Diagon Alley was atrocious.

People were bustling about, selling, buying, some talking in hushed tones about the 10 year anniversary of the end of the Second Wizarding War, others loudly exulting Harry Potter for his hand in the end. I couldn't believe it. It was three months later, after the actual anniversary, and people were still agog about it.

I shook my head at such nonsense and was glad that Harry, Hermione and Ron were not there to see it. They would have all been miffed at such a display, for none of them had wanted to gain such a feverish fame. Well, possibly Ron, but he wanted to gain it in other ways, not because he had simply been the best friend of the Chosen One.

Sometimes I felt for Ron, the one who always seemed in the shadow of the great Harry Potter, and the brilliant Hermione Granger. But the feeling hadn't plagued me for quite some time, possibly because he now seemed extremely content in his role in this world. He was partner to his brother George in the joke shop, and was still amazed he had landed Hermione.

I remembered their wedding day. Shortly before the ceremony, I had left the bride, as a good matron of honor should never have done, and visited Ron and the best man, Harry, to make sure the two of them were alright.

Ron had been pacing about the room, worried that Hermione might change her mind and call off the wedding. It broke my heart to see him in such a state; it wasn't that he didn't have faith in Hermione loving him, it was that he didn't have faith enough in himself to be able to keep her.

"Ron, don't be such a prat," Harry had said. "She's been in love with you for years. She's not going to call off the wedding; her feelings aren't going to change."

"But your feelings changed!" Ron shot back at Harry. "About my sister! You never saw her as more than a little girl and then you fell in love with her. What if the same thing happens to Hermione, but in reverse?"

I rolled my eyes at his antics, and looked over at Harry, who seemed at a loss of what to say. Granted he had gone and got himself married already, and had wedding jitters, but none as intense as these, so he had no idea how to deal with Ron.

I walked over to Ron and planted my hands firmly on his shoulders, having to stretch my arms because he was much taller than I. He stopped pacing and looked me in the eyes, his chocolate brown ones seeking mine. I quirked my eyebrows and asked, "Do you love her?"

He made an offended noise and made to brush my hands away. "Of course I do."

I lifted my hands and said, "Then there you have it. That's all she's ever wanted you to do. Love her."

Ron was steadied by that and looked rather relieved and grateful. I stood on tiptoe and gave him a kiss on the cheek, wishing him good luck and then headed back to Hermione.

Hermione had looked stunning on her wedding day. Her hair was pulled into the most marvelous updo, courtesy of Fleur who was excited to have Hermione as a sister in-law. When Fleur had declared that, and then left the room, Hermione looked rather pink in the face and confessed that she had now felt bad for snubbing Fleur so many times and insulting her with Ginny behind her back. I was perplexed as to why Hermione would; Fleur seemed like a perfectly sweet person. But then again, I hadn't spent as much time with her as Hermione had, and maybe, before her marriage to Bill, she had been intolerable.

I shrugged and Ginny fussed with her make-up while I hung back in the shadows. What a great matron of honor I was. I couldn't do hair, make-up, and I had arrived so late that I couldn't help her into her wedding dress, because Tobias, a year old then, had made a fuss getting there.

I confessed to Hermione that I felt useless when everyone was gone save us, and she laughed with me, saying that she felt as helpless as I felt useless. Neither of us never being the very vain sort, nor even slightly attracted to dolling ourselves up every day, we had never truly mastered the arts of such things. Of course I had had to by necessity, as declared by my mother, but by then I was so out of practice, having put my foot down years before on make-up and hair, I didn't trust myself. We laughed and shared a few moments together before she was whisked away to be walked down the aisle by her father.

Usually moved by such things, I found myself shockingly dry-eyed during the whole ceremony. I supposed it was my heart's way of trying to commit everything to memory without the veil of tears.

Anyways, back to Diagon Alley.

Alexander, itching for his wand, started pulling me in the direction of Ollivander's, but I stayed him with a firm hand.

"Not yet," I said firmly. "We need to get you fitted with robes first, and Madame Malkin's is much closer than Twilfitt and Tattings, so we'll go there."

Alexander seemed disappointed, but took it in stride. Posy and Melanie complained, however.

"Mum, we don't want to wait forever in the robe shop for Alexander to be fitted! Can't we go with dad and get books for all three of us while you guys do that?"

I looked at Severus who seemed tired already. The sooner shopping was over, the sooner we could go home.

"Alright, the two of you can go with your father, and I'll go with Alexander and Tobias. We can meet up at the joke shop," I said, looking slyly in Severus's direction. He hated the shop with a passion, but Alexander and Tobias loved every inch of it. Posy, a little too boy crazy for merely twelve years old, liked to sigh over the love potions.

