Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns all the Harry Potter Characters. I own Lana Snape.
Chapter 4
Lana threw herself on the bed. She was exhausted. The week had gone by rapidly and it was Friday evening already. They had gotten quite a bit done. The entire antechamber was now clear. Unfortunately, there had been nothing found in the chamber. It had been a bit disappointing to find the entire room barren, but that was all in a days work with dig sites.
They had found two doors at the end of the chamber and had decided to start on the room that was on the left. They had only made a dent in it. As soon as there was a little space in the new room, they could get more people to work on the room that was situated to the right of the chamber. Even though the antechamber had been somewhat disappointing she was looking forward to excavating the two new rooms. They had to hold something!
She chided herself. She shouldn't be so disappointed at the antechamber. It was, in fact, a magnificent room. It was about thirty feet round and the ceiling was at least fifteen feet high. There were some ornate pillars surrounding the edges of the room. They were made of marble. The flooring was marble also and the grouting was made of gold. It was too bad it had fallen into ruin. It must have been amazing in its day.
After a few minutes she got up and went into the bathroom. She looked at herself in the mirror. She was covered in dirt. She whipped her clothes off and jumped into the shower. After a few minutes she emerged looking refreshed. She quickly got dressed. She originally wasn't going to apparate back to Hogwarts until the morning, but she thought that she would have some fun and surprise Severus. Besides, now that she had nothing to do, her longing to be with him was overtaking her common sense.
She wandered up to Knave. "Are you sure you'll be all right here without me?" she asked him.
He looked at her as if she were crazy. I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself. Anyway, traveling with you is long and tiresome. I can apparate to you when I need to.
She smiled at him and tapped him on the head lovingly. "Well, I'll miss you. Be careful in your hunts. I'll see you Sunday night."
With that she was out of the tent door and had popped away. The bird snuggled in for a good nights rest.
She appeared in front of the Hogwarts gates looking exhausted. It was nearly midnight and she had skipped dinner. She was famished. She dug into her bag and pulled out some nuts to snack on. She unlocked the gates and hurried to the castle doors. Finishing the nuts, she opened the door. She entered and hurried toward her apartment. As she got to the door, she smoothed out her hair and tried to fix anything that had been messed up through apparition. She unlocked the door and peered into the apartment. Everything was dark, except for a dim light coming from under the bedroom door.
She dropped her bag and closed the door behind her. She turned and a wand was thrust against her neck.
"For heaven's sake Severus, what kind of a welcome home is that?" she cried.
"Lana!" He threw his arms around her and twirled her in the air. "You weren't supposed to be back until tomorrow!" He kissed her and she threw her arms around him.
"I decided to surprise you. Remind me never to do that again, you about killed me!"
"Well what did you expect? I'm alone in this castle except for Filch and someone decides to break into my apartment." He pulled her into the bedroom and sat her on the bed. "How are you feeling? How was the trip?"
She flopped down onto the pillow. "Oh Severus, I'm exhausted. These long apparitions are really hard, especially with the baby."
He lay down beside her and rubbed her tummy. "So, how is my little boy anyway?" His eyes twinkled.
"Your daughter is doing just fine; except I think she is going to be a gymnast. She won't stop tumbling."
They each teased each other mercilessly about the sex of the baby. Severus was adamant that it was a son, and by default, Lana was adamant about it being a girl. In reality, neither of them cared what it turned out to be, as long as it was healthy.
Severus glanced at her stomach in wonderment. "Is he moving now? Can I feel him?"
She took his hand and guided him to where the baby was using her as a punching bag. "She's right here."
He applied a little pressure to Lana's stomach and was rewarded by a faint kick to his hand. He stared at her stomach in amazement. This was the first time he had been able to feel the movement that Lana had been describing for the past couple of weeks. He pressed back, and the baby and he had a small go between with pushes and kicks. He glanced up at Lana, about to say something when he realized she was fast asleep. He carefully pulled the covers up over them and embraced her as she slept. Their bed had been so lonely without her.
