Harry sighed. He had the framework of the room finally set up after hours of spellwork. Now all he had to do was reinforce the structure and check for any weak spots before moving onto the final phase of construction. Or rather, he should say reconstruction.

“Harry?”

The almost-eighteen year old spun around at the sound of his name and came face-to-face with none other than Albus Dumbledore. There’s a surprise. He thought sarcastically.

“Headmaster.” Harry greeted, giving the old codger a half-smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.

Dumbledore returned it with a weary smile of his own. “How are you doing, my boy?”

Harry shrugged. “As best as can be expected,” he looked around at his work, “considering I’ve never done any construction spellwork before.” Pocketing his wand, he picked up his perpetually-cold bottle of Butterbeer, threw a towel over his shoulder and walked out the door.

“I told you you would pick it up rather easily.” Dumbledore commented, following him down the hall. “There’s not much to it.”

“Hm.” Harry grunted noncommittally, taking a sip of his Butterbeer and refusing to comment further. Aside from his greeting, Harry had yet to meet the old man’s eyes. He didn’t have much to say to him at the moment.

Dumbledore sighed. Harry was still mad at him. He couldn’t blame him, really. Severus was right when he accused him of raising Harry like a pig for the slaughter. He supposed what he did was shameful. Well…who was he kidding? He knew what he did was shameful. The thing was he really did care about Harry. As the years came and went, his affections for the boy grew and as the time for Harry’s sacrifice drew nearer, Dumbledore found it increasingly harder to break the news to him.

So he didn’t.

He had Severus do it.

After he purposefully separated himself from Harry, Hermione, and Ron during the Horcrux hunt, he stayed in a safe house no one but himself knew about. It was through a painting that he issued his orders to Severus. He knew the trio would succeed at finding and destroying all the remaining Horcruxes. It was just a matter of time. And the wait had paid off—when Remus’ patronus had found him and informed him that a battle was about to take place at Hogwarts, Dumbledore knew the boy’s darkest hour had finally come. He only hoped Severus somehow succeeded in the impossible task of breaking the news. He did. Harry had accepted his fate, just as he knew he would. He walked into the arms of death and calmly sacrificed himself for everyone fighting the final battle. He provided them with his protection in the same way his mother did. Then he did something completely unexpected—he survived.

Dumbledore had met Riddle as he paraded Harry’s body back onto the lawn of Hogwarts. After Neville beheaded the snake, Dumbledore stepped out of the shadows and made the Dark Lord freeze. The two had started fighting there and then, their respective sides quickly following their example. In the ensuing chaos, nobody noticed Harry’s body disappear. Then, as Dumbledore lay disarmed on the floor of the Great Hall and Minerva, who had come to his aid, landed next to him, and as Riddle fired a blasting curse at them intent on blowing them up into oblivion, a strong shield charm had come out of nowhere, throwing Riddle back clear across the hall. It was like someone cast a Petrificus Totalus on the crowd. Everybody froze.

Then out of thin air, appeared the boy who was destined to be their savior—Harry. No one, not even Dumbledore, could believe their eyes. The boy was glaring at the Dark Lord who glared at him in return. Everyone had picked themselves up off the ground and just gaped at the impossible situation. The Death Eaters had stopped fighting. Remus, Sirius, Tonks, Moody, the Weasleys, Shacklebolt, and everyone else in the Order had stopped fighting. Ron, Hermione, Neville, and everyone else in the Army had stopped fighting. A deathly silence had taken over the Great Hall.

Then Harry and Riddle began circling each other like two predators circled their prey. They moved in a big ring and everyone made them room. Harry ordered everyone to keep out of it; that the fight was between the two of them and them alone. Riddle taunted him for that. For a while, the two combatants merely threw insults back at each other. Riddle insisted that Harry was no great wizard and that he hid behind real great wizards and let them do all the work. Harry told him he was wrong about that and so many things. The boy informed him about Snape’s true loyalties and reasons and then taunted Riddle on how he, the half-blood Dark Lord, was too dim-witted to learn from his mistakes. The insult had thrown Riddle into a fit of fury. He fired the Killing Curse at Harry only to have it stopped by a shield emanating from Harry’s hand. Disbelievingly, the Dark Lord tried again and again and each time met with the same results. Harry taunted him mercilessly as Riddle merely proved his claim.

It was then that the greatest duel in wizarding history truly began. Harry steered clear of Unforgivables. Riddle threw nothing but Unforgivables. Both were fighting wandlessly within three seconds. Harry’s left hand held up a shield while his right fired a barrage of defense spells at his opponent. Finally, after battling continuously for half an hour, Riddle completely lost his patience and fired a unique Killing Curse at Harry. It was just like before in the graveyard of Little Hangleton. Riddle sent a stream of green light hurtling towards the boy and Harry threw everything he had into the unique shield he created. Then Harry pulled the final trick out of his hat. Using nothing but his power of will, and drawing love and support from his supporters in the crowd, Harry pushed the shield back towards Riddle and with a final shove, sent the Dark Lord’s own curse hurtling back towards its source. Lord Voldemort died with a look of frozen shock upon his face.

The celebrations lasted for ten straight days. Harry was asleep for half that time, Dumbledore recalled with a small smile.

Now it was almost a month later…and Harry was still mad at him. Dumbledore sighed. He had no idea how to make it up to the boy! Could he make it up to begin with? And here he was about to ask Harry for yet another great favor. Dumbledore supposed he might never recover the relationship he had with Harry before the betrayal. He might as well resign himself to that now.

The two walked in companionable silence through the Entrance Hall and out onto the grounds, heading towards the lake.

“Harry…what are your plans for this summer and beyond?” The Headmaster asked his former student.

Harry took another sip of his Butterbeer and glance sideways at him. “For the summer, not much. I mean I’m here,” he gestured towards the castle, “helping you and the other professors rebuild for the fall term. Plus, I’m restoring my house in Godric’s Hollow on the weekends.” Harry shrugged.

“And what of your work plans?”

Harry sighed, “Well…Minister Shacklebolt did offer that free entry into the Auror’s program for anyone who fought in the Battle last month. I already told him I’d take the job.”

“Ah.” Dumbledore nodded and smiled. “An Auror is a highly respectable position. Congratulations.”

Harry acknowledged his greetings with a nod.

“But from what I hear, because of that temporary relaxation of requirements, there’s been an influx of recruits into the training program and they’re planning on resolving that by redesigning their training agenda.”

Harry took a sip and nodded. “Instead of five days a week of less-intensive training, they’re planning on having recruits choose between three days of medium-intensive training per week, or two days of highly-intensive training per week. The training still lasts the same amount of time—three years. They just can’t handle that amount of people in the same room, at the same time, going through the same training scenarios. Not with the number of training instructors they have, anyway.” 

Dumbledore chuckled lightly. “I hear the latter option is considered suicidal.”

Harry smirked. “For most, yes.” He nodded, “They call it ‘The Crucible’. Recruits are only supposed to go through it once in their regular training regime. For those who choose that option, they go through it every week. No food, no water, no rest, just battle-intense scenario after battle-intense scenario from three in the morning Thursday until just before midnight Friday night.” He sighed.

“So…just a typical day for you, correct?” Dumbledore’s eyes twinkled, but Harry wasn’t looking his way.

Harry shrugged. “I suppose.” He stopped at the edge of a dock and just looked out onto the peaceful lake.

Dumbledore joined him in silence for a few minutes before asking, “So what do you plan on doing for the other three days of the week? Assuming, of course, you took the two-day option.”

Harry nodded, “I did.” He took a sip of his Butterbeer and gazed at Dumbledore from the corner of his eye for a long moment before turning back to the lake, “And I supposed what I’ll be doing for the remaining three days is whatever it is you’re trying to convince me to do right now.”

Dumbledore chuckled at that. “Harry…you know me too well.”

“Yes, well…”

“How would you like to join the staff as Defense Against the Dark Arts professor?” Dumbledore offered. “I’m pretty sure the curse Riddle put on it died with him last month by your hand. Who better to take up the Defense post than the man whose defense skills bested the darkest wizard in history?” The Headmaster raised an eyebrow.

But Harry was shaking his head, “I don’t think that’s going to work, Headmaster.”

“Why, in heavens, not?”

“Well, for starters, my girlfriend is coming back next year as a Seventh Year.” Harry argued.

“Nonsense!” Dumbledore scoffed, “I have the utmost confidence that you and Miss Weasley can keep your business lives and your personal lives separate. After all,” he smirked at Harry, “even if you don’t think you’re able to, I know for a fact that she will make you.”

For once, Harry echoed his chuckle. “That she will.” He took another sip of Butterbeer. “But still…what about Professor Snape?” He looked at Dumbledore, “He’s been pining for that position since he started teaching here. Madame Pomfrey assured me that the snake venom has indeed left his system and, aside for the inexplicable coma, he’s on the road to a full recovery. I’m sure come fall term he’ll be up and ready to start teaching again and what better subject to teach than the subject he wishes?”

Dumbledore’s shoulders drooped and he released a great sigh. “Professor Snape is the other reason why I came out here to talk to you today, Harry?”

Turning to the Headmaster, Harry met Dumbledore’s eyes with a look of concern, though for whom, Dumbledore wasn’t sure. “He’s dead, isn’t he?” He boy asked, his tone revealing not surprise, but mild resignation.

“Au contraire, Harry, Severus Snape is very much alive.” The Headmaster assured him.

Harry’s eyebrows furrowed, “Then what did you need to talk to me about?”  

Dumbledore grimace and turned on his heel, “Follow me, please.” He called over his shoulder as he hurried up the dock, “I’ll explain on the way.”

Harry wordlessly met the Professor stride for stride.

“Severus woke up from his coma two days ago.” Dumbledore began, “Naturally, he was confused and we did our best to explain the situation to him. As you can probably guess, his reaction was negative.”

“He wanted to die.” Harry surmised.

“Not quite wanted, but his thoughts were somewhere along that line.” Dumbledore answered, heading up the moving staircase towards the hospital wing, “You know, of course, that his reason for living beyond your mother’s death was to protect you from Voldemort. When we explained that Voldemort had indeed been defeated by your hand, and that you had saved him from certain death, and we were able to patch him up well enough for him to make a full recovery, he became rather upset.”

“So let me get this straight,” Harry broke in, turning the corner with the Headmaster, his robes billowing behind him, “He couldn’t imagine living while my mother was dead, but he did it anyway to protect me from Riddle. He didn’t quite want to die, but would welcome death without a fuss if it came for him because he most likely wanted to meet my mother beyond the Veil. But now we’ve all managed to pull him back from Death’s door, thus taking that chance away from him. And when he woke up and you told him everything, he threw a hissy fit.”

“Exactly.” Dumbledore nodded, eyes twinkling at him.

“So what happened?”

“Well…during the last school year, Poppy informed me that she took to storing poisons in her stores at the infirmary for those unfortunate souls who lost their minds from the endless Cruciatus curses the Carrows taught in ‘Defense’ classes.”

Harry’s eyes darkened at that. “I’ll see them in Azkaban for that if it’s the last thing I do.” He muttered under his breath, “So Madame Pomfrey did those unfortunate souls a favor. Was it painless?”

Dumbledore inclined his head. “Considering I’ve never consumed it, I wouldn’t know. Poppy, however, assures me it is. The effect is virtually the same as the poison muggles call cyanide, but the magic imbued in the concoction renders it painless to the drinker as well as undetectable to anyone but the best healers. The Carrows thought the poor souls died from continued exposure to the Cruciatus curse rather than by Poppy’s mercy killings; which is fortunate for Poppy.”

“Indeed.” Harry agreed. “She’s an amazing healer and a very good person.”

“Oh, yes.” Dumbledore nodded. “Anyway…when everything started to calm down last month after the victory celebrations, our usual Potions salesman—the same man who had been selling us new potions and potions recipes for the last fifty years—came back to give us his congratulations and, of course, to do a bit of selling while he was at it.” They rounded into the spiral staircase that led to the hospital wing, “He offered us something new and interesting this time around and Poppy just couldn’t resist buying several samples of the potion, intent on learning more about it.” He paused at the top of the staircase and gave Harry a meaningful look, “It was an aging potion—a permanent one; brand new to the market with absolutely no antidote. And it looked exactly like the poison Poppy used to keep in her stores.” He then turned right and continued on to the infirmary. 

“Used to? She doesn’t keep it anymore?” Harry asked.

“She got rid of them all the first thing in the morning after Victory Day.” Dumbledore answered. “But, considering Severus was unconscious at the time of both the poison disposal and the aging potion acquision, he couldn’t have known this.” They turned another corner. “When Severus awoke, he became rather upset, and it escalated to the point where we had to put him back to sleep several times. Finally, the last time, he unfortunately awoke while the other professors and I were in a meeting and Poppy was the only one there. Somehow, he managed to get a hold of a wand and broke through Poppy’s defenses easily. Before she could do anything, he ran to her stores and consumed a vial of what he thought was her mercy poison. It was in the exact place he knew it to be and had the exact same color, consistency, and smell.”

Dumbledore made to open the door to the hospital wing, but Harry put a hand on top of his to stop him. “Wait a second! What are you telling me? That Snape tried to kill himself and ended up aging himself instead?”

“Au contraire, my boy,” Dumbledore smirked, his eyes twinkling at Harry, “Severus tried to kill himself and ended up de-aging himself instead.”

The Headmaster pushed open the doors to the hospital wing, revealing a bickering Madame Pomfrey and Professor McGonagall standing next to an oak baby crib.

“Albus!” McGonagall exclaimed, pushing her way around the crib and towards them, “There you are! We’ve been looking for you. Oh! Hello, Harry.”

“Professor McGonagall.” Harry greeted with a smile.

“It’s a good thing you’re here. Albus, Poppy thinks he might have all his adult memories, but we’re not entirely sure.”

“His adult memories?” Dumbledore echoed.

Madame Pomfrey came over to them then and picked up what sounded like the argument she was having with McGonagall when they first walked in. “The salesman said that he wasn’t entirely sure about that detail of the effects, but that he was going to give us the name and contact information of the man who invented…”

Harry inched away from them, disinterested in the three-way argument that was brewing amongst the other adults. Tuning out the slowly rising voices, he shuffled over to the crib and tentatively peered inside.

A small infant stared calmly back at him.

Harry could see the features that so defined the Potions Master here in this young child, but they were muted, not having fully formed yet. The soft black hair, not yet long or greasy, lay flat against the equally soft scalp. The long hook nose was not yet quite so long. The slender, nimble fingers were currently chubby and short. But the eyes…those dark eyes…

Those were the same.

Everything else was different, but the eyes were the same. Those eyes bore into him now just as they did seven years ago in the first potions class he had with the man. Yet Harry knew how to read them now. He knew how to get below the surface to the truth underneath the skin. Harry met the child’s eyes and knew what he was thinking.

The baby was scowling at him…slightly. It was Snape’s trademark scowl, to be sure, but it looked completely out of place in a child this small.

Harry returned the infant’s calm gaze and leaned into one of the sides of the crib. He could feel a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth, but it managed to keep it down…for now. “Hello there, Mr. Snape.” Harry greeted evenly. Until he found out otherwise, he would speak to the child as he would’ve spoken to the man. “How are you doing?”

The scowl instantly disappeared and the infant looked at him curiously.

“Happy? Sad? Disgruntled? All of the above? None of the above?” Harry tried, knowing that Snape would understand what he was trying to say. That was, if Snape was still in there.

The baby peered up at him for a long moment before it blinked three times in rapid succession.

Harry raised an eyebrow at that. “Could you answer that one more time, please?”

The baby blinked three more times in rapid succession.

Harry nodded. “Disgruntled, then.” 

The baby scrunched his eyes shut and opened them again.

“Right.” Harry nodded, “I take that as a yes.”

Harry waited, and slowly, the child was able to bob its head up and down in a nod.

Harry echoed the gesture. “Yeah. I would feel disgruntled too if I tried to leave here but instead found that I unwillingly lengthened my stay.” He gave the child a gentle smile before glancing over his shoulder at the three older adults who were clearly arguing now. Harry rolled his eyes and turned back to the more companionable chatterbox at the moment.

The child, too, turned back to him after peeking at the older people through the bars of his crib. Taking a deep breath, baby Snape stuck out his tongue and blew raspberries at Harry.

Harry raised a surprised eyebrow at him. “Was that for me, or for them?” He gestured over his shoulder.

The baby stared at him for a second before looking back at the arguing group through his crib bars and blowing raspberries as them.

Harry chuckled gently, his laugh soft but straight from the heart. “I quite agree.” He told the child. Looking over his shoulder slightly, he gave the group a sidelong glance, stuck out his tongue, and blew soft raspberries in their direction.

Then he heard the most angelic sound in the world: baby Snape laughed at him.

It was like someone cast a Petrificus Totalus on the adults in the room. They stopped mid-rant and turned, astonished, towards the source of the childish giggles.

Harry as well was gaping at the child, shocked at the fact that he had just heard a laugh emanating from a baby with the surname Snape. But the soft smile continued to tug at the corners of his lips relentlessly and soon he and the baby wore matching smirks as they gazed at each other silently.

Then baby Snape held his arms out to Harry and opened and closed his hands. “Ah!” He cried. “Ah! Ah! Ah!” He opened and closed his hands faster.

Standing, Harry nodded and held out his fingers to the baby. First Snape rose to the sitting position, and then rested for a second before allowing Harry to pull him to his feet. Snape hung onto the bars of the crib and gazed at the frozen professors.

He blew raspberries at them again then turned to Harry and began patting him on the arm. “Ha ha ha ha ha! Ha weh weeh! Ha weh!” Harry raised an eyebrow at him. “A ba!” Snape pointed to the group of professors with one hand, patted Harry’s arm again with the other, and babbled, “Meh meh meh meh.” He tapped lightly on his head, then tapped Harry’s arm again.

“‘Harry, tell them about my memories.’?” Harry guessed, taking a stab at translating the baby talk and gestures.

The infant nodded.

“Right.” Harry turned back to his silent professors. “Mr. Snape would like me to inform you that he is currently still in possession of all his memories, so your argument is, respectfully, rather pointless.”

“Ah!” The child beside him cried in agreement.

The three professors looked at each other, rather dumbfounded. “Uh…”

“…thank you…my boy…” Dumbledore said finally, “…for clearing that up.” He exchanged glances with them again and this time they began whispering to each other furiously.

Harry and Snape shared another look. The baby scowled at Dumbledore, then looked up Harry curiously, then scowled at Dumbledore again.

Harry snorted, turning his back to the professors and once again leaning on the crib railing. “Yeah, I think he’s scowl-worthy too.” Baby Snape let go of the railing and sat down, leaning on his arms and peering up at Harry. The seventeen-year-old shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s easier for me to forgive you for treating me like crap for the past seven years than it is to forgive him for betraying me like that.” The child’s eyes widened. “Well at least you were genuine, you know? At least you cared for me somewhat.” The baby scowled at him now. “Oh, quit lying to yourself.” Harry retorted, pulling up a chair and sitting down. “You know it’s in there somewhere. I’m not only my father’s son but my mother’s. My mother’s son. And that’s the part you cared about.”

Baby Snape narrowed his eyes at him. “Uh-uh!” He shook his head.

“Ah, sure you did.” Harry returned.

“Uh-uh!”

Harry rolled his eyes. “Fine. Tell me this,” Pulling out his wand, he cast a Muffliato on the two of them so the professors wouldn’t be able to hear them, “Tell me, if you were in my shoes right now, and could only find it within yourself to forgive one person, who would you forgive—the man with whom you have clashed for years but cared enough for you—”

“Uh-uh!”

“You cared for my mother, so by extension me. Can you deny that?” Harry narrowed his eyes challengingly.

Baby Snape blew raspberries at him.

Harry shrugged, “So…the man with whom you’ve clashed for years but cared enough for your mother, so by extension you, to protect you from harm? Or…would you give your forgiveness to the man who appeared to care for you, but was only raising you so that he could trade your life for his enemy’s?”

Slowly, the scowl disappeared from baby Snape’s face as he gave it some serious thought.

“Honestly, Mr. Snape. Honestly. Which is the more cold-hearted?” Harry asked, leaning forward in his chair.

There was silence between them for a while, Harry not daring to interrupt the baby’s thoughts. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, baby Snape met his eyes and Harry saw in them a flicker of kinship.

It was all Harry needed and he leaned back in his chair. “Exactly.” He gave the child a sad smile.

“Harry?”

The boy glanced up to find Dumbledore standing behind him. Baby Snape was scowling at the Headmaster once again. Canceling the Muffliato with a wave of his hand, Harry stood up.

“Headmaster?”

“What…are you doing?” The old man asked, his gaze bouncing from him to the baby and back.

“Mr. Snape and I were simply having a serious conversation.” Harry answered evenly.

“Ah!” Baby Snape cried in agreement.

“Ah…I see.” The Headmaster gave them an understanding smile, but his eyes radiated an altogether different opinion.

Baby Snape blew raspberries at him.

Dumbledore flinched in surprise, eyeing the child incredulously. Harry offered his fingers to the baby and helped Snape to stand up. The child hung onto the railing with one hand, and in his other, he held a small stuffed bear.

“Begging your pardon, Mr. Snape,” Harry whispered in his ear, “But I think acting like a child is only going to solidify his opinion of you.” But it didn’t help—the baby still scowled at the man next to him.

“Anyway, Harry…Severus is actually the main reason I came out there to talk to you today.” Dumbledore said, turning to the teenager. “As you can see, he’s an infant—”

“Ah!” The baby cried in protest, throwing his toy bear at the Headmaster. “Ah!”

The Headmaster’s eyes widened yet again and he looked down at the bear disbelievingly.

“Mr. Snape!” Harry exclaimed reproachfully. The child turned from Dumbledore and looked up at Harry with innocent eyes. “Don’t give me that look.” Harry leaned in to whisper in his ear. “Come on. He’s only stating the obvious—that you’re an infant, physically. I’ll remind him again about your memories, but you shouldn’t allow the old codger to get to you like that! Acting like a baby is only going to prove to him his opinion of you is right.” He pulled away and looked in the child’s eyes. “Now do you want that?”

After a moment of contemplation, baby Snape looked away and narrowed his eyes at Dumbledore. Turning back to Harry with an innocent look, he shook his head, “Uh-uh!”

Harry nodded, “Okay.” Then he leaned in to whisper in the baby’s ear again, “Then might I suggest you apologize to him?” The teenager pulled back and raised an eyebrow at the baby.

Snape huffed. “Ohweh!” He snapped at Dumbledore, and then gave him the fiercest scowl his baby face could muster. 

“That means ‘Sorry’, Headmaster.” Harry translated, crossing his arms, “And please remember that although he may be an infant physically, he’s still thirty-eight inside. It’s insulting if you talk about him as if he wasn’t in the room.”

“Ah!” The baby cried in agreement.

Dumbledore sighed, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose. “Right.” He turned to the baby, “I apologize, Severus. However,” he gave Harry a pointed look, “the fact still remains that whatever the state of his mind, his body is still that of a five-month-old child. He’s no longer fit to take care of himself, physically.”

“Ah Ah Ah!” Baby Snape was bouncing on the balls of his feet and yelling at Dumbledore.

Harry laid a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Calm down, please.” The child did so almost immediately, not pausing in the death glare he was sending Dumbledore’s way.

“What are you saying, Headmaster?”

“I’m saying, my boy, that I would appreciate it if you would be so kind as to take care of him for the time being.”

“AH!”

“Mr. Snape, please!” Harry begged, moving his hand from the child’s shoulder to his back and rubbing it gently as the child grew more agitated.

Snape gave him no notice. His bouncing increased and he was waving a hand at Dumbledore in expression of his distress. “Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!”

“Severus, if you are indeed in there—”

“AH! AH! AH! AH! AH! AH! AH!” Dumbledore’s doubt over Snape’s memories upset the baby even more, and his cries grew louder. Harry now began whispering calming noises in his ear in addition to the gentle backrub, but it wasn’t doing much good. The child was too focused on Dumbledore.

Harry suddenly felt a vibration in his pocket and he used his other hand to pull out the two-way mirror he kept there. Ginny’s face looked up at him curiously. “Is this a bad time, Harry?” She could hear the noise in the background and looked slightly alarmed.

“Uh…just hold on a second.” Harry shouted over the din. He looked up at the confused Dumbledore, “Excuse me, Headmaster, I’ll be…just one moment.” Whispering one last calming noise into the baby’s ear, he stepped out into the hall.

The sudden absence of the back rub and the whispering words snapped baby Snape out of the trance he was in and he turned from Dumbledore with an abruptness that stunned the Headmaster. He stopped his bouncing immediately and looked about the room frantically. “AH!” He screamed, his cry reaching its peak intensity. “AH! Ah! AHHHH!” He looked on the verge of a breakdown.

“Severus—”

“AH!!!” The shrill shrieks pierced through the Headmaster’s head. 

Dumbledore turned to Poppy and Minerva helplessly. They both shrugged at him and walked over to try to help him calm the baby down. Minerva pat his back awkwardly and Poppy made baby sounds and faces at him. Snape released the railing of his crib and sat down in frustration. “AH!” His eyelashes began looking suspiciously wet. “AH!” Then, all of a sudden, he began picking up his toys and throwing them at the stupid professors. He threw something hard and straight at all three of them and they all had to duck out of the way to avoid being hit by the flying playthings. One after another he threw at them, his piercing cries continuing to echo about the room.

“Sweetheart, please!” Poppy tried, but had to duck out of the way of a flying block.

“Severus, this is—” Yet Dumbledore’s efforts were in vain and he had to sidestep a small train car that was careening towards his head.

“Mr. Snape, that is quite enough!” Minerva snapped, pulling out her wand. But Snape merely shook his head, crying out impossibly louder and hitting his bed in frustration. Then a magical wind swept into the room. Glasses began shaking as side tables trembled and bed frames rattled ominously. All three of the professors exchanged wary looks. Snape’s accidental magic was beginning to assert itself.

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” The infant’s voice cracked and the first tears began streaking down his face.

“Hey! Hey! Hey!” Harry exclaimed soothingly as he billowed back into the room, stuffing the two-way mirror back into his pocket. He felt a magical spike a moment ago and he just knew he was needed in there somehow. He felt was needed somewhere in the vicinity of the crib. The magic was calling to him and he felt drawn to it like a moth to a flame. “What’s going on here?”

As soon as baby Snape saw him, a whine escaped through his lips and he reached for Harry, opening and closing his hands longingly. “What’s wrong?” Harry offered him his fingers and Snape stood up, but continued to hold his arms out beseechingly. Understanding dawned in Harry’s eyes. “May I?” The baby sniffed sadly and nodded, leaning on the railing and reaching up towards the teenager. Moving his robes out of the way, Harry lifted Snape into his arms and cradled him against his chest.

Almost immediately, the room stopped vibrating and the rogue magic cleared from the air. Snape began crying in earnest against Harry’s robes, while the boy just held him and rubbed his back in slow, comforting circles. “Hey, now. There’s no need of that. It’s going to be alright. We’re going to work on this, okay? We’re going to try to fix this.” Harry recalled how his godson, Teddy, often fell asleep listening to the sound of his voice and figured it might work for this child as well, no matter how old his mental age. Turning away so that Snape had absolutely no view of the offending professors, Harry began dancing around the room, rubbing smooth circles in the boy’s back, while humming a tune that was guaranteed to put any child to sleep. This often worked for Remus’ son. There was no reason to believe that it wouldn't work on a three-month-older baby Snape.

After about ten minutes, Snape’s cries died down and his eyes began to droop. Harry knew he was now halfway to the land of nod. He still clutched at Harry’s robes as if they were a lifeline, but his other hand had somehow drifted towards his mouth and he was now (perhaps subconsciously) sucking his thumb. Harry’s other arm wrapped around him and he began running his fingers through the child’s soft baby hair. He made sure to keep up his humming; he knew that the soft rumble of his chest against Snape’s ear was what was putting the child to sleep. And then, ten minutes later, baby Snape’s breathing evened out and he drifted quietly to the island of dreams.

After five more minutes of idle dancing and humming to ensure that the infant was really and truly asleep, Harry turned back to the other professors in the room who were whispering quietly amongst themselves. Meeting Dumbledore’s eye over the baby’s head, he mouthed, “I’ll do it.”

All three of them smiled gratefully at him. “Thank you, Harry.” The Headmaster said, “You’re simply the only person I trust him with who has the ability to raise him at the moment. You know the most about him, you understand his history, and you understand him, most importantly. Members of the staff are either not qualified to raise a baby this young, or are otherwise too old to do so.” He eyed the teenager over his glasses, his eyes twinkling, “Most of the Order doesn’t really know him, and those that do…well…you know.”

Harry nodded.

“Plus, I simply refuse to entrust him to any of the families he had Death Eater ties with. Can you imagine entrusting him to Mr. Malfoy?”

Harry’s eyes darkened and his arms tightened involuntarily around the bundle in his arms. “Not a chance!” He growled, then closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “He’s not going to like it—this whole arrangement, I mean. He’s not going to like it…much.” Harry warned.

“I’m aware of that. However…you do have a way with him.” Dumbledore smirked, “I’m sure you’ll be able to help him see reason.”

Harry rolled his eyes.

“Mr. Potter, Severus cried when you left the room and stopped when you came back in.” Poppy pointed out. “I’m certain that indicates he has already formed some kind of bond with you, however unconsciously. Babies at this age tend to have separation anxiety. If he truly is still in there—”

“With all due respect, Madame, he is!” Harry broke in.

“Then he will come to see reason once you explain it to him.” The healer finished.

Harry sighed. “I’m going to need quarters—bigger ones than the ones I’m currently in.”

“We moved all your things already.” Dumbledore answered, eyes twinkling.

Harry narrowed his eyes at him but didn’t say anything. “And parenting books, spell books with charms on child-proofing and such,”

“I took the liberty of renting all of those out from the library. They’ll be in your quarters by the time you get there.” McGonagall answered.

“What about clothes, formula, bottles, toys, nappies, changing tables, playpens, cribs, prams, those things some parents wear on their back that the baby rides in, baby shampoo…”

“You may bring the formula, bottles, crib, nappies, toys, and such that we have here over to your new quarters when you head over. We have two more pairs of clothes for him to change into that we transfigured from some towels, but that’s about it. The rest you will have to buy, unfortunately.” Poppy answered.

Harry nodded and sighed, rubbing Snape’s back unconsciously. “Alright. May I have permission to tell Ginny about all this…and possibly Tonks as well?”

“Miss Weasley, by all means. Why do you need to tell Nymphadora?” Dumbledore asked.

“Well…I can barely go out on my own without being assaulted by the paparazzi, so going out with a child that magically appeared out of nowhere is completely out of the question.” The teenager answered, slowly swaying from side to side. “Besides, Ginny has a blast whenever she goes out shopping, and she and Tonks are practically best friends, and when Tonks was expecting Teddy, she and Ginny had a blast buying some things for the baby. I think if I asked her to go shopping for this little big man, she’d prefer to have a friend who is willing to return the favor.”

Dumbledore began nodding before he even finished speaking. “By all means.” He looked out the window. “Well, Harry, the day is nearly done. I’ll show you to your new quarters right now. Minerva, Poppy, will you please help gather all the things Severus needs.” The two witches nodded and set about shrinking everything and putting them into a diaper bag. “Now, Harry, I’m assuming you know how to hold him properly and change his nappies.”

“I do have a godson around his age, whom I babysit frequently. I’m quite sure I can handle it, Headmaster.”

“Of course.” Dumbledore nodded as he led the group out of the hospital wing. The Headmaster lowered his voice before continuing, “The issue Minerva, Poppy, and I were arguing about a while ago concerned the inventor of the potion Severus drank—the man who first created this permanent aging potion.”

Harry looked at him with concern.

“Well it turns out the potion is indeed permanent, and all the evidence we’ve gathered so far only supports that. It also turns out…the man who invented the potion did so with a purpose.”

“He wanted to de-age himself.” Harry guessed.

“And he got rid of all his notes before he did so.” Dumbledore nodded. “He only patented the recipe so that the family he ended up staying with would have a source of income with which to raise him.”

“Wait a moment!” Harry interrupted, “If Mr. Snape still has all his memories, even in this form, isn’t it possible the inventor still has all of his.”

“Possible, but not.” Dumbledore shook his head. “His new parents oblivated him completely—by his request. He is, for all intents and purposes, six months old in mind and in body.”

Harry narrowed his eyes. “That sounds fishy.”

Dumbledore nodded. “I know. That’s what we were arguing about.” He led the group down to the fourth floor and through a series of twists and turns, “Rest assured, Harry, I’ll try to get to the bottom of this. But the thing is…for once, I don’t think there’s anything more here than what meets the eye. Do you?” The Headmaster raised an eyebrow at him, “I’ve looked into this man’s history. And although he had a few good friends—whom he chose to become his parents—his life was just one misfortune after another. I mean, think of it, my boy—if you lived such a miserable existence and wished to start over, what’s to stop you from doing so?”

Harry sighed and nodded. “Well…it doesn’t really hurt to double check anyway.”

“I quite agree.”

As they walked down the hall, Harry’s keen sense of observation began to note that they were passing the Defense classroom, and the Defense professor’s office, and the Defense supply room, and the Defense professor’s…No way!

Harry pressed his lips together tightly. “Headmaster, I don’t appreciate the implication.” 

“What implication, my boy?” The old coot asked, an innocent look plastered on his face.

Harry growled and shifted the child in his arms. “Professor Dumbledore, you offered this job to me not three hours ago. Then you dropped this bombshell on me. I haven’t had one moment to think about the offer and you’re already moving me into the Defense professor’s quarters?!” He hissed.

“Harry, please.” Dumbledore whispered calmly, “Just think on it. Please. If you still don’t want the position in a week or two, then we’ll move you to other quarters. Alright?”

Harry tightened his jaw. Suddenly, the child in his arms shifted in his sleep and Harry moved to accommodate him. The abrupt reminder that there was a baby present was enough to force him to calm down. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath.

Then another.

Then another.

Then one more for good measure.

“Alright.” He answered, meeting the Headmaster’s eyes, “I’ll seriously consider it. But…if I decide not to take it—”

“I’ll respect your decision.” Dumbledore broke in, a grand smile blossoming on his face. Harry rolled his eyes and turned away. Who was he kidding? The decision was already made for him.  Meddlesome old coot! Never asks, forever manipulates. Bastard…

Harry spun around and came face to face with a painting of Merlin himself.

“Good evening, young man, you must be the new resident.” The man with a passing resemblance to Dumbledore greeted.

“I am indeed, sir.” Harry answered with a bit of a smile.

“Well then the password is ‘Excalibur’ and welcome to your new home…”

The portrait hole swung open and Harry gasped.

The place was definitely big! It was much bigger than the quarters he thought they would be receiving. Come to recall, he wasn’t sure the quarters were this big when Remus was still living here.

“We extended them just recently.” Dumbledore said behind them, “In the past month.”

As they walked into the chambers, there was a small kitchen immediately to their left. An ice box sat in one corner next to a fireplace with a spit and a cast iron stove. There were counters and sinks and drawers and cabinets and a complete set of cooking utensils, conveniently set high above the reach of little hands. A window sat next to the stove, and a small round table rested on the side, four chairs and a highchair neatly tucked under it. Visible from the kitchen was a den, with bookcases against the walls and under a window, lots of playing room, and an impressive oak desk on the far wall. To their immediate right was a study area with a rectangular oak table, matching chairs, matching bookcases, and a matching fully-stocked liquor cabinet.

“For only those special occasions, of course.” Dumbledore commented, amused, as he followed Harry’s eye to the impressive collection of alcohol.

Harry smirked, “Of course.” Then he raised an eyebrow, “As if Ginny would let me at any other time anyway.” The three professors behind him chuckled.

A fireplace dominated the right half of the room. No doubt it was connected to both the inter-school floo network and the British floo network in general. A giant leather couch, flanked by two round side tables, and a large oval coffee table sat across from it. Flanking the coffee table were matching leather easy chairs with retractable footrests. Nice! Harry thought, smirking internally. A long table rested against the back of the couch.

Another large bookcase sat against the far wall. On its left, bordered on the other side by his desk, was the entrance to the master bedroom. On the right of the bookcase, however, was a carpeted stairway that led up to the newly-constructed, lofted section of the quarters. From Harry’s ground-floor view, he could make out three medium-sized rooms—two to the left of the staircase, one to the right.

“The rooms to either side of the staircase are guest bedrooms, while the room on the far left is a second bathroom.” McGonagall informed him, pointing to the loft, “And that area over there,” she pointed to the section of wall on the ground floor to the right of the staircase, “is a space we left empty, just in case you wanted to build another room there in the future.”

“Perhaps you should check out the master bedroom, Mr. Potter,” Madame Pomfrey suggested, coming out of said room and pointing towards the door, “I just placed the crib in there next to the bed. Perhaps it’d be best to lay Severus down there before doing anything else.”

“MO!” Came a muffled whine from the vicinity of his chest.

Harry looked down to see Snape’s eyes still closed and thumb still stuck firmly in his mouth, but his eyebrows were furrowed, indicating a state of consciousness.

“Would you like to see our new quarters?” Harry asked. The child opened his eyes fully now and pushed up against Harry’s chest.

“Mo ow! Mo ow! Ooo cow…ew. Ooo cow…ew! Mo meh cow—ew!” Baby Snape whined in frustration. He pointed to the teenager, “Ooo cow—ew!” Then shook his head and pointed to himself, “Mo me cow—ew!”

Harry closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Look…Mr. Snape…can you honestly tell me you can take care of yourself at the moment?”

The baby whined, “Meh wa meh cow—ew! Meh wa meh cow—ew!”

Harry’s lips tightened. “You can’t take—”

“MEH WA MEH COW—EW!”

Harry rolled his eyes and sighed in frustration. “Fine.” He bent down and placed the infant Snape on the floor. “If you think you can take care of yourself just fine, by all means—get there!” He gestured towards the portrait hole.

“Mr. Potter?” McGonagall questioned. She, Dumbledore, and Madame Pomfrey were looking at him quizzically.

With a wave of hand, Harry cast a Muffliato on all four of them so Snape wouldn’t be able to hear. “He refuses to acknowledge that these are our quarters. He insists they’re mine, not his, and wants to go back to his quarters.” After a while they nodded in comprehension, and with another wave, he cast a Finite and turned back to the baby on the floor.

Severus lay on his stomach in the same position Harry had put him in moments before. He had to do this, he told himself. He had to do this! He could take care of himself just fine—he knew he could! Now that Potter had thankfully put him down and he was out of that infernal crib, he could finally prove to them that although he looked like an infant, he was still quite capable of doing everything he used to be able to when he looked like an adult. Well…almost everything.

Damn his limited speech skills! It was near impossible to communicate in this miniature form! The last two days had been tantamount to hell for Severus. Not only had Poppy and Minerva insisted on speaking to him and treating him like an infantile idiot, but Albus as well! If anything, Albus was the worst out of all of them. The old man looked like a bloody moron standing there and making those ridiculous faces at him. If the situation wasn’t so demeaning, Severus would’ve laughed at the old codger. But it wasn’t funny. No matter how much Severus tried to make the sounds he intended to make, his mouth just wouldn’t cooperate! When he intended to make one kind of sound, an altogether different one came out. His ‘no’ sounded like ‘mo’; forget trying to say ‘I’. He sounded like a bloody idiot whenever he opened his mouth! Severus felt like he was being horribly tortured and thought the pain would never end…

…until Potter walked through the door.

Potter took one look at him and knew. He met Severus’ eyes once and realized he was still in there. Instead of talking to him like a baby, Potter talked to him like a man. Then something weird happened for Severus—in the place where suspicion normally would have taken form, there instead developed trust. Severus Snape unwillingly began to trust Harry Bloody Potter. Severus immediately thought there was something horribly wrong with him. Then he realized—he was five months old! No matter how much his conscious mind was screaming at him to not trust this teenager standing before him, his subconscious—which seemed to control his actions—felt the exact opposite.

At first, he tested to see whether or not Potter would understand his primitive methods of communication. To his surprise, he understood it perfectly! None of the other professors were able to understand him when he tried to communicate; and they were all smarter than Potter! Severus attributed this phenomenon to the fact that it probably took an idiot to understand another idiot. Then he frowned at himself for calling himself an idiot.

Then something truly humiliating started to happen—he started getting emotional and his childish brain began to take over. He recalled mentally frowning at the arguing professors when his body decided to blow raspberries at them. Then when Potter did it too, he internally found it a bit amusing; to his utmost horror, he actually laughed out loud as well! Of course, the shocked looks on everyone’s faces drew genuine giggles internally as well as externally. That’s when Severus decided to use Potter as his communication device. To his secret delight, Potter not only understood babble and raspberries, he understood hand signals! Trying to say ‘Potter’ was completely out of the question, so Severus settled for trying to pronounce ‘Harry’ instead. The boy recognized it and it worked!

Then Dumbledore began to doubt him again and that put Severus into a mood. Fortunately, it was lifted somewhat when Potter began having a serious conversation with him, which made him feel a bit more normal, even though he disagreed with the brat—he cared for Lily, not for her son, no matter what the brat thought. Unfortunately, that bit of normalcy was disrupted by Dumbledore who proceeded to talk to Potter about him as if he wasn’t even in the room! The nerve of the old coot! Even though Potter reminded him several times to treat him, Severus, like an adult, the old moron wouldn’t listen! That was when Severus began giving in to his urge to act his physical age, and it had thrown Albus into a tailspin, much to Severus’ delight.

Then Potter walked out of the room. As soon as Severus noticed this, he became rather agitated. Potter was the only one who understood him, and treated him like a big adult man, and didn’t talk down to him, and knew what he was saying, and without Potter everything would just go back to being hell again! When Albus, Minerva, and Poppy tried to calm him down with baby talk and stupid faces, it didn’t do any good. It just made his tantrum worse. Finally, when Severus was about to lose it completely, to his supreme relief, Potter walked back into the room and Severus decided to grab him and hold on to him and not let his communication device go!

What he didn’t count on was falling asleep there. When he had come to, he found himself here—in Potter’s quarters, in Potter’s arms!!! Severus immediately wanted down, but not before he made it perfectly clear that these were Potter’s quarters, not his! His quarters were in the dungeons—where he belonged! After a rather convincing argument, in his opinion, he made Potter put him down and now all he had to do was get out of here and prove to all of them that he could do this—that he could take care of himself…by himself!

Now what had Potter said? Oh, yes…all he needed to do was get there. ‘There’ being his quarters, of course. Right! That was easy! He could…ehm…he could walk there. Yes, of course! He could walk. It would probably take a bit of time, but he could walk. Definitely. Now…how to do that. Hmm…well first he had to get on his feet. Right! Easy enough. Er… push up and get on the knees. That’s it! Then…lean on the hands and…push up on the feet and…oof!

Severus fell down against the carpet. To his disgust, a whine escaped from his lips. It’s not like the fall actually hurt—the carpet was extremely soft. The whine was more a sound of frustration than anything else. This wasn’t working the way he planned. Well…it wasn’t working the way he hoped, was more like it. It wasn’t like he actually planned anything before stating he could take care of himself. He just kind of…said it. Impulsively. On principle.

After another failed attempt at standing, Severus tossed that plan out the window and wracked his brain for another option. He was five months old! How did five-month-olds get around, anyway? How did babies in general get around? Severus grimaced internally. He had absolutely no experience with babies. Although…he recalled seeing one or two of them…crawl! That was it! He would crawl to his quarters—yes! It might take even longer than trying to walk, but he could try.

Pushing himself up once again, he managed to get on his hands and knees. Yes, that was the correct position. Now…to put it in effect.

Unbeknownst to baby Severus, the adults were watching him endearingly from above. Minerva and Poppy were whispering between themselves and giggling quietly while Albus silently took pictures. Harry himself couldn’t help the smirk that pulled on the corners of his mouth as he watched Snape struggle with standing up before giving up entirely and deciding to try to crawl. Crawling in itself, it seemed, was proving harder than expected for the thirty-eight-year-old, five-month infant.

How the heck was one supposed to bloody crawl?! The process was entirely easier said than done; it was harder than it looked! Severus began by moving his right hand forward slowly and lifting his left leg in an attempt to move forward in conjunction with his hand. And…push…forward…push…forward…push…oof! Severus’ face smashed into the carpet. A whine escaped his lips. Bugger! Alright…try again! Right hand up, left leg up, push forward…oof! Argh!!! Why was this so bloody hard?! He was a Potion Master for Merlin’s sake! He was a walker with thirty-seven years of walking experience under his belt! Crawling should be a breeze! Alright…one more try. Left hand this time—left hand up, right leg up, push it forward…oof! A longer, more frustrated whine emerged. WHY?! Why couldn’t he do this?! What was so bloody hard about crawling?!

Severus pushed himself up again and sat back on his butt, leaning on his arms. He eyed the portrait hole sadly. Suddenly it looked so far away…

And his quarters were even farther…

Oh, why did this bloody have to happen to him?! What had he done wrong in this life to deserve all this?! Well…truthfully, he knew what he had done wrong; but wasn’t death a good enough punishment for that? Why did he have to be subjected to this punishment, this…humiliation? The bloody Dark Lord had done infinitely worse than what he did and that bastard got to die. Why couldn’t he?! Why couldn’t he be allowed to cross the Veil and see Lily again?! That’s all he wanted—to see his precious love again; to hold her in his arms and tell her everything he wanted to tell her when she was alive but wasn’t able to. Then a thought struck him—was it simply because he wasn’t allowed to see her again? Ever? Because of the crimes he had committed in his lifetime?

An eternity without Lily? Severus felt a sharp, stabbing pain in his chest.

Merlin, what could he have possibly done to deserve that?!?!?!

Oh, why couldn’t he just die?!

Severus felt two fat tears run down his cheek and he looked up miserably at Potter’s blurry form standing above him. Somewhere in the distance he heard a baby’s heart-wrenching cry and it took him a few moments to process that that baby was him. Reluctantly, he reached his arms up towards the Potter blur and opened and closed his hands in a silent, childlike plea.

Two strong hands wrapped around him, lifted him up, and cradled him between two equally strong arms. Severus began sobbing into Potter’s chest for the second time that day. If he had been in a better frame of mind, he would’ve taken a delight in soiling Potter’s robes with tears and snot. But at the moment, he really didn’t care for that either way. He was miserable goddamn it and this little body wanted to cry! He grabbed the robes and held on to them like a vise, burying his face within their folds and screaming his frustrations into them. Tears, snot, and drool openly flowed out of him like wild rivers.

After a few moments, Severus felt a hand begin to rub big, comforting circles into his back. A voice started whispering incomprehensible yet soothing sounds into his ear. The soft thump-thud of the heart beating beneath the other ear calmed his morbid thoughts. The gentle swaying motion slowed his racing heart. Soon, Severus felt his frustrations gradually begin to drain away. 

With his eyes three-quarters of the way closed, something snuck into his mouth and Severus instinctively began sucking on it. When he felt a strange sensation coming from his hand, he realized he must be sucking on his own thumb! Normally, this situation would have been incredibly humiliating, but Severus found he was too tired to even care at the moment. The sound of Dumbledore’s voice perked up his hearing and he idly listened in on their conversation from his comfortable perch in Potter’s arms.

“Would you like to place him in the crib, Harry?”

“No, no, I’ll just carry him for now. It’s fine. Besides, he’s not even asleep yet. He’d just get horribly bored in there.” The chest rumbled beneath Severus’ ear.

“Perhaps you’d like to take a look at the master bedroom then, Mr. Potter.” McGonagall suggested. “It has a king-sized bed, two side tables, a wardrobe, Severus’ crib, a rocking chair, its own personal master bathroom, and a special little bookcase.” She explained as they entered the room itself.

“What’s so special about it, Professor?”

“Oh, Harry. You’re no longer a student here, child. You no longer need to call me Professor.” McGonagall chuckled. “You may call me Minerva.”

Harry blushed. “Oh, Professor…I…um…” he chuckled nervously, “I couldn’t possibly…” He thought for a second and an idea struck him. “How ‘bout I call you ‘Nana’? But I don’t mean that as any kind of offense or anything. It’s just…” he shrugged, “…calling you by your first name seems a bit disrespectful to me, and…and you’ve been a lot like a grandmother to me throughout these years, and…ehm…That—that’s if you don’t mind, of course…um…”

McGonagall seemed a bit flustered but beamed at him nonetheless, “It’d be my honor, Harry.”

If Severus could have opened his eyes, he would have rolled them. As it were, the more Potter spoke, the more the chest under his ear rumbled, the calmer he became, and the sleepier he felt.

“Great!” Harry cleared his throat, “Nana, then. Ehm…” In an effort to distract himself from the awkward situation, he inspected the room. The wardrobe and the bookcase were across from the bed and Harry remembered his question upon seeing them. “So…special bookcase?”

“The bookcase is a secret entrance that will open only to you—it’s charmed to your magical signature.” Dumbledore explained.

“What’s it a secret entrance to, Headmaster?”

“Well, considering you’re joining the Aurors, and rumor has it you’re specializing in both the Unforgivables and weaponized potions, we thought you might be able to make use of your own, personal potions lab.”

Severus’ eyes shot open and he pushed up immediately. “Ah!” Potions lab? They’re giving Potter a potions lab? With a secret entrance? That only he can open?! What about me?! I’m a Potions Master! Potter would ruin every potion he’d get his hands on. He has no right to have his own potions lab. I deserve it! Not him! This is completely unfair!

“Now, Severus—”

Severus pulled his thumb out of his mouth and shook his head violently, “MO! MO! MO! MO! MO! MO! MO!” He glared at the Headmaster, “Meh! Meh! Meh!”

“Mr. Snape—”

“MEH!” He screamed into Harry’s face.

“Excuse me—”

But the baby just shook his head faster and began bouncing and wiggling in Harry’s arms. “Meh! Meh! Meh! Mei…Moooooiiii…MY! MY! MY! MY! MY!”

“Mr. Sna—”

“MY! MY! MY! MY! MIME! MIME! MIME!”

“SEVERUS!” Harry hissed, managing to quiet the surprised child momentarily. “You will stop that right now or—”

“MIME!” The baby glared, blew raspberries straight into his eye, and screeched, “MIME! MIME! MIME! MO OOO! MIME!”

“That’s it.” Harry’s arms tightened around the child and he spun around, screaming over the din, “Nana, does Severus have a playpen or a high chair or something?”

The poor lady looked flustered. “Oh, my! Um…” She turned to Poppy, who was digging through the diaper bag. “I don’t think so.”

“That’s okay.” Harry marched directly to the crib.

“MIME! MIME! MIME! MIME! MIME! MIME! MIME! MIME!” Severus began pounding Harry’s chest with little firsts, but the teenager ignored him. Holding the infant securely with his right hand, Harry pulled out his wand with his left, promptly tossed all the toys out of the crib with a flick, and transfigured it into a playpen. He then picked up the playpen and brought it into the living room, placing it in a corner. Next, he gently placed the child into the empty playpen.

“MO! MO! MomomomomomomomomomoMO!” The baby fought him tooth and nail, grabbing onto his robes, his glasses, even his hair! He blew raspberries at Harry and kicked him with all his might in an effort to prevent the teen from putting him down.

Despite all of Severus’ efforts, Harry was still able to sit him inside the playpen and move out of his reach before the infant could grab on again. “There! Now…”

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” Severus wailed at the top of his lungs, gazing up at Harry sadly and reaching out to him in an effort to be picked back up.

“NO!” Harry replied firmly, pointing a reproachful finger at him. “You didn’t tolerate disrespect from me, so why should I tolerate any from you?” Tears and snot continued to pour down the baby’s face. “Now listen to me.”

“MO!” Severus wailed, swiping his cheeks before pounding his fists into the bottom of the playpen. “MO! Uuuuuuuuuuuup!”

“No.”

“Up!” Baby Snape sniffled, “Up, pea?”

“Severus, you not only yelled at me, you yelled at Professor Dumbledore. You hit me, you spit in my face, you pulled my hair, you grabbed my glasses, you kicked me…You’ve been a naughty boy, young man!”

Severus had stopped yelling but continued to weep and whimper as Harry lectured him.

“Now I am not speaking to you as a five-month-old, am I?” Harry continued, “I’m trying all I can to treat you as normally as possible, to make your life as bearable as possible—I know you know all this!” He tried to take a calming breath, “Now here’s the reality of the situation—if you wish to act like a five-month-old, I will treat you like a five-month-old with a few exceptions—I know you know better than this so you’re getting the punishment I think a typical five-year-old would deserve.”

“Mo pumeh! Mo pumeh!” The infant shook his head and held up his arms once again, opening and closing his little hands. “Up, pea! Up, pea, Haweh! Pea, Haweh! Uuuup!”

Harry gritted his teeth as he took in the forlorn sight before him. Severus was quite a beautiful baby, but he was also a temperamental one. Harry realized that although Snape still had his memories, they were just that—memories. They were in no way connected with his behavior anymore. It was like someone had removed all of Snape’s memories from his adult body and inserted them into this child. Although this infant thought like Snape and remembered things that had happened in Snape’s life, his reactions to things and his behavior would not be the same as the Severus Snape everyone was used to. That Snape’s neural pathways had already been forged. He was conditioned to act the way he did and think the way he did and like the things he did because of the way he grew up. This Snape, however, was a different case altogether. This Snape was a five month old baby. He was a vessel for the adult Snape’s memories but nothing more. His behavior, reactions, thinking patterns, likes, dislikes and whatnot had not had the chance to form yet. His neural pathways were just beginning to develop. For the adult Snape, old habits died hard. For the baby Snape, there were no habits to speak of; and Harry would be damned if the habits that did form were bad ones.

“Shhh…quiet now, please. Let me speak.” Harry tried in a calmer voice.

“Mmmmm!” Severus sobbed. “Mmmmmm!” Sniff!

The baby looked up at him miserably.

“Now I’m going to leave you in here for ten minutes.”

“MO!”

“Do not interrupt me.” Harry said firmly, giving the infant a steely look. “I am very disappointed in your behavior, and I think you could use a time-out.”

“MO! UP PEA!!!” Severus’ tears started anew.

“I want you think about everything I just said.” Harry continued regardless, his tone even. “And when I get back in here, you owe me and Professor Dumbledore an apology.”

“MO!”

But Harry ignored him. He simply walked away from the crib and into the master bedroom where the other professors stood waiting for him.

“MO! MO! COM BAC! COM BAC! PEA!!!!” The shrieking in the next room reached an all-time high.

As soon as Harry was sure he was out of the baby’s sight, he clutched at his heart and the ghost of pain he felt there.

“Mr. Potter, are you alright?!” Poppy started, alarmed.

“Oh, no, Madame Pomfrey, I’m fine. It’s just…” He glanced behind his shoulder at the other room.

“Oh! Don’t worry. We understand.” The healer assured her.

“You handled that admirably, Harry.” McGonagall complimented.

“I quite agree.” Dumbledore agreed.

Harry grimaced, “Thank you.” He glanced worriedly at the outer room once again. Severus’ cries were like a dagger stabbing him in the heart. He gritted his teeth, reminding himself that he needed to be tough. He needed to instill not only love but discipline as well. He could see now that carrying out the latter was going to become quite a problem.  

“He’s going to be fine, my boy. Don’t worry.” Dumbledore clasped his shoulder in support and steered him to the bathroom. “Now…I’ve already set a timer. It’ll inform you when the ten minutes are up. So…how about in that time we examine your new master bathroom and your private lab, hmm?” The boy nodded distractedly. “Minerva, Poppy, would you be so kind as to set up everything we brought from the infirmary.” The witches nodded and Dumbledore steered him to his connecting master bathroom.

The bathroom was exquisite—the bathtub was huge, the sink was large enough to fit baby Severus, and the changing table had plenty of room to store nappies. Harry couldn’t help but think of Ginny and how she would absolutely love the bathtub and the fact that it could easily convert to a hot tub. Harry smirked. Underneath the Quidditch-playing tough exterior was a bubble bath romantic who loved to be treated like a woman.

Checking the time, Harry noted Severus had five more minutes to go. He was glad the crying had died down somewhat. It was hard enough to leave Severus by himself in another room, let alone to leave Severus crying by himself in another room. It went against all his protective instincts.

“Come, my boy. I’ll show you how to access the lab and take you on a bit of a tour.” Dumbledore said, steering him to the bookcase.

The lab turned out to be quite fantastic. The Headmaster had graciously supplied him with the basic set of ingredients necessary to make common potions. The room was about as big as the adult Snape’s—now Professor Slughorn’s—classroom. The only difference was it was all for him. The shelves were full of new cauldrons, potions tools, vials, beakers, and potions books from all his years at Hogwarts and then some. Harry even spotted a couple of potions journals about the room.

“It’s fantastic! Thank you, sir.” Harry smiled.

“One more thing, my boy.” Dumbledore pointed to an inconspicuous area of the wall in a corner. “Put your hand on the cracked stone there and see what happens.”

Harry did so and the wall quietly slid aside to reveal another well-lit room of about the same size as the lab. It housed a fireplace, shelves stocked with endless bags of shrunken and preserved food and water, an abnormally large bag full of shrunken books and school supplies, a bag full of portkeys, two large bunk beds, and a bag full of shrunken bed rolls.

“It’s a safe room.” Dumbledore said, walking in behind him. “Or panic room, as some muggles like to call it. Only you and your future family may enter here. Although the fireplace is not connected to the network, you may still use it to floo in and out to escape. That means that no one but you or your family can floo in because you’re the only ones who know it’s here, but you can certainly floo out to anywhere you like. The room is stocked with enough magically-preserved food to feed the whole of Hogwarts for a year. The bag and school supplies are enough to teach up to ten students first through seventh year material. The portkeys are another way out, and the bed rolls are if you decide to lock yourselves in with extra guests.”

“Wow!” Harry gaped, “This is amazing!” He met Dumbledore’s eyes, “A well thought-out plan, sir.”

“Yes, well, after the last war, I figure we need more of those—”

Suddenly, an alarm blared and Harry pulled out his wand instinctively.

“Don’t worry! That’s just the timer.” The Headmaster told him with a smile, “Looks like Severus’ time-out is up, hmm?”

“Thank Merlin.” Harry rushed out of the panic room, up the stairs, and out of his bedroom. As he approached the playpen, he could hear quiet sniffling coming from within.

“Com bac...” Sniff! “Com bac, pea…” Sob! From this angle, it looked like baby Snape was now lying down on his side and sobbing into the lone blanket that had been left in there by accident.

“Hey, scamp!” Harry greeted softly, kneeling next to the playpen and giving the child a gentle smile.

Severus’ eyes widened, “Ooo bac! Ooo bac!” He pushed himself up onto his hands and knees then sat back on his heels.

Harry chuckled softly, “Of course I’m back. I was only in the next room.” He reached up and lowered one wall of the playpen just enough so that they could see each other clearly, but the baby still wouldn’t be able to get out. “Now…is there something you want to say to me?” He eyed the child sternly.

Severus pouted and hung his head, a tear running down his face. “Owy Haweh.” He replied in a small voice.

“And what for?” Harry guided him softly.

“Oowim empew.”

“Losing your temper, yes.” Harry nodded.

“Be…com…bing by-o-wemp.”

“Becoming violent, alright. That’s something I will not tolerate. Go on.” Harry told him.

Severus swallowed, “Di…weh…pec…ping Ooo.”

“Disrespecting me and…?”

“Dumb…dow.”

“And Professor Dumbledore, that’s right. Are you going to apologize to him, too?” He raised an eyebrow at the babe.

Severus nodded frantically, reaching his arms out pleadingly and giving Harry his best puppy-dog-eyes look.

Harry smirked. “Alright, my boy, you’re forgiven.” He lowered the wall the rest of the way, leaned over, and held his arms out. Severus immediately dove forward and wrapped his arms around Harry’s neck, sobbing into his robes once again. “Alright now. It’s forgiven now. Just apologize to Professor Dumbledore and it’ll be okay between us again, alright?” He felt the infant nod against his chest. “Alright.”

Slowly and carefully, Harry climbed to his feet and made his way back into the master bedroom. “Professor Dumbledore, someone would like to say something to you.” He announced, nudging the infant with his shoulder. “Severus?”

The little boy turned from where he had his face buried within Harry’s robes and eyed the Headmaster miserably. “Owy pow my beh-e-bow, ehw.”

“That means ‘Sorry for my behavior, sir.’” Harry translated.

Dumbledore gave the child a gentle smile, his eyes twinkling in delight. “I forgive you, my boy.” He began rubbing the baby Snape’s back, but the child shyly dove his face back into Harry’s robes.

Harry nodded at Dumbledore and turned back to his young charge, “There, you see now? All forgiven.” He kissed the top of Severus’ head tenderly and began running his hands through his baby hair. “I’m proud of you.” He whispered.

“Well! We’ll just leave the both of you to it.” Dumbledore smiled, eyes twinkling at Harry.

“Mr. Potter, I’ve taken the liberty of stocking both your bathrooms with common potions for both children and adults.” Poppy told him, “Should you need anything, chances are they’ll be in there.”

“Thank you, Madame.”

“Harry, the parenting books and whatnot are on your desk. I advise reading them as soon as you’re able.”

“Yes, Nana, I’ll be sure to do that.” He nodded as he followed the three professors to the door.

“Remember, you don’t have to eat all your meals in here. The Great Hall is still where you remember it to be.”

“Thank you, Headmaster, I’ll remember.”

“Call us if you need anything, dear.”

“Yes, Nana.”

“Mr. Potter, I’d like to see Severus Friday morning.” Poppy told him as they stepped out of the portrait hole, “For a check-up and an update on the situation with the inventor.”

Harry nodded, “Absolutely.”

Dumbledore began ushering the two ladies down the hall, but couldn’t resist turning back one last time, “Goodnight, my boys.”

“Goodnight, sir.” Harry smiled, nudging the child gently with his shoulder.

Severus’ baby face turned in their direction, “Goo-my!” He droned before sticking his thumb in his mouth and burrowing into Harry’s chest once again.

Albus made sure to discreetly snap a picture of the pair as the portrait hole closed. That was a precious moment.

“You hungry?” Severus felt the shoulder nudge him again and he nodded into the warm robes, too tired to lift his head up yet again. “Yeah, I’m hungry, too.” He felt Harry walking, and the abrupt sounds of closing cabinets and drawers, and the clanging of silverware on porcelain, piqued his curiosity. Severus turned his head and leaned his ear against his transport’s chest instead, allowing the heartbeat to calm him like before.

“Alright…five months old, five months old…” Harry was looking around at the food in his kitchen, wondering what he could feed Severus. “Let’s consult the book, eh?”

Severus saw Harry glance down at him briefly before reaching a hand out. Almost immediately, a book from the desk flew across the room, over the counter, and into his waiting palm. Severus sat up in surprise, taking his thumb out of his mouth and widening his eyes at Harry. Wandless magic? Potter can do wandless magic?! Wandless, wordless magic?! That’s…that’s… “Ah!” His infantile form articulated, sounding quite surprised. 

Above him, Harry chuckled. “Well, thank you. Coming from you that’s quite a compliment. Now…five months old…” He set the book down on the counter and held a hand over it. Baby Severus could feel a magical wind blow through the room. Suddenly, the book burst open, its pages flying to the side as if some invisible force was flipping through the book at lightning speed. Then, after a moment, it stopped. “Ah! Here we go—five to six month old babies.” Severus gripped Harry’s robes tighter as the teen leaned over the counter to read the book. “It says your diet includes the mother’s milk…well that’s not happening, unless, of course, Ginny would volunteer to lactate, but I highly doubt it…so we scratch that one out. Then there’s baby formula…” Harry looked down at Severus with a raised eyebrow. Severus looked back up at Harry questioningly.

“Mo.” He shook his tiny head slowly.

“Too disgusting?”

This time, the baby nodded.

“I figured.” Harry nodded, readjusting the infant on his arm. “Anything made from powder is bound to be disgusting. Okay…” He looked back at the book, “That leaves pureed foods. Unless…have you got your teeth in yet?”

Severus looked at him quizzically.

“May I take a peek in your mouth, please?” Severus opened wide.

“Oh…no, not yet.” He tapped Severus’ chin gently and the baby closed up, “But I can see a couple peeking up from inside the gums. We have to get you some teething supplies.” He snapped his fingers and a flying quill and parchment flew to them from across the room. “Note—teething supplies.”

Severus thought the quill and parchment looked like the kind that bitch gossiper from the Daily Prophet carried around with her. He saw the quill scribble furiously on the parchment and idly wondered what would happen if he pulled on the end of the thing. He’d always wanted to do that when he was taller, but his reputation and everything had prevented him from doing so. Now, though…

He glanced up and saw that Harry was busy looking for some soft fruits for his meal. His eyes darted to the quill and parchment following them rather closely. The pretty, green, Slytherin-looking quill—with its rather long tail—flew just within his reach. It was bobbing up and down enticingly. And he really had no reputation to care for right now…not really…and Harry was still distracted…and the quill was still writing…and it was right there…

YANK!

A delightfully crooked line now ran down the hitherto neat little page with its neat little handwriting.

The quill pulled itself out of his grip and straightened up, looking rather indignant for a quill. It shook its tail at him reproachfully before returning to write on the parchment, as Harry had yet to stop dictating to it.

Severus grinned. It still floated well within his reach.

“And I suppose we’ll need pacifiers, though I imagine you won’t need them very much…” Scribble! Scribble! Scribble!

YANK!

Another offensive line appeared on the paper. Again the quill pulled itself away. Now it was looking rather frustrated with the infant. Severus started giggling. Not having a reputation to protect really was fun, now that he thought about it!

“I guess I’m going to have to read about what other things infants your age might need. Although…Ginny could probably guess rather well, considering Teddy and everything…” Scribble! Scribble! Scribble!

YANK!

Yet another offensive line. This time, the quill wretched itself away from him so forcefully, its tip ran straight into the parchment, poking a rather big hole in the paper. Now it was the parchment’s turn to straighten up and look indignant. The quill looked slightly alarmed. It pointed its tail frantically at the laughing baby, but the parchment paid him no attention. It looked about ready to beat up the quill! Suddenly, the quill jumped and hysterically pointed to something behind the parchment. When the paper looked back to see what it was, the quill hurriedly bounced in the opposite direction. The parchment, which looked to be running on a pair of corners for legs, soon dashed after him. Severus began laughing hysterically at the antics of the normally inanimate objects, twisting his body this way and that to watch the drama unfold around the kitchen.

Harry closed the icebox, discreetly peering down at his giggling charge with an unnoticeable smile on his face. He hadn’t expected the dictating quill to become the object of amusement for the thirty-eight-year-old infant, but somehow it had. This behavior just continued to prove his earlier theory about the disconnection between Severus’ memories and his state of mind. The situation was proving to be quite a delicate balance. Harry had to talk to Severus like an adult, while he discreetly treated him like a child. 

“So how does a mashed banana, apple juice in a bottle, and Wizard Cheerios sound to you?” He nudged the infant to get his attention and waited patiently.

The parchment had effectively chased the quill into the next room and back to the desk, where the two had simultaneously stopped mid-chase and flopped back down onto the table, going inanimate again and ending the impromptu show. It took a few minutes for Severus to calm down from his laughing fit, but once he did, it occurred to him that Harry had asked him a question.

“Uh?” He peered up at the teenager quizzically.

“I asked if a mashed banana, apple juice in a bottle, and Wizard Cheerios is good enough for dinner tonight.”

“Oh.” Severus thought about it. “Meh…eh?” He patted his chest, then opened and closed his hand, then patted his mouth, then patted his chest once again.

That took Harry a moment to translate. “Er…are you asking if you can feed yourself?” The infant nodded. “Right. According to the book, your fingers should be nimble enough to hold the bottle of juice and grasp at the Wizard Cheerios. However, it’s not yet nimble enough to hold the spoon. I’ll have to feed you the mashed bananas, but I promise to allow you to practice with the spoon near the end. Is that acceptable?” He hoped the compromise would be enough to convince the adult mind to act babyish, at least in this respect.

Severus thought some more. Well…he didn’t really have to rely on Potter too much for that. He could eat most of the meal by himself. Plus, Potter had promised to allow him to be able to practice his dexterity later. It looked to be a good deal. He should be suspicious. He really should. Potter was never this nice—not to him, at least. He should be very suspicious of Potter’s niceness. But…he wasn’t. Huh. Why wasn’t he? Where was the suspiciousness he was supposed to feel?!

“Severus?” He looked up at the mention of his name, and Potter’s gentle gaze banished the conflicting thoughts momentarily.

“Uh-huh!” His voice sounded approving—enthusiastic, even! He scowled. Why was he excited about the prospect of feeding himself?! He’d done that most of his life; he shouldn’t be this excited about it now!

“Excellent.” Potter ordered the high chair to pull out from under the table and prepare itself with a wave of a hand. Severus’ scowl disappeared. The wandless, wordless magic Potter was suddenly exhibiting was still surprising and…absolutely wicked! Wicked?! Where in Merlin’s name did that come from?!

Harry set Severus on the high chair, then pulled a box of Wizard Cheerios out of one of the cabinets. He placed a handful on the table of the high chair. “Here you go. Bit of an appetizer while I get your dinner and my dinner ready.”

“A ba!”

While Harry made sure the high chair was secure, and that the baby was sitting straight, and that the baby wouldn’t fall out, Severus enthusiastically dove a hand into his bunch of Wizard Cheerios. Cereal went flying in whichever direction, landing on the floor, the table, and…Harry’s head. A few O’s had stuck themselves to Harry’s hair! Ha! Ha! Ha! Now that was funny! Severus giggled.

Harry’s eyebrows furrowed, “What?”

Baby Snape grinned, patted his head, and giggled some more.

“Ha! Ha! Very funny.” Rolling his eyes, Harry brushed the cereal off and then turned to prepare the rest of their dinner.

“So I was wondering…” Harry started, as he chopped up some vegetables for a soup, “We don’t have a whole lot of baby stuff for you so we’ll have to go shopping for some tomorrow.” He glanced back to check if Severus was listening, and to his relief, the infant was gazing at him with wide eyes while he chewed on his fingers and Wizard Cheerios. “But here’s the catch—the goddamn press won’t give me one moment of peace when I go out, and it’ll be even worse if I go out with you, so…” He stopped his chopping and looked directly at the child, “…would it be acceptable if I had my girlfriend—Ginny Weasley—do the shopping for us? Her taste is infinitely better than mine, and she’ll have Tonks with her, and Tonks just had a baby so she would know exactly what to get for you, and…how about it?”

The baby just looked at him and continued to chew on his fingers and Wizard Cheerios.

Could this be? The infamous Harry Potter refuses to go out because it would draw too much attention to him?! Severus scoffed internally. As if Potter never liked the attention! The insufferable brat basked in the limelight! He would do anything to draw attention to himself. Yeah, and that’s why he’s refusing to go out with you—so he can draw attention to himself. Right, Snape! Think, you bloody idiot! Severus scowled. Why was he defending Potter…to himself? He doesn’t want to turn this into a media circus. He just wants to go about this quietly. But then again, when had Potter ever done anything quietly? Well, there was that whole Dumbledore’s Army thing a few years back that nobody knew about for months, and weren’t supposed to know about at all. That had been quiet. Severus paused. Bloody hell! Why do my thoughts keep jumping around from one thing to another like this?

“Look, Severus, you need things. Nappies and bottles and formula and baby food are definitely a necessity—even you can’t deny that. We only have an overnight change of clothes right now, so you need clothes. I’ll make sure Ginny buys stuff in black, silver, and green, but I can also tell you those aren’t the only colors she’ll buy. Not to mention you need a playpen, things to keep you entertained and to practice your dexterity with, a walker so you can build strength in your legs, teething supplies, and so on and so forth. I’ll just write Gringotts authorizing Ginny to draw from my vault, and she could go about buying all those things tomorrow, rather than us schlepping around Diagon Alley all day long. Besides…Ginny likes shopping anyway.”

Did he just say he was going to draw money from his vault? What about Dumbledore? I thought Dumbledore was going to pay for my things.

“Dumb…dow?”

“Dumbledore? What about him?” Harry wondered where this conversation was going.

“Peh…fo…meh?” Severus tapped on his chest.

“Pay for you?” Harry thought for a second. “Uh…he didn’t say anything about any of that. All he said was that we had to buy everything else we may need that they didn’t already provide. Frankly…that’s just about everything. Um…and he didn’t say anything about paying for you, why?”

Severus frowned at this. “Ooo peh fo meh?” He pointed at Harry, and then tapped his chest.

“Yes, of course!” Harry answered, as if that should’ve been obvious. “I mean, who else am I going to spend the money on?” He shrugged. “There’s Ginny, but she’s not really a materialistic kind of girl. And I’m not really a materialistic kind of guy, either. I already have a house in Godric’s Hollow—my parents’ place—that I’m renovating at the moment. I already have all the clothes and books I can possibly need. I have nobody else to spend the money on but you.”

Severus’ frown deepened. This was…new. Potter wasn’t…Potter didn’t…Dumbledore wasn’t…Severus shifted in his seat, unsettled. Several thoughts kept running through his mind—the Headmaster wasn’t going to pay for him like he originally thought, Potter was going to pay for him instead—willingly, and Potter—who was, unknowingly, the richest young wizard in Great Britain at the moment—didn’t have anyone to spend on except him—Severus Snape, former Death Eater turned spy turned baby who verbally abused him yet saved his life for seven years?!

This doesn’t add up. He told himself. He had thought Dumbledore was going to pay Potter for taking care of him until this situation was resolved. Or, in any case, he thought that the Headmaster would pay for his baby supplies, at the very least. He had assumed the old man would perhaps find some way to draw from his, Snape’s, Gringotts account to pay for the child support; or, perhaps, he would classify Snape’s situation as a medical accident and provide Potter with Hogwarts money to pay for him. But no. Dumbledore had dumped him on Potter wholly and completely, with not a knut of compensation, just a simple word of thanks. And Potter had accepted! Potter had accepted responsibility for him—physically and financially—without so much as one complaint. With the way I’d treated him over the years?! This doesn’t add up.

Normally, at this point, Snape would assume that this would be some sort of publicity stunt on Potter’s part. Yet the teenager had just told him the reason he wanted Ms. Weasley to be told was because he didn’t want to go out and face the press just because they needed a few baby supplies. So it’s not a publicity stunt. Perhaps he is doing it to impress Ms. Weasley, then? Yet if he had to be honest with himself, the prospect of raising himself didn’t sound very appealing in the least. So why would he do this?!

“Severus?” Harry interrupted his thoughts, looking at the infant with concern. “So how about it? May I tell her?” There was a subtle note of apprehension in his voice.

The baby frowned once more, but then relaxed his face and shrugged.

“Uh-huh!” The infant answered finally, once he got his fingers out of his mouth.

“Alright then. Thank you. Very good!” He turned back to his chopping while Severus switched his focus to trying to grasp the cereal on his little table.

They stayed like that for a few minutes before Harry approached the table. Behind him, the knives were chopping the vegetables by themselves. Taking off his outer robe, Harry hung it on a chair before placing a mirror on Severus’ table. “This is a two-way mirror.” He explained, “The other end is with Ginny. She’s probably going to call tonight sometime soon, but I’m busy cooking at the moment. Will you do me a favor and just watch it for me while I prepare dinner?”

Severus eyed the mirror curiously. He’d never seen something like it before. It would be an interesting new thing to explore. He decided he wanted to find out more about it. Looking up at Harry, he nodded. “Mm-hmm.” He mumbled through the fingers in his mouth.

“Thank you.” Harry replied, heading for the cast iron stove. “When she calls, invite her over for dinner, if you please.”

Severus immediately abandoned his cereal and instead endeavored to pick up the mirror. His progress was slow, but after a long while he was able to rake the mirror over to the edge of the table and tip it upward, grasping one of its edges as he did so. He studied the mirror in his hands curiously. It was a light, round, palm-sized little thing with edges protected by green plastic, big enough to chew on but not small enough to fit entirely in his mouth. It looked very much like an ordinary sort of mirror, but he could feel a bit of magic tingling just beneath his fingers on the surface of the mirror. Suddenly, Severus got this overwhelming urge to put it in his mouth!

How absolutely preposterous!

Then he paused.

Severus looked up at Harry. He was busy cooking. He looked down at the mirror. I must put this in my mouth! He frowned. He looked up at Harry again. He was still cooking. He looked down at the mirror. Put in mouth! Put in mouth!...I’m going absolutely bloody mental! Harry was still cooking. Put in mouth! Put in mouth! Put in mouth! And still, Harry kept cooking. Put in mouth! Put in mouth! Put in mouth! Oh, bloody hell!

He stuck the mirror in his mouth.

The strange tingling sensation from the surface of the mirror tickled his gums. Severus grinned around the mirror. Wow! That feels good! He took it out of his mouth, examined it again, then popped it back in. Ha! Ha! So good…He eyed Harry warily, taking the mirror out of his mouth when Harry was looking, then popping it back in when the teenager was turned away. His Slytherin sense tingled. This is fun!

“Hello? Hellooooo?” A decidedly feminine voice sang from within the confines of his mouth. “Is anybody there?”

Severus frowned. Taking out the mirror, he looked into it again. The curious face of one Ginevra Weasley looked back at him from within. “Oh! Hello! And who might you be?”

Severus glanced at Harry. The boy was busy adding ingredients into the soup. Looking back at the mirror, Snape cleared his throat. Now to see if she has the same gift for understanding idiot-speak that her boyfriend has. He opened his mouth to speak, but soon frowned and closed it again. Curse the fact that my name is so hard to pronounce! He growled internally. Severus Snape. How am I going to bloody say that without sounding like a lunatic?!...Alright…Go slow, Snape. Go slow…

Severus sighed. “Eh…eh…eh…beh…oof. Eh…eh…beh…oof. Eh-beh-oof. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm…Mmmmmmmmmmmehp.” He heaved an even greater sigh and tried again. “Eh-beh-oof. Mmmmmmehp.” He looked into the mirror pleadingly.  

Miss Weasley was now giving him an inquisitive look. She blinked. “Can…can you understand me, child?” She asked.

Severus was so relieved he had broken through, he overlooked the child reference. He smiled at her, nodding frantically.

“Merlin me!” Ginny gasped, studying the baby face in the mirror for any familiar features. “Do we…do we know each other? Do you recognize me?”

Severus nodded again enthusiastically.

“Yes, we know each other?” Severus kept nodding. “Yes, you recognize me.”

Ginny nodded. “Okay. Now…tell me…” She thought for a second, and then turned back to the mirror. “Alright…tell me how you would pronounce my name, please?”

Severus cleared his throat. This was an easy one! “Immy!” He grinned at her. “Immy…Weeeeeeeeewe.”

Ginny seemed satisfied with that for she gave him an approving smile. “Alright. Good! Now will you pronounce your name for me again, please?”

Severus nodded eagerly, “Eh-beh-oof. Mmmmmmmmehp.”

It didn’t take her long to put the pieces together. “Severus Snape!” She gasped, eyes widening. “Severus Snape?”

The baby nodded and giggled.

“Oh! Alright. Alright. Very good! Very good! Okay…” She thought for a second. “Do you have all your memories?” Severus nodded vigorously. “That’s how you can understand me.” More nodding. “Alright. Okay. Good!” She contemplated something for a minute. “Alright. Is Harry there?”

Severus nodded, pointing to somewhere behind the mirror. “C…oo…k…ing…” His eyes widened. Bloody hell! I just pronounced that right! “Coo…king…” He looked at the mirror and grinned at Ginny. “Cook…ing…Cook…ing…Cooking!” Abruptly, turning from the mirror, he called his caretaker enthusiastically.

“Haweh! Haweh!”

Harry ran to him, alarmed. “What?! What?!”

“Cooking!” He grinned at the teenager. “Cooking! Cooking! Cooking!” He banged his hand and the mirror against his table in excitement. “Cooking! Cooking! Cooking! Cooking! Cooking! Cooking! Cooking!”

“Cooking?” Harry echoed him quizzically. “What about cooking?”

Severus gave him a look as if to say, ‘How thick are you?’ before remembering he was excited and renewing his banging. “Cooking! Cooking! Cooking!”

“What about cooking?!”

“Harry! How thick are you?!” The mirror cried as it was banged repeatedly against the table. Severus stopped his slamming and smiled at it. He was starting to like this girl! He offered it up to Harry.

“Ginny?!”

“It’s the first word he ever pronounced correctly. Don’t you get it?! You should be proud of him! Praise him, you idiot!” The mirror screamed at him.

Harry looked dazed and confused for a bit, and Severus laughed at him. He would remember that look on Potter’s face for the rest of his days. It was priceless!

After a moment, Harry shook his head and looked back down at the baby. “It’s the first word you ever pronounced correctly?” Severus nodded enthusiastically. Frankly, I beg to differ, but I have the feeling now’s not the time for that. Harry thought.

When Harry rewarded him with a genuine grin, Severus grinned right back. “Well how about that? Your first real word! Well…your second first real word, but who cares about the technicalities. This is a cause for celebration! Gin?”

“Yeah?” The mirror replied.

“You want to come over for dinner? Maybe make some of your mum’s famous chocolate pudding? How’s chocolate sound to you, Sev?”

Severus smiled and nodded. His secret guilty pleasure was chocolate. He couldn’t get enough of the stuff! “Pay…beh!”

“It’s your favorite?” Severus nodded. “Excellent! Then you’re in for a treat. What do you say, Gin?” Harry took the mirror from him gently and looked into it. There was no one there. “Gin?” He shook it slightly. “Ginny?”

Severus stopped smiling now and looked at him questioningly. Harry met his eye and shrugged.

Suddenly the floo flared brightly and out of the green flames stepped a beautiful angel. “Ah! There you are!” He walked across to the living room fireplace and gave her a kiss.

Severus stretched around to catch it and gagged silently. Eew! Yuck!

“Did they move you to different quarters? This place is big!” He could hear them talking in the background.

“Yeah. I guess Dumbledore put a forwarding service on my old floo to come to this fireplace.”

Severus banged his fist against his table to get their attention. “AH! Ahhhhh…AH!”

Ginny saw him first. “Well, good evening, Mr. Snape!” She gave him a gentle smile, speaking to the infant as if she would’ve spoken to the man. “It’s good to see you up and about again. And alive! It’s very good to see you alive.” Harry took her coat and she sat down in a chair across from Severus as her boyfriend finished his cooking. “So? I got it right, didn’t I? That was the first word you pronounced correctly in this form?” Severus smiled and nodded. Ginny clapped her hands together once and grinned. “Ha! Yes!” She looked over her shoulder, “I can speak baby better than you can, Harry!” She stuck her tongue out at him. He stuck his out right back. Severus giggled. “So…” She took something out of her pocket, enlarged it, and then turned to Severus. “May I keep you company while you enjoy your cereal and I make my mother’s delectable chocolate pudding from scratch?” Severus nodded, focusing on scooping up another piece of cereal. “Thank you. Oh, and congratulations on your first correct word, by the way. It’s a stupendous milestone! Would you like to help me make pudding?” Severus’ eyes widened and he grinned, nodding enthusiastically.

Over the next ten minutes or so, Harry finished his vegetable soup while Ginny and Severus sat at the table, making pudding and conversing about his situation and all its advantages. Harry had given Ginny a brief account of the situation when they talked outside of the infirmary, so she was slightly prepared when she saw the baby for the first time. What he hadn’t given her, however, was the identity of the professor who had been de-aged. She was somewhat surprised to find out it was Snape, but she quickly decided to play the situation by ear, and it had paid off. Baby Snape now seemed to trust her, in addition to Harry. Whether this was a conscious decision or not on the baby’s part remained to be seen.

“Mr. Snape—”

“Ah! Ah!” The baby interrupted her, raising his hand. First, he pointed at Harry. “Haweh.” Then he pointed at her. “Immy.” Then he pointed at himself. “Eb!”

Ginny’s eyes widened in surprise. “Sev?” The baby nodded. “Are you sure about that, sir?”

Not really. Severus thought. He actually didn’t know why he was doing this. He didn’t know why he was telling them to refer to him by the nickname he only allowed Lily to call him. He speculated that it was perhaps partially due to his five-month-old mind. Another part of him felt that it was also partially due to the fact that—ironically—these two people were the only people in the world he could trust at the moment. That could have also been attributed to his five-month-old mind. He didn’t feel like he could trust Dumbledore anymore. It hurt slightly, for he had solely trusted the old man for so long, but that was the way things were now.

When Dumbledore had chickened out at the last minute and forced not only Potter to complete whatever dangerous and important mission they were on alone, but also forced him to be the bearer of bad news to the boy—even when Dumbledore knew the last person Potter would listen to was Snape—Severus had lost all faith in the old man. Truth be told, he had started losing faith in Dumbledore and started having faith in Potter the moment Dumbledore told him about the boy’s true destiny—to die at the hands of the Dark Lord. Snape had been incensed! What kind of cold-hearted fool would raise a child only to have him die at the right time?! Dumbledore, obviously. And he had used Severus to ensure the boy lived! Now Potter didn’t trust him, either. Good riddance to the old man! He deserved the cold shoulder for the rest of his days.

Now Harry knew his life story, as only Dumbledore did before. No doubt Ginny did too. Severus doubted anyone else knew about it…completely. Potter wasn’t the brightest lumos globe in the world, but he was smart where it counted. Severus could sense the teenager was in full-blown protective mode right now; and the object of his protective instincts was him—Severus! His baby instincts told him this protection extended against anyone who would do him any sort of harm; Harry would protect him against friends and family if he had to. Severus could feel it in his bones. The most important thing, though—at least to Severus—was that Potter had willingly taken him in beyond all reason. He received no monetary compensation, nor wanted any publicity. He highly doubted Potter took him in out of pity. And Potter, so far, was treating him relatively well. Severus knew that had to count for something. The fact that Potter was not the scheming, conniving type, like Dumbledore, was also a definite plus.

Severus—again, ironically—didn’t trust anybody but Potter now. Potter trusted the Weasley girl. So Severus trusted the Weasley girl by extension. Severus refused to extend his trust any further than Harry’s girlfriend. Granger, the rest of the Weasley clan, Lupin, and Black can all be damned! Even though Harry trusted them didn’t mean Severus had to!

He shrugged at Ginny and nodded again.

The poor girl looked shocked. “Well…alright! Wow. Thank you, Sev!” Then she remembered what she was about to talk about. “Anyway…”

Severus grinned. He liked how Ginny’s mind jumped about from one topic to the next, just as much as his little mind now did.

“…I have an idea that could improve your communication problem.” This really got the baby’s attention. “It’s called baby sign language. I had a friend a few years back who was teaching it to her newborn little brother, who was about your physical age. It’s derived from regular sign language, but it’s designed with babies in mind—specifically, your hands. Harry! Are you listening?”

“Yes, Gin!”

“She taught me a few signs and I still remember them. But as for the rest of them, I’m going to need to buy a book from a muggle bookstore, because baby sign language is not very well-known in the wizarding world. What do you think about the idea?”

“Ukkew?” He asked.

“Muggle? Yes, baby sign language is a muggle idea. It has actually quite recently began making its way into the wizarding community via some magical families adopting the practice of communicating with their babies via sign.” She paused for a moment and gave him a strange look. “Why? Does it being a muggle idea bother you, Sev?”

At this, Harry looked over at him as well.

Well…it’s not really that it’s a muggle idea…Severus mentally kicked himself. There is nothing wrong with muggles! There is nothing wrong with muggles! There is nothing wrong with muggles! Part of Severus cursed the fact that he ended up in Slytherin. Growing up in that house—especially during that period of history—had sealed his fate. Well, actually…who was he kidding?! Growing up with his verbally abusive father had sealed his fate even before Hogwarts came along! Home was where he had developed that intense hate he used to have for muggles. Well…all muggles except Lily. There’s nothing wrong with muggles! I don’t hate muggles! I don’t! Then he realized. I don’t! This seemed to astonish him a bit. Wait, aren’t I supposed to?...NO, you bloody idiot! There’s nothing wrong with muggles!...Right. I don’t hate muggles…Do…DON’T!

“Mo…” Severus answered cautiously. Then he suddenly began slapping his head in an effort to clear his jumbled thoughts.

Ginny looked alarmed. “Sev, stop it! Don’t do that!” She grabbed his hand and held it firmly in her grasp.

Harry was eyeing him warily. “Ginny, would you mind finishing up this soup for me, please? And mashing Sev’s banana? I think he and I need to have a talk.”

Severus’ eyes widened. A talk?!

“Don’t worry. You’re not in trouble or anything. It’s just…I think I may know what’s going on in your mind.” Harry told him as he and Ginny exchanged places.

You do. Sev thought skeptically. I highly doubt that.

“Let me guess—your memories tell you that you should act a certain way, while your brain tells you that you should act another way. Sometimes the other reaction is the complete opposite of what your memories tell you is the appropriate reaction. This leaves you confused. How am I doing so far?”

Severus’ eyes widened and he nodded.

“Your thoughts also jump from one topic to another without rest. If you think about a certain topic long enough, you either end up right where you started or you end up on a completely different topic simply because of your thought streams. This distresses and frustrates you. It also puzzles you when you realize your mind and body do something your memories say you normally would not have done. Am I hot or cold?”

Severus’ eyes narrowed. “Ow ooo mow?”

Harry shrugged, meeting the child’s eyes with a serious look. “Well I don’t know. It’s just a theory I came up with. But may I offer you my advice?” Severus eyed him warily. “It’s completely up to you whether or not you wish to take it.”

Severus considered him for a minute, and then nodded.

“Try to go with the flow.” Harry said gently. “Don’t dwell on memories or reactions too much, lest you end up with jumbled thoughts—much like what happened right now. Unless the situation calls for it, do what feels natural at the moment, then give it more thought later—at night before going to sleep, perhaps. Things are only as complicated as you make them, Sev.” He eyed the contemplating baby. “Alright?”

Severus took in his words and turned them over in his mind. Potter was right. He thought too much sometimes and it frustrated him to no end. Things really were only as complicated as you made them. He made a big deal a while ago about the whole name thing. He could’ve just saved himself a lot of trouble by just admitting to himself that he trusted them enough to want to use their first names and have them reciprocate with him.

Severus shrugged and nodded. “Just think on it.” Harry’s gaze then caught on the bowl of chocolate pudding Ginny left on the table. “Hey! Chocolate pudding! The best chocolate pudding in the world!” He then leaned closer to Severus conspiratorially. “What do you think? Does eating half a banana warrant an entire bowl of chocolate pudding?” He whispered and winked at the baby.

Severus grinned.

“Harry, I heard that!” Ginny cried from the stove. “One whole banana and half a bowl of chocolate pudding!”

“Aw, Gin, you’re no fun!” He got up and turned his back, grabbing the side of the bowl and moving it closer to Severus while Ginny was turned away. Now the bowl rested well within the baby’s reach. “No fun at all…” He walked over to her and his arms encircled her waist from behind. Before he dipped his head to kiss her neck, he met Severus’ eye and winked.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Potter is actually a Slytherin in disguise! Who’d have thought! He grinned back at the teenager.

They exchanged nods and Harry began distracting Ginny as Severus reached over and grabbed a handful of chocolate pudding.

“Harry!” Ginny giggled, and then whispered, “Harry, not right now.” Her boyfriend just made a grunt of agreement before lightly sucking on her collarbone.

Oh, please! Yuck! Then he began licking his fingers clean and his tune changed completely. Merlin, me! Potter was right—this is the best chocolate pudding in the world! No sooner had he finished licking his fingers clean that Ginny called his name. “So Sev—”

Severus quickly hid his guilty, sticky hand under the table and plastered an innocent look on his face. Behind Ginny, Potter’s eyes shone with amusement. “Uh-huh?”

“What do you think about the baby sign language thing? Do you want to give it a try?” She asked him. “It’ll be a lot less frustrating for you because then you’d be able to communicate more effectively while you learn how to pronounce things correctly again.”

Severus thought it sounded like a good idea, so he nodded. “Uh-huh!” 

“Great! I’ll teach you a couple of signs over dinner.” With that, she placed a bowl of hot vegetable soup on the table along with two bowls and spoons, while Harry presented Severus with a bowl of mashed banana accompanied by a shrunken spoon, as well as a bottle of apple juice. Severus quickly picked up the apple juice and drank greedily. He was parched!

“Sev, why are your hands so sticky?” Ginny frowned, and as she wiped his hands with a wet towel, he and Potter exchanged a look and a smile over her head.

Over the course of dinner, Harry fed Severus while Ginny taught him several different signs. She would name the sign and demonstrate, and then he would copy her. She encouraged him to say the word while signing so he would be able to practice his pronunciations. Severus caught on and memorized all the signs fairly quickly. He was beginning to think whoever invented baby sign language was a genius!

“Okay, what’s the sign for hungry?” Severus cupped a hand over his neck and ran it down his front. “Excellent!” Ginny smiled. Severus grinned, basking in the praise. “What about if you want a drink?” Severus made a ‘c’ over his mouth and imitated drinking a cup. “Excellent!” The more Ginny praised him, the more excited Sev got. “Harry, you got all that?”

“Yes, yes...Open up, Sev.” Severus accepted more banana, but kept his eyes on Ginny.

“Alright. What if you want more of something?” Sev touched the tips of his fingers together and ran both hands into each other three times. “Very good!” He liked it when Ginny got excited, because he did too. “Okay. What about if you want to say ‘sorry’?” Sev made a fist and rubbed it over his chest. “Excellent! And please and thank you?” Sev rubbed an open hand over his chest, and then placed the same hand on his chin and brought it out. “Ah! Excellent! Now…what about if you need a nappy change? What’s the sign for ‘potty’?” Sev scowled at that. “Oh, come on, Sev, you can’t stay with a dirty nappy forever. Look at it this way—when you’re out in public or Harry takes you to class or you’re in the Great Hall, and you need a change, but you don’t want to say it out loud, then you can use the sign and Harry will know what you’re talking about but no one else will. It’s like a private message! Besides, I think it would be more embarrassing if you just let it sit there and stink up the place. Then everyone would really know about it. So…what do you say?”

Severus thought about it for a minute. As humiliating as it was, she had a point. He made a fist, sticking his thumb between his pointer and middle finger, and waved it at them.

“Very good! Now…can I give you a kiss…” Ginny kissed the tips of her fingers and placed the same fingers on her cheek, “…and a hug…” she wrapped her arms around herself and swung from side to side, “…because I’m so proud…” she pointed her thumb at her stomach and ran it up to her chest, “…of you.” She pointed at his chest and smiled.

Sev grinned. He imitated the kiss and hug and reached out to her. Ginny beamed and hugged him, kissing his cheek as she did so. “You are a brilliant little man. Now…let’s see if Harry was smart enough to pay attention.” Sev giggled.

It turned out Harry was. By the time they were finished with the chocolate pudding, all three of them were effectively able to communicate…somewhat. “We’ll have to go to a muggle bookstore to find a good book with the rest of the signs. I’m pretty sure you two will be able to come with me to some shopping mall in London, right?”

Severus looked at Harry, who nodded. “Yes. It’s only in the wizarding world that I can’t wander about effectively. It’s quite annoying, really! I can’t even visit Diagon Alley without the press hounding me about something or another.”

“Don’t worry, Harry. It’ll die down eventually.”

“Hopefully…”

“But in the meantime, I’ll do the shopping for you two in the wizarding world. So how about it, Sev? Any special requests? This is your one and only chance.”

“Back…weem…ewbew…”

Ginny rolled her eyes and smirked. “Black, green, and silver. Yes, I know. But I’ll have you know this—those aren’t the only colors I’m buying for you, okay?”

“Told you.” Harry muttered in his ear.

“Where’s your desk, Harry, I need to make a list. Plus, you need to write me that authorization for Gringotts.” She said, getting up and heading for the desk in the den. “Plus, I need to talk to Tonks.”

Harry sighed. “You tired?” Severus nodded sluggishly as he finished his bottle of juice. His eyes were already half closed. “Alright. Let’s give you a bath and get you ready for bed. I think a bit of Tales of Beedle the Bard will be enough, right?” But the infant didn’t say anything. He just put down the empty bottle and wordlessly reached out to Harry.

Severus clung onto Harry’s robes as the teen picked him up. He rested his head against his transport’s chest and allowed the steady heartbeat and rumbling voice to lull him once again. “Make sure you add baby soap and shampoo and teething supplies to that list, as well as a walker.” A pause. “My vault at Gringotts is 687, and you have to remind me to give you the key.” Another pause. “Oh! And I think Remus, Tonks, and their little one are staying at Andromeda’s place at the moment, so when you floo call—”

“Call for Andromeda Tonks’ house. I know. I talked to Tonks just this morning, Harry.” Ginny interrupted.

“Alright.” After Harry transfigured the playpen back into a crib and returned it to its place next to his bed, he carried baby Snape into the bathroom.

Severus became a bit whiny when it came to taking a bath; but when Harry reminded him that it was better than the alternative in the long run, Severus screwed his eyes shut and gave in. Unfortunately, his resolve to remain utterly mortified didn’t last for long. Harry had transfigured several sponges and bathroom odds and ends into bath play toys, and placed them into the sink along with Severus. It was then that Severus’ long-dormant imagination finally reawakened.

Before long, he was directing wizard divers on underwater rescue missions to deep-sea merpeople castles in order to rescue red-haired damsels in distress. As Harry shampooed his hair, he and the other divers battled non-docile giant squids and merpeople and sirens, while dodging white balls of flesh-eating foam that fell in the water from somewhere above. When Harry soaped his body, Severus imagined being hit by one of those flesh-eating foam balls and dying and telling his men to leave without him. Then when Harry rinsed all the soap and shampoo off, Severus found himself resurrected on a ship somewhere in the arctic, near the edge of the world. He and his men had to navigate the waters carefully, else they hit an iceberg and die in the frigid water. They needed to find the edge of the world so they could rescue the red-haired damsel in distress from Davy Jones’ locker—which is off the edge of the world. When Harry tipped his head back and ran the water down his hair, he imagined falling down the big waterfall off the edge of the world and screaming his lungs out for someone to help him. Then, when he finally landed, he found himself wrapped securely in a big fluffy towel, being carried by his men to the big bed in Heaven, because he had somehow died in that horrendous fall.

Ginny smiled adoringly, from where she leaned against the doorframe, as her boyfriend dumped the giggling baby on the bed and toweled him off. The sound of Sev’s imagination revealing itself drew her and Harry’s camera to the bathroom door, where she was able to capture an entire roll of film of Sev and Harry playing together at bath time. Watching the two of them interact was absolutely adorable.

“What’s going on in that head of yours, huh?” She heard Harry ask the squealing child. Severus was still hanging on to one of his bath toys—a tall, wooden ship. He was steering it around in a figure eight in the air, making funny sounds as he did so.

Soon enough, Sev was dressed in a nappy and blue footsie and was riding on Harry’s arm to the bookshelf. Ginny watched as Harry picked up The Tales of Beedle the Bard and proceeded to read to the infant on the rocking chair. Sev was asleep—his thumb in his mouth—after only one story. Ginny made sure to take plenty of pictures.

“Remember, Harry, ‘Back to Sleep’.” Ginny whispered as Harry made to put Severus in his crib. “Sudden Infant Death Syndrome is real, so don’t take chances.”

