The next morning, Severus rolled over, groaning. His neck was stiff, and his arm had that retched pins and needles feeling shooting up it. He realized his arm was pinned underneath him, and that his head was at a funny angle. HE crawled out of bed, and slowly moved his arm around to get the blood flowing through it. He also rotated his neck around to relax the muscles.

Today, Severus had to give a better diagnostic spell to both Amy and Jason, administer the correct potions, and Jason had a potions lesson later on. All ready, Severus was actually looking forward to his day. He remembered he had a blasted dinner at Lily and James' house. Unfortunately, he was forced into that one. And Harry was bringing his kids, as were Sirius and Scarlet, Dora and Remus. Oh fun…

Severus quickly showered, shaved, and dried his hair, before grabbing his potions kit, and Apparating to the Lupins. Dora answered the door.

"Come on in. Remus is in the living room, and Jason and Amy are getting ready for you. I'm off to work, so I'll be out of your way." She said, pulling her cloak on and tripping over a small sneaker. "Teddy!" She grumbled. "Oh, and my son is here too."

"Joy." Severus said. Dora laughed and Disapparated. Severus went into the living room. Remus was reading the Daily Prophet intently.

"Looks like Draco has become a highly successful wizarding lawyer." Remus replied, and then looked up. "Oh, hello Severus. I thought you were Dora, sorry. Well, you must be a proud Godfather."

"Very. He's highly successful. And Hermione Granger is his partner." This had surprised even Severus. The two enemies suddenly were successful partners, and Harry often went to lunch with Draco, who was newly divorced after his wife had been unfaithful, leaving him with their two year old son Scorpio.

"Have him come to the gathering today. Harry would be happy with that."

"I'll write him as soon as I'm finished here."

"If you really want to, you can write him now." Remus said, adjusting his reading glasses. "You're more than welcome too."

"I have research to do at home anyway." Severus said simply.

"That's all right." Remus said, going back to the paper. "Oh, and Harry has been talking you up, lately." Severus was surprised. "He did an interview about how you saved his life, and how the least he could do after seven years of you protecting him, was save you from Nagini."

"Well…I'll have to read that. I see him later on today."

"I'll be there as well. Amy's coming too." Severus nodded. Amy came into the room.

"Oh, hello, Severus."

"I'll go see to your son first, and then I'll take you." He said, walking off. He found Jason, reading again. He sat on the edge of the bed. Usually, he despised kids. But this one…the boy reminded him to much of his past. Jason looked up.

"Hi." He said quietly. "Another spell?"

"I'm afraid so, Jason." He said. The boy sighed, and put his text down, moving closer to Severus. He ran the diagnostic spell, and found the boy in perfect health, now that he was getting regular amount of food, and sleep.

"You're good. Get your mother." He grabbed his book, leaped off the bed, and ran through the open door. A few minutes later, Amy came in. He patted the empty bed next to her. She sat down, looking a little nervous. He ran the spell over her, too. Fortunately, she too was healthy. Severus released the breath he didn't know he was holding. He hadn't realized how concerned he was. Severus was scared by that thought. She smiled at him.

"Is everything all right?"

"Oh…yes, quite all right." He fiddled with his wand, which was peculiar; Severus Snape fiddled with nothing, let alone his own wand. And besides, there was nothing wrong with being concerned. He was internally scolding himself for overreacting. Stop being so stupid, Severus. You haven't loved anyone in years. Whoa, what made him think of love? Scolding himself once more, he realized he was overreacting again, and that Amy wasn't watching him with so much intensity, that she was noticing his internal scolding. Well, he tried to anyway. It failed when she said, "Severus are you all right?" He looked up at Amy, who looked worried.

"I'm all right." HE said. "Just…" A thought crossed his mind, and, although he didn't particularly want to lie to her, he wasn't about to tell her his internal battle. "It's this blasted picnic thing later. I really don't want to go, but if I want my head still attached, then I better." She giggled. "Don't ever make Lily Potter mad, Amy. It's not fun." She laughed.

"I wouldn't. She's really sweet, though." Severus nodded.

