The next day that Governess was none too pleased with the developments over the weekend. Not only had it become clear that her charge had in fact joined his family for the picnic she clearly told his guardian to forbid him, but with all the fuss about the hastily prepared wedding the family forgot they were even supposed to be apologetic about their lapse in discipline. Nobody even bothered to tell her that they had chosen against her advice, she had to glean the information as she asked a few pointed questions of the obviously clueless Ron Weasley when she entered through the floo that morning. And instead of a meek, apologetic charge waiting for her on Monday she got a charge with his black eyes trained upon her with rebellion. There should have been chagrin, apologies, and perhaps even stammering! Obviously there should have been some strokes to her ego, rather than just a messy-haired Ron Weasley left behind as the obviously busier Harry and Ginny were off doing their other things to greet her and explain things.

"We figured the picnic was too important a family event to miss," Ron had explained as he gulped down a hastily assembled bacon sandwich. "You understand, right? We had the little blighter help out my brother on Saturday as his penance, I'm sure he's learned his lesson right proper."

"Would that be your brother who owns the joke shop?" she asked with as much austerity as she could muster. She had to look away from the consumption of the bacon sandwich, the sight of the dripping bacon and crumbling bread was making her feel slightly nauseated.

"That's the one!" Ron broke into a smile, completely missing the obvious dig she meant. "But then you went to school with George, didn't you?"

"I did," she answered in a tone that did not invite further questioning on the subject.

"And to be honest the boy did get chastised at least a bit yesterday by Harry as well," Ron told her with a conspiratorial whisper. "He misbehaved at the picnic and Harry had to draw a firm line with him. I don't think it was too bad or anything, but the lad had a hard weekend what with Teddy coming and everything."

"Teddy?" she asked blankly.

"Remus Lupin's child," Ron explained. "Harry's his Godfather. He's being mostly raised by Andromeda, his Grandmother, but she's at St. Mungo's and it's not looking good. Teddy might be here for a while."

"I believe he is to young to be in my field of teaching," Miss Stradling sniffed. "I hope you have alternate arrangements for the child."

"Of course!" Ron answered, feeling flustered. "My mum is watching him, no worries at all. Severus is all yours."

"Then I shall go meet my charge," the Governess nodded, trying not to show her darkening mood to her employer's best friend. "Good day, Mr. Weasley."

Damn that boy, she thought to herself, her modest heels clicking sharply up the stairs as she walked to her pre-determined classroom. If I try to discipline him further because he didn't face the consequences I had prescribed then I will look weak, but if I do nothing I look clueless. He knows that he won that round.

"Good morning, Mr. Snape," she greeting him as she walked in the room, trying to modulate her tone as to not show her annoyance.

"Good morning, Miss Stradling," he replied with a slight drawl in his voice, his slowness a sharp contrast to her sharp fluster. He stood up beside his desk as she entered, as she had trained him to do, but he did it two seconds too slow to actually be deemed respectful.

"I understand you had some extra work this weekend," she commented, her eyes sharply inspecting her student.

"Yes, Miss," Severus replied, purposely not using the title she liked better.

"I hope you found that activity instructive," she told him.

"I did, Miss," he answered with equal aplomb. "I always enjoy some time at the joke shop with Mr. George Weasley."

"I believe your guardian hoped that some extra work might inform some of your behavioral decisions," she told him.

"Yes, I believe that was the purpose," he confirmed. "I feel very … informed."

"I hope that this . . . interesting method of your guardian's serves to reduce your behaviors or I shall have to resort to other methods," she told him.

"Really?" he asked with feigned naiveté. "I thought that your options were somewhat limited."

"I believe you should know me better than that by now," she told him, withdrawing her wand and handling it lovingly.

Severus looked at her, and calculated. He wanted to communicate to her that she didn't win, but he also didn't want to push her hard enough to use that spell of hers, or worse – hard enough to use something worse. He wasn't 100% sure that that caning spell was the worst thing she had. Was it worth it to push her? But, he decided upon reflection, her winning this war would be even worse than any spell she could muster. He would simply not submit. Submitting to her like a good little boy would feel like death in and of itself – he simply couldn't do it. However, he also didn't want to court punishment any more than he had to as well either. He had to figure out a line that could keep him out of as much trouble as possible but still let him feel like he was a person in charge of his own self.

"Of course, miss," he told her, a slight tone of sarcasm. "I feel thoroughly punished by my strict guardian under your excellent direction. I will never misbehave again."

She could not fault his answer, but they both knew what he was really saying. But they both also knew that this ended this conversation, nothing more could be said until what he said would inevitably be proven untrue. And they both knew it would be; neither believed Severus to be broken.

"Turn to your reader," she told him with icy clarity. "We begin a new section this week. Section thirteen."

Severus silently obeyed, a slight smile gracing his lips. They both knew he wasn't broken.

…

And so the week went, with Severus playing mental gymnastics to stay out of arm's reach, and trying to behave just enough to not warrant punishment. The Governess found an excuse at least once a day to use her caning spell, however, which Severus endured with tight-lipped determination and a glare of calculated revenge at her turned back. But she had her own sense of honor as well – she only used the spell for actual disobedience or insubordination. But the actual offense need only be slight to earn her censure.

In the meantime, the wedding planning went ahead in full steam. Almost every day Severus helped in some capacity – looking after Teddy, helping de-gnome the garden in preparation, and even on one occasion being asked his opinion on cake flavors. He had been so surprised to have been asked his opinion on the flavors of cake that he at first didn't even fully understand what they wanted, and then had to bluff and pretend that of course he had eaten traditional fruitcake before and could form an opinion on that versus chocolate cake as well.