“I know, love, I know.” Harry placed the sleeping infant on his back and laid a stuffed baby snake next to him. “Goodnight, Sev.” Leaning down, he placed a gentle kiss on the sleeping babe’s forehead. “Sweet dreams.”

He lowered the lumos globes and made to walk out, but paused in the doorway. He looked back at the slumbering child.

Sweet dreams…

That gave him an idea. As quietly as he could, he opened his trunk and dug around until he found what he was looking for. It was a dreamcatcher. He had bought it one day in fifth year, out of impulse, from an eccentric old witch in Hogsmeade. She had been kind to him that day, helping him find the place he had been looking for, and he felt compelled to repay her kindness. She had offered him this dreamcatcher, saying how it had been imported by the witches from America. Rare, for it was real and one of only ten in the world. She had given it to him at such an absurdly low price that he was hard-pressed to believe it was everything she said it was. 

“You guard that dreamcatcher well, my child. I have infused it with my white magic so that it may keep the darkness from your dreams. When one day you feel the need to pass it on, infuse it with your own white magic, child, and it will keep the darkness out of your children’s dreams as well. Sweet dreams, my child. Sweet dreams…”

He had turned away to examine the object more closely. When he turned back to ask the old witch a question, she had disappeared. There was not a trace of her anywhere, and after that day he had never seen her again. Yet she had been right—the dreamcatcher was real. It had helped him master controlled Occlumency that year, and kept Voldemort out of his mind. He had kept it with him throughout the years, taking advantage of its legendary power.

He looked back at Sev’s crib. But now I feel a need to pass it on. He fingered the soft leather of the net and toyed with the silky feathers and charms dangling from the snare. He’s going to need it more than I will now. No doubt he’ll have nightmares about evil tonight. Harry set his jaw. Well…not on my watch, he won’t!

Slowly, Harry approached the crib. There, he held the dreamcatcher between his palms, closed his eyes, and focused his power. He directed all his energy into infusing the dreamcatcher with his white magic. He poured his love into the object, as well as all the protective spells he knew about. Harry even ensured that the spell he invented to counter the Killing Curse was inlaid into the dreamcatcher. He was taking no chances.

After a while, when Harry believed the dreamcatcher finally felt right, he opened his eyes and examined his work. To his surprise, a new charm now hung next to the others, dangling from the snare. It was a small silver lightning bolt. He smiled. It worked!

Harry opened his palm and watched as the dreamcatcher floated up high above the crib and suspended itself in midair, right over the baby’s head. He could feel wave upon wave of white magic emanating from the sacred object, driving the darkness away into the night.

Harry smiled and ran his fingers through Sev’s soft baby hair. “Sweet dreams, my child. Sweet dreams.”

“So who is this mysterious child that Harry’s suddenly taking care of, hmm?” Tonks smirked, readjusting the baby sling as Teddy shifted within. “And why isn’t Remus allowed to see him yet?”

“How do you know Remus isn’t allowed to see him?” Ginny asked, scrutinizing a stuffed lion for any choking hazards.

“Well…because you fire-called me last night while Remus and Teddy were both falling asleep together, so I wasn’t able to tell Remus that I was going out shopping with you until this morning. And when he heard that, he jumped at the chance to hang out with Harry and fire-called him at breakfast to ask him if he could come over for the day. You know—girls’ day out, guys’ day in, that sort of thing.” She and Ginny exchanged a look and laughed.

Ginny threw the lion into the basket she was carrying, “That happens every time we get together, did you notice? Even when we go out together, you and I always end up talking, while Remus and Harry chat and tag along behind us.”

“It’s great.” Tonks nodded. “So anyway…Remus got put out, though, when Harry told him he was taking care of a baby now and that today wasn’t a good time for just hanging out. And then Remus asked him why he couldn’t just come over and help him take care of the baby, and Harry kind of avoided answering the question. So, yeah…” She began feeding Teddy a bottle, “Remus was kind of sad when I left.”

“Aw! I’m sorry.” Ginny frowned. “Was he really put out?”

“No, no, nothing that dramatic.” Tonks giggled. “It’s just that with a newborn and everything, it’s rare to get time alone, you know? And when I told Remus that I was taking Teddy with me today, he was looking forward to having some fun today.” She shrugged. “And Harry kind of…shot him down.”

“So where’s Remus now?” Ginny asked, scrutinizing some bath toys this time.

“He’s at home—well, at my mom’s place, at least—sleeping…reading, maybe.”

“Why didn’t he just go and visit Sirius?” Ginny threw the bath toys in the basket and walked on.

“Sirius is at the Ministry today, taking care of technicalities and everything. He’s trying to get his Auror’s license back and is arguing back and forth with Kingsley about whether or not he needs to brush up on his training.”

“Oh, I’m betting he’s enjoying that conversation.” Ginny smirked, picking up a baby raven and badger and examining them for choking hazards.

“You know our Sirius.” Tonks laughed.

“So why don’t you invite him to come shopping with us?” Ginny threw the badger into the basket.

“I don’t know.” Tonks shrugged. “Think he’ll mind?”

“I think if I were Remus, I’d rather go out shopping with my wife and her best friend than sit around in my mother-in-law’s, bored all day, because my two best friends are busy.” Ginny threw the raven in the basket and moved to the checkout line.

Tonks laughed. “No, Ginny, I was talking about Harry. Oh! Aren’t you going to get a snake, too?”

“No, Sev already has a baby snake.” Ginny answered distractedly, digging into her pocket. She looked up at Tonks’ gasp. “What?”

“Baby’s name is Sev.” Tonks narrowed her eyes at Ginny and smirked.

“Oh, for Merlin’s sake, Dora—”

“And he has a stuffed snake!”

“Tonks—”

“Let’s see what else I can find out about baby.” Tonks stroked her chin playfully and laughed at Ginny, who rolled her eyes.

“To answer your question, why in Merlin’s name would Harry mind if Remus came with us?” Ginny replied. “By the way, you do know you can get stuff, too, right? Harry told me he would gladly pay for anything you wanted to buy for Teddy. After all, Teddy is his godson.”

“I have the feeling that even if Teddy wasn’t his godson, Harry would still be the same way.” Tonks smirked.

“You’re probably right.” Ginny nodded.

“Teddy has a lot of toys at home right now, anyway.”

“Are you sure about that?” Ginny raised an eyebrow at her.

“Trust me, Gin, you have no idea.” Tonks smirked. “And besides, he’s only two months old! All he does all day is eat, sleep, and poop. He’s living the good life, I tell ya.” She and Ginny shared a look and burst into a fit of laughter.

“Ah, to be two months old again.” Ginny greeted the shopkeeper as the old woman tallied her purchases.

“Anyway, I was thinking Harry would mind if Remus came with us because…well, he wouldn’t let Remus come over today to see the baby…and we’re going baby shopping…so I kind of figured…” She shrugged.

Ginny took the bag of toys from the shopkeeper and bid her a good day. “Well…” Ginny contemplated how to go about doing this. She knew Sev wouldn’t appreciate Remus being apprised of his situation before he was ready. On the other hand, though, she didn’t want Remus and Tonks to feel left out. “Let’s put it this way—the situation is more complicated than you can imagine. I mean…if Sev was just a regular baby, Harry wouldn’t mind Remus coming over today and everything. But the thing is…Sev isn’t a regular baby.”

Tonks furrowed her eyebrows. “What do you mean? How old is he, anyway?”

“Sev’s five months old.” Ginny began navigating them towards the Leaky Cauldron.

“And how is he not a regular baby?” Tonks paused for a second. “Wait a minute…does this have something to do with how he came to be in Harry’s care? Because, I mean, Harry’s virtually been confined to the grounds of Hogwarts for the past month on the count of the press. And the only people there this summer are the Professors because they’re rebuilding. I mean, where’s Harry going to suddenly find a—” Tonks stopped abruptly and let out a loud gasp.

“What?!” Ginny questioned, alarmed.

“Oh my god!” She turned to the younger girl and grasped her by the shoulders. “Ginny! He isn’t a regular baby?! Which means he’s smarter or knows more than a regular baby? And his name is Sev? And he has a stuffed snake?”

“SHHH!” Ginny hissed, her eyes darting around at the surrounding people. “For Merlin’s sake, Dora, not out here and not out loud!” She steered the metamorphamagus into The Leaky Cauldron and found a booth somewhere in the back. Ginny took out her wand, “Muffliato...Now we can talk about it.”

“Severus Snape!” Tonks’ eyes widened and Teddy began crying within his sling. Tonks immediately began rocking him. “The baby is Severus Snape. The baby Harry Potter is taking care of—the baby Harry is spending his money on—is Severus Snape?!”

“Look…” Ginny shrunk the bothersome toy bag and stuck it in her pocket, “…you know how Severus was bitten by the snake, right?” Tonks nodded. “Well…Harry was able to get to him on time and Madame Pomfrey was able to save his life. He was stuck in a coma for a bit, and when he woke up a few days ago, he became rather irritated at the fact that he hadn’t died.” Tonks looked surprised, Ginny raised her hand, “Long story. Don’t ask. Anyway…long story short, he tried to kill himself with a painless but lethal poison, only to find out—the hard way—that the poison had been replaced by a harmless potion that permanently de-ages people. The two looked exactly the same on the outside, you see. So instead of shortening his stay, he lengthened it. Now…he’s five months old. And in Harry’s care. So there.” Ginny shrugged.

“Oh my…stars!” Tonks looked astounded.

“Yes. So now that you know both sides, maybe you can help me with the dilemma.”

“Okay. What’s the dilemma?” Tonks replied excitedly, still continuing to rock her son back and forth.

“I feel bad that Remus is stuck at home and bored because Harry and Sev are still adjusting to their situation. I want to invite him to come shopping with us. You fire-call him. But here’s the dilemma—”

“Okay. The dilemma.” Tonks was now listening to her anxiously.

“Severus and Remus have a history together. Frankly, they hate each other. Well…Remus doesn’t quite hate Severus, but Severus isn’t too fond of Remus either. This goes back well into their school days.”

“Is this the whole Whomping Willow incident?”

“Yeah.” Ginny nodded. “And as you know, Severus is the type to hold a grudge.” Tonks nodded in agreement. “Although…now that he’s five months old, I don’t think that’s going to be the case for much longer.” 

“Does he have all his memories?”

“Yeah. Which brings me to dilemma—Severus trusts me—somewhat—and I don’t want to betray his trust. He…I think he thinks being five months old is going to be seen as a weakness…and the last people he wants to know about his weaknesses are…”

“His enemies.” Tonks nodded in understanding.

“But the thing is Remus and Sirius aren’t his enemies anymore. Not really.” Ginny threw in. “I think he knows that and understands that. I think he realizes the reality of the situation—the fact that Harry’s caring for him now means he’s going to need to interact with them sooner or later.”

“You just want him to get used to the situation first.” Tonks nodded in understanding. “That’s why Harry didn’t want Remus to come over just yet. He wants Snape to become more comfortable with his…condition before he tackles things that are slightly less comfortable. Okay. I get it.”

“So you can definitely invite Remus to come shopping with us, but you’re going to have to dance around the questions I’m pretty sure he’s going to ask.” Ginny said.

“Or how about this—we tell him, but we swear him to secrecy—meaning no telling Sirius—and we can only come over when Harry gives us the go-ahead.”

Ginny looked torn. “I don’t know…”

“Okay. We don’t tell him, then. That’s fine.” Tonks shrugged and smirked at the younger girl. “It was worth a try.”

“How about this—I’ll see what Harry says later. Maybe by the time we’re finished shopping, Sev will be in a…kiddie mood…and the prospect of the three of you coming over for dinner might not be so unwelcome.”

“Kiddie mood?” Tonks raised an amused eyebrow.

“Harry theorized that Severus’ memories are conflicting with his infantile brain.” Ginny explained, “And, actually, I quite agree. There are times when Sev acts like an adult stuck in a child’s body, and there are times he acts like a normal five-month-old child. It all depends on his excitement level. You can never speak to him in baby speak. You always have to talk to him as if he was an intelligent adult…or at least an intelligent five-year-old…but how he reacts to you depends on his mood. It’s actually quite interesting if you’re into the mind and stuff like that.” 

“Honey, that sounds like a normal baby to me.” Tonks smirked. “All babies are intelligent, Gin, and they all react differently depending on their mood. That’s how their minds work. Heck, that’s how adults’ minds work as well.”

“Yes, well…it’s really a delicate situation.” Ginny shrugged.

“Okay.” Tonks readjusted Teddy, who finally decided to stop fussing and was trying to go to sleep. “So do you want me to call Remus now? I think what you said a while ago is best—we don’t tell him now, but if Snape is ready for a visit tonight, we’ll tell him then and come over. It all depends on Harry and Snape.”

Ginny grinned at her. “Absolutely. Thanks, Tonks.”

“You got it!” Tonks nodded. “Would you mind holding Teddy for me please, Gin, he doesn’t do well with floos.”

After about five minutes of Ginny making funny faces at the newborn, Tonks came back with a quiet Remus in tow.

“Thanks, Ginny.” Tonks said, putting Teddy back in the baby sling she wore.

“My pleasure. Hey, Moony!” She reached up to give Remus a hug.

“Hey, Ginny.” He smiled.

“Come on. Cheer up, eh! Harry told me if there’s anything you see here that you want for yourselves or Teddy, just tell me and I’ll get it for you guys, okay? Don’t be ashamed at all. You’re family!”

“I already told her we have everything we need.” Tonks stage-whispered to Remus playfully.

“Yeah, Gin, we really don’t need anything right now. But thanks to you and Harry for offering anyway.” Remus smirked.

“Well then at least let me buy the both of you lunch in gratitude for keeping me company and giving me advice.” With that, she shooed them into their booth and signaled a waiter.

“So, Ginny,” Remus started, casually folding his hands across the table, “How did Harry come to care for a baby and why can’t I come over to see it yet?”

At that, Tonks started laughing hysterically and Ginny soon joined her. Remus just watched them both, bemused. “It’s just that…I asked that very same question not half an hour ago, love.” Tonks answered.

“And the reply…?” Remus signaled for them to continue.

Ginny and Tonks exchanged a look. “Look…Moony, it’s really complicated. Okay? And…and it’s not that easy to explain. But I’ll promise you this—if, by tonight, I call Harry and he feels the baby is ready for visitors…then I promise to explain the situation to you and to invite the three of you over for dinner. Alright? However, if Harry feels the baby is not ready for visitors yet…then perhaps we could all have dinner together later in the week…just not now.”

Remus’ shoulders visibly sagged. “Alright. But I’ll hold you to that promise.” Ginny nodded and gave him a sympathetic smile.

Soon their orders arrived and Tonks steered the conversation away from Harry to try to lift Remus’ spirits a bit. “So…what were we able to accomplish and what’s next on the list?”

Ginny took a bite of her lunch. “Well…we got the bath toys and stuffed toys and letter puzzles. He’s going to love those. We are in desperate need of nappies and wipes and such. He definitely needs clothes—lots of them, in different colors.”

“Remember—” Remus and Tonks started to say together, but Remus waved for his wife to continue.

“Remember that the baby’s going to grow rather quickly, so you shouldn’t buy so many clothes that are a particular size. Now Sev’s five months old, right?” Ginny nodded, “Well then buy some clothes that would fit six months to a year. But remember—those are only going to go for six months, so you don’t want to buy too much, okay?”

“Right.” Ginny nodded.

“Sev.” Remus muttered. Both girls turned to him. “The baby’s name is Sev?”

“Oh my god!” Tonks gasped, “Sorry, Ginny!”

Ginny just shook her head and waved it off with a sigh. “It’s okay. I mean it was bound to slip at some point.” She fed herself another bite. “Anyway, in addition to that, I need to buy teething supplies because his teeth are coming in, a walker so he’ll be able to get around Harry’s quarters. He’s desperate to walk. I also need baby slings.”

“Remus, do we have teething supplies?” Tonks broke in, turning to her husband.  

Remus thought for a second. “Um…I don’t know. I don’t think so.” He shook his head, “Teddy’s just two months old, Dora, teething doesn’t come for at least another two months.”

“Oh.” Teddy started fussing again so Tonks decided to take advantage of the sling and breastfeed him while they ate lunch.

“Where’d you buy that baby sling, Dora?” Ginny asked. “It’s really useful!”

“I know, isn’t it?!” Tonks’ eyes shone. “I fell in love with it when I saw it. Remus and I bought it at Alkyds and Moore down that way, by Gringotts. It’s a great place! They have everything, Ginny. It’s like a…what do the muggles call it? A one-stop shop?”

“It really is great.” Remus agreed, “You should check it out. And it’s a large store as well.”

“Yeah. That sounds good.” Ginny checked her list, “Oh…and he needs a few baby books as well—”

“I hope you didn’t forget to add baby shampoo and soap to that list.” A stranger commented as he passed their table.

“Oh!” Ginny gasped and reached for a quill, “Yeah, that’s right! Baby soap and—” She paused abruptly and swiveled in her seat.

The stranger calmly looked back at her from his seat in the booth behind them. His hair and facial structure looked completely unfamiliar to Ginny. Yet she could recognize those shining green eyes from anywhere, that endearing smirk on his face didn’t belong to just anyone, and, last but not least, the familiar black-haired infant clinging to the front of his robes didn’t allow just anyone to hold him. “Harry!” She hissed.

“Good afternoon, love.” Harry smirked, rising from his seat and bending down to give her a kiss.

“What are you doing here?” Ginny instinctively began checking for paparazzi.

“Don’t worry! They’re all camped at the gates outside of Hogwarts. No one knows I’m here.” Harry whispered back. He turned to the other occupants of the table, “Remus.”

“Harry!” The werewolf greeted, his spirits suddenly lifted tenfold. They two men shook hands good-naturedly. “How are you doing, my friend?”

Harry grinned. “I’m doing great, Remus. Absolutely great! Wotcher, Tonks!”

“Wotcher, Harry!” The metamorphamagus replied with a smile.

“I’d greet you properly, but I see you’re busy, and I’ve got my hands full.” The two of them chuckled at each other.

“Harry, sit down, for Merlin’s sake!” Ginny waved him over, making room for him next to her. “What are you doing here?”

“We have no more nappies, Gin, none!” Harry murmured, “Sev’s on his last one right now. We’ve been doing a run-around of the castle all morning. The other professors are busy with repairs, Madame Pomfrey is out of the castle, Dumbledore’s off Merlin-knows-where, and I can’t leave the Entrance Hall without getting my picture snapped by the circus outside the gates. So I can’t go to Hogsmeade, no one has the time to run an errand for me, and Sev needs nappies. Only option—don a disguise and come here to buy some.”

Ginny rubbed Sev’s back. He was gripping Harry’s robes with a vengeance and had his face buried in their folds. “Sev, are you alright?” She whispered. The baby shook his head. “What’s wrong?”

“We flooed here.” Harry answered, wrapping his arms tighter around the infant, “The floo no longer agrees with him.”

“Didn’t I tell you that was the case with Teddy, too?” Tonks smirked. “Try rubbing his back and just give him some time. His stomach should feel easier soon.” Both Harry and Ginny nodded.

Remus was staring at the child in Harry’s arms curiously.

Harry looked down and studied Sev’s head. “Would you like me to introduce you to them?” He whispered in the infant’s ear.

Sev whimpered sadly and just shook his head. Harry felt sorry for him. Sev didn’t want to come here to start with, and it took quite a bit of convincing to get him to agree. It took an entire hour and a half, a time out, and three runs around the school to convince Severus that although neither of them wanted to show their faces in public, they were in desperate need of nappies—especially considering Sev woke up with diarrhea—and the only way they were going to get nappies in time would be if they went out and got it themselves. So, Sev had donned his last nappy, and Harry had donned a glamour, and together they reluctantly flooed to Diagon Alley.

So now Sev had diarrhea, was nauseous from the floo, felt utterly humiliated at the fact that Remus and Tonks were here, and was running on his last nappy.

“He’s having a horrible day.” Harry told them, rubbing Sev’s back soothingly. “How about I just tell them your name. No harm done, right?” The baby merely shrugged and nodded, his face never leaving the folds of Harry’s robes.

“Remus, Dora, this is Sev.” Harry introduced him with a gentle smile. “I’m sorry. He’s really shy. And…he’s not feeling so well.”

Remus waved it off with a smile. “No harm done. Sev…” he addressed the baby, “…it’s a pleasure meeting you! Dora and I would like to get to know you better.”

At that, Sev grabbed onto the other bottom half of Harry’s robes and tried to wrap them around himself, attempting to disappear within their folds. “Whoa! Whoa! Sev—”

“Ahhhhhhhhh!” And the little potions master began to have a crying fit.

Harry sighed, “Sev…” But it did no good, Sev just continued to cry harder and louder.

Remus looked bewildered. “Was it something I said?” He asked his wife.

“What’s wrong?” Harry whispered in the baby’s ear, trying to ignore the ringing going on in his own ear from Sev’s wailing. “Sev, please, come on. Everyone’s staring at you!” He knew the infant’s ultimate weakness, if ever there was one, was embarrassment. If the situation had to do with humiliation or avoiding it, Sev suddenly became an avid listener.

That did the trick. Severus stopped crying and instead resorted to whimpering and wrapping Harry’s robe further around himself. “Now you don’t have a dirty nappy, you don’t seem nauseous…what’s wrong?”

“Harry, are you…” Remus paused, giving the teen a curious look, “Are you having a conversation with a five-month-old?”

Harry sighed and grimaced, “I’m sorry, Remus. It’s a really long story.” He turned back to the infant. “Sev, I want you to tell me what’s bothering you.” He ordered sternly, knowing Severus was most likely to listen when he used that tone of voice. “Now.”

Baby Snape sighed. Tugging at Harry’s robes, he pulled himself into a sitting position and pushed back from the teen slightly. Harry supported his back and leaned forward so he would be able to understand the child correctly. Ever so slowly, Severus made two signs—the first for ‘scared’ and the second for ‘drink’. Harry and Ginny exchanged a glance. “Well…let’s deal with the second one first, alright? How does your stomach feel?” Sev shrugged and signed a ‘yes’. “Are you sure?” Another ‘yes’. Ginny dug into Harry’s diaper bag and pulled out a bottle of milk. “Now let’s deal with the first one before I give this to you.” He lifted Severus up and transferred him to Ginny. “I’m going to need you to stay with Ginny for a bit.”

“MO!!!” Sev immediately pushed against Ginny’s hold and reached for Harry.

“I’m only going to make a few adjustments to my robe, alright? So you’ll be able to hide in it better. Is that okay?” Harry asked. Severus whined. “I’ll be here the entire time.” He pointed to the area next to the booth. “Right here. The entire time. You can watch me.” He got up and Severus whined again, but made no move of protest.

As Harry went about fixing his robes into a makeshift baby sling, Harry eyed Tonks’ enviously. “Dora, I would love one of those things right about now.”

Tonks laughed. “Well, Harry, we’re almost finished up here. We’ll take you and Ginny to the store that sells them right after. I promise.”

Harry nodded and glanced at Remus. The werewolf was staring at the infant on Ginny’s lap, completely bewildered. “Hey Sev, take a look at Remus. He’s got a funny look on his face.” Lupin froze and Sev’s head shot around to meet his gaze.

Remus blinked.

Sev blinked.

There’s something familiar about that baby. Remus realized.

Sev turned to Harry and grinned, signaling a ‘yes’ with his right hand. Beneath him, Ginny laughed, and Severus smiled down at her as well.

“Alright…Hop in, little big man.” Harry said, sitting back down. Severus immediately dove back towards him. “Hey! Hey! Hey! Slow down…” Ginny helped Harry position the baby and lay him inside the makeshift sling. “There. How am I doing with the first one?” Severus nodded. Ginny gave him the bottle of milk, which he immediately began drinking. “And the second?” Another nod. “Okay. So we’ll have no more issues at the moment, right?” A shake of the head now. “Good.”

As Sev drank his bottle and Harry rubbed his back, Remus met the teenager’s eyes and raised a questioning eyebrow. “Later.” Harry mouthed, looking down to check if Severus was watching. The infant had his eyes closed and looked to preparing to go to sleep. “When he’s asleep.”

Remus nodded immediately, and then switched the topic. “So how’s the remodeling going? And the rebuilding?”

“Harry, are you hungry?”

“No, no thank you. We just ate.” Harry shook his head. “The remodeling is going rather well. I just finished with the kitchen and after I finish both porches, I’ll be done with the first floor of the house. And as for the rebuilding…it’s going a lot faster than everyone expected. We should be done with the entire castle by mid-July.”

Thus their conversations revolved around the mundane rather than the unusual until the three diners finished their meals and Ginny took care of the bill. By the time they returned to walking the streets, both infants were asleep. Tonks and Ginny took the lead, of course, chatting up a storm, while Remus and Harry trailed behind them.

“So how about now, Harry?” Remus murmured, pleading with his eyes.

Harry chuckled and waved his hand, muttering, “Muffliato,” under his breath. “Now is a…okay time.” He shrugged.

“So…?” Remus pushed, his curiosity peaked.

Harry smirked, “Remus…doesn’t this child seem familiar to you somehow?” He whispered, willing Sev not to wake up.

“Familiar how?”

“Come on, Moony.” Harry elbowed him playfully, “This is one mystery that’s not that difficult to solve.” He gestured towards the infant. “Take a good sniff. His scent should be…somewhat familiar.” Harry was sure Severus reeked of potions ingredients before his de-aging, but he wasn’t sure that was the case now. However, the teenager was aware Sev’s base scent should not have changed during his transition from man to boy.

The werewolf leaned over and took a few good sniffs, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion. Harry watched his reactions, amused. “His name is…Sev?”

“Which is short for…?” A grin blossomed on Harry’s face as comprehension dawned on Remus’. It was quickly followed disbelief.

“Severus?!” He hissed, astounded. “Severus…the—the one we know about?”

Harry chuckled at his reaction. “The one and only, Moony.”

“But…but how?”

Harry sighed. Here goes nothing. And as the ladies led the way to the baby store, the gentlemen conversed about the baby. By the time Harry finished telling the tale, Remus’ mouth practically hung open from astonishment. “Remember, Moony, this is really sensitive information, alright? If word of this got out, Sev would be in danger. Anyone could vie for custody of him. Anyone, Moony.”

“Death Eaters.” Remus picked up the underlying tones immediately.

“Everyone knows of his betrayal now. They’ll want their revenge.” Harry nodded. “I’m worried that if word of this got out, it’d be Malfoy who’d try to gain custody.”

“What’s he got against you?”

“Plenty.”

“But I thought you were the one keeping him and his family out of Azkaban?”

“I am!” Harry hissed. He still had mixed feelings about that decision. “But I swear to you, Moony—if they try to take Sev away from me—”

“You’ll have them in Azkaban—” Remus smirked.

“Faster than a Firebolt, Remus! Faster than a Firebolt.” His arms tightened instinctively around the child under his robe.

Remus chuckled at Harry’s behavior. “And how long have you been taking care of this child, Harry?”

“It’s the principle of the thing, Remus!” Harry retorted defensively.

After a moment of silence, Remus began laughing at him. Harry looked at him, offended for a moment, before giving in and chuckling along with his best friends.

“I’ve got your back, Harry, you know that right? And now I’ve got his back, too.” Remus said, clasping Harry’s shoulder supportively and gesturing towards Sev. Harry merely nodded. “Whatever happens.”

“I’m going to need you to keep quiet about this, Moony, at least for now.” Harry pleaded. “Sev’s still adjusting to his situation. If we didn’t actually need to come here, we wouldn’t have. I mean…it took an entire hour and a half to convince both him and myself that we had to come today.”

Remus nodded, “That’s why you didn’t want me to come over today.”

“I hope that didn’t offend you or—”

“No, no, don’t worry.” Remus waved a dismissing hand, “I guess I was being a bit childish this morning. I mean, now that I know the situation, I would’ve done the same thing if I was in your shoes.” He smirked, “I swear it must be the lack of sleep.”

Harry laughed. “Newborn!”

“Hey! Did he wake up last night?” Remus retorted, gesturing towards the infant. Harry merely turned away and made a face. Remus snickered at him unrepentantly. “Exactly! How many times? Once? Twice? Thrice?”

Harry shrugged, “Thrice.” He muttered.

Remus nodded and smirked. “So no telling Sirius, I gather.”

“Definitely no telling Sirius.” Harry shook his head vehemently. “He was embarrassed enough when he heard that you were here, Moony. You saw how he reacted.”

“So it was something I said.”

“Unfortunately, yes.” Harry adjusted his robes so Sev wasn’t leaning down so low.

Remus helped support the baby while Harry made adjustments, “I’ll try to be less assertive then. Leave that up to him.”

“Yeah, that’s all. Let him grow comfortable with you first. If he’s in a better mood by the end of the day, he may be open to you more and you’ll get to know the Severus whose company is actually rather enjoyable.”

“I’m looking forward to it.” Remus replied, genuinely interested. They followed the girls into a rather large store with a wooden sign hanging on the front that said Alkyds and Moore: Al Your Kyds Need and Moore!

Ginny and Tonks immediately began perusing the shelves, grabbing items and examining them excitedly. “Ginny, I’m going to go ahead and buy some nappies and a baby sling and a carrier.” He said.

Ginny glanced back at him and nodded. “You want some of your—”

But Harry merely shook his head. “No, no, I have some with me. Remus, do you know where they are?”

Remus gave him an amused look, “Do I look like I know where they are?” The two men laughed at each other.

The nappies were easy enough to find. The slings and carriers, on the other hand, were an entirely different story. It turns out they didn’t need to look all that hard, though, for the women had already found them for them. Ginny spent ten minutes trying to decide which carrier and which sling she wanted to get. Harry rolled his eyes. “You know if it’d been up to me, I’d have grabbed the first one I saw and been done with it.” He murmured to the werewolf, who snorted. Finally, after what seemed like forever, Ginny picked one blue sling and one beige carrier and handed them to Harry. “Thank you.” He smiled indulgingly at her. Behind him, Remus snickered quietly.  

After Harry bought the items, he transferred a half-awake Severus into the carrier with Ginny’s help, and then told the girls that he and Remus were going to leave them to their shopping. Harry loaded the diaper bag with nappies and wipes, then shrunk everything else and pocketed his purchases. He and Remus had decided to make a day of it sitting outside Florean Fortescue’s Ice Cream Parlour, eating the biggest sundaes on the menu. Before they left the baby store, though, Harry gave in to his paranoia and made sure to cast as many protective wards around his young charge as possible. The whole process took about ten minutes. Remus waited patiently, and when he was through, he complimented Harry on his absolute mastery of Defense.

“It’s all thanks to you, Moony.” Harry replied, scooping some ice cream into his mouth and basking in the afternoon sun. “Without you, mate, I never would’ve realized my strength in Defense.”

“Well, you’re very welcome, then.” Remus smiled. As the day wore on, the two friends talked about a multitude of subjects, including Quidditch and who had the chance of making it to the Quidditch World Cup, how Dumbledore offered Harry the position of Defense professor and how the teenager was willing to accept it if Remus came aboard to teach during the two days a week he had to be gone.

“You’re the best Defense professor I ever had, Remus. Heck, the best one the school’s ever had, mate.”

“I think that’s a bit of an exaggeration, Harry.” Remus blushed.

“That’s your opinion, mate.” Harry pointed the spoon at him playfully, “Consider this—three years from now, when I graduate from Auror training, and begin working with the department full-time, I’m not going to be able to be the Defense Professor anymore. The job would go to you—full-time.”

“I don’t know, Harry, people are going to protest—”

“They’re going to protest a war hero?! Remus, I highly doubt that. They couldn’t protest you becoming a professor any more than they can protest me.”

“I beg to differ about that.”

“Remus, please.” Harry practically begged, “I wouldn’t have gotten to my level of proficiency in Defense if it wasn’t for you. You deserve this position a lot more than I do. Please.” He turned on his best puppy-dog eyes look. “Just think about it, please? Dumbledore could quell any of the parents who have any complaints. Please.”

Remus sighed. He took one look at Harry’s pathetic little face and rolled his eyes. “That’s a low blow, Harry.” He smirked.

“But, hey, it works like magic, doesn’t it?” Harry laughed.

“Fine. I’ll talk to Dora about it.” The werewolf agreed.

“Thank you.” He glanced in the other direction, “Ah, and here come our lovely ladies now.”

Turns out the lovely ladies only came to drop off their purchases before heading to a baby clothing store across the street from the ice cream parlor. Both men rolled their eyes. “Ice cream refill?” Remus asked. Harry nodded and the werewolf picked up his dish, “My treat.”

They were halfway through a conversation about the differences in the shopping habits of men and women when Severus finally decided to rejoin the waking world.

“Good afternoon, sir.” Harry greeted with a gentle smile. Severus looked up and blinked sluggishly at him. The infant must’ve recognized there was something different about his sleeping position for he then proceeded to examine the contraption in which he now sat. “Ah, yes. While you were asleep, we went into Alkyds and Moore and bought a thousand-pack of nappies, as well as a sling and a carrier for you to ride in.” Sev blinked slowly, his eyes only halfway open. He nodded listlessly, yawned, and went back to leaning against Harry’s chest, eyes closed. With his right hand, though, he held up the very familiar sign for ‘potty’. “Ah! Right! Remus, if you’ll excuse us for a minute, please?”

The werewolf smiled and nodded. When he saw Harry pick up the diaper bag, a sympathetic knowing look crossed his face. He was a bit intrigued by the little hand signals that baby Sev was using to communicate with Harry and Ginny. It was the third time today he saw the child use them, and he’d actually come across such a display before, while Dora was still pregnant with Teddy. He didn’t have the time or the courage to go up to the strange mother back then to inquire about them, but now he had all the time in the world, and he had no problem asking Harry anything.

When Harry returned, Sev was much more awake this time and sat facing outward in his carrier. Harry slid another sundae over to Remus, laid one down for himself, and put a smaller cup full of chocolate ice cream next to his. “Mr. Fortescue has a spell that allows his ice cream to be digestible by babies four months and older.” He said as he sat down, “I think it’s brilliant! It also prevents any teeth-rotting, on the count of babies have sensitive teeth.” Sev stared at the cup of ice cream adoringly, waiting for Harry to feed it to him. “Here we go.” Harry scooped up a small portion for Sev, but didn’t bring it up yet. “Are you absolutely sure your stomach is fine now?” He asked the infant.

“UH-HUH!” Sev whined, eyeing the ice cream greedily. He added the ‘yes’ hand sign for good measure.

“Alright.” Harry sighed and brought the ice cream to his mouth. The baby devoured it quickly and opened up for the next bite. “Ginny’s going to kill me for giving you this.” He muttered under his breath, feeding Sev another spoonful.

Remus smiled at the adorable sight, but wisely didn’t comment. “Harry, I have a question.” He said after a while. At that, Sev slowed his eating and eyed the werewolf warily.

Harry replied distractedly as he wiped the little boy’s mouth, “And that question would be…?”

“Those hand signs that…that you’re using…Se--Severus,” he proceeded cautiously, wanting to include the baby in the conversation as well, knowing that would help him feel more normal, “Those hand signals?” Both Harry and Sev nodded. “What…are they?”

Harry and Sev exchanged a glance. “It’s called Baby Sign Language.” Harry answered, feeding Sev another spoonful of ice cream. “It was Ginny’s idea. Said she got it from a friend of hers at the dorms who was teaching it to her baby brother. She asked Sev last night if he wanted to learn a few signs that she knew so as to help him communicate better with the two of us. He agreed, and we learned the signs together.” He fed the baby another spoonful of ice cream.

“Ah!” Sev cried once he swallowed.

“What?”

“Behby…” The infant clapped his hands, and then pointed to a palm.

“Oh, right!” Harry nodded, “Baby Sign Language is designed to be easier than regular sign language because baby’s hands aren’t as nimble as an adult’s.”

“AH!”

“What?” Sev simply pointed to the ice cream, mouth open wide. Harry sighed and fed it to him. Halfway through the cup and the conversation about Baby Sign Language, Sev signed for a drink. “Milk or water. No juice, because I think that’s what caused this morning’s episode to begin with.”

“Wawa.” And Harry gave him a bottle full of water, which the baby drank greedily.

“Harry James Potter!” A voice shrieked and Harry froze. “Are you feeding him ice cream?!”

Sev dropped his bottle and started laughing at Harry. “Haweh! Ha, ha, ha! Ah-cweem! Immy, Haweh ba ah-cweem!”

“Why are you feeding Severus ice cream?!” Ginny cried.

“You knew this was going to get me in trouble, you little brat!” Harry hissed in Severus’ ear and the baby laughed all the harder. “He wanted ice cream!” He replied, defending himself to his girlfriend.

“Oh, and I suppose if he wants steak you’re going to buy it for him? You’re spoiling him, Harry.” Ginny retorted, examining Sev’s almost-empty chocolate bowl with a frown. “He’s five months old, for Merlin’s sake, he can’t digest ice cream!”

“Not true! Mr. Fortescue has a spell that allows his ice cream to be digested by babies four months and older. He put it on this one when I bought it.”

“Uh-huh, and I assume the upset stomach he had this morning means nothing to you.”

“He said he’s fine!” Harry retorted, “Sev, tell her you’re fine.”

“Immy, Ah-cweem!”

Ginny rolled her eyes and rubbed her forehead with a sigh. “No more for you, Sev. You can’t eat more than this until you’re older.” She shot Harry a death glare and went to return the cup to Mr. Fortescue.

“AH! AH! IMIF FEH! IMIF FEH, IMMY!”

Ginny sighed, scraped the sides of the cup, and fed him the last spoonful of ice cream. “There. Happy?” Severus graced her with a chocolate-covered smile and Ginny’s heart melted. “Oh, Merlin…” She sighed, and then went inside to return the cup.

By the time she got back, Tonks was stuffing a bunch of shrunken bags in Remus’ pocket and transferring Teddy’s baby sling over to him. “There. You can watch your son for a minute while Ginny and I look for prams and walkers.”

“Did you get the baby shampoo and soap?”

“Yes, Harry, I got the baby shampoo and soap.” Ginny sighed. She bent down to dig in one of her bags and came back up with a smile. “Okay. Sev, take a look at what I found for you.”

“And she says I spoil him.” Harry muttered at Remus.

“It’s not as comprehensive as I was expecting. I know there’s a bit more signs than this. However, considering this is a magical book, I expect it to be a lot more helpful than a muggle one, on the count of the fact that the pictures move.” She laid a Baby Sign Language book down on the table and Sev’s eyes widened. He immediately got excited.

“Opem! Opem!” Sev shrieked.

“Oh! Look here, Sev, see?” She pointed to a moving picture in corner of the front cover. “That’s the sign for ‘open’.”

Sev imitated it immediately. “Opem! Opem!”

Ginny was about to oblige him, when Harry gently but firmly held the cover down. “Was that a request or an order, Sev?” He whispered in the child’s ear, his voice stern. 

“Opem, pea.” Severus asked more politely, signing both ‘open’ and ‘please’.

“That’s better.” Harry replied, lifting his hand from the book and allowing the child to take in all the pictures.

“I bought a copy of that, too, Remus.” Tonks said, as they all studied the book. “Did Harry tell you about them?”

“Yes, we were just discussing it right now.” The werewolf nodded. “It’s actually quite fascinating. I’d like to teach it to Teddy when he’s old enough. Harry, may I?”

Harry smirked, “You’re going to have to scoot over here, Remus. I’m afraid someone’s not going to want to let this go for a while.”

Once Remus settled next to Harry, though, Sev’s reaction was immediate. He whined and writhed, bouncing in his carrier and kicking with all his might, “HAWEH! HAWEH! HAWEH!” He shrieked.

Harry stood up so quickly his chair tipped and fell behind him. “What?! What?!” He looked around for any sign of danger, alarm, concern, and a surge of protectiveness shooting through his veins.

“Sev, what’s wrong?!” Ginny broke in, lifting the thrashing baby from his carrier.

“AWEH! AWEH! AWEH!”

Harry and Ginny exchanged a glance. “Away? Away from what, sweetheart?”

“HAWEH! MOB AWEH!!!” Severus screeched before finally breaking down into tears. “Ahhhhhhhhh!”

Harry was at a loss on what to do. Severus was having a crying fit, Ginny was doing all she should could to hold him despite his squirming, Tonks and Remus were staring in confusion, the passersby were looking at him with a mixture of disgust and sympathy, and his two-month-old godson was eyeing the display with an air of curiosity. Move away. Move away from what? With a bewildered shrug, Harry followed his instincts and moved about ten feet away from the table. Severus’ crying immediately subsided into whimpers and he reached for Harry once again.

“Maybe you should use the sling now, rather than the carrier.” Ginny suggested as she approached Harry. Her boyfriend nodded and retrieved the baby sling from his pocket. He enlarged it and quickly switched it with the carrier. When the sling was prepped, Ginny gently laid Severus inside. The baby instantly latched onto his robes with one hand and began sucking the thumb of his other hand.

“Severus,” Ginny started, looking down at the baby within, “Can you tell me what that was all about, love? What happened?” Sev whimpered and held up the ‘scared’ sign after a moment of contemplation. “Scared? Scared of what, sweetheart?”

Then it occurred to Harry—Severus’ violent reaction started the moment Remus took a seat next to him—within his, and therefore Severus’, personal space. “Or whom?”

Sev whined, sticking his thumb back in his mouth and burrowing deeper into the folds of the sling. “Moomy.” He murmured around his thumb.

Harry and Ginny gazed at each other in concern. “Moony.” Harry turned his attention to Severus, rubbing his back soothingly and wrapping his other arm around the sling for good measure, while Ginny glanced at Tonks and Remus with concern. Harry accioed his chair from the table and sat down where he stood. “I’ll talk to him, Gin. Would you mind talking to them?” He gestured towards the table.

“No, sure. I’ll just…go.” Ginny rubbed the back of Sev’s head through the sling once more before going off to reassure the other couple that he was fine.

Harry got as comfortable as he could in his chair before turning to the infant in his arms. He ran his fingers through the child’s soft baby hair until those apprehensive dark orbs were directed towards him. He gave Sev a gently smile meant to ease his nerves. “Alright, cub…let’s talk, shall we?”

“You want to tell me what that was all about?”

Sev scowled at him. Why don’t you take a bloody guess, Potter! He blew raspberries at Harry around his thumb.

“I don’t appreciate the attitude, Severus.” Harry said sternly, an eyebrow raised in warning.

Sev sighed. How was it that Potter suddenly had this mysterious power over him? When in Merlin’s name did that come about? When Potter smiled, it made him want to smile back; when Potter went along with his prank a few minutes ago, it made him laugh; when Potter held him and comforted him, it filled him with a sense of calm, as well this bizarre fuzzy feeling that he had absolutely no desire to analyze right now; when Potter punished him with a time out, it made him swear to himself that he’d never do anything to deserve another again; and when Potter spoke to him in that tone of voice, it made his insides squirm, and he felt weighed down with guilt for some reason.

“Owy.” He murmured around his thumb, using his right hand to sign ‘sorry’ for good measure.

Harry nodded. He cast a Muffliato with a wave of a hand and settled back. “Now…you want to tell me why you suddenly reacted that way towards Remus?” Harry took a guess in an effort to make this easier for both of them. “Does this have to do with the Shrieking Shack incident way back when?”

Severus shifted in his sling, staring up at Harry with sad dark eyes. He nodded.

Ever since Black played that nearly-fatal prank on him all those years ago, Severus has had an almost acute phobia of werewolves. He couldn’t even look at Lupin for over a month without shaking uncontrollably. Severus recalled locking himself in the bathroom for hours on end, meditating, occluding his mind, and practically beating himself like a house-elf in an effort to keep his fear at bay. Eventually, he was able to shut it away, and when he could finally look at Lupin again, loathing, rather than fear, emerged.

As an adult, Severus was able to strengthen his shielding and fine-tune his meditation techniques so that the fear never, ever reared its ugly head. Though it took much effort, he even managed to tone down his hate for the man, which Dumbledore practically required of him during that year that Lupin taught at Hogwarts. Yet now, Severus was a baby; and though he still had all his adult memories, he no longer had the control over his mind that he used to. Frankly, Severus was proud of the fact that he was able to forestall his panic attack for so long. When they had first arrived, Severus had clung to either Harry or Ginny like they were a lifeline, then he was asleep for most of the other time, and when he awoke, he kept himself distracted with the ice cream and by repeating ‘Potter killed the Dark Lord, he can kill Lupin too’ in his head like a mantra. But when the werewolf crossed into his personal space and Potter did nothing to stop it, fear’s ugly head reared with a vengeance. 

Now how in the bloody hell am I supposed to tell Potter all of this?! Severus whined in frustration around his thumb.

“There’s a larger story behind this, isn’t there?” Harry asked

Severus signed ‘yes’, then whined some more and began shifting in his sling out of frustration.

“Hey, hey, hey…” Harry chided, tightening his arms in comfort while readjusting his hold on the infant, “Calm down. Shhh…” Harry knew Severus was frustrated because he didn’t have any way of relating his story. He could only make a handful of sounds, he knew even less signs, and his fingers were barely able to pick up a piece of cereal, much worse hold and write with an actual quill. Then something occurred to him. “Sev.” He called gently, “Sev, listen to me, cub.”

The baby settled down after a few moments and focused all his attention on the loose fabric inside the sling. He began picking on it with his fingers. Harry sighed and gently ran his fingers through Sev’s soft baby hair until those cheerless eyes finally refocused on him. “I know one way you can tell me your story, without me having to do any translating whatsoever.” The baby’s eyes widened slightly. “But you’re going to have to trust me—implicitly. Without your trust, it isn’t going to work?”

“Wa?” Sev asked around his thumb.

“I want to ligilimize you.” Harry told him softly, “I promise to only look at what you show me and nothing more. Before I do anything, I promise to give you advanced warning, and if you wish me to leave at any point, all you’ll have to do is shout ‘no’ in your mind and I’ll hear you and oblige.”

Potter’s a ligilimens? A ligilimens?! That’s not possible! He’s not even an occlumens! I refused to give him any more lessons after that whole pensieve incident. It was a wonder our whole operation was never compromised with his connection to the Dark Lord and all. Although…come to think of it, I did find it a might strange that Dumbledore suddenly completely reversed his decision to keep Potter in the dark one day, out of the blue. I never really did find out why he discouraged us from telling Potter anything one day, and then encouraged us to tell him everything the next. That was careless of me—not investigating the old man’s unusual behavior. Then again, Dumbledore is generally the definition of unusual on his best of days.

“How about I share something with you first? Then you can decide if you rather let your problem fester in there like an open wound, or allow me to help you heal it. How does that sound?”

Well when he puts it that way…Sev grimaced internally. An open wound? Yuck!

Suddenly, he was bombarded with image upon image of open wounds, yellow from infection and oozing pus. There were bodies missing limbs, limbs missing bodies, sightless eyes staring back at him. There were people—muggles, mudbloods, half-breeds, and blood traitors—dead, blue and purple with their mouths hanging open, staring back at him, their eyes full of shock and betrayal.

Severus immediately broke down in tears. “Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

Harry screwed his eyes shut, “Potter, you’re an idiot!” He berated himself aloud. Open wound. Yeah. Good job! Make him remember everything he wants to forget. Moron!

The teenager sighed. Here goes nothing. Harry ran his fingers through the baby’s soft hair once again, before resting his palm on the infant’s head.

Wave upon wave of white, calming energy suddenly flooded Sev’s mind. The dark images that overtook him only moments ago were now being chased away by a bright white light. No. Not chased. Destroyed! Sev realized. Tentacles emerged from the light and pushed the gruesome images away into a white void, allowing them to fly for some distance before attacking them with something akin to lightning. Sev took an intense delight in watching the offending pictures being hurled into oblivion then burned to ashes before his mind’s eye. After a few minutes of idle watching, he wanted to try it himself.

Almost immediately, a little boy materialized in his mind. He must have been about five years old, had dark brown (almost black) eyes, and jet-black hair that touched the base of his neck and obscured his vision. That’s me. Sev realized, after he had had a good look at the child. That was me when I was five. Soon after the boy appeared, the white light approached him and began retracting unto itself until a very familiar man stood in its place. Severus gaped. Potter!

Sev continued to watch through his mind’s eye as Potter crouched next to the boy, offered him a ribbon to tie his hair with, and then proceeded to instruct him on how to throw the dark images out and how to burn them.

“Watch me first, alright? I’ll do one, and then you’ll do one.” The boy nodded eagerly and Harry smiled. Picking up one of the dark images from where they were piled next to the mind’s eye, Harry grasped it by its edge, wrapped a finger around a corner, and then rolled it into his arm, preparing to fling it like a Frisbee. “You have to take it first, embrace it and accept as part of your past—like so. And once you’ve done that, gather your energy, and…fling!” He flung the rectangular picture into the air and it flew high and far into the void. “Then!” Harry held up an empty hand and showed it to the boy. “You focus all your energy. You tell yourself that this is the past, that this isn’t your fault, that you are no longer this person, that you have atoned for these sins, and that it is now time to move on. If you tell yourself this and believe it,” a fireball appeared in his hand, “you get this. And, of course, after this comes the fun part.” He stood up and lobbed the fireball at the flying picture, watching as it hit and burned it to ashes. The five-year-old Sev grinned up at him, enjoying the show.

“Now you try it, cub.” Harry stood behind him and gripped his shoulders in support, giving the child a gentle smile.

Sev nodded and gulped. “Okay.” He approached the images cautiously and took one. It was a picture of an old man—naked, missing an arm and a leg, with various gashes and bruises along his body. Sev could feel his breaths becoming shallower and more erratic. Then all of a sudden, two strong hands wrapped around his hands and guided him in gripping and embracing the picture. “Remember. This is part of your past. You don’t have to like it. Just accept it.” A calming voice whispered in his ear. “You can’t run away from things like this, Sev. You can’t push them to the back of your mind and ignore them your whole life.” The boy swallowed, took a deep breath, and nodded. “Now…pull back and…release!” Sev launched the picture high into the air and far into the distance. “Excellent! Now…cup your hand…” Sev nodded, his small cupped hand resting neatly inside Harry’s bigger one. “Now tell yourself everything I told you earlier. Say it out loud. Say it and mean it, my boy!”

Sev closed his eyes. “This is my past. This is not my fault. I am no longer this person. I have atoned for these sins. Now it’s time to move on.” He repeated it over and over under his breath until he felt a tingling in his hand. Sev’s eyes shot open to find a fireball resting within his palm. He grinned up at a smirking Harry. “Now’s the fun part?”

“Now’s the fun part, Sev. Burn it!” The little boy threw the fireball towards the dark image and the picture abruptly burst into flames. “Whoa! Nice shot!” Harry chuckled. Then he gestured towards the rest of the images in the dark pile. “Shall we?” Together, Sev and Harry had the time of their lives launching bad memories into the air and burning them to ashes.

“Right! Excellent!” Harry beamed as he dusted his hands off. Little Sev mirrored him with a grin. “Now that that’s done, how about we return to our original topic, shall we?”

The smile quickly faded from Sev’s face and his head hung low as he suddenly developed an interest in the non-existent white floor.

“Ai! Come now, Sev, you didn’t find that last exercise too horrible, did you?” Harry crouched before him. “And besides, I said I’d share one of my memories with you before I asked you to share one of your memories with me. It’s only fair.” He brushed the boy’s fringe out of his eyes and smiled gently at him. “Remember—you can’t run from these things your whole life.”

“I’m not running!” The child retorted defensively.

Harry chuckled slightly and raised his hands in surrender. “Alright. My mistake. You’re not running.” He stood up and held a hand out to the boy. “Come then, cub, and I’ll lead you into my mind.”

Sev took it hesitantly and gazed up at Harry with childish curiosity. “What memory are you going to show me?”

“I don’t know.” Harry smiled gently down at the boy as they walked along the white void. “We’ll see what comes up, shall we?”

“Why do you call me ‘cub’?” Sev asked out of the blue.

“I bet your pardon?”

“You call me ‘cub’. Why?” He asked again, curiosity spiking his voice.

Harry narrowed his eyes at Sev playfully. “Why don’t you tell me?”

The five-year-old bit his lip in contemplation. “Well…I figure it’s because of one of two reasons—you’re either an Animagus and the animal you assume calls its young ‘cubs’…”

Harry nodded. It was a good assumption. “Mm-hmm. Or…?”

“Or…it’s because you’re a Gryffindor and your house symbol is a lion and lions call their young ‘cubs’.” When Harry’s hand squeezed his lightly, Sev knew he had his answer. “So I’m like a lion’s cub, then.” He assumed.

“Why? Does that bother you?” Harry’s eyebrows furrowed at the young man, uncertainty creeping into his voice for the first time. “Would you rather I called you something else?”

Sev shrugged. “I don’t know. I don’t mind being called a cub.”

“You were in Slytherin. Would you rather I called you ‘hatchling’?” Harry suggested.

Sev grimaced. That didn’t sound nearly as nice as ‘cub’ did. In fact…it sounded just plain weird! Hatchling. Sev shuddered. It made him sound like an alien-devil spawn from hell that just popped out of a lumpy, green, fleshy egg-pod full of goo and slime and disgusting purple veins that ran up the walls of the incubator room the egg-pods were being kept in. Yuck! Sev had absolutely no desire to be associated with that image ever again. Besides…if he was to be honest with himself, being called ‘cub’ sounded almost natural. It made him feel like he was part of a pride or a pack, as well as left him with this vague fuzzy feeling in his chest that he still had no desire to analyze right now.

Sev shook his head. “No, thank you.” He answered politely. “It sounds strange. Besides…you weren’t in Slytherin. It’d be even weirder.”

Harry chuckled. “Actually…if I had left it up to the hat, I would’ve been.”

The little boy’s eyes widened and his head shot upwards to stare at Harry with surprise. “What do you mean ‘if you left it up to the hat’? Isn’t it up to the hat to begin with? What did you do, talk it into putting you in Gryffindor? Were you really meant to be in Slytherin, then? Why didn’t you want to come into my house? Is it because you listened to all those bastards—”

“Hey! Watch it!” Harry raised a warning finger.

Sev rolled his eyes and glared. “That was it then, wasn’t it? You listened to those ba—dumb people,” he corrected at Harry’s warning glare, “and their biased opinions about Slytherin and dark wizards, didn’t you?!” His tone was accusatory.

“Know the facts before you go accusing me of anything, Severus.” Harry replied sternly. Sev averted his gaze. “And for your information, no—that was not the reason I chose not to be in Slytherin.” He stopped walking and turned to face the young boy completely. “The reason I didn’t want to be in Slytherin was entirely due to one person—Draco Malfoy.” Sev froze and peered up at Harry. An uneasy feeling settled in his gut; as if he’d come across this situation before. “We met on the Hogwarts Express that day, and he took it upon himself to insult my first ever friend—Ron. Well…needless to say, I turned down his bid for friendship when he made one. I may have been desperate for friends, but there was no way on God’s green earth that I was going to surround myself with fake ones, no matter how desperate I was. That was the point our ‘legendary’ rivalry began.”

The room swirled around them and soon the white void dissipated entirely to show images and flashes from the life of a young Harry Potter.

An image flashed of a four-year-old Harry being dragged to a cupboard by his hair and being thrown in violently, his uncle securing a padlock to each of the ten locks on the door. “Stay in there, you little freak! I won’t have you ruining my party and robbing Dudley of his friends!” His uncle boomed from the hallway. “Oh, and BOY…if you make one peep from in there, that lashing I gave you last week will pale in comparison to the beating I’ll give you if you make a noise. Do you understand me, freak?!”

Flash!

They see the same four-year-old Harry looking longingly through the crack at the bottom of the cupboard door, watching as the shadows of Dudley and his party friends saunter by. They were laughing, talking, and having fun. Harry sighed sadly. He sniffed and happened to smell the food they also seemed to be carrying. His stomach growled loudly in response. Suppressing a groan, Harry wrapped his arms around his middle and curled into a ball next to the door. He hadn’t eaten in three days.

Flash!

Seven-year-old Harry dashed through the alley at top speed, dodging trashcans, dumpsters, trash bags, puddles, and rats. Not far behind him ran a group of six or seven boys. The ones at the front of the group were smaller, lighter, and faster than the ones at the back of the group. The heavier boys, though, carried with them chains and sticks, intent on beating their prey to a pulp upon capture. “Harry! Come now, Harry, you know running away is useless!” Dudley taunted from the back of the group. “We’ve played this game before. You know the Harry Hunters won’t rest until you’re captured and taught your place like the animal you are!” At that, the other boys in the gang whooped and cheered, seeming to gain energy and ground due to their leader’s encouragement. Harry spared them only a glance before turning down another alleyway and promptly running into a fence. “No! No, no, no, no, no, no, no!” The young boy looked around frantically, looking for some way to defend himself. He could hear Dudley’s gang approaching rapidly. “Think, think, think!” Then he saw it—something slithering from the field on other side of the fence over to the alley on his side. “Harry!” He heard around the corner. “He went behind there! Let’s get him!” Throwing all caution to the wind, Harry threw aside the trashcans the snake was slithering behind and came face to face with a European Viper. Moving faster than he thought possible, Harry snatched the snake behind the head before the thing could even look in his direction, and picked it up. When the boys skidded around the corner, fists and weapons raised in expectation, Harry held up the snake and waved it at them. Dudley and has gang froze. “Come one foot closer and I’ll have him bite you!” To his delight, the snake seemed to hiss in agreement, opening its mouth wide and showing its fangs. The boys blanched, dropped their weapons, and ran crying back the way they came. Harry breathed a sigh of relief and soon released the snake with a word of apology and gratitude. The snake assured him it was fine.

Flash!

“Do not ever, ever, EVER threaten my Dudley or his friends EVER again!” Harry’s uncle bellowed, bringing his belt down over and over and over again unto Harry’s already-bruised and bleeding back. “Threatening my Dudley with a snake! HUH?!” Lash! Lash! Lash! “The Devil’s child, you are! The Devil’s child! FREAK!” Then he flipped the poor little seven-year-old over and started pummeling his chest with the strap.

Flash!

The kids at school looked at him with disgust, fear, and loathing. He could hear whispers, but couldn’t make out what they were. When he sat down at a lunch table, everyone else stood up and moved. Dudley and his friends looked back at him from where they sat and snickered. Harry glowered. They must’ve made up some cover story about the alley incident with the snake. It’s most likely the one Uncle Vernon heard as well. The one he had gotten beaten for last night. He could hear the whispers now. “Devil’s child”, “Freak”, “Satan’s spawn”, “Stay away from him!”, “He might let a snake loose on you!”, “Don’t even look at him!”, “He’s evil!”. Harry sighed. He was used to this by now. Every time he came to a new school, Dudley would find some way to scare his friends away. Now everyone looked at him with disgust and kept at least ten feet away from him. As he walked home, he could hear the neighbors whisper from their porches. “That’s the Dursley’s nephew—troublemaker, that one.”, “I hear he steals—from them and from other people as well.”, “Watch your daughters. That boy might come after her. I hear he’s a right pervert, that one. Gets into fights a lot, too, so guard your sons well.” His uncle’s and aunt’s doing, no doubt. Now even the entire neighborhood hated him. Left him alone. Friendless. The lonely, lowly freak of nature.

Flash!

Sev and Harry now stood in the back room of Madam Malkin’s Dress Robes for All Occasions. On one stool stood eleven-year-old Harry, being fitted for robes by Madam Malkin herself. On the stool next to him stood an equally young Draco Malfoy. “My father’s next door buying my books and mother’s up the street looking at wands,” He had a bored, drawling voice. “Then I’m going to drag them off to look at racing brooms. I don’t see why first years can’t have their own. I think I’ll bully father into getting me one and I’ll smuggle it in somehow.”

As the scene played on, Sev tugged on older-Harry’s robes. The seventeen-year-old lifted the five-year-old into his arms.

“Has Malfoy always been this way?” Sev whispered into his ear.

Harry raised an eyebrow at him. “You haven’t noticed?!” His eyes widened in surprise.

“No. I’ve noticed.” Sev shrugged. “It’s just…I thought…I didn’t realize it was this pronounced. I thought they were all isolated incidences, small lapses of judgment and whatnot.” He shuddered. “He reminds me a lot of…” he bit his lip, eyeing Harry warily.

The teenager peered at him with a raised eyebrow and a gentle smirk, “James Potter and Sirius Black?”

Sev blushed and leaned his forehead against Harry’s shoulder, watching the rest of the scene play out.

“I really don’t think they should let the other sort in, do you?” Malfoy went on. “They’re just not the same, they’ve never been brought up to know our ways. Some of them have never even heard of Hogwarts until they get the letter, imagine. I think they should keep it in the old wizarding families. What’s your surname, anyway?”

Flash!

Harry sat shirtless upon his beat-up, barren cot in Dudley’s now-bare second bedroom. He was tending to his newly-inflicted injuries. The calendar behind him read Sept. 1st and the clock read 12:14AM. Half the time, he muttered under his breath about how he was going to hide these injuries from everyone once he got to school. The other half of the time, though, he prayed. He prayed for two things—one, that the police come and arrest Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia for child abuse, and two, that he make at least one friend when he got to Hogwarts.

Flash!

Sev and older-Harry watched as eleven-year-old Harry met Ron and the other Weasleys, how he watched from inside his compartment as they realized who he was, and how Ginny squealed and begged her mom to meet him. “Oh, Mom, can I go on the train and see him, Mom, eh please…”

Sev sat up in older-Harry’s arms and met the teenager’s eyes. They both grinned at each other and Harry commented, “Oh, I am so going to rub that in her face when we get back later.” Sev giggled into his shoulder as they continued to watch the scene.

They watched as the Ron explained everything to Harry, Harry bought out a cart of candy, and the boys met Neville and Hermione in passing. Finally, Malfoy showed his ugly face. “Is it true?” he said. “They’re saying all down the train that Harry Potter’s in this compartment. So it’s you, is it?” Harry nodded and Malfoy introduced himself and his two goons. Then he turned to Ron, “No need to ask who you are. My father told me all the Weasleys have red hair, freckles, and more children than they can afford.” He turned back to Harry. “You’ll soon find out some wizarding families are much better than others, Potter. You don’t want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there.” He held out his hand to shake Harry’s, but Harry didn’t take it. “I think I can tell who the wrong sort are for myself, thanks,” he answered coolly. Malfoy blushed slightly. “I’d be careful if I were you, Potter,” he growled, his eyes narrowing. “Unless you’re a bit politer, you’ll go the same way as your parents. They didn’t know what was good for them, either. You hang around with riffraff like the Weasleys and that Hagrid, and it’ll rub off on you.” Both Harry and Ron stood up.

“Yeah, he definitely reminds me of James Potter and Sirius Black…but in a different way.” Sev whispered in older-Harry’s ear.

“A Lucius-Malfoy-tinged James Potter and Sirius Black, then.” Harry suggested.

Sev shuddered. “That’s such a bad combination.” Harry chuckled.

Flash!

They stood next to the stool at the sorting ceremony. Malfoy approached the seat and sat down. As the hat neared his head, it screamed out “Slytherin!” and the blonde boy smirked before heading over to said table. He met Harry’s eyes in challenge along the way. “If he’s going to be in Slytherin, I want to be in the furthest house from it.” Harry hissed at Ron, his eyes never leaving Malfoy’s haughty form. “Then you’ll want to be in Gryffindor, mate.” Ron whispered in reply. “Potter, Harry!” As Harry sat on the stool, the older-Harry and Sev leaned in to listen to the hat’s quiet words. “Hmm…Difficult. Very difficult. Plenty of courage, I see. Not a bad mind either. There’s talent, oh my goodness, yes — and a nice thirst to prove yourself, now that’s interesting… So where shall I put you?” There was a slight pause. “Not Slytherin, eh?” It continued, “Are you sure? You could be great, you know, it’s all here in your head, and Slytherin will help you on the way to greatness, no doubt about that. No? Well, if you’re sure…” The hat thought for a moment. “Better be…GRYFFINDOR!”

There was a deafening applause, but it soon faded into the distance as the world dissolved around them and they found themselves standing in a white void once again.

Harry bent down and placed Severus back onto his feet. “Now…I got déjà vu watching that. Did you?” He looked at the little boy expectantly.

Sev blushed and looked away shyly. “I…I had no idea our lives were so…similar.” He said softly.

Harry crouched before him and laid a comforting hand on his shoulder. “And thus I reiterate—know the facts before you go accusing anyone of anything, Severus.” He tipped the boy’s chin so that Sev was looking at him, and gave the child a gentle smile. “Prejudice—willful or ignorant—has no place in this world. Understand?”

The five-year-old peered at him through his fringe. He smiled shyly and nodded.

Harry beamed. “Excellent.” He stood up and peered into the distance. “Now…I do believe you have something to show me, don’t you, cub?” The little boy froze, gazing up at Harry warily. The teenager sighed. “Let me ask you a question, okay, Sev? Imagine you’re a butterbeer enthusiast. You make your own butterbeer. One day, you take an empty bottle, fill it with butterbeer, then clamp a lid on it tightly, sealing it inside. Someone else then takes this bottle and, in a bout of childish folly, decides to give it a good shake. What do you reckon will happen if you so much as put a tiny bit of pressure on the bottom of that lid?”

Sev answered slowly and softly. “It’ll explode.”

“This is why you cannot simply bottle up feelings and emotions like you did when you were an adult.” Harry continued. “Granted, at that point they hadn’t exploded yet…” Then something occurred to him, “Or perhaps they did…?”

Sev gazed up at him with a raised eyebrow.

“Perhaps when you woke up from your coma a few days ago, all your bottled up feelings and emotions finally did explode. I mean, you did try to kill yourself…”

“…and ended up like this.” Sev finished bitterly. “Not even like this. I’m five months old and can’t even talk yet!” He spat, scowling at the ground.

“There! So do you see now how it isn’t healthy to keep things like that bottled up?” Harry pushed gently.

Sev narrowed his eyes at him. “You’re one to talk about keeping things bottled up! How many people have you told about the child abuse you endured growing up? Neglect, physical abuse, emotional abuse—from those muggles and from me, I’m not denying it.” He paused mid-rant, a horrible thought entering his mind. The only one left out was sexual abuse. The very idea made him gulp and blanch. He studied Harry’s blank face and was suddenly reminded of the present conversation, “There’s bound to have been a ton of feelings and emotions associated with every beating and every foul name. I know it! Yet I haven’t seen any of it. Not one bit! I didn’t even get one image of the abuse when we were doing Occlumency together! That only suggests the emotions and everything associated with the images are buried much deeper!”

Harry’s jaw tightened. Screwing his eyes shut, he took a calming breath. Then another. Then another. Then he threw his eyes opened and glared at the child. “That is not my fault!” He hissed, “I am a natural occlumens, Severus. It’s a defense mechanism and a survival tactic. I wasn’t able to completely control my mind until the end of my fifth year, when I mastered controlled Occlumency—without your help, I might add.” He pointed an accusing finger at the child. Then he seemed to realize what he was doing for he turned away abruptly, cursing under his breath. After a few more calming breaths, he continued in a much more controlled voice. “It is very…difficult for me, cub—”

“It’s difficult for me too!” Sev blurted out indignantly.

Harry sighed and studied the boy for a full minute. “Are you a natural occlumens or a learned one?” The boy gave him an assessing look. “Oh, for Merlin’s sake, Sev, one is not better than the other one! Just answer the bloody question!” Harry ordered exasperatedly. 

“A learned occlumens.” Sev answered warily.

“Then it’ll be easier for you to overcome your fear of werewolves than it would be for me to overcome my feelings regarding my aunt and uncle and their treatment of me. It’s a matter of circumstance, Sev! It’s like having a package full of memories to hide and having an entire building full of empty rooms in which you could hide it. A learned occlumens knowingly takes the package to a room number of his choosing and hides it in there. If he needs the package again, for whatever reason, he knows where to find it. A natural occlumens, on the other hand, unknowingly takes the package to a random room and hides it in there. It would take me much, much longer to get over something than it would take for you to get over it.” He tipped Sev’s head so that the boy was meeting his eyes. “Comprendé?”

Sev rolled his eyes and sighed, his shoulders drooping slightly. “Fine.” He muttered reluctantly.

“Thank you.” He squeezed the back of Sev’s neck in support. “We can talk about my past another time. Until then, I kindly ask that you keep it between us.” He raised an eyebrow at the boy and received a reluctant nod in return. “Thank you, again. Now…shall we take a foray into your mind this time?”

Sev grimaced and replied in a put-out sort of voice, “Must we absolutely do that?” He eyed the teenager pleadingly.

Harry chuckled and picked up the five year old once again, “Yes, cub, we must.”

“My life sucks.” Sev sighed dramatically into Harry’s shoulder as the teen retraced their previous steps through the white void.

“That’s all a matter of opinion, my boy.” Harry smirked. “Now…tell me about the Shrieking Shack incident—the whole story this time.”

Sev sighed and the white void dissipated around them to bring them to a hallway in Hogwarts.

They were following a young Severus Snape as he trekked through the hallway to the library. He stopped by Madame Pince’s desk to ask a quick question before winding his way through the various tables and settling into one of the desks on the far side of the room, his back against the wall. He then proceeded to pull out a book on Hogwarts’ history, a book on magical trees, and a book of charms. He opened all three to different pages, took out some parchment and ink and quill, and buried his nose in the books. “Snape, don’t you know how to write without sticking your face so close to the paper?” Sirius Black’s voice startled Severus slightly but he was able to prevent it from showing too much. “Black!” He spat, pulling out his wand and pointing it under the table at the boy that dared sit across from him. “What do you want? And where’s your little gang at?” Black looked bored. “I don’t know. They’re off studying somewhere.” Severus sneered. “And why aren’t you? Books too good for you? Or is it that you can’t even read?” Black sat up and glared. “If I can’t read, how do I know you’re doing research on the Whomping Willow right now, eh?” Severus snatched his parchment from the desk and buried it in his satchel. “Interesting tree, the Whomping Willow, don’t you think?” The other boy continued, leaning back on his chair nonchalantly and studying his nails. Severus continued to sneer and waved a dismissing hand at him. “Get lost, Black! Go bother someone who actually cares about your blathering.” Black ignored him. “Did you know that there’s this knot at the base of the trunk that you can poke that’ll immobilize the tree? Yeah. It’s real neat. Remus found out about it in first year and ever since then he’s been using the secret passage every—” Black stopped abruptly, eyes widening in momentary shock. Then in a blink he seemed to get control of himself and turned away. “Uh…” he cleared his throat uncomfortably, “…um…never mind what I said, Snivellus. Get back to your ridiculous Whomping Willow research!” Sirius stood rather quickly, looking flustered. With a half-hearty wave and a lame “Cheerio,” Black hastily retreated from the library. Severus saw him smack himself on the head a few times on the way out. As quickly as he could, Severus wrote down everything he just heard from Black.

Flash! 

It worked! It bloody worked! Black was right! Severus used a levitating charm to poke the knot at the base of the tree with a big stick, and now the tree was sufficiently paralyzed! Severus felt proud of himself. He found the secret passage easily enough and slipped down. The tunnel was a bit of a tight fit but he managed well enough. Once Severus emerged at the other end, he found himself—to his unending surprise—at the Shrieking Shack! The place appeared completely abandoned and everything was just a wreck. Suddenly, a loud noise came from the upstairs landing and Severus took it upon himself to investigate. The prospect of catching someone—hopefully a Gryffindor—and turning them in made him feel giddy all over. As quietly as he could, he crept up the stairs and peered through the middle crack in the double doorway. Remus Lupin lay writhing on the floor of the room beyond. He was screaming at the top of his lungs and looked to be possessed. Severus immediately drew his wand. Then, all of a sudden, the moonlight filtered through the flimsy curtains and Lupin froze on the floor. He was positioned on all fours and his back was arched. Then something strange happened. Severus blinked and a creature of some sort suddenly appeared in Lupin’s place! Whatever it was let out a loud howl.

A hand grabbed Severus’ shoulder and the boy shot around to come face to face with none other than James Potter! “What are you doing here, Snape! Are you bloody crazy?! RUN!” Before Severus could even blink, Potter was pushing him down the stairs and back into the passageway. “Faster, you bloody idiot! FASTER!” It was then that Severus registered the sound of claws against wood and then rock. He heard the snarl of the creature closing in behind them, and adrenaline started pumping in his veins. “FASTER, SNAPE, FASTER!!!” Potter bellowed, forcing the other boy to match his speed. When they got to the entrance to the secret passage, Severus jumped up and Potter boosted him the rest of the way with his foot. Severus stopped to take a breath once he got outside, but when Potter popped up beside him, the other boy would have none of it. He grabbed Severus by the back of the robes and threw him in the direction of the castle. “Go, Snape. RUN! Don’t stop running until you’re INSIDE the castle! I’ll distract him!” He then ran in the opposite direction, towards the Forbidden Forest. As Snape dashed up the steps to the Entrance Hall, he could hear a snarl and a bark in the distance.

Flash! 

Severus sat alone on one end of the Slytherin table, munching on cereal. It was rather early and there weren’t that many people about. On a whim, he glanced over to the Gryffindor table and his eyes met with Lupin’s. Suddenly, Severus froze mid-chew and his spoon fell out of his hand and bounced off the edge of the bowl. Taking advantage of the distraction, Severus tore his eyes away from the other boy and focused his gaze on his fallen spoon. That was when he began noticing the fact that he was trembling horribly. Bending down, Severus made to retrieve the spoon, but it bounced out of his hand and clanked on the floor once again. He tried again, and again the spoon fell and clanged. Severus’ shaking was now even more pronounced and people close by were starting to stare at him. Severus swallowed. Pushing away his bowl, the boy shouldered his satchel and quickly dashed out of the room. He found an empty lavatory on the seventh floor and locked himself in. He splashed some cold water on his face and took several deep breaths. Still, the shaking wouldn’t abate. His nerves finally began to calm after several minutes, a sink full of water, and a harsh slap to each of his cheeks.

Flash!

Severus locked himself in the same bathroom again. This time, he sat there and meditated until his shaking abated. The next time he locked himself in, he performed several occlumency exercises. The time after that, he began slapping himself. Thus went several more flashes—Severus locked himself in the bathroom and splashed water on himself, occluded, meditated, or slapped himself silly until his shaking subsided.

Flash!

The final image showed Severus passing a lone Remus in the hallway. Lupin smiled amicably at him, but Severus did not return the sentiment. Instead, he scowled fiercely at the other boy, pulling his wand from its hiding place and holding it stiffly at him side until Lupin turned the corner.

“Okay. Let’s pause here, shall we?” Harry broke in suddenly. He held up a hand and the world around them froze in place.

Sev lifted his head from Harry’s shoulder and looked around. “Why?”

“Because I want to help you resolve this issue, and I feel this is a good place to start.” Harry explained. “After this, I’m going to show you a bit of my memories of Remus.” He placed Sev down on the floor and knelt before him. “Two things determine your reality—your experience and your focus. All the memories you have of Remus are either bad or neutral, am I correct? You have no good ones of him?”

Sev thought about it for a minute before shaking his head.

Harry nodded. “That’s what I thought. Alright. That’s the experience part of the issue. We’ll deal with that soon. Using this particular scene, however, we’re going to deal with the focus part.” He stood up and, placing a gentle hand on the boy back, guided Sev over to his teenage self. “Now…I want you to tell me everything that was going through your mind at this point.” Harry told Sev.

The teenage Severus stood frozen in the middle of the hallway, wand drawn and stiff at his side. He had his complete attention on Remus and was solely focused on watching him as he walked away. “All I wanted was for him to walk away.” Sev answered after a moment of contemplation. “I was able to control the shaking by then, but not by very much. I remember being grateful that no one else was in the hallway at that point because I knew if Lupin stayed too long, I’d lose it, and the moment he rounded the corner, I’d lose it. Either way, I was going to lose it and it was just a question of timing. Therefore, I was grateful no one else was there.” The boy paused for a second, studying his other self thoroughly. “I felt terrified, no doubt there. I felt vulnerable.” Then something seemed to dawn on him. “Ah! I was also right angry at Lupin, too!”

“So your fear was beginning to morph into hate.” Harry elaborated candidly.

“Hey!”

“It’s a perfectly natural reaction, Sev, to feelings that are forced to be bottled up in that manner.” Harry gestured behind him, but Sev knew he was talking about his previously-viewed bathroom exercises.    

Sev sighed and shrugged. “I guess.”

“Right. So…anger, fear, vulnerability…you felt extremely defensive. Anything else?” Sev shook his head. “Good. So those were your feelings. Now walk with me over to Remus, if you will.” Harry placed his hand on Sev’s back once again and steered him towards the frozen teenage Remus. “This is a focusing exercise, Severus. I want you to focus on his posture, his shoulders, his hands, his face, his eyes, my boy. The eyes are the windows to one’s soul. I want you to tell me what you see in his.” Harry made sure to stop them where Remus’ face was extremely visible. He nudged the little boy slightly until Sev reluctantly began examining the other teen in the same manner he had examined himself.

Sev noted the posture, the hunched shoulders, the fingers wringing the wrists, the depressing frown, the wrinkles on his forehead, and the bags under his eyes. “I can’t see into his eyes, Harry.” Sev told the other teen.

“Up you go.” Harry lifted him into his arms and made sure to stand right next to Remus. “Now tell me what you see.”

Sev sighed and peered into the blue eyes. “I see…” What? What did he see? What could he possibly see in the eyes of a human mon…ster…? His thoughts trailed off as he stared into Remus’ blue orbs. Those eyes…they looked familiar. Too familiar. Terribly familiar. Severus was too well-acquainted with the altogether different monster that lurked behind those eyes to be able to ignore seeing it in one of his most-hated rivals. “He’s lonely.” Sev answered, the words sounding forced. “He…looks depressed…shy…nervous…guilty…” The little boy gulped. “He looks like…the world’s against him…” Sev couldn’t take that look anymore. He turned his head into Harry’s shoulder and buried his face into his robes.

“Yes, he does, doesn’t he?” He heard Harry murmur before they began moving again. “Precisely like the world is against him.” A hand soon began rubbing smooth circles into his back. “An altogether different picture than the one you had painted not moments before, am I right?” Sev shifted uncomfortably and his arms tightened around the teenager’s neck. “Funny how our world can change so dramatically with just the slightest bit of focus.” Harry drawled, his voice soothing the child’s nerves. “Come along, cub. I have something to show you.”

They walked in silence for a few minutes until Severus found the courage to unbury his head from Harry’s robes. “Where are we going?”

“I’m going to show you images from my experiences with Remus.” Harry explained. “I’m going to try to…paint you a magical picture rather than a muggle one, so to speak. This way, you’ll have a whole and complete view of the man rather than just the monster in disguise.” He pushed open the door to one of the classrooms and walked in.

The room then morphed before their eyes as Severus watched flashes of Harry’s life experiences with Remus. He watched as Lupin saved Harry from a Dementor on the train. He watched as Remus tried and succeeded in teaching Harry the Patronus charm. He watched as the two of them just walked and talked around the castle and in the woods. He watched as they joked and laughed with each other over the years. He watched as Harry came to Remus for advice and received it, along with a hefty dose of support. He watched as Harry cried on Remus’ shoulder and vice versa. He watched as Harry and Remus stood back-to-back in battle, fighting off Death Eaters. He watched as Remus and Harry had a row over Tonks and parental responsibilities. He watched as Remus burst in through a door, a goofy smile on his face, declaring that ‘it was a boy’ in the loudest voice possible. He watched as Remus named Harry godfather to his son. He watched as Harry watched Remus sleep, with his son tucked under one arm and his wife tucked under the other. The goofy smile was still stuck on his face.

“Now does this look like the life of a monster?” Harry murmured in his ear. Sev was silent for a long while. Then, slowly, he began shaking his head. “No. Didn’t think so.”

The two of them exited the bedroom and found themselves in the middle of Diagon Alley as the door swung closed. Sev realized whatever Harry was showing him now must’ve taken place just earlier today. They were walking next to Remus and a disguised Harry, Sev’s five-month-old form wrapped in his arms. “I’ve got your back, Harry, you know that right? And now I’ve got his back, too.” Remus said, clasping Harry’s shoulder supportively and gesturing towards Sev. Harry merely nodded. “Whatever happens…”

Whatever happens…

I’ve got your back…

Remus’ voice grew distant as a white haze overtook Sev’s senses and the next thing he knew…

Severus’ eyes fluttered open.

“Easy, there, cub.” He heard Harry’s soothing voice over him, “Our eyes have been closed for at least ten minutes, most likely more. Let your eyes get used to the light again.”

Sev found that rather easy, considering Harry was still holding a hand over his head and eyes. He waited patiently for Harry to remove it, shifting to find a more comfortable position in his sling in the meantime.

Finally, Harry lifted his hand. “So…are we feeling a bit better about Remus now?”

Sev sighed. Loathed as he was to admit it, he felt a great deal better about Lupin now that he had some of Harry’s memories inside of him. The thought of the werewolf no longer begot jitters and nervousness, but rather a slight bit of comfort. Funny thing, his mind. He’d carried his thoughts and opinions about Lupin around for years, adamant that they would never change. Then Potter comes along and turns them around completely in the space of five minutes.

He signed ‘yes’.

Harry beamed. “Good. I’m glad.” He stood up and picked up his chair. “Come along, then. The others over there look a bit anxious, and I do believe my godson has expressed an interest in meeting you.” Sev pulled against the sides of his sling in an effort to sit up and Harry obliged him. The infant then shifted to examine the crowd around him.

“Sev, are you alright now?” Ginny questioned worriedly. Sev smiled at her, signing ‘yes’. “Are you sure?” He signed ‘yes’ again. Ginny glanced up at Harry who nodded to her a smirk. “Oh, thank Merlin!” She rushed over to the baby and kissed him on top of the head. “You had me worried there. I thought you were sick, or something was wrong, that maybe the ice cream was poisoned—”

“Ginny, Ginny!” Harry laid his hands on her shoulders to try to calm her. “Calm down, love, he’s fine.” He said soothingly. “He just had a bit of a reaction to Remus,” he glanced over at the guilty-looking werewolf, “but he’s absolutely fine now.”

“Harry, if he doesn’t want me here, I can—”

“With all due respect, Remus John Lupin, don’t you finish that sentence.” Harry interrupted, giving Remus an intense look. Lupin’s mouth snapped shut and he looked a bit hesitant, like he didn’t know what to do with himself. “I want you here. Ginny wants you here. And…” he glanced down at the infant in his sling. Sev was studying Remus with an air of curiosity. “…Severus…”

The baby sat back in his sling and tipped his head back against Harry’s chest to look up at him. “Uh-huh!”

“Severus wants you here as well.” Harry finished confidently. “I went into his mind a while ago and he and I had a long and thorough heart-to-heart about various subjects.” He explained with nonchalantly. “You, me, present, past, this, that, and the other thing. It’s not important. What is important, though, is that Severus here…” the baby was once again examining Remus inquisitively, “…is now willing to get to know you.”

“Haweh!”

“Yes, sir?” Harry turned his attention to his infant.

Sev pointed at Teddy, who was mirroring Severus’ perched position in Remus’ sling. “Behby…Ooo.” He pointed at Harry. Then he pointed at Remus himself. “Moomy…Up!”

Harry’s eyebrows rose to his hairline and he blinked at the child in his arms. Sev giggled slightly at his funny expression. “Are you serious?”

“Uh-huh!”

“Are you sure?”

“Uh-huh!” Sev answered before pointing to his own little chest. He first made the ‘scared’ sign before attempting to speak again, “B…Bah!...Boh!...Bop…” He pointed to the spot directly over his heart and started patting it lightly. “BuhBuh…BuhBuh…BuhBuh…BuhBuh…” He looked directly at Harry. “Woooooooooooaaaaaaaaw!” Then he thought for a second before inspiration seemed to hit him. “Cub!” He beamed at Harry and pointed to his little chest. “Cub! Wooooaaaaw! Cub!” He pointed at Remus once again. “Moomy. Up!”

Harry chuckled lightly, laying a hand on Severus’ soft head in silent support and agreement.

“Harry…what did that mean?” Ginny asked beside him.

Harry leaned in to whisper in her ear. “In my chest beats the heart of a lion.” Severus grinned from his sling as Harry pulled away. “Isn’t that right, cub?” He asked out loud.

“Uh-huh!”

“And it also means…” Harry lifted Severus from his perch and, holding him in his arms, approached Remus. “No, no, no! Don’t back away, Remus. Trust me. Just…stay still.” As Harry slowly breached Remus’ personal space, he felt Sev’s little hand tighten on his robes, but otherwise the child didn’t react. “Easy, Sev, alright? Slowly.” He turned to the werewolf. “Remus…somebody’s willing to let you hold him. You might want to sit down.” Lupin did so almost immediately, dropping into the chair he felt behind his knees.

“Harry, maybe you should sit down, too. Right there—next to Remus.” Ginny suggested and Tonks placed a seat next to her husband then took the seat next to Ginny.

Harry perched on the edge of the offered chair. “Easy, Sev. Go at your pace. No one’s forcing you to do this.”

Sev gave him a funny look. “Bw…Bw…Bwa…ma…Bwa-ma…Bing!”

Harry rolled his eyes and scooted back into his chair. He turned from the snickering ladies with a sigh and addressed a confused Remus. “He just called me a drama king.” Tonks and Ginny burst into a fit of laughter and Remus smirked at him. “Oh, ha, ha! It’s not that funny.” Harry stuck out his tongue at Ginny. Sev giggled in Harry’s arms. “Of course you would find this funny.” The baby giggled some more. Harry rolled his eyes.

It was after the excitement died down a few minutes later that Severus found the courage to reach over and tap Remus on the arm. Lupin looked startled and uncertain.

Severus decided to take control of the situation. “Up!” He cried loudly, reaching his arms out to Remus.

“Sev,” Harry started in a warning tone, “Was that a request or a demand?”

Sev took one glance at his stern face and changed his tune, “Up, pea?” He said in a gentler tone.

Remus relaxed a bit and gave Sev a gentle smile. After exchanging a glance with Harry, he shifted a little in his chair and reached over. Harry deposited Sev onto his lap and held on until Remus had an arm wrapped firmly around his kid. Then he let go.

For about a minute or two, both Sev and Remus just sat there, tense and frozen. Remus stared at Severus and Severus stared at Remus. Neither of them moved. Neither of them even breathed!

Then, out of nowhere, came a childish, “Coo!” followed closely by a giggle.

Everyone turned to face Teddy, wide-eyed.

“That was his first smile!” Tonks exclaimed, her hair flaring hot pink in excitement, “And his first laugh! AND his first sound!”

“What do you mean? He’s never made a sound before?” Ginny broke in, confused.

“No, no. He’s cried before and everything, but that’s all he’s done. He’s never actually made any other attempts at communication beyond crying. Oh my god, Remus!” She beamed at her husband.

Remus kept staring from one child to the other in barely-contained exhilaration. His gaze moved from Severus in his left, who was now eyeing Teddy with an avid curiosity, to Teddy in his right, who was smiling at Severus and waving his hands about enthusiastically. Sev turned to Harry questioningly.

“Remus, maybe you should introduce them.” Harry suggested.

“Oh. Right!” Remus cleared his throat, “Severus, this is my son Teddy. Teddy, this is…Sev—erus.” He stuttered a bit at the end, not sure if Severus would allow him to call him ‘Sev’.

Severus didn’t seem to notice either way as he continued to study the smiling metamorphamagus. Then, for some reason unknown to him, he smiled back.

Teddy giggled at him.

Severus giggled back.

Teddy cooed and laughed at him.

“Ah! Babeh!” He turned to Harry, pointing at Teddy excitedly, before facing the baby once more and laughing in return.

Thus, the two infants continued to laugh and babble at each other incessantly, while Remus held onto both with barely-restrained enthusiasm, Harry looked on with pride, and the two ladies smiled and excitedly took pictures of the momentous occasion.

“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.

Ginny closed the parenting book she was reading when she felt the couch cushions dip next to her and an arm snake around her shoulders.

“Finally—some alone time!” Harry smirked.

Ginny giggled, “You are so overdramatic.” She ran a finger seductively down his cheek before pulling him in for a kiss. Harry smiled against her lips and leaned over, pulling her into his arms and onto his lap. Ginny giggled loudly, throwing the parenting book over her shoulder and wrapping her arms around his neck, deepening the kiss.

The snogging session lasted the better part of an hour. When the nine-thirty cuckoo bird peeked out of his perch, the two lovers were lying on the couch, wrapped in each other’s arms. Ginny lay against his chest, engrossed once again in the earlier-discarded parenting book, while Harry stared into the roaring fire, absentmindedly running his fingers through her soft hair.

“Do you think I can do this?” He asked out of the blue.

Ginny tilted her head up to look at him. “Do what?”

“This whole parenting business.” He answered, his eyes focused on the dancing flames across the room.

Ginny stared at him for a long moment, a look of assessment crossing her face before her features solidified into a firm look. Flipping her hair, she settled back down against his chest and returned to her book. “I believe you already know the answer to that question, Harry.” She answered with a note of finality.

“Do I?” He looked at her for the first time since their snogging session ended.

“You wouldn’t have taken Severus in if you didn’t.” She retorted.

“Dumbledore didn’t give me a choice—”

“Oh, he gave you a choice, Harry.” Ginny dropped her book against her chest and looked up into his eyes. “And you chose Severus.” Tossing her book onto the table, Ginny flipped over on top of his chest so that she could look at him properly without straining her neck. “Now why don’t you try telling me what’s really bothering you?”

Harry was silent for a long moment, his gaze reverting back to the dancing flames. Oh, if it were only so simple. Screwing his eyes shut, he leaned his head back against the arm of the sofa and sighed. “I’m scared, Ginny.” He murmured, his green eyes fluttering open to meet her hazel. “Dumbledore said this situation is most likely permanent. But even if it wasn’t…If—If he was our son…” He stopped and sighed again, massaging the worried wrinkles on his forehead. “I-I’ve never…I haven’t…” Harry growled, frustrated at his inability to express himself.

Ginny gazed at him with concern.

“I don’t know if…if I can do this!” He looked at her pleadingly, as if asking her to solve all his problems.

“Harry…you’ve been doing a wonderful job these past two days!”

“Groping in the dark?!” He scoffed.

“Tonks was telling me a while ago that you looked like a natural.” Ginny retorted. 

“That’s exactly my point!” Harry hissed. “This is not natural for me!” He made to sit up and Ginny obliged him, sitting back on her heels. “And that’s what terrifies me! Ginny…” He paused, debating internally about whether or not he actually wanted to share this information. “I…I didn’t have a very good childhood growing up…”

“I already know that, Harry.” Ginny interrupted softly.

“No! I mean…” He swallowed. “I know you know, but…I—it’s…actually worse than you think.”

Ginny gazed at him sadly, grabbing his hand in a show of silent support.

Harry sighed and leaned his side against the back cushions. He focused his eyes on a point just above her right shoulder and forced himself to continue. No point in backing out now—he’d already said too much! “The way I was raised…natural is doing everything in my power to suppress my magic; natural is being called ‘freak’; natural is not having any friends and having everyone think badly of me because of what my aunt and uncle or my cousin say to them; natural is having to sneak food when they’re not looking in order to survive; natural is a list of chores as long as my arm; natural is all work and no play; natural is learning how to control my bodily functions because I don’t know when I’ll be allowed to eat or use to loo next; natural is making up stories and excuses to answer questions regarding my health and well-being…Natural for me, Ginny, is living from one beating to the next.” His voice dropped to a frightened whisper, “That’s—what—terrifies me, Ginny!” He quickly glanced in the direction of the bedroom. “It’s a well-known fact that victims of child abuse are at a high risk of continuing the cycle—”

“Now you stop right there, Harry James Potter!” Ginny pointed a chastising finger at him. “You are better than that!”

“Am I?! You don’t know that!”

“I’d no more believe that you would abuse that child than I’d believe that you’d willingly become a Death Eater!” Ginny retorted.

“But you still don’t—”

“Don’t presume to tell me what I do and do not know, Harry!” She snapped.

“Ginny—”

“Would you ever raise a hand against that child?” She pointed behind her to the bedroom door. “Or any child, for that matter?”

“I believe in spanking.”

“There’s a ‘but’ associated with that.” Ginny replied matter-of-factly.

“But it can never be done in anger and must involve a lot of hugs, kisses, and love immediately after.” Harry answered almost instantly.

“So that doesn’t count; which means you still haven’t answered the question. Would you ever raise a hand against a child?”

“I—I—” Harry began to stutter.

“Just answer the question, Harry!” Ginny snapped.

“NO!”

“Okay then.” Ginny smiled. “That settles that.”

“No, it doesn’t settle that!” Harry cried. “It doesn’t settle anything, Gin!” He began gesturing with his hands in frustration. “Don’t you understand?! I’m scared, Ginny! What if I turn into my uncle? What if I forget myself and strike out at him in a temper. I’m statistically inclined to do that!”  

“Since when has the Boy-Who-Lived listened to statistics?!” Ginny hissed. “You’ve survived death multiple times, Harry, when even the magical odds were against you. Why do you choose to believe this set of odds?”

“Because I’m not afraid of death!” Harry screamed. Then it was as if the declaration took something out of him, for he visibly deflated, sagging against the cushions and burying his face in his hand. “Not like I’m afraid of this.” His voice cracked as he finished.

Ginny could hear the pain in his voice and her heart went out to him.

“Most people seem to think my worst fear is dying.” He murmured, eyeing Ginny from a thousand miles away. “It’s not.” He shook his head. “My worst fear is other people suffering and dying because of me. If my own children—” He paused abruptly, shutting his eyes and turning away. His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down as he swallowed repeatedly in an effort to control his emotions. “I’d never forgive myself, Gin.”

“Harry…” Ginny began gently, grabbing his hand and giving it a supportive squeeze. “You have been an amazing father so far—”

“It’s been two days.”

“Regardless!” Ginny snapped, annoyed at being interrupted. Then her tone shifted back to being gentle. “You’ve been phenomenal! You’ve provided him with all his needs, given him things to keep him entertained and happy, you’ve been feeding him properly…mostly.” She smiled slightly. “You discipline him when needed, you provide him with lots of affection immediately afterwards, you do things together, you bond with him.” Her eyes narrowed at this. “Don’t think for one minute that I missed that whole pudding trick the two of you were playing behind my back yesterday.” Harry’s eyes widened in surprise. “I’m like my mother, Harry. I have eyes in the back of my head.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Because it was between the two of you; it was your own innocent little secret.” She leaned against the back of the couch and gazed up at him lovingly. “You two were bonding, Harry, and I didn’t have the heart to stop it.” She ran the back of her hand down the side of his cheek and could feel him lean in to the touch. Their eyes never broke contact. His green gaze bore into her hazel. “I know you, Harry. You probably think you’re no better than your uncle, but I guarantee you a good majority of the wizarding world thinks otherwise.” She gave his hand a firm squeeze. “You’re a good man, Harry; and you’re making a good father. So far, you’ve given him everything that you never had as a child…and I’d bet a pretty knut that he’d never had in his first childhood either.” She paused. Harry still looked doubtful so she tried a different tactic. “How many times have you had to punish or scold him so far?” She asked.

Harry looked slightly startled at the change of topic. He wracked his brain for an exact number but ended up shrugging instead. “A handful…?”

“A handful.” Ginny nodded. “And how many times have you lost control and struck him.”

Harry looked slightly alarmed at the question. “Never!” He squeaked, as if she had just accused him of a crime he didn’t commit.

“So in the handful of times you’ve had to punish or scold him in the past two days, you’ve never lost control and you’ve never struck him.”

“No! Absolutely not!” Harry shook his head firmly.

“And how was his behavior during these scoldings or time-outs?” Ginny asked. 

“I—Well…not very good?” Harry looked slightly confused now.

Ginny rolled her eyes. “Elaborate.”

Harry sighed. “Um…yelling, kicking, swearing, spitting, cursing, shrieking, crying, hitting, throwing—”

“Okay, okay, that’s enough.” Ginny held up a hand. “So…in the last two days alone, you’ve had to discipline him a handful of times for doing all of those things. During that time you’ve never lost your temper or struck him. You’ve merely scolded him or put him in time-out.” She repeated. “Now…tell me, Harry—what would your uncle have done if he had to discipline you a handful of times in the space of two days for doing all the things Severus has been doing? Hmm?”

Harry’s gaze slipped from her face and landed on the couch cushions. He knew what his uncle would’ve done—beat him to a pulp. He would’ve taken his belt to Harry, regardless of how young he was. Uncle Vernon had no concept of control. He would swing until he could swing no more. Harry’s age or physical size was never taken into account. To Uncle Vernon, Harry was a freak. He could use his freaky magic to heal himself somehow. Thus, he needn’t stop a beating until he himself was good and ready to stop. This usually happened when he became too tired to lift his arm anymore. As the years dragged on and Harry grew, Uncle Vernon grew as well. His increase in size definitely lowered his endurance level, but unfortunately it also increased the strength of his swing.

Ginny must’ve known what Harry was thinking, for she sat back on her heels and gave him a knowing look. “Exactly. You’ve done none of that, Harry!” She paused. “Your uncle would’ve beaten you to a pulp, wouldn’t he, for doing what Severus has been doing?” Harry shut his eyes and turned away. “You you have not once lost control.” Ginny tipped his chin up and forced his cheerless eyes to meet hers. “Who’s the better man, Harry?” She asked, a soft smile gracing her features. “Who’s the better man?”

Screwing his eyes shut, Harry pulled his face away and sighed. Ginny had a point. A very big point. And yet…”That’s not going to stop me from worrying, Gin.” Harry murmured, meeting her calm gaze with his anxious eyes. “That’s not going to stop me from being scared.”

“That’s a healthy sort of fear, Harry.” Ginny assured him with a smile. “It’s a good thing you have it. It’s like being afraid of heights.” She said. “If you’re not afraid of heights, you’re more liable to jump off a cliff.” Her eyes glistened playfully. “If you are afraid of heights, though…you won’t.” She leaned in and gave him a slow, sensual kiss, imparting all the comfort she could muster through that one simple action. She pulled back almost as soon as she leaned in, resting her forehead against his own and staring into his beautiful green eyes. “I trust you, Harry.” She whispered softly. “Sev trusts you” Groping around beneath her, she took both his hands in hers and gave them a supportive squeeze. “You won’t.”

They stared into each others’ eyes for the longest time until a baby’s piercing cry shocked them out of their daze and thrust them back into reality. Both Harry and Ginny pulled back sharply and blinked, as if waking from a trance.

“Sev!” Harry croaked, glancing at the clock. “Aw. He can’t be hungry again. He just ate!”

Ginny pushed herself up and motioned Harry towards the bedroom. “Go! Go on! You pick him up and I’ll go make him a bottle.” With that, she headed towards the kitchen. “You know…” Harry heard her call over her shoulder. “…I bet this would all just be so much easier if I was nursing.”  

Harry smirked as he pushed himself off the couch and headed towards the bedroom. “Would you like to?”

“Ha!” Ginny snorted. “Harry, I don’t think my opinion is the only one you should be taking into account when considering that particular option.”

“I know. I know.” He called over his own shoulder. “Hey, maybe we could ask Tonks to do it.”

