“Sweetheart, I’m going to work on the Dumbledore house today.” Harry said as he laid a sleeping Severus down on their bed in Godric’s Hollow.
Ginny looked up from her unpacking to frown at him. “You’re not going to actually do what Abe said, are you?”
Harry grimaced. “I promised I’d look through the stuff.”
“Harry—”
“Ginny, Albus is a very ambitious guy.” Her boyfriend argued. “Granted, he always has the best intentions at heart, and he has great morals and ethics, but he is still very ambitious.”
Ginny frowned at him. “Which means what, exactly?”
“Abe may be more than a bit extreme, but his concerns are very valid. Dangle a chocolate cake in front of Albus’ face and he will find the sneakiest way of eating it.”
“Harry, he has a right to his stuff. What if you decide that a book is too dangerous to give back to him, but the book has more meaning for him than what you give it credit for? You just can’t make these kinds of judgments.”
Harry sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “I know. I realize that. I know, I know.” He paused for a moment and then his face lit up. “Okay…What I’ll do is I’ll separate them into categories—stuff that I’ll definitely give back to him, and stuff that I’m on the fence about. Then I’ll go talk to both Dumbledores, read them, and then decide. I did say it was up to my discretion; and they were both in the room when I said that. I heard neither of them disagreeing.”
Ginny pursed her lips together and then sighed. “Fine.” She murmured, looking away.
“Look, I know it’s a messy situation, love.” Harry acknowledged, running his hands down her arms and pulling her close. “But it needs to be sorted out, and I see no other way around this.” He wrapped his arms around her back and leaned his forehead against hers until her eyes drifted upwards to meet his.
Within seconds, her scowl transformed into a small smile and she reached up to wrap her arms around his neck.
The infant on the bed shifted slightly in his sleep and the fluff from a pillow caused his nose to itch. Severus reached up unconsciously to brush his nose with his little hand and opened his eyes in order to give the offending pillow the evil eye. What his blurry vision met with, however, was not the offending pillow, but the sight of two people-blurs—a man and a woman—and they had their arms wrapped around each other. The sounds of their two voices were distorted, as if they were talking underwater. Their words made little sense.
“Be careful…caution…”
“…will…just get it over with…”
“Are you…potions lab…antidote for your…today…?”
“Yeah…Severus…help…if he wants…”
“Mum and dad…family…dinner…library…”
“We have to…Sev…that…”
“Yeah…but…will work out…”
“I know…love…”
Then Sev heard nothing, and the infant didn’t know whether that was because his ears stopped listening or the two people had stopped talking. But then the man-blur leaned in to give the woman-blur a short, sweet kiss, and Sev realized that the man-blur was Harry and the woman-blur was Ginny; and then their next words reached him as clearly as a bell.
“I love you.” The Harry-blur said.
“And I love you.” The Ginny-blur replied.
And then Sev smiled and closed his eyes again, for everything was right in his world. He was just at the threshold of complete slumber when he felt the mattress dip beside him and a kiss placed on his forehead. Then he heard the words, “And I love you, cub.” But he thought he might’ve been mistaken.
When Severus opened his eyes once again, his vision met with a world of white and it was warm and cozy. The bed sheets and pillows below him and around him were as fluffy as clouds, and an arm was snaked around his waist. A strand of red hair fell onto his face and for a minute Severus thought he was in heaven.
Then he realized that this place was even better than heaven and that the red hair and arm belonged to Ginny.
Severus wriggled slightly so that he could see her better and tipped his head back so that he could see her face. Just then two gorgeous hazel eyes flickered open to meet his gaze.
“Mow—ming.” Sev murmured, grinning at the hazel-eyed angel.
Ginny smiled. “Good morning, love.” She drawled, rubbing her forehead against his and making the child giggle. “Let me see that pearly white again?” Severus tipped his head back and raised his upper lip to show her the tiny tooth that was popping out. “Oh, look at that gorgeous tooth right there! It’s the most beautiful thing in the world!” She leaned in to kiss Severus on his little nose, making the infant squeal in delight. Then Ginny pulled him close and placed a big wet kiss on his cheek. “You know what we’re going to do today, love?” She murmured into his cheek.
Sev bit his lip to contain his giggles and whispered, “Wa?”
“We’re going to make Harry’s birthday present today. How does that sound to you?” Ginny whispered playfully.
“BEF-BAY!” Sev grinned and his hands and arms began bouncing up and down in excitement.
“I’ll take that as a sign of your approval.” Ginny grinned, giving him one more kiss before she stood up from the bed.
Ginny took Severus through his morning routine before placing him in his sling and letting him nurse. She then walked down into the kitchen to fix herself some breakfast and get everything ready for the gift-making project she and Sev were about to undertake.
“There’s something I want to talk to you about, Sev.” Ginny began as she scrambled some eggs on the counter. The infant looked up at her questioningly as he fed. “How do you feel about meeting my family? I mean, how do you really feel?”
Sev’s eyebrows furrowed. How do I feel? I don’t know. I do not want to meet them—that’s for certain. Although technically Severus was already well-acquainted with the entire Weasley clan, he was reluctant to let them see him in this miniature form. If he was completely honest, he was reluctant to let them see him in his adult form as well. He was reluctant to let them see him period because it meant that he had to see them. Sev unlatched and pouted up at Ginny. “Mo wamp.”
“Okay. Why don’t you want to meet them, love?” The teenager raised an eyebrow at the infant.
Severus shrugged. He just didn’t want to. Why did he need a reason?
“Do you hate my family? Is that it?”
Sev frowned and his eyebrows furrowed. No, that wasn’t it at all! He shook his head. Severus only reserved the word ‘hate’ for his most despised enemies…and sometimes Dumbledore. But the Weasley clan never really qualified for the ‘hate’ category. Sure, they were loud, annoying, grating, wild, loud, crazy, and…loud, but he didn’t hate them.
“So what is it then, Sev?”
Severus shifted uneasily in his sling and turned pleading eyes on Ginny. “Mo wamp.” He shrugged.
