They left the green flames of the fireplace in one piece and on their feet.  No tumbling from it this time.  Severus held out his hand to Remus, who understood and handed him the shrunken cradle and the certificate.  At receiving them, Severus nodded.  "Make yourself comfortable, Remus.  I'll return in a moment.  I have a bedtime story to recite and a child to put to bed." 

Remus nodded.  Severus walked straight through the large parlor and through the door between the edge of the bookcase and the wall sconce.  Remus watched the door for a moment before he allowed his eyes to wander around the room.  To his left, which he failed to notice before, due to the chaotic nature of the last meeting, was the spacious kitchen.  He wandered into it having a sudden craving for some tea.  His nerves were a wreck and his mind was still confused.  He looked through the cabinets for what he needed, not surprised that a Potions Master like Severus would have an entire cabinet filled with varieties of loose-leaf teas.  He chose a soothing chamomile and set about preparing it. 

As he waited for the water to boil, he decided to wander around some more and investigate the shelves of books in the parlor.  He noticed that they were organized in a similar fashion to a library.  There were entire sections on potion-making, dark curses and their defenses, medicinal practices.  There were sections that would easily serve as supplements to all of the courses offered in Hogwarts, even a small section on Divination, despite the fact that Severus did not put much stock in that field of magic.  He could give any student a book for additional reading in nearly any magical subject, even if he had only one book on it.  Remus shook his head in nostalgia, not surprised that the largest section that completely dominated all others was the selection of reading associated with the Dark Arts.  What did surprise him, though, was the number of volumes within that section that had to do with defending oneself against the Dark Arts, rather than practicing it. 

His attention was drawn from the many volumes of books by the whistle of the kettle.  He quickly prepared his tea and brought the cup back into the parlor with him.  He had just sat himself on the sofa when he heard the quiet sound of a door opening.  He looked to see Severus holding a glowing basin in one hand while he soundlessly closed the door with the other.  His steps grew heavier as he approached Remus.  As he got closer, Remus realized that the glowing basin in his hands was a pensieve.  He did not know Severus even owned a pensieve!

Severus set it down on the table next to the armchair.  Noticing that Remus was nursing a cup of tea, he went into his kitchen to prepare a cup for himself.  In only several minutes, he returned to the parlor and sat down in the chair.  He took several sips of tea before the silence was broken. 

"Is it true?" Remus asked. 

"What exactly are you asking?"

"Are you Harry's father?" 

Severus sighed.  "I am Tevin's father, not Harry's.  As you should have concluded by the birth certificate, the child named Harry Potter never existed.  It was my son that was in hiding that existed all along."  He took a sip of tea.  "And I am going to speak for Lily and myself when I say that I am sorry you had to be deceived about that." 

Remus took an angry mouthful of tea, thanking some higher power for allowing him to choose the calming brew of chamomile.  "Did you know?  When did you find out he was your son?"

Severus stared into the liquid in his cup for a long moment before he replied.  "I found out the night after Lily...and James...died.  I never knew." 

"Severus..." 

Severus put his cup down on the glass coffee table in front of him with a heavy sigh.  "You remember James's and Lily's wedding, right?"

Remus nodded.  "I was thinking about it...recently, actually."

Severus nodded, encouragingly.  "Yes, you remember the Polyjuice Potion..."

"You were James..."  It seemed suddenly as though the pieces were fitting in his mind.  "They never were supposed to get married were they?  It was a cover!"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"The Dark Lord always kept tabs on which of his followers married.  As you know, he and the Death Eaters are very much against anyone not Pureblooded.  Which means all Muggleborn witches and wizards, even Half-bloods, were in danger as long as he lived and the Death Eaters continued to..." Severus sighed, again.  "With Lily being born to Muggles, she was in danger."  Remus opened his mouth to speak, but Severus knew what he was going to say and cut him off.  "Yes, we both know I am a Half-Blood.  He never knew, or if he did, he was unconcerned with it.   A little deceptive enthusiasm for Pureblood superiority goes a long way."  When he saw that it was what Remus was going to ask about, he continued.  "Not only would she be in danger just because of her birth, but if word ever reached him of my marrying her - a Muggleborn - both of our lives would be forfeit.  I could not do that to her."

"Yet you married her anyway!"  Remus saw Severus about to respond, but he continued.  "And do not dare try to refuse that, I was there at the wedding!"

"Yes, you were.  I would not deny our marriage, but I had to keep her safe.  The only way to do this was to have her seem to marry someone else...There was no one else but...James Potter." 

"I remember James came to tell me that he was marrying Lily once.  But, I thought it was wrong because I knew that you had married her only six months ago."

