Harry sighed as he looked out the window above his desk once more. Like most ten year olds, he would love to be outside flying his broom, or playing in the garden; but it was raining. Even if the weather had permitted, he wouldn’t have been able to enjoy those activities. No playing outside was only one part of his punishment that had begun that morning.

In the past, Harry’s marks had always been good; not the top of his class, but decent enough. Recently however, they had started to slip, much to his parent annoyance.  They had warned Harry, if he failed to turn in any more of his homework, he would be grounded for the weekend. That meant no playing outside, no TV, no dessert and, worst of all, absolutely no flying. Harry had grumbled about how unfair his parents were being, but there wasn’t much he could do about it.

A week after his parents had issued that warning, Harry had not only failed to turn in his homework assignment, but he had not even attempted to complete it; the essay that was currently sitting in front of him. He hadn’t planned on telling his parents about the missing homework, or showing them the note his teacher had sent home yesterday afternoon. He might have even got away with it too, if his mum, Lily, hadn’t chosen to pack his book bag for him this morning.

Upon finding the note from Harry’s teacher, Lily had delivered a harsh lecture. Harry had just shrugged her off, until Lily said she was going to owl Harry’s father as soon as she returned from dropping him off at school. Harry’s face blanched at statement and he began to beg his mother to not tell his father.  But, no matter how much begging Harry did, Lily refused to change her mind.

When Harry got home that afternoon he was ordered straight up to his room to do his homework until his father came home. Harry wasn’t looking forward to that in the least. Harry didn’t dislike his father, yes he was a strict man, but he was fair. No, what Harry hated was the sound of disappointment that always was in the man’s voice when he was left to discipline Harry.  

There was a knock on Harry’s door.

“Harry, may I come in?” The deep baritone of his father’s voice was slightly muffled by the oak door.

“Yeah, sure,” Harry called out. “Not like I can stop you…” he added quickly under his breath. Harry twisted himself in his chair in the direction of the doorway as it creaked open. Severus Snape stood in the doorway. He still wore his heavy black teaching robes.

“Hi,” Harry greeted offering the man a weak attempt at a smile.

“Good evening,” Severus said coming into the room.

“Did you just get home? I mean you’re still in your school robes.” Harry inquired nervously.

“I arrived a few moments ago. Your mother tells me you failed to turn in yet another homework assignment.” Severus said mildly.

“Err…. Yeah, but we can talk about it after you get changed…” Harry offered fidgeting in his seat.

“I do not appreciate your attempts to delay this conversation, Harry.” Severus said annoyance already evident in his voice.

He must have had a bad day at school. Harry thought to himself.

“Did you complete the assignment or simple fail to hand it in?” Severus inquired.

Harry bit his lower lip and shook his head.

“I would appreciate a verbal response, Mr. Potter,” Severus said crossing his arms over his chest.

“No, sir,” Harry said his voice barely above a whisper. Definitely had a bad day if he’s using my last name already, I haven’t even done anything yet.

“What was that, Mr. Potter?” Severus said crossing his arms over his chest.

“No, sir,” Harry said speaking up just a bit.

“No what?  Did you do the assignment?" 

"No sir. I didn't do the assignment," Harry clarified.

"I assume, when your mother picked you up after school she asked you if you had homework. Am I correct?”

“Yes, sir.”

“What did you tell her?” Severus said, already knowing the answer.

“I said no.”

“You said ‘no’.  You lied to your mother. Again, before we went out to eat, did I not ask you if you had any homework?”

“Yes, sir,” Harry said.

“What did you tell me Mr. Potter?”

“I said I didn’t have any. I didn’t lie though…I forgot. We got that assignment weeks ago,” Harry said. He hated when Severus did this. As if he didn’t already feel miserable enough, they had to go everything all over again.

“I see. So, when I asked every night and multiple times this weekend if you had homework, and you said no, you were lying then. That makes things so much better Harry,” Severus replied acerbically.

“Fine, Dad, I lied. I know I lied! I know I let you down! We don’t have to go over all of this! I already know!” Harry yelled as he slammed the heel of his hand into the front of the desk. There was enough force in the strike to rattle the desk and tip over the pencil jar, but not much else.  

“It would be in your best interest if you remembered who the parent is and who the child is here, Mr. Potter,” Severus rebuked.

Harry said nothing. Instead he chose to cross his arms over his chest and fume.

Severus decided to take a seat on the bed where he could more comfortably watch the boy. Most likely the boy would break within a few minutes apologizing for his disrespect and would inquire what his punishment was. After five minutes of awkward silence, Severus lost his patience and snapped at Harry to knock it off. Harry just shot him a glare. “Come over here, Harry.”

Harry glared again. “You gonna spank me?”

“If you don’t stop acting like a spoiled two-year old perhaps; now get over here.” Severus snapped.

Harry hesitated for a moment before joining his father on the bed. Severus waited for Harry to situate himself on the bed before speaking.

“If you already know that you lied and have let not only me, but your mother down, perhaps you will tell me about the assignment that you considered so unworthy of your time. Seeing as how you had ‘weeks’ to do it."

“It wasn’t like that, I just didn’t know how,” Harry grumbled in frustration. He felt like a tiger trapped in too small of a cage; he just wanted to get up and move, but his dad wouldn’t even let him do that.

Harry’s answer was not the response Severus had been expecting. Most of the time when Harry failed to do an assignment it was because he “forgot” or it was “stupid”. He had already received one of the normal excuses; it was quite probable that Harry was telling the truth.

“If you were having difficulty with the assignment Harry, why did you not ask for assistance?” Severus asked, his voice becoming much softer.

“Cause it’s stupid. I should be able to write a stupid essay without having to ask to help,” Harry muttered.

“And yet here we are. Now, what was the assignment?” Severus asked mildly.

“It’s right there,” Harry said pointing towards the notebook on desk rather dejectedly.  “Why am I over here by the way?” He asked as he flopped back onto the bed.

“I was planning on spanking you, but don’t change the topic,” Severus said as rose from the bed and crossed the room in three long strides.

At the top of the sheet of notebook written in Harry’s somewhat messy hand was the prompt for his essay, “What makes a family?” There were a number of attempted starts and crossings out beneath it.

Severus looked back to the boy who had now covering his eyes with one arm. Harry looked absolutely miserable. It occurred to Severus, at that moment, that he had never once considered the question himself.

When he was a child he would have said a family was a mother and a father.  Even if he didn’t like his own, they shared the same blood that made them a family. Maybe it wasn’t that different now. No, that wasn’t true. He and Lily had been married for seven years. They had had three children twin daughters Dahlia and Iris, and a son Julian. But there had to be more to family than sharing the same blood. His love for Harry was no different than his love for his three biological children. Even before he had married Lily, Severus had considered Harry his son.

James, Harry’s biological father, had been murdered by an evil wizard, Voldemort, when Harry was only a little over a year old. James had scarified himself trying to protect Lily and Harry from being killed.  Severus may have been the only father Harry could remember, but Severus knew Harry still loved James. No matter how much Severus had disliked James in life, he refused to let Harry forget how much James had loved and sacrificed for him; not even James Potter deserved that kind of disrespect. Severus could understand why the boy was having trouble with the essay. 

 “I told you it was stupid,” Harry said coming to stand at Severus’ shoulder.

“It is not a stupid question. I, for one, have never considered this question and could understand why you might have difficulty answering it,” Severus said his eyes moving from the paper to Harry’s emerald orbs.

“Really? So, does that mean I get off punishment?” Harry asked hopefully.

“You cannot honestly think you would get off that easily,” Severus said smirking slightly. “The fact that it is not an easy question to answer, does not change the fact that you did not complete the assignment, or that you lied to both your mother and myself.”

Harry frowned.

“It was your choice Harry,” Severus reminded the boy.

“Yeah, I know.” Harry said, shrugging slightly. He refused to make eye contact with Severus. Instead he chose to address his question to his sneakers. “You keep saying it’s a hard question to answer, what do you mean?”

“For example, I felt responsible for you, as a parent would their own child, even before your mother and I wed.” Severus explained.

“Yeah, what about when my da– when James was alive?” Harry asked.

“You know you may refer to James as ‘Dad’, I will take no offence.  James is just as entitled to the title as I am. When your father was alive I still cared about your mother deeply, but only as my best friend.”

Harry cocked his head to the side. There was something odd about the way Severus had said that. “What about me?” Harry asked, his curiosity obvious.

“I cared for you as the child of my best friend. But, like your mother, you belonged to him.” There was a note of distaste in Severus’ voice in the reference to James.

This last statement did not seem to put Harry any further at ease.

“Harry, look at me,” Severus commanded gently.

Severus waited until Harry’s emerald eyes locked with his own before continuing. 

“It would have been inappropriate for me to think of you, or your mother, as anything other than a friend and her child when your father was alive. What is important now is that you are aware that I love you.  I see you no differently from any of your siblings. You know that, correct?” Severus asked softly.

Harry nodded.

“Good, now I think it’s time I leave you to work on your essay,” Severus said rising from his seat and motioned to Harry to take the now vacant seat. Once Harry was seated he gave the boy’s shoulder reassuring squeeze before moving towards the door. Just as he was about to leave Harry’s voice broke the quite.

“Err… Dad, what about my punishment,” Harry asked biting his lower lip.

Severus turned on his heel and looked back to his son. “Ah, yes your punishment, I had nearly forgotten about that. Let’s see there was the weekend long of grounding for not turning in your homework and how about a week each for lying to your mother and I. That would make it two and a half weeks total. Does that sound agreeable to you Mr. Potter?”

“Not really,” Harry grumbled.

“Perfect. Now you have work to do.” Severus pointed toward the notebook.

Biting his lip again Harry looked hopefully. “Err… Dad, can you help me? Please?” His voice was so soft Sever had to strain to hear it.

“Of course I will, Harry. I will return in a few moments,” Severus said before turning on his heel once and leaving the room.

Harry took the few moments to himself to write out the prompt onto a clean sheet of paper. Severus returned just as Harry completed this. Severus had changed out of his heavy teaching robes, in favor of a green Oxford shirt and grey trousers.

Severus took out his wand and conjured a chair, which he sat beside the boy. “How may I assist you with this assignment Harry?”

“Err… I don’t know… I think what makes a family is that people love each other and will support one another, no matter what… but you said before that when, James was alive, you didn’t love me and Mum other than as a friend and her son… so how did we get to be a family?” Harry clumsily twirled his pencil between his fingers as he spoke.

“That, Harry, like your essay, is not a simple question. There was no single moment that made us a family. Rather it is a process that has happened over a span of years, highlighted by noteworthy events that are still occurring,” Severus explained.

“Okay… so tell about the events,” requested Harry. 

“With pleasure, Harry, with pleasure…,” Severus said, an unfamiliar glint in his eye.

There was a long moments silence, Severus lost in reflection, Harry looking at him expectantly.

“Err…  Dad,” Harry said gently tugging his father’s sleeve, “Are you actually going to tell me something?”

“I’m sorry, Harry.  What were you saying?”  Severus asked returning to the present.

“You said you’d tell me about becoming a family, but then you sort of… drifted off,” Harry explained.

“I apologize.  I was simply trying to determine the best way to do that,” Severus paused for a moment rubbing his chin in thought, “I believe it would be best if we started at the beginning.”

“So, when’s that?” Harry asked excitedly.

“Since you are already aware of how I came to meet your mother –”

“At the play park right?”  Harry interrupted.  “That’s when you saw her making the flower open and close and Aunt Tuney didn’t like doing that and she started calling you names…”  Harry rushed out excitedly.

“That is correct.  However, if you wish for me to continue this tale you will refrain from making any further interruptions,” Severus said calmly.

“Right, sorry,” Harry said, grinning.

“Your mother and I did not become friends that afternoon.  In fact, your mother took great offense to me informing her that she was a witch.  She thought that I had called her a name.  It took me several weeks to convince her otherwise.  When I finally did, your mother wished to hear everything I knew about magic; from what Hogwarts was like, to who guards the gates of Azkaban,” Severus said with a small smile.

“I know all of this, Dad.  What’s this got to do with us being a family?”  Harry asked exasperatedly. 

“It has a great deal to do with our becoming a family.  Your mother and I forged a close friendship during that time we spent talking before we came to Hogwarts.  If we had not already been friends before we came to Hogwarts, you mother and I might never have become friends at all.  I am sure you are already aware of the reason why we would not have become friends.”

“’Cause you’re in different Houses, right?” Harry supplied.

“That is correct.”

“Ja-Dad was in the same House as Mum, right?” Harry asked already knowing the answer.

“That is also correct.  They were both Gryffindors, whereas I was –”

“A Slytherin,” Harry said, rolling his eyes at his father’s green shirt.  “Still, what’s this got to do with our family?”

“You mother and I remained friends despite all odds.  Although it is not common, it is not completely unheard of for Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs, or Ravenclaws to be friends.  However, it is very rare to see Gryffindors and Slytherins be friends, they are just too different in mentality.  Many of the professors commented that they had not seen as close of a cross-House friendship as your mother and I shared in many years.”  Severus let out a small sigh.  “But like all friendships, we were not without our difficulties.

“As we grew older, your mother and I grew further apart.  I still cared a great deal for her; when I was about fourteen, I realized I felt more than friendship for your mother, but she did not feel the same way about me, at least at the time.” 

At Harry’s puzzled expression Severus explained.  “I had fallen in love with Lily, probably the moment I first saw her.  However, it was at this point I began to get romantic notions of the two of us crossing my hormone-addled mind.  Along with the hormones, there was also another matter that complicated things. 

“Your mother did not care for some of my associates from within my own House.  She thought they were a bad influence.  As it turned out, she was correct in her assessment of their character; but, at the time, I was not as willing to listen.  We began to speak less frequently, almost to the point of no communication.  It was in this time, during our seventh year, your mother began to date James.”

“I was… less than thrilled by her decision.  As I said before, I still cared greatly for your mother and as she may have told you, James and I were… not the best of friends.”

“Mum said that Dad used to pick on you something awful.  Worse than Dudley does to me when we have to go to Aunt Tuney’s house for Christmas, or Dud’s birthday,” Harry said honestly.

Severus nodded and said, “Yes, that would be a… generous assessment of the situation.  It was, most likely, Lily’s choice in boyfriends that displeased me the most,  not the fact that she was involved with somebody other than myself.  My jealously lead me to do several very stupid things.  The most significant of these errors was becoming a Death Eater.”

“As a supporter of the Dark Lord, I was forced to do many terrible things.  None of which you are old enough to hear about,” Severus added quickly seeing a renewed look of curiosity cross the boy’s face. 

At that moment, Severus made a silent oath to himself that he would never, even under the threat of the Cruciatus Curse, tell Harry any of the things he had done in his Death Eater days.

“So, why didn’t you just quit if you had to do bad things?”  Harry asked.

There was a moment’s pause.

What Severus was about to tell Harry was not something he would normally admit to.  Thinking on it, he could not honestly remember the last time he had uttered this words.

“I was afraid.  I knew that if I were to tell the Dark Lord that I wanted out, he would have killed me.  That does not excuse my actions, but it is the only defense I have.  While I was committing unspeakable atrocities, your parent’s relationship was becoming more serious.  It was not long after they left Hogwarts that they were married.  Much to my surprise, I was invited to the wedding, but I was unable to attend.  I had a… previous engagement. 

“Along with getting married, your parents also became members of the Order of the Phoenix in this time.  The Order was a group founded, and led by, Professor Dumbledore.  It was dedicated to fighting the Dark Lord.  From their connections to this group, your mother heard numerous claims that I had joined the Death Eaters.  At first, she refused to believe them.  Even after seeing who I was spending time with at Hogwarts, she did not think me capable of committing the kinds of atrocities that were required of them.  For this reason, she stayed in limited contact with me, an occasional letter for the most part.  That was how I found out of your birth.

“This bit of information should have been happy news.  Instead, it sent shivers down my spine,” Severus said.

“Why Dad?”  Harry asked.

“Do you remember what I told you on your birthday?”

“About what?  We talked about a lot of things.”

Severus let out an irritated sigh.  He had spent two hours telling the boy about his father’s murder; why and how it had occurred, or at least as much as he deemed appropriate for a ten-year old.

“I am referring especially to the matter of the prophecy.” 

Harry shook his head. 

“A few months before you were born, a very foolish young man  was eavesdropping on a conversation between the Headmaster and one of the candidates for the Divination position.  The interview was not going well for the woman.  That did not matter, though, because just when the professor was about to leave, the woman made a true prophecy.  The young man listening only heard part of it because the proprietor of the establishment caught him.”

“So what did Dumbledore do?”

“Professor Dumbledore, Harry; the Headmaster was not very happy.  He turned down the young man for the position he applied for,  but sadly that did not matter.”

“How come?  Was it ‘cause he heard the prophecy?”  Harry asked.

“Yes, the Dark Lord was informed of all that the young man had heard.  The Dark Lord believed the prophecy referred to your family and began to search for you.  When I learned the Dark Lord was hunting for you, I immediately went to the Headmaster.”

“How did you find out?”  Harry asked curiously.

Severus grew quiet.  He had no desire to tell Harry the truth at this moment.  He in fact had been the “foolish young man” that was eavesdropping on the Headmaster and had relayed the prophecy to the Dark Lord.  He did plan to tell Harry the truth, but sometime later; perhaps when he came of age.  Right now, Harry was too young; he would never be able to understand why Severus had done it, or forgive him.  The thought of losing Harry’s love scared Severus even more than he could have realized.

After a moment’s awkward silence, he began again, “The Dark Lord informed all of his Death Eaters about the prophecy.”

“Okay, so what did Dumbledore do when you told him?” 

“He assisted with your parents in going into hiding –” 

“Under the Fiddleless Charm or something,” Harry added.

“The Fidelius Charm,” Severus said, stressing the proper name of the incantation.  “It was supposed to prevent the Dark Lord from ever finding them.  The Charm is very complex and depends on the secret, in this case the location of your parents’ hiding place, to be entrusted to a sole individual: the Secret Keeper.  As long as this individual does not disclose the information, the person can look for those they seek for the rest of their lives and never find them, even if they were standing on their doorstep.”

“Then how come Dad died and I have my scar?”  he asked, placing a finger over his right eyebrow, where the lightening shaped mark resided.

“You are already aware of how your family came to be found.  I informed you of this in the same conversation on your birthday.”

Harry gave his father a confused look for a moment.  “Pettigrew… that rat bastard,” Harry whispered ominously.

“You will kindly refrain from the use of such language in my presence, Mr Potter,  however an accurate of description his character it might be.  The rat, Peter Pettigrew, was a weak willed little man.  He, along with Sirius and Remus, had been friends of your father since Hogwarts.  Pettigrew was made the Secret Keeper because your father believed he was the last one the Dark Lord would suspect of being given the information.  By the time I learned he was a spy, and informed Dumbledore of his impending betrayal, it was too late.  Believe me, Harry, if I had known sooner, I would have told Dumbledore,”  Severus said softly, his eyes pleading for understanding.

“I know that, Dad.”  Harry gave him what he hoped was a reassuring smile.  “So,” he said, trying to break the overwhelming tension that had built up over the last few minutes. “When did you and Mum start talking again?  I mean, for real.”

“Your mother and I began to re-establish the lines of communication not long after James’ death.  However, that first meeting was far from pleasant,” Severus explained to Harry.

“Really?  What happened?”

“She wanted to know why I had done what I had; both with joining the Death Eaters and becoming a spy,” Severus said sadly. 

***

It had been a week since Voldemort’s attack, which had left Lily Potter a widow.  She currently sat in the living room of her childhood home.  Both her parents had died the year before and her sister lived in Surrey, so the house had sat empty since their death.  The aftermath of the attack had left the house in Godric’s Hallow structurally unstable.  It, of course, could be repaired by magic, but Lily had no desire to return.  Instead, she had moved back home. 

The room was crowded with her and James’ friends, gathered for his wake.  Lily, however, had no desire to be there.  Both she and Harry had been plagued by nightmares.  This left them both tired and cranky.  Harry refused to be comforted by Lily, or anyone else.  She could see him  across the room, in tears in his godfather’s arms.

Feeling somebody behind her Lily turned; there stood Remus Lupin.  He was pale and looked tired.  His transformation had only been a few days ago, it was  amazing he had been able to help as much as he had. 

“How are you doing, Lily?” he croaked.

Lily shrugged.  “As well as can be expected, I guess, with about seven hours sleep in as many days, a cranky toddler who refuses to be comforted and a houseful of people.”

Remus gave her a look of concern.  “Is there anything I can do?”  he asked after a moment’s awkward silence.

Lily wanted to laugh.  She wanted to tell him if he could get rid of all the well-wishers, get Harry to sleep more than two hours a night and bring back her husband that would be great.  However, she just shook her head.  “Why don’t you take Harry?  I’m not sure how much longer Sirius can take a toddler screaming in his face.”

Remus gave her a slight smile, a reassuring squeeze of the arm, and headed off to relieve his friend.

Alone once more or, alone as one can be in a room full of people, Lily drifted back into thought.

She looked out the window and saw the broken down factory for what had to be the thousandth time since returning to this house.  Like every time before her thoughts instantly went to Severus.  He lived not a half a mile past the other side of the mill; that was if he still lived at Spinner’s End.  Even if he did, he would not be there.  Dumbledore told her that Severus was now employed as the new Potions Master at Hogwarts.

Despite herself, Lily’s lips quirked upwards at the idea of Severus Snape as a professor.  Even as an adolescent, Severus hated teenagers.  He hated their obsessions over frivolous matters, like who was now dating whom, their impatience in the laboratory (a recipe for disaster in Potions classes), and how much noise they made.  Lily remembered him complaining at one point that it was impossible to go anywhere in the castle where students were without having your ears assaulted.  At the time, Lily had laughed and said he was being silly.  Now, it seemed even more humorous. 

Maybe this was the universe’s way of making Severus pay for his sins.  A man who hated teenagers forced to teach them forever, or at least the foreseeable future. 

Several hours later, after the last of the guests had left, Lily made up her mind.  She was going to speak to Severus, tonight.  She looked in on Harry.  He was asleep, at least for the moment, in Remus’ room.  Remus had been staying with them for the last couple of days, helping with Harry when he could and recovering from his last transformation.

Lily placed a kiss on the lightning bolt-shaped scar before heading back down the hall.  She found Remus in the kitchen washing dishes the Muggle way.  They exchanged smiles before an awkward silence fell.

“Harry asleep?” Remus asked placing a dish in the drying rack.

“For now.  Remus, would you mind if I went to Hogwarts for a few hours?”  Lily asked nervously turning over a dishtowel in her hands.

“Of course not, Lily.  May I ask why you want to go?”

“I’d rather not say.  It’s a private matter,” Lily said.

Remus nodded. “It was rude of me to ask.  I’ll look after Harry while you’re gone.  Go, I’ll be here.” Remus said warmly.

“Thanks Remus, I’ll be back later,” Lily said setting the towel down and going out to the living room.

She threw a pinch of Floo Powder in the grate, stepped in and called out “Hogwarts”.  A moment later she was stepping into the Headmaster’s office.

Albus raised an eyebrow at the appearance of the redhead. 

“Good evening Lily, is there some way I can be of assistance?”

“I wanted to talk to Severus,” she said.

“I see.  I can call him here in a moment…”

Lily shook her head.  “Actually I’d like to speak with him in private.  Where are his quarters?”

“They are not far from the Potions classroom, but he will not be there.  He assigned several first year Hufflepuffs detention for tonight.  From what I understand, the children somehow melted their cauldrons, and the soles of several people’s shoes, requiring trips to the Hospital Wing for all those involved.”

Lily frowned, “Can I still go?”

“It is up to you, but I felt it best to warn you he might not be in any mood to talk.”

“Thank you, Headmaster; good evening,” she said, heading for the door and the revolving staircase that lay beyond.

It took a moment for Lily to get her bearings, but once she did she made her way through the familiar hallways in good time.  Once she reached the Potions classroom, she paused long enough to take a long calming breath before opening the door.

The two first years stood at one of the sinks scrubbing cauldrons.  Severus looked up from the papers he was marking at his desk.

“Good Evening, Mrs Potter, can I help you with something?” Severus greeted coolly, setting his quill aside.

“I was hoping we could talk,” she said hopefully. “But if you want, I could come back some other time.”

Severus was taken aback. Lily Potter was standing in his classroom.  The two of them had not spoken in over three years.  Yes, there had been some contact; Lily had sent maybe a half a dozen letters over the years.  but most of those had been mass mailings: wedding invitation and birth announcements, Christmas cards, and the like.  Even the latter or two that he had received were not that personal.  So, why was she here? 

“Jones, Smith, you are dismissed for the evening,” Severus barked out.

One of the boys quickly dropped his half-finished cauldron at the word.  It was obvious that he did not want to spend a minute longer in the dungeons than he had to.  His cohort was far less exuberant.

“Sir, you said that…” he began.

“I am fully aware of what I said, Smith.  You will complete the rest of the hours on Saturday.  Now, however, you are dismissed.  So get out!” Severus snapped at the boy.

Smith placed the cauldron on the counter and made a beeline for the door.

“You didn’t have to be so nasty to the boy, Sev.” Lily admonished softly.

Lily almost thought she saw Severus shudder at the use of his childhood nickname.

“What is that you want to speak about Mrs Potter?” Severus said making his way around the desk.

“I wanted to ask you…  Is there some place a little more comfortable that we could talk about this?” Lily asked.

Severus was half inclined to say no, not until he found out what she wanted to talk about; but that was no way to try and repair their strained friendship. 

“Of course, follow me,” he said, making his way to Lily and the door.

They walked down the hallway a short while before coming to a portrait of Nicolas Flamel.  Severus muttered a password and the door swung open.  A flick of his wand and the dark room was flooded with light.  Another flick and an inviting fire sprung to life in the hearth.

“Wow, Sev, this is really nice,” Lily said, taking a seat on the rarely used sofa.

“Would you care for tea?”  Severus asked hesitantly.

He was not used to having guests.  Even as a child, people rarely came by the house.  He quickly ordered a tea tray from the kitchens.  A moment later, it appeared with a heavily laden plate of biscuits.

“You don’t have to be so nervous, Sev.”  This time she was sure he cringed at the use of his nickname. 

“Lily, please,” Severus said sadly.

“Sev, what’s wrong?  It’s just me.”  She poured a cup of tea, added three lumps of sugar and handed it to Severus.

He took the cup, bowing his head in thanks.  “Please, we haven’t spoken in three years.  What do you want?”

Lily took another sip of her drink before answering.  “I want to know why you did it.”

“Why I did what?”

“Why you decided to help Dumbledore.  He told me that you were the Death Eater that originally told Voldemort about that damned prophecy in the first place.  Why choose to help him a few months later?”

“I don’t know,” Severus mumbled into his chest.

He felt like a little kid being scolded by their mother; or at least he assumed that is what it felt like.  His mother had rarely disciplined him, or done anything for him really.  As for his father, well, Tobias, had always preferred actions to words.

“Don’t lie to me, Severus.  We may not have spoken in three years, but I can still read you like a book,” Lily snapped.

Severus snorted.  “If you know me so well, why must you ask?”

“Maybe I want to hear it from your own lips.  Come on, Severus, why’d you choose to help?”

When no answer came she continued.  “It obviously wasn’t for James.  It does not make sense that it would be Harry either…. You did it for me, didn’t you?  Why would you do that for me?”

“You should know.  You already seem to know the answers to all the other questions,” Severus grumbled darkly. 

“But I don’t, Sev.  Why would you do that?”

“Because,” he cleared his throat, “because I never stopped caring for you.  Not after you stopped speaking to me, or thinking of me as a friend, even after you married Potter and had his child.”  There was some deep-seated emotion or emotions in that statement Lily could not place: regret, jealousy, hope maybe.

“Sev is that true?  Is that really true?” Lily asked, her eyes suddenly becoming moist.

 “Of course it’s true.  What do I have to gain from speaking falsehoods,” Severus said, his voice rough.

There was an awkward silence before Severus spoke once more.

“Perhaps you should leave.  It’s getting late.” But the offer was only half-hearted.

Lily shook her head, a bit of hair falling into her eyes, “Only after you tell me one more thing.”

Severus raised an eyebrow, “What would that be?”

“Did you do it to try  to win me back?  I know you could have cared less if James died, probably Harry as well.  So why do something that would save their lives?”

Severus did not hesitate to answer.  “I didn’t want to see you hurt.  If James and the child were protected in the process, so be it.  I just wanted to see you safe.  However, I had no intentions of ‘trying to win you back’.  In fact, I had planned to never tell anyone what I had done.  I thought I had asked the Headmaster to do the same,” Severus explained.

Lily did not know what to say to that.  She had not asked Dumbledore many questions before they went into hiding and even fewer since James’ death.  Instead, Dumbledore had offered the information of Severus, or rather that of the young Death Eater.  It was only after the attack that Dumbledore had given her all of the information, including Severus’ identity.

Lily rose from her seat not sure what else there was to say.  “Thank you for your hospitality and honesty, Sev. I should probably be going; Harry’s probably awake by now.  I’ll talk to you later.”

“I had a lot to think about when your mother left me that evening.  I chose to put a good deal of that energy into something productive.  I hoped my efforts would help you, both of you.  I wanted to prove myself worthy,”  Severus explained.

~*~*~*~*~

Severus sat silently, lost in thought for a long time after Lily left his quarters.  He had finally confessed his feelings to her.  She hadn’t taken it well.  How could she?  She lost her husband, the father of her child the week before.  Now she had her one-time best friend, and now a virtual stranger, telling her he loved her.

Lily was right.  He didn’t know her, not anymore.  But he did know he still loved her.  Severus could not think of a single thing she could do to make him stop loving her.  Even the fact she chose Potter over him was not enough.  He would prove his love.

Lily mentioned both she and the baby were having trouble sleeping.  Perhaps solving this issue for them would be a step in the right direction.  Lily’s potions were easy enough, Dreamless Sleep and a supply of mild calming draught.  He would need to warn her not to take the Dreamless Sleep more than once a week taken more regularly it could become addictive.

The child would be far more difficult.  If it was born in July the previous year he was less than two, Severus calculated.  He was too young for Dreamless Sleep without facing permanent side effects.  Most other sleep droughts and calming agents faced similar problems.  This would be a challenge.  He might even have to do a bit of research for this project.  It would be nice to stretch his intellectual muscles once more.  Something he hadn’t really had to do since achieving his Mastery.  Teaching only seemed to be a matter of stretching his almost non-existent patience.

Severus rose from the chair and ordered a pot of strong pot of black coffee.  He would start on Lily’s potions now.  It would give him some time to think on the boy’s issues.  Once the pot appeared on his sitting room table he collected it and his favorite mug, a gift from Lily for his fifteenth birthday.  Her last birthday present to him.  “A tool in preparing for his O.W.L.s,” she had joked.

Severus removed two cauldrons from his cupboard, resizing them to their proper size.  He added water to each making sure to add only 250 ml to what would be the base of the Dreamless Sleep.  He made sure to label all of the cauldrons as well.  He need not make the mistake of adding beetle eyes to the Calming Drought when it should go into the Dreamless Sleep.  He knew it was not a mistake he was likely to make, unlike the dunderhead students in this school.  However, lack of sleep or distraction could cause even him to make an error in his potions.

Severus chopped, peeled, crushed and diced all the ingredients for the Calming Draught.  All of them went in fairly close together.  He would not have time to work on them while also brewing the Dreamless Sleep, or the one for the boy, not that he knew what he was doing for it yet.

He placed a fire under both cauldrons making sure the frog hearts were in the Dreamless Sleep before the flame was lit.  He set a time on both to alert him for the next stage.  He then set about preparing the rest of the ingredients for the remaining potions.  By the time he was done it was time to add the rest of the ingredients to the Calming Draught.  He stirred it ten times clockwise, 15 times anticlockwise and removed it from the flames to set for 12 minutes before bottling.

A timer again set in place.  This gave him just enough time to retrieve the materials he thought most likely to aid in his attempt in helping Potter’s spawn.  Severus chided himself for this last thought.  No matter who the boy’s father was, he was Lily’s son.  That should be enough reason to like the boy… or at least not hate him.  Even if the child was the spitting image of Potter, as Severus had heard.

Severus scoffed at the notion.  How many of the people who made that comparison knew Potter as a baby?  Many people looked very different from infancy to their child, let alone adult forms.  Besides, the boy had Lily’s eyes.  That would be enough to remind him of just who the boy also belonged to.

Severus flipped to the index on the potions guide on the top of his newly collected stack.  He ran a long, thin finger down the column trying to find the name he was looking for.  He found it on page 517.  He flipped to it just as the buzzer rang for him to bottle the Calming Draught.  He labeled each of the dozen vials in a spidery scrawl.

He checked on the Dreamless Sleep, everything was progressing fine there, before returning to his text.  Severus quickly looked down the ingredients list.  There were at least two on it that were not used in children’s potions because of the side effects they could inflict on a developing brain, especially one under the age of five.  Severus frowned.  One, asphodel stamen was easily enough to replace with a safer option.  The same could not be said for the other.  Severus placed a piece of parchment in between the pages before turning to the index once more.  Finding nothing Severus picked up the next volume in his stack.  Looking down the listed potions he set that too aside.

He picked an article from Potions Monthly next.  It discussed how many potioners had difficulties brewing for children.  It was not a total waste however.  It included a chart of ingredients that should not be used in products meant for children, about a third of which Severus had not realized would be on such a list.  It also included a list of potential side effects if they were included since no suitable substitute could be found.

Severus copied the chart out with a spell on a spare bit of parchment and stuck it above the workspace.  This was going to be slightly harder than he originally thought.  He checked on the Dreamless Sleep, adding the juniper berries two at a time before stirring five times in a figure eight motion. It would need to brew for another 12 hours before the next ingredients were added.  Sensing he would achieve little more tonight Severus closed up the lab and headed off to bed.

He did not sleep well that night.  He was haunted by Lily’s words that evening, lack of progress on the young Potter’s potion, and most distressingly, images of Lily’s rejection of him outside Gryffindor Tower.  He rose before sun up, even though he crawled into bed only a few hours before.  He did not see the point of staying in bed when he knew he would find no more rest.

He returned to the lab and his previously collected reading materials.  He flipped to one almost at random.  It was a volume on children’s potions so at least here he would have far less concern with life altering damage.  It was for a salve to aid with chest congestion.  In adults, one would simply take Pepper-Up.  The potion was not really safe for those under about the age of six or so.

That gave Severus an idea.  His idea was only strengthened when he noticed how many of the treatments were not in potion form, but rather salves.  Looking at the chart pinned up last night he noticed about half were asterisked as low risk if used in a topical format.  

A smirk crawled onto Severus’ lips.  He could do this.  He could help Potter’s brat and win back Lily’s heart.

Severus spent the next day and a half working on his treatment for the boy.  His final stroke of genius was adding lavender at the end to give the otherwise mildly unpleasant smelling paste a slightly more appealing fragrance.  It would also help to relax the child according to what he read.

Severus collected all of his work into a small cookie tin Lily had once lent him we when they were children that for some reason he never managed to give back.  He then gathered his traveling cloak and Floo-ed to the Headmaster’s office.  He informed Dumbledore he would be away for the next several hours.  If any of his students got themselves into trouble while he was away, he would deal with them on his return.  Let that be a lesson to them.  He would not let his life be controlled by children’s foolishness.

Severus then Floo-ed to his home on Spinner’s End.  The place was still much as it was from his childhood.  There was no reason to change it in Severus’ mind.  A fresh coat of paint, new wallpaper, and better furniture would not go amiss, but as Severus spent nine months a year at Hogwarts and even much of his summer away from this dreary house he saw no reason to put in the effort.

Severus crossed the sad excuse of a sitting room and made his way to the front hallway.  Halfway to the front door he stopped and turned back heading instead for his bedroom.  There was no reason he should wear his school robes to such a meeting.

Severus returned to his childhood bedroom. Like much else he didn’t see the point in changing this either.  He could not bring himself to move into the master suite.  There was a dark vibe in that room, but maybe he was just imagining it after all those years of Tobias and Eileen’s horrifying marriage.  Severus opened the wardrobe searching for something less… intimidating to wear.  

He cast aside the button ups.  He pulled open the drawer and found a long forgotten green sweater there.  He pulled the robes off throwing them onto the bed distractedly.  He pulled the sweater on.  It seemed a bit snug, but it looked fine when he looked in the mirror.  He needed to comb his hair, it was sticking up all over the place.  Once done he gave himself one more glance before deciding it was now or never.  He grabbed the traveling cloak and headed once more to the front door.

He could have Apperated to the end of Lily’s block, but he chose not to.  He walked the all too familiar path to Lily’s.  He took the longer route that went through the play park where they first met.  This was the path he took more often on the way back home in their youth.  He never wished to return to Spinner’s End but had nowhere else to go.  Now, he feared what he might encounter once he reached Lily’s door.  Such a strange turn around.

He stood on the stoop a moment to collect his thoughts.  Steeling his courage he raised his right hand and wrapped his knuckles on the oak door.  He was taken aback to see not Lily, but Remus Lupin when the door opened, Harry perched on his hip.

“Severus,” Lupin greeted coolly.

“Wolf,” Severus said sneering.  “What are you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same,” Lupin shot back.

“I came to speak to Lily.  Is she in?” Severus asked restraining his temper.

“She is,” Lupin acknowledged.  “She was having a bit of a lie down.  I don’t know if she told you, but she and Harry here,” Lupin emphasized shifting the boy up his hip, “haven’t been sleeping very well since….James… since the attack.”

“I am aware.  That’s why I’m here in fact.  Now will you let me in, or am I to freeze on the doorstep?”  Severus demanded.

Lupin frowned slightly, but stood aside anyway.  Closing the door behind Severus Remus let Harry down.  “Let me just go and get Lily.  Why don’t you have a seat in the living room?”

Severus nodded and headed down the short hallway.  He hadn’t expected to be followed by the messy-haired toddler.  Severus removed his cloak and placed it on the back of the sofa.  He sat down taking in the room.  Like his own home. It had not changed in the six or so years since Severus had been here last.  The one major change was the number of toys scattered around the room.  Severus’ eyes shifted back to the sofa when the cushion sank slightly.

Severus saw Harry had crawled onto the seat and the boy seemed to be observing him.  Harry watched him silently for several moments.  The little boy then hopped down and grabbed  something off a bookshelf.  Harry returned a minute later, thrusting the book into Severus’ hand.  He then proceeded to crawl into Severus’ lap.

Severus looked down on the messy head and the book curiously.  Was this normal behavior?  He had just met the child and here he was perched in his lap.  Didn’t the foolish child know to fear him?  He had third year Gryffindor students who would die of fright simply out of sympathy for the boy if they were to see this.  Never mind if they were in Hufflepuff.  He was sure even his “brave” Slytherins would be unnerved by the boy’s lack of calculation.  Then again, he had been kept in a cocoon of relative safety until his father’s death.  The boy must have assumed it was safe.

Harry turned his green eyes from the book to meet Severus’ own dark ones, then back to the book.  Severus looked down following the boy’s gaze.  “I suppose you mean for me to read this to you.”  Severus received no answer, but took that as a yes anyway.

The book had a purple cover with a white and grey hippogriff on the cover.  “Harry the Happy Hippogriff,” Severus read.  He turned to the first page.  “Harry was a happy hippogriff,” Severus continued.  The boy, Harry watched as the illustrated Harry soared over hills, trees, and lakes.  “Harry had many friend.  He loved going on adventures,” Severus turned the page, “One day… Oh what is this rubbish?” Severus snapped as his eyes continued over the text.  “You like this?”  Severus asked the toddler.  The little boy didn’t answer, he just continued to watch the drawings.

“It’s his favorite,” Lily said from the doorway.  “You’d better finish it, unless you’d rather face a temper tantrum.  He knows it by heart so don’t try skipping pages,” Lily advised.

Severus head shot up at this.  “Why don’t you read it then?”

“He chose you, Sev.  Come on, it’ll take you less than ten minutes.  Then we’ll talk while Remus puts Harry down for a nap.  Besides, I forgot how much I loved hearing you read aloud, even if it is Harry the Happy Hippogriff.”  Lily encouraged.

Severus let out a strangled groan and shifted the child into a mildly less uncomfortable position.  Taking a deep breath Severus began reading once more.  The story never seemed to end, but finally he reached the last page with Harry the hippogriff safely tucked back in bed and happy.  Harry seemed relatively pleased with the result.  He flipped the book back to the start.  

“’Gain,” Harry asked hopefully.

Severus frowned and turned to Lily for rescuing.

“Oh no Harry.  He’s read it to you once already and it’s time for your nap.”  Lily said picking the boy up from Severus’ lap.  “Come on love, I’m sure Uncle Moony will read you a story before you go to sleep.”  Lily was gone only a minute before returning childfree.

Severus raised an eyebrow at her speedy return.  “The wolf doesn’t need your help?”

“I wish you wouldn’t call him that,” Lily chided.  “No, Remus doesn’t need any help putting Harry to bed.  He’s done it enough in the last week.  Even when… James was alive, Remus was there.  He’s had plenty of practice he’ll be fine.”

Severus only let out an uncertain grunt.

“Now when Remus came to get me he said you wanted to talk about the problems sleeping.”  Lily said taking a seat on the opposite of the couch from Severus.

“Indeed.” Severus agreed.  He removed the box from his robes.  “These are for you.  The purple vials are Dreamless Sleep.  You should take it no more than once a week.  A full vial will grant you six hours of deep dreamless sleep.  If you want it to be uninterrupted I suggest you have th-Lupin or Black stay the night to look after the boy.”

“Harry,” Lily corrected.  “My son’s name is Harry.”

“Errr…Yes, Harry,” Severus said uneasily.  “As you know, H-Harry is too young for Dreamless Sleep.”

“The Healers at St. Mungo’s mentioned something along those lines.” Lily agreed. “They said he probably would have trouble sleeping for a couple of days maybe, but not to worry about it.  Of course they aren’t living with the constantly cranky toddler.”

“Indeed,” Severus removed the jar of grey salve.  “Apply this to Harry’s chest before he goes to bed at night, it will most likely not prevent dreams, but make them milder.  It will relax him before bed and that will also aid in his sleep I believe.” Severus explained.

Lily looked confused.  “What is this?”

“It doesn’t have a name,” Severus replied.

“What? What do you mean Sev?” Lily asked.

“I made it for Harry.  It should help him.  Since he is too young for most sleep aids.  Trust Potter’s son to cause so much trouble at such a young age.”

Lily frowned.  “Don’t do that Sev.  Don’t do that, not in front of me.”

Severus paused.  “I-I apologize.  That was… uncalled for.”

“Yes,” Lily agreed.  “Thank you for doing this.”

“Indeed. I should be going.  I’m sure at least one of my students will have managed to get themselves into trouble in some form or another.  I can only hope they avoided being sent to see Albus.  I’ll see you again Lily.” Severus set the cookie tin down on the couch as he got up.

There was a clink of another bottle from inside.

“What’s that?” Lily asked picking the tin up to inspect it.  

“Nothing, just a basic Calming Draught.  You used to have problems sleeping during exams.  I thought this would help you fall asleep and doesn’t have the addictive properties of Dreamless Sleep.  Now I really must be going.”

“Alright, thank you Sev.  You have no idea what this means to me.”  Lily said walking him to the door.

“Good afternoon, Lily.  I was glad to help.” Severus turned on his heel and was gone.  

Severus continued his story.  “That meeting with your mother went as well as I could have expected it to.  She had not thrown me out of her house, nor raged at me for making assumptions about her health or yours.  I honestly did not know how she would take my actions.  I was unspeakably glad she was appreciative and not upset.  When I left that evening, I did not know when I would next see or her from your mother.  I hoped it would be soon.  I desired to know if the salve I created worked.  I did not have to wait long.”

~*~*~*~

Severus did not bother to look up as the morning post came flooding into the Great Hall.  Since his mother’s passing there was nobody who wrote to him on regular basis.  He had not placed any orders with his ingredients suppliers in recent weeks, so there was no reason to expect any packages.  Yet a barn owl was swooping down in front of Severus’ place.

A small brown paper box was attached to its foot.  Severus raised a curious eyebrow at the bird.  The bird glared at him lifting the foot bound to the box as much as possible.  When Severus made no move to detach the box.  The bird gave an indignant hoot.  Severus frowned but proceeded to remove the box.

“Were you expecting post, Severus?”  Minerva McGonagall asked pleasantly.

“No,” Severus said peering at the box once more.

He was surprised to recognize the penmanship of the address immediately.  He had received more cards and letters in this hand than any other had.  It was from Lily.  What on earth would she be mailing him?

Severus had always been cautious, his time among the Death Eaters making him only more so.  He carefully scanned the box to make sure no sort of hex or curse was placed on the box.  Finding none, he pulled back the brown paper.

In it he found the tin he left with Lily the night before.  A letter was stuck to the top of the tin.  Severus picked it up curiously.  Would Lily really write to him to send back a tin that was rightfully hers?  That did not seem right.  She seemed grateful for the potions yesterday, hopefully she not returning them out of pressure from Black and/or Lupin.

When his curiosity could stand it no longer Severus broke the red wax seal.  He hoped it would contained good news.  He read:

Dear Sev,

I want to thank you for coming last night.  I cannot say how thankful I am to you.  There are not enough words in the English language to do so.  You have no idea how wonderful it was to put Harry to sleep and not woken by his heart breaking sobs.  That cream you made REALLY worked.  I thank you too for the Calming Draught.  I slept much better.  As there are no words, I thought I’d put my appreciation in biscuit form.  I made this batch of chocolate shortbread special for you.

Your friend,

Lily

P.S.  Keep the tin.  It was supposed to be a gift the last time. LP

Severus read it through twice more.  The salve worked.  He was a success.  Maybe he could see the recipe to St. Mungo’s, they were always in search of new healing treatments.  Surely, the Potter boy could not be the only child suffering from nightmares.  There must be a natural market for such a product.  Perhaps a specialty potions store would be a better bet.  He would give that some thought.  Now these biscuits.  They could not be the ones he was thinking of.

Severus cracked open the lid of the metal tin.  Inside sat as least a dozen chocolate dipped shortbreads.  The rich smells of butter, sugar, and dark chocolate filled his nostrils.  Severus was taken aback to snowy afternoons sitting by the fire in Lily’s living room.  Her mother would bring them plates of biscuits and tea after they came in from making snow angels or snowmen.  They would sit in that room eating their snacks chatting maybe play a board game.  Petunia was almost civil on most of those afternoons.

These biscuits were the first thing his mind drifted to when it snowed.  He had asked the house elves in the past if they could make him some on a day like that, but was sadly disappointed.  Though the elves tried valiantly, it just was not the same.  Their recipe must have been different.  It was good just not Violet’s.  With the elves failure, Severus had even ventured to Hogsmeade’s Madam Pettifoots’s.  She had nothing even similar to his desire, which put him a rather foul mood it took three unwarranted detentions to Hufflepuff first-years and 50 points off Gryffindor to set his mood to rights after that failed search.

Severus removed one of the biscuits carefully.  It was still slightly warm from being dunked into the chocolate.  He did not think anything could excite him this much.

“What are those, Severus?” McGonagall asked upon seeing the look of pure rapture on the younger man’s face.  In the ten years she had known him, Minerva was certain she’d never seen Severus look so content.

“They’re biscuits, obviously,” Severus said pulling the tin into his lap.

“Yes, well, may I ask who sought fit to send you biscuits in the morning post?” Minerva asked tersely.

“Lily,” Severus said taking a bite of his biscuit.  He did not chew; he simply let it melt on his tongue.

“Lily?  Lily Potter?” Minerva asked dumbfounded.

“Indeed,” Severus confirmed taking a sip of coffee.  If possible, the biscuits got even better.  He was in such a good mood.  He might have to be nice to his Gryffindors and/or Hufflepuffs…. No, that would probably take another biscuit or two and he would not allow himself to binge for something like that.  No spreading them out was much better.  Yes, he thought taking a third bite of the biscuits.  He would have one more today at bedtime, then two tomorrow.  There was a freshness charm on the tin too, so he did not even have to worry about them getting stale.  He really must write Lily to thank her.

“Severus?” Dumbledore asked mildly.

“Yes Headmaster,” Severus mournfully said as he finished the last of his treat.

“Minerva asked why Lily Potter was sending you biscuits.  You seemed not to hear her.”  Dumbledore clarified.

Severus frowned.  “I heard her.  I simply chose to ignore her inquiry.  It is none of her, nor your business, Headmaster.  Why as friend would sent me biscuits even if it is not my birthday, is a matter between the two of us.”

“Very well,” Dumbledore agreed.  The older man paused shortly then asked. “Could you perhaps be persuaded to share in your unexpected bounty?”

Severus face grew very cold and he all but hissed, “Get your own.”

Albus and Minerva shared a startled look as the young man made a hasty retreat from the hall, tin tucked tightly under his right arm.

Severus set the tin of biscuits on his desk in his quarters.  He pulled out a clean sheet of parchment and inked his favorite eagle feather quill.  Severus stared at the blank page in horror.  It was unlike him to not what to say.  He prided himself on his words-smithing.  The fact it was a simple note to Lily made it all the more painful.  There was a time where there was never an awkward moment between them. Now, that is all there seemed to be.

Severus rolled the quill between his fingers.

‘Dearest Lily,’

he wrote.  He paused.  It was overly familiar, but if felt right.  He stared at the words a moment longer.  He could not bring himself to change them.

‘I am glad the potions and salve had the desired effects.  It would do the world little good to lose you or Harry

(he added as an afterthought)

to something as simple as a decent night’s sleep.

I must thank you for the biscuits.  I had forgotten how much I cared for them.  I will admit I made something of a spectacle of myself at the staff table when I opened the tin.

I believe Minerva believes I need a Mind-Healer to deal with how possessive I am of them.

Did you know your mother continued to send me a box of those biscuits for my birthday every year until her death?  Even after our falling out.  It pains me that I was never able to truly thank her for that.

When my usual box did not arrive this January, I was rather put out.  I went on a search to find a suitable replacement.  I was rather upset when I could not find one.  So upset was I, that I almost hexed a pair of slow moving Hufflepuffs.  It was most fortuitous that Filius was close by.  He prevented me from doing anything foolish.  He showed me a local bakery that made a similar biscuit, but it did little to appease my craving.

I suppose what I truly desired was the proof someone cared.  At first I wondered if your mother stopped caring, or perhaps she was simply too busy with happenings in her own life to bother mailing biscuits to a boy she used to know.  It was only several weeks later I learned of your parents’ deaths.

I am so sorry for the passing of Roger and Violet.  Your parents showed me what a family is supposed to be.  I will always remember what they taught me.  If I am ever lucky enough to have a family of my own, I hope I can be half the father Roger was.

I digress.  Thank you again for the biscuits.’

Severus paused at the sign off.  How should he close such a letter?  ‘Regards’ seemed so formal and ‘love’ was obviously out of the question.  Was ‘your friend’ too presumptuous?

He considered her a friend, but was the feeling mutual.

Severus let out a soft sigh and wrote,

‘Your friend, Severus Snape.’

P.S. You never told me the tin was a gift.  I held on to it because it was yours.  I was under the impression it was supposed to be returned, but by the time we came home for summer holiday, we were no longer speaking.  Yet if you wish me to keep the silly tin I will.  SS

Severus folded the parchment, sealing it with a glob of green wax.  He would post it before lunch.  He would only wonder what Lily might have to say about such an overly long and convoluted thank you note.  She would probably think he had been Confunded, or the victim or a Babbling Jinx.  Either way she would know he cared for her gesture.

“That exchange of letters and biscuits opened the door to much more correspondence between your mother and I.  We began to write regularly.  I told her about the happenings at the school and how my students had managed to foul their potions in one form or another.  In exchange, I received notes about her own life, many about how you, Harry, were growing.”  Severus explained.  

“We wrote almost daily.  My colleagues were surprised to see such a change in my post habits.  More than one of them asked me who was writing to me with such frequency,”  Severus paused.  “Minerva will also tell you she started to notice a change in my disposition, but that’s rubbish.”

“Your mother and I continued on in this manner of constant letter writing for almost a month, before Lily suggested we meet in person once more.  Sadly I was not able to make that meeting.  I had a student blow themselves up an hour before I was to meet your mother.  I had a good deal of paperwork to fill out after the incident.”

“I am told Remus and your godfather took a great deal of pleasure in making light of my cancellation.  They believed your mother a fool for giving me such a chance.  They felt if I wanted to spend time with your mother I should stick to my arrangements even if something came up.  Black even went so far as to tell your mother he often skived off work for his frequent dates with questionable people,”  Severus smirked slightly.  “This did not win him any favor with your mother.”

“Remus was more understanding and agreed to babysit.  Your mother was uncomfortable with the idea of taking you out in the wizarding world, just yet.  She was afraid people would crowd around you.  Not to do harm, but say they had seen, touched, etc. ‘The-Boy-Who-Lived’.  You know how it is.”  Severus explained.  Harry nodded at his father’s comment.

“As unpleasant as it is now, imagine being under the age of two and such a thing occurring,” Severus continued.

“To make sure a repeat of the previous weeks’ events did not reoccur I took precautions.  On Friday afternoon I locked and warded my classroom, storeroom and all the potions cabinets so only myself, Madam Pomfrey, or Professor Dumbledore could open them.  As before, I told the Headmaster I would be away for the day and if any members of my House were in need of me they would have to wait for my return.  If any potions were needed for a life threatening injury I could be reached by Patronus, but would only respond if there was such an emergency.”  Severus told Harry.

“You really wanted to go on this date with Mum, huh?” Harry commented.

“It was not a date,” Severus clarified.  “It was simply a couple of friends walking around the village they attended school in and enjoying each other’s company.  It would have been inappropriate for your mother to date at this point.  Your father died little over a month before.  It was not a date.  I told them that then, and I am telling you now.”

“Who’s ‘them’?” Harry asked confused.

“Lupin and Black,” Severus explained.  “They sent me a note at this point to warn me off Lily.  They thought it was… in bad taste that a ‘Death Eater should try and make a move on Harry Potter’s mother’.  If I did not know better, I would have said they threatened all of Lily’s male acquaintances in such a manner, but it was just me.  They seemed to have forgotten I was Lily’s friend before Hogwarts and even before the Marauders were friends.  They felt it was up to them to protect your mother.”

“She couldn’t have like that,” Harry said amused.

“Indeed.” Severus agreed with a laugh.  “She told them to get stuffed.  She would be friends with whomever she pleased and she would see me on Saturday next.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Severus stepped from the hearth into the sitting room of his home on Spinner’s End.  He had ten minutes to get to Lily’s.  He decided to Apparate this time.  He could use the time to do last minute preparation.  His clothes were casual, charcoal grey slacks with a lighter grey sweater over an emerald green turtleneck.  He fully expected Lily to mock his outfit for being entirely too Slytherin.  Severus transfigured his cloak into a long overcoat.  It was best to dress like a Muggle even if it was only to walk down the block to Lily’s house form the corner.  He had had enough stares to last a lifetime for his odd dress sense as a child.  He could transfigure them back in Hogsmeade.

Severus checked the clock on the mantle.  It was five minutes before he was expected at Lily’s.  Good as time to head over now.  Severus buttoned the coat all the way up against the cold.  He would suggest stopping by or starting their visit to Hogsmeade with a trip to the Three Broomsticks.  It was too cold to do much wandering around the village.

Severus Apperated a few houses away from Lily’s.  He forgot how useful that particular grove of trees was.  Severus sped toward the familiar oak door.  He did not even need to knock before Lily opened the door.

“Right on time, as always,” Lily said by way of greeting.

Severus simply nodded.  “Are you ready?”

Lily cast one more look over her shoulder.  Severus could just see Lupin holding Harry who appeared to be crying.

“Is he alright?” Severus asked nervously.

“Harry?” Lily asked.

Severus nodded.

“He’s fine.  Just a bit of separation anxiety, perfectly normal.  Remus will have him sorted in no time.  Don’t you worry.  Now, I believe you promised me a day in Hogsmeade.”  Lily said wrapping her Gryffindor scarf around her neck once more.

“I did,” Severus confirmed offering his left arm.

Lily instantly slipped her arm through.  The pair turned on the stop to reappear at the top of the High Street.  The village looked the perfect picture of Christmas time.  All the shops had put u wreathes and other decorations.  The village was freshly dusted with a layer of now.  Everywhere they turned was bustling with holiday shoppers.  It seemed like every person in England decided to do their gift shopping in the village that day.  Severus was not happy.  He expected the day to be much more laidback.

“Can I suggest starting at the Three Broomsticks?” Severus asked hopefully to his companion.

“Good as any place to start.” Lily agreed.

The pair made their way down the path and through the bustling crowds of shoppers.  They wormed their way into the busy inn. Even though the room was crowded, it seemed less packed than the village’s muddy streets.

“I’ll go find us a table,” Lily said looking around the congested room.

“Butterbeer?” Severus asked.

“Sounds perfect,” Lily said heading toward the back.

Severus found her several minutes later, tucked almost behind one of the large Christmas trees.  He handed her a mug before taking a sip of his fire-whiskey laced hot chocolate.  Lily attempted to say something to him, but he could not make it out over the din of the room.  Severus took out his wand muttering a few words and the pair was encased in a cloud of almost silence.

“It’s impolite to cast privacy spells in a place like this Sev,” Lily chided softly.

Severus shrugged.  Lily almost laughed at the incongruent gesture.  Severus was so stiff, formal, a master of words.  Him shrugging reminded her so much of the lost little boy she met in the play park all those years ago.

“If you wish to have any semblance of conversation the spells have to stay up,” Severus justified.

Lily agreed.  “How are things at the school?”

“The same as always.  The students are becoming increasingly restless as the Christmas holiday approaches.  My colleagues continue to treat me as if I were still a lost third year.  All in all, its rather aggravating.”  Severus said taking another sip of hot chocolate.  “How are you faring in the world of single motherhood?”

Lily let out a sad sigh.  “We’re doing as well as can be expected.  Harry is still asking for his dad.  We’ve pretty much adjusted to the new house.  It’s been hard.  Sirius and Remus try their best to help.  Remus sleeps over most nights, so we alternate who gets up if Harry wakes.  Still, sometimes, I wish they would just give me room to breathe.  You have no idea how much I needed this day out.” Lily said sadly.

“I can only imagine,” Severus agreed.  “Is there anything special you’d like to achieve?”

Lily gave his a small half-smile.  “You’re going to wish you never asked that.  I’d like to get a bit of Christmas shopping done.”

“You and every other witch in Britain,” Severus grumbled.  “Very well.  Where would you like to start?”

Lily thought a moment.  “I heard there is a good toy store here.  I want to find something for Harry and Dudley.”

“Dudley?” Severus asked mildly confused.

“My nephew,” Lily supplied.

“Potter doesn’t…. Tuney reproduced?” Severus asked flabbergasted.

Lily nodded.  “She has a little boy too.  He’s about a month or so older than Harry.”

“I never would have expected that,” Severus said softly.

“Me either.  He’s a wretch of man, Petunia’s husband.  He looks as if he swallowed a vat of Swelling Solution.  He hates everything he considers ‘abnormal’ and doesn’t stop talking about drills.  Honestly, he makes Binns lectures on goblin uprisings seem fascinating,” Lily told him.

“Sounds as if Petunia found her perfect match.” Severus said snidely.

“You’re telling me,” Lily set down her mug.  “We’d better get going.  I told Remus I would  be home to put Harry to bed.  Besides, the toy store I wanted to look for a couple of things for the Marauders.”

Severus’ cringe at the nickname for his childhood tormentors went unnoticed.  “Very well.  Then let us proceed.”

The toy store was back the way they came and across from Zonko’s.  It was packed with mothers with children, mostly too young to attend Hogwarts.

Severus cast a disapproving eye around the shop.  It was packed full of brightly colored, most likely noisy devices.  It held none of his interest.  In fact he wanted to leave as soon as humanly possible.  A desire only doubled as a toddler began to scream less than five feet away when their mother picked up the wrong colored teddy bear.

“What do you think of this, Sev?”  Lily asked holding up some sort of toy.

Severus was at a lost.  All he could tell was there were lots of different knobs, buttons, and such.  “I have no idea.  Lily, I must confess.  I have no idea how to deal with a child Harry’s age.  I have no experience with them.  I can think of little more that puts me at such a level of unease.”

Lily frowned.  “You’re not that bad, Sev.  Honest.  You don’t make Harry cry, and he’s a pretty good judge of character.  We should have taken that as a hint about Pettigrew.  How do you think he would like this?”

“I have no earthly idea.  If it makes a great deal of noise I expect so.  That’s typically what children like is it not?” Severus asked much as answered.

Lily set the toy back down.  “Maybe you should come for Christmas.  You can spend some more time with Harry.  You can see he’s not some dangerous beast to fear.  Come on, let’s go to the bookstore.  At least you might be of some use there.”

Lily was right.  The trip to the bookstore was much more productive.  They purchased books not only for Lupin and Black, but several for themselves and a few for Harry that did not make Severus want to Curcio the author.

Severus said goodbye to Lily at his own fireplace at Hogwarts.  They agreed it made little sense for him to escort her home when he would have to Floo or Apparate back to the school.  It would also mean Lily was spared the cold walk back home.

Thinking about it, Severus considered the day a success, including confessing his unease with Harry to Lily.

Your mother invited me to Christmas Day celebrations at your house.  I normally did not do much by way of celebration of the holiday.  I normally did not have much to celebrate.  That year I had my renewed friendship with your mother to warm my spirits.”  Severus explained.

“I was familiar with your mother’s family’s traditions.  They always attended evening Mass on Christmas Eve.  It was something important to your grandmother, but as you have probably guessed it was less so to your mother.  I cannot make a statement about her faith, simply attendance.  

