Disclaimer: All recognizable characters and settings belong to J.K. Rowling.

"How are you both doing?" Arthur asked as the adults sat down at a separate table from their children. "You must be going through so many emotions."

Bella exchanged a look with Severus and nodded. "It has been an emotional time. But we're beyond happy to be back with our son," Bella said.

"Severus, it must have been such a shock," Molly commented. "Albus told us how Kaiden came through the floo, extremely ill. Still no idea who sent him?" She briefly glanced at Bella.

Severus realized Albus had covered the real details of how Kaiden had come back into his life, minus being Harry Potter, and shook his head. "We believe a death eater arranged to have Kaiden's death faked but we do not know which one," He lied smoothly. "We don't know if the death eater became scared that Kaiden was so sick or if someone else rescued him and sent him to Hogwarts."

Ted shook his head. "Unbelievable. Who would be that sick and twisted as to take someone's baby from them?"

"And to use a potion on you," Arthur murmured with a sympathetic look to Bella.

Andromeda face eyes narrowed slightly, her face thoughtful. "Who indeed," She murmured.

Bella's eyes widened slightly. Uh oh…what if she figures out Narcissa's part? Bella thought with alarm.

"What matters now is that the three of us are together," Severus said, though he exchanged an apprehensive look with Bella.

"What do the Aurors think?" Tonks asked curiously.

"We are looking into the situation privately," Dumbledore spoke up. "For now we are focusing on Kaiden getting comfortable in the magical world as well as raising his confidence on making friends."

"Hopefully our brood is making him feel more secure," Arthur said brightly. His eyes darted over to the group of kids and he frowned slightly. Ron had his fists clenched and was looking sullen. He and Molly had been seeing a rebellious stage in their youngest son and he hoped Ron wasn't causing trouble for Kaiden and Draco.

Severus had also glanced over and now leaned closer to Bella. "It does not look like our son or nephew is crazy about at least one of the Weasley's." He whispered quietly.

Bella narrowed her eyes as she took in the scene at the kids table. "If he upsets Kaiden…" She said ominously.

"Are you threatening to declare war on an eleven year old?" Severus asked in amusement.

Bella eyed the young red-head for a moment. "He would make a nice ferret," She shrugged.

Severus bit his lip to keep from laughing. Merlin, he loved this woman.

HPHPHPHP

Draco rolled his eyes at Ron. "It's clear from your vacant expression that the lights are not on upstairs. You really think Slytherins have nothing better to do than gang up on Harry Potter for something that happened when he was a baby?" He shook his head.

"There are people that would love the chance to harm Harry Potter," Ron objected.

"I'm sure there are still a few devoted death eaters out there but here at school? You-Know-Who is gone and most of his followers are happy about it. I wouldn't expect you to understand that, being as ignorant as you are." Draco said hotly.

My cousin is so cool, Kaiden thought happily.

"Of course you would say that, you don't want anyone to suspect you." Ron smirked. "Either way, I am going to be Potter's friend."

"Me too!" Ginny piped up.

"It is true that Harry Potter is very famous and being a friend to him could be very beneficial for whatever career you go into after Hogwarts," Percy commented thoughtfully.

"That's not a very good reason to be friends with somebody," Kaiden finally spoke up, grateful more than ever that the truth of who he was had come out. Otherwise, he would still think he was Harry Potter and end up having friends who only liked him for his fame.

Ron gave him a withering look. "What do you care? You and Malfoy probably hate Harry Potter because he defeated your Master!"

"He is not our Master!" Draco glared.

"Uh, Ron," Percy said with wide eyes, nudging his brother.

Ron ignored him. "You probably want to hurt Harry Potter, don't you Snape?" He accused Kaiden.

"No," Kaiden whispered, feeling sick. He felt for the boy he had once believed himself to be, the boy who had passed away practically unnoticed. He backed up a few steps and bumped into someone.

Severus put a hand on his son's shoulder, squeezing gently. "Is there a problem here?" He asked darkly. He already knew the answer; he had overhead the last part of the conversation as he had walked up.

Percy paled. "No sir," He said quickly. He knew Professor Snape was not someone you wanted to get on the bad side of.

"Really?" Severus questioned, turning his dark eyes on the youngest red-head.

Ron visible gulped. "Uh…"

"How eloquent," Severus sneered. "What a pleasure it will be to have you in class."

"The Weasels were just sharing their views on Slytherin," Draco said angrily. He looked at the twins. "Well, these Weasels are okay," He amended.

Fred and George snorted. "Gee, thanks!"

"And what views would those be?" Severus glowered at Percy and Ron.

Percy cleared his throat. "I think I should go say hi to Tonks," He quickly scurried away.

"Me too," Ron said, practically running after his brother.

