~O-O~
"You look like death warmed over," Hannah sat down across from Harry in the student lunchroom.
Exhausted, he took another bite of his sandwich. Barely chewing, he swallowed and nodded at her, "Teddy has another ear infection and he didn't like being dragged here in the middle of the night."
"I can understand that."
Harry rubbed his eyes, "there really should be healers that come to your home. Well, at least affordable ones."
Hannah scoffed, "yeah, that's a benefit for old money, isn't it?"
Terry Boot joined them, "There are only two healers that do that currently. And they are ancient, so you have to wonder if they kept up with modern medicine and healing."
Finishing his sandwich in two large bites, Harry downed his coffee and stood, "I'm grabbing another coffee. Do you guys want anything?"
They waved him off and he stumbled up to the tea stand. Before Harry could make his way to the front of the queue, Draco stepped in front of him.
"The last thing you need is more caffeine, Potter."
Scowling at the other man, Harry tried to step around him, "I need it if you want me to get through your potion's lesson without blowing anything up."
Draco grabbed Harry's arm and guided him towards the chairs, "Here, sit."
Harry sat down heavily, dropping his head back against the wall, "Malfoy, I really do need another cup of coffee or I am going to fall asleep right here."
"Go home, Potter. You can afford to miss a session."
"Can't skip, I'll fall behind," he muttered, his eyes closed against the harsh lighting of the room.
"You are fine. In fact, I was going to talk to you after class today. You are ready to take your potion's NEWT."
"Ha, I must be so tired that I am hallucinating," Harry sat up in his chair and stared up at Draco.
"No kidding, Potter. You'll get an E for sure. I daresay that you could get an O."
Harry narrowed his eyes, studying Draco's face to see if he was being sarcastic, "what?"
Draco sat down beside him, "don't fish for compliments, Scarhead. You got the hang of it and you have been improvising and getting a feel for the complex potions. You are ready."
"Huh, I didn't expect that."
"I spoke with Master Blackthorn and she agrees," Draco titled head towards the door, "Now, go home and get some rest."
Still confused by Draco's behavior, Harry stumbled towards the door without saying goodbye. He made his way to the main level and flooed home.
Gussy handed over Teddy; the cranky toddler held out his arms to his father. Harry nuzzled the boy's cheek, "Good, the fever is still down. Shall we cuddle and read books in bed?"
Five minutes later, Gussy was magically tucking in the sleeping father and son, smoothing the blanket and placing the picture books on the nightstand.
~O-O~
Arthur invited Harry to visit him at the Ministry of Magic after Harry had asked about the International Statute of Secrecy. Harry shook his head at the ridiculousness of using toilets to enter the ministry; he decided to use the muggle entrance. Placing Teddy on his hip, Harry closed the door to the telephone booth and dialed 62442. He grabbed their name tags and they made their way towards the lifts.
Teddy squealed in delight at the bustle then was entranced by the Fountain of Magical Brethren. Harry had been pleased when Kinglesy had the original fountain restored.
Once they were in the lift, Teddy giggled as he tried to catch the inter-office memos, in paper airplane mode, that fluttered overhead. Harry put Teddy down as they reached Arthur's office and the toddler ran into his honorary grandfather's arms.
"Gran-pa!" Teddy shouted before babbling incoherently about all he had seen.
Arthur entertained Teddy with his muggle artifacts while explaining the paperwork for Harry, "do you like this muggle car? It drives all by itself." Arthur charmed a small toy car to zoom around Teddy, ignoring Harry's eye roll, "Harry, once the application is filed, the international committee reviews it within a week."
"Arthur, the car doesn't need to be charmed. Ted can push it." Harry penned his name across the top of the parchment.
Giggling, Teddy chased after the car. Arthur made rumbly engine noises and started another car going in the opposite direction.
Harry kept going, writing Simon's information as he watched them out of the corner of his eye. After finishing the document, Harry stopped and watched Arthur play with his son. Teddy had a full family despite losing his parents, Harry's stomach lurched as he recalled feeling so alone as a child despite having an actual family. His time with the Dursely's had not been positive, he had felt unwanted. Well, he was unwanted. He hadn't felt the love of family until he met the Weasley's.
