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Elizabeth came down the stairs, yawning, having suffered through another nightmare the night before, to find Severus seated at the kitchen table, writing out a list. `
"What are you doing?" She hid another yawn behind her hand, coming over to peek over his shoulder, reading what appeared to be a shopping list.
"We need groceries. I've been putting off a trip to the market for long enough, but it cannot be helped now. I think we only have rice and some wilting fruit left." He looped an arm around her waist as he wrote, planning meals for the next two weeks. "I think we're going to have a cottage pie tonight and pork chops tomorrow."
"Can I help?" Elizabeth watched as he made meal plans in elegant hand, the quill seeming to dance over the parchment rather than write.
"I've let you help cook nearly every night since you arrived here, have I not?" Severus considered the list he was writing, before he folded it into his pocket, getting up to plate her breakfast, placing it in her normal spot, shooing her to the chair to get her to eat her breakfast while he poured himself another cup of coffee.
"When are you going?" She cut up the pancakes he made her, finding it easier to eat when the food was in small pieces, rather than looking at a large portion whole.
"As soon as you're finished eating." Severus sat, taking a sip of the hot liquid in his cup. "I was going to ask Remus if he would be good enough to sit with you while I do the shopping."
"Can I come?" Elizabeth looked up from her breakfast, a piece of toast in her hand.
"You want to go to the grocery store with me?" Severus raised his eyebrow, watching her eat. Severus had never liked doing the shopping with his mother. She haggled over prices, fought over damaged items and made a scene over coupons. He understood now as an adult how impoverished they were and it was to help them survive, but as a child, it was mortifying.
"I never got to go when my aunt went. She only took Dudley." She looked up from her plate, fidgeting as she saw Severus look at her. "I don't have to, if you'd rather go alone."
Severus smiled, taking her empty plate and placing it in the sink, waving his wand to begin washing them while they were gone. "Go get dressed. I want to leave here in 5 minutes."
Elizabeth scampered up the stairs, coming down a few minutes later, dressed in tee shirt and jeans, jamming her shoes on her feet as she walked to where Severus stood waiting in muggle clothes, car keys in hand.
"You can drive?" She asked, following him out the door to the garage, where Severus held open the backseat door for her, shutting it behind her as she got in. Severus got in the driver's seat, putting his seatbelt on before hitting a small button on a controller attached to the sun visor of the passenger side, making the garage door move upward.
"Yes, I can drive. This was your grandfather's car, but since he's no longer here, it's been mine since I got my license at 18." Severus adjusted the mirrors, before he looked back at her, as he made to back out of the driveway, suddenly looking stern. "Elizabeth Renee, put your seatbelt on this instant or we aren't going anywhere." He waited until she clicked the belt into place before continuing down the driveway, pulling neatly out into the street, hitting the button to shut the garage door as they drove away.
"How far away is the grocery store?"
"Not too far, only two miles or so." Severus took a right, taking them closer to the center of town, away from Spinner's End.
Elizabeth looked out the window, watching the people around them on the sidewalk, watching the boys on bikes as they sped around, weaving in and out of cars. "Severus?"
"Hmmm?" He acknowledged her question, not taking his eyes off the road.
"How come those boys are always out?" She pointed, even though Severus couldn't see them. "They're always around."
"Children in this town are often left without adult supervision." Severus said, pulling into the shopping center, parking the car in the lot. "Don't expect me to be so lax." He cut the car off, getting out before he opened her door, letting her out of the car. He offered her his hand, intertwining their fingers as he led her into the building, He got a trolley, before picking her up by the armpits, placing her in the basket.
"Severus, I can walk!" She laughed, trying to climb out.
"I know, but are you sure you don't want to ride in the trolley? Once we put the food in, you won't fit." He steadied her as she jumped down, walking together to the first aisle. "Alright, if you aren't in the cart, you are holding onto it. I will not lose you in this store."
Elizabeth nodded, holding onto the handle of the cart, following her father through the store as he loaded their cart with food.
