Meeting the In-laws
"Must you continue grinning like that, Sinistra? You look like an idiot," Severus drawled as he walked beside her a few minutes later down the staircase.
"I'm just thinking, Severus. Is that a crime?"
"It is when you're screaming your bloody thoughts at me," he replied before growling.
"Am I giving you a headache? Because I'm sorry if I am," she said, clearly not sorry one bit.
"It's not the headache that is upsetting me," he responded with a forced exhale. He then glanced at her. "Perhaps you are not noticing what your thoughts concern, but I can quite clearly. Please cease in your current line of thinking immediately."
"You know, Severus, if you weren't using your Legilimency on me all the time—"
"What makes you believe that I am? Your entire body is screaming it. Even Potter's not as obvious as you are being right now with me." He then shook his head slowly before sighing. "There is only one option that I foresee in resolving this problem of ours."
"Oh, and what's that?" Aurora replied with a lopsided grin. She could tell through years of experience that he wasn't really angry with her. It was mostly frustration that had built up in him, which only made her want to grin even more. They obviously still had that same raging inferno that they had since day one of their relationship. She hoped it remained after they married. Then again, fighting always did help oddly enough.
"You and I are completing that damn ritual tonight," he growled. "I don't care if the damn thing is unsettling for both of us. I am not going to listen to another of your fantasies concerning me without being able to . . ." His voice then trailed off before he growled again under his breath and stopped.
"Severus, are you saying what I think you're saying?"
"You are making it very difficult for me to concentrate, woman! Do you understand that?" he asked, staring at her. "Concentration is the key to my very essence, and you are ruining it with your wicked thoughts. No matter how creative you are being, you are still ruining my ability to focus, which is a very dangerous thing to do."
"Dangerous, Severus?" she repeated, smirking. "We're only walking. It's not as if you're brewing or anything. What's the worst that could happen?" She immediately let out a soft shriek of surprise when he instantly leapt towards her, making her back against the wall. His hands were on either side of her, preventing her from escaping him.
"The worst thing, you wish to know what the worst thing that could happen is?" he asked, panting heavily. "You are bypassing every single Occlumency barrier I have, and I don't know how. I try desperately to think of something else, but it doesn't help. I want—no—I need more of you. Hell, your scent is even intoxicating to me now, Aurora. What is the worst thing that could happen?" His eyes darkened slightly, but it wasn't out of anger. In fact, it was quite the opposite. "Your thoughts, however impure they are, do not even come close to what I want to do to you right now."
Aurora bit her bottom lip to keep from laughing. She then gently rested her hands on his shoulders, which relaxed him slightly. She stared back at him lovingly before kissing his cheek.
"Severus, have you been reading my book again?" she asked seriously.
"Have I been reading your book?" he repeated, snarling.
"Yes, Marius said the same thing to his lover before he bit her."
"You're—oh dear Merlin, woman," he snapped before angrily backing away from her. "No. I have not even touched your stupid book, and as if I would ever quote anything a Muggle author wrote."
"You quote Shakespeare occasionally. In fact, I've even heard you rant and rave about it."
"That's different."
"Oh, come on. It's the same damn thing, Severus. Shakespeare was the first ever romance author, and you can't dispute that." Aurora then watched him pinch the bridge of his nose before shaking his head. He appeared to be calmer again, which was disappointing. She liked the sexy brooding Severus who had her backed against the wall a minute ago. Then again, she loved the tall, dark, and handsome type, especially when the wizard's name was Severus Snape. What could she say? She had a thing for bad boy wizards. Every one of her ex-boyfriends clearly fit that category.
"Let's go," he said in worn out voice before walking away from her.
"What? Now you're mad at me?" she said, scoffing in disbelief while following him.
"No. Unlike you, I'd like to make a good impression on your family."
"Yeah, good luck with that," she drawled, walking away from him.
A few moments later, a masculine voice spoke before her dad walked from behind the corner.
"Dad," she instantly said, grinning. Being irrational for a split second, she threw her arms around him and hugged him. "I missed you."
"Uh-huh," he drawled. He then pulled back from her and glanced towards Severus. "Well, introduce us, Aura. After all, the only thing I know about him is that you two are dating."