“You do know you have to meet them sometime, right?”
Do I absolutely have to? The thought alone made him grimace.
“Maybe…one of the reasons you don’t want to meet them is that you’re nervous they’re going to make fun of you.” Ginny guessed, eyeing Sev with a raised eyebrow.
The baby bit his lip. Maybe that was it. He shrugged.
“Sev, I’ll have you know that if any of them make fun of you—which I doubt will happen—my mother will straighten them out quicker than you can blink.” She abandoned her cooking to look the infant in the eye. “And if she doesn’t do it, I will.” Ginny smirked and winked at the infant in her arm, making Sev giggle. “That is…if Harry hasn’t done it already.” Picking up her wand, Ginny flicked it at the bowl of scrambled eggs and her breakfast began cooking itself. Pulling out one of their brand-new stools, Ginny took a seat at the counter and wrapped her arms around Sev before continuing. “But that aside, Bill, Charlie, and Percy are all too grown-up and mature to poke fun of you, and Ron already knows, thus the only two boys left in the equation are Fred and George. Now…mum and dad had a word with them personally a few days ago, as did I, and as did Harry, actually. They’re not going to make fun of you.”
Sev peered at her dubiously.
“I’m serious.” Ginny nodded. “In fact, I think the only thing we have to worry about when it comes to the twins is them corrupting you.” The teen rolled her eyes. “Harry was telling me the other night that he was worried that once you all met, the twins would cajole you into helping them play some ridiculous prank on him, and you would play along, and he would fall for it and look like an idiot.”
Severus grinned and began to giggle. Well…that certainly sounds like an interesting idea, now that she mentions it. The wheels started turning in his head. Yes…an interesting idea indeed…Suddenly the prospect of meeting the Weasleys didn’t sound so bad after all.
“Anyway, I brought this up because my entire family is coming over for dinner tonight to meet you and they’re staying over for the night.” Ginny said. “Hermione would be with them, of course. And Harry invited Remus, Tonks, Teddy, and Sirius just to round it off.”
Black’s coming?! Sev’s eyes widened and an evil grin threatened to spread across his face. The twin troublemakers are going to be here with pranks and Black’s coming?! Oh, the wheels in Sev’s mind started turning on overdrive. Now having the Weasleys and Black over here sounded like a grand idea to him!
“So…would you mind having to tolerate my family and Sirius all at once for just one night?” Ginny asked, unaware of what was going on in Sev’s little mind.
Oh, no…I wouldn’t mind in the slightest! It took much effort, but Sev made sure to keep the evil grin off his face so that Ginny wouldn’t suspect anything, and graced her instead with wide innocent eyes. He shook his head.
“No?!” Ginny’s eyes widened in surprise. She had expected more resistance than that. “Are you sure?”
Sev shrugged. After a short pause, he nodded. I think that was believable. He mused.
Apparently it was because Ginny soon smiled. “Excellent! Wow. Okay! So I’ll let my mum and dad know that Harry will pick them up this afternoon. Okay?”
Don’t grin! Don’t grin! Don’t grin! The infant chanted in his head. He nodded, putting a bit of reluctance into it.
“Good. Thank you, baby!” Ginny gave him a big kiss on the cheek.
No, no, Sev smirked, thank you! Visions of all manner of pranks soon danced in his head.
Making Harry’s birthday gift was fun! He and Ginny had sat at the table for at least three hours, planning it, drawing it, touching it up, and making it from scratch. Ginny had allowed Sev to pick out all the important colors, and the baby had a whale of a time watching it all come together in the end. They were just about finished when they heard the front door close and Harry call out from the patio. Sev had been worried that Harry might see their gift, but luckily Ginny had everything cleaned up and hidden with a flick of her wand. When Harry walked through the dining room door, it looked as if they had been doing something completely different the entire time.
“Hey, you two! What’re you up to?” He gave Ginny a quick kiss before leaning down and planting a kiss on top of Sev’s head.
“Oh, nothing. What we’re usually up to every time we’re here.” Ginny shrugged it off and quickly changed the subject. “So…how was Dumbledore’s house?”
Harry shrugged. “As expected. A majority of the stuff is definitely going back to Albus. There are probably three or four things in the questionable box, but I’m not completely done with the house yet.”
“Ah.” Ginny nodded. “So are you going to work down in your potions lab now?” Her eyes narrowed at Harry and a tiny smile tugged at her lips.
Sev’s ears perked up at the mention of Harry’s potions lab. “Wab?” He immediately began bouncing in his high chair. “Wab? Wab? WAB?!”
Harry groaned and sighed, running a hand down his weary face. Beside him, Ginny started laughing behind a hand. “Alright, alright. Yes, yes, yes.” The teen unstrapped the infant from his high chair and lifted him into his arms.
“Wab! Wab! Wab! Wab! Wab!” Severus exclaimed excitedly.
“Yes, we’re going to go work down in the lab.” The teen handed a bag over to his girlfriend before turning and heading back through the dining room door.
Severus was excited! He was finally going to be able to work with Harry in his potions lab! The last two times they were here, Harry kept saying that he was still fixing it up, that he was still furnishing it, that he was still stocking it. Now Harry didn’t have any excuse. Ginny had told him earlier that morning that Harry’s potions lab was done, and that Harry was planning on taking Sev down there today to help him on an important project. The infant had been ecstatic!
“Okay! Rules of the lab,” Harry began as he opened the basement door and lit all the torches with a wave of a hand, “You’ll be in your walker, but you are not to touch any of the lower cabinets, do I make myself perfectly clear?”
Do not touch any of the lower cabinets. Sev repeated in his head as they walked down the spiral staircase.
“Can I trust you on this, Severus?”
Of course you can! Sev looked affronted, but out loud he replied with a respectful, “Yep, ehw.”
“Good.”
I wonder what’s in those cabinets, though. A little voice drawled in the back of his mind. No! You can’t touch any of the lower cabinets! A second voice argued. Who said anything about touching the lower cabinets? I was just wondering what’s in them, is all. The first voice replied. You told Harry you wouldn’t touch the lower cabinets. The second voice retorted. But you have to wonder…what doesn’t he want you to see?
