"Sophia, are you alright?" William gently took her by the shoulders, and led the sobbing girl into an empty classroom. She had practically run him over in her attempt to get away.
Sophia responded by throwing her arms around William and sobbing into the front of his shirt.
William, though shocked by Sophia's action, tentatively embraced her back, and waited for her to stop crying.
When Sophia finally ran out of tears, William awkwardly disentangled himself from her grasp and led her to a chair. "Want to talk about it?"
"It's just not fair!" Sophia cried out, "Of all the... I wanted to know, but now I wish she hadn't told me."
"Ok... well that didn't tell me anything."
"Sirius is my dad! And he's the last person... when I asked Kalliope to tell me who my parents were, I was hoping, well, I was kinda hoping that Remus was my father."
"Well, since I have no idea what just happened, I'm not sure how much help I'll be, but I can tell you one thing for sure, we're both stuck with him."
"What?" Sophia looked up at William.
William couldn't help grinning, "Sirius Black, neither one of us wants him for a father, but we're stuck with him." His grin spread further at Sophia's determined expression, it would seem that he had just gained another supporter in his campaign against Sirius.
Remus slammed the door to his office, but even that action did nothing to dispel his anger. He paced in front of the fireplace, seething.
"Hey Moony, can we talk?" Sirius asked as he stepped into the office.
"I really don't feel like talking to you right now Sirius."
"What's wrong? What have I done to deserve this hostility?"
Remus spun around, "What have you done? Dammit Sirius, for once in your life consider the consequences of your actions! I thought I lost Kalliope when I left Greece, but I have her again. You have no idea what that means to me. And Sophia, if I marry Kalliope, Sophia will practically be my daughter. But you had to take that away from me!"
"Now Remus, this isn't my fault."
"Not your fault?! How can you even begin to think that this isn't your fault Sirius? You have always been the attention getter, you always have to stand out. But this time, this time its gone too far. You may have destroyed the one chance I had at a family."
Severus entered his and Morgan's apartments without making any attempts at being quiet. His wife slept like the dead, and even though it was the middle of the night, he didn't have any worries about waking her up.
He paused in the doorway to their bedroom for a moment to watch her sleep, and he couldn't imagine loving anyone more. He quickly undressed and slid into bed and wrapped an arm around his tiny wife.
"I didn't expect you back so soon," Morgan said sleepily.
Severus laughed softly in surprise, "I didn't think I'd wake you."
"You know I always sleep lighter when I'm pregnant," Morgan's voice was still thick with sleep.
"What?!" Severus quickly sat up and hit his head on the headboard in the process, causing him to swear loudly.
Morgan sat up, trying to conceal her laughter behind her hand, "I'm sorry Sev, I didn't mean to tell you like that."
"That's beside the... you better not be laughing at my expense," he growled at her, as he rubbed at the back of his head, knowing there would be a good sized knot there in the morning.
"Of course not, I would never laugh at you," Morgan tried to stop giggling, but failed miserably.
"I'll deal with you later, but first," Severus gently kissed her forehead, "explain yourself," he kissed her on the tip of the nose.
Morgan snuggled herself into her husband's embrace, and assumed a teasing tone "Well you see Sev, when two people love each other and they want to have a child, the first thing that has to happen is..."
"That's not what I meant you little imp and you know it, I could have sworn that you were not pregnant before I left," he brushed a kiss on her lips.
"That test was wrong, I'm almost a month along."
Severus moved his hand down to rest it against his wife's flat abdomen, "well then, I guess I don't have any reason to doubt you, I'm pretty sure you were with me a month ago," he teased her back.
Morgan suddenly became serious, "Sev, are you happy about this because you know it's what I want, or do you really want this child?"
Severus moved away from his wife just enough so that he could look her in the face, "Morgan, honestly, a couple of months ago I would have only been happy for your sake, but now... now I really do want this child. It just seems right somehow."
"Thank you Sev, that means the world to me," Morgan leaned against his chest.
"You know what disappoints me though?" Severus' tone was light as he ran his fingers through his wife's hair.
"What?"
"I am going to miss all the fun we had trying to get you pregnant."
Morgan laughed as she wrapped her arms around her husband's neck and pulled him down on top of her.
Dierna sat up and looked around her. She honestly couldn't remember why she was in the hospital wing. She looked at the moonlight as it streaked across the floor and frowned, trying to figure out exactly how long she had been there.
"Ah, so glad to see that you're finally up Miss Snape, feeling better?" Madame Pomphrey bustled in, wearing a bright robe over a long nightdress, holding a cup of something that steamed.
"What happened?"