"Feel free to get whatever you want, love." Severus grabbed snacks to replenish the pantry, watching as she hesitantly got a few things, watching him as if he completed the household shopping, expecting him to say no.
"Alright, do you have everything you want?" Severus asked, watching as she hesitantly got a pack of cookies off the shelf, holding it up.
"Can I get these?" She asked, her face already showing she thought he would say no.
"Yes, you may. Thank you for asking." He waited till she put the package in the cart, before moving on, getting basic items like flour and sugar, as well as prepackaged items like sauces and jams.
"Severus?" She held onto the cart as a group of teenagers ran past, pushing each other, nearly knocking over a display of glass jars, Elizabeth's eyes going wide.
"I know, Rennie, just keep moving." He could sense her fear, most likely a biproduct from her cousin and his friends, and he moved her so she was pinned between him and the cart, helping her stand on the end with her back on his chest, pushing her and the cart together. "We're nearly through here."
Nearly two hours after entering the store, Severus and Elizabeth were leaving, heading to the car with their groceries, Severus fumbling for the keys in his pocket, trying to keep his eyes on his daughter as well as a hand on the cart.
Elizabeth waited by the boot for Severus to unlock the door, when the teenage boys from the store threw a plastic bottle at her, the whole thing exploding a few feet from her, the foil smelling contents nearly getting on her clothes.
Severus looked up, a furious look on his face as the boys got closer, things like milk and eggs in hand as they descended on his child. "Mr. Davidson, I don't think your mother will be too pleased when I inform her of your activities today."
The ringleader tore his eyes away from Elizabeth, fear entering his body, clear in his mannerisms. "Mr. Snape, I didn't see you there. She's just a friend of my sister, we're just playing a joke…"
"I know that is a lie, Mr. Davidson. Leave my daughter alone, or there will be hell to pay. I was raised in these streets, same as you and I know you understand what that means. Go." He took a menacing step forward and the boys ran away, terrified. Severus turned to his daughter, who was just as scared as the boys. "Are you alright?"
She nodded, but she was shaking, her arms crossed over her stomach. "I'm fine."
"No, you're not." Severus unlocked the car and ushered her into the backseat, shutting the door behind her, locking her inside. He quickly put the bags in the trunk before getting in himself, pulling the car out into the road. "Now, I need to ask you again, are you alright? I know that was really scary."
"They just scared me. I wasn't expecting them to come that close." Elizabeth fiddled with her seatbelt, looking at her father's face through the rearview mirror.
"Unfortunately, Cokeworth has very little for children to do, which is why you see so many young people in the streets, especially when school is not in session." He sighed, turning down another street. "I will be calling their parents tonight, however. That was unacceptable behavior, even for them. I know those boys, I grew up with their parents. I will not allow them to at in such a way toward you."
"Severus, no, they'll target me!"
"Elizabeth, you don't leave the house without either Remus or me. They cannot get into the yard. There is no plausible way they can hurt you. But I will not have them harass you at any point." He turned into their driveway and into the garage, cutting off the car.
"I still don't like it." Elizabeth began to help him unload the groceries, bringing them into the kitchen. "I don't want the kids here to think that I can't fight my own battles."
"You're eleven, so I don't expect you to." Severus began to put the groceries away, leaving out what they needed for that night's dinner out instead of putting it away. "Until you are of age, you can expect me to fight most of your battles."
Elizabeth shrugged, ripping open the net bags that held the oranges Severus bought, dumping them into the drawer in the fridge, sitting on the floor, unloading the rest of the bags, leaving the groceries on the floor as she gathered the bags, stuffing them under the sink in the larger plastic bag he kept the extras in. As she was closing the door, she heard Severus stumble on the things she left on the floor, cursing as he caught himself on the table.
"Elizabeth, you can't just leave these out like this!" Severus reached down and moved the groceries, trying not to be too angry with her.
"I'm sorry!" Elizabeth turned around on her knees, her eyes wide. "I'm sorry!"
"I know you are, but there needs to be a path, rather than a clump. It's a tripping hazard." He picked up the packages that belonged in the pantry, putting them on the shelves, before he came back out, to see her looking down at her hands, not wanting to meet his eyes.