“Along with going to Mass, her family always opened one gift on Christmas Eve.  Stockings were opened at breakfast and it was only after the washing up was done that the proper gift opening took place.  This was done in turn.  You can see where a lot of our traditions come from.”  Severus said.

Harry nodded.  “Your family didn’t do anything special Dad?”

“I’ve mentioned before my family’s… tendency to fail in commemorating dates.  Christmas was no exception.  Tobias was often known to go on long drunken rants about how horrible the holiday season was.  Why should he be required to buy anybody rubbish?  He complained about the proximity of my birthday as well, as if I got presents for either.  No, there was not much for me to look forward to at home when it came to Christmas.”  Severus explained.

“For this very reason I stayed at school for break my first, sixth, and seventh years.  The other years your mother convinced me to return to Cokeworth, but to stay over at her house. I complied mostly with this.  I would go and see my mother on some of these occasion, possibly stay the night.  Those were rare however as we did not wish to upset Tobias.”

Severus paused.  “This first Christmas after the attack would be difficult.  It was the first major event since James’ death.  It was your second Christmas, but the first one where you could take part in the festivities.  It was going to be a painful remainder of your father not being there.”

“Many of Lily and James’ friends planned to stop by or call.  They wanted to make sure your mother was handling everything okay.  I knew Lily would actually would rather be left alone to deal with it in her own way, but she was too nice to turn away other people’s well wishes.  No, instead she would make sure the people she truly cared about and wished to see were also present.”

“James and her parents’ death reminded your mother just how fleeting life could be.  For this reason she invited your Aunt Petunia and her family to stay for the holidays.  I was less than pleased to hear of the initiation and almost considered resigning my acceptance.  I had no desire to ruin Lily’s holiday by causing the inevitable row between Petunia and myself,”  Severus continued,“Nevertheless Christmas Day finally arrived...”  

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Severus wrapped the scarf once more around his face in preparation of crossing the snowy Hogwarts’ grounds.  Only that morning he discovered he was out of Floo Powder.  It would be easier to face the brutal weather, than the many questions of his colleagues as to where he wished to go on Christmas Day.

Severus sighed.  He would probably not escape the questions, now he thought about it.  Somebody was bound to ask why he was not at the school Christmas dinner.  He would deal with that later.  Now all he wanted to do was get to Lily’s.

The walk to the gates seemed to take twice as long as normal.  The wind blew his hair into his eyes and mouth.  There were times he wished there were fewer wards around the school.  The students could Apperate to class, saving those seventh years precious minutes from whatever kind of sordid behavior they might be getting into.  Was there really any threat of people with no proper business at the school to come in?  Severus stopped himself.  He very well knew there were people who would.  He was a member of their company not too long ago.

Finally Severus reached the gates.  Without looking back he turned and Dis-Apperated.  He reappeared around the corner from Lily’s house.  The weather was a bit nicer here.  These was a fresh layer of snow, but far less wind.  Severus knocked on the door only a moment later.

The door flung open to reveal a very harassed looking Lily.  Harry sat on her hip, still clothed in his pajamas.  Lily visibly relaxed at the sight of Severus.

“Hey Sev,” Lily greeted letting him into the house.

“Happy Christmas,” Severus returned pulling the scarf from around his neck.  “Is everything alright?”

“It’s fine.  I’m just tired.  The Marauders turned up at 5:30 this morning wanting to open presents. I had to explain to them I would not be responsible for handling the cranky toddler if they woke Harry up early.  When Harry did wake up, they wanted to get started on everything right away.  They didn’t seem to care about tradition,” Lily explained exasperatedly.  “I managed to hold them off though.  Honestly, I think a pair of five year olds would be easier to handle than those two at points.”

“Gryffindors,” Severus grumbled.

“Hey,” Lily protested smacking her friend lightly one the arm. “I was a Gryffindor too.”

“Even the Sorting Hat had been known to make mistakes from time to time,” Severus replied coolly.

Lily made a face at him.  The two headed down the hall as Severus’ goods were now put away.

“I told them they weren’t allowed to open anything until we got back,” Lily explained.  “Let’s see if they listened.”

Sirius sat on the floor by the Christmas tree, a sea of shredded paper around him.

“Clearly not,” Severus said disapprovingly at the paper ruins.

Lupin was a bit better.  He had a small box by his ear.  It was clear he’d been trying the age old method of shaking it to see if you could determine the contents.

“Uhh…” Lily groaned.  “Was it so hard to wait the two minutes for me to come back?”  Seeing Lupin, “You too Remus?”

“But Lily… presents,” Sirius protested.

“Sirius Black, if you don’t want to follow the Christmas traditions of this house, you can open your gifts somewhere else next year.”  Lily threatened.

“But we…” Sirius began.

“We wait to open our gifts until everyone is here and then we do it in turns,” Lily told him, sternly.

“Harry got to open all of his.”  Sirius pointed out.  He sounded closer to 12 than 22.

“Harry’s not even two.  He gets to open all of his so we have a chance to do ours properly.”  Lily explained slowly.

Sirius pouted.  “Fine.  What do I do now?”

You can clean up your mess – without magic. Then you can watch as everybody gets their gifts.”  Lily told him.

“Lily,” Severus said from his seat on the sofa.  “I must apologize.  I only have gifts for you and Harry.”

“It’s fine, Sev.  You didn’t expect anybody else to be here.”  Lily said setting Harry back to playing with his new toys.

In the past the Evans always made sure to have a count as to who would be there and how many presents so everybody got an equal share.  This meant at least nominally Severus bought a gift for Petunia and vice versa.  Although in reality Lily did the purchasing for both.

“Remus, would you like to start since you already have a gift in hand?”  Lily asked.

Remus gave her a sheepish smile.  The werewolf carefully pulled back the corners of the dark blue paper.  It revealed a small wooden box.  Inside the box, were several small vials .  Remus recognized them immediately as healing potions.  There was a muscle relaxant, a pain potion and an aid for mending and strengthening bones.  These would ease his post-transformation symptoms, making recovering much easier.  Normally they were far beyond his meager budget.

Looking up he said, “Thank you, Lily.”

“You shouldn’t thank me alone.  I got Severus to brew them for you,” Lily explained,.

Remus was surprised.  After a moment he collected himself enough to say, “Thank you Severus.”

Severus nodded in return.

Sirius watched the exchange skeptically.  Lily caught his look and glared.  “They’re fine Sirius.  Severus wouldn’t do anything to hurt a friend of mine.”

Sirius didn’t look any more at ease.

“I’m sure they’re fine,” Remus agreed.  “Thanks again Severus.”

Remus handed Lily a silver wrapped package.  Lily pulled back the paper to reveal a heavy leather bound book, Modern Mothering and Household Charms.  Lily gave Remus a searching look.

“I hope that isn’t some sort of subtle message Remus,” Lily said teasingly.

“No, of course not,” Remus said putting up his hands defensively.  “You mentioned the other day you wanted something to help with household spells.  The witch as the bookstore said this was the best, if you couldn’t afford a house elf.”  He explained with an uneasy chuckle.

“Like you want one of those bloody things creeping around.”  Sirius commented.  “Just look at Kreacher.”

“I’m sure Kreacher would have been very different if he didn’t work for your family.  Even if I could afford one I wouldn’t want a house elf.”  Lily said.

Remus and Severus nodded.  Both were familiar with Lily’s discomfort with the creatures’ status in wizarding society.  It was one of the many things she and Sirius disagreed on.  He being from a Pure Blood family, could not understand.

“Thank you Remus,” Lily handed a box to Severus, an old fashioned leather one.

Severus looked at it curiously.  He was surprised first off that the gift was not wrapped and by the age of the box.  He carefully lifted the lid to display a handsome rectangular faced watch.  He looked back over to Lily.

“This was –” Severus began.

“Yeah,” Lily confirmed.  “He wanted you to have it.  I told him watches were  traditional coming of age gift and I didn’t think you would get one from your own family.  I don’t know why he didn’t send it.  He might not have realized Mum was still sending biscuits.  Or it was …”

“Out of loyalty to you,” Severus finished.  “Thank you.”  He took the watch from the box and secured it around his wrist.

Severus handed Lily a package wrapped with green paper and gold stars.  Lily impatiently tore off the paper.  Severus suppressed the urge to smile.  He would not let the Marauders know how amusing he found her tendency of doing just that.  Inside was a paper box.  Lily threw the lid to the side.  Inside was a dark green silk scarf.  When it shimmered, it reminded Severus of Lily’s eyes, especially when she was being mischievous.

Lily picked up the scarf to reveal a small leather book.  Lily picked up the book and read the title, Pride and Prejudice.

“Sev, you remembered,” Lily said looking up at her friend.

“What is it Lily?” Remus asked.

“A particular novel Lily obsessed over when we were 13 or so.  She pestered me to read it for the entire summer.  I only gave in when she threatened to stop speaking to me.”  

“I did not,” Lily protested.  

“Indeed you did.  I even had to speak to Petunia on the telephone to inform you I had completed it.  You even went as far as to quiz me about it to make sure I was telling the truth.”  Severus corrected.  “It is not an original edition.”  Severus supplied, a slight note of disappointment in his voice.  Severus paled at the mention of Lily’s sister’s name.  “Tuney is not visiting tonight is she?”

Lily shook her head.  “She’s spending the day with her family in Surry.  She said Harry and I could come down there, but it was too much of an ordeal for her precious Diddy-dums.”

“Diddy-dums?” Remus asked before forcing a gagging expression.

“It’s what she called Dudley.”  Lily explained.

“What kind of a name is Dudley?” Sirius asked from his corner.

“I don’t know,” Lily said.

“When am I supposed to give Harry his gift?” Severus asked as a brief silence settled over the group.

“You can do it now,” Lily said watching the toddler play.

“Perhaps it would be better given to you.”  Severus said handing her a small flat package.

Lily pulled the paper back to find another book, The Little Prince.

“My mother read that to me when I was young.  I was rather fond of the line ‘Draw me a sheep”’ for whatever reason.  This novel will be a bit less…painful.  You can’t possibly enjoy the endless repetitions of the drivel that you endure at the moment.”  Severus told them.

“That’s a Muggle book,” Remus pointed out.

“Well spotted, Lupin,” Severus replied snidely.

“How come your mum read you Muggle books?  I thought she was Pure Blood.”  Remus clarified.

Severus stiffened as he always did at the mentioning of his family.  “I am uncertain as to how my mother ran across the book for the first time.  As to why my mother chose to read me as a child is none of your business.”

Remus put his hands up.

“Thank you, Sev.  We’ll read it tonight.”  Lily said breaking the tension between the two wizards.

A moment later the hearth flared to life.  The face of Minerva McGonagall was in the emerald flames.

“Good morning, Lily.  I was wondering if not would be a good time to come over and give you and Harry your presents?”  The older witch asked.

“It’s fine.  Remus, Sirius, and Sev are here too.  Come on through,” Lily said welcomingly.

Minerva stepped through the flames into the living room.  

“Hello Professor,” Remus greeted.

“Good morning Mr. Lupin,” Minerva returned.  Looking to Severus she said, “I did not expect to find you here.  Is Albus aware you left the castle?”

“I am sure it has not passed the Headmaster’s notice.  However, as I am not a prisoner at the castle I felt no need to inform anyone of my departure.”  Severus retuned coolly.

Minerva looked the young man over sharply, “Very well.  These are for you Lily.”  Minerva said handing over several more packages.

As the day progressed more people arrived.  Some started for a while, others just long enough to deliver their presents and find out how Lily was doing.  With each person’s arrival Severus’ presence was almost instantly questioned.  By lunch the constant questioning was starting to wear both Lily and Severus down.

Severus tried to excuse himself, but a pleading look from Lily stopped him in his tracks.  Severus found a much needed break when Lily asked him to help put Harry down for his nap.  Severus immediately agreed, even if he had no idea how to go about helping.

Lily carried her son on her hip up the stairs.  Severus followed shortly behind her.  He could not miss the chatter of the people behind him about Lily’s request and his very presence.  Lily placed the boy on the floor to change his diaper.

“Could you not simply use a ‘Scourgefy’ and Switching Spell for that?”  Severus asked as he watched her movements with practiced ease.

Lily chuckled.  “You and James…. James didn’t see why he couldn’t do it that way.  He didn’t like doing anything without magic if he could help it.  You can’t use ‘Scouragefy’ because it it too harsh a spell for the delicate flesh down there.  You need to make sure the area is clean, which you can’t do if you use a Switching Spell.  There are a few charms you can use to change nappies, but they’re more effort than they’re worth.” Lily explained.

Severus nodded, unsure what to say.

“Thank you for coming today.  I’m sorry everyone is being so… unpleasant.”  Lily said sadly.

“It is to be expected,” Severus dismissed.

“That doesn’t make it okay.” Lily said picking up the redressed Harry.  The boy was figihting the much needed nap.  Lily looked from her sleepy, but stubborn son to her friend.  “I normally don’t do this before his nap, but I’m not really ready to go back down yet.  Could you read Harry a story?”  Lily asked hopefully.

Severus looked at her in surprise.  “Are you sure?”

Lily nodded.

Reluctantly, Severus agreed. “Very well, as long as it’s not that rubbish I read the last time.”  

She directed Severus into the rocking chair.  She placed Harry in the wizard’s lap an instant later.  Lily gave Severus a warm smile and Summoned The Little Prince.  Severus read for the next 15 minutes or so, when Lily said, “That’s enough, Sev.  He’s out.  We’d better get back before they send out a search party.”

“Very well,” Severus said looking for something to mark their place.

Lily took the book from him and folded the corner down.  Severus frowned at the action.  Lily took the sleeping boy from his lap and placed him in his crib.  She carefully tucked a blanket over him.  The two left without another word.  When they reached the foot of the stairs Severus stopped.

“Lily, I must not take my leave.” Severus said looking uneasily down the hall and back to his host.

“Sev, don’t…” Lily began.

“No, I must be getting back to Hogwarts.  It has been a most enjoyable day.  There are things that need attending to however.  I… thank you.” Severus said.

Lily sighed.  “Thanks for coming.  I just wish people could have been a bit nicer to you.”

Severus looked at her.  “I am used to it.”  His coat and gloves now on.

“Again, that doesn’t make it right.  Happy Christmas, Sev.”

Severus finished putting on his scarf.  “Happy Christmas, Lily.  I shall see you soon.”

“As you well know your mother and I’s birthdays are just after New Year’s.  Your grandparents always made sure Lily had a decent amount of presents.  They didn’t think it fair that Petunia was expected to get more gifts simply because her birthday happened to be in the summer.  When Lily and I became friends your mother’s family simply started including me in the celebrations.  It was something I never had growing up in my home.”  Severus said sadly.  

“As I mentioned before, your Grandmother Evans continued to send me biscuits every year for my birthday, even after our falling out.  When your grandparents passed I never expected to get those biscuits again.  Your mother negated that assumption when she sent me the tin as a thank you.  Still, knowing Lily could make them, I didn’t think I could get any for my birthday.  No, I thought it would be rather like most birthdays, just another day on the calendar.”

Harry was confused.  “But we always do stuff for your birthday,” the boy protested.

“Now we do,” Severus corrected.  “When I was young my family did not have the money to do anything special for me.  When I got older, I had few friends, no true friends, it could be argued.  So I had no one to celebrate with.  That birthday, my 22nd, was the year where all that changed and it was all thanks to your mother.  It started at breakfast…”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The owls streamed into the open windows of the Great Hall as they did every morning.  Although, there were far fewer than normal, as most of the students were still at home for the Christmas holidays.  Still, the dreary grey of the enchanted ceiling was broken up momentarily in a sea of multicolored feathers.  Birds swooped down to deliver packages to their rightful owners.  Some of them stayed long enough to get a bit of bacon or some other treat.  A few of the older students paid owls for delivering the morning papers.  The staff too were awash in post.  

As was typical the Headmaster had half a dozen birds drop in on him before he could finish his porridge.  In a sight that was becoming far less of a spectacle, Severus too had post.  A familiar barn owl landed in front of Severus.  Severus carried out his normal detection spells.  It would not do to become too comfortable.  He trusted Lily more than anyone on Earth, including, Dumbledore.  However, there was no way of knowing if the bird was intercepted.  It was much better to play it safe.  Severus knew there were members of his previous following that would relish seeing his undoing.

Detecting nothing harmful, Severus untied the box from the bird’s outstretched leg.  He offered it a bit of bacon, but the bird fluttered its wings and took off.

“Are you not going to open your post, Severus?” Minerva asked looking up from her breakfast.

“Not now,” Severus replied curtly.  What was it with that woman and his incessant need to investigate his life happenings?

“You normally are most eager to hear from Mrs. Potter.  I hope you two have not had another row,” Minerva needled.  

Severus knew the witch wanted details.  He weighed his next words carefully.  If he refused to tell her anything, she would continue to bother him. If he told her too much she was likely to make an undesired fuss.  “Lily and I are fine.  The parcel likely contains some variety of birthday present.  Now will you please leave me be?”  Severus asked.

Minerva was surprised.  Normally the staff made some note of the birthdays, or anniversaries of its members.  She had heard nothing about the young man’s birthday approaching.  She needed to talk to Professor Sprout, as the Head of Hufflepuff traditionally took responsibility for such celebrations.  

“Why did you not mention it,” Minerva asked curiously.

“What was I supposed to do?  Come into the hall singing “Happy Birthday” to myself?”  Severus requested icily.

Minerva did not respond.

“To answer your question, I did not mention it because I did not think it important.  It is another day in the year, no different than any other.  I will not force people to care out of social graces or simply out of guilt.  Lily’s gift is out of genuine care.  It matters not what it is.  To have the staff make a fuss about my birthday when most think of me nothing more than a little boy, it cheapens those who truly care.”  Severus explained.  Without another word he swiftly left the hall, box tucked safely under one arm.

“My, Severus is set in his ways,” Minerva commented to Dumbledore.

“He is,” Dumbledore agreed.  “Professor Sprout told me he specifically asked for her not to mention it to the staff.”

“Does he really believe we think so little of him?”  Minerva asked looking at the now vacant seat.

“It was only five short years ago he was our student.  It is hard not to remember him as such.”  Professor Flitwick commented.  “Perhaps this is a time to show Severus that we see him as more than a boy desperately trying to make an impact.  He has come a long way since his Sorting.  Even over this term he has grown.”

“How do you suggest we do that Filius?” Minerva asked.

“I don’t know.  Mrs. Potter will probably have an idea however.” The tiny wizard offered.

“I don’t have plans this morning.  I will contact Mrs. Potter.  Hopefully she will have some sort of suggestion.”  Minerva told her colleagues.

Upon reaching his quarters Severus was excited to see his traditional biscuits.  He quickly counted them.  23, one for each year of his life and one more for luck.  Violet had always just put an even 20 in the tin.  Severus smiled slightly.  He liked Lily’s spin on the biscuits slightly better, and not simply because it gave him three extra cookies.  No, he loved the fact Lily was doing her best to help him maintain traditions, but making it her own.

Severus took out two of the freshly made treats.  He placed them on a plate left out from his tea last night.  The house elves would not be in to clean his rooms until the afternoon, as Severus stayed up quite late.  He crossed to the fireplace ordering a pot of hot coffee.  When the coffee arrived Severus settled back to enjoy his treat.  He would allow himself this small pleasure.  

The only thing comparable, or making the day tolerable really, was the fact the students were not yet back for the start of term.  Severus did not think he could stand having to teach the legion of dunderheads on the one day that was supposed to be for him.

Severus sipped his coffee thoughtfully.  He could not explain why he was being so maudlin about this birthday.  Most of his life, the day went by completely unremarked.  The Evans would sometimes give him some sort of small gift in addition to the tin of biscuits, but not always.  He took those as a sign they really did care for him.  

While Severus was at school none of his dorm-mates went out of their way to celebrate Severus’ birthday.  It was not that they did not celebrate birthdays, just not ones of poor, half-blood/blood-traitors.  When he became a Death Eater, those boys who used to ignore him were forced to recognize him and dates such as Severus’ birthday.  It was at this time Severus developed his distaste for forced social courtesy, he realized.  He was happier to have the recognition by those who truly cared than the scores of hollow birthday wishes of strangers and acquaintances.

Severus sat quietly sipping his coffee and munching his biscuits for almost an hour.  He decided he would take this day for himself.  He would not do any marking.  He was not going to work on lesson plans, or potions for the Hospital Wing.  He would sit back and do only what he wished to do this day.

What did he really wish to do?  What had he done in the past to celebrate his birthday?  His mind cast back to his 12th birthday, or rather his and Lily’s shared celebration.  At Lily’s insistence they had their party at the local ice rink.  Lily liked to pretend that she would win Great Britain a gold medal for figure skating.  Severus had never been skating before, but agreed with whatever Lily wanted.  Lily had also promised he would get to see Petunia fall on her face at least once.

Lily took to the ice before Severus even had a chance to pay for his skates.  She was doing jumps and turns.  Severus was certain he had never seen anything more beautiful. He heard Petunia muttered something about being a showoff and Lily wasn’t even that good.  Severus watched a moment later as another girl did a very impressive spin in the air.  He was sure it was more complicated than what Lily was doing, but he did not care.  His eyes were only for Lily.

Severus balanced precariously on the thin blades of metal.  It was difficult to stand on them one the flat dry surface, he couldn’t imagine this being any easier on ice.  He sealed himself and took his first step out and almost fell flat on his bottom, only an arm over the door saved him. He didn’t need to hear it to know Petunia was laughing at him.  Severus straightened back up.  He carefully pushed one foot back and slide forward.  He repeated the process with the opposite.  Severus managed not to fall down once, a feat Petunia could not say she shared.  Mr. Evans would later compliment Severus on his ability as a first time skater.

Thinking back on that pleasant afternoon in the Evans company and the hot cocoa after Severus knew what he wished to do for his day.

“Lily,” Severus called from his place in her hearth.

“Sev,” Lily greeted Harry tagging along behind her.  “Happy Birthday.”

“Thank you,” Severus said almost warmly.  “I was wondering if you… and Harry had any plans for the day?”

“No,” Lily said curiously.  “Is there something the birthday boy wanted to do?”

“I am not a boy,” Severus complained.

“Fine,” Lily conceded.  “What did you want to do, Sev?”

“Do you remember our 12th birthday party?” Severus asked.

Lily cocked her head to the side.  “12th birthday….Didn’t we go ice skating?”

“Indeed,” Severus confirmed.  “I was hoping you would join me.”

“Sev, Harry’s too young to skate.” Lily protested.

“Then bring the w-Lupin.” Severus protested.

“It’s the full moon tonight,” Lily told him.

Severus frowned.  “Is there no one you can leave him with?”  He hadn’t expected this problem.  

Lily pushed a lock of red hair behind her ear, “Let me call you back.  I might be able to get one of the Muggle teens next door to help.”

Severus waited almost 15 minutes before Lily called him back.  She had in fact gotten a local teen, the younger sister of a girl Lily went to primary school with, it turned out, to look after Harry for the afternoon.  Severus Floo-ed directly to Lily’s house.  She agreed to drive them to the rink.

“You can drive?” Severus asked stunned.

“Yeah,” Lily confirmed.  “Dad taught me summer before seventh year.  He knew I could Apparate and fly, but thought I should know if there was ever a reason I had to go Muggle.  Honestly, I think sometimes James and I would have done better that way than hiding in Godric’s Hollow.  Then again, James couldn’t boil water without used his wand.”

“It’s a skill I sadly lack.  My mother never saw the purpose of learning.  Tobias….was Tobias.” Severus said softly.

“I could teach you,” Lily offered excitedly.

“Really,” Severus said uncertain.

“Oh yeah,” Lily said.

“I shall think about it,” Severus promised.

The pair drove about 15 minutes to reach the rink.  The building was packed with teens home for the winter holidays.  The pair made their way through the queues and finally onto the ice.  They spent the better part of the next few hours skating around in circles and chatting most often about birthdays past.

At 4:30 Lily told Severus she needed to head back home.  The sitter could only stay until 5, but if it was alright, she and Harry would come and see him at the school that evening. Severus was a bit disappointed, but agreed to for her to visit.

Severus entered the Great Hall in a much better mood than he left it that morning.  Hopefully his coworkers had listened and had not spent the day concocting a way to recognize Severus’ birthday.  He did not want his good mood spoiled by false platitudes.

Dinner was a surprisingly quiet affair at the staff table.  The only words spoken to Severus were to ask him to pass the gravy.  It was almost odd the pleasure Severus took from it.  He retreated to his quarters for the evening just before seven.

Lily and Harry arrived on the dot at seven.  Severus had ordered a tea service for the occasion.  Harry went straight for the plate of biscuits, but was quickly deflected by Lily’s practiced hand.  She gave the boy one before placing a Hover Charm on the plate to keep it out of Harry’s reach.  The two adult had been talking for about thirty minutes before the Floo flared to life.

“Good evening Severus,” Dumbledore greeted affectionately.

“Headmaster,” Severus returned rather more coolly.  “What may I do for you?”

“Not a thing my boy,” Dumbledore said cheerily.  “I wished to inform you, you have been chosen to be the new –”

“I don’t want it,” Severus interrupted, cutting the old man off.

“Severus,” Dumbledore and Lily said together.

“I do not want another position of responsibility.  Potions Master was more than enough.  Besides it is clear to me this was my fellow professors’ idea of a birthday present.  I am satisfied where I am.  Now excuse me.”  Severus said terminating the Headmaster’s connection.

Over the next several days Severus’ colleagues presented him with a variety of books, potions ingredients, and small tokens.  He grudgingly accepted them.  He was rather pleased with the box of Honeyduke’s Chocolates, but this was not the gift that meant the most to him.  That was a project that involved almost every teacher in the school.

Severus later learned the project idea and execution were planned by Professor Flitwick.  The tiny professor had gotten all of the teachers who had once taught Severus and were now teaching beside him to provide a list of words to describe Severus as a student (non-classroom attitude/performance) and now.  The two sets of words were displayed side-by-side.  Severus was taken aback by what his fellow professors thought of him both now and in the past.

It showed him, in a physical way, that he was more than just the “lost boy from the play park” as Lily would say.  Severus stuck it above his desk in his private office.  Although Severus would never admit it, those cards meant a great deal to him.

Severus sat back in his chair. “The next week was rather busy for me.  Not only was I having to avoid the constant stream of colleagues trying to make up their oversight of my birthday, my students seemed more than ever to have it their goal to make my life miserable.  I had two explosions, one cauldron melt, and four students maimed in that week. To this day I still have no idea how the second explosion occurred.  With all of this, I had more than my typical load of detentions to oversee and parents to contact.  It was good I had something to look forward to at the start and end of each day.  I might have been tempted to do much more than take points if I were in a worse mood.”

“It was not only looking forward to your mother’s biscuits, but to her letters too.  That week, I had at least one letter a day from your mother.  Like Christmas, this was another major day James would miss for the first time.  Lily had no desire to repeat the overwhelming stream of well-wishers.  Instead she sent invitations to a select group of people to join her at a local restaurant for dinner.  To those she expected to make an appearance (based on what happened at Christmas) who were not invited to dinner were sent clearly worded messages.  They were told Lily greatly appreciated their concern, but she would be spending the day with friends and family.  If so desired, they could check on her in a few days’ time.” Severus told Harry.

“As you probably guesses, I was one of the few to actually receive an invitation.  As were Black, Lupin, Professors Flitwick and McGonagall.  Your aunt and uncle were invited as well, though, they did not attend.”  Severus added quickly.  “That was probably for the best.  There was also a few friends of Lily’s from primary school who still lived in the area.  Your mother was doing her best to rebuild her life, reconnecting with old friends helped.”

“The dinner was at the Chinese restaurant in the village.  I don’t know why your mother chose that place in particular.  I never ate there before, but then again, the only time I ate out was when the Evans took me with them, or very occasional fish and chips with my mother.”  Severus explained.

“I am told the group met outside the restaurant.  However, I was running late.  It was strange to see people who had once been my professors, in Muggle attire.  It would have been stranger to see them bearing overly large packages.  Normally they would have shrunk their gifts until it was time to open them.”  Severus paused.  “I was the only one who did not come with such a package.”

“How come Dad?  You always get something for Mum’s birthday.”  Harry asked.

“Indeed, but if you will notice, they are small.  It was a…tradition we established very early in our friendship.  I didn’t have much pocket money as a child and our birthdays so close to Christmas I had even less funds for a gift.  I am getting ahead of myself….” Severus stopped himself.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Severus pulled open the glass door to a dark looking restaurant.  He wondered whatever possessed Lily to choose such a forlorn little place for a celebration.  

“I help you, sir?”  A friendly waitress asked him.

“Yes, I’m here for the Ev-the Potter party,” Severus said shifting the small box from one hand to the other.

“Follow me,” the waitress ordered.

Severus followed her to the back where a long table was arranged, a dozen or so people sat around it.  A small table off to the left held a collection of wrapped boxes.  Severus looked down at his own small box.  Perhaps he should have done something a bit grander.  It was too late now.

Lily sat at the middle of the table, flanked by McGonagall and a Muggle Severus could not recall the name of.  Across from her were Black and Lupin.  Severus headed for the only open seat at the far end of the table on the same side as Lily.  Both the person next to him and across were Muggles.

“Who are you?” The blonde sitting across from Severus demanded.

“Severus Snape,” Severus returned mildly.  He didn’t know this woman, but he already didn’t like her much.  “And you are?”

“I’m Barbra Jones and this is Sandra.” The blonde said gesturing to the dark haired woman on his right.

Severus had vague memories of these women’s names.  “You were friends with Petunia,” Severus asked in need of confirmation.

“That’s right,” Barbara said.  “You’re that no good Snape boy who latched on to Lily.  Tuney told us you brainwashed her.  Somehow you managed to push yourself into that fancy public school Lily went off to.  You must have been a right charity case.  Your dad couldn’t even hold down a job at the mill.”

Severus took a sharp breath.  He hadn’t been expecting to be attacked.  He was simply here to help a friend celebrate their birthday.  Now this woman was assaulting him with his past he so dearly wished to forget.

“You must…” Barbara began.

Severus pushed away from the table quickly.  He would not stand this kind of treatment.  Even the Marauders had been less hostile towards him and they had spent almost every day at Hogwarts making his life a living hell.  How dare this woman!  He could not hex her, no matter how much his heart desired.  He would have to leave.

Lily watched as Severus stiffened and left the table.

“Sev,” Lily called out following after him.  “What’s wrong?”  She asked finally catching him outside the restaurant.

“Nothing,” Severus bit out.

“Nothing?  You left the table.  You didn’t even say ‘Happy Birthday’ to me.  There’s something wrong.  Remember, I know you Severus Snape.” Lily protested.

Severus sighed.  There was very little he seemed to get past Lily, that was true.  His shoulders slumped forward.  “That Jones woman….She mentioned Tobias…and how I must have been a scholarship student to Hogwarts, given my upbringing.”

Lily frowned.  She knew how sensitive Severus was about how life was at Spinner’s End.  He told her everything, but he never wanted it used against him.  That was one of the reasons their fight after the Defense Against the Dark Arts O.W.L. hurt so much.

“Come back in,” pleaded Lily.

“No, Lily, I couldn’t,” Severus refused.

“Come in,” Lily repeated.  “I’m not going anywhere until you come back in with me Severus Snape.”

Severus raised a questioning eyebrow at this.  Lily’s face and arms were already red from cold.  Her nose was starting to run too.  Lily crossed her arms over her chest.  Severus shook his head and cast a Warming Charm over his stubborn friend.

“You will catch your death out here dressed like that,” Severus said gesturing to Lily’s rather flimsy party dress.

“Then maybe you should come back inside.” Lily returned.

Severus gave her another contemplative look before nodding his head in defeat.

“Wonderful,” Lily said cheerfully.

The two made their way back to the table.  The group gave them an appraising look.  Lily ignored it.  

“Sirius, get up,” Lily ordered.

The wizard in question cocked his to the side in a very canine manner. “Lils?”

“Just do it, Sirius.  Sev, you go take his place.” Lily told them respectively.

The wizards exchanged glares as they passed one another.  Once they were both seated in their new seats Lily returned to her.

“Lily, this wasn’t necessary,” Severus began.

“Shut up, Sev.”  Lily told him.  “Barbara Jones is a cow.  She bullied her way in tonight.  Sirius won’t care about that thought.  He’ll spend the whole night looking at her tits.”

Remus, Flitwick, and McGonagall all let out snots of amusement at this fairly accurate assessment.

“Besides, if you’re up here, I won’t have to listen to Sirius constant questioning of your motives.” Lily continued.

Severus should not have been surprised by Lily’s honesty even with somewhat of an attitude, but it almost did here.

“What about you, Lupin?” Severus said turning to the man sitting beside him.

“Lily says you’re a friend.  That’s enough for me.” Remus said taking a sip of water.

Severus nodded.  There was a moment of awkward silence before Severus asked, “How are you fairing?  Your last…illness was only three days ago was it not?”

Remus nodded. “It was.  Your potions helped a great deal.  I can’t thank you enough.”

The waitress came and took their orders.  Severus ordered the same as Lily.  He figured he could trust her judgment.  As they wait for their food to show up the table broke into conversation.  Severus, Remus, Flitwick, and McGonagall explained their connections to Lily.  The Muggles here did remember Severus from Spinner’s End, but said no more about it.  After introductions were made, the group at the part of the table took it in turns telling stories of Lily in her youth.

It seemed Lily had gotten into a fair amount of trouble in primary school.  This was something Severus was surprised to learn.  He had never heard these sorts of stories before.  Several contained clear incidents of accidental magic.  Others Lily was just displaying a mischievous streak.  McGonagall wondered out loud how she and the rest of the staff would fare when Harry got to school.  With such trouble makers for parents he was bound to cause his own fair amount of mischief.  Lily’s Muggle friends were shocked to discover Lily was made not only Prefect, but Head Girl.

McGonagall and Flitwick assured her friends there was no real question of her making these ranks.  Lily was one of the cleverest students of their age.  The professors did shed light on Lupin and James’ appointment to Prefect and Head Boy in turn.  It seemed the Headmaster thought Lupin could control his friends, something he failed miserably at.  James got his badge only after a great deal of debate.

As it turned out James, although bright, near genius, and liked by the staff, was not the first choice of many of the faculty.  They protested his appointment.  James was in trouble too often.  Not only was he in trouble, he led others astray, Remus and Peter being the best examples, more surprising was how many of the professors advocated for Severus’ appointment.  McGonagall stated if it had not been for Severus’ questionable company, she was sure he would have had the badge.

Severus was both delighted and heartbroken at the news.  If he had only come to his senses earlier, his life would have turned out very differently.  Yet again, he had to remind himself he could not change the past.

Dinner progressed comfortably.  Severus watched Lily eat her dinner with chopsticks with surprising grace.  Her father had learned during his service during the Korean War and required his daughters to try and use them.  Petunia had given up almost instantly.  Lily being of the rather stubborn sort did not give up until success.  She even practiced using pencils when she had a moment of two free during lessons, or was too bored to listen.

After dessert and tea finally came time to open presents.  Probably with little surprise Lily recognized a number of books, both magical and Muggle.  Although the magic ones were charmed to appear Muggle.  There were also a few pieces of clothing.  The last to be opened was Severus’ own small contribution.  Inside the box was a package of Smarties and a small stuffed lion.

Lily’s eyes watered at the sight of the stuffie.  “Roary,” she said sadly.

The others at the table watched curiously.

“It’s not Roary, sadly,” Severus corrected.

“I lost him when…” Lily explained.

Severus nodded in understanding.

“What is it Lils?" Sirius asked from the far end of the table.

Lily held up the stuffed animal.  “It’s like the one he got me for my 12th birthday.  In celebration of being sorted into Gryffindor.”  Lily explained.

Those who knew him turned a curious eye to Severus.  None of them would have taken him for a sentimentalist.  Then again, that showed just how little they knew of him.

The party broke up not long after.  Lily made sure to thank all of them for coming.  She wasn’t surprised to see Sirius leave with Barbara.  Lily made sure to thank Severus especially for not leaving after such an unwelcoming start to the evening.

“The next few months passed rather uneventfully.  I would visit you and your mother for dinner or on the weekend.  More often than not Lupin or Black would be there as well.  If it was simply Lupin, the time would pass amicably enough.  If it was only Black, it typically resulted in one or both of our leaving.  This was to prevent upsetting your mother.  Although the goal was not always achieved.” Severus told Harry.  “The next moment of any sort of consequence was the day your mother asked me to accompany her to your cousin’s birthday party.”  

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

It was a week after the latest term at Hogwarts ended, and the first day of Severus’ true freedom of summer holidays.  Lily had invited him over to spend the day with her and Harry to watch bad television, eat rubbish, and generally waste the day.  None of these things Severus normally did, so it was a well-deserved reward for surviving the stressful and chaotic end of term.

They had started the morning with bad monster movies and beans on toast.  Their marathon was occasionally interrupted by Harry demanding they read him a book, him playing in front of the television, and of course nappy changes.  

Lily looked at the clock.  “Harry needs to have his lunch soon,” she commented.

“What do you wish to do?” Severus asked the credits began to roll on the last of the monster films.

“Would fish and chips be okay with you?  I know this great little place by the river?”  Lily purposed.

Severus gave a small nod, “That would be acceptable.”

“Great,” Lily said cheerfully.  “Can you get Harry’s shoes on for me?”

Severus gave another nod.  The shoes were easily found.  Getting Harry to put them on was another matter.  Harry decided to start an impromptu game of hide-and-seek with the adults.  They found him behind the sofa.  He was rather reluctant to come out from under there.  After a few minutes Lily’s frustration was clear.  Then a brain wave hit her.

“Come on, Harry,” Lily said.  “If you don’t come out from there we can’t go see the ducks.”

“Ucks,” Harry giggled crawling his way out.

“Could we not have Summoned him, or Levitated the couch out of our way?” Severus asked Lily shoving a shoe onto Harry’s foot, he now compliantly seated on the sofa.

“We could have.”  Lily said slipping on her own shoes.  “If he hadn’t come out for the ducks, I probably would have.”

They chose to drive down to the shop.  Lily had to strap Harry into his seat.  Severus had no idea how the thing worked.  He didn’t even realize that children required special seats.  Lily explained that when she was a very small child they didn’t have them.  It was around the time she started going to school cars were required to have seatbelts.  Children’s seats came even later.

Lily sent Severus to order their food when they arrived at the place, which was little more than a shack just off the river bank. He did so somewhat unwillingly.  Harry had bounded off toward the river bank the instant he was freed from the car.  The air was filled with angry quacks as the ducks, who Harry disturbed, quickly took flight. Harry’s happy giggles and excited cries of “Ucks” followed.  Severus watched as Harry tried to approach a brave duck who returned to the riverbank, only to take wing once more when Harry came running up.  Severus chuckled as he watched the boy repeat the process twice more.  

“Is it always like this?” Severus asked setting their food on the table where Lily sat.

“Basically,” Lily confirmed.  “Come on Harry,” Lily yelled for the little boy.

Harry turned to look up at his name, but did not come.  Instead he tore after another group of ducks.

Lily sighed.  “Excuse me, I need to go and get him, or he’ll never eat.” Lily left to collect her son.  Lily returned a moment later a squirming and protesting Harry in her arms.  

Lily began to tear Harry’s fish into smaller pieces for him.  Meanwhile the boy helped himself to one of the chips in Severus’ paper.  

“Oi, these are mine.”  Severus complained.  “You have your own.”  

Harry just gave him a toothy grin.  Lily put some chips on Harry’s place before setting them in front of the boy.  The boy picked at the fish, but ate most of the chips.  Although, he seemed to enjoy the ones off of Severus’ plate more.  He continued to steal chips from the older wizard despite still having more on his own plate.  Every time Severus gave Lily a pleading look.

“Welcome to my life,” Lily said merrily.

Frustrated Severus put a small pile at the boy’s place.  Harry decided at that point he was done with lunch.  Lily let him down to go chase after the ducks once more.  

“Does he always do that?”  Severus asked reclaiming his lunch.

“Yep,” Lily confirmed taking a chip from Severus’ plate.

“I wonder where he could get it from?” Severus grumbled.  He’d dealt with Lily’s chip thievery for over ten years at this point.  He learned to live with it, but it didn’t mean he enjoyed it.  They sat in a comfortable silence watching Harry chase the many “ucks” by the riverside until Severus could finish the remains of his lunch and even later.  

After about ten minutes of this Severus had to ask.  “Should we not head back to yours?”

Lily shook her head.  “Not just yet.  Let Harry play a bit more.  He’ll nap better this way.”  She added at the slightly confused look on her friend’s face.

Severus gave a small nod, bowing to Lily’s child wrangling tactics.  They collected Harry five minutes later.  The boy’s fatigue becoming clear.

Harry was so tired he drifted off in the car in the less than ten minute drive.  Lily had Severus go ahead and open the house for her to take Harry directly to bed.  At least that was the plan.  Harry had other things in mind.  He pitched a fit demanding “Sev’us” take him.  With a pleading look from Lily, Severus conceded to carry Harry upstairs.  The boy refused to sleep until he was read a story, again by “Sev’us”.  Severus gave into the tiny tired terror’s whims once more, if only to speed up him going to sleep.  

Severus pulled the blanket up higher around Harry’s chest before shutting off the lights and returning downstairs.  He and Lily would have a few hours to themselves as Harry slept.  He wasn’t sure what the plan for the rest of the day was.  Lily was missing, possibly in the loo.  Severus decided to find something on the television for them to watch while he waited.

Lily sat down on the sofa setting the bowl of crisps on the coffee table in front of her.  Severus flipped through the channels trying to find something to watch.  He stopped when he saw a familiar logo flash across the screen.

“Find something?” Lily asked when he stopped turning the old fashioned dial, his frame blocking a majority of the screen.

Severus nodded.  “They are on commercial at the moment.”

Lily settled back into her seat.  “Harry get to sleep okay?”

“He was asleep before we got to tasting the porridges.” Severus confirmed.

“What did you put on?” Lily asked.

“You shall see,” Severus said popping a crisp into his mouth and settling in once more next to Lily.

Lily shook her head at him.  It was funny how different he could be around her and everyone else.  Lily shifted ever so slightly closer to her friend, her eyes back on the screen.  A familiar set appeared, the bridge of the USS Enterprise.

Lily turned back to Severus.  “Star Trek?  Really Sev?”

“If memory suits, you rather enjoyed it when we were children.” Severus said uneasily.

“I did.  I just didn’t think you liked it all that much.” Lily replied.

“I did.  However, I never understood why you insisted comparing me to Spock.”  Severus told her.

“You are Spock.  You’re smart, logical…” Lily said.

“And I have no emotions?” Severus finished for her.

“No.  You have emotions, you choose not to show them.  There’s a difference.  Spock does it because he wants to be more Vulcan. You do it as...defense.”  Lily explained.

“Defense from whom?”  Severus asked.  He was not one for emotional displays that was true.  It was only Lily he felt truly comfortable expressing himself and letting his guard down.  Still he had never thought of hiding his emotions as a form of defense.  It made sense when she said it though.

Severus had become a Legimens to do just that.  He was able to hide his emotions so well he had been able to spy on Voldemort for Dumbledore.  He was one of the few, if not the only who could say that.

Lily shrugged in response.  “Maybe it was your dad.  I know you did it around the Marauders.  You still do.  When Remus or Sirius are here, you’re an entirely different person.”

“I am s-” Severus began.

“Don’t.  Don’t apologize it’s who you are.  You did it as a way of protecting yourself.  When we were young I have no doubt they would have used it against you.  I know they did a few times.  But we’re older now, maybe you can try letting down the walls, just a bit.  They might surprise you with how much they’re matured. At least Remus,” Lily frowned, “Maybe even Sirius.”  She sounded far less convinced with this name.

“I will try.  No promises,” Severus agreed.

“That’s all I ask… Actually, it’s not.  It sort of along the same line though.”  Lily said.

Severus tore his eyes away from Captain Kirk fighting the Gorn to look back to Lily.

“Yes,” he asked curiously.

Lily had suddenly became very nervous.  It was putting Severus at unease.

“Tuney invited Harry and I to her son’s birthday party.  I was hoping you would come with me.”  Lily explained.

Severus balked.  He and Petunia had never gotten along as children and here Lily was asking him go with her to a child’s birthday party.  He didn’t even like children.  Harry was different.  Harry was… Harry was Lily’s son.  He had no idea how to interact with them if they were not Harry.  Even with Harry he felt awkward.  Lily suggested being a bit less firm with the boy.  Severus was trying.

“Lily, I don’t think…” Severus began.

“I know you and Tuney didn’t get on when we were young.  I know that, but I should go.  I don’t want to go alone though.” Lily explained.

“Why not take Black or Lupin?” Severus asked almost hopefully.

“The party is the day after the full moon.  Remus won’t be in any condition to spend the day with a bunch of screaming toddlers.”  Lily told him.  Remus would probably been her first choice to go with her.  He was good with children and a half-blood so knew how to deal with Muggles.

“Sirius.  No, most definitely no.”  Lily stated firmly.  “Sirius has no idea how to behave around Muggles.  I don’t want to have to Obliviate a dozen Muggles because Sirius can’t keep his damn mouth shut.”

“Indeed.  You really believe me your best choice.  Or it is simply the last one standing?”  Severus asked half-joking.

Lily bit her lip.  “The last one standing.  I really don’t want to go by myself.”

Severus sighed, “Very well, but you owe me Lily Potter.”

“I know.  Thank you Sev,” said cheerfully, lunging forward to give him a hug.

The next week passed very quickly.  Severus spent much of his time with Lily and Harry.  He also brewed Lupin’s transformation aids for which the werewolf was incredibly thankful for them.  Black was less accepting of the aid.  He had glared at Severus when Severus delivered the potions.

Severus arrived at Lily’s house the morning of the party.  He was dressed in comfortable slacks and white button up shirt.  His hair was tied back.  He had done all he could think to avoid provoking Petunia’s ire.

Lily greeted him at the front door.  She wore a cheery blue sundress.  Harry tagged along behind her.  His normally animated dragon tee charmed still.  Lily seemed to have tried to flatten Harry’s messy hair, with little success.

“Are you ready?” Severus asked flatly.  His voice, even his body language may not have said how little he was looking forward to this encounter, but Lily knew.

“As I’m going to be.” Lily confirmed said picking up a wiggling Harry.

“Can you grab the gift over there?” Lily said picking up Harry’s nappy bag.

Severus picked up the heavy yellow and blue wrapped box.

“What on earth did you buy him?  This is heavier than a full number two cauldron.”  Severus said shifting the box awkwardly in his arm.

“No idea, it was something I saw at the toy store.  It’s purely Muggle.  Even Petunia should approve of it.  The guy at the store said it’s good for kids from two to five.”  Lily said shifting Harry to her opposite hip.

Severus nodded agreement since he had nothing to say.

“It would probably be easiest if you Side-Along Apperated with me.”  Lily said stepping into the backyard.

Severus shifted the box to take hold of Lily’s pre-offered arm.  A moment later they stood in an alley between two streets.  “This way,” Lily instructed.

The three headed down the street.  Lily let Harry down to walk beside them.  By the halfway point Severus was wishing he had but a Feather-Weight Charm on the damn box.

“Is there a reason we could not have Apperated a bit closer?” Severus asked breathlessly.

Lily shook her head.  “I didn’t want to risk Petunia saying anything about us appearing too close to her house.”

“I take it then Petunia is just as scared of magic.” Severus said shifting the box yet again.

Lily looked over her shoulder to her friend.  “I don’t know if she’s scared, or just jealous.  Remember that letter we found.”

“Indeed,” Severus groaned.

“Either way though, she doesn’t want to acknowledge magic is real.  Her husband is the most Muggle of a person I’ve ever met.  You should probably avoid him if you can.”  Lily advised.

“I will do my best.”  Severus said shifting the box once more.

“It’s the next house,” Lily called.

“Thank the gods,” Severus exclaimed when they finally reached Petunia’s front steep.  He set the box down.

Lily helped Harry ring the bell.  The three stood there waiting for somebody to open the door.  It opened a full two minutes later.

“Lily,” Petunia greeted almost warmly.

“Hi Tuney,” Lily said picking up Harry.  “Harry say ‘Hi’ to your aunty.”  Lily encouraged.

Harry looked from his mother to his aunt and back.  He then hid his face in Lily’s chest.  Lily gave a small shrug.  “He’s shy this morning, I guess.”

“Very well.  My Dudders never does that.” Petunia said disapprovingly.

Lily gave another shrug.  Petunia turned to see who accompanied her younger sister.

“You,” Petunia spat at the sight of Severus.

“Hello Petunia,” Severus said calmly.  “It is good to see you after so many years.”

“What are you doing here?” Petunia demanded, ignoring all Severus’ attempts of civility.

“I was invited,” Severus replied firmly.  It was clear he was working hard to keep his temper.

“Like I would invite a freak like you.”  Petunia snapped.

“Tuney, stop.  I asked Sev to come with me.” Lily told her sister.

“None of your other freaky friends could come?” Petunia hissed.

Lily ignored the jib.  “Tuney, Severus grew up with Muggles.  He knows what he can and can’t say.  You know him.  It will be less difficult to explain then one of my other friends.”  Lily explained patiently.

Petunia stood there in thought.  She looked as if she were sucking on a lemon, but said, “Fine. You aren’t to talk about any of your ‘unnaturalness’.  Vernon and his sister Marge are in the garden with Dudders.  The rest of the guests will be arriving soon.  You boy,” Petunia said addressing Severus directly.  “I’m sure you are a no good lay about like your father.  Invent some sort of normal career.”

“Petunia!” Lily scolded.  “Sev is a teacher at Hogwarts.  He’s one of the most accomplished potion makers in Europe.”

Petunia continued to glare at the wizard.

“I will be perfectly Muggle,” Severus said contemptuously.

Lily for the first time questioned her choice of escort.  Finally Petunia stepped aside to let them through.  Severus picked up the heavy box once more.

“You can place that in the kitchen,” Petunia instructed.

Severus nodded.  The three followed Petunia through the house to the garden.  They were greeted by two very large, round adults with moustaches.  There was an almost perfectly round toddler screaming for sweets.

Severus looked from the boy to Lily.  The two shared a disapproving look.  Harry looked up at the screams only to tuck his face back in Lily’s chest.  It seemed this might not be the best introduction to his cousin.  The woman, Vernon’s sister, Severus assumed, ended the screaming by giving the toddler a biscuit.

“Vernon, Marge,” Petunia called.  “My sister and her boy are here.”

“Who’s the mangy layabout,” Vernon demanded.

“I am Severus Snape,” Severus said offering his hand to Vernon.  “I grew up not far from Lily and Petunia.”

Vernon didn’t take his hand, just grunted in acknowledgment.  Petunia disappeared to bring in more guests.  More adults accompanied their children.  Lily let Harry down to play with the other children.  The boy was anxious and did his best to keep hold of his mother.  

The birthday boy was busy taking any toy he could from his guests and demanding more sweets.  It seemed the adults around him complied with his every whim.  Seeing Dudley’s actions only made Harry hang on tighter to his mother.

While Dudley “played” with the other children, Severus was very glad he was not included in the adults’ conversations.  Severus may not spend much time in the Muggle world, but he knew enough that he did not agree with many of Thatcher’s positions.  If it were not for the state welfare and health care programs he would have had an even harder childhood.  It seemed everyone here was in strong support of Thatcher’s deregulation and decrease of state welfare policies.

“You okay?” Lily asked handing out a cup of lemonade.  Harry had finally let her go.  He was now playing with another little boy not far from Lily and Severus.

“Fine,” Severus said taking the cup.

“You don’t look like you’re enjoying yourself.”  Lily commented.

Severus quirked an eyebrow.  “You expected something else?”

Lily shrugged.  “I could hope.  These people are awful aren’t they?  Mum and Dad would be ashamed of Petunia’s behavior today.  Her son…. It’s like he’s never been told ‘no’.  He makes James seem like a child in a Dickens novel.”

Severus chuckled softly.  It wasn’t clear what started the comment, but Severus did hear, “No decency.”  “Dead less than a year,” from several of the adults nearby.  The most damning comment was from Petunia, “Always a slut.”

Severus dropped his drink.  He turned red faced to confront the crowd, but he felt somebody grabbed his arm.

“Don’t Sev,” Lily pleaded.

“She called you…” Severus protested.

“I know.  Hexing her will do you no good.  I don’t want to see you to go to Azkaban.” Lily begged.  “We’ll go.  Harry’s getting tired anyway.”

“Very well,” Severus agreed.

“I’ll go say goodbye.  Why don’t you go and get Harry and the bag?”  Lily suggested.

Severus nodded.  It wasn’t hard to drag Harry away.  The little boy came running up to him almost that minute.  Five minutes later they were back on the sidewalk of Private Drive.  Harry’s head resting on Severus’ shoulder.

“It could have been worse,” Lily said as they made their way back up the street.

“Yes, I could have engaged those dunderheads in the merits of the welfare state.”  Severus said laughing.  “If you wish to do this again, take Black.  The mutt is too thick to know the difference.”

“Sev,” Lily chided. “Anyway, Remus is the better choice.  Remember not wanting to Obliviate the Muggles.”

“Indeed.  But if any group of Muggles deserved a good hexing it’s this one.” Severus agreed as they reached their Apparition point.  

Severus held Harry as he sicked up post transport.  Apparently the combination of the sweets and magical transport did not mix well.  He found a Stomach Soothing Draught in the bottom of the nappy bag.  It took holding Harry’s nose to get him to swallow it, but he managed.  Severus vanished the mess as Lily joined them in the Potter’s back garden.

“I should have guessed that would happen.”  Lily said with a sigh.  “Just take him upstairs.”

Severus nodded readjusting the toddler against his shoulder.  He slipped the boy’s shoes off as they crossed the house.  Harry put up no fuss as Severus put him down in his crib.  He was asleep before Severus was out the door.

“Thanks for coming,” Lily said when Severus arrived back downstairs.

“You are welcome.  However, I would suggest warning your sister the next time you plan on bringing a guest with you to one of her social engagements. That would hopefully prevent any further misunderstandings.” Severus said lightly.

“No kidding,” Lily agreed.  “She hasn’t scared you off or anything has she?”

Severus snorted.  “If anything she has only reminded me how much I want to be there for you.  I dealt with years of Potter and Black doing far more than calling me a few names.  I can handle Petunia.  I just don’t want to see you tormented by the likes of her.”

“After your cousin’s party your aunt sent your mother a letter requesting that I not come with her to anymore gatherings. She also...” Severus began.

“Dad?” Harry interrupted.

“Yes, Harry?” Severus said looking back to his son.

“You’re talking about a lot about you and Mum, but what about me?  Did you like me at all before Mum married you?  I wasn’t just a tagalong?”  asked Harry uncertainly.

“You are not a tagalong.”  Severus told him.  “Earlier I said that I thought of you is nearly as the son of my best friend.  At the time, this was the only appropriate sort of way to regard you.  It didn’t help I was…uncomfortable being around a child so young. I spent more time with you over the months then I had with any other child in your age range.  I not only grew more comfortable in your presence, but grew to be rather fond of you.  You were slowly becoming more of a ‘person’.  You grew not only physically, but emotionally and mentally in those months.  You learned how to do things for yourself, new words (not all of them positive), and new skills.  It was all in leaps and bounds.  I wouldn’t see you for a day or two and I would come back and you had half a dozen new words it seemed.  It was fascinating.”

“Okay,” Harry agreed, unsatisfied.

“I make it sound like I was watching the results of an experimental potion don’t I?” Severus asked clearly seeing his son’s displeasure with his answer.

“Sort of,” Harry agreed.

Severus paused and thought. “Ah… Yes… That’s as good as a place to go next anyway. Let’s see… Have you ever heard the story of the first time I ever babysat you alone?”

“No,” Harry said excitedly. “When was that?”

“In the month between your and your cousin’s second birthdays, not long after the disaster that was Dudley’s party...” Severus began.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Severus?” Lily called into the empty sitting room of Severus’ sitting room at Spinner’s End.  She called again when know what no one replied.

There was a slight bump and a grumbled “damn” a moment later. “Lily?” Severus said crouching front of the fire. “Is there something I can help you with?”

“I hope so. Can you watch Harry for little while?” Lily asked anxiously.

“Now?”  Severus asked confused.

Lily nodded.  “I have to go to London to deal with some of James’ affairs.  Sirius is on duty at work.”

“Lupin?” Severus asked.

Lily shook her head. “I don’t know how long it will be and there’s a full moon.  I know it’s short noticed I wouldn’t normally ask, but I can’t find anyone else and you know how goblins can be about things.  I don’t know why they’re so set on meeting today.  They were very insistent in their summons.  Can you take him, please?” Lily begged.

“There’s really no one else?” Severus asked.

“It would be a huge help, Sev.” Lily confirmed.

“I’ll be over in 10 minutes,” Severus confirmed

“Thank you Severus,” Lily said disappearing from the fireplace.

Severus sighed, his plans were thrown out the window.  There was no way he could brew if he was minding a two-year-old.  Severus looked at his watch. It was just shy of 10 AM.  He would have to keep Harry busy for the next four hours.  He never spent that much time alone with the boy.  It would be a good thing Harry was so easily amused.

Severus grabbed a book, might as well as bringing something to read while Harry took his nap.  Severus set off across the river towards Lily’s. He arrived far sooner than he would have thought possible.  The walk was almost totally blanked out, too lost in his own thoughts to remember it.  It was a very good thing he wasn’t required to cross any busy roads. Severus knocked and was instantly greeted by a frustrated Lily.

“Were you waiting by the window?” Severus asked jokingly.

“Yes,” Lily confirmed.  “Harry’s had his breakfast.  Still need to give him lunch around noon, and nap at two. I hope to be back by the time he wakes up. I’ve really got to run.”  Lily told him, looking around for some undescribed item, finding a bag with several scrolls popping out.  “Harry,” she called slipping the bag onto her shoulder.

The little boy toddled into the room a cup of juice in hand.  Lily scooped him up and placed a kiss on his scar.  “Mummy has to go.  I’ll be back in a little bit.  Be good for Sev.  Okay sweetie?”

“Mummy,” Harry whined throwing his arms around her neck.

“I know sweetie.  It’s terrible.  I’ll be back soon.” She muttered into the boy’s hair.  “It’ll be fine.  Now Mummy has to go.”  Lily said kissing him once more before handing him over to Severus.

“I’ll see you later, Sev. Thank you,” Lily said to her friend.

“Go,” Severus urged shifting Harry so his head was tucked under his chin.  “We will survive.”

With a nod Lily was gone with a turn on her heel.  Harry looked up at the popping sound.

“Mummy,” Harry whined.

“She will be back later.” Severus promised.

Harry small frame was wracked with sobs.

“Hush.  Hush now,” Severus soothed running a hand up and down Harry’s back.  “There’s no need for all of that.  I know I’m not Lily, but I’m not so bad am I?”  His question was only met with more sobs.  

“Now, now, find some sort of distraction for you.” Severus said heading into the living room.  

He flicked on the television.  Harry still sobbed, but perked up slightly at the sound of the theme song playing.  By the time the show returned from commercial Harry’s tears had stopped.

Severus sat down on the sofa. Harry settled on his lap, eyes on the screen. Severus watched the show for a moment before determining it was more of the horrible drivel that was marketed to children.  Perhaps there was something with a bit more of an educational value, but Harry was entertained, so maybe they would just stay here.

Harry watch for about 10 minutes before crawling off Severus’s lap. Harry pulled out some blocks from the toy box in the corner. Bored with the program that currently held at least some of Harry’s attention Severus joined him on the floor. Severus began to construct a tower, which Harry promptly knocked down when turning back to the blocks. Harry giggled madly at Severus’ sullen frown.

“So that’s how it is going to be?” Severus commented. Harry only giggled in response.

Severus set to reconstructing his fallen tower, only to have it knocked down once more. Harry giggled the whole time. Severus started to build for a third time, but when Harry went to knock the tower down this time Severus grabbed him around the middle. Severus pulled the toddler into both his lap, tickling him mercilessly. Harry giggled madly and promptly knocked the tower over when Severus let him go.

“I give in. You win, Potter,” Severus said looking at the remains of his destroyed creation.

Harry crawled into his lap a moment later a book in hand.

Severus relieved to see it was not Harry the Happy Hippogriff.  Much to Severus’s surprise it was The Little Prince.

“I didn’t know you liked this one,” Severus said. Harry just looked expectantly down at the book. Severus began to read, “Once when I was six….” He was able to get through the first three chapters before Harry became restless. Severus was surprised at how long he holds the boy’s attention. Noting the time Severus considered their options for lunch. Severus was not in much of a mood to cook, nor was he sure he knew how to make anything Harry would eat.

“What would you think of an excursion out for fish and chips Harry?” Severus asked softly.

“'Hips,” Harry excitedly said clapping his hands.

“Chips it is,” Severus said lifting the boy off his lap. “Now, what do we need before we go?”

Severus pulled out his coin purse, as he expected there was a small stash of Muggle bills. 20£ would be more than enough to cover the cost of lunch. Looking down he noticed Harry’s feet were bare. “Shoes would probably be a good place to start.”

Picking Harry up though Severus noticed a definite witness to Harry’s nappy. “I suppose that would be the first place to start.” Severus said Harry back down. “We need to change your nappy.”

Harry helpfully laid down. Severus took the boy’s pants down to remove the wet nappy he was glad to find that it was only pee.  Vanishing soiled diaper and Summoned a new one. Severus struggled with the tabs, but eventually got them sorted out. He righted Harry’s clothes.  “Go get your shoes.” Severus requested before setting to wash his hands.

Harry returned a moment later, red sneakers in hand. Harry plopped down as Severus set to undoing the knot of the laces.

“Why they have lace ups for a child your age I don’t know.” Severus crouched down to put on the first shoe, but Harry ejected, “Socks.”

