Disclaimer: I own nothing you may recognise in any of my fics. I simply
borrow the odd character and play with them a little.
Not Alone Anymore – Playparks, Vases and Glares.
~~~
The black-clad man stared dumbly at his former student. He tried to speak, but the words got lost on the journey from his brain to his tongue. He was unsure of whether he had heard correctly and went over it repeatedly in his mind in case he was mistaken. But it was to no avail. Snape found himself incapable of speaking for the first time in years, and a silence washed over the group for a brief period. The silence was broken by Harry laughing at the state his former Professor had gaped himself into.
Snape blinked himself back to reality then put up his infamous, expressionless mask before turning to the laughing Gryffindor.
"Pardon?" was all the man could hope to say at this point in time. He raised an eyebrow at the seated man and waited for confirmation that he had actually heard accurately. A minute later; Harry calmed himself enough to provide Severus with a response.
"I asked you if you would become Lily's Godfather-'' The young father was cut off however when his own Godfather interrupted, sputtering angrily.
"Why him?" The man cried, glaring irately at the man whose hand he'd not 3 minutes before shaken. "Why would anyone wa-''
"Don't you dare finish that sentence Sirius Black!" Lils suddenly exclaimed, her eyes narrowing in his direction.
Sirius sulkily slumped deeper into his seat, spitting angrily at the ground beside him to show his discontent. He glared at Snape, mumbling incoherent protests under his breath and ignoring the look he was at present receiving from Lils. It seemed James was in a similar state of displeasure but wisely kept his mouth shut so as not to risk an angry confrontation with his wife.
Snape himself was moving his gaze swiftly from Harry to Remus, to the 4 year old child currently stationed in Harry's lap and then finally, back up to her father once again. The Slytherin conjured a chair to sit in rather than use one of the spare placed around the table and collapsed into it. He ran one gloved hand over his pale features before looking up at Harry once more.
"I follow on what Black said... Why me?" If anything at all, Sirius looked appalled at the thought of Snape following on anything he'd said but was soon shot down by another sharp look from Lils. Severus didn't see him however, as he was staring straight at Harry, waiting for his answer.
"I've been thinking about it for a while; because I left straight after Voldemort was gone, I was still carrying Lily. When she was born my thoughts weren't immediately bound around her wiccaning. It's only been this passed year that the notion even occurred to me." Harry explained as he unconsciously played with the end of Lily's braid. "I sat around the manor wondering who would be best fit for the role. At first, I thought Ron. One, because he was my best friend and it had obviously worked for my own father and godfather." They all heard Lils snort under her breath but no one commented. "But decided against it after reasons I don't want to go into. Anyway, my next choice was you – Severus Snape." The man in question simply raised an eyebrow, motioning for Harry to continue.
"I chose you because first and foremost, I trust you." Sirius again muttered a derisive comment and again, he was ignored. "You saved my life Lord knows how many times and I truly believe you would make a fantastic godfather to her. Please Severus?" He pleaded for the following 5 minutes before the man had finally had enough of the compliments he was receiving.
"Alright! I will be her Godfather." Snape exclaimed, throwing his arms up in the air signalling his defeat.
Across the table, Sirius almost leapt out of his chair to give Snape a large piece of his mind there and then but yet another meaningful glare from Lils soon caused him to rethink. James looked nervously over to Remus, who to his surprise, was smiling brightly at Harry and Snape as they warmly shook hands. He wondered whether the shock of recent events had finally taken its toll on his son, causing him to do things he'd regret later.
James cast his eyes around the table, finally fixing his gaze upon Lily. By now, she had grown bored of Harry's pendant, and was trying to grasp the decorative vase in the middle of the table. After consecutive failures, she lay back against Harry, looking dejected.
"Well I must be on my way now Harry." Snape said as he rose from his seat to leave. Harry grasped a hold of his child and planted her on the table top as he also stood up to see the man off. Lily's face broke into a wide smile as she reached over and plucked the vase from its perch. She gazed at it from every possible angle, turned it upside down and even shook it to see if there was anything inside.
"I'll contact you soon then. It was good to see you again Severus." Harry shook the other man's hand and smiled brightly. Snape allowed himself a small smile in return before walking away from the table.
