldn't have to worry about getting our children to bed early and making sure homework was done and all of that. But I was still a bit unsure about what to talk about for my introductory session, and so I firecalled Albus, my mentor and the person I considered like a grandfather to me, and asked if he had any ideas to contribute.

"I think that is a wonderful idea, Severus!" Albus exclaimed, his blue eyes twinkling like will-o-the-wisps. "Is there anything you would like me to contribute? I wouldn't mind giving a speech or two, or a lecture as a guest speaker."

"A guest speaker? Yes, I never even thought about that. That way I don't have to talk nonstop and bore my pupils to tears," I agreed enthusiastically.

I was very nervous at addressing even this small number of people, I had never been the kind who fancied public speaking, and the only teaching I had ever done was practicums with my interns and the occasional lecture to a group of new nurses on medical procedures and spells. But medicine was my field and something I knew back to front. So was magic, but I did not know everything about it, no wizard does, and though I was pretty good at translating magical terminology into something a Muggle could grasp (I did it all the time for my father), the thought of doing a seminar tied my stomach in knots. Calm down, Sev. It's only the Grangers and Alaina and the kids. What could they criticize? They know less than a first year.

True, but I knew I'd have to take an Anxiety-Relieving Draft before it started, or else I might end up disgracing myself utterly by vomiting all over. That was one reason I had dreaded public speaking in school, and even now I performed it under duress. I hid my discomfort well, however, no one, not even Padfoot or Moony, ever knew about it. The only one who ever knew was Lily, because I had trusted her implicitly. But if Albus could pick up some of the slack . . .and maybe I could ask Sirius and Remus and Minerva too.

"Albus, I've decided to schedule this on Fridays and possibly an occasional Sunday as well. If that's not feasible with your own schedule, I could change it. . ." I began.

"No, no, dear boy. Fridays are fine, I need an hour or two away from my desk and the paperwork. Dear sweet Merlin, the paperwork! Nothing breeds parchment like an academic post, Severus. I will be happy to discuss whatever you like with your little group, and might I also suggest we make a contact list and introduce them to some little wizard devices, such as Floo powder and magic mirrors and perhaps a Quidditch set?"

I was nodding like a bloody jack-in-the-box. "Yes, Harry has one at home. I never thought of using props. Thanks, Albus. I think I'm going to speak with Sirius and Remus, see if they can't drag themselves away from hunting dark wizards to give a few lectures and demonstrations too."

"Perhaps Minerva would like to do a session as well," Albus said, tapping a finger aside of his nose thoughtfully. "And what of Maria Zabini? She's in medical billing records, she could explain how we wizards handle them and pay for things."

"Right, I should've thought of that. And Blaise can join the group of kids and I'll firecall Molly and tell her as well, she knows a great deal of household spells and she's wonderful with people. That way Ron and Ginny can come."

"What about Fred and George?" Albus teased.

I scowled. "You want this session to end in a disaster, Albus? Please! They'd end up scaring poor Jane Granger out of her wits, and she's one of the ones I'm trying to set at ease and introduce her gradually to the magical world. No, Ron and Ginny are enough Weasleys for me, at least they generally behave themselves when I tell them to do something, and they're Harry's age besides."

"Yes, the twins can be handful," my mentor chuckled. Sure, he could laugh about it, he only had to deal with them occasionally, and he hadn't had the brilliant experience of taking them to a restaurant where they proceeded to prank the customers and make over half of them vomit for twenty minutes. "I would be happy to volunteer any time you need a speaker, I could address the issue of wands for my first talk, what do you think of that?"

"I think you're a lifesaver," I said, unable to keep the relief from my tone. "I'll firecall you after the first meeting, and you can send me any notes and Alaina and I can make a chart up for your lecture. Alaina Montague is a Muggle woman with a magical daughter, she used to be a teacher back in America and it was her idea to do this seminar."

"Ah. A woman's intuition, is it? How very fitting! I must go, my boy, I have several forms to fill out for the Ministry regarding their new policy of school payment, it's even more confusing than last year's. Ah well, it's the job of bureaucrats to irritate us, I fear. And they do it well." he grimaced. "I shall contact Minerva and let her know about your new seminar as well. Farewell for now, Sev."

After I had bid Albus goodbye, I firecalled Remus and Sirius in turn, they were very excited about my proposal and said they would see if they could take time off in the near future. I also contacted my partner, Matthew, he would be another excellent speaker, and he usually had Friday nights off, like me.

"Yeah, sure, Sev. I wouldn't mind doing a session or two. I think we need to go and speak to more Muggle parents, instead of just having them find out when their child gets their Hogwarts letter. Less of a shock this way and then they're prepared to go to Diagon Alley and are familiar with our customs and so forth."

"My thoughts exactly, Matt." I said, happy at how things had turned out.

Now all I had to do was contact Alaina and let her know the date and the time of the seminar. As I dialed her number I found myself grinning like a sixteen-year-old on his first date and I wanted to slap myself.

