Disclaimer: any characters recognized from Harry Potter do not belong to
me; they belong to J. K. Rowling.
When Amy woke the next morning, she was alone. The bed was half made and Severus was long gone. She yawned and stood up, listening for Violet, but it seemed the baby was either still sleeping or content.
She went into the loo to dress and fix her hair. She put on a jogging suit and tied her hair up so she could do her morning Yoga. The Sun Salutations took twenty minutes and she decided to leave it at that. She was starting to feel hungry so she showered quickly and donned jeans and a tee.
She was braiding her long tresses as she entered the living room and bumped into Harry who was feeding Violet her breakfast. The bright-eyed baby smiled at Amy and continued with her food.
"Morning," Harry said brightly. "I don't have class for a while and Severus asked me to show you to the Great Hall for breakfast. Violet got a little impatient for food so I gave her a little something."
Amy sat down next to the high chair and tickled the baby under her chin. "Will she eat with the other students?"
"Oh yes, she does almost every morning. Severus or I usually take her with us while Alex does her thing. I don't think Vi's gonna miss her much, she never really had much to do with her."
Amy looked at the beautiful baby and felt a pang of empathy for her. "Sad, but I guess I'm here to be her new mummy." Amy picked her up and they prepared to leave. "How is it going to be that I'm muggle? I don't own any robes and I certainly won't fit in with my jeans."
Harry laughed and led her out the door. "Don't worry, most of the students are muggle born or at least half blood. They're well used to the muggle world and won't try to hex you in the hall." He lowered his voice, "I know about Alex. I had some vague conception of her...race if you'd call it that. Are you one of them too?"
Amy nodded, "I was half blood until recently when I changed on my own."
Harry shrugged, "I dunno how it works, I just know that you aren't human and that our magic cant touch you. You might do well to pretend to be cursed if someone tries to attack you."
Amy sighed fretfully, "I can do that, I suppose."
Harry nudged her playfully on the shoulder. "Your kind sighs a lot. Alex did it all the time, it's strange."
They made their way to the Great Hall where Severus was sitting at the very end of the staff table. Amy chose to ignore the looks she got and sat by his side, placing Violet in the high chair that was already waiting for her.
"Morning," she said gently. "Did you sleep okay?"
He nodded, concentrating on chewing the bite in his mouth. "You," he finally asked.
"Yes, your bed was wonderfully comfortable." She began piling small bits of eggs and bacon on Violet's plate and gave her a tippy cup full of juice. "She eats well," Amy remarked after a moment of uncomfortable silence.
Severus nodded again, "She's more like me than her mum, and she always has been. I don't think Alex spent more than a handful of hours with her total. But Vi doesn't seem to mind."
Amy smiled in spite of the sorrow she felt for the both of them. "She's a lively girl then, isn't she?" Violet was making faces at passing students. It seemed the norm for the room and Amy wondered what going to this school would have been like. The curriculum would have been different but the principles would be the same. It would have been better than the boarding school she was sent to.
Months passed with ease as Severus and Amy built their relationship. He warmed up to her quickly, and it seemed he was trying anything to dull the ache in his chest. He didn't was to open up to her and Amy understood that of course. She told him her ugly history of being lied to, shipped off to live as a human, and how she was reunited with Guido, her would-be father only to watch him die six months later.
"If anyone can sympathize with the constant ache in your soul, I can. I don't expect you to tell me things, but just know I'm here for you." She told him this over dinner in their private quarters exactly five months to the day that she had arrived. She was already desperately in love with him and certain that he would never be able to love her back. "I think I can love you in a way that she never could."
"How could you do that," he said in a voice hoarse from tears he was trying to hold back. "I mean, look what she's done to me! I used to be respected and feared, I've been reduced to a blithering idiot crying over his peas!"
Amy patted his hand and poured him a glass of wine. "I could love you as a human loves. A love that she has never been capable of."
He brushed tears off his face angrily and gulped the wine down with a grimace. "I don't need it anymore," he said gruffly and went to bed.
