Severus opened the door to his quarters with a barely disguised grimace on his face. His small son was hiding behind him, holding fast to the backs of his robes and peering out shyly around him at the visitor standing in the doorway.

"Severus," the wolf—er, Lupin greeted him with a far too pleasant expression.

"Lupin," he answered, leaving the growl out of his voice for once.

And then Lupin knelt down and looked at a spot just behind Severus's right hip.

"Harry. It's good to see you," Lupin's voice was calm, but Severus didn't need a wolf's senses to hear the delight behind the polite façade.

The grip on the back of his robes tightened and then he heard a faint, "Hi," issue out his son's throat.

"Come in then," Severus gritted out in that same almost growl as he stepped aside to reluctantly allow the man to enter.

If you must, he added in his mind.

Lupin moved past him with a small smile on his haggard face and Severus shut the door behind him. He tried to take a step towards the sitting area of his quarters, only to be brought up short by the insistent grip of his son on his clothes.

Severus turned and then knelt down like the wolf had done only moments before, peering carefully into the slightly worried face of his boy.

"Daddy," Harry whispered anxiously. "He smell like Auntie Min, bu' not." The little boy nodded earnestly, his bright green eyes staring up at him intently.

"That's because he is, Harry," Severus said, swinging the boy into his arms easily as he stood back up.

"He don't smell like a kitty, tho' Daddy."

"He can smell that?" Lupin asked in interest from the centre of the room, where he had been patiently reading through the titles on some of Severus's bookcases.

"Amongst other things," Severus said simply, not wanting to elaborate unless it was necessary.

Harry helped him fix tea, and then very carefully carried out a plate of biscuits, while Severus followed him with the tea; the cream and sugar floating behind him as he walked. Once everyone had been served, Harry crawled into his lap and Severus handed him his much smaller mug; its sides already spelled against burning little hands.

"So Harry," Lupin began in a casual voice, his bright golden eyes shining with excitement. "Severus is your daddy now? How do you like that?"

"My Tall Man is da bestest," little Harry answered brightly, curling up comfortably against Severus's chest. "He always puts me ta bed, and kisses me and loves me, and I loves him!" The boy declared unashamedly. "Right, daddy?"

Lupin peered at him interestedly and Severus fought against the urge to blush in the face of such an overwhelming exclamation of feeling.

"Correct, Harry," he replied instead, wrapping his free arm around Harry's middle and giving the little boy a squeeze.

"Tell me more about how he managed to come under your care, Severus," Lupin asked carefully, his eyes calculating as he watched them interact.

"Albus didn't feel it necessary to enlighten you?"

"Albus told me that you would be better at explaining it," Lupin countered coolly.

"It's not really my story to tell," Severus replied softly, stroking Harry's hair gently and taking a sip of his tea. "Harry, please tell Mr. Lupin about your angel."

Lupin's eyes widened briefly before the man got control of himself.

"Oh!" Little Harry said brightly, sitting upright with a jerk that nearly knocked his tea askew.

"Careful," Severus admonished, tapping one long finger on the small button boy's nose.

"Sorry daddy," his son answered with a remorseful look, his lower lip poking out just a tad.

"No harm was done, silly boy. But you must always be careful around hot things, remember?"

"Yes daddy," his child said in a soft voice, still looking chastised.

"Harry, weren't you just about to tell me about your angel?" Lupin interjected then, drawing Harry's attention back towards him.

"She's gots eyes lik' mine," Harry answered in a soft voice, finishing up his tea with a swallow that was just shy of a gulp. He handed him the mug and Severus floated it back to his kitchen with a wave of his wand.

Now that Harry's hands were free, he wrapped them around Severus's much larger ones and held on tightly.

"An' red hair," he added after a moment of thought. "Daddy says she's my mummy—so's I call her my mummy angel," the little boy said, bringing one small hand up to cover his mouth as he gave a half-hearted yawn.

Severus looked down his son with a smile shining in his eyes. Lupin had not been able to stop by until after supper, and the little boy's bedtime wasn't too far away. Between that and the discomfort the lad still seemed to have with strangers, it wasn't a surprise to him that Harry was getting sleepy.

"And your mummy—your mummy angel," Lupin asked, correcting himself before the little boy had a chance to. "She brought you here?"

"Yeah," Harry answered, curling up in a comfortable ball against Severus's chest. "An' my Tall Man gave me Capt'n, and now we bot' live wit' Daddy, 'cause he loves us an' wouldn't know what ta do wit' all his spare time if he didn't have us."

"Is that right?" Lupin asked Harry, his eyes glancing up at Severus; giving him a smile that he scowled back at.

"Yeah," Harry nodded, curling his fingers around the front of Severus's robes and relaxing further into his embrace.

"And who is 'Captain,' Harry?"

"He's my frien'," Harry said, looking up at Severus with an imploring look.

"Very well," Severus said with a glower that Harry only smiled at. "Accio Captain," he said, summoning the small pink bear into their arms.

"Capt'n!" Harry greeted his dark robed and glasses wearing bear happily, squeezing him to his small chest tightly.

"Pink, Severus?" Lupin asked, clearly trying not to laugh.

"What's wrong wit' pink?" The little boy in his arms demanded, giving Lupin a very Snape-like glare.

"Nothing, cub!" The man gave a laugh, the smile taking years off of his previously haggard appearance.

"Cub?" Harry caught the term and his small brow wrinkled in thought. Severus knew that look. It was the same expression the child had worn just before hugging Hagrid.

The men in the room seemed to be holding their breaths as the little boy thought carefully through his few memories.

And then, the small voice spoke again, the tone much more hesitant than before. "Uncle Moony?"

"Yes, cub," Remus answered, suddenly blinking hard at them both.

"You was friends wit' my Mummy?" The boy asked carefully.

"Yes, baby," Remus nodded hard and Severus looked down at his son to provide the man some privacy with his suddenly overwhelming emotions. "And your daddy James," he added in a much more sedate voice.

"My udder daddy," Harry clarified with a nod.

"Yes, child; your other daddy."

"What abou' my Tall Man?"

Severus did look back up at Remus at that question, not entirely sure what the other man would say. Oh, he knew what would be good to say, and he knew what the truth would be, but he didn't actually know what the man would say to Harry.

"Am I friends with him?" Remus asked carefully.

"Yeah," Harry answered softly, face and body clearly tired, but green eyes still staring sharply out at the man. "He's da bestest in da world."

"Well then, who am I to argue with that logic?" Remus answered with a smile, leaning back in his seat and staring calmly back at them.

"So?" Harry asked, not to be dissuaded from getting his answer.

"I shall be his friend as long as he is mine," Remus said, a challenge in his eyes as he looked into Severus's own.

"Good," Harry answered, a satisfied smile on his face as he closed his eyes and rested his head on Severus's shoulder.