Harry Potter sighed as he looked into the earnest eyes of his son, how to explain years of misunderstanding to a nine year old boy.

“You see, Al, he was not like he acted,” he began uncertainly.

“You mean, he was pretending?” Al asked, his face wrinkling in confusion.

Harry quickly latched on to explanation Albus had given him. “Yeah, he was pretending. He was a spy and-”

“Wow! You named me after a spy?” Albus’ face lit up.

“He was a spy, yes, and a very brave one too. He saved a lot of lives by finding out Voldermort’s plans and telling the order so they could thwart them. He saved my life a few times too.”

“So why did Uncle Ron say he was bad?” Al protested, he was fiercely loyal of the wizards he was named after and one of his favourite uncle’s saying Severus Snape was an ‘evil bastard’ had upset him greatly.

“Because he had to pretend to be bad,” Harry explained, lifting the boy onto his knee when he saw he was getting upset again. “He had to pretend to follow Voldermort and be a death eater and to do that realistically he had….to do bad things.”

“Like what?”

Harry sighed. He really didn’t want to give Albus nightmares by telling him about the murders the man had had to commit, not only would he not understand but Ginny would absolutely kill him…and probably make him sleep on the sofa for at least a week or so.

“That’s not important, the important thing is we know he was good. We just need to concentrate on the good things he did otherwise we get bogged down by the smaller details.”

“Doesn’t Uncle Ron know he was good?” Al asked innocently.

Harry shifted uncomfortably. “Well, yes he does. But what you have to know, Al, is sometimes it is hard to give up old grudges.”

“Why does he have a grudge against him if he saved your life?” Al wriggled into a more comfortable position on his father’s knee.

“We didn’t exactly know he saved my life back then, and he wasn’t…ummm…too nice to us.” A faint tinge rose up Harry’s neck as he looked into his son’s earnest eyes, how could he tone this down so that the little boy continued to be in awe of the man?

“Why? What did he do?”

“Trivial stuff. Nothing that his heroic actions don’t cancel out.” Harry said hastily.

“Harry?” A voice called through the house.

“In the lounge.” Harry raised his voice in answer.

He smiled as a green-haired teenager ducked into the room. “Hey, Teddy!” Never had he been so grateful for an interruption.

“I’m not interrupting anything, am I?” He looked at his godfather and Albus, both who looked very serious, slightly worriedly.

Teddy smiled and sank down on the sofa opposite, he visited the Potters every single day but the house was normally extremely loud with the sound of the smallest Potters playing and so finding it so eerily quiet and his godfather so solemn had set him on edge a bit.

“Daddy is telling me about Severus.” Al informed Teddy importantly.

Teddy smiled at him warmly, Harry’s heart leapt a little at catching sight of such a familiar smile, the smile that had cheered him up so much in third year. A smile that was warm, cheery, friendly and gentle, Remus Lupin’s smile.

“He was a great man,” Teddy agreed.

“Daddy says so too, but Uncle Ron says he’s a evil ba-”

“I think that’s enough, Al.” Harry quickly intervened, looking towards the door nervously. His wife always came in when one of the children were quoting something particularly bad that he or Ron (mainly Ron) said. It was all right for Ron, he didn’t have to deal with Ginny and her aptitude for making him sleep on the sofa every time something went wrong, because it was always his fault, of course.

Teddy smirked, “bat?” He suggested, teasingly. Knowing full well that the quote had not ended that way at all.

“Yes, bat.” Harry agreed quickly “we used to call him that…amongst other things.”

Albus looked extremely injured. “What did you call him that for?”

“He wore black cloaks.” Harry explained weakly.

“I don’t think that was very nice.” Albus pouted, crossing his arms across his chest.

“Yeah, Harry.” Teddy pulled the same stance as Al except a smile danced across his lips “you old meanie!”

Harry was sorely tempted to tell his son the real truth of how ‘the dungeon bat’ had behaved but he knew he couldn’t, he couldn’t upset his son like that. He would have to be satisfied with being the baddie.

Albus sighed, “I wish I had met him.”

A thought suddenly struck Harry. “Well…you can,” he murmured slowly.

Al sprang off his knee in excitement “I can!?!”

“He was a headmaster so his portrait will be at Hogwarts.” Harry’s brain whirred some more, this wasn’t the first time he had had this thought but he had always been too nervous to go before, he was afraid to see the potions master again, afraid of what he would say. But he would do it, he would do it for his son.

But Al was sinking back to the floor in disappointment, “I can’t meet him then. I’ve already seen pictures of him.”