"I want to go with dad though," Tobias supplied, and arrangements were made for Alexander and I to go to Madame Malkin's while Severus, Posy, Melanie, and Tobias shopped for books.

We fought our way up the busy street and eventually reached Madame Malkin's, the door clanging noisily behind us. I sighed with relief and immediately sat down in a chair by the door, grateful for the cool air inside.

"Are you ok mum?" Alexander asked as I was fanning my face. The baby gave a mighty kick and I grimaced. "Yes I am. Just don't tell your father, or he won't ever let me leave the house."

Alexander grinned, an endearing trait of his, at my remark. It had been a longstanding joke between the two of us how mental Severus became when I was pregnant, and he vowed to keep my secrets of "working too hard" from Severus. It was amazing how much I could connect with this little boy, this brother who was so wise and mature beyond his years, this son who seemed to understand me almost as much as my own husband did.

"Hogwarts child, hm? Well, let's get you up here and fitted," Madame Malkin said, turning the corner. And following her was the rankest woman I had never wanted to see again, Rita Skeeter.

Rita Skeeter, the woman who wrote half-truths and embellished every story she wrote like her life depended on it. Hermione hated her with a burning passion, and for her sake, I had too during the Tri-Wizard Tournament where she had made Hermione out to be a floozy on an international level. My blood boiled with her lies every time I saw her. And the last time I had, was a couple days after the Battle of Hogwarts.

She had rung the doorbell to Spinners End as I was making lunch for the girls before I sent them over to Malfoy Manor so I could visit Severus. I had opened the door and she had stuck her foot on the inside, pushing the door open as annoying reporters do. She welcomed herself into my home with me saying a word and plopped herself down on a couch, surveying the accommodations with distaste.

I had eyed her suspiciously and sat down in the loveseat that faced her, ready to do battle.

"So, how is your dear husband doing?" she had asked, all sugar.

"Just fine, thank you," I said in a clipped voice, hoping she would get the message. She didn't.

"Truly? Well that's good to know, all the Wizarding World was sitting on the edge of their seats to know if this tragic love hero was going to pull through or not. They said his love for Lily Evans eclipsed all others-"

"Rita," I said, interrupting her. She looked offended. I plowed on. "Let's get to the real reason why you're here."

She sized me up and asked, "Why haven't you been arrested? You were his daughter."

I laughed at her ignorance. "Of course I was his daughter you dimwit. That doesn't mean I was like him or supported him. In fact, I left my husband and children behind to fight for the cause. That's why I'm not in jail."

And then I kindly showed her out, if kindly meant shoving her out of the door and telling her not to darken my doorstep again. Soon after she had wrote an article, a "tell-all", where I "confessed" that I found out about Lily and, so upset that my husband pined for a dead woman and loved her more than I, was driven into the arms of Harry Potter, leaving my two children behind and making me out to be a horrible mother for putting my heart above my children's needs. This was a second article, one after one that told them about the fact I was married off to my Potion's Master at age 15, when I was a fourth year, and had his children at age 16. We couldn't change how old the twins were, and how old I was when I had them, but Severus and I lied through our teeth to the Wizarding World and told them the marriage had come first. Somehow, it just seemed to redeem ourselves slightly. But Rita Skeeter, ever the clever woman for gossip, had found I had dated Harry fourth year and had a field day with my supposed "infidelity" to my husband, having his children while romping with the Chosen One.

For years afterward, everyone was convinced that Harry and I were secret lovers, and strangers had actually owled Ginny before her wedding to Harry, telling her that marrying him was folly since he was still attached to me and me to him. Ginny, in good faith, had ignored the impertinent letters and threw them in the garbage, telling Harry and I that she never once suspected the two of us having any such relations.

I burned both articles when I read them, and was incensed with a most unnatural fury. I claimed I would have my revenge.

The fury had worn off though, and now I just wanted to avoid her to keep from further damaging me in the eyes of the Wizarding World. She sighted me and her gaze immediately fell on my distended abdomen. Then her eyes met mine and she forced out a brilliant smile.

"Katherine Snape, I declare you look radiant today!" she said, beaming as she took out her Quick-Quotes Quill. I felt disgusted at the item and said, "No need for that today Rita. You're not getting another article out of me."

She smiled in that rather seductive way of hers. Not a "come to bed" seductive, but a "please tell me" seductive.

"Very well," she said, stashing her quill and notepad into her bag. "What brings you here today? Here to get some robes let out?"

I refused to let her comment about my weight get to me; I was pregnant for God's sake! I answered as icily as I could, "I'm here with my son today, thank you."

Her eyes widened and she said, "Son? I didn't know you had a son."

