When Harry heard those dreadful words from his father's mouth, he began to cry even harder. Sirius hushed him and stepped back, trying to give Severus space to work. Dumbledore entered and took one look at Severus, holding the limp Tobias in his arms, and his eyes darkened in sorrow. "Sirius, take Harry upstairs," he ordered softly, not wanting the child to be present if the worst should occur.

The Auror obeyed without argument or a wisecrack, for once, carrying the distraught six-year-old up the stairs and into the bedroom that used to belong to Severus, he had visited here occasionally when school was out, though always when Tobias was gone. He didn't know too much about the older man, except that Severus and he had never really gotten along until recently, and apparently Harry liked the man enough to bawl hysterically because he was injured.

Sirius settled down on the bed and rocked Harry back and forth. "Hey, little buddy, it's going to be okay."

Harry had his face buried in Sirius's shoulder, hiccuping and sniffling. "N-not if m-my grandpa dies!"

"Kiddo, who said anything about dying?" Sirius asked, striving to keep his tone light.

"I-I heard my dad say Grandpa wasn't breathing!" wailed Harry. "And you're dead if you can't breathe, Padfoot! W-when you die-you stop breathing an' your h-heart stops and then you go to heaven. Like m-my mummy. But I-I d-don't want Grandpa to go to heaven yet, Sirius!"

Sirius patted the poor child on the back awkwardly, wishing for the first time that Harry wasn't so bright, or that, as the son of a Healer, he didn't know so much about life and death. "Listen, little buddy. Your grandpa might not be dead at all. Sometimes people stop breathing but the Healers can revive them, and I know your dad, Harry. He ain't going to give up, if there's a way that Tobias can be saved, he'll save him." Sirius told Harry in a firm even tone, with as much conviction as he could muster. Then he prayed it was true, for he did not want to get the child's hopes up for naught.

"Then y-you think my dad can fix Grandpa?" Harry snuffled, raising his head and looking Sirius in the eyes. "B-because I had a-a nightmare awhile ago that the masked men came back and they-they killed my dad and grandpa! And tonight it came true."

Oh, Merlin's toenails! This is not something I'm trained for, Sirius thought, groaning inwardly. What do I tell a kid who thinks he can predict the future with dreams? He coughed and cleared his throat. "Uh, Harry? That was just a nightmare-it doesn't mean it was, uh, destined to come true. In fact, it didn't come true, because your father is okay and all of the bad men are dead or captured. And we don't know for sure, but I think your grandpa's going to be okay too."

"You do?"

"Yeah. He was a soldier, right?"

"Uh-huh. He was a Royal Marine sergeant."

"A Marine sergeant, huh? Well, they don't make ‘em any tougher than that, Harry. And if he's tough as nails and your dad's determined to save him, then I'd say ten to one your grandpa's going to be right as rain in a day or two."

"You really believe that?"

"Absolutely. Now, how about you turn that frown upside down, little buddy?" And Sirius smiled at the child, who gave him a small tentative grin back.

* * * * * * *

Back in the hallway, Severus was running a diagnostic on his father, and the results were grim. The spell that had struck down Tobias was not your run-of-the-mill combat spell, but something that had been tinkered with, resulting in a spell with unknown parameters and effects. Still, one thing he could and did do was to resuscitate his father with two quick spells, making sure that his heart was beating normally and oxygen was still circulating to his brain. He knew his father would curse him to kingdom come if he were ever revived and ended up brain damaged.

But Tobias was still in very poor shape and Severus needed more medical help than he could supply by himself. He looked up at Dumbledore and Remus, and said, "I need to take him to St. Mungos, he's alive, but just barely. I can stabilize him and do a more thorough evaluation of the spell damage there."

"Lucky that's your specialty, Sev." Remus reminded him quietly.

"Yes. Please, take care of Harry for me. Tell him that I've taken his grandfather to the hospital and I'll see him soon."