* * * * * *

Friday arrived and I made sure the house was spic-and-span, so clean that you could eat off my floor, just the way my mother liked it. I put a No-Shed charm on Inky, because lately he'd been shedding like a furball from hell and there was no way I wanted to ruin the first impression of my home and my seminar by having a lady get panther fur on her best clothes.

I was wearing my best set of hospital whites, the robe and high-necked tunic and breeches I wore to very formal dinners when the St Mungos Board of Trustees hosted a banquet and required all the physicians to attend it. The tunic was silver, it off-set the blinding white robe, which had the caduceus of a Healer and the cauldron of a Potions Master embroidered upon the left side, with the caduceus coming out of the cauldron. The tunic was embroidered with white and green borders on the hem and collar, symbolizing my dual masteries. Only Master Healers ever got the double embroidery on their tunic. My pants were of the same silvery gray as the tunic and tucked into mirror-shined knee-high black boots. Dad had taught me how to polish boots to a military gloss when I was seven and I'd never forgotten it.

Harry took one look at me and whispered, "Daddy? Is that you?"

"Harry, what kind of question is that?" I laughed. "Of course it is!"

"Well . . .you kind of look like Merlin in that outfit, y'know." He regarded me with something like awe in his beautiful emerald eyes.

"Son, I don't think Merlin was a Healer, although he may have known a few of our founding spells and potions. History says that Merlin was more like an Auror and a professor and a Potions Master all rolled into one."

Harry shrugged. "Well, I think you look just as good as he did, an' you've got a better job too."

"Oh you do, huh?" I tweaked his nose.

"Yeah, ‘cause Padfoot says his job sucks sometimes and Mummy always said that you had the most important job in the universe ‘cause you fixed people that were broken, and I'm gonna be just like you when I'm bigger."

I smiled down at the little imp and then I couldn't resist picking him up and hugging him till he squeaked. "Oh, Harry! You are the most perceptive boy in the world and I'm so glad you're my son."

"So'm I, Dad," he said and laid his little head on my shoulder for a moment before he said, "But can I get down now? I wanna make sure all the snacks are ready for when Ron, Hermione, Blaise, Ginny, and Lexy come over."

We had made a variety of small appetizers and finger foods for our guests, because my mother had always told me to never invite someone over without offering some refreshments, and so like a proper host, I had them. Harry was very excited that he could have all his friends over at one time, like a grown-up, and I was praying that all would go smoothly.

The Weasleys were the first to arrive, as usual. Molly was a firm believer in punctuality, and you could set your clock by her. She stepped out of the fireplace and looked around the living room and by Merlin's pointed cap I felt like my mother had returned from the grave to inspect my house. I waited with baited breath, idiotic as that sounds, until Molly helped Ginny and Ron from the fireplace and beamed at me, "Your house looks lovely, Sev! Been doing some spring cleaning?"

I breathed again and answered nonchalantly, "Yes, and thank you, Molly. Would you care for a drink or an appetizer? You're the first to arrive."

"Great. That means we get to eat the food first," commented Ron, and started towards the table where the trays of little sandwiches and other things were set out.

Only to be hauled back by the collar and get scolded by his mother. "Ronald, where are your manners? You say hello to Healer Sev first and then you can go and eat. I'm sorry, Severus, his stomach rules him lately."

"Must be getting a growth spurt," I said, then looked at the red-headed boy and said, "Hello, Ron. I'm glad you could come tonight."

"Hi, Healer Sev! Me too. Can I get some snacks now, Mum?" he asked, giving her his most pathetic face.

"Oh, go on with you, you scalawag!" she shooed him away.

Ginny lisped a greeting to me and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I hugged her and said, "You can go and eat too, Gingerbread Girl."

"Okay. Healer Sev, where's Harry?"

"Around. I'm surprised he's not here, waiting for you."

Just then my son came into the room. "Ron! Ginny! Oh good, you're here. I was waiting years! How do you like the potato puffs? I helped Dad make them and the bacon bites too."

"They're great!" Ron declared, stuffing one in his mouth.

"Harry," I called. "What do you say to Mrs. Weasley?" I prompted.

"Hi, Mrs. Weasley. Thanks for bringing Ron and Ginny." he waved at her from across the room and I groaned.

"And what else, Mr. Potter?"

"Oh and thanks for coming too," he cried, giving her a gap-toothed smile, for he had finally lost his loose front tooth and had put it under the pillow for the Tooth Fairy last night. The Tooth Fairy had left him five Knuts and five shillings in return.

"Look, guys! I finally lost my front tooth. Now I can whistle-like this!" And he whistled shrilly through the gap in his teeth.

I winced. "Harry, for the love of Merlin! Stop it." I cast Molly an apologetic glance.

But she just shook her head knowingly. "Don't be embarrassed, Sev. He's only a little boy, and he has nothing on the twins for embarrassing guests, believe me."

"Now that I can believe." I said, hiding a shudder.

Blaise and Maria arrived next and Harry did remember to greet them properly before dragging his other best friend off to the refreshment table to make him taste the food. "Dad? Can we let out Inky?"

