That night, Severus, Remus, Ophelia and Filius Flitwick sat around Severus's kitchen table having just finished an extremely lengthy and extremely detailed discussion. 

Tevin was smart enough to know that the adults were up to something important, and decided to leave them alone.  He spread himself on the floor near the unlit fireplace with several blank sheets of parchment, and his crayons all over the floor.  He kept himself occupied by drawing all sorts of pictures in the endearing style of a young child.  It did not escape the boy's notice that his father would occasionally peer over at him to see if he had run off again.  He had tried it once, and it was a scary experience that he was not keen on repeating...on his own at least. 

Severus looked back at the others at the table.  Their plan sounded secure and like it would work.  The execution of it, however, was another matter entirely.  He was relieved that tomorrow was Saturday.  It might give them the time they needed.  He looked at Tevin for a moment, seeing the boy furiously drawing something on the blank parchment he had taken from his desk for the boy.  "When should this happen?" he asked everyone else that had gathered. 

Flitwick looked at the young man with an unusually serious expression.  "As soon as possible.  With an Unbreakable Vow having been made-"  He turned his head sharply to Remus.  "-which I should have been told about!  What if something went wrong?" 

"But it didn't, professor.  That's all that matters," Ophelia spoke up.  "It's done.  We have to focus on the next step." 

"Yes," Remus agreed, desperate to get off the subject of the Unbreakable Vow that had occurred just before the afternoon classes resumed earlier that day. 

"With certain factors considered," continued Flitwick, "things should now progress very quickly.  Ophelia, I would request a meeting with Dumbledore.  Write your owl him immediately.  Send it from off the school grounds tomorrow."  She nodded before summoning one of Tevin's pieces of parchment to her.  She produced a quill already wet with ink, and began to write her note, pausing to be sure of the proper phrasing.  "Remus, while Ophelia has her meeting, you need to take Tevin back to your flat...along something for him to play with.  We don't know how long this will take, you know."  Remus nodded.  "And Severus, you-"  He stopped when he noticed that Severus's attention was focused on something at a level lower than the tabletop. 

Severus had felt a tug on his shirt as Flitwick was explaining to Remus what to do.  He looked down and saw his son, standing on his own feet, holding a piece of parchment in his hand.  In the hand that still held onto Severus's shirt, was a brown crayon.  "Yes, Tevin?" 

Without saying anything, Tevin thrust the parchment towards Severus's face, who accepted it.  He looked at it and saw that it was a drawing of a stick-figure man with long black hair.  The jagged arrow pointed to the man was labeled, ‘Dady.'  There was a circle at the end of his stick arm that he assumed was supposed to be his hand.  From the circle was a line.  Was that his wand?  Next to him in the picture, and with their arms joined by a circle-hand, was a smaller person, which another equally jagged arrow had labeled, ‘me.'  In his other hand was the neck of an illustrated version of his stuffed swan, whose label was clearly missing the ‘w.'  Severus tried not to laugh as it looked like Tevin was strangling the swan rather than simply holding it.  But he could not hold back a smile.  "That's very nice, Tevin.  Thank you." 

Tevin smiled triumphantly and began to slowly walk back to his drawing station.  Severus watched him go, realizing that he had yet to see his son walk on his own.  Tevin flopped back down, causing Severus to grimace in concern for a moment, and proceeded to seize another crayon with which to make his next masterpiece. 

Flitwick cleared his throat.  Severus looked back at his old professor.  "I'm sorry." 

"As I was saying," Flitwick continued in a business-way.  Severus put the picture down on the table, only to have Remus grab it to study it, a smile on his face.  "After Remus leaves with your son, you will visit the Headmaster and ask him to accompany you on a walk about the school.  Talk about having disciplinary problems with the students since your arrest.  Make things up if you need to.  I only need a few minutes to adjust the registry book in his office.  It will not take me long.  And I also need to handle that phoenix of his."  Severus nodded.  "After that, it's up to you two."  Flitwick nodded to Ophelia, who was writing the headmaster's name on the envelope which contained her just-written owl.  She finished the owl and sealed it. 

"I understand," Severus said. 

There was silence for a moment around the table, before it was broken by Ophelia.  "How likely is this to work?"  Silence answered her.  She sighed.  "Shouldn't we test the spells?  We're basically performing an Imperius Curse, but...a legal one." 

"No, no, Miss Fay," Flitwick defended himself.  "We are simply adjusting the memory slightly.  There is nothing against that."

"I'm actually astounded that ‘Obliviate' is not an Unforgiveable Curse.  It's terrible," Remus said. 

"All I'm saying is that we should test it on...someone before we go and try to do this on Dumbledore!  If it doesn't work, who knows what he would do to us!" she reasoned. 

Everyone around the table thought about this claim.  At last, Severus nodded.  "I agree.  We need to test it on someone." 

