“Meh po dad ah back! Meh po dad ah back! Meh po dad ah back!” Severus kept chanting it as he played with his baby snake and lion cub. “Meh po dad ah back! Peb-by! Meh po dad ah back!”

“Coo!”

“Meh po dad ah back!”

“Coo!”

“Meh po dad ah back!”

“So how long have you known, Hermione?” Ginny asked.

“Well…your quarters were the first indication. I know you, Harry. Even though Teddy’s your godson, I highly doubt you’d be that excessive.” Harry chuckled next to her. “So I knew there was something going on there. In addition to Ginny carrying the diaper bag out the door…” Ginny chuckled, “…there was the dreamcatcher. In order for a dreamcatcher to work effectively, it has to be stationed above the bed where the protected generally sleeps. If that dreamcatcher was meant for Teddy, it would have to have been in Remus’ quarters. But it wasn’t. It was in yours. So I knew there was another baby involved here. The question was who was the baby? And why were the three of you avoiding us?”

“And…”

“And when we ran around the school looking for you, I stumbled across something interesting in the hospital wing.”

“Let me guess…”

“Professor Snape was no longer there. I asked Madame Pomfrey what happened, of course. She said that he woke up, got well, and walked out. A bit hard to believe, that was. Professor Snape was in a coma. I would’ve thought Madame Pomfrey would keep him an extra week or two after waking up to make sure everything was fine. Then there was lunch and Professor Slughorn slipped up and nearly said ‘Severus’ after ‘Harry and Ginny’. The Marauders’ Map, which we used to try to find you, didn’t show Professor Snape anywhere on there—not even in his quarters. Then Ginny made me suspicious when she asked if there was a third person that Slughorn was supposed to be asking for. Then there’s the fact that you and she kept going back and forth to the master bedroom when you finally showed up last week. And finally, the Daily Prophet has been following an interesting story about a man named Aidan Elson, who allegedly invented a potion that would regress a person to infancy. I thought the concept was rather interesting and actually remember a man selling the very same potion, in lieu of the very same man, to Madame Pomfrey a few days after Victory Day. I was in the room when she bought it, you see. I remember she and I went over the pros and cons of such a potion together after the salesman left.”

“You were there when Pomfrey bought the aging potion?” Ginny asked.

“I wanted to ask her if there was anything I could do to help, as well as get information on the snakebite that Professor Snape suffered, since I wanted to stock the infirmary with the anti-venom.”

“So you knew we had a de-aging potion.” Harry pushed her to continue.

“Yes.” Hermione nodded. “I also knew exactly how many vials Madame Pomfrey bought, and where she stored them on the shelves, and what used to be stored there before, and what said potion looked and smelled like.”

“How the blazes did you know all that?!” Ron squeaked.

“She told me, Ronald!” Hermione rolled her eyes. “As we were shelving the vials, she kept saying how the de-aging potion looked and smelled exactly like the painless cyanide draught that she used to store there before. When we passed by the infirmary last week, the door to her stores was open.”

“And let me guess…”

“One vial of the controversial de-aging potion was missing.” Hermione smiled, looking rather proud of herself. “Coincidence? I think not!”

“Sirius, how do you get into your garage?”

“You’re going to have to go around back. It’ll open for you magically.”

“So what were your conclusions, Mrs. Sherlock Holmes?” Tonks raised an eyebrow.

“I figured Professor Snape woke up from his coma and tried to kill himself with the painless cyanide draught, only to realize too late that what he was really consuming was a permanent de-aging potion.” Harry pulled into the garage. “Dumbledore figured Harry was the only person he could trust who had the stamina to raise a child. He threw in the bigger quarters to sweeten the deal, and here we are! Plus, even if the pair of you was taking care of a baby, you wouldn’t have avoided the three of us unless you thought it was absolutely necessary. Considering Snape and Sirius have a history, it was only logical that the child was Severus Snape.”

Harry waved the garage door closed and shut off the engine. “Congratulations, Miss Granger, you are completely and utterly correct.”

“I thought so.” Hermione turned in her seat to smile at Severus. “Hello, Mr. Snape! You can call me Hermione.” She offered him her hand.

