The Singing Dog
by Teddylonglong
All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story. I am merely borrowing the characters to play with them.
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes.
Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC.
The room, where Lily had arrived carrying Harry in her arms, looked completely different from her own living room. It somehow resembled the tea room at Malfoy Manor, where they had spent most of the day. When she glanced around, however, she noticed that the portraits of James and the grandparents were at their usual place. 'It is our living room,' she realised in relief, just when Severus elegantly stepped out of the fireplace with Inu.
"What happened here?" She cast him a questioning look, causing him to smirk.
"Our Christmas present," he replied before shouting, "Marauders!"
An instant later, Amelia, Aileen, Minerva, Sirius, Remus and Niamh, Aileen's daughter, entered the room in apparent cheerfulness. "Happy Christmas."
Aileen stepped forward. "Sorry Lily, but we all thought that your house needed some decoration, and we all worked together after instructions from Narcissa Malfoy."
'That's why it looks like her tea room.' Lily nodded, as realisation set in. "Thank you all so very much. It's absolutely beautiful."
"Check out the second floor as well." Lily looked at Remus in silent question; however, the Marauder merely smirked.
Feeling absolutely excited, Lily rushed upstairs, only to find that the room adjacent to the nursery had been turned into a second nursery, one that was obviously made for twins. Just like in Harry's nursery, the overall pattern was one of dogs and cats; however, the colours were not red and yellow as in Harry's room, but blue and green.
"Fantastic." Lily stared around in amazement. "This is absolutely brilliant."
After a tour of the rest of the house except for Harry's nursery and Lily's bedroom, which her friends had not touched, everyone returned to their respective homes, promising to come back after breakfast on Christmas morning.
'Thank Merlin I got Christmas presents for each of them,' Lily thought, when she observed Harry and Inu crawl under the Christmas tree to look for presents. 'It was good that we placed unbreakable charms on the baubles,' she thought, as she shooed Inu out from under the tree, where he was just trying to relieve himself.
"Inu. Go out into the garden." Apparently driven by her for once strict voice, the puppy dashed away and sat in front of the garden door, where he patiently waited for her to let him out.
Amelia and Sirius, Severus, Remus, Minerva as well as Aileen and her daughter Niamh arrived, while Lily and Harry were still having breakfast. However, Harry immediately decided that he had eaten enough upon seeing another pile of presents manifest under the tree. In the afternoon, the Malfoys arrived, and the children had much fun.
They had a wonderful Christmas day, and Lily felt extremely grateful to her friends for not allowing her to be alone and possibly lost in dark thoughts on that day.
"I don't know who organised all of this, but it was a nice Christmas," Lily said, when everyone but Severus had gone home. Severus and Minerva had returned to Hogwarts for Christmas Dinner due to the headmaster's insistence, but come back right afterwards.
"That it was. Did you notice that Niamh and Remus seem to have taken a liking to each other?"
Lily stared at Severus in surprise. "As observant as ever. No, I didn't realise that. I'd be extremely happy for Remus though. Niamh seems really nice."
"We need to try to find a remedy for his lycanthropy. As long as he's not cured, he probably won't allow himself into any relationship."
"That's true." Lily let out a deep sigh. "Oh well, when the apothecary is finished, we can begin do some experiments using these jellygrapes."
"That we will do." Severus smiled, making her feel very cared for.
"Thanks for being here for Harry, Inu and me," she said in a soft voice. "You're making us very happy."
"Dito."
"Did you hear what Harry called you tonight?"
Severus quirked an eyebrow.
"He called you 'Dada', just like Draco called Lucius, who was trying to make him call him 'Father' instead." Lily chuckled.
"Harry's seventeen months old," Severus replied, dismissively.
"He's as stubborn as his mother, and he knows exactly what he wants." They both turned around to the portrait in shock.
"James!" Lily rolled her eyes at the portrait of her late husband.
"What? It's true." James shrugged.
"James, you shouldn't listen to people's conversations in any case, but if you do, you should keep quiet." His mother's voice was firm but gentle.
"Thank you, Dorea." Lily smiled at her late mother-in-law, who returned the smile from her portrait.
