Saving Grace: The Antidote to the Curse of the Damned Saves the Lives of Fifty-Two

Curse victims at St. Mungo’s will soon have Harry Potter and Severus Snape to thank for their lives. Potions Today has learned that the pair were the ones who invented the most ingenious potion—the first of its kind since the turn of the Twelfth Century. Mr. Potter and Mr. Snape, with the assistance of Mr. Horace Slughorn, have single-handedly brought back a method of curse-breaking that has not been employed in this country for over eight hundred years…

“You know, love,” Ginny started, holding the picture frame at arm’s length so that she could inspect it from afar, “this is probably the only news article featuring you that I rather like.”

“That’s because it’s not from the Daily Prophet.” A muffled voice replied. 

The teenager shrugged and held the picture frame up to the wall. “That could be it.”

“Haweh! Haweh, dowm!” A little voice cried from somewhere in the bedroom.

“I must’ve misheard you, Severus, what was that?”

“Haweh, dowm, peas?”

“That’s better.”

Having finished attaching the picture frame to the wall, Ginny turned just in time to see her favorite little boy run out of the bedroom at a speed that belied his size. Severus stopped for a second in the middle of the den to look around for something. Upon spotting it, his eyes lit up in glee and he slowly began to creep over to Harry’s desk. Curious, Ginny stepped over to follow him with her eyes. There, on the underside of Harry’s oak desk, where the chair should’ve been, lay Padfoot, curled up into a ball and snoring. Ginny grinned.

Severus crept forward slowly. Oh so slowly. So slowly that not even the sharpest-hearing person in the world would be able to hear him because he was creeping so slowly! The infant bit his lip to contain his grin. This was going to work. Oh, yes, it was going to work! The mutt was still asleep. He didn’t even twitch. He was still snoring. He just needed to get closer…just a little bit closer…almost…there! Severus crouched low next to the sleeping canine and cupped his little hands over his mouth to amplify his scream. He took a deep breath…

“BOO!”

All of a sudden, the dog jerked up and in the blink of an eye transformed back into Sirius. “Wha—” The animagus immediately tried to sit up but ended up bumping his head against the underside of the hard, oak desk instead. “OW!” He flinched.

Severus burst into giggles and quickly hightailed it across the room to hide behind the legs of one laughing Ginny. “Serves you right for sleeping under there, Padfoot.”

“How I sleep is none of your concern!” Sirius grumbled, struggling to climb to his feet and rub his head at the same time.

“What happened?” Harry asked, a slight bit of concern in his voice. He had heard all the commotion out here and came to investigate.

“Your kid startled me awake, is what happened!” Sirius barked, still rubbing the back of his head with a flinch. “Banged my head up on your desk because of it.”

“What were you doing underneath my desk?”

“Apparently, that’s none of our concern.” Ginny replied with a smile. Dropping down to one knee, she held out Severus’ jacked so that he could slip his tiny arms into the arm holes.

“Padfoo scawed!” He exclaimed, a giggle or two still bubbling up occasionally.

“Oh, ha, ha, ha!” Sirius rolled his eyes. “Yeah. Great. Laugh it up.”

Severus took his advice and burst into yet another round of laughter at the sour look that overcame Sirius’ face.

Harry sighed and shook his head. “Whatever.” Checking his watch, he slipped his jacket on and headed towards the door. “Dumbledore called me up for a short meeting this morning. It shouldn’t take long.”

“Haweh! We go Buwwow?” Sev asked, looking straight up in order to meet Harry’s gaze.

The teenager smiled and took a knee in front of the infant. “Yeah, cub, we’re going to the Burrow.” He replied, adjusting Sev’s little jacket. “And Teddy’s coming along as well. But I have this short meeting to go to with Dumbledore. It shouldn’t take long. I’ll be back by the time you finish breakfast. I promise.”

“Me go woo!” Severus cried, bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet. “Me go woo!”

“When, exactly, are you going to eat breakfast then?” Harry retorted, a small smug smile tugging at his lips.

Severus frowned. He hadn’t thought about that. He then turned his frown upon Harry. “Ooo mo eah too!”

“Yes, I did. I ate while you were sleeping.”

Sev narrowed his eyes at him and scowled. “Why-ew!” He cried, sticking his tongue out at Harry.

The teenager chuckled and dropped a kiss atop the infant’s head as he climbed to his feet. “Prove it, cub.”

“Immy!” Sev cried, pointing up at Harry’s towering form, “Haweh why-ew!”

“You are a liar!” Ginny agreed, narrowing her eyes at Harry as well.

The teenager sighed and checked his watch. “I had a banana.”

“A banana doesn’t count.”

“A banana certainly counts!” Sirius retorted, pulling out some ingredients from the fridge. “It’s not enough, but it certainly counts.” Turning to his godson, he tossed something his way. “Here, pup! Have an orange too.”

“Why-ew, Haweh!” Severus continued, craning his neck to peer up at Harry’s face.

“Alright.” Harry nodded. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I should’ve said, ‘I’ll eat later.’” He turned back to the infant and raised an eyebrow. “How’s that?”

Severus shrugged, immediately losing interest in the subject now that Harry had stopped lying. “Me go woo?” He asked hopefully.

Harry sighed. “Why would you want to go with me? There’s nothing to do there. It’s me and Dumbledore talking. How is that interesting?”

“Come on, love!” Ginny called Severus from the kitchen, holding her hand out to him. “Go let the boring adults talk. You can help me make chocolate chip pancakes.”