Sev bit his lip. The first voice was beginning to sound fairly reasonable.
“That’s my only big rule, okay, Sev?” Harry continued as they stepped into the hallway of the basement. The door to the potions lab opened with the wave of a hand. “We’ll make more up as needed, but that’s the big one.”
Ooo! It’s a big rule. The first voice drawled in his ear. That means there’s something really important in those lower cabinets that he doesn’t want you to see. Sev’s gut began churning as Harry placed him in his walker and began pointing out all his work benches and research stations. As the infant’s eyes wandered around the room, all he could notice were all the lower cabinets scattered about the room. Hmm…I wonder which cabinet houses all the interesting things.
“Remember our big rule, okay?” Harry remarked as he walked towards his research station. “There’s a potion I want you to help me with, cub. Just hold on for a second.”
Hmm…one, two, three, four, FIVE lower cabinets. Sev shook his head to try to clear it of the voice he now recognized as Temptation. Which to open first? Which to open first?
“MO!” Sev cried.
Harry looked up from the parchment in his hands, his eyebrows rising to his hairline. “I’m sorry?”
Sev gasped. Did I say that out loud?
“You don’t want to help me with the potion?”
No! I didn’t say that! Temptation cackled in his ear, making Sev scowl. “Wamp hep! Wamp hep!” He replied, bouncing in his walker.
Harry gave him a strange look. “Okay.” He turned back to the parchments in his hand. “I want to introduce you to my method of potion-making before we start. Okay?”
Maybe you should touch the cabinet right next to you and see if it opens! Sev put his hands over his ears in an attempt to block out the voice. I’m not going to touch the cabinets. I’m not going to touch the cabinets. I’m not going to touch the cabinets! He pushed himself backwards and away from the closest cabinet just to prove to himself that he wasn’t going to give in to Temptation.
“Are you alright, cub?” Harry was looking at him strangely once again.
Sev glanced up, bewildered. “Wamp hep?”
Harry raised an eyebrow at him. “Yeah…uh…” he glanced at the parchment in his hands, “I seem to have lost the formula I’d written down. I’m going to run next door to the library to get a book.”
Sev’s eyes widened. Oh no! No, don’t leave the room! No! Sev knew exactly what would happen if Harry stepped out of the room. Sure enough, Temptation began chanting in his ear. Touch the cabinet! Touch the cabinet! Touch the cabinet! Touch the cabinet!
“Don’t touch anything, Sev.” Harry said, throwing his papers back onto his work station and heading towards the door. “I’ll be back in two seconds.”
Touch it! Touch it! Touch it! Touch it! Sev nodded and watched in dread as Harry walked out of the room. I used to be a spy! I used to be able to control this!
Sev groaned and glanced at the nearest cabinet.
Touch it! Touch it! Touch it! Touch it!
Sev glanced back towards the door.
Touch it! Touch it! Touch it! Touch it!
Sev glanced again at the nearest cabinet.
Touch it! Touch it! Touch it!
He inched his way closer as quietly as he could.
Touch it! Touch it!
Sev reached out…
Touch it!
…and touched the handle of the cabinet.
The cabinet door immediately slid to the side to reveal…
…legs! Three pairs of human legs!
Sev shrieked in alarm and barreled out of the room, into the library next door, and straight into Harry’s right leg.
“ARGH!” Harry screamed in agony and toppled over. Books and papers suddenly went flying everywhere as the teen crumpled to the ground and clutched his right leg to his chest.
Severus froze.
“Harry?!” Ginny’s worried voice echoed from the top of the stairs. It was quickly followed by the sound of thundering footsteps. “Harry?!”
Harry groaned in pain and rolled over on the floor. Sev could see beads of sweat begin to break out on his forehead and the infant’s breaths began to shallow. “Haweh?!” He squeaked.
“Harry! Great Merlin!” Ginny rushed to his side and rolled him back onto his back. “Harry! Do you want me to call Saint Mungo’s?!”
Saint Mungo’s?! Sev’s eyes widened in alarm and he gaped at Ginny’s back. “HAWEH?!”
“NO!” The teen gasped, batting Ginny’s hand away and clutching his right leg even closer to his chest. Sev could tell he was in serious pain. “No, no, no, no…” He cleared his throat rather forcefully and grit his teeth. Harry’s eyes had yet to open, the infant noted. “Sev just…ran into my right leg…”
“OWEH!” Sev cried, rubbing his fist around his chest in the sign for ‘sorry’. “OWEH! OWEH! OWEH!”
“It’s okay!” Harry forced through gritted teeth. He took a deep breath and quickly released it, opening his eyes then and gaping at the ceiling.
“Harry, are you sure?”
“Yes, yes,” Harry replied, panting. “Just…take Sev…I need a painkiller…” Harry pointed towards his lab.
“Haweh?!” Tears began forming in Sev’s eyes. Why was Harry in so much pain?! He didn’t even bump into him all that hard!
”Come on, love.” Ginny lifted him out of his walker and took him into the next room. “I need you to point out a painkilling potion for me.”
Sev glanced down at the cabinet he had stupidly opened and noticed that the door had slid shut on its own, much to Sev’s relief. At least he wasn’t going to get in trouble for that. On the other hand, though, now he had to deal with all the guilt he was feeling from having accidentally bumped into Harry’s leg and caused him so much pain. “Wa Haweh?” Sev turned wide eyes on Ginny.
“He’s going to be fine, love.” Ginny assured him as she rubbed his back and headed towards Harry’s stores. “He’s going to be perfectly fine. Right now I need you to point out a painkiller for me. Can you do that?”
A groan and a loud thump echoed through the door from the other room and Sev glanced back apprehensively. “Haweh?!” The infant squeaked in distress.