He could hear Ginny laughing in the kitchen. “It would make Remus jealous.”

“Not to mention Teddy!” Harry entered his bedroom and spelled the light on with a wave on a hand. Severus was lying on his back, just as Harry had left him, arms and legs flailing about and tears running down his face. As soon as the light came on, though, the cries began to die down. “I’m coming. I’m coming, cub.” Harry muttered, padding over to the crib.

As soon as he peered over the edge of the crib, and Sev could see him completely, the crying abruptly stopped. The baby now looked at him curiously. “Wotcher, Sev.” Harry smirked, reaching down to life the infant into his arms. On his way up, a feather hanging low on the dreamcatcher managed to catch his eye. “What’s going on, cub?” Harry asked, tucking him securely under one arm. The baby ignored him, choosing to bat a hand against the curious feather instead.

“Hey, hey, hey! Easy there, Sev.” Harry chided gently, taking the small hand into his own and slowly pulling it back to the baby’s side. He then took a step back so that the dreamcatcher lay out of Sev’s reach. “That’s a dreamcatcher—a real one.” He explained. “It’s quite rare and rather old, and I’d appreciate it if you didn’t destroy it so.”

Sev gave him a look that was half confusion and half scowl.

“Don’t give me that.” Harry frowned lightly. “I bought that dream catcher when I was fifteen.” He explained. “I’ve been using it on and off for the past two to three years. It really works! It’s helped me master controlled occlumency, it’s kept Voldemort out of my mind, it’s a very complex piece of white magic and I placed it over your bed yesterday while you slept.” He glanced up at the object, then back down at his charge. “The old witch I bought it from told me that, when I felt the need to pass it on, I should add my own protections to it as well before I laid it over my child’s head.” He waved a hand and the dreamcatcher floated over to them, close enough for a proper inspection. He took the piece of leather with the lightning bolt charm between his fingers and showed it to Sev. “See? My protection…among so many others.” He dropped the charm and ran his fingers through the other soft leather cords with various charms attached to them. “I do believe there are some animal protections on here as well. These are phoenix feathers, I think.” He fiddled lightly with a pair of the red feathers attached to one of the cords.

Sev gripped Harry’s robes tightly and laid his head against his chest, sticking his thumb in his mouth and allowing Harry’s rumbling voice to lull him.

“Anyway…” Harry sighed and waved the dreamcatcher back to its place above the crib. “Dreamcatchers are for everyone, Sev. I don’t think a person truly outgrows one. I’d still be using it myself if I didn’t think you had the greater need for it.” He glanced down at the baby who, in turn, stared back up at him, wide-eyed and sucking on his thumb. He could tell Sev was tired, but was sure something had woken him up. Running a quick, wandless diagnostic, Harry made certain Sev wasn’t sick or in any kind of pain. The dreamcatcher was ensconced securely over his head when Harry walked in, so it couldn’t have been a nightmare. That left him with two possibilities—Sev either needed a change or a feeding. The soft rumble of an empty stomach confirmed one of those possibilities. When Harry tapped Sev’s nappy, the second possibility also received confirmation.

“Okay. Here what I’ve got—you’re hungry and you need a new nappy. Is that it?” Sev nodded. “Okay. Anything more?” A shake of the head. “That’s all then?” Another nod. “Alright then…let’s take care of that, shall we?” Harry said as he marched towards the bathroom. “Ginny’s in the kitchen making you a bottle.”

He laid the baby down on a perpetually-warm towel on the changing table and proceeded to talk to him in an effort to quell Sev’s lingering discomfort at having his nappy changed. “Just so you know…one of the spells I imbued into the dreamcatcher is the spell I invented to counter the Killing Curse. So, if by some extraordinary fluke, someone with malintent got past the million and a half wards I put around the school, our quarters, our doorway, and your crib, the dreamcatcher should protect you from anything from a stinging hex to a killing curse. Alright?” He threw the dirty nappy into the hungry trashcan in the corner and Sev watched it gobble it up with a smile.

“Alright then. Shall we?” He picked the baby up and made his way over to the rocking chair by the window. Harry pushed open the white curtains with a wave of a hand to reveal Hogwarts’ majestic nighttime landscape.

A new moon lingered in the skies, but light trickled over from its hidden face nonetheless, spilling over the hills in the distance and flowing up the peaceful river, to bathe the forest landscape in a dull bluish-white light. A slight mist had fallen on the Forbidden Forest, settling lightly along the forest floor. The leaves on the trees and the long blades of grass along the moors of Hogwarts swayed to a gentle wind that blew in from some unknown direction. The whole scene filled Harry with an unbelievable sense of peace and tranquility. He opened the window itself with another wave of a hand and a warm, sweet-smelling summer wind blew through his hair and made Sev’s baby hair stick up in all the odd places.

Harry smoothed the baby’s hair down with a smile and settled on the rocking chair, baby Severus on his lap. The elegant sounds of music of the night drifted in with the breeze and graced Harry’s ears with its sweet song. “Do you hear that, Sev?” The baby looked up at him curiously. “Do you feel that?”

Severus’ eyebrows furrowed at him and he shook his head.

“That music.” Harry answered. “The white magic that this place is teeming with?!” He elaborated excitedly.

Severus, for his part, thought Potter was beginning to suffer from sleep deprivation. Hearing strange music and “feeling” things were never indicative of a happy, healthy mind, in Severus’ opinion. A slight tinge of guilt prickled in his gut. It wasn’t his fault he had to wake up three times last night! He hadn’t had the nightmares he was expecting, but rather some oddly pleasant dreams. Sev recalled the memory with a smile. He hadn’t had actual dreams since his falling out with Lily in fifth year oh so long ago. The absence of nightmares made for an extraordinarily pleasant break, he thought. Severus now attributed that to Potter’s dreamcatcher that floated over his bed. Although…he hadn’t had a nightmare during his trip to Diagon Alley today either; and the dreamcatcher was far away from them at the time, too. Perhaps the absence of nightmares was attributed to more than just the presence of the dreamcatcher. Hmm…curious. Either way, though, Sev hadn’t woken up from nightmares yesterday. He had woken up solely because he was either hungry or needed a new nappy, or both. Now, he and Potter had already established the fact that Sev had absolutely no control of his bodily functions anymore. Thus, Sev was not responsible for waking up three times last night, and furthermore not responsible for Potter’s sleep deprivation and faulty mind. There! That explanation suited him just fine! He felt rather pleased with himself.   

“You don’t hear it, do you?” Potter sounded a bit disappointed and Sev felt a slight tinge in his chest this time. “Or feel it?” The teen turned from him and looked back out into the horizon. What was he supposed to hear?! Sev kicked his legs a bit to draw Potter’s attention back to him. What was he supposed to feel?! Potter simply tightened his hold on him, never turning his concentration away from the window. No, no, no! That wasn’t supposed to happen! Look back at me again. Please look back at me again?! He fussed around some more, but the results were the same. Look at me! Please! Harry, look at me…! Sev felt tears prickling in his eyes.

“AH!” He whined. That had the desired effect. Harry gazed down at him curiously.

What was I supposed to hear? What was I supposed to feel?! He tried to convey his confusion through his eyes.

Potter gave him a gentle half-smile. “Ah, Sev…” He sighed, pulling the baby upright and supporting him against his chest. “You’ve got a good head on your shoulders, lad.” He whispered in Sev’s ear. “But you’ve got to learn how to feel your way through things as well.” He ran his fingers through the soft baby hair, moving with the gentleness of the summer breeze. Sev leaned in to the touch. “Not everything is about the mind, my boy. Now close your eyes…and I’ll show you.”

Sev hugged the large hand supporting his chest, closed his eyes, and leaned against the teenager.

“Now listen.” Potter ordered softly. “Listen to the music drifting in through the window.” He paused. “Do you hear it?”

Now that his eyes were closed and his vision obscured, sounds began to bombard Severus from all directions. He squirmed slightly.

“Shhh, now…Focus on one thing at a time and soon enough it’ll become a harmony.” Harry breathed in his ear. “Listen to the sound that the wind makes as it moves through the leaves and the trees and the grass…”

Swish, swish…He could feel it glide through the strands of his hair…Swish, swish…He could discern the rustle of leaves in the distance…Swish, swish…The trees creaked as they moved with the wind…Swish, swish…The long blades of grass barely made a whisper as the breeze danced across the moors…Swish, swish…

“I believe Fawkes is out flying tonight. You can hear him a bit if you perk up.”

The sweet notes of a phoenix song drifted in through his ears and straight to his heart. Wave upon wave of calm energy coursed through his body, relaxing his muscles and easing his tension. A smile tugged at the corners of his lips.

“You can hear the centaurs and the unicorns and the hippogriffs about…”

Thump, thump. Thump, thump. Thump, thump. Hiyah!…He could hear a herd of them, running about in the deep forest…Thump, thump. Thump, thump. Thump, thump. Hiyah!...Their hoof beats were muffled against the forest floor…Thump, thump. Thump, thump. Thump, thump. Swish...Hiyah! Swish, swish…The phoenix song flowed through him like a peaceful river…Thump, thump. Swish, swish. Hiya!

“Hagrid’s out tonight. You can hear his off-tune humming just at the edge of the forest…”

Hmmmmm, MmmmmMmmmMmm, MmmmMmmMm, MmMmmMmmmm…Hmmmmm, MmmmmMmmmMmm, MmmmMmmMm, MmmMmmmMmmmm!...How’re ya doin’, Buckbeak, ol’ pal?!...Hagrid’s humming, as off-tune as it may have been, calmed him just as well as Fawkes’ song…Thump, thump. Hiyah…Swish, swish…

“Can you hear the waterfall, just beyond the Quidditch pitch?”

Roar! Roar!...The water thundered down the rocks…Roar! Roar!...He could feel its power from here…Roar! Roar!

“And the river, let’s not forget that…”

Bubble, bubble...Bubble, bubble…Bubble, bubble…Hoot, hoot!

“The owls in the owlery and the birds in the trees…”

Hoot, hoot!...The birds followed the river…Bubble, bubble. Hoot, hoot! Splash!...They hunted by the river…Bubble, bubble. Roar! Roar! Hoot, hoot! Hiyah!

“And let’s not forget…”

But Sev wasn’t listening anymore. He was too entranced by the sounds all around him to pay any attention to Harry’s words.

Hmmmm MmmmmMmmmMmm…Fawkes’ song drifted straight to his heart…Swish, swish. Thump, Thump. Swish, swish. Hiyah!...MmmmMmmMm…Bubble, bubble. Swish, swish. Roar! Roar! Hoot!...MmMmmMmmm…Thump, thump. Swish, swish. Bubble, bubble. Swish, swish. Roar, roar! Swish, swish. Hoot! Hiyah! Swish…

Oh, sweet wind…

Summer’s wind...

Gentle wind…

It blew through Sev’s hair and caressed his cheeks and embraced his soul…

Swish, swish…Thump, thump…Bubble, Roar, BOOM!

A new sound joined in on the symphony.

Boom, boom! Boom, boom! Boom, boom! Boom, boom!

It wasn’t coming from outside. Boom, boom! It was coming from right under his ear.

Boom, boom! Boom, boom! Boom, boom! Boom, boom!

Sev smiled. He knew that sound. Boom, boom! It was the sound that meant peace…Boom, boom…and calm…Boom, boom…and safety…Boom, boom…and shelter…Boom, boom…It was Harry’s heartbeat. Boom, boom!

Somewhere in the background, a guitar began to play a soft, slow, relaxing tune.

“Give me your hand, Sev.” Harry whispered in his ear. “Let me help you feel it…the white magic that’s flowing through this place…open your hand…”

Sev opened his tiny hand and Harry held it in his big one. He could feel Harry smooth out the curved fingers. “Open yourself to the magic, cub…Feel it…”

Sev allowed the symphony of sounds flowing in through the window—the music of the night—to move through him and let it flood his soul…

Then…gradually…he began to feel a tingling sensation running through his fingers. Sev gasped. “Shh…shh…easy now. That’s it! That’s the white magic you’re feeling. Just relax…” Sev took a deep breath and allowed the music to relax him. “That’s my boy. Relax…That’s it, cub.” He could hear a smile in Harry’s voice. “Do you feel it now?”

It was a strange sensation—different from the wind, yet very similar. It was like allowing the breeze to run through his fingers, but it had a thicker consistency. “It’s magic, Sev.” Harry breathed in his ear. “This is what you control every time you cast a spell. This is where that power comes from.”

The magic flowed through his fingers like water in a river. Yet it was different from water as well. The magic moved between them, and then circled round back and flowed over the tips, and then up his arm, and then down his arm again. “It’s alive, Sev. It’s an entity in and of itself, and it dances to the music you hear all around you.”

It was an amazing sensation. Sev pictured a kind of white light gliding up and down his arm, wrapping itself around his fingers and wrists before floating out again and rejoining the world.

“If you focus hard enough, cub, you’ll be able to see it as well.” Harry whispered excitedly. “Now open your eyes, Sev. Open your eyes and try to see what I see.”

Sev did so slowly, grateful that Harry had dimmed the lights earlier. Now the only sources of illumination came from the firelight streaming in through the open door, and the moonlight spilling through the flimsy white curtains. Another gust of sweet wind blew through Sev’s hair, catching his attention. A majestic sight greeted him. It was the same view as before, Sev realized, but now…it felt different. For some strange reason, the landscape before him glowed! Sev inclined his head in bewilderment. The glow was not physical. At least…it was hardly physical.

The trees in the distance glowed faintly in the moonlight…to Sev, they felt like they blazed with light!

The hills out yonder spilt dim moonlight over their summits…to Sev, they felt like they oozed a bright, white light!

The grass in the moors reflected moonlight faintly as they danced with the breeze…to Sev, each blade of grass felt like a white ballerina, moving with the wind to the music of the night.

It was the most unusual feeling Severus had ever experienced in his life! His mind was seeing one thing, yet his gut was feeling another. He saw a regular nighttime landscape before him, but felt like he was in the middle of a majestic white kingdom!

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Harry’s voice whispered in his ear.

“Ohhhh…d” Sev muttered. “Oh-d…Oh-d…Odd.”

He could feel Harry chuckled beneath him. “Yes, I know. It’s very odd, I agree.” He ran another hand through Sev’s soft hair. “It takes a little getting used to.”

Sev furrowed his eyebrows and craned his neck to look up at Harry. “Ooo?” He asked, pointing at the teen’s chest. “Ooo?”

Harry nodded slowly, “Me.” He answered, turning back to study the horizon. “I’ve been able to sense magic like this since I was…oh, about five years old.” He explained after a moment of thought. “Of course, it wasn’t until I was eleven that I learned what it actually was; not until I was thirteen that I learned how to master it completely…and not until last month that I let anyone know my secret.”

Sev’s brain reeled at this new information. Potter’s been able to do wandless, wordless magic for years?! Years?! How was it that nobody noticed?! Not even Granger and Weasley realized it! Not one professor was aware of it. Dumbledore didn’t know this. I didn’t ever see this! Then Severus remembered something: Potter slipped the chocolate pudding to him yesterday behind Ginny’s back; Potter was supposed to be in Slytherin; Potter was sneaky! Potter probably didn’t show his talent in class because he wanted everyone to underestimate him. It worked to his advantage, after all. From what I was told, the Dark Lord didn’t expect what he had coming. He underestimated Potter and it lead to his downfall. In fact…that might have even been Potter’s plan all along! Hmm…maybe he shouldn’t be so shocked after all. One thing was for sure—Potter was definitely full of surprises nowadays.

“Take a look at your dreamcatcher, Sev.” Potter murmured, nudging him gently. “Feel it pulsing with white magic, do you?”

Potter turned the rocking chair slightly so that Sev could see his crib. True enough, the dreamcatcher radiated white magic like the sun radiated light! It was by far the brightest object Sev had laid his eyes on tonight. The sight of the dreamcatcher imbued Sev with the same feelings that Potter’s heartbeat invoked in him—safety, calm, and shelter.

“A record player, Harry?”

Ginny’s abrupt entrance startled Severus greatly and he jumped in Harry’s lap. Just as suddenly, the infant felt himself blink and the world as he perceived it just moments before quickly reverted back to being plain. The white magic no longer tingled his palm or fingertips, the music from the window disintegrated into sounds, and feelings he received from the world around him quickly slipped through his grasp like sand through an hourglass before disappearing altogether. This distressed Severus greatly and he made his displeasure known.     

“Hey, hey, hey! Calm down, cub.” Harry murmured soothingly, readjusting the infant’s position on his lap so that he was neatly tucked into his right arm. The teen also tried adjusting the speed of his rocking so that it was more in tune with the guitar from the record player. Sev continued to fuss and whine nonetheless.

“Sorry I took a while.” Ginny said, testing the temperature of the milk on her wrist before offering him the bottle. “I was thinking about that whole nursing thing and I remembered reading something in the parenting book about mothers who recently adopted newborns. Babies Sev’s age need mother’s milk because it helps develop their immune systems and everything. So, I took a formula out of the book that allowed me to add to the milk so that, in essence, I would be able to brew my own breast milk. It came with a spell and everything and took a bit of time, but…here we go.”

Harry accepted the bottle hesitantly. “So…this is your own…breast milk?”

“In essence, yes.” Ginny smirked at Harry’s bewildered look. “Don’t worry. I tried it before I even bottled it. It tastes perfectly fine.” Harry gaped at her and Sev had stopped fussing completely to grace her with an identical miniature expression. It took all of Ginny’s willpower to suppress her amusement. Harry and Sev wore twin looks of astonishment on their faces. It was the most adorable sight!

Ginny settled for smiling sweetly as them before flipping her hair and turning to admire the magnificent view of the nighttime landscape. She breathed in deeply as the sweet summer wind blew through her fiery hair and filled her with feelings of calm and contentment. “It’s absolutely beautiful here at night, don’t you think?”

Harry cleared his throat and shook his head, shaking himself out of his daze. “Yeah…absolutely.” He tried to adjust Sev’s position once again, but found it difficult while holding the bottle. “Gin, would you…help me for a moment?”

“Yeah, sure.”

“Here…” Harry waved a bottle-filled hand and the rocking chair lengthened to a rocking bench. “Would you help me adjust him, please?”

Ginny took a seat on Harry’s right and reached for the bottle. “Here, why don’t you let me hold that while you adjust him appropriately?” Harry handed her the bottle and positioned Sev on the crook of his arm so that his head wasn’t so low.

“So how about it, cub? Do you still want to try the milk, or are you not hungry anymore?” Harry asked the baby.

“I promise, Sev—it doesn’t taste any different from the milk you’ve been drinking these past few days. I tried it myself; it tastes the same. The only difference is this one is better for your health.” Ginny broke in. Sev craned his neck to stare at her as she spoke.

“Willing to try it, Sev?”

Severus eyed Harry for a long moment, before turning and eyeing Ginny for the same amount of time. Then, finally, he turned to the bottle and gave it a long, wary look. Sev felt his stomach growl and grimaced internally. Oh, I might as well! It’s not like I have another choice, now do I? He looked at Harry and signed ‘yes’.

“Are you sure?”

“Uh-huh.” He sighed.

“That’s a good lad.” Harry praised, giving him a gentle smile. Sev felt a strange tingling sensation in his chest.

Too tired to hold the bottle himself, Sev allowed Harry to feed it to him. A little voice in the back of his mind crooned about how nice it felt to be catered to by a Potter and how this was some form of sweet payback or something or another. He was too tired to pay it any attention. The instant the milk hit his tongue, Sev was startled at how sweet it actually was. Ginny lied! This milk didn’t taste exactly like the formula; it tasted better than the formula! Severus felt like he was drinking liquid ambrosia, the nectar of the gods! Oh…divine couldn’t even begin to describe how absolutely exquisite this milk was.

Sev watched as Ginny snaked an arm around Harry’s back and leaned on his shoulder, looking down at him lovingly. “So…how does it taste?” In response, Sev began drinking all the more faster. Both teens chuckled at him. “I’ll take that as a sign of your approval.” Ginny smiled. Turning to Harry, she ran her fingers through his hair until he turned to meet her eyes. The two shared a short, sweet kiss.

The record player in the background clicked loudly as the previous song ended and a new one began.

Sev felt Ginny’s fingers run through his hair with the same tenderness as the summer wind, and he leaned into her touch. She smiled down at him adoringly. “You know this song, Sev?” She asked, recognizing the opening notes of one of her favorite tunes. “It’s about a mother, singing to her child. Oh, how does it go again? Oh, yes…”

Sev felt Harry push their rocking bench gently, in conjunction with the summer breeze, as Ginny’s sweet voice echoed in his ear,

“I hope you never lose your sense of wonder
You get your fill to eat but always keep that hunger
May you never take one single breath for granted
God forbid love ever leave you empty-handed.”

Sev’s eyes began to drift shut…

“I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean
Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens
Promise me that you’ll give faith a fighting chance
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance,

I hope you dance…
I hope you dance…”

The warm wind flew in through the window and wrapped the three of them in a loving embrace…

“I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance
Never settle for the path of least resistance
Living might mean taking chances, but they’re worth taking
Loving might be a mistake, but it’s worth making

Don’t let some hell-bent heart leave you bitter
When you come close to selling out, reconsider
Give the heavens above more than just a passing glance
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance,

I hope you dance…”

Now Harry’s voice sang in conjunction with hers.

“Time is a wheel in constant motion…”

“I hope you dance…” “Always rolling us along…”
“I hope you dance…” “Tell me who wants to look back on their years and wonder…”
“I hope you dance…” “Where those years have gone…”

Sev’s eyes were almost completely closed now, yet he still continued to suck on his sweet nectar and listen to the pair of angelic voices singing to him.

“I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean
Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens
Promise me that you’ll give faith a fighting chance
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance…”

“Dance…I hope you dance…”

“I hope you dance…” “Time is a wheel in constant motion…”
“I hope you dance…” “Always rolling us along…”
“I hope you dance…” “Tell me who wants to look back on their years and wonder…”
“I hope you dance…” “Where those years have gone…”

“Tell me who wants to look back on their years and wonder…where those years have gone…”

The last thing Sev remembered, as he slipped into unconsciousness, was seeing a lone figure move along a stretch of beach, dancing beside the ocean…

The next morning, Sev and Harry sat at the kitchen table, eating their breakfasts. Harry sat cross-legged on his chair, reading the Daily Prophet, which sat on one side of their breakfast of Wizard Cheerios with milk. Harry himself had the milk inside his bowl of cereal. Sev sat on his lap, supported by Harry’s hand on his chest. The table had been lowered to suit him better, thus he was able to read his sign language book, which sat on the other side of their breakfast. Sev wanted his bowl of cereal dry, preferring to practice his dexterity and hand-eye coordination with breakfast. A bottle of Ginny’s milk lay within easy reach. Sev would no longer accept anything less, and Harry had been forced to put all the baby formula they bought yesterday on deep reserve. The teen had then vowed to find a recipe that would allow them to make use of the brand new baby formula when Ginny brewed her breast milk concoction.

Ignoring all the hullabaloo about him that seemed to litter the front page of the Daily Prophet, a tiny article in the corner caught his attention.

Disgraced Potioneer Aidan Elson Transforms Himself into Baby

“Hey, Sev, check this out.” Harry said, folding the newspaper over with one hand. The baby glanced over and quickly scanned the headline.

“Aidan Elson, age 56, who some of you may recall as the Gringotts Gas Man, has mucked up yet again! This time, according to a source, the allegedly mentally unstable potioneer had invented a concoction that allows a person to regress back to a particularly young age. He then proceeded to patent his potion and publish his findings in Potions Today, banking on the profit from sales of batches he brewed in his home laboratory. Now, that all sounds perfectly normal. However, the drama began when representatives from the Ministry of Magic approached Mr. Elson earlier this month on charges of forgery and defrauding the Wizarding Intellectual Property Office. According to a source inside WIPO, Elson had paid the office extra money to rush his appeal through the system. Our source, who wishes to remain anonymous, claims Elson had all the necessary documents prepared and presented them with everything the moment they asked, ‘He had everything we needed; so we bumped up his application and my supervisor allowed me to process his request the same day.’”

Harry flipped the paper around to another page and continued reading, “However, it appears Elson didn’t have all the documents they needed. One of the crucial papers necessary for patent of a potion was a forgery. ‘Before a potion can be patented, it needs to be submitted to the Wizarding Potions Regulatory Agency for testing and approval. We need to see if the proposed potion does what it’s meant to do, is safe for human consumption, as well as a number of other things regarding warnings and labels and clarity and whatnot,’ comments Wallace Garrick, head of the WPRA. ‘If a potion and its recipe do not come through our office, it is therefore illegal to patent, publish, and/or sell.’

The plot thickens further. Ministry officials repeatedly sent owls to Mr. Elson’s home and office in an effort to contact him about the forgery and to set up a proper meeting between him and the WPRA. All owls returned with no reply. When Ministry officials visited his home, they found it to be abandoned and completely cleaned out. Further investigation into the matter allowed the Ministry to track Mr. Elson to the home of his two friends, Aurors Leroy and Irene Noble, where it was discovered that Mr. Aidan Elson had consumed his own de-aging potion and was now six months old. Healers at St. Mungo’s reported that he had recently been oblivated—by his request—but, aside from that, he appeared to be a happy, healthy baby boy.

Under the influence of Veritaserum, Aurors Leroy and Irene Noble testified that Elson had been searching for a way to ‘end his life without really ending his life’ for months now. He allegedly created this potion as a means of bringing about that result. ‘He knew he was going to get a lot of grief from the WPRA about this because he’s had plenty a row with the folks in that department before about other potions he’d invented.’ Irene Noble told the Daily Prophet, ‘So he probably went along and forged the papers from them and paid WIPO extra for patenting his potion.’ Apparently, Elson had arranged for the proceeds from the sale of the potion to go to his new family—the Nobles—to help with his new life. After the magical patent went through, Elson allegedly consumed the potion that very night in celebration.

‘A magical patent is like a magical contract—it’s binding. Nothing short of the death of the patent-holder can break it. Since Mr. Elson is not quite dead, the patent still holds.’ The head of WIPO commented. The Ministry tried to acquire Elson’s research for the WPRA to review, but the Nobles insist that Elson himself destroyed all of his own paperwork. Evidence via pensieve memories later proved their story. The only document left with regards to the potion is the original copy of the recipe that was published in Potions Today. ‘Our hands are tied.’ Garrick remarked in a press release, ‘We can’t revoke the magical patent—that’s impossible. Our perpetrator is now permanently six months old. The only thing we can do is run the potion recipe through the proper channels and hope for the best. If everything checks out, the forgery in the WIPO file will be replaced with a genuine WPRA certificate and everything would be right again. This whole situation is such a mess!’ The deliberation is expected to take several months. Stick with the Daily Prophet for exclusive updates on the situation.

Aidan Elson was well-known for the various calamities he had caused with his potions…”

Yet Sev wasn’t listening anymore. Truth be told, he had only paid Harry half an ear the entire time he was reading anyway. Well…a quarter of an ear, really…maybe.

He was finding his bowl of Wizard Cheerios a lot more interesting than Aidan Elson at the moment.

First you have to reach in…then get one into the palm of your hand…then close your hand…got it! Next, you bring it to your mouth…then the trick is getting it inside without dropping it on the floor.

Sev settled for sticking the cereal to his fingers, and then sticking everything in his mouth just in case. His genius strategy worked like a charm! As Harry reached the middle of the article, Sev’s bowl of cereal sat empty before him. Sev took a long swig of Ginny’s milk before looking around. He didn’t particularly want another bowl of cereal, even though he was still a bit hungry. He started bouncing in Harry’s lap, but the teen was still too distracted to notice. He simply adjusted Sev on his lap as he continued to read the article.

Still rather bored and restless, Sev took another look around the kitchen and a flash of movement caught his eye. Harry had been in the middle of reading about Aidan Elson’s prior potions calamities when he felt the need to stick another spoonful of cereal in his mouth, prompting him to switch the hand supporting Severus. The teen’s moving fingers caught and held the baby’s eye. Harry wore a silver band on his right ring finger—a promise ring, from what he gathered, since Ginny wore its match—and it gleamed in the morning sunshine. Entranced, Sev watched the shiny object move about for a moment before giving in to his impulses and making a grab for it. When his tiny fist successfully wrapped itself around the pretty ring, a wave of excitement flowed through him. Unfortunately, the excitement was quickly pursued by the same intense desire he felt the other night to stick whatever he was holding into his mouth.

Sev glanced up. Harry was once again engrossed in his article. It seems he didn’t even blink when Sev grabbed his hand. Excellent! So Harry probably wouldn’t mind if Sev just did this.

Harry faltered mid-sentence when he felt something bite down on his pointer finger—hard. He looked down to find Severus gnawing on his finger like a puppy chewing on a bone.

“I hope you’re not intending to have that for breakfast.” Harry commented dryly. Internally, he grimaced. He could feel Sev’s drool leaking down his hand and onto the infant’s chin.

Sev didn’t seem to hear him; he was too focused on nibbling on his finger. With a sigh, Harry summoned the parenting book from the counter using his eyes, willing it to flip to a particular section as it flew over. At the same time, he bade a bib and a spit rag over from the bedroom.

Severus, for his part, was feeling loads better than he felt before he started chewing on Harry’s fingers. The unpleasant feeling that he woke up with in his gums was beginning to subside considerably. The Wizard Cheerios had done nothing but irritate his mouth, although they were a bit fun to practice his dexterity with. Sev made sure he didn’t bite down on Harry’s fingers too hard, just hard enough to make the unpleasant feeling go away. He watched idly as a book, a bib, and a set of rags floated over to the table without Harry raising so much as a finger—literally. A pair of voices argued at the back of his mind about whether he was impressed by the degree of magical control, or dismayed at Potter’s shameless display of talent. He ignored them both, content with chewing on the finger in his mouth.

He watched curiously as Harry read something in the floating parenting book, muttering under his breath. The infant wondered what the teen was reading about when suddenly, the finger in his mouth lurched and Severus clamped down hard on instinct.

“Ow! Easy, cub! Don’t bite it off, please.” Harry hissed, halting his finger and allowing Sev to release it on his own. After a long moment, the infant obliged him. “Thank you. Now…if you’ll just allow me to try something; I’m pretty sure I know what’s going on.” The infant gazed up at him curiously. “Here…let me show you.”

Harry took his chewed hand and wiped it clean of baby drool before dipping it in a glass of ice water that had appeared out of nowhere. With his other hand, he spelled the bib around Severus’ neck and gently wiped the drool off the infant’s chin. “Open up, please, Severus, and sign me if this feels any better.”

Sev, who had been watching him inquisitively, opened his mouth at Harry’s bidding and waited patiently for something to happen. After a moment, he felt a nice, cold fingertip begin to massage his lower gums. The unpleasant sensation retreated instantly! Sev couldn’t suppress his squeal of delight. He signed ‘yes’ immediately, bouncing excitedly in Harry’s lap.

“Oh, yes…” Harry chuckled wryly, feeling a tell-tale lump just beneath his fingertip, “Your teething days have officially begun, my son. Officially begun…”

How absolutely wonderful! Harry sighed.

After cleaning up breakfast, he retrieved one of the teething toys Ginny bought yesterday from the ice box and gave it to Sev. It was shaped like a rather large snitch, except for the fact that it was flat—so as it could fit in a baby’s mouth—and filled with water. A handful of snitch cartoons flitted around on its see-through surface. Out of impulse, Harry caught one between his fingers and his eyes widened in pleasant surprise when a rather enjoyable tingling sensation ran up his fingers and into his hand. When he pinched a non-snitch section of the teething toy, he felt no such sensation. Brilliant! He thought. It’s a game!

“Hey, Sev,” The baby glanced up at him curiously, poised to stuff the toy in his mouth. “If you manage to catch one of those snitches in between your gums, you’ll get a rather pleasant surprise.” He smirked. “Good luck!” With that, he busied himself with putting on his cloak and making sure Sev had everything he would need in his diaper bag, including the baby sling and a miniature version of Harry’s cloak. Ginny had a wicked sense of humor—that was for sure. Thankfully, Sev was too busy trying to bite down on the mini snitches to notice their cloaks’ uncanny resemblance. Finally, Harry picked the teething baby up, placed him facing outward in his carrier, and left their quarters for the day.

Their first stop had been the Entrance Hall, where Dumbledore posted everyone’s reconstruction assignments for the day. Harry had been a bit dismayed when he found his name wasn’t on the enchanted sheet. Dumbledore probably thought he needed a bit more of adjusting time with Severus.

“Haweh?” Sev cried, taking the nice, cold toy out of his mouth for a moment.

“Yeah?”

“Mo ooo?” He looked up at his caretaker curiously.

“Nope, it doesn’t look like my name is anywhere on here.”

Sev made a small, disappointed sound and thought for a second. Then he brightened up suddenly and pointed to the paper. “Ma-goo-goo.”

“You want to go and help Professor McGonagall?”

“Uh-huh!”

Harry shrugged. “That sounds like a good idea.” Severus nodded and stuck the teething snitch back in his mouth, squealing in delight at having caught one in between his gums.

The teenager had just been about to head off in her direction when they had run into the Headmaster himself. After a pleasant greeting to the both of them, Dumbledore then proceeded to ask him if he thought about accepting the Defense Against the Dark Arts teaching position. Harry replied that he would be rather willing to accept it if the Headmaster agreed to have Remus teach for the two days he had to be off at Auror’s training. He argued that the compromise would work to everyone’s advantage because then he would have someone to help Ginny care for Sev while he was away, the students would have a chance get used to a teacher who was going to replace him after he graduated from Auror training, and Dumbledore would no longer have to look for a new Defense teacher after Harry became a full-time Auror. Dumbledore, for his part, looked simply delighted, as if everything had gone according to plan. Both Harry and Sev rolled their eyes behind his back.

“Now if you’ll excuse me, gentlemen. I have a few things to think up, arrangements to make, and two new professors to add to the payroll!” Dumbledore beamed, scurrying back the way he came.

“Wait, Professor! What’s my rebuilding assignment for the day?” Harry called back.

“Oh! Oh, yes. I apologize. I had thought you and Severus needed a bit more time to settle in.” Dumbledore retraced his steps and looked back at the enchanted parchment on the wall. “Well…a majority of us were able to finish up the dungeons, Great Hall, and the first and second floors.” He muttered, stroking his long beard, “Professor Slughorn is putting some finishing touches on the dungeons and the ground floor, Professors McGonagall and Pomfrey completed the first and second floors this morning and are helping Professors Flitwick and Sinistra with the third, fifth, and sixth floors later today. There’s not much damage to those three, you see.” He was silent for a moment. “I know what you can do!” He took his wand and flicked it at the parchment. “You can be in charge of the fourth floor. There are quarters directly across the hall from yours. That can become the Lupin family’s quarters. You may design it and fix it up however you like, if you want.”

“That’d be great.” Harry nodded.

“Good.” The Headmaster smiled. “I’m afraid the rest of the fourth floor suffered some extensive damage, but don’t worry—the rest of the staff will go in and out throughout the next week and half to assist you with its repairs.” He turned back to the parchment and pointed at something else. “You can also be in charge of the seventh floor. I’m afraid that too suffered some extensive damage. I have the feeling, though, you know more about its extent than I do.” He waved his wand and a map of the dungeons appeared. “Severus’ quarters have not yet been cleaned out. If you could…” He glanced at the scowling baby in Harry’s arms and cleared his throat, “…handle that situation. I’m afraid we had to collapse the hallway that previously led to the entrance to his quarters because the ground above it had become rather unstable. However, his quarters have an alternative entrance through his office which is accessible through the Slytherin common room. I trust you know where that is and how to get in?”

Harry inclined his head and Sev looked up at him in surprise.

“Excellent!” Dumbledore beamed. “Once you get finished with all that, I’m sure Professors Hagrid and Sprout wouldn’t mind help fixing up the rest of the grounds.” He nodded amicably at them and began heading towards his office once again. “Plus, I hear there’s talk of a memorial being set up somewhere on the grounds. Do consider being part of the planning committee if you’re interested. Have a good day!” He waved at them before disappearing around the corner.

Harry watched him go and sighed. Although the man could be incredibly infuriating at times, Harry realized he didn’t really hate Dumbledore. He didn’t trust him anymore—that was for certain. Yet he didn’t hate him.

He turned back to his charge. “So what do you think, Sev? Shall we tackle Remus’ quarters, the rest of the fourth floor, the seventh floor, or…your quarters first?”

Both teenager and infant became rather quiet.

Two days ago, Severus would’ve replied to that question instantly. He would’ve wanted to go to his quarters and he would’ve tried every trick in the book to stay there.

Now, however…

Now Severus wasn’t so sure he even wanted to go back there.

Closing his eyes, Sev saw images of his quarters flash in his mind. They were dark, damp, cold, and quiet. They also smelled funny, by Severus’ recollection. Everything was green in his quarters…or black. There weren’t that many lamps in there either. Whatever lamps he did have were green. The shadows liked lingering in the corners of the room and floating about the walls like black ghosts. The walls were a dungeon gray and they boxed him in like a prisoner. Snakes and skulls were everywhere, engraved on everything. Their mouths lay agape, ready to devour him at any given moment. They watched him constantly with their sightless eyes and empty eye sockets.

“Ah!” Sev whined, throwing down his teething toy and making a ‘turn over’ sign with his hands. He then frantically drew a circle in the air, trying to convey his message as clearly and as quickly as he could. For a moment, Potter didn’t move, and Sev feared the teen might not know what he was asking for. His fears were laid to rest, though, when he felt his caretaker lift him out of the carrier.

As soon as Severus’ feet cleared the carrier, Harry willed it off him and watched as it dropped onto the floor. He then carefully tucked the baby into his arms, facing his chest. The instant Sev was close enough to him, he grabbed Harry’s robes in a vice-like grip and buried his face in them, attaching himself to Harry’s side like a baby monkey.

“Hey, hey!” Harry murmured soothingly into Sev’s ear, rubbing the infant’s back and rocking him back and forth. “What’s going on here, eh? What’s scared you?” Harry was slowly beginning to recognize patterns in Sev’s behavior, attributing them to specific emotional responses. This particular clingy response corresponded to Sev having been spooked by something or someone. Harry realized last night, as he was thinking about it in bed, that Sev drew comfort from listening to his heartbeat. Whenever the infant felt scared or angry or any kind of negative emotion, he seemed to solve his own problems by sticking his ear to Harry’s chest and listening to his heart beating or his voice rumbling.

“Do you not want to go back and visit your old quarters, Sev?” The baby shook his head into his robes. “You wanted to go back there just the day before last.” Harry reasoned.

Sev’s whine grated Harry’s ears this time as the infant tightened his grip on his robes and began sucking his thumb. Harry sighed. “Sev…you have to work with me here, cub.” Harry bid the baby carrier to pick itself up off the floor, shrink, and then place itself inside Sev’s diaper bag as Harry adjusted the baby in his arms. “Why, exactly, do you not want to go back there now when you did want to go back just two days ago?”

Harry felt Sev sigh against his chest before the infant pushed up. Meeting Harry’s eye, Sev signed him several words: ‘no’, ‘light’, ‘cold’, and ‘quiet’.

“Dark, cold, and quiet?” Sev nodded. “I thought that’s what you liked?” Harry asked, genuinely curious as to Severus’ sudden change of preference. In response, Sev merely placed his ear back on Harry’s chest and tried to pull Harry’s robes over himself.

Understanding suddenly lit Harry’s eyes. “Ah, I see…” He smiled and headed out to the Entrance Hall steps, calling Sev’s teething snitch back to him as he went. “Now we know how the other half lives. Is that it?” The infant nodded into his robes. “And we don’t want to give that up now…do we?” Sev shook his head. Harry sighed and sat down on the steps, cradling Severus in his lap and basking in the morning sunshine. “Sev, we’re only going there to pack your things away. I would’ve thought you wouldn’t want them packed away. I would’ve thought you were holding out for an antidote.”

Severus didn’t respond to that. He didn’t want to respond to that. Well…truth be told, he didn’t know how to respond to that. Half of him really was holding out for an antidote to the aging potion. The thing was, though, that percentage had actually shrunk in the past two days he’d been living with Harry. The first day he’d been de-aged, he lived in the infirmary, with Poppy, Minerva, and Albus as his caretakers. They mostly left him by himself in his crib and spoke down to him in that high-pitched baby voice that grated on his nerves. That first day had Severus hoping, dreaming, and wishing—with every fiber of his being—for either an antidote or a Death Eater to come in and kill him. There was no way he wanted to stay like this forever. It was going to drive him insane! He’d have rather died.

His opinion changed dramatically when Harry and Ginny entered the picture. The two teens understood him in more ways than one. Harry knew exactly what he needed when he needed it, and he provided it to the best of his abilities. Ginny strove to make him as comfortable as possible, to make him feel as normal as possible. He drew comfort from both of them. Last night, as he lay wrapped in Harry’s embrace, with Ginny’s hand running through his hair, Severus felt loved for the first time in his life. He realized that now. Never in his first childhood had he experienced that feeling. Never in his life had he known what that felt like! Perhaps that’s why it had taken him a while to come to that realization. Harry and Ginny also oozed safety, affection, fun, home, and light. They oozed light! For someone who’d been entrenched in the darkness for so long, being embraced by the light came as a welcome relief. Severus felt like a drowning man who’d been mercifully given a breath of fresh air; and he wanted more—more, more, more, more, and more! Severus never wanted to go back to drowning again!

So was he really holding out for an antidote? Perhaps, on sheer principle. Yet Severus was beginning to realize the opportunity he had given himself. He had wanted to kill himself in the beginning. He’d thought he condemned himself to a fate worse than death after the mix-up. But maybe…he hadn’t. Maybe he’d gifted himself with a fate better than death instead. He’d given himself a second chance; an opportunity to start over. He’d accidentally presented himself with a clean slate—a new life!

The thought boggled the mind!  

Harry sighed at Sev’s non-response and began to reason with him. “How about this—we do your old quarters first because it’ll be the hardest and the one we both don’t really want to do, it seems. That way, we can get it over with and forget about it for the meantime. But…we’ll wait until Ginny gets here to do it. That way, we can all go together, and you can stay with her while I make quick work of packing your things. How’s that sound to you?” Sev nodded reluctantly, sticking his thumb in his mouth

Harry smiled, stood up, and began making his way to the Clock Tower Courtyard and the covered bridge that would lead to the grounds. “Come on then. We’ll walk about for a bit; enjoy this morning sunshine. If Ginny’s still not here in an hour or two, we’ll cover the fourth floor until she gets here. Eh?” Sev didn’t reply, merely burrowing into Harry’s robes.

The teenager stopped for a moment on the Clock Tower steps to place Severus’ coat on him. Thankfully, the infant was once again too busy chewing on his now-clean teething toy to notice the Gryffindor-colored cloak Harry was placing around his shoulders. Harry wrapped the baby sling around his own shoulders and sat Sev within its folds, allowing him quite a bit of room to move around. He then set out for his morning walk at a rather leisurely pace.

“You want to sit up on my shoulders, Sev?” Harry asked out of impulse once they had crossed the covered bridge. Severus immediately adopted an interested look. “You’d be almost the height you used to be…maybe a bit taller.” The baby grinned up at him. “Shall I take that as a ‘yes’?” Sev merely reached his arms out, opening and closing his hands in plea. “And up we go!” Sev gasped and grabbed onto Harry’s hair instinctively once the teen placed him on his shoulders. “I’ve got you. I’ve got you. Relax. See? I’m holding you.”

The two made their way over to the moor beside the Quidditch pitch, where Harry could lie down on the grass and bask in the morning sun, while Sev could safely practice his crawling. Severus didn’t like the idea of getting off Harry’s shoulders very much. He liked sitting up here. He could see everything just where he was. However, when Harry suggested practicing his crawling, an evil thought crossed Sev’s mind and he smiled at the prospect. I wonder how big of an idiot I can make him look like. Suddenly, the thought of getting off Harry’s shoulders didn’t seem so bad anymore; not when Sev planned on making a complete fool out of Harry.

“Watch out for the holes around here, Sev. They’re hidden beneath the grass so they can come at you completely out of nowhere. And sometimes, they’re filled with—”

SPLAT!

Severus grabbed onto Harry’s hair as the teenager suddenly lurched forward roughly. Harry managed to get his balance, though, before the both of them toppled to the ground. “Oh, for the love of…” Harry pulled his trainer out of the pothole he just stepped into to find his shoe and lower trousers caked with mud.

Sev saw it and giggled. “Ehwww!” Holding onto Harry’s hair with one hand, Sev used the other to stick the teething snitch back in his mouth and his grin widened as he caught one in between his gums. “Ehwmmm, Hwahwa.” He giggled some more.

“Great. I’m glad you’re finding this highly amusing, Severus.” Harry scowled. The infant just laughed harder.

Harry found a nice, flat spot to settle down and laid a blanket on the long grass, setting Sev on his stomach before lying down on his back next to him. The mid-morning sun shone in his face and blinded him a bit, so Harry shut his eyes and just breathed in the lingering scent of the night. The cool summer breeze danced around him, making the soft emerald grass tickle his face.

No sooner had he began to relax and bask in the white magic around him, when something soft, squishy, and wet hit him square in the chest. Harry’s eyes flew open and he looked down to find the drool from Sev’s teething toy soaking his shirt. A glance at the baby revealed he had pushed himself up into a sitting position and was leaning on his arms, grinning back at him.

“What’s going on, Sev?” Harry asked, raising an eyebrow and casually brushing the teething toy off his shirt. “I thought you were going to practice crawling.”

Sev grinned at him, a mysterious glint in his eye. “Ooo,” He pointed at Harry, “Cwaaaaaaaaw…” Using his fingers, he spelled out C-R-A-W-L.

“Me?!” Harry looked confused. “I’m not the one who needs to learn how to crawl. It’s you, cub.”

Sev shook his head, signing ‘come here’ with his fingers. “Cwaaaaaaaaw.” He patted the spot right next to him on the blanket and signed the words ‘no’ and ‘understand’.

Harry looked utterly baffled. “You don’t understand? What don’t you understand, Sev?”

Sev frowned. “Cwaaaaaw!” He cried in what he knew to be his whiniest voice.

Harry’s expression immediately changed from confusion to sternness. “I don’t appreciate your tone, Severus.” He raised an eyebrow at the baby.

Sev’s irritation died down almost immediately. This was supposed to be a ‘fun’ joke, not a ‘get in trouble’ joke. “Cwaw, pea?” He asked in a politer tone, giving the teen his most pitiful face.

Harry sighed. “Alright. Okay, let’s see.” He pushed himself up and scooted over next to Sev, imitating his tripod sitting position. The blanket was a bit short, so the left half of Harry’s body rested on the grass. “Okay, push yourself up on your hands and knees first, cub. Hands and knees.” He demonstrated, and then waited patiently until Sev mirrored him. “Excellent. Now…right hand, left knee—lift, push forward, and…rest.” He demonstrated and then smiled at the curious infant. “There, see? Not that hard. Likewise, the same with the opposite sides: left hand, right knee—lift, push forward, and—“

SPLAT!

“Argh!”

Sev erupted into a fit of giggles. 

Harry pushed himself up using his clean hand and carefully lifted his left hand out of the pothole it just fell into. The mud made a disgusting gurgling sound as he pulled it out of its depths. Resting himself on his back on the blanket, Harry used his right hand to feel around his face and found the left half of his face was also caked in sludge. He sent an evil glare at the baby laughing hysterically beside him. “Oh, ha, ha! I’m highly amused.” He sneered, pushing himself up and taking his wand out of his pocket. “I knew there was something suspicious about that whole clueless display.” He muttered under his breath. Casting Aguamenti, and swearing through gritted teeth, Harry rinsed himself off before resuming his previous reclining position on the blanket.

He waited patiently the whole five minutes it took Sev to calm down before addressing the infant, “Since you so obviously meant for me to look a fool, and you so obviously succeeded, you can—obviously—relearn how to crawl all by your lonesome.” He crossed his arms over his chest and closed his eyes, sighing as he relaxed completely into the blanket beneath him. “Oh, and by the way,” he started, cracking an eye open to see if he had baby Severus’ attention. “If you ever want this back,” he waved the teething snitch so that Sev could see it clearly, “you’re going to have to come crawling back to get it.” He smirked.

Severus hit the blanket with his little fists and scowled at him.

That is completely unfair! I play a harmless joke and he takes my teething toy away! I thought Gryffindors were supposed to live by fairness and justice and all that. He paused. Or were those the Hufflepuffs? Sev shook his head and wondered at how he got off topic again. Regardless, he wanted his teething snitch back and he wanted it back now! He leaned forward until he lay flopped on his belly and reached for it. “Mime!”

Harry simply laid the toy on his stomach, crossed his arms over his chest, and shook his head. “Nope. Not until you get it.”

Sev pouted and looked at his teething snitch longingly. Harry looked so far away all of a sudden. He reached out again, as far as he could go. “Mmm—mmm—mmmime?” He opened and closed his little hand, stretching all his extremities to their limits. He didn’t even come close to reaching Harry, much worse his teether. 

Harry wisely didn’t comment this time, choosing to fold his hands behind his head and stare at the sky rather than the infant. He didn’t want Severus to feel more uncomfortable by scrutinizing him as he relearned this essential skill.

“Uh! Uh!” With his fingers still stretched out, Sev began kicking his feet and felt a jolt of exhilaration when he felt his body slide forward. “Mmmmipf. Mmmipf.” He kicked again, managed to nab a piece of the blanket, and push forward.

Success! He celebrated in his head. Perhaps I could slither over there. I am a snake after all. I just need to kick…again…Sev kicked his feet again, wiggled his stomach, and swiped his arms in front of his like he was performing a breaststroke. He felt his body inch forward and he giggled in delight.

Unfortunately, as Sev wiggled closer, Harry wiggled farther away. “Nope.” The teen shook his head, “You have to crawl over here, cub, not slither over.” Sev scowled at him and squirmed closer anyway. Harry merely squirmed farther away. “Crawl, cub. You want your teether? You have to crawl. That’s my deal.”

“Mime!” Sev cried sadly, reaching in vain for his snitch. His gums were beginning to irritate him again and he wanted to chew on his snitch! Whines of frustration began to escape him as he wiggled forward but Harry wiggled away. “Miiiiimmmmme!” Tears began leaking down and Sev sent Harry his most pitiful stare, signing ‘no’ and ‘can’ for Harry’s benefit.

Harry sighed. “Oh, don’t tell me that, cub!” he chided gently, propping himself up on one elbow. “Don’t tell me you can’t do it. Lots of people have been able to do it before you. You just want your teether now—that’s why crawling over here seems like a hopeless venture, because it’d take forever. Come now!” He reached over and brushed a few stray tears away with his thumb. “None of that now. I thought you weren’t a hatchling, eh?”

Hatchling?! I’m most certainly not! What a disgusting name! He frowned at his caretaker.

“Then why are you slithering over here like a snake, huh?” The frown quickly vanished from his face as Sev looked down to study his position. “Uh-huh. Exactly.” Harry removed the teether from his stomach and placed it on the blanket next to him. He then shifted his position to lie on his side, head propped up on an elbow, looking directly at the infant Snape. “Alright. Let’s go at it—chin up, cub. You want your teether, you’re going to have to work for it, just like everything else in life. No cheating. Now, come—on your knees. Push yourself up on your knees. That’s my cub. Here we go!”

It took Sev much effort, but he was finally able to push himself up onto his hands and knees.

“Attaboy! That’s it! Now…move your hand first if that’s easiest. Right hand first. Come now! Lift and…move forward. There! You’re doing it! Excellent!” Sev smiled at Harry praise. Moving his right hand wasn’t so bad. He managed to keep his balance the entire time. It was wicked! “Now…move one of your knees forward too, cub; just one of them. Just slide your knee forward, you don’t have to lift it—just slide.” Sev decided he wanted to move his left knee. He had to admit—sliding it was easier than lifting it. He managed to maintain his balance the entire time, as opposed to feeling like he was about to tip over if he lifted it. “There we go! That’s it! You just moved forward by crawling a bit. That’s how it’s done, cub! Now...your other hand and knee, eh?”

Left hand forward, right knee slide…right hand forward, left knee slide… “There we go! You’re doing it, Sev. You’re doing it!”…Left hand forward, right knee slide…right hand forward, left knee slide… “You’re moving, Sev! You’re moving like a pro!”…Left hand forward, right knee slide, right hand forward, left knee slide…”You’re teething snitch is right here, cub. Just one more set to go!”…Left hand forward, right knee slide, right hand forward, left knee slide!

When Sev’s little fist closed around his teething snitch, a jolt of exhilaration ran up his arm. He smiled up at Harry. “There now, you see?” The teen beamed, gathering Sev up into his arms and tucking him into his side. “You can do anything, so long as you put your mind to it, eh?” He felt Sev burrow closer and he wrapped an arm protectively around him. “Hard work and perseverance—they always win in the end. Cheaters and all those blokes that play dirty…they don’t feel like this.”

Sev bit into his teether and snuggled into Harry’s side for warmth. He had learned to crawl! He had actually learned how to crawl—all by himself! Severus had never felt so proud of himself in his entire life! Harry was right—cheaters really didn’t feel like this. He had cheated and played dirty nearly all of his last life. Never had he been able to attain this particular feeling of pride in his accomplishments, not even when he had gotten everything he wanted. He was beginning to think that old muggle saying was right—it really didn’t matter if you won or lost, it was how you played the game.

Sev stared up at the crisp, blue sky and allowed the morning sunshine to warm his face. Butterflies and bees flitted about, the wind waltzed around him like an invisible dancer, and a phantom tingling tickled his fingertips. Sev closed his eyes, breathed in the sweet aroma of the Scottish breeze, and tried to stretch out his senses like he did last night. He could hear a faint echo of the night music in the distance, but it was muted and floating away from him quickly. The tingling sensation of white magic wrapped around his little fingers only once before fleeing into the distance again. Regardless, Sev smiled softly to himself. He had felt it! He had reached out by himself and felt it—just like Harry did! Another wave of pride coursed through him.

“My, my, my, what have we got here?” They heard a familiar female voice drawl as a shadow descended over where they lay. Both Sev and Harry squinted up at the distinguishable silhouette above them. “Well…what are two strapping young men, such as yourselves, doing lying in the moor…by the river…under this gorgeous sky?” Ginny graced them both with a playful smile.

“Absolutely nothin’, love.” Harry smirked.

“Uh-huh.” Ginny rolled her eyes and flopped down next to Harry so that Sev now lay between them. Harry moved his arm from around Sev to around Ginny as his girlfriend snuggled into the infant’s side. “It’s a bit chilly, isn’t it, Sev? May I borrow some of your body warmth?” Ginny grinned, nuzzling Sev’s ear and running her fingers across his tummy.

Severus laughed despite himself. Ginny’s hair tickled his nose and ears as her fingers tickled his side. His childish giggles filled the air for a whole five minutes. “Ibby, ibby, immy…ha, ha, ha, ha…immy…”

“Hey! Let’s make Harry jealous, eh, love? Give me a morning kiss?” Ginny grinned at him, winked, gave Harry a sidelong glance, and then puckered her lips.

Sev peeked at Harry—who had an eyebrow raised at him over narrowed eyes—and smiled impishly. After another set of uncontrollable giggles, Sev puckered his own lips and stretched up to give Ginny a baby kiss right on the lips.

“Oh, there we go!” Ginny snickered and winked at him again. “Wow, Harry, he’s a better kisser than you!”

Harry looked indignant and Sev sniggered and blew raspberries at him, causing Ginny to dissolve into a fit of laughter. Sev noted offhandedly how even Ginny’s laughter sounded like music from heaven.

“Take a look over there, Sev,” Ginny started, pointing to somewhere in the sky, “at that cloud up there—the one in the middle. Do you see it?” He did. “I think it looks very much like an exact replica of Hogwarts, don’t you think, love?”

Sev scrunched up his face in contemplation. Well…it didn’t look like an exact replica, but it was close. If he turned his head a different way, though, Sev noted how it looked very much like a train. “Pweeeeehm.” He said, signing ‘train’.

“Harry?”

“That means ‘train’, Gin.”

“Oh! Really?” Ginny twisted her head to an absurd angle, spilling her fiery hair all over Severus’ face. The infant giggled and batted at the offending strands. “Oh, there it is! It’s a bit twisted, but if you lean over to the side you can see the Hogwarts Express. Yes, there we go! Nice catch, Sev!” The baby grinned at her praise and chewed on his teething snitch.

“You want to know what I spy up there?” Harry asked, smiling down at the two people he had his arm wrapped around.

“And what do you spy, Harry?” Ginny mirrored his smirk, twisting around to meet his eyes over Sev’s baby head. She could feel Harry running his fingers through her hair as she stroked Sev’s belly soothingly with her thumb.

“I see my guardian angel.” He murmured, his voice no higher than a whisper. “And she’s smiling down on us right now.”

Sev squinted as the sun illuminated one particular cloud, making it stand out from all the other clouds in the sky. It was shaped like an angel, he realized. This time, the resemblance was unmistakable. Perhaps it was a figment his imagination, perhaps not, but Sev could swear where the head of the angel should have been, he saw Lily Evans’ face. She was smiling down at him, her green eyes glowing with the light of the sun. She had eyes only for him and she looked happy.

Severus couldn’t help himself. He smiled back.

Sev burrowed deeper into his baby sling as they made their way into the dark, damp, and freezing cold dungeons. He sucked on his thumb and held his ear to Ginny’s chest, listening to a heartbeat so much like Harry’s.

“Where exactly is the Slytherin Common Room, Harry?” Ginny asked, holding Sev close as she felt his shivering.

“It’s behind a blank stretch of wall.” Harry answered distractedly.

“We’re surrounded by blank stretches of wall.”

“Yes, but it’s rather distinctive.” He stopped next to a torch and studied its stand closely for a second before heading down the corridor and making a right.

“And how exactly do you know where the Slytherin Common Room is?” Sev perked up at Ginny’s question. That was something he wanted to know as well. He peeked out of his carrier and studied Harry’s back as the teen led them through the underground maze.

“During my second year…” Harry glanced back at Ginny, “Your first year…During that whole Chamber of Secrets incident—”

“Tom Riddle’s diary.” Ginny recalled, “The first horcrux you destroyed.”

Horcrux? What’s a horcrux? Sev wondered idly.

Harry nodded and continued walking, “Yeah.”

“Do you honestly believe I could forget that, Harry?” Ginny raised an eyebrow.

“No…I suppose not.” Harry stopped to examine another torch stand before continuing on down a different corridor. “Anyway, Lockhart had just started his whole Dueling Club and Malfoy thought it’d be grand to shoot a snake at me.”

Sev shank back a bit in his sling. He recalled telling Malfoy to shoot a snake at Potter. A tingle of guilt prickled in his stomach.

“That’s when everyone found out you were a parselmouth.”

Harry smirked back at her, “Yeah. His great plan backfired on him spectacularly.”

Actually, it backfired on me spectacularly. Sev recalled. He had been looking forward to seeing Potter panic over the snake coming at him. He had been prepared to get rid of it, making himself look like a hero in front of his Slytherins. He even had an insult on the tip of his tongue that would’ve made Potter and all the non-Slytherins blush! Instead, he was taken aback when the exact opposite happened. Potter had approached the snake as if going to greet a friend, and then started speaking in parseltongue! Not only had the little unintentional display shocked everyone in the room—himself included—but it also made all the Slytherins green with envy and more than a little afraid of Potter—himself included, he was ashamed to say. Hearing the Dark Lord’s tongue from the mouth of the Golden Boy was enough to give him a new set of nightmares.

“Anyway, the entire school began to think I was the Heir of Slytherin on account I was a parseltongue, so I set myself to prove them wrong by trying to find out just who the Heir of Slytherin really was.”

“Me.”

“Gin…” Harry grimaced at the reminder.

“Sorry, sorry, go on.” Ginny shook her head, waving at him to continue.

“Well…Malfoy was strutting around the castle, hexing muggle-borns left and right and shouting ‘blood-traitor’, ‘half-breed’, and ‘mudblood’ at practically everyone who wasn’t Slytherin—”

“A disgusting, foul, vial little ferret, that one.” Ginny’s lip curled.

Harry laughed. “Yeah, that he is.” He nodded. “Anyway, Ron and I figured he had something to do with the whole Chamber of Secrets thing.”

“You thought he was the Heir of Slytherin.”

“Or at least knew who it was, yeah.” Harry stopped to study yet another torch stand before continuing on. “So Hermione came up with the idea of making Polyjuice Potion. She used one of Lockhart’s autographs to get permission to find the recipe in the Restricted Section, I ordered out ingredients from Diagon Alley under a pseudonym, and she spent an entire month brewing it in the second-floor girls’ lavatory.” He stopped, studied yet another torch stand, and continued on down the next corridor. “So I became Goyle, Ron became Crabbe, Malfoy found us and brought us down to the Slytherin Common Room, and then went on to insult your family and my mother and wish Hermione dead.”

“But he didn’t know who it was.” Ginny guessed.

Harry shook his head. “No, he didn’t. The only people who could get into the Chamber of Secrets at that point were you and me; and the both of us were associated with the soul of Tom Riddle in some way or another.”

To be associated with the soul of the Dark Lord! Severus frowned and shuddered. He couldn’t even bear thinking about such a thing, much worse being subjected to it. To even be touched by a piece of the soul of the darkest wizard of all time. The thought chilled him to the core. If that ever happened to Severus, he reckoned he’d never feel clean again!

Harry stopped yet again to examine another torch stand and Ginny snapped, “Harry! Why, pray tell, do you keep stopping to admire the torches?!”

“Ah!” Sev cried in agreement, sitting up fully in his sling to look at Harry.

“I said Slytherin’s Common Room is hidden behind a rather distinctive stretch of wall.” Harry explained, turning to look directly at the both of them. “The thing that makes it distinctive?” He pointed up at the torch stand attached to the wall, “The snakes point directly to it.” Ginny and Sev took a step closer to the stand. Sure enough, there was small snake carved into the base of the stand, where wood met wall. It was a tiny little serpent, barely detectable from a distance, and its head pointed directly down the corridor.

Bloody hell! Sev gasped internally, eyes widening with surprise. I’d never noticed that before! Since when had those been there?!

“I noticed them as Malfoy led us down this way five years ago.” Harry continued, turning and strolling back down the hallway, “I’m not sure many people know they’re there. Slytherins are most likely the only ones who come down here; and they’re shown the way down here as first years. It’s probably been years since someone’s genuinely used them to locate the Slytherin Common Room.” He began walking under the torches, pointing to the carved snakes. “See? This snake points forward… forward… forward… left… forward… forward… forward… right… right… and…here we are!” He stopped before a bare stone wall that Severus recognized as the entrance to the Slytherin common room! Harry walked over to one of the grey stones in the middle of the wall and dusted off a bit of dirt with his thumb. Glancing back at them, he beckoned them over with a crooked finger.

When Ginny stepped close enough, Severus found yet another aspect of the dungeons he had yet to discover—a small snake was carved into the very center of the center stone. Its head pointed directly back at them, its eyes bore into theirs. “This is the little guy the Slytherins talk to when they say the password for the common room.”

“It’s miniscule, Harry.” Ginny pointed out, “Barely noticeable if you’re not standing with your nose to the wall. I highly doubt most Slytherins know they’re talking to the snake when they recite the password. They probably think they’re merely talking to a stone wall.”

That’s what I thought, but obviously I was mistaken. Severus thought, leaning back against Ginny’s chest. How was it that I walked these halls for twenty-seven years and I never noticed these things, but Potter walks through once and catches every single one of them?!

Harry shrugged. “Just pointing it out.”

“So what’s the password, Mr. Observant?” Ginny asked with a raised eyebrow.

Harry looked clueless. “Um…let’s ask the snake.” He turned to the serpent’s carving and made a ghostly hissing sound that bounced off the dungeon walls.

Sev swallowed and shivered at the noise, shrinking back against Ginny’s chest and gripping the sling tightly in his fists. He felt Ginny wrap an arm protectively around him and run a comforting hand through his hair. “It’s just another language, Sev, nothing more. Like French…or being able to talk to dolphins.”

“I thought dolphins could understand English.” Harry commented offhandedly. “To freedom, to victory, to Harry Potter.” The wall slid aside and Ginny burst into laughter next to him.

“I imagine the password was changed rather recently. I can’t imagine any Slytherin actually reciting that as a password a month ago.”

“You gotta love Slughorn. He has such a sense of humor.” Harry replied, shaking his head.

“Harry, I don’t think Slughorn was trying to be funny.” Ginny smirked, stepping though the doorway. “I just think that’s how he is…Merlin’s beard! This place is gorgeous!” Ginny exclaimed as she took a good look around the Slytherin Common Room. “You can almost see the merpeople’s castle from here!” Her eyes widened at the windows. “Of course, the skulls overdo the motif terribly, but that’s nothing you can’t change. The furniture could do with a repainting, at least the tables do. There’s too much black in here. The couches, those can all stay black. The chairs…I think the chairs and the tables could do with a burgundy finish. We could move these couches over there. All the chandeliers and candelabras need a good polishing…”

As Ginny drawled on and on about how she wanted to redo the Slytherin Common Room, Sev buried himself back into his sling. The moment they entered the room, Sev felt as if he was being assaulted by a strange, dark energy. His body began shivering, his heart clenched, his stomach knotted up, and a strange voice began echoing in his ears, screaming at him from a distance. It didn’t sound human. Severus stuck his thumb in his mouth and began sucking on it with a vengeance. His left ear attached itself onto Ginny’s chest, listening for her comforting heartbeat, while his other hand covered his right ear, trying to block out all other sounds.

“Sev? Are you alright, love?” He heard Ginny ask. Her arms wrapped themselves around him protectively. 

Severus whined and shook his head, screwing his eyes shut and willing the dark feelings to go away. He felt on the verge of tears. “Mmmmmmm! Mmmmmm!” He felt the temperature in the room drop yet again. The voice screamed bloody murder in his ear. Out of impulse, he began to buck wildly in his sling, batting Ginny’s breasts and whining nonsense words. “Mmmmmmaaaaaaa! Babababa! MA! Baboooooo! BA!” Deciding to run on pure instinct, he abandoned his thumb and his ear, instead settling for grabbing onto Ginny’s breasts and mashing his face into them.

“Severus! Honey---” Ginny struggled to calm the panicky infant. “Baby, I’m not—” Then a thought occurred to her. She actually had tried something last night, but she wasn’t entirely sure if it had worked. Well…no time like the present to test that, isn’t there? Ginny shrugged. “Here goes nothing. Harry! Help me for a bit, would you?”

Harry was by her side almost immediately. “Is he alright?”

“I think it’s this room.” Ginny answered distractedly. “Here…just support him for a second, would you?” Harry did so.

“You want me to take him?”

“No! He wants to feed—”

“I have a bottle.” The teenager looked towards the pocket that housed the shrunken diaper bag.

“I have something better.” Ginny began unbuttoning the top half of her shirt and lifting her bra.

“Ginny!” Harry’s eyes widened and his gaze quickly shot towards the ceiling.

Ginny rolled her eyes. “Oh, don’t be such a prude!”

“I’m not!” Harry squeaked. “What are you doing?!”

“Remember those ingredients I borrowed from your stores last night? I brewed a potion with them when I got home and drank it before I went to sleep.” When she was ready, Ginny once again supported Sev with her own arms and began directing a nipple towards his mouth. “It was to help me lactate. Harry, for Merlin’s sake, stop staring at the ceiling! Do my boobs offend you?!”

“What?!” Harry’s eyes widened as they met hers once again. “No!” He squeaked, “No, of course not! I happen to like your boobs—breasts! I mean…I don’t like them…I mean, I do, but…Oh, for the love of…I just thought…I—I didn’t…” Harry inhaled sharply and turned his attention towards Severus. “Never mind.” He muttered, his face and ears turning bright red from embarrassment.

Ginny couldn’t help herself, she giggled at his discomfort. “You’re funny, Harry.” With that, she too turned her attention back to Severus. The baby had now stopped kicking and fussing, instead holding his mouth open and moving his head around to find the nipple. “Come on. I need to position his head correctly. His nose has to be free so he can breathe.”

Harry cleared his throat. “O—Okay.” He replied hoarsely. He took a wary glance at Ginny’s face, but she was too focused on getting Severus to latch on.

“Come on, sweetheart. A little higher…” Ginny murmured soothingly. Harry gently took hold of Sev’s head and guided it towards the nipple Ginny was holding out. “Come on, baby…come on…” Ginny felt her heart racing. Would this work? Would this not? Would Sev want to nurse? Would he not? What if she had completely misinterpreted his cues just now? How embarrassing would this be to the both of them?

Finally, after what seemed like forever, Sev latched onto her nipple properly and began sucking for all he was worth. Soon enough, she could feel milk begin to flow from her breast. “Oh, baby…” Ginny breathed a huge sigh of relief and felt tears spring to her eyes. She wrapped her arms around Severus, holding him as only a mother could, and began swaying him gently. Her eyes met Harry’s. “I…wanted to do this, Harry.” She breathed, giving him a watery smile. “I wanted to do this…so badly. I can’t explain it.” She looked down into Severus’ trusting eyes and the first of her tears trailed down her face. “Hi, sweetie.” She bit her lip and gave him a nervous smile. Sev cooed and smiled back at her around her nipple before taking another long drink. Ginny chuckled and sniffled at the same time. She turned back to her boyfriend. “I had to.” She murmured, swallowing in an effort to control her emotions. “I don’t know why. I just…did.”

Harry met her hazel eyes and saw something in them he hadn’t seen before. There was a yearning, a need in them that hadn’t been there earlier. Severus awoke something in her that put that yearning there. An instinct shone behind her hazel eyes and Harry had a very good idea of what that instinct was. “I think I do.” He whispered, giving her a gentle smile. Reaching up, he brushed a few of her stray tears away with his thumbs. Ginny smiled up at him and the two exchanged a short, sweet kiss. 

Pulling away, Ginny whispered a, “Thank you,” before taking a seat on one of the leather sofas. She began to hum quietly to the nursing Severus as her fingers ran soothingly through his soft baby hair.

In that moment, as he leaned onto one of the pillars and continued to watch her, Harry found himself falling in love with her all over again. Ginny was an amazing woman. Severus was not born to her, in fact he wasn’t even a real baby, yet she still treated him as if she had carried him to term and pushed him into the world; she still treated him as if he were her very own. She was nursing him, for Merlin’s sake! She was nursing her own former professor and headmaster! And she had wanted to do it! It was as if the past few years had not happened. She saw past the baby exterior to Severus Snape the man, but she also saw past Severus Snape the man to see Sev the infant. It was confusing and more than a little disconcerting, but she had found the strength to sort through it, and she had even been willing to do what she was doing right now.

Harry couldn’t love her more than he loved her right now.

“What do you suppose it was?” Ginny’s question broke through his thoughts and Harry refocused himself to find her staring up at him.

“I’m sorry?”

“Something about the room spooked Sev when we first came in.” Ginny elaborated. “That’s why he started fussing and everything just now. This is a comfort feed.” She adjusted Sev so that he was secure in his sling and firmly latched onto her breast before standing up and walking to the middle of the room. Sev’s eyes were closed so she wasn’t too worried about him having another panic attack, but she still kept her arms safely around him just in case.

“It’s most likely the dark magic surrounding this place.” Harry answered offhandedly as he stepped down the stairs and headed to the far side of the common room.

Ginny spun around to face him. “Dark Magic?!” She hissed in alarm.

“Not that kind of Dark Magic, love.” Harry replied placatingly. “Kind of a…dark energy, if you will.” He motioned towards the infant. “This version of Severus Snape seems to be more sensitive to the aura of the magic present in a place.”

“Oh.” Ginny nodded in realization. “Okay. That kind of dark magic.” She breathed a sigh of relief. “Why didn’t I sense the dark magic when we first walked in?”

“You probably did.” Harry replied, searching behind the tapestries for the entrance that led to the hallway containing Snape’s old office. “But you’ve had almost a year to learn how to deal with being able to sense magic. Sev…” Harry glanced at the nursing baby. “I don’t think he’s even aware he sensed magic when we first walked in. He probably thought he was being bombarded by an evil force. Hence, the panic attack.” He met Ginny’s eyes. “To you, though, it’d feel like what you’re used to when you typically sense dark magic.”

“We’ve all been surrounded by dark magic for most of this year.”

“Exactly! So to you, this feeling is almost normal. To Sev…who’s just awakened to the world of magical senses…it’s terrifying.”

“Like being smothered by evil.” Ginny murmured, recalling what it felt like the first time she sensed dark magic over a year ago. She looked down at the child in her arms. Severus still nursed hungrily, but his eyes were wide open now, and looking up at her with an expression so trusting Ginny felt an uncontrollable urge to move heaven and earth to make him feel safe. “Harry?”

“Uh-huh!” Harry cried triumphantly, flinging aside one of the tapestries to reveal a plain stone wall. “Found it!” He brushed some dust aside on one of the center stones, just like he did at the entrance to the common room, before addressing Ginny. “Yeah, love?”

“What if we change the magical aura of this room?” She suggested, giving Harry a pleading look. “Show Sev how to take the darkness and turn it into light.”

Harry glanced back at her, surprised and intrigued at the same time. “Ehm…Yeah, sure! Absolutely! You wanted to redesign the Slytherin Common Room anyway, didn’t you?” Ginny nodded and smiled. “First, we have to take care of Snape’s old quarters, though. I’ll make quick work of it. I promise.” With that, Harry turned back to the wall and began speaking to it in parseltongue.

Ginny glanced down at Severus worriedly. At Harry’s words, he began shivering once again and his sucking intensified. “Harry, why don’t Sev and I just stay out here, eh?”

Harry looked uncertain. “I don’t know. I need him to distinguish what he wants to bring to our quarters, what he wants to store, what he—”

Sev began fussing once again at Harry’s response. He unlatched from Ginny’s breast and began whining in distress.

“Hey, hey now, cub…” Harry approached the duo and began trying to soothe Sev in conjunction with Ginny. “I thought we went over this…” Sev’s cries merely intensified and he looked on the verge of tears.

Ginny’s arms tightened around the infant as she glared at her boyfriend. “Can’t you just use your judgment, Harry? He obviously feels extremely uncomfortable around anything with a dark aura, so just do something with the dark objects and decide what you want to do with the rest. He doesn’t want to go back in there, Harry!” She hissed, “He doesn’t even want to be here!”

“Alright, alright, I’ll do it alone.” Harry conceded. He placed a hand on Sev’s forehead and willed some calming energy into the child. A flash of white light passed from his hand to the infant’s forehead and Sev immediately began to relax. “Attaboy! That’s my cub.” The baby began to make cooing sounds and soon opened his mouth and started batting at Ginny’s breasts once more.

“Here you go, angel.” Ginny made sure he was latched on and feeding properly once more before turning back to her boyfriend. “Just…do what you have to do, Harry. We’ll stay out here and…” she looked around the Slytherin Common Room, an impish gleam in her eyes, “…redecorate.” She smirked.

Harry rolled his eyes and sighed. “Alright.” After passing one last calming wave to Sev, Harry turned, accessed the secret doorway, and disappeared from sight.

Ginny took a seat on one of the black easy chairs and waited patiently for Sev to stop nursing, talking to him all the while. She stared into the baby’s trusting, chocolate eyes as she explained his newfound ability to sense magical auras. “I suspect Harry hasn’t explained this to you yet.” She started. Sev gave her a curious look as he drank. “The exercise he was showing you last night—the one in which you ‘felt’ the white magic that surrounds the castle at night…” Sev blinked and nodded, as if encouraging her to go on. “Well…it seems to have awakened a sort of…sixth sense in you, if that makes sense.” The infant smiled at her and it was then that Ginny recognized the pun. She chuckled and ran a comforting hand through his hair. “Over a year ago, when Harry and I first got together, he showed me how to do that as well. We were in the middle of my parents’ field of wheat…it was twilight…” Ginny’s eyes glazed over as she recalled the happy memory, “…and he held my hand...”

“Close your eyes, Gin…” Harry whispered in her ear as she leaned back onto his strong chest, “Listen to the music…and feel the magic with me…”

“I’ve been sensing it ever since.” She looked down and met Severus’ eyes, “And now you are too.” A droplet of milk leaked down from the side of his mouth and Ginny wiped it away with her thumb. “But white magic, unfortunately, is not the only kind we can sense now.” The baby’s eyebrows furrowed. “Yes…we can sense dark magic, too.” Sev unlatched suddenly and gazed up at her with wide eyes.

“What is it, love?”

“Ah!” Sev pointed all around the room and then started tapping his free ear with his hand. “AH!”

“Oh, yes…” Ginny smirked. “The screaming, right?”

“Ah!” Sev signed ‘yes’.

“Yes, I remember finding that incredibly terrifying as well.” Ginny related, “It was like being haunted by a rather angry Peeves.” Sev smiled and tried to sit up. “So is that it? You done?” Ginny asked, supporting his back. Sev nodded and signed ‘full’. “Remember to try to pronounce it as well, Sev.”

“Foo.”

“Thank you.” Ginny made sure the sling was secure before getting up. “Anyway, all you need to do from now on is make some sort of indication that the dark magic is bothering you and Harry and I will try to help you as best we can. Alright, love?”

Sev nodded enthusiastically. He tapped his forehead and looked at Ginny questioningly. “Wa Haweh ooo?”

“What did he do?” Ginny translated. Sev nodded. “He just sent you some calming energy to help you relax and put a ward or two around you to help block out the darkness.”

“Mmm.” Sev shrugged and leaned back onto Ginny’s chest once more.

The teenager fixed up her clothes and then took out her wand. “Now…how about I show you how to make yourself feel better by turning the darkness…” she waved her wand and all the candles and lamps in the room instantly lit up, chasing away the eerie shadows, “…into light?” She bounced Severus on her hip lightly, drawing a shy smile from the infant. “How does that sound to you, eh?” Sev began chewing on his pointer finger and, with a bashful smile, nodded against her chest. 

“Excellent!” She moved towards one of the windows that looked out into the Black Lake. “First and foremost—do you need help burping, or can you do well on your own?”

As if in response to her question, Sev heard his body release a rather big burp.

“Okay! That answers that.” Ginny chuckled, pulling up next to the window. “Oh…I think I can see the merpeople’s castle from here. Can you?”

Sev smiled as he pushed himself up against her chest and looked out the underwater window. “Uh-uh!” He shook his head.

“Are you sure?” Ginny asked playfully.

“Uh-huh!” Sev’s mirthful eyes mirrored hers.

“You’ve looked for it before, haven’t you?”

“Mm-hmm!”

“Yeah, I should’ve known.” Ginny chuckled. She then held a hand up against the glass, indicating Sev should do the same. “Come on, love. I want you to feel something with me.” Ginny stepped closer to the glass until Sev was able to reach up and rest a tiny hand next to hers. “Okay…” Ginny leaned in and nuzzled his ear, whispering softly. Sev smiled for it tickled a little. “Do you feel that, baby? That tingling on the tips of your fingers? Reach out, honey…just like Harry showed you last night…”

Sev leaned his head against Ginny’s chest and tried to stretch his senses like before. The steady heartbeat relaxed him, and he found his eyes drifting shut and the rest of his senses expanding out in a circle around him. Ever so slowly, he became aware of something playing across his fingertips. It seemed like it was coming through the green glass, from the lake just beyond. A tingling sensation, it felt like; not unlike the wind that rolled through his fingers last night.

“It’s white magic.” Ginny murmured into his soft baby hair. “It’s hard to detect, I know. Surrounded by all this darkness, it seems virtually impossible to be able to sense any white magic anywhere. But know this, love: there can be no dark without the light, and all the darkness in the universe cannot extinguish the light of a single candle.” Sev pushed up, removing his hand and his attention from the glass to meet Ginny’s eyes. “Even if there were no windows in this room, and we were surrounded by dark magic…there would still be light. You know where?” Sev inclined his head curiously. Ginny pointed to his little chest. “In here.” Sev looked down at her finger. She then pointed to his forehead. “And in here.” Sev looked up. After a moment, he grasped her finger in his little fist, brought it into his mouth, and began chewing on it.

“You remember what it felt like, don’t you?” Ginny continued, regardless of the finger chewing. “You remember what it felt like to be surrounded by white magic? To sense it everywhere, feel it in everything? Do you remember how absolutely amazing it felt to be immersed in it? How free and alive you were when Harry showed you how to sense it last night?”

Sev stopped chewing Ginny’s finger and settled for sucking on it instead. He did remember what it felt like. He did remember how amazing it was and how free and alive he felt, and how he positively loved being immersed in it. He remembered the sensation of white magic as it danced around him. He remembered taking his first real breath after drowning for so long. Severus gave Ginny the most serious look his baby face could muster and nodded.

“Then there’s your candle.” Ginny murmured with a smile. “It’s inside you!” She rubbed her nose against his baby nose, generating a fit of childish giggles from the infant. “All the darkness in this room would not be able to extinguish this candle.” Ginny pulled her finger out of his mouth and tapped him gently on the lips with it. She leaned her forehead against his and her hazel eyes met his chocolate browns. “And I want you to promise me something, love.” She whispered. “I want you to promise me that you’ll never let it.” She moved her hand down and laid it on his baby chest. “That you’ll keep this candle burning…‘til the end of your days.” She began backing up, “And promise me…that you’ll always try…to use your candle…” She stopped next to a dirty candelabra, “…to turn the darkness…” and reached a finger out, “…into light…” She touched the candleholder and, from her finger, a wave seemed to spread across the surface of the candelabra. Within seconds, what used to be a dirty, crusty candleholder was gleaming in its own candlelight and radiating a presence that felt white.

Sev’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Darkness fears the light. It is its vanquisher by default, unless the light allows itself to be put out.” Ginny commented before turning back to meet the infant’s gaze. “Promise me you’ll never let that happen, Sev. Ever.”

Severus pulled back and looked down at Ginny’s whole face—her flaming red her, her bright brown eyes—and, for a moment, he saw Lily.

“Promise me, Sev—whatever happens, you’ll stay with me.” Lily said, her bright green eyes gazing at him pleadingly. “I mean, I know you’re in Slytherin and everything, and they’re recruiting Death Eaters in your house like mad, but promise me, Sev! Promise me that you’ll stay with me; that you’ll stay in the light.” She grabbed both his hands and pulled him closer to her. They stood practically nose to nose now. Sev’s breath caught in his throat. “Promise me you won’t buy into that load of rubbish they’re feeding you in the dungeons. Promise me!” Her emerald eyes bore deep into his soul. “You told me it didn’t matter. Promise me it never will. Stay with me in the light, Sev.” Her grip on his hands intensified. “Promise you’ll stay with me.”

“I promise.”

“Meh pomeh.” Sev murmured, slipping his focus back into the present once more. And this time, I’m going to keep it…even if it kills me. He swore to himself.

Ginny beamed at him. “Thank you, love.” She brought him close and gave him a big kiss on the cheek. Severus giggled. “So! What do you say we…” she picked up her wand and showed it to Severus, meeting his gaze with an impish gleam in her eye, “…redecorate this room a little bit, eh?” She winked at the grinning infant and took off towards the entranceway, where she planned to start her overhaul.

Over the next hour and a half, Ginny—with Sev on her hip—sprinted from one end of the common room to the other, touching her wand to various pieces of furniture and decorations, redesigning them as she saw fit. Sev merely watched from his perch, eyes wide with fascination. Every time Ginny touched her wand to an object, not only did its color change, not only did it clean itself, but the energy radiating from it transformed from one that was stifling to one that was liberating. Ginny was quite literally turning the darkness into light! All the dark magic in the room was being converted to white magic right before his eyes!

By the time they were through, all the easy chairs were dark burgundy and arranged around the fireplace, all the couches remained black but gleamed with fresh polish, the desks shone with a new dark cherry finish, the niches that used to house skulls now housed depictions of mythological figures, creatures, and stories, the tapestries and carpets looked bright and new, the candleholders and chandeliers sparkled in their own candlelight, not a single grain of dust nor spot of grime lay in sight, and the newly constructed enchanted skylights bathed the room in the glorious light of day.

Ginny took a deep breath and spun around, admiring her work. “Well…what do you think, Sev? This place feels a lot better now, doesn’t it?” She smirked at the infant. Sev smiled around the finger he was chewing and nodded.

“Ah!” The infant freed his hands and signed ‘more’ and ‘light’.

“Oh, absolutely! Lots and lots and lots of more light!” She grinned, giving him another big kiss on the cheek. Sev giggled.

“Whoa! What happened here?!” Harry cried incredulously as he emerged from the hidden hallway that led to Snape’s old quarters.

“Isn’t it fabulous?!” Ginny grinned. “Severus and I redecorated. We thought the place could use a …lighter touch.” She winked at Sev, who laughed at her in return.

“Haweh!” Severus leaned over his sling and reached out for Harry in a universal request to be held.

“Yeah, just hold on a second, Sev. Please?” The baby leaned back against Ginny’s chest as Harry took out three shrunken boxes from his pocket. “Alright. Your quarters are entirely packed up. There’s nothing left in there except dust and cobwebs.” He held up a box in his left hand. “This stuff is full of fundamentalist pure-blood propaganda which I think is completely inappropriate for anyone to own unless they’re running a wizarding historical museum.”

Sev blushed furiously and ducked back into his sling. “Harry!” Ginny hissed, glaring at her boyfriend.

Harry took a deep breath and softened his voice. “Sev…” He started gently, approaching Ginny with care. “I didn’t mean for it to sound like that, cub. Come on…” He peeked in and found Severus looking up at him sadly. Ever so slowly, the infant signed the words ‘no’, ‘like’, ‘no’, and ‘more’.

“He doesn’t believe in that stuff anymore, Harry!”

“I know! I know, Gin. I just…” Harry turned away and sighed. After a moment, he turned back and met their eyes. “I’m sorry. I didn’t…have the best time in the world in there. Maybe…I think it was a good thing you guys didn’t come along. It was quite…dark.” Sev began fussing beneath them and they found him burying his face into the side of the sling.

“He was nice and happy before you came along and started yelling at him, Harry!” Ginny whispered heatedly.

“I didn’t yell at him!” Harry retorted.

“You did too!”

“No, I—” Harry stopped abruptly, pulled away, and ran a weary hand down his face. “Sev,” he addressed the infant softly, “look at me, cub. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for it to come out like that. All I wanted to say was that the stuff in this box has an incredibly dark aura and I think it’s best if we just went ahead and got rid of it all, alright? I mean…it’s not you anymore. What’s the point in keeping it, eh?” He turned back to Ginny and whispered, “Most of this stuff is from the seventies, from when he used to be in school and Riddle was recruiting in his house. I found something Lucius Malfoy gave him among his things.” He turned back to the infant. “What do you say, cub?”

Sev signed ‘no’ and ‘more’ over and over again.

“So it’s alright if we burn it now?”

The infant signed ‘yes’ without looking at him.

“Would you like to watch?” Harry murmured in his ear. The baby could hear a slight smile in his voice. “Or even better…would you like to do it?”

Severus’ eyes flew open at the implication. Ever so slowly, he shifted in sling to look up at the pair of them. Both Harry’s and Ginny’s eyes shone with mirth. “You just spend the last hour and a half watching Ginny turn the darkness into light. Why don’t you work a little magic yourself, eh?”

Sev’s eyes widened. “Meh?”

Harry smirked. “Yeah, you!”

Severus didn’t know what to say. He didn’t know how to do what Ginny did—how to magically transform something from radiating darkness to radiating light. In his mind, that used to be impossible! An object was either inherently dark or inherently light and it was made that way and couldn’t change. Well…a light object could become a dark object, but never the other way around. Hot always moved to cold and never vice versa. Of course…that conviction now rivaled fiercely against his new experiences that dictated a dark object can indeed be made light again. Ginny just proved that to him. However…the task in and of itself sounded incredibly hard. Severus didn’t know if he could do it.

Harry correctly interpreted his hesitant look. “Come on, cub. It’s not too hard. You and I were doing it in your mind just…yesterday, wasn’t it?” He turned to Ginny for confirmation.

Doing something in my mind is entirely different from doing something in the real world, Potter! Sev rolled his eyes internally.

“Are you sure your mind is entirely separate from the real world?” Harry asked with a raised eyebrow.

Sev paused abruptly, turning to Harry with wide eyes. Did he just hear me?!

If he did, the teenager gave no indication. “Come on, cub. I’ll help you light this pile of rubbish up.” He gave the offensive box a small shake. “Let’s watch it burn with sweet satisfaction, shall we?”

Harry pocketed the two other boxes before moving to lift Severus out of his baby sling. The infant gripped his robes tightly as Harry made his way to the ornate, newly redesigned fireplace. “Hey! I like the new design, you two! It’s better than the old one.” He jiggled Sev playfully. “Skulls are so overrated, don’t you think? Hey, it’s Remus!” Sev looked at him curiously and Harry pointed to one of the newly-carved figures directly over the hearth. “Remus and his brother Romulus—the founders of Rome. They were raised by a she-wolf, you know.” Sev sniggered around the finger he was now chewing. “The man was aptly named.”

Harry crouched down next to the empty hearth and placed the box—which radiated with dark energy, Sev now realized—at the center of a pile of dried wood. He then adjusted his position until he sat cross-legged on the floor with Sev in his lap. Harry scooted back until they were a safe distance from the hearth.

“Alright…” Sev tipped his head back to look up at the teenager behind him. “Okay, cub, this is going to go just like yesterday, only this time it’ll be out in the real world and not only in your mind.” Harry tapped the back of Sev’s head gently. “Look back the hearth, Sev. We’re going to do a little meditation exercise. Are you paying attention?”

Sev turned back and glared at the little black box in the fireplace, signing ‘yes’.

“Alright, child…” Harry’s voice had taken on a more calming note, one that Severus remembered from the trip into his mind yesterday. Despite his unwillingness to do so, Sev found himself relaxing at the sound. “Close your eyes and hold out your hand…” Sev’s eyes drifted shut and he melted back into Harry’s strong chest. His hand held itself out of its own accord. He barely noticed. “You know what to say. Come…” Sev felt Harry cup his large hand under his tiny one. “…say it with me.” 

“This is my past.” This is my past.
“This is not my fault.” This is not my fault.
“I am no longer this person.” I am no longer this person.
“I have atoned for these sins.” I have atoned for these sins.
“Now it’s time to move on.” Now it’s time to move on.

Sev repeated it over and over in his head like a mantra, each time saying it with more conviction. Finally, after what seemed like forever, he felt his fingertips begin to tingle with the familiar sensation of white magic. “Alright, I’m going to give you a little boost now, okay?” Harry warned right before Sev felt the tingle intensify around his fingers, palm, and wrists. Soon enough, Sev felt like he was holding a cool fireball in the palm of his hand. His nerves buzzed at the feeling of light.

“Okay, now visualize the box in the hearth in front of you.” An exact image of the box flashed in Sev’s mind. The dark aura floated around it like a sinister halo. “Now hold out your hand…” Sev felt Harry direct his hand so that his palm pointed towards the evil box. “And…” Sev’s heart raced with anticipation. “Release!”

Severus felt the cool fireball jump from his hand towards the dark box with such a ferocity he flew back into Harry’s chest from the backlash.

“Whoa!” Harry exclaimed, clearly amused. A sharp crack resounded from somewhere close, startling Severus’ eyes open. “You alright, cub?” Harry straightened him up once again and laid a hand on his chest for support. “Check it out, Sev.” He gestured towards the fireplace. Severus shifted to find the box of his former possessions burning amidst the flaming wood. He could feel its black aura slowly begin to turn white.

Sev looked up at Harry curiously. “Meh?” He asked, pointing to his little chest.

“That was all you.” Harry nodded. “Except for the boost, of course. That was me.” He ran a hand through the infant’s soft hair and turned back towards the hearth. Moments later, Sev did so as well. “I’ll teach you how to do that more and more as you get bigger.” He murmured in the baby’s ear. “Soon enough, you’ll be as good as Ginny! Secret—she’s better than me.” Sev smirked internally.

Baby Snape then gave his full attention to the burning box in the fireplace. He knew what Harry put in there—his posters, pictures, books, newspaper clippings, buttons, pamphlets, papers, and everything he possessed that advocated a pure-blood first society. He had collected them long ago, when he was a young and stupid teenager obsessed with power, prestige, and pretending to be something he was not. He had wanted to get rid of them all after Lily’s death, but Dumbledore had convinced him otherwise, telling him he would need them when the Dark Lord rose to power again. Severus had been reluctant to believe that was going to be the case, but had done what the old man asked anyway. Sure enough, he had to hang them all up again when the Dark Lord appointed him Headmaster and made it necessary for all the Death Eaters in the school to hold weekly meetings in his quarters. He had hated it with a passion!

Now all that stuff was finally burning to a crisp before him. Severus couldn’t feel more liberated than he did now. Finally, after all these years, those hateful reminders of his youthful indiscretions could be banished into oblivion. He was never going to make the same mistakes again.

“This box is full of stuff in the gray area.” He heard Harry say behind him. Sev only paid him half a mind. His focus was still mostly on his burning past. “About ninety-five percent of it is just books and objects that have something to do with the Dark Arts. They’re pieces of information and I’m rather reluctant to get rid of it. So I’m putting this in my Gringotts vault for safe keeping. We can sort through it when you get bigger.” There was some shifting behind him and the sound of another small box being jingled. “This is mostly potions and ingredients from your stores. I’ll put them in my private lab in our quarters. Make use of them and all.”

Harry knew this was a big moment for Severus, so he kept himself quiet for a few minutes, allowing the infant to feel the satisfaction of watching his dark past burn in a blaze of light. After a lengthy moment of silence, Harry leaned in to murmur in the infant’s ear. “There’s one more thing I saved for our quarters, Severus. I have a feeling you’re going to want to keep it…rather close to you.” From his pocket he drew a simple picture frame that held a magical photo of Lily.

Severus completely turned his attention away from the fire and towards the picture frame Harry held out for him. He fingered the glass around her smiling face reverently, as if it was a picture of God he was touching. Severus swallowed the lump in his throat. Glancing up towards Harry, he loosely crossed his arms over his chest and the teenager nodded in understanding. Harry moved his supporting hand and placed the picture frame in its stead, allowing Severus to tighten his hold and hug the much-loved photo close to his heart.

A wave of white magic passed from the picture frame and into Severus’ soul. He felt it wrap around his body, calming his beating heart, loosening the knots in his stomach, and filling him with a sense of peace and contentment. Then…a vague yet familiar sweet scent soon began to tickle his nostrils; a musical, almost angelic voice started echoing in his ear.

Lily.

“You’re free now, Sev.”

Lily’s laugh sounded like music to his ears. Sev could see her in his mind’s eye—nine years old and beaming at him like an angel from heaven. The afternoon sun set her red hair ablaze and fit a halo atop her head. She stood in front of a field of rye.

“You’re free now, Sev. So come on! Run with me!” She turned in slow motion, flashing him a playful look before she disappeared behind the stalks of rye. “Chase me, Sev! Run with me!”

And he did.

Severus dove into the field and raced after her fiery hair, Lily’s magical voice reverberating around him as if it was the voice of the wind itself.

“Sing a song of sixpence,
A pocket full of rye;
Four and twenty blackbirds
Baked in a pie.
When the pie was opened,
The birds began to sing.
Now, wasn’t that a dainty dish
To set before the king?”

The redhead then stopped and turned, a grin still affixed upon her face. Sev gazed deeply into the pair of green eyes now watching him through the stalks of rye between them.

“You’re free…”

As Sev watched the black box burn before him, and felt its dark aura being overtaken by the light, he began to truly believe it.

“Ah! Harry, my boy! It’s been a while since I’ve seen you at our table to share a meal with us.” Slughorn commented with a smile from his place next to Dumbledore. “I was beginning to think you were going to hide out in your quarters forever.” He chuckled.

“No, no, sir. I don’t think I could do that indefinitely. I’d go stir crazy.” Harry replied with a smile, leading Ginny by the hand to the staff table where the summer residents regularly had lunch together. “Besides…it’s been busy few days.”

“As I imagine! As I imagine.” The jolly old Slytherin replied. Like a gentleman, Harry pulled out a seat for his girlfriend and waited for her to sit down. That’s when Slughorn spotted Ginny. “Oh, and Miss Weasley! How good to see you again!” He offered her his hand and she shook it with a polite smile.

“Professor Slughorn.” Ginny nodded.

“It still is Miss Weasley, right?” He asked, giving the pair of them a probing look. A smirk played at the corner of his lips.

Ginny chuckled nervously and nodded. “For at least another year. Yes, sir.”

“Sir, I hope you don’t mind me bringing Ginny to lunch.” Harry started as he sat down, looking directly at Dumbledore.

The headmaster held up a hand. “My dear boy, why would I mind?” He turned to Ginny with a gentle smile. “You’re welcome here at any time, Miss Weasley. Or at least…until we can fill the house tables up again.”

Ginny smiled and nodded. “Thank you, sir.”

“So I assume you have no plans to marry until you finish school then?” Slughorn continued.

The teenage girl nodded. “Yes. It’s a…personal decision.”

“One I respect completely.” Harry added.

“That’s very noble of the two of you.” McGonagall commented from Dumbledore’s other side. The teens smiled and nodded at her.

“Thanks, Nana.” Harry murmured, using his new nickname for her. McGonagall straightened ever so slightly—the only sign of her delight in Harry’s term of endearment.

“And this must be Severus!” Slughorn resumed, leaning into Trelawney’s personal space in an effort to glimpse inside the sling across Ginny’s chest.

“You want to sit up, Sev?” Ginny supported the infant’s back as Sev peeked over the side and eyeballed everyone at the table neutrally.

Slughorn then began to address the infant, “Oh, Severus, I am terribly sorry to hear of what happened a few days ago. It was quite an unfortunate accident, that.”

Unfortunate accident?! Are you saying you’d rather have me dead, Slughorn? Sev exchanged glances with both Harry and Ginny before scowling at the Potions Master.

“Professor, with all due respect, sir, don’t you mean it was a rather fortunate accident?” Ginny spoke up, “I mean, he was trying to kill himself. If he hadn’t drunk the wrong potion by accident, he’d be dead.”

“Oh!” Slughorn chuckled nervously. “Yes, yes, that’s what I meant, dear girl. I just worded it wrong. I’m very happy you’re alive, Severus.” He told the baby. “It’s just rather unfortunate you’re not your proper age anymore.” He smiled nervously at both Harry and Ginny. “However…I have even more unfortunate news for you, I’m afraid. Oh!” Slughorn paused to serve himself some of the food that had recently appeared. “You see…I have a copy of the potions recipe that Mr. Elson used and it appears he specifically designed this potion to not have an antidote. More than four-fifths of the active ingredients don’t have a counteragent.”

“That was probably his intention.” Dumbledore interjected, passing the mashed potatoes to Flitwick, “After all, he did forge those papers from the Ministry.”

“If he was re-aged, and his memory restored, it would mean some time in Azkaban for him.” McGonagall added, “In fact, that implies he had been planning this whole thing all along.”

