A/N - Not sure how much this is needed, but just to make sure - I don't own any of the original characters or stories. JK Rowling has that distinction, I've just come up with the plot for this story.

Chapter Five

Sunday, 29 November 1981, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

After having spent the previous day getting to know his children, Severus realized he needed to talk to the Headmaster. He set out through the corridors of the castle heading towards the Headmaster's office, his robes billowing behind him as he went. Reaching the gargoyle that guarded the headmaster's office, he growled out the password "maple candy" and proceeded up the stairs. Knocking on the door, he waited for Dumbledore to call out "Enter" then swept into the office.

"What can I do for you my boy?" asked Dumbledore.

"Do you remember Sirius Black's older sister, Cassiopeia?" Severus asked.

Dumbledore nodded, held up a dish of candy, and asked "lemon drop?" When Severus shook his head no, Dumbledore replaced the dish on his desk, leaned back in his chair and folded his hands in front of him. "If I remember correctly you and she were pretty serious for a little while. Then she seemed to disappear right?"

Severus lightly ground his teeth together, then replied "She more than disappeared, we were told she died on an assignment for the order."

"Oh, that's right, now I remember. Was her body ever found?" asked Dumbledore.

"No, it wasn't, as you well know," growled Severus. "At least, you should know, since you were the leader of the order!"

Ignoring the veiled accusation, Dumbledore stared at Severus, waiting for Severus to get to the point.

"It seems, that the news of her death was incorrect. She fled to France to live in a Villa belonging to her Uncle Alphard." Dumbledore's eyebrows shot up his forehead and Severus enjoyed being able to shock him.

Recovering his composure, Dumbledore asked "What kind of new information do you have, Severus? Where would you have gotten this information?"

Severus held out Sirius's letter that had been pinned to Hermione for Dumbledore to read. He had asked to borrow it as he didn't feel comfortable allowing Dumbledore to read his own letter. Dumbledore took the letter, read it, and let out an audible gasp.

"Triplets? I'm assuming you've met with Black, have you met the triplets yet?" said Dumbledore.

Severus sat heavily in one of the chairs in front of Dumbledore's desk. He nodded his head and explained "I went over to Potter Manor yesterday. After sitting down with Black and Lupin to discuss some things, we went up to their bedroom to meet them. They knew who I was and greeted me the second I walked through the door! There's no question they're mine and Cassie's. Now we're just trying to figure out how I can spend as much time with them as possible. I know I can't have them in the castle on weekdays, but I was hoping you'd allow them to visit on weekends. I would like to introduce them to the staff as soon as possible. We also did an inheritance test and I'm going to need to discuss the results with a couple Professors. We'll need Minerva's help to guide them with Animagus transformations and control. Filius and yourself might be able to help them control their wandless magic. I also need to find resources about Parselmagic, if you know of anything regarding that. That's not all, but it's certainly enough to be getting on with for now."

Dumbledore sat in his chair, trying to organize the mountain of information he'd just been given. After a few minutes of silence, Dumbledore sighed and shook his head. "That is a lot to take in at once. Of course, they'd be welcome to stay on weekends. It will be good for them to see where you work and live. Let's set up a Staff meeting for next Saturday so they can be introduced to everybody else. During this coming week we can get accommodations added to your quarters and get things set up for them to come stay for next weekend. How are they dealing so far with losing their Mother?" he mused.

"So far, they're okay. In Cassie's letter to me, she warned to watch carefully in the coming days for them to start to realize she's gone permanently. Hopefully Remus and Sirius will be able to help them during the day. I'm planning on going over every night after my classes are finished this week. I feel I need to have meals with them and be there for bedtimes before I bring them here for the weekend. They need to get used to me so it's not strange or scary when they're in another new bedroom and new home. For now, we'll just need to add one bedroom and bathroom to my quarters. We're keeping them in the same bed, as well, so they have each other close while adjusting to the new situation. I do appreciate you being willing to let them stay with me and meet the staff. Your support will greatly help me support them as best as I can." Severus replied.

Albus nodded his agreement. "I think that will be just fine. I will explain some of the situation in Wednesday night's staff meeting. Go ahead and skip that one this week. The castle will add what you need to your quarters. If you'd like to bring them here a couple times this week to acclimate them to your quarters before they stay the night, that would be fine too. We will do whatever we can to help them in this hard time of life. I will meet with Minerva right away to fill her in on the whole situation. May I keep this letter to show her?"

"I will need it back tomorrow to return it to Bla…Sirius. I'm going to head out now, back to Potter Manor. Have a good rest of your day, Albus," replied Severus. Albus nodded his head in return and turned back to the paperwork he'd working on before Severus came in.


The rest of the week went by quickly for Severus. He spent as much time as he could with the triplets, while balancing his teaching requirements and what could be postponed for a little while. The triplets were settling in more each day, but as they relaxed, they started to withdraw a little more. The three men allowed this but kept a close eye on them.

