Chapter 2

Harry put the last of the shrunken boxes into his traveling bag and did one last walk through the house. Finding nothing aside from some remaining furniture the estate agent he'd hired was going to sell before turning the house over to the new owners, he lifted Richard into the sling on his chest. Shouldering the baby's bag and his own out of ease of habit gained in recent months, he pulled the international Portkey out of his pocket and activated it wandlessly.

The sensation was no more pleasant now than it had been the last time he'd used one, more than a decade ago. But it was the safest means of wizarding travel for the baby, and he wasn't crazy enough to try Muggle methods with an infant. At least he'd learned to land safely, although his knees protested a bit when his shoes contacted the ground. He glanced up at Hogwarts' gates and to the castle beyond and took a deep breath. For the first time since the week after the final battle, he was at the first place he'd called home.

The gates swung open to reveal the Headmaster waiting with far more patience than he'd have expected from the man.

"Do you intend to stand out there all day with my namesake or come inside?"

Harry chuckled. "Considering I'll likely not see the boy once we make it to the steps, maybe I shouldn't."

That earned him a smile from Severus. "True. Although you might make it as far as your quarters if you hurry. I told them you were arriving at dinner instead of now, to let you settle in before they overwhelm you two." He stepped through the gates and gently stroked the sleeping baby's cheek with one long, slender finger. "He's got more weight to him now than he used to."

"I don't think he'll ever have the chubby baby appearance people expect."

They began the walk across the castle grounds. "And his health?"

"Good. We've been remarkably lucky on almost all counts. It helped, getting the mediwitch transferred into the hospital as a Muggle nurse."

Severus nodded, giving Harry a moment to study the man's profile as they walked. His former Professor looked older than his years, more like he'd appear if he were Muggle instead of a wizard. Perhaps it was the grey streaking his hair that truly added to that impression, but he thought the man looked far happier than he had in his younger years.

"You've heard of the changes at Hogwarts over the years, of course, but it'll be different, seeing them face on," the Headmaster explained.

"Considering I'm teaching a subject that didn't quite exist back when I was a student, I'm prepared for surprises." Harry paused to scan the grounds. "I'm glad the gamekeeper's hut was rebuilt, even if Hagrid's not living there anymore. It wouldn't seem like Hogwarts without it and the annual pumpkin patch. Who's gamekeeper currently?"

"Widower named Foster. Hagrid's trained him quite well, although I don't think anyone will ever enter the Forbidden Forest as carefree as Hagrid does."

"How are you surviving the half Weasley staff these days?"

"If you'd asked me ten years ago if I'd be happy in a castle where my staff contained a half dozen Weasleys or their spouses, I'd have thought you'd gone quite mad. I should probably thank you, though, that you gave those infernal twins their startup money. Otherwise they might have taken up teaching, and then I'd have retired faster than Minerva did."

"And Arthur?" Even after all these years, it hurt to think of why Arthur had left his Ministry job, to take up teaching.

"He misses Molly." Severus' voice was tinged with sorrow. "But I think it's easier for him here, especially considering how much of his family lives here. Hogwarts doesn't quite hold the same memories as the Burrow does, even rebuilt."

Harry shivered. He'd grieved with the rest of the family when Molly had died in the Death Eater raid that had destroyed the Burrow. But now, after losing Jessie, he thought he understood better the sort of grief Arthur experienced. If it had hurt that badly, after only four years, he thought it a miracle that the Weasley patriarch had managed to remain functional beyond his grief.

His lack of verbal response prompted Severus to continue speaking. "He's quite looking forward to meeting his youngest grandson."

"So he said, when he talked to me on the telephone a few weeks ago. Said wizarding pictures might be better than Muggle but they were still just pictures."

"A sentiment you'll find echoed by most of your family and friends here."

"Including you, Severus?"

They'd reached the castle steps and the Headmaster nodded. "Even if you hadn't named me godfather and the child's middle name after me, you'd both be family to me, Harry." The black eyes were far warmer than they'd been in Harry's youth. That last, hellish year of the war had seen to breaking down the barriers between Harry and his mother's childhood best friend.

"Good. I was afraid you might have disowned me for being gone from home for so long."

"You needed the time away, and then you had a family to consider."

"Think the papers will be bothered I'm back in Britain?" Harry asked.

"It's possible. There's been nothing scandalous in the news lately, so your return might cause them to dig around and remember the rumors of why you left in the first place. But I think they'll be more sympathetic now. The new Minister isn't as tolerant of blatant attacks on families as past ones might have been."

Harry shrugged. "We'll worry about that when it happens, I suppose. Where are you housing us?"

"You recall that we moved all the students to towers now?" At the nod, the Headmaster continued, leading the way into a less familiar area of the castle for Harry. "There are three family quarters around each House tower instead of scattered around the castle. As Gryffindor's are all occupied, I've assigned you to the open quarters in Slytherin. I thought you might enjoy being near two of the professors nearest you in age."

"Draco and Millicent, yeah?"

"Correct. Hogwarts is not much like it was when I first started teaching and was the only professor under thirty. It's quite the change from sitting at a table full of middle-aged or elderly professors." Severus paused at a portrait of an elegantly dressed woman wearing robes suited to a prior century. She greeted the Headmaster with a nod, and Severus turned to Harry. "What password do you require?"

"Sopophorous."

