“Would you and the missus fancy coming over for dinner tonight, Remus?” Harry asked as they made their way back to the Leaky Cauldron. The boys were still in their respective slings, Severus showing Teddy how different toys worked and both infants babbling up a storm.

“Are you sure he’ll have me?” Remus asked hesitantly, inclining his head towards Severus.

“Sev,” Harry called, rubbing the infant’s back to get his attention.

“Uh?” Sev looked up at him curiously.

“Would you be alright with Remus, Teddy, and Dora coming over for dinner?”

Sev grinned up at him. “Peb…by. Peb-by. Pebby!” He squealed, shaking the rattle in his hand and waving it at a giggling Teddy.

“Sev, come now, I need an answer.” Harry patted his back gently, catching his attention once more.

“Uh-huh!” The infant smiled, signing ‘yes’ at him.

“Thank you.” Harry turned to Remus, “See? No problem. He and Teddy are getting along way better than I expected.”

Remus smiled down at his son. “Yes, I know.” He and Harry exchanged a knowing look. “Dora, would you like to have dinner over at Harry and Ginny’s tonight?” Remus asked, peering over his shoulder at his wife.

“Sounds great, Remus!” Tonks called back distractedly, as she and Ginny were in the middle of a rather intense bitching session. Something about Ministry law and whatnot.

“Oh, that reminds me.” Harry said, having caught wind of one of their complaints. “Hermione wants to meet with you to ask you a few questions regarding your…furry little problem.” He said to Remus, lowering his voice significantly. Harry glanced around at the people surrounding them and decided casting a Muffliato would be the better idea. “She, Ron, and I have been poring over Ministry law books the past week or two and she’s been marking all the laws that give purebloods precedence as well as those that discriminate against people with disabilities.” He gestured towards his friend. “Like yours.” He held open the door to the Leaky Cauldron and gestured everyone inside. “She, Ron, and I have already spoken to Minister Shacklebolt about this and he quite agrees. The old laws need reforming. Muggles already have laws that prevent employers from discriminating against an employee because of a disability, why shouldn’t the wizarding world have the same?”

Remus nodded wordlessly. “I agree with you, Harry—wholeheartedly! But…” he paused for a moment, unsure of what to say, “…these changes that the three of you are talking about…they’re not going to happen overnight.”

“I’m well aware of that, Remus. Well aware.” He gestured for the ladies to precede them into the floo. “Even Kingsley told us that. We weren’t expecting them to, anyway.” He paused, “However, we do want to get the ball rolling on the process—make a plan, draft a bill, talk about how we’re going go about getting it passed—”

“Absolutely, absolutely. I’m completely at your service.” Remus nodded in agreement. “You first?” He gestured towards the floo.

“How about we go together?” Harry suggested. He bent down to whisper in Sev’s ear while Remus merely covered Teddy up as best he could. “We’re about to floo back now, Sev. Are you ready?”

Severus whined and buried his face into Harry’s robes, curling as far into the baby sling as he could. He hated flooing now!

Harry made sure his face was completely covered up before stepping into the floo next to Remus. “Hogwarts!”

They stepped out of the hearth in the Great Hall. Crying immediately ensued from the vicinity of Remus’ chest, while Sev shifted irritably in Harry’s. “Haweh! Haweh!”

Harry removed the blanked covering Sev’s head straight away and helped him to sit up again. Once the infant was upright, though, he went very still and soon began to turn green. “Sev, are you alright?” The teenager asked, concerned.

He got his answer as soon as Severus began to cough, sputter, and eventually threw up all over himself and Harry.

“Severus! My goodness!” Ginny shrieked as she pushed up from one of the house tables and hustled over to them. Sev began crying as soon as he finished spilling his guts, and he clung onto Ginny tightly when she lifted him from his sling.

“I told you the floo no longer agreed with him.” Harry said, wiping his soiled hands on the bottom of his robes.

“If you knew that, why didn’t you just apparate here?” Ginny snapped, holding Severus against her shoulder and patting him on the back, dancing from side to side.

Harry stared at Ginny incredulously as he dropped his glamour and retook his regular appearance. “Ginny, there’s a media circus outside of the gates of Hogwarts. I can’t very well apparate there without them hounding me like mad!”

“You were wearing a glamour!” His girlfriend argued.