Finally, Friday arrived, and Severus was nervous about how that night would go. As any student knows, the clock seems to slow down more and more when you desire the day to go by as quickly as possible. It seemed every time Severus looked at the time it had only been five minutes since he last looked. Thankfully his afternoon was completely free, so he was able to finish any and all grading so his weekend would be free for him to spend with the triplets. That thought floored him every time, his triplets, his children…would he ever get used to that idea?

At four o'clock Severus finished grading his last test. He did a double check that the new room for the triplets was finished and ready. Satisfied it was ready, he headed to his fireplace and flooed out to Potter Manor.


Potter Manor

"Uncle Padfoot!" was the sound that greeted Severus as he stepped out of the floo. He recognized Hermione's voice as it reverberated through the whole house. Wondering how she had accomplished that feat, he followed the sounds to the children's room. He leaned against the doorjamb as he watched the scene unfold.

Sirius walked into the triplets' room carrying Harry. He saw Severus leaning in the doorway leading to the hallway, but the rest of the occupants immediately grabbed his attention. There were toys strewn all over the room, and Leo was sitting by the bookshelves with a picture book in his lap. Alexas and Hermione were over by the toy bins, each holding onto a stuffed unicorn, pulling for all they were worth.

"Let go Alex, I wanna take her with me!" screeched Hermione. Alex responded by yanking his end and yelling "NO, she's mine and is staying home where she's safe!"

Sirius looked over at Severus with a look and gesture to the two telling him to take care of it. Severus raised one black eyebrow in answer, then held up his hand in a fist. Sirius smirked, held up his fist over his other palm, and they both counted to three. Severus groaned when Sirius won with paper over rock and pushed off from the door jamb and headed to where the siblings were fighting. Kneeling down, he gently placed his hand on the unicorn, effectively stopping the tug of war, and asked what was going on.

Hermione huffed and explained "Alex thinks that he owns my unicorn, Rainbow, and won't let me take her with me." Alex burst into tears at that explanation and threw himself into Severus' arms. Falling backwards to a sitting position, Severus wrapped his arms around Alex and waited for him to settle down some before trying to talk to him. As the cries turned into small sniffles, he gently started questioning Alex.

"Alex, what's going on? I don't think this is really about Hermione's unicorn, is it? Can you tell me what's going through your little head?" Severus rocked Alex while asking. Alex gave a big, long sniff while snuggling deeper into his Papa's arms. Finally finding his voice he admitted "I'm scared Papa." Severus tightened his hold slightly and asked Alex "Scared of what, Alex?"

"I don't know" cried Alex. Severus continued rocking him while thinking. Then it hit him.

"Alex, are you scared that somebody will leave again if we go to where I live?" asked Severus. Alex instantly started crying harder. Next thing Severus knew, he had two more little bodies in his lap, and all three were crying. Sirius quickly placed Harry next to the toy bins and came to sit next to the little family on the floor. He gently pried Hermione off of Severus and held her close while Severus worked to get Leo into his lap with Alex. Both men were extremely grateful that the three felt comfortable enough to allow them to cuddle them close. Severus then did something that shocked Sirius to the core.

In an unexpectedly wonderful singing voice, Severus started singing "Baby mine, don't you cry, Baby mine, dry your eyes, Rest your head close to my heart, Never to part, Baby of mine…" He reached out to Hermione and wiped a tear off her cheek, then continued. "Little one, when you play, Don't you mind what they say, Let those eyes sparkle and shine, Never a tear, Baby of mine…" He looked down at Leo and Alex, who were still sniffling but were enthralled by their Papa's voice. He continued "From your head to your toes (Baby mine), You're so sweet, goodness knows (Baby mine), You are so precious to me, Cute as can be, Baby of mine." Severus wiped the tears off Leo and Alex's cheeks, then finished with "Baby mine, Baby mine." 1

Seeing that they had all calmed down enough to hear him, Severus started talking. "Thank you for sharing with me Alex. I know all of this is scary for all three of you. You've never lived anywhere other than with your Mama, but that's all changed really fast. Instead, you live here with Uncle Padfoot and Uncle Moony in a big, scary, new house. Now I'm asking you to come with me somewhere else that you've never been before. If it would be better, we could just visit tomorrow instead of you going tonight and sleeping there. Maybe one of your Uncles could come with us tonight until you're comfortable enough to sleep in your room in my quarters. Would that help instead?"

The three siblings looked at each other, seeming to converse without saying a single word. After a little bit, they each gave a single nod of their head. Hermione looked up at her Papa and said "We'd like to go, but maybe could Uncle Padfoot come too, for a little while?"

Severus and Sirius both nodded agreement, kissed each of the siblings on the cheek, then gently got them up and moving. After gathering up the rest of the things they wanted to bring, they headed to the nearest fireplace to floo to Severus's quarters at Hogwarts. Severus went through first with Leo and Alex, and Sirius came second with Hermione, leaving Harry home with Remus looking after him. Severus's only thought was to hope the rest of the weekend went better than it had started out.


1 "Baby Mine" - Songwriters: Frank Churchill / Ned Washington, Baby Mine (Dumbo) lyrics © Bourne Co.