Amy accepted the defeat and finished her dinner. Harry was out with Violet on her evening stroll. The weather was warm and beautiful, Hogwarts was blooming with peachy-faced students and green grounds. Amy had a hard time feeling sad and would never give up on him. He could be one last lost soul in the world and that was a big difference to her.
Later that night, Amy was sitting alone by the light of a lamp reading when suddenly Victor popped into the room. He went to her side speaking low and quick. "I've come to warn you, Amy. Alex is on a rampage, and I don't know why. I think Violet is in danger of being taken, and you cant let that happen. She'll put Vi where she put you."
Amy glared, "Wonderful, as if my torture wasn't enough for her!"
"Just keep Vi guarded at all times. Tell Severus what Alex plans, keep him on his guard."
"I..." she trailed off for a moment. "I want to change him."
Victor took her hands, "I can't let you Vi. He will not be Immortal and he is susceptible to a disease that's already in his blood stream. He would surely die a painful death within thirty years. It wouldn't be worth it."
Amy glared at him inwardly. That's what he told her parents when he convinced them to let her go. But it wasn't true, it was an elaborate lie to get them out of her life. She didn't let on that she knew the truth of what he had done and just smiled at him. "Pity, I think I really love him."
Victor smiled sadly at her and kissed her cheek. "Ma Bella," he whispered and was gone as suddenly as he had appeared.
Amy went into the bed she shared with Severus. He was lying awake in the dark thinking about things, but he would never share them with Amy. He deserved no rest, no peace. He was now forced to accept things because of the life he had lived, because of the lives he had taken.
Amy crawled into bed next to him and instinctively lay with her head on his chest. He wrapped his arm around her and absentmindedly stroked her hair. "Victor was just here," she said after a moment. She waited for him to react, but he didn't. "He said that Alex...is planning on kidnapping Violet and putting her where she put me."
Severus gripped her shoulder tightly, filling with rage. "I can't believe she would do this to me! First she divorces me and leaves me with my daughter whom she says she doesn't care about, then she decides to take her away and put her in some muggle home with no memories of where she came from!"
Amy began to run her fingers up and down his chest and face, calming him down. "We will keep up her guard. As long as Vi isn't alone she will be safe."
When Amy woke the next morning, she was alone. The bed was half made and Severus was long gone. She yawned and stood up, listening for Violet, but it seemed the baby was either still sleeping or content.
She went into the loo to dress and fix her hair. She put on a jogging suit and tied her hair up so she could do her morning Yoga. The Sun Salutations took twenty minutes and she decided to leave it at that. She was starting to feel hungry so she showered quickly and donned jeans and a tee.
She was braiding her long tresses as she entered the living room and bumped into Harry who was feeding Violet her breakfast. The bright-eyed baby smiled at Amy and continued with her food.
"Morning," Harry said brightly. "I don't have class for a while and Severus asked me to show you to the Great Hall for breakfast. Violet got a little impatient for food so I gave her a little something."
Amy sat down next to the high chair and tickled the baby under her chin. "Will she eat with the other students?"
"Oh yes, she does almost every morning. Severus or I usually take her with us while Alex does her thing. I don't think Vi's gonna miss her much, she never really had much to do with her."
Amy looked at the beautiful baby and felt a pang of empathy for her. "Sad, but I guess I'm here to be her new mummy." Amy picked her up and they prepared to leave. "How is it going to be that I'm muggle? I don't own any robes and I certainly won't fit in with my jeans."
Harry laughed and led her out the door. "Don't worry, most of the students are muggle born or at least half blood. They're well used to the muggle world and won't try to hex you in the hall." He lowered his voice, "I know about Alex. I had some vague conception of her...race if you'd call it that. Are you one of them too?"
Amy nodded, "I was half blood until recently when I changed on my own."
Harry shrugged, "I dunno how it works, I just know that you aren't human and that our magic cant touch you. You might do well to pretend to be cursed if someone tries to attack you."
Amy sighed fretfully, "I can do that, I suppose."
Harry nudged her playfully on the shoulder. "Your kind sighs a lot. Alex did it all the time, it's strange."
They made their way to the Great Hall where Severus was sitting at the very end of the staff table. Amy chose to ignore the looks she got and sat by his side, placing Violet in the high chair that was already waiting for her.
