AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Thanks for all of the lovely comments! In honor of Harry Potter's birthday today, I bring you a new chapter! Hope you enjoy it, I love hearing from you!

After lunch Soren was bouncing off the walls, clearly excited about Teddy's visit, but also with that hyperactivity Snape recognized as a sign the boy was overtired. Snape knew it would prove difficult to get him to sleep, but for his own sanity, he still made Soren go to his room for "rest time." He had enough experience with children to know that when they were exhausted, they were far more likely to get themselves into trouble and he wasn't willing to take the risk.

"But I'm not tired, father," Soren whined, dragging his feet the entire way down the hallway, ten paces behind.

"Your feelings on the matter are immaterial. You will rest—quietly—in your room, or I will tell Mr. Potter that he will have to bring Teddy on a day when my son is behaving properly. Now that's enough, quit dawdling." Snape clicked his fingers loudly, attempting to keep control of his irritation as he ushered the boy down the hall.

"Why can't I wait downstairs in the parlor with you? I can read quietly. Or I can help you in the potions lab if you want," Soren offered, with an air of hopefulness.

"Or you can quit stalling and do as you're told. You're taking a nap so you'll be far less insufferable this afternoon. Now move, Soren. My patience is wearing thin."

Soren put on an impressive pout as he stomped the rest of the way to his room with just enough effort to make it clear he was annoyed, but not quite so much that he would arouse real ire. "I'm too old for a stupid nap."

"Clearly not." Snape said as he took him by the arm, escorting him the rest of the way into the room. He closed the door firmly and bent down to eye-level. "Enough. You will stop this tantrum immediately. Now take off your shoes, fix your face, and get into bed. I don't want to hear another word."

Soren knew that look and that tone well enough to know when he was about to push things too far, so he huffed quietly as he took off his shoes before dropping them loudly on the carpet and climbing into bed with a scowl still stuck on his face.

"If I were you, I would use this time wisely and change my attitude. If I come back in here and find you continuing to be this petulant, I will send Mr. Potter and Teddy directly back home, and you and I will have a far less pleasant afternoon. Do you understand?"

"Yes, father." Soren wasn't stupid, he knew when he was in dangerous territory, so he attempted to soften his voice slightly although it was clear he was still upset.

"Good." Snape pulled the covers up around him and flicked his wand until the curtains closed and the room fell dark. "Sleep or do not sleep, but you will stay in bed and be silent. I will come and fetch you when your rest period is over."

Soren said nothing, still brooding slightly as he turned onto his side, gripping his rabbit tightly. But despite his best efforts to stay awake out of spite, he was fast asleep within two minutes.

When Snape came to wake Soren 45 mins later, he was pleased to find that a small nap had done wonders for the boy who was back to being his happy and cheerful self.

Soren practically jumped out of bed, slipping on his trainers and waiting for the laces to tie themselves up (a clever little spell Snape had put on for him after he'd grown weary of constantly having to tie his shoes).

"He's going to be here soon!" Soren exclaimed, jumping up and down.

"Settle down, Soren." Snape said, knowing there was no way the boy would possibly calm down. "He'll be here in fifteen minutes. Come, let's comb your hair before we go downstairs, I don't want you looking like a heathen."

"Can I bring my snitch?" Soren asked, relieved that he no longer had to hide it.

"Yes. But you will stay on the ground. Both of you. I will tell Teddy as well, but no climbing trees or throwing the snitch high into the air or anything else daft. I'd prefer to make it through the afternoon without healing any broken bones."

Soren ran to his wardrobe and grabbed the small snitch, shoving it into his pocket before allowing his father to douse his head with a quick aguamenti and run a comb neatly through it.

Snape had Tinny set up a tea service while they waited by the fireplace, Soren practically bouncing up and down on the couch in between bites of biscuit and sips of tea.

Finally, they heard the telltale whoosh of the floo, and Harry stepped out, holding the hand of a small boy with bright green hair.

Soren nearly fell off the couch, he'd never seen a boy with green hair, and he jumped out of his seat and ran over to him. "Wow, your hair is green! How did you do that?"

"Soren," Snape grumbled from his chair, but before he could say anything else, Harry jumped in.