"Sorry, um, Severus, this is my father." She nearly laughed when she watched him hold his hand out towards her dad. He had to be her first lover who ever shook her father's hand.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Sinistra," Severus said coolly. "I regret how you found—"
"Eh, Albus already explained this to us. It's old news now. Plus, I'm not one of those naïve fathers, believing that my daughter hasn't already lost her innocence. She's an adult now, so she can do whatever she wants now in my eyes. And call me Orin," he replied with a neutral expression.
"As you wish," Severus responded, withdrawing his hand from the new wizard.
"So, what did you do? Wait, let me guess, Azkaban?"
"Dad," Aurora said, gritting her teeth. She so didn't need her father grilling Severus like this.
"Aura, don't even try to tell me you fell for a good wizard this time. Even I'm not that gullible."
"I was in Azkaban for a day, yes," answered Severus. "I served the Dark Lord willingly for a time. However, I—"
"You don't need to explain, Severus," Orin replied, interrupting softly. His dark eyes then glanced towards his daughter before returning to the wizard in front of him. "We all make mistakes that are sometimes more painful than others. I can see by your stance, though, that you regret that time so no need to explain yourself to me. So, what are your intentions with my daughter?"
"I wish to marry your daughter tonight, sir," Severus responded, not missing a beat.
"Fair enough," Orin replied with a soft smile. "Well, inform me about your lineage then."
"My mother is Eileen Prince, and—"
"Prince!" exclaimed Orin before glancing towards his daughter. "You're with a Prince, Aura?"
"Unlike you, Dad, I don't think of such things," she drawled, crossing her arms defensively.
"You're of a very strong line. You know that, son?"
"I am aware, yes," Severus responded quietly. "However, I doubt my ancestors would ever claim me as being of the line."
"Why's that?"
"My mother married a Muggle."
"Ah, I see." Orin then grimaced and lowered his head slightly. He then glanced up and locked eyes with Severus. "Well, it makes no difference in my eyes what your blood status is. My wife, on the other hand, is a much different story. She comes from a different era than I. No doubt Aura informed you that Syra had her heart set on our eldest marrying a pureblood Slytherin."
"She informed me of it, yes. I am, however, a Slytherin, though."
"Yes, he is, Dad," Aurora replied, walking up beside Severus and grabbing his hand. She felt him tense up slightly before he relaxed again. "He's the Head of Slytherin actually."
"Well, that might earn some pointers with Syra."
"Frankly, Dad, I don't give a damn what she thinks. I love Severus, and I'm going to marry him over her dead body. She is just going to have to deal with it."
"Deal with it?" a voice suddenly hissed. A few moments later, a witch in midnight blue robes with long curly golden blond hair stepped out of the shadows. Her deep blue eyes glared from her daughter onto Severus. "You wish me to deal with you marrying him?" she harshly snapped. "For years now, I have made my expectations very clear. Three conditions I asked you to meet, only three. Here you are, though, Aurora, blatantly disobeying me by being with this man. I am not blind. I see that you truly do love him. I even understand that you met the requirement with him being a Slytherin. However, the most important requirement of all, him being a pureblood, you deliberately flout back in my face. Do you think I am that much of a hag that I'd not wish my daughter to be with the man she loves?"
"If you truly were a good person, Mother, then you'd stop being so damn prejudicial and be happy for me. I love Severus, and unless you give me a damn good reason—"
"You will kill him if you marry him," Syra flatly replied. "You will be drawn to the Muggle in his blood, and you will kill him."
"Now you're just grasping at straws, Mother," Aurora replied, shaking her head in disbelief. "I assure you that I won't kill Severus, but I can't assure the same thing concerning you."
"Perhaps we should go somewhere more private, Syra?" Orin quietly interrupted. He shared a brief look with his wife before she nodded. Quietly, Orin and Syra turned around and walked towards their temporary quarters while Severus and Aurora followed silently. A few moments later, they all walked into the medium-sized rooms before walking towards the furniture. Syra and Orin sat on a sofa together as Aurora sat in an armchair opposite of her parents. Severus stood behind her in his familiar stance. "All right, well, like I said before to Severus, Aura, it doesn't make any difference to me what his blood status is. He could be a squib for all I care. I just want you to be happy and live a long life with the man you love. I can see Severus wants that too. However, I'm with your mother, though, Aura. It is dangerous for you to marry him."
