Hermione was busy with her household duties. Not that Severus wouldn't assist her, but she seemed to like doing things without him. And, honestly, she knew the ins and outs of what she'd been doing year round so he probably was more in the way than helpful.

So, Severus took the opportunity while she was busy to work on teaching Thomas how to swim. She would watch them for a bit during the lessons, but she proved to be more of a distraction to Thomas than a help so she usually went back to her various projects fairly quickly. The boy took to swimming fairly easily, which Severus was relieved to see. With five swimmable ponds, and a few more small ones around their property that while not swimmable were deep enough just the same, both parents wanted to be sure the boy knew how. Neither of them let him run around without being watched, but he wouldn't always be two and a half.

After today's swim lesson, father and son walked slowly (one thing frequently walking alongside a two year old was teaching Severus was patience) to a different pond, one where a small shed with fishing equipment was housed on its shore. Severus took a fishing pole along with the tackle box and net out of the shed before walking to the edge of the pond. Neither wizard put a shirt on. Hermione did not mind either of them being exposed in such a fashion and, in fact, she seemed to like the effects the sun had on Severus' skin. He'd walk around shirtless and shoeless all day for the look in her eyes if he could, but alas he could not most of the time. They were mindful of the amount of time both he and Thomas spent in the sun.

"Shall we see if we can give your mother a break from cooking tonight," Severus said.

He didn't know much about fishing himself, but he'd read some books and engaged in the sport more than a handful of times the past year or so. This was the first time Thomas was aware enough to participate. Last summer, he'd really been too young.

He got the pole ready, explaining to Thomas what he was doing as he prepared the pole to be used. He showed a curious Thomas how to put the hook on the fishing line. After that, he slid the net through the pond to gather up some minnows so that they could bait the hook. Next time, with a little more planning, he'd get some worms so that Thomas could get that experience, too. Thomas giggled and then squealed when he first touched a couple of the squirmy and wiggly minnows in the net and then when Severus showed him how to put the minnow on the hook.

He had a decent sized metal bucket that he filled with water so they could put any caught fish in it.

"All right, Thomas, come here," he said once everything was set for them to try to catch some fish.

Thomas moved in front of Severus. Severus set his hand on top of the boy's head briefly, ruffling his dark hair before stooping down to work with him on casting into the pond. They were close enough that it was really little more than just dropping it in. He wanted the boy to know how it was supposed to be done, though.

Severus hadn't tried fly fishing yet. He thought one of the shallower ponds would be acceptable to do that in, but to this point hadn't bothered to get the additional equipment necessary. He had added it to his list for something to do next summer.

They had a few more minnows in the net to work with. He was no pro, but last summer and earlier this spring and summer Thomas had really enjoyed coming out to watch him. Working at Hogwarts, he didn't get to do a lot of things with his son, but he vowed to do everything he could to ensure Thomas had a memorable childhood with his father.

In a good way.

Even if those times were just fishing in their home's stocked ponds.

Hermione was able to do many things with Thomas that Severus missed out on. Severus knew that she took Thomas with her on every household chore she did, letting their son help in ways that a toddler could.

"All right," Severus said when they finally got a bite. He "helped" Thomas reel the fish in and showed the boy how to unhook it. Both parents felt this was important. For Thomas to learn to do these things, but also to see how hard his mum (and other people) worked to put food on their table. Fish didn't catch themselves, and one didn't catch a fish every time they dropped bait into the water.

Thomas reached for the fish, and Severus held it as best as he could so that his son could touch it.

He giggled but also gave a bit of a sour-looking expression. He imagined the scales and wetness felt … odd to the boy.

"Want to help me put it in the bucket?" he asked, gesturing to it.

Severus kept his hands under Thomas' who was cradling the fish carefully as they walked the short distance to the metal bucket. There, they dropped the fish into it. It had gone for the minnow perfectly so they were able to unhook it without causing additional harm. Until later anyway when they prepared any they caught with the intention of cooking and eating.

They caught six, releasing three of them back into the pond so they would continue to grow. The three they would eat were taken to the cleaning table on the property just outside the shed with the fishing equipment. Severus helped Thomas onto the table so he could watch while Severus cleaned and prepared the fish for cooking and eating.

The table was big enough Severus could work while Thomas sat on it. It was courtesy of a sticking charm that Thomas stayed put. It would not do to come back all this way just to lose the boy through some freak accident while showing him how to gut a fish. Lots of giggling, wide eyes, and scrunching of his nose as the various parts of the fish that were edible and waste were sorted. Some were trash. Some would be added to one of their compost areas.

Hermione joined them about the time Severus was done. She brought with her diced potatoes and onions as well as some corn she'd canned and some beans and bread. It was going to be a nice dinner outside.

"Mm, Mummy has perfect timing. She comes just in time to see the fish good enough to cook."

"That's right, I'm too squeamish for such chores," she said and Severus scoffed.

She'd proven over the past three years that she was anything but that.

"Do I get the waste, or to take the fish to the cooking area?"

"Your choice, Wife."

"Mm, since you got your hands dirty, I'll take the waste."

"On the other hand, my hands are already dirty. Take Thomas and the food, I'll tend to the waste, clean up, and join you shortly."

"Sure," she said. "I didn't really want to do that anyway."

He chuckled, leaning down to kiss her without touching her. "Crafty witch."

She batted her eyelashes at him before scooting around the table to help Thomas down. She patted his behind a bit once he was steady on his feet, kissing the top of his head. Then she reached and patted his behind, giving a longer caress and a gentle squeeze that Thomas did not get.

"Thank you," he murmured and she blushed prettily.

"Is Daddy going to cook us a very special dinner with fish that you caught?"

Thomas nodded, sticking a finger in his mouth. He didn't suck his thumb, but every once in a while he would do this. He didn't seem to suck on them when he did it, so they hadn't gotten militant about stopping it yet. Severus knew she was keeping an eye on it, though. These were things she just knew to look for and stop that Severus could admit he was mostly clueless about. He'd essentially seen only Draco as a young child in his life until Thomas so he really had no idea about things like thumb sucking.

"All right, go with your mum. You can watch her make the food move by itself," he said.

Severus watched as their son followed Hermione (and the food) to the area they had set up to cook outside when they wanted to. He cleaned off the table and then tended to the waste before cleaning up his hands, finally joining them.

He created the fire, which Thomas loved (they knew he would) and set about cooking their dinner. Severus did most of the cooking, but Hermione did help. She explained step by step what Daddy was doing from the potatoes and onions to the fish to why the corn and beans remained in the cans they were in.

He had never eaten such a meal. She evidently had because her father had taken her fishing. Of course he had. It was … enjoyable. The food at Hogwarts was second to none, but there was something about eating a meal that he had caught the fish they'd eaten just an hour or so before in his pond. The potatoes, onions, and corn were from their gardens. The only thing purchased had been the condiments she'd used in the baked beans as well as some ingredients for the bread.

The meal done, they roasted marshmallows over the fire, which made Thomas' face quite sticky. And he loved every second of it. Especially the fact that he was allowed to not just touch but eat something so sticky. Afterward, they sat until the fire went out naturally. Thomas had fallen asleep in his lap by that point, so Severus carried him to bed while Hermione ensured everything was brought inside.

"How did you get all that together?" he asked over a nightcap in their master bedroom's sitting room.

"All of what?"

"The side dishes."

"You mentioned you were taking him fishing, I saw an opportunity."

"It was a good choice."

"You'd do it again?"

"The fishing part? Yes, anytime he wants to. The meal, it was enjoyable and I would do it again. Just not every time."

"It is a bit of work."

"Yes," he agreed. It was. He was glad she understood what he was saying and didn't take it as a slight against her idea. Three years into this they had adapted to cooking with what they had available to them, but cooking on an open fire in their yard was a bit of a difference. And the fish could have very easily turned inedible because he didn't know what he was really doing.

"Thank you for indulging me."

He shook his head slightly at that. She apparently had no idea. He liked doing these things he did. He liked being a better father and husband than his own dad was. He liked making memories. He had no good ones of his own childhood, but these that they were creating were overriding those bad ones. He took a lot of guidance from Hermione, following her lead as it were, but she had not steered him wrong yet. This witch he loved was giving him something he never even knew he wanted.

A life.

Belonging.

Family.

"No indulging was part of the equation. We are a family. I do not know what normal families do, but I want to do my part to ensure we give him everything that he needs to prevent the outcome we know from happening."

"Me, too."

He leaned over, kissing her before grazing her cheek with his thumb. He shifted a bit, reaching for her to bring her onto his lap. She came willingly, so he didn't have to work too hard to get her where he wanted. His mouth found hers and her arms went around him

"Care to end a most enjoyable day in a most enjoyable way?"

"Absolutely."

"I was thinking our tub…"

"Oh," her eyes lit up in delight at the suggestion. "Yes."

"Excellent. Lead the way then, Madam Prins."

"You're sure you'll follow?"

"Anywhere."

September 1998

"All right, class," Charity Burbage said. "We're going to discuss the chapters that were assigned for Charlotte's Web ." She glanced over at the group of first years. The book was a little young for them, but she always liked to start the year with something somewhat easy. And it led to some interesting discussions from students who'd never been on a farm. Or knew anything about spiders.

And, well, it remained one of her favorite stories to this day.

"Who wants to start?"

She smiled a little at Miss Potter when she raised her hand almost shyly. A few others followed her lead, but she was first. Her brother was a star quidditch player from his time here, so she was still figuring out where she fit in at Hogwarts. Charity imagined the witch was more than just a little tired of hearing "you're Harry Potter's sister". He'd just left Hogwarts this past June, so she wouldn't escape that notoriety. She was a little more serious than her brother was, who while smart enough seemed to take after his father in doing the bare minimum required to get acceptable marks with a smattering of exceeds expectations thrown in for good measure. So far, Amelia seemed to take after Lily Potter rather than James in that. She hoped the other Potter daughter would, too, when she arrived in a few years. It didn't help that young Amelia looked just like her brother, too, with her mussy-looking brown hair and vivid green eyes so that probably didn't help. And just like her brother and their parents, she had been sorted into Gryffindor.

"Go ahead, Miss Potter. You can start."

Story ©Susan Falk/APCKRFAN/PhantomRoses.com