"Don't worry, my boy, we'll look after Harry," Dumbledore reassured the Master Healer. "You just concentrate on making your father better."

Severus nodded, not trusting himself to speak, then he conjured a stretcher, levitated Tobias onto it, and Disapparated.

"Well," Remus sighed. "I guess the best thing to do now is to contact the rest of our team and get the Death Eaters that are still alive to Azkaban and bring the dead ones to the morgue at Headquarters."

"Indeed." Dumbledore said calmly. He peered down at the still form of Lucius Malfoy. "Ah, Lucius. Did I not say that one day your arrogance would be your undoing? And so it was."

"He's dead, right?"

Dumbledore nodded. "Yes, even one of us doesn't survive a bullet to the heart, Remus. Unless you also happen to be a werewolf."

"A bullet would still put me out of commission for awhile, Albus." Remus disagreed softly. "I hope, for Harry and Sev's sake, that Tobias makes it."

"I, too. But that, as they say, is now in the hands of the Almighty." The old wizard gestured and the door the Death Eaters had shattered was mended. Then he made another pass with his wand, and the blood that had soaked into the carpet near Lucius was cleaned as well.

Remus began to gather the bodies of the Death Eaters who had been killed and placed them on stretchers with black shrouds over them. Besides Lucius there had been three other casualties. The rest were neatly captured and trussed up like a Sunday Christmas goose, ready for transportation to Azkaban pending their trials.

With several loud pops, Tonks, Moody, and Arthur Weasley arrived to assist Remus with the prisoners.

Albus, seeing the Aurors had everything under control, went upstairs to comfort Harry and make sure he had sustained no injuries during the battle.

* * * * * *

"Miss Turner, I need a Muscle Relaxant Draft, a Nerve Stimulant, and a Burn Salve, stat!" Severus barked at his intern as soon as he Apparated with his father into the emergency ward of the hospital.

"Yes sir. Coming up," answered Amy, who was on duty that night in the ER. She Apparated to the potions lab and the intern on duty there brought her the requested drafts and she transported back with them in a carryall.

"Sir, your potions, sir," she said, setting the bottles next to the Master Healer, who had since transferred his father to an exam table and removed his uniform. The lightning had left second-degree burns over Tobias's chest, abdomen and arms and had done something to his nervous system as well, though Sev was unsure yet just how much damage had been done. The big man was also experiencing some muscle spasms in his legs, another thing which Severus did not know the cause of, but he could treat them with potions for now.

He had Amy monitor Tobias's vitals while he spelled the Muscle Relaxant and the Nerve Stimulant directly into his father's stomach, and then gently applied the Burn Salve to the deep angry red burns. "Miss Turner, what are his vitals reading?"

"Heart rate, normal. Pulse, normal as well. Blood pressure, a little elevated 130 over 90, sir. He doesn't appear to be in shock, Healer."

"Good. I treated him for it just before we arrived here." Severus said, continuing to scan his father, trying to determine just what kind of spell had been cast upon him, so that he could provide the best treatment. He gently spelled a hospital robe and briefs on his patient, then said, "I want to take him up to the fourth floor, the Spell Damage Ward, and then I shall try and determine exactly what curse was used on him."

Amy nodded and summoned another floating stretcher, levitating Tobias on it with a wave of her wand.

Then Severus left, Tobias floating gracefully after him, bringing him to the ward where the spell damaged patients were resting and treated. As Remus had said, that was one of Sev's areas of expertise, and once he had made his dad comfortable, and set a monitor to alert him should Tobias wake or begin feeling more pain, he began trying to figure out the mystery spell that had struck Tobias down.

He had access to the hospital library and went immediately to the section on curses and hexes and curse-breaking. He took down several volumes, brought them back to his office, which was on the fourth floor, and began perusing them. I won't fail you, Dad. You said you were proud of me for being a Healer, and by Merlin's blessed staff, I'll make sure that you're well again. My Healer's Oath on it, may Merlin bear witness.

