Harry wrote back to Hermione as soon as he got out parchment and a quill. He talked about his flying lessons, living with his new mentor, and about McGonagall; how she was outside of work and how amazingly fast she could fly.

He asked her about hearing voices, especially ones from the dead. He had a feeling he knew who the voice belonged too, but he had to get answers first. He didn't want to think he was crazy, although it was quickly coming to that conclusion.

By the time he finished his letter, it was dinner time. Snape and Harry ate in silence, each munching on their take out pizza without making eye contact. The only time words were spoken was when Snape asked Harry to pass the parmesan.

Harry went to sleep late that night. He couldn't stop thinking about his grandparents. Despite Snape's words earlier, he was still curious about their reactions when they would meet him. Would they hate him? Would they love him instantly? Did he look anything like them? Would they judge him based on his looks? What if they didn't like his dad and hated him because he looked like him? Those thoughts raced a mile a minute through his mind.

He felt like he had barely fallen asleep when Snape shook him awake hours later. He trudged along behind the older man, going through the motions of getting ready. He perked up when the lovely smell of french toast wafted under his nose.

He woke up completely when a warm breeze brushed across his face as they opened the front door. Harry wanted nothing more than to use his newfound flying talent and take off. He tugged on Snape's shirt, giving him a curious look.

"Sir? Do you think we could fly there? I know it's not far, but this would be the perfect day for flying!" he said. It was true. There was not a cloud in the sky to be seen, and the soft blue color of the atmosphere mixed with the warm sunshine made him feel extremely happy. It quelled any midnight thoughts he had the previous night.

Snape shook his head, although it looked like he wanted to fly as well. His wings twitched, itching to be at full span and take off. "It's only two blocks away to get to your grandparent's house. We can walk there. It would look odd otherwise if Muggles just see two people flying overhead anyway." Snape looked down at Harry, and at seeing his face, a thoughtful look crossed. "But, if you wish, we can fly when we get back, just as long as you stay in the backyard. "

Harry pouted, but agreed. At least he got to fly later. That's all he really cared about.

The neighbors were kind as they walked. One woman leaned out her window to wave, and another let Harry pet his dog as he was walking by. Harry felt like he was in a Disney movie. He honestly expected the people to burst out in song, like in the Beauty and the Beast.

Snape scowled a bit after he pet the dog. "You don't know where that dog has been, Harry," he said lowly so the other man couldn't hear. "When we get to your grandparents house, you will wash your hands straight away."

Harry just shrugged an affirmative. The dog didn't feel dirty, but he didn't want to argue with Snape. He had a feeling the man was on edge enough as it was. It seemed Harry wasn't the only one a bit nervous at meeting his grandparents, although Harry didn't know why. Snape had already met them, and seemed very close to them. Unless Snape was just as nervous as Harry about their reaction, which didn't quell Harry's jitteriness any.

They came to a block where nearly every house looked the same. The only differences were in lawn decoration, or the plants that littered the walkway. It looked way better than Snape's block, whose houses looked they would fall down at any moment, despite all the nice people. It was the complete opposite of Snape's road.

Harry saw a house that looked completely overgrown with plants. Vines grew up the side of the wall, although it didn't remind Harry of those run-down spooky houses that was constantly seen in scary movies. The vines gave this house an almost magical look, like they belonged there and would stay there. A full garden peeked out from behind, making beautiful smells fly in the wind.

Harry knew instantly this was his grandparent's house. Snape didn't looked shocked as Harry left his side and ran up the walkway. He passed by the mailbox, then turned to see Snape following. A full smile broke out, and Harry buzzed with happiness as Snape walked up beside him and rang the doorbell.

An older lady opened the door. She had brown eyes that shined in the light, and Harry could tell her white hair was once a beautiful shade of red. Strands of hair fell out of her bun and fell to the sides of her face, framing her features. She should be well into her late sixties, possibly seventies, but she didn't look it. The only thing old about her was her hair. There may have been a wrinkle here or there around her face, but otherwise, she looked just like an older version of his mother. He couldn't see how this lady could have been the mother to Petunia. She looked too nice to have given birth to that demon.

As soon as she opened the door, she smiled wide and engulfed Snape in a hug that made Harry wince from the fierceness of it. Snape hugged back almost as hard as her. "Hullo, Miss Rose," he said in a voice that held the most emotion Harry had ever heard from the man.

