Disclaimer: I own little to nothing of what it is named/referred to and am making even less from it.
Chapter 17.
-When Remus arrived in Severus' quarters the next morning he could tell immediately that there was something not right. He could hear the usual sounds of movement coming from Anna's room as Severus helped her get up and dressed for the day but there was something missing. The lively if somewhat unusual chattering that he could usually hear was almost completely absent. There was the odd word here and there, mostly from Severus, though he did hear Anna say 'thank you' at one stage. Deciding that it would probably be better if he didn't interfere, Remus stayed in the living room and conjured himself a mug of milky tea. A few minutes later the two of them came out and he was shocked by the obvious lack of sleep they had both had.
"Are you okay?" He asked his partner hesitantly.
"Fine – there was… Anna had a nightmare. We can talk about it later." He took the hint and dropped the subject, for now at least. He made idle conversation as they all walked up to the great hall for the first time in days he had to make the effort to catch the young girls hand in his own. It wasn't just Severus who seemed out of sorts though, if anything the change in Anna was more dramatic. She was quiet and withdrawn, not asking a single question in her own point-at-the-object-and-say-it-in-gaelic fashion. When they were all seated and Albus was quietly amusing her, though he too had obviously spotted the change, Remus once again broached the subject.
"A nightmare? Do we know what about?" He asked.
"Would you expect me to use leglimens on a young frightened child?" Severus hissed back
"Of course not!" He replied equally quietly but still with fervour. "I just thought you might have had an idea that's all."
"Can you pass the jam Remus?" Asked a chirpy Flitwick and he complied without looking.
"So what happened then?" He asked softly not wanting to anger Severus anymore than he obviously was already but yet wanting to know what was going on that it was almost a physical need.
"She… I woke up about two o'clock to find that she'd fallen out of her bed she was writhing and twisting so much. She was… she was calling out – nothing that I could make out as words, not even gaelic, so I went to her. I mean – I just wanted to pick her up. To hold her but… but well as soon as I got close enough to touch her she woke up and started screaming. She kept screaming over and over for her father. Just him. No-one else." That seemed to be the fundamental point to the story and Remus could only imagine how his lover must have felt to be witness to this it hurt him enough just to think of it. It wasn't that he blamed Anna – anything but, but even still. "Eventually I managed to get close enough to her to hold her still, I pulled her close to my chest but she cried. She cried herself to sleep Remus." The look in the other mans eyes as he said this was harrowing. Remus reached under the table and squeezed Severus' hand, not wanting to draw any more attention to their hushed conversation.
"You did the only thing we could have." He said genuinely. "It seems she's had something of a revelation about her current circumstances, or at least that would be my guess. It was inevitable Severus and she'll get through it. We'll get through this – we just have to make sure that we're there for her. That she knows we're there, even if it's in the background." He reassured him. "In any case, it's plain to see that neither of you got enough sleep last night which never helps matters so I'll tell you what - I'll keep Anna awake this morning but we'll all have lunch at yours and then you can BOTH take a nap - huh?"
-Despite the characteristic objections Severus put up to the idea of sleeping in the middle of the day Remus was not terribly surprised when he conceded to head towards his bedchamber once they had eaten. Despite the fact that Anna had come out of her shell just a little over the space of the morning he was still concerned enough to seek out an opportunity to speak with the Headmaster before his classes began. He knew it was bizarre that he should be asking advice from an aged wizard who had never had children himself and who was obviously deeply emotionally involved in the situation but he had no idea who might be better suited. He did however think that Albus at least deserved to know what was going on.
"I suspect your right on both counts Remus." The older man said. "She probably has now come to a realisation that her father is gone and yes the only thing any of us can do is try and maintain the continuity of her life." It was reassuring to hear this coming from someone else in the way that hearing your own advice repeated always is, and he supposed now that it was time to think about how best to apply the theory in their somewhat unusual life.
-Over the weekend they continued in a similar fashion, Anna had become quieter and a little more timid although she continued to pick up words of English at quite a surprising rate. Severus too remained unfalteringly well… depressed for lack of another word. He was even more snappish than usual and threw himself into his research with even more fervour than he had before. He reverted to the habits that Remus had hoped to have rid him for forever, sleeping only when his body demanded it angrily and eating only enough to get by. And still here he was trying not to let the awkward atmosphere become obvious to the young girl. That however all changed quite dramatically one afternoon when he least expected it. On Mondays their classes clashed and so Albus had offered to keep an eye on Anna in his office during the afternoon. They had decided to rendezvous at the Headmasters' office and Remus was warmed by the sight of their charge lying on the floor quite happily drawing pictures with the muggle felt-tips that Albus had supplied.
"Well I hate to interrupt our budding artist but I do believe we had better get going if we intend to arrive before dinner is over." Albus suggested not long after Severus arrived.
"Indeed." The potions master agreed. "Ready Moony?" He asked.