It was then that Severus's analytical mindset and photographic memory proved to be a Godsend, as hours passed and the Master Healer read through pages of spells and counter-charms, searching for the base spell that had been altered by the dark wizard. It was a pity Sev didn't know who had cast it, or if that person were still alive, because then he might be able to make the wizard tell him the spell's origin under Veritaserum. But he knew most of the dark wizards left alive had been those he had fought, he was bound by his Healer's Oath not to kill, and he knew Tobias had killed Lucius and probably one or two others during the course of the battle.

Regardless, he would discover the spell's origin, and once he did that, he could prescribe the best course of treatment and attempt to reverse the majority of the damage Tobias had suffered. Abruptly, he recalled Harry's little voice, saying something about purple lightning. Could that have been the spell that had nearly killed his father? Purple lightning, purple lightning, the Master Healer mused. The lightning could only be produced by a Storm Summoning Spell or a Wizard Bolt. But the one only summons natural lightning and the other summons a concentrated burst of a wizard's magic, which is normally colored blue, or red, for the strongest of wizards. But the purple color indicates that something else was added to the lightning, and it's this that damaged my father's nervous system.

Severus went back to the library to gather more information on all the curses that involved nerve related damage and similar symptoms.

Then he spent the next two hours reading through them, until finally one seemed to stand out. It was a nasty curse, a lesser version of the Unforgivable Cruciatus, and it manifested as lines of purple force. It was known as the Interrogation Curse, and wizards who had worked for Voldemort years ago had been known to favor it, since it cost less energy to cast than the Cruciatus and was eventually just as effective.

A slow smile of triumph spread across the Master Healer's face. I think I have our culprit here. Yes, that would make the most sense. What better way to harm someone than by combining a Wizard Bolt and this Interrogation Curse? Severus studied the spell for a few more moments, then went into a small room next to his office, which was a spell-warded experiment room that he often used when testing new spells he had invented, and attempted to combine both spells.

At first he was unsuccessful, but after the fifth try, he hit upon the right combination and inflection, and a sheet of purple lightning shot out of his wand to slam against the far wall.

Severus grinned. Now that he had figured out the spell itself, treating Tobias had become ten times easier.

He rubbed the back of his hand over his eyes, they felt gritty and sore from all the hours of reading he'd done.

He knew he was too tired to concentrate properly on creating a spell to reverse the nerve damage at the moment, and so he decided to spend the night at the hospital and sleep in the on call room, which was a room the Healers had set up so the doctors who worked round the clock could sleep in if there were no pressing cases. The room had several beds and privacy screens, so Severus could sleep undisturbed till morning and then, once he was rested, he would finish healing his father.

As soon as the sun crested the horizon, Severus was awake and he returned to check on Tobias, who was still unconscious, though his vitals were normal. His father did not appear to be in any pain, so Severus did not bother spelling a pain relieving draft into him, but he did give him seconds of the Nerve Stimulant. He checked his parent's chart, noting that an intern had been by earlier on rounds and performed a standard freshen up charm, which was like a magical sponge bath of sorts, and an elimination charm as well, and had also given Tobias some ice chips to moisten his throat.

"Okay, Dad," he said, speaking aloud to his father because it felt more natural that way. "I'm going to try and reverse some of the nerve damage this bloody spell caused. Hopefully, it'll repair most of the damage done to your spine and torso, and the rest I can treat with potions. You might be a tad stiff on occasion or achy when it rains, but I'll make sure you can still walk and you won't be paralyzed."

Had Severus not figured out the exact spell used, there would have been a chance that Tobias could have been paralyzed, since the majority of the damage had settled into the nerves in his spine and torso. But since he knew the spell, he could now come up with an effective reversal charm.

He returned to the small room and experimented for over an hour with various reversal charms until he was certain he had found one that might work, and would not cause harm to his patient.

Then he returned to Tobias, took a deep cleansing breath, and chanted the spell. A soft bluish-gold mist wafted from his wand and drifted down over the comatose man in the bed. It sparkled on Tobias's skin like fairy dust, and a second later was absorbed into him.