“Even so! It still makes me uncomfortable.” He muttered, cleaning his clothes and hands with a wave of his wand. “And besides,” he took Sev in his arms and held him out so that Ginny could clean the both of them, “most people vomit the first time they travel via side-along apparition. If the floo doesn’t agree with him now, side-along apparition would only be worse.” As soon as everyone was clean again, Ginny helped Harry put Sev back in his sling. The baby had yet to stop crying.

“Is he alright?” Tonks asked as she balanced a crying Teddy against her shoulder.

“He’s fine.” Ginny answered, digging into Sev’s diaper bag. “Just had a bit of trouble with the floo again, that’s all.”

“My quarters are this way.” Harry said, leading them out of the Great Hall and towards the moving staircases.

“Here Harry—Children’s Stomach Calming Draught,” Ginny placed a tiny vial of potion in his hand. As the staircase moved between the first and second floors, Severus’ crying finally subsided enough to allow Harry to place a few drops into his mouth. He handed the vial back to his girlfriend. “Dora, you want any Children’s Stomach Calming Draught for Teddy?” The metamorphamagus smiled gratefully and accepted the vial, Remus helping her administer it to their son.

By the time they reached the fourth floor corridor, both boys were back to normal.

Sev was back in his sling, sitting up and babbling at Teddy, while the two-month-old was ensconced facing outward in the sling across Remus’ chest, listening to him.

“Peb-by. Peb-by. PEB-BY!” Sev squealed.

“Sev, not so loud.” Harry reprimanded automatically as they turned the corner into their corridor.

“Peb-by. Mewmew!” The infant pointed somewhere down the hall. “Da! Da! Mewmew.” He spread his arms wide. “Bi-ck. Bi-ck. Bick!”

“What’s he saying, Harry?” Tonks asked curiously as Teddy cooed and smiled at the other infant.

“He’s telling Teddy about how something is rather big.” Harry answered over his shoulder, “And it has something to do with Merlin.”

“Merlin?” Tonks looked puzzled.

“Harry, isn’t this the way to the Defense professor’s quarters?” Remus asked, noticing the familiar surroundings.

Harry snorted humorlessly, “Dumbledore’s subtle little push in the direction of his agenda.”

“That’s sneaky!” Tonks frowned.

“Ha!” Harry shook his head, “If you that’s sneaky, wait until you see the inside.” They stopped in front of the painting of Merlin.

“Ah! Sir Henry, Master Severus, and Lady Ginevra, what a fine scene the three of you make, indeed. How do you do this evening?” Merlin asked with a smile.

“We’re all very well, Sir Merlin. Thank you!” Ginny answered, nudging Tonks with her elbow as she snorted at Ginny’s full name. “I’d like to introduce you to two other friends of ours: Sir Remus, Lady Nymphadora,” Tonks’ hair flashed red at the use of her full name and Ginny grinned unrepentantly, “and their son Theodore.” 

“Well, ‘tis my honor to meet the three of you tonight.” Merlin greeted with a smile and a slight bow. “And what a fine scene the three of you make as well.”

Tonks couldn’t help but grin at that. “Thank you, Sir Merlin.”

“Mewmew! Mewmew!” Severus cried, waving his hands about to get the wizard’s attention.

“Yes, Master Severus?” Merlin smiled at the infant.

“Opem, pea.” Sev asked politely.

“It would be my pleasure if you would kindly just provide the correct password, please?”

“Eck…” Sev frowned. “Eck…” He scrunched his eyebrows in concentration. “Eck…” Oh, bloody hell! “Haweh, pawa!” He said, tapping Harry on the stomach and looking over his shoulder.

Harry had to lock his jaw to keep from laughing out loud. Apparently, everyone else did as well, including Merlin. When he felt he was finally able to control it, he smiled at the great wizard. “Excalibur.”

“Welcome home, Master Severus!” Merlin said with a smile and a small bow as he swung the door open. “Sir Henry, Lady Ginevra. Oh, and what a pleasure it was meeting you, Sir Remus, Lady Nymphadora, Master Theodore.”

“Thank you, Sir Merlin.” Harry gave the painting a small smile and showed his guests in.

“Oh, my goodness! You have lofted quarters?!” Tonks cried as she walked into the room. “Dumbledore gave you lofted quarters?!” She gaped at Harry.

