The Snapes arrived early to help Vi and Hal set up for the reunion, the tenth one to date that the Evans had celebrated. Hal was particularly looking forward to this one, since he would get to see his brother Charley, who had moved to Virginia years ago and married a young woman named Sharon. Charley was Hal's younger brother and he would be coming with his wife and stepdaughter, Kimmie, and their seven-year-old son Larry.

"Haven't seen him in almost ten years, his firm transferred him over there, he builds computer prototypes, and he liked it so much he married a local girl and stayed there," Hal explained to Severus as they set up the wooden picnic tables and chairs. "He sends gifts and cards at our birthdays and the holidays, but it's not the same."

It was a bit windy, and some of the chairs kept blowing over, until Sev cast a Sticking charm on them. "I take you were close with your brother then?"

Hal nodded. "Yeah, he's only three years younger and we used to get up to all kinds of mischief as kids. Drove my poor mum and dad insane sometimes. Charley liked to invent stuff, and sometimes the things he invented didn't work all that well." Hal chuckled. "He tried to invent an Automatic Shoe Shiner for my dad one time, since Dad was a Navy Lieutenant and always polishing his shoes. It was supposed to put a thin coat of polish on and then rub it to a shine with a robotic arm. It . . .didn't work out that way. It put the polish on all right, too much, and then when it went to rub it in, it rubbed too hard and put a hole in Dad's good dress shoe! Needless to say, Dad was not happy, and Charley still hasn't lived that one down. My cousin Dave still teases him to this day, asking him if he'd like to polish some of his shoes. But we had some fun, us and my cousins. Another time, Charley and my cousin Dave decided to build a hang glider, and jump off the roof of our garage to test it . . .Mum nearly had heart failure, Dave broke his ankle, and Charley ended up not being able to sit down for a day once Dad found out about it."

"Your brother sounds like James and Sirius. They were always doing insane stunts like that as well," Severus remarked.

Hal nodded. "Kids are kids, no matter if they're wizards or not." He surveyed the yard, which was filled with rows of chairs and tables with plastic green cloths and a large white tent erected over them. The barbecue was set off to the side next to a long table where rolls and salads were placed. "Looks good, Sev. Now we just have to do the coolers of drinks and we're set here."

Later on Hal would grill steaks, hamburgers, and chicken to go along with the rest of the food, most of which would be brought by the relatives, one dish per household. Lily had made an Italian tomato salad with fresh basil and mozzerella and balsamic dressing, learned from a Tuscan farm witch on their honeymoon, and she was anxious to try it out on her family and see if they liked it. Sev was sure they would, it was incredibly delicious. Even Harry, who had lately become Mr. Picky and refused to eat most vegetables and meat, loved that salad.

Meanwhile, Lily and Vi were in the kitchen, preparing Vi's famous macaroni salad and hot German potato salad and yeast rolls. "Did Petunia really say she was coming?" asked Lily while she fried bacon and crumbled it.

"Yes, she told Vernon that it was only polite to attend the reunion, and so she and her husband and Dudley are coming."

"Well, that's good, I guess. Maybe Dudley can get to know his cousin," Lily said, trying to maintain a cheerful aspect, though a little voice in her head was whispering that the Dursleys might just spoil the whole reunion, given Vernon's outright distaste of magic and Petunia's haughtiness. Still, she was willing to give her sister the benefit of the doubt, and hope that the years had tempered Petunia's snippy manner a little.

"Yes, that'd be good, I don't think Tuney lets him play enough with other children, she tends to keep him close to her, from what I could see last time I visited," Vi said.

Lily just rolled her eyes, thinking that was typical of Petunia, considering her son too good to associate with other children. She hoped that her nephew had inherited his grandparents' temperament instead of either of his parents, otherwise they'd be in trouble, for Harry disliked bossy loud children.

She finished with the bacon and began to assemble the potato salad, praying that all would go smoothly today.

* * * * * *

The Dursleys were among the last arrive at 14 Spinner's End. Charley and his wife Sharon and their children were the first to arrive, and the youngest Evans brother greeted his sibling and Vi enthusiastically, grabbing Hal in a bear hug and twirling Vi around and claiming she was still as pretty as she'd been twenty-something years ago when she had first started dating Hal.