Severus grinned and immediately ran over to her.

Harry rolled his eyes and shook his head, “Thanks, Gin.”

“See you in a bit, Harry.”

“Professor?” Harry knocked on Dumbledore’s old, wooden door.

“Come in, Harry.” Came the muffled reply just seconds before the door swung open of its own accord.

As soon as the teenager walked into the room, he could immediately sense something was amiss. Frowning, he took a look around and noticed Madame Pomfrey standing next to Dumbledore’s desk. They both looked rather grave.

“What’s happened?” He asked, immediately getting to the point. He didn’t like the way the two of them were looking at him.

Pomfrey and Dumbledore exchanged a fleeting look. “Come over here, Harry, please.” The Headmaster said, waving to the chair across from his desk.

Harry’s frown deepened, even as he approached the old man’s desk. “Headmaster, if this has something to do with Severus—”

“This has nothing to do with Severus, Harry,” Poppy answered, “and everything to do…with you.”

Harry’s eyebrows sunk low in confusion and he narrowed his eyes at them. “Me?”

Dumbledore sighed, “Yes, Harry, you.”

“This meeting is about me?” The teenager’s eyes flew from one to the other suspiciously. What could they possibly want to talk to him about? Almost immediately, Harry’s eyes fell onto the folder in Pomfrey’s hands. It had his name on it.

The matron took a deep breath. “Harry, this is your medical file from St. Mungo’s. They forwarded it to me just before you came home from the hospital.”

Harry’s jaw tightened. He could feel his blood start to boil. “And…?” He forced through gritted teeth.

“Harry, as per standard operating procedure, they had a magical medical history performed on you.” Dumbledore replied warily.

The teenager’s grip on the chair in front of him tightened exponentially. “Did they?”

“Harry—”

“And they found absolutely nothing amiss!” The young wizard snapped, his eyes flaring. “And you see absolutely nothing amiss! So the point of this meeting is null!” With that, the teenager turned on his heel and began marching out of the office.

“Harry!” Dumbledore called, his chair scraping the floor as he stood up from his desk. “Harry, please—”

“Professor Potter, we have to talk about this!” Pomfrey added beside him.

Harry stopped suddenly and spun around to face them. “NO! We don’t ‘have’ to talk about anything—most especially my past!”

“Why didn’t you tell us, Harry?” Dumbledore asked sadly, his eyes filling with pity.

“You see?!” Harry cried, pointing directly at Dumbledore. “That is why I didn’t tell any of you! That is why I never tell anyone about it!” The teenager scoffed. “Pity. It’s ridiculous. I always see it—in everyone’s eyes! Everyone who knows, that’s all I see when they look at me!” Harry ground his teeth together and pointed fiercely at the Headmaster. “I will not have it from you, or from anyone in the wizarding world!” The teenager pulled back and growled in frustration. “No one in the wizarding world knows—not Remus, not Sirius, not Ron or Hermione. The only reason Ginny knows is because one of the conditions of our relationship was absolute honesty! If it wasn’t for that, I wouldn’t have told her!” Harry shook his head and turned away from them.

“We would’ve helped you, Harry.” Madame Pomfrey replied, coming over to them from where she had stood, frozen in place. “We would’ve helped you if had just told—”

“That’s bollocks!” Harry replied, glaring at her.

“Who was it, Harry?” Dumbledore asked, his bright blue eyes never wavering from the boy in front of him. “We know your uncle did all the physical stuff. With the severity of those injuries, it’s not that hard to figure out.” The old man continued, gesturing towards the open file in Pomfrey’s hands. Then his eyes turned cold and his voice took on a dangerous edge. “But who was it, Harry? Who was the one who caused the most damage?”

“Now you listen to me.” Harry growled, crossing over and grabbing Dumbledore by the front of his robes. The teenager pulled himself up to his full height and got in the old wizard’s face. “Stay OUT OF IT!” He cried, his voice low and dangerous. “Don’t you understand? I have a paper trail now in this world because of that!”

“I don’t see what that has anything to do with—”

“Of course you don’t!” Harry screamed, pushing Dumbledore away and rubbing the back of his neck in frustration. “Of course you don’t, because it doesn’t directly affect you now, does it?!”

“Mr. Potter—”

“That paper has made me a liability!” The teen continued, pointing to the file in Pomfrey’s hands. “Now they’re never going to let me adopt him!”

“How does this make you a liability?” The matron asked, confused.

“Because it connects me to my records in the muggle world!” Harry exploded. “If any of the Death Eaters get a hold of those, they’ll have legal justification to override the guardianship papers. They’ll have what they need to take my boy away from me!”

“Then we’ll destroy the paper, Harry!” Dumbledore interjected, straightening the front of his robes. “Just talk to us—please, my boy!”

“LOOK, old man!” The teen replied, pointing fiercely at the headmaster. “My past is my past. It’s my business! I have lived through it, I’ve dealt with it, I am OVER it! The last thing I want to do is turn it into a story I can tell over supper! Everything that happened to me as a child is not something people need to hear about. All you need to know is that I have moved on.”

“But, Harry—”

“KEEP OUT OF IT!!!” Harry’s voice rose so high he squeaked at the end of his exclamation. “It’s not important anymore. That’s the end of it! So LEAVE IT THE HELL ALONE!!!” With that, he turned on his heel and marched towards the door. “Oh,” Halfway out of the room, he turned back to them, “And if you care anything about me at all, you’d destroy that paper!”