"Yes, but don't go into the backyard with him," I ordered.

"We won't," Blaise called back before following the others down the hall to the panther's room.

Jane, Wally, and Hermione arrived next in Jane's car and the last ones to arrive were Alaina and Lexy. Albus, Sirius, and Remus would not be here tonight, tonight it was just me and Molly.

I introduced Alaina and Lexy to everyone, and Lexy held out her hand for me to shake and said, "How do you do, Mr. Snape?"

I took it and answered, "Very well, thank you, Miss Montague."

She giggled and said, "That's my mom, only she's a Mrs. You can just call me Lexy."

"And you can call him Healer Sev," chimed in Harry. "Everybody does."

"Okay. Can I see your baby panther, Harry?"

"Sure. His name's Inky and he's not really a baby any more. He's almost fully grown." He led Lexy off to where Inky was lying, purring drowsily in front of the hearth, surrounded by children.

"Ooohh! He's so-o-o beautiful, Harry!" cried Lexy, her whole face glowing as she stared at the panther. "Can I pet him?"

"Sure. He doesn't bite ever."

She ran her hand down Inky's side and said, "His fur's like silky velvet. So soft!" She began to stroke him in earnest.

The panther ate it up, rolling over with all four of his great big paws in the air and purring ferociously as Lexy scratched his belly. Inky was just an overgrown kitten sometimes.

"Welcome to my home, Alaina," I said, and had the gratifying sensation of seeing her eyes go wide at the way I was dressed and then smiling.

"Wow! You have a great place, Severus, too bad I can't see more of it right now. I, uh, have your posters here." She reached into a large tote bag and withdrew two rolled up poster boards. "You look like you just came out of a Ren Faire exhibit, you know what they are?"

"Yes, I do," I said, smiling. I took the posters. "Thank you, Alaina. And you look very lovely as well." Tonight she was dressed in a soft cashmere sweater in turquoise and soft black slacks with matching turquoise shoes. Her dark hair curled softly about her face and I had to stop myself from running my hands through it. I love women's hair, I love to play with it, and Lily had always put her head in my lap and let me run my fingers through her fiery locks whenever I wanted, though she lacked Alaina's abundance of curls.

She blushed and mumbled, "Thanks, but this is what I usually wear to work. I figured since this was a seminar it was . . .umm . . .appropriate. Oh God, am I babbling to you? Sorry, I tend to do that when I'm nervous . . ."

"Am I making you nervous?" I blurted, wondering why the hell I'd chosen to wear my formal robes tonight. Everyone else was dressed semi-casually. She must think I was some kind of snob.

"No, oh no. It's just . . .never mind, it's not your fault." She looked up at me then and said, "It's been awhile since I've been invited to a gathering like this, my ex-husband didn't like me doing much socializing, except with friends of his choosing, and since I didn't care at all for them, I stayed home. That was one reason I divorced the idiot."

"Good for you!" I said. "I despise men like that." Then I looked at my watch and discovered it was nearly time to begin. "Excuse me, but I need to get set up."

I moved to the far wall of the den and stuck the posters Alaina had made on the wall with a Sticking Charm. Once I had done that, all the adults sat down and made the children sit as well.

Ron stirred restlessly, until Hermione elbowed him and said, "Sit still, Ron! Healer Sev's gonna tell us all about magic and it's rude to walk around when he's talking."

I had to turn away to hide my smile, for Hermione was such a mannerly conscious child, I suspected that must be Jane's influence. Wally was the more relaxed of that pair.

I cleared my throat and then I began. "As all of you know, we're here tonight to learn about magic, since every one of us in this room has had their lives impacted by magic or has a relative who is a witch or a wizard or who is one. Some of you might have never believed in magic or wizards before a year or so ago, and these sessions are designed to make you and your child, or children in Molly's case, more familiar and at ease with magic and the wizarding world in general. Several of my colleagues have volunteered to give sessions regarding their particular area of expertise, since we wizards specialize in our jobs the same as you Muggles. They will be guest speaking at another time. But for tonight, you'll have myself and Molly, who is very familiar with accidental magic, since she has seven children."

Wally whistled and the women all cast Molly looks of astonishment and respect. It was quite a job mothering her brood.

"Most of tonight's session will focus on accidental magic, but right now I want to discuss the force that we call magic and where it comes from." I turned and tapped the posterboard behind me which was titled "Magic's Origin" and said, "First, you must understand that magic is an elemental force, much like the wind, the tides, the rain, and fire. It has existed on earth since the beginning of time and will continue to do so long after we are all gone. Magic is an energy that runs through all things, living and non-living. Everything, from the smallest grain of sand to the largest mountain, has a bit of magic within it. That is how we wizards are able to manipulate things like mountains and such, because we draw upon the bit of magic within and alter it."

"Healer Sev?" Blaise raised his hand.

"Yes, Blaise?"

"When you said everything has magic in it, did you really mean everything?"

"Yes. Magic is everywhere."

"Even in poop? ‘Cause George always said poop was magic," Ron announced.

