Here's Chapter 15. The next chapter is the last chapter. I havea sequel started, but I don't want to go through the work in putting it up here, sorry.
Chapter 15 - Memories pt. 2
Pointing her wand at me again Hermione took a deep breath as well and murmured, "remember," I was vaguely aware that I fell from the couch and that Harry's name was ripped from my throat before the images took over my mind, leaving no room for anything else.
Snuggling under the covers, I tried to hide. It was my first night in my big girl bed, and I just wanted to be in my crib. I didn't care if it made me a baby, well, maybe I cared. Daddy told me that I was big enough for the bed, so maybe I could stay here. I snuggled my stuffed cobra, Harry, closer. Daddy had snorted when I named it, telling me snakes didn't have hair. I had giggled and then he hugged me.
The bedroom door was opened quietly and I saw your daddy standing there in his underwear.
"Daddy, want my crib," I told him trying not to cry.
"Oh, but my ladybug you are too big for your crib," he murmured to me sitting on the floor by the bed.
"Don't care, the monsters will get me," I told him holding my cobra tighter.
"Darling, some people think what you are cuddling with is a monster," he told me in a tired voice.
"Harry?"
He snorted, "why you insisted on naming it that reached name is beyond me." I looked at him blankly, not knowing what reached meant.
"Can I sleep with you, daddy?" I crawled to the edge of the bed and started to lower my 3 year old self to the ground, when he picked me up and sat me back in the middle of the bed.
"No you may not."
"But daddy--" I opened my mouth to let out a wail.
"Shush child," he was now getting impatient with me, "I am going to sleep down here, to keep the monsters away, ok?"
"Forever?"
"No, just tonight. Once the monsters see I am here, they won't come back anymore."
"Daddy."
"Shush, you need to go to sleep."
I curled back under the covers with Harry and drifted of to sleep, not noticing daddy brushing a hand over my baby fluff and settling on the floor with a pillow and blanket he'd conjured.
----
"Mommy I don't like oatmeal. It's icky!" I turned my nose up at the bowl.
"Now sparkle, daddy was thinking of taking you to work with him, but if you can't eat your oatmeal, you can't go…"
"Will Uncle Al and Aunt Eva be there?" I asked excitedly.
"I doubt you'll see them," daddy said coming into the kitchen buttoning up his robes.
"We fly, daddy?" I lifted my arms and he picked me up in one swooping motion.
"If you want, Little Ladybug."
"We go now, daddy?"
"Of course, Darling," he swooped out of the room with me despite my mothers protests.
"I play in the little caves?"
"No, you can't….last time you played in the cauldrons a first year almost turned you into a shrinking solution."
"A dunderhead?"
He let out a deep laugh that I felt as I was snuggled against his chest, "Yes, precisely. We are going to apparate now, ready?"
I clung tightly to him, "ready."
He apparated the two of us of Hogwarts and made his way into the castle.
"I wanna see Uncle Al."
"Later."
"Daaddyy," I whined pulling on his hair.
"Fine," he grumbled and carried me to the stone statue.
"I wanna say it."
"Go ahead."
"Lemaon Sherebert," I stumbled through it but nothing happened.
"Daddy, why didn't it work?"
"lemon sherbet." the stature let us pass and I patted daddy on the head. "What?"
"That's that I said, how come didn't work?"
"I don't think the statue speaks 3 year old." he knocked on the door and Dumbledore called out "Enter."
Daddy opened the door and set me on the floor. I promptly ran over and jumped on Uncle Al's lap.
"Uncle Al! Your statue doesn't speak 3 year old!"
"Maybe you should teach it."
"I can be a teacher, like daddy?"
"Statues and dunderheads, we will teach wonderful students," daddy said making Uncle Al laugh. I laughed too, although I wasn't sure why.
"Why are you here?" Dumbledore asked me.
"Daddy says I can't play in the little caves 'cause the dunderheads will shrikn me into a soltoin." I told him gravely.
"Well unfortunately I am busy right now, but do you want to go play with Aunt Eva?"
"Does she have bunnies?"
