Chapter 38
Petunia was now back in her bedroom at Prince Manor, Mrs. Snape had insisted upon it. She was told to get comfortable and to just rest. That when she got back from talking with her father everything would be explained better to her. Comfort for Petunia meant lounge wear, the lounge wear she wore was versatile, because it wouldn't be to out of fashion to go jogging in it. If she had taken the notion to go do so, but more often than not it was what she generally had started to taken to sleeping in, even during the summer months. At times it felt like she was always chilled. She pulled one of the gray sets out and put it on and got comfortable leaning back on the bed after she set the pillows to do so. The curtains had been drawn open so the room was flush with light. Before Mrs. Snape had left she had summoned the book on Pureblood etiquette so that was what Petunia started reading.
The knock was soft upon the door and she heard Mrs. Snape, "can we come in Petunia."
"Yes," Petunia answered as she lay the tome she had been reading to the side of her and left it open from where she was at as the door opened.
Mrs. Snape came in along with Lord Prince, what she hadn't expected was Severus to enter as well. The men looked rather somber and she could tell Mrs. Snape had been crying again. It hadn't been like she had gone to see her own physician, she had, and multiple tests later and they still wasn't sure what was wrong with her. Her doctors had batted back and forth that she might have some type of cancer that they couldn't find. Mrs. Snape sat down on the bed beside her as the men stood at the foot of the bed. Petunia was waiting for the proverbial shoe to drop.
"The block that is around your core is a magical growth." Mrs. Snape said. "It's been there since you were three. If you had been born inside a magical home this would have been caught sooner."
Magical growth? That sounded a lot like cancer to her. "So I have some sort of magical cancer?"
She heard no from Lord Prince, but yes from Mrs. Snape and Severus. Both Mrs. Snape and Severus turned toward Lord Prince. Then she watched as a debate began between the three. Petunia was finding it fascinating, because they were ever so polite with each other while they were doing it. Lord Prince kept insisting it was a magical mutation of the wall around her magical core and it was not cancer. Petunia noticed Mrs. Snape and Severus put a very good argument that it was.
"We'll agree to disagree." Petunia said putting a stop the the arguments being thrown about. All three of them turned back to her, guess they hadn't expected her to enter into the fray.
"So I've had this since I was three, evidently it is has gotten worse over the years." Petunia said. "But it is curable yes?"
"Yes it is curable." Mrs. Snape said. "It shouldn't have taken the toll it has though upon you. It has never been known to do this."
Petunia had already figured some of this out. Even her own doctors said she was slowly dying by an unknown cause. "You mean it's never been known to actually kill someone."
She looked at all three of them, yes she had it correct, their expressions said it all. No wonder they looked so somber, they had only found out today and yet she had known for a year. She had already gone through this stage of the process. Petunia leaned back on the pillows. Knowing that it could be cured was better than what her doctors had told her.
"You don't appear upset about this." Mrs. Snape said.
"Upset, not at all. I've known this for year now. I think I'm over it." Petunia said as her eyes looked over the three of them once more and landed on Severus. His expression was scrutinizing.
"How have you been managing this?" Severus asked.
Petunia gave a sardonic smile as she pulled out the rolled cannabis joint that was in her lounge pants pocket. It took away most of her pain, allowed her to eat, and helped her get through the day. Severus summoned it to him and he sniffed it.
"Cannabis, the quality is low." Severus said as he looked back at her. "Some of the potions that need to be made for you have this ingredient already in it. It is one of the magical plants we use in certain healing potions."
Petunia didn't care how it was used, she only knew it worked. She still didn't understand why she was dying from this if no one else ever had. "So explain to me why I'm dying from this."
"You won't die from this Miss Evans." Lord Wilkvine Prince said. "Not anymore. We are putting a stop to it. But it was aggravated nine years ago to extend the magical growth."
Petunia looked between the three of them, nine years ago was when Harry was brought to live with her. She looked between all three of them and saw the anger in their eyes. She closed her eyes, Albus Dumbledore.
"What did he do to me?" Petunia asked.
"Something we are not going to allow to happen Miss Evans." Severus said. "With you out of the way he would have full rights to Harry. He was granted Wizarding Proxy, he has no rights to Harry even this way, no one knew you were a witch. We are pretty sure he was the one who cast the spell upon you when he discovered you were indeed a witch who had a magical block."
