The lives of Severus, Remus, and Tevin continued similarly for several more weeks.  It was not always peaceful.  There have been several tantrums thrown by the boy, during which Severus barely managed to control his infamous temper before he stormed into his own bedroom to let out his frustration, leaving Remus to clean up the mess of the child's tantrums.  After a short interval, Severus would reemerge looking as though he had just outrun an angry hippogriff, and on the way trampled through a dense row of hedges.  Severus allowed Remus to move into the room that he had created for his son.  Remus settled in comfortably with the company of his quiet owl, Aria. 

Every day would happen generally the same.  Tevin would wake up Severus, who would feed the boy breakfast, thus letting Remus sleep a little bit longer.  Severus would then go about cooking breakfast for his houseguest.  Remus would usually wake up from the pleasant smell of breakfast.  If he didn't wake up because of that, Aria's quiet whimpering request for food would wake him.  After he ate his breakfast Remus would begin playing nanny for the day, while Severus taught classes.  He would always return during lunch and tea breaks.  He would occasionally take dinner in his quarters, but not often.  He did not want to give Dumbledore reason to suspect him of anything, and besides, he had an entire House of students to take care of.  Every so often he would have House Meetings, prefect meetings, or private meetings with individual students.  Some students complained about other students - whether from Slytherin or otherwise - while others came to discuss their academic concerns.  Some even sought his help in healing their pets, which Severus did not care for and would more likely than not send them on their way to see the Care of Magical Creatures Professor, Silvanus Kettleburn.  Other than that, though, the days and weeks were rather routine for the three of them.  The only hurdle they crossed with a bit of difficulty was the time of the full moon, but it was crossed.    

Severus would not have minded if things could have continued in this way until people would forget that the child Harry Potter ever existed or the entire Wizarding Community just stopped looking for him.  He knew deep down that the Wizarding World would never stop looking for their savior, similar to the Muggle World and their quests for saviors.  But this routine was never meant to last, at least in the same fashion it had been progressing.  It was meant to be altered and adjusted. 

And today was the beginning of it. 

"You silly girl!  You were to add the raven talons before you stir this potion with the feather of a swan."  Severus scowled into the student's potion, not failing to notice that it was a putrid purple color when it should have been orange.  "Such a foolish mistake, I fear, deserves a mark announcing your ineptitude."  With a flick of his wand, he whispered in a stern voice, "Evanesco."  The purple potion vanished.  Severus grinned nastily at the girl with his wand still raised.  "And a mark to match, I think," he droned.  His eyes darted to the empty cauldron.  "Nothing in your cauldron, therefore nothing as your mark."  He began to turn towards his desk. 

"But, Professor Snape, that's not-"

Severus whirled back to face the student.  "Five points from Hufflepuff for, as far as you know, an unstable and disastrous potion and also for arguing."  The girl was silent instantly, her eyes dropping to the empty cauldron.

As Severus continued to glare at the girl, a timid voice rose in the silence.  "Professor?"  Severus's head turned towards the boy, leading his head with his eyes.  Once his gaze settled on the boy, the young Ravenclaw shakily pointed towards his professor's desk.  "Your stone...is...um...glowing bright yellow, sir." 

Severus whirled to face his desk and saw that the quartz on his desk was indeed glowing a very bright yellow.  Without caring that he was in the middle of class, his hand immediately searched his pocket for the slip of paper that indicated to him what each color meant.  What he saw caused nerves to rise at an alarming rate. 

Yellow...............................................Missing, Run Off, Injured

Without hesitation, Severus began towards his adjoining office door.  His stride was unusually tremulous, his hands nervously jittering.  With his hand on the door latch, he whipped his head to his students who were staring at him in surprise.  "Stabilize your work!  Use a Stasis Charm!  Anyone who does not do so will lose ten points each!  And no one is to leave here until class is over!"  He stuck out a quivering arm, pointing at the Ravenclaw boy who spoke up.  "You are to see to that.  If anyone leaves, it is twenty points from your House for each student that leaves!"  As he threw open the door to his office, he heard all of the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw students chanting out the Stasis Spell on their cauldrons, and the Ravenclaw boy shouting out the locking spell for the door out of the classroom, asking everyone in the room to listen to Professor Snape and not leave. 