"Elizabeth, look at me." He waited until she looked at him, her eyes sad. "I am not mad at you. I just need you to be more careful."
She nodded, then began to collect more of the packages, putting them away. When she got to the items that belonged in the bathroom, she gathered them all in her arms, heading up the stairs to the second floor. She put all the soap and shampoo away, taking a moment to collect herself before she returned to the kitchen. When her aunt had brought the groceries home, Elizabeth would dump all the bags out, put the bags themself away before she put the food itself away. In doing so with her father, it was clear now that he did things differently. She would just have to adapt, but it was hard to accept the change.
She came back downstairs to see Severus had put everything else away and was now on the phone, talking to someone that Elizabeth didn't know.
"Yes, I know, Amelia, it was not like him at all. He, Eric and their friends just seemed to think my daughter was an easy target…. No I know, but he lied about his intentions to me, trying to justify his behavior." Severus turned to her, holding up a finger, indicating to her that she was not to say anything while he was on the phone.
"Yes, well, I don't think that they should be wandering around near my house, if I am being honest. I would like Elizabeth to feel safe. No, I am not telling you how to parents, Amelia, but I am requesting as a parent for your help to keep my daughter safe and feeling secure in her own home. They threw some kind of bottle at her, with what I assume is some mixture of urine and spoiled milk, but I am not entirely sure what it was. Alright, I will, take care." He hung up the phone, holding his arms to her, hugging her close.
"The boys who were harassing you will not be bothering you anytime soon. I took care of it." Severus kissed the top of her head, waiting for her to pull away, before he moved to the living room, taking his book from the side table. She followed, sitting next to him, reading over his shoulder.
"What are you reading?"
"A potions text," Severus put his reading glasses on, flipping to his marked page.
"When can I read that?"
"I'm not sure, love. This is quite an advanced text. I'm sure you won't be interested in such a text for a few more years." Severus flipped a page. "If in a few years you have an interest in potions, then I will gladly teach you more advanced potions, but we'll see after your first year what you do well in"
"But what if I don't do well in potions?"
"Then I will give you the extra help that you need to do well. But I am not going to force you to be something that you're not. If you don't have a potions talent, that's fine, but I do expect you to try." Severus tucked her into his side. "We'll just see when the school year begins."
*S*S*
Severus and Elizabeth were cleaning up after their dinner that night when there was a knock on the door. Severus put the dishes down in soapy water, before he went to the door, wiping his hands on the towel in his hands.
"Who is it?" Elizabeth asked, standing on the stool Severus had put in the kitchen for her so she could reach the counters and cabinets with ease.
"I'm not sure. Remus would just come through." He opened the door, revealing a woman and two of the boys who had harassed Elizabeth at the grocery store. "Amelia, how can I help you?"
"Eric and Steven have something they want to say to your daughter, for their actions this afternoon."
Elizabeth got down from the stool, heading into the living room, carefully peeking out from behind the armchair, seeing a women holding the arms of the two teenagers who had thrown the bottle of liquid at her, her face hard and stormy. Her hair was a dull brown, pulled back into a pony tail, keeping it out of her face.
Severus reached out to his daughter, who cautiously came out from her hiding place, tiptoeing over to his side, looking the two boys over carefully, her arms wrapping around Severus' waist.
"Well?" The woman let the boys go, smacking them over the head.
"We're sorry for this afternoon and won't do it again." They then turned to Severus. "And we're sorry for lying Mr. Snape. We'll make sure to be truthful to you in the future."
"Thank you, boys." Severus gave a tight smile. "I'm sure I speak for both Elizabeth and I when I say that we appreciate the apology." He looked down at his daughter, who nodded.
"Well, I am certainly sorry that they caused you any sort of trouble. They know better than that. Lord, I cannot wait for school to start up again in September." Amelia said, before she forced the boys off the porch, down to the street. "I'm sorry for the trouble, Severus. It won't happen again."
