DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and
owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to
Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros.,
Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is
intended.
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ABBB chap 3 Draco tried to scream all the way down the dungeons but the evil lady who took him from 'Din-din' was strong and relentless. She hauled him indelicately like a sack of potatoes and frequently told him he weighed as much as a whale. It was certainly not his fault that Din-din fed him on milk that was high in carbohydrates. To compensate for his lack of vocals, he pounded the evil lady's head, shoulders and back. "Ouch," she snapped more then once. "Stop that or I'll feed you to the Giant Squid!" Draco would stop grizzling awhile, but then he would start up again, the frustration that filed his frail little body too much to hold in. Kathryn was beginning to think that modern historians were apt to be a bit hard on the baby burying King Herod of the bible. She cursed the sentimental modern laws that prohibited interring of baby boys of two years age and blond hair into the ground. Kathryn personally thought that if she buried the whinging little brat she deserved a Nobel Peace Prize. Just when her eyes were getting that particularly murderous tinge of brown Severus unwittingly saved Draco's life by turning up unexpectedly. "Kat!" he exclaimed with surprise, black eyes widening. "Get this foul little beast off me Severus," hissed Kathryn. He hurriedly complied, recognizing the wild coffee look in her eyes. "You put a Silencing Charm on him?" he drawled mockingly, Draco safely interred in his arms. "How very cruel." "My back must be black and blue," snapped Kathryn. "That rancid little animal used me as his personal punching bag for taking him away from his Weasley girl." Severus pressed the wand to Draco's face, intending to take off the spell. "No!" cried Kathryn - too late! Freed from his constraint, Draco let loose with the force of ten gales and four monster trucks. Kathryn clapped her hands to her ears. Severus would have too except he was holding Draco and tempting as it was, he couldn't drop him. That would only have made him scream louder anyway. "Shut him up!" yelled Kathryn above the noise. "Severus! You're his godfather! Do something!" Severus fumbled in his pockets awkwardly, still trying not to drop Draco. "Where is it? Where is it?" he mumbled, trying one pocket then the other. "Ah! Got it!" He pulled a pacifier out of his pocket and stuck it into Draco's mouth. Instantly, the noise ceased like magic. Draco sucked on the pacifier sulkily, his loud sobs miraculously ceased. "Thank you," said Kathryn fervently. Draco gave her the glare he gave Ron, Hermione, Harry and almost everyone not Din-din and Unkel Sevvie. Kathryn returned the favor. Severus shook his head and rearranged Draco's limbs so that it was easier to carry him. "I'm going to take him to my rooms," he told Kat. "Give him something to eat or maybe lay him down for a nap. Coming?" Kathryn and Draco didn't break their death stare match. "Fine," she replied shortly. Severus shook his head. "Kathryn Lim," he muttered. "The only woman fool enough to try and stare down a two year old." "Whose side are you on?" demanded Kathryn indignantly. She and Draco carried on glowering at each other, Draco sucking on his pacifier like it was some kind of juicy cigar, all the way to Severus's chambers. "Stop it," ordered Severus sharply. It was the kind of voice he used for his particularly unruly students and it worked just as well on a baby and a woman. They looked away, very slowly and maliciously, but still they looked away. Severus rolled his eyes. *** Severus was hunched over his desk marking test papers. Kathryn and Draco were on the bed. Draco was sucking on his bottle. His eyes were closed, an extraordinarily trusting gesture considering the Evil Lady (he was now thinking of her in Capitals) was sitting beside him. Draco was reassured by Unkel Sevvie's warm presence and since he believed his beloved godfather could rescue him form a crowd of stampeding Hippogriffs, so one Evil Lady was no match for him. Little did he know - being so young he had no idea of the backstabbing ways of the world - that his Unkel Sevvie was actually bosom buddies with the Evil Lady. Severus and Kathryn had met outside a bookstore, when she had been accused of stealing. Severus had gotten her out with good advice. She had thanked him and they parted, thinking no more of each other. However, kismet had other plans for them, and they met, together with another pawn in the chess game of life by the name Lily Evans. They interacted and parted. This time as enemies. Still fate would not let them be. Kathryn failed an important Potions Test. She walked up to a tall tower with icy rain plummeting around her. Lily and Severus witnessing this, jumped to the conclusion that she was going there to commit suicide. They followed her and Severus lunged at her. After this misunderstanding, Severus and Lily offered their tutoring. Kathryn accepted. Somehow, they