Lily sat at the kitchen table sipping tea Narcissa was forcing her to drink; it had been seven long days and nights since Severus had disappeared. "Forget him, he says! Like it's that easy. Let Dumbledore Obliviate you Lily. Fucker, has a solution for everything I guess." Lily said sarcastically more to herself than to anyone.

No one dared to speak; they all silently left the kitchen and left Lily to her thoughts. She thought of him and only him, everything that intertwined their lives, all the reasons she refused to forget him. 'His birthday is in two days. Surely he will come home before then.' she thought as a tear rolled down her cheek.

Dumbledore, Eileen, Remus and Sirius had looked everywhere they could think of to find him to no avail. He never entered the Ministry New Years day, he simply vanished. Dumbledore blamed himself due to the harsh words he said to Severus about being like his father. The tension in the house could be cut with a knife, everyone was walking on eggshells with Lily. The only person in the house who could make her smile or stop crying was baby Justin.

Lily heard the apparition crack that came in the predawn hours on January 9th but she never bothered to get up. Justin was sound asleep and she assumed it was someone returning from looking for Severus. It wasn't until her bedroom door spilled light from the hallway into her room and she heard that low velvet voice call her name, which could only belong to one man, did she jump out of bed. She ran to Severus and hugged him then frantically checked to see if he was injured, once she found he was in perfect condition the anger set in, "Where in the fuck have you been?" Lily growled.

"Love I'm sorry. I know I should have returned sooner but I had some things I needed to work through. There is no excuse that will ever make up for what I have done but I needed to do it." Severus said in a low apologetic tone.

"What could possibly take nine days for you to figure out?" Lily hissed.

"I needed to figure out why I always give up, why I think I don't deserve anything good, why I'm afraid of who I will become and mostly I needed to figure out how not to become my father." Severus mumbled with his head hung in shame.

Those words stung Lily harder than she thought possible, she didn't realize how much he was struggling with issues with himself and she had been so wrapped up in Draco and Justin that she had failed to notice. "Well, did you find what you were looking for?" Lily asked in a much softer tone.

"Mostly yes, I have been taught hate my whole life, whether it be toward myself and my mother or muggle-borns all I have ever known is hate. Then you, this ray of fucking hope wanders into my life and you're the only good thing about life. I wanted you, I had you, I lost you and then I get you back and still I think I am not worthy of the happiness you bring to me. Just like that baby, I feel like I don't deserve the smiles he gives me or why would he want me to hold him. I am a disgusting vile excuse of a human being. I don't deserve anything or anyone good. I tried to turn myself in and be put where I belong but my mother and Dumbledore stopped that from happening. Lily you both would be better off without me. There is nothing good in me without you. All of the good I have done has been for you. I returned tonight to tell you that I plan to leave for good and for you to move on with life. I have received every patronus sent, I only returned because I knew you were upset and worried."

Lily gave a bitter laugh, "Everything is for me? Everything? You've done nothing kind just to be kind? So I guess all of this is bullshit huh?" she said as she shoved a handful of random pictures of the last year into his hands, which had been laying on the bed. "You faked every laugh, every smile, every kind word to Remus or Sirius or Lucius. You brought that baby back here solely for me. Not to keep him alive? You chose to poison his parents instead of killing them for me? You moved Remus, Sirius, Narcissa, Draco and Lucius in this house for my benefit only? You're really going to stand there and tell me all those pictures of every moment over the last year has been bullshit! It's all fake right? Dammit Sev! There's more to you than me! Open your damn eyes!" Lily said in a range of emotions.

"Lily….." Severus tried to speak but couldn't. With every picture and every memory he realized, not one picture he had been handed had Lily in it.

Lily grabbed the pictures from his hands and threw them back on the bed, she placed her hands on his cheeks and made him look her in the eyes. "Sev, I know it's easier for you to think you're a undeserving monster but you're not. Deep down, you are good all by yourself. You deserve us and more. This war has fucked with all of our minds, I'm sorry I didn't notice you were having a hard time but I'm here, I refuse to be obliviated and I refuse to give up on you. I love you dammit. I don't give two fucks about the brand on your arm, the people you have killed or tortured or whatever it is that bothers you so bad. You made a mistake, you're fixing it, you can't run because it got a little overwhelming. I'm here, along with five other people who have been worried sick as well. We are a family dammit."