Severus smirked for a moment before he remembered the issue that caused him to dart from his teaching duties so uncharacteristically.  It was four simple words describing a color of a stone: missing, run off, injured.

Remus was calmly sipping a cup of tea perusing a copy of one of Severus's numerous volumes when it happened.  He decided to have his afternoon tea slightly early.  Perhaps then, when Severus returned to take tea there Remus could sneak an hour nap.  He seemed to take more naps than little Tevin, which puzzled Remus and disturbed him when he thought too long on it. 

Earlier he had set up a coloring station for Tevin on the edge of the area rug in front of the hearth.  There were crayons scattered all around the boy, and a coloring book opened wide as he carefully would select a color from the mess, using it with as much precision as he was able.  Once he was done, he would toss the crayon away.  He did not need it anymore. 

Since the boy was so occupied, Remus decided to occupy himself.  He had spent a few minutes scanning the many titles of books before he chose a text from a subject he had been neglecting recently, potions. 

After he had settled onto the sofa, he found something curious in the book.  He was examining the pieces of paper stuck within the pages of the potions book.  It seemed to have been ripped out of another book and tucked away there for safe keeping.  It detailed the ingredients and instructions used for a potion Remus was very familiar with using but not with its brewing.  He perused the ingredients and was a bit surprised at the simplicity of a few.  He was no expert in potions, or their ingredients for that matter.  The title of the potion was one he knew well.  What surprised him particularly were the notations written all around the ingredients and instructions on the pages in a familiar spiky hand.  His eyes lingered on the very first thing, the title.

Wolfsbane Potion~ invented by Damocles (corrected by Severus Snape)

A smile formed on Remus's face.  There were several reasons as to why Severus would choose to alter that particular potion, in Remus's mind.  To prove to himself that he could improve any potion that anyone created, because he was bored and had nothing better to do, or one other option, which Remus wanted to believe.  That Severus wanted to help him.  Remus chuckled to himself.  It was highly unlikely, but it is what he chose to believe. 

He was distracted for a moment when he heard a mischievous giggle at the foot of the sofa on which he lounged.  Remus leaned so that he could see the little boy staring at him, nibbling innocently at his lower lip.  "Yes, Tevin?"  The boy continued to nibble nervously on his lip.  After a few seconds of staring at each other, Tevin shoved a red crayon in Remus's face, colliding with the man's nose forcefully.  Remus let out a gasp more of surprise than pain.  He stared at the boy, who still held aloft his red crayon.  "What did you need, Tevin?"

"Cuwer?" he asked, hesitantly. 

Remus tilted his head.  Not sure what he was asking.  He took a wild stab.  "Yes, you color with that."

Tevin let out a frustrated sound, lowering the crayon.  Then, with renewed energy he thrust it at Remus again.  "Cuwer!" he said, louder, hoping that if he were louder Remus would understand him. 

Again, Remus was unsure and took another guess.  "Yes, Tevin, that is a color.  It's red." 

Tevin lowered his arm again with a growl.  He scowled in frustrated confusion.  His expression changed quickly to thoughtful as he figured out how to make Remus understand.  Then, suddenly, his eyes widened and he smirked to himself.  With a great deal of force for his age, he grabbed Remus's hand and slammed the red crayon into the open palm.  "Cuwer!" he shouted, this time a little happier, convinced Remus would understand this time.  His logic did not disappoint.

"Oh!"  Remus's eyes widened as he understood, as he mentally berated himself for not understanding.  "You want me to color with you?" 

Tevin nodded enthusiastically, smiling in excitement.  He took Remus's hand and tried to drag him from the sofa.  "Okay, okay!  I'm coming!"  Remus closed the book and set it on the sofa as he got up.  "Let me heat the water for your father's tea, first," he said, as he went to the stove for the kettle. 

"Daddy?"

Remus grinned to himself.  Sometimes he forgot that whenever he would mention Severus, Tevin would think his father would appear in the room the very next instant.  "No, Tevin.  Not yet.  He's teaching class now."  He turned on the faucet and filled the kettle.  He put it on the stove, and lit the flame below it.  His hand began to shake.  He looked at it and watched it for a moment.  He sighed.  The full moon was approaching again soon.  He wondered for a moment if Severus remembered to brew him some of the potion he needed.  The potion he discovered that Severus had altered.  The Wolfsbane Potion. 