Sev peered at her through wide eyes. “Mimi…Meh po dad a back!”

Harry snorted and Ginny laughed. “Come on, love, let’s get you out of this.” She demonstrated with Sev so that Tonks could get the gist.

“Meh po dad a back!”

“Yes, you are, sweetheart.” She lifted the infant out of the car seat and gave him a kiss on the cheek as she climbed out.

“What does that mean?”

“I’ll tell you later.”

“Ginny!” Harry called back and lowered his voice to a whisper, “Hey, could you take Sev up to my room? He needs to take a time-out.”

“Okay.” She nodded.

“Twenty minutes. Just stick a chair in the corner. Or a pillow—that’s even better.”

“Okay. It’s for kicking Sirius, right?”

“Uh-huh.” As the girls went upstairs with the infants, Harry helped Ron, Sirius, and Remus out of the car. “Hey…can I talk to the pair of you alone?” He asking, pointing to Ron and Sirius.

“I’ll be upstairs.” Remus filled in. “Making tea…or something.”

Harry thanked him and turned to the other two.

“If this is about Snape, don’t bother.” Ron said. “Ginny already let us have it earlier.”

“Let you have it?”

“Oh, she got pissed.” Sirius shuddered at the memory. “Right scary, she was. You got some balls on you, mate, being with her.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Ron frowned at Sirius.

“No offense meant, Ron. No offense meant. I was just trying to say she’s a strong woman, is all. A right firecracker, she reminds me of Lily.”

“Not to mention a lioness protecting her cub.” Harry raised an eyebrow at them.

“Yeah…” Ron scratched the back of his neck. “About that…Look, Harry…”

“Ginny was right.” Sirius continued for him. “Severus and I…” He paused, unsure about what to say. “We…never made the effort to see eye-to-eye. We…never wanted to get along; never needed to, actually.”

“You both belonged to the Order of the Phoenix.” Harry remarked.

“I know, but…” Sirius shrugged. “We both did it out of loyalty to Dumbledore. I…I don’t know much about Severus, but Dumbledore I didn’t…care too much about.” He met Harry’s eyes, “You, on the other hand, I care very much about.”

“Ginny was telling us earlier,” Ron continued, “that the pair of you are starting to see…mini-Snape…as…” Ron grimaced, “…sort of like your kid.”

“Trust me, Ron, once you get to know that kid, it won’t be that difficult.”

“I—We know—I…” Ron sighed, “Look, Harry, Ginny made it clear to us a while ago that…we care about you…and you care about him…so…”

“So if we want to keep our relationship with you, we’re going to have to form one with him.” Sirius finished.

“One that works.” Ron added and Sirius nodded.

Harry was finding it difficult to suppress a smile. “Ginny made all this clear?”

“Oh yeah!” “Mm-hmm.”

Harry snorted. “I love that woman.” He murmured to himself.

“Look, I’m sorry if I offended you earlier when I called him Snivellus.” Sirius grimaced.

“Padfoot, I was expecting some kind of confrontation between the two of you, especially when you found out who he was.”

“They didn’t disappoint.” Ron smirked. Sirius elbowed him playfully.

“One called the other one Snivellus and the other one breaks his nose.” Harry shook his head. “Nope, they definitely didn’t disappoint.”

“Speaking of which, I hope he didn’t get away scot-free.” Sirius scowled.

“He didn’t.” Harry shook his head. “Don’t worry.”

“So what’d you do to him?” Ron asked eagerly.

Harry rolled his eyes. “His punishment is remaining between him, me, and Ginny.”

“Oh, you mean how he’s sitting in a corner, upstairs in your bedroom, serving a twenty-minute time-out?” Sirius smirked, his eyes shining as he bounced on the balls of his feet.

Harry narrowed his eyes at him. “Sirius—”

“Or how you gave him that swat in the park?”

“Padfoot—”

“You swatted Snape, Harry? Really?!” Ron’s eyes were gleaming.