"Lily what if I fail? What if I do turn out like him? What if I end up dead or in Azkaban? Would it not be easier if I were already gone?" Severus barely choked out.

"No, it would not because you will not fail. You have all of us standing behind you and helping you. You are nothing like your father. You treat me like a queen and that baby over there loves you. You will not die because I won't let you and you will not end up in Azkaban because Eileen Prince says so. Now stop all this leaving bullshit and self doubting and come take a bath with me and I'll show you what you've missed in the last week." Lily said with a seductive smile grabbing his hand leading him to their favorite spot in the entire house.

The following morning the kitchen table was packed as it had been every morning since Severus vanished. Eileen and Dumbledore had already made it there and as Lily walked into the kitchen quietly carrying Justin she heard them planning where each of them would look that day.

She instructed Severus to stand just outside the doorway and listen, thinking this would help him understand his importance to people. Lily went about her morning routine making Justin's bottle not saying a word while the others chatted on and on about their fears, worries and where they could look.

Lily finally took a seat at the corner of the table where she could see Severus leaning against the wall outside the kitchen listening to everyone with all their words of worry and true concern. Lily gave him an 'I told you so look' with an arched eyebrow.

He shook his head in disbelief and walked into the kitchen silently, "If I were looking for the selfish bastard I would start by turning around." Severus said a rather chipper.

The room filled with gasps and then he was attacked with hugs and then the questions and threats came. He simply said he needed some time to think and apologized.

Eileen wasn't buying it but gave up when Lily caught her eye and winked mouthing 'later'.

"Well fuck this search party! It's your birthday dude! Now we plan a birthday party!" Sirius said cheerfully.

"I hardly think anyone feels like celebrating me after what I have put you all through the past week." Severus said softly.

Severus was met with a room full of objections to his refusal of a birthday party and told to hush about 'that nonsense'.

"You only turn 21 once! This will be epic!" Sirius said with an evil smirk as he left with Remus and Lucius to plan a party.

"I told you so." Lily said smugly as she feed Justin another spoonful of mashed bananas.

"I know love. I just don't see what they do, I guess." Severus said as he looked at her and smiled.

"We love you and we need you. If you leave us again, I will personally hex you into oblivion. Sweetheart." Lily said in an even yet scary tone.

Severus's 21st birthday party was indeed epic although hardly any of them could remember it. Eileen stayed to watch the boys and the six of them tried to drink the well stocked bar dry. Hangover potions were handed out by Eileen with a smirk as soon as one of them woke. The words, "I'm never drinking again." Were said by almost every one of them but those words would prove false in time.

Lily's birthday party later that month was much calmer but still fun. Valentines Day came and went with all the usual gifts and of course nightly silencing charms on all 3 rooms.

February 17th would prove to be one of the worst days of Lily and Severus's lives. That was the day Dumbledore came and told them that Justin's mother had awakened and he obliviated the day of Justin's kidnapping and that they would have to return Justin to her in just a few days.

Lily held on to Justin for dear life for those few following days. She barely slept thinking she would miss a moment with him. Three days later on the 20th Dumbledore arrived to take Justin back to the muggle world to his real mother. It was a long hard goodbye for the entire house, Lily swore to keep track of him and she would always watch over him through tears and sobs. Severus was heartbroken far more than he cared to admit, not just for Lily but for himself as well, he had grown to love the little boy.

Lily was a mess, she stayed in bed for almost a week; when she finally did get up everything she found that reminded her of Justin made her cry. Shelby kept all of her drinks spiked with calming draught. It was well into March before Lily resembled anything of her former self.