became best friends. Neither Kathryn nor Severus would have hurt each other for a bushel of gold. They were the only ones (or so they had thought) who knew about each other's friendship with Lily Evans and the other member of their renegade group, Calcifer 'Howl' Jones. However, that did not stop them from trying to bait the other. "Severus?" asked Kathryn. "May I ask you something?" He stirred over his papers. "Yes. Go ahead." "Did you know that I was bringing the little monster down here?" she asked. "Yes." "Are you sure?" asked Kathryn. "Are you absolutely certain you had no idea that I was bringing the miserable fiend to the dungeons?" "Yes!" snapped Severus impatiently. "What of it?" "Then," said Kathryn gleefully. "What on earth were you doing carrying a pacifier around the castle?" *** Ginny cocked her head quizzically. Either her guilty conscience was making her hear things, or she heard the loud, agonized howl of Draco echoing faintly round Honeydukes. Ginny listened hard but relaxed. She was just feeling a bit uptight over leaving Draco in the care of Professor Lim. She returned to browsing the tempting goods of Honeydukes. *** As a matter of fact, Ginny, guilty as her conscience might feel, was not hearing things. Draco was indeed trying to deafen Kathryn and Severus by screaming his lungs out though this time with some of justification. Severus had tried his very hardest not to, but in the end had snapped under Kathryn teasing remarks. She had knowingly cut his last nerves by asking him whether he had a potty hidden anywhere as well. With his last remnant of self control ripped by that comment, he had launched himself at her, trying, half seriously, to strangle her. Unfortunately, whilst wrestling about, they accidentally rolled over Draco. To say he was pissed off would be like saying the atomic bomb was a firecracker. "WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Both Severus and Kathryn abandoned their play fight and dived for the pacifier. "WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Horror of horrors, they couldn't find it! "WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Where was that -insert unprintable word here- pacifier?? "WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" The situation was verging critical here. "WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA- ulp-" Kathryn had managed to find the pacifier and stuffed it unceremoniously into Draco's open mouth. Draco left off with his wailing, contenting himself with glaring heavily at Kathryn and Severus. To Kathryn's aggravation, his cheeks weren't even wet with tears. In fact, he had been yelling just for the sake of yelling! The mind boggled at such callous behavior. "I bet he could be heard in Hogsmeade," she said. Severus picked Draco up. "Don't be a bloody fool." *** Soon Draco was asleep, soothingly rocked by his Unkel Sevvie. Kathryn looked around Severus's room. It never ceased to astonish her that a bachelor could have a bedroom like his, not that she had a lot of experience. He had a large bed, four-poster like all Hogwarts provided, except he had black sheets and a large dark blue and green quilt covering it. The pillows at the head of his bed were large and comfortable with silver and green patterns weaving over them. The walls were covered with bookshelves, much like Kathryn's, and in them were books on every subject from Defense Against the Dark Arts and Potions to The Rise and Decline of the Roman Empire by Gibson. There was a desk near his bed and it was scattered untidily with parchment, and quills. "Kat," whispered Severus. "What?" asked Kathryn. "Shhh!" he admonished. "Moderate your voice, you'll wake Draco." "You mean I shall recall him from the depth of his slumber, the foul Blob?" asked Kathryn. Severus glared at her. "If you hadn't gotten immediately onto his bad side..." "Oh shut up, you-" "Shhh!" Kathryn just gave up talking. Severus tried to lay Draco on the bed but he squirmed and seemed to be waking up. Severus hurriedly sat still again. "Kathryn," he whispered. "You'll wake the baby." Severus winced at her ironical tone. A wry smile alighted her mouth. "What the students of Hogwarts wouldn't pay to see you cradling a baby, Severus. I could sell tickets and we split the proceedings. What say you?" "You better be joking," said Severus. Kathryn laughed and then leaned over to gently stroke Draco's head. He stirred beneath her hand and he made soft snuffling noises. Unbeknownst to herself, she sighed softly. Severus watched her keenly. His black eyes studied her face intently. She had certainly grown up, he acknowledged ruefully, though she was still a head shorter then he was, fitting neatly under his chin. Her brown eyes were soft as she watched the 'foul little monster' sleep in his arms. Black wisps of hair waved softly around her face, escaping from her loose braid. Not really pretty, but attractive if you liked that sort of thing. Skin the color of a peeled banana, eyes wide and tilted, shoulder length sheet of blue-black hair, her features were too irregular to be of any real beauty. "Can he walk already?" He looked away from