Almost immediately, there was a change. The ex-sergeant regained some of the ruddiness he'd lost and seemed to relax. He stirred for the first time, a mere flickering of his eyelids and a twitch of his hand, but it was definite movement and Severus's heart thrilled to see it, for it meant that some of the nerve damage was now reversed.

He ran a quick diagnostic and discovered that most of the spell damage to Tobias's spine had been reversed and repaired. Several nerve bundles were still unresponsive, but Severus cast the reversal again and gave his father another Nerve Stimulant, and this time there was even more improvement.

Still, Tobias's body was still weak and tired from the spell, and Severus knew it was best if he continued to sleep for the morning, so he made a notation on Tobias' s chart that he had treated the patient for spell damage and wished him to remain asleep, the next intern on duty should spell a Sleeping Draught into Tobias. It was too soon after giving the man the Nerve Stimulant for Severus to administer the Sleeping Draught, the two did not mix well and would end up giving Tobias a terrible stomachache if combined.

Severus moved to clasp the lean shoulder and say quietly, "You're going to be fine, Dad. You might need a couple of days here working with Matt on an exercise program, but you'll mend, you old serpent. For once I'm glad of that Snape stubbornness, old man, because a lesser man would've died last night. Luck and all the angels were with you, Dad. Now, I've got to get back and see how Harry is, the poor little minnow was very upset when I left with you. Pleasant dreams, Dad."

Before he left, he firecalled Albus, and the old wizard was delighted to find that Tobias was out of danger and told Severus that Sirius and Remus were at his house with Harry.

"We thought it best, Severus, if we put Harry in familiar surroundings, since he was so shaken by what had happened. And your house is warded from any attacks as well."

"Thank you, Albus. I'd better get over there, no telling what Sirius has done to the place in the meantime." As Severus withdrew his head from the green flames, he heard Albus chuckling.

* * * * * *

When he arrived home, he found Sirius, Harry, and Remus in the kitchen attempting to make breakfast. Attempting being the operative word, since neither Auror or Harry knew how to cook anything resembling edible food. There were frying pans and bowls scattered everywhere, with remains of something that looked like eggs, a thin runny batter, and burnt bacon was resting on another plate, next to the sorry remains of what was supposed to have been a waffle.

The kitchen looked like a bomb had hit it, and Severus took one look at it and said, "I should have known. Turn you three loose in a kitchen and you end up with the disaster of the decade. Don't any of you know cleaning charms? Or how to make an egg or toast without burning it to a crisp? Merlin's ever-loving eyebrows!"

Harry turned around, he was holding a wooden spoon, and his whole face lit up when he caught sight of his father. "Daddy, you're home! Is Grandpa okay? He's not gonna die is he?" The little boy's voice trembled on the word "die" and his eyes filled with tears.

Wanting to head off any waterworks, Severus quickly said, "No, scamp, your grandpa's going to be fine, he's just sleeping right now at the hospital."

"Like when you were sleeping, Daddy?" Harry asked, running to him and hugging him about the waist.

"No, he's not in a coma, son. Just a normal sleep, and he ought to wake up sometime this afternoon, once the Sleeping Draught I gave him wears off." The Master Healer reassured him, patting his back. "Now, suppose you tell me just what is going on in here?"

"Um . . .we're making breakfast!"

"I hope you don't expect me to eat it," Sev teased.

"Real funny, Sev," Sirius scowled. "It's not my fault I never learned to cook. My parents always had house elves for that and so did Remus's."

"Excuses, excuses. You know how to wash dishes, right?"

"Yeah. Why?" the Auror asked warily.

"Because that's what you can do while I make all of us something that won't make us get deathly ill and require a trip to the hospital," answered his friend with a smirk. "I'd really rather not have to treat us for food poisoning."

"Oh, come on, Sev! We're not that bad," protested Remus. "The bacon is edible . . .sort of."