"In a Muggle Wedding," Severus confirmed. 

"Yes, I was there.  She wanted to have a wedding that all of her relatives could attend and not wonder what was going on with a magical one." Remus' eyes unfocused as he was piecing together things he had forgotten. 

Severus began to smile.  "She also knew what would happen to us if we were wed in a Wizard Wedding.  She and I would be hunted until death by the Dark Lord and by Death Eaters.  We both knew this." 

"With it being a Muggle Wedding, I was surprised you still asked me to be your best man."

"I needed someone I could trust.  You were the only one I would want at my side at mine and Lily's wedding." 

Severus and Remus both felt smiles creeping into their expressions as they thought of that day.  It was silent for a length of time before Remus spoke again.  "And, when James...you...married Lily again in the Wizard Wedding, what happened?"

Severus knew what he meant.  "You mean, what made me drive her away?"  Remus nodded.  "I think it would be better if I showed you."  He took his hands to the pensieve and placed it on the center of the coffee table.  "Keep in mind, this was after I was in that raid that the Aurors interrupted...the one that landed me in St. Mungo's..."  Remus nodded.  "This memory takes place in March, when I was about to be released after my two month stay."  With that, Severus and Remus dunked their heads into the pensieve. 

The room was nauseatingly white.  In fact it was so white that it was almost ethereal.  It was too clean and too pristine for anyone to comfortably live in...with the exception of a hospital patient.  The room served just that purpose.  It was the room of a hospital ward.  There was only one occupant in the room, and he lay upon the white bed.  His dark hair made him instantly noticeable.  It was combed properly, and feathered around his face like the folds of the smoothest silk.  His eyes fluttered peacefully as he was nearing awareness and his breathing was unlabored through his nose.  His chest rose and fell rhythmically with his breathing as he tried to cling to his dreams undisturbed.  The white blanket was tucked up to the middle of his chest allowing his arms to rest on top of the covers at his sides.  He was dressed in a soft white gown of the hospital that covered three quarters of his arms.  He looked peacefully picturesque.  There were only two things marring this image:  the dark bruise that spread from the bottom of his right jaw to just below his right eye, and the dark evil stain clearly visible on his left forearm - The Dark Mark. 

"This way, miss," came a voice from the seemingly distant doorway. 

A young woman entered the room.  She had shining red hair that she wore loose and free.  It curled and waved gently, naturally as she walked.  She was dressed in a white dress that reached her slender ankles, with a dark green knit jacket over it.  The jacket was not closed, but rather open, drawing attention to the barely noticeable feminine swell of her abdomen. She hesitated a moment at the foot of the young man's bed, gazing upon him.  After a moment, she went to the chair on the left of the bed.  She lowered herself into it slowly, before she spoke.  "Sev?"

His dark eyes stopped fluttering and opened fully, searching the room for the familiar speaker.  At last, they met the green eyes which he sought.  The left corner of his mouth began to curl in a painful smile.  "Lily?"

She smiled kindly upon him.  Her eyes caught the dark bruise on his face and she reached out to gently touch her fingertips to the discoloration.  "Oh, Severus..."

With a shaking arm he reached across himself for her, his hand finally cupping her cheek with as much gentleness and stillness as he could muster.  "Lily..."  His eyes remained on hers and they began to flood with relief and happiness.  "I'm sorry...I-"

"I thought you were dead."

Painfully, he shook his head.  "No."

"What happened?"

He drew in a deep breath and tried to grin at her reassuringly.  "The result of five curses that caused me to crash hard into a wall at the wrong angle, nothing more." 

She shook her head, her hair spilling over her shoulders.  "No.  I heard whispers that you were killed.  I heard nothing else, Sev, for months.  Almost three months." 

"But, I'm fine, Lily.  Everything will be alright."  His dark eyes pleaded with her to look at him again.  But instead of looking into his eyes, her gaze was fixed on the mark burned into his arm.  He followed her gaze to it.  She moved her hand to the mark and closed her fingers around it, holding his arm.  "Lily."  She looked at him then, and he kept his gaze fixed on hers as he let his hand drift from her cheek to curling around the side of her neck.  "I promise you, everything will be alright." With only the lightest indication of his hand caressing her neck, she lowered her lips to his, silently accepting his promise. 

