Chapter 10
Hellibore's school was coming over for the pantomime and would stay overnight for the Yule ball as well, to give a greater variety of partners; and Severus asked Kate Grant if she wouldn't mind coming in female garb so she and Yelisaveta were available to be partners to a superfluity of boys. Kate laughed.
"Well I suppose they can't have more than two left feet each" she said.
"I should think if they managed three left feet we could at least waltz" quipped Rose. "And I guess if I leave AHHa taking Hanna that makes me available too which gives you seven extra females with the four younger ones that are going as a bunch."
"You are good girls" said Severus.
Two of the girls in the lower sixth would be sporting engagement rings to mark them taken; Sandalla and Svetlana were wearing rings their respective boyfriends had made in the metalworking classes they were pursuing to take as an OWL this year and hoping to cram in to NEWT with the rest of their NEWTs. Flo and Vya were not officially engaged to George and Fred; but that was rather because, as AHHa said rudely they had been couples so long they were like old married couples and were more likely to exchange slippers than rings.
He was well and truly jinxed by all four; which was fair enough since AHHa was tough enough to escape from the effects.
oOoOo
Georgi Metlaev had ambitions in theatre after his hoped-for career in quidditch; and was actually thinking of taking a year in WADA, the Wizarding Academy of Dramatic Arts, on the principle that an English training in dramatic arts would get him further; especially as England was the home of Wizarding Wireless Vision. In the meantime he had every intention of seeing that any production which he oversaw would be as professional as possible; and had seen that the costumes had been made with care on the hand sewing machines in the hobby room, and the artists had done a brilliant job with the scenery, the shadow puppet demons were cut as beautifully as Conrad Grailsquest could manage and his actors were rehearsed to smoothness. The school orchestra was ready to play for the introduction and musical numbers, all original pieces written by the music group. Terence Goodchild had volunteered to conduct and would double as prompt not, as Georgi informed him severely, that his players were going to need it.
Georgi's theatrical endeavours meant that his classmates were used to being dragged into productions of one kind or another so stage fright, even with an extra audience, was unlikely to feature; as Birgitta said when Solange voiced the possibility, it was only Hellibore's boys and a few odd girls and had they not trashed them regularly at quidditch and now at a gymkhana.
This cheered up Solange no end.
Consequently when Engelbert Hellibore turned up with his school and a couple of extra staff, expecting to be bored by a rough and amateur school performance he was much surprised to hear a very professional sounding performance striking up from the orchestra. Godfrey was playing as well to swell the numbers but even the small number of musicians sounded very good; and the chorus, consisting of most of the lower sixth, launched into an opening song about the wisdom of trusting to good sense and eschewing bad company. And then the curtains opened.
The first scene showed Princess Amaryllis surrounded by her ladies telling them that Prince Florean was good and true but that there was something exciting and dangerous about Prince Pandarus. She launched into her first song about the attractions of danger. Solange had been chosen as the princess, as Siegfried had been chosen as Prince Florean, largely for her singing ability; and the little orchestra missed them both sorely. Fortunately Seagh had blown in for the ball and to see this fabled pantomime that Silvina had written to him about; and after kissing his beloved thoroughly just glanced down the score and declared himself ready to play. Being Seagh this was no exaggeration. And Silvina had enchanted sundry instruments to add the secondary parts as well. No deficiency could be heard; and Engelbert Hellibore murmured to Severus,
"Where did they get the music? I don't believe I've heard it before. It's extremely good."
"You won't have done" said Severus "My daughter Silvina wrote it; this is the first time it's been performed."
Engelbert blinked; that was an eye opener!
So was the extremely well painted scenery, carefully enchanted so that leaves on the painted trees wafted in the breeze, and birds flew past windows.
Princess Amaryllis flirted with Prince Pandarus, despite the scheming of Princess Morgana, whilst Prince Florean went off on some spectacularly difficult tasks to win her regard; but when Pandarus went too far in a very funny love scene – it had not been intended to be funny but nobody had told the audience that – she rejected him, and Pandarus turned to his tame Efreet for aid. William sang a song about how wicked he was – that WAS meant to be funny and succeeded – with the wildly cavorting shadow puppets as he did a wild dance between singing. Next scene was in Princess Amaryllis' bower with her maidens and involved the Efreet appearing with the aid of the portkey potion and cavorting wildly on his clockwork earthquake whilst fireworks went off. Solange screamed beautifully – she had needed more coaching in how to sound convincingly scared and to scream than she had ever needed with the singing – and was carried off by means of another potion.