"You haven't changed a bit, Charley," Vi laughed, returning her brother-in-law's embrace. "A bit more gray in that blond hair but you still are the same charming rascal you always were."

"That's the reason I married him," put in Sharon, who was a small woman with dark hair and sparkling blue eyes. "I nevah could resist a reformed rogue." She had a soft drawl to her speech, from the Virginia tidewater where she had been born and raised. "These are my children, Kimberly, whom we all call Kimmie," she indicated a quiet girl with her dark hair and bright brown eyes wearing a pretty blue traveling suit, who smiled and said, "How d'you do, Aunt Violet?"

"Vi, dearie, Violet was what my gran used to call me when I was in deep trouble with her," Vi corrected, smiling. "I'm Aunt Vi and that big bloke over there is your Uncle Hal. He's a teddy bear, just ask your cousin Lily. Welcome to London." She hugged Kimmie to her and the girl tentatively embraced her.

"And this rascal ovah heah is Lawrence, but he insists on being called Larry," Sharon nudged her youngest forward, he had the Evans blond good looks and dark blue eyes. "Say hello to your Aunt Vi, Larry."

"Hello, ma'am," the boy repeated dutifully, he was wearing good black jeans and a collared shirt. "Have you ever seen Queen Elizabeth?"

Vi laughed and shook her head. "No, I'm not quite in her circle, Larry, but we can take you to see the Tower and Buckingham Palace later on, since you're staying here for a few days, right? Would you like that?"

The boy smiled. "Yes, that'd be so cool, Aunt Vi." He hugged her as well.

Vi introduced Lily and Severus and Harry to them, and Harry took to Kimmie instantly, allowing the twelve-year-old to pick him up and make much of him. "Aww, ain't you the cutest little thing!" she exclaimed. "How old are you, Harry?"

Harry held up two fingers and said, "I is two, how 'bout you?"

"I'm twelve," Kimmie said.

"Wow!" Harry's green eyes went wide. "That OLD! Almost like a growed-up."

The adults chuckled and Kimmie laughed and said, "Uh, I wish."

"Lily Ann, you've become a real looker, girl!" Charley cried, upon catching sight of his niece standing next to Severus. "Last time I saw you, you were around Kimmie's age. And now you're married with a little boy, or so Hal tells me."

He hugged Lily, smiling like a genial bluff bear. Lily kissed his cheek, recalling him with fondness from her childhood. "It's been too long, Uncle Charley. This is my husband, Sev Snape."

"Pleased to meet you," Charley shook Sev's hand. "You're a doctor, or so Hal tells me, that right?"

"Yes, I'm a general practitioner and also a pediatrician," Severus answered without missing a beat. It was true, he was very like the Muggle equivalent of that sort of doctor. He returned the handshake, and said, with a slight mischievous air, "Hal tells me you invent things."

"Yeah, well I used to, before I got into computers. Don't tell me my brother told you the blasted Automatic Shoe Shine story?" Charley groaned good-naturedly. "He'll never let me forget that one!"

"Or the hang glider," Severus added.

"Figures. Well, I could tell you some stories about him, Sev," Charley declared, smiling ruefully. "My brother was no saint either."

Lily was happy that both her men seemed to be hitting it off with the Evanses, and resolved to not worry so much about her sister, for surely Petunia would not want to cause a scene at this fine family gathering.

Other relatives arrived, aunts, uncles, cousins, each bringing food and swapping old stories and telling new ones about their children or grandchildren, until the backyard held about thirty people, not counting the ten children running about, who ranged in age from thirteen to two.

Harry was having a wonderful time, playing with little Mark, a distant cousin who was three, and being cuddled and admired by Kimmie and Lana and Angela, some more cousins, who found his brilliant green eyes and dimpled cheeks too cute to resist.

The table next to the barbecue was groaning with all the food everyone had brought and it was then that the Dursleys arrived, driving up in their brand new blue car, Vernon wearing expensive plaid golf togs and a black bowler and Petunia in a brand-new purple dress with small white polka dots on it and heels and a fancy hat with peacock feathers in it to match. Dudley was dressed in a cute sailor suit and would have been adorable, save for the sulky frown on his face, he was cranky from being woken from his nap.

Lily bit back a groan when she saw them. Oh Lord, Tuney, who are you trying to impress? Aunt Thalia has been dead for years and she's the only one who would care two pennies about your Harrod's original or whatever it is. This isn't some fancy social debut, just a family barbecue, for heaven's sake.

