Chapter 21: Meeting and Moving On
The morning sun peeked through the window early the next morning. Severus woke to find Lottie curled up next to him with her head on his chest while she slept. She stirred slightly as he released a contented sigh.
"Good morning," she whispered, looking up at him.
"Good morning, Felicia," he answered, stroking her hair. "How did you sleep?"
"Like a rock," Lottie replied, starting to move away but he put his arm around her shoulders to keep her there. He was comfortable and didn't want to lose the connection with her just then. "How are you this morning?'
"Incredibly content and happy," Severus answered, looking at the clock. After they laid there quietly together for some time, Lottie sat up in bed next to him.
"I'm going to get showered before the day gets away from us too much more," she said. "We have to meet up with my grandparents yet and I don't fancy them coming here to the room again."
"I'll contact Minerva to bring the girls, if she can. If not, I'll floo over and get them. I'm sure they're missing us by now."
"I know I'm missing them," Lottie said. "Give me just a few minutes to get cleaned up in case we need to go and get the girls."
"No need," he replied, leaning forward and kissing her. "Take your time and I'll manage the girls. No sense in packing up and leaving just to come straight back."
"All right then," Lottie chuckled. "See about getting the twins and I'm going to release my milk so that I'll be ready for them to eat by lunchtime."
After Lottie went into the bathroom, Severus tidied the room with a flick of his wand and pulled the fire calling powder from the desk drawer nearby.
"Minerva McGonagall's fire," he announced as he tossed in a generous handful of powder and stuck his head into the blue flames in the hearth. "Minerva, are you in?"
It took only a moment before she emerged into the sitting room, carrying Audrina with her. "Severus, good morning," she greeted. "The babies were just finishing their morning feeding."
"I'm glad they are quiet for you at the moment," Severus said. "I was wondering, however, if you could open your floo to this one for me to come through and collect the girls? Camelot's grandparents found us yesterday evening and we have decided to allow them to see the girls."
"Give me just a moment and I will open the fire for you," Minerva said. Severus nodded and ended his fire call and the colored flames died out. After a few moments, a green flame shot up and died away that informed him that she had opened a link between the two hearths.
Severus stepped into the now empty floo with a handful of power and, declaring his destination, disappeared from their room at the Leaky Cauldron and reappeared in Minerva's hearth. He dusted himself off before stepping into the room.
"Good morning, Minerva," he said making sure he didn't track any soot into the sitting room. "Thank you for looking after Audy and 'Anna last night. It must have been quite a tough night, having to wake up to get them fed."
"It wasn't so terribly difficult," Minerva replied. "I had plenty of help from the other members of staff and Bunnie. She, as I understand it, has been spending quite a bit of time getting used to the girls when she wasn't working. We all thought that you and Miss Nikos had not been given any real time on your own without concerns over her pregnancy or the children. I hope this gave you an opportunity to focus on just the two of you?"
Severus was grinning guiltily before he could stop himself and though she noticed it, Minerva said nothing as she got Audrina's diaper changed for the trip. Severus bent down and picked up Lilianna who was busy playing with her rattle on a blanket sprawled over the floor. It was obvious that she'd already been freshly diapered. She cooed at him and gave him a big, gummy smile as he put a kiss on her tiny nose.
"Camelot and I had a very nice day together and meeting her grandparents was entertaining and educational," Severus finally replied.
"How was it that they found you in London on the one day that you would be there?" Minerva asked. She didn't doubt Severus' ability to evaluate a person's demeanor and true intentions but it was still a curious coincidence.
"A well timed locating spell, I believe," Severus said, putting Lilianna in the pram next to her freshly changed sister. They immediately began to make noises at one another. "They seem to be good people and genuinely love their granddaughter a great deal. Her grandmother had to ask her about some claims that her father and brother were making against Camelot but that has been cleared up and will no longer impact our family, thankfully."
"Good," Minerva replied. "I think you've both had more than your fair share of difficulties already. Some quiet family time is in order for you two. Was she able to procure a wand yesterday?"
"With a little coercion to allow me to purchase the proper one for her," Severus nodded. "Camelot is still very independent over financial matters. She can be very stubborn."
"That's not at all surprising, all things considered," Minerva said with a smile. "Will we have you and the family back by dinner?"
"I plan to be back well before then," Severus replied. "We finished our shopping yesterday and I do not think there will be much reason for remaining in London beyond our meeting with her grandparents."
The girls started to fuss and Severus looked in and gently poked their bellies with one finger.
"No arguing, you two," he said with a smile. "We shall be off to see Mummy in a minute."
"You're going to have a devil of a time when they get older and you have to figure out twin speak, Severus," Minerva joked.
"I will just enjoy them as is for now," Severus said. "I'll worry about that when we get to it. Thank you again for taking them overnight. It was most appreciated."
"So I gathered, Severus," Minerva replied, smiling. "Take the girls back to their mother. I'm sure she's been missing them terribly. I thought I might have received half a dozen fire calls yesterday. You must have been very persuasive."
"I created a locket for her so that she could look in on them whenever she wanted. It helped," Severus nodded as he grabbed a handful of floo powder and pushed the carriage into the now cold fireplace with him.
