Caelen skipped down the corridor towards professor Snape's office. It had become sort of a daily ritual, she sat in her father's class until it began to bore her then she would scurry off to see the potions master. The girl hesitated at his door peeking in to be sure he wasn't busy before slipping inside, "good morning professor Snape!" She greeted him brightly.
Snape looked up in surprise, after his argument with Lupin the night before he hadn't expected she'd be allowed to visit him again, "hello Caelen, does your father know you're here?"
She looked up with a mischievous little grin, "course professor."
Snape raised an eyebrow skeptically but said nothing, wondering if perhaps the girl spend too much of her time with a certain pair of redheaded twins. He didn't want to admit it, even or perhaps especially to himself, but he really did enjoy the child's company. Sometimes Snape found himself wondering, had he had someone to rescue him, would he have turned out differently? Naturally then it stood to question, without Severus around to report that dreaded prophesy to Voldemort, would Lilly still be alive? Or even have been his?
Caelen watched the potions master intently, the girl could see he was deep in thought, some thoughts apparently less pleasant than others. She tried to be still, to not pester him, she knew better than to draw attention to herself when an adult was clearly pondering unpleasant things. All thoughts of self preservation vanished, however, when Severus grimaced severely. "Professor?" The girl whispered her tiny hand lay gently on his sleeve above his much loathed dark mark, "professor Snape sir? Are you ok?"
Severus jumped slightly pulled from his musings, "yes fine," he grumbled in his usual gruff manner. "Was there a reason you came to see me?"
The stern professor stiffened, his eyes widening in surprise as the small timid girl crawled up onto his lap and sat fiddling with his robes. "I was wondering," she whispered at last refusing to meet his eyes, "you know all about potions and stuff, and there's so many different kinds, I wondered if maybe there was one to keep bad dreams away, or if there isn't is there some way to make it so someone won't wake till they're rested? You know, even if someone is noisy or jostles them a bit."
Severus sighed eyeing the nervous little girl clinging to his robes from her place on his lap, "who would need these potions?" He was fairly certain he already knew but he wondered how much she'd open up to him.
Silence reigned in the dungeon classroom, just when Severus was ready to give up and tell her his assumptions the girl's chocolate brown eyes lifted to meet his, "me or my daddy, see he wants me to come to him if I have nightmares, but I have nightmares a lot. I thought if I didn't have the nightmares I wouldn't have to disturb him, he always looks so tired and stressed anyway. But if I can't get rid of the nightmares, well then I would have to go to him like he asked. I don't wanna disobey but I don't wanna bother him either, so if he just couldn't wake until he was rested, well then I could go to him like he asked but not have to bother him. Does that make any sense?"
For the first time Severus found himself wrapping his arms carefully around the small child. His motions were stiff and clumsy, aside from his mother when he was very small and Lily until he's pushed her away stupidly, he'd never hugged others. His attempt at hugging would have failed miserably had the small child not turned into him wrapping her tiny arms around his neck. "Caelen," Snape began quietly, much more gently than even he could imagine he could be,"there is a potion called dreamless sleep but it doesn't just stop bad dreams, it stops the good dreams to, it's not a good idea to use this potion too often if you're an adult but it would be much too strong for you. As for your father," he smiled the ghost of a grin the unfamiliar expression looking more like a grimace, "I could hex him so he couldn't hear all night but I doubt he'd welcome that. Really, as much as you hate disturbing him, he's happy to be there for you. After a while I'd expect you'll get over the nightmares."
Caelen looked extremely disappointed, "did you have nightmares sir?"
Any other time, with any other person, he would have denied it vehemently, but Caelen understood like no one else could. He paused thoughtfully before giving the faintest solemn nod.
She had just opened her mouth to say something else when the door flew open, bouncing off the wall behind it loudly. A flustered looking Remus stood in the doorway.
Unknown to Severus, Remus in fact didn't know where Caelen was, she'd asked if she could go see Hagrid thinking it wouldn't matter at all if she stopped off on her way to see Severus. Now she looked up guiltily at her father, her tiny cheeks reddened in shame, "hi daddy," she squeaked looking down at her hands.
Remus stared in shock at the sight before him, his daughter sitting on the knee of the angriest, hardest, coldest man in the school. Suddenly his thoughts to leave it be, to allow the child to become attached to anyone she wished as long as she was opening up, flew from his mind.
He strode forward, an expression crossing his face that Caelen had never seen before. The girl flinched back into Severus, her father's angry expression frightening her.
Remus didn't see that however his eyes flashed angrily at the arm wrapped around his child. Why on earth did she like the greasy git so much? Why did she go to him, sneak away to see him? He reached forward suddenly prepared to pull the girl into his own arms.
Remus might have missed the child's fearful flinch and expression but Severus did not. As the man reached forward to retrieve his child Snape stood swiftly holding the girl protectively against his chest and away from her father. Both men's eyes flashed angrily, "I would hope Lupin that regardless of your feelings towards me you might control your emotions in the face of your child's obvious distress," he hissed sternly nodding his head at the shaking girl who had buried her head into his robes.
Remus forgot his anger instantly as he took in his child's frightened posture, he reached a hand forward slowly touching her back in a tentative motion. "I'm sorry cub," he whispered, Severus was horrified to see tears in the other man's eyes, "I didn't intend to frighten you. I'd never hurt you cub, you know that right?"