“Dumbledore gave me lofted quarters with a fully stocked liquor bar, room to grow, my own secret potions lab that opens only for me, and a secret panic room for my future family. Now…if that’s not bribery, I don’t know what is.” Harry finished.

“You know what, Harry, you’re right.” Tonks nodded as she spun around to take in the place, “That’s really sneaky!” Then she squealed and dashed towards the stairs. “I’m going to go check out the second floor!” And without further ado, she ran upstairs.

“You know…you could’ve just not taken the bribe, on principle.” Tonks cried, as she stood by the railing and looked down at them from the loft.

“He didn’t give me the option of not accepting!” Harry complained as he removed his shoes and placed them by the door. “He moved my stuff in here before he even told me about Severus, or even asked me if I wanted the Defense Professor’s position!” He started emptying his pockets of shrunken bags, placing them on the table. “He just automatically assumed that I would accept Severus, and assumed that I would accept the Defense position. Now, granted, I wasn’t about to deny either, but the issue is he doesn’t even ask me these things!” Harry complained, passing Sev over to Ginny while he removed his outer robes. “I mean, I thought I made it perfectly clear to him after our row a month ago—”

“You had a row with Dumbledore?!” Tonks gasped as she stuck her head out of one of the guest bedrooms. “With DUMBLEDORE?! Why?!” Even Remus looked shocked.

“He’s been manipulating me!” Harry cried. “He’s been manipulating me my entire life! Severus as well!”

Severus muttered “Dum-dow” under his breath and blew raspberries from where he sat in Ginny’s arms.

Harry pointed to him. “Exactly! Dumbledore,” and he blew raspberries as well.

Sev grinned and giggled at him. Tonks, Remus, and Ginny couldn’t help but follow his example.

Teddy cooed and tried his hand at blowing raspberries as well. Sev giggled and blew more at Teddy. Teddy laughed and blew more at Sev. Soon enough, the two boys were back to giggling at each other and blowing raspberries back and forth. The tense atmosphere in the room was officially broken.

Tonks, not one for too much drama, dropped the issue for now and continued to explore the loft.

“Harry, would you please find his playpen somewhere over there? It’s in one of the blue bags.” Ginny said before turning to Remus, “You mind putting these two in the same playpen? They seem to enjoy each other’s company.”

“Oh, not at all. Absolutely!” Remus smiled. He was beyond happy his son had found a playmate.

“Here, Gin.” Harry threw the playpen up into the air and waved a hand. It flew up, enlarged itself, and landed softly in the middle of the den. “I’ll take Teddy, Remus. You go on and relax.” Harry said as he reached for the baby metamorphamagus. “How’s my godson, huh? How’s my Teddy bear? How’s my boy, eh?” They laid both infants on their stomachs in the playpen and Harry summoned several stuffed animals from Sev’s crib and laid them in there with them.

As soon as the boys were suitably occupied, Harry and Ginny set about enlarging their purchases and putting them away while Remus helped and Tonks kept an eye on the children.

“Harry, I thought Dumbledore gave you a ton of potions ingredients when he gave you the lab?” Ginny commented as she dug through a bag from Slug and Jiggers Apothecary.

“He did.” Harry answered, unpacking everything he had to put in the bathroom. “But he didn’t give me those—I checked.”

Ginny eyed a bottle full of brown sludge in dismay. “What, in Merlin’s name, is this stuff?”

Harry glanced up. “Bat dung.”

Ginny’s lip curled. “What’s it used for?”

“Wolfsbane.” Harry answered as he pulled the baby shampoo and soap out of a bag. Both Ginny and Remus turned to him in surprise. “I’ll be brewing your Wolfsbane potion from now on, Remus.” He told his best friend. “Don’t worry—I’ve done it before. It was my potion you drank last month. Did it work well?”

“Perfectly!” Remus answered, surprised by the new information. “Dumbledore didn’t tell me you brewed that batch.”

“I told him not to.” Harry replied. “I didn’t want to worry you or anything.”

“Harry, I would have been infinitely less worried if he told me you were the one who brewed that batch than I was when I actually drank it last month, because I didn’t know who brewed it at all.” Remus informed him.

“Well,” Harry smirked as he picked up all the bathroom supplies, toys, and nappies, “now you do.”