“And everything went according to plan.” Dumbledore nodded. He eyed the two teenagers and the baby. “I trust the three of you read the paper this morning?” Both Harry and Ginny nodded as the girl adjusted Severus in his sling. The baby was now practically standing in his carrier as he looked around the table curiously. “Would you three like me to ask the kitchen for baby food? I can transfigure a high chair or small baby bowls and utensils—”

“Ah!” Sev cried, shaking his head. “Mo, mo, mo, mo, mo.” He made sure to watch his tone of voice this time, as Harry didn’t like it when he was rude. He turned to Ginny, “Immy! Mik, pea.” He signed ‘milk’, ‘hungry’, ‘milk’, and ‘please’.

Ginny smiled, proud at Sev’s improved use of baby sign language. “You want a bottle?”

Sev froze. He looked around at the table’s staring occupants and blushed furiously. The infant dove back down into his sling and shook his head where nobody else could see. He signed ‘milk’ again and then pointed to Ginny’s breasts. The tips of the baby’s ears flared red and he buried himself in the folds of the fabric.

Ginny smiled and rolled her eyes, wrapping her arms around Sev and giving him a big kiss on the cheek through the fabric of the sling. “Sev…it’s alright! There’s nothing to be embarrassed about.” Straightening up, she turned to Harry. “Harry, can you give me the instructions for the sling?”

Understanding dawned in Harry’s eyes and he dug through the diaper bag for the sling instructions. “You need any help?” He asked, handing it to her.

Ginny shook her head. “No, thank you. Just give me the shawl, just in case.”

Harry handed her the piece of clothing. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah.” She stood up and Harry, being a gentleman, stood up as well. Ginny looked around the table. “Will you excuse me for a minute?”

“Of course!” Dumbledore nodded. “Oh, and Miss Weasley, if you need to use the lavatory, you can use the staff room over there.” He gestured to the door on the right.

“Thank you, Headmaster.” And she disappeared behind the staff room door.

“Well…” Madame Pomfrey spoke up from the other side of Ginny’s chair. “What was that all about, Mr. Potter?” She asked curiously.

“Ginny seems to have a good rapport with Severus.” Dumbledore commented with a smile.

Harry grinned at the memory of the two of them earlier in the dungeons as he sat down. “Yes, they, uh…have their own special…understanding of each other, I guess.” He nodded, a spark in his eyes.

Dumbledore studied the new sparkle and secretly smiled at what he saw there. “Yes...they quite do.” He agreed.

“By the way, Mr. Potter, what are you feeding Severus?” Madame Pomfrey asked before taking a bit of roast beef.

That was a more comfortable question for Harry and he gave her a ready answer. “We give him some solid foods for at least one meal a day, usually dinner. Ginny found this formula in one of the parenting books from Diagon Alley that allows us to customize this rather disgusting-looking gruel so that it could taste rather…well, tasty. She gave the recipe to the house-elves in the kitchen and they send it to us in our rooms. Ehm…the rest of the time, he just drinks milk.” He picked up one of the new dishes on the table and scooped some onto Ginny’s plate. “We feed him when he asks for it. Ginny and I sort of agree that keeping a schedule at this age is not really a good idea.”

“Well, I think you should add some nutritional potions to that list, or at least add some to his milk.” The matron suggested sharply. “Formula isn’t actually as good as the baby companies make it to be. They say it’s full of nutrients and vitamins, but that’s all a load of rubbish! Children Severus’ physical age need mother’s milk. It’s the only thing custom-made for their bodies.”

“If I may,” Slughorn interjected, “Did you know there is actually a potion that can help you brew mother’s milk. Or rather…it would allow Miss Weasley to brew it.”

Harry nodded. “Yes, sir. Ginny knows all about it. She’s read up on…mothering books and books for adoptive mothers and, well…” He shrugged, “She’s brewed it, actually. That is actually what’s in these formula bottles right now.” He turned to Pomfrey, “With all due respect, Madame, I don’t really want to give Sev too many potions because he’s getting all the nutrition he needs.”

“How do you know that the mother’s milk brew has all the nutrients and vitamins Severus needs?” Madame Pomfrey asked, skeptical about a potion she’s never heard of. “Have you tested it? Has it been tested, Horace?” She asked the potions master sharply before turning her attention back to Harry just as quickly. “Mr. Potter, I must insist upon the nutritional potion; just to be absolutely sure you’re giving the boy everything he needs.”

“Madame Pomfrey, I assure you I am absolutely certain Severus is receiving proper nutrition. Ginny—”

“Unless Severus is being breast fed, Mr. Potter—”

“Severus is being breastfed, Madame Pomfrey.” Ginny interjected from across the room. All eyes turned to her in surprise, and Harry jumped to his feet to help her with her seat. He noticed Sev’s sling was now neatly tucked under her left arm, and the excess from the sling was wrapped around her left shoulder and arm, shielding the infant—and everything else—from view.

Madame Pomfrey’s eyes—as well as every else’s—widened in astonishment. The healer gasped as understanding dawned. “Oh! Oh…well…” A look of confusion crossed her face. “How?”

“Actually, there is a potion that would help a woman lactate as well.” Slughorn broke in, his voice still oozed with amazement. “It’s rather difficult to make.”

“I brewed it and took it last night.” Ginny replied matter-of-factly, turning her attention to her food and away from the awkward subject.

“Oh, my goodness! Ginny, dear, you didn’t have to do that.” McGonagall broke in.

“I know I didn’t have to, Professor. I wanted to. And, with all due respect, please don’t ask me why because, frankly, I don’t know.” She turned back to her plate and scooped up some mashed potatoes. “I just did.”

“You know, that says a lot about you, Ginny.” Dumbledore put in, his blue eyes twinkling at her with pride. “A lot.”

Ginny blushed. “So…how’s the rebuilding going so far? I’d love to help out in any way, as best I can. Professor Flitwick, would you mind showing me a few spells?” 

“Absolutely, Miss Weasley!’ The small man replied, thrilled at the prospect of teaching a student who had actually asked him to teach them something.

Thus, the conversation around the table drifted around more comfortable subjects rather than awkward topics. The staff congratulated Harry on his new position as Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor, and Ginny beamed at him when Dumbledore explained the situation and the split teaching position with Remus.

“You’re a good man, Harry.” She whispered, giving him a quick, discreet kiss.

The Headmaster told them he had gone and visited the Lupins soon after Harry’s deal, offering Remus a home for his family and a three-year part-time, subsequent full-time contract as the Defense Professor. He laughed as he related how Tonks seemed more excited about the proposition than Remus himself. Once the werewolf verbally agreed to the offer, she was all over him.

“She jumped from his arms, to the couch, to behind the couch; she ran around the house, she started dancing around with the baby, her hair flashed all the colors of the rainbow…”

Everyone at the table laughed at his tale. They all knew Tonks from personal experience and that sounded exactly like her.

“Poor Remus was rather flustered. He was happy, no doubt there. I think he was just about as happy as Nymphadora was, but no one expresses their happiness quite like Nymphadora.” The Headmaster chuckled. “I told them they can move in as soon as you get their quarters finished, Harry.” He nodded at the teenager.

“We’ll get their quarters finished by the end of today, sir.” Ginny answered for him, grinning excitedly at her boyfriend.

“Yes, I think you’d better.” Dumbledore chuckled. “Dora started packing immediately after she stopped running around the house. I suspect she’s about halfway done by now.” Harry and Ginny exchanged an amused glance. “Oh, and I do believe her mother is going to move in with them as well. Dora’s a bit worried about her on the count they just lost Ted.”

Ginny nodded. “Right. Yeah. We’ll be sure to add another room for her.”

Dumbledore then began asking everyone for suggestions on how he could keep the parents at bay. Word was bound to get out about how Remus was a werewolf and a few howlers and death threats regarding his status as a professor were practically guaranteed. After about ten to fifteen minutes of brainstorming, though, the Headmaster was virtually certain he would be able to pull it off. 

Ginny only asked Harry to help her with Severus once, as she shifted his sling to a different position to be able to burp him properly. By the time dessert and tea appeared at the table, all movement and noise from the sling ceased. Harry peeked over the side and smiled at what he saw.

“Is everything alright, Mr. Potter? Miss Weasley?” Madame Pomfrey asked in concern.

Ginny beamed at her. “Everything’s fine, Madame Pomfrey.” She let the excess fabric from the carrier drop, exposing the precious cargo inside the sling’s pocket. “He’s sleeping.” She whispered. The five-month-old was sound asleep inside the sling. The thumb of the right hand hung from his mouth, while his left hand gripped his teething snitch tightly.

“Aw…isn’t that precious?” Madame Pomfrey couldn’t help but grin at the sight. “Would you like me to take a picture?”

“Um…sure! Harry?” Her boyfriend handed their camera to the matron and she snapped a few photographs of the sleeping babe and the handsome couple. “Now remember, Mr. Potter, you and Severus have an appointment with me in the morning.” She reminded Harry sharply as she handed back the camera.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Miss Weasley, if you don’t mind, I’d like to see you tomorrow as well regarding your…ahem.”

Ginny was already nodding. “Yes, absolutely. I’d actually appreciate it. Would you like a sample of the brewed milk we made last night so you can test it yourself?”

Madame Pomfrey accepted a bottle and then promptly took her leave; but not before she took one last look at the adorable sleeping baby. “He really looks like an angel when he’s asleep.”

Harry snorted. “That he does. Mm-hmm! Appearances are quite deceiving…”

A few of the other teachers took their leaves soon after Pomfrey, but like her they couldn’t resist stopping next to Ginny and complimenting the two of them as they admired the slumbering bundle.

Soon enough, only Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Slughorn were left at the table with Harry, Ginny, and Sev.

“Harry, my boy,” Dumbledore started in a low voice, so as to not wake the baby, “I’ve been meaning to ask…How does Severus act around the pair of you? Or how does he act in general?”

Harry took a drink of tea and exchanged a glance with Ginny. “Well, Professor…” He thought for a moment, wondering how he was going to answer this. “Sev is…” He struggled to find a way to describe it so Ginny helped him out.

“One thing’s for sure—you can’t talk to him like you would talk to an infant.”

Harry nodded, gesturing towards his girlfriend. “Yes, absolutely. If you speak to him in that sort of high-pitched tone of voice, and treat him condescendingly…he’s not going to be very nice to you.”

“So you talk to him like an adult?” McGonagall interjected.

“Well…not really, Professor.” Ginny shook her head.

“I think it really depends on who is talking to him.” Harry added.

“Yeah. Definitely.” Ginny nodded. “When we went to Diagon Alley yesterday, Remus, Teddy, and Tonks were there with us. I noticed Severus…wouldn’t allow Remus and Tonks to talk to him in any way other than how they would speak to a thirty-eight year-old. If they didn’t, he would become quite rude.”

“And I would get on his case.” Harry added offhandedly.

“Teddy, though,” Ginny continued. “Teddy is Harry’s godson, Remus’ son, and he’s about two months old right now.” She added for Slughorn’s and McGonagall’s benefit. “Severus and Teddy got along splendidly yesterday.”

“Sev met a new friend.” Harry nodded.

“Exactly!”

“You know, if he grows up again, they’re going to do it together, and they’ll be in the same year at Hogwarts.”

“Wouldn’t that be wonderful?” Ginny smiled at her boyfriend before switching back to topic just as quickly. “Anyway, around Teddy, Severus is a normal five-month-old child. The high-pitched noises, the colors, the sounds—everything makes him laugh.”

“Around Ginny and I, Severus pretty much accepts just about any way we talk to him.” Harry continued, “Sometimes, when he’s in the mood, we talk to him like an infant. When he’s in a temper…” Ginny raised an eyebrow at him. “Well, it depends. If he’s in a temper and being rude or…childish, for want of a better word…I speak to him like a five-month-old who has done something wrong and needs correcting. If he’s in a temper and he looks like he wants me to speak to him in a mature way, I’ll kindly oblige.”

“In general, Harry and I tend to speak to him like an intelligent five-year-old, and it’s worked the best.” Ginny threw in and Harry agreed.

“I think what Professor Dumbledore’s trying to ask, though, is how he acts around the pair of you.” McGonagall broke in, “I mean, Professor Dumbledore, Madame Pomfrey, and I saw a few days ago that he can act very much like a wee lad when he’s upset. What about the other times?”

“His behavior in general.” Dumbledore clarified.

Harry and Ginny exchanged a look. “Well it…flutters from one end of the spectrum to the other. One minute, you could swear that you were talking to the old Severus Snape, that he was just wearing a glamour or something like that. The next minute, he could be spitting in your eye and be in dire need of a reprimand.”

“So in other words,” Ginny interrupted, “Sometimes it’s a five-month-old, sometimes it’s an intelligent five-year-old with limited communication skills, sometimes it’s a moody teenager, and sometimes it’s the old Professor Snape.”

“So it goes back and forth.” Slughorn summarized with a nod.

“I’m curious…have either of you noticed a bit of a change, yet?” Dumbledore asked.

Harry and Ginny traded concerned glances. “A change, Headmaster?”

“In addition to doing some intense research on the potion, its recipe, its ingredients, everything, Poppy, Minerva, Horace, and I have been doing a bit of digging into this Aidan Elson.” The Headmaster entwined his fingers together and hunched over the table conspiratorially. “Apparently, he was slated to come to Hogwarts, but his parents opted out in favor of teaching him at home.”

“That’s why nobody knows him.” Harry surmised.

“Precisely.” Dumbledore nodded. “It was rather unfortunate as well.”

“Why?”

“Because I believe his parents were abusive.” The old man replied with a frown. “How they abused him, I’m not entirely sure.”

“Could be all four kinds.” Harry interjected matter-of-factly, “His parents opted out of sending him to Hogwarts, so they probably didn’t want anyone finding out about it. It’s most likely some form of physical abuse or neglect. There’s also evidence of emotional abuse—just look at how the Prophet writes about this guy. If his parents aren’t guilty, Rita Skeeter sure is. As for sexual abuse, well…that’s the hardest to spot.”

Dumbledore gave Harry a sad and concerned look. “Yes…” He murmured, almost to himself. “Yes, it is.” Turning away, he took a deep breath before continuing. “Apparently, Elson’s two friends Leroy and Irene knew him from childhood. They lived next door and down the street from him, respectively. They were the only friends he ever made.”

“Mr. Elson created and patented the Elixir to Induce Euphoria when he was just sixteen years old.” McGonagall continued. “It became an instant success and the proceeds he received from that potion guaranteed him financial independence. He was also able to conduct his own research without requiring some form of financial aid for years.” She paused. “Unfortunately, that success was later followed by a nasty lawsuit. Some rich, pure-blooded, stuck-up old fool had consumed a large quantity of the potion and proceeded to humiliate himself in front of his peers.”

“So he sued Elson?!” Harry eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “For something he’d done to himself?!”

“Shows you how spiteful some people are.” Dumbledore commented.

“Indeed.” McGonagall agreed. “Needless to say, Elson was the losing party. He hired the wrong lawyers, said the wrong things, made the wrong decisions. Within a year, the plaintiff owned half his fortune as well as the rights to the Euphoria Elixir.”

“That is completely wrong!” Ginny complained indignantly.

McGonagall nodded and continued sadly, “Needless to say, things just went downhill from there. He managed to patent some minor potions that made him a few knuts and sickles, but nothing brought in the galleon like the Euphoria Elixir. His money started draining away, a few mishaps with some clients—notably Gringotts—brought him infamy. He became addicted to several substances. He lost respect with the Ministry, with the wizarding world in general, and with himself it seems.”

“So he planned an escape and pulled it off.” Harry filled in.

“Better than he expected, actually.” Slughorn interjected. Harry and Ginny turned to him, interested. “Albus, Minerva, and I paid a visit to the Nobles yesterday and we all had a nice chat. It was rather interesting, really. This boy was a virtual genius at potions. I would’ve wanted to get to know him had he come to—”

“Horace!” Dumbledore interrupted, “Please do try to stay on topic.”

“Oh! Oh, right! So sorry…” Slughorn cleared his throat, “The Nobles were kind enough to tell us his life story and give us all this information plus some bits and pieces of their own experience with the miniaturized potioneer.” He grinned at them. “Before he was oblivated, the Nobles had experiences very similar to yours. Little Aidan was an infant one minute, a middle-aged-man-in-a-child’s-body the next, and then he would be an infant again. Now here’s what they noticed—Aidan’s behavior as an infant by no means matched his behavior as an adult.”

Understanding dawned in Harry and Ginny’s eyes. “Ooooh! Is that what you mean by changes?” Harry asked them with a smile. He and Ginny exchanged an amused glance.

“Yes, that’s exactly what I meant.” Dumbledore nodded, his gaze moving back and forth between the teens. “You sound relieved.” He pointed out, raising an eyebrow in silent question.

“When you said ‘changes’, Headmaster, I think both our minds jumped to the worst case scenario.” Ginny chuckled nervously.

“Oh, I am terribly sorry!” Dumbledore smiled contritely. 

Harry then proceeded to tell them about his theory regarding the separation of Severus’ memories and his behavior.

“I’m sorry, Harry, but what, exactly, is a neural pathway?” Slughorn asked, confused. It appeared Dumbledore and McGonagall were not far from it as well.

“It’s a muggle medical term.” The teen answered. “It’s used to describe these passages that form in the brain between these tiny balls called neurons, which receive information…from your…ehm…brain’s…brain—” Harry took note of how the professors’ looks of confusion became more prominent. “Gin, how did you get it so quickly?”

“I’ve read muggle medical texts before.” She answered, taking a sip of tea. “When you explained it to me, all I needed was clarification, that’s all. I already pretty much knew what a neural pathway was.” She took pity on Harry upon hearing his dejected sigh, and turned to the professors.

“Neural pathways are just what they sound like—neural refers to your brain, and a pathway is a pathway.” She spilled a cup of tea onto a shallow plate and put it in the middle of the group. “When you’re born, this is what your brain looks like—absolutely no pathways whatsoever. Well…we’ll pretend that’s the case for simplification.” She took her wand and started poking the tea, leaving dots of dry spots in her wake. Now it looked like someone had just trekked through some mud, leaving tiny footprints across the plate. “When a person experiences an event (for example, a birthday party), emotions of some kind are guaranteed to be associated with said event (IE, happiness, excitement, joy, etc.). The association between life experience and emotion is what first forms this neural…trail.” She glanced at Harry and shrugged. “Everything associated with the event (IE, music, food, bright lights, the host house, etc.) becomes associated with the emotions (once again, joy, happiness, etc). As the years go on, and the same thing happens—birthday, happiness, birthday, happiness, birthday, happiness—then this trail…” She took her wand and connected the dots, leaving a nice, clean, dry pathway through the tea, “…becomes a pathway.” She glanced at the professors and was delighted to see understanding dawn. “Everything associated with the event (music, food, bright lights) becomes associated with the emotion (joy, happiness). In this example, food and happiness are connected, which could mean the child may develop a taste for comfort foods. Over time, as these trails become pathways, they become habit, they become behavior. Thus…neural pathways related to behavior!” She pocketed her wand and picked up a pastry. “Harry?”

“When Sev was de-aged, he was reset. The same thing goes for Aidan when he was de-aged.” Harry continued. “Physically, they are both five to six months old.”

“These neural pathways have not formed yet.” Dumbledore surmised.

“Exactly.” Harry nodded. “Their memories make no difference in their behavior. They haven’t been conditioned to act the way they used to yet.”

“But wouldn’t having the memories affect his behavior?” McGonagall asked.

“One would think so.” Harry nodded. “But look at it this way, Nana—you take a picture of a full slate, and then you stick that picture onto the top of a blank slate.” He said, trying to use examples to illustrate his point. “You’re going to see that copy of the full slate in front of you, but there’s a blank slate underneath; and what’s written on that blank slate is what truly matters in the long run.”

“So what you’re saying is that…essentially, someone took Severus Snape’s memories and injected them into this boy?” Slughorn asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying.” Harry nodded.

“It makes sense.” Dumbledore murmured, stroking his beard in thought. “A lot of it.”

“It’s like Severus is seeing things from somebody else’s life, that what I’m almost certain he feels like. Whether or not he realizes that remains to be seen. Now I’m not saying the memories won’t affect his behavior somewhat. I’m sure they will.” Harry put in.  

“They already have.” Ginny interjected.

“Yes, that’s true.” Harry nodded. “And we’ve had to deal with those things as they came. But I get the feeling that, had this been the older Severus Snape, it would’ve been ten times ten times ten times ten times harder to come to terms with his memories than it was for this cub.” He gestured towards the still-slumbering bundle.

“He’s right, you know.” McGonagall chuckled.

“He’s finding closure, Headmaster.” Harry continued. “I’m absolutely sure of it. In fact, I’ve been there every step of the way.”

“Closure? With his past, you mean?” Slughorn asked.

“Yes.” Harry nodded. “He’s taking all his skeletons out of the closet, laying his demons to rest.” He laid his arm across Ginny’s shoulders and stared wistfully at the sleeping child. “He’s very much like a phoenix, Headmaster, that’s dying and still on fire. He’ll need to burn up completely…” Harry reached down and lightly fingered the child’s soft hair, “…before he can be born again.”

“Leave his old life behind.” Dumbledore murmured,

“Exactly.” Harry replied, just above a whisper. His focus remained on the sleeping Severus.

Slughorn broke the tender moment. “Yes, well…it looks like the Nobles just skipped that whole part altogether and just oblivated the little scamp.”

“It’s a shame, that.” Harry replied, looking at Slughorn. “He would’ve enjoyed his life immensely if he remembered he was living it the second time around. He could’ve also been able to avoid making the same mistakes he made the first time.”

“The Nobles also said something else, Harry.” McGonagall added. “They said as time wore on, even though Aidan had his memories, he began to act more and more like the child than the adult.”

“They said the changes came rapidly after the first few days.” Dumbledore threw in.

“And I believe them.” Harry replied. “Because it’s happening to him.” He gestured towards Sev. “I mean, can you honestly tell me you see Severus Snape asking to be breastfed by anyone?” Everyone chuckled softly at the weak joke. “Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not fooled. Even though his behavior is changing, there are still his memories to deal with. We’ll go one step at a time, but it’s going to take lots of time and patience.” He paused. “I don’t want him to be oblivated like the other guy. To me, that’s running.” Harry set his jaw and made up his mind. “I want him to come to terms with his past and let it go; to accept that this is a second chance—a fate even better than the death he wished for himself. I want him to call this house a home.” Harry sighed and began studying the sleeping babe once again. “I want him to have what he deserves. I want him to be happy.”

Dumbledore studied Harry for a long moment, watching the teen’s eyes glaze over as he stared at the baby Severus. “His happiness brings yours along with it.”

Harry opened his mouth the say something, but closed it again, glancing at Ginny. His girlfriend grinned at him and pat him on the cheek playfully. “Not only his, Professor.” She told the Headmaster. “I assure you, not only his.”

Dumbledore chuckled, his eyes twinkling as he studied the pair of them. “We only ask that you keep us in the loop about what’s going on with Severus.”

Harry nodded. “Absolutely.”

“Yes…” Slughorn interjected, “In the meantime, we’ll try to investigate the situation further. Although…we’ve, uh…gone pretty far already, I think.”  

“The trail’s going cold, I’m afraid.” McGonagall said.

“Yes, it looks like Severus might just have to grow up again the old, fashioned way.” Dumbledore added.

“I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing, Professor.” Ginny replied, gazing down at the angelic face of the sleeping babe.

“Okay…you ready?” Harry asked, adjusting one last strap on the baby carrier. Severus—now awake—was sitting face forward in his carrier, leaning against Harry’s chest. He was once again chewing on his teething snitch as he studied the destruction before him.

Harry and Severus stood at one end of the fourth floor corridor that led to the library. It was one of the most heavily-damaged areas of the school. The hallway had clearly seen much activity during the battle. Burn marks covered the walls. The short columns that normally lined the sides of the hallway were shattered and the debris scattered across its middle. The bowl torches that usually sat atop the columns were split and spread throughout the ground, their ashes blackening the stone. The small chandelier that used to hang upon the rafters was now broken and spread all over the place. The lion statue that used to sit at the opposite end of the hall was chipped in several areas and missed a large portion of its head. And beyond this hallway were several others, all in the same state.

“We’re going to do about half the fourth floor.” Harry said. “Ginny and Professor Flitwick are at the other end of the castle, on the same floor, and they’ll be repairing it from their end.” He checked his pocket watch. “We’re to meet them in the middle, and I figure…if we stop for a minute to do the staircase over there…we should meet them in about ten to twenty minutes.” He stuffed the watch back in his pocket. “Right?”

Ten to twenty minutes? Ten to twenty minutes?! Are you mad, Potter?! No one can repair this amount of destruction in ten to twenty minutes! More like ten to twenty hours. Look at the state of this place! Severus didn’t believe anyone could repair this mess in twenty minutes, not even Dumbledore. Who does he think he is? Merlin? You have to repair one thing at a time, and that in itself takes a while. There’s at least forty pillars in every hallway, and then we’ll say two chandeliers each, plus the statues, and the windows, and the dirt, and the staircase he said we’re going to do… Sev did a quick calculation in his head. Yup…ten to twenty hours seems about right.

“Uh-uh!” He scowled over his shoulder and sign spelled ‘L-O-N-G’ and ‘T-I-M-E’.

“What do you mean it’d take a long time?” Harry asked incredulously. “I think ten to twenty minutes is a generous amount of time for all this.”

Sev shot him a confused look over his shoulder. What in Merlin’s name is he on about?! There’s no spell that can right all this destruction in twenty minutes! Severus wracked his brain for construction and repair spells. He definitely knew quite a few beyond Reparo, but none had the capability to do what Potter was thinking about doing.

“Oh, ye of little faith, Severus.” Harry commented with a smile, his eyes twinkling with mirth. Severus furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. “Clearly, you haven’t seen this kind of repair job done before, so you’re in for quite a treat.” He took out his wand and held it in front of the infant. “Allow me to remind you of how truly amazing magic…can be!”

Harry’s wand tip flared and Severus’ eyes widened in surprise. Just as quickly, it settled into a dull glow.

“Let’s take a walk, shall we?” Harry waved his wand in horizontal arc, and—much to Severus’ astonishment—all the debris in sight flew into the air and began reassembling themselves before their eyes.

What is Merlin’s name…?

Sev’s eyes couldn’t get any wider than they were right now. Pieces of rock, soot, ash, glass, metal, and wood revolved around him and Harry like planets around a sun before shooting out and reattaching themselves to whatever object they broke off from. Columns were pulling themselves together right before his eyes! Bowls were reassembling; ash swept itself up and piled into the separate torch bowls. Fires flared to life within the fully-mended torches. The chandelier repaired itself in midair, recalled all its mislaid candlesticks, spun around twice, and re-chained itself onto the rafters. Its lights then flared to life, illuminating the dark corners of the hall.

Harry began a leisurely stroll down the corridor, heedless of the rubble swirling around them. He held his wand loosely at his side, enjoying the sight with a tiny smile upon his face. Severus, on the other hand, couldn’t get enough of the action before him! He hung over the edge of his carrier, grinning as widely as he could. His head swiveled sharply back and forth, while his eyes lit up in awe and delight.

He squealed in amazement as stone fragments, metal shards, and clumps of ash picked themselves up, sped around his head, and then seamlessly pulled together into a column and torch, until the finished product tipped itself back against the wall and a fire flared to life. Sev’s arms and legs bobbed up and down from excitement, as he turned to the other side of the hall to watch the same thing happen yet again.

Shards of glass revolved around him at a safe distance before flying up and refitting themselves to the shattered window like final pieces to a gleaming puzzle.

Splinters of wood found their homes again in the rafters up high, while said wood beams groaned and snapped as they repositioned themselves back to their former glory.

Scorch marks on the walls retreated into themselves until they disappeared completely.

A quick peek into the stairway halfway down the hall had Sev shrieking with delight as he caught several crystal chandeliers spinning around and pulling together before flying up high and reattaching themselves to the ceiling. Picture frames reassembled seamlessly, the canvas within their borders resealing until the whole thing looked brand new. They even flew back onto the wall, perfectly straight and aligned.

Hogwarts crests dashed up and mended themselves before Sev’s eyes, promptly dancing for him as only crests could, and causing the infant to dissolve into a fit of giggles. They then reattached themselves onto the wall.

Pieces of rock and dust gravitated towards the statue of the lion at the end of the corridor. By the time they reached it, the lion was good and whole again. It looked at them, smiled and winked, before giving them a mighty roar of approval. Air blew through both boys’ hair as the creature roared, and Sev laughed at how it filled with him feelings of appreciation.

Thus it was as Harry and Sev continued down the hallways of the fourth floor. Objects repaired themselves left and right, some of them even stopping in front of him to entertain him for a bit before they settled down. 

By the time they ran into Ginny and Flitwick at the halfway point, Severus was filled with a new admiration for the wonder that was magic.

“So how did it go at your end?” Ginny asked with a smile.

Severus squealed in delight and giggled, signing ‘again’ over and over with his fingers. “Ageh! Ageh! AGEH!”

Harry chuckled behind him, his deep voice rumbling by Sev’s ear. “Maybe later, Sev. We’re going to make Teddy’s quarters right now.”

“Peb-by?”

Teddy’s going to live here? That means Lupin’s is going to live here! That means I’ll get to play with Teddy every day! Severus’ eyebrows furrowed in confusion. That’s a good thing, isn’t it? Wait! Why is Lupin going to live here?

After Ginny thanked Flitwick for teacher her some spellwork, the trio headed back down the newly repaired hallways towards their quarters. During the trek, Harry took the time to inform Sev about the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teaching arrangements as well as his impending Auror’s training.

He’s going to leave?! He’s going to leave me here for two days a week?! Who’s going to take care of me? The thought distressed Severus and he began to whine.

“Ooo awoo! Ooo awoo wha meh?!” He began pointing at Harry and them himself frantically.

“Hey, Sev, relax! This isn’t going to happen until term starts in September.” Harry began rubbing his stomach soothingly. “I’m sure we can—”

“Wha meh?! Wha meh?! WHA MEH?!?!?!” The infant screeched

“Hey, you! Have you forgotten I’ll still be here, huh?” Ginny broke in, stepping in front of them and walking backwards so that she could face Sev. 

Oh, yeah. Sev realized. Ginny will still be here!

“Gin—” Harry started, but stopped when his girlfriend threw him an evil glare.

“Immy?” Sev asked anxiously.

“I’ll take care of you, sweetheart, when Harry’s not here, okay? Remus, Tonks, and everyone else will just have to wait in line.” At that, Sev let out a huge sigh of relief, sagging against Harry’s chest and smiling. Ginny turned her gaze towards her boyfriend and raised an eyebrow in challenge. “Try to stop me, Harry.”

The other teen grimaced and sighed. “We’re going to have to work this out with McGonagall and Dumbledore.”

“Hey! They asked you to take care of Sev already knowing your availability. The least they can do is accommodate you.” Ginny replied.

“What about your schoolwork?”

“I told you—we’ll work something out. Or, I can do it after Sev’s asleep. What am I going to do between eight-thirty and eleven? In fact, I’ll probably get more studying done in your quarters than I will in the common room. Dean’s coming back this year. He can be about as big a ruckus as Seamus was, you know?”

“Dean Thomas? Your ex?” Harry’s eyebrows furrowed.

“Of course he’s my ex. But he’s also your old roommate, so calm down, Harry!” Ginny chided.

“I wasn’t getting worked up.” Harry replied defensively.

“And my name’s not Ginny.” She turned to Sev, determined to change the subject. “Hey, Sev! You want to help me design Teddy’s quarters? I dropped by my house and brought over design magazines and books and everything. What do you think?”

“Peb-by!” Sev signed ‘yes’.

“Excellent!”

Ginny sat cross-legged on the newly-redone couch in Remus’ quarters. Sev sat in her lap and surrounding them were open books and magazines with design ideas on them. Behind them, Harry stood in the middle of the now-spacious room, a construction spell book in his hand, changing the quarters according to their direction.

“Do you think granite would be good for their kitchens, love? By the way, give me your hand, please? Your nails are getting a bit long.”

“A ba!” Sev pointed to a picture of a beautiful kitchen with granite counters and a nice cherry finish for the cabinets.

“Oh, that is gorgeous!” Ginny exclaimed as she grasped Sev’s tiny hand lightly. “Harry! Here—do their kitchen like this and then save the picture for Godric’s Hollow. Do you want your kitchen to look like that?”

Harry grasped the magazine and graced her with an indulgent look. “Love, as long as the kitchen has an ice box, stove, and pantry, I’ll be absolutely happy. In fact, that’s what’s in my kitchen right now, so I am absolutely happy.”

“But what does your kitchen look like?”

Harry shrugged. “I don’t know. Plain?” Ginny raised an eyebrow at him. “It has a table.” The other eyebrow went up this time. “Look, Gin, if you want to redo my kitchen to look like this, you are absolutely welcome.” He took the magazine and headed towards the half-done kitchen area of Remus’ quarters. “In fact, compared to my home, the Burrow looks like a luxury hotel right now.”

Ginny took Sev’s little hand and fingered his long nails gently. “That’s because you have no sense of interior design, Harry.” She took out her wand and softly tapped one of his nails three times, murmuring softly, “One, two, three…Curtus!” Sev bit his lip to contain his smile and cooed quietly as the nail shrunk to a safe size, delighting in the feel of Ginny’s smooth hand against his tiny one.

“Ginny, I’m a guy. I’m perfectly happy with the bare necessities.”

Ginny snorted. “Malfoy’s a guy too. I’m pretty sure he’s not perfectly happy with the bare necessities.”

Harry slammed the magazine down onto the kitchen table and began working on the counters. “And that’s what makes the difference between a real man and a sorry excuse for one.” He checked the picture one more time before continuing his work. “I can’t believe you compared me to that ferret! Malfoy’s all talk and no trousers, he is. Keeps babbling this rubbish about pure-bloods first and all that and when he’s ordered to walk the walk, he gets so scared the talk even stops! Well it served him right, that!” He scoffed. “Where was his rebellious streak? Where was the point where he started questioning his beliefs and all the rubbish his father injected into his head? He just swallowed it all up, he did! He’s a carbon copy of his father.”

“Harry, without people like them, there would be no people like us.” She checked each of Sev’s nails to make sure they were no longer sharp before reaching for his other hand.

“Well why can’t people like them just exist in memory?”

“There’s no time like the present to start diluting the prejudice, isn’t there?” Ginny replied, giving him a sidelong glance over her shoulder before turning back to cutting Sev’s nails. “We can change the laws, Harry.”

“Changing laws isn’t going to make their kind go away.”

“Would you listen to yourself?!” Ginny retorted, annoyed at where this conversation was heading. “If you just switch some of your words to pure-bloods first, you’ll start sounding exactly like them. Stop it!”

Silence reigned from the kitchen.

Sev shifted a bit on Ginny’s lap in order to look over her shoulder, curious as to how Harry reacted to that bit of harsh truth. The teenager was leaning against the new granite counter, his back tense and his face scrunched up. His eyes were screwed shut, though, and he looked to be performing a deep breathing exercise.

“They’re entitled to their opinion, Harry.” Ginny continued. “When they cross the line into acting on it—that’s when they start being in the wrong. The Malfoys are all talk and no trousers—you said so yourself. They’re in no danger of crossing that line…yet.” She paused. “You, Harry, on the other hand, are heading straight there. So stop it!” She scoffed and turned back to trimming Sev’s nails. “Be the change you want to see in the world. Tolerance is what we need—nothing more, nothing less. To want anything else is extremist and unnecessary. You’re a bare necessities kind of guy. How ‘bout it?” With that note of finality, and with a gentleness that betrayed her stern tone, she tucked Sev’s hand back against his tummy and kissed him on the head in silent praise of his good behavior.

“Hey, love,” Ginny tapped Sev softly on the arm, murmuring in his ear. “How about we look through some gardens, eh? Harry told me he has lots of room for gardens at his house in Godric’s Hollow. Can you help me pick out some nice designs? I have a bit of a green thumb.” Severus tipped his head back to see Ginny smiling down at him, her brown eyes alight with excitement. He gave her a curious look.

Sev didn’t get it. Weren’t they just arguing a second ago? Why was she suddenly all happy again?

“Ooo ah Haweh…agoow.”

Ginny’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “Yes…?” She paused, and then amended, “Well…we didn’t quite argue. More like, we had a heated discussion. I gave him a bit of a reality check. Why, sweetie?” She asked worriedly. “Is this bothering you?”

Severus shook his head firmly. “Mo. Mo…” He pointed up at Ginny. “Ooo appeh mow?” He signed ‘happy’ and then ‘what’, giving her a confused look.

Understanding dawned in Ginny’s eyes. “Oh!” She tipped her head back in relief and smiled at the ceiling. “Sev…” She readjusted the infant on her lap so that they could look at each other better, and wrapped her arms around him. “Just because Harry and I argue doesn’t mean we hate each other. We just have a difference of opinion and we’re trying to resolve it.” She thought for a second. “Did you know that having occasional arguments is actually healthy for a relationship? The world is not all sunshine and rainbows.” She gave him a gentle smile. “I may sound angry during the argument, but I’m not angry angry. Not really.”

“You better believe that, cub.” Harry added, leaning over the back of the couch and peering at Sev over Ginny’s shoulder. He, too, was smiling. “When Ginny’s really angry, you’ll know it.”

“I tend to stop speaking and refrain from looking at my source of anger.” Ginny filled in.

“She also tends to send bat-bogies in their direction if she’s especially irritated.” Harry snorted.

Ginny rolled her eyes. “At some people, not everyone. The point is,” she turned back to Sev, “Harry and I bicker like that all the time. It doesn’t really mean anything. They’re moments of irritation and nothing more. Think of it as a sort of warning from one of us to the other.”

“’Hey, you’re annoying me! Rethink yourself right now!’” Harry added in a funny voice, drawing quotation marks in the air. He and Ginny exchanged an amused look as he came around the side of the couch and took a seat next to his girlfriend. “I’m sorry, by the way.” He told Ginny, leaning against the back of the couch and giving her a mock pitiful look.

Ginny rolled her eyes. “I’m glad you see that now.” She scoffed.

“Gin…” Harry sighed. “I just spent the last few years thinking in terms of ‘Voldemort is enemy because of his beliefs, must destroy Voldemort’.” He said in a robotic sort of voice. “The last year alone, during the Horcrux hunt, that’s all I’ve been able to think about.”

“That’s all?!” Ginny asked with a raised eyebrow.

“You know what I mean!” Harry rolled his eyes. “It’s not exactly easy to turn those thoughts off.”

“Well you have to, Harry.” Ginny replied gently. “It may be hard, but you do.”

Harry grimaced, sighed, and nodded, pausing for a moment before turning to Sev. The infant was studying him with an air of guarded interest. “Have you had a bad experience like this before, Sev?” He asked, propping his feet up onto the low coffee table and laying an arm across Ginny’s shoulders. “With two people arguing, I mean?”

Severus swallowed and sighed as he eyed Harry warily. Ever so slowly, he signed ‘mum’ and ‘dad’.

Ginny and Harry exchanged a concerned glance. “What about their arguments bothered you, Sev?” Ginny asked gently.

Severus bit his lip and began signing. “D-aaaah-d”—‘Dad’—“Mmmmmaaaah-d”—‘Mad’—“Muuuuuuuh-m”—‘Mum’—“cweeeeewd”—‘Scared’.

Ginny’s arms tightened around him as she gazed down at him sadly. “I’m really sorry you had to live through that, Sev.” She said, genuine sorrow filling her voice. “But I can guarantee you that’s never going to happen between Harry and I.”

“Ever. Ever. Ever.” Harry added.

“It’ll be a cold day in hell before I’m ever afraid of him.” She tipped her head towards her boyfriend. “Voldemort-vanquisher or not, I’m still going to shoot bat-bogies at him if I think he’s getting out of line.” Ginny poked Sev’s tummy, causing the infant to giggle.

“Plus, what your father was doing to your mother was domestic abuse.” Harry added seriously. “The emotional kind of domestic abuse.” He paused. “Did he ever hit her?” Sev shook his head. “Just yelled?” A nod. Harry then paused even longer, his eyes darkening slightly. “Did he ever hit you?” Sev shook his head even more firmly than before. “Just yelled?” Another firm nod. Harry sighed and grimaced. “Sometimes the words hurt worse than blows, don’t they?” The infant peered at him contemplatively. After a long moment, he shrugged.

I don’t really know. He answered internally. My father never really hit me like your uncle did you. For a moment, Severus thought about how he would’ve reacted had his father actually raised a hand to him. I probably would’ve exploded in his face. He answered honestly Would’ve given in to the instinct and just murdered the bastard. Sentenced myself to life in Azkaban at thirteen. Then he remembered Harry, and how the teenager had lived with the words and the beatings and the neglect all his life. And he still hasn’t killed his aunt and uncle. Probably never will…Sev grimaced. What kind of person am I?

“Violence begets violence.” Harry murmured, as if he’d read Sev’s thoughts. “The cycle only stops when one chooses to stop it.”

The teenager laid a hand against Sev’s cheek and looked him straight in the eye. “Now listen to me, Sev, and listen well.” He began firmly. “I will never, ever abuse either of you in any way, shape, or form.” He declared strongly. “I have lived through too much of that in my life to have it in my home at all. I will not have anyone in my life living through what I lived through as a child. I swear this to you right now. The both of you!” He amended, meeting Ginny’s eyes as well as Sev’s. “I would turn my wand on myself before I’d ever hurt either of you. Do you understand me?”

“I already know that, Harry.” Ginny replied confidently, love and admiration gleaming in her eyes.

Sev, for his part, gave Harry a small smile. “Pomeh?”

“Promise.” Harry replied resolutely. Then a thought occurred to him. “Now…just for clarification, that doesn’t mean I’m beyond a simple spanking.” He remarked with a raised eyebrow. “A smack on the bum here and there, if it’s warranted. I will promise you this—I will give you a warning to change your behavior before it becomes warranted. But if a spanking is indeed deserved, I promise you it will be preceded and proceeded by a lengthy, emotional, and mushy, mushy discussion…plus plenty of this—”

Harry moved faster than Sev could imagine, picking the infant up, cradling him in the crook of one arm, and then proceeding to tickle him mercilessly. Severus squealed and then burst into a fit of giggles. It felt like Harry was tickling him everywhere! He kicked and squirmed, tipping his head back to look at Ginny through the tears of laughter forming in his eyes. “Immmmmmy! HeheheheheheheheP! HEP! Hahahahahahah! IMMY!” But she was no help. Ginny merely laughed at the pair of them, snapping pictures when Harry started blowing raspberries on his tummy. “Mo. MO! Hahahahahahaha! Haweh…Haha…OP! Op, PEA!”

After what seemed like forever, Harry finally relented, relaxing against the couch once again. He waited patiently for Sev to catch his breath, reaching up his free hand to try to smooth the infant’s wild hair. “So…” he started, looking at the baby intensely, “…do we have an understanding?”

Sev gazed up at him trustingly. “Ooo pomeh?”

“I promise.” Harry swore. The infant smiled and signed ‘yes’. “Excellent.” The teen leaned over to give him a kiss on the forehead before turning to Ginny. “And to you I promise as well.”

“I know, Harry.” Ginny smiled, reaching over to give her boyfriend a quick kiss.

“Excellent!” Harry looked from one to the other. “Now how about we finish this place so Remus, Tonks, and Teddy can move in, eh?”

“What are you telling that to us for? You’re not even done with the kitchen!” Ginny smirked as Harry’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Oh yeah!”

“Come on, love. Help me pick out that garden.” She reached over and placed Severus back on her lap, calling one of the flying magazines over to her. “Oh, and Harry?”

“Yeah?”

“We’ve decided to make it lofted—just like our quarters. So do hurry up, will you? You’ve got a lot of work to do…” She whistled as she turned the page of her magazine.

Harry groaned.

Sev giggled.

“By the way, sir, we’ve finished with Remus’ quarters.” Harry commented during dinner.

“Excellent! I’ll let them know after supper.” Dumbledore beamed.

“We made it lofted, just like Harry’s quarters.” Ginny explained excitedly. “We even added a secret office and a…uh…”

“Panic room?” Dumbledore supplied.

Ginny’s eyes widened. “Yes, sir.”

“We’re starting to make them standard for all the professors’ rooms.” McGonagall explained. “We’re going to do something about all the dormitories as well; we just don’t know what yet.”

“Oh…that’s interesting!” Ginny nodded. 

Severus ignored their entire exchange, preferring to bounce upon Harry’s lap and practice his grasping skills with Harry’s food.

Okay…what have we got here? Sev studied the teenager’s plate. Or, at least, he studied what he could see on the teenager’s plate, as the plate itself sat at his eye-level. Those look like mashed potatoes—good and the easiest to get down. That one appears to be meat—tough to chew with teeth, choking hazard without them. Then we have corn—can I digest corn? Peas—gross but easy to chew. Carrots—I wouldn’t touch those with a meter stick.

Sev contemplated his menu for a minute or two before reaching out and grabbing a handful of the mashed potatoes, splashing the mush all over the plate in the process. He glanced up at Harry tentatively, but the teenager was turned away, engaged in an intense conversation with an eating Hagrid. Ginny, on the other hand, was looking right at him. Sev froze. After a pregnant pause, however, Ginny winked and slowly grinned at him. Sev recognized mischief behind her hazel eyes. She then flipped her hair and pointedly turned her head in the other direction, breathing not a word to Harry. Sev grinned and promptly began licking his fingers clean. 

When he was finished with the mashed potatoes that had stuck themselves to his hand, Sev glanced up at Harry once again. This time, his attention was directed towards Professor Flitwick, as they debated about the pros and cons of using certain charms in specific situations. Excellent! Sev smiled and reached for the peas this time. Little green balls promptly rolled all over the place. Still, Harry didn’t notice.

Reach in…get it with the palm…close the fingers…got it! Bring it to mouth…stick everything in…excellent!

Sev repeated the process several times until he decided to have more mashed potatoes. In his excitement for more potatoes, he knocked most of the carrots off the plate and pushed half the steak onto the table by accident. Whoops! Rather than doing anything about it, though, he merely grasped more potatoes and quickly brought his hand to his mouth, smearing most his face with the white mush as he did so.

Halfway through Sev licking his hand clean, Harry finally remembered he was having dinner and turned back to his plate. “What in Merlin’s name…?!”

The entire table suddenly burst into laughter at Harry’s shocked expression.

“We were wondering how long it would take you to notice, dear boy.” Dumbledore told him between chuckles.

“Lil’ guy’s been up ta tha’ fer the last twenty minutes or so.” Hagrid elaborated in the same manner.

“Gin?” Harry turned to his girlfriend questioningly.

“Hey, I’m not the one who’s supposed to be feeding him right now.” She grinned unrepentantly. “He probably got bored with your incessant babbling, so he decided to feed himself.”

Harry looked down at the infant incredulously and Sev graced him with that toothless grin of his around the two fingers in his mouth. The teenager couldn’t help it; he smiled at the adorable sight. “Are you quite done making a mess of my dinner?” He asked with a raised eyebrow.

Severus popped the fingers out of his mouth and laughed. “Uh-huh!” He turned to Ginny, signing ‘milk’ and ‘please’. “Immy…mik, pea.”

The table promptly burst into another round of laughter.

“He got you there, love.” Ginny smirked at her boyfriend as she wiped Sev’s face and then lifted him into the sling she was wearing. “‘Yes, I’m quite done messing up your dinner, Harry. I’m going to go eat now, okay?’”

Harry scowled. “Thanks a lot, Severus.”

The baby merely continued to giggle.

“Oh, it’s gorgeous!” Tonks gasped.

“Why thank you.” Ginny grinned. “Although, Harry did most of the work. Sev and I picked out the designs, though.” She elaborated. “The layout of the quarters is exactly like the layout of ours, but the designs and the themes of each room are all different. Of course, if you don’t like it, you can change it around however you want.”

“It’s perfect, Ginny! Remus, isn’t it perfect?” She asked over her shoulder.

“I’ll elaborate on how perfect it is later, sweetheart, but for now you need to move.” The werewolf grunted behind them. Both ladies jumped aside as Remus and Harry came through the door, carrying several boxes each. Severus rolled in on his walker behind them, chewing on his teething snitch and grinning.

He stopped at Tonks’ feet and looked up at the baby in her arms, smiling. “Peb-by?”

Amazingly, the little metamorphamagus recognized his name, turned towards Severus and cooed. “Ah!”

“AH!”

“Severus, I like your shirt!” Tonks complimented.

Ginny had dressed the infant in a pair of cargo trousers, trainers, a blue plaid outer shirt, which was unbuttoned, and a white t-shirt that read ‘Little Kid’ across the front. “If you like that, you’ve only seen the half of it.” She murmured to Tonks. “Look at what Harry’s wearing.”

Tonks glanced over and noticed that Harry was clad in a pair of blue jeans, trainers, and a form-fitting grey shirt that read ‘Big Kid’ across the front. “Merlin’s name!” Tonks cracked up. “Big Kid-Little Kid! Where did you buy that? When did you buy that? And where the heck was I?”

“I got it the other day when we went to Diagon Alley. I forgot where you were. You went somewhere with Remus for a few minutes. I was going to tell you about it but it slipped my mind.” Ginny replied softly. “I also have a pair that say ‘Me’ and ‘Mini Me’, but I’m saving those for later, when Severus is a bit more comfortable with the situation.”

“PEB-BY!”

“Coo!”

“Sev, love, maybe you can go and play with Teddy over there in their living room, okay?” Ginny suggested.

“I’ll put Teddy on his bouncer, so he’ll be at eye level with you.” Tonks added. “Gin, would you help me look for it? It’s in one of the boxes with his name on it.” As they exited into the box-filled hall, Severus trailed behind them in his walker, babbling at the two-month-old.

Remus’ quarters were directly across the hall from Harry’s. A painting of two white wolves with piercing blue eyes, standing amidst a snowy forest with a wolf cub between them, now guarded the entrance to their new den. The moving had started early that day. Ginny had come over just before they started to watch Severus, and had ended up falling back to sleep along with him on Harry’s bed. It had taken Harry, Remus, and Tonks an entire hour and a half to transport all the boxes from the Tonks residence to Hogwarts. Now all the boxes were piled in the hall and the group was moving them in one by one in order to simplify the unpacking process. Both portrait holes were open, as Remus’ fireplace had yet to be connected to the Floo Network and thus they had to use Harry’s floo in case they forgot something. As soon as Severus got the hang of using his new walker, he had the time of his life running from Harry’s quarters to Remus’ and back unhindered.

“Dora, do you know where I packed my collection of Transylvanian Ceremonial Draculean Masks?”
“What did those look like again?”
“They’re the wooden ones, sweetheart.”
“Dora, is this the box with Teddy’s bouncer?”
“It might be. Just check inside it.”
“My masks, love?”
“Remus, all your masks are wooden ones. You’re going to have to be a little more specific.”
“Whoooooooooooooooooo!”
“Ehm…they’re um…rather vampire-ish…Where do you want the record player, by the—WHOA! Hey!”
“SEVERUS! Stop trying to plow people over!”
“I think I found the Bouncer!”
“Oh…those masks…”
“WHOOOOOOOO!”
“Excuse me!”
“Ahhhhhhhhhhh!”
“No plowing people over or I’m taking you out of your walker.”
“Yeah, that’s Teddy’s bouncer.”
“MO!!!”
“It’s adorable!”
“This is your final warning. You want to pass someone? You say ‘excuse me’.”
“Hun? The record player? My masks?”
“Put the record player in the den, sweetheart.”
“Coo meh…”
“Pardon me?”
“We bought it in Alkyds and Moore a while ago.”
“Thank you. Now go apologize to Remus.”
“I don’t remember seeing it there.”
“Owy…”
“Pa—Pardon me, Gentlemen...Ladies?”
“It’s quite alright, Severus.”
“…”
“Shake the man’s hand, Sev.”
“Excuse me?”
“I’ll show it to you the next time we go there.”
“There! You see? Not so bad—”
“AHEM! Sir Henry!”

All four adults and both babies shut up at Merlin’s exclamation and turned to the great wizard’s painting. “Yes, Sir Merlin?”

“I do apologize for shutting the entrance to your quarters while you were in the midst of this moving, but I must say, Sir Henry. A young gentleman flooed into your fireplace a few minutes ago and I do not recognize him as anyone you have allowed in yet.”

“A young gentleman?” Harry asked, alarmed.

“Yes. Well…he’s relatively young. I have trapped him inside in the meantime until I could check with you. He is quite confused right now and is demanding to be let out.”

“Remus?” Harry questioned.

The werewolf shook his head. “No…I don’t know. Dora?”

“Well we know a lot of young gentlemen. Would you please describe him for us, Sir Merlin?” Tonks asked.

All of a sudden, there was a loud banging from the other side of the portrait hole, accompanied by some muffled, angry shouts.

“He is about five foot nine, has dark brown, curly hair, brown eyes, a goatee—”

“Sirius!” Remus realized.

All of a sudden, Severus began to bounce agitatedly in his walker. “MO!!!”

Thump! Thump! Thump!

“He is demanding to be let out.”

“MO! MO! HAWEH!”

“Now two others have flooed in as well.” Merlin added. “The first is a young gentleman with bright red hair and the other is a young lady with brown bushy hair.”

“Ron! Hermione!” Ginny gasped, exchanging a frantic look at Harry.

“MOOOOOOOO!” Sev’s eyes began to glisten.

“What’s going on, Sirius?” They could hear Hermione’s muffled voice on the other side of the door.

“Where the bloody hell are we? These aren’t Harry’s quarters!” As well as Ron’s.

“Come on, Sev.” Harry finally said, reaching over and lifting the infant out of his walker. “We’re going to see Madame Pomfrey for that check-up now.”

“Yes!” Remus added, snapping his fingers. “You three just stay out of the way. Dora, Teddy, and I will keep them distracted for the rest of the day.” He picked up Sev’s walker, shrunk it, and stuck it in Harry’s pocket.

“Yeah, we’ll call you when they’ve gone.” Tonks agreed.

“Wait! We’re going to need Sev’s diaper bag.” Harry remembered, as he tucked the infant into the crook of his arm.

“I’ll get it, Harry. Just go!” Ginny answered, pushing them down the hallway, towards the staircase.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

“Be sure to get my broom too.” Harry responded over his shoulder. “We’ll just go flying for the rest of the day. Maybe go for a picnic.” He was about to turn a corner when he suddenly remembered something. “Thank you, Sir Merlin!” He called.

“You are quite welcome, Sir Henry.” The painting replied kindly.

“You too, Remus! And Tonks!”

“PEB-BY!”

“Yes, yes. GO, Harry!” Remus cried, making shooing motions with his hands.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Harry quickly turned the corner and then speed-walked down several more halls before he slowed to a decent pace at the entrance to the stone bridge.

“Well…” He started, pushing the door open and pausing on the walkway to take a breath. “That was fun! Eh?” He jingled Sev lightly on his hip, and began rubbing a soothing hand up and down his back.”

“Eh…Eeeeeeeennnnnnk…ooo.” The infant said, leaning against Harry’s chest and signing ‘thank you’ with his free hand.

“Sev…” Harry sighed, pushing open the door that led to the Clock Tower. “I wasn’t going to make you face him until you were good and ready.” He told the infant. “And even then, I would’ve had a long and thorough discussion with him beforehand about old grudges…” he emphasized strongly, “…and letting them go.” The child now had his ear against Harry’s chest, and was listening to his caretaker’s heartbeat with his thumb in his mouth. “Do I need to have the same discussion with you?”

You’re one to talk! Severus scoffed internally. I don’t see you letting go of your grudge with Malfoy!

“Mamoy.” He murmured around his thumb.

Harry rolled his eyes. “Malfoy?! Malfoy is a—” Is a what, Harry?! The teenager berated himself internally. Is a what? A different story? Go ahead! Tell him that; it’s all he needs to hear! Don’t be a two-faced bastard, Potter! Ginny warned you about this yesterday. Malfoy and Sirius are not different stories. They’re the same story in different languages. Just like you and Sev are the same story in different languages. Tell this to him, Harry…and you might as well be telling it to yourself.

Harry swallowed. “Look, Sev…” He started again in a much gentler voice, pausing to sit on one of the benches that lined the hallway to the Infirmary. “…all I’m asking…is for tolerance.” He said, after a moment of contemplation.

Harry leaned back slightly, so he could look the baby in the eye. “You’re right.” He admitted reluctantly. “Me asking you to get over Sirius is like me asking myself to get over Malfoy. You’re right.” He sighed. “So instead I’m going to ask you to do what Ginny had me do yesterday—learn to live with him.” He watched as Severus’ eyebrows furrowed. “It’s hard. I know. Trust me…I really do. But you remember what Ginny said yesterday, don’t you?” Sev nodded hesitantly. “There’s a line between being in the right and being in the wrong.” The teenager paused, and then smirked at the baby. “And to add my own personal spin to things…I realized yesterday that what defines a man is not how close he can come to that line, it’s how far he can stay away from it…” he leaned in close to whisper in Sev’s ear, “…no matter how much he wants to cross it.” He pulled away to study the infant’s face. “That’s what defines a man.”

Severus rolled Harry’s words around in his head. What defines a man…

“Will you at least try to think about it, please?”

Severus nodded wordlessly Harry rewarded him with a smile. “Thank you.” The teen glanced at the closed infirmary doors. “Now…shall we get this over with?” He stood, baby firmly in his arms, and walked into Pomfrey’s den.

“Good morning, Mr. Potter, Mr. Snape.” The matron greeted sharply, but her smile softened her words. “Or shall I say Professor Potter now, hmm?”

Harry blushed. “Morning, Madame Pomfrey.” He nudged Severus, but the infant merely nodded into his shirt, refusing to move his thumb from his mouth.

“I trust Mr. Lupin and his family have moved in without a problem this morning?” The healer asked, directing them towards one of the beds.

“Yes.” Harry started, but paused. “Well…there was a tiny hitch.” He amended, dropping onto the bed, Severus still in his arms.

“Oh?”

“Yeah, um…Sirius sort of showed up.” Harry grimaced. “Ron as well.”

Pomfrey raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t realize you were so averse to seeing your godfather and best friend.” She commented, retrieving a spell book from a nearby cabinet.

“It’s not that.” Harry shook his head. “It’s just…” He paused. “I think it would do well for my own peace of mind if I had a long discussion with Sirius before I even allow him to be in the same room as Sev here.” He gestured towards his silent charge. “Ron as well.”

The healer looked surprised.

“What?”

“Before you even allow him to be in the same room as Severus?” Pomfrey repeated, the corners of her lips twitching slightly.

“Yeah.” Harry nodded, his eyebrows furrowing. “Is there something wrong with that?”

“No, no.” The matron answered offhandedly, taking out her wand and waving it at them in a seemingly random manner. “Nothing at all.” A flash of something flitted behind her eyes, and the twitching grew into a miniscule smile. Before Harry could question her any further, though, the healer changed the subject. “So where is Miss Weasley this morning, if I may?”

“She’s getting our stuff from our rooms.” Harry replied. “When Sirius, Ron, and Hermione flooed in unexpectedly, we were in Remus’ quarters, and Merlin had locked them in ours to check with us first, since he didn’t recognize them.”

“I bet Mr. Black didn’t like that very much.” Pomfrey commented with a slight smile.

“Boom, boom, boom!” Sev spoke up for the first time, peeking out of Harry’s shirt shyly.

Pomfrey looked startled. “Boom, boom, boom?”

“Sirius tried knocking down the door when Merlin wouldn’t let him out.” Harry elaborated. Sev giggled into his chest.

“Ah!” The matron nodded. “I see.” She checked something in her book before addressing Severus. “Mr. Snape, I am going to need to take a quick peek inside your mouth, if you please.”

Severus didn’t budge. “Come on, cub. The sooner we can get through this, the sooner we can get out of here.” He nudged the infant gently. Sev sighed, but did as he was bid, opening his mouth slightly.

“So I trust Albus, Minerva, and Horace filled you in on their investigations into Mr. Elson?” Pomfrey asked, lighting the tip of her wand and holding it at the entrance to Sev’s mouth.

“Yes.”

“Excellent!” Pulling her wand out of the infant’s mouth, Madame Pomfrey straightened up and put her wand away. “Okay. I think I’ve checked everything.” She slammed the book shut with one hand.

“And…?”

“Everything checks out, Mr. Potter.” She replied sharply. Turning around, she walked back to the bookshelf to replace the volume. “In fact, everything more than checks out.”

“What do you mean?”

“When I gave him his examination on Monday—just after he had consumed the potion—there were many things about his system that worried me.” Task done, she walked back towards them. “He was underweight for a five-month-old, his muscles were underdeveloped, he was paler than he should have been, quieter than I expected, and his immune system was rather weak.” She explained. “I was worried that if he caught some sort of illness, his immune system wouldn’t have been able to cope.” Both Harry and Severus now looked at her worriedly. “But a few days with you and Miss Weasley seem to have changed that considerably.” The mediwitch continued. “He’s now the perfect weight for his age, he’s rather vocal, he’s colored up a bit, both his leg and arm muscles seem to have developed to standard, and most importantly his immune system is a lot stronger now.”

“So if he were to catch a cold or something…?” Harry asked.

“It would not be as worrying it would have been a few days ago.” Pomfrey assured them, glancing towards the door. “And I have no doubt that immunity boost was due in large part to this young lady right here. Good morning, Miss Weasley.”

“Hello, Madame Pomfrey.” The teen answered with a smile.

“If you would just step behind the curtain over there, I can examine you right away.” The healer said, gesturing and then moving towards a curtained-off bed.

“Absolutely.” She nodded, handing the diaper bag and Harry’s broom over to her boyfriend.

“What happened?” Harry whispered. 

“I’ll tell you later.” Ginny replied, just as softly.

Harry and Severus didn’t have to wait long. Within ten minutes, Ginny stepped out from behind the curtains, beaming at them.

“Well?”

“Everything’s in good order.” Ginny answered, “We had a bit of a discussion regarding my body and who has the rights to it, and my coming of age in a month and a half.” She took the Firebolt and continued towards the door, Harry and Severus—now in his sling—trailing in her wake.

“She’s not going to tell your parents.” Harry surmised.

“Not until I decide to tell them myself.” She shook her head.

“What about Ron?”

“Ron has no say over what I choose to do with my own body!” Ginny replied heatedly.

“No, I mean…I was just saying…” The teen paused. “Is he still in the castle?”

“Yes.” Ginny nodded. “He, Hermione, and Sirius are staying the rest of the day to help Remus and Tonks move in.”

“Oh.” Harry grunted neutrally. He didn’t know how he felt about that. He would’ve been happy to see his best friends and godfather, but not at the expense of Severus. He was happy they were there to help Remus and Tonks move in, but as he had been looking forward to helping them as well, he was a bit put-out at being kicked out of the party.

“So what happened?”

Ginny grinned.

Ginny turned towards Merlin and smiled. “I’ll take it from here, Sir Merlin.” She said, grasping the edge of the portrait.

“But of course, Lady Ginevra.”

She nodded and paused, tilting her head as if listening to something. “Sir Merlin, if you would just brace yourself for a moment.”

The old wizard chuckled at her. “Whatever you say, Dear Lady.” He nodded.

“What are you doing, Gin?” Tonks asked, curious.

“Just…wait for it…” She smirked, her eyes twinkling.

THUMP! THUMP!—Ginny swung the portrait hole open violently—!

Sirius stumbled across the opening, losing his balance when his fist met open air, and ended up in an uncoordinated heap on the floor.

“With all due respect, Sirius,” Ginny started, looking down at him indulgingly, “Your ruckus could wake the dead, you know?”

“Ginny!” “Ginny!” “Ginny!” Sirius, Ron, and Hermione all exclaimed at almost the same time.

Sirius looked past her shoulder at the two other people standing over him. “Remus? Dora?”

“What’s going on here?” Ron squalled. “Where are we? These aren’t Harry’s quarters!”

“Actually, they are.” Ginny replied, helping Sirius off the ground and then neatly stepping past the three of them into the room. “Professor Dumbledore moved Harry in here a few days ago.”

“He did?!” The three of them exclaimed in chorus. They exchanged looks with each other and then with Remus and Tonks before stepping back into the room and examining it, apparently for the first time.

“Merlin’s beard! This place is huge!” Hermione gasped. “Lofted quarters!”

“We made Remus and Dora’s quarters just as big.” Ginny replied over her shoulder as she marched towards the bedroom.

“They did?” Hermione questioned.

Tonks grinned. “Oh, yeah! And it’s perfect! Wait ‘til you see it.”

“Wait a minute!” Ron cried. “What was wrong with Harry’s old quarters? Why would Dumbledore move him here? And why is this place so big?!”

“And what’s wrong with it being big, Ron?!” Ginny snapped defensively, glaring at him from around the bedroom doorway.

“Nothing!” The redhead squawked. “It’s just…it doesn’t seem like Harry, that’s all!”

“Maybe Harry wanted a bigger place.” Sirius muttered, taking in the scope of the room for the first time.

“Oh, wait! Didn’t I tell you?!” Tonks exclaimed. Everyone in the room, except Remus, turned to her in surprise. “I thought I told you yesterday when I said Remus got his teaching job back.”

“Told us what?” Sirius asked, confused.

“That my position is part-time for the next three years, after which it will become full-time.” Remus explained, a slight smile on his face.

“What?!” Sirius exclaimed.

“Why?” Ron added.

“Is it because Dumbledore wanted parents to get used to the idea that you’re a werewolf?” Hermione reasoned.

“That,” Remus nodded, “as well as the fact that Dumbledore offered the position to Harry to begin with.”

“Harry?!” Ron and Sirius gasped.

“Well it makes sense.” Hermione added after a thought.

“The thing is, Harry will be away for Auror’s training twice a week—Thursday and Friday,” Remus continued, “So he made a deal with Dumbledore that he’d take the position if I got my old job back.”

“Part-time.” Hermione filled in.

“Yes. Until three years from now, when Harry graduates from Auror training and joins the department, upon which I will get the position full-time.”

“So Dumbledore gave Harry these quarters as a sort of bribe to get him to accept the position?” Hermione guessed.

Remus and Tonks exchanged a look. “That’s one of the reasons.” The metamorphamagus answered with a shrug.

“Okay! I’m off!” Ginny said, making her way out of the bedroom, Sev’s diaper bag around one shoulder and Harry’s broom in her hand.

“Wait a minute, where’s Harry?” Sirius asked, putting a hand out to stop her.

Ginny instead diverted to the kitchen, opening the ice box and stuffing a few bottles into the diaper bag (behind the door, so the others wouldn’t see). “He’s…out for the day.” She answered offhandedly. “Doing repairs and such.” She slammed the door shut and headed towards the entrance. Ron and Hermione stopped her.

“Isn’t he going to help with the move-in?” Sirius asked.

Ginny and Remus exchanged a look. “He might be over later, if he’s not too busy.”

“Well, you’re going out to meet him, aren’t you?” Hermione guessed. “We’ll come with you.”

“NO!” Ginny, Remus, and Tonks cried simultaneously. The other three jumped back and then gave them suspicious looks.

“What is going on here?!” Sirius growled in frustration.

“Nothing is going on!” Ginny snapped. “Harry’s just extremely busy right now, and he’d love to help Remus move in but can’t, and yes I’m going to meet him but he’s…working on something extremely delicate right now and doesn’t want to be bothered and…I’m supposed to be helping him so if you’ll excuse me…”

“Ginny!” Ron shouted. “We’re his best friends! Since when did he start doing everything with you and nothing with us! If you’re welcome, I’m more than sure we are as well.”

“Don’t count your chickens before they hatch, Ron!” Ginny snapped. She saw Tonks waving something at her from inside Teddy’s sling and she handed the diaper bag over so that other witch could slip it inside.

“What’s that supposed to mean?! We were perfectly welcome a few days ago!”

“And you’re still perfectly welcome now. Just not…now!” She snatched the diaper bag back from Tonks and shouldered it angrily.

“Why not now?!”

Hermione held up a calming hand to the redheaded boy. “Whatever Harry’s doing can’t possibly last all day, Ginny. You’re taking his broom to him.” She gestured towards the Firebolt. “Perhaps we could all meet up later—after the move-in—and hang out for a bit, fly around.” She suggested.

“I don’t think that’s going to be possible.”

“What, in Merlin’s name, is up with you, Gin!” Ron exclaimed. “You’ve been weird for days!”

“Ron—”

“It’s true, ‘Mione!” He turned back to his sister. “She’s been completely unpredictable. She goes out early in the morning, and doesn’t come back until late at night. She won’t talk about her day. Sometimes she’s moody, other times she’s bouncing off the walls, grinning like Lockhart! If mum didn’t know the schedule of her cycle, she could swear she had hers. She’s brewing weird potions in her room, she always eats here with Harry, and now Harry’s got this place!”

“What are you trying to say, Ron?!” Ginny snapped.

“I’m just trying to find out what’s going on between my best friend and my sister!”

“What’s going on between me and Harry is none of your business!”

“Is it any of mum or dad’s business, then?”

Ginny jabbed a finger against his nose. “Unless you want to find out after everyone else has, keep your fat nose out of it!”

“Find out what?!” Ron roared.

“Ginny, what are you doing with a diaper bag?” Hermione broke in, her calm voice a welcome sound against the shouting. “And a teething toy?”

“NOTHING!” Ginny barked, everyone jumped at her sharp tone and gawked at her. Turning on her heel, she marched purposefully out of the room and down the hall. “And DON’T follow me!”

Harry laughed. “Wow.”

“You should’ve seen the looks on their faces.” Ginny smiled. “If I wasn’t so irritated, I think I would’ve laughed.” The three had, in the meantime, made their way down the clock tower, through the courtyard, and past the wooden bridge onto the grounds. Now, hand-in-hand, they strolled leisurely about the property. Severus lay quietly in his sling across Harry’s chest, listening to the story and chewing on his teething snitch. “Hermione’s quick, though.”

“Would’ve been surprised if she wasn’t.” Harry smirked.

“She noticed the diaper bag, and even saw Tonks slip Sev’s teething toy back in while I was arguing with Ron.” She turned to Harry worriedly. “You think she knows?”

“I think…she has a vague idea.” Harry answered after a thought. “She’s brilliant. She really is.” He said. “Not many things get past her.”

“She could give you a run for your money in deductive reasoning and acute observation.” Ginny commented slyly.

“Maybe…” Harry shrugged, narrowing his eyes at her playfully. “But if she could, she would’ve figured the whole story out by now.”

“Thank Merlin Ron’s not that keen.” Ginny smirked. Harry laughed out loud. “You think she’ll tell the others, though?”

“Hermione? Um…it depends on the situation.” Harry thought back to his experiences with the muggle-born witch. “She’ll most likely try to figure it out on her own before she lets anyone know anything.” He shook his head. “No, I don’t think she’ll tell Ron or Sirius.”

Ginny breathed a sigh of relief. “Okay, good.”

As they reached the edge of the Forbidden Forest, Ginny heard something interesting in the distance. She tugged at Harry’s hand to stop him. “Shhh! You two hear that?”

Harry gave her a curious look and Severus—with Harry’s help—sat up in his sling to stare in the direction she was looking. “Hear what, Gin?”

Ginny gave him a reproachful look. “Harry, why don’t you take your own advice and listen. Hmm?”

Severus bit into his snitch and peeked up at Harry, finding the teenager with his eyes closed, his head tilted, and a smile pulling at the corners of his lips. “Ah, yes…there it is.”

“Wha?!” Sev cried, not being able to hear anything, save for the birds chirping annoyingly in the trees.

“Stretch out your sense, cub.” Harry directed him. “You’ll hear it.” Sev scowled at him. He was tired of stretching out his senses! Why couldn’t he just sense what they could sense as quickly as they could sense it?! He always had to put out a huge effort to see or feel anything, while they seemed to do it naturally. It wasn’t fair! “Close your eyes. It’ll help.” Harry nudged him. “Come on.”

With a grimace, Sev sighed and shut his eyes, allowing his hearing to take over. Within moments, he was able to discern the faint sound of hooves in the distance. It reminded him of the night music he had heard a few nights before. “Boom, boom, boom…” He muttered sadly.

“Boom, boom, boom. Exactly.” Harry nodded. “Sev, don’t be put out because you can’t sense things as quickly as we can. You’re new to this.” He reasoned. “I’ve done it for years, and Ginny’s done it for at least a year.”

“Plus, I had plenty of opportunities to practice during that year.” Ginny added.

“Exactly.” He nudged the baby playfully. “Now, come on. Chin up, cub! That sound means it’s our lucky day.”

“Do you know what creature makes that sound, love?” Ginny asked, beaming excitedly at the infant.

Sev studied her curiously. ‘C-E-N-T-A-U-R-S’. He tilted his head, indicating a question.

“Nope, not centaurs.” Ginny shook her head, and then leaned in close to whisper to him. “Unicorns, Sev.”

“Not many people can hear a herd of unicorns.” Harry explained. “Oftentimes, their hooves hover just above ground, so when they run they barely make a whisper.”

“If you get lucky enough to hear a herd of unicorns, it means they’re calling you.” Ginny said, glancing towards the direction of the noise.

“Do you trust me, Sev?” Harry asked unexpectedly. The baby gave him a confused look. “We’re going to fly over there.” He inclined his head towards the deep woods. “It goes much faster than walking. I will not fly too far off the ground—unless of course there’s danger near the ground—I will not fly too fast, and I will not do any stunts whatsoever.”

“Break those promises, and I’ll have your head, mister!” Ginny smirked, jumping onto the back of Harry’s Firebolt and waiting for them patiently.

“Trust me?” After a moment of thought, and a hesitant look towards the broomstick, Severus nodded. “Excellent!” Harry made sure to tighten the sling securely before he set about casting several different wards and charms on the child for safety. Finally, he cast a charm that literally attached Severus to him like a sort of baby leash, and hopped onto the back of the broomstick. Ginny hugged him from behind, Harry held onto Severus with one hand and the broomstick with the other, and lightly kicked off the ground. “Here we go!”

They flew low—about three meters off the ground—and at a decent speed. Severus felt the wind blow through his hair and couldn’t suppress the feeling of freedom that suddenly coursed through his veins. The sun filtered in through the treetops and kissed the forest floor, illuminating the area around them with the perfect balance of light and shadow. The singing birds, annoying just minutes before, now filled him with a sense of peace and calm. Some of them even flew alongside them, making Severus feel like he was part of their flock. Although Sev was never fond of flying before, his appreciation for the activity was now growing exponentially. No wonder so many students enjoyed the hobby, if this was how they felt!

They flew for about ten minutes, the galloping in the distance growing louder with each passing second, making Sev more excited by the moment. Ginny took the opportunity to point out various magical creatures to him. Most of the animals she showed him, Severus had never heard of. He didn’t recall reading about Ábädäs or Cercopes, which Ginny described as forest spirits, in any magical creatures book before. Ginny had even pointed out a dwelling in the treetops where little forest elves called Korrigans lived.

Free house-elves?! Living together? In a little society?! Sev’s eyes went wide as he studied the treetop village. Merlin’s name!

“Look at those birds over there! The ones bathing in the river, Sev.” Ginny exclaimed, tapping his elbow and pointing towards the water. Sev thought it was quite an impressive collection of birds. He’d never seen anything like them before. “The rainbow-feathered one is an Achiyalabopa. The one next to it is an Avalerion—king of the birds. The one hiding in the grass is a Chakora—a lunar bird. Then there’s the Cinnamon Bird, over there—the brown one. Then there’s the fire bird and its counterpart the rain bird. The thunderbird, and the always-intriguing lightning bird.”

“Lightning birds can only be found where lighting strikes.” Harry explained. “Veeeeeery interetesting.”

Ginny pointed towards the tree branches. “That right there is the Bukit Timah Monkey Man. He’s immortal. The Agathodaemon sleeping right there usually inhabit vinefields and grainfields. Oh!” Ginny gasped and pointed to the ground. “Look over there, Sev! The horse with the green mane is an Arion and they have the power of speech. That bull-horse is a Bonnacon.”

“They have flaming dung.” Harry remarked with a smirk.

“And then there are some Mares of Diomedes.”

“We want to stay away from them.” Harry said, flying the broomstick a little higher. “They’re a bit temperamental.”

Where did all these new species come from?! Sev wondered as he gawked at all the strange new creatures. Why aren’t they in any magical creature books? Who knows what sort of magical properties these creatures possess! We need to study them more. See what we can learn. Merlin’s beard! How can I now know so much about this forest? I’ve lived next to it most of my life.

“It takes more than just an eye to see something, Severus.” Harry commented, earning him a surprised look from the infant. “There we are!” Harry slowed to a glide and lowered the broomstick until they were a mere meter off the ground. As soon as they reached the top of a hill, the forest opened to a clearing; and in that clearing grazed an entire herd of unicorns.

“Whaaaaaa Whooooo…” Sev remarked, his eyes wide with wonder. It was the most beautiful sight he had ever seen! The adult unicorns glowed in the rays of sunlight streaming down from the treetops. The foals, gold and silver, shone equally as bright as they trotted around the feet of the adults. And Severus noticed their glowing wasn’t only physical, either. “A ba!” He exclaimed, gazing up at Harry and Ginny and pointing to the unicorns.

“Yup.” Harry nodded approvingly. “White magic. These are some of the purest creatures in the world. They’re one of the most peaceful.” Harry leaned in to whisper in his ear. “There’s a reason their coats glow white.” Severus turned back to admire them for a few more minutes. “Well…shall we go on a ride, then?”

What? On a—on a ride?! On a unicorn?

Harry steered the broom over and landed the three of them a few feet away from the herd. He undid most of the safety charms on Severus and passed him over to Ginny, wanting to ensure their safety before introducing them to the group. He reached out his mind to discern who the alpha male was and made sure to drop all of his mental shields so that he broadcasted as much light as possible. Unicorns were extremely mentally powerful. They communicated mentally, and they had the ability to read people rather accurately. Harry wanted them to trust him, so he barred his soul to them and hoped for the best. He approached the alpha male of the herd and politely asked him if they may join him for the day. The alpha male studied him for a bit before nodding his head in acceptance and bowing to him regally. Harry beamed at him and bowed back.

“Thank you.”

Harry, Ginny, and Severus spent the better part of the day with the unicorn herd. Severus was a bit hesitant in the beginning, but when a unicorn foal approached him and Harry and nuzzled him playfully, Sev came out of his shell and opened up to the mystical creatures. Harry took him around to each of them, and Severus had a grand time petting their silky coats and soft manes. Harry explained that unicorns communicated mentally, but one had to learn how to do it from someone who already knew how.

“The process is rather tricky, you see. Firenze taught me when he was still teaching at Hogwarts.” Harry explained. “I’ll teach you when you get big enough.”

The first highlight of the day was when Severus actually got the ride on one of the unicorns! Harry had a conversation with one of them and the unicorn offered to give each of them a ride on his back. Ginny got to go first because the unicorns liked her best—on account of she was a woman—but Harry and Sev got a longer ride because the unicorn was rather fond of Sev and delighted in hearing his squeals of laughter.

Shortly after noon, the three of them began to get rather hungry; so they all thanked the herd and bid them goodbye for the time being, hopping onto the back of the Firebolt and flying a short distance to a nearby lake. There, Harry called for Dobby and kindly asked him to bring them some lunch from the castle. The house-elf returned moments later with a picnic basket, and Harry and Ginny dined on sandwiches, salad, and juice by the lakeside, while Ginny nursed Severus.

After lunch, the three rested for a bit until Ginny suggested a quick dip in the lake to work off any excess energy. Harry was all for it, but Severus was a bit hesitant. He changed his mind quickly, though, when Harry conjured some swim toys and floaters for the infant. The teenager waterproofed Sev’s nappy, and then transfigured his trousers into little swim trunks, doing the same thing with his own jeans. Now the two boys were clad only in swim trunks and standing at the edge of the lake. Taking his wand, Harry did a quick safety scan of the unfamiliar lake to see if any danger lied beneath. Upon receiving an acceptable response, he began inching into the water, Severus in his arms.

“Alright. Just hold on around my neck tight, okay? I’ve got you.” As soon as Harry was waist deep in water, he kneeled down to bring their heads closer to the surface of the lake. “Ready? I’m going to dip down really quickly. Take a deep breath!” Sev’s eyes widened but he did as he was told. “1…2…3!” Harry dropped to just below the surface of the water and then stood up just as quickly.

Severus sputtered, coughed, shook his head, and then ran a hand through his face to clear it of water. “You alright?” Harry asked frantically. Once Sev could see well again, though, he began laughing hysterically. As the childish squeals met his ears, Harry cracked a smile. “Are you alright?” He asked between chuckles. “You like that?” The giggling baby nodded. “Want to do it again?” More nodding. “Okay! Here we go! Deep breath. 1…2…3!”

Ginny took pictures of the pair from the water’s edge, wanting to capture the beautiful moment forever. She was so glad she had the foresight to stuff the camera in the diaper bag while she was dashing about the bedroom this morning. If she hadn’t, she wouldn’t have been able to record Sev’s first meeting with unicorns, or this precious moment right here.

Harry resurfaced with a laughing Severus for the tenth time in five minutes and beckoned her over. “Come on in, Gin! The water’s nice and warm!”

“Immy! Hahahahaha! IMMY!”

“Deep breath, Sev. 1…2…3!”

Ginny chuckled. Waterproofing the camera, she stripped to her bra and underwear, and waded in towards them.

After an hour or so of play with both Harry and Ginny, Severus became rather interested in the swim toys and floaters Harry conjured for him. By this time, Harry and Ginny were taking turns watching him while the other took a leisurely swim around the lake. Ginny was sitting in the shallow area, with Severus playing in her lap, when the second highlight of Severus’ day occurred.

Harry was off swimming in the deeper parts of the lake and, for some reason, didn’t notice when a mist formed over the surface of the water. Ginny became alarmed by the sudden formation and tightened her arms around Severus, garnering his attention. Then, a voice came out of nowhere.

“Please, do not be alarmed.” It was the voice of a woman and it seemed to come from all around them.

Ginny immediately jumped up, pulling Severus into her arms and holding him tightly. “Who are you?!” She shouted. “Where are you? What do you want? Harry!”

“Please, I do not mean you any harm.” The voice seemed more focused now, and Ginny surmised that it was coming from somewhere in front of them—from the middle of the lake. “Your intended is off swimming, unaware of any of this…or of me.” The mist parted slightly before them, and a beautiful young woman with cool blue hair, a crown of spring flowers, and a dress of pure white that melded into the mist around her, appeared a small distance away from them. “I am the Lady of the Lake.” She said with a small smile. “And I only come to lay my eyes upon one who was granted the gift of rebirth.” She inclined her head towards Severus. “Your little one.”

Ginny’s arms tightened protectively around a curious Severus and she took a few steps back. “You can’t have him!” She said fiercely.

“I do not wish to take what is yours, Lady Ginevra.” The Lady assured her.

Ginny’s eyebrows furrowed. “How did you know my name?”

“The spirit of my own intended guards your gates, I believe,” The Lady answered gently. “He has told me about you in our late-night meetings, when I come to visit him.”

“Your intended?”

“Yes.” She nodded. “He is known by many names. Myself, I have known him all my life as Myrddin Emrys. Others know him as Merlin Ambrosius. Yet most simply call him—”

“Merlin.” Ginny nodded. “His is the painting that guards the entrance to our quarters.”

“There is a lake in the background of that painting, if you’ll recall.” The Lady smiled.

“And according to some legends, you’re his lover.” Ginny nodded.

“I have only come to give your child my blessings.” She held out her hands towards Severus, but looked at Ginny. “If I may?” The teenager studied her for a long while before glancing at Sev’s pleading face and nodding.

The Lady of the Lake approached slowly, but didn’t stop until she was within reach of the infant. She reached out and ran the back of her hand down Severus’ soft cheek. “You are truly blessed to have been given this opportunity, dear Severus. Young child, sweet child.” She smiled at him lovingly. “May you soon see this opportunity as a blessing. May you learn to accept the past as past. May you learn to make friends of your enemies, and family of your friends. May you grow up again with all that you lacked before. May all your missed chances present themselves to you once more.” She paused then and gave him a pointed, yet gentle, look. “May you see them for what they are and seize them for good. May you always remember the road that you have traveled to help you through strife; and may you walk gently through the world and know its beauty all the days of your life.”

The Lady of the Lake smiled softly at him, running her fingers down his cheek one last time before retreating as slowly as she had come. “Dear child, sweet child…” She gave him a mirthful look. “Wait for her, and she will come back to you…” She whispered.

Sev sat up suddenly. Wait for her? Her? Wait for her?! “H—H—Hoooo?”

“She will come back soon, Severus.” The Lady replied, the mist closing in around her retreating form. “She will come back to you…sooner than you think…” And with those final words, the mist dispersed and she was gone.

Severus sat very still for a long time, gazing at the spot where the Lady of the Lake disappeared, wondering at her last words. Wait for her. She will come back to you. Sooner than you think. What did all that mean?!

“I think she was talking about Lily.” Ginny spoke up.

Severus looked up at her in surprise. Lily?! “H—H—H—Haaa…oooowww? Ha-oow…Haoow…How?”

“I don’t know, love.” Ginny shook her head sadly. “I wish I did, but I don’t.” She tightened her arms around Severus. “But what I do know…what I’m pretty sure of…is that she was talking about Lily. That you were going to see her again…and soon too!” She added excitedly, and then paused in thought for a second. “And I am damn sure she meant that you were going to be alive when you saw her again, so we’re not even going to go there.”

Sev chuckled at Ginny’s feeble attempts to reassure herself of that fact. As for Sev himself, he didn’t need reassuring. He knew he was going to be alive when he saw Lily again. The question he was trying to answer right now was how that was going to happen. She was dead, and to his knowledge, there was no spell or potion that could bring people back to life again. Once people were dead, they stayed dead. Well…with the exception of Harry, of course, whose very existence and nature defied all logic entirely.

“Why don’t we just wait and see, huh, sweetheart?” Ginny said, breaking into his thoughts. She slowly lowered the two of them back into the shallow water and slipped Sev’s water wings onto his arms. “The Lady said soon, and I’ll trust she meant soon. So…let’s just put that out of our minds right now and…how about we go for one more dip before we call it a day, eh? The sun’s going to set soon, it looks like.” She called Harry and signaled that he had ten more minutes before wading in to waist-deep water and ducking them both below.

When time was up, the three of them made their way to shore and dried off. Ginny took the opportunity to fill Harry in on what happened while he was out swimming.

“That is incredibly odd.” The teenager remarked as he rubbed a towel over Sev’s wet hair and body, inadvertently tickling the infant and drawing giggles. “I could see the two of you the entire time.”

“We could ask Merlin when we get in tonight.” Ginny suggested.

“Good idea.”

They dressed themselves in warm, dry clothes once more, packed their things, and hopped onto the back of the Firebolt for the journey back. Harry took the high route this time around, flying over the treetops and treating everyone to an amazing view of the sunset. Nothing beat the Scottish sunset; not above the skies of Hogwarts, no. It was absolutely amazing up here.

“Almost feels like you’re in Paradise, doesn’t it, boys?” Ginny smiled.

“Uh-huh.” Both man and baby murmured simultaneously, their mouths open in awe. The smile on Ginny’s face grew.

They landed back on Hogwarts grounds by the Wooden Bridge and began their stroll back into the castle.

“Can you look for Sirius, Ron, and Hermione? See if they’re still here?” Ginny asked as they walked through the long bridge.

“You’re going to have to hold him.” Harry answered, handing Sev over to Ginny. “When I throw my senses, I tend to lose all sense of what I’m doing.”

“Come here, sweet.” Ginny took Severus into her arms and the baby gazed at her curiously, alternating his look between her and Harry. “He’s going to throw out his senses.” Ginny explained. “Have you ever heard of someone throwing their voice?” Sev’s eyebrows furrowed and he nodded. “No, I mean literally—someone literally throwing their voice. Meaning, they could be standing here, but they could throw their voice and you would hear it over there—that sort of thing.”

Severus wracked his brain. He had heard of one such person who could do that. It was a Ravenclaw during his schooldays here at Hogwarts. According to rumors, the guy could throw his voice—without a spell—clear across the room. He could be standing at the entrance to the Great Hall and sound like he was talking from the staff table.

Sev nodded again. “Well that’s what Harry’s doing right now.” Ginny explained. “He’s not throwing his voice, though. Harry’s throwing his vision, hearing, and sense of smell. His voice and his sense of touch he keeps right here with his body.”

What?! Sev looked at her as if she just grew another head. What in Merlin’s name is that supposed to mean?! You can throw your vision out? Like literally throw it out? Send it somewhere that’s not in your immediate vicinity? That’s impossible!

“I know it’s hard to believe.” Ginny continued. “But think of it as being able to give your eyes, ears, and nose a pair of wings and just throwing it out there; letting it fly out at superhuman speeds to find whatever you’re trying to find. Harry calls it ‘throwing his senses’.”

The infant studied his caretaker. Harry didn’t look like he was doing anything at the moment. In fact, he just looked like a statue, standing frozen next to them. His eyes were glazed over, he wasn’t moving. Heck, he didn’t even look like he was breathing! Furrowing his eyebrows, Sev leaned over to take a closer look. Still, Harry stood frozen, as if he wasn’t even aware of his surroundings. Sev wanted to inch closer and Ginny obliged him. The infant still couldn’t tell if he was breathing or not. Just…a little closer…

“GOT IT!” Harry eyes focused with a snap and his gaze met Sev’s, startling the infant and making him jump.

“Ahhhhhhh!” Sev whined, blowing raspberries at Harry and burying his face in Ginny’s chest.

“What? What’d I do?”

“You startled him.” Ginny answered, torn between admonishing Harry and chuckling at Sev.

“Oh, I’m sorry, cub.” Harry said, rubbing soothing circles into the infant’s back. “I didn’t mean to. I tend to do that when I’m throwing my senses.” He turned to Ginny. “Sirius, Ron, and Hermione are in Remus’ quarters eating dinner. If we hurry right now, we’ll be able to sneak in to our quarters without risk of them coming out and accidentally catching us.” He reached for Sev and secured him back in his sling. “If we go on my broom right now, we’ll be able to get there quicker.”

After making sure the infant was secure, Harry and Ginny hopped onto the Firebolt and Harry flew them through the Wooden Bridge and then up to the Stone Bridge. He spelled the door open wandlessly and gently navigated his broom through the castle hallways until they reached the hallway to their quarters. There, they dismounted and peeked around the corner.

“Great! Remus’ door is open!” Harry hissed.

Ginny peeked over and spotted the said painting. “It’s only open a crack, Harry!”

Laughter from within the room filtered into the hall. “Yeah, but Sirius’ hearing is as good as Remus’.”

“Oh, for Merlin’s sake!” Ginny rolled her eyes. Stepping around the boys, she sauntered down the hall to Remus’ door and pushed the painting close with a click. “There! Now it’s not open anymore.”

“Now they’re going to investigate, Gin!” Harry dashed over to Merlin’s portrait and hissed, “Excalibur!” before jumping in through the portrait hole and hiding behind the doorway just as Remus’ painting swung open once more.

“Ginny!” Sirius exclaimed. “Hey, is Harry there?” Both Harry and Sev widened their eyes at Sirius’ approaching footsteps.

“Hey, Sirius!” Remus’ voice called from within the quarters across the hall. “Where are you going?”

“I think Harry’s back.”

“He’s not back!” Ginny argued loudly. The boys could hear her forcibly turning Sirius around. “I’m just here to go pick up some stuff for him. He’s still working on his project. It’s taking him a might longer than expected.”

“Well, did you tell him we’re here?” Ron’s voice asked from Remus’ doorway. “I’m sure he would’ve made time to see us if you did.”

“Then it’s a good thing I didn’t.”

“Ginny!”

“What is this project he’s working on anyway?” Hermione’s perky voice spoke up. She now sounded close by as well. “It can’t possibly take that long. Harry’s magical control has improved exponentially in the past year. He could build a house with a wave of a hand. Now this project is taking him all day to do?”

“Uh-oh. She knows something’s up.” Harry whispered in Sev’s ear.

“What was that?” Sirius asked suddenly.

“What was what?” Ginny replied.

“Shit!” Harry breathed.

“That! I heard it again!”

“I didn’t hear anything. Sirius, you’re hearing things!”

“I’m not hearing things, Gin!”

“What’s going on out here?” Remus’ voice was now added to the mix.

“I think Harry’s in here.” Sirius’ footsteps once again echoed in the hall. “Harry!”

“Hang on to me tight.” Harry hissed into Sev’s ear.

Severus bit his lip and clutched Harry’s robes tightly. A sharp tingling sensation suddenly coursed through his body.

“Harry, who are you talking to—” Sirius rounded the corner and looked straight at them…

…and then directly through them.

Ron and Hermione popped in just behind Sirius. “Harry?” “Harry?”

“Where is he?” Sirius cried, spinning around and looking for the source of the whispering he just heard. “I could’ve sworn he was right here!” The man pointed to the exact spot where they were standing. Sev grinned. Black was looking like an idiot! This was getting to be pretty funny.

“I told you you were hearing things, Sirius!” Ginny interjected, pulling the man away from the spot in which she knew an invisible Harry and Sev were standing.

“I wasn’t hearing things!” The man replied defensively. “I heard someone right there!”

“Where is this project of Harry’s anyway?” Hermione asked suddenly. “He wasn’t at the staff table at lunch. Neither of you were, actually. Professor Slughorn was asking for the both of you.”

“Only the both of us?” Ginny asked, a bit of nervousness bleeding through her voice.

“Why? Who else should he have been asking for?” Ron asked through narrowed eyes.

“Firenze.” Ginny answered without a hitch. “He was with us as well. I’d like to think Slughorn cares about whether or not he had lunch too.” Severus was impressed! Ginny could lie better than Draco and Lucius Malfoy put together! Although…that probably wasn’t saying much.

Ron rolled his eyes and scoffed. “Slughorn doesn’t ‘care’ about anyone outside of his ‘Slug Club’.”

Harry started inching from his spot near the door to the master bedroom. The door was closed, but opening it silently shouldn’t be a problem. The issue now was actually getting to the master bedroom without Sirius hearing them.

“So where is it?”

“It’s somewhere off grounds.” Ginny shrugged. She glanced down at the carpet and noticed Harry’s footsteps as they crept towards the bedroom.

“That explains why we couldn’t find them on the Marauders’ Map.” Ron murmured.

“What’s he working on?” Hermione asked.

“Hermione, for Merlin’s sake, what is this? An interrogation?”

“Look, I think we all can agree on one thing.” Tonks said, sauntering into the room, Teddy across her chest. “Harry isn’t here. So if you would all kindly return to our quarters and finish dinner.” She walked towards the table in Harry’s kitchen and sat down. “I’m going to nurse Teddy in here. The noise over there is making him fussy and he’s also a bit sleepy right now.” The metamorphamagus exchanged a look with Remus.

“Yeah.” The werewolf agreed, picking up on the silent cues. “Come on, guys!” He began steering them across the hall. “Dumbledore gave me a whole case of the finest liquors in Europe for my liquor cabinet. It’s not a housewarming unless you actually get warm, isn’t it?”

“But what about Harry?” Ron complained.

“Harry can join us when he gets back from his project in…?” He raised an eyebrow at Ginny.

“An hour or two.” The redhead answered.

“An hour or two?!” Hermione cried. “It’ll be completely dark by then—”

“Hermione, come now.” Remus assured her. “Harry’s faced off against Voldemort and won fair and square. I think he can find his way back in the dark—” Merlin shut the door behind them.

“Wow!” Tonks grinned, her hair flashing hot pink. “That was a close one, wouldn’t you say, Harry?”

Harry dropped the disillusionment charm around him and Sev. “You can say that again.”

Ginny glared at him. “First you warn me about Sirius’ superior hearing, and then you whisper—loudly, might I add—when you’re ten feet away from him?! Twice?!”

“Three times.” Tonks corrected offhandedly.

“I’m stupid! I know! I’m sorry!” Harry replied in a placating tone.

Ginny huffed and marched towards the bedroom, completely ignoring him. Harry groaned and ran a hand down his face. Severus giggled at him.

“Coo!”

“Peb-by!”

The infants spent the better part of an hour playing together on the soft rug while Tonks and Ginny filled each other in on their respective days. Tonks gasped when she found out about their encounter with the Lady of the Lake, and Ginny smiled when Tonks told her about Sirius, Ron, and Hermione’s trek around the castle, looking for Harry. When their sharing was over, the two of them had a nice heart-to-heart with Merlin about his fairy-tale romance with the Lady of the Lake. Harry rolled his eyes. It all sounded like a trashy romance novel to him. The one good thing Harry got out of listening to that conversation was an assurance that the Lady was indeed real and that there was nothing to worry about.

When eight o’clock rolled around, Tonks excused herself and Teddy, telling them she would distract the others until after Sev was asleep. Harry and Ginny thanked her, and then Harry set about giving Sev his bath and getting him changed into his bedclothes. They mounted the rocking chair, and Harry read three different stories from the Tales of Beedle the Bard while Sev sucked his thumb and listened. By the time the third tale was over, Sev was having a hard time keeping his eyes open.

Harry picked him up and settled him onto his back in the crib, tucking a stuffed baby snake under his arm. “Go to sleep, cub.” He said, smiling down at the infant and running a hand through his soft baby hair. “Tomorrow, we’ll be off to Godric’s Hollow, to a house I call ‘The Den’—number 20 Haven Place.” Harry leaned down to place a kiss on the small forehead. “You’re going to love it. I promise.”

The last thing Sev remembered thinking, as he slipped to the Land of Nod, was about his meeting with the Lady of the Lake, and her final words to him: “She will come back to you…sooner than you think…”

Lily…

“You feel secure, Sev?” Harry asked, checking the straps of the baby carrier one more time.

Severus wiggled his arms and legs. Other than that, he could barely move. He signed ‘yes’.

“You got him, Gin?”

“Harry, I checked the straps after I put him in, and I’ve checked them ten times since then. You think I want him to fall out?” Ginny scowled at her boyfriend.

“I’m paranoid. I’m sorry.” Harry said apologetically. “You know me, love.” He leaned in over Sev’s head and gave her a sweet kiss. “I know you don’t want him to fall out. I’m just…” He struggled to find words, but in the end just sighed and turned away, checking his broom for anything that might impair his flying.

“Just fly slow, Harry, that’s all.” Ginny replied gently. She encircled his waist from behind with one arm and stretched up on her tip toes to kiss him on the cheek. “You’re a master flyer, love. I trust you.” Letting him go, she walked over to her rucksack and checked it one last time. In it, she had packed design books and magazines, as well as a few odds and ends in addition to her overnight clothes. “Do you think I have everything, love?” She asked the child strapped to her chest.

“So did Ron say anything yesterday after you got back home?” Harry asked as he shrunk the bags and stuffed them in a zip-up pocket.

“No, not really.” Ginny shook her head. “I think he was satisfied after he saw you and you guys talked for a bit.”

“Did he buy into the cover story?”

Ginny shrugged. “More or less.” She gave Harry a questioning look. “Do you think Hermione did?”

“Absolutely not.” Harry smirked. “She knows something’s up. I think she got especially suspicious when the two of us kept going back and forth to the bedroom.”