As Harry made to sit back down in his chair there was a great 'smash' coming from directly behind him. He quickly turned around to find his daughter with her hands grasping at nothing, frozen in mid-air. Her eyes were wide, fearful and were staring at the shattered remnants of the vase that had been in the middle of the table when they'd arrived. Slowly, she moved her gaze from the broken vase on the ground up to meet her father's eyes.
"Daddy, I'm sorry!" She suddenly cried out, bursting into tears right there on the table. Harry leaned forward and picked up the sobbing child, holding her close to his chest as he whispered reassurances in her ear.
"It's alright sweety. Shh, come on Lily. Everything is fine pup." He re- positioned her so her head was leaning on his shoulder but if she wanted to she could see what was happening in front of them. "Look pup." He pointed to the shards of ceramic-like material still scattered all over the cobbled road. The child sniffed loudly before turning to look in the direction of his finger. "Daddy can fix it Lily, look." He clicked his thumb, his index and middle fingers together.
Lily watched in awe as the pretty vase she'd been playing with repaired itself right there before her eyes then remain hovering a few feet from her in the air.
"See?" Harry cooed, the smile on his face growing a few millimetres.
"Fixed?" The small child asked hesitantly as she threw a worried glance back at Harry. The man chuckled and kissed her forehead.
"All fixed pup. You're not in any trouble." At the last statement she seemed to brighten up considerably and began once again reaching out for the vase.
Laughing at her Granddaughter, Lils reached over to quickly take hold of the still-air born item before then placing it back in its place in the middle of the table. Lily scowled at her play-thing being taken out of her reach, causing everyone to laugh cheerfully.
"So, where do we want to go first?" James perked up as soon as he realised the tense atmosphere had subsided.
"PARK!" Lily suddenly shouted from the confines of her father's embrace.
"Park?" Harry said, wondering where they would find a park in Diagon Alley. He looked at the table's occupants and noted with suspicion that Sirius was looking everywhere but at him. "Padfoot, you didn't happen to put the notion of a possible park visit into my daughter's head, did you?" The older wizard looked at him startled, a mock-outraged expression on his face.
"Now why would I, Sirius Black, do a silly thing like that?" He ended the question with a nervous chuckle and a weak, apologetic smile back at his Godson. The man carrying the child shook his head bemusedly.
"Where is the nearest park?"
Sirius shrugged and again smiled his apologies. James looked back with a dumb expression, and Lils appeared to be deep in thought. Remus sat silently, gazing at the floor and Harry frowned - imagining Lily's response to being told that they didn't know where any parks were. He looked pleadingly at Lils, but she shook her head and raised her hands in the air, signalling defeat. Then finally, when all hope seemed lost, the child's other father stood up and smiled at the wide-eyed little girl in Harry's arms.
"I know one not so far from here." he said, walking around the table to Harry. "Follow me".
Remus ruffled Lily's hair, and began walking down the busy streets of Diagon Alley. After pausing for a moment, Harry looked around at his parents and godfather, then grinned.
"Come on then!" he said cheerfully, before turning to follow his former mate along the chaotic streets that lay in front of him.
As the group followed the leading werewolf through the Alley, they were stopped at least three times by people questioning them on the sudden appearance of James and Lily Potter. The couple in question had blanched and mumbled something incoherent. Harry had taken a more direct approach; he'd stepped in front of his parents and narrowed his eyes in a threatening manner at the person who in turn, quickly got the message and fled the area.
When Remus had finally slowed down to a relatively normal pace, Harry caught up with him and walked at his side. He slipped Lily to the ground so she could walk either with them or with the other adults in their party. It turned out she'd wanted to annoy Sirius to carry her on his shoulder.
"Where are we going Remy?" Harry asked, using the pet-name he'd used when they were together. The other man looked at him with a small smile on his face.
"A park my parents used to take me too before... well, before I was bitten." He cast his eyes down to the ground, saddened at the painful memories of his childhood. He looked up, startled when he felt a soft hand wind its fingers between his own then clasp tightly, giving Remus a small sense of comfort. The greying blonde smiled ruefully at his companion.
"Remus!" a long, familiar, whining drawl from behind them interrupted their 'moment' for the second time that morning.