"Any suggestions?" Flitwick asked everyone. 

After a moment, Ophelia looked up.  "My cousin.  It's not even close to Dumbledore, but it'll at least let us know if the spells work."  Everyone at the table nodded. 

Arabella Figg was shuffling about the house, wondering how her cousin could make such a mess in her house.  She knew that she raised herbs and other magical plants for the man who owned the Apothecary in Diagon Alley.  She was not jealous of her cousin for this because she herself bred Kneazles for the Magical Menagerie in Diagon Alley.  While she made her living like this, she rarely ventured with her cousin into the Wizarding World.  It frightened her.  And besides, her cousin had warned her that things were dangerous for Muggleborns, Muggles, and Squibs like herself.  She did not go outside often anymore. 

She was not terribly fond of her neighbors, either.  There was a neighboring family in particular of which Arabella was not sure what to make.  The parents were loud, falsely cheerful, and their house was flawless.  Were they human?  She looked about her own kitchen.  There was dirt on the floor, thanks in part to her cousin's plants, and in part to her half-bred kneazles that thought something was buried in the plant pots.  Speaking of plants, they seemed to be everywhere in her house!  Every windowsill had at least seven plants crammed onto it.  One of the kneazles knocked a few off this afternoon because it wanted to sit on the windowsill.  At least it would be obvious if someone stepped into her house that people lived in it!  She did not think that would hold true for her neighbors. 

Just as she was about to sweep up the dirt on the floor with her cousin's flying broom, her fireplace's calm orange glow erupted into a green blaze!  Her nerves spiked for a moment as she remembered that her cousin told her to put out the fire after she had left hours ago.  She forgot!  But her fear was settled when she saw that very same cousin emerge from the green flames.  She let out a breath of relief.  Although that relief died when in the next moment, a small dwarf-like creature emerged from the fire, along with a young man with long dark locks.  While the little one amused her a little, the man almost frightened her as he looked at her from head to toe in one sweeping glance with a look that seemed to stab her.  She backed up into the table as the group approached.  The kneazle on the windowsill hissed loudly.

"Don't be afraid, Arabella!" her cousin said, coming closer. 

"Who-who are they, Ophelia?" she asked, pointing a trembling hand towards her companions. 

"It's alright.  This," Ophelia said, indicating the tiny dwarf on her right, "is Professor Flitwick.  He taught me Charms at Hogwarts."  Flitwick offered a cheery greeting, which Arabella was only able to manage a weak smile in reply.  Ophelia gestured to her left as she drew her cousin's attention to the dark-haired man.  "And this is Severus Snape.  He went to school with me.  He was a year ahead of me."  Severus nodded at Arabella, who stared wide-eyed at him, terrified he would turn her into something gruesome.  She felt that he was not the sort of person you wanted to upset. 

"What are...you doing here?" Arabella asked, gulping audibly, she clutched Ophelia's broom close to her tightly. 

Ophelia smiled in a way that nearly frightened Arabella.  "They needed to test out a spell or two here.  It's nothing to worry about." 

Arabella relaxed her grip on the broom, and dropped her eyes.  She thought she heard her cousin softly say, "I'm sorry about this, Arabella."  She looked up, and saw that Ophelia and Severus had their wands drawn and had suddenly gotten directly in front of her.  Ophelia thrust her hand forward at Arabella's face, her palm towards her, the fingers extended wide as her wand also pointed at her cousin's head.  Arabella had no control of her neck and head, and when Ophelia's hand rose so did her face.  Then, Arabella heard Ophelia speak.  "Animadverto meus lumen."  Her eyes, without her control, locked onto Ophelia's brown eyes firmly.  She could not blink, she could not look away.  Severus circled like a crow to Arabella's side and pressed the tip of his wand to her temple.  Then, Ophelia began speaking, and her mind was filled with pain as she looked into her cousin's eyes wishing she could look away, but finding herself incapable to do so.  She found herself remembering events that she did not truly remember.  Arabella was paralyzed by the pain of the powerful spells her cousin and her friend were weaving in her mind.  When they were finally finished, her eyes closed and she slumped forward, unconscious. 

When she woke up, she had no recollection of Ophelia and Severus performing any spell on her.  She only wondered when she would be visited by her cousin, her husband, and their little son again.  She found a note on her table, being tapped curiously by a kneazle, and she picked it up to read it.  It was from Ophelia, telling her to expect a visit from her family again within the week. She grinned and stuck the unfolded note to her refrigerator with a magnet.  Then, she began to make dinner, a pleasant smile on her face, as she looked forward to the next time she would play with her cousin's little boy.

