A/N: I do not own anything to do with the Harry Potter universe. J K
Rowling owns it all. I'm just having fun with her characters. This is the
sequel to my first story Sekhmet's Book. I don't as yet know if I'll make
this into a trilogy series. I guess I'll just see how this story goes for
now. I am currently writing this story as fast as I can. which is
unfortunately about one chapter per month. So, it's not complete but it
most definitely will be. just give me time. Please leave a review as my
muse needs feeding before she gets up and leaves.
Enjoy.
Chapter Seven
Severus found his cousin sitting at her desk in the Arithmancy classroom marking some of her student's work. He moved Callum in his arms to a more comfortable position before pushing the classroom door open quietly and stepping inside. Cil didn't look up having not heard anything and so Severus slowly made his way towards her in his usual quiet, cat-like manner. He managed to get up to the desk before she suddenly looked up in thought and gasped at his sudden appearance.
"Professor Snape," she said uncertainly for she was sure he had come to demand why she had gone to Dumbledore about him. "What can I do for you?" She asked, twirling her quill between her fingers nervously.
"Tut tut, Professor," Severus said as he began to circle her slowly, although this wasn't as intimidating to do whilst holding a seven month old baby.
"Meaning?" She asked as she sat perfectly still and a little confused at his behaviour.
"Meaning. you told on me." Severus said in a shocked tone of voice.
"What?" She asked a little confused, she was expecting anger but he seemed to be toying with her.
"Why?" Severus demanded as he stood directly behind her and smirked as she stiffened her posture.
"I told you I would go to Dumbledore if."
".If I punished two errant students that chose to interrupt my lesson. Now, is that any way to treat your cousin?" Severus said in his silky voice. She smiled and slowly turned to face him.
"Sevvie! You worked it out then? It's about time you donkey." She leaped to her feet and hugged him as tightly as she could, careful to mind not squeezing Callum in the process.
"Yes, Patty. With a little help from Dumbledore," Severus said as he hugged her back with one arm and kissed her on the cheek, smiling widely.
"Great, you doofus. didn't recognise your favourite cousin eh?" She said, lightly punching him on the arm. "I should be angry with you but I don't want to scare this little fellow. Care to introduce me?" Cil asked as she stroked Callum's head gently.
"I think I can be forgiven for not recognising you, Patty. You were never blonde as a child and you changed your name." He said with a huge smile. He had not seen Patty since he was fourteen and up to that point they had been so close to one another- like twins. even though she was two years his junior. They had been very boisterous as children, always getting themselves into mischief and could never be separated. Then Voldemort had come and the Snape family had been targeted as would be followers. and the Pendragon's had gone into enforced hiding. Severus had never seen Patty again since then.
"Oh, I change hair colours frequently, Sevvie. So. who is this then?" She asked excitedly as she brushed off his comment and focussed her attention on the boy in Severus' arms.
"My son, Callum Andrew Snape, he is seven months old now." Severus said proudly as Callum turned his head and his dark brown eyes locked onto Cil. Callum promptly smiled at her and giggled.
"Oh, Severus. He's just adorable, can I hold him?" Severus handed his son over willingly and she took him into her arms. "Hello, little one. I'm your first cousin once removed but that's a mouthful. call me Aunty or Patty when you can, alright?" She said speaking in a soft voice to him.
"He already knows two words, Patty. Mummy and daddy." Severus said proudly. Cil grinned at the look on Severus' face.
"I bet I know which one he said first as well." Severus grinned at her and nodded his head once in the affirmative. "So, what of his mummy then? Where is she?"
"She is away," Severus said bluntly as he turned on his heel and paced in front of the desk slowly.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Sevvie. Divorce is always hard but with this little one too, it."
"We are not getting divorced, Patty. She is stranded in the past." Severus told her as he spun to face her and pinned her with an unwavering glare.
"Your wife is Professor Granger?" Cil asked him with an intent look upon her face.
"Yes. Hermione Granger-Snape." Severus nodded.
"Okay then, Professor Dumbledore told me about some of the events surrounding the transport of two professors back into the past. I doubt he told me everything. well, he didn't as I had no idea she was your wife for one." Cil said as she shrugged her shoulders and looked at Severus.
"She is."
"I'm sorry for you Severus. Is there anything I can do? Anything at all?"
"Well, I am going to retrieve them from the past as soon as my Tempus Fugit Aversus Potion is complete. I should not be away for long according to this time frame. My problem is who to leave Callum with. Hermione is Muggle-born and therefore her parents could not cope with Callum's magical abilities. I don't want to take him away from the school either so my family is mostly out of the question."