her, slightly ashamed to have studied her so keenly. "Draco? Walk? I don't know. I think Miss Weasley mollycoddles him. She carries him everywhere. I think he should be able to walk by now. Narcissa neglected him scandalously. She would carry him, but never really take care of him. Draco used to sit there and just listen to everything she and her gossiping cronies said." Kathryn nodded. That made sense. She had been wondering where Draco had gotten his colorful vocabulary. "Madam Pomfrey said he's of two years age already, so he should be able to crawl at least." Severus shrugged. "When he wakes up I suppose we can test him." "If he doesn't deafen us first." Severus chuckled and reached over to ruffle her hair. "I'm not a little girl anymore," laughed Kathryn. "You can't do that to me!" "Rubbish," murmured Severus. "I did that to you when you were sixteen, till we left school and you had to go to that idiotic country, Masaylia or something, and I've got at least eight years of hair ruffles to give you." "That's Malaysia, you ignoramus," replied Kathryn, leaning into his touch. He was handsome, she reflected rather dreamily, he was looking at her, half playfully, half earnestly, strands of his long raven hair shadowed his fathomless black eyes, and so dark they were almost purple. Severus's skin was the color of milk, a warm creamy white. His hands, nestled in the grass were slender and authoritative; his fingers were unusually long. Though his lips were too thin, they still somehow managed to look cruelly sensuous in a way Kathryn's small rosebud mouth could never look. Despite his large hooked nose, which Kathryn personally thought gave his face character; he really was very handsome. Severus leaned closer to her, she could see herself reflected in his eyes. Her breath caught in her throat. She tilted her head towards his and - Draco woke up. He took one look at the scene above him and started to kick at Unkel Sevvie. He couldn't understand why Unkel Sevvie and the Evil Lady were so close together, but he remembered that Mama and Dada had often looked at each other like that. He decided not to worry about it. "Unkel Sevvie, wan' Din-din," he said. "See, once he gets tired of you..." smirked Kathryn. "He'll send you to the glue factory like an old horse." "Shut up Kathryn," snapped Severus. "Did I hit a nerve?" "At least I've got some." "Are you saying I'm tactless?" "Is Draco spoiled?" "Why you-" And so they carried on, Draco got so interested in the name calling, seeing a chance to improve his vocabulary that he didn't remember to call for Din- din till Kathryn nearly hit him when she tried to get Severus for something particularly offensive. "DIN-DIN!!!"
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ABBB chap 3 Draco tried to scream all the way down the dungeons but the evil lady who took him from 'Din-din' was strong and relentless. She hauled him indelicately like a sack of potatoes and frequently told him he weighed as much as a whale. It was certainly not his fault that Din-din fed him on milk that was high in carbohydrates. To compensate for his lack of vocals, he pounded the evil lady's head, shoulders and back. "Ouch," she snapped more then once. "Stop that or I'll feed you to the Giant Squid!" Draco would stop grizzling awhile, but then he would start up again, the frustration that filed his frail little body too much to hold in. Kathryn was beginning to think that modern historians were apt to be a bit hard on the baby burying King Herod of the bible. She cursed the sentimental modern laws that prohibited interring of baby boys of two years age and blond hair into the ground. Kathryn personally thought that if she buried the whinging little brat she deserved a Nobel Peace Prize. Just when her eyes were getting that particularly murderous tinge of brown Severus unwittingly saved Draco's life by turning up unexpectedly. "Kat!" he exclaimed with surprise, black eyes widening. "Get this foul little beast off me Severus," hissed Kathryn. He hurriedly complied, recognizing the wild coffee look in her eyes. "You put a Silencing Charm on him?" he drawled mockingly, Draco safely interred in his arms. "How very cruel." "My back must be black and blue," snapped Kathryn. "That rancid little animal used me as his personal punching bag for taking him away from his Weasley girl." Severus pressed the wand to Draco's face, intending to take off the spell. "No!" cried Kathryn - too late! Freed from his constraint, Draco let loose with the force of ten gales and four monster trucks. Kathryn clapped her hands to her ears. Severus would have too except he was holding Draco and tempting as it was, he couldn't drop him. That would only have made him scream louder anyway. "Shut him up!" yelled Kathryn above the noise. "Severus! You're his godfather! Do something!" Severus fumbled in his pockets awkwardly, still trying not to drop Draco. "Where is it? Where is it?" he mumbled, trying one pocket then the other. "Ah! Got it!" He pulled a pacifier out of his pocket and stuck it into Draco's mouth. Instantly, the noise ceased like magic. Draco sucked on the pacifier sulkily, his loud