Chapter 16

It was Christmas! Tara always felt like a kid on Christmas, and bounced out of bed before 7 AM. She found Severus and her mom sitting at the table with their respective tea and coffee. "Merry Christmas!" Tara said excitedly and both turned to her. "Merry Christmas, my love," Severus said. My love? Wow. "I think I like that. That's a nice Christmas present--a term of endearment." This time she had brushed her teeth before coming out so she didn't mind when he kissed her good morning.

"So, can we open presents?" she asked. Joan laughed. "You'd never know the kid is pushing 40, would you?" she said standing. They followed Tara into the living room, and she grabbed her full Christmas stocking off of the mantle hook. That was her favorite part, and every year for the last 15 years her mother had threatened that would be the last year of the Christmas stocking, but always gave in to Tara's protests.

She sat down on the floor, with her hips turned out so her legs made an "M." "How on Earth can you sit like that?" Severus asked. He had never seen her do that, but then he had never seen her seated on the floor either. "She's always sat like that, from the time she was a toddler," Joan told him. "Yes, I can lay back too," Tara said, laying flat on the floor. Severus gave her a 'delicious' look, and she sat up quickly, blushing. Joan stifled a laugh and admired her daughter's suitor's strength.

Tara drew out a candy cane, some funny little wrapped nicknacks, and a pen that had a cord to hang around her neck. She was always losing pens and could never put her hands on one when she needed one. "Well this will help," she said putting it around her neck. Next she drew out a soft package and gasped when she unwrapped it. It was a pair of stars and stripes slipper socks. The treads were little stars. She immediately put them on - her feet were cold and she had forgotten hers, which had holes in them anyway. "Where did you find these?" she asked. Severus shook his head. "They match that bag you wear around your waist," he commented. "I know." Joan smiled. "She's always been very patriotic, you know. I found those at a funny little store your aunt and I like to wander into. They're coming today by the way," she said, of Tara's Aunt Nicole. "Oh good! She's from Scotland," Tara told Severus, "but she doesn't have her accent anymore."

"So, what's under the tree?" Joan asked. Tara looked up at the tree which was a small tree on top of the mantle. She had slipped her gifts under the tree the day before, and pulled them out. "This one is for you, mom, and this is for you!" she handed Severus a package. He held out a small package to her as well. "You got me something?" she asked. "Of course. Can you think of what I would have to endure if I had forgotten?" he said throwing a sideways glance at Joan, who laughed.

Joan fished out some presents in gift bags for Tara and handed a page to Severus. "You didn't have to--" he began. "It's Christmas. I did too. Everyone who comes to my home on Christmas is required to have a gift. So enjoy."

They started unwrapping their gifts. Tara had brought her mother a unique plate from London. Her mother collected fine china and figurines, and this one had different colors in it that matched her decor. She liked it very much, and Tara demonstrated that if you hold it up to a light, you could see the light coming through it.

"Oh my," Severus said, opening the package Joan had given him. Inside was a USA mug with a pair of the same slipper socks she had given Tara. Tara started laughing hysterically, trying to picture Severus wearing them, while sipping tea out of a mug with a huge American flag on it. "Thank you...I think," he said. Joan and Tara exchanged looks and Tara finally stopped laughing. She saw that he had the package she had given him. He stopped, and looked at her. "Go ahead," she told him. "No, why don't you open the one I gave you first?" She picked up the small package. "Okay. If you insist," she said, with a juvenile look in her eye. "Hey what do you expect? I'm just a kid on Christmas morning," she said, answering his amused look.

She unwrapped the package and it was a velvet box, clearly one that held jewelry. She opened it and it contained a silver ring with the most spectacular bluish opal. "Oh my" she exclaimed. "This is beautiful! What is it?" She stood up and walked over to Severus, who took it out of the box. "This is a very rare, special Atlantis opal. They are very hard to get. This one has been in my family for generations," he said, and slipped it on her ring finger of her left hand. It was a little bit big. "I'll have to get it sized," she began. He shook his head. "Give it a moment." Sure enough, the ring adjusted to fit her finger perfectly. Just as it did, the colors in the stone began moving, swirling. Tara gasped -- it was as if the ocean were inside the stone. Joan leaned over to take a look, and she and Tara exchanged quick looks and Joan cleared her throat. Severus looked at Joan with a knowing look. "I guess it's time," he said.