Still gripping his arm, she guided his left hand to the swell of her stomach.  He ghosted his hand to her familiar hip and rested it there a moment before she guided it back to her abdomen and forced him to press down slightly, hoping that she would not have to tell him, desperate for this conversation to never take place.  She refused to break the communion of their lips, even as he began to pull away, letting her know that he was beginning to understand what she was wordlessly telling him.  Finally, she allowed him to have his way and granted the separation.  She looked at his face and saw that it was fast losing the little color it had in the first place.  His eyes were wide and stared at the swell of her midsection, having now comprehended the situation.  "A...You're...you're pregnant," he stated, knowing it was unnecessary to do so. 

She nodded.  In another moment, Severus's face, though horribly discolored, transformed into the brightest, most beautiful expression that she had ever seen.  She knew that she never had and never would see such an expression of unadulterated happiness on his face again.  "Sev," she choked on her voice, when she noticed that his eyes had started to spill tears of the highest elation.  She knew her next two words would tear him apart, perhaps even forever.  "It's James'."

She could not bear to look at his face.  Could not bear to see his mouth fall open in shocked betrayal, see his eyes deaden, see his entire body go completely rigid.  But she heard his breath stop.  And she felt him rip his hand from her stomach as though it caused more pain than the burning of the mark on his arm ever could.  She heard him rustle the covers of the bed as he shifted away from her.  After many long moments of tense silence, she managed to raise her eyes to look upon him.  Only seconds ago, his face was glowing with unspeakable happiness, but now it was twisted with unspeakable, soul-wrenching agony.  She saw that even though his eyes were clenched tightly, tears managed to course scarring paths down his face.  But now these tears were the opposite of those only moments previous.  His lips were set in a colorless mask, desperate to contain the sobs that screamed inside his trembling body.  His arms held each other as though trying to take comfort from an unseen companion.  She reached out her hand towards him, but stopped halfway.  What comfort could she give him, after killing him with her words? 

She withdrew. 

Looking at him, she wondered why she could no longer see him clearly.  She realized then that she, too, had tears burning her eyes and streaking her cheeks.  She continued to watch him.  His trembling increased, his tears came faster, and he curled further into himself until a sound emerged of indescribable pain that had been rapidly building inside of him.  It began as a soft groan, but it swiftly became a desperate mournful, howling scream.  She stood from the chair terrified, but knowing that he never would harm her in some way.  He threw his head back as the sound continued as though praying to some higher power that it was not true, what she had said was not true.  After this single, long, terrible sound's conclusion Severus' entire body collapsed in on itself upon the bed.  He did not hear her.  He did not hear her choked apology, he did not even hear her as she ran from the room, sobbing.  He heard nothing. 

The scene shifted then in a swirl of silver. 

James Potter sat in an armchair reading from a magazine featuring an article on Quidditch, which he abruptly threw aside as the door opened. 

Remus recognized the location.  Godric's Hollow.  Why were they there?  He looked to Severus.  "Not all of these are my memories.  Some of them are Lily's.  They will help you understand."  Remus nodded and began to watch the memory, not sure where he should be looking.  He began to listen.

"-told him.  James!  It was-"

James rushed to Lily, catching the woman as her legs gave out from beneath her.  He carried her to the sofa and set her down.  The room was overpowered with the sound of her sobbing.  "Lily," he tried.  "What happened?"  She continued to sob, her tears blinding her, unable to catch her breath.  She went into coughing fits as she tried in vain to get herself under control.  "Lily, you have to calm down."  He took her hands and held them firmly.  "Breathe.  Take a breath."  After a long while he managed to coach her into breathing just enough to attempt to form words.  "Tell me what happened."

"How...would you react to something like that?" she screamed.  She sobbed once and tried to continue.  "He...he refused to touch me!  And then! James, his face!"  Fresh tears ran down her cheeks.  "You did not see him!  You didn't see him!"  She tore her hands from his and launched herself from her position on the sofa and into his chest.  He awkwardly wrapped his arms around her and held her as her body continued to convulse in her grief.  "Sev!" she moaned.  "Severus!" 

"You know you had to do it, Lily.  You had to tell him it wasn't his."

She shook her red-haired head jerkily against his chest.  "Sev!"

"If he knew it was his baby ...you know what would happen..."

She coughed and her body shook as she continued to moan the name of the man whose arms were not around her.  "Severus..."

"He would die, Lily.  And you.  And the baby.  You know that."

She did not seem to hear him.  She seemed to be losing her energy.  Her body was still shaking, but slower.  She was still crying but her sobbing had quieted.  The grip on James's shirt was loosening.  Her voice though seemed to become more and more lost, as she continued to still moan in near delirium, "Sev...Severus..." 

James looked down at Lily, whose mind was clearly on one thing - one person - and made a decision.  "We'll tell him.  After all of this is over, after...You-Know-Who is gone, dead...I'll tell him everything.  We'll tell him everything, okay?" 

