Another one-shot idea. Have no fear, I'm working on many others, a few requests and then some. Doing my best to multitask several stories. If you've shared an idea with me in the past but haven't seen the one-shot for it, I'm getting there! And of course, if you have any ideas you'd like to see, just share them in your review. Enjoy!

"Come on," Severus encouraged. "Say Daddy."

Six-month old Harry stared up at his father, smiling at him with bright green eyes.

"Say Da-da," Severus said, "Da-da."

"Mamamamama," Harry babbled, reaching his hands up to his mother as she entered his line of view. He rolled on to his stomach and scooted forward a little as Lily walked over to his dresser, pulling out clothes for him.

"Are you at it again, Sev?" Lily asked, smiling at her husband. She stood next to him by the crib, staring down at her baby. "I told you, he'll say Daddy when he's ready."

"He is ready," Severus argued. "He says "mama" all the time!"

"Yes, well, "mama" has been a very constant figure in his life."

Lily reached down and picked Harry up, carrying him to the changing table.

"So has "dada,"" Severus said, leaning against the crib.

"Oh," Lily looked up at Severus with mock surprise, holding out a diaper and an outfit. "Are you volunteering to change him and dress him for the day?"

"I could do that," Severus frowned. "But why would that affect his ability to say Daddy?"

"You don't get it, do you?" Lily shook her head. "While you slave away at your potions in the lab day and night, I'm slaving away taking care of Harry day and night."

"I've fed him, changed him, and clothed him," Severus contended. "I've even given him baths."

"Now and then, yes, and it's a big help," Lily gave Severus a grateful look as she worked a one-piece onto Harry. "Especially at night, but Severus, you're always so busy with your work, sometimes I wonder if you've forgotten you even have a son."

"I haven't forgotten," Severus moved forward and lifted Harry off the changing table. He held him up high in the air. "And he's the best baby boy in the world."

Harry squealed in delight, looking down at his father from this new perspective.

"The point is," Lily accepted Harry back from Severus, "that if you got your head out of the fumes and spent as much time with him as I did, he'd be saying Daddy just as often as he says Mama."

Severus groaned as he watched Lily leave with Harry on her hip. He knew by her tone that Lily was agitated and it wasn't just because he didn't spend more time with Harry. Some father he was. He loved his son, but he needed the money to take care of his family. His potions were highly prized and he had to make enough to make a good fortune. When he wasn't brewing, he'd split his time between Harry and Lily, taking over baby duties while Lily did other work or relaxing activities. And he'd bring Lily wine while he massaged her thoroughly after a long day. Why wasn't Lily happy now?

Severus joined his family in the dining room where Harry was fussing over the new pureed kale Lily was trying to introduce. Lily looked more annoyed than she had been earlier, her red hair frizzled slightly and black bags stood out under her eyes, greatly contrasting the bright green. Harry whined and turned his head away, jerking his body in a fuss. Severus rushed over to the highchair to save Lily from throwing in the towel and throwing out the food.

"Here, let me try, Lils."

Severus took the baby spoon from Lily who moved to the head of the table, sliding her coffee over with her in a defeated manner.

Severus put the end of the spoon in his mouth and shook it like a dog would a new toy, being careful not to make a mess of the green slop at the end of the spoon. Harry smiled at him and leaned in closer. Severus growled playfully and leaned in as well. Harry bit down at the end of the spoon, copying his father. He smacked his lips at the taste of the pureed green. He didn't seem too excited over the bland new food, but he had tried some.

"You're a genius," Lily muttered over her coffee. "I'm with him more hours of the day and he eats something new for you. A bloody genius."

Severus handed the baby spoon to Harry and set the bowl of pureed kale in front of him. Harry flung the spoon across the room and slapped his hand into the bowl before tasting the food on his fingers.

"What's wrong, Lily?" Severus asked. "You seem upset."

"I'm not, hun, I'm just . . ." Lily rubbed at her face. "I'm tired. I love Harry and I love spending time with him, but . . . I can't do anything. I have to raise my baby, but it's wearing me down. I would love a vacation."

Severus sighed. He could understand where Lily was coming from.

"Oh, what a terrible thing to say," Lily mumbled. "A vacation from my own baby."

"That's not what you meant and you know it," Severus said. "I think you are far overdue for a vacation. I have an idea."