Severus looked down boy’s bare feet.  “Socks, of course you need socks,” Severus grumbled.

He quickly Summoned a pair of neon green socks. He didn’t care they did not match Harry’s purple T-shirt or khaki shorts. Once the socks were on, getting a trainers on was another was another hassle. Harry didn’t simply step down to get his foot the rest of the way into the shoe. Severus had forced them down. Doing the laces was simple enough. Finally, Harry seemed to be sorted out.

Severus turned off the television and grabbed the nappy bag he saw Lily take with them the few times Harry had accompanied them on their errands. But before they made it out the front door he had to stop to retie Harry shoes.  This time Severus placed a charm on the laces so they would remain tied until the spell was ended.  As soon as they were out the door, Harry took off running down the walk.

“Harry,” Severus called.

Harry stopped long enough for Severus to catch up before taking off once more. Severus sighed picking up his pace slightly. He was glad Harry had stopped when he got to the corner. “You need to stay with me.” Severus scolded mildly. The rest of the walk to the shop Severus carried Harry since the boy had tried to take off again.

The walk to the shop was fairly pleasant.  The line at the chip shop was less so. Harry tried to get down, but Severus was scared to lose the boy in the crowd. He had to let Harry down to pick up their order.

Severus found a table near the back of the shop to sit. Severus hadn’t even gotten halfway through his lunch before Harry was pestering him. Severus sorted through the nappy bag to find something to keep Harry entertained. That worked for maybe five minutes. Severus sighed, crumbling the last bit of paper over the remains of his lunch. He threw the garbage away, keeping an eye on Harry whole time. Once everything was cleared away Severus collected Harry again. Since they had a while before Harry would nap Severus decided to go to the park.

Harry gladly set off towards equipment. Severus watched him.

“Your son is very cute,” a blonde woman said sitting down next to Severus.

“He’s not mine.  I’m watching him for a friend.” Severus said.

“Oh,” the woman said. “I’m Jen.”

“Severus,” Severus greeted.

“Do you come here often,” Jen asked.

“No. Not really,” Severus said watching Harry stand frozen at the top of the slide.

“Are you a native of Cokeworth?” Jen asked.

“From your question you obviously aren’t.” Severus said.

“I’m from London originally. Moved up. With my-with Geoff’s father. It’s cheaper than living here than Manchester proper. So are you the village…”

“My family has an-unfortunate reputation.”

“Really? You seem rather normal.” Jen said looking him over once more.

“Joys of growing up in a small village, everyone knows everybody, and everybody knows each other’s business.” Severus grumbled.

“So,” Jen said trying to change topic. “What do you do?”

“I’m a teacher at a boarding school in Scotland. And you?” Severus asked not out of interest, but trying to adhere to social graces.

“Look after Geoff. Although, I’ll need to look for a job soon. Child support payments aren’t enough.” Jen supplied.

“Geoff’s father passed?” Severus asked nervously.

“Divorced.” Jen said.

“I see. Excuse me,” Severus said rising from the bench. He crossed the lawn stand at the foot of the slide. “Are you coming down Potter?” Severus called.

Harry turned to look at him, clearly terrified.

“Do you want me to catch you?” Severus asked.

Harry shook his head.

“Harry, you need to either come down the slide or move out of the way. Other people wish to use the slide.” Severus chided.

Harry looked back to the other children standing behind him then to Severus, before stepping aside. Children quickly took their own turns shooting past Severus. Harry returned to the mouth of the slide, looking back to Severus. He still did not move.

Losing his patience Severus ordered Harry, “Stay where you are.”

Severus climbed a short ladder to the top. He never felt so oversized. Carefully, Severus sat down at the top of the slide. His legs seemed to measure almost halfway down the length. He carefully pulled Harry into his lap before pushing off. Harry squealed with delight all away down.

“Was that so bad?” Severus asked Harry.

“'Gain,” Harry chirped.

Severus shook his head. “Not me. You do it. Prove your Gryffindor bravery.”

Harry pouted a moment before taking back off to the ladder. He stood a moment at the top, unsure before sitting down and resolutely pushing off.

“There you go, you brave boy.” Severus said scooping up the excited Harry. “For that I think you deserve a treat.”

Severus walked them over to the edge of the park where a man was selling ice cream out of a van. He bought Harry something chocolate in itself a lemon ice pop. By the time he was finish there was more ice cream on Harry’s face and clothes than in the boy, of that Severus was certain.

“Time to go,” Severus said casting a surreptitious Cleaning Charm on Harry’s face and hands. “You are a mess child.”

Severus picked Harry up not wanting to be slowed by the boy short legs. Once they were out of view of any Muggles Severus Apparated them back to Lily’s. Severus set Harry on the sofa. He ended the charm on the laces before undoing them.

Harry let out a yawn. “You need to go to bed, sir.” Severus commented.

“No,” Harry whined.

“Yes,” Severus said scooping him up and heading upstairs.

“No,” Harry whined again.

“Yes,” Severus said again. “You are taking a nap.”

“No,” Harry repeated.

Severus ignored him and placed him in the crib. “You don’t have to sleep, but you are staying here until I or your mother come to get you.”

“No,” Harry protested once more.

“Yes, good night Mr. Potter.” Severus said leaving the door open just a crack behind him.

Once downstairs Severus could hear Harry’s cries through the Muggle baby monitor. He knew from Lily’s rules he was supposed to ignore them. Harry would eventually fall asleep. She was right of course. Not 10 minutes later the slow steady sound of Harry’s breathing was all that could be heard. Lily arrived home about 30 minutes later.

“How did it go?” She asked as soon as she set down her bag.

“It’s fine. We had fish and chips for lunch. Harry had a little difficulty with the slide, but with the right encouragement was able to get down. Also, I believe a woman tried to chat me up at the park. All in all, a rather uneventful day.” Severus supplied. “What did the goblins want?”

“Tried to chat you up? Goblins? The goblins wanted to discuss Harry’s inheritance. Never mind that. Someone tried to chat you up?” Lily asked dumbfounded.

“Indeed.” Severus confirmed. “I… I brushed her off. If there is anybody I wish to court, it’s you.”

“Oh Sev.” She gave him a quick hug and kiss on the cheek.

Severus left not long after to salvage what he could of the day. Although, he spent the majority of his day in a way far different from his original plan, he could not say it was not productive, nor unpleasant. He gained a new level of respect for what it took to be a single parent of a small child. He would also have fond memories of the day spent with Harry.

Severus shifted in his seat.  This tale was taking far longer than he would have originally expected.  Harry seemed interested though, so why stop?  Besides, he hadn’t even gotten to how he and Lily started dating.

“One of the benefits of being a professor is the summer holidays.  I had nothing obligatory for three months.  I chose to spend much of my free time with you and your mother.  That was how I got pulled into going to your cousin’s birthday.” Severus explained.

“Your godfather was busy much of the time doing things for the Auror’s Office.  I was grateful for this.  It meant I did not have to constantly defend myself.  In a way, I also was thankful for Lupin’s unemployment.  I know that is a… horrible thing to say.”  Severus said at Harry’s judgmental look.  “Remus’ misfortune meant he was often free to babysit.  He was also one of the few people your mother trusted with your care.”

“I don’t remember exactly how the topic came up, but some point early in the summer your mother inquired if I had given anymore thought about learning to drive.  I had not.  My family had never owned a car and we had managed just fine.  Spending more time with Lily and you made me see the advantages of at least knowing how to operate a car, even if I did not own one myself.  I told Lily this, she made it her mission teach me.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Is this truly necessary?” Severus asked as he and Lily stood on opposite sides of her ‘well loved’ Cooper Mini.

“Yes,” Lily insisted climbing in.

Severus sighed resigned to his fate and climbed in, or at least tried to.  The seat was pulled so far forward his knee hit the steering wheel before he was halfway in.

“Bugger,” he growled.

“Opps,” Lily said diving over the space between seats.  She grabbed the bar to push the seat back.  “Try it again,” she called sitting back up.

Severus climbed in, this time devoid of any further pain.

“Welcome to your first driving lesson.  We’re going to work on getting used to the car today.  First thing you need to do is adjust your seat and mirrors.  You need to sit far enough back so your legs aren’t cramped under the wheel, but not so far back it’s a stretch to floor the pedals.”  Lily instructed.

Severus pushed the chair as far back as it could go before pulling it forward again.  He spent several moments getting into comfortable spot.

“If you need to there is a knob on the side of the seat to raise and lower it.”  Lily told him.

Severus found the knob and turned it down a few times.  The wheel was now much more comfortably off his lap.

“Now mirrors,” Lily said happily.  “You need to see out of the back.”

Severus adjusted it accordingly.

“The side mirrors are a bit trickier.  You should be able to see a small bit of the side of the car and the lane beside you.  You’ll need to be about to see this with only a brief glance to the mirrors.”  Lily told him.

Severus adjusted the mirrors with Lily’s aid.

“Put your feet near the pedals.  You’re only going to use your right to drive.”  Lily told him.

This part was taking far longer than Severus expected.  He thought he’d be out on the road by now.

“The pedal on the right is the petrol, the left the break.”  Lily explained.  Pointing at the wheel, “You see the lever here.”

Severus nodded dutifully.  

“That’s for your turn lights.  When preparing to go right push it down, when going left, push it up. Next is the gear box.  ‘D’ is for drive. ‘R” is for reverse.  The lower gears we don’t have to worry about right now.”  Lily explained, she then pulled out a set of keys.  He would get to drive.  Finally!  Lily placed them in the ignition.

“Turn the key one place,” Lily instructed.

Severus did as he was told.  Nothing remarkable happened.

“Turn it to the second one,” Lily told him.

This time the radio came to life.  “This is just the battery.  Now turn to the third place to start the engine.  There is a thing by your knee.  It’s the emergency brake.  Pull it toward you.”

Severus gladly did as he was told.  

“Good,” Lily said when the car shifted.

“Now put your foot on the break and put the car in reverse.”

Severus complied instantly.

“Look over your shoulder and watch for other cars or kids coming.”  Lily instructed.

Severus turned his head to follow her instructions, but couldn’t help asking, “Why not use the mirror?”

Lily shrugged.  “That’s what they tell you to do.  Look over your shoulder I mean.  You get a better view or something.”

Severus was halfway out of the drive when Lily spoke next.

“Turn the wheel to the right,” she said.

Severus did as he was told, the car continued to roll back, but slightly to the left.

“Turn it harder,” Lily instructed.

Severus did so.  They were out on the street, mostly facing straight.

“Okay, put it in ‘Drive’ now and press down lightly on the petrol.”

Severus looked down to the shifter and complied.  The car lurched forward.  The wizard let up on the gas and the car rocked back slightly.

“You only need to press lightly on the petrol, the speed limit is 20 mph. in the neighborhood.” Lily told him.

Severus nodded reapplied his foot to the gas pedal.  The car sprang forward once more, but much more evenly.

“Lightly push down on the breaks,” Lily instructed as they approached the ‘Stop’ sign.

Severus applied the brakes, but too heavily, and they both jolted forward in their seats.  The seat belts tightened uncomfortably across their chests.

“That was good,” Lily said tugging unsuccessfully at the constraining belt.

“Was it?” Severus asked rubbing slightly at where the belt crossed him.

Lily let out a small laugh.  “Yeah, first time I did that I didn’t stop until we were halfway through the intersection.  Although, it was a bit smoother of a stop.”

Severus snorted with amusement.  “Yes, well we all know you’ve always had trouble putting on the breaks.”

Lily glared half-heartedly.  “Take the next right.”

Severus turned the wheel as directed.

“Slow down,” Lily cried, but it was too late.  There was the solid impact of hitting the post box.

Severus let out a low moan.  “Lily! Are you alright?”  He demanded instantly.

Lily nodded.  “I’m fine.  Not so sure about the car.”  Lily undid her belt and got out to inspect the damage.

Severus sat in the car embarrassed.  Lily returned a moment later.

“How bad is it?”  Severus asked softly.

Lily shrugged.  “Not too bad.  You dented the bumper, took some paint off the post box.”

Severus hummed in acknowledgement.

“Sev,” Lily called him back for she knew he was lost in his own thoughts.  “Sev, the damage isn’t too bad.  I’ll do a quick Repairo when we get home and all will be forgotten.  Now you know you need to slow down when you take corners.”

Severus nodded.

“You want to go back?” Lily asked her friend.

“Not yet,” Severus said finally sounding as if her were all there once more.

“Okay, you need to back up to get us off the curb.” Lily told him.

Severus looked down to the gearbox once more and put the engine in reverse.

“Put on your indicator,” Lily told him.

Severus frowned slightly, but did as he was told.  When they were back on the street once more Lily told him to go to the next left turn.  This went much smoother.  They continued to tour the neighborhood for the better part of the next hour.  Lily noticed that Severus either took his corners too close or not close enough depending on the side.  Although, this was improving every lap around the neighborhood.  They would work on getting to the streets soon, but first she wanted him a bit more comfortable with stopping.  These were still rather unpleasant, but were always by the sign.  Still she was sure with another hour or so that would be sorted.

“Let’s go home, Sev.” Lily said as they rounded the corner onto her street once more.

Severus nodded.  He steered the car into her driveway with little difficulty, though perhaps a bit fast.  Lupin stood in the doorway, Harry balanced on his hip to greet them.

“How did it go?” Lupin asked cheerily.

“Ouch,” Harry said pointing to the spot on the bumper.  

“I know.  Severus had a bit of an accident.  It’ll be alright in just a minute.”  Lily reassured Harry standing at the front of the car her wand pointed at the dented bumper.

“That good huh?”  Remus asked spotting the ding.

“Sev had a minor disagreement with a post box.” Lily explained.  “But we sorted that out.  But other than that, it was fine.  Nothing out of the ordinary for a new driver.”  Lily said putting her wand away once more.

Severus had said nothing so far, just stood by slightly uncomfortably.

Harry tugged on Severus pants leg.  The older wizard scooped the toddler up, “S’okay Sev’us,” Harry reassured throwing his arms around Severus’ neck.

“Really Sev,” Lily said spotting her friend’s discomfort.  “You’ll do better next time.  Now come on.  Let’s have some lunch.”

“There’s soup on the stove,” Remus called after Lily.

Severus hesitated a moment, but moved to follow.

“Did Lily tell you about James’ one and only driving lesson?” Lupin asked when Severus reached him.

Severus shook his head.

“It was horrible.  He smashed into a car, nearly took the bumper clean off.”  Remus explained, his voice light.  Severus could tell Lupin was trying to hold back his laughter.  Severus failed to see the humor, until Lupin continued.  “Here’s the thing.  The car was parked.”

“Lily tells me there is a learning curve.”  Severus said mildly, though, he did feel a bit better.  Trust the werewolf to do what Lily had failed to do for the last hour.  There were worst first lessons.

“Did Potter fail to try again?”  Severus asked curiously.  He wouldn’t have been surprised after such a failure the Pure Blood wizard decided a task such as driving was beneath him.

Remus shook his head.  “Lily refused to take him back out.  Seems he wasn’t sorry enough about banging up her car.  I believe he said, ‘It’s not like I set a broom’s tail on fire.’  Lily refused to teach him if he wasn’t going to take it seriously.”

Severus stood there shocked.  He would never have belittled Lily’s feelings even if it was over something as silly as her car.

“Yeah, he was in trouble for it for a while.  He decided it was just easier to Apparate anyway.”  Remus explained.  “Personally, I like a good drive through the country to clear the mind.  You don’t get that popping from one place to another.”

“Is that not what brooms were invented for?” Severus asked mildly.

“But you have to be high up for that.  Also requires a broom.”  Remus replied.

Confused, Severus said, “And a drive requires a car.”

“I have one of them.  At least for the moment.  It was my dad’s.  It’s a bit bigger then Lily’s.  It’s not working right now though.  It needs a new clutch.”  Remus told him.

“Clutch?  What is a clutch?”  Severus asked.

“Don’t worry.  You didn’t forget something from your lesson.  Lily’s car doesn’t have one.  It’s an automatic, mine is manual.”  Remus explained.

“I see,” Severus said clearly still lost.

“Like I said, don’t worry about it.  Just focus on learning to use Lily’s car and you’ll be fine.”  Remus soothed.

Severus nodded.

“You lot coming?” Lily called from the door.

“We are,” Severus called back instantly.  Turning back to the werewolf he said, “Thank you, Lupin.  This has been most illuminating.”

“It was no trouble Severus.  If you ever need any help don’t be afraid to ask.  I owe you more than I could ever hope to repay.”

“It’s really no trouble,” Severus dismissed.

The two entered the house talking quietly of Lupin’s own early driving lessons with his father.  Lily watched them almost certain they had entered something approximating friendship.

“My lessons continued two to three times a week.  Your mother and I would go out driving for an hour or two each time.  Normally you were down for your nap.  Lupin was at the house in case anything happened.  We went from driving around the neighborhood to most of our way through town, even a bit of time on the motorways.  Those were never my favorite.  We never had a destination in mind, just to spend time with me behind the wheel.  We practiced most of the summer.  I could probably have taken the test earlier, but I wanted to be more confident before I did.  In truth, I enjoyed the time alone with your mother free of competition for her attentions.”  Severus explained.

“In the car, I was the only one there.  We spent many hours talking about everything and nothing.  It was better than the letters I got at Hogwarts because she was right there.  We often talked about how we thought our lives would have gone very differently.  Lily never thought she would be a widow before she was 25, let alone 23.  I never saw myself as a teacher.  Many things were different than we expected when we left Hogwarts.”  Severus said thoughtfully.

“Is that a good thing?” Harry asked.

“In some ways,” Severus said pensively. “If things had gone differently you would have been raised by James and your mother.  You and I most likely wouldn’t have met until you came to Hogwarts.  I don’t know how I would have treated you then.”

“Why would you treated me different if James lived?”  Harry asked confused.

Severus paused.  This could be dangerous ground.  “You have no doubt been told stories about my relationship with James while we were at school.”  Harry nodded.

“I have no doubt that I would have inflicted my resentment of James on you in that case.  I would have been a very different person.  I was a very different person when your mother was out of my life.  I was sad and mean.  I hated the world and wanted everybody to be as miserable as I was.”  Severus explained.

“So if James didn’t die you’d still be that person?” Harry asked sadly.

“Most likely,” Severus confirmed.

“If things went differently Mum and me could have died too.” Harry said after a moment.

“Indeed,” Severus agreed.

“Dad?” Harry asked nervously.

“What is it Harry?” Severus replied slightly confused by the boy’s sudden unease.

“If Mum and James had both died where would I have gone?”  Harry asked.

“To your godfather.  You know that.  If anything were to happen to your mother and I now that is where you would go.  Why do you ask?”  Severus inquired.

“Well, you said things would have been different.  I just wondered if that would have changed too.”  Harry explained.

“I see.  Where else might you have gone in this hypothetical past?”  Severus asked.

Harry shrugged.  “I don’t know…Aunt Tuney’s.”

Severus pursed his lips.  “Over my dead body, you would have.  I can’t imagine what sort of abominable kind of treatment she would have inflicted on you if unchecked.”

Harry took in his father’s obvious displeasure at the mention of his aunt and had to ask, “If you don’t like Aunt Tuney so much how come you always come with us to Dud’s birthday and Christmas?”

“I would not leave my family undefended from her vicious barbs.  Now we digress.  I believe I was telling you of my driving lessons.”  Severus said doing his best to reign in his frustration.

“Yeah,” Harry confirmed.

“Now, your mother and I spent much of the summer practicing driving.  I am sure you have heard the tale of my first driving exam already.” Severus paused.

“How you failed the first time ‘cause you were too careful going through a stop light,” Harry agreed.

“Bloody wolf,” Severus grumbled.  “Yes, so I suppose there is little need to rehash that little tidbit of my life.  Along with talking about all manner of things of no consequence you mother and I did talk about things of import to her.  It was on one of our drives she requested I attend your birthday party.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Sev,” Lily asked from her place in the front passenger seat.

“Yes,” Severus replied, taking the next right toward the market.  His practice time being used practically, for once.  Lily was even confident enough in his driving abilities to bring Harry with them.

“I haven’t even asked a question yet,” Lily objected.

Severus frowned at her joke.  “What do you desire Lily?  You know there is very little I can refuse you.”

Lily bit her lip.  “I know.  This just might be one of them.”

Severus pulled into a parking spot near the store.  He gave his friend a piercing look.  “I very much doubt it.”

Lily looked no more reassured.

“What is it?” Severus demanded softly.

“You know Harry’s birthday is coming up in a couple of weeks.” Lily said as they climbed out.  

Severus nodded.  In truth he had forgotten.  How he could forget the boy’s birthday when it was such an important part of the prophesy that damned them both was beyond Severus.

“I was hoping you would come to Harry’s birthday party.” Lily said hopefully pulling the mentioned child from his seat.  

“Is that the best idea?”  Severus asked uncertainly.  He grabbed a shopping trolley.

Lily slipped Harry into the seat.  “Why wouldn’t it be?” Lily as they made their way into the store.

“Why wouldn’t it be?  Let us look at the last time I attended a child’s party.  It was only a month ago.  I nearly cursed half a dozen Muggles.”  Severus reminded her.

“That was Tuney, Sev.  She won’t he there this time.” Lily told him.

“Oh, then who will be?  Lupin? Black?  Yes, I’m sure they’ll be so much more welcoming to my presence than Petunia.”  Severus mocked.

“You and Remus are friends now,” Lily corrected sadly.  She didn’t think this was going to be such an ordeal.  

“We tolerate one another,” Severus conceded.  “That is outside of Black’s company.  What the wolf does when… Black is there I do not know.”

“Stop Severus,” Lily snapped.  “Stop talking about Remus like that.  You two are friends.  Why you can’t admit that I don’t know.  Yes, Sirius doesn’t like you much.”

Severus scoffed. “Understatement of the century if ever I heard one.”

Lily’s face darkened further in annoyance.  “Things between you are never going to get better if you won’t let go of school boy grudges.”

“It’s not…”Severus began.

“It’s not you?  Really?  Then who’s the one accusing Remus of being a blind follower?  Do you know how much crap Sirius has given him for taking your healing potions?  Sirius would rather see his best friend suffer than trust you.  If you’re going to be an ass be one about Sirius, but leave your friend Remus out of it.”  Lily snapped before storming down the small store’s main aisle.

Severus stood there dumbfounded.  He looked at the boy in the trolley.  “I believe I made a mistake with your mother, Mr. Potter.”  

“Uh oh,” Harry said with cheery grin.  

“Uh oh indeed,” agreed Severus.  The man sighed.  He had never expected Lupin would suffer because of the aid he provided.  Black’s attitude toward him was wholly expected, but still Severus didn’t think Black would try and convince his friend it was better to suffer than take aid, especially when it was freely given.  Severus wondered what Black’s motive was, though he had a leading hypothesis.  Severus dismissed the concern and caught up with Lily in front of a display of canned beans.

“Lily, I apologize for my…attitude toward your request.  You are correct, my attitude was… immature.  There are better ways to express my discomfort with a situation.  I do not want to be the source of yet another disruption at your family celebrations.  I have caused some sort of disturbance at Christmas, your birthday, and at Petunia’s.  Why would you want to invite more trouble?” Severus asked softly.

Lily could feel his apology was sincere.  There was a note of self-doubt in his question that took her off-guard.  Severus was one of the most self-assured people she’d ever known.  He didn't care what other people said about his House yet he was always seeking teacher’s approval.  

Lily stopped.  It was all a front.  All that presumed self-confidence was covering for self-doubt.  Severus’ desire to join the Death Eaters, the constant attacks on his presence.  No wonder he didn’t want to come.

“Oh Sev,” Lily said launching herself onto him and pulling him into a tight embrace.

“Lily,” Severus said uncertainly after a moment.  Not that he minded the attention, but it would be nice to know what he had done to earn it.

“Sev,” Lily said again her voice full of tears.

“That is my name.” Severus joked.

Lily chuckled.  “I want you there because you’re my friend.  I don’t care what anybody says.  You are my friend and that’s all that matters to me.  If somebody has anything to say about your company, let them talk to me.”

“I can defend myself,” Severus protested.

“You shouldn’t have to Sev,” Lily protested.  “If Sirius wants to say something about it he’ll find himself on his way out.  I don’t need him deciding who I can and cannot be friends with.”

Severus gave his friend an appraising look.  “Very well.  I believe we should more on, lest we be accused of loitering.”

“Biscuits,” Harry reminded them helpfully.

Lily chuckled again.  Her smaller hand coming to lay over top of Severus’ as they guided the trolley down the aisle.  Her fingers interlocked with his somewhere along the way.  It was one of the most natural feelings in the world in Severus’ opinion.  The three made their way around the store this way.  

Harry did his best to make the routine trip more aggravating than Severus ever thought possibly.  The boy would occasionally try grab random items off the shelves.  With a practiced hand Lily returned almost all to their rightful places.  At checkout they tried to distract Harry by asking him to hold Lily’s bag with little success.  When that failed Severus tried to have him help unload the cart to be rung up.  That worked marginally better, until Harry tried to climb the side of the cart.  It was only the quick eye of person behind them in the queue that kept the trolley on all four wheels.

They headed back to Lily’s 20 minutes later in agreement that Severus attended, but would arrive late so Lily could speak with the other guests.  This way he could attend without Lily seeing her best friend attacked when she asked him to be there.  If anybody didn’t want to see him, they could leave after the warning.  Lily felt horrible that Severus felt that such measures needed to be taken, but if it would prevent a fight and put Severus’ mind at ease it would be worth it.

By the time Severus arrived at the party Lily was very glad they’d made their agreement.  She’d already asked two people to leave.  Or they chose to leave when Lily gave them the choice of shutting up or leaving.  Lily never realized just how unpopular Severus was with her friends.  Then again, his name had been in the papers the last several days in connection with the last round of Death Eater trials.  Even so, she would have thought the fact not only she, but Dumbledore vouched for Severus would be enough.  Apparently not, at least for some.  It saddened Lily, but if they couldn’t be civil about or to her best friend did she really need those people in her life?

“Hi,” Lily greeted Severus at the front door.

“I take it is safe for me to enter.”  Severus said by way of greeting.

“Get in here,” Lily said tugging the wizard by the wrist.

Severus followed her in, a large purple wrapped box tucked under his arm.

“Come on, everybody is in the garden.”  Lily said heading down the hall.

Severus followed somewhat reluctantly.  “Lily?” he asked.

Lily stopped hearing the unease in his voice.  “It’s fine, Sev.  Tuney isn’t here.  Nobody will say anything to you.  I promise.  I talked to Sirius, three times about it.  He knows not to say anything to you.  Everything will be fine.”

Severus looked only marginally reassured.  “Where do I put this?”  He asked awkwardly gesturing to the box.

“There’s a table outside.  You didn’t have to get Harry anything, you know.  You spoil him already.  You’ve gotten him more books and things than Sirius.”  Lily told him as they exited into the kitchen.

“I find that hard to believe,” Severus said disbelievingly.

“Okay, maybe not that many, but still so many gifts.  I’m scared he’ll turn into a spoiled brat.  I don’t want him to be like Petunia’s son.” Lily told him honestly.

“You would never let that happen.  You give Harry limits.  From the little I saw of Petunia’s horror he believes he is the center of the universe.”

“He’s two, Sev.  They all think they’re the center of the universe,” Lily countered.  

“That may be, but don’t see her doing anything to stop it even past when that is socially acceptable.  I very much doubt he’s ever been told “no” in his short existence.  He is the one runs that home, not his parents.  They let him, willingly.  You do no such thing with Harry.  As long as you continue to do what you are doing you’ll be fine.” Severus confided.

“Keep doing what?” Remus as the two entered the garden.  “Hello, Severus.”

“Lupin,” Severus returned.  “Lily was voicing her concern Harry will be a spoiled brat.”

Remus shook his head.  “As long as you keep Sirius in check you’ll be fine.  I had to convince him that getting Harry a  racing broom wasn’t the best idea.  Nor was the set of ‘living miniature dragons’.  He doesn’t get why they weren’t appropriate for a child Harry’s age…or he doesn’t care…I’m not sure.”

Severus hummed in agreement.  “Yes, well the shop attendant told me my gift was also too advance for a child Harry’s age, but she was a dunderhead.”

“Sev,” Lily scolded.  “They’re trained to find things that are appropriate for kids of what age you told them.”

“I never said I wanted something for a child of Harry’s age.  I asked for something specific.  I knew very well he would grow into it.”  Severus defended.

“Something for him to grow into?  You didn’t get him a toy cauldron did you?”  Remus asked thoughtfully.

“What of it?”  Severus demanded.

Remus put up his hands up.  “Nothing.  Shouldn’t have expected less from a Potions Master.”

Lily laughed at the two of them.  It was nice to see how comfortable they had gotten around each other.

“That was very considerate of you.”  Lily said.

“It was entirely for my own benefit.”  Severus corrected.  “If I have the misfortune to still be teaching when Harry attends Hogwarts I want to ensure I have at least one student I don’t have to worry about blowing the castle to bits.”

Lily and Remus both laughed at this.

“You would think that far ahead.  Let’s go get something to drink.  Let Lily get back to the rest of her guests.”  Remus said to Severus.

Severus nodded following the werewolf away from the gift table to the drinks.

“What’s your pleasure?”  Remus asked.

“There’s alcohol?” Severus asked surveying the table.

Remus shrugged.  “Yeah, Sirius’ idea, I think.  How else are adults supposed to enjoy a kids’ party?”

Several of the children were chasing each other around a ball pit.  Harry and another boy sat in the pit doing their level best to empty it of balls it seemed.  However, the balls were charmed and returned to the pit upon hitting the ground.  Several other children were climbing on soft geometric shapes.  All the play area was contained in a charmed box.

Remus followed Severus’ gaze.  “Yeah, that was a nifty find.  There are a bunch of safety charms on it.  The kids can’t really get hurt.  We need to check on them every once and a while, or when somebody is crying.”

Severus nodded unsure what to say.  “I will have the punch.”

“Good choice,” Remus said getting him a cup.

From the other side of the garden Sirius watched Snape’s movements from the time he entered the yard.  The Auror bristled at the exchange between Snape and Lily.  It was too close, to intimate.  Snape was trying to make a move on Lily.  Sirius was certain of it.  The bastard.  Her husband hadn’t been dead a year.  She was still in the mourning period.  Did Snape have no sense of decency?

“Sirius,” Remus greeted.  He had left Severus to talk with a couple of wizards about some potions related matter or other.  It was well beyond his own understanding Remus knew.

“Remus,” Sirius greeted coolly.  His eyes still on Snape.  “What were you talking to the greasy git about?”

“Severus?” Remus asked.  “Oh, nothing much.  Lily said she was worried Harry will be a brat.  We told her she’s doing a fine job.  That’s all.”

Sirius made a sound of acknowledgement.  As he did Lily rejoined Severus and his conversation.

“Look at him!” Sirius growled.

Remus followed his friend’s line of sight.  “What’s he doing?”

“He’s got his hands all over her.”  Sirius hissed.

Severus gestured toward his two original companions.  With one hand held his cup of punch, with the other he gestured about something as if to make a point.  Lily stood beside him, leaning slightly toward Severus.

“James hasn’t been gone a year and already that slimy git is trying to get into Lily’s bed.  He’s got no sense of decency.  Lily is officially mourning for a year.  A YEAR!  It’s nine months and he’s making a move.” Sirius growled.

Remus looked back to his friend.

“Sirius, he’s not doing anything,” Remus pointed out.

“What’s that?” Sirius nearly shouted.

Lily had taken Severus free hand and intertwined their fingers.  Remus groaned slightly.  It there was a less opportune moment for this to happen Remus couldn’t think of it.

“They’re holding hands, Sirius.  It’s not like he’d snogging her senseless in the middle of Diagon Alley.  Besides, she took his hand.”  Remus told his friend.

Sirius was undeterred.  “Oi,” Sirius yelled marching across the small garden.

Severus turned to see the irritated visage of Black only a foot or so away from his own.

“What is it Black? Do you have an opinion on what is the best kind of cauldron to use in making a systemic nerve potion?”  Severus asked calmly.

“No,” Sirius snapped.

“Sirius,” Remus said softly.  He gently placed a restraining hand on his friend’s shoulder.  Sirius shrugged him off.

“Get your hands off Lily,” Sirius ordered.

Severus looked down at he and Lily’s interlocked fingers.  “And if I don’t?”

“Sirius,” Lily said softly.

“Then I’ll make you.”  Sirius snapped.

“You’re drunk Black.  Go home now and I’ll forget this embarrassing display.”  Severus said turning away from Black.

“Look at me when I’m talking to you,” Sirius barked.  He put a hand on Severus’ shoulder.

“Sirius! STOP THIS!” Lily commanded.

Severus stopped just short of punching Sirius in the nose.

“Sirius.  I asked Severus to come to this party.  I want him here.” Lily said very slowly and clearly.  She carefully stepped between the two wizards.  Severus had stepped back to allow her between them.

“He’s trying to…He wants… He’s gonna try and…” Sirius rambled.

“What on Earth are you on about?” Severus snapped.

“Shag.  You want to shag Lily.  James hasn’t been gone a year and you’re already putting the moves on Lily.

Everybody in the garden now had eyes on the foursome.  Even the children, although they had no idea what was going on.  Lily was fairly certain she had never been more humiliated in her life.  At least one of her guests Dis-Apperated.

“What my intentions towards Lily are none of your concern, Black.  Even if I did desire to court Lily I would wait the minimum of one year, as is custom.  Now, desist with your display before you do something you truly regret.” Severus said coolly.

“But,” Sirius said gesturing to the linked hands.

“I took his hand, Sirius.  Severus has been nothing but an upstanding gentleman,” Lily soothed.

“James wouldn’t,” Sirius almost sobbed.

“James isn’t here.”  Lily said more firmly.  “Nobody knows that more than me.  I miss him with every part of my being, but I’m alive, Sirius.  I have to move on.  How I do it, when I do, and with whom is my business.  If you can’t accept that maybe you should stay away for a while.”

“You’re going to?”  Sirius asked Severus, almost begging.

“Perhaps, but not before the year has passed.  No matter what Potter might have done in his youth his sacrifice deserves to be respected.  If it were not for his noble actions I would have never had had such a chance.  Fear not Black.  I will treat Lily with the utmost respect.” Severus promised.

“You’d better,” Sirius warned.

“You know Black,” Severus said after a moment, “If I didn’t know better, I would say you were jealous.”

There was almost a minute of uncomfortable silence before Sirius let out a bark of laughter.  “And have to try and fill James shoes?  Good luck!”

The tension slowly eased in the group.  The other guests had watched the exchange in a mixture of fascination and horror.  As things leveled out many left questioning where exactly and Lily and Severus’ relationship was headed.  This would soon become one of the favorite topics of the wizarding gossip mills.

“When term started again, I had far less time to spend with you and your mother. I had duties to perform as professor, such as overseeing any number of detentions. I was also required to brew potions for Madame Pomfrey, aid in the supervision of Quidditch matches, and chaperone Hogsmeade visits. As you know, this takes a great deal of time. That year, Professor Dumbledore decided I should also become acquainted with the duties of the Head of House. All of the time spent with these duties meant I only had one or two, truly free, days of months. These were always spent with you and your mother.” Severus explained.

“Given the fact I had such little free time, your mother went out of her way to make those days pleasant for me. Mostly this meant letting me read for pleasure, watch mind-numbing television, or play with you, depending. There was never talk of school or anything else of import. Those matters were dealt with in our frequent letters, with one major exception: the ceremony marking the first anniversary of James’ death.”

~*~*~*~*~

Severus stretched his long legs along the sofa as Lily disappeared to put Harry down for his nap. He propped open a book on his lap. His long hair hung down into his face, almost obscuring it from view. He had abandoned his waistcoat moments before. It currently was neatly folded over the armrest of the chair by the door.  He had opened the top two buttons of his crisp white button up shirt at some point. His black trouser legs were stretched out along the sofa ending in surprisingly un-socked feet.

In their many years of friendship there were only a few times Lily could ever remember seeing Severus’ toes. Most, if not all, of these times involved playing in water. Now, here he was sprawled out along her couch his slightly hairy toes for all the world to see. Lily smiled, softly at the sight. She’d take that as a sign of just how comfortable he was here.

She crossed the room and plucked the Afghan from the back of the sofa taking special care to cover Severus’ feet. Severus merely quirked an eyebrow at the action.

Lily shrugged. “We can’t have the Potions Master getting ill. Who else would torture the first year so thoroughly?”

Severus smirked at the comment and let his eyes fall back to his reading. Lily sat on the couch settling in beside Severus. The wizard shifted to allow her more room. After a few minutes both settled into a comfortable position. Lily rested her head on his chest. Severus moved one arm to wraparound Lily while the other continue to support his book.

“What are you reading Sev?” Lily asked after several moments of silence.

“A rather onerous tomb on potions from the 14th century. One of my seventh years is arguing the principles of the experiments held within are sound.  Even if this has been constantly disproven for the last several centuries. Seeing as I was unfamiliar with the work, I thought it best to read it before setting a dunderhead to scrubbing cauldrons for the next month for wasting my time.” Severus explained.

“Why would the student fight so hard for this work if everything has been disproven?” Lily asked looking up at Severus.

“It was written by the nitwits however many great uncles or some such rubbish. The child is trying to restore the family honor.” Severus answered.

Lily paused, “Is there anything of interest so far?”

Severus groaned. “Very little. What little trinkets of interest I have stumbled across have either been ignored, or been so wrong in their interpretation I am tempted to break into the Ministry and find a Time-Turner to prevent the authors parents from procreating to spare the world such idiocy.”

“Sev,” Lily exclaimed, softly smacking his chest. “It really can’t be that bad.”

“Really? Listen to this….” Severus continued to read, even after Lily’s breath had slowed and she had slipped into a deep peaceful sleep.

Lily groaned sometime later, “What time is it?”

“Half three,” Severus said turning the page of his book.

“How long was I asleep,” Lily asked.

“A little over an hour,” Severus said neutrally.

“Why didn’t you wake me up?” She said sitting up.

“It seemed like you could use some rest.” Severus said shrugging.

He let out a small groan as pins and needles attacked him as blood flow returned to his arm and shoulder.

“Any messages,” Lily asked.

“There was,” he confirmed turning the page.

Lily looked at him surprised. “From whom?”

“The Ministry judging from the seal, what they want I cannot tell you.” Severus said slipping a ribbon and between the pages to mark his place. “The letter is on the coffee table.”

Lily leaned over just enough to reach before returning to her spot at Severus’ side. She broke the seal of the heavy letter. She quickly scanned over the first two documents before slowing on the third.

“What is it Lily?” Severus asked softly. He had wondered what the Ministry would want with his friend.

“They want to hold a memorial service for James on Halloween, to mark the first anniversary of his death, the defeat of Voldemort.”  She ignored the cringe she felt pass through Severus at the sound of the name.  “These are the plan so far. They have people they want to speak, the Minister, Sirius, Dumbledore, and me.  They want Harry there as well. Yes, let’s not forget The-Boy-Who-Lived. He’s never going to get past that stupid title.” Lily’s tone went from sad to angry at the final statement.

“To those who don’t know him, no, he will always be The-Boy-Who-Lived. That does not however mean we have to support people treating him differently because of it. To us, Black, Lupin, Minerva, and the Headmaster, he will simply be Harry. He always will be.” Severus reassured.

Lily sighed, “I know. I want Harry to be there. He should be there to honor his father, but he is so young. How is he going to handle that? The press is going to be there. He doesn’t spend that much time around groups of people. The trip to the store or the park is probably the biggest group of people he’s been around.”

Severus scoffed. “You’re worried about a Potters reaction to an audience? Harry will be fine. I’m sure.”

“And if he isn’t?” Lily asked back.

“You mean if he cries, tries to hide, or any such nonsense?” Severus asked.

Lily nodded.

“Then it’s fine. He’s a toddler it would be totally within the standards of behavior for somebody his age, especially in a new or stressful situation. The best you can try to do is make it less traumatic. Keep people he knows close by, Black and Lupin.”

“And you,” Lily added.

“Lily I don’t…”

“No, Sev. I need you there. I don’t think I could make it through without you. Please.” Lily begged.

Severus frowned. He had no desire to let his friend down, but feared the consequences of saying “yes.” “You know my presence will raise a good deal of questions.”

“I don’t care,” Lily told him.

“There will undoubtedly be questions about it not only there, but in the press.” Severus pointed out.

“I don’t care. I don’t care. I don’t care. Let them think whatever they want to. You are my friend and if I want you there they will have to let you, or I won’t be. It’s simple as that.” Lily said, a firm nod of her head.

“Indeed.” Severus agreed. “I fear for life the Ministry official who tries to tell you otherwise. Now what other details does that contain?”

They talked about the Ministry plans for well over an hour, only stopping when Harry awoke from his nap. Lily sent a reply back that evening with her comments and concerns, including Harry’s role and the suggested invitees. Lily and the Ministry spent the next several weeks going back and forth on the details. Although, her will eventually won most of the fights. There were some hard fought battles in it.

Finally the day arrived. The ceremony was set to start at one. The ministry liaison had requested that Lily and Harry come at least 30 minutes early so they could be set in their seats for the start. It was clear from their conversations this person didn’t have children and had never dealt with small children. After the fifth round of objections falling on deaf ears Lily agreed to come. Lily asked Severus to come over for lunch before so that he could help get Harry ready. Severus had agreed. Given the fact it was a Sunday he didn’t even need to make special arrangements with Dumbledore for classes or Quidditch.

“Hi,” Lily greeted as Severus stepped out of the Floo.

“Hello,” Severus returned, “how are you feeling?”

“Fine,” Lily said with a shrug. “It’s hard to believe it’s been a year.” Lily fought back a sob. “He’s been gone a year, Sev.”

Without thinking Severus pulled her into his chest. He didn’t care the tears were soaking through his robes. “I know, Lily. I know. It will be all right. Hush now. Come now, where’s that Gryffindor bravery?” Severus soothed.

Lily tapped him lightly on the chest. “I’m plenty brave. Just because you hide all your emotions deeper than a Gringotts’ high-security vault doesn’t mean we all do.”

“Indeed,” Severus agreed placing a kiss on the top of her head. “However, the day’s young. You must save your energy to deal with those idiots from the press. Now where is young Mr. Potter?”

Lily looked over her shoulder. “Err… I’m not sure. Harry,” she called “Harry.”

Harry stumbled in a moment later a stuffed lion clutched in one grubby hand.

“Mummy no cry,” Harry said walking up to the pair of adults.

“No, Mummy isn’t crying.” Lily reassured her son. “Come on sweetie. Let’s have some lunch.”

The three of them ate beef stew in relative silence. Lily did little more than to pick at hers, but Severus knew there was little point in trying to get her to do more. Severus collected the dishes placing them in the sink for washing.

“Come sir,” Severus said taking Harry from his booster seat, “We must look our best for the adoring press.”

Severus carried Harry upstairs to the small bedroom. A miniature set of robes, white shirt, and black trousers hung on the door of the wardrobe.

“We need to get changed for our function Harry. Can you please take off your shirt and trousers for me?” Severus asked the boy softly.

Harry obediently stripped.

“Thank you,” Severus said taking a shirt and trousers down from the wardrobe. He held out one arm of the shirt, “Arm.”

Harry put his arms through the sleeve, and the other when prompted. The trousers were bit trickier. He really nearly lost his balance trying to put one leg through one of the holes. He ended up grabbing Severus’ hair to keep himself upright.

“You changed his nappy right?” Lily asked from the doorway.

Severus shot her glare over Harry shoulder. “You tell me that now.”

“It’s not my fault you failed to follow standard baby procedures.” Lily said lightly. She had changed into a black dress, its dark color making her look paler than normal.

“Not a baby,” Harry protested from Severus.

“Of course you are Harry. No matter how old you are you will always be your mother’s baby. Is that not what you meant Lily,” Severus prompted. The last thing he needed was a sullen toddler.

“Of course Severus,” Lily confirmed.

Harry seemed mollified. “Now let’s get your robes on,” Severus announced.

“No,” Harry whined.

“Harry,” Lily said softly.

“No,” Harry repeated crossing his arms.

“Harry, you need to wear your robes.” Lily said more firmly. “You need to wear them for Daddy’s ceremony, sweetie. Please?”

Severus thought she’d given away any sort of authority she had by making the question of the ‘please’, but Harry gave in then either way. At least for the moment. The boy was soon trying to squirm out of them. Severus was glad he had the forethought to places Sticking Charm on the robes.

“That wasn’t fair Sev,” Lily chided watching Harry almost pulled the robes over his head as he tried to get out of them.

“It was not, but they will stay on this way. Personally, I do not see why he needs to wear them.” Severus confessed.

“The Ministry sent them. They wanted to make sure he looks the proper little wizard.” Lily told him. “They sent the dress and robes for me as well.”

“Do they not think you capable? Surely they don’t you to dress yourself.” Severus was confused.

Lily shrugged. “It wasn’t worth the fight to tell them differently. I had things that were much more important to me today.”

“Yes,” Severus said slowly. “Thank you for defending me. I can only imagine how displeased they were to have an accused Death Eater and werewolf on your distinguished guest list.”

Lily chuckled slightly. “About as happy as you reading Harry the Happy Hippogriff. If anybody can talk about James’ character, it’s Remus. James never cared about his condition. The Marauders broke the law to aid their friend’s suffering.”

“And make as much trouble as possible,” added Severus.

“They would’ve done that anyway.” Lily dismissed. “Those boys were the first friends Remus ever had.”

“There is much to be said about first friends, especially true friends.” Severus said thoughtfully “We should get going.”

“Ahh, ahh, ahh… Don’t think I didn’t notice you still haven’t change Harry’s nappy, Severus Snape. Do you really want to have to start this with a wet toddler?”

Severus sighed, resigned to his fate. He would be very glad when Harry was dependably toilet trained. Severus hated changing nappies. The trio set off a few minutes later, a freshly changed Harry in his mother’s arms.

Lily and Severus Apparated to the outskirts of Godric’s Hollow. The memorial would be dedicated on the remains of the Potter’s house. In what had been the front yard stood a large wooden platform a podium stood at its center, several chairs were behind it.

Lily sucked in a sharp breath at the sight of her former home. She hadn’t seen it since the night of the attack. Even then, her memory was somewhat fuzzy after James fell. She hadn’t realized the sheer level of destruction of the spells backfiring caused.

“Ahhh… Mrs. Potter, there you are,” a bossy little woman said emerging from a group of Ministry officials.

“Yes,” Lily said shifting Harry slightly.

“And the-Boy-Who-Lived,” the woman said eyes falling on Harry.

“Don’t call him that,” Severus snapped.

“Excuse me,” the woman hissed.

“Lily’s son’s name is Harry. Harry. James. Potter. Not any stupid moniker the press labeled him with.” Severus corrected.

“And who are you?” The woman asked.

“Severus Snape and you?” Severus demanded icily.

“I am Laurel Sheridan, the Deputy Secretary for Public Affairs, Mr. Snape. I am here as the official liaison to all Ministry guests for today’s celebration.” The woman said stuffily.

“Celebration?! Celebration?! What kind of dunderhead are you?!” Severus snapped.

“Sev,” Lily said softly.

“Do they let-” Severus continued.

“Severus! Stop!” Lily snapped.

Severus’ onyx eyes found Lily’s emerald ones.

“Just let it go,” Lily said softly. “Let’s not make this day any harder.”

Severus nodded. He held out his arms for Harry. Lily handed him over gratefully.

“Now, Mrs. Potter, we would like to have a stylist look at you and Harry before the press arrives.” Sheridan told them. Lily followed Sheridan it to a small tent off to the side of the house, Severus right behind her. The team of women fussed over Lily’s hair and makeup. Another had the unpleasant task of trying to deal with an agitated Harry. Severus did his best not to laugh at the witch tried to tame Harry’s messy hair. He was soon having to dry the tears that fell when the woman pulled too hard on Harry’s tender scalp.

“That will have to do,” one of the women said finally after nearly 30 minutes of dealing with Harry’s hair. “Do we have time for him?”

“The Minister is running late. If we’re quick,” another stylist, one of Lily’s, said merrily.

“If you wish to continue to hold a wand, or pair of scissors again, you will leave me alone.” Severus warned.

“Sev,” Lily scolded mildly.

“No,” Severus said flatly. “I never agreed to be poked or prodded. I am here to provide moral support, no more.”

Lily shook her head. Of course, Severus was going to be a stubborn is Harry. If pushed further he might plate up a temper tantrum to rival the tot’s. “At least let her comb and tie back your hair.”

“Fine,” Severus pouted.

The witch quickly set to her work, not five minutes later Severus was done. If they trimmed a few split ends he was none the wiser.

The bossy witch was back. “Mrs. Potter, you and Harry are to come this way.”

Lily stopped, “Sev is coming with me.”

“No, Mr. Snape is supposed to have a seat among the distinguished guests. You and your son are supposed to be up on the podium.” Sheridan corrected.

“Damn it. No, I told them no to this three weeks ago. Let me guess, Remus Lupin is been removed from the speakers list as well.” Lily snapped.

“Err…yes.” The witch said hesitantly.

“Well that better change. I am not going to have wasted all our time making arrangements to have them changed at the last minute.” Lily said, her arms crossing her chest stubbornly.

“The Minister felt it was a better image not to have suspect characters and dangerous half-breeds up on the dais with Aurors and others. We want to give the public the best picture of James Potter possible.” Sheridan explained.

“Well, damn the Minister and damn the public. James didn’t care about Remus’ condition. As for Severus, he has done more for Harry than any Ministry official ever has. If you have any hope of Harry behaving for your stupid ceremony then you better let Severus up there. Now go tell them what I said. If they won’t agree, I’m perfectly happy to take my son home and mourn in private.” Lily ordered.

“Well, I never,” Sheridan muttered on her way out of the tent. She returned almost a full 10 minutes later.

Severus was busy trying to entertain an increasingly cranky toddler. Why they insisted on doing this when the boy would normally be napping Severus did not know. Lily had tried to get him to sleep earlier, but had failed and it was showing now.

“The Minister has agreed to your requests, Mrs. Potter. Now will you please follow me,” a different witch asked kindly.

“Thank you,” Lily said rising from her chair to follow.

Severus took Harry’s hand in his own large one.

The pair followed slowly after Lily, but stopped when they were at the side of the dais. Harry was staring at the sea of cameras and voices. Severus scooped up the stunned child, tucking his head safely into his chest. Severus sat in his appointed chair next to Lily. His reassuring words flowing non-stop. One hand rubbed up and down Harry’s back, the other offered to Lily she took it gladly.

The pair held hands for the first three speakers. Harry drifted off somewhere during the second, from exhaustion or simply cried out, Severus was uncertain. Lily let go of Severus’ hand to speak. She was barely able to make it past her ‘thank yous’ before it became too much. Emotion overcoming her. Remus stepped up, reading her prepared words and then his own.

The ceremony finally ended with the unveiling of a sculpture of the Potter family in a scene of domestic bliss. Lily and Severus shared looks of disapproval behind the Minister’s back. The press took the necessary photos.  Severus’ presence was not necessary.  A sleeping Harry was passed off to his mother.  Severus was glad to for both facts.

The press left and the most of the Ministry officials. Soon it was just the bossy witch, Laurel Sheridan, the Minister of Magic, along with the Potters and Severus. Sirius and Remus fled as soon as the curtain was off of the statue. Severus wondered what they were up to.  He’d seen that expression on their faces too often not to know they were planning something.

“Mrs. Potter,” Minister Bagnold greeted warmly.

“Minister,” Lily said much more coolly.

“I’d like to thank you personally for your participation in today’s events.” Bagnold said offering her hand.

“You’re not very welcome,” Lily returned “Your aid made it clear it was you who objected to the plans that were painstakingly agreed to. I promise this is the first and last time I ever participate in such a Ministry affair. Now, if you please I have a son to put to bed.” Lily said, not bothering to wait for a response. With that last statement, Lily Disapparated.

Severus followed suit, stunned by his friend’s lack of manners.

“Lily,” Severus called from the living room.

“Upstairs,” Lily’s voice came over the baby monitor.

Severus walked to the stairs to meet Lily halfway down. Silently he took her in his arms. “That was quite a display you put on with the Minister.” Severus said softly. “It was almost Petunia worthy.”

Lily groaned slightly. “Gods, I was wretched.”

“You were,” Severus agreed.

“Not helping Sev,” Lily said into his chest.

“I never said I was trying to be.” Severus said softly.

Lily laughed a little at this. They stood there in silence for a moment before Severus asked very softly, “How are you Lily? Truly.”

Lily shook her head. “I don’t know.”

Severus nodded. “You need to take it easy. I’ll get us a take away for dinner and when Harry goes to bed tonight we can have a drink or three and talk of Potter. I am sure Black and Lupin would be thrilled to tell tales you haven’t heard yet and make you question the sanity of marrying him.”

Lily smiled slightly. “That sounds brilliant.”

“Until then I believe mindless hours in front of the idiot box are called for.” Severus said pulling her toward the living room. The two of them watched some horrible Japanese monster movie making bad jokes until Harry woke up. They played with Harry then. In the background Lily had put on one of James’ favorite albums.  Surprisingly it was Muggle. As it turned out it was music from a band Sirius had heard while roughing it on the streets of Muggle London for a few nights. The band was called, the Sex Pistols.

Severus was surprised by all of the information. He would’ve guessed Potter more of an ABBA fan. Lily explained the anger and the music connected with both Sirius and James with the unrest in the Muggle world, and the magic one. Severus could understand that.

Sirius and Remus arrived at 8:30 with curry and more beer than Severus thought the four could drink. The two remaining Marauders told many tales of the group’s nighttime adventures around Hogwarts.

“Now this is a wake James would have approved of,” Sirius said when they were all on at least their third beer. “Not like that miserable thing we did last year.” Sirius said slouching back in his chair.

“Hey,” Remus objected from his seat in front of the couch.

Lily lay along the length of the sofa her head and Severus’ lap at the opposite end from where Remus sat. “It was pretty miserable,” Lily agreed.

“It was what was expected, “Remus defended.

Sirius blew a loud, wet raspberry at that. “I want nothing more than to go down in a blaze of glory and be remembered doing so. Forget your cheers and have a drink. You got me,” Sirius said directing his remark to Lupin.

Remus nodded.

“Oi! You,” Sirius pointed at Severus.

Severus looked up from where he was playing with Lily’s hair. “What, Black?”

“Don’t think I’m too drunk to realize that the year is up. Just remember you best treat her right. You hurt her and you’ll have me and Remus to answer to.” Sirius said seriously.

The clock chimed 11. Severus let out a soft sigh. He gently nudged Lily off his lap. “I fear I must say good night.  Gentlemen, Lily.”

Sirius cocked his head to the side, “What you Eunder-ellie or something?”

“That’s midnight and Cinderella,” Remus corrected.

“No, Black,” Severus said turning to the Auror, from his spot in the middle of the living room. “I work hours considered normal for a human being.”

Sirius snorted. Remus chuckled slightly.

“You really have to go?” Lily asked frowning.

“I do. I have a first-year class of Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs right after breakfast.” Severus said solemnly.

Lily’s pout only deepened. “Fine. I’ll see you out.”

Lily got off the couch was some difficulty, but managed to meet Severus in the middle of the room without falling. The two walked to the front door, the silence comfortable between them.

“You sure you’re safe to Apparate back to Hogwarts?” Lily asked somewhat nervously.

“I am not. That is why plan to Apparate to Spinner’s End. As that is also where my store of Hangover Solution is. I will Floo to my quarters from there.” Severus explained.

“Then why not just Floo from here?” Lily asked.

“As I said, Hangover Solution is at my house. Also if I were to part ways with you in there I could not do this...” Severus said quickly taking this moment of surprise to place a kiss on Lily’s lips.

They broke apart a moment later, both somewhat out of breath.

“I shall see you soon, Lily.” Severus said before Disapparating.

Severus laughed at the expression on Harry’s face at the last part of the story. “I’m sorry. I know you do not care for the ‘mushy stuff”. However, I will tell you this, the ‘mushy stuff’, is very important to grownups in romantic relationships. Some day, not too far away, you will not object to ‘mushy stuff’ with some girl or other.”

“Nuh uh,” Harry refused. “Girls are gross.”

Severus furrowed his eyebrows at that statement, “Is your mother gross? Your sisters?”

Harry shook his head no, “Kissing stuff is gross,” Harry clarified.

Severus laughed again, “Just you wait. I’ll bet you a fiver you won’t think the idea of kissing a girl will be gross by the time you’re 15.”

Harry shook his head again.

“We’ll just have to wait and see. Too bad I’m sure I could use that fiver at some point. Moving on with our story, your godfather had basically given me his permission to court your mother, not that I needed it. Still having his… Knowing he would not go out of his way to sabotage my efforts was reassuring. The next step came in finding the right way to ask your mother out for our first date and a suitable activity.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Severus apparated from Lily’s to the back door of his home on Spinner’s End. The wizard fished out a key from his pocket. There were several magical protections that were disarmed with the key without going through the process of the counter spells. Severus was grateful for it as he was too drunk and too lost in thought to deal with that much magic at the moment. He kissed Lily! He just kissed the love of his life.

Severus was certain he could die happy at this moment. He knew this would be the memory he used against the dementor for the foreseeable future. He also knew that the hangover that was to come tomorrow more than made up for the courage it had supplied. Sober, he would never have done such a thing. Oh gods! What did Lily think?

Severus tried to remember Lily’s reaction. He remembered kissing her. Did she kiss him back? He couldn’t remember. Maybe she did. Did he just ruin his only chance? No, Severus promised himself. Even if she hadn’t kissed him back, this night would not be his only chance.

Severus shook his head back and forth to clear his foggy mind. Things would make more sense in the morning. He crossed the room to the potions cupboard in the kitchen. He pulled out a vial of hangover solution for the morning. He then picked up three more. He was certain his drinking companions would need them as well.  Severus put the potions in his pocket before going back to the fireplace and Floo-ed back to Hogwarts.

Severus flopped down on his couch. He was too tired to make the walk to his bed. He would sleep here just as easily. Severus had just removed his jumper when a silver doe came through his wall. Severus’ eyebrows shot up at the sight of the Petronus. Hopefully something hadn’t happened in the few minutes he left. Were Lily and Harry safe?

“Severus Snape, you toerag!” Lily’s voice boomed. “You kiss me and just disappear! Who does that! We need to talk about this.”

Severus sat back shocked. Lily was upset with him. No, he wasn’t that surprised. She was upset he left. She wanted to talk about things. Severus would have to ask her plainly what it was exactly that she was upset about. Hopefully, she would forgive him.

Severus cast his own Petronus to Lily. He suggested a Floo-chat in the morning, when both would’ve had time to think the situation over. He was free from 10:45 or so until after lunch, they could talk then. Lily confirmed their meeting with another Petronus. Her annoyed tone did not pass Severus’ notice.

Severus slept poorly that night, his thoughts plagued with worry at upsetting Lily. What if she never wanted to speak to him again? Then why would they be talking in the morning? What if she accused him of taking advantage of her? She was still grieving for James. They were both  somewhat drunk.

Severus’ nerves and sleeplessness were taken out on his first years. He issued three detentions in the first 10 minutes of class. They would have deserved them in any mood, all three had to go to the hospital wing with burns. The removal of points was overly harsh 20 points was much to take from one, let alone each. Still the boy should know better than to try and light flames before setting their cauldrons up. They had covered that on the first day of class. He had no idea what idiots were so caught up in forget such basic lesson, but they would have good reason to remember it in the future.

Severus ordered a tea tray upon returning to his chambers. He was halfway through his cup when the fire flared to life.

“Lily,” Severus greeted warmly.

“Sev,” Lily said just as warmly.

There was an awkward silence between them. Not since Lily’s visit to his quarters a year ago had Severus felt so uncomfortable in Lily’s presence.

“Lily, I must, “Severus said as Lily said, “Sev, what.” Both stopped.

There was another pause. “Go first,” Severus offered.

“What were you thinking Sev?” Lily asked him. Not asked, demanded of him.

“I wanted to kiss you.” Severus said uncertainly.

“I get that.” Lily said rolling her eyes. “I want to know why you just left.”

Severus didn’t know what to say to this. Lily just sat there waiting. “Sev,” she finally prompted.

“I was scared what you thought of it.” Severus shook his head, “I fear that you would be upset with me for making such a move.”

“Oh Sev,” Lily said softly. She forgot how self-conscious he could be. “The kiss was fine. I was upset when you left. What did that kiss mean?”

“What did it mean?” Severus asked uncertainly.

“Yes, does this mean you want to date? Was it something just because we had too much to drink? Something else entirely?” Lily clarified. “Well Sev?”

Severus paused. He is very bad at discussing his emotions, his desires. He would have to do his best to explain this to Lily. “It was not something done by the fog of alcohol. I will admit if it were not for the beer I would not have made such a move. However, it is something I have wanted to do for good deal of time… Since we were 12.” Severus screwed up his face in concentration. “Yes, 12 sounds right. As for my desire to date, I have told you several times you are the only woman I have a desire to court.”

Lily nodded. She had heard him say that before. She’d never doubted the statements, but it was nice to be reassured. She could see how hard this conversation was for Severus. He hated talking about those sorts of things. Finding out how he was feeling now only slightly more difficult than trying to get him to explain what had happened between his parents at Spinner’s End all those years ago. Lily had to learn to read all of the subtle cues to find out what she wanted when they were young. Severus’ mastery of Occlumency had only made that task harder.

“Okay,” Lily said sitting back. “Okay.” She repeated.

“Okay? Okay what?” Severus asked at a lost.

“Okay, it wasn’t a drunken mistake. Okay, you want to try ‘courting’ me.” Lily explained. “I take it that means you have a question for me.”

Severus sat back, a small smirk on his lips. “Are you ordering me to ask you out on a date?”