Still, Petunia never missed an opportunity to show off, whether it was clothes, shoes, or her rich husband, who worked for Grunnings, a booming drill manufacturer. Tuney had to have the best of everything, it had always been that way, and always would.

"Good afternoon, Mother," Petunia said, giving Vi a perfunctory kiss on the cheek. She had resorted to calling Vi Mother after she had graduated high school, in an effort to sound more polished. Lily just thought it made her sound standoffish.

"Hello, Tuney," Lily greeted, making herself smile, and reaching out to embrace her sister.

"Hello, Lily," Petunia said, smiling woodenly and her hug was too brief, as if she couldn't bear to touch her sister. "You seem as if motherhood agrees with you."

"Actually, being married to Severus agrees with me," Lily answered, her green eyes flashing.

Petunia sniffed. "I don't see how. Do you live off your first husband's money then, because God knows a Snape never knew how to save a penny, and I doubt if this one is any different than his father."

Lily flushed, furious. "How dare you say that about Severus-- "

"Still singing the same old tune are you, Petunia?" drawled Severus, coming into the kitchen carrying Harry, who took one look at the pinched-faced woman standing by his mother and squirmed to be set down. Sev set him down and told him to go play in the backyard. "Find Mark or Kimmie, scamp."

Petunia's mouth twisted and she eyed Severus critically. He was wearing dark green pants and a black pullover with leather walking shoes. "Humph! You clean up nice, but dress a dog in a suit and underneath it's still a dog."

"Petunia Charlotte Evans!" Vi cried.

"Don't deny it, Mother. We all know where he came from, the dregs of society, and he's one of them besides!" She held Dudley protectively, as if afraid Snape would hurt him.

"Wizard. Say it, Petunia." Severus challenged, coming up to her. They had never liked each other, but Severus would be damned if he would let her bait him. "It's a word, like any other."

"You're unnatural, Snape, and I've always thought so," Petunia hissed. "A freak of nature and I will never understand what my sister saw in you. Did you bewitch her perhaps?"

"Petunia, that's enough!" Vi snapped, losing her temper. "Severus is a member of this family now and deserving of your respect and at the very least, your civility. I didn't raise you to behave this way, Petunia Charlotte, and as long as you're under my roof, you will treat everyone with politeness, no matter if they are poor as a church mouse or the queen's own relation. Is that understood?"

Petunia paled, then said meekly, "Yes, Mother. Good afternoon, Severus Snape," and then she swept past him out the back door, her roly poly child clutched to her tightly.

Vernon, who had come in during Vi's tirade, greeted his mother-in-law and Lily stiffly, then glowered at Severus and hissed, "You stay away from my wife and son, Snape. And keep your little freaky brat away too, I don't want my son contaminated by him."

He was slightly shorter than Severus, but broader in the chest and heavier, with dark hair and a mustache, but Severus was not intimidated in the least. He glared right back and snarled softly, "What's that supposed to mean, Dursley? Are you claiming Harry's not fit to play with your child because he's a wizard like I am?"

"Yes, Snape, that's exactly what I'm saying," sneered the other.

Severus sneered at him. "You're an imbecile, Dursley, like all the rest of your kind. Magic's not a disease, it's a gift, one that God saw fit not to grace fools like you with. But I'll keep Harry away from your precious boy, Dursley, because I don't want any of your intolerable attitude to rub off on him." he raked the other man with a cold stare and said, "If that bigoted attitude doesn't kill you first, you might want to lay off the sweets , before you gorge yourself into an early grave. Gratis medical advice, no need to bill me, Dursley. But if you're too stupid to take it, that's your own bloody problem. Good afternoon." Then Severus spun about and strode out the back door, managing to keep from punching the nasty walrus by the slimmest of margins.

Behind him, he heard Vi and Lily light into the smug bastard and he permitted himself a small smile. Hell hath no fury like an Evans woman defending those she loved best.

But if Severus thought the Dursleys would leave after being lectured quite pointedly by both Vi and Lily, he was sadly mistaken. They stayed, unwilling to lose face, and mingled with several of the more snooty cousins, bragging about Vernon's account with Grunnings and Petunia boasted that her Dudley--the little angel-- was simply the smartest little boy as well as the cutest.