Lily watched Severus jump up from the table and head to his study, wondering what Severus's grand idea was.

"Mamama!" Harry squealed happily.

"Oh," Lily snorted and laughed at the sight of Harry – his face, neck, hands, and the front of his one-piece covered in green splotches, the bowl tossed to the floor. "Harry Sevvie, you silly boy! Let's get you cleaned up."

"But Severus," Lily gaped as she stared at the parchment she had just received. "That's three days!"

"And you need those three days, love," Severus stated. "Three days at the wonderful Hogsmeade Spa, just you, a room with a big, warm bathtub – and those bath salts you love!" Severus moved around Lily and rubbed her shoulders, massaging the muscles. "And an indoor pool and hot tub, a free yoga class, a sauna, and an hour long deep tissue massage."

"Mmm," Lily moaned, leaning against Severus as he massaged her. "It all does sound relaxing . . ."

"You cannot not accept this," Severus told her firmly, "I've arranged a nice schedule for you and I already paid a booking fee."

"What about Harry?"

"He's with his father, he'll be fine."

"That's not very reassuring."

"That hurts, Lily. I'll take care of Harry while you're away and I promise you by the time you return, he'll be saying Daddy more than he says Momma."

"I'd like to see that," Lily smirked. She looked down at the parchment, a brochure of where she would be staying. "It looks so beautiful – and only a mile outside of Hogsmeade. You spoil me, Severus."

Lily turned and pulled Severus's head down to lock their lips together. After a long, loving kiss, they withdrew and Severus helped Lily pack for her three-day vacation.

"Alright, Harry," Severus smiled once Lily had left. "It's just me and you."

Harry bounced on his feet in the baby jumper Lily had set him in, wearing a new one-piece. Severus sat down in front of him, smiling but wondering what he was supposed to do. He watched Harry with mild interest as the boy stared at himself in a mirror attached to the jumper. One would think Harry had never seen himself before with the way he was staring. After a minute, Severus sighed and he itched to go back in his lab and brew. Maybe this was why he hid in his lab most days – babies were completely boring.

"I have an idea."

Severus pulled Harry out of the jumper and carried him downstairs to his lab. He set up a baby gate and waved his wand to extend it the full width of the basement. He set Harry down behind it and summoned some toys for him: a colorful xylophone, a colorful Rock-a-Stack, a rattle, linking rings, and a couple teethers, which Harry immediately began gnawing on. Severus smiled and spelled a barrier over Harry's play area to prevent any potentially dangerous fumes from being inhaled by the baby.

Severus set up a cauldron and just as he got it boiling, he heard a loud upset squeal from Harry. He quickly walked over to Harry's play area and looked down at the little boy sitting among the toys.

Harry giggled happily and held up a ring from the Rock-a-Stack.

"How nice," Severus commented.

Harry tried to gnaw on the ring, but couldn't fit much of it in his mouth.

Severus sighed and walked back to his cauldron. He started crushing a bezoar for his antidote to common poisons potion when he heard another loud angry cry from Harry. He quickly set the mortar aside and rushed over to Harry, making sure the boy wasn't choking on anything or trying to knock the baby gate down.

Harry was sitting in the same spot with the same ring. His frown immediately turned to a smile as he stared up at Severus, gnawing on the ring again. Severus took a deep breath and shook his head at Harry before turning back to the cauldron and crushing the bezoar again. He was measuring out the bezoar when he heard another upset cry from Harry. He grinded his teeth and continued what he was doing, but Harry cried out again, then let out an angry shriek.

Severus dropped what he was doing and rushed over to the baby gate. Harry smiled up at him and waved the ring around. It flew out of his hand unintentionally and Harry stared at it from where he sat, as if amazed that the ring could suddenly fly away. He blew raspberries, drool dribbling down his chin. Severus bit back an irritated growl as he returned to his potion. He added the crushed bezoar and began measuring out Standard Ingredient when Harry let out an angry shriek.

Severus growled under his breath as he tried to pay attention to what he was doing.

Harry shrieked again.

And again.

And again, getting louder in decibel each time.

Nearly snarling, Severus dropped what he was doing and walked back over to the baby gate.

Harry smiled at him, his toothless smile wide and sweet. Severus growled in irritation.

"Will you stop doing that!?" He snapped at Harry.