“Okay, look!” He pointed an authoritative finger at them, “I want the two of you to stop. Now! Because you’re doing it again! That baby up there,” Harry pointed towards the ceiling, “is just that—a baby. He’s a child, you guys! He may have Snape’s memories inside him, but he’s still…a child.” Both Sirius and Ron visibly deflated. “Imagine if Teddy could understand everything everyone says. Imagine he was born understanding English. Now imagine these two guys coming in and making fun of him; laughing at everything he does; calling him names; belittling him. And Teddy can’t do anything about it because he can’t talk yet, walk yet, or defend himself yet. All he can do is take it.” Harry eyed Sirius and then Ron in turn. “Now tell me how the hell you would feel.”

Both men sighed and exchanged guilty looks.

“Alright, how about this?” Sirius started. “An agreement—no more making fun of Snape…ever.”

“Are you serious, Padfoot?” Ron raised an eyebrow.

Sirius shrugged. “Ginny was right.” He grimaced. “I can be rather…childish…sometimes.”

“Often.” Harry argued.

“Half the time.”

“All the time.”

“Most times!” Sirius narrowed his eyes in challenge. Harry smirked and shrugged. “Anyway…maybe it’s about time I start changing some things about me.”

“Burying the hatchet is a good place to start.” Harry smiled and then looked at Ron expectantly.

The redhead grimaced and then sighed. “Fine.” He grumbled. “No more making fun of Snape ever.”

“And that ‘ever’ starts right now.” Harry offered them his hand. “Agreed?”

Sirius hesitated and then took it. “Agreed.”

Ron took it reluctantly. “Agreed.”

“Excellent!” Harry beamed at them and patted them both on the back, leading them towards the stairs that led into the house. “So it’s now…six forty-five? I can stay until seven forty-five.”

“Why so early?” Ron’s eyebrows furrowed.

“Got a schedule to keep.” Harry replied with a smile.

“Bedtime?” Sirius raised an eyebrow.

“Snape has a bedtime?!”

“Severus, Ron.” Harry corrected. “Call him Severus.”

“That’s going to be weird.”

“Get used to it.”

“So…Severus…has a bedtime.” Ron looked like he just sucked a lemon.

“Eight thirty.”

“Every night? Seriously?”

“He’s five months old, Ron.”

“Then why does Ginny get home so late sometimes?” The rounded the corner and headed into the kitchen. “I see her come in around eleven…almost midnight sometimes.”

“We’d like to spend some alone time together as well, you know.”

“Can’t do that with a baby around.” Remus remarked, pushing a pot of tea in their direction. “Not even when they’re asleep sometimes.” The werewolf looked a bit weary. “They’ll wake up, cry…you could swear they’re on a twenty-four hour clock.”

“How many times did Teddy wake up last night?” Harry asked as they all took a seat.

“Four times.” Remus snorted. Ron and Sirius now began to notice the bags under his eyes. “Sev?”

“Three times.” Harry groaned, rubbing his forehead. “The second time was when Ginny was at the floo. You know, he’s been doing that a lot lately. Ever since we got back from Godric’s Hollow, it’s like he suddenly developed these psychic powers. He can just tell when Ginny’s about to leave. That’s when he picks his moment to wake up and start crying.” Remus snorted and began laughing. “Seriously! Ginny didn’t want to leave.”

“You never know with magic and bonds and all that. Maybe it is something.” Remus shrugged. “Severus is developing a deep bond with each of you.”

“Maybe it’s because Ginny leaves every night. Do you reckon?” Harry asked Remus. “When we were at Godric’s Hollow, Sev slept through the night.”

“Really?” Remus sounded surprised.

“Yeah!”

“Did you all sleep in the same room?”

“The same bed. He slept in between us.” Harry nodded.

“That’s probably it.”

Harry sighed and shrugged, making a noncommittal noise before sipping his tea.

“Blimey!” Ron murmured. “So you two don’t get any alone time together?”

“Yeah, we do…sort of…maybe…” Harry answered ambiguously. “It’s not, like, one consistent length of time. It’s broken up throughout the day. We can do adult things…when the baby is asleep.”

“Problem is you never know when the baby’s going to be asleep.” Remus smirked and sipped his tea.

“Jeez, I am so glad I don’t have a kid.” Sirius muttered.

“I’m with you there.” Ron agreed.

“Yeah, but neither do you have a girlfriend, Padfoot.” Remus pointed out.

“Yeah, those two cancel out.” The men shared a laugh.