“The closed door didn’t help any.”

“Nope.” Harry shook his head, mounting his broom. “Nor the silencing charms.”

“Sirius probably doesn’t suspect anything.” Ginny added in a hopeful tone.

“Probably not.” Harry shook his head. “He’s sharper than Ron, for sure, but not as sharp as Hermione.”

“I think they all took a tour of your quarters yesterday, after I left.” Ginny said, closing, shrinking, and pocketing her knapsack. “Ron and Padfoot figured the crib and toys belonged to Teddy. Hermione wasn’t fooled, though.”

“You know, I’d really love to trick that girl one day.” Harry remarked as Ginny mounted the Firebolt behind him. “I mean really trick her—where she doesn’t suspect one thing.”

“That’ll be the day.” Ginny smirked. “Tonks told me that after they ran around looking for you yesterday, Hermione asked about Severus at the staff table; about what had happened to him and why he wasn’t in the hospital wing anymore.” Both Harry and Sev looked up at her in concern. “Don’t worry. Dumbledore’s still really sharp. I think he figured we were hiding from Sirius and that’s why we weren’t able to help Remus move in. He made up some excuse about Sev and threw them off the trail.” The two boys sighed in relief. “The rest of the staff must’ve followed his example as well, from what I can tell.”

“In fact, I had a word with them right before the moving party joined us yesterday.” A jolly old voice answered behind them. All three turned to find the Headmaster himself strolling down the steps of the Wooden Bridge to the middle of the Stone Circle, where they were getting ready to depart. “I take it Mr. Black, Mr. Weasley, and Miss Granger do not know about Severus yet?” He raised an eyebrow at them.

“Not yet. No, sir.” Harry answered.

“Well the staff promised to keep mum about it unless otherwise indicated.”

“We appreciate it, sir.” Ginny nodded and tapped Sev lightly.

Severus scowled at Dumbledore, but mumbled and signed, “Eeeenk-ooo.”—‘Thank you.’

“You’re very welcome, Severus.” The old man smiled at the baby and then turned to Harry. “So, are the three of you off to Godric’s Hollow?”

“Yes, sir.” Harry nodded. “Taking the back route, we are.” He pointed to the river behind the Quidditch pitch. “We’re staying low until we reach the river, and then apparating when we’re outside the wards.”

“Trying to avoid the nice photographers outside the gates, are we?” The headmaster chuckled.

“Hopefully it hasn’t occurred to them to fan out just yet.” The teenager nodded.

“Well…have a good time.” He wished them, stepping back to allow them to push off the ground. “And when is the housewarming party?”

Harry made sure Ginny was hugging him tightly before he pushed off the ground and hovered just above Dumbledore’s head. “In good time, sir. Don’t worry—you’ll get an invitation.” He turned around slightly to check on Ginny and Sev. “Have you got everything, sweetheart?”

“Yes, yes—designs, overnight clothes, Sev’s things, everything.” She turned back to the headmaster with a kind smile. “Have a nice weekend, sir.”

“And to you three as well, Miss Weasley.”

With a final wave, Harry took off towards the river behind the school. He didn’t move too fast, scared at what might happen if he lost control of his broom. Normally, when he flew a broom, he was by himself, so flying as fast as he wanted and as high as he wanted was the order of the day every time he mounted a broomstick. Now that he was flying with his girlfriend and an infant on board, though, his attitude towards flying completely turned on its head. Slow and low was the way to go this time around.

As soon as they reached the river, he instructed Ginny to hold on tightly. His girlfriend’s arms tightened around his waist just as Sev’s little arms reached around his neck, as far as they could go, and grabbed his shirt. Harry grinned. “Alright? Everyone feels secure now, right?”

“Mmm!” Sev whined.

“We’re fine, Harry.” Ginny answered, a smile in her voice.

“Okay, here we go!” Harry tilted the broomstick just slightly and they soared upwards in a slow, gentle climb. He leveled off at about a kilometer off the ground and continued flying forward. “Alright then…I’m going to apparate now, so…” He quickly glanced over his shoulder to check on them. “Just hang on tight, don’t let go, and…enjoy the view!” Harry took a deep breath to prepare himself. “Okay, here we go! 1…” Harry gripped the broomstick tightly, “…2…” he made sure his legs were locked beneath him, and, “…3!” He shot forward as fast as he could, focusing his mind and thinking about the one other place in the world that felt like home.

Godric’s Hollow...Godric’s Hollow...Godric’s Hollow!

POP!

When the ‘rubber tube’ feeling—as Harry called it—subsided, he looked up to find himself flying just above a bright green hilltop in the English countryside. Turning slightly, he breathed a sigh of relief when he realized that he had successfully apparated his passengers and his broomstick along with him. “Everyone alright?” He asked with a smile. “No splinching?”

“I’m fine. Are you okay, Sev?”

“Uh-huh.” Sev moaned.

“Sweetheart?!” Ginny cried, alarmed.

“Dee-bee.” Sev groaned.

“He’s dizzy, love, that’s all.” Harry translated. “Is your stomach churning, Sev?”

“Uh-huh.” The infant nodded sadly.

“Don’t worry, cub, we’re almost home.”

“Where are we, Harry?”

Just then, Harry’s broom cleared a rather tall hill, and a spectacular view of the English countryside greeted them. “Lady and gentleman, welcome to Godric’s Hollow!”

It was like a scene out of a picture book. Rolling hills of green stretched as far as the eye could see, interspersed with small groves of trees, dirt roads, cottages, and stone fences. A small, peaceful-looking village lay nestled amidst the majestic hills, its wood and stone buildings giving it the feel of an Old English town. The midmorning sun’s rays kissed everything in sight, illuminating the area with a golden glow. Ginny could see cows, sheep, and goats grazing in the different pastures. A herd of horses ran free around one particularly large patch of grass. Children and sheep dogs ran loose in another field of green. The grass must have been soft, for the kids chased each other barefoot, laughing and taking turns on a small wooden tree swing.

“Love,” Ginny murmured with a smile, “‘Beyond perfect’ wouldn’t do this place justice.” Harry turned his head slightly to look at her and the two of them exchanged a meaningful look. “It’s paradise.” She continued. “My heaven on earth, and it is absolutely divine, Harry.”

Harry gave her a sweet half-smile and began to gently slope his broom downwards. “Told you you’d love it.” He flew towards a grouping of four cottages a short walk away from the town. Behind two of the houses was a small grove of trees, a stream running through its center. Directly across from those houses were two more cottages, behind which lay several green pastures and a single field of rye. “Alright, hang on! We’re almost there, cub.” Speeding up slightly, Harry banked sharply and pulled up just in front of one of the stone cottages next to the grove, landing his broom softly on the ground. “Number 20 Haven Place. Welcome to ‘The Den’!”

“Harry, Sev’s stomach.” Ginny reminded him.

“Oh!” Dismounting, Harry pulled a small vial of pink liquid from one of his pockets. “Children’s Stomach-Calming Draught, cub. Bottom’s up!” He held the vial to the child’s lips and he emptied it in one gulp. “You should be feeling better in a bit, eh?”

“Who else lives here, love?” Ginny asked, surveying the three other houses.

“No one, actually.” Harry replied. “When I first returned here, I asked around town. A rather nice old muggle man informed me that these other three were actually up for sale, and each at a relatively low price.”

“So you bought them.” Ginny surmised.

“Yes, well…” He pointed to one of the houses across the street. “That house belonged to Dumbledore when he and his family lived here a long time ago. He doesn’t want it back; bad memories and everything. Aberforth, on the other hand, doesn’t really care. He likes the house because it reminds him of Ariana.”

“So he wants it back.”

“He offered to buy it back. I offered to give it back. He liked my offer better.”

Ginny laughed. “Naturally. That’s Aberforth for you.” She gestured to the two houses across from each other. “And these two?”

“I’m remodeling both of them.” Harry replied, taking the shrunken bags out of his pockets. “I’m offering them to Ron and Hermione, or even Remus and Tonks, if they want a summer home.”

“I think Ron and Hermione want to live in London.” Ginny replied.

“Yeah?”

“Well Hermione wants to live in London. Ron doesn’t really care. But Ron told my mum, and my mum told me, that they were looking for a flat in London close to Sirius’ place.”

“Oh…” Harry helped Ginny and Sev off the broom. “Well, I’ll make the offer to them anyway. If they refuse, I’ll have the muggle realtor put an ad out for a rental.”

“Muggle? Why not wizard?” Ginny asked, a small smile tugging at her lips.

Harry took his Firebolt in one hand, Ginny’s hand in the other, and began leading them into his little fixer-upper of a cottage. “Oh, I don’t know. Can you picture an ad in the Daily Prophet? ‘Quaint two-story rental cottage in Godric’s Hollow; 3-bedroom, 2-bath, complete with attic, basement, front and back yards, and plenty of land; Oh, and by the way, Harry Potter will be your landlord.’”

Ginny cracked up. “They’ll all be swarming over here.”

“Exactly! I rather have muggle neighbors than deal with that.” He waved his hand over the lock and the door swung open, revealing a small enclosed porch that led to an inner door.

“Hey, Sev?” Harry called, turning his attention to the quiet baby strapped to Ginny’s chest. “Hey, cub, are you alright?” He pulled the infant out of his carrier and into his arms. The sudden movement startled Severus and his eyes jerked open. The child whined, yawned, and rubbed his little eyes, grabbing onto Harry’s robes and making himself comfortable against them.

“Aw, he’s sleepy.” Ginny said, removing Sev’s carrier. “We woke him up pretty early this morning.”

Harry stepped inside, waving the second door open and escorting them into the front room of the house. A small table lay to the left of the door, while to their right, against the wall, were several coat racks and shelves for shoes. The stairs that led to the second floor sat right in front of them, and a rather large room lay to their left. A huge fireplace sat against the far left wall, a door to its immediate right. Four leather easy chairs, a coffee table, and a comfortable-looking couch lay across from it. On the far right wall were two doors, slightly ajar. Ginny took note of how…empty the place looked.

“Ehm…this is the living room.” Harry said, lowering his voice for the sake of the sleepy child.

“This is the living room?” Ginny echoed disbelievingly. “This whole thing is the living room?” Harry nodded sheepishly. Ginny blinked. She pointed to the door to the fireplace’s right. “Where does that lead?”

“That’s a swinging door and it leads into the dining room. The other swinging door in the dining room leads into the kitchen.” Then, he felt compelled to add, “It’s a rather big kitchen.”

Ginny cracked a smile. “I’m sure I’m going to love it, Harry. Don’t worry.” She then gestured towards the wall with the two doors. “Where do those lead?”

“The one closest to the fireplace leads to my office…or study…or whatever. The door closest to the staircase leads to a bathroom.” He replied. “Oh, and that’s the only working bathroom in the house at the moment. I sealed off half of the second floor because a large chunk of the roof is missing. That includes the master bathroom.”

Ginny’s eyes widened in realization. “Voldemort!”

Harry grimaced but nodded. “They left the house in its ruined state as a memorial and a reminder against violence. Now I have to deal with cleaning up sixteen years’ worth of water damage and wind erosion.”

“Harry, at least you’re the one who’s doing it.” Ginny replied, looking him square in the eye. “They were right to do what they did.”

“What do you mean?” Harry asked, confused.

“Well, look at it this way,” his girlfriend responded, “As I recall, this house was preserved in its ruined state as a reminder of the violence that tore apart your family, correct?”

“Yes…?”

“Now, almost seventeen years later, you’re building one!” Ginny continued with a smile, “You’re building a family. You’re also repairing this house at the same time. Don’t you see? It all works out, love.” Ginny explained, “Seventeen years ago, this house was torn apart when your family was torn apart. Now…this house is being rebuilt, and—”

“My family is being rebuilt along with it.” Harry nodded in understanding, a smile tugging at his lips.

“See? Appropriate.” Ginny grinned. “No one else should’ve been allowed to rebuild it except you.” Quickly turning her attention to other things, Ginny pointed to the small hallway between the staircase and the bathroom wall, near the back of the house. “What’s beyond that?”

Harry glanced over, “Oh! There’s a doorway to the backyard there, but I had planned to build another enclosed patio, like this doorway.”

“Excellent!” Ginny exclaimed, climbing up the stairs. “Tell me what else you wanted to do and I’ll fit it into my blueprint.”

Harry’s eyes widened. “What blueprint?” He began following her up the steps. “You have a blueprint?”

“I assume the master bedroom is livable?”

“Yes, it was the first room I cleaned and repaired.”

“The sheets are new?”

“Brand new, clean, and soft.” Harry nodded. “Oh, and that reminds me, did you bring Sev’s crib?”

Ginny froze and turned back to him in concern. “No, I thought you brought Sev’s crib.” Her boyfriend stopped and shook his head slowly. “His playpen?”

“I was about to ask you that.”

Ginny rolled her eyes and shrugged, resuming her trek up the stairs. “It’s okay. He can sleep in the big bed with us. I’ll ask him about it later when he’s more awake.”

Harry thought about it a second before continuing to follow her up the stairs. “Well it’s not like he has much of a choice now, does he? By the way, are you sure your parents are okay with you staying with me for the weekend?”

Ginny sighed in frustration. “I already told you, Harry. They trust me, they trust you, they trust us together, I trust you, you can trust me. I’m not going to give anyone a reason not to trust me. Are you going to give anyone a reason not to trust you?”

“No! Absolutely not! You can definitely trust me!” Harry replied defensively.

“Okay then.” Ginny grinned. “Nothing to worry about.” Upon entering the master bedroom, she gave everything a quick once-over before diving into the king-sized bed, its fluffy white comforter cushioning her landing. “Harry…I love the bed.”

“Thought you might.” Her boyfriend replied, trying to keep his shoulders from shaking as he chuckled at her.

Quickly, Ginny pulled open the covers and made a little white nest for the now-sleeping infant. Harry laid Severus gently on his back, pausing to brush a strand of baby hair away from the angelic face before straightening up again.

The teens quickly made plans for the rest of the day. Harry was to unpack whatever needed to be unpacked in the bedroom while he watched Sev and Ginny took a quick tour of the house. Once his girlfriend was done with her initial inspection, they would switch off—Harry focusing on building the porch he envisioned, while Ginny babysat and made blueprints and design plans using the magazines and books she brought from home. Their plans went off without a hitch.

Thus, the twelve o’clock cuckoo bird found Ginny sitting cross-legged at the edge of the king-sized bed. Picture books, do-it-yourself home improvement spell books, muggle and wizard design magazines, stainless inks, various quills, and loose pieces of parchment were either strewn on the bed or flying all around her.

“The library can have a nice, homely theme. I always liked the old-style type. Definitely mahogany…no! The cherry wood finish! Yes…” She muttered under her breath as she scratched something off on the parchment she was holding. “What was the name of that theme? The oak leaf theme? Maybe…that’s probably it. Lots of greens and reds…Where was that picture?” She began flipping through one of the floating books around her when a tiny yawn caught her ear, instinctively making her stop what she was doing to check on the infant.

Severus still had his eyes closed, but he kept wobbling from side to side, as if he wanted to roll over. Slowly lowering her papers and books back onto the bed, Ginny set aside her quill and parchment, and carefully crawled over towards the pillows. She laid down on the right half of the mattress and gently lifted the pillow guarding Severus on her side. Almost immediately, those beautiful chocolate eyes flew open to meet her hazel.

“Good afternoon, Severus.” Ginny drawled, a gentle smile upon her face. The infant blinked, confusion miring his features before recognition finally sparked.

“Ah-moooooooom.” Turning away, Sev surveyed his surroundings briefly before pushing slightly on the other pillow and rolling over. Now on his stomach, the infant’s eyes widened in wakefulness. He inspected the room once more, his eyes radiating a sort of muted curiosity. Turning back to Ginny, he yawned again.

“Still sleepy?” The teen asked worriedly, her hand automatically reaching up to take his temperature. The infant leaned into the touch, eyes closed in delight. Squirming forward, Sev pushed himself up on his hands and knees and then lunged at Ginny, landing on his back against the spot where Ginny’s side met the bed. “Ah, you want to cuddle! I see!” Ginny’s arm came around him automatically, and he felt a gentle kiss placed on his forehead. “Oh, and by the way, Harry and I forgot both your crib and your playpen by accident, so you’ll have to sleep here on this bed with us tonight. Is that alright?”

‘No! It most certainly is not alright! I sleep alone!’—‘That doesn’t sound too bad. This bed is way more comfortable than that crib anyway! Plus, I always feel safer with one or both of them in the room.’ Two different voices argued viciously in the back of Sev’s mind. Yet he completely ignored both of them in favor of the third voice in his stomach, which was grumbling something fierce right now.

“What do you say, sweetheart?”

Sev tilted his head back to look at her. “Mewmew, pea…” He said pleadingly, signing ‘hungry’, ‘milk’, and ‘please’.

“I’ll feed you just as soon as you answer me, love. Are you okay with sleeping with us?”

“Uh-huh!”—‘Yes’

“Okay!” Ginny grinned, giving him a tight hug and a brief kiss. “Thank you, Sev!” Sitting up, she summoned the baby sling to her and prepared to nurse. Once she had Sev settled in and appropriately latched on, she looked down at him adoringly. “How about we take these…” she held up her semi-completed blueprints, “…and go find Harry. He’s been working for three and a half hours now. We could all use a break.”

As gently as she could, Ginny made her way downstairs and towards the back door under the staircase. “Harry!” She called over the din of spellwork, “Come on, you’ve been working long enough. Time for a break!”

“Argh!” Harry stopped himself mid-spell with a frustrated sigh. “It’s not measuring up the way I want it to.” He explained, trying the smooth the wrinkles on his forehead. “Plus, it’s not reinforcing itself the way I want it to.”

“You can figure it out, later.” Ginny interjected, tugging him towards the dining room. “It’s lunchtime now. Someone’s already enjoying himself. Let’s find ourselves something to eat, shall we?”

“Oh, bloody hell!”

“Harry!” Ginny scowled at her boyfriend, her arm tightening around Sev protectively.

“Sorry…” The teen grimaced. “It’s just…I…forgot I didn’t have any more food in my kitchen.” He threw his spell book against the wall, irritated with himself. 

“Will you calm down, Henry!” Ginny snapped, using Harry’s proper name in an effort to get his complete attention. It worked. Harry turned to her, speechless. “Look at yourself! You’re getting angry over nothing. This is precisely why I said you needed a break. You were too focused, and then you became stuck, now your blood pressure’s up and you being hungry probably didn’t help that much.” Stopping herself mid-rant, Ginny took a deep, calming breath and then released it, feeling her own anger and frustrations draining away. “Okay, so there’s no food in the kitchen. So what?” She shrugged and waved it off. “Is there a grocery store in town?”

“Um…yeah.” Harry nodded.

“Muggle or wizard?”

“Muggle.”

“Do you have a couple of pounds on you?”

“All my money’s in pounds right now.” Harry replied, reaching into his back pocket and checking his wallet to make sure that was indeed the case.

“I could do with a walk. How about you?” She looked at him expectantly.

“Do I actually have a choice?” Harry asked, a smile tugging at his lips.

Ginny narrowed her eyes playfully and smirked, “What do you think?”

Harry snorted, and then peered down at the nursing baby. “What do you think, Sev? Do I have a choice?” The infant smiled at him from around Ginny’s breast. A drop or two of milk escaped and ran down his cheek.

Ginny wiped them up immediately. “That’s a ‘no’.”

Harry inclined his head towards the front door. “Let’s go.”

Hand and hand, Ginny and Harry leisurely strolled into town, taking their time to admire the amazing green scenery, the carefully constructed stone walls, the clean dirt roads, the five-hundred-year-old, still-sturdy bridge. They coaxed Severus into stretching out his senses and listening for the music that, even during the day, was present in places like this.

“You see, cub, Hogwarts may be a beacon of light for white magic, but for some reason it doesn’t have the same sort of purity that this place has.” Harry explained.

“That’s probably because Hogwarts has seen its fair share of battles.” Ginny explained. “This most recent battle is hardly its first, and I’m sure it won’t be its last.”

“Many people have died on its grounds, yes.” Harry nodded. He turned back to the infant. “But can you hear that, Sev? Can you hear that music?”

“It’s always there, sweetheart.” Ginny added, “Just like I told you. It’s not only at night.”

“That’s the sound of white magic.” Harry emphasized. “Just like the tingling is the feel of it.”  

Severus sat up in his sling, admiring the landscape along with his two caretakers, and basking in the warmth of the surrounding light. The wind whistled through the trees in perfect harmony with the earth’s notes, and his ears rang to the tune of nature’s drummer. By the time they reached town, Severus was a calm, happy baby, chewing on a water-filled teething ring and looking around curiously.

Apparently, today was the farmer’s market in Godric’s Hollow, for there were booths set up along the main street, displaying all varieties of fresh fruits and vegetables available for purchase. Ginny, a fan of the farmer’s market as well as supporting the little people, bought fruits and vegetables by the bushel and made Harry lug everything around, much to Sev’s amusement. She made sure the feed her boys, though, keeping them satisfied as they trekked from booth to booth.

“Good afternoon there, young lady!” A nice middle-aged woman greeted them from her seat behind her produce booth.

“Good afternoon!” Ginny replied cheerfully, eyeing the tomatoes, potatoes, and asparagus in the boxes with a critical eye.

“May I interest you and yours with a carton of eggs—three dozen for only ninety pence.”

Ginny’s eyes widened in surprise. “Ninety pence?”

“Yep!”

“Three dozen?!” She turned to Harry in wonder. “Three dozen, Harry! What do you think?”

Her boyfriend raised an eyebrow, but gave both ladies a half-smile. “I’d think ‘What’s the catch?’”

The booth tender cracked up. “I know. Hard to believe, isn’t it?”

Harry silently and wandlessly scanned the carton for any rotten eggs or funny business. Strangely enough, the woman was genuinely selling a carton of three dozen fresh eggs. “A tiny bit.” He answered lightly, handing his wallet over to Ginny.

“A ba!” Severus babbled, making a reach for some peaches on the table.

“No, no, no, sweetheart!” Ginny chuckled nervously, gently pulling his hand back.

“No, go ahead! You can have one. No charge!” The booth tender smiled. “Your son’s adorable! How old is he?”

Both Ginny and Harry blushed. “Thank you. He’ll be six months in…”

“Twelve days.” Harry filled in, “The ninth.”

“Wonderful! Hey, listen, are you new in town, or are you just passing through?” The tender asked.

“Oh, we just moved in to a cottage near here.” Harry answered.

“Excellent! So you’re the new neighbors up at Haven Place! My friend told me someone had bought all three houses up there. So how’re you enjoying town, so far?” Then her eyes widened and she stood up and offered them her hand. “Oh, excuse me, where are my manners? I’m Martha.” She said with a smile.

“Ginny.” The teen answered, shaking her hand and mirroring the smile. “This is my husband Harry and our son…er…” she exchanged a look with Harry, “…Henry.”

“Oh, my goodness!” The woman chuckled. “Harry and Henry.”

“Yes, well…” Ginny laughed nervously, “He’s a junior!” She saw Harry scanning the area for any indication of wizarding folk. “This is the big Henry, this is the little Henry.” Her boyfriend gave her a barely-perceptible nod, indicating he had found a few. “Sometimes we call the little one Hank.” Ginny continued, forming a cover story in her mind.

“Harry and Hank. That works!” The booth tender nodded, oblivious of the additional exchanges between them. “So listen, since you’re new to town, I’d like to invite you to our Sunday services tomorrow in the chapel.” The woman continued. “It doesn’t really matter what denomination you are, really. My brother is the pastor, and though one of his missions is converting, he doesn’t like pushing religion on those who wish to dance to their own drummer, so to speak. He likes hosting events that bring the community together, though. This Famer’s Market is largely his doing.”

“Tell him it’s wonderful.” Ginny said.

“I will, thank you! So anyway, a free lunch is offered after services every Sunday. If you and your family don’t want to come to services, that’s fine. You’re still very much welcome at the free lunch.”

“That sounds great, Martha!” She exchanged a look with Harry. Her boyfriend shrugged and then nodded. “What do you think about that, Henry?” She jiggled Sev to get his attention. The infant looked at her, blinked, looked at the woman, blinked, looked at her once more, blinked, and then leaned over and tried reaching for the peach once more.

“I take that as a yes.” Ginny shrugged. “Thank you so much for the invite! We’ll be at services and the free lunch.”

“Excellent!” The two exchanged details and then Ginny bought the three-dozen eggs in addition to several soft fruits for Severus. The two then said their thanks and goodbyes and soon the three of them were heading up the road back to Haven Place.

“Do you think anybody recognized us?” Ginny asked as she finished peeling Sev’s peach and held it in his mouth for him to chew on. The infant gripped her fingers and held her hands where they were, gnawing at the fruit as if it was a new teething toy.

“Without a doubt.” Harry replied. “Well, they recognized me, at least. I saw at least a dozen wizarding families there. They were all trying to not stare at me.”

“Bet that whole ‘husband and son’ thing threw them for a loop, though.” Ginny smiled mischievously.

“Just a bit.” Harry smirked. “At least, it threw off the ones who were in listening range.”

“Too bad I didn’t see their faces!” Ginny added playfully, acting put-out. Sev laughed at her antics.

“We need to work on our cover story.” Harry said. Ginny agreed.

After they reached the house, they put all the food away and then fixed themselves lunch. Severus nursed once again while they ate. After finishing and cleaning up, Ginny shrunk the dining table to an appropriate size and then sat Severus on its surface, away from the edges. She then took her blueprints and spread them out in front of the baby.

“So this is what I have so far for this house.” She said, presenting the plans to her boyfriend. Both boys inspected the plans.

“Are these all to scale?”

“Yep!”

“Bick few-pey.” Sev commented, pointing to the main fireplace.

“Yeah, I know. It’s huge!” Harry agreed with a smirk.

Ginny began pointing to different parts of the paper. “So this is the section that was blasted off by Voldemort—the section missing the roof—and this is the section that you sealed off. I checked out your old nursery while I was in there. Ol’ snake-face really did a number on the place.”

“I know.” Harry nodded. “I really, really know. But you know what?” He added, barely remembering something he had meant to tell her for a while now. “What I noticed was that it wasn’t flooded with Dark Magic! You’d think it would be.”

“Oh, I know!” Ginny agreed, wide-eyed and excited. “I noticed that too! It’s flooded with white magic instead. It’s absolutely incredible!”

“It’s my mother’s magic.” Harry said assuredly. “I can feel it. I can tell. It’s her.” He and Ginny exchanged a short, meaningful smile.

“Wiwee?” Sev broke in, his voice small and quiet. His gaze moved from one to the other, eyes filled with as much wonder as his caretakers’.

“Yeah, Sev.” Harry replied, taking a seat next to the child and looking him square in the eye. “Lily.” His voice was soft, almost reverent, when he spoke of his mother. “I’ll take you there tomorrow so you can feel it for yourself. It’s her who has left the white magic. I just know it! It must’ve lingered there after Voldemort was taken care of, and it never dispersed.”

“It’s just as well.” Ginny broke in, pointing to the room on the blueprint. “It’s going to be his room by the time the house is finished.”

“MEH?!” Sev squeaked, taking a closer look at the blueprint under him. “Meh woom?!” Sure enough, the words ‘Sev’s room’ were scratched in blue ink next to the red outline.

“Absolutely, your room!” Ginny smiled. “Why? Is that so hard to believe?”

“So let me guess,” Harry stood up and walked around the table, looking at the plans, “the ones in black are already there, the ones in blue are labels, and the ones in red require intense construction spellwork.”

“Not necessarily.” Ginny shook her head. “The rooms definitely do, and the porches, for sure. Most of this red stuff is furniture, though. That reminds me! Can we go into London sometime this week?”

“IKEA?”

“I’m sorry?”

“You want to look at furniture, right?” Harry guessed. Ginny nodded. “You’re going to love IKEA. It’s a gigantic furniture store, they have displays and almost everything on the displays is for sale, a restaurant on top, a kids’ area, it’s ridiculously cheap—”

“Stop! It’s my favorite store already.” Ginny smirked and then turned back to the blueprint. “Okay. So once you guys raise the roof next weekend, you can really get down to repairing these four rooms—your old nursery that we’re converting into Sev’s room, the master bathroom, and then the two rooms across the hall from them, which, on this blueprint, are bedrooms. The only big construction work on the ground floor are the two porches—the closed one you’re working on right now, and the bigger, open one behind the kitchen. The only things left to build after those two are the island in the kitchen and the wall to separate the living room and the stairwell.”

“An entertainment center? Like a muggle entertainment center?” Harry’s eyes shone with delight as he studied the boxed off area next to the aforementioned wall.

“Why not?” Ginny shrugged, smiling at his childlike glee. “You said you always wanted one of those as a child. Just because we’re of the wizarding world, Harry, doesn’t mean we can’t have the best of both worlds.”

“I love you.” Her boyfriend whispered in her ear, giving her a big, loud kiss on the cheek.

Ginny rolled her eyes and laughed. “Everything else that’s marked in red is furniture. Now…” she pointed at Harry, “Next week, when you guys raise the roof, I request that you reinforce it multiple times over because Sev and I will be working on a super-secret project for the attic.”

Sev perked up at the mention of his name. “Meh?”

“You, sir.” Ginny nodded. “Unless you want to remain idle every single weekend we’re here?” She raised a questioning eyebrow at him.

“Mo!” The baby shook his head firmly.

“Then I have an assistant!” The baby grinned. “Will you be working on the lab at all this weekend?” She asked Harry.

“Wab?” Sev’s eyes widened and his gaze shot to Harry.

The teen sighed. “Yes, I have a lab. Yes, it’s for potions. Yes, I’ll show it to you when I’m done with it. And I might work on it this weekend if I can get the porch to cooperate.”

“Wehw?”—‘Where?’

“It’s down in the basement, next to the big library.” He fixed the baby with a stern look. “And you are not allowed in there without my go-ahead, you hear me? You’re not even allowed to touch the door. The way down is a spiral staircase and it is dark. You won’t be able to see the first step until you’re tripping over it, and by then you’ll be tripping over the next step, and the next step, until you end up rolling down the staircase and breaking your neck.”

“Oh, quit with the melodrama, Harry.” Ginny rolled her eyes. “His walker can’t even fit through the door, and you should have baby-proofed the staircase by now to begin with!”

“Do you understand me, Severus?” Harry continued, regardless.

“Yep, ehw.”—‘Yes’

“Excellent!” The teen smirked at his girlfriend. “Don’t hog him, Ginny. I’d like an assistant too, sometimes.”

“Well, aren’t you the popular one.” Ginny winked at Sev and the baby grinned. He liked feeling useful! “For now, will the two of please help me think about things to plant in the garden. I’m going out to assess it right now, and I’d appreciate some ideas as to what I could grow in it.”

“Ah whoa! Ah whoa!” Sev bounced up and down excitedly, his racing mind already coming up with over a dozen potions ingredients she could grow in a garden.

“I think that adjourns this meeting.” Harry chuckled.

Ginny placed Sev in his walker and spelled the wheels to be virtually frictionless, while Harry set about baby-proofing all the staircases in the house. Just as the last time Sev was allowed in his walker, he had the time of his life running around all over the place. He moved between helping Ginny redesign the living room to helping Harry make sure the porch was on straight.

“You see…” Harry said as he corrected the angling of some wood, “…there’s a world of difference between repair and construction. Repair is easy and fun. Construction is irritating and tedious. Repair is just correcting something that’s already there. Construction is growing something that’s not there yet.” He corrected the angling of another piece of wood. “It’s like a plant. It can grow up sickly and weak, it can grow up crooked, it can grow up the wrong color, there’s any number of things that can go wrong with it. You see, we were lucky with Remus’ quarters yesterday. By some miracle, it all turned out alright when I grew his loft and rooms. This, on the other hand, is a rather stubborn plant. You know what I mean?” He turned to the infant in his walker, who had stationed himself against the far wall of the backyard, and cried out to him loudly, “There! How is it now?”

Sev shook his head. “MOHPE!”

“Whoooooooooooo!”

“What do you think of a deep burgundy color?” Ginny touched her wand to the wall and it turned that exact shade. She then turned to Sev, who stood in the middle of the room, examining it on all sides. The baby shook his head. “Okay…how about dark green?” She changed the color and turned a raised eyebrow on the child.

Sev’s lips tightened. ‘T-O-O D-A-R-K.’

“I don’t suppose a light purple could do the trick?” She murmured to herself. Tapping the wall, she changed the color and stepped back to examine it. She made a face. Sev made a face as well.

“What about a cream color? Something a bit off yellow…” Ginny tapped her chin in thought.

“Hey, you two! Will you stop for a second and tell me if this wall is what you had in mind?” Harry asked, gesturing towards the newly-constructed wall between the front hallway and the living room.

“Whoooooooooooo!”

“Okay, cub. Is the top on straight?” Sev was across the kitchen, parked against the fireplace and the cast-iron stove, helping Harry build the island Ginny wanted in the middle of the enormous cooking space.

The infant took one look at the new island and was about to sign ‘yes’ when a thought struck him. He doesn’t know that. Sev smirked internally. He put on the most innocent baby face he could muster and shook his head slowly.

Harry frowned. Tapping his wand to the granite counter, he tried correcting the angle once again. “How about now.”

Now it’s crooked. Feeling laughter bubbling in his chest, Sev thought it wise to hightail it out of the room before he burst into giggles and gave himself away. “Uh-huh!” He gave Harry a thumbs-up and rolled past the swinging door into the dining room, just as Ginny came into the kitchen.

“Whoooooooooooo!”   

“Um…Harry? The top of the island is crooked.”

“Severus!”

Childish squeals of laughter could be heard coming from the living room.

“Whoooooooooooo!”

“Okay, love…” Ginny unrolled a piece of parchment and laid it on the table of Sev’s walker. “These are my plans for the attic so far. What do you think?”

Sev chewed on two of his fingers and, smiling, he nodded. “G—oo—d…Goo—d…Goo—d…Good!”—‘Good’.

“It’s good?!” Ginny’s eyes lit up in delight. “You like it?”

“Ike.”—‘Like’

“Thank you, Sev. That means a lot to me!” She gave him a big kiss on the cheek. Sev grinned.

“Whoooooooooooo!”

Does he love me?
I wanna know!
How can I tell if he loves me so?

Ginny was in the kitchen.

(Is it in his eyes?)
Oh no! You be deceived!
(Is it in his size?)
Oh no! You make believe!

Listening to oldies songs and dancing around the room, singing into a wooden spoon.

If you wanna know
If he loves you so
It’s in his kiss
(That’s where it is!)

She pointed the spoon at Severus, winked, and in one fluid motion lifted him out of his walker and into her arms.

(Or is it in his face?)
Oh no! That’s just his charm!
(Or his warm embrace?)
Oh no! That’s just his arm!
If you wanna know
If he loves you so
It’s in his kiss
(That’s where it is!)
Oh! It’s in his kiss!
(That’s where it is!)

Ginny puckered up and Sev gave her a quick, wet kiss on the lips before burying his bright red face in her shirt, giggling.

Oh, oh, oh! Kiss him and hold him
And squeeze him tight!
And find out what you wanna know!
If it’s love, if it really is
It’s there in his kiss!

She danced to the counter, mixed the bowl of pudding she was making, and then danced back to the stove to check her soup and bread.

(How ‘bout the way he acts?)
Oh no! That’s not the way!
And you’re not listening to all I say!
If you wanna know
If he loves you so
It’s in his kiss!
(That’s where it is!)
Oh yeah! It’s in his kiss!
(That’s where it is!)

Harry leaned against the doorframe of the kitchen entrance, arms crossed and a half-smile on his face as he watched his girlfriend cooking, dancing, and singing all at the same time. She had a giggling Severus wrapped in her embrace and seemed oblivious to her captivated audience. Harry couldn’t remember ever seeing something more beautiful in his life.

Oh, oh, oh! Kiss him and hold him
And squeeze him tight!
And find out what you wanna know!
If it’s love, if it really is
It’s there in his kiss!

Ginny and the infant Severus—his girlfriend and his ward—in his kitchen, dancing to music from his record player, and making his favorite dish for dinner, while he watched them from the door. Harry’s heart skipped a beat when it occurred to him just how…domestic this whole scene looked to him. A stranger from afar would see them and assume they were a family. Well…to be completely honest with himself, they were a family…sort of. Yet it was that simple fact that Harry was finding difficult to come to terms with. For him, this was all too good to be true! Harry felt like a bum from the streets who had just been handed a million pounds. This was a scene from his deepest dreams, his most desperate desires! He almost had to slap himself to prove he was actually awake.

To go from having almost nothing to having the world in the space of a month was a bit of a shock for him.

(How ‘bout the way he acts?)
Oh no! That’s not the way!
And you’re not listening to all I say!
If you wanna know
If he loves you so
It’s in his kiss!
(That’s where it is!)
Oh yeah! It’s in his kiss!
(That’s where it is!)
Oh, it’s in his kiss…!

The record player clicked as it transitioned to another song, while Ginny threw a spoon into the kitchen sink with a clang.

“Oh, wasn’t that a great song, love?” She grinned at the cooing baby in her arms. “They don’t make it like that anymore, huh?” She laughed as she brushed some stray red hair away from her eyes, and spotted Harry in the process. Her grin melted into a gentle smile as her hazel eyes met his emerald greens. She immediately noted the wistful look and tiny smile upon his face.

“How long have you been standing there?” She asked, her eyes narrowing playfully.

The opening notes of another familiar song began floating through the room.

“Long enough.” Harry pushed away from the door and slid over to where she and Sev stood. “Come ‘ere.” He whispered, pulling them into his arms.

There are places I’ll remember
All my life, though some have changed.
Some forever, not for better
Some have gone, and some remain
All these places have their moments
With lovers and friends, I still can recall.
Some are dead and some are living
In my life, I’ve loved them all.

He took her hips, she took his shoulder, and together they slowly danced around the kitchen, Sev in between them, smiling softly around his chewed fingers.

But of all these friends and lovers,
There is no one compares with you
And these memories lose their meaning
When I think of love as something new
Though I know I’ll never lose affection
For people and things that went before
I know I’ll often stop and think about them
In my life, I love you more.

He pulled the two of them closer, wrapping his arms around her back and leaning his forehead against hers. Their eyes locked for a long moment before his gaze flicked to Severus.

Though I know I’ll never lose affection
For people and things that went before
I know I’ll often stop and think about them
In my life, I love you more.

Leaning down, Harry placed a gentle kiss on the top of Sev’s head.

In my life, I love you more.

And then he and Ginny shared a kiss of their own; a kiss, they both realized, that meant so much more than it ever did before.

Dinner that evening was full of laughter. Sev delighted in the seafood soup Ginny made. Apparently, it was Harry’s favorite. Reluctant as he was to admit it, it was quickly becoming Sev’s favorite as well. Ginny kept whispering ideas in Sev’s ear about their attic project and Harry kept trying—and failing—to eavesdrop, much to Sev’s unending amusement. Dessert for the night was Ginny’s vanilla pudding, which tasted just as good as her chocolate pudding, so Sev wasn’t about to complain.

One nice, warm bath later, Sev found himself nestled between a fluffy, white comforter and sheets, big, soft pillows, and Harry and Ginny.

“So you like the Tales of Beedle the Bard, huh?” Ginny asked as she flipped through the book and made herself comfortable on Sev’s left side. Harry lay on Sev’s right, shirtless and reading the Evening Prophet. “Which stories haven’t you read yet?” Sev pointed them out and Ginny chose two to read. “I’ll read one, and then Harry will read one—complete with voices!” She winked at Sev.

Harry suddenly looked up from the paper and turned to them. “I beg your pardon?!”

“Once upon a time…”

“I am not doing voices, Ginny.”

Ginny coaxed him into doing voices anyway. Sev spent half of story time just laughing at him. Yet when story time was done, Ginny put away the book, Harry folded up the paper, Ginny turned off the lights, Harry opened the windows, and the three of them huddled together, listening to the humming of the midnight wind as she sang them to sleep.

Severus stood on the bed, with Harry’s help, while Ginny dressed him in a tiny white collared shirt, khakis, and trainers. Ginny herself wore a pretty, light purple sundress, which Sev thought brought out her eyes, while Harry wore black dress pants with a brown collared shirt and black tie.

“Right! Okay…that looks about right.” Ginny pulled back to examine him top to bottom.

“Wah—koo.”

“Not right now, cub.” Harry answered, turning Sev around and then lifting him into his arms. “We’re about to leave for services.” He walked over to the bookcase and drew out a small, ornate, decorative box, bringing it to the vanity table, where Ginny was seated. “I refuse to transfigure my broomstick into a car.” He told her.

Ginny snorted and rolled her eyes. Putting down her hairbrush, she studied the box curiously. “What is it?”

“Open it.” Harry pushed.

Narrowing her eyes playfully, Ginny undid the various latches and turned the various dials until she heard a click and the box popped open. Now even Severus was curious as to what lay inside. Soft, gentle music began floating out from within the confines of the box. “A music box?” Ginny raised an eyebrow at Harry. Slowly, the teen lifted the lid to reveal a small model car.

“Blue, four-door, Nissan Micra. It’s the newest model—1998. Driver and passenger-side airbags, all-wheel drive, anti-lock brakes—”

“Harry?” Ginny stopped him with a smile. “You can have that conversation with my dad.”

“Right.” Harry smirked. “It’s a…uh…good car.”

“That’s good enough for me.” She handed the model car to Severus. “Why don’t you go warm it up?”

“Careful with that, cub.” Harry said as they made their way out the bedroom and down the stairs. “That’s our ride.”

Soon enough, the model car was enlarged into a real one, Severus was strapped into the car seat they had transfigured from his walker, and the car was warmed up and ready to go.

“So when, exactly, did you learn how to drive, Harry?” Ginny asked as she strapped herself in and checked Severus’ straps as well.

Harry adjusted his mirrors and then began to slowly drive down the road. “The summer before my sixth year.” He answered, “My uncle had just lost his job and blamed me for it the moment I got home from the train station. He laid into me good that night, and the night after that, and the night after that. After that third night, I knew if I stayed any longer, he’d kill me.”

“So you ran away.” Ginny guessed.

“Just for a little bit.” Harry nodded. “About a month or so.” He checked the street for any pedestrians before speeding up a bit. “I went into London and healed myself near Diagon Alley. That way, the Trace wouldn’t have been able to tell it was me.”

“How badly were you hurt?” Ginny asked, concerned.

“Pretty badly.” Harry shrugged.

“Elaborate.” His girlfriend’s eyebrows furrowed.

The teen sighed, “Several broken bones, my right leg was fractured, almost all my ribs were cracked, I think I was bleeding internally, my left shoulder was dislocated, and I’m not going to get into my face or my back.”

“You got all the way into London without someone noticing you were that injured?!” Ginny was appalled. “What did Stan Shunpike say?”

“I didn’t take the Knight Bus.” Harry shook his head.

“Are you telling me you walked to London? Bleeding internally and on a broken leg?!”

“I flew my broom, Gin.” Harry stopped as a herd of goats crossed their path. “And I had my invisibility cloak on.”

“Why didn’t you go to Grimmauld Place?”

“What? And have them send me back to my aunt and uncle’s? ‘I’m sorry, Harry, but we have to send you back there for your own protection. The blood wards would fail otherwise.’ Like hell I was safe in there, Gin!”

“I doubt Sirius would’ve sent you back if he only knew what happened.”

“Dumbledore would’ve made him!” Harry argued. “You know how that old coot can be! Manipulative, that he is.”

“Harry—”

“I don’t want them to know, Gin!” Harry interjected strongly. “I don’t want any of them to know anything!” He lowered his voice to just above a whisper. “The only two people who know about that are you and Severus and I want it to stay that way.” He faced forward again and resumed driving down the road. “Anyway…after I healed myself, I donned a glamour, drew out some money, and spent about a month living in a cheap motel with rats for company. Hell of a lot better than my ‘home’ in Surrey, I’ll tell you.”

“And you got your driver’s license.”  

Harry shrugged. “I had to do something after I finished reading all my books.” He turned down a paved street and into town. “Riding around on trains could only amuse me for so long.”

Ginny shook her head. “You’re unbelievable, Harry.”

“Hey, if there’s one thing living at my aunt and uncle’s taught me, it was self­-reliance.” Harry remarked as Ginny began directing him to the chapel, “I couldn’t depend on them—they made that abundantly clear. So I learned how to snitch food at an early age, I learned how to heal myself at an early age, I taught myself how to read, how to write, how to work with numbers, how to tie my shoes.” He scoffed. “Living with rats in a motel in London was paradise, Ginny. I was next to Diagon Alley, the Trace didn’t work properly, and I could practice magic all I wanted. I could make all the potions I needed, I could perfect my defense.” He shrugged. “I was happy.”

Ginny looked at him sadly. “You were lonely.” She corrected matter-of-factly.

Harry sighed as he pulled into a parking spot next to the chapel. “It doesn’t matter anymore. The past is past.” He shut off the engine and turned to look at both Ginny and Severus, “Now…I’m happy—for real this time.” He narrowed his eyes at his girlfriend. “I dare you to deny that.”

Ginny smirked and rolled her eyes. “I can’t.”

Sunday service turned out to be an interesting experience. Although the chapel looked old on the outside, it was completely modernized on the inside. A new speaker system sat in one corner, fully functional stage lights hung from the rafters, and a drum set, electric guitars, and more than a few acoustic guitars sat in one corner, already plugged into the speakers. A few university-aged students seemed to be helping with set-up and testing. Harry and Ginny were handed program booklets when they walked in and were directed to a row of white, fold-out chairs, rather than the traditional pews. Service started with the introduction of new community members, including Harry, Sev, and Ginny, and the trio found themselves shaking hands with the dozen or so cheerful strangers sitting around them. The program continued with the entire congregation singing in conjunction with the Christian rock band that was set up in the corner. Somehow, the trio found themselves singing along as well. After a rather captivating sermon by the young pastor, another long set of Christian rock songs were sung before a final prayer and an invitation to a BBQ at the local park.

“Well, that was…interesting.” Harry remarked as he walked out of the chapel, Sev in his arms.

“I must say, I’ve never been to something quite like that before.” Ginny added.

“What do you think, cub?” Harry nudged the infant.

“Oh—key.” The baby mumbled around his thumb.

“I bet you’re hungry, eh?” Harry felt Sev nod against his chest.

“M—M—M—Mis—Mis—Mister Potter?” Somebody bumbled behind them. “Mr. Potter?” Harry and Ginny both turned to find a rather portly man and a small boy standing several feet from them.   “Mis—Mister Potter?”

Harry smiled amicably. “Yes, sir?”

“Oh, it is you! Harry Potter!” The man looked positively giddy as he gripped the small boy by the shoulders and shook him in excitement.

The boy scowled and gave the portly man a strange look. “Dad, will you calm down!” He brushed the man’s hands off his shoulders and extended a hand to Harry. “Hello, Mr. Potter, I’m Logan Miller. This is my dad, Warrick.”

Harry shook the boy’s hand and then the bumbling man’s. “Nice to meet you Logan, Mr. Miller. This is my girlfriend Ginny and this little guy is Henry.”

“Warrick! Honestly, can’t you mind your own business?” A rather portly woman came bounding up to them from behind the father and son. “I’m sorry, Mr. Potter and Miss…?”

“Weasley.” Ginny answered with a smile.

“Miss Weasley. I apologize. My husband can’t help himself sometimes.” She offered her hand to them. “I’m Regina.”

“It’s very good to meet you, Regina.” Ginny smiled. “Tell me…you’re of…uh…” she tilted her head, and Regina and Logan nodded knowingly. Warrick just continued to stare at Harry like a worshiper to a god.

“Can I ask a favor of all three of you?” Harry said.

“YES!” Warrick cried out loudly, making everyone jump at the sudden outburst. “Anything, Mr. Potter. Anything! Anything at all!”

Sev gave Warrick a disgusted look. “Kiff—aff!” He scowled at the portly man and stuck out his tongue, intent on blowing raspberries at him. Before he could do anything, though, a hand placed itself gently but firmly over his mouth.

“Will you excuse me for just one minute?” Harry said with a smile. Turning around, he hissed in Sev’s ear. “Remember how I said I was going to give you a warning before a spanking became warranted.” Sev gasped and looked up at him, wide-eyed. “That was your warning.” Harry continued sternly. “And you’re getting a five-minute time-out when we get home for that ‘kiss-arse’ remark. Now I expect good, polite behavior from you for the remainder of the day. Do I make myself perfectly clear?”

Sev took one look at Harry’s firm glare and hung his head. “Yea, ehw.” He murmured sadly, burying his face in Harry’s shirt.

“Thank you.” Harry replied and turned back around. “I’m sorry. He’s hungry and that’s why he’s a bit grouchy right now.” He stepped closer to the other family and lowered his voice. “Could the three of you do me a little favor? You know all the magical families around here, right?”

“Oh, yes, Mr. Potter! Yes, we do! All of them!” Warrick answered, nodding fervently.

“Please, Mr. Miller, call me Harry.” The teen insisted. “That’s good to hear. Listen…I just moved back into my family’s home up at Haven Place. My girlfriend and I are renovating it. I’d appreciate it…” He eyed their surroundings and lowered his voice some more, “…if my presence here does not attract the attention of any newspapers, muggle and otherwise. I love this community here. I really do. I’d love it even more, in fact, if I don’t have to shut myself in my house because photographers are trying to get my picture or my family’s picture.”

“Oh, we understand, sir, completely!” Logan nodded.

“Mum’s the word.” Regina agreed.

“I’ll tell all the, uh…neighbors to keep it all hush-hush.” Warrick added, coming out of his stupor of the first time.

“Thank you all very, very much.” Harry smiled gratefully. After wishing them a good day, he and Ginny turned and continued following the crowd to the park.

“Hopefully that doesn’t happen too much today.” Harry murmured to Ginny.

“I agree. Did you see that guy?”

Harry snorted. “He looked kind of funny.” Suddenly, he felt something shaking on his chest. Sev was sniggering into his tie. “Didn’t he, cub? He had that glazed over look in his eye for, like, five minutes.” The sniggering turned into giggles and Harry found himself laughing along.

“Oh hush, you two!” Ginny chided.

“It was funny!”

“It was creepy!”

“It was that…” Harry shrugged, “…and funny!”

They reached the park and the glorious smell of barbeque filled their nostrils. “Oh, yes!” Harry growled, making Sev laugh at the rumbling noise his chest was making. “Meat!”

The picnic at the park was spectacular. The congregation said a short prayer, led by the pastor, and then the church served lunch. On the park benches sat barbeque pork that had been left roasting for twelve hours, potato salad, corn, mashed potatoes, and a green salad with dressing—all for free.

“How can they afford all this?” Harry remembered asking Ginny as they stood in line for food.

Martha had been next to them then and had answered him. “Donations from the community.” She smiled. “The community gives to the church, the church gives back to the community.”

“Every Sunday?”

“Every Sunday.”

Harry and Sev both ate their fill, while Ginny watched in amusement. They had brought Sev’s special formula along that day, thus the infant was able to taste the delicious food as well. Ginny was just finishing her first helping when both Harry and Sev collapsed on the grass next to her, sated and sleepy. “You two really should eat slower, you know.” She commented, feeding herself some corn. Harry merely raised an eyebrow at her, and Sev peered at her through half-closed eyes as he lay on Harry’s chest. Ginny laughed and rolled her eyes. 

After a sufficient resting period, some guys from the church brought out sports equipment—a few footballs, a rugby ball, a couple of American footballs, two cricket sets, some baseball equipment, and a croquet set. Harry, Sev, and Ginny merely stood on the sidelines for a while as various people—both muggle and wizard—kept coming up to the trio and introducing themselves. The muggles welcomed them to the community and gave them information regarding various services offered around town, including schools, daycares, kids’ programs and whatnot. The wizarding folks welcomed them to the community and promised to keep mum about their existence there.

Harry and Ginny decided last night to tell the muggles they were married and tell the magical folks they were still dating. After all, Harry Potter’s love life wasn’t that big of a secret in the wizarding world. Everyone knew he wasn’t married. No one in the muggle world knew that, though.

“Hey, Ginny! Can we borrow your husband for a bit, eh?” One of the muggle church brothers—Dan, if Harry remembered correctly—shouted from the field. “Come on, Harry! Let’s play a bit of football. What do you say?” Dan’s teammates shouted in encouragement and the wizarding family they had been talking to also clapped supportively.

Harry gave Ginny a questioning look. His girlfriend merely smirked and took Severus from him. “Go ahead! Go on!” She turned towards Dan and cried, “Sure, you can borrow him! Just bring him back in one piece, okay?!”

Harry sighed and undid his tie and shirt, stripping to his undershirt. Cheers originated from the gathering crowd as Harry ran over and accepted an orange vest from Dan. The game suddenly gathered a large crowd, as everyone present who was of the wizarding community stayed to watch Harry Potter play muggle football. Ginny was actually surprised by Harry’s skill level with a football. Whenever one of the guys passed it to him, he would drive it forward by sweeping the ball around his feet, through other players’ legs, or between two players or more. At one point, a teammate passed him the football midway through the opposing team’s field and Harry drove the ball around his back leg, spinning to avoid colliding with another player, then in between two other players, tripping them up, before giving it a hefty kick between another player’s open legs and slamming it into the air, straight at one of his other teammates, who then head-butted the ball into their goal.

“Wah-oh!” Sev squealed, grinning up at Ginny.

“That was good, wasn’t it?!” Ginny laughed. She heard Sev clap his baby hands. “When you get big enough again, I bet you he’ll teach you all those tricks of his.” She whispered into his ear. “And then you’ll be better than him one day.” She gave him a big kiss on the cheek, and laughed as Sev’s arms and legs bobbed up and down excitedly as the crowd cheered.

About fifteen minutes later, the game came to an exciting end when Harry’s team reached game point after five minutes of tie game. The two groups shook hands amicably and then Harry made his way over and collapsed on the blanket beside them, his hair matted with sweat.

“Did you have fun?” Ginny laughed as Sev crawled away from her and onto Harry’s chest.

“Oh, yeah!” Harry panted. “Jeez! I haven’t played a good game of football in…quite some time.” His eye rolled to the back of his head as he breathed heavily. “Since I was thirteen, I think…That was the last time I played…found some guys in a park…pick-up football.”

“Hey, good game, Harry!” One of the guys from his team called from across the field. Harry picked up his head and waved. “See you next week?” The teen gave him a thumbs-up and a smile. “Alright then! See ya, mate!” Harry waved once again.

Ginny chuckled. “So…shall we go?”

“Just give me a few minutes.” Harry replied, still a bit breathless.

“Hey, Ginny!” One of the muggle ladies—Jane, if Ginny remembered correctly—came up to them from behind. “Would Henry like to come play with the other children for a while? We’re about to blow bubbles!”

Harry suppressed a snort and Sev scowled at him. “Come on, love, it’s only a few bubbles.” Ginny whispered in Sev’s ear. “You’ll be surprised how fun it is!”

“Come on, cub. I’ve had my fun. It’s time for you to have yours.” He tried lifting the child off his chest, but Sev would have none of it. He whined and stuck himself to Harry’s shirt.

Jane laughed. “Why don’t you come with him, Harry? Show the other dads how to be a man and enjoy something with their infant.” She and Ginny shared a look and a laugh.

“Oh!” Harry grunted. “I can’t get up!” Sev giggled into his chest and gripped his shirt. Harry sat up, arms gripping the infant securely, and stood on his feet. “Where are those bubbles? Huh? Where are they? Where?!”

“They’re over here, Harry.” Jane answered with a smile, pointing to a spot nearby where numerous infants and toddlers were gathered on the grass, chasing bubbles. The teenage girl who was blowing bubbles at them looked up and blew a set towards Severus. The infant in Harry’s arms flinched away from the bubbles, dodging them whenever they came near his face. When a bubble finally managed to pop on his nose, Sev sniffed and shook his head, reminding Harry of a little puppy. The infant turned to Harry and scowled.

“Aw, come on, cub! Bubbles can be fun, too! Look!” The girl blew another set of bubbles towards them and Harry thrust his face at a few of them, popping them with his nose. At one point, he bit at some bubbles to pop them, making a face as the soap hit his tongue. “See?!” He sat down on the grass, next to the children, and then resumed his former sprawled position. “Have at it, Hank.” Harry closed his eyes and tried once again to get his heartbeat to slow down.

Severus continued to scowl at Harry. He didn’t want to play with bubbles! Did these people sometimes forget he wasn’t a real baby? Granted, Severus forgot that himself sometimes, but…that wasn’t the point right now! He did not want to play with bubbles! He’d look like a complete idiot! Sev gripped Harry’s shirt tighter and started pulling against it. Get up, Potter! Get up! I do not want to play with the stupid bubbles! But it was useless. The teenager was halfway into a nap. Argh! Sev huffed, pouted, and pushed up against Harry’s chest, frowning at the other infants who were chasing the ridiculous little bubbles.

The idiot teenage girl found it necessary to blow more bubbles in his direction. With a growl, Sev buried his face in Harry’s chest in order to escape them. “Ah!” He whined at Harry, tapping him none-too-lightly on the chest in order to rouse him. It didn’t work. What did happen, though, was that a lone bubble managed to land right on Harry’s nose without popping.

Severus froze. Looking around, he noted that all the other babies’ attentions were drawn away by the other bubbles. This one seemed forgotten by the rest. Well, not for long! Sev crouched low on Harry’s chest, watching the bubble through narrowed eyes. Harry’s head moved slightly left, then slightly right, but the bubble remained exactly where it was. Excellent! Sev crept forward slowly, keeping himself low on Harry’s chest. He wriggled until his nose touched Harry’s chin, and then he crouched low, lower than before, so low that only his eyes were visible over the top of Harry’s chin. He watched the bubble closely. Still, his prey remained oblivious. It continued to sit there, impervious to the wind and movement. Sev’s muscles tensed, he felt his fingers curl up. Then, without warning, he pounced! Sev trapped the bubble between his two hands, popping it soundly.

“OW!” Harry cried out, his eyes flying open in surprise. Ginny’s hysterical laughter could be heard somewhere in the background. “Seve—Argh! HENRY!” 

Sev pushed up against Harry’s chest and grinned down at his caretaker.

“Are you alright, Harry?” Jane asked, looking down at him in concern.

“Yes, I’m…I’m fine.” Harry replied, “Little guy just pounced on my nose!” He clutched the offended appendage and rubbed it gently.

“It was a good pounce, too!” The teenager who was blowing the bubbles added.

“Yes, well…I call him ‘cub’ for a reason.” He lifted Sev off his chest and laid him on the grass next to him. “Go on! Pounce on more bubbles, just not the ones on me!” Yet it was no use. The infant had spotted yet another bubble that had landed on Harry’s glasses and pounced on it as well. After that, he jumped on the one on Harry’s hair. “Argh! Hank…give me a break! Please?” Sev then jumped on a bubble that had landed on Harry’s ear.

After about five minutes of allowing herself to indulge in her favorite hobby, Ginny put the camera away and went to rescue a laughing Harry from the clutches of Severus, the great bubble-pouncer. “Hey, you two!” She placed her hands on her hips and smirked at the two roughed-up boys. “You ready to go?” She double-checked the spot where they were sitting to make sure he hadn’t left anything.

“Yeah.” Harry replied, lifting Sev into his arms before picking himself up off the ground. “There’s just one more place I want to drop by before we go back home.”

Harry, Sev, and Ginny said their goodbyes to their new friends and neighbors before leaving the park. Taking his girlfriend’s hand, Harry led her down the street from the church and towards a small graveyard.

“Do you mind?” He asked her pensively.

“No, love.” Ginny shook her head, gripping his hand supportively.

“Do you, cub?” Harry asked the child in his arms. In response, Sev merely whined and reached towards the graveyard, opening and closing his hands in plea.

“Go on!” Ginny encouraged him.

Using just a touch of magic to open the gate, Harry slowly walked onto the hallowed ground and led them to his parents’ gravesite. The white headstone gleamed in the afternoon sunshine. Harry remembered coming here that first time, in the dead of night, looking for it; remembered how it seemed to glow in the moonlight as well. The names James Potter and Lily Potter were engraved just above the dates of their birth and death; and below that, ‘The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.’

As soon as he reached it, Harry released Ginny’s hand and crouched down, setting Severus on the ground before him. Almost immediately, the baby crawled to Lily’s side of the headstone. Leaning against it with one hand, he used the fingers of his other to trace the letters of her first name, ignoring the Potter completely.

L-I-L-Y

Harry sat back on his heels and looked at the headstone as a whole. James Potter, Lily Potter—his parents. He hadn’t told anyone this yet, but he had the chance to have a nice chat with his parents just a month ago, during his brief stay in the no-man’s-land between life and death. They were the ones who told him what he had to do; they were the ones who gave him the choice between joining them or leaving them once more; and they were the ones who helped him finally come to terms with their deaths once and for all.

“We’ll see each other again one day, my love.” Lily told her son, caressing his face lovingly. “And when we do, it’ll be forever.”

“But that day is not today, Harry.” James broke in, putting his arm around his son and ruffling his hair. “You’ve got your whole life ahead of you! That, mind you, is what won’t last forever.”

“You’ve got a limited amount of time in the world of the living, Harry.” Lily added, “Don’t waste it! Enjoy the people you have in your life. Set aside this hatred in your heart and show the world your capacity to love!”

“You got that from your mother, by the way.”

“Harry, sweetheart,” Lily crouched in front of her son and gripped his hands tightly, “Don’t think of this as a goodbye. It’s not a goodbye! It’s a ‘see you later’ more than it’s a ‘goodbye’.”

“Remember what your godfather said, cub.” James put in, “Those who love us never really leave us. They’re right here.” He laid his hand over his son’s heart. “Always.”

“We’re watching you, my love. We’re right next to you every moment of every day of your life.” His mother told him. “When you close your eyes, you’ll be able to see us. If you listen hard enough, you’ll be able to hear us as well.”

“You see?! The only thing we’ll be missing is a body! And what’s a body anyway?” James waved it off as if it was nothing.

“We love you, Harry...”

“Very much, son…”                                                                                                                                                          

Harry’s eyes flickered open and he found himself kneeling on the ground, his forehead resting against the headstone. His cheeks felt damp, his eyes stung slightly, and he could swear something just dripped off his chin.

Severus traced Lily’s name lovingly, reliving every memory of her, recalling all their joyous childhood moments. Lily. Lovely Lily. His precious flower. How Severus wished he could take back all those bad moments. How he wished he could just start their friendship over from the beginning. Lily was so sweet, so innocent, so pure, and so mature as well. She was wise beyond her years. Severus didn’t deserve her!

Well…apparently life agreed with him on that point. He didn’t deserve her and he didn’t get her. It was Potter who got her! Severus could feel anger boiling in the pit of his stomach. Potter. Potter! James Potter! Big Quidditch hero, super-arrogant, bullying git James Potter! He ended up with the girl! What the hell did Potter have that he didn’t?! What the hell did Potter do to deserve her that Severus didn’t do?!

“Grew up.”

The thought popped into his mind as if it just apparated in out of nowhere. Yet it latched itself onto his consciousness and refused to let go. Potter grew up. So what?! Severus grew up as well. That didn’t seem to catch Lily’s attention as much as when Potter grew up. It must’ve been something else that attracted Lily to Potter.

“You’re missing the point, Sev! You didn’t grow up, you stayed the same! The muggle-born hating, the pure-blood superiority rubbish, the cold-hearted, violent friends you refused to relinquish; that all continued! From childhood to adulthood, that continued. I thought suspending our friendship would bring you to your senses, but when I found out you took the Mark, I knew your quests for power and prestige meant more to you than our friendship. You didn’t grow up, Sev!”

A voice that sounded suspiciously like Lily screamed into his head.

“As much as I loved you as a friend, Severus, I couldn’t love you as anything more than that; regardless of how much I wanted to. I fall in love with personality, Sev, not appearances. James grew out of his pranking ways and showed me his better side. He showed me the man he could become and became him. You showed me the man you could have become, but chose not to. Therein lies the difference, Severus! James chose to be the better man, you didn’t.”

The cold, hard truth felt like a knife to the heart for Severus.

James chose to be the better man, Severus didn’t.

James chose to bury the hatchet, Severus didn’t.

James chose the path of most resistance; Severus chose the path of least.

James made the right choices, Severus didn’t.

James loved Lily. Severus…didn’t? The saying ‘If you love me, let me go.’ flashed in his mind for a moment. If Severus really did love Lily, he would’ve found it in himself to let her go. Yet Sev had flat-out refused to let her go. He had held on to her. He had held on to her throughout her courting by James Potter, throughout her marriage, throughout her son’s birth, and throughout her death. He had held on to her like a lifeline, even when she wasn’t there anymore. In fact, Severus was still holding on to her even now. He was still keeping the lamp burning for Lily Evans.

Yet what did all that mean? Did that mean that Severus’ love for Lily wasn’t love at all? Did that mean that Sev was, in fact, obsessed with Lily rather than in love with her? Did that mean that Severus’ love was selfish, rather than pure, like James Potter’s? That his love was more a desire for possession of her than it was actual love?

Severus’ stomach churned. Oh god! Oh god! Oh god!

Images of Lily from childhood to adulthood flashed in his mind. Lily, Lily, Lily…Sev felt a physical pain in his chest. He realized as the years passed by, Lily’s face grew sadder and sadder whenever she looked at him. By fifth year, her eyes didn’t shine with the same light that they shone with when they were children. Her words to him became more and more desperate with time. She had been begging him, pleading with him to change. But he didn’t. Then one day she stopped looking. And the light she used to keep burning for him began burning for James Potter.

And that had driven Severus over the edge. That had been what had pushed him to take the Mark. He had wanted Lily back!

Oh god! Oh god! Oh god! I didn’t love her! He realized. I wasn’t in love with her; I was obsessed with her. I wasn’t trying to court her; I was trying to claim her. Severus felt like throwing up. I wanted her as my possession rather than my wife. A lump formed in his throat and fresh tears sprung to his eyes. Oh god! LILY! I was a fool! I was a damn fool!

He traced her whole name this time. All of it.

L-I-L-Y P-O-T-T-E-R

James Potter had deserved her; a lot more than Severus ever did. James Potter had given Lily Evans exactly what she deserved—pure, unselfish love. Something Severus couldn’t give to her.

If you love me, let me go…

I was a fool, Lily…A damn fool…!

Voices from all around him began echoing in his ear as Sev leaned against the gleaming headstone.

“Dear child…Sweet child…”

“You’re free now, Sev…”

“She will come back to you…sooner than you think…”

“Chase me, Sev! Run with me!”

“May you soon see this opportunity as a blessing…”

Sev’s eyes fluttered open. See this opportunity as a blessing…

“L-I-L-Y P-O-T-T-E-R.” Sev heard a slightly nasal voice spell out. Turning, the infant found a red-nosed, puffy-eyed Harry sitting on the ground next to him. His back rested against the headstone and he was giving Severus a bit of a half-smile. “Pleasant memories?” The infant sat back on his heels and leaned on his arms, frowning at the teenager. “Yeah, mine weren’t all that happy either.” With a sigh, the baby turned away, mindlessly continuing to study the gravestone next to them.

Harry and Severus continued to sit in silence for several more minutes, neither moving nor thinking. They both just stared out into space, reveling in the stillness that surrounded them and in the blankness of their thoughts.

Then, wordlessly, Harry opened his arms and Severus crawled into them, snuggling into his shirt. “Let’s go home, shall we?” He felt a little head nod into his chest.

Harry stood up and made his way over to Ginny, who had gone to visit the Dumbledores’ graves in order to give them both some privacy. The teenager took his girlfriend’s hand and then leaned in to give her a long, sensuous kiss. A whispered, “Thank you,” was the only explanation he offered.

Ginny merely smiled and let her boyfriend lead her out of the graveyard. A comfortable silence filled the car on the way back to Haven Place. Halfway through, though, Ginny decided to break it by suggesting they take a tour of the woods around the house. Desperate for a break from the morbid atmosphere, Harry and Severus both accepted immediately.

Harry stopped the car and everyone climbed out. Sev’s car seat was quickly re-transfigured back into a walker, and the car promptly shrunk again. Ginny donned the baby sling this time, and the trio fearlessly ventured off the beaten path and into the small grove of trees.

The sunlight filtered through the treetops, bathing the area with the perfect balance of light and shadow. Severus was strongly reminded of their trip into the Forbidden Forest just a few days ago. The infant wondered idly if a secret lake lay hidden in here as well. Perhaps he could talk to the Lady of the Lake again.

“Isn’t it gorgeous, love?”

Harry led them towards the small stream that ran through the grove, and the trio spent half an hour wetting their feet in the cool, shallow water.

“Look at the tadpoles, Sev! Look at the tadpoles! They’re swimming through your toes! Whoops!” Harry lifted the baby out of the water, pulling his feet out along with him. Severus squealed in delight, kicking his feet wildly and splashing water droplets everywhere. “Watch out! Here he comes again!” He set the child down and immersed his feet in the water. Just as the tadpoles came close enough to the baby’s toes, Harry pulled him back up again. “Whoops!” The infant giggled some more. The pattern continued for fifteen minutes, with Ginny seizing the opportunity to take yet another roll of pictures. Halfway through, the two teens switched places and Ginny splashed around while Harry got to play the photographer.

After playtime at the creek, Harry decided to do a bit of exploring and led them towards a rock outcropping he spied downstream. He remembered seeing the same outcropping from the backyard of his house and wondered idly if that was the location of Remus’ aforementioned cave. Sure enough, as soon as they circled the structure completely, they were able to spy an opening on one side of the rock. “Hey look! That’s the cave Remus mentioned.” Harry stepped in first to assess the safety of the structure and found it to be more than satisfactory. “Come on in!” He signaled to Ginny and Sev.

Moony wasn’t kidding when he said it’d be exactly as they left it. The cave itself was rather small and its shape was reminiscent of a doughnut. Harry thought it quite resembled his dorm in Gryffindor tower. The dimensions seemed about right. A cut-up tree trunk stood in place of a heater, half-eaten chocolate bars lay on it instead of wet socks, and sleeping bags were strewn around the room instead of beds. Rather than windows, there stood support beams. Rather than clothes and shoes, empty cartons of Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans and boxes of half-eaten Chocolate Frogs littered the room. Rather than Dean’s football posters, Sirius’ pictures of motorcycles and bikini-clad muggle girls decorated the walls. Yet very much like Harry’s dorm, the cave was decked out from top to bottom in Gryffindor colors.

“Merlin’s beard! Look at this place!” Ginny gasped. Severus peered around and shifted uncomfortably in his sling.

“I reckon Remus would like a few minutes in here before we do anything to the place.” Harry remarked.

“Yeah.” Ginny nodded in agreement. “It’s absolutely beautiful, though. Do we have to do anything to it?”

“Well I’d think it’d make a wonderful hideaway, wouldn’t you say?” Ginny shrugged. “How about you, Sev? What do you think?” The infant shrugged as well.

“Come on, give me something, cub.”

Sev buried his face in Ginny’s chest. “Gif-dow cowo…”

“Gryffindor colors?” He and Ginny exchanged a puzzled look. “Is that making you uncomfortable?”

No response.

Harry sighed. “Alright. Let’s head home then, shall we? At least we all know where the cave is now.” He took Ginny’s hand and led her out of the cave and towards the house. “I’ll let Remus know it’s still here. I’m sure he’d love to see it again.”

“Will you be working on the open porch today? The big one?” Ginny asked, examining the back of the house as they approached it from the woods.

“Yeah.” Harry nodded. “But I think I’ll work it out in the kitchen first…while someone takes his time-out.”

That got Sev’s attention pretty quickly. He pushed up from Ginny’s chest and whined, scowling at Harry.

“Don’t give me any of that. I told you all of this a while ago, when you first got in trouble.” Harry replied sternly.

“What’s he in time-out for?” Ginny asked, curious.

“Calling Warrick a kiss-arse in the church parking lot. You remember. The first wizard family we met? The creepy guy?”

“You called him a kiss-arse?”

 “Mo.”

“Severus!” Harry rebuked.

“Mo mime ow!” The child whined again.

“I don’t appreciate the grating tone.” Harry replied coldly.

“Immy?” Sev went for pitiful this time, turning sad eyes upon Ginny.

“Oh no!” Ginny shook her head and looked the other way. “I am not getting in the middle of this.”

“Mo mime ow, Haweh!”

“Five minutes time-out, Severus.” Harry lifted the child out of his sling and entered through the new back porch.

“Mo mime ow! Mo mime ow! MO MIME OW!!!” Severus began squirming and kicking in Harry’s arms as the teen removed his shoes by the door.

Harry’s grip tightened on the infant. “Severus, stop that immediately!” His lips tightened as he marched down the hallway, stopping by the living room to pick up a couch cushion, and into the dining room.

“MO MIME OW! MO MIME OW! MO MIME OW!!!”

Harry laid the couch cushion in one corner of the dining room and sat the child on it, facing the wall. Severus fought him tooth and nail.

“MO MIME OW!” He kicked at Harry’s arms.

“Severus…”

“MO MIME OW!” Sev kicked so hard, he slipped onto his back. His little fists beating a steady rhythm against Harry’s hands.

“You are in here because—”

“MO MIME OW!” A strong kick to Harry’s cheek and then his jaw stopped the teen mid-sentence and made him loosen his hold on the infant as he grabbed his face.

“OW! Son of a…” Harry felt around his jaw to make sure it wasn’t broken and Sev took advantage of his preoccupation and crawled under the dining room table.

Harry could feel anger boiling in the pit of his stomach. Not good, not good, not good! A voice screamed in his head. Need a breather, need a breather, need a breather! Harry felt his hands begin to tremble and his fingers started curling in on themselves of their own accord. No, no, no, no, NO! Get out, Potter! GET OUT NOW!!!

Shutting his eyes, Harry pushed himself back to the wall and leaned against it. Flashes of Uncle Vernon invaded his consciousness. Breathe, breathe, breathe, breathe, breathe. Say what you have to say and then get out. I am NOT turning into Uncle Vernon! I am NOT turning into Uncle Vernon! I am NOT turning into Uncle Vernon! In…out…in…out…in…out…Come on, Potter! In…out…FOCUS! Control yourself, Potter! Control! I am NOT turning into Uncle Vernon! In…out…In…out…

When Harry felt like he was sufficiently able to control his temper for at least a few minutes, he opened his eyes and fixed the infant under the table with his sternest glare.

Once Severus had barricaded himself behind the dining room chairs, he had turned back towards Harry, fully expecting the teen to come crawling in behind him. What he found instead was Harry sitting up against the wall, doing deep breathing exercises. Within moments, Sev’s confusion gave way to curiosity and he continued to sit quietly, studying the teen from under the table. When Harry turned the mother of all glares upon him, though, Severus felt like shrinking back into the carpet. Adrenaline started pumping through his veins and his stomach began doing flip-flops. He had never seen Harry look that mad before; not even when he was his teacher!

“Haweh?” He squeaked, his voice sounding tiny to his ears.

“Congratulations. You just earned yourself a two-swat spanking.” Harry replied, his voice cold and devoid of all emotion. The teen then stood up and Sev couldn’t help but flinch back. However, Harry wasn’t heading towards him; he was heading towards the door!

“Haweh?!” Severus crawled forward in alarm, wondering where his caretaker was going. “Haweh!”

Yet Harry didn’t reply. In fact, he didn’t even look back! He just marched straight through the dining room door and left Sev in the room by himself.

“HAWEH!” Severus crawled forward as fast as he could, trying to chase after his guardian. But when the infant heard the unmistakable sound of the front door slamming shut, he gave up entirely and sat back on the floor, leaning against his arms. “Haweh!” He moaned pitifully. Sev felt the distinctive sting of tears in his eyes and he let them fall. Where was Harry going? What had he done? Why had Harry left him alone? Why wasn’t he here?

Why couldn’t I just sit in stupid corner for five minutes?! Why couldn’t I just do that?! The infant berated himself. What’s five minutes in a corner compared to feeling like this?! The ache in Sev’s heart felt almost physical. Guilt and regret coursed through his body. He didn’t mind that he had earned himself a spanking. Right now he’d take the worst spanking in history if Harry just came back through the door! Why did he leave me???

“Oh, angel…” Ginny stepped into the dining room and lifted Severus into her arms.

Somehow, her presence just made the tears fall even faster and Sev’s heart ache even more. He screamed his lungs out into her chest, soaking the material with his tears. “HAWEH!!! HAWEH!!!” He pushed up and peered at Ginny though his tears and snot. “Wehw?! Wehw?! Wehw?!” He cried, signing ‘where’ over and over again.

“Once you calm down, baby, I’ll tell you.” Ginny replied softly. Stooping down, she picked up the couch cushion and carried him back into the living room. After dropping the cushion back in place, Ginny plopped herself down on the couch and rocked him soundly, whispering calming noises into his ear.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, Severus felt his eyes run out of tears, and he lay limp in Ginny’s arms; his breath continued to hitch as he calmed down from the crying fit. The ache in Sev’s heart was still there, though, and the flip-flops still continued in his stomach, though not as violently as before. A button on Ginny’s shirt caught his attention and the infant began picking at it with his fingers, barely becoming aware of the soft hand running through his hair or of the angelic humming in his ear.

“Feel better now, baby boy?” Ginny asked softly.

Sev turned towards her, his eyes miserable. “Haweh…” He whined pitifully.

“Hey now, love…” Ginny readjusted his position so that he now sat on one of her legs, “Don’t think for one minute that Harry left because he hates you. Do not think that, Severus!”

Just hearing those words out loud brought a fresh wave of tears to Sev’s eyes.

“Harry stepped out when he did because he was trying to protect you, Sev!” Ginny continued, emphasizing her words with a tiny shake. “He didn’t want to hurt you or do something that he regretted, so he stepped out of the house to calm down!”

Sev felt a tingle of hope spring up in his gut, and he looked up at Ginny questioningly.

“He cares about you, baby.” The teen pushed on, “Harry believes his history of child abuse in the hands of his uncle made him predisposed to be like that as well, so he is doing everything in his power to not turn out that way.” She looked directly into Severus’ eyes. “He doesn’t want to hurt you, Sev. He cares too much about you to do that. He told me he’d turn his wand on himself before he ever hurt you. Do you understand me?” Ginny gently brushed some of Sev’s baby hair to the side. “He only stepped outside to calm down. Nothing more, okay?”

Sev felt a heavy weight lift from his shoulders and he breathed a sigh of relief. Harry hadn’t abandoned him? Harry just needed a chance to calm down? Harry didn’t want to hurt him? Yup, that all sounded right to Severus. “Ohhhhhhh—wa.” He muttered nonsensically as he released another relieved sigh. Blushing, the infant swiped at his wet eyes.

“Alright? So are we okay now?” Ginny asked, her eyes filled with concern.

Sev nodded, swiping at his nose this time.

The teenager sighed. “Oh, come now! You’re getting your nice clothes dirty.” Ginny summoned one wet and one dry handkerchief and then proceeded to clean up the tears, drool, and snot that had gotten all over the place during Sev’s crying fit. After ordering the infant to blow several times, she banished the hankies and carried Sev upstairs to change him into something a little more comfortable.

“Now…” She sat down on the bed and placed Sev on her lap. “…Harry will be back here in about ten minutes or so. In the meantime, I want you to sit here on the bed and think long and hard about what you did to earn the two swats you’ve got coming.” Sev’s face fell and he hung his head. He felt Ginny lift him and place him in the middle of the bed before standing up. “While you do that, I’ll be right here, doing some work.” With a flick of her wand, all the items on the vanity threw themselves into a box which then pushed itself into a corner as the vanity transfigured into a desk.

Sev watched her sit down to her papers before throwing himself back onto the sheets. The infant’s heartbeat thumped in his ear. The adrenaline coursed through his veins once again. The flips in his stomach flopped back with a vengeance.

He was nervous.

This is ridiculous! It’s two swats. Two swats! What are two swats? They’re nothing. Why am I so nervous?

The sound of the front door closing echoed up the stairs and Sev’s eyes shot towards the bedroom door.

He didn’t want a spanking! Well…if one can call two swats a spanking. It was the principle of the thing, though! He was a thirty-eight year old man in a five month old body. He was too old for a spanking! It’s two swats. What’s there to be afraid of? Severus thought his mind was being ridiculous. Not half an hour ago, he was telling himself he’d take the worst spanking in the world if Harry just came back through the door. Now Harry’s come back through the door and suddenly two swats seemed too overwhelming for him. But that was when I thought Harry was leaving me. Turns out he wasn’t leaving to begin with. He was just stepping out to calm down. So…bloody hell! Severus didn’t want a spanking. That was the truth of the matter. No matter how many swats were involved, he didn’t want one. Who in their right mind would want one anyway?

Severus rolled over onto his stomach and pushed up against the bed. The sound of footsteps against the stairs had him crouching back down into the sheets, though. He wondered idly if he could blend himself into the comforter and disappear completely. God, how he wished he was Teddy right now.

You just don’t like the fact that he found it necessary to give you a spanking. A voice said in his head. Severus also didn’t like the fact that Harry found it necessary to give him that kind of glare, or speak to him in that kind of voice either. Those cold, emotionless notes coming from his caretaker’s mouth sent shivers down his spine. He was used to a happy, smiling Harry, not a cold, unemotional Harry. To know that he, Severus, had been the one to drive Harry to that extreme sent waves of guilt rolling through his body.

Severus heard Harry’s unmistakable footsteps approaching the bedroom door and he screwed his eyes shut, not wanting to see the disappointment in those eyes. He covered his free ear as best he could, not willing to hear the cold, detached voice either.

Severus waited.

Despite his efforts, the sounds of the room managed to filter through his hand and pique his curiosity. The footsteps padded into the room and walked past him to the desk. Sev heard some muted whispers and then someone walked out of the room, the door softly clicking shut behind them. After that, silence filled the space for a few minutes, leaving Sev unsure of what to do. He was certain someone else was in the room with him, but right now he didn’t know if that someone was Harry or Ginny. Suddenly, the mattress dipped beside him, filling Severus with a cold dread. That didn’t feel like Ginny.

“Your feigning sleep act needs work.” Harry whispered through Sev’s hand.

The infant’s eyes flew open. That wasn’t a cold voice! That wasn’t an unemotional, shiver-inducing, detached voice. That voice had a hint of a smile in it! Removing his hand from his ear, and thus his arm from his view, Severus tentatively raised his eyes to meet Harry’s. The teenager was sitting on the bed next to him, giving him a look that betrayed his quiet amusement. “Hello there.” He greeted, a hint of a smile on his face.

Relief flooded through Severus at the sight of that familiar—albeit miniscule—grin, and the infant quickly pushed himself up and dove towards Harry, his arms wide open. “HAWEH!” He cried.

The teenager caught him easily, lifting the child and cradling him in his arms. “Whoa there! Easy now, Severus.”

“Ooo bac!”

“Of course I’m back!” Harry replied, as if that should’ve been obvious. “I never left!” Ten minutes ago, Severus would have begged to differ; so he buried his face in Harry’s shirt and made himself comfortable. “Hold on! Wait a minute, Severus. You and I need to have a talk.”

Sev’s face fell and his stomach started flip-flopping on overdrive as Harry shifted around and sat him on his lap. “Now, do you remember what I said this morning after I told you you would be receiving a five-minute time-out for the ‘kiss-arse’ remark?”

Severus paled. “Now I expect good, polite behavior from you for the remainder of the day. Do I make myself perfectly clear?” He gulped. “Goo…powie…behbor…?”

Harry nodded. “Good, polite behavior. Correct. Now I want you to take a look at this.” He pointed to his cheek, which was starting turn a light shade of purple, as well as his chin, which sported a small cut. “Is this good, polite behavior, Severus?”

The flipping in Sev’s stomach quickly turned into churning. Guilt rolled through his body in waves. He had hurt Harry! He’d bruised and cut his face! Fresh tears flooded his eyes and Sev heard himself sniff. “Uh-uh.” He shook his head sadly and swiped at his wet lashes.

“No, it’s not.” Harry shook his head as well. “Now do you understand why you’re getting this spanking?” The infant sniffed and nodded. “I gave you a warning this morning, you didn’t heed it. Thus, this became warranted.”

He shifted Severus once again until the infant lay face down over his right leg. After making sure he had a nice, firm hold on the baby and that he wouldn’t drop him, Harry gave him a verbal heads-up. “Ready?”

Sev held his breath.

SMACK! Severus heard the first swat before he even felt it. The sharp snap made him flinch and caused the tears in his eyes to start trickling down. Sev felt the guilt in his chest slowly begin to loosen. SMACK! A warmth spread over the cheeks in his face before the warmth in his nether-cheeks even registered. The trickles became streams, and Sev soon realized the more he cried, the more the guilt loosened in his chest. A hand began to rub soothing circles into his back and Harry’s calm-inducing voice began whispering gentle words into his ear.

“It’s over now, Sev. That was it! See? Not too bad, eh, cub?”

Cub! Harry was calling him ‘cub’ again! And he called him ‘Sev’ too! The overwhelming joy made the tears fall down all the harder. When Harry sat him upright again, Sev hugged him as best he could and muttered, “Oweh!” over and over again into his shirt.

Harry hugged him close and laid them both down on the soft comforter. “Shhh…I know you’re sorry. And I’m sorry as well for having to do that. But it’s all forgiven now. Alright, cub? Shhh…” He rubbed the infant’s back, infusing a bit of calming magic into the circles. “Dry those tears now, my boy. It’s all forgiven.” He placed a kiss on Severus’ forehead.

It took Severus about twenty minutes to drain his eyes of his guilt. Harry stayed with him the entire time—holding him in his arms, rubbing his back soothingly, humming nonsense tunes in his ear, and imparting his calming energy to the child. Eventually, the tears dried up, the hiccups subsided, and all the negative feelings drained away until only a calming peace was left in the room.

“Feeling better?” Harry murmured. Sev nodded against his chest.

“Excellent.” The teen sat up. “Oh, but there is one more thing…” The infant gave him a worried look. “Two more things, rather.” He held up a finger. “One, you’re still getting that five-minute time-out. No ifs, ands, or buts.” He held up another finger. “And two, you’re grounded from now ‘til Wednesday. Now that means…no dessert, a seven thirty bedtime, and no Teddy.” Severus gawked at him and opened his mouth to whine. “Ah, ah, ah!” Harry held up a warning finger. “You should have left it at a five-minute time-out before, but you didn’t. You fought tooth and nail for no good reason—other than the fact that you didn’t want a time-out—and ended up with a sore behind and a grounding. So unless you have a very good reason to fight tooth and nail now, I would rethink it quickly.” Sev’s shoulders fell and he sighed in defeat.

“Good choice!” Harry gave the infant another kiss on the head and a poke on the belly, pulling a few giggles from the baby. “Come on, cub! It’s not that bad.” He stood up and began making his way down the stairs. “Sitting on a cushion and staring at the wall doesn’t hurt one bit. It may be dreadfully boring, but that’s about it. I used to do it all the time in Professor Binns’ class. And I’m still alive, aren’t I?” Harry felt Severus snort into his chest as he took the cushion from the couch once again. The teen laid the cushion down in the same corner of the dining room as before and placed Severus down facing the corner. “Now…do I need to remind you as to why you’re in here again?”

“Kiff-aff.” The infant murmured.

“Exactly.” Harry stood up. “Five minutes, Sev.”

“Just be grateful you’re not big enough to have your mouth washed out with soap.” Ginny remarked from the table. “My mum used to do that with all of us—including Harry. ‘Kiss-arse’ would’ve warranted a nice five-minute scrub.” Sev’s eyes widened as he stared at the corner.

After the five minutes were up, and Severus had apologized for making the remark, Harry allowed him out of the corner and put him back in his walker with strict orders not to go into the front yard, side yards, or any other floor without supervision. Other than that, the entire ground floor and back yard were fair game.

As he ran around the living room, Severus swore to himself to never fight one of Harry’s punishments—unless absolutely necessary—ever again. He ended up with a spanking and a half a week’s grounding, and why? Because he didn’t want to sit and stare at a wall for five measly minutes! He had ended up doing that anyway in the end. He should’ve just sat through it to begin with and skipped all the drama completely.

Nice going, Snape! Nice going…

Sev cheered up a bit later in the day when Ginny shared her updated plans for their secret project in the attic. The infant loved them immensely and signed some suggestions for additions that could make the room even better.

The highest point of Sev’s day came when Harry took him upstairs, past the false wall that sectioned off the destroyed half of the second floor, and into the site that would eventually become his bedroom—Harry’s old nursery. At first, Sev’s eyes widened at the amount of destruction he saw there. Not only was most of the roof blown off, but so were the top half of almost all the walls. The windows were completely blown out, the wood splintered, what used to look like a nice bathtub was split in two and cracked everywhere. Damage due to the elements and time showed on everything. The floorboards were rotting, there was mold and moss on every conceivable surface, animals had eaten out the cushions, vines grew around the walls, and birds made their homes in and around the dilapidated furniture.

“This used to be my old nursery.” Harry announced, walking through the farthest doorframe on the right and into a room that offered a sweeping view of the neighboring grove, meadows, and town, considering it was practically missing both of its outer walls as well as its roof. “This was where Voldemort lost his first body…and my mother gave her life.”

Clouds gathered in above them, blocking the sun from view. Severus remembered how his good mood had met with much the same fate. This was where Lily had died. Sev took in the site, his eyes clouded with sadness. This was where his precious flower had ceased to bloom.

Pieces of wood that looked to be from a crib littered the room. Severus spied stuffed animals, a toy broom, and a baby mobile scattered about the floor. They were all discolored, caked in soot and grime. If they had eyes, their eyes no longer shone, but rather stared out at nothing, emotionless, cold. This was a place of death. Yet…it didn’t feel like death lived here.

“Reach out, Severus.” Harry whispered in his ear. “Reach out.”

And reach out Severus did. The birds and the wind and the grove and the trees and the grass and meadows sang to him. His eyes closed and his heart immediately filled with their song. Then…Severus suddenly found himself surrounded by what felt like all the white magic in the world! It was the exact opposite of the Slytherin Common Room. Whereas that place was packed with darkness, this room was saturated with light! Severus felt like he was standing on the surface of the sun; this room felt so bright!

Severus…

Sev’s eyes flew open and he looked around the room frantically.

“Hey, calm down! That’s just my mum.” Harry said, smirking at the infant and adjusting him in his arms.

Lily?! That was Lily?!

“That’s my mum’s magic you feel, Sev. It’s lingered here over the years.”

Oh, Lily…Oh god, Lily! A thought suddenly occurred to him. Lily! Lily, if you can hear me, I’d, um…I—I’d like to tell you something! He looked around the room desperately, trying to ascertain if there was any kind of response. Lily… He sighed. Oh, what did he have to lose anyway? 

Look, Lily…I, um…I got your message today in the cemetery. I know you sent it. I don’t know how you did, but I know it was you. He looked around some more. And I want you to know you’re right. I realized today you were right. I…I didn’t grow up. I—I didn’t…want to grow up. And…by consequence…I didn’t want to give you what you deserved to have. He swallowed. Oh god, Lily! I was a fool! I was a damn fool and you were right to choose Potter over me. He…he gave you everything. He gave you everything you wanted from me. And he gave it to you freely…wholly…completely. Unselfish love.  Severus could feel a familiar stinging in his eyes. I didn’t love you like I thought I loved you. Not back then. I obsessed over you. I wanted to possess you. I didn’t love you; not like I do now. Sev sighed. This was the hardest part for him to admit. Potter loved you then. He loved you like you deserved to be loved. He gave up everything for you because he knew you were worth giving up for. His lips tightened. I knew it too…But Potter chose to act on it whereas I couldn’t find the courage to do so. That courage came later. But by then, you were already gone.

Oh, Lily…Lovely Lily…My sweet flower…Sev fixed his eyes upon a small broken vase on the floor. If I could turn back time and make all the right choices, I would in an instant, but I can’t. I can’t. The tears began to trickling down his eyes. I can’t get you back. I can’t have you anymore. He swiped a hand over his eyes. I can’t be the man in your dreams anymore…which means you can’t be the woman in mine. Sev choked back a sob. I hope you’re happy, Lily! Wherever you are, I hope James is making you happy…You deserve it…And he deserved you…

So now I say goodbye, my love. Sev’s breath hitched in his throat. Goodbye to all that was…And goodbye to all that could have been. The trickling tears turned into streams. I love you, Lily! I love you SO much! I love you now as I always should have loved you! Which is why I must let you go. Sev swallowed past the lump in his throat. I love you too much to keep you.

Goodbye, my love…I hope you and James find happiness wherever you are…

Goodbye, Lily…

Severus buried his face in Harry’s shirt and bawled his eyes out for what seemed like the millionth time that day. He felt his caretaker rub his back, hum a whimsical tune in his ear, and dance him around the room, despite the debris. Finally, after what, again, seemed like forever, Severus calmed down enough to listen to reason.

“Hope springs eternal, Sev.” Harry murmured as they walked out of the room and back towards the livable part of the house. “Remember what the Lady of the Lake told you? Well…hope springs eternal.”

The Lady of the Lake?

“She will come back to you…sooner than you think…”

Lily?!

“Hope springs eternal, Sev.”

Oh yeah! It was the highlight of his day.

Severus didn’t like being grounded. He didn’t like it one bit!

On Sunday, Sev had politely asked for dessert after finishing his dinner. What did Harry reply?

“Sorry, cub, you’re grounded.”

Sev pouted at him, pleaded with him, and screamed at him. Nothing worked. The latter earned him a chilling glare and a time-out warning. Sev relented.

When Harry began bathing him at seven and put him to bed at seven thirty, Sev whined to stay up just a little bit longer. What did Harry reply?

“No. You’re grounded. That means bedtime’s an hour earlier. End of discussion.”  

Sev had tried his hand at crocodile tears this time. Harry merely raised an eyebrow at him until he stopped. Then, he quietly informed Severus that in addition to being a master occlumens, he was also a master ligilimens. He could tell the fake tears from the real ones. Therefore, any future attempts at winning him over with crocodile tears were both useless and inadvisable. The infant scowled at him.

Ginny managed to smooth the situation over, though, when she wordlessly strolled into the room in her nightgown, laid down next to Severus, urged Harry to lay down as well, turned out her light, and promptly settled down to sleep. Both boys stared at her in confusion. When Harry shrugged and followed his girlfriend’s example, Sev found himself between his two resting guardians in a room devoid of any light. He was asleep within five minutes.

It wasn’t until Tuesday that they had run into Remus. Harry and Sev were heading to the Entrance Hall to get their assignment for the day and they had exited their quarters at the same time Remus, Tonks, and Teddy had exited theirs, heading for breakfast.

“Peb-by!”

“Coo!”

The infant had reached towards Teddy, opening and closing his hand in plea, and what did Harry reply?

“Uh, uh, uh! Are we forgetting we’re grounded?”

Sev sat back in his carrier and frowned at his guardian. “Haweh!” He whined.

“Don’t give me that look. You know you’re grounded. That means no dessert, early bedtime, and no playtime with Teddy.” He turned back towards the trio. “I’m sorry, guys.”

Remus and Tonks just waved it off, giving them a pair of gentle smiles. “What’s he grounded for?” The werewolf asked softly.

“Mo wike!”

“Of course you don’t like it. You’re not supposed to like being grounded. Then it wouldn’t be a punishment anymore, would it? Maybe next time I try to put you in a five-minute time-out, you’ll sit quietly and not bruise my face again.” He fixed the infant with a stern look, “Because I guarantee you, the next time that happens, it’ll be a three-swat spanking and a week of grounding. Do I make myself perfectly clear?” Sev blushed and buried his face inside his sling. Harry felt his nod through the material.

Ginny showed up bright and early Wednesday morning and announced that that was the day she wanted to go shopping in London. Severus was still asleep and had stayed asleep. Harry, however, groaned and turned over on his bed, burying his head under the pillow.

“Love, it is five o’clock in the morning! I promise…” Harry yawned, “…we’ll go around nine.”

Ginny had rolled her eyes and climbed into bed next to him. The two spooned and went back to sleep until Hedwig woke them up at seven. Severus was up at eight and sitting up in his crib, screaming at the top of his lungs for somebody to get him out.

“OWD!!! OWD!!! OWD!!!”

Harry stood at the door with his arms crossed, giving the infant a stern glare, until Severus stopped talking altogether and sat back on his heels, looking attentive. 

“Thank you.” Harry said, his voice level, his tone low. “You know, Severus, you don’t need to scream at the top of your lungs for someone to hear you in the living room. The acoustics in this room are perfectly fine.” He said as he approached the crib and lowered the railings. “All you need to do is ask in a nice, calm voice for one of us to help you down.” Harry told him gently. “And we’ll be able to hear you perfectly. Now…” He gave the infant an expectant look. 

“Owd, pea.” Sev requested calmly, adding a bit of charm into the mix by giving Harry his award-winning toothless grin.

Harry smirked. “We’ve got a charmer, haven’t we?” He carried the child through his morning routine as he described the coming day. “So Ginny wants to go into London today to do some window shopping. She wants some ideas on how to design the living room, the bedrooms, and all the other rooms and whatnot. I’m going to take the pair of you to IKEA. It’s a muggle store. Have you ever heard of it?”

Severus cooed around the two fingers he was chewing and shook his head.

“Oh, come now, cub, you’re drooling everywhere.” Harry wiped up the infant’s drool and fingers before handing him his teething snitch. “IKEA is big furniture store. It’s international, the displays are brilliant, and it’s very cheap. I think it’s a brilliant store.”

“AH!” Sev used his free hand to sign, ‘S-I-G-N B-O-O-K’

“Oh, yeah.” Harry nodded. “Definitely. That was the other reason she wanted to go into London—to get you a more comprehensive baby sign book.”

“I also want to pick one up with British Sign Language and American Sign Language.” Ginny continued as she walked into the bathroom and used to mirror. “British sign language is more complete than baby sign language, but I also wanted to compare that with American Sign Language to see if their signs are easier for little hands.” She walked over to the changing table and began dressing Severus in a tiny pair of blue jeans and a t-shirt that said ‘Small Fry’ on it.

“Let me guess,” Harry started, taking off his t-shirt and throwing it into the laundry basket. “I’m ‘Big Fish’.”

Ginny grinned. “It’s on the bed, Harry.”

“Mm-hmm.”

“You’re going to be in the pram or the sling for most of the day, Sev, so I won’t put your trainers on you.” Ginny said to the infant, “I will put on socks, but we’ll have your trainers in the diaper bag if we need them, okay?” The infant was too busy watching the trashcan gobble up his nappy to care about what she said.

“Hun, I’m going to transfigure the car into an SUV, just in case you want to get something at IKEA.” Harry called from the bedroom.

“What’s an SUV?”

“It’s a big car. Lots of wiggle room.”

“Don’t forget to transfigure his walker into a car seat. We’ll have to get one of those while we’re in town.” Ginny summoned several toys from all around the quarters into the bathroom and told Severus he could pick one stuffed toy and one other toy to bring for the day.

“I know.”

“And his pram!”

“I know.”