"Oh, Sev! It's so great to see you. I was beginning to think you weren't going to come!" she said, holding him by the shoulders. Harry knew for a fact that it was barely past eleven. Now he knew what Snape meant about her wanting them to be early.

"Look at you! You've grown since I've last seen you!" If possible, her smile grew even wider. Two twin spots of color appeared on Snape's pale cheeks.

"It's only been three years, mum," he mumbled.

She huffed, but Harry could tell it wasn't ill-intended. She placed a hand on her hip, and waggled a finger under his nose with the other. "Three years is plenty time time for you to grow. What are you now? Twenty-nine?"

"Thirty. I'll be-"

"Thirty-one in January, yes I know. You don't think I would have forgotten your birthday now, would you?" She patted his cheek. "My, it seems like only yesterday you were toddling on over here to play hide-and-seek with Lily. Kids these days grow so-" She broke off, spotting Harry.

A hand shot to her mouth, and her eyes went wide. "Goodness gracious, is that...?" she breathed. A hand reached out to brush at his hair and he tried not to flinch back.

"Harry? Is that you?" Her brown eyes sparked with something Harry couldn't place.

His mind raced for something to say. He couldn't very well leap into her arms, although it seemed that it was what she was expecting. He barely knew her. "Um, hello," he said dumbly.

Her hands shot out and engulfed him before he could even blink. His wings were crushed painfully to his back, although she didn't seem to notice. Harry really wished she could see them. Perhaps then her grip wouldn't be vice-like.

His arms hung awkwardly at his sides. He tried to bring them up to hug back, but they were contained, unable to move. He didn't know how Snape had managed to hug her back.

"Harry," her watery voice reached his ears. She pushed up from his shoulder, tears misting in her eyes. She placed her hands on either side of his face. "I never thought I would see you again. Gosh, you've grown so much. You look just like your father." He pretended to not see Snape flinch at the words.

Brown met green. "You have your mother's eyes." A soft smile graced her face, making her look younger. Her hand ran through his black locks, messing up what Harry had tried to smooth down. "And as much as your father's hair was wild, I daresay you have your grandfather's, poor child." She chuckled, the sound ringing like bells.

"Rose? Has Severus come already?" an older voice called. An old man stepped onto the porch, leaning heavily on his cane.

His grandmother had been right. His grandfather's hair couldn't be described as anything else but wild. Combined with the speckled grey and white, he looked more like a mad scientist than a grandfather. His eyelids hung low, as if he was constantly tired, and his breath came in nasally rasps.

He smiled gently when he spotted Severus. "Hello, Severus. I say, it's been a while. You need to come over more often."

The color never seemed to leave Snape's neck and face, leaving very red splotches that stood out against his pale skin. "Yes, well, I do tend to be very busy these days. Teaching doesn't look like much, but it is a lot of work."

His grandfather chuckled at the words, as if he could relate. His eyes roamed past Snape and landed on Harry, who was once again being squeezed to death by his grandmother's hug. His eyes widened slightly, and he gripped his cane tighter. Snape leaned forward, arms out, just in case his grandfather decided to faint.

It wasn't needed though, because he gained his composure, although his knuckles were still white from pressure. His eyes met Harry's, and Harry realized that they were the same startling green as his own.

"Harry," he breathed.

His grandmother let go of him once again and went to stand at her husband's side. She touched his arm. "Harry's come back, Joe. Isn't it a miracle?"

A small smile spread across his wrinkled cheeks. It looked like he couldn't answer straight away, too overcome by emotion. His lips wobbled a bit, and he turned away. His grandmother reached up and brushed away a tear that was rolling its way down to his chin.

His grandmother seemed to realize that they were still standing on the porch, in plain view of all of their neighbors. "Oh, where are my manners? Come in, come in. I have lunch almost ready."

Snape didn't need telling twice. Harry could tell he had felt a bit awkward during the entire episode, just standing there while Harry was being fawned over, and rushed in at his grandmother's words. His grandmother reached out an arm and wrapped it securely around his waist. She led both him and his grandfather to the living room, shutting the door behind her with her foot.

Snape had already taken a seat, familiar with the surroundings. Harry had to gape at the room. It was nice. Very nice. His grandparents were very well off, that was for sure.

