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.
Alexander Potter-Snape was born on September 15, 1983. He had Severus' facial structure and was spiking just a few bits of black hair. However, his nose and eyes were identical to Lily's.
While Harry, Draco and Neville were disappointed, stating that Alex was too small to even play with him, one-year-old Jacqueline, Jaime and Mireille fawned over the baby. Nevertheless, Harry and his friends felt very big, when Lily asked them to help Narcissa and Aileen care for the baby, when she was working in the lab, and fortunately, everything worked out well.
In busy times, she consoled herself as well as Narcissa and Aileen with the fact that the older trio was going to attend the primary school at Hogwarts from the following September onwards.
HP
Harry was very much looking forward to his birthday. While Draco was a month older, Neville's birthday was just on the day before his own, which he, unfortunately, had to share with his siblings. While on Neville's birthday, they would have a small beach party just with the extended family and Neville's grandmother, for his and the twins' birthday they had planned a large party at home.
Fortunately, the weather was good, and Harry was looking forward to playing Quidditch, as soon as his funny godfather Sirius would arrive.
"No, I don't wan to fly." His two-year-old brother's voice was firm.
"But we're going to fly. You and Jacqueline are only two, but Harry is four, and he has to decide." Draco cast the smaller boy a smug look.
"No!" Jaime glared at the blond boy.
"We're four and big and will go to primary school soon, won't we Harry?"
"Yes." Harry smiled at Neville, who was like a twin brother to him.
"Good. Then we will have peace and quiet," Jacqueline spoke up, causing Draco to snort.
"And who's going to read you stories?" Harry challenged. When he, Neville and Draco had been two, Remus had presented them with a floor puzzle that enabled them to learn letters easily, and by the time they had turned three, Harry and Draco had been able to read children's books that were written in large letters.
"Harry?" Jacqueline cast him a pleading look. "You teach me wead, before you go to school? Please?"
Harry grinned at his younger sister. "Of course, and I'll always be back in the afternoon anyway."
"While we're away, you and Mireille must take care of Alex." Neville gave the two girls a sharp look. "Inu will go to school with us."
"Inu?" Jacqueline stepped over to the canine and pulled him into a bear's hug. "You go to school?"
Inu gave her an assuring woof, which Harry understood as =Yes.= So far, the canine had been very protective of Alex and growled at anyone who came near the baby, when he was asleep. Recently, the now ten-month-old was crawling all over the place, and Inu was always nearby to prevent him from hurting himself.
"I'll miss you, Inu." Jacqueline placed a sloppy kiss onto the canine's head, causing Inu to gently lick her face.
"Thanks Inu," the two-year-old chuckled.
HP
Just then, Lucius Malfoy arrived through the Floo, drawling all the children's attention to him. Lucius and Narcissa were Jaime's godparents, while Jacqueline's godparents were Remus and Niamh; however, both couples had decided to be godparents to both twins. Harry had always found it strange that the twins had four godparents, while he only had his godfather Sirius. However, Draco had reassured him that the younger children always got more attention, pointing out that on the rare occasions when visitors came to Malfoy Manor, everyone mostly fawned over Mireille.
What attracted all the attention was the fact, however, that Lucius was carrying two animals in his arms. One of them, he handed to Jaime, the second to Jacqueline.
The twins uttered a simultaneous "Thank you," eyeing the animals, which had about the size of Inu, with apparent interest, before they both put them onto the floor in front of them.
"Are they heavy?" Harry asked, curiously, causing the twins to nod.
'Of course, they're only two,' Harry thought, feeling very big, as he was already able to lift Inu, even if only barely.
HP
Lily eyed the green animals that looked like small crocodiles with apprehension. "Thank you, Lucius, but what are these?"
Lucius grinned. "Don't worry, they're completely harmless. I wouldn't want to endanger my godchildren. They are Crocosauri." Ignoring a gasp coming from Severus, he continued, "The Crocosaurus plays an important part in magical Irish mythology as the companion and protector of Goddess Canola, the deity of magic. The Crocosaurus is dangerous, as it has a very poisonous tooth. There is only one breeder for this species in Ireland, and I've made sure that he removed the poisonous teeth from these two, so that they're absolutely harmless."
