It was Halloween night, five and a half years after the Dark Lord had been killed, and everyone was celebrating. Even the Ministry of Magic was completely deserted of people.

Deep down in the depths of the Ministry, however, something was happening. The Department of Mysteries, normally a department that remained quiet regardless if people were there or not, was now the home of some mysterious happenings.

The Veil, a place that had claimed the lives of numerous people until it was moved there, was alive with activity. The usually slow moving current that flowed there was no longer slow. Wind was blowing heavily. Lights were flashing repeatedly.

Suddenly, though there was no one there to hear it, there was a loud BAM!

The wind ceased to exist.

The lights stopped flashing.

Everything was suddenly very calm.

But on the floor, directly in front of the Veil, lay two small, naked boys, one older than the other.

Had there been someone to witness this strange turn of events, he or she would have thought the two boys dead as they lay there without even a twitch; however, with one last burst of light, both boys were shocked into life with a kiss of breath.

Almost immediately, the children opened their eyes and sat up.

Although one would think that the two boys would not recognize one another being as small as they were and coming from seemingly nowhere, that person would have been sadly mistaken, for as soon as the boys saw one another, they jumped up from the floor and faced one another.

At that moment, one child yelled, “Black!” while the other yelled, “Snape!”

And at the exact moment an Unspeakable who had come back to look for her missing radish earring and heard the noise walked in, both boys lunged at one another.

~HP~SS~

“Harry! Harry! Wake up!” Ginerva Molly Potter nee Weasle said as she shook her husband awake. Harry groggily woke up, unable to even see straight.

“What is it, Love? It is three in the morning.” Harry said groggily.

“There is an emergency at the Ministry. They need you to come down.” Ginny said. Being attuned to hearing every little noise, the twenty-two year old woman had heard the Floo the minute it had gone off.

“An emergency? What do you mean?”

“I don’t know! Dad Floo’d a bit ago and said that they needed us there and Mum was coming through to watch the babies.” Ginny said, already waving her wand over her hair to straighten it out.

“Okay, okay. I am up.” Harry said, still half asleep. The night before they had both gone out after taking their children trick or treating and then leaving Molly Weasley with them at the house while they went to meet up with some friends for a while. It had been late when they had gotten back, a mere two hours before, and Harry was having trouble staying awake.

“Okay, Love, where are my clothes?”

Ginny just sighed, then laughed lovingly at her husband and throwing his clothes at him.

~HP~SS~

Harry sat with Ginny in Arthur Weasley’s office. He had been the Minister of Magic for five years now, and the magical world had never been so at peace.

“What happened, Dad? What is going on?” Ginny asked, sitting in front of her father.

“We have had a shock tonight. Something that we cannot explain. Something that should not have happened, or rather something that we did not believe could happen. We believe that you, Harry, and you, Ginny, are the only ones that are going to be able to appropriately deal with this…”

Before he got any farther, however, Harry jumped up and cut him off,

“I knew it! He is back isn’t he? Voldemort!” both of the other two cringed at the name, even five years later, “I knew that we were getting to comfortable! I knew that it wouldn’t last!” Harry said. Arthur went around his desk and laid his hand on the young man’s shoulder.

“Harry, son, stop. Voldemort is gone. There is nothing that can bring him back. However, there are two others that have been brought back, seemingly, from the dead.”

“Who? What is going on?”

At that moment, a ministry employee brought in two sullen children.

They stared at Harry, and Harry thought that he recognized them.

“Oh my Merlin…” Ginny said, recognizing them both immediately.

“What? What is it, Gin?”

“Ha. I always knew you were a complete idiot, Potter.”

Harry froze and turned back towards the children.

“No…” He said softly.

But as soon as he watched the smallest of the two boys smirk, he knew that it was true.

“Don’t talk about my godson like that, Snivillus!”

“Snape? Sirius?”

“Ha, finally caught on I see.” The little miniature Snape responded.

“Arthur…”

“Harry, the reason that I called both you and Ginny in here is…well, you are the only two that we thought would take them…”

“What do you mean, take them?”

“Well, they need somewhere to go…they need a home. The magical healers, they said that they are children and will grow as such even if they do have their memories up until they died. Or when we thought they died… It is like they aged backwards, but… Well, for example, Severus here died five and a half years ago. That is how old he is. Sirius is seven and a half. They need a home Harry, a home that I think you and Ginny could adequately provide with both love and discipline.”

“Arthur…”

“And, Harry, they both refused to go anywhere else. They need you and Ginny…”

Harry stood there and stared at the two children.

What in the world was going on?

Severus Snape, age five and a half, and Sirius Black, age seven and a half, sat on kitchen chairs that were approximately ten feet apart with their arms crossed and identical scowls on their faces.

 Across the room, Harry and Ginny sat beside one another on the couch and looked at the boys. They were still shocked about the circumstances that sat in front of them.

 “Are you going to sit there and stare at us all day, or are you going to actually use your obtuse brain and figure this mess out?” Little Snape snapped at Harry.

 Harry raised his eyebrows at the little boy in front of him. Now that he had been a father for three years, his entire persona had changed, and looking at Little Snape, all he could see was a small child.

 “Sna…Severus, Ginny and I are taking you into our home…on your request…and there are some things that both you and Sirius should know.”

 “Yea, like they are gonna kick you out on your arse, Snivillus!” Sirius sneered at the young boy.

 Then the unpredictable happened. Snape started crying.

 “Shut your stupid arse, Mutt!” Snape yelled at the other boy.

 “No one asked you, Snivillus!” Sirius yelled and jumped up from his chair and then ran over to the smaller boy and pushed him off the chair.

 “Sirius Orion Black! Stop that this instant!” Ginny yelled just as Harry whipped his wand out and formed a barrier between the two children.

 Snape, still on the floor, wiped his eyes with the sleeve of his recently transfigured long sleeved shirt.

“Serves you right, Snivillus!”

Harry ignored Sirius and went over to kneel by Little Snape. He placed his hands under his arms and picked him up, then conjured a tissue to wipe the tears off of his cheeks.

“Are you alright? Are you hurt?” Harry asked him gently.

Severus sniffed and just stared at Harry.

“Leave me alone. I don’t like you. You will probably pat him on the back later.” Severus snapped at the older man in front of him.

Harry sighed and then stood up, placing Severus back on his chair.

Sirius was standing there watching the interaction between the whiny brat and Harry. He had confusion written all over his face.

“Sirius, go back and sit on your chair. We are all going to have a chat.” Harry said and walked back over to the couch to sit by Ginny.

“Okay, boys, listen up. Ginny and I have things that we need to tell you and we need you both to listen, and listen carefully. Then we have questions for you both. Do you understand?” Harry asked.

Neither boy said anything, they simply sat and glared.

This time, Ginny sighed.

“Well, okay then. It is very important for you both to know that things have changed. As it is apparent that you both have your adult memories, there are many things that you have missed out on over the years. Sirius, the first thing that you need to know and realize is that Voldemort is dead. He died five and a half years ago, the same night that Sn…Severus was killed. A lot of things led up to that night, but the most important thing is that he is dead and since that night the wizarding world has never been freer. It is important that both of you know a few things that have occurred since that night. Ginny’s father, Arthur, is the Minister of Magic, as you well know. Professor McGonagall is the Headmistress of Hogwarts. I teach there as the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. Ginny is a Healer at St. Mungos, and during the holidays and some weekends we live here, in Godric’s Hollow. Other times we live at Hogwarts.” Harry started, then paused to look at Ginny.

“Boys, a lot of people lost their lives during the war. While things have changed, and we are happy that Voldemort no longer reigns over anyone, a lot of people died and it caused the remainder of the wizarding community to become much closer. They put aside their differences and came together in order to rebuild what was lost.” Ginny said.

Suddenly, Sirius looked at Harry, his brow scrunched as if he was deep in thought.

“Harry, I asked for Moony when Arthur talked to us. He said that he couldn’t call him. Was tonight a full moon?” Sirius asked. He immediately noticed the pained expression cross Harry’s face.

“Sirius, Moony did not survive the war. He died a hero. As did his wife, Tonks. Their son…” Harry cleared his throat for a moment and then continued, “Their son, Teddy, lives with me and Ginny. He was my godson, but now he is our son. He visits Andromeda often, as do our children. She is their grandmother as much as she is Teddy’s.” Harry said gently.

Now it was Sirius’ turn to cry. His last friend was dead. His cries grew into sobs quickly, but as soon as he noticed Severus looking at him, he wiped his tears away and stuck his tongue at the other boy.

“Stop looking at me you stupid git.” Sirius said.

Again, Harry and Ginny sighed.

“Okay, boys, this is going to stop. This is how things are going to go. It is going to take some adjusting, but this will work out. As of an hour ago, Ginny and I became your legal guardians. We have rules that you will each follow, or you will suffer the consequences which will be decided upon depending on what you did. We have very few rules, but they will be followed. Rule one: Be respectful. Not only to me and Ginny, but also to all adults, all children, and especially one another. Rule Two: No lying. To anyone. Rule Three: No fighting. Now as of right now, those are the only three rules that we need; however, as the need arises, more rules can be discussed. Each of our children also have what we call a Happy Chart that stays in the kitchen on a bulletin board, Ginny, do you want to explain that?” Harry asked, since it had been her idea to begin with…one that worked amazingly.

“Sure. The Happy Chart determines your bedtime, your free time, and extra treats. Everyone goes to bed at 9:00 sharp. However, if you misbehave, that time can be subtracted from and the same with your free time, which can be taken away if you misbehave. However, if you are good, do something to help each other out, or get a good report from a babysitter or teacher, you can earn Happy stickers. Depending on how many stickers you get, you can have a treat, something small, or save them up and get something big. Of course, you can also lose those stickers if you misbehave. Understand?” Ginny asked the two boys.

“I am a grown man. This is ridiculous.” Severus said from his side.

“I repeat, do you understand?” Ginny asked, one eyebrow quirked up towards her hair line.

“Fine.” Both boys hissed.

“Remember, Rule one is to be respectful. Now, it is seven in the morning and any minute, Ginny’s Mum is coming over to bring the boys over so that you can each meet them. There are three…”

“Hello!” Molly Weasley said, bustling through the Floo with three boys in tow.

Both Sirius and Severus sat up straight and stared at them.

“Oh great, A Lupin and Potter look-a-like.” Severus hissed. Ginny went over and stood by Severus and bent down.

“Severus, you will watch your tone. Those boys are not the ones that you remember. We will talk about this later, but you will keep a civil tongue if you do not want to be in trouble the first day you are here.” Ginny whispered in his ear.

Severus sniffed and scowled, but did…eventually…nod.

“Okay. Good deal.” Ginny said, patting him on the back softly. She noticed that he flinched a little, but looked up at her three boys.

“Mummy!” the smallest boy said, running towards his mother and jumping into her arms. Ginny walked over to Harry where he stood with the other two boys, both of which were staring at the two new additions sitting in the middle of the room.

“Severus, Sirius, we would like you to meet our boys. This,” Harry said, his hand over the tallest and oldest boy’s head, “is Teddy, or Theodore Remus Lupin-Potter, he is six years old.”

Then Harry leaned over to the middle boy, “This is James Sirius Potter, he is four.”

“Ha, that figures.” Severus grunted.

Sirius, however, just stared at the boy…his namesake…and then at Harry.

“Severus,” Harry said, taking the smallest boy from Ginny and going to Severus and kneeling and front of him with the child, he laid his hand on Severus’ knee.

“Severus, look at me.” Harry said.

Severus looked up from Harry, and then looked at the little boy who was staring intently at him.

Lily’s eyes stared back at him.

“Severus, I would like you to meet Albus Severus Potter. He is two years old.”

 Tears fell down Severus’ face.

He didn’t even bother to wipe them away.   

It took Harry and Ginny both over an hour to get the kids calmed down enough to explain that Severus and Sirius would be living with them now.

 Teddy, who had been the oldest until Sirius, was more excited to have a play mate that was closer to his age than anything else. Sirius, who was astounded by how much the boy looked like Remus had instantly wanted to play. It was, however, an internal battle with himself. He needed to remain mature. He was in his thirties for Merlin’s sake!

 Severus, on the other hand, had immediately gone to the nearest corner chair and sat down in it after Harry had let him up from the chair he had been sitting in. He had a lot to think about. He was confused and his thirty-nine year old side was battling the emotions that were in this annoying body that was now his.

 Could he have not at least been eleven? At least then he could have gone to school! But, no. He had to be five and a half years old.

 “Severus, it is time to eat breakfast.” Ginny said from a doorway that obviously led to the kitchen. Severus looked around and was shocked to find that he was the only one left in the sitting area. Harry and Ginny both looked at him encouragingly.

 “Wipe those stupid looks off of your faces.” Severus demanded, pushing past the two of them.

After the boy disappeared into the kitchen, Harry sighed.

“Gin, I don’t know what to do in this situation. The healers told us that they would have to grow as if they really are children, and that their emotions will probably be closer to their ages. I can tell that Sirius is battling it, but that, eventually, he will give up and let the child take over. He was always like a child in many ways to begin with. But…with Severus…”

 “I was thinking the same thing. Severus is going to take time. But the best thing that we can do, Harry, is make sure that he follows the rules like the other boys, or when he is older, we are going to have trouble.”

“I know. I worry about everything is all. And what about your mum? Do you think that she will watch Sirius and Severus, too?” Harry asked.

Ginny snorted.

“I would love to see us try to keep them away from her.”

“What about when the new baby gets here? That will only be four months from now…” Harry said laying his hand over the slight bulge of Ginny’s abdomen.

This time, Ginny just laughed.

“Harrison James Potter, my mother would hunt us down if she thought we were keeping the kids away from her. Besides, on Tuesdays, you keep the boys in the morning and I get them in the afternoon, and on Fridays Andromeda gets them. Mum only watches them three days a week.”

“Fine, fine. You win.” Harry said, laughing as he grabbed Ginny’s hand and pulled her towards the kitchen.

In the kitchen, Jamie, as young James preferred to be called, and Teddy and Sirius were each sitting around the table ready to eat. Little Alby was sitting on the floor playing with a spoon and pot. Severus was standing in a corner staring with his obsidian eyes at the other boys in the room.

"Okay boys, settle down.” Harry said lifting Alby off of the floor and placing him in his highchair and snapping the top of it in place.

“Come here Severus, you can sit by me.” Ginny said, pulling out a chair.

Once again, Severus battled himself. He was kind of hungry. He hadn’t eaten anything at all.

“Severus, sit down.” Harry told him gently. Severus jumped a bit, but did hurry to sit down before Harry could say anything else to him.

“Okay boys,” Ginny started, placing already filled plates in front of the boys, “you know the rules. You have to eat at least one bite of everything, but you must eat at least half of your porridge.” Ginny told the boys, more so for Sirius and Severus than for the others, as the others had been eating that way as long as they could understand what it meant, despite the fact that she knew that neither of them would probably be able to hold down that much food. She had made their portions much smaller because of that.

Severus looked down at his plate. There was two pieces of bacon, scrambled eggs, and slices of fruit. In a bowl close to his plate was a small portion of porridge.

Severus had never seen that much food the first time he had been five.

Harry looked at Severus, and almost as if reading the little boy’s mind, said, “Eat all you want, Severus, you will always have food her and can always ask for more. But also remember that you have not had food at all yet, so it may be wise to eat a little of the porridge first and see how it sits in your stomach. You as well, Sirius. If you think that you cannot handle more, then do. Ginny and I know that it may take you a while.”

 “Of course, Severus. That is why I gave you and Sirius smaller portions of food.” Ginny said, laying her hand on his arm. He flinched.

 “Only eat what you can right now. Those are just the rules for later. When you are able to hold down that much food and in case we have picky eaters on our hands.” Ginny said lightly, laughing quietly.

 Severus nodded, and then grabbed a nearby spoon.

 As he swallowed his first bite of food, porridge, lightly sweetened with honey, but nothing else, he moaned with pleasure.

 He remembered a lot from his first time around, but he was not sure that he remembered anything tasting as good as the porridge he had just taken a bite of.

 HP~~sdrawkcab~~HP

 While washing the breakfast dishes, Harry and Ginny watched their children playing in the backyard. Minus Severus. He was sitting on the back porch with his knees drawn up to his chest playing with a stray thread that was hanging from his transfigured shirt.

 “We have to take them and get them clothes. And toys.” Ginny said. Harry looked at her.

 “We can’t let all the boys share clothes and toys right now?” Harry asked, obviously clueless.

 Ginny’s eyes narrowed at her husband.

 “Do you remember your first Christmas at Hogwarts?” Ginny asked her husband, her hands on her hips.

 “Of course I do! It was the best Christmas ever. The first one that I ever got a present.”

 “What do you remember about Severus’ memories?” Ginny prompted.

 “He had a rough…oh.”

 “Yes, dear husband. Oh. Severus and you are a lot alike. We will not make the mistakes that your aunt and uncle made, or the mistakes that his father made. We will try to fix what they broke this time. And we will start with new clothes and toys. For both boys.” Ginny said, wrapping her arm around her husband.

 “However, when we do take them, you will not, under any circumstances, allow Sirius to talk you into buying him a broomstick. While they are still this young, there will only be one broomstick in this home, and that is the one they all share.”

 “I know, I know…” Harry laughed. He and Ginny had agreed that there would be one broom for their boys to share after Teddy had asked for one two years previous. They had to have an adult with them to fly, and it was easier to make them take turns. It had been decided, although the boys were oblivious and would remain so, that they would each receive a new broom for their tenth birthdays.

 “Let’s go get our boys ready. I believe that it is time to do shopping.” Harry said, kissing the tip of Ginny’s nose.

“Dromeda is coming to get the boys in a bit. She said since she didn’t get them yesterday. We can focus on Sirius and Severus more that way, and the other boys will not get restless.”

 “Okay. That sounds like a plan. We can set their rooms up when we get back.”

 “You realize that if we have many more kids we are going to have to start adding rooms to the house. We are already going to have to add two rooms to our quarters at Hogwarts.” Ginny said smirking.

 “Oh, I know. Isn’t it wonderful?” Harry said with the same goofy smile he had had the day Teddy had come to live with them, and the days that Jamie and Alby had been born.

 Harry was happy.

 Teddy, Jamie, and Alby were happy.

 And, so was Ginny.

 They were all ridiculously happy.

 Now, they just had to make sure that Severus and Sirius were happy.

If Harry and Ginny thought that taking Sirius and Severus into Diagon Alley was going to be an easy feat, they were both sadly mistaken. Within thirty minutes of stepping out of the Floo in the Leaky Cauldron, both of the adults were glad that they had left the other three boys with Andromeda.

Their first stop had been Madam Malkin’s Robes for all Occasions. Sirius had stood still long enough to be fitted for one robe before he jumped off the stool he had been made to stand on and had sat down on the floor.

Severus had stood still long enough to be fit for his robes and a winter cloak.

Everything went fine, for the most part considering the two little boys were used to being grown men, and not used to having all of the energy they now had, through the robe shop, and then through the children’s clothing and shoe store.

It was the toy shop that gave them problems.

“Okay, boys, we are going to split up in here so that we can head to the furniture store and then head home. Who wants to go with who?” Harry asked the two boys.

Sirius jumped up and down, “I am going with you, Harry!”

Sirius turned around and smirked at Severus. He didn’t seem to notice that Severus had scooted over to Ginny and slipped his small hand in her larger one.

Harry smiled down at the little boy and his wife and then turned to chase after Sirius, who had, expectedly, gone to the broomsticks. Ginny was, at that moment, glad that she was not the one that had to tell Sirius that he was not allowed to have a broomstick for several more years.

“Well, Severus, where would you like to go?” She asked him. He shrugged.

“How about we just look around and see what you spot, okay?” Ginny asked him. This time he nodded.

Ginny looked at him with concern. She couldn’t help but wonder what was going through his mind. It was easy to see that he was having some internal battle with himself. He had been such an unhappy grown-up…Neither Ginny nor Harry wanted his second childhood to be as unhappy as his first life in general had been. Ginny and Harry were both secretly wondering if Severus thought that there was a possibility of him re-aging.

Ginny and Harry knew that it was not a possibility, and were waiting until Severus realized it and went through the various stages he was sure to go through: Grief, Guilt, Anger, and hopefully acceptance.

Both adults had a feeling that was actually more happy in this body than he ever had without even thinking about it.

Ginny and Severus walked around, avoiding the Broomstick area like the plague after they had heard Sirius screech, “What bloody rule?!”

Instead they walked up and down the educational area and the book area. Severus had yet to pick anything out, so Ginny stopped in front of the books and squatted to meet Little Severus eye to eye.

“Okay, Sev, this is what we are going to do. You are going to get awfully bored without anything to do, so we have to pick out some stuff for you to do. Some, shall we say, age appropriate stuff for your age now. So, I am going to suggest you pick out five books from this area to start with.” Ginny told him. Severus looked up at her with large, dark, questioning eyes.

“Really, Sev, go on.” Ginny prompted.

It was hard to hear Ginny…Potter’s Ginny, call him Sev, something no one have called him since his fifth year at Hogwarts and he had lost the only true friend he had ever had.

Severus nodded, and then went over to books. For fifteen minutes he looked through each and every book and finally came away with four that he thought would be okay: Potions and Such For Fun, The Adventures of Huntington St. Patreel, Hogwart’s: A History, and The Grand Quests of Trolls, Goblins, and Gnomes. He took the four books over to Ginny and handed them to her.

“Are you sure you don’t want another one?” Severus nodded.

“Okay, we will just walk around and see what else we can find.”

As they walked around, Ginny kept a close eye on the boy to see if anything caught his eye. This was how she convinced him to get a Junior Potions Kit. It was for ages 4-7, and the child could brew various hot and cold drinks, candies, and snacks. It would have to be a restricted item so as not to spoil his appetite for meals, but Ginny was sure that he would enjoy it.

“Can we look over there?” Severus asked a shocked Ginny.

For the day that they had had him, Severus had not once asked or said anything without his normal snarky tone.

“Of course.” Ginny said as she followed him to an area that had stuffed animals.

Immediately, Severus gravitated towards a stuffed snake that was about two feet long. It was purple and green with black marble eyes.

“Sev, would you like that?” Ginny asked.

Before Severus could say anything, however, Severus heard, “Ho! Baby Snivillus has found himself a stuffed animal just like a ity bity baby!”

Sirius.

Harry, having witnessed the scene came up behind Sirius and picked him up so that he could look him in the eye.

“Sirius! What did we just talk about?” Harry hissed into his ear.

Ginny looked down at Severus. The snake was latched against his chest tightly by his tiny arms, his eyes were closed. His little body was shaking. And, out of the corner of his eyes, two small tears escaped. Ginny said nothing, but bent down and picked him and the stuffed snake up and holding them against her chest.

“Sirius, that was a very mean thing to say!” Ginny reprimanded.

“It isn’t fair! He was mean to you both when he was big! I was never mean, but you are always taking his side! You even named Alby after the git!” Sirius said.

Harry wished, at that moment, that he knew just how much their adult memories were affecting their child bodies. He very much wanted to take Sirius over his knee at that moment but knew that until they all had a better understanding of one another it would be pointless.

And, he refused to spank his children in public.

“We are going home.” Harry said.

“What about my toys?” Sirius asked, glaring.

Harry knew, without a doubt, that was the child side of Sirius showing.

“Right now, I do not believe that your behavior warrants any toys.” Harry told him.

Sirius looked shocked. He had been told no rarely when he was a small child the first go around. It was quite a shock to him.

“Harry, you and Sirius can wait outside. I think Severus and I have a few books and a snake to pay for.”

Harry looked at Ginny and smiled then nodded. He made a quick getaway before Sirius could protest too much. He knew that it would begin as soon as what just happened registered in his mind.

“Come on, Sev. We can pay for your toys and then go home. I am sure that you are getting hungry since you didn’t eat much breakfast.” Ginny told the small boy in her arms.

Severus simply nodded into her neck, but did not look at her.

Ginny sighed. She could feel Severus’ tears on her shoulder.

She had a feeling the next couple of days were going to be interesting.

~HP~sdrawkcab~HP~

Harry hauled the seven year old outside and then squatted in front of the frowning, glaring child.

“Sirius! That was unnecessary! Why did you do that?” Harry asked him.

“Because I don’t like him! I have never liked him! You are mine! Not his! And I am not a little kid! Just this stupid body is!” Sirius screamed.

“You are certainly acting like a child.”

“And you are acting like a bastard taking up for Snivillus like that!” Sirius shouted.

People on the street stopped at stared, Ginny stopped in the doorway of the toy store and stared at the scene in front of her, and Harry took a deep breath, then unceremoniously picked Sirius up and walked to Ginny.

“We need to go home. Sirius and I have some very serious things to talk. Apparently we need to sit the boys down and tell them exactly how this is going to go. Let’s apparate. It is quicker.”

Ginny nodded solemnly. Neither of them were going to allow any of their children talk the way Sirius just had. Despite the fact that this was an all together different situation for everyone involved, and they had a lot of decisions to make.

Should they treat these boys as just that, boys, or as adults?

Sirius was definitely having a bad day. He hadn't quite realized it until Harry... His Harry... Had grabbed him up and took him outside at the toy store. It was almost like he couldn't control the things that were flying out of his mouth.

Sure, he had been a rash adult the first go around and hadn't really cared what others...others meaning mainly Slytherins...thought of him.

But, he had known when and when not to keep his mouth shut. So, why was he having so much trouble now? It was like his body was no longer in his control, and sometimes it was like his memories, his adult memories, were all jumbled and unfocused.

He just couldn't quite get it figured out and it annoyed him. Sure he'd only been back for a day, but bloody hell it had been the longest ever.

And, now he was sitting in a corner. He was an adult for Merlin's sake and his bloody godson had put him in the corner. It was all too much for Sirius and his new body.

He was actually quite ashamed of what he did next. So ashamed that he wanted to hide under a rock in the bottom of a frozen lake in that strange muggle place, Antarctica.

Instead, he had been told, he had to wait for Ginny and Harry to have a discussion, then they would talk to him.

Had he known...well, actually he probably wouldn't have done anything different. Snivillus was a prat. Even in this life, he couldn't possibly be different.

It just wasn't possible.

So, Sirius stood in that corner and, finally, allowed tears to fall down his cheeks, even though he did indeed felt ashamed by it.

~~sdrawkcab~~

Severus was confused.

He blamed it on his new body. Actually, he told himself, it wasn't really new. He still had many of the scars he had had at five, but the dark mark was definitely gone. Of course that could be because the Dark Lord was no more, along with it all the magic he had put into the dark marks.

Severus thought about everything. He was five years old. He had thirty-nine year old memories. He had Potter and his girl as guardians. Why the bloody hell had he told Arthur Weasley that he didn't mind going to Harry bloody Potter?!

Actually, that was quite obvious to his adult side. He had no memories after he died, and he had betrayed a lot of people and a lot of people he hadn't betrayed felt that he had.

He knew, just knew, that there were still death eaters out there that would love to see him suffer.

Others would always blame him for the death of Albus Dumbledore, no matter how many times he saved Harry as a teenager. People were cruel sometimes, and not very forgiving.

Potter, however, while not forgiving him, would possible tolerate him without being cruel. And Ginny... Well, as far as Gryffindors go, Severus had always thought that she should have been in Slytherin, and often wondered if that was why the girl had taken nearly as long to sort as Potter had the previous year. Every other Weasley he had watched sort had instantly been placed in the house of the lions.

Severus sighed. He just wasn’t sure about this whole de-aging thing. He was a bloody five year old and couldn’t even protect himself anymore. How was he supposed to survive if he couldn’t protect himself?

Severus drew his knees up to his chest, wrapped his arms around them, and placed his chin on top of them. Beside him lay the snake that Ginny had bought him at the toy store. He was in the same chair he had sat in that morning before they had gone to Diagon Alley. Ginny had placed him there when they got back, as he had refused to unwrap himself from her until she had done so. She had placed him there and then whispered, “No worries, Sev, you and I will read one of those books when I am done talking to Harry. Harry may even join us.” Ginny said, and then walked over to the other side of the room casting a Muffliato charm so the two could speak to one another and still keep an eye on the two boys.

Severus sighed again, and then sneaked one of his arms down beside him and wrapped it around his purple and green snake, pulling it up to his chest, placing his face against the fabric.

A single tear fell down his cheek. Severus didn’t even bother to wipe it away.

~~sdrawkcab~~

Harry and Ginny sat at a small breakfast table that sat against a wall in their living room.

“Harry, I know that we are unsure about just how much their memories are affecting their bodies, but we cannot allow Sirius to continue to treat Severus like he is. Not this time. And the same goes for Severus, we cannot allow him to treat Sirius badly.” Ginny said, turning to look at both boys.

“I know Gin, but how do we handle this? How do we treat them? They have the mind of adult and the body of a child!” Harry said, discouraged.

“Yes, but you are forgetting something, something that is much more important than whether they have their adult memories or the body of a child.”

“What is that?” Harry asked.

“They have the emotions and impulses of a child, Harry. They are fighting their adult memories, but they are still very much children. Look at them.”

Harry looked over at the two boys, his gaze falling first on Severus and then on Sirius.

“They are both crying.” Harry said simply.

“Yes, and when did you ever, ever, know the two of them to cry before? Sirius never, Severus only before he died and when he lost your mother. Those, my love, are both very much children. They just happen to have memories from their former lives. Given time, I think, they may be able to look past their former memories, or nearly lose them altogether.”

“So, how do we handle this particular situation? We have to handle it together, we have to be on the same page, especially in front of our boys.”

“Exactly, Harry, they are now two of our boys. And, how would we handle this situation if, say, Teddy or Jamie had acted the same way as Sirius had today? Would we have allowed either of them to merely leave a toy store empty handed?”

“Of course we wouldn’t, Gin.” Harry said.

“No, we would not have. One of us would have talked to them and then spanked them.”

“And that is what we have to do now. If we are going to raise five boys, Harry, we are going to have to treat them all the same. If they disobey, we punish them, if they do well, we praise them. My parents would have never made it had they not stayed constant with their methods. We have to do the same.”

“I just realized something, Gin.” Harry said, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“What is that?”

“We are turning into your parents!”

Ginny simply laughed.

“Well, Mr. Potter, I love every minute of it.”

“As do I, Mrs. Potter. How about we go and handle our boys.”

~~sdrawkcab~~

Harry and Ginny both sat in front of the two boys who were now sitting on the couch. Both had tears streaks down their faces and neither of them said anything.

“Okay, Sirius, Severus, this is what is going to happen. We both believe that we should treat you as we do Teddy, Jamie, and Alby, regardless of your memories because your memories are no longer controlling your actions. That means that you will always follow the rules we set out for you earlier today. You will treat everyone, including each other, with respect. That means no fighting, name calling, or anything else that may hurt one another. You will not treat each other with the disdain that you have been.” Harry said. Sirius flinched a bit. He did not like how this was going.

“Sirius, for your behavior today, I am afraid that I will have to punish you just as if it had been Teddy, Jamie, or Alby. From now on, you will both be treated just like them. Ginny and I are your guardians. We will make sure, from now on, that you behave, but most importantly, we will make sure that you are taken care of. You will always have enough to eat, shelter, clothes, and you will have things that make you happen. And, we will love you.” Harry finished.

Both boys were now crying again. Neither said anything.

“Sirius, you need to go with Harry into study.” Ginny said quietly. Sirius and Severus both looked up at Harry.

“What are you gonna do to me?” Sirius said through snot and tears.

“Sirius, for what you did, name calling, making fun of Severus, cursing, and throwing a temper tantrum, you will be spanked. You are seven years old, so you will get seven licks.”

Both boys stared at Harry as if he had grown two heads.

“I won’t do it again! I am sorry! I won’t, I swear!” Sirius cried.

“I hope that you don’t. But, we have to make sure that you learn something from this.” Harry said sadly.

Severus looked from Ginny to Harry and back again. He wasn’t the one being threatened with a spanking, but he sure didn’t like the thought of it.

Without a second thought, he launched himself and his stuffed snake at Ginny and wrapped his arms around her waist, hiding his face in her shirt.

Harry looked at Severus and Ginny.

“Come on Severus, you and I will go make lunch while Sirius and Harry have a talk.” Ginny said, picking the boy up and placing him on her hip, leaving behind the other two.

Harry looked at Sirius and raised his eyebrows at the boy.

Sirius sniffed again.

“Harry, please don’t spank me. I promise I won’t do it again. I promise.” Sirius whined and cried.

Harry sighed deeply. This was one of the hardest parts of being a parent.

“I am sorry, Sirius, but you have to face the consequences. Come on, let’s go the study.” Harry said, picking him up and walking down the hall.

Harry and Ginny had decided very early on that they would have designated places to punish their children, as it kept them from being confused, and therefore they knew what to expect. The only places that the children where ever spanked was in either the study at their home, or, if they were somewhere and it could not wait until then, in a bathroom. Usually they simply waited until they got home; however, there had been several occasions, twice at Molly and Arthur’s and once at Hermione and Ron’s, where they had had to take one of the children into the bathroom to straighten out their behavior. The boys knew what was going to happen if they were taken to the those designated places, and that was the way Ginny and Harry liked it.

Harry sat down in a chair, and pulled Sirius between his knees so that he could look him in the eye.

“Sirius, you disobeyed and acted horribly. You deserve to be spanked, but you should know that once this is over, you are forgiven. It would be a good idea, however, for you to apologize to Severus. You and he are as good as brothers now. It is best you learn that quickly.”

Harry then took the small, squirming child, and laid him across his lap.

“I hope that I do not have to do this again anytime soon.” Harry said, and then smacked the squirming boy in front of him once.

Six smacks later, a very contrite and crying child was sitting in Harry’s lap, his arms wrapped around his neck.

“I am sorry, Harry. I am sorry.”

“Shh.” Harry said, his arms wrapped around the boy’s body, and lightly patting his back.

Soon enough, the boy was asleep.

Harry smiled at the look of innocence on the boys face. He hoped that everything would even out soon.

Harry and Ginny lay in their bed after getting all of the boys into theirs. Currently, they lived in Godric’s Hollow in the house that Harry’s parents had lived in. It had seven bedrooms, a study, kitchen, living area, two bathrooms, and a room where the children kept most of their toys and played with them. They had a basement with a potions lab where Ginny often made potions and Harry tried too. The man was no better at potions then he had been in school. It had been a new experience trying to get five boys into bed. The easiest had been Severus, who between himself and Sirius, was still acting on many of his adult memories. The hardest, as always, had been Jamie, who had more energy than any child would ever need and hated sleeping. Teddy, Sirius, and Alby had all gone to bed quite easily. They had all had a long day, and it didn’t surprise either Ginny or Harry that they had all fallen asleep within ten minutes of being laid in bed.

“Gin, do you think that we can do this? Five kids. One on the way. It seems like just yesterday that…” Harry stopped.

Ginny looked at him. Harry still had nightmares about Voldemort. Who didn’t? But, they were different with Harry. Ginny, the only person besides Harry ever to be possessed by Voldemort, knew that some of her husband’s difficulties were not because of Voldemort himself, but because of all the people that he had had to kill in order to rid the world of the evil wizard.

Above each and every death, however, it had been Severus Snape’s death that Harry had cried about. That death had hit him hard, and that was why they had named their second son after the man.

To Ginny, it felt like everyone was getting a second chance. Not only Sirius and Severus, but herself and Harry as well.

“No, love, don’t think like that. I don’t think. I know that we can do it. Those boys need us. Our sons need us. So, like you said, we will be my parents. And, we will love every minute of it.” Ginny said, snuggling close to Harry so that he could wrap his arms around her.

Harry laughed and pulled his wife closer to him.

“Yes. Yes, we will love every minute of it.”  Harry said, closing his eyes with a smile on his face.

~~sdrawkcab~~

One Week Later

Severus had not slept well in the week that he had been back. Nightmares plagued his very being every single night. Not the snake that killed him, for he could care less about that; not Voldemort because, honestly, he had never really feared the man. Perhaps when he had first become a death eater, before joining the Light, he had been afraid. However, when he became one with the fact that he would die, and he became okay with that fact, he no longer feared anyone.

No, Severus’ nightmares had not been about those trivial things. He had nightmares about something completely different: Killing Dumbledore, the look in Harry’s eyes when he took his memories after Nagini had bitten him, his father’s hand swinging towards him…

Severus knew that he had to do something. Right now, he was able to hide it from his guardians. But, he wouldn’t be able to for long. He had been wandlessly casting a silencing charm, but his wandless magic was slowly diminishing, which scared Severus.

He only knew one thing that he could do in order to rest his magic and to be able to sleep.

Brew dreamless sleep.

Ginny and Harry had shown both he and Sirius the house, every room, everything. There were not very many rules when concerning the house: No going outside without asking, no getting food without help or permission, knock before walking into any closed door, never go into the basement where the potions lab was.

It had taken Severus a lot to obey that last rule. His very life had been surrounded by potions so much that he truly did miss them.

That was how, on the Saturday that they were all supposed to head back to Hogwarts, (Harry had taken the week off to get used to the new additions, as had Ginny) Severus stole downstairs while Ginny was packing all the boys clothes, and Harry had taken Sirius, Teddy, and Jamie outside to fly before they all headed out.

Alby, by far Severus’ favorite Potter, was sleeping, so Severus took that time to sneak down into the potions lab.

The potions lab was definitely top notch. All of the latest potions equipment was there, and it sent a thrill of excitement down his little spine. He breathed in deeply and relaxed more than he had all week.

It did not take Severus long to find everything he needed, and then, climbing up on a stool, he began his work as if nothing had changed, and nothing was different.

~~sdrawkcab~~

In the backyard, Jamie was riding around his father on the training broom that the boys shared. Teddy and Sirius were sitting in the grass playing with some muggle toy cars, and Alby was sitting off by himself waiting on his turn to fly with his daddy on the Firebolt. He was still too small to ride on the training broom, and, honestly, he didn’t really like it as much as his big brothers did.

Harry, knowing that they had to go back to Hogwarts that night in order to get the boys all settled before he had to teach on Monday and Ginny had to go back to work, wanted to allow the boys a bit of fun before they had to go back to their routines and schedules. The last week had gotten the boys off of their routines, and Severus and Sirius both needed to start on a more steady one.

“Daddy, I hungwy.” Alby said from where he was sitting. Harry looked over to the smallest child and smiled. While Jamie favored him greatly, it was nothing like Alby. Alby had his eyes…his mother’s eyes really…and he had his texture hair, though it was had a red tint to it. He shared his temper, however, with his lovely mother.

“Do you want to fly and then go eat lunch? It is your turn next.”

“Na. I hungwy. Tell Mummy, Daddy.” Alby told him as he walked over towards the boy.

Harry laughed.

“Can Daddy not fix you lunch?” Harry asked the small boy, picking him up and putting him on his hip.

“Na. Mummy.”

“Okay, tyke. Let’s round up the brothers.” Harry said, turning around.

“Boys, are you hungry?” Harry asked the trio behind him.

“Yea!” the three of the yelled.

“Hey, Harry, can we fly more after lunch?” Sirius asked him.

“We talked about that, Sirius. Once we eat lunch, everyone must lay down for a nap, and then we are all going to Hogwarts. Ginny and I have to get both you and Severus settled into your rooms there just like we did here.” Harry told him.

“But, Harry, it won’t take long! Just once around the yard, please!” Sirius whined.

Sirius sighed internally, as his new body was definitely betraying him at that moment when it let out a yawn.

“I think a nap with be better suited to your needs, Sirius. We will have plenty of other times to fly. Today is simply not one of them.”

“But…”

“Sirius.”

Sirius sighed, and looked out of the corner of his eye at Teddy. Teddy shook his head. It wasn’t smart to push Daddy like he was doing.

“The matter is done, Sirius. If you do not wish to get an X on your sticker chart and go to bed thirty minutes early tonight, you will take the answer you have been given, okay?” Sirius asked him calmly and steadily.

Sirius nodded. He had gotten two checks earlier in the week when he had pushed Severus down. He had gotten one smack and had had to go to bed an hour early. He didn’t want to have to do that again.

“Verbal answer, son.” Harry said, not even noticing that he had called Sirius ‘son’.

Sirius noticed though, and looked at Harry with amazed wonder.

“Yes, sir.” Sirius said, and then followed the man into the house.

Did Harry really feel that way about him?

~~sdrawkcab~~

Harry set Alby in his highchair after helping him wash his hands, and then helped the other three boys was their hands.

Ginny was already in the kitchen making lunch, chicken strips, broccoli with cheese, and mashed potatoes. All of the boys liked this meal, so it was one where no one fussed about being made to eat.

Over the last week, Sirius and Severus had begun to eat as much as the other boys and rarely fussed about the food in front of them. For this, both adults were thankful.

“Harry, will you go get Sev? He was reading in the living room when I checked on him fifteen minutes ago.” Ginny told him. Harry nodded and then walked towards the living room.

As soon as he did, he realized instantly that Severus was not in there. Harry went towards the bedrooms and went immediately into Severus’ room.

No Severus.

Harry was trying not to panic, but did quickly go back into the kitchen.

“Gin, I can’t find him.” Harry said, a bit rushed. The last time Harry had lost one of their children had been when he had taken Teddy, Jamie, and Alby to the park. Jamie had gone to the bathroom without telling Harry, but it had been the scariest moment of Harry’s life. Voldemort be damned. That was nothing compared to losing your child.

“Harry, he has to be in the house. The wards won’t let him leave without an adult. He can’t even walk out the front door without one of us.” Ginny said, smirking at her husband.

“Well, then what do we do?” Harry asked quickly.

“Point Me spell, Harry. You really should read that book Mum got us when we got Teddy.” Ginny said.

Harry only glared lightly at her as he cast the spell.

It pointed behind Ginny. At that, both of their eyes grew round. There was only one room behind the kitchen.

Ginny’s potions lab.

“Oh no.” Harry said, and immediately headed for the basement.

~~sdrawkcab~~

Severus almost had his Dreamless Sleep potion to the right color and consistency for the final stage.

All he needed was to add three crushed shrivelfigs, and then stir counter clockwise eighteen times.

Severus was beginning to tire. This was the first real potion that he had brewed since he had been back, and, again, this annoying body was nearly worthless when it came to stamina. He felt like he could sleep for days.

Severus climbed back onto the stool and started to add the shrivelfig. But, then something happened that made his very soul sink into a black hole.

“Severus Snape! What do you think you are doing, young man?” Came Harry’s voice as he was being jerked from his stool by two hands grasping him under his arms.

“Ginny!” Harry yelled. He thought it best if she came down, as he really was pants at potions and would not know how to probably dispose of the one in front of him. Plus, he had Severus in his arms and was not planning on putting the boy down until they were back in the kitchen. They would eat, and then he and Severus would be having a very long discussion.

Ginny had rushed down the stairs and, noticing the potion, knew exactly why she had been called down. She went over to the potion and looked at it, the ingredients around it, and took notice of the smell.

