Draco Malfoy had to surpress a yawn, as he listened to yet another of his father's stories about 'the good, ole days'.

Unfortunately, Scorpius-his four year old son-adored his grandfather and his stories so it couldn't be helped.

Cory was at that age where just about anything excited him.

And to listen to one of Lucius' tales of his 'glory days' was almost as exciting as his favorite fairy tales.

"Did you really beat that Gryffindor like that, Grandpa?" Cory asked Lucius, his blue eyes wide with wonder and awe.

"I most certainly did," Lucius Malfoy declared, proudly. "Showed him that a pureblood was certainly better than a half-blood any day!"

"Lucius! Dad!" Narcissa, Draco, and Astoria exclaimed at the same time, each throwing a reproving look at Malfoy Sr.

Lucius sighed, wincing.

"Sorry," he said, glancing down at his grandson. "That was a mean thing for Grandpa to say, Cory."

"I'm sorry I got you trouble, Grandpa," Scorpios told him, solumnly. "It was a good story, though."

Lucius smiled fondly at his grandchild.

"Indeed, it was," he told him, reaching out to stroke the boy's pale blonde hair, affectionately.

He had made such a mess of things when Draco had been younger, and he knew it. 

He had Vowed upon the birth of his grandson that he would not make that mistake again.

While his and son's relationship had improved in the last eight years, the wounds he'd caused with his pureblood mentality and fanatism remained.

Draco loved his father, but quite frankly there were times he wanted to throttle the living daylights out of him.

"Dad," he said, shaking his head. "You know how Tori and I feel about you saying those things in front of him."

"I know, I know," Lucius said, apologizing. "I am sorry, son." He glanced at his daughter-n-law.

"Apology accepted," Astoria told him, smirking. "Don't let it happen again."

"Or Daddy will put you in the corner," Scorpios told his grandafther, wide-eyed. "Daddy put me in the corner yesterday..."

"And what could you, my sweet, sweet boy, have done to deserve that?" Narcissa asked him, causing her son to snort.

"By being anything but a sweet, sweet boy," Draco said, rolling his eyes. "Go on, Cory, tell Granny Cissy what you did yesterday?"

"I rode Daddy's broom," his son admitted, teary-eyed.

He knew how to milk sympathy for all it was worth.

He was a Malfoy, after all.

"He bloody well did," Draco said, frowning. "Right down the dungeon corridor!"

"Oh, my," Narcissa said, stunned. "Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy, you could have been killed!"

"Now, now, Cissy," Lucius said, placatingly. "I'm sure Draco handled it before he got hurt."

"Luckily, Harry was on his way there to discuss something with me," Draco said, "and stopped the little blighter just in time. If Cory thought I was mad, he really didn't know what to think when 'Unca Harry' got a hold of him."

"I can well imagine," Lucius chuckled. "How is Mr. Potter these days?"

"He and Ginny are well, as is Alby," Draco told him. "He was going to visit Severus' grave this afternoon, as he always does on V Day."

"Yes," Lucius said, looking forlorn. "Poor Severus..."

"Luc," Narcissa said, reaching for his hand. "You couldn't have known he intended to kill him."

"It was still I who brought him there," Lucius reminded her. "And all I cared about was that it wasn't me..."

Draco frowned. He had not realized just how guilty his father was for his part in Professor Snape's death...

It was Lucius who had originally recruited Severus into the Death Eaters, after all...

It had been he who had taken the shunned young Slytherin under his wing.

He would never have admitted it back then, but he had actually liked the Potions Master, almost like a younger brother.

He'd always wanted a sibling, much as Draco had, but it was a Malfoy tradtion to only have a singular line: father and son.

It was a tradition Draco and Tori were considering breaking...

"You know," Astoria said, realizing things are grown far too serious, "Molly and Arthur Weasley did invite us to the Burrow for their annual dinner."

Draco smiled.

"That's right, they did," he said, smirking, "and I know Harry and Ginny are going to be there."

"Are we gonna go, Daddy?" Cory piped up, excitedly. "Can I go play with Alby and Rosie?"

"Yes, you can," Draco told him, smiling. "Dad, Mum, why don't you both come too? Aunt Andromeda is coming with Remus and Dora and their boys..."