"Soren, this is my godson Teddy. He's a Metamorphagus, which means he can change his appearance." Harry looked over at Teddy who looked a bit shy. "Can you say hi to Soren?"

"Hi," Teddy said, holding tightly to Harry's hand.

Soren was far too excited. "Can you make it change color?"

"Sometimes," Teddy said, "Mostly it just does what it wants. But my Nana says when I get older I'll learn how to change it whenever I want."

All of a sudden, his hair changed to a golden blond, and Soren's eyes went wide with awe. It stayed that way for a few seconds, before changing back to a bright green.

"I guess it wants to be green right now," Teddy shrugged.

Soren grabbed his hand. "Wanna go play in the garden? Did you bring any toys to play with? I have a ground snitch and we have a maze, it is super fun!"

Harry took a small backpack off of his shoulder and handed it to Teddy. "Here, Teddy."

"What did you bring? Can I see?" Soren reached for the boy's bag until he felt his father's hand on his shirt, pulling him backward before he could touch what wasn't his.

"Not yet. Both of you sit for a moment so we can go over some rules." Snape said from his armchair, his deep, stern voice causing Teddy to grab Harry's hand tighter.

Harry walked Teddy over to Snape. "First let's introduce everyone properly. Teddy, this is Lord Kent, he's Soren's father. Can you shake his hand and introduce yourself." Harry wasn't usually so formal, but he knew Snape well enough to know he would expect it.

Teddy was clearly terrified of the man, but he eked out a small greeting. "Hi, I'm Teddy."

Snape took in the boy's face, seeing pieces of his dead parents which unsettled him slight. "Good to meet you, Teddy. Now take a seat so we can go over a few things first."

Once Teddy was seated on the couch, Soren plopped down next to him, smiling and swinging his legs. "Do you want some tea and biscuits, they're really good!"

Teddy shook his head. "No, thanks."

Snape leaned forward slightly in his chair and looked at the two little boys sternly, addressing them in his "Professor" voice. "You may play in the garden, or in the maze, but I do not want you anywhere near the side garden where some of my more valuable magical plants are. Soren, you know where that is, so I expect you to keep Teddy away from there. It should go without saying, but do not touch, pick, pull, or eat any of the plants in the garden. You may play on the grass, the path, or in the maze, but no climbing trees. The grounds are quite extensive, but you are not to go beyond the large hedges at the end. Is that clear?"

"Yes, father," Soren said, enthusiastically.

Teddy just nodded his head.

Soren turned to the other boy. "You should say 'Yes,sir'" he admonished lightly. "That's how you're supposed to talk to adults."

Snape was highly amused seeing his son foist manners onto the unsuspecting boy, but he didn't allow his face to betray him, although he certainly wouldn't correct him.

"Yes, sir," Teddy replied, glancing over at Soren for approval.

Soren beamed in delight, gave a decisive nod of approval and turned back toward his father.

"Good. If you wish to come inside, you may do so. But you will let Tinny know where you'll be. You may go upstairs to the West Wing, Soren will show you where that is, but do not disturb Ms. Cloutier. You may play quietly in Soren's room or the classroom, but not in the hallway or on the stairs. And certainly there will be no roughhousing, running, or throwing things inside the house."

"Ms. Cloutier is my governess, but she's sick." Soren added with an air of authority. "She's not to be disturbed while she's recovering." He repeated word-for-word what his father had said to him multiple times over the last few days, even if he had blatantly ignored the directive.

"Soren, I think I can manage, thank you," Snape said, raising an eyebrow, even if he was secretly quite pleased.

"You may visit the library, however you are to treat all books with proper care and respect. If you pull one off a shelf, you should return it to the same place. No creasing pages, certainly no tearing them, and no playing with the books in any way in which they might be damaged. Soren, I am holding you personally responsible. If you choose to take Teddy into the library, I expect you to show him the proper way to handle the books or neither of you will be allowed back there."

"I will, father, don't worry." Soren said, proudly. He turned to Teddy, "It's OK, I'll show you everything. Do you like to read? I'm reading Oliver Twist right now and then Ms. Cloutier said we could read Tom Sawyer next. Did you ever read those?"