"Eeeww!" Hermione cried and Lexy yelled, "Gross! Who wants magic poop? What can you do with it?"

"I dunno. Fred says-"

"Ronald! That's enough!" Molly scolded, she was mortified, though all the other adults wore varying expressions of amusement and Wally was laughing into his sleeve until Jane elbowed him. Blaise and Harry and Ginny were laughing hysterically. "I just don't know what gets into you sometimes."

"Yeah, Ron. Magic poop!" said his sister. "Why did I have to have six brothers? Merlin, are you dumb."

"Am not."

Molly shot them a warning glare and they settled down. They both knew not to cross their mother, for Molly was the disciplinarian in her house. It was a good thing all of us were parents, and did not get offended by Ron's comment. Sometimes I think our children live to embarrass us.

"Ahem! As I was saying, magic is everywhere and just like the rain and the snow, it can be either good or bad, helpful or harmful. Magic is not, in and of itself good or evil, it simply is. The wizards who use it determine whether or not to use it for good or evil. Having magic does not make you all-knowing, either." Here I directed my gaze towards the children who were starting to fidget. They stopped.

"Being a wizard or a witch simply means that you can control and use the magical force all around you. Depending on what you do with it, you can either save lives, like I do, or hurt people, like the Death Eaters do. The Death Eaters are a bunch of wizard fanatics who delight in bringing shame and death to all who oppose them, wizard and Muggle alike. I would strongly suggest you not copy them, children. Right, Harry?"

"Yeah, Dad. The Death Eaters are wicked people-the bad kind of wicked, not the good kind, I mean. And all of them belong in Azkaban or in a cemetery. One of them almost killed my dad and my grandpa."

Lexy and Alaina looked horrified. "Oh my God!" Alaina exclaimed. "You were the target of a terrorist attack, Severus?"

"Yes, a year ago. But that's all been settled now and the ones who ordered it are, as my son said, either dead or in jail. Azkaban is the wizard prison in this part of the world." I went on to explain how the prison was guarded by dementors, and how no one had ever escaped from it. I talked a little about the dementor guards and how they never came out of Azkaban.

Then I went back to speaking about good magic, which I demonstrated on Harry, who had a cut on his knee, and I healed that within twenty-seconds. "Beneficial magic is a good wizard's meal ticket. Black magic, on the other hand gets you nothing but murder and a life sentence in Azkaban. There are three curses, called Unforgivables, that will earn a wizard a life sentence immediately. Casting any one of those will end your career before you've started. In magic, as in everything else, you have a choice. Choose the right thing. Most wizards fall into a sort of gray area when it comes to casting spells that heal versus spells that harm. There is only one profession that's the exception to that rule, and that is my own."

Here I tapped the twined symbols on my robe. "These symbols, caduceus and cauldron represent a dual mastery-I am Healer and Potions Master, otherwise known as a-"

"Master Healer!" Harry blurted.

"Thank you, Harry, but please do not interrupt me," I sighed, giving him a warning look.

"Sorry, Dad."

"Where was I? My profession, and indeed any witch or wizard who practices in the medical field, requires us to swear an oath of non-violence. It is known as Physician's Oath and it is a magically binding contract where we as Healers or nurses or med-witches agree to never use our magic to harm. It begins much like the Hippocratic Oath a Muggle doctor swears, Jane Granger would be familiar with that-" I gave her a quick smile and she smiled back. "First, do no harm. However, in our case, it is meant literally, a Healer cannot, under any circumstances save one, deliberately use magic to harm someone. The single exception is if we are in peril of our life. Only then may we use our magic to cast a combat spell that will truly harm another. We are bound by that oath forever, once we graduate our internship, it is irrevocable once taken, like an Unbreakable Vow. If a Healer ever broke it, he or she would die. That is why we ask three times before a young intern speaks the oath aloud, because once you swear, you are bound. We Healers take our profession very seriously, and any who wear this caduceus has sworn Healer's Oath."

Molly spoke up then. "I'd like to add something if I may, Healer Sev. Since everyone in our world knows the Healers are bound to do no harm, our laws reflect that status. Anyone found guilty of harming or, Merlin forbid-killing a Healer is sentenced to life in Azkaban. It is considered among the worst of crimes to attack a Healer and in our history there have only been ten wizards who were found guilty of that crime, the most recent being Tom Riddle, or Voldemort, who deliberately targeted a hospital and killed many, six years ago. But he is now dead, as are the rest of them. We offer all honor and respect to our Healers, and Master Healer Severus is one of the best in his field."

"Thank you, Molly." After I had impressed upon the children once more the real danger of casting Unforgivables, I turned the speaking over to Molly. "Please welcome Molly, she is a witch as well as a mother and will be happy to discuss anything you like regarding accidental magic."

Molly began by explaining the reason why accidental magic occurred, she used the example of hair color, saying that sometimes when a child is a baby or a toddler, their hair may be red or blond and later on, as they grow, their hair gradually changes to another color, like a darker brown or vice versa. "It's the same with the magical gift your child carries. When a child with the potential for magic is small, the gift sleeps, showing itself only briefly, the way a child's hair changes one strand at a time. But when they hit eleven, the onset of puberty, their magic emerges fully and then they can be taught spells."