“Come on, Sev! Come on, honey! Point one out. Quickly, love!” Sev bit his lip and gripped Ginny’s shirt tightly in his little fist. Turning around, Sev quickly scanned all the different bottles and flasks and vials and jars until he spotted a familiar pink vial on one of the lower shelves. “DAP!”
Ginny picked it up immediately. Uncorking it with her teeth, the teen took a sniff before holding it out for Sev to sniff himself. Yup, that’s definitely the painkiller. Sev grimaced. He’d always hated the way it smelled.
“Is this the one?” The infant nodded. “Are you sure?” Sev nodded again. “Okay!” Ginny quickly dashed into the library and thrust the uncorked vial in her boyfriend’s hand. “Drink, Harry!”
Harry didn’t need telling twice. He downed the vial in one gulp and stiffened in anticipation.
Within five seconds, Harry let out one big breath and all the tension in his body released. The pain had gone away.
“Haweh?” Sev called as Ginny placed him back in his walker; his voice sounding small to his ears.
“I’m fine, cub.” Harry replied, his voice sore and laced with exhaustion.
“Harry, maybe you shouldn’t work on your potion today.” Ginny suggested, “Maybe you should just—”
“No!” Her boyfriend interrupted, opening his eyes and fixing her with a determined look. “This is precisely why I have to work on it today!”
“Wa ha?!” Sev shrieked, bouncing in his walker and banging on his little table. “Wa ha? Wa ha? Wa ha?!”
“Nothing happened, Sev!’ Harry replied, turning to the distressed baby. “You just bumped into me a little too hard, that’s all.” From the corner of his eye, he could see Ginny frowning at him.
Sev scowled at him dubiously. “Mo! WA HA?!” He wasn’t about to believe that Harry was in that much pain from a little bump to the leg. That was ridiculous! Harry was the strongest man in the world! He could take a little bump to the leg without all that drama. No, there was something more here than they were letting on to him.
“Nothing happened.” Harry repeated fiercely before pushing himself up to a sitting position.
“Harry!” Ginny cried, alarmed.
“I’m fine, Gin!” Harry glared at his girlfriend, and she set her jaw and returned his glare with every bit of intensity.
Sev froze and suddenly fell silent. His gaze moved from one to the other and then back. They were glaring at each other. Why were they glaring at each other?
“I’m fine.” Harry repeated coldly before stiffly pushing himself to his feet. Sev noticed how he favored his left leg.
Ginny remained in her crouched position, however. Her arms were wrapped around her middle, as if she were hugging herself. Her gaze was firmly locked onto the fireplace across the room. She looked both angry…and sad.
Harry, for his part, began limping out the door. Sev’s eyebrows furrowed as he watched his retreating back. The infant was confused. What just happened here?
“Sev? Are you going to help me with this potion or not?” Harry’s voice called from the lab next door.
Frowning, Severus turned back to the still-frozen Ginny. “Immy?” He cried in a small voice.
It was as if calling her name snapped her out of a trance. Ginny took a deep breath and turned back towards Severus, gracing him with a small smile. “Go on, baby boy.” She incliner her head towards the door. “Go on! I’ll be fine.” She pushed herself stiffly to her feet and ran her fingers through his baby hair before giving him a small push towards the door.
Sev gazed up at her sadly and asked in a tiny voice, “Wa ha?”
Ginny’s smile didn’t quite reach her eyes this time. “Nothing happened.” She replied, her voice just above a whisper. Sev could hear pain in her words.
“Severus!”
The infant glanced fleetingly towards the door before returning his gaze upward. “Immy?”
“Go on, love.” Ginny crouched next to him and gave him a light kiss on the cheek. She then closed her eyes and took a deep breath; and when she opened them again Sev could see the light shining in her eyes once again. “Go on!” Her push became a small shove and she began shooing him towards the door. “Go help Harry with the antidote he’s working on!” Reluctantly, Sev began inching towards the door. “And give it your all, Sev!” She lowered her voice to a whisper and Sev watched as her arms wrapped around her middle once again. “Pretend as if…pretend as if his life depended on it.” And with that, she shooed him out of the library and closed the door in his face.
Severus was more confused than ever.
“Immy?” Sev questioned, patting the door with his tiny hand. He stretched out his senses, just like Harry taught him, and almost immediately sensed a shift in the door’s magical aura. Ginny had put a spell on it from the other side. Silencing charms, most likely. “Immy?” He tried once more, but it was useless. She couldn’t hear him.
With a huff, Sev turned away from the door and crossed the hall as quickly as his little legs could take him. He wanted to have a word with Harry! “Haweh!” He cried, using the edge of his walker to throw open the lab door and burst into the room. What he saw in there, however, made him freeze. Harry was slumped over the edge of one of his work tables. His face was buried in his hands and he looked utterly defeated. Severus’ eyebrows furrowed. What the hell was going on here?! “Haweh?” He squeaked, his voice once again as tiny as a mouse.
“Just give me a second, cub.” The teen replied from behind his hands.
Sev glanced at the closed library door behind him, and then turned back to the defeated person-who-looked-very-much-like-Harry in front of him. Severus didn’t want to believe that this person-who-looked-very-much-like-Harry in front of him actually was Harry. Harry was the strongest man in the world! If this person-who-looked-very-much-like-Harry actually was Harry, then there was something else going on here—something bigger—that neither Harry nor Ginny were clueing him in on.
Suddenly, the person-who-looked-very-much-like-Harry moved and Sev watched as he quickly swiped at his eyes before taking his glasses off his head and putting them back on. “So…shall I go into potion-making via auras?”
That’s it?! Sev gaped at him incredulously. That’s it?! He’s just going to ignore everything that just happened here and go back to talking about stupid auras?! No! Sev wanted to know what the hell was going on here! Sev wanted to know why Harry kept human legs in his lower cabinets! Sev wanted to know why Harry was in so much pain when he bumped into him! Sev wanted to know why Ginny wanted to call St. Mungo’s! Sev wanted to know why Harry needed a pain killer! Sev wanted to know why Harry and Ginny were glaring at each other! Sev wanted to know why Ginny locked herself in the library to cry! Sev wanted to know why Harry was crying in here! Sev wanted to know why he felt like crying himself!