Teddy shook his head.

"They're really good. And they're proper chapter books." Even though Soren couldn't read those books by himself, he felt a slight bit of superiority now that he had been exposed to them. "We do a lot of reading in our house. Father says knowledge is the most important thing you can possess and no one can ever take it from you."

Snape cleared his throat and Soren turned quickly to give his father his rapt attention.

"I will be brewing in my potions lab, but the dungeons are completely off-limits. The door is warded, but you will stay far away from there. The East Wing upstairs is also completely off-limits. If you need me, you will ask Tinny to come get me. Is that understood?"

"Yes, father," Soren said again, nodding enthusiastically.

"Yes, sir," Teddy whispered again, this time without prompting.

"Good. Are there any questions?"

"No, father."

Teddy shook his head, but when Soren swung his head around to give him a stern look he added "No, sir."

Harry sat back, smiling to himself as he sipped his tea. He could see Soren coming into himself, and there was no doubt in the world that he was Snape's child. Even though the boy had a far more outgoing—and pleasant—personality, he definitely had an unmistakably authoritative nature for someone so young. He tried to imagine how intense the boy would be after several years of living under Snape's roof. It was clear he was bright and intelligent, and as long as he was given enough love and support, he would be a force to be reckoned with, a real leader. Harry could imagine him as Hogwarts prefect one day, probably terrifying the first years to bits.

"Very well. Then you may go and play." Snape pronounced, releasing the boys to their own devices (although Tinny had been given strict instructions to keep an eye on them).

"Come on," Soren said, standing and grabbing at Teddy's hand. "Do you want to play with my snitch or do the maze? Or do you have toys you want to play with?"

Teddy looked back at Harry a little unsure.

"Have fun, Teddy. You too Soren." Harry said, giving Teddy an encouraging pat on the shoulder.

"You should come play with us too, Mr. Potter!" Soren said, acknowledging Harry for the first time since he came through the floo, having been too preoccupied with Teddy. "It will be fun!"

"I think you boys should enjoy some time playing by yourselves. But I'll see you a bit later, OK?"

"Yes, sir," Soren said, pulling Teddy by the hand as he made his way to the back door. "What did you bring? I don't have a lot of toys, but we can play whatever you want. Do you want to play hide and seek? Or we can chase the snitch? Or we can go to the maze?"

Teddy allowed himself to be dragged outside, encouraged slightly by the dark-haired boy's energy and confidence. "What's the maze?"

"You have to see it, it's my favorite thing!" Soren shouted as they ran out the door.

When the back door shut, Snape looked at Harry. "Are you planning to invite yourself to stay or will you come back for him later?"

"I'm flexible. But if you have things to do, please don't let me keep you. I can come back later."

Snape stared briefly. "That would be fine. Since Ms. Cloutier has been ill, I've had far less time to work, though I have a new concept I'm experimenting with."

"Please, go ahead. I can come back at 4pm, or if you prefer you can just send a message through the floo and I'll come and get him whenever they're done playing."

Not one to turn down a good offer, Snape agreed. "Very well, I will send for you later."

"I can also stay and help if you like," Harry offered. "If there's anything you want to test out or need assistance with in the lab, or maybe just an extra pair of hands."

Snape stared. "If I ever need assistance in blowing up my cauldrons, you'll be the first to know. Otherwise, I'm quite capable of carrying out this work alone…not that I get much of a chance these days," he mumbled to himself.

Harry gave him a nod and a smile. "Good luck then, I'll see you in a few hours."

Without further fanfare, Snape got up and disappeared into the dungeons, leaving Harry alone in the parlor to finish his tea while the two young boys ran through the back gardens toward the maze.

"My father made this all by himself. He planted it and he created all of the spells that make it work," Soren said proudly as he stood in front of the maze. "My father is really clever. He makes potions and spells and everything."

Teddy just looked at the giant maze. "What if we get lost? How do we find our way out again?"

"It's OK, we can go together. I never get lost now. I do the maze all the time. But if we get stuck, Tinny can help us get out. But sometimes you just have to be patient and look for a different solution."