"Sure, if you eat charcoal. Move over, Lupin, and let me show you how it's done." Severus rolled up his sleeves. "Harry, get me five eggs, the sausage, and cheese. Remus, the butter's on the top shelf of the fridge and so's the biscuit mix."

"Hey, no fair. Why do they get to help you and I have to wash dishes?" Sirius complained.

"Because it was probably your idea to try and cook breakfast, Black," said Severus knowingly.

"So what if it was?" Sirius grumbled, but began casting a Scourgify charm and levitating the dirty dishes into the sink. "They helped make this mess too."

"Oh, quit whining, Siri," scolded Lupin, smacking the other Auror on the back of the head. "You complain worse than a six-year-old."

"I do not!"

"Do too! You don't see me complaining," put in Harry with a Snape-like smirk.

"You be quiet!" Sirius ordered. "Children should be seen and not heard." Then the Auror put a hand over his mouth. "Dear sweet Merlin! I sound like my mother. Uh, forget I said that, Harry." He quickly turned back to drying the now clean dishes.

The other two were chuckling quietly, though Remus and Harry went to set the table soon after, leaving Severus in peace to cook up a wonderful sausage and cheese omelet and a batch of fluffy biscuits.

By then, Sirius had finished the dishes and was seated at the table along with the others, eagerly awaiting Sev's culinary masterpiece.

Severus levitated the omelet and the biscuits to the table, along with coffee for the adults and milk for Harry.

Everyone fell on the food like starving wolves, or in Remus's case-a werewolf-and soon they were stuffed and declared it a good thing that Severus had arrived home when he did. "Otherwise we'd of been stuck hitting up Molly for some food," Sirius said, and buttered another biscuit and ate it. "Maybe I ought to learn how to cook. Women like guys who can cook, right? How about giving me lessons, Sev?"

"How about I just ram my head into a wall first? Because I'm going to end up with a migraine anyhow, with the way you pay attention, Black."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sirius pretended to sound injured.

"Don't play innocent with me, Sirius. I went to school with you and I know you've got the attention span of a two-year-old, unless you're planning a prank, that is."

"That was then and this is now."

"And you've changed?"

Sirius shot him a dirty look, just as Harry chimed in with, "Padfoot, you'd better not try and prank Dad when he's teaching you something, otherwise you'll end up in the corner."

Remus was snickering quietly and then he added, "He'll probably end up there anyway, Harry, for his smart mouth."

"Like hell I will. I'm not letting you put me in a corner, Sev. No bloody way."

"You have to, Uncle Sirius. When you're the student, the teacher's the boss and if you don't listen, then you get in trouble."

"Oh yeah? Where's that written?"

"In Dad's rule book," answered the child.

Remus burst out laughing. "Harry, you're a real gem!"

Sirius looked at Severus and muttered, "Tell me you don't really have a damn rule book, Sev, for Godsake!"

"Of course I do. That way when Harry's a teenager and wants to argue with me over everything, I can pull that out and he won't have a leg to stand on."

"Oh, Merlin help us all!" Sirius hit himself in the forehead.

Remus continued laughing, sometimes being around Severus, Sirius, and Harry was better than stand-up comedy, in the werewolf's opinion.

Later that afternoon, Harry accompanied his father back to St. Mungos. "Do you think Grandpa woke up yet, Daddy?" queried the dark-haired imp. He was carrying a get-well package under one arm, consisting of a handmade card, three drawings, some chocolate and a paperback book he'd picked out at the hospital gift shop, one of the ever popular James Patterson novels called Kiss the Girls.

Severus cocked an ear and sure enough, heard his father's familiar grouchy tone from all the way down the corridor. "Oh, he's awake all right, Harry. And already giving my nurses a hard time from the sound of it."

" . . .what do y'mean, I have to stay in bed? I feel fine. You tell that attending doctor, whoever he is, that I want to speak to him, pronto!" Tobias grumbled, glowering at the intern standing next to him.