"Such bravery," Severus muttered. He looked down in concern at Kaiden. "Are you alright? What did they say to you?"

Kaiden bit his lip. "Nothing," He said finally. He cringed slightly as he realized he was lying to his father.

"What? Yes they did!" Draco said huffily.

"Percy is a pompous git," Fred started.

"If it wasn't for the red hair,"

"We would be convinced he wasn't,"

"Related to us," George finished.

"As for Ron, he's young and the story about Harry Potter was practically his bedtime story," Fred looked apologetically at Kaiden and Draco. "We're hoping he will grow up when school starts." He glanced at his little sister. "As will others, we hope."

"Yeah, hopefully he'll be able to see that the-boy-who-lived is just a kid like anyone else," George nodded.

Severus had to grudgingly admit that the twins just went up a few notches in his book. He should have figured talk of Harry Potter would have been brought up. "What did they say?" He asked his son again.

Kaiden just shrugged.

Draco looked at his cousin in exasperation. "They said everyone from Slytherin was dark, that Aunt Bella should be locked up and that we want to hurt Harry Potter."

Kaiden looked at his dad worriedly when he saw the impressive glower on his face. "It's no big deal," He said softly.

Severus looked down at his son. "Yes it is. You two did not deserve to be spoken to like that. It is like I told you before, there are people prejudiced against anyone even associated with Slytherin." He seethed. He glared over to where Percy and Ron were now sitting with Tonks.

Kaiden desperately wanted the subject to be changed. "Could we walk around the castle? Maybe go visit Hagrid?"

Severus glanced back at his son. "All right," He said finally. He noticed the eager looks on the twins' faces. "However, there is no going into the common rooms or my classroom or my office. And our quarters are off limits," He quickly added.

"It's like he doesn't trust us Forge,"

"Rather hurtful that is Gred,"

Severus rolled his eyes and sent them on their way. He would talk with Kaiden later about the conversation that had occurred as well as ask why he hadn't wanted to tell him the truth. It concerned him that Kaiden didn't feel comfortable being honest with him. He turned back towards the adults table and could immediately see that things there were not going well either.

HPHPHPHP

Bella watched Severus head over to check on the children, wondering if she should go over there too. She was interrupted of her thoughts by the stare she was getting from Molly Weasley. "Is there a problem Mrs. Weasley?" She asked finally.

"No," Molly hesitated. "Well yes, actually. I simply have a hard time understanding how you could be pardoned from being a death eater."

"Molly!" Arthur admonished.

"I'm certainly not the only one wondering," Molly protested. She met Bella's gaze evenly. "Alice and Frank were dear friends of mine," She said in a slightly shaky voice.

Bella took a deep breath, trying to keep her emotions in control. "I did not cast the Cruciatus curse on them," She said firmly.

"Yes, I read that," Molly started to say.

"I wanted to hurt them," Bella said absently. "They still had their baby boy while I had lost mine. In the state of mind I was in, I thought they deserved to be cursed." Bella didn't bother stopping the tears that were forming. "I saw the baby items in the room and it was like I was paralyzed. I could only think of my Kaiden, my baby who I believed I had killed." Bella shut her eyes for a moment. She felt someone take her hand and opened her eyes to see tears streaming down Andromeda's face. "I didn't curse them," She whispered.

"Molly," Dumbledore said gently. "I know how much Frank and Alice meant to you, Lily and James as well. What happened was tragic and a great loss for us. Now I have seen Bella's memory myself. Lestrange and Avery were the ones who cursed the Longbottoms, not Bella."

Molly looked ashamed and stared down at her plate.

"Kaiden was taken from his parents and a cruel and heartless plan was put into motion," Dumbledore said. "Imagine believing you had killed your child for so long," He shook his head slightly. "Bella did not stage Kaiden's death." He said bluntly.

Bella's eyes widened and she stared at Molly. "Is that what you think?"

"I believe the thought crossed her mind," Dumbledore said quietly.

"Honestly Molly!" Andromeda glared.

Severus walked up to the table then, looking in concern at Bella. "What is going on?" He asked. He noticed that Tonk's, Percy and Ron were across the room talking to one of Hogwarts ghosts, Nearly Headless Nick.

"We are simply clearing up a misconception," Dumbledore said calmly.

Severus sat next to Bella and reached out to wipe away a stray tear on her cheek. "Is it the same misconception that two of your children have?" He stared at Molly and Arthur. "You know, the one where all Slytherins are bad, Bella should be locked up and that my son and nephew want to hurt Harry Potter?"

"What?!" Bella said in shock.

"I assume that is why Ron and Percy came over here," Arthur said slowly.

"Yes," Severus said.

"Where are Kaiden and Draco?" Bella asked when she noticed the empty table.

"They are with the twins and Ginny, looking around the castle," Severus said.