Lana opened her eyes and realized she was starving. She was so hungry that she felt like she wanted to throw up. Dang kid, always so demanding she thought. She glanced at the clock. It was seven a.m. She glanced around for Severus, but he wasn't in the bed. She sat up and felt a pain in her stomach. Boy she needed some food, and fast.
Just then Severus came in with a tray heaped up with eggs and toast and a big carafe of pumpkin juice. She smiled at him.
"You must have read my mind! I'm famished."
He set the tray before her and they both grabbed forks and started to eat. They ate in silence for a few minutes until Lana put her fork down and said, "Now I'm so full I can't move. I wish this kid would make up her mind." She flashed a smile at Severus. "What's on the schedule today, my dear?"
He placed his fork down and picked up the tray to put it where the house elf could clear it. "I need to go to Hogsmeade. Aberforth is holding some shipments that have come in this week for the school. Do you want to walk there or apparate?"
"Oh please let's walk. I've had enough apparating for a few days," she complained.
He kissed her on the forehead and went to get dressed. In a few minutes they were walking along the corridors heading for the door. Severus put his arm around Lana and drew her close.
"This place has been awful without you, you know. Even the ghosts have been abominable."
"You're being nice to everybody, aren't you Severus?" she smiled up at him knowingly.
"Whatever do you mean? I've been my usual charming self."
She arched an eyebrow at him. "And my absence hasn't made you more grumpy than usual? I'm really impressed at your control."
He glanced down at her coolly. "Ask anyone, I've been my normal self, not too demanding of anyone."
At that moment Peeves decided to swoop down over them. "He's been a devil, Oh yes a devil. Severus Snape is nothing but the devil!" He disappeared down the hall singing his new tune over and over again. Lana burst into uncontrolled laughter and had to stop to lean against Severus so she didn't fall over laughing.
"Yes, very amusing," he drolled.
"And I thought you didn't care!" She continued laughing and kissed his cheek.
Hogsmeade was actually quite crowded. The beautiful summer weather had brought everyone out to enjoy the day. They had a leisurely stroll along the main street. Lana picked up a few things she needed for her trip. They had a nice lunch and set off for the Hogs Head. They walked hand in hand until they reached it. Severus opened the door and they both went in.
Aberforth greeted them with a smile. "I thought I was going to have to keep this stuff in my bar all summer," he grumbled. "I'm glad you wandered over here to come get it."
Lana smiled at him but Severus just gave him a level stare. They hadn't gotten along well since Severus had overheard the Potter prophecy. They had come to an understanding, though, especially since the killing of Voldemort. Aberforth was actually very helpful in getting stores and supplies for Hogwarts. Severus looked on as his wife and Aberforth chattered away.
Wandering over to the boxes, he examined them. Their content was written on the side of each box. He took his wand and waved it over the boxes so that they floated. He turned back to Lana and Aberforth. They had stopped talking suddenly. He glanced at Lana and noticed that she had a scared look on her face. He rushed to her side and gave her a concerned look. She was holding her stomach and her face was filled with pain. Suddenly she cried out and doubled over.
He looked up at Aberforth. "I'll be back for the supplies later." He quickly lifted Lana up and excited the Hogs Head. He turned on the spot and disapparated to Hogwarts. He gently placed Lana on the ground while he got his wand and unlocked the gates. She lay in a ball whimpering softly.
Somehow in a matter of minutes, he managed to lift her up, relock the gates, and get to the infirmary. Of course, Madam Pomfrey wasn't there. He placed Lana on a bed and ran to the fireplace. He threw some floo powder in it and stuck his head there to find Poppy. He explained the situation and then rushed back to the bed.
"What can I do?" he pleaded.
Lana just moaned and grabbed her stomach and curled into a ball. She hadn't felt such sharp pain ever. The room was spinning too. She felt as if she were going to vomit.
Just then, Poppy flooed into the room and rushed over. Severus moved out of her way so she could examine Lana. She withdrew her wand and muttered some diagnostic spells. She got a very concerned look on her face.
"The placenta has separated from the uterus. They both could die."
"Can you fix it?" cried Severus.