"Can a child's magic mature before eleven?" asked Alaina.

"Yes, in rare cases, that can happen. But we monitor those children closely, and they usually are among the strongest wizards and witches. Any child who can cast spells before formal training has a strong talent. And those with a strong gift must receive training from an adult wizard or witch as soon as possible, for a fully emerged talent uncontrolled can be dangerous. That's why we stress control over emotions when we are young, since emotions make the magic react unpredictably, with results that are unexpected or too strong."

"Is that why you have a wizard boarding school?" queried Jane.

"Yes. Hogwarts has been warded and safeguarded so that accidents that occur there can be dealt with easily. Teenagers in general are very emotional, their hormones are raging, and that in turn effects their magic. It's much easier to control if they are away from their parents and secluded, so that they don't hurt anyone accidentally."

"I'm glad I'm not teaching them," Alaina said fervently. "Normal teenagers are hell to deal with sometimes, I can only imagine the havoc a wizard teen could cause."

"Yes, the teachers at Hogwarts are very experienced and skilled at dealing with teenage angst and such," Molly said. "You'll be meeting some of them next session, I believe. Right, Severus?"

"Yes, Molly. Professor Dumbledore, Hogwart's Headmaster and Professor McGonagall, Mistress of Transfiguration, will be our keynote speakers next seminar." I told everyone.

"They can tell you better than I can how they deal with their students." Molly said. "Now, I think we need to involve the children more in this discussion. You've all been very good listeners so far, but now I want you to answer a question for me." She smiled at them, and all of them sat up straighter and looked at her expectantly, like baby dragons waiting for a treat.

"What do you want to ask us, Mum?" Ron wanted to know.

"I want each of you to tell me the first time you ever used your magic accidentally. Can all of you remember it?"

They all nodded, usually the first incident of accidental magic was memorable.

"Good. I'll begin. When I was eight years old, I made a flower that had died in a vase of my mum's sprout and bloom again. Now how about you, Ginny?"

Ginny's brow wrinkled. "Uh . . .just three months ago I made the fork on the kitchen counter spin around."

"Yes, I remember it well, since I was cooking at the time," Molly chuckled. "How about you, Blaise?"

"I was six and I made my lima bean become a chocolate bar,' cause I hate lima beans! Yuck! Mama was so surprised she let me eat it for dinner."

Maria chuckled, ruffling her son's dark hair.

"I hate lima beans too, Blaise. They're nasty," remarked Hermione. "May I go next, Mrs. Weasley?"

"You may, Hermione."

"Okay. I started doing magic last year right after I turned six. I made the dolls I was playing with dance a jig with each other. Mummy thought she was seeing things and needed to go to a hospital," she admitted frankly.

The rest of the room burst out laughing, and Jane just groaned and buried her face in her hands. Ah, the honesty of children! It can be very blunt sometimes.

"That must have been very scary for you, Jane," Molly said. "Especially since you didn't know how or why that happened."

"It was. I thought I was losing my mind, as Mione said. I kept telling myself I was dreaming, but I knew I was awake. Then I called for Wally, and when he came in, we just stared at the dolls until they quit dancing and fell down. Then Hermione looked at us and said, wasn't that the coolest thing, Mummy? And all I could think of was that the dolls were possessed or something."

Molly nodded in understanding. "Yes, accidental magic can be a bit startling the first time it happens, unless of course you are one of us and are expecting it. Severus, your father had a similar experience with you, right?"

"Yes. I was four and I wanted a glass from a high cabinet and I couldn't reach it, so my magic summoned it for me, only it didn't just summon one glass, but seven and they all broke on the floor because I couldn't catch them all." I told my audience. "I woke up my father with the sound of so many glasses shattering, and he was quite unhappy." That was putting it mildly, of course! Still, I saw no need to dwell on the past, I had since come to terms with Tobias and what had gone on then. Also, that was not the first time I had used accidental magic, according to Dad I had been two and throwing a tantrum and I set his hands on fire when he went to pick me up. But I couldn't remember it, since Mum had Obliviated the memory and made my magic sleep after she had healed my father. I didn't want to tell that story, since it might frighten Jane or Alaina or even the children.

"Ron, your turn," Molly continued.

"Uh, I was six and I made my teddy bear hug me," he admitted shyly. "My big brothers were picking on me and Mum wasn't home and I wanted a hug, so I made Mr. Bear give me one."

"Now, you Harry."

"I was at my grandpa's house, he's a Muggle, and I was getting the mail when Butch the Doberman from across the street came after me and tried to eat me," my son declared dramatically. "I ran away as fast as I could, but he would've bitten me ‘cept my magic made a Shield Charm and it protected me till Grandpa made Butch leave with the hose."

There were many gasps and exclamations at this. "Poor dear!" remarked Maria.