"She's my best friend." Severus said quietly. They sat in silence, happily. Suddenly, Severus glanced at his watch.

"Well, I'm off. I have research and a letter to write." He stood, and helped Amy to her feet.
If you'll excuse me." He went into the living room, bade Remus and Jason goodbye, and headed towards the door. With one swift movement, he Disapparated.

"Severus!" Lily said, as he appeared in the large backyard of the Potters. Cho was sitting with Dora, keeping an eye on their kids. Scarlet and Sirius Black were stopping an argument between their twins, James was helping with the grill, flipping burgers. Lily pulled Severus into a hug he wasn't expecting. She pulled him towards Harry and Draco, who were setting up tables.

"Severus." Harry said in greeting. "All right, Draco, set it down." The two wizards stopped the Levitation spell. A little blond boy sat in a high chair, chewing on some toy. "Scorp's teething?"

"Unfortunately" Draco drawled. "Kept him up half the night."

"Ugh, I'm sorry."

"I just hope it end just as she moves out." He spat the pronoun out viciously. Draco had recently filed for a divorce on Pansy Parkinson, who he had married. Everyone wondered why they did, but it didn't matter to Draco. He was crushed and heartbroken when he found that Pansy had cheated on him with (ironically enough) a divorce lawyer. Draco was currently fighting a nasty custody battle for Scorpio, his son.

"That would be funny. " Harry said, grinning.

"Oh, thanks for the letter, Severus. That's kind of what I needed to here after all this garbage has been going on." Severus, who was surprised and slightly embarrassed by Draco's thanks, blushed and nodded. Lily giggled. Amy suddenly appeared out of no where, walking past them and sitting with Cho and Dora. Jason was lunging in the nearby hammock, engrossed in a book.

"Does that kid ever stop reading? When we met him, he had his nose in a book then." James asked, suddenly right behind them.

"Every time I see him, he's reading." Severus said. "So I'm pretty sure that he doesn't." Sirius approached them.

"James, yet again, decided to push down Sirius…" Harry chuckled.

"Poor SJ." Harry said. "He gets beat up bad, doesn't he?"

"You don't know the half of it, Harry." Sirius said. Scarlet was sitting with Dora, Cho, and Amy, holding a baby in her arms. Lily went over to join the women. The boys were running around, pretending to duel. The girls were playing house. Remus was also reading, but his materials looked a bit like paperwork. A little girl approached him. He kissed the top of her head. She giggled.

"Yes, Addaline?"

"Hi, Daddy." She said, giggling. Remus smiled at her.

"Hi, pumpkin. Go play, all right?" She giggled again, and ran to play with Dorea, Cho and Harry's daughter. Harry grinned.

"Hey, you guys can sit down, you know right?" James turned and headed back to the grill. Sirius sat down across from Draco, and smiled uncomfortably at his distant relative. Draco, who had warmed to Harry and Cho, after Harry had partnered with Hermione, and had picked him up after everything, hadn't quite gotten used to the rest of the family. So he smiled uncomfortably, and shifted awkwardly. Severus, saving his godson from any more awkwardness, sat next to Draco. Remus muttered incoherently in French, confused.

"Harry, you got a plate for all this, son? I'm just about finished up. Harry immediately jumped up, and headed towards the house, going through the sliding back door, and reappearing moments later with a platter. Cho was already two steps ahead of him, grabbing everything else they needed. His way to tell the kids, and her way back inside, he said something to her. She slapped him, both laughing. Cho walked in the house, laughing, but shaking her head. James rolled his eyes.

"They've been doing that all day; accept earlier it was in Chinese." Draco said. Severus turned to Draco, giving him a questioning look. "I got here a long time ago, Harry's helping me practice my speech for court on Tuesday with the custody lawyer."

"I see."

"So far, though, I think I've got it. I just don't want him growing up with her. She's not the influence he needs."

"I'm glad you're taking a responsible look on things." Draco grinned sheepishly.