He began to walk back into the parlor, not really looking up, still occupied by trying to stop the shaking of his hand.  "Alright, Tevin.  What do you want me to color with you?"  When he did not hear a response of any kind, he looked up.  There was no one in the parlor.  The crayons were still scattered, the coloring book still amidst them.  But Tevin was nowhere to be seen.  Remus rushed into the parlor just as the quartz stuck to the ceiling of the parlor began to glow furiously.  It was a bright yellow.  He frantically looked around the room.  His eyes caught sight of the portrait hole entrance, slightly ajar, and he suddenly began to panic.

A red crayon fell to the floor. 

Severus ran through the door of his classroom that led into his private stores of potions supplies, and then directly through the next door that led into his office.  Without stopping, and leaving all of the doors wide open he charged straight through the door of his office that led directly into his bedroom.  His eyes scanned the room quickly for the signs of a disturbance, noticing nothing out of the ordinary.  He slammed the door shut as he entered his room, creating a loud bang throughout the quarters.  "Severus!" he heard from his parlor.  He quickly went across the room and threw open the door leading to the room he build for his son. 

As he came charging through that door, he collided with the other person, who was coming from the parlor.  Before either of them could fall over, Severus took hold of Remus's upper arms in a bruising grip.  "Tevin!" Remus cried. 

Severus shook Remus hard by the arms.  "Where is he, Remus?" he all but screamed at the other man.  Remus opened his mouth to speak but it was not quick enough in Severus's opinion.  "Tell me, werewolf!  Where is my son?" 

"I don't know!"

Severus began to shake, his grip on Remus's arms tightening into a vice grip.  "What do you mean, you don't know!"

"I was making tea and I turned back to him and he was gone!"

"Gone?" Severus shouted in disbelief and shock.

"Gone.  The portrait was open and he was gone!"

Instantly, Severus hurled Remus away from the doorway as he ran forward.  He saw the portrait door was slightly ajar.  Without hesitating Severus ran from his chambers and into the corridor.  He looked up and down the hallway, desperate to see a sign of the child.  He could see nothing.  His breathing began to speed up in a frantic rhythm.  Left or right?  If he went right he would eventually end up in the Slytherin Common Room, and were he to go left he would be making his way to the Great Hall.  He closed his eyes, hoping he was making the right decision as he began towards the Great Hall.  With every step he took his speed increased until he was nearly running through the corridor, his dark eyes searching for the missing boy, and his ears on the alert for the sound of a child. 

Up ahead he heard the clue he needed.  It was a shout from one of his prefects, Poole Roquefort.  "Leave him alone, or Merlin help me everyone will have points taken from their Houses!"

Severus ran towards the commotion as fast as he could, beyond caring that he would reveal his connection to this mysterious boy when he gets to all of his students.  He saw a crowd of Slytherin and Gryffindor students gathered around Poole, who held the wide-eyed boy in his arms.  The boy was struggling madly in the teenager's grip, whimpering as he tried to push against the young man's shoulder in an attempt to break free.  Then, the whispers and talk started.  "Who is he?"  "Children aren't supposed to be in Hogwarts."  "Where'd he come from?"  Poole did not know where to go, and his expression showed it, but he tried to pretend as though he knew exactly what to do in this strange situation. 

A teenage girl stood next to Poole, trying to block the curious Gryffindors from him and the boy.  "Can't you see he's scared?  Clear off!  Everyone!" she shouted.  The other students began to shout against her orders. 

Severus was on the outskirts of the throng separating him from his son.  He would try a bit of patience before forcing his way through the students.  He saw his son was at least off the ground, thanks to Poole.  And Poole's girlfriend, a fellow Fifth Year Slytherin named Metis Sucer, was keeping a solid guard over the two of them.  He heard her shout at the other students, and then all of them revolting against her words.  Severus wondered if they knew he was there.  It was when he heard one sound in particular that his patience was gone.  His son began to cry. 

"Silence!" Severus growled, surprising the students closest to him, especially.  "Let me through."  All of the students obeyed and in seconds, Severus had reached his prefect and his son.  "Tevin?" 

Instantly, the boy whipped his head around searching for Severus.  "Daddy!" he exclaimed, his face still wet with tears.  Shocked gasps were the last thing heard before the entire group of students was covered in silence.  Tevin pushed at Poole's shoulder again as he tried to get his arms to reach to Severus. 