Right then, the "little angel" had managed to pull himself atop the table where most of the food was, Lily had charmed the dishes to keep food hot or cold as needed, and now Dudley decided to stuff himself with a bowlful of summer plums and then moved on to Aunt Muriel's ambrosia salad, scooping great handfuls of the sweet whipped topping, marshmallow, orange concoction into his mouth at an alarming rate.

Harry, who had been wanting to get another cookie from the table himself, had followed Dudley there and watched his cousin doing something he was pretty sure was not good. "Hey! You is not supposed to be up there, Duddy!" he yelled.

Dudley ignored him, continuing to eat.

Harry looked around for a growed-up, and the first two he spotted were his daddy and a man he had said was Pop Evan's brother, Uncle Charley. There were lots of men named uncle at this party, he mused, as he raced over to where they were sitting and tugged on Severus's sleeve.

"Daddy! Look!"

"In a minute, Harry, I'm talking with Uncle Charley," Severus replied.

"But Daddy, look what Duddy's doing to the pretty cakes and stuff. He's bad!"

Severus and Charley glanced up to see Dudley pick up a plastic fork, preparing to dive into Petunia's French three-layer cake.

"Jesus!" Charley swore. "What's that little brat think he's doing?"

"He eating my cake," Harry supplied, crying a little.

Severus rose from his chair and went to confront the roly-poly brat. He glanced about, but couldn't see Petunia or that obese whale Vernon anywhere. So it fell to him to discipline the wayaward scamp.

"Stop that at once!" Severus ordered sternly. He plucked Dudley from the middle of the dessert portion of the table. "if you're hungry, you ask for some, don't just go and take it. Now come here!'

The blond child immediately began to howl and struggle. "Down! Duddy go DOWN! Now! Want it! Mine! MINE!"

Severus tucked the squirming bundle under an arm and marched back to where Charley was sitting. "Not yours, boy. Didn't your mother ever teach you any manners?"

Dudley, furious that his food was being taken away, fought Severus like a demon, kicking and biting. "MINE! MINE! WANT IT!"

"No. Bad little boys like you don't get dessert," Severus told the howling child. "They get put in time-out."

And he took a picnic bench and faced it towards a tree next to his table, set the bawling two-year-old on it, and declared, "Five minutes, young man."

"NO! NO!" Dudley screeched, throwing himself off the bench and having a full-blown breath-stealing temper tantrum.

Charley looked on the red-face plump child in distaste. "Kid's a spoiled little brat. Needs a good spanking, in my opinion."

Severus nodded, then reached down to put the child back on the stool. Dudley turned, saw who it was, and sank his teeth into Sev's hand.

"Ow! Little bugger!" the Healer swore, and gave the boy a brief spank on the behind. "No biting! Biting is bad, little boy." He set the child back on the bench, ignoring the howls.

"Don't you bite my daddy!" Harry cried. "Now you is getting hot sauce, mister!"

At last recognizing the howls for those of her own child and not someone else's, Petunia came running over, fearing he was hurt. "Duddy! Dudley sweetums, where are you? What's wrong, precious?"

"Mummy! Bad man ‘tole my cake! I wants it, Mummy! NOW!" Dudley screeched, huge tears falling down his face.

Over the course of the afternoon, that phrase out of the child's mouth had become all too familiar to the other Evanses, as Dudley whined and howled whenever he didn't get his way, and in general behaved like the spoiled cosseted brat he was. Some of the aunts and cousins had dared to comment that Petunia shouldn't give in to him all the time, and she had sniffed and said that Dudley was highly sensitive and there was no harm in giving her darling sweets and whatever else he wanted if he would be happy.

"Snape!" Petunia hissed, upon seeing who it was that had her son a prisoner on the bench. "Get away from my baby! What do you think you're doing?"

"Disciplining him, Petunia, since you obviously never bothered."

"Why, how dare you?" she cried, incensed. "You have no right--you freaky insufferable--"

"Hold on there a minute, Tuney!" Charley ordered, giving his niece a warning look so reminiscent of Hal that Petunia froze. "Sev didn't hurt him none, he was wrecking all the desserts up there on the table, and all he did was take him off. Then your kid pitched a fit and bit him, an' Sev put him in time out."

"He has no right!"