Remus helped him carry his things. “Well then it seems I owe you a debt of gratitude.”

“Oh, hush up, Remus!” Harry scoffed, “You’re one of my best friends. I wouldn’t have it any other way.” He tossed the bath toys into a basket and moved it aside, placed the baby shampoo and soap on the shelves, and proceeded to load the drawers of the changing table with the nappies and wipes they bought earlier.

As he shut one drawer and opened another, Harry noticed, out of the corner of his eye, that rather than helping him, Remus was merely leaning against the sink, arms crossed, staring at him wistfully. “What?” He asked, eyebrows furrowed.

Remus looked startled for a moment, and then he shook his head. “I…It’s just…” He seemed timid, unsure of whether or not he was about to say the right thing. “I know how you said tha—that…that I don’t owe you a debt of gratitude, Harry, but I do. I do so much. I mean…” he shrugged, “…people usually…react to me like Severus did a while ago. They may appear nice and friendly, if a bit wary at first, but…but the moment I get too close…they back away so quickly my head spins.” Remus murmured sadly, wrapping his arms around him like a cloak against the coldness of the world. “But you didn’t.” He looked up at Harry as if he had just laid eyes on the most delicate piece of china in the world. “You didn’t back away one bit. You…stayed even though our friendship over the last two years has been…less than spectacular.”

Harry snorted. “Remus…we were at war. Everything was less than spectacular.”

Remus waved him off. “Oh, I know, I know.” He shrugged. “But that’s not really what I’m talking about, Harry, I mean…war has the tendency to tear friendships apart. And I would’ve understood completely if you didn’t stay with me. I mean…” he chuckled self-deprecatingly, “I wouldn’t have stayed with me…”

“Remus, what are you on about?” Harry gazed at him, concerned.

“You stuck with me, Harry!” The werewolf smiled. “You stuck with me and I’m really grateful for it. And…and I’m amazed as well, I mean…the last two years for me have been the most stressful of my life! What with spying on the werewolves, marrying Tonks, having Teddy…” He gave Harry a guilty look, “…I…im—imagine my behavior over the last two years has been…snappish…stand-offish…a bit erratic at times…”  

Harry chuckled lightly at him, shaking his head, “Remus, that’s nothing.”

“On the contrary, Harry, you stuck by me, and that’s really something—something big, at least for me.” Remus replied.

“My father would’ve stuck by you. Sirius stuck by you!”

“Sirius didn’t stick by me like you did, Harry.” Remus shook his head.

Harry paused. “What do you mean?”

“When I left Tonks…” Remus pushed himself up to sit on the counter by the sink. “When I found out she was pregnant, and I got scared and left...” Again, he looked up at Harry guiltily, “I stayed over at Grimmauld Place with Sirius. He was a bit curious as to why I wasn’t staying with Tonks, and I…I told him, but…he didn’t say much about it.” He shrugged. “He just…shrugged and…told me to make myself at home again. And I did! I did…until…”

“I came along.” Harry supplied.

“Exactly!” He gave Harry a sad smile. “You came along, and…asked me why I wasn’t with Tonks and…nearly bashed me over the head with a frying pan when I told you.” Both of them chuckled at that memory.

“I didn’t mean to, by the way.” Harry said with a smirk, “I just...lost control of my magic for a second and the frying pan went flying across the room.”

Remus laughed and waved it off. “No, no, no! That’s what I’m talking about—it was a bit of a wakeup call for me.”

Harry still shook his head regretfully, “I should’ve handled things a bit more delicately—”

“NO! No, Harry! You handled things perfectly!” Remus retorted.

“I called you a coward—”

“I was being a coward!” He leaned back against the mirror. “I was being a coward and you let me know it! It was because…It was because of that that I started rethinking everything about my life and what I wanted and what I was supposed to do or had to do…Sirius didn’t push that on me! Sirius just shrugged it off and let me do what I felt was right at the time. You called me on my mistakes and made me reconsider what the ‘right thing’ was, and…” He gestured towards the door of the bedroom, “…look at me now, Harry!” He grinned euphorically. “I’m in heaven! I’m in heaven and it’s because of you!” He pointed at the younger man. “You…you didn’t let my bad attitude over the last two years stop you, you didn’t care that I was older than you, or whatnot! You…You. Were. My. Friend!” He snorted self-deprecatingly, “And what did I do? I knocked you into the wall for being the sensible one!”