"Morning," she said gently. "Did you sleep okay?"
He nodded, concentrating on chewing the bite in his mouth. "You," he finally asked.
"Yes, your bed was wonderfully comfortable." She began piling small bits of eggs and bacon on Violet's plate and gave her a tippy cup full of juice. "She eats well," Amy remarked after a moment of uncomfortable silence.
Severus nodded again, "She's more like me than her mum, and she always has been. I don't think Alex spent more than a handful of hours with her total. But Vi doesn't seem to mind."
Amy smiled in spite of the sorrow she felt for the both of them. "She's a lively girl then, isn't she?" Violet was making faces at passing students. It seemed the norm for the room and Amy wondered what going to this school would have been like. The curriculum would have been different but the principles would be the same. It would have been better than the boarding school she was sent to.
Months passed with ease as Severus and Amy built their relationship. He warmed up to her quickly, and it seemed he was trying anything to dull the ache in his chest. He didn't was to open up to her and Amy understood that of course. She told him her ugly history of being lied to, shipped off to live as a human, and how she was reunited with Guido, her would-be father only to watch him die six months later.
"If anyone can sympathize with the constant ache in your soul, I can. I don't expect you to tell me things, but just know I'm here for you." She told him this over dinner in their private quarters exactly five months to the day that she had arrived. She was already desperately in love with him and certain that he would never be able to love her back. "I think I can love you in a way that she never could."
"How could you do that," he said in a voice hoarse from tears he was trying to hold back. "I mean, look what she's done to me! I used to be respected and feared, I've been reduced to a blithering idiot crying over his peas!"
Amy patted his hand and poured him a glass of wine. "I could love you as a human loves. A love that she has never been capable of."
He brushed tears off his face angrily and gulped the wine down with a grimace. "I don't need it anymore," he said gruffly and went to bed.
Amy accepted the defeat and finished her dinner. Harry was out with Violet on her evening stroll. The weather was warm and beautiful, Hogwarts was blooming with peachy-faced students and green grounds. Amy had a hard time feeling sad and would never give up on him. He could be one last lost soul in the world and that was a big difference to her.
Later that night, Amy was sitting alone by the light of a lamp reading when suddenly Victor popped into the room. He went to her side speaking low and quick. "I've come to warn you, Amy. Alex is on a rampage, and I don't know why. I think Violet is in danger of being taken, and you cant let that happen. She'll put Vi where she put you."
Amy glared, "Wonderful, as if my torture wasn't enough for her!"
"Just keep Vi guarded at all times. Tell Severus what Alex plans, keep him on his guard."
"I..." she trailed off for a moment. "I want to change him."
Victor took her hands, "I can't let you Vi. He will not be Immortal and he is susceptible to a disease that's already in his blood stream. He would surely die a painful death within thirty years. It wouldn't be worth it."
Amy glared at him inwardly. That's what he told her parents when he convinced them to let her go. But it wasn't true, it was an elaborate lie to get them out of her life. She didn't let on that she knew the truth of what he had done and just smiled at him. "Pity, I think I really love him."
Victor smiled sadly at her and kissed her cheek. "Ma Bella," he whispered and was gone as suddenly as he had appeared.
Amy went into the bed she shared with Severus. He was lying awake in the dark thinking about things, but he would never share them with Amy. He deserved no rest, no peace. He was now forced to accept things because of the life he had lived, because of the lives he had taken.
Amy crawled into bed next to him and instinctively lay with her head on his chest. He wrapped his arm around her and absentmindedly stroked her hair. "Victor was just here," she said after a moment. She waited for him to react, but he didn't. "He said that Alex...is planning on kidnapping Violet and putting her where she put me."
Severus gripped her shoulder tightly, filling with rage. "I can't believe she would do this to me! First she divorces me and leaves me with my daughter whom she says she doesn't care about, then she decides to take her away and put her in some muggle home with no memories of where she came from!"
Amy began to run her fingers up and down his chest and face, calming him down. "We will keep up her guard. As long as Vi isn't alone she will be safe."