“Can you add car seat to the list I made? It’s on the table.” While Sev mentally debated on which toys he wanted to bring, Ginny transfigured the nappies in the diaper bag to look as muggle as possible. That was when she remembered something. “By the way…Harry!”

“Yeah?” A voice replied from the den.

“Fred and George invented something for you.” She pulled out plain sterling silver cuff from her pocket and fingered its smooth surface. Curious, Sev looked up from his toy-picking and studied the cuff in her hand.

“What does it do?”

“Basically…it’s a glamour that you can put on, but it doesn’t really change your appearance.”

Harry stuck his head through the bathroom door. “Run that by me again?”

Ginny waved the cuff in his face. “It changes your appearance for magical cameras only. Nothing else.” She put the cuff in Harry’s hand and the teen studied it closely. “So if someone from the Daily Prophet or Witch Weekly or Wizards Today tries to take your picture, they’ll get a picture of something else instead.”

“Something else?” Harry gave her questioning look.

“You know how Fred and George are.” Ginny smirked. “It’s quite funny, actually. They showed me a few pictures taken of the pair of them while they were wearing the bracelets. There was one where a dragon had his arm around a hippogriff, and the hippogriff was doing bunny ears on the dragon. It really is a laugh when you see the pictures.”  She took the bracelet from his hand and looked for something on the inner lining of the cuff. “Here, this one is a…dragon.” She handed the cuff back to Harry and took two more out of her pocket, looking for the same inside inscription.

“Fred and George gave you three?”

“Yeah, they were wondering about that.” Ginny replied, squinting at one of the bracelets. “They asked what I needed three for when there was only the pair of us.”

“And what’d you say?” Harry wondered anxiously.

“Nothing.” Ginny shrugged. “I was like, ‘Oh, you know…’. I shrugged it off. Didn’t really give them a reply.” She studied the cuff once again. “Ah! This one is a baby dragon. Here, Sev, this can be yours.” She shrunk the cuff and put it on his tiny wrist.

“And what’d they say when you didn’t say anything?”

“Well they didn’t ask any more questions, if that’s what you’re wondering.” She studied her cuff for a moment and grinned. “Wicked! I’m the hippogriff.” She slipped the cuff on her wrist and signaled Harry to do the same with his own cuff. “Now my mother, on the other hand, is beginning to wonder why I’m suddenly interested in all the baby books in the house.” She handed the diaper bag to Harry and picked Sev up.

“AH! AH!”

“What? What is it?”

Sev pointed to his teething snitch. “Mmma! Mmma!”

“Sorry, cub. We can’t bring that with us. It moves.” Harry said.

Sev made a disappointed sound, but then brightened up and pointed to his stuffed baby snake. “Doy.” Then he pointed to another stuffed lion cub. “Doy.”

“You want to take two stuffed animals instead of one other toy?” Sev nodded. “I’ll settle for that compromise.” Ginny handed both stuffed animals to Harry, who put them in the diaper bag. “Anyway, she actually asked me if I was pregnant the other day. Can you imagine?!”

“She did?!” Harry’s eyes widened.

“Yeah!”

“In front of your dad?!”

“No, we were alone. Thank Merlin!”

“So what’d you say?” Harry asked anxiously.

“I said ‘No, I’m not pregnant!’ and asked if she wanted proof! I can’t believe she asked me that. She raised me! She should know me by now!” Ginny handed Sev to Harry and slipped the baby sling over her shoulders. “And anyway, you were on the run and we were in hiding up until a month ago. She knew we were still going strong when you left, and throughout the year. Why would she assume I’m pregnant?! Where would we have found the time to have sex? Before the Battle, I hadn’t seen you since Bill and Fleur’s wedding; and even that ended up being raided. Honestly!”

“Well she probably assumed we did it during one of the victory parties.” Harry replied, helping Ginny put the baby in the sling.

“She shouldn’t have, Harry. That’s my point!”

“Gin, I’m pretty sure she trusts you. I mean…” Harry waved a hand and called his broom to him while Ginny thrust the transfigured car seat and folded pram into his arms. “…you said she and your dad both trust you and me.”

“They do! That’s why I’m really offended, Harry.”

Harry didn’t know what to say to that. “Well…are your parents the type who are…e—easily offended, or something, with underage sex or…sex before marriage…that kind of thing?”

Ginny paused her mental checklist for a moment, unsure about her response. “Well…not really.” She shook her head. “I mean…they’re really progressive parents and all of that.”

“So if we were actually having sex right now…they wouldn’t mind?”

Ginny frowned and put her hands on her hips. “What’re you trying to say, Harry?”

Harry’s eyes widened. “No! No, no, no, no, no, no, no!” He held his hands up in a peace gesture. “I—I—I wasn’t trying to say anything by that! I just meant uh…I was just wondering about your parents’ stands on issues like that.” He shrugged. Turning on his heel, he strolled towards his desk to retrieve the shopping list and the shrunken car. “I mean…I think she was just wondering, Gin. That’s why she asked if you were pregnant. You don’t need to be so worried about that.”

“She didn’t sound like she was just wondering.” Ginny scowled.

“Why? What’d she sound like?”

“I don’t know.” His girlfriend’s eyebrows furrowed, indicating she was in deep thought.

“Mewmew! Mewmew, pea!”

“She sounded…” The furrowed eyebrows turned into a frown as undid her shirt and pulled up her bra. “I don’t know. It’s kind of weird! She sort of sounded…excited or something.” She guided Sev’s head until she was sure he was properly latched on.

“Excited?!” Harry repeated, surprised.

“Yeah! Can you believe it?! Actually, I just noticed that right now.” She adjusted the sling so that Sev wouldn’t shift around while he nursed.

Harry headed to the kitchen. “Wait…if she was excited when she asked if you were pregnant,” his eyebrows furrowed as he opened the ice box, “how did she react when you said no?”

Ginny frowned in confusion. “Disappointed, actually.” Then her eyes widened and she gawked at Harry. “Merlin’s beard! Do you think she actually wanted me to be pregnant?!”

Harry shrugged. “Maybe.” He pulled Sev’s teething ring out of the ice box, spelled it to be perpetually cold, and stuck it in the diaper bag. “If she sounded that way, then maybe she did.” Closing the ice box, he turned back to his girlfriend. “Shall we go?”

“Breakfast?”

“IKEA. Ninety-eight pence for a full breakfast.” Harry smirked.

“Harry, I love this place already.” Ginny carried Severus out the door while Harry trailed behind them, lugging his broom, the diaper bag, the folded-up pram, the car seat, and the car along with him.

The trio flew the broom from the stone bridge on the fourth floor, around the back of the school, to the section of the riverbank that sat just outside the apparition wards of the school. There, they enlarged the SUV, packed everything in, strapped Sev’s car seat to the back seat, strapped Sev into the car seat, and climbed in. Ginny opted to sit in the back with Severus to ensure he didn’t throw up when they came out of apparition.

“Where are we apparating to?” She asked, buckling her seatbelt and checking Sev’s.

“The alley behind the Leaky Cauldron.” Harry answered, checking his mirrors. “It’s charmed with a Notice-Me-Not and a Muggle Repellant. We could pull out of there and it’d be fine.”

“And you know how to get to IKEA from there?”

“Yeah.” Harry nodded, starting the car with a wave of a hand. “I know that city like the back of my hand. Street kid, remember?” He smirked. Harry’s right hand hung onto the wheel of the car, while his left hand held Ginny’s and Ginny’s held Severus. “Ready? 1…2…3!”

The floo in Harry’s quarters flared green and a floating head emerged from within the flames.

“Harry?”

No response.

“Harry?”

Complete silence.

For a moment, the fires died down and the head disappeared. Then, suddenly, they flared green again, the flames leaping higher than before.

Sirius Black stepped in through his godson’s floo and dusted himself off on the hearth. Now that he had a complete view of the quarters, he took the opportunity to look around. “Harry?”

Still nothing.

Spying the partially open bedroom door, Sirius tiptoed around the tables and chairs of the living room, dodging the playpen, and managing to step on several squeaky toys in the process. “Merlin’s Beard, Harry!” Sirius hissed under his breath, having stepped on yet another stuffed animal. “If this is how many toys you buy for Teddy, how much are you going to splurge on your own son?”

Having finally navigated through the crucible of children’s toys, he approached the bedroom door and cleared his throat loudly, just in case. He received no response. Sirius knocked on the door, pushing it open slightly, and stuck his head inside. “Harry?” He found a neatly-made bed, a beautiful crib with a…thingy floating on top of it, and an empty bathroom, but no Harry.

“Is anybody here?” Sirius murmured to himself. His eyes rolled towards the ceiling and the loft beyond. Shuffling past the playpen, the animagus darted up the stairs and did a quick check of the other two rooms and bathroom. Nobody was home.

With a sigh, he ambled back down the stairs and towards the door. “Ginny sure knows how to decorate a place. That’s for sure.” He said under his breath. Sirius reached out a hand to push the door open but paused halfway, remembering just whose painting guarded Harry’s door. “Ahem…um…Sir Merlin?”

“Yes, Sir Sirius?” A voice boomed out of nowhere.

“Is it alright if I leave now?” The animagus asked warily.

“Certainly.” The amused voice replied, and the door swung open.

“Thank you.” Sirius quickly stepped through the doorway and crossed the hallway in two steps. “Remus?!” He hollered at the painting of the wolves before banging on the picture’s frame.

The two adult wolves stared down at him disapprovingly while the wolf cub barked, yipped, and howled at him. A few seconds later, the door swung open to reveal his favorite first cousin once removed. “Good morning, Sirius.” She smiled, her hair flaring red.

“Good morning, Dora.” Sirius gave her a kiss on the cheek before stepping past her and into the room.

“Padfoot, you have a hell of a way of announcing yourself. You know that?” Remus remarked from behind the Daily Prophet.

“And a good morning to you too, Moony.” Sirius replied, taking a seat across from his friend at the kitchen table.

“Breakfast, Siri?” Tonks offered.

“No, thank you, Dora. I just ate.” Sirius waved it off. “Hey, have either of you seen Harry this morning?” He asked.

“No, I haven’t seen them since yesterday.” Dora shook her head.

“I think I heard them leaving their quarters a few minutes ago, though.” Remus remarked, folding up the newspaper and sliding it towards Sirius. “You just missed them.”

“Ginny’s with him?”

“Ginny’s always with him nowadays.” Tonks smirked. “They’re uh…They’re playing ‘house’, you could say.” She laughed at her own joke. Remus shot her a look.

“Yeah, I know.” Sirius pointed behind him to Harry’s quarters. “I, uh…tripped over Teddy’s collection of toys in their quarters. God, I hadn’t realized how much toys Harry bought for the little guy.” Sirius turned away for a second and missed the look that passed between Remus and Tonks. “Merlin’s beard!” Sirius chuckled. “If that’s the way he splurges on his godson, how do you think he’s going to splurge on his own kid, eh?”

“Yeah, one wonders…” Tonks had to clamp her jaw shut to keep from laughing out loud. The smirk on her face, though, couldn’t be helped, especially when Remus passed her an exasperated look behind Sirius’ back.

“Maybe I should have a word with him about proper balance for a child.”

“HA!” Tonks snorted into the back of her hand.

“What?!”

“Padfoot, do you really think Harry’s going to take you seriously if you start talking to him about that now?” She asked.

“Sirius, there is not a doubt in my mind that Harry can discipline just as well as he spends.” Remus put in, remembering the mild scolding Harry was giving Severus yesterday.

“James never could.”

“Harry’s not James.”

“True.”

“Why were you looking for him anyway, Paddy?” Tonks asked, breaking apart a croissant.

“Well, I wanted to ask him and Ginny, and you two as well, if you all wanted to spend the day in London.” Sirius replied, snatching a bit of Dora’s pieced croissant and popping it in his mouth. “I already flooed Ron and Hermione. They should be at Grimmauld Place within the hour.”  

“Ooh, London!” Dora murmured, her eyes widening playfully as she turned a pleading smile towards her husband. Remus eyed her over the rim of his coffee cup and sighed.

“So how about it?” Sirius pushed excitedly. “We could take the muggle underground. Go around the sights! I’ve always wanted to do it, you know. I never could, though, considering my parents were…you know.” He shrugged.

“You’ve never seen Big Ben?” Tonks’ eyes widened. “Or Buckingham Palace? Or any of that?” Sirius shook his head. “Are you serious?!” A grin blossomed on Sirius’ face. “Don’t answer that!” Tonks amended, raising a finger at the animagus. Her cousin snorted.

“I haven’t seen them, either.” Remus remarked.

“Well then the pair of you are in for a treat.” Tonks pushed her croissant towards Sirius and stood up. “How about it, Remus? Fancy a nice tour of London?”

Remus sighed. “Oh…why not?”

“Brilliant!” Tonks’ hair flared hot pink. “I’ll go get Teddy ready.”

“Bring some walking shoes!” Sirius called after her. “Hermione wants to go to Oxford Street and Tottenham Court Road right after for some window shopping!” A squeal of delight emerged from behind the bedroom door. Sirius turned back to Remus. “So…I’ve gotten you two. Now all I need to do is find Harry and Ginny and convince them to come along as well.”

“Shouldn’t be too hard.” Remus smirked. “Tonks and Hermione are coming along, which means Ginny will want to come along, and where Ginny goes, Harry goes, so…” Remus took a sip of his coffee, “There you go!”

“You wouldn’t know how I could find Harry around here, would you?”

As Tonks got everything ready for the day, Remus took Sirius over to the Entrance Hall to find Harry’s current repair assignment. It said he was assigned to the Seventh Floor that day, but when the boys arrived to look for him, they only found Professor Flitwick, who assured them Harry hadn’t been there all day. Remus suggested asking Merlin if he knew where they were, but Sirius proposed they check the Great Hall before they resorted to asking the paintings. A handful of professors were at the table that morning, debating about something or another when they walked in. Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall, Slughorn, and Hagrid all hadn’t seen Harry that day, either.

“Why do you ask, dear boy?” The Headmaster questioned, his eyes twinkling.

“I was just going to ask him if he wanted to go with us into London today.” Sirius shrugged. “Well…thanks for your help.”

“Sorry we couldn’t provide you with more.” Dumbledore added.

Disappointed, Sirius turned back and headed up the moving staircase, Remus in tow. “Where could he have gone?”

“Like I said, Merlin would know. He knows everything!” Remus smirked.

Merlin did indeed know everything, but what frustrated Sirius was that he didn’t. “So they went into London already?”

“Yes, dear boy, you just missed them when you…flooed…in.” Merlin replied, the concept of a floo still quite foreign to him.

“Well, do you know where they went?”

“I believe they went to visit an IKEA.”

“An IKEA.” Sirius echoed. He turned to Remus and lowered his voice to a whisper. “What’s an IKEA?”

“I’ve no idea.”

“Oh…” Sirius cleared his throat and turned back to Merlin, “Well then…um…do you think they’ll be gone all day?”

“Looked that way to me.” The old wizard answered amicably.

“Oh…” Sirius sighed, disappointed. “Alright then. Thank you!”

“You are very welcome, dear boy!”

They turned around only to find the door to Remus’ quarters swinging open in their faces. Tonks loaded them down with Teddy’s pram and diaper bag before marching across the hall and stopping in front of Merlin. “Sweetheart, do you need anything from our quarters before we go?” She asked Remus.

“Uh…” The werewolf’s gaze moved from his quarters, to Teddy’s diaper bag, to his wife, then back to his quarters. “I don’t think so.”

“Excellent!” The witch swung the door shut and turned to Merlin, politely asking if they could use the floo before blurting out the password. The bubbly wizard replied in the affirmative, swinging the door open and amicably warning her to watch her step, as she carried some precious cargo.

“Thank you, Sir Merlin.”

“Your floo still isn’t set up yet?” Sirius murmured to Remus.

“Kingsley’s reorganizing everything at the Ministry. There’s chaos going on down there these days, from what I hear. They’re working as fast as they can.”

After wrapping Teddy up as best they could, all three of them flooed to Grimmauld Place, where Ron and Hermione were waiting for them.

“Sirius, do you realize you live within walking distance of both Buckingham Palace and Big Ben?” Hermione pointed out in her lecture voice as they stumbled out of the fireplace.

“Define ‘walking distance’.” The animagus replied, dusting himself off.

“You live within a three mile radius of both of them.” Hermione raised an eyebrow.

“Where’re Harry and Ginny?” Ron squeaked over the din of Teddy’s crying.

“Apparently, they’re already in London.” Sirius shouted over the wailing.

“What?!” Ron cried, not having heard him very well.

“Will you two shut it!” Tonks hissed, patting Teddy on the back and swaying back and forth. “His head is already spinning. Your screaming doesn’t help.” She turned to Remus. “Sweetheart, I packed some of that Children’s Stomach-Calming Draught Ginny gave us. It’s the small pink vial. Would you please?”

Ron pulled Sirius aside and Hermione followed them. “What do you mean they’re already here?” He asked, lowering his voice. “Ginny didn’t mention anything about going into London this morning.”

“Honestly, Ronald, you weren’t even up when Ginny left this morning.” Hermione rolled her eyes.

“Look, I ran around the school looking for them, just like we did last week. Merlin—the painting—told me they weren’t there. Told me I just missed them when I flooed in.” Sirius explained. “He said they left early to go to an…IKEA.” His eyebrows furrowed.

“IKEA?” Hermione repeated.

“What’s an IKEA?” Ron asked.

“It’s a furniture superstore.” Hermione replied. “My mom loves shopping there. It’s really cheap, their displays are brilliant, and they’ve a restaurant and everything.” She explained. “They must’ve gone there to shop for furniture for Harry’s house in Godric’s Hollow.”

“There’s already furniture there!”

“Oi! How’re we going to get around town?” Tonks asked. She and Remus had managed to calm Teddy enough to give him the potion, and now he was back to normal and looking around inquisitively.  

“Do you mind walking, Dora?” Hermione asked.

“Absolutely not.” The witch replied cheerfully. “Sweetheart?”

“Walking sounds good.”

“Do you think Harry’s avoiding us?” Ron asked Sirius as Hermione propelled everyone towards the door.

“I don’t think so. I think we just missed him, is all.” Hermione answered.

“Are you sure?”

“Perhaps if this trip was planned ahead, they would’ve been able to come along.” Hermione opened the door for them.

“I still don’t understand what they need to go furniture shopping for.” The animagus muttered, running down the front steps like a five-year-old.

“Whatever the reason, they’re not here now, but we are. So I say we enjoy the day together, and maybe later we can plan some other outing with them at a time that they can come. How’s that?” Tonks interjected as she stepped out onto the porch.

“She has a point. Boys?” Hermione turned to Ron and Sirius, gracing them both with an expectant look.

“Yeah.”

“Sure.”

Tonks smirked at Hermione and winked when Remus passed her a relieved look. “Then to Buckingham Palace we go!” Reaching behind her, Tonks shut the door.

“Lady and Gentleman, welcome to IKEA!” Harry announced, shutting the engine off and waving at the IKEA sign with a flourish. Turning in his seat, Harry glanced at his girlfriend behind him.

Ginny was smiling at him and tapping a finger to her lips. “He fell asleep on the way here.” She whispered, inclining her head towards the infant asleep in his car seat.

Harry couldn’t help but smile at the precious sight. “Did you take a picture?”

Ginny looked taken aback. “Of course I did! I took an entire roll.”

“Without the cuff on?”

“I took the cuff off, don’t worry.” Ginny whispered, stuffing the camera back in the diaper bag. “It’s back on now, though.”

“We have to get you a muggle camera later.” Harry commented, climbing out of the car. “Perhaps one of those new ones—digital cameras, I think they called them.” He came around and opened the trunk of the SUV. “Should I bring his pram?”

Ginny nodded. “Yeah. We’ll carry him later, when he wakes up.”

Harry unfolded Sev’s pushchair for the first time and the couple spent the next ten minutes or so trying to figure out how to snap everything in place without magic, and how to transfer Severus from the car seat to the pram without waking him. Finally, when everything was safely snapped into place, and the infant lay cradled within the folds of his blanket, they started towards the large furniture store.

“Nine thirty! Just in time! They just opened for breakfast. Shall we?” Harry offered one of his arms to his girlfriend, as his hands were busy pushing the baby carriage.

After having gotten over the shock at the cheapness of their breakfast, Ginny began to enjoy herself. She and Harry ate their fill before heading into the main showroom. Ginny was in heaven! Her eyes widened as she took in the various displays. Absolute heaven! Interior design was her hobby so this was her happy place. She spent at least ten minutes at each and every room display, taking notes with the tiny paper and pencils the store provided for customers, and examining everything from the couches and beds to the refrigerator magnets and organization boxes. She noted which wallpapers and colors went with which pieces of furniture. She marveled at the picture frames and paintings. She studied the shapes of the various rooms and tried to figure out how she could make it work at the house in Godric’s Hollow. She even took note of all the rugs and wondered on how she could make them work.

All the while, Harry trailed behind her, pushing Sev in his carriage. The baby awoke at around eleven, at which point Harry transferred him to his sling and Ginny nursed him under the privacy shawl. By the time they finished in the showroom, it was noontime and Sev was fed and bored, while Ginny and Harry were tired and hungry.

“Can we just share a plate?” Harry asked, shifting a fussy Severus to a different position. “I want to take you to this great place on Oxford Street called the Spaghetti House.”

“Sounds good.” Ginny nodded.

They ordered a plate of IKEA’s famous—according to Harry—Swedish meatballs, and Harry kept Sev entertained by making his stuffed lion cub and baby snake wink at him.

“Harry!” Ginny rebuked.

“No one can see! It’s behind his canopy.” He flicked his head and the lion cub and baby snake began making faces at each other, causing Severus to laugh out hysterically.

“For god’s sake, Harry!” Ginny placed a blanket over Sev’s canopy, completely blocking him from view, which encouraged Harry to go all-out with the stuffed animal show.

By the time they finished lunch and headed towards the warehouse, people were beginning to throw some odd looks their way. “People are going to wonder why a baby is laughing all by himself, inside his carriage, without anyone or anything making him laugh.” Ginny frowned at her boyfriend.

“Sorry.” As they entered the lift, Harry noticed they were by themselves and took the opportunity to wandlessly cast a Muffliato around the vicinity of the pram. Thus, they could still hear Sev laughing, but everyone else couldn’t. The odd looks stopped then.

“Thank you.”

Ginny spent another forty-five minutes getting everything she wanted to get from the warehouse. Harry ended up having to fold up the carriage and use the baby sling, as Ginny had him pushing the big, flat carts around. The teenager found himself hauling big boxes full of side tables, bookshelves, shelving, and stools, all while carrying a squirming Severus on his back.

“Now that’s a modern man.” A young woman in her thirties commented to her boyfriend as the couple stood in line. “He does all the manly stuff and carries the baby around.” She gave Ginny a thumbs-up. “You go girl!”

As the two ladies exchanged laughs, the woman’s boyfriend approached Harry and murmured, “I feel for you,” as he passed. The two men snorted.

“Hun, you do know there has to be at least some walking room in the house, right?”

“Harry, did you even look at the plans I had for the house?” Ginny asked, her eyebrows furrowed.

“Enough to know that this isn’t even an eighth of what we’re going to end up buying, is it?”

“Don’t worry, love. My first paycheck will more than make up for everything we’re going to buy.” Ginny answered offhandedly.

“Gin, I don’t want you to pay me back for—” Harry broke off when the full extent of his girlfriend’s statement finally registered. “Wait, what do you mean?”

Ginny snorted and gave him that look of hers; the one that drove Harry mad. It was her ‘I know something you don’t know’ sort of look and it drove her boyfriend wild with anticipation. “I’ll tell ya later.” She winked.  

“Gin…” Harry groaned.

After they finished paying, Harry and Ginny opted to push all their purchases out to their car. The semi-privacy of their parking spot provided them with the luxury of being able to use magic in order to make all the boxes fit in the back of the SUV.

“Thank Merlin for spatial charms!” Ginny muttered under her breath.

“You can say that again!” Harry leaned against the stack of boxes and bags in the back of the truck. “If it wasn’t for them, we’d be needing a moving van to haul all this home.”

“I didn’t buy that much!”

“You did too!” Harry retorted childishly.

“I’ll make it up to you.” Ginny ran a hand down his face and kissed him on the cheek before bouncing away to sit next to Sev’s car seat.

“Which reminds me…” Harry closed the back of the SUV, cast Notice-Me-Not and Muggle-Repellant charms on it for the time being, and went to return the cart. Upon returning, he removed the charms, climbed into the car, and turned to his girlfriend. “What were you talking about back in the store? Something about your first paycheck?”

Ginny grinned and pulled a letter from Sev’s diaper bag, handing it to Harry. The teenager gave it a quick once-over and his eyes widened in disbelief. Adjusting his glasses, he read it over once again, slower this time. He still couldn’t believe it. “The Holyhead Harpies!”

Ginny’s eyes shone as she beamed at him. “Seeker. Three year contract after Hogwarts. Two hundred thousand galleons per year!”

Harry’s eyes widened to the width of saucers. Sev giggled. “You’re signed?!”

“I’m signed!”

“Merlin’s Beard!” Harry jumped out of the car, threw open Ginny’s door, and gathered her in his arms, spinning her around and around in circles. Ginny simply laughed and locked her legs around Harry’s waist and her arms around his neck. Harry finally stopped when he began to get dizzy, and leaned against the backseat of the car. “You are an amazing woman.” He smiled up her.

“You are an amazing man.” She smiled down at him.

Reaching up, Harry gave her a long, sweet kiss.

The tender moment was broken, however, by the sound of someone blowing raspberries behind their back. Ginny broke off the kiss and threw her head back, laughing hysterically. Harry simply leaned back against the car, chuckling.  “Alright, Severus, we’re done now. Thank you!” Harry put Ginny down, giving her one last quick kiss before climbing back into the driver’s seat.

“What? Can’t I have a moment, huh? Can’t I have a moment, too?” Ginny smiled and kissed Sev on the cheek, tickling him where she knew all his weak points were. “You’re not the only one who gets to have a laugh, you know?” Sev squealed with laughter as Ginny began blowing raspberries on his tummy. “I get to be special too sometimes, you know! DuggaDuggaDuggaDuggaDugga!” Ginny pulled back and paused in her tickle assault, allowing Severus to catch his breath. She watched with a contented smile on her face as the infant rode out wave after wave of giggles. Finally, after a while, Sev released the last of his giggles and cooed, smiling at Ginny.

“So…where are my congratulations, huh?” She asked playfully.

Sev grinned and puckered his lips. “Kip!”

“Congratulations kiss?” Ginny grinned.

“Uh-huh!”

“Okay!”

Harry watched in the rearview mirror, a smile on his face, as Sev gave Ginny a kiss on the lips before blushing and ducking his head under his tiny arm.

“Ah! Wet kiss! Wet kiss!” Ginny laughed, wiping both her mouth and Sev’s mouth clean of drool. “Thank you, baby. That means a lot to me.” The teenager whispered in the infant’s ear, her voice both gentle and sincere.

Harry heard Severus sigh contentedly as he pulled out of the parking spot. “Oxford Street, here we come!”

The tour of London ended up becoming the tour of Sirius’ neighborhood. Within half an hour of walking out of Grimmauld Place, they arrived at the gates of Buckingham Palace.

Remus had let out a long whistle, “Now that’s a house.”

“Can you imagine how much it’d cost to buy furniture for this place?” Sirius smirked. Remus and Ron snorted.

Hermione had a muggle camera with her so she took it upon herself to take pictures of everyone doing various things. Tonks, Teddy, and Ron all listened and asked questions about the landmark as she took their photos. Meanwhile, Remus and Sirius had each chosen one of the famously stoic palace guards and were doing everything in their power—save from using magic—to get them to flinch, twitch, or do anything other than blink.

“Hermione…are these real people?” Sirius asked, standing within inches of the red-uniformed guard and studying him closely.

“Sirius!” The teenager hissed, waving frantically for the animagus to move away. “Yes, they’re real people!”

“Are you sure?!” Sirius sniffed the guard and reached out a finger to poke him.

“Sirius!” Hermione dashed forward and grabbed the hand with the raised finger, using it to drag the curious animagus away from the poor guard. “For heaven’s sake!”

“Hey! Hermione! I almost got him to move!” The older man whined.

They watched the Changing of the Guard Ceremony and the boys all gawked at the precision of the soldiers.

“How do they do that?”

“They’re trained to do that.”

“They look like the pawns on my chess board.” Ron, of course, was referring to his wizarding chess board. “Only they’re real!”

“Is that possible?”

“With lots of discipline and training? Absolutely!”

“Harry told me once that he enrolled himself in a military-based after-school program before he came to Hogwarts.” Hermione commented.

“What? He never told me that!”

“Have you ever asked him, Ronald?” His girlfriend raised an eyebrow at him.

“I don’t need to ask!” The redhead pouted. “Are you telling me Harry knows how to walk like that?”

“Harry knows how to walk like that, talk like that, and dress like that.”

“Bollocks!” Ron rolled his eyes.

“Haven’t you ever noticed Harry’s acute attention to detail?” Hermione argued. “His tendency to try to keep everything of his neat and clean? That’s all—”

“Who the bloody hell are you talking about, Hermione?” Ron looked at her with a confused expression.

“You know what? Forget it! I’m arguing with someone who took four years to notice I was a girl!” Flipping her hair, Hermione turned on her heel and moved to stand by Tonks, who was hiding a laugh behind her hand. “Boys!” She growled in frustration.

The group opted out of touring the castle to take advantage of the wonderful morning and stroll through St. James’ Park to Big Ben and the Parliament Building. The walk took them all of fifteen minutes. There, Hermione took more pictures of everyone as well as of the building when they went in to look around. The opulence nearly made Sirius gag. It reminded him too much of the pure-blood socialites that basked in this sort of ridiculous grandeur. What he found funny, though, was that some of the hallways in the parliament building looked nearly identical to some of the hallways in Hogwarts. Hermione wanted to go ahead and visit the Parliament Archives since they were already in the building, but everyone else thought that was a bad idea, so they ganged-up and dragged her away. With his wand hidden in his sleeve, Sirius managed to confound a tour guide to accept them into a group and take them up to the clock tower itself. With Remus carrying Teddy, the five walking adults took the challenge and climbed the 334 steps to the top of the Clock Tower. There, Hermione busied herself with taking more pictures before the group descended again and rested for a bit in a café.

“So…to Oxford Street?” Hermione asked her fellow coffee-drinkers.

“To Oxford Street.” Remus nodded, taking a sip of his coffee.

It had taken a while for Harry to find a parking spot, but he had managed. The teens charmed the car with a Notice-Me-Not—so that no one would wonder how so much stuff could fit inside—and set out on foot, Harry carrying Sev in his sling, and Ginny pushing around an empty pram.

One of their first stops had been to a bookstore so that Ginny could find all the sign language books she needed for Severus.

“You know what? I don’t know what the opposition is. Really! There are quite a few people who think teaching baby sign language to infants is a bad idea. Why?! What’s so bad about it?” Ginny began ranting quietly to Harry as they stood in line. “It’s when they’re infants that they start soaking things up like a sponge! You should start giving them a thirst for knowledge from the cradle so that they can carry it to the grave. I bet you if I start talking to Hank in French now, by the time he can speak clearly, he’ll be bilingual.”

“That sound like a good idea, cub?” Harry murmured to the baby across his chest. Sev merely stared up at him, rubbed his eyes, and yawned. “You want to learn another language?”

Severus shrugged. “Ah omo.”

Harry smirked. “Well…think about it.” Harry lowered his voice to a whisper, “Because I think she’s got it in her head now that she wants to start speaking to you in different languages so that you can become multi-lingual as you get big again.”

Sev rolled his eyes.

As they were strolling by the H&M at the intersection of Oxford and Regent Street, a loud tire screech and the sounds of crashing metal had both Harry and Ginny covering Severus on instinct, protecting him from whatever made those sounds.

When they looked up again, they found themselves staring at a three-car pile-up a mere twenty feet away from them.

“Blimey! Did you see that?!” Ron turned to a gaping Sirius and Remus.

“What happened?” Hermione asked, unsure of what to make of the situation.

“That blue car was losing control, it was! I was swerving like mad!” Ron pointed across the intersection towards the H&M store. “It almost hit that couple with the baby across the street.”

“Where?”

“Over there! You see? That redhead with the baby carriage?” Ron pointed towards a redheaded woman huddled next to a black-haired man. They both had their heads ducked, talking to an infant inside the baby sling who was obviously distraught, if the kicking was anything to go by. “If it wasn’t for the guardrail, they would’ve been hit for sure!”

“Oh my god!”

“You see…the blue car swerved and then braked across the entire lane, so then the green one that came speeding after it couldn’t brake on time and slammed into him.” Remus continued, “Then the red car came in even faster and ran over them both and flipped over.”

“God, that is so scary!”

“I feel sorry for the couple with the baby.” Ron looked across the street once more but found that they were gone. “Hey! Where’d they go?”

“Probably somewhere inside.” Tonks replied, rocking Teddy and hugging him protectively. “I wouldn’t want to stay outside either if someone almost crashed into me.”

“Hey guys! Maybe we should go.” Sirius suggested. “Not block the foot traffic of anything. Hermione, didn’t you say there was an inside mall around here?”

“There are two inside malls. Let’s go to the West One Shopping Center first. It’s on top of the underground.” The teenager replied, leading the group down the street and away from the car crash.

Harry and Ginny spent about an hour at a coffee shop, trying to calm their nerves. Sev sat on Harry’s lap, munching on the bag of Wizard Cheerios Ginny had brought along and practicing his hand-eye coordination.

That car crash had been a close call. The blue car that was swerving in their direction would’ve crashed through the guardrail and hit them had it not been for Harry’s magical reflexes. The teen’s magic had pushed the car away from them and into the middle of the intersection, causing the pile-up.

“It was his fault, Harry.” Ginny told him. “Don’t feel sorry for anything at all! He was the one going too fast and if you hadn’t done something, we would’ve died.” Harry nodded grimly.

Sev leaned back against Harry’s chest and tipped his head to look up at the teen. “A ba!” Holding his little hand up, Sev offered Harry a single piece of cereal soaked in drool.

Harry couldn’t help but smile. “Thanks, cub.” He took the cereal and ate it, making Sev grin and turn back to his bag of snacks.

“Also, from what I hear, no one was seriously injured in any of the cars. They were just dazed, is all.” Ginny gripped Harry’s hand supportively. “It was the lesser of two evils.”

The teenager sighed. “I know.” He kissed Sev on the top of the head and hugged the child protectively. Meeting Ginny’s eyes, he nodded. “I know.”

“Good.” His girlfriend smiled. “Come on! Let’s go to that West One Shopping Centre I saw a while ago. I could do with some indoor window shopping for the rest of the day. What do you think?”

Harry chuckled and stood up. Hand in hand, they walked down the street and entered the building at the same time as a large tour group.

“Bloody hell!” Ron cursed. “Where’d all these people come from?” He and the others had stuck themselves close to the wall in order to avoid the swarm of people coming in.

“They’re a tour group, Ron.” Hermione replied. “They’re here to either shop or use the underground.”

“Shop? What’s there to buy?” The redhead grumbled. “There’s not much here.” He looked over and spotted a shock of red hair and a baby carriage. “Hey look!” He hissed at Hermione. “I think it’s that couple the car almost ran over a while ago.”

“Where?”

“Right over—” When Ron turned back towards the receding crowd, they were gone. “Bollocks! I lost them again.”

“Oh never you mind, Ronald.” Hermione rolled her eyes and grabbed her boyfriend’s hand, pulling him behind her. “Let’s go find somewhere good to eat.”

Harry and Ginny went around the small mall once, looking through every store and cart on every floor, before deciding to walk down the street and do the same thing to the other indoor mall on Oxford Street.

“It’s called the Plaza. They have a nice window display up top. It’s sort of silver with…different shades of blue.”

“Let’s go!”

Once they got the Plaza Shopping Center, they put Sev in his pram, retracted the canopy, and put him in a seated position, which allowed him to look around. As soon as the infant spotted the large window display on the ceiling, he was entranced, gaping at the unusual shape and the pretty blue lights.

“Close your mouth, cub, before flies come in and nest in there.” Harry rebuked gently, a slight smile on his face.

The couple walked around the small mall for about twenty minutes before both Harry’s and Ginny’s stomachs growled loudly. Sev giggled at the funny noises.

“Feel like dinner?”

Ginny raised an eyebrow at her boyfriend. “Do I really need to answer that?”

The two laughed at each other. Harry put an arm around Ginny’s shoulders, as she pushed Sev’s pram, and gently led her towards the door. “Come on. I know this great place a few blocks down called the Spaghetti House. You’ll love it.”

As they exited the Plaza, a man selling a ton of animal balloons walked by on his way into the shopping centre. The multitude of colors caught Sev’s attention and held him spellbound, even after Ginny turned and blocked his view.

“Hey ‘Mione, want an animal balloon?” Ron asked, indicating the man next to them who was doing his best to pull his herd of balloons through the door.

“Thanks, but no thanks, Ron. I’m not really a balloon kind of person.” Hermione answered as she watched Sirius and Remus rush forward and hold open the doors for the balloon man.

The group had gone to several restaurants around the block, deciding to eat somewhere and then quickly deciding against it once they glimpsed the menu. Neither of the girls wanted to eat at a fast food place, and none of the boys liked any of the food at the restaurants they visited. The food court at the Plaza was the fifth place they decided to visit, but Hermione highly doubted she wanted any of the food there.

True enough, the group found themselves walking out of the shopping centre not ten minutes later.

“Oh! You know what?” Sirius spoke up, his eyes lighting in excitement. “I don’t know what I didn’t think of this before. I’ve heard of this great place a few blocks down. Harry was telling me about it once. It’s called the Spaghetti House. I think I know where it is. The food is decently priced, I think. You all feel like having some Italian?”

“That sounds brilliant, Padfoot!” Tonks nodded, glancing at her husband.

Everyone else nodded in agreement, and Remus waved his arm towards Sirius. “Lead the way, old friend.”

“Hello! Welcome to the Spaghetti House! Table for two?” The waitress greeted them.

“Plus a high chair, if you don’t mind.” Ginny nodded.

“Absolutely!” She led them towards a small table in the back, next to a rowdy group of six who were finishing their desserts. “Here you are!” She waited until they were seated before handing them their menus and taking their drink orders. “Excellent! I’ll be right back with these drinks and that high chair.” She began walking away but backtracked for a second. “Oh, and if I may, those shirts are absolutely adorable!” She pointed towards Harry and then to Severus. “Big Fish, Small Fry! That is so cute!”

Ginny chuckled and Harry blushed. “Thank you.” They both murmured.

Within minutes, the waitress returned with their drinks and a high chair for Severus. While Harry seated the infant in the chair and strapped him in, Ginny ordered their appetizers and main meals, requesting an extra small plate for the infant to eat out of. The waitress nodded with a bubbly smile and made a note of it before taking their menus and assuring them she would be right out with their appetizers.

“I’m going to go to the loo. I’ll be right back, okay?” Harry stood up, but found his pathway blocked by the rowdy group next to them who had gotten up to leave. The teenager politely pushed his way through the crowd and made a beeline for the bathroom.

“Hello! Welcome to the Spaghetti House! Table for five?” The waitress greeted them.

“Yes, please!” Tonks replied, matching the waitress’ bubbly tone.

“You’re in luck! A table just opened up in the back.” She picked up five menus and inclined her head. “Follow me!” She led them towards the back where the group could see a busboy mopping up a set of tables before laying place settings on them. “Here we are!” The waitress stood at one end of the table, a smile on her face, as she waited for everyone to take their seats. “Here are your menus.” She passed them around. “And do you want to order your drinks now, or do you want a few minutes to decide?”

“Uh…” Everyone looked around at each other.

“We’ll take a few minutes to decide.” Remus smiled.

“Absolutely! I’ll be right over there. You just wave me over when you’re ready.” She pointed to a cash register in the corner, smiled, and then left, unblocking the table behind her.

“Remus,” Tonks whispered in her husband’s ear, “Does that baby look familiar to you?” She inclined her head towards the small table next to theirs, which the waitress had been blocking.

The werewolf glanced over. “Oh shit!” He hissed, his eyes widening in alarm.

“Ginny! What are you doing here?” Hermione exclaimed.

Sirius and Ron looked at her in confusion for second before following her gaze to the neighboring table. The redhead—who had her back to them—looked up in surprise and turned around in her seat. Sure enough, the fiery mane belonged to none other than Ginny Weasley, who stared back at them with wide eyes, her mouth hanging open in shock. The black-haired baby in the high chair next to her turned in his seat and, upon taking one look at them, promptly burst into tears.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!”

Ron, Hermione, and Sirius exchanged looks of shock and confusion.

“Hey! What’s going on here?” A familiar voice drawled from across the room.

All three heads shot around. “Harry!” They cried in surprise.

The teen, on his way back to the table, froze mid-step and gaped at the group of six as if they had just sprung out of nowhere. "Ha….! Wha…?" He stuttered.

A high-pitched squeal turned several heads in the vicinity and Harry immediately tore his attention away from his best friends and godfather, directing it towards his ward, who was reaching out to him in desperation. “Hey! Hey there, cub!” Harry took his seat across from Ginny, unbuckled the infant from his high chair, and cradled him in his arms. Sev immediately latched onto his shirt and screamed into the fabric. “Come on now…Come now…” He rubbed the infant’s back soothingly and signaled to Ginny, who was already digging into the diaper bag for Sev’s sling. “Hey now…shhh…it’s okay…”

“Sir, is your son alright?” A waiter stepped up to their table and peered at them in concern. “I can ask—”

Both Harry and Ginny waved him off immediately. “No, no, thank you! He’s fine!” Harry answered as he began to rock back and forth. “He’s fine! He’s just…uh...” He turned to Ginny with worried eyes.

“You see, he’s around six months old, and they all have separation anxiety at this stage.” The redhead replied smoothly. “He got a little panicky when this nice group of people arrived and he wanted his dad. They’re really close, you see.” She explained.

“We are so sorry about the outburst.” Harry added.

“No, no!” The waiter waved it off, “Don’t apologize! It happens all the time. Plenty of babies pass through here. It’s no big deal. I just wanted to see if there was anything the wait staff could do to help. We have some baby supplies, you see.”

“No!” Ginny shook her head, smiling amicably. “Thank you, but no. He’s still nursing right now, and his father and I are rather reluctant to let him eat anything other than breast milk and the food that we make.”

“Perfectly understandable.” The waiter bowed slightly to them and began to back away. “Just call if you need anything, though.”

“Thank you.” Harry nodded. He wrapped his arms firmly around the infant, rubbing his back with one hand, whispering soothing sounds in his ear, and rocking him back and forth. “Come on, baby boy. Come on now…Calm down, my cub. Calm down…” Ginny stood up and helped him don the baby sling while Severus was still attached to his chest. She slipped the infant into the pocket and helped Harry wrap the sling around his shoulders.

“Is he secure?” She whispered.

“Yeah.” Her boyfriend answered distractedly, still trying to calm the distraught child.

Ginny picked up her chair and pulled it over, sitting next to them so she could peer inside the sling. She leaned in close, placing her head next to Harry’s. “Hey there, love.” She whispered to the sniffling infant. “What’s all this crying now, eh? What’s all this crying?”

Sev leaned his ear against Harry’s chest and peered up at the two of them through eyes filled with tears. “Mmmmmmmmmm!” He moaned sadly, chewing on his thumb and drooling all over the place.

Ginny’s heart went out to him. “Oh, my baby boy…” Cupping the child at the back of the head, she leaned in and gently kissed Sev on his forehead. “When you feel safe enough again, you come on out and eat okay.” Her gaze flickered down towards her chest. “I’ll be right here.” She inclined her head towards where her seat used to be. “You want to stay with Harry now?” Severus nodded, his cries much quieter, but the tears still continued to roll down his face. “Alright. I’m going to cover up. Is that going to be okay?” Sev nodded again.

Ginny took the excess from the sling and began wrapping it around Harry’s shoulders, but the other teen stopped her. “Can you make it so that he can still see me? Is that possible?”

“Yeah, I think so.” Ginny nodded and wrapped the excess from the sling around the shoulder opposite Sev’s head. “There. You can still see in, right?” She peered at the crying baby inside. “Cozy in there?” She kissed Sev’s head through the fabric before moving her chair back to its previous place and turning back to the table next to them.

“What the bloody hell is going on here?!” Ron hissed, ducking his head low and checking to make sure they weren’t overheard. “Your son?! Ginny?!”

“Who is that child?” Sirius added, his voice just as low as Ron’s.

“That’s none of your concern!” Harry snapped in reply, startling half the table’s occupants, as well as half the room.  

“Hey! Whoa! Whoa! Calm down, mate!”

“Guys, we’re in public!” Remus broke in, his voice low but authoritative. “Not now!” He hissed.

Harry and Ginny exchanged looks, as well as Ron, Hermione, and Sirius. “Right.” The teen replied.

“Fine.” Sirius grumbled.

“Harry, would you like to join us?” Remus, ever the diplomat, invited. “We can shift seats around. Sweetheart, you want to sit there, next to Harry?” He glanced at his wife, and then at their son in her arms.

“Oh! Right! Yes. Absolutely!” Tonks stood up.

Harry glanced at Ginny, who then twitched her head in Teddy’s direction. Harry pressed his lips together firmly and glanced down at the infant wrapped in his arms. With a sigh, the teenager tightened his arms around the child protectively and stood up.

“Sirius, maybe you and Ron would like to sit here at the end. Okay?”

“What?”

“Huh?”

“Sit here at the end!” Remus repeated, turning the request into an order. With a wave of a hand, he managed to get a few waiters to help them shift the tables and seats together.

“Why?”

“Padfoot, just…” Remus sighed. “Please?!”

Sirius rolled his eyes and reluctantly stood up. “Fine.”

“Ron, right there, across from him.”

When everyone was properly seated, Tonks and Teddy sat at the head of the table, with Harry and Sev on her right and Ginny on her left. Remus and Hermione sat next to each of them, respectively, and Ron and Sirius sat at the end, buffered from Severus by people he trusted.

“Okay! Is everyone ready to order their drinks?” The bubbly waitress asked when she returned. “Oh! So you all know each other?” She beamed at the two now conjoined groups.

“Yes, it’s…really funny.” Ginny chuckled nervously.

“That’s fantastic! Splendid! So I’ll just bring your appetizers here. They should be ready in a minute or two.”

“Thank you.”

“Was something wrong with the little guy?” She asked the couple worriedly.

“Oh, no!” Harry shook his head, rubbing Sev’s back.

“He just saw something that startled him, and he wanted his daddy. That’s all.”

“Oh, okay!” The waitress nodded. She took everyone else’s drink order and then asked if they were ready to order any food.

“Just give us a few minutes, please.” Remus waved her off.

“Absolutely!” Sticking the pen back in her apron, she turned back to Ginny. “May I ask one more question? I’m sorry.”

“No, no! Go right ahead.”

“Where did you buy those shirts?” The waitress asked. “They were the most adorable things I’ve seen all day. My husband and I are expecting as well and I’d love to get them a pair of those. It’s so precious.”

“Oh! Well, first of all, congratulations on the baby.” Ginny smiled.

“Thank you.”

“But, unfortunately, I don’t remember where I got them.” She lied, giving the waitress a sad look. “My husband and I went baby shopping a while back, before little Henry was born. So…I don’t really remember where I bought them.” The tall tale flowed out of her like water through a sieve. “I remember buying them from a street vendor, but for the life of me, I can’t remember where.”

“It was right outside of a baby store.” Harry threw in.

“Yeah, it was.” Ginny nodded. “But I’m sure you can find them in tons of places. They’re rather popular, from what I gather.”

“Oh, okay.” The waitress nodded, a bit disappointed. “Well thank you anyway.”

Ginny apologized for not being able to help more, but the waitress just waved her off amiably.

“Are they the ‘Big Kid—Little Kid’ ones?” Tonks asked excitedly.

“Big Fish—Small Fry.” Ginny smiled.

“Oh! You didn’t tell me you had those!”

“I didn’t?”

“Wait just one second here!” Ron broke in. “You knew about this, Tonks?” He gaped at the metamorphamagus before turning to the werewolf. “Remus?”

“Well it’s kind of hard not to know about something like this when you live next to them.” Hermione pointed out.

“I went baby shopping with Ginny.” Tonks answered.

“I stumbled onto it the same day.” Remus added.

“So you have been avoiding us.” Sirius spoke up, leaning across the table to look beyond Remus and directly at Harry. His eyes looked a bit hurt.

“You don’t know the whole story, Sirius.” The teenager replied, forcing himself to calm down.

“Then tell me the whole story!”

“Not here!” Remus hissed, frowning at his best friend. The animagus grumbled and turned away.

“Why don’t we all choose what we want to eat right now, before we get into anything else, okay?” Hermione interjected, picking up her menu and studying it daintily. The two argumentative boys reluctantly followed her example, while Remus, Ginny, and Tonks all shot her looks of relief.

Just then, the appetizer Ginny ordered arrived and Harry thanked the waitress before ducking his head into the baby sling and addressing Severus, wandlessly casting Muffliato first for privacy. “Hey there, cub.” Harry murmured soothingly, running his hand up and down Sev’s back. The infant had thankfully stopped crying, but his whimpers had yet to cease. He was sticking his ear to Harry’s chest as close as it could go, and sucking his thumb with a vengeance. “What’s going on in that head of yours, huh?” Harry ran his thumb over the back of Sev’s head, through the fabric of the sling, and sent a wave of calming white magic to the baby through the caress.

Severus relaxed instantly. His thumb-sucking slowed down considerably, his shoulders loosened up, and his eyes closed, though he remained awake. He began taking slower, deeper breaths now, as opposed to the shallow pants he had going just moments before, and the pressure on Harry’s chest from Severus’ ear began to ease up. “There…” The teenager gave the baby a gentle smile. “Are we calmer now?”

The infant sighed and popped his thumb out of his mouth. When he opened his eyes once again, and turned his sad gaze towards Harry, the teen could see even more unshed tears in his eyes. “Mo wike.” Sev moaned.

“You don’t like that Sirius is here?” Sev shook his head. “Or Ron?” More shaking. “How about Hermione?” The infant stopped shaking his head and shrugged. “Just Sirius and Ron then?” Sev nodded. “This is more than the fact that you don’t like Sirius and Ron, though, isn’t it?”

The infant sighed, “Mo wike!” He repeated himself, sounding sadder and more frustrated than before.

“Listen to me, cub.” Harry adjusted his position so that the child could see him better. “This was bound to happen at some point. And just so you know, I don’t give a damn what Sirius or Ron have to say about any of this, alright? I made a promise to myself—when I took you in—that I would take care of you and protect you to the best of my ability. That protection is against everyone, including my own friends and family. Do you understand me, cub?” He reached down and brushed a stray tear away with his thumb. “You’re stuck with me for the rest of your natural life, whether you like it or not, whether Ron likes it or not, or whether Sirius likes it or not. Is that clear?” He gave Sev a playful half-smile. “So he can bitch and moan and whine like a little girl about it,” he paused to smile when his comment drew giggles out of the infant, “but at the end of the day, he’s just going to have to learn how to deal with it.” He raised an eyebrow at the baby. “Alright?”

Potter’s giving me priority over Black?! Me, Severus Snape, gets priority over his own dogfather?! Ha, ha, ha! Take that, you mangy mutt! For once in my life, I take priority over you! Ha, ha! Revenge is sweet! I get his attention and you don’t! Sev sang in his head. I get his attention and you don’t! I get his attention his attention and you don’t! The baby began to dance to the tune in his head.

“Meh poh—dad?”

“Po—dad?” Harry echoed, analyzing the pronunciation in his head. A match came to him and his eyes widened in realization. “Important? You’re asking if you’re important?” The infant nodded. “Of course you’re important!”

“Ah! Back!” Sev pointed down the table, where he figured Sirius was seated.

“Are you more important than Sirius? Is that what you’re asking?” Sev nodded. “Yes.” Harry answered without hesitation.

Sev grinned. “Meh poh dad ah back!”

Harry chuckled and nodded. “Yes, you’re more important than Black.”

Sev squealed in delight and reached up for Harry. “Up! Pea?” The teen cancelled the Muffliato and obliged the infant, who continued to chant, “Meh po dad ah back!” over and over and over again.

“Meh po dad ah back! Meh po dad ah back! Meh po dad ah back!” He turned to Ginny across the table. “Immy!”

“Yes, sir?”

“Meh po dad ah back!”

Ginny turned to Harry questioningly.

‘I’m more important than Black.’ Her boyfriend mouthed.

Ginny threw her head back, laughing hysterically. When she was able to calm down again, she leaned on the table and looked Severus in the eye. “Yes, you are.”

Sev squealed around the two fingers in his mouth and began bouncing in his sling.

“Can I see your shirt, uh…?” Tonks turned to Ginny questioningly, not sure what to call Severus in public.

“Henry.” The teen supplied.

“Henry?” Tonks’ eyes widened. “Henry like daddy?”

“Just go with it.” Ginny replied, feeding herself some of the appetizer.

“Can I see your shirt, Henry? Please?”

Sev looked down at his shirt as a droplet of drool landed on it. Removing his fingers from his mouth, he pointed his wet digit at the little fish in the picture. “Boop, Boop, Boop!”

Tonks gasped. “Is that the sound a fish makes?”

“Boop, Boop, Boop.” The infant repeated with a smile.

“Boop, Boop, Boop.” Tonks grinned at Remus.

“Peb-by?”

“Oh no, sweetheart, Teddy’s eating right now.”

Sev gasped and turned to Ginny. “Immy!” She signed ‘milk’ and ‘please’. “Mewmew, pea.”

“Oh, here we go!” Harry sighed. The teen stood up and made his way around the table.

“Come here, love.” Harry placed Sev in Ginny’s arms and proceeded to transfer the baby sling from around his shoulders to around Ginny’s.

“Do you want the privacy shawl?”

“Uh…yes. Would you please?”

Hermione gasped next to her. “Oh my god, Gin! Do you—”

“Yes.” She answered before Hermione could finish her question.

“Do you what?” Ron squeaked from Hermione’s other side. “Do you what? What’s going on here? What’s all that? What are you doing?”

Ginny ignored him.

“Since when have you done that, Gin?” Tonks asked, naturally curious. This was the first time she and Remus had ever seen Ginny nurse.

“Last week.” Ginny answered distractedly. Once Harry had placed the privacy shawl over her shoulders, she began helping Severus latch on. “I made a…drink. There we go, sweetheart.”

“He on?” Harry asked above her.

“Yes, thank you.”

“Right.” Harry nodded and retook his seat.

“A drink?” Remus questioned.

“It was in a parenting book. It was for adoptive mothers to help them…lactate.” She whispered the last part, but it appeared Ron heard her anyway.

“Lactate? Lactate!”

“As in breastfeed?” Sirius questioned.

Ron stood up so fast his chair nearly tipped over, but Hermione managed to grab both the chair and Ron’s shoulder on time, making him sit back down. “Ronald, would you kindly calm down!” Hermione hissed in her boyfriend’s ear. “We are in public, for Merlin’s sake! People are starting to stare!”

“Is everything alright at this table?” The bubbly waitress asked, giving them her signature cheerful smile.

“Yes, yes! We are so sorry for all the disturbances. Our friend…just…” Remus began to stutter.

“He thought he forgot his wallet at another store, but it turned out his girlfriend had it all along.” Ginny filled in smoothly. “We apologize if we alarmed anyone.”

“Oh, it’s quite alright.” The waitress smiled. “Just…try to keep it on the down low, if you please?”

“Absolutely! And we apologize again.” Remus smiled.

The waitress mirrored his expression, asked how Harry and Ginny were enjoying their appetizer, and assured them that their meal would be right out, before bouncing back the way she came.

Remus then fixed Ron with a stern expression, making the redhead blush. “I told you, Ron, not here!”

“Sorry.” The Weasley man replied. He glanced at his nursing sister and then turned away, his ears getting redder and redder by the second. “This is just too weird!”

“You’re telling me.” Sirius muttered.

“Then pretend it’s not!” Remus retorted, his voice low and even. “And if you can’t pretend, don’t say anything! This is neither the time nor the place for theatrics right now.”

“I don’t do theatrics.” Sirius replied, indignant.

“Padfoot,” Remus’ lips thinned to a line, “Go with the flow or don’t say anything at all until we get to Grimmauld Place. Is that too much to ask?”

The animagus growled and turned away, sipping his water and sulking.

“So you made a drink that would help you lactate?” Tonks asked, as if the interruption never happened.

“I’ve heard of that one!” Hermione broke in, her eyes lighting up. “It’s called Matrilac, isn’t it?”

“So that’s what you were…mixing…last week in your room!” Ron spoke up, mindful to keep his voice down.

“If you must know, yes!” Ginny hissed in reply, fixing her brother with the coldest look she could muster.

“So this baby’s been in the picture since last week. Meaning you have been avoiding us every time we try to come over.”

Ginny’s jaw tightened. “Yes, Ron, we have. And once you hear the entire story, you’ll know why.”

“Neither the time nor the place!” Remus sang from the side of his mouth.

Ginny turned away from her brother with a huff.

Harry and Ginny’s dinner arrived moments later, along with the small bowl Ginny requested. The teenager looked down, through the privacy shawl, at the infant in her arms, and asked if he wanted to try his hand at eating some noodles tonight. Sev’s eyes lit up at the prospect of a new challenge and he unlatched and nodded.

Ginny grinned at Harry. “He’s excited about trying noodles.”

“Does he understand you?”

“It’s a long story, Hermione.” Harry replied.

“No, I’m just curious.”

“Yes, he does.” Ginny nodded as she fixed her shirt and removed the privacy shawl.

“And he was doing baby sign language with you a while ago, wasn’t he?”

Ginny turned to her in surprise. “You know about it?”

“Of course! Yes, I do! I think it’s brilliant, and when I have a baby, that’s something I definitely want to teach them.”

Hermione, Ginny, and Tonks then began a thorough discussion about baby sign language, while Harry strapped Sev back into his high chair and Ginny scooped some noodles into the baby bowl.

“Dora, you want to switch seats?” Harry asked.

“Sure.”

“Coo!”

“Peb-by!” Sev grinned and his hands and feet began bobbing up and down excitedly. The two boys then began babbling at each other incessantly.

Harry and Ginny had decided to wait for everyone else’s food to show up before tucking into their own meals. While they waited, the girls continued their discussion, Remus and Harry politely listened in, and Sirius and Ron sulked in their corners. The food arrived in no time.

Severus had a whale of a time trying to grip the noodles and bringing them to his mouth. He especially enjoyed it when he got one end of the noodle in but the rest of it hung out. That way, he could suck it in and watch the noodle wiggle around on his way into his mouth. Ginny had a blast taking pictures of it all with the muggle digital camera Harry bought her earlier today.

“You like noodles, huh, Henry?” Ginny smiled. Sev gave her a toothless grin, a noodle clamped tightly between his gums. The teen took a picture.

“Coo!” Teddy, who was sitting upright in his sling, saw Severus partaking of the meal and decided he wanted to join in as well. Thus, he made a grab for the spaghetti hanging off of Tonks’ fork. “Ah!”

“Oh! Whoa! Whoa!” Remus chuckled, grabbing onto Teddy’s little hand. “You’re not old enough for that, big guy!”

“AH!” Teddy whined.

“Henry’s five months old, sweet. You’re only two.” Tonks added, keeping her fork out of Teddy’s reach. Her words, of course, meant absolutely nothing to Teddy. He saw his friend eating some noodles, he wanted to eat noodles as well. When mummy took the noodles away from him, he showed his displeasure the only way he knew how—he cried.

Sev looked up from his noodles when he heard Teddy crying and turned to Harry questioningly. “He saw you eating noodles, now he wants to eat noodles too, cub.”

“Peb-by?”

“He can’t eat noodles yet, love. He’s only two months old.” Ginny added.

“Oh.” Sev’s shoulders fell. Then an idea came to him and his face lit up once again. “Mo moodoo! Mek!” He pointed to his plate of noodles and signed ‘no’, then pointed to his diaper bag and signed ‘drink’.

“Oh, there! Look, Teddy, Henry wants to drink milk now. So you drink milk now too, okay?” Ginny made a show of handing Sev his bottle. As the infant started drinking it, and little metamorphamagus saw that his friend was now drinking milk, and mummy held a bottle in front of his mouth, Teddy’s cries quieted and he opened his mouth to accept the peace offering his mummy was giving him.

“There we go!”

“I’m proud of you, Sev.” Harry whispered in the infant’s ear before giving him a kiss on the head.

Across the table, Sirius’ ears perked up imperceptibly and he frowned. Did he just call that child…? No, it can’t be. Sitting back in his seat, the animagus peered across the table to study his godson, the girlfriend, and the kid. To the outside observer, they appeared to be a family unit; a pair of teenagers who married early and recently bore a child. The rings on their fingers fooled many, though they rested on the wrong hands. The corny shirts that read ‘Big Fish’ and ‘Small Fry’ definitely contributed to that assumption; as did the actual breastfeeding Ginny did a while ago. Yet Sirius wasn’t fooled. He had visited his godson at least once a week since Victory Day. Nothing struck him as out of the ordinary until last week.

So the kid’s been in the picture since last week. Sirius deduced. Remus has obviously known about it, Tonks as well. I had the feeling they were all conspiring to keep us from Harry. The kid must’ve been why. What Sirius didn’t know was why Harry wanted to keep the kid away from him. Remus had known about it. What was the difference between him and Remus? Then there was also the fact that Harry didn’t want to tell Ron or Hermione about it either. All three of them had been chasing after Harry for the past week and a half. Why wouldn’t Harry want to tell his best friends about this kid? Sirius could maybe understand not telling him, but why not his best friends? Something smelled fishy here, and he was definitely going to find out what it was.

“Hey, did you guys see that car crash earlier today at the intersection of Oxford and Regent, by H&M?” Hermione asked.

“See it?!” Ginny scoffed. “That car was careening towards us!”

“What?!” Ron squeaked. “That was you?!” The garlic bread he was chewing fell out of his mouth. “That couple with the baby I saw today was you two?!”

“You saw us a while ago?” Ginny’s eyebrows furrowed.

“We were at the intersection when the car crash occurred.” Hermione explained.

“At the entrance to the underground.” Sirius elaborated.

“Yes. Ron said he saw the blue car swerving and heading towards a couple with a baby carriage. The lady had red hair, and the man had black hair, and they were trying to comfort—”

“A baby inside a baby sling that the guy was wearing.” Harry nodded. “That was us.” He inclined his head towards the infant. “Henry got a little upset because we squeezed him too hard. He had no idea that a car was coming towards us.”

“Had it not been for Harry’s…ahem…reflexes…” Ginny eyed their surroundings nervously, lowering her voice to a whisper “…the car would’ve crashed through the guardrail and killed us.”

“Oh good heavens!” Hermione’s eyes widened. “But the three of you obviously came out okay, right? No scratches or bruises or anything? Nothing came at you?”

Harry shook his head, mouthing ‘Protego’.

“Just a little shaken, is all.” Ginny elaborated.

“That’s good.”

“That must’ve been terrifying.”

“We were afraid for the baby more than anything.”

“Did you know we almost ran into you guys several times today?”

“What are you talking about, Ron?” Ginny raised an eyebrow.

“That baby carriage—the one with the moon and stars design—that was yours?”

Ginny pulled the folded-up pram from under the table. “You mean this one?”

“Blimey! That was you!” He pointed his fork at his sister. “You were at the intersection! You went into the West One Shopping Centre today, didn’t you? The Plaza, too!”

“How did you know that?!” Ginny cried, a little disconcerted.

“I told you! We almost ran into you guys several times today.”

“And look at that.” Harry smirked. “We end up eating dinner at the same restaurant, at the same time, with the same hostess, and in the same section.” He chuckled. “Life has a sense of humor.”

“Hello! Is everyone ready for dessert?” The bubbly hostess asked, bouncing behind Harry.

“Ah! Ah! Ah!” Sev bounced in his high chair as well, looking up at Harry with an expression that read Please, please, please, may I have some dessert?

Harry gave him a mysterious half-smile and narrowed his eyes playfully. “Sweetheart, you want anything?”

“Order for me, love.”

“A Torta de Mela Rustica for mio amore and…” His eyes narrowed even further. Sev cranked up the pleading look by several notches. Harry chuckled. “…a Créme Caramel for myself and the little fish here.” Sev squealed and began bouncing in his seat. Teddy, next to him, imitated the noise.

“Oh! I swear, this is my favorite table of the night. We have two young gentlemen here who are just angels!” She complimented both Harry and Ginny and Remus and Tonks on their little ones before taking everyone else’s dessert order and assuring them they would only take a few minutes.

“Ankoo!” Sev giggled, signing ‘Thank you’.

“You’re very welcome.”

“I thought he was grounded.” Remus smirked.

“He was…until half an hour ago.” Harry nodded. “A full three days.”

“Must’ve been some kick.”

“It was.” The look on Harry’s face spoke volumes.

Dessert came and went and Sev enjoyed every second of it. He loved dessert. Absolutely loved it! That grounding was pure torture, it was! Sev swore to himself, as Harry fed him some crème caramel, that he was never, ever, ever going to do something that would earn him a grounding ever again! Or a spanking either. He was going to be a good boy from now until the day he died. Harry was never going to need to stick him in the corner, or ground him, or spank him ever, ever again! Yup, Sev was going to be an angel from now on.

“Hey, Sirius!” Harry addressed his godfather, startling him out of his thoughts.

“Huh?”

“Remember that garage you told me you were going to build for your motorcycle?”

“Yeah?”

“Have you built it yet?”

“Finished it just last week, actually.” The animagus nodded, “I was going to show it to you after we helped Remus move in, but I couldn’t find you.”

“Can it fit an SUV?” Harry asked, giving him a mysterious smile.

“I made it…charmingly spacious.” Sirius’ eyes twinkled, “It can fit almost anything. Why?”

Harry smirked. “Would you guys like a ride?”

Everyone’s head turned towards him. “You have a car?” Ron squeaked.

After the check was ordered and paid, and the bubbly waitress tipped generously, Harry and Ginny led the group back to the car park and their SUV.

“Bloody hell!”

“Ron!”

“When’d you get a car, Harry?”

“When’d you get a license?” Hermione interjected, her voice shriller than Ron’s.

“The license I got right before I turned sixteen.” Harry used the remote to shut off the car alarm and unlock the vehicle. “The car I got about three weeks ago, when I first started working at Godric’s Hollow.” Harry lifted Sev out of the pram and handed him to Ginny. After folding up the baby carriage, he placed it inside the car and quickly transfigured it into another car seat for Teddy. “Here you go, buddy.”

Harry let Sirius, Remus, and Ron climb into the third-row seats first before clicking the second-row seat back into place and buckling Teddy’s car seat next to Sev’s. Tonks and Ginny were going to sit next to them, respectively (with the help of some spatial charms, of course). Hermione would ride shotgun.

“Whoa! What’s all this?” Sirius asked, after he leaned back and his head bopped against a stack of boxes.

“IKEA.” Harry explained, showing Tonks how to strap Teddy in, using Sev as an example.

“So that’s what Merlin was talking about when he said you went to an IKEA!” Sirius realized. Turning around, he kneeled on the backseat and snooped inside each of the bags, seeing what he could find.

“Padfoot, what are you doing?” Remus rolled his eyes.

“Goodness, Ginny, I thought The Den already had plenty of furniture.” Hermione commented as she peered towards the back of the SUV.

“Furniture, yes. Enough furniture to compliment the space, no.”

“Alright!” Harry declared, jumping into the driver’s seat and shutting the door. “Is everyone strapped in? Seatbelts, please.”

“Yeah, Padfoot!”

“Shut up, Moony!”

As Sirius buckled his seatbelt, he noticed that the infant “Henry” was staring at him. Frowning, Sirius met “Henry’s” eyes and stared back. The car started moving, yet the two boys refused to break eye contact. “Henry’s” eyes narrowed at him. Sirius’ eyes narrowed in return. Harry yelled at someone out the window, muttering something about babies on board. Neither Sirius nor “Henry” blinked. Remus cleared his throat…loudly…several times. No effect. “Henry” scowled at Sirius; Sirius scowled right back. “Henry” sneered at Sirius; Sirius bared his teeth in return. “Henry” growled at Sirius; Sirius growled in response.

“What’s going on back there?” Harry exclaimed, not liking what he was seeing in the rear view mirror.

“Henry” blew raspberries at Sirius.

Sirius blinked.

“Henry” sneered.

“You spit on me!” Sirius cried, pointing an indignant finger at “Henry”.

“Hey! Stop it! The both of you!” Harry admonished from the front seat.

“Henry” blew more powerful raspberries at Sirius.

Both Remus and Ron dodged out of the way.

“That’s not nice!” Sirius pointed an admonishing finger at the baby.

“Henry” kicked at it, but Sirius pulled away just in time.

“I said stop—”

“Did you just try to kick me?!” Sirius’ face replaced his finger as he tried to stare the baby down.

“Henry” pulled back to kick again, but froze at Harry’s voice.

“SIRIUS! SEVERUS! Do not make me pull this car over!”

Everyone’s head shot towards the driver.

“Did you just say Snivellus?”

WHACK!

“OW!” Sirius grabbed his nose and fell back against the boxes. “Jeez!”

“Oh my god!”

“Sirius, are you alright?”

“Padfoot, it’s bleeding!”

Sev giggled.

Before anyone could do anything further, the car lurched to the side and came to a complete stop. Without a word, Harry parked the car, shut off the engine, climbed out, slammed the door behind him, and walked away from the car.

Silence reigned inside the vehicle.

Sev’s breaths suddenly started coming in small pants. “Haweh?” He squeaked, looking at Ginny worriedly. “Haweh?!”

Ginny leaned against the door and rubbed her eyes wearily.

“HAWEH!” Sev screamed at the top of his lungs, seemingly getting rid of all the breath in his body. His face screwed up, his ears turned red, and with his following gasp of air came his most agonizing cry. “Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

Ginny sighed. “Sev…” The baby began kicking and bucking in his car seat, hindering her efforts to untie him. “Sev…”

“HAWEH!” He wailed.

“Severus…” The teen groaned. Finally, when she was able to get his belt off, she lifted the weeping baby into her arms and turned him to face the car window. “Look, Sev! Look, look, look! Look, love!” Ginny pointed towards a park bench a mere twenty-five feet away from the SUV. On it sat Harry, hunched over with his head buried in his hands. “He’s right there, sweetheart. You see him?”

Sev’s cries immediately died to whimpers and he instinctively began to smack the car window. “Haweh!” He cried, slapping with all his might. “HAWEH!” His voice cracked and he sniffed. Why wasn’t Harry turning around? Why wasn’t he moving?! “Haweh…” Sev’s window-slapping suddenly died down as the second wave of water works began to assert itself. “Ah…” Sev began drooling everywhere as the tears in his eyes blurred his vision. “Haweh…” He moaned and buried his face in Ginny’s chest.

“Oh, angel…” Ginny hugged him close and began rocking him back and forth. “Shhh now, Sev. Shhh now…”

“Haweh…!”

“I know, Severus. I know…”

Suddenly, a whirring noise filled the air and everyone looked around for its source. Then, a breeze blew by Ginny’s neck and made her realize her window had just been rolled down.

“What’s all this now?” Harry began, leaning against the window frame.

Sev immediately pushed up against Ginny’s chest and, upon seeing Harry, brightened up like the sun. “Haweh!”

“Ah…crocodile tears…” Harry said in a singsong voice. Pushing himself upright, he held out his hands and Sev instantly dived into them. “Or maybe real ones…” Harry lifted him through the window and wrapped him in his arms. Then he walked back and retook his seat on the park bench, leaning back to let Severus cuddle against his chest as he admired the view of the park. They sat that way, in silence, for the next five minutes.

Meanwhile, in the car, Sirius and Ron were trying to make sense of what just happened.

“That was Severus Snape, wasn’t it?” Hermione asked, drawing shocked looks from both boys.

“SNAPE?!” They both exclaimed simultaneously.  

“Yes, it was.” Ginny nodded. She rolled up the window, but kept her eyes on Harry and Sev.

“WHAT?!”

“Severus Snape? As in Greasy-Haired-Git-Bat-of-the-Dungeons SNAPE?!”

Ginny whirled on her brother, her eyes blazing with fury. “SHUT UP, RON!” All three men in the backseat flinched. “You know nothing about this situation, you know nothing about the past week and a half, and you know nothing about Severus. Thus, you are in no position to start judging!”

“You breastfed him?!” Ron squawked.

“What?!”

“You breastfed Snape?!” Sirius gagged.

“Now you listen to me and you listen well!” She pointed an authoritative finger in both their faces. “YOU!” She pointed at Ron and her brother flinched back. “My body is my own. I have a right to it. It is my choice to do what I want with it!” Her snarling face replaced her finger. “DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?!” Then her voice lowered to a threatening growl. “If you breathe one word about any of this to mum and dad, I swear to you bat-bogies will chase you down ‘til the end of your days. You won’t even be able to escape them in your dreams. Do I make myself perfectly clear? And if you think I’m joking, try me!” Ginny had gotten in Ron’s face, making him shrink against the boxes.

Ron gulped. “Wh—Wh—What about—Th—They should know…!” The redhead squeaked.

“They’ll know when I tell them. You will have no part in that conversation. Do we understand each other?”

Ron nodded shakily.

“And YOU!” She whirled on Sirius, making him flinch back as well. “You have had it against Severus since the beginning and why? WHY?!” Sirius jumped back against the wall of boxes and Ginny got in his face. “Because he wanted to be in Slytherin and you wanted to be in Gryffindor. Well guess what. That reason is childish! The rivalry between the both of you started for a childish reason and it’s continued throughout all these years because of both of your damn prides!” Her voice lowered to a hiss. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, Sirius, but you are an adult now!” Remus snorted in the background. “You should start ACTING LIKE ONE!” She pointed out the window. “Harry was able to talk Severus into tolerating you—”

“Tolerating me?!” The animagus boomed. “He broke my nose!”

Ginny pointed her wand at him, making him cringe. “Episky!”

SNAP!

“AH!” Sirius grabbed his nose and doubled over.

“There! It’s not broken anymore!” Ginny yelled into his back. “And don’t you mind about Severus. He was in the wrong and he knows it. Harry will deal with him. I am speaking to you!” Sirius straightened up once again, wiping the remaining blood off with his sleeve. “If Harry can learn how to tolerate Malfoy, you can learn how to tolerate Severus.”

“Will you stop calling him Severus!”

“Yeah!” Ron agreed.

“What I choose to call him is none of your concern!”

“Why are you so protective of him all of a sudden?”

Ginny straightened up to full height and fixed both of them with a condescending glare. “Seeing as the both of you are men, you wouldn’t understand.” She replied, her voice deathly calm.

Sirius and Ron both looked like they just sucked a lemon. “Ew!” “Argh!” “Yuck!” “Gross!” “Ewwww!” “Ugh!” “Is that why you were breastfeeding him?” “UGH!!!” “Yuck!” They both pretended to shudder violently and gag some more.

Ginny fixed them with her sternest glare and stared them down. Ron and Sirius were silent within seconds. “This is not a laughing matter.” She breathed, her voice so cold they could almost see her breath.

Sirius and Ron exchanged a dreaded look and the former cleared his throat nervously. “Um…are you telling me you feel as a mother to him?”

“The same way Harry feels as a father to him.” Ginny’s gaze pierced through Sirius, forcing him to look away. “You are poking fun at your godson’s child. You should be ashamed of yourself! It’d be the same thing if you poked fun of Teddy in front of Remus and Dora.”

“But that’s Snape!”

“That is a child with Snape’s memories!” Ginny corrected, calm yet fierce. “You are an adult. Act like it!” Sirius slumped against the boxes and scowled at his jeans. “You might as well get used to it, Sirius. You as well, Ron! Like it or not, Severus Tobias Snape is Harry’s ward now. And he is every bit as protective of him as Remus and Dora are of Teddy. Meaning if Severus doesn’t feel safe around either of you, Harry will not see you. So unless you and Severus can make nice…” she gave each of them a meaningful glare, “…you’re never going to see Harry again.”

With that, Ginny turned back around and settled down on her seat once again, leaving them to their thoughts.  

Outside, Harry straightened up on the park bench and lightly tapped on the underside of Severus’ trainer. He chuckled. “You know, these little feet are always getting you into trouble, huh?” Sev shifted on his chest and continued to suck his thumb. “And you’re not even walking yet.” He looked down at the little head, a gentle smile on his face. “How much trouble am I going to have after you actually start walking, eh?” Sev pushed up and turned worried eyes towards him. “Now, now, now, none of that.” Harry repositioned him so that they could look at each other. “I’m keeping you, remember? Whether anybody likes it or not?” Sev grinned around his thumb. “No, no…I was referring to these little feet.” He tapped on them once again. “And the fact that you broke Sirius’ nose.” The teen whispered.

Sev’s eyes widened. “Ah, yes…now the incident suddenly becomes clear.” Harry chuckled. “Now, I think you and I can both agree that hurting people has a warning attached to it by default. Right?” Sev gave him a puzzled look. “I don’t have to warn you not to get into a fight with anyone, do I? You very well know that fighting is wrong.” Severus’ face screwed up and he leaned towards Harry’s chest, wanting to hear that comforting heartbeat once again.

Harry sighed and allowed him his comfort. “Or maybe you don’t…” He murmured to himself, rubbing Sev’s back soothingly. Severus’ mind was an intricate puzzle for Harry. He knew Snape had a sense of right and wrong, but that sense could have been different from Harry’s, considering the man’s history. Plus, the fact that Snape’s old neural pathways were nonexistent in this miniature version added a whole other dimension to this brain teaser. Sev probably did have a warped-up sense of right and wrong, but his little mind couldn’t process it at the moment. Meaning, he wasn’t entirely at fault for what just happened in the car. Yet…he somewhat was.

The complexity of it all was giving Harry a headache.

“Alright, cub.” He decided, nudging the infant to get his attention once more. “How’s this—one swat, twenty minutes time-out, no grounding?”

Sev’s eyes widened in surprise. He had expected something a lot more severe than that! He had expected maybe three swats and some grounding, but none at all! Severus was getting away with a slap on the wrist!

“Listen to me, Severus.” The child’s eyes snapped towards him. “That mind of yours is a really difficult thing to figure out, so this is my way of giving it the benefit of the doubt. Be warned: if you get into another fight again—with anybody—I will not be this lenient next time. Do we understand each other?” Sev nodded eagerly. “Now when we get back to Grimmauld Place, I’ll have Ginny take you into my room. You will do your time-out with her while I have a discussion with Mr. Black and Mr. Weasley. You will be an angel in that corner. Do you understand me?”

Sev signed ‘yes’. “Yep, ehw.”

“You will also apologize to Sirius.”

Sev scowled at him.

“None of that!” Harry pointed a warning finger at him. “No cub of mine is going to go around breaking people’s noses just because someone called him a bad name. If Sirius is acting immature, I expect you to be the better man and walk away. One, it annoys him like hell, and two, imagine his humiliation when someone points out he got shown up by a baby.”

Sev giggled.

“Exactly!” Harry smirked. “Can you imagine? The bigger man of the pair of you is the infant, and the infant is the big guy. Oh, he’d be red in the face.” Sev collapsed against his chest in a fit of giggles. Harry let him ride it out, running his fingers through his baby hair affectionately. When he finally calmed down, Harry gave him a gentle smile. “So are you going to apologize?”

Sev nodded against his chest.

“That’s my big man.” Harry kissed him on top of the head and then turned back to admire the landscaping. The pair of them just sat like that for another minute or two.

Then, with a sigh, Harry stood Sev up on his lap and pointed to his left. “Look at that tree, Sev. Isn’t it nice?”

“Huh?”

SMACK!”

“AH!” Sev jumped, glancing back and scowling at Harry.

The teen smirked. “That was your spanking. Quick, wasn’t it? And look at those dry eyes. You took that like a man. I’m proud of you.” Sev stuck out his tongue at him. Harry chuckled. Wrapping the infant in his arms, Harry gave him a kiss on the forehead before standing and cancelling the Muffliato he applied earlier. “Now for the hardest part, eh?” They reached the car just as Ginny climbed out.

“I had a little talk with Sirius and Ron, just so you know.” She whispered to them.

Harry smirked and Sev’s eyes widened. “Thank you, sweetheart.” The teen gave her a kiss on the cheek before ducking into the backseat.

“Severus has something he wants to say to you, Sirius.” Harry started.

The surprised animagus turned to the infant.

“OWY!” Sev snapped before promptly scowling and turning away.

“Sev…” Harry warned.

The infant sighed and pouted. Turning back towards Sirius, he met the man’s eyes and repeated in a calmer voice, “Owy.”

“Translation, ‘Sorry’.” He turned to the baby, “For…?”

“Kick…ooo.”

“Kicking you.”

“Sirius, don’t you think you have something to say to Severus as well?” Remus spoke up.

“What are you talking about, Moony?” The animagus scowled.

Remus elbowed Sirius in the ribs—hard.

“Ahem!” Rubbing his chest, Sirius glanced at the baby through his fringe, “I’m…sorry as well.” He grumbled.

“For…?” The werewolf pushed.

“For…calling you that…ri—ridiculous name.”

“Excellent! Severus, offer the man your hand.” The infant scowled but did as he was told. Remus nudged Sirius yet again, and the two former arch rivals shared the briefest of handshakes.

“Good! So I expect not to be bothered when I pull back onto the road.” Waving a hand, Harry reversed the direction of Sev’s car seat to face the front seat rather than the back. “And that’s just in case.” He strapped the child in, allowed Ginny to retake her seat, started the car, and pulled back onto the road.

“Meh po dad ah back! Meh po dad ah back! Meh po dad ah back!” Severus kept chanting it as he played with his baby snake and lion cub. “Meh po dad ah back! Peb-by! Meh po dad ah back!”

“Coo!”

“Meh po dad ah back!”

“Coo!”

“Meh po dad ah back!”

“So how long have you known, Hermione?” Ginny asked.

“Well…your quarters were the first indication. I know you, Harry. Even though Teddy’s your godson, I highly doubt you’d be that excessive.” Harry chuckled next to her. “So I knew there was something going on there. In addition to Ginny carrying the diaper bag out the door…” Ginny chuckled, “…there was the dreamcatcher. In order for a dreamcatcher to work effectively, it has to be stationed above the bed where the protected generally sleeps. If that dreamcatcher was meant for Teddy, it would have to have been in Remus’ quarters. But it wasn’t. It was in yours. So I knew there was another baby involved here. The question was who was the baby? And why were the three of you avoiding us?”

“And…”

“And when we ran around the school looking for you, I stumbled across something interesting in the hospital wing.”

“Let me guess…”

“Professor Snape was no longer there. I asked Madame Pomfrey what happened, of course. She said that he woke up, got well, and walked out. A bit hard to believe, that was. Professor Snape was in a coma. I would’ve thought Madame Pomfrey would keep him an extra week or two after waking up to make sure everything was fine. Then there was lunch and Professor Slughorn slipped up and nearly said ‘Severus’ after ‘Harry and Ginny’. The Marauders’ Map, which we used to try to find you, didn’t show Professor Snape anywhere on there—not even in his quarters. Then Ginny made me suspicious when she asked if there was a third person that Slughorn was supposed to be asking for. Then there’s the fact that you and she kept going back and forth to the master bedroom when you finally showed up last week. And finally, the Daily Prophet has been following an interesting story about a man named Aidan Elson, who allegedly invented a potion that would regress a person to infancy. I thought the concept was rather interesting and actually remember a man selling the very same potion, in lieu of the very same man, to Madame Pomfrey a few days after Victory Day. I was in the room when she bought it, you see. I remember she and I went over the pros and cons of such a potion together after the salesman left.”

“You were there when Pomfrey bought the aging potion?” Ginny asked.

“I wanted to ask her if there was anything I could do to help, as well as get information on the snakebite that Professor Snape suffered, since I wanted to stock the infirmary with the anti-venom.”

“So you knew we had a de-aging potion.” Harry pushed her to continue.

“Yes.” Hermione nodded. “I also knew exactly how many vials Madame Pomfrey bought, and where she stored them on the shelves, and what used to be stored there before, and what said potion looked and smelled like.”

“How the blazes did you know all that?!” Ron squeaked.

“She told me, Ronald!” Hermione rolled her eyes. “As we were shelving the vials, she kept saying how the de-aging potion looked and smelled exactly like the painless cyanide draught that she used to store there before. When we passed by the infirmary last week, the door to her stores was open.”

“And let me guess…”

“One vial of the controversial de-aging potion was missing.” Hermione smiled, looking rather proud of herself. “Coincidence? I think not!”

“Sirius, how do you get into your garage?”

“You’re going to have to go around back. It’ll open for you magically.”

“So what were your conclusions, Mrs. Sherlock Holmes?” Tonks raised an eyebrow.

“I figured Professor Snape woke up from his coma and tried to kill himself with the painless cyanide draught, only to realize too late that what he was really consuming was a permanent de-aging potion.” Harry pulled into the garage. “Dumbledore figured Harry was the only person he could trust who had the stamina to raise a child. He threw in the bigger quarters to sweeten the deal, and here we are! Plus, even if the pair of you was taking care of a baby, you wouldn’t have avoided the three of us unless you thought it was absolutely necessary. Considering Snape and Sirius have a history, it was only logical that the child was Severus Snape.”

Harry waved the garage door closed and shut off the engine. “Congratulations, Miss Granger, you are completely and utterly correct.”

“I thought so.” Hermione turned in her seat to smile at Severus. “Hello, Mr. Snape! You can call me Hermione.” She offered him her hand.

Sev peered at her through wide eyes. “Mimi…Meh po dad a back!”

Harry snorted and Ginny laughed. “Come on, love, let’s get you out of this.” She demonstrated with Sev so that Tonks could get the gist.

“Meh po dad a back!”

“Yes, you are, sweetheart.” She lifted the infant out of the car seat and gave him a kiss on the cheek as she climbed out.

“What does that mean?”

“I’ll tell you later.”

“Ginny!” Harry called back and lowered his voice to a whisper, “Hey, could you take Sev up to my room? He needs to take a time-out.”

“Okay.” She nodded.

“Twenty minutes. Just stick a chair in the corner. Or a pillow—that’s even better.”

“Okay. It’s for kicking Sirius, right?”

“Uh-huh.” As the girls went upstairs with the infants, Harry helped Ron, Sirius, and Remus out of the car. “Hey…can I talk to the pair of you alone?” He asking, pointing to Ron and Sirius.

“I’ll be upstairs.” Remus filled in. “Making tea…or something.”

Harry thanked him and turned to the other two.

“If this is about Snape, don’t bother.” Ron said. “Ginny already let us have it earlier.”

“Let you have it?”

“Oh, she got pissed.” Sirius shuddered at the memory. “Right scary, she was. You got some balls on you, mate, being with her.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Ron frowned at Sirius.

“No offense meant, Ron. No offense meant. I was just trying to say she’s a strong woman, is all. A right firecracker, she reminds me of Lily.”

“Not to mention a lioness protecting her cub.” Harry raised an eyebrow at them.

“Yeah…” Ron scratched the back of his neck. “About that…Look, Harry…”

“Ginny was right.” Sirius continued for him. “Severus and I…” He paused, unsure about what to say. “We…never made the effort to see eye-to-eye. We…never wanted to get along; never needed to, actually.”

“You both belonged to the Order of the Phoenix.” Harry remarked.

“I know, but…” Sirius shrugged. “We both did it out of loyalty to Dumbledore. I…I don’t know much about Severus, but Dumbledore I didn’t…care too much about.” He met Harry’s eyes, “You, on the other hand, I care very much about.”

“Ginny was telling us earlier,” Ron continued, “that the pair of you are starting to see…mini-Snape…as…” Ron grimaced, “…sort of like your kid.”

“Trust me, Ron, once you get to know that kid, it won’t be that difficult.”

“I—We know—I…” Ron sighed, “Look, Harry, Ginny made it clear to us a while ago that…we care about you…and you care about him…so…”

“So if we want to keep our relationship with you, we’re going to have to form one with him.” Sirius finished.

“One that works.” Ron added and Sirius nodded.

Harry was finding it difficult to suppress a smile. “Ginny made all this clear?”

“Oh yeah!” “Mm-hmm.”

Harry snorted. “I love that woman.” He murmured to himself.

“Look, I’m sorry if I offended you earlier when I called him Snivellus.” Sirius grimaced.

“Padfoot, I was expecting some kind of confrontation between the two of you, especially when you found out who he was.”

“They didn’t disappoint.” Ron smirked. Sirius elbowed him playfully.

“One called the other one Snivellus and the other one breaks his nose.” Harry shook his head. “Nope, they definitely didn’t disappoint.”

“Speaking of which, I hope he didn’t get away scot-free.” Sirius scowled.

“He didn’t.” Harry shook his head. “Don’t worry.”

“So what’d you do to him?” Ron asked eagerly.

Harry rolled his eyes. “His punishment is remaining between him, me, and Ginny.”

“Oh, you mean how he’s sitting in a corner, upstairs in your bedroom, serving a twenty-minute time-out?” Sirius smirked, his eyes shining as he bounced on the balls of his feet.

Harry narrowed his eyes at him. “Sirius—”

“Or how you gave him that swat in the park?”

“Padfoot—”

“You swatted Snape, Harry? Really?!” Ron’s eyes were gleaming.

“Okay, look!” He pointed an authoritative finger at them, “I want the two of you to stop. Now! Because you’re doing it again! That baby up there,” Harry pointed towards the ceiling, “is just that—a baby. He’s a child, you guys! He may have Snape’s memories inside him, but he’s still…a child.” Both Sirius and Ron visibly deflated. “Imagine if Teddy could understand everything everyone says. Imagine he was born understanding English. Now imagine these two guys coming in and making fun of him; laughing at everything he does; calling him names; belittling him. And Teddy can’t do anything about it because he can’t talk yet, walk yet, or defend himself yet. All he can do is take it.” Harry eyed Sirius and then Ron in turn. “Now tell me how the hell you would feel.”

Both men sighed and exchanged guilty looks.

“Alright, how about this?” Sirius started. “An agreement—no more making fun of Snape…ever.”

“Are you serious, Padfoot?” Ron raised an eyebrow.

Sirius shrugged. “Ginny was right.” He grimaced. “I can be rather…childish…sometimes.”

“Often.” Harry argued.

“Half the time.”

“All the time.”

“Most times!” Sirius narrowed his eyes in challenge. Harry smirked and shrugged. “Anyway…maybe it’s about time I start changing some things about me.”

“Burying the hatchet is a good place to start.” Harry smiled and then looked at Ron expectantly.

The redhead grimaced and then sighed. “Fine.” He grumbled. “No more making fun of Snape ever.”

“And that ‘ever’ starts right now.” Harry offered them his hand. “Agreed?”

Sirius hesitated and then took it. “Agreed.”

Ron took it reluctantly. “Agreed.”

“Excellent!” Harry beamed at them and patted them both on the back, leading them towards the stairs that led into the house. “So it’s now…six forty-five? I can stay until seven forty-five.”

“Why so early?” Ron’s eyebrows furrowed.

“Got a schedule to keep.” Harry replied with a smile.

“Bedtime?” Sirius raised an eyebrow.

“Snape has a bedtime?!”

“Severus, Ron.” Harry corrected. “Call him Severus.”

“That’s going to be weird.”

“Get used to it.”

“So…Severus…has a bedtime.” Ron looked like he just sucked a lemon.

“Eight thirty.”

“Every night? Seriously?”

“He’s five months old, Ron.”

“Then why does Ginny get home so late sometimes?” The rounded the corner and headed into the kitchen. “I see her come in around eleven…almost midnight sometimes.”

“We’d like to spend some alone time together as well, you know.”

“Can’t do that with a baby around.” Remus remarked, pushing a pot of tea in their direction. “Not even when they’re asleep sometimes.” The werewolf looked a bit weary. “They’ll wake up, cry…you could swear they’re on a twenty-four hour clock.”

“How many times did Teddy wake up last night?” Harry asked as they all took a seat.

“Four times.” Remus snorted. Ron and Sirius now began to notice the bags under his eyes. “Sev?”

“Three times.” Harry groaned, rubbing his forehead. “The second time was when Ginny was at the floo. You know, he’s been doing that a lot lately. Ever since we got back from Godric’s Hollow, it’s like he suddenly developed these psychic powers. He can just tell when Ginny’s about to leave. That’s when he picks his moment to wake up and start crying.” Remus snorted and began laughing. “Seriously! Ginny didn’t want to leave.”

“You never know with magic and bonds and all that. Maybe it is something.” Remus shrugged. “Severus is developing a deep bond with each of you.”

“Maybe it’s because Ginny leaves every night. Do you reckon?” Harry asked Remus. “When we were at Godric’s Hollow, Sev slept through the night.”

“Really?” Remus sounded surprised.

“Yeah!”

“Did you all sleep in the same room?”

“The same bed. He slept in between us.” Harry nodded.

“That’s probably it.”

Harry sighed and shrugged, making a noncommittal noise before sipping his tea.

“Blimey!” Ron murmured. “So you two don’t get any alone time together?”

“Yeah, we do…sort of…maybe…” Harry answered ambiguously. “It’s not, like, one consistent length of time. It’s broken up throughout the day. We can do adult things…when the baby is asleep.”

“Problem is you never know when the baby’s going to be asleep.” Remus smirked and sipped his tea.

“Jeez, I am so glad I don’t have a kid.” Sirius muttered.

“I’m with you there.” Ron agreed.

“Yeah, but neither do you have a girlfriend, Padfoot.” Remus pointed out.

“Yeah, those two cancel out.” The men shared a laugh.

A gasp rang through the room. “Oh, there they are!” The swinging door flew open and in trooped the ladies with the two boys. Sev was clutching Ginny and sniffling.

Harry frowned. “What’s wrong?”

Ginny shook her head. “Nothing. It’s just carryover from the time-out.” She handed Sev to Harry, and the child immediately dove towards him.

“Is that it, Sev?”

“Mo wike mime mow!” Sev pouted.

“You’re not supposed to like it, cub.” Harry replied, mildly amused. “It’s supposed to make you not like it so you don’t do anything to deserve it.”

Sev groaned and buried his face in Harry’s shirt. “Mo wike.” He yawned

“Uh-oh.” Harry croaked.

“What?”

“Somebody’s sleepy.” He murmured in a singsong voice.

Sev immediately pushed up against Harry’s chest. “Mo…!” The infant whined. Yet, despite himself, his eyes remained firmly shut and his head began to drift sideways.

A snort resounded from Harry’s right, followed closely by another one. The teen shot Ron and Sirius a dirty look, but it was lost on them as they muffled their snickers with their arms. Rolling his eyes, Harry pulled Sev close and cradled him against his chest. “Of course not.”

“Wam peh…Peb…by…” And with those final words, Sev began to snore softly.

Smiling down at the infant, Harry ran his fingers through his baby hair and kissed him softly on the forehead. “You peh Peb-by tomorrow.” He glanced briefly at Remus, who held a curious Teddy against his chest, and the werewolf nodded with a smirk.

Sirius’ and Ron’s snickering died down almost immediately after Harry gave Severus that goodnight kiss. Sirius frowned. So Snivellus got himself in a bit of a predicament, that part was funny. The fact that Sirius’ godson was the one helping him out, that part was not so funny. The fact that said godson was becoming increasingly attached to the greasy git, that part was so not funny. “Harry…” He started, feeling a bit uncomfortable with the situation. “How long is this…de-aging supposed to last anyway?”

“I thought I answered that question in the car, Padfoot.” Hermione replied before Harry could. “The de-aging potion is permanent. Mr. Snape will have to grow up again the old fashioned way.”

“That’s such a bummer.” Tonks smirked.

“Not necessarily.” Harry shook his head.

“Wait a second!” Sirius straightened up in his chair. “So…you’re going to be taking care of him…permanently?!”

“Well…yeah.” Harry frowned at Sirius. “Well, I mean…no one knows that he’s been de-aged yet; and when I say ‘no one’ I mean the Ministry of Magic; so…I’m his guardian, yes, but his legal guardian, not yet.”

“Yet.” Sirius echoed.

“What are you trying to ask?”

“Wait…” Ron sat up as well, “You’re going to take care of Snape—”

“Severus!”

“Sev—er—us…You’re going to take care of him…forever?” Ron looked at Harry as if he’d gone bonkers. “As in…adopt him?”

“If that’s something he wants.”

“But, Harry, don’t you think that’s a bit…”

“What, Ron?”

“Well—” The redhead stuttered, turning to Sirius.

“Are you sure about that, Harry?” The animagus’ eyebrows furrowed.

“Look…the both of you wouldn’t understand. You both hate him.”

“You did too!” Ron argued.

“I did, yes.” Harry admitted. “But I don’t anymore.”

“What I don’t understand is what changed?” Sirius said. “What’s the difference between then and now?”

“I didn’t know his life story then, Padfoot.” Harry replied, meeting his godfather’s eyes. “He gave me his memories. He showed me his life story and…I—I felt…” Harry paused, not knowing how to explain it, “...kinship with him.”

Both Ron and Sirius gaped at him. “Kinship?!”

“With Snape!”

Harry sighed and looked away. He didn’t want to meet his godfather’s eyes. “The Marauders bullied him all throughout his school years. They made enemies with him when they met on the Hogwarts Express. James Potter strutted around the school like he owned the place, hexing people left and right just because he felt like it. He had a group of three who followed him around everywhere he went. They had a personal vendetta against Severus Snape. They would pick on him when they pleased. He and the Marauders would get into fights whenever they ran into each other in school. Doesn’t this sound familiar, Ron?!” Harry practically screamed at the wall.

“Malfoy and his gang.” Ron murmured after a long pause, his gaze turning inward. “Against you.”

“Only his story was a bit worse.”

“Worse?”

“My mother.” Harry sighed. “My mother grew up in the same neighborhood as Snape. It was love at first sight for him. He finally worked up the courage to make friends with her when they were about nine. He was the one who told her she was a witch.” Harry began running his fingers through Sev’s hair absentmindedly. “They were best friends. She defended him from the Marauders in school. But he was in Slytherin and she was in Gryffindor. His Slytherin ties tore their friendship apart. Not even the fact that they loved each other could put that back together. And then one day he lost her to James Potter.” Harry took a deep breath and turned back to face a pensive Sirius and Ron. “So…just like my life…only worse.” He eyed each of them in turn. “Kinship.”

Turning away, Harry poured himself a cup of tea with his free hand. “I’m not doing it out of obligation. I’m not doing it out of pity. I’m doing it because I want to.” He practically slammed the teapot back down on the table. “That should be enough for both of you.”

Silence reigned for a few minutes after, both Sirius and Ron uncharacteristically subdued. It was soon broken, though, by the ever-diplomatic Remus, who had decided it was time for a change in topic. “So…Harry, how goes the house?”

“Oh, it’s coming along. You want to tell them, sweetheart?” Harry gestured to his girlfriend.