The young woman looked both irritated and nervous, which was par for the course when dealing with Tobias Snape. "Sir, he isn't here right now, but as soon as he returns, I shall inform him . . ." she trailed off as Severus entered the room with Harry in tow.

"You can go now, Miss Vanner. I'll handle it from here," the Master Healer told her. The intern smiled gratefully at him and vanished. Severus turned to his father, who was sitting up in bed wearing a scowl that would've done a mule proud. "Hello, Dad. Guess you're feeling better if you're terrorizing my interns."

"Severus! That silly girl told me that I wasn't allowed out of bed. Said some blasted attending physician told her I'm not to move until he comes and signs my chart. I feel perfectly fine, so you can tell whoever gave that order to just-"

"That would be me, Dad," Severus interrupted, his eyes dancing. His spell had worked like a dream, if Tobias was back to his usual grouchy old self. "I'm your attending, and the reason I have you on bed rest is because your nerves were damaged pretty badly by that curse and you need rest to heal them fully."

"Humph!" Tobias gave Severus one of his Looks. "I'm not an invalid, Sev."

"Dad, who's the doctor here, me or you?"

"You are, but . . ."

"Then trust that I know what I'm doing, okay?" Severus scolded mildly. He drew his wand and ran it over Tobias. "You're healing nicely, but you shouldn't overexert yourself, and your muscles are stressed and sore from the curse, so you'll be achy and tired for three days yet. I can give you some potions for that, but the only real cure for it is rest."

"I'll get enough rest when I'm dead," grumbled the ex-sergeant.

Severus frowned sharply. "Dad, if you won't follow my instructions willingly, I can always give you a Sleeping Draft."

Tobias gaped at him. "You wouldn't dare!"

"Try me."

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

"What, you having to do what I say for once?" Severus clarified. "Every minute."

Tobias muttered something under his breath about cheeky brats who thought who the hell they were just because they had a diploma.

Harry, who had been standing a little ways behind Severus, now spoke up. "Hi, Grandpa! I'm really glad you woke up and didn't sleep forever like Dad. Look, I brought you a present, so you can get well quicker." He came over to stand beside the bed and held out the get-well package, which was inside of a colorful paper bag.

"Hello, minnow!" Tobias grinned at his grandson. "C'mere and give me a hug, kid." Harry obliged, jumping up on the bed and hugging his grandfather tightly.

"Hugs are the best medicine, even better than potions," the child stated, beaming. Tobias smirked.

"Tell that to your father, Harry."

"Oh, he knows that. But you really ought to listen to him, Grandpa," Harry continued, his little face serious. "Because he's the best Healer in St. Mungos, you know."

Severus chuckled and Tobias snorted. "I don't believe this. How long have you been brainwashing the kid, Sev?"

"Quit complaining, Dad. Harry knows that I always have a very good reason for my orders, right, Harry?"

"Yup. Even when I don't agree with them," his son answered.

Tobias just groaned. "I give up. The two of you are like the wind and the tide, you just keep on coming and wearing me away, bit by bit."

"Look who's talking. You could give a mule and all his relations lessons in stubborn, Dad."

"When am I allowed to get up, doctor?"

"For now, only to use the bathroom. I'm going to start you on a potion regimen today and by tomorrow your muscles should be healed enough so that you won't risk tearing them if you walk around further than two feet. I'm also going to ask Matthew to come and evaluate you and see if you need to do a few hours of physical therapy, since that's his specialty."

"Are you sure that's really necessary?"

Severus sighed. "Yes, since the curse you were hit with nearly killed you, Dad. By the time I got to you, you weren't breathing and I had to revive you. That spell also damaged a good portion of the nerve bundles in your spine, which I managed to restore just last night, so even though you might feel pretty good, you still need to rest."

Tobias raised an eyebrow. "It was that bad?"

"I thought you were dead, Grandpa," Harry said softly. "The masked man laughed and said he was glad cause it meant one less Muggle in the world, and then he tried to get me, but my magic blew him down the stairs."

