Remus tumbled from the fireplace unceremoniously landing in a heap on the warm hearth. He landed with his body twisted, trying to keep the small figure of the little boy in his arms from being crushed beneath him. It was Severus' fault that they ended up tumbling from the Floo, but Remus could understand and forgive the man for pushing them away. He knew that he would have done the same under the circumstances. Remus struggled to stand from his unusual position on the ground while trying to not let go of the child that had been entrusted to his care. Finally, he managed.

He noticed that there was a soft sound that he had not heard before in the commotion that had occurred only moments ago. He looked down and realized that it was the boy in his arms who had his face buried in the ragged fabric of the teddy bear that Severus had summoned at the last minute. The boy was sniffling softly into it. Remus tried to gently tug the bear free of the child's grip, but the boy shouted, "No!" Then, he clutched the bear to him, burrowing his face into it and miserably said, "Daddy." Remus realized that he would never be able to pry the bear from the boy's arms.

"Harry," he said. "I have to put you down for a minute, okay?" He felt him shake his head. "Only for a minute, that's it." Remus, despite the boy's resistance, managed to put the child down on his sofa. He tried to put him against one of the armrests and as close to the back of the cushion as possible. He figured it was the safest part of the sofa. He looked at the boy for a moment as the child held onto the bear as though it were the last friend he had in the world.

Remus turned his back to the boy, reaching into his pocket for the shrunken cradle. He enlarged it to its proper size and arranged it to sit near enough to the fireplace to ensure warmth, and far enough from the sofa to guarantee that he would not kick it during his sleep or run into it when he woke up for the coming day. With this done, he went back to the boy, picked him up and put him in the cradle, noticing that the boy never once released his tight grip on the teddy bear. He did not know whether or not he should comfort the boy or if he should let the teddy bear do all the hard work. He decided on the bear, for there was something puzzling him, and it pressed against his chest.

He reached into the inner jacket pocket to remove Severus' wand and the document he had placed on his person. Why would Severus give him Harry's birth certificate? Was there some secret on it? Some unknown facts? What was the purpose? He understood why he was given the other man's wand, but why in the name of Merlin would the Potions Master feel the need to remove the birth certificate from his quarters in the presence of the Ministry? He needed to know these answers, and he felt the only way to get them was by doing one thing: investigate the document. Perhaps this was what Severus wanted him to do...Perhaps this was another reason as to why Remus now had the other man's wand.

Remus took out the dark wand and the curled document from his pocket. He sat down on his sofa as he set the wand down next to him on a neighboring cushion. With a sense of dread, he unrolled the thick parchment. His eyes read over the document and saw a name on the parchment that surprised him. The section designated for the father caught his eye. Listed in this section was the name Severus Snape. It seemed wrong. Maybe it was tampered with. There were other sections that aroused his interest. The birth date of the child was correct: 31 July 1980. But, if the date was correct, why was the name Harry James Potter not listed? In the place of the newborn's name was an alien name to Remus. One he had never heard: Tevin Antonius Ryker Snape. Remus blinked and looked again at the section where a different name should be, wondering why it was different, but the long name remained where he felt another should be. His mind in a panic, his eyes darted to the section designated for the mother. There was another unfamiliar name, Sally Vine. Who in Merlin's name was that? Maybe she was a Muggle, but Remus doubted that. He skimmed further through the document to see a very familiar name in the line indicating the name of the chosen godparent or godparents of this child. To his shock, on that dotted line was written Remus Johnathan Lupin.

He dropped the document as though horrified. Why was he named the godfather of Severus Snape's child? To his knowledge, Severus did not even have a child. But according to this piece of parchment, he did indeed have a child. With a growing sense of realization and horror his eyes drifted to the child in the cradle nearby. The boy was now asleep, still holding onto the ragged teddy bear with a firm grip. He did not know what to think. But as he looked upon the boy for a moment longer, he thought of a strange event that happened just over fifteen months ago. He had nearly forgotten it.

Remus was lounging on his sofa, casually reading a book on some varying subject or other. His former year mates did not call him a bookworm for nothing, for it was well-earned. If he had nothing urgent to handle, a book was not far from his side. One would think he should have been sorted into Ravenclaw over Gryffindor, but the Sorting Hat knew best. And there he was, sitting on his sofa reading through the lazy afternoon.

