"What seems to be the problem with little Ron, Molly?" Master Healer Snape asked when Molly Weasley came in, holding young Ron on her hip. She was perspiring a little, for Ron was no lightweight, especially when she was six months pregnant. This child would be her seventh and her last, she had vowed when she had come in for her last pre-natal exam. "I told Arthur, girl or no girl, this is IT, Healer Sev. You weren't here to deliver the other six of mine, but after this one, whatever it may be, I. Am. Done."

"Can't say I blame you, Molly." Severus had told her then, before performing a routine obstetric diagnostic on her.

But this visit was not anything to do with her pregnancy, it was to do with her youngest son, who was twenty-one months old, nearly the same age as Harry. Like all the Weasley clan, he had inherited his father's flaming ginger hair. He was dressed in a knitted maroon pullover with a R on it that Severus knew Molly had made, she loved to knit and crochet and was forever making clothing for her growing family and any friends. Severus had several caps, a pair of gloves, two afghans and a sweater knitted by her, most of them thank you gifts for his medical care. (He usually waived his fees for them, since he knew how tough it was to make ends meet with such a large family, and he would never take advantage of anyone in those straits.)

He was clinging to Molly stubbornly, sniffling and whimpering. "Now, Ronnie, you just sit your little behind down on the table and let Healer Sev look at you, all right?" the Weasley matriarch was saying in a gentle yet firm tone. She deposited her child on the cushioned exam table with a gasp and a huff. "I swear, this one gets harder every day for me to carry."

"You might want to mind how you pick him up from now on, Molly," cautioned the physician. "You wouldn't want to throw out your back. He's big enough to walk on his own, right, Ronnie?" Severus turned to the boy, whose lower lip was trembling and his eyes were rapidly filling with tears.

"Yeah. No shots, Healer Sev, please!" he whined.

"Relax, child. You aren't here for vaccinations yet," Severus reassured him, reaching out to ruffle his unruly hair. "Molly, what's the matter with him?"

Molly looked slightly embarrassed. "Well, Healer Sev, he, uh, stuck seven Bertie Botts Beans up his nose. Jammed them in there quite tight, y'see, and I, uh, can't get them out. Billy did that once but he only got to three before I caught him and got them out with a Sneezing Charm."

"I see. And why were you sticking beans up your nose, young man?"

Ron shrugged and looked down at his blue trainers. "Cause Georgie tol' me to. He said all the brave boys did it."

Molly groaned. "Those twins will be the death of me, I fear. Ronnie, how many times have I told you, don't listen to your brothers? They just want to play pranks on you."

"And not very good ones, either," Severus said, drawing his wand. "All right, let's have a look." He tapped the wand once to his temple, making his eyes sharp as lasers, so he could peer up the child's nose and make sure the beans weren't caught on a protruding piece of cartilage or bone before extracting them. He gently tilted Ron's head back and felt the child's nose with a hand.

"Ouch!"

"Sorry, I know that's uncomfortable, but I need to see how far up those beans are. Hold still."

Ron whimpered as Severus deftly probed his nose, then he released the little boy. "Well, I've seen worse. I can have these out in, oh, about seven minutes. First, I'm going to numb your nose a bit, Ronnie." He tapped his wand against Ron's nose and muttered a Numbing Charm.

The little boy's nose went numb. Next Severus summoned a vial of Nasal Elixir and a thin medicine dropper. "Then some nose drops to moisten the nasal passages, like so. Lean your head back for me, please. Good job!"

Severus carefully inserted three drops of elixir into each nostril.

Ron coughed a little, but the drops didn't really hurt. "All done?"

"No. Not just yet. Now I have to extract those beans, silly child."

"How will you do that, Severus?"

"A simple Extraction Charm, Molly." Severus replied, then he took a seat upon the exam table and drew the boy into a half reclining position on his lap. "He shouldn't feel it too much. Ready? One. Two. Three. Extracto Nauso!"

Severus pointed his wand and a silvery thread shot out of it and into Ron's nose. The Healer drew his wand back with a quick motion and the thread retrieved a bean and dropped it on the table. Ron squirmed. "Steady, Ronnie. That's one."

The spell continued to work, extracting another bean at a rate of one per minute. It didn't really hurt, but there was a kind of pressure and Ron whimpered and started to cry. Severus stroked his hair and Molly whispered, "It's okay, luv, it's almost over. You're such a brave boy."

