The next day Echo was busy in the kitchen cooking off the rest of bad memories and frustrations that yesterday's pensieve deposition had brought up. Harry and Severus were in the living room taking care of the morning's correspondence.

Harry had a letter from Draco and was reading it to himself.

Dear Snapelet,

You have to tell me more about Echo. She sounds nice. Hermione and I went with her parents to a Muggle fair on Sunday. It still amazes me what Muggles can do without magic. There were these performers that walked over the fair itself on wires! Nothing to catch them if they fell, can you believe it? Hermione called them tightrope walkers. Personally, I think they're barmy.

"Daddy? What's barmy mean?" asked Harry as he stopped on the new word.

"It's a slang word meaning insane."

"Thank you." Harry went back to his letter. The writing changed right then to Hermione's precise script.

Hi Harry!

Hermione here. Your handwriting is looking very good. I'll bet you're excited about starting Primary school. You'll have loads of fun. We'll see you on your birthday, so be a good boy for your father.

Love Draco and Hermione

Harry had written a long and rambling reply to Draco and Hermione. He was doing much better with a quill and only had a few messy drops. One rather large ink splotch had tempted him to drag his quill through it until the pool of purple ink resembled a twenty-legged spider with eye stalks. Harry quite like the little abstract creature.

"Daddy, my letter's finished."

Severus looked up from his correspondence to Harry at his desk and motioned him over. Harry slid off his chair and took his letter to his father. He leaned against the desk, his elbows on the surface. His father squinted his eyes at the ink splotch.

"Did you squash a spider on your letter, Harry," he teased with a slight raised eyebrow towards the boy.

Harry giggled. "I hope I never see a spider like that!"

"Too true. It's a fearsome thing." He then read the letter checking Harry's spelling. He found only four mistakes which he had his son correct after he used an Erasure Spell to remove the mistakes. "You're doing very well, Harry." He was thankful that his son had not mentioned 'the kiss' in his letter.

The little boy grinned. "Am I going to have my spelling lesson today? Echo seems like she's in a bad mood."

"I'll take you through today's lesson after lunch. Echo just needs some quiet time after yesterday."

"Then why's she cooking?" he asked as he peered into the kitchen at the young woman who was busy chopping vegetables for soup.

"That's her way of getting over something that has upset her." Severus looked into the kitchen as well and watched as Echo paused in chopping the celery to brush an errant curl out of her face with her elbow. When that didn't work, she tried blowing it out of the way with a sharp huff. Suddenly slapping the knife down on the cutting board, she used her wandless magic to tuck the curl back into place without touching the hair. She smiled at the small battle won and went back to chopping.

Harry saw the appreciative smile that flitted briefly on his father's lips. "Daddy, are you going to kiss Echo again?"

Severus closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose as he was reminded too soon of the question he had yet to answer. He had read the pamplet that Madame Pomfrey had given him and had found it to contain surprisingly good advice. Taking a deep breath, he used his own wandless magic to summon Harry's chair over to his desk. He patted the chair.

"Sit down, Harry."

Harry did so, sensing that his father had something important to tell him. He balanced on the edge of the chair, leaning slightly forward.

Severus took another moment to think about what he was going to say, and then began with his own question. "Child, where did you come across the notion that kissing makes a baby?"

"Well, I told Charlie Reeves that babies came from St. Mungo's but only after the mummy gets bignant..."

"The word is pregnant," Severus corrected firmly.

Harry huffed. "Okay. Pregnant. Doesn't sound right." He stretched out his hand to trace a scar in the desktop. "Anyway, Charlie told me that's not making babies. Parents just pick up babies at the hospital when they're big enough to go home. He said that his Daddy kissed his mummy and then his little sister Wendy was made. But, he also said it doesn't always work because maybe the kissing isn't done right. So, I asked Wendy and she said her mum said kisses made babies." He frowned and leaned his chin on his clasped hands on the desk. "But you said kisses don't. So, how do you make a baby?"

"Babies are only made when a mother and father, who love each very much, decide they want to have a baby." Severus' heart was beating rapidly in his chest as he measured his words carefully.

"Mums and Dads kiss, right?" Harry asked.

"They do."

"But Echo's not my mum," he frowned, trying to puzzle things out. "And, you kissed her. Did you both decide you wanted to make a baby?"

Severus shook his head. "Between a man and a woman, a kiss is a sign of attraction."