A gasp rang through the room. “Oh, there they are!” The swinging door flew open and in trooped the ladies with the two boys. Sev was clutching Ginny and sniffling.

Harry frowned. “What’s wrong?”

Ginny shook her head. “Nothing. It’s just carryover from the time-out.” She handed Sev to Harry, and the child immediately dove towards him.

“Is that it, Sev?”

“Mo wike mime mow!” Sev pouted.

“You’re not supposed to like it, cub.” Harry replied, mildly amused. “It’s supposed to make you not like it so you don’t do anything to deserve it.”

Sev groaned and buried his face in Harry’s shirt. “Mo wike.” He yawned

“Uh-oh.” Harry croaked.

“What?”

“Somebody’s sleepy.” He murmured in a singsong voice.

Sev immediately pushed up against Harry’s chest. “Mo…!” The infant whined. Yet, despite himself, his eyes remained firmly shut and his head began to drift sideways.

A snort resounded from Harry’s right, followed closely by another one. The teen shot Ron and Sirius a dirty look, but it was lost on them as they muffled their snickers with their arms. Rolling his eyes, Harry pulled Sev close and cradled him against his chest. “Of course not.”

“Wam peh…Peb…by…” And with those final words, Sev began to snore softly.

Smiling down at the infant, Harry ran his fingers through his baby hair and kissed him softly on the forehead. “You peh Peb-by tomorrow.” He glanced briefly at Remus, who held a curious Teddy against his chest, and the werewolf nodded with a smirk.

Sirius’ and Ron’s snickering died down almost immediately after Harry gave Severus that goodnight kiss. Sirius frowned. So Snivellus got himself in a bit of a predicament, that part was funny. The fact that Sirius’ godson was the one helping him out, that part was not so funny. The fact that said godson was becoming increasingly attached to the greasy git, that part was so not funny. “Harry…” He started, feeling a bit uncomfortable with the situation. “How long is this…de-aging supposed to last anyway?”

“I thought I answered that question in the car, Padfoot.” Hermione replied before Harry could. “The de-aging potion is permanent. Mr. Snape will have to grow up again the old fashioned way.”

“That’s such a bummer.” Tonks smirked.

“Not necessarily.” Harry shook his head.

“Wait a second!” Sirius straightened up in his chair. “So…you’re going to be taking care of him…permanently?!”

“Well…yeah.” Harry frowned at Sirius. “Well, I mean…no one knows that he’s been de-aged yet; and when I say ‘no one’ I mean the Ministry of Magic; so…I’m his guardian, yes, but his legal guardian, not yet.”

“Yet.” Sirius echoed.

“What are you trying to ask?”

“Wait…” Ron sat up as well, “You’re going to take care of Snape—”

“Severus!”

“Sev—er—us…You’re going to take care of him…forever?” Ron looked at Harry as if he’d gone bonkers. “As in…adopt him?”

“If that’s something he wants.”

“But, Harry, don’t you think that’s a bit…”

“What, Ron?”

“Well—” The redhead stuttered, turning to Sirius.

“Are you sure about that, Harry?” The animagus’ eyebrows furrowed.

“Look…the both of you wouldn’t understand. You both hate him.”

“You did too!” Ron argued.

“I did, yes.” Harry admitted. “But I don’t anymore.”

“What I don’t understand is what changed?” Sirius said. “What’s the difference between then and now?”

“I didn’t know his life story then, Padfoot.” Harry replied, meeting his godfather’s eyes. “He gave me his memories. He showed me his life story and…I—I felt…” Harry paused, not knowing how to explain it, “...kinship with him.”

Both Ron and Sirius gaped at him. “Kinship?!”

“With Snape!”

Harry sighed and looked away. He didn’t want to meet his godfather’s eyes. “The Marauders bullied him all throughout his school years. They made enemies with him when they met on the Hogwarts Express. James Potter strutted around the school like he owned the place, hexing people left and right just because he felt like it. He had a group of three who followed him around everywhere he went. They had a personal vendetta against Severus Snape. They would pick on him when they pleased. He and the Marauders would get into fights whenever they ran into each other in school. Doesn’t this sound familiar, Ron?!” Harry practically screamed at the wall.