Finally the last bean came out and Severus applied two more drops to the boy's poor abused nose before sitting him up. "Well done, Ron. You were one of the easiest extractions I've ever had. Here's a chocolate frog for being such a good patient." He beckoned and a chocolate frog appeared on the table next to Ron, who grabbed it eagerly.

"Ronnie, what do you say to Healer Sev?" Molly prompted.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome. Next time, remember that beans are for eating and not for sticking up your nose. Remember, your nose is there so you can smell everything, and it can't work right if you stick beans up it," Severus remonstrated gently.

" Kay, Healer Sev. I ‘member." Ron said solemnly, clutching the chocolate frog box to him tightly. "Next time I stick ‘em up Georgie's nose!"

"Oh, Ron!" Molly groaned while Severus fought to keep from laughing. "Beans don't belong in your brother's nose either. Though I shall give them a long talking-to for telling you to do something they knew was wrong and perhaps send them to bed without supper too." She shook her head ruefully. "Ah, the joys of raising boys. I do hope this next one's a girl." She patted her slightly rounded belly. "How much do I owe you, Severus?"

"Six Sickles," answered the Healer promptly.

"Severus! That's not even enough to cover the nose drops!"

"Six Sickles, Mrs. Weasley," he repeated firmly. He charged her the bare minimum he could without seeming to be condescending.

"Severus, you'll never get rich practicing medicine gratis," Molly reprimanded, then reached into her drawstring bag and handed him the six Sickles.

"Humph! True, but I'm not in this profession to make money. I'm doing it because it's what I'm meant to do, Molly. Thank you." He pocketed the money. Later he would give it to his office manager, Zurich, who was a goblin, and he would deposit it into the practice's bank account at the end of the day.

"No, Healer Sev, thank you," Molly smiled at him, then picked up her son. "Come along, Ronnie, I need to get home and start making supper. You can eat that after, if you eat all your veggies, all right?"

"Aw, Mum!" whined the toddler, but he waved goodbye to Severus as they left the exam room.

Soon after that, his new medi-witch, Miss Perkins, announced his next patient, a Mrs. Bellingham, who was complaining of an upset stomach and irritable bowels.

* * * * * *

By the time he was done with all of his patients that day, Severus felt like he'd been run over repeatedly by the Hogwarts Express. And it wasn't mere physical exhaustion either. His magical reserves were hurting and so was his head. But he was used to it, he generally saw over seventy patients on any given day, and that was bound to take it's toll. Every patient exam was different too, since Severus was something like a Muggle GP as well as a specialist in spell damage. Three nights a week he worked in the Spell Damage Ward at St. Mungos, treating those patients who had been hit with curses and hexes or had some kind of experiment go wrong.

Luckily, tonight was not one of those nights. He was looking forward to going home and relaxing with a nice hot cup of Indian chai tea and eating the cinnamon buns Molly had baked for him, which he had discovered on his desk along with a thank you note. Typical Molly Weasley! She figured he could use a sweet every now and then, and he did appreciate the sincere and touching gesture. Sometimes Molly reminded him of Eileen, who used to send him packages every so often at school with homemade bread and biscuits and candy in them. He had looked forward to them immensely, since at that time Eileen was the only family he had who gave a damn about him.

He picked up the small box with the cinnamon buns inside and was just going to cast a Locking Charm over his office, when the mirror in his pocket vibrated. Blessed hells, what now? He wondered irritably, trying to massage his left temple and fumble the mirror from the pocket of his robe at the same time.

He thanked God none of his interns or nurses were there to see that, he probably looked like he had some kind of twitching disease. But he finally pulled the mirror out and said, "Healer Snape, how may I help you?"

To his surprise, Remus's face was illuminated by the mirror. "Hey, Sev. I wanted to ask you if you'd like to join Sirius and me for dinner."

"As long as neither of you are cooking," joked Snape lightly, for neither Auror knew how to make anything edible, since they had been raised with house elves.

"Wouldn't dream of it. Last time I tried to cook, I nearly set my house on fire," the werewolf admitted sheepishly. "Now I leave the cooking to Misty, my house elf. It's safer that way."

"Good idea, Moony. Because there's no worse smell than singed werewolf."

"Ha ha. Funny, Sev. So . . .you coming over or not?"

"Your place?"