"Hmm," Narcissa said, thoughtfully. "It would be nice to see Romi. I haven't spoken to her in almost a month, and Molly does have that wonderful recipe I've been meaning to get for the cook to try..."

"I do not know," Lucius said, hesitantly. "Arthur would not..."

"Oh, Dad," Draco rolled his eyes. "Tori and I have been at the Burrow loads of times. It's time you and Arthur put aside this stupid boyhood spat and grew a pair!"

"A pair of what?" Cory asked, frowning.

This, of course, caused his father to blush fiercely.

"Yes, dear," Tori smiled sweetly, too sweetly, at her husband. "Do tell?"

Draco loved his wife, dearly, but she really knew how to let him know when he was being a right, regular ass!

"Uh, I'll tell you when you're older," he told his son, assuredly. He coughed, uncomfortably.

"Come, love," Narcissa said, smiling at her husband. "Let's go. We had nothing planned for this evening, anyway."

Lucius nodded.

"Very well," he said, reluctantly. "Perhaps I can get Arthur to give me the latest news from the Ministry..."

Draco grinned.

It seemed tonight the Malfoy and Weasley families were going to get together.

Hell must surely have froze over!

...

Remus, Dora, and the boys all stepped through the Floo into Andromeda's living room.

"Is that my boys I hear?" Andromeda Tonks came out of the kitchen wearing an apron and a bright smile.

"Granny!" Teddy and Jamie exclaimed, rushing forward to hug their beloved grandmother.

Sirius hung back. He only remembered Andromeda from when he was a boy the first time.

She was, by blood, his first cousin.

It did seem strange to him that she would be his grandmother, essentially, now.

Of course, he had always been good at 'going with the flow'.

Andromeda looked up from where she was recieving and giving hugs and kisses. Her eyes widened.

"If I did not know better," she said, eyeing him sharply. "I would say I was staring at Sirius Orion Black!"

"Uh, hi," Sirius said, suddenly shy. "It's me, Andromeda. I swear!"

Andromeda glanced at Remus and Dora. "It's true," her werewolf son-n-law told her, gently.

"How?" she asked, stunned.

It was her daughter that answered.

"Don't rightly know, Mum," Dora told her mother, honestly. "Harry found him this morning when he went to visit his grave."

"And Severus, too," Remus told her. "They both came back-as kids-together."

"Unfortunately," Sirius muttered, sourly.

"Siri," Remus glared down at him, sternly.

"What?" Sirius asked, innocently.

"You know what," Remus told him, firmly.

Sirius sighed. "I miss the old Moony," he muttered, pouting.

"I rather like the new one," Dora said, kissing her husband.

"EEW! GROSS!" Teddy and Jamie exclaimed at the same time, wrinkling their noses in disgust.

"Give me a break," Sirius rolled his eyes.

"If you aren't careful, young man," Remus told him, sternly. "I'll be giving you something all right...but it won't be anything you like!"

"Yes, Moony," Sirius said, sighing. "Are we going to the Burrow now?"

"Oh my, my cobbler!" Andromeda exclaimed, rushing back into the kitchen.

She returned a few moments later without th apron and carrying a large bowl.

"It smells great, Granny!" Jamie, who loved sweets, said. "Can we try some now?"

"No, you may not," Dora informed him, firmly. "You can wait 'til dessert time at the Burrow."

"Let's be off, then," Andromeda told them, smiling. "I'm rather looking foward to this year's celebration."

"Yes," Remus said, with a glance at Sirius. "It should prove to be quite interesting."

Sirius grinned. Quite interesting, indeed.

Together, the Lupin family headed for the Burrow.

...

As he and the Potters stepped out of the Floo and into the Burrow, Severus could not help but feel apprehesive.

Clutching Mimic, his new stuffed raven, in a practically a death grip he held onto Harry's hand tightly.

"There's nothing to be scared about," Harry told him, glancing down at him. "Nobody here will hurt you."

Easy for you to say, Potter, Severus couldn't help but think. You weren't the one making them scrub cauldrons!

He did, however, glare up at his former student. "I am not scared, Potter," he told him, stubbornly.

Now, if only he could convince himself of that...

"Oh, there you all are!" Molly Weasley emerged from the kitchen, smiling brightly at them. "Everybody else is already here...well, except for the Lupins, but they should right behind you all."