All of a sudden, Sev’s baby mind took control.
“Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuup!” He wailed, holding his arms out and opening and closing his hands in plea. Harry was by his side in a second and lifting him into his arms. Sev screamed into Harry’s shirt and allowed his frustrations to drain away through his tears. Why were they not telling him anything?! Why were they mad at each other?! Why were they making each other miserable?! Why were they making him miserable?! Why did Ginny say to give it his all when he went to help Harry?! Why did Ginny say to pretend as if Harry’s life depended on it?! Why?! Why?! Why?!
The chest below his ear suddenly began to rumble soothingly as Harry began humming a nonsensical tune. Sev closed his eyes and stuck his thumb in his mouth as he listened to the gentle vibrations and allowed them to lull him to a state of calm and relaxation. The infant was only vaguely aware of his sling being wrapped around him, and of the room swaying back and forth as Harry danced around. Severus only half-opened his eyes when Harry’s humming transitioned into soft-spoken explanations about how different potions had different kinds of auras, and how new potions can be constructed by merely putting the right ingredients together in such a way as to create a certain intended color arrangement. He never stopped sucking his thumb as Harry showed him the potion he was brewing at the moment—some kind of antidote to something or another. He heard the rumbling of Harry’s chest more than he heard Harry explain what kind of aura he wanted the potion to have and by when. And he was only distantly aware of Harry covering his eyes and muttering a spell.
Yet when Harry lifted his hand from over Sev’s eyes, those little eyes widened until they were as big as saucers. Every single thing in the room glowed! Sev saw every color of the rainbow coming from each of the ingredients vials on the shelves. There were blues and pinks and purples and reds and oranges and yellows and greens! There were shiny yellow auras and dull grey auras and long swirly green auras and structured, rigid blue auras. There were thin, graceful orange auras and slow, lazy purple auras. There were perky, primly pink auras and long, straight white auras. Then there was the aura of the antidote itself, which was a composite of all the different structures and colors. Sev had never seen anything like it before! It was beautiful, to be sure; yet it didn’t quite make sense to him.
“It doesn’t make sense.” Harry’s chest rumbled. Sev’s eyebrows furrowed as he gnawed on his thumb. “And that’s the problem. If I can manipulate the aura of the antidote so that it makes sense, I can immediately generate a recipe so that the process can be repeated—and the aura recreated—as needed.”
So that’s what he was talking about when he said potion-making via aura. Sev shifted in his sling and resettled against Harry’s chest.
“So…are you going to help me restructure this potion so that we can come up with a viable recipe?”
Sev reached out a finger and swirled it through the pretty little rainbow aura in front of him. To his delight, the colors and structures reacted to his finger like water in a pond. No, Sev thought, but I can play with this aura until I get bored enough that I don’t want to play with it anymore. He yawned and began listlessly manipulating the colors and structures of the aura.
“I’ll take that as a yes then.” Harry’s chest rumbled. Sev didn’t hear him. He was too busy playing with the pretty rainbow swirls.
Severus was not feeling as nervous as he should’ve been feeling at the prospect of meeting the Weasley clan. Nor was he feeling as giddy at the prospect of pranking Black, as he should’ve been feeling, either. No, he was feeling none of those things. Instead he was stuck in this limbo, where everything else didn’t matter until Harry and Ginny were both happy again. Something was bothering them, Sev figured—something big! The infant was reminded sharply of the other day when Harry had been hiding his scars from him and Ginny. The atmosphere then had been very similar to the atmosphere that hung in the air now at Godric’s Hollow. Yet Sev wasn’t deluded. He didn’t think this atmosphere was due to secrets. No, this atmosphere was more due to the absence of secrets.
The revelation from the other night, that “one more thing” that Sev had reluctantly fell asleep on, was something much more than a “one more thing”. It was the naked truth—something so raw and painful that it was affecting both their behaviors.
And it was also affecting Sev.
The infant stood at the door to the kitchen, watching Ginny cook. Harry had left a little while ago in the SUV to go pick up all their guests from the Burrow. Thus, only Sev and Ginny were in the house now. The teenager looked harried. Her hair was a mess, her apron was full of food stains, and her hands and arms trembled as she mixed the bowl of pudding at the counter. Sev’s frown deepened. Ginny was usually in her element when she cooked. She herself insisted on cooking almost every night because it made her feel better and a list of other reasons Sev couldn’t remember at the moment. Yet right now Ginny did not look in her element, not even in the slightest. Her pudding was flying out of the bowl at times, something smelled like it was burning, the knives on the counter were chopping on overdrive, and Sev guessed whatever she was cooking in that pot should not be releasing as much steam as it currently was.
“Immy?”
The teenager jumped. Her arms jerked, the wooden spoon overshot the bowl, the bowl slipped from beneath her arm, and a loud clanging suddenly filled the room.
CLANK! CLANK! CLANG! BANG! SPLAT!
Silence.
Sev’s eyes traveled from the mess on the floor, up to the face of the harried young woman standing at the table. Ginny was staring at the mess on the floor with the blankest expression Severus had ever seen on another human being. It was as if she was looking at the mess but was not seeing it. Her eyes were so far away.
“Immy?”
Her name was what brought her out of her trance once again; and when her eyes met Sev’s, they filled with tears. “Sev?” She choked on his name and batted at the tears that were beginning to trickle down her food-smudged face. She tucked her hands beneath her armpits and trembled as if she stood under a snowstorm. Meanwhile the kitchen looked as if a different kind of storm just traveled through it; and when she looked around this time, it was like she was seeing it for the first time.
Sev slowly began to inch closer. “Immy?” The infant repeated, his voice filled with concern.
“Made a bit of a mess, haven’t I?” She choked on the final two words; and then a loud gasp filled the air before Ginny’s trembling hand covered her mouth and the trickles from her eyes became streams.
