"Honey, I'm going to be home late tonight, alright?" Theo asked as he walked into our bedroom from the bathroom. I nodded, feeling tired. "Are you feeling alright?"
"Yeah." I croaked out. "Just tired. Plus it's too bloody early!" I complained to my husband, who just snickered. I didn't want him to know that the real reason was that I was sick. I knew Theo would have called off of work, and he was so close to closing the deal with a prominent individual for our company.
"Alright, darling." Theo said, walking towards our bed. He paused by my head and pressed a kiss to the top of my head. "I'll see you tonight. Don't wait up." With that Theodore Nott was gone – apparated himself to work.
"Mistress Aria." I moaned as I rolled over in bed. I blearily looked over to see our house elf Sudsy carrying a tray. "Master Theodore wants us to brings yous a tray of food."
"Thank you Sudsy." I managed to sit myself upright. I felt hot and cold at the same time. I felt nauseated, and didn't want to eat the breakfast that she brought me. I waited until she had left before I flopped back onto the bed and fell into an uneasy sleep.
"Mistress, please." I was awoken to a light shaking feeling. I started and rolled over to look at the little house elf. "Lets me be getting Master Theodore, Mistress."
"No Sudsy. You will not get Theodore." I said weakly. "He'll be home later."
"But Mistress, you bes needing medical attention!" She squeaked out at me. I smiled weakly.
"I'll be fine. I just need to sleep it off. Please Sudsy. Wait until Theo's home from work." I begged the kind house elf to just wait before raising the alarm. She finally nodded, but wrung her hands together.
"Fine, Mistress. I bes quiet until Master comes home." Sudsy said, then she left the room with the now cold tray. She came back with some hot tea and dry toast.
"Thank you Sudsy." I smiled at the kindly little house elf. I sipped at the hot liquid. When she left I put the cup and plate onto the nightstand. I rolled back over and fell into a light, troubled sleep.
"Mistress?" I heard the little house elf's voice cut through my light slumber.
"Hmm?" I muttered, not opening my eyes.
"Wills you bes letting Sudsy sees to yous?" She asked. I hummed, not fully giving my consent to the whole situation. Sudsy left. I was left in a feverish haze. She came back and put what felt like a thermometer under my tongue.
"Mistress, yous bes needing help." She said, alarmed after reading my temperature. I stubbornly shook my head. Theo always teased me to say that this trait of my brother and I would be the death of the both of us. "Mistress."
"Sudsy, what time 's it?" I asked, slurring my words a little. She quickly found out the time for me.
"Mistress it bes two." She said. I nodded.
"Let me sleep. Theo'll home eight." I murmured, before closing my eyes. I felt her leave the room again and I was left to blissful silence for a little while longer.
Sudsy kept waking me up from my light dozing to keep an eye on my temperature. I would try to bat her hand away, but she was quite persistent. Then about three hours before Theo was supposed to be home, my fever spiked as did my other symptoms.
8:07 P.M.
Theodore walked into the foyer of the town house he lived in with his wife. He knew that morning that she had been feeling sick, but he hadn't pressed her. Theo figured if she got worse, then surely one of the house elves in his employ would have sent for him.
"Master Theodore, sir!" Theodore looked down, after he placed his coat in the closet at his wife's personal house elf, Sudsy.
"Sudsy." Theo greeted the house elf, warmly for his wife would have it no other way.
"Master Theodore, please, sir, yous bes needed!" The poor house elf looked quite anxious.
"What's wrong, Sudsy?" Theo asked, his true emotions carefully hidden beneath the mask he retained since his days as a Slytherin.
"Master, please don' bes mad, I tried!" Sudsy said, pulling on her ears.
"Sudsy, cease that immediately." Theo said, feeling his pulse begin to race. "What happened?"
"Mistress bes ill. Really, really ill!" The distressed house elf cried out, before Theo had raced up the stairs to his room. His wife was lying underneath the blankets, and there was a sheen of sweat glinting on her forehead.
"What's her temperature?" Theo demanded, running a cold flannel across her forehead, in a vain attempt to cool her down.
"39.7" The poor little house elf said.
"And you didn't think to get me sooner?" Theo thundered, looking at the little house elf, incredulously.
"Sudsy tries, Master! Mistress says no. I's sorry!" Sudsy pulled desperately at her ears, in a bid to cause herself injury for disappointing her Master.
"Sudsy, enough." Theo said in a deadly calm voice. "Firecall Severus Snape and have him come here as soon as he is able." The little house elf did as she was told and exited the room.
"Theo?" I muttered, feeling a cold hand on my forehead. I blinked, lazily trying to see who was there.
"Darling." A familiar, deep voice said, dabbing my forehead. "How are you feeling?"
"Ugh," I managed, and closed my eyes once again. "Wanna s'eep." I slurred, before falling into a light doze.
"Mr. Nott." Theo looked up from his position on the bed to see his former Head of House as well as Potions teacher enter his bedroom. After the whole fiasco with the Dark Lord, Severus had scars all over his face and neck from the snake, but he was otherwise very much alive.
"Severus." Theo greeted. "My wife, Aria, is very ill. Could you please do whatever you can for her?"
"Very well." Severus sighed at the thought of having to help another blasted Potter. It wasn't bad enough that he gave almost his life for the brats, but now he was being plagued with them after Hogwarts. Gods, did the fates hate him that much?
"Salazar, Theodore. She's burning up!" Severus said, after finding out that her temperature was now 40 degrees. Theodore nodded his head.
"Yes, sir, I know." Theo said, his mask slipping for one moment to reveal an intensely worried husband. Severus stared at him for a moment, before looking back down at the woman lying in the bed. She could have been Lily's twin, if not for the slightly darker colored hair and the shorter stature.
