February 1997

"If today goes well, does that mean I won't have to keep taking the potions?" His sixteen year old son asked as they sat across from each other at the small kitchen table. They were having a quick lunch in their quarters before making their way to St. Mungo's for his scheduled February check up, as they've done every two months since August. Neither of them would complain though, as it was definitely an improvement from their biweekly visits between his diagnosis in May and the check up in August.

"It's unlikely," Severus replied. He wasn't trying to be negative, but practical. The last thing he wanted was to get Harry's, or his own, hopes up. "We'll follow whatever Healer Walker's suggestions are."

Harry took his plate to the sink and started cleaning it, using the newest spell he'd taught him in preparation for when he was living on his own someday. The professor watched his son working on the task that was so normal, he occasionally forgot about the cancer they were actively fighting to rid him of. Once the dish was cleaned, Harry turned and lifted himself so he was sitting on top of the counter.

"I bet you'd be happy not to have to spend so much time every week on the potions?" The young wizard casually asked.

"I don't mind it," he lied again. In truth, it was tedious work that required his full attention during the entire brewing process. Normally, he would relish in the focused work and his quiet laboratory, however knowing that a single mistake would affect Harry's health was sometimes frightening. "And that's not the point. You aren't simply going to stop the potions because it's time consuming to produce them. You will stop them when you no longer need them."

Severus stood, bringing his own dishes to the sink, and then gently nudged Harry's back until he jumped off the counter top.

"Go get ready," he told the Gryffindor, "I'm leaving in five minutes and due to the simple fact that you cannot apparate yet, you best be with me."

The professor went to his office to collect all the files he kept on Harry's test results from each visit, his previous and current potions regimens, and various notes on Leukemia in general. It was only a month ago he'd decided that once the Leukemia was in remission - and Harry was healthy again - he was going to start doing professional research into cancer in the wizarding community. Throughout his journey into the study of Harry's cancer, Severus believed that it might not be as uncommon as they'd been told for magical people to develop cancer, especially in young children before their magic had started to develop. He wanted to help expand the diagnostic process in the wizarding world to educate on this muggle disease as well as help make improvements to the treatment plan. It wouldn't help Harry's current condition, but if he could spare one father from living through the uncertainty he has daily, it would be time well spent.

It was a combination of luck and his own persistence that Harry had even been tested using muggle methods the day he'd been brought to St. Mungo's for the bruising and nosebleeds, back in May. When all the diagnostic scans showed nothing out of the ordinary, it was the attending healer that day, Chelsea Walker, who suggested the muggle blood tests. She knew a family near Wiltshire, where she grew up, that had a young child with the same symptoms and it ended up being the same cancer. He later found out that it was one of the reasons why she decided to specialize in muggle diseases wizards sometimes saw when she became a healer.

So far, the regimen they had Harry on since that bad check up in October, was the best combination, for which Severus was grateful. After a successful visit in December, if things today went just as well, he knew there was a small chance Harry could stop at least one of the eight potions he was taking. Of course, he didn't dare tell that to Harry.

"Good afternoon, Harry," Healer Walker said, as she entered the room holding his latest biopsy results. The air around her was positive, allowing Severus to breathe a bit easier. "I'm very pleased with the results from today's tests."

Harry's face immediately brightened at the news. For once, things continued to be on their side.

"So can I stop the potions?" The Gryffindor asked hopefully.

"Not yet," the healer replied, sitting in the chair across from the father and son and pulling out several pieces of parchment, "but I do think it's time to discuss what's coming up."

She leaned over and handed Severus and Harry two sets of parchment. He looked over the first, which was a schedule for his next two months on the potions. The professor wasn't surprised to see that the quantity and frequency of them was not going to change before his April appointment. The second piece of parchment had what appeared to be revised instructions for the potion Harry had been taking consistently since he started his treatments in early June.

"As you'll see," the healer drew his attention back to the first page, "there will be no changes to the regimen at this time. You'll still take eight potions a day with the same split between the morning and evening.

"Now, if things keep progressing as they have been, we expect you to be cancer free by the next visit. If that happens, you'll drop down to only two potions that you'll continue to take for the following eighteen months. We'll also drop your visits down to quarterly instead of bimonthly."

The look of gratitude Harry gave him made all of those sleepless nights brewing his potions worthwhile. He'd continue to do whatever was necessary to ensure his son stayed healthy, but it was refreshing to hear that there was a light at the end of their proverbial tunnel. There would come a time when both of them could put these days behind them and truly move on with their lives, even if that meant joining the Aurors against Severus's wishes.

"There is one, or rather two, small changes you'll see," she motioned to the other parchment. "There's been some recent research out of the East showing great progress with adding leaves of Euphorbia formosan and flower petals from Vernonia amygdalina. I've given you the latest procedure for it."

During his own studies of Leukemia in the wizarding world, he too had come across the study of these two particular plants having a significant impact on the blood cells for Leukemia patients. In fact, in certain cultures, they had started adding these as supplements to the muggle chemotherapy, though the results from those were less potent than when taken as a potion. Overall Severus was happy that the healer and Potion's Masters at St. Mungo's had seen this research, otherwise he would have suggested it to them.

The professor looked over the list and the steps for the potion adjustments. It was simple enough to add and wouldn't take much more time or effort than he was already putting into the potion. He would need to start the process by adding five whole leaves of Euphorbia formosan to the cold cauldron right at the beginning, and then add the finely ground flower petals from Vernonia amygdalina midway through; after the second half hour boiling to be exact. This would be simple and would hopefully help get Harry the rest of the way to being cancer-free by his April check-up.

They were walking side-by-side leaving the hospital, heading towards the apparation point to go to Hogsmeade before walking back to Hogwarts, when Harry said, "Thank you, Dad. I know I don't say that nearly enough, but thank you for all the work you're doing. I don't know what I'd do if… it's just, the Dursley's wouldn't have even bothered."

He reached over and gave his son a hug, even if Harry didn't normally like getting them at sixteen. Looking him over closely, from his always messy raven hair, emerald eyes, and wire glasses, Severus silently questioned how he ever saw this child as James Potter. Harry may be the spitting image of James, but he couldn't act any further from him.

"I love you, Harry," he told the young wizard in front of him, "No matter what happened with your relatives, never forget that you are loved."