"Yes. You wouldn't want to set foot in Siri's. It's uh . . ."

"A disaster?"

"Yeah, you could say that. You know how he is about picking up things. Anyway, dinner's at seven, so you ought to have plenty of time to change or whatever."

"Thanks, Moony. I'll bring dessert."

"Great. See you then."

The mirror went dark as Remus broke the connection.

Severus coughed slightly and then finished locking up his office. He bid goodbye to the receptionist and some of the med-witches still on duty, then Apparated to his apartment, hurrying to get showered and into something other than a white robe for dinner. Thank goodness Molly had made those cinnamon buns, he thought as the hot water pelted him, soothing away all the aches in his muscles.

* * * * * *

An hour later, Sev found himself seated at Remus's dining room table, enjoying a tender cut of roast beef with gravy, roasted red potatoes with butter and garlic, and crisp green beans almondine, along with fresh rolls dripping with butter. All of the meal had been prepared by Misty, Lupin's house elf, which he had inherited along with the house when his parents had passed on.

Severus had spent many happy hours at the Lupin residence over the holidays, Eileen used to make sure he got away from Spinner's End after he came home for break and the summer, so he could enjoy time with his friends and not worry about Tobias coming home in a drunken rage from another failed job inquiry and lashing out at him. Severus had preferred staying at Remus's place instead of the Blacks because Casseopia, Sirius's mother, was very prejudiced against half-bloods, tending to regard them as lower class citizens, and Regulus, Sirius's little brother, was an annoying snitch.

Remus's parents, John and Belinda, had never cared about his half-blood status, treating him cordially, and Severus had always felt comfortable there, though not as comfortable as he did at the Evans. The Potters were accepting as well, though their huge manor intimidated the young boy, who was not used to such a grand scale and frequently got lost in the manor.

Then too, James had some relatives who looked down their noses at Sev, in fact one of the pranks James had played upon an elderly aunt was on Severus's behalf, despite Snape's insistence that James should let it be. But James refused to listen, had his little joking revenge, and ended up over Charles' knee for it. Severus recalled cringing in terror when the angry man had come up to them, demanding to know who had made Aunt Tilly stink like a pile of manure. He had been sure the elder Potter was either going to curse them good or thrash all of them.

But Charles had known immediately that his son was responsible, and therefore only punished him. Charles was nothing if not fair and he never disciplined any child save his own and Sirius, who was his godson. Something that had relieved young Sev to no end, for he had feared he would end up getting blamed for James's prank as well, and he had no desire to get walloped with a slipper, he got all too much of that kind of thing at home.

His musings were interrupted by Remus asking, "So, how goes the practice, Sev?"

"Today I had pretty routine cases. Except little Ron Weasley decided to stick half a bag of Bertie Botts up his nose and I had to extract them."

Sirius looked a bit green. "Ugh! Can we please not have this discussion during dinner?"

Remus was laughing. "Sweet Merlin! What on earth was he thinking?"

"Who knows? Children do some very strange things at that age," said the Master Healer.

"Sounds like something you'd of done, Padfoot."

Sirius blushed. "Y'know, now that you mention it, I . . .think I did do something similar, only with my mother's pearls."

Severus looked at Remus. "Casseopia must have been . . .livid!" Then he started to laugh.

Remus joined in, both of them imagining the utter horror on Sirius's mother's face, she of the impeccable manners and appearance, who had a horror of dirt and untidiness.

Sirius pretended to look grumpy, but then he too joined in.

Once they had stopped laughing, Remus asked, "Meet any hot interns yet, Master Healer?"

Severus looked up from the last bit of beef on his plate, swallowed and answered, "I don't date my interns, Moony, no matter who they are or how pretty they are. Bad policy, creates too much friction between the staff and me, and that's the last thing I want."

"Oh? Too bad. That little brunette medi-witch I saw last time I came in to pick up my Wolfsbane Potion was a real looker." Remus sighed wistfully.

"Amanda Mellin?" Severus guessed. "She's just finished her first year, and is plenty smart. Just because I don't date them doesn't mean you can't, Moony."

"Hmmm. I'll have to think about it." Remus eyed his best friend, then said, "If you won't date the girls in the practice, who will you date, Sev?"

Severus did not answer, staring down at his plate.

"I think I can guess," Sirius put in. "She's about five three, with long ginger hair and emerald eyes and she's the prettiest flower in the garden."