But the most stressful thought for him, however, was in thinking about Ginny. As she so casually handed him the bite of fruitcake, laughingly trying to get him to agree to saying it was superior to the chocolate cake that Harry wanted, it almost felt as if she could be, well, his mother. But not like the kind of mother he knew before – detached, victimized, helpless – but something else. She was the kind of person that talked to him, that played some sort of sport professionally, and didn't really seem to be scared of much. Except maybe him in some strange way – he always got the feeling that she felt a little scared or uncomfortable around him.

The night before the wedding Severus found himself tossing and turning over the upcoming ceremony, worried about the part he had to play the next day. Harry had explained that they wanted to have him and Teddy as part of the ceremony as well, and that they would give them both a necklace to show their part in the family – Severus as a son and Teddy as a Godson. Although, as Severus knew was unspoken in the air, Andromeda wasn't getting better as quickly as hoped. The line between son and Godson might soon become non-existent.

In same ways he was glad that Teddy was going to be there too, Severus decided. At least he didn't have to feel that all the attention was on him and his position as the son acquired in the freaky way, the boy that should have been the father. Harry had told him that he was supposed to hold the boy's hand and make sure he knew where to go, and help him go through the steps of the ceremony. Helping Teddy was going to make it easier, Severus knew; focusing on the boy would make it feel much less awkward.

"Sev'rus?" he heard a voice whisper.

"What?" Severus gasped in surprise, jumping up in alarm.

"Scared," he heard Teddy grumble sleepily. "Can I sleep with you?"

"Scared of what?" Severus asked with incredulity. "It's the same as yesterday – you're in the same bed in the same house."

"Scared of tomorrow," he said. "What if I don't do it right? What if they laugh at me?"

"You'll be fine," Severus told him. "Go back to bed."

"Can I sleep with you?" he asked in a small voice. "Please?"

"Get in," Severus sighed, pulling up the blanket and inviting the small boy in. "Just stay on your side of the bed."

"Aren't you scared, Sev'rus?" Teddy asked, cuddling down under the blankets happily. "They're getting married tomorrow."

"It shouldn't be too different," Severus told him, scooting over and giving the boy some room.

"I talked to Grandmum yesterday," Teddy admitted. "She said that Harry and Ginny are going to be more like my mummy and daddy because she's so sick and we don't know how long it will take her to get better."

"Sounds like you're going to be here a while," Severus observed.

"My parents are dead," Teddy supplied helpfully.

"So are mine," Severus answered.

"So Grandmum said Ginny and Harry can be like my new parents," Teddy explained. "They are for you too."

"Are you going to call them that?" Severus asked, curious.

"Yes, she wants me to," Teddy told him. "After the cer'mony. Are you going to?"

"I don't know," Severus answered honestly. "I mean; I can call Harry Dad but it's harder for Ginny."

"She's nice," Teddy argued. "She likes you."

"There's more to it than that," Severus tried to explain to him. "I remember my mum; so it's hard to imagine me having a relationship with another mum because of that."

"Was your mum bad?" Teddy asked.

"Yes," Severus admitted. He would never have been able to admit that before, but somehow talking in the dimly lit room to this small child made it easier to admit. He marveled at the ease he was talking to this preschooler. But there was kind of a comradery in it too – both of them had lost their parents, both of them were facing being parenting by Harry and Ginny.

"Did she hit you?" Teddy asked.

"No, nothing like that," Severus told him, then sighed. "It was more that she just didn't really love me. She just wasn't really interested in me, I guess. She had, well, I think she just had so many of her own problems that she didn't really have time to be that worried about me at all, so she mostly just kind of ignored me. I think it may have been better if she had hit me."

"You silly Sev'rus," Teddy with the solemnity of a very young child trying to sound adult. "Hitting isn't better."

"Sometimes not loving hurts more," Severus said, realizing it as he said it. Could it be true that what is mum did hurt more than what his dad had done?

"Well now you have a new mum," Teddy said reasonably. "She's a good mum; she makes good biscuits. And she doesn't hit either."

"Somehow I wonder if she really wants to be my mum," Severus admitted.

"Don't be stupid," Teddy laughed at him. "She likes you."

"She likes you, I know," Severus told him. "You're cute and everything. I'm, well, I'm more difficult to love."

"Harry loves you," Teddy told him, with the certainty of a child that had never known abuse and neglect. Severus could hear his voice getting sleepy, and felt his small body cuddle against him. He found that in this situation he could almost believe the youngster. "Ginny's the same."

"Now go to sleep, we have a big day tomorrow," Severus told him, wanting to have the upper hand again. "It wouldn't be good if we fall asleep in front of everyone down front."

"Okay, Sev'rus," Teddy agreed. "But you know what that means too."

"What what means?"

"Big brother," smiled. "I get a brother too."

"You might regret it," Severus smirked. "I might not be that nice of a brother."

Teddy giggled, and then with the sleepy heaviness of a young child, his breathing became heavier and slowly he slipped to sleep. Severus watched him sleep for a moment, looking at his eyelashes laying gently on his cheek. He wondered what it would have been like if he could have been that innocent young child, trusting the grown ups to be loving and caring for him. He couldn't believe the audacity of the young child just wanting the comfort of climbing into bed with him and just demanding being able to do so – and wondering at his own compliance.

Severus found that he was reluctant to wake the boy, so found himself holding his body stiller so as not to disturb him. The steady breathing of the boy's slight snore was soothing, and not long after Teddy slipped off to sleep Severus followed.