Harry and I had just finished filling in the blanks of Hermione’s storybook when Minerva and Hermione tumbled out of the floo, literally.

"I really don’t like travelling that way," Minerva said, attempting to stand up, only to fall ungracefully on her rump once more.

Hermione of course, was already up and ready to wrap her gift for Harry.

"Come on ’Nerva let’s wrap gifts but we can’t let them see come on we can wrap them in my room if Harry promises to stay out while we wrap the gifts come on come on-"

"I’m coming dear, I’m coming," said Minerva shakily as got up to follow Hermione.

"Little too much Firewhisky Minerva?" I joked.

"Shut it Severus," she said grouchily as she grasped at the door frame to keep her legs from giving out.

"Is she allowed to talk that way?" Harry marvelled, wide eyes looking up at me. I chuckled a bit.

"Come on kiddo, you and I can wrap Hermione’s gift in my room," I said, leading him by the hand.

"’Kay!" he said enthusiastically.

***

Long after Minerva had left and all the gifts were wrapped, Harry was in his bed having a nap. Hermione was not tired so I let her color quietly at the table. It was almost lunchtime when she came to me, shoes in hand.

"Mr. Snape can you teach me to tie my shoes I really wanna learn and I couldn’t get it right before can you show me?" she asked shyly.

"Alright," I said, setting down my book and sitting next to her on the floor. I wracked my brains to recall how my mother taught me.

"Okay I’m ready!"

"First you cross the laces over like this," I said, demonstrating on her left foot. "Now you try on the other foot."

"Got it!"

"Then you make a loop."

"Done!"

"Next the er… rabbit runs around the loop and goes down it’s hole. Like this," I said, recalling that my mother actually used a niffler as an example but Hermione would not have know what that was.

"I did it!" she said happily.

"Good job Hermione, now try it on your own," I said, untying one of her shoes for her to try again."

"Cross it over… um, make a loop. Rabbit runs around the loop and goes down the hole," she said, giving the bow one final tug, only to have it fall apart. She looked at me sadly.

"Try again, you can do it," I encouraged.

"Cross it over, loop, rabbit runs around and goes down the hole," She repeated. Still it didn’t stick. She did this twice more before hanging her head.

"I- I mucked it up again!" Hermione told me.

"Just keep trying , you can do it, you did before," I said, but it seemed to have no effect.

"What if I can’t ever learn how to tie my shoes?" Hermione whispered tearfully.

"You will-’

"And if I can’t tie my shoes I gotta wear velcro ones and everybody's gonna make fun of me and I won't have friends cause I can't get it r-right and I'm a f-faylure!" she cried, tears now running down her cheeks. I was  shocked by her statement.

From that moment on I understood why Hermione worked so hard to be the best. Hermione was afraid to fail. She wanted to show the world that she knew what she was doing, and she hoped that in doing that, others would like her. There certainly was more to that bushy haired girl than met the eye.

"You aren’t a failure Hermione," I whispered, pulling her into a hug. "The only thing that makes someone a failure is if they stop trying. And I know you won’t give up, because you are not a failure, you’re a winner."

"I am?" Hermione whispered.

"Yes you are. Are you ready to try again?"

"Yes!" She said, letting go of me and giving me a determined grin.

***

"I tied that myself I did it Mr. Snape taught me how to you know he is very smart-" Hermione bragged of her success to a group of Hufflepuffs during lunch. I snickered at her comment on my intellect.

"Well Severus, aren’t you a talent. You know, you can get a raise for being so good with students," Minerva said, taking a bite of soup.

"Really?" I asked hopefully.

"No I’m just yanking your chain," Minerva laughed.

"I hate you," I replied sourly. That woman.

"Hey, it’s not my fault you’re as gullible as a bunch of first years," she said.

"I am not!" I cried, setting down my teacup with a clatter. The students stared.

"Oh yes you are. Remember the time I told you that there was a secret storeroom in your potions classroom and you spent hours knocking on the walls to see if it was true?" she snorted, revelling in her genius.