Suddenly, and unusually, there was a soft knocking on his door. Marking his place in his book, he rose and walked to the door. He peered through the tiny peephole and smiled. He opened the door, a welcoming expression on his face as he greeted the person standing on the other side. "Lily."

She stood before him with her red hair secured in a messy braid, loose pieces drooping in various directions. Her green eyes looked pleasantly exhausted, as though the squirming child in her arms had been causing her trouble, but she could not be bothered to be upset too much by it. The little child was barely a month or two old, by the looks of it. His face was scrunched in discomfort and drool trailed down one side of his face. She looked at Remus with a kind grin. "Can I come in?"

"Yes, yes," he said, standing aside, allowing her entrance before he shut the door again. When he turned around he saw that she had made herself comfortable on his recently vacated sofa again. "What can I do for you, Lily?"

"I just wanted to stop by and introduce you to my son formally."

Remus smiled then. "Ah," he sighed. "So the little one is finally cooperative enough for a visit to his Uncle Remus?"

Lily laughed then. A bright melodic laugh. A true laugh. "Yes. That and I was finally able to get away from James long enough to visit someone." She turned her attention to her son. "Isn't that right, baby?" she spoke in a funny voice to the boy, who had then opened his eyes and peered for the first time at the man.

"Oh, Lily!" he gasped. "All I have to do is look at his eyes to know him as your son."

She lifted the boy so that his tiny head was even with hers. Remus found identical pairs of green eyes staring at him for a moment before the boy yawned and broke the staring contest. "He is always tired. James thinks he's narcoleptic, but I said that he's just like his father is when there's a limited number of things he can do. I bet he'll be pretty much unstoppable once he can walk by himself, and once he starts reading!"

"Planning on raising a little bookworm, Lily?"

"It's better than raising a child who knows nothing, isn't it?"

"Well, my opinion may be a little biased," Remus said, holding up his own book.

Lily smiled. Her expression suddenly shifted to something serious. "Remus, there was something I needed to talk to you about."

"What?"

"Well, James and I were talking about who to name as his godfather, and I think that since S-" She was interrupted by the sudden noise from the fireplace. The flames turned green as someone appeared in the flames. Someone very familiar to both Remus and Lily.

"Moony!" the dark-haired man shouted, before Remus could even say anything. He walked over to Remus and gave the other man an enthusiastic embrace. Then, he spotted Lily. "Lily! Why are you here?"

"I was just trying to tell Remus who...we...decided to be godfather."

Before she could continue, the other man continued speaking. "Sirius!" he blurted. "We chose Sirius!"

"Why would you come to tell me that I am not his godfather? That doesn't make any sense," Remus said, confused.

The other man kept speaking. "Well, we thought of you, but then we decided that you would handle not being godfather easier than Sirius would, him being my best friend and all. Err, no offense, Moony."

Remus stared at him for a moment before replying. "None taken, James, I just thought that...I mean..."

"Isn't that right, Lily?" James asked the woman, who was holding the droopy-eyed infant. She did not move her head to indicate either a yes or no answer. It seemed to satisfy James at any rate. He turned his attention back to Remus. "We had a long discussion about this before. Believe me, choosing Sirius is for the best. And besides, with your condition, who knows if the Ministry would even let you gain custody of him should anything happen to either of us, Merlin forbid."

"James! How dare you imply that-"

"James, you and I both know that there is no such law that prevents anyone with lycanthropy from having custody of a child. That is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard!" Remus glared hard at his friend. What was he implying by that comment? That he hoped such a law existed? That they chose Sirius because he was not a werewolf? Did they truly think he was so irresponsible and uncaring that he would deliberately put their son's life in danger by not taking precautionary measures to ensure his safety during times of the full moon? How low of an opinion did they have of him?

"Remus, it isn't like that," Lily tried to say, only to be interrupted by James again.

"Lily, I think Harry needs to be put to bed. Isn't it time for his nap?" James carefully took the infant in his arms. He pinched some Floo Powder and tossed it into the flames, shouting his destination, "Potter Home, Godric's Hollow," and stepped into the green flames only to vanish with the boy a moment later, expecting the woman to follow him.

Remus by this point had turned away from the fireplace and leaned heavily on the frame of his window, staring out into the busy streets in front of his flat building. He heard another dash of Floo Powder get tossed into the flames and the same destination whispered clearly. But, what surprised him was what Lily said to him before she left his apartment. "There may come a time when you can be his godfather like I chose you to be. Please visit, Remus, I miss you." By the time Remus turned back to reply to her, Lily had stepped into the flames and had vanished.