"Surely a boy that age isn't APPARATING?" asked Hellibore.
"No, one of the more promising sprites in the second came up with a portkey potion for a jape and the third thought it a brilliant idea" said Severus.
That left Hellibore blinking even more. The SECOND? He could not have heard aright; Severus must have said the seventh.
The chorus and the maidens sang a lament at the capture of the princess and the first act closed with the lights down and coming up again on a scene in some inferno where the Efreet had decided to keep the Princess as his own bride, where they had plagiarised wildly from 'Return of the Jedi' to have Amaryllis chained to the Efreet's throne. She sang a song of remorse and sorrow that was a reprise of the maiden's lament in tune; and then it was the interval.
oOoOo
"Your pupils are actually very good" said Hellibore grudgingly. "You didn't say the potion was invented by a second year did you? I surely misheard!"
Severus smiled grimly.
"Oh Zhenga is exceptional; and two of her friends are blessed with place sense so that did help. She's the child of a potioneer; her mother is a healer, and her stepfather is Ihor Rebet who used to teach potioneering at Durmstrang and moved to Jade's school so his wife could be near the free hospital. The whole of that year are generally best described as unexpected; they'll be up for the Triwizard as the upper sixth NEXT time so I should think that ought to be interesting. I'm glad they have no way of getting to Beauxbatons this time; I wouldn't put it past any of the main reprobates in that year to get past the age line."
"Merlin!" said Hellibore in lively horror.
Severus smiled again.
"Oh, my daughter Lilith, who will be thirteen, swears that she can manage to get her name in quite easily; and to be honest I'm too interested to see if she succeeds to actually forbid her."
"You have very talented children Severus" said Hellibore.
"I am much blessed" said Severus.
He so plainly meant it that Hellibore could not take offence; Severus Snape had always been rather a grim figure on the odd occasion they had met professionally, but since Voldemort's death he was plainly devoted to his family; and if even half the rumours were true about what he had done, and been through, he deserved all the happiness he could get, even if his remarkably talented children could be rather galling. But then, Engelbert had chosen his course; and had the wisdom of experience not to bellyache about it. His pupils were just not in the same class. And if it was galling that the Prince Peak children even managed to look superior in leisure activities like amateur dramatics, well probably that was down to a desire to do well for their school and to work as a team; unlike his own pupils who wanted, many of them, what was good for themselves and had little team spirit. He fostered it where he might; but if one took those who wanted to pay for exclusivity one would get pupils who took exclusivity into selfishness.
oOoOo
The second half was basically about the heroism of Prince Florean in rescuing the princess; and his cleverness in not fighting the Efreet but conning him and Prince Pandarus into fighting whilst he got away with the princess. The third had decided that dying heroically cut no ice for them and if one could arrange the state of 'let's you and him fight' it was far more sensible and they wanted a fairytale that was sensible, even though, as Solange said, any truly sensible prince would have left the stupid bint to her own devices and married a nice down to earth goose girl instead.
The rescue involved a few shenanigans but was duly effected and the panto ended with the marriage and an improving song that was something of a reprise of the opening number in good operetta fashion the whole cast singing,
"And though the danger seems such fun
there's reasons why it isn't done
Mr Exciting can be far too frightening
And Mr Staid is the proper one".
oOoOo
The rest of the school and Hellibore's pupils brought the house down with cheers and the cast had to take three curtain calls, and then shouted 'PRODUCER!' for Georgi.
Georgi bowed.
"Thanks to the third who've been a wonderful cast; to the musicians who wrote and performed our songs; the artists who produced all our scenery; and in there too Conrad who made the puppets; and to the Ubiquitous Marauders of the second who made our portkey potions; and to Professor Ron for the loan of the clockwork earthquake."
Severus blinked over that last credit; why Ron should have a clockwork earthquake to loan was a mystery.
And one too that was best left unsolved!
Georgi and those he credited were also duly cheered; and then it was time for a slap up supper, with the cast still mostly in costume declaring themselves starving.
oOoOo
The youths of Hellibores were accommodated with comfort since there were two dormitories available for each gender for each year to account for some years being larger than others; and by the expedient of putting Henik and Rudi in with the six boys of the fifth that made another whole dormitory in case any of the Hellibore's boys lacked manners, as Severus explained. The dormitories could take eight if push came to shove – which as BaHH teased their two temporary members meant a lot of pushing and shoving – though they usually took a more roomily housed six. Some of the Hellibore's boys must put up with distinctly feminine décor in Crimson and Heliotrope dormitories for example; but it was not as though it was to be a long term arrangement.
