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The New Evans Family Member

'Far out!' Lily squealed, dancing around happily 'I can't believe we had the famous Newt Scamander at our house!'

'Can you believe he still works? He's like 100 years old!' Tansy said

'Dumbledore still works as the headmaster of Hogwarts and he's like 150!' Lily said

'In one of my Herbology classes, Professor Sprout said that Newt Scamander is one of Hogwarts most famous Hufflepuffs!' Petunia exclaimed

'Really? With the number of dangerous animals that he is around, I would have thought he was a Gryffindor,' Severus said, placing Butterscotch back onto the carpet, now that the front door had been closed.

'See Lily it's not just Gryffindor's who are brave, Hufflepuffs can be just as brave as everyone else!' Rose said excitedly

Lily very maturely rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out at Rose. Severus didn't think he would ever understand girls.

'Alright, girls that's enough now. We should go and buy a few things since we know we can keep the Kneazle, this is her home now as well' Mrs Evans said

'I'll make up a quick list for our newest family member and we can all head to our local pet shop.' Mr Evans said, grabbing the pen and notepad that sat next to the telephone to take messages.

Shopping list for Cat items;

Kitty litter

Kitty litter cabinet with Tray and shovel

Food and water bowls

Toys

Cat bed with a blanket

Cat brush

Nail clippers

Cat food

Litter catcher/mat

Carrier (take her to school)

A scratching post with a platform on top

When everyone had gotten their shoes on they all piled into the Evans' van, it wasn't long before they had found a pet shop. Going shopping with the Evans was interesting, to say the least, Severus thought that like his mother all females enjoyed taking hours and hours looking at things to buy. However, it wasn't like that with all the females of the Evans' family. Petunia and Tansy were surprisingly efficient, not straying far from their father's list of necessary items. It was the type of shopping that Severus preferred. Mrs Evans, Lily and Rose, however, cooed over what felt like every single item in the shop including the animals for sale despite the fact that they had just gotten a pet.

After what felt like an eternity to Severus, but was in actuality only about an hour later, every single item on the list was purchased and loaded into the van. Mr Evans turned around from packing the last item into the van

'Since it's such a lovely day, how about we have a picnic lunch?' He asked.

'Yay! Yes please, daddy,' the girls cheered

'How about we get some Chinese takeaway, It's been quite a while since we had that' Mrs Evans suggested,

'I've never had Chinese food before' Severus said feeling nervous

'There is nothing to worry about dear, it's not spicy like Indian food and we will make sure to get a selection of dishes since the girls all like different things.' Mrs Evans said running a hand through his hair in a soothing manner.

'Sounds good dear, how about we go and pick up an assortment of dishes and drinks, and then we can head over to the Bass' Recreation Ground? Since both the takeaway and the park are close by, how about we leave the van here and have a stroll?' Mr Evans said

Walking along in the warm summer morning, watching the girls smiling, chattering and twirling in their summer dresses, Severus was starting to enjoy the sunlight. Being born in the darkness and cold of Spinner's End that was all he was used to for nine years; it wasn't until he had met the Evans that he realised that things could be different. Having the sun soak deep into his bones he felt like he was meeting the girls for the first time all over again. Mr and Mrs Evans were nice and loving and he hoped one day to have a relationship like theirs, rather than his parents' one. But having someone who understood him who felt that same connection with their magic and actually liked him, was much more soothing to his soul.

Severus was broken out of his musings by Tansy taking hold of his hand, he looked around to see they were at a zebra crossing.

'Mum and dad always make sure we are all holding hands before we cross the road.' Tansy said, giving him an impish smile.

As soon as he opened the door to the Chinese restaurant for the girls to enter, the exotic smells of oriental cooking teased Severus' senses, making his mouth water in anticipation.

'Good morning. How may I help you?' asked an old woman, despite the fact that she was leaning heavily on a cane, she smiled up at them.