“Severus, why were you brewing Dreamless Sleep?” Ginny demanded, turning to stare at the small boy.

Severus glared at her.

“Severus.” Ginny prompted.

“I have to tell you nothing, Miss Weasley.” Severus snapped at her. He was definitely reverting back into bad habits with that comment.

Apparently, Harry also thought so, as he tapped him lightly on the bum once.

“Answer her. Then we are going to eat lunch and then you and I are going to have a nice long discussion in the study.” Harry said.

Severus simply crossed his arms as best he could, as Harry was still holding him up off the floor by his under arms.

“Severus, have you been having trouble sleeping? Or, did you simply want to brew something?” Ginny asked him.

“I do not wish to speak about it.”

Both Ginny and Harry sighed.

“Okay, if you want to keep quiet now, fine. But make no mistakes, child, you and I will discuss this after lunch.” Harry said softly.

Severus shrugged.

Harry shifted Severs around and placed the boy on his hip. Harry then followed Ginny up the stairs.

Neither of them missed the single tear that Severus quickly swiped away.

Severus sat at the table, at his now self-designated place on Ginny’s left, and played his food. He swirled his potatoes around with his fork, slowly causing them to merge with the cheese that covered his broccoli. He had already decimated his chicken strips and they were under the emaciated mashed potatoes that were not merging into the cheese.

He had not taken a bite regardless of the fact that he knew he was supposed to eat at least one chicken strip and half of the potatoes and broccoli. His adult side decided, wholeheartedly, that it was his choice and how dare either Potter or Weasley dare to tell him that he had to eat or that he was in trouble because he had been brewing a potion in the lab. He was a Master Potioneer for Merlin’s sake!

The child in him, however, was quite upset at the fact that he had disobeyed his Ginny and Harry. It was odd, to him at least, that he had started to refer to them as ‘his’ in his mind over the last week. That was, when his adult memories and ideas weren’t being obnoxious and interfering.

Severus continued to stir his food around, oblivious to the conversations around him. The older boys, while knowing that Sev had done something he wasn’t supposed to by going down into the basement, did not know that he had tried to brew something. They pitied him, even Sirius to some extent, because they knew that he was in major trouble.

Alby, not so much. He was used to being the only one who Sev would give his individual attention to, and the fact that he was not at the moment was starting to irritate the two year old.

“Sev. Sev. Sev. Sev. Sev. Sev. Sevvvvvvvvyyyy!” Alby shouted across the table from his high chair that was off to Ginny’s right.

“Shh.” Ginny said, placing another cut up piece of chicken on his plate.

“Sevvvvvvvvvvvvyyyyy!” Alby continued to hiss out.

Sev continued to play with his food, and was startled when Ginny placed her hand on top of his to stop his fork from moving. Sev looked up at her, his eyes glowing from unshed tears.

Ginny leaned over and whispered in his ear, “Sev, I realize that you are upset, but you have to eat. I am not going to make you eat what is on your plate this time, and I will give you more food. However, the next time that you do that to your plate, I will make you eat it as is. Understand?”

Sev nodded his head lightly.

“Are you ready to eat?” She whispered again. This time he shook his head.

“How about I fix you a plate and cast a warming spell over it. That way you can eat after Harry and I talk to you. Just this once, mind you.”

Sev nodded. He knew that if he tried to eat right then that he would not be able to keep the food down.

“Sevy!” Alby screeched.

Sev finally looked up at the boy, a tear sliding down his cheek much to his horror.

“No cwy, Sevy, no cwy!” Alby, concern written all over his baby face.

At that moment Severus did the unthinkable.

In his head, his adult mind screamed, “Don’t you dare! No! Don’t you dare!”

But, as a child, he could not help it. He climbed down from his chair and somehow worked his way onto Ginny’s lap, placing his head snuggly against her neck and let his tears fall.

Ginny acted as if nothing was out of the ordinary, and simply wrapped her left arm around the boy’s small back and continued eating. This seemed to satisfy Alby, who stopped whining the instant that his Mummy was taking care of his new brother.

Harry looked longingly at the little boy. He wanted Severus to be as comfortable with him as the other four boys were, but so far he only seemed to gravitate towards Alby and Ginny. The fact that he had to punish the boy soon for his misadventures caused even more grief in Harry’s heart.

Oh the trials of being a parent.

~~sdrawkcab~~

Harry sat in the study with Severus beside him while Ginny put the other four boys down to nap. Once they were all down, she was going to come in and talk to Severus as well, and, hopefully, they would be able to get through to him.

Severus sat deep into the corner of the couch, his body stiff and still. Harry looked at him and sighed. This was going to be hard.

“Severus, would you like to tell me what you did that was wrong and why it was dangerous?”

Severus shook his head. No, he didn’t want to talk. He didn’t like that he was in trouble and he knew that if he opened his mouth then he would get into even more because the adult would speak. Even though he did now that he shouldn’t let that part of him speak, there was a tiny part of him that did want it to.

It was safer to simply keep his mouth shut.

“I know that you do not want to discuss, Severus, but you have to understand that you are no longer thirty-nine years old, nor are you a potions master. Your adult memories are there, yes, but even you must admit that they are not in control. Your adult side is no longer who you are.” Harry told him gently. Severus grasped his hands and placed them in his lap. He didn’t want to listen to Harry, didn’t want to hear him talk about him as if he hadn’t a clue in the world about what was going on.

Harry stood up from the couch and then went and kneeled in front of Severus. He placed his hand under the boy’s chin and lifted his face so that he was looking him in the eye.

“Severus, tell me what you are thinking.” Harry demanded. Severus looked into those green eyes. Lily’s eyes. Harry’s eyes. Alby’s eyes.

“Severus, until you talk about it, neither Ginny nor I are able to help you. You have to, not necessarily forget your memories, but perhaps shove them to the side. It is the only way that you are going to be able to let us in. You are not the old Severus Snape, the git of the dungeons, death eater, spy…that is not who you are anymore. You are Severus, Sev, Sevy…”Harry trailed off, deep in thought.

“You are five, you have a home, family, and most importantly, Sev, you are loved.” Ginny said from the doorway.

Severus cried. They were trying to trick him, he was sure.

“Yes, Severus, you are loved. Ginny loved you the minute she laid eyes on you. So did Alby. Teddy and Jamie love you, you just have to let them in. Sirius is getting the hang of this family just like you are, and I have no doubt that soon he will forget past transgressions and love you as a brother also. Severus,” Harry moved a bit closer to the boy and made sure that he was looking him in the eye, “I also loved you the minute I laid eyes upon you, and even before that. This is a second chance for you and for Sirius. We, Ginny and I, want you to embrace that chance, not hide behind it.”

Severus sniffed.

“Now Severus, do you want to tell us why you were brewing Dreamless sleep? Especially since you know that you are not allowed to be in the potions lab unless Ginny is with you.” Harry said to the child.

Ginny, who had moved to a chair that was directly in front of Severus’ place on the couch, leaned over so that she could look at the boy closely.

“Severus, why did you need the Dreamless Sleep?” Ginny asked him. She had her wand in her hand and cast a simple diagnostics charm on him as she talked.

“No! Weasley! Stop this instant!”  Severus said, jumping up.

Harry grabbed the boy and smacked him lightly on his bum.

“Severus, stop. Ginny, what is it?”

“Drop the glamour, Severus. If you don’t, I will. You know how uncomfortable it is to have someone else undo a glamour charm that is on as heavily as yours is.” Ginny told him quietly.

Severus did know. He was so indecisive with himself. He knew, however, that one way or another, he was going to lose his glamour.

Slowly, he let them drop.

Ginny gasped. Harry looked startled. In front of them was not the child that had a healthy hue to his skin. No, this child looked withdrawn and had deep, dark circles under his eyes.

“You’ve not been sleeping.” Harry stated.

Severus shrugged.

“Severus, I looked at the Dreamless Sleep that you brewed. It was perfect, but it would have harmed you. Do you know why?” Ginny asked.

Again, Severus shrugged.

“Because, Severus, you are no longer thirty-nine years old and Dreamless Sleep is not given to children. It would have done you more harm than good, honey.” Ginny told him lightly.

Both Harry and Ginny watched as realization spread across the boy’s face.

Yes, indeed, he had forgotten that tiny detail. One had to be a certain weight to take Dreamless Sleep, and, unfortunately, he was far from that weight.

“Severus, do you know why you are in trouble? Do you realize what you did wrong?” Harry asked him.

This time, Severus nodded.

“Can you tell me? Out loud?” Harry prompted.

Severus sighed. Of course he could. But he didn’t really want to.

“Go on…”

Again, Severus sighed.

He did, however, speak, “Obviously, I should not have brewed Dreamless Sleep with the intent of taking it. Apparently, despite the fact that I am a Master Potioneer, I am not allowed in the potions lab without Weasley.” Severus recited.

This time, it was Harry and Ginny’s turn to sigh.

“I hope that you realize, Severus, sooner rather than later, that your adult memories no longer mark who you are. Things will be so much easier once you do. Now, the punishment for breaking the rules you broke, as you well know, is a spanking. You put your life in danger, and that is simply not something that we can allow, so let’s go ahead and get this over with.” Harry said.

Tears instantly filled Severus’ eyes again. He had never, even in his first childhood, cried this much. It was repulsive.

“No.” Severus whispered, although it was futile, as Harry had already picked him up and was placing him over his lap.

“Severus, you are five years old; therefore, you will receive five swats for your misbehavior.” Harry told him, holding the five year old’s hands so that he could not cover up his bum.

Harry then smacked the child’s rear. Once on each side, once on each sit spot, and then once on his entire bum. The whole process was over in less than fifteen seconds, but to Severus, who felt as if there was water rushing in his ears, felt as if it had been an eternity.

Tears leaked down his face. It wasn’t so much that those five smacks had hurt…yes, they had stung and were still stinging…but Severus’ pride was hurting much more than his bum.

Harry picked the child up and started to place him on his lap to comfort him. However, Severus had other ideas. He wriggled free from Harry, who had had a firm grasp on him but let him go to see what he was going to do.

Severus ran to Ginny and threw his arms around her neck, much as he had done earlier.

Ginny looked at the pained expression that crossed Harry’s face. He was simply not used to being left out when it came to comforting his children. Harry and Ginny had decided early on that they would have an equal household. They would both discipline their children together, so that their children always knew that they were together. This was something entirely new for Harry, and it pained him greatly.

“Shhh, Sev. You know that you deserved that. You were naughty. But, now it is all over and you are forgiven. Remember, Harry and I love you.” Ginny said, hugging Severus tightly to her chest.

As his crying slowly subsided, Ginny stood up, and, in his ear, whispered, “Are you hungry?”

Severus nodded into her shoulder.

“Okay, we’ll sit down so that you can eat, and then you will lay down for a nap, okay?”

Again Severus nodded.

Ginny walked over to her husband, leaned over and, above Severus’ head, pecked her husband on the cheek and whispered in his ear, “We will talk tonight, after we get the boys in bed. No worries, Love. I am going to get Severus settled, and then we have to finish packing.”

Harry looked at her and smiled. It was a sad smile, but a smile nonetheless.

It just really hurt him that Severus was still refusing to let him in.

Harry had not been as confused as he currently was since the day that Jamie had been born.

At the time, they he had recently turned twenty and Ginny nineteen. They had had Teddy for a year and doted on the child as if he were their own. Andromeda had become a surrogate mother for Harry and Ginny, just as Molly Weasley was a surrogate mother to Harry. Andromeda had simply thought it best if she played the role of grandmother to all of Harry and Ginny’s children, and Teddy would be big brother to any children that the couple had. Everyone was happier than they had been since before Voldemort had returned.

Then Jamie had come along, and Harry had been terrified. What if he somehow treated one boy or the other unfairly? What if one boy felt left out, just as he had when he was a little boy? It had gotten to the point that Ginny had talked to her mother and Andromeda both to get their opinion on the matter. They had not, however, just given their opinion. They had taken Harry and sat him down together, and then assured him that he would be an excellent father, and, if anything, his trials as a child would make him even more aware of his children and whether one of them felt left out or not.

The message had sunk in, and according to Ginny, and any of their immediate family, there was no better daddy than Harry.

When they were twenty-two and twenty-one respectively, Alby had come along. Harry no longer had those awkward, first time father feelings.

Now, however, things were different. He now had five children and one on the way, and was feeling completely ill-prepared for it.

He was afraid that with five boys, ages two to seven, that he would not be able to give them the attention they all needed.

Teddy, as the oldest, didn’t need to feel as if too much was expected of him. Sirius needed to feel loved, but at the same time needed a short least. Jamie needed to feel as if he was equal to the other boys, as he was one of the youngest, but also needed to be aware that he wouldn’t always be able to do everything they did. Alby… well, at the current time, Alby was always a happy child and was never in trouble. Severus. Severus was the one child that Harry felt that he needed to keep a close eye on. He felt that he needed to make sure that Severus always felt as if he was treated as the other boys were treated.

It was just so hard for Harry. Harry knew that Severus did not trust him, and that hurt him deeply. Maybe, Harry thought, if he had tried harder in school, it would be easier now.

But, no, that wasn’t fair. Because then, in all honesty, it should have been Severus that tried to compile a relationship between the two. Harry, after all, had only just turned eleven when he first met the man.

Harry sighed. He didn’t know. He just hoped that soon everything would work out.

~sdrawkcab~

Out of their five children, two of them vomited after they were brought through the Floo with their parents. Harry had taken Teddy, Sirius, and Jamie through the Floo with him while Ginny had taken Severus and Alby. Unfortunately for Ginny, both of the boys that she had in her arms vomited all over her.

This lead to cries of embarrassment…from Severus…and from anguish…from Alby…and discomfort from both boys.

Harry placed Jamie, who had been in his arms, on the couch. He then lead the eldest two boys over to sit beside Jamie. Sirius stared at Severus and smirked. The git was so obnoxious. Couldn’t even go through the Floo without being a little baby.

“Here Gin, let me have one of them.” Harry said.

That, however, was much easier said than done. Harry knew that he couldn’t reach over for Severus, who was still upset about being punished earlier in the day, and didn’t trust Harry enough to begin with. So, reaching for Alby, Harry was in for a shock when the little boy wrapped his arms around his mother and cried, “No, Daddy! Want Mummy an’ Sevy! No, Daddy!” as big tears leaked down his cherub cheeks. So, then Harry looked at Severus, his eyebrows raised in questioning.

Severus looked up from where his head lay on Ginny’s shoulder. His eyes were sad and filled with tears. With a slight shake of his head he whispered, “No.”

“Harry, why don’t I take the boys into the bathroom and bathe them. If you would, bring me two of the children’s stomach soother’s. I will bathe them together and then lay them down for a little while. You can show Sirius his room, and then help the boys unpack…especially Sirius, as all of his things are packed.”

“Of course, Ginny. I will be right back.” Harry said, going towards the child proofed cabinet in the kitchen that held all of their emergency potions.

Ginny took the two boys in her arms towards the bathroom, and once there filled the bottom of the bath with warm water. Sitting Alby on the lid of the nearby toilet, she balanced Severus on her knee and undressed the little boy. Severus, as he did every time he was bathed, reddened slightly from embarrassment, but not nearly like he had the first time Ginny had had to bathe him. She lifted the boy up and over into the tub, placing him closet to the faucet, as Alby tended to play with the knobs.

Soon, Ginny also had Alby in the tub with Severus, and grabbed two washcloths from the cabinet. Gently lathering up one rag, she then took Alby’s arms and started to wash away the filth from the day and the Floo.

“Sev, honey, is there anything that you want to talk to me about?” Ginny asked randomly.

Severus stared at her and shook his head.

“Sev, you know that Harry loves you, don’t you? That you have nothing to worry about?” Ginny asked.

This time, Severus shrugged.

“Sev, I wish that you would talk to me. Or, even Alby. I am sure that Alby would love it if you would talk to him.”

“Sevvvyy! Talk to meee!” Alby shrieked, splashing the water at Severus.

And, for the first time, a genuine smile crossed Severus’ face as he lightly splashed Alby back. Before Ginny could even register what was happening, both of the small boys were giggling and playing in the water.

Those same giggles brought Harry to the door of the bathroom. He watched the two boys playing in the water, and love filled his heart more and more with each giggle that escaped their lips.

Nothing, however, would prepare him for what happened next.

“Look, Harry! Alby is playing with me!” Severus giggled.

Harry instantly felt a tear, but pushed it aside quickly and smiled at the boy.

“He sure is, Sev. He sure is.”

Maybe, Harry thought to himself, things were going to turn out well after all.

Ginny just continued washing the two boys and smirked. Her husband was so easy to read sometimes. And, she knew, without having to look, that no one would be able to wipe the stupid grin that was now covering his face away.

The rest of the night had actually gone smoothly. Sirius and Severus were shown the quarters and their newly added rooms. They were also shown the boys rooms, the study, the living area, the kitchen, the bathroom, and Harry and Ginny’s room. They had eaten supper and then Sirius, Jamie, and Teddy had all been bathed, and the five boys were put to bed.

If Harry thought that everything was going to go smoothly after the night before, he was dead wrong. It quickly became apparent the next morning that things were not going to change overnight.

It happened at breakfast. It was Sunday, the last day that both he and Ginny would be off with the boys, so they were preparing the boys for what was going to happen the next day.

“Mummy and Daddy have to go to work tomorrow so you will all stay with Grammy Molly until it is time for Daddy to pick you up after he finishes teaching.” Ginny told the five boys. The boys kept eating.

Suddenly, Severus stopped.

“I am not going.” He stated with contempt.

“Severus, I am sorry, but you have too.” Harry told the boy softly.

“No. I can stay here.”

Sirius laughed.

Severus sneered at the older boy, “Shut your stupid mouth, Black!”

“Make me!” Black said, kicking out under the table at an angle that was just right to hit Severus.

Severus stood up in his chair and looked at Sirius.

“You decrepit piece of ill-mannered, inconsiderate shite! You are a sad excuse for a human being you uncharitable git!” Severus yelled.

Suddenly the air was frigid, and a light wind blew around Severus as his uncontrolled magic warped around his body.

“Severus, calm down.” Harry said firmly, but quietly as he stood up from his seat and went to stand beside Sirius, as Severus’ magic was pointed towards him.

“I am not afraid of you, Snivillus!” Sirius yelled, and then stood up in his chair. Harry picked him up, swatted him on the behind, and sat him back down.

“Sirius, stop.” Was all that he said, as he needed to focus.

“Yea! Take that bloody git’s side! I don’t care!” Sirius yelled, and then got up from the table and ran to his room. A moment later, they heard the door to his room slam shut.

“Severus…” Harry said warningly.

“You never take my side.” Severus whispered, “He was lying. You never take my side, and you never will.” Severus said jumping down from his own chair and running towards the living area.

Harry and Ginny simply stared at one another for a moment.

Then they heard another door slam shut.

“Harry…I think that was the front door!”Ginny hissed.

Harry immediately pinched the bridge of his nose. He had forgotten to put the wards up that would not allow Sirius or Severus to leave without an adult. The wards on their quarters were different than at home and had to be done individually with the child there. He had placed wards around the other boys as babies.

“Merlin’s Bloody Beard.” Harry muttered under his breath.

“Ohhhh! Dadddddy said a naughty word!” Jamie said in awe.

“And, Mummy better not hear you or daddy, or anyone else in this house say it again.” Ginny told him.

Jamie looked sheepishly into his pumpkin juice.

Obviously, Jamie had not realized that Severus had used the same ‘naughty’ word earlier.

“I have to go find him.” Harry said. Ginny nodded.

“You may want to enlist a few helpers. Everyone is in. Today is Sunday…”

“Yes. I will send you a patronus as soon as I find him.” Harry told her as he headed to the door.

“Yes, do. I will talk to Sirius in a little bit. After the boys are finished eating.”

At this, Harry nodded and walked out the door.

~sdrawkcab~

Severus knew the castle better than most people. He knew where he could hide without anyone finding him, and he knew where all the secret rooms were…rooms like the Room of Requirement, but in different locations. Dumbledore had shown him the rooms after he had come from the Dark Lord and needed a place to recuperate when it was simply not possible to be in the Hospital Wing. Madam Pomfrey was probably the only other person in the entire castle now that knew about them.

However, currently, that was simply not where he wanted to be.

He wanted to be in his quarters. He wanted to be surrounded by his potions. His things.

There was no way that anyone would have been able to find, let alone get into his quarters. He had made sure of that before the battle at Hogwarts.

Making sure to stay away from any people, as he had been unable to cast a wandless concealment charm around himself, he made his way down to the dungeons.

He felt almost normal, despite his small body size, and was relieved when no one stopped him or even seemed to notice that he was scurrying down the halls.

He had, of course, had a lot of practice though.

After ten minutes…damn those small obnoxious legs… Severus was finally standing in front of his quarters.

To anyone else, it would have been a blank wall. To Severus, it was a sign of home.

~sdrawkcab~

After an hour of searching by himself, and completely confused about why his point me spell refused to work, Harry had to admit defeat and ask for help.

He sent a patronus off to several of the professors and waited at the entrance hall. Within five minutes, they all began arriving.

Minerva McGonagall, Headmistress, was the first to arrive.

“Harry, what has happened?” She asked him.

Harry sighed.

“Severus and Sirius got into a fight at breakfast and Severus ran off. I haven’t been able to find him. I forgot last night to adjust the wards so that Severus and Sirius wouldn’t be able to leave.”

“Well, Harry, it was a mistake we will find him. Ah, here comes Neville and Luna.”

Harry looked up. Neville was the Herbology instructor. Luna, his wife, worked in the Department of Mysteries. She was the one who had found Sirius and Severus, though Harry had not been able to speak to her since then as they had been at their home trying to get their now larger family on schedule. Normally, he, Ginny, and the boys ate supper with the Neville and Luna, who was expecting their first child, a baby that Luna said was a girl and would be named Avalon, once a week.

“What’s going on?” a voice came from behind Harry. He turned around and looked at the blonde haired Potions teacher and looked at him with eyes full of concern.

“It’s Severus, Draco. I didn’t adjust the wards last night and he got out this morning after he and Sirius got into an argument.” Harry told the other man quickly.

Since the war, Draco and Harry had actually grown quite close. They were friends, and probably would have been long before then, had circumstance not changed things for them when they were eleven. Lucius, Draco’s father, Lucius, had died a mere month after the final battle, the stress just too much after years of fighting, not for the Dark Lord as many had thought, but for the safety of his family.

Narcissa was an entirely different story. The woman who had once had to succumb to the wills of someone she considered a mad man, but could do nothing about it for fear of losing her only son, was now thriving. She was still young, especially for a witch, at a mere forty, and had adopted two war orphans that Harry often suspected were members of her family, probably from a squib relative that the Black family had hidden away but who had ended up murdered by Death Eaters. There was an eleven year old girl, Kaethe, and an eight year old boy whose name was Alec.

Harry had grown partial to the woman that had saved his life and looked at her as if she was yet another mother. Sometimes Harry could not believe how lucky he was. Before he had defeated Voldemort, he had felt like he had had no one, but now he was surrounded by family. He loved it.

“Pansy has Scorpius and Asta down for a nap. She is calling a houseelf to watch them and she will find us.” Draco said worriedly.

Harry nodded. H

“Let’s each take a floor. Draco, can you take the Dungeons? I feel like he may be down there somewhere, and you and Pansy know them better than anyone. Everyone else, please just take a floor. Send a message if you find him.” Harry said, and then started walking towards the stairs.

Everyone else quickly went their separate ways to look for a little boy who was lost both physically and mentally.

~sdrawkcab~

Severus sat in the middle of a barren room. It was a room that was familiar. Except all of his things were missing. Nothing was the same.

No one lived in these quarters. That was obvious. So, the houseelves must have packed all of his stuff up. He had gone through every room. Nothing was left. Not even a piece of lint.

Severus sniffed and wiped an escaping tear from his face.

It just wasn’t fair. His whole entire life was twisted inside out and thrown backwards.

Severus wished that he could forget his memories and just be a child. A child full of trust. One who knew that he was loved.

Severus’ memories haunted him. They merged with things that happened now and seemed to confuse his actions. Like at the breakfast table that morning. Sirius had laughed at him, and all he could see was the past Sirius, who had made fun of him in his youth and teased him mercilessly.

There were other times, like when Harry would get on to him about something or tell him that he could trust him, that Severus would flash back to when Harry had been a child. Then Severus would feel bad, but would revert to his former self.

But, there were other times, like when Ginny cuddled with him, or when he was playing with Alby, that he didn’t even remember those memories. He was able to act like the child that he still was, and, honestly, that was the way that he preferred it. It was all so much better than the first time around.

“Ah, there you are.” A voice from behind him said, making Severus jump from being startled.

“You know, little guy, we have been looking everywhere for you.”

Severus finally turned around to see who the familiar, yet not familiar at the same time, voice belonged too.

When he turned, he looked straight into the gray-blue eyes of Draco Malfoy.

“What happened to all of my things? No one should have been able to get in here, ever.” Severus told the older than he remembered Draco Malfoy.

Draco went over to Severus and, surprising Severus immensely, sat down in front of the little boy on the floor.

“Well, that is a funny thing, Severus. No one has been able to even find your quarters since you died. Then, the day after you came back through the Veil, the elves came and told the Headmistress…that’s McGonagall, between me and you, she is much better than Dumbledore is since she doesn’t have another agenda in mind… that they were finally able to get into your quarters. Well, she told them to get all of your stuff and pack it up. Soon after that, we heard the news that you were back. McGonagall wrote Harry and asked him what he wanted her to do with all of your so stuff. So, Harry asked her to save it for when you are older.” Draco told him. Severus nodded slowly, his eyes finally looking into Draco’s.

“Why are you here?” Severus finally asked.

“Do you mean in the castle? I teach here! Funnily enough, I learned quite a bit from you when I wasn’t trying to mess with Harry. I teach Potions. Neville teaches Herbology. Hermione teaches Arithmancy. Has Harry not told you about our families?” Draco questioned.

“Only a bit. He said that he was going to reintroduce Black and me slowly to everyone. Do you see me as a traitor, Malfoy?” Severus quickly changed his tone, and it was obvious that he was speaking as an adult now.

Harry had told Draco that it was at random times that Severus would become his older self. It was quite eerie to Draco.

“No, Severus. You were never a traitor to me. I knew…” Draco cleared his voice, “I knew that you were not on Voldemort’s side the moment you killed Dumbledore. I didn’t understand why you killed him for me, but I knew that there had to be a reason. I trusted you. I was just afraid. I was only seventeen. Now, now things are different. Father died a month after you did, and Mum…well, you wouldn’t recognize her. She is doing fantastic. She is raising my little brother and sister. She hasn’t told anyone that they really are her and Father’s children yet, that she had placed them with her squib cousin so that they might have a chance. She will eventually. They are really good kids. I am glad that they did not have to go through living with the Dark Lord as I did. Mother and Father made the right decisions where they are concerned.” Draco said.

Severus looked shocked. He had known that Narcissa had been pregnant twice after Draco, but, like everyone else, had thought that she had lost the infants in child birth.

“Harry said you are married.” Severus said quietly.

‘Yes, to Pansy. She is quite the good actress. Did you know that she was spying for Dumbledore since she was in second year? It makes me even angrier at him. The things that Pansy has seen…I never would have guessed it. Her parents were killed in the final battle and Mum took her in. It took Mum a long time to get through to her. She and Pansy are really close now. We have two children: Scorpius and Asta.”

“You and Harry get along now. I never thought that I would see that.” Severus said.

Draco stared at him. It was weird to here a five year old talk like he was an adult. Even if it was Severus Snape, it was odd.

“Yes. Mum saved his life in the final battle. He talks to her a lot. He talks to Molly Weasley and Aunt Dromeda too. About anything that he needs. Things have changed, Severus. We are a big family now. We depend on each other. We simply want you and Sirius to realize that. I know, and so does Harry and Ginny, that it is going to take some time, but it will all work out. Severus, our world is different now. You, Sirius, your new brothers, my children…every child…will grow up happier than we were able too. And, for that, we are proud.” Draco said.

“Severus!” Harry suddenly said from the open door to the empty home. Harry rushed over to Severus and picked the little boy up and hugged him, not thinking about how Severus would react.

Surprisingly, to Harry at least, Severus wrapped his arms around Harry’s neck and his legs around his waist.

Severus then whispered in Harry’s ear, “Can we go see Ginny now? Please? I wanna go see her.”

Harry looked at Draco with surprise and nodded. Draco merely smirked at his friend and stood up.

“Harry, Mum wants us all for dinner Friday night. I am going to let Neville and Luna know, will you let Hermione and Ron know since I don’t see either of them until about mid-week? Mum said that she has some news.”

“Okay. I will let Ginny know. I better get back before Ginny has a fit because I am not back with Severus. It has been three hours.”

Draco nodded, and together the three left the empty quarters behind. Unknown to any of them, the quarters behind them dissolved into the rest of the castle, never to be known to another person again. Severus Snape himself would not quite understand why, but he would never even attempt to go to the empty quarters that he had considered, at one time, home. Not only because they were no longer there, but because he was slowly realizing that he already had a home without those quarters.

~HP~

“Severus! How dare you scare me like that!” Ginny shrieked as Harry and Severus came through the portrait hole. Ginny came over to the two and took Severus from Harry, hugging him tightly to his chest.

“The other boys are playing, except for Sirius who is taking a nap. Severus and I are fixing to have a discussion.” Ginny said. Harry could tell that she had been crying. Her eyes were red and puffy.

Harry was surprised when Ginny took Severus into the study.

He followed the sounds of laughter coming from the children’s play room, and checked on the boys. He then followed Ginny into the study and stood by the door.

Severus was sitting on her lap, tears already falling down his face.

“Severus, do not ever leave like that again! You scared Mummy!” Ginny said, holding him close.

Harry looked at Ginny in shock. While they both acknowledged the boys as their sons and were to begin the official adoption forms on Tuesday, they had agreed to let the boys call them as they wished, hoping that in time they would feel comfortable calling them Mummy and Daddy.

But, looking at the scene before him, Harry knew that that was of little importance just by the look on Severus’ face.

“I’m sor’y.” Severus cried into her shoulder.

“Severus, you put yourself in danger, and that is very very naughty. We can’t let you do that. Do you understand?”

“Am I gettin’ a spankin’?” Severus whispered.

“I think that you deserve one. Don’t you? You gave us quite a scare.”

“I don’t want one though.”

“I know. I know you don’t want one. Five swats, Sweetie. Not for what happened at the breakfast table with Sirius. You are only getting these swats because you ran out the door without an adult, okay, Severus?”

“Noooo….” Severus wailed as Ginny tipped him over her lap.

The first swat had Severus cry out.

The second made him kick his legs out.

The next three had him sobbing.

Ginny stood him up, but Severus immediately threw his arms around her neck.

“I’m sorry, Mummy!” Severus whispered into her neck. It was so low that Harry almost thought that he hadn’t really heard it.

“I know, Sevy, I know. It’s all right. You are forgiven.” Ginny said, patting his back with one hand and carding her hand through his hair with the other. Ginny looked at Harry, smiling, tears running down her face.

Harry smiled back at her, nodding.

Maybe they were doing something right after all.

~HP~

They all sat together for dinner that night. Harry at one end, Ginny at the other, Alby in his highchair at Ginny’s right, Severus sitting to her left at the table and Teddy to her right. Harry had Sirius to his left and Jamie to his right.

All of the boys were eating, talking, and, on occasion, laughing.

“Boys, I want you to remember that tomorrow you must behave for Grammy Molly. You will act just as you would at home, and nap when she tells you too.” Harry said.

Each of the boys nodded.

“Sirius, Severus, I know that this is going to be new for you, but tomorrow you will behave.”

“Yes, sir.” Severus said, taking a drink of pumpkin juice.

Harry looked at him, shocked.

“Good boy, Severus.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Harry watched as Sirius looked at Severus strangely, as if he didn’t know what to make of this new Severus.

He also noticed that Sirius sent a small smile towards the younger boy.

Harry looked at Ginny. She too had noticed this new arrangement and smiled at Harry.

They knew that this was only a small advancement, but an advancement nonetheless. They knew, also, that they were going to have to take what they could get when they could get it for the time being.

And they were okay with that.

“So, Gin, Draco said that Aunt Cissy wants us to come over for supper on Friday. She has something that she wants to tell us. He asked if we would let Hermione and Ron know in the morning since he won’t see Hermione until Tuesday.”

“Okay. I will let her know in the morning.” Ginny said, a sappy grin still covering her face.

She knew, deep down, that everything was going to be okay, even if it did take a while.

The next morning was hectic in the Potter quarters. As was custom, Harry woke up Jamie first, as the little boy was always full to bursting with energy and wanted to sleep as little as possible. Because of this, Jamie always showered with his daddy in the morning and then helped him make breakfast for the family.

Ginny, after getting up, would nudge Severus and Alby awake. They always took bathes at night, so didn’t need one in the morning. Sirius and Teddy, however, were hard to wake and needed showers to wake up. So, after Ginny got Severus and Alby stirring, she would put Sirius and Teddy in the shower or bath, depending on which they preferred that morning.

This particular morning, they had wanted a shower, so while they were in there, Ginny went and got both Severus and Alby dressed and ushered them out to the kitchen with Harry, who was plating breakfast.

Ginny walked into the bathroom and quickly made sure the boys were clean, sent a drying charm on them, and dressed them. Then both boys ran to the kitchen.

That was when it became hectic.

Sirius, who was wearing socks but no shoes, slipped and this caused Teddy to slip on top of him. This caused Sirius to let out a howl from pain that was soon followed by tears.

“Owww!” Sirius screamed through his tears, holding his left arm to him.

“I’m sorry, Siri! I’m sorry.” Teddy said over and over. Harry came over to Sirius and knelt down.

“Hey, little man, it is going to be okay. Gin will have this fixed in a jif. This is why we don’t run in the house. Teddy, son, it wasn’t your fault. But, you also know that we do not run in the house.”

“Yes, sir.” Teddy said, sniffing.

“Okay, buddy, go sit at the table. Mummy will fix up Sirius and then he will be in there.” Harry said.

Indeed, Ginny had already run the necessary scans and was rubbing in a bruise salve over Sirius’ bruised arm. His tears were already pretty much stopped.

Ten minutes later, they were all sitting at the breakfast table when Jamie spilled his milk on his favorite red t-shirt that had a flying snitch on it.

“Bloody Merlin!” Jamie hissed, then slammed his milk glass on the table.

“James Sirius Potter! I just told you yesterday that I had better not ever hear you use that kind of language.” Ginny said. Harry looked like he was trying not to laugh until Ginny shot him a look that sent a chill down his spine the look was so reminiscent of Molly Weasley.

“Sorry, Mummy.” Jamie said sullenly as Harry sent cleaning and drying charms at his son.

“Okay, boys! We have to get ready to go to Grammy’s!” Ginny said, clapping her hands together to get the boys’ attention.

They all looked at her and started to get up, and headed to the Floo where they each had an individual backpack with a change of clothes, and, depending on the boy, their safety item. This item was different for each boy. Teddy, now seven, soon to be eight, he no longer needed his safety item, and kept it hidden in his room. It was a stuffed wolf that his parents…his biological parents… had bought him when he was born. Sirius just preferred to take quidditch books, saying that he was too old to have anything to sleep with. Jamie, had a stag, Severus, his snake, and Alby, his blanket and a snake similar to Severus’. (The child had cried for two days to have a snake to protect him after Severus had come home with his. It was after Severus had let Alby have his for a night, and hadn’t slept at all that Harry had immediately gone to the toy store to pick up a similar snake and the toys that Sirius had asked for two days prior before he had thrown his little tantrum.)

“Harry, will you get the stomach soothers? Sev and Alby are both probably going to need one after the Floo.” Ginny asked, placing the straps of Severus’ bag on his shoulders, then doing the same for Alby and Jamie.

“Course!” Harry said, and walked towards the kitchen to grab the vials of stomach soother.

Five minutes later they were all ready, Harry, once again, had Sirius, Teddy, and Jamie, and Ginny had Alby and Sev.

“Gin, what are we gonna do when we have the next one? We have no free hands!” Harry said happily.

Neither noticed the look of pure terror on Severus’ face.

~sdrawkcab~

After the Floo, Alby simply complained of an upset stomach, but, unfortunately, Severus vomited again. The Floo simply did not agree with the little boy.

“Come on, Sev, take the stomach soother.” Ginny said, as her mother, otherwise known as Grammy, took Alby and was slightly rocking him.

Harry was helping the other boys take their backpacks off, and then watched them run over to their Grammy. Only Sirius stayed slightly back, unsure of what to do.

“Gin, we need to go. I have to teach class in fifteen minutes, and I am sure that St. Mungos misses you.” He said with a laugh.

“Okay. Sev, are you feeling better now?” Ginny asked the child on her lap.

Sev shook his head no.

“What’s the matter?” Ginny asked him.

Sev placed his head on her shoulder and wrapped his left hand behind her and started to twirl her hair around his fingers.

“I don’t want you to leave me here.” Severus whispered.

“Sev, don’t you want to stay here and play?” Harry asked, kneeling in front of him and Ginny.

Sev shook his head again.

“I don’t want to stay. What if you forget?” Severus asked quietly.

Harry and Ginny looked at one another.

“What do you mean, Sev?” Harry prompted.

“I don’t want Mummy to leave me.” Sev cried.

“Sev, mummy has to go to work.” Harry said, lightly patting Sev’s knee.

“You’re gonna forget me.” Severus whimpered, and dug his face into into Ginny’s neck, his hand twisted deep in her hair, twisting it around more and more as he cried.

“Sevy, honey, talk to me. Baby, tell mummy what’s wrong.” Ginny said. Harry looked at Severus with concern.

“If you leave me here, you are gonna forget me. You won’t come back. I don’t want to stay here.” Severus cried.

“Oh honey, we are not going to forget you! We will be here to get you at three thirty.” Ginny told him.

“Promise?” Severus asked.

“Promise.” Ginny and Harry said at the same time. Severus looked at them both with surprise.

“Hey Sev, come on! Grammy said we could play outside!”

Ginny and Harry turned around, shocked.

Sirius had watched Harry and Ginny trying to convince Severus that they would come back. Sirius could see that they were getting nowhere. So, he had asked Severus to come play with them outside.

“Really?” Severus asked quietly.

“Yea! Come on!”

Severus looked up and Ginny and then at Harry. He untwisted his fingers from Ginny’s hair with the care and precision of someone that once spent his days cutting up potions ingredients, and then jumped off of Ginny’s lap and ran over to Sirius, and together the two ran towards the door that Molly was standing by.

“Have you noticed that Sev isn’t letting Snape out as much anymore?” Harry asked Ginny.

Ginny looked fondly out the back door, as her five boys ran after a poor garden gnome in the yard.

“Yes. He and Sirius are actually starting to get along as well.”  Ginny said with a smile.

Harry smiled, “Come on love, We are going to be late to work.”

Together, they went to the Floo, and hoped that Molly would be in one piece after a day with their five boys.

~sdrawkcab~

Molly Weasley watched five of her grandchildren playing in the backyard chasing several gnomes around. To her, they were all hers. Sirius and Severus just as much as the previous three, and was happy that the two boys would be able to have a safe and happy home with Ginny and Harry.

Molly knew, from talking to Ginny and Harry both, that there were days when Severus acted more like an adult than other days, and the same with Sirius, though Sirius very seldom acted upon his adult memories and, in turn, seemed to be losing many of them much faster than Severus was. They had discussed it with amongst themselves, and Poppy Pomfrey at Hogwarts, and they had all mutually decided that it was probably because Sirius had been behind the Veil much longer than Severus. They also suspected that since Sirius had spent much of his adult life in Azkaban, that he probably did not remember as much of his life as Severus; therefore, he did not have as much to act upon as the younger boy did.

Severus, however, was getting better, and that was proved to Molly when the boy had decided to play with Sirius, Jamie, and Teddy, and not with only Alby, whom Ginny had told her mother he doted on constantly.

Molly sighed as she continued watching the boys play. It was such a wonderful sight to see the five little boys run around, carefree and happy. She remembered those days wholeheartedly, when her own boys and little girl did the same. It had not lasted nearly long enough, however. By the time that Ginny was ten, the Dark Lord had already begun making his way back into the wizarding world. Harry…poor Harry…had never really had a childhood to begin with, but one would never realize it by the way he interacted so lovingly with his children.

“Grammmmmmmyyyyyy!” Alby yelled, laughing hysterically. Molly looked over to the little boy. Alby pointed at Severus.

In his hands was a grubby baby gnome. The baby was sleeping quietly.

“Throw him, Sev!” Sirius said laughing.

“No! Look! He’s a baby!” Sev said. He cradled the miniature gnome in his arms and looked at it longingly. Sirius came over to Severus, followed closely by Jamie and Teddy.

“Sev, what are ya doing with it?” Teddy asked, staring at the little boy with his eyebrow quirked up, his hair at the moment as bright a blue as the sky itself.

“Grammy! Grammy! Can I keep him?” Severus asked, running over to where Molly say on a magically gliding swing.

Molly looked at the boy adoringly. (He had, after all, called her Grammy, and he had only been at her house for a mere two hours. There was nothing better in the world than being addressed as such, even hearing the word Mummy from your child’s mouth…)

“Sevy, he probably has a home. Don’t you think that he would miss his Mummy and Daddy?” Molly asked him gently.

“But, I need him.” Sev said, turning his eyes up to Molly with a wide eyed puppy dog look.

Molly looked at the little boy and at the little, ugly gnome in his hands.

“Sev, it is almost time to make lunch. How about this, if, and I mean if, you lay him where you found him and after your nap if he is still there, we will take him into the house and see what your Mummy and Daddy say when they get here this afternoon, okay?”

“Mummy and Harry.” Severus whispered quietly. He wanted so much to call Harry Daddy…he just wasn’t there quite yet, and he didn’t want his new Grammy to be angry with him because of.

Molly, sensing that was his problem, nodded and corrected herself, “Yes, we’ll ask your Mummy and Harry.”

“Grammy?” Severus said quietly.

“Yes?”

Severus motioned with his index finger for him to come closer to him. She bent down and he went close to her ear and whispered, “Will you make sure that Teddy and Sirius don’t throw him? I don’t want him to get hurt, and I know that we have been having fun, but sometimes they don’t think things through. And, if my Gnomie doesn’t have a home, I want to keep care of him like Mummy and Harry do to me…”

Molly looked at the little boy, and noticed just how sincere he was.

“Of course, Sev.” She said, and then followed the child to where he found the gnome and watched as he gently laid the baby down.

Secretly, Molly hoped that the little gnome was still there after Sev woke up.

~sdrawkcab~

After a lunch with no incidences, and after Molly had laid the boys down for their nap, Severus crawled off of his pallet on the floor and went in search of his Grammy.

