Remus looked at the two boys sitting across the desk from him. He loved them as much as if they were his own sons. When Severus told him what they had done it had nearly broken his heart. Not just because of what they had done, but because he could have very easily hurt them. He really did hate to punish them, but in this case he did agree with Severus that he should add to them terms of their grounding, since he was affected by what they had done as well. “I’m quite disappointed in you two,” he told them.

Both boys looked down at their hands. Neither of them had really expected the consequences they had encountered for this little adventure.

“Even with the Wolfsbane, it is not always wise for people to be around me in were form. It enables me to keep my own mind and to take a wolf form instead of that of a werewolf, however, sometimes the Wolfsbane doesn’t always help as well as it should. I don’t think this has anything to do with Severus brewing the potion incorrectly. He is a Potions Master and I know he is more than capable with brewing the potion. Some months it just isn’t quite as effective. When in wolf form, many werewolves have been known to attack those who are closest to them when in human form. Had Sirius and Severus not come when they did the other night, you two most likely would have been killed.” He stopped and stared at the two boys in front of him. Or rather the tops of their heads: one black and one dark red. Recalling something Severus had once said, he spoke again, using the younger boy’s real name. “Orion John Snape, if you have changed to look like Lily in order to escape punishment or to get me to go easy on you, change back this instant,” he said, in a much harsher tone than he would normally use. It was the tone he had reserved for the times he had needed to play Alpha to the Marauders.

The boy stiffened at the use of his full name. “I’m not sir,” he whispered, hoping the man couldn’t tell that he was lying. That had in fact been what he was doing.

Remus made a noise of disbelief, but did not comment. “You had both asked me to help you become Animagi. If I am to train you, you must obey everything I say because if you try to change forms before you are ready it could have disastrous results. Because of your actions the other night, I don’t feel that either of you are ready or have the discipline required to start your training just yet.” Harry and Draco looked up at him, both distraught at the news. “If you two can prove to me that you are ready then we will discuss it again this summer.” He looked at them both and waited until he got an acknowledgement of his words before continuing. “Sirius has also decided to clean up his old home. It’s been sitting empty for about ten years since his mother died. Severus and I have discussed it and decided that part of your punishment should include helping Sirius with the work that needs to be done.” Again, both nodded. “Alright…come here, both of you.”

Reluctantly, the two boys stood and moved around the desk toward the man they had grown quite close to over the last few months. Remus stood and put an arm around each boy, pulling them into a tight hug. “You two are worthy to be called the sons of a Marauder,” he told them, his tone affectionate. “But if you two ever do something so foolish again…” He let the threat hang in the air.

“We won’t,” Harry said quickly with a small smile.

Remus ruffled the boy’s hair. “Good. Now get, you little scalawag. I need to talk to Draco for a moment.”

Draco made a face, but looked away, cursing silently. He’d been caught.

Harry nodded, cast a glance at his brother and left the office, quietly closing the door.

Remus turned to the boy in front of him and grabbed him by the shoulders, giving him a good shake. “I will never tolerate lying or manipulation, Mr. Snape. Is that understood?” Draco looked up at him, defiance showing in his green eyes. He reached around the boy and gave him a firm smack that startled the teen. Remus put his hands on his hips and met the boy’s stare, growling deep in his throat.

After a moment Draco looked away, unable to meet the man’s gaze any longer. There was just something about the man’s simple manner of dealing with him that left him feeling just as chastised as he had when Uncle Sev had walloped him a couple nights before. “Yes sir. I’m sorry, Moony,” he whimpered.

The man nodded, reaching out and resting a hand gently on top of the boy’s head. Draco’s shoulders sagged as he relaxed under the gentle touch. “You’re forgiven, pup,” Remus told him, pulling him into another hug.

“I just didn’t want to get into more trouble,” the teen whispered into his chest.

“Lying is never the answer, Draco. All it will get you is more trouble.”

“Yes sir.”

