A/N: Hey. I am so exhausted. It's been such a long day. I'll probably only update the once tonight...we'll see. Unfortunately, this chapter is shorter than the past few have been. Regardless, I hope you enjoy the chapter and please review. Thanks. :]

Warnings: Nothing really.

Harry walked into Severus' rooms with Jack and Benji the next night only to find the rooms empty. Frowning, Harry walked over to the door he knew led to Severus' private lab and opened it just a crack, listening for sounds. He smiled when he heard talking and gestured for the others to follow him. He had contemplated sending his Patronus down to warn Severus but he wasn't quite ready for Severus to see his new form. Instead he made sure to make quite a bit of noise on the way down though he was sure Severus knew they were coming. He knew there were wards on the door that warned Severus.

They pushed through another door and saw Severus standing beside Milo, both bent over a piece of parchment, a book, ingredients, tools, and a boiling cauldron. Severus was quietly telling Milo something while pointing at the textbook before gesturing at the ingredients. Milo picked up the ingredient needed and began preparing them as Severus turned to face them.

"I hope you enjoyed your tour," Severus said to Jack and Benji. Benji nodded enthusiastically with a wide grin as Jack and Harry laughed. "I suppose that's answer enough."

Harry laughed again and walked over to Severus, wrapping his arms around the man's waist in a hug. "How was your day?" the voice box asked, floating just behind him.

"Quite productive. There have been no explosions or injuries," Severus said and Harry chuckled, looking over at Milo who was intently stirring the potion. "He's not horrible. Like you, he needs help discovering the difference between preparation methods and needs to keep better track of his stirs."

"So nothing too difficult," Harry said.

"No, nothing too difficult," Severus said, running a hand up and down Harry's back slowly.

"What potion are you making?" Jack asked.

"Veritaserum," Severus said and Jack nodded, walking over to his eldest son. Harry looked up at Severus curiously when he saw the man watching Milo with an odd expression.

"Something wrong, Severus?" Harry asked.

"No, nothing. I just enjoy teaching much more when the student wants to learn," Severus said, looking back at Harry.

"You should take Minerva up on her offer and just teach the upper level students and she'll hire someone for the lower years," Harry said. "Not only would you be less stressed, you'd have more free time."

"Are you suggesting anything in particular, Mr. Potter?" Severus said, smirking.

Harry grinned. "I don't know, Professor. I could be, I suppose."

"Don't suggest what you don't plan on following through on," Severus said.

Harry smiled and stroked the man's cheek. "We will, Severus, I promise, just not yet. I don't want to rush."

"I know, Harry, and there is no rush," Severus said and gently kissed him.

"I think it's done, sir," Milo suddenly said. Severus glanced back at the boy, lightly kissed Harry once more, and then walked back to Milo.

"Uncle Harry?" Benji said and Harry looked down at the boy.

"Yes?"

"I thought you said that Mr. Snape would never return your feelings?" Benji said with typical child innocence.

Harry smiled. "I never thought he would. We've got a lot of history, Benji, and he's also much older than me. I thought he might let it all stand in the way of anything ever happening."

"But I thought you two were friends before you left here?" Benji said.

"We were."

"Then why would the same stuff matter for dating if it didn't matter for being friends?" Benji wondered, looking up at his surrogate uncle in confusion. Harry stared back at him, surprised at the boy's completely logical outlook.

"You know what, Benji?" Harry said and Benji blinked at him. "I never ever thought of it like that. That is very smart, kid."

"I know," Benji grinned and hopped over to his father.

Harry chuckled and shook his head at the child. As he watched the others, he couldn't stop his mind from turning to his godson, Teddy. He had never met the child though he desperately wished to. His grandmother, Andromeda Tonks would never let him near his godson as long as she was living and probably even after she was dead. He had resigned himself—very regretfully—to the fact that he would never meet his beloved godson or get the chance to raise him like Remus and Tonks wanted when they had named him godfather of their son.

When the war had first ended, he had always had thoughts of Teddy in his mind but at that point he knew he wasn't ready for a child, no matter how much he wished it and loved children. He was a mess and so was the wizarding world and he was only seventeen. As the years passed, he never stopped thinking of the godson he had never met. It had broken his heart when he read the article in the Daily Prophet when Andromeda proclaimed that Harry would never get near her grandson. When he was nearly twenty, he had entertained the thought of trying to talk to Andromeda but had dismissed the idea. He knew the woman would never agree.