'Good morning' Mrs Evans said beaming at the small woman behind the counter 'Can we please get a large serving of Fried rice, Lemon chicken, Honey chicken, Mongolian beef and veggies, Garlic prawns with veggies and Pork with plum sauce and veggies. Can we also get cans of pop for the kids and two bottles of water?'

'The fridges for the drinks are just under the counter in front of you. If your kids all want to pick their own flavour of pop then I can calculate the price of everything.'

Once the order was complete and everyone was happy with their choices, the little old lady took the order back to a little old man who could be seen cooking over a wok tossing ingredients around and expertly catching it with the wok again. Severus wondered how many years it took to get that good at cooking.

Half an hour later, Severus found himself sitting at a picnic table nestled underneath the shade of a huge oak tree,

'How are you liking the food, Severus?' Mr Evans asked 'Have you found the one you like more than the others?

'All of them are really really tasty!' Severus said, having sampled each of the dishes. 'The honey chicken is a little sweet but it's all quite nice. Thank you for getting lunch Mr and Mrs Evans.'

'It's no trouble at all dear.' Mrs Evans said handing out napkins for everyone.

'How about you Princess?' Mr Evans asked

'I quite like the Pork with plum sauce and veggies.' Petunia said, dabbing at her mouth with a meticulously folded napkin.

'Lily bug? Any favourites?' Mr Evans asked Lily who had just stuffed her face with a forkful of Fried rice. Thankfully for Severus sanity instead of answering with a mouth full of food she gestured to her mouth and then gave a big thumbs up.

'Rose petal? How about you?' Mr Evans asked Rose who had been waiting patiently for her turn

'The Lemon chicken! Definitely.' Rose said, giving her father a big dimpled grin.

'Last but not least, How about you Firecracker? Mr Evans asked Tansy who still had a bit of honey stuck to her mouth

'Honey chicken! It's sugary and sweet and yummy!' Tansy said, wiping up her mouth and then diving back in for more.

'How about you Mr and Mrs Evans? Do you have a favourite dish?' Severus asked politely.

Mrs Evans smiled at him brightly 'I happen to love Mongolian beef and veggies.'

'Where I am more partial to the Garlic prawns with veggies.' Mr Evans said gesturing to the prawn he had just speared with his fork.

Laying under the oak tree after the filling and delicious lunch Severus felt his eyes drooping heavily against his cheeks, he was aware of two girls snuggling into him but he felt far too drowsy and comfortable to check who it was. A short time later, Severus was roused from his slumber by the sweet melodic voice of Mrs Evans

'Kids, time to wake up' Mrs Evans said gently

Severus was immediately awake. He was glad he hadn't jerked in surprise at her voice but that also could be because he was weighed down by Lily and Rose who had used him as a pillow to rest their heads.

The girls grumbled about being awoken but were soon happily skipping back down the street as they all walked back to the van. As they started their trip home, the girls began to chat about what other ideas they had for the summer holiday.

'Can we see another movie this summer?' Tansy asked

'Daddy, Mum can we please go to Blackpool? Sev has never been there? Lily asked

'Sev has never been to the circus either, can we go there?' Rose asked hopefully

'How about going to The British Museum, I'm sure Sev would like that the best!' Petunia said

'Girls.' Mrs Evans said ' We don't have to do every single activity this summer, don't forget we just got a kitten and we still have to do everyone's school shopping whenever the letters arrive.'

'Aww, but we asked nicely.' Lily whinged

'Don't push it Lily bug, money doesn't grow on trees.' Mr Evans said sternly.

Severus couldn't see Lily's expression from where he was seated, nestled between Petunia and Tansy in the rear of the van, but from her folded arms and slumped shoulders Severus guessed she was pouting, and she continued to do so for the last seven minutes of the car ride.

'Alright everyone, the quicker we unpack the car the quicker you can relax in the sitting room.' Mr Evans called as he pulled into the driveway. After Mr Evans had turned off the engine and opened up the boot of the van. Severus asked 'Where should everything go?' as he grabbed out the platform scratching post.