"No? He's family an' family can punish family in my book," Charley drawled. "I punished you an' your sister a time or two, if you'll remember."

"That's different! You were blood, he's only here because he married my sister, and he‘s no better than he ought to be!" Then she shoved Severus aside and picked up her son, crooning, "Did the big bad man hurt you, sweetie? It's okay, Mummy's got you. Here, luv, what did you want, Mummy will give it to you." She stormed off, grabbing a piece of cake and a fork on the way.

Charley eyed them in disgust. "I don't know where that one came from, Sev, because she sure isn't like Hal or Vi. Got a stick up her arse all right, and she's gonna ruin that poor kid if she keeps spoiling him the way she's doing."

Severus nodded grimly, rubbing his hand. Harry climbed on his lap then. "Duddy bad, right, Dad?"

"Yes, son. Dudley is very bad and don't you ever do anything like he just did, understand?"

Harry nodded. He knew quite well what would happen if he were ever as bad as that. "'Kay, Daddy. I be good. No time out."

Severus ruffled his hair. "That's my boy, Harry. Now, would you like some dessert?"

At Harry's eager nod, Severus rose and got him a piece of chocolate cake. He hoped the spoiled little brat had not given his impressionable son any ideas, for he had scant patience for such behavior, and Dudley had been grating on him all afternoon.

Unfortunately, that was not the end of the Dursleys disrupting the peace of the afternoon.

The children had split up according to age, the bigger ones playing cricket and badminton on the lawn, the slightly younger ones playing Duck-Duck-Goose and tag, while the littlest ones, like Harry and Mark, played with their toys and dug in the sandbox.

Dudley, growing bored with staying close to Petunia, who was chatting to some of her more fashion conscious cousins and not really paying attention to him, decided to go over to where Mark and Harry were playing in the sand box, happily digging and making "houses" with a pail and several shovels.

Neither boy would have minded Dudley playing along with them, but Dudley didn't know how to share or how to play with anyone, and when he saw a shovel and a pail that Mark was using, he shoved the other boy and ripped it out of his hand, yelling, "Mine! I wants it!"

Mark gaped at the larger boy and sniffled, "No! It mine! Gimme!" he tried to grab the shovel back, but Dudley pushed him hard and knocked him down on his bottom, then clonked him over the head with the pail for good measure.

The stunned Mark, having never been the victim of a bully before, began to sob and howl, and quickly got to his feet and fled, bawling to his mother.

Harry glared at Dudley. "Mean! You mean, Duddy!"

Dudley just looked at him, said, "Mine!" and settled down to dig in the sand.

Harry, upset at Dudley's unnecessary meanness towards Mark, left the sandbox and went to play with his dragon Smokey, and some of his other toys by himself.

Inside of five minutes, Dudley discovered it was no fun playing alone in the sandbox and looked to see where Harry had gone. Spotting him playing with a wonderful stuffed green dragon, Dudley trundled over, hands reaching greedily for the new toy, which was one he had never owned before.

"Mine! I play wif it!" Dudley yelled.

"No!" Harry scowled, clutching Smokey to him. He knew how to share from being at the center playing with Neville, but Smokey was his special toy, the one he slept with, and it was not one he ever permitted another child to have. Some toys, like Smokey, were not up for sharing, and especially not to mean little boys like Dudley.

Dudley turned beet red and screwed up his face in a truly ferocious scowl. "MINE!" he grasped the dragon's tail.

Harry gave him an equally ferocious glare, practically nose to nose with his bigger cousin. "NO! Smokey MY dragon, not yours! Go 'way, Duddy! No play wif me!" He pulled hard, but Dudley refused to release his hold.

A nasty tug-o-war ensued, with neither toddler giving an inch and both shrieking "MINE! MINE!" at the top of their lungs.

Lily, Severus, and Petunia, recognizing the sounds of a major fight involving their offspring, promptly left their seats and came to investigate. But by the time the adults reached them, it was too late.

The enthusiastic tugging on the poor old dragon's tail was too much, and the toy burst open, showering the screaming two-year-olds with cotton batting and Harry was left holding the top half of Smokey and Dudley the bottom half.

Harry, immediately sensing that something was wrong, took one look at his mangled beloved dragon and wailed hysterically. "My dragon! Wa-a-a-h-h! Smokey's DEAD!" He clutched the ruined dragon to his chest and sobbed heartbrokenly.