Remus opened his eyes as his memory ended. How could he have forgotten that day? It was one of the most confusing days of his life, aside from the point of his life after which he was first bitten up to the first painful transformation to a werewolf. James had seemed...domineering, and as though desperate to hush something up. And Lily...Lily...Remus closed his eyes again, as her voice sounded in his mind again. "There may come a time when you can be his godfather like I chose you to be." His eyes widened in realization. Could it be? He remembered just before he arrived back here in his flat. Harry had screamed for the stuffed animal, that Severus had summoned by saying, "Accio Severus' Bear!" And Harry had said the word, "Daddy," when he had tried to take the bear away. Why? Why Severus' bear?

He picked up the strange birth certificate again. The answers, he knew, were on this document! But, how to get these answers? Suddenly, it became clear to him. Severus did not give him his wand to prevent its seizure by the Ministry of Magic. He gave it to him so that he could use it on the birth certificate itself. He remembered how Severus had slipped his wand into the same pocket that held this document. He was trying to tell him something without actually saying it aloud. Because there had been no time to explain.

Remus snatched Severus' wand and held it firmly in his hand. He did not know what to do. Usually, if something was to be changed on an official document like this, particularly a birth certificate, the blood of either the father or the mother was required. He was neither. Was there maybe a spell? He searched his mind furiously for a spell that may have even had the smallest prayer of working. Finally, he thought of a possibility.

He went to his meager bookcase and searched through the titles until he found one that could possibly work. It was his Advanced, and Very Difficult Spells for the Skilled Witch or Wizard that he had used during his seventh year in Charms Class. He flipped furiously through the pages towards the back, where the spells ceased to be phrases, but entire sentences. They never made it this far in class. He finally found a small passage on revealing the secrets of documents.

‘The wand of a person mentioned in the document is needed to perform this spell. It is rarely used, and usually only in investigative research or in the examining of a late witch's or wizard's will, though other documents have required this spell. To perform this spell, speak the following incantation with authority and clarity as though you are the owner of the required wand...'

Remus took the book with him to the document, reading over the spell several times, to be sure he had it right. He raised the dark wand, then got nervous and checked the spell one last time. Satisfied, he raised the wand again. With a trembling grip, Remus pressed the tip of Severus' wand against the center of the parchment and spoke, hoping against hope they would work. "Pare voci meo!  Per vigram legitimam hanc membranam iudicentem, postulo ut verum altissimum huius tabellae aperitur!" To his amazement and surprise the document shined in a blinding crimson color, before it dulled enough for him to watch the results of his spell come about. He saw letters morph on only one section of the birth certificate. Where one unfamiliar name once was, a very recognizable one took its place. There before him on the birth certificate was the name of the child, Tevin Antonius Ryker Snape, the father, Severus Snape, and the mother, Lily Evans-Snape. Before the parchment had even returned to its normal coloring, Remus Lupin's limp hands released it and Severus's wand, and he lost consciousness.

He was sitting in a dark corner of The Leaky Cauldron, sipping a calming raspberry tea. He had just gotten through the full moon, and was looking the worse for wear. There were times when he hated October, and it was usually whenever the full moon decided to make an appearance along with his...inner beast. He felt like he was the feature of a terrible Halloween celebration, with his illness as the main attraction. There never was anyone around to see it, but that fact never made him feel any better. This was why he sat in a dark corner of a little pub.

The door opened and one of the people he did not want to see him at this point near the full moon entered the pub. It was his old schoolmate, James Potter. His dark eyes looked around the entire room before he found the light brown-haired loner. His face erupted into a smile as he began walking over to Remus. He pulled out the chair across from the huddled man with a flourish before sitting down, still grinning. "How are you?"

Remus made a noise barely resembling a response, keeping his eyes to the contents of his tea. James tilted his head low in order to look at his face. He noticed some fresher scratch marks running across his features, still pink in their attempts at healing. His eyes were dull, and his expression bordered on depression. The state of his disarrayed hair matched his expression. His hands were wrapped around the cup in a contemplative gesture, and his shoulders were hunched. James smiled at him before he reached up and flicked some of Remus's hair, laughing as it fell into the exact same position. "Moony, I have something I need to tell you...about...uh...Evans."