Severus found that she loved being in her animagus form and apparated them to random forests where they could change forms and play in the woods. Anytime Lily would start getting depressed he would grab her and apparate somewhere new. It helped them both heal and cope with the things they had a hard time dealing with. They both found peace in it, running wild and free without a care in the world.

It wasn't until June that Severus and Lucius felt the burn that they had almost forgotten about. They weren't called to Malfoy Manor because of the bounty still being in place on all Death Eaters. They were called somewhere they had never been before. It looked to have once been a beautiful home but it had been long deserted. The Dark Lord was no where to be seen, they entered the home and found a table near the door, on the table was a piece of parchment with Lucius and Snape's name on it. It was a simple note.

Lucius and Severus,

I have my own bounties.

Kill on sight.

Frank and Alice Longbottom.

Kill their brat first.

The Dark Lord.

Severus and Lucius didn't say a word, they took the parchment and left; going directly back to Prince Manor and inform Dumbledore that hits were being handed out by the Dark Lord in pairs. More than likely these were prophecy families.

Dumbledore informed them to not waste their time looking for the Longbottoms, they had been in hiding for months and would not be found in public. Dumbledore was very certain he had all the prophecy families hidden and that they all had secure secret keepers. He seemed unfazed for once.

Severus and Lucius still made appearances in known Death Eater hang outs just to seem like they were looking. They never stayed out long, just enough to be spotted by a handful of people and then went back to the safety of Prince Manor. This went on all summer and into the fall. When the weather started getting colder without a word from the Dark Lord they stopped even making appearances.

They went about life like normal. The pain of Justin being gone still stung on occasion but Draco quickly brought back his aunts smile. Severus was quickly becoming one of Draco's favorite people, he was the only one who dared to take him outside when Narcissa wasn't looking. They sank into a routine of normal again, the house was filled with laughter again and they almost forgot there was even a war going on most days. They didn't know what the Dark Lord was doing and didn't care. The Order never called for Lily, Remus or Sirius because they had nothing for them to do. They lived together happily watching and helping Draco grow.

Halloween night was a hard night for all of them, that night marked the one-year anniversary of locating Justin and they couldn't properly celebrate the holiday with Draco because even though the Dark Lord had grown silent the war was not over. Thanks to Sirius and Remus Draco got to celebrate the holiday, in a way, they got him a dragon costume and a ton of candy. The manor was so large that Lily, Severus, Remus, Sirius and all three house elves went to different rooms and gave him candy as he visited them. It was as close as they could get to letting him celebrate the holiday in true fashion. It didn't take Draco long to obtain a good sugar high and then quickly crash. He was sound asleep in a sticky mess by 9 p.m.

"I refuse to wake him to bathe him." Narcissa stated firmly with crossed arms looking down at the toddler covered in chocolate asleep on the living room rug.

"Come on Cissy, you can't put him to bed like that." Sirius said laughing.

"I can and I will. I should make you deal with him Uncle Sirius since you thought it would be funny to see how many chocolate frogs he could eat!" Narcissa said with narrowed eyes.

Sirius laughed, "I didn't think he could catch them all…"

Narcissa gave Sirius a 'go to hell' look before picking up the platinum haired dragon and heading upstairs to wipe him off and put him to bed.

"Well that's over. The kid is off to bed. Time to have a drink." Sirius said as he got up and walked toward the bar.

It appeared that the idea was popular, within 10 minutes all six of them were perched at the bar drinking their favorite brand of poison. They got lost in conversation and laughter. They were reliving the years that it was just the four of them, telling Lucius and Narcissa how they had pulled it all off and all the hilarious moments they had shared, like the shitting potion and why the word 'balls' still could get a giggle out of Remus at times. They were howling in laughter.

"Looking back I don't know how we haven't gotten caught." Snape said with a chuckle.

"Occlumency" rang out from the other five followed by more laughter.

"I truly would have never thought I'd be sitting here with all of you like this, but I wouldn't trade these last few months for all the gold in Gringotts." Lucius said in a serious tone.

"I wouldn't either. I have found true friends and a sister in this house." Narcissa followed Lucius's thought.

"Awww, we love you too." Sirius said sweetly.