"Is there anything that I ought to know about her medical records, Theodore?" Severus asked, performing a diagnostic spell on her.
"Uh, what do you mean?" Theo asked, confused.
"Is she pregnant?"
"Not that I know of." Theo said with a frown. "But I'm not one hundred percent certain of that fact."
"Alright." Severus hummed, as he performed a pregnancy charm. It came back negative. "No, she is not pregnant."
"Oh." Theodore seemed disappointed, so Severus thought it safe to presume that they were actively trying for a child.
"Is there anything that she's allergic to?" Severus asked.
"Uh, sunflowers and oranges." Theo said, after furrowing his brow for a few moments.
"Master Theodore bes forgetting tomatoes." Sudsy reappeared in the room, with another basin of cool water.
"Thank you Sudsy." Theodore said, taking the basin from the little house elf.
"Has she been near anyone who has had the wizarding flu or the pox?" Severus asked. Theodore blanched.
"I don't know." He admitted. The wizarding pox and flu was extremely dangerous for any wizard or witch to go through. The wizarding pox or flu usually occurred when an individual was a child, when they were more able to fight off the illness. Usually as an adult, the illness would hit the individual more severely and could sometimes be fatal.
"I'm going to have to do a test then." Severus waved his wand and muttered an incantation. "Theodore, I am afraid that she has caught a strain of the wizarding flu."
Theodore blanched as he ran a hand through his hair. Severus watched his former pupil and realized how much Theodore actually did care for Aria Nott, nee Potter. Severus hadn't really wanted to spend that much time with the Potter girl while she was in his House, but perhaps that had been a bad idea.
He had felt like the world was about to end, due to the shock when it was announced Theodore and Aria were dating. Severus just couldn't believe it - a Deatheater's son and the Princess of the Wizarding World. That was one for the books.
"What can be done Severus?" Theodore jostled Severus out of his thoughts. Severus startled and looked at his former pupil with something akin to shock.
"Well, I will have to administer a potion every few hours." Severus said, pulling a few vials of potions out of his bag and studying them. Then he found the one he was looking for and poured it down her throat. "But we cannot be sure that this potion will work due to her age."
"What can I do?" Theodore asked, his desperation evident.
"First I will need you to keep her cool, keep a cold flannel on her head. That will help with her temperature. And I will need you to contact her family. But warn them if they come here, they will have to stay for two weeks to ensure that they haven't caught it." Severus said. Theodore nodded.
"What of me?"
"You won't be under the same quarantine, for you have already had the wizard flu." Severus said. Theodore moved over to his wife's head and cooled her down with a flannel.
A week later and I came out of my delirium. I looked around the room to see Severus sleeping in an easy chair that had been moved into my bedroom. I stretched and felt every bone in my body ache. However, when I stood up, I crashed back to the floor, causing Severus to wake with a start.
"Huh?" He jumped up and noticed me on the floor. Then he smirked at me and spoke in his usual drawl. "Fancied sleeping on the floor Mrs. Nott?"
"Shut up." I mumbled, my cheeks reddening with my embarrassment. Severus just laughed and helped me to my feet, which confused me. It must have shown.
"Don't look so startled and like I'm going to eat your kitten Aria." He spoke, before tucking me back into the covers. "How do you feel?"
"Weak and my whole body aches." I grumbled. Severus nodded as he ran a diagnostic scan over my form.
"That is to be expected. It will take you at least a week to recover." Severus said seriously.
"What happened?"
"You don't remember?" I shook my head wordlessly. He sighed. "You caught a serious illness Aria. You are lucky to be alive."
"It was that serious?" I asked incredulously. Severus nodded.
"The wizarding flu Aria." He explained. I felt my heart stutter as I heard that. Usually wizards and witches who caught that virus later in life, after they came into their magical majority died.
"Am I alright?" I asked anxiously. Severus nodded.
"If Theodore wouldn't have contacted me when he did, it could have been much, much worse." Severus said. Then his face turned sterner. "The next time you don't feel ill, I don't care what is going on and what you deem important, call me if you don't want to disturb Theodore."
"I didn't think you liked me that much." I mumbled. Severus only sighed at me.
"I know I haven't been exactly the best person in the world to your family, but I don't hate you or your brother contrary to belief." Severus said, sitting down on the edge of the bed. He hesitated before he put a hand on top of my arm.
"Thank you Severus for all you have done this past week or two." I said, putting a hand on top of his. He smiled at me, which was a little startling.
"I just hope that you will continue to let me be a part of your life." Severus stated. I nodded.
"I can't promise anything for Harry though, but I will let you into my own life." I stated. Just then I heard clapping and looked up at the doorway to see my handsome husband.
"Thank you for putting your prejudice away and letting Severus show you what a good man he is." Theodore said with a proud smile. I nodded. Theodore came into the room. Severus stood up and left, leaving us to our privacy.
"Theo." I snuggled into my husband's firm embrace. He chuckled before pushing me away.
"You ever do that again and I will be forced to yell at you." Theodore said sternly, his golden eyes looking as fierce as a lion. I nodded meekly.
"I won't. I promise. And Severus has also warned me about not contacting someone when I feel ill." I said softly. Theodore smiled at me.
"Good that then. I don't want you to ever get that ill again Aria. I feared for your life." Theo pressed gentle kisses on my head.
"I'm sorry to have worried you so much." I said. "I love you Theo."
"I love you too." Theo said with a gentle smile. "You are a vexing imp though."
"And yet you still love me." I smirked. He merely sighed and held me closer as I felt my eyes closing in exhaustion. I knew that everything would be alright from here on out. No matter how frustrated or scared Theo got for me, he would always love me. No matter what.