A small chandelier hung from the ceiling, and a soft circular rug lay in the middle of the floor, going underneath one of the two couches, one where Snape had already gotten comfy on.

A fireplace was in the corner, although it wasn't lit. On the mantle there were many little knick knacks and pictures. Two chairs were on either side of the fireplace, both looking extremely comfortable and very well used. On the wall right above it hung a rather large cross carved with intricate designs. The surrounding walls were littered with pictures. He could see his mother and Snape prominent in many of them, showing various ages of growth. Petunia was there, too, although there weren't many pictures of her. They stopped after her graduation picture. There wasn't even one of her wedding, which Harry was secretly glad. He had seen plenty of the picture back at their place. He didn't need to see a freshly shaved Vernon straining in a tight tuxedo again.

One looked like wedding photos of his grandparents, and Harry's breath caught when he spotted one with his mother in a wedding dress. On either side of that one, there were two very smaller picture frames, each sporting two feathers that were criss-crossed. The one on the right held a feather bright as gold crossed over one that was black as night. He figured that was his mother's and Snape's feathers. They looked small, as if they were plucked when they were children. The one on the left held bigger feathers, fully grown ones. One was the same golden feather, but this time it was crossed by a bright blue feather. He suspected that it was his father's, and Harry could feel his eyes begin to go misty. Hastily, he wiped at them.

"Take a seat, dear. Anywhere is fine." His grandmother motioned to the couches. Not wanting to be sitting by himself, he plopped down right next to Snape, his knuckles clenched tight on his knees.

"Relax, Harry," Snape said under his breath. "It's fine. There's no need to be nervous."

Harry tried his hardest to relax, taking in a deep breath in his nose and exhaling through his mouth. "There you go," Snape praised.

"Make yourselves comfortable," his grandmother said. "I'm going to go check on lunch. Joe, dear, can you help me set the table?"

His grandfather, who had been in the middle of sitting down in his chair, groaned and slowly got back up. Snape quickly stood up, making his grandfather look relieved.

"It's okay. I've got it, Mr. Joe," He said. His grandfather plopped down in his chair with a satisfied sigh. Harry felt a bit bad that he didn't offer himself to help.

"Nonsense, Severus. He's been he's been helping me set the table for years," she argued.

"Just let the boy do it, Rose. I'm getting too old to much anymore. He's done it plenty of times anyway," he retaliated. His grandmother huffed, but motioned for Snape to follow. His grandfather gave a tiny smile and shuffled down in his chair, propping his legs on the foot rest.

"Rose needs to realize we're not teenagers anymore. I get tired too easily," he said, chuckling at the end. Awkwardly, Harry laughed along.  

"How have you been, Harry? I haven't seen you since you were a little thing," his grandfather asked.

Harry shuffled around on the couch. He couldn't very well tell him the truth, that he had been miserable, at least living with Vernon and Petunia. That was his daughter and step-son. He didn't want to make him angry.

"I've been great, sir," he replied. It was true, at least when living with Snape. He was way better than his aunt or uncle. "Mr. Snape has been a great guardian."

"Mr. Snape?" His grandfather laughed. It sounded wheezy and phlegmy. "He doesn't let you call him Severus?" He shook his head, amused. "That boy, I swear," he said under his breath.

"It's good you've been having a good time with him, Harry. He may seem all mean, but underneath all of that gruff is a very caring man. I can tell he cares for you a lot. He better, anyway! You're his nephew!"

Harry's eyes felt like they were going to burst from their sockets. "He's my uncle?" he practically squeaked.

His grandfather seemed amused by his outburst. "Well, of course. We adopted him, right around his twelfth birthday." He stopped, thinking, then opened his mouth again. "Well, I say adopted, but we just got guardianship of him. He's not technically your uncle, but he might as well be. His parents died while he was at Hogwarts. His mother died in a car crash, if you can believe that, and his father was found dead in his home. So we took him in. He practically lived over here anyway, so nothing really changed much. He still insists on calling us Mr. Joe and Miss Rose, although we've told him countless times to call us mum and dad. Old habits die hard, I guess."

So that explained how he was so close to his grandmother, and why he called her mum over the phone.

"So, does that mean I have to call him Uncle Severus now?" he asked.