Severus felt the familiar tug of the floo pulling him and the girls toward the hearth of their room at the Cauldron. Just as the room came nearly into complete focus, he saw sparks shoot off of the bricks behind him and he and the pram with the twins were hurtled back through Minerva's fireplace. He fell backwards onto the floor but managed to catch the pram before it toppled with the babies.
"What in the world?" Minerva exclaimed as Severus fell out of the floo.
"I don't know," Severus replied, standing while he regained his equilibrium. "We were nearly there when the hearth was collapsed and we were sent back. I've got to find out what's wrong."
"Go," Minerva said, as she calmed the babies. "Call when you are able."
Severus jumped into the fireplace with a fresh handful of floo powder and went directly to the main floo of The Leaky Cauldron and ran up the stairs to the room where a few spells were being fired out into the hall toward two men standing at the doorway.
Severus sent a stunning spell at the younger and slighter of the two, hurling him into the wall. It was enough to startle the older man who, upon closer inspection, looked a great deal like Aristotle but without the warmth and caring that was in Lottie's grandfather's eyes. This had to be her father.
"Stop!" the elder man shouted out the demand as a spell was sent into the room.
Severus kept his wand at the ready as a spell shot out from within the room and hit the elder man. It did not knock him unconscious but tossed him back far enough that he grabbed his son's arm and disapparated before Severus was near enough to stop him.
"Camelot!" he called into the room as he emerged into the doorway. The door was off its hinges but that was the least of his concerns. He didn't want her shooting at him in error. "Camelot, are you all right? Where are you?"
"I'm here," Lottie said, emerging from behind the far end of the bed where she'd ducked down for safety. She stood and was wearing nothing but a towel that was nearly unwrapped from her. She had a gash on her head that was bleeding and she was breathing heavily. "Are the girls all right?"
"They're with Minerva and they're fine," he replied. He sat her on the bed to look at the wound and seal it closed. "We were about to come through..."
"I know," Lottie admitted, catching her breath and nearly going into another panic. "When I saw... The girls are six weeks old... Hannah was six weeks old. I got scared... I shut down the floo, and sent you back. I figured if anything happened to me then at least, they would be safe with you. I couldn't let it happen again, Severus. I had to protect you all."
"Calm yourself," he said silkily. "I'm here now. Stay still."
Once the gash in her head was mended, Severus gave her a gentle smile. "Silly girl, I wasn't about to leave you on your own, was I? How's your head? All right?"
Lottie nodded, "It's better, thank you. Where are the girls?"
"They're safe," Severus reassured her. "They're with Minerva. Why did they attack? I don't understand what this animosity is all about."
"I don't know why they came in the way they did, but I know what they wanted. They want me to take on the responsibilities at the temple," Lottie replied. "Probably pissed off that I told my grandparents that I have no interest in the temple at all."
Severus sat next to her on the bed. "I've a feeling there's more to this story than what you've told me so far. I'll listen when you're ready to talk."
"Of course there's more...," Lottie replied. "I found out about it when I was living at Hestia Green. The camps were nothing if not thorough in their record keeping. Two days before I was captured, twenty five galleons was paid to Dionysus Nikos, my father, for information leading to the arrest of a half blood of muggle descent."
Severus held her in his arms. "He sacrificed you," he surmised.
"I could understand if it was just me, the child he didn't want. No matter how hard I tried, he never wanted me and had it just been me he betrayed, I could have borne it," Lottie said, licking her lips as tears dropped onto her cheeks which she brushed away without a thought. She rested her head on his chest, finding that comforting rhythym that had lulled her to sleep the previous evening in his steady, calming heartbeat.
"I could bear everything that happened without hatred but he as good as murdered Hannah, his only grandchild. The one who would have succeeded Lance. No matter how long I live, Severus, I will never forgive him for that. My child's blood is on his hands," she finished.
"Don't you think that your grandparents deserve to know this?" Severus said.
"To know all this would cause them so much pain," Lottie answered. "I can't hurt those two dear souls with this knowledge."
"Then is good thing Yiayia and I listen from the hall," Aristotle said, coming into view. Cassiopeia moved next to Lottie and wrapped her arms around her granddaughter. They spoke softly in Greek. Severus stood up from the bed so that Lottie's grandmother could sit.
He pulled his wand as Aristotle did the same and the men began to tidy the room. They set the door back on its hinges and repaired the hearth to be functional once again. By the time the room was back in order, Lottie had dressed and her grandmother was braiding her hair into a single plait down her back. He imagined that it was something Cassiopeia had done many times throughout Lottie's lifetime that it wasn't even a conscious thought for her.
Severus kissed Lottie's cheek and said quietly, "Do you want me to get the girls again?"
Lottie nodded. "Yiayia and Pappous haven't met them yet and they never got to meet Hannah."
"I can ask Minerva to bring the girls," Severus said, uncertain if her grandparents would be up to a very long trip to the highlands and back, though he could always have them use the floo to get back.
"Perhaps it would be better if Pappous and I went to where your children are, Camie," Cassiopeia suggested, as if sensing his own idea. "Then you all will be safe, though I doubt your father will do any more stupid things today."
