Mother's Mirror, Father's Pride
"Sweet Merlin, Douglas, what are you doing?"
That was all Fiddler could manage when she stepped into the kitchen and found an assorted collection of books splayed all over it and all of her pans and cauldrons filled with nasty smelling liquids. She had just gotten back from work at St. Mungo's, where she had recently been promoted to Healer-in-Charge of the Emergency ward on the Spell Damage Floor, and she'd thought Harry and Ginny were supposed to take the twins for the afternoon, so Severus could spend his last evening before the term began in peace.
But apparently she was mistaken.
"Why aren't you at Ginny's?" Fiddler asked. "And what, pray tell, are you doing with my cauldrons?"
"She forgot to pick us up, and I am brewing a potion, Mother, of course", her four-year-old son answered with a voice tone his father would have been proud of.
"Oh, a potion, is it? And did it occur to you that you could have set the house on fire?"
"I have it under control, Mum…" the boy pleaded.
His vocabulary never ceased to amaze Fiddler, but of course, both Severus and herself read to the twins a lot.
"Besides", her son was saying. "Rubria needs it. She's healing Father back there in her Hospital".
Fiddler gave up and laughed, sinking laboriously to her knees to hug Douglas.
"In that case, Mum better help you out with it".
She played around with the mess of herbs and… things Douglas had stirred and took the resulting… liquid to the nursery, escorted by her smug-looking son.
Rubria Snape had turned the room into a Toy Hospital in which all of her dolls lay in single beds, diagnosed with various and horrible diseases, covered in bandages, strapping gauzes and casts. Nothing escaped Rubria's healing fever, and even Douglas' racing cars and miniature Quidditch players were submitted to conscious medical treatment, along with Severus' shoes and Fiddler's hairclips, not to mention the family's pets.
The little want-to-be doctor walked around her patients, with her mother's stethoscope hanging precariously from one ear and one of her old coats dragging behind her as a bridal tail, guiding her brother and mother to her patient of honor: Severus, who was sitting on a wide, battered sofa covered with strappings from head to toe, a thermometer sticking out of his mouth and with every bit of his regal dignity surprisingly intact.
"Hello, my love, how're you feeling?" Fiddler asked him unable to suppress a grin.
Severus glared at her in mock outrage.
"Daddy is ill, Mommy", Rubria informed Fiddler, "but not to worry, I will cure him".
"I am relieved to hear that, Angel", Fiddler said, laughing.
"You won't cure him, I will!" bellowed Douglas. "I brewd the potion!"
"Brewed, Douglas", said Fiddler and Severus in unison.
"Yes, that. Sorry. But I did, though", the small boy added as an afterthought.
"That's magnificent, son", said Severus, proudly, although he didn't seem so thrilled when Douglas insisted he'd drink it.
It tasted like dead dogs.
He managed not to spit it and handed back the flask to his son, who took it and smirked in a very Snape-ish way at Rubria, in a gesture that said all too well he considered himself quite above his minutes-younger sister; Rubria, being truly her mother's daughter, merely bowed at him mockingly… and then threw a surprisingly accurate shoe to his head.
"Children…" Fiddler said warningly.
"Why am I getting told off?" Douglas wailed indignantly. "She threw a shoe at me!"
"You smirked at her, do you think I didn't see you?" was Fiddler's reply.
"Dad does it all the time!!"
"Yeah? And do you recall what happens to him when he does?"
Douglas looked at his father and roared with laughter. Rubria joined him.
"Álainn", spoke Severus, taken aback. "I… think we're not setting the best example here".
"Um… You're right", Fiddler blushed slightly, but she carried on. "All right, you two, apologize to each other and may I never see you do that again".
Douglas looked at her grudgingly, but he was a little Snape after all, and he was as sensible as his father to Fiddler's undeniable power.
But Dad's taller, he thought miserably before he finally brought himself to speak.
"Sorry, Rubria", he said in a sing-song-burn-in-hell sort of voice.
"Yeah, whatever", his sister said dismissively. "Sorry about that shoe, too… But, on a second thought, maybe you should apologize to the shoe…"
"MUM!" wailed Douglas, outraged.
"Rubria!" exclaimed Fiddler as Severus laughed heartily, inwardly amazed at how much like Fiddler and himself their children had turned out to be.
"Apologize to your brother, Rubria Snape!"
"Again? Oh, all right!" she gave in as she took in her mother's expression. "I am sorry, happy now?"
"Don't you try that tone with your mother, young lady", said Severus, and there was no trace of a smile now. "I want to hear you apologize, come on. To your brother and your mother".
Rubria rolled her eyes and snorted.
"Sorry, Mum", she said, humbly. "And… I guess I am sorry, Doug".
"Douglas".
"Oh, for crying out loud!"
"That's quite enough!" Fiddler said. "Go back to play and shut up!"
"We can't play in silence", Rubria said. "We—" but she thought better of it and decided to keep silent. She gestured to her brother and they walked together towards the nearest bedded doll, wearing identical sulky expressions.
Once the row was sorted out, Fiddler walked towards Severus and nudged his legs apart so she could sit between them. She leant her head against his chest and sighed contentedly. She felt Severus' hands snake their way to her protruding belly and she smiled.
"Can you imagine how's it going to be when there's three of them?" she murmured.
Severus let out a pained grunt and nodded.
"How are you feeling?" he asked.
"Oh, I am all right… Getting increasingly tired, but that's perfectly normal, given the circumstances".
Severus let out a low chuckle and kissed the back of her head.
"You haven't given up on the name?" he whispered.
"Nope", she said, shaking her head. "Briallan Deirdre Snape, that's your daughter's name".
Severus held her to him and sighed.
"She would have been honored", he said.
Fiddler's eyes were stern.
"She paid her dues… and so I shall pay mine".
She's cruel, Severus thought, even as he took her head in his hands so he could kiss her.
"I know what you think", she murmured. "And perhaps you're right. But I've learned to embrace my cruelness. I don't reckon I will ever forgive her… But I will acknowledge and honor her sacrifice".
"I love you", said Severus, eager to change the subject.
"I love you too", Fiddler smiled. She looked at their children, one of them bandaging dolls to death and the other trying to feed them the remainders of his potion. "You know", she said softly. "I just remembered a song".
"I am not surprised", he said, kissing her neck. "Which one?"
Fiddler's eyes shone suddenly as she recited the words.
Safely away from the world
In a dream, timeless domain
A child, dreamy eyed,
Mother's mirror, father's pride.
She lifted her head at Severus' tugging at her chin and closed her eyes as they kissed again with they rare mixture of softness and hunger. He cupped her face and locked his eyes with hers.
"That's us", he said. "That is definitely us".
THE END.