Date: October 31, 1986 Age: 7
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Cecily looked up from the Daily Prophet as the sound of little feet running on wood floors reached her. Seconds later, Harry slid into the sitting room with a small tawny snake chasing after him.
The woman smiled at her son. Harry was growing into a beautiful boy. His face was full of laughter, his eyes wide and bright with the same grassy green that his mother had, but there were a few changes on his person.
It seems, that when the adoption went through Harry's physical appearance changed in the barest amounts. His skin was perhaps a shade or two darker than it should have been, his nose a bit wider- no longer small and button like, but Roman straight and regal- his lips fuller, and his hair was a bit calmer, rather than the wild wavy hair of the Potter bloodline, he had neat and thick curls that he requested Cecily add ornaments to- "Like yours, Mama."- so she did. Now, Harry had little braids throughout his hair, that had little bells and rune beads weaved through.
Yes, Cecily thought, He is a beautiful boy. She gazed at him as the little snake jumped at him, hissing in what could be a laughing manner. Harry caught him easily and giggled, wrapping his arms around the snake- aptly named Hamlet, the Moon Adder- and proceeded to hiss back at him.
When she had discover Harry had the ability to speak Parseltongue, she had a little internal freak out.... Granted, that was expected to happen, since the last person to speak was You-Know-Who, but somewhere in her head, she reasoned it was probably a side effect from the Dark Lord. Hopefully, that was the only thing that foul wizard left to her boy.
"Mama?" Harry asked, his voice filled with childish curiosity. Cecily smiled, coming back to reality.
"Yes, sweetheart?"
"Can you tell me about my parents?" He asked, biting his lip tentatively as if she was worried she would deny him. But this was something he had asked for every year, ever since he had been old enough to understand what happened this night five and a half years ago.
Cecily gave a slightly pained smile. "I can always tell you about your parents, sweetheart. What would you like me to tell you about them?" She said, patting her lap and picking him up when he got close enough. Hamlet bumped his head into her cheek in greeting, giving her a little "kiss".
"What were they like in school?" Cecily hummed thoughtfully and pulled out her wand, swishing it around as she cast a spell to help Harry visualize the story a little better.
"Well... Lily was bright," The visage of his mom appeared in front of him, bright red hair and deep green eyes and a bright, bright smile. "Both in intelligence and in personality. She stuck out in a crowd and not because of that hair," At this, Cecily blew a raspberry on Harry's neck, making the boy giggle sweetly. "She was very kind to everyone, even those who looked down on her because of her blood status and that made her strong."
Harry looked up at his mama. "Strong? But she's a girl." He said, wrinkling his nose.
Cecily cocked an eyebrow. "Oh? But girls are very strong, very strong indeed, didn't you know? And your mother? She was a spit-fire, full of strength and a certain grace that most purebloods wished they had. She was fairly deadly at Charms and a prodigy at Potions as well, right up there with another student named Severus Snape." The scene changed from Lily to a black haired boy, who didn't look kind or unkind, but somewhere in between.
"He was mom's friend, right?" Harry asked, staring at the boy curiously.
"Of a sort." Cecily responded, thoughtfully. "There was a point, a time, when they were the best of friends and I believe, they even loved each other, but... do you remember when I explained the different magical cores of wizards?" Harry nodded and she continued on, the scene changing again to Lily on one sight and Severus on the other. "Well, Severus had an affinity for dark magic and your mother had an affinity to Light, or rather a lighter shade of Gray. Because of this, and because of what house Severus got sorted into, when they were old enough to choose a side, they went with what felt right to them at the time."
Harry glanced at her and then back at the scene. "So they no longer liked each other?"
Cecily frowned lightly. "It would take a little more than having an affinity to break a friendship like theirs. No, the reason they ended their friendship was because Severus called her a very naughty name. It's a name I'll not hear out of your mouth ever, you hear?" She looked down at her boy to confirm his answer, as he nodded. "He called her a mudblood, it means 'those of dirty blood' and it is a name that purebloods and some halfbloods use to spit on the First Generation witches and wizards."
Harry looked up at her confused by this. "Why didn't they call them First Generations, then?" He asked.
"If there's one thing you should know about the Wizarding World, sweetheart, is that it's very hard for them to change and to accept change. They've always called First Gens by that derogatory name and it would take someone mighty powerful to try and change them." Cecily responded, looking at him pointedly.
"Do you think I could do it?" He asked in a small voice.
Cecily hugged him tighter. "Baby, you can do anything, if you set your mind to it." She kissed his temple and continued her story.
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Date: May 17, 1988- Age 9
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The day Severus Snape knocked on her door, was the day Cecily knew that she and Harry were no longer safe at the village they currently in. The man stood in her doorway, cloaked in darkness- a shadow.
She was immediately on guard. "What are you doing here?" She asked, her tone cold.
"I'm here because I know you have Lily's son." Severus replied, coal eyes unwavering and hard. "And so does Dumbledore."
Cecily kept a neutral face. "If you even try to take him back to Dumbledore, I'll incapacitate you before you could even step foot in this house. He's my child, legally and magically, now. He's mine, do you understand?"
Severus' expression wavered a bit, softening. "I'm not here to take him away from you. I'm here to help you. Lily named me as his other Godfather and I swore to protect him."