"Time for what?" Tara asked. "Sit down," both Joan and Severus said together. Tara looked from one to the other, and sat as requested.

"Tara, I never told you much about your father..."

"Well you said his name was Thor, and I've seen pictures--and that he had an industrial accident when I was practically a baby..."

"Yes, but I didn't tell you the rest of it," Joan said, looking frantically at Severus.

"Tara, this ring is very unusual. You see how the colors are swirling? Take it off for a moment, let me show you something." She slipped it off and the stone was still once more. He took it from her and handed it to Joan. "Try it on. Show her." Joan slipped it on, it sized, and remained motionless. "How come it isn't--" Tara began. Was she missing something? Her mother slipped it off again and handed it to her daughter. Severus watched her put it back on, it sized, and the stone began to swirl its colors once more. Tara was silent, confused, looking from her mother to Severus. "What does this mean?" she finally asked.

"Atlantis stones used to be used centuries ago to confirm wizarding types from muggles. There used to be a great deal of muggles who claimed to be of our type, and the stone always revealed who was telling the truth and who wasn't." Our type?

"Your father was a wizard, Tara," Joan told her. "So, it's in your blood. It never manifested fully, so I never told you." Tara felt a shock wave and turned to Severus, anger in her eyes. "You knew?" she accused. "I only found out a couple of days ago when your mum told me," he told her, and she believed him. "So, if a muggle puts this ring on, it just acts like a normal stone. But if a --" What was she? "...witch....puts it on, it does this." I'm a witch, she thought. Oh dear. "Does that mean I'm a witch? I mean...I know I get in bad moods sometimes..." that comment eased the tension, and they laughed but she was pretty nervous. "Man, I wish I hadn't quit smoking..." she said, "I mean, I'm glad I did but...this is one of those moments where I could use one..." Severus shook his head. "You would find it quite distasteful now. I put something in the withdrawal potion that, if you ever slipped, would make it so unpleasant, you would never want to do it again."

"Ah, kind of like what you put on kids' fingers when you are trying to get them to quit sucking them when they are small," Joan said. "Exactly," he confirmed.

"So, do I have any powers?" Tara asked them both.

"You have some; you are telepathic. But it isn't steady," Severus explained. "Remember the day you told me about a potion?" Tara nodded and understood. In fact, she understood a lot of things now.

"How come the floo powder gets to me so badly?"

"Because you aren't a full fledged...witch," her mother said. "I never thought I'd be referring to my daughter as a witch!"

This was a lot for Tara to digest, but she was okay with it. For one thing, she wouldn't feel like such an outsider at Hogwart's anymore.

"Sev, you haven't opened your present," Tara said. He had almost forgotten--the excitement of breaking this earth shattering news to Tara was taking an obvious forefront. He opened up the package that Tara had wrapped. "I kind of suck at wrapping," she said, "oh sorry mom!"

It was a muggle cookbook. "I figured since you are so adept at making potions, you ought to try some cooking. There are some great recipes in there."

"Well thank you. I think I will enjoy this. But I'll need someone to help me eat this, else I'll have a bit of trouble with an expanding waistline. Do you think you could lend a hand?" he asked.

"I think I can arrange that. Speaking of cooking, I'd better get in the kitchen," Tara said. She had offered to make one of her fantastic Mexican breakfasts which her mother raved about. Severus had never had this, and was curious.

He sat at the counter, watching her expertise in the kitchen, as she made tortillas, roasted and cut up peppers, then flipped tortillas in the air as they cooked, and made up some eggs. He had no idea she was so good about the kitchen. "I ought to start teaching you potions," he commented. "Think so?" she asked as she flipped another tortilla in the air and caught it back in the pan. "Absolutely."

A half hour later, they were sitting down to the incredible feast. "I sure love it when this kid cooks," Joan remarked. "It's like magic," she said, winking at her daughter. Tara cleared away the dishes afterwards and insisted on cleaning up. Then each of them went to get ready for the rest of the festivities planned for that day.

Tara put on a long, black jumper which had a Christmas tree stitched on the front of it, over a red turtleneck shirt. She had black velvet slippers with poinsettias on them that she had gotten several years earlier at a discount store for $4.99.