"Yes, if we've caught it in time." She began muttering incantations. Lana was unconscious and Severus stood at the foot of the bed with his arms crossed.
"Severus, go get the coagulation potion. It will help her to not bleed out."
He ran over to the cabinet and extracted a bottle with yellow liquid in it. He rushed back to Poppy and she drizzled some into Lana's mouth. She went back to her spell casting. After some time she straightened up.
"She'll be alright. She won't be able to go anywhere for a few days, though." She stared down at Lana. "She has been apparating back and forth to Albania, hasn't she?"
Lana began to stir and Severus flew to her side. She opened her eyes and looked at him groggily. "What happened?" she asked him.
"We almost lost you and the baby." He caressed her cheek. "Poppy said you'll be fine though."
Poppy chose this time to interrupt. "I'm sorry Lana, but you won't be able to apparate for the rest of your pregnancy."
Lana's mouth dropped open. "Why not?"
"I think that's the cause of what happened. It's a rare condition. Some expectant mothers suffer separated placentas after apparating. You're lucky, they're almost always fatal."
Severus' mouth tightened into a straight line. He stood and started pacing. Then he turned to Lana with anger in his eyes. "I told you this was going to be too much for you, but no, you had to go gallivanting half way around the world!"
Lana was dumbstruck. She looked at Severus' face filled with fury and started to cry. "Honestly, Severus. I would never do anything to hurt the baby. You know that!"
"You are so impetuous. Why can't you take better care of yourself!" accused Severus.
Lana put her head in her hands and began to sob loudly. "You can't think I would be careless with the baby. You just can't!"
Poppy pulled Severus' arm and twisted him toward her. "I said this was a rare condition, Severus. It's not her fault. She had no idea it could happen, neither did I. After all, I approved her plan to travel back and forth. This isn't helping her to get the rest she needs!" she scolded him.
Severus glared at Poppy, and then at Lana and turned and stalked to the door.
"Don't leave," Lana wailed. "Please don't go!" she cried after him.
He stormed out of the room without even a backward glance.
It only took him about ten minutes to finally come back to his senses. He opened the door crept back in. He glanced around. Poppy had left the room and Lana was lying down with her back to the door. Even in this position he could tell she was crying. A pang of guilt went trough him as he went up to her bed and sat behind her back. He chided himself for overreacting. He placed a hand on her arm.
"Lana, I was stupid. Forgive me." He pleaded.
She turned to look at him. Her eyes were filled with unshed tears. She bit her lower lip.
"Severus, please don't think I did this on purpose."
He laid beside her and pulled her to him in a tender embrace. "I don't. Lana, it's just that you scared me to death. I thought you were going to die." He pulled her away and looked into her eyes. "I went a little crazy. I was even mad at myself for not being able to help you. I shouldn't have said those things. I know you would never do anything to hurt the baby. I'm sorry."
He wiped the tears from her eyes. "Lana, I'm very proud of your work and would never deny you the opportunity to do something you wanted to do. I'm just a prat…all the time."
She gave him a little smile and looked down. He reached out, pulled her chin up, and placed a tender kiss on her lips. She kissed him back. "Lana, don't ever leave me. I'd go insane without you." She pulled him to her and they sunk into the bed together. She rested her head on his chest.
"This isn't exactly what I had in mind for our weekend together" he joked.
She smiled, even though he couldn't see. "What are we going to do now? I can't apparate back to Albania. How am I going to get back?"
He ran his fingers through her long brown hair. "You could take a broom, or the muggle equivalent: an airplane."
"I think I'll take my chances with the broom. Oh no, this means I won't be able to come home every weekend."
"I think I'll be able to get away on the weekends and come to you. Poppy said you need to stay in bed for a few days. You probably should just take this week off. I can go back with you after that. That's when my leave starts."
"They'll wonder what's become of me."
"I'll summon Knave. He can let them know. Are you going to miss much at the site?" He queried.
"No, there's just a lot of digging at this point."
"Promise me you'll be careful, Lana." He rubbed her protruding belly. "My son needs a safe place to grow."
"Your daughter is perfectly content where she is." Lana retorted.