He did not know if she actually heard him or not.  She nodded against him but said, "Sev..." as though she were agreeing.  He could not be sure.

 "Do you want me to tuck you in?"  When she responded by saying the other man's name again, even softer than the last utterance, he decided he would anyway.  He fumbled and eventually managed to get her into his arms and pick her up.  He walked through the parlor and into the hallway.  He slowly and carefully climbed the narrow stairs in the house leading up to her room.  She still whispered the name as she grew exhausted.  He made it into the bedroom.  Gently settling her on the bed, he wiggled the comforter out from under her in order to drape it across her.  He tucked it in around her body trying not to jar her in any way.  "Severus," he whispered to no one.  "Why did you trust me with something you love so much?"  He sighed.  "You'll know soon enough." 

He turned away from Lily, whose eyes were fluttering wildly in a struggle to stay awake.  "Sev!" she called, just as James was closing the door on his way out of the room towards his own bedroom.  He stopped to listen.  "I love you...I'm so sorry, Sev..."  With that, Lily's ability to speak was no more, for exhaustion was catching up to her. 

Remus heard a voice reply, "I know."  Whether it was James or Severus, he couldn't tell. 

The scene shifted once more.  When it reformed, Remus was surprised to be looking at another hospital bed, only this time there were a great deal more people in the room.  He saw himself in the room.  Why was Severus showing him this?  He remembered this event. 

Or at least he thought he did. 

The three men all gathered around the mother resting in bed as she cradled her newborn, who had yet to open his eyes.  He squirmed restlessly in his mother's arms as though he sensed the people around him and was uncomfortable with the attention.  On the other side of the woman was a young man with light brown hair and a tired expression.  He simply watched the scene, wanting to commit it to memory rather than take part in it.  His eyes traveled over his three friends, Lily, James and Sirius.  He watched them for a moment, taking them in.  The mother tried to arrange the infant in her arms awkwardly, being new to motherhood.  Her red hair was still damp from her birthing efforts and her face was quickly showing exhaustion, but she refused to loosen her grip on the child which she had labored to bring into the world.  The man closest to her, James, wore a grin of honor.  To his right was a handsome young man with long, dark wavy hair.   Sirius.  He tried tickling the infant with his index finger, but it was obvious that he was finding more pleasure in this act than the child, whose squirming only increased in his attempt to flick the annoyance away.  The man bothering the child began laughing. 

"James!  He's adorable!" 

"Yes, he is," James agreed. 

Lily snorted.  "Sirius, I never thought you would be one to coo at a baby!"

"Well, when it's James's son, of course I'm going to smother him with compliments."

Remus watched as James elbowed Sirius playfully in the arm and the two shared mischievous grins.  His eyes wandered to Lily, whose expression took on a contemplative sadness as she gazed upon her son.  He heard the barely whispered name, "Sev..."

"Lily?"  Remus said to get her attention.  She looked up at him and then around to the other two men realizing that she had said the name aloud.  James and Sirius were looking at her with strange eyes, but both expressions were different. 

"What did you say, Lily?" asked James softly. 

"I just said ‘Sev,'" she replied. 

"Now, why would you bring up Snivellus?"

Lily looked hurt, but whether it was the question or the horrid contortion of the name was uncertain.  "I just wish he were here."

"Why?" Sirius exploded.  "Why in the name of Merlin's-"

"Don't curse, Sirius!" bellowed James.

"-would you want him here at the birth of your son?" Sirius finished, his cursing overpowered by James's interruption. 

Lily looked down upon her son again.  "He's still my friend, and I just wish that he were here."  Remus noticed that the only one seemingly upset about this conversation was Sirius.  He saw that James's eyes darted back and forth between Lily and the baby sympathetically. 

"Well, I don't!  I'm glad he's not here!  The less the world ever saw of Snape the better."

Remus had enough at that point.  "That's enough, Sirius."  Sirius gave him a hard glare which Remus matched before the temperamental man looked away. 

From the doorway of the room, a hesitant voice piped up.  "Can I have the name of the child?" The young medi-witch held a clipboard securing an official document and a small compartment for the inkwell.  In her hand was a quill, poised and ready to fill in the blank spaces on the document. 

Lily and James both began to speak at the same time. 

"Tevin-"

"Harry-"

They looked at each other a moment in a silent battle.  "James, you promised."  He looked for a moment that he would refuse her, but then the newborn's eyes opened.  They were Lily's...exactly.  He could no longer fool himself, this boy belonged to Lily and would never be his.  He belonged to his father.  The infant's almond-shaped green eyes gazed curiously at James, as though daring him to deny his mother. 