“Remus—”

“But you’re still here! By some bloody miracle, you’re still here!” Remus jumped off the table and approached him excitedly. “Despite everything I’ve done that could’ve possibly driven you away…you consented to be my son’s godfather! You…you spend your own money to buy him baby supplies because Dora and I can’t afford it, you…you’re going to make me Wolfsbane every month from now on?! You told me you were going to con Dumbledore into giving me a job, and my family a safe place to live well and grow. You…You’re trying to change the Ministry law in my favor! You changed Severus’ mind so much he allowed me to hold him! Harry! I—I—I….” Remus began to stutter, not knowing how to word his infinite gratitude.

“Remus!” Harry grasped the other man’s shoulders firmly and grinned at him. “I. Know.”

“No, Harry—”

“I do!” The teenager interrupted him, shaking the older man’s shoulders slightly. “I might not be as articulate as you are, mate, but I…I feel the same gratitude towards you.”

“But I haven’t done much—”

“Oh, but you have, Remus.” Harry assured him. “You have. I can’t put it into words right now, but trust me, you have. Eh?!” He beamed and gave Remus’ shoulders a supportive squeeze.

Remus snorted but nodded, and the two men exchanged a brief, manly hug.

“Now,” He released Remus’ shoulders and pat him on the back, steering him towards the door in the process, “Enough of this maudlin atmosphere, I say, eh?”

Remus laughed and allowed Harry to guide him out the door, “Yeah. Ha, ha!”

“I could use a Butterbeer, right about now.”

“Oh, absolutely!” Remus sighed in complete agreement.

“Boys! Dinner’s on the table!” Ginny’s voice called from the kitchen.

“Hey, look at that! Right on time!” Harry murmured. The two men shared a look and began to laugh.

By the time they got to the table, Severus was strapped in his new high chair, Tonks was preparing Teddy to nurse, and Ginny was coming around with table mixing something in a baby bowl. “Okay, Sev!”

“Uh?” The baby turned to her.

“This is a special formula I gave to the house-elves to make that I got from Alkyds and Moore earlier today. It’s the same consistency as baby food, but the nutritional value and flavor are different.” She explained, sitting in the chair next to him. “There’s a spell I can put on it that will make it taste like anything you want it to taste like. Therefore, all the house-elves need to do is make this little concoction, but for you, because the flavor can vary, it would be like a different meal every day. Okay?”

Sev grinned. He liked that idea very much!

“Now what would you like your dinner to taste like?”  

Sev smiled impishly and pointed across the table. “Ocoweh!”

Everyone followed his finger to the chocolate pudding resting on the other side of the table. Ginny’s lips thinned into a straight line, Remus turned away to hide a smile in his sleeve, and Tonks threw her head back and laughed out loud. Her hair flashed from purple to bubblegum pink and she threw a thumbs-up towards the infant. “Good choice, Severus!”

Sev grinned at her, but the smile died on his lips as soon as Ginny turned back and gave him a firm, “No.”

“Uh?” He whined and began kicking in his seat. “Ocoweh!”

“No, Sev!” Ginny shook her head decisively. “The baby food doesn’t only mirror the taste of the model food, it mirrors its nutritional value as well. I’m not about to feed you chocolate pudding for dinner.”

“OCOWEH!” He screamed at Ginny, bouncing violently in his seat and hitting the table with his little fists.

“No!”

“HAWEH!” Sev squealed, trying to kick at Ginny.

“Are you trying to kick me?!”

“SEVERUS!” Harry boomed from across the kitchen. 

Everyone froze at once.

Sev looked up and immediately cringed at the stern look Harry was sending his way. He quickly readjusted his demeanor, playing the ‘innocent baby’ card rather than the ‘spoiled brat’ card. “Wa ocoweh pehbow.” He appealed softly, adding a pout for good measure.

“And Ginny already told you ‘no’.” Harry answered firmly. Sev whined and began to bounce. “Hey, hey, hey!” The little boy froze at Harry’s raised finger. “Do you want a time out right now?”

“MO!” Sev shook his head frantically.