"Who's Tinny?"

"That's our house-elf. Do you have a house-elf? They can do everything." Soren said, as though he'd spent his entire life surrounded by elves.

Teddy shook his head. "No, it's just me and my Nana."

"Don't you have a mummy and daddy?" Soren asked, innocently, as he entered the maze, Teddy following behind.

"They died when I was a baby. In the war."

Soren stopped and turned to look at him, his face falling in sympathy. "Oh. My mummy died too. I miss her a lot."

"I don't remember mine, I was a too little when they died. But my Nan is really nice. She takes really good care of me." Teddy's hair changed to pink and freckles appeared on his face. "And Harry too. He is always coming to get me and taking me to do fun things."

Soren giggled. "Your hair turned pink! And you've got freckles!"

Teddy smiled and gave a small shrug. "Sometimes it just happens."

They came around a curve of the maze and hit a dead end.

"See, this looks like we should turn around, but watch this!" Soren edged closer to the wall and when he touched it, the hedge in front of them disappeared. "It's a trick, see."

"Cool," Teddy said, enamored, looking truly impressed for the first time.

The boys wandered through the maze, laughing and running as Teddy got more comfortable. When they finally made it to the center, Soren brought him over to show him his favorite part.

"If you run your hand along the metal on the bench, watch what happens." Soren was excited for Teddy to see what he'd discovered today when he'd been with his father, and when he touched the golden name plate on the bench, white lilies and purple forget-me-nots bloomed all around them. "See?"

"Wow!"

"I told you it's fun. It changes all of the time, but once you keep doing it, you start to learn all the tricks," Soren said, feeling like an expert.

Teddy reached his hand out to pick one of the stunning flowers.

"Don't!" Soren yelled, grabbing his arm, looking offended. "Father said not to pick any of the flowers! Didn't you pay attention?"

"I just thought maybe I'd bring one home for my nan. They're really pretty and she loves flowers." Teddy sounded a bit hurt. "I only wanted to pick one."

"Yeah, but you have to follow the rules. Otherwise I'm going to get in trouble."

"Your dad is really strict," Teddy said, sitting down on the bench. "He seems mean."

"No, he's not," Soren lied. "He's really nice to me. He teaches me lots of things and he loves me a lot. He reads me books and he even lets me help him with potions sometimes."

"That's not what Harry said." Teddy sat on the bench and kicked at some of the gravel beneath his feet.

Soren scowled slightly. "What do you mean?"

"Harry said he just found out about you. And that he doesn't even want to be your dad and maybe he's not going to keep you. I heard him tell my Nan when I was supposed to be upstairs."

"You shouldn't listen to other people's conversations if they're not meant for you," Soren said harshly, repeating his father's words from memory. "Besides, that's not true. My father loves me and wants me. And he thinks I'm really clever."

Teddy shrugged. "OK."

Tears were now welling in Soren's eyes but he refused to let Teddy see them. "I'll race you back out!"

Without giving the boy a chance to follow, Soren bolted from the center of the maze, knowing full well he could find his way out far more quickly than Teddy.

As he ran through the hedges, tears streamed from his eyes and he let himself weep quietly. He could hear Teddy following after him, calling his name, but he didn't stop, and he moved as quickly as he could while he sobbed, determined that no one would see him cry.

Teddy couldn't keep up, and within a few seconds he was completely lost and starting to get disoriented inside the maze, panic welling up inside as hedges popped up in front of him and pathways appeared where they hadn't been before. He shouted for Soren as he walked what felt like the same three lanes over and over again, his anxiety growing with each minute. "Soren! Where are you? I'm think I'm lost!"

When Soren finally stumbled out of the maze, he wanted to run far away. Instead he collapsed onto the ground, grabbing his knees as he heaved several more sobs into his arms. He allowed himself a few moments of tears before he lifted his head, wiped his face and picked up a rock, throwing it as hard as he could into the maze.

Just then, Tinny popped up. "Master Lupin is lost. He's is shouting for help, I should be going to get him!"

"No, Tinny," Soren said. "We're just playing a game. I'll get him in a minute. Go away."

Tinny nodded and disappeared with a small poof.

Soren continued to sit at the entrance to the maze as he sniffled and wiped at his tears, listening as Teddy's shouts became more frantic. He knew he should go find him, but a small part of him wanted the other boy to suffer. How could he say that his father didn't want him? That he was going to send him away. He's a liar. A stupid liar. He doesn't know anything!Soren picked up another rock and threw it as hard as he could.

But no more than two minutes passed before Soren started to feel really bad, and he could hear Teddy's shouts becoming louder and more desperate. He tried to remember what his father said that day when he'd lectured him about eavesdropping. Sometimes people hear things incorrectly, or out of context, which is why you should never pay attention to them. Probably Teddy just heard wrong, at least that's what he was choosing to believe. He wiped his face with the sleeve of his jumper and went back into the maze, determined to put it all behind him. It took him less than a minute before he found the boy, Teddy's hair now a bright white and his face pale and scared.

"You left me," Teddy said, obviously hurt.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, I thought you were going to race me out." Soren was lying, of course, but he felt awful now, seeing the other boy so clearly upset. But he hadn't wanted the boy to see him cry. He put an arm around Teddy's shoulder. "It's OK, Teddy, I know the way out, come on. There's no reason to be scared."

Teddy felt enormous relief that he hadn't been abandoned in the maze, and Soren boldly led them back out within a few short minutes.

"It's not that hard when you practice. Me and Ms. Cloutier do the maze almost every day. And today my father showed me some new tricks! But it's just your first time, you'll get better. But you just have to concentrate, if you give up then you'll just be stuck."

With a nod, Teddy grabbed both straps of his backpack, holding on tightly, grateful to be out of the maze, but not entirely trusting of Soren.

"Did you bring anything fun to play with?" Soren asked, trying to push everything Teddy said to the back of his mind. It wasn't every day he had someone else to play with and he wanted to make the most of it. "I have a snitch if you want to chase it with me."

"I brought some toy dragons and knights, and gobstones, do you know how to play?" Teddy knelt on the ground and opened up his bag, proudly pulling out three toy dragons.

When they started to fly around and breathe little puffs of fire and smoke, Soren's face beamed in delight. "Wow! I've never seen a toy like that before! Let's play dragons!"

Soren and Teddy sat on the grass while several small figurines dressed in medieval armor and the dragons played out several violent battle scenes. For a children's toy, it was quite brutal, the small knights slashed each other to bits while the dragons hovered around breathing fire and smoke. Having never had magical toys, Soren was fully enraptured watching the charmed figurines move, shout, bleed, and burst into fake flames before regenerating only to be played with again. He was determined— no matter what he had to do, to convince his father (or maybe Ms. Cloutier) that he needed some of these toys of his own, it was all too much fun!

As the hours wore on, Teddy and Soren were becoming more comfortable with each other, giggling and laughing together on the grass as they pitted their dragons and knights against each other before finally deciding to turn to the gobstones.

Despite being raised by a quasi-magical mother, Soren had never seen gobstones before either, so Teddy took his time trying to teach him as he laid the stones out on the grass.

"I thought your mum was a witch? Didn't you play at home? Every magical family has a set." Teddy said as he set up the board and reached for a bag containing the pieces.

Soren shrugged. "My mum and me played other games, and she told me stories and she baked a lot of yummy things, but I never saw this before."

"Oh, well, it's pretty fun. Once you learn the rules it's easy!" Teddy said, finally feeling like he was in control for the first time that day, dumping all of the stones out onto the ground. "I'll just show you how it works and then we can play a practice game."

"OK!" Soren said, paying close attention. He had a competitive spirit and even if he'd never heard of the game before, he was determined to try to win.

The boys were deep in their fourth game, laying on their stomachs in the grass when a shadow passed over the top of them, a deep voice snapping both of their attention away immediately.

"Gobstones, is it?" Snape stood over the boys, looking down on their game.

Teddy sat up, still unsure about the stern man in black and deferring to Soren for a response.

"Yeah! Teddy has been teaching me how to play, father! But if you lose, the stones squirt our really gross stuff!" Soren reached a hand out in the direction of his father, a hand that had been unceremoniously doused with the putrid liquid in the last game.

Snape recoiled and allowed his upper lip to rise slightly in disgust. "Yes, precisely why I've never been quite taken with this particular game myself." In fact, having been teased mercilessly at grammar school for his dirty clothes and less than hygienic appearance, Snape refused to go anywhere near gobstones when he arrived at Hogwarts, terrified to be sprayed with a festering slime that would render him even more repulsive to his peers. "However, Soren, you should know you come from a long line of Gobstone champions, so I hope you're not letting Mr. Lupin lure you into a false sense of security."

Teddy sank back on his heels. "My name is Teddy," he whispered.

"Pardon?" Snape said, staring down on the young boy. Pathetic, he thought, just like his abhorrent father and that silly snippet of a witch who gave birth to him. But as soon as his insensitive thoughts burst forth, Snape chided himself, recognizing that the boy's parentage was perhaps lamentable, but no fault of his own—he was an orphan after all, and a child. Snape waited a moment before pointing at one of the stones in the circle, "That red stone is egregiously close to the boundary. Either you're exceptionally dim, Mr. Lupin, or you're attempting to draw my son's attention elsewhere before you strike with your green stone and divest him of several of his pieces."

Teddy turned red but didn't look up at the man, his carefully planned set-up now revealed.

Soren stared down at the stones before he realized the strategy that his father had so clearly pointed out. Refusing to fall prey, he ignored the trap and took out Teddy's green stone before it could strike three of his others. "Got you!" he said triumphantly, knowing he owed it completely to his father and not feeling the least bit bad about it.

If Teddy was disappointed, he didn't react. He took aim at another well-positioned stone and prepared himself for the next strike.

"Finish your game, then come inside," Snape said, pleased that his son had responded appropriately—if not winning the game— at least preventing a bloodbath.

In three more moves, the game was over, Teddy having won, and both boys covered in dirt and a putrid slime that Snape insisted on banishing from them before he let them step a single foot in the house.

"Can you come back again?" Soren asked as they walked to the parlor. "That was really fun. Do you have more toys and games?"

"Yeah, I've got loads at home. Maybe you can come to my house next time." Teddy said, giving Soren a heartfelt grin.

"I don't know if I can…" Soren looked up at Teddy slightly forlorn. "I'll have to ask my father. But we're friends now, right?"

It had been an odd day for Teddy, but ultimately he'd had a good time. "Yeah, I'll ask my Nan if you can come play."

Soren beamed, hoping his father would let him go, still not ready for Teddy to leave and hovering close by.

A moment later, Harry appeared in the floo and stepped through, dusting himself off as he spoke. "Did you boys have a nice time?"

Teddy nodded and Soren let out an enthusiastic "Yeah! We did the maze and then we played knights and dragons and then Teddy taught me gobstones! He's really good! Can he come back? Please, Mr. Potter?" Soren begged Harry.

Harry glanced over at Teddy who was smiling and looking far more relaxed than when he left him. "I'm sure we'll sort something out. It's getting late now, we should get you back home now Teddy before your grandmother starts to worry. Say thank you to Lord Kent and Soren," he directed, knowing Snape was expecting it.

"Thanks for letting me come to play," Teddy said, refusing to look at the scary man directly in the eyes but managing an appreciative face for Soren.

"Bye, Teddy!," Soren said, throwing his arms around the boy and giving him a quick hug.

Teddy smiled and then pulled away before grasping Harry's hand tightly as the two disappeared through the floo.

When they were gone, Soren stood staring at the fireplace, a new feeling of disappointment and sadness weighing on him as he saw his only friend disappear into the green flames.

"You need a proper bath. Desperately." Snape said, snapping Soren from his melancholy.

Soren looked down at his clothes, "But you already cleaned us with your wand."

"No amount of scourgify can possibly get out the stench of the gobstones. It's revolting."

"Oh."

"You'll go for a bath now, I refuse to allow you at the dinner table smelling like rotting flesh and sewage."

"But I always take my bath after dinner" Soren whined.

"Absolutely not. Upstairs. Now. Tinny will run you a bath and manage you, I refuse to sit in the same room with you until you're sufficiently decontaminated from that filth. And I had better not ever hear you ask for a Gobstone set. Not in this house. Not ever."

"OK," Soren said, taking advantage of his window. "But if I can't have gobstones, can I get some toy dragons and knights instead? They breathe fire and smoke! And then they explode! And there's fake blood and everything, but it doesn't smell at all!"

Snape managed to contort his face into a look of deep contempt. "It's not enough that you nearly burnt down my entire house on your own, you have the audacity to ask me for a fire-breathing toy? Madness." He snapped his fingers and closed his eyes. "Get upstairs and into the bath this instant, I don't want to hear one single more absurd request."

Soren knew when his father was being over dramatic, so he decided to take one more chance to push his agenda. "It's not real fire, father. It's just pretend! Please!?"

"If you are not out of my sight and up in your bath in the next five seconds, I will cast a human bubble spell and float you upstairs myself before dumping you into a tub of cold water with some of my strongest cleansing potions. I can assure you it will be far less enjoyable than whatever bath you usually take. Now, off you go." Snape waved him off aggressively with a melodramatic sigh.

"Fine, I'm going," Soren complained as he headed to the stairs, only pausing to smile with amusement as he turned around for one final word. "But I'm going to tell Tinny that he better give me lots of bubbles or I'm not getting into the tub until he does."

"I don't care if you make him give you a fire hose to rid you of that filth. But do not dare come downstairs until you are sufficiently washed and impeccably clean."

Soren bolted upstairs where Tinny was already filling his bath with plenty of bath soap and much to his enjoyment, several toy dragons that were breathing bubbles into the tub.

Sunday was usually Marie's day off, but since she'd been so sick, she was planning just to relax around the house. Lord Kent had officially cleared her so she was deemed well enough to leave her room and join them for meals, although he encouraged her to take things slowly.

She'd been tempted to join Soren after breakfast for a walk in the gardens, but instead decided just to read instead by the fire in the parlor, where she promptly fell asleep.

After lunch she helped Soren settle in for his afternoon rest, and she headed to the classroom to tidy things up and set them up just the way she liked it.

Just as she was finishing, Lord Kent appeared in doorway. "Putting your classroom back the way you like it? I apologize, I meant to leave it as I found it. Did I forget something?"

"Not at all, I just thought I'd rearrange some things for the new week. I was thinking we'd do some magical history this week. Maybe re-enact some of the goblin wars."

"I'm sure Soren will enjoy that immensely. He will not doubt be pleased to have you back in class. I'm sure after your engaging lessons he was bored to tears having me teach him."

"Oh no, not at all. He seemed to really enjoy it. Maybe not sitting at the desk all day, but he was excited to tell me all about it, and I think he was thrilled that you took him to the potions lab. He loves spending time with you, you know. You should do it more often."

For some reason, this made Snape uncomfortable. The boy was growing on him, slightly, but he'd spent far more time with him in the past few days than he had planned, and frankly, he was looking forward to things returning to normal this week. "Yes, well, I have a lot of pressing work to do, so I'm afraid I won't be nearly as available for such trivial activities this week."

Marie hardly felt like spending time with one's son was a trivial activity, but she'd keep that to herself.

"Perhaps we should cast a decontamination spell on the classroom, just to be sure there are no germs loitering in the air or on the surfaces. It wouldn't hurt to open a window for some fresh air as well," Snape suggested, not wanting Soren to fall sick with whatever awful infection had caused Marie to develop pneumonia, although he was certain her lack of self-care was at the root of it.

"That's actually a good idea. Better to be safe than sorry." Marie pulled out her wand, but as soon as she slid it out of her sleeve, she froze, realizing her mistake.

Before she could hide her shock and tuck it away again, Snape scowled and grabbed her wrist tightly, staring her down until her grip loosened and he could slide the wand out of her fingers. He rolled it around in his hand, carefully eyeing the unique design carved into the handle, one he had definitely not seen before. A darkness fell across his face as his brow furrowed. "Whose wand is this?"

AUTHOR'S NOTES

What do you think? OH NO! It's finally happened, Marie screwed up, the jig is up. It's about to get VERY real!