"What kind of idiot lets a Doberman run free that way?" asked Wally angrily. "I'd of sued their arse, whoever owned it."

"My father nearly kicked the man who owned the dog's arse, believe me,"I told Wally grimly.

"You're next, Lexy. What did you do with your magic?"

Lexy hesitated, then she said, "I did something kind of like Harry. My mom tripped and she was falling and I made a bubble of air go round her like a cushion so she didn't get hurt. I was six too."

A Cushioning Charm was as rare as a Shield Charm at this stage of their development, I thought. It was plain that Lexy would also be a strong witch one day.

That first session was a success, and Jane and Wally and Alaina were very excited to attend the next one.

Next Friday, Albus and Minerva were the guest speakers and Albus spoke a bit about the way students were taught at Hogwarts and also the nature of wands, telling the parents that the wand chose the wizard and that each wand was unique and only the wizard it chose could use it to it's full potential. "A wand enables a wizard to focus and control his or her magic, which is why we use them. Occasionally, a wizard may use another's wand, but it never works quite as well as the one that chose him. Your children will get their wands from Ollivander's when they begin their first year at Hogwarts."

I added, "After many years of study, a wizard may learn how to cast spells silently and without a wand as well, but such takes a great deal of practice and not all wizards can master non-verbal and wandless magic. Albus is one, however."

"And Severus is another," my mentor inclined his head to me. "He was one of the few students I have ever taught to ever master wandless magic easily."

Minerva lectured about Transfiguration, explaining that was her talent, which was why she was the professor that taught it at Hogwarts. She transformed into a cat to illustrate one of the things you could do if you were an Animagus. "But Animagi are rare as well, and most students don't demonstrate a talent for transfiguration like that until they are fourth years. However, Harry seems to have a substantial talent in that area, considering he transfigured his stuffed panther into a living one."

Here, she indicated Inky, who was snoozing peacefully beside Harry and Lexy, his two preferred children.

Jane looked like she was about to fall over. "You mean that panther was not born, it was . . .created?"

"In a manner of speaking," Minerva answered. "Harry did not create the panther, he exchanged the stuffed animal for a live panther, in essence. Another case of accidental magic. Harry, tell Jane what it was you did when you made Inky come alive."

Harry related the Inky story to the class and Jane, Wally, Maria, Lexy, and Alaina were suitably impressed.

But Jane looked a tad worried, doubtless imagining Hermione bringing one of her stuffed animals alive or one of her dolls. Until Minerva reassured her that such strong talent was rare and most transfigured objects changed back in a few seconds if they were done by accidental magic.

"Harry's is the first case of accidental magic I have seen that actually was permanent. Meaning that unless an adult wizard transfigures Inky back to a toy, he shall remain alive till the end of his lifespan, which, considering how he came to life, may be very long indeed." She smiled conspiratorily at my son. "Your Inky may be alive still when you have grandchildren, Harry."

"Good, ‘cause I'd hate it if he died," Harry said sincerely, and knelt to hug the slumbering panther.

Inky was used to such impromptu displays of affection and barely twitched his tail in response, sleeping calmly.

I silently agreed with my son. I had grown extremely fond of the big beast and now couldn't imagine my life without him, even though he cost me a fortune to feed. But I was one of the top paid Master Healers in St Mungos and I had a contact from Dagger the Dragon Tamer with the man who supplied all their carnivores with fresh meat to give me a substantial break on the steaks and ribs I ordered for Inky. The panther enjoyed venison as well as beef and also the occasional salmon.

"Thank goodness transfiguration isn't the norm with magical kids," Alaina said to Jane. "Otherwise I'd have the Philadelphia Zoo in my living room in two seconds flat."

"I know exactly what you mean," Jane said feelingly.

The two women seemed to have struck up a friendship, at least from what I could see at the seminars. That made sense, since their girls played with each other on a daily basis and they lived a stone's throw away from each other.

Dumbledore was in his element, answering questions from adults and kids alike with obvious enjoyment and then he played Guess What Animal I Am? with the children, by transfiguring a ball into several different magical creatures and seeing which child could name the most creatures. Harry won that contest, but to my shock Lexy was a close second.

"Mom reads me all the Greek myths and stuff, Healer Sev," she told me, grinning shyly. "I love them. I wish I could fly on a pegasus or speak with a centaur."

"Perhaps someday, when you go to Hogwarts, you may, Lexy. There are friendly centaurs in the Forbidden Forest and I think a herd of pegasi live in the meadow nearby."

"Cool! I wish I could go there right now. Mom says I'm seven going on seventy, so I'll bet I could learn what the big kids are learning."

I laughed at her unbridled enthusiasm, she clearly loved being a witch and found the magical world endlessly fascinating. Much like her mother, who was always the first to ask questions during a session and take notes as well. I could see quite clearly where Lexy inherited her love of learning from.

Alaina asked Minerva if she could understand cats. "I mean, my vet when I was a kid always told me that animals had their own language that they could speak with each other and we were too stuck-up to understand it. I was just wondering, since you can actually become a cat, if you speak their language?"