Lily did not feel overly reassured with the explanation. Somehow, the thought 'I just hope the twins aren't natural Animagi like Harry' played at the back of her mind, causing a feeling of foreboding.
She cast her husband a grateful look, when he enquired if Lucius was absolutely certain.
"Yes, definitely." Lucius smirked, before he rolled his eyes in apparently feigned annoyance and pulled a small, transparent bag out of his robe pocket, which he handed to Severus. "I knew that you'd ask."
Lily recognised two small teeth. "Thank you, Lucius. Sev, will you please put them into the safe in the lab?"
"Of course." Her husband nodded, reassuringly, before he crossed the room in a pace too fast for the children to follow. He only returned a while later, giving her a reassuring nod that told her that he had cast a series of protection charms on the teeth.
HP
Four weeks later, on the day after Mireille's second birthday, the primary school began, much to the older trio's excitement.
The primary school had four classes. Mary Kelly from Inis Rún, who was a good friend of Niamh, was responsible for the first class of the four-year-olds. Theresa O'Neill, another friend of Niamh, was going to teach the five and six-year-olds, Molly Weasley was the teacher for the seven and eight-year-olds and Narcissa Malfoy was responsible for the nine and ten-year-olds.
The older trio already knew Miss Kelly, as Aileen and Niamh had been so kind and introduced her to them already weeks ago, and they really liked their teacher.
Their class consisted of nineteen children. Harry, Draco, Neville as well as Susan and Hannah, whom they had already met a couple of times. Daphne Greengrass and her friend Tracey Davis were there as well as Ronald Weasley and his younger sister Ginny, who was only three just like Luna. They were both allowed to attend the class due to their mothers being teachers. The trio had not met Theodore Nott, Seamus Finnegan, Mandy Brocklehorst, Terry Boot, Ernie Macmillan or the twins Padma and Parvati Patil. Finally, there were Aidan Murphy and Abigail O'Connor from Inis Rún.
Harry found that all children were very nice, even if he realised that most of them, with the exception of Abigail, Luna and Daphne, seemed a little stupid. 'They can't even read yet,' he thought in annoyance, as the teacher began to patiently introduce the first two letters to the class. However, while some things were boring, at other times, he really enjoyed himself and knew that Draco and Neville felt the same.
Unfortunately, Miss Kelly did not allow them to fly, and when the trio pestered her, she explained patiently that not everyone might be as good at flying as them, and she could not watch nineteen three and four-year-olds flying just by herself.
However, as they were able to return home at four o'clock each afternoon, there were always a possibility to fly in their own garden afterwards. They even became good friends with Aidan and Abigail, who both lived right around the corner from the Potter-Snape family and often came to visit to play or fly together.
One day, Harry noticed that Luna seemed uncharacteristically sad. Usually, she always had a smile on her lips, when she met them; however, on this Friday afternoon, she just looked unhappy.
"Are you sad?" He cast her a questioning look, while Inu went ahead and gently licked the girl's hand.
"Thanks Inu. My mummy is teaching at Hogwarts and we live here now. The weekends are boring, when you don't come to school."
Harry nodded in understanding and swiftly invited the girl to visit them at their home. "I'll ask my mummy and she will call your mummy, so you can come over tomorrow morning."
Luna's expression immediately changed to a big smile. "Thanks Harry."
From that time onwards, Harry invited Luna to visit them every weekend, and Severus gently met the girl at Hogwarts and led her through his personal lab and the connecting door to their home. Unbeknownst to the children, he had cast a charm at the girl that ensured that she could not tell anyone about her method of travel to Inis Rún. Only her mother and Minerva were aware of the connecting door.
HP
"Thank Merlin that Harry, Neville and Draco love the primary school so much." Lily smiled at her husband, once they had retreated to their bedroom one evening. "Otherwise, I'd really feel as if I was abandoning them in favour of the apothecary."
Severus nodded in apparent understanding. "I understand what you mean, but you aren't. Don't ever think that you're a bad mother, just because you're running the apothecary. Miss Kelly is very good with children, too, but it might happen in the future that they'll have a teacher, whom they don't like. They'll still have to get on and they will."