And with the slamming of the headmaster’s door, he was gone.

“Mahma! Mahma!” Holding the little flower he had just picked, Sev ran across the garden to where Molly was seated with Teddy on her lap and deposited it into her hand. “Fow ooo!”

“Oh, thank you, darling!” Molly replied with a big smile, holding her arms open for a hug.

“So what did the headmaster want?” Ginny asked, forcing a leg between Harry and the arm of the swinging chair, a silent request to sit down next to him.

Her boyfriend scooted over subconsciously, his eyes remaining fixed on a point a thousand miles away.

Ginny took that as a yes and squeezed herself in. Yet Harry was so lost in his thoughts, he didn’t even seem to notice. Ginny frowned.

“Harry?”

“Hmm?” The teen grunted in response, sounding more than a bit distracted.

“Did you hear me, love?”

“Mm-hmm.” He replied in the same tone. Harry’s face scrunched up where he leaned against the palm of his hand, and his voice sounded rough, like it was packed with emotion.

The teenager sighed. Whatever Dumbledore has wanted to talk about, it affected Harry greatly. “Come on, love.” Ginny said, wrapping her arms around Harry’s chest and leaning her head against his shoulder. Her boyfriend put his arm around her almost robotically. “What’s the matter, Harry?”

Her boyfriend heaved a great sigh. “They know, Ginny.” He replied, his voice laden with sadness and pain. “They know about what happened to me when I was a kid.”

Ginny’s eyebrows scrunched up in confusion and she pulled up to look him in the eye. “Who knows? About your uncle?”

Harry shook his head. “Not just my uncle. They know everything!” He cried in distress, “They know about what happened to me in primary school!”

Ginny sat up completely and her eyes widened. “Who knows? Dumbledore?”

“They’re not the important ones, Ginny.” Harry whispered in reply, “St. Mungo’s has a copy of my magical medical history. I have a paper trail now in this world because of that!”

“Calm down, love—”

“Malfoy and his men are going to find that paper, and they’re going to use it! They’re going to track down my muggle criminal records—” Harry tugged at his collar, like it was getting harder for him to breathe. “I don’t know where those are! I can destroy my medical history, but…How am I going to destroy my criminal records when I don’t even know—”

“Harry…Harry, calm down, love!” Ginny repeated, rubbing his back in an effort to relax him.

“I’m going to leave a trail of disaster wherever I go. They’ll know who destroyed them. Who else would want to destroy them?! And then they would ask why Harry Potter wanted destroy his own records. What could he be hiding? What—”

“Whoa! Relax, pup!” Sirius exclaimed, coming out of nowhere.

“Are you alright, Harry?” Remus added from behind.

“And it’s not my goddamn fault!” Harry screamed at his godfather, causing everyone in the garden to turn towards him. “It NOT!!! How could it be?!” The teenager inhaled sharply, and shook his head roughly. “How could it?” His gaze turned inward and his face contorted into a scowl. “He was my teacher. He was my primary school teacher. I trusted him!” Harry cleared his throat and growled in frustration. “I trusted him and he ruined my life!”

“Oh my god…” Sirius breathed in utter shock. “Remus, please don’t tell me he’s talking about what I think he’s talking about.”

“Harry?” Remus’ own voice was shaky, uncertain, and laden with distress.

“Shhh now, love…” Ginny whispered in his ear, lacing her voice with a bit of calming magic in a desperate attempt to get him to settle down.

Yet Harry was impervious, shaking his head with a look of resolve on his face. “And they’re going to say it. I know they are! They’re going to say it! They’re going to say that I have a history of violence, and that the muggle courts ordered me to go to a shrink several times, and that I ran away each time, and that I got arrested several times in the past few years, and that I’ve been involved in muggle gang activity—they’re going to make me out to be a criminal and a lunatic!” The teen lamented. “And they’re going to make up some ridiculously large percentage and they’re going to say that 100% of people who were abused in their lifetime usually end up repeating the cycle of abuse. And they’ll say that I was physically, emotionally, and sexually abused and neglected and that Severus isn’t safe around me. I can hear it!!!”

“Haweh?”

“Mum, take the boys inside, please?” Ginny called, hugging Harry close.

“Haweh?!”

“Come on, my darlings.” Molly lifted both Teddy and Severus into her arms and began carrying them into the house.    

“Haweh?!” Severus protested, bucking in her arms. “Haweh!”

“He’s alright, love.” Ginny replied in a voice meant to ease his turmoil. “He’s okay. Just go inside, please.”

Severus bit his lip and continued to peer worriedly over Molly’s shoulder, even after the kitchen door closed behind her.

“Pup, you have to calm down.” Sirius replied in what he hoped was a calming voice. He took a knee beside the swinging chair in order to be eye-level with his godson.

“What exactly is he talking about, Ginny?” Remus asked, taking a knee as well.

“They can’t take my boy away from me!” Harry cried, meeting his godfather’s eyes. Sirius could see the desperation in his godson’s gaze. “Please tell me they can’t!”

“We’re going to do everything in our power to make sure they won’t, Harry.” The animagus replied, gripping the back of his godson’s neck in support.

“What’s he worried about, Gin?” Remus asked in concern.

“That Malfoy’s going to use his muggle records against him.” The teen whispered in return.

“He has muggle records?”

“I have a muggle medical record and a muggle criminal record as well.” Harry replied wearily, collapsing against the back of the swinging chair, exhausted.

“You have a muggle criminal record?” Remus echoed, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

Harry sighed. “It’s a long story, Moony.”