"I assure you we will be talking to Ron and Percy," Arthur said apologetically.

"They most likely took their cue from me," Molly spoke up. She looked regretful and sad as she looked at Bella. "I'm sorry. I was so angry at losing my friends; I didn't even pay much attention to the article written. I just assumed it was a lie." Molly's eyes filled with tears. "I'm so sorry. I didn't even try to put myself in your place," She reached across the table and grabbed Bella's other hand. "You are very strong. Both of you are. I can't even imagine the state I would be in if I had gone through what the two of you two had."

Bella looked into Molly's eyes and saw nothing but remorse and sincerity. "Thank you," She said quietly.

Dumbledore smiled happily. "I am very pleased that this has been worked out," He said with a twinkle in his eyes. "Ah, have I mentioned that Bella will be taking over the position of professor for Ancient Runes?"

"You are?" Andromeda asked excitedly. "That's wonderful!"

"Fred and George will be starting that class this year," Arthur said cheerfully. "Percy is in it too."

"The twins are taking Ancient Runes?" Severus asked skeptically.

Molly smiled. "We allowed them one elective of their own choosing and then we chose the other one."

"Good idea," Ted nodded.

Severus smirked. "Now you will know the joy of teaching the Weasley twins. Good luck with that," He said lightly to Bella, causing the adults to start chuckling.

HPHPHPHP

"Don't worry too much about Percy and Ron," Fred said as the group headed down to Hagrid's hut. "If they bother you, just let us know."

"Yeah, we usually experiment our joke products on them anyway," George snickered.

Ginny giggled.

"You make your own joke products?" Kaiden asked.

"Yup! We plan to own the best and biggest joke shop when we graduate," Fred said proudly. "Right now we're working on changing the taste of bars of soap. If it works, we will sell them at school."

"Why soap?" Draco asked curiously.

"Well, most parents use a bar of soap to wash their kids' mouths out, for lying or swearing. Hardly any parent uses a Scourgify charm as it makes you choke on soap suds." George said.

"So we are making our soap look like the real thing but in tasty flavors." Fred explained. "All you have to do is switch it with the real bar of soap and then pretend that it tastes horrible if your parents wash your mouth out. Secretly you can simply enjoy the flavor!"

"That's brilliant!" Draco said, impressed. His parents would occasionally wash his mouth out if he gave her backtalk. "I'll buy one when they are ready."

Kaiden wondered if his parents would ever wash his mouth out with soap. They hadn't mentioned that being a consequence but he sure wasn't going to ask. No sense in giving them ideas! Just in case though… "I'll buy one too."

George rubbed his hands together. "Excellent. We already have customers!"

"I'm actually surprised you two weren't put in Slytherin," Draco commented with a grin.

Fred shrugged. "I guess because we are so brave about being so sneaky," He grinned.

"Friends with Gryffindors," Draco shook his head. "Who would have thought?"

"Careful blondie, you haven't been sorted yet. You may end up being in Gryffindor." George teased.

"No way!" Draco protested with a laugh. "Kaiden and I are going to be in Slytherin."

"I hope so," Kaiden said. "Although Gryffindor would be cool too. At least we would have Fred and George."

"I wish I was starting school this year," Ginny spoke up, sounding wistful.

"You just want to meet Harry Potter," Fred teased, ruffling her hair.

Ginny ducked away from her brother, blushing slightly.

Kaiden looked away. "Hey, there's Hagrid!" He said in relief when they found the groundskeeper tending to his garden.

"I wondered if you would come say hello." Hagrid grinned when he spotted them. "Enjoying havin' the castle to yourselves?"

"It's great! If only we were allowed into certain common rooms," George said mischievously.

Kaiden snickered. Now that he knew how much the twins liked jokes, he could imagine what fun they would have being let loose in all the common rooms. No wonder his dad hadn't wanted them in their quarters.

"Ah, that wouldn' be a good idea," Hagrid chuckled. "Yer two would be the firs' students to lose points in the summer!"

"Wicked!" Fred and George grinned at each other.

HPHPHPHP

Kaiden was sad when everyone left after dinner, with the exception of Ron and Percy. He hadn't been sad to see them go. But he loved his Aunt, Uncle and cousin Tonks. He also really liked the Weasley twins and their parents. The girl, Ginny, had been mostly quiet though she had walked off in a huff when Draco had commented that he didn't think Harry Potter should be treated any differently than any other student despite being a celebrity. She had stayed with Percy and Ron after that.

Kaiden was laying on the sofa with Snidget on his stomach, purring loudly as Kaiden pet him.

Severus smiled slightly when he sat in his armchair. "You enjoyed yourself today?"

"It was really fun," Kaiden grinned. "Tonks and the twins are so cool. Even Draco likes them!"