"I was checking to see if the stones were loose - it was coincidence that you mentioned that to me," I said grumpily. "And it wasn’t hours it was maybe fifteen minutes.

"Sure, you just keep telling yourself that."

***

"Mynee, wanna color pitures with me?" Harry asked that evening, holding his coloring book out. Hermione, who had snuggled up next to my side while I read, shook her head. She was being awfully quiet; it was rather worrisome.

"Hermione, are you feeling alright?" I inquired, putting down my book to feel her forehead. It was blazing hot.

"I have ickies Mr. Snape," she whimpered, tears running down her flushed cheeks. "I hate ickies."

Well that was just great; Poppy had left to teach her seminar two days earlier, and wouldn’t be back until tomorrow night. I was on my own.

"Does your stomach hurt?" I asked, attempting to figure out what she had caught.

"No."

"Do you feel achy?"

"Yes I do it hurts everywhere."

'Are you itchy?'

'No no no."

"Is your nose stuffed up?"

"Yeah it feels yucky."

"Do you feel shivery?"

"Really really s-sh-shivery!"

"It sounds like you have a nasty cold," I said. "Let me take your temperature." I grabbed a thermometer and popped it in her mouth, instructing her to keep it there. Then I went to my potions storeroom to find a bottle of Children’s Pepperup and one of Fever Reducer. Luckily for me, the school had to stock Children’s Pepperup because eleven and twelve year olds weren’t able to take the adult version, seeing as it was just a little too powerful for them

I grabbed the potions before retrieving Hermione from my chair and setting her down on the kitchen counter. Once I  pulled the thermometer out of her mouth, and determined she had a heck of a fever, I took out a spoon and poured out a dose of Pepperup.

"Open up," I said, holding the spoon in front of Hermione. She obediently opened her mouth for the potion.

"Eeeww!" Hermione said, looking at me as if I had betrayed her.

"I know, it tastes horrible, but it will help you feel better," I replied softly, pouring out a teaspoon of fever reducer, which was safe to mix with pepper-up. "One more and then you’re done, come on."

"Is this one gonna taste gross too?"

"Actually no, this one tastes a bit like cherries," I said truthfully. She looked at the potion warily for a moment before opening her mouth.

"Mmm! That one tasted nice!" Hermione cried happily, swinging her legs a little bit.

"And that’s why I gave it to you last," I chuckled, lifting her up and carrying her to her bed.

"Do I gotta go to bed early?" she asked sleepily as the fever reducer started to take effect; it tended to knock kids out pretty good.

"Yes you do," I told the little girl as I pulled out her favourite pair of purple pyjamas, which I helped her into before tucking her in.

"G’night Mr. Snape," Hermione said groggily, wrapping her arms around her blanky.

"Sleep well Hermione," I replied before shutting off the lights and leaving the room.

"Do I gotta go to bed early too? We only just had dinner!" Harry said in a tone that suggested I had committed a serious offence.

"No Harry, you aren’t sick," I said, taking my seat by the fire once again.

"Oh, okay," he said happily, sitting down next to his crayons. "Aaah! There’s a head in the fire!"

"Wait, what?" I said, jumping off my chair and kneeling by the hearth. Harry hid behind me and peered out from beneath my arm.

"Hey Severus!" said my cousin Maria from the fire. "Mind if I drop by with Katie for a visit, or are you busy?"

"No, I’m not busy at all, come on over." I replied, surprised.

"Great, I’ll be over in a minute!" Maria said quickly before disappearing from view.

"Who’s that?" Harry whispered fearfully. "Did the fireplace eat her?"

"That’s my cousin Maria; she used to visit all the time when we were younger. She has a daughter named Katie. She’s five." I said to the shaking boy before pulling him into a hug. "And no, she didn’t get eaten by the fire. It’s just a way to talk to people without travelling to their home."

"Oh," Harry said into my robe. He let go to watch Maria arrive with Katie in the fireplace.