Remus angled his head and finally met his friend's eyes to show that he was listening.

"You know that Evans is getting married right?" Remus eyed him confusedly. "Do you know to who?" Remus shook his head, his expression baffled. James smiled with a huge, bright smile. "Me."

At that one word, Remus became animated. "You? But I thought she-"

"It doesn't matter what you thought. All that's important is that Evans finally agreed to marry me."

Remus stared at James for a long while. He noticed at that moment that nearby tables had stopped conversing and were discreetly gazing in their direction. He knew that as James's friend he had to now put on a face, for their conversation was no longer their own. "That's...wonderful, James," he said, hiding his expression momentarily by taking a long sip of his tea.

James dug into his pockets and threw an amount of money onto the table near his friend's purchase. "Let's take a walk." Without waiting for an answer, James took hold of Remus's upper arm and bodily dragged him from the chair. Remus barely had time to grab his coat before stumbling after his friend. He noticed that as soon as he was at the open doorway the chatter of the other patrons began again.

They walked down the streets for several blocks before Remus could not take the silence anymore. "Why are we out here when I could have finished my tea in there?"

"I'll buy you another tea sometime," James replied. He shoved his hands in his pockets and snuggled his neck further into his thick scarf. "I had something to talk to you about...after I made that public knowledge." 

"What could there possibly be besides you marrying Lily?"

"I'm marrying Evans-"

"Lily!"

"-but I'm not exactly going to be there, and I need your help."

Remus stopped walking and turned to face James. "What do mean, you're not exactly going to be there? How can you marry someone and not be there?"

James took Remus's upper arm again and guided him to the brick wall near the entrance of an alley. The look in James's eyes was deadly serious, which is the reason why Remus was silent. It was a rare thing to see James serious. With a deep breath and a lick of his lips, James gathered his voice in order to speak. "Remus," he began, catching the other man's interest. He rarely, if ever, used his first name over the pet name, Moony. "I need your help." He pushed his glasses up to the bridge of his nose with his index finger, nervously. "I don't know who else to ask." His dark eyes darted out to the street, making sure no one else could see them. Discreetly, he took out his wand and gave a sharp wave as he spoke, "Muffliato." Then, he turned back to Remus, who nodded for him to continue. "When I said that I wasn't exactly going to be at the wedding, I meant that I wouldn't be there. I need someone else to take my place."

"Why?"

"Because I can't marry Evans. She wants me to marry her. And, we made arrangements to have the ceremony on November third."

"James, that's the day before-"

"The full moon, I know." He removed his hand from his pocket to reveal a small vial. "This is something that Evans gave me. It will prevent your change next month if you agree to take my place. You will not become a werewolf at all with this. But the ingredients were a fortune and it took two months to brew. I've been told to tell you that. Evans hoped it would encourage you to agree."

Remus stared at it for a long while. "And, if I agree, what else would I have to do?"

"You would go under Polyjuice Potion and pose as me for the ceremony."

"Would that interfere with that?" He jerked his head at the small vial in James's hands.

"No.  The brewer assured her that no other potion known to our world would interfere with this."

Remus nodded. "So, I pose as you, then what?"

"You have to go through the whole ceremony-"

"Marry Lily?"

James nodded. "And that's it."

"Why? After all the years you spent chasing after Lily, I would think you would want to be there for the ceremony! I don't understand, James."

"I'm not asking you to, just tell me if you'll do it or not." James looked at Remus intently, daring him to refuse.

Without a word, Remus reached out to take the vial offered by his friend. James took this as a yes, and he embraced Remus enthusiastically. "Thank you, Remus! Thank you so much!" Remus felt a sharp tug in his hair and realized that James had pulled some of his hair out! Remus pulled away from the hug and looked at James, who gave him a lopsided grin and said again, "Thanks," and with a loud popping sound he disappeared, leaving Remus standing on the sidewalk holding the small vial, his scalp stinging.

When he returned to an awakened state, Remus found himself laying on his parlor floor, with the document resting right side up a mere three inches from his nose. He stared at it as though it was a poisonous insect that would strike at the smallest movement. The names were still there. Tevin Antonius Ryker Snape, Severus Snape, and Lily Evans-Snape. How was this possible...plausible? He sat up, leaning against the couch as he took the birth certificate again in his hands. He could not even figure out how or when any of this could have happened. Remus Lupin was not noted for being clueless, in fact, he was noted for the exact opposite! And this document he could not understand.