Sev ran to her immediately. “Immy!” Ginny’s legs became too weak to hold her up any longer and she soon collapsed on the floor. Sev stopped right next to her and began bouncing in his walker. “Immy!” He reached out to her. “Immy!” He might have been too small to hold her, but he sure as heck could allow her to hold him! “Immy!” If she could just pick him up, that was!
After a minute or two of tears amid nonstop trembling, the teenager reached out for the infant. “Come here, baby.” Ginny wrapped Sev in her arms and hugged him as she would a teddy bear. And for at least ten minutes, the roles between them were reversed in a convoluted sort of way. Ginny was still the one who held him, but for the first time since everything started, it was Sev who was the one providing comfort and a shoulder to cry on.
“Immy…” Sev cooed soothingly, patting her chest in comfort as she rocked him back and forth. “Immy…” He tried to imitate Harry’s soothing voice pattern every time he said her name. “Immy…” He cooed and patted her chest and rubbed his nose against hers until her tears began to slow. “Immy…”
Both Sev and Ginny were only vaguely aware of the front door flying open and a commotion coming from the vicinity of the living room. They were only vaguely aware of Harry calling their names amidst a myriad of other voices and sounds and hullabaloo. And they were only vaguely aware of the kitchen door swinging open and Harry standing at the threshold, staring at them.
Sev continued cooing Ginny’s name and patting Ginny’s chest, even as Harry’s footsteps slowly approached. He continued rubbing his little nose against Ginny’s, even as Harry knelt down beside them. And he continued providing Ginny with as much comfort as he could, even as Harry wrapped his arms around the both of them and provided his own.
Ginny’s tears only began falling harder.
“We’ll get through this, I promise.” Harry whispered and kissed the both of them atop the head.
All of a sudden, the kitchen door burst open once again and Sev recognized the very distinctive voices of Molly Weasley and Sirius Black, amongst a myriad of others. Yet from the way the entire group shut up within two seconds flat, Sev figured they had been spotted by the pack.
An uncomfortable silence reigned for all of about five seconds.
Then someone cleared their throat rather uncomfortably before the distinct voice of Arthur Weasley ordered in an authoritative tone, “Alright, come along, everyone! Let’s all go into the living room and leave them alone for a bit.”
“What’s going on?” Ron piped up from the back.
“Hush, Ronald!” Molly Weasley rebuked amidst her shooing noises.
“But—”
“Come along, Sirius.”
“But—”
“Padfoot!”
The kitchen door swished shut and a comfortable silence reigned once again as the commotion retreated back to the living room.
It took another five minutes or so for Ginny’s tears to slow to a more reasonable pace, and both Harry and Sev comforted her throughout. “I promise you, my love,” Harry whispered in her ear, “we’ll get through this.”
“Uh-huh!” Sev added, even though he had no idea what Harry was talking about. The infant grinned and reached his head up to rub his nose against Ginny’s, drawing a smile from her for the first time since her tears started.
“There you go. See, sweetheart?” Harry chuckled, kissing Sev on the forehead. With a wave of a hand, he set the kitchen about cleaning itself up, and ordered the food to finish preparing itself. “Come on, love.” Harry stood up and began coaxing Ginny to do the same. “I know what’ll make you feel better.”
Ginny snorted as she got back to her feet, managing to keep a firm hold on Severus the whole time. “Really?” She raised an eyebrow at her boyfriend.
“Oh, yes.” Harry chuckled playfully and winked. “I’m psychic!”
All of a sudden, the opening notes of a song began floating through the room from the record player on the window sill.
I sit and wait
Does an angel contemplate my fate?
Sev smiled around the thumb in his mouth and got comfortable in Ginny’s arms…
And do they know
The places where we go
When we’re grey and old?
…as Harry wrapped his arms around the both of them and began swaying them around the room.
Cause I have been told
That salvation lets their wings unfold
Ginny took a deep, shuddering breath…
So when I’m lying in my bed
Thoughts running through my head
And I feel like love is dead
I’m loving angels instead
…and began to relax in Harry’s arms.
And through it all
She offers me protection
A lot of love and affection
Whether I’m right or wrong
And down the waterfall
Wherever it may take me
I know that life won’t break me
When I come to call
She won’t forsake me
“I’ll always be here for you.” Ginny smiled.
I’m loving angels instead.
“The both of you.” Sev smiled.
When I’m feeling weak
And my pain walks down a one way street
Unbeknownst to the three slow dancers, the kitchen door slowly began to inch open.
I look above
And I know I’ll always be blessed with love
The crack soon grew bigger.
And as the feeling grows
She breathes flesh to my bones
When love is dead
I’m loving angels instead.
Now it was rather wide.
And through it all
She offers me protection
A lot of love and affection
Whether I’m right or wrong
And down the waterfall
Wherever it may take me
I know that life won’t break me
When I come to call
She won’t forsake me
“I love you.”
I’m loving angels instead.
Ginny looked up into Harry’s eyes. Harry looked down into hers. Their foreheads met in the middle and together they both leaned down to nuzzle Severus, who giggled around his thumb.
And through it all
She offers me protection
A lot of love and affection
Whether I’m right or wrong
And down the waterfall
Wherever it may take me
I know that life won’t break me
When I come to call
She won’t forsake me
The door was almost completely open now.
I’m loving angels instead.
Instead of sharing a kiss this time, they both leaned down to kiss the baby in their arms.
“Aww…Eez vewy sveet, yes?”
Everyone in the room, including Harry, Ginny, and Severus, turned towards Fleur, who was currently one of the fourteen heads at the kitchen door.
“Honestly!” Ginny rolled her eyes. “Can no one dance in this house without everyone else spying on them?”
Tonks snorted. “Yeah, Sirius!”
“What are you talking about, Dora?!” The animagus squeaked defensively. “You’re here too!”
“OOOH! Ooo hav leetle bebeh?”
Sev scowled and blew raspberries at her.
Fleur shrieked, everyone jumped out of the way, Ginny snorted, and Harry hissed into Sev’s ear, “Five minutes time-out later before bed.”
Sev giggled at the shrieking Veela and decided it was entirely worth it.