Petunia opened her eyes. "Can it be proven?"
"Getting anything to stick to him is hard Miss Evans," Lord Wilkvine Prince said. "But I assure you, you are under my protection. I will file everything I can to make sure you remain in my house."
Petunia closed her eyes, that was reassuring, from the sounds of it, she had a target upon her head. And here she had been worried about the boys never knowing someone was trying to kill her instead. She didn't hear the door as it closed softly to her bedroom, nor felt the light blanket that had been placed upon her. She had succumbed to that world of restless sleep again.
Severus had heard his Grandfather, he was going to try and file everything he could in order to keep Petunia and Harry in their family home. He hoped something would work and she would be able to stay, but knowing the Headmaster controlled the wizengamot had him worried. It was going to be a battle in order to make it happen. He placed the blanket over Petunia after she had fallen asleep. Her body was so depleted of her magic it was depressing. Severus summoned the book that lay on the bed beside her and marked her place and closed the tome. He read the title 'The Protocols of Pureblood Etiquette', Severus glanced down at Petunia. She was so unlike her sister. He had tried to get Lily to read this tome in their fourth year, Lily had turned it away. And yet Petunia was reading it and he hadn't said a word to her about it. He placed it on the nightstand beside her bed and left the room closing the door softly.
"The Protocols of Pureblood Etiquette?" Severus raised an eyebrow at his mother who had waited for him outside so they could go over the potions together to see if they could enhance them.
His mother took his arm as they started heading for the lab. "She asked to read it Severus. She was curious as to why you escorted her this morning to the dining hall. She thought you were doing it because of how frail she looks."
Severus shook his head. He hadn't told her he had offered her friendship and that she had accepted it. She would know now at least with her reading the book. "So she knows at least now what that meant."
"Yes," His mother answered him as they turned towards the lab door on the ground floor and went inside. His mother released him. "I told her she had nothing to worry about until you put her on your left arm."
Severus chuckled, "indeed. Not that I haven't had a few already trying to put themselves on it this summer."
"Right," His mother said as she laid out the parchment with all the potions listed at one of the work tables. "Leave those bawdy witches alone."
Severus read over the list and then walked to bookcase in the lab and looked for the tomes in which they would be held inside. "I have no plans of seeing them again. I didn't plan on seeing them in the first place that was all Narcissa's idea."
He heard his mother chuckle. "Lady Malfoy is trying to get you married off. Whatever impression did you give her that she is introducing you to unrefined witches?"
Severus pulled down the last tome and headed back for the table that his mother was sitting at. That was a good question his mother had brought up. He had a feeling all of that had to do with Lily. He thought about it as he sat the tomes down and opened one for one of the potions. His mother took another and they started coping out the instructions for them. He knew Lily would be unrefined as his mother had stated. Severus also knew he was not attracted to unrefined witches, he couldn't stand being around them. Lily had been different because he had grown up with her.
"Lily." Severus told his mother.
Severus worked along with his mother in silence going over the potions instructions and making improvements to the ones that could have adjustments made to them. They both went over them again double checking the preparations. They were both satisfied with what they had worked on. Severus pushed the instructions over it was near lunch time.
His mother placed an hand on his arm. "Lily may have been unrefined, but she had more qualities than that. I think Lady Malfoy is missing what Lily had inside that drew you to her. There is more than a few witches with those qualities, once you figure those out, those are the ones you need to seek in a witch. Don't settle on one that doesn't have everything you want."
Then his mother was gone. He knew she was right. He also knew he wouldn't take an unrefined witch beside him now. That was one area he wasn't going to compromise on. And another was he wouldn't accept a witch who wouldn't accept his sons or the extended family they had. There was no compromising over that either. He did notice something though, before he wouldn't have even given any of this a second thought. But now, he could see himself with someone else, he felt like he had the freedom to actually bring someone else into his life now.
Harry was sitting at the back of the potions lab with his brothers and Dudley. Severus had enchanted 'The Hobbit' to read to them out loud as they worked on their hand writing. They had been allowed to see Aunt Petunia after lunch and he could tell she didn't look well at all. Harry glanced over at Dudley his cousin was acting weird in his opinion, he was tackling the writing like it was his whole mission at the moment. Harry was trying to figure this out, Dudley hated school work, but he knew Aunt Petunia told him to keep working on things this summer. He could only reason why Dudley was working so hard was because of how bad Aunt Petunia looked. Harry knew he had lost his father, Aunt Petunia looked very bad to him. Harry was afraid they might lose Aunt Petunia as well, if they did, he knew him and Dudley really had no where to go. Dudley would be orphaned as well.