And why had he dreamed about that time in The Leaky Cauldron? Of all of his memories to haunt him in his dreams, why that one?

His mind was in a whirl as he was assaulted with a memory that occurred only a month after his encounter with James.

The wedding atmosphere was tense, nerve-wracking and blissful. People were whispering in the anticipation of the bride, and awaiting the appearance of the groom and his groomsmen at the front of the church where the officiator of the ceremony, Professor Filius Flitwick, already waited. There were also a few guests that were yet to be in attendance. Remus lingered in the entranceway to the elaborate gardens that would serve as the scene of the wedding. It was beautiful. An autumn wedding that was hailing the approach of the winter. There was an aisle lined in a twin trail of fallen leaves of all colors of a fire...browns, reds, oranges, yellows. The winter berries were beginning to ripen, and the holly bushes were still as green as ever. There were lit, glowing lanterns in a variety of autumn colors giving a burst of atmosphere in various floating spheres. The lanterns floated without any aid but magic.

Remus saw a flutter to his right and looked to see a soft white organza material drifting in the breeze. Curiosity got the better of him and he began walking towards the distracting material when his arm was grabbed tightly and he was pulled through a gate and behind a rather tall stone wall. When he turned around, the last person he expected to see at James and Lily's wedding stood before him. "Severus?"

Severus was before him standing in formal robes that seemed slightly too bulky for him. His hair was as floppy as it normally was, shining not from poor hygiene but from hovering too long over cauldrons. His dark eyes were glowing nervously. He let go of Remus's arm and began to play with his hands as though waiting for an inevitable curse to be cast in his direction.

"Severus?" The dark-haired man's eyes met his. "Are you waiting for something?"

"Someone," he amended.

A few more moments passed and then Remus spoke up again. "Who? And what are you doing at James and Lily's wedding?"

Suddenly, he was embraced from behind and he heard a very familiar voice behind him. "It's not!"

Remus turned around to see a familiar face. "James?" His mind reeled. He never thought he would ever see James Potter and Severus Snape within the distance of a Quidditch Pitch without throwing hexes, jinxes, and curses at each other at deafening volume and rapid-fire speed! "What is going on?"

James smiled at Remus. He, too, was in dress robes that were ill-fitting, but whereas Severus's were too big James's were too tight in certain places. This observation struck Remus as incredibly odd. But he had no time to think on it because James spoke. "Sniv-Severus, you have the potions, right?" This was another thing Remus never thought he would witness: James calling Severus...Severus. And did he have what?

Severus nodded and reached into the pockets of his trousers to remove several vials. He handed one to James and another to Remus. The contents inside each vial was a thick potion that had the distinct aroma of overcooked cabbage. Remus looked at Severus questioningly. "Polyjuice Potion? I don't understand." He looked from Severus to James back to Severus again.

"Potter!" snapped Severus, holding out his hand. "Your hair!" His dark eyes burned into those of the other dark-haired man. James reached up and yanked a few hairs from his own scalp and, without touching the other man's hand, dropped them into the waiting palm. Severus immediately and carefully put the hairs into his open vial, which bubbled as soon as the hair made contact. Without another word he downed the liquid, his expression not showing the dislike for the disgusting flavor of the potion. Suddenly, his features began changing, his frame became slightly bulkier and shorter, his long hair shorter and spiky in the back, and his skin grew golden. He was the spitting image of James Potter...without glasses.

As Remus stared at the doppelganger James Potter, the real one shoved some hairs into his hand. "Change of plans, Moony. No one will be you. And you will not be me."

"Obviously," Remus bit back.

"He will be me, I will be Sirius, and you...will be Wormtail."

"Wormtail? Why the change?" Remus asked.

"We don't have time to discuss why it was changed, Remus," snarled Severus...James...the pseudo-James. "Just do it!"

Remus added the hairs to his foul-smelling potion and asked one more question. "Now, you're sure the other potion will not interfere with this will it?"

The James Potter not yet wearing glasses shook his head in an irritated manner that was clearly Severus Snape. "Yes! The Polyjuice Potion has been altered in order to last far longer than the standard one hour potency, and the potion that I hope you took already, for the love of Merlin, took an extreme amount of experimentation, time to prepare, and to brew. Do not ask me to make that for you again! I will continue to owl you the Wolfsbane Potion regularly, but I will never brew this for you again. It took up far too much of my time...They will not interfere with each other."