"Professor?" Poole said, unable to say anything else.

"Professor Snape-" began Metis.

"Give me my son," Severus said quietly.  He felt the stares of all the other Slytherins and Gryffindors.  Poole struggled with handling the boy clumsily trying to figure out how to transfer Tevin into Severus's arms.  He was failing miserably.  Losing his remaining patience, Severus took hold of Tevin and lifted him from his prefect's arms. 

Tevin curled his arms around Severus's neck, with a softly voiced, "Daddy."  Severus began to gently stroke the boy's little tufts of black hair soothingly, his fingers almost massaging the scalp.  After a few moments, he simply let his hand rest on the boy's head, holding him against his chest protectively. 

"It's alright, Tevin."  He felt the boy begin shaking in his arms, as he began to cry again.  "Hush," he cooed, swaying on his feet, trying to soothe the boy.  Everyone stared at their professor as though he were under Polyjuice potion and what they were seeing was not truly their Potions Professor holding an infant against him as he swayed before them.  It was too unbelievable. 

Severus opened his eyes and looked at Poole and Metis.  "Ten points to Mister Roquefort for knowing how to handle the unexpected.  And ten points to Miss Sucer for attempting to create a safe environment." 

"Thank you, Professor," they said together, as Severus turned away from them and began to walk back to his chambers. 

After he had gotten away from the rest of the students he turned to face them again.  "If I hear any whisper about what has occurred here just now, I will deduct one hundred points from every student who speaks of it along with serving detentions with me for the rest of your enrollment in Hogwarts.  Do I make myself clear?" 

"Yes, sir!" the corridor of students chorused. 

"Very well.  I believe lunch will be served in the Great Hall in a few minutes.  I suggest you all start on your way there."  Without another word, all of the students turned and began to head straight for the Great Hall for lunch. 

Severus looked at the boy who was trying to burrow his face into Severus's neck.  The man sighed.  "Our secret is out, little one."  Tevin shook his head against him.  "No matter what you say, some people know now."  Tevin shook his head again.  "What a headache you'll be." He began walking back to his chambers.  And as he walked with a crying Tevin snuggled into his neck, he discovered that he had no choice now but to come up with a plan that could fool Dumbledore.  He was going to need help. 

Remus sat at the kitchen table miserably nursing a cup of tea.  A second steaming cup sat at another place on the table, trying to lure its intended recipient towards it with its pleasant aroma.  He took a sip of his tea, hoping that Severus found his son relatively close to these rooms.  He could not have gone far. 

He held the cup of tea between his hands, staring into the liquid.  He knew the day would come when he would somehow fail Lily's son.  He thought he would at least make it for a year.  He couldn't even make it a few weeks!  How could he be a godfather and lose his godson?  Maybe James was right in demanding it to be Sirius.  But Sirius was not around anymore, and it fell to him to fill that post.  Splendid job he was making of it so far.  He was trying to help.  It seemed every time he tried to help anyone, they ended up in danger or worse off than before he became involved.  What would happen were Severus unable to locate Tevin?  What if the boy's accidental magic flared and made him invisible or something crazy like that?  What if he ran into Dumbledore, and he knew him to be Harry Potter?  Severus would never forgive him.  He would call him much worse things than a werewolf.

In a moment, his nerves were settled when Severus walked through the door holding a crying little boy to his chest, and whispering nonsense into the child's ear, trying to calm him.  "Severus!" Remus said in relief, beginning to stand.  He was rooted to his place, when Severus glared hard at him.  Remus lowered his eyes and sighed softly, as he sat back down.  He heard Severus approach the table and pull out the chair, sitting down slowly.  It was quiet for a long while, the only noises being the sipping of tea and putting the cups down again.  In the end, Remus broke the silence first.  "Severus...I'm so sorry."

"I know, Remus.  I know."  It was silent between the two men again, while Tevin continued to make small whimpering noises against Severus's neck, his little arms still wrapped around his father.  Severus looked at Remus for a long while until the other man raised his eyes to his.  "And I am sorry I called you werewolf." 

"That is what I am, isn't it?" Remus said, with a bitter laugh.

Severus's lips curled into a lopsided grin.  "But is that who you are, Remus?" 

