AN: So I feel like a day late and a dollar short on this chapter - but enjoy anyway! Let me know what you think if Teddy's a little too sweet or does he seem like a real 3 year old?

"So, what happened then?" George insisted. "I mean, after all the mushy stuff with your new mum by the lake and all that. What made you do your nut then?"

"I don't know," Severus confessed, leaning on the broom he had been sweeping with. "I mean, what Ginny said made so much sense. I wanted to try and be helpful to Harry, I even practiced stuff I could say while I ate and you guys talked about what could be wrong with Andromeda."

"I saw that," George acknowledged. "You looked fine. And Ginny looked happy too, I thought she hoped she'd said the right thing to you."

"She didn't do too badly," Severus acknowledged.

"So what in Merlin's sake possessed you then?" George asked. "Did you want to get your bum smacked?"

"You don't know I got my bum smacked!"

"After that display of temper you're lucky you can sit down today!" George laughed at him. "I thought when Harry handed off Teddy and marched you home that you were in for it for sure!"

"I did not get my bum smacked!" Severus insisted indignantly, and then looked away, almost wistful. "I don't know, maybe that would have been better if he had. He wanted to talk to me instead, to know why I did it."

"And let me guess, you didn't have an answer," George said knowingly.

"I didn't," Severus nodded, going back to his sweeping to try and feel less awkward. "I don't still really. I'm supposed to think about it today while I'm working here and we're to talk of it tonight."

"What are you going to say then?"

Severus shrugged, continuing his sweeping. He really did have no idea.

George looked him over critically, wondering himself why the boy really did go off like that. When he had come back with Ginny it had looked so hopeful – but then when Harry had returned with his arms full of cute pre-schooler . . .

"It might have been easier if Harry had hauled off and beaten me," Severus commented quietly, so quietly George almost didn't hear him. "I clearly deserved it. It's almost worse to have had him be so kind to me."

"I can see why you'd think that," George acknowledged, his voice missing the usual playfulness. "It would be at least familiar."

"And now I'm supposed to think about it?" Severus said. "How am I supposed to do that when I don't even know why I did it?"

"Well, what did you feel?" George asked reasonably.

"I wanted to what Ginny said to do," Severus said. "You know, help Harry and all that. But then when he came back and there was that young boy in his arms, well, I talked myself into being okay. Ginny had warned me he would be in his arms, you know?"

"Good of her," George encouraged.

"Well, I told myself the child was scared and that the child really needed someone safe. I did what Ginny said to do, and I was okay. But then . . ."

"What happened?"

"He had a teddy," Severus answered with the finality that that would explain everything.

"A soft toy is common with a child his age," George answered, confused.

"I know," Severus answered, his voice desolate. "I remember seeing another child with one when I was little. Sometimes I would be in the front yard and mothers would push their babies by in prams, and I remember seeing one that was about that child's age that had a teddy just like it. I wanted one so much, I asked my mum for one so many times. It's how I learned Father Christmas wasn't real."

"I see," George replied in what he hoped was a neutral voice.

"And then I wanted to kill him," Severus said in a voice devoid of all emotion. "I really did. I had that feeling coming up deep in me. He was sitting there in Harry's arms, being comforted by him, sitting there as if that's where he belonged. And of course was everything I'm not – plump, sweet, cute . . . loved . . ."

"Loved by Harry," George confirmed.

Severus nodded, turning away from George. "When Ginny was talking to me I had some hope that I could be a good person," Severus told George. "Maybe even the kind of person she seems to think that I can be. But now I know the truth."

"And what truth is that?"

"My father was right about me," Severus said softly.

George expected him to cry or to explode or something, but instead he turned to his work and swept silently. George just knew if he contradicted Severus he wouldn't believe him, and it would probably make it worse.

"Your Father was a git," George told him, feeling at a loss of what else to say.

"Doesn't mean he was wrong," Severus answered. "Apple doesn't fall far from the tree."

"We all make mistakes . . ."

"You ever try to knock down your father while he was holding a small child?" Severus asked, turning to look at George directly. "It's something my father would have done."

George looked into those dark eyes and saw something he was very surprised to see – shame. Severus was ashamed of what had happened, and he obviously thought there was little that could redeem him after that.

"Well, I never did do that exactly . . ." George admitted.

"Then don't you dare say that it's alright," Severus told him bitterly. "You and I both know it isn't. Maybe Harry would be right to send me away. I'm a danger to have around that child."

Severus continued sweeping, not even enjoying being able to strike the great George Weasley speechless.

. . .