Cecily stared long and hard, before rubbing a hand over her face and opening the door and letting the dark man into her house.
"How did the old goat find out I had Hadrian?" She asked, closing the door and moving into the kitchen. She pulled two wine glass from the rack and a bottle of Merlot, pouring herself a glass and then Severus.
"The adoption papers, of course."
Cecily frowned. "Those are under specialized wards, how did he get past them?" She knew that it had happened at Chaulin's office, otherwise this conversation wouldn't be happening.
Severus sipped at the wine. "He has Order members everywhere with certain areas of expertise. I don't know who got past the wards, but they did."
Cecily closed her eyes, pinching her chin in thought. "And, how did you find us?" Opening her eyes, she took a drink, gazing at the Potion Master.
"Lucian. He contacted me and asked me to help you, since I'm well versed in blending in and espionage." Cecily snorted, letting out a small chuckle.
"Of course you are." She replied cryptically. She got serious again. "Did anyone follow you? Does Dumbledore know where you've gone?"
Severus shook his head. "No, I've covered my tracks and I've asked for a sabbatical from teaching."
Cecily let out a breath. Hundreds of thoughts and plans passed through her head as she gazed into her glass, swirling the dark liquid slowly.
"We will have to leave."
"Yes."
"East, this time, I think, or South- I hear Africa is lovely this time of the year." Severus gave her a wry grin.
"I'd go South, if I were you," He advised. "Knowing Dumbledore as I do, he will check the more obvious places first: Hong Kong and Beijing in China, New York and Louisiana in the US, Tokyo and Kyoto in Japan, the entirety of Australia and Canada, Moscow, Siberia, parts of Poland and Czechoslovakia, so on and so forth. India is a good place to go, because while it's popular for English Wizards to go there, the country is very enriched in magic. It'll provide you with some extra protection. Ethiopia is another good place, if you're set on Africa."
Cecily let out a soft snort, her eyes a bit wide. "Never took you for a geography buff."
"I've had to plan escapes before."
Cecily hummed at that, taking another sip. After a few minutes, she spoke:
"This is going to be a bitch."
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Severus ended up taking Cecily's offer to stay there for the night; she transfigured a bed for him out of the couch. With a sleepy "Goodnight.", they went their separate ways.
The next morning was filled with the smell of coffee and bacon. Severus sat at the kitchen island, reading the newspaper, while Cecily cooked breakfast the Muggle way. It was weirdly domestic.
"Mama?" A small voice sounded from behind her. Cecily and Severus turned to look at the growing ebony haired boy. Harry stood at the beginning of the hall with big, wide eyes and a confused expression on his face.
"Good Morning, sweetheart?" Cecily asked, stepping closer to him.
"Who's that, Mama?" Harry asked, clutching onto his old baby blanket, wary of the stranger in his house. Cecily put the food under a Stasis and walked over to him, bending down so she could see him properly.
She leaned in and stage-whispered. "He's a friend of your mother's. His name is Severus. Why don't you go say hello?" Harry's eyes widened and he looked back over her shoulder at Severus, who cocked an eyebrow at the young boy.
Harry grinned and ran up to him. "Hi, my name's Hadrian, but I like to be called Harry. Are you really Mommy's friend?"
Severus looked like he swallowed a lemon. Cecily pressed a hand to her mouth, trying to keep in a giggle. Severus glared at her, before looking down at Lily's son.
"I'm more of an acquaintance of Cecily, not really her friend." Harry frowned and shook his head.
"Not Mama, I said Mommy." Harry replied, stubbornly. Severus glanced at Cecily, who mouthed 'Lily' at him. Nodding his head, he said:
"I was one of her first friends. Lily was certainly mine. I was the one that taught her about magic when we were children." Severus felt something attach itself to his legs and looked down to see Harry wrap his arms around him.
"Mama's told me all about her and Daddy, as well as you and the Marauders and some other people, but I forgot what they're names are." He babbled, grinning happily up at the sour man. Cecily chuckled and went back to finishing breakfast, choosing to serve Harry first, before Severus and herself.
Halfway through breakfast, when they were sitting at the table, Cecily turned to Harry and looked at him seriously.
"Harry, sweetheart," She started, getting his attention. He looked at her expectantly. "Do you remember me telling you that we might have to move because there was a bad man after us?" She ignored Severus as he choked on his coffee.
Harry nodded, frowning slightly. "I remember, Mama."
Cecily grimaced. "Well, Darling, we have to move again." She winced as tears gathered in his eyes and his bottom lip trembled.
"But, Mama, what about my friends? What about Mrs. Walsh and her puppies? What about school?" He asked, his voice thick with emotion.
"Oh, Sweetheart, it'll be okay. We can still visit them whenever you want to, but it's no longer safe to stay here, do you understand?" He nodded, a stubborn expression on his face.
"I understand."
Cecily grasped his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "How about I tell you about our new place while you pack, okay? It's going to be a lot different from here, but I'm sure you'll love it." Harry nodded again, still silent, but he gave her an answering squeeze, making her sigh internally, relieved. She smiled at him and resumed eating. Still ignoring Severus as he tried to calm down.