TIMELINE: Post-Hogwarts
PAIRINGS: Dramione, Sev x Lily, Scorp x Cassie, & Orion x Prosey
AU: Werewolf Draco, Severus and Lily live
PROMPT: "Omg! I love the drabbles. I want to read more! Especially of the twins and Proserpina. 3 3 3" ~ Bamon
Family Matters
The End of Time
"Finally! N.E.W.T.'s are over, Hogwarts is out, and nothing can hold us back!" Scorpius yelled triumphantly as the students of Hogwarts flooded from the old castle. The summer sunshine greeted the excited students with warmth that promised good times for a lazy afternoon outside.
"Speak for yourself, we still have another year." Although it could not be said that any of the Prince children disliked life at Hogwarts, Constantina Prince in particular was ready to join her brother and sisters in the real world.
"But Constantina, that just means you and Constantine get another year of playing Quidditch for your house teams," Cassandra pointed out with a smile to her little sister.
"You can see something positive in anything, can't you Cassie?" The sigh from Constantine caused The bubbly Cassandra to nod quickly as her smile turned into a grin.
"Daddy says I'm an optimist. And a people person," she giggled happily as she stopped under an old oak with the rest of her group. The statement received a collection of groans from her family present.
"It's always 'daddy this' and 'daddy that' with you, isn't it?" Proserpina asked, the teasing note in her voice going unnoticed by the younger Cassandra.
"No! Sometimes it's 'Scorpius this' and 'Scorpius that.'" The naivety and innocence with which the words were spoken was clear as Cassandra leaned into the side of the young werewolf beside her. The action was simple, but it still caused Scorpius to smirk with pride as he circled an arm around Cassandra's waist.
"Seven years of Hogwarts and you've still retained your innocence. I commend you, Cassandra," Proserpina said with a sigh, though amusement was laced through her tone.
"Thanks Prosey!" Cassandra's peppy response elicited another round of groans from her siblings, while Scorpius merely laughed and gently squeezed her side.
"Well I for one am honored to be the subject of your 'this''s and 'that''s," he said, a firm nod emphasizing his point.
"Bloody Merlin, will you two just kiss and get it over with?" Constantine snorted as he folded his arms over his chest. His twin sister nodded, and even the older, "wiser" Proserpine murmured a vague noise of agreement.
"No! I promised Daddy, not until I'm married!" Cassandra said with a huff. "And I always keep my promises."
"You're almost eighteen, Cassie. You can't stay daddy's girl forever." Although Proserpina was right, Cassandra still shook her head stubbornly.
"I can be anything I wanna be, and I wanna be daddy's girl."There was no reasoning with Cassandra when she was in her 'stubborn mule' mode. However, Scorpius's partially wounded pout did cause the "Prince Princess" to tilt her head to the side in confusion.
"I thought you were my girl, Cassie."
Cassandra fought this battle internally for a few moments, first leaning back against the tree they were under, then sliding to sit on the ground, and finally burying her face in her knees. "I don't wanna choose and you can't make me!" Came the muffled reply after a long pause.
Cassandra was blushing hard as her siblings laughed at her, even shrugging off Scorpius's arm around her shoulders as he sat next to her. She knew she'd choose Scorpius some day, and everyone else did too, but when that day would come was anybody's guess.
Cassandra was really a very mature young woman inside, everybody had seen it at some point or another, but her innocence and purity was like a rare gem among her family. She had been protected from anything that would spoil it for all her life, and in the process, she had picked up on the bliss her childish tendencies brought about. When the time came for it she could be mature. Otherwise, she was happily oblivious to anything nobody directly clued her in on.
"I see you guys were eager to start the party without me."
Everyone looked up at the addition of another low male voice, Though Proserpina was to only one to stand and move over to the new arrival. "Relax, Orion. We still have to wait for both sets of our parents, and my older brother and sister. You should feel privileged to be apart of the first six here," she said, a laugh punctuating her words as she wrapped her arms around her dark Adonis.
"Oh should I? Is this the same 'privileged' feeling I should feel for having such a crazy girlfriend?" The sarcasm in Orion's voice could have been a tangible thing, as could the mock offense in the glare Proserpina sent his way.
"Oh, bite me," Proserpina scoffed as she turned away from him, her arms folded in place over her chest.
"Maybe I will." The suggestive tone in Orion's voice sent a shiver of pleasure down Proserpina's spine. The young Prince heiress had little time to contemplate all the possible different things his words could come to mean, for almost as soon as she started, Orion had spun her around to face him so he could press his lips against hers in a small, intense kiss.