The fourth and third year Hellibore girls who were but six in total were placed together in Carmine dormitory; the four in the second were put in Violet and the three in the first year were put in with the Prince Peak first year as seven was not too many; and because one of them, Gypsophilla Grant, was a cousin of the Prince Peak Grants and Lydia vouched for her. Gypsy, as she preferred to be known, thought it all a great adventure!
In point of fact, all three little girls were cousins of previous Prince Peak girls; Audrey Puisel, who was hopelessly staid, a cousin of Deborah who had left the previous year and Diana La Folle who was a niece of Louisa La Folle a year older than Deborah Puisel whose twin sisters thought that Hellibore's Academy would be a 'naicer' place than a school run by someone as terrifying looking as Professor Snape. Diana had to hold up her hands and declare she had never said it save as a quote when she got shouted at by five Professor Snape fans. Her sister Jenyth was in the third, she explained and their cousin Paris in the fourth and as he was a boy and had gone to school first Jenyth and then she sort of followed automatically and their little sister Gloria would come in not next year but the year after.
oOoOo
The last day at school was taken up by tidying – a strange concept to the Hellibore children who assumed that elves did that sort of thing – and when they had finished they were permitted outside to have a snowball fight as there had been good snowfall and there was now brilliant sunshine. The visitors were issued with snow goggles.
Flo suggested a boys on girls snowball fight or a school versus school. The Hellibore girls squealed in horror at the idea of a snowball fight.
It was Paul Ingate, who kept up with things muggle who had read Molesworth and murmured about them being wet and a weed and we discard them.
And it was Grace Hubble who said what everyone was thinking when she said,
"Dear me, WHAT a lot of babies you are; I must say we're awfully glad your parents didn't send you to us."
oOoOo
As many of the boys of Hellibore's proved to be ready to squeal if hit by snowballs and blubbed when hit in the face, the Prince Peak pupils called a halt to the proceedings and Flo said to the Hellibore Head boy, Guy Speedwell,
"Look your lot had better go off on nice ladylike walks and we'll just play snowballs amongst ourselves; because I'm not about to deprive our juniors of fun just because your lot are feeble."
Guy flushed.
"We aren't all feeble" he said "I say, why don't I say that those who want to stay can but they mustn't kick up a fuss? Then the ones that want to play can and the rest need not. I want to get to see more of the school because I'm thinking of doing a year here studying music when I leave."
"All right; I leave it to you to sort it" said Flo.
The greater number of the Hellibore boys – and a few of the girls – were ready to mix it with the Prince Peak lot; though one of the girls asked Zhenga – who was the nearest – if she knew anyone who would see to drying, warming and ironing charms to make sure nobody found out they had joined in.
"Easy peasy" said Zhenga "I'll do it myself; I'm in the second after all so such things are just too simple."
"I think you learn things earlier than we do" said the girl. "I'm in the second and we haven't done anything half so complex."
"Lumme!" said Zhenga. There was not a lot else to say. They exchanged names; the girl's name was Galena and her twin Garnet egged her on. Their older brother Sardo was taking his OWLs this year and they were hoping he might get to be the school Triwizard champion next year. Sardo was currently mixing it with the Bee Marauders so Zhenga said that she thought he looked as though he was in with a shout so long as he brushed up plenty on such essentials as Arithmancy during the meanwhilst.
Galena and Garnet giggled a little over an obviously foreign girl using so English an expression and Zhenga explained with dignity that they were encouraged to be quite colloquial in all three languages they spoke without getting so colloquial that they got fined for awful grammar or rude words. They were impressed; though they also wanted to boast about their brother. Zhenga could see that; he sounded worth being proud of. Though it was a little hard to swallow that he should be so clever he was taking seven OWLs.
"But they say some of you Prince Peak types take that many NEWTs" said Garnet.
"Only the high fliers" said Zhenga "Elsie Blackwood took eight NEWTs last year; took 'O' in all of them too. But plenty of people only take four NEWTs you know; the less academically inclined ones that have other talents. And too we have the last of the Cackle girls taking NEWTs this year. Some are only taking three NEWTs; though one is a boy who did his OWLs, or rather ZP's in a little school that only offered five subjects to OWL level. And Frieda was born brain damaged and she's taking just two. It will go back to a normal sort of number though after this year, barring those who need a few NEWTs and have such disadvantages as small schools or health problems. Peter, Fred, Rory and Muriel are taking five and Randolph is taking six."
