Chapter 26:
Rosalind smiled as she looked down at the sleeping two-week old in her arms.
"So, we're all set for tomorrow?" she asked her father sitting across the table from her.
Snape didn't even look up from his tea and Daily Prophet when he responded. "Yes. The nursery is all set up in my quarters. I had them move a bed in as well so you could stay with him at night."
Rosalind nodded. "Thank you."
Snape hummed in the back of his throat in response. "Just be sure to put a silencing charm on the room. I've done my time caring for screeching babies. It's all you now."
Rosalind rolled her eyes before leaning over and laying Tristan in his bassinette. She sighed as she watched him snuggle into the blankets. He looked more like his father than ever when he slept; his face calm.
"Father," Rosalind started hesitantly. She had been holding this in for weeks. She knew she needed to tell him. "Would you promise not to kill me if I told you something?"
Snape's eyes lifted up from his paper slowly to meet his daughter's. He sighed. "That statement never comes before anything good."
Rosalind looked down guiltily and Snape let out an exasperated sigh.
"Rosalind, I think that it's safe to assume that if I haven't killed you for what's happened in this past year alone that whatever you have to tell me next will hardly faze me."
Rosalind nodded and took a breath before blurting it out. "Albus came to visit me last week."
It wasn't often that Severus Snape was caught off guard or surprised in any way but this was, to say the least, a shock.
"What?" he shouted, anger glinting in his voice.
Rosalind winced, the words pouring out before she could contain them. "The night Rose and Scorpius got married, before they came. He was just at my window. I was so scared; I wasn't sure what he was going to do. I knew I couldn't call out for you because he'd either kill me or you and Tristan needs us both."
Her lips quivered as her father continued to look at her, anger still etched in the hard lines of his face. "Please, father. I didn't know how to tell you. He hasn't been back since."
Severus took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to calm himself before looking back up at his daughter. "I'm not going to yell at you and tell you what you did was idiotic Rosalind, because there's no use now. But what I do want you to do is tell me right away if it happens again. And I think it would be smart of you to ask yourself why you didn't come get me after he left because you and I both know that if you had we probably would've been able to track him down."
The older man gently swept the crumbs off the table and got up soundlessly. He grabbed his newspaper and headed towards the doorway.
"Just some food for thought." He muttered before sweeping out of the room.
"Thank you so much for this, Dad." Rosalind said, excited.
Snape's face cringed a bit as he readjusted the squirming infant in his arms, but he muttered "You're welcome." anyway.
"I figured I'd let you enjoy your time with your friends while you could since you'll be sleeping in my quarters now."
Rosalind nodded and stood on her tippy toes to press a kiss to the side of her father's face. The train whistle blew a warning signal to all the students. Her eyes widened in shock, not having realized how little time she had.
"Rosalind, c'mon!" Celia shouted from the window of their compartment.
She turned back quickly and shouted "Coming!" before turning back to her father.
She leaned down and kissed Tristan's forehead gently and said "Bye-bye little one. Behave for Grandpa. I love you."
She gave her father one last awkward hug, trying not to squish the baby before running off to the train with a wave goodbye.
"It's feels weird, doesn't it?" Rosalind said quietly. Referring to the empty compartment they sat in. Rosalind and Celia were the only ones in the car sitting across from one another. The air was stale and cold. Conversation passed between them awkwardly, both of them thinking about how different the year before train ride had been.
"Yes, yes it does." Celia said, a solemn note tingeing her voice. "It feels…empty in here, like something's missing."
Rosalind couldn't help but agree. Just last year this room had been filled to capacity, people squeezed into the benches. Albus had been in the corner his arm wound tightly around her, sneaking kisses when he thought everyone else was distracted. Rose and Scorpius had been wedged next to Rosalind hands clutched together as they watched Lily and Hugo play a game of Exploding Snap in the floor of the car. Across the car sat Phoebe and Audrey both chattering and laughing brightly.
Everything had been so lively and bright; full of laughter and light-hearted fun. Everything had seemed so perfect. Now everything was so messed up. Scorpius and Rose were in hiding. Lily was in the psychiatric ward at St. Mungo's. Hugo was off with some of his own friends, trying not to think too hard about Lily for fear of going just as insane as she. Phoebe and Audrey weren't even coming back to Hogwarts this year. Phoebe's parents had been one of the most recent mysterious disappearances of late. Whether they were dead or recruited and to which side, no one was sure. Audrey after hearing this had taken Phoebe in and they, along with Audrey's family, had moved away somewhere they thought to be safer. And it all was a result of Albus.