"Yes, Padfoot?" Remus sighed, refusing to let go of Harry's hand as he looked around.
"How long is this trip going to take?" The child laden animagus huffed as Lily played happily with his hair. He scowled at the mere thought of people messing with his hair but he couldn't do anything to stop her so settled for the customary scowl he'd perfected when something didn't go his way and he was powerless to do anything.
"We're here Paddy." The man grinned back at his friend before going on to step over the small lip of concrete that separated the street from the park's confines. Remus smiled as he looked around at the place he'd visited as a child. He moved to sit down on one of the benches that were stationed by the swing set, Harry, James and Lils on his heel. Remus and Harry sat side by side on one of the wooden seats and the other couple sat on an adjacent one.
As the group placed down their belongings, they watched as Lily dragged Sirius to the swings, laughing as she demanded he accompany her on them. Sirius cast a glare back at the group, mumbling protests at being left with the young werewolf. Harry laughed at his godfather's response, and watched as Lily happily climbed onto the swing.
"Serves you right for given a werewolf sugar first thing in the morning, Padfoot", Harry teased, receiving a frown in response. Having made his way dejectedly to the swing, Sirius caused the group to erupt into further laughter, having succeeded in almost falling off the piece of apparatus.
Remus chuckled at the scene. Out of the corner of his eye he could se James and Lils talking in hushed tones into one another's ears then turned to the man beside him to also start up a conversation.
"She's beautiful Harry." He spoke softly while looking at his school time friend being chased around the entire park by a hyperactive 4 year old. "You did a fantastic job raising her."
"It wasn't a job to raise her." Harry smiled up at the other werewolf. "I mean I had all the money I could want, I had a magnificent home and Dobby." Remus snorted at the name of the eccentric house elf and shuffled closer to the other man. "She is magnificent, she's powerful and I can't imagine life without her." He confessed honestly.
"She is truly amazing. I'm just sorry I missed her growing up. Merlin you can't believe how sorry I am for leaving you like I did." He breathed, regret lining his voice. Harry grasped his hand again and squeezed it in hopes it would reassure that everything was forgiven.
"Remy you were in a coma. You couldn't exactly help. And besides... you're here now. So is Padfoot, Mum and Dad. We're a family again and even I wouldn't change that for anything else. So stop worrying, ok?" he sent the other werewolf a mock stern look before continuing to watch his child.
"She's got him wrapped around her little finger already doesn't she?" Remus laughed as Lily dragged Sirius towards the slide and then forced the other wizard to go down it after her.
"She can wrap anyone around her finger. It's one of her many distinguishing traits." The man grinned.
"What was her first word?" Remus asked quietly, leaning his head on Harry's shoulder.
The other man waited a moment before answering. It wasn't that he didn't know the answer; it was merely that he wasn't sure on what the older werewolf's reaction would be. Of course, the man wouldn't be angry... only shocked a great deal.
"Her first word was Moony." Harry whispered. "Well, Moo'ey, but Moony was what she was aiming to say. That much is obvious." He was right. Remus had slipped into a stunned silence. He stared wide-eyed at his four year old child wondering just how she'd managed to make 'him', her first word.
"Had you mentioned my oh-so-appropriate nick-name before to her?" He questioned.
"I'd actually called you Moony a lot when I was carrying her, you know, when I was pregnant. But after she was born I always called you Remus, or Daddy. Depending on how I was referring to you." He paused for a moment. "When I heard her say it my heart skipped a beat. I couldn't believe she'd said it. When I asked her to say it again she said 'Moo'ey' quite happily before clapping her hands together and then slapping them down into her dinner causing it to land squarely in my face." Remus snickered at the mental image and it earned him a light swat on the arm.
"I'm sorry I missed it. It must have been amazing." The werewolf sighed.
"I have it up here Remy." Harry tapped his temple with his index finger. "I also have a pensive. We can look over all her 'firsts' this evening if you like." He tilted his head and kissed the other man's hair softly.
"I'd like that. "
~~~
Right first of all, quite obviously, I would like to thank Chris, for his co-authorness and whatever falls under that subject. Also on my list of thanks, Callie, my good friend; her editing skills and chapter naming aid. And my review people, I thank all of you too!