Snape chuckled, "Do you know how many times we've said that to each other?"

"About a million!" Remus chimed in.

"We have walked a twisted road but we all ended up where we're supposed to be. Everything happens for a reason!" Lily said with a wink and a raised glass in a toast.

The laughter and stories continued, it was the happiest they had been in a very long time. It wasn't the alcohol making them happy it was each other. They truly had formed a family that at some point had put their lives on the line for the other.

Severus looked around the room and smiled finally understanding what Lily had tried to tell him months ago, she was the best part of him but she wasn't the only part of him. He did have good in him and these people were living proof of it. "Let me tell you guys why I spent so much time with Madame Pompfrey!" Snape said with a laugh looking at Sirius.

"Bastard." Sirius chuckled back.

About half way through the story a knock on the front door could be heard and the entire room immediately hushed.

"What the hell! Nobody knows about this place. How could someone be knocking on the door." Lily whispered.

"I don't know but you and Cissy get upstairs with Draco now!" Snape ordered. Snape ordered Lucius, Remus and Sirius to strategic spots in the Manor to protect the door and the stairs. Once everyone was in place Snape slowly opened the front door, "Dear Merlin, why the hell are you knocking! You know that's a good way to get killed! Get in here!" Snape bit.

"I apologize, I couldn't apparate in. I need to speak to Lily please." Dumbledore said wearing a very sad and distraught face.

Sirius dashed up the stairs to get Lily and let them know it was just Dumbledore.

"Why could you not apparate in?" Snape asked.

"I'll explain shortly." Was Dumbledore's short answer.

Lily came bounding down the stairs in a panic knowing something was wrong. Dumbledore would never knock on the door unless it was something bad. "What's wrong?" she said frantically as she reached the bottom step.

Dumbledore looked at her with a sad look, "Come let's go talk in another room."

"We can go into another room but they are my family, if it involves me I want them there." Lily said firmly.

Dumbledore nodded, "As you wish, living room please."

They all followed each other into the living room Snape and Lily sat next to each other holding hands while Dumbledore took the seat across from them. Everyone else spread out in the room but were all fairly close.

Dumbledore looked around the room then rubbed his face with both hands in exasperated frustration and sadness, "I suppose this does involve most of you anyways. As you all know I have hidden every family I felt was a target to Voldermort. I thought they were all safe. They all had very trusted secret keepers, or at least I thought so. One of the families secret keepers sold them out to Voldermort." Dumbledore said sadly with disappointment written all over his face.

"So they are in danger then? Do you need another place to hide them?" Severus asked.

Dumbledore put his head down and shook out 'no', "I'm afraid I failed them. Voldermort found them tonight. Both parents are dead."

"Why are you telling us this? Is it someone we know?" Lily asked confused.

Dumbledore clasped his hands together and huffed, "Yes, you might say that but I'm here for a different reason. The child lived, the mother threw herself in front of Voldermort's killing curse and some kind of love magic happened and the curse rebounded on him. Voldermort is gone, at least for now." Dumbledore got out before the room erupted in a loud mixture a gasps and sighs of relief followed by celebrations.

The excitement of Voldermort being dead was all any of them could think about, they totally forgot to ask whom it was that gave their life to end the reign of terror. When the noise died down Lily noticed Dumbledore's expression hadn't changed, "That's not all of it, what else happened?" she asked.

Dumbledore now looked rather nervous, "As I said, the child lived. He is now a true orphan. I have checked and he has no living family to take him and you were legally named his Godmother, shortly after he was born. I delivered the papers to the Ministry myself over a year ago. If you should agree to take him in, no one could ever take him from you. It would not be like last time. Lily I know those wounds haven't healed but his have just began."

Lily sat rigid and silent thinking for a short time, "I can't have another child ripped from me. What happens if I say no?" she finally asked.

"I will have no choice but to take him to an orphanage. Lily I know what you went through last time. There is no one to come to take him away from you. His parents knew this before they died, that's why you were named his Godmother and legal guardian upon their demise." Dumbledore said in a soft pleading tone.