"Well, dear, I can understand them much better than I can talk to them as a human, because I don't have a tail and whiskers as a woman," replied Minerva, her green eyes sparkling. She loved an attentive pupil. "Cats say a great deal with their tails and whiskers. Ears too. Animals use posture and body language far more than we humans do, as well as smell. That's why animals cannot lie. A lie can be smelled or detected in the way you carry yourself."

Too true. Only we humans, the supposedly higher species, has the need for deceit.

Not everyone was able to attend all the sessions, due to various reasons, but Jane or Wally or both of them made an effort to be there for every one as did Alaina. Which was as it should have been, since the seminars were for their benefit especially.

The third seminar was run by my partner Matthew and myself, and that one Dad surprised me by attending. "I had some time on my hands and figured I might as well come over here and see what you were teaching, Sev," was all he said when he showed up at my front door.

I was shocked and pleased all at once, for once he wouldn't have given me the time of day when it came to magic. But he was not the same man he had been a year or even a few months ago. Now he was willing to let magic have a place in his life and also his wizard son and grandson.

Matthew and I used a large doll for our demonstration, showing the adults and the children various kinds of healing spells, explaining that each person had an aura that a Healer could see with his magical sight, and the aura could tell us if the person were well or unwell and even their emotional state-happy, sad, frightened-and how strong they were in magic. "A wizard always knows another wizard," Matthew told the class. "But a Healer knows much more than just that."

"But our Healer sight can't tell us everything about a patient, so we use diagnostic spells to get specifics on a person if they don't know or can't tell us what's wrong." I said. Then I went on to detail some common magical potions for healing and teas as well.

"I began making potions very young, my mother was a Potions Mistress, and she taught me a great many things before I ever attended Hogwarts. The first successful potion I ever brewed was a Calming Draught." I recalled with a nostalgic smile.

I had samples of each potion I discussed upon a small table, so the parents could see exactly what each one looked and smelled like.

"We won't mention the twenty or so other times he made something explode before he got one right," said Dad with a wicked smirk.

I pretended to be annoyed. "You're exaggerating, Dad. It was only fifteen times, not twenty."

"Whatever, Sev. Bottom line is you practically gave me a heart attack the first time, I thought a gas main had blown, then come to find out it was some kind of magical experiment . . ." Tobias shook his head. "He was always doing things like that to me, but that time was the worst, I think. He really scared me and I don't scare easy."

"Don't let him fool you. He's a former Royal Marine sergeant, and he doesn't scare at all," I threw back. I couldn't remember him acting like he was scared at all, just mad as blazes and threatening to wallop my arse, as usual. Then again, I had learned that Tobias has always buried his fear with anger, for his father, a strict Methodist coal miner, insisted fear was not something a man admitted to, and it was better to get angry than admit you were scared. He no longer followed his father's teachings, for which I was extremely grateful.

"Yeah, Grandpa fought the bad masked men that tried to kidnap me and kill Dad on Halloween," Harry related. "He shot Lucius Malfoy dead with his gun."

"It was you who killed Malfoy?" repeated Maria in awe.

Tobias shrugged, embarrassed. "I had to. He was going to steal my grandson and kill Sev too. So I just reacted a split second before he did."

Maria was smiling broadly. "Fancy, Malfoy the Muggle hater meets his end at a Muggle's hands. Poetic justice indeed! Good for you, Tobias! One less Death Eater in the world."

That prompted a discussion of wizards and criminals and what we did to them. I told everyone that next week we would have two Aurors to meet and give a lesson on self-defense and being a dark wizard catcher and then we played a quick game with the kids, seeing who could identify the most body parts, and the prize for it was a chocolate frog.

Hermione shone there, coming from a medically inclined household, naming seven times the number of parts that Ron, Ginny, or Blaise could. Harry was a close second, followed by Lexy.

I ended up giving all the children chocolate frogs, I didn't want any tears or hard feelings, these sessions were supposed to be fun, not really competitive. Plenty of time for that later, when they went to Hogwarts.

Lexy loved magical sweets, Alaina told me she hardly ever ate them, but put them away in a special box. "I think she's collecting them or something. Like stickers or baseball cards."

I told her there were worse things she could be collecting. By now Lexy, Hermione, Ron, and Harry were all good friends, and were over each other's houses on a regular basis. Lexy, like my Harry, was a born daredevil. She climbed like a cat and once I caught her and Harry on my roof, she told me they were playing like they were Santa Claus going down the chimney. Why were they playing Christmas in the middle of April? Merlin only knows!

Of course I scolded both of them and put them in time-out. Harry got an additional lecture from me and an early bedtime that evening, because he knew damn well he wasn't supposed to climb on the roof.

"Lexy did it first."

"So? If Lexy decided to jump off a bridge, would you do it?" Merlin, but I sounded like my mother!

"No. ‘Cause I don't swim very well. But I can climb just as good as she can, Dad."

Seven-year-old logic! Merlin help me! I put an age line around the roof after that, no sense in taking chances.