He nodded, slowly, conceding to keep the promise he had made to her.  He turned to face the medi-witch and took a deep breath before he announced the child's name.  "Tevin Antonius Ryker Snape." 

"What?" roared Sirius, rushing to James with his wand drawn.  "How can you give your son to that git?" he demanded.  His nostrils were flaring, his hair was wild, his entire body shook in barely restrained rage and incomprehension.  His eyes blazed in fury. 

James lazily drew his own wand and simply said, "Expelliarmus," disarming Sirius without even really looking at him.  Sirius's wand flew from his hand as he fell to the pristine floor.  Remus watched this entire scene with interest and Lily watched James with shining eyes.  James waited a moment for the medi-witch to finish with the name of the child.  "The father is Severus Snape."  Sirius groaned in disbelief at this statement.  "The mother," continued James, "is Lily Evans-Snape."  Sirius let out a wordless shout to this statement.  Still ignoring everything behind him, James waited for the medi-witch's quill to stop scratching.  Once it did he aimed his wand at the clipboard.  "Accio birth certificate."  Instantly, the birth certificate flew into his hand. 

"Sir!  You cannot take that.  It must be filed with the Ministry!" cried the witch. 

James did not even spare her a glance as he aimed his wand first at the door, effectively shutting and locking it.  Then he quickly erected a Body-Bind on the witch.  Sirius was still shouting, barely recognizing his best friend.  James aimed his wand at Sirius again and enchanted a silencing charm on his friend.  "I'm sorry, Sirius."  James felt terrible for harming his friend, but once he looked upon Lily and saw her grateful eyes shining at him he knew that he was doing the right thing.  He quickly rolled up the birth certificate, shrunk it, and placed it safely in his inner jacket pocket at his heart.  He closed his eyes, knowing he must do this next thing, but wishing he did not.  He gathered his courage and once more drew his wand. 

He first walked to his best friend, who was still crumbled on the floor.  He looked directly into Sirius's eyes.  He pointed his wand at Sirius and spoke forcefully and clearly.  "Oblittera filium Severi!  Oblittera hunc eventus!"  There was a blinding flash that collided with Sirius's face and when it was gone, Sirius was unconscious on the floor.  James stood quickly and walked to the medi-witch, grabbing the quill and clipboard from her to keep it undamaged.  He repeated his motions to her and spoke again, "Oblittera filium Severi!  Oblittera hunc eventus!"   Again, there was a bright light, and again when it cleared she was unconscious.  Rounding quickly, he darted to Remus, who gazed at him with horror and a question in his eyes as to why he would be subjected to this.  "I'm sorry, Remus.  No one must ever know."  He raised his wand.  "Oblittera filium Severi!  Oblittera hunc eventus!"   Remus's upper body crumbled onto the bed, unconscious.  He aimed his wand at the door again and released the lock on it before turning to Lily.   

James met Lily's eyes, which were glistening with tears.  "Thank you," she whispered.  He nodded to her, the look in his eyes pained.  She picked up her wand resting at the bedside table and pointed it at Remus.  "Rennervate."  Remus groaned and began to wake up, his mind clearly confused. 

James pointed his wand to the medi-witch.  "Rennervate."  She began moaning and she awkwardly tried to get to her feet. 

"What happened?"

"You must not be feeling well.  You suddenly started swaying and then you fainted," James lied, not particularly caring if she believed him or not.  "You obviously aren't feeling well, since you came in here with everything but the birth certificate." 

This woke her up.  "Oh dear!" she exclaimed.  "I should go and get it, quickly then.  I'll be right back!"  With that she took back her clipboard and quill and dashed from the room, never noticing that Sirius still lay collapsed on the floor. 

James went to Sirius and pointed his wand at his best friend.  "Rennervate."  Once Sirius groaned softly, James went down to help him to his feet, grabbing up the fallen wand as he went.  He gave it back just when Sirius asked him what had happened.  "You got a little too excited there, Padfoot.  Maybe you should never be allowed to see a newborn again."

"I mean...yeah..." 

Sirius tried to figure out how he had ended up on the floor.  Just when he was about to ask this question, the medi-witch came back into the room with a new birth certificate.  "Can I have the name of the child?" she asked. 

James looked to Lily, who smiled and then nodded once to him, giving her consent.  He turned back to the witch and said clearly, "Harry James Potter.  The father is James Potter, and the mother is Lily Potter."  This time, there was no objection from Sirius. 