The potion-ingredient answer, especially considering its source, made Severus chuckle. "It would confuse most trying to guess your password, to draw from potions, I suppose." The regal woman of the portrait repeated the word, and then the portrait swung inward.

Harry preceded Severus into the plainly furnished quarters, dropping the two bags to the floor near the sofa and looking around. It was obviously set up for him to either transfigure or replace the furniture to suit himself, with just the basics of sofa, table, and one comfortable chair in the living room area, and a surprisingly nice-sized kitchen with a four-person dining table.

"The house elves will change out anything you need replaced if you don't intend to change it yourself, Harry. I was uncertain what personal items of furniture you might bring with you from your old home, so my instructions were for them to just make sure you had the appropriate items to get started with right away and neutral colors until you instructed otherwise."

That earned Severus a smile from Harry. "I suppose that's better than everything in silver and green," he teased.

"Do not tempt me. My transfiguration skills might not be at Minerva's level, but I do control the house elves who can make any changes I make permanent." The dark eyes held a spark of amusement.

Harry pretended to be horrified at the thought. "You wouldn't subject your only godson to such a limited color scheme, surely."

After a moment, Severus smiled slightly. "Consider him your only bargaining point then." He reached out to caress the pale blonde hair on top of the baby's head. "It is unusual, seeing you with a blond child. I'm glad he has the Evans eyes. That is a legacy I shall enjoy see live on for wizarding generations."

"Would you like to hold him? He needs to wake up anyway. If he sleeps much longer, he'll really have his times off. I started adjusting his schedule last week, so he'd be better used to Scottish time than American," Harry explained, reaching into the sling to lift the child out. Richard yawned and shifted, awakened by the movement, blinking green eyes and looking around. At the sight of Severus, he gave a babyish grin, reaching out for the older wizard.

"I remain amazed at how well he retains a memory of me, with only a few visits," Severus noted as he took the baby into his arms with an ease that would surprise most who knew him.

"He's got a photo of you in his room." Harry shuffled in the baby's bag and drew out a small box and removed two bright green hearing aids. "He'll need these, now that he's awake." It took only a moment to get both in place on the baby's ears, and a muttered sticking charm followed. "He's taken to pulling them off and throwing them lately. They make little straps to hold them in place, but those irritate him more, and magic less."

"He does manage to hear somewhat with them?" Severus asked, smiling when the baby immediately turned at the sound of his deep voice.

"Enough to turn toward sounds, especially voices, since he's learned to associate the vibrations from someone speaking who is holding him to the sound. But the Muggle specialists and Healers both don't think he regains enough to learn to speak." Harry sighed softly. "I've been learning sign language, since it's not good for him to have no communication at all, and I think he's better at it than me."

"Of course he is. He's my godson, whereas you were always a bit slow to comprehend."

Harry couldn't help laughing at the fond tone the "insult" had been delivered in. "Thankfully I'm better at sign language than I was at academics in Hogwarts. I'm not fluent enough to carry on regular conversation with a fully deaf person yet, but enough so that I can teach Richard at least. I'd considered hiring a tutor, but it's nearly impossible to find a wizard or squib with the skillset needed to teach a profoundly deaf child."

Severus looked thoughtful as the baby patted his cheek before trying to nibble on the buttons of his robe. "Perhaps you should find a squib in need of employment and pay for them to train as his tutor. By the time he's exceeded what family can truly teach him, they should have completed their training."

"Now that's a great idea." Harry began to rummage in his own bag. He'd packed and shrunk almost everything but the baby's everyday bag with nappies, bottles, and a few toys and clothes, but thankfully had remembered to put a change of clothes in his own bag so he didn't immediately have to unpack everything.

"Muggle dress is perfectly fine for dinner, Harry. It's still summer, so the professors don't always wear full robes."

Harry shrugged. "I want to get back in the habit, even if I'm teaching your 'Cultural Studies' class." He grinned, slipping the forest green robes on over his plain black jeans and the grey t-shirt he'd worn for traveling. His were far less formal than Severus' robes, who had relaxed enough to work a bit of color into his clothing now, but still wore the same style clothing he had when Harry was a student. Harry's were the style worn by many of his generation, casualwear meant to be worn open over shirt and trousers. "I've a variety of Muggle clothing to wear when I'm teaching the Muggle Studies side of the class. But on the other hand, I need to show the Muggleborn and Muggle-raised students that there's more to wizarding clothing than just Hogwarts' uniform robes in Wizard Studies."

"So long as you don't begin to imitate Gilderoy Lockhart, I'll leave your clothing choices to you."

"Merlin forbid I turn into that sort of inane peacock."

Handing the baby back to Harry somewhat reluctantly, Severus nodded. "I will see you at dinner in the Great Hall in an hour. That should give you time to get settled in. During summer, the children all attend meals, if their parents wish to shuffle their entire horde through the castle. I imagine tonight everyone will be in attendance to welcome you and young Richard home."

"I'm looking forward to it." Harry gave the older wizard a smile in farewell, waiting until the portrait door clicked closed behind him to turn to his son, who was nibble-drooling on his small fist. "How about we start making this place look like ours, big guy?"

It earned him a wave of the slobbery fist and Harry smiled. The past nine months had been a constant swing between heaven and hell, but now they were back among family and no longer alone. It was good to be home.