"Girls! It's so good to see you!"
Hermione smiled at her mother-in-law weakly. "I wish it could be under better circumstances."
"Nonsense!" Anastasia pouted prettily, her eyes glittering with mischief. "Any time is good for us!"
Jacob harrumphed from the doorway to the dining room, a fake scowl on his face.
"Don't you start!" Anastasia warned him.
"It's good to see you again, lovely daughter." Jacob beamed at the enclave of girls. "I have a feeling the estate will never be the same. I don't think it's ever had this many girls in it."
"Three generations ago, dear," Anastasia corrected him.
"Oh, I believe you're right," Jacob nodded. "Then there were seven, counting the mother."
"The only thing I am sad about is that you are so away from our Severus. All this time wasted when you could be making children." Anastasia hugged the girls in turn.
Ginny burst out laughing at the look on Hermione's face.
"Oh, don't let her fool you," Anastasia said slyly to Hermione and Luna. "I hear she's got quite the man wrapped around her finger."
This time it was Hermione's turn to laugh at the look on Ginny's face. "It almost makes me sad I didn't take advantage of the Law," she said wistfully. "Then I might have a husband. That Justin Fitch-Fletchly was quite good looking."
"Oh, you girls have plenty of time for all that!" Anastasia told them. "Things are so much different from when I was young!"
Hermione looked at Jacob and he shook his head and chuckled.
"You have such a lovely home," Luna said as her eyes wandered over the ballroom, from the liquid floor, to the floral accents, to the map of the constellations set into the ceiling.
"Thank you, dear," Anastasia said warmly.
Luna's eyes stayed riveted to the ceiling. "Why are there stars out of place?"
"What?" Jacob hurried over to stare at what Luna was looking at.
"There," Luna pointed to an area, "and there."
"How are they wrong?" Jacob squinted. "They're in the right places!"
"Not precisely," Luna said as she continued squinting at them. "If this were accurate it would literally throw off the whole of Arithmantic studies."
Jacob was silent. "How so?"
"All the variables would be changed." Luna shrugged.
"How?" Jacob demanded to know.
"I'd have to figure it out, but it looks like somewhere between four to eight percent. It would change the Hennessy Theory for sure." Luna shrugged.
"But, that's the whole foundation of Arithmancy!" Jacob spluttered.
"I know." Luna tilted her head as she looked up. "Strange, isn't it? How long ago was it installed?"
"My father did it sometime before I was born," Jacob said with his eyes still fixed on the ceiling.
"I can go over some calculations, if you like. It might be something interesting to do."
"You do that." Jacob gave her an appraising look.
"Well, one of you has something to do. What about the rest of you?"
"I'm sure we'll find something. Plus, Ginny and Luna still have their schoolwork." Hermione pointed out.
"Do you always have to be thinking about studying?" Ginny rolled her eyes.
"Do you always have to be thinking about Quidditch?" Hermione laughed.
Jacob perked up at this. "You play Quidditch?"
"She's on the team," Hermione said merrily, her eyes twinkling as Ginny blushed in embarrassment.
"You are?" Jacob asked excitedly.
"And she's trying out for the Hornets," Luna added proudly.
Jacob's face began to light up, but Anastasia smacked him on the shoulder.
"You are far too old to be on a broomstick!" Anastasia chided him.
"I am not!" Jacob said defensively.
"You're old enough for the senior team!" Anastasia scoffed.
"At least I'm still young enough to play! You're acting like I'm decrepit!" Jacob scowled at her.
"In five years you won't be qualified to play anymore and that's close enough for me!"
Ginny's eyes flickered to Hermione, who motioned for she and Luna to follow once the bickering started.
"Are they always like that?" Ginny chuckled as the fight went on, oblivious to the girls' absence.
"On and off," Hermione shrugged as she led them to the kitchens.
"A preservation cube!" Ginny said excitedly. "Wow! My grandmother had one of these!"
"Really?" Hermione asked.
"No one really uses them anymore because refrigerators replaced iceboxes and cellars." Ginny walked over to it and looked it over. "This one is in really good shape."
"Help yourselves, girls," Jacob said as he entered the kitchen. "Food always settles down a fright."
Anastasia snorted as she whisked herself past him and into the kitchen. "With you, food is always the solution."
"No one ever made a situation better by starving themselves." He gave her an annoyed look.
"I'll just put a kettle on," Hermione said, her voice louder than usual. "Ginny, can you open the box or did your grandmother just use it as a safeguard for your brothers?"
"How many brothers do you have, dear?" Anastasia asked absent-mindedly as she clattered for teacups in a cupboard.
"Six. All older." Ginny made a face as she slid open the box.
"She'd have probably been better off hexing the whole kitchen." Jacob chuckled in amusement.
"She threatened it more than once, that's for sure." Ginny snorted.
"We were both lucky to have sisters." Anastasia remarked to her husband.
"At least I only had two!" Jacob pointed out. "You had eleven!"
"We managed just fine!" Anastasia lowered her eyebrows at him.
"Until Ball Season came around. Then you nearly drove your father to suicide with your bickering!"
"Sibling rivalry! Nothing more."
"Would you like me to Floo in one of your sisters to verify that?" Jacob asked in a withering voice. "I do believe there's a Mr. Kensington that's never quite recovered from being fought over."
"I quite like Ball Season," Luna piped up. "All of those pretty robes swirling around."
"Oh, do they still do that?" Ginny looked nervous.
"I forgot! You girls probably don't know all the traditional dances!" Anastasia gasped.
"Don't worry," Jacob reassured Ginny and Hermione. "We will fix that."
0
"I hate this." Severus scowled at his cup of tea.
"If there was another solution we would be using it." Professor McGonagall folded her arms and gave Severus a stern look as Professor Sprout refilled her teacup.