Ginny’s report was much livelier than his could ever be. She was practically bouncing in her seat when she told them of their weekend in Godric’s Hollow. Tonks nearly drooled when she described the setting and the town and the peacefulness of the area, and mentioned how it was a great place to raise a family. She told them about the farmers’ market and the nice people and the church and the free barbeque in the park. Ron’s ears perked up at the mention of free barbeque and before long he was back in full swing, asking about what they served, how it tasted, and a myriad of other food-related questions. Hermione had rolled her eyes. Ginny then continued telling them about her plans for the house and how she was working on a surprise room with Severus.

“Oh! Is the surprise for someone?” Tonks asked, her eyes gleaming. Ginny smirked and tilted her head towards Harry. “Which means you can tell us about it, right?”

Ginny laughed. “I’ll tell you two about it.” She pointed to Tonks and Hermione. “Then you can help me and Sev build it.”

“Which remind me,” Harry sat up in his chair, “Do all of you want to come over this weekend? I need help rebuilding the section of the roof that was destroyed in the blast.”

“Sounds good to me.” Sirius replied, straightening in his chair and speaking up once again.

“I’m in.”

“I want some of that free barbeque.”

“You’re going to have to attend services, Ronald.”

“Really?” Ron looked like he had just sucked a lemon.

“No, not really. You can just come to the barbeque.” Ginny replied.

“Wicked!”

Hermione rolled her eyes.

“Sweetheart? What do you think?” Tonks asked her husband.

“No complaints from me.”

“Then that settles it!” Sirius smiled and looked around excitedly. “We’re going back to the Hollow this weekend! Or…what have you named the house, Harry?”

“The Den.”

“As in ‘The Lion’s Den’?” Remus chuckled. “Aptly named.”

“We found that cave of yours in the grove out back.” Ginny remarked. “Maybe you boys can go back there this weekend and reminisce.”

“I’d appreciate it.” Harry added.

Both Sirius and Remus smiled at him. “Absolutely.” “It’d be my pleasure.”

“Harry, are you sure you have enough guest rooms for us to stay in?” Hermione asked.

“Well half of the second floor is sealed off because it has no roof. The living room is on the first floor and that has a couch, but I don’t see why you can’t sleep in either of the two guest rooms we have available upstairs.”

“There are also three other houses you can choose to stay in.”

“Yeah, but they aren’t furnished yet.”

“Three?” Everyone looked at Harry questioningly.

Harry sighed. “The Den forms one corner of a square of four cottages. To the muggles, there are only three houses there. To the wizarding community, there are four. Mine is the hidden one. The other three, when I first came up there, were for sale, so I bought them.” He explained. “One of the houses used to belong to the Dumbledores so I offered it back to them. Albus didn’t seem like he wanted it. Aberforth didn’t mind having it back. So I gave the house back to him. That house is furnished and everything, but I need to do some clean-up work on it before it becomes livable again.” He turned to Ginny. “Sweetheart, can you remind me to ask Abe what kind of work he wants on the house?” She nodded and he turned back to the rest of the group. “The other two houses are unfurnished and require some work, but are otherwise livable. I was going to offer one of them to the pair of you, Ron and Hermione, and the other one to the pair of you, Remus, Dora.” He turned to his godfather. “Padfoot, you understand, right? You already have a house.”

“Yes! Oh, yeah, yeah, absolutely!” Sirius nodded vehemently. “I don’t mind in the slightest.”

“We could help you redesign this house, Sirius.” Ginny smiled charmingly at him.

“Watch out, Princess, I might just take you up on that offer.” The animagus smirked.

“Wait…you’re giving us,” Ron gestured to himself and Hermione, “a house!” His eyes were as wide as saucers. “A house! For FREE?!” He turned to his girlfriend excitedly. “Blood hell, Hermione, it’s a free house!”

“I don’t know, Ron.”

“Wow, Harry…” Remus chuckled nervously, “That’s a, uh…That’s a generous…offer…”

“What’s wrong sweetheart?”

Harry raised a hand to try and calm them. “Of course you don’t have to decide now. Just…come over this weekend, check them out, check out the community, think things over. I don’t want to pressure you or anything.”

“If you decide you don’t want the house, just let us know. It’s no big deal.” Ginny added. “Harry will just put an ad out in the muggle newspaper for anyone who wants to rent the place.”

Sirius raised an eyebrow at them. “You want to have muggle neighbors?”

“Can you imagine me putting an ad out in the Daily Prophet for neighbors?” Everyone chuckled at him. “Exactly.”

“We’ll have to talk about it.” Tonks replied, unsure of Remus’ reaction.

“So will we.” Hermione added.

“What are you bloody talking about?!”

“Quiet, Ronald!”

“Hermione!”

“Take your time.” Harry chuckled. Sev shifted against his chest and Harry was suddenly reminded about the sleeping baby. “Oh…maybe we should go now.”

“Harry…” Ginny called, her eyes twinkling at her boyfriend. “You think if I go with Ron now, he’ll wake up?”

As if on cue, Sev shifted again and pushed up against Harry’s chest. “Mmmmmmmmewmmmmmmmmew…!” He whined, his eyes sealed shut, but his head bobbing back and forth. “Mmmmmmmewwwwmmmmmmmewwwww.” With that, he began to cry.

Harry grinned at the ceiling and everyone else at the table began laughing quietly. He looked at Remus with an ‘I told you so’ expression. “He’s psychic, I say. Psychic!”

Ginny chuckled as she came around the table, already adjusting the baby sling across her chest.

“Oh god! You’re going to breastfeed him aren’t you?!” Ron looked horrified and Sirius shuddered. “You’re going to breastfeed Snape!”

“Severus!”

“He is a baby, Ron, get over it!” Ginny snapped, helping Harry put Sev into the sling. “What would you have me do? Let him starve?”

“Well…I…” The redhead turned towards Sirius, but the animagus merely shrugged and looked the other way. “No…” With a final frustrated sigh, Ron followed Sirius’ example.

Harry and Ginny exchanged a look of triumph behind their backs.

The adults talked for half an hour more as Sev and later Teddy nursed and then promptly fell back to sleep. They made arrangements to meet in Harry’s quarters Saturday morning and then from there they would apparate to Godric’s Hollow. Harry offered to take them in their flight-abled car so that everyone may see the landscape from above. Hermione questioned the suggestion at first, but changed her mind when Harry assured her he would disillusion it before takeoff. They all soon agreed and then Harry and Ginny stood to say their goodbyes.

“Remus, Dora, you want a ride?”

“Harry, why don’t we just shrink everything and then floo back to your quarters?” Ginny suggested.

“On the other hand, we can do that.” Harry smirked. He excused himself, flew downstairs to the garage, shrunk their purchases, pocketed them, shrunk the car, pocketed that, and then flew back upstairs to rejoin the group.

The group said their farewells once more and the couples, with their two sleeping charges, flooed back to Hogwarts.

“Hermione, it is too bloody early!”

“Ron, honestly, I know for a fact your mother taught you to never swear in front of a lady!”

“What lady?”

SLAP!

“OW!”

A snort resounded from behind them and Ron scowled at its source. “Shut up, Padfoot! I’m too bloody tired!”

“I’m sorry, Ron, but that was too funny.” Sirius replied between laughs.

“Will you two hush up!”

“Says the lady who just slapped me!”

“Oh now I’m a lady, huh?”

“You know that slap was louder than I’ve been this entire time!”

“You know, Ron, if you keep this up, you’ll never pass Stealth and Tracking during Auror training.” A muffled but familiar voice remarked from beyond the bedroom door.

Ron blushed and Hermione rolled her eyes. When Sirius felt he had calmed down enough from his laughing fit, he cleared his throat and knocked on the door. “Enter!”

The animagus popped his head in to find Harry and Ginny spooned on the bed, covered by the fluffy white comforter. “Hey there, pup! We going?”

“Just give us a few minutes.” Harry whispered in reply.

“Are they decent?” Ron squeaked behind Sirius.

“Tell him he can come on in. Ginny fell back to sleep once she got here.” Harry relaxed against the sheets as the door opened fully.

“AH!”

“SHHH!”

“You said they were decent!” The redhead hissed at Sirius.

“They’re both wearing clothes! Decent enough for ya?” Sirius argued.

“Only you would think we had sex with a baby in the room, Ronald!” Ginny remarked, not bothering to open her eyes.

“You’re…spooning!”

“So?!”

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!” A cry emerged from the far side of the room.

“Brilliant! You’ve woken up Severus.” Ginny threw the covers off and scowled at her brother. “I hope you’re proud of yourself.”

“Whatever!” Ron rolled his eyes. “Are we going or what?”

Harry sighed and threw the covers off as well.

“Merlin’s beard! It’s gorgeous!” Tonks gasped as she peered out the window for the first time. “It’s so green! Remus, you didn’t tell me it was this beautiful.”

“I’ve never seen if from this high up, to be honest.”

“Yeah…from up here, it looks like paradise, doesn’t it?” Sirius added. “Hey, I bet you I can find the house first, Moony!”

“You’re on!”

Harry chuckled as he steered the car around the area. It was actually Remus who found the house first, having recognized the stream that ran through the grove of trees behind the house.

Sirius pouted childishly. “When did those houses get there?! I don’t remember them ever being there.”

“That’s because you and James were always so busy playing around back. It’s a wonder you two even knew what the front of the house looked like.”

Harry landed just on the outskirts of town and decided to drive back to the house in order to lull the infants back to sleep. Ginny took it upon herself to point out all the landmarks she knew as well as mention all the goings-on around town.

“That’s the park where they have the free barbeque every Sunday.”

“Where?!”

“Most of the town gathers here, I reckon, every Sunday just to hang out. And they’re so nice, all of them. They’re so welcoming. Harry played football with them last Sunday.”

“Football?”

“Oh! Did you win?”

“Football?”

“My team did, yeah.”

“He was brilliant.”

“What’s football? It sounds interesting.”

“Wait a minute, is this the same football Dean fancies playing?”

“Yeah.” And the majority of the ride to the house was taken up explaining the rules of the game as well as the way it has diversified across borderlines. “Hermione, I didn’t peg you as a football fan.”

“Well…I—I’m not.” The brunette stuttered.

Harry narrowed his eyes at her and smirked. “Mm-hmm…”

“So…do you have wards around you property, Harry?” Hermione asked, quickly changing the subject.

Harry snorted and turned back towards the road. “Yeah, I set them up last weekend.” He explained. “There are one set of wards around the outer edge of the property, which began when we crossed that stone bridge back there. Another set is around the four houses at Haven’s Place, and that one encompasses the woods around back. Another set is just around my house in particular, which includes the garden, and that one is laced with a Fidelius Charm, which would activate at my will.”

“Who’s the Secret-Keeper?”

“Me.” They pulled up the front of the house. “The final one is around the house itself and that’s laced with a second Fidelius-like Charm—one of my own design—as well as numerous other protections and spells and whatnot.” He shut off the engine. “And all of them are connected to me.”

“Which means…?”

“Not even a bug can cross my wards without my knowledge, not even a microscopic one. If Voldemort himself wished to rise again—which would be impossible—and kill my family, he’d have a hell of a time trying to cross even the first set of wards. That set of wards is powerful enough, and they all increase in intensity as you go in.”

“Damn, you’re paranoid!” Sirius snickered. 

“Damn straight I am.” Harry snorted and jumped out of the car. He and Hermione helped Tonks and Ginny, and their sleeping charges, out before letting the guys out the back. He let everyone into the house and showed them around the second floor and to their rooms, since he had to put both Sev and Teddy to bed anyway. After some prodding, Ron and Hermione decided to share the corner guestroom, Remus, Tonks, and Teddy would take the room across the hall, and Sirius would sleep on the couch downstairs.

“Or I can sleep in my dog form in the middle of the hallway.” The animagus smirked.

“Sirius, I just cleaned the carpet last weekend. I don’t want dog fur everywhere!” Ginny scowled, much to Sirius’ amusement.

As everyone unpacked whatever little they brought, Ginny laid Severus down on the master bed and nestled him in pillows. They decided to forego bringing Sev’s crib or playpen, since Harry noticed the infant slept through the night whenever he slept in bed with them. The teenager volunteered to watch the two sleeping infants while Harry took everyone on a quick tour of the livable areas of the house.

Despite having practically lived here before, Harry noted both Sirius and Remus studied every corner of the house as if they’ve never been here.

“Do things seem new to you two?” Harry asked them. “I mean…you’ve seen this house before…everything—”

“Well, actually…” Sirius exchanged a look with Remus.

“Everything sort of…seems new.” The werewolf replied.

“Like the furniture…that wall.” Sirius pointed to the new wall.

“Well the wall is new.” Harry remarked, “But the furniture is all from before.”

“Oh, yeah…we know. It’s just…it…feels…different.”

“Different?” Harry’s eyebrows furrowed.

“A—A good kind of different!” Remus assured him. “What Padfoot is trying to say is that the house has a different…uh…”

“Aura?”

“Yes! Thank you, darling. Everything has a different aura now. It’s—”

“That’s what’s new.” Sirius nodded.

“Exactly.”

“Ah.” Harry nodded. He could understand auras.

After the quick tour concluded, Ginny pulled the group aside and explained the plans she and Harry agreed on for the house. She left out her plans for the secret room, of course. She decided to only let Hermione and Tonks see those particular blueprints. She made doubly sure to emphasize to the boys just how much reinforcement was needed for the roof. When she was absolutely sure they understood just what was needed, she shooed the men out the door and locked them out of the master bedroom so that she would be able to go over her secret plans with the girls.

“Well…I guess we’re not needed.” Harry mumbled at the door before turning back to his companions. “Would you guys like to get straight to work on the roof or…” He eyed Sirius and Remus carefully, “…would you like to, uh…see your special cave again.”

The two old friends exchanged a look and Sirius cleared his throat. “Ahem! Well, it’s uh…your special cave now, actually—”

“No.” Harry replied before he could finish, “It’s still yours. It’s just as you left it and…” The teenager didn’t know how to put his feelings into words. Technically, the house was his now and the cave, as it was on the property, was his as well. However, claiming it as his felt…wrong…to Harry. Sirius and Remus grew up playing in that cave along with his father. That special place was one of the few things they had left of him. He didn’t want to take that away from them. “Just…I’d appreciate it if you just came over with me. I don’t…really want to move anything…ever. I just…” Want to hear stories about him. Want to feel a connection to him. Want to get to know him—good, bad, and ugly.

“Sure, pup.” Sirius nodded, eager yet reverent. “Let’s go over right now, why don’t we?”

“Uh…you guys go ahead.” Ron cleared his throat awkwardly. “I think I’ll…either check out the other three houses…or sleep. Harry, you don’t mind, do you, mate?”

“No, absolutely not! The wards around each of them should recognize you. Just touch the handle and they’ll all open.”

“Got it.”

“Shall we?” Remus gestured towards the staircase.

The walk to the cave was made in silence, each man lost in his thoughts. Once they reached the cave opening, it was Sirius who stepped up first. “My god…” He approached the cave very much like Harry approached his parents’ graves last weekend—awed and reverent; this was sacred ground for him. The only sounds that filled the air were the babbling of the brook and the crunch of dried leaves as Sirius made his way inside.

Sirius could feel a large lump forming in his throat. It was getting harder and harder to swallow. The walk over here had brought back so many ghosts from his past. Squeals of laughter echoed in his ears as they passed a familiar tree. “Come along, Sirius! It’s not much farther. You’re going to like it, I promise!” The animagus could swear he saw, from the corner of his eye, two blurs of light rush by him—one with messy black hair and the other with curly brown locks. He blinked and the blurs had vanished. The moment the sight of the brook reached his eyes, he saw the ghosts of two boys splashing each other from opposite banks. He blinked and they too were gone. Then there was the cave.

“Oh, Prongs…” Sirius breathed, taking in the state of their secret hideout. The sleeping bags were just as they left them all those years ago. The Gryffindor colors were still there, his posters still decorated the walls, and the candy and junk food still littered the ground—just as they left it. “How long’s it been, you reckon, Moony?” Sirius croaked. He sounded on the verge of tears.

“Over twenty years, Padfoot.” Remus replied, his voice just as soft and deferential. He picked up an empty chocolate frog box from one of the sleeping bags and smiled at it before taking a seat on the bag itself.

“Has it really been that long?” Sirius whispered, fingering a photo of him, Remus, and James taken in this very cave that one of them stuck onto the wall.

“Summer before seventh year—that was the last time we were all here together.” Remus watched as Sirius sighed and took a seat on his own old sleeping bag and leaned back against the wall, his eyes shut.

“Lily never came here?”

“Never got the chance to, I don’t think.” Remus shook his head sadly. “Everything just happened too quickly after we graduated. I don’t think James ever got the chance to take her here.”

The age lines around Sirius’ face really began showing then, and when he spoke his voice sounded weary. “It’s a shame. She’d have loved this place.”

A rustling noise from the direction of James’ old sleeping bag had Sirius jerking his eyes open and looking towards its source. For a moment, he thought he saw James sitting there, just like he used to—with his back against the wall, one leg stretched out, the other bent at the knee, and a cocky smirk plastered onto his face. His glasses were askew, but his eyes were twinkling as he smiled at Sirius. “What’s on your mind, Padfoot?”

Prongs? Sirius’ breath hitched in his throat and his eyes watered so quickly he had to shut them before any tears began to fall.

“Sirius?” The voice repeated in concern. Yet now it sounded a little different. When the animagus opened his eyes once again, James’ chocolate browns were replaced with Lily’s emeralds. It had been Harry he had been looking at. Harry, not James.

Damn it! What is wrong with me?! Sirius cleared his throat and quickly swiped at his eyes. “Sorry, pup…” He took a deep breath to try to calm his emotions. “I guess coming here was harder than I thou—” His voice cracked at the last word and he quickly cleared his throat several more times.

“Sirius, it’s okay to let it out, you know?”

“I know. I know.” His godfather nodded, waving him off.

“Why don’t you both tell me about him?” Harry suggested, hugging his knee to his chest. “I’d love to hear about him. Both of them, really. Anything at all.”

“Are you sure you still want to hear about it?” Remus asked, giving Harry a bemused smile. “I mean…knowing what we did to Severus and all?”

“What you did to Sev you did when you were…” Harry cocked his head one way and then the other, internally debating which word he should use, “…stupid.”

Sirius’ eyes shot open and he stared at Harry for a second before turning to Remus. “Wow, he doesn’t beat around the bush, does he?”

“I don’t consider youth an excuse.” Harry smirked.

“He’s harsh.”

“He’s right.” Remus raised an eyebrow at the animagus.

“I still can’t believe he was in love with Lily.”

“The feeling was entirely mutual.” Harry interjected.

“How do you know, Harry?”

“Trust me, Sirius. I do!” His godson’s tone of voice made it abundantly clear to both men that that particular line of conversation was closed.

The animagus’ shoulders sagged and he sighed. “Look…if it’s any consolation, I…don’t particularly feel proud of that point in my life.”

“Nor do I.” Remus added.

“Nor would your father had he been here.” Sirius threw in.

“Well I’m not particularly proud of any of you either.” Harry replied, “But…it was one choice out of…so many more.” His gaze moved from one to the other and back. “It was one story out of…a lot of others. I mean…just because I helped Fred and George with a few pranks doesn’t mean I’m a prankster and I love pranking. My mom fell in love with my dad, and if I’m anything like her, and you two tell me I am, then I know she fell in love with him for a reason. He was second tier to Severus Snape, true, but there has to be a reason for that.”

Sirius snorted. “James would be rolling in his grave if he found out he was only second tier.”

 “Who did she fall in love with? I want to get to know him—good, bad, and ugly.”

Sirius snickered. “Well your father was certainly all three.”

“Padfoot!”

“Except for the ugly part. I have it on semi-good authority that he was rather dashing. Of course, that’s second to me.” 

“You sound like Gilderoy Lockhart.”

“I’m kidding, Moony!” The two friends laughed at each other and Harry laughed at their antics.

“There’s more to a person than what they did as a teenager.” Harry gestured towards the both of them. “You both turned out okay. Now I want to know about my dad.”

The two old friends exchanged wistful smiles.

“To be honest with you,” Remus started, “because I know Sirius isn’t going to say it, you had us down pat back in Grimmauld Place on Wednesday. James was very much like Draco Malfoy and we were very much like his gang.” The werewolf grimaced. “Each of us had our reasons for hanging out with him.”

“But your father had some redeeming qualities too!” Sirius threw in. “Did you know it was his idea to become animagi in order to keep Remus company whenever he transformed?”

“It was a stupid idea! I believe that’s one of the things Harry meant when he said ‘stupid’.” Remus scowled at his friend.

“It was selfless, Moony!” Sirius argued. “And we all know James had that in spades when he wanted to.”

“It was not entirely selfless, Sirius.”

“Maybe not, but I didn’t see you protesting so readily at the time.”

“I was ‘stupid’ at the time, remember?”

Sirius rolled his eyes and turned back to his godson. “Regardless of how we all acted at school, here it was entirely different.”

Remus nodded in agreement. “Yeah, here your grandpa wouldn’t stand for James having an attitude.”

“Or any of us for that matter.” Sirius smirked.

“Here, James wasn’t the king of the school. He didn’t strut around. He didn’t hex people. Here, James was James, not James-the-showoff, just James—the man your mother fell in love with.”

“This was our haven, Harry.” Sirius smiled at his godson but Harry could see he was a thousand miles away. “Our Haven Place.”

“The road was aptly named.” Remus chuckled. “This home, this cave, this town, this whole place houses some of the best memories of our lives.”

Harry smiled and leaned forward, eyeing each of them intently. “Tell me about them.”

And they did. There were too many stories to tell, of course, so the two old friends merely stuck to the more memorable ones. They spent a good hour and a half in that cave, telling Harry one story after another. The teenager heard tales of how his father and his two best friends used to camp out in the woods during those warm summer nights, telling each other ghost stories around a magical campfire. When the weather was clear, and the stars were out, they would sometimes sleep in the fields making up stories about the different constellations. Sirius told Harry about how James was a model member of the wizarding community here at Godric’s Hollow. He was always helping out his mother’s friends with errands here and there.

“To be honest, Harry, seeing James while he was here and seeing James while he was at Hogwarts almost makes you feel like they were two different people.” The animagus explained. “I think his Hogwarts personality was something he developed when he left home because he could; and then it kind of stuck throughout the years, becoming a reputation he always wanted to maintain.”

“That was until he became serious about your mother.” Remus added.

“Exactly! James allowed your mother and no one else to deflate his ego to a manageable size.” Sirius chuckled. “He really loved her.”

By the time Ginny found them in the cave, Harry felt like he had a more complete picture of his father—good side and bad—and what he realized was that James Potter was nothing more than a regular man. He was not perfect. He was not an angel. He was not a bad guy, either, though. He had his good traits and his bad. He did things he eventually regretted, but worked to atone for his sins. He had some dark moments as well as some shining ones. He made his mistakes and then learned from them. He was a regular, flawed human being—just like Harry. The realization brought a smile to the teenager’s face.

“Yoohoo! Excuse me!” A beautiful voice sang from just beyond the cave entrance.

“Merlin’s beard! This place is just magnificent!” Another familiar voice exclaimed from beside the first.

“I know. Isn’t it?”

All three men grinned.

“Harry?”

“Come on in, sweetheart.” Harry replied.

“Remus? Are you in there, love?”

“Yes, I’m in here too.”

Ginny ducked inside the entrance and her eyes immediately found Harry’s. “Look who decided to wake up and look for you.” She nudged the infant in her arms. Severus pushed up against her chest and rubbed his eyes with a little fist, yawning.

The moment he saw Harry, his eyes lit up. “A ba!” And he dove towards the teenager.

“WHOA!”

“WHOA!”

“Hey!”

Ginny caught the infant before he could fall, but both Harry and Sirius were on their feet in an instant, reaching out to try to catch the baby.

“Ah. Ah. Ahhhhhhhh!” Severus began crying when he realized he was still in Ginny’s arms.

“Easy there, cub. Hold on!” Harry took the infant in his arms and both Ginny and Sirius helped support his back while Harry adjusted his hold. “He’s fine.” He nodded at Ginny and then his godfather. “Thanks, Padfoot.”

“Yeah.” The animagus nodded and then turned back to Remus. The werewolf was smirking at him. Sirius frowned, “What?!”

“Nothing!” Remus turned away quickly and focused on Tonks and Teddy. 

“What are you laughing at?”

“I’m not laughing at anything.”

“You’re laughing at something.”

“No, I’m not.”

“Wow! This place is pretty! Was this your secret hideout, sweetheart?”

“It sure was.”

“Sirius? Remus? Would you two mind terribly if we cleaned up the half-eaten chocolate bars, at least?” Ginny asked.

“Oh no!”
“Absolutely!”
“Go right ahead.”
“Be our guest.”
“In fact, we’ll help.”

With Remus conjuring a trash bag, Sirius waved his wand and all the half-eaten food was swept up and quickly cleaned away.

“Thank you! The rest can definitely stay where they are.”

“Much obliged, madam.” Sirius mock-bowed to a grinning Ginny before sweeping his arm out in a ‘ladies first’ gesture.

The group trekked back to the house, but decided to forego the back door and took the side gate to reach the front yard. Tonks expressed an interest in touring the house Harry was offering them, so the group met up with Ron and Hermione in front of Harry’s house and the teenager took them on a tour of the houses next door and across the way.

“These two houses are unfurnished. However, that house in the corner is furnished, but I’m giving that back to Aberforth Dumbledore, as that used to be his family’s house when they lived here almost a century ago.”

“Dumbledore?” Sirius raised his eyebrows. “As in—”

“Albus’ brother.” Harry nodded. “He’s the owner of the Hog’s Head. When I offered to give the house back to him, he accepted.”

“Albus didn’t?” Remus sounded intrigued.

“Too many bad memories. Although…I really think it should be Aberforth who should be complaining, but he wants the house back, so…”

“What sort of bad memories?”

“That’s between me and Dumbledore.” Harry waved his hand and opened the door to the house across from his and next to Dumbledore’s. “If he wants to tell you, he will. It’s not my story to tell. Suffice to say, I am not letting anyone in that house until I go through it with a fine tooth comb and get rid of anything…not supposed to be there.”

“Harry, you shouldn’t have said that. You made Sirius curious.”

“I’m not the only one who’s curious now. Am I, Moony?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Harry snorted and led the group through both empty houses. It was going to be up to each of the couples to choose their desired house, if they wanted a house. Ginny was subtly pushing both couples in the right direction by pointing out the features of each dwelling and listing their advantages. In addition to that, she listed the advantages of living in Godric’s Hollow in general. Sirius joined in the effort as well by nagging both Remus and Hermione to accept the offer. He could already tell Ron and Tonks both wanted to say yes. Harry called a halt to the tour when he noticed Remus’ face contort in annoyance.

“Come on, Padfoot. Let’s let them decide for themselves, eh?” After making sure Severus was secure in his arms, Harry put an arm around his godfather’s shoulders and steered him towards the door. “How about we tackle that roof now? What do you say?” Remus threw the teenager a grateful look and went to help his wife with Teddy.

It didn’t take Ginny much effort to convince the girls to come with her to the farmer’s market while the guys fixed the roof. What did take much effort, however, was convincing Severus to come with them as well.

“Haweh!”

“Come on, cub. There won’t be much to see here. We’ll be working on the roof the entire time. You’ll get bored.”

“Fff-pay hehw!”—‘S-T-A-Y’

“You won’t even be able to go around in your walker. We’ll be on the second floor the whole time.”

“Fff-pay!”—‘S-T-A-Y’

“Come on, love, we’ll take you in the buggy!”

“Haweh!” Sev hugged Harry around the neck and buried his face in his shoulder.

“You’ll be riding right next to Teddy. Don’t you want to play with Teddy?”

“HAWEH!”

“Severus—”

“HAWEH!!!” Severus screamed at the top of his lungs and then began to cry on the teenager’s shoulder.

“Clingy little runt, isn’t he?”

SLAP!

“OW!” Sirius rubbed his stinging shoulder vigorously as he shot Ginny an indignant look. “I was only joking!”

“Not funny!” The teenage girl sent Sirius a glare that made the animagus cringe.

A snort resounded from behind and Sirius scowled at its source. “Shut up, Moony!” That only made the werewolf and his wife laugh all the harder.

Ginny snuck up behind Harry and encircled his waist from behind. “Come on, love…” She breathed gently in his ear—and thus Severus’—making sure to infuse her voice with just a bit of white magic. Sev immediately began to calm down. “Come on…Don’t you want to start working on your room? Sev’s room? I thought you were excited about it, sweet?”

“Hey! How ‘bout that? Designing your own room! You feel up to it, cub?”

The crying ceased entirely and Sev lifted his head slightly off of Harry’s shoulder to peek up at Ginny. “Woom?”

“Exactly!” Ginny gave him a gentle smile. “We just have to go out for a few hours, let the boys clean up this mess, build a roof…then we can start working on your room.” She winked at him.

“Ah! Wawawawawawooooo!” Another tiny voice squealed from the other side of the room.

“Teddy wants you to come with us, Severus.” Tonks laughed, bouncing a jolly Teddy in her arms.

Harry grinned at his godson. “There! Teddy’s excited about going. You could point out all the nice vendors to him.”

Sev immediately pushed up off his chest at the suggestion. “Peb-by?”

“Four hours, tops. After that, the room’s yours.”

“Fama-maka!” Sev dove towards Ginny.

“Whoa! There we go!” Harry chuckled.

After the ladies and the infants departed, Harry led Sirius, Remus, and Ron past the false wall and to the damaged part of the house for the first time. As before, in the cave, Sirius was the first to visibly react to the destruction.

“Oh my god…” He breathed, seemingly frozen to the spot. His eyes roamed about the area, taking in the burnt and decaying debris, the rotting leaves and tree branches, and the weather-beaten baby toys scattered about. Then just as suddenly as he froze, he moved, speed-walking to the nursery and pausing in the middle of the room to look around.

“Padfoot?” Remus questioned cautiously from the doorway.

“Sirius, are you alright?” Harry eyed his godfather in concern. He was a bit taken aback when those two dark eyes immediately snapped to meet his, and even more shocked when he realized they were glistening with unshed tears.

“I—I…” Sirius quickly turned away, diverting his eyes towards the remnants of a wall beside Harry. He took a deep breath. Then another. Then another. Then finally he swallowed and turned back to his godson with a look of uncertainty. “The last time I was here…the place was in flames…and I was holding you…and I didn’t know what to do—” He choked on his last words and spun away, wiping away his rebellious tears with his sleeve.

Harry took a deep breath and approached his godfather as one would approach a beaten puppy. “Sirius—”

“Just give me a minute, pup.”

With a wave of a hand, Harry summoned a chair from the dining room and faced it towards the panoramic view of the landscape. After helping his godfather take a seat, he summoned a chair for himself and sat beside him. Together, godfather and godson sat, admiring the view of the landscape, as the former worked on drying the errant tears that managed to escape his tight defenses. “That’s why I want to rebuild this place, you know.” Harry began, laying a comforting hand on Sirius’ shoulder and squeezing gently. “This place reminds me the most of my parents.” He eyed the view before them. “This town as well. I’m sure for you it’s been doing that and more, hasn’t it?”

“A bit.” The animagus’ voice was still a little raspy.

“But the one thing I couldn’t get over,” the teen continued, “was the fact that this place was a ruin! The place was in shambles when I came here a few months ago. There, of course, was this mess.” He gestured around them. “Then the windows were broken, you had doors falling off their hinges, there were weeds growing all over the yards. If this was meant to be some sort of memorial, they did a piss-poor job of making it seem that way, didn’t they?” His godfather snorted despite himself. “A plaque. That’s it?! ‘It was preserved in its ruined state as monument to the Potters and as a reminder of the violence that tore apart their family’. Bullocks! People were probably too afraid to clean up the mess. And why would you need a reminder of violence?! This is not a monument to my parents! It’s a reminder that they’re dead!” Harry scowled and Sirius’ head snapped towards him as he realized his godson was right.

“That’s why we need to rebuild this house.” The teenager whispered, his eyes shining with excitement. “We need good reminders of Lily and James; not bad ones! Eh?”

“I agree.” Sirius smiled at his godson.

“Come on, Padfoot,” Harry stood up and offered the older man a hand, “Let’s turn this piss-poor monument of my parents’ deaths into something that celebrates their lives instead.”

Sirius chuckled and took the hand, hooking an arm around the back of Harry’s neck once he stood up. “You know, pup, you remind me so much of your parents sometimes, it’s scary.”

“I take that as, ugh…a compliment.” Harry grumbled good-naturedly, trying to escape Sirius’ hold.

“Nope! Not letting go.” The animagus taunted.

“Padfoot—OOF!”

Sirius pulled Harry into a rib-crushing hug and gave him a discreet kiss on top of the head. “I love you, Harry. You know that, right?”

“I love you too, Sirius.” The teenager whispered in return.

With a final squeeze, Sirius released his godson, but not before ruffling his hair playfully. “So…Ron! Moony!” He called to the two men who had retreated to the ‘room’ across the hall to give them some privacy. “Are we going to raise their roof or what?”

“Is the mushy stuff done with?” Ron grimaced.

“Yeah, yeah. The mushy stuff’s done with.” Harry chuckled, smoothing down his hair.

Neither Sirius, nor Remus, nor Ron had any experience with construction spells so Harry had to walk them through the entire process, which took the better part of half an hour. The complexity of it kept tripping up both Ron and Sirius. Remus, as usual, was a quick-study. Once everyone became familiar with the process, Moony suggested the first step should be to clear the ground of debris. Harry agreed whole-heartedly and the four set off tearing down the remaining walls and doorways and making sure that none of the furniture was bolted down. When everything was finally loose, Harry banished every sliver of wood and chip of rock down to the backyard with the flick of a wrist. When everything was through, the four men stood on an expanse of bare floor that stretched from the false wall to the edge of the house.

“I think you should put a cushioning charm at the bottom, Harry.” Ron suggested, eyeing the edges of the platform uneasily. “Um…just in case one of us falls off or something.”

“Why should one of us fall off?” Sirius smirked.

“Don’t worry, Ron. I already put a cushioning charm around the edges.” Remus assured the redhead.

“Oh, Moony! You take the fun out of everything.” Sirius smirked, shoving Ron ever so lightly.

“It’s not a joke, Padfoot!” The teenager snarled at the animagus.

“Calm down, Ron.”

“Why don’t we set about building the walls next? What say you?” Harry asked, totally ignoring the exchange.

“I agree. I’ll take this side.” Remus stated, heading to the spot where one of the longer walls should be.

“Right. I’ll take this one. And Sirius? Ron? You both can take the short wall, okay?” Harry pointed to the side of the house.

Both Sirius and Ron looked affronted. “We’re not invalids, Harry.”

“Yeah!”

“Did I say you were? I just noticed that it takes the pair of you longer to make a wall than it takes Remus or me. So I figure if you two make that wall at your own pace it’ll be done by the time we are.”

Sirius scoffed. Ron rolled his eyes. Remus snorted. Then they all turned their backs on him.

“What?!”

Harry was indeed right. By the time he and Remus were done making their walls forty-five minutes later, Ron and Sirius finished with theirs. The teenager threw them a smug look and they both shoved him back into Remus. Harry rolled his eyes.

“Harry…” Sirius called, looking around curiously, “…perhaps you should have taken some pictures of the area first, or—”

“We did.” Harry nodded. “I took extensive photographs with both a magical and a muggle camera when I first came back here a month ago. In fact, I’ve been detailing the evolution of this house from being a wreck to…well, being a house again. Ginny, as well, took quite a few pictures when she came here last week.”

“I reckon she took quite a few more than quite a few.” Ron murmured. “Knowing Ginny.”

Harry snorted and directed them back to the task at hand. Working together, the boys managed to rebuild the missing half of the roof, as well as the missing walls, in just about two and a half hours. They had a few issues getting started—mainly due to Sirius and Ron—but once they all fell into a rhythm, they worked quickly and efficiently. By the time they were done, the master bath and Harry’s old nursery, as well as the two rooms across the hall, were whole and habitable once again. Harry reminded them that Ginny was working on a project for the attic so the walls needed to be super reinforced. The teenager instructed the rest of them on reinforcement procedures and, working together, the men were able to finish everything in a little over an hour. The minute Harry collapsed the false wall, opening the entire second floor for the first time in seventeen years, the sound of a slamming door echoed up the stairs.

“Looks like we finished just in time.” Remus remarked as he leaned against the new window at the end of the hall.

“Boys? We’re home!” Tonks sang from the first floor landing.

“HAWEH!”

“AH! AH! AH! AH! Haaaaa…” Childish giggles echoed up the stairs, followed shortly by the sound of footsteps.

“Hawehhhhhhhhh!”

“Was that singing?” Sirius snorted. Remus shoved him lightly on the shoulder.

“We’re up here ladies.”

A shock of pink hair preceded a gasp of surprise. “Merlin’s beard! Look at that!” The footsteps double timed the rest of the way up and before long all three ladies and two babies stood at the end of the hallway, gaping in astonishment.

“It’s so big!”

“It’s gorgeous!”

“Wow, you boys were certainly busy.”

“HAWEH! Babooooooo…” Sev bounced in Ginny’s arms and waved at Harry. The bright yellow happy face balloon, attached to his wrist, bobbed along with his hand. “BABOOOOO!!!”

Harry grinned at the infant. “You got a balloon?!”

“UH-HUH!” Sev kept bouncing his balloon but began reaching for Harry. “Up! BABOOOOM! UP!”

The teenager chuckled and took the baby in his arms, discreetly planting a kiss on his forehead as he adjusted him. “How’d you get the balloon?”

“Baboooooom.” Sev grinned up at the yellow smiley face and continued to jerk it up and down.

“Oh my word! Look at all this. It’s absolutely amazing!” The ladies went through each of the four rooms and raved about the craftsmanship. As Ron basked in Hermione’s praises and Remus answered the million and a half questions Tonks was asking him, Harry took Sev into his newly-built bedroom.

“Look, baby boy,” he murmured softly, “this is your room.”

Sev looked down from his balloon to study the space around him. The room was a fairly decent size; a little bit smaller than the master bedroom, yet a little bit larger than the room across the hall, Sev noted with satisfaction. The setting sun shone in through the new windows and made the alabaster walls and the hardwood floor glow in its light.

“You’ve got an amazing view.” Harry walked over to one of the windows. “You can see the green fields and the forest and the town. It’s absolutely beautiful down here, don’t you think.”

A breeze blew in through the open window and drifted through Sev’s baby hair, making the infant sit up and gasp. “Whaaaaaayyyy!” He grinned toothlessly at Harry.

“White?” The teenager’s eyes twinkled with delight.

“Whaaaaaaayyyy!” Sev began bouncing up and down excitedly.

A grin was beginning to spread across Harry’s face. “You feel it, don’t you?”

“Wiwi…” Sev stopped moving, closed his eyes, and grinned up at the ceiling. The cool breeze blew in through the open window once more and wrapped itself around the man and boy. “Wiwi…”

“There she is…” Harry whispered into Sev’s ear.

“Wiwi…”

“You feel her, don’t you, cub?”

Feel her? Severus could more than feel her. Severus could see her, could smell her! Lily was right here—in this room—and she felt so alive! The feel of his beloved’s magic all around him made Sev’s body tingle all over with the sensation of white magic.

He felt Harry give him a kiss on the forehead. “You’re doing it, cub! All by yourself. I’m really proud of you, Sev.” A wave of pure joy rushed through Severus at Harry’s words. Someone was proud of him. Proud…of him! The grin on the infant’s face grew even bigger.

As Sev basked in the glow of Lily’s lingering magic, Harry made sure to pull his magical presence back so as to not disturb the infant in his exploration of his newfound magical abilities. A flash of movement caught the teenager’s eye and Harry turned to find his godfather leaning against the doorframe. For the first time since everything came out, Sirius did not look at the pair of them with a smirk or a frown or a scowl or a grimace. Instead, the animagus stared at them now with an expression that Harry could only define as wistful.

“How long have you been standing there?” The teen murmured, knowing his godfather could hear him perfectly.

Sirius didn’t reply for a long moment, and Harry began to question whether his godfather was actually here or a thousand miles away. Then, as if speaking through a lump in his throat, the animagus replied in a raspy voice, “Whole time.”

Harry’s eyebrows furrowed in concern. “Padfoot?”

Sirius waved him off. “It’s just you…standing there…” The animagus ran a hand through his frizzy hair as he inhaled rather sharply. “For a minute there, I thought I was looking at your father…” Severus shifted in Harry’s arms, and Sirius’ attention turned to infant, “…or your grandfather…” Baby Snape was still turned away from him, but he now rested comfortably against Harry’s chest, as opposed to his rather rigid stance just moments before. Sirius watched as his former arch-rival stuck his thumb in his mouth and shifted to find an even more comfortable position in Harry’s arms. Somewhere in the childish corners of Sirius’ mind, he registered the pangs of envy that were beginning to make themselves known. Those childish emotions were muted, however, overshadowed by the arguments of his more reasonable adult mind. “He doesn’t know how lucky he is.” He murmured, continuing to study the child in Harry’s arms. “Not yet. But I hope to Merlin he realizes it soon.”

Sirius looked up to meet his godson’s eyes. “I’d have given anything.”

Harry knew what he meant. Sirius would’ve given anything to have a father like him. He’d have given anything to have a mother like Ginny. He’d have given anything to be loved by a family. Sirius would’ve given anything to be in Severus’ position right now.

“You got it eventually, Padfoot.” Harry reasoned. “And you still have it to this day.” The teen gestured towards the infant. “Sev never got it.”

Sirius’ eyes dropped down to briefly study the infant once more. “I know.” He murmured. A comfortable silence settled around them for a moment as Sirius was once again lost in thought. Then, all of a sudden, godfather and godson locked eyes. “But he’s got it now…And if I have anything to say about it, he’ll have it for the rest of his life.”

Harry’s eyes widened in surprise and a smile began tugging at the corners of his mouth. “Run that by me again, Padfoot?”

Sirius rolled his eyes and pushed off the doorframe. “Just take care of your cub, pup!” He replied over his shoulder.

“You realized you’re mixing two different species of canine!” Harry called back, a grin lighting his face.

“Whatever!”

“Translation: ‘Welcome to the pack, Severus!’”

The oblivious infant looked up at him curiously. “Uh?”

“Never mind.” The teenager smiled. “So…where did you get the balloon?”

“Baboooooom!”

CLANG! CLANK! BANG! CLANK! CLANG! “Oh my god! I am so sorry, Ginny!”

“No, no, let me—”

BANG! CLANK! CLANK! SPLAT! “That was an accident! Shoot!”

“Tonks—”

CLANG! CLANG! BANG!

Sev giggled and bounced in his walker.

Sirius, Remus, and Ron were all collapsed on the sofa, while Harry had taken over one of the leather easy chairs. Before the banging started, all four men were resting with their eyes closed, but now each of them were wide awake, albeit none of them had moved a muscle. They had all now gotten to know Tonks to the point where loud crashing noises in her vicinity no longer startled them.

“Boom, boom, boom!” Sev laughed and bounced. “Boom, boom, boom!”

“Boom, boom, boom…” Harry echoed wearily. Summoning a bib from the bedroom with a wave of a hand, Harry loosely tied it around the infant’s neck before wiping up the spilt drool.

CLANG! CLANK! CLANG! CLANG! BANG! “Sorry…”

Sev squealed and bounced some more. “Boom, boom, boom!” He then sped towards the backdoor.

Harry rubbed a hand across his eyes. “Boom, boom—Hey! Where are you going, young man?!” He called, realizing which direction Sev was running. The baby acted like he didn’t hear him. “Severus, stop!” The thundering of the walker’s wheels suddenly ground to a halt. “The backyard’s off-limits for now, cub. All the junk that used to be upstairs ended up down there and I don’t want anyone near there until everything’s clear.”

“Back-back! Back-back!” Severus whined. He wanted to go outside!

“You were just outside for most of the day. Aren’t you tired of outside?”

“Back-back! Back-back!”

“I said ‘No’.” Harry replied, sitting up straight and adding a stern note to his tone.

Sev immediately began to pout. “Back-back?” He looked at the back door sadly. When he glanced towards Harry, though, he noted with some frustration that the stern look didn’t waver. “Back-back?” He threw in a dose of puppy-dog eyes.

“Are you going to make me repeat myself?”

BANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANK! CLANK! SPLAT! “Dora, for Merlin’s sake!”

“Boom, boom, boom!” Sev squealed in delight and took off towards the dining room door, presumably heading towards the kitchen.

Harry sighed and collapsed back against the leather cushion, burying a face in a hand.

“Well…if anything, his sense of humor has definitely improved.” Ron commented, still not having moved from his position.

“I agree.” Sirius murmured.

BANG! SPLAT! “Bugger!”

“Dora!”

Childish squeals of laughter emanated from the kitchen.

“It’s not that funny, Severus!”

With a sigh of frustration, Harry sat up in his chair once again. The three other men remained as still as statues, but watched him from the corners of their eyes as the teenager waved a hand and a peach-colored rose came flying in through an open window. “Sev, could you come in here for a second, please?” Once again, the thunder of wheels filled the air before the swinging door burst open and a baby in a blue walker came barreling through.

“Uh-huh?”

Harry handed him the thornless rose and whispered something in his ear. The baby giggled, nodded, and barreled right back through the same door before it even stopped swinging from the last impact. All three couch men eyed Harry curiously.

“What?” Giggles, high-pitched female laughter and cooing suddenly emanated from the kitchen, making Remus, Ron, and Sirius increase the intensity of their looks. Still, the teenager chose to play the innocence card. “What?!” He shrugged.

“What was that, pup?” Sirius raised a curious eyebrow.

Harry stood up and ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Turning his back on them, Harry pushed open the swinging door and was gone.

Sirius, Remus, and Ron—all still slumped on the sofa—turned their heads and exchanged looks of perplexity with each other. All of a sudden, what sounded like an oldies song began blaring through the wall.

A boy went back to Napoli
Because he missed the scenery
The native dances and the charming songs
But wait a minute! Something's wrong! Cause…now…it’s…

Tonks and Hermione burst into the living room via the swinging door.

Hey, mambo! Mambo italiano!
Hey, mambo! Mambo italiano
Go, go, go you mixed up sicialiano
All you calabraise-a do the mambo like a crazy with a…

“What’s wrong?” Remus questioned. All three men suddenly sat up on the sofa.

Hey mambo, don't wanna tarantella
Hey mambo, no more a mozzarella
Hey mambo! Mambo italiano!
Try an enchilada with da fish a bac a lab and then a…

“Nothing.” Tonks smirked. “We just felt like…we weren’t really needed anymore.”

“Bloody hell.” Sirius stood up and marched towards the swinging door. “Now I’m curious.”

Hey goombah, I love a how you dance a rhumbah
But take a some advice paisano
Learn how to mambo
If you gonna be a square
You ain't a gonna go nowhere…

“Sirius, no!” Hermione hissed.

Remus merely picked up Teddy and followed Ron and Sirius to the dining room. He noted with some amusement that the girls ‘begrudgingly’ followed him in as well.

Sirius was parked next to the swinging door, peering in through the infinitesimal crack. “Psst! Severus!” The animagus hissed as quietly as he could. “Back up just a little bit. Yeah…lean against the door. Just a tiny bit.”

A corner of Sev’s blue walker came into view and the kitchen door was propped open enough for all five of them (and the baby) to peer through.

Hey mambo! mambo italiano!
Hey mambo! mambo italiano!
Go, go, Joe, shake like a Giovanno
Hello kess-a-deetch-a you getta happy in the feets a
When you mambo italiano!

Harry and Ginny were doing the mambo right in the middle of the busy kitchen! He had a cooking spoon in one hand and Ginny’s hand in the other. She wore the peach rose on her ear, held a small wooden bowl in one hand, and was waving her wand with the other. All around them, dinner was making itself as they danced. Salad was being tossed on the counter as Harry whirled her around. The ingredients were being chopped as Ginny swayed and shimmied. The soup was being stirred, the dishes were being washed, and the pudding was being mixed all the while Harry was swinging Ginny around, encircling her in his arms, laying his chin on her shoulder, and singing into her ear as they swayed to the music.

And a hey ja drool you don't a have to go to school
Just make-a wid da beat bambino
It's a like a vino
Kid you good a lookin' but you don't a-know what's cookin' till you…

With another wave of her wand, Ginny had the final ingredients added to dinner before ordering everything to either present themselves on the kitchen island or pile themselves in the sink.

Hey mambo, Mambo italiano
Hey mambo, Mambo italiano
Ho, ho, ho, you mixed up Siciliano
Hello kess-a-deetch-a you getta happy in the feets a
When you mambo italiano!

Harry dipped Ginny like a pro and gave her a long, sweet kiss.

“Oh my god! Why don’t you ever do that for me, Ronald!” Hermione cuffed her boyfriend lightly on the arm.

“You’re not that romantic!” The redhead scoffed. “Are you?”

“Shhh!” Tonks hissed. “They’re saying something.”

“We should go call them for dinner.” They heard Harry say. “Knowing how tired those three are, it’ll take them forever to get off the couch.”

Several things happened all at once. Harry and Ginny began turning towards the swinging door, Severus moved his walker to close said door, and the five overly-curious adults began hushing themselves and frantically shooed each other back into the living room. Tonks took Teddy from Remus and sat down on Harry’s easy chair. Hermione took the leather easy chair next to it.

When the three men settled on the couch, they realized they had sat themselves in the wrong order. Getting up, they reordered themselves only to realize they had once again sat in the wrong order.

“Guys!” Harry’s voice was coming closer.

“Quick!” Tonks hissed.

Ron jumped over Sirius’ lap to fix their ordering and accidentally crushed a rather sensitive part of his male anatomy, making the animagus squeal under his breath. Tonks burst out laughing just as the three men resumed their previous positions and the swinging door flew open. “Hey guys, dinner’s ready!”

Sirius let out a strangled cough and then a growl.  

Ron blushed.

Remus began chuckling at the ceiling.

Hermione rolled her eyes.

And Tonks began laughing anew.

“O—kay…?” Harry eyed them all with a raised eyebrow. “Well…when you’re ready to eat, come into the dining room, okay? Padfoot, are you alright?”

Sirius cleared his throat several times, forcefully, before letting out a strangled, “Fine.”

Severus burst into the room just as Harry mumbled an, “Okay,” and walked back into the dining room.

“I’m sorry, Sirius! I didn’t mean to crush you in the…down there. I’m sorry!” Ron pleaded.

Severus burst into laughter at hearing Ron’s declaration. Teddy followed suit, making both Tonks and Remus join in as well. Hermione began laughing at the situation in general.

Sirius scowled. “Great! Yeah! Laugh it up. I’m glad you’re amused.” He growled.

As Ron and Remus stared intently at the wizard’s chess board in front of them, and Tonks and Hermione engaged in an animated conversation about something or another, a big black dog sat staring at the closed bathroom door, his tail wagging happily, and his ears perked up at the avid laughter emanating from within.

WOOF!

The booming bark had everyone in the room turning towards the large canine.

“Padfoot, honestly!” Ginny chided as she came down the stairs carrying a bunch of towels. The dog turned towards her, his tongue hanging out of his mouth. WOOF!

Ginny stopped right behind the dog and rolled her eyes. “Excuse me, please.” Padfoot merely stood up and started scratching the bathroom door, whining. “Sirius, no!” Ginny put her leg between the dog and the door and began pushing Padfoot back. “They’re taking a shower, for Merlin’s sake!” Ginny pried open the door and squeezed in through the small opening, making sure to block Padfoot as she did so. When she was finally in, the teenager stuck her head back out and narrowed her eyes at the scruffy canine. “You know…you could do with a proper grooming.”

Padfoot whined and backed a good ten feet away from the door.

Ginny snorted and muttered, “Didn’t think so,” before slamming the door.

WOOF! Whine. WOOF! The dog began scratching at the door once again.

“Sirius, come off of it, will you?” Remus rolled his eyes.

The animagus merely lay down in front of the door, continuing to watch it intently. His ears perked up once again at another squeal of laughter.

“Da…da! Hahahahaha! Ooooooh…BA!”

“You like the shower, don’t you, love?”

“He likes the shower.”

“Smile! Smile! I’m taking your picture, Sev. Smile for me, baby.”

“Show her those gummy reds!”

“Hahahahaha!”

“No! Tell Harry your teeth are coming in. Say ‘Harry’.”

“Haweh!”

“’My teeth are coming in.’”

“Mah beep boo boo. HA!”

Harry and Ginny’s laughter echoed through the door.

Padfoot whined, stood up, and began scratching the door once more.

“Padfoot, they’re not going to let you in.” Remus said, exasperated.

“I don’t even know why Ginny’s in there.” Ron murmured immediately after.

Their words merely made the dog stop his scratching and whining. The door-watching continued relentlessly.

When the bathroom door opened some twenty minutes later, a towel-clad Harry carrying a towel-wrapped Severus looked down to find a big black dog staring up at him intently.

“How long have you been sitting here, Padfoot?”

WOOF!

“The entire time.” Ginny muttered behind her boyfriend.

Severus blew raspberries down at the dog.

“Sev! That’s rude.” Harry rebuked sternly, and the infant burrowed back into his towel. The teenager turned back to the dog. “Come along then, old boy.” Harry gestured towards the staircase.

WOOF! Padfoot barked up at them happily before running up the stairs and opening the master bedroom with his paws. Running over to the side of the bed, the dog grasped the side of the comforter with his teeth and folded it over. He then ran to the other side of the bed and folded it over on that side as well. Hopping up onto the footboard of the bed, Padfoot pulled at the edge of the comforter so that the middle was even with the sides. After climbing back down, Padfoot briefly turned back into Sirius, banished all the dog hair from the furniture with a wave of his wand, and then transformed back into his animagus form.

WOOF!

“Here we are!” Harry said as he entered the room. “Thank you, old boy!” He smiled down at his godfather, who barked in acknowledgement, before setting Sev down onto the bed. “Alright…now where did Ginny put those clothes?”

As Harry searched through the wardrobe in the corner, Sev pushed himself up into a sitting position while Padfoot sat by the edge of the bed and laid his chin on the mattress. Dog and baby locked eyes.

Severus wanted to scowl at the mutt. He wanted to blow raspberries at him, throw something at him, hit him, kick him, do something to the stupid dog that was staring him in the face right now. Yet Sev knew he couldn’t do it. For one, Harry would no doubt discipline him in some way once he found out. Sev had no desire to stare at the corner for any length of time, nor have his bum smacked, nor have any of his privileges taken away. He also had no desire to feel the abnormal amount of guilt associated with the disappointed look Harry deemed fit to grace him with every time he got in trouble. Nope, Severus definitely did not want any of that right now. Secondly, Severus noticed that all the mutt was doing was studying him. He wasn’t doing anything to provoke an argument. He wasn’t even frowning, for Merlin’s sake! For the first time in his life, Sirius Bloody Black was not shooting any looks of hostility or contempt in his direction.

Severus was instantly suspicious. Perhaps I should back away from him just in case. Flopping down on his stomach, Sev pushed himself backwards on the bed. The mutt stood up immediately and disappeared from view. Severus froze. Where did he go?! Where did he go?! Sev felt something moving behind him and shifted to find the mutt dragging a pillow from the head to the side of the bed with his mouth. Sev gasped and rolled away.

Woof! Padfoot immediately dropped and ran to the other side.

Sev rolled and rolled and rolled until he realized—in a panic—that he was dangerously close to the edge of the bed! He tried to stop himself mid-roll but found half of his body meeting empty air. He closed his eyes and braced himself for a fall…

…but the sensation never came.

Instead, Severus opened his eyes to find himself half on top of two black paws, with a cold wet nose pressing into his back. Before he could blink, the wet nose gave him a small shove and Sev found himself on his stomach in the middle of the bed once again. The infant blinked.

Woof! Padfoot took another pillow and moved it from the head of the bed to the side, ensuring that the baby would not fall off on this side either. Then, going around the bed once more, the dog hopped up onto the foot of the mattress and laid himself down, making sure keep at least one eye on the shocked infant.

And Severus was indeed shocked. Had the mutt just…saved him from falling? Had Sirius Bloody Black just prevented him from being dropped onto his head?! Severus was having a hard time believing it. Wide-eyed, the infant studied the dog in front of him. This time, the mutt was lying down and looking at him. Still, Severus could find neither hostility nor contempt in his gaze. Instead, the dog merely looked tired. Curious, Severus pushed himself up and began inching in the dog’s direction. The mutt didn’t move. Sev pushed himself closer. The dog simply blinked. Soon Severus found himself within arm’s-length of Padfoot’s face and all the canine did was stare.

“Ah!” Sev cried.

Padfoot turned away and yawned before going back to staring at Severus. Otherwise, he didn’t react.

“Ah!”

No reaction.

Sev blinked and glanced down. One of Padfoot’s large paws rested near his little hand. Reaching out, Sev briefly laid his hand on the dog’s paw and then turned back to face the animal. To his delight, Padfoot’s head was now up and cocked as he studied Severus. The infant looked down and touched his hand to the paw once again. This time, Padfoot laid his head back down, making Severus frown. But then the paw moved, and Sev watched in fascination as Padfoot gently laid his big black paw on top of his little hand.

Severus stared at the hand and paw for the longest period of time. Then, without realizing what he was doing, Severus turned back to face the animal, and grinned.

“Hey, you two! What’re you up to?” Harry walked back over to the bed, dressed in a pair of boxer shorts and with the towel over his head. Upon seeing the state of the pillows in relation to the baby, Harry reached over and scratched the dog behind the ears. “Much obliged, Padfoot.”

Woof!

“Looks like we’re just going to have to make do with shorts and nappies, cub.” Harry said, laying Severus on his back so that he could put a nappy on him. “I have no idea where Ginny put all the clothes.” Picking the infant up, Harry rounded the bed to lie down on his side of the mattress. “It’s not that big of a deal, though. It’s a bit warm out. Sleeping is much more comfortable in underwear, eh? What do you think?”

As soon as Harry settled down against the pillows, with Severus on his lap, Padfoot stood up and jumped off the bed. Harry waved a hand to get rid of the dog hair just as his canine godfather grasped the edge of the comforter between his teeth and pulled it over his godson and his ward.

“Thank you, Sirius.” Harry smiled at him kindly.

Woof! Padfoot briefly detoured to pull the comforter over Ginny’s side of the bed before hopping back up and resuming his rest at the foot of the mattress.

“You going to sleep here, old boy?”

Woof!

“Alright.” With the wave of a hand, Harry increased the dimensions of the king-sized bed just slightly so that Padfoot would be able to sleep comfortably without any of them kicking him. “Now…which two stories shall we hear tonight, eh?” Harry asked the infant in his arms as he summoned The Tales of Beedle the Bard from the bookshelf.

As Harry flipped through the book, he began to frown. “Uh-oh.”

Padfoot’s ears perked up and Sev looked up at Harry worriedly. “Wha?”

“We’ve finished with this book.” Sev glanced down at the book and then back up at Harry, perplexed. “We’ve read all the stories in this book.”

Sev himself frowned. “Mo…”

“Yes, we have.”

“Mo.”

“Yes.”

“Mo!”

“Then by all means,” Harry turned to the table of contents, “find me a story we have yet to read in this book.” The teenager waited patiently as Sev scanned the each of the titles, his frown deepening by the second.

Finally, the infant looked up at him, his eyes pleading. “Wamp owy.”

“I know you want a story. All I’m saying is that we’re finished reading this book. However,” Harry put the book onto the nightstand and readjusted Severus in his lap, “There are lots of stories left out there, and I know one that will keep you entertained for many, many nights. A thousand and one nights, to be precise.”

Sev’s eyes widened and his hands and feet began to bob up and down. “Wamp owy! Wamp owy!”

Harry chuckled as he laid Severus down next to him and made himself comfortable against the pillows. Padfoot, too, settled himself in a comfier position and then gave his full attention to his godson.

Harry started combing his fingers through Sev’s hair as his story began, “There once was a king—a king of kings—and his name was King Shahryar. Now he had a brother and a wife as well…”

By the time Ginny entered the room half an hour later—at exactly 8:30—both Severus and Sirius were fast asleep and snoring softly. The teenager smiled indulgingly. “That must have been some story.” She commented as she wiped her wet hair with her towel and stepped towards the wardrobe.

Harry snorted. “I didn’t even get halfway through the first story before they were both out cold.” He continued running his fingers through Sev’s hair as he watched his girlfriend change into her nightgown.

“Which one was it? Aladdin?”

“Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves.”

Ginny scoffed in false indignation, “I would’ve thought they’d have stayed up for that one.”

“I know, right?” Harry chuckled, “It’s, like, the most exciting one of the bunch!”

Ginny laughed and glanced back at her boyfriend, acknowledging his choice of attire for the first time. “So…couldn’t find your clothes, I see.” The teenager smirked and turned her back to him. Her shoulders then began to shake ever so slightly, making her boyfriend narrow his eyes at her.

“You did that on purpose, didn’t you?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Sure, you don’t…” Harry rolled his eyes.

“What?” Ginny flipped her hair and gazed at him over her shoulder, giving him her most charming smile. “Is it such a crime for me to want to see the goods before purchasing them?”

Harry threw his head back in silent laughter. “You’ve already seen the whole package, sweetheart. If there’s anyone who’s teasing in this room, it’s you.”  

“Oh, you’ve already seen most of this package, I daresay.” Ginny muttered a spell to dry her hair and another to untangle it. “But as for the rest…” She crawled into bed and under the sheets in the most seductive manner Harry had ever seen, “…you will have to wait for now, Mr. Potter.”

“Whatever you say…the future Mrs. Potter.”

“Oh, I like the sound of that.” Ginny laid her hand on Sev’s stomach and began stroking it lightly with her thumb as she grinned up at her boyfriend.

“I like the sound of that as well.”

Ginny snorted. “You would…” She closed her eyes as Harry leaned in for a short, sweet kiss.

“Remus…where’s Sirius?” Tonks asked, looking around the room for the missing animagus.

“I thought he…went upstairs with…Harry.” The werewolf answered distractedly as he moved his rook to take Ron’s knight. “Your move.”

“Check.” The redhead grinned smugly.

“Damn!” Remus quickly moved his bishop to take Ron’s queen. “HA! Check yourself!”

“You speak too soon, my good man.” Ron moved his knight. “Checkmate!”

Remus sighed and offered Ron his hand. “I’ll get you back one day, I promise.” He chuckled at the redhead and then turned to his wife. “What were you saying, sweetheart?”

“Maybe we should start setting up a bedtime routine for Teddy as well.” Tonks replied, veering off her original topic. “Ginny says it’s working well with Severus.”

“Uh…sure.” Remus began helping Ron clean up the chess set. “Hey…where’s Sirius?”

Tonks rolled her eyes as Hermione smirked. “That’s what I was asking you a second ago, Remus.”

“Oh…sorry.”

“What time is it?” Ron spun around, looking for a clock.

“Around nine.”

“Where’re Harry and Ginny?”

“Severus’ bedtime is 8:30, Ronald.” Hermione rolled her eyes at her boyfriend.

“I know, but surely they don’t go to sleep that early.”

“I’m pretty sure they’re just upstairs.” Tonks began rocking her son in her arms. “Sweetheart, can you help me with Teddy?” Her husband nodded and followed her up the stairs.

As they reached the upstairs landing, both adults could hear soft murmurs coming from the master bedroom. Tonks grinned to herself and stuck her head around the open door. “Knock, knock!” She whispered.

Remus peered in behind her and smirked upon sighting Padfoot. “Ah! There he is.”

Harry and Ginny both chuckled at them. “Were you looking for Sirius?” She asked.

“Yeah, we were wondering where he went. It was so quiet in the house all of a sudden.” Tonks snickered at her own joke. “Remus said he might’ve come up here with you.”

“He did.” Harry nodded, his eyes twinkling. “Fell asleep at about the same time as this little one, too. Didn’t even stay awake long enough to hear the ending of the story I was telling.”

“The story you were telling doesn’t have an ending, not for a thousand and one nights.”

“You’re going to let him sleep here tonight?” Tonks raised an eyebrow at Ginny.

“As long as he cleans up his own dog hair in the morning, I’m fine with it.”

“Lucky butt! He gets the big, comfy bed.” Tonks pretended to pout but ended up snickering instead.

“Do you guys need anything? Is your bed big enough? Do you have enough room?” Harry made a move to get up.

“No, no! Everything’s just great.” Remus waved him back down.

Woof! …Woof! …Grrr…! The dog on the bed then began kicking in his sleep.

Tonks threw her head back in silent laughter and leaned against Remus’ shoulder. The werewolf himself chuckled noiselessly as he wrapped an arm around his wife’s waist.

“You’re never going to let him live this down, are you?” The looks on their faces made Harry smirk.

“My cousin dreams about hunting rabbits in his sleep.” Tonks’ shoulders shook violently. “Absolutely not!”

After everyone had calmed down, Tonks and Remus bid the other couple goodnight before retreating into their room across the hall. Tonks was busying herself with her nightly routine—changing into her nightgown and preparing Teddy for sleep—when the sight of her husband gave her pause. Remus was leaning against the wall by the door, arms crossed, as he stared into a medium-sized mirror across the room. Tonks’ eyebrows furrowed. “Sweetheart?” Remus’ face was scrunched up, indicating he was deep in thought. “Remus!”

The werewolf jerked in surprise and he blinked at his wife. “I’m sorry. What were you saying, love?”

“Are you alright?”

“Yeah, uh…” Remus glanced at the mirror once again. “Yes, I’m fine…”

Tonks rolled her eyes, “But…?” She raised an eyebrow in expectation.

Remus glanced over his shoulder and lowered his voice significantly. “I’m just…a bit worried about Sirius.”

Tonks shot him a bewildered look as she walked closer to him, unconsciously mirroring his whispering. “Padfoot? Why?!”

“Well, look at him, Dora.” Remus gestured towards the mirror across the room and it was then that Tonks noticed the reflection across its surface. Remus was watching the occupants in the other room.

“Sweetheart, just leave them be—” She tried to tug her husband away, but Remus only jerked his head towards the mirror once more.

“Look at him, Dora.”

Tonks sighed and glanced at the reflection of the dog in the other room. “You know, Sirius really does make a convincing dog. That right there is the most domestic little scene that I ever did see.”

Remus jumped on the comment the first chance he got. “And that’s why I’m worried about him.”

“You’re worried about him becoming a dog permanently?” Tonks raised an eyebrow.

“No, I’m worried that he’s going to do something stupid sometime soon.” The werewolf argued. He glanced in the mirror once again. There were Ginny and Harry, propped up on either side of a sleeping baby Severus, talking and laughing like any normal couple pillow talking. He was running his fingers through the infant’s hair; she had her hand on the baby’s tummy and was stroking it lightly with her thumb. The flickering candles scattered about bathed the room in a soft amber glow, which bounced off the laughter shining in Ginny’s eyes and the love gleaming in Harry’s. Then there was Sirius—sleeping in his dog form at the end of their bed, off away in dreamland along with the sleeping infant. Sirius was having a hard time with Severus’ de-aging and Remus knew it. “Sirius is trying to nab Harry’s attention, Dora. You heard him barking at the bathroom door downstairs!”

Tonks’ eyebrows shot to her hairline. “Are you telling me that Sirius Black is jealous of Severus Snape!”

“A bit!” Remus replied defensively. “Now he doesn’t have as much of Harry’s attention than he used to.”

“Sirius isn’t a child, Remus.”

“He can act like one sometimes and that’s what I’m worried about.” Her husband hissed, pulling Dora away from the door so that the couple in the other room wouldn’t see them arguing.

Tonks sighed and rolled her eyes. “You have to have more faith in your friends, Moony.” She fixed him with one of her rare stern looks and put her hands on her hips. “Just because Sirius is acting a bit jealous right now doesn’t mean he’s going to stay that way. The situation is new for him!” She argued on her cousin’s behalf. “Give him a chance to get used to it. If acting like the family dog is helping him get used to it, then let him.”

Remus glanced towards the door in frustration. “What if it’s not helping him get used to it? What if it’s only encouraging him to do something impulsive, like drink one of those de-aging potions himself?!”

“Sirius knows he has a special place in Harry’s heart, just like you do, sweetheart.” Tonks pulled her husband closer and wrapped her arms around Remus’ waist, bestowing him with a placating look. “Harry has a special bond with you and Sirius knows it. I don’t see him getting jealous of you now, do I?”

“Sirius is Harry’s godfather. That makes him special.”

“Exactly!” Tonks’ eyes lit up as Remus fell into her trap. “Sirius knows that.”

“But I’m Sirius’ friend. I’m sure he doesn’t mind sharing Harry with me. Severus, on the other hand—”

“—wasn’t. I know, I know.” Tonks nodded. “But that’s where it makes sense, Moony! Right now, Sirius is probably just trying to figure out where Severus fits into all of this.” The witch reasoned. “Padfoot’s going to be fine, Remus. Just trust him.”

Remus sighed and finally looked down into his wife’s pleading eyes. Within seconds, he relented. His shoulders sagged and he wrapped his arms around his wife’s shoulders, pulling her closer. “Fine.”

“You’ll see, sweetheart.” Tonks’ eyes shone as she smiled up at her husband. “Sirius is going to surprise you on this one, I guarantee it.”

Remus glanced at the mirror once more over his wife’s shoulder. I hope you’re right. He prayed silently.

“I think Hartman’s Standard Defense Spells for the Aspiring Auror is a good book for first years.” Remus suggested, reading the description of the text.

“I think it’s a good book, I agree, but not for first years.”

“Have you read it?” Remus raised an eyebrow.

“Well…yeah. Have you?”

“Not really.” The werewolf handed Harry the parchment he had been reading. “But it’s gotten rave reviews from other professors who’ve used it over the years. The Salem Witches Institute has been using it with their girls for over a century.”

Harry’s eyes widened as he began to scan the parchment. “The same edition?!”

“Well, no, I don’t think so. I’m quite sure they update their editions whenever a new one comes out. It only makes sense.” Remus cocked his head. “Why? What’s wrong with it?”

“No, no, nothing’s wrong with it.” Harry shook his head as he handed the paper back to his friend. “I just think the spells in it are a bit complex for first years, is all. Here—” Harry waved a hand and a book came flying across the room to slam against his palm. Sev squealed in delight and began bouncing in his walker at the little display of wandless magic. “Take a look.” He handed the book to Remus. “Personally, I think it’s geared more towards second years than first years.”

“Hmmm…” Remus grunted as he began skimming through the book, stopping every now and then to read an excerpt. “I think you’re right…” The werewolf closed the book and pushed it aside when a thought hit him. He momentarily studied the teenager across from him—who was scribbling something on a piece of parchment—before turning in his seat to inspect the many bookshelves that lined the walls of said teenager’s quarters. What he found, much to his surprise (though it really shouldn’t have been), were rows upon rows upon rows of shelves lined with all manner of defense books, each looking worn and tattered.

The werewolf cleared his throat as he shifted in his seat. “Er…Harry?”

“Yes?”

“Where did you get all these defense books?”

The teenager raised an eyebrow at him and looked around. “Oh…here and there,” he sighed. “Some of them you and Sirius have given me. Most of them are from the Room of Requirement, Diagon Alley…” He muttered something under his breath as he turned away.

“What was the last one, Harry?” Remus raised an eyebrow at him.

“Oh, nothing. Diagon Alley?”

“No, you said something after that.”

“No, I didn’t.” Harry cleared his throat uncomfortably.

“Yes, you did.”

“No, I didn’t.”

“I have great hearing, Harry.”

“Fine! I said Knockturn Alley. Happy? Now can we go back to lesson plans? Please?”

“What in Merlin’s name were you doing in Knockturn Alley?! When was this?!” Remus look scandalized.

Harry sighed in frustration and rolled his eyes. “Remus, it was a long time ago. I don’t even remember when it was. Can we go back to this? Please?!” He gestured towards the parchment scattered all over the table. “I’d like to get through a rough draft of the First Years’ and Second Years’ lesson plans by the end of today, if you don’t mind.”

Remus frowned and studied Harry for a long moment. Then, when he replied, his voice was filled with sadness rather than anger, his words full of self-deprecation rather than rebuke. “You know, Harry, if it had been up to us, Sirius and I would have adopted you and raised you ourselves.” Remus watched as Harry froze in his paper-shifting and averted his eyes towards the far wall. “We would’ve given you a proper home, a proper family. You wouldn’t have had to raise yourself.”

“I don’t think I did a bad job of raising myself.”

“No, you didn’t.” Remus sighed and began studying the table. “You did a rather good job, actually, considering the circumstances. I’m just saying we would’ve been there to help you out if it had been up to us—”

“It doesn’t matter now, Remus.” Harry cut him off mid-rant. “The past is past. We can’t change it. You guys are here for me now. I have a family now. That’s all that matters.”

“Yeah, but the family you have now you’re building yourself. No one gave it to you.” Remus grimaced. “You should have been given one, Harry. You deserved one—”

“Remus, stop, please.” Harry ordered gently. “We all have regrets, I know. But dwelling on them isn’t going to change anything about them. Come on, Moony…”  Harry laid a hand on Remus’ shoulder and gave him a half-smile. “If it helps any…” Harry shifted his eyes around the room and then lowered his voice, “…You and Sirius are like fathers to me. You more so than Sirius, but don’t tell him I said that.” Remus snorted and both men began chuckling. “I model everything I do after the two of you. So don’t think for one minute that you made no impact in my life, because you did. It doesn’t matter now that you weren’t there. You left your mark where it counted, Moony.”

“Ah, ah, ah, ah, ahhhhhhhhhhhh!”

Harry turned towards the living room instinctively. “Sev?”

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

Harry was on his feet and at the baby’s side within seconds. “What’s the matter, cub?”

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!” Severus opened his mouth while he cried and frantically began pointing towards his lower gums.

“Ah, Mr. Tooth’s come a-calling.” Harry picked the baby up and allowed the child to cry into his shirt while he washed his hands and fetched a glass of ice water. “Alright…It’s okay…Time for a gum massage…” As soon as the child was settled on his lap, he dipped his fingers into the cold water and instructed the infant to open up. Severus’ cries died down as soon as the soothing message began. “There…feel better now, do we?” Severus merely closed his eyes and leaned against his chest. Harry chuckled. “I take that as a yes…”

He turned back to Remus. “Now…where were we?”

Remus chuckled and began shifting through the papers on his half of the table. “You’re a good man, Harry.”

“I learned from the best.” Harry replied, his eyes flicking towards the werewolf.

“Your father would have been proud of you. I know I am.”

“That last part was all I needed to know, Moony.”

Remus smiled at the parchment in his hand as the warmth from Harry’s words began coursing through his body.

The Hogwarts staff, along with their significant others and respective infants, were just beginning to serve themselves lunch when the fireplace in the Great Hall flared green and out stepped a tall, burly man. Everyone immediately turned to face the newcomer.

“Where in the blazes…” The stranger turned towards the door, muttering under his breath, before spinning around the face the table. “AH! Potter! There you are.”

Harry jerked at the sound of his name. “Ah…Uh…” He squinted at the approaching man and then gasped. “Abe—er—forth? ABE!” Harry squeaked before quickly rising from his seat and offering the man his hand.

The bartender took it and grumbled, “Yeah, well, who else do you know that looks like me?”

“Well—”

“Don’t answer that!” The big man waved a finger at him before turning away and facing the table. He immediately froze upon spotting his brother. The two Dumbledores merely stared at each other for a long moment.

Albus, for his part, look surprised, to say the least. “Aberforth!”

“Albus.” His brother droned, continuing to stare at his older brother, and making no further attempt at conversation.

“Er…what are you doing here?”

“I needed to talk to Potter.” Aberforth replied shortly.

“Well…” Albus looked around the table to find the whole faculty staring at him and his brother. “Harry and the rest of us just sat down to lunch. Would you…perhaps…like to join us?”

“If I must.” Aberforth waved his wand, summoning a chair from the other side of the room, and shooing Harry and Hagrid to the sides so that he could sit between them. “Hagrid, how’re you doing?” He offered the half-giant his hand.

The other man took it. “Not bad, Abe, how’re you?”

“Finally done fixing my damn bar after it was used as a bloody railway station!” He fixed Harry with a glare as he sat down.

“Hey, don’t blame me!” Harry replied, indignant. “It wasn’t my idea to use your damn bar as a bloody railway station. Blame Neville! He’s the one that called the cavalry in.”

“Because of you!”

“Hey! I didn’t want to fight!” Harry argued as he served himself some mashed potatoes. “I was, like, I’m here to find some Ravenclaw’s Diadem and destroy it. That’s all I wanted to do! But Neville was like, no! ‘This is the signal we’ve been waiting for. Everyone’s been waiting for you, Harry, so we can fight!’ I didn’t want to fight. It was Neville who called the Army, who then called the Order.”

“Who the bloody hell did that?!” Aberforth grumbled as he snatched the mashed potatoes from Harry’s outstretched hand.

“Fred and George—the Weasley twins—were part of the DA—Dumbledore’s Army—”

“Yeah, I know what it is! Hard not to notice when you turn my goddamn bar into a war room.”

“We had no place to meet the first time! Besides, it was Hermione’s idea.”

“Go on!”

“So Fred and George were part of the Army, but their brothers Bill and Charlie were part of the Order. So when Neville let Fred and George know via the DA coins, Fred and George told Bill and Charlie, who then sent their patronuses out to the other Order members, and it all snowballed from there! And then the Death Eaters show up, and Snape gets thrown out of the castle, and I need time to find this thing, and Professor McGonagall offers to buy me that time, and bada bing, bada boom, the next thing I know, we have a full-scale battle on our hands. How is any of this my fault?!”

“You were the spark that ignited the flames of rebellion!”

Silence filled the room for one long moment as Harry and Aberforth merely glared at each other.

Then all of a sudden Harry pulled back and smirked. “That was deep, mate.”

“Thank you. It happens from time to time.”

“Look at it this way,” Harry started, handing Aberforth a platter of chicken, “You and your bar are going to go down in history as the critical entry/exit point that enabled our side to win the battle, thus winning the war.”

Abe snatched the chicken platter and scowled fiercely. “Do I look like a man who wants to go down in history?!”

“Do I look like a man who wants to go down in history?!” Harry retorted with a snort.

“Whatever.” Abe dumped the chicken in Hagrid’s hands without even looking, startling the half-giant.

“Some things you can’t help.”

Abe scoffed. “I’m here about the house!” He snarled.

“What about the house?!” Harry snarled in return.

“I heard you’re gonna clean it!” Abe screamed.

“You heard right!” Harry screamed in reply.

Remus leaned in and whispered in Ginny’s ear. “Is this the way they always talk?”

The teenager snorted as she fed Sev a mouthful of food. “Oh, yeah. This is a regular conversation for them.”

As if snapping out of a trance, Abe looked up and leaned over to peer past Harry. “Oh! Hello, Miss Weasley.” He greeted, his tone entirely pleasant and altogether different from the one he was using with Harry just moments before.

Ginny smiled at the looks of surprise she was receiving from the entire table. “Hello, Aberforth. I take it you had a pleasant day?”

Abe shrugged. “Relatively.” He smiled.

Ginny chuckled. “That’s good.”

Abe nodded and turned back to Harry. “What parts of the house are you going to clean?!” He snarled.

Harry opened his mouth to speak but ended up laughing into his hand instead.

“That’s it. I win.” Abe chuckled as he dug into his lunch.

Harry sobered up quickly. “It’s not over.”

“Like hell it’s not over, Potter. You cracked, I win.”

“I did not crack.”

“You cracked!”

“Did not!”

“You did so. I win. Ah, ah, ah!” He held up a finger to silence Harry’s impending protest. “I win!”

Sev giggled at the two men’s antics.

“Who’s the kid?”

“Do you really wanna know?”

“Wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t.”

“Can you keep a secret?”

Abe raised an eyebrow at him. “Really, Potter?! Do you really have to ask? What’s my name?!”

Harry snorted and began laughing at his plate. Beside him, Severus squealed in delight and began laughing at Aberforth in earnest.

Albus, on the other hand, scowled at his brother. “I don’t appreciate the implication, Aberforth.”

Abe replied in a voice completely devoid of any amusement whatsoever. “If you can’t take the heat, get out of the kitchen, Albus.”

Albus narrowed his eyes. “Let’s remember just whose kitchen this would be, Aberforth.”

“Gentlemen! Gentlemen, please!” Ginny raised her voice, leaning over to wave a hand between the two brothers, breaking their eye contact. “Let’s not get into anything here, please. Not at the table, at least. Aberforth, you came to talk to us about the house?”

With one last genuine scowl at his brother, Aberforth turned away completely to face Ginny and Harry. “Yes, the house.”  His eyes wandered downward and lingered on the snickering baby.

“Abe, this is Severus Snape. Sev, this is Aberforth Dumbledore.”

The bartender offered his finger to the infant, who immediately grasped it with his drool-soaked hand. “I take it we met before.” The baby grinned at him and nodded. Abe shook the finger with a frown. “You’re too cute to insult at this size.” The infant snickered at him. “That, and I get the feeling Potter here would hex me to kingdom come and the lioness over there would tackle me to the floor and eat me.” Sev’s snickers soon became full-blown squeals of laughter.  

“Wise choice, Aberforth.” Ginny rolled her eyes.

“I value my life.” The bartender turned to Harry. “So what parts of the house are you going to clean?” He asked in a normal conversational tone.

“What parts do you want me to clean?”

Abe studied him for a moment as he chewed his lunch. “You’re giving the house back to me, right?”

“Yes.”

“Which means everything in there is mine.”

Harry’s eyebrows furrowed. “That would be…correct.”

Aberforth immediately pulled a rolled-up parchment out of his pocket and snapped it open, startling everyone at the table. He then held up the parchment to Harry’s face. “This is a map of the house. I marked out my old room and Ariana’s old room.” Harry raised an eyebrow and took the paper. “Leave those two rooms alone, and clean out everything else.”

Ginny dropped her fork and gaped at Aberforth.

“Everything else?!” Harry’s eyes widened at the younger Dumbledore.

“Everything else.”

“As in the whole house?”

“That’s what ‘everything else’ means!”

Ginny glanced at Albus and noticed he had stopped playing with his food and was frozen in place. “Wait…hold on a second, Abe.” She interrupted. “What do you mean by ‘clean out’?”

“Shred it, blast it, incinerate it, I don’t care!” The bartender shrugged. “Except for those two rooms, I want everything gone.”

Ginny nudged Harry and flicked her eyes towards the headmaster. Harry glanced at the pale old man and nodded his head indistinguishably before turning back to the younger brother. “How ‘bout this, Abe—I sell or store the stuff rather than destroy it.”

“You don’t understand, Potter.” Aberforth frowned, “I don’t want this stuff anywhere on this earth anymore.”

“Don’t you think that’s a little overdoing it?”

“No, Ginny!” Abe scowled at the both of them. “Have you two even been in that house?!”

“Yes!” Harry hissed. “And that place is like a museum. You have lots of stuff in there that’s valuable!”

“I—don’t—want it!” The bartender drawled, his voice turning dangerous. “Get rid of it!”

“We’re not just going to get rid of your stuff, Aberforth!” Ginny argued.

Harry quickly glanced at Albus before frowning at Aberforth. “What about your brother’s stuff, Abe?”

Abe slammed his cup down and pointed straight at Harry. “You said everything in that house is mine!”

“Technically!”

“Get rid of it, Harry!”

“Abe, unless you have some exceptionally dark objects in your childhood home, I’m not getting rid of it!”

“What if they were?”

“They’re not.”

“You don’t know that!”

“Both Ginny and I can sense magical auras, Abe. They’re not!”

“Oh, and I suppose the fact that my dear older brother and his good friend GRINDELWALD used most of the things in that house during their search for the deathly hallows and world domination means nothing to you!”

A fork clattering against the table and a sharp gasp from one of the female professors were the only sounds that permeated the air. The atmosphere in the room was suddenly so thick you could cut it with a knife. Nobody spoke, nobody moved, nobody even breathed for several long moments.

Then, suddenly, the sound of silverware scraping against china drew everyone’s attention and the whole faculty watched as Albus Dumbledore—one of the greatest wizards of all time—pushed his plate away and buried his face in his hands.

Harry turned in his seat and leaned towards Ginny and Severus. “Sweetheart, I don’t want you or Severus in that house until I give it the okay, alright?”

“We’re not just going to incinerate his stuff, Harry.” Ginny murmured in return.

“Ah!” Sev agreed.

“I know, I know.” Harry unconsciously put a hand around Severus’ back and squeezed Ginny’s shoulder in support as he turned towards the younger Dumbledore. “Aberforth,” he began, his tone low and respectful, “technically, considering I haven’t handed you the ‘keys’ to the house yet, everything in that house is still mine.”

“Goddamn it, Potter—”

“I will respect your wishes!” Harry added loudly and hastily before Abe could explode on him. The bartender narrowed his eyes at him instead. “I will respect your wishes to a point! If I think anything in there—dark aura or light aura—is dangerous in any way, shape, or form, I will indeed incinerate it.”

“Even if you find it in my brother’s room?!” The bartender fixed him with an expectant glare.

Harry grit his teeth together in frustration and turned towards Ginny. His girlfriend glared past him at the stubborn Dumbledore before huffing and turning away. The teenager glanced towards the headmaster, only to find him still buried behind his hands. Turning back to the bartender in even more frustration, he growled, “Fine! But it is up to my discretion!”

Aberforth slammed the map against the table and stood up. “Done!” Throwing his napkin onto his now-empty plate, he abruptly turned from the table and began making his way towards the fireplace. “Let me know when you’re done with the place!”

Harry shot a genuine cold glare at the bartender’s back. “You’re an irritating, stubborn son-of-a-bitch, you know that, Dumbledore?!”

“So I’ve been told.” The burly man replied, completely unfazed. He pulled a handful of floo powder out of his pocket and threw it in the fireplace. Tongues of green flames immediately flared upwards. “See you around, Potter! I’d say goodbye to you, Miss Weasley, but you’re mad at me.”

“Gee! How could you tell?!” The redhead spat over her shoulder.

“I’ll be in touch!” And with that, he walked into the flames and was gone.

“Can you believe that man?!” Ginny growled in Tonks’ direction, making the metamorphamagus flinch back playfully. “No consideration for his brother whatsoever!”

“Are you alright, Professor?” Harry’s eyebrows furrowed at the old man.

“I’m fine, Harry.” The Headmaster answered behind his hands.

“You’d think they weren’t related, that they were mortal enemies, the way he treats him!” Ginny continued to rant.

“Miss Weasley—”

“Blaming a man for a mistake he made as a teenager. It’s absolutely ridiculous! That grudge is over a hundred years old. Do you see now why I wanted you to learn to let go of your grudge with Sirius, Severus?”

The baby’s eyes widened and he nodded complacently at her before glancing questioningly at Harry. His caretaker took one glance the redhead and sighed, lifting Severus out of his high chair and placing him on his lap, a good distance away from his raving lunatic of a girlfriend.

“It’s bollocks is what it is! Can you believe he wants us to incinerate most of the house? His childhood house! What kind of…” The rest of Ginny’s rant was garbled as Harry placed his hands firmly on top of Sev’s ears. After all, they were trying to teach him not to resort to such language. He already heard Harry swear once today. It would do no good if he suddenly heard Ginny dissolve into a string of curses.

“Miss Weasley, please—”

“He has no right to treat his own brother like dirt—”

“Ginny!” Professor Dumbledore resorted to calling her by her first name in order to get her attention.

“I’m sorry. What were you saying, sir?”

“Although your anger on my behalf is both admirable and appreciated, Miss Weasley, I’m afraid my brother’s anger at me is deep-seated and valid.”

“Aberforth is entirely capable of forgiving you, sir, he just refuses to out of sheer principle. It’s childish and that’s what’s infuriating me.”

“Professor,” Harry broke in, “I meant every word I said to Aberforth, however…I’ve been inside your childhood home, sir, and almost nothing in that house qualifies for the incinerator.” Dumbledore turned towards him, a spark of hope gleaming in his eyes. “It’s mostly pictures, old clothes, photo albums—that sort of thing.” Harry reached into his pocket with his free hand and pulled out an old, folded up photograph, handing it to the headmaster.

Dumbledore unfolded it and gasped, his hand flying to cover his mouth. Unshed tears immediately began glistening in his eyes.

Both McGonagall and Slughorn peered over Albus’ shoulder curiously, their eyes widening as soon as they glimpsed the picture. “Is that your father, Albus?” McGonagall asked, pointing to a figure in the picture.

“Yes.” The old man choked out, swallowing past the lump in his throat.

“And that little boy must be you!” Slughorn added, chuckling as he pointed elsewhere on the photograph. “How old were you there, Albus? Two? Three?”

Dumbledore didn’t answer. Instead, his glistening eyes slowly traveled upward, past the borders of the photograph, to meet Harry’s steady gaze. “Thank you.” He murmured. His voice cracked halfway through and a single, errant tear managed to slip past his defenses and slide down his face.

“I’ll see that you get your things.” Harry promised, his voice soft and respectful.

Severus leaned back onto Harry’s chest and tilted his head upward to study his caretaker’s face. Harry looked calm and sympathetic towards Dumbledore. Well that was a new development. Normally, Harry didn’t like Dumbledore. He was tolerant and respectful towards him, sure; but there was always this underlying tension between him and the old wizard. Now, though, that tension was nowhere to be found. It was gone for the moment, and all that was left was a compassionate Harry and an emotional Dumbledore.

Severus thought back and realized it must’ve been Aberforth who started all of this. He and Harry and Ginny had gotten in a row about some stuff, and who owned the stuff, and whether or not the stuff should be incinerated. At least, that’s what Severus thought they were arguing about. It was all so fuzzy now. What he was sure of, though, was that by the time the bartender was leaving, Harry and Ginny were both sending him what Sev dubbed the “naughty” glare. It was the one that was usually shot his way right before he found himself staring at a corner or nursing a stinging bottom or both. Sev remembered thinking it was a good thing the man was leaving, otherwise he’d have found himself staring at a corner pretty soon.

Shifting in his seat, Sev glanced at Dumbledore just in time to watch the lone tear cascade down his face. The infant frowned. Tapping the hand supporting his chest, Sev glanced up, “Haweh?”

“Yeah, cub?”

“Dum-dow?” Sev then signed the word ‘sad’ and looked at Harry curiously.

“Yeah, he is a little bit.”

“Oh…” Sev made a disappointed noise and then went back to watching the old man for a moment. Then, all of a sudden, an idea came to him and smile swiftly blossomed on his face. “Haweh!” He began bouncing excitedly on his caretaker’s leg.

“What? What is it?”

“Baboooooom!” He grinned up at the teenager and held up a hand, opening and closing his fingers in a wordless plea.

“Balloon?” Harry looked confused.

“Baboooooom!”

“Sweetheart, I think he wants you to get his balloon.” Ginny interjected.

“What do you want with your balloon for? It’s tied to your crib.”

“Baboooooom.” Sev turned on his puppy-dog eyes full-blast.

“Oh, for Merlin’s sake…” Harry held up a hand and soon enough a bright yellow happy face balloon floated through the doors of the Great Hall and into the teenager’s palm. “Here you go—your extra-special happy balloon.” Harry attempted to tie the balloon’s string around Sev’s wrist, only to have the infant pull his hand away abruptly.

“Mo! Mom me!”

“Mummy?” Harry raised an eyebrow.

“He said, ‘Not me!’” Ginny clarified.

“Not you?”

“Dum-dow.” Sev pointed to the sad old man across from him and then glanced back up at Harry.

Harry froze in quite a comical position. He had his mouth hanging open in shock, with one hand holding Sev and the other holding up a bright yellow happy face balloon. Ginny immediately began laughing at her boyfriend. “Oh, what I wouldn’t give for a camera right about now.” She murmured at a snickering Tonks before turning back to Severus. “You want to give your special happy balloon to Professor Dumbledore, sweetheart?”

“Uh-huh!”

“Alright then, go ahead and do it.” Ginny smiled gently. “It’s your happy balloon, love. Remember what the vendor said? If you want to help make someone else happy, you have to give it to them since it’s yours.”

“Okie!” Sev firmly gripped the balloon string in the palm of his hand and pulled it out of Harry’s lax grip. He then leaned across the table as far as Harry allowed and deposited the string into the grip of one dumbfounded Albus Dumbledore. “Ha—peh.” He told him, leaning back onto Harry’s chest. “Ha—peh. My—we! Ha—peh my—ew!”

“Smile, Professor.” Harry translated, his voice quiet and filled with awe. “Be happy…and smile.” The teenager looked down and gaped at the baby in his arms.

“I’m proud of you for trying to make Professor Dumbledore happy, sweetheart.” Ginny ran her fingers through Sev’s hair and smiled proudly at the infant.

“Wike Haweh?!” Sev grinned.

Ginny gasped and, if possible, her grin grew even wider. “Yeah, baby…” her eyes shifted towards her boyfriend, “…just like Harry.”

Sev glanced up at the startled face of his caretaker. “Powd?”

“Oh, cub…” Harry wrapped the child in a loving embrace and graced him with the biggest grin he could muster, “…I am really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really proud of you right now! I am so proud…I could give you a thousand points!” The infant in Harry’s arms began giggling up at him merrily as the teenager leaned down and gave him a kiss on the forehead. “I’m that proud of you.” He murmured, looking deep into the Sev’s eyes. Using his highly-developed skills in ligilimency, Harry made sure Severus felt just how proud of him he really was.

“Severus?” Both Harry and Sev looked up at the sound of the headmaster’s croaky voice. The old man was bobbing the balloon up and down and watching it intently, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. After a moment, he turned his attention towards the baby in Harry’s arms. “Thank you, Severus. Thank you very much.”

“Wewcom.” Severus then proceeded to stick his thumb in his mouth and bury his face in Harry’s chest.

“Well…he sure is coming along isn’t he, Harry?” Slughorn commented, a smile tugging at his lips.

“Oh, yeah…” Harry chuckled, shifting the drowsy child to a more comfortable position across his lap.

“I must say,” McGonagall added, “This newer version of Severus is a lot more pleasant than the older one.”

“He appears to be picking up your personality traits, Harry.” Dumbledore threw in, glancing once more at the balloon that was now tied to his wrist.

“We’re going to have a little Harry running around soon enough.” Tonks joked from her end of the table.

“No more than you’re going to have a little Remus running around as well.” Harry retorted.

“Merlin help me if I’m still here by the time the next generation of Marauders comes to this school!” McGonagall shrilled from her seat.

The entire table burst into laughter, the drama between the Dumbledores forgotten for now.

“MO!!!”

“Severus—”

“MO! MO! MO! MO! MO!!!”

“Mr. Snape, for Merlin’s sake—”

Severus blew strong raspberries at the school matron.

“Severus!” Harry rebuked sharply, stepping up behind Madame Pomfrey. “You just earned yourself a ten minute time-out, young man!” He said, fixing the infant with a hard look.

“Mo…!” The infant whined, his eyes glistening with unshed tears.

Harry made sure to drop down slightly so that he was eye-level with the child. He then fixed Severus with his sternest glare. “You are on thin ice, Severus. This is your last warning!”

“Haweh!” Sev sniffed and the tears began running down his face. He tried batting them away.

Harry wasn’t fazed. “Listen to me.” He tapped the infant’s chin lightly to get his attention. “I’ve had enough with your attitude this morning. One more show of blatant disrespect to anyone in this room and you’re going to find yourself with a stinging bum and an early bedtime. Do I make myself perfectly clear?”

Sev sniffed. “Mo fod!”

“I said, do I make myself perfectly clear, Severus?” The teenager pushed gently.

Harry’s look of disappointment completely did Severus in and the floodgates burst open as Severus began crying in earnest. “Yea…ehw…!” He forced out in between sobs.

“Good. Thank you. That’s all I needed.” The disappointment immediately melted off of Harry’s face and left a look of tenderness in its wake. The teenager stood up straight and gently lifted Severus out of Ginny’s arms and into his own. The infant immediately latched onto his robes and sobbed loudly into his chest. “There, there now, cub…It’s alright now…” Harry whispered soothing nothings into his ear as he rubbed Severus’ back and slowly danced around the room. “That was just a warning, cub, not an actual punishment. As long as you straighten up, everything’s going to be fine.”

“Mo fod!” The baby screamed into the folds of his robes.

“You don’t want a shot, I know.” Harry nodded in understanding, his voice remaining soft and gentle. “Nobody wants a shot, Sev. Nobody wants one, and nobody wants to give one.”

“Uh-huh!” Severus argued, pointing behind him at Madame Pomfrey without lifting his head from Harry’s chest.

“No, that’s not true.” Harry replied. “Madame Pomfrey doesn’t want to give you a shot any more than you want to have one.”

“That’s true, Severus.” The matron added loudly.

“You see?”

“Uh-huh!” The infant continued to argue.

“I have an idea!” Ginny shouted over the din. “Madame Pomfrey, has Harry had all his magical immunizations yet?”

The mediwitch looked surprised. “Uh…well…” Waving her wand, Madame Pomfrey summoned Harry’s medical file over to her.

“I can already tell you I haven’t.” Harry answered for her.

“And why not, Mr. Potter?!” The matron peered at him, aghast. His file lay open yet forgotten in her hand.

By now Sev’s crying had died down, allowing Harry to speak in his normal tone of voice. “Begging your pardon, Madame, but I wasn’t originally from this world. I had no idea there were immunizations for magical diseases until…five minutes ago, to be honest.”

“Goodness gracious, Mr. Potter!” Poppy slammed the file shut and began waving it at him. “Sit down! Sit down right now, young man!” She shooed him—and the child in his arms—onto the bed that Ginny just vacated and reopened his medical file to examine it. “Merlin’s Beard! Oh my goodness—”

“What?!” Harry’s eyes widened, alarmed.

“I never ran a full medical history on you prior to your starting here at Hogwarts, Mr. Potter.”

“A full medical what?”

“A full medical history. Oh, that was rather careless of me. I can’t believe I’ve missed it throughout all these years! And the number of times you’ve stayed here in my wing—”

“What does this full medical history entail, Madame Pomfrey?”

“One quick spell and every bruise, every cut, every broken bone you’ve ever had would be documented in this file. I should’ve run this on you years ago! Well! No matter,” the nurse reached for her wand, “I can get this done in a—”

“Hold on! Wait a second!” Harry held up a hand, unconsciously activating an indiscernible shield charm. “I thought we were talking about immunizations here?”

Severus, who had stopped crying once the conversation began focusing on Harry and not him, pushed up against his caretaker’s chest and peered at the faceoff between Harry and the school healer. Madame Pomfrey was frowning at Harry. “It’ll only take a minute, Mr. Potter, now—” She raised her wand again, and once again Harry’s invisible shield came up.

“Madame Pomfrey, please, this appointment is not about me. And besides, I’m not a student here anymore—technically—so you really don’t have to do it.” Harry paused to lace his voice with just the slightest trace of magical suggestion. “So can we please return to the immunizations now?”