"t's quite alright Amelia. Thank you for being so understanding." Severus shut the door as the woman and the two boys walked away, ushering his child back to the kitchen to finish cleaning up.
"Severus? Why did they come to apologize?"
"Why wouldn't they? Amelia Davidson, your mother, aunt and myself all went to muggle school together for about two years before I started Hogwarts. She and I have maintained a pleasant neighbor relationship. She's good enough to water the plants that grow in the backyard when I'm away at school."
"Do I have to be nice to her kids?" Elizabeth dried a plate, putting it on the pile of dishes that needed to be put away later.
"You don't have to be friends, but I don't want you to be mean for no reason, Elizabeth." Severus fixed her with a stern look, before he returned to the dishes.
Elizabeth didn't respond, just dried the dishes, knowing that there was no good way to describe that those boys reminded her of Dudley and his friends and made her nervous, nearly to the point of anxiety.
*S*S*
A few nights later, after Severus tucked her in, Elizabeth slept, but her sleep was broken with hot flashes and with sweats. She eventually awoke, her stomach rolling and her body achy. She wrapped her blanket around her, wrapped around her head, holding it closed under her chin, sitting against the headboard, trying to will the nausea away, hoping she would be fine. She had felt this ill before when she lived with the Dursleys', but she had dealt with it on her own, just focusing on her breathing, through her nose and out her mouth, until the feeling went away.
With no luck on her side, she threw herself over the side of the bed, vomiting onto the rug, retching and spitting before she wrapped the blanket around herself once more, taking deep breaths before she climbed out of bed on the other side, leaving the room to her father's, where he was sleeping, his chest rising and falling rhythmically.
Elizabeth stood next to his bed, looking down at him, debating on how she should wake him up when his eyes snapped open and he flew upright, his hair tousled from sleep. Elizabeth cried out, leaping backward, nearly falling over as she stepped on the blanket she held around herself.
"Elizabeth?" Severus asked, his voice heavy with sleep. "What are you doing awake at-" He looked at his bedside clock. "2:30 in the morning? Are you alright?"
Elizabeth looked at him, tears welling in her eyes as she began to feel worse, her body aching and her throat sore, shaking her head as she sniffled. "I threw up."
"You threw up?" Severus reached out, swinging his legs over the side of the bed, to press a hand to her forehead. "You're burning up." Severus tutted, pulling her to sit on his knee, feeling her lay her head on his chest. "Have you been feeling poorly all day?" He asked, fussing over her hair, which was laying on her forehead, sticky with sweat.
"Mhmmm." She made a noise to confirm, pulling the blanket closer to herself.
"Oh, Rennie." Severus sighed. "What am I going to do with you? You need to tell me when you don't feel well."
"Aunt Petunia says what comes by itself, goes by itself, so I didn't want to say anything…" She trailed off, shutting her eyes.
"Well, I'm not your aunt, thank Merlin, and even if I had no relation to you other than being an adult, you still need to tell me when you aren't well so I can help you get well." He took his wand off the bedside table, pressing it to her breastbone after moving the blanket out of the way. "Fever, chills, nausea, vomiting, sore throat, headache and stomach ache. I'm not a doctor, but I would say you have the stomach flu, my girl."
He stood, jamming his feet into his slippers, placing her down on the ground. "Let's get you cleaned up and back into bed." He said, getting up, heading into her bedroom. Waving his wand, Severus cleaned up the sick, before he retucked her into bed, leaving a large bowl on her bedside table. "Here, use this instead of just the floor." He waved his wand over her, ridding her of the sweat that clung to her skin.
"Can't I sleep with you?" She asked, for the first time since coming to live with him, a testament of how ill she really must be.
Severus sat on the bed next to her, considering the point as he summoned a series of potions. "I think it be best if you stayed in here. You didn't sleep with your mother and myself when you were a baby, and I don't think we need to start the habit now." He uncorked the vials and helped her sit up. "One for the nausea," He helped tip the stomach soother into her mouth, watching her swallow. "And one for the fever." A fever reducer followed. He waited for her to fall asleep before he got up, heading back to his room to go back to sleep himself.