"You're absolutely sure there is no one. I mean no one who can come take him in 6 months or 6 years?" Lily asked again still not convinced.

"Lily, they filed legal paper work to make him yours. There is no one, no one to take him but you. Lily, I wouldn't ask if I thought there was anyway he could be taken from you and he is going to need a strong family to help raise him. He would have that in this house." Dumbledore reassured her.

Lily looked to Severus, he smiled at her, "Love I'll do whatever you want."

Lily sat conflicted, the mother in her desperately wanted to say yes but her brain was saying no, she wanted to be a mother but she couldn't deal with having another child ripped from her.

"Lily, I assure you he is yours, please just meet him and if you don't feel a connection to the child then I will take him and never mention him again." Dumbledore pleading through Lily's silence.

"I can do that. When will you be bringing him?" Lily asked trying to gather courage.

"He is here now. That is why I couldn't apparate in. He is with Minerva outside." Dumbledore stated.

"Why did you leave them outside! It's cold out there!" Severus bit as he strode off to the door to call for Minerva.

Minerva walked into Prince Manor carrying a bundle of blankets, her bloodshot puffy eyes gave away the fact she had been crying for some time. Minerva gave Lily a small smile, "Hello dear, I wish this were under better circumstances, but it's good to see you."

"It's nice to see you Professor." Lily said timidly eyeing the bundle in Minerva's arms.

Lily started to fell a weird pull that she had only felt once before, the pull she felt when she found Severus at Eros's grave the first time. She would take a few steps forward and stop, it was an internal battle of mind over heart.

No one said a word, they all stood in silence and watched. Severus followed Lily but kept a small distance between them. Lily finally found herself in front of Minerva unsure of what to do or say.

Minerva seemed to know exactly what to do. She placed the bundle of blankets containing the little boy in Lily's arms. A tear immediately rolled down Lily's cheek, she had loved Justin dearly but this child, that she hadn't even seen his face yet, felt different. It was as though the universe had placed him there, never to leave her. It was almost a magical connection between them, Lily felt an immediate bond with the child she still yet to lay eyes on.

Severus was now standing directly behind Lily looking over her shoulder. He placed his hand in the small of her back to let her know he was there, Lily looked at him nervously, he smiled at her saying, "Whatever you decide love."

Lily looked back down at the ball of blankets and drew a deep breath before she found the courage to pull back the corner of the blanket that covered the little boys face. As she pulled it back Lily and Severus both gasped at the child, laying in Lily's arms was a chubby, raven haired, emerald eyed, little boy with a fresh wound shaped much like a lightening bolt; that was almost the mirror image of Eros they both had dreamt of years ago. They looked at each other knowing what the other was thinking. Lily couldn't decide if she wanted to laugh or cry so she did a little of both.

Dumbledore smiled a sad smile at Minerva knowing the toddler had won his place in their hearts already.

Severus and Lily were mesmerized by the toddler, who after all he had been through that night was happy and smiling up at time with those huge emerald eyes.

"Lily, it can't be can it?" Severus whispered.

"I don't know Sev and I don't care." Lily whispered back.

Dumbledore broke up the happy moment, "Lily, do I need to ask?"

Lily looked at him with a smirk, "You knew I'd keep him if I laid eyes in him but I swear to Merlin I will literally kill anyone who tries to take him from me."

Dumbledore nodded, "As any good mother would, and someday you may very well have to. We shall leave you now, I'm sure you'll need to sort things out for him. I will return tomorrow with paperwork from the Ministry to make him legally yours to ease your mind. We also have a few things to discuss regarding Voldermort and the child. Oh, Lucius and Narcissa, I wouldn't leave here until the majority of the Death Eaters are caught, it wouldn't do for Bellatrix to find you right now." Dumbledore said as he and Minerva headed toward the door.

"Headmaster, wait! You never told me his name." Lily shouted.

Dumbledore turned, shooting a sad look toward Sirius and Remus, then looked to Lily and said, "Harry. Harry Potter."

The End.