"I am very proud of the three of them, seeing how they behave, not only at school, but also, for example, towards Luna and other children."
Severus nodded. "Yes, they're very well behaved."
"Don't you miss teaching classes?"
Severus smirked. "Of course not. I'm very happy."
"Me too," Lily whispered, as she snuggled closely against him.
HP
During the following months, Lily and Severus intensified their efforts for the development of a possible wolvescure, which would once and forever heal a werewolf from lycanthropy.
One day, Lily said, while she bottled a batch of potions, "I think we should teach Remus, so that he can take his own Potions mastery in a few years' time. He was always adept at brewing, so why not? I could take turns with him overseeing the sales room of the apothecary."
Severus cast her a pensive look. "Why not?" he finally agreed. "You're right. It won't hurt having three full-fledged potions masters at the Singing Dog."
From that time onwards, Lily took turns with Remus working downstairs in the apothecary. While she dealt with their customers, Severus taught Remus to proficiently brew all the concoctions that were required for the Potions mastery. They even included him in their research for the wolvescure – much to Remus' delight.
Using the Wolfsbane potion as the basis, they added different amounts of jellygrapes each time as well as various other ingredients. Every month, Remus tried out their newest concoction. Niamh was so kind and introduced them to Healer O'Connor, the Head Healer of St. Bridget's Hospital for Magical Ailments in Dublin, where she had taken her healer's degree and worked for a few years. Healer O'Connor was very interested in their research and saw to it that he had between five and twenty werewolves in safety rooms at the hospital each month, depending on how many different doses the Singing Dog was able to produce that month. Needless to say, they usually gave the most promising potion to Remus.
HP
It was shortly after Harry's sixth birthday and a month after Remus had taken the Potions mastery that the werewolf had a substantial idea. "Perhaps, we could include a drop of blood from a magical creature such as a crocosaurus."
Lily and Severus cast their friend and colleague a surprised look. "Why not?" Severus was the first to break the silence. "Why should it be a creature, let alone a dangerous one though? Why not the blood of a healthy wizard or witch?"
"I wouldn't mind giving a drop of blood for the potion, or do you think it had to be a pureblood wizard or witch?" Lily looked at her husband, questioningly. "In case you have forgotten, I am muggleborn."
Severus smirked. "I believe that your blood would be more than adequate, even if you were muggleborn."
"I am."
"Have you ever considered following Buckbean's invitation to check out your blood status and your ancestors?"
Lily rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Severus, I knew my parents. You knew them. They were muggles."
Remus cleared his throat, efficiently ending the conversation between husband and wife. "We could ask Sirius. Perhaps, he'd be willing to give a drop of blood."
"He'd not only be willing; he'd be thrilled." Severus cast him a grim look. "However, I still suggest Lily, as it would be much easier if we could use her blood if the potion worked and we'd have to brew several hundreds or even thousands of batches."
Remus and Lily immediately agreed and, following their conversation, they added two drops of Lily's blood to the concoction that Remus was going to take that month. Somehow, Lily still felt uncertain wondering if they had better taken someone else's blood. 'If Harry was older, I'd have asked him,' she thought. 'He's at least a half-blood, but I won't ask my six-year-old son to give a drop of blood for something that he doesn't even understand.'
During the following full moon, Remus did not transform.
For the next full moon, they prepared twenty doses using the same recipe, while Remus spent the night in his safe cell that Severus and Sirius had built for him in the cellar without taking any potion.
HP
Shortly before Halloween, Minister O'Mahony, the Irish Minister of Magic, visited the Singing Dog.
"Minister." Lily stared at the older wizard in shock.
"Lady Potter-Snape." The minister smiled broadly. "I came to speak with the Potions Master or Mistress who has developed the so-called Wolvescure. Healer O'Connor, the head healer of St. Bridget's Hospital for Magical Ailments in Dublin, sent me here."
Lily smiled and ushered the minister to the small table on the right side of the apothecary room, where they very rarely entertained guests.
"Cicero," she called her husband's house-elf. "Please tell Severus and Remus to join Minister O'Mahony and me here urgently."
"Of course, Mistress Lily." An instant later, Cicero was gone.
The Minister smiled again. "I appreciate it if a house-elf is treated well and being thanked."
Lily was not sure if he was talking to her or more or less to himself; however, before she had to do as much as respond, Severus and Remus joined them and greeted the minister. Almost at the same time, Cicero served refreshments, before he vanished as quietly as he had come.
"Do I understand it correctly that all three of you were involved in the invention of the wolvescure?"
"Yes sir." Remus took it upon himself to explain. "I was bitten, when I was four, and ever since then, I have been a werewolf. My friends began to work on a cure at the same time, as they taught me for the Potions Mastery, and only recently, they managed to cure me. Ever since then, we are brewing as many batches as possible to enable Head Healer O'Connor of St. Bridget's Hospital for Magical Ailments to cure as many werewolves as possible."
"We did not manage to cure you," Severus lightly corrected him. "You, Lily and I did it together."
"It was even you who had the final idea for the potion." Lily cast Remus a proud look.
The minister nodded in apparent understanding. "Very well. I'd like to thank you very much for your efforts. You've done the magical world a lot of good, and I appreciate it very much. I will award all three of you the Order of Merlin first class, and I will see to it that you will receive one thousand Clovers for each batch of the potion you deliver to St. Bridget's."
Lily's eyes widened, knowing that one Clover, the currency used in the Irish magical world, equalled one Galleon in the British magical world.
"Thank you so very much," Remus replied, while Severus slightly inclined his head in silent thanks.
"Thank you very much." Lily smiled at the older wizard. "We promise that we'll continue brewing the potion until every werewolf in Ireland who wants to be cured will receive their dose."
HP
On Halloween, five years after the attack on Godric's Hollow, Lily, Severus and Remus attended a party at the Irish Ministry of Magic, where the three of them were awarded the Order of Merlin first class.
Annette O'Leary from the Celtic Herald was sitting at the minister's table together with the trio.
"Here, we meet again," she eagerly greeted the three. "Are you available for some questions after dinner?"
"Of course." Lily smiled at the older witch, whom she respected very much, as she found her reporting in the Celtic Herald quite good. Not only were the articles well written but also seemed objective and informative.
"Only if you promise to not mention either of our names. Please only write about The Singing Dog." Severus' voice was strict.
O'Leary cast him a seemingly surprised look, however, nodded in agreement. "I promise to do so."
"Thank you, Ms. O'Leary."
HP
A few days later, Albus Dumbledore was sitting in the headmaster's office at Hogwarts reading the Daily Prophet, when the largest article on the front page caught his eyes.
'The Irish Apothecary 'The Singing Dog' invents Cure for Lycanthropy'
'A cure for lycanthropy?' he thought in disbelief and quickly engrossed himself in reading the article.
'The three Potions Masters of The Singing Dog have managed what hundreds of potions coryphées in the past centuries have tried in vain – to invent a cure for lycanthropy. Unfortunately, we could only retrieve this information from the 'Celtic Herald' and are not aware of who these Potions Masters are. According to Annette O'Leary from the Celtic Herald, all three of them have received the Order of Merlin first class and have made an agreement with St. Bridget's Hospital for Magical Ailments in Dublin to provide the Irish magical world with many doses of the so-called 'Wolvescure'. The Daily Prophet hopes that St. Mungo's will contact St. Bridget's and make an arrangement with them to provide this cure to the British magical world as well.
Rita Skeeter'
Albus remained pensive for a few minutes. 'I wonder if Severus knows about this. I must ask him, and then, we should have a Wizengamot meeting to discuss this cure in any case. All werewolves should be forced to take this potion, especially as Voldemort will surely come back some time in the future. At least, he won't have the werewolves to rely on if we manage to cure them beforehand.'
He then swiftly leaned into the fireplace to call Severus, who unfortunately was as wise as himself concerning The Singing Dog, before he sent out his Patronus inviting the members of the Wizengamot for an urgent meeting in two days' time.
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.