The effect was almost immediate. Harry lost his smile and his lips quivered and his eyes watered. Then, he started screaming in tears. Severus regretted his actions just as quickly and jumped over the baby gate, rushing over to Harry.

"Ohh, baby, shh," Severus picked Harry up and rocked him. "Daddy's sorry, I'm so sorry. Daddy didn't mean to scare you. Shh."

Harry kept crying even as Severus rocked him. After what felt like an eternity to Severus (ten minutes), Harry calmed down a bit, still wearing a pouty face.

"Mama," he whined.

"Right," Severus sighed. "Definietly no closer to having you say Dada, huh?"

Harry just gave Severus a pouty face.

Behind them, the cauldron started bubbling angrily before exploding. Splatters hit the shield Severus had set up, dripping down to the floor. Severus sighed again. Wonderful, no potion, no happy baby, and no Lily. What was he supposed to do now?

Severus left his basement after casting a cleaning spell and carried Harry back upstairs. He set Harry down in the jumper and sat in front of him as he did earlier.

"That was a fail," he told his son.

Harry was entranced with his reflection in the mirror again, completely ignoring Severus. The man sighed and rubbed his face with his hands. Was there anyway to make Harry livelier? Were all babies this boring? Severus hoped that children grew more interesting and fun as they got older because he didn't think he could handle this for eighteen years. What would Lily do with him right now? Sometimes she read to him. Sometimes she would play some kind of clapping game with him. She'd even play peek-a-boo, but none of that was something Severus wanted to do at the moment.

Harry was looking at him again and he smiled happily.

"Maybe we should practice saying Daddy more, hmm?" Severus suggested, moving closer to the jumper. "Can you say Daddy? Say Daddy."

Harry just smiled at his father, his grin growing bigger.

"Come on, baby, say daddy. Say Dada."

"Bababa," Harry babbled.

Severus groaned and rubbed at his face. "You want a bottle, huh? Bottle's more important than Daddy. Got it."

Severus picked Harry up and carried him to his highchair, moving the highchair to the kitchen. Severus grabbed Harry's bottle and the formula and then froze. He realized that he had never made Harry's bottle before. Yes, he's fed Harry several times, especially at night to take turns with Lily, but Lily had always made the bottles or had ones premade at night. How did she set all this up? Severus grabbed the formula container and tried to read what it said. Hot water? Why on earth would he give a baby a hot drink? But the times he had fed Harry the bottle had been warm but not hot. And the number of scoops depended on weight. Was he supposed to know Harry's weight off the top of his head?

Severus looked over at Harry who was sucking his fingers in his mouth.

"I don't suppose you would know how to set this up?"

Harry just sucked his fingers.

"Oh, come on, your mother makes this for you everyday – you watch her! What do I do first? Give Daddy a hint here."

"Bababababa," Harry reached out for the bottle in Severus's hand.

Severus rolled his eyes. Harry was proving to be no use whatsoever.

"It's not even ready yet," he told his son, looking at the label again. He didn't know if he could trust this container. Maybe he should ask for help. He could floo call Lily, but he didn't want to disturb her well-earned vacation. Who else could he call? One of Lily's friends? Petunia? He really couldn't floo call Lily's sister without a muggle phone – which he did not have – and he really didn't want to speak to Vernon should that oaf pick up the phone first.

Severus was so lost in his own thoughts, he didn't realize Harry becoming fussy for the bottle until the boy was crying again. Severus turned around and stared at the screaming boy. He needed this bottle ready yesterday! Severus, a bit overwhelmed, rushed to the floo and threw in the powder.

"Remus!" Severus called into it.

There was no answer.

"Remus!"

He could hear some shuffling and then Remus appeared in his sight.

"What? What's wrong? Did something happen?"

"Get over here now!"

Severus stepped back and after a pause, Remus stepped through the flames.

"What is it?" Remus asked, scanning the house. Harry's screaming filled the house. "Is something wrong with Harry? Is he hurt? Where's Lily?"

"On vacation," Severus said. "Harry's fine, just hungry."

"Okay," Remus frowned. "And you called me why?"

"I've never prepared one of these before," Severus held up the bottle. "I don't know how."

"And?"

"Well, do you?"

"Why the hell would I know?" Remus snapped, "I don't have any kids!"

"Alright, alright," Severus growled back. "I just . . . panicked. Lily's usually always here."

"And I was the first person you thought of to help you? What about Petunia?"

"Oh, would you just come look at this container."

Severus led Remus into the kitchen where Harry was still crying, his fingers in his mouth for comfort. Severus picked up the formula and handed it to Remus. Remus stared down at the instructions for a moment. It was too long of a moment for Severus.

"Well?" he asked.

"It's a bit hard to read quickly with a screaming child," Remus glared at Severus for his impatience.

"Well I can't help that! What do you want me to do – silence him?"

"And border on child neglect? I don't think so. It says here your supposed to boil water."

"I'm not giving boiled water to a baby."

"One step at a time, Severus."

Remus flicked his wand and a pot filled itself with water and flew to the stove.

"I'm supposed to boil water every time?"

"I think Lily uses a spell to keep the milk fresh and then uses a heating charm later. I'd say you should probably prepare a few of these bottles for the day and night."

Once the water was boiling, Severus looked down at the label again.

"So we let it cool. Now how much formula should I measure out?"

"It goes by weight? How much does Harry weigh?"

"How should I know?"

"He's your son!"

Severus flicked his wand at a still crying Harry. Where did that boy get the energy to scream so much? A number appeared in the air next to Harry, it's red numbers showing 16.

"There, does that show some kind of weight conversion?"

"Five to six ounces," Remus read.

"Well, which do I give him?"

"I don't know, go with six."

Severus measured out six ounces of the formula and looked at the label again. They needed to fill the bottle once the water had cooled down to room temperature. Severus looked at the pot and held his hand over it. It was still boiling hot. Harry's screaming was starting to get on his nerves and he just flicked his wand at the stove, cooling its temperature down.

"I guess that works, too," Remus commented, picking up Harry and rocking him in an attempt to calm him.

Severus added the water and formula and then swirled it together. He quickly handed the bottle to Remus, who offered it to Harry, adjusting the boy so he was lying back in his arms. Harry grabbed a hold of the bottle and suckled happily, his crying ending immediately. Remus smiled down at Harry, snorting as the boy smiled back. Severus was glad the screaming was over.

Remus walked around with Harry as the baby enjoyed his bottle while Severus prepared more for future use. He would not be caught emptyhanded with Harry again.

After Harry had fallen asleep and Severus was storing away bottles of milk, Remus set Harry down in his crib and rejoined Severus in the kitchen.

"Anything else while I'm here?" Remus asked, raising his eyebrows. "Do you know how to change a diaper? Give a bath? Feed solids?"

"I can handle, thank you," Severus glared. He sighed and said, "But really, Remus, thank you."

"No problem," Remus smiled before heading to the floo. "Won't this be a fun story to share with Lily."

"Don't you dare!" Severus followed after Remus, but the man had already left in the floo, his laughter slowly fading as he was swallowed by the flames. Severus growled under his breath. It was going to be a long three-day weekend.

Later that night, after changing a diaper and feeding Harry dinner, Severus carried Harry to the bathtub and filled it with barely an inch of water. He undressed Harry and set him down in the tub, keeping a hand on him so he didn't slip. Harry kicked slightly in the water, squealing.

Severus grabbed the baby body wash and lathered his son's body, being careful not to get any too close to Harry's face. He rinsed him with the bit of water in the tub. He applied shampoo to Harry's hair and carefully rinsed it. At least, he thought he was careful.

Harry started crying, his eyes squeezing shut.

"Oh, Harry," Severus grabbed a washcloth on the counter and turned the faucet on to soak it. He wiped gingerly at Harry's eyes, holding the back of Harry's head as he did so. Then he felt Harry slip.

He caught Harry before he could hit the hard iron tub, dropping the cloth. The sudden movement, however, startled Harry. He screamed louder, his eyes still hurting.

Severus felt ready to cry himself as he lifted Harry out of the tub and swaddled him in a towel. He rocked him as he opened the mirror and grabbed an eye-cleansing potion and an anti-inflammatory potion. He used an eye dropper to put a single drop of the eye-cleansing potion into Harry's eyes, using his fingers to keep Harry's lids open as he did so, letting the boy shut his eyes as soon as he placed the drops. Harry continued to cry, even after Severus managed to feed a spoonful of the anti-inflammatory potion to Harry, flavoring it to taste like applesauce to entice the boy.

But Harry still cried.

Severus rocked Harry all the way to the boy's room. He felt terrible at how his day was going. Harry had cried more today than he had all week. Severus changed Harry swiftly and then rocked him some more. He found The Very Hungry Caterpillar and began reading it as he walked around the room. Harry slowly calmed down and soon, he was asleep.

Severus sighed and set him down in his crib, making sure he was on his back and that the crib was empty. He sat down on a rocking chair nearby and stared at his sleeping son. He wearily rubbed his face.

"I know I'm terrible at this," Severus said aloud. "I have no idea what I'm doing. But I'm trying my best – my best to be a good father to you. Am I doing anything right?"

Harry continued to sleep.

Severus smiled and quietly lowered the drop-side, leaning down to kiss Harry's temple. He raised the side and clicked it in place.

"Goodnight, sweetie," Severus smiled before heading to bed himself.

The next day went a bit smoother for Severus. He managed to have a bottle on hand first thing in the morning, though he had to endure Harry's crying while he quickly changed his nappy before feeding. After breakfast, Severus dressed Harry into a cute overalls outfit. Presently, Harry was scooting across the floor, sucking on teethers here and there.

Severus was reading the Daily Prophet on the couch, keeping an eye on Harry. He decided he might as well as amuse the boy. He set the paper down and grabbed a blanket nearby, covering himself entirely. He crawled on the floor over to Harry, staying hidden under the blanket in front of him.

"Where's Harry?" Severus asked from under the blanket. "Where is he? There he is!"

Severus lifted the blanket up, revealing his face to Harry, who grinned widely at his father. Severus hid back under the blanket. He gasped dramatically.

"Where did he go? Where's my baby? There he is!"

Severus revealed himself again. Harry squealed happily.

Severus went back under the blanket. Harry leaned down to the ground in anticipation, smiling all the while.

"Now where's Harry? I just saw him. Where did he go? There he is!"

Harry squealed again as Severus charged out from under the blanket and placed several kisses on Harry's face. Severus flipped Harry on his back and noticed the bare feet.

"I found your toes!" Severus tickled Harry's feet, making the boy giggle and kick. Severus looked at Harry's waving arms. He gently took a hold of Harry's arm and began moving it appropriately as he sang:

"You put your right hand in, you put your right hand out, you put your right hand in and you shake it all about."

Harry smiled the whole way, especially when Severus lifted him and spun with him.

"You do the hokey pokey and you turn yourself around. That's what it's all about!"

Severus gave a jump at the end. Harry squealed in joy. Severus laughed as well. He really enjoyed spending time with Harry. The day went smoothly for them both, playing silly games and even taking a stroll outside in the grass, though Severus had to remove several stones from Harry's mouth.

It was evening and Severus and Harry were lying side by side outside in the grass. Severus laid on his side and just stared down at Harry with a soft smile, listening to the quiet babbles the boy made lying on his back. Suddenly, Harry squealed and lifted a hand to the sky. Severus glanced up as well.

The first stars were revealing themselves, twinkling against the darkening blue sky and purple clouds caused by the setting sun.

"The first star, Harry," Severus smiled at his son. "Make a wish."

Harry babbled nonsense, but Severus did catch one word – "mama" – among the jumbled mess. Severus smiled, regardless of the feeling of disappointment. He wished Harry would finally say Daddy. But he wouldn't let that feeling ruin today. It had been so much fun. He'd let it ruin tomorrow.

And ruin tomorrow, it did.

"Just say Daddy, Harry," Severus encouraged. Harry was still in a good mood from yesterday, but the boy was no closer to uttering anything that resembled Daddy. "It's not that hard."

"Babababagagaga," Harry babbled in his highchair.

"Da-da," Severus tried. "Da-da-da."

Harry started blowing raspberries, drooling down his chin.

"Pa-pa?" Severus tried. "Can you say pa-pa?"

Harry kept blowing raspberries.

"Give something a try!" Severus exasperated. "Papa, dada, daddy, something!"

"Ah!" Harry cooed, watching an owl fly into the room with the mail.

Severus dropped his head on the dining table. "You're killing me, son."