*S*S*
An hour later, Elizabeth woke, feeling as if she never took the stomach soother. Reaching quickly, she took hold of the bowl, vomiting again. Carefully, she got up, wrapped the blanket around herself once more and took the bowl to her father's room, placing it on the bedside table on the side he wasn't occupying. As she crawled up the bed to lay down, he woke, turning over to see her getting into bed.
"Elizabeth, please, go back to your own bed."
"I got sick again." She pointed at the bowl, waiting to be yelled at. Instead, Severus waved his wand, cleaning the bowl out and opened his arms after he put his wand on the nightstand, inviting her to come close.
"You're really not feeling well, are you?" He felt her settle against him, laying her arm over his waist. "Is it worse since you were ill the last time?"
She shook her head, sniffling, closing her eyes. "I'm really achy and really nauseous." She was trying not to cry but was losing the fight with her tears. She had nearly expected Severus to push her away when she came back to his room, but when he offered to cuddle her, she took it gladly.
Her Aunt Petunia would never have allowed her to do anything close to this, usually sending her to school when she was ill, or locked her in the cupboard with a bucket and a bottle of cough syrup, leaving her to fend for herself until she was well again. She had learned from a young age to take care of herself, so it was odd that Severus wanted to care for her. She wasn't questioning it, as much as she wanted to, enjoying the attention while it lasted. Eventually, she rationalized, he would figure out it was easier for him to leave her to her own defenses. No one else cared for her while she was ill, so why was he acting so different to all the others?
Severus could feel the hot moisture on his t-shirt and her shaking as she cried, and his heart broke for her. There was not much he could do for her other than dose her with potions and hold her, but it didn't stop the feeling of helplessness that he held in his heart. "I'll be right back, love. Stay here."
He pried himself out from her grip, tucking the blankets around her shoulders, going down to the lab to gather a few potions before returning to the bedroom. "Alright, another fever reducer. I don't think that last one worked very well." She sat up and drank, leaning against his side. "A stomach soother, though this one is much stronger than the other one you had earlier. A pain reliever for the aches and this one will help you sleep. You need to sleep more than a few hours if you want to feel better."
She downed all the potions, sagging against him as the sleep aid took over, with Severus laying her down next to him, pulling her too warm body closer to him, with her head back on his shoulder, the dour man carding a hand through her hair, too wired to go to sleep himself.
*S*S*
Severus toasted a few pieces of bread, leaving them plain, cutting up a banana and apple, putting them on a plate for Elizabeth when the fireplace roared to life, Remus stepping out into the living room.
"Severus?" Remus came into the kitchen. "You look like hell. What happened?"
"Elizabeth has the stomach flu. She was up all night, sicking up." Severus ran a hand through his hair, taking the plate with him up the stairs, along with a few vials of potions. "She has a fever that won't stay down, nausea that won't go away no matter how strong a stomach soother I give her and aches that are making it impossible for her to get comfortable enough to sleep without a sleeping draught."
"Do you want me to take a shift? So you can shower and get some sleep yourself?" Remus took the plate and vials from him when he hesitated. "Go, make yourself human. I'll take care of our girl."
Severus sighed and went into his bedroom, leaving Remus to head into the room across the hall from his best friend, the name painted on the door letting him know it was his goddaughter's room. It had been her nursery, he remembered, but when Albus had purged Severus' mind of memories of his wife and daughter, he had purged his house of their belongings as well, so it was nice that she was back in her original bedroom.
When he entered the room, the bedroom recked of antiseptic and sick, his nose hypersensitive to smells. On the bed, his goddaughter lay coughing, her face pallid and sickly, a large bowl on the bed next to her, empty for the time being.
"Hi, love. How are you feeling?"
"Bad." Elizabeth answered, coughing so hard she gagged, but recovered with a sip of water on her bedside, waiting a few moments to make sure it stayed down before she spoke again. "I haven't been this sick in a while."
"Your father said you were sick all night." Remus put the plate on the bedside table, helping her sit up to take her potions, feeling her forehead, finding it hot and sweaty.