"Well don't you look nice." Severus had just come into the living room, where Tara was standing by the fire. "You like my muggle Christmas clothes?" she asked. He nodded and commented, "Very festive." She looked at him and pulled on his black robe. "Very Goth," she teased. "Yep, the relatives are going to have an eye full!"

Did they ever. They arrived and immediately were staring at the unusual guest. But once everyone sat down and had some champagne, they loosened up.

"So, what do you teach over there at the academy?" Uncle Frank asked Severus. Severus started to reply and Tara said "Chemistry!" and at the same time Joan said "Culinary arts!" The two looked at each other awkwardly. Severus saved the day. "Well, I teach both of those things. They have us wear many hats at the...academy." Whew. Got through that one, Tara thought to herself.

"What a combination. Don't mix those two up," Uncle Frank joked.

"How come you wear so much black on Christmas?" Tara's young cousin, Jenny asked, her wide blue eyes staring up at Severus.

Oh no. "I'm kind of into the Goth thing," he said, acting like he knew full well what that was. Tara put her hands into her hair. Oh boy...

Luckily, that was a good enough answer for Jenny, who asked if she could go outside to play. She and Tara's other cousins ran out with her. Tara's Aunt Nicole had arrived by then, and was very happy to meet Severus and didn't say anything about his unusual appearance. In fact, she caught Tara alone in the kitchen and said "well he's quite something isn't he?" "Oh yes!" Quite something didn't even scratch the surface!

At the dinner table, Aunt Nicole was seated next to Tara and noticed the ring. Tara looked at her, alarmed, and her aunt smiled, knowingly. Did she know something too? What Tara didn't realize was that she hadn't really noticed the motion--it was the fact that she had a ring on her left ring finger, where one typically wears a wedding ring.

That evening after all of the guests had gone, Tara and Severus went for a walk. Her mother lived on a golf course and it was okay after hours to walk on the paths that the golf carts used. "So, you survived all of my muggle relatives," Tara was saying. "They weren't bad at all. I think I could grow to like them, once I get to know them," he said. "I think my Aunt knows..." Tara said. "Why do you think that?" Tara stopped and they faced each other. "Because she saw my ring and looked at me like she understood."

He picked up her hands and squeezed them, then kissed the tips of all 10 of her fingers, one by one. This sent shivers up and down her spine. "No, she doesn't know, your mother said no one on that side of the family would understand."

"Well then, what was the look about? What do you suppose?" She looked at her left hand again. "Should I wear the ring on this finger?" she asked. "That's where I first put it," he told her. "Shouldn't it be on my other hand? The left ring finger is for..." oh that was it. Her aunt thought they were -- but he had put it there...she looked up at him, her mouth open. He tilted his head and gently stroked her cheek with the back of his hand. "Tara, I haven't felt like this in years. I know that my world is all new to you, and it's your world too now. So, it may take some adjusting, but I hope that you would still consider becoming my wife." WHOA! Tara thought she was going to sit down right there on the path. "I know your life is over here, but you know you can easily come back and visit any time you want. We can even spend summers over here if you'd like between terms," he continued. She looked up at him again. "You don't have to give me your answer right away, my love. Just know that I am here for you." In silence, they continued their walk, and just before they were about to go into Tara's mother's house again, she grabbed his hand and stopped walking. "Yes," she said.

Joan was finishing the last of the dishes when she noticed them outside in a tight embrace. What's going on? she wondered, but had a feeling about what was happening - and she wasn't the telepath. They came in, and even Severus had a bit of a glow despite the lack of color he had due to so much time spent in the dungeon. Tara was positively radiant. "Mom -- we're engaged!"

"Oh!!!!!!!" Joan hugged her daughter close. "So you can stop bugging me about settling down now!" she teased.

Joan flew into the kitchen and came back with a bottle of champagne. She hated opening champagne; it always frightened her, so she always had Tara do it, but this time, Severus took it. "Allow me," he said, and took out his wand and opened it that way. The cork popped, and bounced against an adjacent wall. Joan took some fluted glasses out of the cupboard, and they had a toast.

"Welcome to the family, Severus," Joan said, raising her glass. They all clinked glasses and drank. What a day. Finding out she wasn't really a true muggle, and now she was engaged. This was the happiest moment that Tara could remember. It would not be her last.