"Well, okay, part of it is also so I'm not alone. But who knows what she'd do with her boyfriend when my kids at her place. Besides, I'm not entirely convinced she hasn't physically abused him. I know she verbally has."

"How in the world did you get him from your mother anyway?" Harry asked. Draco looked sheepish again.

"Well, I kind of guilt tripped her into it." Draco said. "And offered to make her some of that fudge she likes."

"The same stuff you showed me how to make?" He asked.

"The very same, actually." Draco said. "It's quite simple, I'm not sure why she can't make it herself."

"I couldn't tell you." Harry said, wrestling his son, James into a high chair. "James, stop it." Then he turned to Cho. "Hey, Cho?"

"Yeah?" She had Teddy, SJ, James (Black), and her son Charlus sitting at a miniature picnic table.

"I'm going to need a hand." HE said.

"I've got it." Remus stood up, and went towards Harry and the struggling boy. Remus tickled him ruthlessly, until they got him to stop fighting, and relax his legs. Harry put him in the chair, and strapped him in. James adopted a grumpy expression. Drco looked up at Harry.

"You strap him in?"

"He can climb out by himself. And when refuse to put him in a normal chair, because the boy als refuses to sit and eat." Harry rolled his eyes. "And, we can't spend all our time on James, seeing as we've got four other kids to watch. " Severus felt a warm person sit next to him. He turned towards the body, and found Amy. She smiled at him.

"Hello." He said, turning more towards her, ignoring Draco's surprised looks.

"Hi. Want to help me tear Jason from his book?"

"Sure." Severus got up, and they went towards the hammock. He was reading a thick text on defending hexes and curses.

"Sweetie." Amy said, sitting next to him. Jason looked up, puzzled.

"What?" He asked.

"Dinner." She said.

"Oh, all right. Thanks Mummy." Amy stood up, and took Jason's book. Suddenly, as Jason struggled to get into the hammock, he made it tip over and it unceremoniously dumped him on the ground. Amy burst out laughing, which Jason, and even Severus joined in on. The boy jumped up, and brushed himself off. He ran ahead, while Severus and Amy rolled their eyes, and headed towards the tables.

"Thanks. I wanted an excuse to talk to someone I actually knew."

"Don't worry about it." Severus replied. She smiled.

"You going to give Jason his lessons tomorrow?" When Severus nodded, Amy smiled. "Okay." She went quiet for a second.

"You all right?"

"Yeah. It's so nice out, though. I'm just enjoying it." Somehow, she didn't entirely think Amy was enjoying the weather. They sat back down, and Lily was eyeing him with some sort of suspicion. Unfortunately, Jason wound up stuck between Sirius and James, who he hardly knew.

"What are you reading there, son?" Sirius asked. Jason shyly handed Sirius the book. "You understand it?"

"Well…" He glanced at Amy, who nodded. "Mostly. Some of it doesn't really make sense."

"What doesn't?"

"Well…all of it." James and Sirius burst out laughing. He grinned sheepishly.

"James here is an Auror, I'm pretty sure he could help you." Soon, they were in a deep discussion about different defenses. Draco was feeding Scorpio, and Harry was deep in conversation with Cho, as he fed James, and she fed Lily (Lily was Scorpio's age.) Dora, Lily, and Scarlet were chatting. Remus was politely making small talk with Draco. That left Severus and Amy to talk amongst themselves. By the end of dinner, they were oblivious to anyone around them, even the smirks Lily was giving Severus' back.

Everyone was invited to coffee after it got dark. The men sat in the living room. Harry stirred his coffee.

"So, Amy seems nice." He said slyly. "You like her, Professor Snape."

"She's merely an acquaintance, Potter." At the sneer Harry was receiving, Harry dropped the subject immediately. Draco snickered In the kitchen was an entirely different story…

"Is I really that obvious?" Amy asked, looking embarrassed. The girls giggled.

"Yes!" Lily said. Cho rolled her eyes.

"Don't worry Amy, my mom was ten times worse." Harry walked in the room, and said something in Chinese. Cho laughed.

"Where did you learn to speak Chinese?" Dora asked Harry.