Remus's mind was beginning to hurt as the memory shifted in a blur of silver.  Suddenly he found himself in a very aromatic Potions Ingredients shop - the Apothecary in Diagon Alley.  He made sure that Severus was still beside him.  He was.  He looked around the shop to discover a second Severus scanning the shelves of ingredients expertly.  Remus grinned at this unsurprising image and prepared himself to watch again. 

Severus looked as though he were preparing early for winter.  He wore long black robes with wide ended sleeves.  His hands were covered save for his fingers from the mid-joint to the tips in dark woolen gloves.  Around his neck was a light-weather dark green scarf, which he had tied in the fashion of a cravat so that the ends dangled down at the middle of his chest. Hooked at his left elbow was a rather large woven basket that already had many bottles and jars in it.  Items for purchase.  He held a small slip of parchment in his left hand as his right index finger dragged across the labels on the shelved bottles with the sensuality of a lover.  His long hair was stringy and greasier than usual, most likely due to recent brewing.  He located the needed ingredient and plucked it from the shelf.  With his basket filled with ingredients and his list he drifted towards the clerk of the shop. 

He set his basket on the counter and looked into the eyes of the old wizard, who greeted him enthusiastically.  "Hello, Mr. Snape.  Back again, are we?"

"Yes, Jayce.  I've been coming once a week for years now." 

Jayce was an old wizard who seemed to have been working in this shop since Merlin's time!  His hair was beyond balding...it was sparsely spaced on his scalp.  There were deep wrinkles in his face pulled down beyond the normal range of aging.  No matter what time of year it was it was perpetually winter to this man.  He was always bundled up completely to his neck, and wearing a heavy woolen coat.  He bent down behind the counter only to reappear with a large brass scale.  "Measure them yourself, Mr. Snape.  You always prefer it."

Severus offered a tight grin.  "It's not that I don't trust you, Jayce, I just-"

"Know that when you do it yourself, if there is a mistake it's your own.  I know.  I feel the same." 

Severus set his list on the counter next to the basket and began to measure out what he needed from each of the bottles and jars he had selected.  "You'd best be careful, though, young man.  There may be some competition for your post."  Severus looked up.  "Potions Master.  Young Mrs. Potter seems keen to match you." 

Severus grimaced a moment before he continued to measure as he responded.  "To my knowledge, Mrs. Potter has no interest in my doings, nor should she.  She is fully occupied with her...husband."

"Oh, my boy, I remember when the two of you would come in here together and buy potions supplies from me every week."  Jayce smiled, his mouth difficult to find in the amount of wrinkled skin.  It went slack again, neutral.  "You both are still here every week...but...how come you switched your day to visit my store?  Did you two have a falling out?"

Severus glared at the old man.  "That, as a shop owner, is not your concern.  None of the personal lives of any customer should be your business."  He finished the first ingredient and gestured for a new jar in which to store his purchase.  He was given it by Jayce and bottled the ingredient, labeled the jar, and set it aside so that he could begin the next one. 

"I just remember, Mr. Snape.  You were happy once.  What happened?" 

Severus's fingers hesitated in the chamomile flowers.  "Nothing!" he snapped.  He gathered his temper again and gently set the flowers on the scale.  He sighed as he began to measure carefully.  "Nothing ever happened."

Severus heard the door to the shop open, but did not avert his attention from his task.  He finished with the chamomile flowers and bottled, and labeled his purchase.  He completely finished with his third needed ingredient and had just set it aside when he heard someone moving the bottles and jars in his basket.  Without looking his hand darted to the side and latched onto the wrist of the intruder.  His hand recognized the feel of that skin instantly.  His dark eyes flew to the hand's owner and he immediately released the wrist and jerked away, almost reflexively.  "Li-Mrs. Potter," he snarled, as he caught sight of the young infant she held against her chest with her free arm. 

Lily looked at him for a moment trying to offer a weak smile.  When it was returned with a glare she averted her eyes and continued to search in his basket.  When she found what she was looking for, she removed it from the basket.  Before she could do anything else Severus spoke with clenched teeth.  "Kindly put that back." 

She looked at him with a blank expression.  "I should have known you would be buying the Eucalyptus and the Peppermint.  It is cold season."  She spoke as though she did not hear him. 

"Kindly put that back, Mrs. Potter," Severus growled.  The intensity of his voice almost woke up the child, who squirmed against his mother. 

"Stop, Sev-"

"Do not call me that!"  Without waiting for her to obey, he snatched the jar of eucalyptus leaves and opened it, pinched out a generous amount onto the scale, and roughly twisted the lid of the jar back onto the shop's share.  He slammed it forcibly onto the counter, glaring at Lily the whole time.  He only diverted his attention to measure out what he had carelessly piled onto the scale. 