“Of course you can meet him, the portrait talks! And there will be a portrait of Albus Dumbledore too.” Harry hid a smile as his son stared at him in amazement and then let out a whoop of excitement and pulled at his dad’s arms.

“Come on, come on! Let’s go now!” The normally quiet and docile little boy demanded.

Harry laughed, getting to his feet before he was pulled onto the floor. “Steady down, Al, the portrait isn’t going to go anywhere. Are you going to come, Teddy?” He directed this at the, now purple-haired, teenager who was still lounging on the sofa.

Teddy shook his head, quickly getting to his feet. He had been glowered at by that portrait quite enough while at Hogwarts. “Err…no thanks. I promised grandma I would be back in time for dinner…and she’s making cheese cake.”

“Save some for me!” Harry joked.

He gave his godson and one-armed hug and, after ruffling Al’s hair affectionately, the teenager shook his, now red, locks out of his face and disappeared into the floo network.

“Gins?” Harry called.

A very harassed Ginny Potter appeared at the top of the stairs, tightly gripping the arm of a grinning carbon copy of Harry.

“Do you know what your son has just done?” She demanded.

Harry backed off slightly, any time the children were suddenly just his usually meant trouble.

Ginny didn’t wait for an answer. “He has just set off a fire cracker right under my chair, I nearly had a heart attack.”

Harry tried very hard to keep a straight face. “That was a very…ummm…bad thing to do, James.”

“It’s George’s fault, he’s constantly supplying him with the stupid things. Oh, when I get my hands on him…” She disappeared back up the stairs, still muttering furiously.

Harry let out a sigh of relief, it wasn’t his fault this time then. “Lily?”

A small girl ran down the stairs, tumbling a little at the bottom. Her red hair was done in two little pig-tails and she was wearing a red-checked dress and…rather large high heeled shoes which looked suspiciously like Ginny’s; that explained her fall then.

“Are you okay?” Harry asked in concern, starting towards her. But before he reached her Ginny was back on the scene and scooping her daughter up.

“Shush, shush, you’re okay, baby. It was just a little bump.” She kissed the top of her daughter’s head tenderly. “See, all fixed.”

Lily giggled as her mum kissed her on her nose before putting her back on the floor. She ran over to her dad and hugged his legs.

“How would you like to go to Hogwarts?” Harry asked, picking her up and holding her close.

Lily clapped her hands enthusiastically and Harry smiled back at her, seven year old Lily looked just like the pictures he had of his mum, he knew Snape would like to see her and Al…as he was named after him but James…

Harry had a strong feeling that Snape was not going to like him at all. But he couldn’t just leave him behind, he would feel really left out. He could say it was a punishment for that fire cracker…but he knew he couldn’t, he couldn’t leave James out of this family trip. He would just have to hope for a miracle.

“I want to go to Hogwarts too!” James exclaimed excitedly, he was soon to turn eleven and would be starting Hogwarts the following year. He was very excited about it, and was constantly bugging everyone for long stories about it. He had been before, but only for very quick trips, though he had loved every second.

“Of course you are going too.” Harry told his eldest quickly, knowing he would regret it later.

“Let’s go!” Al repeated, tugging his dad’s sleeve again.

“We can’t just turn up, we have to ask permission first.” Harry told him with a laugh at his downcast expression.

“But it’ll take ages for an owl to get there and back!” Al protested and James nodded in agreement.

“Who said anything about an owl?” Harry laughed, casting his patronus and letting the stag rush off to Hogwarts, much like the Order had done to send messages.

“Oh cool! Can it talk and everything?” James exclaimed. “What’s it called?”

“Yes, it can talk and it’s called a patronus.” Harry answered, putting his daughter back on the floor and sinking onto the sofa as he awaited an answer from Hogwarts.

“Will you show me how to do it?” James asked hopefully.

“And me!” Al butted in.

“Me too!” Lily added.

“When you’re…thirteen. That’s how old I was when I learnt it and that was a bit young.”

James sighed. “At least I’ll get to do it before you though!” He couldn’t help pointing out to his nine year old brother.

“I could always make it fifteen for you, James.” Harry said warningly.

James swallowed slightly, knowing a threat when he heard one. He made a mental note not to tease his brother about that in the near future. His mum was always the disciplinarian making him stand in corners and apologise and get grounded but he would rather cross his mum fifty times then cross his dad once. Harry was very easy-going but he knew how to confiscate and deprive you of things that really mattered; like learning a patronus.