At the end of the month, Sirius and Remus were the guest speakers and they amazed our Muggle friends by having a mock duel. At least it was supposed to be a mock duel, but Sirius insisted that Remus cheated and it got pretty heated until I hit them with a Serenity Charm and cooled them off. The Serenity Charm is a personality alteration spell that calms a roomful of angry people and it's a Healer's best weapon when you're caught in a crowd or a riot when everyone's panicking. I would've used it when the Death Eaters attacked, but Voldy taught them the counter-charm to it and wove it into their masks, or so one told the Aurors under Veritaserum.

After that, I suggested that Sirius talk about Animagi and Remus volunteered to talk about werewolves after that, so the seminar went pretty smoothly. Except when Inky woke up and saw Padfoot in his dog form and thought it was time to play and nearly knocked him flying when he sprang at the big mutt and licked him with one swipe of his tongue.

Everyone laughed until they cried and Wally said "This is better than Comedy Central!"

"Ick!" sputtered Padfoot when he could transform back again. "Panther germs!"

"What's the matter, Siri? Cat got your tongue?" teased Remus, and everyone roared. Then he turned into a wolf and made Inky chase him around the room till he was tired and came to lie with his head in my lap. (Inky, not Moony).

"Ah-ha! A Kodak moment!" exclaimed Alaina, the sly little thing, and she pulled out a camera from her satchel and snapped my picture before I could duck. Whoever develops her film is going to be in for a rude shock when he sees that picture.

After the lesson was over, Sirius and Remus played something called Wizard Hunter with the children, it's an Auror teaching game, and it involves one person being a dark wizard or a vampire or some other evil monster and the others "hunting" him with the appropriate spells. Of course, the kids didn't know the spells, but they gave it a good try, and they loved it.

Later on, when everyone had gone home or to bed, in Harry's case, my two friends cornered me in the kitchen while I was making a pot of Bangkok tea and insisted I give them the goods on Alaina.

I pretended not to know what they were talking about.

"Don't try that poker face with us, Snape!" Sirius wagged a reproving finger at me. "I know you like her. So why haven't you asked her out?"

I didn't answer for a moment. "I haven't had a free moment all week," I hedged.

"Excuses! Excuses!" snorted Moony. "Sev, you need to get out of the house more often. With another adult, not Harry, I mean. This Alaina seems like a real nice girl, smart, practical, and she's-"

"-well-built too," remarked Sirius, smirking.

I whirled on him. "Black, you keep your eyes on your own damn girl, you bloody bounder. Before I send you where no wizard's ever gone before." I threatened, only half-joking, waving my fist under his chin. If Sirius decided to go for Alaina, I knew I didn't stand a snowball's chance in hell of dating her. Siri's a girl magnet.

"Whoa, Sev!" He held up his hands. "Down, boy! I was only making an observation, don't eviscerate me, please, Healer!"

I gave him a warning scowl. "I ought to give you a vasectomy for that comment, Padfoot."

Sirius pretended to shudder. "Cruel, Snape! Help, Moony, he's gone insane! Lost his head over a little Muggle girl."

Moony just chuckled. "About time! You've been alone far too much, Severus. Lily wouldn't want you to be alone the rest of your life."

That was the second time someone had said that to me. "You really think so, Moony?"

"Yes. Lily loved life, she would want you to live yours to the fullest, Sev. Remember, but don't make yourself into a monk."

"Is that what you think I've been doing?"

"Pretty much. If you like this Alaina Montague so much, just ask her out."

"Where? To dinner?"

"Sure or maybe to that teashop on the corner near the hospital. You know the one I mean. Tea For Two, or whatever. Sirius and Lindy go there every month, right, Sirius?"

"Uh-huh. Lindy's nuts about it. Loves the pastry and the jasmine tea blends. It's got a nice atmosphere, casual and homey. It's a good place to go on a trial run."

"I haven't even asked her yet. What if she doesn't want to go?"

Sirius chuckled. "Sev, buddy, the way she was looking at you . . . she'd go on the cruise ship to hell if you invited her. Jump right in the boat and say kiss me Satan, sure as my name's Sirius Orion Black."

"How do you know that?"

"Severus, how many women have I dated?"

He had a point there. Funny though, how all of Sirius's ex's never minded him going out with another girl after he'd bid them goodbye. Women just loved the big mutt.

"How was she looking at me?" I asked. Merlin, but I was pathetic, worse than an adolescent boy on his first prom dance.

"Like she was lost and you were the only one who could take her home again," replied my friend. "Trust me, Sev. She likes you."

I believed him. If there's one thing Sirius possesses, besides charm and insolence, it's knowledge of women. It was one of his talents, like catching criminals. And he was rarely wrong when it came to women.

"All right. I'll ask her out. I'll take her to Tea For Two and see how it works out."

Sirius cheered and smacked me on the back. "Good job, mate! You'll do fine."

I prayed I would. It had been over three years since I had dated and my social skills were a bit rusty. But better late then never. Now all I had to do was call Alaina and see if she wanted to go out for a little afternoon tea.

She said yes.