Sev watched as Madame Pomfrey pursed her lips and placed her hands on her hips. Uh-oh, he knew what that look meant. Yet Severus also knew why Harry didn’t want her to perform the medical history on him. If she did, she would know everything about Harry’s life—the abuse, the neglect, the dusty old skeletons still buried in Harry’s closet. If Severus knew anything, it was that Harry James Potter was nothing if not intensely private about his past. The only people who knew anything about what it was really like were him and Ginny. Not even Ron or Hermione or Remus or even Sirius knew about Harry’s real past. The teenager led them to believe anything they wanted to believe as long as their beliefs steered clear of the cold, hard truth. The only secret Harry ever kept from anyone was the truth about his childhood.

“Why don’t you want me to perform this medical history, Mr. Potter?” The healer asked, narrowing her eyes at the teenager. Sev peered up at Harry warily.

“It’s not that I don’t want you to perform it—”

“Good!” Madame Pomfrey was waving her wand before Harry could utter another word, yet the teenager’s reaction was instantaneous. The shield charm that emanated from Harry’s palm was so powerful it glowed a bright blue and pushed away everything within a five meter radius of their hospital bed—including Madame Pomfrey.

Thankfully, Ginny was walking back into the room when everything took place and was able to catch Poppy before she hit the floor. “Merlin me!” She stood the healer up and looked her up and down. “Are you alright, Madame Pomfrey?”

Dumbledore, who had come in with her, immediately rushed to their side. “What happened?!” He too looked the matron up and down. “Are you alright, Poppy?”

“I’m fine! It’s not me I’m concerned about!” The mediwitch shooed them off, never taking her eyes off of Harry and the shield that now stood between them.

The teenager, for his part, sat calmly on the bed, clutching an awed and astonished Severus to his chest protectively. “I’m sorry, but you shouldn’t have done that, Madame!” Harry cried, refusing to drop the shield.

“What did you try to do?!” Ginny demanded fiercely.

“Calm down, Miss Weasley.” Dumbledore put a hand on her shoulder and addressed Madame Pomfrey. “Poppy, what happened here?”

“I was trying to convince Severus to take his immunizations shots, but he began crying. Mr. Potter tried to comfort him, and in the process of trying to convince Severus to accept his shots, Miss Weasley tried to suggest Mr. Potter receive some of his magical immunizations as well. Thus, they would both receive a shot, and it would make everything easier. However, when I pulled up Mr. Potter’s file to see which magical immunizations he had yet to receive, I found out that I have yet to run a full magical medical history on him. When I tried to remedy that, this is what happened.” She turned back to the teenager and her eyes narrowed to slits. “Why don’t you want me to run a full medical history on you, Mr. Potter?!” She demanded severely.

“That’s a fair question, Harry.” Dumbledore added, turning to him as well.

“I’m over seventeen now!” Harry scowled. “It should be my choice whether or not I want to have one, shouldn’t it?” 

“What are you trying to hide, Harry?!” The mediwitch pushed.

“Nothing!” Harry squeaked.

“Then if there’s nothing in the closet, why not allow us to open it up?” Dumbledore raised an eyebrow at him.

Both Harry and Sev glared at the old man. “With all due respect, sir, what I keep in my closet is my business.” He replied in a cold voice.

“Mr. Potter, really! All this drama for a simple medical history?” The matron looked exasperated.

“Poppy, Poppy, Poppy…” Albus laid a hand on her shoulder and began shushing her, all the while holding Harry’s chilly gaze. “Mr. Potter’s right. He’s over seventeen now. If he wants to opt out of a full medical analysis, it’s his choice.”

“What are you talking about, Albus?” Now the healer looked exasperated at the headmaster.

“His medical history isn’t important right now, is it?”

“Of course it’s important right now!” Madame Pomfrey argued. “I need to know which muggle immunization shots he received—“

“I can tell you that myself. I know all the shots they gave me, what they’re called, how much of each they injected, and the exact date of each injection. You don’t need to do a full medical history to get that information.” Harry replied helpfully. The shield charm he had unconsciously been holding up started to flicker and thin in some areas.

“You can’t possibly remember all of that!” Poppy peered at him skeptically.

“I have photographic memory—total recall. I can tell you anything and everything. You don’t need to run a full medical, magical history or anything. I can tell you everything you need to know.”

Professor Dumbledore glanced at Madame Pomfrey. They seemed to have a short conversation with their eyes before Dumbledore nodded and Madame Pomfrey lowered her wand. “I have no doubt that you can tell us everything we need to know, my boy.” The headmaster said, meeting Harry’s eyes once more. “The real question is…will it be the truth?”

“Alright, Sev,” Harry adjusted the infant on his lap and wrapped his free arm around the baby’s chest, tightening it protectively. “I’m going to go first. You just watch, and then you’ll be next. Okay?”

“Mmm…” Severus chewed on his teething snitch as he watched Ginny fold up Harry’s sleeve, exposing his right forearm. The teenager was turned away, watching Madame Pomfrey closely as she prepared their injections across the room. Thus, he didn’t notice when Ginny froze in her efforts as soon as the skin just above Harry’s elbow was exposed. Severus watched as Ginny’s eyebrows furrowed together in dismay. Glancing down at Harry’s arm, the infant knew almost immediately what garnered such a reaction. Several long, deep, angry-looking scars ran from just below his elbow, up his arm, and into his sleeve. Ginny was brushing them gently with her thumb.

“Harry?” She croaked, her voice laced with concern.

“Hmm?”

“What is this?” She whispered, lowering her voice so as not to rouse the attention of the already-suspicious matron.

“What’s what?” Harry raised an eyebrow at her following her line of sight to his arm. “Oh!” Harry inhaled sharply and shifted on the bed. Both Severus and Ginny peered up at him in concern. “Sorry. My…focus slipped…” He closed his eyes and both Severus and Ginny began to sense a shift in his magical aura. Glancing back down at the scar, the redhead and the infant watched as the angry red crevices disappeared, leaving perfectly tanned skin in its wake.

Severus furrowed his eyebrows in confusion while Ginny turned a death glare on her boyfriend. “You’re wearing a glamour?!” She hissed.

Harry sighed and looked away as Sev peered up at him curiously. “Not now, Gin.”

“Why are you wearing a glamour, Harry?”

“Ginny—”

“Harry!”

“Later!” The teenager glanced frantically in Pomfrey’s direction before turning back to his girlfriend. “Please?!” He hissed.

Ginny stared at him silently for a long while before peering over her shoulder fleetingly, taking a step closer to Harry and lowering her voice even more. However, instead of sounding angry or frustrated, as Severus had expected, she sounded sad yet understanding. “How many scars do you have, Harry?”

“Madame Pomfrey!” Harry called, pointedly turning away from his girlfriend. “How many shots will we be receiving today?”

Severus watched as the sadness slowly crept into Ginny’s eyes and a look of disappointment crossed her face. She sighed and peered down at Harry’s arm once more before squeezing his hand gently in support and backing away. He watched as she silently took a seat by the bed and studied her boyfriend from behind concerned eyes.

Severus too peered up at Harry, watching him with a look that very much mirrored Ginny’s. Harry was wearing a glamour? But he looked just like he always looked! What kind of glamour didn’t change your appearance? Wasn’t that what glamours were supposed to do? Yet Severus did recall a change in appearance—Harry’s mysterious scars disappeared.

So Harry was hiding his scars. Sev peered down at the now-smooth arm and gently touched the spot where he saw the scars disappear. Just how many scars were there? He wondered. He didn’t recall seeing any scars the other night when he and Harry slept shirtless in Godric’s Hollow. He must’ve had the glamours on then. Come to recall, he must’ve had them on in the shower as well, because I didn’t see any scars then either. Sev’s eyes widened in realization. He has them on all the time.

The infant gently poked the spot where he knew the scars to be with the tips of his fingers, seeing if he could feel any of them beneath Harry’s magical barrier. Why would someone need to wear a glamour all the time? Is he ashamed of what he’s trying to hide?

“Not you too, cub.” Harry murmured above him. He was peering down at the infant, a slight frown on his face.

Sev graced him with the exact same sad-yet-understanding look Ginny threw his way not moments before. “Boo-boo?”

Harry swallowed and forced himself to turn away from the wide, innocent eyes. They would be his undoing, he could tell right now. He could deny this child nothing; not even information. “It’s not important, Sev.” There was not a chance in hell Harry was going to let this secret see the light of day! He had to be strong for Severus. Ginny as well! He had to be the man of the house. He had to take care of them. He had to be the protector! And protectors don’t let their protected see the scars of war. Harry resolved to never let his focus slip ever again.

Meanwhile, Sev’s eyebrows furrowed and he gaped at Harry for the longest time. “UH-HUH!” He argued pointedly, scowling at his caretaker. “Uh-huh, mm—po—bam!” He started poking Harry in the chest with his teething snitch. “MM—PO—BAM!”

“Alright, are we ready here?” Madame Pomfrey asked, announcing herself. Thankfully, it served to sufficiently distract the child, as Severus immediately turned to her, wide-eyed and slightly fearful.

“We’re ready when you are, Madame.” Harry replied, adjusting Severus once more.

The matron eyed him dubiously as she tied up his arm and searched for a sufficient vein. It was obvious she wanted to say something about earlier but was trying to restrain herself. “So…I trust all of you have seen the headlines in Daily Prophet recently? They all have your name on it, talking about you being spotted doing something or another. But then…” she picked up a needle and tested it out, “…they have these ridiculous little pictures of dragons holding baby dragons with their arms around hippogriffs or something like that.” She finished as she injected him with the serum.

Harry winced slightly and then smiled as Ginny chuckled and Sev grinned at the healer. “Bebe Da-goo!” He held up the wrist that sported a sterling silver cuff and waved it in Madame Pomfrey’s face.

The healer raised an eyebrow. “I beg your pardon?” Sev giggled at her confusion as Ginny took the time to explain Fred and George’s invention to her. “Oh…so that is you in the pictures.”

“Most likely.” Harry nodded.

“You have to admit the genius behind it, though.” Ginny interjected. “It’s making the Daily Prophet look like a total gossip mag.”

“I think it was doing a fine job of that on its own, Miss Weasley.” Madame Pomfrey replied as she untied and bandaged Harry’s arm with the flick of a wand and then turned toward Severus. “But you’re right. It’s doing an excellent job of discrediting them even more.” She then peered down at the now-solemn infant. “Well, Mr. Snape, are we ready now?” She raised an eyebrow at him.

“Mmmm…” Sev whined and peered up at Harry pleadingly.

“Come on, cub. I did it. Now it’s your turn.” Harry urged.

“It won’t hurt one bit, sweetheart.” Ginny added, coming up next to them. “It’ll be a slight pinch and that’s it! Did you see how Harry took it just now?”

“You’re my cub, aren’t you?” Harry whispered in his ear.

Sev pouted and leaned further back into Harry’s chest. “Mo mike…”

“Come now, cub. Close your eyes…” Severus squeezed them shut but could still feel as Harry took his tiny forearm and held it out to the matron. “Now I want you to picture your arm in your mind’s eyes, okay? Picture your forearm in your head.” Severus did so. “Okay, good…now I want you to picture a…dragon. A baby dragon. He’s a tiny little thing. He could just about fit in the palm of your hand. Do you see him?”

Severus did indeed. The miniature dragon came flying in through the window, breathing puffs of grey smoke as it floated in. At first, Severus pictured him as a Norwegian Ridgeback, but the image soon changed in midair from a Ridgeback to a Horntail. Yeah, a Hungarian Horntail! That was much more macho! Severus smiled to himself. He remembered Harry facing off one of these dragons a few years ago and defeating it, though not without much effort. That must mean this particular dragon was the best of its kind! Sev watched as it hovered around the vicinity of his forearm, breathing actual fire, rather then measly puffs of smoke.

“Good. Now…that dragon is about to land on your arm here, okay?” Severus felt them shifting his arm around and something was tied just above his elbow. “Now I need you to stay very still for me, alright? Very still! The dragon can’t land if you move around too much, you know.”

Severus saw the dragon hover just in front of his face. Dark brown eyes met yellow and dragon and human had a stare-down that seemed to last forever. Finally, the baby dragon turned away and began flying lazy circles around his forearm once again. Severus smiled in satisfaction. He had just stared down a dragon!

“You ready, cub? Here it comes!”

The Horntail pulled its wings up, spun around, and landed gracefully in the niche underneath Sev’s elbow. It stung slightly where the dragon’s claws met his skin, but otherwise it didn’t hurt. The baby dragon now stared up at him curiously.

“I’m proud of you, Sev. You took that like a man.”

Severus felt a kiss land on his head and he opened his eyes in curiosity. Madame Pomfrey was taking her gloves off and tossing a now-empty syringe onto the floating tray beside her. With a flick of her wand, something unwrapped itself from Sev’s upper arm before a matching bandage to Harry’s wrapped itself around his elbow.

“All done!” Ginny smiled kindly at him.

Sev peered up at Harry in confusion.

“That was your shot.” Harry smirked. “See?! Told you it was no big deal.” He stood up and Ginny helped him wrap Sev in his sling.

“So when do we have to return for the rest of his immunization shots, Madame?” Harry asked. The mediwitch handed him a schedule which listed the required vaccinations and the dates, while Ginny gathered their things.

The walk back to their quarters was a silent affair. Severus could feel the tension in the air and he didn’t like it very much. He began shifting restlessly in his sling, using one hand to hold his teething snitch while the other poked Harry in the chest. “MM—PO—BAM!” He cried, remembering where their conversation had left off earlier. “MM—PO—BAM, Haweh!”

The teenager raised an eyebrow at him. “I’m sorry. What are you talking about, Sev?”

“He’s saying you’re important, Harry.” Ginny replied, giving him a sideways glare as she hugged the diaper bag to her side.

“Important?”

“Boo-boo!” Sev pointed to the bandage in Harry’s arm.

“My shot?”

“Harry, you’re not as thick as you pretend to be, we both know that. So just drop—”

“Leave it alone, Gin!”

Ginny glared daggers at her boyfriend before turning on her heel and stalking down the hall as quickly as she could without running. She barked the password at Merlin without so much as a greeting and threw herself into the portrait hole before he could even ask what was wrong.

Harry sighed and slowed his pace as he continued towards their quarters. Sensing that he wasn’t about to jump inside the portrait hole behind his girlfriend, Merlin closed the door to their quarters and watched the quiet young man finish his journey down the hall.

Severus shifted against Harry’s chest and buried himself within the folds of his sling. This wasn’t supposed to happen! Why were Harry and Ginny fighting? Why was Harry acting like this?! What was he hiding? Why was Harry being so stubborn?! This all didn’t make sense! Ginny was mad at Harry because he wouldn’t talk about the funny scars on his arm, Severus understood that. What Sev didn’t understand was why Harry kept closing up every time Ginny asked for answers. It was making the both of them upset and Harry didn’t seem to care!

That’s not like him. Sev was used to a Harry who would move heaven and earth to make everyone feel better. He wasn’t used to a Harry who was the source of a problem rather than the solution. Severus peered up at his caretaker’s blank face and tried to find something, anything that would make this uneasy feeling in his gut go away, but he couldn’t. “Haweh?” The infant cried in a tiny voice.

It was as if the sound of his voice snapped the teenager out of whatever trance he was in and he peered down at the child with an inquisitive look on his face.

Sev stared at him for a long time, mentally debating whether or not he wanted to get into this. Finally, he murmured, “Immy mab?”

Harry sighed and tightened his arm around Sev. “Yes, Ginny’s mad.”

Sev watched as Harry ran a hand down his weary face, and the infant couldn’t help but notice that there were lots of lines around Harry’s face now—lines that weren’t there before. The child made sure to raise his hand up to Harry’s eye level and finger spelled ‘W-H-Y’.

Harry grimaced and scratched the back of his neck uncomfortably. “Because Harry’s being an idiot.” He murmured softly.

Sev grinned. Now that was the Harry he was used to! So he did care that he was upsetting the both of them. Whatever caused those scars on his arm must be something that’s troubling him terribly. Sev decided to wait this whole thing out and see what happened. In the meantime, he wanted to do away with this sad and tense atmosphere. Too much drama! “Okie, ie—dee—op!” He pat Harry on the arm indulgently.

“Okay, idiot.” Harry echoed with a snort and kissed Sev on the head.

“Might I suggest you give her a bit of space, Sir Henry?” Merlin remarked, observing the scene with a twinkle in his eye. “Give the both of you time to calm down.”

“Thank you, Sir Merlin.” Harry nodded with a smile. “That’s what I was going to do anyway. Would you let her know if she asks?”

“Certainly.” 

“Thank you.” Harry gave him a small smile before turning around to face the wolf painting. As soon as the little wolf cub saw that he was looking at them, he started yipping and howling excitedly, running around his parents’ legs and pouncing up and down. Harry couldn’t help but grin. “And hello to you too, Junior.” The wolf cub yipped once more before turning around and dashing deep into the forest in the background, presumably to get one of the residents.

Harry turned to the child in his arms. “What do you say, cub, you want to visit with Remus, Tonks, and Teddy for a while?”

“Mo mike ooo am immy mab.”

Harry nodded knowingly. “I don’t like fighting with Ginny either. But you remember what we said a while back, don’t you? It’s perfectly normal to have arguments every once in a while.”

Yeah, well, this argument is entirely your fault! Sev scowled at Harry.

“Look, I promise Ginny and I will work it out later, okay? She and I just need to take some time off from each other for a bit to let off some steam.”

Sev frowned and peered up at Harry with furrowed eyebrows. He didn’t like the way Harry said ‘time off’. What was that supposed to mean?

“Just for a few hours, Sev.”

The portrait hole swung open to reveal a tired-looking Remus clutching a cup of coffee in one hand and a soiled nappy in the other. Harry and Sev both peered at him with raised eyebrows. “I hope you’re not intending to eat that, Remus.”

The werewolf looked confused for a moment before he realized he was holding a dirty nappy. “Oh…Harry, shut up.” He turned from the doorway and threw the dirty diaper into a nearby trashcan. Harry snorted and followed him in while Sev delighted in watching the waste receptacle gobble up the gunk.

“Ewwwww!”

“Teddy is nursing right now so I’m afraid there isn’t much Sev can do at the moment.” Remus pulled out a chair for Harry at table before heading to the sink to wash his hands. “You want some coffee?”

“I wouldn’t mind, thank you.” Harry nodded and looked around. “So…how’s everything going? Did the Wolfsbane work well enough? You look like hell.”

“Thanks.” Remus snorted. “No, the Wolfsbane worked like a charm actually. Thank you, by the way. I woke up the next morning. It was like I hadn’t transformed at all.”

“So why do you look so tired?”

Remus looked up from the coffee he was mixing and sighed at the wall. “Dora and I just found out that Teddy has a dormant form of lycanthropy.”

Sev looked slightly alarmed and Harry sat up in his chair. “Oh, no, Remus…”

“Don’t worry!” The werewolf turned around and gave them a small, comforting smile. “Don’t worry too much. It’s not that…big of a deal. It doesn’t actually mean anything right now. It’s like…being born with the gene to have brown eyes but instead you have green. It doesn’t mean much. It’s dormant, after all.” He turned back to his stirring.

“But you wish he didn’t have it to begin with.” Harry conjectured.

“Well of course not! What kind of father would I be if I wished my illness on my own son?” Remus slid a cup over to him and handed him a banana for Sev to chew on as well before sitting down himself. “So…where’s Ginny?”

Now it was Harry’s turn to sigh. “We had a row.”

Remus’ eyebrows furrowed. “Really?”

“Haweh ie-dee-op!” Sev added as he nibbled on the edge of the banana Harry was holding out for him.

The werewolf raised an eyebrow. “You’re an idiot?”

Harry shook his head and grimaced. “It’s nothing. Well…it’s something but…I’m acting like it’s nothing…and therefore that makes it something, to them, apparently.”

Sev giggled and grinned at Remus. “Haweh ie-dee-op! Haweh IE-DEE-OP!”

“Okay, Severus, he gets the point!” Harry scowled at the table and stirred his coffee idly.

Remus looked confused. “Do I even want to know?”

“No, you don’t.”

Sev watched as the confusion on Remus’ face slowly turned to quiet contemplation as the seconds ticked by. The werewolf took a sip of his coffee before setting it down on the table and addressing the cup rather than his friend. “Is it because I don’t actually want to know…or is it because you don’t want to tell me?” He peered at Harry from the corner of his eye.

Sev too looked up at his caretaker, curious as to what his answer would be.

Harry silently studied his coffee cup for several long minutes, picking at the invisible chinks on the sides and fingering the rim every now and then. Sev could tell he was a million miles away. “I don’t really want to tell anyone, Remus.” He finally murmured, his voice just above a whisper.

“And that’s the crux of the matter now, isn’t it?”

Harry didn’t answer. He merely swallowed and turned away.

“You don’t want to tell anyone.”

“Moony—”

“Harry, if you’re going to be in a relationship, especially with a girl like Ginny, honesty is always the best policy.”

“It’s not that simple—”

“Oh, but it is that simple. You’re just making it more complicated.”

“UH-HUH!” Sev began bouncing in his sling. He started jabbing Harry’s chest pointedly. “Ooo fey! Ooo fey!”

Harry closed his eyes, leaned on the table, and started rubbing his wrinkled forehead. “What did I say?”

“Ooo mape com—cay—beb! OOO MAPE COM—CAY—BEB!”

“Alright, alright, cub. Okay.” Harry absentmindedly began rubbing the infant’s back. “‘Things are only as complicated as you make them’, I remember.”

“Uh-huh.” Sev sat back in his sling, satisfied that Harry got the message.

“Now I’m not going to pretend that I know what you’re hiding from Ginny.” Remus continued, “And I’m not going to ask, because that’s your business. But, judging from your reaction, I’m guessing whatever it is you don’t want to tell her takes even more strength to get out than it does to keep in.” Harry shot him a bewildered look. Remus tried it from a different angle. “Harry…I know what you’re trying to do. You’re trying to appear strong.” Sev glanced up at Harry’s controlled face in surprise. “Whatever it is you’re trying to keep inside—whatever it is you’re hiding from Sev and Ginny—you think that by keeping it inside, that’s what makes you a strong man.” Remus surmised. “You want to be the foundation and foundations don’t have cracks.”

“Exactly.” Harry replied through gritted teeth.

“But that’s where you’re wrong, Harry.” Remus replied pointedly. “Foundations can have cracks without the building collapsing because good foundations are made of strong material. They can have cracks galore but still be able to hold their buildings up through a catastrophe, if need be. And you know why? Because the cracks in good foundations are superficial. They’re on the outside. What really matters is what they’re made of. Good foundations show their strength by doing their jobs well despite their weaknesses.” Remus sat back in his chair and sipped his coffee. “As I said, it takes more strength to get it out—to show weakness—than it does to keep it in and hide it.”

“Ah!” Sev agreed wholeheartedly, bouncing on Harry’s lap and patting his chest. “Ah! AH! Ah! AH! AH! Ah!”

“Alright, Sev, okay. I get it.” Harry groaned and leaned his elbow against the table, burying his face in his hand.

Five minutes later, the bouncing and the patting had yet to stop. “Ah! Ah! AH! AH! AH! Ah! Ah!”

Remus snickered behind a hand while Harry threw him a dirty look. “Severus, maybe you should give Harry a break, eh?”

“Mo. Ah! AH! Ah! Ah! AH! AH!”

“Harry?”

“He wants to know what it is I’m trying to hide from the pair of them.” The teenager replied wearily, still rubbing his forehead with his hand. “And he probably won’t stop until I tell him.”

“Ah!” This time, both Remus and Severus said it together. Harry was becoming awfully sick of that sound.

“I have an idea!” The teenager exclaimed out of desperation. He pushed himself up and sat up straight in his chair. Sev was startled into momentary silence. “Why don’t the pair of you help me start to plan for Ginny’s surprise birthday party next month?”

“Bef-bay?” Sev peered up at Harry in confusion. What in the devil is he talking about?!

“It’s Ginny’s seventeenth birthday on August 11th. We have to make it special for her, don’t we, Sev?”

The infant grinned. Planning a surprise birthday! That should be interesting, in the very least.

Wait…did that mean that they actually had to go to the birthday party they planned? Going to the Burrow and dealing with the Weasleys? Sev grimaced and sighed. The things he did for these people…

“Ginny?” Harry stuck his head through the doorway and looked around the living room and study.

“Over here, Harry.” A voice called from the kitchen.

Sev peeked over and saw Ginny at the stove, sautéing something in a frying pan. “Immy!” He began bouncing in his sling.

“Hello, Angel.” The teenager gave him a gentle smile before turning to her boyfriend. “Harry, can we talk about…the thing…later?”

Harry sighed but conceded. “Yeah.” He replied, his voice quiet. “Yeah, we need to…talk about it.”

“Thank you.” And for the first time since the fight started, she gave Harry a small smile. “So what have you two been up to?”

The infant began bouncing in his sling. “Immy! Bef-bay!”

Harry hissed sharply and cleared his throat forcefully, peering at the infant with wide eyes.

Sev froze and gasped. It’s supposed to be a surprise, you idiot! “Ooop.”

“What?” Ginny laughed at the exchange. “What did you say?”

“NOTHING!” “MUM-PING!” Both Harry and Sev exclaimed simultaneously.

Ginny threw her head back in laughter and turned back to her cooking. “Okay…if it was nothing.” She looked the other way and muttered loud enough for them to hear, “I could’ve sworn I heard ‘birthday’.” From the corner of her eye, she saw Sev burrow into the folds of his sling. Oh, he definitely said ‘birthday’. She chuckled internally. Which reminds me…”Harry, would you finish cooking this for me? I need to change Sev’s clothes.”

Harry and Sev both exchanged confused looks and peered down at the said clothing. “They look clean to me, Gin.”

“Just…come on. Please?” Ginny beckoned him over.

Sev looked at Harry worriedly. The teenager leaned down and whispered as softly as he could. “Just try not to think about it, okay? If you don’t think about it, you’re less likely to blurt anything out. Secret, okay?”

Secret. Sev stuck his thumb in his mouth and began sucking. Yeah, maybe if he just kept this in his mouth the whole time, he could prevent himself from blurting out the secret about Ginny’s surprise party. He was kicking himself for hinting at it just a second ago.

“Come on, Angel.” Ginny lifted him out of the carrier and headed towards the bedroom.

It’s a secret! It’s a secret! It’s a secret! It’s a secret! Sev chanted in his head. It’s a secret that there’s going to be chocolate pudding. It’s a secret that we’re going to bake Ginny’s favorite cake from scratch. It’s a secret that it’s going to be held at the Burrow. It’s a secret that Harry and I are going to make Ginny’s birthday present together. Sev increased the intensity of his thumb-sucking as Ginny closed the bedroom door behind them and placed silencing charms on it. It’s a secret that we’re going to make her favorite foods.

“Alright, Sev,”

It’s a secret that—

“I have a secret for you.”

“BEF-BAY!” Sev exclaimed with a grin. Then, just as quickly, his eyes widened and he gasped. He slapped a little hand over his mouth and stared out into space, wide-eyed.

What the devil is wrong with you, man?! You were a spy for god knows how long! You used to be able to keep secrets like no one in the world could; now you can’t even keep a secret about a goddamn surprise party? Great Merlin! Focus, Severus, FOCUS! IT’S—A—SECRET!!!

Ginny gave him a funny look and then grinned. “That’s the second time you said ‘birthday’, honey.”

Sev’s wide eyes focused on her and he mumbled behind his little hand. “UH-UH!”

Ginny shoulders shook with silent laughter as she sat down on the edge of the bed. “Are you sure?”

“Uh-huh!” Sev nodded for good measure, still refusing to move his hand from his mouth.

“Okay, well…” Ginny gently but firmly moved his hand away from his mouth. “Anyway, as I was saying, I have a secret for you.”

Oh, she better not tell me ‘cause, judging from the way I’m going, I might not be able to keep it.

“Can you keep it?”

“Uh-huh!”

I must be going insane! What comes out of my mouth by no means matches what goes on in my head!

“I want to throw Harry a surprise party.”

Sev paused. All thoughts suddenly fled his head and he gaped up at Ginny with a blank expression.

“He’s turning eighteen at the end of the month, which is a big thing in the muggle world. Since Harry lives with a foot in both worlds, I think it’d be great if his eighteenth birthday would be as good as his seventeenth.” Ginny smiled at Sev. “What do you think?”

Sev’s shocked gaze turned inward and all he could think of was: This is too good. The infant felt a grin blossom on his face. Oh, this is too, TOO good! The grin widened and giggles began bubbling up from the bottom of his belly. The laugh sounded suspiciously evil.

Ginny grinned. “So…you like the idea?”

Oh, if you only knew I was laughing at you, not with you. You and Harry, both. Sev nodded.

“Great! So this is what I was thinking…”

With a shake his head, Severus leaned back against Ginny’s chest and paid attention.

“Harry?”

“Hmm?”

“We need to talk.”

Severus didn’t like the way Ginny sounded when she said that. Opening his eyes, the infant peeked around the bars of his crib to see what was going on. Harry and Ginny were standing on the other side of the room, by the rocking chair. He was leaning back against the side table; she was leaning against the back of the chair. He had his hands buried deep in his pockets. She had her arms crossed over the top of the chair. His eyes were focused on the carpet. Her eyes were focused on Harry.

“Go ahead, Ginny.” The teen murmured softly.

Sev watched as Ginny studied her boyfriend for a long moment before she spoke, “I want you to be honest with me, Harry.”

“I’ll try, Gin.”

“I want you to do more than try.”

Harry leaned his head back and sighed at the ceiling. Sev saw his Adam’s apple bob up and down as he swallowed. Harry’s eyes were closed as he addressed his girlfriend. “What do you want me to say?”

“The truth.”

“As I said, it takes more strength to get it out—to show weakness—than it does to keep it in and hide it.” Sev remembered Remus’ words from earlier. He wondered if they were running through Harry’s mind as well.

The teenager silently stared at Ginny. Sev imagined his eyes were a million miles away. “It’s hard, Gin.” He finally croaked, turning away from his girlfriend and resuming his vigil on the floor. The infant watched as his hands moved from his pockets to the edges of the side table, gripping the frame tightly.

“Please, Harry.”

“You won’t want to hear it, Ginny.”

“I’ll decide if I want to hear or not!”

“By then it’ll be too late now, wouldn’t it?” Harry replied softly. Yet when his green eyes met her hazel, each pair was just as fiery and intense as the other.

“Harry,” Ginny pushed away from the chair and took a step closer to her boyfriend. Her voice lowered to a whisper, but as it got lower, it intensified. “Honesty. I want you to be honest with me, Harry. Is that too much to ask?”

“Ginny—”

“Is it?!”

Harry glared at his girlfriend. “And if it is?” He hissed roughly.

Ginny stared at Harry for the longest time, her breaths coming in at shorter and shorter intervals. Sev could see her unshed tears glistening in the candlelight. “Don’t make me choose, Harry.” She whispered, her voice filled with pain.  

Harry’s head snapped up so quickly Sev was worried he’d get whiplash. “Choose between what?!” He asked sharply.

Ginny merely gazed at him.

Sev didn’t know what Ginny meant, but Harry did, apparently, for he pushed himself up off the table and took a step closer to his girlfriend. “Ginny.” He croaked, his voice now filled with just as much pain as hers.

“I am not going to be in a relationship with a man who flat-out refuses to be honest with me!”

“It’s not about honesty!”

“Yes, it IS!” Ginny screamed in his face before stepping back and taking several deep breaths. “Yes, it is.” She repeated, her voice calmer, more controlled.

“Not for me.” Harry replied through gritted teeth, stepping back as well and resuming his former position.

Sev studied him as he glared at the carpet and gripped the edges of the side table so tightly his knuckles turned white. Half of Harry’s face was bathed in light, the other half covered by shadow. The muscles in Harry’s neck were taut. His entire back was tense. The infant could see beads of sweat on Harry’s forehead glistening in the candlelight. He could also tell Harry’s eyelashes were damp. What could possibly be so bad he can’t tell Ginny? Sev wondered. Harry could usually tell Ginny anything.

“Then what is this about for you?” She asked, her voice betraying her frustration.

Harry sighed and replied wearily, looking Ginny straight in the eye, “I don’t want you to see me as a monster.”

A monster? A monster?! How absolutely preposterous! Sev could never see Harry as a monster. He couldn’t even see Harry as a monster back when he hated Harry! I was the monster back then. The infant recalled with a grimace. He did bad things, horrible things back then! Harry never did any of the things that he did. Harry could never be a monster like he used to be. Never, never, never, not-in-a-billion-years ever!

“Harry, I would never see you as a monster.” Ginny replied gently, stepping closer to her boyfriend.

“You would if you knew.” Harry’s voice was filled with pain; a horrible, heart-wrenching, agonizing pain that cut deep into the soul.

“Knew what, Harry?”

“I killed a man, Ginny!” The teenager cried, finally meeting his girlfriend’s gaze, his eyes filled with tears. “I killed him! I killed him with my bare hands.” A rogue tear broke free of the dam and quickly trailed down his face.

To say Severus was shocked would’ve been an understatement. Harry killed a man? Harry killed a man with his bare hands? Sev didn’t know what to think! There had to be an explanation for this, some kind of logical reason.

Sev watched as Ginny hesitated ever so slightly before reaching out and gently pulling Harry closer to her by the edges of his shirt. “Who did you kill, Harry?” She asked, her voice laced not with fear, but with concern.   

Harry swallowed and whispered his reply, “Fenrir Greyback.”

Both Sev and Ginny simultaneously breathed huge sighs of relief. The infant smiled. He knew he could never see Harry as a monster. Never, never, never! Then he paused as his thoughts turned back to Harry. Wait…he’s regretting this why?!

“Harry, you’re not a monster for killing Greyback. Greyback was a monster that you killed!” Ginny argued.

Sev wanted to cry ‘Ah!’ in agreement but remembered he was eavesdropping and thus pretending to be asleep. If he made a sound now, they would know he was awake and he wouldn’t be able to effectively eavesdrop anymore. Shhh! Better stay quiet…!

“He was still a man, Gin!” Harry retorted.

“He was no longer a man.”

“Yes, he was.”

“He was an animal, Harry! He was the animal that bit Remus!”

“Are you so sure that he was an animal?” Harry asked suddenly, his voice quiet and weary. “Are you so sure man is not?”

“Harry—”

“Are you so sure that you can kill an animal? That you can hold its neck between your hands…and still see an animal?” Harry voice was so full of hurt that Sev began feeling a ghostly pain in his chest just from listening to him. “Are you so sure that you can look into the eyes of a dying man…with the power of God in your hands…and judge whether this thing that you’re dangling over the depths of hell is an animal and not a man? Or a man and not an animal? Are you so sure…that in those last few seconds of life…that they’re both not one in the same?”

Ginny studied her boyfriend’s watery eyes. They were so far away right now. So far…

Wordlessly, she pulled him closer and began unbuttoning his shirt.

“Animal or man, Ginny, I killed him.” Harry continued, his voice just above a whisper. “He begged me, he pleaded with me, he cried like only a man could cry.” Harry’s breath hitched, but he continued regardless. “He squealed like only an animal could squeal.” He stared into Ginny’s eyes as she ran her hands down his arms and tossed away his shirt. “He scratched, and he bucked, and I squeezed…and not an ounce of me cared!”

“Oh, yes it did.”

“No, it didn’t!” Harry’s voice cracked in the middle of his retort.

“If it didn’t, you would be having a breakdown right now.”

“I’m not having a breakdown!” His voice cracked yet again and the tears began spilling from his eyes.

Ginny ran her hands down his smooth, bare chest and leaned against him. Harry turned away. “Show me, Harry.”

The teenager took a deep, shuddering breath and turned his gaze towards the crib. There, gleaming in the candlelight, were two obsidian eyes, watching him with such an intensity it took his breath away. 

 “…cracks in good foundations are superficial. They’re on the outside. What really matters is what they’re made of…” Remus’ words from earlier flew into his mind, no doubt Sev’s unconscious doing. “…Good foundations show their strength by doing their jobs well despite their weaknesses…” Harry knew immediately what he had to do.

Turning back, Harry looked deep into Ginny’s eyes, focused his energy, and consciously dropped his glamour.

Ginny and Sev watched as angry red scars, too numerous to count, suddenly appeared all over Harry’s front, back, and upper arms. They were shaped like short, jagged lines and they came in sets of three, four or five. They crisscrossed each other over his chest, his abdomen, and his upper arms. From what Sev could gather, they looked liked scratch marks!

“Greyback’s doing.” Harry murmured softly as Ginny fingered each of the scars. “We found ourselves stuck in a cave, fighting to the death. He didn’t have his wand. I didn’t have mine. I was desperate. I wasn’t thinking straight. My magic was erratic. Sometimes it would work. Sometimes it wouldn’t. He wouldn’t give up until he snatched me…and I wouldn’t let him.” Harry swallowed. “And then he tried to bite me…” he looked deep into Ginny’s eyes, “…and an animal took over.”

“Took over you.”

“YES!” Harry hissed and gulped again. “I suddenly became so proficient at wandless magic; I no longer needed a wand after that. I threw him against the wall. I was on him. I blinked and my hands were around his neck.” Harry took a deep, shuddering breath and turned his gaze towards the ceiling. He could feel Ginny moving around him to check out the scars on his back. “And I squeezed, Ginny! I watched in delight as the light left his eyes, and all I could think of was that I was ridding the world of such an evil monster.”

Sev watched as Ginny slowly ran her hands down Harry’s scarred back.

“And I didn’t even look back, Ginny! He died and I just walked away.” Harry screwed his eyes shut tightly and Sev saw a teardrop drip off his chin. “And now every night it haunts my dreams. And every night the monster becomes more and more a man. Now I can’t even tell the difference.” Sev watched as Ginny encircled his waist from behind and kissed his scarred back. “I killed him…in cold blood, Ginny!” Harry’s head dropped and Sev couldn’t remember seeing someone look more defeated in his life. “I’m no better than Voldemort.”

“Shhh!” Ginny’s arms tightened around Harry’s waist. “Don’t say that! Don’t say that!” She chided. “You are infinitely better than Voldemort! Voldemort killed in cold blood. You are no cold-blooded killer. Look at yourself, Harry! You feel…and that’s what makes the difference!”

And Severus realized Ginny was right. Harry was always the better man between him and Voldemort. Even if magic was written out of the equation, Harry would have come out the stronger man hands down. Harry allowed himself to feel—even for his enemies—and that’s what defined his strength.

Back when Severus was in school, feelings were weaknesses. To show feeling meant you were weak and incapable of doing what was necessary to get the job done. Yet Severus knew different now. Harry and Ginny just showed him that. It takes much more strength to feel than it does to remain detached. It takes a stronger man to face the regret a weaker man would block out. It takes a stronger man to cry for his enemies in addition to his friends. It takes a stronger man to show his vulnerabilities to the two people in the world he wanted most to hide them from.

Sev watched as Harry finally broke down into tears and crumpled to the floor. He watched as Ginny wrapped him in her arms and rocked him back and forth, whispering calming noises in his ear. Sev watched as all the cracks in his foundation appeared before his eyes. Yet Sev was not worried. He knew what this foundation was made of. He knew this foundation had a lot more strength within him than he gave himself credit for. He knew that, despite all the cracks, Harry could hold him up through a catastrophe, if need be. In Severus’ eyes, Harry was the strongest man in the world and nothing was going to change that!

Turning away from the heart-wrenching scene, Severus closed his eyes and smiled. Now he knew what real strength was. Now he knew where real strength came from.

The crying died down more and more as the minutes passed and Severus’ consciousness slipped further and further away from him. 

“Ginny?”

“Yes?”

“There’s one more thing…”

Yet Severus never heard what that one more thing was, for by then he was off to the land of nod.

“Peb-by!” Sev squealed from where he sat on the carpet, waving a bright red donut-shaped plastic toy in his hands.

“Ah! Ha, ha, ha, ha! Ah!” Teddy laughed in his bouncer as the seat swung up and down.

“Peb-by!”

“Ah! Ha, ha, ha, ha! Ah!”

The boys were on the floor of the den, playing on the carpet, while Harry worked on lesson plans and brushed up on defense techniques at his desk.

“Peb-by!”

“Ah! Ha, ha, ha, ha! Ah!”

“Peb-by!”

“Ah! Ha, ha, ha, ha! Ah!”

“Peb-by!”

“Ah! Ha, ha, ha, ha! Ah!’

Harry threw the parchment he was trying to read back onto the desk and buried his face in his hands.

“Peb-by!”

“Ah! Ha, ha, ha, ha! Ah!”

“Peb-by!”

“Ah! Ha, ha, ha, ha! Ah!”

“Peb-by!”

“Ah! Ha, ha, ha, ha! Ah!”

Harry moved his head downward so that his arms covered his ears and he laced his fingers behind his head, hoping to block out all sounds. 

“Peb-by!”

“Ah! Ha, ha, ha, ha! Ah!”

“Peb-by!”

“Ah! Ha, ha, ha, ha! Ah!”

“Peb-by!”

“Ah! Ha, ha, ha, ha! Ah!”

“Boys!” Harry shot around in his chair and called the babies’ attentions to him. The repetitive noises abruptly stopped, much to his relief. Harry took a deep breath, cleared his throat, and put a smile on his face. “Sev…why don’t you work on a letter puzzle right now, eh? Let Peb—Teddy play on his own for a little bit? I’m sure he’s dying to explore some of those stuffed toys hanging on his bouncer.”

“Mo. Peb-by!”

“Ah! Ha, ha, ha, ha! Ah!”

Harry groaned and began rubbing his forehead with his hand.

“Peb-by!”

“Ah! Ha, ha, ha, ha! Ah!”

Harry picked up a quill and tried to jot down the prompt for the essay he wanted the fourth years to write over the winter holiday. He got through two words before,

“Peb-by!”

“Ah! Ha, ha, ha, ha! Ah!”

Harry threw down the quill and leaned back in his chair, rubbing his face with his hands. This is hopeless. “Alright!” The teenager raised his arms in an ‘I surrender’ fashion and sighed as he stood up from his desk. “You win! Fine!” After pushing his chair in, Harry threw himself on the soft carpet next to Sev. The baby grinned down at him before giggling madly. “There! I can play. What do you want to do?”

“AH! Ha, ha, ha, ha! COO!”

“Teddy bear!” Harry grinned up at his godson and the infant smiled down at him as he continued to bounce. “What you doing there, Teddy bear? Eh? What are you up to?”

“Mmm BA!”

“Mmm BA!” Harry imitated, scooting himself over so that he now lay down between the boys.

“Haweh!”

“Yes, sir?” Harry turned his attention to the scowling infant on his right. “Hey…what’s with the face?”

“Mo!” Sev crawled closer to Harry and tapped his side. The teenager immediately moved his arm and Sev burrowed into his side.

“O…kay.” Harry wrapped his arm around the now-clingy baby and frowned as he eyed the top of Sev’s head. “I thought you wanted to play?”

“Pay!” It was like someone flipped a switch. Sev immediately smiled, rolled over onto Harry’s arm, and began to crawl towards his head.

Harry chuckled. “Something’s definitely gotten into you today.” He murmured to himself. Turning his attention back to the bouncing baby on top of him, Harry grinned at the infant. “Teddy bear!”

“Ha, ha, ha, ha!”

“Teddy Bear!”

“Haweh! Haweh! Haweh!” Sev began slapping him on the chest.

“Hey, hey, hey! Relax!” Harry rubbed Sev’s head and leaned up to give him a kiss on the temple. “What’s going on?”

“Pay!” The infant whined.

“Okay.” Harry chuckled. “Okay. What do you want to play?”

Sev grunted and began reaching for a toy just past Harry’s head. “Mmmm! Mmmm!” He wanted to get his stuffed lion cub. Sev wanted Harry to make it do funny faces and dance around again like last time. Now that he finally got Harry to stop working and pay attention to him, he wanted to do all the fun stuff with him. All he had to do right now was get his stuffed cub! “Mmmm! Mmmm!” Sev stretched out all his limbs as far as they could go in order to reach his toy. His little toes were pointed outward and his tiny fingers were stretched to their limits. Sev could feel the fabric of his toy on the tips of his fingers. Just…a little…closer…!

“Teddy bear!”

“Ha, ha, ha, ha!”

“Mo!” No! No, no, no, no, no, no, no! Harry was supposed to be playing with him! With him—Severus—not Teddy! Harry wasn’t supposed to be playing with Teddy. No way! Harry was supposed to be playing with Severus! “Haweh!” Sev began patting him on the shoulder, trying to get his attention. “Haweh!”

“Yeah, cub. Yeah, I know.”

Sev bit his little lip with his toothless gums. He glanced towards his stuffed lion, just out of reach. Then he glanced back towards Harry, who was now reaching up to flick one of Teddy’s stuffed toys with his finger. He peered at his stuffed lion again; still out of reach. Then he peered back at Harry, who was now making funny faces at the three-month-old. Then back at the stuffed lion. Then back at Harry. Then back at the lion. Then back at Harry. Lion. Harry. Lion. Harry. Lion. Harry. Argh!

Hang the stupid lion!

“HAWEH!” Severus screamed at the top of his lungs before breaking down into tears.

“Hey! Hey! Whoa, whoa!” Harry turned away from his godson and scooped Severus into his arms. “Hey! What’s going on here?” The infant screamed into his chest, sounding incredibly distressed, and Harry sat up in an effort to comfort him better. “Sev?”

“Sounds like somebody’s getting a bit J-E-A-L-O-U-S to me.” The man on the easy chair, with his feet up on the coffee table (which Ginny had specifically forbidden), commented from behind his Quidditch magazine.

Harry threw his godfather a dirty look. “Would you come over here and help, please?” He practically ordered as he struggled to climb to his feet.

“No, thank you, I’m fine.” Sirius replied sardonically as he flipped the page.

“Sirius!”

“Alright, alright, I’m coming.” The animagus threw the magazine aside and sauntered over to help Harry to his feet.

“Thank you.” The teenager instantly began dancing around the room, trying to calm the infant who was still bawling against his robes.

“You know, that kid had quite the pair of lungs on him. You’d have never been able to tell it was Severus.” Sirius smirked and reached down to lift Teddy out of his bouncer. “And how’s my little wolf cub doing today, eh? Did the jealous little boy take your godfather away from you, huh?” Sirius turned back to face his own godson. “He’ll grow out of it, Harry, don’t worry. Just don’t let it get too far, okay?” And with that, Sirius settled back down on Harry’s couch, content with keeping Teddy entertained as Harry dealt with his own little ‘bundle of (loud, teary, snotty) joy’.

“Sev?” Harry whispered into the infant’s ear. “Sev, come on, cub, what’s going on? What’s wrong?”

“Meh!”

“You?!” Harry’s eyes widened in alarm. Laying a hand on the back of Severus’ head, the teenager ran all the medical diagnostics he could think of on the baby. They all came back clean. “Do you feel sick? Is that it? Does it hurt anywhere? Do you feel nauseous?”

Sev pushed up against his chest and scowled at him. “Mo! Meh!” The child began patting his chest. “Meh, Haweh! Meh!” He tried to discreetly glance over Harry’s shoulder towards the couch, but the teenager caught him in the act.

Turning to follow his gaze, Harry’s eyes met with his smug-looking godfather’s. “What did I tell you? Jay-Lucy.”

Jay-Lucy? Sev rolled his eyes. Really?! If that’s his way of discreetly saying ‘jealousy’, he’s a moron! The infant blew raspberries at Sirius.

“Alright, alright, come now, Sev.” Harry began walking towards Sirius and, by consequence, Teddy.

“MO!” Severus squealed.

Harry faltered mid-step. Oh, for the love of Merlin…! Spinning around, Harry began walking in the opposite direction and the infant immediately began to calm down. “Oh, Severus.” Harry sighed. “Padfoot, do you mind watching the other cub for a bit?”

“Mo! Mo cub! Meh cub!” Sev poked Harry’s chest with his finger, making it absolutely clear who the term ‘cub’ referred to.

“Yeah, sure thing, Harry.”

“Thanks.” As Harry retrieved Sev’s teething snitch from the fridge, he wondered whether or not the jealousy would go away on its own if he just ignored it for now.

“Meh cub! MEH CUB, HAWEH!”

“Yes! Yes, you’re my cub. Relax!” Harry ran his fingers through Sev’s baby hair and kissed him gently on the temple. “Calm down. You’re my cub.”

Sev grabbed a fistful of Harry’s robe and stuck it in his mouth while he listened to his caretaker’s heartbeat. Yes, that was right. He was the cub. He, Severus, was the cub. Teddy wasn’t the cub. Sev was the cub. Teddy was…er…the other cub? No! NO! Sev was the cub! Teddy wasn’t the cub. Sev was the cub! Then if Sev was the cub, what was Teddy?

Oy! I’m getting a headache. A voice groaned at the back of his head.

Teddy was Remus’ kid. Remus was a wolf; which made Teddy a cub. But I’M the cub!

“Or how about this, Sev,” Harry interrupted his thoughts. “You’re my cub—the lion cub, and Teddy is Remus’ cub—the wolf cub. How’s that? This way, you can both be cubs.”

“Mo!” Sev pointed to his little chest. “Meh cub! Meh!”  

Harry sighed and headed for the door. “Padfoot, we’re going to take a walk.”

“Sure thing!” Sirius replied, continuing to make funny faces at the baby on his knee.

“Let Ginny know when she gets back.”

“Uh-huh!”

“Enjoy your walk, Sir Henry, Master Severus.” Merlin wished them as he closed the portrait hole behind them.

“Meh cub, Mewmew! MEH cub!” Severus noisily informed the paining.

“Absolutely, Master Severus.” The old wizard agreed wholeheartedly.

“Come on, cub, I want to show you something.” Harry murmured into his ear.

Severus gnawed on his teething snitch and listened to Harry’s heartbeat as the teenager walked them up the moving staircase. Teddy’s not the cub. I’m the cub. Teddy’s not the cub. I’m the cub. Teddy’s not the cub. I’m the—

“Have you ever heard of the Room of Requirement, Sev?” Harry asked, interrupting his thoughts.

The Room of what? Sev peered up at Harry inquisitively.

“The Room of Requirement.” Harry repeated. “It’s an enchanted room in Hogwarts that only appears when a person is in great need of it, and can be molded into practically any room they want it to be. And the best part—it come equipped with everything they could possibly need while they’re using it.” He explained. “That’s where all the Dumbledore’s Army meetings were held three years ago. If the Room of Requirement is occupied, it will only allow you in if you know specifically how its occupants are using the room. If you don’t know that, then you’re locked out for sure. That’s how Filch and Umbridge and the Inquisitorial Squad went so long without catching us. The Room of Requirement wouldn’t allow them in.” Harry turned into the seventh floor corridor. “The Room is also where Neville and other DA members hid out for a few weeks before the Battle of Hogwarts; and it’s also the place through which the students escaped and the cavalry entered.”

So that’s how everyone went in and out of the castle undetected! Sev’s eyes widened. And that’s where Longbottom disappeared to when he went missing! Severus recalled how worried he had been when he heard that Longbottom had gone missing. He was afraid one of the younger Death Eaters in the school, or even one of the older ones on the faculty, had done something to him and was keeping it quiet. Severus had enough blood on his hands at that point. He didn’t care for more. And the worry only intensified when he began getting reports of more and more resistance students going missing. He thought he was going to have to blow his cover if only to find out what happened to them!

But they were hiding right under our noses the entire time. Sev shook his head as he marveled at the audacity of such young people. Undermining the…Vol—Voldemort’s regime…Sev flinched at his own audacity in forcing himself to start referring to Voldemort by name…Recruiting for their side, despite the threats to life, limb, and family…Sev cringed when he recalled how he himself made some of those threats (however fake they may have been)…Swallowing the fear and actively fighting for their beliefs, even if such resistance meant death…Sev wondered briefly how happy they were, fighting for a side that they believed in whole-heartedly. He wondered if, despite the pain from the Carrows’ beatings, Longbottom slept better than he, Severus, did during that year of open war. And why wouldn’t he? His body may have been in pain, but his soul was unburdened. Despite the oppression, he was free.

Sev wondered why he didn’t wish to fight openly during the war. He wondered why he chose to fight in the shadows, where he couldn’t really help people or encourage them to keep on fighting. Because you were a spy, stupid! Sev made a face and blew raspberries into Harry’s shirt. Spying is stupid! If they gave him the choice now, he most likely would’ve chosen to fight openly; to be the inspiration for people, to be the hope. He would’ve chosen the beatings over the burden. He would’ve chosen the real power of loyalty through trust rather than the fake power of loyalty through fear. Voldemort was a liar! Sev made a face and blew raspberries into Harry’s shirt once again. A cold, cruel, sweet-talking liar who preyed on the people who needed the light the most! He took them out of the gutter and gutted their souls even more. Sev could feel cold fury bubbling in the pit of his stomach.

“Sev, is there a reason you’re spitting all over my robes?” Harry asked, partially amused.

“Bo-mo, BA-MA!”

Harry was so shocked, he froze in his tracks. Did he just say ‘Voldemort’? He peered down at the infant, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. “What did you say, cub?”

“Bo-mo, BA-MA!”

That’s what I thought you said. Harry grinned. Severus had just called Voldemort by his name for the first time ever! Harry was so proud; he hugged the child close and gave him a kiss on the head. “That’s right! Voldemort was a bad man.”

“Bo-mo, BA-MA!” Sev mirrored his caretaker’s smile.

Harry chuckled elatedly as he approached the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy. “Voldemort was a bad man.”

“BO-MO BA-MA! BO-MO BA-MA! BO-MO BA-MA!” The infant screamed at the ceiling, before dissolving into giggles along with the teenager. Soon, the seventh floor corridors echoed with the sounds of laughter.

“Yes, he most certainly was.” Harry ran his fingers through Sev’s baby hair as he paced up and down the corridor three times. He didn’t know what brought this latest outburst on, but he liked it. It meant Sev was getting rid of his old ideals and adopting new ones, and to Harry that was a good sign.

Suddenly, a rumbling sound filled the air, startling Severus into silence and causing him to bury his face in Harry’s robes. “Easy there, cub,” Harry chuckled. “It’s only the Room of Requirement opening for us.” He nudged the infant with his shoulder and inclined his head towards the wall.

Sev peeked out from behind Harry’s lapel and his eye widened as he watched an ornate doorway grow out of what used to be a plain old wall. Pushing up against Harry’s chest, he watched the doorway crack, groan, and snap until everything stopped moving and the rumbling died down altogether.

“Severus Snape,” Harry had a smirk on his face as he pushed the door open and walked in. “Welcome to the headquarters of Dumbledore’s Army.”

The room they entered was big, but not too big; about twice the size of a large dormitory common room, Severus reckoned. It was rectangular, with three large windows in the far wall, offering breathtaking views of the Hogwarts landscape.

As Harry walked them into the room, Sev noted that two of the walls—the one behind them and the one in front of them—were nearly completely lined with bookcases, filled to the brim with leather-bound books and journals on defense and the dark arts. On the right wall, a long table stood in one empty corner, next to a group of shelves filled with potions ingredients. Three cauldrons were stacked on one end of the table, while cutting tools, gloves, pestles, mortars, quills, ink, parchment, and potions books were littered about the rest of it. Further down the wall was a large, full-length mirror--much like the ones found in muggle dance studios--that spanned from the potions section to a large open cabinet in the opposite corner. Inside the cabinet stood several wooden dummies with strange faces and targets painted on their chests. All of them except one looked like they rolled about on wheels.

Next to the dummy section on the far wall, before the line of bookshelves started, stood several shelves which housed various odd instruments. Some of the instruments looked to be for the purpose of detecting dark magic and wizards, some looked unfinished, while others looked finished but their purpose remained unknown to Severus. Littered on the floor in front of the instrument shelves were bean bags, bowl chairs, and comfortable-looking cushions that appeared to have been used quite often.

Attached to the far wall, above the bookshelves and the windows, were two large banners. Their vibrant colors attracted the eye of everyone who stepped foot into the room, reminding all as to the purpose of this sacred space. The banner directly across the door read:

Dumbledore's Army

While the one further down the wall broadcasted the group's slogan:

Live free or die!

“So…what do you think?” Harry asked hesitantly. Sev’s head had yet to stop swiveling from one end of the room to the other. He had stopped them in the middle of the dueling area so that Severus could get a good look around. “The Twins called it my ‘War Room’, and I supposed that’s what it was during the war.”

Sev was only paying him half an ear, preferring to explore the new space with his eyes. When he caught sight of the far left wall, though, he stopped paying attention altogether. “Haweh!” He gasped.

“Yes? What?” Harry spun around to follow his gaze and smiled. “Ah, yes…my war board.”

And a war board it was indeed. The entire left wall of the room was covered in cork and made up one giant bulletin board. At the very top of the board were three medium-sized banners that divided the wall into three evenly-spaced sections—Dumbledore on the left, Riddle on the right, and a question mark in between them. As Harry approached the board, Sev saw that the Riddle section of the board had magical pictures of Death Eaters arranged under its banner in little neat rows. The pictures appeared to have been taken candidly, for each Death Eater was dressed in their regular clothing and looked to be going about their everyday business. Under each picture was a little banner giving the name of the Death Eater, and along the sides were small pieces of scrap paper with scribbles on them.

“Wha dap?” Sev asked, pointing to one of the scraps of paper attached to Lucius Malfoy’s picture.

“That,” Harry replied with a wistful smile, “is a little bit of inside information on Lucius Malfoy that may or may not be useful some day. In fact, all these scrap notes,” Harry stepped back and gestured to all the scrap notes attached to all the pictures on the board, “are tidbits of information on people that myself and members of the DA have collected over the years. Look!” Harry approached Malfoy’s picture once again and pointed to a small stamp on the corner of the picture that read Marked. “That means he’s been branded with the Dark Mark.” He pointed to one of the longer pieces of scrap paper, “This is his daily routine. I guarantee you, now that the war’s over, he’ll go back to this very same routine, which makes everything easier for us because it makes him predictable.” He pointed to another scrap, “And if he’s as predictable as we think he is, this tells us how long he has until his money runs out from the bribery he does every day.”

Thirty-two years and four months? Sev’s eyes widened. That’s not that long. Lucius must be getting desperate by now then. I know he was spending money like crazy this entire year, trying to get back in Voldemort’s “good graces”. Sev scoffed. As if that exists.

“The same goes for his son Draco.” Harry pointed to the boy’s picture. “He’s marked, allergic to shrimp, has insecurity issues, sees a mind healer that his father doesn’t know about, and has had a drinking problem since he was fourteen that he hides rather well.”

A drinking problem? Sev was shocked. Draco?! He was having a hard time believing it. I watched him throughout his Hogwarts career. I spent most of my time watching him throughout that whole debacle with Dumbledore two years ago. How was it that I never noticed this?!

“Uh-uh!” Severus argued, pointing to the scrap of paper that read he had a drinking problem. “Mo dink. Mo dink!”

“Oh, yes, drink.” Harry replied calmly. “He does it away from prying eyes—alone, with his curtains drawn, in his bed, or somewhere else equally as private.” Harry pointed to Draco’s eyes. “But that’s how you can tell. His eyes are bloodshot in the morning. Sometimes his hands shake so badly he has to keep them hidden under the table, else leave the room entirely. After that, I don’t see him for the rest of the day. He sweats excessively at times, appears confused at others, and has little ticks that indicate he’s hallucinating. All of these are signs of alcohol withdrawal and indicate a build-up of alcohol tolerance, which indicates alcohol abuse. Trust me, I know. My uncle had a drinking problem too.”

Of course he did. Sev grimaced. Your uncle should be shot with a muggle gun…in the face.

“And it goes on like that for the rest of the board.” Harry continued to explain. “This was our resource during the war years. This is how we knew who in the school were Death Eaters, who were being recruited, and who were being targeted for recruiting. That way, the members of the DA could effectively prevent the recruitment of Death Eaters by actively recruiting those being targeted to our side before the junior Death Eaters got to them.”

Dear Merlin! Sev’s eyes widened. This really was a war room! Potter and his DA members fought a silent war against the junior Death Eaters within the walls of Hogwarts just as Dumbledore and the Order fought a noisy war against the adults outside of it. And this all went on under my nose?! Some spy I made!

“And this is Dumbledore’s half of the board.” Harry said, walking over. “Those two panorama pictures were taken by Aberforth in his pub. The one on top is of the first Order of the Phoenix—Sirius gave that picture to me, and the one on the bottom is of the DA. And, of course, you have your standard solo pictures with names and tidbits of info. These status stamps indicate whether or not a person is in the Order or the Army, whether they’re being trained or being recruited, that sort of thing.”

Harry moved over to the question mark category, where large amounts of scrap paper (Sev saw entire rolls of parchment) were tacked next to a single familiar picture. “And, of course, there’s you.”

Sev scowled and blew raspberries at the entire section in general.

“Yes,” Harry chuckled, “You were the subject of a hot debate in this room. We had a running bet going on you as to whose side you were actually on.”

Sev blew more raspberries at the picture and the stupid little papers.

“But you don’t need to see all that. Come along!” Harry began walking away, but Sev merely pulled himself over his shoulder and continued to blow raspberries at his section of the board. “Come on, Sev…”

Bfffffft!

Bfffffft!

BFFFFFFFT!!!

“Alright, that’s enough.” Harry settled them on one of the bowl chairs and turned it away so that Sev no longer had a view of the offending board.

“Mo wike dap!” Sev tipped his head up and scowled at his caretaker. 

Harry raised an eyebrow. “Which one?”

“Dap. Dap! Dap! Dap!” Sev began to point in the direction of the bulletin board but stopped, thinking that might not be clear enough for Harry. Instead, he settled for pointing to his left forearm, where his Dark Mark used to be. “Dap! Dap! Dap!”

Harry nodded and gave him a kiss on the head. “Okay. Alright! I get it. I know that, cub.”

“Mmmm…” Sev smiled and settled against Harry’s chest, happy that he got his point across.

And then that’s when he saw it.

“Haweh!” Sev gasped, bouncing on Harry’s lap and pointing straight ahead. “Dap!”

Harry raised an eyebrow and followed the tiny finger. “What?”

“Dap! Dap! Dap!”

The teenager was confused. “The mirror?”

“Go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go!”

“You want to look in the mirror?!”

“GO! GO! GO!”

Harry shook his head and shrugged. “Alright…but I’m not getting up until an extra word is added to that sentence.”

“Go, pea?” Sev threw in his puppy dog eyes for good measure.

Harry chuckled, sat Sev on one arm, and stood up, heading for the large mirror. Sev began bouncing on his arm as soon as he got close enough to touch the reflection in the mirror. “Who’s that handsome devil over there, eh?”

Sev grinned. The baby in the mirror grinned back.

Sev laughed. The baby in the mirror laughed back.

Why is this so bloody entertaining?! A voice grumbled in the back of his head.

“You want to give Sev a kiss?”

Sev blinked and then turned a raised eyebrow at Harry. Oh, please, do you actually think I’m so vain as to want to give myself a kiss?! The voice spat in his head.

“Alright, a bit too much, I know.” Harry smirked and then shrugged. “But the least you can do is return his wave, don’t you think?” The teenager’s eyes shone as he inclined his head towards the mirror.

Sev furrowed his eyebrows in confusion before checking his reflection once again. To his utmost surprise, the infant in the mirror was smiling and waving at him with both hands!

What in Merlin’s name…?!

Sev glanced down at his hands and found them still gripping Harry’s robes, just as he left them. A glance at his reflection, however, claimed otherwise.

TAP! TAP! TAP! Reflection Sev knocked on the glass to get his attention and smiled at his shocked face before resuming his waving.

Sev turned his bewildered eyes towards Harry, but the teenager merely gave him a mysterious smile and flicked his eyes towards the mirror.

TAP! TAP! TAP! Mirror Sev was beckoning him closer.

“Mo!” Sev squealed before burying his face in Harry’s robes.

“Aw, come on, cub, he’s not that bad.” Harry replied, sounding amused. He kissed the tip of Sev’s bright red ear before stepping closer to the mirror.

TAP! TAP! TAP! Sev peeked out from behind Harry’s lapel to find mirror Sev smiling at him and beckoning him to touch the hand he was holding flat against the mirror. Sev frowned.

“Look, cub.” Harry tapped on the palm of mirror Sev’s hand and the reflected infant grinned and began tapping the glass with his palm. Tap! Tap! Tap!

“There, see? You want to give it a try?” Harry whispered into his hair.

TAP! TAP! TAP!

“How are you doing there, Sev?” Harry asked the reflection. “You look like you’re having fun. Is that fun?” Sev’s frown deepened. Harry tapped the mirror with his finger and the mirror Sev giggled and tapped back.

No! “MO!” Sev pushed up suddenly from Harry’s chest and scowled at his reflection. Harry’s supposed to be playing with me! “MEH!” He began slapping mirror Sev with his hand and screaming at him. “Meh! Meh! Meh! Meh! MEH!”

“Hey, hey, relax, cub!” Harry replied, stepping away from the mirror and disenchanting Sev’s reflection.

BFFFFFFFFT!

“Sev, really! What has gotten into you today?”

“Mo peh heh. MEH!” The infant whined, frowning at his caretaker.

“Really?” Harry raised an eyebrow at him. “You’re jealous of your own reflection?” He asked dryly.

Sev merely turned back and blew raspberries at his reflection.

Harry rolled his eyes and sighed. Turning away from the mirror, he began to dance Sev listlessly around the room. “So let me get this straight. You don’t love yourself enough to give yourself a kiss, but you do hate yourself enough to feel jealous of yourself. Does that sound about right?”

Sev stuck his thumb in his mouth and began sucking fervently as he listened to Harry’s comforting heartbeat.

“It was only a joke, Sev. I thought you’d have loved interacting with yourself.”

“Mo!” Sev retorted around his thumb as he gripped Harry’s robes tightly in his little fist and pulled them closer to himself. “Mo wike! Peh meh!”

“I am playing with you, cub!”

“Peh meh, peh meh, peh me, Haweh.” Sev chanted quietly as he shifted against Harry’s chest.

The teenager sighed and began walking towards one of the windows on the far wall. Pushing it open, he stepped over the ledge and onto the balcony that Sev failed to notice a while ago. “Come now, cub. What’s with all this jealousy all of a sudden, eh?”

Harry took a seat on one of the deck chairs the DA had kept there and extended it so that it lay virtually flat. He then laid Severus on his chest and smiled as the infant pushed himself up and peered down at him curiously. A strong gust of summer wind blew by, making some of Sev’s baby hair fly in different directions, and Harry reached up to straighten it out. “So…what’s going on in that head of yours, huh?”

“Peh meh, Haweh!” The infant replied, patting Harry lightly on the chest and peering at him through wide eyes. “Peh meh!”

Harry shut his eyes and smiled at the morning sun. “Okay, cub…Here I am! What do you wanna play?”

“Woaw!” Sev whined. “Woaw! Woaw!”

“You want to play with your lion cub?” Harry raised an eyebrow as the infant nodded. “That’s back in our quarters. You want to go back down?”

“MO!” Sev gripped Harry’s robes tightly and laid his head back down on his chest, listening for the heartbeat.

“Well, then—” Harry groaned in frustration and wrapped his arms around Sev to shield him from the wind. “What do you wanna do, huh?” He shook his body from side to side, running his fingers over Sev’s ticklish spots and mock-growling at the infant’s head. “What do you want, huh?! What do you want? What do you want? What do you want?!” He nuzzled the giggling infant’s head and laid a kiss on top of his baby hair. “You are confusing me, child! You are confusing me!” He ran his fingers over Sev’s ticklish spots once more, delighting in the sound of the infant’s laughter.

As Harry waited for the giggles to subside, he peered up at the morning sun and spotted a bird’s feather floating down from above. Harry smiled at it and ran his fingers through Sev’s baby hair as he watched it land softly on the balcony railing.

“Close your eyes, cub.”

With a final happy sigh, Sev pushed himself up on Harry’s chest and peered down at the teenager curiously.

“Come on. You wanted to play, didn’t you?” The infant nodded. “Then we’re going to play a game called ‘Black, White, or Grey’. You interested?” The infant raised an eyebrow at him. “It’ll help you improve your ability to sense white magic, dark magic, and in-between magic. How ‘bout it?”

Sev grinned and closed his eyes.

Harry smirked. “That’s my boy.” Raising a hand, he levitated the bird’s feather over from the railing to just in front of Sev’s face. “Alright. There’s something right in front of your face right now. Try to stretch out your senses and tell me if you sense something white, something black, or something grey.”

Sev’s face scrunched up as he focused his senses. He tried stretching them out like he did the other day but he was finding it a might difficult. Come on, Snape! Come on! You can do this!

“Relax, cub.” Harry said soothingly. “Breathe easy. Stop trying to look for it and let it come to you.” He ran his thumb up and down the infant’s back trying to get him to relax.

Relax. Okay. Relax. Sev took a deep breath and eased his muscles. He let the morning breeze run through his hair and allowed his senses to take over. Relax…Sev took another deep breath. Relax…All of a sudden, he began to sense a shift in the magical aura around him.

“Let it become an extension of your natural instincts, cub.” Harry continued. “Let the magic help you sense what’s really around you.”

The sight behind Sev’s eyelids began swirling before him. He saw different blobs of color churn, spin, and coalesce into different shapes. It was like watching colored oil settle in a world full of water. Most of the oil was grey, with the occasional black or white spots within their streams. Most of the grey blobs swirled and formed into a shape that resembled the balcony railing. Other grey blobs formed into deck chairs. Sev looked down and noticed a rather large white blob directly below him.

“Do you sense me yet, cub?”

That was Harry! That white blob below him was Harry! Sev grinned and his hands and legs began bobbing up and down in excitement. He could sense Harry. He could sense Harry!

“Do you know what I’m holding in front of your face, Sev?”

Severus looked up and saw a feather-shaped white blob floating before him. “Fefew.”

“That’s right. It’s a feather.” Sev could hear a smile in Harry’s voice and a wave of pride coursed through him.

“And what color is the feather’s aura?”

“Whay!” Sev squealed and opened his eyes.

“That’s right. It’s white.” Harry replied, chuckling at the infant. Harry wrapped his arms around Sev and kissed him on the forehead. “There you go, baby boy—your first lesson in aural magic! What’d you think?”

“Mow! Mow!” Sev screeched, wriggling to get out of Harry’s grasp.

Harry raised an eyebrow at the infant and sat up. “More?”

“Mow! Mow!”

Harry snorted and stood up with the infant in his arms. “Let me hear that magic word first.”

“Mow, pea!”

“Mow, pea, okay.” Harry smiled as he stepped back inside. “Close those eyes, cub. No cheating.” Sev screwed his eyes shut and gripped Harry’s robes tightly as the teenager walked him all round the room.

First Harry stopped in front of his dark detector case and picked up a sneakoscope, holding it in his hand. “What do you think, Sev?”

The infant’s head tilted to the side curiously and he bit his lip in thought. It looks strange. He mused. It’s a strange sort of shape. Sev turned his head to examine the aura of the space around them. He recognized that the grey blobs formed a sort of bookcase, but he hadn’t the slightest clue as to what all the white blobs on the bookcase were. They were all shaped so strangely. Then, all of a sudden, he gasped. It must be his dark detector case! He remembered seeing the strange-looking objects when he first walked in and recalled the only thing he recognized on any of the shelves was a…sneakoscope!

“Whoo! Whoo!” Sev replied with a grin, imitating the sound he knew a sneakoscope made when untrustworthiness was nearby.

Below him, Harry’s chest rumbled with his laughter. “It’s a sneakoscope, exactly. And its aura?”

“Whay!”

“White. Absolutely.” Harry nodded. “Very good, cub!” The teenager haphazardly tossed the sneakoscope back onto the shelves and continued on down the wall. Next he stopped right in front of the Death Eater dummies the DA occasionally practiced on. “Now…what are we standing in front of now?”

Sev’s forehead scrunched up and he buried his face in Harry’s robes. “Ba-ma.” He replied, his voice muffled by the material.

“Bad men.” The teen nodded. “And their aura?”

“Back!”

Harry raised an eyebrow. Technically, their auras were dark grey, but he wasn’t going to fault Sev with that. He’d learn the difference with more practice, Harry was sure. “Very good.” He stepped a few feet away from the cabinet so that the infant could calm himself down.

As Sev caught his breath, Harry glanced in the direction of his potions cabinet. Hidden behind the bottles of lacewing flies, newt eyes, and frog toes was a secret compartment which housed a thrice locked box that contained the remnants of Voldemort’s Horcruxes. He had mentally debated on whether or not he wanted Sev to practice with that, but decided the dark aura was too overwhelming for a beginner to aural magic. If the Death Eater dummies had caused this kind of reaction in Sev, Harry couldn’t imagine what sort of reaction would come about if he so much as opened the secret compartment door, which shielded the box’s dark aura.

“Sev?”

“Uh?” The infant peeked up at him from behind the hem of his robes.

“See my potions shelves over there?” Harry gestured across the room and Sev followed his gaze.

“Uh-huh?”

“What aura do you sense from them?” He raised an eyebrow at the infant.

From the shelves? Severus eyed Harry questioningly and then glanced back at the rows of potions ingredients. Isn’t it “Wey?”

“Is it, cub?” Harry raised the other eyebrow and glanced back towards the shelves. “Is it only grey?”

Isn’t it? Severus glanced back towards the shelves and squinted at them. He closed his eyes and peered at them with his mind’s eye. Grey, grey, and…Sev paused. There was something…different about the middle shelf. Something struck him as odd and just a little out of place. The difference was subtle, yet now that Severus noticed it, it became hard for him to miss. A section of the middle shelf looked slightly…darker than the shelves surrounding it. Sev could make out a single thread of pure black substance swirling in the very center of the middle shelf like a vortex, disrupting the peacefulness of the grey mass around it. Curious…The infant exchanged glances with Harry and pointed to the small swirling mass. “Mow.”

“More?” Harry’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Cowfew!”

Harry began shaking his head, “I don’t think you’re going to want to move closer, cub.”  

“Cowfew, pea?” Sev turned his puppy-dog eyes on Harry and dialed them up to full power.

The teenager sighed and took a step closer. “There. Closer. Now come along, give me a color, so we can move on.”

Sev ignored him and pushed up against his chest, leaning as far away from Harry as he dared, trying to get closer to the curious swirling black mass. What is that thing? A voice wondered inside his head. And why is it swirling there? And why isn’t it moving? And what’s that noise? It was then that Sev realized there was a sound coming from the swirling black mass! “Cowfer!”

“No, Sev, that’s close enough.” Harry tried pulling Severus back against him, but the infant fought against him, trying to push himself closer to the mysterious swirling and the beautiful sound.

I think it’s singing! The child realized. Yes, I really think it’s singing! It’s singing! It’s beautiful singing…I have to get it! Sev reached out towards the black swirling mass.

“Severus, no!”

Suddenly, the angelic singing voice transformed into a high-pitched wail and the hypnotic black swirling vortex widened to a gaping black hole which reached out towards him like a hand.

Severus shrieked in alarm and pulled himself back to Harry’s chest as quickly as possible. The teenager turned his back to the swirling black hole, shielding Sev from the frightening abstraction with his body, and reached out a hand. A wave of pure white energy went barreling towards the void and within seconds the wailing was silenced and the black abyss was no more.

“Well…” Harry took a deep breath as he rubbed Sev’s back comfortingly, “…that certainly answers one question.” The teenager sent pulses of calming white magic towards Sev in an effort to reduce the infant’s shivers and soothe his rapidly-beating heart. “You’re just about as sensitive to aural magic as Ginny and I both are, which makes everything just a little bit easier, I think.”

Sev whined into his robes. “MO WIKE!” He wailed, gripping Harry’s lapel between his tiny fingers and sticking it in his mouth. 

Harry chuckled and dropped a kiss on top of Sev’s head as he headed towards the door. “Aw, come on, cub, it isn’t that bad.”

“Mo wike!” The infant repeated, scowling at a button on Harry’s shirt as he chewed on the hem of the teenager’s robes. “Wa mewmew!”

“Yes, yes, I’ll get you mewmew.” After grabbing a bag full of defense books from a side table, Harry double checked to make sure he hadn’t forgotten anything before walking out and allowing the Room of Requirement to re-seal itself. “I think that’s enough practice for today, don’t you? We’ll practice detecting auras for a few days, and then after that I’ll teach you how to sense and read the people around you, and we’ll practice that for a few weeks. And then after that comes the fun part—levitation.”

Sev paused in his chewing and gave Harry a questioning look.

“All wandless, wordless magic done simply by power of will.” Harry winked. Sev’s eyebrows furrowed and he cocked his head to the side. “Ask Merlin, cub, and he’ll tell you: back in his day, it was taught that there are three progressive levels of wizardry—the first is a Wizard by Incantation, a wizard who uses wands and spells to craft magic; the second is a Hand Wizard, which is what I am most of the time; magic is done simply with a wave of a hand; and the third, and most skillful of the trio, is a Will Wizard; these are wizards who can do some incredible things…”

All of a sudden, the moving staircases froze in place, and every single painting along the walls of the staircase tipped on a corner and became crooked.

“…without seemingly doing anything at all.” Harry finished with a smile.

Sev’s eyes widened and he gaped at the sight all around him. How the bloody hell did he do that?!

“If you’re interested…I can teach you how to be a Will Wizard.” Harry raised an eyebrow at the infant.

If I’m interested…? Does he even have to ask?! Sev grinned up at his caretaker and began bouncing in his arms, his hands and feet bobbing up and down in excitement.

Harry chuckled as he turned into the fourth floor corridor. “I take that as a ‘yes’ then.” Behind him, the paintings righted themselves all at once and the moving staircases resumed moving once again. “Come along! Let’s see if Ginny’s back from mum and dad’s now, shall we? I wonder how her conversation went with them. You think they took the news okay?” Harry asked the infant.

Severus raised an eyebrow at him and blew raspberries around his fingers.

Harry grimaced and wiped the drool of with Sev’s bib. “I wouldn’t be so skeptical, if I were you. Ginny’s mum and dad happen to be two very reasonable people. I mean…once you get Mrs. Weasley to calm down from whatever hysteria she’s worked herself into, she actually turns out to be a rather accepting woman.”

“Uh-uh meh!”

“Oh, Sev, you’re quite likable at this size. I wouldn’t worry too much about it. If Ginny hasn’t already talked them into liking you and accepting you, I’m pretty sure you’ll convince them otherwise within two seconds of being in the same room.”

“Uh-uh meh.” Sev shook his head firmly and stuck his ear to Harry’s chest to listen to that comforting heartbeat.

The teenager raised an eyebrow. “Do you not want to meet the Weasleys?”

“Mo!”

“Sev, you told Ginny ‘yes’ a while ago.” Harry retorted in frustration.

 So? I changed my mind. “Mo!” He stuck his thumb in his mouth and muttered, “Wa mewmew.”

Harry rolled his eyes and sighed. He gave Merlin the password and walked in to find Sirius sitting on the couch (with his feet still up on the coffee table), talking to Remus, who was dancing around the room with a drowsy Teddy.

“Hey! So did the ‘issue’ get handled?” Sirius asked with a smirk.

Harry rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Distraction.”

“Aw, it’s going to come back to bite you in the arse. Watch!”

“Sirius!” Ginny rebuked as she walked in from the bedroom.

“I’m just saying!” The animagus shrugged and picked up his Quidditch magazine, discreetly pulling his feet off the coffee table in the process.

“Immy! Wa mewmew!” Sev immediately began to reach for her.

“Sev…” Harry drawled, a hint of a warning in his voice.

“Wa mewmew, pea?” The infant corrected immediately.

“Yes, come here, sweetheart.” Ginny took her in his arms and her boyfriend sent her a questioning look. “It took a bit of talking, but they’re okay with it.” She murmured. “Mum and dad are, at least. They’re going to talk to everyone else tonight. The hard part will be convincing him,” she inclined her head towards the baby, “to meet the family.”

Harry nodded and as Ginny took Sev into the bedroom to nurse him, Harry turned to Remus.

“I hope Teddy didn’t cause too much trouble, did he?”

Harry waved him off. “No, no, he was an angel.” The teen chuckled and flicked his eyes towards the bedroom. “Sev was starting to have jealousy issues. That’s all.”

“Which you should have dealt with.” Sirius muttered behind his magazine.

“You never know. It might go away on its own.” Harry argued.

Sirius snorted and Remus looked sympathetic. “Well…maybe you should have dealt with it a little bit, Harry.”

“If it becomes any bigger in the future, I’ll be sure to do so.”

“It will.” The animagus murmured.

“Ah, shut it, Padfoot.” Harry jumped over the back of the couch to land on the cushions next to Sirius, and sighed, running a hand through his weary face. Sirius quickly threw the magazine down and got him in a headlock. Within seconds both godfather and godson were engaged in a wrestling match on the living room floor while Remus watched in amusement from the sidelines.

“Mmm-BA! BA! BA! BA! Bfffffffft!”

Harry was lying on the couch, reading a potions book behind Severus’ head as the infant used his chest as a battlefield for his toys.

“Wooooooooaaaaaaaaw! Bffffffffft!”

Harry winced as the spit from Sev’s raspberries completely missed the baby snake and hit him full-on in the face. Yet he didn’t say anything. He merely wiped his face with his sleeve and continued with his reading.

“Haweh?” Sev said, lightly patting the chest below him to get the man’s attention.

“Yes, sir?”

“Mow ma—bic, pea?” Sev held out his toys to Harry pleadingly and graced him with what he knew to be one of his irresistible grins.

Harry’s eyes widened and lightly threw his book down onto the coffee table, his attention completely diverted. “Smile for me, cub.”

Sev frowned and cocked his head questioningly.

“Come on, let me see you smile. Please?”

“Ma—bic!” Sev whined, thrusting his stuffed animals in Harry’s face.

“Yes, yes, I’ll give you a show. Just let me see something for a minute. Smile for me, please?” Harry grinned at him so that Sev could imitate him, and he lightly cupped the infant’s face.

Severus sighed in a very put-upon manner and grinned, showing his gums in all their gummy glory. He felt Harry lift his lip slightly before he heard the teen gasp.

“Merlin me! GINNY!” He cried.

“What?” A voice answered from one of the upstairs bedrooms.

“I see a tooth!”

Sev pulled away from Harry and graced him with a bewildered look. “Uh?”

All the while a gasp resounded from the upstairs and Ginny suddenly appeared at the railing. “You see a what?!”

“A tooth!”

“Oh my god!” The sound of thundering footsteps echoed throughout the room.

“Beep?” Sev looked at Harry questioningly.

“You have a tooth showing, cub.” The teen grinned.

I have a tooth showing? I have a TOOTH showing?! It took about a minute or two for the news to sink in, but once it did Sev grinned and his arms and legs began bobbing up and down in excitement. My teeth are coming in! My teeth are coming back! My teeth are coming in! My teeth are coming back! “Beep! Beep! BEEP!”

“Let me see!” Ginny skid to a halt and crouched next to the side of the couch, by Harry’s and Sev’s heads. The infant grinned at her. “Oh, look at that pearly white beauty right there! It’s gorgeous!” Sev squealed in delight and both Harry and Ginny chuckled at him.

“I think we should celebrate!” Harry suggested.

“Oh, we should definitely celebrate! But I have to take an entire roll of this first.” Ginny replied, searching the room for the camera.

“You can take an entire roll while we celebrate.” Harry answered, hugging Sev to his chest before standing and getting them both off the couch. “Because this is definitely a cause for celebration, wouldn’t you say, cub?” Harry grasped Sev under his arms and threw him up into the air.

Sev squealed in delight as Harry caught him easily and then tossed him up again.  

Harry delighted in the sound of the child’s laughter and tossed Sev up once more before hugging him to his chest and planting a kiss on his forehead. “So…what do you want to do to celebrate, huh?”

Severus pointed to his fallen lion cub and baby snake on the floor. “Ma—bic!” He replied, once again gracing Harry with his now-single-toothed grin.

Harry snorted and turned to Ginny. “He could’ve picked anything to celebrate, and he picks a puppet show.”

Ginny narrowed her eyes at him as she sealed the magical film into the camera. “If he wants a puppet show, Harry, give him a puppet show! At least he’s not asking for anything material. He enjoys your attention more than anything else in the world. Enjoy it while it lasts.”

Harry rolled his eyes. “I know that, Gin.” He turned back to Sev. “So…what shall we make the little snake and lion cub do today, eh?”

Sev squealed with glee and began outlining the plot of the entire story he wanted Harry to make the stuffed animals act out, stopping every now and then to make sure the teen understood his incessant baby babble.

Thus as the night wore on, Harry, Ginny, and Severus spent the evening taking rolls of pictures and celebrating baby’s first tooth with a Severus-directed puppet show.

“Sweetheart, I’m going to work on the Dumbledore house today.” Harry said as he laid a sleeping Severus down on their bed in Godric’s Hollow.

Ginny looked up from her unpacking to frown at him. “You’re not going to actually do what Abe said, are you?”

Harry grimaced. “I promised I’d look through the stuff.”

“Harry—”

“Ginny, Albus is a very ambitious guy.” Her boyfriend argued. “Granted, he always has the best intentions at heart, and he has great morals and ethics, but he is still very ambitious.”

Ginny frowned at him. “Which means what, exactly?”

“Abe may be more than a bit extreme, but his concerns are very valid. Dangle a chocolate cake in front of Albus’ face and he will find the sneakiest way of eating it.”

“Harry, he has a right to his stuff. What if you decide that a book is too dangerous to give back to him, but the book has more meaning for him than what you give it credit for? You just can’t make these kinds of judgments.”

Harry sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “I know. I realize that. I know, I know.” He paused for a moment and then his face lit up. “Okay…What I’ll do is I’ll separate them into categories—stuff that I’ll definitely give back to him, and stuff that I’m on the fence about. Then I’ll go talk to both Dumbledores, read them, and then decide. I did say it was up to my discretion; and they were both in the room when I said that. I heard neither of them disagreeing.”

Ginny pursed her lips together and then sighed. “Fine.” She murmured, looking away.

“Look, I know it’s a messy situation, love.” Harry acknowledged, running his hands down her arms and pulling her close. “But it needs to be sorted out, and I see no other way around this.” He wrapped his arms around her back and leaned his forehead against hers until her eyes drifted upwards to meet his.

Within seconds, her scowl transformed into a small smile and she reached up to wrap her arms around his neck.

The infant on the bed shifted slightly in his sleep and the fluff from a pillow caused his nose to itch. Severus reached up unconsciously to brush his nose with his little hand and opened his eyes in order to give the offending pillow the evil eye. What his blurry vision met with, however, was not the offending pillow, but the sight of two people-blurs—a man and a woman—and they had their arms wrapped around each other. The sounds of their two voices were distorted, as if they were talking underwater. Their words made little sense.

“Be careful…caution…”

“…will…just get it over with…”

“Are you…potions lab…antidote for your…today…?”

“Yeah…Severus…help…if he wants…”

“Mum and dad…family…dinner…library…”

“We have to…Sev…that…”

“Yeah…but…will work out…”

“I know…love…”

Then Sev heard nothing, and the infant didn’t know whether that was because his ears stopped listening or the two people had stopped talking. But then the man-blur leaned in to give the woman-blur a short, sweet kiss, and Sev realized that the man-blur was Harry and the woman-blur was Ginny; and then their next words reached him as clearly as a bell. 

“I love you.” The Harry-blur said.

“And I love you.” The Ginny-blur replied.

And then Sev smiled and closed his eyes again, for everything was right in his world. He was just at the threshold of complete slumber when he felt the mattress dip beside him and a kiss placed on his forehead. Then he heard the words, “And I love you, cub.” But he thought he might’ve been mistaken.

When Severus opened his eyes once again, his vision met with a world of white and it was warm and cozy. The bed sheets and pillows below him and around him were as fluffy as clouds, and an arm was snaked around his waist. A strand of red hair fell onto his face and for a minute Severus thought he was in heaven.

Then he realized that this place was even better than heaven and that the red hair and arm belonged to Ginny.

Severus wriggled slightly so that he could see her better and tipped his head back so that he could see her face. Just then two gorgeous hazel eyes flickered open to meet his gaze.

“Mow—ming.” Sev murmured, grinning at the hazel-eyed angel.

Ginny smiled. “Good morning, love.” She drawled, rubbing her forehead against his and making the child giggle. “Let me see that pearly white again?” Severus tipped his head back and raised his upper lip to show her the tiny tooth that was popping out. “Oh, look at that gorgeous tooth right there! It’s the most beautiful thing in the world!” She leaned in to kiss Severus on his little nose, making the infant squeal in delight. Then Ginny pulled him close and placed a big wet kiss on his cheek. “You know what we’re going to do today, love?” She murmured into his cheek.

Sev bit his lip to contain his giggles and whispered, “Wa?”

“We’re going to make Harry’s birthday present today. How does that sound to you?” Ginny whispered playfully.

“BEF-BAY!” Sev grinned and his hands and arms began bouncing up and down in excitement.

“I’ll take that as a sign of your approval.” Ginny grinned, giving him one more kiss before she stood up from the bed.

Ginny took Severus through his morning routine before placing him in his sling and letting him nurse. She then walked down into the kitchen to fix herself some breakfast and get everything ready for the gift-making project she and Sev were about to undertake.

“There’s something I want to talk to you about, Sev.” Ginny began as she scrambled some eggs on the counter. The infant looked up at her questioningly as he fed. “How do you feel about meeting my family? I mean, how do you really feel?”

Sev’s eyebrows furrowed. How do I feel? I don’t know. I do not want to meet them—that’s for certain. Although technically Severus was already well-acquainted with the entire Weasley clan, he was reluctant to let them see him in this miniature form. If he was completely honest, he was reluctant to let them see him in his adult form as well. He was reluctant to let them see him period because it meant that he had to see them. Sev unlatched and pouted up at Ginny. “Mo wamp.”

“Okay. Why don’t you want to meet them, love?” The teenager raised an eyebrow at the infant.

Severus shrugged. He just didn’t want to. Why did he need a reason?

“Do you hate my family? Is that it?”

Sev frowned and his eyebrows furrowed. No, that wasn’t it at all! He shook his head. Severus only reserved the word ‘hate’ for his most despised enemies…and sometimes Dumbledore. But the Weasley clan never really qualified for the ‘hate’ category. Sure, they were loud, annoying, grating, wild, loud, crazy, and…loud, but he didn’t hate them.

“So what is it then, Sev?”

Severus shifted uneasily in his sling and turned pleading eyes on Ginny. “Mo wamp.” He shrugged.

“You do know you have to meet them sometime, right?”

Do I absolutely have to? The thought alone made him grimace.

“Maybe…one of the reasons you don’t want to meet them is that you’re nervous they’re going to make fun of you.” Ginny guessed, eyeing Sev with a raised eyebrow.

The baby bit his lip. Maybe that was it. He shrugged.

“Sev, I’ll have you know that if any of them make fun of you—which I doubt will happen—my mother will straighten them out quicker than you can blink.” She abandoned her cooking to look the infant in the eye. “And if she doesn’t do it, I will.” Ginny smirked and winked at the infant in her arm, making Sev giggle. “That is…if Harry hasn’t done it already.” Picking up her wand, Ginny flicked it at the bowl of scrambled eggs and her breakfast began cooking itself. Pulling out one of their brand-new stools, Ginny took a seat at the counter and wrapped her arms around Sev before continuing. “But that aside, Bill, Charlie, and Percy are all too grown-up and mature to poke fun of you, and Ron already knows, thus the only two boys left in the equation are Fred and George. Now…mum and dad had a word with them personally a few days ago, as did I, and as did Harry, actually. They’re not going to make fun of you.”

Sev peered at her dubiously.

“I’m serious.” Ginny nodded. “In fact, I think the only thing we have to worry about when it comes to the twins is them corrupting you.” The teen rolled her eyes. “Harry was telling me the other night that he was worried that once you all met, the twins would cajole you into helping them play some ridiculous prank on him, and you would play along, and he would fall for it and look like an idiot.”

Severus grinned and began to giggle. Well…that certainly sounds like an interesting idea, now that she mentions it. The wheels started turning in his head. Yes…an interesting idea indeed…Suddenly the prospect of meeting the Weasleys didn’t sound so bad after all.

“Anyway, I brought this up because my entire family is coming over for dinner tonight to meet you and they’re staying over for the night.” Ginny said. “Hermione would be with them, of course. And Harry invited Remus, Tonks, Teddy, and Sirius just to round it off.”

Black’s coming?! Sev’s eyes widened and an evil grin threatened to spread across his face. The twin troublemakers are going to be here with pranks and Black’s coming?! Oh, the wheels in Sev’s mind started turning on overdrive. Now having the Weasleys and Black over here sounded like a grand idea to him!

“So…would you mind having to tolerate my family and Sirius all at once for just one night?” Ginny asked, unaware of what was going on in Sev’s little mind.

Oh, no…I wouldn’t mind in the slightest! It took much effort, but Sev made sure to keep the evil grin off his face so that Ginny wouldn’t suspect anything, and graced her instead with wide innocent eyes. He shook his head.

“No?!” Ginny’s eyes widened in surprise. She had expected more resistance than that. “Are you sure?”

Sev shrugged. After a short pause, he nodded. I think that was believable. He mused.

Apparently it was because Ginny soon smiled. “Excellent! Wow. Okay! So I’ll let my mum and dad know that Harry will pick them up this afternoon. Okay?”

Don’t grin! Don’t grin! Don’t grin! The infant chanted in his head. He nodded, putting a bit of reluctance into it.

“Good. Thank you, baby!” Ginny gave him a big kiss on the cheek.

No, no, Sev smirked, thank you! Visions of all manner of pranks soon danced in his head.

Making Harry’s birthday gift was fun! He and Ginny had sat at the table for at least three hours, planning it, drawing it, touching it up, and making it from scratch. Ginny had allowed Sev to pick out all the important colors, and the baby had a whale of a time watching it all come together in the end. They were just about finished when they heard the front door close and Harry call out from the patio. Sev had been worried that Harry might see their gift, but luckily Ginny had everything cleaned up and hidden with a flick of her wand. When Harry walked through the dining room door, it looked as if they had been doing something completely different the entire time.

“Hey, you two! What’re you up to?” He gave Ginny a quick kiss before leaning down and planting a kiss on top of Sev’s head.

“Oh, nothing. What we’re usually up to every time we’re here.” Ginny shrugged it off and quickly changed the subject. “So…how was Dumbledore’s house?”

Harry shrugged. “As expected. A majority of the stuff is definitely going back to Albus. There are probably three or four things in the questionable box, but I’m not completely done with the house yet.”

“Ah.” Ginny nodded. “So are you going to work down in your potions lab now?” Her eyes narrowed at Harry and a tiny smile tugged at her lips.

Sev’s ears perked up at the mention of Harry’s potions lab. “Wab?” He immediately began bouncing in his high chair. “Wab? Wab? WAB?!”

Harry groaned and sighed, running a hand down his weary face. Beside him, Ginny started laughing behind a hand. “Alright, alright. Yes, yes, yes.” The teen unstrapped the infant from his high chair and lifted him into his arms.

“Wab! Wab! Wab! Wab! Wab!” Severus exclaimed excitedly.

“Yes, we’re going to go work down in the lab.” The teen handed a bag over to his girlfriend before turning and heading back through the dining room door.

Severus was excited! He was finally going to be able to work with Harry in his potions lab! The last two times they were here, Harry kept saying that he was still fixing it up, that he was still furnishing it, that he was still stocking it. Now Harry didn’t have any excuse. Ginny had told him earlier that morning that Harry’s potions lab was done, and that Harry was planning on taking Sev down there today to help him on an important project. The infant had been ecstatic!

“Okay! Rules of the lab,” Harry began as he opened the basement door and lit all the torches with a wave of a hand, “You’ll be in your walker, but you are not to touch any of the lower cabinets, do I make myself perfectly clear?”

Do not touch any of the lower cabinets. Sev repeated in his head as they walked down the spiral staircase.

“Can I trust you on this, Severus?”

Of course you can! Sev looked affronted, but out loud he replied with a respectful, “Yep, ehw.”

“Good.”

I wonder what’s in those cabinets, though. A little voice drawled in the back of his mind. No! You can’t touch any of the lower cabinets! A second voice argued. Who said anything about touching the lower cabinets? I was just wondering what’s in them, is all. The first voice replied. You told Harry you wouldn’t touch the lower cabinets. The second voice retorted. But you have to wonder…what doesn’t he want you to see?

Sev bit his lip. The first voice was beginning to sound fairly reasonable.

“That’s my only big rule, okay, Sev?” Harry continued as they stepped into the hallway of the basement. The door to the potions lab opened with the wave of a hand. “We’ll make more up as needed, but that’s the big one.”

Ooo! It’s a big rule. The first voice drawled in his ear. That means there’s something really important in those lower cabinets that he doesn’t want you to see. Sev’s gut began churning as Harry placed him in his walker and began pointing out all his work benches and research stations. As the infant’s eyes wandered around the room, all he could notice were all the lower cabinets scattered about the room. Hmm…I wonder which cabinet houses all the interesting things.

“Remember our big rule, okay?” Harry remarked as he walked towards his research station. “There’s a potion I want you to help me with, cub. Just hold on for a second.”

Hmm…one, two, three, four, FIVE lower cabinets. Sev shook his head to try to clear it of the voice he now recognized as Temptation. Which to open first? Which to open first?

“MO!” Sev cried.

Harry looked up from the parchment in his hands, his eyebrows rising to his hairline. “I’m sorry?”

Sev gasped. Did I say that out loud?

“You don’t want to help me with the potion?”

No! I didn’t say that! Temptation cackled in his ear, making Sev scowl. “Wamp hep! Wamp hep!” He replied, bouncing in his walker.

Harry gave him a strange look. “Okay.” He turned back to the parchments in his hand. “I want to introduce you to my method of potion-making before we start. Okay?”

Maybe you should touch the cabinet right next to you and see if it opens! Sev put his hands over his ears in an attempt to block out the voice. I’m not going to touch the cabinets. I’m not going to touch the cabinets. I’m not going to touch the cabinets! He pushed himself backwards and away from the closest cabinet just to prove to himself that he wasn’t going to give in to Temptation.

“Are you alright, cub?” Harry was looking at him strangely once again.

Sev glanced up, bewildered. “Wamp hep?”

Harry raised an eyebrow at him. “Yeah…uh…” he glanced at the parchment in his hands, “I seem to have lost the formula I’d written down. I’m going to run next door to the library to get a book.”

Sev’s eyes widened. Oh no! No, don’t leave the room! No! Sev knew exactly what would happen if Harry stepped out of the room. Sure enough, Temptation began chanting in his ear. Touch the cabinet! Touch the cabinet! Touch the cabinet! Touch the cabinet!

“Don’t touch anything, Sev.” Harry said, throwing his papers back onto his work station and heading towards the door. “I’ll be back in two seconds.”

Touch it! Touch it! Touch it! Touch it! Sev nodded and watched in dread as Harry walked out of the room. I used to be a spy! I used to be able to control this!

Sev groaned and glanced at the nearest cabinet.

Touch it! Touch it! Touch it! Touch it!

Sev glanced back towards the door.

Touch it! Touch it! Touch it! Touch it!

Sev glanced again at the nearest cabinet.

Touch it! Touch it! Touch it!

He inched his way closer as quietly as he could.

Touch it! Touch it!

Sev reached out…

Touch it!