"I'm sure she could find some for you," Dumbledore told me missing the signs daddy was giving him to stop.
"I don't like bunnies!" I wailed burring my face in Uncle Al's beard.
"Well then there shall be no bunnies in this castle," Uncle Al told me setting me on the ground. I followed daddy out of the office and down the stairs.
"Daddy wait," I called running after him, not being able to keep up with him.
"Hurry up, child."
"Too fast, daddy," I called still running.
Growling he stopped suddenly making me run into the back of him and fall down with a startled cry. He leaned down and scooped me into his arms, "you need to be faster, love."
"I runned."
"Ran."
"Yeah, runned."
He stopped at the door to Aunt Eva's office and knocked.
"Enter," she called, "ahh, Severus, what can I do for you?" She asked not seeing me.
"Aunt Eva!" I exclaimed wiggling in daddy's arms until he set me down.
"Come here, child," she said opening her arms to me. I ran over and she swung me onto her lap.
"Are there bunnies here?"
"No."
I let out a seep sigh, "Good. Don't like bunnies. You have kitties?"
"We can find some," she told me then looked at daddy, "how about some lion cubs?"
"My daughter will not be playing with any lions," daddy told her coldly.
"Your daughter, now really Severus, surly you know Selene will take her away?"
"Why would she do that?"
"When she finds a suitable husband," Aunt Eva said looking down at me sadly, "she could pass for yours, couldn't she?"
"Suitable husband? Minerva, I am---"
"Severus, I know. Just like I know why she hasn't married you yet, when it seems to her that she had no other option, that's what she will do. Until then," Aunt Eva ran a hand over my hair, "protect your heart."
I looked at daddy. He looked so sad. Why didn't mommy want to marry him? I crawled out of Aunt Eva's lap and walked over to him. He didn't seem to notice me so I tugged at his robes. When he looked down I smiled and held my arms up for him to pick me up. When he did I hugged him.
"Don't be sad, daddy. I marry you."
"Thank you, Ladybug."
"I love you, daddy."
"I love you too," daddy whispered.
--
like Your"Shh, I'll be right back. I love you."
--
The lightening flashed through the room and not a second later the thunder crashed. I bit back a scream and crawled out of bed, dragging Harry with me, now ragged with years of love. I ran across the hall to daddy's room, pushed in the door and saw him curled under the covers.
"Daddy," I whispered as another clap of thunder made me jump.
"Hummm?" he murmured in his sleep.
"Daddy?" I called again.
"What?" he sat up and grabbed his wand from the night stand, pointing it at me.
"Can I stay with you daddy?" I asked softly.
"Why?" he asked then nodded when the next clap of thunder was heard, "come here, child." He pulled the covers back and I crawled in with him.
"Harry, too?"
"Harry too."
I cuddled up against his chest and he wrapped an arm over me. "Daddy?" I asked twirling some of his hair between my fingers.
"Humm?"
"What is thunder?"
"I don't know."
"Yes you do?"
"It's little girls that ask too many questions. They get sent to the thunder gods, who turn them into thunder."
"Nunuh."
"If you know, why ask me?"
"You are lying."
"Am I?"
"Are you going to send me to the thunder gods?" I asked scared.
"No, I am rather fond of you."
"Me too," I said.
--
"Come back to us, moon child."
--
"Daddy! Look what I drewded in school today!" I yelled as he walked into the house.
"Drew."
"Look what I drew. You!" I held up the stick figure drawing of the dark man and beneath it the child's scrawl of 'daddy'. "I asked my teacher to write Severus but she said that wasn't your name."
"Did she?"
"Yes! I told her she'd see you on open house, and that your name was Severus."
"I cannot go to open house."
"Daddy! But you didn't go to show and tell either! You are the best daddy in all the class and you won't go in!" I jumped up and down in front of him and waved my arms wildly.
"Stop it, child. Where's your mom?"
"Getting ready for a date with you."
"What?"
"She told me she was going out with my new daddy, why are you new?"
His eyes widened then narrowed, "stay here, child," then he ran up the stairs, yelling, "SELENE!!"
"Severus? What's this?"
"What are you doing?"