Madame Pomphrey clucked her tongue, "poor child, probably better that you don't remember, you were in such a state..." she quickly explained the events that had placed Dierna in the hospital wing, while making the girl drink the contents of the cup she had brought, "you're very lucky, we almost lost you. Why, if your father hadn't shown up when he did... well, probably not best to think about that.
"Now get some rest dear, you need it," and Madame Pomphrey, after making sure that Dierna had enough covers went to find her own bed.
Dierna, however, found that she wasn't in the least bit tired. She sat up and wrapped her arms around her legs, propping her chin up on her knees, "I wonder how that poison works..."
"That's a simple enough question to answer child, it only needs to come in contact with your skin, then it quickly works its way into your system causing internal bleeding."
Dierna jumped, she hadn't expected anyone to be there, let alone answer her question.
"Remus? Are you alright?" Kalliope came up behind the wizard and gently touched his arm.
"I suppose, just trying to wish my life away..."
"What reason do you have to do that?"
"You should know better than anyone Kalliope, all I've ever wanted is a family, and now..." Remus felt a small measure of satisfaction as his fist connected with the wall.
Kalliope gently turned him around and placed her hands on either side of his face, "wizard, this isn't like you, you still have every opportunity to have a family."
"I thought I did, but now... I would have loved to have Sophia for a daughter..."
"And you still can, she is a woman by temple standards, she can choose her family, and I somehow doubt she will choose the parents who gave her life."
"And what about you priestess?" Remus felt his mouth go dry as he gently stroked her dark hair. He remembered a night long ago on a Mediterranean beach, he remembered the way Kalliope's hair and run through his fingers like silk on that occasion.
"All you ever had to do was ask."
"And will a priestess consent to be with a man such as me? A monster?"
Kalliope's dark eyes locked with Remus' weary ones, "how many times must I tell you wizard, to me you are not a monster, you are the god to my goddess."
Dierna watched, with split feelings of apprehension and curiosity, as a man stepped out of the shadows and into the dim light the moon cast.
"Didn't mean to startle you girl, sorry about that," he drew up a chair and seated himself at the foot of her bed.
Dierna cocked her head to the side and examined his wizened features, and the gross distortion of one side of his face, "Eric?" she asked tentatively.
Eric nodded, "correct, Miss Adelaide."
Dierna grinned, "you know, I have a feeling your being here will not make my father happy."
"It's not supposed to, but there are things that we must discuss. Now that you know how my poison works, can you think of anyone who would administer it to you?"
Dierna thought for a moment, "before I answer that I have a question of my own, if your poison caused internal bleeding, shouldn't it have caused me a lot more pain? I would think that there would be an intense burning pain, shouldn't I have felt something when it came in contact with my skin?"
Eric gave a dry, wheezing laugh, "it would take Severus' daughter to come up with a question like that. My dear girl, I use snake venom in that poison, it causes a numbing sensation that conceals any pain caused as the poison destroys your insides."
"Oh..." Dierna narrowed her eyes, "I wonder if the same technique could be applied in other areas..." she shook her head, "but to answer your question... hmmmm..." suddenly her eyes widened as a thought occurred to her, "Connor. It was Connor who poisoned me wasn't it?"
"Correct again, Miss Adelaide. But I cannot allow you to tell anyone that he was the one who poisoned you."
"Why?" Dierna's tone was sharp, as she once again became wary of this man.
"Because it is in my best interests."
Dierna snorted, "and why should that make me want to help you, this could be my chance to finally get that creep expelled."
"If he is expelled you will most certainly be killed. I know how they think. I must ask you not to share what you know, because it will save lives."
"Why do you help them, what do Voldemort's supporters mean to you?"
Eric sighed, "my nephew, he is, shall we say, an integral part of this dark uprising. I protect him because of how he was when he was a child. Albus always tried to find the good in him, I'd like to think that I could bring it back."
Dierna frowned, "who is your nephew?"
"Someone who chose the wrong path in life, and that is all I will tell you."
"But..."
"No more questions now child, I must be leaving before someone finds out I am here, after all, I'm not even supposed to be in the country. I ask just one more thing of you, give this to my grandson, I haven't written to him for awhile, and I do try and keep in touch," he handed Dierna an addressed envelope.
She turned the letter over in her hands, and smiled when she saw the name on it, "I would never have guessed..."
"Not many people would," Eric smiled, as much as his deformity would allow him to, "and now I must bid you adieu."
"Wait! One more question..."
"Yes child?"
"How do you know everything that goes on? And how did you travel here?"
"That's really two questions, and I can't really answer them, because that would reveal my secret. Although, if he had ever seen my means of spying and transportation Gilderoy Lockhart would have been beside himself with joy, I'll leave you to reflect on that. And now, I find that I do have one more request for you. Tell your father that as far as the dark forces are concerned he has crossed the Rubicon."