"Uncle Sev!" cried Katie as she catapulted herself out of her mother’s arms and toward me, her black hair flying.

"Hi Katie," I smiled, kneeling down to give her a hug. Harry meanwhile hid behind my cloak, peeking his green eyes out occasionally to look at my guests.

"And who’s this, Severus?" asked Maria, blue eyes fixed on Harry. "Since when have you had a little one?"

"Oh, this is Harry," I said, "I’m looking after Hermione and him while their families are away. Hermione’s in bed, she’s not feeling too well."

"Dear me, I hope she feels better soon," Maria replied, sinking down on my sofa. "I hope you don’t mind the visit Severus, I was just up at Hogsmeade doing a little bit of Christmas shopping and Katie wanted to stop by to say hello."

"I don’t mind at all. I’ve been meaning to drop by your place for a visit too. I just haven’t had the time," I said honestly, taking a seat as well. Harry leaped up next to me and buried his face in my side.

"My, he’s a shy one isn’t he," Maria said softly, looking at Harry.

"Yes, that is for sure," I said before picking Harry up and setting him on his feet. He fidgeted nervously.

"Harry, why don’t you show Katie the pictures you colored today; she likes coloring too," I said to him while he glanced at Katie nervously. She smiled encouragingly.

"Okay," he whispered, hesitantly taking Katie's hand and leading her to his coloring book.

Once the two were out of earshot Maria looked at me knowingly.

"What really happened Severus?" she inquired.

"Huh?" I asked, pretending I didn’t know what she was talking about.

"Why are you all of a sudden looking after two kids? You wouldn’t just volunteer to baby-sit," Maria said, glaring at me in such a way that I fidgeted. She could glare ten times better than myself, and could probably send a student into cardiac arrest within seconds.

"Potions accident," I grumped. "You know me way too well for your own good."

"I thought so," she said smugly. "But I think it’s been good for you."

"What?"

"Having a few kids around has been good for you, especially since you’re so antisocial."

"I am not antisocial, people just don’t trust me," I defended myself.

"But children are trusting and they won’t judge you on your past mistakes, they will just see you. And that’s what is good." Maria said wisely.

"Maybe you are right," I sighed. "It is nice to have someone not focus on my faults for once."

We fell into silence for a moment.

"He’s Harry Potter isn’t he? The boy you told me about," she spoke eventually.

"You are correct, and was I wrong about him," I laughed bitterly, finding irony in the fact I had hated a boy so much like myself.

"He reminds me of you when we were young," she said quietly.

I didn’t reply.

"Is his family …" Maria asked hesitantly.

"Like mine was?" I said grimly, she nodded. "Yes. But he doesn’t have a caring mother to look out for him like I did. At least Mum tried her best to be there for me. Harry doesn’t have anyone really. Unless you count his godfather, and he’s on the run! ’

"He has you now," Maria said, ignoring my comment about Black.

"If he doesn’t go back to hating my guts when he’s re-aged, yes," I said sadly. "I was such an idiot …’

"He won’t hate you Severus," Maria said.

"I hope that will be the case. Because I know now that I never hated him. I only hated the memories he brought back," I admitted. Maria patted my arm. I smiled gratefully. She had always been there for me, and I for her, even if life got in the way often these days. 

***

"Why does Katie call you Uncle Sev if you aren’t really her uncle?" Harry asked sleepily as I tucked him in that night.

"I’m not quite sure, I think she just likes to," I replied. I had never really given it a thought.

"So you aren’t really her uncle?"

"Not really, but she sees me as one."

"Can I call you Uncle Sev too?" Harry asked hopefully. "I always wanted a nice uncle."

"Yes Harry, you can," I said, rather touched.

"Goodnight Uncle Sev!" he grinned before giving me a hug, a hug that I returned.

"Goodnight Harry," I smiled, ruffling his messy hair before leaving to check on his and Hermione’s potion. At that moment it hit me just how much I would miss those two.