"You could always go join them," Flitwick said in an urging tone of voice.
"Why do you keep attempting to convince me to leave?" Severus peered at the tiny wizard, who was seated in the largest chair the school faculty room had to offer.
"He's got big plans for your lab and some racing brooms," McGonagall said, Flitwick's face breaking into an expression of horror. "But he's right. You should be protecting your family."
"And leave this maniac with my lab?" Severus said haughtily. "I think not."
"You haven't even seen my plans yet!" Flitwick protested with a scowl.
"If it's anything like your bounce enhancement project, not in a hundred lifetimes," Severus said in an annoyed tone. "I have no idea what possessed you to use my desk as a test. We never did find it, you know."
"I said I was sorry!" Flitwick said in an exasperated voice.
"Slytherin won't fall without you." Sprout examined him over the rims of her reading glasses.
"Who would look after them?" He sniffed.
"I say Professor Sinistra's had her eye on the position for quite some time," Flitwick suggested.
"Has she?" Severus' eyebrows went up.
"It's a good opportunity for you to test her, for further responsibilities," McGonagall said to Dumbledore, who had been quiet up to this point, thoughtfully stirring his cocoa with the end of his wand.
"I agree with both of you." Dumbledore sighed. "If you don't feel comfortable leaving the students I urge you to stay. I know there will be increased security in Russia, so Hermione is safe there. However, I know if I were in your position I would want to be with family.
"Slytherin is my family," Severus said with a tone of finality.
"That all changed when you said 'I do,' my friend." Flitwick smirked at the potions master.
0
Severus landed in the Snape Estate's ballroom fireplace and was surprised to see Hermione jump to her feet.
"Oh!" She looked relieved. "Thank God you're not your mother."
"For your sake, I'll have to agree." He snorted at her.
There was a loud whoop from outside and Severus frowned. "What's all that noise?"
"The reason we're all going to get murdered." Hermione moaned.
Severus scowled as he went to the nearest window and peered out.
A jolly game of Quidditch was going on: Ginny and Luna against a pretty, young girl with long blond hair and an extremely good-looking boy in his late teens.
Severus let out a groan before he headed for the nearest door.
"Mother is going to kill you!" He yelled at the merry foursome.
"Oh, come on, now." The young man swept down to greet them, his brow soaked with sweat and his breathing coming in huffs. He had dark, shaggy black hair and freckles covering his face. His eyes were twinkling, and his face had a mischievous look to it.
"How many potions did you take?" Severus squeaked as he looked at his father in horror. "They're supposed to build up in your system."
"I did build them up." Jacob looked nervous. "Sort of."
Severus cocked an eyebrow at him.
"I spread it out throughout the morning," Jacob mumbled.
"You'd have had to! Mother would miss them if you didn't!" Severus huffed.
"Well, now you're here to help replace them." Jacob slapped his son on the shoulder. "Your mother will never be the wiser."
"Oh, I won't, will I?"
A cold voice came from behind Severus and his whole body whipped around in fear. He was thankful his mother wasn't looking at him. He looked up at the three girls still in the air. "Run!"
The girls sped off, around the corner of the building; leaving the ball they had been throwing back and forth to hit the grass with a dull 'thud.'
She scowled at Severus.
"Don't look at me, I just got here." He held his hands up.
"Of course, you did, dear." Anastasia patted his face. "I heard you chiding your father. What a good boy I have!"
Hermione began to snicker.
"And you poor dear." She turned to Hermione. "I'm sure you had nothing to do with this."
"What?" Jacob blustered. "And how did you come by the information you're spouting?" Jacob glared at Anastasia.
"Because I know you, that's why!" Anastasia snapped at him. "And having Svetlana up there with you! Yuri would have a heart attack if he saw her up there!"
"Svetlana's here?" Severus asked stiffly."
"And she's an unbelievable beater, I tell you!" Jacob insisted.
Anastasia threw her hands up in frustration and stormed away.
"I really wasn't expecting—" Severus began, but his father cut him off.
"It's about time you got over yourself, Severus." Jacob shook his head. "No one blames you except for her batty grandmother and no one's taken her seriously for years. Svetlana's mother died years after the first war ended. No one saw it coming."
"Does everyone know I was a double-agent?" Severus asked, looking embarrassed.
"Did you really think it wouldn't be in the papers now that all this is over?" Jacob snorted. "Your mother should thank you for her expanding social calendar."
"This Ball Season nonsense will be even worse than normal?" Severus pinched the skin between his eyebrows. "Wonderful."
"I'm sure your new bride will be more than equipped for the job of fending off other women." Jacob chuckled.
"What?" Hermione squeaked.
"Don't worry about high society nonsense." Jacob assured her. "Things have gotten quite vulgar in the last few years."
"I assure you my wife is not accustomed to vulgar activities," Severus said coolly.
"Can you deflect a hex?" Jacob looked at Hermione.
"Yes!" Hermione looked appalled at the idea he thought her so useless in a fight.
"Cast a decent one?" He was grinning at her.
"Of course, I can!" Hermione sniffed.
"Anything else?" He prompted.
"I'm competent in transfigurations, charms, and defense spells. I was trained by Harry Potter in Defense Against the Dark Arts for a year, and I was a representative of Gryffindor in the school's dueling club my seventh year." Hermione scowled.
"More than capable." He shook his head at Severus.
"It's come to that?" Severus looked appalled.
"There was even a poisoning last year, but arrangements have been made to make that impossible this year." Jacob shook his head.
"I should hope so!" Severus drew himself up.
"It was over a decades-old rivalry." Jacob waved his son off. "Not over something petty or recent."
"Well, that's good to know," Hermione said with a sigh of relief. "So, we're safe."
Severus looked down at her pityingly and snorted. "For now."