Remus held Tevin to his chest as the boy slept quietly.  He was studying Tevin's picture that he had drawn before the group left to test their spells.  There was something important on it, that he needed to tell Severus.  He nervously awaited the return of Severus, Ophelia, and Flitwick from their test subject's home.  He did not agree with testing it on a poor unsuspecting squib, but it was their best option.  He sat on the sofa, reclining lengthwise on it, wondering how they were going to return since he had extinguished the fire.  His answer came soon enough. 

Severus walked into the suite through the entrance of the portrait hole and quickly made his way to the fireplace as he removed his wand.  He lit the fire with it and in moments it turned green admitting Ophelia and Flitwick into his chambers.  Remus looked at the reassembled group and could not tell what had occurred while he sat there on the couch with the boy like a housewife waiting for her husband to return from work.  "Well?" he asked.  "How did it go?" 

Severus slid his eyes to Remus, with a satisfied smirk on his face.  "According to plan, I think." 

Ophelia and Flitwick dusted themselves off before heading further into the parlor.  "She believed it.  The spells worked," Ophelia confirmed. 

"We stayed for a few moments under Disillusionment to be sure," Flitwick elaborated. 

Remus looked at the three of them as they smiled at each other.  He looked again at the picture.  "Well, having them work on a squib is totally different than them working on Dumbledore.  You know it is!" 

"But the point of testing them was to see if they worked at all and they do!"  Ophelia said defensively, an excited gleam in her eyes.  She met Severus's eyes, which were glowing with excitement and optimism. 

Remus opened his mouth to be the voice of reason again, but was stopped when Flitwick spoke first.  "You both realize that you will need much more strength for when this is performed on the headmaster?"  Severus and Ophelia nodded, their expressions growing serious.  "I suggest you both rest tonight.  Send your owl, Ophelia.  And Severus, you need to conserve your powers.  Altering memories of people while they are still in their minds is difficult enough on a muggle, never mind a very powerful wizard like Dumbledore."  When Severus opened his mouth to defend himself, Flitwick spoke first.  "I know you are a superb at Occlumency and Legilimancy, Severus.  But as you know it takes a great deal of magic to maintain and to use.  You need to be at very high strength when you meet with Dumbledore."  He looked at his former students for a moment before shuffling to the fireplace again.  He summoned some Floo powder to his hand, and spoke his destination clearly.  "Tell me when your meeting is, Miss Fay, as soon as he responds, whatever the time.  Good luck, everyone."  With that, he stepped into the green flames and disappeared. 

Ophelia looked at Severus and then at Remus, who was holding Tevin.  "Severus?"  He looked at her, questioningly.  "Could I-Is it alright if I hold him?" she asked. 

Severus nodded.  He walked to Remus and extended his hands to him.  Remus carefully transferred Tevin to his father, who woke up as he was jostled a little.  He peered up at his father with his mother's eyes.  Severus's heart lurched.  "Tevin, I want you to meet someone."  Tevin continued to look at him, not saying anything.  Severus took him to Ophelia, who stood nervously near the fire, which she had just extinguished.  "This," Severus said, as he stopped in front of her, "is Ophelia Fay."  Tevin looked at her as though he did not trust her.  He remembered that she had made his father upset earlier.  "Would you let her hold you?"  Tevin tensed in his arms and gripped onto his father's shirt.  He turned his head away from Ophelia. 

"I won't hurt you, Tevin."  Tevin slowly turned his head to look at her, his glare not lessened.  After trying to frighten her with his scowling for a few minutes, he realized that he was not intimidating her. 

"Pwomise?" he asked in a quiet voice, still not trusting her. 

"I promise." 

"‘Kay," he said, almost so quiet that both Severus and Ophelia missed it.  Carefully, Severus gave his son to Ophelia.  Tevin instantly tensed once his father was no longer in contact with him, and he looked to him with wide, fearful eyes.  Ophelia began swaying back and forth like she had seen mothers do with children.  She was not all that sure what to do.  She was not a mother.  But she needed to learn and figure it out fast, otherwise...she looked at the faded lines on her hand.  She would die if she didn't learn. 

"It's okay, Tevin," Severus said to the boy.  He looked at Ophelia.  "Walk around the room with him."  She nodded and began to slowly walk around the borders of the parlor, quietly whispering to the boy, who always kept his father in his line of vision.

Remus waited for a moment before he felt he could safely distract Severus.  "Severus, I've been thinking while you were gone.  Did you look closely at the drawing Tevin did today?" 

Severus looked at Remus, surprised by the odd question.  "I...thought I did.  Why?" 

"Well, look at it again."  Remus stood from the sofa and handed the drawing to Severus.  "Look closely." 

Severus looked at the drawing again.  He saw the same stick figures of himself and Tevin, who held the swan by the neck.  He did not notice anything odd or out of the ordinary.  What was Remus talking about?  "I don't-"

"Look at the colors."