Remus moved to sit on the sofa near the hearth and motioned for Draco to join him. The boy sat on the opposite end of the sofa, tucking one foot underneath himself so that he could face the man. Two mugs of hot chocolate appeared on the coffee table and Remus handed one to the boy, receiving a small smile in return. He was silent for a moment before speaking to the boy. "Draco..." he started with a sigh. "Lucius spent your whole life training you to follow in his footsteps as a Malfoy and a Death Eater. He taught you many bad habits, lying and manipulation among them. Severus loves you very much, Draco...just like you were his own son. To him the adoption doesn't matter. And as your father he is responsible for your well-being...physically, emotionally, morally...and that means breaking you of those habits that Lucius taught you. It won't be easy for you. Or very much fun, but he only wants what is best for you."

The teen stared into the mug of chocolate in his hands, allowing it to warm him as he slowly sipped the hot liquid. Uncle Sev had been trying for years to keep him from following everything that Lucius had drilled into his head from the time he could walk. But old habits die hard and he was a Slytherin after all. They were known for being cunning and manipulative. "I know, Moony," he whispered. "I don't mean to be so manipulative...sometimes I just do it without thinking."

"And Harry rushes off into danger without thinking. You both got that impulsiveness from James. He was always doing things without thinking them through...usually Sirius was right there next to him." He smiled at the boy sitting beside him. "Harry may look more like James, but you have James' spirit."

“I look like Lily,” Draco whispered softly.

“Yes…and you both have her eyes.”

They fell into a companionable silence as they both sipped their hot chocolate. After several minutes, Draco spoke again. “I’m really sorry about the sneaking out, Moony…and seeing you like that. I know I shouldn’t have, but…I…I wanted to have something of Dad’s too. Harry has his old Invisibility Cloak and its bloody brilliant, but I don’t have anything…and it’s just not fair,” he said, blinking back tears. He wasn’t going to cry. No way. “Nothing would be as great as the Cloak…but it least it would have been mine…”

“That Cloak is one of a kind,” Remus replied. “If you wanted something that had belonged to James, all you had to do was ask, Draco. We would have found something for you and you would have saved yourself a lot of trouble.”

“And a walloping,” he muttered.

Remus smirked. “Yes. That too.”

“It was the worst ever. He pulled our trousers down and gave us five smacks more than he’s ever done before. He’s never pulled my trousers down before…”

“Well, pup, you have to admit that you two were pretty reckless and foolish and broke some pretty big rules.”

Draco sighed deeply. “I guess you’re right…”

Remus looked at Draco for a moment before taking the mug of hot chocolate from the boy and placing it on the table.

"Moony...what are you doing?" Draco asked, not sure he liked the mischevious look in the man's eye.

The werewolf grabbed the boy's foot and pulled him across the couch, causing the young teen to squeak in shock. Keeping a tight hold on the boy's foot so that he couldn't escape, Remus began to tickle his unofficial godson unmercifully. Draco's shrieks of laughter filled the room.

--

Severus let himself into the Gryffindor common room and walked straight over to where Fred and George were bent over something at one of the tables. “Gentlemen…” he said in a low, dangerous tone.

The identical red heads turned to face him, their faces pale. They knew what had happened to Harry and Draco and had been hoping that the Potions Master would forget about their part in the little incident.

“I believe that you two have something that belongs to my sons.”

“I don’t…know what you’re talking about sir,” George said quickly.

“Do not insult my intelligence, Mr. Weasley,” Severus snapped. “I know all about the deal you two made with them to see what was at the other end of the tunnel. I’ve come to collect their payment. I suggest you fetch it yourself before I Summon it.” He held out his hand.

Fred and George exchanged a glance, before Fred reached into his bag and handed the piece of parchment to Severus.

Severus slid the parchment into a pocket in his robes. “I trusted the two of you to take care of my sons. Not to encourage them into mischief. They get into enough of that on their own. You two will be serving two weeks’ worth of detentions with me after the Christmas holidays and believe me, they will not be the type of detentions that you enjoyed before. I will make sure to have plenty of cleaning for you to do as well as finding the most disgusting potions ingredients for you to prepare for me.” With that he turned and stalked from the room, heading back down to his quarters.