“What are you worried they’re going to use against you?” Sirius asked, trying to form some sort of strategy in his head.

“Everything in those records can be used against me.” The teen answered, his voice full of self-loathing. “Every single thing!”

“And what exactly is everything, cub?” Remus inquired gently, making sure to keep any judgments out of his voice.

Meanwhile, inside the house, Severus wriggled his way down to the floor and promptly took off towards the back door.

“Severus!” Molly called, watching the infant from the corner of her eye, yet not bothering to chase him. Severus was altogether too short to reach the doorknob just yet anyway. “Come along, darling! They’ll be right along.” She continued, holding her hand out to him.

No, they won’t! Sev bit his lip and peered between her and the rather tall door several times. Finally, seeming to have come to a decision, he turned back to Molly and shook his head. “Uh, uh, uh!” Promptly walking over to the door, he began knocking on it as if expecting someone to open it from the other side.

“Go on, Molly, I’ll look after him.” Arthur said, coming out of nowhere.

Severus peered up at his towering figure. “Go back-back!” The infant cried, pointing at the door. Perhaps he could get Arthur to help him.

“Harry, Ginny, Sirius, and Remus seemed to be having a rather intense conversation back there.” Molly explained, adjusting Teddy in her arms, “Ginny wanted me to take the boys inside.”

“Odd.” Arthur frowned, strolling towards the window.

Severus promptly took after him and attached himself to his leg. No! No! I wanna see too! Curse these miniature legs of mine! Let me see too! “Up, up!” He exclaimed, jumping up and down, using Arthur’s trousers for support. “Up, up!”

“Alright, alright, settle down.” The Weasley patriarch bent over and lifted the child into his arms.

There we are. That’s better! Severus grinned. He couldn’t wait until he was this tall again. He liked being this tall. He could see everything!

Yet when he caught sight of the group huddled by the swinging chair across the yard, he wished he hadn’t. Harry was hunched over with his face buried in his hands. Ginny sat next to him, and crouched before him were Sirius and Remus. The teen looked to be in the middle of a deeply personal story, the contents of which were upsetting the two Marauders considerably, judging from the auras Severus was sensing from them.

“Haweh?” Sev sent through their mental bond.

The teen looked up to find his infant and his future father-in-law watching him through the kitchen window. Sev looked a bit worried so Harry sent back waves of reassurance to ease his troubled mind.

“Why didn’t you tell us any of this before, Harry?” Sirius asked, visibly upset by Harry’s confession. “When we could’ve actually done something about it!”

“And what would you have done?” Harry argued. “Dumbledore would’ve made you send me back.”

“Not if he knew what you were going through in your uncle’s house, Harry!” Remus argued. “And why didn’t you tell me?!” He cried, sounding slightly offended. “Back in your third year, when I was your defense professor, you could’ve told me at any point that year.”

“Did you not trust us, pup?”

“No, that’s not it at all!” The teen exclaimed in frustration, frowning at the two men before him. “See? This is exactly why I didn’t tell any of you—why I didn’t tell anyone! They would go on and on about why I didn’t tell them sooner. Do either of you know how hard it is for me to tell you this story right now?! If it wasn’t for this whole situation, I wouldn’t even be telling it! It would still be my secret!”

“Do you feel ashamed?” Remus asked, trying to understand.

“Of course he feels ashamed, Moony!” Sirius replied, turning a mild glare onto his best friend. “Remember what I was like confessing my home life to the Potters?”

“You see, Harry?” Ginny interjected, prodding her boyfriend slightly, “Sirius knows what it’s like.”

“I could’ve helped you through it, pup.” His godfather nodded.

“That’s not the point!” The teen growled, scowling at everyone around him. “I don’t need any help getting through it! I’ve already had help getting through it! My point in telling you all of this was so that you could help me build a defense against it, should this whole mess turn into a nasty custody battle in the near future.”

“That’s what it’s feeling like to me.” Remus remarked.

“What do you mean you’ve had help getting through it?” The animagus asked, confused.

Harry sighed and ran a hand down his face. He should’ve known they would keep asking questions.

“I’ve been a runaway most of my life.” He explained. “When my uncle was especially moody or whatever—whenever I knew it was either leave or be seriously injured—I took to the streets. East End of London—that’s where I liked wandering about the most. Don’t know why.” The teen shrugged. “Anyway…there was a Christian Minster there who ran a homeless shelter. He came to know me very well by the time I was seven. I always had a bed in the Minister’s shelter, whether or not the place was full.” Harry cracked a bit of a smile then and his eyes glazed over at the memory. “He even offered me his own bed more than once, while he opted to sleep on the floor.” Suddenly, he cleared his throat. “Anyway, he’s the one who’s helped me through…almost everything.”

“Harry, you only let him in on one thing.” Ginny argued lamely.

“Yeah, well, that one thing was almost everything.” Harry retorted.

“What ‘one thing’?” Remus asked curiously.

Harry growled in frustration and turned away, not wanting to see the pity on their faces. “This…sexual abuse thing I went through in primary school.”

“Oh, pup—”

“No!” Harry snapped, his eyes flaring as he turned back to face his godfather. “No, no, no, no, no! No, don’t give me that, ‘Oh, pup,’ and ‘Oh, cub,’ stuff. No! I’m not having it!” He declared firmly, his gaze moving between Sirius and Remus. “It was a thing that happened to me when I was five, it wasn’t my fault, but it’s screwing the rest of my life up! The only reason I’m telling you this is so that you can help me build a defense against it should this thing come up in court. I don’t want to talk about it past that!” Crossing his arms, he turned away once again and began grumbling under his breath.