Molly was in kitchen putting away dishes when she heard the tiny footsteps and turned around.

“Sev, what are you doing, sweetheart?” Molly asked him. Severus walked over to her and put his hand in her apron pocket and looked up at her.

“Grammy, can we go check on him now? Please? I can’t sleep knowing he is out there all alone and probably cold. He didn’t even have any clothes on!” Severus said, disgusted.

Molly looked at the little boy. Where had his parents gone wrong in his first life that he had grown so uncaring towards the world?

Sure, Sev. Let’s go see about our new friend.”

Together the two walked outside, Molly gently holding Severus’ hand, and went to the spot where the little gnome had been laid delicately by Severus.

On the ground, with little gnome tears, the infant gnome lay abandoned. Sev immediately let go of Molly’s hand and picked it up. Molly looked at the little gnome oddly. Never before had she seen a gnome with eyes the color of the sea, but there the little thing lay, light green eyes and all, staring into Severus’ own obsidian eyes intently.

“Can we bring him in the house?”

“Of course, Sec. We can bring him in the house. Let’s go wash him up.”

The pair walked into the house, bathed the little gnome, and then Sev wrapped him in a dry towel.

“Grammy, how come he looks kinda like a real kid when he is clean?” Severus asked. Molly herself was wondering. The once ugly creature, when clean, looked simply like a miniature person.

“I don’t know, Sev.”

“Oh well. I am going to take care of him! Will you make him a sweater? With a ‘N’ on it?” Sev asked her excitedly.

“An ‘N’?”

“Grammy! Stop being silly! For his name of course! Gnomie! It starts with an ‘N’!” Severus laughed.

Molly looked at him with eyebrows raised. At that moment, he was a child indeed.

“Remember, we have to talk to your Mummy and Harry before you can keep him. Gnomie will take a lot of work.”

“Yea, I know. But you and Mummy will help cause you both keep goof care of me and the brothers.” Severus said, cuddling the now sleeping gnome in his arms.

Soon, Severus was sleeping, and Molly was left alone with her thoughts to contemplate the mind of little Severus Snape.

Ginny and Harry walked through the Floo together later that afternoon to find all of their boys sitting around a box.

Molly looked at the couple with an apologetic glance.

“Hey! Mummy, Daddy! Come look at what Sev found when we were playing outside!” Jamie squealed.

Harry and Ginny walked over cautiously to the box.

“What is that?” Harry asked.

“Gnomie!” Alby said.

“That is not a gnome.” Ginny said. Molly looked up at her daughter.

“What do you mean, Ginny? We gave the little thing a bath, but until then he looked just like the other gnomes in the garden.”

“I am not sure. I have seen a picture somewhere before, but I can’t remember where. I think it was something that Luna showed me once…” Ginny said, placing her hand inside the box.

“Can I keep him, Mummy?” Severus asked, his eyes wide with want.

“Um, you may bring him home, and Harry and I will talk about it. We need to also talk to Luna to see if she knows what it is. Then we will see.” Ginny said.

Severus sighed.

“Okay.” He said quietly, picking up the small baby…whatever it was.

“Okay boys, let’s get ready to go home.” Harry said, grabbing the closest backpack and then thanking Molly for watching the boys.

~HP~

“Luna is going to come by later tonight, after the boys are in bed.” Ginny said while she was fixing supper. All of the boys, minus Severus, were playing in their playroom. Severus was in living room, the “gnome” in his lap, his stuffed snake beside him, and a book about junior potions in his hands.

“Okay, love.” Harry said. Suddenly a loud thump came from the living room that caused Harry and Ginny too look at each other quickly.

“I’ll go check on him.” Harry said. Ginny nodded, and Harry started walking towards Severus.

In the living room, Harry knew right off that Severus was close to a tantrum.

He went over to the small boy and sat down beside him.

“Hey, Sev, what’s wrong?” Harry asked him slowly.

Severus glared up at Harry, his little aged in a piercing glare.

And, Harry knew. No longer was Sev beside him, but a little boy with adult memories that didn’t know what do with them.

“Potter, I want my things.” He hissed.

“What things? The things that were in your old quarters? You cannot have those until you are much older, and then you and I will go through them together and decide mutually what you may and may not keep.”

“That is not your right.” Severus hissed.

“It is my right as your guardian. And tomorrow, after we go and fill out the adoption papers for you and Sirius it will be even more my right.”

Severus let out a deep, guttural sigh.

“Why do you want me? Why not let me leave?” Severus finally asked.

Harry looked at the little guy and studied him. His features, sharp when they brought him home, were already beginning to soften from the weight he was putting on. He no longer looked tired.

“I mean, I killed him, Potter. I killed the man that you adored.” Severus continued.

Harry watched as a look of hurt crossed over Severus’ face. He noticed, too, that the boy was in fair need of a haircut, and now that he thought about it, so were Jamie and Sirius.

“I betrayed Lily.”

“You saved me.” Harry said lightly.

Severus looked up at Harry.

“Severus, Dumbledore was no better than you or me. In fact…after everything came to light…the man not so different than Voldemort. Yes, I trusted the man to an extent and he did great things. But, he sacrificed so much. Your life, mine, Pansy’s, and many others. I should not tell you this, but I think that you deserve to know the extent that Dumbledore wanted to win the war. Pansy was only twelve when she began spying on her own parents and, in turn, Voldemort. I have never seen someone feel so bad about having the dark mark upon their flesh. But, Pansy was different for him. He marked her, but not her arm. Her mark is over her heart. Voldemort marked her when she was thirteen to mar the innocence in her. Pansy, while I never would have believed it in school, is a very pure hearted person. Unfortunately, she often feels impure and tarnished. You and she are not so different. I know, also, Severus, that you never would have allowed Dumbledore to do that to a twelve year old girl. She was the youngest to ever receive the dark mark, and remains the youngest to have it inflicted upon her flesh.”

“You’re damn right, Potter! What the bloody hell was he thinking?” Severus said to himself.

Harry, knowing that Severus was in his memories, said nothing about the language.

“Severus, it took love for Pansy to realize that she did nothing wrong. After the war, Pansy went and lived with Aunt Cissy, and then she and Draco married soon after everyone was cleared. When they do not reside here, they live at Malfoy Manor. Narcissa Malfoy saved many people that last day. Me, Pansy, Draco…we are just three of many.”

“I do not understand why that impudent fool would have let her…and me! How could I have not noticed! I watched my snakes carefully!”

“We believe that is the reason that Voldemort marked her chest and not her arm. He knew that you would disagree with him. That she was too young.”

“I want to see her.”

Harry sighed.

“You will, Sev. Friday. But you must not hassle her.”

“I would never, Potter. I know much more than you think I do.” Severus said, then stood up, Gnomie in his arms, and walked towards the kitchen.

Harry simply stared at where he had left. The child was just as complicated as the man had been.

~sdrawkcab~

Luna Lovegood Longbottom (Damn all those L’s, Severus muttered when talking to Harry earlier in the day) was many things, but mostly, she was confusing.

After the boys had been put to bed, all sleeping soundly, even Severus, who, still in his adult memories, had actually wanted to await the arrival of “Miss Lovegood.” However, he had fallen asleep after being tucked in by Ginny, his snake (Ginny had convinced him that he would want it during the night, even if he didn’t want it right at that moment) tucked by his side.

Luna came through the front door at half past nine, alone, as Neville was over seeing a fourth years detention.

“Hello, Harry, Ginny. You have a Pixie Elf in your mist.” Luna said immediately as she sat down.

Harry and Ginny looked at one another. They hadn’t even shown her the creature yet.

“I can feel its presence. They come to children who need them until they don’t. I take that it is with Severus? He is the one who is lost. But, no worries. In a few months, he with be one with who he is. No worries. I brought this book. The page is marked. I will see you guys later.” Luna said, setting a book on the coffee table and then turned and left.

After the door shut, Harry looked at Ginny.

“You know, she hasn’t really changed. It is comforting, in a way, to know that the war didn’t change her.”

Ginny laughed.

Yes. Her husband had a point.

“Let’s see what a “Pixie Elf” is.” Ginny said, grabbing the book in front of them and turning to the tabbed section:

Pixie Elves: A small, humanlike creature that comes to children when they are in need of something to make them feel safe and/or secure, usually in an unknown place. The Pixie Elf usually resembles a baby when found; however, within days, will grow to resemble a small adult, about two hands high. They normally have sea green, or sky blue eyes. Muggle children rarely ever see these magical creatures, but when they do, they address them as “Fairy Godparents.” Adult muggles cannot see these creatures. This may be because most children that do see them are muggleborn. Only one case has been brought to the attention of the Magical Creatures Bureau of a muggle child coming in contact with Pixie Elves. If necessary, Pixie Elves can sprout wings, but this is seldom an issue in the magical community. Pixie elves usually vanish before a child is school age, or when they feel completely secure from their surroundings for an extended amount of time. They drink water and feed on the fruits and vegetables, with a particular love of strawberries and pumpkins.

“This is because Severus still doesn’t feel comfortable here. Or safe.” Ginny said quietly.

“Gin, he will. We both know that he had a very rough first childhood. We will change his thought process.” Ginny said.

Just then, a shrill scream and, “Mummmmmy!” filled the air.

Severus.

Ginny stood up and ran to Severus’ room, to where the boy say, his Pixie Elf, that had been in a box in the living room, beside him, and big tears falling down his cheeks.

“Sweetheart, what is wrong?”

“Ba…ba…bad DREAM!” Severus cried. Ginny picked him up and they walked into the living room where Harry was already bringing in some warm chocolate milk laced with a very mild calming draught that would hopefully calm Sev down enough to sleep.

Ginny rocked Severus in a rocking chair, trying to stop his tears.

“Shh. Baby, it is all okay.” Ginny said soothingly, concern written all over her face. Harry went over to the duo and knelt down in front of them.

“Here, Sevy, take a drink.” Harry told him, handing him the no spill sippy cup so that he could lay down with it.

Sev took the cup, but did not take a drink of it instantly. He shoved his face into Ginnys chest, his left arm wrapped around his snake, and a flash of light later, Gnomie sat on his shoulder.

“I so…so…sorry!” Severus cried.

“Severus, you have nothing to be sorry for.” Harry said, leaning over and kissing his forehead. Harry smiled at him, took the cup from his hand, and then put it against his lips.

“Here son, take a drink.” Harry urged.

Slowly but surely, the little boy drank and calmed down. As he feel back asleep, his Pixie Elf settled himself on the little boy’s chest, using Sev’s stuffed snake as a pillow.

“Let’s get him into bed, Harry. We’ll place wards over his door to alert us if there is any more trouble. I think he should be fine now, Daddy. Slipping him a calming draught as you did. That is normally my job.” Ginny smirked.

“Indeed.” Harry said, helping Ginny up. She was steadily growing bigger every day.

“Come, Love. Let’s get him settled, and then we can go to bed. We have a long day ahead of us.” Ginny said, walking towards Severus’ room with the sleeping child, hoping that he was able to sleep the rest of the night free of nightmares.  

Harry and Ginny, the first holding Sirius by the hand and the later holding a Severus, Floo’d through to the Minister of Magic, Arthur Weasly’s office. There were definitely perks of having one’s father in office; especially, since neither Ginny nor Harry wanted to put Sirius and Severus through the turmoil of the public eye.

As Harry talked to Arthur, who had been expecting them, Ginny was trying to coax Severus into taking a stomach soother, as the little boy, once again, was sick after Flooing.

Harry looked over at his wife and grimaced. There was something up with Severus. The poor child could not Floo without being sick. The other children did not do that, although occasionally Alby did vomit, it was normally if he Floo’d right after eating that caused Alby to be sick. For Severus, it was every time.

“Is he okay?” Harry asked Ginny from across the room.

“Yes. Harry, if this continues, we are going to have to take him to Poppy. We Floo at least twice a day; we can’t have him vomit each time.”

“If it continues, of course.” Harry said nodding.

“Well, kids,” Arthur said, “Elisabeth Eckwich is waiting on you all. All you two need to do is sign papers and discuss any name changes.”

Severus looked up. Name changes?

He didn’t have time to think about it, however, because Ginny was standing up, with him on her hip, and was walking out the door following Harry and Sirius.

~sdrawkcab~

The Office of Wizarding Children Services was not what Severus expected. The walls were yellow, the carpet light blue, and the furniture red. In other words, it was a nightmare. A color twisted nightmare that made Severus want to vomit again.

But, he managed to keep both that and his thoughts to himself because he really didn’t feel like getting into trouble for saying something that was ‘inappropriate.’

Immediately the quartet was ushered into the office of Mrs. Eckwich, a happy woman who, in both Severus and Sirius’ opinion, was much too happy.

The woman was a plump witch wearing a pink so bright that it felt blinding.

“Come in, Come in! I have been waiting on you! Minister Weasley asked that this be settled as quickly as possible so all we need to do is to have you sign here, here, here, and here!” The woman said talking quickly and pointing at random places at the same time.

“And as you both know, this is a binding contract, once you both place your names and both boys fingerprints, your magic will bind you all together and it will be as if they were born to you.” The woman said cheerfully. It wasn’t every day that one got to meet not only survivors of the final battle, but the Boy-Who-Lived and his wife as well!

“Um, yes.” Harry said awkwardly, already leaning over to sign his name to the paper, Ginny doing the same.

“And Name changes? Have you discussed any name changes?” the woman asked.

“Actually, Ginny and I have and if you don’t mind, we would like to talk to the boys first, before we make it permanent.”

“Yes, yes! A splendid idea! I will just step out for five minutes and I will be back in a jiffy!” The hyperactive woman said, stepping out of the office.

Everyone sighed a sigh of relief, which caused both Ginny and Harry to laugh out loud.

But, then they grew serious.

“Boys, Harry and I have thought deeply about what we would like your names to be, and if you had been born to us, you would have no choice. However, we want to make sure that they are names that you are okay with. Names that you can live with for the rest of your lives, and names that will allow you to embrace who you were with who you are now and who you are going to be in the future.”

Harry nodded at the boys. Both boys were staring up at him and Ginny with round, trusting eyes, one set shadowy pools of iridescent black, and the other set gleaming orbs of insipid azure blue.

“Sirius, your name is currently Sirius Orion Black. We would like to name you Sirius Arthur Black-Potter. It is a great honor to be named after one’s grandfather. So, you will have your first name, a new name to represent your family, and both of your last names to represent who you were and are. We believe it wise to rid you of your middle name because it is tied to someone who did not love you. Is that okay with you?” Harry asked the seven year old.

Tears formed in his eyes as he smiled and shook his head yes. Sirius liked that. The new name: Sirius Arthur Back-Potter. It was a very nice name. One he could be proud of. Sirius ran over and threw his arms around Harry and then Ginny.

They truly were going to be his parents! Parents that wouldn’t care what house he was in at school, or if he did something bad that caused the family to look bad. Not that he would mind you. He liked his bum white, yes he did.

Severus looked at this exchange and would have backed away had Ginny not held him so close to her.

“Severus, we also wanted to change your name.” Ginny began, then signaled for Harry to continue the discussion.

“Severus, we would like your name to be Severus Harrison Snape-Potter. A deletion of your harsh past, and a representation of the man you were, the man you will become, and a part of our family. One of our sons.”

Severus looked at the two adults cautiously. So many questions were going through his mind. Why would Potter name him after himself? Would Sirius mind even though he was named after Mummy’s dad?

Severus looked over at Sirius. Sirius looked at him and smiled encouragingly, nodding his head.

Severus looked stunned. Sirius didn’t mind at all.

“Yes.” Severus said quietly, tears streaming down his face.

Just as he looked into the deep emerald eyes of Harry….(and Lily, and Alby)… Mrs. Eckwich came bustling into her office.

“So, have we decided? What are these two gorgeous boys going to be named?”

Severus blushed and hid his face, Sirius smirked at the woman.

“Sirius Arthur Black-Potter and Severus Harrison Snape-Potter. The sons of Harrison James Potter and Ginerva Molly Weasley-Potter.” Harry said with a huge grin.

They were all surprised, (minus Mrs. Eckwich of course) when the names wrote themselves on the parchment.

“Okay, okay! Fingerprints please!” the woman said, grabbing both Sirius and Severus’ right index fingers and placing them on the parchment.

Almost instantly the papers and the boys glowed a bright golden color that reminded Harry of when he had been picked by his wand at age eleven. This feeling, however, was so much better than that.

“Well, Mr. and Mrs. Potter, congratulations! You are now the proud parents of two more boys!” The woman said excitedly.

Harry and Ginny looked at one another with smiles, and, if possible, their smiles grew when their sons ran to them and jumped into their arms, hugging them.

~sdrawkcab~

Alby, Jamie, Severus, Teddy, and Sirius, ages 2, 4, 5, 6, and 7, sat in a line on the couch with their parents sitting across from then on the love seat. On Severus’ shoulder sat Gnomie, happily awaiting whatever news the parents were going to spring on his lot of kids. (Already the little Pixie Elf had made the decision that, while he was mainly Severus’, he liked a prank as well as the next person, and if he got his way would be helping the five boys prank away before all was said and done…)

“Kids, Mummy and I wanted to tell you something. Today Mummy, Severus, Sirius, and I went to the Ministry and signed some papers. After those papers were signed, Sirius and Severus became your real brothers. They even have the same last name as each of you do.” Harry told them. Alby looked over Jamie and at Severus and then at Sirius and smiled. Teddy high-fived both of his new brothers, but Jamie looked confused.

“Daddy, don’t be silly.”Jamie said seriously.

Now it was Harry’s turn to be confused.

“What do you mean, Jamie?”

“Daddy! You can’t sign sumthin’ to make them brothers! They’s already brothers when ya got them from Uncle Ha’rid’s pumpkin patch like ya did Alby! Duh, Daddy!” Jamie said rolling his eyes.

Harry looked shocked.

Ginny had her mouth covered with her hand. She was trying so hard not to laugh at the little boy’s innocence and pure way of thinking that she was nearly in tears.

“You know what, Jamie, you are very right. Why don’t all of you go play in the playroom until it is time to eat, then Mummy and I will come get you.” Harry said.

As soon as the boys were out of the room, Ginny lost it. She burst out laughing and tears poured down her face.

“You know, Harry, Dear, he has a very logical point.” She said.

Harry laughed.

“Yes, yes he does. At least they all took it in stride. They already love one another.”

“Yes, they do, love, yes they do. I know that it is going to be a hard road, especially since Severus and Sirius are still so mixed up with their emotions, but I have never been so happy.” Ginny sighed, wrapping her arms around Harry.

Harry wrapped one arm around her back, rested his head on the top of hers, and rubbed her protruding stomach with his free hand.

“You have never been so right.” Harry said with a smile so huge, one would not have been able to beat it off of his face.

Overall, the rest of the week went by smoothly. The boys went to either Molly or Andromeda’s each day and, more or less, stayed out of trouble, though there was an instance where Sirius wanted a forbidden, before dinner cookie and convinced Severus and Teddy to climb on top of the counter to the fridge to get them each one. They had each received a time out for it, but besides that the boys had been well behaved.

It was Friday night, the night of Narcissa’s dinner, and the night that Severus and Sirius were going to meet several new children and adults that would continue to be in their lives.

Each child was dressed in black trousers and a white button up shirt with robes of various colors between them. Sirius had refused all children’s robes unless they were red, so, obviously, his were red. Teddy wore blue robes, Jamie a bright yellow pair (Harry was convinced that they should have named him after Albus Dumbledore as he seemed to have his love for garish and dramatic clothing), Severusa dark green pair, and Alby, a light blue pair until he saw Severus and demanded green robes as well.

Neville and Luna met the large family in their quarters in order to help them take the children to Malfoy Manor. Ginny, of course, still ended up with Severus and Alby, as the two were adamant that they had to Floo with Ginny and together.

“Harry, let’s give the stomach soother before we Floo. See if it makes a difference.” Ginny said. Harry nodded.

It did, indeed, make a difference. Both boys immediately jumped out of Ginny’s arms after they Floo’d and ran to their brothers.

“Well, that worked rather well.” Ginny said with a smile.

Harry simply smiled as Narcissa walked into the room.

“Harry, Ginny! Neville, Luna! I am so glad you came. Pansy, Draco, and the children are in the sitting room. The children are playing.” Narcissa said.

At that, Severus stopped talking to his brothers and turned around.

“I wish to see Parkinson, immediately.”

Harry and Ginny both sighed. They didn’t understand Severus’ need to let his adult memories take over so suddenly and so often. Sirius never let his memories take over like that. However, Sirius had been much more like a child when he should have been behaving as an adult. Severus had always been a serious person.

“Severus, I do not think that you need to discuss anything about the war or before then.” Harry said.

Severus crossed his arms over his chest and stared at Harry.

“I will see Parkinson. Now.” Severus said. Harry raised his eyebrows.

“Young man, you will stop demanding things if you do not wish to take a trip to the bathroom with me.” Harry told him sternly.

“I. Will. See. Her! I do not expect you to understand!” Severus bellowed at Harry.

“Severus Harrison—”

“Harry, let him. He deserves to be able to ask his questions.” Pansy said softly from the doorway. Narcissa looked at the girl who she thought of as her daughter with a pained expression. They had good days and bad days, though the good days definitely outnumbered the bad after Scorpius and Asta were born. But, there were days that were always bad. The date of the final battle, October 31, her birthday. They were all days when she would let no one in her room except Narcissa. Draco usually took the children on a mini vacation for two or three days around that time.

“Are you sure, Pansy?”

“Yes. Come Severus. We shall talk in the study.” Pansy said.

That made Severus stop.

The only time he got called into the study at Harry and Mummy’s was when he was getting a spanking.

Harry, seemingly knowing what the little tyke was thinking, said, “Severus, remember, we are not at home. Only at home is the study where we have serious discussions. If that happens elsewhere, where do we go?”

“Bathroom.” Severus said with a sigh of relief.

“Come, Severus.” Pansy said lightly, holding her hand out for the little boy. Severus walked over to her and cautiously placed his hand into hers.

As they walked away, Harry walked over to Narcissa, embraced her in a hug, and then asked, “Do you think that it will be okay, Aunt Cissy? Severus is not the man we remember, although he sometimes acts like it.”

Narcissa sighed.

“Harry, I think that it will help both of them. Severus is never going to embrace his new self if he cannot forgive his old self.  Pansy, Pansy just needs to talk about it. Even if Severus is so young, now, he will think with his old memories. It will be okay.”

“I hope so.” Harry said as he still looked at the door that his son and friend had left.

~sdrawkcab~

Severus sat across from Pansy, his feet straight out in front of him as they did were nowhere near reaching the floor. They barely hung over the edge of the sofa as it was. He stared at Pansy and searched her face, her eyes, her emotions.

She still looked as she had when she was seventeen, although a bit more wise.

Well, at least Severus felt that was what it was. What he didn’t realize was that the girl had gained that aged, wise look at the final battle when she watched her friends killed one after another.

“Severus, you said that you wished to speak to me. Do you have questions that you wish to ask?” Pansy asked.

Severus nodded.

“I will answer the questions you wish, today. However, Severus, after today you must realize that, to me, you are now a child. I want you to grow up without the thoughts of yesterday. Will you accept that?”

Again, Severus nodded.

Then, he spoke.

“I want to know when Dumbledore bargained with you. What were his terms? I want to know why he would take you. Draco said you are the youngest. You were the youngest ever.”

Pansy cleared her throat. In many ways, this was the Professor that she remembered and looked up too when she was in school.

“How about I tell you a story Severus, how about I start from the beginning…

I was thirteen years old when the Dark Lord took an interest in me. He was not yet back to full strength; that would be nearly another year. But, my parents were strong supporters. One night I was in the Owlery, speaking to my owl. I was apt to do that after everyone was in bed, as you well know since you caught me several times over the years. I was speaking to my owl, Lekke, explaining to her that my parents were going to present me to the Dark Lord over the summer and, in many ways, I was terrified. I would be the youngest Death Eater, but I had a feeling that everything would be different for me. To begin with, the Dark Lord was famous for initiating his young followers on their seventeenth birthdays. But, Dumbledore was also up in the Owlery that night. Apparently the elves had told him that I went up there every night and spent several hours talking to my owl about He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.

That was when Dumbledore took an interest in me. He told me that he would protect me with the best of his abilities…but only if I took the dark mark when the Dark Lord wished it and reported back to him. Of course, I was naïve. Had I been smart I would have come to you, but at the time I thought that you were only on the Dark side. I had no idea that you were a spy. No, that came later, probably when I was in my fifth year, but by then I was so far in with the dark that I could not risk it.

That summer, the Dark Lord called. I was fourteen. My parents were worse than Bellatrix Lestrange. I know that they rarely went to meetings, but they were worse. I think that it was the fact that they were sane and still found joy in tormenting muggles and muggleborns. And me. I dared not make a mistake, least they cast an unforgivable on me.

They were proud when the Dark Lord came to me that summer. My mother bathed and dressed me in pure white robes with a black hooded robe over them. My hair was braided down my back, not a hair out of place. Then my mother and father took me to the dining room, a large room that had been transformed into a throned hall, with the Dark Lord at the throne.

My parents walked me down the aisle and then, while I stood, they kneeled. I started to kneel, but he stopped me. He said, “You are different. You shall never have to kneel in front of me, Flower.”

It took everything in me not to cringe at his words. What mistake was I making? What was Professor Dumbledore doing that he thought I would be able to survive this?

My black cloak remained over my body, covering even my face until my parents were bid to stand and take it off of me, leaving me in the white robes that contrasted so brightly against everything dark around me. I waited. And the Dark Lord sat in his chair, still in his vague form that resembled only a small bit of humanity. He was not strong and he knew it, but every dark mark made him stronger.

He bade me to come closer, and I did. He said, “You, my Flower, will be more than the others. You, my Flower, will have a mark unlike theirs. For you, my Flower, are innocent and pure in many ways. You have not committed murder as of yet. You are still pure in body. You shall be mine. Drop the top portion of your robe. I wish to see the skin over your heart.”

I immediately did as he wished. No sooner had I done so, than he weakly lifted his wand and cast the dark mark over my heart. I have never felt such pain, before or since, but I did not scream. I knew that those who screamed were tortured. I did not scream.

That night, my parents gave me to the Dark Lord, and once the war was over, I was to be his wife. I as to metaphorically rule beside him.When I returned to school, I immediately told Dumbledore what had happened. He was…well, he was happy. I never understood it. He told me that I was in a place that even his best spies could not get, and I would be able to tell him things that would save the wizarding world. His eyes never stopped twinkling.

And I did. Year after year, I gave Dumbledore reports on what was happening. The Dark Lord bid me to his side at nearly every non-violent meeting. I, Severus, was the masked figure at his left. I was the only one allowed on his left. Only when I was at school was I safe, but even then I had to act as if I was partial to only Slytherin purebloods, else risk my life. As the years went on, I witnessed more than I care to admit. Women, children, and men were murdered before my very eyes. I counted each and every one of them. 257 deaths I was witness to from the age of fourteen to the day of the final battle.

Dumbledore continued to receive information from me. The night before he died, he came to be and told me that he would not live but another day, but I must not tell a soul. He told me that I had to continue what I was doing until the day of the final battle. And then, only then, was I supposed to ensure that the snake Nagini was killed. I assured him that I would.

The next year, the Dark Lord tried to make me stay home and not return to Hogwarts, but I begged him. I was the only one that dared beg for anything. He allowed me to go. I hid out there, but I did not keep as quiet as Dumbledore had told me too. I talked to some of the younger students, mainly the Slytherin student I had access to and got them sent home. You wondered what was happening to your first years, why there were so few. It was because I was getting them out, or, in the very least, hidden. There are many rooms like the Room of Requirement. Madam Pomfrey caught me one night. I thought she would take me to you. Turn me in for all of the bad things she thought I had done. But she didn’t. She showed me to a room and told me only one other person knew of it, and that person no longer had need of it. I saved children that could not save themselves.

Then the night of the final battle came. I begged them to turn Harry over to the Dark Lord, though that was not what I wanted. I had to have a way to leave the Great Hall to get to my children in what they had dubbed the Room of Enjoyment. I had children in their from first to third year. I dared not try to save any older. McGonagall demanded Filch to take all Slytherins to the Dungeons. It was here that Madam Pomfrey grabbed me and told Filch that she would take care of me. He was giddy at the thought, but I knew that she was helping me. I went and grabbed as many of the younger Slytherins as possible and made them come with me. I then, under a disillusionment charm, went around the castle over the next hour and grabbed as many of them as I could. I put them all in the Room of Enjoyment, and bid a houseelf, Karine, keep them in and under no circumstance should she let them out until either I or Madam Pomfrey came to get them or the battle ended.

Then I went to the forest. I watched Harry come to the Dark Lord. I watched Cissy save his life.

The final battle was torture. But once it was over, it was over. Dumbledore had hidden his Will in Gringotts and another in a box that he had given McGonagall. There he cleared so many people. You and I were at the top of the list as his most important spies…

So, that is what I went through. Rather a skimming of it anyways. I will not tell you every detail, as despite your mental age right now, you are five. I gave you an overview because I believe you deserve to know, Severus. You deserve to know, above all else, that our sacrifices really were worth it.” Pansy finished. She had, miraculously, remained tear free, something that never happened when she was telling this particular story. But, there was something in her that made her realize that she had to remain strong for Severus.

“Damn that old man!” Severus hissed.

Pansy looked at the little boy before her.

“No, Severus. I was angry at Dumbledore for a time when I was younger, and I still do not know how he thought he would save me if the Dark Lord had wished me dead, but I forgave him. You must do that too. Yes, he sacrificed me, you, and Harry. He sacrificed many people, but we have to overcome that. Dumbledore is a dead man that shall sacrifice no more.”

“I should have noticed that something was going on with you. I never read anything in your mind that would point to this though…”

Pansy let out a small sigh.

“Severus, you only would have realized something was different with me if I had wished it. I am a natural Occlumens… it was part of the reason that Dumbledore did what he did.”

“I should have known.”

“Severus. Stop it. Right now. There is nothing that you could have done. And, besides, I am happy now. You are going to be happy. I know that right now you are not as happy as you will be. This is your second chance at life, family, and love.”

“But…” Severus looked up at her. He was feeling so many emotions that he didn’t understand at that moment.

“No, Severus. There is no but. It is all over now. We have so much to live for now. You have new parents that love you. Brothers. And you have yet to meet all of your cousins. Asta and Scorpius are very excited to meet you. As are, I hear, Hermione and Ron’s children. There is a slew of family you have yet to meet, and probably will not get too until Christmas, but they will all love you. You are part of our family now. Weird as it may be, it is still a family nonetheless.”

Pansy looked down at the boy and placed her hand on his knee. He looked up at her pleadingly.

“Will you take me to my Mummy now? I really need my Mummy.” Severus said in a quiet voice.

She had been prepared for this and wished that she hadn’t had to tell him so much, even if she had left all of the graphic details out.

“Yes, Severus, I will take you to your Mummy.” Pansy said, standing up and then bending over to pick up Severus.

She immediately headed to the dining room, where she could hear more people. Pansy opened the doors and then looked for Ginny.

Ginny was placing Alby in a highchair beside her seat, and another chair with a higher seat was beside her. Severus saw her immediately.

“Mummy!” he cried, and jumped from Pansy’s arms to Ginny’s. Ginny looked at Pansy.

“I’m sorry, Ginny. I only told him what was necessary to make him understand…”

“Oh, Pansy, I know. It had to be done.” Ginny told her, placing her free hand on the other woman’s arm.

“Mummy…” Severus whimpered into her neck.

“What is going on?” Harry said from behind Ginny.

Severus looked up from his mother’s neck.

“Daddy, I am so…soo…sorrrry!” he cried, and held his arms up to Harry.

Harry took the little boy and looked at his wife.

What Ginny saw was a mask of confusion, worry….

….and pure happiness at the fact Sev had just called him Daddy.

Harry sat at the table with Severus sitting on his lap, his little head resting on Harry’s shoulder and tears falling down the little boy’s face. Narcissa had kept the children out of the dining room for the time being, to give Sev time to calm down. Pansy looked forlorn sitting beside Narcissa.

She regretted having to tell a five year old any of her story, even if it was for the best. She had kept all of the gory details out as it was.

Narcissa laid her hand on the young woman’s shoulder and patted it. She leant down and whispered, “He shall be okay. He is a strong little boy. You brought that family closer together tonight, Love.” Narcissa kissed Pansy on the forehead and then walked over to the Potter’s.

“Sev, are you ready to eat? There is a special menu for you and the other children, and I am sure that your brothers and cousins are hungry.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Severus whispered, then went to run his hand through Harry’s hair and stopped. Ginny smiled.

“Sev, Daddy is holding you know, he doesn’t have long hair like I do to run your fingers through, so you will have to make do with Daddy’s shoulder.” Ginny told him. Sev smiled sheepishly.

Just at that moment, a stampede of children ran into the dining hall. Narcissa carried one child in her arms, the blonde haired, green eyed, Asta. Draco came in holding the hands of three year old Scorpius and Jamie.

Sirius and Teddy ran over to their parents and brothers.

“Okay, boys, let’s sit down, Aunt Cissy promised a special menu for you.” Ginny said, picking up Jamie and setting him to her right, and Harry placed Severus to her left.

“Mummy…” Severus said, tugging on the sleeve of her robes.

“Yes, Love?”

“Can I sit by Daddy tonight? Just tonight. Cause…”

Ginny placed her finger to his lips and said, “Shhh. You can sit beside Daddy if Sirius or Teddy will change spots with you.” Ginny told him. Severus nodded and stood up, walking slowly over to Sirius.

“Sirius, can…can I sit beside Daddy?” Sev looked at his feet, afraid that the first time he asked for something that he would be turned down.

Sirius stared at his new little brother. On one hand, he was supposed to hate the man. But, was this timid little boy in front of him who carried so many insecurities around with him really worth hating? Was he not, perhaps, worth more than that?

“Sure, Sev, you can sit by Dad, but don’t get used to it.” Sirius said, running his hand through Sev’s hair and then walking towards Ginny.

Severus stared at the empty spot that Sirius had vacated.

Harry had overheard the entire conversation and sent an approving smile at Sirius. Sirius merely grinned back at him then started talking to Ginny.

“Come on, Sev!” Harry said, picking him up and placing him in the chair beside him. Severus smiled.

“Thanks….Daddy.” Severus told Harry. One would not be able to smack the grin that was on Harry’s face.

Cling. Cling.

Both Harry and Severus looked towards Narcissa who was standing at the head of the table. It was then that Severus realized that there were a lot of people sitting at the table. A lot of people he was familiar with. He immediately shrunk back into his seat.

“First, I would like to introduce the two newest members of our extended family to everyone as they have not yet been re-introduced to everyone.” Narcissa then pointed to the left side of the table, “Sirius and Severus, you both, of course know Draco and Pansy. Between them are Scorpius and Asta. Next to Pansy, is Hermione, and then Hugo, Rose, and of course, Ron. You have, of course, met Luna and Neville. These two next to me are Kaethe and Alec. Severus, Sirius, I believe that I speak for us all when I say how happy we are that you have joined our family. Now, let’s eat!” Narcissa gave her short speech and then food appeared on their plates. All of the children were excited to see that, instead of the fillet of tilapia, asparagus, and rice pilaf that graced their parents plates, they had baked chicken, macaroni and cheese, and green beans. They knew that if they ate their meal that there would be an awesome dessert to be had.

Severus looked at his plate, and at Harry’s plate.

“Daddy…” Severus whispered.

Harry looked down at him and raised his eyebrows in questioning.

“Come here.” Severus whispered.

Harry bent down so that Severus could whisper in his ears.

“Daddy, can I have your green things? And you take mine? And can I have some ketchup?”

Harry looked at the little boy with surprise and nodded. Although he, himself, did not really care for green beans, it was a parent’s prerogative to help their children in such cases. And, as Sev was still going to be eating a vegetable, it was okay if he wanted to trade.

Harry discreetly made the swap, though it escaped no one’s notice minus the other children, and placed some ketchup on Severus’ plate that had popped on the table as soon as Severus had requested it.

What astounded Harry, however, was the fact that the boy was dipping everything on his plate, chicken, asparagus, and macaroni and cheese, in the ketchup.

Harry simply shook his head and continued eating his own food and making sure that Teddy, on his other side, was eating his.

Ginny smiled at the actions of two of her boys (Harry as one of said boys) and went to wipe off Alby’s mouth with a napkin. Sirius looked down at Severus, snarled his nose in disgust, and said, “Severus that is disgusting!”

Sev looked at his food and then at Sirius.

“So what! You don’t have to eat it.” Severus took another bite.

“I wouldn’t eat it if you forced it down my throat. That looks like vomit!”

Ginny turned to Sirius and narrowed her eyes.

“Sirius, you have been such a good big brother today, do not ruin it now.”

“But…”

“No buts. This conversation is over. Behave or you will get a check mark on your Happy Chart and have to go to bed early tonight.” Ginny told him lightly. Sirius scowled but did as he was told and continued eating. He had only gotten one check mark on his Happy Chart for running in the house after he had been warned not to. He ignored the fact that the other times he had gotten in trouble were bad enough to bypass the Happy Chart and to get a spanking.

Soon, everyone had finished with dinner and waited patiently for dessert, though Harry had had to tell Teddy to stop fidgeting. No one, especially not the children, were disappointed when desert came.

In a large, flat bottomed bowl was a scope of vanilla ice cream and a chocolate brownie both covered in chocolate sauce. On top of the chocolate sauce sat a chocolate turtle. It looked as if the turtle was swimming in the sauce.

“I found these tiny chocolate turtles in a muggle candy store. They really are truly delightful.” Narcissa told her guests. All of the children dug in and moans of pure bliss could be heard from them.

Severus picked up his chocolate turtle and scrutinized it before biting its top part off.

Hmm. Aunt Cissy was right. They were good.

At first.

Severus realized quickly that whatever enjoyment his brothers and new cousins were having by eating those turtles was not something that he was going to achieve.

His throat started to feel tight and his body began to feel hot.

“Mummmmmy….” His voice was low and husky, causing Harry to look down.

“Oh Merlin! Ginny! Something is wrong with Severus!” Harry said, standing up and knocking his chair on the floor as he pulled Severus out of his own chair. Ginny stood up and rushed to where Harry was and took the little boy from his arms, laying him on the floor.

“Aunt Cissy, what were in those chocolate turtles?” Ginny asked, as she had yet to eat hers.

“Caramel. Pecans. Chocolate.” Narcissa said walking quickly over to Harry and Ginny.

“He is having an allergic reaction. It must be the pecans because he has had both chocolate and caramel at home. I need a Anti-Allergy Elixer and an Adrenaline Draught. Now.” Ginny told the older woman, knowing that because Kaethe and Pansy both had severe allergic reactions to bees and other stinging insects that they would have a full supply.

Sure enough, within seconds, the Elixer was being spelled into Severus’ stomach and Ginny was filling a needle with the Draught. Severus winced as he was turned over, trousers dropped, and the needle was stuck in the top part of his bum.

Embarrassment, however, was slowly diminishing to relief as he was able to breathe again. Ginny, who had discretely hid her son’s naked flesh from the observer’s in the dining hall, covered him back up and then held him to her chest as Harry helped her up.

Severus had tears falling down his cheeks as he held onto Ginny.

“Mummy…I’m sorry.” He told her, already wrapping his hands in her hair and twisting it around his fingers.

Ginny pulled him back and looked at him.

“Whatever for?”

“I forgot, Mummy. I forgot. I forgot that I couldn’t have them!” He cried into her neck. Ginny sighed.

“Baby, it is okay. That was not for you to have to remember. Mummy will not ever forget and we will do our best to make sure that you never eat another pecan again. Okay?”

Severus nodded, and then quietly lay against his mother’s chest, breathing slowly, and relishing in the fact that he was breathing so freely after such a close call.

“Ginny, is he okay?” Hermione asked from across the table. Her youngest, Hugo, age one, was in her lap asleep.

“Yes. He is alright, just a bit scared.”

Everyone seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

 Soon, everyone finished eating and all of the children, minus the babies, Asta and Hugo, and Severus who was now asleep in his mother’s arms, were sent into the next room to play. Narcissa looked at everyone at the dining table and smiled.

“I have a couple of things that I wanted to tell you all tonight, things that I have been quiet about for a while,” Narcissa took a deep breath, “The first thing, is about Kaethe and Alec. While I have never lied to any of you, I have not told you the truth either. I have, rather, omitted the truth for quite some time.

When Draco, and most of you, were in first year, I became pregnant. I had the child when you were in second year. That child was Kaethe. I knew that if I wished for her to live, I had to send her to a distant squib cousin who I knew would take care of her and, if the war ended with the side of the light, and if I or Lucius were still alive, would willingly give her back. Then, when you were in fifth year, I gave birth again, to Alec. I sent him to the same relative. I did what I could not do for Draco, and guaranteed that they would live a Dark free life. I kept this a secret until now, because I was not sure how to tell it.” Narcissa paused for a moment.

“Aunt Cissy…that was very…Slytherin of you.” Hermione said with a smile, “And, not one of us here could fault you a bit for what you did. In a way, you saved each and every one of us. You have been everything that we have needed since the war. We understand that you couldn’t during the war, but the war is over.”

Relief washed over Narcissa’s face as she noticed that every child, well, young adult, was smiling back at her.

“What is your other news?” Neville asked.

“I am glad you asked. As of two weeks ago, the Rune’s professor at Hogwarts took an extended leave of absence to, I repeat verbatim, ‘Get the nonsense of hormonal teenagers out of my head’. I was offered an extended contract via Minerva, and took the job. I want to be closer to each of you and the children when they go to school. So, during the school year, I will take residence at Hogwarts. I start after Christmas break.”

“That is excellent, Aunt Cissy!” Harry said, jumping up and walking over to her to embrace her.

Then, everyone began congratulating her.

It would be nice to have another part of their family close by.

~sdrawkcab~

Ginny held Severus as she walked through the Floo. The child was sleeping, and Ginny was still worried about him. Behind her, Harry came through with Jamie and Alby, then Neville with Teddy and Luna with Sirius.

“Good night, boys.” Luna said, wrapping her arm around Neville.

“Night, Auntie Luna!” The boys chorused, then ran out of the room.

“Thanks, you two, for helping us get the boys through. We really appreciate it.” Harry said.

Ginny smiled at them, and then the four said their good-byes to one another. Ginny went over to the couch and sat down with a sigh. She had been holding Severus for a while and she was realizing that it was not going to be easy to hold any of her boys much longer as her stomach was growing larger with each passing day. She didn’t know how Alby and Severus, her two cuddlers, were going to take that. She would have to figure out a way around it.

“How is he?” Harry asked, sitting beside his wife.

“He is okay. I want to watch him tonight though. That scared me to death, Harry.” Ginny said. Harry nodded.

“Me, too, Love, me, too.” Harry said, then smiled

Ginny looked at him and then smiled herself. Her husband was so predictable.

“It wasn’t a dream, Harry.”

“I know, Gin. He really said it. He really called me Daddy!”

Harry just continued to grin like he had won a million galleons.

The days turned into weeks and finally, Christmas was right around the corner. Because of this, all five of the boys had behaved incredibly well. They had no desire to be on the naughty list this close to Christmas. For this, both Harry and Ginny were glad, as with the holidays close, both of their jobs were more taxing than usual. They were staying at Hogwarts one more day before going to their home in Godric’s Hollow.

With the end of the school term, and Christmas four days away, Ginny and Harry, with the help of Neville, Luna, and Andromeda, were taking the boys shopping. They had given each of them twenty galleons, with orders to only spend money on their respective brothers, not themselves.

Severus, ever the planner, had taken a piece of parchment and written down exactly what he was getting each of his brothers in his childish script, as well as what he was getting his Mummy and Daddy. 

Sirius knew exactly what he was going to do when he got to Diagon Alley. Wing it.

Teddy and Jamie knew what they were getting one another and Sirius, but had no idea what to get Severus or Alby. They were going to depend on whichever adult was with them.

Alby, well, as he was only two, nearly three, he really didn’t get buying presents for someone else, but knew that he was getting his Sevy something good. Because he was his.

“Okay, boys! How do you want to split up?” Harry asked them.

The boys looked at each other. They were all dressed identically, in case one of them went missing, so that their parents could show people what they were wearing. The boys had not been terribly excited about it, but with it being the holidays and overly crowded, Ginny had insisted.

So, they each had on blue jeans and a long sleeved red shirt with a moving model of the solar system. Sirius thought the solar system was stupid. Teddy hadn’t wanted to wear long sleeves. Severus had been mad that it was red. Jamie said it was ‘itchy’. Alby was actually the only one who didn’t mind the shirt.

When Ginny had told them that Santa was going to put them on the naughty list if they didn’t stop whining, however, they had immediately stopped.

“I wanna go with Gran’ma.” Teddy said. Ginny nodded, and smiled at him. She knew that Teddy didn’t get to spend enough alone time with his grandmother, and it would be good for the both of them.

“I go wif Sevy!” Alby said.

“Love, you can’t buy Sevy a present if he is with you.” Harry said. This caused Alby to pout.

“Daddy, I wanna go with Auntie Luna.” Jamie said. Harry nodded and Luna took Jamie’s hand.

“Sirius? Severus?” Harry asked. Severus stared at Sirius out of the corner of his eye.

“I wanna go with you, Daddy.” Severus whispered.

“Yea, I wanna go with Mum.” Sirius said. He knew that his Mum would help him pick out stuff for his brothers.

“I go wif Unca Nev.” Alby said, glaring at Severus.

Severus looked a bit hurt.

“Alby, you and Sev will get to eat lunch together. Now, be nice.” Ginny scolded him.

Soon, everyone was in Diagon Alley. It was the first time that Severus had ever Floo’d with anyone but Ginny, and he still did not appreciate it. It made his stomach hurt and always made him feel like he was going to vomit even if he didn’t. His Mummy had given him a stomach soother, and still it only helped a little.

Harry patted his back for a few minutes and waited until his stomach was settled and then sat him on his own two feet.

“Okay, Sev, where do you want to go look first?” Harry asked.

Severus stood for a moment and thought about it.

“Bookstore.”

The two walked down Diagon Alley towards Flourish and Blotts. Severus slipped his hand into his Daddy’s. Everyone was so much taller than him!

“Daddy…” Severus said. Harry stopped and bent down.

“Yes, son?”

“Carry me…please.” Severus said, putting his arms up.

“Are you sure about that?”

“Yes. I can’t see. There are too many people everywhere. I don’t want you to get lost.” Severus told Harry. Harry smiled. Get lost indeed.

He picked the child up and placed him on his hip and then they continued down the alley towards the bookstore.

“What are you going to get in the bookstore?” Harry asked.

“A book.”

“What kind of book?”

“For Teddy. He’s like Remus, kinda. Remus liked to read.” Severus said. Harry nodded at that assessment. Teddy favored his late father greatly.

“They have a book about metamorphoses’ for our age. I saw it in Mummy’s magazine.” Severus told his father, who nodded.

Going into that particular store was a nightmare. Harry feared if every store they went into was like that, then they would never meet everyone in time for lunch.

By the time they made their way through the crowded bookstore to the children’s section, found the book, and then made their way to the register, they had already let an hour pass.

Quickly paying for Your Ability to Shift and You, Harry and Severus found themselves outside again.

“Where to this time, buddy?” Harry asked. Severus grinned widely at being called ‘buddy’.

“Quidditch. I heard Sirius telling Uncle Neville that they have practice ground quidditch balls there. I wanna get him a bludger and bat. That way, he can hit it for practice and when he gets mad. Sirius said that you can put his age and all into it so that it wouldn’t hurt anyone.”

“That sounds like an excellent idea.” Harry said. While he and Ginny had not had any troubles with Sirius lately, there were times when the boy had anger issues, usually when he was remembering something from his adult memories. The difference between him and Severus, however, was that Sirius was a physical child, and had yet to learn to reign in his temper when it counted most, though he was getting better. A physical outlet, such as a practice bludger and bat, would do him a world of good.

After another hour, (the quidditch store was even worse than the bookstore as little boys seemed to always find their way to the store during the holidays with eyes wide with wonder and excitement at the Christmas Quidditch displays in the windows) Harry and Severus found themselves outside again.

Severus seemed to be becoming irritated with the crowds, and would not let Harry put him down at all by then. Harry himself was wondering why they had waited so long to come Christmas shopping and vowed to go much earlier the next year. (though that never would happen, as much as Harry swore, for it years to come it seemed that someone always needed to go to Diagon Alley a day or so before Christmas…it was frustrating, to say the least.)

“Where to now, Son?”

Severus sighed.

“Daddy, I wanna get Jamie something from the joke shop, and Alby wants a Hogwarts Express. And, Mummy needs something pretty, but I don’t know what. I am tired of shopping Daddy. It’s frustrating.” Severus said, laying his head on his Daddy’s shoulder.

Harry laughed.

“I agree with you there, Sev. Now, you know that you don’t have to get Mummy anything, right?” Harry questioned him.

“I know, I wanna. I love Mummy.” Sev stated simply, as if the reason should have been obvious.

Harry laughed at patted Sev on the pack.

“I know you do, son, I know you do. How about we quickly go to the toy store and get Alby’s train. Then we will go next door to the joke shop and get Jamie…hmmm…how about of the Canary Creams, Mammal Milk Chocolates, and Serpent Suckers. Jamie will think that it is neat if he can turn into some animals. And then for Mummy…”

“I wanna go to the Apot-a-cary.” Severus told him simply.

Harry looked at him, then nodded.

“I need to go to the quill store too. Then I am done. Then can we go home?” Severus asked.

Again, Harry laughed.

“After we meet with everyone and have lunch. I am sure that you and your brothers will be in desperate need of a nap.”

“Nah.” Sev responded.

Harry simply smirked.

~sdrawkcab~

Two and a half hours later, one train, various animal turning sweets, one customizable cauldron that Harry didn’t really understand the point of but humored his son nonetheless, and some mysterious gift from the quill shop that had been hidden from Harry, and they were finally at the Leaky Cauldron waiting on everyone else.

As soon as they had sat down, Severus crawled out of the chair that his father had placed him in and then climbed into Harry’s lap, one leg on each side of Harry with his stomach against his, and laid his head on his Daddy’s chest.

By the time that Ginny arrived with Sirius, who looked slightly perturbed, Severus was sleeping.

Ginny smiled at her husband and son, and walked over to them. Bending down to kiss, first Harry then a sleeping Severus, Ginny pulled a chair close to his and sat Sirius on it.

“How did it go, Love?” Harry asked.

“It went. We will discuss it more at home. How about with Sev?” Ginny asked, watching Sirius closely.

The child was pouting now. Harry also noticed this, but took his wife’s word for it and would wait until they got home to discuss whatever it was.

“It went well, though I didn’t think he was going to make it past the second store. He knew exactly what he wanted, and if it hadn’t been for the lines, we would have been finished in less than half an hour.” Harry told her.

“We would not have been.” Ginny said, then left it at that.

Soon, Luna and Neville with Alby and Jamie, came into the small pub. Alby, like Severus, was fast asleep and it looked as if Jamie, who was being carried by Luna, was nearly there as well.

Andromeda came in right behind them with a grinning Teddy, which could only mean that he had accomplished everything that he had set out for. Andromeda smiled lovingly at him as his hair changed from red to blue to green to yellow to orange and back again in his excitement.

“Okay, boys, why don’t we go on home, since Sev and Alby are sleeping. Then we can eat lunch and everyone can lay down.” Ginny told them.

Everyone nodded.

“Ginny, do you mind if I take Teddy with me to my house for a while? We have a few Christmas things to finish.” Andromeda asked.

Ginny looked at her.

“Aunt Dromeda, you know you can.” She said with a smile.

A few chaotic moments later and everyone was ready to leave and going through the Floo.

Ginny, with Sirius, was the last one through and looked at the little sullen boy.

“Go to the study and place your nose in the corner, young man.” Ginny told him. He didn’t even look up, but instead did what he was told.

Harry looked at Ginny and she lightly shook her head. They would talk in a moment.

“Let’s lay Severus and Alby down in their rooms. Jamie are you hungry?” Ginny asked.

“Ginny, Luna and I are dining in the Great Hall. We will take Jamie with us so that he can eat and then bring him back in an hour or so.” Neville said, already picking the boy back up after handing Ginny Alby.

“Thanks, Nev. I am sure that Jamie would enjoy that.” Harry said. Jamie was nodding his head up and down quickly, making his parents laugh. It wasn’t often that he got both Aunty Luna and Uncle Neville by himself.

After watching the trip leave the quarters, Harry and Ginny looked at one another, each with a sleeping child in their arms.

They placed Alby and Severus in their rooms and then went directly into the study.

Sirius was standing in the corner, which was a good thing, as he knew his Mum wasn’t all that happy with him at the present moment.

“Sirius, come here.” Ginny said as she sat down on the couch.

Sirius turned from the corner slowly and walked over to Ginny and Harry, stopping just out of reach.

“Go on, Sirius. Tell Daddy exactly what you did.” Ginny said then tightened her lips and raised her eyebrows.

Oh yea, Sirius thought, he had definitely gone too far this time.

Sirius Arthur Black-Potter was quite sorry that he had decided to act up in Diagon Alley when all was said and done. He may have, possibly, been able to get away with what he had done had it been Neville or Luna, but not his Mum. No, he was sure that his Mum had eyes in the back of her head. It was possible, wasn’t it? Wasn’t that how she always knew who had done what and when?

Sirius looked from his mother to his father. He moved awkwardly from one foot to the other.

“Go on, Sirius. Tell Daddy what you did.”

Sirius swallowed hard and looked at Ginny.

“Do I have too?” he asked quietly.

“Yes.”

Sirius sighed.

“I didn’t mean it, I swear…”

“Sirius, I think that it’s best if you go ahead and tell me what you did.” Harry prompted him lightly.

“Well…You see, what had happened was that Mummy was in the bookstore. Which, you know Daddy, is two doors down from the Quidditch store and really, really boring. And what you also know, Daddy, is that Training Brooms are only 19 Galleons cause little kids grow so fast that they are a lot cheaper because they sell more…Uncle Ron told me that the other day when he came over to Grammy’s for lunch. Also, what you also know, Daddy, is that you and Mum gave us 20 galleons to buy Christmas presents…”

Harry held up his hand to stop Sirius from speaking any more.

“So, son, you left Mummy at the bookstore, without her permission?”

“Well, yea.” Sirius looked down at his feet.

“Then you bought a quidditch training broom, also without her permission?” Harry asked.

Sirius nodded sheepishly.

“Son, did you think about what would happen if Mummy hadn’t been able to find you?”

“I don’t know. I knew that I would be back before Mummy noticed.”

“But, you weren’t, Sirius. And I was so worried! Not only was I worried about you, but while I was frantically looking for you, you were buying something for yourself, without a thought in the world for your brothers. Yet, each of your brothers bought you a present today.” Ginny scolded him.

“I bet Severus didn’t.” Sirius spatted.

“Each of your brothers bought you a present. Yet, you were selfish and didn’t buy any of them one.”

“We can all share the broom. We will have two now. Or, we would have had Mum not made me take it back and then chewed the quidditch store guy out for selling a broom to a ‘seven year old child who doesn’t need anything that dangerous’. Mum’s words, not mine.” Sirius said sullenly.

“Your mother is the adult. You are the child. You will do what she says.”

“But…”

“Sirius, there will never be a ‘but’ when it comes to the authority of your mother and me. What you did was selfish, son. Don’t you understand that?” Harry asked the boy, kneeling down beside him.

This caused Sirius to sniff back the tears he was trying to hide. It did sound bad when he said it like that.

“’M sorry.” He whimpered as tears finally fell.

Ginny sighed and stood up, gently grabbed Sirius by the arm, and pulled him between her legs as she sat back down.

“Sirius, what can you do to make this better?” She asked him, taking her thumbs and wiping his tears away.

He shrugged his shoulders and said, “I dun’no.” His little shoulders shook as he talked.

“Am I in lots of tro’ble?” He asked through his snot and tears.

Ginny looked at Harry.

“What do you think, Daddy?” Ginny asked Harry. Harry looked at Sirius.

“I think that it is awful close to Christmas to be getting into trouble. Sirius, what do you think?”

“I think Mummy is a gon’a spank me.” The little boy sobbed and put his head down on Ginny’s lap in a way only a truly chastised child could.

Ginny patted his back and looked at Harry.

“Sirius, if I took you back to Diagon Alley, or maybe Hogmeade, and gave you back your twenty galleons, what would you do with it?” Ginny asked him.

He kept his face hidden in Ginny’s lap, but mumbled, “I’d get m’ brot’ers presents.”

Harry and Ginny both smiled.

“How about, we do that, then, Sirius. Your brothers thought really hard about what they wanted to get you; don’t you think that it is only fair you do the same for them?” Harry asked him.

Sirius turned his head slightly to the left and looked at his parents out of one eye and nodded.

“I think then, that that is what you need to do.” Harry told him, and then patted him on the back.

“Okay,” sniff, “Daddy.”

“How about you take a nap, Love, and then you and I will go into town and get your presents.” Ginny asked him.

Already half asleep, Sirius nodded and then held his arms up to his mother. He wanted to be cuddled now…and he also wanted to thank his lucky stars that he wasn’t getting punished anymore.

~sdrawkcab~

“Daddy. Daddy. Daddy. Daddy. Da…” Came voice from the hallway.

“What, Severus?” Harry said with a laugh as he walked towards his son. He bent down and picked up Severus, whose hair was going everywhere since he had just woke up, and looked him in the eyes.

“Daddy, I am hungry. And, I need to wrap my presents! Alby is still sleeping…and…Daddy! Did you know that Mummy is MISSING!” Severus yelled out the last bit with a certain amount of worry and surprise. If he was at home, his Mummy was always there when he woke up. So it was quite a shock to discover her missing. Of course, some of the brothers were also missing, but that wasn’t the same as Mummy going missing.

“No, no, Sev, Mummy isn’t missing. She and Sirius had to go back to town for a little bit. They will be back after while. You and Alby must have been really tired because you slept for three hours and Alby is still sleeping.”

“Well, where is Jamie and Teddy?” Severus asked, his eyebrows knitted together.

“Teddy is with Grandma, and Jamie fell asleep after he ate with Aunt Luna and Uncle Neville. They will both be back later.”

“Oh. Okay. Can you fix me something to eat?” Severus asked.

“What do you want?”

“Well…since Mummy isn’t here, and it’s just me and you, and maybe Alby if he wakes up, don’t you think that we should have chips and macaroni?” Severus asked seriously. Harry raised his eyebrows at him.

“Hmm. We might be able to handle that. But, only if you help me out.” Harry said with a grin. Severus nodded enthusiastically.

Together, with Harry carrying Severus, they went into the kitchen and pulled out a box of muggle macaroni and cheese (it was a brand that Harry had fallen in love with as a child and Mrs. Figg had made him some when he was at her house once) and frozen chips.

“How about, Sev, if I sit you on the counter, you read me the directions on the box, and I will follow them.”

“Okay. Give me the box.” Severus said with his hand held out for the blue box of mac and cheese.

“You need a pot, and you need to fill it with water about half way, and then you need to put it on the stove ‘til boils.” Severus told him.

“Okay…” Harry said, doing as he was told.

“You know, if you can cook, in reality, you should be able to do potions.” Severus said. Harry looked over at him with a questioning look.

Severus sighed.

“Sometimes I can’t separate my Snape memories from my Sev memories. Why can’t I, Daddy? Why does it have to be so hard sometimes?” Severus asked him, the box of macaroni and cheese loose in one of his small hands while the other rubbed his temple.

Harry stopped what he was doing and went to stand in front of his son.

“Sev, I know that you may not totally understand what is going on with you right now, but I think, maybe, just maybe, that this is like a second chance. Maybe your old memories are there to keep you from making the same mistakes over again.”

“But, sometimes I see things that I don’t remember. I see things that scare me and I don’t understand why they didn’t scare me then. I don’t remember ever being happy, Daddy. Don’t you think that that is sad? That I was never happy?” Severus asked the older man.

Harry watched his son thoughtfully before even thinking about giving him an answer.

Severus stared with his dark, obsidian eyes into the brilliant green ones of his daddy.

“Except one thing, Daddy. I remember one thing that made me happy.”

“What was that, Sev?”

Severus smiled and grabbed Harry’s hand which had been resting on his knee.

“I remember the eyes. Yours, and Alby’s. Lily’s eyes, they are. First they made me happy, then for a little while they made me sad, but now, Daddy, they make me happy. Your eyes are like Mummy’s hugs…they make me feel better. Even if I am in trouble. Lily always used to make me feel better…until…” Severus sniffed noisily and looked up at Harry with round, tear filled eyes.

“Shh, Sev. It is okay. My Mum, she forgives you. For everything. You were her best mate for a long time, and I think even after your falling out with her that she still thought of you that way. But that is the past, Sev. Now things are different. You have me and Mummy, and four brothers, and another sibling that will be here in a couple of months. You have so many cousins that I am not sure I want to count them all, and numerous aunts and uncles and grandparents. But, Sev, most of all, you are loved more than you will ever understand.” Harry said, leaning down and embracing his son tightly.

Moments passed, and Severus sat there on the countertop, and Harry stood in front of him and hugged him in a way that only a parent would be able too.

“Daddy?”

“Yes, Sev?”

“I love you.” Sev whispered.

With those three simplistic words, Harry James Potter felt his own eyes tear up.

“And, I too, love you, Severus Harrison Snape-Potter. More than you can ever imagine. You have brought nothing but happiness to this family.” Harry told him honestly.

After a few more moments, the two of them broke apart. Harry took a handkerchief and wiped the tears off of Severus’ face gently.

“Well, son, let’s get this food cooked and eaten before Mummy comes home. What do you say?” Harry asked mischievously.

All he received from the little boy was a giggle.

Oh, but what a precious sounding giggle it was.

Harry had the odd feeling that he was being watched.

He was lying in bed, on his stomach, his arm draped over Ginny’s stomach, and he was completely relaxed.

Except the hair on the back of his neck was raised with complete awareness of his surroundings.

“Love, I believe that we have company.” Ginny whispered without ever opening her eyes.

Harry heard giggles and felt movement from the end of the bed.

“Let’s jump on Daddy.” One of the boys whispered. Although the child had whispered, Harry was almost positive that the boy in question had been Sirius.

“No…” Severus hissed back, “What if he gets mad?”

“He won’t get mad! Now if it was Mum, he might get mad…”

“We can’t jump on Mummy, you dunderhead! She has a baby in there!” Severus hissed at Sirius, pointing at the bump under the blankets.

“I wasn’t saying to jump on her, dummy! I was saying jump on Daddy!” Sirius hissed.

“I’ll jump on him.” Jamie whispered, though it was verging on yelling.

“Just don’t jump on Mummy! Even if it is Christmas, I bet we’d get in trouble.” Severus told his little brother.

Ginny and Harry were both trying to not to laugh, and Harry was bracing himself for the little boys that were surely fixing to jump on him.

“UMPH!” Harry groaned as several little bodies bombarded him at once.

“Wake up, Daddy!” several voices said at the same time. Harry opened his eyes and grinned, looking at Ginny who was looking at her boys.

Severus had not jumped on Harry, but had crawled over to Ginny and placed his head beside hers.

“Boys, what are you doing up so early? Usually Daddy and I have to drag you out of bed.” Ginny said, pulling Severus closer to her, so that his head was under her chin.

The other four boys, Sirius, Teddy, and Jamie on top of Harry, and Alby between his parents, just stared at her.

“Mummy, it is Christmas.” Severus whispered.

“Oh, it is, isn’t it?” Ginny said with a laugh.

“What do you say, Mummy? Do you think we should make these boys eat breakfast before they go see what Santa brought them?” Harry asked, a mischievous gleam in his eyes.

“Daddy!” several of the boys chanted. (Actually it sounded more like a whine, but since it was Christmas, both adults decided to take it as a chant…)

“Are you all sure that you were good enough to stay off of the naughty list?” Harry asked.

“Of course, Daddy!” Teddy said, grinning. He really wanted his parents to hurry up so they could all go into the living room. It was a rule that the boys couldn’t go in the living room until everyone was up on Christmas. And, well, everyone was up now!

“Well, Daddy, I think we better go see if Santa brought this bunch of impish little boys any presents.” Ginny said, standing up slowly and picking up Severus as she did so.

Severus paid his head down on her shoulder. He was quiet.

“Are you excited, Sev?” Harry asked as he stood up and picked up Alby as the other boys jumped off the bed.

“Yea.” He said, grinning slightly.

“Okay, Boys, what do you say all of you go into the living room and sit on the couch? No touching any of the presents!” Harry yelled he put down Alby and the four boys ran through the hallway.

“Sev? Do you want to go sit with the boys?” Harry asked.

He shook his head and wrapped his arms around Ginny’s neck as she patted his back.

“Come on, let’s get out there before those four tear into everything they can get their hands on.” Ginny said, and walked towards the living room.

Surprisingly, the boys were all sitting on the couch staring with wide eyed wonder at the mounds of presents that were around the Christmas tree they had all helped decorate the night before.

“Come on, Mummy! Come on, Daddy!” the boys yelled.

Ginny walked over to the couch and sat Severus beside his brothers, and immediately, Gnomie flew out of nowhere and sat on Severus’ shoulder. Ginny and Harry had both noticed that the little Pixie Elf, now fully grown, never came out unless something was wrong or bothering Sev. Then, the little Elf would whisper soothing words to Severus. Usually, Gnomie made himself known only at night, the worst part of the day for Severus, and would sooth him to sleep when nothing else could.

“Okay, Boys, let Mummy take your picture!” Ginny said. She had dressed them the night before in matching pajamas: red sweat pants and green t-shirts with their names on the front of them in red.

The boys sat patiently…as patiently as they could with all those Christmas presents in front of them…and let their Mum take pictures until their Daddy, laughing, took the camera out of her hands.

“Come on, Love, let’s let them open presents before they revolt.” Harry said.

Ginny looked over at her boys with a sheepish grin.

“Sorry, Boys, I just want to remember everything. Come on, Daddy, let’s set them up so that that they can start opening their gifts.”

Soon, Harry and Ginny had shrunk the couches and all but one chair, for Ginny, and had the boys sitting in various places around the living room so that they could open their presents.

Closest to Ginny were Alby and Severus. Next to Severus, though several feet away, was Sirius, then Teddy, and then Jamie beside Harry. Together, they made a circle.

“Okay. I am going to hand everyone a present, but you have to wait until all of you have a present before you can open the one you get, okay?” Ginny asked.

All the boys nodded, and, finally, after what seemed like an eternity to them, Harry started handing out presents.

Jamie was handed a package with green wrapping from Severus.

Teddy had something wrapped in red paper from Sirius.

Sirius had his gift from Severus.

Alby’s first gift was from Jamie, in blue paper.

And, finally, Severus looked down at his lap as he was handed a gift in pale green wrapping with snakes all over it.

“Okay, boys! Go!” Harry said, and sat on the floor in front of Ginny, grinning at his children.

The boys tore into their presents, and immediately started with their ‘ohs and ahs’.

“Look Daddy! Jokes! Jokes, Daddy!” Jamie squealed.

“Mum, Daddy! I got a practice bludger from Sev!” Sirius said, amazed, turning the toy over and over in his hands.

Teddy was still gradually opening his own present.

“Look at my new shoes!” Severus quietly said, excitement causing his cheeks to flush as he held up a pair of wizard shoes that changed colors depending on what outfit he had on and the bottoms of them lit up each time he took a step.

Alby just looked silently at a new book he had received with moving pictures. He was too busy looking at the book to pay attention to anything else.

Soon, however, the entire living room was in mayhem. Presents were being opened and shown to brothers and parents proudly until the next one replaced it. It was like this until all of the boys’ presents were opened.

Sirius, besides his practice bludger, received several quidditch books, some muggle action figures that he had grown fond of called Batman and Robin, a few comic books, and several different types of joke items that he had been warned not to use on his brothers without their knowledge, as they were for fun not harm.

Teddy was ecstatic with the book that Severus had gotten him, and had already turned himself into shapes that he had never practiced before. (But had been made to stop when he scared Alby by turning into a clown, something the littlest Potter was apparently deathly afraid of.) He also received quidditch books, and a practice bludger set (from Sirius, who had laughed inside when he had opened his own from Sev, as he was determined he and Teddy, who would go to Hogwarts at the same time despite their bit of age difference, would be on the house quidditch team together and would both be beaters). Teddy had also opened several muggle and wizarding board games.

Jamie, had received nearly the same presents as his two older brothers: quidditch books, pranks (which he was also warned about), a practice quaffle and hoop (mainly because he had watched a muggle basketball game once and really loved throwing the quaffle through the hoop), and a preschooler’s version of exploding snap…that squirted water gently instead of the version for older children.

Alby, so much like his namesake and big brother Sevy, received books, books, and more books, plus the train that his Sev had gotten for him. All of their brothers had gotten both Sev and Alby different books (luckily) and the two were determined to share their newfound luxuries together. Alby also threw his arms around Sev when he realized that the toy Hogwarts Express that he had seen in his Mummy’s book was given to him by Severus.

All of the boys also received shoes, similar to Sev’s but with slight differences, as Sirius and Teddy wore the same size, as did Jamie and Severus and they didn’t want the boys to get them mixed up. Ginny had also picked out several outfits for the five boys, who all desperately needed them as they seemed to grow rougher and rougher on their clothes all the time, and she was not sure how much longer she and her mother would be able to patch them up. There was definitely no handing some of them down like her brothers had when they were younger. Though, even if that was a possibility, Harry felt that all of the boys should have their own clothes, unless there was something that they wanted handed down.

Ginny knew this was because Harry had had so little growing up, and he never wanted his children to experience the same hurt and neglect he had, even if it was in small ways such as the clothing they wore. Ginny, herself, knew that it had affected her older brother, Ron’s, self esteem tremendously.

In reality, however, Ginny, nor any of her older brothers, would have traded anything about the way they grew up though. It made them into the people they were today, and they were all able to provide for their families without any troubles.

“Daddy, I think some little boys are about to fall asleep before they get to eat breakfast.” Ginny said, giggling lightly and pointing to Alby, who had actually already fallen asleep hugging his train to him amidst all the wrapping paper, and then moving her eyes over to Jamie who was lying on the floor with heavy eyes, all of his presents close to him as well.

Harry smiled then felt a tugging on his pajama top. He looked down to see that Severus had crawled over and placed a present in his lap. Severus stood up and then walked over to Ginny and handed her an oddly wrapped present as well.

Sirius, in the corner, eyed the younger boy carefully.

Harry carefully opened his present and was greeted with a quill. It was not, however, just any quill. It was a special quill with the Gryffindor (oh how it had pained Severus to have that put on it) crest and was made especially for grading essays and had a never ending supply of red and green ink, depending on what color the grader wished to use. It was made out of a black and silver Hippogriff feather.

“Thanks, Sev. This will really come in handy when I am grading those horrible, dunderheaded, imbecilic essays!” Harry said. Severus looked at him with round and wide eyes.

“Harrison Potter! Do not speak like that in front of the boys!” Ginny scolded, though no one but Severus was listening. Severus let out a snort.

The adult Severus secretly wondered what Potter was like in the classroom. If that last statement was anything to go by, Potter finally understood what it was like to have to teach a class full of idiotic dunderheads.

Severus quickly rubbed his head, which did not go unnoticed by either adult, and then shook off his memories.

“Mummy, open up your present!” Severus said suddenly, turning towards Ginny.

Slowly, in fact, slower than even Harry, Ginny opened her oddly shaped gift and put it on the floor beside her immediately and wrapped Severus in a hug.

“Oh, Sev!” Ginny gushed, as she hugged the little boy to her chest.

“Do you like it, Mummy?”

“Of course, Sevy, I love it.”

Harry looked confused.

“Want to explain to me what it is? He wouldn’t tell me when we went bought it. Said I wouldn’t understand it anyways.”

Ginny laughed.

“It is a customizable cauldron, Love. They are mainly used to make potions for one’s immediate family. It allows the potion maker to use their magical essence to make the potions stronger, something a potion maker cannot do in general because, for instance, my magical essence may not be able to adjust to Draco, Pansy, Scropius, or Asta. But, since these are all my babies, and we have magically adopted Sirius and Severus, so they are my babies too, I will be able to brew potions that will help them even more. Especially potions like the one I had to use on Severus when he had his allergic reaction to those pecans at Aunt Cissy’s.” Ginny explained, and hugged her young son to her.

“I didn’t get it cause of that, Mummy. Only because I know that they can be useful, and I thought that you would like it. And it is a pretty cauldron.” Severus whispered.

“Oh, Love, you did an excellent job. I love it.” Ginny told him.

“Love, let’s put the sleepers back in their beds, and get the others something light to eat. Merlin forbid if they don’t show up at Mum’s hungry when we go for lunch.” Ginny said.

Harry laughed, knowing very well that what his wife said was true.

In the corner, Sirius glared at Severus, something that went unnoticed by everyone.

Had they looked at the seven year old, they would have noticed a familiar gleam in his eye. One that spoke only of trouble to come.

Four hours later, things were no longer running smoothly in the Potter household on many plains.

“I don’t want to wear this!” Severus yelled, stomping his foot on the floor. Once again, Ginny had identical outfits for the boys, so that her mother could take the entire family’s photo in front of the Christmas tree at the Burrow.

Severus, however, was not having it. He refused to wear the red sweater over a white button up shirt with a pair of blue jeans.

“Severus, you are wearing it. Everyone else is wearing it, and you will also.” Ginny said. Which was true. Even Harry had an identical outfit, and Ginny was wearing a shirt the same color red.

“No!” Severus said, stomping his foot again. The little boy was standing in his room in his underwear (which had little bubbling cauldrons all over them, and he was quite proud of them) and nothing else. His new shoes were on the bed with his blue jeans and socks (also with little bubbling cauldrons on them), but the red sweater was on the floor where he had thrown it the minute his Mummy had handed it to him.

“Severus, do we need to go to the study?” Ginny asked him as she sat on the bed. She had already dressed Teddy and Sirius, and they were in the living room looking at their new quidditch books.

“Nooooo!” Severus cried and then fell to the floor in wracking sobs only a child could call forth.

“Severus, what is wrong with you, Son?” Ginny asked him.

“I don’ wanna wear that!” Severus yelled through his sobs.

Ginny sighed.

“Severus, this is ridiculous. Do you want me to go get Daddy?” she asked him.

Severus sniffed loudly and looked up from his place on the floor.

“No, I don’ wanna spankin’” he sniffed and ran the back of his hand across his nose as he stood up and walked over to Ginny.

“Are you going to wear what I have laid out for you?”

“I don’ wanna.” He sobbed, and laid his head in Ginny’s lap.

Ginny took that opportunity to summon a wet washcloth, quickly wash Sev down, and quickly dress began to dress him.

“Nooooo!” Severus wailed and tried to get away from her.

“Severus Harrison Snape-Potter! Stop!” Ginny scolded him.

Severus immediately stopped and looked at his mother with sad eyes.

Severus stood there and allowed Ginny to dress him, though his views about the stupid clothes he was wearing remained the same.

“Severus, I need you to do this for me. Okay? A couple pictures, that is all I want.”

“Why does it have to be red?” Severus whispered. He had willingly wore the red pajamas the night before, because they had also had green in them, making them look decidedly Christmas-esk. This outfit looked Gryffindor.

Ginny sighed. She’d had a feeling that that was what his problem was.

‘It’s Christmas, Sev. Red is…”

“But why can’t it be GREEN?!” Severus yelled and started to wipe his runny nose with his sleeve until Ginny grabbed his arm and wiped his nose with the cloth she had.

“Sev, we aren’t going to discuss this anymore. You are going to find Daddy right now.” Ginny said as she tied the shoes she had just put on his feet. The shoes had, unfortunately, turned red as well.

“I’d rather be with Daddy anyways!” Severus yelled, and ran out of the room. Ginny sighed and rubbed her stomach. The baby was getting bigger every day and seemed to always be jumping around, tiring her out more than usual. She knew that she was low on patience, and she felt horrible about it, but the boys all knew better than to act out like Severus just had.

She slowly got up and walked towards the living room, where, thankfully, Teddy and Sirius were sitting, clean, on the couch, Severus was sullenly sitting on the floor beside Alby who was already dressed thanks to his Daddy, who was tying Jamie’s shoes.

“Are we all ready?” Ginny asked Harry.

“Yes, Hun, are you okay?” Harry asked. He had heard Severus yelling, but couldn’t make out what he was screaming about, but when he had come into the living room, he had been angry and his face had been red from tears. He knew that whatever it had been hadn’t been enough for Ginny to take him into the study or give him a time-out, but both Severus and Ginny seemed to be on edge. Which, in itself, was abnormal, as Severus listened to Ginny better than anyone else.

“Everything is fine. Let’s go before we are late or have another break down from one of the boys.” She said, bending down to pick up Alby.

She walked over to Severus and went to pick him up, but the little boy jerked away.

“No! Don’t talk to me!” Severus said, his face sullen and pinched in anger.

Ginny looked at him and bent down to pick him up. She bent over and whispered into his ear, “If you do not behave, you and I are going to end up in the study before you know it. Now stop it, Severus. You have been so good lately. Please continue to do so.” Ginny scolded him.

Severus sniffed again and laid his head on her shoulder, twisting her hair around his little fingers. Ginny smirked slightly. She knew the little boy was trying to comfort himself, and she hoped that he got out of this little funk before he did get into trouble.

Alby watched him curiously.

“Harry, I am going to go ahead and go through the Floo.” Ginny said. Harry nodded.

Ginny stood in the fireplace and threw the Floo Powder and yelled, “The Burrow!”

The trio twirled around until Ginny stepped out of the Floo and walked into her parent’s home.

“Ginny! Love, Merry Christmas.” Molly Weasley said, walking over to her to take one of the children.

Except Severus threw up all over the place.

“Damnit.” Ginny hissed under her breath, “I forgot to give him a stomach soother before we came over.”

“Ginerva! Watch your language!” Molly said as she sent a cleaning spell to the trio and then took Severus from Ginny who was silently crying. Gnomie suddenly popped into the room and hovered over the crying little boy.

“Sorry, Mum. We have had a trying morning. I think I should have made all the boys take a nap after they opened presents. They were too fueled with excitement this morning to sleep past six, and now Severus needs a nap.”

“No.” Severus said quietly, eyeing his mother sadly.

“You don’t have to take a nap, Sev, just please behave. Do you need a stomach soother?” Ginny asked, though she was already summoning one to her before he ever nodded and handed it to her Mum.

“Here, Sevy, take this for Grammy.” Molly said. Severus took the drink willingly, then laid his head back on his Grammy’s shoulder.

“Where is everyone else?” Ginny asked.

“Most of the boys are outside flying with the children, and everyone else is in the kitchen. Severus, would you like to go outside?” Molly asked him. He immediately shook his head no.

“I wanna take this off. I’m hot.” Severus said, pulling at the sweater.

“Severus Harrison…” Ginny started, but then sighed, “Sev, thirty minutes. Grammy can take our pictures, and then we can take it off. I even brought your favorite shirt.” She finished, patting the bag that was on her shoulder.

The Floo opened up and the rest of the Potter’s walked into the room.

“Finally. Can we take the stupid picture now?” Severus snapped.

Ginny turned around, hand on hips, and stared down at the little boy. He returned the glare his Mummy was sending him…for about five seconds and then looked down.

Ginny bent down in front of him.

“I think you and I are going to have to take a trip to the bathroom.”

Immediately, tears started to fall down his cheeks.

“No, Mummy, I’m sorry. I’ll be good.” Severus said, moving his hands behind him to cover his bum.

“One more chance, Severus. Mummy has about had all she can take, Christmas or not. Understand? Next time, I am taking you to the bathroom.” Ginny said.

Severus nodded, his lip trembling. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Sirius staring at him, but definitely knew better than to make any snide remarks, as his Mummy was serious when she said that he only had one more chance.

Soon, Harry and Ginny had all of the boys sitting around the Christmas tree, along with themselves, and were waiting on Molly to take the pictures. Harry and Ginny were closest to the tree, in the back, Sirius was to Harry’s right, Jamie was in his lap, Ginny sat to Harry’s left, Alby on her lap, Teddy to her left, and Severus sat between the two adults, leaning against Ginny.

What felt like forever, the pictures were finally finished, and all of the boys except for Severus ran outside to play with their uncles, cousins, and grandpa.

Ginny looked at Severus and then walked over to him and gently took the sweater off of him.

Ginny then continued by unbuttoning the white shirt underneath and taking it off of him.

“Now, was all that fussing worth it?” Ginny asked him as she pulled a long sleeved, black shirt that had the words “Little Potioneer” in changing colors over his head.

Severus sniffed and shook his head, “No, ma’am.”

Ginny looked at him. “Are you feeling okay?”

Severus nodded, and then wiped a random tear from his cheek.

“Can I go find Daddy?” Severus asked.

Ginny nodded and the little boy ran outside where he knew that his Daddy was at.

“Love, are you all right?” Molly asked her youngest child and only daughter, and wrapped her in her arms.

“Yes, Severus was just really difficult this morning. I don’t know what was wrong with him, but he was adamant that he was not going to wear that red shirt. He is still acting funny.” Ginny said.

“It will be all right, love, you know that little boys are funny at time. I would be worried if they were good all the time.” Molly laughed.

Ginny laughed as well, for she remembered the only times her older brothers were good for an extended amount of time was when they had done something wrong to begin with.

~sdrawkcab~

Sirius, Teddy, and Jamie were sitting at the side of the house, the contents of their pockets in a small pile between them.

“Are you sure, Sirius, that Mummy and Daddy won’t find out? What if he tells?” Teddy asked his big brother.

“Yea, Daddy said that we can only use our jokes in good fun.” Jamie whispered.

“Don’t worry, guys! It is in fun! Sides, Mum and Daddy won’t know that it is us. We are going to stick the Water Washer into Sev’s present from Grammy. Then, we will stick a fever fudge in his food… I, uh, borrowed one from Uncle George… And finally, Mummy brought his book The Grand Adventures of Wizarding the Wyrd. So, we can put a  Paint Bomb in his book…”

“No…I think that the first two are enough. If we ruin his book, he won’t ever forgive you.” Teddy said cautiously.

“So. Who cares what he thinks.”

“I do. He is my little brother.” Teddy said.

“Well, then fine, we will just do the first two.” Sirius said, standing up.

Secretly, though, he knew that he would follow through with his prank.

~sdrawkcab~

Opening presents at the Weasley’s was a big affair, so it was always done after lunch. The Burrow, which had been enlarged for the occasion, currently housed all of the Weasley boys and their families: Bill and Fleur, with their daughter Victorie, age 4, Percy and Penelope, with their son Perseus age 1, Charlie and his wife Maureen, who was currently eight months pregnant, George and Angelina, and their twins, Fred and Alise, and of course Ron and Hermione with Rose and Hugo. The Malfoys and Longbottoms were also there, so the house, although enlarged, was still packed tight.

In the living room, all of the adults were sitting on the furniture, many of them holding babies or toddlers. The older children were all sitting on the floor, patiently waiting for their presents. (If the tree at the Potter’s had been overwhelming, there was no way to describe the amount of presents that graced the Weasley tree.) 

Severus, who was feeling oddly hot, refused to sit on the floor, so looked around the room at his prospects.

He was mad at Mummy.

Sirius was sitting by Harry.

Grammy was getting ready to pass out presents.

Grandpa was going to help her.

He didn’t really know most of the others.

Except.

Aunt Cissy. She was pleasantly and thankfully sitting alone, next to Pansy, who had Asta in her lap.

Severus liked Aunt Cissy.

He walked over to her, and, without a word, crawled into her lap and laid his head against her shoulder.

Narcissa looked down surprised. She knew that Severus, while finally bonding with Harry, was a Mummy’s boy. But, Ginny had said that the two of them had had a tiff before coming over to the Burrow.

Narcissa looked over at Ginny, who was sending her a reassuring smile. She knew that Severus was still upset with her. They would talk when she laid him down for a nap when the presents had been opened.

Narcissa carded her hand through Severus’ hair, and then set the boy up and looked at him, shocked.

“Severus, baby! You are burning up! Ginny!” Narcissa called across the room. Ginny stood up and quickly walked over to the duo.

“What is wrong, Aunt Cissy?” Ginny asked. Narcissa grabbed her hand, and placed it on Severus’ head.

“Good Merlin! He is burning up.” Ginny took out her wand and waved it over the child.

His temperature was 106.8.

“Wait a minute. That is not a normal fever. GEORGE WEASLEY! DID YOU FEED MY BABY A PIECE OF FEVER FUDGE?!” Ginny yelled, turning around to face her older brother. George, who had no idea what was going on, was suddenly terrified of the lioness look on his little sister’s face.

“What? Gin! You know that I would never play any pranks on the kids! On Harry or Ron or Draco, yes! But the kids! Never!” George said trying to rectify the situation that he had no part in and was absolutely clueless about.

“Give me an antidote. Now.” Ginny demanded. She watched as George summoned what was needed, and handed it to his sister.

Everyone else was deadly silent, watching what was going on.

“Gin, I promise I had nothing to do with it! I always carry things around, but I am not seventeen anymore…”

Ginny sighed as she gave Severus the piece of candy so that his fever would go down.

“I know, George. I am sorry that I jumped to conclusions.” Ginny said, waving her wand over Severus again.

101.2.

“It is still high. Sev, are you okay? Have you been feeling sick?” Ginny asked.

Severus nodded.