And even though Celia was there she wasn't the same. She looked tired. He eyes had deep purple bags underneath and if you looked closely you could see premature frown lines marring her otherwise perfect porcelain face. Celia had always been someone who took pride in her appearance, always perfectly polished with perfect make-up and bouncy hair and a flawless wardrobe. But today she looked small and defeated. Her small frame was drowning in a huge sweater and her hair drooped down limply around her face in chunks of platinum.
"So," Celia started, trying to chase away the dark mood. "how is the baby?"
Rosalind smiled at the thought of Tristan. He was the one bright spot in her life that made everything seem less horrible. When she was with Albus she thought that she knew what real love was, what it was like to love someone completely. She didn't know how wrong she was until her son was born.
"He's well. He's a good baby. He doesn't cry too much, only when he's hungry or needs to be changed. He almost sleeps the whole night through most of the time."
"Maybe you'll be able to bring him up into the dorms then. I wouldn't mind dealing with the crying every once and a while. It's going to be awfully lonely up there now that it's just me."
"Maybe I'll be able to bring him up in a few months, when he's a bit older." Rosalind mused. "And I'll still be in the common room and in the library. I'll still be around with you. You'll just have to sleep alone. Think of it this way; you'll have the bathroom all to yourself."
Celia laughed heartily, her first real show of emotion all day. "Well, that's definitely a plus."
Rosalind smiled as her friend's guffaws filled the car, the ice finally broken.
A jolt of pain went up Cygnus Lestrange's hand as it came slamming down onto the old splintered table.
"This is unacceptable!" he screamed. He met the scared eyes of his follower with fury. "How is it that every time I send you out you come back with at least twenty less men?"
"Master, please-"
"I don't want to hear it! If I hadn't already lost thirty men this evening alone I'd take care of you myself."
The man visibly shivered.
"Get out." He growled. "Before I change my mind."
The man scurried away quickly, knowing not to push it any further. Cygnus deflated, falling into the chair unceremoniously. Things were going sour. Albus was gaining power, his followers killing up to fifty of his men a night.
Cygnus knew what he had to do, this couldn't go any further. He grabbed his cloak before quickly apparating onto the familiar street in Clapham. He barreled into the bar without pretense; he knew they'd be there.
He bore his teeth as they all reached for their various weapons, the infamous Felix Bishop at the forefront of the action.
"Save it." He grit out. "I'm not here for a fight. I'm not interested in any of you. I need to see your Master. Now."
It was high time they met face-to-face.
Rose walked back into their small living room wearing a large smile.
"News from Rosalind?" Scorpius asked.
"Yep, everyone's settled in at school. And she finally sent a picture of Tristan!"
She plopped down on the couch next to her husband with an oomph and handed him the pictures while she continued to read the letter. Scorpius smiled at the image of his squirming godson. He never thought he could love an infant this much. He reached over to grab the frame they had been saving for when Rosalind finally sent the picture and slid it in carefully. When he was done he looked up to see his wife looking at him, an odd look in her eyes.
"Everything alright with Rosalind?" he asked.
"Yea, she's doing well. Looking forward to her final year."
"What's with the look then?" Scorpius asked, still confused.
"You really love him." She said, nodding towards the picture.
"Of course. He's my godson." He hesitated before continuing with a sigh. "I just, I look at him and I see Albus; Albus with Rosalind's hair and eyes. And I much as I know I shouldn't care about him, that I should hate him-I just can't. H-he was my best friend."
Rose scooted forward and wrapped her arms around her husband's shoulders. "I know. Believe me, I know."
The room was consumed in silence for a moment, both looking down at the picture, studying it.
"You're going to be a great father one day Scorpius."
He hummed in the back of his throat before setting the frame down on the end table closest to him. He wrapped his arms around Rose's waist and pulled her into his lap, tucking a stray red curl behind her ear.
"When all of this is over, when the killing is done and we don't have to hide anymore, I want to have a baby. Give Tristan a playmate."
Rose leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Scorpius' lips briefly. "I do too."
A large smile split across his lips. "I love you."
"I love you, too."
"You're going to be a great mother."
Hope you enjoyed the chapters! Chapter 27 will be out shortly! I promise.
~Joanna and Bronnie