As if on cue, the Floo burst to life once more and the Lupin family stepped through.

"Hullo," Remus greeted them, smiling. "How was your day today?"

"Eventful," Harry told him, glancing at Severus. "Yours?"

"The same," Remus said, placing a hand on Sirius' head.

"I aim to please," the boy told him, cheekily.

Harry chuckled at his former godfather, shaking his head. Remus had his hands full now, that was for sure.

"Dad, can we go play?" Teddy asked his father, immediately.

"Of course," Remus told him, "but don't get into any mischief!"

The two Lupin lads nodded and ran off to find their cousins.

"Me, too?" Sirius asked him, hopefully.

"In a moment," Remus told him, gently.

"Can I go find Rosie?" Alby asked, referring to his favorite cousin. "Can Sev'rus come, too?"

"I shall remain here," Severus stated for himself, firmly. "I have no need to 'play'."

Harry sighed, but nodded at his son. "Go on, son," he told him. "He might join you later."

"Okay, Daddy," Alby said, politely.

He rushed off, but not without first stopping to give his grandmother a hug and kiss. "Love you, Grammy!"

"I love you, too," Molly said, smiling at her daughter's only child. "Run along and play now. Scorpius is here, too."

"Draco and Tori are here?" Harry asked, smiling.

Molly nodded. "And surprisingly enough, so are Lucius and Narcissa," she told him, wryly.

"The Malfoys and the Weasleys getting together?" Sirius piped up. "Did hell freeze over or something while I was dead?"

"Sirius Orion Black!" Remus and Dora exclaimed at the same time, causing Molly's eyebrows to shoot clear to her forehead.

"If Cissy is here," Andromeda said, smiling. "I'd best go see her...haven't spoken to her in a month, you know. She's so deprived!"

Laughing, the friendly Tonks matriarch headed for the kitchen.

"Oh, there you all are," Ron spoke up as he and Hermione came in from outside. "Wondered when you lot would show..."

"Who are they?" Hermione asked, smiling down at the two unfamiliar boys.

"Hiya, Hermione!" Sirius piped up immediately. "Don'tcha recognize me?"

"Should I?" Hermione frowned. There was something about both boys...

"Hey," Ron said, smirking and pointing at Severus. "With his black hair and eyes, he kinda looks a little like ole Snape!"

Severus glared up at him. "Astute as ever, I see," he growled, rolling his eyes.

He then glanced up at Ginny.

"I always knew you inherited the bulk of the brain cells," he told her. "There must be a genetic defect in the Y chromosome in the Weasley line..."

"Severus," Harry sighed, disapprovingly.

Ron's eyebrows rose clear to his head. "H-Harry?" he asked, wide-eyed. "Why does that kid sound exactly like Snape!?"

"Probably because he is Severus, Ron," Harry told him, gently. "He's just a bit smaller than the last time you saw him."

"And this is Sirius," Remus told them, placing a hand on the boy's head.

"H-How is this possible?" Hermione asked, wide-eyed.

Harry sighed, glancing at his mother-n-law.

"Can you go gather all the adults?" he asked her. "I'd rather only have to say this once."

"Of course, Harry dear," Molly said, still looking slightly bewildered.

Once all the adults had crammed themselves into the living room, no small feat by any means, Harry told them what had transpired that day.

For a long time, no one spoke, but then George piped up, "It's great to have you guys back!"

That more or less broke the silence and everyone began talking all at once.

"Can I go play now, Moony?" Sirius asked, hopefully. He had never been a patient individual.

Remus chuckled, but nodded. "Go on, pup," he told him, affectionately. "No mischief!"

"Who, me?" Sirius grinned impishly.

"I see he hasn't changed," Narcissa muttered, shaking her head.

"You have no idea," Remus and Harry said at the same time, chuckling.

Harry glanced down at Severus. "Are you sure you don't want to join the other kids?" he asked him, curiously.

Severus snorted. "I am not a child, Potter," he reminded him, firmly.

Harry merely smirked. They would probably have taken him a bit more seriously if he weren't holding onto his stuffed raven for dear life...

Mimic, however, was quickly becoming his security blanket and there was no way he was going to leave the raven at-Potter's-home.