"I was." She sniffled, wiping her nose on one of the tissues from the box on the bed. "I haven't thrown up yet today and I'm hoping that it stays that way."
"I'm sure you are." Remus laughed a little, waving his wand to bag up the used tissues, placing the bag handle over the post of her bed, to make a makeshift trash for her. "Your father and I also want you to be well."
"Speaking of Severus, where is he?" Elizabeth looked toward the door.
"He's showering and taking a nap. He was very tired when I came over today, so I'm taking over until he gets up." Remus offered her the plate, watching as she picked at the toast, nibbling a little, trying to judge what would stay down and what wouldn't.
"Alright." She put the plate down, wiggling to lay down on the bed, pulling the blankets up over her shoulders, shivering under the blankets. "I'm going to try to sleep as well."
"Why don't you take the potion your father sent up? It will make sure you sleep a rested sleep." Remus uncorked it, helping her sit up once more, before taking the empty vial back when she was done drinking. He laid her back down, watching as she slipped into sleep, her body relaxing and her breath evening out.
Remus moved off the bed, sitting in the armchair, watching her sleep for a while before he summoned the newspaper, settling in to wait out the nap.
*S*S*
Remus looked up as the door opened, Severus coming in, his eyes a little brighter than they had been when Remus first came into the house. "How is she?"
"She's still asleep. But her fever is down a bit, and she has a better color than she did before. She didn't eat much, however." He gestured to the plate on the nightstand.
"I'm not surprised, if I am being honest." Severus sat on the edge of the bed, watching her breathe. "She was ill all night. I would be surprised if she were hungry at all today."
"But you're still going to make her meals to try to force her to eat?" Remus joked, folding his paper, laying it on the arm of the chair.
"Not force her, but yes, she will be encouraged to eat. She can't afford to miss any meals." He smoothed the hair off her forehead, feeling the heat radiating off her skin, tutting softly. "This fever needs to go down. She's sicker than any child I have ever met."
"She wasn't vaccinated as a young child, was she?"
"No, she wasn't… I really am going to kill the Dursleys'." Severus sighed, pulling up the covers on his daughter.
"Try to get away with it. I'm not sure how confident I am at being a father. This godfather thing, yes, I get to have all the fun and give her back to you when things get serious," he joked, mirth in his eyes. "But I am not sure I can buckle down like you can when needed."
"I'm sure you'll be able to." Severus rolled his eyes, pressing his wand to her breastbone, looking at her symptoms, looking defeated. "This flu is settling in her chest. I'm worried that this is going to turn into pneumonia."
"It's only been a day, Sev." Remus nevertheless got up, waving his wand to conjure pillows, gesturing for Severus to sit Elizabeth up, propping her up on the pillows so she could breath a little easier in her sleep.
"I'm just worried." The potions master fixed her blankets once more. "She's so small. Pneumonia could easily kill her."
"If you're so worried, bring her to St. Mungo's. The worst that could happen is you two being sent home." Remus leaned against the bed post at the foot of the bed, looking at his best friend.
"I don't think we're there yet, but if this chest congestion doesn't clear up soon, I might just do that." Severus waved Remus out of the room, casting a minding charm on the room before they went downstairs where Severus began to prepare soup for Elizabeth.
"I'm more worried about that fever and the nausea. Is she getting enough fluid? If she's that ill, she must be getting dehydrated."
"I have that covered." Severus reached into the pantry, taking out a large bottle of purple liquid, placing it on the table. "I have about seven of those."
"What is it?"
"What, Lucozade? It's an electrolyte sports drink."
"Why in Merlin's name do you have this?" Remus turned the bottle over in his hands.
"Hangovers." Severus began to boil his stock, chopping vegetables into tiny pieces and neatly shredding chicken into small bite sized portions. "Before Elizabeth came to live here, these where the things that saved me the morning after a few too many. Now, they're going to be given to her, to make sure she stays hydrated."
"You're cracked, old man." Remus put the bottle back on the table, watching as Severus cooked, listening for Elizabeth to make a sound in her bedroom.