When Harry woke up again, it was past noon. He raised his head and saw that Severus' bed was empty. He gingerly turned over and sat up, relieved to find his bum no longer hurt. The guilty feeling in his stomach was gone as well, he could now move past the accident and try and work on his control over his stormcalling talent. He hated knowing he was so dangerous and he never wanted to hurt any of his family or friends again.

He stood and walked over to his armoire, opening it and picking out some jeans, boxers, and a long sleeved shirt with dragons on it. He pulled off his pajamas and put on the shirt and was just about to put on his boxers and jeans when the door to the room opened.

Harry yelped and tried to cover himself. "Ahh! Get out!"

Severus raised an eyebrow. "Harry, relax. No need to be embarrassed. We all have the same equipment down there."

But Harry was in a bit of a panic and tried to back away into a corner. He tripped over his pajamas and fell backwards, landing on his bottom with a rather loud thump. "Ouch!"

Severus couldn't help it. He chuckled in amusement, though not cruelty.

Harry turned seven shades of red and cried, "It's not funny! I thought you were my mum!"

"Child, she's seen you in the altogether too, she gave birth to you and took care of you when you were an infant." His black eyes were gleaming.

"So? I don't want her to see me like this now," Harry groused. "You could have knocked."

"I apologize," Severus came over and offered Harry a hand up.

Harry took the Healer's hand and climbed to his feet. He put a hand to his backside. "Ow! Ow! Ow!" he whimpered. Just when he'd been feeling better too.

"Did you hurt yourself?" Severus asked, concerned. "Let me see." Before Harry could protest, Severus deftly spun him about so he could examine Harry's behind. "Hmm . . . you're a little bruised on your coccyx."

"I'm a little bruised where?"

"Your tailbone," Severus corrected. He Summoned some salve then said, "Hold still while I put this salve on. It'll numb the area so you can sit down."

Harry sucked in a breath as Severus gently rubbed in the salve, but soon he felt a tingling warmth and then the pain was gone.

"Feel better? I'll apply it again before bedtime." Severus capped the jar. "Come on, get dressed. Lunch will be on the table soon."

Harry quickly finished dressing, and sat on his bed to tie his trainers. "Will you teach me how to meditate?"

"Yes, but only if you come eat lunch. You've done enough brooding."

"All right,sir."

Just before Severus left, Harry said, "Severus? Can I talk to you after lunch?"

"Certainly."

The two headed into the kitchen, where Lucy and Lily were sitting down at the table. Theo was also in his customary chair beside his mother and Severus.

"Welcome back, Sleeping Beauty," Theo grinned at Harry.

Harry stuck his tongue out at him. Then he sat down next to Lily.

On each plate was a steaming sliced steak sandwich with melted cheese, fried onions, and ketchup, plus crispy chips with vinegar and salt. Harry was practically drooling over the smell alone. "Mmm! That smells so good!" He turned and hugged his mother. "Hi, Mum."

"Do you feel better, sweetie?" Lily asked, hugging him back. "Sev said you still felt a bit under the weather so we let you sleep."

"Mum, I'm always under the weather, I'm a stormcaller," Harry smirked at her expression.

Lily chuckled. "Of course you are. Start eating before it gets cold."

Harry didn't need to be told twice. He bit into his sandwich. It was delicious and he had to force himself not to gobble it all down at once. The steak was tender, juicy, and seasoned with Lucy's special blend of herbs and spices. The cheese and onions were perfect compliments and the roll was crunchy and hot.

Theo looked up at his mother and said, "Tha's outdone thyself this time, Ma. This the best sandwich I ever ate. I bet the queen herself doesna eat half as good."

Lucy colored a becoming rose. "Why thank you, Theo. Lily helped too."

"All I did was rub the herbs on and fry the onions. You did the real work, Lucy."

"Theo's right. This is outstanding," Severus said, using part of his roll to mop up the juice from the steak on his plate.