Arthur smiled as he approached his daughter and the infant Snape, “Hello, Severus! It’s very good to see you alive and well.” He offered his hand to the infant.
But before Severus could even blink, Molly had pushed past her husband and enveloped both the infant and her daughter in a rib-crushing hug. “Hello Severus!” She exclaimed their ears.
“Immy!” The infant cried, trying to wiggle his way out from between the two ladies.
“Mum, you’re crushing him!” Ginny groaned, “And me!”
“Oh, dear…” Molly released them, but just as quickly, she took Sev’s face between her hands and gave him a big wet kiss on the cheek. The infant grimaced. “I’m very glad you’re alive, Severus!” She grinned. “You know, when Ginny sat us down the other day and explained everything to us, we didn’t know how we felt about the situation. But Ginny stuck around and she, her father, and I all talked about it, and we agreed that it was a bit strange, though not unheard of. There was that man who has been in the papers for a few weeks now. Sweetheart, what was his name?”
“Elson, I think.”
“Aidan Elson! And we were following his story rather closely because Arthur and I found it rather interesting, actually. Well, anyhow, we realized that if it was strange for us, then it must be even stranger for poor Ginny and Harry. But then they took it so well! And then Ginny told us about how she felt about you and Harry and the entire situation. She loves you, dear!” Molly emphasized this by squeezing Sev’s cheeks between her hands, making the infant squeal and whine.
“Immy!”
“Mum!”
“Molly!”
“Oh! I’m so sorry, dear!” Molly released Severus’ face, but not before placing a much gentler kiss on the cheek that was not already leaning against Ginny’s chest. “Anyway, long story short, we had a long heart-to-heart talk and…well…” Molly glanced at her husband.
“What Molly’s trying to say, Severus, is ‘Welcome to the family!’” Arthur grinned, opening his arms as if expecting a hug.
Severus merely blinked at him and continued to suck his thumb as he listened to Ginny’s heartbeat.
“You want to give my dad a hug, sweet?”
Sev blushed and buried his face in Ginny’s chest, shaking his head in the process.
The teenager sent her dad an apologetic smile. “He’s a bit shy.”
“That’s quite understandable, Severus.” Molly replied, rubbing the infant’s back.
“Well, isn’t it good ol’ Professor Snape! He’s looking good, isn’t he, Fred?”
“He most certainly is, George.” The twins approached from either side of their parents.
“Boys, play nice!” Molly warned. “Remember what we talked about?”
Sev peeked out from his hiding spot to watch the twins.
“Honestly, mum, we’re not two anymore.”
“We’re twenty!”
“You don’t have to keep telling us the same thing—”
“—over and over again!”
“We heard it the first time.”
“And the second!”
“And the third!”
“Yeah, but the real question is, ‘Did you actually take it in?’” Arthur mumbled under his breath as he turned and headed towards Remus, Sirius, and Harry. Molly pointed a warning finger at them before turning back towards the dining room.
“Where are we all sleeping tonight, sweetheart?” She asked over her shoulder.
“I’ll tell you in a minute!”
“Hey, Mr. Snape!” Fred smiled, tapping the baby on the shoulder. Sev’s eye turned towards him. “A little bird told us that you might be interested in…” he lowered his voice considerably, making the baby sit up in interest. “…helping us test one of our products—”
“—on a certain animagus.” George finished, whispering in his other ear.
Ginny scoffed and began walking away from them, taking Severus with her. “Mo! Immy!” The infant pushed up and began reaching for one of the twins. “Wamp hep! Wamp hep!”
“Ginny!”
“No!”
“Immy!”
“Now wait just one minute there, dear sister!” The twins jumped in front of her to block her path.
“Allow him to help us and we’ll do it to the Veela as well.” Fred whispered in her ear. Ginny narrowed her eyes at him.
“Wamp hep, Immy! Wamp hep, Immy! Wamp hep, Immy!” Sev argued, bouncing in Ginny’s arms from the excitement.
“Whatever it is, no.” Harry broke in, taking Sev from Ginny’s arms and heading towards the door.
“Aw, come now, Harry!” Fred frowned.
“Don’t be such a spoil-sport!” George added.
“Besides, it’s not against you.”
“Ah, but it is against someone, isn’t it?” Sirius smiled, his eyes alight as he jumped into the conversation. “Well who is it? Come on!”
“Whoever it is, Sev’s not going to be helping you.” And with that, Harry marched towards the door to the dining room.
Sev pouted and stared back at the twins longingly. But then one of them winked at him and smirked, making Severus grin. Oh yeah! It’s going down!
“Peb-by!” Severus bumped his red donut-shaped plastic ring against his high chair table to get the little metamorphamagus’ attention.
“Ah!”
“Wap!” Sev turned towards Harry, who was in the middle of a conversation with Charlie, and purposefully dropped his plastic ring on top of Harry’s foot. Without even turning back, the teenager picked up the plastic toy and placed it back of Sev’s tray, causing both infants to dissolve into uncontrollable laughter.
A chuckling Tonks turned towards her husband. “Remus, what are they laughing at?”
“I’ve no idea.” The werewolf replied with an amused smile of his own.
“Peb-by!”
“Ah!”
“Wap!” Turning back to Harry, Sev dropped his toy again. And once again Harry retrieved it and placed it back on Sev’s tray, causing both infants to dissolve into giggles once more.
Once their giggles subsided, Sev started the cycle once more. “Peb-by!”
“Ah!”
“Wap!” And over and over Sev dropped his toy, and over and over Harry retrieved it, and over and over both Sev and Teddy burst into laughter.
“What’s so amusing?” Sirius asked in Remus’ ear.
As the two best friends were engaged in conversation about what the infants found amusing, Sev caught Fred’s eye. The twin was sitting next to Sirius and flicking his eyes in the animagus’ direction. He then twitched the hand next to Sirius’ glass of water. Severus grinned.
“Peb-by!”
“Ah!”
