Disclaimer: I do not know J.K. Rawling, I have no ownership of any of her characters, storylines or ideas. I admire her world from afar and find myself walking through the dreamscapes of Harry Potter's adventures. No copyright infringement is intended.
Author's Note: There is a script for this story and more will be on it's way, but this is what I have for now. Updates soonish (well, as soon as the next NCIS – Abby/Gibbs fic works its way past my fingertips).
Remus met Mom and me at breakfast the next morning. Whatever Dumbledore had said to Mom seemed to have chastised her quite a bit; she was uncharacteristically quiet. From breakfast we went to my lab, where I had to promise her Severus would take her to the Slytherin Common Room at some point. I attempted to explain my current work to her, stressing the prominent place I had on the presentation agenda and how revolutionary my approach to lycanthropy treatment was considered. She listened patiently and then asked why I was wasting my time on this "useless" research. According to Mom, I could be back in D.C. developing treatments for "important" diseases or respectably married to Severus and expecting our first child.
I rolled my eyes and asked how long Mom planned on staying. It seemed we would have the pleasure of her company for a week, although she planned to visit her cousin Narcissa on Wednesday.
"Mrs. Malfoy?" I choked on my coffee and grabbed a napkin. Mom narrowed her eyes at me. "Her husband is a Death Eater, she is too for all we can tell! You have got to be kidding me."
"Narcissa is a dear friend," Mom said firmly. "This business of Lucius having been taken to Azkaban will be cleared up. Besides, I can hardly visit home and not go to see my family. That reminds me, have you spent much time with cousin Draco?"
"Other than to dock points from him for attempting to harass me in the halls, no," I told her and went to refill my coffee. Mom was drinking tea, as usual, since my coffee habit was "too American." I smiled to myself, remembering the day it had begun: Callie and her friend Catherine had dragged me to the coffee shop in Lake Placid as a quiet place to study. Rick and I had spent most of that afternoon on the coffee house couch discussing things other than arithmancy.
"I'm disappointed," Mom said. "I had hoped you would make an effort. He is family, dear, and could use a friend at this difficult time."
"Your family, Mom," I corrected. "Not mine."
"He is your blood, Caitlin Andrea, whether you find it convenient or not," she scolded. "It is blood that matters."
"Whatever," I said dismissingly. "I hope you have a good time. Don't mention me to her."
Mom sighed dramatically at my worktable. I left her with her tea and checked on my equipment where I had another experiment in process. Hermione slipped in the lab without the boys. She nodded to my mother with a smile, set her books on the counter opposite the door and wrapped on a lab robe.
"Hey, chicky," I said with a smile. "Can I introduce you to my mom?" Hermione nodded; it was clear she was going to gage her actions based on mine. She walked with me the few steps to the worktable. Mom had conjured a magazine from somewhere and seemed intent on reading.
"Hermione, this is my mother, Lady Adele Malfoy Shaw, the widow of Lord Jerome Shaw, my father," I said formally. Hermione actually curtsied slightly. "Madam Shaw, this is my lab assistant, sixth year student Hermione Granger."
Mom tilted her head slightly and appraised Hermione with serpent-like eyes. "It is a pleasure, child," she said at last. "To which house do you belong?"
I didn't miss the "child" addition and rolled my eyes again. Asking which house couldn't have been more obvious, either.
Hermione was at her full height; she was a tall young woman and quiet capable of looking imposing without those two trees of friends that normally followed her around. "I am a Gryffindor, madam," she said simply.
Mom sniffed and lightly patted Hermione's cheek. "Well, we all can't be Slytherins," she said gently.
"Mother!" I snapped. "That's uncalled for."
"It's alright, Dr. Shaw," Hermione said with a sweet smile. "Very few of us would want to be Slytherins, any way."
Oh, my heart swelled with pride. Hermione continued to smile in Mom's shocked face and happily set about her work in the lab. Mom watched as Hermione moved gracefully, checking stocks, pulling out supplies, skimming notes and readying a cauldron for potion making.
Hermione had the idea that if Gubbio offered the lycanthrope's body an alternative to transforming, perhaps a variation could set the body's immune system on the defensive against the magickal virus. I gave her free reign to work with that idea while I prepared for the conference.
Mom proof read my presentation notes for me while I continued to work on the slides. It was slow going for me with the slides; I had to print them as transparencies, cut then out and paste them into the frames. My fingers cramped from using the scissors on the film.
"Caitlin, use your wand to do that," Mom said from the pile of papers in front of her after my third "owie" as I worked.
"Mom," I groaned. "You know I can't. My wand work is limited."
"That's because you refuse to practice," she continued as if I hadn't told her that before. "You take the easy, muggle way out."
"Right," I said through clenched teeth, cutting some more slides. "That's all I did during those years at the University at Buffalo; took the muggle way out because getting a doctorate is so easy."
"That is simply an excuse," Mom retorted. "You're a Pure-blood witch of a noble family. You are capable of so much better."
"Oh, like you did?" I snapped, clipping away at the plastic film.
"My husband was a nobleman from a landed family," Mom said with distain. "As was your husband." She looked up from the papers. "Really, dear, I'm sure Severus would take you back if you approached him properly. I can help you, if you like."
Hermione coughed rather loudly from her cauldron.
"Mom," I said sternly, "my assistant is here. Is there a need for this discussion right now?"
"Of course not," Mom said. "We can discuss it after dinner."
I finished with cutting the slides and left my work station to walk to Mom's place at the work table. I leaned down to her ear. "No, Mom. We won't. I have a mate, I love him and that's final. You are going to have to be satisfied with cursing me once." I kissed her cheek and returned to gluing together the slides.
Wednesday did not arrive soon enough. Severus had Mom for tea on Monday and Tuesday, while Remus had taken her on a thorough tour of the castle Tuesday evening so I could get some work done for the presentation. Severus was pensive at dinner and Remus had fumed, pacing his sitting room after spending time with Mom. Neither were closer to understand why she had come, other than to attempt to mend the situation between Severus and I.
At breakfast, Mom announced she would be gone until after dinner. Mr. Filch had arranged for a carriage to take her to the gates in order for her to Apparate to Mrs. Malfoy's residence. The expressions of relief on Remus' and Severus' faces behind her back while she explained this to me made it difficult for me to get a straight face as she told me this.
I saw her to the main doors and into her carriage. As it pulled away, I skipped through the spring morning and back up the castle steps, directly into my lab. There was a whole, uninterrupted day of work ahead of me and I planned to make the most of it. I missed lunch that afternoon; Hermione had the elves send me a sandwich and soup.
Remus collected me for dinner. He would be sitting in study hall afterward, giving me more time to finish up my presentation and begin timing it. Hermione and the boys were coming to the lab to be the first people to hear my presentation and offer critique as I fine tuned it.
The kids nearly ran when they saw Severus enter the lab. He shot them a very dark glance before taking a seat. Harry and Ron both glared at him; Hermione began to twirl her hair. Severus said nothing and displayed a very professor-like air, waiting for me to begin.