"Are you sure?"

The James before him smirked arrogantly. "They would not have given me the title of Potions Master if I weren't sure of anything to do with the subject, now would they?"

The real James nudged Remus with his elbow. "Go on, Moony. I'll drink mine with you."

Remus nodded, and after taking several deep breaths he and James drank their foul potions. James gagged on the awful taste of the stuff, while Remus was able to grimace only a little bit. Taking a batch of Wolfsbane Potion every month made one immune to the supposedly potently awful tastes of other potions. Their features altered in a similar fashion to Severus'. James's hair grew longer and wavy, his frame stayed mostly the same in build but only a tad bit taller. His eyes changed color from dark brown to slate grey. Before long, he looked just like the handsome Sirius Black...with James Potter's glasses. Severus reached out and yanked them from James' face, perching them on his own features. Remus' body grew rounder and heavier, his feet began to feel crammed in his shoes, his hair became blonder, and his eyes felt as though they were in a perpetual squint. He was becoming his Housemate, Peter "Wormtail" Pettigrew. Remus would have given anything to have his own body back in that moment after he had finished his transformation. He quickly transfigured his clothing to fit himself properly.

Severus presented each of them with a leaf from a harvested plant. Without a word, he began chewing on one of the leaves. Following his example, the other two men put the leaves in their mouths and chewed, happily noting that it was a spearmint leaf to mask the foul cabbage smell of the Polyjuice Potion on their breaths.

James, Remus, and Severus looked at each other with strange expressions. James then surprised the other two young men, by doing something that he would never have done to Severus, but exactly what Sirius would have done to James. He threw his arm around the other man's shoulder. Severus tensed instantly, as though he was just hit with a Petrificus Totalus spell. Before James could speak, Severus voiced his remaining concern. "Are you sure you took care of Black?"

James nodded. "Yep. Took him out to the pub last night, got him drunk enough on Firewhiskey so that he'd be passed out for the whole day, and I had Evans-Lily put a charm on him that would keep him in a stasis until this was over and that I could later go back to see him and plant my memory of the whole thing in his brain as though he were here the whole time with me instead of me with you." He gave Severus a shake. "It's all taken care of." Severus nodded, then exhaled shakily. James kept talking. "So, ready to go and greet my bride?"

Remus did not know what to think anymore. He remembered the wedding now...of James and Lily...Severus and Lily...James and Lily. By all records in the Wizarding World, James Potter married Lily Evans on the day of November 3, 1979 not Severus Snape. But, Remus knew that it was Severus who technically married Lily that day, not James. And Sirius was technically in attendance, but he was never actually there! And they had managed to drug Wormtail just like Sirius, but they planted in his memory that he had gotten drunk at the reception and did not remember a thing about the ceremony. Remus barely remembered it. He was getting a headache. He had to think about something else. But every time he tried to think of something else, the birth certificate seemed to stare at him in the face, or memories would attack his brain.

"His godfather when the time comes?" he asked to nobody. "Well," he continued thinking aloud. "I guess that time came, Lily."

His eyes drifted to the child sleeping in the cradle holding the teddy bear. "Severus...a father..." He looked at the child with a new light. He stood from the floor and walked to peer down into the cradle, watching the boy sleep. His features were still changing too much at his age to recognize specific traits of either parent, with the exception of the vibrant green eyes. There was no question that they were Lily's green eyes. "Severus...a father..." he repeated, still not believing it himself. This was all too much for him to deal with right now.

He went into his kitchen and began to prepare himself some tea. He needed some time to think. Did Severus have time to think? When did he find out he was the boy's father? Had he known the whole time? No. He thought that Severus would not be the type of person that would have abandoned his child to be raised by his school nemesis! He got out his favorite mug and stood in front of his stove watching the kettle boil the water, his mind lost in his own thoughts, trying to reconcile what he thought to be true to what was recently brought back to memory or just shoved in his face. Just as the whistle on his kettle began to scream, so did the little boy in the next room. He poured his tea, levitated it to follow him into his parlor again as he went to the crying boy in the cradle.