"Wonderful," Severus sighed, though he didn't really mind. The twins had shown that they would be good to his son and nephew so he could put up with their antics. "I'm sure you are tired, it's been a long day for you. However, I wanted to talk to you about something."

Kaiden sat up slowly, carefully rearranging Snidget on his lap so that the kitten didn't wake up. His dad didn't look mad but he did look serious. "Is it about earlier? When I lied to you?" He asked shamefully.

"Yes," Severus said. "It concerns me son. Why did you lie to me?"

"I didn't want it to become a big deal," Kaiden said softly. "I didn't want to be a tattletale and I knew it would just upset you."

"I see," Severus said, leaning back in his chair. "Your mother and I have told you that we want you to come to us if anything happens that upsets you. If you are being targeted and having cruel things said to you, you need to tell us. Not only so we can put a stop to it but so that the one doing it can talk to an adult about why they are acting the way they are. If they are not dealt with now, they will most likely turn into even bigger bullies when they are older."

"I understand," Kaiden said, his eyes downcast.

Severus leaned forward. "Look at me, child. Please understand that you can trust me. You can trust your mother. You have us now; you have a family who loves you and you are no longer alone. I understand why your first instinct was to lie, with the way you were brought up. Believe me, I understand. However, I do not want you lying to us. I want you to always be honest with us, no matter what. You need to work on that, all right?"

Kaiden nodded. "I'm sorry I lied to you," He said. "I felt bad when I did it. It was just sort of…"

"Instinctive," Bella said as she walked into the room. She sat next to Kaiden. "We know." She pulled him to her side, kissing the top of his head. "We love you more than anything Kaiden."

"I love you guys too," Kaiden said. "I guess I should be more like Draco. He had no problem telling you everything!"

Severus chuckled. "Yes, Draco has no problem letting an adult know if he feels he has been wronged."

"I really felt bad when they spoke of Harry Potter," Kaiden confessed. "I feel guilty; no one but us knows the truth about him."

Bella exchanged a look with Severus. "You have no reason to feel guilty." She said quietly.

"From what I remember, he was very sick from the start," Severus said gently. "I know what you are thinking and even though the Potter's took you as their son, I'm sure they never forgot their own child."

"But when people find out, they will be sad for the boy-who-lived," Kaiden said with a sigh. "It's just...awkward when people talk about him. Or me, I guess," He frowned.

"It's confusing, I know," Bella said. "It will be okay Kaiden. Yes, there will be a lot of talk once news of Harry's passing comes to light but once people come to terms with the news, it will fade."

"If the truth about me hadn't come out, I would be the one everyone would fawn all over," Kaiden said with a slight shudder. "Ron would have already decided to be my best friend and I probably would have let him. I've always wanted to have friends. I don't think I would have cared if people only liked me for the fame, as long as I had someone."

"I felt the same way," Severus said. "I didn't have friends growing up and I was desperate for friendship when I started Hogwarts. How do you think I ended up with your mother?" He quickly dodged the hex Bella shot at him while Kaiden burst out laughing.

"Enjoy the couch tonight, love." Bella said in mock anger.

Severus held back a laugh. "Just kidding, my dear. But truthfully, I did make friends with some people I shouldn't have," He said, thinking of some of the older kids who had befriended the younger students to convince them to join the death eaters.

"I did too, in the vain hope that it would please my parents," Bella said. "Thankfully for you, you will be able to make friends with those who you really like. You already have Draco and the twins."

"I think Draco is in shock that he likes them, since they are in Gryffindor," Kaiden yawned.

"Hmm, I think it is time for bed," Bella said in amusement.

Kaiden nodded as he stood up, cradling Snidget. Bella hugged him. "Sweet dreams, snakeling. We'll check on you in a bit okay?"

"Okay," Kaiden said as his dad pulled him in for a hug.

"Goodnight son," Severus said. He watched Kaiden to into the hallway before turning to Bella, who was fluffing up the sofa pillows. "What are you doing?"

"Getting the couch ready for you," Bella smirked.

"I could simply transfigure it," Severus said slyly. He grinned when Bella scowled. "However, I could just tell you I was trying to make the conversation a little lighter."

Bella laughed and tossed a pillow at him. "Yes, I know you were."

"You were the main reason I looked forward to Hogwarts after every summer," Severus said as he stepped closer to his wife.

Bella looked into those dark eyes she loved so much. "I was?" She asked innocently.

Severus pulled her close to him and nuzzled her neck. "Mm hmm," He murmured. He traced gentle kisses up her neck and to her mouth.

"Well, I suppose I can forgive you then," Bella said somewhat breathlessly after the kiss ended. "Just this once, of course."

"Of course," Severus agreed as he kissed her again. "Just this once."

TBC: