Happy Holidays Everyone!

I know it's been some time but I'm finally here with a longer chapter than usual so...

hope you like it ^^

"Well he certainly does look like his old man, perhaps I'd lose the bet," Minerva whispered, smirking, as they clapped welcoming the first years.

Severus, who was sitting on her left side, rolled his eyes. The staff have been harassing him relentlessly today, now that his eldest is finally attending Hogwarts and will be sorted; the number of times he heard his son's name being uttered by their mouths was disturbing. In his opinion, the whole act was considered inappropriate, so informal of them to tease him all day and make jokes about it, even betting on where his son would be sorted.

Minerva, obviously, betting he'd be sorted in Gryffindor, just like her precious old cub, the brightest witch of her age, disregarding whether intentionally or not, his own influence on his children. Other members of the staff, however, thought that there was no way Severus would raise anything that's not a snake, 'not literally, of course,' they'd say when he gave them a glare.

He could survive through all of that, really, ignoring them and acting as if they didn't exist wasn't a problem at all, he was ready for it. What he didn't expect, however, was the meaningful smirk Lupin sent his way as he averted his gaze from Minerva.

That evil wolf. Very few would agree to attach that wicked word to that seemingly kind man, but Severus knew better.

Karma is a bitch indeed.

He could hear the man laughing inside as he put on an innocent smirk. Of course, he was fooling nobody, they all knew that smirk was everything but innocent, especially Severus.

His opinion of the teasing was considerably different a few years ago, he seemed to think the act hilarious back then, when it was Edward's first year, Lupin's eldest. The poor boy didn't know that his father was officially the main dessert for the staff the minute he was sorted into Hufflepuff, being that his father was the Head of Gryffindor.

And now it is his turn to be made fun of, paying for his snarky comments.

Damn it all to bloody hell, he thought bitterly and averted his gaze again, only to settle on a certain first year.

He was relieved. Scratch that, he was bloody ecstatic when he saw that his son was smiling. Yes, he did notice how he was eyeing the hat anxiously, clearly concerned about where he'd be sorted, but that was all part of the fun, as Hermione would say.

To see that his son was living his first day of school to the fullest was the winning card of the day, and he let the pride he felt wash over him.

That quickly changed, however, when Theo finally looked his way, his smile fading gradually, only to be replaced by a thin line and a little widening of his eyes. Is the boy concerned because I'm watching him ? or is it the fact that he doesn't want me to know where he'd be sorted first hand? does he really think it would matter to me?

Severus always encouraged his children to be themselves. He embraced their traits and tried to help them develop their own skills as much as he could, letting them have their own thoughts and form different opinions about things. In his book, the main thing that differentiates us as people, and makes life worth living was the uniqueness of our minds. If everyone had the same way of thinking, the world would never develop as a whole. As such he tried to refrain from forcing any beliefs on them, only advising them by sharing his thoughts and letting them choose for themselves.

It did occur to him that that might have been a result of how he used to live his life, walking a thin line, never having the right to choose for himself, only capable of serving two masters and doing as he was told, until the day of their deaths, or more specifically, the day of his near death. He never wanted his own children to have that kind of life, so being independent to some measures, was a rule that everyone abides by in the Snape family.

Truth be told, he did insinuate occasionally that he was sure his children would be sorted in Slytherin, as they both were as cunning as himself, if not more. Especially Arya, who he was willing to let her be a Slytherin Prefect in her first year, if not retiring so she could have his post as Head of House. But really, it was all a joke to tease his Gryffindor wife, who in return, claimed her children to be as Gryffindor as can be.

Nevertheless, his wife's acts did speak volumes that being sorted in a certain house doesn't say anything about a person, for she was all houses combined. The time he begrudgingly discovered she'd do well as a Slytherin was the most memorial of them all.

He always liked his youngest's name, the sound of it was quite pleasing to the ear and he agreed to it the first time Hermione mentioned it, as did little Theo. Once she explained the meaning of it, his liking of it only grew, and almost immediately, that little belly Hermione had grown in her five months of pregnancy finally had a name, Arya.

So it was quite the shock to discover that his sneaky wife had left out an important detail about the name. The girl was already three years old when he had been associating with his fellow Jewish Potions Master, who quite blatantly revealed to him that Arya also meant Lioness in Hebrew.

The smirk she had on her face as he delivered the 'news' to her taught him quite the lesson, never underestimate her manipulative skills, ever.

Since then, he did relish in these moments where Arya showed Slytherin tendencies. The day the little girl claimed that she'd like to be a Slytherin just like Daddy, in front of her mother no less, was one of the best days in his life. Slytherin's little lioness, he teased.

As for their eldest's name, they spent a lot of time trying to come up with something meaningful that they both liked, but it was so hard that they only decided the day he was finally born.

~/~*

"He's so beautiful," murmured Hermione as she held her son after long hours of going through labour, she was exhausted, and would drift off any minute if she let herself, but holding her son and feeling him against her body was far more important to her.

Severus, who was leaning next to her on the bed, was speechless. He couldn't remove his gaze from the little human being who was fretting, wanting nothing but to be held and feel safe.

Watching his wife and son was, to Severus, the most beautiful scene he ever witnessed, and he couldn't believe he lived to be blessed with these two people. He was in awe of reality.

So he didn't notice it when Hermione motioned for him to hold his son.

"Severus, please hold him, you really need to feel this"

She never explained what she meant by 'this', but when he did hold him, he immediately understood, 'this' feeling couldn't be described by any words. No word would do it justice.

"He's such a gift, I feel so blessed," Hermione smiled as she watched her Husband nuzzle his son's chin, trying to hold him properly, afraid of hurting him unintentionally.

It was quite the scene, Severus Snape unsure of his graceful moves.

She did notice the water under his eyes though, and concluded it wasn't just sweat over going through this with her. She knew Severus rarely ever shed a tear, but when he did, it was the purest thing ever.

"A gift from God," he finally spoke, though quietly, still looking at his son, "Theodore," he smiled and glimpsed at her.

"Theodore it is."

~\~*

He could never forget that day, not that he would ever want to.

And now, eleven years later, it was his birthday. His son has finally turned eleven.

Truth be told, Severus never cared for birthdays until he had children and was forced to celebrate it with them, but he always imagined this birthday would be totally different, very special. Not everyone has the opportunity to turn eleven on the exact same day he starts Hogwarts after all.

The plan always was that he'd have Hermione and Arya over, and they'd have a special day in Hogsmeade as a family. He even had entertained the idea of who he'd ask permission from to take his son there, as in, which one of the heads of houses, whether or not it'd be him.

But alas, just like everything in his life, their coming divorce had to ruin his son's birthday.

Now he has to figure out how he'd give his son his present.

"Theodore Snape!" The utter silence after that name was sickening, Severus watched as his son made his way nervously to the stool and sat on it, only to remain there for quite some time. Until;

"Gryffindor!"

Severus and Minerva were the first ones to start clapping, shutting down the murmur that initially erupted as the hat announced its decision, and then it was quickly followed by everyone else, even the Slytherins, no one wants to be in their Head of House's bad books after all.

Theo looked unsure as he made his way to the Gryffindor table. He glanced at his father as he sat down, and Severus could tell that he was trying to gauge his reaction, so he gave a small nod that no one other than the intended person would notice. It was little, but it was a great reassurance to the little boy.

He continued looking at his son even after Theo glanced away, chatting with his fellow first years that were sorted in the same house as him. Once he was satisfied that Theo was, indeed, well-settled, he turned his gaze to the Slytherin table, noticing, with some pride, that contrary to the other tables, his house was much more ordered and the chaos that usually occurred in the first days was well handled by his prefects. He nodded to one of the prefects that caught his gaze who in return didn't attempt to hide his smirk.

Severus continued looking over his charges, until he felt that he was being watched, looking at the other direction he saw the look on Lupin's face. That smirk he had earlier no longer existed, in its place, was a far more meaningful look, a look that was screaming victory.

He narrowed his eyes and stood up, not wishing to endure that look of his coworker, and headed back to his chambers, no longer having the appetite to eat anything.

And so the journey began.

Severus didn't expect what he saw when he first entered his chambers.

First of all, he had never seen a house-elf lurking around in there, they all knew not to be around when he was there, or worse, when his wife was there.

But in front of him was a happy house-elf holding boxes and jumping in excitement.

"Olly brought you those from the owlery, Sir, where should Olly put them?"

"Are you sure those are mine, Olly? I don't recall ordering anything."

"Yes Potions Master Sir, Olly was told to bring them directly to you."

"Ah... Thank you, Olly, You can deposit them on the table right there or anywhere, you didn't have to keep holding them until I came here."

"We are not allowed to mess up Potions master room's Sir"

"Thank you for your service, you may leave."

"Yes, potions master sir."

The Elf popped away, and Severus immediately went to check on the boxes, they were in different colours, and atop of them was a letter addressed to him.

Severus immediately recognized the handwriting and opened it.

Severus,

As you know, It's Theodore's eleventh birthday, and I'm saddened by the idea that he has to celebrate it away from us, but you know the circumstances. I've sent the gifts over to you so he can enjoy his special day with the only member of his family available there, instead of alone in his dorm. As I'm still uninformed of which house he was sorted in, please tell him that I'm proud of him no matter what.

Arya was super excited picking the cake which you'll find in one of the boxes, I put a charm on it to remain maintained until you could open it.

Kiss him for me, and wish him a happy birthday.

Arya sends her kisses as well.

Hermione

Well, that was unexpected.

He never expected a letter from Hermione, and he felt bad at the thought that he came here to rest his head a bit before the inevitable trying term begins instead of making sure his son was enjoying his eleventh birthday. Hermione, however, considerate as she is, didn't wait to act, she quickly planned to use this opportunity to help them bond.

He knew she was acting for his own good as much as for their son, and it made him feel all the worse.

But back to the task at hand, how was he going to give them to Theo? He wasn't sure how to give him his own gift, let alone Hermione's and the others, whoever they may be.

Besides, how would he make sure that Theo would have a place in his belly for a birthday cake?

Amidst the chatter of his fellow housemates, Theo couldn't tell if it was the fifth or sixth time that he put a Pumpkin Pastie on his plate only to have it disappear.

A look at Daniel's plate confirmed that he didn't have the same problem, but it appeared that he had others.

"I can't believe I got sorted into Gryffindor, I'm everything but brave!" Dan exclaimed.

"You're not afraid to speak the truth, that's brave enough," a first-year named Finn said, smirking.

"I'm not sure whether to be offended or proud," Dan said looking at Theo for support.

Theo gasped when suddenly a letter popped on his plate as he was attempting, yet again, to fill it with Pumpkin Pasties.

Daniel, who was sitting next to him noticed the letter, he looked at Theo with a knowing look, and whispered: " It must be from an admirer."

"What are you talking about? no one here knows me to admire me."

"Oh but they heard your last name, they must've figured you were related to Professor Snape."

"That could be argued, there must be many Snapes around the world."

"Not in the wizarding world, mate." Daniel retorted wisely.

"Besides, what makes you think people would admire me for that."

Daniel paused for a while as if thinking about it. Then he narrowed his eyes and said in a very serious voice.

"Now that I think about it, this must be a threat! from what I heard Professor Snape isn't an easy teacher, students must be dying to get back at him, you have to be careful!" Then he started panicking" I knew troubles would follow us if we get sorted into Gryffindor! I can't believe it requires bravery from the very first day— "

"—Oh shut it, don't be so dramatic"

"Don't open it mate, I'm telling you!"

Theo pushed him away and snatched the letter, struggling to move as far from Daniel's hand as he could, he opened it and started reading.

"What is it? Show me the handwriting, maybe we can find out the gender from that! girls tend to be neat while guys are—"

"Dan, stop! it's from my father."

"Oh..." Theo let Dan look at the letter now that he's no longer trying to steal it " Well your father sure does have unique handwriting, It's so small, how could you read it ?"

"You'll have to get used to it."

"So what does he want?"

"I need to go to his office."

"Oh man, Detention first day of school? Do you even know where his office is?"

"He said—"

"—Oy Theo! Congratulations on joining our house!"

"Hey Fred, thank you. Would you help me with something over here ?"

"Sure, What is it?"

"I almost forgot! It's your birthday, isn't it? Happy Birthday, Snape," said Fred as they made their way to the dungeons.

"Yeah, thanks. I forgot that too, to be honest. "

" Well, you tend to do that when it's your first day of school. Are you enjoying Hogwarts so far?"

"It's alright, I guess."

"Made friends ?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"That's good to hear. But know this, you're always welcome to hang out with us. If anyone is messing with you, you know you have a whole clan watching out for you. We're family."

"Thanks, Fred."

"Anything for our Hogwarts firstie."

"I knew you'd bring that up."

"It's a tradition mate, we can't just let it go."

"If you say so."

They continued walking down the dungeons until Theo felt unsure of his surroundings, it seemed to get colder and colder, not to mention the darkness.

"Are you sure we're on the right road."

"Of course, I could walk to there blindly"

"And why is that?"

Fred glanced at him sideways and smirked

"Why detentions, of course, I'm Fred Weasley the second, gotta live up to that name."

"So it's not just that my father signs up detentions to everyone that breathes."

"Well, that too." Fred chuckled "I'm a Weasley, a Gryffindor, and I do breathe quite often, you do the math."

Theodore sighed and they walked silently until they reached the office's door.

"Well You're alone now, I'd like to stay away from here as much as I could. I think he'll escort you back to Gryffindor's tower so no need to worry, the only ones who should are the Gryffindors that interrupt your way."

"Thanks again, Fred. See you later."

"Come in."

The door creaked open, Theo stepped in, then close it silently.

He looked up to see that his father wasn't the only one occupying the room. A Slytherin prefect (he assumed as the boy wasn't facing him so he couldn't see the badge) was standing in front of the Professor, listening to whatever was being said before he came in.

"That is all, Mr Greengrass. If you don't have any questions, you may take your leave."

"Yes, Professor Snape" The boy gave a little legacy bow and turned away, passing Theo without even glancing his way, though Theo took a hint of the Prefect badge which confirmed his suspicion.

The professor only spoke when the door was shut closed.

"Congratulations on being sorted into Gryffindor, Mr Snape"

Theo stared at his father dumbly for quite some time, until he smirked mischievously, "Thank you, Mr Snape," he said, deliberately focusing on the Snape part.

"The cheekiness usually gets awarded with me taking house points."

Theo stared again.

Is he really going to take house points over this?

He was debating whether he should retort with 'you started it' or not, but then again, it was the appropriate way a Professor would address a student, which brought him back to the reason his father sent for him, was it a professional or familial matter? He was already confused.

He continued staring until his father motioned for him to sit on one of the seats in front of his desk, giving him one of his smirks.

Oh, so he's only joking.

"It's going to be a great school year if I'd lose house points for calling you with your formal title," he said hastily. "But I agree, we have to find a way around that or else I'll feel as if I'm talking to myself."

"Indeed," Severus said with a snort, then added more seriously, "you'd have to address me like everyone else around here, as I'm sure you know. After all, I'm only here because I'm a professor." He gave him a pointed look.

He waited until Theo gave him a nod before continuing," however, you may call me with my familial title when we are alone, I'll do the same."

Theo nodded, glad that to have these rules set, it'd be awkward to call his father 'Dad' while everyone else is calling him 'Professor', besides it'd bring unwanted attention, and attention would bring questions, and that's something he'd set to avoid.

"How was your first day?" Severus asked conversationally.

"Alright, I guess," Theo answered dismissively.

"Do you anticipate I'll have lots of dunderheads in my classroom this year?"

Theo looked at his father and could see no amusement in the man's eyes, his face was as passive as ever.

He delivered the question in such a serious way, just like how he'd ask something like " Did you do your homework, Theo?" or something along these lines, something that'd require just an equally serious answer.

'Did you bury the body? '

Theo snorted as his mind came up with this example, he was sure his father would ask that question the same way.

"I think you already know the answer to that."

"I sure do." Severus then stood up and approached his son, he put his hands on Theo's shoulders, who in return looked anywhere but at his father.

"You know, I'm proud of you, no matter what. And so is your mother."

Theo, looking down, nodded solemnly.

Severus removed his hands and started heading to the adjoining door.

"Follow me."

Theo instantly followed the command.

As he entered his father's quarters, he took his time looking around.

He couldn't help but notice that it was much more filled than it usually used to be.

"It looks different."

"It's the same, just less empty."

"You're planning to stay here for the whole term?"

"I am," Severus said sitting on one of the chairs at the dining table. When he noticed Theo's gaze, he explained, " I hardly see a reason to go to Spinner's end every time I need to use something, so I just moved most of the stuff here."

Theo actually felt a bang of guilt at that, he didn't want to upset his father, reminding him that he has no one to go home to.

Just then, he noticed a pile of boxes at the corner of the room.

"Are you still moving stuff? I can give you a hand"

Severus looked at the boxes, then his eyes settled on him.

"Hardly, those are yours ."

"Mine?"

Severus remained silent but started adjusting the table, apparently, preparing for a meal.

Are they gifts? by his father nonchalant attitude, he assumed they were.

Frankly, Theo did forget about his birthday today, and even after he was reminded by Fred, he still didn't expect gifts being sent to Hogwarts, not to mention to his father's quarters. He really didn't expect anything, he was so focused on the fact that his mother and sister won't be coming to Hogwarts to celebrate his birthday as he always assumed would be the case, that he forgot to think of what was going to actually happen. He rationalized that the dinner his mother made him yesterday was all he was going to get for his birthday, and he did appreciate it. His mother had quite a lot in her plate, what with his grandpa's health condition and all the mess his family was going through.

So to be summoned to his father's quarters on his first day, and be told that all those boxes were actually his, was quite the surprise.

He really did miss his father, he missed him so bad that he didn't expect anything from the man.

Perhaps he was stupid not to expect that. Why else would his father summon him to his office the first day of school, to exchange some encouraging words for the upcoming busy term while serving him tea and biscuits? Well, that wasn't that far from the truth considering the man was planning for them to eat something.

Regardless, he didn't expect his father to want to celebrate his birthday with him, he even though he'd forget about it altogether. He's not one for birthdays, after all, and Theo was sure the man had a lot of things in his head with the beginning of term.

But he did remember.

Why would he forget? He's still my father, he still cares for me, just like my mother. He still cares about all of us.

That thought brought many others to Theo's head, thoughts that kept dwindling through the days suddenly came to life as he came to this realization.

Is it silly of me to believe that everything has changed?

Are things even going to be normal again? for once?

And then came the more occurring question that never left his head.

Why had it even changed in the first place? Why would they decide to go through all of this? why can't we all just stay together, just like we always had?

He quickly shut his eyes to avoid any leak, thankful he wasn't facing his father or the man would be able to see the many emotions the showed on his face.

Because things do change and will continue to do so, and you crying about it won't do anything.

With that, he dismissed his thoughts in a manner he was proud to say close to occluding and approached the boxes cautiously, there were birthday cards on some of them, confirming that it was indeed his birthday, and those were his presents.

He picked one of them, it was a big one, the card said that it was from Uncle Ron and his family, he smiled as he remembered the last time he visited them, how his uncle informed him of the various dishes of food he'd find in Hogwarts, not to mention the deserts. He knew that his uncle was exaggerating on purpose, to try to cheer him up, but the fact that he'd talk about that of all things was so funny.

Trust Ron to only remember the food, his mother commented dryly.

Theo scanned the letter carefully before his face lit with a broad grin, his uncle really did know how to make every situation easier with his sense of humour, he could cheer anyone up. The " I do miss the delicious dishes those elves served and I'm not sheepish to ask you to send me some food with an owl, but don't you tell your mother. Or mine." comment almost cracked him up.

In the end, it appeared that Ron's wife, Tiffany, took the role of the writing, as she wished him a happy birthday from her and his cousins, Rose and Hugo.

He opened the box and found fine new chess set within. It was a special edition, one where the player could change the look of the pieces as he sees fit, he could even make them look like small figures of himself.

Theo wondered if he could also modify the voices the pieces would have, where they would sound like the person he chose to make them change into.

Hmm, well that would be creepy.

But it was a cool gift, he could make them look like his favourite Quidditch players. Combining Quidditch with chess, Uncle Ron is brilliant.

There were some sweets inside the box too, but he chose to keep them there, as he didn't know where he'd put them, being that he is in his father's quarters.

Speaking of that, the man wasn't making any sound. Theo almost forgot he was there.

He glanced at the table and saw that his father was looking at him expectantly.

"It's from Uncle Ron."

"I assumed."

Of course, who else would send me a chessboard? Except perhaps my grandma, but she wouldn't send these stuff, they are too 'childish' for her liking.

"Am I supposed to open all of them now ?"

"Tearing the wrappings off must be exhausting if you are already tired"

Theo's face turned red, "How else am I supposed to open them?" he asked defensively.

"Less like an overexcited three years old who had too much sugar and more like a respected student who's capable of doing magic," Severus said pointedly.

"Is there a spell?"

His father gave him a disbelieving look.

"Are you seriously asking me that? didn't you witness me unwrap stuff on various occasions?"

" I did.." Theo said quickly, "it's just...I'd be more interested to find out what's been wrapped up instead of how you unwrap it..."

"I suppose, that explains it." Severus shook his head," It's a simple spell, actually, hold out your wand and I'll show you how to do it."

"My wand? uhh... I—I don't have it with me."

Severus looked like he was slapped in the face, "what do you mean you don't have it with you? Where is your wand?"

"I— I left it in my trunk." His father looked at him like he was the dumbest person alive, so he quickly proceeded to explain, or at least tried to," I put it in there while I was on the train... I didn't know what to do with it, it's not like I'm allowed to use magic before we reach Hogwarts! and I was afraid to lose it if I kept holding it."

Severus kept shaking his head repeatedly, unsatisfied with Theo's poor explanation. He was closing his eyes in a way that clearly suggested he was somewhat irritated but trying to restrain himself, which made Theo feel like a fool.

"You don't put your wand in a trunk or anywhere that's not within your reach at all times," Severus said finally.

"Why would I carry it around when I know I won't be using it?"

"Theo, you don't just choose to carry your wand when you want to use it, it's not something you wear for fun, it's a part of you, "Severus lectured, "once a wizard gets his wand, it becomes one with his person, your power is within your wand and your wand comes to its full potential only in your hand. I assume Ollivander already told you that a wand chooses the wizard, did you think he was babbling?"

"I—I kind of did.."

"It's true, your wand did choose you, and you chose it when you purchased it. Losing it, after that, without having any replacement, would become similar to losing a limb. That is until you've mastered wandless magic, which is still not as powerful as having a wand."

Theo nodded shamefully, he was sure he'd heard that before, but it didn't seem that serious to him when he chose to put his wand in his trunk, he'd had it for some time in the summer holiday, after all, and was never allowed to use it without his mother's supervision.

"As to your argument, there is a special pocket in your robes, in every robe you might buy, where you can put it, I'm sure you know that."

"Yeah..."

"Next time, keep it in there, and don't go anywhere without your wand again."

"Yes sir"

Severus sighed, shaking his head one more time.

"I suppose teaching you that spell would have to wait for another time," he said as he put his wand back in its hidden place, he looked at Theo again, "whether or not you want to open the rest of your gifts, It's your choice."

Theo looked back at the boxes, and then back at his father.

He couldn't help but want some sort of reassurance after the stupid behaviour he was just scolded for. Well not really scolded, but he still felt like he was a dumb fool for behaving without thinking, which is the same thing he felt whenever he was scolded.

That feeling almost pushed him to ask "Which one is from you?" if only to feel that the man wasn't that upset about his behaviour. Having his father's gift would assure Theo that the man wasn't that cross with him.

That everything was still normal.

But it's stupid, why would I ask him that?

Besides, what if he didn't get him anything ? what if him inviting Theo here was the gift in itself. He didn't want to make his father feel that he didn't appreciate it.

No...

No, what Theo really didn't want, was this feeling of uncertainty.

Since when was he ashamed of asking his father for things? why did he feel that he wasn't supposed to get a gift from his father?

He was sure that if everything was as it was supposed to be, he'd have shamelessly told his father what he wanted for his birthday weeks ago, and expected the man to get it for him.

Not that he was spoiled, or anything, his father did make sure that wasn't the case. But asking his parents for specific gifts for special occasions was the norm. He was always so sure they'd get him a gift so he may as well help them choose something he wanted.

Sensing his son's uneasiness, Severus chose to step in.

"I think there is a box containing a cake of some kind, I know you didn't have dessert, we can eat some of it if you'd like."

"Oh.." Theo said, already searching for the mentioned box "Which one is it?"

He started touching the boxes, guessing which one would contain the said cake until he felt one of them that was unnaturally heated, he smirked and held it up, heading to the table his father sat on.

"Your mother and Arya picked it up," his father explained.

Theo looked at his father just then. Millions of thoughts entering his mind.

So they planned something together ? were they here? did his mother and father plan this together?

"They sent it by owl."

"Oh."

Well, that crushed his hopes.

"As I understand it, Arya was pretty excited picking it up, now watch closely," Severus said as he waved his wand, removing the wrappings.

As usual, Theo was more interested in the cake to notice whatever spell his father had muttered, It was a beautiful chocolate cake, which had the colours of all Hogwarts houses on top, and a big "Happy Birthday, Theodore" on the middle.

Theo smirked at the fact that the red colour was the most dominant one of them all, talk about coincidence.

"Yeah, she'd be," Theo said, imagining Arya's sad face as his mother sent the cake away "It looks great, I wish she was here to enjoy it as well."

Severus did not comment on that. Instead, he summoned plates and was about to cut them a piece each, without bothering with the candles and the wishing stupidity, his son was too old for this.

"Wait don't cut it, it has a note." Theo interrupted.

His son handed him the piece of paper, which said:

Send us a picture of Theo with the cake.

Oh for merlin's sake. Severus rolled his eyes, but obliged anyway, summoning his magical camera, to which Theo awkwardly waved, as he got closer to the cake.

Now that the picture was taken, Severus finally gave his son a piece of the cake and took a small one for himself.

He wasn't a fan of chocolate cakes, but he was used to it, being served at every single one of his children's birthdays. Besides, he hasn't eaten anything at dinner anyway, and he didn't have the heart to let Theo eat his birthday cake all alone.

"It tastes as good as it looks."

"Make sure to tell Arya that."

"May I use your owl to do that?"

"Haven't you bought your own? I thought you did."

That question, as innocent as it was, made Theo feel bad, yet again.

He wouldn't know for sure, would he?

No. He wasn't there when I got my supplies.

He wasn't there when he checked all of them and crossed them off the list, he wasn't there to advise him that he should take that specific set instead of the other, or that elegant owl that would serve him sufficiently instead of the graceful ones that only served as decor and would fret every time he wished to correspond with someone.

He wasn't there to comment on any of it.

And Theo all but wished he was.

"I did, her name is Aqua, but Dan said all owls were sent to the owlery and I don't know where that is ."

" And Dan is?" Severus asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Daniel, I met him on the train, he was sorted into Gryffindor too."

"It's good to know you are already making friends, but do choose them wisely."

Theo shrugged, it's not like he specifically chose to be friends with Dan, it just sort of happened all by itself.

"What inspired the name?"

"What name?" Theo asked dumbly.

Severus gave him a pointed look

"Aqua."

"Ohh.. well she has big blue eyes, it reminded me of the ocean, she's grey though, really beautiful. Mum thought so too."

Severus opened his mouth to say something but stopped himself. The owl was already bought it wouldn't do for him to comment and ruin it for the boy.

Theo, however, had caught up to his father's line of thought.

"Don't worry, I told the client there that the owl ought to be efficient rather than beautiful or I'd bring it back, or worse my father would, I was admonished for the tone by Mum, but was only shown good owls"

Severus smirked at that, like father like son, indeed.

"Well done," he praised, and couldn't help but smile at the way his son seemed to take pride in that, "I'm afraid my owl is rather occupied, I've had many correspondences to take care of. You'll be shown to the owlery tomorrow's morning, you can send your letters then"

"Alright."

"Are you finished?"

Theo nodded and dutifully took his plate and put it in the sink. Then he hurried back to his gifts, happy to start again.

"I think I'll open a few more here and leave the others for later."

Severus stood up and moved to sit on the sofa near the gifts he nodded and grabbed the potions journal scanning it as he waited for Theo to open another gift.

But Theo just stood there looking at his father.

"Which one do you think I should open first?"

That was the closest he could get to asking the man which one was his gift.

Unfortunately, his father didn't get the message or rather chose not to, Theo thought resentfully.

"I hardly know which contains what, Just pick something."

Theo sighed and succumbed to the situation, he really didn't know which one to open if he didn't start with his father's.

"I think that blue one is from your mother."

You'd think that, wouldn't you? His mother always wrapped her gifts for him in his favourite colour, blue. It didn't help, though, that both of his parents' gifts were always wrapped the same, as his mother wrapped for both of them, but sadly, there was only one box with that specific wrappings here.

Theo brought the box and shook it a little, which didn't help him to guess what was in it.

He peeled off the wrappings to find that it contained a set of clothes, the shoes he desperately wanted last time they went to London and a book with the title "A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson". It was so like his mother to find him something like that, he thought excitedly. She knew he liked history, and unlike most people, he never thought it to be boring or uninteresting.

He always liked fiction books ever since he was old enough to understand the stories his parents read him at bedtime, but the fact that the events he read about in history books actually happened, always amazed him.

Those people, what they said and did, what they went through, all of it was real, and the effects of it all were still visible to this day. It always made him wonder if people would one day read about his life, just like people were reading about the war and his parents part in it these days.

He looked at the book with a smile and flipped through it, he knew that whatever the writer meant with "Everything" didn't contain the wizarding part, as the book was a muggle one. But that could easily be remedied with the number of books he had at home, and the books he planned to get in the near future. It struck him only recently that he never really read any book about the war that his parents participated in, choosing only to ask questions about it firsthand. Now he wondered what it would be like to see the general public point of view of the whole events, what they thought of his family's actions.

He noticed that there was still something in the box, so he quickly turned it upside down before his father could notice, Three chocolate frog boxes fell out.

"Didn't I tell you to stop doing that? what if you broke whatever was inside?" the man who allegedly had eyes at the back of his head asked.

"It's just chocolate frogs they can't be broken."

"You couldn't have known that!"

"I could,because Mum always—"

"Theodore!"

Theodore stopped at once, he knew that tone meant that his father wasn't going to put up with his cheek, and the last thing he wanted was to further upset him.

"The point isn't whether or not you know what's inside, it's about respecting the gifts. The person who gifts you has spent a precious time thinking and searching for something you'd like, you don't thank them by recklessly breaking it. Treat it as you'd like your gifts to others to be treated."

"Yes, sir."

Severus sighed, he didn't want to admonish the boy on his birthday, but his recklessness irritated him, and he wasn't about to let that go without saying anything.

Tread Carefully, Severus.

"You may continue opening the gifts, but this time be more careful."

Theo, however, remained silent. He was looking at the gifts, thinking of something.

Then he sighed and lifted his gaze.

"I'm getting tired, I think I'll open the rest of them tomorrow, can you send them to my dorm?"

It didn't go past Severus that Theo didn't ask if the gifts would remain here until tomorrow, instead, he immediately dismissed that and asked for them to be sent to his dorm.

"Very well, I'll arrange that."

Theo nodded and started gathering his things.

When he strode to the door, however, he was stopped by his father's hand on his shoulder.

"You may want to reconsider that, you don't want to get lost on your first day, do you?"

Well, truth be told, Theo didn't think about that. He only thought about how he wanted out as soon as possible.

Overall, he was okay with spending his birthday with only his father, but he was ashamed of his stupidity and tired of the thousand thoughts that entered his mind every time something was said. He didn't like that at all.

"Give me a minute, I'll escort you."

His father vanished into his bedroom and came back wearing his outer robes, which was weird considering there were ones hung in the living room, the ones he took off just when they entered.

He followed his father quietly, as they passed the corridors, only to stop when his father took points of two Gryffindors and a Hufflepuff wandering around after curfew, He quickly ushered them to their towers, but not before giving them a piece of his mind.

When they finally reached the fat lady paint, Severus stopped and turned around. kneeling a little to be on his son's level.

"Tomorrow classes will start, I expect you to be at your best behaviour and to hear good reviews from your teachers."

"Yes, sir."

"Pay attention in class and make sure to do all your assignments, arrange your time accordingly and you'll have enough free time to spend it with friends ."

"Yes, sir."

"If you need help with anything, don't hesitate to seek anyone with authority, that includes prefects, your head of house, or myself ."

"I will."

Severus straightened and patted Theo's shoulders.

"Don't you let the Weasley clan set you up to no good, I'll not hesitate to take points off my own son, in fact, I'd be delighted to ."

He added with a smirk.

Ironically, that cheered Theo up a little, for he gave him a small smile, then turned around to stare at the fat lady, not sure how he's supposed to get through it.

"One last thing, Theo."

Theo turned to his father, he thought he had already left, as was accustomed of the man, but his father was still there, holding something for him. A small blue box.

Theo quietly took it, never letting his eyes leave his father's.

"Happy Birthday, Son."

Theo continued staring, not registering that his father was still talking.

"It pains me to say this but the password is, leonem rubrum."

Suddenly the fat lady portrait went inwards to reveal a doorway.

Theo stared it and hesitantly entered, with his father's hand gently pushing him inside.

" I believe the boys' dormitories are on the left, you'll find your name on one of the doors, that's your room. "

With that, the portrait retook its place and Theo was left standing in the entrance of Gryffindor's common room.

With his father's gift in his hand.

In case you're confused , Lupin&Tonks did survive the war in this story just like Severus.

Why?

WELL BECAUSE THEY DESERVE TO.

There are many people that died in the Battle of Hogwarts so I'm not ashamed to at least spare my loved ones.

Please review! ت