“Well, that explains a lot.” Ginny said to herself.

“Can I still open my present from Grammy?” Severus asked. He knew that his Grammy knitted everyone sweaters, and, even if his Mummy made him wear that stupid red one, his Grammy would give him one in his favorite color.

“Yes, Love. Do you want to come sit with me and Daddy?” Ginny asked.

He shook his head no.

“Okay. If you start feeling worse, then tell Aunt Cissy. After we open presents, I think you and I will go upstairs and nap, okay?” Ginny said.

Severus nodded. A nap sounded good right then.

Slowly, presents were handed out.

Sirius sat up and looked over at Severus. This did not go unnoticed by Harry. Especially when a grin spread across Sirius’ face and he poked Teddy and Jamie to get their attention.

As soon as Harry looked over, he knew what they were watching.

Severus was laying back against Narcissa and was slowly unwrapping his present.

As soon as he had it fully open, a burst of water hit Severus straight in the face, drenching not only him, but Cissy as well.

Cissy looked shocked. Severus began to cry.

“My Grammy sweater! It’s no good!” Severus wailed.

Ginny jumped up started waving drying and warming charms.

Molly rushed over and quickly fixed the sweater (which was blue, green, and silver with an S on the front), and handed it back to a dry Severus who was still crying, not even realizing that the sweater he was so excited to receive was not ruined.

Harry looked down at the three boys in front of him, each silently laughing.

“Sirius, Theodore, and James. Go into the kitchen.” Harry said, standing up and pointing.

Ginny looked over, shocked that the looks on three of her sons faces were happy ones.

She put her hand out and stopped Harry. He bent down and in his ear, she whispered, “Make sure that they haven’t placed any more pranks on him. I have to get him calmed down, and that is not going to help anything if something else happens to him. Make sure they know that they are in trouble once we go home.”

Harry looked over at Cissy and Severus, and sure enough, the child was in near hysterics.

“Okay, Love.”

Harry walked towards the kitchen.

“Mum, please continue. I am so sorry, I don’t know what has gotten into them.” Ginny said, picking up Severus, who went to her willingly this time and wrapped his arms around arms tightly around her neck and buried his face. He had his sweater still in his hands. Gnomie came into view and sat on Ginny’s shoulder, whispering in the little boy’s ear.

“Dear, I raised George and Fred. This is nothing new, and you know it.” Molly whispered, as the other children in the room continued to open presents.

Ginny felt exhausted, but smiled weakly at her mother. This was not how Christmas was supposed to go.

~sdrawkcab~

“Boys, the first thing I want to know is if you three planned anymore pranks on your brother.” Harry asked. Harry was standing in front of the three boys, each of who were sitting in kitchen chairs, and looking down at their hands.

Not one of the boys even looked up.

Harry looked at the three boys, and decided to hit the weakest link.

“Jamie. You hurt Severus’ feelings. You don’t want to hurt them again do you?” Harry asked. Jamie sniffed.

“I’m sorry, Daddy. Those were the two pranks we decided on. We didn’t do the Paint Bomb in his book because Teddy said that that was mean.”

“Gah!”Sirius said, smacking his hand against his forehead. At the same time, elsewhere in the house, a scream filled the house.

“Bloody hell, what is it now.” Harry hissed.

“Oh! Daddy! You said a bad word!” Jamie said. Harry looked over at Sirius and Teddy. Teddy was staring at Sirius angrily.

Suddenly, Severus ran into the kitchen.

“Severus, son, come back here.” Ginny said, walking down the stairs.

Severus ran over to Sirius, said, “I. Hate. YOU,” and then raised his little fist and hit Sirius squarely on the nose.

Sirius burst into tears.

Jamie burst into tears because he knew that he was fixing to be in trouble.

Teddy looked at Sirius and looked as if he wanted to hit Sirius as well. He definitely didn’t look sorry for Sirius at all.

“Thanks, Sirius. You’re such a brat! You got us all in trouble because you don’t know when to stop!” Teddy hissed at his brother.  

Harry looked utterly lost as he grabbed a towel off of the table and pressed it against Sirius’ now bloody nose.

“What is going on?!” he asked. Ginny was picking up Severus, who had pinned himself up against the kitchen wall. Both of them had paint all over them, obviously from the Paint Bomb that Sirius had planted in his book.

“Harry, I think that we need to go home. I know that it is Christmas, but three of our children don’t know how to act, Severus is sick and hasn’t been the best child today, and we have several little boys that we need to have a discussion in the study with. Mum already said that she was going to keep Alby. He hasn’t done anything wrong, and it wouldn’t be fair if we took him home.” Ginny said.

Harry nodded, looking at his wife and soon. Green, red, blue, and yellow paint covered them both, and on the table, Ginny had laid Severus’ favorite book, now ruined.

Sirius was still crying, so Harry picked him up.

“You are in so much trouble, young man.” Harry told him. This caused Sirius to cry even harder. This wasn’t what was supposed to happen. Harry was supposed to think what he did was funny.

Now he was in trouble.

And it was all Severus’ fault.

Ginny immediately took Severus into the master bedroom and then into the bathroom that joined the room. He cried the entire time Ginny bathed him, which took quite some time as there was paint all over the child.

The worse, however, was in his hair, and Ginny had to scrub for nearly twenty minutes to get the blue, yellow, red, and green out of his hair.

And still he cried.

“Sev, I know that you are upset, Baby, do you want to talk to Mummy about it?” Ginny asked, as she stood him in front of her and dried him off with a towel, wrapped the towel around him, and then stood him between her knees so that she could comb his hair out.

“No,” he sniffed.

“Why are you crying?” Ginny asked. As if she didn’t already know, she thought to herself. She knew, however, that she had to try to get Severus to talk to her. She wanted to take Sirius, Teddy, and Jamie all over her knee for their behavior, but she would never do so out of anger.

“I don’t know.” Severus whispered.

Ginny turned Sev towards her and looked into his eyes. They were so dark and, yet, at the same time, they were so brilliantly bright.

Those two eyes, which had shot daggers at her in school, showed so many emotions. Had anyone really ever known the real Severus? After having him in her life for two months, she realized that Severus had been a very sad man, simply by the look in his eyes.

He held that same look now.

Ginny wrapped her arms around him and kissed the top of his head.

“I love you, Sev.”

Severus sniffed, but fell into his Mummy’s hug.

“Severus, how about, after you dress, you go lay in Mummy and Daddy’s bed while I take a shower; then, you and I will take a nap together, okay?”

Severus nodded against Ginny’s chest. A nap would be so nice.

“Sev, can Mummy take your temperature? I need you to sit up.” Ginny said, taking her wand so that she could run it over the boy. He still felt warm to the touch.

Severus sat up, his shoulders slouched down, defeated. Ginny ran her wand over him.

102.1.

She summoned a fever reducer and a cold relief draught and gently gave them to Sev.

He swallowed them without having to be prompted, and then leaned back against Ginny.

“Sev, come on. Let’s get dressed.” She told him, standing him up in front of her again. She handed him his underwear, pajama pants, and t-shirt. Severus quickly dropped his towel and put them on.

Again, Sev leaned against Ginny. This time she picked him up and took him into the bedroom and laid him on the bed. Silent tears were falling down his face, and as soon as Ginny let him go, Gnomie began to hover over his shoulder, running his tiny fingers through Severus’ hair.

“Sev, tell me if there is something I can do to make you feel better.” Ginny almost pleaded.

“Need my snake and my sweater. But he ruined my sweater. I want my sweater. It was mine, and he ruined it. Grammy made it for me, and he messed it up. I don’t understand.” Severus cried into a pillow.

“Accio Sev’s Snake. Accio Sev’s ‘S’ sweater.” Ginny whispered. Soon, both objects showed up in the bedroom and landed on Ginny’s lap.

“Look, Sev. Grammy fixed your sweater. It is okay. Come here, and I’ll help you put it on.”

Severus crawled over to her, and then held his arms out. Ginny slipped the sweater over her son’s head and pulled it down. It fit perfectly. Of course. Her mother had an eye for things like that.

She handed him his stuffed snake, and watched as he crawled back to the middle of the bed.

Ginny went back to the bathroom, quickly showered and dressed, and walked back into the bedroom to find Sev still wide awake.

“Mummy,” sniff, “please come lay with me.” Severus started to cry again. Ginny crawled into the bed, pulled Sev close to her, and kissed his head. Immediately, Sev’s hand found its way to his Mummy’s hair, and he began playing with it as he drifted off to sleep.

“Sev, Mummy loves you, so very, very much.” Ginny whispered into his ear.

Sev let a small smile grace his lips as he fell into a deep sleep where he was loved, and no one hated him for things he wanted to forget.

~sdrawkcab~

Harry was angry.

Harry was also disappointed.

He now knew what had happened with the pranks at the Burrow. What he didn’t know was why.

Why had Sirius…oh yes, Harry knew that he was the ringleader of that little idea… But why had he been so cruel to Severus?

Was that truly what life for Severus had been like the first time around? Had Sirius, Remus, Pettigrew...Harry’s own father… been that cruel to him?

He knew it was true. And that knowledge pained him.

He also knew that there was no way in hell that he was going to let Severus grow up that way again. The cruel days that led Severus to believe that taking the Dark Mark was the only way out were gone. His Severus, his son, would not grow up that way. If it was the last thing that Harry did in his life, he would make sure of it.

Currently, Harry was alone in the study, thinking about everything that had happened. While he had talked to the boys, he would wait on Ginny before deciding any punishments. So, after he had gotten the whole story out of them, he had sent them to their rooms for a nap. He had tucked each of them in, as was custom, and had checked on them five minutes later to see that they were all asleep.

 They knew that they were in trouble, and it certainly would not hurt them any to sweat it out a bit, even if they did nap through most of the time.

Harry had gone to check on Ginny and Severus to find them, too, asleep. Severus was curled up as close to Ginny as he could possible get and had one of his hands in her hair, a now normal comfort object for the five year old.

So, Harry was now sitting in the study contemplating everything.

First and foremost was Sirius. The way that he had treated Severus, and then thought it was amusing, really disturbed Harry. After years of finding ways to get away from Dudley and his famous “Harry Hunting” game, Harry was more than a little distressed that Sirius would target any human being that way.

Then there was another issue entirely. Was Sirius acting on his memories, or his age? Not that there was really that much difference. It had taken Harry a while to realize that Sirius, while a fun adult, never would have been a good parent, like the Weasley’s, or Andromeda, or Cissy were to him. Those people were the ones whom he looked up to and helped guide him when he needed it. Sirius never would have been that person. He was much too childish.  

“Love, you have the look.” Ginny said from the doorway. Harry, a bit startled because he hadn’t heard her, looked up.

“I am just thinking, Gin.”

“I know. I take it the boys are asleep?”

“Yes. For about an hour and a half now. Sev still sleeping?”

Ginny nodded, and walked over to Harry, sitting down on his lap.

“What are we going to do to them? I talked to the boys and Sirius was the instigator. Not that we thought any different. Jamie and Teddy did follow him, though it seems that Teddy told him under no uncertain terms, that he was not to use the paint bomb. The Fever Fudge was stolen from George.”

“With Jamie, I think that we simply need to stress the fact that what he did was not appropriate. He was a follower, and we need to make sure that he can think for himself, or having three older brothers and a tiny Slytherin in training in Alby is going to be his downfall. He has to learn to think for himself.”

Harry laughed.

“I can’t believe that we are probably going to have children in Slytherin.” He said.

Ginny smirked.

“I don’t know why that surprises you, Love. After all, were you not supposed to go into that particular house?”

“Like you are one to talk!” Harry said.

Ginny smirked at her husband.

“Perhaps talking to Jamie and then taking away his flying privileges and a week of early bedtimes will be enough for him to find the error in his ways.” Ginny said.

“Yes. I think we need to take his pranks that he got this morning away from him too. Although they are harmless and Severus got them because Jamie likes animals and he thought Jamie would like turning into them, it would be sending the wrong message to allow him to keep them right now.” Harry added.

Ginny nodded.

“Teddy also needs to lose broom privileges and have an early bedtime. We need to talk to him about also not letting Sirius boss him around. And, if Sirius insists that they break the rules, then it is okay for him to come and tell us if someone is going to be hurt.” Harry said.

“Sirius needs a spanking. Among other things. But, I think it best that we talk to him about how to properly treat all of his brothers, all of his Christmas presents are going to be locked in his toy box, and he can read, however, nothing about quidditch, and he can write lines at the kitchen table.” Harry said.

“I agree. I think spanking any of them in this situation is not the way to go about it. We need to talk to them. I think that Severus needs to write lines as well. At the kitchen table. He will find something to do in his room if we let him stay in there, and it will not hurt either of them to sit at the table together. They will both go to bed early as well. We cannot let Severus believe that hitting anyone is okay, even if they are mean to him. That is why he chose as he did the first go around and I am not letting that happen again. This time he is my baby. He will have every opportunity in the world if that is what he wants. We have to make sure that all of our children know that.” Ginny said fiercely, in a way that reminded Harry of her mother…the Molly Weasley that had protected her children and hundreds of other children during the final battle.

“I agree, Love. I agree.” Harry said, wrapping his arms around his wife and kissing her cheek.

“This Christmas didn’t go quite as planned, did it?” Ginny asked.

Harry burst out laughing.

“No, but, really, can we every ‘plan’ anything with five, almost six, children?”

“Point taken.” Ginny said with a grin.

Together, the two of them simply enjoyed the peace and quiet they had while the boys were sleeping.

Ginny sat next to her husband for several more moments, thinking about everything that had occurred during the day. She sighed as she felt Harry rubbing her back.

“What is wrong, Love?” Harry asked her.

“I am just thinking about how we are going to punish the boys. I don’t feel right about punishing Severus, Harry. While I don’t condone physical fighting from our children, I believe that Severus was in his own rights. Until he stands up for himself against Sirius, he is never going to be happy and Sirius is never going to leave him alone. While I do not think that we should commend him for hitting Sirius, we should not punish him either. We can talk to him about ways to control his anger instead of hitting, but I am not feel comfortable making him sit and write lines with Sirius, who attacked him without reason all day.” Ginny told him.

Harry looked at her.

“Are you sure that is what we need to do?” Harry asked, concern written all over his face.

“Harry, I am not going to let Sirius treat him like he did the first go around. I refuse to let that happen!” Ginny told her husband sternly.

“Love, I don’t want that either, but can we really condone hitting? Regardless of the circumstances?” Harry asked.

“Harry, that is not what this is about and you know it! We are not condoning Severus physically getting even with someone because we will talk to him about ways to better control his anger. We, however, are not going to punish him more by making him sit in the same room with Sirius, when Sirius’ offense was so much greater than his. He pranked him continuously today, and not one of those pranks was funny. Not only that, but we told the boys what we expected from them when they opened those pranks this morning. Obviously, they are still too young to have them, and that, too, will be taken care of.” Ginny growled.

There were many things that Ginny Potter would accept, but her children being hurt for the pleasure of another was not one of them, even if the one doing the hurting was another of her children. She would not accept that, no matter what the reason.

And, currently, Sirius was pushing her patience. What he had done was selfish and there had been no reason for it.

“Gin, Sirius was wrong, I agree with that, but won’t we be sending a mixed message to the boys if we let Severus off?” Harry asked, though it was obvious that he was doing so cautiously.

“No. It will not be. Because, Harrison Potter, Severus will be punished, but differently. We have to make sure that the punishment fits the crime. Why are you so set with those two boys having a punishment together?”

“I want them to get along, Gin. They are brothers now.”

“Harry! Forcing them to be in the same room together is not a punishment! It is torture! For both of them, and they will not go through that! We cannot make them love, or even like one another, but we have to make damn sure that they know that regardless of their feelings for one another, we are always going to love them.” Ginny hissed this at her husband, and it was quite obvious to Harry, at that moment, that he had overstepped some invisible boundary that the mother had with her children.

He had, however, thought that he was right. Now, he was not so sure.

“Gin, Love…”

“Do not dare ‘Gin, Love’ me! Harry, think about the life you lived! The life with your Aunt, Uncle, and cousin! Think about it! Think about Harry Hunting. How is that any different from what happened to Severus today, Harry? If you would have been able to get even, would you not have? Did you not, in the end, get even with Dudley? Even if they were only mind games?”

At that, Harry looked down, a light red blush covering his cheeks. Yes, he had played endless mind games with Dudley so that the overweight boy would leave him alone during his tortuous summers on Privet Drive, and had he been able to match Dudley, he may very well have hit him. He had stopped after the Dementors before fifth year because Dudley had somewhat changed. But, was it really the same thing that Severus was going through?

“Yes, Harry, it is the exact same thing. I won’t punish him unjustly for it. If, however, he does hit someone after we talk to him, yes, he should be punished. But not this time.” Ginny said.

“Okay. I see where you are going….”

“Good. I am going to check on the boys.” Ginny said as she stood up and walked out the door.

She still wasn’t happy with him. That was his own fault, he knew, and he would have to make it up to her eventually.

Right now, though, he knew that if he valued his life, he would leave her alone for the time being.

~sdrawkcab~

The afternoon continued slowly and painfully.

The boys had all woke up and had been told their punishments. Sirius was now on line ten of his punishment, even though he had been writing for over an hour. He had already been warned once that if he didn’t make progress, he would just be making his punishment longer.

Severus was reading a potions book in the study, waiting on Harry and Ginny, but only after being reassured by his Mummy that he was not getting a spanking. The other two boys were in their rooms, which, sadly (to them) were both void of all non-educational toys and books.

“We need to go talk to Severus before Mum brings Alby back through the Floo.” Ginny said.

Harry could tell that his wife was still miffed at him, so he obediently got and followed her to the study.

As they entered, Severus looked up. He smiled at Ginny, but frowned at Harry. Unbeknownst to both adults, Severus had heard some of their earlier conversation.

“I will not talk to, Potter.” Severus hissed.

His words hit Harry like a ton of bricks. No longer was he ‘Daddy’ to Severus, but once again, he had lost the child’s trust and was merely ‘Potter.’ Harry would be lying if he said that those words hadn’t stung like a whip against bare flesh.

“Potter, I demand that you leave! I will not discuss anything with you!” Severus yelled across the room.

Ginny quickly walked over to her son and sat beside him, taking him immediately in her lap and turning him to face her.

“You will stop this, Severus. Harry is your father and you will show him respect, regardless of what memories you are using. Am I understood?” Ginny asked him.

Severus scowled at his mother.

“I don’t want to talk to him! He only takes the Mutt’s side!” Severus screamed. He fought his instincts to cry. His five year old side wanted it, though.

Ginny smacked Severus’ leg lightly to get his attention and to let him know that he was close to being punished.

With that smack, however, Severus burst into tears and wrapped his arms around Ginny’s neck.

“I don’t want to talk to him!” He sobbed.

Harry started to turn around, a look of defeat on his face.

“No, Harry. You will stay. We are going to have this discussion together.” Ginny said.

Really? How could the man and boys in her life be so absolutely clueless? It was times like these that she honestly hoped that she was carrying a girl this time. These were also the times in which she wondered how her poor mother made it out alive raising so many boys.

Harry walked over and sat opposite of Ginny and Severus. He looked at Severus, who peeked around at Harry.

“You want to punish me because you like Black more. You are no better than I was.” Severus stated through his tears.

Harry cleared his throat uncomfortably.

“That is not true, Sev. I just want you and Sirius to get along.” Harry said lightly.

“No. That is not true! I defended myself against him! He ruined the first good Christmas that I have ever had and because I punched his stupid nose so that he would leave me alone, I am in just in as much trouble as he is. Which, really isn’t fair because he made me sick, ruined my present from Grammy, and got me and Mummy covered in paint and ruined my book. All I did was punch him!” Severus said.

Harry sighed. He knew, in the back of his mind that he was definitely at fault in this situation.

“Severus, I apologize. I should not have grouped you with Sirius in this situation, but you must understand that you cannot hit when you get angry.” Harry said.

“I was not angry.” Severus said with complete clarity and calmness.

“What do you mean, Sev?” Ginny asked him.

“I was not angry, I was upset! He hurt me! I thought he was starting to like me and think about me as Severus, not Snivillus! Now, I hate him. I will never trust him!” Severus began crying with earnest, great wracking sobs that made Harry feel even worse about the situation.

“Severus, I am sorry that you had to feel that way, and I promise that things will get better. You and Sirius are still getting used to one another, but it will take some time. I do apologize for being inconsiderate of your feelings.” Harry said.

Severus sniffed.

“Severus, right now, our main concern with you…only you…is that you understand why it is not okay to hit another person and ways that you can better control your anger.” Ginny told him.

“I know that I am not supposed to hit people.” Severus mumbled.

“What else can you do? Instead of lashing out physically when you are angry?” Ginny asked him. Harry continued to look at the little boy.

“I don’t know. I guess I could come talk to you. Or Grammy. But not him. Can I go to my room now?” Severus asked.

Ginny sighed.

“How about, if I let you go to your room, you think of ten things you can do instead of hitting when you are angry, write them down, and then show them to me at dinner.” Ginny said to him. It wasn’t a harsh punishment, but one that would allow Severus to think about what he had done and ways to refrain from doing so in the future.

“Okay. May I leave now?”

“Yes, you may.” Ginny told him and watched as he quickly left the room.

“I messed up, Gin.” Harry said, as he watched the door that Severus had just walked through, knowing that, unfortunately, he was probably back to step one with the little boy.

Days had passed with no change in Severus. Oh, he was no longer sick. It had taken him until two days after Christmas to get over the cold that he had had. But, he was sullen and stuck close to his Mummy, but he knew that she was going to have to go back to work after the New Year, and Harry would still be off for several days.

“I want to go to Grammy’s.” Severus told Ginny one night when she was cooking supper. Severus was sitting on the cabinet tearing a head of lettuce up and putting it into a bowl.

Ginny looked over to him from where she was standing.

“Why, Sev?”

“You are going back to work tomorrow. I don’t wanna be here with him.” Severus told her. He continued tearing the leafy vegetable, but stared at Ginny.

“Alby will be here, Sev. He will be sad if you aren’t here to play with him.”

“He can come with me. If I stay here, Black will be mean to me, and if I get even with him, Potter will punish me. That isn’t fair. I want to go to Grammy’s house.”

“Sev, Harry is not going to do that. I know that you are still upset with him, but he is still your daddy, and I know that you are not always going to feel this way. Regardless, you still have to obey him.” Ginny said mid-stir. She said it, but she also knew that if things didn’t get better, Severus would never trust Harry again.

And, while she and Harry did not always agree, they were still the parents of five, nearly six, children and would always need to have a united front. She was actually quite upset that Severus had overheard the conversation between her and Harry a few says before, as was Harry. There were some conversations that their children never needed to hear them have, and this was one of the reasons why.

“He does not like me. He didn’t like me before, and he doesn’t like me now.” Severus stated.

Ginny took the sauce she had been stirring and placed it on a back burner then walked over to Severus.

She took the lettuce and bowl from him and placed it to the side.

“Sev, listen to me. Things are different now. I know that you do not understand it yet, and may not even see that things are slowly but surely changing. In fact, I wouldn’t expect you too. I know that you have your old memories, and I know that right now, that is where you are at. I do not want to change that, Sev, but I want you to understand that in many ways, no matter what, you are going to act the age you are. You can’t help it. It is mine and Harry’s job to help you through life this time. We are going to teach you what it means to be happy. We are going to teach you how to behave when you misbehave. How to love. How to live, Sev.”

Severus stared at her. He was listening.

He just didn’t want to hear.

“Can I please go to Grammy’s? I want to spend the night with her and Grandpa.”  Severus told his mother.

Ginny sighed inwardly.

“I will have to floo call her, but Sev, this is not going to become a habit if she says yes. Do you understand?” Ginny asked. She was not going to start a precedent. She had mixed feelings about allowing him to go tonight…because yes, she knew that her Mum would say yes…but, she also wanted to avoid coming home to a disaster tomorrow and give Sev just a bit longer to calm down.

“Why? Grammy likes it when I come over.”

“Yes, Grammy does like it when you come over, but Grammy has raised her children and will not raise mine. You are mine, and one day, Sev, you will understand.”

“I understand that he doesn’t like me.” Severus snorted.

This time Ginny eyed her young son.

“Severus, that is enough. I know that it is going to take time, but that does not mean that you have to make it difficult, love. Daddy loves you. I love you.”

“I think that you are deluded.” Severus snapped.

“Severus Harrison Snape-Potter! I thought that you wanted me to call Grammy and see if you could stay with her?” Ginny asked him, astounded at his boldness. For the last several days, though, he had been much more Snape than her Sev.

“Yes ma’am.” Severus said, putting his head down. He didn’t want to cry. Not now. Crying was for simple minded little children.

“Sev. Look at me,” Severus slowly looked up, “It is okay to cry. If you cannot cry in front of anyone else, no matter if you are five or if you are thirty-five, it will always be okay for you to cry in front of me. I am your mummy, and you will always be able to talk to me about anything. No matter what it is. If you want to talk to me about your life before, I will listen. If you want to talk about your nightmares, I will be here. If you need to fuss about something you do not agree with, I will always be here for you, just like I will always be here for your brothers. Do you understand?”

Tears finally fell over the edge of Severus’ eyes and he nodded. Ginny leaned into his little body and wrapped her arms around him. It was such a long road, the one her little family was traveling down. She simply wanted all of her children to be happy, and she knew that despite the holes, they were well on their way.

“I love you.” Ginny whispered in his ear.

She was rewarded when Sev wrapped his arms around her neck tightly, and whispered, “I love you, too, Mummy.”

~sdrawkcab~

Severus stood by the fire with his little backpack (filled with two sets of clothes, one set of pajamas, two books, and an extra sweater), his snake in his arms, and wearing his ‘Grammy sweater’ proudly.  (Ginny had not been able to get him to wear anything else since he had received it, and had taken to washing it when he was in the bath every night so that it would be clean before he went to bed. It was not worth the fight, and she honestly didn’t see anything wrong with him wearing if that was what he wanted. Her Mum would be excited, and she doubted it would be long before the child had an arsenal of such sweaters at his demand.)

Harry was sitting on the couch reading the Daily Prophet, with Jamie sitting beside him discussing quidditch stats and an upcoming game that, if the boys behaved, Harry was going to take Teddy, Sirius, and Jamie too. (Neither Severus nor Alby cared anything about quidditch, though they did like to ride the broom every once in a while.)

Sirius and Teddy were on the floor playing game, though Sirius was still on a probation of sorts, and was not allowed to do much. Alby was already asleep, despite it only being 7:30.

Ginny pulled a sweater on and grabbed another bag. Since the day that Sev had had the allergic reaction to the pecans, Ginny made sure to carry the necessary potions with her at all times. No matter where the little boy was, he had a ready supply. They no longer bought anything with pecans in it for fear that even a dusting of the nut would cause Severus to have another reaction. They would take no chances.

“Come on, Sev. Grammy and Grandpa are expecting you.” Ginny said, picking the boy up. She gave him a stomach soother, which he took immediately, and then handed the vial back to Ginny and wrapped his arms around her neck.

“Harry, I will be back in a bit.” Ginny told her husband. Harry smiled and nodded. He was hurt that Sev would no longer talk to him, and despite everything, knew that it was mainly his fault. He wanted to make Sev listen to him, make him respect him, make him trust him. But he knew that that would be the worst thing he could do. Until Severus could let go of his past and let the present and future replace the things that happened to him.

But, was that even possible?

Had Harry ever let go of his past, or had he just ignored it?

“I am glad that he is gone.” Sirius said.

Teddy froze and looked at him.

“Shut up, Sirius.” Teddy told the other boy.

Sirius narrowed his eyes at his brother.

Harry looked at Sirius sharply.

“Sirius, you will stop with this behavior. Severus is your brother.” Harry told him.

“I don’t care. He is a prat. I will never life him!” Sirius stood up and yelled.

Harry sighed and looked around the living room. Jamie was beside him, frozen, his mouth open and his eyes staring at Sirius.

Teddy looked like he was going to hit Sirius soon.

“Sirius. Go to your room. I will be in to talk to you soon.”

“Fine! I know you like him better than me! I saw it at Christmas! I know that you like him more even though he treated you like right shite the whole time you were at school! Well, I thought you were smarter than that, but I guess that I was wrong!” Sirius said and then threw down a game piece and ran out of the room.

“Daddy, I know that you love us all equal.” Teddy said, coming over to his father and giving him a hug.

Out of the mouths of babes.

And suddenly, Harry had an idea that might show Sirius that Severus wasn’t…and would never have been….a bad person.

Harry smiled; albeit a sad smile, for what he had planned was going to be just as painful for him as it would be enlightening, hopefully, for Severus.

“Grammy!” Severus yelled as soon as his Mummy put him on the floor. He ran to the elder woman and jumped into her arms.

Molly picked up the little boy and put him on her hip. He wrapped his arms around her neck, and he whispered in her ear, “I missed you, Grammy!”

Molly smiled and patted his back lovingly.

“I missed you, too, Sevy.”

Ginny watched them with pure love. She knew that Severus was more comfortable with her and her mother. It was times like these that she knew that everything would be okay. One day, hopefully, everything in her little family would be worth it. One day, she hoped, all of her children would get along. Sirius would get along with Severus, and Severus would get along with Harry. One day.

“Sev, I am fixing to go back home, are you sure that you will be okay spending the night with Grammy?” Ginny asked him. There was definitely a part of her that really wanted to just take him back home with her.

“No. I want to stay with Grammy.”

“Okay, Love. Well, come give me a hug and I will come get you after I get off work tomorrow.” Ginny said. Severus jumped down and ran over to her and threw his arms around her neck.

“Love you, Mummy. See you tomorrow.” He said, and then ran back over to Molly.

Ginny waved, and then stepped back into the Floo, and in a flash of green flames.

“So, Sev, what do you want to do?” Molly asked him.

Severus looked thoughtful for a minute. It was 7:30, but it was still light outside, he hadn’t had a bath yet, and his bedtime wasn’t until 9:30. There was definitely time to play.

“I want to help you in the garden. I miss it, Grammy. I want to pick some potion ingredients.”

Molly smiled and nodded.

“Let’s go and get you some gloves and we will go out and look at the garden to see what needs to be done. I believe that there are several of the holly berries that need to be picked off of the holly bush.”

Together the two walked outside and got to work.

~sdrawkcab~

Ginny and Harry lay in bed after getting the boys to bed. For a while, they were silent. Harry was resting his hand gently on the mound that was Ginny’s stomach. The baby was kicking repeatedly, causing Harry to smile.

“What is wrong, Harry?” Ginny ran her fingers up and down Harry’s arm.

“I am just thinking.”

“About?”

“I think I know something they may allow Sirius to think differently about Severus.” Harry nearly whispered.

Ginny looked over at him. She knew that tone. She knew the fear that was in those words.

“Harry, Love, what are you going to do?”

“I am going to go and visit Aunt Petunia. I am going to take Sirius with me.” Harry said quietly.

“What?!” Ginny sat up and stared at Harry.

“Harry! Why? Why would you subject yourself to that? What will that prove to Sirius? What in the world will that show him?”

“Love, I haven’t been back since I left the day I turned seventeen. They moved back as soon as our war was over. There are reasons that Severus feels the way he does, why he can’t move on from his past. There are also reasons that Sirius continues to torment him. How can I expect Severus to move on from his past if I cannot move on from mine? How can we expect Sirius to understand the life Severus lived if he doesn’t see it firsthand? How, Gin? How?” Harry said. Ginny could tell that he was near tears, something very unlike him.

Ginny sighed and moved over closer to her husband. Her love. Her rock.

“Do you think that it will work? Do you think that it will be worth it in the end? To put yourself through that torture?”

Harry nodded.

“I think that it will, Gin. I really do.”

“If you think that it will work, then I guess all we can do is try. But, Harry?”

“Yea?”

“If they hurt you any more, or if they hurt Sirius, I will hunt them down. I will make them pay. And, I promise you that no one will ever know what happened to them. No one will ever even remember that once upon a time there was a family called the Dursley’s who lived on Number Four Privet Drive.”

“Gin…”

“Harry. I am simply stating a fact. There is a reason that this Slytherin hid as a Gryffindor, but the Slytherin is what is always there, waiting in the back. You know it as well as I do. You, Harry, embraced being a Gryffindor because in the end that was where you needed to be in order to win the battle you had to fight. I do nothing recklessly, and I would ensure that no one ever found out.” Ginny told him.

While Harry knew why Ginny was placed in Gryffindor, he had never found out what the sorting hat had told her. He had asked, but she had never spoken of it.

And Harry, not for the first time in his life, shivered from the hiss in his wife’s voice.

She was serious.

“Nothing will happen, Love. I am very much legal to use magic now. Besides, they use words rather than fists. Words no longer hurt me as they did when I was small.”

“Make sure that you do.” Ginny said, kissing his cheek and then lying back down.

Soon, they were both sound asleep, one resting uneasily, and the other off into a dream land which was the only place that needed no thoughts.

~sdrawkcab~

Molly Weasley prided herself on the fact that at one time she had seven children living under her roof, six of them boys, and she knew everything that went on under her nose whether her children expected it or not.

Even now, with all of them gone, she knew, intuitively, when something was wrong with one of her offspring.

And, currently, Molly was feeling ill at ease. The hair on the back of her neck was tingling. She couldn’t sleep. Already, Arthur had awakened twicge to ask her what was wrong.

But, she couldn’t place it. Earlier, after she and Severus had picked enough holly berries to supply three apothecaries, if not four, they had laid half out to dry, froze a quarter of them with a freezing charm, and then laid the other quarter aside to pickle the next day.

After that, she, Severus, and Arthur had sat in the living room with tea and biscuits. They didn’t talk, they just sat in the silence, something Severus loved and did not often get at home. Not with four brothers.

Afterwards, while Molly ran him a bath, Arthur read to him out of the Daily Prophet. And, together, they made fun of the idiots that wrote for the paper. Even after the war, the quality of the paper had not improved.

After a bath and dressed in his pajamas, Molly took Severus into the bedroom that was closest to her and Arthur’s. It had been Ginny’s room and still looked the same as the day she had left, although there were some things that Ginny’s children left in there for when they were there.

Severus fell asleep quite quickly, and soon Molly and Arthur had gone to bed.

Molly turned again, for what felt like the thousandth time that night.

And then, Molly Weasley discovered why she was feeling uneasy.

When a scream filled the entire house and sent chills down Molly’s back and caused Arthur to sit straight up in the bed.

“What was that?”

‘Sev!” Molly said and jumped out of the bed.

Scream after scream filled the Burrow. The volume of those screams was tremendous. Magic was starting to crackle in the air.

Pushing open the half opened door, Molly, with Arthur right behind her, was greeted with Severus, tears streaking down his face, magic crackling around him, and his face distorted from his sobbing screams. His arms were wrapped around his stuffed snake and Gnomie was frantically flying around his head.

Severus looked up at his grandparents.

“I WANT MY MUMMY!” He wailed through the silence of the night, his body shaking, and his breath raspy.

~adrawkcab~

It was late in the Potter household. Everyone was asleep when the Floo flared up and all of the senses in Ginny sprung to life.

“Harry. There is someone in the Floo.” Ginny said, poking him. Groggily, he stood up. He didn’t even both to ask. He simply went into the living area where the Floo was.

In the living room was Molly.

In her arms, was Severus.

Harry could instantly see that something was wrong.

“Harry, dear, you may want to go get Ginny.” Molly told him. But Harry walked over to his son and placed his hand on his back.

Severus jumped. It was as if he had been burned.

“Don’t touch me, Potter!" then Severus froze for a moment and thought about it, "I want my Mummy! I need my Mummy!” The little boy wailed.

It was heart breaking. The sobs that were coming from that tiny little body.

“Sev…”

“No! Mummy!”

Severus’ eyes were closed, he clutched his snake under his left arm, and his right was wrapped around Molly’s neck.

Gnomie was sitting on his shoulder whispering in his ear, but the adults were unable to make heads or tails of what he was saying.

Just then, Ginny walked into living room, tying her robe and rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

“What is going on?” she asked, confused about the situation in front of her.

“Mummy, please come get me.” Severus whispered, though his body was still wracked with sobs. 

Immediately, Ginny went and picked the child up from her mother and sat on the couch with him.

He wrapped his arms around her neck, and sobbed into her shoulder.

Ginny looked at her mother questioningly.

But, Molly sent her a look that told her to wait. To wait until Sev was back asleep, which would probably not take long.

So, Ginny sat back.

All there was to do now was wait and see what was going on.

It had taken Ginny four hours to calm her son down enough to get him back to sleep, but finally the child had fallen asleep in Ginny’s arms. She didn’t dare put him down for fear that he would wake up, so she had maneuvered them into a position on the couch that was comfortable for both of them.

“Love, are you going to work this morning or do you want me to call in?” Harry asked from the doorway. It was nearing seven, and the boys would be up soon.

“I’ll Floo Madam Monette, and tell her that we had issues with one of the boys last night. I want to try to get Sev to talk to me today. That leaves you free to take Sirius.” Ginny said. She wasn’t sure about Sirius going with Harry to the Dursley’s, but she knew that Harry was adamant, and something had to get through to the boy.

“What about the other boys? You haven’t slept.”

“I’ll be fine. I may ask Andromeda to come and get them, she asked the other day if she could have them, as she has missed them over the holidays. Mum probably didn’t get much sleep last night either.”

“Okay, Love. I will go start breakfast and then wake up Sirius. I know you have your doubts, Gin, but I honestly think this will work.”

“I hope so.”

~sdrawkcab~

Sirius was mad. First, Snivillus had been at Grammy’s, but when he got up, the prat was in the living room with Mummy.

Then, his Daddy told him they were going out. At first, that had excited him. He just knew that he was going to be taken to the quidditch store.

Well. His hopes had been bashed as soon as his Daddy told him that they were not even going to Diagon Alley or Hogsmeade, but to Privet Drive. They had apparated then, to a wooded area close to the Dursley house.

“I wanna go to the quidditch store.” The little boy pouted, his arms crossed over his chest.

Harry stopped and squatted in front of Sirius.

“Sirius, I am taking you to the house where I grew up. I think that it is important for you.”

“Fine.”

“Okay. Come, we are here.”

~sdradkcab~

“Mummy…” Severus moaned, his eyes still closed. He immediately moved his hand to search for Ginny.

Ginny walked into the living room, having put a charm on his to alert her the instant he woke up.

“Mummy!” Sev wailed, instantly sitting up and sobbing when he couldn’t feel her near him.

“Sev, honey, calm down. You have to tell Mummy what is wrong.” She told him…almost begging.

Severus put his arms up so that she would pick him up, which she did instantly, placing him on her lap.

“I don’t want to talk about it.” He cried, turning so that his legs were on either side of Ginny, his head was on her chest, and his hands wrapped in her hair.

“Sev, I have waited for you to talk to me. I have allowed you to clam up when you have nightmares. But, no more. I need you to talk to me, or I will do what needs to be done so that I can find out how to help you.”

Severus picked his head up and glared at his Mummy.

“No.” He said.

“Severus Harrison, I cannot help you if you will not let me.” Ginny said, exasperated.

“I don’t want to let you know! Therefore, I will not tell you! It isn’t even your business!”

Ginny sighed and looked at her son.

“Severus, I am sorry that I have to do this.”

Severus looked alarmed.

“Legilimens.”

~sdrawkcab~

“What the bloody hell are you doing here?”

Had Harry not recognized the voice, he would not have known who the man in front of him was.

He was huge. Grotesquely huge. The man would not fit through the door if he did not turn sideways. His flesh was red. His clothing tight against his skin.

“Hello, Uncle Vernon.”

“Freak.” The man hissed.

“Hey! Don’t talk about my Daddy like that you big, fat walrus!” Sirius yelled.

“Hush, Sirius.”

“So that is what you teach your brat. To disrespect their elders. Never put up with it myself. That’s what your cupboard was for, boy!”

“Where is Aunt Petunia?” Harry asked.

“What’s it to you, boy? Are you going to…” the man narrowed his eyes and whispered, “magic her?”

“No, Uncle Vernon. But, I would like to introduce her to one of her nephews.”

“Who would want to procreate with the like of you?” Vernon Dursley hissed.

“Vernon, who was at the door?”

Petunia.

“Hello, Aunt Petunia, I brought my son to meet you.”

Petunia hissed.

“I won’t let you freaks in my house! Leave!”

“I suppose we could stand here in the yard…”

Petunia shrieked.

“Get in here then! Move Vernon! Let the freaks in!” Petunia said, pushing her skinny frame against the huge man to get him to move.

Harry took Sirius’ hand and followed the two people that had made his life hell for so long. He was no longer afraid of them. He had stopped being afraid of them when he was probably around fifteen, but they still brought up a lot of bad memories for him. He did not plan on ever coming back after this visit.

“Are you going to invite us to sit down, Aunt Petunia?”

“Fine!” she practically barked.

Harry walked through the hallway and into the living room. Nothing had changed, except the pictures on the walls. They were all photo’s of Dudley, who had surprisingly slimmed down quite a bit, and of a small child, a girl, who looked to be about two in the most recent picture.

“How is Dudley?”

“Not that it is any concern of yours, but he has moved out! It is all your bloody fault! He moved out after your blasted war; said that he had to live his own life, Freak.”

“Stop calling my Daddy that!” Sirius said again, this time, however, a few tears fell down his cheeks in anger.

Harry cleared his throat and looked directly at Petunia.

“This, Aunt Petunia, is my eldest son. His name is Sirius Arthur. He is nearly eight.”

“Ha. Knocked up some whore while you were in school. That bloody school didn’t let us know that.”

Harry stared at her. Sirius jumped up, but Harry immediately grabbed him and placed Sirius on his lap.

“Something like that, Aunt Petunia. Sirius is my oldest son. Then comes Theodore, who is seven, Severus, who is nearly six, James, five, and Albus, 2.”

“You named one of your brats after that bloody Snape man? What the bloody hell were you thinking?! He is the one that turned your mother into a freak! A freak!” Petunia ranted.

“Aunt Petunia, one is born magical! One person cannot turn another into a magical being!”

“I should have drowned you as a child! I should have thrown you in the garbage! I should have let Dudley go ‘Harry Hunting’ more often! You were and still are worthless! A scrawny, worthless Brat who took the food out our mouths and put us in danger!”

Sirius watched everything that was going on in front of him. Honestly, he didn’t understand. Harry Hunting? Brat? Garbage?

“Daddy, I want to go. Please. I don’t like her.”

“Yes. We can leave now. Aunt Petunia, have a nice life. Tell Dudley I said hi.”

Then Harry grabbed Sirius and apparated directly out of the house into the wooded area they had used earlier.

Putting Sirius on the ground, Harry sat down and looked at his soon.

“Do you have questions?”

“What is Harry Hunting?”

Ah, Harry thought, so he did latch onto what he wanted him too.

“When I was little, my cousin would hunt me down and beat me up. Most of the time I was faster than he was, so I could get away. But, sometimes, I wasn’t fast enough.”

“I don’t understand, Daddy. How could he do that?” Sirius looked at Harry with confusion.

Harry took a deep breath and pulled Sirius to him so that they were able to look at one another eye to eye.

“I don’t know, Sirius. How could you do the exact same thing to Severus?”

Harry watched as Sirius’ eyes grew large and tears spilled over his cheeks.

~sdrawkcab~

Severus stared across the table at Ginny. He was fuming.

Ginny was staring at Severus with one eyebrow arched. It reminded Severus eerily of his former self.

“Why didn’t you tell me, Severus? I could have helped you through the nightmares.”

“Why didn’t you tell me that you were supposed to be one of my snakes when I was a grownup?”

Ginny smirked at the small child.

“Your nightmares are nothing to be afraid of. Sirius will not hurt you here; if he does he will be punished. James Potter is no longer here to hurt you, nor is Remus Lupin or Voldemort. But I know that those were not the one whom you feared most in those dreams.”

“Stop.” Severus said, pointing his finger at her.

“Severus, had I know what he did to you…I was not fond of the man because I could see through him, but I can promise you if he were still alive I would murder him for you. You are my son, and if I will never allow anyone to hurt you. Even someone like Dumbledore.”

Severus’ brow creased in thought.

“He is gone. I don’t know why I have those dreams.”

“I think, Severus, from now on you and I, or you and Grammy, or you and Daddy, any adult you want, are going to talk before you go to bed. It is obvious the main reason you are having these dreams is because you no longer have control of you magic and cannot occlude. But, talking will help. However, Severus Harrison, you should not try to use legilimency on anyone. Your magic is not mature enough for that yet.”

“Mummy…”

“Yes, Sev?”

“When are you going to tell me your real story?” Severus asked.

Ginny looked at him, deeply in thought.

“How do you mean, Severus?”

“When I looked inside your head…I saw things. Like I know that you are really a snake in lion’s skin. I know some of the things that you saw during the war…”

“One day, perhaps, Sev, I will let you know exactly what the Sorting Hat said to me.”

“I remember that day. Barely, but I remember that you were under the hat for nearly five minutes.”

Ginny laughed lightly.

“Yes, the Sorting Hat and I became friends.”

“You will tell me one day? Perhaps if I tell you about my dreams, every night you will tell me a story about you?”

Ginny looked at Severus.

“Perhaps we can do that, my little snake. Perhaps we can.”

The Floo opened up then, and before Ginny or Severus could make heads or tails of what was going on, Sirius ran into the kitchen, frantically looking around.

He spotted Severus and ran at him.

Severus flinched, and covered his head.

Ginny gasped.

Harry ran into the kitchen and stopped in the doorway.

And Sirius Arthur Black-Potter hugged Severus Harrison Snape-Potter.

Once upon a time, there was a little, red haired girl with hand me down robes and mostly hand me down books, except for a few extremely bright colored books with pictures of an obnoxious man on the front and back. She was stepping up to the stool in the middle of the Great Hall, a nervous chill going down her spine.

But, the little, fiery haired girl was more excited than nervous, for she had a plan.

“Ah, the last Weasley until this generation has a child! And, a girl-child at that! I have waited a long, long time to sort a Weasley girl-child.”

“Ha. I know that I am the only girl in the Weasley family for generations. I have to hear it all the time.” Ginny said sadly.

“Ah, but you are so very different than your brothers before you. You are so very different from every Weasley before you.”

“How so?”

“You have enough cunning and wit to put the whole of Slytherin house to shame, my child.”

“To live with my brothers, that is a must. They are all in Gryffindor, however, for a reason. They may be brave, but they do not think before they act.”

“I do believe that you belong in Slytherin. Slytherin will help you on your way to greatness. And you will do great things, child. There I have no doubts.”

“However, you will not put me in Slytherin.” Ginny said.

The Hat, for a few moments, was completely silent.

“What do you mean? Slytherin is where you need to be…”

“No. No true Slytherin would wish to be in that house right now. My family members are all seen as blood traitors. As much as my parents try to hide it, I know that we are seen as such. I will not thrive in Slytherin. I will be lucky to survive.”

“Well, I suppose Ravenclaw…”

“No. I will be in Gryffindor. It is what is expected of me. But, you shouldn’t worry, my Slytherin tendencies will only thrive.”

“I do not know whether that is a good idea or not….”

“Sorting Hat, you will place me in Gryffindor, and we both know it. So, why act mischievous?” Ginny asked with a small giggle.

“Hmph.”

“Oh do not act offended. You know I have been under here for quite some time…”

“Oh by jolly you have! I better go ahead and sort you…I can see that Severus Snape is beginning to become antsy…You shall do well, Miss Weasley….GRYFFINDOR!”

The Great Hall was silent for several moments. They had never seen someone take that long to sort.

But soon, it was forgotten and the Hall broke into applause.

~sdrawkcab~

The year had not gone as planned for Ginny Weasley. Not at all.

Tom Riddle’s diary had nearly been her undoing.

She didn’t remember even three quarters of her first year.

She was sitting in Dumbledore’s office, alone, while her parents, Dumbledore, and McGonagall discussed things in the hallway.

Ginny spotted the Sorting Hat and went over to it, carefully and quietly summoning it down from its shelf and placing it on her head.

“Ah, Miss Weasley…”

“We made a mistake…didn’t we? I would have never done well in Slytherin.”

“Never fear, Miss Weasley. You would have been great in Slytherin; although, I am pleased to have put you in Gryffindor in the end. As much as I did not want too, I see now that it was for the best. It got you through this ordeal.”

“Ha. Ordeal. That is what you call being taken over by Voldemort.”

“You speak his name.”

“Why should I not? I may not do it in front of many, but I cannot live my life in fear. Yes, I am scared, but living in fear is different. Besides, I believe that I will be needed. I know how Voldemort thinks.”

“Keep that quiet, Child. Not everyone will have your best interest in mind. Not when the greater good is at stake.”

“I know. I know.”

Ginny did not say anything else. She simply took the Hat off and used her wand to float it back to the top shelf.

~sdrawkcab~

Sixth year. A year from hell. The year from hell.

But, finally, it was over. Voldemort was dead.

Harry…Her Harry…was still alive. Cracked, but alive and healing.

So many people were broken. Her own mother and father were broken. The death of her brother had broken them, but they would survive.

So many dead.

Fred. Tonks. Remus. Colin. Snape.

So many more deaths.

Quietly amongst the rubble, she had walked to the Headmistresses office. The Gargoyle was standing there proudly.

“I wish to see the Sorting Hat.” Ginny spoke through the tears that had not stopped falling since she had finally been able to wrap her arms around Harry.

The Gargoyle looked at her with his eyes.

And then opened.

Ginny walked slowly up the stairs. The Sorting Hat had disappeared, and the only place Ginny could think that it would be was in that office.

Ginny walked up the stairs and entered the office. It was still bare, but Ginny knew that soon Professor McGonagall would move her things into the office, and it would once again have a homey feeling to it.

But now, it was practically bare, except for the desk in the center with the Sorting Hat and Sword of Gryffindor.

Ginny walked over to the Hat, picked it up, sat on the floor, and placed the Hat on her head.

“Ah, Miss Weasley. We meet again. The Battle has been won.”

“Yes. Yes it has been.”

“Why are you crying, Child. The Battle is over, you should be proud.”

“I am proud. But lives were lost, and that is never anything to be proud about. Even the Death Eaters have those who will mourn their deaths.”

“Child, you have grown so much in six years. You are now wise beyond your years.”

“So many people. My brother was one of them. But, oddly, while he is my greatest loss, he is not the one that will affect me.”

“And which one will?”

“Inara Ledon. I am sure you remember her. White blonde, long hair. Odd purple eyes. She had elf in her blood. She was a Slytherin. A brilliant little girl. Apparently, Pansy Parkinson has been hiding the first years. All of the ones who have been disappearing, she has been protecting them. But, Inara snuck out of their hiding place. She said that she had seen something, something she had to do before she died.

I watched that little girl maim five Death Eaters before I could get to her. But, it didn’t help. Bellatrix Lestrange killed that child, then turned on me. My Mum killed her. But that child, that little girl, she saved the lives of so many. She walked out of her safe haven knowing that she was going to die. I watched her die the death of an eleven year old hero. That was not how things are supposed to be. She has no one to mourn her. Her family was killed earlier this Spring.”

“Miss Weasley, because of this, you will always be strong. You are a Slytherin in a Lion’s Den. How else do you believe that you and the Longbottom boy managed to keep everything hidden all year long? While Longbottom is brave, he hasn’t the whit and cunning to keep things hidden.”

“I had to help keep them all alive.”

“Miss Weasley, you survived. Now you must live. You have spent your life fighting. For a sixteen year old child, you have lived a lifetime, just as your friends have.”

“Yes. I need to thank you.”

“Thank me? For what?”

“For placing me in Gryffindor, where I knew that I had to be, despite the fact that I did not fit in as well as I would have had I belonged.”

“That, Miss Weasley, is why you are special. You are a snake. You can fit in anywhere. You can blend. Even if that meant you had to pretend to be a lion for so long. You will do great things with your life, Miss Weasley.”

“Thank you.”

Ginny took the Hat off of her head. Somehow, she knew that this would be the last time she ever had the Hat upon her head.

But she was thankful to the Sorting Hat. The Sorting Hat had helped her…and she would always remember that.

Ginny Weasley walked slowly down the steps.

The steps that led her to her future, and possibly a happily ever after…

Severus stood still as Sirius latched onto him. He was frozen solid. He was unable to move.

Harry and Ginny looked at the two boys, unsure how to respond. Severus’ arms were straight down his sides, his eyes were wide.

He looked towards Ginny, fear in his eyes.

“Please, Mummy…please get him off me.” Severus said, confused by this sudden turn of events.

“I’m sorry, Sev. I am sorry that I was mean to you.” Sirius said, trying hard to make the other boy understand what he was so desperately trying to convey to him.

Severus stayed still, and waited on someone to help him.

Ginny walked over to the two boys and gently pulled Sirius off of Severus.

“Severus, Sirius…”

Ginny didn’t have time to respond before Severus ducked away and ran out of the kitchen and towards his room.

Ginny and Harry looked at one another.

And Sirius looked up at Harry.

“I don’t understand…” the little boy whispered, and shook his head back and forth.

~sdrawkcab~

Severus went into his room, grabbed his snake and comforter off of his bed and then ran to his closet and hid. He didn’t know why he had run, but he had had to get out of there. Sirius had hugged him, and Sirius was rarely ever nice to him without an ulterior motive.

And, Severus thought to himself, he had to face it, because that had just been weird.

So, now he was in the bottom of his closet, curled up closely to his snake, his comforter thrown over top of him.

“Sevy, I think he meant no harm.”

Gnomie.

Severus felt the tiny creature crawl on his above the comforter, trying to remove the blanket from Severus’ face. Slowly, so as not to hurt Gnomie, he sat up and uncovered his face.

“Gnomie, he was doing it so Daddy would believe that he was sorry. I just know it. Black is never nice to me. Or, he is nice to me, but then he does something way worse than he normally does and that erases it all. I didn’t like it when he hugged me. I only like it when Alby, or Mummy, or Grammy do it. I used to like it when Daddy did it, but not much anymore. Especially now, because he is probably going to be mad at me for running away from Sirius. Sirius is his favorite, you know.”

Gnomie sat himself in Severus’ lap and looked at the boy with a concerned look.

“You think that is true, dear little Sevy? I think that it is not. I believe that your Da loves all of his children. You have to stop seeing the boy you once knew and see the man he is, for you are no longer the man you once were, but the boy you are now.”

“I don’t want Mummy to be mad either. She was really upset when she looked in my mind earlier. Can you believe that she is a Legilimens? She was supposed to be a snake, but decided to outwit the hat. She would have done so well as a snake.” Severus said, contemplating the very thought of a Weasley being anywhere other than Gryffindor.

“Maybe that is why you get on with her so well.”

“No. She is different. She is my Mummy, and she takes care of me now. Like my first Mum did. Eileen. That was her name. Sometimes I forget. I don’t seem to forget most of my adult memories, but my first childhood memories seem to be fading away more and more.” Severus said, for the first time realizing that his childhood with Eileen and Tobias was indeed quite fuzzy.

“What did your Mummy see in your memories that made her so angry? I hear her talking to your Da.”

“Is she telling him? She shouldn’t tell him!” Severus all but yelled.

“Calm down, Sevy. You must realize that they are your parents. You have to understand that they are only trying to help you. They want what is best for you.” Gnomie said, knowing very well that he was going to anger is little bonded human.

“Go away! I don’t want to talk to you! I don’t want to talk to Mummy or Daddy or Grammy or Alby or anyone! I do not want to talk!” Severus yelled and then burst into tears and hiding his weeping face from all under a comforter with potions and cauldrons jumping to and fro on the top of it.

~sdrawkcab~

“Sirius, you have to understand that the issues you and Sev have with one another are not going to be settled right off the bat.” Harry told the seven year old in front of him.

Sirius looked at him, confused.

“Sorry, that was a muggle expression. Your issues need time to heal. You are going to have to learn to be nice to your brothers, all of them, Severus included, before you can expect Severus to forgive you for everything that you have done to him this go around. Especially since Severus really thought that you were starting to like him, and then you pulled all of those mean and cruel pranks on him at Christmas.”

“But, I don’t understand. I told him that I was sorry and I hugged him…” Sirius said. The little boy looked put out, and indeed he was. Harry inwardly sighed. Children were so complicated, yet thought that everything could be handled so easily. He and Ginny both realized as the days past both Sirius and Severus acted more and more like children instead of the adults they had once been.

Of course, Sirius had acted more childlike from the beginning, but now it was often as if he forgot that he had ever lived another life besides this one.

“Sirius, how about you go take a nap. You have had a long day already, and I need to talk to Mummy. Then when you get up, you and I will talk to one another with Mummy and see what we come up with, okay?”

Sirius nodded through his now continuously falling tears and raised his arms up towards Harry so that the man would pick him up, which he did instantly.

From the kitchen, Ginny smiled. Such complicated little creatures indeed.

~sdrawkcab~

“I used Legilimens on Sev, Harry.” Ginny said, leaning into her husband.  She felt him sigh.

“You had to do it, didn’t you? He wouldn’t talk to you?”

“No, he wouldn’t. There is so much in his mind that he doesn’t want to talk about; there is so much that he is trying to hide. I saw it all. He was angry with me afterwards, not that I blame him. One day he will understand though.  One day he will understand that I did it because I love him and want to help him.”

Harry wrapped his arm around Ginny and she placed her head against his chest.

“Ginny, I think that he is angry because he does understand. What did you see? In his mind?”

Ginny sighed. She almost didn’t know where to start.

“Why do you think Dumbledore did it? Why did he sacrifice so much? He knew that Severus was abused at home. He knew that Tobias Snape beat him during the summer.”

“When did he find out?” Harry asked, rubbing Ginny’s protruding  stomach.

“Eileen Prince Snape told him when Severus was ten. Dumbledore told her there was nothing he could do to help them. He allowed Sirius, James, Peter, and Remus to tease him and they were cruel, Harry, so cruel. They were never punished, yet if Severus retaliated, he was punished.  From what I could see, Dumbledore is the bogeyman of our child’s nightmares because he would not help him. Dumbledore knew how brilliant Severus was, and he knew that he was a natural occulmens. The perfect spy. But in order to be a spy, he had to be tainted first. Albus Dumbledore nearly ruined him.”

“Are you sure?” Harry asked, astounded that the man had indeed been that manipulative.

“Harry, can you even question it? You were placed with a family that hated you; Pansy was a child spy who unspeakable things were done to; Severus was brought up in an environment which ensured that he would one day spy for the Light.”

“Ginny, if I were to ever see him, I would make him regret everything that he has done to our family. Some days I detest the fact that we named Alby after him.” Harry said, tightening his hold on his wife once more.

“Once, Love, we trusted and respected him. We must not forget that, just like we must not forget that in many ways what has happened has been his fault. We can forgive, eventually, but we must never forget.”

Harry placed his chin on top of her head. A tear slipped down his face, just a single tear, for the hatred he was feeling for a man who he had, at one time, trusted with his life.

~sdrawkcab~

Deep in the Department of Mysteries, once again the Veil began to sway violently to and fro.

The Fates began their work again…

Through the Veil a man stumbled. He fell on the floor, banging both of his knees and palms.

“No!” The man wailed, and crawled over to the Veil and clawed at it, trying to go back through it.

But, the Veil had cemented itself. It was hard, and no longer moved as it had mere seconds before.

“No! Noooo!” the man continued to wail.

“You will get nowhere screeching as you are, Old Man. You have been brought back for one reason and one reason only: you have debts to pay. You no longer have the magic you once did. It is little more than a day sorted first year has. You no longer have the respect of those who once respected you. And you have little time to beg for forgiveness to those who you owe it.”

The man turned to look at the voice.

Several paces away, a mere shimmer of a woman stood. Her red hair and brilliant green eyes stood out more than anything else.

Even in death, Lily Elisabeth Evans Potter was beautiful.

“Lily…I had choices to make...all for the greater good…”

“Damn you, Old Man! The choices you made were for no one but yourself! You will beg forgiveness; forgiveness you will probably not get, but forgiveness nonetheless. In less than a minute, Aurors will come through that door. They will take you to the new Minister of Magic, Arthur Weasley. He is whom you will beg first, and he is whom will bring my Harry in.”

“Lily…” the man began to beg.

“No! I must go now. But, Dumbledore, Harry is not the one you must worry about. Even Draco Malfoy, husband to one Pansy Parkinson…oh yes, the truth quickly came out about that poor girl…is not one you should worry about. However, you may want to watch what you say to my daughter-in-law. You hurt two of her children, her friends, her husband. She shan’t be nearly as lenient nor forgiving as Harry…she is but a Snake in Lion’s clothing after all. Not that you did no already know this.”

Lily Potter then instantly shimmered away, leaving a half broken man in her wake.

But, Lily thought to herself, if a man ever needed to be broken, it was most definitely Albus Dumbledore.

~sdrawkcab~

Later that night, all of the boys were at home and in the midst of various play. Severus, Teddy, and Alby were in Severus’ room playing one game or another…mainly with Teddy, as the older brother, trying to explain the rules to Severus and Alby, and the two younger boys simply moving the various pieces around. Ginny and Harry were thankful that Teddy held the same disposition that his biological parents had had, and was both patient and calm with his younger brothers.

Sirius, who was much quieter than normal given the circumstances earlier, was in Jamie’s room and the two of them were playing with quidditch figurines.

Harry and Ginny were cooking dinner, listening vaguely to the monitoring spells that they had over the boys so that they could hear them.

“How about ice cream for dessert? We have a gallon of Fortesque’s in the freezer, and the boys have had a rough day. A treat may do them good.” Harry said.

Ginny nodded as she stirred the spaghetti she was making around with a plastic spoon. The blissful silence was welcomed after such a tiring night and day. To hear the children’s quiet chatter was making the evening that much more enjoyable.

“Do you think that Sirius will have a nightmare tonight?” Harry asked. Ginny stopped stirring and looked at Harry.

“I don’t know, Love. He is not prone to nightmares. Even after Azkaban he told Mum every time that she asked that he never had nightmares.”

“I think that it helped. Going to Privet Drive. I think that it will just take time for him to be able to accept it. Everything will work out eventually. Everything has to calm down in our lives eventually.” Harry said.

And at that moment, the Floo chimed, letting them know that there was someone was waiting to talk to them.

“I’ll get that.” Harry said, and rushed into the living room.

~sdrawkcab~

“Boys, dinner is ready, come on.” Ginny called. Within seconds, she could hear the tell-tale noises of feet hitting the floor as her boys ran into the kitchen.

“Walk!” Ginny told them as the lined up to wash their hands.

Harry came in and shot Ginny a look that made her freeze.

“Harry, what is wrong?”

“That was your Dad. He wouldn’t tell me, but requested that I come to his office immediately. Are you okay here?”

Ginny looked at him, a bit concerned because that was not like her Dad, especially this late at night.

“Of course, go. The boys are fine here. After supper I am going to start packing the things the boys have to have when we are at Hogwarts since we are going back soon. Then after the boys have their baths, it will be time for bed, so just take your time, Love. I will see you when you get back.”

Harry came over and kissed Ginny, and whispered, “I love you. I’ll be back soon.”

He then turned and walked out of the room towards the Floo.

Ginny turned back to the boys and watched as they finished washing their hands, as Severus helped Alby step up to the stool that helped the shorter boys reach the sink.

At the table, the other three boys were already sitting at the table waiting for food. They all looked tired, and Ginny had high hopes that it would be an early night for them, as she was also quite tired because of the night before.

“Come on, Sev, Alby.” Ginny said, picking up Alby and placing him in his high chair, something, she realized, was going to have to be fixed soon. Which also meant that the seating arrangement would have to be rearranged; something that may or may not cause issues with the boys.

But, it was not something that she even wanted to think about at that moment.

“Okay boys, let’s eat.” Ginny said as she spelled a helping of spaghetti, green beans, and bread onto each of their plates.

Ginny started eating her food, thinking about what Harry and her Dad were talking about. She listened to the boys talk amongst themselves.

“I don’t want to eat this.” Severus said, poking around his food with his fork.

“Severus, you have to eat.”

“I don’t like this. It’s all touching. And it smells funny.”

“Severus, honey, you have to eat. If you do not eat, then you cannot have dessert.”

“If I don’t have to eat this then I don’t have to have dessert.”

“Regardless, you have to eat, Sev.”

“No.” Severus wailed, and placed his head on the table.

Inwardly, Ginny rolled her eyes.

“Severus, just eat. I heard Daddy ask Mummy about ice cream and that’s what we are having for dessert.” Sirius said lightly.

Severus looked over at the boy and glared.

“Shut up!” Severus hissed.

“Severus, that is enough. What is wrong with you?” Ginny asked.

“Nothing! I don’t want to eat this.”

Ginny looked at him. His sudden change of tone always took her by surprise.

“Severus, do you want to go to bed early?”

“No.” Severus snapped.

The other boys were keeping their heads down and eating their food. Which, surprisingly, was what they always did when one of their brothers were in trouble.

“Severus, you know the rules.” Ginny said, placing another piece of bread on Alby’s plate. The child loved bread, and usually ate his weight in it.

“Screw the rules!”

Jamie looked up, shocked.

“Oh! You said a bad word!” Jamie said.

Severus stared at Jamie and scooting down in his chair and thrusting his foot out, kicking Jamie in the shin.

“Owwww!” Jamie cried, and promptly burst into tears.

“Severus Potter! Ginny said, standing up, grabbing Severus’ arm and hauling him out of his chair, and landing one almighty smack to his backside.

Afterwards, Ginny stood the child up in his chair and forced his chin up to look at her.

“That was very naughty. I am disappointed in your actions, Severus.”

“Don’t talk to me! I am mad at you!” Severus wailed and then, jerking his arm from her grasp, got on the floor and fell to his knees, and then placed his head in his folded arms, his little bum sticking in the air as he cried his heart out.

“Okay, Severus, you can sit down there and cry. Once you are done, you may finish eating, take a bath, and then go to bed.”

“Mummy, I am done, can I go to my room?” Sirius asked.

Ginny nodded.

“Please pick up your room while you are in there. There are toys and clothes everywhere.”

“Okay, Mum.” Sirius said, walking out of the room.

Ginny was wiping Jamie’s tears off his face, and listened to Severus’ crying.

“Sevy, you know you were kinda mean to Jamie, and he didn’t really do anything to you. Sometimes, Sev, even if you aren’t really all that happy, you just gotta be nice. I mean, we are all brothers, and sometimes, brothers just have, you know, look out for one another.” Teddy was whispering to Severus.

Ginny looked over to the two children, and her heart nearly burst from the sight. Teddy was kneeling beside Severus, whispering into his ear. For the first time in a long time, Gnomie didn’t appear the moment that Severus was distraught.

“It’s not fair.” Severus wailed.

“What?”

“I don’t wanna eat. I don’t want Mummy to be dis’pointed in me. I don’t want to take a bath or go to bed.”

“But Sev, we all have to eat and then take a bath and go to bed. And, sometimes, we do things that make Mum and Dad mad, but they still love us. Even if we are bad.”

“You sure?”

“Of course! Now, why don’t you eat dinner before Mum takes you into the study? We both know how that will end!” Teddy said with a small laugh.

Ginny smiled at the two boys as Teddy sat back into his seat and then as Severus slowly stood and climbed back on his seat, sitting on his knees.

Ginny said nothing as she watched the boys finish eating, then realized that Alby had fallen asleep in his chair, spaghetti all over his face and hands.

Twenty minutes later, Ginny had cleaned up Alby and put him to bed. Teddy was in his room, and Severus was in the bath.

Ginny walked into the bathroom to get Severus out of tub. Both were silent as Ginny helped Severus dry off and then watched as the boy dressed, as he sometimes had the habit of putting his pajamas bottoms on backwards, causing them to twist while he slept.

“Mummy?” Severus asked as he pulled his t-shirt over his head.

“Yes, Severus?”

Severus sniffed.

“I’m sorry I was bad.”

“Sev, sometimes you are going to be naughty, sometimes you are going to fight with your brothers, and sometimes you are going to do things that Daddy and I do not like, but Teddy is right, we will always love you.”

Severus started to cry as he wrapped his arms around Ginny’s neck, pressing his tear stained face into her neck.

“One day, Sev, things are not going to be this hard. One day, I think that you are going to be able to look past everything that has happened and live in the future. One day, Sev. But, before that happens, Daddy and I are going to help you along the way.”

Severus just continued to hold onto Ginny.

And he knew at that moment, that it was completely okay.

~sdrawkcab~

Harry James Potter walked through the Floo of Arthur Weasley’s office at approximately 6:03 p.m.

And what he saw made his see flames. Accidental magic, which was the rarest of magic in adults, cracked around Harry’s body.

“What the bloody, effin HELL is he doing here? How is this even possible?” Harry shouted at the sight of Albus Dumbledore.

“Now Harry…” Arthur started.

“No. I want to know what he is doing here. How he is here. And what the hell he wants.” Harry shouted.

Arthur took a deep breath. He was used to dealing with irate sons, after all he had seven, counting Harry, as he and Molly had practically raised the boy during his school years and then after. He was most definitely a full fledged Weasley now.

“Harrison Potter, you are going to have to calm down before I speak to you.” Arthur said sternly.

Harry looked at him, shocked. Sure, Molly had lectured him dozens of times; Arthur never.

“I apologize, but if you could explain…”

“The Veil, Harry. He came out through the Veil today. He tried to go back through, but the Veil cemented itself so that he was unable to do so.”

“Serves him right. He should have to face us! And then he should rot in Azkaban!” Harry hissed.

He didn’t notice Dumbledore flinch at his harshness.

Not that he would have cared had he noticed. The old man deserved whatever he got.

“Harry, I realize that you are upset…”

“Dad! Upset is an understatement! That man screwed up so many lives! He practically ruined two of my sons’ lives with his manipulations! And what about Pansy? What about me? Just wait until Ginny and Aunt Cissy see him! They will not nearly be as calm as I am!”

Arthur stared at the man, knowing that he was distraught. He called him Dad more when he was distraught.

“Harry, boy, I know that you think I made some mistakes…” Dumbledore started.

Harry immediately pulled his wand and pointed it at the man sitting across the room.

“Listen to me, you manipulating old fool, I don’t care what you think that you did for the bloody greater good, but I will tell you here and now, that if you cross me, if you come near my family, which includes my sons, my wife, Pansy…anyone who was connected to any of your damn manipulations, I will hex you. I will make you suffer. Any ounce of self respect that I once held for you…well, let’s just say that they were naïve thoughts of a school age boy. I have five children now and one on the way. I am much wiser than I was in school!” Harry yelled.

Dumbledore looked at him.

“Five children, my boy…”

“Stop! Arthur, I am leaving. If I don’t leave, I will cast a hex of my own invention that will cause him to beg me for mercy. Because,” he turned to Dumbledore, “I am no longer the boy who would only cast the predictable Expelliarmis. The war changed us all. A war that you managed to get out of by have Severus murder you. You are a fool. Arthur, I will talk to you later.”

Harry walked to the Floo, grabbed the Floo powder, and jumped into the fireplace.

He had a lot to tell Ginny.

Harry walked through the Floo and was thankful to find the house quiet, despite the fact that it was only half past seven. It was the kind of quiet that told Harry that most, if not all, of the boys were asleep.

“Hey, Love, what did Dad want?” Ginny asked from the doorway, leaning against the frame.

Harry looked over at Ginny and frowned.

“You aren’t gonna like it, Gin. In fact, you are going to hate what is going on.” Harry said.

His hands were shaking. That was the first thing that Ginny noticed.

“Harry, what is wrong? What has happened?”

Ginny felt the fear that she had not felt in years grip her stomach and heart. Something was wrong. Ginny hadn’t seen Harry shake like he was now since the final battle.

Harry was silent.

“Tell me, Harry. What is going on?” Ginny demanded.

Harry took a deep breath.

“The Veil opened back up last night.”

“What? Did someone else come through the Veil?” Ginny was confused.

“Yes. Dumbledore.” Harry felt that it would probably be easier to throw it out there quickly. Like tearing off a muggle band aid. Fast and smooth was always easiest.

Ginny froze. She no longer felt that gripping tightness in her stomach.

What she felt was pure, unadulterated anger.

“Love…” Harry started. Ginny held her hand up. She couldn’t talk. Not yet.

Several moments passed before Ginny finally looked at Harry after a deep breath.

“How old is he?”

“He is the same age he was when he died.”

“I am going to see him.” Ginny said, going towards the closet to grab her cloak.

“Love, no. Not right now. The boys are asleep, and you are tired…”

“I am going, Harrison James Potter! I will not let this happen again. I will not let him…”

“Mummmmmmmmy!” A scream filled the room.

Ginny dropped the cloak she had picked up out of the closet on the couch and just stared at Harry for a few moments.

Tears of anger were pooling in her eyes.

“Mummy! Mummy! Mummy!”

“Once again, he is saved from hardship by our son, Harry, but rest assured, he will get what he deserves.”

With that, Ginny rushed towards Severus’ room where the little boy’s crying was getting louder and louder.

Harry followed her and stopped behind her when she froze in the doorway of the child’s room.

“It’s okay, Sev. It’s okay to cry and be afraid. Everyone is afraid sometimes.”

Teddy.

Harry scooted in closer to Ginny and leaned against the door frame, watching the two little boys who had not yet noticed their parents.

“I want Mummy.” Severus cried. Teddy patted his back.

“How bout I stay with you? Me an’ you can both fit in your bed easy. And, I will stay all night long.” Teddy told Severus.

Teddy watched Severus as the little boy cried, but then crawled under the blankets with Sev and lightly patted his back until the little boy fell asleep.

Soon, both the boys were fast asleep and Ginny and Harry looked at the duo. They were so proud of their children.

They were especially proud of Teddy, who seemed to be growing up and maturing right in front of them.

“Come on, Love, we have things to talk about.” Harry said, gently pulling Ginny with him towards the study.

~sdrawkcab~

Ginny lay awake all night. It should not have been possible, as she had not slept at all the night before either, but she had too many things running through her mind.

Harry was laying beside her, his arm over her protectively. They had talked for several hours before he had fallen asleep, but nothing had truly soothed either of their nerves and emotions.

Ginny thought of her children. Of Teddy, who had lost his parents, his biological parents, in a war that could have been ended years sooner than it had; to Sirius and Severus, who had lost their own lives in that war; to Jamie, the child born so soon after the war, another light for two devastated individuals; to Alby, a child who shared his name with a manipulative man.

That bothered both Potters. Alby was close to three years old, and had been born nearly three years after the war had ended. No one had really said anything about the war, or the people lost in it. In fact, most refused to even talk about it.

They had named Alby, Albus Severus Potter minutes after he was born.

Later that year, Rita Skeeter had started printing things about Dumbledore. Things that no one thought were true.

Until they found out that they had been.

Pansy, who had kept her secrets from everyone at first, had slowly but surely told Ginny and Harry…with Narcissa and Draco by her side… what had happened during her years at Hogwarts.

It had still taken them a while to accept everything. There had been a short while where they had seriously deliberated on changing their youngest child’s name, but one night Harry had come home, stared at his wife and three children on the floor.

“Ginny, Dumbledore messed up. We know that he was cunning and manipulative. We know that he screwed up everything. But when we named our son we still thought he was a half-way decent guy. We named Alby with the best of intentions. And besides, his middle name, Severus, more than makes up for the shite Dumbledore brought to our world.”

It had still taken time, but slowly they stopped thinking about changing the baby’s name.

After all, Dumbledore had done great things. They had not been with the best intentions, but they had been great.

Harry said the man, in many ways, reminded him Ollivander’s words to him the first time they had met. After all, Voldemort had been inherently evil; yet, he, too, had done great things with his magic.

Ginny sighed with the thought and curled up next to her husband as closely as she could. She wanted him to hold her as close as he could.

Almost as if Harry, in his sleep, could sense that exactly what she needed. He instantly pulled her close to him and placed his chin on top of her head.

It was position that made Ginny feel safer than any other.

~sdrawkcab~

The next morning, Ginny and Harry Floo’d back to Hogwarts with the children, as Harry needed to do some work before the new term started. They had packed what little they had brought with them and then woke the boys to go straight through. If they had left anything, they would come back and get it later.

Over breakfast shortly after they had gotten back to Hogwarts, Ginny and Harry placed cut up waffles with syrup, and scrambled eggs on the boys’ plates. The boys were quiet, and all of them looked slightly tired.

“Mummy, I wanna play outside.” Alby said, shoving a handful of eggs into his mouth. His talking was getting better every day.

“Daddy, you wanna go ride brooms today?” Sirius asked Harry.

“Kids, let’s eat and then see what we want to do.” Harry said.

“I’m sleepy.” Severus said, laying his head on the table.

Teddy nodded.

Ginny looked at Harry. She was supposed to go to work in thirty minutes, her first day back after the Holidays, though the previous day was supposed to have been.

“We will go outside and play for a bit, and then after lunch we can all rest.” Harry said, shoveling food in his mouth almost as fast as the boys.

Ginny smiled. She was glad that there were no apparent tantrums going to occur today.

“Okay, boys, I have to go to work. I know that it will be tough, but you guys can clean up before you change…into warm clothing…and then go outside. I will be back this afternoon.”

With that, she quickly kissed the boys on the forehead, and the wrapped her arms around Harry with a quick hug and kiss.

Before long, she was walking through the Floo, headed to work.

Harry looked at the boys with a huge smile.

“So, how about we make this quick, as I see you are all finished eating. How about I clean,” he flicked his wand and everything vanished to the kitchen, “and you all go put on warm clothes so that we can go outside!”

Immediately, the boys all jumped up and ran towards their rooms, except for Sev, who was waiting on Alby. Then, together, they both ran towards their rooms.

Harry, not one to normally pay attention to what the boys wore like Ginny did, realized that he probably should have helped them pick out their clothes when they came into the living room ten minutes later.

Sirius was dressed from head to two in red. The only thing was that the reds were not all the same color red. Even his shoes, which changed colors to match his clothes was a burnt red color that didn’t match any of the other reds.

Teddy matched better than Sirius, except that he had forgotten to put on a sweater and warm cloak.

Jamie came running out in his underwear and a long sleeved shirt with a flying snitch on it, yelling that he couldn’t find his pants.

Both Severus and Alby came out dressed from head to toe in black. They matched, had on warm cloaks, and hats, but neither had put on their shoes nor socks.

Harry looked at the five boys and just barely stifled a laugh.

“Okay, guys. You all did a fantastic job dressing, but we know how Mummy can be sometimes if we are not dressed exactly right when we go out in public. So, Sirius, how about you go change into some warm trousers and get your heavier, black, winter cloak? Teddy, you need on a sweater, and also your winter cloak. Also hats and gloves. It is cold outside. Sev, Alby, you need socks and shoes on your feet. Jamie, come on and I will help you find your pants, and your warm, outside stuff.”

Obediently, they all followed Harry’s directions. Within twenty minutes they were headed outside, Harry with shrunken playground equipment in his pocket and the child’s toy broom in his hands with five little boys marching in front of him through Hogwarts so that they would be able to play on the grounds

It was nice, Harry thought, that the boys were acting just like children, playing amongst one another with contentment after he had unshrunk the play equipment that they kept in a box in the living room for times when they brought the boys outside at the Castle.

Teddy and Severus were swinging, Jamie and Alby were building something in the sand box, and Sirius was taking his turn on the broom, flying in circles around Harry.

“Sev, don’t swing too high. I don’t want you to fall off and break anything.”

“Yes, sir.” Sev said quietly. To Harry’s surprise, he immediately slowed the swing down, all the while talking to Teddy.

“Teddy, let’s go look at the plants over there.” Severus said, pointing to a small plot of plants which Harry knew were non-lethal, and nodded to the two boys as they ran over to the little plants.

Harry could hear the boys talking, Severus explaining to Teddy which plants were which, and which plants were used in certain potions while Teddy interjected every once in a while asking questions.

This was the part of life that Harry loved. The part of life that made the tough areas worth it.

“Come Back!” Harry heard a yell.

It was McGonagall.

“No! You no longer have rights here!” She yelled again. Harry looked up and saw her racing towards the little area where the boys were all playing and he was watching them.

Severus and Teddy both looked up at the same time. But Severus saw something that Harry did not immediately see.

He jumped up to his feet, a bit of dandelion flower and root, dirt still intact, clutched in his small, clamped hand.

He stared into the damnable, twinkling, blue eyes of a man that nearly always graced his nightmares.

Dumbledore stopped right in front of the two children, but Severus especially.

“Why Severus, how good it is to see you. Though I never imagined this was the form you would be in.”

“Daddddddddddy!” Severus yelled, and backed up. He fell backwards, catching himself with the palms of his hands with a sickening crack to the left one.

Severus didn’t notice it though. He was only able to focus, at that moment, on one thing.

And that was the man in front of him, and how much bigger he seemed than his own five, nearly six, year old self.

“Stupefy!”

The spell hit the man immediately, sending him backwards nearly ten feet and unconscious.

“Sirius, get off the broom, Bud. We’ll fly more in a while.” Harry said as he ran over to Severus and Teddy. Jamie and Alby were standing still, their eyes wide with shock at what had just happened in front of them. Sirius, too, was standing still, staring. He had already been coming down when Harry had told him to.

Teddy was kneeling beside Sev, his hand on his leg, staring at the bearded, unconscious man on the ground.

“Sev, Sev, are you okay?” Harry asked frantically. Severus didn’t speak though, he only looked up into Harry’s emerald green eyes with his deep, obsidian ones, tears pooling in them.

Minerva was already running scans over the little boy’s body, as she had heard the crack when he had hit the ground.

“Harry, his left arm is broken from his fall. You need to take him to Poppy. I can watch the boys.” She told him.

“No! I’m going with Sev and Daddy!” Teddy said, though stepping back a bit. He knew that McGonagall was a strict one at the best of times.

“Me, too!” Sirius yelled, walking up beside his two brothers, followed closely by his youngest brothers.

“It’s okay. I will take them with me. But, Minerva, get him out of here. If he comes near my sons again, I will not simlpy stupefy him. And when I am done, I will let Ginny take a turn followed by Draco, Narcissa…I think you get my point. Please make sure that he, too, understands. We will talk with him on our terms. Not his. And he will NOT talk to my children.”

“No worries, Harry. I will make bloody well sure the man knows it.”

That was when Harry realized just how pissed the woman looked and the fact that she had her wand drawn.

Pointing straight at the unconscious form of Albus Dumbledore, dare the man not follow her rules when he woke up.

“Thank you, Min. I will talk to you later. Please don’t bring him to the infirmary.”

And with that, Harry, holding Severus close to his body as tears fell down the little boy’s cheeks, started walking to the Castle with Sirius holding Alby’s hand, Teddy holding Jamie’s, all following close behind their father and brother.

Ginny Potter ran through the hallways as fast as she could, albeit, not very fast as she was now officially eight months pregnant.

But, she was pissed. She was infuriated. She was full of so much rage that she almost did not know how to channel it.

Except, she knew how she wanted to handle it, and that was by hexing Albus Dumbledore to the point that he did not remember his own name, let alone the names of her children.

But first she had to check on her baby. Sev, who would be six in a couple months, had broken his arm because of that incompetent fool. He should count his lucky stars that he was nowhere near her when Harry had Floo’d her to tell her what had happened and that Severus was crying for her.

Albus Dumbledore would get what was coming to him though, of that she was positive.

~sdrawkcab~

“It will be okay, Sev. Madam Pomfrey will have you all healed in a bit.” Sirius told his younger brother, holding his uninjured hand as the medi witch positioned his injured one. Harry watched his sons, all of them were around Sev, comforting him in a way that only brothers apparently could. Sev was still crying from the pain and his need for his mother. But, the boys were of some comfort, which was obvious, as Severus had yet to tell them to leave him alone. Severus also kept looking towards Harry through tear filled eyes to make sure that the man did not stray too far.

Sirius was standing beside Sev’s head, Teddy was sitting beside him, and Alby and Jamie were sitting on the bed beside him. Harry simply watched Madam Pomfrey as she waved her wand in complicated patterns and then handed Severus a potion, which he promptly spit out in a spew of horror.

He had definitely not meant to spit the potion out and look horrified as the potion landed on his Daddy and the medi witch.

“I…I…I’m…I’m…SORRY!” He wailed as tears fell down his cheeks at an even faster pace than they had previously.

Thankfully, at that moment, Ginny walked in quickly, immediately sitting beside her screaming child and looking at Harry and Madam Pomfrey, who held a new potion in her hand for the little boy.

“Here, Sevy, will you take this potion for Mummy?” Ginny asked, gently moving the child to her side and placing the vial at his lips. He gagged, and Ginny immediately massaged his throat so that the potion would go down easier and quickly followed it with a glass of pumpkin juice that Madam Pomfrey had handed her.

“Good job, Sev.” Ginny said, kissing his head.

“Here, Mr. Potter, let’s put this sling on your arm. It needs to stay there at least until tomorrow morning at which time your Mummy can assess your arm and take it off. It will be sore tonight, but I know that you will be taken care of.” The elder lady said, placing the sling on his arm swiftly and gently.

Ginny lifted him onto her lap and then looked up at Harry.

“I want to see him.”

Harry looked down at her. She could tell that he was stressed out about the situation.

“I’d rather my wife not be sent to Azkaban and leave me with six children. So, why don’t we go home and talk a bit, Gin.” Harry said quietly, watching the four boys behind her talking to one another quietly and Severus sitting, his eyes dropping from the pain killer he had watched Pomfrey slip into the pumpkin juice earlier.

“Harrison…”

“Gin, look at your son. He is tired, he wants you, and the boys are hungry. I know that you want to…um…get your point across…but is it really worth it right now?” Harry asked. He honestly did fear that if his wife was to see Dumbledore anytime soon that she would in fact murder the man before he had a chance to even bat an eyelash.

“Let’s take them to our quarters.” Ginny said, looking down at the drying tears on Severus’ face, and then taking a tissue from her pocket to lightly wipe them away.

This little boy, her child, Harry’s child, had already cried too many tears and it irritated her to no end that once again that man had been the cause of them.

“I need you to take him, Harry, I can’t get up holding him anymore.” Ginny said. Harry smiled and picked up Severus, who was now sleeping.

“Walking to our quarters or Floo, Gin? Which will be easier for him?” Harry asked. Ginny looked at the small boy in his Daddy’s arms, his injured arm in a sling held protectively, yet tenderly against Harry’s chest. Ginny felt tears in the corners of her eyes, and leaned into her husband.

“Harry, I thought we were making a break through. I thought that our family was finally going to be completely happy. Why would fate send him back to cause further harm to our family? Haven’t we been through enough?” Ginny whispered.

Harry took one of his arms and wrapped it around her, pulling her close to him.

“Ginny, I have a good feeling about all of this. I can’t explain it, but something good will come of this.”

Ginny sniffed and nodded.

“Let’s walk. If we Floo he may vomit, despite the painkillers. I just want to put him in his bed. He will be more comfortable there.”

Harry nodded, and after summoning the other four boys, the family of seven, soon to be eight, walked towards their quarters.

~sdrawkcab~

“What the bloody hell were you thinking, Albus Dumbledore? What. The. Bloody. Hell! It would serve you right if they come up here and hex you within an inch of your sorry half life!” Minerva yelled at the now cowering man in front of her. He could tell that she was angry. Perhaps angrier than she had ever been since he could not once remember actually feeling her magic surround him as it was at the moment.

“Now, Minnie, I have to talk to them…”

And then Albus Dumbledore saw something he most definitely had never seen….

Minerva McGonagall’s face softened, then hardened in thought. Her magic thickened, almost like accidental magic, but harder, unwilling.

“Albus Dumbledore, you shan’t talk to them until they are ready. You no longer know who they are. You shan’t mess with those children. It has taken them a long time to have the family that they wish to have, and you will give them the space and time that they wish. You will stay in my extra room. My house else, Biky, will give you three meals a day and do your laundry, you you are not to ask for anything else.”

“Minnie…I have to talk to them. I was sent back to fix…”

“Remember, Dumbledore, what you broke has already been fixed. There is nothing that you can say or do to fix what you have done. Others have already corrected the wrongs. Remember that. You may have been sent back for something, you may even think that it is to fix what you broke, but I am here to tell you, old man, that that is not the reason. You are here to apologize, nothing else, and until you do, nothing will ever change.”

And with that, Minerva McGonagall left the room.

And Dumbledore, for the first time in a very long time, actually contemplated how his actions might have done more ill than good.

~sdrawkcab~

Later that night, Harry and Ginny were lying in bed, Severus lying in between them. They had put the other boys to bed hours before, and had only woken Severus long enough to get a light supper into him and another painkiller, as his arm was still stiff and hurting.

Almost immediately the two adults fell into a deep, exhaustive sleep…

They were surrounded by fog…but wait, the fog was clearing. 

Now they were in a meadow. There were trees, flowers, and butterflies.

“I don’t know where we are at, Gin.” Harry said, moving close to his wife and wrapping an arm around her.

Harry and Ginny both jumped from the voice that came before them. 

“Mum?” Harry said, staring at the red haired women who had not seen in five and a half years.

“We cannot let him near our children, Mum.” Harry said. 

“And I will not ask that of you. I will not even ask you to forgive him. I simply ask you to acknowledge him when he tries.”

“Why? Why, Lily? He hurt my sons…” Ginny asked, tears beginning to fall out of the corner of her eyes. 

Lily walked over to the young woman and wrapped her arms around her.

“I don’t understand…” 

“And you won’t. Not until the minute of realization.”

“Mum, are you sure that Dumbledore will not cause any further harm?” Harry asked, standing slightly to the side as his Mum and wife hugged one another.  

“His only weapon now, Son, is words. He has little magic, no wand, and can no longer do any wandless magic. And, I know that all who face him will be able to match him word for word. Even Sirius and Sev.”

“You are not suggesting that we let the boys anywhere near him, are you?” Harry asked.

“Are you sure that everything will be okay?” Ginny whispered. 

“Yes, Love. Of that I can promise. Now, in a few minutes, Sev is going to wake up. He is still a bit sore, and he is in need of some mummy and daddy time. But, I need you both to remember, you do not have to forgive, but simply listen. And remember, above all else, that I love you all.”

Ginny sat straight up in bed, as did Harry. Both looked at one another.

“Did you…”

“…I did…” Harry replied.

“Mummy…Daddy…” Severus said, still half asleep, his eyes closed, his uninjured arm stretching out and patting the bed in search of his mummy.

“We are right here, Sev. Right here.” Ginny said, picking up Severus and putting him in her lap, against her chest, and then snuggling up against Harry.

“Mummy…” a small voice came from the door.

“Come on, guys.”Harry said as he watched as the other four boys came into the room and climbed onto the bed.

“The lady with your eyes, Daddy, told me it would be a good night for us to sleep in here.” Teddy said quietly, snuggling up to Harry.

Sirius lay close to Ginny and Severus, Jamie between Ginny’s legs, and Alby practically on top of Sirius.

But, for the first time, they all felt like one, big, happy family, despite all of the extra things that were going on around them.

Because in that room, in that bed, they were all safe and happy.

And at the moment, that was the only thing in the world that actually mattered to any of them.  

“Sirius! You can’t do it like that or it won’t come out right! You have to stir it four times counter clockwise. Otherwise it will curdle and it won’t be any good!” Severus told his older brother. The two still had more off days than good, but at least for the time being they were getting along.

“Why does it matter? I mean we are only making milk chocolate drops…”

“Well, yea, we are only making candy, but if you don’t stir it the right way it will curdle and burn. Then we won’t be able to eat any of it.” Severus said, adding equal amounts of milk and smashed cocoa beans.

“Well, it still doesn’t make a lick of sense. I mean, what if we wanted to add a different flavor to it? Like Uncle George does with some of his candy?” Sirius asked him, staring into the cauldron.

“You have to follow the directions. Only people with a mastery in Potions, or those working in the NEWTs level at school are allowed to work on changing and inventing potions. Isn’t that right, Mummy?” Severus said, turning around to look at Ginny who was standing by the sink with Jamie washing vegetables to cook for lunch.

“Yes, Sev. You are correct. It takes years of practice to change a potion or experiment with them. Even something as simple as chocolate drops.” Ginny said, showing Jamie how to cut carrots with a child’s paring knife spelled not to cut skin in case of mishaps.

Severus looked up at her and grinned, and then patted Sirius on the shoulder.

“I can teach you how to brew and bottle. I can teach you before you have to go to Hogwarts in a couple years if you want me too. I still remember a lot about potions…in fact, I still remember everything.” Severus said, his shoulders sagging a little. He looked up at Ginny and let the stirrer in his hand drop.

“Where is Daddy?”

Ginny looked at her son with concern. He had so many up and down days that she was often concerned that he would never accept his new life.

“He is in the study grading some papers.”

“Can I go in there? Please?” Severus said, his hands shaking slightly.

Ginny looked at him for a moment and then nodded, a tight smile on her face. She didn’t know what was going through his head, but she could tell that something was wrong with Sev.

“Sure, Love. Go on.”

Severus nodded and then left the room.

“Mum, he didn’t finish his potion…what if I mess it up?” Sirius asked, staring at the door Severus had just gone through.

At that moment, Teddy looked over at Sirius from where he was writing a letter to his grandmother at the other end of the table with Alby beside him coloring, telling her about his day, and smiled.

“I’ll help, Siri. I am not too bad at following directions.”

Ginny smiled as the two boys continued the potion, but in the back of her mind she felt a world of concern about Severus.

~sdrawkcab~

Severus walked into the study and slowly made his way over to where Harry was sitting behind his desk grading papers.

Harry did not notice Severus until the small boy came around the desk and started to climb into his lap. Harry put his quill down and helped Sev up onto his lap and then leaned back in his seat.

“What’s wrong, Sev?” Harry asked him as he ran a hand through his curly locks of hair.

Harry often wondered what life Severus had lived when he was younger, and he knew that Ginny often wondered the same thing. The true story, the whole story, as he knew Severus had never told anyone everything.

One difference that both Ginny and Harry had noticed was the way his looks had changed. His hair, when washed every day, was very soft and had a gentle curl. They kept it cut to just around his ears. His cheeks were filling out a little, since he ate three meals a day, and his complexion was darker because he spent quite a bit of time outside.

Most days, he seemed happier as well.

“I don’t know.”  Severus leaned his back against Harry’s chest and sighed.

“What do you mean you don’t know, Buddy? Do you feel sick?” Harry placed his hand flat on Severus’ forehead quickly, to make sure that he didn’t have a fever.

“No. I’m just frustrated, I think.”

“Why, Sev?”  Harry picked Severus up and turned him around so that his legs were on either side of Harry’s legs, and he was facing his Daddy.

“I don’t know how to explain it, Daddy.”

“Can you at least try?”

Severs shrugged his shoulders and looked down at his lap for a few moments before Harry placed his fingertips under the five, nearly six year olds chin and raised them up.

But when he did so, and looked into his eyes, it was not five year old Severus that he saw.

The obsidian eyes he looked into were the one full of pain and mistrust that belonged to the man Severus used to be.

“Oh, Sev.” Harry said, and then quickly wrapped his arms around Severus’ shoulders in a tight embrace.

To Harry’s surprise, Severus melted into the embrace instead of flinching or tightening up.

Harry leaned back again.

“Try, Sev. Try.”

Severus swallowed and cleared his throat, and finally looked into Harry’s eyes.

“The first time I saw you, I didn’t hate you. You were very small. It was that Halloween night. I couldn’t hate you then. I was in shock, and you were but a babe. The next time I saw you, I had already decided that I didn’t like you. And when you came into the Great Hall, you looked so much like your father.

That’s why I didn’t understand at first why you wanted me. Because, as much as I loved Lily, I was never sure that I wanted you. I protected you because I was supposed to. I had promised Lily. But you didn’t hesitate to take me in.

But, that isn’t what is bothering me now. I mean, I got over that a bit ago, and even though some days I don’t understand, I do accept it. But, there are still some days when I am fine, and I know that I am Severus Potter, and something will happen and all these memories will come flooding back to me. Like earlier, Sirius and I were making Potion Chocolate Drops and he asked me a question and it was like I was back in my old body. And, I felt, for just a tiny moment, that I didn’t like Sirius anymore.

I know that that is not fair. Sirius has been trying so hard to be nice, even though we do fight sometimes, but every since I broke my arm two weeks ago, he really has been trying. That memory hit me like a bludger though. I left before I could hurt his feelings because I don’t want too, even if he is an idiot sometimes. I want us to all be friends and brothers most of the time. Even my adult side has learned that we are a family.” Severus said, then, winded, he stopped for a moment to wipe a tear that was sliding down his left cheek away and take a deep breath.

“Sometimes, my memories, when they hit, hurt. They hurt so badly.” Severus whispered.

Harry wanted to cry for his son and with him.

“Sev, maybe you should start telling me and Mummy about your memories when they come back. Maybe if you talk about them, they will not hurt so much.”

Severus was taking deep breaths. He heard Harry…no, his Daddy, telling him to talk about the memories, but it hurt something awful to actually think about telling someone.

“I can’t. I don’t want to hurt anyone. Or, for them to pity me. I don’t need pity, Potter!” Severus yelled.

But…

He didn’t try to get up from Harry’s lap. In fact, he leaned deeper into Harry’s chest.

“Sometimes, we have to talk about things even if we don’t want too. You know, once the war was over, Grammy Molly, Grandma ‘Dromeda, and Aunt Cissy all made me talk to them whenever I would start to feel out of sorts. And, it helped, Sev, truly.”

“Was it hard? The war? You were quite young. Even though I was able to watch you sometimes, I know things happened that I was not aware.”

“Sev, war is hard. You went through two; you know that they are hard. Yes, it was hard on me. But, I also know that it was tremendously hard…perhaps harder, on others.”

“How and why should it have been harder on others? You were facing your death!” Severus nearly shouted.

“That is why it was a bit easier on me, I think. I never thought that I would live through the war. That occurred to me during my fourth year. After Cedric died. But it hit me after I heard the prophecy. I knew that I was going to have to die. I accepted it.”

“Like me.” Severus whispered.

Harry looked down at the mop of curly hair.

“Yes, Sev, like you.”

It hit Harry as odd that Severus had known he was going to die. Especially since the Dark Lord had thought him his best soldier.

“I understand a lot of things that I wish I did not have too… but, I think that one day it will be useful.”

“Sev, it may be useful one day, but I don’t want you to forget that this is your second chance. I want you to grow up happy this time. Free from the mistakes of your past. If you have to remember some things, then so be it. I do not want you to forget who you were. But, we, Ginny and I, want you to live this live to the fullest. We plan to give you every opportunity that we can.”

Severus looked up and Harry and smiled a dim smile that did not reach his eyes, but was sincere nonetheless.

“I have to do something. It is important.”

“What is that, Sev?”

Severus took a deep breath, looked Harry in the eye for a moment, and then spoke:

“I have to talk to Albus Dumbledore."   

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock…

The clock on the mantle was ticking and tocking rather loudly, thought Severus. He was lying about three feet in front of the fireplace reading a book lazily.

Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.

Severus was tapping on the edge of his book as he read. Sirius watched him with consternation. For two days Severus had been much quieter than normal. Sirius wasn’t sure why, but he had also felt odd.

Swish. Swish. Swish. Swish. Swish. Swish.

Teddy looked at Severus as he turned several pages of his book, one right after the other. He, too, knew that something was wrong with him. For two days his little brother had been nearly mute. But, then again, so had Sirius who was normally loud and rowdy all the time.

Thump. Thump. Thump. Thum. Thump. Thump.

Alby and Jamie watched as their brother left his book on the floor and walked out of the room. Severus never left his books lying around on the floor, but maybe he was coming back.

Thirty minutes later, Severus was sleeping.

But not peacefully.

No, not peacefully at all.

~*~*~*~sdrawkcab~*~*~*~

“The land of lilies and petunia’s is full of all sorts of things! Butterflies, unicorns, and dandelions! The land of lilies and petunias is full of lots of things! Horses, carriages, and foals! The land of poison and hate is full of other things…Crying boys and hitting hands…”

~~~~*~~~~

“Damnit, Boy!”

~~~~*~~~~

“Lace wing flies, bicorn horn, unicorn hair freely given, seed of tiger lily, root of willow…”

~~~~*~~~~

“This is the last time I will tell you, Brat! I’ll beat the magic out of you if it is the last thing I do!”

~~~~*~~~~

“Dumbledore, please! Help my son! He needs it. I am dying, Dumbledore! Dying! Who is going to protect my son when the time comes?”

~~~~*~~~~

“Ring around the rosy, pocket full of posies, ashes, ashes, we all fall down!”

~~~~*~~~~

“I cannot, Eileen. He will be needed…elsewhere…Later…”

~~~~*~~~~

“I can’t, Lily…I can’t…”

~~~~*~~~~

“Bloody Idiot!”

~~~~*~~~~

“There will be no foolish wand waving…”

~~~~*~~~~

“No! Not Lily! Please, Not Lily!”

~~~~*~~~~

“The land of poison and hate…”

~~~~*~~~~

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

The scream filled the house with a chilly frost of magic that literally covered every surface in the house. Ginny startled from the couch where she had been reading a Healer’s Digest.

Harry jumped up and made his way towards Severus’ room.

The little boy was thrashing in the bed. He was sweating. His face was flushed red and tears were falling down his little cheeks.

“Daddy…what is wrong with him?” Sirius asked from the doorway.

“I don’t know. Go get Mummy.”

But Sirius didn’t seem to hear him. Quite the opposite. He walked over to the bed and climbed up beside Severus.

“Sirius…”

Sirius lay down beside Severus, placing his hand in Severus’. Immediately, Severus stopped thrashing, but, for some unknown reason, Sirius fell into a deep sleep.

“Sirius…Severus…wake up.” Harry shook both boys gently, fear gripping his very soul.

“Harry, what is going on?” Ginny said from the doorway, her voice was tense with fright and concern.

Harry turned and looked at his wife, his face as white as snow.

“Gin! I don’t know what is going on! Neither of them will wake up!”

~*~*~*~sdrawkcab~*~*~*~*~

“I don’t understand.” Sirius said quietly when he saw Severus sitting beside him in a grassy meadow.

Severus swallowed, quickly wiping tears away from his eyes.

“Sev, I am kinda scared.” Sirius whispered. He didn’t recognize any of his surroundings. It made him uncomfortable.

“It’s okay, Sirius. I was afraid before you got here. But it was different. Everything was dark.”

Severus looked around. Maybe it hadn’t been dark by accident. Maybe he really did NEED Sirius. Maybe Sirius was one of his lights.

Was that even possible?

Was it possible that Severus already thought of Sirius as his big brother?

“I know this place, Sirius. I grew up near here…except there is no town here. The last thing I remember is lying in my bed.”

“Yea. Then you screamed a bloody awful scream and a frost covered the house. I climbed in your bed to see if you were okay. But that is all I remember.”

“Hey, Sirius?” Severus said, turning his head slightly to look at the older boy.

“Yea?”

“You better not let Mummy hear you say that word. She will get you good!” Severus said, then burst into childish laughter.

Sirius looked at the boy beside him and smiled.

But, suddenly, Severus turned serious again.

“How many memories do you have of our old lives?” He asked.

Sirius looked at him for a long moment before answering.

“All of them. They fade in and out though. Like yours, I guess.”

“Do they bother you? Do I bother you?”

Sirius sighed, then turned his entire body to face Severus.

“Listen, Sev. And Listen hard. I know that I screwed with you a lot in our last life. I know that I messed with you a lot in the beginning here. But, that was before I realized.”

“Before you realized what?”

“Before I realized that this time I had another chance. A second chance. Where I was no longer judged for being a Black, or going into Gryffindor. I want to make it a better life…ya know?” Sirius asked him, looking into his dark eyes.

Severus nodded.

“You know, Sirius, I am just as much to blame for our, um, hatred of one another. I want to keep my old memories so that I will not make the same mistakes. Even with them, I feel like I am five most of the time, even with them.”

“Yea, I know what you mean. And, Sev, you know in this like we both have four brothers and a Mummy and Daddy who love us. I am glad that we came back.”

“I just feel like there is something we are missing, Sirius. I mean, why us? Why not Lupin and Tonks, so that they could see their son? Why not Lily and Potter? For the same reasons?”

Sirius was silent for a moment. Severus studied something on the ground off in the distance.

“Sev, maybe it was because they died for so that their children could live, and because of that maybe they died…”

“Happy.” Severus finished for Sirius.

Sirius nodded.

“We didn’t die happy, or fulfilled. This is our chance.”

“I still have to talk to Dumbledore.” Severus whispered.

 Sirius didn’t say anything.

 “Yes, Little Severus, you do. But you shall not do so alone. I would never allow that, my Love.”

 Severus jumped up and turned around.

 There, in the light of the clear blue sky, stood Eileen Snape and Lily Potter.

 “Mum? MUM! Lily!”

 Severus ran to them and hugged them both…

 Sirius stood to the side and watched. At one time, he would have been envious.

 But right now, he was pleased.

 “Mum! Lily! Mum! LILY! I don’t understand…”

 “Which is why we are here to explain. Please, Little Severus, sit down, so that we may all talk.” Eileen told her young son.

 And, together, they all sat.

 ~*~*~*~*~sdrawkcab~*~*~*~*~

“I can’t get them to wake up, Gin!” Harry said, frustrated tears sliding down his face.

He couldn’t lose them. Not now. Not again.

Ginny checked the boys, and turned to Harry.

“I don’t know, Harry…Nothing is showing on the scan…I don’t know! They are our boys, Harry! We have to do something! We need them!”

“Stay with them, Gin. I am going to take the boys to Mum, and then I am going to call Madam Pomfrey. Maybe she can help…”

And with that, Harry Potter ran out of the room, leaving his wife with their unconscious sons.

They had to help them. No matter what. They had to save them.

Sirius sat Indian style on the grass beside Lily. He looked at Eileen and Severus with interest.  

“He loves her very much, doesn’t he?” Sirius asked.

Lily smiled.

“Why aren’t they talking?” 

“They don’t need to talk yet, Sirius. They need to feel the essence of one another before they talk. They have missed one another greatly. It is hard for a mother and son to be parted with death.”

“You know that this is a chance that not many get. James would have loved to come and see you. But, it was not possible.” 

“Yea. It really wouldn’t have been fair to Sev either.” Sirius whispered.  

Lily smiled at him.  

“No, it wouldn’t have been. You have changed, Sirius.”

“You are right, Sirius.” 

“Do you know why we got a second chance? Me and Sev decided that it was probably because when we died we died unhappy.”

“He still misses you, Lily.” 

“I know, Sirius, I know.”

Severus, still playing with his mother’s hair, looked into the brilliant blue eyes of his mother.  

“Are you sad that I call Ginny Mummy?” He whispered. Eileen looked down at him and ran her right hand gently down his left cheek.

Severus sat silently for a moment. 

“Sometimes I cannot forget what his father did too me when I was here the first time. My memories sometimes overlap each other. But, I don’t want to forget. Will I, eventually, forget them? I don’t want to be like I was the first time. I was not very nice.” 

“Severus, had I done as I should have, you never would have been the harsh man you were. You would have been more caring. But you had no one but Lily after I died. You grew up in harsh circumstances.”

“I have also missed you. But, Severus, I am always with you.” 

Eileen hugged her child closer to her. She had made so many mistakes concerning her child. Her wish had been to give him a loving family…a family that did not care what his or her own blood status was. But, she had done the opposite. Tobias Snape had hated all magic and had condemned their son for his magical essence. Like many purebloods thought that muggle born witches and wizards had dirty blood, Tobias Snape had considered those with magic of dirty blood. He had lashed out at Severus so many times when Eileen was unable to protect him that she had been glad to know that her son was stubborn enough to never let his magic to be beaten out of him. Eileen herself had nearly lost all of her magic by suppressing it by the time she died.

She often thought she would not have died had she not hidden her magic away as she had.

“Severus, you are very happy, aren’t you, Love?”

Severus was silent for several moments. He continued to look into her eyes. He wanted to remember everything about them, as eyes were a window into a person’s soul.

“Yes. I am happier than I think I have been in a long time. They protect me, you know. No one has since you died. They…”

Severus stalled.

“They protect you better than I did, Severus.” Eileen whispered into his ear, “It is okay to say it, Love. I know that I was weak. I am thankful that Ginevra is a much fiercer mother than I allowed myself to be. I am glad that Harrison is a man better than your father ever would or could have been.”

“I still miss you though. But, I want to go back to my new Mummy and Daddy.”

Eileen smiled at him. She nodded.

“I would never keep you from them, love. Never. They protect you. Love you. And they would suffer if they lost you.”

“I have to speak with Dumbledore. Mummy isn’t happy about that. Sometimes I am bad. I fight with my brothers. I do things that I am not supposed to. Sometimes I put my vegetables on Sirius’ plate when no one is looking. I don’t always like Daddy to touch me and….”

Eileen put her finger up to his lips to quiet him.

“You, Severus Harrison Snape-Potter, deserved to be loved, no matter what you do. Your parents are there to help you walk a straight line when you need to be shown the way back to it. Now, love, I must be going. I want you to know that I am always with you… I love you more than anything.”

Eileen kissed her son, and then stood him up. She stood beside him and took his hand. Together, they walked over to Lily and Sirius.

Severus sat down in front of Lily, against a tree.

“Bye, Mum. I love you.”Severus whispered.

“And I love you, Severus. Be good…we shall be together again one day in the distant future.”

With that, Eileen vanished. Severus hastily wiped a tear away from his cheek.

“It will be okay, Severus.” Lily whispered.

Severus looked at her. She was no longer Lily Potter, the mother of his Daddy.

She was Lily Evans, eight years old, the only friend of Severus Snape.

“Lily!”

“Sev, everything is going to be okay. I only came back for a little bit to tell you some things. Like, you do have to talk to Dumbledore before you can really embrace your new life. That is why he was sent back…because you were not able to be truly happy and keep having nightmares. After you talk to him, things will get better. I promise.”

“Mummy doesn’t want me to talk to him. Daddy will convince her though. But, I don’t want to do it alone. I do not trust him.”

“It is okay, Sev. Harry and Ginny will keep you safe.” Lily told him.

Eight year old Lily stood up and dusted off her white dress.

She extended her hand to Severus and he took it so she could help him up.

“Sev, I have to go. I love you. When I leave, you and Sirius will wake up. It is not safe for you to stay in this world much longer, and your parents are worried about you. Remember, Sev, you are loved…”

Lily wrapped her arms around Severus, and he closed his eyes and stretched out his hand towards Sirius. Sirius took his hand.

And Lily faded away…

Severus opened his eyes, as did Sirius. Together, both boys sat up to look at a room full of people: Daddy, Mummy, Madam Pomfrey, Grammy, Aunt Mione, and Aunt Cissy.

“Hi, Mummy, Hi, Daddy. We are back.” Sirius said.

Severus smiled.

“Sev! Sirius!” Ginny squealed, and threw her arms around her two sons.

Sev looked her in the eye, “Mummy…I has to be soon…”

Ginny looked at him. She knew exactly what he was talking about.

She sighed, and Harry put his arm around her.

“We understand, Sev. We will be right beside you when you talk to him.” Harry told him, kissing the top of his head. Severus quickly rearranged himself and melted into his Daddy while Sirius did the same to his Mummy.

“I think that a snack in order!” Grammy said, clapping her hands lightly. The other three boys were in the living room with Andromeda, unsure of what was going on.

The boys had been unconscious for nearly an hour. Ginny did not want them out of her sight at the moment, the thought of losing them so fresh in her mind.

But, suddenly something else hit her.

“Oh…” Ginny doubled over for a moment.

“Gin, are you okay?” Harry asked her, his eyes growing wide.

Ginny’s eyes grew large.

“It’s time!”

A new baby was coming.

Immediately, Grandma Dromeda had stayed with the children and Daddy had taken Mummy to the hospital.

And there were five children who were not happy.

Oh, they were okay with the fact that there was a new baby coming. But each of the small boys had their own fears about the new addition that would soon be in their presence.

Alby was, nearly three years old, was nervous because he was used to being the youngest. He had been the youngest for his entire life. He just wasn’t sure if he liked the idea of a new baby taking his spot.

Jamie was mainly afraid that the baby was not going to be a boy. Girls were just icky. His cousin Rosie was a girl and she was always telling him what to do.

Severus was nervous because six children instead of five meant that there would be less time for them all. He knew that that meant that someone was going to be left out, and he just knew that that person was probably going to be him because he had so many problems. He had nightmares, he talked back, he argued, and he fought. Even if he and Sirius were finally getting along, they still fought.  Yes. This new baby was probably going to replace him.

Sirius felt very similar to Severus. Six children was a lot. And, he and Sev weren’t really their real kids. So what if they got rid of them? What if they were tired of them? Sirius was finally starting to get along with Severus. What if they wanted to get rid of one of them and they chose him?

Teddy was simply nervous because of the fear he saw in his brothers’ eyes. He had been through this literally four times, and he was nearly seven years old. He got over his nervousness of replacement after Jamie and Alby. He hadn’t been nervous at all when Severus and Sirius had joined them. This was just another addition who he knew he would love and would love him.

But he knew the look in his brothers’ eyes. He knew that there was fixing to be trouble.

~sdrawkcab~

Andromeda fixed supper, something that she knew all of the children would eat, as she knew that Severus was sometimes a finicky eater, as was Jamie. Teddy, Sirius, and Alby ate nearly everything, though even they had things they did not like.

So, chicken strips, macaroni and cheese, and green beans. Something that Andromeda knew the boys all liked.

Except, as all things go with small children, nothing went as planned.

“I don’t like those.”

Severus. He pointed to the green beans.

“Severus, you do like green beans.” Andromeda said softly. She was sitting in the seat Ginny normally sat in, as she knew that she needed to be closest to the youngest three children.

Andromeda smiled at Severus.

“Gran’ma, I not hungwy.” Alby said from beside her in his high chair. He was playing with his food.

“Alby, you will eat. You are a growing boy and need food. And, if you do not eat, you will not get desert.”

With this, Alby stared at her, but then quickly took a bite of his macaroni and cheese.

The other boys were steadily eating their meal, but Severus was sitting in his chair with his arms across his chest.

“Severus, you need to eat, or you won’t get desert.”

“No!” Severus hissed at her then swiped his arm across the table, pushing his plate and its contents onto the floor.

He stared directly at Andromeda, nearly daring her to do something to him. He was not afraid of her. She was his grandma. She wouldn’t get onto him because that was not what grandmas did.

“Come with me, Severus.” Andromeda said, standing up from her chair.

He shook his head.

Andromeda did not want to cause a scene, so she leaned over and picked Severus up and placed him on her hip. She walked down the hallway and into Ginny and Harry’s study, as it was the closest room and she could easily see the kitchen from where she was, but the other children could not see them.

“Severus, that was uncalled for. I am disappointed in you. I know that you know how to behave young man.” Andromeda had sat down in a chair, and had Severus between her knees.

Severus looked mad.

“I don’t care!” he hissed, “I will do it again!” he said, then stomped his foot on the floor.

Andromeda stared at the little boy in front of her. She kept the children twice a week, yet she had never really had any problems with any of the boys. They usually got along quite well when they were with her.

This was the first time that she had ever had to get onto Severus.

“I think that you need to stand in the corner while everyone else finishes dinner.”

“No!” Severus said, and tried to back away from Andromeda.

Andromeda reached her hand around and smacked Severus, once, lightly on the bum.

Severus froze.

No one but his Mummy and Daddy spanked him. Ever. He was shocked.

And he burst promptly into tears, turned around, wrenched himself away from Grandma, and ran to his room, slamming the door as he did.

Andromeda sighed. That was not how she had planned on that going, but she knew it would be better if she left the little boy alone and let him calm down.

Hopefully, nothing else would go wrong.

All Severus could think was that he wanted his Mummy. Grandma was being especially mean today, and it wasn’t fair.

~sdrawkcab~

Sirius and Teddy snuck into Severus’ room after bedtime that night with a bar of Honeydukes chocolate they had found in Mummy’s desk. (the fact that Sirius had used a bit of ‘accidental’ magic to open the drawer was of no matter.)

“Hey, Sev. We brought some chocolate. We can eat it, cause we know that you are hungry.” Sirius said, jumping on Severus’ bed. Teddy followed closely.

“Here.” Teddy said, breaking off a chunk of the chocolate and handing it to Severus.

All three of them took big bites of the chocolate and talked quietly. They surely didn’t want Grandma to find them eating chocolate after they were supposed to be in bed.

Sirius looked at Teddy, they were joking about quidditch and who was better.

Until they heard rasping.

They both looked over to Severus, who had not said anything over the last few moments. His chocolate was on the floor, his hands at his throat, and his face was not only an odd shade of pale white, but also sweating.

“Oh Merlin! What is wrong with him?” Sirius asked.

“Grandma! Grandma!” Teddy screamed, throwing the door open.

Andromeda had been washing dishes and heard the screams. She went running towards the voice and found herself in Severus’ room.

“What happened?” She asked the two boys as she picked up Severus.

“Eating chocolate.” Teddy screamed, tears filling his eyes. Did he kill his little boy?

And then it clicked for Andromeda.

Chocolate. She didn’t know where they had gotten the chocolate, but she was willing to bet that it had traces of pecans in it, which Severus was severely allergic too.

She carried Severus into the living room and summoned the necessary potions to her, giving them to Severus. This was not the first time that she had had to help a person in this situation, so she was easily able to keep a level head.

Finally, finally, Severus began to breathe easier. Tears were falling down his face, but he was getting his color back and was sweating less.

“How do you feel, Sev?” Andromeda asked, wiping a summoned wet cloth across his sweaty face.

“Better.” Severus whispered.

“Okay, Love.” She said, hugging him against her chest.

“I’m sorry, Gran’ma. I am sorry I was naughty. It’s all my fault.” Severus whimpered.

“I’m so sorry! I shouldn’t have took that chocolate from Mummy’s desk!” Sirius said, running into the room and throwing his arms around Severus.

“It is no one’s fault. Boys, it was an accident. Accidents happen. Though you should not have taken that chocolate. You will have to tell your Mummy and Daddy that. But, now you know that everything is not safe, even something as simple as chocolate. Now, I think that it is time for both of you to get into bed. Hopefully, tomorrow morning, the baby will be here.” She said, smiling at both children.

Soon, everyone in the house was asleep, including Andromeda.

All except a tiny little boy with a real big fear who was having a lot of trouble sleeping.

Albus Severus Potter was terrified that this new baby that was going to take his place.

And it didn’t make him happy.

In fact, it made him quite sad.

~sdrawkacb~

Alby crawled into Severus’ bed the next morning and woke him up.

He jumped on top of him and yelled, “Sevvvvvvvvv!!!!!!!!!!”

“Umph!” Sev moaned, and opened his eyes. That was not how he would have liked to have woken up.

“Hey, Alby.”

“Come on, Sev. Daddy is home. I heard him!” Alby said quickly. He pulled on Sev’s arm, and finally the smaller boy was able to lug his big brother out of the bed.

Together, they walked into the kitchen, which was always the first place they went in the morning. Sirius was right behind them, and Jamie and Teddy were both already at the table drinking on pumpkin juice.

“Daddy!” Both Alby and Severus squealed, and went running towards him. Harry opened his arms wide and scooped them both up. Sirius came and stood between his legs and hugged his middle, which was easy since Harry was sitting down.

Harry was glad to see all of his children. He had missed them last night. And he had good news to tell them now.

“Well, boys, I have good news!”

They all looked at him expectantly. Alby on one knee, Sev on the other, Sirius between them, and Teddy and Jamie on either side of him at the table.

“What Daddy?” Jamie asked, excitement shining in his eyes.

“Boys! Mummy had the new baby last night. Boys, you all have a sister. Lillian Aria Potter!” Harry said proudly.

They all looked at him.

Alby jumped off Harry’s lap, burst into tears, and ran from the room.

Harry was stunned.

What the heck had just happened?

Harry was taking the boys to see their new sister, yet none of them were especially happy. Harry had, for the first time ever in a single day, to get on to each of the children. Alby, though, was by far the worst. He had been misbehaving since he had run away from Harry earlier that morning, and had even hit Severus, who he normally got along with no matter what. He had been put in a five minute time out, but even afterwards the child was still misbehaving. For now, Harry decided to turn a blind eye to the angry glares that Alby was sending his way and get the boys ready to visit their mother. Andromeda was going to go as well so that she could help Floo the boys…and so that she could see her newest grandchild.

Getting all of the boys dressed was another thing entirely. While Harry had done it before without Ginny, this time seemed more trying than ever. The boys all had a shirt that was based from a muggle story book he had heard as a child. Sirius’ shirt said Thing One, Teddyis Thing Two, Severus’ Thing Three, Jamie’s Thing Four, and Alby’s Thing Five. Lily had one that said Thing Six, all according to their ages. The shirts were bright red and white, and, according to Ginny, were “absolutely adorable!” All the boys were supposed to wear them to the hospital.

Harry first went into Teddy’s room where the child was sitting on his bed tying his shoes. While Teddy didn’t look upset or sad, he did not exactly look happy either, and that bothered Harry, as Teddy was usually one of his happier children. Even Teddy’s hair was a mousy brown color, the same color Tonks’ used to be when she was upset about something and trying not to show it. Harry silently thanked Tonks, the biological mother of his son, for allowing him that bit of insight. He wanted his son, the only son of Remus and Tonks Lupin, to be a happy child. Teddy was his and Ginny’s son now, but he owed it to Remus and Tonks to make sure that their only child was loved and taken care of. Most days, Harry didn’t even think about it that way, as Teddy was his and Ginny’s. No one ever disputed that. Teddy knew no other live parents. They simply made sure to tell him many stories about his deceased parents, and if he needed a break from his siblings to hear more stories about them, Ginny and Harry usually arranged for him to go spend some alone time with Andromeda, his grandmother.

“Are you just about ready, Teddy?” Harry asked him, sitting beside the boy. That was when Harry noticed that Teddy was actually his tallest child. He was even a couple inches taller than Sirius who was about a year older.

“I’m fine, Daddy. I’m just not sure about all this.” Teddy said. He looked up at Harry and that was when Harry noticed that Teddy’s eyes were also an odd, dull color.

“What are you not sure about, Teddy? You know that you can tell me anything. I will always listen to you.”

Teddy sniffed.

“Dad, it just isn’t like Alby. He hit Severus. He loves Severus. I mean, the two of them are just like each other. They both like books, they both like to be quiet. They even have the same attitude most of the time. But, now that the new baby is here, it seems like Alby is afraid or something and he wants to be different. I don’t know how to explain it, Dad.” Teddy said.

Harry looked at his son, astonished. Out of the mouths of babes indeed.

“Look, Teddy, I do not want you to worry about Alby, or Severus, or Sirius, or Jamie. Your Mum and I will worry about them. How about you tell me how you feel about the baby. I thought that you were excited to have another sibling.” Harry asked his young son.

Teddy swallowed and looked down. He had to think a minute. How did he feel about the new baby? When Jamie had come he had been excited. Then Alby, he had been excited for the most part. There had been a few days when he had detested both of his younger brothers, but usually his Dad or Mum would take him aside and give him some alone time. Then it was okay.

But what about now? Sirius and Severus had come along, but they were older and for some reason it was different. Maybe because they had fit into their routine so easily, and their Mum and Dad had still spent time with them individually whenever they wanted or needed it.

“You’re not going to have any time with us anymore, Dad. There are six of us now. You and Mummy both work and now there is a baby. You aren’t gonna wanna even fly with me and Sirius and Jamie anymore! Or read with Sevy and Alby!” Teddy, at that moment, burst into tears. Something he very rarely did.

Teddy jumped up from his bed and went to run towards the door, but Harry, used to the antics of Severus trying to run whenever he got into trouble or didn’t want to do as he was told, grabbed Teddy in midair.

“Le’me’go!” Teddy cried and kicked. Harry held tight, even as Teddy kicked and cried out.

Finally, after a few moments, Teddy just stopped and leaned back into his father.

Harry wrapped his arms around Teddy and held the boy against his chest and listened to his sobs.

“I love you, Teddy, more than you will ever now.” Harry said, placing his chin on Teddy’s head and then moving his hand to his wand so that he could summon a tissue.

Tissue in hand, he gently wiped away the tears from Teddy’s face and then gently wiped the little boy’s snotty nose.

If only his children could understand just how much he really did love them.

He would do anything for them.

Once upon a time, Harry Potter had died to save the wizarding world.

He would do that and more for his children because they meant more to him than anything.

~*~sdrawkcab~*~

Severus had a sudden childish urge take over his entire body. He was dressed. He had on a pair of jeans and his Thing Three shirt that his Grandma had set out for him. He didn’t have on shoes or socks, but he currently didn’t need them.

He was in the bathroom. In Mummy and Daddy’s bathroom because Sirius was in the other one.

He wanted bubbles. To get bubbles, one needed soup. Liquid soap was best.

Like Mummy’s shampoo. Severus went over to the bathtub (which was large enough for him and his brothers to play in if they wanted) and turned on the water.

He then proceeded to grab his Mummy’s shampoo (there was one bottle by the bathtub, one in the shower, and two under the sink) and poured them into the running water.

Severus leaned over to shake the last bottle into the tub, but he leaned over the edge to far and went splashing into the water.

The water was warm (automatically spelled to the temperature of Severus when he touched it, as all of the faucets in the house were for each of the children because Teddy had turned on the hot water once when he was three and burned himself. Harry and Ginny had taken precautions since then to assure that each of the children were spelled to the water in the house so that it would be neither too hot nor too cold. Severus’ water was always warmer than the other boys water tended to be because he chilled easier), but falling in had shocked him.

The water was only up to his waist as he sat down, but  the bubbles were way above that, nearly to his chin.

The best thing about it, though, was the smell. It was like a bit of coconut and lime with just a hint of strawberry.

Just like Mummy.

Immediately, Severus started to cry.

“Severus Harrison Snape-Potter! What the bloody hell?!”

Severus jerked and looked towards the doorway.

There stood his Daddy.

And he did not look happy.

This merely made Sev cry all that much harder.

Harry stared at his son. The bathroom was a mess. Bubbles were covering the floor, water was fixing to overflow the tub, shampoo bottles were on the floor and then there was Severus. He was looking up at Harry and was crying.

Harry was definitely not sure what had happened here, but it was obvious that something was bothering Severus, and it was obviously the same thing that was bothering all of his children.

He was literally at a loss.

“I want my mummy!” Severus wailed, big, fat tears rolling down his face.

Harry sighed, then waved his wand around the bathroom.

First the bubbles vanished, and then the water disappeared down the drain. All that was left was a very wet Severus.

Harry walked over to the tub and picked Severus up out of the tub. He stood him up and then kneeled in front of him.

“Severus, what were you thinking?” Harry asked him.

“I want Mummy. Please, Daddy. I want my Mummy.” Severus cried, his shoulders heaving up and down.

“Severus, I want you to tell me why you made such a mess in here.” Harry asked him as he dried him with his wand.

Severus stomped his foot and crossed his arms over his chest.

“I. Want. My. Mummy.” Severus deadpanned, his tears no longer flowing, his eyes glaring with a glimmer of the old Snape.

Harry raised his eyebrows at his child.

“Severus. Go put on your socks and shoes. We are leaving in ten minutes. You and I will talk about this later.” Harry said, gently guiding Severus to the door.

“Don’t touch me!” Severus said, jerking away from Harry. For the second time that day, Harry had to grab his child.

Harry sighed. Was his day really going to be like this? Thankfully, he heard Andromeda getting Alby, Sirius, and Jamie rounded up. He had a feeling that she had heard his discussion with Teddy earlier and was leaving Teddy for Harry to get.

Harry sat on his and Ginny’s bed with his back against the backboard and Severus in his lap facing him.

“Okay, Sev, here is the deal. I know that you boys are all having a hard day. I know that Mummy missing is not something that any of you are used too. However, something has got to give, Son. You made a huge mess in the bathroom. You wasted Mummy’s shampoo, and you were sitting in the bath with your clothes on. What is going through that head of yours?”

Severus scowled at him. He didn’t want to discuss this with his father.

“Severus.”

It was the tone. The tone Severus dreaded from his Daddy. It was the tone that Severus knew meant that he was going to be in trouble if he didn’t do as he was told.