Harry finished his chips and looked wistfully at his empty plate. "Umm . . . is there anymore?"

"Anymore what, dear?" asked Lucy.

"Steak."

"Would you like another sandwich?"

"Yes, please."

Lucy started to rise, but Lily stopped her. "I'll get it, Lucy. You eat. I'm so stuffed I can't eat another bite."

She went over to the counter and made another sandwich, heating up the steak, cheese, and onions with a charm and adding ketchup. "Blast, I forgot to toast the roll! Harry, do you mind?"

"No, Mum." Harry called. He could have eaten it without the roll, it was that good.

Lily floated the sandwich over to him and sat back down. She was pleased her son's appetite was increasing, the fresh Yorkshire air was good for him. Severus had told her about the talk he'd had with Harry, and the spanking, explaining he would not have done so if Harry had not insisted. Lily understood, and said, "Sev, I trust you with Harry's life. I know you'd never deliberately hurt him, and he's not going to die if you spank him. So don't feel guilty. If he needs to be disciplined, do it. You have my permission. After all, if we marry, you'll be his stepdad."

She smiled fondly at her son and her best friend, who was becoming something more than that every day. She enjoyed sitting down like this, as a family. She considered Lucy a sister and Theo like a nephew.

Harry finished his second sandwich and burped loudly.

Theo giggled. "Good one, Harry!"

"Harry, for Merlin's sake! Where are your manners?" Lily scolded.

"Excuse me. It's the onions," Harry said, trying to look contrite, but failing miserably.

Lily began to clear the table.

A bowl of grapes, apples, and bananas appeared on the table, and a plate of pound cake with powdered sugar sprinkled on it. A pot of tea, sugar, and milk floated onto the table next, along with cups, plates, and spoons.

Theo took a handful of grapes, popped some in his mouth, then hissed, "Harry, catch!"

He threw a grape at Harry.

Harry caught it in his mouth, then he took some grapes and tossed one back at Theo.

But it missed and hit him in the chest. He threw another at Harry and hit him in the forehead right on his scar. "Ten points!"

Harry's next grape hit Theo in the nose.

"Boys, enough!" Lucy ordered. "Grapes are for eating, not playing! Act thy age!"

"We are, Lucy," Harry sniggered.

"Harry James, you quit being cheeky, or else you can spend ten minutes with your nose to a wall," Lily snapped.

"But Mum, Theo started it!"

"And I'm finishing it," Lily returned. "Now behave!"

"Yes'm," Harry sighed. Mothers! But when he looked up at Severus, he saw the Healer frowning as well. And fathers too!

Once the sweet had been eaten, Severus excused himself and beckoned Harry to come with him to his study. Harry immediately followed.

Theo looked alarmed. "Is he in trouble?" he asked Lily.

"No, Theo. Sev just wants to have a little talk with him about his abilities." Lily reassured him. "Would you like to play cards while you're waiting for them to finish?"

"Muggle or magical? I know both ways."

"Let's play rummy." Lily suggested, and pulled a Muggle deck out of her sleeve.

"Cool! How'd you do that?" asked Theo.

"Magic," Lily chuckled, and shuffled the deck. "Muggle magic, that is, called sleight of hand."

Meanwhile, in the office, Harry was asking Severus about Mind Healing. "How did you know you wanted to be a Mind Healer, Severus? Was someone in your family one?"

"No. My mother was a Potions Mistress and for awhile I thought I would follow in her footsteps, but I decided I was better suited to being a Mind Healer."

"What about your dad?"

Severus grimaced. "My father was a Muggle and a worthless drunken sot, the less said about him the better. You know I am an Occlumens, right? I am also a Legilimens as well, meaning that I can scan a person's surface thoughts and memories."

"Is that like reading someone's mind?"

"No. The mind is not a book, to be opened and flipped through like a storybook. The mind is a multi-layered thing, very complex. What I do is not really reading so much as scanning memories. And I only do so with permission of the patient. It is forbidden to deliberately scan another's memories without obtaining permission. That's a breach of privacy."