Severus looked uncomfortable. "Black, be serious. I can't date Lily, she's not looking for a relationship with anyone now, least of all me."

"Why do you say that, Sev?"

"We . . .uh . .. went out during our sixth year. It . . .didn't work out."

"Sev, that was because James knew how to romance a woman and you didn't. " Sirius said. "But you never asked me for advice back then." The Auror cleared his throat. "If James had known you had a thing for Lily . . ."

"He would have laughed in my face. I was no competition for him then, I got tongue-tied speaking to Lily about anything other than academics. And I wasn't going to be second best to anyone, not even my best friend."

"Can't say I blame you," Remus put in, summoning Misty to clear away his plate. "But you're not sixteen anymore, Sev and you don't have to be second best to anyone now, you're a successful accredited Healer and Potions Master."

"Remus, what makes you think Lily wants to date me? James has only been dead six months, she still mourns him."

"And probably always will. But that doesn't mean she has to put her life on hold, Sev." Sirius pointed out.

Remus agreed. "There's no law that says a woman has to mourn her husband fora year or whatever before she can go out again. This isn't the eighteen-hundreds, Severus. Grief and sorrow aren't logical and I've never understood the whole concept that people have of trying to compartmentalize it. Guess that's the wolf in me. The wolf knows there's a place and a time for all things, birth, death, sorrow, and love. When a loved one dies, you mourn until you're done, and then you go on. It doesn't matter how long it takes, when you're done mourning, it's over. Oh, there's always a sore spot in your heart for the one that's gone, but it's not crippling. You can deal with it. I think Lily has reached that point."

Severus arched an eyebrow. "You do? And what makes you think she would even consider me as a boyfriend, Moony? I'm nothing like James."

"Maybe that's why," Moony said.

"I don't know. I'm her friend, I was always her friend, but she never wanted me to be anything more. As soon as James showed interest in her . . ." he trailed off, recalling the bitter sharp pain in his chest as if it were yesterday.

"Sev, she was sixteen. She's not now. Her feelings have changed. I think she's noticing what she missed before." Sirius told him.

"Noticed what? That I'm pathetically in love with her?" laughed Severus, a mocking sneer on his face. But the sneer was for himself, not Sirius.

"Sev, stop it!" ordered the Animagus. "Damn it, man, you aren't that awkward sixteen-year-old anymore. You might feel that you are, but you aren't. You're a Goddamn hero and a successful Master Healer, and whatever crap Tobias shoved down your throat for all those years about you being worthless and no good was a load of bull. You proved him wrong a dozen times over, Sev. I know it, Moony knows it, and Lily knows it."

Severus looked doubtful.

"Don't believe me? Ask her, Sev. Ask her if she likes you as more than a friend," Sirius urged.

"I can't do that!"

"Why not? Forgotten how to speak English, buddy? It's just words. You smile and say, Lily, do you want to go out with me? And then-"

"-and then she looks at me like I was nuts and I've made a fool out of myself and ruined our friendship." Severus shook his head.

"How do you know she'll say that?" Remus asked.

"Because she never noticed before, Moony. I was so in love with her I almost burst. And she never looked at me as anything but a friend."

"And do you love her like that still?"

"Yes."

"Trust me, Sev. Show her that and she'll go out with you. Take a chance. Lily's grown up and so have you. Go for it. You won't regret it."

The Master Healer looked even more uncertain.

Sirius nearly ground his teeth in frustration. Merlin, but why was the man so bloody stubborn? He decided to play one last card, one ploy that he hoped might convince the other to screw up his courage, and Severus had plenty of that to spare, and tell Lily his true feelings. "Okay, if you won't tell her, Snape, I will. I'll be the, uh, what did they used to call those people way back when? Oh-yeah, the matchmaker. I'll go to Lily and tell her you're dying for love of her and she has to go out with you before you waste away."

"You do, Black, and I'll throttle you! You stay out of this!" Severus snapped. "I need you playing matchmaker like I need a hole in my head."

"Are you going to ask Lily out then?" Sirius challenged, locking eyes with the other man. "Because if you don't . . .I've got a handful of Floo Powder right here, buddy."

"Sirius!" growled his friend. "I'm not afraid to ask her, I just think she needs more time to get over the death of her husband."

"You're wrong."

"How do you know that?"

"Because Lily said so," Sirius shot back triumphantly.