"I picked it up from Remus. Cho knows what I'm saying, but she can't speak it."

"Thanks to my Grandparents." She said, giggling. Harry dropped a kiss on her forehead, and left the room.

"So, back to the original conversation." Cho said. "What should you do?" Amy blushed slightly. Cho smiled reassuringly.

"Well, for sure I can't say anything yet. It's too soon." She took a sip of her coffee. "Well, not for me, anyway. I'm over it, I just want a normal life. But I'm not sure what Jason would think, you know?"

"That makes sense, actually." Cho said, curling her fingers around her mug. Lily looked at them quizzically. Scarlet nodded.

"I don't blame you. Maybe you should ask Jason what he thinks. I know that he's only seven, but that would really make him feel important, if he had an opinion. Especially after all of these years of mistreatment." Scarlet said. Amy nodded.

"Maybe I'll make it more general, and wait a little longer. Get him used to the idea of a man he can trust."

"How so?" Cho asked.

"He's taken the liberty in training Jason early on in Potions."

"Ah, okay." She said. Lily laughed.

"How'd you get him to do that one?"

"Actually, he offered himself, asked Remus if it was all right, and they do it when Severus is available." Cho and Dora looked surprised.

"Doesn't surprise me that he'd take a liking to Jason so fast. Severus went through a lot of the same things Jason did, accept it was quite a bit worse." A collective "Ohh…" went around the table.

"I figured there was something that made him the cold, greasy git he is. I just wasn't sure what you ever saw that made him friend material." Scarlet said quietly.

"Contrary to popular belief, Severus can actually be a very sweet guy. You have to push the right buttons, and you have to care." Lily said. "I think that was mainly it, was that I cared." James came in the room, whistling.

"Hello, ladies." He said, putting his cup in the sink, and sat down for a moment. "What's up?"

"Chatting about girl stuff." James rolled his eyes.

"Like I couldn't figure that one out." He replied sarcastically. Lily laughed. Cho giggled. "Hey, Cho, can you find the off button on your husband? All he does is talk about your kids." Cho rolled her eyes, and stood up, going into the living room. A muffled thud, and a loud "Hey!" along with laughter echoed into the kitchen. They looked at her questioningly.

"He's good. All you have to do is shove him out of his chair, he'll get the hint." James laughed.

"Well, I'll leave you ladies to your conversation." He kissed Lily on the forehead, and stood up. Severus came in , James nearly plowing right into him. "Oops, my apologies." James, who had finaly gotten used to Severus and Lily being friends, was still struggling with being on first name terms. Willing as he was to make it up to him for Lily's sake, it was awkward for the two of them. Severus merely nodded, and went to put his cup in the sink as well.

"Hi, Professor." Cho said. Severus looked at her, raised an eyebrow, and glanced at Lily.

"Hi." He said simply, turning on his heels. Lily pulled out the chair James was previously occupying.

"Join us for a second, while Harry stops talking about his kids." Severus rolled his eyes, but sat down.

"I'm not sure he will, however. I do believe him falling was highly successful." Lily and Cho laughed.

"Only Harry." Cho said, giggling. Someone started to cry. She rolled her eyes when Charlus yelled out "ouch, James, stop it!"

"Hey, knock it off you two! " Harry shouted sternly up the stairs. Cho sighed gratefully.

"Yes, I can stay here!" She said. The girls laughed. Severus didn't laugh, but he nearly smiled. Amy, by chance, looked up at him. He made eye contact with her. She blushed and looked down. Suddenly, he smiled. Lily rolled her eyes. He glared slightly at her. She grinned. He elbowed her. She stuck her tongue out at him.

"Oh, real mature, Lily." HE said, swiftly standing up. "I've got a meeting tomorrow morning, so I'm taking off." Cho stood up and shook his hand, showing him to the door. Amy dropped her face into her hands and groaned. The others smiled knowingly, and comforted Amy. Meanwhile, after he bade goodbye, Severus thought about that moment. He realized he had no idea why she blushed. That left him more confused than ever.

Suddenly, Severus wasn't so sure what to think anymore….