Once down in his quarters he went into his private lab and over to one of the locked cabinets. Opening it, he placed the map that he had taken from the Weasley twins and set it on top of the Invisibility Cloak that he had retrieved the night that the boys had snuck out of the castle. He planned to put both items in his vault at Gringott’s until the boys were older and more responsible. Leaving the map and Cloak with them was just asking for trouble.

--

Audrey Wynne straightened her plain white robes of the hospital where she worked as she walked toward Hogwarts castle. If things went according to her plans, in just a few months she would be adding trims to her robes that would identify her as both a Healer and a Potions Mistress. All she needed to do was to complete her final assignment; one that had been decided upon by both of her mentors. She was the only one in her class working toward a Mastery in both Healing and Potions, so her two mentors, one for each program, had gotten together to come up with an assignment that would satisfy the requirements of both programs.

In all honesty, she was quite excited about her assignment, for very few Potions Masters even attempted to brew the Wolfsbane Potion. It was a tricky, complex potion and very easy to render uneffective. Because the potion was quite difficult, and so few Potions Masters even brewed it, the Wolfsbane was quite expensive. Her assignment was to not only to improve the potion, but to simply the brewing if possible. In order to improve the formula, she also needed access to a werewolf who was willing to work with her.

As she had searched for one of the few Potions Masters that brewed the Wolfsbane and would agree to take her on as an assistant, she had come across one Severus Snape, Potions Professor at Hogwarts School...where the oldest two of her sister's adopted children attended, thanks to some strings pulled by her brother-in-law and his grandfather. Being able to spend time with her niece and nephew, though not blood related, would be a definate plus.

Audrey paused for a moment just outside the main entrance to the castle to check her hair, as the walk from Hogsmeade Station had been quite windy. Her long, blond hair was still in the neat, professional bun that she normally wore it in and she straightened the simple white cap covering her hair. The cap was worn by all female students studying to be Healers at the Johns Hopkins Institute of Magical Healing where she attended. Audrey didn't really mind the cap all that much, even though Daniel teased her something awful about looking like Florence Nightingale. What he hadn't known was that the famous nurse was something of a hero to his young sister-in-law.

When she had first written to Professor Snape, requesting permission to come work with him on the Wolfsbane Potion, he had written back saying that he was simply too busy to help her at this time. After sulking at her sister's house for a week, Halle had finally told her to snap out of it and go speak to Professor Snape in person, saying that he might be less likely to turn her down if she travelled all that way just to speak to him. It had taken her another week to make the arrangements to travel to Hogwarts School.

She was pulled from her thoughts when a body slammed into her and she looked down to see that it was her red-headed niece that had attacked her. "Hello, Rae," she laughed, hugging the girl.

Rae looked up at her with a grin. "Hey Aunt Audrey. What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at school?"

"I have my independent study project to complete before I earn my Masteries. And that's why I'm here," Audrey told the girl. "I'm hoping that Professor Snape could help me out." She glanced from her niece to the bored looking, blond-headed boy standing nearby.

"He's my Potions professor and my Head of House. What do you need him to help you with?" Rae asked, ignoring Draco, who she could see out of the corner of her eye.

"My project is on the Wolfsbane Potion. I'm hoping to improve the formula," Audrey explained. There was a loud noise nearby and she turned her head to see the blond that she had noticed eariler was even paler than before. The loud noise had been his bag hitting the floor. "Are you ill, young man?" she asked, her Healer training kicking in and she pulled her wand, running a quick diagnostic spell.

"I..." he replied. "I'm fine. I...umm...I can take you to Professor Snape, if you wish."

She looked at him for a moment before nodding. "I would appreciate that, young man. I'm Audrey Wynne, by the way."

He hesitated before replying. "Orion Snape." He stooped to pick up the bag that he had dropped, the color returning to his face. "Professor Snape is my...father. I'll take you to his office."

"Thank you, Mr. Snape," she said, following him down the hall.