Slowly the girl's grip on Severus' black robes loosened and she reached out for her father, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I'm sorry daddy," the girl hiccuped in a broken voice.
Severus glared at the other man, angry that he'd been so careless with his reactions and frightened the girl.
Remus sighed he held his daughter tightly in his arms, "I'm sorry, I couldn't find you, you told me you were going to Hagrid's?"
"I was, but I wanted to ask professor Snape a question on my way," she whispered in reply, burrowing into his robes.
"I apologize for my brusque entrance Severus," Remus apologized stiffly, "I got flustered when I couldn't find her, I suppose the shock of finding her here with you got the better of me."
Snape couldn't recall the last time someone had apologized to him, especially sincerely. He didn't really know how to respond so he nodded and turned to his desk as if the essays littering the surface were of paramount interest. "I don't mind the girl coming here," he finally mumbled, uncomfortable admitting he liked the company.
Remus looked shocked, he nodded briskly before turning on his heal and exiting the room, Caelen still sniffling in his arms, "until next time then Severus," he said at the door.
Remus waited until arriving in his quarters before he sat the girl down in front of him, kneeling to be on her level, "Caelen?" He began quietly lifting her trembling chin with a gentle hand, "I swear I would never, ever hurt you. I thought you knew that?"
"I d-do its just w-when you came forward you looked so angry," the girl trembled her eyes glancing away from him, "I'd never seen you look like that and it just reminded me of her," the girl had noticed her father's refusal to refer to Gina as her mother and had taken to calling the woman 'her'.
Remus sighed pulling his child to cuddle in his lap on the floor, "I wasn't angry Caelen," he whispered his tone slightly embarrassed, "I was scared when I couldn't find you and then when I found you with professor Snape, I was frustrated and...jealous."
The girl looked up then her eyes wide and puzzled, "I don't understand?"
"When I was a boy my friends and I, I'd like to say more my friends but I'm just as much to blame, we weren't vey kind to Severus." He sighed wishing he didn't need to tell Caelen this, scared to see disappointment in her large, trusting, adoring eyes. "Due to this he became angry at us, trying to catch us doing something, anything, we shouldn't be. Eventually he discovered I was a werewolf, although honestly I blame your uncle Sirius for that. After that he had something on me, I know you already know how some people feel about werewolves," the girl shivered involuntarily, "thankfully Dumbledore swore him to secrecy. Because of all that, the animosity between us, when I couldn't find you and I was afraid of what might of happened, and I found you with him, I was irritated and jealous."
She seemed to ponder this for a bit before looking up at him with tired, sad eyes. "You messed up daddy," she finally whispered, "professor Snape was already hurt and you and uncle James and uncle Sirius just made it worse." His heart wrenched at the obvious sadness and disappointment in her small voice, "you lost a very good friend because you couldn't see that."
He hugged his child close, "you're far wiser than me," he whispered in wonder, "I wish I had seen back then what you can already see."
"You're wrong daddy, you're very wise now, I get it from you." She sighed snuggling sleepily into his shoulder, "you know we're really all a lot alike, people dislike you without knowing you cuz you're a werewolf, professor Snape's dad hated him for being a wizard, 'she' hates me for being like you, people hate things that are different from them, things they can't understand, that's why we're in this mess in the first place."
"I think you're right cub," Remus whispered in reply.
__________________________
Caelen sat fidgeting next to her father, it was finally time for the first tournament task. The crowd sat anxiously awaiting the first champion. "Do you think Harry and the others will be ok," she questioned her father, nervous for her friend.
"Dumbledore will see to it that no one gets hurt badly," Remus reassured his daughter despite his own misgivings. Truthfully he was just as worried if not more so than she was.
As the older three champions successfully retrieved their eggs Lupin's nervousness only grew. He watched anxiously as his best friend's son wandered into the arena, whoever thought pitting children against dragons was a good idea was beyond him.
Remus smiled slightly as his daughter climbed into his lap, "daddy it's Harry's turn," she whispered anxiously.
He simply nodded the worry in his gut making words impossible.
The roar of the crowd seemed to vanish as Harry leapt onto his broom and sped off narrowly evading the angry dragon. Gasps accompanied his swerves and dives until a cheer filled the air as he finally retrieved his egg. Caelen sighed in relief finally releasing the grip she'd been holding on her father's arm.
Remus smiled, passing his daughter to George Weasley, as he made his way to the first aid tent where Harry had disappeared moments before. "Alright then Harry?" He questioned the boy.
"Professor Lupin," Harry smiled as madam Promfrey fussed over his shoulder, "yeah, just nicked me."
__________________________
Need opinions guys. The triwizard tournament really isn't a big deal for the Caelen and Remus side of the story. Obviously a child isn't going to care much for such a dangerous tournament. So three options for you. #1 I can continue following this story as I've been doing slowly cementing her relationship with Remus Severus the twins and others. #2 I can write a brief overview of how the rest of term went and launch into the next phase of the story (which in all honesty I'm more excited by anyway) or #3 I can hit some high points of this year skipping the story along dramatically without skipping the year entirely and again start on the next phase.
I'd really really love some input because I'm having some trouble deciding (I actually wrote two different chapter options this time before settling on this) ok please please please give me your thoughts and I'll see you in the next chapter (as soon as it can be decided what that chapter will be lol)