Dudley looked at the half of the ripped toy and said, "Humph! Broken! Dumb thing!"

That was too much for Harry. "Smokey's not dumb! You are!" Then he reached out and clocked Dudley one across the face.

That was what Petunia saw as she came across the lawn, Harry smacking her precious Diddykins across the face and sobbing. Then Dudley was howling, for no one had ever struck him before, and Petunia went ballistic.

"You evil little freak! How dare you hurt my baby?" And she swooped down and picked up Harry and smacked him across the face, hard. Then she practically dumped him back on the ground, going to pick up her son and cuddle him.

Harry landed hard on his bottom and began bawling, his face hurt terribly and he was terrified and upset.

Lily yelled, "Petunia! What the bloody hell d'you think you're doing?"

Her sister whirled upon her. "Disciplining your brat, Lily!"

Before Lily could draw her wand, Severus was there, his eyes burning with fiery vengeance. He gave Petunia such a look of fury that she went deathly pale and scrambled backwards. "How dare you strike my son like that, you bitch?"

"Payback, Snape, for your so-called discipline of mine!" Petunia snapped.

Severus fought to keep from hexing the smug woman or smacking her one. "You call that discipline, woman? Leaving a handprint on a child's face?"

"He deserved it, the little freak! He hit my Dudley!"

"Harry is not a freak!" Lily cried, coming and picking up her son, her green eyes blazing. "And Sev never smacked Dudley like you did Harry, Tuney! Is that how you discipline your son?"

"Of course not, my son isn't a nasty bully like yours, Lily!"

Severus was looking at the torn pieces of the stuffed dragon, and his quick mind put two and two together without too much forethought. "Harry has never hit another child that way before, Mrs. Dursley," he snarled. "He was provoked by your child taking his favorite toy."

"What toy? That old rag on the ground?" sneered Petunia.

Severus clenched his fists and said through gritted teeth, "That rag is all that remains of Harry's stuffed dragon, Smokey, which they were fighting over just before you interfered."

He indicated the stuffing all over and in the two toddlers' hair and clothing, plus the two halves of the dragon, one on the ground and the other still clutched fast by a sobbing Harry. "It would seem from the evidence, madam, that your innocent son," here his voice dripped sarcasm like venom. " tried to take Harry's dragon and started a fight over it, resulting in the dragon being ripped in half. Now Harry was wrong to hit Dudley, but any two-year-old would react that way if his favorite toy was ripped apart before his eyes. And regardless, you don't have the right to smack any child and leave a mark on him that way!"

Petunia glared at him. "No?" she queried, sweet poison on her tongue. "But he's family, Snape, and according to my uncle, family can discipline family."

Severus looked as if he were about to strangle her, and he kept repeating You don't hit women, Severus, remember? She's a woman, a harpy bitch, but still a woman over and over to keep his temper in check.

Lily had no such qualms, however. She drew back her arm and smacked her sister hard in return, snarling, "Keep your hands off my son, you jealous bitch! If anybody needs a good smack, Petunia, it's you and your bloody spoiled brat! Why don't you take him and your damn lazy pig of a husband and go home? You've done nothing but snipe at my husband and my son all afternoon, don't think I haven't heard what you and those catty cousins were whispering about in the corner, about how I was a dried up widow who settled for the first man to glance her way. Severus is worth twenty of your Vernon any day of the week, and who gives a damn if he used to be dirt poor once upon a time? You forget, sister, that our grandfather started out life as a logger before he became a Navy officer, and you're no better than anybody else here, so quit giving yourself airs, you selfish cow!"

Petunia put a hand to her burning cheek, her mouth hanging open. "Well, Lily Ann, if you don't like people talking about you, why didn't you marry someone respectable instead of the son of the town drunk?"

"I did, Petunia! Severus is a doctor, and whatever his father was doesn't matter a bloody damn to me! Now get out of my sight before I really lose my temper and do something you'll regret." Lily hissed, and her finger crooked in warning.

Petunia went white and decided that discretion was the better part of valor and ran, ignoring the looks of satisfaction and amazement on the faces of her relatives and the utter disapproval on the faces of her parents, who had heard the whole argument.