"Going out on a date, he's such a nice man."
"What?!"
"I thought you would be happy. It's time we both moved on with our lives. You won't have to waste you time with -------."
"You-you're going to take her away from me?"
"She's not yours, Severus."
"You don't love her, give her to me."
"She's all I have left of Sirius."
"Don't say his name! He wanted nothing from you but a quick fuck."
"No! That's not true! He wanted a child with me!"
"He wanted a little play thing, to be like Potter. Now Potter is dead, and Black is insane. She doesn't matter to you and you know it."
"I love my daughter."
"No, you don't."
"What do you want from me?"
"Her."
"Jake wants her. He wants us to be a family! I won't let you ruin that!"
"You think that you can rip my heart like this?"
"You knew this wasn't permanent."
"Then you never should have never asked me to help raise her!"
Daddy came down the stairs and saw me sitting there, wide eyed, "Daddy?"
"Oh, Merlin, Little Ladybug. Did you hear that?"
"Are you still my daddy?"
"Of course, child."
"Are you leaving?"
"Of course not."
Suddenly the door bell rang and daddy swept me into his arms then went to answer the door. There was a stout, off looking man, dressed in a suit.
"I'm looking for Selene."
"Mommy?"
"You must be --------," he said in a baby talk voice making me wrinkle my nose.
"Don't talk to her like she is stupid," daddy told him and I laid my head on his shoulder.
"And you are?" the man asked.
"Daddy," I told him.
"Severus."
"Snape?"
"Yes," daddy said suspiciously.
"I've read some of your work."
"You're a wizard?"
"Me? No!" the man said, "may I come in?"
Daddy stepped back but didn't invite him. The man walked in and looked around, "Nice house."
"You're not a wizard?"
"No, I'm a squib."
Daddy wrinkled his nose and I looked at the man weird, "What's a squib?"
"Someone who can't do magic," daddy told me.
"A muggle?"
"No. Someone born into a wizarding family, that can't do magic."
"Oh."
"Come child, let's go see if Fluffy made it through the day," daddy told me wrinkling his nose again at the name I'd picked out for the python daddy had gotten me. As he carried me up the stairs I heard the man call out.
"I'll just wait down here, then."
"She's not ready!" Daddy called back down to him his voice filled with anger.
--
"Twinkle, you have to come back. I do care what happens you know. I love you. I can't do this without you. I-I need you to come back. Remus and Snape need you. God how Remus needs you. I don't think he could survive losing you."
--
"Daddy! NO!! Don't leave me!!" I screeched holding on to his leg.
"I can't stay here, Ladybug, I'm not welcome," daddy said looking down at me with tears in his eyes.
"Take me with you," I sobbed.
"Your mommy wants you to stay here."
"She doesn't love me!! Please Daddy!!" I wouldn't let go of his robes.
He dropped to his knees so he was eye to eye with me, "I love you, baby, but I can't stay."
"I'll rename fluffy!! I'll sleep in my own bed all the time!! I promise! Daddy, I'll get rid of Harry! Please!" I told him.
"No. It's not any of that, sweet. It's just-mommy doesn't love me, and I have to go." Tears were running down daddy's face.
"I'll be a good girl, take me with you.."
"I can't."
"It's time for you to leave, Severus," Jake said behind him.
"Let me say good bye."
"It's not working. You knew the deal."
"I can't do that to her!" daddy said.
"You have to!"
Daddy pulled out his wand and pointed it at me, "Daddy, don't hurt me! I didn't mean to spill the ink!"
"I'm not going to hurt you. I'm going to make it better, ok, love?"
"Ok, daddy. I love you daddy."
"I love you too," he took a deep breath, "Obliviate."
--
Snape sat on the bed and ran a soothing hand through --------'s hair when she let out a whimper.
"Shh, darling," he murmured and at the sound of his voice she calmed and clung to him, "my little ladybug, come back to us."
"Daddy," she moaned clinging to him tighter and he drew a sharp breath.
"Oh, Merlin, little ladybug, please come back, I need to talk to you."
"Snape?" She asked sitting up and looking around.