His grandfather guffawed, although Harry didn't see what was so funny. It was an honest question.

"You can call him whatever you wish, Harry. I'm sure he wouldn't mind," he replied. Harry somehow had to disagree. Although Snape was acting nice to him now, he had a feeling the man didn't really like him all that much in the beginning, although he didn't know why. He probably wouldn't like it if he started spurting out names for him without asking him first.

"I guess so, sir," Harry said anyway.

"Bah! Enough with the sirs." His grandfather waved it away like he was shooing a fly. "I got enough of that during my military days. Just call me Papaw."

Papaw. Harry liked the sound of that. "Okay...Papaw."

His Papaw smiled wide. "Attaboy!"

Harry couldn't help but smile back. The sound of his grandmother's voice calling them to the dining room rang down the hall, and Harry swiftly got up. He walked over to help his grandfather up, who seemed to be struggling to get out of his chair. He waved him away.

"It's fine, Harry. I think I got it." With a great big strain and lots of grunting, he lifted himself up with the armrests, but only after standing for a second, he flopped back down. He pursed his lips, then looked up at Harry. "Help me."

Biting his lip to keep the smile off his face, he gripped his Papaw's arms and helped him up. He handed him his cane. Together, they slowly made their way to the dining room. Snape was putting the finishing touches on their table settings when they walked in and his grandmother was pouring tea into three glasses. A large pot of coffee was being made on the side.  

His grandfather took a seat at the front of the table, and motioned for Harry to sit next to him. Snape looked a bit miffed, probably because that was his normal seat, but said nothing. He just went to help his grandmother bring the food from the kitchen.

Harry had totally forgotten it was Sunday. He had thought they would be having simple sandwiches, maybe sausage rolls, not an entire table full of food. His mouth watered as Snape and his grandmother brought out pot roast, roast potatoes and carrots and broccoli. His mouth really began to water when he saw the Yorkshire pudding.

They said prayer, which was a bit odd for Harry because the Dursley's weren't really religious, so Harry had never had to pray and Snape never said prayer before meals. ONce again, it was a completely new experience for him. Snape passed around the food. His grandmother gave Harry and Snape tea, while she placed a steaming cup of black coffee in front of his Papaw.

At Harry's raised eyebrow, his Papaw chuckled. "I hate to admit it, but I absolutely hate tea. Loathe it, in fact. I prefer coffee with my meals. Blasphemous, I know, but I can't help it."

"Gonna give yourself a heart attack one of these days," Snape mumbled, blowing on his roast.

"Oh, hush, Severus. I don't see you giving up coffee any time soon, either," he shot back half-heartedly. Snape said nothing, just continued eating, but Harry could see a small amused smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

"So, Harry, how have you been? Are you having a good time living with Severus?" his grandmother asked. Harry had a sense of deja vu.

"The boy's been fine, Rose," his Papaw answered for him.

"Hush, Joe. I was asking Harry, not you.

Harry felt heat rise up his cheeks. "Um, I've been fine. I'm having a good time living with, uh, Severus." Harry peeked at Snape to make sure the man wasn't mad at calling him by his first name. He didn't look mad, but that didn't necessarily mean anything.

"That's good, that's good.I'm glad you're having a great time." She nodded her head then took a bite.  She noticed how Harry, despite obviously hungry, was pushing his carrots around on his plate. "You've been feeding the boy regularly, haven't you, Severus? Harry looks like skin and bones!

"Rose!" his Papaw chastised.

The red came back on Snape's face, and was it his imagination, or did Snape look slightly angry? "Of course I've been feeding him! I'm not an incompetent parent," he nearly spat.

His grandmother seemed to realise she had hit a sensitive topic. Snape looked tense, and Harry could feel the tension coming off of him in waves, nearly drowning the good-natured atmosphere from before.

Quickly, before things escalated more, Harry tried to switch topics. "So, um, Where did you get the feathers on the wall in the living room?" he asked.

His question worked. His grandmother stopped starring Snape down and Harry looked at him with a curious look. The tension faded. His grandfather looked slightly relieved that it was over.

He cleared his throat. "Well, as you could probably tell, the gold ones are from your mother. They're the same as yours, after all. The black one is from Sev when he just turned eleven, and the blue one is from James right after their wedding," he answered.