"I just thought..." Harry tried to tell him, but he interrupted.

"You were mistaken," Severus informed him, nodding. "I will go over there with Arthur and Lucius."

With that, he headed in the direction of where the two older men sat.

Severus never thought he'd see the day when the head of the Malfoys and the head of the Weasleys would be sitting down speak-cordially-to one another.

But they were.

At his approach, he saw that they were discussing politics.

"Hello, Arthur, Lucius," he said, hesitantly.

Both men, now grandfathers, glanced at him. It was clear they did not know quite what to make of him.

"My physical age aside," he told them, "I am still me---no matter what Potter thinks. I am quite capable of having an adult conversation."

Lucius swallowed, visibly.

"Oh, Severus," he said, scooping him up into his lap suddenly. "I'm so, so, sorry!"

Severus stiffened, wondering what had come over the man. "Sorry for what?" he asked, stunned.

"For...for...for EVERYTHING!" Lucius exclaimed, repentant. "EVERYTHING!"

Severus swallowed.

Had Lucius gone senile since his death? Had the Dark Lord driven him insane somehow?

"I, uh, I," Severus searched for something to say and could only come up with on thing. "I forgive you."

Lucius' eyes widened and he crushed him to his chest.

"Thank you, thank you," he said, tearfully. "Thank you!"

"Lucius, man, for pity sake," Arthur said, laughing. "I thought you were a Slytherin not a Hufflpuff! Pull yourself together, man! Your disgracing yourself, for Merlin's sake!"

That seemed to shock the Malfoy patriarch back to his senses.

"Quite right, sorry," he said, setting him back down. "It is good that you have been given a...second chance...Severus."

Severus, still slightly stunned by this turn of events simply nodded. "Yes," he said, quietly. "I guess it is."

"Sev'rus!" he turned at the sound of Alby's voice. He was approaching him with a red headed girl his own age by his side.

"Sev'rus," Alby told him, smiling. "This is my cousin Rosie. Rosie, this is Sev'rus. He's my new brudder!"

"Hi," Rose Weasley greeted him. "Would you like to come play with us?"

"Please, Sev'rus?" Alby pleaded, his green eyes wide. "Please?"

Severus could never say no to the pleading look in those particular green orbs...

"I suppose I can," he said, and allowed himself to be pulled out of the house into the yard.

Numerous red headed children, naturally, were scattered about with a couple of blondes thrown in here and there.

He and Alby, naturally, were the only dark haired children that he saw.

"What shall we play?" he asked Alby and Rose, curiously.

He had not played that many games as a child and was certain they had changed since then...

"I like hide and seek," Rose said, smiling.

"Me, too," Alby said, clapping.

Severus nodded, relieved.

He used to be quite good at that game...at least when he and Lily had played he had been.

"Maybe you should play 'Catch the Death Eater'," a snide voice suggested and they all looked to find Sirius, Jamie, and Teddy standing there.

Severus gripped Mimic even tighter, trying desperately not to think of his former school days.

"Go away, Black," he growled, petuantly.

"Sod off, Snivellus," Sirius growled back, snorting. "You might have Harry fooled, but I remember what you were like."

Alby and Rose gasped.

"Unca Remy won't like you sayin' bad words," Alby told him. "Teddy and Jamie get in trouble when they do."

"Uh, yeah, Siri," Teddy said, hesitantly. "Dad told you not to call him that, remember?"

Sirius snorted. Of course he remembered!

"Moony's not here now," he said, "and I know you all won't tattle tale on me, right?"

The Lupin boys nodded. They'd never snitch on their new brother.

Rose glared at them.

She had inherited both her mother and grandmother's temper, and as everyone knew there was nothing scarier than a red headed witch...even a miniature one.

"You leave Sev'rus alone," she told him, firmly. "Or I'll tell Uncle Remy on you!"

"Would she?" Sirius asked his new brothers, curiously.

Jamie snorted, and nodded.

"Nosie Rosie is nothin' but a little tattletale," he said, glaring at the girl. "She thinks she's sooo smart 'cuz Auntie Mione is!"

"Rosie is smart," Alby defended his cousin, glaring. "You say 'sorry', Jamie. That was mean!"

Severus stepped foward.

