The less said about the trip back to Tharabraye Manor, the better.

Shadow had – ironically – been jumping at shadows all the way and Harry had been torn between elation at his brother’s return and a deep worry about how unhappy and scared the boy was. Shadow had point-blank refused to sleep anywhere other than Harry’s bed the night before, clinging to his brother like a life-jacket, and had then woken Harry up in the middle of the night with his panicked cries.

The result of which was a distraught Harry knocking on Severus’ door at two in the morning and gibbering that he didn’t know what to do.

Severus felt his reaction to that – given the fact it was two in the morning and that he’d been fast asleep three minutes previously – was, he felt, eminently reasonable. He’d ended up grabbing both boys by their scruffs and hauling them into his room. His bed was big enough – just – and at least that way he and Harry were able to catch cat-naps in between the night-terrors.

Severus was very worried about the young child. He was willing to give him time to become accustomed to being safe before presenting him with any kind of outside help – medical or otherwise. Who knows? Maybe the child would relax enough to heal just from Harry’s and his help alone. Young people were resilient – or so he’d been told.

The fact the child’s future well-being depended on Severus being a reliable role-model and accessible parent was enough to keep him up for most of the night even without Harry accidently kicking him in the leg.

And so, on edge and sleep-deprived, they’d finally arrived back home. Severus was eternally grateful that even though he’d contacted Albus about the whole convoluted mess, he’d also managed to persuade the Headmaster to leave it to Severus to sort out. After all, this was his family, no matter how confusing or frustrating.

Albus had twinkled sadly at him and told him he’d make arrangements to enrol Shadow in Hogwarts for the next term, which was both a relief, and a whole new worry.

Severus gave his dusty hall a disapproving look. He had a lot of housework to catch up on.

He cleared his throat imperiously and pointed up the rosewood staircase once the two boys had turned to face him. “Bed. Both of you need more rest and I’m not putting up with your sleep-deprived behaviour any longer. Harry, you’ll find clean sheets in the airing cupboard in the bathroom. It’ll do for you both for the moment; we’ll see about a bed for Shadow tomorrow. Shadow, it is broad daylight and Harry will be right beside you. Don’t you dare try to stay awake; you need your sleep. I want at least four hours with you both drooling on the pillow. Understood?”

Shadow blinked a bit at the tirade, sleepy eyes confused, but Harry stuck his tongue out. “I do not drool in my sleep. And neither does Shadow. Right, Shadow?” He elbowed him in the side and the younger boy seemed to catch up.

“Right.” He blinked away the sleepiness and there was a new fierceness in his eyes. “I don’t drool on the pillow either.”

Looking at the identical indignant expressions, Severus fought the urge to laugh, getting a sudden flash of what life would be like for the three of them from now on. He’ll never get a moment’s peace again, but truthfully? Severus would rather have this than anything else in the world. Even if did mean his two children constantly ganging up on him.

He kept his voice firm via a monumental effort of will, but his raised eyebrows no doubt showed he wasn’t really angry with them. “No more cheek from you, Potter. You had better both be asleep when I check on you. And I will be getting you up for a late lunch around two o’clock, understand?”

He was rewarded by the boys shooting him wide – and again, identical – grins and crashing up the staircase with their bags hauled over their shoulders. Severus winced, knowing that his precious house wouldn’t remain in all of its refurbished glory for very much longer…

Severus sniffed delicately and ascended the stairs with dignity. They were all home and safe and that was what mattered. Hopefully if he didn’t give himself time to panic about having a whole new person to look after, he wouldn’t. For now, he desperately wanted to get a couple of hours of extra sleep and then a little time to get the house in order. Surely that couldn’t be too much to ask?

Severus stopped abruptly, his hand resting on the door handle. “Albus. What are you doing in my bedroom?”

oooOOOooo

Harry glanced at Shadow, who was lying on his back and staring blankly at the ceiling. After a moment’s thought, he shifted to copy him.

“Are you OK?”

He felt the bed shift as Shadow shrugged.

He waited, fingers crossed.

“I s’pose.” Shadow’s forehead wrinkled up in a frown. “It’s not that I’m not happy to be here, it’s just…” He sighed. “It’s just, I sometimes forget that I’m actually here – that I actually got out.”

Harry knocked his hand into the back of Shadow’s. “D’you want to talk about it? I mean, I know you told us about the whole wandering about in the mist, unable to get out, but I think more stuff happened than you’ve said to us.”

Shadow gave up trying to stare the ceiling into submission and rolled over onto his side, facing Harry. “Not yet. I mean, I do, but every time I open my mouth to say something, the words kinda get stuck in my throat. Like I’ll choke if I try to say them out loud, you know?”

Harry smiled sadly and ruffled the younger boy’s hair, making him screw up his face and bat Harry’s hand away. Both of them grinned for a moment. “You’ll be OK. Me and Dad’ll make sure of it. Promise. If you don’t want to tell me, you don’t have to.”

Shadow shut his eyes and appeared to fall asleep, which meant Harry almost jumped out of his skin five minutes later when the other boy whispered, “I met Mum.”

Harry’s eyes went round. “No.”

Shadow cracked an eyelid open and shot him a grin. “Yeah. She was pretty awesome.”

“How?”