Harry's curiosity peaked when Papaw mentioned his wings. "You can see my wings?"

"Clear as day. We can also see Severus'." His grandmother answered his question, which startled him just slightly.

"But, I thought Muggles couldn't see wings unless someone from the magical world let them with a spell," Harry said, remembering Hermione's letter.

"Well, apparently were not full Muggle, as you put it," his grandfather said. "And by we, I mean me."

"You're a wizard?" Honestly, Harry thought there would be no more surprised, but he guessed he was wrong.

His Papaw guffawed, which quickly turned into a hacking fit. HIs grandmother pounded him on the back. "Oh, no, Harry, I'm not a wizard. I wish I was! Apparently, I'm a descendant of uh, what were they called? Sqeebs? Sqwebs?"

"Squibs," Snape answered for him.

"Squibs! That's what it was! My great-great-great-great-great-and so on and so on- Grandfather was a wizard, and his son was a Squib. No one else from his son's descendants had magic, and the family thought there never will, until Lily came along. It was rather a shock, really. My entire life, there were myths and legends about our family being descendants from winged wizards. My mother would tell me about them as bedtime stories. I never believed them, of course. Then Lily would do the weirdest things that I never could explain. It wasn't until Sev here told us what she was, and demonstrated some of his magic as well that I knew my mother's stories were true. And it wasn't until later, on her eleventh birthday that she got her wings and a wizard from the school came and explained everything else that Severus couldn't."

"Wow," Harry breathed. He looked at Snape with wide eyes, who just shrugged awkwardly.

"D'you know what your great-something grandfather's name was?" he asked, curious. Perhaps he could look him up later when he got back to Snape's endless library.

"I believe it started with an S. Salamander? Sali...Salimu...? I can't really remember. Something lizard-like, I believe. An odd sounding name, for sure."

Snape's eyes widened, then narrowed as he put on a thoughtful face, his brows furrowing. Apparently this was news to him as well. His lips moved silently, and Harry could practically see the gears turning in his head.

Harry turned to his grandmother. "Are you descendent from Squibs as well? Is that how you can see wings, too?"

"No, dear. I don't think I am. If I am, my family certainly never talked about it." She chuckled, her bell-like laughter ringing. "I thought Joe was crazy when he said Lily and Severus had wings, but then when that wizard came from the school, he waved his wand and suddenly I could see them, full span and glistening in the sunlight! They were honestly the most beautiful wings I have ever seen! Sorry, Severus," she apologized. Snape didn't answer her, but just waved away her apology. He was still mumbling things under his breath and his narrowed eyes were shifting across the table at rapid speed.

"I'm so glad you got your mother's wings, Harry dear. I liked James', but Lily's suit you better I think." Harry grinned wide.

They continued eating, only speaking when passing the mentioned foods. Harry greatly enjoyed the pudding, and the roast was all but gone within a minute. Snape didn't eat anything else, still caught up in his thoughts. He pushed his food around with his fork.

They moved back to the living room. Snape excused himself to the bathroom, and went down the hallway. Finally, it was just Harry and his grandparents. Harry sat across from them on the couch, finally relaxed.

"So, grandmother-" Harry began, only to be cut off.

"Nana."

"Huh?"

His grandmother smiled. "Call me Nana. Or Nan, if you wish to shorten it."

Harry blushed, which he seemed to be doing quite a lot lately. "So, um, Nana, how long have you known Mr. Sn-uh, Severus?"

She brightened even more at the mention of her adopted son. "Oh, I've known Sev for a long time. Very long. What age was it that he met Lily, dear? Seven? Eight?"

"Five."

She snapped her fingers, nodding as she remembered. "That's right. Five. It was around his birthday that he met her in the park right down the road. She came in babbling about magic and I just had to meet the boy who put those thoughts into her head. When he made a bulb bloom into a flower just by staring at it, oh! I got the shock of my life right then." Her eyes got a faraway look, and a small smile tugged at her lips.

"That reminds me," his Papaw said, then got up out of the chair. He wobbled with his cane to the mantle and picked up a book that was laying flat on top of it. He wheezed as he blew away the dust then sat right next to Harry. His Nana's eyes lit up when she saw what her husband had and went to sit on the other side of her grandson.