“Malfoy and his gang.” Ron murmured after a long pause, his gaze turning inward. “Against you.”

“Only his story was a bit worse.”

“Worse?”

“My mother.” Harry sighed. “My mother grew up in the same neighborhood as Snape. It was love at first sight for him. He finally worked up the courage to make friends with her when they were about nine. He was the one who told her she was a witch.” Harry began running his fingers through Sev’s hair absentmindedly. “They were best friends. She defended him from the Marauders in school. But he was in Slytherin and she was in Gryffindor. His Slytherin ties tore their friendship apart. Not even the fact that they loved each other could put that back together. And then one day he lost her to James Potter.” Harry took a deep breath and turned back to face a pensive Sirius and Ron. “So…just like my life…only worse.” He eyed each of them in turn. “Kinship.”

Turning away, Harry poured himself a cup of tea with his free hand. “I’m not doing it out of obligation. I’m not doing it out of pity. I’m doing it because I want to.” He practically slammed the teapot back down on the table. “That should be enough for both of you.”

Silence reigned for a few minutes after, both Sirius and Ron uncharacteristically subdued. It was soon broken, though, by the ever-diplomatic Remus, who had decided it was time for a change in topic. “So…Harry, how goes the house?”

“Oh, it’s coming along. You want to tell them, sweetheart?” Harry gestured to his girlfriend.

Ginny’s report was much livelier than his could ever be. She was practically bouncing in her seat when she told them of their weekend in Godric’s Hollow. Tonks nearly drooled when she described the setting and the town and the peacefulness of the area, and mentioned how it was a great place to raise a family. She told them about the farmers’ market and the nice people and the church and the free barbeque in the park. Ron’s ears perked up at the mention of free barbeque and before long he was back in full swing, asking about what they served, how it tasted, and a myriad of other food-related questions. Hermione had rolled her eyes. Ginny then continued telling them about her plans for the house and how she was working on a surprise room with Severus.

“Oh! Is the surprise for someone?” Tonks asked, her eyes gleaming. Ginny smirked and tilted her head towards Harry. “Which means you can tell us about it, right?”

Ginny laughed. “I’ll tell you two about it.” She pointed to Tonks and Hermione. “Then you can help me and Sev build it.”

“Which remind me,” Harry sat up in his chair, “Do all of you want to come over this weekend? I need help rebuilding the section of the roof that was destroyed in the blast.”

“Sounds good to me.” Sirius replied, straightening in his chair and speaking up once again.

“I’m in.”

“I want some of that free barbeque.”

“You’re going to have to attend services, Ronald.”

“Really?” Ron looked like he had just sucked a lemon.

“No, not really. You can just come to the barbeque.” Ginny replied.

“Wicked!”

Hermione rolled her eyes.

“Sweetheart? What do you think?” Tonks asked her husband.

“No complaints from me.”

“Then that settles it!” Sirius smiled and looked around excitedly. “We’re going back to the Hollow this weekend! Or…what have you named the house, Harry?”

“The Den.”

“As in ‘The Lion’s Den’?” Remus chuckled. “Aptly named.”

“We found that cave of yours in the grove out back.” Ginny remarked. “Maybe you boys can go back there this weekend and reminisce.”

“I’d appreciate it.” Harry added.

Both Sirius and Remus smiled at him. “Absolutely.” “It’d be my pleasure.”

“Harry, are you sure you have enough guest rooms for us to stay in?” Hermione asked.

“Well half of the second floor is sealed off because it has no roof. The living room is on the first floor and that has a couch, but I don’t see why you can’t sleep in either of the two guest rooms we have available upstairs.”

“There are also three other houses you can choose to stay in.”

“Yeah, but they aren’t furnished yet.”

“Three?” Everyone looked at Harry questioningly.

