A/N: I'm in the middle of writing something else, but last night I figured out how to write this, so here it is.
Chapter Sixteen: Custody in QuestionHarry woke up the next morning to no Professor Snape. He decided that it would be all right if he went out and flew a little, Snape wasn't here to tell him any different. He summoned his Firebolt and flew out the window.
It felt good to be in the air. He enjoyed the feeling of the wind on his face, and the carelessness in being free from gravity. He sped away from Snape's window, maybe if he got back before Snape did , he wouldn't get in trouble. He kept on flying not knowing where he was going. His head was starting to throb. Oh, his head hurt, he had to stop, but he couldn't remember how through the pain. All of a sudden he did, and the world went black.
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(This is the night before the previous part)
When Severus walked into the Common Room from putting Harry to bed, he saw Aeria talking to her daughter comfortingly.
"Ready?" he asked.
"We still need the two blankets," Aeria pointed out. Severus ran up to the dormitories, and grabbed a blanket out of the Fifth-Year dormitory. He ripped in almost equal halves while he was coming back up the stairs. He laid one half on each of the girls.
"Severa or Thespia first?" Aeria asked.
"Go ahead with Thespia," Severus nodded towards her daughter's form.
"Okay," Aeria inhaled slowly as she raised her wand above her daughters form. Severus watched her whisper "Expurgio Venificus," this time pronouncing the 'v' correctly. Aeria closed her eyes as she and Thespia were bathed in bright amber light.
Suddenly, Aeria's hands shot open, her wand fell to the ground, but the light was still bathing them, Aeria's hands were open, reaching a few centimetres from her daughters body. The green blanket was slowly spotting with amber liquid, the antidote. Thespia's eyes shot open, a look of pain and terror on her face. She screamed. Severus quickly cast a silencing spell on the chamber, so that the noise would not worry Harry, who would come running the rescue. The screaming continued until the blanket was soaked with the amber liquid. Aeria closed her hands and faced them upwards, pulling them closer to her own body and she fainted. Severus reacted quickly and caught her not too far from the ground. She was breathing heavily. Thespia was back asleep on the couch.
After a minute or two that seemed to Severus to last forever, Aeria slowly opened her eyes. She smiled at him weakly, and whispered, "We did it."
Severus genuinely smiled back at her. "You did it," he whispered back. He held her in his left had while he banished Thespia's blanket to the fireplace and lit it aflame.
Aeria stood up, stretched and picked up her want to put it in her pocket. "Won't be needing that," she said to herself as she walked over to Severa.
"You can't be thinking about doing that again tonight?" Severus asked her.
"Yes, I can, and I am."
"But, you just fainted, you can't be strong enough," Severus protested.
"Watch me," she said, closing her eyes with her hands over Severa, "Expurgio Venificus!" she said, before Severus could do anything.
The two of them were bathed in amber light. As the blanket became more and more soaked with the amber liquid, Severa became more conscious, and screamed in pain and terror. As soon as the blanket was soaked, Aeria ceased and fainted again, as Severa went back to sleep. Severus caught her again and pulled her into his arms as he sat on the floor.
This time she stayed unconscious longer, and Severus wouldn't let her get up. That night they fell asleep like that, Aeria in Severus's arms. Severus woke up about mid-day and hoped that the girls didn't see him like that. He picked up Aeria and laid her delicately across a comfortable chair, and left to send an owl to Madame Pomfrey, asking for her to come back to Hogwarts early.
He went to his room to check on Harry and to compose the letter, but upon entering he realised that Harry was gone. He scribbled a quick note, sent it off and dashed off to find Potter. "Stupid Gryffindor," he muttered when he almost ran into the boy in the hall, but he was floating. Behind Harry he saw a familiar escaped convict with his wand raised.
"What are you doing here Black?" Severus growled.
"Collecting my godson, I believe he was in your care, which obviously isn't that good, or he wouldn't be unconscious at the Hogwarts gates," Black retorted.
"That was his own fault! I wasn't with him."
"Exactly my point, Snivellus, you can't care for a child, you shouldn't even be in charge of a class of them, but you're only allowed to because it's not a lifetime commitment to each one of their safety and health."
"You shut up, at least I'm not an escaped convict," Severus said, following Black to the Hospital Wing, where he seemed to be taking Harry for the moment.
"I was falsely convicted and you know it, but you're in denial, because you still can't accept that maybe I'm a good person after all."
"You're idea of a good person," Severus grumbled, "is cursing someone at every chance you get for fun."
"I've grown up Severus! Unlike you," Sirius yelled. "Still holding childhood grudges, and getting the best Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher Harry's had fired for the same reason. Grow up, you git, it's not all about you."
"It was never about me. It was always about you, you and Potter, and you're little friends. It was all about you, always. All I wanted was a little payback for making my life miserable," Severus spat.
"You made your own life miserable, Severus. You could have laughed it off like anybody else, but you had to be a model Slytherin and use Dark curses on us!"
"You made our food dance on the very first breakfast at Hogwarts, and it was only mine that couldn't be caught. You asked for it."
"It was a joke. First day laughs, it's not our fault you were to slow."
Madame Pomfrey appeared at that moment with the two girls on stretchers. Aeria followed them.
"Who are they?" Sirius asked no one in particular.
"I got you're owl, Severus. I have to say, I'm wondering the same thing."
Severus was being ganged up on again, he felt. "My daughter, and Professor Feenland's daughter, though she could have told you that."
"You have a daughter, Severus?" Sirius asked, "I never knew. But look at yourself, you've got two children in your care, and now they're both in the Hospital Wing unconscious, I think that speaks volumes!"
"She wasn't supposed to go into the Forbidden Forest, but she didn't know!" Severus screamed without thought.
"And why didn't she know? You neglected to tell her, perhaps," Sirius suggested.
"SHUT UP!" came a voice from the bed. They both looked down, Harry was in a bed between the two of them. He looked pained.
"I can't stand hearing you two fight any longer," he said before falling back asleep.
"My patients need their rest," Madame Pomfrey began, "so would you mind a word or two with me Severus and Professor Feenland? Sirius, will you please step out in the hall?"
"He's my godson!" Sirius protested.
"Out!" Madame Pomfrey declared. Sirius angrily and reluctantly left.
Severus and Aeria quickly explained to Madame Pomfrey their daughters' conditions. She nodded and shooed them away. Madame Pomfrey went into her office to write an owl to Dumbledore, requesting help.
A/N: He he he…who's Harry's real godfather? Both? You'll have to wait and see what happens. Am I cruel?
Reviewer thanx/answers—
HecateDeMort—here you go.
BlueGryffin—Thank you, and I'll try, but I'm a busy writer, I've got several fics, not to mention a twin sister and band.
Borg—No matter how many times you hit that enter button, I've still got more positive reviews than your negative ones.
Joshua Glass—I love your fic, I wanna read more. Glad you liked the cookies. There's a bit more action in this chapter though, right?
Corgi1—Thank you, at least you were here to help me now, and with the other story, thanks! Everyone else, read her Holiday from Hell, she's working really hard on it, and I bet it's great!