He deliberately took his time, stalling as long as possible before he bottled it, not wishing to speak with her.  His wish for silence lasted for several tense minutes before it was broken by her voice, which he would never admit that he desperately missed.  He closed his eyes as she asked him a question which he would have easily welcomed had a certain little something - namely the creature held protectively against her chest - not come between them.  "What are the ingredients in a Pepperup Potion?"  He did not answer her.  "Severus?  Tell me." 

"No."

He reached into his basket and began to hastily measure out the amount of the next herb he required, Ginger Root.  He tried to ignore her, but he couldn't.  He could smell the scent of her hair that he had blissfully run his fingers through so many times.  He could hear her soft breathing.  He could feel the air move around her as she did something as simple as move her hand.  Tortured thoughts ran through his mind of times he could never reclaim.  Because of that child in her arms that was not his...because of James Potter.  He closed his eyes for an instant, willing her to disappear, to stop haunting him.  But when he opened his eyes she was still there. 

He furiously stored the measured herb into a larger jar and as he began to label it, the quill slipped from his hand to the floor.  With a frustrated snarl he dropped to the ground for it, preferring then to finish the writing crouched low to the floor, as he tried to gather his expression.  When he quickly stood up again, his head crashed into something.  The soft cry of pain alerted him to what had happened.  He had collided with her brow!  She held her hand over her left eye as she hissed at the sting.  Unfortunately, her cry had woken up the baby in her arms who, now alert to his mother's distress, began to cry at her pain. 

Severus reached out and cupped her cheek instinctively, coaxing her hand to fall and try to comfort her child.  His thumb traced her brow for the tender spot and he smoothed the delicate skin under her eye.  She hissed when he touched the tender spots.  "I'm sorry.  Are you alright?" 

"Yes, Sev."  He looked into her eyes for a moment thinking that he had once delighted in hearing his name from her lips, but now it was a reminder of what could never be again.  He removed his hand from her face. 

"Good," he mumbled.  He began to turn to his basket of ingredients when she touched his elbow.  He realized that the child was starting to scream.  "Will you please silence that boy?"

"You can do it just as easily, you've been trained as a healer."

"There is nothing wrong with him requiring a healer except his existence," he snapped. 

"Severus!" she cried.  She tugged on his elbow forcing him to face her.  In his hand he held the jar of Lavender.  When it ended up in a position underneath the infant's nose, the soothing scent calmed the boy quickly.  He slowly began to quiet. Neither of them really noticed.   "How could you say something like that?  The man I knew would never say that!" 

"Perhaps the man you knew died when he realized that you had played him false just as well as the Dark Lord delivers the Killing Curse!"

Without thinking, Lily's hand flew of its own accord to smack soundly on Severus's cheek, jarring him into the counter, knocking over some of the bottled ingredients.  Just as quickly as her hand had struck him, it covered her mouth which had opened in a surprised, shocked expression.  Severus's eyes were closed as he gripped the edge of the counter until his fingers were white.  He seemed to struggle to breathe properly as though his rage was about to implode.  "Go home to Potter!" he spoke with surprising clarity and force, spitting out the name like a curse.  "And take his spawn with you!"

He did not open his eyes.  He heard her stifle a sob unsuccessfully.  He heard her sway and grip the counter to regain her balance.  He heard her retreating footsteps leave the shop.  He opened his eyes to see Jayce staring openmouthed at him, stunned at the events that he had just witnessed.  Severus's eyes were quickly filling with tears, and he just barely managed to say, "Would you please fill the remainder of my order and owl it to me?  I cannot stay-"  He did not even wait for Jayce to nod before he shakily turned and stumbled from the shop, trying to angrily swipe away his falling tears as he practically ran through the streets to disappear in the crowd. 

Had he looked at the bench to the right of the shop door he would have seen Lily sobbing, tears cascading down her cheeks, trying to comfort a baby who quietly sniffled in her arms. 

Remus and Severus were sitting in the latter's parlor again, hovering several inches above the swirling depths of the pensieve.  Speechless, Remus looked at Severus then, clearly seeing the unmistakable grief, regret and devastation the other man carried from the events of that memory.  "Severus?"  The other man showed no sign of responding.  Remus was beginning to understand.  He stood up from his position and walked to stand at Severus's shoulder.  He hesitantly rested his hand on the other man's shoulder, offering his silent support and sympathy.  "Severus?"  It seemed for a moment that he would not get a response, but suddenly, Severus slowly began to fold into himself as a near silent sound of suffering escaped in a low moan.  Remus watched, his hand still on his shoulder, as Severus's head fell into his hands, his pale fingers combing into his hair.  By the light of the fire, Remus saw damp spots begin to dot the rug in front of Severus. 

