Aimee
"Papa, do you realize how important this is?" Lily sighed, unconsciously rubbing her swollen, 5 months pregnant belly.
"Yes, Lily, I do. But, as I've said before, this is your mess to deal with, not mine." Dumbledore shook his head at his granddaughter as he looked down and began writing something.
"Do you know how devastated Severus is going to be if the twins end up having brown hair and blue eyes?" Lily said quietly, "How devastated I'll be?"
"You should have thought of that sooner." Dumbledore said rather sharper than he had wanted to. "Before you went sleeping around."
"Papa!" Lily exclaimed. The two were back in the Headmaster's office just as the school year was ending, saying their goodbyes. Before Dumbledore had a chance, Lily immediately asked him once more who the father of her babies was.
"Lily, you know as well as I do you didn't have to sleep with Remus; it wasn't necessary." Dumbledore said, massaging his temple. "And I'm not going to always be around. You need to learn to deal with your mistakes."
"Becoming a werewolf took about fifty years off my
lifespan." Lily grumbled, "Chances are, you'll live longer than me."
Dumbledore shook his head, "I wouldn't be so sure of that if I were
you, darling."
"Did you know that James' parents asked to see Harry last month? For the first time in nearly thirteen years, they ask to see their grandson." Lily sighed, "Why now, of all times?"
"Life has a peculiar way of - " Dumbledore started.
" - Of f-cking you at the worst possible time." Lily finished for him, glaring up at the ceiling. "Why though? Believe me, if I had the control to stop it -"
"Yet you did, Lily. You just didn't realize it." Dumbledore said quietly. Lily looked over at him, her green eyes clouding over a bit.
"It wasn't my fault."
Dumbledore sighed, "Of course, it's never your fault."
"Papa!" Lily exclaimed once more, "You know it's not!"
"Lily, I know this is hard for you, but you're going to have to grow up and accept the blame every once in a while. You're not a child anymore; you have six wonderful children at home waiting for you. Take care of them." Dumbledore said quietly.
"It should have been seven." Lily spat angrily, "But that god damned - "
"If it hadn't been for Voldemort, Harry would have
never been born." Dumbledore said. "And how would you feel then? Sacrificing
the life of an unborn child for the life of a fourteen year old?"
"He's thirteen." Lily said softly, "He's thirteen
and the offspring of the man I hated more than any other in the world."
"Even Voldemort?" Dumbledore asked.
"Voldemort was not a man. He wasn't even human." Lily said, leaning back in her chair.
"Do you hate Harry?" Dumbledore asked, already knowing the answer.
"Do I hate Harry? What kind of a question is that, Papa? You know very well how much I love him. He's my child - "
"And, as you said, the child of your greatest enemy."
"Yes, that too." Lily said softly. "He's even growing up to look exactly like him."
"Yes, the Potter men do tend to look exactly alike." Dumbledore chuckled.
"Harry's not a Potter. He's a Snape." Lily corrected her grandfather. Dumbledore nodded, agreeing.
"Yes, he's very much a Snape. By name and adoption,
of course, but not by blood, child. By blood, he's a Potter."
"Since when has blood made any difference?" Lily
asked, "Blood is something running through you, it doesn't make you who
you are."
"Yes, it doesn't make you who you are, but without blood, you wouldn't survive." Dumbledore countered.
"Without family, it's impossible also." Lily said quietly. "So which is more important? Blood or love?"
"For physical survival, blood." Dumbledore answered, "But for mental survival, love."
"So if the twins are Remus'… Do you think Severus will reject them?" Lily asked.
"Perhaps," he answered, "But I don't see it in him to do such a thing."
"Years ago, people wouldn't have thought twice about answering that with a yes." Lily said.
"Yes, but as time goes by, people change."
"He still has the mark…" Lily said quietly, looking at her own arm. "He hates it."
"He had no choice." Dumbledore said firmly, "Just as Remus didn't have any choice… Just like Harry didn't have a choice. He has that mark because his father made him. Remus slept with you because you subconsciously made him. Harry's father is James because of a fickle thing we've dubbed time."
Lily shook her head, "I don't think I can do this, Papa."
"Of course you can." Dumbledore said softly, "You're stronger than any other woman I've had the privilege of knowing. You can do this."
