Chapter 48

The Fifth Anniversary

May 2, 2003

The clock on the wall was moving at a sluggish pass. It was 4:45 pm, 4:50, Maybe I could just leave early no one would notice, but of course just as the thought crossed my mind, the phone rang.

"Hello this is the Bellingham Railway Museum. My name is Alex, how can I help you?"

After spending 15 minutes on the phone trying to explain that the Bellingham Railway Museum was in fact in Bellingham, Washington and not somewhere in Canada, I finally was free.

After collecting all my belonging, a small purse and a blue sweater, I ran to catch bus 109 which I almost missed.

It was the usual 5:10, 109 bus driver, Nicole. I gave her my usual smile as I got on and she nodded as she always did. I sat in my normal seat, behind Nicole and by the window. I recognized the old, white haired couple that always rode this bus together. They must be about 80 and they still held hands. I always wondered where they got off, my stop was before them.

The bus stopped and several people got off there and then their seats were filled by a gaggle of Bellingham hippies. A strong smell of pot filled the air as the bus trudged on.

I looked out the window. The days were finally getting longer and the sun was low in the sky but still very bright. I viewed my reflection in the window. My face had finally filled out since I was younger and my black hair was now cropped at shoulder length.

The sun felt nice on face so I closed my eyes. What a beautiful May day. Then I remembered what was significant about this day. It was May 2nd, the fifth year anniversary of the battle at Hogwarts. The day the war was won for good and the day many died, the day Severus died.

The bus stopped again and it was my turn to get off. The street was not crowed; only a few people passed as I walked. I passed many Victorian style houses. Many were neatly kept while others were most likely occupied by college students from the nearby university and were trashed as a result of last weekend's drunken party.

After about five minutes of walking uphill I finally reached an old house painted a hideous green and purple combination. This house belonged to two old women named Samantha and Prudence, but for twelve hours, five days a week there home doubled as a daycare for young children.

I climbed the steep porch steps as another mother carried her daughter down to street level. I recognized the woman and her child, though I did not know their names; I smiled at them as I passed.

I reached the door that had a homemade wooden sign nailed to it. The sign read 'Daycare' in crooked, multicolored letters.

I rang the bell and heard the slow shuffles of one of the old women behind the door. At last I was greeted by Prudence. She would have been a very hip looking old lady if this were the 80's. Her short silver hair was streaked with blue and she was wearing shiny silver and black zebra printed leggings under an oversized teal sweater. Her corky appearance made me smile every time I saw her.

"Mrs. Snape," she welcomed me.

I stepped inside. "Miss Snape, actually," I said passively, knowing that she would just forget by tomorrow.

"Oh of course," she said good-naturedly, patting me on the shoulder.

I looked around; there were no children in sight.

"Severus is the last one today," Prudence told me. "He is outside playing with Samantha."

I nodded.

"Samantha," Prudence called, "Samantha!"

"I'm a' comin'," squealed back Samantha.

"Well get a move on it, old woman," Prudence called to Samantha. I had my doubts, but I was pretty sure the two women were together.

Soon enough the short, yellow sundress clade, permed, white haired, Samantha appeared cheerfully from around the corner.

Holding her hand and following very close behind was a five year old boy, tall for his age and probably one of the most beautiful children I had ever seen.

Upon seeing me he let go of Samantha's hand and ran at me with full force.

"Mommy!" he cried happily.

I lifted him up into my arms, he wrapped his long legs around my waist and I balanced his weight on my left hip.

"Hi, Baby," I said as I kissed the top of his brunet head. "Did you have a good day?"

"Yes, Mommy, we played with playdough, and I made a rocket ship and Mommy…"

"Yes, Sev," I said adjusting him in my arms.

"And, Mommy, Tyler dared me eat the playdough, but I didn't do it, Mommy."

"That's so good," I told him with approval.

He seemed proud of himself for resisting the temptation, "But, Mommy," he said his eyes suddenly widened. "Jessica ate playdough and she got sick and her Mommy had to come get her. Tyler said that she is going to die now."

"She isn't going to die," I assured him.

I felt his body relax in my arms.

"You have a very unique little boy, Mrs. Snape," said Samantha.

I put my hand over Severus's head as if to shield him from something. "What do you mean?" I asked rough with worry. "What did he do?"

Both Samantha and Prudence stared at me because of my reaction.

I gently set Severus on his feet and he looked up at me curiously.

"He didn't do anything wrong," Samantha told me skeptically.

"He is a perfect angel," said Prudence.

"He is so popular with the other children," said Samantha, smiling, "Especially with the young ladies." She winked at me.

"You better look after this one," Prudence told me half seriously. "You are raising quite the little charmer."

"And such a handsome little boy," said Samantha.

I looked down at my son; he had evidently lost interest in the conversation and was playing with my purse, which was hanging from my shoulder. He happily opened my bag, looked inside, snapped it shut again and then repeated the process as if expecting something to have changed.

He was a very beautiful child, indeed. Everyone who ever met him told me so, not that I needed assurance. My little Severus was tall for the age of five. He had brown hair and brown eyes. His face had already lost its babyish roundness and his features were smooth and sharp. He was slim and pale, but besides that I could not take credit for anymore of his physical features.

"Yes, thank you," I said to the old women.

"He must look like his father," Samantha said.

I felt my body tense up.

Prudence knelt down to be at eye level with Severus. "Is your Daddy as much as a looker as you are?" she asked him playfully.

Severus just looked at her with confusion and then up at me with even more confusion, waiting for me to explain.

I sighed deeply. "Well we have to go," I said a bit louder than I meant to. "Thank you." I grabbed Severus's hand. "Come on, Sweetheart," I told him as I pulled him towards the door.

The old women seemed momentarily put off by our sudden exit but recovered their composure almost immediately and waved to us as we left their home.

"See you on Monday, Severus," I heard one of them call as I closed the door.

Severus was very quiet as we walked to our bus stop. I could tell he was in deep thought. For a child his age, he was incredible contemplative. I wished I could know what was going on in his mind, but that was impossible for there was one more thing that he inherited from me. My son was an antilegilimens too.

I often wondered if my son had been Lord Voldemort's plan from the beginning. Was there some dark magic involving bloodlines that could have enabled him to steal his offspring's powers? Or was it an obsession with my power that brought upon his horrible interest in me? But whatever the reasons that caused the events that gave me my son, I knew they were stemmed by the Dark Lord's greed and cowardice. He wanted the protection that comes from antilegilimency and he kept me around until he knew how he could steal it.

But he failed. He is dead. Dead now for five years and here stands his son, full of goodness, with the power that the Dark Lord wanted for himself, the power my family died for, the power that gave me my son.

Severus still did not speak as we got onto the bus. He silently claimed the seat by the window and gazed at the passing scenery.

"What's on your mind, Sev?" I asked my son, lightly brushing his soft hair away from his eyes.

He let out a shoulder hunching sigh and continued to gaze out the window.

"Severus," I said with light sternness.

He sighed again and then dramatically flopped forward onto my lap.

"Am I a test tube baby?" he asked as he wrapped his arms around my waist.

"Excuse me?" I asked in surprise. The man sitting in the seat perpendicular to us briefly looked in our direction.

Severus sat up again and looked as if he was about to cry.

I gently grabbed his face between my hands. "Hey," I said softly, "What brought this on?" I asked even though I had a pretty good idea. "You were so excited about playdough not even 15 minutes ago."

He climbed into my lap and rested his head on my left shoulder.

"Tyler has a mommy and a dad and so does Geoffrey and Eliza and Jessica and Isaac and Molly and Joshua and…" he continued to name off all the kids at his daycare. "So since I only have a mommy, Tyler says that I must be a test tube baby."

"Tyler doesn't know what he is talking about and you are not a test tube baby," I said. "Severus, look at me," He tearfully looked up into my face. "Every family is different. Some families have a mommy and dad, some have two mommies and others have two dads and some, like our family, have one mommy and one baby who love each other very much."

Severus did not yet seem satisfied but his eyes seemed drier. "But everyone else has a dad but me," Severus whined.

"Severus, some people have no mother or father," I said seriously.

Severus thought about this for a moment. "Like you," He said quietly.

"Like me," I said emotionlessly. "But I have you," I said after a moment of silence, kissing his head.

"You have me," repeated Severus, his usual cheerfulness returning.

"And?" I asked him.

"I have you!" Severus said happily.

"And?" I asked him again.

"And we love each other," Severus said without missing a beat.

"That's right," I told him.

He smiled.

"Do you know what day it is?" I asked Severus turning the subject out of dangerous waters.

"Friday!" he cheered jumping a little in my lap.

"Yes," I said, "but that is not all that it is."

Severus looked at me blankly.

"It is May 2nd," I told him.

Severus still looked confused.

"Remember what I told you about our cousin, Severus, the one you are named after," I said.

