Disclaimer: I do not own any of the people or places that belong to the wonderful world of Harry Potter, as they belong to J.K. Rowling. The OCs (Katherine, Septimus, Serenity, Helena, Christoph, Elisa, Henry, Nick and any name you don't recognize and isn't from the HP universe) are entirely my own.
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Although their spring came in like a lamb, the summer months had decided to come in like a lion. There were several times in just a few short weeks that Severus and Katherine found themselves casting protective charms over the gardens, as ominous skies threatened the world around them. Green tinted rolling clouds tainted the heavens nearly every other day; opening up to release their small roundish masses of ice.
Just a week earlier, Severus had endured his first tornado. In all the things he had seen in his life, nothing had prepared him for this force of nature. The sound it emitted reminded him of the freight train that would often rumble past the houses near Spinner's End. After strengthening the wards on the house, the family had hunkered down in the cellar until the storm had passed.
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Long before the sun barely broke the horizon, Severus woke with a start and bolted upright in the bed. A loud clash of thunder had brought him forth from his slumber, and he could already hear rain begin to fall heavily outside. The bedroom was illuminated seconds later by another flash of lightning; blinding him for a moment as he began counting.
'One...'
'Two...'
'Three...'
'Four...'
'Five...'
'Six...'
Another thunderous rumble shook the room, letting Severus realize that the incoming storm was just a little over a mile away. The house was so dark that he could hardly make out Katherine's slumbering form next to him in the bed, but a groan for the opposite side reassured him that she was there.
"Seriously?" Katherine grumbled, as she shifted beneath the sheets. "Sev? You awake?"
"Unfortunately."
"What time is it?"
Silently, Severus reached out and snatched his wand from the bedside table. With a quick flick of his wrist, the time was now hovering before him.
"A quarter after five."
"Urgh," she growled, as she angrily tossed back the covers and wandlessly lit the small lamp on her side of the bed. "Can't we go just one day without these blasted storms?"
"The wizard on the wireless said we have a chance of severe storms for the next five day," Severus yawned, as he ran his hands over his face.
"Well, at least Serenity is still sleeping," Katherine sighed, as she slid into her slippers and summoned her robe into her waiting hand. "I guess we will not be working in the gardens today either."
"Apparently not," Severus said, as he summoned his own robe to him.
"So what is the plan for the day?" Katherine asked, as she slid from the bed and moved to stand in front of Severus.
"I suppose I will work on the Wolfsbane research today, since we finished up brewing yesterday," he replied, as he slid on his own slippers. Another flash of blinding light illuminated the room, followed almost immediately by a loud crack of thunder.
"Well, I'm sure Serenity's awake now," Katherine sighed, as she moved to kiss Severus good morning. But it was short-lived, as a soft knock sounded on their bedroom door. "Yes?" The door opened a crack; not even barely big enough to allow the thinnest of bodies through.
"Can I come in?" Septimus' voice rang softly from the other side of the wooden barrier; Severus rolled his eyes. It wasn't more than a week ago when Septimus accidently walked in on the two in mist of a heavy snog; one that Severus was sure would have lead to more if they had not been interrupted.
"Of course," Katherine said, as she tightened the cords on her robes. "Did the storm wake you?"
"No," Septimus sighed as he entered the bedroom. "This did..."
Sitting securely the young man's arms was his seven month old sister; clutching her plush calico kitten in one hand and trying to grab her brother's shoulder length hair with the other. As soon as her mother came into view, her chubby little hand abandoned its' attempts at the black locks, in favor for reaching out for the blonde haired witch.
Serenity cooed softly as Katherine took the little girl in her arms and settled herself on the bed, next to Severus. Wide blue eyes took in her father's black ones, as she blindly reached out for her mother's hair. Suddenly her eyes scrunched up and she released a tiny whimper.
"What's wrong sweet pea?" Katherine asked softly, as she removed the little fist that Serenity was trying to put in own mouth.
"Another tooth?" Severus asked, as he watched Katherine inspect the little girl's mouth.
"Appears to be," Katherine sighed, before looking up at Septimus. "Sept...could you please fetch her teething ring?"
"Sure," Septimus said, as he quickly left the room and headed for the lab.
"He does realize that he could have just summoned it with his wand," Severus muttered with a frown.
"His brain's still asleep Sev," Katherine chuckled lightly. "Just let him be."
Minutes later Septimus returned with the ring, which Katherine chilled with her wand, before handing it to her daughter. This was Serenity's fourth tooth that was breaking through, and she seemed most content with the ring over anything else. Katherine had been overjoyed a week earlier when the little girl went from scooting to a full crawl, and was even able to hold herself up on her legs while being supported. She had also had begun eating more solid foods, laughing and babbling tiny chains of consonants.