Later, Severus sat in his room working on the homework that he had missed while Miss Stradling had been "disciplining" him. Last week he had been brimming with ideas for revenge on her, and now he was beginning to just think maybe he should try and obey her. It would be easier. And it might not even matter much longer if he told Harry he should just go to a boarding school anyway. At least he would be away from her and that horrid spell of hers. But didn't boarding schools use the cane for real? Sighing, he figured even a really bad boarding school he probably deserved.

Suddenly, his door opened and he heard giggling.

"Who's that?" he asked, putting down his quill.

He heard scuffling across the floor and then under his bed, with more childish giggling. With some panic starting in his stomach, he realized there really was only one option for who could be making that noise. And it was the one person he had no idea how to deal with.

"Get out of there!" he hissed. "Someone is looking for you I'm sure and I don't want them to find you in here!"

"Why?" a childish answer came back from under the bed.

"Because I'm in enough trouble already!" Severus answered, though he backed up from the bed rather than going towards it. "Please, little boy, just leave my room."

"Teddy," the child giggled. "I'm Teddy."

"Teddy," Severus answered. "Please leave."

"What your name?" he asked.

"Oh, I'm Severus," he answered.

"Sev'r's," Teddy giggled again. "That's a funny name."

"Right, you can't be in here."

"Why not?" Teddy asked, climbing on top of the bed.

"This is my room," Severus tried, still keeping his distance from across the room. "It's just for me."

Teddy looked at him with an impish grin, and his face began to slowly change to a long, pointed nose and long, stringy black hair. Severus flushed with anger when he realized that Teddy was imitating him, feeling that this was somehow disrespectful.

"For me too now," Teddy laughed.

"Get out," Severus told him flatly. "I don't want to be in any more trouble by having you in here. I'm supposed to be working."

"You in trouble?" Teddy asked, concerned. "Why?"

"Well, I got in trouble with my Governess during lessons," Severus tried to explain.

"Gov'n'ss?"

"Like a teacher," Severus explained. "I'm doing my makeup homework. And I'm sure I'm going to catch it for what happened last night with you."

"You pushed Unc' Harry down," the small boy observed, his tiny boy voice coming through a small version of Severus' face.

"I did," Severus admitted, looking down.

"Why?" the boy asked.

"I think I just got really mad," Severus answered, not sure why he was even talking to this child. And that feeling he had when he was talking with George came back, and he swallowed to try and keep his throat from closing with shame. How could he have acted like his father? Breathing deeply, he decided to look at the child, and realized that he didn't act scared of him at all. "Didn't it scare you?" he asked, confused.

"Nope," the boy answered, shaking his face and having it turn back to his own again. "Unc' Harry caught me."

Severus felt like this was one of those situations where he should probably apologize to the child, but he just couldn't manage to do it. He was just too cute and too lovable, he knew he was competition. And you didn't win by apologizing. Even though most of his thoughts this morning while working centered around how he was going to tell Harry he should be sent away for everyone's safety, he still couldn't bring himself to do it. Besides, apologizing led to beatings – it was best not to admit anything. Still, it made him feel better to know that the lad hadn't been scared of him.

"Harry is probably looking for you," Severus told him. "Why don't you go hide from him elsewhere?"

"I like it here," Teddy answered. "I like you."

Severus, completely at a loss on how to answer such an absurd statement, watched a little shocked as the boy made his way over to the bookcase and picked up one of the books. Severus saw that it was one of the children's books that Ginny had brought him early on to practice.

"Read?" he asked, plaintively.

"I need to do my homework," Severus told him. "Don't touch that!"

"Then read to me," Teddy answered plainly.

"I can't, that is, I don't read very well . . ." Severus told him, not wanting to admit it.

"Better than me," Teddy answered, thrusting a book at him. "Read."

"Will you leave if I read to you?" Severus asked, realizing if he was going to do this thing he would have to walk across the room.

"Yes," he answered simply.

"You promise?" Severus asked again, beginning to move a bit closer to the child on his bed.

"'Course," the child answered. "You 'fraid of me Sev'r's?"

"Of course not," he answered with a huff. "What a thing to say. As long as you promise to leave when I'm done."

Teddy held out the book, and Severus took several steps to close the gap between them, taking the book reluctantly and leveling his eyes at the young negotiator. "And no complaints of how I read."

"No skipping," Teddy nodded.

"Okay," Severus sighed. "But you can't complain if it's not very good."

"Babbity Wabbity," Teddy nodded with a smile.

Great, Severus thought to himself. He knows this one. I can't make stuff up.

Carefully and slowly, Severus began to read the book. He found himself becoming so engrossed in it himself as he stumbled over the words to read it to Teddy that he jumped in fright as the firm hand of his guardian held firmly onto his shoulder.

"What have we here?" Harry asked.

"I didn't hurt him!" Severus exclaimed, jumping up and letting the book fall from his lap to the floor.