Severus looked as if he were about to faint. "She . . .did?"

"Yup. Right, Moony?"

The werewolf nodded solemnly.

Severus glanced from one to the other, at a loss. "This wouldn't be some kind of sick prank you two are playing, would it?" he asked suspiciously.

The two Aurors shook their heads vehemently.

"No way, Sev. We'd never do something like that to you," Remus reassured.

"This is on the level, buddy. Lily is ready to go out again. And she wants to go out with you."

"You're certain?"

"Sev, you know how as a wolf I can smell pheromones, right?"

"Yes."

"Well, human emotions are easy for me to read because of that. That's why people can't really lie to me. And when Lily mentioned your name, Snape, her pheromones . . .were like going insane with desire. So I'd say you had a damn good chance with her, old boy."

Severus stared down at his half-finished plate of roast beef with gravy. Remus's words, spoken so matter-of-factly, had hit him like a sucker punch to the solar plexus. Lily desired him. She wanted him, Master Healer Snape. Even after what she had shared with James, she still wanted him. It just about blew him away.

After a very long moment, he looked up at Remus. "You're certain, Moony, that's what you smelled?"

"Oh, yes. I know what desire smells like, Severus. It's one of the easiest emotions to discern, in an animal as well as a human. And I know it was you she wanted, Sev, because she didn't smell like that when she was speaking about James. Or Padfoot. Or me. Only you."

"That's . . .unbelievable." Severus said, still dazed. He could feel his heart rate increase at the mere thought of the red-haired witch.

"Believe me. I can't lie about this kind of thing," Remus insisted. His deep brown eyes met Severus's dark ones squarely.

And Severus read the inescapable truth in them.

And hope bloomed anew in his heart.

"Just think about it, okay?" Remus said softly, sensing his friend's sudden change of heart. "I'll keep Padfoot here on a leash while you decide."

"Hey!" Sirius glared at his partner indignantly. "I was only trying to help."

"You've helped enough, Sirius," said the Master Healer. "Now quit whining and eat your dinner." He turned back to his own meal, ignoring the other's grumbling. If Remus was right . . .and he knew that wolf instinct usually was, then he could proceed with his courtship of Lily like he had always dreamed.

He picked up a forkful of potato and found that it melted in his mouth. The next day he was off, he would go and see her, and hope that her feelings were not a momentary aberration.

Once they were finished with dinner, Misty cleared the plates away and Severus brought out the cinnamon buns Molly had made for dessert. Both Aurors stared at the plate of enormous sticky buns as if they were Galleons.

"I'm changing professions, Padfoot," Moony declared after biting into one and sighing in bliss. "If I'm a Healer like Sev, then Molly will bake me cinnamon buns too."

"No fair. You'd leave me to be bored to death just ‘cause of a pastry?" Sirius objected.

"Mmm-hmm." Remus replied, licking the sticky cinnamon residue off his fingers. "These cinnamon buns are to die for."

"Maybe I could ask Molly for the recipe," mused Severus.

"Do it, Snape. Then the werewolf will stay in the Auror Department where he belongs and you can bake us cinnamon buns whenever he wants."

"Sev, you learn how to bake these and you'll be my best friend forever."

"Like I'm not that now?"

Remus grinned.

"What am I, chopped liver?" demanded Sirius.

"You're an annoying pain in the arse is what you are," Severus teased. Then he took his own cinnamon bun and bit into it. Remus was right. It was to die for.

"Gee, thanks. I feel so loved," grumbled Sirius.

Severus shoved the plate of cinnamon buns over to the Animagus. "Here, Siri. Shut up and eat, silly mutt. No one can resist Molly's cinnamon buns."

Sirius quit grumbling and ate one, then reached for another at the same time as Remus.

The two glared at each other, then began to argue about who had it first.

Severus ignored them and slyly grabbed it and ate it while the two were quarreling.

It took them about two seconds to realize the bun was missing, then both turned identical glowers on their sneaky friend.

Severus smirked. "Hey, you snooze you lose. Next time don't argue at the dinner table."

"Damn it, Sev!"

"Typical Slytherin," Remus grumbled, then he laughed.

Soon they were all laughing and the evening ended on a positive note, much to Severus's relief. Now all he had to do was talk to Lily and see if she really was interested in a single Master Healer. He prayed Remus was correct, otherwise he would die of embarrassment.