"How many OWLs do your types take as a matter of course?" asked Galena after they had broken off to defend the fort they had built from a flurry of first years.
"Oh nine is about average" said Zhenga "Top students take eleven; it's only the Jade Snapes of this world who take twelve. Two this year are taking only eight; four are taking ten. The rest are on nine."
"We only HAVE nine subjects" said Garnet. "It isn't fair; one of our sets of cousins go to Hogwarts and our cousin Mona came here; it's only that boys in our family always went to Hellibore's and our old folk thought that Galena would like to stay with me now it's girls as well as boys."
"Which I do" said Galena loyally "But I wish the old folk had sent Sardo here when it first opened to boys."
"Well you'll just have to study jolly hard together on your own time" said Zhenga "My mum taught herself potioneering you know; and she passed ZP's and then was put straight in for a Healer's exam and passed it, because she learned Arithmancy and Transfigurations out of a book too that my dad – he's my stepdad – got for her."
"Lumme!" said Galena "Show us what books to use?"
"Sure; I'll do that when we dry out" said Zhenga "Because I need to smuggle you in quiet like now you're as disreputable an object as the rest of us and no longer precious. My set will organise a diversion."
"Sure we shall" said Wilhelm "A brawl on the way in?"
"No; it shows the school in a bad light and Professor Snape would be most awfully disappointed in you" said Zhenga "Turn Serrik into something amusing or something because half the precious darlings from the other school will have hysterics."
"I want to be a penguin!" declared Serrik.
That could be easily accomplished; at least if Alrik did the transfiguration and drew on his blood tie to do it.
And when they were all wet and tired and happy, the diversion went ahead, with the boys play-duelling on the way in, so Zhenga and Fyra could slide Galena past her teachers and have her dry, pristine and precious again to look entirely innocent and appear to have been reading in the common room for hours.
After lunch they were sent to lie down to rest before the party and Zhenga sneaked Galena into her dorm as nobody had laid down rules of where they had to rest and there was a spare bed anyway. They were not, she explained, required to sleep and might read story books; but lying down WAS compulsory. Garnet was taken equally into the boys' dorm which had a seventh bed already; so Serrik and Alrik, being smaller, took up double occupancy at opposite ends of one bed so Garnet could have the other; and Jöran told them to make a row quietly because he wanted to sleep.
Books and studying strategies were discussed in both dormitories and arrangements to try to meet up in the holidays were made.
"We do after all tend to converge on Wilhelm's brother-in-law for part of the hols and he has an outsize place where two extra won't be noticed" Fyra explained "He's a duke you see – Eduard, that is, Wilhelm's brother-in-law, because Wilhelm has a grown up sister and they have darling triplets" – she remembered that Ignaz was passing as a third twin as one might say – "And baby Greta, who's delicate."
"And they're also bringing up Gilbrecht, Lilli and Liesel, Barthel and Fridis" said Zhenga "Because Eduard's nephew was a naughty boy with muggle girls and a goblin serving girl. It's a bit sordid; but Eduard is doing right by them because they ARE his relations. All before he was seventeen too!"
"Is he dead then?" asked Galena.
"He…. Well he tried to murder Eduard and Ann and the babes so Eduard couldn't ignore it" said Zhenga. "There's a rather fearsome prison in Germany called Nurmengard."
It was not a lie; just an implied lie. But Zhenga hated lying to anyone she liked; and she liked Galena. But it was NOT her secret.
They all fell asleep in the end and Krait ran to earth the truant Galena Mordaunt whose non presence in the dormitory assigned to the second year Hellibore girls had driven the female professor chaperoning to distraction; and it took the tact of Miss Gimlet to calm her down since Krait declared that if the ruddy woman said 'oh dear' in that despairing tone of voice once more she was going to turn her into a ruddy deer.
From almost anyone else this might have been a cliché.
oOoOo
The late afternoon saw the two schools convening for a party; it would commence with party games suitable for smaller ones, and after tea would then see country dancing with a few games between. Supper would precede withdrawal for half an hour's digestion and quiet leisure time by the first three years while the oldest put on their ball gowns for the evening's dancing.
