Though she had a wonderful time with Severus celebrating their first-year anniversary, Lily did not want Harry to feel neglected, and so one day after their return, she decided to spend some quality time with her son, just the two of them, since Severus was on call all weekend.

Harry had been so excited over his first potions kit that Severus had to read to him some basic potions and their ingredients right away when they had arrived home.  Then he showed Harry the pictures of the different ingredients and summoned them from his lab as well.  He then had the honor of instructing the eager little boy on how to make a Color Change potion, which was merely a draft that would change colors as you directed.  It was harmless, had no side effects, and would then make the drinker change colors for twenty minutes.

Harry was delighted, carefully following Sev's directions, and the first potion was a success.  Harry and Severus both drank some and had fun changing each other to different hues before the draft wore off.  Lily had watched and laughed right along with them, for her normally serious husband rarely indulged himself that way, though he did have a wry sense of humor.

"Mummy make potions with me too?" her son asked, his green eyes alight with joy.

"Yes, love, but not right now.  Now Mummy needs to take a nice long shower and unpack from her trip." Lily told him, kissing his cheek.  "But you're going to be a wonderful potion maker, Harry, just like your daddy."

Harry grinned at that and so did her husband, who found it a novel experience to have a youngster following in his footsteps.  Then Severus gave her an arch look and murmured, "It's too bad I can't join you for that nice hot shower, Lily mine."

"Severus!" she mock-scolded, blushing.  Then she gave him a wicked smile and whispered, "If Harry weren't awake, my sweet, you could."

He sighed.  "Too bad.  Ah, well, I can dream. Go, before I lose what little self-control I have left." He gave her a gentle pat on the bottom, smirking lasciviously.

She laughed, all sultry and seductive, and then slipped away to the master bedroom with its connecting bath to indulge herself, leaving her husband to watch their inquisitive son and fantasize about what would go on in private later that night in the bedroom.

Harry tugged on his sleeve and pointed to another elementary potion.  "Daddy, what's this one?"

Severus read the potion title aloud. "This is a Warmth Potion, Harry.  It makes you feel all warm and cozy when you drink it.  Good for those chilly days in November." He began to read out the ingredients, and Harry tried to make out the letters and words he knew in the potions manual. He had already learned the alphabet and how to write his name, and was anxious to learn more words so one day he could read all by himself, like his mum and daddy did.

"Can we make this one too, Daddy?"

"Yes, but not just yet, son.  It's a bit more advanced.  Why don't we try the Candy Cane Elixir? It makes a potion that makes your breath smell like candy canes for thirty minutes." Sev suggested.  It was also a cinch to make, only using four ingredients and requiring about five minutes to brew.

Harry agreed, and they began to make it.  By the time Lily emerged from her watery cocoon, smelling like strawberries and mangos, the Candy Cane Elixir had been brewed and they all had a drink of it, and Harry ended up taking a nap with his breath smelling like candy canes.

Lily had promised to make potions with Harry tomorrow, and she intended to keep that promise, among others. So, after she had seen her husband off to work with a lingering goodbye kiss, she fried up some hash browns and sausage and eggs for herself and Harry.  She knew there were cooking spells for that kind of thing, but had found that the spells often made the food taste rather dry and dull, and she had grown up the Muggle way, and preferred to cook the old-fashioned way.

Harry woke up in a sunny mood, ready to create some more fun elixirs with his mother.  He ate all of his toast, eggs, hash browns and some sausage and drank all of his milk besides.  Then Lily conjured him a smock to wear so he didn't ruin his clothes and they began to make some more potions from the kit.

They made a Bubbly Brew, which was one that foamed and frothed and made lots of bubbles that changed colors and fizzed all over the sides of the cauldron. Lily and Harry had fun counting and popping them.  They made a bit of a mess, but since they were brewing outside, neither of them cared.

"How about the Flower Power draft next, scamp?" Lily asked, laughing when bubbles popped in her hair.

"Okay, Mum.  What's that do?"

"It makes flowers grow when you pour it on the ground," Lily told him.  Depending on the kind of flower pieces you added, it would grow that variety of flower. "Let's pick some marigolds and some tulips and snapdragons."

Harry raced about the yard, picking all kinds of flowers, until he had one of each kind.  Then they added them one at a time to the cauldron and Lily let Harry stir it four times. 

The mixture was soon giving off a very potent and invigorating smell, and Lily timed the draft, letting it steep the required five minutes before decanting the blue potion into the plastic beaker that came with the kit.  "Okay, Harry.  Let's see if it worked."