Harry sighed. “The Den forms one corner of a square of four cottages. To the muggles, there are only three houses there. To the wizarding community, there are four. Mine is the hidden one. The other three, when I first came up there, were for sale, so I bought them.” He explained. “One of the houses used to belong to the Dumbledores so I offered it back to them. Albus didn’t seem like he wanted it. Aberforth didn’t mind having it back. So I gave the house back to him. That house is furnished and everything, but I need to do some clean-up work on it before it becomes livable again.” He turned to Ginny. “Sweetheart, can you remind me to ask Abe what kind of work he wants on the house?” She nodded and he turned back to the rest of the group. “The other two houses are unfurnished and require some work, but are otherwise livable. I was going to offer one of them to the pair of you, Ron and Hermione, and the other one to the pair of you, Remus, Dora.” He turned to his godfather. “Padfoot, you understand, right? You already have a house.”

“Yes! Oh, yeah, yeah, absolutely!” Sirius nodded vehemently. “I don’t mind in the slightest.”

“We could help you redesign this house, Sirius.” Ginny smiled charmingly at him.

“Watch out, Princess, I might just take you up on that offer.” The animagus smirked.

“Wait…you’re giving us,” Ron gestured to himself and Hermione, “a house!” His eyes were as wide as saucers. “A house! For FREE?!” He turned to his girlfriend excitedly. “Blood hell, Hermione, it’s a free house!”

“I don’t know, Ron.”

“Wow, Harry…” Remus chuckled nervously, “That’s a, uh…That’s a generous…offer…”

“What’s wrong sweetheart?”

Harry raised a hand to try and calm them. “Of course you don’t have to decide now. Just…come over this weekend, check them out, check out the community, think things over. I don’t want to pressure you or anything.”

“If you decide you don’t want the house, just let us know. It’s no big deal.” Ginny added. “Harry will just put an ad out in the muggle newspaper for anyone who wants to rent the place.”

Sirius raised an eyebrow at them. “You want to have muggle neighbors?”

“Can you imagine me putting an ad out in the Daily Prophet for neighbors?” Everyone chuckled at him. “Exactly.”

“We’ll have to talk about it.” Tonks replied, unsure of Remus’ reaction.

“So will we.” Hermione added.

“What are you bloody talking about?!”

“Quiet, Ronald!”

“Hermione!”

“Take your time.” Harry chuckled. Sev shifted against his chest and Harry was suddenly reminded about the sleeping baby. “Oh…maybe we should go now.”

“Harry…” Ginny called, her eyes twinkling at her boyfriend. “You think if I go with Ron now, he’ll wake up?”

As if on cue, Sev shifted again and pushed up against Harry’s chest. “Mmmmmmmmewmmmmmmmmew…!” He whined, his eyes sealed shut, but his head bobbing back and forth. “Mmmmmmmewwwwmmmmmmmewwwww.” With that, he began to cry.

Harry grinned at the ceiling and everyone else at the table began laughing quietly. He looked at Remus with an ‘I told you so’ expression. “He’s psychic, I say. Psychic!”

Ginny chuckled as she came around the table, already adjusting the baby sling across her chest.

“Oh god! You’re going to breastfeed him aren’t you?!” Ron looked horrified and Sirius shuddered. “You’re going to breastfeed Snape!”

“Severus!”

“He is a baby, Ron, get over it!” Ginny snapped, helping Harry put Sev into the sling. “What would you have me do? Let him starve?”

“Well…I…” The redhead turned towards Sirius, but the animagus merely shrugged and looked the other way. “No…” With a final frustrated sigh, Ron followed Sirius’ example.

Harry and Ginny exchanged a look of triumph behind their backs.

The adults talked for half an hour more as Sev and later Teddy nursed and then promptly fell back to sleep. They made arrangements to meet in Harry’s quarters Saturday morning and then from there they would apparate to Godric’s Hollow. Harry offered to take them in their flight-abled car so that everyone may see the landscape from above. Hermione questioned the suggestion at first, but changed her mind when Harry assured her he would disillusion it before takeoff. They all soon agreed and then Harry and Ginny stood to say their goodbyes.

“Remus, Dora, you want a ride?”

“Harry, why don’t we just shrink everything and then floo back to your quarters?” Ginny suggested.

“On the other hand, we can do that.” Harry smirked. He excused himself, flew downstairs to the garage, shrunk their purchases, pocketed them, shrunk the car, pocketed that, and then flew back upstairs to rejoin the group.

The group said their farewells once more and the couples, with their two sleeping charges, flooed back to Hogwarts.