"Dangerous?" Aurora replied, scoffing. "You both keep acting like I'm just going to wake up one day and kill Severus." She then shook her head. "Dad, it's not like Severus can't protect himself from me anyway. And I won't ever hurt him."
"You don't understand, Aura." Orin then glanced towards his wife. "I know you wanted to inform her in private, but I think they both need to hear it, Syra."
"It is not his secret to learn."
"It affects him too, Syra," Orin replied. When her eyes narrowed into slits, he continued. "He also wishes to marry our daughter tonight."
"You wish to marry her?" Syra quietly said with an indescribable look on her face.
"Yes, he does, and I'm marrying him. Do you know why, Mother?" She didn't allow Syra to respond, though. "Because I love him and want nothing more than to tie my life with his."
"I know you do, Aurora," Syra started to say.
"I'm not finished, Mother," she growled. "I also want to marry him so that our daughter has a little brother or sister."
"Daughter?" cried Syra. "You have a-a child together?"
"Is that so shocking, Mother?"
"Oh, Aura," Syra whispered, covering her mouth to stifle her sobs. "We-we have to take her to the Hospital Wing now. Please do not question me, Aurora. We must take care of her first."
"Trust me. Angel is perfectly fine, Mother."
"No. No, you must understand," Syra replied, latching onto her daughter's arm. "We have to make sure she doesn't have it. We have to make sure she's not going to get sick."
"You mean like I will, right?" Aurora snapped. "That's what you're here to tell me, isn't it? That I'm supposedly going to get really sick?" she drawled. "Save it, Mother. Your granddaughter already informed me all about it."
"Then you understand that I'm doing this for you, Aurora, not to hurt you. If there was a way, my Aura, I would surely allow you to be with him." Syra then glanced towards Severus. "Please. We must check on her."
"No. I'm not putting my daughter through any of your kooky thoughts, Mother. She's fine." A knock to the door, however, interrupted everyone. "Were you expecting company? Or did you try to set me up with another of London's most eligible bachelors again?"
"No," Orin replied before walking towards the door. He waved his hand towards it to open it. "May I help you ladies?" he asked a dark-haired witch in her late fifties who had a young blond girl about six walking into the rooms next to her.
"Forgive my intrusion, but I—" the dark-haired woman started to say.
"Hello, Grandpa," the young girl interrupted with a wide beaming grin.
"Yes, well, I believe you understand now." The witch then bent down in front of the young girl. "One of these days, you and I are going to have a serious talk about using your gifts like this, Child."
"I know. I know," the young girl sighed. "I'm sorry, Grandma."
"Wait," Orin spoke up, addressing the older woman. "You're not Eileen Prince, are you?"
"I am. I take it you are Aurora's father." He nodded instantly. "Well, it is a pleasure to meet you. However, I must take my leave immediately."
"So you can slither back to your little hole?" a voice hissed.
"Oh, lovely, if it isn't the local night walker herself," Eileen drawled. Glancing at the one witch that she hated more than she hated her future daughter-in-law, she sighed heavily as Syra gracefully sauntered towards her. She should've guessed this in hindsight. It certainly made much more sense why she disliked Aurora now.
"No doubt you thought it was a perfect idea for your son to marry my daughter."
"Oh, yes, I'm absolutely thrilled for them. After all, your daughter was the one who sunk her nails into my son, but I guess it's better than her teeth. Now isn't it, Syra?"
"I see you haven't lost your wicked sense of humor throughout the years."
"You'd be surprised what I haven't lost." Eileen then glanced towards her future daughter-in-law who was looking between both witches with a look of pure confusion. "You haven't told her yet? What are you waiting for, Syra? I would have thought you'd be thrilled to tell her of her true lineage."
"Tell me what?" Aurora asked.
"Unlike you, I'm more concerned about my granddaughter presently."
"Oh, there's no need for that," Eileen replied with a thin smile. "Our granddaughter takes after my side of the family in terms of blood. I made sure of that, Syra."
"She doesn't carry the—"
"No. Sorry to disappoint, Syra."