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Review!
Thank you!!
Not Alone Anymore – Playparks, Vases and Glares.
~~~
The black-clad man stared dumbly at his former student. He tried to speak, but the words got lost on the journey from his brain to his tongue. He was unsure of whether he had heard correctly and went over it repeatedly in his mind in case he was mistaken. But it was to no avail. Snape found himself incapable of speaking for the first time in years, and a silence washed over the group for a brief period. The silence was broken by Harry laughing at the state his former Professor had gaped himself into.
Snape blinked himself back to reality then put up his infamous, expressionless mask before turning to the laughing Gryffindor.
"Pardon?" was all the man could hope to say at this point in time. He raised an eyebrow at the seated man and waited for confirmation that he had actually heard accurately. A minute later; Harry calmed himself enough to provide Severus with a response.
"I asked you if you would become Lily's Godfather-'' The young father was cut off however when his own Godfather interrupted, sputtering angrily.
"Why him?" The man cried, glaring irately at the man whose hand he'd not 3 minutes before shaken. "Why would anyone wa-''
"Don't you dare finish that sentence Sirius Black!" Lils suddenly exclaimed, her eyes narrowing in his direction.
Sirius sulkily slumped deeper into his seat, spitting angrily at the ground beside him to show his discontent. He glared at Snape, mumbling incoherent protests under his breath and ignoring the look he was at present receiving from Lils. It seemed James was in a similar state of displeasure but wisely kept his mouth shut so as not to risk an angry confrontation with his wife.
Snape himself was moving his gaze swiftly from Harry to Remus, to the 4 year old child currently stationed in Harry's lap and then finally, back up to her father once again. The Slytherin conjured a chair to sit in rather than use one of the spare placed around the table and collapsed into it. He ran one gloved hand over his pale features before looking up at Harry once more.
"I follow on what Black said... Why me?" If anything at all, Sirius looked appalled at the thought of Snape following on anything he'd said but was soon shot down by another sharp look from Lils. Severus didn't see him however, as he was staring straight at Harry, waiting for his answer.
"I've been thinking about it for a while; because I left straight after Voldemort was gone, I was still carrying Lily. When she was born my thoughts weren't immediately bound around her wiccaning. It's only been this passed year that the notion even occurred to me." Harry explained as he unconsciously played with the end of Lily's braid. "I sat around the manor wondering who would be best fit for the role. At first, I thought Ron. One, because he was my best friend and it had obviously worked for my own father and godfather." They all heard Lils snort under her breath but no one commented. "But decided against it after reasons I don't want to go into. Anyway, my next choice was you – Severus Snape." The man in question simply raised an eyebrow, motioning for Harry to continue.
"I chose you because first and foremost, I trust you." Sirius again muttered a derisive comment and again, he was ignored. "You saved my life Lord knows how many times and I truly believe you would make a fantastic godfather to her. Please Severus?" He pleaded for the following 5 minutes before the man had finally had enough of the compliments he was receiving.
"Alright! I will be her Godfather." Snape exclaimed, throwing his arms up in the air signalling his defeat.
Across the table, Sirius almost leapt out of his chair to give Snape a large piece of his mind there and then but yet another meaningful glare from Lils soon caused him to rethink. James looked nervously over to Remus, who to his surprise, was smiling brightly at Harry and Snape as they warmly shook hands. He wondered whether the shock of recent events had finally taken its toll on his son, causing him to do things he'd regret later.
James cast his eyes around the table, finally fixing his gaze upon Lily. By now, she had grown bored of Harry's pendant, and was trying to grasp the decorative vase in the middle of the table. After consecutive failures, she lay back against Harry, looking dejected.
"Well I must be on my way now Harry." Snape said as he rose from his seat to leave. Harry grasped a hold of his child and planted her on the table top as he also stood up to see the man off. Lily's face broke into a wide smile as she reached over and plucked the vase from its perch. She gazed at it from every possible angle, turned it upside down and even shook it to see if there was anything inside.
"I'll contact you soon then. It was good to see you again Severus." Harry shook the other man's hand and smiled brightly. Snape allowed himself a small smile in return before walking away from the table.