"Guess we're not running to today, huh," Septimus sighed as another bright flash lit the room.
"No, I suppose not."
"Brewing?"
"Not today," Severus said, shaking his head. "I plan on doing a bit a research on the Wolfsbane Potion modifications."
"And Helena's gone all week with her family," Septimus huffed, as he crossed his arms over his chest. "What am I suppose to do all day?"
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The rains only became heavier by the time noon arrived, and the family of four had settled into the study for the day. Katherine had set herself up on the floor with Serenity; entertaining the small child while she glanced over the newest Potioneers Monthly Magazine. Just before noon, she left the wizards in charge of the little girl, before heading off to get lunch ready.
"Hey dad?" Septimus asked, as he sat up in his chair. "Did you know that mom had an uncle who turned his wife into a goat?"
"What?" Severus asked, looking up from his notes that were spread out over the mahogany desk.
"Yeah!" Septimus laughed lightly. "It says that 'Wulfric the second and his wife, Ophelia, were known for their heated arguments;' and that 'Wulfric always called her an old nagging goat. One day when his brother, Octavius, came to call on the couple, Wulfric had told him that Ophelia had left after an argument and never came back. But the wizard boasted about the goat he had supposedly purchased soon after her departure.
"It wasn't until Wulfric's death that the spell on the goat wore off and Octavius found Ophelia tied up in the backyard where the animal once stood!'"
"What is it with the Dumbledores and goats?" Severus sighed, shaking his head. "What are you looking at anyway?"
"Mom's family tree," Septimus chuckled, as he flipped another page of the aged maroon book. "I don't know whether to call the Dumbledore family tree fascinating or confusing."
"The Dumbledores have a long history," Severus commented, looking back and forth from journal to journal. "The Prince line is just as confusing; quite a few intermarriages."
"That's disgusting!" the boy exclaimed, looking up at his father with an aghast face.
"That's pureblood," Severus drawled. "It wasn't uncommon for first cousins to marry in order to keep property, heirlooms and especially money within the same family lines. Half bloods are frowned upon, but are sometimes married in to avoid magical depletion...but only when there is more than one sibling. Otherwise we are mostly shunned from their society."
"But you and mom were a pureblood's godparents," Septimus pointed out. "And you were close friends with them as well."
"We were two half bloods among a house of pure," Severus sighed, before throwing down his quill; knowing that his concentration on his notes was now completely and utterly gone. "We had to adapt to their lifestyles and choices in order to survive our school years."
"So they weren't really your friends?"
"There were a few that I would have called a possible friend."
"Like the Malfoys."
"Lucius Malfoy was an aristocrat," Severus explained. "He had the connections that everyone wanted and his honorable place within the Dark Lord's ranks made him an ideal friend to have. If you could get on good terms with him, you were entering a socially safe environment.
"But you had to catch his eye," he continued, leaning back in his chair. "He noticed your mother because of her flying skills. He saw a potential professional Quidditch player and also someone who would win Slytherin house cups after he graduated."
"What did he see in you?"
"Potions," Severus stated. "He knew the Dark Lord would be looking for talented potion master for his inner circle, so he took me under his wing."
"What about his wife?"
"Narcissa was different," Severus said, crossing his arms over his chest. "She took your mother in as a sort of surrogate sister. Narcissa's sister, Andromeda, was shunned from the family when she ran off and married a muggleborn. I have always believed that Katherine was her replacement.
"Both the Malfoys and the Blacks were appalled when Narcissa all but demanded that we be in her wedding party," Severus smirked at the memory. "I think they were even more offended when she asked us to be Draco's godparents. But if it were not for us, that boy wouldn't even be here."
"What do you mean?"
"Narcissa suffered several miscarriages within their first few years of marriage," Severus explained. "It wasn't long after the fourth one that she came to us asking for help. Your mother and I brewed a fertility enhancing potion, which strengthens the...um...essential areas of a woman in order to sustain a life."
"Essential areas?" Septimus smirked at his father's choice of words.
"You know exactly what I mean," Severus snarled lightly. "Only then was she able to carry her son to term. Unfortunately, she wanted one more after the boy, but suffered two more miscarriages regardless of the potion, so they quit trying."
"Is that a problem with a lot of purebloods?"
"Not really," Severus shrugged. "Most only have one child so they will not have to split the family fortune up. Narcissa was one of three daughters...the Weasley have seven and they're pureblood..."