The oldest Hellibores declared that 'kid games' were babyish and made mock; and Flo shrugged and said,
"Your loss" and added "Try not to get under foot while the rest of us have fun entertaining our own youthful ones because we take our sense of responsibility to our juniors a little more seriously than you skirters."
Some Hellibore seniors took themselves off in a huff; and others, notably the head boy and some of those the equestrian team had designated 'decent' looked sheepish and proceeded, shamed, to join in.
Hellibore seethed gently that some of his students had shown him up in their cloddish behaviour and lack of care for the younger ones; and knew he had only himself to blame since it had never occurred to him to instil in them a tender care for the youngsters.
With luck those who had seen the way the Prince Peak prefects acted like older siblings to the juniors might wish to emulate them; he would have an informal chat to Guy about it.
And Guy was learning; and helped Flo to break up what was starting to be a food fight between the first years of both schools at Kaffee und Kuchen because high words had passed in which such things as hoots of derision over any of the Hellibore seniors having any chance at the Triwizard had occurred, and comments that anyone as scarred as Professor Snape ought to be ashamed to be seen in public and went rapidly downhill from there.
Flo took charge and insisted that each and every one of the juniors apologise to the others on pain of being sent to bed and banned the rest of the evening; which led to a brief defiance on the part of one of the Hellibore juniors as Flo was not only not one of his prefects but was only a girl.
"For failing to grasp the concept of either decent behaviour or gentlemanly behaviour, you can go to bed right now" said Guy crisply. "You were still sitting down for what reason?"
"But…" said the boy.
"You were given a discipline by a senior of your hosts" said Guy "Only an unmannerly little twerp would even refuse that, let alone speak in so disgusting a manner. You will go to bed NOW and over the holidays I shall have ten repetitions in your best handwriting, 'Manners Maketh Man'. Get out."
The youth stumbled off; the head boy rarely lost his temper as he was an easy going type; but there was a look in his eye that was not to be brooked.
"I apologise, Miss Visick, on behalf of that oik" said Guy, bowing.
Flo swept him a beautiful curtsey.
"I accept that it is no fault of yours that there is the occasional maggot in the apple" she said.
The other juniors of Hellibore's fell over themselves to apologise to the juniors of Prince Peak – who had already apologised in lively fear of what might happen if they did not in terms of missed treats – and quiet, if not necessarily peace reigned at the table.
oOoOo
Few of the Hellibore's knew any country dances; but the Prince Peak children whirled them ruthlessly into the sets anyway telling them cheerfully that they would soon pick it up. And if they did not pick it up very well, they did find it was more fun than they had anticipated and that they picked it up more or less. Even if Krait remarked that 'Sir Roger de Coverley' more nearly resembled 'Roger the Shrubber'. They were quite ready for supper however when it was served!
This was goose with all the trimmings; Severus paid the muggles in the village to raise him a small flock of geese for Christmas and they were fat and delicious, not dry and virtually fat free like the English muggle concept of healthy. There were three kinds of stuffing to cater to all tastes – or in the case of most small boys, all stuffings catered to the taste equally – cranberry sauce, bread sauce, devils on horseback, roast potatoes, roast parsnip, roast carrots, sprouts and peas. It was followed by Christmas pudding with a choice of brandy sauce, cream, custard or ice cream – the tastes of small boys again managed a helping of more than one kind of sauce in many cases – and the meal ended with coffee with cream floating thick on the top and – for the adults – a generous measure of whisky in the bottom. The upper sixth were permitted to join this adult treat with a smaller measure of whisky in theirs if they so desired.
And then the youngest withdrew to get into pyjamas and read quietly for half an hour before going to bed; and the older ones went to put on their ball gowns for the end of term ball.
Hellibore had the uncomfortable feeling that although he was supposed to be rearing his young ones to take their place in society, Prince Peak WAS society.
oOoOo
Flo had decorated the great hall for the ball drawing inspiration from fairytale scenes; not perhaps entirely original but certainly out of the ordinary for the Hellibore youths who had never envisaged a ball taking place in a hall that appeared to be a clearing in a forest. Flo had called on those of the marauders that knew how, to help her with distant illusions of deer slipping through the trees, and permanently falling and vanishing snow that was not cold, which chanted effect was within her capabilities. Silvina had helped her too by setting icicles tinkling fairy music as a gentle accompaniment. The apparent snow-strewn clearing was perfectly hard and smooth to dance upon; and the air was as warm as any indoor ballroom. The concept of decorative magical snow was not, however, what amazed the Hellibores; but the depth of the distant illusions, that covered the whole room. And illusions in which there were such things as deer; and the occasional wolf. There was something proper about there being wolves at Prince Peak.