"Come on, Kelly," Draco called over his shoulder. "I'm not getting into any more trouble because of you."

Rolling her eyes, Rae hurried to catch up with them. She smiled when her aunt put her arm around her shoulder.

"Are you two friends?" Audrey asked the girl.

Rae snorted. "Not likely. He and I get along about like..."

Audrey squeezed the girl's shoulder and kissed the side of her head. "It's alright, Rae. What's Professor Snape like?"

"He's not so bad, though a lot of the other kids think he is. Cap arranged for me to have Occlumency lessons with him. Both of them seemed to think it would help me control my temper...and my talents."

"Is it helping?"

"For the most part."

"Is Professor Snape a good teacher?"

She nodded. "He's very strict on us, but then, you know how easy it is to mess up potions."

"I do."

Unknown to either of them, Draco was waging a mental battle with himself. He had referred to Uncle Sev as his father. It had been months since he had adopted the two boys, yet neither one of them had given him a paternal title yet...they still called him Uncle Sev. Sure, the Potions Master had told them that they could call him Uncle Sev for as long as they wished. Lately he and Harry had been discussing calling him something more, but neither had come up with something that seemed to fit the stern man they both considered a father. Dad was what Harry had called James, or Daddy when he was younger, and neither was right for the Potions Master. Draco had called Lucius Father and he just couldn't bring himself to use that title for the man who had been more of a father to him than the man who had kidnapped him as a baby.

Sighing, Draco stuck his head into the open door of the Potions Master's office. "Da...umm...Pop...sir..." Oh, why couldn't he just come up with something that sounded right?

Severus looked up from the papers that he was grading. "Yes Dragon? What's wrong?"

Draco shook his head. "I'm fine...I just. Umm...there's a lady here to see you."

"A lady here to see me?" he asked, standing and walking over to the door. He was surprised to find a young woman, at least ten years younger than himself, standing in the hall with her arm around his young American student. "I'm Professor Snape. Can I help you?" he asked politely. He quickly took in her robes. She was a Healer of some kind. Or at least a student of the Healing Arts.

"Yes sir. My name is Audrey Wynne. We've corresponded."

He considered her a moment before nodding. "As I explained in my letter, I just don't have time to take on anything else, Miss Wynne. I'm sorry you came all this way..."

"She wants to improve the Wolfbane, sir," Draco told him quickly. He had to help Moony.

"I know that son," Severus replied with a sigh.

"It will help Moony..."

"Draco," he said, giving his youngest son a warning look.

Grey eyes flashed to green and Draco's blond hair turned red as Lily's temper came out. "Moony said that the potion doesn't always work. Why won't you help her fix the potion so that it works for him?"

"That is enough, young man!" Severus snapped. He took a deep breath to calm himself. "You and Miss Kelly have some studying to do."

Draco stared at his father for a moment before nodding and moving over to the table in the corner of the office where he and his fellow Slytherin completed their required study sessions together. As he walked to the table, his shoulder slumped, his features changed back to the blond hair and grey eyes that he preferred.

Rae looked at her aunt, who gave her a smile and a nod, before joining the boy.

"I apologize," Audrey told the Potions Master.

Severus sighed. "It's not your fault. Miss Wynne, as I was saying, I don't have time to take on anything else. I teach twenty-four classes a week on seven different levels, grade assignments for all those classes, brew any and all potions needed in the Infirmary here, as well as trying to keep my twin sons out of trouble and as you've seen they are quite a handful."

"I'd be willing to help you out in exchange," she offered. "Even with your sons. You see, Rae is my niece so I know a thing or two about keeping kids out of trouble." Rae turned and gave her aunt a dirty look.

He closed his eyes and considered it for a moment. If she could help out with the brewing for Poppy, then he would have more time for the boys. And she would be brewing the Wolfsbane and that would free up some time as well. Then with her here, she could cover his classes while he covered for Remus during the full moon. Perhaps this could work out after all. "Very well, Miss Wynne. I will mentor you for your project."