"Well, Lily, you could always put the portrait of our son into the nursery or elsewhere," her father-in-law spoke up, "as long as you'll leave our portrait here, because Dorea and I enjoy some entertainment."
"I will." Lily nodded in confirmation. 'I really like my parents-in-law. I wished we had portraits of my parents, too.'
HP
The following months passed much too slowly for Lily's liking. She noticed quickly that while her pregnancy with Harry had been annoying, especially due to accidental magic coming from the unborn baby, carrying two magical babies was extremely exhausting.
"They seem to be as powerful as Harry," she told James one day. She often talked to him, when she was alone at home with Harry and Inu.
"Harry is a very good boy, and he seems quite intelligent. I hope he and Severus will help you raise these two."
"Severus?" Lily cast her late husband a questioning look.
"He's going to be a good father to all three of them."
Lily stared at the portrait in shock. "Would you not mind?"
"No, and I've already told him as much. The kids need a real father, not one in a photo frame."
HP
It was on a day in late May, when Narcissa asked her if she was willing to become her daughter's godmother.
"I'd like that," Lily confirmed, smiling. "Who is going to be the godfather?"
"Either Severus or Sirius." Narcissa sighed. "Lucius wants Severus, while I'd rather take Sirius, considering that Severus is already Draco's godfather."
"Ah, all right. I don't think Severus would mind being the godfather to both children though." She let out a deep sigh. "I haven't even decided whom to make the twins' godparents. Would you perhaps be willing to become the boy's godmother and Lucius his godfather?"
"I'd feel honoured, and I know that Lucius would, too." Narcissa smiled, as her eyes slowly wandered to Lily's belly, which already clearly showed the presence of more than just one baby.
'For the girl, I'll ask Niamh and Remus,' Lily resolved, quickly dismissing the idea of Sirius and Amelia, as Sirius was already Harry's godfather. 'Together with Alice. I really should make contact to her. I haven't ever since we moved here.'
HP
Later the same day, when she was alone with Severus, she discussed the matter of the godparents with him.
"I'd ask you to become the godfather for both of them, but frankly speaking, I hope that you'll rather become a father figure for them, just like for Harry." It took a lot of courage to admit this thought to her best friend, and she hesitantly looked up to see his reaction.
However, his expression was blank. "I'd like that," he finally replied, "when you're ready."
Lily smiled, feeling extremely happy, especially as she did not have to have bad feelings towards James, as he had outright encouraged her to get into a relationship with her long-time friend. She leaned over, only to notice that he was doing the same, when their lips met earlier than expected.
HP
The following day was a Saturday, and Severus arrived right after breakfast. "Let's go to the beach," he suggested, and Harry and Inu immediately agreed. While Harry jumped up and down on both feet in apparent excitement, Inu dashed towards the door, his tail waggling madly. "You don't have to prepare anything. Cicero will come and assist."
Lily smiled, when they reached what had become her and Severus' favourite spot on the beach, a small bay with shallow, calm water, which was not frequented by the island's population.
Cicero brought a comfortable beach chair for two persons, and Severus motioned her to take a seat. He then helped Harry to build a sand castle, before he lowered himself into the seat next to her.
"Thanks Severus." Lily smiled, as she observed Harry and Inu play with their sand castle. She looked up in surprise, when Severus rose from the chair and knelt in front of her.
"Lily, will you honour me by becoming my wife?" Without waiting for her response, he slid a small silver ring with a Claddagh pattern onto her left ring finger.
She stared at the beautiful ring in absolute amazement, only to become aware that she had to reply, when he did not rise from where he was kneeling.
"Yes. Yes, of course. Thank you Sev."
HP
Minerva and Aileen were the first to hear the good news, and they both told them that they greatly approved of it.
"I was wondering how long it would take you to realise that it was the logical step for the two of you to take." Aileen grinned broadly, and Minerva nodded in confirmation.
"Grandmothers." Severus let out a theatrical sigh, causing Minerva to playfully slap his arm.
"You better behave yourself, considering that you might need said grandmothers' assistance once you're a father to one toddler and two babies."