"Two," I said absentmindedly, for now I was watching Alexander who had come out of the dressing room and was wearing a robe that fit him near perfectly. Madame Malkin began pinning it up.

"How old?" she asked, intrigued, and I barely knew that she had taken her quill out again and was writing something down.

"Five and eleven," I said, unthinkingly. And then I clapped my hand to my mouth, staring at her in horror. And her eyes gleamed wickedly with such a dirty piece of gossip.

"Funny," she began, "that would place this little boy's birth around a year before the war ended. I don't remember you having a little boy at the war's end."

I heaved my ungainly form up off the chair and got near nose-to-nose with her.

"You run such an article with such blatant lies as the two you did last time, and I swear it'll be the end of your career. I have a friend who's a lawyer; she can help me."

Her eyes danced with the hunger of a new article, a fresh piece on Voldemort's daughter and just one more way her life was screwed up.

"Oh dearie, I don't think unemployment bothers me as much as a secret loosed bothers you," she said blithely. And with that, she swept from the store. My heart froze in my chest, and my face took on a look of sheer terror. Alexander, ever so in tune with what I was feeling, said, "Mum? Did that woman bother you?"

I shook myself mentally and plastered a smile on my face, saying, "Of course not! Are you all finished with your robe fitting darling?"

He grinned and held his arms out to the side, rotating so I could see him in his finery. I clapped and said, "Thank you Madame Malkin! We'll take the robes."

We purchased the clothing items and left the store, making our way to the joke shop. After a hasty perusal that left Severus in an extremely bad mood, we hurried over to Potage's Cauldron Shop.

Severus relaxed as soon as we entered the doors and the owner greeted him cordially. And then Severus began the lecture he had given the girls the year before about cauldrons and phials with Alexander. I rolled my eyes and started walking through the shop, taking in some of the fantastic new models.

And then I heard a woman cry out my husband's name.

"Severus!"

I whipped my head around and saw an extremely attractive woman bustle through the store to greet him. I could tell he had never met the woman before by the shocked expression on his face. I made my way over to him as she said, "Don't you remember me?"

I surveyed this woman, taking in every inch of her. She was slightly younger than Severus, with platinum blonde hair and peach colored lips. Her shoes were rather dramatic to be walking around in Diagon Alley, and her clothes were clearly Muggle.

"No, I'm sorry I don't," Severus said stiffly.

"Oh well, of course you wouldn't. It was so long ago-"

"Excuse me," I said, interrupting her. "But who did you say you were again?"

She glowed and said, "Oh, this must be your wife! With your-"

She counted the various offspring we had and said, "fifth child!"

I narrowed my eyes and said, "I believe you didn't answer my question. Who are you?"

I didn't like how casually she was addressing Severus, like an old friend. And I didn't like the way he didn't remember her.

"Oh, my name is Kristy," she said, beaming. Severus froze and I turned to him.

"Severus- who is Kristy?" I asked in a dangerous voice. I had a feeling she might have been a one night stand from before we were together, but the nerve of that woman addressing him the way she did when we were married and had children!

"Katherine, let me explain-" he said before she cut him off by loudly exclaiming over a boy of about ten who bounded to her side.

"Aw darling, I promise, next year when you go to Hogwarts, you can have the best cauldron!"

The boy was rather scrawny, with dark curtains of hair that framed his face. His complexion was sallow and his nose rather straight. Other than the nose, he bore a huge resemblance to-

"Severus!" I whispered in agony. He looked like a ten-year-old version of Severus. I looked over at him in horror, and he looked as if he wished to die. Ten years old… But we had been married for twelve… He had cheated on me?

Of course! The night he said he cheated and then explained he "hadn't" must have been a huge lie. Looks wise, there was no denying that this was Severus's child. My heart twisted in agony. It all made sense.

"Katherine, I can explain," he said desperately, clutching at my arm.

"Don't try!" I snapped, suddenly fighting back tears. "I can't believe you! You- you did this to me! Have I not been a good wife, faithful and sweet? Bore your children, comforted you, worked alongside you as teacher and parent? Is that not enough?"

I didn't dare go into too much detail about his infidelity in front of my children, but at that moment I wrenched my arm from his grasp and instructed Posy, Melanie and Tobias to come with me. I reached the front door and said, "We are going home. Please get the rest of the things on the school list and get Alexander his wand. I'll be waiting to discuss this with you later."

I stormed from the shop in a fit of rage. We left the Leaky Cauldron and I blindly hailed the Knight Bus, ready to go home and bury my face in my pillow from my sorrow.

Author's Note: Dun dun dun. As always, comment on what you liked/didn't like/want to see. Until next chapter! :)