“Then that is the end of this issue.” He said with a note of finality as he took the seat between Remus and Severus. “Ginny told you the baby food mirrors the flavor and the nutritional value of the food it’s supposed to copy. There’s no way on Earth I’m allowing you to eat chocolate pudding for dinner like my cousin Dudley. You saw what he looked like in my memories. Do you want to end up like that?”

Sev’s eyes widened and he shook his head.

“No. You don’t.” Harry mirrored his shaking head. “Therefore, no, you’re dinner is not going to taste like chocolate pudding. Make a different choice.”

Sev scowled at Harry and opened his mouth to whine, but Harry stopped him with yet another raised finger.

“I would watch what comes out of my mouth, if I were you, because I am one step away from emptying that playpen, sticking it in the corner, and giving you ten minutes of quiet time. Would you like that?”

Sev’s shoulders sagged and he leaned back in his chair sadly. “Mo, ehw.” He murmured.

“Good choice.” Harry said, picking up some mashed potatoes and scooping some onto his plate as he eyed the sulking baby. “Now you can still choose whatever flavor you want your food to taste like—pending Ginny’s approval, of course. Although she and I agree, I think, that there’s to be at least one food from every food group.” He met Ginny’s eye and she nodded.

Sev’s sulk deepened and he glowered at his baby table.

Harry stared at him for a minute, passing the mashed potatoes over to Remus. “Of course, if you don’t want to choose the foods you want to eat like a regular person, we’ll be happy to make the choice for you.”

Sev sat up at that. “Mo!”

“Then cut the attitude, young man, and make your choice!” Harry lectured sternly, “Everyone here’s waiting for you to choose so we can get your food ready and we can all start eating together. Now what’s it going to be?”

Sev whined sadly and pointed to the mashed potatoes.

“Thank you. Mashed potatoes, Gin. Anything else?” He asked the infant. “How about a vegetable?” Sev pointed to the corn. “Excellent choice. Fruit?” The apples. “Thank you. How about some French bread as well?” Sev nodded slowly. As Ginny got his dinner ready, Harry addressed the child again. “Now…I’m inclined to take away your dessert privileges this evening because of your behavior just now—”

“Mo!” Sev whined at him, appealing his case with wide, guilty eyes.

“But…I’ll reconsider if you apologize to Ginny for yelling at her and trying to kick her.” Harry finished gently. Sev hung his head guiltily. “I know for a fact that you’re not a spoiled brat, Sev.” He lectured softly.

“Mo.”

“No, you’re not.” Harry shook his head. “You’re not naughty. You’re not bad. You’re a very good boy, and you’re capable of better behavior than this. You know you are.”

“Owee.” Sev replied to Harry sadly, signaling ‘sorry’ against his chest.

“Oh, it’s not me you should be apologizing to. It’s Ginny.” Harry lightly took him by the shoulders and turned him towards a stern-looking Ginny.

“Owee, Immy.” Sev repeated sadly, his eyes looking suspiciously moist. He signed his apology against his chest and tried to find the courage to look up from his vigil on the table. When he finally found the elusive strength, he looked up to find Ginny still glaring down at him. “Owee!” He sniffed, batting away the obstinate tears that escaped down his face. He appealed to her with his eyes in the same manner he appealed to Harry.

Ginny’s heart melted at the first sign of water works. “Oh, Sev…” She sighed, reaching over and wiping away his tears with her thumb.

Her actions just made them fall all the more. “Owee…” The dam burst open and Sev began crying in earnest, signing ‘sorry’ over and over again against his chest.

“Hey, now…Hush! It’s alright…” Ginny exhaled gently, grabbing a handkerchief out of her pocket and wiping away his tears and snot.

Sev continued to weep and rock himself in his high chair. He gazed at Ginny imploringly through blurred eyes and signed three words: ‘want’, ‘kiss’, and ‘hug’.

“Oh, honey!” Ginny threw the handkerchief on the table and plucked Severus out of his high chair, wrapping him in her arms. “Oh, sweetie, come now…” She began rocking back and forth, rubbing smooth circles into his back as he cried into her chest. “I’m not that mad! I’m not even mad anymore. Everything’s alright now.” She gave Harry a bewildered look, but he just shrugged back at her. “I’m not mad anymore, Sev.” She whispered into his ear. “I forgive you, alright? You can have dessert tonight. Everything’s fine, okay?” Ginny gave him a big kiss on his exposed cheek and the crying immediately began to die down into whimpers.