"You used magic against a Death Eater, Harry?" Severus was astonished.

"Uh-huh. But I don't know what I did, I just told him to go away, and then this red light came out of my hands and knocked him out."

Severus looked impressed, since a conjured Wizard Bolt was not something a six-year-old should have been able to cast, even accidentally. Clearly, his son had a great potential, and would need to be watched closely to see what further powers might develop. He made a mental note to speak with Albus regarding Harry's unusual display of raw power.

"You did good, minnow," Tobias praised, ruffling the dark hair playfully. "‘Cause nobody messes with a Snape, right?"

"Right. Aren't you going to open your present, Grandpa? I made the card and the pictures myself."

Tobias thanked him and said this was just what he needed, if he was going to be stuck in bed all day.

Severus made another notation on his chart while Harry was chattering to Tobias, then summoned the first round of potions, which were a Strengthening Solution, another Nerve Stimulant, and a Class Four Pain Reliever, plus a cup of chamomile mint tea, since taking so many potions at once sometimes caused an upset stomach.

He waited until Harry was finished telling his grandfather about the almost breakfast disaster this morning before giving his father the first draft, which was the Nerve Stimulant.

Tobias took it in one gulp, then frowned and asked, "Is it supposed to taste like that?"

"Yes. And no, I can't make it taste better, otherwise the potency will be ruined. But you can have some tea and juice after," answered his son, and handed him another vial of a blue potion.

* * * * * *

By the end of three days, Tobias was ready to start climbing the walls, he was so sick of being confined to the same room in the hospital, though it resembled a posh hotel room more than a hospital ward. Severus came by every day to examine him, and usually was accompanied by his intern, Amy Turner, whom Tobias liked, or Matthew, who had Tobias on a light exercise program using small hand held weights and a rubber ball.

Still, the confinement was wearing on him, since he was unused to doing nothing all day except sleep, and he wished they had a TV in this place. But he read the book Harry had brought, and once he'd finished that, Harry gave him another, so he wasn't dying of boredom.

Still, his recovery was proceeding at a good pace, far faster, he knew, than it ever would've in a normal hospital, so he did his best to not complain too much, and followed Severus's orders with a minimum of grousing. The staff was very grateful, since a moody Tobias was scarier than a starving bear.

On the morning of the fourth day, Severus announced that Tobias was nearly recovered and could probably be released that afternoon, once the last batch of potions had a chance to work.

"That's the best news I've heard since Albus told me all those Death Eaters you brought in got sentenced to life without parole, Sev." Tobias said, smiling. Albus had been a frequent visitor as well, keeping the elder Snape occupied by playing several card games and checkers with him. "So, where do we go from here?"

"Home, but I think it'd be better if you stayed with me for a day or so, Dad. Just to make sure there are no side-effects from the potions you've been taking."

"Side-effects?"

"Yes, they rarely occur, but I want to monitor you just to be sure. Sometimes prolonged use of the Nerve Stimulant can cause you to become dizzy or disorientated, and you've been taking two of them every day for four days. So I'd prefer it if you were at my house, so if you passed out on the floor, I'd know before two days went by."

"All right," Tobias agreed, by that time he'd have agreed to having his toenails painted if it got him out of that hospital. Besides, he was also secretly thrilled to have been invited into his son's home, which he'd never set foot in, and was looking forward to spending more time with both of his boys.

He took the last set of potions Severus gave him, by now he was so used to the taste that he didn't even grimace, and thought how different his life was now that he had a family, and was no longer the grouchy curmudgeon, content to hide himself away at Spinner's End, allowing the sins of the past and old wounds to fester.

His little family was by no means perfect, and he knew they would disagree and argue still, for they had much to overcome, but two things Tobias knew beyond the shadow of a doubt-was that never again would he tear the family apart with his addiction, and never again would he be lonely, now that Severus and Harry had forgiven him for his mistakes, past and present.