"No problems, Sevvie. I'll take him for you. That way he won't be disturbed too much, and he's obviously comfortable enough with me. look, he's fallen asleep." She said chuckling softly.
"Indeed. you have a knack." Severus said as he raised an amused eyebrow at his son.
"Much practice." She replied.
"Oh?"
"Well, I have younger brothers remember? Come and sit down, Sevvie. This little one is heavier than he looks." Patty said as she headed for one of the student desks.
"Here," Severus said conjuring a cot. "Put him down for a while, he'll sleep and we can talk." Patty moved and placed Callum down into the cot before taking a seat beside Severus in the front row. "So, how are your family, Patty?"
"Oh, they are well. We moved to New Zealand when Voldemort surfaced. We mostly lead a very good life down there with the vineyards and winery business." She paused and looked sad for a moment, "I seem to be the only one to have suffered a tragedy unfortunately."
"Yes, Albus mentioned something about that, Patty. I'm sorry for your loss." Severus told her most sincerely.
"Oh, it was years ago, Sevvie. He had been having an affair anyway, which I found out about when his mistress claimed or tried to claim half of his and my estate from his will," Cil laughed. "She didn't know he had been married."
"Any children?" Severus asked.
"Three miscarriages, and one daughter who is now at university in New Zealand. She's studying Magical Law." Cil told him proudly.
"You couldn't have moved further away from your family, Patty." Severus commented.
"Too true, Sevvie but then we lived in New Zealand for a fair few years when Voldemort was in power so Saffy- my daughter, is at home there, and she's big enough to not want to see her mother every day. or week to think about it."
"I missed you, Patty." Severus stated as he stared down at the desk in front of him.
"Oh, I missed you too, Sevvie. I was too young to understand why our parents had suddenly separated us. I wasn't even allowed to write to you. I did try but my owls were intercepted and they bound my magic for a long time until I understood why we could not contact each other."
"They bound your magic!" Severus asked, aghast and annoyed.
"Yes, for a year, Sevvie." Cil nodded.
"Had I known. Patty."
"There was nothing you could have done, Sevvie. Nothing at all," Cil said, shaking her head. "I'm here now though, that's the main thing."
"Indeed it is," Severus replied as he leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. There was a commotion at the back of the room as Cil's next class started to enter. "Okay, Patty. I'd best be off as I also have a class. See you at dinner, and it's so good to see you again. We should catch up properly sometime."
"I will keep you to that, Sevvie." Cil whispered to him as she kissed him on the cheek as well. She handed Callum back over in a now transfigured Moses basket and welcomed her class. As Severus turned to leave he saw Chris standing at the back of the room staring at him wide eyed. Severus smiled slightly and nodded his head before exiting the room the happiest he had been in a long time.
~~*~~
Severus sat himself down is his private study, a side room to his and Hermione's private chambers. Callum had been kindly taken off his hands by Albus at dinner time and he would be returned later in the evening. Severus had prepared himself for the task of reading the final pages in the diary this evening and his heart was pounding at the prospect of what he might find contained within. He settled himself down and took a sip of the firewhiskey he had poured himself before opening the book to where he had previously left off. The writing was not Hermione's, as he had expected anyway but Michael tended to write a lot bigger and therefore there didn't seem as much to read as he had expected.
Ancient Egypt, Old Kingdom, 2457 BC.
So, I can tell you nothing happened this evening. Sekhmet appears to be having a night off for once. I guess Hathor is simply too tired to wreak carnage across the land. erm. nothing to tell so that's it for today. I meet with Re tomorrow evening so I'll let you know what happens.
~~*~~
Okay, one day after the last entry, Severus. It's been raining all day. the annual floods aren't due as yet so the locals are now worried their gods are angry with them. I met with Re this evening. He has pleaded for my help to stop his daughter but I assured him about the local people's plan and he seems convinced this is the best course of action. I am very dubious personally, I feel sure that it will not work despite what history says.
I asked Re about the crop circles. He said the desert people write them and they are magical creatures in origin. He showed me a picture of one of the desert people making a crop circle. it's one of the usual hieroglyphic paintings but the desert people look distinctly like House Elves to me. so you may want to ask one of them about this as they seem to be aware of the power of the Book of Shadows.
Re can translate the crop circles being a senior god. Apparently the last messages told him that the gods were not happy and unless Hathor was stopped then they would send floods to cleanse the land. He is now very anxious due to the amount of rain that has so far fallen today. He has asked me to help him with my magic. I'm not sure what I can do.