"What if they are Remus'? I'll never forgive myself… I'll have two constant reminders running around me, calling Severus 'Daddy'. How am I supposed to handle that?"
"One day at a time, child." Dumbledore said, "One
day at a time."
Three days later, Harry, Ethan, Lily, and Severus arrived home for the first time in six months. The other children were delighted to see them; Star ran to Harry immediately and wrapped her arms around his neck, refusing to let go.
"Star-baby, Harry needs to breathe." Severus laughed, watching his youngest child choke Harry.
"I'm ok!" Harry gasped, peeling the child away from him. "It's good to see you too, Dakota."
"Why are you so big, Mummy?" Drake asked, poking his mother's stomach with a pudgy finger. She smiled and reached down to ruffle his hair.
"You guys are going to have two baby brothers or sisters in a few months." She and Severus waited, watching the children's' reaction.
Drake and Dakota had broke out into immediate smiles. Dea had looked over towards Kaylee for hers, which ended up being shock. Ethan and Harry were calm; they had known for months and were both having a good time watching their siblings babble in surprise.
"But… Mum…" Kaylee shook her head, making her fiery red hair fall into her face. "I thought you said Dakota was going to be the last sibling?"
"Sometimes stuff happens that you can't control, darling." Severus said, picking the ten year old up. "You don't mind, of course?"
Kaylee grinned, "Of course not, Daddy."
"And Daddy's staying home." Lily smiled down at Dea, who was shaking her head at the news. "So it'll just be the five of us while Harry, Ethan, and Kaylee are at Hogwarts next year."
Dea's eyes lit up, "Really?"
"Yes, darling. Really." Severus laughed, hauling her up in his other arm. "You two are getting far too heavy to pick up at the same time!"
"That's surprising." Lily mused, "Kaylee, darling, are you sure you've been eating?"
Kaylee was one hundred and twenty seven centimeters tall, weighing in at only twenty-four kilos (A/N: That's four and a quarter feet tall and sixty pounds for all us Americans). She was absolutely tiny for her age, while Dea was only two inches shorter than her.
"Yes, Mum. Jubby tells me to stop eating all the time… He thinks I eat too much." Kaylee answered, resting her head on Severus' shoulder.
"And do you?" Lily inquired, kneeling down to hug Drake and Dakota.
"He claims I eat us out of house and home!" Kaylee giggled, squirming for Severus to put her down.
"As long as you're eating, dear. You got your slim figure from your father -"
"And your height from your mother." Severus finished
for Lily, a smile playing across his lips.
That night, Lily lay in bed while Severus leaned against the window, watching the waning half-moon glide slowly across the dark sky.
What's wrong, Sev? Come to bed.
Lily, love, I'm not tired.
Well, I certainly can't sleep without you here.
Sorry, love.
That's quite all right, Sev… What's wrong?
Restless.
Take a potion.
Only if I must.
In fifteen minutes, if you're not back next to
me, you're taking one.
I promise, love, I will be.
Just as Severus finished his thought, a snow-white owl appeared on the window sill, tapping the glass expectantly. Severus immediately opened the window and relieved the creature of it's burden. Just as Severus started opening the letter, the owl disappeared into the night.
"Who's it from?" Lily asked sleepily, yawning.
"Hogwarts, it looks like." Severus answered, unrolling the parchment. After a moment of silence, he gasped and dropped the piece of parchment. He picked it up with shaking hands, reading it once more with disbelieving eyes.
"Sev, what is it?" Lily asked, concerned. Severus looked at her with shock written across his face.
He walked over to her side of the bed, wrapping his arms around her before he spoke.
"God… Lily, your Papa… He's dead."
Some say love it is a river
That drowns the tender reed.
Some say love it is a razor
That leaves your soul to bleed.
Some say love it is a hunger
An endless, aching need
I say love it is a flower,
And you it's only seed.
It's the heart afraid of breaking
That never learns to dance
It's the dream afraid of waking
That never takes the chance
It's the one who won't be taken,
Who cannot seem to give
And the soul afraid of dying
That never learns to live.
And the night has been too lonely
And the road has been too long.
And you think that love is only
For the lucky and the strong.
Just remember in the winter
Far beneath the bitter snow
Lies the seed that with the sun's love,
In the spring, becomes a rose*
*LeAnn Rimes, "The Rose"
(This version, at least... Once again, I listened to it as I
wrote.)