Sirius exchanged a look of shock and confusion with the werewolf next to him. “Harry…you can’t just expect us to drop something like that—”

The teen shut his eyes and tightened his jaw. “Oh, for the love of…You see?! This is why I never told anyone any of this to begin with!” He exclaimed, gesturing towards them. “I knew it would turn into this!”

“But you obviously haven’t gotten over—”

“What would you know about that, Remus?!” Harry screamed, getting in his face. “You’re not me! You don’t know how I view the things that happened to me in my life! I am over it! Accept that!” The teen huffed and shook his head as he pulled away. “I told Mrs. Figg about what he tried to do to me and she gone and told the authorities about it. They arrested him a week later! Turns out I wasn’t the only one he tried to force himself on. Pervert even had pictures of everything he tried to do. Goddamn courts seemed to think I needed a shrink. My uncle went on and encouraged them. That just went on and solidified the neighbors’ opinion of me. I was better off wandering the streets of East End! Not like my uncle really cared.” He ranted in one long outburst. “‘Course I was five or six at the time—something like that. How the hell was I supposed to find food without stealing it? That started my relationship with the authorities. And if it wasn’t for police dropping me off at the minster’s shelter that night, I’d probably be part of a gang right now. Plenty to choose from on the street I called home.” Harry scoffed. “Anyway…the minister’s a persistent bloke. Kept asking why the court kept ordering me to a shrink. I finally relented and told him one day.”

“That’s the only thing you ever told him.” Ginny interjected.

“And that’s the only thing I’m ever going to tell him!” Harry returned smoothly. “Anyway, he and I had a good cry about it, and I’m over it!” The teen declared with finality. “There—that’s the whole story. Now are you going to help me or not?!” He demanded, eyeing the two men before him with a critical eye.

Both Remus’ and Sirius’ jaws tightened and the two friends exchanged a long look of concern.

“Fine, Harry, we’ll help you—” The werewolf started after a lengthy pause.

“—but you’re delusional if you think the discussion is going to end there.” Sirius finished, pointing a firm finger at his godson and fixing a matching look upon his face. “I know you, Harry. You’re sweeping this aside like it’s an annoying speck of dust. You don’t fool me, pup—”

“Nor me!” Remus added, climbing to his feet along with Sirius.

“When you sweep things aside like you do, you don’t want to talk about them. And you don’t want to talk about this particular thing because you’re not completely over it yet.” Harry opened his mouth to respond but Sirius silenced him with an, “Ah! You are in denial! Until we talk about this issue—”

“—all these issues—”

“—in full, we’re not going to be able to move on.”

“But I—”

“This is not an option, Harry!” Remus interjected, his voice sounding just as firm as Sirius’. “You come clean with us, you talk it out with us, and then we will strategize about how we’re going to handle this should this turn into a custody battle.”

“That’s not fair!”

“Take it or leave it, pup. That’s our final offer.” The animagus replied, dusting off his trousers. “And before you start saying anything rash, I want you look into that window over there,” Sirius pointed to the kitchen window, where Severus was peering out at him from his perch in Arthur’s arms, “and ask yourself, ‘Is it worth it to come clean with Sirius and Remus…if it means keeping that child in my life?’”

Sirius’ words struck a chord with Harry, and his mouth slowly closed again as his godfather’s message sunk in. Harry would do anything to keep that child in his life. Coming clean with the two men he considered his ‘fathers’ was a small price to pay to keep the boy he considered his ‘son’.

From his vantage point across the garden, Harry could just make out Sev’s little hand knocking on the glass of the kitchen window. His tiny forehead was pinched in a frown as he gazed at Harry with a look of concern that seemed completely out of place on a boy his size. Severus was worried about him. That seemed to be happening a lot these days. All he seemed to do was cause the child worry. Well, no more! Harry would be damned if Severus grew up the second time around with that blasted frown glued onto his face. He promised himself in the beginning that he was going to do everything he could to make sure Sev grew up knowing none of the pain of life’s harsh realities. He was going to be a happy child, a loving child, a carefree child; and Harry swore to himself that he would do everything in his power to make that happen.

“We’ll leave you to contemplate that answer.” Sirius continued, buttoning up his jacket. “In the meantime,” the animagus turned back and waved for Arthur to come on out to the garden, “I am going to run to the library of the Den, and to the Hogwarts library, and to the Ministry Library, and to wherever else I need to find law books that would help us with our situation.”

“Yes,” Remus agreed, “Malfoy may have the resources to afford lawyers who went to all the top magical law schools in the country. However, a good law school does not a good lawyer make.”

“Indeed.” Sirius nodded.

“Haweh!” Sev called and immediately began wiggling in Arthur’s arms in silent demand to be put down.

“We’ll talk in a few hours, yes?” Sirius smirked before turning on his heel and quickly retreating towards the house.

Harry, for his part, shook his head. “Like he actually gave me a choice.”

“Your godfather knows you better than you think, cub.” Remus smiled at Harry over his shoulder as he strolled towards the house at a much slower pace. “You should give him more credit than you do.”

“I’ll give credit where credit’s due!” Harry scowled, annoyed at how well the two Marauders actually knew him. Remus merely chuckled and shook his head.

“Haweh! Haweh! Haweh!” As soon as Sev’s little feet hit the grass, he took off running in Harry’s direction.