There was a whoosh as the stag reappeared and answered, in McGonagall’s voice, “Of course, Harry, you know you are always welcome here. I’m not in the office at the moment but I’m sure Severus would love to meet Albus.”

“And me! He’s love to meet me too!” James added cockily.

If only Harry was more confident about that!

“Let’s go and meet Severus then!” Al exclaimed, bouncing off the sofa and making his way towards the fire.

“Whoa, whoa! Wait, Al. You can’t just start calling him ‘Severus’.” Harry said worriedly, he could imagine the reaction to that.

“Why not? It’s his name, our name.”

“He’s very keen on politeness and manners. You need to call him ‘Professor Snape’ or ‘Sir’, okay?”

“But we’re practically family!” Al protested.

Harry closed his eyes, this had been his worst idea ever. He could imagine Snape’s face if Al went in and started spouting that he was family. He’d probably haunt him into insanity.

Deciding that there wasn’t much to be done about Al’s eagerness without dampening his spirits he turned to James. “I want you to be on your best behaviour, James Sirius Potter, you will not upset Professor Snape or Al or Lily or anybody else. You need to make a good impression, okay. No matter what Professor Snape says; you will stay on your best behaviour, right?”

James nodded agreeably.

“And no fire crackers!” Harry added.

James smirked as he remembered last time when he had given one to Filch.

“I mean it, James, you put one toe out of line and I’ll never take you to Hogwarts with me again!” Harry threatened.

James straightened his face quickly, that was a very big threat!

“Okay, is everyone ready?” Harry lifted Lily back into his arms and supported her with one arm, holding Al’s hand with the other. James had been flooing by himself for the last month or so and had been doing quite well. “Are you sure you will be okay flooing by yourself?” Harry checked.

“Yes! I’m far too old to go with an adult.” James puffed out his chest importantly.

Harry rolled his eyes. “I’ll go first with these two then, and you come straight afterwards.”

“Yes, dad.” James replied, having heard it all before.

“I’ll be right here to make sure he leaves this end safely.” Ginny stepped into the lounge, coming over to her husband and kissing him softly on the lips before kissing her daughter and then Albus and attempting to kiss James, but he ducked.

“Don’t you want to come?” Harry said curiously.

“Ah, no, better not. I’ve got some cake in the oven.” Ginny replied, looking through to the kitchen wistfully.

“Chocolate?” James asked hopefully.

“Of course.” Ginny replied with a laugh, ruffling up her son’s hair.

“Okay, ready?” Harry asked, looking at his children.

He waited until he heard a chorus of ‘yes-s’ before throwing some floo power in and stepping into the fire with James following a few seconds later.

They landed on the floor with a thump and all of them immediately looked around in interest, Harry because he hadn’t been in there since just after the war and the three children because they had never been there at all. Normally when they visited Hogwarts they went to the entrance hall or Hagrid’s hut, never this office.

“Wow, look at all this cool stuff.” James exclaimed, eyeing the strange gadgets on the shelves.

Harry smiled, everything was just how he remembered. Not one thing was out of place, the only thing different was the two extra portraits on the wall. He turned to them, Dumbledore first, and smiled pleasantly.

“Professor?”

Dumbledore’s eyes twinkled brighter than Harry had ever seen them “my dear boy, is that really you? You have changed so much!”

“Yeah, it’s me.” Harry blushed, rubbing his neck with one hand nervously.

“Same old Potter, still destroying the English language with his course slang.” A dry voice cut in smoothly.

Harry turned sharply to the dark haired man in the portrait next to Dumbledore’s. “Professor Snape, I want to thank-”

“Don’t even think about it, Potter.” Snape snapped.

“What?” Harry was genuinely confused, he always managed to upset the man before and even now, when he was trying to patch things up with him, he didn’t seem to be doing a very good job.

“Going all sentimental on me, I won’t have it! I did it for Lily not for you, so don’t go running around with any foolish notions in your head.”

“Yes, yes, I know you did if for my mum. But still, it was extremely courageous of you, very Gryffindor.” Harry regretted that when he saw the Potions teacher bristle at the very idea of him being one of those ‘numbskull lions’.

“I mean, Slytherin. Very cunning and…everything.” Harry corrected hastily.

“What’s the matter with him?” Snape demanded, looking past Harry and at Al who was so impatient to be introduced that he was jumping up and down on the spot.

“Oh! Erm..this is Albus, my son.” Harry introduced quickly.

“Surely not after…” Dumbledore exclaimed.

“You, yeah.” Harry blushed again.