"Exactly." Aileen immediately agreed with Minerva.
"Perhaps we should make it the grandmothers' task then to suggest names for the babies," Lily quipped, knowing that whatever name she suggested, either James or Severus would disagree.
"Nothing simpler than that." Aileen smirked. "You wanted names that resembled their birth father's name. Did I understand that correctly?"
"Yes." Lily's voice was firm, as she gave James a daring look.
"Jaime and Jacqueline." Everyone stared at Aileen in surprise.
"I like them both." Lily looked from Severus to James, feeling relieved, when both wizards nodded their agreement.
HP
Only a few weeks later, when Lily and Severus discussed their wedding, which they wanted to take place before the twins were going to be born, Lily got to know what had happened to Alice and Frank.
"They were attacked, lost their minds and are at St. Mungo's in the long-time ward?" Her voice was slowly picking up in anger.
Severus let out a deep sigh. "Lily, calm down. You don't want to harm the babies. Everything happened two days after you were attacked. At that time, you were already depressed about James' death and everything. We, that is Sirius, Remus, Amelia, Minerva, Aileen and I, decided that we would not bother you with the news."
Lily shook her head, tears leaking from her eyes. "Thank you for trying to act in my best interest, but still, you should have told me. Neville is my godchild. I should have taken him in. I only sent him a Christmas present but did not contact them otherwise. Where is he now? Is Augusta raising him? Is there nothing that can be done for them?"
"A remedy for them is on my to-do list right after the cure for lycanthropy." Severus smiled. "In two weeks, the summer holidays are going to commence, and I suggest that we actively begin to set up the potions lab on the second floor of the apothecary. I have already told Cicero about it and asked him to assist. With his help, it won't take us long. While I have to brew Poppy's stock, I'll have much time to brew batches for the apothecary and do some research at the same time."
"When do you think we'll be able to open the apothecary?" Lily knew that Remus was almost finished with the interior, as she had assisted every day, while Narcissa was watching Harry and Draco.
"October 1, provided that everything with our babies and that of Narcissa and Lucius goes well and Narcissa will be able to watch the children. Aileen will also be able to watch them at times. At first, we could simply brew for the islanders on demand. Have Niamh or Aileen send them to you with their prescriptions, and you can tell them if you'll be able to brew the potions they need within a reasonable time or if they should order from Dublin or London. Of course, I'll assist, whenever I can."
"All right," Lily agreed and glanced at the fireplace, where Harry had laid down for a nap together with Inu and Neko. Her eyes widened in shock at the sight. Harry was gone, and a second puppy was lying there in his stead. "Harry!"
"It's all right." James' voice sounded amused. "He must be a natural Animagus. He transformed into a doggy, when you were shouting earlier."
Lily stared at the portrait in shock. "I gave him a fright, and he transformed into a dog? Oh Merlin, what kind of a mother am I?"
"Nonsense. You're a good mother, and you're allowed to show your emotions just like everyone else."
"Exactly," Severus agreed with James. "And if he hadn't transformed at this time, he'd have done so at another time, as he clearly seems to be a natural Animagus."
Feeling very much reassured by her two men, Lily looked at her oldest son with interest. He looked like a spitting image of Inu with black dots here and there, brown ears and black fur surrounding his otherwise white face. 'Amazing,' she thought in disbelief.
HP
Lily and Severus decided on July 1 for their wedding. They invited Amelia and Sirius to become their witnesses and asked Aidan O'Mahony, the Irish Minister of Magic, to perform the ceremony on the square in Bally Sideways. Apart from the Minister and the witnesses, they only invited Aileen, Niamh, Minerva and Remus. The whole population of Inis Rún had been invited to the wedding, and there were many people interested in attending the wedding of the new apothecaries.
If the weather was too bad for an outside wedding, they would be allowed to hold the ceremony in the old fisherman's church opposite of their house. However, to their relief, it was a bright and sunny day, and the ceremony and the party afterwards were a pleasant event. Nevertheless, Lily was glad, when everything was over and they were back at home.
"I feel like a balloon with my big belly," she admitted to Severus, when she carefully lowered herself onto the sofa, glad that Sirius was looking after Harry and Inu for a while. "Thank Merlin we've decided to not go on a honeymoon."
"Living here comes already close to a permanent honeymoon, and you're beautiful, even if you feel uncomfortable," Severus replied, before he pulled her into a passionate kiss.
HP
Jaime and his twin sister Jacqueline were born in the early morning of Harry's second birthday. Since Aileen had assured Lily that she had supervised hundreds of births and that everything seemed to be all right with the babies, Lily had decided against going to a hospital but simply stayed at home.
To her relief, Severus remained with her the whole night; only when a spell that he had placed on Harry to know when he woke up alerted him, he left her to look after Harry and Inu.
As Aileen had told her shortly after the attack on Halloween, Jaime and Jacqueline both had a curse scar under their left foot. However, after Aileen thoroughly checked the scars, she informed Lily and Severus that there were simple curse scars. "They probably won't go away, neither with potions nor with spells, but they're harmless."
Harry and Inu were over the moon with joy at the sight of their younger siblings, although they agreed that the twins were too small to play with. Moreover, Harry was taken aback, when they did nothing but sleep, cry and eat during the following weeks.
"They're not fun," he told Lily one day, and Inu waggled his tail in apparent agreement.
"They will get bigger soon," Severus reassured them, smirking. "I tell you what. Shall we ask Aunt Narcissa and Uncle Lucius if Draco may come over for a week?"
"Yes!"
=Yes=
HP
Mireille Malfoy was born on the last day of August. Just like Lily, Narcissa had decided to give birth at home, and Lucius had accepted Aileen's offer to assist his wife. Later the same day, Mireille's godparents Lily and Severus travelled to Malfoy Manor with the four-week-old twins, leaving Harry, Inu and Draco with Remus for an hour.
"Thank Merlin she managed to come during August, so she'll be in the same Hogwarts year as my godson and his twin sister." Lucius grinned, as he helped Narcissa care for the baby.
Rolling his eyes, Severus muttered something sounding like "Triple trouble," as he readied himself to make Jacqueline burp over his shoulder.
'At least that's not my problem then,' Lily thought, when she proceeded to feed Jaime. 'Bad enough that Severus has to return to Hogwarts tomorrow.'
HP
As August passed, Lily could not help slowly becoming frustrated by the thought of being separated from her husband soon due to the beginning of the school year. 'I know all my friends with help me, but they're not him,' she thought, unconsciously letting out a series of deep sighs.
However, before he left for Hogwarts in the morning of the first of September, Severus motioned her to follow him into the potions lab on the second floor of the apothecary. When she cast him a questioning look, he waved his wand at an empty spot on the wall.
Lily stared at the newly manifested door right next to the connection door leading into their living room in surprise.
Severus smirked. "It's a shortcut right into my private lab. As you know, no one but Cicero or me ever enter my lab. It's the only place, where I'm even safe from Albus. As soon as I'm out of class, I'll come home. I will place my office door as well as my private quarters under a charm that will alert me if my presence is required at Hogwarts."
Lily cast her husband a grateful look. "I appreciate it. What if Dumbledore calls you through the fireplace though?"
Severus smirked. "I've already told him a fictive story about some Death Eaters contacting me as the reason why I am keeping my fireplace switched off. He will send his house-elf, and Cicero will relay any message."
Lily smiled and kissed him, before he stepped through the connecting door into Hogwarts.
'Thank Merlin. It really seems to work out well with Dumbledore being none the wiser,' she thought, as she returned to the living room, where the twins were asleep and Harry was cuddling with Inu in his canine form. 'I wonder if Dumbledore will ever find out about the apothecary. So far, he doesn't even know that we're married.' Somehow, she felt amused at the thought of keeping the old wizard in the dark. 'I just hope that he's going to retire, before Harry is of age to attend Hogwarts. Otherwise, I'll somehow have to help him on the way. I still have nine years to plan everything in detail.'
tbc...
Thank you so much for your kind words on the previous chapter. Please tell me what you think about this chapter and what you expect from this story.
Have a good weekend and a happy and healthy Easter!