Cassandra rolled her eyes at the scene, turning to hide her face in the shoulder of Scorpius's robes. "Gross you guys, quit it!"
"I don't seem to remember ever hearing you complain when it's mom and dad." There was a point to what Proserpina was saying, but Cassandra elected to ignore it in favor of defending herself .
"But they're married, it's romantic with them," Cassandra said, sass in her tone with the airy huff that escaped her lungs.
The sound of voices coming closer caused Cassandra to look up from her hiding place, despite the risk of the affectionate couple to her right. "Daddy, make them stop!" She whined as she saw her parents coming closer to join the growing group.
"I'm sorry Cassandra, but there's absolutely nothing I can do about it. Hogwarts is out for the summer and I will not be resuming Headmaster duties until the start of the term." The tone with which Severus Prince spoke with was regretful, but the light in his eyes and the smile he sent his daughter was very playful and teasing. "Besides, Proserpina's an adult now, I really don't have much sway with what she does anymore."
Of course, Cassandra did not seem to pick up on her father's joking manner, and merely groaned as she went back to hiding from Proserpina and Orion's mutual affections with the help of her own boyfriend's robes. " I'm not going to be like that am I?" The muffled question drifted into the air to cause those that heard it to chuckle to themselves.
"No Princess, you already promised to never grow up on me, remember?" Severus asked, only to receive a withering look from his wife.
"Severus, you're going to smother the poor girl until she's an old maid!" Where Lily thought she found the room to talk was a mystery, and Severus knew this painfully well.
"I think we passed the point of smothering our children when you decided to forever call our eldest 'Russy'."
"What was I supposed to call him, 'Severus'?"
"Well, that is the name he was given when he was born."
"We've been over this, you're Sevvy, Severus II is Russy, that's how it works, end of discussion."
"Lily, Fireflight—"
"End."
"Hey!" The sudden addition to the conversation caught both Severus and Lily off guard, causing them to look over to their youngest, the twins.
"Uncle Draco and aunt Hermione are here," Constantine said, motioning towards the couple in question as they leisurely made their way towards the tree.
"So are Russy and Marisa," Constantina added, mimicking her twin's gesture in the direction of her older siblings.
Severus II and Marisa were certainly a sight to be seen. Having the biggest gap in ages among the six Prince children, they also had the biggest swing in personalities. Where Severus—or "Russy" as his mother and therefore siblings had dubbed him—was a calm, collected, and generally quiet soul, Marisa was an inquisitive, mischievous ball of energy that had been given her fair share of detentions from their father while in Hogwarts.
Russy was often found on the sidelines, quietly observing and–should the need have arisen–stepping in to defend one of his siblings or friends. He preferred to sit in the library on his Saturdays, and when Hogsmeade weekends came along, he was most likely to be found in close proximity to his father, learning everything he could from who he perceived as the best of the best.
Marisa's place was center stage, telling wild stories of lifetimes past with a bit of dramatic improvisation. Her Saturday's had entailed extensive pranking and trying to break little Cassandra of the innocent "daddy's baby girl" role to no avail. First out to Hogsmeade and last back to Hogwarts, as free spirited as a phoenix and an even bigger spitfire.
"Sorry we're later, Russy was being a spoil sport and wouldn't race me," Marisa said. As she heard the exasperated snort from her older brother, she reached over to shove him a few centimeters to the side.
"Why is it always Russy's fault?" Constantina asked as she stood up and stretched her back out.
"Because I'm the oldest, that's reason enough for everything to be my fault." The deep sigh that escaped Russy's lungs was accented with a shrug.
"Being the oldest is better than being the only," Draco said. Though the statement was based purely on opinion, three of the four adults—that only including the parents of the group—could all agree on it.
"I have no opinion with that, I was neither an only child, or the oldest," Lily said with a shrug.
"Hey, are we going to stand around and chit chat, or are we going to Hogsmeade?" Hermione asked with a smile to her family and friends around her.
"We just came from Hogsmeade, couldn't we have met there?" Marisa asked, a groan mixing with her words as she looked over her shoulder in the direction of Hogsmeade.
"No!" Cassandra said. The fiery determination in her voice caused Marisa to sigh as her little sister stood up. "This is our tree. Every one of us carved our name in this tree." This was something on which Cassandra would not bend, and Marisa knew this painfully well.
Proserpina could not help but smile to her little sister and nod along with the general murmures of agreement around her. "We promised to meet here every year on the last day of Hogwarts, and meet here we shall. Until the end of time."