"This," he announced, turning the book over so Harry could see. "is a photo album. It has pictures of everyone in the family, including Severus." He flipped the page, and the first picture showed a rather large baby with with light color hair gazing at the camera, a finger in their mouth and eyes sparkling. Underneath it read "Petunia Denise Evans. Born June 24th, 1959."

"That's Aunt Petunia?" Harry asked, bewildered. There was no way that adorable baby was his evil aunt!

His Nana nodded, although she seemed a bit sad. "That's our little Tuney. She used to be so innocent." Harry didn't miss the past tense ‘used to', and he frowned.

"I'm sure you don't want to have any more reminders of her, Harry," she said, then began to flip frantically through the pages of baby Petunia. She stopped on a picture of a new baby, and this time Harry could tell exactly who they were before even reading the words underneath.

"That's mum!" he exclaimed. Even though the picture was black and white, there was no mistaking the brilliant green eyes and vibrant shock of red hair that curled on her round head.

Both of his grandparents smiled softly. "Mmhmm," his grandmother confirmed. "This was taken around a month after she was born."

"She's so cute," Harry cooed.

His Nana got a rather mischievous glint in her eyes. "If you think this is cute, just wait until you see Severus when he was young."

Intrigued, Harry leaned forward more, and promptly busted out laughing at the image that greeted him. It wasn't that it was funny, it just wasn't what he was expecting. Little Snape was looking at the camera with wide eyes, an innocent smile plastered on his face. Two of his front teeth were missing, and his much shorter hair had a slight curl to it. Beside him, an equally innocent Lily was smiling, holding up bunny ears behind her friend's head.

"That can't be Severus! He looks like a completely different person!" Harry said, leaning forward to get a closer look at the picture. He tried to spot any similarities between the grown up and the child, but the only thing he could see was the hair and eyes. Even the nose looked different!

His Nana flipped the page. "He may not look like the Severus you know now, but just wait. You'll see the resemblance soon enough."

.'.

After lunch, and after Rose had started showing Harry some rather embarrassing photos, Severus excused himself to the bathroom. He walked down the hallway and by passed the bathroom all together, instead heading straight forward to his old room. He shut the door with a soft click, and the sounds of laughter from the living room became muffled.

He strode over to his bookshelf, looking for a specific book that had been forgotten long ago when he moved. His curiosity had been peaked during lunch, and if what Joe had said was true, he needed to make sure.

He found the book, wedged between an old coloring book that had faded to dull colors and between a glossary on Potion plants. The book was old, way older than Severus, and used to belong to his mother before she died. Carefully, as to not rip any of the pages, he opened the book and laid it atop his bare mattress.

History of the Hogwarts Founders was an old book, and was very rare. Only very few scholars had it, and Severus was lucky enough to have a great-uncle who had gotten it by mistake at a pawn shop. He had given it to his mother Eileen, not knowing exactly what it was. It was basically what the title said: the history of each of the Hogwarts founders, starting from their childhood and going all the way to their deaths and exploring their family tree.

He gently flipped through the pages of Gryffindor and Ravenclaw before stopping at Slytherin. He read through Salazar's story, looked through the limbs of the family tree. He read them once, twice, three times. Nowhere did it say that Salazar had a son, especially a Squib in the family line. Did Joe just make it up? Or was Severus just overanalyzing things?

A knock on his door made him jump, and he nearly ripped the page he was holding in half. He cursed, looking at the small tear in the corner. Shutting it slowly, he got up and went to the front of the room, turning the knob.

Rose looked at him from the other side, her fist raised to knock again. "Yes?" Severus asked.

"I knew you weren't in the restroom. You took way too long." She sat down on his bed, and Severus rushed over to catch the book before it could fall on the ground. He placed it back on the shelf, and he made a mental note to get it when they left.

She patted the bare mattress beside her, and he sat down. "What's going on, Sev?" she asked.

He just shrugged. "I'm doing some research. I found a book that was needed to help me, so I came back here."

Rose looked to the bookshelf, studying the now lopsided book. Severus could tell by the look on her face that her curiosity wasn't the real reason she had come. Her brown eyes had a faraway look, almost melancholy, and the corners of her mouth tugged down in a frown.

"Severus," she said, and her tone was completely different from before, which shocked him slightly. He had never heard her sound like this before. "What do you intend to do with Harry once the school year starts?"