“Not ordering,” Lily corrected. “I simply expected that you had a request lined up since you made such a move.”

“You know what they say about assumptions,” Severus said softly. “As for that one, no I do not. Nor will I be ordered to make one.”

“What, you’re not going to ask me out because I said I expected you to?” Lily asked laughing.

“Indeed,” Severus confirmed. “I plan to ask you when I’m ready. Is it not enough to know you will be asked at some point?” The light banter was easier to  handle than trying to explain the fear Lily would once again reject him.

“No,” Lily protested. “You kissed me. You say you want to date me. You need to ask me out on a date now.” Lily was pouting now.

“Too bad, Lily Potter. That will not be happening today. Now I must be going. I have several student injury reports to file.” Severus said seriously.

“Fine,” Lily pouted. “I’ll see you soon.”

“You will,” Severus confirmed.

“Good,” Lily said and terminated the connection.

Severus sat back. Now came the monumental task of deciding what to do for first date. The fact that he knew Lily so well was both a blessing and a curse. He wanted this to be special, memorable. What could they do? This would take careful consideration. There was one things Severus did know at the moment. It would not be in Cokeworth. Other than that, Severus was clueless.

After a week of going over his own ideas Severus looked for help. He knew what people had done while they were at Hogwarts, but they were so much older now. He could do something better than Madam Puddifoot’s. Still not sure if he was on the right track, Severus consulted several women’s magazines. He read through the romantic advice parts. He was surprised and frustrated that most of his ideas were both in the good idea/ bad idea column. There seems to be as many women who thought it was a good idea, then a pleasant/memorable experience as hated it. Of course, like everything else in his life, it depended on the person (people) involved. Severus determined this was a time when knowing Lily would be a positive. He was fairly certain she would enjoy the plans he had forming in his head. His mind made up, Severus was left with the task of asking. He made sure to consult a lunar chart pick a night far enough away from the full moon that Lupin would be available to babysit Harry. If the werewolf had other plans they would figure other things out then.

Severus stepped through the flames into Lily’s sitting room.

“Sev,” Harry greeted running to the fireplace.

“Hello Harry,” Severus said scooping the boy up.

“Hello,” Remus greeted stepping into the room. “I never got a chance to thank you for the Hangover Solution the other week. I had transformations that were more pleasant.”

Severus gave a disapproving look. “You continue drinking after left?”

Remus nodded.

“You would most definitely would have needed a Hangover Solution.” Severus said. “Either way, it was no trouble. Is Lily here?”

“In the kitchen,” Remus confirmed, “She sent me out to say ‘hello’. I think it was just cover to stop me from knicking things off the cutting board.”

“Indeed,” Severus agreed. “If you will excuse me, I would like to say ‘hello’ to our hostess.”

Remus stepped out of the way.

Severus made his way to the kitchen. Harry was babbling about something or other, but what exactly that was, Severus could not tell. He was fairly certain that some of the things were not even words. Severus made ‘hmm’noise in agreement and Harry seemed appeased.

“Hello Lily,” Severus greeted as they crossed the threshold of the kitchen. He wanted to cross the room to kiss her, but he didn’t. Instead he set Harry down and asked, “How may I be of service?”

“Hi Sev,” Lily said that looking up from her recipe book. “You can dice some onions for me, two large ones.”

Severus nodded and set to work.

“Harry, love,” Lily sighed. “Go find Mooney. He would love to play with you. Mummy and Sev need to finish making dinner.”

Severus saw the boy dutifully drift out of the kitchen.

“It’s like he specializes in being underfoot,” Lily lamented.

Severus chuckled at the statement. “What do I do with the onions?”

“You’re done already?” Lily asked surprised.

“The wonders of achieving a mastery in potions. You learn to shred, peel, and dice in a third the time most people.” Severus said dryly.

“I’ll say,” Lily agreed. “How are classes going? It’s been a few days since I heard the last horror stories from Hogwarts.” She had stopped pestering Severus to ask her out after three days of failure.

Severus shrugged. “There have been no injuries or near injuries in my classes. There is much excitement for the upcoming Quidditch match, Slytherin versus Ravenclaw. My snakes currently head the leaderboard, so much of the school wishes to see them dethroned.”

“You don’t sound all that excited.” Lily commented.

“I hope to be otherwise engaged.” Severus explained.

“Really?” Lily asked, “How is that?”

“I was wondering if you would be willing to attend a show in the West End and perhaps dinner?” Severus asked.

Lily could have laughed at him, but she didn’t. Severus was always so reserved. “That sounds wonderful. I would love to accompany you to the theater. Do you have any idea what show you want to see?”

“There is a great deal of talk about a musical. It’s based on of the poems of TS Eliot.” Severus suggested. “It’s called Cats, I believe.”

Lily seemed surprised. “You want to go to a musical about cats? Who are you and what have you done with my Severus?”

“What are you…” Severus began.

“Come on Sev, I know you. You hated Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. You hated Tommy. You hated every musical I know you’ve seen. Why would you want to go to this one?”

This was not how Severus saw the conversation going. Lily wanted him to ask her out, now that he was, she was attacking his choice of entertainment. What was he supposed to do now?

“Is everything okay in here?” Remus asked.

“Fine,” Severus said. “Lily was just wondering why I would propose going on a date to a musical when I have not cared for the shows I have attended. Those all been films, for one. The other reason is I thought you might enjoy it.”

“You should enjoy the experience too, Sev” Lily said softly.

“Excuse me a moment,” Remus interjected. “Did you just say that you were asking Lily out on a date?”

“I did.” Severus confirmed.

“About bloody time,” Remus grumbled. “Also, she’s right you should enjoy the date as much as she does. The theater is a wonderful idea, but if you don’t like musicals, choose something else.”

“Thank you for your opinion, Lupin,” Severus said less harshly that one might have expected.

“I guess I’ll go look for Harry,” Remus said awkwardly dismissing himself from the conversation once more.

“He has a point about that. There has to be more than one play running in the West End. I don’t care what we see. Just pick something we both have a fair chance of liking,” Lily told him.

“What if I thought I could like Cats?” Severus demanded.

“Then I will go with you to Cats. I would even deal with your comments about the show afterward,” Lily promised.

“Lily, you must know the most important part of this to me is just the time spent in your company,” Severus said softly.

“I know. That’s how it’s supposed to be, Sev. We don’t have to do something fancy for a date. You know that right?” Lily asked.

“I wanted it to be memorable. To do something special for you.” Severus explained.

“Alright, whatever you choose to do or go with. It was wrong for me to attack your suggestion,” Lily apologize,“Can you forgive me?”

“There is nothing to forgive. You had a point, even if your conclusion was not wholly accurate. I have enjoyed several musicals: Sweeney Todd, Fiddler on the Roof, and even, The Sound of Music. I just did not care for the bizarre styling of Tommy nor the boring and irritating songs of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.” Severus corrected.

“All right.” Lily agreed. “So Cats it is.”

“I’ll pick you up that evening. We can have dinner after the show if that’s alright with you.” Severus agreed.

“Fine, you better get back to tonight’s dinner.” Lily said turning to chop the garlic.

Remus agreed happily to babysit so that the two could go out for the evening.

The week passed quickly and finally it was the night of their date. Severus had washed his freshly trimmed hair. He dressed in a Muggle suit and tie. His long hair was tied back at the nape of his neck with the Slytherin green ribbon. He Apparated into Lily’s after informing the Headmaster he would be away from the castle until the next morning at least. He’d heard the whispers of the few students who caught him in his Muggle attire, but was too anxious for the rest of the day to care. If they said anything he would dock points. Let them mind their own business.

He was greeted by an exhausted Lupin.

“Hello, Severus,” Remus croaked.

“Lupin,” Severus returned. The werewolf looks much rougher than what Severus would expect for this type of the month.

“Are you unwell?” Severus asked after a bit, his concern genuine.

“Fine. Just a little bit tired. Harry’s a bit under the weather. He didn’t sleep well last night so neither did I.” Remus explained.

“Is that Sev?” Lily called from the top the stairs.

“It is,” Severus confirmed.

“I’ll be right down. I just need to find my shoes,” Lily yelled back.

“Lily,” Severus now standing at the foot of the stairs. What was he going to say was lost when he saw Lily. She was in a form fitting bottle green dress, black pumps in hand. Her hair was pulled up slightly. She wore a gold necklace Severus did not recognize. Although, he did recognize the earrings. They were a gift from her mother Christmas fourth year.

Lily hopped down the stairs.

“You look stunning,” Severus greeted.

“You don’t look so bad yourself,” Lily said with a warm smile.

“Lily, if Harry is ill it would not be an issue to reschedule. I don’t want to pull you away from where you are needed,” Severus said seriously.

Before Lily could say anything Remus spoke up. “I already had this talk with Lily. I can handle Harry. You two go have fun. All I ask is you bring me desert. Now go,” Remus said pointing towards the door.

Lily and Severus exchanged looks. Lily shrugged. “You heard the man . Let’s go.”

Severus offered his arm to her. The two walked arm in arm to the Apparition point. Severus slipped an arm around Lily’s waist, drawing her to him. He turned on his heel and in an instant later they were in London.

“Yuck,” Lily exclaimed as she removed her foot from a puddle of who knew what.

“I apologize.” Severus said casting Cleaning Charm on her shoe. “An unfortunate side effect of Apparating into an alley in such an area.”

“It’s fine, Sev. Relax. Try and remember it’s just me.” Lily told him softly.

Severus gave her another nod. She could tell him that one million times, but it wasn’t ‘just her’. They were trying to be more than ‘Lily and Sev best friends’. Didn’t he need to show another side of himself for her to be able to see him in this new light?

Severus offered his arm once more. He walked out into the Main Street. It was still a bit early for the show, but they headed to the theater to avoid the cold. Severus checked their coats while Lily went to get them something to drink from the bar.

They met halfway, Lily clutching two glasses of wine.

“ What should we toast to?” she asked.

Severus paused and thought, “To new beginnings.”

“New beginnings,” Lily said clinking her glass to his.

They drifted to the side of the hall as more people made their way into the theater. Finally heading to their seats just before the lights flashed. They settled into their seats, as the lights fell, their fingers intertwined on their shared armrest.

By intermission Severus was ready to go. It wasn’t that he hated the play exactly, just didn’t love it. There was something unsettling about Muggles dressed as cats supposedly wandering around an alley. In some ways it reminded him of human Transfiguration gone wrong. He was certainly going to have a problem looking at Minerva McGonagall in the morning. Lily returned from the bathroom not long before the end of intermission.

“Okay there Sev?” Lily asked from her seat.

“Fine, I was just thinking I should get Minerva tickets for this for Christmas.” Severus said with a small smirk.

“You’re horrible,” Lily said with a slap to his chest.

“So I have been told,” Severus said chuckling.

Lily rested her head on his shoulder for the rest of the show. Severus was surprised at how pleasant the slight weight was on his arm. Overall, it wasn’t the worst evening at the theater.

“Is that so bad?” Severus asked after rights came back.

“I should be asking you that.” Lily said with a shake of her head.

“It was… Passable. I will not be on the top list of things to experience again, but it was far more pleasant than Tommy,” Severus said carefully.

The next hour seemed to fly by. Severus didn’t remember much about dinner. It was not that he had too much to drink. No, it was the fact that he spent so much time focusing on Lily everything else was a blur. He did remember them having to call back the waiter when they refused desert to order one for Lupin. Before Severus realized it they were what’s again outside Lily’s house.

“I had a great time,” Lily told him.

“As did I,” Severus said looking into her green eyes. Then they were kissing.

Lily pulled away first. “I should go in.”

“You should. I’m sure Lupin could use the relief.” Severus said resting his forehead against hers.

Lily let out a sad sigh, “Yeah.”

Severus leaned in to kiss her once more. When they pulled away several minutes later he to let out a sad sigh.

“Go in,” Severus urged. “I will call tomorrow. I’ll be spending the night at Spinner’s End,” he added at Lily’s curious look.

Severus smiled at the memory.  It had been a good night

“That date was in early December. This meant that it was very near the time when students departed for the winter holidays. More importantly many of the professors, myself included, give exams around this time,” Severus explained, “That year there was a rather unfortunately timed outbreak of flu. When you put it all together it means the castle was very busy and tempers were running short.”

Severus smiled. “I was lucky, however, I had an escape. The time with your mother meant I was in a much better mood than most when Professor Dumbledore asked me to brew a long series of healing potions for Madam Pomfrey. That mood sank only when your mother advised me of your lack of progress in recovering.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Severus expected to be welcomed in by an excited Harry and loving Lily when he Floo-ed to the Potter home on Monday evening. Instead there was no one in the living room. Severus could hear the sound of retching and sound of  soft murmurs coming from the bathroom.

“Oh dear,” Severus sighed “Lily,” he called walking to the bathroom. His call went unanswered.

Outside the door he could hear Lily talking softly as another wave of vomit hit the bowl.

“Lily,” Severus said once more.

“Sev?” Lily asked “Uhhh… Goodness is it really that late… Sorry didn’t realize the time… Give us just a minute…” She called back from the bathroom. “All done? Let’s just wash your face, clean your teeth.”

Severus stood awkwardly at the door unsure what to do. Lily and Harry emerged a few minutes later, Harry held in her arms. The boy was dressed in a blue set of pajamas with a snitches zooming about. What little Severus could see of the boy’s face was pale and clammy.

“Sorry about this,” Lily apologize. “Harry’s had a bit of a rough day.” She ran a reassuring hand up and down the boy’s small back.

“I take it his condition is not improved?” Severus asked.

Lily nodded, “That wasn’t the first time today.”

“Has he seen a Healer?” Severus asked softly. It was unpleasant to see Harry so uncomfortable.

Lily shook her head. “I did talk to a nurse though. She said as long as his fever didn’t go too high and if he stopped puking in the next day or so we shouldn’t have bring him in. She gave me the name of a couple of potions he could take. She made it very clear I’m not to mix them with any sort of Muggle medication. With him being ill I haven’t had a chance to do anything.”

Severus nodded in understanding. “May I see the list?”

“On the coffee table. Let me go put Harry down and I’ll make us something to eat.” Lily told him.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Severus said with a wave his hand.  “I’ll make us something. You’ve had your hands full all day. I can do it this time.”

“Thanks Sev,” Lily said placing a kiss on his cheek.  Severus turned his head slightly to give her a proper kiss.  “It’s the least I can do,” he said as the kiss ended.

The pair parted ways, Lily went upstairs to Harry’s room, Severus to the kitchen. Severus pulled open the cabinet where canned goods were kept.  He was happy to see a can of chicken soup. Harry could have that when he woke up. Severus put the can on the counter, seeing nothing else that piqued his interest he moved to the refrigerator. Here he found a package of sausages.

'Bangers and mash it is,' Severus thought to himself. Lily came into the kitchen to find the potatoes being chopped by a magically controlled knife.

“Isn’t that cheating?” Lily asked jokingly.

“There is nothing that necessitates them being chopped without the aid of magic, so no.” Severus said not looking way whatever he was fussing about with on stove.

“So with cooking you’re willing to use magic, but not with potions?”  Lily asked leaning back on the opposite counter.

“Of course,” Severus confirmed. “You very well know how dangerous it is to mix magic and potions. The trace amounts of the spellcasting could…” He went on building up seed.

“Sev stop,” Lily said exasperated. “I was joking. I mentioned potions and you lose all sense of humor.”

Severus grunted in response.

“Come on now, don’t be that way.” Lily soothed “I promise I will never use spells when I’m making potions. Now, what are you making us?”

Severus wasn’t much appeased with the statement, but answered anyway. “Bangers and mash. There is a can of soup Harry can have when he wakes. Tea?”

Lily nodded watching him pour the hot water into the teapot. He swished around before dumping it out again and placing more water and leaves into the pot. They stood in silence as the tea steeped and the potatoes were put on the stove to boil. Lily poured out 2 cups adding three sugar to Severus’ and milk to her own.

“Is Harry settled in?” Severus asked sipping his tea.

Lily nodded, “He’ll probably wake up in an hour or so. He’s been doing that most of the day.”

Severus nodded. He summoned the list of recommended potions while his thoughts were on it. After a quick look over he concluded, “That nurse was an idiot. There are far less expensive alternatives to these. I assume she suggested a particular potions brewer.”

Lily shrugged, “She mentioned Allister Crane.”

“Idiot.” Severus grumbled. “Not you,” he added quickly seeing Lily’s hurt expression. “Crane is hardly competent. Leave this to me.”

“I can’t ask you,” Lily began.

“You did not ask,” Severus reminded her,“Why don’t you find something on the telly while I finish our dinner?”

Severus came into the living room 10 minutes later, plates and his tea hovering in front of him. Lily had turned on some sort of game show from the looks of things. Lily grabbed one of the plates placing it on the small tables set in front of the sofa.

“I didn’t realize you had these,” Severus said gesturing at the tables.

“Dad got them a few years back so he could eat and not miss the Man U matches. It drove Mum spare. But it was better than him getting up to look, or having to radio on during dinner.” Lily explained.

“Indeed,” Severus agreed.

They watched the program occasionally trying to answer the questions or just making fun of the missed answers. The game show was followed by local news. Just as that was going off they heard a pitiful cry of ‘Mummy’ from Harry’s room.

“Duty calls,” Lily said rising from the sofa.

“I’ll bring the soup up momentarily,” Severus said clearing away their dinner dishes. He set the dishes to wash themselves while he warmed the tin of soup on the stove top.

Severus exited the kitchen heading for Harry’s room when Lily called out, “We’re in here.”

Severus turned about-face and made his way into the living room where Harry lay on the sofa. The small frame propped up on the arm rests. His favorite blue blanket was tucked around his legs.

“How are you feeling Harry,” Severus asked.

“Yucky,” Harry whined.

“I’m sure. Why don’t you try some of the soup and toast?” Severus suggested.

Harry gave the bowl a dirty look.

“Can’t get better if you don’t eat,” Lily told him softly.

Harry reluctantly nibbled on a piece of toast. It was slow going, but they eventually got him to eat half a piece of toast and some soup. It was far less that Harry would normally eat, but both adults were satisfied. Harry started falling back to sleep during the comedy show that came on. Lily carried him up to bed, returning a few minutes later.

“He’s out like a light,” she said flopping down on the sofa. “I should probably call it a night, get some rest in case he wakes again.”

“Let me.” Severus demanded. “I can see to him during the night.”

“Sev, you have students. You need to be rested teach your classes.” Lily protested.

Severus dismissed her concerns. “They are sitting an exam. I need only be in the room. The charms will alert me if anyone dare try to cheat. Please, let me help you.”

Lily sighed. “Okay. Don’t be surprised if he throws up on you.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Severus said seriously.

“You need to go back to the castle for anything? Pajamas? Toothbrush?” Lily asked.

“One of the many wonders of being a wizard, I can conjure or transfigure all I need.” Severus responded.

Lily shrugged. “Some of us are just a bit more in touch with their Muggle roots. If you need anything or he gets to be too much don’t be afraid to call me.”

“I will,” Severus promised. “Will Lupin mind if I spend the night in his room?”

“Remus? No, he’ll just feel guilty he wasn’t here to help.” Lily answered.

“Where did he go again?” Severus asked as they climbed the stairs the bedrooms.

“He went to visit his parents. His mother was ill in his last letter from home.” Lily told him.

“And for once it wasn’t the cover for his condition.” Severus said humorlessly.

Lily stopped outside her bedroom door. “Good night, Sev.”

“Good night Lily,” Severus said for leaning in to give her a gentle kiss goodnight. “I will see you in the morning.”

Severus transfigured his shirt into a long nightshirt. Cast a Freshening Charm for good measure before changing the rest of the way. He Summoned a fresh set of sheets before switching them onto the bed. He hoped he would get to spend at least part of the night in them, but was reminded of Lily’s warning. He got to sleep about an hour and a half before Harry’s calls could be heard.

Severus was not woken by this, but by Harry’s kicking the bottom of the crib. Severus certainly glad he had cast a Silencing Spell on Lily’s bedroom door.

Severus stumbled down the hall. There was very little he could do for the boy. The nurse advised not giving him any sort of Muggle medicine. It was true that Harry hadn’t had any potions yet, but Severus was unsure how long they would need to be out of the system before potions could be administered. Harry stood in his crib his face streaked with tears.

“Oh child,” Severus said scooping the little boy up. Harry tucked his face into Severus’ neck.  The boy’s breathing was heavy and uneven.  Severus was uncertain if this was from the tears or congestion.  “Hush now, everything will be alright. What’s wrong?” Severus asked again rubbing soothing circles on the boy’s tiny back.

He didn’t expect an answer to his question from a toddler, not really, one could could only guess it was from the discomfort the boy was currently suffering. When the boy continued to cry, Severus began to pace the room. This did little to soothe him. Severus pushed a lock of sweat dampened hair off of Harry’s forehead.

“What am I to do Harry?” Severus asked circling the room once more.

“You’re feverish Mr. Potter,” Severus muttered. With the arm not supporting Harry, Severus Summoned a clean face cloth. He then conjured a cup. Using Aguamenti he filled the cup, wetting the cloth. He placed that on the back of Harry’s neck. He managed to get the boy to drink about half a cup of water.

Severus settled into the rocking chair in the corner of the room. It was far from comfortable Severus decided instantly. He wondered if Lily had any particular attachment this one, or if he could get her better one without undue insult. Severus adjusted the squalling toddler into a more comfortable position. This way Harry was a bit further from his ear. Severus rather liked hearing and preferred not have the last sounds he heard the wails of the unhappy toddler.

Severus continued rocking, all the while trying to come up with a way to calm Harry back to sleep. He would not drug him. Severus rocked slowly back and forth. The motion was relaxing for Severus but seemed to have little effect on Harry . Severus wondered what to do for small children in these situations. He supposed he could always go and get Lily. Of course that would more or less defeat the point of him being in here. He wanted to give Lily a chance at a night’s uninterrupted sleep, something she could probably use.

What had he seen her do in the past? He was rubbing the boy’s back. He was keeping his voice as calm as he could manage. He was rocking in the chair. What more could he do?

The idea came to him then. He’d heard Lily sing to Harry when he was having a bad night. Lily’s voice was by no means that of a nightingale, but he had seen it work on Harry in the past, so it was worth a shot.

Severus pursed his lips. He knew no lullabies. In fact, the only song lyrics he could think of, other than the wretched things from the Hogwarts school song were that of a Muggle rock song. He supposed that song would have to do.

“Ever since I was a young boy,/I’ve played the silver ball. From Soho down to Brighton/I must’ve played them all/but I ain’t seen nothing like him/in any amusement hall./That deaf dumb and blind./Sure plays a mean pinball/he stands like a statue/becomes part of the machine./Filled all the bumpers/always playing clean./He placed by intuition./The digit characters fall./That deaf dumb and blind kid/sure plays mean pinball. He’s a pinball wizard,/there has to be a twist./The pinball wizard,/got such a supple wrist.” Severus sang softly.

As Severus sang the muggle rock song Harry’s cries began to calm. Whether it was from Severus’ voice, the rocking finally taking effect, or Harry had just cried himself out, Severus was not certain. Just in case it was the music he continued to sing.

By the time he reached the final reprise of the chorus he could tell Harry was asleep. The tiny chest was moving up and down in a steady deep, rhythm. Severus stayed in the chair a moment longer, just to make sure Harry didn’t wake then carried the toddler back to the crib. Ever so gently Severus placed Harry back down his back, covered him with his blue blanket covered with moons and stars, and placed Harry stuffed lion within arm’s reach.

Simple acts like this reminded Severus just how far his life had come from what he had ever expected it to be. It was times like this he could never explain how grateful he was for them. Severus woke several more times during the night and each time he chose to sing Harry back to sleep. The last time he must’ve fallen asleep in a rocking chair, as Lily found him there the following morning.

“Sev,” Lily said the gentle shake of shoulder.

“What time is it?” Severus grumbled. He frowned at the wet spot on his chest. Harry had drooled through his nightshirt. Still it was better than vomit he supposed.

“It’s half six. I thought I’d relieve you. You can get back to the castle for proper rest before your first class.” Lily told him.

“Not likely,” Severus grumbled. “No, I need to start those healing potions. Harry should not be in such a level of discomfort if it can be helped. The same should also be said about the students at school, although Madam Pomfrey has a fair supply at the moment.”

Lily took the still sleeping Harry from Severus’ lap as Severus rose and stretched. He had an awful crick in his neck from the chair.

“Do you have any particular attachment this chair?” Severus asked.

“That’s a fairly random question,” she said Harry once more tucked in to bed. “Not really, why do you ask?”

“No reason,” Severus said stretching once more.

“How come you never told me you can sing?” Lily asked softly.

“You never asked.” Severus told her softly.

“I don’t think you liked Tommy,” Lily said.

Severus balked. “Tommy? How did… I put up a Silencing Charm on your door….”

“You forgot about the baby monitor,” Lily told him.

“Oh, I see. I am not overly fond of the album. The movie forced me to see was one of the least pleasant experiences of my life.” Severus replied.

“Than why did you sing it to Harry?” Lily asked.

“I sang him one song, not the album,” Severus clarified.

Lily frowned. “Why that song?”

Severus quirked an eyebrow at the question. Really could she not guess response?

“Did you learn that song because it had the word ‘wizard’ in it?” Lily asked, almost teasingly.

“Yes,” Severus replied seriously. “You will remember it was a popular song the summer we met. What you may not be aware of, is this is one of the first times I ever heard Muggle music. There was a Muggle radio in our house, but my father only used it to listen to football matches and on  occasion, the shipping forecast. My mother and I dare not touch the unit in fear of provoking Tobias’ wrath. Yet, I met you. I heard Muggle singing about wizard. It stuck with me.  I even bought the single.”

“You’re one in a million Severus Snape,” Lily said kissing him softly.

Embarrassed Severus said, “Now, I must be going. I have a busy day ahead of me. If you’ll excuse me,” before darting from the room.

Lily didn’t see him leave but heard the flare the Floo activating. Not four hours later, a box with all the potions the healer suggested freshly brewed appeared in her fireplace. She knew he must’ve put off brewing for  the Hospital Wing until Harry’s potions were complete since they had other options to fall back on. Lily was impressed with just how much this man was willing to do for her son.

“By Christmas Day you were fully recovered.  I spent the day with you and your mother.  Although, I had to return to the school for Christmas dinner.  I don’t know why the Headmaster insisted I attend, but he did.”  Severus explained.

“You spent the whole day with us?” Harry asked.

“Not quite,” Severus said.  “I arrived after breakfast time to open stockings and presents.  You spent much of the time climbing through a series of tunnels that were created with the boxes that held your toys.”

Harry looked like he didn’t believe him.

“You did,” Severus answered to Harry’s unasked question.

“That’s stupid,” Harry stated.

“Be that as it may, you were quite entertained for some time doing so.”  Severus told him.  “Your mother and I spent much of that time talking.  She was not looking forward to the next morning.”

“Why?  What was happening then?” Harry inquired.

“You and your mother went to see your aunt in Surrey.  Given my last encounter with Petunia, we agreed it was best if I did not go along for the holiday.”  Severus explained.

“If Mum didn’t want to go, why did she?” Harry asked.

“You are well aware how important family is to your mother.”  Severus said.

Harry nodded.

“At this point, your mother had not spoken to her sister for several weeks and not seen her in person for almost six months.  This is not the sort of statistics you want when trying to improve your relationship with another person” Severus said.

“But she said Mum…” Harry asked.

“I know, Harry”  Severus agreed,“There are times when it is just easier not to question your mother.”

“Like then?” Harry supplied.

“Not exactly,” Severus said.

Harry cocked his head to the side.  It made Severus think the boy had been spending too much time with Black if he was subconsciously mimicking the overgrown mutt’s body language.

“There was a very important thing your mother wanted to discuss with your aunt and it was best done not over the telephone.  So the two of you were to Apparate to Surrey in the morning.  As you know from traveling with your siblings, even with magic, going places with small children is not easy.  You were to spend the week in the south, returning just after the New Year.  But things did not go exactly as planned.” Severus said ominously.

“What happened?” Harry asked.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Lils, are you sure you don’t want one of us to come with you?”  Sirius asked.  “Moony or I could come.  Hell, even Snape would if you asked him.”

“I know he would,”  Lily said throwing another blouse into her bag.

“Then why not ask him?” Sirius demanded.

“Severus and Petunia get on as well as Sev and James did.  It’s a good thing they both don’t have magic.  It they did, I’m sure one of them would be in Azkaban for hexing the other to oblivion,”  Lily said tossing aside the sweater she had just taken out.

“They can’t be that bad,” Sirius said in disbelief.

Lily gave him an accusatory look.

“I know Snape has a temper, but he never hurt James or me that bad.” Sirius defended.

Lily gave him a very small nod.  That was true, but Lily knew that what he said was certainly true.

Lily took a deep breath, then turned to look at Sirius, “When we were young, not long after Severus and I met, Sev and I were talking.  Petunia was caught eavesdropping and Severus dropped a tree branch near her.”

“Snape tried to kill her as a kid?” Sirius actually surprised.

“I know it was an accident.  We both were having problems controlling our magic.  But Petunia has held it against him ever since.” Lily explained.

“No wonder,” Sirius muttered.

“Aren’t you supposed to be at the office?” Lily asked closing the lid of her case.

Sirius gave a slight shrug,“Switched shifts with Miller.  Didn’t fancy working a double three days in a row.  Besides, they’ve had time with their families.”

“Sirius,” scolded Lily.

“What? I had to spend Christmas day waiting for nothing to happen while you…” Sirius protested.

“Spent the day with my boyfriend and son,” supplied Lily.

“Yeah, that.” Confirmed Sirius.

“Did you get Harry’s things together like I asked?” Lily asked Sirius.

Sirius put the bag down on the bed beside Lily’s,“How much stuff does one kid need?”

“You’d be surprised,” Lily replied.

“You need to have at least two outfits a day.  I’m not sure how willing Petunia would be to let me do laundry at her house.” Lily explained.

Sirius nodded.  “Where are you putting the presents?”

“Harry’s bag has the Expansion Charm on it.” Lily told him.

“You ready?” Sirius asked.

“Just need Harry,” Lily confirmed.

Harry was passed out on the sofa.  Sirius helped Lily carry the bags down the stairs.

“Wake up sleepy head,” Lily said shaking Harry by the shoulder.

“Wha?” the boy mumbled.

“Time to wake up.  We’re going to visit your Aunt Tuney.” Lily said with false cheer.

Harry rubbed a sleepy eye.

“Go get your coat and shoes on,” Lily told him.

Harry bolted down the hall.  Harry returned his coat mis-buttoned, his shoes were in his hands.

“Come here,” Lily instructed.  

She corrected the buttons and made sure Harry put his shoes on the right feet.  Finally, she put on her own shoes and coat.

“We’ll see you soon,” Sirius said.

“You will,” Lily agreed, as they walked down and out of the hallways.

“Good luck, Lils,” Sirius said giving her a hug.  

“Be good for your mum kiddo,” Sirius ordered Harry, scooping the boy up to give him a hug as well.

Lily took Harry’s hand and spun on her heel.  A moment later they were in Surrey.  Lily waited a moment for the initial dizziness to pass.

“Mummy,” Harry said pitifully before leaning over to vomit.  Lily rubbed his back as he sicked up.

“Oh sweetie,” Lily whispered.  

She set down her bag down to pick Harry up.  Lily wished she could just Hover the bags, but they were in a Muggle suburb.  She managed to shift the boy enough to be able to pick the bags back up.

The walk was long in the cold and with a toddler in her arms.  Lily was very glad when she reached Petunia’s perfectly manicured driveway.  She set Harry and the bags down to ring the doorbell.  Thankfully this time they weren’t kept waiting nearly as long as the last time they had visited her sister.

The door opened to reveal a very large man with very little neck and a huge mustache.

“Hello, Vernon,” Lily greeted cheerfully.

Vernon grunted in return, but stepped away to let Lily enter.  Lily had to give Harry a slight push to get him to move from behind her.  She couldn’t understand why Harry always got so nervous around her sister’s family.

“Come on sweetie,” Lily encouraged.

Vernon slammed the door behind them once Harry was far enough into the house to do so.  He had not helped Lily with the bags.

‘So much for a warm welcome’, thought Lily.

“Petunia,” Vernon called down called down the hall.  “Your sister is here.”

Petunia came out of the kitchen still in her apron.

“Hi Tuney,” Lily said offering her sister a smile.

“Lily,” Petunia returned, much more coolly.

“Harry say ‘Hello’ to your aunt and uncle.” Lily prompted.

“‘Lo,” Harry mumbled from his mother’s side.

“I see his manners have improved ever so slightly.” Petunia observed critically.

“We’re working on it,” Lily said.  “He’s feeling a bit poorly.  Our method of transport didn’t really agree with him.”

“I see.” Petunia said looking down her nose at Harry’s messy hair.  Turning back to her sister ash asked, “Would you care for some tea?”

“Tea would be wonderful.” Lily agreed.

“Does the boy drink chocolate?” Petunia asked, leading them into the kitchen.  

Vernon, Dudley, and a woman, Lily assumed was Vernon’s did sister were at the table.  

“He does,” Lily confirmed.

Petunia nodded putting the kettle on.

Lily took a seat at one of the empty chairs around the table, pulling Harry into her lap.  “Did everyone have a good Christmas?”

“Fine,” Vernon said over his paper. “Father Christmas left lots of toys for Dudley.  He was a very good boy this year.”

“I’m sure he was,” Lily said uncomfortably.

She had never really told Harry stories about Father Christmas.  James didn’t see the harm in the stories, but Lily remembered how hurt she was when her parents told her the truth.  Severus thought the tradition was ‘completely stupid’ and ‘refused to have any part in its propagation’.  Since he had spent the last two Christmases with Lily and Harry there was no mention of Father Christmas.

“How did you spend the day?” Petunia asked setting a cup of tea in front Lily and of chocolate in front of Harry.

“Biscuits,” Dudley demanded from his seat.  Never mind the fact his breakfast in front of him.

“Severus came over for most of the day.  He had to go back to school for Christmas dinner though.” Lily said.

“Was it just the two of you?” Vernon asked.

Lily frowned slightly.  “And Harry.  Our friend Sirius was working the duty desk at the police station.  Remus was with his parents.”

“Rather intimate,” Vernon’s sister commented.

“It was,” Lily agreed.  She didn’t like where this was going.

“Do you think that is really appropriate?” the Dursley woman asked.

“Excuse me?” Lily demanded.

“Vernon says you’re recently widowed.  Is it really appropriate to spend the day with a man like that?” the woman demanded.

“My husband died a little over a year ago.  As for my spending the day with Severus what concern is it of yours?” Lily demanded.  

Lily was wracking her brain trying to come up with this horrible woman’s name.  Megan?  Midge?  Margret?  Marge? Marge!  That was it!

“What riff-raff you choose to associate yourself doesn’t matter to me.  But I would hate to see you sully Petunia’s good name in the village,” the Dursley woman said acidly.

Lily glared at the woman.  “How dare you call Severus riff-raff.  As far as I know, the two of you have never been properly introduced.  Then again, neither have we.  How can you judge someone you’ve never met?”  

“Petunia says his family were no good drunks.  You see it all the time in dogs.  If you have poor breeding stock all you end up with are weak, small, useless things,”  Marge said acidly.

“Shut up,” snapped Lily.

“What did you say?” Marge demanded.

“I told you to shut up, you fat cow!” Lily snapped back.

“How dare you?” Marge huffed.

“How dare I?  How dare I? You just compared my boyfriend and his family to dogs and you’re offended?  No matter what kind of person Severus is, or who he comes from, he is a person.  I’m not so sure the same could be said about you,” Lily yelled.

Harry was fighting back tears of fright in his mother’s arms.  Dudley too seemed to be rather frightened.

“Petunia, Vernon, are you going to let this… this hussy speak to me like this?”  Marge demanded of the other adults.

“Apologize,” Vernon commanded.

“I will not,” Lily replied.

“You’re dating that freak?” Petunia demanded.

“Yes and don’t call him that!” Lily ordered.

“How could you let that little creep from Spinner’s End near you?”   Petunia asked contemptuously.

“He’s my friend and I love him,” snapped Lily,“If you’re not going to be civil about Severus maybe I should just go.”

“Is that why you wanted to come?”  Petunia demanded.  “You wanted to rub your relationship with that slimy freak in our faces?”

Lily shook her head sadly,“I didn’t want to rub anything in anyone’s face.  I just wanted to tell you I was in a relationship.  I knew the fact it was with Severus would cause some problems..  I never thought you’d be this nasty.”

Lily rose from her chair.  She Summoned her bags from the guest room or wherever Vernon had stuck them.  She didn’t care if Muggles saw.  She was sure Sirius could sort it all out for her if he needed to.

“Where are you going?”  Petunia demanded, following Lily out of the kitchen.

“Somewhere I am not going to be constantly attacked for my choice in boyfriends.  Gods Petunia!  We were kids!  Why can’t you let it go?!”  Lily yelled.

“That freak tried to kill me!” Petunia yelled back.

Choking back a sob Lily said, “It was an accident!  He couldn’t control what he was doing.”  

“If you are going to defend that FREAK and not believe me, you should go.  I don’t want to speak to you until he is gone forever,”  Petunia declared.

“Fine,” agreed Lily.  

Her voice broke as the tears began to fall.  “Fine,” she said again.

“I wish you’d never met that FREAK; you’d be normal,”  Petunia hissed.

“I wish you’d get past the fact it’s not my choice.  I’m a witch and you’re not,”  Lily said through her tears.  “I wish we could have done this together.”

“Liar,” Petunia hissed.

Lily couldn’t bring herself to respond, she just pulled on her coat before helping Harry with his.  Petunia continued to verbally assault them, but Lily was past listening.  She was numb inside.  Never in all her dreams (or nightmares) had things gone this badly.  Who was that woman?  How dare she attack Severus, with second hand information too?

Lily gathered Harry and their bags before storming out of the house.  She didn’t bother thanking Petunia for her hospitality.  Their mother would have been embarrassed of both their behavior.  Lily stuck out her wand hand.  She wasn’t sure where she wanted to go.  She just needed to get away.  When the purple Knight’s Bus arrived Lily found herself telling the conductor the first place that came to mind, Hogwarts.

Lily was glad the bus was mostly empty.  She couldn’t stand having to deal with people crowding around adoring Harry.  Over the hour or so of the ride Lily got her emotions back in control.

Harry was fascinated with the bus.  He loved how the bus jumped from place to place.  Every time they almost hit a house, postbox, or car, Harry giggled madly.  Lily touched the top of his head letting the high pitch giggles sooth her frayed nerves.

When the bus dropped them at the Hogwarts’ gates Lily had something new to worry her nerves.  How would Severus take them suddenly appearing on his doorstep?  They did not have to stay the night, but right now she could use his cool, calm, steady presence.

Lily let go of Harry so she could combine and shrink their bags.  Harry took the opportunity to dash off.

“Kittah,” Harry exclaimed chasing after a small ball of fur.

“Damn it!  Harry! Come back here!  Harry no!”  Lily said chasing after her son.

Harry continued chasing the cat.  It disappeared under a low cart of gardening supplies.  Lily thought the poor thing might have escaped but Harry crawled right in behind it.

“Harry James Potter came out from under there!”  Lily ordered.  “Harry come out now!”

Harry squirmed out from the cart, the kitten in his arms.  “Kittah!!”  He said happily to his mother.

“I see,”  Lily agreed.  “Put it down, Harry.  It isn’t ours.”

“No,” Harry protested.

“Harry it’s not ours,”  Lily sighed.  She just wanted to get inside to the castle.  “Put it down, please.”

The air suddenly got five degrees colder as a gigantic shadow fell over the pair.

“Hello Lily, Harry,” Hagrid boomed.

“Wha’ yeh got there Harry?” Hagrid asked.

“Kittah!”  Harry said holding the tiny kitten out.

“It is,”  Hagrid agreed with a booming laugh.

“It’s not ours, Harry.  Put it down.”  Lily told the boy once more.

“Don’ do that,” Hagrid contradicted.

“Hagrid,” Lily protested.

“A boy needs a pet,” Hagrid said.

Lily sighed.  Hagrid was sweet, but this wasn’t his concern.  “Hagrid, we can’t keep it.  Remus is allergic.”

Hagrid made a dismissive grunt.  “He’ll be fine.”

Lily could see she wasn’t going to win the fight here.  She would have to hope she could lose it somewhere else.  “Can I help you with anything Hagrid?”

“Professor Dumbledore set me out see who was crossin’ the wards.  Mus’ been yeh and Harry,” Hagrid explained.  “Wha’ yeh doin’ here, Lily?”

“Petunia and I had a row.”  Lily explained.  “I just needed to be around people that understood me.”

Hagrid nodded.

“Is Sev up at the castle?”  Lily asked hopefully.

“Professor Snape?  He’s up there.  In a righ’ state.”  Hagrid confirmed.

That wasn’t what Lily had wanted to hear.  She was hoping he could cheer her up.  That wasn’t likely if he was in a bad mood.  Still, they were here, it was worth a shot.

“Come on Harry,” Lily said.

“Kittah,” Harry said.

“You can keep the kitty as long as you can keep hold of it,” Lily agreed.

Harry squeezed the kitten probably more than was comfortable.  The beast tried to squirm out of Harry’s grasp.

“Gently Harry,” Lily advised.  “If you’re mean to kitty it’s not going to want to stay.”

Lily was shocked to see Harry still held the kitten when they reached the castle 15 minutes later.  Harry’s determination amazed her sometimes.  Lily led them down the familiar hallways toward Severus’ quarters.

“Good morning, Lily,” Minerva greeted them in the hallway down from their destination.

“Hello Minerva,” Lily still found it odd addressing her former professor in such a manner.

“What are you doing here?”  Minerva asked.

“Came to see Sev,” Lily supplied.

“Good luck,” Minerva advised.  “He nearly hexed a first year at breakfast.”

Lily’s eyebrows disappeared into her hair.  “What happened?”

“Who knows?  He keeps things locked up tighter than a Gringott’s high security vault,”  Minerva grumbled.  “He had something come in the post this morning and thundered out of the Great Hall.  I came to check on him and he all but threw me out on my ear.”

Lily gave an appreciative nod.

“Let go of that poor creature Mr. Potter,” Minerva ordered seeing Harry’s grip on the kitten.

“My kittah,” Harry protested clutching it tighter to his chest.

“I told him he could keep it as long as he held on to it,”  Lily told the older witch.

“I see,” Minerva said with a disapproving glare.  Crouching down in front of Harry she adjusted the boy’s grip so it was secure, but much more comfortable for the cargo.  “Like that,” she said ruffling the boy’s hair.

Harry grinned up at both of them.

“Thank you Minerva,” Lily said, though more for the warning than with Harry.  She still didn’t know what she was going to do about that.  Lily knocked on the door to Severus’ office.

“Go away Minerva,” Severus’ voice thundered, although slightly muffled by the heavy wooden door.

Lily knocked again.

“Can you not get it through your fur-filled brain…” the man’s voice grew louder as he crossed the room, “I want to be…”  The door swung open.

“Hi Sev,” Lily greeted.

“I thought you were someone else,”  Severus said clearly embarrassed.

“I could tell,” Lily replied.  “Is this a bad time?”

Severus shook his head.  He stepped aside to let them in than led them into his private quarters.  Instinctively he ordered a tray of hot chocolate.

“Sev’us kittah,” Harry said showing off his captured prize.

“Very good, Harry,” Severus said with an indulgent smile.

“He caught it up by the gates.  I told him he could keep it as long as he kept hold of it,”  Lily explained,  “I figured he would have let go by now.”

“And yet,” Severus agreed.

“Exactly, we can’t take it home,”  Lily said sadly.  “Remus is allergic.”

“The wolf,” he ignored Lily’s disapproving glare, “is allergic to cats.  It would only be funnier if it were Black.”

“Harry, let the kitty go.”  Lily told him.

Harry did as he was told.  The kitten bolted under a heavy wooden desk in the corner.  Harry plopped on his stomach to see it.

“Come have a biscuit,” Lily called.

Harry looked up at the instruction then back to the desk,“Kittah.”

“Will still be there after your biscuit,” Severus promised.  

“That could be a solution to your problem,” Severus said after a moment.

“What could?”  Lily asked.

“Leave the wretched beast here,” Severus suggested.

“‘Wretched beast’ that really makes me want to leave it with you, Sev.”  Lily said the amusement clear in her voice.

“Yes well, if you have a better solution…” Severus said with a smirk.

“And how do I know you won’t chop it up for potions ingredients?”  Lily said laughing outright now.

“Because cats are a very poor source of potions ingredients.  However,” he paused in mock thought. “Although, I was just reading an article about the use of cat liver bile.”

“Shut up you bastard,” Lily said smacking him with a pillow.  “Harry, sweetie,” Lily called to the child.  

Harry was once again laid out on his stomach watching the kitten who was still curled into a ball in the corner under the desk.  Harry looked up at the sound of his mother’s voice.

“Come over here sweetie,” Lily urged.

Harry looked back at the desk once more.

“Harry, come here please,” Severus requested.

Harry walked slowly to Severus and his mother.  Lily pulled the little boy on her lap and asked,

“Harry, would it be okay if kitty stayed with Severus for a while?”  

“My kittah,” Harry protested.

“I know sweetie,” Lily assured, “but Remus is allergic.”

Harry stared at her blankly.

“That is to say that if the cat were to live with you and your mum, Remus would be sick.  He would sneeze and feel yucky all the time,” Severus explained.  “We don’t want Remus to feel yucky do we?”

Harry shook his head.  

Lily giggled slightly.  Just loud enough for Severus to hear she muttered, “Yucky. I never imagined I hear Severus Snape use the word ‘yucky’ twice in one breath.”

Severus gave her a sidelong glare.

“So, it’s okay that kitty stays here?”  Severus asked.  

“My kittah,” Harry pouted.

“It will still be your cat,” Severus reassured, “it will just live here. You can visit whenever you and your mother like.  Is it okay then?”

Harry nodded.

“Excellent,” Severus said.  Out of the corner of Severus’ eye he saw the kitten slink out from under the desk.  “It looks like your pet wants to finally say ‘hello’.”       

Harry spun round so quickly he nearly fell off Lily’s lap. He bolted off of her lap.  The kitten was slowly walking along the wall of the room. It had made it to a plush armchair in the corner when Harry met up with it.  The two chased each other as the adults watched and laughed.  Finally Lily fell back against Severus’ chest. Severus tucked Lily’s head under his chin and slipped a protective arm around her.

“What are you doing here Lily flower?” he asked seriously.

“Do you want me to go?”  Lily asked.

“Of course not,” Severus said tightening his hold on her.  “I simply wanted to know why you are not in Surrey.  If I am not mistaken, you were supposed to be visiting Tuney for the better part of the next week.”

“If I tell you, will you tell me what had you so upset this morning?”  Lily asked.

“I will,” Severus promised.

“Tuney and I had a row.”  Lily said morosely.

“I take it was not one of your normal tiffs.”  Severus prompted.

Lily shook her head.  “It was horrible. She was so horrible…”

“Petunia?”  Severus asked.

“Partly, but Vernon’s wretched sister started it.”  Lily explained.

“Vernon’s sister?  You mean that walrus in a skirt?  What did she have to say?”  Severus asked.

Lily’s giggles at Severus’ description died quickly,“It was terrible.  She started off by questioning if it was proper for the two of us spending Christmas together.  You know since there was nobody else there.”

“Really?  Even Black agrees the mourning period is over.”  Severus protested.

“I know.”  Lily continued.  “Then that cow started attacking you.  She compared you and your family to dogs.  She was going on about how bad breeding stock only produces poor, weak runts.  Who does that?”  Lily raged.

Severus was a bit hurt, but could not say he was shocked by the statements.  Not after what he heard Vernon say about those on the dole.

“I got pretty mad at that point,” Lily admitted.

“Understandable,” Severus agreed.

“That walrus demanded I apologize to her after I called her a ‘fat cow’.  That was after she spent all this time attacking you.  She didn’t even care about me.  She just didn’t want me sullying Petunia’s name by association,”  Lily snapped.

“Hush now,” Severus soothed, “It’s over.”

Lily shook her head, tears threatening to fall once more, “That’s not the worst of it.   I refused to apologize.  I was not going to let her bad mouth my boyfriend, not when she had never met you properly.”

“Oh no, not without a proper introduction.  She could say anything after a formal introduction,” Severus joked, but it fell flat.

“I told her to stop talking about my boyfriend like that.”  Lily continued.  “Petunia hadn’t said anything yet.  But she got really mad when I mentioned we were dating.”

“Lily, please tell me you did not inform your sister of our relationship in an offhand comment in defense,”  Severus begged.

Lily’s body tensing was all the answer he needed.

“Go on,” he breathed.

“I was getting ready to leave.  Petunia followed me out of the kitchen.  She was going on and on about you being a freak.  She kept using that word.”  Lily said her anger flaring once more.

Severus gave her a reassuring squeeze.

“Then she started saying things about how if I had never met you, I would be normal.”  Lily continued.

“Absolutely ridiculous,” Severus clarified.

Lily was not at all soothed by this.  “Then she said she didn’t want to have anything to do with me if we were still together.”

“You and I?” Severus clarified.

Lily nodded into his chest,  “Do you think she was serious?”

“What? About not talking to you unless you and I are no longer dating?”  Severus asked.

Lily gave another nod.

“I doubt it.”  Severus said.

“You sure?  She’s still mad at you for the branch.”  Lily countered.

“I cannot be certain, but I have one major disadvantage you do not have.”  Severus replied.

“What?” Lily asked.

“I am not her sister,” Severus replied.

“So?  You always say that blood doesn’t make a family.” Lily protested.

“And it does not for some families.  For example, my own hardly counts as a family despite being connected by blood.  Roger and Violet were more like parents to me,” Severus remarked.

“Then why would…”Lily began.

Severus cut her off, “Lily, despite how it may feel, Petunia cares for you deeply.  She would not be concerned about who you are dating if she did not love you.”

“You think?”  Lily asked.

“I do.  I sincerely do,”  Severus confirmed.

“I hope you’re right,” Lily said relaxing even more into Severus’ comforting embrace.

“So do I,” agreed Severus.

“I told you what’s bothering me.  Now, are you going to tell me what's wrong with you?”  Lily asked.

“That was our agreement wasn’t it,” Severus said with a small sign.

“It was.  So what’s got you so upset?”  Lily demanded.

“You need not concern yourself with it.  It is nothing serious,” Severus protested.

“That’s not how this works, Sev,”  Lily protested.  “We’re in a relationship, you support me, and I support you.  It’s a two way street.”

“I see,” Severus grumbled.  “Since you are not likely to stop pestering me until I tell you.”

“I won’t,” confirmed Lily not caring she had cut him off mid-sentence.  

“I received an owl this morning from the Ministry.”  Severus said.

“The Ministry?  What do they want?”  Lily asked, her concern evident.

“As I said, it is nothing to worry about.  They simply want to question me again about my time as a Death Eater,”  Severus told her.

“You’re not worried?”  Lily asked surprised.

It was not something they talked about often, but Lily knew Severus was troubled by his time among the group.

“I am not,” Severus reassured.  “They want to administer Veritaserum this time.  That being the case, this should be the last time for such an inquiry.”

“What if you tell them about something horrible you did…before you started working for our side,” Lily asked.

“It is unlikely they will ask,” Severus dismissed.  “They have yet to ask me about that time.  Or more accurately, have failed to specifically ask when I changed sides.  If they do not know when I changed sides, they must assume it was all done as part of my cover”

“You’re sure?”  Lily asked.

“I am. The Headmaster and I discussed it at great length.”  Severus explained.

“Then why were you in such a bad mood, if you’re not worried about it?”  Lily inquired.

“The date set for the interrogation is your birthday.  It is unlikely they will let me change it....  I had wanted to do something special for you,”  Severus told her.

“Have I told you you’re an amazing boyfriend?”  Lily asked.

Severus frowned in confusion,  “Lily, I do not understand.”

“Sev,” Lily said with an exasperated sigh.  “You’re more worried about my birthday then being interrogated by the Ministry.  Sometimes you can be very sweet.”

“But what about..?” Severus began.

“Don’t worry about it,”  Lily dismissed.  “We’ll do something after, or the next day, if you don’t feel up to it that day,”  she added quickly seeing Severus preparing to protest.

“Very well,” Severus agreed reluctantly.  “Now, what shall we call the horrible ball offer I am now playing host to?  What do you think of Chaucer?”

“You can’t call it Chaucer,” Lily protested.

“Why ever can I not?  Am I, or am I not its owner?  Under the rules of ownership, I believe I can call it anything I like.  And besides, as we both know, only the cat knows its Jellicle name.”

Lily burst out laughing.  She didn’t even bother complaining about how the cat was a girl and therefore should be named after a woman.  Trust Severus to find a way to make her laugh, even if that may not have been his original intention.

Lily and Severus spent much of the day playing with Harry.  Harry enjoyed running down the halls.  They built a snowman out by the lake.  They ate dinner in the Great Hall with the remaining students and teachers.  The students whispered about their evil Potions Master eating with an attractive woman and child.  That was even without knowing their identities.  Severus couldn’t imagine how they would have responded if they knew the boy was Harry Potter.  

“Okay, so what about the stuff with the Ministry and Mom’s birthday. What was going on at the school?” Harry demanded clearly anxious to move away from talking about that part of his parents’ love life.

“I was just getting there,” Severus reassured now completely recomposed.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Severus slipped into the dungeon classroom is black robes flapping intimidatingly. Severus loved how the class instantly quieted with his entrance. It was a talent few possessed.

He made it to the front of the room before the firsthand shut up. Severus fought hard not to roll his eyes.

“Padlock, if this is an inquiry into my personal affairs I will personally see to it that you are solely responsible for cleaning all of Hogwarts’ bathrooms until you graduate.” Severus warned. “The same goes for the rest of you.”

The hand lowered even faster than it shot up. Ever since Lily’s visit during the Christmas holidays students had taken an unpleasant obsession with his and Lily’s love life. He thought it would have diminished when the rest of the students returned. If anything, it got worse, far far worse.

Less than a fifth of the student body stayed at school for the holidays. So few students meant there was little chance of running across them in the halls especially since the majority were Gryffindor and Ravenclaw. It wasn’t until the second or third visit to the school that any of the students recognized Lily. No, they didn’t recognize Lily, they recognized Harry and put two and two together. That was when the first talk came to Severus’ attention.

Although it might have been started the first night. They had received a number of curious looks. How could they not? The evil dungeon bat having dinner with a beautiful woman and a child he wasn’t belittling? Still Severus awareness dawned after that later visit.

The other faculty did not help matters. Severus would not go so far as to say they encouraged the gossip, but they did not discourage it anywhere near enough in his opinion. The more visits and students returning from the holiday speculation grew even more.

Severus’ hopes the students would find some new source of fascination were in vain. The fact that he missed the most recent Quidditch match (not for spending time with Lily, but rather overseeing the detention of three third year Ravenclaws) had not helped his case. If this kept up Severus was certain he would go mad at any moment.

Severus set his students to working on their Shrinking Solutions. He sat at his desk in quill in hand. He wanted to do something nice for Lily’s birthday, but the damned Ministry had scheduled another interrogation for the same day. He told Lily all of this. What he had not told her was he went so far as to ask them to reschedule. That went over as well as asking a chimera for a ride.

Severus was now trying to come up with alternative solutions. Having magic meant they could go almost anywhere in very little time at all. Still it needed to fit the criteria, not that he was exactly certain what that was.

Lily had kept his own birthday rather simple, dinner and a movie. Though she had given him a very special gift. That was probably a good basis for his own planning. Lily said they need not do anything too fancy. They did not even have to do it that day. Still Severus wanted to make an impression.

He said his quill to parchment writing the first three ideas that came to mind. He sat back in contemplation. He would reevaluate all the ideas later. Right now he was just brainstorming.

Nothing came to mind after another moment’s pause. Severus took that is assigned to actually make sure the students were not going to kill or otherwise maim themselves or their classmates. He made sure to talk the list and the inner pocket of his robes. He did not need a student to happen across it. Could only imagine what they might say. It would spread across the school faster than cursed fire. This pattern continued for the rest of the day. None of the students (as far as he knew) figured out what he was doing. Nor did any of the other professors, a fact Severus was incredibly glad. Finally the bell rang for the end of the classes.

Severus returned to his quarters to relax before dinner. He hung his heavy teaching robes by the door and continued on to the cabinet across the room. He poured himself a healthy measure of scotch before gracelessly flopping onto the sofa. He was momentarily shocked by a small yelp that omitted from where he sat down. It was instantly placed went Harry’s blasted furball emerged from behind Severus’ back. The wizard was still getting used to checking to see if the cat, who still small enough to hide in his shoe, was sleeping, laying, or otherwise occupied his desired spot. Unlike Lily, however, Severus had no problem moving the beast if it did occupy the space. Not that that was very difficult at least at the moment, maybe when it got bigger he would give in.

Severus Summoned the list from his pocket. Taking the first sip of his drink he unrolled scroll. He ran down the list. Of the dozen or so items on it maybe three would actually work. Severus cursed under his breath. All were so…so cliché. He didn’t want to be that boring.

Severus shook his head. If you knew if Lily could see him now she would laugh. He knew she cared more for the time they spent together than the actual activity. Still, he wanted to show curse cared by going the extra mile.

With a sigh he set the list to side. He still had a bit of time to work on it. He would come up with something when he was sure. At the moment he was supposed to spend the weekend with Lily and Harry. Any plans would have to include Harry on those days. Remus would be indisposed due to his condition and Black was scheduled to work the weekend.

Severus briefly considered trying to do something for Lily’s birthday then, but everything became so much more complicated when having to include a toddler into the plans. Perhaps they could break things up a bit. Black was off work on Monday (the day of the inquiry) and Lupin might be well enough to mind Harry for the evening. That was something to consider. Why haven’t he thought of that before? They could have a nice day trip out, the three of them, then Lily’s actual birthday just here Lily do something simple. Yes, that sounded like you much better idea.

Severus pushed the list aside. He pushed around the pamphlets and stacks of parchment across the table until he found what he was looking for. Finally buried below almost everything else he found it. A catalog of basic Portkey destinations. He flipped furiously through the pages. There it was! He and Lily had just been talking about it the other day. 15 Galleons for each day spent. It would be a bit pricey, but it was from Lily. No, this is what they would do.

Severus penned a quick letter to the appropriate office at the Ministry including the number of his bank to have the funds withdrawn. He thought about writing to tell Lily about his decision, but chose not to. She had kept her plans for his birthday secret. Would only seem fair that he do the same.

Severus sighed. That wouldn’t work exactly the same. If he was there for during the week he could make sure things were set aside and they could just leave on Saturday morning. He wouldn’t be there however. Lily would need time to prepare things for a day out at least, overnight at the most. Still he would hold off until Friday night. That would give her more than enough time to pull things together for such a short trip.

Severus sent the letter off before dinner. He did his best to ignore Minerva’s questions about Lily’s birthday. It wouldn’t be surprised if the two women were plotting to get the lowdown on his plans. If anything Severus was an excellent secret keeper.

When her first line of questions fell flat Minerva changed course. Instead she asked Severus how he felt about his upcoming inquiry with the Ministry. Severus glared at the Headmaster. He was certain the old coot must’ve told McGonagall about it.

“Severus,” Minerva repeated. “Did you hear my question?”

Severus counted slowly to ten in his mind. There was no need to attack the overly nosy Deputy Headmistress. She was merely trying to show concern for colleague and friend.

“I heard you, Professor McGonagall,” Severus finally replied. “I am as well prepared as I could be for any such inquiry. The best I can do is to tell the truth and hope the idiots final believe what I am saying is indeed fact. They will have little room to question it in the future as they will be administering Vertitiserum this time. Now if you’ll excuse me I have a good deal of planning do for my absence this weekend and Monday.” Severus pushed away from the table before the Head of Gryffindor even had a chance to reply.

Severus stalked down the halls back towards his quarters. On the way he broke up a pair of overly amorous fifth years from his own house and a squabble with wands drawn between two third years from Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. Both received detention. He had no interest who started it or why. Let them explained to Filch, like the useless squib would care.

The rest of the week rushed by in a wave of classes, grading, and detentions. It was only at Friday breakfast that the day seemed to break out of the mold. It started with the package arriving from the Ministry.

The sound of flapping wings filled the Great Hall students and professors enjoy breakfast. Severus looked up as he had every morning for the last four days. He was starting to worry his Portkey would not arrive in time for his surprise to go as planned. He was slightly relieved when an unfamiliar barn owl landed at his place on the dais.

Severus quickly removed the package from the bird’s per-offered leg. The bird do not stay long enough to take any of the bacon or toast Severus would give it. He slipped the package into his robe pocket. He would double check instructions and regulations in his quarters later. He didn’t want to have to answer any more questions about Lily’s birthday or the inquiry.

When another two owls landed in front of him, Severus was more than a little surprised. He knew Lily’s. That it was here was not so unusual. No, what was strange was the presence of another owl bearing correspondence with a Ministry seal.

Severus quickly untied the letters from the respective owls. Both went off without a pause for so much as a drink of water. Despite his better judgment Severus used his knife to split open the second message from the Ministry. He read:

    Dear Mr. S. Snape,

It has come to the attention of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement you plan to leave the country in the upcoming days. We strongly remind you that you are expected for questioning on Monday, January 30. Failure to report will be considered an admission of guilt and will result in the issuing of a warrant for your arrest.

    Thank you for your compliance,

    John Dawlish

Severus frowned at the parchment. The Ministry was worried he would run? If he wanted to do that, why would he bother using Ministry regulated transit and not simply Apparate to the continent?

“Idiot,” Severus grumbled under his breath.