My little Severus nodded. He took in a deep breath of air. "You said that Cousin Severus helped save the wizards and-"

"Shh," I told him.

He clapped his hands over his mouth. "Muggles," he whispered.

I nodded. "We will talk about it when we are at home."

The bus stopped soon enough and let us off a block away from our brick apartment complex.

Severus held my hand as we walked down there street. He pulled my arm up and down as he skipped along happily at my side.

Once inside the building we took the stairs as always to the fifth floor. Severus wanted to race and we took the stairs two at a time until we were out of breath. Severus won.

We reached apartment 515 and I pulled the key from my purse.

"No," Severus whispered looking around anxiously. There was no one in the hall but us. "Do it the other way," he said looking up with wide-eyed longing, "Please, Mommy."

I looked around too; there was still no one there. "Okay," I smiled wanting to appease my son. I pulled my wand from my purse and whispered "Alohomora." The door smoothly swung open. Severus giggled once happily and then ran inside.

Our apartment was a bit bigger than one would expect. I admit that I made some modifications.

The kitchen was full size, complete with light marble counter tops and shiny wooden floors, with a substantially sized window over the sink. Next to the kitchen was the living room with lush Turkish carpets and an overly stuffed, eggplant colored sofa, on which Severus had flopped himself upon.

The wall behind the couch was lined with books, many that I had inherited from the Spinner's End house (including the complete works of Shakespeare). A grand fireplace was opposite the sofa and the mantle was heavy with many framed pictures of Severus. All the pictures were taken with a muggle camera and were stationary.

Across from the front door was a tiny hall. To the left was the door that led to the bathroom, to the right was a spiral staircase that led to Severus's loft bedroom and straight ahead was a set of double doors that led into my room.

Just a few simple expanding charms and a lot of transfiguration made this once one roomed apartment a wonderful home.

A sleek, yet very fat black cat slinked over to me and purred at my feet.

"Hello, Useless," I said lovingly to the animal as I picked him up. He hissed at me, but then quickly forgave me as I scratched him behind the ears.

I walked over to Severus, and placed the cat on his stomach. He laughed as the cat's paws tickled him. Useless buried his face into Severus's chest and purred contently.

My wand still handy I opened the living room curtains with magic, letting the setting sun into the room.

"Now," I said knelling on the floor near Severus's head. "What is special about today?"

Severus smiled, ready to share what he knew. "Cousin Severus, helped save all the wizards and all the witches-"

"And muggles," I said.

"And muggles," repeated Severus still smiling.

"Who did he help protect us from?" I asked him.

Severus's smile faded and he became as solemn as any adult. "Lord Voldemort," he said with wide eyes.

"That's right," I told him seriously.

"And Lord Voldemort killed Cousin Severus and Grandma and Grandpa and Aunt Sidney and Harry Potter killed Lord Voldemort." My five year old son remembered what I had taught him.

"Cousin Severus helped Harry Potter," I said.

"And he was brave," Severus said.

"He was, they both were very brave," I told my little Severus. "And why did I name you Severus?" I asked my son earnestly.

"Because he was brave?" Severus asked.

"Yes," I told him, "and as a constant reminder that no matter what, you can always choose to be good."

Severus did not really understand but someday he would. He nodded.

"And Mommy," said Severus.

"Yes."

"Mommy, I am named after Grandpa too," said Severus lightening the mood a bit.

"Yes, My little Severus Tiberius Snape," I smiled lovingly at him.

Useless let out a loud meow from Severus's stomach and I was reminded to get back on topic.

"So Sev," I said, "this is a very important day, it is the five year anniversary of the day Lord Voldemort died and the day that the other Severus and many other good witches and wizards and muggles died too. So it is both a very sad and happy day that should be remembered."

"Yes, Mommy," Severus said.

"That's my good boy," I said. I pulled Useless off Severus and put him on the floor so Severus could sit up. Useless looked at me with resentment for having been pulled away from his favorite person.

The cat crept away into the hall probably to go sleep under the stairs.

"So are you hungry?" I asked my son.

He sat up at once and nodded vigorously.

"Well then what would you like to eat?" I asked.

"Mac n' Cheese!" Severus said.

"Okay, Sev," I laughed.

So I got up and walked to the kitchen and put a pot on to boil. "And after dinner," I said slowly, "if you want we could get some ice cream."

Severus ran into the kitchen.

"I mean, you probably don't want to, silly idea, probably shouldn't," I said.

"No," Severus said worriedly. "I want ice cream."

I laughed. "Okay then, Sweetheart. Now go wash up for dinner."