Sirius Arthur Black-Potter was quite sorry that he had decided to act up in Diagon Alley when all was said and done. He may have, possibly, been able to get away with what he had done had it been Neville or Luna, but not his Mum. No, he was sure that his Mum had eyes in the back of her head. It was possible, wasn’t it? Wasn’t that how she always knew who had done what and when?

Sirius looked from his mother to his father. He moved awkwardly from one foot to the other.

“Go on, Sirius. Tell Daddy what you did.”

Sirius swallowed hard and looked at Ginny.

“Do I have too?” he asked quietly.

“Yes.”

Sirius sighed.

“I didn’t mean it, I swear…”

“Sirius, I think that it’s best if you go ahead and tell me what you did.” Harry prompted him lightly.

“Well…You see, what had happened was that Mummy was in the bookstore. Which, you know Daddy, is two doors down from the Quidditch store and really, really boring. And what you also know, Daddy, is that Training Brooms are only 19 Galleons cause little kids grow so fast that they are a lot cheaper because they sell more…Uncle Ron told me that the other day when he came over to Grammy’s for lunch. Also, what you also know, Daddy, is that you and Mum gave us 20 galleons to buy Christmas presents…”

Harry held up his hand to stop Sirius from speaking any more.

“So, son, you left Mummy at the bookstore, without her permission?”

“Well, yea.” Sirius looked down at his feet.

“Then you bought a quidditch training broom, also without her permission?” Harry asked.

Sirius nodded sheepishly.

“Son, did you think about what would happen if Mummy hadn’t been able to find you?”

“I don’t know. I knew that I would be back before Mummy noticed.”

“But, you weren’t, Sirius. And I was so worried! Not only was I worried about you, but while I was frantically looking for you, you were buying something for yourself, without a thought in the world for your brothers. Yet, each of your brothers bought you a present today.” Ginny scolded him.

“I bet Severus didn’t.” Sirius spatted.

“Each of your brothers bought you a present. Yet, you were selfish and didn’t buy any of them one.”

“We can all share the broom. We will have two now. Or, we would have had Mum not made me take it back and then chewed the quidditch store guy out for selling a broom to a ‘seven year old child who doesn’t need anything that dangerous’. Mum’s words, not mine.” Sirius said sullenly.

“Your mother is the adult. You are the child. You will do what she says.”

“But…”

“Sirius, there will never be a ‘but’ when it comes to the authority of your mother and me. What you did was selfish, son. Don’t you understand that?” Harry asked the boy, kneeling down beside him.

This caused Sirius to sniff back the tears he was trying to hide. It did sound bad when he said it like that.

“’M sorry.” He whimpered as tears finally fell.

Ginny sighed and stood up, gently grabbed Sirius by the arm, and pulled him between her legs as she sat back down.

“Sirius, what can you do to make this better?” She asked him, taking her thumbs and wiping his tears away.

He shrugged his shoulders and said, “I dun’no.” His little shoulders shook as he talked.

“Am I in lots of tro’ble?” He asked through his snot and tears.

Ginny looked at Harry.

“What do you think, Daddy?” Ginny asked Harry. Harry looked at Sirius.

“I think that it is awful close to Christmas to be getting into trouble. Sirius, what do you think?”

“I think Mummy is a gon’a spank me.” The little boy sobbed and put his head down on Ginny’s lap in a way only a truly chastised child could.

Ginny patted his back and looked at Harry.

“Sirius, if I took you back to Diagon Alley, or maybe Hogmeade, and gave you back your twenty galleons, what would you do with it?” Ginny asked him.

He kept his face hidden in Ginny’s lap, but mumbled, “I’d get m’ brot’ers presents.”

Harry and Ginny both smiled.

“How about, we do that, then, Sirius. Your brothers thought really hard about what they wanted to get you; don’t you think that it is only fair you do the same for them?” Harry asked him.

Sirius turned his head slightly to the left and looked at his parents out of one eye and nodded.

“I think then, that that is what you need to do.” Harry told him, and then patted him on the back.

“Okay,” sniff, “Daddy.”

“How about you take a nap, Love, and then you and I will go into town and get your presents.” Ginny asked him.

Already half asleep, Sirius nodded and then held his arms up to his mother. He wanted to be cuddled now…and he also wanted to thank his lucky stars that he wasn’t getting punished anymore.

~sdrawkcab~

“Daddy. Daddy. Daddy. Daddy. Da…” Came voice from the hallway.

“What, Severus?” Harry said with a laugh as he walked towards his son. He bent down and picked up Severus, whose hair was going everywhere since he had just woke up, and looked him in the eyes.