"Six..."
"What?"
"They had seven," Septimus said quietly. "Remember? Ginny said that her brother, Fred, died in the battle last year."
"That's right," Severus sighed, running a hand through his black locks. "It is hard to remember that there is only one of those nuisance twins left."
"Da-da-da," Serenity cooed from her small magical mat on the floor. Her big blue eyes darted back and forth from her father to her brother, as she clutched a small block in her hand. The two watched her intently from a moment, memorized by the child's focus on the wooden cube in her chubby little hand.
"When will she have her first?" Septimus asked, looking back at his father.
"Her first?"
"Her first signs of magic," Septimus answered, as he glanced back at his sister.
"No one knows for sure when a child will show signs of magic," Severus replied, still watching his youngest sitting on the floor. "It could happen today...or nine years from now."
"What if she doesn't?" Septimus asked quietly, causing Severus to frown in response. "What if she doesn't have magic? What then?"
"Where did this come from?" Severus brows deepened, as he turned towards his eldest.
"I don't know," the boy sighed. "I guess I'm just seeing a lot of holes on some side of the family tree, and I can't help but wonder if those without magic are just thrown aside."
"That might be how they did it in the past," Severus paused. "But not here. If, and it is a tremendous if...Serenity is, in fact, a Squib...she will only attend the finest Muggle schools and never feel as though she is any less important than the rest of us."
"So you would love her regardless?"
"Absolutely," Severus breathed, as his black focused in on his son. "No child deserves any less."
"Then what about you and mom?" Septimus whispered causing Severus' eyes widened slightly. "You both had magic, but your parents didn't seem to care about you."
"Where..."
"Harry," Septimus interrupted. "Harry told me about what he saw in your memories. I thought mom's dad was dead...but I saw him in Hogsmeade. Harry later told me about how mom was cast aside by her own father."
"Harry?"
"Harry Potter, dad," Septimus admitted quietly, but it wasn't entirely true, for his dead grandmother was the one to confirm his grandfather's ways.
"You talked...to Potter!" Severus snarled. "Septimus do you know how dangerous that was!"
"I know but..." Septimus paused, swallowing hard. "But, he just started telling me! I didn't know when I was heading to Hogsmeade with Hermione and Ginny that we were meeting up with those guys!"
"GRANGER AND WEASLEY!" Severus growled. "Next you'll tell me that you met Longbottom as well!"
"Umm..."
"Oh dear Merlin!" Severus groaned, as he ran his hands over his face. "Please...please tell me that they did not recognize you."
"Everyone stopped for a moment," Septimus sighed heavily. "But I stuck with the story and everyone seemed to believe it. They all think that my parents have always been potion masters for St. Augustine's. They don't know that our family came from Europe. I just want to know one thing..."
"What?"
"If they would have apologized to you, would you have accepted it?" Septimus asked.
"If who?"
"Your parents..." Septimus sighed. "About how they treated you."
"Yes," Severus breathed after a few moments. "My mother, yes...my father...I do not know. It would take a lot for me to forgive him."
"What about mom?"
"Possibly her mother," Severus commented. "I do not know if she would forgive her father. He has had his chances, since he is alive..."
"Harry said that he and the Headmistress have reconciled," Septimus stated. "Maybe one day..."
"No," Severus interrupted him. "I am sorry Septimus, but I do not plan on ever returning to England...and neither does your mother."
The two wizards went silent; both reflecting on what had just transpired between them. Septimus had always wished to have known his grandparents, even more now that he knew that one of them was still alive. But he also understood his parents' wishes...yet still he hoped that one day that they might reunite.
"Ba-ba-ba," Serenity babbled again from her mat. The wizards looked towards the little girl, finding her cooing happily from her spot on the floor...her teething ring in hand and mouth.
Severus frowned deeply; he had not remembered Katherine bringing the teething ring in here with them. He glanced at Septimus, noticing the same frown sketched across the young man's face.
'No!' Severus thought to himself. 'It couldn't be!'
"Katherine!" Severus bellowed, as he rose from his chair, and made his way over to his daughter. Moments later Katherine appeared in the doorway, with wand in hand.
"What is it?" Katherine asked hurriedly, as she rushed into the room. "What is wrong?"
"Did you bring Serenity her teething ring?" Severus asked, as he picked the little girl up.
"No why?" Katherine frowned, until she noticed the ring in her daughter's hands. "Did she?"
"I believe so..."
"What?" Septimus asked from his chair.
"I believe she has shown magic," Severus said, smiling smugly.