"What the hell is going on, Mother? What are you two talking about?"
"Your mother's a bloodsucking witch who is a direct descendent of Salazar Slytherin," Eileen answered coolly, cutting Syra off before she could even start. She then inhaled deeply before glancing towards her son. She could see the extreme disapproval in his eyes, but she didn't really care.
"My mother's a what? Of all the—"
"Unfortunately, she's telling you the truth, Aurora," Syra softly said. "I became dreadfully ill. Everyone believed me to be on my deathbed, including myself. Your grandmother, however, returned and secretly helped me to complete the transformation. You see, we carry a gene in our DNA that at a certain age activates. For me, it was when I was thirty-four. When it does, we become very ill until we nourish ourselves. It is not uncontrollable afterwards, though."
"But I always thought vampires turned humans, not some stupid gene doing it."
"Yes, well, Muggles are rarely ever right in their theories." She then gently laid a comforting hand on her daughter's arm. "Aurora, this is why I do not want you to marry him. Once the change occurs, your ability to control yourself with him will vanish entirely. You will focus only on his smell and desire the taste of him because of the Muggle in his blood. The urges are easier to control if he is a pureblood, but they will be unbearable if you marry him."
"Are you saying that someday I might be teaching and out of the blue drink a student's blood?"
"No. No, it's nothing like that, my dear. Once you marry, it automatically recognizes the union between you and your husband. It will only be him that you desire. However, marrying Severus is dangerous because of the Muggle in his blood."
While Syra and Aurora talked, Angel slowly walked up to her father. She gently tugged on his trousers, which gained his attention instantly. He silently leaned down and picked her up. Truthfully, he wasn't sure what to make out of this entire situation. It was rather disconcerting, after all, to learn that the woman he loved would turn into a vampire, a creature that most of the Wizarding World still considered to be dark, including him. However, he was rather glad to hear that his mother had ensured that his daughter would not turn.
"Daddy," Angel whispered in his ear. He inclined his head more to her, but said nothing. "I've got something for you." She then reached into her small robes and pulled a thin vial out. "Harry, Draco, and I went looking for it this morning."
"Thank you, my Angel," he replied with a faint smile on his lips, grabbing the vial. "What is it?"
"It's so you and Mummy can get married without having to worry," she whispered in his ear. She then grinned when she caught his jerk reaction to her words. "Don't be mad because we did tell Grandma and Grandpa where we were going, but we went down to Great Grandpa's labs. Draco was the one who actually found it, though, but only because Harry was holding my hand because I got scared down there. It's really creepy down there. Have you ever been down there?"
"You went down to the—remind me when we get back to the rooms to ground all of you," he drawled, shaking his head. That was just the thing he needed to hear that they all were down in the Chamber of Secrets to find some vial for him.
"It's okay. We already know. Grandma, not my real grandmas, but Grandma Minerva told us that we aren't allowed to go anywhere now without an adult. Draco and Harry said something about it, um, camping their style. Daddy, what do they mean by that?"
"I think you mean cramping their style, Angel," he whispered back with a soft laugh. "And it means that they're not happy with their punishment. Were they listening to her?"
"Yep, they were, Daddy. They were playing Wizard's chess when I saw them last. Draco was winning, but I think that's because Harry wants to open his presents." She then nuzzled into his neck slightly. "I might have told him that he's getting something that he always wanted, but I didn't tell him that it's because you signed the adopt papers, though, Daddy. Am I still your little angel?"
"No, but I love you anyway," he replied with a soft smirk. He then gently pulled her back to look in her eyes. "Angel, you said this would make it so we wouldn't have to worry. What did you mean by that? What is it going to do?" He knew asking his six-year-old probably wasn't the wise thing to do, but she was a very smart little girl, though, with that Elder knowledge crammed into her head.
"Great Grandpa wanted to find a way to clean the blood of his students because he was afraid that Great Grandma might try to kill them someday. So he made this, but he never got a chance to use it because he got into a fight and had to leave. It's supposed to clean your blood, so that you're pure like Mummy like Grandma Syra wants." She watched him glance at the vial before glancing back at her. "I won't tell if you don't, Daddy," she said just as he uncorked the vial in his hand and drank it.