“Is everything alright, Severus?” Dumbledore asked worriedly.

“Everything is fine, Headmaster. I will simply be glad when Monday arrives and I will finally be free to move about the world without such air of suspicion. It seems that the word of Albus Dumbledore only goes so far. The Ministry saw fit to I remind me of our pending appointment. Better yet, they were so good as to all but threaten me with a squad of Hit Wizards if I failed to appear on Monday.” Severus grumbled. His voice and started low but he continued to grow in volume as his agitation became clear. A few of the students looked over curiously.

Dumbledore gave him solemn nod. “Don’t worry my boy. It will soon be behind you. And then you and the lovely Mrs. Potter can move forward with your lives like any other couple.”

Severus did not know how to respond to such a comment. The man meant it to be reassuring. However, it did little to ease Severus' concerns. No, the only thing that would make Severus feel better right now was his name to be cleared once and for all of any sort of wrongdoing. Since that could not happen until Monday, he would have to settle for a weekend away with Lily and Harry.

Thankfully the day went relatively smoothly. Severus was able to secure the Potions classroom before the dinner bell struck. That seen to he returned to his quarters throwing together a bag to take to Lily’s/on their trip. He paid little attention to what he actually selected for wearing. He just wanted to go. He didn’t even bother double checking if he had enough socks and underwear before he slammed down the lid of the case. A moment later he threw down a handful of Floo Powder, calling out Lily’s home.

What greeted him when he arrived was slightly odd. Lily was yelling at the top of her lungs while the naked from the waist down Harry came running down the hall.

Severus sat down the case to exchange it for a giggling Harry. Harry, thankfully did not kick or  scream as Severus carried the boy back towards the source of his mother’s cries.

“I believe you lost this,” Severus teased as the wizards met Lily at the top of the stairs.

“Thanks,” Lily said taking the toddler back. “Somebody couldn’t wait to say ‘hello’.”

“I see. Did I come at a bad time?” Severus asked.

Lily shook her head. “No, we were just getting ready for Harry’s bath.”

“No bath,” Harry protested.

“Yes bath,” Lily countered. “Little boys who spend all day digging in the mud and leaves need to have a bath.”

“No,” Harry protested.

Severus chuckled at the argument. He stopped when Lily gave him a look as if to say, ‘You’re not helping.’ Severus gave a small nod in understanding.

“Harry,” Severus asked firmly.

The toddler stopped his wiggling for moment.

“Harry,” Severus repeated. “You want your mother or I to give you a bath?”

“No bath,” Harry pouted

“You will have a bath.” Severus corrected. “Now do you want to me or your mummy?”

Harry frowned but held out his arms for Severus. Severus took him and strong arms.

“Well, if you’re doing that, I guess I’ll go start on dinner.” Lily said with a slight smile. “Have fun,” she called heading down the stairs.

‘What could that mean’ Severus thought to himself. It did not take long for him to figure out what she meant. When the pair emerged from the bathroom half an hour later Severus was certain he was almost as wet as Harry.

Once Harry was redressed in his pajamas the two headed downstairs. Lily did not hold back her laughter at the sight of the drenched Severus.

“You knew this would happen.” Severus accused.

Lily shrugged. Severus pouted.

“Thank you,” Lily said offering a kiss as payment.

The kiss lasted as long as Harry let them. Not long enough in Severus’ opinion. He set the boy down in hopes of returning to their previous activity, but was thwarted when Lily turned back to mind something on the stove.

“What’s for dinner?” Severus asked. He didn’t particularly care. He was just enjoying simple and domesticity of it all.

The evening continued with dinner, Severus trying and failing to put Harry to bed, and finally some alone time between he and Lily. It was during this time, Lily found the almost forgotten package from the Ministry.

“What’s this?” she asked pulling a box from his pocket.

“Your birthday present… In a fashion.” Severus replied sitting back.

“From the Ministry,” Lily questioned.

Severus nodded, “Note the department.”

Lily pursed her lips in a way Severus found hard not to kiss.

“Magical transport and…” Lily read. Her frown deepened. She still wasn’t sure how this related to her birthday.

“Go ahead, open it,” Severus encouraged.

Lily pulled out the package to reveal an old wooden spoon with a broken handle. Lily raised an eyebrow as to request an explanation.

“It’s a Portkey,” Severus elaborated. "It will deliver us to the Italian Ministry of Magic tomorrow morning. I thought we could spend the weekend exploring Rome. You know see all the sights like in that movie you are so fond of.”

Lily smiled. “Always full of surprises you are Severus Snape.”

Lily stood up ready to head up stairs, but stopped in front of Severus. “You really are wonderful you know.” Lily said standing on tiptoe to kiss him.

“As I said, I try.” Severus agreed meeting her halfway into the kiss.

Packing was as Severus expected, rather hectic, but for different reasons. Lily could not find the camera she wanted to take. She was worried there was not enough film. Then came questions about shoes. Severus sat through it all, laid-back lazily on Lily’s bed. Past midnight, Lily called it a night. Everything she and Harry would need for the next two days shoved into an old suitcase once belonged to Lily’s father.

Only a few short hours later the alarm blared in Severus’ ear for them to wake and start their day.

Lily thought it would be best if Harry didn’t have any breakfast. Knowing his reaction to Apparating she thought it very likely that he would have a similar response to Portkeys. Severus nodded and added a few more vials of Stomach Calming Draught. Lily decided to shrink a pram at the last minute. The trip itself went remarkably smoothly.

They were greeted in Rome by a grouchy Italian Ministry official. Once their papers were checked, wands weighed, and registered, and the pram restored to size, the trio made their way onto the plaza.

The Ministry of Magic in Italy was located not far from St. Peter’s Basilica. They arrived just before 9 AM.

Severus suggested and Lily agreed, to get breakfast before starting the sightseeing part of their adventure. They found a nice open-air café to have something to eat. Severus picked his breakfast almost at random. He did spend more time trying to decide on what kind of coffee. He finally settled on espresso. He knew that was supposed to be strong. He was certain he would need to boost for the day’s activities.

The waiter brought their food a few minutes later. Harry took great joy he has much mess as possible of his pastry, before eating it. Severus watched the antics resignedly. As long as Harry ate let the boy make a mess he supposed. Lily seemed more interested in perusing her guidebook than correcting Harry, so who was Severus to scold him.

“It’s a shame we only have the one day,” Lily said setting aside her book, her page dogeared.

“Did I say we only have the day?” Severus asked.

Lily shook her head. “No, I just assumed you would want to get home to prepare for the inquiry.”

Severus stiffened. “No,” he replied tightly. “If I had it my way I would rather never have to report the damn thing. However, as the Ministry was so kind to remind me, failure to do so is to admit guilt. I have no desire to spend the rest of my days on the run from a squad of Hit Wizards.” He paused to take a sip of coffee. “Now have you decided how we are to spend our first day?”

Lily did not reply immediately. Severus if asked would say her expression was appraising. It was as if she was trying to determine how much Severus said was true, or at least how much Severus was hiding. In his own defense, Severus was trying to be as open and honest as he felt possible. There was no lie in his previous statement. The only thing he was hiding was his level of frustration with the Ministry and their unwillingness to leave him be.

Lily said, when she finally spoke, “I thought we could see some of the Vatican today. We're so close to it after all.”

Severus gave a brief nod, “A logical suggestion.”

The three crossed the plaza to enter the Basilica. The temporary lost Harry as he dashed off to chase some helpless pigeons. That stunt landed Harry in the pram despite his very vocal objections.

There was a bit of a queue to get on their selected tour. While they waited Lily struck up a conversation with several Americans behind them. One of the Americans was surprised they would bring such young child on the trip, or at least while they went to this sight. The other was surprised that English people, who he presumed were Anglican, would want to visit the Vatican, the head and heart of the Catholic Church.

“Actually, my grandmother was Catholic. I went to Mass with her on occasion,” Severus explained.

“Really,” Lily asked. In all the years they had known each other she’d never remembered hearing that.

“Really,” Severus confirmed. “Even if she were not, we could appreciate the beauty of the buildings and artworks.”

Another couple who, turned out to be American Jews heartily agreed with Severus. This couple ended up talking with Severus for much of their wait, mostly about Harry. They had a grandson of a similar age and they were happy to compare notes on his development, and tell more than a few stories about their son (not the grandson’s father) at that age too. Harry was remarkably well-behaved through the wait, but it is hard to cause too much trouble while asleep.

They had to leave the pram at the start of their guided tour. Harry was luckily awake at this point so having walk was not a problem. Keeping him interested, or at least quiet was a different story. Harry wanted to know why the pictures didn’t move, who the people were, and many other things. Severus and Lily got more than one dirty look from others in their group trying to answer Harry’s questions.

Their time in the gardens after the guided tour was much more pleasant. Harry was able to walk/run on his own. He spent a good deal of the tour riding on Severus’ shoulders. The lack guide and group also meant they were free to answer any and all the boy’s questions.

The decided to find something to eat at that point. Harry was getting increasingly cranky. The task was more complicated than anticipated however. The majority of restaurants and cafés very crowded and/or expensive. After about fifteen minutes of walking the discovery the market selling premium foods with a lunch counter. There settled on grabbing something to eat there and then finding a quiet place to eat.

It was a good thing they didn’t stay too long. An overtired Harry melted down before lunch was finished.

“I think we should head to the hotel,” Severus suggested.

“I was going to say just that,” agreed Lily.

There was another bit of walking before they reached their hotel. It was on a side street with the view of a plaza. Severus left Lily long enough to check in and confirm their evening plans were still on. All was well on that front.

All three slept for several hours exhausted from the day’s activities. Severus woke first, awakened by the sound of the phone. Lily groaned as he reached over to answer.  By the time he hung up, Lily was a grudgingly awake.

“Who was that?” She asked.

“Just the front desk. They wanted to know if we liked the room, or if we needed anything.” Severus replied.

“Hmmm…” Lily said sitting up.

“Perhaps we should go and get something to eat. It’s almost dinnertime.” Severus suggested.

Lily shook her head. “I’m not all that hungry yet.”

Severus frowned. He needed to get them out of the room. “Then maybe we could explore the city a bit more. They’re supposed to be a park not too far away. I’m sure Harry would enjoy that. We could get dinner after.”

“That sounds better,” Lily agreed.

It took some close to half an hour to actually get out of the room with waking Harry, getting shoes on, and everything else.

The park, as expected was quite the hit with Harry. He ended up playing with three other children in the game of which Severus had no understanding. How the children were able to communicate through the language barrier fascinated him. It seemed as if it was all done through intuition.

The walk back to the hotel took much longer than the one to the park. It was filled with stopping in shops and snacks from this or that stand. By the time they reach the hotel Harry was complaining about being full.  The adults had done their best (especially Severus as he had plans for their dinner) but even they were not particularly hungry when they returned.

Harry was more than ready for bed by the time they got upstairs. He was dozing in the pram on their way up. He woke what Lily let out an excited squeal at entering the room.

While they were out the hotel staff had come to set up Severus’ surprise. On the balcony stood a small candlelit table set for two, a bottle of wine was waiting there for them. The railing was strung with fairy lights. The plates had silver domes covering what would be Lily and Severus’ dinners.

“Do you like it?” Severus asked.

“Do I like it?” Lily repeated flabbergasted. “It’s wonderful, Sev. But it’s too much. First the trip, now this. I can’t… How can you ever beat this? What about my next birthday, or our anniversary.” Lily teased.

Severus frowned. “I had not considered that. Perhaps I have set the bar a little high for myself. But I did go through the good deal of effort for tonight. I think it best we enjoy it for what it is.”

“Most definitely,” Lily agreed. She stood up on tiptoe to give him appreciative kiss.

Severus is more than happy to meet her halfway. Lily excuse yourself long enough to put Harry down for the night. She was surprised to discover (but moved once again, by his thoughtfulness) had Severus had placed the standard baby monitoring charms on Harry’s cot.

“You certainly paid attention to the details didn’t you?” Lily teased running Severus on the balcony.

“I cannot leave too much to chance. Otherwise you might think I should have ended up in Gryffindor or something,” Severus joked back.

They spent a long time sitting out on the balcony eating, drinking, talking, and enjoying each others' company. Lily found out how Severus had been put in contact by the embassy with this hotel. They had a witch and several squibs on staff. This was not to out of line for a request for a romantic evening. They discussed the plan for next day, and eventually Monday’s upcoming inquiry.

“I wish it was happening any other day,” Severus growled.

“It’ll be alright,” Lily tried to reassure.

“I simply wish I did not have this cloud hanging over your day.” Severus returned.

“It’s one birthday, Sev. If clears your name beyond a shadow of a doubt, wonderful. I can stand losing a birthday for that.” Lily said her frustration clear.

Severus did not know what to say to that. Instead she suggested they retire for the night. They would need to get an early start if they wished to see much of anything before they had to return to England.

The morning was surprisingly tense as souvenirs and clothes were packed away. That was not the only reason. There was still an unresolved fight about Monday. Severus knew he was being stubborn. Lily was right it was just one birthday. Since when had they ever made a big deal of birthdays? Still Severus wanted it to be nice. It was their first as a couple. Lily had gone through a lot for his.

“Get over it, Sev.” Lily scolded him bringing him back to the present.

“I will do my best,” Severus agreed.

“So where do we go now?” Lily asked as they entered the plaza. Suitcase shrunk and packed away.

“I know just the place,” Severus said confidently.

They walked for over half an hour. Finally came to the gorgeous marble fountain. Severus knelt down free Harry from the pram. “It’s the Trevi Fountain,” Severus explained.

He fished a couple of coins out of his pocket. He handed one to Harry, “Go thrown it in,” he urged. They watched Harry do so.

“They say,” Severus continued offering a coin to Lily, “That a coin thrown into this fountain guarantees one will returned to Rome.”

She took it and kissed and him as gentle plop would have been heard at the coin hit the water.

“I don’t remember going to Rome,” Harry almost whined.

“You were very young. That was where you got your stuffed wolf.” Severus told him.

Harry nodded distractedly. He frowned deep in thought. “Did I get in trouble at that fountain?”

“Indeed you did,” Severus confirmed. “You were under the mistaken impression that it was basically a grand paddling pool. We had to snatch you out of it. If I am not mistaken there are several pictures of it somewhere.”

“Can I see them?” Harry asked.

“Not at the moment,” Severus refused. “I do not know exactly where they are and I’m a little busy with our tale. Unless you wish me to stop here?”

Harry shook his head, “That’s okay.”

Severus sighed. Noticing Harry's disappointment, he added. "We can find them later. I promise Harry, but there is still much to tell in this tale.”

“Okay,” Harry agreed.

“Now where did I leave off?” Severus asked.

“We were at the fountain in Rome,” Harry supplied.

“Ah yes. We returned to the embassy from there, taking the Portkey back home to Cokeworth. I said farewell to you and your mother and returned to Hogwarts to recover for my inquiry the following morning.” Severus explained.

“How did that go?” Harry asked.

“As about as well as it could. But it was also your mother’s birthday. I arranged for Lupin and/or Black to babysit you for the night so your mother and I could have some time together alone.” Severus told him.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Severus stepped gracefully out of the hearth in his quarters. He had just been released from his meeting with the Ministry.

A hand came up, loosening the collar of his formal robes. He would change into something more comfortable for the rest of the day. He had just thrown the robes over the back of the nearest chair when the flames came to life once more.

“Hello Headmaster,” Severus said not bothering to turn to confirm the visitor’s identity.

“Hello my boy,” Dumbledore’s head said from the fireplace. “I was wondering if you would care to join me to discuss today’s events.”

‘Not really,’ Severus thought to himself. “I was going to see to several personal matters then visit your office,” he said instead.

“Very good, I will see you in the next hour,” Dumbledore agreed.

Severus sighed. He had no desire to relieve today’s happenings, but he knew there was little good to try to ignore the Headmaster’s request. “Yes Sir,” Severus confirmed.

Dumbledore gave him a smile, (Severus was unsure of its meaning) and disappeared.

Severus returned to the fireplace removing a small pinch of powder from a box on top of the mantel. Sticking his head in the fire he called for Lily’s house.

“Sev’rus,” Harry called excitedly. The toddler ran toward the fireplace wanting to hug the older wizard.

“No, Harry no,” Severus scolded. Harry stopped where he was on the brink of tears.

“Harry, don’t cry,” Severus pleaded. “I don’t want you to get hurt you silly boy.” The explanation did little to soothe the hurt.

“Harry, where are… Oh, there you are.” She said coming around the corner.

“Hello Lily,” Severus said drawing her attention.

“Sev, what are you doing here? Don’t you have class? What about the Ministry?” Lily demanded.

“My classes are canceled today to deal with the inquiry. There was no way of knowing how long it would take. I am finished with it now. I wished to know if you’d care to have dinner with me tonight. If you don’t have any other plans.” Severus explained.

“No other plans, but I need to check with Remus about babysitting,” Lily replied.

“I believe you’ll find he or Black are available,” Severus reassured.

Lily frowned. “How would you know that before me?”

“I may have asked if they would be available before we left for Rome. I wanted you to have a nice birthday even if I could not be there myself. If I was not up for company, they were supposed to treat you to a night out.” Severus explained.

“You Slytherins and your plots,” Lily sighed. “Really Severus, we’ve already done so much for my birthday. We don’t have to do more.”

Severus took a deep breath. He did not like discussing his feelings. This was incredibly frustrating.

“Lily, I’ve had a very trying day,” Severus began.

“Exactly,” Lily interjected.

“Let me finish,” Severus grumbled.

“Sorry,” Lily said embarrassed. At least she had the wits to sound remorseful.

“As I was saying,” Severus said taking a breath. “I’ve had a miserable day. I could use some pleasant company and the distraction from the mounting pile of festering tripe that my students pass off as academic endeavors.”

“I’ll just double-check with Remus and call you back. But yes, an evening with you sounds lovely.” Lily agreed.

Severus nodded. “I look forward to your confirmation.” With that he withdrew his head from the flames terminating the connection. Not five minutes later Lily called him back to let him know that she be over at 6:30.

Severus glanced at his watch. He was expected in the Headmaster’s office and the next fifteen minutes or so. He expected this “discussion” to last several hours at least.

If he wanted to have any hope of his rooms in an acceptable state he would have to do something about it now. He would also need to see about dinner. He knew Lily would not totally approve, but he had little other choice. He contacted the kitchens. He explained the general idea of what he wanted and left the rest of the capable hands of the house elves.

By the time the conversation ended he was already late for his appointment with the Headmaster. Feeling the tiniest bit petulant, Severus decided to walk up to the Headmaster’s office versus using the fireplaces. It was almost fifteen minutes later when the spiral staircase finally deposited him in front of the Headmaster’s door.

As expected Dumbledore kept him there for almost a full three hours going over all the details of the interrogation, who was present, and what this could possibly mean for Severus’ future as a spy. By the end of it Severus wanted to tell the man to take his spy position and stick it where the sun doesn’t shine. He didn’t though.

No, Dumbledore finally decided that they were done when the bell marking dinner rang. Lily would be over in less than an hour. Severus had hoped to shower and possibly squeeze in a short nap. He was going to have a hard time doing little more than shower now.

Why couldn't they have put this off until tomorrow? Nothing would have changed over a twenty-four hour period. It wasn’t as if the Dark Lord or any of his Death Eaters were wandering around the halls of the castle at the moment (except himself Severus added mentally).

It was over now though. He was free to enjoy his evening. At least if he said he didn’t want to talk about it Lily was likely to respect his desires.

Severus stalked through the halls. The students parted more quickly than usual. They must have guessed he was in a bad mood. Not for the first time Severus was thankful for the level of fear he instilled in the students. It was that fear that kept most of the students from doing anything too horribly wrong in the lab.

When Severus first took the position of Potions Master at the school Slughorn tried to explain how to handle the students' brewing. Slughorn had a much lighter hand with the students. Then again, he was more concerned with rubbing elbows with the right people, whether that was a promising student or their family. He would ignore the work if the students had the right last name, or cheeky personality. Severus would not admit it, even if it was only to Lily, how hurt he felt when his efforts were ignored over Lily’s charm.

Severus was pleasantly surprised at the sight that greeted him when he entered his quarters. It looked like the setting of a Muggle movie or romance novel. Maybe one of the house elves had found one of those novels stashed away in the castle. Could house elves read? Severus wondered this as he got into the shower. He just finished dressing when the Floo flared to life once again.

“Sev,” Lily called stepping onto the hearth rug.

“Happy birthday,” Severus said when he greeted her, leaning down to kiss her.

“Thanks,” she said as they broke apart.

She got a good look around the room for the first time. “You shouldn’t have gone through all the trouble,” she scolded mildly.

“I didn’t, the house elves did.” He informed her.

“Sev,” Lily scolded. “You shouldn’t have made them do that.”

“I did not ask for all of this,” he said gesturing around the room. It was covered in candles, flower petals spread over the floor, possibly in a path to his bedroom.

“I simply told them I would have a lady companion over this evening and would need several dishes directed towards my rooms. I also mentioned my quarters could use a bit of a straightening up. The rest of it was thanks to the lovely Lolly.” Severus explained.

Lily grunted. “I see. I guess we should enjoy it if they went through all the effort.”

“It would be a waste to ignore it.” Severus agreed then yelled, “Chaucer get down.”

The kitten had climbed the back of the couch was trying her best to knock one of the small decorations off the table. The problem was she was, also hitting at least one of the candles in the process.

“Don’t yell at her, Sev,” Lily said scooping up the kitten.

“Oh yes, take her side. Never mind the fact she has torn up the sides of my sofa, leaves her fur over everything, and is just doing her best to kill us with fire,” Severus pouted.

Lily stopped petting the cat and looked over at Severus. “Who are you and what have you done with my boyfriend?” Lily demanded.

Severus returned a humorless laugh in reply, gracelessly flopping down on the sofa. “Very funny Lily. You’re always so droll.”

“The Severus Snape I’m used to doesn’t normally pout about his animal getting more attention than himself.” Lily remarked.

“The normal Severus Snape you know didn’t have pets,” Severus replied.

Lily raised an eyebrow. “What’s really going on?”

Severus sighed, “The fallout from an overly long horrible day.”

Lily sat down next to him, “If you want I can…”

Severus shook his head. “No, what I told you earlier was true. I would really like this, pleasant company.” He paused, “Perhaps it would be best if we don’t talk about the inquiry today. The Headmaster already made me do it once today.”

Lily nodded. “Of course whatever you need. How about a drink?”

Severus shook his head. “No, it would be best if I don’t drink for the next day or so.”

“Potion after effects?” Lily asked.

“Not exactly,” Severus replied. “I start taking on some of Tobias’ is more lovely personal behaviors.”

“Oh,” Lily said. She knew Severus’ greatest fear was falling down the bottle that swallowed his father and made his childhood so miserable.

“Okay,” she said forcing more cheer into her voice. “Let’s eat. Everything seems a little bit better with food in your belly.”

Severus followed her to the table for lack of any sort of reasonable objection.

Dinner a pleasant affair. The house elves had given them a roast chicken, potatoes, vegetables and treacle tart for dessert. About halfway through their dinner Chaucer reminded the couple of her presence by sticking her claws into Severus’ foot. She decided to use it for hunting practice. This was the one time he didn’t have shoes on. Lily was able to chase her off with a bit of chicken from her plate.

Severus groaned at the sight. “You’re going to teach her horrible habits and I am going to be the one who has to deal with it.”

“Uh huh,” Lily agreed and gave the kitten a bit more chicken.

“Is there anything you’d like to do tonight?” Severus asked.

Lily looked at him curiously. “Don’t have that part planned out already,” she teased.

Severus shook his head. “I hadn’t planned that far, no. I will tell you I am not up for much of anything exciting. If I had a telly, I would suggest we watch a movie. Sadly we do not however.”

“How about a snuggle on the couch and you read to me for a bit?” Suggested Lily.

“That sounds agreeable,” agreed Severus.

Severus cleared the table with a wave of his wand. Lily met him with a novel in hand. They settled down next to each other on the couch, shifting until they are both comfortable.

“The family of Dashwood had long been settled in Sussex….” Severus read. He read for almost thirty minutes straight only pausing for breath or an occasional sip of water.

“Sev,” Lily asked to still tucked into his side, her head resting on his chest.

“Yes Lily flower,” he replied slipping his finger between the pages to mark their spot.

“What happened at the Ministry this morning?” Lily asked nervously.

Severus stiffened and sighed. He shifted until Lily let him stand up. He placed the book on the coffee table before crossing to stand in front of the fireplace. He wasn’t looking at her when he began to speak. “I told you on Boxing Day the Ministry wish to ask me about my time as a spy. This time would be different from the last half-dozen times because I would be under the influence of Veritaserum.”

Lily nodded before realizing he couldn’t see her. “Yes,” she said.

“That is what happened. The questioning was carried out mainly by Alastor Moody. He wanted much more detail than in my previous interrogations. I had to go into vivid detail about the most revolting acts of torture I witnessed during the war. He said he just wanted to ensure I wasn’t holding anything back. It is hard being forced to relive those experiences with no way to escape.” Severus said firmly. He was fighting to remain in control of his emotions.

“Oh Sev,” she explained. “And here I am demanding you tell me…”

“No,” Severus objected. “You are fine. I would not have answered if I was not. You wanted only to know what happened. The Headmaster, however, wished to relive the entire morning’s testimony and all. That is far far different. No, you are fine.”

“What about you?” Lily asked.

“I will be,” Severus replied.

“Honestly,” Lily questioned.

“Honestly,” he confirmed and he almost believed it.

“As the year progressed, your mother and I’s relationship became more serious. I stayed overnight on occasion. We spent great deals of time with each other, both in and out of your company. By May, Remus was making jokes about when I was to propose. By your birthday, Sirius was too.”

“Your mother and I believed that our relationship was a private matter. We cared little for the comments that occasionally popped up in the press or the ribbing of James’ friends. We would behave in a way we saw fit. This included your aunt receiving a very spirited defense of myself and our relationship from your mother. Lily was unwilling to see me ruthlessly attacked by Petunia. That defense of me stopped Petunia talking to your mother until your sisters’ birth.”

“As painful as the separation was from her sister, it was a benefit to me. I would not have to endure the arrogant rants of your uncle about those he considered freaks, worthless, or somehow beneath him. Still it pained me that your mother was suffering.”

“Aunt Petunia didn’t talk to you or mum until the twins were born?” Harry demanded.

“Yes,” Severus confirmed. “Petunia refused to acknowledge our relationship or receive any sort of message from the afternoon of Dudley’s third birthday party until the girls’ birth announcement. I do not know why it changed at that moment, but Petunia did not send a letter back unopened. She in fact sent a small gift for each girl, but we’re getting ahead of ourselves.”

“As we passed our one-year anniversary as a couple, your mother and I began to talk more seriously about a relationship, our desires for the future and whatnot. As the Christmas holidays drew closer, a plan formed more and more clearly in my mind.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Good evening, Severus,” Minerva greeted, a fresh stack of essays in hand. “How are you this evening?”

“I am well,” Severus returned over the top of one of the essays he was marking.

Minerva had laid the essays down as she slid in beside him. “Do you have any plans for the Christmas holidays?”

“As Deputy Headmistress you well know I will be away for the entirety of the break.” Severus supplied tersely.

“Of course,” Minerva replied. “I simply wondered how you might spend your time. You’ll be seeing Mrs. Potter perhaps?”

Severus frowned, “How I will spend my holidays is none of your business. Nor is whom I spend it with. Now, if you’ll excuse me I need to complete this marking before I depart the castle.”

With a flick of his wand the stack of scrolls he was working with zoomed into his shoulder bag. Severus stormed out of the staff room, students parting like the Red Sea as he made his way to his quarters. Once there he flopped on the sofa.

He was in no mood to work essays, but what he told Minerva was true. He needed to complete his marking before he left the castle. Staying with the Potters over the holiday meant he would have little time for such things, or at least it would take time from doing more pleasurable things.

Severus let out a resigned sigh and set back to work correcting the essays. At the halfway point, he stopped to order tea and sandwiches from the kitchens. It took several hours more after dinner to finish, but finally he was done. He could start his holidays worry free. No, that wasn’t exactly true, but that was an entirely different concern.

Severus put a stack now marked essays in the desk’s out tray. Now all he need do was pack his things and he could be off.

Severus pulled the battered leather case from under his bed. He let it fall open on top of the bed. He was only going home to Spinner’s End, but as the majority of his clothes were at the castle, what was left in Cokeworth was namely summer wear. He put the blue sweater Lupin gave him last Christmas and an older green one in the case.  Next went in several button ups, three pairs of trousers, socks, and underwear. Lastly were four wrapped boxes. These would be Christmas presents for Lily, Black, Lupin, and Harry. A fifth box was tucked safely away in Severus’ pocket.

Severus tested the weight of the small leather box in his hand once more. He’d been carrying it in his pocket for almost a month. He’d found it strangely soothing, for something that could change his life forever. He would find out on Christmas if indeed his life would change at all. Severus let a small smile come to his lips. That was the only a few days away now.

Severus snapped the case shut with a thunk, thankful once again for Undetectable Expansion Charms. Everything packed, he checked his watch. It was just after one in the morning, too late to call on Lily. He would go and see her first thing in the morning. After a quick double check that he had everything he would need for the holiday Severus Floo-ed home.

He woke the next morning to a shrill, tinny ring. It wasn’t until the third ring that he placed the sound. Severus jump from the bed, cursing as his bare feet hit the cold floor. He bolted down the stairs to the kitchen just as the phone rang for the sixth time.

“Hello,” Severus asked breathlessly.

“Hi, Sev,” Lily greeted warmly.

“Lily,” Severus returned.

“I thought you were coming over last night,” Lily pouted.

“Ehhh…,” Severus grumbled shifting from foot to foot on the chilly tile. “It took me longer than anticipated to complete my work at the school. I was going to call you this morning.”

“Alright,” Lily said. “When will you be over?”

“Soon,” Severus looked at the kitchen clock. It was much later that he normally slept, 9:30 AM. “I’ll be over soon as I’m ready for the day.”

“Fine, we’ll see you then.” Lily said hanging up the phone.

As Severus hung up the receiver he wondered what had upset Lily so. She was not normally so clingy. Not wanting to have to cross more cold floor in unprotected feet Severus Apparated back to his bedroom. He made quick work of washing and dressing. He was at Lily’s door less than 20 minutes later.

“If it isn’t the man of the hour,” Sirius Black greeted Severus at the door.

“Excuse me,” Severus demanded of Black.

“It’s your fault Lily’s in such a state,” Black snapped.

“I have no idea what you’re on about Black.” Severus replied.

“If you…,” Black began.

“Sirius stop,” Remus ordered entering the hall. Turning to Severus he said, “Lily’s in the kitchen.”  To his oldest friend he said, “Sirius, you’re being unfair.”

“What have I done?” Severus asked.

“Nothing,” Remus promised.

Severus frowned, but gave a nod to the werewolf and headed off to find his distraught girlfriend.

“Lily,” Severus called entering the kitchen. He was completely unprepared for the impact of Lily small frame colliding with him a moment later.

Severus brought his arms up around her. “What’s wrong? Hush, hush, hush now.” Severus muttered as Lily sobbed into his chest. It was several minutes before Lily calmed enough to speak. When she did, it was one muttered word, “Tuney.”

Severus fought back a groan. Of course, Lily’s horrible sister would put her in such a state. Petunia was one of the few people who could truly upset Lily.

“What did Petunia say now?” Severus asked softly.

Lily shook her head, “She won’t come.”

Severus sighed, “We knew it was unlikely. She made it very clear at Dudley’s birthday that she had no desire…”

“That was six months ago,” Lily cut off.

“Yes,” Severus agreed, “but we all know how well Petunia can hold onto grudges. Did she say anything specific?”

“It’s on the table,” Lily said with a jerk of her head.

“Very well,” Severus said. “Now, let’s have a nice cup of tea and see what horrible things your sister had to say.” Severus urged with a humorless laugh.

“It’s not funny,” Lily grumbled.

“Indeed it’s not, but Petunia just not deserve our ire. Crying only lets her win.” Severus said setting a cup of tea in front of Lily.

His own tea prepared, Severus sank into one of the chairs. He quickly scanned the letter. He was surprised to see how nasty Petunia was. It saddened him that once more that he was the source of Lily’s pain. Petunia said plainly in her letter that she had no desire to talk to Lily if she was in a relationship with Severus. Petunia even went so far as to blame Severus for Lily being a witch, or more accurately a “freak”. There was very little he could do to make this better. Even if he were to break things off with Lily this moment, Petunia would still be jealous of Lily’s powers.

“I’m sorry, Lily flower,” Severus said taking one of her hands in his own.

“I don’t know why she is so… Why does she hate you so much?” Lily asked sadly.

Severus sighed sadly, “I do not know. It may be the facts that I introduced you to magic. It may be that I’m from Spinner’s End. Only Petunia can tell you. I wish I could remedy such matters.”

“I know,” Lily said sipping her tea. “So,” Lily said forcing a more cheerful note in her voice, “you’re free for the holidays now?”

Severus gave her a curious look. “I am.”

“Wonderful. That means you can help us decorate.” Lily said, just a bit of actual cheer in her voice.

“Ehhh… Are you sure I couldn’t be better used to scrub down the kitchen without magic, collecting dragon’s blood… Anything?” Severus all but whined.

“Sev,” Lily said rolling her eyes. She proceeded to drag him out of the kitchen she joined Harry and the Marauders in the living room. He spent the remainder of the day helping with the three adults decorate Lily’s house for the season. Mostly this meant directing Harry out from underfoot. Although, Lupin did convince Severus to help with hanging a garland on the banister.

By dinnertime all were in a cheerful mood. Harry’s eyes are big as saucers as he took the lights, and the Christmas tree.

“What are your plans for the holiday, Severus?” Remus asked handing the other man a bottle of Butterbeer.

“Not much,” Severus said looking toward Lily. “I am free from any duty at the school until the term begins in January. That is as far as I have planned.”

“Are you staying here?” Black asked with a complete lack of tact.

“Sirius,” Lily and Remus yelled at the same time.

“What!” Sirius defended. “If he’s here, it’s not like Remus has to stay over to help with Harry, or you know, you want the company.”

“Where I sleep is none of your business, Black.” Severus’ tone was surprisingly mild.

“Yeah well, I’ll be the first to say the last thing I’d want to hear is your rhythmic creaking.” Sirius said genuinely.

“What do you think Silencing Charms were invented for,” Severus replied just as seriously.

Sirius let out a dog like bark of laughter. Lily and Remus had much more sedate, but equally amused reactions.

The next few days passed quickly. Severus spent much of his time with Lily and Harry, returning to Spinner’s End only to sleep, with the exception of Christmas Eve. Lily asked him to stay over that night, and who was he to say no.

Lily and Severus sat in the living room of Lily’s house. Harry lay passed out on the sofa his head resting in Severus’ lap. Lily was tucked into his other side. The faint sound of Christmas carols could be heard from the radio in the corner. The only other sounds are Harry’s occasional snuffles and the crackling of the fire.

“Can you believe it’s Christmas already?” Lily asked softly.

“I cannot. This year has flown by,” Severus told her.

“In a good way I hope,” Lily prompted.

“The best,” Severus confirmed. “I count myself among the luckiest man in history for the time I have been granted with you and Harry.”

Lily smiled. “Severus Snape the secret romantic, you’re being soppy,” Lily teased.

“I am,” Severus agreed, “but you make me that way.”

“What would your snakes say if they ever saw you this way?” Lily continued.

Severus paused as if in thought. “It would depend on how wise that particular snake was. If they value their memory, they would say nothing. The fools, which is a great deal of them, they too would keep their silence. That is after I Obliviated the memory of the incident.”

Lily sat up, “Severus! You wouldn’t. They’re children.”

“They are,” he confirmed. “However, I have to protect my reputation and in turn the safety of my students, then so be it.” Severus said seriously.

Lily’s eyebrows shot up into her hair. Severus waited, then broke down laughing.

“Your face,” Severus laughed.

Lily glared.

“Lily, you believe me capable of such horrors. I’m hurt.” Severus said placing a hand over his heart.

“You’re horrible.” Lily said settling back into Severus’ side.

“I am,” Severus agreed. He kissed the top of Lily’s head. “You need not worry. I would never do something like that to a helpless child.”

“Good,” Lily said.

They sat in comfortable silence for a moment.

“Should we retire for the night?” Severus asked.

“Not yet,” Lily protested.

“The Marauders will likely…” Severus began.

“I just want to open our presents. Then we can go.” Lily explained, not caring she cut him off.

“We open presents on Christmas morning, after the washing up, “Severus protested.

“That’s the major gifts. We always got to open one thing on Christmas Eve.” Lily corrected.

“And what makes you think I got you more than one thing,” Severus objected.

“I saw. There were four boxes in your case.” Lily told him.

“Exactly,” Severus confirmed. “One for one each of you, Harry, Black and Lupin.”

“But there’s one you keep playing within your pocket,” Lily added.

Damn. He hadn’t realized she’d seen him doing that. He couldn’t make up his mind and went to present it to her. In the end he transfigured the boxed to be identical, mixed them up and slipped one into Lily’s stocking. The other could be opened now, or in the morning.

“Ha,” Lily laughed. “I knew it. I knew you got me something more.” Lily said triumphantly.

Severus let out a put upon sigh. “You’ve got me. Now, does this mean I get to open a gift tonight?”

“Of course,” Lily agreed. She hopped off the sofa to retrieve the package for Severus. Severus shifted slightly to remove the box from his pocket. Harry snuffled at being shifted. Severus ran a hand through the boy’s hair. Harry calmed under his touch. Lily thrust gift wrap blue and silver paper into Severus’ arms.

“Am I to open mine first then,” Severus asked.

“Why not,” Lily said sitting back down.

Severus wasted no time pulling back the paper and found a copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard. “Children’s stories?” He asked.

“Don’t look at me like that. I know your mum told them all to you, but as far as I can tell you don’t have a proper copy of the book.” Lily justified.

“I see. I take it that you find my telling of the tales is less than satisfactory,” Severus asked.

“Of course not, but I know you don’t like struggling to remember the details either.” Lily returned.

Severus hummed in agreement. He flipped to the first page. It was an Ancient Runes. This was going to be a challenge. He was fairly certain he still had a syllabary somewhere.

“Do you like it?” Lily asked.

“It’s wonderful. I’m sure it will be of great use in the future. Now, I believe it’s your turn.” Severus said holding out his hand, palm up, the box balanced in the center. He wondered which boxes this might be. There was only one way to find out. “Go ahead, open it,” Severus encouraged.

“What could this be,” Lily asked nobody in particular.

“I don’t know,” Severus said mildly. “You’ll have to open it.”

Lily flipped open the lid to reveal a gold necklace with the rampant lion. There was an almost imperceptible flash of disappointment and then it was gone. “It’s beautiful, Sev. Thank you.”

Severus could sense there was something off in her voice when she said that. He would take that as a good sign.

“I’m glad you like it. Now, might I suggest we retire for the evening? I’m sure will be woken at some ungodly hour by children wishing to open presents.” Severus said.

“Harry knows better than that,” Lily argued.

Severus’ pursed his lips, “I was referring to our canine friends.”

Lily laughed and nodded. She got up and picked up Harry allowing Severus to stand without disturbing the boy’s slumber further.

The pair was woken by very excited Harry before dawn. Severus pulled the bouncing boy down between himself and Lily. After a bit of coaxing he managed to get Harry to settle down for a bit more sleep. Severus’ next wake-up call was much more pleasant.

“Wake up, Sev,” Lily told him as she broke their kiss.

“Must I,” Severus grumbled sleepily.

“Unless you want Sirius and Remus to break down that door on us,” Lily confirmed.

“They wouldn’t,” Severus growled.

“I’m not so sure,” Lily said shaking Harry’s shoulder lightly. “I’m surprised they haven’t done already. Sirius is normally more excited than a kid on Christmas morning. Must be Remus is doing.” Lily said guiding a half awake Harry to the bathroom.

“Indeed,” Severus agreed. He would not mention his comment to Lupin the night before. Lily need not know he had told the werewolf if he or Black arrived before they were invited on Christmas morning Severus would personally ensure that they could never shag again. Remus laughed at the comment, but promised they would wait until summoned.

“I’m going to start breakfast,” Lily told him.

Severus nodded. “I’ll see to dressing Harry.”

Severus let Harry play in the room while he showered and dressed. He emerged not fifteen minutes later to find Harry under Lily’s bed for some reason.

“What are you doing under there, Harry?” Severus said pulling the boy out by an ankle.

Harry held up a ball in explanation, “I see. Now how about we be go help with breakfast.”

“Pancakes,” exclaimed Harry hopefully.

“Perhaps, but first I said we would have you dressed.” Severus said directing the boy back to his room.

“Why,” Harry asked.

“Because the gentleman never leaves his room in a state of undress. Also, I promised your mother.” Severus explained.

The pair made their way to the kitchen ten minutes later. Harry dressed in a green sweater with the reindeer face and jeans. Severus can only hope the sweater was a joke from Black or Lupin.

“Go sit,” Severus told Harry when they arrived in the kitchen.

Harry dutifully complied, climbing into his chair.

“He can open his stocking,” Lily called to them.

By the time Severus had turned to see if Harry had heard, the contents of the boy’s stocking were spread out on the table in front of him. Severus chuckled at the sight. With a shake of his head he headed into the kitchen.

“Harry opening his stocking?” Lily asked.

Severus slipped his arms around her from behind. “He is. He takes after his Godfather too much in that regard. The words were barely out of your mouth before it stocking fillings were spilled all over the table.”

Lily laughed, “James was the same way.”

Severus hummed in agreement. “When are the others arriving?”

Lily leaned back into his embrace, “Not until after breakfast. Remus said something about you asked him not to come over until you Floo-ed.”

“You could put it that way,” Severus confirmed. “How may I be of assistance?” He said letting his hands drop back down to his sides.

“Go sit,” Lily told him. “I’ll manage,” Lily promised at his disbelieving look.

Severus shrugged, but left. Lily came in a moment later plates of pancakes and a pitcher of  pumpkin juice in hand.

“You know I could help with cooking.” Severus said cutting the pancake into bite-size pieces before putting them on Harry’s plate.

“I know,” Lily said. “I like cooking though. Aren’t you going to look at your stocking?”

Severus gave her a curious look. “I was waiting for you.”

“You didn’t have to,” Lily told him.

Severus nodded. “I know, but I wanted to.”

Lily didn’t move to empty her own stocking. Instead she put a large glob of butter on her pancakes.

“You’re not going to look at your stocking?” Severus said casting a hopeful look to the mentioned item hanging from Lily’s chair.

“If you’re willing to wait so am I.” Lily said taking a bite of pancake.

Lily had to take away the toy dragon so Harry would eat his breakfast. It was only after Harry was dismissed in the dishes were sent to washing that Lily set to emptying her stocking. Severus did as well, but his eyes kept moving back to Lily.

This didn’t escape Lily’s notice. “What is it Severus?”

“Nothing,” he said surveying the contents of his own stocking once more. There were a number of chocolates individually wrapped in several vials potions ingredients.

“When we open presents?” Harry demanded standing at his mother’s side.

“Not until Moony and Padfoot are here, sweetie,” Lily told  as she ran a hand through Harry’s uncontrollable locks.

Harry pouted.

“They’ll be over soon.” Lily reassured. “Did you get anything good in your stocking?”

Harry nodded. Lily turned to Severus “Did you?”

“I did. These will be most useful in my brewing.” Severus said holding out the vials.

“You should thank Sirius then. He got those for you. I didn’t even suggest them.” Lily said seriously.

“I will make sure to do that.” Severus said looking at the vials once more. He wondered who Black consulted if it was not Lily. Lupin was not a gifted brewer and that was a generous assessment of his skills. No, it must have been an apothecary, or perhaps, one of the countless women he picked up actually had a brain. Severus wasn’t sure which was more unlikely. He decided to set that aside for now.

“Did you find anything good in your stocking?” Severus asked.

“Not really,” Lily said sadly.

“No,” Severus asked. “Did you check the toe? Sometimes things hide in there.”

Lily gave him an appraising look. Not sure what he was up to until she checked the toe. Her hand closed around a small box. She gave Severus another curious look. “More jewelry, Sev? How unlike you.” Lily joked.

“I am told as we are now dating the bar is set slightly higher.” Severus commented.

“Is it now? We’ll have to see how well you passed it.” Lily said pulling out the box.

It was identical to the one the night before. Could it be matching earrings? It didn’t pass Lily’s attention how stiff Severus had become. Probably not earrings then. What could make him so nervous? Lily flipped open the lid of the box, her free hand coming up to her mouth.

Severus was down on his knee in front of her. Carefully pulled the box from Lily’s fingers. “Lily flower,” Severus said softly. “From the time I was nine years old I dreamed of marrying you and no other. I once thought I lost you forever. Now we have a second chance. Will you do me the honor of being my wife?”

Lily through his arms around his neck

“Can I take that as a yes?” Severus muttered into Lily’s scarlet locks.

Lily nodded into his neck. Severus broke into the big smile she’d ever seen.

“Presents?” Harry whined coming into the kitchen once more.

“Of course, sweetie,” Lily said straightening up.

Harry slunk out of the room. “We can’t make him wait much longer, Sev.” Lily objected.

“Not much longer,” Severus promised. “Only long enough to do this.” Severus kissed her as he placed the ring on her finger.

“I think we should Floo Lupin now. Harry looks as if he’s about to explode with anticipation,” Severus said watching Harry scoot closer to the forbidden presents.

“You go ahead,” Lily said looking down at her ring once more.

Severus Floo-ed Sirius’ residents. Lupin and Sirius stepped out of the fireplace just as Lily entered the living room.

“Happy Christmas,” Remus greeted. He gave Lily and Harry tight hugs. Severus consented to a handshake. Black greeting was similar, though he and Severus only managed to exchange nods. Although, Severus and Black’s relationship had improved greatly over the course of the years, it was far from close. Lily was happy to see it progressing however. She knew how hard it was for both of them to let go of the past.

“Presents now?” Harry asked hopefully.

“Yes love,” Lily said with a shake of her head. “Sirius, would you please hand them out?”

“Fine, but only if I get to open my present first.” Sirius demanded sounding rather like a petulant child.

Severus rolled his eyes while the other adults laughed. Sirius made surprisingly quick work of the large pile of gifts. Harry’s was larger than everybody else's, but that was only to be expected. Lily’s was next, not that wizards felt left out. Severus was mildly surprised with how large his own pile was. Most were from his coworkers at the school from what he saw.

“Do we have to do the will hold watching each other thing,” Sirius whined as the last box was handed to Remus. Harry dug into his gifts before Sirius even finished.

“Yes,” an exasperated Lily said. “I told you before. If you don’t want to respect tradition, you could open your presents elsewhere.”

Sirius pouted, “When Harry gonna have to wait?”

“When he’s old enough, I think I was five or six. Now go ahead and open your first present.” Lily instructed.

Sirius tore into the largest boxing at his side to reveal a leather motorcycle jacket.

“Nice,” Remus said running a hand over the supple black leather.

“Yeah,” Sirius agreed.

“Who was it from?” Lily asked. “They get to go next.”

“From Snape,” Sirius said cocking his head to the side.

Severus nodded, pulling a box from his own pile. It contained a red wool sweater. Severus gave Lupin a disbelieving look. “Red, Lupin? Is this some subtle dig at my House?”

“Of course not, Severus,” the werewolf said holding his hands up in defense. “Lily said you needed more color in your wardrobe. She thought you’d look good in red.”

“I see,” Severus said looking to his lover.

“You do,” Lily confirmed. “Your turn Remus.”

And so it went. Finally there was only one last package to open, a smallish box on Lily’s lap. She pulled back the green and silver paper and opened the paper box to find a red and gold paisley scarf.

“This going to be a tradition now?” Lily asked Severus.

“Perhaps,” Severus said with a shrug.

Lily pushed the scarf away from a hand painted jewelry box. “It’s beautiful, Sev.” She said running a finger over one of the delicately painted lilies. Just then Lily’s ring caught the firelight.

“Hold on,” Sirius demanded.

“What is it now, Black?” Severus demanded.

“What’s that on Lily’s finger?” Sirius demanded.

“It is commonly known as an engagement ring.” Severus said dryly.

Remus and Lily laughed at the look of shock on Sirius’ face.

“Oi,” Sirius protested. “The bat proposes that you didn’t even tell us.”

“You know for an Auror you are rather dense, Black.” Severus jibed.

Sirius glared back. Then after a moment exclaimed. “It’s about time.”

Remus thumped Severus on the shoulder, “Congratulations!”

“What’s going on?” Harry asked.

“Come here, sweetie,” Lily said gesturing to Harry.

Harry came over, Lily pulled him into her lap. “Severus asked me to marry him.”

“What’s that mean?” Harry asked.

“Well, Severus live with us all the time. He would help me take care of you, make dinner, that sort of thing,” Lily explained.

“Like Moony,” Harry asked hopefully.

The adults all laughed. “Sort of,” Severus corrected. “I would sleep in your mummy’s room. Is that okay?”

“Uh-huh,” Harry agreed.

"Before our wedding your mother requested that I have a stag night with Remus and Black.  As it would turn out, this was another major change in our relationship.  From this point on, I would consider both of them to be some a kin to brothers."

"How come?" Harry demanded.

"We gained more trust in one another and finally let some of our baggage go." Severus explain.

Harry frowned. "Huh?"

Severus let out a resigned sigh.  "We spent the evening drinking and talking through many of our issues.  We got past the judgment we made as eleven year old boys.  We finally we saw each other for what was really there."  

"Err...." Harry muttered.  "How?"

"Black saw where and how I really lived growing up.  He realized though we were in different settings, we were in very similar circumstance. Also we told each other secrets."

"Yeah?" Harry encouraged.

"Yes, for example Remus told me what he and Black did to the statue in commemoration of your father." Severus explained.

“What did Moony and Padfoot do to the statue Dad?” Harry asked.

Severus paled at the question. He had been vague at that point on purpose. Of course Harry would choose to hang on to that particular detail and not that of the emotional struggle, or even the other stories he told that.

“We’ll discuss that at some other time,” Severus dismissed.

“Dad,” Harry whined.

“Harry,” Severus returned in the same annoying tone.

“Why can’t you tell me now?” Harry pouted.

Severus’ face darkened, “Because it is not relevant to our story. If you would care to work on your essay instead of listening to the story than I will leave you to it.”

Harry shook his head, “No, I want to hear more.”

“Very well,” Severus said sitting back, “Our day started much too early that morning.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Severus groaned at the electrical buzzing, pulling him from sleep. He pulled a pillow over his head trying to drown it out. It didn’t work. He lay there cursing the clock just out of arm's reach. It was a full two minutes before the importance of the morning penetrated his sleepy, hung over brain.

Severus turned back the covers. He ran down the stairs yelling, “Black! Lupin! Get up!”

He was greeted with a chorus of groans.

“Get up!” He repeated this time shaking Sirius by the shoulder, before doing the same to Remus.

“What do you want?!” Sirius grumbled.

“Get up Black!” Severus ordered, “We are due at Hogwarts in little over an hour.”

“What?” Sirius growled.

“We are due at Hogwarts in an hour!” Severus repeated, “Now get up! There is Hangover Solution in the kitchen.”

Remus blearily rubbed an eye,“Is there any coffee?”

Severus looked at the werewolf, “No.”

Remus rose stretching his arms over his head, his T-shirt riding up slightly, “I can make some.”

“If it will get you two moving.” Severus grumbled, “I need to bathe.”

Severus moved to return upstairs. He came back fifteen minutes later, his hair was still wet from the shower, and found both seated at the kitchen table nursing cups of coffee.

“Can I get you a cup?” Remus asked much more awake now.

Severus nodded, “Did you find the Hangover Solution?”

Remus shook his head handing over the cup of coffee, “We found the potion stores, but weren’t sure which one we needed. You should really label them.”

Severus snorted into his coffee, “They are the light blue ones.”

Sirius quickly jumped up from his from his chair to retrieve the vials. Each wizard downed the contents with identical grimaces.

“You’re so bloody brilliant at potions Snape how come you can’t make them taste better?” Sirius grumbled.

“The base of that potion’s bile from…” Severus began.

Sirius fought to get back, “That’s enough. I get the picture. Remus, are you going to shower?”

“You go ahead,” Remus said sipping his coffee.

Sirius disappeared up the stairs.

“How are you feeling,” Remus asked once he knew Sirius was out of earshot, “Any cold feet?”

“No,” Severus returned honestly.

“That’s good. James was a nervous wreck on his wedding day,” Remus supplied. “Is there anything we need to bring with us?”

“Our suits, you have the rings?” Severus asked.

Remus nodded. He cast look around the kitchen, “When are you moving the rest of your things to Lily’s?”

“There’s nothing more I wish to take over,” Severus said sipping his coffee.

“Nothing?” Remus said in disbelief. “There is a houseful of things here. You don’t need them?”

Severus shook his head, “I do not, nor I did not want them.”

“What’s gonna happen to them then?” Remus asked curiously.

“Perhaps you can put them to use,” Severus suggested.

“Severus, I don’t have a...” Remus began.

“I am aware of that,” Severus cut off. “However, this house will stand empty when I move in with Lily. I see no reason why you could not put it to use.”

Remus was speechless. He shook his head, “I can’t.”

“Don’t be a fool, Lupin.” Severus snapped. “Living here would give you the independence you lacked living with Lily and Black. This house is paid off. You need only worry about water and utilities.”

“I don’t know what to say,” Remus said softly.

“Say to what?” Sirius demanded walking into the kitchen.

“It’s none of your concern, Black,” Severus replied.

Sirius cocked his head to the side then shrugged.

“I need to go shower now,” Remus said rising from the chair. Before he left the kitchen he stopped and turned back to Severus. “It’s a yes by the way.”

Severus nodded. Sirius watched the exchange curiously. Once Remus had disappeared up the stairs Sirius asked, “You going to tell me what that was about?”

“As I said, it is none of your concern.” Severus said.

“Fine,” Sirius pouted. “Remus will tell me anyway.”

“I’m sure he will,” Severus agreed.

Sirius sank back down at the table, “You ready for this?”

“I have not been more ready for anything in my life,” Severus said as seriously as Sirius had ever heard.

Sirius nodded, “What’s with the suits anyway? You’d you are getting married at Hogwarts, by the Ministry, shouldn’t we be wearing dress robes?”

“Perhaps,” Severus admitted.

“Then how come?” Sirius began.

Cutting him off Severus asked, “Does it really matter?”

“Well if you’re going to get all defensive about it, yeah.” Sirius said.

Severus sighed, “Lily said how fetching she found me in a suit and suggested we do that for the wedding. Who was I to argue?”

Sirius let out a bark of laughter, “She’s got you so under her thumb.”

Severus could only nod in agreement.

Remus returned a moment later, “Ready to go?”

“Let me collect the trunk with our suits,” Severus said rising. “Remus if you would be so good as to retrieve our wands.”

“What about the…” Sirius said before letting out a sharp groan.

Severus turned to see Black massaging his ribs, “What was that Black?”

“Nothing,” Sirius said shaking his shaggy head. “Never mind me asking.”

Severus gave the pair a curious look before heading up the stairs once more. He found Lupin and Black by the fireplace when he returned a few minutes later. Remus handed him his wand. Severus took it gratefully. Sirius grabbed a handful of Floo powder from the box on the mantle. Throwing it down in the fire he called out ‘Hogwarts’. With a swish of green flame he was gone. Remus followed almost instantly behind him.

Severus cast one more look around the dilapidated living room. The next time he came here, he would only be there to retrieve his belongings. He would never live here again, with any luck. This place was where he had grown up, but it was never a home. No, he would be moving into the first place he truly considered home after they returned from their honeymoon. Family vacation might be a more accurate description, as they were bringing Harry with them.

Severus threw down some Floo powder, appearing in his quarters a moment later. He found Sirius sprawled on the couch. Remus was sipping yet another cup of coffee from a tea service he must’ve ordered from the kitchens while they waited for Severus to arrive.

“What took you?” Sirius asked.

“Nothing,” Severus said. “I was simply ensuring I had left nothing behind.”

Remus looked as if he didn’t quite believe him, but said nothing on the matter.

“Why are we here so early anyway?” Sirius demanded.

The ceremony was scheduled for noon, it was just after nine.

“The Headmaster requested we come early to ensure everything is set up properly and to avoid the last-minute rush,” Severus explained coldly. “You did not do this last time with Potter?”

Sirius shook his head, “Got James there twenty minutes before it started, dressed and clean.”

Severus looked to Remus for confirmation of the validity of the statement. Remus shrugged slightly.

“Oi!” Sirius said defensively. “I don’t see how I failed so badly, Lily didn’t complain about it.”

The fireplace flared green as the floating head of Minerva McGonagall appeared in its flames.

“Minerva,” Severus greeted surprised by her appearance.

“Good to see you gentlemen arrived in one piece. Lily was a bit worried you might have… Fallen back into old habits,” The older witch returned.

“We’re fine,” Severus confirmed. He need not mention the fact that they might have
fallen back into old habits” the night before or the reason for the bruises Sirius currently sported around his left eye.

“I’m sure,” Minerva agreed.

Sensing the woman was there more than to check on their health Severus asked, “What may I assist you with?”

“It seems Mr. Potter’s suit has gone missing. We were wondering if it was put with yours by mistake,” Minerva explained.

“You’re not putting the kid in that thing already?” Sirius demanded affronted.

Minerva looked at him over her glasses, “We are not Mr. Black, but it would stand to have it when the time comes.”

Sirius had the good sense to at least appear embarrassed, “Of course,” he muttered.

“Let me check,” Severus said dismissing himself. He returned a moment later, suit in hand.

“Lily will be relieved to see that,” Minerva said happily. “Mr. Lupin, now would be a good time to check on the progress of the house elves have made with the pavilion. We don’t want students accidentally gate crashing our Potions Master’s wedding. Heaven forbid they are in Gryffindor; my lions are poised to win the cup.”

The two other Gryffindor’s laughed. Severus however, frowned ever so slightly, “There are still several weeks of term left. There’s no telling what might happen in this time.”

The professors’ met eyes. This could be a very tense battle of the wills.

“We will have to see what the fates have in store,” Minerva said.

“Indeed,” Severus agreed. He handed her the suit with a pair of tongs.

“Yes, well I best be going. For somebody who has done this once before the bride’s rather nervous.” Minerva commented.

“Lily has cold feet?” Severus asked doing his best to keep the fear out of his voice.

“You need not look so worried,” Minerva reassured. She became much better at reading her young colleague’s body language over the last few years. “Lily is simply worried about the ceremony going smoothly.”

Severus hummed in a noncommittal way.

“Stop fretting,” Minerva ordered. “I shall see you all soon. You best be on your way, Mister Lupin.” With that she was gone.

“I guess I should go get dressed and make sure everything is going smoothly. I don’t want to ruin Lily and Severus’ special day.” The werewolf grabbed one of the suit bags and turned to Severus, unsure where the bathroom was.

“Second on your right,” Severus directed without prompting, pointing down the small hallway.

Remus nodded heading off without another word.

“Don’t know why he’s bothering with changing in there. It’s not like we haven’t seen it before,” Sirius commented absent-mindedly.

“Yes, well we aren’t schoolboys any longer. The mature thing to do is give and respect each other’s privacy, especially when it’s easily done. Unlike dorms there is more than enough room for us to change in private. And if you think you’re changing in my sitting room Black you have another thing coming.” Severus replied.

Sirius shrugged. After a moment he asked, “If you’re getting ready here, where are Lily and Harry?”

“They have a tent or something near the lake, by the main pavilion where the ceremony is being held,” Severus explained.

“Why are we using a pavillion if you two wanted to be married in all the beauty of Hogwarts?” Sirius asked watching Severus over the top of the couch.

“Must you question everything?” Severus sighed. “It is easier to say the pavilion. What is more accurate is Lupin will be setting wards around that area of the lawn. The house elves are putting up chairs and and everything else that is needed.”

“Warding part of the lawn? What, don’t want the kids saying you have a heart?” Sirius joked.

Severus said nothing.

“If you don’t want students around why not wait until the end of term?” Sirius asked curiously.

“It was Lily’s suggestion. It is the last Hogsmeade weekend of term so a majority of the older students are in the village. The wards are mostly in case of nosy people from the press. We had little confidence in the ability of the Ministry keeping the news of our marriage private. You will remember the response of the wizarding community to our supposed relationship after Potter’s memorial.” Severus explained.

Remus came out bathroom a moment later. He wore a grey morning suit, white shirt, grey waistcoat, green tie.

“I forgot my shoes,” Remus muttered plopping down on the couch, barely missing sitting on Sirius’ legs. Remus Summoned a pair of black dress shoes. In his haste to get out he fumbled with the laces.

“Why is Remus doing the privacy spells and stuff?” Sirius asked watching his friend fail to knot his shoes for the third time.

“Because I asked him to…Why?” Severus asked.

Remus let the tiny laces fall, too interested in what Sirius would say.

“I’m an Auror. I’m sure I can handle setting a simple privacy spell. Remus is your best man, he should be here in case you have a last-minute crisis of faith or something,” Sirius pointed out.

The two other wizards looked at each other.

“Perhaps he has a point,” Severus admitted.

“Of course I do,” Sirius said.

“Fine,” Remus agreed. “You better get some Bruise Cream on that eye. I don’t want to have to explain to Lily why you have a black eye in her pictures.”

Sirius let out a bark of laughter.

“Have no fear,” Sirius said hopping off the couch. He grabbed his suit bag in disappeared down the hallway.

Severus was pacing around the room occasionally putting things on the small table.

“What are you doing?” Remus asked.

“Gathering things to take to the house. With preparations for the students’ exams and with the wedding, not to mention packing up Spinner’s End, I have had little time to move out of here.” Severus said placing a stack of books on the table.