Severus looked again and when he saw what Remus was trying to point him towards seeing, he felt unobservant.  How had he managed to notice everything suspicious around him, but fail to notice this?  He met Remus's eyes.  "The eyes."

Remus nodded.  "The swan has green.  Was it Lily's?"  Severus nodded, not trusting himself to speak.  He remembered one of Lily's gifted memories, one he did not show Remus.  She had sewed the swan like a muggle on the sofa one day, while James was struggling to quiet her screaming infant son.  James had asked her why she thought Harry needed another stuffed animal.  She had said that he already has a piece of his father with him, with the ragged teddy bear, and that she felt he should have a piece of his mother with him too...just in case she couldn't be there for him one day. 

Remus noticed Severus seemed lost in his thoughts and spoke again to bring him out of it.  "He got your eyes right.  But his..."

"He made them brown."  Severus studied the picture for a moment. 

Remus let the moment linger to see if Severus was thinking what he was thinking.  "I wonder if he did it deliberately."

"Maybe he doesn't know what color his eyes are."

Remus shook his head.  "But he does raise an interesting point with it, mistake or not, don't you think?"

"No.  I know what you are going to say."  He put the picture down on the mantle, angrily. 

"You need to change his eyes to look like yours."

Severus shook his head, his hair swaying with the motion.  "I can't do that.  They're Lily's eyes, I-"

"That's exactly why you need to change his eyes."  Remus stepped in front of Severus, forcing him to look at him.  "Everyone who saw him and knew Lily always said he had her eyes.  His eyes cannot remain Lily's without people knowing instantly who he is."

"But I removed the scar!"

"People will know him regardless of a lightning bolt scar or not."  Severus turned away from Remus, who followed him to stay in front of him.  "Severus, I know it'll be difficult to take away the last physical trace of Lily on your son, but...Spells can only go so far to hide from people what is in front of them.  If he still has her eyes, you don't have a hope of convincing Dumbledore of anything, no matter how many memories you alter, or how many spells you put him under."

Severus closed his eyes as he heard the headmaster's voice in his head on the night Lily died, when he had been sought out by Dumbledore in his tormented grief.  ‘Her son lives.  He has her eyes, precisely her eyes.  You remember the shape and color of Lily Evans's eyes, I am sure?'  He looked at Remus, his dark eyes shining with tears.  When he released his breath, it was almost a sob. 

"Get me the charms book from seventh year, Lupin."  Remus drew back for a moment, stricken that he was back to being addressed as ‘Lupin' rather than ‘Remus.'  But he knew that Severus only did that when he did not agree with him, but knew him to be right.   

"Severus, you need to rest your magic."

"Get it, Lupin!" he snapped. 

Without another word, Remus went to the bookcase along the wall, scanning the shelves for where Severus kept volumes and volumes of Charms books.  He found the familiar book and plucked it gently from the shelf.  Remus remembered referencing his copy of it when he examined Tevin's birth certificate weeks ago.  He never would have imagined he would be here now.  He returned to Severus and handed him the book. 

Severus opened to the contents his shaking finger stroking the page as he looked for the type of spell he wanted.  He found it after flipping to page three of the contents.  Then, he flipped further to the required page.  His eyes darted back and forth as he read.  Without taking his eyes from the book, he called to the other adult in the room.  "Ophelia, bring my son here."  He never looked at her, but he heard her coming, and he heard her stop beside him. 

Severus looked up and met Lily's eyes in the body of their son.  He reached out to cup his son's cheek, looking into the emerald eyes as though trying to memorize what he already knew.  He smiled at his son, who smiled back at him, and for an instant, Severus thought it was Lily smiling at him.  He could almost hear her voice telling him that it would be okay. 

"Tevin," he said, softly.  "Don't be afraid.  I won't hurt you."

Tevin looked at Severus trustingly.  Even when Severus raised his dark wand, the boy did not flinch in Ophelia's arms.  He was relaxed.  Severus took a deep breath, steadying his wand, and looking into his son's eyes, his wife's eyes.  When he spoke, it was soft, almost mourning.  "Vos gero lumen tuus patris."  A brown forked jet of light shot from his wand and hit Tevin's eyes.  The boy still looked at him trustingly, without fear.  Remus came up beside Severus and they watched the effect of the spell.  Lily's green eyes slowly became muddy, turning hazel for several moments.  The trust they held still remained.  Severus held his breath and began shaking.  Remus put his hand on his shoulder to try to steady him.  Then hazel became a light brown.  Severus could not see any trace of the green he loved so dearly in his son's eyes anymore.  His vision became blurred as tears flooded his eyes.  After he had furiously blinked them away and his vision cleared, he looked into a mirror.  Two pairs of dark brown, nearly black eyes, met, the younger eyes stared with innocent trust into the older eyes. 

Severus sobbed, grieving for the loss of green eyes that left him twice, both times of his making.