Music was provided with what might be described as the rump of the weird sisters; since the group had broken up with some acrimony in the summer. Sara Barbary's uncle Heathcote had come, with Merton Graves and Myron Wagtail and Orsino Thruston which constituted a sufficiency of players for a jolly time to be had by all.
There were far more boys than girls; the Hellibore contingent had only two fourth year girls, one the sister of an upper sixth boy and the other the sister of a boy in the fifth. The Prince Peak boys did their duty by both and declared them to be a 'bit Cacklish' which more or less said it all. The Hellibore children were decidedly wooden in their dancing since for them it was a lesson, and only a lesson; the Prince Peak children had come to accept dancing as a jolly way to spend Saturday afternoons in the winter and danced with unconscious grace and aplomb. Hellibore wondered if he would ever be free of chagrin over the way that Severus even managed to do his own school's specialities better than him.
Naturally it was Seagh who managed to make the greatest spectacle; having asked Silvina to dance with him in a Viennese waltz he swung her around the floor and then gradually, as they circled, up off the ground, to waltz high in the air above the rest of the dancers where they might execute more advanced moves without fearing being waltzed into by the inept.
"That boy might as well be a ruddy Malfoy" said Severus.
"He has the right idea though" said Krait, who was a piece of thistledown in her husband's arms dancing "I've been hacked three times on the ankle by erumpants who ought to be wearing 'L' plates. WHAT does the idiot dancing master Engelbert employs teach them?"
"Correct steps" said Severus "And precious little dancing."
"Ah well" said Krait. "It used as I recall to be like this at Hogwarts. And worse when this was Cackle's. I'm sure Engelbert will get there."
For those couples who were with their own true love, the ineptitude of the visitors was of little moment. They floated through the evening ignoring anyone else and dancing almost exclusively with their chosen love. It was not entirely polite; but Severus had no intention of interrupting them. At least Flo, as Head Girl, was doing the polite thing and circulating; and few of the Hellibore boys would want to dance with Vya or Yrdl anyway even if the Zorn twins and the Jorkins twins might as well be in a little world of their own.
And Seagh was mannerly enough to put Silvina down after a couple of dances so the headmaster's daughter might also circulate politely.
And then the dancing was breaking up; and the youngest at first then their elders were drifting off, tired, to bed; and the last waltz was played and those still up wished each other 'Merry Christmas' and went too to their beds. The visitors would sleep over this second night and then those who found it convenient were to travel on the Prince Peak train to Zurich, and the rest would return by portkey to Hellibore's school for collection from there by their fond parents.
oOoOo
"Interesting experiment old man" said Severus as he shook Hellibore by the hand "we shall have to consider whether to repeat it another time."
"Indeed" said Hellibore, who was torn between a desire that regular concourse with the Prince Peak students might give his own the je ne sais quois that he was trying to instil in them and a morbid fear that they would only be shown up more.
And at last the visitors were out of the castle and the final clearing up could commence after bidding the children farewell and wishing them a happy Yule holiday.
And all Severus' own children would then be home for the holiday, plotting the downfall of Achille Crouch-Villeneuve at the tops of their voices, and Mimi fiercely kissing her Darryl and demanding to know about the bloodgroup he had installed in Beauxbatons and what did this Philomène mean to him.
Severus did NOT eavesdrop; but he caught the gist that Philomène reminded Darryl of Mimi and once he had been away from the school for a year and she had the opportunity to learn more about the other boys in the bloodgroup one might then see; because if it was right, their blood would tell them and if it was not, it would not. Because any girl was going to have a crush on a good looking male who was nice to her and if, as he suspected, that was all it was, out of sight would be out of mind.
Severus nodded to himself; Darryl had learned much wisdom.
And Lilith was herself, utterly so, and he was glad.
And they would have a happy family Christmas; and with luck this time there would be no interruptions like the attempted murder of Eduard last year!
The only interruption that there should be would be Bella Black's wedding; and that was a welcome interruption, for Bella was a dear girl and that she had found love and happiness in her renewed life was to be much celebrated. But that too was almost a family affair; and it was moreover something that was planned and scheduled. He had just had enough of unscheduled occurrences like Odessa attacks and murder and mayhem.
He deserved a quiet family Christmas for once after all!