Harry went over to the edge of the garden, where there was a spare patch of tilled soil, and carefully poured the potion onto the soil. 

In a matter of minutes, a shoot sprang up, and then another, and still another.  The flowers grew rapidly, each one blossoming in about two minutes. Harry clapped his hands and yelled, "Yay! Look, Mummy! Look at the pretty flowers!"

Lily came up beside him and hugged him.  "Such a beautiful little garden, Harry!"

"I like this potion, Mummy.  It's neat."

"I like it too."

Soon all the flowers had grown and then Harry bent down and picked them and handed them to Lily.  "For you, Mum. I growed them special."

"Oh, Harry!" She scooped him up and kissed him.  "Thank you! You're a sweet little imp."

"And do you love me forever?"

"Forever and ever.  Until the stars fall from the heavens, Harry my sweet." She spun around, Harry in her arms, and the sweet smell of flowers filled the air and surrounded them in a fragrant cloud.

"What would you like to do next?" asked Lily, for she had told Harry this day was special, and he could spend it all with her, doing whatever he wanted.

"Umm . . .I wanna eat a snack now," he stated.  ‘I'm hungry."

"Sounds good to me.  Brewing all those potions is hard work, huh?"

And they went inside to eat some oatmeal biscuits and have tea, though Lily made Harry's mostly milk, since too much caffeine was not healthy for growing boys.

* * * * * * *

Later on, Lily took Harry to the park, so he could play with some other little children his own age for once, and she watched as her son climbed all over the jungle gym, rode the springy horse, and helped him swing on the swings. 

Then they headed home and Lily made a small picnic style lunch which they ate on a blanket in the grass.  It was then, while they were lying side-by-side, playing a game of Imagine That with the clouds, that Harry said, "Mummy, you know what I wish Father Christmas would bring me?"

"You're thinking about Christmas presents already, Harry?" Lily laughed.  "It's the middle of August."

"I know, but he needs time to make this wish come true." Harry said, his green eyes serious.

"Oh? And what wish is that?"

Harry's eyes met his mother's and he said, "I really want a baby.  A little sister or maybe a brother."

Lily blinked, startled.  She recalled Harry mentioning that when they were leaving the Weasleys, but hadn't really taken it seriously.  She had assumed it was a case of wanting what other kids had because it was new, like a novelty.  But gazing into her son's green eyes, she saw that Harry was very serious. Merlin! Now what? It isn't as if I don't want another child, I'd love to have Sev's baby, a dark-haired little girl with her daddy's black hair and my eyes, such a pretty thing she'd be.  Or a little boy with Sev's bright intelligence and my red hair, though hopefully not my temper! I can't understand why I haven't gotten pregnant yet.  It's certainly not for lack of trying! She felt herself blush, recalling last night, but then her joy was marred by a strange uneasiness.  She hadn't seemed to have any trouble getting pregnant before, Harry had been born nine months from her wedding night with James.  Still, perhaps it was different the second time around . . .?

"A little brother or a sister, huh? Would you look after and love the baby always, Harry?"

The three-year-old nodded.  "Uh huh.  I played a lot with Ginny when I was at Ron's, Mum.  She's not so bad for a girl, once you get used to her.  But Ron says she's a pain and she screams too loud."

Lily giggled.  "That's a common complaint of older brothers, Harry. Babies take up a lot of time and at first they sleep, eat, and cry a lot."

Harry considered.  That didn't sound like too much fun.  "But someday I could play with the baby, right?"

"Yes, but not for months and months, scamp.  Think you could wait that long for the baby to grow up a little?"

"That long, Mummy? But why?"

Lily shifted so she was lying on her side, and Harry was curled up in her arm, facing her.  The fresh smell of cut grass tickled their nostrils and the summer wind twined playfully in her hair, making fiery tendrils escape from her braid to curl down her face. 

"Well, when a baby is born, they're too little to do much, they need to grow up, Harry.  And growing up takes a long time.  You're three, and you're not even close to being grown-up, now are you?"

"No.  But can we have a baby, Mum? Please? I'm big, I can help feed her and teach her letters and play with her.  And then I'll be the big brother.  Ron says it's good to be bigger, ‘cause then you can tell your little sister to get lost if she's being a pain in the arse."

"Harry James Severus! What have I said about using that word?" Lily demanded sternly, though she fought back a smile.

Harry put a hand over his mouth.  "Ooops.  I forgot.  Sorry."

"All right, but if you say that word again, you know what happens."

Harry nodded.  He knew quite well about how yucky soap tasted when you said bad words.  "Is it true, what Ronnie said?"