“Wouldn’t normal moving spells work?” Remus asked his shoes finally properly tied.

“I need not take everything with me,” Severus countered. “The Headmaster requires I keep quarters here in case of late nights, extraordinary circumstances, or something.”

Remus inclined his head. Sirius dashed past them a moment later with only a wave as he departed. Remus watched as Severus moved another lap around the room.

“Are there any last-minute crisis of faith?” Remus asked lightly.

Severus shook his head, picking up and replacing the photo in his hand.

“Maybe you should get dressed?” Remus suggested. He wasn’t sure what to do with this version of Severus. Remus had never seen the other wizard this nervous or so unsure of himself.

Severus nodded. He crossed the room placing another three books on the growing stack on the table, before grabbing his suit and heading down the hall to change.

Severus returned a few moments later fumbling with his tie. Like Black, his suit was grey with a white shirt, but he wore a green waistcoat, and silver tie.

“Stop,” Remus ordered. “Give it here.”

Severus handed over the offensive piece of silk. Remus looked it around his neck expertly fixing it into a double Windsor knot. He slipped it over his head and handed it back to Severus. Severus put it on and then became flummoxed trying to do his buttons up on his waistcoat.

Remus crossed the room pouring out a measure Fire Whiskey. Then removed a vial of potion from his pocket. He crossed back to Severus.

“Take one,” Remus ordered.

Severus looked at him dumbfounded. “Sev, you’re a nervous wreck. You can take the Calming Draught or the Fire Whiskey, but you need to do something before I go mad.”

Severus looked at the extended items.

“Remus I don’t believe…” Severus began to protest.

“They’re necessary,” Remus cut him off. “Trust me.”

Severus looked once more to the offerings before taking the potion in one gulp.

“Feel better?” Remus asked.

Severus nodded. “How did…”

Remus waved him off. “Lily thought you might need it. She knows how you get about things. You ready to go?”

Severus gave him another nod.

“Let’s go,” Remus said clapping him on the shoulder.

The two headed out of Severus’ quarters and down the corridors of the school toward the main doors. Severus did his best to ignore the whispered comments about his and Remus’ matching outfits. It was not until they reached just outside the Great Hall he lost his patience. He docked Hufflepuff twenty points for a comment from a third year about how he could at least shower if he was going to dress smart. Even Remus gave the girl a disapproving look.

“Don’t worry about them. Lily loves you and that’s all that matters,” Remus tried to reassure his friend.

“I am not worried, simply excited. However, I’m still slightly disappointed the brat was not in Gryffindor,” Severus protested.

Remus chuckled, he need not worry about Severus making it through the day. He was still glad for the Calming Drought.

“Harry,” Severus called spotting small boy running along the lake’s edge.

“Sev,” Harry yelled back dropping the newly picked up stick and running toward the wizards.

Harry was wearing a Man-U T-shirt and blue shorts. His hands covered in pond scum, dirt across his nose.

“Harry,” Severus said exasperated. “What are you doing?”

“Playing,” Harry replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“I see that,” Severus said kneeling next to the boy. “Why aren’t you dressed?”

“I’m…” Harry said pulling his T-shirt.

“In your suit,” Severus corrected.

“Mummy said I had to wait until she finished doing her hair.” Harry explained, as he tried to avoid the face cloth Severus had conjured to remove the worst of the dirt from his face and hands.

“I see,” Severus said rubbing at a stubborn spot on Harry’s nose.

“Mr. Potter, there you are,” Minerva exclaimed her frustration clear. “We’ve been looking for you for the last ten minutes.”

“Oops,” Harry muttered looking up to Severus for relief.

“Don’t give me that look,” Severus told him. Turning to Minerva he said, “I found him playing at the lake half covered in muck.”

“I see,” Minerva said tersely. “Come now Mr. Potter,” Minerva said placing a firm hand on the boy’s shoulder.

Remus chuckled at Harry’s downtrodden expression, “He looks like he’s about to be handed over the dementors.”

“With Minerva there, I’m sure he would rather face the dementors. At least, then he would get chocolate after,” Severus said mildly.

Remus laughed again. “You’re horrible.”

“Indeed,” Severus agreed.

The two crossed an invisible barrier into the pavilion and the seats and flower arrangements came into view.

“It seems Black has done an adequate job of setting the wards,” Severus commented.

“Thanks,” Sirius said sarcastically behind them. “The wards only let those whose names are on the guest walk across it.”

“And if they’re not?” Remus asked curiously.

“They’ll spend the wedding hanging from that tree there, by their ankle.” Sirius explained.

Severus snorted not sure how he felt about the punishment. Remus shook his head sadly at his friend’s antics.

“Good day gentlemen,” Albus Dumbledore greeted them warmly. He was accompanied by a small tufty haired wizard.

“This is Mr. Dixon of the Ministry,” Dumbledore said introducing each of the young men.

“Severus Tobias Snape,” Dixon asked.

“That is me,” Severus said stepping forward slightly.

“You and Lily Potter née Evans are to be wed today?” Dixon said.

“We are,” Severus confirmed.

“You will need to sign this,” Dixon said removing the scroll from his pocket.

“Do you have…” Severus asked.

“Not now, after the binding,” Dixon said rather grumpily.

“I see,” Severus said unsure of what else to say.

“Why don’t we have a seat while the other guests make their way in,” Dumbledore advised taking a seat on one of the white chairs nearby. Dixon followed suit.

“Black, you should be ready to show people to their seats,” Severus told him.

Sirius headed toward the edge of the wards to direct people in.

“Let’s sit,” Remus said beating Severus to a couple of chairs off to the side. The seats began to fill around them quickly. It was a small group mostly fellow teachers and James and Lily’s friends from the Auror’s office at the Ministry. Severus, possibly for the first time his life, wished that Petunia was there. He had to hold Lily as she sobbed when Petunia returned their invitation marked ‘unknown sender’.

The music swelled in the back of the room. Severus hadn’t realized Dixon was on his feet again. Severus felt Remus tug on his sleeve to get him up. They stood in front of the group. Severus’ expression neutral. There were a few damp eyes he could see. He hoped they were out of happiness.

Severus turned slightly to Lupin, “Where are the rings?”

“I gave them to Sirius to put on the pillow,” Remus whispered back, “Don’t worry.”

Severus nodded slightly. Severus surveyed the group once more. He didn’t know what he was looking for, but it seemed something was missing. Severus pushed that thought aside as the music changed. All heads turned to watch the bridal party enter. Harry marched in front of his mother, the green pillow that held the rings, in his hands.

Harry was carefully counting the steps like he had practiced the last week or so. The boy was so obsessed with getting it right he couldn’t see that Minerva was nearly tripping over him each time. Harry looked up to give a big smile. The boy thankfully noticed Severus’ gesture to speed up, easing the tripping hazard. Harry hurried up and was guided to stand by Remus. Minerva finished her walk turning to stand parallel to Lupin. Finally came Lily on Sirius’ arm.

Lily’s hair was drawn up in a series of fantastic twists, while some fell over her shoulder. She wore a cream color gown, coming off her shoulders. Severus had never seen anything more beautiful in his life. He was certain.

Sirius kissed Lily’s cheek before offering her hand to Severus. Severus dark eyes met her emerald ones. Her eyes were shining brightly but slightly damp. She gave him a cheeky grin. Severus lips twitched upward slightly.

“We are here today to bind Severus Tobias Snape and Lily Potter for life,” Dixon began.

Severus lost track of what Dixon was saying. He was lost in Lily’s eyes until he felt her squeeze his hand. Dixon was looking at him expectantly.

“Pardon?” Severus asked completely embarrassed.

A wave of  laughter passed through the crowd.

“Do you, Severus Tobias Snape, take Lily Potter to be your wife as long as both you shall live?” Dixon repeated.

“I do,” Severus said.

Turning to Lily, Dixon asked, “Do you Lily Potter take Severus Tobias Snape to be your husband as long as both you shall live?”

“I do,” Lily confirmed.

“Sign here,” Dixon said pointing to the lines on each end of the parchment.

Severus and Lily dutifully complied. Dixon rolled up the scroll. “I now pronounce you husband and wife. Sirius lunged, forward pulling Lily into a passionate kiss. The crowd cheered and applauded. Remus cuffed Severus on the shoulder as his the newlyweds separated. Sirius rested his forehead against Lily’s. He didn’t think there would be a happier moment in his life.

“Come on,” Lily whispered, before turning to walk down the aisle once more. Severus followed her lead, giving her his arm.

“Harry,” Severus called.

Harry ran over, Severus picked him up with his free arm. The three walked down the path to the edge of the wards.

“Sev stop,” Lily said as Severus made toward their carriage to the reception.

Severus looked at her confused.

“Pictures,” Lily said softly.

Severus sighed. He forgot that they were taking pictures. Harry’s head rested on his shoulder.

“Hungry,” Harry whined.

“Me as well,” Severus told his new son.

“Can I have the bride and groom over here please,” the photographer requested.

The man snapped a picture of Harry and Severus whispering, before saying, “We’ll have the ring bearer later.”

Severus let the boy down, “Perhaps your Godfather has something to snack on.”

Harry ran off in Sirius’s direction. Many of the guests were standing around waiting, maybe talking to those next to them.

Severus and Lily had their picture taken more times than Severus could count by themselves. Then there were the pictures with just Lily, of the bridal party, Lily and Harry, Lily, Harry and Severus, the groom and the groomsmen, the bride and groom’s parties together. Severus was certain that by the end of the day he would have had his photograph taken at least three times more than ever happened before. Both he and Harry had grown increasingly cranky as the session wore on as nobody had something to eat. Severus let out an audible sigh of relief the man announced they were finished.

Severus finally led Lily to the carriage to Hogsmeade. Harry was helped in, and lastly Severus. Severus flopped back against the seat completely undignified.

“I thought that would never end,” He grumbled.

“You didn’t have to be such a grouch,” Lily chided. “If you had smiled things would have gone faster.”

“I was smiling. The dolt just thought it was not big enough. How am I responsible for that idiocy?” Severus demanded.

“I’m hungry,” Harry pouted yet again.

“We know, Harry. We will eat soon even if it means I have to hex someone to do it,” Severus promised.

Harry crawled into Severus’ lap as they continued down to the village.

“Did you eat this morning?” Lily asked, when she thought it was safe.

Severus shook his head.

Lily sighed, “I told Remus to make sure you ate something.”

The carriage came to a halt outside the Three Broomsticks. Severus hopped out. Harry happily jumped down into Severus open arms. Lily had a bit of difficulty managing it with her dress. Severus helped her get down with as much dignity as possible. Harry ran into the pub as soon as he was down. Lily and Severus followed. The guests streamed in at the carriages pulled up. Severus and Harry nibbled on rolls (or scarfed down would be a more accurate description) as they waited. Lily wasn’t happy, but couldn’t blame them. It was well past Harry’s lunchtime and Severus hadn’t eaten all day.

People took their seats and settled in at the tables. The level of conversation increased as food was served. Severus cut up Harry’s meat for him. Harry made a face at the chicken and picked at the potatoes on his plate.

“Did you fill up on bread?” Severus asked.

“Don’t like it,” Harry pouted.

Severus sighed offering a bit of fish. Harry turned his nose up at this too. The food was fancier than their normal dinner at home. It seemed neither he nor Lily considered the fact Harry wouldn’t eat it when planning their menu.

“This is what we have, Harry,” Severus said softly. “Eat what you do like.”

“Everything okay?” Lily asked leaning into Severus.

“Harry does not care for the chicken,” Severus explained.

Harry ate a bit more potatoes before almost climbing the table to reach the basket of rolls. Severus was very glad people were too engrossed in their conversations to notice the boy’s antics. He would later see that wasn’t totally true. The moment was captured forever on film.

Severus got to eat maybe half his dinner before Lily was suggesting they make the rounds to thank each of the guests. Severus looked longingly at his plate, but agreed. They settled back down twenty minutes later. Remus took this as the sign to start the speeches.

“Good evening all,” Remus said tapping his glass. The room quieted down. “Good evening all. We are here to celebrate the marriage of Lily and Severus. I first met both of them on the train to Hogwarts, ready to start first year. I counted Lily as a friend during those years we were at school and the years since we left. Severus I came to truly know only later. I now count him as one of my friends and the best people I know. To Lily and Severus, may they have many happy years together.”

“To Lily and Severus,” the crowd toasted.

Minerva stood up next, “Lily and Severus came to Hogwarts close friends. Many of the teachers had never seen a stranger pair. Severus the dark brooding Slytherin and Lily the shining Gryffindor. You faced many struggles over the course of your friendship. Now you aim to be a family. It is in this we wish you the best of luck.”

“Good luck,” the crowd repeated.

Severus had halfway finished his dinner while the others toasted to his marriage. Finally fed and with a couple pints or two, he was starting to enjoy the day.

“Cake,” Harry said excitedly as Madame Rosemerta rolled in the three-tiered pastry.

“Indeed,” Severus agreed happily. This was one of the few things Severus had cared about in their planning of the wedding. He and Harry had tasted so many cakes they made themselves sick. They agreed on the yellow cake with buttercream icing. It was simple, but tasty. It was decorated with candied rose petals. There were frosted lilies and cauldrons. Harry had chosen the topper. It was not two people who looked like Severus and Lily, not even remotely. Harry had selected instead a lion and a snake.

“Would you like to help cut the cake Harry?” Severus asked. He looked to Lily for confirmation it was okay. Both nodded. “Then let us go.”

The three crossed to the table with the cake. Severus stood Harry on the edge of the table, clutching the boy into his chest. The three cut the first slice together. Severus served out the first two slices for Lily and himself. They each took a bite and fed it to each other being very careful not to smash it into each other’s face. They then each gave Harry a bite.

There was just one last duty to fulfill, Severus ticked off in his mental checklist. They needed to open the dancing and then Severus could sit back for the rest of the day. Lily was talking to Dumbledore who sat on her other side. He’d switched with Sirius at some point it seemed. Severus slipped away from the table with very little notice. He managed to get to the record player in the corner too.

Not caring how much attention he drew now, the more the better, Severus turned to Lily. Holding out his hand he asked, “May I have this dance Mrs. Snape?”

Lily smiled slipping her hand into Severus’ larger one. A flick of his wand and cheery waltz began to play. He and Lily had agreed that it was too sappy to have their first dance to to be to some sort of silly ballad. The pair chose a classical piece. The pair was soon joined by other couples including Dumbledore and Minerva dancing together. Severus danced with his wife through two more dances before Remus cut in. Severus headed back to the table to check on his son.

Harry sat at the table. His face was covered in icing. The grin on Harry’s face could light the room.

“How many of those have you had?” Severus asked looking at the empty cake plates in front of Harry’s place.

Harry held up four sticky fingers, “Three.”

Severus chuckled gently pushing one of the fingers down, “I think that’s more than enough cake for you young man. You should go ask your mother for a dance. Show her how you’ve been practicing.”

Harry scampered off. Severus slipped back into his chair. He pulled the tie loose around his neck before slipping it over his head.

“Severus Snape, a married man,” Sirius said falling into Lily’s empty chair. “I never thought I’d see the day.”

“You’re not the only one,” Severus agreed, watching Harry attempt and fail to lead his mother in the dance.

“Remus told me about you giving him Spinner’s End,” Sirius said after a moment.

“You object,” Severus asked.

Sirius shook his head, “No, it will be good for him. He needs a space to call his own.”

“There is a small cellar that can be used for his transformations,” Severus told the Auror. He had forgotten to mention it to Lupin.

“Is it weird for someone else to be calling your place home?” Sirius asked.

“No, because Spinner’s End has never been home. If I ever had a home it was with the Evans or here at Hogwarts,” Severus told him truthfully.

Sirius nodded solemnly, “I know what you mean.”

The dancing and talking went on for several more hours. Lily spent much of the time on the dance floor. By the end of the night she danced with every man at least once. She managed to drag Severus back on the floor several times after opening the dancing. Severus however enjoyed watching others and playing with Harry more.

The night started to wind down. Harry was asleep across a bench in one corner of the room. Severus sat at the table, his suit jacket long ago removed, his waistcoat undone. Lily had changed into a light blue sundress at some point.

“We should think about getting ready to go,” Lily said sitting down next to her husband.

Severus nodded, “We should, the inn is expecting us tonight. We still need to gather our things and pick up the car from the rental agency. Do you want to go get Harry?”

“No need for that Mr. and Mrs. Snape,” Sirius cut it.

“What are you on about?” Severus demanded.

“Let our wedding present to you be to enjoy your first night as husband and wife alone,” Sirius explained.

“We will drop Harry off tomorrow afternoon,” Remus promised. He knew Lily and Severus both were looking forward to spending the time away as a family.

Lily jumped up to kiss both men on their cheeks, “You’re wonderful.”

“I take it Misters Black and Lupin informed you of the change of plans regarding young Harry?” Dumbledore asked.

Lily and Severus nodded, “Now Severus, I know you were originally planning to return to class on Tuesday. That will simply not do. You are to take the whole next week.”

“Headmaster,” Severus protested.

“Ah, ah, ah, Severus,” Dumbledore dismissed. “We are not to see you until Monday next.”

“What about my classes? Exams are almost here.” Severus asked.

“Don’t worry about that, my boy. I will see to everything, personally. You are to enjoy the time with your beautiful wife and son.” Dumbledore ordered.

“Thank you Albus,” Lily said happily.

“It is my pleasure Mrs. Snape,” Dumbledore said with a twinkle in his eye.

They watched as the Headmaster joined the group of teachers all presumably headed back to the school.

“If we aren’t taking Harry with us, we need to say goodbye,” Lily said.

Severus extended his hand and Lily intertwined their fingers as they crossed the room to wake their sleeping son.

“Harry love,” Lily said gently shaking the boy’s shoulder.

Harry groaned, “Wha?”

“You need to get up love,” Lily commanded softly.

“We go now?” Harry asked sleepily.

“We are,” Severus confirmed putting the boy on his feet. Severus sat down on the now vacant spot. Lily sat down next to him Harry leaned against one of Severus’ knees not really awake enough to support himself completely.

“Harry,” Lily said softly. “You’re going to sleep over with Moony and Padfoot tonight.”

“Don’t want to,” Harry pouted.

“I thought you like staying with Moony and Padfoot?” Lily said softly.

“Want to go with you,” Harry continued to pout.

“You’ll be with us tomorrow,” Severus reassured.

“Want to go now,” Harry told him. “Why can’t I come now?”

“Your mother and I would like to engage in some adult activities, Mr. Potter. It is much easier to do when there aren’t little boys around.” Severus told him bluntly.

It was almost entirely over Harry’s sleep fogged brain. But that did not stop Lily from smacking Severus with an exasperated “Sev”. Her head fell on Severus’ shoulder.

“Then I want to be a grown-up,” Harry said.

Both adults let out peels of laughter at Harry’s innocent comment.

“Someday my love,” Lily promised.

One last photo was snapped that night. It was of the family seated there on the bench. Of all the pictures taken that day, it was Severus’ favorite. It was the one that was on his desk at Hogwarts from his return from the honeymoon to this day.

“I don’t know how much you remember of that vacation,” Severus said.

“There was a lake,” Harry said thoughtfully.

“There was,” Severus confirmed. “We chose a Muggle establishment in the Welsh countryside to escape any sort of attention from the press. It was a wonderful idea in theory. Somehow you managed to find the only lake in a fifty mile radius to have an infestation of kelpies. I spent the better part of the week trying to keep you out of the water.”

“Couldn’t you beat the kelpies?” Harry asked.

“I could, but there was no reason to. To defeat a kelpie is to domesticate it. There was no reason to do that to a wild creature if little boys listen to their fathers,” Severus said with a sharp tap to Harry’s knee.

Harry gave Severus an embarrassed smile. He knew that rebuke was for more than the kelpie many years before. Harry had gotten himself and on occasion his friends or siblings into situations that would not have happened, if Harry had simply listened to Severus’ instructions. It was something Severus never failed to point out, sometimes driving his point home leaving Harry with a smarting bottom. Those occasions were very rare however, life-and-death situations, or at least the threat of serious bodily injury.

“The first year your mother and I were married we all had to adjust to the change of our situation.” Severus said.

“What do you mean?” Harry asked.

“There were many small things really…”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Severus stood at the bathroom sink down the hall from Harry’s bedroom. He sent the boy off to prepare for bed a few minutes before and Severus was checking the state of the bathroom to ensure the boy had cleaned his face and teeth. Severus frowned at the state of the toothpaste. It was clearly pinched from the middle, the habit Severus had tried to prevent forming since the first time he’d helped Harry with the task.  

Severus shook his head lightly at the sight before setting it to rights. It’s funny how the boy’s mother doing the same thing never drove him nearly half is mad. In fact, when Lily did it, he found it almost endearing. Then again, Severus was always there to fix it almost instantly. If he didn’t know any better, he would say Lily did it to purposely drive him spare.

Severus flipped the light off walking down the hall to Harry’s room. He found Harry not in bed as he was supposed to be, but playing with the toy dragons Sirius had brought him.

“You’re supposed to be in bed, Harry,” Severus chided mildly.

“I’m not sleepy,” Harry said continuing to play with the toys.

“Be that as it may, it is still time for bed. Come now, into bed,” Severus said pulling back the covers.

“I don’t want to,” Harry whined.

“Harry,” Severus said bit more sternly. He’d never had this much difficulty putting Harry to bed before.

Harry reluctantly got into bed, “Can I have a story?”

Severus tucked the covers around Harry’s small frame.

“You may,” Severus said sitting on the edge of the bed. “What story which you like to hear?”

“The Three Brothers,” Harry replied instantly.

Severus nodded, Summoning the appropriate book, “There once was three brothers traveling down the dark and lonely road at twilight,” Severus began.

“Moony always says midnight,” Harry protested.

Severus shot him a warning, “Would you prefer not to have a story at all?”

Severus was tired. His long stressful day and was not over yet. He still had marking to do for the entirety of third year. It would be a long night. The last thing he wanted to be doing was squabbling with Harry about fairy tales.

“No,” Harry said sitting back.

“Very well,” Severus said continuing the story. Harry was still awake when he finished.

“One more story,” Harry requested.

“I do not think so,” Severus said rising. “Go to sleep.”

“Please?” Harry begged.

“Close your eyes Harry,” Severus instructed.

Harry did not comply. “Not sleepy,” he pouted.

“That is your choice, Harry. Good night,” Severus said kissing the boy’s brow.

Harry rolled so his back was to the door as Severus flicked off the lights. He left the door open a crack and then headed downstairs to find Lily.

“He asleep?” she asked folding laundry as Severus flopped onto the seat next to her on the sofa.

“He’s not. He wanted another story,” Severus told her.

“You could’ve given him another story, Sev,” Lily scolded.

“If he’d been in bed when I came to check I might have done so.” Severus explained.

“Did you tell him that?” Lily asked.

Severus paused, “I did not. I did not…”

“It’s fine,” Lily said. “You’re new to this. You should tell him why he isn’t getting something like that.”

Severus nodded, “I’ll keep that in mind. I hadn’t realized how different this would be then when we were dating.”

“You’ll learn. We all will. It’s a big adjustment for everybody. Isn’t there marking to do?” she asked folding one of Harry’s T-shirts.

“Don’t remind me,” Severus complained.

“You can always help me with this,” Lily offered.

Severus flicked his wand at the hamper, clothes all folded at once.

“I don’t see why you insist on doing things the Muggle way,” he grumbled.

“Did you ever stop to think I might like doing things the Muggle way?” Lily replied.

“I did. I don’t understand why, but I thought you might,” Severus said. He let out a heavy sigh. “I should get to marking.”

He left Lily watching something on television. He hadn’t given much attention to avoid becoming engrossed in the program. He sat at his desk in his newly created office. He pulled the nearest stack of essays towards him. It was a stack of papers from Gryffindor, this was not a promising start to the evening. Lily found him still in there hunched over the desk several hours later.

“Are you coming to bed,” Lily asked draping her arms over his shoulders.

“When I finish,” Severus said reloading his quill with red ink.

“Come to bed,” Lily requested once more.

“I’m nearly done,” Severus told her.

“Fine,” Lily pouted, leaving him presumably for bed.

Severus slipped into bed well after midnight. Lily wrapped around him almost instantly. Severus let out a contented sigh. Not even an hour later, he was woken by a small knee to his ribs. Severus groaned.

“What are you doing Harry?” Severus hissed in the darkness.

“There’s a monster under my bed,” Harry whispered trying to worm his way between his parents.

“Harry, stop,” Severus said grabbing hold the boy’s middle.

“What’s going on?” Lily asked blearily.

“There’s a monster under my bed,” Harry said instantly.

“Don’t be…” Severus stopped himself. He wouldn’t put the boy’s feelings down. He knew what it was like to grow up in a home with a father like that. He would not be Tobias. “What did you see Harry?” Severus asked very calmly.

“It was banging under my bed. I got scared,” Harry explained.

Severus took a calming breath, “I know, Harry. Can you describe the monster?”

Harry sniffed, he was close to tears. Severus thought it was strange the boy would be acting that way now, not when he first came in.

“Maybe one of us should just go look,” Lily suggested.

“No,” Harry protested, the first tears falling.

“Shh…” Lily said pulling him to her chest, pulling Harry down slightly before asking, “You want Sev to go see this monster?”

There was a very long pause before Harry gave the smallest nod. Severus pushed back the covers and threw his legs over the side of the bed. He found his wand on the nightstand. He didn’t bother with the lights in the hall or in Harry’s room. He was certain this was the product of Harry’s overactive imagination.

What he saw when he entered Harry’s room told him different. In the middle of the room, only illuminated by the narrow shafts of moonlight, lay Lily’s bloody, mangled corpse.

‘A boggart,’ Severus thought with some relief. He could handle a boggart. Severus thought hard about the way to make this image funny. Severus settled on the image of Lily’s failed attempt to learn to tap dance. As the boggart-Lily tripped over its feet, face nearly hitting the ground Severus let out a laugh. The boggart went up in a puff of smoke.

Severus returned to his bedroom. He found Harry passed out on his pillow, drooling slightly. Severus looked from Harry to Lily.

“He fell asleep,” Lily pointed out the obvious. “What was it?” she asked as Severus moved the boy over slightly.

“Boggart,” Severus said stepping back into bed. He cast a Drying Charm on his pillow. Harry threw out an arm heading Severus’ chest. “Should I not take Harry back to his bed?”

“Leave him,” Lily said settling in once more.

Severus sighed, resigned to a poor night’s sleep as a bony knee jabbed him. ‘Harry must be the world’s most active sleeper,’ Severus thought.

Severus managed a few more hours sleep, but was woken several more times by jabs of elbows and knees. Lily seemed to be completely unfazed. Severus wondered if he was Harry’s sole victim, or she was just simply used to it.

---------------------------------

Severus was miserable. His head hurt. His body ached. His throat was sore. He was having a hard time breathing as well. It seemed he was finally falling victim to whatever it was making its way through the castle.

Severus turned over and felt for Lily. Lily’s place in bed was empty and cool. She’d left some time ago. Severus contemplated going back to sleep. He just shut his eyes when his bedroom door was thrown open.

“Sev,” Harry called.

Severus groaned in response.

“Sev,” Harry repeated at the bedside now.

Severus grumbled. Harry climbed over Severus to pounce on the empty bed.

“Stop that,” Severus snapped.

Harry flopped onto the bed with one final jump, “Mummy said breakfast is ready.”

“I’m not hungry,” Severus grumbled.

“Mummy said you need to come,” Harry told him.

“I’m not hungry,” Severus repeated.

“But Mummy said…” Harry began.

“Potter, I’m an adult. If I don’t want to eat, I don’t have to. Now, leave me be.” Severus ordered.

Harry’s lip trembled as he ran from the room. He was in tears by the time he reached the kitchen. Lily picked the boy up.

“What’s wrong Harry?” she asked as she ran a hand up and down Harry’s back.  Harry mumbled something into her shoulder. Lily could make out what he said.

“What was that Harry?” Lily asked gently drawing his face out to speak unobstructed.

“Sev doesn’t like me anymore,” Harry repeated miserably.

“Of course he likes you. Severus loves you. Why would you say differently?” Lily asked her voice full of concern.

“He yelled at me. He told me to go away,” Harry explained.

Lily wasn’t sure if she should be mad or worried at hearing this. In the past Severus had always been very careful when disciplining Harry. She had never heard him yell at the boy. When he did punish Harry he always reassured Harry that everything was okay after.

“I’m sure if he still likes you,” Lily reassured as she set Harry down, “Go get in your seat.”

As Harry climbed into his chair Lily prepared his breakfast plate. Setting it in front of him she pushed his hair back.

“I’m going to talk to Sev,” Lily told him.

Harry ignored her, his attention on his eggs.

“You better have a good explanation for your behavior Severus Snape,” Lily warned she entered the bedroom.

Severus did not respond, however. He wasn’t in bed either. The sound of retching alerted Lily to her husband’s location. Lily found Severus hunched over the toilet as another wave of vomiting hit him. Lily sank to the floor beside him, pulling his long hair out of the way.

“Oh Sev,” Lily said sadly.

“I’m fine,” Severus insisted sitting back on his heels.

“You don’t look it. You’re pale… Paler than normal and clammy.” Lily observed.

“It is a simple flu,” Severus told her.

“Be that as it may, you’re sick. You need Pepper-Up and rest,” Lily advised.

Severus did not see the point of arguing this. He did feel horrible and more sleep sounded absolutely wonderful. Lily helped him  back to his feet and to bed.

“What did you want when you came up here?” Severus asked as he settled back down under the duvet.

“What did you tell Harry this morning?” Lily demanded. “He was in tears when he reached the kitchen. He was convinced you don’t like him anymore.”

Severus groaned, this time it was not from the pain in his aching body, “I told him off for jumping on the bed. The sensation was making  me nauseated. I told him that as an adult, I could do as I please, including not coming to breakfast. I then ordered him out. I was… Rather stern about this.”

Lily sighed, “You’re feeling poorly so you lost your temper.”

Severus nodded, a poor choice on his part. There are terms of feelings of nausea.

“You need to be more careful Sev,” Lily warned. “Harry’s your son now.”

“I am aware. I will apologize to him when I come down to breakfast.” Severus promised.

“You can  apologize, but you aren’t coming down. I’ll bring you something. Rest,” Lily ordered.

Severus let his eyes fall shut. Almost instantly the only sound was Severus’ heavy breathing. Lily placed a kiss on his sweaty brow. She let him sleep for a bit before she brought up breakfast. She was surprised to find Harry standing outside her bedroom door.

“What are you doing here?” Lily asked her son.

Harry didn’t answer.

“Harry did you want to hear if Sev was in trouble?” Lily asked.

Harry didn’t respond once again.

“Whatever you’re doing, it can stop. Severus is asleep. He’s sick,” Lily said guiding the boy by the shoulder away from the room.

Severus woke sometime later. He was somewhat surprised to see Harry sitting in the bed beside him having not been woken by the boy climbing over him.

“Mummy says you’re sick,” Harry stated rather matter-of-factly.

Severus sat up slightly. He pulled a pillow from under him to slide it behind his back.

“I am,” Severus agreed.

“Harry, I would like to say I’m sorry for how I spoke to you earlier. It was out of turn. My feeling poorly does not give me an excuse of treating you with such a manner,” Severus said sincerely.

“That’s okay,” Harry shrugged.

“It is not,” Severus rebuked. “But I take it I am forgiven?”

Harry gave him a nod.

“Can I have a hug?” Severus asked opening his arms.

Harry happily bounced into them. Severus wrapped the boy in a tight hug then he placed a kiss on Harry’s messy hair for good measure.

“You should know Harry, I love you no matter what.” Severus said.

“Okay,” Harry agreed, completely clueless to how much it cost Severus to say something like that.

----------------------------------------

“Come, Harry,” Severus called from his spot on the park bench.

“Five more minutes,” Harry begged.

“I already gave you an extra 10,” Severus reminded the boy.

“Fine,” Harry pouted. Harry dragged his feet as he joined Severus by the table.

“You have a good time?” Severus asked taking Harry’s hand.

“Uh huh,” Harry agreed, skipping to keep up with Severus’ long strides.

“Good,” Severus agreed.

Their walk home was filled with Harry  babbling about one thing or another. Severus occasionally would respond or slow down to show he was listening.

“Go wash your hands for dinner,” Severus ordered as they walked into the house.

“Okay, Daddy,” Harry agreed, running down the hall.

The order of “Don’t run!” Could be heard issuing from the kitchen. He was still lost in thought when he reached Lily standing by the stove.

“Sev can you hand me the… Are you okay? You look as if Golpalott’s Third Law no longer applies or something,” Lily said, alarmed by the lost look on Severus’ face.

“What?” Severus asked shaking from his thoughts.

“What happened to make you so rattled?” Lily asked.

“Nothing,” Severus said dismissively.

“Really?” Lily asked. “I haven’t seen that look on your face since,” Lily took a deep breath as she thought back, “Sixth year, when your Strengthening Solution failed to come out properly.”

“It was only because Black switched my salamander blood…” Severus began.

“Not the point, Sev,” Lily redirected. “What’s wrong now?”

Severus sighed slightly, “Harry called me ‘Daddy’.”

Lily smiled, “That’s great.”

“Is it?” Severus asked uncertainly. They had never really talked about what Harry was to call Severus. Most of the time he still called Severus by his name, but increasingly he was referred to as Harry’s father.

“It is,” Lily confirmed. “It shows he’s comfortable with you.”

“Is it not disrespectful to Potter’s memory?” Severus asked.

“I don’t think so. You are Harry’s father figure now,” Lily explained. “It’s not as if you’re bad mouthing James to Harry or something.”

Severus nodded slightly, “I can only imagine how will Potter’s photo will take this turn of offense. There are any number of unpleasant looks. I’m fortunate that it is only a photograph and not a portrait. I can only imagine what it would have to say about this.”

“Don’t worry about it Sev,” Lily told him. “Everything will work out. All that matters is that you and Harry are comfortable with things.”

Severus gave her another uncertain nod.

“The next year was rather uneventful, or as much as any year can be. We celebrated all of the normal holidays: your mother and I’s birthdays, Easter, your birthday. The day that broke this unknown noticeable march of time was the first day of term, September 1st.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“How are you feeling?” Severus asked capping the now properly squeezed from the bottom toothpaste.

Lily had woken up in the morning feeling nauseated. Severus would have liked to stay look after her, but she assured him she was fine, and he had obligations to the school.   He couldn’t afford to stay home as he had many things to do at the school before the start of term.

“I’m fine,” Lily told him. “Why?”

“Am I not allowed to express concern about my family’s health? You said you were feeling poorly earlier this morning,” Severus reminded her.

“I’m better now,” Lily promised.

“Good,” Severus said sincerely.

The following morning, however, Lily was feeling poorly once more.

“I think you should go see the Healers,” Severus advised placing a cold washcloth on the back of Lily’s neck as she vomited into the toilet.

“You’re overreacting Sev,” Lily whined. “It’s only two days. I’m sure it’s just a cold.”

“Perhaps,” Severus agreed. “Or maybe not. Did you consider this might not be the start of a cold, but that you are in fact pregnant?”

Lily scoffed, sitting upright properly, “Don’t be ridiculous, Sev. I can’t be pregnant, I’m on the potion.”

“Nothing is perfect, Lily flower, not even magic.” Severus dismissed.

Lily was silent for a moment. She hadn’t given the idea much thought. Harry was just recovering from a cold. Lily automatically assumed she had picked it up, as one seemed to do when in close quarters with children. Now that Severus mentioned pregnancy it seemed there was a chance that could be the reason for the nausea. Still Lily dismissed it.

“I don’t think I am,” Lily told him. “I probably just picked up Harry’s cold. If I’m still feeling down in a few days, then I’ll go see the Healers, happy?”

Severus nodded. He held out a light green potion. “For the nausea,” he explained.

Lily drank it down the thankfully.

“You realize terms starts in a few days?” Severus asked, almost conversationally.

“I do,” Lily confirmed slowly. She wondered what his point was.

Severus knew he needed to be careful here. He could not make it sound as if Lily was helpless, but he also did not want his wife putting undue stress on herself, especially if she was getting sick.  

“In the past, you have spent the day in London with Harry, as a form of distraction. I wonder if it would be a wise decision this year.” He continued before Lily could protest. “I wish no disrespect. No, I am simply stating how I feel. Both you and Harry having recently been ill. I will not be there as I unfortunately have obligations all day. Lupin will most likely not be up to accompanying you shortly after the full moon.”

Lily sighed, he had a point so far. “We could wait until you get home,” she said quietly.

Severus shook his head. “For whatever reason the feast is one of the few occasions when the Headmaster insists I dine at the school. I will not be home until late.  Harry should be in bed by then.”

Lily was not happy. She frowned at Severus, not that any of this was his fault. She needed to express her discontent to someone though.

“I would suggest calling Black,” Severus offered seeing Lily’s displeasure, “Or find a different outing.”

“I’ll talk to Sirius,” Lily said instantly.

“Yes, well, we all know how dependable Black can be,” Severus snarked.

Lily’s frown deepened. “He’ll do this for me. He knows how hard Harry can be those first few days.”

“Very well,” Severus agreed. He hoped Black would come through for Lily. Normally Severus wouldn’t have insisted on someone accompanying Lily but with both her and Harry not being in top form he just wanted someone there if something were to happen.

Severus was glad he insisted that Black accompany them, as Lily suffered a wave of dizziness and nearly fainted in the middle of Diagon Alley. Sirius had Apperated the three it directly to St. Mungo’s ignoring Lily’s repeated assurance she was fine. They spent much of the morning waiting to be seen by a Medi-wizard since there was no obvious injury. Severus was kept up to date with the progress with regular Patronuses. He knew everything except Lily’s final diagnosis. He can only assume this was because she had not told Black.  

It had taken all of Severus’ mighty willpower not to dismiss his class and head to London when the first silvery black dog appeared. He only grew more anxious as the day went on and he had no more news as to what was wrong with his wife. It was a pointed remark from the Headmaster they kept him at the school until he could “politely” excuse himself from the feast. He left seconds after the last student was Sorted. He stepped into the fireplace and a small painting lined room off the Great Hall to Floo directly home.

“Daddy,” Harry cried excitedly as Severus stepped out of the fireplace.

Severus scooped the little boy into his arms. Harry babbled excitedly about all the things he’d seen at the hospital. Severus occasionally grunted his acknowledgment of listening as he searched the floor for Lily.

“Where is your mother?” Severus asked, cutting off Harry’s story about the wizard with six purple wings and two heads.

“I’m here,” Lily called from the kitchen.

Severus found her fixing a pot of tea. He set Harry down on the counter so that he could pull her into a tight embrace. Harry giggled as he watched his parents. He took the opportunity to not so sneakily grab a biscuit Severus had unthinkingly set him by.

“Don’t you dare, Harry James,” Lily warned. “You had enough sweets already.”

Harry pouted, but put the biscuit back on the plate. Severus smirked slightly at Harry’s downcast expression.

“What did the He-” Severus stopped himself mid-question at Lily’s and meaningful look. She gave a small jerk of her head in Harry’s direction. Severus nodded in return.

“Now Mr. Potter, it is time for little boys to be in bed,” Severus said putting the boy on his feet.

“I’m not sleepy,” Harry protested.

“That may be, but it is time for bed,” Severus said giving Harry a prod between the shoulders.

“Mummy?” Harry asked hopefully.

“You heard your father,” Lily said sternly.

Harry’s pout intensified. Lily waved him to her. She gave Harry a comforting hug. “Go with Daddy and I’ll be upstairs in a few minutes to say good night.”

“Okay,” Harry agreed reluctantly.

Lily kissed his lightning scar a before saying, “Good boy,” and sending him off with Severus.

She joined the pair ten minutes later while Severus was tucking Harry in.

“Settle down,” Severus instructed.

Harry continued to shift under the blankets, “Settle down if you wish to continue to hear the adventures of Miss Mary,” Severus warned lightly.

Harry still instantly. Lily smiled at the interaction. Lily took this as her opportunity to say good night before withdrawing. She did not return downstairs and instead stood just out of sight of Harry’s door. Severus was a good father to Harry. She remembered when he was frightened to be alone with Harry, even for a few minutes. Now he was “Daddy”. He had come so far. She listened to Severus reading.  Harry fell asleep after only a few pages. Who would blame him? She had done the same a number of times, listening to Severus’ melodious voice.

“Lily,” Severus greeted as he pulled shut the door to Harry’s room, leaving it open just a crack.

“Hey,” Lily greeted in return.

Severus quirked a curious eyebrow at Lily’s uneasy tone.

“Lily is some…” Severus began

Lily cut him off, “Let’s go downstairs.”

Severus followed his wife downstairs. They collected the forgotten tea from the kitchen, reheating it with an easy wave Lily’s wand. Lily led the way into the living room and ensconcing herself in the corner of the sofa. Severus sat himself at the opposite end. The whole trip was made in a heavy and awkward silence. This was the most uncomfortable Severus had been in her company for a good deal of time.

Finally Severus could take it no longer. “Lily, whatever is the matter?” Severus demanded.

“You were right,” Lily said nervously.

“Right? Right about what?” Severus asked confused. He didn’t remember discussing anything that had a right or wrong.

“You are right about me getting sick. The Healer confirmed the pregnancy this afternoon,” Lily clarified.

“That’s wonderful,” Severus said happily. His face fell slightly at Lily’s tone. “Are you not happy about this?”

Lily shook her head. “It’s great.” Lily’s tone did not match her statement.

“Lily flower, tell me whatever is the matter,” Severus begged.

Lily spent a long moment looking down into the milky brown of her tea. “You’re not scared?” Lily finally asked.

Severus frowned. Fear had not been at the top of his reactions to the news. No, pride, joy, and excitement, were the overwhelming sensations at the moment.

“Not currently,” Severus admitted.

“Really?” Lily asked surprised. “We only just started talking about having more children. We haven’t done any sort of planning.”

“I am aware,” Severus said calmly.

“That doesn’t worry you?” Lily asked.

“It does not. We have months before the baby arrives. We can buy any sort of supplies we need at that time. I have steady employment at Hogwarts to provide for any of our needs. We are in a position to handle this. What has you so concerned?” Severus asked gently.

“The Healers don’t know what sort of impact surviving Voldemort’s attack might have had. That’s the reason they kept me so long.” Lily explained. “They want to keep a special eye on me, just in case.”

“Very well,” Severus agreed. “If they find something, we will deal with it at the time.”

“What about Harry?” Lily asked.

“What about Harry?” Severus repeated slightly taken off guard. Harry hadn’t crossed his mind in reaction to the news.

“How will Harry take it?” Lily demanded. “We’ve only been married two years, Sev. Harry’s been an only child for five years. He’ll be nearly six by the time the baby is here.”

“Lily flower, calm yourself, please.” Severus begged. “It isn’t good for you to worry so. Harry will adapt. We will all adapt. He’s taken the changes in stride before. I have little reason to doubt he will not do the same here.”

“You think so?” Lily asked uncertainly.

“I do,” Severus reassured. “Did the Healers have anything to say about the pregnancy?”

“Not yet,” Lily said thoughtfully.

“Good,” Severus said sitting back. “I’m sure we’ll be hearing from Black and Lupin about this at any moment.”

“No, we won’t,” Lily said setting aside her tea.

“Why ever not? Those two are not exactly known for their ability to keep secrets… At least from one another. Lupin must know if you told Black,” Severus insisted.

“That’s why I didn’t tell Sirius,” Lily told him. “I couldn’t have them know before you.”

Severus laughed. He grabbed her wrist gently pulling her to his side. Lily snuggled into his chest.

“Thank you Lily,” Severus said kissing the crown of Lily’s head.

“For what?” Lily said snuggling in closer.

“For making me the happiest man in England,” Severus said seriously.

“You’re really happy about this then?” Lily asked one last time.

“I am,” Severus reassured.

They waited a week or so to break the news to Lupin and Black. The two men congratulated them both. Severus made a series of off-color jokes about Severus and Lily’s love life. Remus saved Severus the trouble of defending his honor with a rather sharp jab to the Auror’s ribs.

After a bit of reading Severus and Lily decided to break the news to Harry the week before Halloween. Severus was home for the weekend giving them more chances to have a discussion. Lily had already started laying groundwork. She had started reading stories about siblings and babies more often. Harry hadn’t seemed to notice the trend not that Severus really expected him to.

Finally the day arrived. Severus had taken Harry to the play park, Lily was feeling tired and stayed behind. Severus sent his Patronus ahead to Lily in notice of their imminent arrival. Lily greeted them with hot chocolate and biscuits.

Harry sat in what had once been Lily’s father’s recliner. It was the chair most often occupied by Severus these days, but Severus sat beside Lily on the couch at the moment. Harry was always excited to sit in that chair.

“Harry sweetie, Daddy and I would like to talk to you about something,” Lily broached carefully.

“Am I in trouble?” Harry asked worriedly.

“No. No. Of course not,” Lily soothed. “Why would you think that?”

Harry shrugged. Severus had to stop himself from reprimanding him for the gesture. Severus had been trying to get Harry to use his words versus gesturing or acting out his feelings. They needed Harry to feel safe at the moment, attacking him would not help this.

Instead Severus asked, “Is it because of the last talk we had?”

Harry gave an enthusiastic nod. The last serious talk way had had was after Harry had “borrowed” Lily’s wand while she was in the kitchen. He’d set a bit of parchment on fire, completely accidentally. If Severus had not walked in when he did the fire would have quickly spread.

That had led to Harry’s first ever spanking. It was an experience neither father nor son wanted to repeat.

“It’s nothing like that,” Severus promised.

Harry gave a small nod. He watched as his parents subconsciously linked hands.

“Nobody is in trouble,” Lily reassured. “Daddy and I wanted to talk about something very different.”

Harry gave a small nod.

“Around Easter time you’re going to be a big brother, Harry,” Lily told him.

“How?” Harry demanded.

“Your mother is pregnant,” Severus said plainly.

Harry’s face remained blank.

“What’s pregnant?” The boy asked.

“It means I have a baby growing inside me.” Lily explained.

“Why?” Harry asked.

“Why am I pregnant?” Lily repeated.

Harry nodded.

“I’m pregnant because…” Lily faltered. She hadn’t expected that question.

“Your mother and I wanted to expand our family. We love you very much, Harry,” Severus reassured. “We wanted to share that love with more people.”

Harry didn’t say anything.

“Can you tell us what you’re feeling?” Severus asked gently.

Harry shrugged. Severus sighed. The books said not to push the news if he was not interested. Severus crossed the room pulling Harry into his arms. He then returned them to the couch, beside Lily.

“You’re entitled to feel any way you want,” Severus told him. “You may be frightened, excited, worried, however you wish. It’s natural.”

“I’m gonna be a big brother?” Harry asked.

“You are.” Severus confirmed.

“There’s a baby inside of Mummy?” Harry asked.

“Would you like to see?” Lily asked.

Harry nodded. Lily stood pulling off her baggy knit sweater. A not so small bump was visible under Lily’s turtleneck.

“It’s right there,” Lily said putting a hand over her bump.

“Can I touch it?” Harry asked curiously.

“Go ahead,” Severus urged.

Harry hopped off Severus’ lap Harry rushed over to his mother. Stopping just in front of her. He put a hand up, but stopped.

“It’s okay.” Lily said comfortingly. “You won’t hurt us.”

Harry put his hand on the gentle swell. “It feels funny.” Harry said with a small giggle.

“You think so?” Lily asked.

“Uh-huh,” Harry said rubbing up and down.

“If you think it feels funny now, you should wait a few weeks. You’ll able to feel the baby move then.” Lily explained.

“Really?” Harry asked excitedly.

“You will,” Lily confirmed.

“Harry?” Severus said from his seat on the couch. Harry looked over his arm, not removing it from Lily’s belly.

“Would you like to tell everyone at Halloween?” Severus asked.

Harry gave a huge smile.

“Very good,” Severus said returning the smile.

**************************

“Remember Harry, we’re going to tell everyone at lunch.” Severus said setting Harry’s breakfast in front of him.

But Harry was busy playing with two toy dragons.

“Did you hear me?” Severus asked.

“What?” Harry asked, mouth full of eggs.

“I asked if you remembered the plan for this afternoon. And don’t talk with your mouth full.” Severus chided.

“Sorry,” Harry mumbled.

“Do you remember?” Severus asked.

“Leave him alone, Sev.” Lily said, slipping into her seat.

“I simply want…” Severus began.

“If he tells early it’s not the end of the world?” Lily remarked as she spread jam her toast.

Severus nodded, playing with his eggs.

Lily laughed lightly at Severus’ dejected expression.

“Lighten up, Sev. It’ll all work out?” Lily instructed.

This was the first time they had ever had anyone over on Halloween.  Black and Remus would be coming over for lunch, as were Minerva, Filius, and Dumbledore.  The latter was coming over under the auspicious belief they were to talk to Harry about James.  They could tell more favorable tales than either Remus or Black, as they did not know half the trouble James got into.  

The remaining Marauders were the first to arrive.  Remus automatically inquired as to how Lily was feeling.   

“Speaking of which,” Lily interjected before Severus could make another cutting remark. “Harry will be announcing that at lunch. Do your best to look surprised.”

The Marauders gave her a reassuring nod.

Once Harry and Sirius were out of earshot, Remus turned to Lily. “Does anyone who is coming not know?”

“Several,” Severus responded.

“Who?” Lily and Remus asked together.

“The Headmaster, Minerva, and Filius,” Severus supplied.

“That’s everybody from Hogwarts whose coming,” Lily said a bit in disbelief.

“Indeed,” Severus confirmed.

“You didn’t tell anybody you work with?” Remus asked.

“No,” Severus denied.

“Then who did you tell?” Lily asked curiously.

“Madam Pomfrey,” Severus said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“Only her? Why her?” Remus asked.

Lily thought she knew what his answer would be.

“She’s the school’s matron. If I had any questions to ask regarding Lily’s pregnancy she was a clear choice,” Severus explained slowly.

Remus nodded. He still had so much to learn about his friend. “Why not tell any other teachers?”

“It was none of their concern. If Lily wished them to know she would inform them when she made the news public,” Severus said.  

Minerva, Dumbledore, and Filius arrived not long before lunch was served. As usual, all three had brought some sort of gift for Harry.  There had been just enough time for Harry to open their gifts before they sat down to eat. Not for the first time Severus questioned the Headmaster’s sanity, giving Harry a pufferskin. It was not atypical wizarding children to have them as pets, but how were they supposed to explain it to the Muggles. Minerva gave him a set of Gryffindor hat, mittens, and scarf.  It was at least practical and very useful. Same could be said for Filius’ book of children’s stories.

“Lunch,” Lily called.

All made their way to the magically expanded table. When everybody had been served Severus tapped the side of his glass. Everybody’s eyes turned to him.

“Harry has something he would like to say,” Severus said giving Harry a nod.

Harry climbed up, so he was standing on his chair. Severus automatically put a hand up to support him.

“Well Potter,” Minerva encouraged.

“Mummy’s going to have a baby,” Harry said excitedly.

There was a rush of excited talk about the news. Severus helped Harry sat back down.

The lunch table broke into much excited chatter.  Everyone wanted to know how far along Lily was, when the baby was due etc.  Severus let the conversation wash over him.  He was glad to know the news was taken so well by these people that mattered so much to him.  

“Well done, Mr. Potter,” Severus said placing a kiss in Harry’s hair. Harry grinned at him.

Before Sirius left, he threw Severus a small cardboard box, a box of condoms.  Only the mutt would give him something so inappropriate. Severus stuffs the box back into the bottom of his pocket hoping to prevent Harry asking questions.

“Condoms? Honestly Black. Are you fifteen?” Severus asked.

Sirius shrugged. “Thought it was fitting with Lily’s news.”

**************

At about five-and-a-half months Lily voiced the concern she felt for several weeks already.

“Sev,” Lily said getting her husband’s attention.

“What is it Lily flower?” Severus responded absent-mindedly. He was trying to finish the potions article before they retired for the night.

“I don’t think we have enough for the baby.” Lily said seriously.

Severus sighed. He put a bit of parchment in the magazine to mark his place and turned his attention to his wife. “How could we not have enough for the baby? We have more clothes for it in the rest of the family combined. We have more things and I even know existed for a child. The only thing we could possibly buy is a second crib and no child needs two of  those.”

“We might need two,” Lily told him.

“Were you not listening? No child needs two cribs,” Severus huffed.

“No, but two children both need cribs,” Lily countered.

“Two children? What the devil are you on about?” Severus demanded.

“I think it’s twins, Sev.” Lily clarified.

“Twins?” Severus repeated disbelievingly. “If it were twins don’t you think that the Healers would have mentioned it by now?”

“Fine,” Lily pouted. “We’ll see who’s right when they’re born.”

They need not wait that long. Lily suspicions were confirmed two weeks later at her next appointment. The Healers apologized for the late notice. The second baby was hiding behind its twin from what they could figure.

Harry was excited revenues. It meant he would have more people to play with. It also meant that he got to help pick out more outfits, toys etc. and open more gifts for the impending arrivals.

“I do not know how much you remember about those last few weeks before your sisters’ arrival.  Then again, I don’t know how much I remember of those weeks after either,”  Severus said.

Harry gave an indifferent shrug,  “Was it like when Mum had Jules?”

Severus nodded.  “Similar, but much more chaotic.  I was a first time father and it showed.”

Harry gave him a confused frown in response.

“I was overly anxious about many things.  There were things I did not take into consideration.  Mostly, I was not prepared for how exhausting those first several months could be,”  Severus explained.

“Oh,” Harry said uncertainly.

“Let me explain,” Severus began…  

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The birth plan was worked out by mid-March.  Severus would come home if he was at school. He would then alert Lupin who would collect Harry.  Harry would say goodbye to his parents before retreating to stay with Lupin until they were summoned after the birth.  Severus would Floo  St. Mungo’s for a midwife.  Lily would give birth at home, unless some emergency arose.

When the time did arrive things went surprisingly smoothly.  Severus was woken in the early hours of the morning after Lily suffered a series of sharp pains.  They waited until what might be considered a reasonable time for breakfast to summon Lupin.  They made sure to say goodbye to Harry and promised they would see him soon.

Severus did his best to comfort Lily through the contractions.  She didn’t scream or curse him once.  That surprised him greatly, maybe he had just seen too many Muggle films.  At the end of the night he and Lily welcomed a pair of girls.  Both were almost seven pounds.  They were red and squashy, and Severus would swear he had never seen anything more beautiful in his life.

Lily fell asleep not long after the birth.  Severus took the opportunity to Floo Lupin.  Harry was passed out on the couch waiting for news.  Severus told him he had sisters, but they would have to wait until morning to see them.  One of the babies began to cry as he finished his call.

Severus carefully picked up his tiny daughter.  Dahlia Elizabeth Snape was the older of the girls.  She had very little chin, large ears that stuck out, and a small tuft of dark hair.

“Hush,” Severus soothed, pacing the room.

“She’s probably hungry,” Lily said sleepily.  “Bring her over here.”

Severus did as commanded.  Severus watched as Lily nursed their child for the first time.

“What are you thinking?” Lily asked as she watched Severus’ face.

“I do not think there are words that can explain how I currently feel,”  Severus said after a moment.

“No words?  None?” Lily asked.

“None,” Severus confirmed.

“Didn’t think you’d ever be here did you?” Lily asked.

Severus fought off the emotion threatening to choke him.  “Never.  I kept thinking my life could not get better.  You and I became friends again, dating you, marrying you, and becoming a father to Harry.  One thing after another continues to prove me wrong.”

“Maybe you should just accept happiness then, Sev.”  Lily said moving Dahlia off her breast.  “Take your daughter.  She needs to be burped and changed.  When you’re done, bring Iris here.”

Severus nodded.  He did as he was told and returned several moments later with Iris Calypso, whose middle name meant “hidden”, just as she was in Lily’s initial scans . Iris was slightly shorter than her sister.  She had a bit more hair that was also lighter in color.  Iris so far had put up little fuss.  Lily said she must take after Severus than since both Harry and Dahlia were very much fond of attention.  They would have to wait and see if the pattern held.

Lily feed Iris before giving her over to her father to be burped and changed.  When both girls’ needs were met Severus collapsed into bed with Lily.  They managed to get a few hours’ sleep before the crying woke them one more.

By the time Harry and Lupin arrived after breakfast they had gone through the cycle at least three more times.  They were just finishing one when Harry came into the room.

“Hi sweetie,” Lily greeted.

“Mummy,” Harry replied, trying to break out of Remus’ grip.

“Give your mother a moment Harry,” Severus advised.

Harry pouted.

“Would you like to meet Dahlia while your mother finishes with Iris?” Severus suggested.

Harry nodded.  Severus directed Harry into a nearby chair before carefully placing his eldest daughter into Harry’s arms.

“She’s so little,” Harry said in wonder.

“You were even smaller when you were born,” Remus observed.

“I was?” Harry asked in disbelief.

“A bit,” Lily confirmed.  She handed her daughter over to Severus.

Harry held Dahlia for a few more minutes.  He explored her tiny hands.

“She has Daddy’s nose,” Harry said staring into the little girl’s squishy, red face.

“Unfortunately,” Severus sighed.  Dahlia nose was not as oversized to her face, but there was a distinct hook to it.

Once she had her clothes adjusted back in place Lily asked, “Now, am I going to get a proper ‘Hello’ from my darling boy?”

Remus lifted the baby out of Harry’s arms with expert ease.  Harry scrambled out of the chair and then up onto his parents’ bed.

“Gently,” Severus warned, perhaps a bit more sternly than necessary as Harry gave his mother a hug.

“You’re fine,” Lily told Harry pulling him to her side.

Harry relaxed into her side as she kissed the top of his messy head.

“I missed you,” Harry told her.

“I missed you too, love.” Lily said with a squeeze.  “Did you and Moony have fun at least?”

Harry shook his head.

“Oh no,” Lily said sadly.  “What did you do?”

Harry launched into the story of his day.  If he hadn’t said he hadn’t had fun Lily would have thought Harry had a very good time with Remus.  She was a bit let down they hadn’t had fun.  One of the reasons Remus was chosen to look after Harry was because they thought Harry would be the most relaxed there.

“I drew you a picture,” Harry said wrapping up his story.

“May I see it?” Lily asked curiously.

Harry looked to Remus.

“Severus, can you get it out of my pocket,” Remus asked.  

The werewolf turned so his pocket was turned to the Potions Master.  Remus lifted his arm slightly as Severus dug into the blazer pocket.  He came up with a folded bit of paper a moment later.  Severus gave it a cursory glance before handing it to Lily.  There were many things that could be said about Harry, that he was an excellent drawer, was not one of them.  Lily looked the paper over.

“It’s lovely sweetie,” Lily said kissing Harry once more.

“It’s Hogwarts,” Harry explained.

Now that he said that all the adults could sort of see it.

“What’s this green thing up here?” Lily pointed to a large green blob in the top right corner.

“It’s a dragon,” Harry said as if it was obvious.

“Why is there a dragon at Hogwarts?” Severus asked curiously.

Harry often had amusing explanations for including particular items in his drawings.  This time Harry only gave a slight shrug.

“We should let your mother rest for a bit,” Remus suggested.

Harry pouted.

“Would you like to meet Iris before you go?” Severus asked.

Harry gave an enthusiastic nod.  Severus gestured for Harry to return to his previous seat.  Harry got down from the bed jostling Lily a good deal.  Harry missed the grimace that crossed her face at this.  Once back in place Severus placed his younger daughter into Harry’s arms.  Remus made sure to snap a picture here too.

“She looks different,” Harry commented looking at Iris’ face.

“She does,” Severus confirmed.

“Twins are supposed to look the same,” Harry protested.

“They can, but not always,” Severus corrected.  “Twins means that two babies were born by the same woman at the same time.   That is all.  Twins that look the same are a special kind called ‘identical’.  Your sisters are as you commented do not look the same and therefore called fraternal.  Although the more accurate term would be sororal.  They could also have been two different sexes.”  Severus explained.

“Oh,” Harry said slightly embarrassed.  Iris let out a cry startling Harry.

Severus quickly picked her up.  

“You did nothing,” Severus reassured.  “Sometimes babies just cry.  Other times they are trying to tell us something.”

“What’s she telling us?”  Harry asked.

“What did you think?” Lily asked.  

Harry shrugged.

“I believe she’s hungry.”  Severus commented as the baby began to mouth his shirt.

“She ate an hour ago,” Lily commented.

“And yet,” Severus replied as the baby’s cries intensified.

“I believe that’s our cue to leave.” Remus said standing.

Harry looked to his parents.

“We’ll see you in a bit,” Lily promised.

Harry gave a sad nod.  He followed Remus out of his parents’ room.  They did not return to the fireplace as they came.  Instead Remus led the way out through the front door.

“Why aren’t we Floo-ing back.” Harry asked grabbing Remus’ extended hand.

“We could if you’d like,” Remus said, “but I thought we could get some ice-cream on the way.   Do you still want to Floo?”  Remus asked jokingly.

Harry shook his head, “This way’s good.”

The two walked back to Remus’ house talking about dragons.  They stopped in the park where the man was selling ice-cream.  Remus wouldn’t let Harry have his until they were seated on a nearby bench.

Harry looked forlorn even as his face became covered in chocolate ice-cream.  It would have been funny, if it were not so heartbreaking.

“What’s wrong Harry?” Remus asked finishing off his own small ice-cream.

“When do I get to go home, Moony?” Harry asked over his ice-cream.

Remus gave him a small smile, “In a day or two.”

“Why? Why can't I go home now?” Harry demanded.

“It’s hard work having a baby, let alone two.”  Remus was trying his best to explain this.  He didn’t want Harry to feel as he was being replaced, or less loved.  “Your mum and dad need a bit of time to settle into their new routine.”

“I could help,” Harry insisted.  