“We’re going to have a problem on our hands soon enough. Watch!” Ginny whispered in her boyfriend’s ear, a smile in her voice.

“He’s getting faster by the day.” Harry sighed.

By some miracle, Sev didn’t trip and fall in his mad dash to Harry’s side. “Haweh!” A smile tugging at the corners of his lips, Harry bent down and caught the infant, immediately wrapping the baby in his arms. The couple adjusted to accommodate their little bundle of joy on the small swinging chair.

“Wa ha, Haweh! Wa ha?!”

“Just telling Sirius and Remus a sob story, is all.” Harry assured him, planting a kiss atop his forehead. “There’s nothing wrong with me, I promise.”

“Mo why!” Severus exclaimed, narrowing his eyes at Harry and scrutinizing the teenager’s face.

Harry snorted, “I’m not lying, cub.”

“Immy?” Sev double-checked with her.

The teenager laughed at her boyfriend’s annoyed face. “You see, Harry? That’s what you get for lying so often. He doesn’t believe you anymore.” As Harry rolled his eyes, Ginny bent down and gave the infant a big kiss on the cheek. “Harry’s just fine, love.”

“Okeh…” Sev nodded, settling into Harry’s arms.

As long as Harry was fine, Sev was fine. He didn’t like it when Harry wasn’t fine, because then he wasn’t fine. It was the strangest feeling in the world! His stomach twisted up in knots, his heart rate shot up, and he felt like crying every time there was something wrong with Harry. He hated it! Absolutely hated it! He hated even thinking about it! Oh…perhaps he should stop then.

“Haweh!” Sev cried, trying to change the subject in his mind.

The teenager flinched. “Cub, I’m right here. You don’t need to scream.”

“Haweh?” The infant continued in a much softer voice.

“Yes?”

“Omo.” Severus shrugged. Sticking two fingers in his mouth, he began to chew on them.

Harry gave him a strange look. “You yelled my name out for no apparent reason?”

It was NOT for no reason! The grumpy voice at the back of his mind argued. It was to change his ridiculously desolate state-of-mind.

Severus blushed slightly and increased the intensity of his chewing. He was about to shrug a second time when all of a sudden, something flashed by the corner of his eye and he quickly sat up with a gasp in order to properly see what it was.

“What?” Harry frowned, scanning the immediate vicinity for anything out of place. “What is it?”

Severus leaned to the side just in time to see a small, potato-like figure with legs scurry into Nana Molly’s carrot patch. Echoes of impish laughter filled the air. The infant’s eyes widened in delight, “MOWMB!”   

“What?” Harry’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion as the child on his lap immediately began to wiggle and push in an effort to get down.

“I think he saw a gnome, Harry.” Ginny translated amidst a giggle.

“MOWMB!”

“Put him down, love.”

“Just…be careful, cub.” Harry replied, leaning down to place the infant on his own two feet. Severus immediately took off towards the carrot patch. “Sev—Severus!” Harry stood up and shook Ginny off when she tried to pull him back down. “There could be sharp things in there. He could trip and poke an eye out!” His girlfriend rolled her eyes but let him go chase after their infant anyway.

“Mowmb! Mowmb! Mowmb!” Sev squealed, running up one of the rows of carrots. He could see the little garden gnome up ahead of him, hiding behind a big piece of cabbage and giving him the evil eye. The infant stopped right where he was and peered back. Biting his lip, Severus crouched down and immediately lost his balance, falling back on his butt with an, “Oof!”

There was a rustling of leaves next to him and Sev peered all the way up to see Harry smiling down at him, amused. “What you doing there, cub?”

“Mowmb!” Severus replied, pointing at the scowling creature just ahead of him.

“I can see that.” The teen nodded.

“Harry! Where’s Severus?” Molly’s voice cried out from the porch.

“He’s here, mum.” The teenager replied, pointing to the carrot patch next to him. Severus peeked out from behind some of the leaves. “Chasing gnomes again.”

“You’re going to have a natural de-gnomer sometime in the future, mum.” Ginny interjected with a laugh.

“Well, don’t let him touch any of them. The little buggers are getting into the nasty habit of biting everyone who comes near.” The Weasley matriarch warned.

“Sounds like the perfect reason for us to find something else to do,” Harry murmured, bending down to retrieve Severus from the garden bed, “wouldn’t you say, cub?”

No! Severus wanted to chase the gnomes around! He delighted in the way they all ran away from him like he was the biggest giant they had ever seen and he was going to step on them if they didn’t get away fast enough. “Momstew!” Sev complained, peering over Harry’s shoulder and pointing at the little gnome behind the head of cabbage. “Momstew!”

“You can play ‘Monster’ with the gnomes later.” Harry replied, brushing the dirt off Sev’s trousers, “After we’ve had lunch.”

As if on cue, Sev’s stomach grumbled loudly and he reluctantly conceded for the time being. “Momstew wehtew.” He repeated, a slight scowl on his face.

Those gnomes better watch out later, though. Severus was coming! Oh…and he was going to bring Teddy with him too. Yeah! Double the trouble! Ha, ha, ha!

Wait a minute…Teddy couldn’t walk yet! The infant grimaced.

Well…Sev was going to fix that up right quick!

“Teddy! Teddy! Teddy!”

“Ah?”

“Mowmb!” Sev exclaimed, pointing at the door that led into the back yard. “Peh momstew wi mowmbs!”  