sobs miraculously ceased. "Thank you," said Kathryn fervently. Draco gave her the glare he gave Ron, Hermione, Harry and almost everyone not Din-din and Unkel Sevvie. Kathryn returned the favor. Severus shook his head and rearranged Draco's limbs so that it was easier to carry him. "I'm going to take him to my rooms," he told Kat. "Give him something to eat or maybe lay him down for a nap. Coming?" Kathryn and Draco didn't break their death stare match. "Fine," she replied shortly. Severus shook his head. "Kathryn Lim," he muttered. "The only woman fool enough to try and stare down a two year old." "Whose side are you on?" demanded Kathryn indignantly. She and Draco carried on glowering at each other, Draco sucking on his pacifier like it was some kind of juicy cigar, all the way to Severus's chambers. "Stop it," ordered Severus sharply. It was the kind of voice he used for his particularly unruly students and it worked just as well on a baby and a woman. They looked away, very slowly and maliciously, but still they looked away. Severus rolled his eyes. *** Severus was hunched over his desk marking test papers. Kathryn and Draco were on the bed. Draco was sucking on his bottle. His eyes were closed, an extraordinarily trusting gesture considering the Evil Lady (he was now thinking of her in Capitals) was sitting beside him. Draco was reassured by Unkel Sevvie's warm presence and since he believed his beloved godfather could rescue him form a crowd of stampeding Hippogriffs, so one Evil Lady was no match for him. Little did he know - being so young he had no idea of the backstabbing ways of the world - that his Unkel Sevvie was actually bosom buddies with the Evil Lady. Severus and Kathryn had met outside a bookstore, when she had been accused of stealing. Severus had gotten her out with good advice. She had thanked him and they parted, thinking no more of each other. However, kismet had other plans for them, and they met, together with another pawn in the chess game of life by the name Lily Evans. They interacted and parted. This time as enemies. Still fate would not let them be. Kathryn failed an important Potions Test. She walked up to a tall tower with icy rain plummeting around her. Lily and Severus witnessing this, jumped to the conclusion that she was going there to commit suicide. They followed her and Severus lunged at her. After this misunderstanding, Severus and Lily offered their tutoring. Kathryn accepted. Somehow, they became best friends. Neither Kathryn nor Severus would have hurt each other for a bushel of gold. They were the only ones (or so they had thought) who knew about each other's friendship with Lily Evans and the other member of their renegade group, Calcifer 'Howl' Jones. However, that did not stop them from trying to bait the other. "Severus?" asked Kathryn. "May I ask you something?" He stirred over his papers. "Yes. Go ahead." "Did you know that I was bringing the little monster down here?" she asked. "Yes." "Are you sure?" asked Kathryn. "Are you absolutely certain you had no idea that I was bringing the miserable fiend to the dungeons?" "Yes!" snapped Severus impatiently. "What of it?" "Then," said Kathryn gleefully. "What on earth were you doing carrying a pacifier around the castle?" *** Ginny cocked her head quizzically. Either her guilty conscience was making her hear things, or she heard the loud, agonized howl of Draco echoing faintly round Honeydukes. Ginny listened hard but relaxed. She was just feeling a bit uptight over leaving Draco in the care of Professor Lim. She returned to browsing the tempting goods of Honeydukes. *** As a matter of fact, Ginny, guilty as her conscience might feel, was not hearing things. Draco was indeed trying to deafen Kathryn and Severus by screaming his lungs out though this time with some of justification. Severus had tried his very hardest not to, but in the end had snapped under Kathryn teasing remarks. She had knowingly cut his last nerves by asking him whether he had a potty hidden anywhere as well. With his last remnant of self control ripped by that comment, he had launched himself at her, trying, half seriously, to strangle her. Unfortunately, whilst wrestling about, they accidentally rolled over Draco. To say he was pissed off would be like saying the atomic bomb was a firecracker. "WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Both Severus and Kathryn abandoned their play fight and dived for the pacifier. "WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Horror of horrors, they couldn't find it! "WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Where was that -insert unprintable word here- pacifier?? "WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" The situation was verging critical here. "WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA- ulp-" Kathryn had managed to find the pacifier and stuffed it unceremoniously into Draco's open mouth. Draco left off with his wailing, contenting himself with glaring heavily at Kathryn and Severus. To Kathryn's aggravation, his cheeks weren't even wet with tears. In fact, he had been yelling just for the sake of yelling! The mind