"Harry?" he heard Severus call his name and he shook himself free of his thoughts. He found that the lab had emptied and Severus was looking at him with a little bit of concern. "Are you all right?"

Harry gave him a small smile. "Yeah, I'm okay."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm fine, Severus. Come on," Harry said and took the man's hand, the two of them returning to the sitting room where the Catellas had made themselves at home.

"Severus, I see you have Harry's books," Jack said once they entered the room.

"Yes. We use his Defence book in our Defence curriculum here at Hogwarts," Severus nodded and Harry looked over to see Jack holding up his book, Seven Years of War.

"You've made yourself known, Harry, well, as Evan," Jack grinned at him and Harry shrugged slightly, blushing.

"Harry, I must know. What does the 'T' stand for in your second name?" Severus asked as they sat on the loveseat.

"Oh, it's Ted, for my godson," Harry said.

"Your godson?" Severus frowned.

"Remus and Tonks' son. They named me godfather just after he was born," Harry said and got a sad smile on his face. "I've never met him. That's why I used his name."

Severus glanced over at Jack who nodded. "Why haven't you met him? He should be about four or five by now."

"Yeah, about five and a half. Andromeda said she'd never let him know me, never let me near him, so I haven't met him."

"Harry, you're his rightful guardian," Severus said.

Harry shrugged. "She's his grandmother. They're blood. She's got more rights than me."

"Harry, we'll see you back in the rooms. It's getting late and it's time for Benji to go to bed," Jack said, getting to his feet with Milo and Benji, though the latter was quietly complaining.

"But, Dad."

"No, Benji. Let's go," Jack said, catching the thankful look Severus gave him and he inclined his head.

"I'll be up soon, Jack," Harry said.

"Don't rush, kid," Jack smiled at him and left the quarters with his sons.

"Now, tell me about your godson," Severus said, turning Harry to face him.

"Umm, all right. I can't tell you much. His name is Ted Remus Lupin but everyone calls him Teddy. He's named after Tonks' father. His natural hair is sandy brown like Remus' and his eyes are a light brown. He's a Metamorphmagus. He's about five and a half. That's about all I can tell you," Harry said, not noticing that he was smiling. Severus noticed, however, and it broke his newly discovered heart. It was obviously killing Harry to be kept from his godson. "You know, it's funny. I had sworn to myself that I'd be the kind of godfather Sirius was, or should've been had he not gone to Azkaban. Now I'm exactly the same as Sirius. I'll be missing my godson's life just like Sirius," Harry said with a little laugh to cover up his choke at the end but Severus heard it.

"Harry, you're his godfather. You have the right to have him. It does not matter that Mrs. Tonks is his maternal grandmother. You're his godfather, the person his parents named, in their will, to care for him in the case that they could not," Severus told him.

"I don't want to take him away from her. She loves him. He's all she has left of her daughter and son-in-law," Harry said.

"You love him too. He's all you have left of two others you loved," Severus said.

"I don't love him. I can't. I've never even seen him," Harry shook his head.

"You never knew your parents but you love them," Severus argued.

"That's different. They were my parents."

"And he's your godson."

"It's not the same."

"How so?"

"It's just not."

Severus sighed. "I can see that you at least care for him, Harry. You should fight for him."

"I don't know, Severus," Harry said. "I'm fine how things are. Like everything else, I've made my peace with this."

"You shouldn't have to. Fight for him."

"I'll think about it."

"You're doing that a lot lately," Severus said and Harry smiled. "Stay here tonight."

"Severus, I can't. I've got Jack and the boys, and I just moved back," Harry's voice box said.

"Jack and the boys will be fine. Stay here, Harry," Severus said, leaning in and kissing Harry deeply.

Harry was gasping for breath when Severus pulled away. "All right, but just tonight."

Severus kissed him again.

"Let me just send a Patronus to Jack," Harry said and pulled his wand. He hesitated, realizing Severus would see his new Patronus. Breathing deeply, he cast the spell and a sleek silver panther jumped from his wand.

"That is most certainly not a stag," Severus said, looking at Harry with a raised eyebrow.

"It changed about a year after I left," Harry said. "I guess that's when I fully accepted I was in love with you."

Severus pulled Harry backwards so the younger man's back was to his chest and rested his cheek against Harry's black hair. "I have so missed you."