He was crying. 

He never saw Severus cry, and now that he was witnessing it, he hoped he would never have to again. 

As the tears began to bleed together on the rug, and the clock struck nine o'clock, the Floo roared and turned green for a moment before a very small man stepped through and onto the hearth.  Remus recognized the little man immediately.  "Professor Flitwick."

Flitwick nodded at Remus as he walked directly to Severus, whom the little professor's eyes had fixed upon the moment he saw the parlor.  "Oh, young Severus.  Come now.  Why are you so dreadful?" 

Severus looked at his former professor but his tears continued.  He opened his mouth to speak but he could not.  Flitwick crept up and stood between his former pupil's knees to look up into his eyes, not minding if the tears were splashing onto him.  "My boy, there is nothing that says you cannot grieve.  For no creature on this earth is immune to it."  Severus took a breath and when he released it, it came as a broken sob.  "There now, my boy."  Flitwick drew his wand, waved it, and conjured a large handkerchief which he offered to Severus.  He took it and held it over his eyes, like a child trying to hide. 

"You wished to see me, Severus?  Knowing you and your thirst for knowledge I am sure this is going to be a tricky one you're going to try to stump me with.  Lily did the same thing when she brought me that birth certificate, mind you!  Took us quite some time to figure that out!"  He let out a feeble squeaky laugh.

Remus found his voice first.  "You knew?"  Flitwick looked at him, as though realizing again that he was even in the room.  "You knew that...Tevin...was Severus and Lily's son?"

"Of course I knew!  Lily came to me to help her with the birth certificate, to disguise it should anyone find it in her home."  Flitwick glared at Remus.  "But before you even think of accusing me, young Gryffindor, it was stressed to me by the girl to not mention it to Severus until after...You-Know-Who was no longer a threat to herself, her baby, or her husband.  She even said that she would make sure that she would tell him when the time came." 

Flitwick looked to the still weeping Severus, ignoring that Remus was staring at him.  "Severus, you need to rest.  You should not have called me here tonight.  Come now, to bed with you."  Flitwick waved his wand at Severus and caused the younger man to close his eyes and fall asleep, the handkerchief falling from his slack grip to the floor.  With another wave of Flitwick's wand, Severus rose gently into the air.  Flitwick walked just underneath his former student as he guided him through the parlor and into the room that the young man had recently created for his son.  Stopping for a moment, Flitwick surveyed the room.  "Mr. Lupin, you should sleep in here tonight.  Someone should stay with him while he is still grieving, and I could think of none better than yourself."  Remus nodded.

Flitwick then continued and guided Severus through the door to the left, which opened to reveal Severus's chambers.  He guided Severus and lowered him gently onto the bed, being sure to set the covers over the young man.  Flitwick's eyes drifted to the cradle where the child slept surrounded by three stuffed animals - the teddy bear, which he clutched to himself, a white swan, and a black dog.  Flitwick grinned to himself.  He waved his wand once more summoning a small vial.  Wordlessly, the little professor undid the stopper, and spelled the liquid inside of the vial to stream through the air towards Severus.  The liquid went straight into Severus's mouth, down his throat, to find its place in his stomach. 

"What did you give him?"  Remus asked. 

"Simply something the boy needs right now: Dreamless Sleep Potion." 

Flitwick walked out of Severus's bedroom and the second one, straight into the parlor again, his goal being the fireplace.  He summoned a pinch of Floo Powder to himself and just before he tossed it in, he turned again to Remus.  "Offer to watch Severus's son while he teaches.  Stay here with him as long as he needs you.  He needs a friend more than anything now, Mr. Lupin."  Remus nodded.  "Another thing, be sure to put out the fire.  We don't want everyone to know about his son before he is ready, do we?"  Finally, he tossed the Floo Powder into the flames, and clearly stated his destination before spinning away in a blaze of green flames.

With a sigh, Remus put out the fire.  He looked around the darkened parlor, briefly wondering how long this would serve as his home too.  With another sigh, he walked into the bedroom.  He realized suddenly how tired he was.  When he touched the bed hanging to pull it back for himself he realized something that was off.  They were green.  "This will not do," he mumbled.  With a simple incantation, he changed them to a long familiar color:  Gryffindor Red.  Satisfied, Remus lay down on the soft bedding and closed his eyes, finding it surprisingly easy to fall asleep.