They seemed to reach an understanding.  It was a long while before they spoke again.  By that time, little Tevin had fallen asleep against his father.  Remus had finished his tea and had gotten up to make some more for himself when he needed to say what had bothered him since Severus ran from the chambers.  "We won't be able to raise Tevin ourselves." 

"What do you mean?  If it's a question of your lycanthropy, we managed well enough last month." 

Remus was pouring the hot water over the tea leaves in the strainer.  "I know we managed, Severus, but just barely.  And now that he wandered into the corridor...How many students saw him?"

Severus sighed.  "At least twenty.  Slytherins and Gryffindors.  And they heard him call me ‘Daddy.'"  Severus hung his head. 

"What did everyone say?"

"I threatened them with the deduction of one hundred points per person and an eternity of detentions to anyone that even whispered of Tevin."

Remus began to laugh.  "That sounds like a typical response of yours."  He finished preparing his tea and brought it back to the table.  After stirring it for a few moments, he looked at Severus again.  "What should we do?  Threats of detentions and losing house points will not last past a few days." 

"I don't know."  Severus looked concernedly at the sleeping infant he held. 

Remus looked at Tevin and Severus, feeling an emotion he could not really define.  "Severus..."  The other man's eyes met his.  "You know you can't hide him forever." 

"I know."  He closed his eyes.  He took a deep breath.  "I suppose there's nothing for it except to reveal that I have a son."

"What about Dumbledore?  He'll know that Tevin and Harry Potter are the same boy.  He'll take him from you." 

Severus let out a shaky breath as he stood.  He began to pace, holding his son even more protectively against him.  He leaned his cheek against his son's dark hair.  "I don't know what to do, Remus.  I can't reveal him without risking Dumbledore taking him from me.  I can't keep him hidden either.  How can this possibly work?"  He closed his eyes again, trying to hold in his frustration.  "Maybe I should have left him with Lily's sister." 

Remus took a step towards Severus, angrily.  "Don't say that, Severus!  You know what she's like!  Do you really think she would have treated him well?"  Severus looked at Remus doubtingly.  "Severus," Remus said, in a gentler tone.  "You did the right thing.  We both know it." 

"Then how can this work, Remus?  Tell me that!"

Remus blurted out the first thing he thought of.  "If you were married-"

"Have you lost your senses, Remus?"

"Severus, just listen for a moment!" Remus shouted at the other man, immediately regretting it as he noticed Tevin shift in Severus's arms.  "Listen.  If you were married, having a child around you would not be so foreign or unexpected.  With a mother, we could weave some elaborate story to explain their presence here and the fact that you have a child would not be unexpected."

"That is ridiculous.  Dumbledore knows that the only woman I have ever loved is Lily!  He saw me the night she died, Remus!  You don't understand!"

"I do understand, Severus!  You were not the only one who lost someone that night!"  Remus felt tears in his eyes.  "You lost Lily twice, but I lost James and Lily.  And then Sirius the next day!  Do you know what that feels like?  To lose everything you knew?"  Severus looked at Remus through different eyes.  "It's because of you that I even have...Tevin.  If you hadn't have taken him...I'd have no one.  Neither would you.  So, yes, Severus, I do understand." 

Remus walked to the counter and leaned heavily against it.  Severus stared at Remus, watching him as the other man struggled to regain control of his emotions.  After a very long time, Remus managed to control his voice.  "A mother figure is the only way this can hope to work, Severus.  We both know it."  Both men were silent for several minutes. 

"We'll have to find a way to convince Dumbledore that whatever we come up with is the truth," Severus reminded Remus.

"I'll go to Professor Flitwick.  He's already helped you.  I'm sure he would do so again."  Severus nodded in agreement, although Remus's back was to him.  Remus sighed heavily.  "Is there anyone you can trust to act like the mother?" 

Severus's mind whirled through the small list of females that spoke to him, from his years at Hogwarts to the time he spent earning his Potions Mastery.  And suddenly a voice sounded in his head.  ‘If you ever need help, I will come to you.  Nothing I could ever do can repay what you have done for me.' Severus looked at Remus's back for a moment, then he looked at his sleeping son.  "Yes," he whispered. 

Interested, Remus turned to face Severus.  "Who?"

"Ophelia Fay."