She stomped past them and into the den, where Vernon had fallen asleep in front of the telly and bellowed, "Wake up, Vern! We're leaving! I cannot stomach another minute in the company of my sister, her brat, or her nasty scummy freak husband."

Vernon blinked sleepily. "Huh? What happened, Pet?"

Petunia ranted about her sister and Severus and Vernon got to his feet, his face reddening and vowed to go and teach that freaky grease ball a lesson, but before he could make good on his threat, Hal blocked his way, halting him with a hand and a look that caused the younger man to step back.

"That'll be enough, Vernon Dursley. Severus did nothing to your family and you will not attack him simply because you have an irrational prejudice towards wizards," Hal scolded. "Had I known the trouble you would cause, I'd have never issued that invitation."

‘I never wanted to bloody come here anyhow." Vernon growled. "All of you are unnatural, associating with freaks like Snape."

Hal's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Watch what you say, Dursley. My daughter is one of those 'freaks' as you put it."

"Too bad," Vernon sneered.

Hal stomped down hard on his temper. "You are an ignorant lout, Dursley, no matter how much money you make or what kind of car you drive, and I am ashamed to call you my son-in-law."

Petunia gasped. "Dad, you can't mean that!"

Hal turned to her, stern and regretful at the same time. "I do mean it, Tuney. And your actions today have shamed me as well. Striking a defenseless child that way, speaking ill of your sister and her husband, I didn't raise you to behave in such a manner, young lady."

"You always take Lily's side! Why aren't you ashamed of her, Dad?"

"I'm ashamed of both of you, for starting a quarrel in front of half of our family," Hal said sternly. "But you are the one who instigated it, Petunia, from the minute you walked in the door and started making comments about Severus. I don't know where you developed this . . .prejudice against magic and those who use it, but until you can accept Severus and Harry for who and what they are, you are no longer welcome in my house. I will not have you turning my home into a battlefield." Hal crossed his arms over his chest. "So, the choice is yours. Leave your prejudice behind or don't visit again until you do. That goes for you too, Mr. Vernon Dursley."

Petunia stared at him, her eyes glistening with furious tears. "Fine! I'd rather not be in the same house with anyone who welcomes Severus Snape, he's nothing but trouble and one day Lily will regret ever marrying him. And her son is cut from the same cloth! Goodbye, Father. You may keep Christmas without us, thank you very much. Let's go, Vernon. You were right, we should have attended the office party instead."

Then the Dursleys sailed out the door, got in their expensive car, and roared away.

Hal heaved a long sigh. "May God forgive me, but good riddance to them!" he muttered, then went out back to smooth things over with his guests.

In a far corner of the yard, Severus held Harry on his lap and gently applied a small amount of magical salve to the little boy's cheek. It would heal the nasty red mark overnight, and he held and soothed the distraught child, while Lily cast a mending charm upon poor abused Smokey, restoring the green dragon to his former beloved velvet self.

"I'm so sorry, Sev, about my sister," Lily began, not looking up at her husband. "I had a bad feeling when she showed up."

"It wasn't your fault, Lil. Petunia and I have never gotten on, and she simply has gotten worse over the years. I expected no better from her, she has never forgiven us for having magic when she never could, or you for liking the dirt poor son of the town drunk, as she put it."

Lily picked up the now mended Smokey and gave it to her son, who cried, "Smokey is all better!" and hugged the dragon to him.

Then Lily Evans Snape came and put her arms around her husband and her son and whispered, "I could have chosen no better when I married you, Severus Snape. You and Harry are worth more than all the Galleons in Gringotts and more than Petunia's jackass of a husband and my spoiled nephew will ever be. I am proud to be your wife, Sev, and Harry is proud to be your son too, only he's too young to know it yet. And I'll smack anyone who dares to say otherwise into next week."

Severus smiled up at his fiery wife and said, "Your mother ought to have called you Bouadiccea instead of Lily, beloved. For you defend your own just like that warrior queen did the Iceni from the Romans. I'm luckier than I deserve."

Lily rested her head on his shoulder and smiled. "I love you, Sev."

"How about me, Mummy?" asked a little voice.

"Of course I love you, Harry. My Healer and my little mischief maker. You are my everything." Lily replied and the three remained together beneath the canopy of a great oak tree until Vi came to find them and ask how Harry was and offer them tea and dessert and an apology for her eldest's abominable behavior.