"Actually, scamp, I'd have to say your Aunt Petunia would agree with that, since she used to say when we were kids that I was an awful pain, always following her around and asking to do everything with her.  That was before I met your dad,  though.  After that, we played together and I didn't need Tuney for company."

"I'd rather play with Dad than Aunt Petunia.  She's mean," Harry stated, recalling the only time he'd met his aunt, and how she had smacked him across the face.

Lily couldn't blame him for saying that, for she had never really forgiven her sister for her behavior at the reunion, especially towards Harry. "Me too, love."

After a moment, Harry asked, "Mum, do you wish you had a little baby?"

Lily stroked his flyaway hair.  "Yes, little imp.  Sometimes I wish very much for that."

"An' does Daddy too?"

"Yes, I imagine he does," answered Lily.  Perhaps Severus was wondering, like she was beginning to, why his wife had not gotten pregnant.  She knew he would love a little girl, one that looked like her mother, or even a son, he had said as much on their wedding night. 

"Should we wish upon a star then? Mrs. Molly said sometimes wishing on a star will make something come true."

"We can if you want to, Harry." Lily said, resolving to speak to Severus about their son's desire to have a baby as soon as she could.  Perhaps she would also have him examine her, just to make sure there was nothing wrong. 

"Tonight?"

"Yes, tonight.  Now, let's lie back here and look at the clouds.  I think I see a mermaid there, off to the right." She pointed at a cloud that vaguely resembled a mermaid shape.  "What do you see, Harry mine?"

"Uhh . . .I see . . .a big dragon.  Right over there!" His little finger pointed to a cloud that resembled a dragon quite a bit.

"Very good! And now I see . . .a wolf howling."

"I see a lion!"

"I see a unicorn!"

"I see a castle."

"I see a giant."

"A bad one or a good one?" Lily asked.

"A good one.  He likes little kids." Harry said.

"I see a beautiful woman and her scamp of a little boy," said a new voice.

Harry sat bolt upright.  "Daddy! You're home!" He jumped up and ran to throw himself at Sev's knees, tackling him enthusiastically.

"Sev! You're back from the hospital so soon?" Lily cried, smiling up at him.

"Yes, I had no pending cases down in Spell Damage and no women in labor, so I decided to come home.  If they need me, they can contact the mirror." He bent down to pick up his son, tossing him up in the air playfully.  "Hello, Trouble! You behaving for your mother?"

Harry giggled and said, "Yes, sir, I been good." Then he looked at his father, who was still wearing his freshly starched white Healer robes and said, "Dad, Mummy and I were wishing, and guess what we wished for?"

"A broom? A spell to keep a mischievous little boy out of trouble for a whole day?"

"No, silly! We wished for a baby!" Harry sang.

"WHAT!" Sev exclaimed, for that was the last thing he had expected.

"A baby, Daddy.  I want to ask Father Christmas to bring me a little sister, and Mum said she wished for one too."

"I see." Severus looked over at Lily, one eyebrow raised.

"It was all his idea, Sev.  But honestly, I wouldn't mind another."

"Neither would I," the Healer said softly.

Harry grinned. "Goody! Now can I make my Christmas list? And Daddy, you can wish on a star tonight like Mummy and me.  And then, maybe tomorrow, a baby will be here."

Severus bit back a chuckle.  "What do you think, babies get delivered by owl post?"

"Somethin' like that." Harry said.  Then another thought occurred to him.  "Do they leave ‘em at the hospital, Dad? So then we could go and pick ours out."

"Uh . . .not exactly, Harry." Severus coughed.  "What were you doing before, Harry? It looked like fun." He sat down on the grass next to his wife, Harry on his lap. 

"Seeing things in the clouds," Harry answered, but he was not to be distracted for long about his current topic of interest.  "Dad, where do they get the babies?"

Sev rolled his eyes heavenward.  "Three, and he's already asking me that question!" He cleared his throat.  "Harry, a baby comes from a mother and a father.  The mother . . .she carries the baby around inside her for nne months and then it gets born."

"Really? Like the way Auntie Min said Mrs. Norris had kittens?"

"Yes, exactly like that." Severus said.

‘Not exactly like that, severus Snape," Lily snorted, giving her husband  a playful smack on the top of his head.  "If women had babies like a cat had kittens, you'd be out of a job, mister!"

Severus smirked.  "Okay, Lil! It was just a metaphor, for Merlin's sake. He's too little for me to explain it any other way." He leaned over and kissed her soundly.  "Perhaps someday soon he'll see for himself, little flower."