"Harry?" Arthur asked, interrupting his train of thought.
Blinking rapidly to avoid crying, Harry nodded, "I was just thinking of how lucky Teddy is to have you and your family. You have embraced him as you have accepted me, cared for me, and supported me all these years."
Struggling to hop up to his feet, Arthur used his desk to leverage himself into a standing position. He grabbed Harry's arm and hoisted him up into a tight hug, "Harry, how we wish we could have done more for you growing up," he sniffled, "we are family, of course, we are going to love and care for Teddy as well."
Confused by the emotions displayed in front of him, Teddy's hair raced through several colours, before he cried out, "Daddy."
Harry pulled away from Arthur as he swiped at the tears on his face. He scooped up Teddy, "Daddy is okay. Grandpa Arthur and I are very happy. We love you so much."
Soothed by his father's kisses and words, Teddy settled down.
Chuckling at the situation, Arthur said, "aren't we a bunch of sad sobs?" He dug through his desk and grabbed a muggle Rubik's Cube. Arthur twisted the cube around, mixing up the colors before handing it to Teddy.
Harry stared at the charmed cube as it flipped and turned in Teddy's hands, automatically solving itself, "really, Arthur?"
~O-O~
After admitting to himself that he needed to embrace his new life, Severus was determined to start straight away. Pretending he didn't have a spring in his step, he rubbed Rhiannon's head then smoothed her ruffled feathers back down, "I'll just be gone a day."
The owl hooted loudly; if Severus didn't know better he would think she was angry. Rhiannon stalked towards the window and shimmered through the charmed opening. On the outside, she turned her head almost the entire way around before admonishing Severus with another hoot.
"I suppose she was angry," he said as she flew away in a huff.
After dressing, Severus stood in the mirror and analyzed his facial features. He applied a transforming charm on his nose. It shrunk, losing its hook. The next charm broadened his chin. He debated shortening his inky black hair then settled on lightening it so it was a medium brown. He nodded at his own appearance, he looked different enough.
Apparating several times, Severus arrived in the magical community of Naples, Italy. He made his way to a local branch of Gringotts. He requested an appointment with the head goblin. Within minutes he was escorted to a private office to meet with Urnott, a goblin in a bespoke muggle suit.
"I wish to create an alternate identity so I may be employed. I would like to set up a separate account under my new identity as well as ensure that my affairs remain confidential."
Settled behind a tall desk and an even taller chair, Urnott peered over his glasses at Severus and then reviewed his paperwork, "I assume you wish to continue as a potion master? Normally, this would not be a problem but potion masters are rare and well known around the world."
Nodding in understanding, Severus asked, "perhaps I can apprentice again and achieve potion master under the new identity?"
Urnott sneered, "do you think you can find a potion master who will mentor you? One that will not spot your paltry transformation charms? Your lot seem even more suspicious than ours."
Disappointed that he hadn't thought of these obstacles, Severus bit his lip as he considered all his options. He couldn't reveal himself to Divya Blackthorne or anyone else. Despite feeling disheartened, Severus held his head high, "I suppose I could just be a potioneer."
Parchments flew around the office as Urnott prepared to create a new identity, "do you have a specific name in mind?"
"Sebastian Thomas Sullivan."
"And so it shall be," Urnott waved his long knobby fingers and golden lines intertwined with black ink over school records, test results, and bank statements, "I moved 50 galleons from your real vault into this one. When you visit your vaults here or in London, always ask for the head goblin or you will be subjected to Probity Probes."
Severus accepted his new documentation, bowing slightly, "thank you for your assistance in this matter, Urnott."
The goblin tipped his head in acknowledgment, effectively dismissing him from the office.
Returning home, Severus felt the swirl of emotions making themselves known in his churning stomach. He was ready to start a new chapter in his life but it wasn't necessarily the life he wanted.
~O-O~