“Alby hit me! And you are going to forget about me. And you are going to forget about all of us because of the baby. I know what is going to happen! I know!” Severus said.

Tears. Harry had seen more tears from his children in the last few hours.

Harry didn’t know what to do, so he wrapped his arms around Severus and let his son cry.

What surprised Harry was that the tears Severus cried were not his normal sobs. They were not sobs of hurt, or anger. They were sobs of utter loss and confusion.

Harry held Severus close and let him cry.

~*~sdrawkcab~*~

Ginny knew that something was wrong the moment her children and husband walked her hospital room. Her Mum was there, sitting beside her bed with Lily. Thankfully.

Andromeda herded in Sirius and Jamie, and was holding Alby who had his arms crossed and looked angry.

Teddy was walking beside Harry, his eyes rimmed red. He had obviously been crying. Severus was on Harry’s hip. He looked ill, his hair had not been combed, and he too had been crying recently.

“Mum, I forgot a stomach soother for Sev. You wouldn’t happen to have a child soother with you, would you?” Harry asked Molly. Sev had thrown up as soon as they had Floo’d into the hospital.

“Of course, Harry.” Molly said, walking over to Andromeda to hand her the new baby, who had just placed Alby on the floor beside Harry.

Molly dug through her purse and pulled out her emergency kit that she carried around with her at all times. It was mainly for her grandchildren, and had child soothers and child pain remedies, along with the potions needed for Sev’s allergies.

Molly took Severus from Harry and went over to a corner chair and gave him the stomach soother. She knew from many years experience that there were a few jealousy issues among her grandsons.

Ginny looked at her mother knowingly. Despite being the youngest of so many children, and the only girl, Ginny knew what it was like to be jealous.

“Go over to Grandma and look at your sister, guys.” Ginny said lightly.

Sirius went over to the baby first and peered over the covers.

She had red hair. She was absolutely perfect. Sirius, while feeling a bit intimidated by this small creature, was actually excited to have a little sister. It was a new adventure.

Jamie went next and climbed up on the chair beside his Grandma.

“I wanna hold her!” Jamie said cheerfully. He had been less and less distressed about the whole thing since his Daddy had come home that morning. Now if his Mummy would come home he would feel fine with though whole thing. What did it matter if there was another kid? It was just someone else to play with in his eyes.

Teddy walked slowly over to look at the baby, but did not sit beside his Grandma to look at her for long. Instead, he went over to his Mum and crawled into her bed. Harry went to stop him, but Ginny sent him a look that told him not too.

Alby sat on the floor until Harry bent down to pick him up. 

Alby hit him.

Ginny’s eyes nearly bugged out of her head. That was not her baby. Her baby did not just hit his Daddy!

“Harry!” Ginny whispered when Harry merely picked Alby up and placed him on the bed.

“Gin, I know. It’s been a rough morning with the kids. I’ll tell you about it when Mum and Dromeda take the boys back to the house.”

“Noooo!” came a wail from the corner.

Severus.

Harry looked over at him, he was getting off of Molly’s lap and  then ran over to the hospital bed Ginny was on and climbed up the opposite side of Teddy.

“Severus!” Harry said.

“No! No! No! I want my Mummy!” Severus said and threw his arms around Ginny’s neck.

“When is Mummy coming home?” Sirius asked.

“Tomorrow, Baby. I’ll be home tomorrow.” Ginny told him, smiling at him.

“I want you to be home tonight!” Severus wailed in Ginny’s ear.

Ginny and Harry exchanged glances. It looked like this was going to be a whole different adventure than they had expected.

They both merely smiled at each other.

Sometimes all a family had was love because even when the kids weren’t happy  they usually wanted a cuddle and loving whispers in their ears.

Ginny was happy to be home with her family. Her entire family. Everyone was asleep except Lily, who was feeding, so Ginny walked quietly around to check on her boys as the infant fed.

Sirius was lying in the same place that she and Harry had tucked him into earlier with his thumb in his mouth.

"Hm. That is why your hand has been so dry." Ginny whispered, gently removing his thumb from his mouth. She had noticed before the baby had been born that the skin on Sirius' hand was dry and was starting to peel. Perhaps he was having problems with the new addition as well. Ginny smiled and ran her hand through his hair lightly.

Next, she went into Jamie's room. Jamie's head was resting at the foot of the bed and his covers were on the floor. He was her wild sleeper, and the only thing that kept him from falling out of bed was a barrier spell that protected him in his sleep. It still didn't keep anything else on the bed, and it allowed him to get up if he was awake.

Ginny waved her wand and floated Jamie's blankets to the bed and then sat on the edge to tuck him in with her free hand.

Ginny walked slowly down to Teddy's room. He was lying against the wall, dead asleep, his hair changing color in his sleep every once in a while. Ginny leaned against the door frame and watched him for a moment. She didn't mess with him or go any closer, as he was a light sleeper and would more than likely wakeup if she did. She and Harry often wondered if there were some dormant werewolf traits in their son. His vision, smell, and hearing were all superior to a normal witch or wizard. He also had problems sleeping on the full moon and Ginny or Harry always had to stay awake with him on those nights as he tended to become light headed and sick to his stomach. They would never tell anyone this, as it was not a problem and he was not a true werewolf, but if people knew they would treat him as such.

Severus was next. As soon as she walked in the room she watched Severus and Alby, who had obviously snuck in after ten when Harry and Ginny had checked on the kids before retiring for the night.

Ginny knew that Severus and Alby had been at odds, and Harry had told her that Alby had hit Sev while she had been in the hospital. Of course her little demon had also hit his Daddy while they were all at the hospital.

Ginny and Lily had come home at lunch. Ginny was completely healed and ready to face any disasters at home.

And, there had indeed been disasters. The children were all fussy, picking fights with one another.

Harry had ended up having to put Alby in a timeout several times for striking out at his brothers.

Severus had barely left his room the whole day and Sirius had stayed in there and played with him. Ginny was actually curious as to what they had done because even on good days those two usually fussed a bit. They had been absolutely perfect all day.

Jamie had followed Harry around like a lost puppy, and Teddy had sat in the living room with a book all day. A book he never turned the page on.

Ginny slowly walked back to her bedroom. The baby was done feeding, had been burped, and was fast asleep.

She laid the baby in her bassinet beside the bed and then laid down herself and almost immediately fell asleep.

~*~sdrawkcab~*~

Harry heard sniffles coming from the doorway of his and Ginny's bedroom. He sat up, bleary eyed, and looked at the doorway.

Sirius. He was standing there with tears falling down his cheeks.

"Sirius, what is wrong?" Harry whispered. He looked over at the clock.

Two in the morning.

"Sirius, what is wrong?" Harry asked quietly, throwing his legs over the side of the bed.

"I want Mummy." Sirius whispered. There was something in his voice that confused Harry. Sirius was a Daddy's boy. He normally wanted Harry before Ginny, and he was the only of their sons who was like that. Harry was indeed confused.

"Are you sure that I can't help you, Sirius?" Harry asked him, standing up. Sirius took a quick step backwards and fell down.

"No!" He said, pulling his knees to his chest and laying his head on them.

It was obvious that Sirius was not going to let him anywhere near him for some reason, so Harry turned to wake up Ginny, only to see that she was already climbing out of bed.

"Love, I have got him. Just keep your ears open for Lily. She fed an hour ago and shouldn't be up for a while yet." Ginny said.

Harry nodded and sat back down on the bed.

Ginny walked into the hallway and bent down to pick up Sirius. He didn't fight her, but instead wrapped his arms and legs around her.

She automatically knew what was wrong from the wetness of his pajamas.

He had wet the bed.

"Come on, Love. I'll take care of you." She whispered, holding him tight against her. Now was the time he needed it most of all. To know that he was loved no matter what, he was loved. Even when he had wet the bed.

"I'm sorry, Mummy." Sirius said, his tears falling against Ginny's neck.

"It is okay, Love. Accidents happen sometimes. Let's get you in the bath." Ginny said, standing Sirius up in front of the tub and stripping him down.

"I'm too old for accidents." Sirius sniffed. He was nearly eight! Eight! Eight year olds were not supposed to have accidents!

"No, accidents happen. Even when you are older they might happen. It will be okay."

Ginny turned the water off and lifted Sirius into the tub. She quickly washed the half sleeping child and dried his continuous tears.

"Please don't tell Daddy." Sirius whispered.

Ah. That was why he had refused let Harry help him.

"Daddy knows that accidents happen sometimes too."

"He'll think I'm a baby." Sirius cried. Ginny lifted him out of the tub and dried him off.

"No, he won't think that. He knows that sometimes this kind of stuff happens. You are still little Sirius. Accidents are going to happen. You were just sleeping too deeply to realize that you had to go. It may happen again, and that is okay. Daddy and I will always be here to clean you up if it does."

"What if he gets angry?" Sirius sniffled.

"He won't, Sirius. I promise. Daddy loves you too much." Ginny said, as she handed Sirius his clothes.

"Even with the new baby?" Sirius whispered quietly. He had backed up and was sitting on the toilet in nothing but his underwear. He was staring at his clenched hands in his lap.

Ginny inwardly sighed. Her children really were afraid that Lily was going to take over all of her and Harry's attention.

"Sweetheart, Lily changes nothing except the number of our family. Now there are eight instead of seven, and that just means that there is more love to go around. Daddy and I are still going to spend time with everyone, both together and alone. It will be okay, I promise." Ginny leaned over and kissed Sirius on the forehead, then lifted him up off of the toilet lid and began dressing him.

Soon, she was tucking Sirius into bed, his thumb immediately finding its way into his mouth. Ginny sighed and leaned over to kiss his head, running her fingers through his hair.

"Mummy loves you, Sirius. Mummy loves you more than you will ever know."

She waited until Sirius was sleeping, kissed him lightly one more time, and then went to her room where she changed her pajamas before crawling into bed.

She nearly jumped when Harry put his arms around her because she had been so deep in thought.

"What was wrong?" Harry asked.

"He had an accident. He was afraid that you would think he was a baby if you knew."

"I would nev…"

"I know, Love. I told him. I think that he understands. He has been sucking his thumb, Harry. I think that he was more nervous than he has been letting on about the baby. You know how he jokes, even in the worst of situations if he thinks it will get him through. Just like Severus broods, Teddy hides, Jamie pretends, and Alby strikes out. We have to nip all of this before it is out of our control."

"Yes. Or we are going to fall back instead of moving forwards. We can't let any of the boys hide from the fact that they have a sister, but we definitely cannot have Alby striking people." Ginny said.

"I know. We will worry more about it tomorrow. You should sleep a bit more before one of the kids wake up." Harry said, and pulled her closer to him.

~*~sdrawkcab~*~

"No!"

Harry and Ginny both sighed. It was lunch time, and once again, Severus was refusing to eat.

Teddy and Sirius were quiet. They had both been quiet all morning.

Alby had been a little hellion. He had already been in time out for trying to hit Jamie, and had gotten a smack from Harry for actually hitting Teddy when Teddy had asked him to leave him alone.

Jamie had spent all morning with Ginny helping her with Lily. The little boy absolutely loved holding Lily. He was the only child that actually didn't seem to be scared of the baby.

"Eat, Severus." Ginny told him.

"No! I don't want to eat this!" Severus said pushing his plate as far away from him as he could.

Harry looked at his son. They had this same argument at the table at least three or four times a week. It could be Severus' favorite meal and the child would still cry about having to eat it.

"Severus, you need to eat. This is getting ridiculous." Harry said, eyeing the little boy with a glare worthy of the old Snape.

Severus, however, was not deterred by the look. It didn't have the effect on him that the 'tone' tended to have when his Daddy used it.

And, Harry hadn't used it yet.

"I am not eating! You can't make me!" Severus yelled at Harry.

Ginny looked down at him and eyed him carefully.

Severus looked up at her and glared, but her look, unlike Daddy's, actually was quite scary.

"You can't make me." Severus deadpanned, though Ginny and Harry both noticed the slight whimper in his voice as he stared at his mother.

"It's really good, Sev." Teddy whispered from beside him.

That, however, angered Severus and he turned and pushed Teddy as hard as he could, forcing the other boy off of his chair.

"Severus Harrison!" both Harry and Ginny said at the same time. Teddy just looked shocked. Normally he and Sev got along really well.

"That is it, Severus. You and I need to have a bit of a discussion!" Harry said, after he had helped Teddy up and made sure that he was okay. He walked around the table and picked Severus up, not giving him a chance to run and hide. At the moment, Harry knew that that would simply make him angry so it was best to eliminate that chance.

He picked up Severus and placed him on his hip. Ginny gently touched his arm and he looked down at her. Her eyebrows were raised a bit, more or less giving Harry the okay to deal with Severus without her, and that she would talk with Severus later.

Normally they did discipline together, but right now they had to focus on all of the children, and Ginny honestly felt that this time, Severus needed some one on one attention with Harry right now.

Harry walked into the study and closed the door.

Immediately, Severus begin to try to get down.

"No! I don't want to come in here! No, Daddy!" Severus said. He knew that when he was brought into the study with the door closed that his Daddy was serious.

"Severus. Stop, now!" Harry said sternly. Severus stopped, but his breathing was heavy, as he was trying not to cry. He didn't want to be in here! He didn't want to eat lunch! He didn't want to do anything!

"Severus, what you did was bad. You could have hurt your brother." Harry said sternly, standing Severus in between his knees and holding him there.

"I didn't hurt him! He shoulda left me alone!" Severus snapped.

"Severus, what is wrong with you? You haven't fought with any of your brothers in a while. You haven't fought with me like this in a while." Harry said to him gently.

"So. I don't bloody care!"

Harry looked at him. The child was so hostile right now. It was almost as if Snape was back. But…

"Sev, are you feeling okay? What is bothering you? Normally you are much nicer to your brothers."

"I don't care damnit!" Severus yelled. Tears started to fall down his little cheeks.

Harry sighed, then lifted his son up. He wanted to get to the bottom of this, but that would not happen if his son kept acting up like this. If Ginny heard him talking like this she would wash his mouth out with soap, no questions asked.

Having had that same punishment from Molly Weasley many times through his school years, he didn't want to put his son through that, even if he was sure it would happen eventually. Instead, he leaned him over his knees and smacked his bum lightly one time.

Severus froze.

"No, Daddy!"Severus said, trying to cover his bum. But, it was useless, as Harry was already finished.

"You are working on quite a list today, Sev. I don't want to hear you talking like that again. You definitely don't want Mummy or Grammy to hear you talking like that."

Severus looked up at Harry and sighed.

"I'm sorry, Daddy. I know that I been bad." He mumbled. Harry raised his eyebrows. Normally, no matter what Severus had done, he didn't admit to anything that quickly.

Harry rearranged Severus and placed him on his lap and leaned back.

"I am going to tell you a story, Sev. Maybe you will think twice about using naughty words, okay?" Harry asked him. He really wanted the bad language nipped in the bud, especially since he knew that it was partly his fault for not watching his own language all the time when he was in front of his children.

Severus sniffed, "Okay, Daddy." He leaned into Harry and listened.

Harry smiled….

Harry, Ron, and Hermione were fourteen that summer. They were going to start fourth year soon, and felt that they were on top of the world. Despite everything that had happened to them since their first year, they were looking forward to their fourth just knew that it was going to be different.

Harry and Hermione had only spent about three weeks at their homes, and had quickly come to the Weasley's the first chance they got. Harry wanted to get away from his family, and while Hermione loved her family, they didn't quite understand her as well now as they had before. She was too far in the magical world for them to truly grasp her life. Molly and Arthur Weasley more or less had two extra children during all of the school holidays anyways, and felt that Harry and Hermione were theirs just as much as their biological children. They might as well be.

This summer, both adults knew that they would have their hands full, as the three fourteen year olds were slowly growing too big for their trousers. Both adults knew that the trio of teenagers were growing up, but were still very much children. They were all too often allowed to get away with too many things, and if Molly and Arthur had anything against Albus Dumbledore, it was the fact that the three children were very rarely ever held accountable for their actions.

However, at The Burrow, they would always be held accountable for their actions.

Molly, who was often home during the day with the children, all teenagers now, by herself since Arthur worked, had noticed that Ron, Harry, and Hermione were vanishing and reappearing at odd times. She paid little attention to it until Harry and Hermione had been staying with them for nearly a month.

That was when Molly realized that whatever they were doing, they were not doing it within the wards of The Burrow. Which they knew was forbidden.

So, that afternoon, as the three came traipsing in from wherever they had been for several hours, Molly Weasley was sitting at the kitchen table by herself. There were three chairs on the opposite side of her, but the chairs that were also normally around the table were not there.

They didn't have time to worry about that, but instead they each zeroed in on the spoon sitting in front of the obviously enraged woman.

They immediately sat down.

"I am going to ask you, each of you, only once; where have you been going? And you best not lie to me, or I promise that you will regret it. Hermione Jane?"

Hermione swallowed. Her eyes wide. She was never in this position. Adults never chastised her because she rarely ever did anything that needed it.

"Um…We…" Hermione stopped and looked from Ron to Harry.

Harry swallowed then. What in the world had they been thinking? In the grand scheme of things it hadn't even really been that big a deal.

"We have been going down to the muggle town and just…hanging out."

"Outside the wards? When you are all forbidden to leave the wards that are set here to protect you." Molly was so calm that it was nearly frightening. In fact, Harry and Hermione, who were not used to being in trouble quite as much as the Weasley children were, were terrified.

And when people are terrified, they do stupid things.

"Bloody hell! What does it matter? I mean we were perfectly safe!" Harry said, frustration ebbing very close to the top.

"Go stand in the corner."

Harry's eyes, as possible, grew even larger.

Then Hermione, whose eyes also grew, spoke: "But, Mrs. Weasley, you can't do that! You haven't got the authority! I mean…I know that we stay here and that you are in charge of us, but we didn't hurt anything or anyone!" Harry, who was still sitting in his place, looked at Hermione. What was she thinking?

"Both of you, to separate corners. Ronald Bilius, do you have anything to add?"

"No ma'am."He was shocked that his friends had said anything…but it was obvious that they were comfortable in his home with his parents…neither of them ever talked like that. Mainly, he knew, because they often felt like they didn't fit in anywhere in the magical world.

It kinda made Ron feel good that they felt comfortable enough with his family to voice their opinions. In fact, it made him feel warm…like they actually were part of his family.

Then again, weren't they?

He looked at his two friends and silently urged them to head to the two corners his Mum had pointed out.

All at once, as if they understood that they had better obey, they went to the corners and stood, both rigid, neither knowing exactly what to expect.

"Ronald, you are grounded for a week. You know what that entails. Now, go to your room."

He did so immediately, though he really felt bad for his friends.

Hermione and Harry were both slightly saddened by the fact that Ron had left them. This was his mother and they were terrified.

But, really, the CORNER? Really? They were not sodding two year olds.

"Hermione Jane, if you act like a two year old, you will be treated like one. Both of you, come here."

Crap! Had she really said that out loud? She looked at Harry and he nodded at her, as he had been surprised at her quiet outburst.

Both teenagers walked over to a clear spot near the kitchen sink where Mrs. Weasley had levitated two chairs. They both sat.

"Open your mouths."

They looked at one another, but immediately opened their mouths.

Neither were prepared for the acrid taste of soap that filled their mouths.

It was nearly unbearable, but neither of them thought it wise to spit.

"Two minutes, then you may both go to the sink where you will find to refilling glasses of water, clean your mouths, and then we will talk."

Both nodded their heads. Hermione had tears sliding down her cheeks. She wasn't quite sure what she had been thinking. She never did wrong. Never.

Finally, less than five minutes later and after they had both attempted, with no success, to get rid of the taste of soap, they were sitting back at the table across from Mrs. Weasley.

The older woman took a deep breath and looked at the two children in front of her.

"I know that I may not be your mother. Regardless, you will obey my rules. You will obey Arthur's rules. As it is, when you are not in school, you both spend more time with this family than your own, and as far as the Wizarding World goes, we are your family. Either of you have guardians that are part of our world, and they, because of this fact, will never understand the danger of either of you are in."

She didn't state that she knew Harry's own relatives did not care one way or another, but, sadly, she knew this was true.

"You both have a home here. Whether you think it true or not, I have thought of you both as my children for well over two years now. And, because of that, I will do what I must in order to assure that you both grow into healthy and able adults Even if that means disciplining you both if needed. Today, you needed it. Do you both understand?"

Both children nodded, tears now falling down both of their faces.

"Arthur and I love both of you as if you had been born to us. I know that we have never sat down and talked to either of you about how we feel or the rules we expect you to follow while you are here. Mainly because you are both very well behaved. But we should have, we should have told you how we felt." Molly Weasley looked at the two in front of her and smiled. They had learned their lesson, she knew, and she also knew that they would both behave to the best of their abilities from now on.

She walked over to the other side of the table and wrapped an arm around them each from behind them. She felt each of them lean into her touch.

"Both of you are also grounded for the next week for sneaking outside of the wards. That means no brooms, extra reading, leaving or leaving the house, and extra chores. Okay?"

Both nodded, not trusting themselves to talk.

They understood very well. They both understood that, in the Wizarding World, they had an ally, someone who didn't think about killing them or of the greater good.

They had someone that simply thought of them.

And that was worth any punishment….

"So Grammy didn't whop you with that spoon?" Sev asked quietly.

Harry laughed lightly.

"Nope. She had that out there to scare Uncle Ron in case he thought to lie to her."

"Did you learn not to say dirty words in front of Grammy?" Severus asked quietly, snuggling close to his daddy.

"Well, mostly. Sometimes I still slipped after that, but Grammy always washed my mouth out with soap. I always knew what to expect. Do you know what else I learned that day?" Harry asked, rubbing Sev's back.

"Yea."

"I learned that no matter what, no matter how many children Grammy and Granpa had, they were always going to love me and Aunt Mione as if we were born to them. No matter what."

Both were silent for several moments, thinking about what Harry had just said.

"I get it, Daddy." Severus whispered. And he did. His Daddy meant that he and Mummy were always going to love him and his brothers. Even with Lily coming into the family.

"I am glad, Sev."

"I think that, maybe, you need to tell my brothers that story. So that they can get it, too."

Distantly, Harry heard the Floo go off. It was probably Molly, who was supposed to be coming in to help with the children for a little while.

"I think I probably well tell them something similar, no worries, Son."

"So, Daddy…" Sev began, lifting his head off of Harry.

"Yes?" Harry asked, immediately alarmed when he heard the laughter in Sev's voice.

"Grammy ever get that spoon after you?"

"Did Gram—Sev! I was pretty well behaved, young man!" Harry said, trying not to both laugh and blush at the same time from his son asking him that.

Severus started climbing down from Harry's lap and, without another word, ran out the door.

He must have met who he was looking for. Because the next thing Harry heard was:

"Grammy! Did my Daddy ever get a spanking with your spoon cause he was naughty?"

Harry literally wanted to die on the spot.

Who thought that a child could embarrass you so badly?

While chaos was reigning in the Potter household, in the Malfoy home it was one of Pansy’s bad days. So, Draco had taken Scorpius with him to Malfoy Manor, leaving Asta with Hermione. He didn’t often get to spend time with just Scorpius, and the little boy was now at an age where spending time alone with his father was one of his favorite things, so the little boy was always asking him if they could.

Today they were going to Malfoy Manor and going to have a picnic. Thankfully, it was a Saturday. Pansy had had nightmares the night before, and that morning, she locked herself in her room away from everyone else, finally allowing Narcissa in after an hour.

Draco loved his wife and would do anything for her, but he could not say that it wasn’t hard some days. Those days, however, were getting fewer and fewer. In the first year after the war, there had been more bad days than good, but thankfully with the birth of Scorpius who was now nearly four years old, it was not so. With Asta the nightmares had diminished even more. Pansy had roughly four or five bad days a year now, and Draco was thankful for that.

In his pocket, Draco held a shrunken picnic basket. After he and Scorpius did a few things in the Draco’s study, they were going to go out to a pond that sat fifty yards from the back of the house. The pond was crystal clear, held no fish or other animals as it was charmed against them. The grass around the pond was bright green and flowers and butterflies literally littered the area. Scorpius loved chasing the blue, gold, and silver butterflies.

First, however, Draco had a few things that he had to do in his office.

While he sat at his desk, Scorpius played quietly in the corner with some of his toys, of both the wizarding and muggle variety.

Draco shuffled through various pieces of paper as he listened to Scorpius chatter. While he had not necessarily always had the best times with his father, he did remember the best ones being in this very office, in the very corner that Scorpius now sat. Draco smiled and began reading what was in front of him.

While he and his brother and sister each had a Malfoy trust vault in the bottom of Gringotts, Draco wanted his siblings and children, as well as his mother and Pansy, to have other safety nets to fall back on if anything ever happened to him. That was why he was opening vaults in another, little known, wizarding bank and one in a muggle bank. He, Harry, and Ron had talked about it at length. While they were safe, and had in fact never been safer than they currently were, it would not hurt to have backups in both the worlds in case worse came to worse. They all could have used those safety nets during the last war. All three had mutually decided to use a wizarding bank in Russia and a muggle bank in America. In a safe in their homes they had the main Port Keys to both countries, and while no one in any of their families knew it, they all constantly wore a secondary Port Key that would, no matter where they were, send them to wherever they were needed with a tap of the main Port Key. Even their wives did not know about the cuff that encircled all of their upper arms, even the babies. They were invisible and could not be felt.

“Daddy, what is this?” Scorpius said from his corner. Draco looked up and watched the child for a moment, a smile gracing his lips after a few seconds.

He stood up, paperwork forgotten for the time being, and walked over to Scorpius, sitting down on the floor.

“Where did you find that, little one?” he asked quietly, remembering the vivid memories of playing with the same exact object despite the fact that it did nothing, and it was not a toy. It was, however, quite pretty.

“Over there, Daddy.” He pointed to an open cabinet under a nearby window. Draco nodded. Funny, that was the last place that he had put the object. He had been fifteen. It was right before everything had changed. He had loved it.

A Galileo Thermometer. Something so simple, yet it had intrigued Draco even in his teen years.

“That, Draco, is a Galileo Thermometer. It is made of glass, while inside there is liquid which allows the little liquid cylinders inside to float. Each color inside is a different density. When the temperature changes, they all change location. Some will go to the bottom and others will go to the top. One, however, is always special. One will stay in the middle. The one in the middle tells what the temperature is.” Lucius told his eight year old son as he sat on the floor beside him.

“Really, Daddy?” Draco asked, picking up the rather large cylinder. He turned it up one way and down the other. Lucius wrapped his large hand around the much smaller one of his son’s.

“Don’t shake it, Draco. Sometimes things can be broken if they are shaken too roughly, or if they become unbalanced. The world must always be in balance.”

“Why, Daddy?”

“Because, Son, sometimes things must simply be left alone. They are to be watched, and enjoyed. While this object may not seem like much to some people, to those who understand it, it is a beautiful, unusual device.”

Draco shook his head lightly, bringing himself back to the present to see his son shaking the thermometer to make the floating objects inside move around.

He lightly wrapped his hand around Scorpius’ so that the little boy would stop shaking it. Scorpius looked up at his Daddy, a mischievous light in the boy’s eyes.

“Scorpius, some things in life are fragile. My Daddy told me once that some things are just to be watched and enjoyed. I want to tell you something that my Daddy didn’t tell me, okay?”

Scorpius nodded, quickly snuggling into Draco’s side.

“There are some things that shouldn’t be touched and shaken, but if they are, it is okay. Because objects can be replaced. But do you know what can’t be replaced?”

Draco knew that his son was only going on four years old, but it was best to start such things early. He would tell him every day if he had to, for the rest of their lives.

“What, Daddy?”

Draco wrapped his arms tightly around Scorpius, “People can’t be replaced. People are beautiful and unusual and individual, and no matter what, they are all special. It doesn’t matter where they come from. It took me a long time for me to realize that, and I want you to always know the love of those around you because objects…” Draco took the thermometer and threw it at the wall, smashing it to pieces, ignoring the small gasp from Scorpius, “can always be replaced.” He waved his wand and said a complex charm that not only repaired the cylinder but pulled the water back into itself as well.

Draco set the thermometer aside and turned his child around to face him. He looked at his large, sapphire blue eyes, his short, blonde hair, and his perfect nose that so matched Pansy’s.

“Always remember, Scorpius Draconis Malfoy, that you are loved. No matter what you do, everyone in your family loves you. And, I always want you have an open mind when you meet new people.”

Scorpius looked up at his Daddy and smiled.

“Don’t worry, Daddy, I will always love you.” Scorpius said, wrapping his arms around Draco’s neck.

Draco barely contained the sudden stinging tears that were threatening to fall. His son hadn’t understood everything he had said, understandably as he was still very young. But he had understood the main part.

Scorpius did not want to make the mistakes his father had. He wanted his children to grow up happy and safe and without prejudices.

“I love you, too, Scorpius, more than you will ever know.” Draco kissed the top of his head and held him for a few more moments.

“What do you say you and I get out of this old stuffy office and go on down to the pond?” Draco asked.

“Yea!” the little boy said, pure excitement etched on his face.

Yes, Draco Malfoy was definitely going to do things differently than his father had. Especially the little things, like dropping all work for a day of fun with his little boy.

By the time that Lily was a month old, things in Potter household had, for the most part, slowed down somewhat. During that time, Luna had had her baby, a little boy that she and Neville named Franklin Xeno Longbottom, in honor of both their fathers.

In Godric’s Hollow, however, one Ginevra Potter was still refusing to let Severus see Dumbledore. Nothing Severus said, or did would change her mind. Even Harry had been unable to get her to change her mind. This, in turn, was causing Severus to pout more than normal, and his temper was high. They were all still getting used to the new addition, but Ginny not allowing Severus to go see Dumbledore was causing the boy to misbehave more than normal.

Andromeda and Molly and Arthur were all over for supper. Ginny had cooked a hearty meal of roast, Italian roasted potatoes, green beans, gravy, and a light, white bread. Both Andromeda and Molly had baked a different dessert, Molly a trifle and Andromeda a silken chocolate pie. Both of which the children loved.

Arthur was in the living room with Harry, holding Lily while the boys all played at his feet. They all loved their grandfather, as he was the only one they had, while they had, more or less, three grandmothers if one counted Narcissa, which they all did. And since Arthur was the Minister of Magic, he didn’t get to spend nearly as much time with his grandchildren as Molly or Andromeda did, since both watched the children at least twice a week.

“How are things going in the Ministry, Dad?”  Harry asked as he scooted off the couch and onto the floor where the boys were playing with several trucks, something they all liked to do, even Severus, which surprised Harry because even as a child Severus was serious and most of his playtime was spent reading, or painting, or constructing. Harry had even caught him writing down various potion experiments about a week before, and they had had to sit down and talk about it, so that Harry could reinforce the fact that Severus was not to, under any circumstances, to try and brew anything without Ginny. Severus had promised that he wouldn’t.

“Pretty much the same old things. There has been some talk about the orphanage that was created right after the war. Now that those at Hogwarts who fought are getting older, there are several that wish to adopt them. To try to get them out of the orphanage. Magical children have never had to grow up in a place like an orphanage before, so the sooner we get them adopted, the better. Before the war, though, there was always family to send orphaned children. But it wasn’t as easy this time. Too many Death Eater children. Too many people in hiding. But we are down to nineteen children, so hopefully it will not be long before we get them all out.”

“That is fantastic! If there is anything that I can do to help, let me know. I ran into Megan Jones the other day, she was two years under me and then had to leave during the war, but she and her husband, Malcolm are looking to adopt a set of siblings. They are young, but not much younger than Ginny and I, and both have stable jobs.”

 “I will send them a letter and ask them to come by my office one day so that we might discuss it. I know that there is a group of three siblings who we are having trouble placing. We do not want to break up any siblings. I’ve read that muggles do that at times, and it never works out well. It is not fair to the children.”

“Yes, I have heard that.” Harry said, pushing a car towards Jamie.

“Okay, guys, it is time for supper.” Ginny said, standing in the doorway with a towel in her hands.

It didn’t take long. The boys all jumped up from the floor and ran towards the kitchen.

“Walk! And wash your hands!” Ginny said as they ran past. She heard grumbles come from Jamie and Sirius, but ignored them. Both boys would never even bathe if she and Harry didn’t force them too.

“Dad, I can put her in her swing in the kitchen.” Ginny said, gently taking Lily from her father and then walking into the kitchen to put the small girl into her swing which she loved and would be asleep within in minutes of being placed into it.

Slowly, everyone had washed their hands and were sitting at the table which had been enlarged for the occasion. Harry and Arthur were sitting at the ends, leaving Molly, Andromeda, and Ginny to sit on the sides with the boys. Alby was in his high chair beside Harry, Severus and Jamie were on either side of Ginny, and Teddy and Sirius were sitting between Andromeda and Molly. Plates were filled and placed in front of the boys.

And then what Ginny had feared would happen, happened.

“I don’t want to eat this!” Severus said, using his fork to push food around on his plate.

“Severus, we are not going to start this tonight. Eat your food.” Ginny whispered into his ear.

Severus huffed and then moved around so that he could kneel on his knees, raising him up higher.

Sirius was watching out of the corner of his eye. Their parents might not realize the look on his brother, Severus’, face, but he sure did. He was almost tempted to sit back and watch, but knew that that would draw attention to him.

Severus looked first at Ginny, and glared at her. It annoyed him that she was ignoring him. Then he looked at Harry who was giving him a pointed look and then glanced down at his plate.

Severus, however, had not inclination to start eating. He wasn’t going too.

He dropped his fork on the table, and then, one by one, started to pick up his greens beans and create a pyramid in the middle of his plate.

In his high chair, Alby watched Severus. Soon, the youngest male Potter threw his fork on the floor and grabbed a handful of the soft bean and started piling them on his plate.

Until Harry noticed.

“Alby! Geeze, son, what are you doing?’ Harry said, grabbing the little boy’s hands and wiping them off with a towel.

“No, Daddy! I be like Sevy!”

At that moment, Ginny looked down and watched, in horror, as Severus took his small hand and ran it through the gravy on his plate and then dripped it into the green bean pyramid.

“Severus Harrison!”  Ginny hissed, and went to grab his hands so that she could clean them off.

“Stop!” Severus said, jerking his dirty hands away from her.

“Severus, we do not play with our food, we eat it.” Ginny said, going to grab his hands again.

Later, Severus would not really know why he did what he did. In fact, much later, he would deny it even happened as everyone remembered.

As Ginny went, once again, to clean Severus’ hands so that the child could eat, but Severus had other ideas. He stood up on the chair, ready to jump off and make a run for it when Ginny grabbed him.

Severus thrashed around when her arms circled around him and then, out of desperation because he didn’t want to be in trouble, swung his arm around and smacked her.

Ginny was so surprised that she almost dropped him. But she held tight to him and leaned down to whisper in his ear, “Young man, you and I will be discussing this in the study after dinner. Ou will not act like this!”

She knew that the child really deserved a smack on the bum for his insolence, but she and Harry did not discipline their children in front of others, and especially not in front of their siblings.

She sat Severus down in his chair and glared at him. He glared back at her. She washed his hands off with a wet cloth she summoned, and then pushed his plate towards him. Severus merely pushed the plate away; hard enough to fall off of the table and land in Ginny’s lap.

“Severus Harrison Potter!”Both Ginny and Harry yelled at the same time. Severus didn’t wait around though. He jumped up and ran out of the kitchen, towards his room.

Ginny was just about to go after him, when she felt a hand on her arm. Surprisingly, it was her father.

“Let him go, dear. Tempers are high at the moment and it will do neither of you any good if you go into his room angry while he is still angry and upset.” Arthur told her.

It surprised her. Her father rarely ever said anything in situations like this. He was the calm one; the one who never got angry. And if he did get angry, you knew that you were in trouble.

“I cannot let him act like that, Dad.” Ginny said, though she sat down.

Looking at the rest of the kids, who, surprisingly to Ginny as she had yet to take a single bite, were all finished, Ginny smiled tightly, “Guys, why don’t you all go back and play with your trucks some more. We will have dessert after while.”

He boys didn’t need to be told twice, and all ran out of the kitchen.

They knew that their mother was no longer in a good mood, and they didn’t want to be anywhere near her at the moment.

Ginny sighed and placed her head in her hands. She felt movement around the table, but she didn’t move until she felt her mother’s arm wrap over her shoulder.

It was all that Ginny needed to burst into tears.

“I am so sorry. I am a horrible mother!” Ginny said, tears streaming down her face as she buried her face into her own mother’s neck.

Molly pulled away from her daughter and stared at her for several moments.

“Do not let me hear you say that again, young lady! You are a wonderful mother, just as Harry is a wonderful father. Your only problem here, is that you are forcing Severus to eat food when he doesn’t want too, and in turn is causing him to rebel.”

“I don’t want him to go hungry!” Ginny cried. She looked over at Harry who looked as downtrodden as she felt.

“Ginny, love, he won’t go hungry if he misses a few meals now and then. You surprise me a bit. Does Severus not remind you of anyone during meal times?”

Ginny thought, but could not think of anything so she shook her head no.

“Love, Severus acts just like you used to at the dinner table. Some days you would eat everything I would place in front of you, and other times you would throw a horrendous fit just like Sevy just did. Then Aunt Muriel came over one day and told me that I was fighting a losing battle. You would eat when you got hungry, and there was no need to force you. After that, while you always sat at the table with us, and had food on your plate, we never made you eat it. We let you up from the table when you were ready, but most of the times you wanted to stay with everyone else. Eventually, you even ate. You are going to have to stop forcing Sevy to eat if he doesn’t want too. It is going to cause more problems in the long run.” Molly told the two, younger parents gently.

“Nymphadora was the same way. We couldn’t force her to eat anything that she didn’t want.”

Ginny took a napkin that was close to her and wiped her eyes off as she leaned into her mother.

“Harry and I cannot let Sev get away with his behavior though. Regardless of the fact that he didn’t want to eat, he did hit me and throw his plate into my lap.” Ginny said quietly.

“Of course you can’t. But I think that you both need to explain to him exactly why he is in trouble. Otherwise, he will associate the whole fiasco with eating, and with rebel even more. You do not want that.” Arthur told her.

Harry and Ginny both nodded. How could they have been so blind?

The three elder people at the table all laughed. They each knew what that look was.

“You are still young parents. You still have things to learn. You must not, however, second guess your parenting skills. You are both excellent parents. Never doubt that.” Andromeda told the pair. They both nodded and took deep breath.

“Thank you. All of you. I think that…that sometime Gin and I need to be knocked over the head. We are still growing into parenthood at times, and I think that it is important that we realize that.” Harry said.

Arthur, Molly, and Andromeda smiled at the two young parents.

They were excellent parents, and one day they would realize it. It took a special parent to raise as many children as they were raising; and three of those children were adopted. Harry and Ginny just didn’t realize how lucky their little family was.

It was perfect.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Ginny and Harry took a deep breath before they walked into Sev’s bedroom. The grandparents were in the living room with Lily and the boys, and they were going to have a conversation with Sev that, unfortunately, would end in disciplining the boy for hitting his mother and throwing his plate.

Sev was in his room, but the only tell that he was, however, was the bump and sniffles coming from underneath the blankets on his bed.

“Severus?” Harry said as they walked in and sat down on his bed. Ginny nudged the blankets down to see a red eyed, weeping boy. Tears were steadily falling down Severus’ face.

“Severus, we need you to come out of there. We need to have a talk with you.” Harry said, slipping his arms under the little boy’s arms and lifting him up to place the child on his hip.

Ginny and Harry had talked about it, and though they had thought about having the discussion in Severus’ room, they had decided that staying consistent was the best thing they could do at the previous moment.

Together, the three of the walked into the study.

Harry and Ginny sat a couch and pulled a chair in front of them for Severus.

After much prompting, Severus was sitting in the chair, and looking forlorn and contrite.

“Severus, what just happened at supper cannot happen again. Mummy and I have talked and we both want you to realize that this is not about you eating. We are no longer going to force you to eat if you do not want too. However, you will not be allowed any sweets or desserts unless you eat the meal before it, understood?”

Severus nodded, and then let out a sniffly “Yes, sir.”

Ginny leaned in a little bit and took one of Severus’ hands and asked him, “Severus, do you understand why you are in trouble?”

He nodded, tears still dripping down his face. Ginny summoned a wet cloth to her and gently wiped off his tear stained face and his running nose.

“Tell us why, Severus.” Harry prompted.

It took several moments, but finally the little boy said, “I hit Mummy and threw my plate. I don’t understand though…I don’t understand.”

“What don’t you understand, Severus?” Harry asked.

“Why I would do that. I am sorry.” Severus cried.

“Severus, sometimes we make mistakes. Especially, Severus, when we are little. You are only five.”

“But I am not supposed to be five! I am supposed to be old!” Severus said, tears falling down his face again.

“Severus, do you understand that you are going to feel things, do things, that a child would do. Because, Severus, you are a child. You do not have to forget your past, but you have to put it behind you. You are our child. You did wrong, but it wasn’t the first time, nor will it be the last. You will be punished for what you did, but then it will be in the past.” Harry said.

Severus nodded. He had known that he would get a spanking. He had known that the second he had felt his hand hit his Mummy.

“I know I was bad, Daddy.” Severus said sorrowfully. He was definitely having conflicting feelings at the moment; did he willingly walk to his parents or did he make them get him?

In the end, it didn’t matter, as Severus was picked up, laid over his daddy’s knee, and given five swats before he even knew what was happened. He didn’t even realize it until it was over and his Daddy was hugging him.

“Let’s not have to do this any time soon, son.”

“Okay, Daddy.”  Severus sniffed.

And then Severus had a thought.

“I can’t put my past behind me until I speak with Dumbledore.” Severus whispered.

Ginny sat up and looked at Severus.

“No. That is my final decision.”

Severus leaned into Harry and, though he didn’t dare glare at her after just getting into trouble. He did, however, pout.

But the look on Ginny’s face told him that he was not going to win any argument.

~*~*~*~*~

Three days later, Severus and Sirius where in Severus’ room talking.

“I have to, Sirius.” Severus said, laying on his stomach reading a potions book.

“I know, Sev…I would like to speak to him too…and I know where they hide the Floo powder so that we can go through the Floo without tripping the wards on the door.” Sirius told him.

Severus sat up and looked at Sirius, who was leaning against the bed with a quidditch magazine.

“Really?”

“Yea. I saw them pull it out when Grammy, Grandpa, and Grandma left the other day.”

“Now. Let’s do now!” Severus said. Sirius merely nodded. This was something he needed to do as well.

Together, the two of them snuck out of Severus’ bedroom, into the kitchen where Sirius had seen Ginny hide the Floo powder in a cookie jar.

Soon, after stealing the Powder, listening to Ginny and Harry talking about supper in the study, Sirius and Severus stood together in the Floo, held onto one another, and Severus shouted: “Dumbledore’s Quarters!”