As Harry made to sit back down in his chair there was a great 'smash' coming from directly behind him. He quickly turned around to find his daughter with her hands grasping at nothing, frozen in mid-air. Her eyes were wide, fearful and were staring at the shattered remnants of the vase that had been in the middle of the table when they'd arrived. Slowly, she moved her gaze from the broken vase on the ground up to meet her father's eyes.
"Daddy, I'm sorry!" She suddenly cried out, bursting into tears right there on the table. Harry leaned forward and picked up the sobbing child, holding her close to his chest as he whispered reassurances in her ear.
"It's alright sweety. Shh, come on Lily. Everything is fine pup." He re- positioned her so her head was leaning on his shoulder but if she wanted to she could see what was happening in front of them. "Look pup." He pointed to the shards of ceramic-like material still scattered all over the cobbled road. The child sniffed loudly before turning to look in the direction of his finger. "Daddy can fix it Lily, look." He clicked his thumb, his index and middle fingers together.
Lily watched in awe as the pretty vase she'd been playing with repaired itself right there before her eyes then remain hovering a few feet from her in the air.
"See?" Harry cooed, the smile on his face growing a few millimetres.
"Fixed?" The small child asked hesitantly as she threw a worried glance back at Harry. The man chuckled and kissed her forehead.
"All fixed pup. You're not in any trouble." At the last statement she seemed to brighten up considerably and began once again reaching out for the vase.
Laughing at her Granddaughter, Lils reached over to quickly take hold of the still-air born item before then placing it back in its place in the middle of the table. Lily scowled at her play-thing being taken out of her reach, causing everyone to laugh cheerfully.
"So, where do we want to go first?" James perked up as soon as he realised the tense atmosphere had subsided.
"PARK!" Lily suddenly shouted from the confines of her father's embrace.
"Park?" Harry said, wondering where they would find a park in Diagon Alley. He looked at the table's occupants and noted with suspicion that Sirius was looking everywhere but at him. "Padfoot, you didn't happen to put the notion of a possible park visit into my daughter's head, did you?" The older wizard looked at him startled, a mock-outraged expression on his face.
"Now why would I, Sirius Black, do a silly thing like that?" He ended the question with a nervous chuckle and a weak, apologetic smile back at his Godson. The man carrying the child shook his head bemusedly.
"Where is the nearest park?"
Sirius shrugged and again smiled his apologies. James looked back with a dumb expression, and Lils appeared to be deep in thought. Remus sat silently, gazing at the floor and Harry frowned - imagining Lily's response to being told that they didn't know where any parks were. He looked pleadingly at Lils, but she shook her head and raised her hands in the air, signalling defeat. Then finally, when all hope seemed lost, the child's other father stood up and smiled at the wide-eyed little girl in Harry's arms.
"I know one not so far from here." he said, walking around the table to Harry. "Follow me".
Remus ruffled Lily's hair, and began walking down the busy streets of Diagon Alley. After pausing for a moment, Harry looked around at his parents and godfather, then grinned.
"Come on then!" he said cheerfully, before turning to follow his former mate along the chaotic streets that lay in front of him.
As the group followed the leading werewolf through the Alley, they were stopped at least three times by people questioning them on the sudden appearance of James and Lily Potter. The couple in question had blanched and mumbled something incoherent. Harry had taken a more direct approach; he'd stepped in front of his parents and narrowed his eyes in a threatening manner at the person who in turn, quickly got the message and fled the area.
When Remus had finally slowed down to a relatively normal pace, Harry caught up with him and walked at his side. He slipped Lily to the ground so she could walk either with them or with the other adults in their party. It turned out she'd wanted to annoy Sirius to carry her on his shoulder.
"Where are we going Remy?" Harry asked, using the pet-name he'd used when they were together. The other man looked at him with a small smile on his face.
"A park my parents used to take me too before... well, before I was bitten." He cast his eyes down to the ground, saddened at the painful memories of his childhood. He looked up, startled when he felt a soft hand wind its fingers between his own then clasp tightly, giving Remus a small sense of comfort. The greying blonde smiled ruefully at his companion.
"Remus!" a long, familiar, whining drawl from behind them interrupted their 'moment' for the second time that morning.