I didn't get to see Hermione today. she was sleeping. She's fine. apparently just exhausted. She did however send me another of the ingredients we need for the potion to destroy the book. she sent to me some samples of the aquatic plants from the headdress of Hapy. I assume the God of the Nile was at the palace to speak with Re about the impending flood. So I forwarded this back to the Hogwarts sub dungeons personally; along with a feather from the goose headdress Geb usually wears.
Should I tell you how I retrieved this feather from Geb? Alright. He was with Ptah in Memphis when I came back from my daily work at the Necropolis and spreading the word of Re. They had both been arguing about something and as I entered Ptah left saying he needed to attend to matters in the temple. So, I was left alone with Geb. He must have been at a formal function of some kind as he was wearing his ceremonial headdress and the tube-like bejewelled penis thing around his waist. So at his utmost insistence I approached slowly. He wanted something from me. need I write what? I let him.erm.suck me off in exchange for a feather. Now, I feel dirty. how low I have stooped for such a small prize.
I very quickly left with the feather and brought it back to the sub dungeons myself. whilst there I used every single cleaning spell I could remember and I will now cast a low level obliviate of that memory since I have written the gist of what happened here.
So, we now have three of the ingredients necessary and only one more to collect from a god and then the water from the Nile. I hope beyond all hope that Shu does not require the same services as his father did. perhaps I will wait until he is asleep before I obtain the feather from his headdress.
Oh, when I returned to the sub dungeons everything seems to be the way we left it. The Tempus Fugit Aversus Potion is still in its state of limbo. not that we can finish it any time soon anyway. It is nice to know that the sub dungeons do not appear to warrant any kind of checking up on by the staff or students of the past though.
I have some more pictures for you. these are basically of Memphis and some of the carnage that has happened in neighbouring Dahshur. I could see some of it from the highest point in the Necropolis. Of course I performed an ocular spell in order to enhance my long distance vision.
Hogwarts, Present Day
Severus turned the pages. He saw several pictures of landscapes and fallen bodies. The carnage was indeed vast. The pictures of Memphis showed the flood water slowly rising and it wouldn't be long before the entire town would be water logged. Turning the last page Severus found one short paragraph left to read.
. so, there you have it, a few more pictures for you. I think that if this rain keeps up we shall all have to move into the upstairs accommodation here in Memphis. I'm currently sitting in the chambers that Hermione and I were given when we had our job promotion. I've just heard a noise. this place is usually exceptionally quiet but you never know with Sekhmet on the rampage these days, especially as she only comes out at night. and it's dark now. What.oh my word.
Severus frantically read the last few words again and again. What on earth had happened? There was a spot of dried blood on the page and it conjured any amount of horrible thoughts in his over active imagination. What had that noise been? What if it really had been Sekhmet? Was Michael dead? Was Hermione completely stranded now and all alone in the past? Severus couldn't take it anymore. He stood up and closed the book as he placed it on the side table and began to pace. He simply couldn't take it anymore.
Seven weeks of worry to go before he would be able to do anything at all in order to help.
Seven weeks.
There was a knock on the door and it suddenly opened giving entrance to Albus and Callum. "Severus? Have you finished the diary already?" Albus asked as he headed off towards Callum's cot and tucked him into it as he was already fast asleep again.
"I have, Albus." Severus said in a quiet voice as he moved into the living room and sat down by the fireside.
"Anything to report?"
"I suggest you read the last paragraph, Albus. The diary is in there on the table." Severus said as he stared into space and pointed in the general direction of his study. Albus moved to retrieve the book and brought it to the couch where he made himself comfortable before opening the diary and reading as instructed.
"Hmm," Albus said, breaking the silence after a few moments. "We cannot read too much into this Severus. We must remain strong, seven weeks is not too long a time to wait unless you prey on what has been written here. There is always a solution." Severus simply stared at the Headmaster before nodding his head solemnly. "Are you pleased to be able to see your cousin again?" Albus asked, trying to change the subject.
"Of course, Albus, it has been so long since we last communicated. We were always very close, Patty and I." Albus nodded. They both sat in silence for a long moment before Albus, recognising that Severus would tolerate no more small talk, broke the silence.
"I shall leave you now, Severus. You know where to find me if you need anything." Albus rose from the couch and left the chambers for his office via the floo network.
Severus sighed and headed off to check on Callum, he had slept quite a bit today but he assumed Albus had been making him practice his magic and therefore this would have tired him out. Callum was sleeping peacefully. Severus changed and clambered into bed for a fitful night of sleep.
Enjoy.
Chapter Seven
Severus found his cousin sitting at her desk in the Arithmancy classroom marking some of her student's work. He moved Callum in his arms to a more comfortable position before pushing the classroom door open quietly and stepping inside. Cil didn't look up having not heard anything and so Severus slowly made his way towards her in his usual quiet, cat-like manner. He managed to get up to the desk before she suddenly looked up in thought and gasped at his sudden appearance.