“Of course you could, Harry.  And you will when you go back home.  Right now though, your mum needs to rest.”  Remus was pretty sure he failed in his goal.

Harry’s mood hadn’t improved after their discussion.  In fact, Harry had become much more sullen.  Remus did all he could think of to improve it, but nothing worked.  

Harry’s mood did improve for a while when he did come home.  Even if it was relatively short-lived.  It seemed like the adults, including Remus, were always busy with the twins.

After a bit of time with the babies Harry didn’t think they were so interesting anymore.  All they did was sleep, eat, and poop.  They were boring.  They cried all the time.

Harry’s temper only got worse when Severus returned to work.  The twins were two weeks old at that point.  Remus came over during the day to help.  Lily kept asking Harry if he wanted to help too.  He didn’t.  He wanted to go to the park and cinema like they used to.

The girls were almost a month old when Severus finally found time in his schedule to take Harry to the park, just the two of them.  Harry had been other times before that, but it was always Remus or Black who took him.  Severus chased his son around the park and pushed him on the swings before leaving Harry to play with the other children.

Severus never saw it coming.  Harry was playing with another little boy one moment, the next Harry was punching the boy in the face.  Severus sprang to his feet pulling the boys apart as Harry continued to swing.

“Harry James Potter! Stop that this instant!” Severus snapped.

Harry’s arms stilled.

Severus guided Harry away from his victim.  “Would you care to explain to me what just happened here?”

Harry didn’t say anything, just gave his father an angry, defiant look.

“You’re grounded.”  Severus said firmly.  “You’ll have no dessert or telly for the rest of the day.  Now, you are to apologize to that boy.”

“No,” Harry said defiantly.

Severus raised one eyebrow in warning.  “You need to tell him you’re sorry, Harry.”

“I’m not.  He’s stupid.”  Harry countered.

“Be that as it may, Mr. Potter, you are in the wrong here.  You owe him an apology.”  Severus was losing his patience.

“Not saying sorry,” Harry said crossing his arms.

“Very well, no dessert or telly tomorrow either,” Severus told him.

“Don’t care,” Harry replied.

“Harry James, if you do not apologize to that boy you will not see your broom until your birthday.” Severus threatened.

That finally got the response Severus was looking for.   Harry marched over to the boy and gave what appeared to be the most insincere apology Severus had ever heard.  That was saying a great deal having grown up on the receiving end of Tobias’ and the Marauders’ hijinks.

Severus marched Harry back home in silence.  He ordered the boy up to his room as soon as they crossed the threshold.

“How was the park?” Lily asked.

It appeared both girls were asleep at the moment.  Severus had to be thankful for small favors.  He flopped down on the couch next to Lily.  Chaucer jumped into his lap demanding to be pet. Severus absent-mindedly ran a hand down the cat’s back.

“That bad?” Asked Lily.

“Our son punched another boy.”  Severus explained, his eyes falling shut.  His hand continuing to pet the cat.  Occasionally he would scratch behind her ears or under her chin.    

Lily let out a small gasp.

Severus continued, “It was only the threat of taking his broom away until his birthday that convinced him to apologize at all.”

“You didn’t,” Lily said in disbelief.

“I did,” Severus confirmed.  Severus let out a soft sigh.  “I don’t know what’s gotten into him.  It’s almost as if he’s a different child since the girls were born.”

Lily let out her own sad sigh. “It’s a big change for him.  He’s not an only child anymore.”

“I am aware,” Severus grumbled.

“He needs time to adjust.” Lily reminded him.  

“How is he supposed to adjust when he all but ignores his sisters?  The only time he seems to want to interact is when they need a feed, or a nappy change, and it’s never to help with those.” Severus said his frustration clear.

“I know,” Lily agreed. “The books say not to push him. I wish I had someone to ask about this. I miss my mum,” Lily said.

Severus pulled her into a hug as the tears began to fall in earnest.   Chaucer hopped down, annoyed at the humans for jostling her out of her spot.

The answer to their problems came in the most unexpected source, the mother of one of Severus’ troublemaking students.

Over the course of the year Severus had overheard Charlie Weasley discussing his numerous younger siblings, four at least, in class. When the boy then tried to set free a Cornish Pixie in the class it gave Severus the perfect opportunity to request a meeting with the boy’s mother.

Severus wasn’t quite sure what to expect of Molly Weasley. Dumbledore told him she was the younger sister of Gideon and Fabian Prewitt. She’d also been a Gryffindor. That was all he knew, except for the talk of her son. He had very little to go on.

“Hello Professor Snape,” a short plump woman with the stock of vibrant red hair greeted him.

“Good afternoon Mrs. Weasley,” Severus returned. He gestured for her to have a seat.

The woman cast a curious eye around the office. The room was dark and lined with many specimen jars filled with multicolored liquids and floating bits of things.

“How can I help you, Professor Snape?” Molly asked.

“Your son Charles tried to release a Cornish Pixie my class this afternoon.” Severus explained.

“Oh dear,” Molly said with a laugh.

Severus quirked an eyebrow in response. “This is no laughing matter Madam. His actions could have had very serious consequence.” Severus rebuked.

“It was just a bit of end of term excitement.” Molly excused.

“That’s no reason to put the welfare of his classmates in danger. This is not the first time your son has brought some beast into my class either.” Severus told her.

“I see,” Molly said shrugging slightly. “I’ll have a word with him. Is there anything else you’d like to discuss?”

Severus told her about her sons’ marks as she was there. He then paused.

“If it is not too much trouble, I would like to ask your advice on a personal matter,” Severus asked nervously. He wasn’t sure if he came through in his voice or not. His well-honed spying skills and become rusty from disuse.

“What’s the matter?” Molly asked sweetly.

“My wife and I recently welcomed twins into our lives.” Severus began.

“How old?” Molly asked excitedly.

“They will be five weeks on Thursday,” Severus supplied instantly. He sounded every bit the proud father. “The issue is our son. He’s changed since the girls’ birth. He is more sullen, quick-tempered. He has no interest in the girls. When he does try and get our attention, it is when we’re clearly busy with tending to one of their needs.”

“No surprise there,” Molly said sadly.

Severus frowned. He didn’t like that response.

“Are you spending any time with him? Is your wife?” Molly asked.

“Not as much as we used to. We talked to him…”

“Is it just you? Are you solely focused on him or are you making dinner, the laundry, etc.?” Molly asked.

Severus looked shamefaced. He was sad to admit most of the time he had spent with Harry recently was far from being solely focused on Harry. He told Molly so.

“Don’t feel so bad.” Molly encouraged. “We all make mistakes when raising our children. My first suggestion would be to make sure you spend some time focusing on young Harry.”

Severus opened his mouth to speak, but stopped when Molly continued.

“I don’t mean you have to give him all the time he was used to. Try starting with twenty or thirty minutes. Put aside the baby’s things to focus on talking with your son. Try to get your wife to too. Harry needs to know he is not being replaced by the beautiful babes.”

Severus nodded.

“You can also try to involve Harry in the babies’ care.” Molly suggested.

“We’ve asked if he wants to help.” Severus defended.

“Yes, well it sounds like you’ve been doing it the wrong way. Give him special jobs to do. Let him to the soaping and rinsing off  of the baby for example. Let him help choose the babies’ clothes or tell them stories. He needs to  feel involved.  ”

Severus gave another nod.

“Make sure you let him feel whatever it is he needs to feel. If you make him feel he has to love the babies all the time or all the changes they’ve brought to his life, it’s a sure fire way to cause him to grow resentful of the girls.” Molly warned.

Severus’ mouth dried a little bit at the statement. He hoped they hadn’t been pushing Harry too hard. He had no desire for Harry, or any of his children,  to grow up resenting each other.

“The last thing is probably the most important,” Molly stressed. “Give him time. That’s a lot of change for a boy to go through. He will find his own way of bonding with your girls. Just make sure you and your wife are there for him.”

Severus gave her a final nod.

“Is that it?” Molly asked.

“It is,” Severus confirmed. “I can’t tell you how nice it is to have another parent to ask these sorts of questions.”

“Well after seven children you learn a thing or two,” Molly said lightly.

“Seven,” Severus repeated.

“Seven,” Molly said again. “I’m not sure my Percy ever forgive me for having the twins. Those three are as different as night and day. Percy is all books and order. The twins have never found a spot of trouble they couldn’t make worse.” Molly left it at this.

Severus only hoped these boys, the twins, mellowed by the time they came to Hogwarts. He had no desire to deal with the second coming of the Marauders.

“Let me know if I can be of any help in the future, Professor,” Molly said rising from her chair. “I’m only a Floo away.”

“I will keep that in mind,” Severus told her truthfully.

Severus walked Molly back to the corridor. As soon as she left he wrote down everything she told him. He slipped the parchment into his pocket as soon as the ink dried so he wouldn’t forget it.

Severus came home that evening feeling both excited and relieved. He had an idea of what to do now, and a new resource to turn to. He gave Lily the parchment to read as he went up to spend some time with Harry. After only a few days of the recommended changes, Severus could see the difference.

Harry was more like his old self. He was expressing far more interest in his little sisters and helping out voluntarily. Harry was also much more willing to confide in his parents, especially Severus.

Severus hadn’t realized just how stressed Harry had been about the changes. The boy had never told him how scared he was. He feared that Severus might love the babies more than him and he mentioned the fact it felt as if he didn’t matter. Harry hadn’t said it quite like that, but this is what Severus said taking from the first rather painful and awkward talks. Things were much better now.

“Babies are boring,” Harry stated at the end of his father story.

Severus sighed. He wouldn’t agree with Harry’s comments, no matter how much he thought the assessment was true.

“They have to learn everything. You went through every stage your siblings have: the crying, constant nappy changes, sleeping all day, everything,” Severus explained.

“They’re still boring. You can’t play with them or anything,” Harry protested.

“As I said, they have to learn everything. They have to grow strong enough to use their arms, legs, and things.” Severus reaffirmed.

Harry remained unconvinced.

Severus chose then to return them to their main discussion. “I mentioned earlier, your mother and her sister did not speak for several years because your aunt did not approve of the relationship between your mother and I,” Severus began.

“Why doesn’t Aunt Petunia like you?” Harry asked.

“That is a very complicated question, Harry,” Severus said carefully.

“Why?” Harry asked.

“It is not one thing that makes your aunt dislike me. It is several things put together that earn her disapproval.” Severus said.

“Like what?” Harry pressed.

Severus sighed. He did not want to have to try to explain this to his son. How do you explain prejudice to a 10-year-old? Harry was supposed to respect Petunia (no matter how much Severus disliked it and her) because she was an adult and his aunt. Harry should have a decent impression of family members. Harry should at least be given the opportunity to form the negative impressions on his own, not just inherit Severus’ biased views.

“Dad?” Harry asked to draw Severus’ attention back to him.

“Yes Harry, I was contemplating how best to explain this to you,” Severus said slowly.

“So…?” Harry pressed.

“You are aware of the prejudice Remus faces because of his condition?” Severus inquired.

“You mean like how people don’t like him because he’s a werewolf?” Harry asked. He didn’t know why his dad would bring that up when they were talking about his aunt.

“That is what I am referring to,” Severus confirmed. “People have never met Remus will make judgments of him based on his condition.”

“That’s stupid,” Harry interjected. “Remus is nice and super good at Defense and…”

Severus held up his hand to halt Harry’s ramblings. “I am well aware of his many positive attributes. Were I not, I would not have named him Godfather to your siblings. The point here was, despite his many qualities, most people would have overlooked Remus for any sort of position because of one thing beyond his control.”

Harry frowned at his father’s comment, but didn’t say anything.

Severus continued to speak, “Like many in Cokeworth, your aunt developed a distaste for the people who lived in Spinner’s End and that side of the river in general.”

“What’s wrong with Spinner’s End?” Harry demanded.

“The people there make less money than the people who live closer to us. They tend to have less education too,” Severus supplied.

“So…?” Harry asked.

“So, nothing. That is enough for people to see themselves as better.” Severus explained.

“That’s stupid,” Harry said just as firmly as his defense of Remus.

“It is,” Severus agreed. “And yet, many people hold such opinions. As I said, your aunt developed this prejudice. She did it before any real understanding of what it meant. She treated me poorly and I reacted badly to it. I was not very nice to her.”

Severus took his time taking another breath, “Like your aunt, I too had developed early prejudices. I did not like Muggles.”  

Severus would not sugarcoat this for his son. He could not make Petunia seem totally at fault.  “I had limited experience with Muggles, namely my father, but what I had experienced was very unpleasant. I thought all Muggles would be like him and my mother did little to nothing to dispel such notions.”

“But you like Mum?” Harry pointed out.

“But your mother is not a Muggle. She has magic.” Severus reminded Harry. “I didn’t care if the person was Muggle-born or Pure Blood. They need only have magic for me to see them as worthy.”

“That’s…” Harry started to say.

“Stupid.” Severus finished for him. “I am aware, but I was young and foolish.”

“I was going to say ‘weird’,” Harry corrected.

“It is that too,” Severus conceded.

“So Aunt Petunia doesn’t like you ‘cause you used to live on Spinner’s End and you were mean to her as a little kid?” Harry asked, seeing if he understood everything his father had told him.

“Add being jealous of my ability to do magic and you have the basic idea,” Severus confirmed.

“Aunt Petunia hates magic,” Harry protested. “Remember how mad she got when Dahlia Summoned that biscuit jar at Dudley’s birthday party?”

“I do remember.” Severus replied coolly. “However, you should remember I have known your aunt almost twice as long as you’ve been living.”

“Your aunt hates magic because she cannot do it. As much as your aunt pretends she wants to be average, she really wants to be special. However, she is not in the way she wants to be, so she hates those who are different.” Severus explained. Severus hoped he’d not ruined Harry’s impression of his aunt.

“Okay,” Harry said after a moment.

‘Okay.’ What was that supposed to mean? Severus wondered. He would have to ask Harry exactly what he meant by that later. We needed to get back to their main discussion.

“As I was saying, your aunt did not approve of your mother’s and I’s relationship. She refused to attend our wedding and did not speak to us until after your sisters’ birth. Your sixth birthday was the first time we spoke to your aunt in person in three and a half years. We had only a few short phone calls and a package for Dahlia and Iris’ presents before this. It had the potential to be a very eventful day.” Severus explained.

“In case there was a row we asked Petunia to arrive early. It would give her and your mother a chance to talk without being overwhelmed by other guests. All party business was left to Remus, Black, and myself. Which really meant Remus ordering Black and me about while he kept an eye on you children.”

“Your aunt arrived just after breakfast…”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The adults sitting at the breakfast table looked up at the sound of the car pulling into the drive. There was a moment before the doorbell rang.

“I’ll get it,” Harry said jumping from his seat.

“You will not,” Severus snapped. He took Harry by the shoulder, redirecting him back to the table. “Finish your breakfast, please.”

Harry obediently sat down. Severus watched Harry pick up his piece of bacon before heading for the front door. Halfway down the hall Severus tripped over one of Harry’s toys.

“Dammit!” Severus explained. “Harry James Potter! You were told to clean this mess up! If you are willing…”

“Severus!” Came Lily’s angry reproach.

Severus stopped his rant kicking the toy aside. He took a deep breath and continued down the hallway. Steeling his nerves, Severus turned the handle. There stood Petunia Dursley.

“Good morning, Petunia,” Severus greeted.

“Severus,” replied Petunia. “I was expecting Lily.”

“She’s a bit busy at the moment.” Severus explained stepping aside to let Petunia into the house.

“I heard some shouting,” Petunia commented.  She sneered at Chaucer who came to investigate the sound.  She visibly flinched as the cat rubbed against her ankles.    

“It was nothing serious. Harry seems to be under the misguided impression that because it is his birthday, he need not do his chores. I tripped over one of his toys.” Severus explained.  “Shoo…” Severus muttered, nudging Chaucer out of his way.

“I see.” Petunia said critically.

Severus let Petunia into the living room. There they found Lily feeding Dahlia.

“Is she done?” Severus asked.

“Just about,” Lily confirmed. “Hi Tuney,” Lily said giving her sister a winning smile.

“Lily,” Petunia greeted, her voice losing much of the icy tone it had when speaking to Severus.

Lily handed a now feed Dahlia to her husband, receiving Iris in return. “I hope you don’t mind,” Lily directed to her sister.

Severus disappeared down the hallway, burp cloth over his shoulder.

“He seems very comfortable with them,” Petunia observed. The surprise in her voice clear.

“He is.” Lily agreed. “He’s been the burp and nappy man since the girls were born. So he’s had plenty of practice.”

Petunia hummed in acknowledgment.

“You’re here very early, Tuney. Did you leave at dawn?” Lily asked.

“No, we drove up last night, spent the night in Manchester.” Petunia told her. “Vernon and Dudley are on their way back to the hotel now.”

“They should have stayed. Harry could have used somebody to play with while we dealt with all party decorations and things.” Lily said sadly.

“Yes, well I was not sure how well they would have been welcomed,” Petunia said coldly.

“Oh,” Lily said sadly. “You… They would have been welcomed.”

“Vernon doesn’t want our son exposed to any of your…” Petunia continued.

“Magic?” Lily asked.

Petunia gave a tense nod.

“Probably best they’re not here for the setup then. Still we would love them to come to the party. Harry should get to know his cousin.” Lily told her.

“We shall see,” Petunia said coldly.

Lily sighed. “Tuney.”

“What is it Lily?” Petunia asked.

Lily struggled to find the right words. “What did… How come… Why did you come? Why now?”

Petunia took a sharp breath through her overly large teeth. The two women sat in silence, the only sound in the room coming from the baby at Lily’s breast.

“Tuney,” Lily asked softly, after several tense moments.

“Perhaps I should not have come.” Petunia said uncertainly.

“No Tuney, please that’s not what I meant.” Lily moved Iris to her shoulder. “I’m glad you’re here. I just…”

“Wanted to know why now?” Petunia supplied.

“Yeah,” Lily confirmed.

“Because of them,” Petunia said with a pointed look at the baby on her shoulder.

“Them?” Lily asked still confused.

“Your daughters,” Petunia clarified.

“Dahlia and Iris?” Lily said still very confused. Why would Lily having more children make her sister want to speak to her again despite Lily’s many attempts at outreach over the last several years? “What did the girls have to do with it?” Lily asked.

“Everything,” Petunia said sharply.

“You’re not making any sense Tuney,” Lily told her sister.

“And you are being deliberately obtuse,” Petunia snapped back.

“Why can you just tell me?” Lily snapped.

“I was worried about you.” Petunia finally explained.

Lily shook her head. “What you have to worry about?”

“Don’t be stupid, Lily.” Petunia snapped. “I had to worry about HIM.”

“Him? Him?” Lily tried to puzzle out exactly who her sister met. “You mean Sev,” she said after a moment.

Petunia nodded in confirmation. “What does that boy from Spinner’s End know of proper family?”

Lily took a deep breath. She could not stand to lose her temper now. Lily wondered exactly what Severus coming from Spinner’s End that made her sister question Severus’ ability to parent. “So what if he’s from Spinner’s End?”

“Do you forget what his parents were like?” Petunia demanded.

“I know what they were like better than you. That has nothing to do with Severus coming from Spinner’s End and everything to do with his father having a drink problem.” Lily supplied.

Petunia did not respond.

“Still,” Lily continued. “Severus and I started dating three and half years ago. Why check on his parenting abilities now? Harry’s been here the whole time.”

Petunia did not say anything for a long time. “I was hoping you would come to your senses. The boy was not his. If you left there was no permanent link to him. You would finally be rid of him. Now you have his children, he will always be a part of your life.”

Lily was not sure how she was supposed to respond to that. Petunia had never liked Severus, that Lily had always known. It seemed, her sister thought her relationship with the wizard was a passing phase and that would be the end of things. Lily was not sure if she was hurt that Petunia had not cared enough to worry about Harry’s welfare, or in a way touched by her sister’s misguided concern.

There was a gentle rap on the door, followed by Remus his head sticking around it. “Is it safe to enter?” He asked.

“Come on in, Remus.” Lily said refusing to let her spirits rise at the werewolf’s joke.

“Lily,” Petunia hissed. “You’re…”

Lily rolled her eyes at her sister scandalized expression. “It’s not like he hasn’t seen before.”

Petunia gasped.

“Oh, take the stick out of your ass, Tuney. It’s not as if I’m showing off my goods to the whole village. Remus helps me with the girls while Sev is at work.” Lily explained.

Petunia gave a small nod.

“By the way, Remus this is my sister Petunia. Petunia this is my friend Remus Lupin.” Lily said introducing them.

“Pleasure to meet you Petunia,” Remus said warmly.

Petunia took the werewolf’s pre-offered hand, but did not respond. She was too busy taking in the wizard slightly worn appearance. “What do you do? When you’re not helping my sister that is.” Petunia asked him.

Remus looked to Lily who gave a small shrug.

“Some things here and there, but mostly I help your sister with Dee and Iris.” Remus replied.

“Can you get no proper work?” Petunia asked.

Remus bristled at this, but calmly replied, “As a matter of fact, I can’t. I am what in the Muggle world you would call ‘disabled’.”

“You appear perfectly healthy to me,” Petunia said looking him over once more.

“That’s the thing about appearances, they can be deceiving.” Remus bit out. “But if you’d like, I can show you just how able-bodied I am on the next full moon.”

“Remus,” Lily chided while a scandalize Petunia hissed, “I never.”

“Petunia, Remus’ condition may not be visible, but is very real. It is something beyond his control and makes him a bit of an outcast in the wizarding world.” Lily explained.

Petunia sniffed disapprovingly.

Hoping to break the tension, Lily asked. “What did you want, Remus?”

Remus broke his glare exchange with Petunia long enough to reply to Lily. “Severus wanted to know if you’d like him to take Iris and if your sister and/or her family will be joining us for lunch.”

Lily held out the baby as an answer to the first part of his inquiry. For the second, she looked to her sister. “Are you staying Tuney?”

Petunia pursed her lips, “If you would still like me to.”

“Tell him they are,” Lily translated. “How is everything coming?”

Remus gave a small laugh. “Last I knew Sirius and Severus were battling over the decorations being animated. Sirius keeps forgetting that most of the children coming here are Muggles.”

Lily gave a small nod. “Tuney would you like some tea?”

Petunia gave another nod. The three walked back to the kitchen in silence. Remus placed Iris in the swing next to her sister’s. Then made a sharp flick of his wand.

“What did you just do?” Petunia demanded.

“A simple nappy change.” Remus replied calmly. “Lily and Severus may prefer to do it the Muggle way, but what’s the point of being a fully qualified wizard if you don’t use your magic every once in a while.”

“What he really means to say, is he doesn’t like touching dirty nappies,” Lily said laughing.

“Not if I can help it,” Remus confirmed.

“You’re still mad about that time Harry peed in your face.” Lily said laughing again.

“Not mad,” Remus protested, “traumatized.”  He shoved Chaucer out of one of the chairs taking a seat at the table.

Lily rolled her eyes. She set the tea kettle on the table by Petunia and Summoned five mugs. With another flick of her wand a silver doe appeared before disappearing down the hallway. Remus put out a package of biscuits. A moment later Severus and Sirius came into the kitchen.

“You can’t possibly believe that O’Connor is the better Seeker then Olson, Snape.” Sirius said in disbelief.

“I can and I do,” Severus said dismissively. He placed a kiss on top of Lily’s head in exchange for the cup of tea she handed him. He did not take a seat at the table beside Lily as she had hoped, but went to stand beside the counter.

“Where’s Harry?” Lily asked.

“Time out,” Sirius said snatching several biscuits.

“Why?” Lily asked.

“His dad is a mean git.” Sirius supplied.

Severus rolled his eyes. “He failed to clean up the mess in the hallway.” Severus explained.

“It’s his birthday,” Sirius countered.

“They are a hazard to navigation. Or did you fail to realize that even after your face hit the floor?” Severus mocked.

Remus and Lily chuckled at Sirius’ embarrassment. Sirius went to retrieve Harry and to miss anymore laughter at his expense.

“Harry,” Lily called the boy to her side once he entered the kitchen. Harry happily crawled into his mother’s lap. “Harry, this is your Aunt Tuney. Do you remember her?”

Harry gave a shake of his head. Lily was slightly relieved for that. The two hadn’t had the best of introductions.

“She and her family are going to come to your party. Is that okay?” Lily asked.

“Presents?” Harry asked hopefully.

“Harry,” an exasperated Lily exclaimed.

“It’s not polite to demand presents from your guests.” Severus chided. “Can we take it you are fine with them attending?”

Harry nodded.

“Petunia, perhaps you should call your husband.” Severus suggested.

Petunia excused herself to use the phone out in the hallway.

“How did you know that her husband was at the hotel?” Lily asked once her sister was out of earshot.

Severus picked up the baby monitor behind him tipping it from side to side slightly. “After your last meeting with her, you really believe I would let you face her with no backup?”

Lily was touched once more by her husband’s protectiveness of her.

The Dursleys arrived not long before the other guests. The two youngest Weasley children were in attendance and were easy to identify by their wild red hair. Severus made sure to introduce Arthur Weasley to Vernon after the wizard made comment about being interested in Muggle artifacts. Vernon seemed to be torn between being thrilled about being able to talk about his damned drills to someone who was actually interested and horrified to his core by speaking to a wizard. Severus smirked slightly to himself for his own cleverness.

“You’re horrible,” Lily said coming to stand by him.

“As you are so fond of telling me.” Severus agreed linking their fingers together. “Where’s Petunia?”

“Talking to a few of the other Muggle parents.” Lily said pointing over to the corner of the garden.

Harry ran by followed by a pack of children. Severus saw all but his nephew in the group. Severus cast an eye around for the boy.

“What’s wrong Sev?” Lily asked.

“Where’s Dudley?” He asked in response.

Severus found him before Lily had chance to reply. The boy in question was by the cake, clearly picked at.

“Excuse me,” Severus said dropping Lily’s hand.

“Desist that this instant, Mr. Dursley.” Severus commanded, standing behind Dudley.

The boy turned his stupid, watery eyes up to Severus. “Huh?”

“Stop what you are doing to that cake this instant.” Severus said slowly and clearly.

“Why?” Dudley demanded.

“That cake is not yours. Even if it was, we are currently not having cake. We’re playing games at the moment. Now, step back from the cake.” Severus snapped.

“You’re not my dad.” Dudley replied petulantly.

“For which you should be very glad.” Severus said dragging Dudley away from the cake by his shoulder. Severus marched the boy over to his mother.

“You let go of my son, Snape.” Petunia ordered.

“No, not yet.” Severus refused. “Your son was caught red-handed defacing his cousin’s birthday cake. When told to desist, he cheeked me. He owes Harry an apology.” Severus explained.

“Go tell Harry you’re sorry, Dudders.” Petunia conceded.

“Why?” Dudley whined.

Petunia paused. This was obviously not a conversation they had very often. Then again, they often didn’t have to have to explain why Harry had to apologize, he did so when prompted. Clearly, this was not the case with Dudley.

“Diddy-dum if you won’t say sorry, you can’t have any cake later.” Petunia said.

Dudley gave the idea some thought, before heading off across the lawn. Harry came running up to Severus a moment later.

“Dud said, you said he had to say sorry for messing up my cake. What did he do?” Harry asked.

“Nothing you need worry about,” Severus dismissed. “It will be righted by the time you blow out the candles.”

“Okay,” Harry agreed reluctantly. “He’s not really sorry. He said he only did it to get a piece.”

“I’m not surprised,” Severus told her son. “Do not worry, I have no intentions of giving him a piece.”

Severus held true to his word. Vernon bellowed for several minutes to no effect. Petunia found it much easier method of undermining Severus, giving the boy her own piece.

The afternoon came to an end with Harry opening his presents. There were several toys from his classmates, tickets to a Man-U match, and a junior racing broom from Sirius (that was only opened once the Muggles left).

The Dursleys stayed for dinner of takeaway fish and chips.

“Are you still worried about me?” Lily asked.

“Potter may have been a freak, but at least he was a wealthy freak. He could look after you. Snape… He’s a better parent than I would have expected.” Petunia said reluctantly.

Severus continued his tale, “I was glad your aunt and mother were able to mend things between them, even if it meant I had to spend more time with Petunia.  After your birthday, the rest of the summer passed by in a flash.”  

“At this point, the girls were past the worst. They were mostly sleeping through the night (or at least a good deal longer). I felt bad for leaving your mother to look after the girls those first few months, but I was required to finish the school year. If it had not been so close to the end of the term, and students sitting exams, the Headmaster would most likely have granted me a bit more leeway. I made sure to have a very long and serious talk with him about these matters before your brother was born.”

“Now that there were three adults, as Lupin so often was over, that could dedicate 100% of their attentions to caring for the three of you we were able to do more things. It also helps the girls had reached a point where they were easier to take out. We adults took turns with alternating duties where possible. When it came to feeding, there are biological limits to the aide Lupin and myself can provide. We were doing our utmost to ensure that you, Harry, were not left behind.  I was exhausted even when there were three of us working to mind the three of you. I have no idea how people are able to do it single-handedly,” Severus sighed remembering just how exhausted he felt that entire summer.

“It was over the course of the summer your mother and I began to have a serious debate about your education. We originally planned for you to be taught at home. This is how I was educated before I came to Hogwarts. Your mother on the other hand, attended a Muggle primary school, your school in fact.” Severus told him.

“I know, Ms. Peabody said she remembered Mom from when she was a little girl. She said Mum once made the cake explode in a boy’s face,” Harry confirmed.

Severus laughed, “Ah, yes. Children often cannot control their magic and can make things happen. I am surprised a Muggle knew what happened.”

Harry shrugged. “I don’t think she did. I think she said Mum put something in the cake to do that.”

“I see,” Severus said. “With all the time and energy that it took to maintain the girls your mother and I agreed that it would probably be best for you to attend the Muggle school. We could deal with any sort of accidental magic that occurred. The joys of having multiple connections in the Office of Magical Law Enforcement, your mother included. Even with the risk of accidental magic, we thought it best for you to go. We did not want your education and social skills to suffer because of us.”

“Convincing you this was the best plan took some doing. You had no desire to go to a school that was not Hogwarts. The fact that you had not attended school for section year with the majority of the other children did not help matters at all. No, what finally convince you to go was your friend Liam from the play park.” Severus explained.

“You wouldn’t have made me go if I wasn’t friends with Liam?” Harry asked disbelievingly.

Severus shook his head. “You would have found yourself in that school jumper no matter what. You were simply  more willing to comply after talking with Liam.”

“Oh,” Harry said.

“Eventually summer came to a close. I prepared to return to Hogwarts. My duties as Head of House modified to ensure I was able to be home with my family as much as possible. The Headmaster offered us rooms in the castle. Your mother and I even considered taking them, but ultimately chose not to. It was for almost the exact reasons we kept you away from the wizarding world as much as we do now.” Severus explained.

“I hate people staring at my scar,” Harry grumbled.

“I know,” Severus said giving Harry’s knee a reassuring pat. “Unfortunately, it is something you will have to learn to live with. People will always see you first as The-Boy-Who-Lived. It is up to you to give meaning to that name.”

“My first day returning to Hogwarts was also your very first day of school,” Severus continued. “Sadly, it did not start out in a promising manner.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Severus had a towel over his shoulder to protect it from any sort of baby drool, if not spit up. Iris had been feeling a bit under the weather and thus was being particularly clingy this morning. Severus held his youngest child against his shoulder as he went to wake the oldest. Despite his initial hesitation Harry had been excited to start school. Severus wondered if this would remain the case as the day went by.

“Time to get up, Harry,” Severus said tugging on a blanket covered foot.

Harry did not even groan in response. Severus tugged again. Again, no response.

“Your brother is being rather stubborn this morning,” Severus commented to Iris. The baby bubbled back at him. “Very well said,” Severus agreed. “Perhaps we should tell him if he does not get up now it will be cold cereal for breakfast instead of pancakes.”

“’An’akes,” Harry muttered sleepily.

“There will be pancakes if you can be up and dressed in,” Severus turned his wrist to check his watch, “Fifteen minutes. That means bed made, uniform on, hair combed. You need not brush your teeth or wash your face. You may do this after breakfast, as you will likely end up wearing a good deal of it anyway. I will be back to check on you in a few minutes.” Severus said heading out of the room.

He returned five minutes later, baby-less. Harry was still balled up under the covers. Severus sighed. It was going to be one of those mornings. Harry was not very fond of getting up, but they were on a schedule today.

“Harry, get up now,” Severus commanded pulling the covers off his son.

Harry groaned, grabbing in vain for the covers.

“Now, Harry,” Severus repeated.

Harry sat up, rubbing his eyes.

“Get dressed,” Severus ordered.

Harry stumbled out of bed to the wardrobe. His new uniform hung on a hanger on the door.

“Don’t forget to change your pants,” Severus said excusing himself. “I will see you at the table.”

Harry stumbled out of his room seven minutes later. His hair was impossibly messier, his shirt  not nearly half tucked in, and he was missing his left sock. Severus frowned at Harry’s disheveled appearance.

“That barely qualifies as dressed,” Severus scolded.

“Let him be, Sev,” Lily objected. She kissed the top of Harry said as she put his breakfast down in front of him. “How did you sleep sweetie?”

Harry shook his head. “Not good.”  Harry said shoving Chaucer off of his chair.

“What was wrong?” His parents asked together.

Harry shrugged. “Scared.”

“Scared of what,” Lily asked.

Harry shrugged again.

“Will you please use your words, Harry.” Severus begged. He’d had more than his share of apathetic shrugs with his students. He would make sure his son could and would articulate his feelings.

Harry looked at his father, but did not say anything more.

“Harry, are you concerned about going to school?” Severus asked.

Harry nodded.

“What are you worried about sweetie?” Lily asked softly.

“What if nobody likes me?” Harry asked nervously.

“You need not worry about that,” Severus dismissed. “You already have at least one friend at school. Liam is in your class in fact. Maybe you will even get to sit near him.”

Harry relaxed slightly. He hadn’t known Liam was going to be there. Not in his class at least.

“What if the teacher doesn’t like me?” Harry asked, taking his breakfast.

Severus sighed. He could not dismiss this fear quite as easily. Harry had heard Severus talk poorly about enough of his students to know that teachers did not always like their students.

“I’m sure she will,” Lily promised.

“If she is unreasonable, we will look into your moving classrooms. But that only will be something we will look at in the future if things are intolerable.” Severus offered.

Harry nodded.

“Is there anything else bothering you?” Lily asked.

Harry mumbled something into his plate.

“What was that, Harry?” Severus asked.

“What if I’m not smart enough?” Harry repeated, only just audible.

Severus hoped that he had reached the heart of the matter. “Come here,” Severus said gesturing Harry over.

Harry pushed back from the table. He went to stand by his father’s chair.   Chaucer took the opportunity to hop into Harry’s now vacant and heated seat.  Severus had pushed back far enough away from the table so Harry could stand in front Harry easily guided to stand between Severus’ knees.

“Harry James Potter,” Severus commanded softly, but firmly. “You listen to me.” Severus pushed Harry’s head up with one long finger. “You are plenty smart. You know more about potions than many of my third years.”

“But that’s different,” Harry protested.

“Only the subject matter.” Severus soothed. “Even so, I know you will do well.” Severus reassured. “And even if you were to bring back a report card with nothing but T’s, your mother and I would still love you.”

“Really?” Harry asked.

Harry looked from Severus to Lily.

“Of course sweetie,” Lily promised.

“Indeed,” Severus promised. “Have you ever known me to lie about matters of such import?”

Harry shook his head.

“Then it must be true. Now,” Severus said turning Harry around, “Go finish your breakfast.” He added with the lights what to Harry’s backside.

Harry nearly skipped back to his seat. He pushed the cat off his chair once again before tucking into his breakfast with newfound relish. Meanwhile, Severus Summoned Harry’s missing sock and jumper.

“I’m going to go and call Sirius and Remus,” Lily said excusing herself from the table.

Harry finished the last bites of breakfast. “Why is she calling them?” He asked.

“They wish to accompany you to your first day of school.” Severus explained.

“Cool!” Harry agreed.

Severus hummed in acknowledgment. He wouldn’t have minded if it were just he and Lily taking Harry to school, but both of them had expressed an interesting coming. Severus was certain Black only wanted to come see what Muggle primary schools look like. Sirius had been privately tutored before going to Hogwarts. Lupin on the other hand, had attended a Muggle school. The werewolf remembered just how scary the first day had been. Remus thought the more people there were to support Harry, the less like he was to be stressed about going.

Severus handed Harry the missing clothing. “I believe you will need these.”

Harry sank into the extra chair pulling on the missing sock. He left the jumper on the chair.

“Go wash your facing comb your hair,” Severus ordered.

“I already did,” Harry protested.

“Harry, your face is covered in syrup. That is no way to meet your teacher,” Severus pointed out.

Harry sulked off. Severus cleared the table and put the dishes in the sink to wash. The walk to school should take them maybe ten minutes. Severus would have to leave almost directly from a school to get to Hogwarts on time.

The professors were supposed to report by ten this morning. No students would be there before the train arrived around seven. However, there was always an introductory staff meeting with all staff and faculty. Flitch would waste all of their time whining about the trouble and mess the students always brought. He would beg the Headmaster to restore corporal punishment. Dumbledore would of course refuse and that would be an hour gone. There would be general schedule questions answered and then lunch.

After lunch, Severus would meet with the other Heads of House. They would set the schedules for the Prefects and Head Boy and Girl. This meeting always dissolved into chatting about how everybody’s summer was and complaining about what a wasted opportunity the general staff meeting was.

From there, Severus would meet with Madam Pomfrey. She and Severus checked the inventory of potions and salves. If there was anything that was low, or nearing its end of use date Severus made a list to replace it.  This is normally done the first weekend of the month, but as he had time in the day before students had a chance to pull them away, it was a good use of time.

Harry returned a moment later. The syrup and dirt seemed to be gone, but his hair was still a mess.

“Did you even try to comb your hair?” Severus chided.

“I did,” Harry whined.

“Leave him be, Sev.” Lily scolded.

“Yeah,” Sirius defended. “He can’t help it if he got James’ wild mop.”

“Black,” Severus greeted.

“Snape,” Sirius returned. “You ready for your big day, Harry?” Sirius asked his godson.

Harry shrugged.

“He was a bit worried earlier,” Lily told Sirius.

“Oh no,” Sirius said. “What’s wrong kiddo?”

Harry gave another shrug. Severus sighed at Harry’s reaction.

“He had perfectly normal concerns about starting somewhere new,” Severus supplied.

“Let me guess,” Remus said entering the room, “You are scared you wouldn’t have any friends, the teachers wouldn't like you, and that you wouldn't be smart enough?”

Harry stared at him wide-eyed. “How did you know?”

“I was scared of the same things on my first day at primary school. Hogwarts too for that matter,” Remus explained.

“You did?” Harry asked. “What happened?”

“I made friends, the teachers liked me, and I worked hard to make good marks.” Remus replied. “You’ll be fine, Harry.”

“Okay,” Harry agreed.

“Are ready to go?” Sirius asked.

“We need to collect the girls.” Lily supplied.

“I’ll come with you,” Remus offered.

The two of them reappeared moments later each carrying a girl in their arms.

“Let’s go,” Lily urged.

Harry led the group out of the house, or almost did. Somehow in the rush of the morning he failed to put on his shoes. Shoes on, girls in his pram, the ragtag group headed out.

Harry babbled to his Godfather and Remus about all sorts of things. Severus frowned slightly behind the trio. He and Lily talk softly about the upcoming term at Hogwarts. The Headmaster had granted Severus special permission in his operation of duties as Head of House. Instead of living on campus it was up to the Prefects to inform Severus that there was something that needed his attention after hours. Severus was expected to be at school by 9 AM. Normally, that would be when the teachers would be starting their first classes, but Severus wanted to be able to see Harry off to school in the mornings. Students would have Potions no earlier than 10 AM to forward him this opportunity. Severus wasn’t sure how much the Headmaster like this concession, but Severus did not really care. He would not lose this time with Harry, nor put more strain on Lily if he didn’t have to.

Everything seemed to be going well until they reached the school. The yard in front was filled with children running around playing. Harry watched excitedly.

“Go on then,” Lily urged.

Harry shook his head.

“Are you going to say?” Harry asked.

“Stay?” A confused Severus repeated.

“Until we go in,” Harry explained.

Severus looked at his watch. He really needed to be going. He still had things he needed to do with the school.

“Please,” Harry pleaded.

Severus nodded.

“You’re supposed to be lining up, Harry.” Remus pointed out.

“I know.” Harry agreed, still do not move.

“Do you want one of us to come with you?” Lily asked.

Harry gave a small nod. Harry’s little hand latched onto Severus’ large one for dear life.

“Come now, my little lion, show us some of that Gryffindor bravery your House is so famous for,” Severus urged as they crossed the yard.

Harry was not the only one still holding on to a parent. Severus was glad for that. Although when they got closer to the place where Harry’s class was lining up Severus did not see any other parents. Harry’s hand squeezed Severus’ even harder.

“Do not worry,” Severus soothed.

Harry stopped dead in his tracks. “I don’t want to go,” Harry told his father.

Severus crouched down so he was eye level with Harry. “You need to go, Harry.”

“I want to go home,” Harry said.

Severus realized that tears threatening to fall.

“I know,” Severus said softly, “you need to go to school, Harry. You won’t be able to go to Hogwarts if you can’t read.”

“Moony, can teach me.” Harry protested.

Severus shook his head. “Lupin has other things he must you. No, you’re staying here at school. If you can stay the whole day and the teacher does not have to call home you can have a special treat after school. How does that sound?”

“Ice-cream?” Harry asked.

“If you like,” Severus agreed.

“With chocolate sauce and with cream and…” Harry began.

“Anything you like, Harry.” Severus said cutting off Harry’s list. “But only if you last the whole day and the teacher does not call home.”

“Okay,” Harry agreed.

The young woman was now standing at the head of Harry’s line. She dark curly hair and a kindly face. Severus hoped that appearances would not be deceiving.

“That’s my teacher?” Harry asked.

“She is,” Severus confirmed. “Would you like to go say ‘hello’?”

Harry shook his head.

“Harry,” Severus pleaded. Severus took a step toward the woman. Harry followed somewhat reluctantly, but at least he followed.

“Hello,” Severus greeted the teacher.

“Hello Mister… Mister?” the teacher asked.

“Severus Snape,” Severus said offering his hand. Having a hand on Harry’s shoulder Severus said, “This is my son, Harry Potter.”

“It’s good to meet you Mr. Snape. Hello Harry.” She said turning to Harry. I’m Ms. Southwell.”

“Harry’s a bit nervous this morning. Until now he has been educating him at home.” Severus explained.

“I see,” Ms. Southwell said. “We’re going to have a lot of fun today Harry, don’t you worry.”

Harry did not look at all reassured.

“Why don’t you say goodbye to your dad now so we can go and start our day?” Ms. Southwell asked softly.

Harry looked up to his dad.

“I will do my best to be here when you are dismissed.” Severus reassured. “Even if I am not here, your mother and the Marauders will be.”

Harry sighed sadly, “Okay.”

Severus pulled Harry into a tight embrace. “Be good,” he ordered the boy and dropped the kiss on top the boy’s head.

With that Harry followed his classmates inside. The day rushed by for Severus. He had been fifteen minutes late for the general staff meeting. Arriving just in time for the start of Flitch’s annual anti-student rate. The Heads’ meeting was filled with questions of the girls followed by stories about Harry and the girls. The meeting with Pomfrey was delayed so he could ensure all potions ingredients had arrived and were in good order before dashing back to Cokeworth.

Severus arrived just in time as Lupin prepared to collect Harry from school. Lily was going to stay home with the girls as it seems both were coming down with something.

Severus and Lupin walked the short distance to school chatting amiably about Severus’ busy day. Severus did not have high hopes for this year’s DADA instructor. The young woman was too focused on the theory of the topic and had very little firsthand experience in the field.

The wizards found the schoolyard much as they had the morning, full of playing children. This time though it took them several minutes to locate Harry among the crowd. Harry ran up to them red-faced, his hair sweaty from exertion.

Harry threw his arms around Severus’ waist.

“Good afternoon,” Severus said. “How was your day?”

“From what I remember your first day went rather well,” Severus recounted.

Harry shrugged, “It was okay.”

“You did not inform us of any problems.” Severus commented.

Harry gave another shrug.

“Like any young child who has magic, you are prone to bouts of accidental magic,” Severus continued. “We knew there was a chance we might have to clean up its effects at your school. We did not think it would be so soon.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Harry sat curled into his father’s side as the pair watched a television program before Harry went to bed. The boy didn’t seem to be that interested in the show, as he was currently exploring the scars on Severus’ hands. Lily was out for the night with friends, Dahlia and Iris already in bed.

“Is everything alright?” Severus asked as his son, Harry traced the outline of the burn Severus received as a toddler when he’d fallen on a radiator. Severus’ father had refused to take him to the doctor and his mother did not have the ingredients necessary prepare a burn salve.

“Harry?” Severus asked again when the boy did not respond.

Harry gave an indifferent shrug.

“Words, Harry,” Severus chided.

“It’s fine,” Harry mumbled in response.

Harry’s response did not put Severus’ mind any further at ease. In fact, it worried him even more so. The man had too much experience with sullen Slytherins not to realize something was going on.

“Harry, you know if something is bothering you, you can always talk to your mother and I?” Severus told him.

Harry nodded, now tracing the faint outline of the Dark Mark on Severus’ forearm. Severus fought back a flinch as he did so.

“Did you hear me?” Severus asked.

“Yeah,” Harry replied.

“And there’s nothing you wish to discuss?” Severus pushed.

Harry shook his head.

“Very well,” Severus said. Looking up, he checked the clock atop the television. “It’s bedtime.” Severus told his son.

“Do I have to?” Harry whined.

“You do,” Severus said standing.

Harry flopped gracelessly onto his face, his support gone.

“Come now, Harry,” Severus urged.

Harry dragged his feet upstairs. Severus left him to prepare for bed, returning about ten minutes later. Harry was just pulling his pajama top over his head when Severus came in.

“Have you brushed your hair and teeth?” Severus asked, moving Chaucer out of the way so he could sit on the end of Harry’s bed.  The cat glared at him for disturbing her rest, but settled back down on the opposite side of the bed.

Harry nodded.

Severus nodded in return. “In,” he demanded.

Harry climbed into the covers. Severus tucked them around Harry’s small frame.

“Shall we continue with the adventures of Ms. Sara Crewe?”

Harry nodded again. Severus skipped to where the pair had left off the night before. Severus had been reading for a few minutes when Harry interrupted.

“Why do those girls have to be so mean?” Harry demanded.

“They do not need to be so mean to Sara, but they feel they have the right given her change of circumstance.” Severus explained.

“What, because she doesn’t have the money anymore they get to be mean to her? That’s not fair,” Harry protested.

“It is not,” Severus agreed. “A person should be treated in accordance with their character.”

“What’s that mean?” Harry asked.

“It means you should always treat people the way you wish to be treated. However, if a person is treating you poorly, saying unpleasant things to you, or being physically aggressive you may react to protect yourself,” Severus advised.

“Does that mean the next time Dud tries to chase me up a tree I can hit him?” Harry asked.

Severus shook his head. “If you’re being chased, you should run. If your cousin is going to hit you, you may return the blow. The best thing would be to tell an adult about it. With your cousin make sure an adult is not your aunt or uncle. They will only side with Dudley, I am sure. Harry, this advice gives you the right to protect yourself, no more. I have no desire to hear my son has become a bully. You may react, but do not go out of your way to start a fight. Am I understood?” Severus asked seriously.

“Okay Dad," Harry replied dutifully.

Severus read Harry for another ten minutes or so, the boy’s eyes drooping. Severus shored up the pillows around Harry before placing a kiss on the child’s brow and leaving the room. He quickly checked on the girls, ensuring everything was all right there. Severus returned to the living room to read until Lily came back home.

Lily found him there almost two hours later, immersed in some potions volume or another. Lily sank down beside her husband. Severus continued to read, apparently completely oblivious to her arrival.  Chaucer did not neglect her. No, the ginger and white cat happily curled up on her lap while they waited for Severus to finish what he was reading. Lily sat there petting the cat, wondering just how long it would take Severus to acknowledge her presence. Her answer, just under ten minutes.

“How was your evening?” Severus asked, slipping a ribbon between the pages to mark his spot.

“It was fine,” Lily said.

Severus could tell she was annoyed about something.

“What have I done?” Severus asked his wife.

“More like what you didn’t do,” Lily corrected. “I sat here for ten minutes, Sev. You didn’t say one word to me. As far as I can tell, you didn’t even know I was here.”

“Of course I knew you were there,” Severus protested.

“And why didn’t you say anything?” Lily asked.

“You failed to say anything either,” Severus protested. He had been having a rather enjoyable evening, he had seen to all three of his children. He spent time reading, for pleasure, something he rarely got to. Now, this was one of the most bizarre fights he and Lily had ever had. At least when they were fighting about hanging out with Death Eaters want-to-bes, he knew what they were fighting about.

Severus took a deep breath. He may not know what started the argument, but he knew he had no desire to continue it.

“I am sorry I did not say ‘hello’ to you when you arrived. You forgive me, Lily flower?”

Lily smiled at him, “Of course.”

“How was your evening?” Severus asked again.

“It was fine, I told you that already.” Lily replied.

“What did you do?” Severus asked.

Lily told him about dinner with several of her Muggle friends. By the end of her talk all the latest village gossip and the plot of the film they had gone to see.

“How was your evening here?” Lily asked.

“Fine,” Severus replied clearing away the dishes from his tea. “The girls went down fine. I think Iris might be coming down with something. Harry and I had pizza for dinner and watched the film on the telly.”

Lily nodded.

“Lily,” Severus asked.

“Have you noticed anything going on with Harry last few weeks?”

Lily frowned, “Why do you ask?”

Severus shook his head, “I am probably just being over concerned.”

“What’s wrong?” Lily demanded.

Severus sighed. He had opened the door, he needed to go through with it. “It is just Harry did not finish his dinner. This is not the first time last several days. I didn’t give it much thought then, they were dishes he never particularly cared for anyway. But tonight, I’ve never seen the boy eat less than two slices.”

Lily nodded.

“He was not running a fever when I checked. Then, when we were watching telly he was strangely withdrawn.” Severus explained.

“What do you think is wrong?” Lily asked.

“As I said, I’m probably worrying over nothing.” Severus said trying to downplay his concern.

“What is it, already, Sev?” Lily demanded.

“I fear Harry might be being bullied.” Severus said sadly.

“Bullied by whom?” Lily demanded.

“I do not know. Harry told me that everything is fine at school. As the head of Slytherins, I have seen my fair share of this behavior. There’s something bothering Harry if it is not at school, I don’t know what it could be. I am going to keep a closer eye when I drop-in at school in the morning,” Severus explained.

“Good,” Lily agreed. She gave a sad sigh. “Why would anybody bully Harry?”

Severus shook his head. “You don’t need a reason. The bully wants to feel better about themselves by making others feel bad about. If Harry is and/or other children are being victimized, it needs to be put to stop. These things only get worse with time.”

As promised, Severus kept an eye on his son on the playground. Harry seemed fine when with one of the groups of boys he joined. When the other group came to join them, that’s when the trouble seemed to start. Even from this far, Severus could tell there was something bothering Harry.

This was not good. He would have to have a word with Harry’s teacher, if not the headmistress. Whatever was going on with these boys needed to be stopped as soon as possible.  As it turned out, Harry’s teacher sent a note home with him that afternoon. Harry, it seemed had gotten onto the roof of the canteen.

*********************

“Good evening,” Severus greeted coolly as he stepped away from the fireplace.

“Hi,” she replied. “How is everything at school today?”

Severus rolled his eyes and began to recount his day, “I somehow managed to survive. One of the the fourth year Hufflepuffs managed to nearly cut their finger off because they were too busy making eyes at a girl across from them. A seventh year Ravenclaw believed she should be allowed to depart from the instructions on the board…”

“You did that all the time,” Lily interjected.

Severus continued as if she had said nothing. “The dunderhead managed to nearly blow up the classroom. If she does this once more she is out of my class. I don’t care who her uncle is. The child is a menace.”

Lily sat back and let him vent. He would be better once he got it out of his system. Severus continued on for several minutes, at points not even speaking in complete sentences. Clearly this child was in danger.

“All done now?” Lily asked when Severus finally stopped rambling.

Severus slumped into his favorite chair. “Yes,” he grumbled.

“In case you were wondering, Harry’s teacher sent a note home with him today.” Lily said.

Severus looked up, “What happened?”

“Somehow your son managed to get on top the canteen at school today.” Lily explained.

“On top of the canteen? Why on earth was he up there?” Severus demanded.

Lily shrugged. “He says he doesn’t know how he got up there.”

“He didn’t climb then?” Severus asked.

Lily shook her head. “He says he didn’t. He said they were running in the yard and the next moment he was on the roof.”  

Severus hummed in acknowledgment. “Accidental magic,” he said a moment later.

“Clearly,” Lily agreed.

“The question is why?” Severus muttered.

“Did you see anything this morning?” Lily asked.

Severus nodded. “I planned on having a word with his teacher about it soon. There was something very clearly off with his interaction with one group of boys.”

Lily frowned. She didn’t want to hear that  her son was being bullied.

“We can ask him about it tonight.” Severus declared. “Where are the girls?” He asked looking at the clock. Typically they were up by now.

“Letting them sleep a bit. They had a hard time going down for a nap. We should probably get them up soon.” Lily told him.

“Where’s Harry?” Severus asked.

“He’s hiding.” Lily supplied.

“Why is he hiding?” Severus asked.

“He’s six, Sev. He scared you’re going to be mad at him.” Lily explained.

Confused Severus asked, “Why? Of course I’m not mad at him.”

“Don’t tell me that. Harry’s the one who needs to hear it.” Lily told him.

“Did you tell him I wouldn’t be angry?” Severus asked.

“Obviously, but I said we needed to have a talk about this.” Lily continued.

Severus frowned. He didn’t want his son to fear him the same way he had grown up fearing Tobias.

“It’s okay. He isn’t scared of you, but he scared he’s in trouble.” Lily told him.

“If you told him he is not, why would he not believe it?” Severus asked.

Lily shrugged. “It’s the first time a teacher sent a note home. He knows you do that to the students who are in trouble. He couldn’t help, but be worried.”

A cry came over the baby monitor.

“I’ll go get her,” Severus said rising from his seat. Should I bring Iris as well?”

Lily shook her head. “Let her sleep, but you should go talk with Harry.”

“I plan to,” Severus said. He returned a moment later a fussy Dahlia in his arms.

“Do you have any idea where Harry might be?” Severus asked.

“No,” Lily said taking her eldest daughter.

“Very well, I shall return.” Severus said setting out to search for his son.

Severus went to Harry’s room. The boy wasn’t there. Nor was he in the hall closet, Severus’ office, or under the dining room table. Severus frowned. Where could the boy have gone? Severus sunk down onto his bed. He just saw a flash of a foot before it disappeared under the bed once more. Harry was hiding under his parents’ bed. That was new.

Severus cut off the bed and sat on the floor instead. “Harry, will you come out from under there, please?”

Harry didn’t respond. Severus was fairly certain the boy hoped by not responding, the man would leave him alone.

“I know you’re under there, Harry. You need to come out now.” Severus said a bit more sternly. “You’re not in any trouble for the note.” Severus continued.

A pair of green eyes came into view.

“I’m not?”  Harry asked.

“You’re not,” Severus confirmed.

“But Mummy said...” Harry continued.

“That we need to have a talk. That does not mean you’re in trouble. What happened today was nothing bad. Things like it happened to many young witches and wizards. Now, will you please come out so that we can discuss this properly?” Severus pleaded.

Harry hesitated a moment, but then slowly crawled out from under the bed. His face was covered in what appeared to be the remains of chocolate biscuits.

“No dessert for you tonight,” Severus observed.

“You said I wasn’t in trouble.” Harry pouted.

“And you are not, though little boys who certainly ruined their appetites with chocolate biscuits do not get dessert tonight as well.” Severus explained.

Harry frowned.

“Thank you for coming out,” Severus said pulling Harry to him for a hug.

“I’m really not in trouble?” Harry asked again.

“You are not, but I would like your mother to be part of our talk if that is all right.” Severus asked.

Harry gave a small nod. Severus would have preferred a verbal response, but at least it was not another shrug.

“Good, and let us collect your sister and we can get to the bottom of this.” Severus said standing, his knee popping.  

Harry walked with his father, the man’s large hand reassuring weight on the shoulder. The pair stopped in the nursery long enough to collect the still groggy Iris.

“Hi sweetie,” Lily greeted Harry as the pair came back into the living room. “I wondered where you disappeared to.”

Harry took his customary seat on the sofa. He did not say anything, just watched the practiced baby exchange between his parents.

“Harry, can you tell us what was going on before you ended up on the roof of the canteen?” Severus asked, throwing the towel over his shoulder to burp the baby.

Harry did shrug this time.

“Words Harry,” Severus scolded.

“I was running,” Harry replied.

Severus nodded as he placed the freshly changed Dahlia in the playpen.

“Why were you running?” Lily asked more gently.

“Because,” Harry said lamely.

“Is a conjunction,” Severus scolded. “Were you running as part of the game?”

Harry shook his head.

“Were you running to have a run?” Severus asked.

Another shake of Harry’s head. The boy mumbled something neither of his parents could make out.

“Can you repeat that sweetie?” Lily asked.

“Daddy said to run if somebody was chasing me.” Harry said just the tiniest bit louder, but enough for his parents to hear.

“Who was chasing you?” Lily asked.

Severus was not surprised by by the boy’s explanation. However, that did not mean he was happy to hear his suspicions confirmed.

“Todd,” Harry grumbled.

“Why was Todd chasing you?” Severus asked.

Harry shrugged.

“Harry,” Severus warned.

“I don’t know!” Harry yelled.

Both girls let out cries at Harry’s outburst.

“It’s okay,” Severus soothed Iris, freshly delivered to him. “That was uncalled for, Harry.”

Harry frowned. Severus would like an apology, but knew he was unlikely to receive it.

“Has this Todd boy come at you like this before?” Lily asked.

Harry nodded.

“Why didn’t you tell us about this?” His mother asked.

Yet another shrug.

“Did you tell a teacher?” Lily asked.

Harry shook his head.

“Why not? We can’t fix things if we don’t know what’s wrong.” Lily said.

“Or if  something is wrong to begin with,” Severus added, placing Iris down with her sister.

“What were you going to do?” Harry demanded.

“Mr. Potter, you will remember who is the parent and who is the child.” Severus corrected. “If we knew something was the matter we could have addressed it. You need not suffer at the hands of the bully because you are too proud to ask for help.”

“Sev,” Lily muttered softly.

Severus looked to his wife. She wasn’t sure who Severus talking about in the last little rant.

“My apologies, but the point still stands. We cannot help if we do not know what is bothering you.” Severus said with a sigh.

Harry gave his father a puzzled look.

“What has this Todd boy done? Is he the only one bothering you?” Severus asked more calmly.

“He is mean. He calls me names and stuff.” said Harry.

Severus nodded. He knew there was more to it. He had gone through something similar enough to know how difficult it was to admit even that.

“What are you going to do?” Harry asked.

“We’re going to have a word with your teacher and perhaps the headmistress.” Severus told him. “They are also going to work on your controlling your magic. It would not do for you to accidentally hex a Muggle, even in defense. I have no desire to have to explain the situation to the Ministry.”

“The Ministry, Sev?” Lily questioned.

“Perhaps,” Severus confirmed.

“Don’t you think you’re being a little overdramatic?” Lily asked.

Severus shook his head. “Not if the case is severe enough.”

“Sev,” Lily asked.

She jerked her head in Harry’s direction. He was clearly terrified.

“Dammit,” Severus sighed. Severus scooped up Harry into his lap. “Harry, you’ll be fine. We will work on controlling your magic. Now, I don’t feel much like cooking to dinner tonight. I believe the same is true for your mother. What do you want to eat?”

“Chips,” Harry said instantly.

Severus shook he said. “Why do we even bother to ask? Go get your shoes.” Severus placed Harry back on his feet.

Harry ran off down the hall.

“We need to be careful here, Sev. You can’t make him feel embarrassed or ashamed of his magic.” Lily warned.

“I know,” Severus agreed. “My mother had to do the same with me when I was his age.”

“Okay,” Lily agreed.

The family had a more enjoyable evening as they went out. Harry spent much of the meal making faces at his sisters, entertaining them and his parents. After coming home Severus and Lily put down the babies, they returned to watch a film. The evening ended with Severus carrying his son up to bed after he fell asleep midway through the movie.

Over the next several weeks Severus spent at least an hour a day working with Harry to focus his magic. It was something Lily had been able to do naturally. Harry made a great deal of progress. Meanwhile, both parents went to talk to Harry’s teacher and headmistress. Sadly, they were far less supportive and Severus and Lily would have liked.

Harry did well controlling his magic until almost Christmas. That was until Todd and his little friends cornered Harry after class. Severus pushed past the group of boys in the yard; Harry was sobbing. One boy, Severus assumed to be Todd was sitting on the ground, his hands covering his nose, or at least trying to. The boy’s nose was swelling at a frightening rate. The other boys watched in terror.

“Stand back,” Severus ordered.

The boy stepped back. Severus pulled Todd’s hands away from his face and quickly ended the hex. He then modified the memory of all three boys. Lastly, picked Harry up Apparating them home.

“Shush…” Severus soothed. “You’re all right.”

“What’s the matter?” Lily requested joining them in the living room.

“Harry had a bit of an incident at school. I ended the hex and modified the boys’ memories.” Severus explained.

“Severus!” Lily scolded.

“Not now,” he hissed. “Harry,” Severus whispered into his son’s ear.

