DISCLAIMER: I am not getting paid for this! I am just doing this for fun! I don't own Harry Potter, Remus Lupin, Severus Snape, Sirius Black, or any of the other Harry Potter characters mentioned in this fiction. Thank you.

Chapter Eight

"I'm telling you, Sirius. Shadow called me Papa last night." Severus swore into his mug and took another sip of his coffee; black, no cream, no sugar, no milk.

Sirius nodded to himself. He had expected it, honestly. Shadow and Severus had gotten close, not as close as he was to Shadow, mind, but very close none the less. Sirius was surprised that he did not feel jealousy like Severus clearly expected. He was happy that Shadow was safe and had a good relationship with his birth father. What did it really matter if Shadow called Severus Papa? In private, at least. Shadow was still Sirius' son, always would be. A new title given to someone else wouldn't change that.

With those thoughts in mind, Sirius said simply, "Yeah, so?"

Severus blinked and choked on his coffee. "What? Y-You aren't mad?"

"No." Sirius told him honestly, taking a sip of his own coffee calmly. "You're an important person in Shadow-boy's life. He knows you're his birth father. Just because he calls you Papa doesn't make him any less my son. As far as I'm concerned, we're both his father, you sired him, I raised him. Make sense?"

"You're mad, Black," Severus laughed.

"I'm aware, now if you'll excuse me, I'm late for a tea party with the March Hare and Alice." Sirius smiled at Severus and left for work.

Severus remained alone in the kitchen for several more minutes until Shadow came stumbling in. "Good morning, Shadow." Severus said as he began washing his and Sirius' coffee mugs. "Sirius just left for work and if I remember correctly Remus has to run some errands today before we all go to Hogwarts for his appointment."

Shadow nodded tiredly and began to rummage in the pantry for some breakfast. He finally found a box of cereal and retrieved a bowl from a cabinet, a spoon from the dish drainer, and the jug of milk from the fridge. He sat at the table, and after the cereal and milk were in the bowl, began to eat slowly. He hadn't gotten more than a half an hour of sleep after he woke up from the nightmare. So he spent that time writing letters to Ron, Hermione, and even Draco asking them if they were alright. He had just sent the three letters off with Hedwig.

Severus sat down at the table with Shadow, even though he had already finished eating. "How'd you sleep after we all left, Shadow?"

"Like shit," he muttered absently.

"Shadow Remus Lupin-Black, what did you just say?" Both Shadow and Severus flinched at the sound of Remus' yell.

Shadow huffed and fought back his urge to roll his eyes. If there was one downside about having Remus and Sirius for parents, it was that they were polar opposites when it came to their ideas of how to raise Shadow. Remus was definitely the stricter of the two and Shadow always had to keep his tongue in check. Sirius, on the other hand, would spend hours coming up with new combinations to swear words. Honestly, when it came to what he could say, Shadow preferred Sirius' parenting style. Sirius had once told him; "I know you swear, but as your father, I don't want to hear it. You're almost an adult; I trust that you know when it is appropriate to use certain words."

Remus was not Sirius, however. So, Shadow did his best to look contrite and hung his head. "Sorry, Mama." He said. "It slipped out before I could stop it." He stared up at Remus and batted his long black eyelashes. Remus was a sucker for his puppy-dog face, not that he used it often.

Remus sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Alright, Shadow, I forgive you. Just watch your mouth. I don't want you turning into a miniature Sirius who cusses every other word." Remus laughed to himself. "I'm lucky your first word wasn't 'fuck'." Shadow felt his jaw drop. He had heard Remus say a few minor swears, but he had never heard the man drop the F-Bomb. "He used to say that all the time when you were a baby. It got to the point where if he said it around you, I would spray him with water."

Severus chuckled at the image that Remus presented. "What time is your appointment today?" He asked after regaining his composure.

"It's at four o'clock this afternoon."

"Will we get to see the baby this time, Mama?" Shadow asked excitedly.