"Yup." He answered. "Come on Anna." He urged and the young girl stood up after carefully putting the lid back on her pen and the pen back in the packet. Remus really couldn't help but be intrigued by the young child's near-obsession with tidying up after herself. Not that he was complaining – it certainly made their life easier.
-They made steady pace along the corridors until they came across a gaggle of students obviously on their way somewhere other than the great hall. Remus, Severus and Albus all managed to squeeze through without much difficulty all the time continuing their discussion on the advancements or lack there-of coming from the Department of Magical Advancement. He hadn't even realised that there was something the matter until the dissipating leading front of a strong magical event washed over them all. There was a moment of unnatural quiet, in which Remus could have sworn he heard not a sound from anywhere in the castle. It was broken soon after however by a recognisable anguished cry.
"Daidein! Moony! Daidein!" All three men had turned on their heels and ran the few meters back around the corridor in the direction from which the sound had come. The sight that met their eyes was anything but what he had been expecting: Anna was huddled on the floor of the corridor surrounded by frozen 5th years in varying statue like positions. Any doubt that anyone could have had about the other man's commitment to the child would have vanished as they saw him wend his way at great speed amongst the frozen pupils towards her. She threw herself at him with equal fervour and seemed quite glad to be carried out from the maze.
"Well it would seem we've just had our first major magical incident." Albus said with a smile. Remus reached out to Anna who was still curled up in Severus arms and somewhat to his surprise she shifted and threw an arm around him too.
"Shhh it's ok honey." He found himself repeating over and over as the three of them remained in he close embrace.
"How about you take this one back to your rooms Severus? And I'll deal with returning this lot to their previous rowdy state." The good natured twinkle in his eye was far closer to the old Albus than he'd seen in a fair while. "Oh – and Severus," He continued wit a mischievous smile. "You might like to look up what Daidein actually means." Now that he thought about it the word did seem familiar, as if he'd come across it in some Gaelic phrase book he'd been perusing.
-In the true style of a child who gets worked up over a minor incident, Anna calmed down relatively swiftly with a little tlc from the people around her. That said, the magical outburst had left her drained of all of her reserves and after a light supper it seemed obvious that she simply couldn't keep her eyes open any longer.
"Come on Anna - bed." Remus said standing from his end of the sofa and stretching. She obviously understood enough of what he'd said as she slid off from the center cushion after leaning over to kiss Severus gently on the cheek whispering.
"Mar sin anmoch Daidein." Remus took her hand and led her into the bedroom and went about rearranging the bookshelves and things while she changed all by herself placing her clothes carefully in the hamper. He did however sit her down on his knee and picking up the wide paddle brush began to carefully work his way through her long unruly tresses. It seemed the most natural thing in the world as he braided her hair and she leaned in to rest her head on his shoulder and when he was done he picked her up and carried her the short distance to the bed. She was so nearly asleep by the time her head hit the pillow that it didn't even dawn on him to offer her the choice of story she usually got. He turned, having tucked her in, to leave but a quiet sleep-heavy voice called out to him before he had gotten very far.
"Story? Clever cat!" She added with a hopeful look and he couldn't even think of refusing.
-When he emerged from the room where Anna now slept soundly he found Severus sitting in his favourite chair by the fire, a book rested on his knee and what looked to be the same cup of coffee he'd had in his hand when he'd taken the little one off to bed.
"What's so fascinating?" He asked perching on the arm of the chair and leaning down to get a better look at the book.
"I… I was just looking up Daidein – like Albus suggested." The other man replied quietly still not talking his eyes off the page.
"Oh." Remus replied hesitantly. In the light of the fire he couldn't make out the words on the page well enough to read them accurately. "It's not too awful is it?"
"I suppose that's a matter of personal opinion." The other man required with little conviction in one direction or the other. "Assuming that she was calling you Moony then it would appear that I've become Daddy." It took a moment for this all to register with the werewolf but when it did he turned and looked down at Severus who eventually looked up to return his gaze. He couldn't help but smile at the look total and utter perplexity that he could see in his partners' eyes.
"Daddy." He repeated barely making any noise at all.
"Congratulations." Remus replied breaking into an all out grin, which much to his surprise, was mirrored, if to a lesser extent, by the other man. As he leaned forward to wrap his arms around the other man he over balanced and all but fell onto Severus lap.
"Wow – a new title and a handsome man in my lap all in one day. I must be blessed." He said rolling his eyes but despite his flippancy Remus could tell that he was genuinely touched by what had happened, he could almost feel it in his aura. Talking hold of either side of Severus face he kissed him soundly on the lips.
"I love you – Daddy." He said when he sat back a little.
"And just when I thought our relationship couldn't get any weirder." Came the typical reply.
A/N:
Mar sin anmoch Daidein - Good night Daddy. (awwww)
lol, lots of cheesey goodness. Not something that I usually wallow in but never the less….
Hope you enjoyed this
Let me know either way
Linds xxx
PS - apologies for the horrible formatting, let's just say that it's not how it looks on my screen…