“You like that, don’t you? Huh?” She said, her voice muffled against his cheek. When the whimpers died down even more, she looked up and grinned at Harry playfully. Ever so gently, she began wiggling her fingers against Severus’ likely tickle spots. The baby’s lower body twitched and his sobbing came to an abrupt halt. Ginny felt a smile against her chest. “Ha! I knew it!” She grinned at Harry. Bending down, she started placing soft kisses all over Sev’s exposed face as she tickled his ticklish spots. A fit of giggles spontaneously burst out from the little body against Ginny’s chest. “Ah! There he is! There he is! There’s the Sev I know! There he is!” Kiss. Kiss. Kiss. Kiss. Kiss. Kiss. Kiss. The infant began laughing all the harder.

Pulling back with a smile, Ginny flipped her hair and allowed the infant on her lap to take a breather from his giggling. She held him close as she met Harry’s eye. Her boyfriend was staring at her with an indecipherable look upon his face. Yet there was one thing Ginny was sure of: Harry liked what he saw—a lot.

Harry’s gaze was filled with love and adoration, among a myriad of other emotions Ginny didn’t feel like interpreting at the moment. Those two feelings, though, were enough; and they were reflected in her eyes as they exchanged a short but meaningful glance.

“Alright, Sev,” She grinned down at the smiling infant on her lap, “Can Harry get a hug and a kiss, too, or is that reserved only for Ginny?” She ran a finger down one of his ticklish spots.

Severus giggled and reached for Harry. “Haweh ooo!”

Harry smirked and pulled Sev out of Ginny’s arms and into his own. “Come ‘ere, scamp.” He wrapped the boy in his arms and gave him a big kiss on the head before placing him back in his high chair and running a gentle hand through his hair. “All’s forgiven now, alright?” He grinned at the infant who immediately grinned back. “Now!” He clapped his hands once loudly and eyed the food-filled table.

“Ow!” Sev immediately mirrored his clap with a smile.

Remus, Tonks, and Ginny all hid grins behind their hands.

“Enough of this drama, eh?”

Sev giggled, picking up his spoon and banging it against the table, “Bwama!”

“I’m hungry!”

“Uuuuuuuuuuuh—gwy!” Sev prided himself in trying to pronounce a new word.

“Let’s eat!”

“FOO!” The infant held up his arms in a victory gesture.

All the adults at the table laughed at Severus’ antics before turning to their dinners.

Severus decided he very much liked the taste of the food he chose and quickly forgot about the fact that he wanted chocolate pudding for dinner. Teddy nursed from Tonks as she ate, while the rest of the table discussed the goings-on in the wizarding world.

“Would you like to come to Godric’s Hollow with us this weekend, Gin?” Harry asked as he fed another spoonful to Severus.

“To help you restore your cottage?” Ginny looked interested.

“Yes, of course.” Harry nodded, wiping Sev’s mouth as the infant scooped up some Wizard Cheerios from his little table. “It’s quite a beautiful plot of land, I think. It has lots of space. The cottage itself just needs some work—a bit of rebuilding, restoring, cleaning up and such. The land could do with a bit of gardening and the trees could use a trim. You’ll really love it, Gin, I promise.”

“It sounds really splendid.” Her eyes lit up at the description.

“It is. It’s quite beautiful.” Remus nodded.

“When was the last time you were there, Remus?” Tonks asked.

“Oh…” The werewolf sighed, shaking his head as he tried to recall a date. “It must have been…the funeral!” His eyes widened as the realization hit him. “I haven’t been there since James and Lily’s funeral.” His eyes glazed over momentarily as memories began taking over. “I remember spending a few summers there as a boy, though.” He smiled. “It was your father’s family home—the place where he was born. I remember Peter never came over during the summers, so my memories of summers in Godric’s Hollow with James and Sirius remain unblemished by that rat bastard.” All the adults at the table chuckled at him. “It really is an amazing little property, I’ll tell you that. It’s rather big as well.”

“There’re woods out back with lots of flying room.” Harry continued.