Shadow wrinkled his nose. “Dunno. Stuff was weird there. It never quite made sense, so being here’s a bit tough. Y’know, dealing the whole ‘laws of physics’ thing again.”

Harry snorted and batted Shadow’s head. “That’s the law of force and motion.”

Shadow retaliated by pushing Harry off the bed. He peeped over the side of the bed and blandly recited, “Beware the force of gravity, which draws the bread you have at tea, straight to the ground. Butter-side down,” and grinned.

Harry picked himself up and mock-glared at the boy now sprawled across the whole bed. “OK, I deserved that, but budge over – you’re all over my bed!”

Shadow stuck his tongue out. “My bed too!”

Harry launched himself at his brother and by sheer dint of being a few inches taller, managed to haul him most of the way off. Shadow hooked his feet around the bed post and held on for dear life.

The door opened.

“I must say, that’s the most original way to move a bed that I’ve ever seen,” a voice commented mildly.

Harry almost dropped Shadow. “Headmaster! Er…”

Dumbledore twinkled delightedly. “And a good day to you too, Harry, Shadow.” He nodded at each boy in turn. “I had to bring your father a message and he asked me to check on you for him. I suppose this isn’t exactly what he had in mind when he told me he’d sent you to bed?”

Harry carefully lowered his brother to the ground. Shadow’s body had turned as stiff as a board and once he was on his feet, he sidled up as close to Harry as he could, eying the Headmaster warily.

Dumbledore tracked the movement sadly. “I have no intention of harming you or taking you away from your family, child.”

Shadow shrugged, pretending not to care. “I- I know, but…”

“But your last memory of me isn’t exactly a pleasant one?”

“It’s not that I don’t trust you – I still remember all you’ve done for Harry and me, but… I want to trust you, but…”

“I understand.” Dumbledore walked over and sat down on the side of the bed, his expression sorrowful. “And I can’t help but be so terribly sorry, my boy. I never would have wished you harm. It has only recently come to light what Lily must have done to protect you both, but you must understand, it has never been done before, so no one could have known… Yet that is no excuse. I am sorry. I should have understood that…” He trailed off.

There was silence in the room for a long moment – long enough that Harry started to feel awkwardly that the clock was ticking too loudly. These were two people he really cared about. Shadow alone meant so much to him already, but the Headmaster had always made him feel safe and loved. And this year especially, the old man had taken him under his wing and personally taught him so much, Harry almost couldn’t bear to take Shadow’s side.

But if Shadow decided he couldn’t bear to be around Dumbledore – didn’t want anything to do with the man because of his hand in banishing Shadow to that other place, even if he’d only been trying to protect Harry… Well, then. Harry would just have to put his personal feelings aside and protect Shadow by severing ties with the old man.

Even though he really, really didn’t want to.

And then Shadow completely surprised Harry – and probably the Headmaster too – by stepping forward and going to sit down beside the old man. “I forgive you.” The boy fiddled with a loose thread on the bedspread and made a face when it came loose. “Though you have to promise presents to make up for it. Lots of presents!”

Harry was torn between grinning uncontrollably and rolling his eyes. Typical Shadow – never doing what anyone expected. Though if Shadow was getting presents, then Harry was definitely getting some too. After all, people had said he’d been imagining things all year – they’d better make up for that now that he’d proved them all wrong!

The old man smiled kindly, and the small boy’s shoulders a reassuring squeeze. “Oh, I promise there will be plenty of Christmas presents this year for you both. You’ll be very safe here, Shadow. Your father will make sure of it, Harry will make sure of it, and I will do everything in my power to protect all of you.”

“Until Voldemort comes back properly.” Harry almost wished he’d kept his mouth shut when Shadow frowned. They’d only just got him smiling.

Dumbledore winked at Harry. “Maybe even then. Harry, I have a feeling that your little encounter with him earlier in the year may have caused more harm to him more than we first suspected. He and his followers have been very quiet of late. And I have had quite a few leads in how to decrease his power. Between that and everyone fighting for the Light, you know, I believe we might even win.”

oooOOOooo

Severus sat and stared at the wooden box Albus had delivered, fingers shaking as he reached out to stroke its lid.

Inside this box lay a memory. Lily’s memory.

Albus said she had left it in his possession shortly after she’d had little Harry, with instructions to keep its existence from everyone, to protect it with everything he had. And then, last night, a little after midnight, the box had opened with a soft click.

Inside, Albus had found memories addressed to himself and Severus. He had already viewed his own, but brought the second to Severus, believing it to be private. The old man’s words were still ringing in his ears, “She explains everything for us, my dear boy.”

And now Severus is sitting in the dark, staring at Lily’s last ever message to him. He can hardly bear to open the box which contains it, because he’d already said his goodbyes years ago. How can he bear to see her sweet face again, speaking to him, and knowing the whole time that these will be the last words he will hear from her? Her death had been a deep shock – very abrupt – and over before he’d had time to process it, but knowing, knowing…

Severus swallowed back a sob. Or was it indigestion? Keeping an eye on the boys and hurrying them out the door meant that he’d rushed his breakfast that morning…

Would he be strong enough to learn what Lily had said? Or would he keep the memory forever by his bedside, comforted by the potential…

Severus already knew the answer.

The lid flipped back on its oiled hinges, the memory flowed smoothly into Albus’ pensieve and Severus looked.