'Can you please place that scratching post into the corner near the t.v in the sitting room?' Mr Evans asked as he and Mrs Evans carried in the cabinet.

Passing Lily who was still unhappy as she carried in a Kitty litter bag, he heard her mumble. 'I hate being poor. When I have kids I'll give them everything they want!'

Severus shook his head in dismay, he had no idea when Lily had transformed into someone who acted like a spoiled brat. Lily had no idea what it actually meant to be poor. Having to go hungry and having no electricity because your drunk of a father had spent every last cent he could beat out of your mother was a whole lot worse than Mr and Mrs Evans making sure the girls had three meals a day and a safe and loving environment with electricity and heating.

As Severus walked back to the van, he saw Rose and Tansy rolling their eyes at Lily, behind her back.

'Just ignore her Sev' Tansy said walking back to the van with him 'She's just a little shirty. Lily wrote all the time about how most of her housemates could buy anything they wanted without having to save up for it and I think she got a little jealous.'

'You're not like that' Severus said, carrying in the small box of cat toys as Tansy picked up a handful of cat food tins.

'Being the youngest of four sisters, is hand-me-down central' Shrugging her shoulders, Tansy almost dropped the cans she was carrying 'Even with Mum and Dad inviting you to stay I'm still the baby of the family.'

When everything was sent up, Severus and the girls sat in the sitting room watching Butterscotch inspect every single new item that had been brought into the house, sticking her nose into the box of toys she happily carried a plush mouse around as she rubbed herself against the kitty litter cabinet that now had her bed on top of it, and then winding her way through each of the girls' legs as if to thank them for the items, Butterscotch then settled on top of the platform scratching post, acting like a queen inspecting her subjects.

'Since we have had such a busy morning you five can relax around the house this afternoon.' Mrs Evans said as she walked past the sitting-room carrying a basket of clothes.

Since the first few weeks of summer were so busy and actively involved, finally having an afternoon to just sit back and relax was soothing to Severus' soul.

'Since we have to stay in for the afternoon, I think I'll continue working on my embroidery.' Petunia said, pulling out a sewing box from underneath the coffee table that Severus was standing next to. Within the box contained a few different blank needlepoint canvases, knitting needles, some small plastic stick things with a little loop on the end, colours of all sorts of things that were either wool, string or cotton, a pair of scissors and a pincushion that looked like a hedgehog with sewing needles sticking out of it. Petunia carefully removed a canvas that had already been started and a long and blunt sewing needle and settled herself onto one end of the couch with a ball of green coloured wool.

'I can paint my nails and read the latest edition of Witch Weekly.' Lily said excitedly, bouncing out of the room.

'Witch Weekly?' Severus asked Petunia. 'Is that a periodical like Transfiguration Today?'

'Witch Weekly 'is a popular magazine for a lot of witches. It includes articles, quizzes, advice columns, and recipes. It also reported a great deal of celebrity news.'

Lily bounded back into the sitting room carrying some sort of sparkly box and a bright pink magazine. She placed both of them on the coffee table, opened up what Severus assumed was a makeup box and pulled out a bag with nail polish bottles, arranging them in colour order.

'I was thinking of making friendship bracelets' Rose said as she rummaged around in the sewing box taking out 5 different colours of string. 'Petunia, can you please pass me this week's issue of Jackie?'

'Of course' Petunia said, passing Rose a glossy magazine, then she must have seen the flabbergasted expression that Severus had been sporting because she said. 'Jackie magazine is the equivalent muggle magazine to Witch Weekly. It has fashion and beauty tips, gossip, short stories, and even comic strips. All four of us girls share the subscriptions for both Witch Weekly and Jackie.'