“There’s also a cave a little ways away from the house—by the creek.” Remus broke in with a melancholic smile. “It’s not very big, but it’s very safe. Mr. Potter spelled in some support charms to brace the walls, as well as a Muggle-Repelling Charm and a Creature-Repelling Charm. Your grandfather is actually the one that found it when he was a boy and set up shop in there. James, Sirius, and I took it up in our own boyhood. With a little luck, everything will be just as we left it.”

Harry smiled and Ginny grinned beside him. “That sounds brilliant, Moony!” She turned to Tonks.

“I’m excited!” The metamorphamagus whispered and the two girls giggled at each other. Inside joke, apparently.

“It’s a small mixed community—muggle and wizard. The town’s not very big. There’s a village square, a church, post office, pub, a few shops here and there. It has that Old English town sort of atmosphere. Lots of running room. Open up, Sev.” Harry fed another spoonful to a now-curious Severus.

“Perfect place to hide from the media.” Ginny commented.

“Absolutely.” Harry nodded. “And did I mention it’s near Ottery St. Catchpole as well?”

“That can be a good or bad thing, depending on my mood.” Ginny retorted. Everyone laughed at that.

“So would you like to come with Severus and me this weekend?” Harry asked, turning his attention to Ginny.

His girlfriend met his eyes and gave him a meaningful smile. “Wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

“Whoo!” Tonks grinned and elbowed Ginny playfully.

Harry smirked and turned to Remus. “I’ll invite the pair of you when things have settled down a bit more. Perhaps next weekend or the weekend after, when I try to reassemble that roof, I may need a hand.”

Remus nodded. “Absolutely. And remember—Padfoot is always willing to help as well.”

“Yeah…” Harry’s smile began to fade and he and Sev exchanged a look. “Well…Sirius will have to wait until Sev’s ready for that…experience.”

The baby stuck out his tongue at Harry and made a disgusted face.

Harry chuckled lightly. Picking up a napkin, he proceeded to wipe Sev’s face clean once again. “Come now, he’s not that bad…”

“Anymore.” Remus muttered behind him.

“Just give it some thought, eh?” He said gently, making sure to meet Sev’s eye. “Now…how about some of the best chocolate pudding in the world?”

Sev immediately grinned.

After dinner, the boys had an hour more of playtime—this time on the living room rug—while the girls continued their chit-chat and the guys engaged in an intense game of Muggle chess.

Finally, when the clock struck eight, Harry proposed to call it a draw and announced it was time for Severus’ bath. Remus and Tonks decided to call it a night as well and Teddy pitched a crying fit when he realized they were about to go.

Tonks tried everything to calm the fussing baby while Remus gathered their things and placed his wife’s coat over her shoulders.

“Come on, sweetheart. We’ll be back in a few days. We’ll come to visit! Oh, what’s the matter, love?” Tonks tried reasoning with the two-month-old, but it was useless. The infant kept wailing while his hair flashed every color of the rainbow.

Sev was leaning against Harry’s chest, gripping his robes in his left hand and sucking the thumb of his right. He watched Teddy through half-closed eyes.

“Hey, Teddy bear!” Harry smiled down at his godson while he rocked Sev to and fro. “It’s going to be alright, Teddy bear! You’ll just say ‘goodnight’ for tonight and you’ll see each other again soon. Right, Sev?” He looked down at the infant in his arms.

Sev took his thumb out of his mouth and waved at the smaller baby. “Goo-my, Peb-by! Goo-my!”

“Goodnight, Teddy! Goodnight!” Harry took his cue from Sev and nodded at Remus.

“Alright. There, you see? Goodnight. Goodnight, now!” Teddy kept crying, but Remus and Tonks just ignored it for the moment and covered him up well with their coats as they entered the floo. They said their final goodbyes to Ginny and Harry, thanking them for everything, before heading home to Andromeda’s house.

“Come now, cub, the sink and bath toys are calling your name.” Harry whispered in Sev’s ear.

The new bath toys Ginny purchased in Diagon Alley delighted Sev to no end. He found himself going on new and bigger water adventures while Harry soaped, shampooed, and rinsed him clean. Before he knew it, he was being toweled off, dressed in his new, comfortable pajamas, and wrapped in a pair of strong arms. The room began rocking back and forth then, and a deep, gentle voice recited some story about a goat named Grumble who was really grubby. He never found out what happened to the Grumble the Grubby Goat, though, because before the story even ended he was off to the land of nod.