She buried her face in his shoulder.  "Oh, Sev! I really wish that would come true! But . . ."

She hesitated, looking strangely pensive and uneasy.

"But what, Lil?" He curled an arm around her, hugging her and Harry to him.  "What's wrong?"

"Nothing.  I'm probably just being a Nervous Nelly.  But I thought . . .since I haven't . . .you know . . .that something might be wrong with me. ‘

"Have you been feeling sick?"

"No, no.  Only a little run down and tired, but then what mother of an overactive three-year-old isn't?"

Severus was not fooled, however.  He knew her too well.  Something had her spooked.  "Lily, if it'll make you feel better, we can go to my office on Monday and you could let either me or Matthew examine you.  Just to put your mind at rest."

Slowly, she nodded.  "Yes, that might be a good idea.  I know I'm probably stressing out over nothing, Sev." She gave him a rueful chuckle. 

"It never hurts to be sure," he murmured, caressing her hair lovingly in that tender erotic way he had. 

"Monday then, I'll meet you at the office," she agreed.  "I'll see if Molly or Mum can watch Harry for an hour or whatever."

"A good plan.  And now, I'm starving, so why don't we see what we can find for supper?"

"I want macaroni and cheese!" Harry yelled.

"Not again! You had that last night," Sev groaned.   And for the last week as well, the Healer thought. His current goal was trying to get his son to eat something else from a food group other than bread and dairy, for Harry had suddenly become Mr. Picky Eater. "How about a hamburger?"

"No! Macaroni and cheese!"

"Macaroni and cheese and three bites of a hamburger," Severus countered.

Harry pouted.  "But Daddy!"

"Three bites, young man, or else no ice cream." Sev played his trump card.

Harry considered for about two minutes, then gave in, for ice cream was his weakness. ‘Kay.  I'll eat three bites. An' that's all!"

Lily chuckled at her son's definitive tone.  "Looks like you won that round, Sev, but you haven't won the war."

"But tomorrow's another day," the Healer replied, then he set his macaroni-and-cheese obsessed son on his shoulder and went inside the house.

Lily trailed after them, hoping that her visit to the office on Monday would put her fears to rest once and for all.  But she couldn't shake the feeling that a shadow was looming over her.  She brushed off the feeling, telling herself she was being overly sensitive, and entered the kitchen and began making a salad to go with the burgers, fries, and the staple at the Snape table these days-macaroni and cheese.

* * * * * *

That night, Sev and Lily and Harry all gathered by the window and they looked out onto the night sky, where stars glittered in the ebony darkness.  Harry kept his eyes peeled waiting for an especially bright star to wish upon.  Finally he saw one, and  cried, "Mummy! Daddy, look! I see it! A star! My wishing star."

His little hand pointed towards the window unerringly.

The two adult wizards followed the little boy's hand, and saw the brilliant star Polaris, which was of course, the brightest star in the sky. "Make a wish, Harry," Lily said.

Harry closed his eyes and whispered, "I wish . . .I wish I had a baby sister."

Then he opened his eyes and said, "Okay, now it's your turn!" to his parents.

Smiling indulgently, Lily and Sev also made a wish, Lily that all would be well with her family and Severus that Lily and Harry would be healthy and happy. Then they turned away from the window and tucked Harry into bed and read him two stories. "The Littlest Unicorn," a wizarding story about love and friendship and then "The Elephant's Child" from Just So Stories by Kipling.

By the time they were finished, Harry's eyes were heavy with sleep and he was perfectly content to snuggle down with Smokey and drift off to dreamland, with Lily singing softly and Severus stroking his hand through his hair.

Both wizards gazed lovingly down at their innocent child and vowed that they would always keep him safe and somehow find  a way to fulfill that longed for wish for a little brother or sister, if possible.

"If we did have another, Sev, would you be ready for it?" Lily teased gently as they tiptoes from the room, leaving a nightlight burning.

"I think after Harry, I'll be ready for anything," Sev answered, smiling.

Lily just shook her head.  "Famous last words, Sev."

"And just what is that supposed to mean?"

"It means, Healer Snape, that any child of ours will probably give us gray hairs before we're thirty."

"Care to wager on that, Mrs. Snape?"

"All right.  I will bet you twenty Galleons that if I'm pregnant in three months, our child will end up driving us up a wall by the time he or she is three." She held out her hand.

"Done," Sev said, and slapped his palm down on hers.  I truly hope you win that wager, Lily flower, he thought, then he said, "And now, it's time for us to spend some quality time together."

"Past time," his wife agreed, then she practically dragged him down the hall to their bedroom.