“Daddy, I am hungry. And, I need to wrap my presents! Alby is still sleeping…and…Daddy! Did you know that Mummy is MISSING!” Severus yelled out the last bit with a certain amount of worry and surprise. If he was at home, his Mummy was always there when he woke up. So it was quite a shock to discover her missing. Of course, some of the brothers were also missing, but that wasn’t the same as Mummy going missing.

“No, no, Sev, Mummy isn’t missing. She and Sirius had to go back to town for a little bit. They will be back after while. You and Alby must have been really tired because you slept for three hours and Alby is still sleeping.”

“Well, where is Jamie and Teddy?” Severus asked, his eyebrows knitted together.

“Teddy is with Grandma, and Jamie fell asleep after he ate with Aunt Luna and Uncle Neville. They will both be back later.”

“Oh. Okay. Can you fix me something to eat?” Severus asked.

“What do you want?”

“Well…since Mummy isn’t here, and it’s just me and you, and maybe Alby if he wakes up, don’t you think that we should have chips and macaroni?” Severus asked seriously. Harry raised his eyebrows at him.

“Hmm. We might be able to handle that. But, only if you help me out.” Harry said with a grin. Severus nodded enthusiastically.

Together, with Harry carrying Severus, they went into the kitchen and pulled out a box of muggle macaroni and cheese (it was a brand that Harry had fallen in love with as a child and Mrs. Figg had made him some when he was at her house once) and frozen chips.

“How about, Sev, if I sit you on the counter, you read me the directions on the box, and I will follow them.”

“Okay. Give me the box.” Severus said with his hand held out for the blue box of mac and cheese.

“You need a pot, and you need to fill it with water about half way, and then you need to put it on the stove ‘til boils.” Severus told him.

“Okay…” Harry said, doing as he was told.

“You know, if you can cook, in reality, you should be able to do potions.” Severus said. Harry looked over at him with a questioning look.

Severus sighed.

“Sometimes I can’t separate my Snape memories from my Sev memories. Why can’t I, Daddy? Why does it have to be so hard sometimes?” Severus asked him, the box of macaroni and cheese loose in one of his small hands while the other rubbed his temple.

Harry stopped what he was doing and went to stand in front of his son.

“Sev, I know that you may not totally understand what is going on with you right now, but I think, maybe, just maybe, that this is like a second chance. Maybe your old memories are there to keep you from making the same mistakes over again.”

“But, sometimes I see things that I don’t remember. I see things that scare me and I don’t understand why they didn’t scare me then. I don’t remember ever being happy, Daddy. Don’t you think that that is sad? That I was never happy?” Severus asked the older man.

Harry watched his son thoughtfully before even thinking about giving him an answer.

Severus stared with his dark, obsidian eyes into the brilliant green ones of his daddy.

“Except one thing, Daddy. I remember one thing that made me happy.”

“What was that, Sev?”

Severus smiled and grabbed Harry’s hand which had been resting on his knee.

“I remember the eyes. Yours, and Alby’s. Lily’s eyes, they are. First they made me happy, then for a little while they made me sad, but now, Daddy, they make me happy. Your eyes are like Mummy’s hugs…they make me feel better. Even if I am in trouble. Lily always used to make me feel better…until…” Severus sniffed noisily and looked up at Harry with round, tear filled eyes.

“Shh, Sev. It is okay. My Mum, she forgives you. For everything. You were her best mate for a long time, and I think even after your falling out with her that she still thought of you that way. But that is the past, Sev. Now things are different. You have me and Mummy, and four brothers, and another sibling that will be here in a couple of months. You have so many cousins that I am not sure I want to count them all, and numerous aunts and uncles and grandparents. But, Sev, most of all, you are loved more than you will ever understand.” Harry said, leaning down and embracing his son tightly.

Moments passed, and Severus sat there on the countertop, and Harry stood in front of him and hugged him in a way that only a parent would be able too.

“Daddy?”

“Yes, Sev?”

“I love you.” Sev whispered.

With those three simplistic words, Harry James Potter felt his own eyes tear up.

“And, I too, love you, Severus Harrison Snape-Potter. More than you can ever imagine. You have brought nothing but happiness to this family.” Harry told him honestly.

After a few more moments, the two of them broke apart. Harry took a handkerchief and wiped the tears off of Severus’ face gently.

“Well, son, let’s get this food cooked and eaten before Mummy comes home. What do you say?” Harry asked mischievously.

All he received from the little boy was a giggle.

Oh, but what a precious sounding giggle it was.