“And you!” Albus exclaimed to the surly potions master’s portrait.

“My name is not Albus, you can tell you’re Potter’s boy, dunderhead genes.”

“But my middle name is Severus, and that’s your name, isn’t it?” Al was not to be put off.

“You named your child after me!?”

“Well, I thought it was the least I could do. Considering you-”

“We aren’t going into that now, Potter!” Snape snapped before turning to the now still Albus Severus Potter. “Let’s have a look at you then. If you’re going to carry my name you had better live up to it.” His words were harsh but his tone was a good deal softer than Harry had ever heard it.

Al stepped forwards hesitantly.

“At least you have your mothers eyes, you have Potter’s insufferable hair though. How old are you, boy?”

“Nine, sir.”

“Don’t tell me Potter actually taught you some manners? He never seemed to have any himself.”

“Why are you so mean about our dad! He said you were a good person!” James barged forwards, the warning looks that Harry kept giving him when he opened his mouth were no longer effective as his face reddened at the insults.

Snape’s lip curled. “Now you are well and truly a Potter. What is your name?”

“James Sirius Potter and I’m going to Hogwarts next year.” James announced, puffing his chest out importantly.

“That’s all Hogwarts needs, a Potter, especially one named after those two. I can already tell you’re going to be an arrogant little toe rag.”

Harry quickly covered James’ mouth before he could say any more. Lily pulled on his sleeve urgently, obviously feeling left out at having not been introduced.

“And this is my daughter, Lily.” Harry murmured, which quickly stopped Snape’s scowling at James.

“She looks just like her…” Snape whispered, reaching one hand out as though wishing to reach right out of the portrait to touch her, to see if she was real when in reality it was himself that was fake.

“She looks a lot like the pictures I have, that’s why I thought you might want to see her.” Harry explained, nudging Lily forwards.

“Will you be going to Hogwarts soon?” Snape asked her hopefully.

“No she won’t because I’m going first and she’s the youngest anyway so it will be years before she goes and me and Al will be at Hogwarts together and she’ll be stuck at home and I can play all sorts of pranks on her and scare her with stuff about Hogwarts and-” James was talking before Lily had even opened her mouth.

“That’s quite enough, thank you, James.” Harry snapped.

Snape mumbled something which sounded suspiciously like “just like his father.”

“I’m seven!” Lily answered herself, glaring at her brother.

Snape sighed, that was far too long.

“Not too much age difference then.” Dumbledore said encouragingly, the family jumped, having forgotten he was even there.

“It’s loads.” Lily argued, sighing dramatically. “James gets to go on a residential trip this year and Al’s class get to put on a play. Year Three’s don’t get to do anything.”

“But you have it all to come, my dear.” Dumbledore soothed.

“But then James and Al will be doing cool stuff at Hogwarts. By the time I get onto some of the interesting stuff they have done they have moved on to something even better.” Lily complained.

“Ah, one day you will be glad you are younger.” Dumbledore nodded wisely.

“Yeah, when James is all old and wrinkly and me and you aren’t we can take the mick.” Al joked.

“I’m not ever going to be old and wrinkly!” James gave his brother a push.

“James.” Harry warned, steadying Albus.

Snape’s portrait rolled his eyes but when little Lily managed to tread on James foot and get off undetected by her father he couldn’t help but grin slightly. How much like her grandmother she was going to be.

There was a sudden whoosh and a white horse galloped through the room.

“Dinners ready.” Harry sighed as Al and Lily began to protest strongly (James looked quite relieved.)

“Whining isn’t going to make a difference.” Snape sniffed though his tone was not scathing.

“Come on, you lot.” Harry pushed James towards the floo, he all too gladly took a piece of the powder and disappeared back to their house (and sanctuary from insults.)

“Let’s go.” Harry lifted Lily into his arms and grabbed Al’s arm.

“Goodbye Professor, Sir.” Harry nodded to both portraits.

“Goodbye Mr. Snape!” Lily called.

“Sir.” Al nodded, attempting to seem calm and polite.

“Goodbye, children, Harry.” Dumbledore’s eyes twinkled warmly.

“Goodbye.” Snape said shortly.

He watched as Harry took some floo powder and prepared to leave and then quickly blurted out;

“Oh and Potter?”

Harry turned around, bracing himself for a parting insult.

“You can bring them back sometime, not James, but Lily and Albus Severus.”

Harry smiled “I will do.”

Snape nodded and as the family disappeared into the floo mumbled “they’ll be the best in their class at Potions, when they come to Hogwarts, if I have anything to do with it.”