"Pardon?"

She looked at him. "Once school starts for Harry, the Dursley's legal ties with him will vanish." Severus flinched at the fury in her tone when she mentioned her daughter and son-in-law. He also didn't miss the way she called them by their last name. He was glad he wasn't on the receiving end of her fury.

"Once the guardianship is void, he will be a ward of the Ministry, will he not?" she asked.

Slowly, he nodded. She looked slightly pained. "Joe and I can't take care of him, no matter how much we want to. We're too old, and we both know our time is almost gone. Don't look so sad, Severus. You knew it as well, didn't you?" She touched his hand, now clammy and cold, and he squeezed, not really wanting to acknowledge the truth, but he nodded. He had known for a while that they would die fairly soon.

"With Joe's lung disease and my heart troubles, we'll be lucky if we live to see Harry graduate. I won't let him become a ward of that dreadful ministry. I just won't. Severus." Her tone demanded instant attention, and he snapped his head up from looking at his feet. Brown met black.

"I know you're not technically Harry's uncle, but you are the closest thing to a family he has besides me and Joe. Can I trust you to do everything in your power to make sure he doesn't fall in the hands of the ministry?" Her eyes bore into his, and for a fleeting second, he wondered if she was magical. It felt like she was using Legilimency on him, seeing inside his head and tumbling through his innermost thoughts.

"Severus, if it comes down to it, can you be willing to get a guardianship for Harry, or perhaps adoption? I know your rivalry with James will make it difficult for you, but Joe and I don't have much time left. I know if the ministry get's their paws on him, they'll make his life a living hell, one worse than his time with Petunia and Vernon. Please," She squeezed his hand, almost painfully. Severus could see the emotions behind her eyes, the pain, the sadness, the anger, rolling like storm clouds, one always taking control for a fleeting second before being taken over by another. He nodded, and suddenly all the emotions were swept away, and relief took their place. She leaned forward and hugged him, sagging against him. He wrapped his arms around her.

"Thank you, Severus. I'm so glad you can help. Ever since I heard that Petunia and Vernon were taken away, I was worrying constantly about him. I tried to find out where he was, but no one would tell me. You can't imagine my relief when I found out he was with you. I know you'll take good care of him."

She stayed like that, being held in his arms. Severus stared at the wall, his mind racing. Had he just agreed to adopting Harry, the child of his worst enemy? He had only expected to take care of him until the summer, then drop him off with Rose and Joe, but now this changed everything. He would be stuck with the spawn of James Potter for Merlin knows how long.

He looked at the woman who had practically raised him, being the only mother figure in his life, then decided he had made the right choice. Harry wasn't just James' son, he was also Lily's, his best friend and pseudo-sister's. If he would do it for anyone, it would be for her. He would be the best guardian for the boy, no matter who doubted him. He would raise Harry, and treat him better than his own father had, making sure the rest of his childhood would no longer be filled with fear and hurt.

Finally, Rose pulled away. She straightened her hair and her shirt, going back to the strong woman he had looked up to his entire childhood. She squeezed his hand once more, then without saying a word, rejoined her husband and grandson in the living room. Severus followed, his mind still stuck on their conversation. He had just come to his room for the history of Slytherin, and now here he was agreeing to become a father!

"Look who I found!" Rose said as she nudged her way beside Harry.

Joe looked up from the photo album. "Well, hey there stranger! Whadja do, fall in?" He waggled his white eyebrows, letting his oversensitive son know he was joking.

Severus sat down in the chair opposite the couch. "Har har." He spotted the picture that Joe was showing Harry, and instantly he could feel splotches of red begin to creep up his neck.

"Why are you showing him that?" he practically squealed, then tried to take the album away. His adopted father was too fast, and swiped the book away from Severus' reach.

"The boy needs to know who his fearsome caretaker really is!" Joe said, laughing.

The rest of the evening was spent showing the rest of the album, then telling fond memories of the old days, when Rose and Joe could actually go places, and of Severus and Lily. What started out as an invitation for lunch was quickly extended for dinner. With both of them stuffed with the amazing cooking by Rose, they excused themselves, promises of later visits on their lips. Hugs and kisses were exchanged, and Harry plucked a feather from his wing as a gift to his grandparents. They teared up, then made promises to frame it beside the others.