boggled at such callous behavior. "I bet he could be heard in Hogsmeade," she said. Severus picked Draco up. "Don't be a bloody fool." *** Soon Draco was asleep, soothingly rocked by his Unkel Sevvie. Kathryn looked around Severus's room. It never ceased to astonish her that a bachelor could have a bedroom like his, not that she had a lot of experience. He had a large bed, four-poster like all Hogwarts provided, except he had black sheets and a large dark blue and green quilt covering it. The pillows at the head of his bed were large and comfortable with silver and green patterns weaving over them. The walls were covered with bookshelves, much like Kathryn's, and in them were books on every subject from Defense Against the Dark Arts and Potions to The Rise and Decline of the Roman Empire by Gibson. There was a desk near his bed and it was scattered untidily with parchment, and quills. "Kat," whispered Severus. "What?" asked Kathryn. "Shhh!" he admonished. "Moderate your voice, you'll wake Draco." "You mean I shall recall him from the depth of his slumber, the foul Blob?" asked Kathryn. Severus glared at her. "If you hadn't gotten immediately onto his bad side..." "Oh shut up, you-" "Shhh!" Kathryn just gave up talking. Severus tried to lay Draco on the bed but he squirmed and seemed to be waking up. Severus hurriedly sat still again. "Kathryn," he whispered. "You'll wake the baby." Severus winced at her ironical tone. A wry smile alighted her mouth. "What the students of Hogwarts wouldn't pay to see you cradling a baby, Severus. I could sell tickets and we split the proceedings. What say you?" "You better be joking," said Severus. Kathryn laughed and then leaned over to gently stroke Draco's head. He stirred beneath her hand and he made soft snuffling noises. Unbeknownst to herself, she sighed softly. Severus watched her keenly. His black eyes studied her face intently. She had certainly grown up, he acknowledged ruefully, though she was still a head shorter then he was, fitting neatly under his chin. Her brown eyes were soft as she watched the 'foul little monster' sleep in his arms. Black wisps of hair waved softly around her face, escaping from her loose braid. Not really pretty, but attractive if you liked that sort of thing. Skin the color of a peeled banana, eyes wide and tilted, shoulder length sheet of blue-black hair, her features were too irregular to be of any real beauty. "Can he walk already?" He looked away from her, slightly ashamed to have studied her so keenly. "Draco? Walk? I don't know. I think Miss Weasley mollycoddles him. She carries him everywhere. I think he should be able to walk by now. Narcissa neglected him scandalously. She would carry him, but never really take care of him. Draco used to sit there and just listen to everything she and her gossiping cronies said." Kathryn nodded. That made sense. She had been wondering where Draco had gotten his colorful vocabulary. "Madam Pomfrey said he's of two years age already, so he should be able to crawl at least." Severus shrugged. "When he wakes up I suppose we can test him." "If he doesn't deafen us first." Severus chuckled and reached over to ruffle her hair. "I'm not a little girl anymore," laughed Kathryn. "You can't do that to me!" "Rubbish," murmured Severus. "I did that to you when you were sixteen, till we left school and you had to go to that idiotic country, Masaylia or something, and I've got at least eight years of hair ruffles to give you." "That's Malaysia, you ignoramus," replied Kathryn, leaning into his touch. He was handsome, she reflected rather dreamily, he was looking at her, half playfully, half earnestly, strands of his long raven hair shadowed his fathomless black eyes, and so dark they were almost purple. Severus's skin was the color of milk, a warm creamy white. His hands, nestled in the grass were slender and authoritative; his fingers were unusually long. Though his lips were too thin, they still somehow managed to look cruelly sensuous in a way Kathryn's small rosebud mouth could never look. Despite his large hooked nose, which Kathryn personally thought gave his face character; he really was very handsome. Severus leaned closer to her, she could see herself reflected in his eyes. Her breath caught in her throat. She tilted her head towards his and - Draco woke up. He took one look at the scene above him and started to kick at Unkel Sevvie. He couldn't understand why Unkel Sevvie and the Evil Lady were so close together, but he remembered that Mama and Dada had often looked at each other like that. He decided not to worry about it. "Unkel Sevvie, wan' Din-din," he said. "See, once he gets tired of you..." smirked Kathryn. "He'll send you to the glue factory like an old horse." "Shut up Kathryn," snapped Severus. "Did I hit a nerve?" "At least I've got some." "Are you saying I'm tactless?" "Is Draco spoiled?" "Why you-" And so they carried on, Draco got so interested in the name calling, seeing a chance to improve his vocabulary that he didn't remember to call for Din- din till Kathryn nearly hit him when she tried to get Severus for something particularly offensive. "DIN-DIN!!!"