“Wap!” Sev narrowed his eyes and aimed as best he could. Here goes nothing! The infant pulled back and put all his muscle into launching the plastic red donut toy into the air. Within seconds, it hit Sirius square in the middle of the forehead.
The animagus blinked and then frowned, rubbing his head in irritation. “What’d you do that for, Severus?!” He scowled, bending down to retrieve the red donut toy.
It took all of half a second for Fred to dump whatever was in his hand into Sirius’ glass of water.
“Sev, apologize!” Ginny ordered, missing Fred’s slight-of-hand as Sev took all her attention.
Severus managed to suppress his grin, transforming it into a sour look instead. “Owy.” He muttered as Tonks handed him his red toy back.
Sev watched in delight as Sirius took a drink of water and then turned back to his conversation, oblivious to whatever he’d just consumed. For about a minute or two, nothing happened; but that was okay since George signed a three against his watch, which Sev took to mean a three-minute wait before the show began. And sure enough, exactly one minute later, Sirius’ face began to take on a pinkish hue.
“Padfoot…are you alright?”
Sirius furrowed his eyebrows at Remus. “Of course I am! Why?”
A grin began to blossom on Sev’s face.
“No, noth—Um…”
The infant’s grin grew in direct proportion to how much Sirius’ nose shrunk.
“Sirius, I don’t think you’re okay.” Remus amended.
“What?” A high-pitched nasal voice replied, startling everyone into silence.
Giggles began bubbling up as soon as Sev noticed how long Sirius’ ears had gotten, and how big his two front teeth were.
“Boys!” Molly Weasley’s reproachful voice boomed from the other end of the dining room table. “Fred! George!”
“What? Us?!” Amazingly, both twins managed to look genuinely affronted.
“Severus!” Ginny’s voice sounded almost exactly like her mother’s as she rebuked the giggling infant.
Yet Sev couldn’t help himself. The baby laughed like he had never laughed before as he watched Sirius’ eyes shrink to two black, beady dots.
“Why do I sound like a chipmunk?!” The animagus squeaked angrily. “And what did you two do to me?!” He tried to send his most terrifying glare towards a giggling Fred. Unfortunately, because Sirius now looked like a hybrid between a human and a fuzzy pink bunny, his terrifying glare was having little to no effect.
Suddenly, a snort resounded from the head of the table, making everyone’s head turn in Harry’s direction.
“Harry!” Ginny hissed as she lightly slapped her boyfriend on the shoulder.
“I’m sorry, Gin, but you have to admit,” Harry’s shoulders began shaking as he pointed in his godfather’s direction, “It’s very good!”
The fuzzy pink bunny huffed and scowled at his godson.
“Why thank you, Mr. Potter!” Both twins puffed up their chests and looked rather proud of themselves.
“Peb-by!”
“Ah!”
“Bubbee!” Sev pointed in Sirius’ direction and as soon as the younger infant saw the fuzzy pink bunny, he began laughing hysterically beside his best friend.
Teddy’s laugh triggered his mother’s, which triggered her husband’s, which triggered Bill’s, which triggered Arthur’s, and before anyone could blink, most of the table was sharing a laugh at Sirius’ expense.
The fuzzy pink bunny glared at them all and his scowl deepened. “Great! Yeah. Laugh it up! I’m so glad you’re amused!” He squeaked. Sirius picked up his glass of water and splashed the rest of it in George’s face, cuffing Fred on the back of the head as he pulled his hand back. The twins didn’t even blink. They continued laughing despite it all.
As he waited for the laughter to die down (and his face to transform back), Sirius sat back in his chair and eyed the giggling six-month-old by the head of the table. The little guy had just played his first prank on him; and Sirius had to admit it was a pretty darn good one. You should be feeling proud of the kid. A voice said at the back of his mind. The thought made the animagus pause. He should be feeling proud of the kid, he realized. Severus had just pulled his first prank! Granted, the joke had been on him, but that was beside the point.
The fuzzy pink bunny’s eyes began to gleam in the candlelight. His nose wiggled and his whiskers twitched as a smile began tugging at the corner of his little mouth. Sirius’ bunny-sense was tingling. He could smell a Marauder in the making.
“Peb-by!”
“Ah!”
“Bubbee!” Again, the little metamorphamagus burst into giggles.
Make that two Marauders in the making! Sirius smiled and quickly began thinking about how he was going to train his little Marauders behind Harry’s and Remus’ backs.
It was one in the morning and The Den was finally quiet as everyone had finally settled down for the night. Charlie and Percy were sleeping downstairs, Ron and Hermione in the corner bedroom, Mum and Dad across the hall, Bill and Fleur in the new room next to them, Fred and George in the new corner bedroom, and Remus, Tonks, and Teddy in Sev’s room next door. Sirius was once again sleeping in his dog form at the end of their bed, and Severus was sound asleep between them.
“How do you think it went today?” Harry whispered into the silence.
“Better than expected, actually.” Ginny replied. “I think telling them in advance was a good thing. It gave them time to get used to it.” She ran her fingers through Sev’s baby hair. “To see the bright side of the situation, I guess.”
Harry chuckled. “Mum’s quickly turning into the doting grandmother.”
Ginny snorted. “And Fred and George are transforming into the perfect uncles.”
“As I feared.” Harry smirked. “Sirius is too, I think.”
“Yes.” Ginny agreed.
Silence filled the room for a while until it was broken by Harry’s sigh. “I’m sorry about today.” He said, turning slightly to face his girlfriend.
Ginny’s eyes shone in the moonlight as she gazed up at her boyfriend. A small smile tugged at her lips. “It’s alright, Harry.”
“No, it’s not.” Harry shifted slightly and reached over to wrap his arm around both Sev and Ginny. “I promise you, my love—you and Sev, both—we will get through this.” He leaned over and rested his forehead against hers. “We will!”
“I already believe you, Harry.” Ginny replied drowsily, reaching up to give him a featherlike kiss on the lips. “I already believe you.”
And at last the only sounds that filled the night were the chirping of crickets and the occasional bark and growl from a dreaming animagus.