"When would you do it then?"

"I would only use Legilimency if my patient could not bear to recall the memory or buried it within them and hiding it was hurting them. Fears must be faced, as harsh as that sounds, and usually it is instinct for the mind to try and hide from or forget what has hurt them. My task is to make my patient work through what is frightening them and learn to deal with it. Because that is the only way to heal."

"But don't they get mad at you, for making them remember?"

"Yes, sometimes. But eventually they realize it's for their own good. Sometimes healing hurts. Especially when my patient has suppressed their emotions. Then my task is coax them back into feeling again, and many of them hate me for causing them such pain. Dealing with injured and abused children and teenagers is never easy."

"Then why bother? If they don't appreciate you, I mean?"

"Because they need help, and I am the one best able to handle it. Because once I was one of them."

"You?"

Severus smiled ruefully. "Me. First my father, and later a group of bullies at school known as the Marauders. I know what it's like to have no one to defend you, to be alone, and helpless and frightened. To not know what to do, or who to go to for help, because you're afraid to trust anyone."

"I know what that's like too."

"I know you do. And that's why I chose to be what I am. So those abused and bullied children don't have to suffer in silence or turn to the path of darkness out of desperation. They can come to me and talk, or yell and scream, or cry and work through all of the hurt they've been through. And I will listen and do my best to help."

"Are all your patients kids?"

"The majority, yes. Though I have treated young adults also."

"What . . . what do you do when you find a kid who's been . . . abused by their parents or something?"

"First I contact Wizarding Child Services, and have them know that the child shows signs of abuse. I then have them talk to my patient, then we take child away from the parents or whoever is being abusive and place them with an appropriate relative or a loving foster family if the child has no relatives or none willing to raise them. In most cases, the abuser is arrested and we charge them on behalf of the child and bring them to trial. We do our best to make sure the victim is safe from his or her tormentor. Usually, the child continues sessions with me until I say they are well enough to stop."

"How long does that take?"

"It depends on the person. Some take months, some years. It varies."

"Oh. Umm . . . Severus? Could you . . . maybe let me tell you a few things sometime?"

"Certainly. When would you like an appointment?"

"Not . . . just yet."

"Very well. When you're ready then, Harry." Severus said, pleased that the boy was finally opening up to him. "For now, I want us to concentrate on meditation. Now I know that Lily showed you basic meditation and you've practiced it, but I think we need to start over from the beginning. All right?"

Harry nodded. "Yes, sir."

Severus cleared his throat. "Ready, Harry? Let us do counted breathing exercises. Breathe in, and hold for a count of five, then breathe out. One . . . two . . .three . . . four . . . five. Exhale."

Harry obeyed. He had learned this exercise before and it was easy. He repeated the exercise ten times, then Severus told him to close his eyes and find his center. He also went one step further and asked Harry to describe his safe place, which was his room at Heatherton Cottage.

"Good. Now I want you to do something a little harder. I want you to call up a bit of your power and hold it with you inside your center. Don't do anything with it, just hold it to you. Concentrate!"

Harry tried, but he was scared of summoning his stormcaller power again and so he failed to draw it forth. He began to breathe hard, getting frustrated and his face scrunched and red with effort.

"Stop. You're too tense, trying too hard. Relax."

Harry let out his breath. "Okay. I'll try again."

But despite his attempts to remain calm, Harry tensed up and each time his power slipped from his grasp like water through a sieve. "I can't do this!" he cried, angry.

"Yes, you can. You summon your power without half trying. What makes this time different, Harry? What are you feeling?"

"I . . . I'm scared," he mumbled.

"Excuse me?"

"I said . . . I'm scared," Harry repeated, ashamed. "I don't want to hurt you again."

"I see. What do you think will happen if you call that small bit of power to you?"

"I might . . . call a storm or something and then I'd wreck your office, maybe even kill you."

"Do you really not trust yourself to control such a small amount of power?"