"You mean like magnets?" Harry asked in puzzlement.

Severus suppressed the desire to laugh. This was not a subject he needed to ridicule. "Not quite, child. Men and women who are starting to like each other will kiss each other."

"Ohhh." He smiled for a moment, a slight twinkle to his green eyes. "So you like Echo and Echo likes you!" That revelation was quickly replaced by another frown. "But kissing means you love someone, too, doesn't it?"

"It can mean you care about someone, too."

Harry's brow beetled in thought for several minutes and then he remarked, "I don't think Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia love each other, then."

Severus brutally squashed the thoughts that the distasteful subject of Harry's vile relatives brought to mind. As much as he didn't want to think of them, he had to take into consideration that much of what Harry knew of a loving couple had never been normally demonstrated by those two.

"I doubt very much that your aunt and uncle ever knew what love was, Harry. If they did, they would not have treated you the way they did."

"Aunt Petunia never kissed me, but she never kissed Dudley, either," he said worriedly. "She always pinched his cheeks or patted his tummy."

Severus frowned. "Harry, did your aunt or uncle ever hurt your cousin?"

"Uncle Vernon would yell at him and call him stupid if he did something wrong. Aunt Petunia would take a switch to him when he was bad, but never when Uncle Vernon was around. If he got spanked, then he'd hit and kick me." The little boy looked into the kitchen and smiled softly at Echo as she caught his gaze. She smiled back and waved. "I don't ever want a mum like Aunt Petunia."

"Trust me, child, the woman I choose as my wife will be nothing at all like Petunia. She will be someone who loves you as though you were her own child."

"Are you going to marry Echo?"

"I really can't say, Harry. I know I like her, but in order to marry her, I'd have to love her. I'm not sure that I do. It's very complicated."

"Complicated gives me a headache," complained Harry laying his cheek against the desk.

Severus chuckled softly and brushed a few strands of hair from his son's forehead. "Sometimes it gives me a headache, too."  He then thought of something.  "Harry, you've seen Draco kiss Hermione.  Have you ever thought..."

Harry interrupted, "No way!  They're not a mum and dad, silly."

"Ah," said Severus, although he felt hardly enlightened.  With a slight smile he asked, "Have I answered all of your questions?"

"Yeah... I think so." He lifted his head from the desk. "Would you take me up on your broom? I want to fly really high."

"Let me just finish this letter to Albus and then we'll fly to the village." He watched Harry duck-walk his chair back over to his desk.

"Daddy? Isn't grandpa going to live with us anymore?"

Harry was referring to the fact that once the old wizard had been de-aged he'd returned to London to re-assert his role as Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot. "I don't know, Harry. I expect Albus will want to return to live at Hogwarts since he'll be Headmaster again. You know he's always welcome to visit, though."

"Okay. I guess that's all right, then."

Severus waved his hand in a shooing manner at his son. "Go to the bathroom and then put on your warm robes, child. Let me finish my letter."

Harry ran off to his bedroom and the Potions Master looked down upon the letter Dumbledore had sent him that morning; it was his yearly Teacher's Contract. He had signed that contract every summer for fifteen years. Never once had his hand hesitated. He studied his past signatures beneath all the legalese and frowned. His first signature had a deliberation about it. All the letters were legible, but shaky. He'd been nervous. The year after that... his signature was heavy and angry.

He ran his finger over the old signature. That was the day he'd seen the baby Harry Potter for the first time. He leaned back in his chair, his quill tapping with old, remembered feelings of that day.

Severus had spent nearly a month recovering from the Dark Lord's latest anger over some stupid prophecy. Voldemort had punished many of his Death Eaters, but Severus, since he was closer to Albus and had failed him, had received a much harsher punishment. Weeks passed and he was thankfully not called back to the Dark Lord's side. He kept to his dungeon lab, brewing, in an effort to think only about his Potions.

He couldn't brew that day, though. At breakfast, a letter had arrived for him from Lily. That alone had been enough to cause him to lose his appetite. He'd left the staff table and the Great Hall, nearly at a run. When he went through the front doors of the castle, he did run. He ran as fast as his legs could carry him down to the lake near the gathering of trees where he and Lily used to study. In that place, haunted by the past, he opened her short letter and read it.

Lily wanted to see him.

At their old play park near Spinner's End.

He had no intention of going to see her. Not when he'd lost her to James bloody Potter! He made the mistake of going to talk to her the night before Lily married James and it had only ended in tears for Lily, and for him, a Death Eater's meeting.