The eight-month-old metamorphamagus followed his best friend’s finger and stared at the back door in confusion. “Peh?”

“Peh! Peh! Peh!” Sev cried, walking around in a circle and holding his hands out to the sides. “Momstew! Momstew! Momstew! Woooooaw!”

“What are they talking about, sweetheart?” Tonks whispered to her husband.

“Haven’t a clue.” The werewolf replied distractedly, flipping the page of the Defense journal he was reading.

“Peh! Peh! Peh!” Teddy imitated with a grin, sitting up and immediately losing interest with his toys in favor of listening to his friend’s more appealing idea.

Severus nodded excitedly, enjoying the attention his friend as giving him. “Mowmbs go wan! Go wan! Woooooooaaaaaaw! MOMSTEW!” The eleven-month-old did his best imitation of a bog monster, walking circles around the other infant, making him laugh.

“Mo-mew!”

“Momstew!” Severus grinned and walked two steps in the direction of the door, waving for Teddy to come follow him. “Com bak-bak! MOMSTEW!!!”

Teddy giggled and began crawling after his friend…

…but then he stopped.

“Wah, Teddy!” Severus encouraged him, waving for him to stand before promptly losing his own balance and falling back on his butt. The infant was back on his feet in no time (with the help of the nearest couch, of course)! “Wah! Wah! Wah!” The waving caused Severus to fall back down yet again.

Teddy giggled at Severus and then began imitating his process for climbing to his feet.

Sev inwardly rejoiced. Yes! His dastardly plan was working! Those gnomes wouldn’t know what hit them when he and Teddy went out there later. “Howd dat!” The infant instructed, pointing to the trimming of the couch opposite his. “Howd dat eh…mmm…” Severus thought for a second, inspecting the trimming of the couch he himself was holding. Hmmm…what did he usually do after that part?

Severus pulled on the edge of the couch and used the leverage to help him to his knees. Oh yeah!!! “Poow! Poow, Teddy! Poow!” The infant cried excitedly, turning to his best friend and waving at him in encouragement. “Poow! Poow! Poow!”

The little metamorphamagus bit his lip and turned his attention to his own couch trimming. After staring at it for about a minute, he turned back to his friend.

“Ah!” Sev pushed himself back onto his butt and demonstrated the procedure for getting back onto one’s knees once again. “Ooo…get dap.” He grasped the edge of the couch and turned back to see if Teddy was doing it too. “Eh…POOOOOOW!” With a great show of effort, Sev pulled against it and climbed onto his knees.

Teddy sighed and looked back to study the hand that was gripping the couch trimming. What was Sev trying to say? He glanced once more at his friend. The other infant had pushed himself back on his bum once again and looked to be talking to himself. “Ooo get dap,” he muttered, “eh…deh pooooooooow!” Sev’s face scrunched up from the effort for a fraction of a second before it smoothed over and the infant glanced down to find himself on his knees. He then turned back to Teddy with a hopeful smile. “Go Teddy!” He squeaked, bouncing on his knees with a grin. “Go Teddy! Go Teddy! Go Teddy!”

The little eight-month-old bit his lip and studied the couch trimming once again. From what Sev kept saying, he should pull on it in order to get himself to his knees. Teddy didn’t know if that would work for him the way it worked for Sev, but he could try. Throwing one more glance back at his friend, and receiving an encouraging smile in return, Teddy gripped the couch trimmings with all his strength, closed his eyes, and pulled against them. When the infant opened his eyes once again, he was on his knees.

“Ha, ha, ha! GO TEDDY!” Sev exclaimed, squealing in delight.

Tonks gasped and slapped Remus on the shoulder, startling him. “Look! Your son’s climbing to his feet!”

“What?!” The werewolf exclaimed in surprise, throwing the journal aside and searching the room for his boy. His wife pointed to the edge of the couch they were both seated on. “Teddy!” Remus cried, a grin sweeping across his face. The werewolf stood up and took a seat right next to his infant, positioning himself so that his legs were on either side of his kneeling son. “Look at you, my boy!”

“What are you doing, sweetheart?” Tonks added, taking a seat next to her husband and bending down so that she was eye-level with her baby. “Are you trying to stand up, my love? Are you strong enough to do that now?”

“You know he is, Dora.” Remus chuckled, holding his hands out so that Teddy could use them to climb to his feet.

As Tonks ordered Remus to Accio the camera, Severus stood, alone, by the other couch, biting his lip. The moment Remus and Dora caught sight of Teddy climbing to his feet, all the attention had been diverted from him and onto Teddy. Now no one was listening to what he had to say anymore. The infant could feel a lump forming in his throat.

Looking around, Sev could just make out Ginny, Harry, Sirius, Ron, and Hermione, sitting at the dining room table and talking about something in hushed voices. Whatever, they were talking about, it looked to be rather important. Perhaps he shouldn’t bother them. Perhaps he should just find something else to do. The infant bit down on his lip even harder. Teddy was out of the question now. He was enjoying a family moment with Remus and Dora and Sev didn’t want to bother them. Chasing gnomes in the back yard was always an option, but Sev didn’t find the idea appealing anymore now that Teddy was obviously not going to be joining him. The lump in Severus’ throat grew. That left Sev with nothing. Teddy was too busy. Harry, Ginny, and Sirius were too busy. Sev didn’t know where anyone else was. They were all obviously too busy. There was no one left to pay any attention to him!!!

“Oh, hush now, cub. Enough of the theatrics.” Before Sev could blink, he was lifted off his feet from behind and placed on a very familiar knee.