He picked up the child and held him in his arms tenderly. He looked at him, trying to find traces of Severus in the tiny face before him where he was used to searching for any resemblance of James. Settling his tea on the end table near the sofa, he leaned back and settled himself down in the worn cushions. The boy giggled and reached up, tracing the scars on his features softly. Remus sighed, and decided that it was time to make new introductions. "Hello, Tevin. I'm your godfather Remus." The boy smiled at him and giggled again. The boy snuggled into his chest and continued to giggle. Remus looked out of his window into the night. "Thank Merlin Sirius is not here to see this," he murmured to himself. As though he understood, the child showed what Remus believed to be the first sign of Severus's nature in the boy. He looked out of the window, too, and let out an explosive, hearty laugh as though he too was glad that Sirius was not there at that moment. At least that's how Severus most likely would have reacted. Perhaps there was more of Severus in the boy than he thought. Only time would tell.

The next morning, Remus woke up to find his chest serving as the bed for the little boy that he supposed would now be called Tevin. He angled his head to look closer at the child whose mouth was hanging open in sleep, a trail of thick drool flowing from his mouth onto Remus's shirt. The boy's breathing was steady and light in his pleasant dreams. His small fist was gripped tightly into the man's shirt.

The child's stomach decided to speak, causing him to shift a little in irritation. Then, as though in agreement, Remus's stomach groaned for food. It was the grown man's stomach that woke up the child.  As Remus looked upon the boy, his green eyes opened to greet the new day. He looked around the unfamiliar surroundings, and grew tense. The grip on Remus's shirt grew tighter, his breathing quicker and audible. The boy began shivering but once his eyes found Remus's his entire body froze and his breathing stopped for a brief moment. Their eyes met in a silent tug-of-war, trying to absorb as much of the other person through the stare as possible. The child's eyes narrowed and his mouth turned in a scowl. Remus saw someone familiar in that expression and without being able to control the urge he released a jovial laugh. "You really are Severus's boy, aren't you?"

The boy grinned at him, before his stomach decided to protest again. "Well, then, little one, I think it's time to get some breakfast into you!" He arranged the boy in his arms and managed to get up from the sofa, and walk into his kitchen. Before setting the boy down, he transfigured one of his two kitchen chairs into a highchair. Then, he secured the boy in it and began to prepare some breakfast.

The sound of a tap, tap, tap on his window made him remember that The Daily Prophet arrived as punctually as every day. He went into his parlor and walked to the window, allowed the bird entrance, and grabbed the paper from it. He left his payment in the money pouch attached to its leg and closed the window again once it flew out. He walked with the newspaper back into the kitchen, where he thought he smelled the bacon begin to burn. He tossed the newspaper onto the table and tended to the scorched bacon. What he heard behind him caused his blood to run cold.

"Daddy?"

He turned to the table to see the boy pointing to the newspaper with a smile on his face. The moving picture was of Severus Snape being restrained by two Aurors that Remus recognized, Kingsley Shacklebolt and Rufus Scrimgeour. It did not look as though Severus was putting up that much of a fight, but instead he looked almost resigned, as though he had finally accepted the poor hand fate had dealt him. Remus looked at the picture to the happy, bouncing child in the highchair who continued pointing to the picture saying the word, "Daddy?" Then, Remus finally looked at the headline.

DEATH EATER, SEVERUS SNAPE, IN AZKABAN

Remus let out a cry of dismay and fell into his chair. Severus in Azkaban? What was to happen now? His head fell into his hands as he closed his eyes in despair. Was the charge of caring for this child to pass now to him being his godfather? He did not know how to care for a child. "Severus," he sighed. Was this how the other man felt when he took the boy? Remus began shaking as he tried to gather his strength to face the task of caring for this child on his own. What would he do during the full moon? Severus had been making him the Wolfsbane Potion for years now, and with no one else qualified to brew it nor with the knowledge of the procedure to do so he would be forced to endure the agony of becoming a werewolf who had no knowledge of his true identity or his actions in his animal form. Would he be able to endanger this boy every month without the potion?

His mind was in a whirlwind. He was so lost in his thoughts that he did not even notice that the boy was trying to alert him that the bacon was now on fire.