"I missed you too, Severus," Harry said, turning his head and kissing Severus' cheek. He turned back to his Patronus. "I'm staying with Severus tonight. I'll see you tomorrow. Say goodnight to the boys for me." The panther bowed before rushing from the room.

"Now, let's go to bed," Severus said, getting to his feet and pulling Harry up with him.

"I don't have any pajamas again," Harry said as they walked into the bedroom.

"You can borrow a pair of mine for tonight," Severus said. Harry sat on the bed as the Potions master went to the wardrobe. Harry looked around and saw a piece of parchment on Severus' bedside table. He picked it up and looked at it.

First spell: Neck – 3 parts
Narro

Second Spell: Lips
Narro iterum

"Have you thought about it?" Severus asked and Harry looked away from the parchment.

"Yeah. I talked to Jack too," Harry nodded.

"And?"

"He thinks I should do it. I feel like I should but I'm still thinking about it. Like Jack told me, it's not a big change but it'll still affect my life," Harry told him.

"You do not have to do this," Severus said, handing Harry a pair of dark green pajama pants.

"I know," Harry sighed. "That's why I'm thinking about it. I've never really thought about having my voice again over the past few years. Once research had been exhausted and all tests had been done, I made myself be okay with never speaking again."

"You've been through so much, Harry. You deserve to have your voice back," Severus said, running his fingers through the back of Harry's hair.

Harry smiled at him and leaned in for a kiss. "Let's go to bed. I'm tired."

Severus nodded and they changed. Sliding into the bed, Harry lay on his side, facing away from Severus only to have the Potions master pull him back towards his chest, wrapping an arm around his waist and burying his face in Harry's hair.

"I love you," he heard Severus whisper before feeling a kiss pressed on the back of his neck. He smiled and laced his left hand with Severus' around his waist.

A week had passed and Milo had long since returned to Spain to take his Potions test. They hadn't yet heard anything about how he'd done but none of them were worried. Harry knew Severus had done well in preparing Milo. Harry hadn't yet made a decision about either his voice or Teddy. He was torn between both. He wanted his voice back but he was also somewhat frightened. He wanted Teddy but he was afraid of not being allowed his godson. He wasn't sure he could handle fighting for his godson only to be rejected.

Harry was currently flying around the Quidditch pitch with Benji while Jack and Severus talked down below in the stands. Harry looked over to them and smiled. He wasn't surprised at how well Severus and Jack were getting along; he had known they would. He was very glad to see them getting along and to see that Severus seemed to like Benji and Milo as well. The Catellas had become his family while he was away and he wanted all parts of his family to get along.

"Harry!" Benji called and Harry looked around to see Benji doing loops on his Nimbus All-Star, the newest and fastest broom just below the Firebolt. Harry smiled and flew over to him. They started racing each other around the pitch. Another couple hours passed before Harry and Benji flew down to the stands to join Severus and Jack.

"Yes, she died three years ago. She got a horrible illness," Jack was saying as they landed and Harry knew he was talking about his wife, Caritina.

"I'm sorry," Severus said.

"Thank you. Thankfully, she was not in pain. She went in her sleep. It was peaceful," Jack said and Severus nodded.

"Any other family?" Severus asked.

"I have an older brother, Matt, and two younger sisters, Carrie and Skyler. Caritina has three brothers, Aurelio, Cortez, and Gemino. Gemino died when they were children through some magic accident. She also has two sisters, Estella and Graciana. The boys frequently stay with Cortez," Jack told the Potions master. "And you?"

Harry tensed slightly, knowing Severus was not fond of talking about his parents or his past. "I was an only child and so were both my parents, as far as I am aware anyways. My father, Tobias, was a Muggle and my mother, Eileen was a witch," Severus paused. "They weren't what you would call good parents but we managed," he said vaguely and Harry put a hand on his arm.

"Ah, so like Harry's relatives," Jack said and Severus nodded.

"Except perhaps not as harsh. I was fed and given a room," Severus said and pulled Harry close when he looked down at the reminder of his 'family'.

"With the way he looks now, you'd never know how his relatives were," Jack said with a smile and Harry gave a small one back. Severus held him tight and rubbed his arm in comfort.

A/N: Hope you liked it. I'm too tired to say much. Don't forget to review please. Thanks so much. :]