"Yes, Padfoot?" Remus sighed, refusing to let go of Harry's hand as he looked around.
"How long is this trip going to take?" The child laden animagus huffed as Lily played happily with his hair. He scowled at the mere thought of people messing with his hair but he couldn't do anything to stop her so settled for the customary scowl he'd perfected when something didn't go his way and he was powerless to do anything.
"We're here Paddy." The man grinned back at his friend before going on to step over the small lip of concrete that separated the street from the park's confines. Remus smiled as he looked around at the place he'd visited as a child. He moved to sit down on one of the benches that were stationed by the swing set, Harry, James and Lils on his heel. Remus and Harry sat side by side on one of the wooden seats and the other couple sat on an adjacent one.
As the group placed down their belongings, they watched as Lily dragged Sirius to the swings, laughing as she demanded he accompany her on them. Sirius cast a glare back at the group, mumbling protests at being left with the young werewolf. Harry laughed at his godfather's response, and watched as Lily happily climbed onto the swing.
"Serves you right for given a werewolf sugar first thing in the morning, Padfoot", Harry teased, receiving a frown in response. Having made his way dejectedly to the swing, Sirius caused the group to erupt into further laughter, having succeeded in almost falling off the piece of apparatus.
Remus chuckled at the scene. Out of the corner of his eye he could se James and Lils talking in hushed tones into one another's ears then turned to the man beside him to also start up a conversation.
"She's beautiful Harry." He spoke softly while looking at his school time friend being chased around the entire park by a hyperactive 4 year old. "You did a fantastic job raising her."
"It wasn't a job to raise her." Harry smiled up at the other werewolf. "I mean I had all the money I could want, I had a magnificent home and Dobby." Remus snorted at the name of the eccentric house elf and shuffled closer to the other man. "She is magnificent, she's powerful and I can't imagine life without her." He confessed honestly.
"She is truly amazing. I'm just sorry I missed her growing up. Merlin you can't believe how sorry I am for leaving you like I did." He breathed, regret lining his voice. Harry grasped his hand again and squeezed it in hopes it would reassure that everything was forgiven.
"Remy you were in a coma. You couldn't exactly help. And besides... you're here now. So is Padfoot, Mum and Dad. We're a family again and even I wouldn't change that for anything else. So stop worrying, ok?" he sent the other werewolf a mock stern look before continuing to watch his child.
"She's got him wrapped around her little finger already doesn't she?" Remus laughed as Lily dragged Sirius towards the slide and then forced the other wizard to go down it after her.
"She can wrap anyone around her finger. It's one of her many distinguishing traits." The man grinned.
"What was her first word?" Remus asked quietly, leaning his head on Harry's shoulder.
The other man waited a moment before answering. It wasn't that he didn't know the answer; it was merely that he wasn't sure on what the older werewolf's reaction would be. Of course, the man wouldn't be angry... only shocked a great deal.
"Her first word was Moony." Harry whispered. "Well, Moo'ey, but Moony was what she was aiming to say. That much is obvious." He was right. Remus had slipped into a stunned silence. He stared wide-eyed at his four year old child wondering just how she'd managed to make 'him', her first word.
"Had you mentioned my oh-so-appropriate nick-name before to her?" He questioned.
"I'd actually called you Moony a lot when I was carrying her, you know, when I was pregnant. But after she was born I always called you Remus, or Daddy. Depending on how I was referring to you." He paused for a moment. "When I heard her say it my heart skipped a beat. I couldn't believe she'd said it. When I asked her to say it again she said 'Moo'ey' quite happily before clapping her hands together and then slapping them down into her dinner causing it to land squarely in my face." Remus snickered at the mental image and it earned him a light swat on the arm.
"I'm sorry I missed it. It must have been amazing." The werewolf sighed.
"I have it up here Remy." Harry tapped his temple with his index finger. "I also have a pensive. We can look over all her 'firsts' this evening if you like." He tilted his head and kissed the other man's hair softly.
"I'd like that. "
~~~
Right first of all, quite obviously, I would like to thank Chris, for his co-authorness and whatever falls under that subject. Also on my list of thanks, Callie, my good friend; her editing skills and chapter naming aid. And my review people, I thank all of you too!
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Review!
Thank you!!