By the end of the night, Remus was exhausted. He did not think he would be able to manage raising this boy on his own until the boy even started attending Hogwarts. In only one day, he had managed to destroy breakfast - including one of his good pans - along with the boy having an accident on his chest as he held him, having his hair pulled, his shoes strings tied together in a knot that seemed impossible to undo by the mischievous child, and lastly a temper tantrum that could rival an offended hippogriff! It was finally evening, and Remus was wiped out! One day! It was only one day! How did Severus do it for the last few days, when he could barely handle a single day? He was slumped in his sofa hoping that the boy playing with his chess pieces on the floor would soon get as exhausted as he was and want to go to bed.

"Are you sleepy yet?" he asked the child.

The boy shook his head in the negative, as he made a knight charge a castle and knock it down.

Remus's eyes were starting to droop. "I think you are," he pushed.

"No..." the boy drawled as he made the same knight run right over a bishop and straight into the king, causing him to tumble to the ground.

Remus wanted to sleep. And if he had to put the boy in a body bind and force him into silence so that he could sleep he would! He began to get up from the sofa to collect the boy and put the chess pieces back in order. "Time to go to bed," he said.

Suddenly, the boy looked at him and shouted, "No!"  He threw the knight at Remus and as the older man was distracted by this maneuver, crawled quickly under the end table and between the sofa and the wall.

Remus released an exasperated sigh, before going to the side of the sofa, while trying to maintain calm. "Harry?" He grimaced. That was not his name, now! "Tevin? Can you come out?"

"No!"

"Tevin, could you please come out from back there?"

There was a moment of silence, as though the boy thought for a moment before responding. "No!"

"Tevin, come out of there right now!"

"No!"

"Tevin! I am losing my patience-" A soft laugh from the general vicinity of his fireplace alerted him to a visitor. Remus whipped his head to look in that direction to see a very tired-looking Severus Snape standing in his parlor, with his hands behind his back. He stood up from his place on the side of the sofa, alarmed at his presence. "Severus?"

Severus offered Remus a lazy upturning of the corners of his mouth. He blinked slowly, tiredly. Without a word, he walked to his wand, which still rested on the cushions of the sofa, and put it in his inner breast pocket. "Is he giving you trouble?"

Instead of Remus, a small voice from behind the sofa answered in a tone laced with faux innocence. "No..."

Severus raised an eyebrow in question to Remus. His lips curling even further into a smile, he walked to the side of the sofa and peered behind it, immediately seeing the boy. He offered the boy a smile before he spoke. "Will you come out?" The child shook his head and leaned against the wall, grinning toothily at the man. Severus sighed, and as he began to stand up said, "Well, I guess I'll have to find another little boy who wants to hear a bedtime story." He stood fully and only managed to take one step away from the sofa before he felt a tug on the hem of his trousers. He looked down to see the boy gripping the fabric at his ankle tightly, looking up at him with wide green eyes. "Changed your mind, little one?" The boy nodded and Severus crouched low to pick the boy up in his arms. "You'll have a story when we get home, alright?" The boy nodded enthusiastically and snuggled his head into Severus's shoulder as he threw his arms around the man's neck. Severus began to slowly, comfortingly walk along the perimeter of the parlor, knowing that Remus stared disbelievingly at him.

"How did you get out of Azkaban?" Remus asked, after watching Severus for a few moments.

"The headmaster appealed to the Ministry and he came to my defense. There was a trial early today, and they declared me innocent of being loyal to the Dark Lord."

Remus sighed. "I thought I would have to raise him on my own, suddenly being his godfather."

Severus stopped walking and grinned at the other man. "Ah, so curiosity got the better of you, then. You figured out why I gave you my wand."

"Yes. Very Slytherin of you, Severus. Giving me your wand to easily examine the birth certificate." Remus shook his head, and then met Severus's dark eyes squarely. "Why didn't you just tell me before you pushed me through the Floo?"

"I did not mean to push you so hard, Remus. And as to why I did not tell you, would you have believed me if you hadn't seen it for yourself?" Severus's eyes glinted in challenge as he resumed his walking.

Remus thought for a moment, and then he shook his head. "No. I wouldn't have."

"And so you see my reasons." The child began snuggling forcefully into the side of his neck, hinting as only a young child could. "Would you accompany us back to my quarters in Hogwarts? There are things we need to discuss."

Remus nodded. "Of course." He pulled out his wand and shrunk the cradle and birth certificate. Severus had walked to the fireplace, took some Floo Powder and tossed it into the flames, calling out his destination clearly. Remus picked up the cradle and the document before walking into the flames beside Severus and the boy, spinning them off again to Hogwarts.