He'd be damned if he let Black and his new co-horts insult and harm his name sake and his obviously favorite cousin!

"This is between us, Black," he growled. "It always has been. Leave them alone!"

Sirius snorted.

"You should have stayed beyond the Veil, Snivellus!" he told him. "Why do you have to ruin everything?!"

"I did not ask for this," Severus reminded him. "I had no say in it! Lily said so!"

Sirius smirked. A look that was part imp, part gremlin. It never meant anything good.

"You think you and Lily are gonna live happily ever after, don't you?" he asked him, snickering.

"She promised things would be different this time!" Severus told him, gripping Mimic even more.

"How can it be different?" Sirius asked, smirking. "You're still a slimy, no good greasy git! 'Sides...James is back, too, remember?"

He glanced pointedly at his new brother. True, he had no clue he was James Potter reborn...but still...

He'd never much cared about the minute details of things.

"Why would she ever choose you over him?" Sirus said, cruelly. "She didn't the first time. She won't this time. You'll see."

Tears welled in Severus' eyes, burning hot tears of anger, but he refused to let them fall.

"You're a bloody liar, Black!" he yelled, loudly. "I'll send you back beyond the Veil myself!"

Mimic dropped from his hold the instant he leapt foward.

Before anyone could react, he and Black were on the ground.

Teddy, Jamie, and Alby watched as their new brothers wrestled and fought. All three clearly didn't know what to do.

Luckily, Rose did.

"UNCLE HARRY! UNCLE REMUS!" the red headed girl screamed at the top of her lungs. "HELP! HELP!"

Severus and Sirius paid this no mind, continuing their fight, until strong hands lifted them off of each other.

"Ho now, what's this?" Remus asked, holding onto the struggling Sirius with an effort.

"Severus," Harry exclaimed, also trying to hold onto a squirming little boy. "Stop this right now!"

"I TOLD YOU THINGS WOULDN'T CHANGE! I TOLD YOU HE'D BE THE SAME!" Severus screamed at him, burying himself in his shoulder. "

"Who started this?" Remus asked Sirius, sternly.

"He did, Moony!" Sirius told him. "He attacked me...I just defended myself!"

Alby and Rose both gasped at that. "He's fibbing!" they both exclaimed at the same time.

Teddy and Jamie both winced, but didn't say anything in their new brother's defense.

"Alby," Harry said, holding a still sobbing Severus closer to him. "What happened? It's okay, son, you can tell us."

"He was sayin' mean things, Daddy," Alby said, pointing at Sirius. "He called Sev'rus Sn..Sni...Sniv..."

He couldn't quite get the word out, however.

"Snivellus?" Remus asked, his eyebrows knitting together.

Both Rose and Alby nodded.

"Sirius Orion Black!" Remus glared at the boy in his arms. "What did I tell you this afternoon?!"

Sirius shrugged. He refused to make eye contact.

Remus' eyes turned feral gold.

"It seems I will just have to show I mean what I say," he told him, a low growl rumbling in his throat.

He turned towards the house.

"W-Where are we going?" Sirius asked, cautiously.

"Arthur's study," Remus told him, gripping his cane tightly.

Once they were gone, Harry glanced down at Teddy and Jamie.

"Did you two have a hand in this?" he asked them, sternly.

The two Lupin lads shook their heads, quickly.

"Then go play," Harry told them. "Alby, why don't you and Rose go play with Cory, okay?"

Alby nodded. "Okay, Daddy," his son said, obediantly. "What 'bout Sev'rus?"

"I'll take care of Severus," Harry assured him. "Run along now. It's almost time for dinner."

The four children did as instructed, leaving him and Severus alone together.

Harry stroked the still sobbing child's hair, offering reassuring words that didn't seem to be helping.

Noticing something on the ground, he bent down and picked up the stuffed raven that had not left Severus' grip all day.

"Mimic needs a hug, Severus," Harry said, quietly.

One small arm unlatched from around his neck and he placed the stuffed toy in the crook of it.

Severus pulled the stuffed raven against his body and sniffed. "T-Thank you."

Harry smiled. It was a start.

"Let's go get you cleaned up," he whispered to the boy, and then proceeded to head into the house.

He couldn't help but think that this was quickly turning into quite the Victory Day...