Remus nodded. "We should find out the gender, as well." He checked his watch. "Alright, I'm off. Remember; be in the Hospital Wing at four o'clock sharp." He kissed Shadow's head and waved to Severus before heading back upstairs and leaving.

Severus sat at the table with his son and stared at Shadow. Shadow kept his eyes on his cereal and refused to look at Severus. "Shadow," Severus began.

"I really don't want to talk about it." Shadow muttered.

"We had a deal, Shadow." Severus told the teen softly. Shadow sighed and nodded solemnly. "When do you suppose Hedwig will be back with your responses?"

Shadow blinked up at Severus. "Sometime before noon. How did you—"

"I heard you let her out this morning. It's normal to do what you're doing, Shadow. It's normal to want reassurance after a nightmare. It's why your Dad, Mama, and I were in your room last night. Why we're in your room every night you have a nightmare. To reassure you that you're safe and we are, as well."

"I don't get why Draco was in the dream," Shadow told Severus. "We're not dating anymore, so why would he be in the dream?"

Severus successfully bit back a smile. "Why do you think he was in the dream?" His job as a psychologist was not to answer Shadow's questions, but to help the boy find the answers on his own.

Shadow remained silent for a moment, nibbling on his lower lip, a habit he had quite obviously picked up from Remus. Severus couldn't help the smile when he saw the resemblances between Shadow and Remus and Shadow and himself, even the resemblances between Shadow and Sirius. "I think," Shadow said softly, breaking the silence. "it's because I was an idiot for breaking up with him and I really liked him and cared about him, even if he could be an outright prat at times. Is that right?" Shadow looked up at Severus, sapphire eyes so wide and innocent that it made Severus want to hold him and shield him from the world and what he had to face.

Severus did not do this, though. Instead, he simply said, "You tell me."

Shadow paused again, thinking to himself. Finally he nodded and said slowly. "Yeah, that's right." He looked at Severus sadly, eyes slightly misty. "I miss him. I never should've broken up with him. None of what happened last year would've happened if I had stayed with Draco."

"That's true," Severus said softly. "However, if you had stayed with Draco, I wouldn't be sitting in front of you right now. We wouldn't have the relationship we have."

Shadow almost spat out the pumpkin juice he had been drinking. "Then I guess…" he said hesitantly after swallowing the drink. "Some good came out of last year, after all." Shadow smiled sadly and his eyes looked like they belonged to an old man, not a teenager.

"I know it's hard for you to think about the positives right now. But I want you to make a list of at least ten things that are good in your life right now. You don't need to show it to me. But, whenever you feel depressed, I want you to look at that list and remember that there is good in this world." Severus covered Shadow's hand with his. "Do you think you can do that, Shadow?"

Shadow nodded and stood up. He carried his dirty dishes to the sink and deposited them there. "I'll go do that right now."

Before Shadow left the kitchen, however, Severus called him back. "Shadow…one more thing. Do you remember what you said to me last night before I left your room?"

Shadow's face turned a brilliant red before he softly muttered, "Yes."

"I want you to know something." Severus stood from the table and walked up to Shadow. He placed his hands on the boy's slim shoulders. "If you want to call me that, I have no problem with it. We have grown quite close over the summer." Shadow looked uncertain and bit his lip again. "If you're worried about upsetting Sirius, I can assure you he has already told me that he is fine with you calling me…calling me Papa." Severus almost choked out the word that was so foreign on his tongue.

Severus and Shadow stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity when in reality it was only several seconds. It was broken when Shadow hesitantly stepped forward and hugged Severus. Severus let out the breath he hadn't realized he had been holding and wrapped his arms around the boy. "Thank you…Papa." Shadow whispered quietly.

A/N: Yeah, I'm evil aren't I for not putting the appointment in this chapter? Don't worry, though, you will all soon find out about the newest addition to the Lupin-Black family in the next chapter, which will be up as soon as I finish Chapter Ten, which currently only has three words in it. (Yay for college away sapping at my life.) Anyway, I've babbled on too much as it is now time for me to go to bed. Review, as it might get my creativity off its lazy butt and help me write a couple more chapters! :)

Luv,

PGF