"There's no going back now is there?" Dierna whispered, "We must either take the city or die as enemies of Rome," a wry smile played at her mouth.
"Glad to see that at least some of the younger generation still finds muggle literature and history worth reading. Goodbye Miss Adelaide, I don't doubt that we'll meet again." Eric wrapped his invisibility cloak around himself, and disappeared into the shadows.
Kalliope carefully slipped out of Remus' bed, she moved slowly so as not to wake him. She quickly pulled on her robes and leaned back over the bed. Her fingers hovered above Remus as she hesitated.
Holding her breath, she lightly brushed her fingers along the side of his face, "I love you Remus," she whispered. "I think I would give up everything for you."
She smiled gently as she stood up straight. While this coupling would have been either overlooked, or applauded by her temple, she had to think of Remus' reputation here. She slipped out of his room as the first rays of light streaked the sky. Her heart felt lighter than it had in years.
Dierna groaned as she opened her eyes, she was still sore, and the morning light that flooded the hospital ward caused her to squint her eyes. She sat up slowly, she noticed that this simple movement, which had caused her to wince in pain last night, caused her no problems now.
"Well young lady, you gave us quite a scare," Severus spoke from where he sat next to her bed, thankful to finally see his daughter awake.
"I'm feeling a lot better than I did last night."
"Good, but you still need your rest."
"I think I'm feeling good enough to go up to my own room, maybe even go to class this afternoon," Dierna swung her legs over the side of the bed.
"That is out of the question," Severus scowled at his daughter, "you are staying here."
"But Dad, I feel fine," Dierna pouted.
"I don't care, you are not going anywhere," Severus answered with deadly calm.
Dierna glared at him, "don't you have a class to teach or something?"
"No, Potter is going to cover my classes today, I'm going to sit here and make sure you do not set foot out of that bed," he more than matched her glare.
"Dad, I need to move, otherwise I'm going to be stiff for the quidditch match tomorrow!"
"What makes you think you're going to be playing a quidditch game tomorrow?! Adelaide, the only way you will find yourself in the quidditch pitch tomorrow, is if you're in the stands."
"But Dad..."
"NO!"
They glared at each other for a long moment, neither of them with any intention of giving in. Dierna tried to decide another tactic, maybe if she could divert his attention.... "Oh Dad, I have a message for you. As far as Voldemort's supporters are concerned, you've 'crossed the Rubicon.' Me and Eric had a rather interesting conversation last night. She absently twirled an auburn curl around her finger as she said the last sentence.
"WHAT?!" Severus swore, "Dierna, was that man here last night?"
"Yes," Dierna answered nonchalantly, trying to look as innocent as possible.
"I am going to kill him," Severus stood up and strode towards the door, but turned on his heel when he reached it and stalked back to Dierna's bed. "I know exactly what you are trying to do young lady, you were trying to get me to leave so that you could sneak out of here." He resumed his seat, "I will deal with Eric later, it appears that I can't trust you enough to leave you alone."
"Dad, I'm fine! Besides, tomorrow's game is the one that Serena is suspended from, if you don't let me play the team is going to be thoroughly screwed!"
Severus raised an eyebrow at his daughter's desperate speech, "then they will be 'thoroughly screwed' as you so eloquently put it."
"Remus, how are you this morning?" Morgan took his arm as they walked towards their classrooms.
"Really good," Remus couldn't help the grin that spread across his face.
Morgan smiled knowingly, "I think you'll have to have late night visitors more often."
Remus blushed and rushed to change the subject, "How is Dierna doing?"
Morgan rolled her eyes, "I looked in the hospital wing this morning, she and her father were arguing, I think she's fine."
Remus chuckled, "I'd say things are about back to normal."
Morgan gave Remus a sly smile, "and I hope that this overly good mood of yours will become normal."
"What are you talking about?"
"Well, we've been discussing it..."
"Who is this 'we'?"
Morgan brushed the question away with her hand as though it were a fly, "oh, some of the other ladies: Graine, Elizabeth, Meg, Ginny..."
"Alright, I get the point. You women can be pretty scary when you get together, what do you have planned for me now?"
Morgan smiled innocently, "it's very simple Remus, you need to get married. Or at the very least move in with your priestess."
"I can't believe this..."
"Now Remus be fair! We just want what's best for you, and you're so happy when you're with Kalliope. And some of us remember what it was like when you first met her. Meg was with you in Greece, from what I've described to her, this is the happiest you've been since that time."
Remus sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "you're right, but I can't ask her to give up her position at the temple, it means too much to her."
"You'd be surprised what a woman will give up, when she's in love."