Once the book started reading what the trolls were doing he could hear Severus chuckling. Harry glanced up at him. It was rather funny, he liked this part in the book. There were others to that he liked. Harry wondered now if the book being read out loud was for Severus as well after all they could be doing this in a different room.
He looked at Phoenix and Kayden who were grinning as much as he was as Severus kept chuckling as the scene unfolded more. By the time Thorin had been taken by wood-elves to the Elvenking, Severus had stopped the book at the end of chapter eight. They had done their hand writing and had gotten two more lessons done in Latin that after noon. But the best part of the story was coming up in Harry's opinion and he wasn't the only one complaining.
"No, don't stop it there." Dudley said.
"Yeah, we have to hear about Thorin again." Kayden said.
Severus shook his head. "It is time for dinner."
"One more chapter," Phoenix said.
"No," Severus said. "It will be here tomorrow after lunch while you do the lessons your Aunt gave you for the summer, lets go."
They left the lab and headed for the dining hall. They complained some more and Harry could tell Severus wasn't going to give in, he was no Uncle Vernon. Dudley could have gotten one more chapter out of him if he had been. Severus opened the door to the dining hall as Harry asked.
"Don't you want to know what happens to Thorin as well? We know you were listening." Harry asked.
"I can wait until tomorrow to find out what happens to Thorin and so can you. To the table with you now Brandon." Severus said with a smile.
Harry spun around and saw Aunt Petunia at the table. She must feel a little better if she was going to eat dinner with them. Dudley was already sitting beside his mother and Harry sat down across from her next to the twins.
"Which part of the story are you at for I don't know how many times now?" Aunt Petunia asked with a smile.
"Thorin has been taken by the wood-elves to the Elvenking." Harry told her.
Severus had sat down next to Aunt Petunia she was sitting on his right.
"Yes, that is a good part." Aunt Petunia said.
"What story are they being told?" Lord Wilkvine Prince asked from the head of the table.
"The Hobbit." Aunt Petunia answered him. "It's a children's book, one I read myself when I was younger. Though the next three are not and the boys are reading those as well."
Severus shook his head as the food appeared. And of course his Grandfather had to ask, had to know what his great-grandsons were so involved with that they hadn't wanted to stop. Then he looked at Petunia as he ate, the boys were very animated as they talked with his Grandfather and he could see at least Petunia looked happy as she watched the boys. He went back to his meal thinking what mother wouldn't be happy at seeing her children so animated and passionate about something. Most of his family was listening who were here eating dinner tonight. When he heard the word Orc it was time to step in.
"Stop right there. No orc discussions at the dinner table." Severus told the boys.
"Something wrong with orcs?" Petunia asked.
"Severus?" Lord Wilkvine Prince asked.
"I'll explain it to you later Grandfather. Trust me, it's not appropriate." Severus told him.
Then he leaned over to Petunia so he could whisper in her ear, "it is very offensive for Purebloods. Their servants are elfs, like Gisly, elfs are a part of the family. An undead elf is not a good thing."
"Ah, so noted." Petunia said then she looked at her nephews and said. "Nin hén vedui- na cín adar."
Severus didn't know what she had said but it was like she flipped a switch on his twins and Harry. The woman beside him was full of surprises, but the boys had settled down and were eating their meal. Once dinner was over he escorted Petunia and the boys back upstairs. They all needed potions other than Dudley whom his mother was working on one that would help him with his weight being back to a normal range by the time school started. Severus opened Petunia's door as the boys went to go get ready for bed.
"What did you tell them at dinner Miss Evans?" Severus asked as he released her arm as she entered her room.
She turned and looked at him. "I said: My child listen to you father. If something is inappropriate I'm not going to allow them to talk about it either."
"Thank you Miss Evans. Your potion is on the nightstand." Severus told her as he eased her door shut. He figured by tomorrow afternoon the one book would be finished and they would be able to start on the others. In the meantime he needed to learn this language as well. The boys sure seemed to understand it and responded well with it. Although he started to wonder if it had more to do with the woman who was speaking it to them.