“Haweh?” The infant turned tear-filled eyes up onto his guardian in confusion. When did Harry come over here?

“Of course you wouldn’t have noticed me come over, cub.” The teen responded, a small smile tugging at his lips. “You were too busy feeling sorry for yourself to notice that.”

The infant sniffed and stuck his tongue out at Harry, causing the teen to chuckle at the childish gesture. Harry pulled his feet up to sit cross-legged on the couch and resettled Severus in the niche right in between his legs, wrapping his arms around the infant before turning to address his best mate. Severus, for his part, got comfortable in his arms and stuck his thumb in his mouth for good measure.

“What’s wrong, Harry?”

“Nothing.” The teen smirked, tightening his arms around the infant. “This one was getting a bit jealous when all the attention was suddenly diverted away from him.”

“Mo, Haweh!” Said infant argued around his thumb. Yet he smiled when Harry planted a kiss atop his head.

“And look at you, Teddy bear!” Harry exclaimed, grinning down at his godson, who was now standing on his own two feet (with his father’s help, of course). “Look at you! Up by your lonesome now. You’ll be joining Sev in no time, won’t you?!” Teddy giggled and began bouncing on his feet.

“We’ve been letting him run around our quarters in his walker.” Dora explained. “Letting him build up muscle so that walking would be easier once he started doing it.”

“Well then he should have a strong pair of legs on him now, shouldn’t he?”  

“It looks that way, yes.” Remus replied between chuckles as Teddy began jumping up and down, using his father’s fingers for support.

Now newly reenergized, Sev took his thumb out of his mouth and sat up in Harry’s arms. “Wah, Teddy!” He encouraged, “Wah! Wah! Wah!”

“Why don’t you show him how it’s done, sweet?” Ginny suggested as she took a seat next to Tonks. “Come walk to me, love.” She added, holding her arms out for Severus.

“Dowm, Haweh.” Sev muttered, even as he turned in his nest and climbed down the couch by himself. “Dowm, dowm, dowm.” Harry wisely made no comment, settling for fixing a smirk upon and his face and supporting his infant on the way down. “Ooof!” As soon as Severus reached the floor, he fell back onto his butt, but with Harry’s help he was up on his feet once again. The infant turned and kept going as if the fall never happened. “Ooo wah, Teddy! Wah, wah, wah…WAP!” After making sure that he was perfectly balanced, Sev let go of Harry’s fingers and slowly walked over to Ginny, grinning as the teen wrapped him in her arms. “See? Wah, wah, wah!”

“You want to try that, cub?” Remus asked, turning back to his own wide-eyed son.

“Wah!” Teddy squealed, grinning at his best mate.

“Uh-huh!” Sev nodded. “Wah!”

“Dora, maybe you should go sit over there.” Ginny suggested, pointing to the spot next to a grinning Harry.

“Yes, love, come walk to me!” Dora exclaimed, taking a seat next to Harry and holding her arms out for Teddy to run into.

The little metamorphamagus turned back to Sev with questioning eyes.

“Wah, Teddy, wah!” Sev turned in Ginny’s arms and pushed through, crossing the space between the couches to settle into Harry’s arms once more.

The younger infant began laughing. “WAH!”

“Wah!” Sev nodded, walking over to Ginny once again.

“WAH!”

“WAH!” Sev walked back to Harry.

“WAH!”

“WAH!” Sev scooted back to Ginny.

“WAH!!!” “WAH!!!” All four adults watched in awe as both Sev and Teddy released the hands of their respective parents and walked across the space between the couches to settle into Harry and Dora’s arms.

A great cheer suddenly swept throughout the room.

Sev looked up to find everyone standing around them—Molly, Arthur, Fred, George, Ron, Hermione, Sirius and Andromeda. They were all standing around their couches and clapping their hands with giant smiles on their faces.

“You walked, my darling!” Sev heard Dora squeal into the ear of an excited Teddy. “You walked! Oh, we are so proud of you, my love!”

“And I’m proud of you for showing him how, cub.” Harry whispered into his own ear. The infant blushed and began chewing on two of his fingers in his nervousness.

“Wah! Wah! Wah!” Teddy exclaimed, waving at Sev before running back into his father’s arms.

“He did it again!” Sirius cheered amidst joyous laughter.

Not one to be outdone, Sev broke out of Harry’s arms and ran into Ginny’s. Not a minute after that, though, Teddy reached over and walked back into his mother’s arms once more. Sev followed happily into Harry’s.

Thus went their little game for the better part of an hour. As Teddy walked (and then ran) between Remus and Dora, Sev walked (and then ran) between Ginny and Harry. Andromeda and Molly stood to the side and took pictures of the little tykes, rejoicing in the major milestone Teddy reached that day (with Sev’s help, of course). Padfoot joined in the fun sometime later, helping Teddy make longer trips around the room the same way he helped Sev a few months before.

As Teddy enjoyed his personal time with Padfoot, Severus took a rest in Harry’s arms; foregoing everyone’s attention for a simple kiss atop his temple; content with listening as Harry whispered how he was proud of him for sharing his moment with Teddy instead of hogging the limelight, how he was proud of the patience he showed as he slowly taught Teddy how to walk, and how he was proud of his sharing Padfoot with his best friend.

“I’m proud of the person you’re becoming, cub.” The teen whispered, a smile in his voice.

Severus blushed and began chewing on his two fingers once again. Severus didn’t need the limelight. He got everything he needed from Harry.