"I don't know."

"Shall we find out? Harry, I chose this time because I knew the chance of a storm blowing in here was almost nothing. Don't be afraid, Harry. Just pull a small amount to you and cup it in your hand. That's right."

Severus could feel Harry doing what he'd asked, and he slipped into a third level trance, monitoring his patient. He let Harry hold the energy inside him for five minutes then told him to release it. "Nice and easy. Very good! Open your eyes now."

Harry did, a quiet smile spreading across his face. "I did it!"

"Yes, and look, my office is still here and so am I," Severus chuckled. "We'll keep doing this until you can draw a substantial amount of power and not fear it. We'll practice every night, five times a week."

Harry nodded. "Umm . . . Severus, can I ask you something else?"

"You may, Harry."

"Are you going to marry my mum?"

"I would like to, Harry. I love her very much. What do you think of that?"

"I know she loves you, I heard her say it lots of times when you were sleeping," Harry admitted. "And I guess . . . I don't really mind. I never had a real father before and I always wanted one. And if Mum loves you, I guess you'd make a good one. You love Theo and he's not your real son, so . . . maybe you can love me too?"

"That's not a maybe, son, it's a yes. I love you, Harry, as if you'd been born to me," Severus murmured. Then he held out his arms and Harry ran into them, hugging his new father hard.

Neither of them heard the door open a crack and Theo listening at the keyhole. The young shifter had come by to see if Harry were done with his session yet, so they could go explore the grounds or fly. He only caught the tail end of the conversation, where Severus said he loved Harry like a son. Now Theo was aware that Harry was developing a closer relationship with Severus, but hearing the man who had raised him and was like a father to him call another son was a shock and worse, made him dreadfully afraid he was being replaced by Harry. Theo had always been insecure, first because of his crippled foot and then because he was a Squib. Finding out that he was a shifter was the best thing that had ever happened to him, but even that was all ruined now.

Of course Severus would love Harry more . . . Harry was the better magic user—stronger and with a unique talent, a better flyer, and he was famous for defeating the most evil wizard of all time. Theo, on the other hand . . . was still a burden, he would never measure up to Harry. In his hurt, anger, and jealousy, he forgot Severus telling him that he loved both of them, forgot that he would have been thrilled yesterday to have his friend for a brother.

Choking back sobs of betrayal, Theo bolted down the hall and out the door, running across the lawn to the small cottage where Lucy and he lived as fast as he could with his bum foot. He dashed into his room, slammed the door and locked it. Then he threw himself across his bed and sobbed heartbrokenly into his pillow. What about me? Don't you love me anymore, Severus? I was your son first, wasn't I?

He had almost cried himself to sleep when he heard a knock at his door.

"Hey, Theo! Don't you want to go exploring?" Harry called.

"No! I don't feel good, now go away!"

"Oh, but . . . do you need your mum? Or Severus?"

"No! Now leave me alone!"

Figuring maybe Theo was embarrassed at being sick, maybe he'd puked all over, Harry knew what that was like, he decided to tell an adult.

The next thing Theo heard was a sharp knock on the door and Severus' voice. "Theo, are you sick? Please unlock the door and let me in. If you had an accident, I won't be angry. Just open the door."

"No!" Theo yelled, his throat clogged with tears. "I . . . I'm fine! Just go away!"

But Severus knew perfectly well he wasn't fine, and he unlocked the door with a charm and entered the room. "Theo, what's wrong?"

Theo kept his face hidden in the pillow, the last person he wished to see was Severus. "Just get out!"

"I can't until you tell me what's wrong." He walked over to the bed and gently laid a hand on Theo's shoulder.

A part of Theo thrilled to that familiar gesture, the concern in Severus voice. But that part was eclipsed by jealousy, and so he shouted, "Go away, I don't need you here. Go be with Harry, you like him best anyway."

Suddenly, Severus understood. "Theodore, sit up and look at me. We need to have a talk."