"We can take the car back to Hogwarts," Severus said, addressing both Lottie and her grandparents. "It will be a short trip, if you have no objections."
"Is best for Camie," Aristotle replied. "It will keep her safe."
The young couple gathered their things from the room and turned the key into Tom before piling into the car with Lottie's grandparents. The flight up to the castle was quick, seemingly more so than the trip to London.
By the time they arrived at the castle gates, however, they were all looking forward to stretching their legs. Severus had barely stopped the car when Lottie nearly jumped out of the car as Minerva was bringing the girls out in their shared pram to greet them.
"I was worried," Minerva said, patting Lottie's shoulder as she leaned into the pram to kiss her daughters. Minerva hugged the younger woman as she stood.
"It's a long story. I'll fill you in on the details later," Lottie said, returning the embrace. "I just needed to make sure my babies were all right."
"Perfectly fine and ready for Mummy to come home," Minerva replied. "I see we have guests."
"Yes, these are my grandparents, Cassiopeia and Aristotle Nikos," Lottie introduced. "They are here to meet the girls."
Minerva strode up to the elder couple and introduced herself, allowing the young parents to have a moment or two with the infants they'd both desperately missed. Severus wouldn't have admitted it aloud but he found himself as anxious to get back with his little girls as their mother was.
Severus lifted Audrina from the pram and held her, smiling. Had anyone told him that he'd ever feel relieved to hold an infant in his arms, he'd have told them they were barmy and in need of treatment at St. Mungo's. Having his eldest daughter in his arms and seeing his younger being coddled and kissed by her mother set his mind at ease and calmed him. Audrina cooed happily at him as Cassiopeia, Aristotle and Minerva walked toward them.
"Yiayia, Pappous, these are our girls," Lottie said brightly. "This is Lilianna Minerva and Severus is holding Audrina Marie."
"Perhaps we should go inside where you may inspect the girls at your leisure," Severus suggested, looking up at the sky. "It looks as though it may rain."
The small gathering moved into the castle and in particular to the sitting room in the quarters where Lottie had spent so many months, just as the rain had started falling in sheets of water. It was a pleasant visit while Aristotle and Cassiopeia doted on their great granddaughters who, in turn, seemed intrigued by the two new faces.
"They are very active children, it seems," Cassiopeia remarked.
"Yes, even from the womb, they were busy," Lottie said with a smile. "I swear they used my kidneys for footballs."
"Then they are like their mother, Camie," Aristotle teased easily. "You born with dancing feet. You come to visit, Mister Severus, and we will make Camie show you how to dance Greek style. You come and visit the temple baths. Will make you all healthy."
"Pappous, it will be some time before we may be able to come to Kalidas. We have yet to move into the home where we will raise the girls and get settled into a routine for them," Lottie said.
"Perhaps at Christmas holidays, we shall make a trip," Severus suggested. "It will depend on a great many things, however."
After an afternoon filled with lunch, conversation and tea, the elder couple said their goodbyes, with some tears and many hugs for both Severus and Lottie, and returned to London via floo, leaving the young family on their own. Severus and Lottie then settled in for the evening, as it was far too late for them to move all of their belongings and try to settle the twins into a new home. They decided to stay in the castle the night and start things fresh in the morning.
"Last night in this room, Felicia," Severus said fondly, as they put their girls to sleep. "Tomorrow we shall move to Spinner's End. Are you nervous?"
"Yes," Lottie admitted. "But excited as well. New beginnings are always a mix of fear, excitement and hope. Are you scared?"
"Terrified," Severus said, wrapping his arms around her waist. "But for you and the girls, I shall be brave and find happiness in it. Second chances are so rare that I cannot squander this one that I have with a woman who loves me... and who I love in return."
"You're quite poetic tonight. Will you stay?" Lottie asked as she looked out at the rain pattering on the window now that the storm was lessening.
"If you want me to," Severus replied, kissing her neck.
"I do," Lottie said with a nod. "I feel safest when we're together."
"So do I," Severus said, meaning it with all his heart.
Finite Primary Novelum
Author's Note: This is the last chapter in the first book of the Second Chance series. A huge thank you goes out to my editor, Lady Ruatha, who kept me from going so far off the rails as to be purile and ridiculous. Also, a thank you to all of my readers who have reviewed, added the story to alerts, favorites and communities. I really appreciate those kindnesses so much.
This last month was dreadful in real life and kept me from producing this chapter any more quickly. I do hope you have all liked the story as it was told. I know my writing is not something that everyone appreciates but for those that do, I have the utmost gratitude for you and I hope you will follow me as an author. There are so many more things to tell about Severus Snape and his new family that I hope to have a new story started by year's end. Next on my agenda, however, is to go back to work on my NCIS story, Hearing the Bullet, and I will be attempting to participate in NaNoWriMo for the very first time this November.
If you have any questions that you would like to have answered that I did not address in this story, please feel free to send me a private message. Also, you can go onto my profile page and vote in the poll I set up that will be used as a basis for things that may come in the next story which has no title at the moment.
Thanks - Jenny