The owl dropped the mail at Severus's head before flying away. Severus lifted his head and rummaged through the mail. There was a monthly Potions journal, bills on the house, and more mail from Lily's Healer. She had been getting more of those lately, but as it was her mail and confidential, he didn't open them. He set the mail aside and looked back at Harry.

"Babababababababa," Harry kept baaing for whatever reason. Severus sighed and picked Harry up to dress him in clothes for the day. He let Harry scoot around the living room as he read the Daily Prophet. After a few minutes, Harry was crying.

Severus was on his feet, checking Harry's diaper, but that wasn't the problem. Harry had just finished a bottle and had tried some yogurt – he couldn't possibly be hungry. Severus remembered Harry's teething problem and looked in Harry's mouth. Definitely irritation.

Severus thought about what to do, trying hard to block out Harry's screaming. An old trick hit him and he ran to the kitchen to find a spoon. Waving his wand, he chilled the spoon and brought it out to Harry. Harry refused to take it at first, so Severus gently stuck the spoon in Harry's mouth. Instantly, Harry latched on to it. But Severus knew the chilled spell would only last so long, especially with a warm mouth sucking on it.

Severus tried to think of anything he might have for babies. Pain killers wouldn't do, Harry was just too small for those kinds of potions. There may have been something muggle out there, but Severus wasn't familiar with anything. Would anything in his stock supply help? An ingredient of some sort? He had clove plants . . .

Severus placed a monitor on Harry that would alarm if Harry moved more than three feet from where he was. Severus ran down to his lab and searched his stock for the clove plants. He found them and quickly brought them upstairs. He threw the stalks and leaves into the blender and started blending them. Clove plants were known for their antiseptic, analgesic, antibacterial, and local anesthetic properties. After a minute, Severus added water to his mixture and let it blend some more. Then, using a strainer, he extracted the liquid from the mixture and added a few drops of an anti-inflammatory potion to it, mixing it with a spoon.

He used the same spell to chill the mixture as he did with the spoon. And just in time, too, for Harry had thrown the spoon across the floor and started crying again. Severus quickly dipped his finger in the mixture and rubbed it on Harry's gums. That was tricky, as Harry tore his head away repeatedly, but Severus managed to massage a good amount of the mixture on Harry's upper and lower gums. Harry slowly stopped crying as the new mixture took effect.

Severus smiled. He would have to make more of that mixture. He was getting rather good at this parent thing. Even though Harry refused to acknowledge him, he was still the most adorable thing in the world. Even during stinky nappy changes.

Severus heard the floo flare and he lifted Harry to see Lily arrive home.

"Where are my boys?" Lily's voice rang through the house.

"We're coming, Severus called as he moved down the stairs, bouncing Harry on his hip.

"There they are!" Lily smiled. She held her arms out to Harry, but Severus pulled him back.

"Wait a second!" Severus exclaimed. "Shouldn't I get my hellos first?"

"You're not a baby, Sev," Lily said, but she wrapped her arms around Severus's neck.

"Well, you wouldn't have this one without me," Severus smirked, leaning down to kiss Lily's lips.

"Now let me see my baby," Lily demanded when they pulled apart.

"Our baby," Severus corrected, handing Harry over to Lily, who immediately started babbling "mamamama." Severus snorted. "How was your vacation?"

"It was so wonderful, Sev, thank you so much."

Severus smiled at her, "It was the least I could do."

"And how's my little Harry?" Lily cooed at Harry who smiled at her. "Did you have fun with Daddy?"

Harry blew a raspberry at his mother, laughing as he did so.

"And did you manage fine, Severus?" Lily asked.

"I've learned a lot," Severus admitted. "But I think I'm getting the hang of this parenting thing. I say you can take as many vacations as you want; I can handle Harry while you're away."

"That's a sweet offer, but I'll pass. I think I'm good for a while now. Did you ever get him to say Daddy?"

"Sadly, no."

"Aww, it was worth a shot," Lily said turning away to grab her bag off the floor. "But I bet you still had fun, didn't you, Harry. Did you miss Mummy?"

"Dada," Harry smiled.

"Yes!' Severus jumped up, fists in the air. He took Harry from Lily and held him high in the air, spinning him around, earning loud giggles and shrieks of laughter. "Yes! That's my boy!"

Lily rolled her eyes, brushing back her red hair as he watched her two boys celebrate.

I hope you liked it! Remember to review!