Yet, at 6:30 in the evening he brushed the lint from a clean frock coat and put on a new set of teaching robes. Without trying to talk himself out of it, he Apparated to the abandoned park and stopped by the rusted swing set where he and Lily had played together as children. During those few minutes he felt a fool waiting for a married woman to arrive.

"It would be wise to leave. Forget her letter," he mumbled to himself.

Lily was early, though, and the moment he saw her, there was no chance of him leaving. For several long minutes, the two adults merely looked at each other. Severus was very close to just throwing all impropriety out the window by taking her into his arms and kissing her.

That's when the baby let out a small cry.

Potter's son! Lily dared to bring that... child to him? Anger and hurt warred within his heart at hearing the cry of James Potter's son against his mother's breast. He stepped back with the intention of truly leaving, but Lily stopped him.

"Severus, please don't go!" Lily was suddenly very close to him, her hand grasping a fold in his robe.

"This is far too dangerous, Mrs. Potter," he admonished sharply. He put all the venom he possibly could into her married name.

Lily winced, but did not release her grip on his robes. Resigned to her stubbornness, he turned to face her. He stared stonily down his nose at her, waiting for Lily to get to the reason she had wanted to see him.

In the moment that he turned to face her, Lily shoved the mewling bundle into his arms. There was a timid, yet proud smile upon her face. "This is Harry, Severus."

Severus nearly shoved the baby back at Lily, but then Harry opened his eyes and looked up at him. He stopped his faint fussing and regarded him, if it were even possible, with trust. Had he not locked his knees just then, he might have fallen to them. He knew, with all the senses he had honed as a spy that tiny Harry felt safe with him. It was nearly too much to bear.

"Severus, I..." Lily began, but stopped herself, and she shook her head vehemently. Anguish, perhaps, clouded her features for a moment.

Had he not still been under the influence of the small wizard's green-eyed gaze, he would have Legilimensed Lily in order to find out why she was doing this. As it was he did not have a chance for the subtle probing of her mind as she finally told him why she'd asked him to meet her.

Back in his dungeon quarters as he imbibed a bit too heavily on an old bottle of Elf Wine, one phrase, a promise, kept turning over in his mind: "I promise you, Lily. I will keep Harry safe."

"Doors close as new doors open," he mused in a light, bittersweet tone. He pushed aside the contract and tore up the letter he'd begun to Albus. Dropping the quill into the quill stand, he pushed away from his desk and walked into the kitchen.

The soup was simmering and now Echo was kneading her frustrations into a lump of bread dough. She had a smudge of flour on her nose and the curl that she had battled with earlier had loosened itself and was caressing her cheek.

He moved slightly behind and to Echo's right. Smoothly he tucked the curl behind her ear and then lightly brushed the flour from her nose. Lifting her hands from the dough, Echo leaned back against his chest. She tried not to get flour and sticky bread dough on him, but Severus had wrapped his arms around her. Her hands helplessly grasped his forearm as it crossed over his other forearm.

"Sorry about the mess," she muttered.

He kissed Echo's temple. "Easily taken care of." Leaning slightly, he then kissed her cheek, his lips lingering just a moment longer against the soft skin. "Are you feeling better?"

"I am. We'll have rather an abundance of food to eat, however. Maybe Albus and Minerva would like to come to dinner?"

"Not tonight," he said softly in her ear. He drew in the scent of her dark curls; amber with a teasing touch of orange. He nipped lightly at the bit of her ear that was free of the dark tresses. "I would like to have dinner with you and Harry. Just as it was last night."

She smiled, closing her eyes. "I'd love that. Would you walk with me on the beach after Harry is put to bed?"

"It would be my pleasure. I wanted to let you know that Harry wants me to take him flying so we'll be going into the village. As you seem to be depleting our larder, is there anything you need?"

"No. I'll take care of that tomorrow. You and Harry go and have fun, Severus."

Turning Echo in his arms, he ignored the scattering of flour that dusted the front of his frock coat, took her face gently in his hands and kissed her, softly, sweetly, and so soundly that when he drew away and silently slipped from the kitchen she was frozen in place, dazed, and listening to the rapid beat of her heart.

"Sweet Circe!" Echo finally breathed as she returned to her bread dough. She smiled blissfully, kneading the bread dough with a much less hostile vigour.