'I think I'll read a book.' Tansy said. Thinking that was a great idea Severus followed Tansy over to the bookshelf; she pulled out a book titled Madeline and curled up into an armchair. Severus himself perused the bookshelf and spied a new bright red book that Mr and Mrs Evans didn't have the last time he was there, Severus took it from the bookshelf, making himself comfortable in one of the armchairs Severus was soon lost in the world of Sherlock Holmes.

A short while later, Severus dragged his attention from his book to see how the girls were progressing with their various activities

Severus saw Petunia's picture was looking like it was coming along slowly but steadily as she expertly weaved colours into her embroidery of a unicorn grazing in a flowery meadow.

Lily's bright green coloured nails stood out boldly against her pale skin, as she had her nose buried in Witch Weekly, whilst waving one hand in the air to dry off her nails.

Severus gazed in astonishment as he watched Rose weave Pink, Black, Green, Yellow and Purple together so that they formed rows of different coloured arrows pointing to the end of the bracelet, Severus couldn't believe simple knots could make something so elaborate. One bracelet sat completed as Rose diligently worked on a second one.

Tansy who had been curled up in a ball in the armchair next to him closed her finished book with a decisive snap. Severus watched as she placed the book back into the bookshelf, then went and grabbed the cat brush from the cupboard and walked over to Butterscotch and carried her from her scratching post to the couch and proceeded to brush her fur.

Butterscotch let out a joyous purr with every passing stroke by the brush through her fur, her eyes twinkled, tail flicked as she started kneading Tansy's lap in a state of euphoria.

Just as Severus was about to ask Tansy whether the kitten was hurting her with its kneading, Severus heard brisk footfalls coming up the hallway, and then Mrs Evans stood in the doorway surveying the room just like Severus had just done.

'We'll be having cottage pie for dinner tonight. It will be ready in two hours. Get to some sort of finishing point with your craft Petunia and Rose and then you can all make sure the sitting room is at least somewhat neat before you come and wash your hands before dinner, please.' Mrs Evans announced.

'Ok mum.' The girls called

Tansy placed Butterscotch back onto her scratching post and looked over to Lily. Butterscotch however let out a huge yawn, stretched out her torso and jumped down from her post. Severus watched as Butterscotch sauntered through the sitting room making her way to the litter cabinet. Butterscotch then jumped on top of the cabinet that now held her cat bed, she climbed into her bed, proceeded to knead at her fluffy cushion to soften it before turning around twice on the spot and curling up into a ball to fall asleep.

Severus glanced back at Lily, her left hand which was now holding a small nailbrush was shaking and hovering unsteadily above her right hand.

'Would you like some help painting your right hand?' Tansy asked

Lily beamed in relief. 'Thank you Tansy that would be the bee's knees.'

Seeing that there was no way Severus could help with Petunia's embroidery or Rose's friendship bracelets, Severus decided he would go and help set the table for dinner.

Severus walked down the hallway, since he'd spent so much time with the Evans' he now knew where everything was. Going to the linen closet under the stairs Severus grabbed out a tablecloth and proceeded to lay it flat upon the table.

'Would you mind placing the plates and cutlery on the table as well dear?' Mrs Evans asked him when she had looked around to see who had walked into the kitchen. 'Richard honey? Can you carry over the big jug of lemonade and cups for everyone?'

Mr Evans who had walked into the kitchen from the garage door smiled amicably at his wife. 'Of course love'

It wasn't long until Mrs Evans Cottage Pie was cooked, Severus thought it looked extremely mouth-watering with the pan sitting on top of a cutting board in the middle of the table.

'Girls dinner!' Mr Evans called, his deep voice carrying down the hallway.

'Coming daddy!' Lily yelled from the other room and then three pairs of feet could be heard making their way to the kitchen.

The Lily that was now happily chatting away to her sisters as they all sat down at that table to dig into the meal was a far cry from the petulant Lily that had whined and complained when they had first gotten home it was like seeing two different Lily's. As Severus dug into his dinner, he hoped that his Lily, the one who was sweet and kind and nice would be the one who stayed.