Harry’s small frame continued to rock with sobs.

“Hush, hush now,” Severus urged his son. “Calm down, Harry. Everything is all right. Hush now.”

Harry shook his head into his father’s chest. “You going to give me to the d’mentors?” Harry sobbed.

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Severus dismissed.

“Hexed Todd,” Harry mumbled.

“Now Harry, you won’t be given to the dementors.” Severus reassured. “You are not in trouble.”

Just then the fireplace flared to life. Sirius Black stepped into the room.

“Bloody hell Snape! What on earth were you thinking!” Sirius barked.

Harry turned wide, scared eyes to his Godfather.

Severus set Harry down. “Lily can you take Harry for a bit of a lie down?”

Lily nodded escorting Harry out of the room.

“Could you not have waited to spare my son that Black?!” Severus snapped.

“You hexed Muggles, Snape!  Muggle kids!” Sirius replied.

“No, I ended Harry’s hex on the boy. I modified the memory of all three, nothing more.” Severus said handing over his wand.

Sirius cast several diagnostic spells on the wand. Everything backed up Severus’ recounting of events. Sirius handed Severus his wand back, before throwing himself into Severus’ chair and sitting on the cat.  Sirius shot back up as Chaucer jumped out of the seat clearly upset.  Sirius sat back down in the now vacant chair.

“Why didn’t you wait for Ministry officials to clear the scene?” Sirius asked.

“My son had just been attacked. I didn’t want to keep him waiting there. Any Ministry lackey would have done exactly what I did.” Severus explained sitting with much more grace.

“Except they would have been approved do it and have a clean record. You should be glad I intercepted Adams. He would find a reason to send you to the dementors. He hasn’t forgiven you for marrying Lily.” Sirius explained.

“Indeed.” Severus said happily. “What happens now?”

Sirius way to stand, “Nothing. I’ll write up a report saying what happened and that will be that.”

“Sev,” Lily called. “Can you ask Sirius to come up here? Harry wants me to make sure you don’t get in trouble because of him.”

Severus turned to his visitor, “See what he did?”

“Hey, you’re the one who turned your wand on kids.” Sirius said as they walked upstairs.

“Just convince Harry need not fear the loss of another father please.” Severus snapped back.

“I still got in trouble for fighting,” Harry protested.

Severus sighed, “Yes, you did. We cannot condone fighting.”

Harry frowned, “That’s not fair.”

“Life isn’t fair, Harry. You’ll be reminded of this many times over the course of your life,” Severus told him.

This statement didn’t make Harry any happier.

“Yes, I know. It is an unpleasant truth, one we must all face from time to time,” Severus said seriously. “That incident of accidental magic was your first around Muggles. The next major incident was not magic exactly, at least at the start,” Severus continued.

Harry wasn’t sure where his father was going with this.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  

“Daddy,” Harry greeted Severus as he returned home for the evening.

“Hello Harry,” Severus said picking up the boy, and placing a kiss on the boy’s brow. “How are you this evening?”

“Good. Iris tried to crawl this afternoon,” Harry told his father excitedly.

“Did she?” Severus inquired. He navigated around Chaucer, who was entertaining herself chasing one of the girls’ jingling toys.

“Yeah, she landed on her face,” Harry said with a giggle.

“Don’t laugh at your sister,” Severus chided mildly. “Did Dahlia try her own hand at crawling?”

Harry shook his head. Severus walked into the kitchen. He found Lily at the stove.

“Good evening,” Severus and leaning down to give his wife a kiss.

“Hi,” Lily said as the kiss broke.

“Harry informed me that our youngest tried her hand at crawling today.” Severus said.

“She did,” Lily confirmed. “Did Harry ask you about what he was sent in there to discuss?”

Severus raised an eyebrow in confusion.

“So no then,” Lily asked.

“I’m afraid so,” Severus agreed.

“Harry, tell your father what you asked me this afternoon?” Lily instructed.

Harry began to ramble about something. Severus could not make out exactly what the boy was on. The boy was too excited to make much sense change.

“Harry,” Severus said softly. “Calm down, please. I have no earthly idea what you’re talking about.”

Harry stopped talking and squirmed to be let down. Severus put the wiggly child down. Harry walked out of the room to return moments later, a brightly colored piece of paper in hand. Severus took it from the boy.

Severus’ eyes scanned down the page. He saw no reason why Harry could not participate in the class outing the natural history museum. He turned to Lily, to tell her exactly that.

“I see no reason why Harry cannot take part in this field trip.” Severus said.

“Look at the bottom,” advised Lily.

Severus looked once more. They wanted parents to help supervise the outing. That made sense. One teacher could not be expected to watch over all the children in that sort of setting.

“Harry’s teacher strongly suggested we volunteer.” Lily continued.

Severus frowned. “And if we are not available?”

Lily shrugged, “But she made it clear she wanted one of us there.”

“Why us in particular?” Severus asked.

“I don’t know.” Lily told him.

Severus looked over the paper once more. He double checked the calendar on the refrigerator. His fifth years would be sitting their O.W.L.s that day. He could probably take the day. He would have to ask the Headmaster.

“I need to ask the Headmaster, but I may be able to accompany Harry,” Severus told his wife.

Lily gave a small nod. She wondered why this teacher wanted her or her husband to participate in this outing. It was very strange.

“You have a couple of days to respond,” Lily informed him.

“I’ll ask Headmaster in the morning,” Severus agreed.

The Headmaster agreed to let Severus have the day off. Severus made sure to re-schedule an exam for the third years who would have class with that day. The substitute would have a rather easy day that way. Or at least as easy a day of combined Gryffindor and Slytherin classes could be.

Harry was ecstatic his father was coming with him on the trip. Severus was glad to be able to provide the needed assistance. He would also be able to keep a watchful eye on Harry and limited the boy’s sugar intake. He was certain left to his own devices, Harry would gorge himself on sweets.

Harry bounced on his parents’ bed as the sun rose. Severus groaned, pulling the boy down between him and Lily. He didn’t have to be up for another hour and a half.  He wasn’t going to be up before that if he could help it. Of course, his desires were fulfilled exactly. The cries of his daughter woke him maybe thirty minutes later.

Severus rose to collect the crying infant. He returned a moment later with Dahlia in his arms. Severus let Lily’s each other daughter’s needs. As usual, the Harry was rather reluctant to leave the warm comfort of the bed. Harry was sleepily guided from his parents’ room to the bathroom to start his morning routine. In the meantime Severus oversaw the burping of Dahlia and the changing of the twins. Harry stumbled out of his room haphazardly dressed in school uniform by the time Iris was ready for all them to head downstairs to breakfast.

Severus fed the cat and set to making eggs, while Lily fixed the tea and toast. Harry helped cutting and peeling several bananas. The girls babbled to one another from their high chairs as they waited. Breakfast was a rather quiet affair.  Once breakfast was done, Severus set the dishes to washing themselves. The dining room was clean with a flick of his wand.

Severus was ready to leave right on time. Severus felt uncomfortable dressed completely as a Muggle. He would still bring his wand. He could not let that go. Besides, you could never predict when you might need it, especially around young children.

Severus let Harry run ahead on the way to school. He had Harry’s pocket money for the day and his jumper since the boy refused to wear it out of the house this morning. Severus was certain that Harry would want it as some point.

Severus followed Harry into the schoolyard to wait for the bell. He wondered if he should’ve waited to come later. He didn’t see any other parents staying longer than usual to drop off the children.

Severus watched as Harry attempted to kick the football his friend tried to pass him. Harry missed by a mile. Severus frowned. With the number of falls and things Harry had recently suffered Severus was beginning to wonder if they should have the boy’s eyes examined. James Potter had dreadful eyesight, it would stand to reason that his son would as well.

The bell rang and Severus followed his son to his class. As suspected, there weren’t any other parents. Harry’s teacher however, didn’t seem to mind his presence. Severus listened as the teacher did roll call. About half way through, the classroom the door burst open. A blonde little boy, Todd, and his mother came in.

“Sorry,” the mother babbled, “We slept through the alarm.”

The teacher waved off the apology, “No problem, we were just taking attendance. We’ll be getting on the bus in a few minutes.”

The mother nodded coming to stand next to Severus.

“Good morning,” Severus greeted.

“Good morning,” the woman returned. “Are you one of the parents?” She asked.

“No, I am a random stranger who followed the children in this morning. The fact they are going on a class excursion provided me with the convenient cover of being a chaperone,” Severus returned flatly.

The woman turned to him. She had icy blue eyes, “That’s not very funny.”

“That is a matter of opinion,” Severus replied. “I’m Severus Snape, Harry’s father.”

“Melissa Williams, Todd’s mother,” she said. She did not offer her hand to Severus. “Which one is Harry?”

Severus frowned. He wondered if this woman even knew her son was a bully. Severus pointed to Harry and said, “The one with the messy black hair.”

“Did anything to comb it?” She said disdainfully.

“We did. However, the only way it will lie neatly us if we were to sheer the child bald,” Severus said reigning in his temper. Why must his interactions with Muggle women always be this way? Was there something about him that made them instantly hate him?

“Todd said that your boy cried for the whole first week of class,” Melissa said.

Severus sighed, “He may have. This is Harry’s first year of school. He took some time to adjust to being left. Harry said Todd...” Severus would have continued, but was cut off by the teacher telling the class to line up so that they could go get on the bus.

Severus was very glad he didn’t have to talk to the woman any longer. He could see where Todd got some of his unpleasant qualities. Severus did a quick head count, eighteen students. That was more than manageable for three adults.

The kids loaded onto the bus. Severus climbed aboard. After another round of attendance, the teacher sat down beside Severus. The bus pulled out the schoolyard, they were on their way.

“How are you this morning Mr. Snape?” Ms. Southwell, the teacher asked him.

“I am well,” Severus replied politely.

“That’s good,” she responded happily.

“May I ask you, Madam, why you were so insistent that one of Harry’s parents take part in this outing?” Severus asked politely.

“Mr. Snape, we both know Harry is a boy of…special talents.” The teacher explained. “There have already been a few minor incidents, who knows what can happen while we are out in the general public.” She continued.

“Are you worried?” Severus asked dumbfounded.

“No,” she said with a slight shake of her head. “My aunt is. Harry talked about Muggles one day and I knew what he was. I mentioned him to my aunt. By firt name, just called him Harry, she got very excited. She said that he’s very famous in your world.”

Severus frowned. “He is.”

“My aunt wanted to know all about him,” Ms. Southwell elaborated.

“Of course she would,” Severus grumbled.

“I told her Harry is like any other little boy his age.” The teacher continued. “Told her he likes to run, jump, get into things that he shouldn’t, all the normal things. She was rather surprised. She seemed to think he should be doing all sorts special activities.”

Severus was happy to hear that Harry’s teacher was treating him like any other child, even after being told that he was supposed to be special.

“Why is Harry famous?” The teacher asked.

“The unfortunate hand of Fate,” Severus said sadly.

The young woman continued to give him a questioning look.

“Harry is the only known person to survive the Killing Curse. It is why he’s famous. We do not know why he did. However, we strive to treat him like any other child. We do not want him growing up to be self-centered, or convinced that he is possessed of any special powers he may not have,” Severus explained. “This is why he’s grown up with limited contact with the wizarding world. They would see a prince when he is ‘just Harry’.”

“I can understand that. If most people are like my aunt, it would be very hard to have a child growing up normally in those conditions.” Ms. Southwell agreed.

“Your aunt sounds rather tame compared to some. I thank you for your efforts to deter/appease her,” Severus said sincerely.

“Harry survived the Killing Curse, so  is that where his scar came from?” she asked.

“It is. Harry knows James, his biological father, died trying to protect him. He thinks it was simply a cut, not in fact a curse scar,” Severus confirmed.

The woman nodded. Severus listened as the children were led in a chorus of the “Wheels On The Bus”. Thankfully the bus came to a stop outside the museum before the off key singing was able to give Severus too much of a headache. Severus was the first person off the bus, making sure all students had their lunch and stayed in line until everyone is ready to go into the museum.

None of the children seemed to want to tempt the wrath of Severus. One pointedly looked down his long nose and they were back in place. That was, all except Harry. Harry just gave him a cheeky grin and went back to talking to his friend. Severus rolled his eyes at his son’s antics.

Severus led the group inside. They were met by a woman from the museum who would be leading their tour. Severus fell to the back of the group to keep an eye on the kids, making sure the kids were paying attention.

It didn’t take long for Severus to have to correct some wayward attention. Todd and his friends were busy talking while the woman from the museum was explaining something about frog habitats. What frustrated Severus was the boy’s mother made no move to correct the behavior. It only took a whispered word from Severus to get the boys to quiet down. The same was true when Harry started talking to his friends.

The woman finished her talk and the children moved to fill out some sort of worksheet. Severus walked around the children, spelling words when asked. He kept a special eye on Harry. His teacher was right, who knew what could happen here.

Harry was working on his sheet by a snake tank when Todd and his friends joined him. Severus could not hear what was being said. Harry stiffened, that was enough to have Severus crossing the room.

What Severus heard when he got there chilled him to the bone. Harry was hissing like a snake. Severus had only ever heard one person do that before, the Dark Lord, and here was his son doing it too. The other boys watched Harry in horror. They had no idea Harry was actually speaking to the snake behind glass.

“Harry,” Severus called to the boy.

Harry turned his dad. “What?” Harry demanded.

“You freak!” Todd hissed.

Severus spun on the boy, “Don’t call him that!”

“Dad what’s wrong?” Harry asked.

“We’ll discuss it in private,” Severus told him.

“Dad,” Harry whined.

“Not now, Harry” Severus snapped. “We will discuss it later.”

Harry’s expression was hurt as Severus leaned down. “You are not in any sort of trouble. However, we need to have a talk about this later. It can’t be around Muggles when we do,” Severus added in a whisper.

Harry gave a small nod.

“Stay away from me you freak!” Todd repeated.

“What’s going on Mr. Snape?” Ms. Southwell asked.

“It was a bit of an incident,” Severus replied. He had subconsciously moved Harry behind him.

“He’s a freak!” Todd accused.

Severus’s face darkened dangerously. “You have been told twice to desist in using that word Mr. Williams.”

“You leave my boy alone,” snapped Todd’s mother.

“Your son repeatedly called my son a name, even after being instructed to stop,” Severus snapped back.

“What happened exactly?” The teacher asked.

Severus shook his head. “I do not know. Harry?”

Harry violently shook his head.

“Harry you need to tell us what happened,” Severus urged.

“Come over and tell me what happened,” the teacher beckoned.

Harry looked up to his father as if begging for a reprieve. Severus gave him no such rescue.  Instead, he jerked his head in the woman’s direction. Harry dragged his feet, but made his way over to the woman. The two talked quietly. Todd meanwhile recounted his side of the story to his mother. With the two women busy Severus saw to rounding up the rest of Harry’s classmates. They would be breaking for lunch soon. Everyone would be to be together before they went to the canteen.

Harry came to stand by Severus as the last of the students lined up. Harry was surprisingly quiet.

“Are you okay?” Severus asked.

Harry gave a small shrug. Where had the boy ever learned such a deplorable habit? Then Severus remembered, he shrugged especially in times of emotional stress. It was easier to do than try and express the many complex things he was feeling. He had nobody, but himself to blame. He could try and ask the child to use his words, but how could he, when he did the very same thing?

“Very well,” Severus said giving Harry’s shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “Let’s see what your mother packed us for lunch.”

The group made their way to the canteen. All the way through lunch, Harry remained glued to Severus’ side. Todd too remain close to his mother. Severus was told the teacher had ordered them to stay apart. Harry seemed more than happy to comply. Todd on the other hand, kept drifting further off, not far enough to be out of view, but not right within his mother’s sight.

The rest of the afternoon passed relatively peacefully. The class explored the museum's gift shop. With Harry’s help, Severus picked a stuffy each for Dahlia and Iris. Harry chose Dahlia a brightly colored frog and Iris a fox. Harry couldn’t explain his choices, just thought they were cool. For himself, Harry picked up a book on dinosaurs.

Severus could not say he knew much about the topic. It was something that never caught his fancy, but it had Harry’s. In fact, it seemed to interest almost all of the Muggle children. Severus supposed it was similar to that of the wizarding children and dragons.

Finally, the group fell back into the bus. Harry and his friends sat close to the front, just behind Severus and Ms. Southwell. Todd and his friends, along with Todd’s mother sat back. This ride was much quieter. Severus suspected at least some of the children had fallen asleep on the drive.

Severus sighed to himself. He was not looking forward to the discussion he would have to have when they got home. Harry was a Parslemouth. Severus had very little doubt there was a direct connection to Harry surviving the Dark Lord’s attack. What he could not figure out was how. He supposed he could tell the Headmaster, but what would Dumbledore say? What could this mean?

“Penny for your thoughts?” Ms. Southwell asked.

“Pardon,” Severus asked coming back to earth.

“I wondered what had you so lost in thought,” the woman said. “I wondered if you would like to share.”

“Ah,” Severus muttered. “No, not really. It is not something you can help with. Although perhaps you can tell me exactly what happened between Mr. Williams and Harry this morning.”

“That I can do,” she agreed.

She told him how Harry had been working on history. Todd and his friends had come over. The snake whose enclosure they had been standing in front of was not moving. Trying to get it to do so, the other boy started banging on the glass. Harry told them to stop; that is it was mean to do to the snake. Harry had muttered sorry to the snake which turned out to be hissing. The other boys were scared of Harry doing so, especially after the snake seemed to respond. That was when Severus arrived.

Severus thanked her for her account. He was sure Harry would tell him when he got home, but still, hearing it from someone who had heard both sides was useful. He would tell Lily this, before they had their talk with Harry. The bus pulled up to the school the students headed back to class to retrieve anything they might have left in the cloakroom. Severus chose to walk them directly home. Lily was a bit surprised to find them home early, but was glad to see them.

Severus set Harry up with a small snack in the dining room, while he and Lily talked about the day’s events. He was very glad the girls had at least another hour of their nap. He was not sure he could deal with one more thing on his plate at the moment, even if it was simply nappy change. Lily had a very similar look on her face by the time Severus finished his tale.

“What does it mean Sev?” Lily asked uneasily.

“I do not know,” he replied, just as uncomfortable.

“Should we tell someone? Dumbledore?” She asked.

Severus nodded. “I will. Though, he may not have any better idea of what is going on than you or I. There is a chance, however, how small, Harry might have had this talent naturally.”

“You don’t believe that for a second,” Lily countered.

“No,” Severus agreed with a small sigh. “I am certain it has something to do with his encounter with the Dark Lord. What exactly it is, I do not know. The thing that matters is Harry’s well-being. You must make sure he does not… Feel as if he were a ‘freak’. Today’s experience, did little to prevent such feelings from occurring.”

Lily gave him a small nod though she did not want to admit she was scared. She was not scared of her son, but rather for him. Severus had told her how Parslemouth was often considered dark, a prejudice at least in part perpetuated by Voldemort.

“Harry,” Lily called from her seat on the sofa.

Harry came in, his face half covered in raspberry jam from his snack. Lily patted the cushion beside her. Severus stood by the fireplace. Severus conjured a wet towel from the tip of his wand before passing it to Lily to wipe the boy’s face. Harry did his best to avoid his mother’s gentle ministrations, but she persisted until all the jam was gone.

“Harry,” Severus said trying to redirect the boy’s attention. “Could you please tell us what happened this morning between you and Todd?”

Harry told them his version of events. It was much like the account he had heard from Harry’s teacher. It appeared she had little faith in Todd’s version of events.

“Then you were there, Daddy,” Harry finished.

“Harry, did you realize at any point you were speaking like a snake?” Severus asked.

Harry shook his head, “Did I do something bad?”

“No,” Severus returned firmly. “You did nothing wrong.”

“Todd said I was…” Harry started.

Lily gave the boy a reassuring squeeze. “Never mind what silly old Todd said. He doesn’t know what he’s talking about. There are very few people in the world who can do what you can. This talent just makes you even more special.”

“Your mother is right,” Severus agreed. “You should never think of yourself using that word.”

Harry cocked his head to the side, “What word?”

“The word Todd used this morning,” Severus clarified.

Harry frowned, puzzling it out. “Fr-”

“You need not use it,” Severus snapped. “My apologies, Harry. You don’t have to say it. But yes that is the word I meant. You should never let anyone call you, or make you feel as if you are that word.”

“Okay,” Harry agreed.

“Although we have had much happiness, we are not without our times of difficulty,” Severus said.

Harry frowned, “You mean James dying?”

“Yes,” Severus agreed, “But other times as well.”

“Like what?” Harry question.

“Times your mother and I have not gotten along, illness (serious illness), and losses.” Severus elaborated.

“What losses?” Harry asked.

“Friendship, safety, and family,” Severus said, though that did not help Harry’s understanding.

“I thought you said it was more than James.” Harry protested.

Severus nodded in confirmation, “We have. When your mother and aunt were not speaking that was a loss. No, but I was thinking of another loss. Another loss of a family member...”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“I don’t want to go out,” Harry whined.

“Go, Harry. It’s good for you,” Lily countered.

“I don’t want to go play outside,” Harry continued to protest to little effect.

“Just go,” Lily almost yelled.

It had been a long week. Severus was away until that night at a conference. The girls were sick and it had rained the last several days, keeping Harry indoors. It could be easily said, all were going stir crazy. Lily would be glad to have some relief when Severus got back.

“Fine,” Harry pouted, stomping out into the front garden.

“Don’t slam the door and don’t let the cat out,” Lily ordered as the front door slammed behind Harry.

Lily sighed. Wasn’t he a little young to be this temperamental? She didn’t remember throwing these sorts of fits, at least until her preteens. Then again, he didn’t seem that different from Sev or Tuney at that age. God’s help them if you repeated Sev’s sullenness as a teen.

Harry didn’t know why he was so upset about being sent outside. Yesterday he begged to go outside, even if it was raining. His mom would have let him go out, but there was thunder and lightning. Harry kicked a small ball on the walk. An orange and white ball of fur ran past Harry trying to pounce it.

“Chaucer, you’re not supposed to be out here,” Harry scolded.

The cat ignored him, continuing to battle the ball.

Harry looked back at the front door. His mom would yell at him if he tried to take her back inside. Not only would he be in trouble for trying to come back in, but for letting her out in the first place.

He wished they had a cat flap. That would make things so much better. Chaucer could come in and out whenever she wanted. They didn’t though. His dad was worried strays might get in and since there was no way to charm the door to only let Chaucer in there would be no cat flap.

Harry thought it would be cool to be the one to invent the charm that did that. Then, any cat could come in and out without having to beg their family. That would be great!

Harry didn’t know what he was going to play. Maybe he should go inside and ask if he could visit Mooney.  Maybe Remus could take him to the park, or he could go down the street to visit David and Malcolm, his friends from school.

Harry was watching Chaucer as he considered his options. He didn’t know why, but suddenly the cat ran out of the garden. There was a sound of a car racing down the road. Everything seemed to slow in Harry’s vision.

The car didn’t stopped. It didn’t swerve. Chaucer just stood there. The car drove on leaving the cat lying in the road. Harry screamed at the top of his lungs.

“HARRY JAMES POTTER!” Lily yelled throwing the front door open. “You had better be being eaten by a dragon to let out such a sound. Your sisters are sleeping.”

Harry shook his head. Tears were running fast and hard down his face. He couldn’t speak.

“What is it?” Demanded Lily.

Harry failed to speak. He could only stand and point.

“What?” Lily asked again.

Harry pointed to a spot ahead of him. Lily saw this time. Chaucer was trying to crawl out of the road.

“Fuck,” Lily exclaimed at the sight. She tried to never swear in front of her kids, but it escaped this time. “Fuck,” she said again. She needed to act and act fast. Why the Hell did Severus have to be out of town now? She took a breath. They needed to get to the vet. She would need a babysitter, taking the girls and Harry would only slow her down. She drew her wand and sent a Patronus to Remus.

“Harry, I need you to go inside. Remus will be here soon so I can take Chaucer to the doctor,” Lily said feigning calm.

“No,” Harry protested.

“Harry, please,” Lily said.

“No, want to come with you,” Harry protested.

“Fine, I need to get going, go get my keys from the hook by the door. Then go and unlock the car while I go get Chaucer. Okay,” Lily instructed.

Harry nodded dashing off.  Lily would have Remus distract Harry when he got there.

While Harry was getting the keys she slowly approached the cat. There was at least some blood on her fur. She wasn’t walking straight either. This was not good. Gods she hoped this didn’t go the way she thought it might.

Lily approached the cat carefully. “Shhhhh…shhhh… It’s okay girl,” she whispered. She continued her constant stream of reassurance as she approached. Chaucer meowed sadly at her. She conjured a box with a blanket placed in the bottom of the box. As carefully as she could she placed the cat in the box.

“Here Mummy,” Harry said running up to her.

“Okay Harry,” Lily said. “I need you to open the backseat door for me.

Harry frowned. Looking at the different keys. Lily grabbed them out of his hand selecting the correct one almost instantly.

Harry fumbling with the lock gave Lily time to pick up the box. She had turned around, the box in hand when a loud popping announced Remus’ arrival.

“Lily,” Remus asked.

“Rem, think Gods. I need you to watch the kids. I have to take the cat to the vet.” Lily explained.

“What happened?” Remus asked.

“I don’t know. I think she might have been hit by a car,” Lily replied gently placing the box in the car. She added a few Cushioning Charms to add to Chaucer’s comfort.

“Come on Harry,” Remus said turning to Harry.

“No,” Harry protested again.

“Harry, I need you to go, Chaucer is very sick.” Lily told him.

“I want to come with you.” Harry said again.

Lily didn’t think it was a good idea. She looked to Remus for support, but he only shrugged.

“Fine,” Lily agreed, “But remember Chaucer is very sick.”

“Okay,” Harry agreed. He quickly climbed into the car.

“We’ll be back as soon as we can,” Lily said climbing into the car.

“Good luck,” Remus called to them as Lily back to the driveway.

She had a sneaking suspicion that luck was definitely needed. Lily raced to the vet’s surgery. If she knew she wouldn’t have been spotted she would have Apparated. Although she was unsure that would have been good  for Chaucer in her current state. No, they would have to settle for driving like a bat out of Hell all the way to the vet’s. They arrived a short time later (surprisingly having not received a ticket).

Lily threw the car in to park, “Go wait by the door, Harry. I’ll need you to open it for me.”

Harry nodded, “Okay Mummy.” He climbed out of the car.

Lily took a breath as she walked around to the back of the car. Opening the door she took another deep breath. The cat was still breathing! There was a chance! She scooped up the boxes carefully as she could. She walked as fast as he could without jostling her cargo too badly. Harry opened the door for her.

“Good afternoon,” a perky woman at the desk greeted them. “How can I help you today?”

“My cat was hit by a car,” Lily said trying to keep hold of her emotions. She had made it this far.

“Oh dear,” the woman said. “I’ll go and get the doctor.”

The woman disappeared behind the door. A few minutes later Lily and Harry were led into an exam. A technician took Chaucer into another room leaving Lily alone with Harry.

Harry looked around the room curiously. There were jars on the counter similar to those found at any Muggles doctor’s office (not that Harry and been to one), other equipment was more vet specific, like the scales. Lily was okay with letting him explore for several minutes. She needed to collect her thoughts.

Several minutes passed before Lily could speak again, “Harry, love, can you come over here please.”

Harry looked over his shoulder frowning at his mother.

“Please, Harry,” Lily repeated.

Harry wandered back to his mother. She patted the chair she stood beside. Harry dutifully sat down. Lily crouched down beside the chair coming down to Harry’s eye level, she stopped to take a deep breath.

“What?” Harry asked.

“Harry, Chaucer’s is very sick,” Lily began.

“I know,” Harry replied.

“Yes love, Chaucer is very, very sick. She’s the kind of sick the doctors may not be able to make better,” Lily said.

“But if the Muggle doctors can’t make her better, you and dad can give her a potion right?” Harry asked.

Lily shook her head, “That’s what I’m trying to tell you.”

Harry’s frown slowly, “So she might, always be hurt?”

Lily nodded, “Yes, that’s possible.” She paused, “But there is a chance she might…” Lily paused again. “There is a chance she might not live.”

“She’s going to die?” Harry demanded.

“I didn’t say that,” Lily denied. “I did not say she would, but there is a chance. There are times when someone or something is so hurt or sick it is better for us to let them pass away.”

When Harry didn’t reply Lily continued, “We wouldn’t want Chaucer to suffer right?”

“No,” Harry agreed.

“Exactly,” Lily said. “The doctors will do their best to make sure that she gets better.”

The door opened a moment later. “Mrs. Snape,” the newcomer said, hand extended.

“Hello,” Lily said taking his hand. “Hello son,” he said to Harry offering his hand once again.

Harry didn’t take it.

The man said, “I’m Doctor Tompkins,” he said introducing himself. I’ve had a look at your cat, Chaucer is it?”

Lily nodded.

“Well, I had a look at her. She’s not in very good shape. We could operate. That would set you back quite a bit, or perhaps, and this is what I think is best, we let her go.”

Lily bristled slightly at the man’s tone. There was no sort of feeling. It was so businesslike, matter of fact. She knew he must deal with this sort of thing all the time, but still he could at least try and fake some sympathy. Did he not notice Harry’s distress?

Harry looked up at him. Lily looked back.

“What do you think her chances of survival are?” Lily asked.

“Mmmmm… I don’t like to put it in those sorts of terms. The cat is currently suffering from a number of injuries.  The least of these are concussion, broken ribs,” the doctor began. “It would really be better…”

“Stop,” Lily interjected. “Harry, love can you go wait outside for me?”

“But, Mum,” the boy began to object.

Lily gave him a stern glare. Harry sulked, looking from his mother to the doctor back. Lily only began to speak once the door was firmly shut behind Harry. If they weren’t in a Muggle environment she would have cast an Imperturbable on the door, but she would have to settle for simply hoping Harry wasn’t eavesdropping, however unlikely that might be.

“Mrs. Snape...,” the doctor began again.

“No,” Lily snapped. “Listen to me. You might be great with animals, but you are absolute shite with people. Do you not see how scared that little boy was? He’s the one who rescued her. They’ve grown up together. What are you talking about? Money? What kind of person are you?”

Doctor Tompkins bristled at the attack, “I think that was rather uncalled for,” the doctor finally said. “You came asking for me to treat your pet. I told you in my professional opinion it would be best to let the animal go. If it survived, it would only suffer and now you’re attacking my character.”

Lily’s nostrils flared in anger, “You don’t want to treat my cat, fine. You might be right about her prognosis, but you can break the news very differently. My son is eight years old! I don’t understand how you can be so cold hearted telling us. And, money? Really? I haven’t even asked what anything might cost. Who are you to tell me how much my pet is worth to me? How would you like to tell me about how much each of my kids is worth while you’re at it?”

The doctor stood there in stunned silence. What was he supposed to say to that?  The two stood in awkward silence for several minutes.

“What would you like to do about Chaucer?” The doctor asked.

“You don’t think she would make it?” Lily asked hopefully.

“I do not,” confirmed the doctor. “She would would likely suffer a great deal if she did recover at all.”

Lily sighed. Her worst dreams were coming true. “We’ll put her down.”

The doctor gave a slight nod. Before he could leave Lily asked, “Can we have a chance to say goodbye?”

The doctor gave another nod. Lily gave another heavy sigh. She opened the door on the opposite side of the room. Harry sat down next to the door, his head resting on his knees.

“You can come back in,” Lily told him.

Harry shook his head. Lily sank to the floor next to him. “How much did you hear,” Lily asked.

Harry shook his head again.

“You weren’t listening?” She asked, if he wasn’t she’d be surprised.

Harry shrugged.

“I see,” Lily said. So Harry had probably heard at least some, if not all she said to the doctor. Oops.

“Come back into the room please, Harry,” Lily said rising to her feet once more.

Harry followed his mother back in. Lily took a seat in the chair in the corner. She beckoned Harry over. Harry stood in front of her and Lily sighed. She pulled the boy into her lap and said.  “Harry, sweetie,” Lily began, but she stopped her voice thick with emotion.

“It’s Chaucer going to be okay?” Harry asked.

Lily shook her head, not that Harry could see.

“Mom,” Harry repeated

“I’m sorry sweetie,” Lily said giving Harry a tight squeeze.

“But why?” Harry demanded.

“Remember what I said earlier? That sometimes it’s better to let somebody go when they are sick or hurt?”

“But why can’t we fix her?” Harry asked.

“Muggle medicine can only do so much, Harry. If we tried to fix her, she would be in a lot of pain. She wouldn’t be the same.” Lily tried to explain.

“We have magic,” Harry protested.

“I know we do sweetheart, but the people here don’t. They’re Muggles.” Lily told him.

“So you can fix her,” Harry demanded.

“I would if I could, love.” Lily reassured. “But I don’t know how.”

“Dad would,” Harry countered.

Lily sighed. It wasn’t true, but Severus had been here at least he could confirm to Harry the cat was beyond his aide instead all Lily could say words “I don’t think he could, Harry.”

“Yeah he could,” Harry protested.

Lily sighed again. “Even if he could Harry, he’s not here.” Lily reminded him.

The door opened again. A technician carried Chaucer into the room. He gently placed the cat on the table. “The doctor will be in shortly. If you want to say your goodbyes, now would be a good time,” technician said.

Lily gave a small nod. Harry was watching the slow rise and fall of the cat’s chest.

“She’s sleeping,” he observed.

“Yeah,” Lily choked. “The doctor is going to give her some medicine and she’s going to go into a deeper sleep,” Lily explained.

“But she won’t wake up,” Harry pointed out.

“No, she won’t.” Confirmed Lily.

“I don’t want her to go,” Harry said, a new wave of tears threatening to fall.

“I don’t either,” Lily said setting Harry back on his feet. He crossed the several steps to stand by Chaucer. She held her hand for Harry. When he didn’t take it she looked back over her shoulder to him. Harry stood rooted in his spot. He shook his head vehemently from side to side.

“It’s okay sweetie,” Lily reassured. “You can wait out in the hallway if you want.”

Harry gave a firm nod, but made no move to go. Both turned when the door opened again. The doctor came in. This was enough to get Harry to move. He ran out the still open door.

“I’m sorry about that,” Lily said to the doctor.

The doctor only shrugged.

Lily placed her hand on the top Chaucer’s paw, “I’m sorry, baby. I’ll miss you.” She said moving forward to place a kiss on top the cat’s head.

The doctor removed a vial of medicine and a syringe from his coat pocket. He felt that and stuck the needle in the back of the cat’s neck. They watched the few moments as the breathing slowed and stopped altogether. Tears fell silently down Lily’s face.

“Do you want to take it with you?” The doctor asked as he confirmed the death and proceeded to fill in some paperwork.

Lily gave a small nod. The doctor disappeared down the hall. The technician returned and took Chaucer away, returning a few minutes later with a nice clean white box.

“Thank you,” Lily muttered. She would have to take it out to the car, but firstly she needed to find her son.

Where had Harry gone? The search didn’t take her very long. Harry sat next the receptionist who greeted him when they came in. He was munching on a biscuit. The woman looked up as Lily approached.

“I hope it’s alright,” the woman said indicating the treat. “The poor love looked like he could use a sweet.”

“It’s fine,” Lily agreed. She shifted the box lightly. Chaucer never seemed that heavy when she was alive, now it felt like twice the weight.

“Can we go home now?” Harry begged.

“In a minute Harry,” Lily told him. “I need to do few things.”

“Okay,” Harry sobbed.

Lily paid the bill paying not minding how much it actually cost. The box awkwardly sat next to her on the counter.

The ride home was silent. Lily didn’t know what she was going to say to the girls. They’d never really lost anyone or anything. The idea of death was probably a little beyond their understanding. Maybe she should be glad that they were too young?

Severus was going to be a different story altogether. The man might claim to hate the beast on a regular basis, but his actions told a far different story. He hadn’t had a pet before and not having a chance to say goodbye would probably upset him greatly.  They would have to wait and see to know for certain.

Lily made a slight detour on the way home and grabbed hamburgers and chips for the family and Remus. She was in no mood to cook after the afternoon’s events.

Severus arrived home several hours later. He found Lily seated on the sofa with a blanket across her lap. There was a book open in front of her, but she didn’t seem to be reading. It was a couple hours past when he was expected to be home. He’d been held up by two of his fellow conference attendees. The three got into a rather heated debate on the merits of using droxy blood and Severus lost all track of time.

Severus crossed the room dropping a kiss on top of Lily’s head. “How are you this evening?” Severus asked raising the blanket to make sure he didn’t accidentally sit on the cat.

Lily shook her head.

“What’s the matter?” Severus asked frowning. “Chaucer,” Lily said tightly.

Severus’ frown deepened. “What about her? Where is she?”

“Gone,” Lily said a little above a whisper.

“Gone? She’s runaway?” Severus asked. His heart sped up a little. Why weren’t they out looking for her then?

Lily shook her head. “No, she’s gone, Sev.” Lily said emphasizing the word ‘gone’.

Severus’ brow furrowed in thought, “Gon-but how?”

“There was a car. Harry was playing… ” Lily began.

“How is Harry,” Severus demanded cutting off his wife.

“He’s pretty upset. He insisted on coming to the vet’s office with me. The arse of a doctor was so cold and businesslike about it. Harry… I’m pretty sure he thinks if you had been here it when it happened, you could have saved her.” Lily explained.

“What? Why?” Severus question.

“I don’t know, Sev. Maybe you should go talk with him.” Lily suggested.

“Indeed,” Severus agreed.

Severus rose and crossed to the doorway before stopping. “Are you all right?”

“I’ve had better days,” she said honestly. “I’ll miss the annoying ball of fur.”

Severus gave her a curt nod. “I’ll be back momentarily.”

“Okay,” agreed Lily.

Severus knocked on Harry’s door, entering before the boy had a chance to answer. Harry lie on side, his back to the door, blanket drawn up to shoulder even though was the middle of summer.

“Harry,” Severus said gently.

Harry looked over his shoulder, did not otherwise respond. It was past his bedtime. He should have been asleep and, but he couldn’t. He just couldn’t.

“Harry,” Severus repeated taking a seat on the edge of the boy’s bed.

Harry again made no response.

“Your mother just told me about Chaucer,” Severus informed him.

“What’d she say?” Harry asked rolling over to look at his father.

“She said Chaucer was ‘gone’. It took me a moment to realize that she meant Chaucer passed away,” Severus told him honestly.

“She didn’t tell you it was my fault?” Harry asked.

Severus quirked a curious eyebrow. “Why on earth do you think she’d say that?”

“’Cause it is,” the boy insisted, new tears beginning to fall.

“Harry,” Severus protested. “It was not your fault.”

“But it was,” Harry countered.

“No Harry,” Severus refuted.

“But it was,” Harry repeated. “If I hadn’t let her out she would be fine. She wouldn’t have been hit by that car.”

Severus sighed. “Oh Harry,” he said sadly. “That could’ve happened to any of us here. You know how she loved to try and get into the garden. I’ve let her out more times than I can count, purely by accident.”

“But,” Harry protested.

“No,” Severus said more sternly. “This was not your fault, Harry. If anyone is to blame it is the damned Muggles driver, no one else. Do you understand me?”

Harry gave a weak nod.

“Good,” Severus said softly.

They sat a moment in slightly heavy silence.

“How are you?” Severus asked.

Harry shrugged.

“Use your words,” Severus scolded mildly.

“I miss her,” Harry said after a moment.

Severus could tell the boy was crying out right now even if he couldn’t see Harry’s face. Harry was looking intently at his blanket, the walls, anywhere but, at Severus.

“It’s okay to cry, Harry.” Severus reassured.  Severus shifted so his back was against the headboard of the bed. “There is no shame in crying.”

“You don’t,” Harry said looking up Severus.

“Not true. I don’t often cry, but I did when your sisters were born for example.” Severus corrected.

“That’s different,” Harry protested shifting to lie on Severus’ chest.

“Is it?” Severus asked bringing an arm to wraparound Harry.

“You were happy then,” Harry explained.

“I was,” Severus agreed. “Some would argue that would be even less of a reason to cry. You should feel free to express whatever it is you are feeling, Harry.”

Severus could feel the tears seeping into his robes.

“How come you don’t?” Harry asked.

“That is a complex question better saved for another day,” Severus dismissed.

Harry scoffed.

Another few minutes passed in silence.

“Are you going to miss her Dad?” Harry asked.

“Of course,” Severus agreed. “I will miss having inky footprints tracked all across my notes. I’ll miss any of you children trying to chase her around the house. I’ll also miss the insistent meowing when she was to be fed at half six in the morning weekend or not.”

Harry chuckled slightly. Severus ran his fingers through Harry’s hair and the boy drifted to sleep. Severus must have dozed off some point because he was still in Harry’s bed when Lily came to retrieve him well over an hour later.

The next few weeks were hard as they all adjusted to life without the cat. They would turn the corner expecting to see her. Severus still woke in time to feed her. They occasionally would trip over one of her toys. But what was hardest was trying to explain it to the girls.

Harry wiped aside a tear as Severus took a break in his tale.

“I miss her,” Harry muttered.

“I do as well.”  Severus agreed, his voice tighter than usual.  “When I agreed to take her for your mother... I didn’t expect to form any sort of connection.  I figured the beast would live in my house and we occasionally share the same space.  I didn’t think I would ever go out looking for her.  Nor did I expect to miss tripping over her, or the way she would attack my toes at night.  Chaucer was a good cat.”

“Yeah,” Harry agreed once more.  

“Now, Harry,” Severus said clearing his throat of any remaining strain, “We have more to discuss.”

“Like what?” Harry asked.

“Your brother,” Severus put forth.  

“What about Jules?” Harry asked.

“We have not mentioned him until now.”  

“Oh yeah,” Harry agreed.

“Our lives settled into a normal rhythm with you attending school. Lupin was there many days helping with Dahlia and Iris. That was especially true their first year,” Severus explained.

“Okay,” agreed Harry.

“Now, as I was saying we had settled into a new routine with things. All of you children were thriving. When your sisters were almost a year old your mother expressed a desire to have another child,” Severus told Harry.

“You didn’t?” Harry asked.

Severus shook his head, “I would not go so far as to say I was opposed to the idea. I was content with the family we had. Your mother and I agreed that it would happen if it was meant to happen, if not we would love you three all the more.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Time for bed, Harry.” Severus declared.

“I’m not sleepy,” Harry pouted.

“Still time for bed. Think of it this way,” Severus advised. “The sooner you go to bed, the earlier to rise and open the rest of your presents.”

“No, I can’t,” pouted Harry. “All I get to open is my silly stocking. I have to take my real presents in turns now.”

“And if you keep up this attitude, there may not even be your stocking.” Severus warned.

“Fine,” Harry grumbled.

“Night sweetie,” Lily said placing a few more gifts under the tree.

It had become a tradition to not place gifts under the tree until Christmas Eve. Even then, there was only a fraction of what were opened the following morning. This was not done because of the children believing in Father Christmas, but as a deterrent from Harry, Sirius, or even Remus trying to determine what they were going to receive.

Harry crossed the room to give his mother a kiss good night.

“Night Mum,” Harry said. “Night Dad,” Harry said giving Severus a hug.

“Good night Harry,” Severus said returning the boy’s embrace. “I will be up momentarily to check on you.”

“Okay,” conceded Harry.

Harry dashed up the stairs, his mother’s order not to run fell on deaf ears and pounding feet.

“Let’s hurry up and get this done,” Lily urged.

Severus gave his wife a curious look. “Do you wish to turn in early?”

Lily gave him a coy smile, “Not exactly.”

Severus caught her meaning quite easily. The presents were in place in a few moments. Harry was tucked in, all necessary tasks taking care of. The girls were checked on and monitors set just in case.

“Make sure you lock the door,” Lily said as they entered the master suite. “We don’t want Harry or the girls catching us off guard in the morning.”

“Indeed,” Severus agreed dutifully clicking the lock behind him.

That was a very good Christmas Eve, for sure.

The Christmas holiday went by quickly before both Severus and Harry returned to school. They celebrated Severus’ birthday with the traditional biscuits and a family outing to London. The kids were dropped off with Sirius and Remus for the evening’s other events so that the adults could have a nice dinner and an evening to themselves.

Severus was rather looking forward to Lily’s birthday. As had become their custom Lily had planned his birthday celebration. He was supposed to plan Lily’s, but only two days before the the day, she asked if he would hold off.

She had claimed to not be feeling very well and she didn’t want to overtax herself. Soon Severus would be back at school and could not be the constant backup she would need if she did get sick. Severus had agreed, somewhat sadly, but he could see her point. Severus wondered if they would end up doing anything for Lily’s birthday.

Once she was feeling a little bit better,  Lily agreed they could go out to dinner. Severus had to take what he could get. The kids were once again deposited with their godparents.

Severus returned from dropping their children off expecting Lily to be ready to go.

“Lily,” Severus called up the stairs.

“Sorry,” she said putting one last pin in her hair.

“Were running late,” Severus remarked.

“I know. I know. I seem to be doing that a lot lately,” commented Lily. She slipped on her shoes quickly. “Let’s go,” she said.

Severus thought the comment was a bit strange, but didn’t say anything.

They want to dinner at one of the first places they ate at when dating. Severus wanted to order a bottle of wine, but Lily said she didn’t want any. They talked about all manner of things. Severus noticed something odd about Lily’s speech.  ‘Late’ kept popping up in the conversation, even when he wouldn’t have to be expected it.

Finally, as they shared a piece of cake Severus asked. “Lily, is there something you would like to tell me?”

Lily twirled her fork uneasily. “Why do you ask?”

“You keep saying the word ‘late’.” Severus replied.

“Have I?” she asked legitimately surprised.

“You have.” Severus confirmed.

“Huh, didn’t realize I was.” Lily said.

“Lily,” Severus pleaded.

“I guess it’s been on my mind a little.” Lily said twirling the fork again.

“Late for what?” Severus asked.

“I’m late.” Lily stressed the second word heavily.

It took a moment for the words to register with him. “Are you? How long?”

“About a week,” Lily said.

Severus broke into a wide grin. “It seems you are to be getting your wish.”

Lily nodded. “Maybe, I need to see a Healer to confirm it.”

The rest of the evening they spent talking about the possibilities of a new baby. It was confirmed the following Monday.

Black and Remus found out, but only after Minerva and Dumbledore. Given the baby’s due date it was likely Severus would miss at least some part early in the term. Like when Lily was expecting Dahlia and Iris, they held off telling the children until Lily was showing. At least that was the plan.

One night Severus was checking on Harry before bed.

“Dad?” Harry asked.

“Yes Harry?” Severus replied sitting on the edge of the boy’s bed. There was an uneasy note in Harry’s voice Severus didn’t like.

“Can I ask you a question?” Harry asked.

“Go on Harry,” Severus encouraged.

“Is Mum going to have another baby?” Harry asked.

Severus was surprised by that. “Why do you ask?”

Harry shrugged, although the gesture was lost in the dark. “It’s just Mum has been reading the same books a lot. The ones she read when she was going to have Dee and Iris.”

Severus smiled. “A wonderful observation Mr. Potter. We might make a Slytherin of you yet.”

“Daaaad,”Harry whined as he always did when Severus said the boy would be in any House but Gryffindor.

“Harry,” Severus returned in the same tone.

“Is she?” Harry demanded.

“She is,” Severus confirmed. “We were waiting awhile to tell your sisters. They won’t really believe or understand at this point.”

“Okay. When are you going to tell them?” Asked Harry.

“We will let you know when we decide. Now go to sleep, Harry.” Severus said pulling the covers up a little higher.

At the door Severus stopped. “Harry, could you keep this between us. Your mother wanted us to tell you together.”

“You didn’t tell me,” Harry replied cheekily.

Harry managed to keep his word for about four days. Severus was forced to defend himself from Lily’s temper explaining he had not told Harry out right, simply confirmed to the boy suspicions. Though Lily didn’t seem to see the difference and thus Severus spent the next several nights sleeping on a transfigured sofa.

They told the girls near the end of March. Dahlia had been very curious, asking all sorts of questions. Iris had wanted to show off how she could jump on the sofa.

It was another display of just how different the girls were. Dahlia was very patient and inquisitive. She loved to spend time with Severus in the lab, or helping Lily in the kitchen.  Iris was much more physical. She had no patience for potions and avoided the kitchen except when getting something specific.

Severus would not be surprised if Dahlia was sorted into Ravenclaw or maybe even Slytherin. Iris he was certain would be a Hufflepuff. Her sweet easy-going nature was one factor, so too was her stubbornness. When the girl set her mind to something rarely did she give up.

The reconciliation between Petunia and Lily meant that Severus had to see his sister-in-law a staggering three times in as many months. It seemed Petunia was insisting on making up for lost time and their mother’s absence.

Severus did his best to make sure the children felt included. With all the attention Petunia was giving to Lily and the baby, he could understand why they would feel put out.

Severus and Harry were kicked out of the house completely without ceremony the day of the baby shower. The girls were allowed to stay because they were girls.

“That’s stupid,” Harry complained as Severus walked him to the car.

“I would tend to agree. However, if it’s anything like the last one, you’ll be glad to miss it.” Severus said climbing in.

“They have cake,” Harry whined, climbing in next to his dad.

“I’m sure there will be cake left. If not, he can remedy that with a trip to the bakery.” Severus reassured.

“Okay,”pouted Harry.

“What would you like to do today?” Severus asked.

Harry gave an indifferent shrug Severus steered the car towards the center of the village. They settled for going to the cinema.  After the film they walked down the street to Harry’s favorite fish and chip shop.

“Harry, when the new baby comes your job as big brother is going to be even more important.” Severus said over lunch.

Harry pictures. “How come?”

“You are older now and your sisters have never been through this before. I’ll be looking to you to set an example and show them what to do, what’s going on etc.” explained Severus.

“Oh,” mumbled Harry.

“Harry, you should know how good a job you do with your sisters.” Severus continued.

“Thanks Dad,” Harry said a bit less forlorn.

“Harry, is there something else bothering you?” Severus asked.

Harry shook his head, then shrugged. “No… Yes… I don’t know.”

Severus waited patiently for Harry to try and figure out how to express what he was feeling. “Harry?” Severus prompted.

“If  the baby is a boy, are you going to love him more?” Harry asked.

Severus was dumbfounded. “Where is this coming from?”

Harry gave another shrug.

“Words Harry,” Severus chided. “Why would you think I would love your baby brother, if it is a brother, more than you? Do you think I love your sisters more?”

Harry shook his head.

“Then why would I love your brother more than you?” Severus asked.

“’ Cause he’ll have your name.” Harry said.

“My name? Your sisters are Snape as well…” Severus began.

“But, boys keep their names. Uncle Vernon said all men want a son so their names keep going.” Harry protested.

Severus could hit someone. Damn Vernon for putting such an idiotic notion in Harry’s head. Severus took a deep breath through his nose. Harry had tensed slightly at Severus’ response. It broke Severus’ heart to see that. But that was nothing to the pain the necessity this conversation was causing him.

“Harry,” Severus said very slowly. “I want you to know I love you just as much as any of your siblings, no matter their sex. Your Uncle Vernon is an idiot. He believes in many stupid and old-fashioned notions. I have no such connection to those sorts of traditions.”

“What about being able to pass on your name?” Harry asked.

“It means very little to me,” Severus said dead serious.

“Really?” Harry asked.

“Truly,” confirmed Severus. “My father was not a very nice, or good man. The fact my surname Snape has actually caused me trouble more than once. When I was younger I used my mother’s original name instead of Snape.”

“Why?” Harry asked.

Severus took a deep breath and explained, “My mother came from a wealthy and important family. They disowned her when she married my father. I did not know my mother’s family, but I thought they had to be better than the one I was coming from.”

“Oh,” Harry said very sadly.

“Indeed,” agreed Severus.

“So you really don’t mind my name being Potter?” Harry asked.

“No, nor should you. James did a very brave and loving thing for you and your mother. It is your duty to carry on and make his name proud.” Severus explained.

“What you just said you don’t care about the name stuff,” protested Harry.

Severus sighed. “I don’t. That is true. My name means very little. That is true. The Potter name is not seen the same way. That name has a very long and proud history in the wizarding world. People expect certain things of you for it. Even if that was not the case, you owe it to James to live a long, respected life. One that honors his sacrifice. Do you understand me now?”

“Maybe,” Harry responded.

“It will make more sense as you get older,” reassured Severus.

“Okay,” Harry uncertainly agreed.

They went back to their lunches, eating in silence. Moments passed, both lost in thought.

“Dad,” Harry asked breaking the silence.

“What is it Harry?” Severus asked.

“Do I make you proud?” Asked Harry nervously.

“More than you can ever imagine.” Severus told him.

Harry gave him a winning grin in return.

Soon the start of term was upon them. Severus was forced to spend more time than he would have liked away from home. A substitute was brought on for the first month after the baby arrived. It was the Potions Master that had taught when Lily and Severus were at school, Horace Slughorn.

Severus went over the changes he made to the curriculum and stricter safety procedures. The man would also be acting Head of House. Slughorn was surprised and delighted to find out about Severus and Lily’s marriage. Severus reminded himself never to let the man around Harry. He wanted no such obsequious, power-hungry hangers-on around his son.

Lily and Severus agreed on Julian as a first name for the boy. Rose for girl. Noel for a middle name with the sex appropriate spelling for the middle. Julian was for an uncle of Lily’s who had died during World War II. Noel was Harry’s inadvertent suggestion after he wanted to know when the baby started to grow.

The plan was for the children to spend the day of the birth over with the Weasleys. Lily had pointed out that they had plenty of experience with children in different age groups. It would also give Harry, Dahlia and Iris many more distractions than just being with Remus or Sirius.

The day the baby chose to make its appearance was an interesting one. Lily went into labor late on the night of August 31. Severus had Floo-ed the Weasleys to make sure that they still wished to proceed with the plan. He was sure Remus or Black would still look after the children. Molly had ignored his concerns and Severus had brought them over.

Julian Noel Snape was born at 11:05, September 1, 1988. He had no hair so there was no way to know which side that took after. He had inherited Lily’s button nose, Severus was thankful to see.

Severus announced the good news that evening in the Great Hall. There was a raucous cheer, especially from the older students. Though that may have been from the fact it was announced at the same time Severus would not be back until October.

Lily handed her husband the baby to burped and changed. Severus stared into the boy’s dark green eyes. Both the girls  had been born with blue eyes. Dahlia’s had gone to hazel, where almost inexplicably, Iris’ was blue still. Lily had to remind Severus that his own father’s eyes were blue, as were Lily’s mother’s.

“You want to be careful changing his nappy,” Lily warned  Severus as he lay the baby down to change him.

“Lily, I’ve changed more nappies than I can count with our girls. I am sure I can handle one little boy.” Severus said moving away the bottom of the sleeper.

“Just have a nappy right there,” Lily advised.

“I’ll be fine,” Severus grumbled.

“Have it your way,” Lily said.

As she anticipated, Julian let go his stream of urine heading Severus square in the face.

“He peed on me. He peed in my face,” Severus exclaimed.

“And it’s on film,” Sirius laughed leading the kids into the room.

Severus shot the Auror a death glare.  Severus took his time introducing each of the children to their younger brother. Harry was already taking his duty very seriously.

The family settled into a routine that was relatively comfortable. It was much harder for the girls when Severus returned to work. They no longer had both their parents all the time. Remus stepped up this time with them, which helped a great deal.

“Now, Harry we’ve been talking for a good deal of time. I think we have covered everything that could be part of how we came to be a family. You heard me talk about my relationship building with your mother, how I came to love you and her. You have even heard about how my relationship with Black and Lupin changed over the years. You think you have an idea of what to say in your essay?” Severus asked.

Harry paused, “I’m not sure.”

“Harry, if you’re continuing to avoid working on your assignment I will be very disappointed,” Severus grumbled.

Harry shook his head. “It’s not that.”

“Then would you like to explain what the problem is?” Severus asked.

Harry chewed his bottom lip. “It’s… You told me a lot of stories… But it’s… That was great… But that’s not what the essay is asking for.”

“No it is not, or perhaps it is.” Severus replied.

Harry stared at his father completely confused.

“Harry, your prompt only asks ‘what makes a family?’ How you choose to answer that is up to you,” Severus explained.

“So I could do it with stories?” Harry asked.

“You could. Although, I would suggest just using far fewer than the number I told you tonight,” advised Severus with a chuckle.

Harry frowned, “I don’t think Mr. Delaney would like that very much.”

Severus gave him an understanding nod. “That is his loss. If you cannot answer the prompt in a story form, you’ll have to find your own way of doing it.”

“And how is that?” Harry whined.

“I do not know, I am not you.” Severus replied with a smirk. “That is your assignment. Perhaps, you should look for a common theme in all the stories.”

Harry frowned. “Common theme?”

“Something that is somewhere in all of the stories,” Severus clarified.

Harry thought hard for several minutes. Severus could practically see the gears turning in Harry’s head as the boy processed all his father had told him.

“You mean how you came to love us?” Harry finally said.

“Are you telling or are you asking?” Severus asked.

“Telling, I think,” replied Harry.

Severus shook his head. “Back at the start,” he added when Harry looked at him terrified. “What I meant was how we came to love each other, but somebody else might find a different connecting fiber.”

“Like what?” Demanded Harry.

“Your mother for example, might say that it was a display of how hesitant I was to find or accept happiness.” Severus explained.

“Why would she say that?” Asked Harry.

“Harry, I can tell you you’re truly stalling now. You need to work on your essay now.” Severus said ignoring the boy’s inquiry.

“Fine,” pouted Harry, picking up his pencil once more. Harry turned back towards his desk.

Severus rose from his chair stretching to eradicate all the kinks that had formed from sitting for so long. Severus ruffled the boy’s hair. “I would like to see your essay before you go to bed tonight.”

“Okay,” Harry replied chewing on the end of his pencil slightly.

Severus looked back at Harry before returning back downstairs.

“Daddy,” Iris squealed excitedly, running down the hall.

“Walk,” Severus chided.

The girl slowed her pace ever so slightly. Severus scooped her up when she was in arms reach.

“How are you today, Puff?” Severus asked.

“Good.” the little girl supplied. “Where were you? You were gone forever.”

“Forever? That is a bit unfair.” Severus replied.

“Where were you?” repeated Iris.

“I had to go and have a talk with Harry. He got into trouble earlier.” Severus explained.

“Oh no,” replied Iris. “Did he get a spanking?”

“That is none of your concern, Puff,” Severus warned.

“Is he still in trouble?” Iris asked.

“He is not, however, he still going to be punished.” Severus told her. Severus kissed her cheek. “Go play, I need a word with your mother.”

“Okay Daddy,” Iris agreed darting down the hall once more.

Severus returned to the kitchen slipping his arms around Lily’s waist from behind.

“I was just about to send out a search party,” Lily said relaxing into his embrace.

“My talk with Harry took longer than anticipated.” Severus agreed.

“You can say that again. You were up there for more than an hour.” Lily chided.

“My apologies. How can I best be of assistance?” Severus asked letting Lily go.

“Dinner should be on the table any minute. Go get Harry and set the table.” Lily told him.

With a practiced flick of his wand Severus had set the table. He returned upstairs as he requested, but did not come back accompanied.

“Where’s Harry?” Lily asked as she put Julian into his high chair.

“He said he was working and did not want to come down until he was finished.” Severus replied.

Lily rolled her eyes. “He gets that from you.”

“Yes,” Severus agreed. “An unfortunate habit. I’ll take him some sandwiches after dinner.”

“Sev, don’t encourage him,” Lily protested.

“He needs to eat,” Severus countered. “This is hardly going to be easy to eat while trying to write an essay,” Severus said pointing to the spaghetti.

Lily rolled her eyes, but saw his point. The rest of the family enjoyed dinner together. Severus told him of his day in hell the Weasley twins single-handedly almost destroyed his classroom.

As it turned out Lily ended up taking Harry his dinner. She was annoyed to see how many pieces of paper wadded up on the ground by Harry’s feet.

“How’s it going?” She asked running a hand through Harry’s messy hair.

“Good,” Harry replied through mouth full of sandwich.

Lily let the failure of manners slip this once.

The evening passed uneventfully for the rest of those in the Snape house. Though they never saw Harry come out of his room. Not even when they gave the children their baths or when putting them to bed.

It was only  Severus and Lily were preparing for bed that they went to check on Harry. He hadn’t wanted to disturb him in case he tried to use it as a way to delay finishing his assignment.

Severus found Harry asleep at his desk. His forgotten sandwich lay abandoned on a plate at his elbow.

“Poor lamb,” Lily muttered taking in the sight of her oldest child.

“Indeed,” Severus agreed.

Lily pulled down the bed covers for Severus as he collected Harry from the desk. An easy spell had Harry’s uniform transfigured into pajamas. Lily tucked Harry in place, placing a kiss on his lightning bolt scar.

Severus crossed back to the desk to collect Harry’s dirty dishes. His eyes fell to the document Harry was working on. Lily joined him a moment later.

“This is it huh?” Lily asked.

“It would appear so,” confirmed Severus.

Two piece of paper lay in the center of Harry’s desk. On them was written this:

Every family is different. Some families are a mum and the dad and their kids. Other families just have a mum. Some families might not have any kids.

Some people might say you have to be related by blood to be family. But I don’t think so.

I have an aunt, my mom’s sister, but we are not very close. My dad’s friends are more like uncles then my Uncle Vernon.

My real dad died when I was really little. But my mom got remarried when I was four. So I got a new dad. We’re family even though we don’t have the same blood.

What makes a group of people a family is the fact they love each other and are willing to stick by each other no matter what.

Sometimes it takes time to become a family. You have to learn to love people like my dad. Dad didn’t know how to like babies. Other times, you just love them automatically. Like my little sisters and brother. Dad knew how to love babies because of me.

Love is what makes a family.