"Professor Snape," she said uncertainly for she was sure he had come to demand why she had gone to Dumbledore about him. "What can I do for you?" She asked, twirling her quill between her fingers nervously.
"Tut tut, Professor," Severus said as he began to circle her slowly, although this wasn't as intimidating to do whilst holding a seven month old baby.
"Meaning?" She asked as she sat perfectly still and a little confused at his behaviour.
"Meaning. you told on me." Severus said in a shocked tone of voice.
"What?" She asked a little confused, she was expecting anger but he seemed to be toying with her.
"Why?" Severus demanded as he stood directly behind her and smirked as she stiffened her posture.
"I told you I would go to Dumbledore if."
".If I punished two errant students that chose to interrupt my lesson. Now, is that any way to treat your cousin?" Severus said in his silky voice. She smiled and slowly turned to face him.
"Sevvie! You worked it out then? It's about time you donkey." She leaped to her feet and hugged him as tightly as she could, careful to mind not squeezing Callum in the process.
"Yes, Patty. With a little help from Dumbledore," Severus said as he hugged her back with one arm and kissed her on the cheek, smiling widely.
"Great, you doofus. didn't recognise your favourite cousin eh?" She said, lightly punching him on the arm. "I should be angry with you but I don't want to scare this little fellow. Care to introduce me?" Cil asked as she stroked Callum's head gently.
"I think I can be forgiven for not recognising you, Patty. You were never blonde as a child and you changed your name." He said with a huge smile. He had not seen Patty since he was fourteen and up to that point they had been so close to one another- like twins. even though she was two years his junior. They had been very boisterous as children, always getting themselves into mischief and could never be separated. Then Voldemort had come and the Snape family had been targeted as would be followers. and the Pendragon's had gone into enforced hiding. Severus had never seen Patty again since then.
"Oh, I change hair colours frequently, Sevvie. So. who is this then?" She asked excitedly as she brushed off his comment and focussed her attention on the boy in Severus' arms.
"My son, Callum Andrew Snape, he is seven months old now." Severus said proudly as Callum turned his head and his dark brown eyes locked onto Cil. Callum promptly smiled at her and giggled.
"Oh, Severus. He's just adorable, can I hold him?" Severus handed his son over willingly and she took him into her arms. "Hello, little one. I'm your first cousin once removed but that's a mouthful. call me Aunty or Patty when you can, alright?" She said speaking in a soft voice to him.
"He already knows two words, Patty. Mummy and daddy." Severus said proudly. Cil grinned at the look on Severus' face.
"I bet I know which one he said first as well." Severus grinned at her and nodded his head once in the affirmative. "So, what of his mummy then? Where is she?"
"She is away," Severus said bluntly as he turned on his heel and paced in front of the desk slowly.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Sevvie. Divorce is always hard but with this little one too, it."
"We are not getting divorced, Patty. She is stranded in the past." Severus told her as he spun to face her and pinned her with an unwavering glare.
"Your wife is Professor Granger?" Cil asked him with an intent look upon her face.
"Yes. Hermione Granger-Snape." Severus nodded.
"Okay then, Professor Dumbledore told me about some of the events surrounding the transport of two professors back into the past. I doubt he told me everything. well, he didn't as I had no idea she was your wife for one." Cil said as she shrugged her shoulders and looked at Severus.
"She is."
"I'm sorry for you Severus. Is there anything I can do? Anything at all?"
"Well, I am going to retrieve them from the past as soon as my Tempus Fugit Aversus Potion is complete. I should not be away for long according to this time frame. My problem is who to leave Callum with. Hermione is Muggle-born and therefore her parents could not cope with Callum's magical abilities. I don't want to take him away from the school either so my family is mostly out of the question."
"No problems, Sevvie. I'll take him for you. That way he won't be disturbed too much, and he's obviously comfortable enough with me. look, he's fallen asleep." She said chuckling softly.
"Indeed. you have a knack." Severus said as he raised an amused eyebrow at his son.
"Much practice." She replied.
"Oh?"
"Well, I have younger brothers remember? Come and sit down, Sevvie. This little one is heavier than he looks." Patty said as she headed for one of the student desks.
"Here," Severus said conjuring a cot. "Put him down for a while, he'll sleep and we can talk." Patty moved and placed Callum down into the cot before taking a seat beside Severus in the front row. "So, how are your family, Patty?"
"Oh, they are well. We moved to New Zealand when Voldemort surfaced. We mostly lead a very good life down there with the vineyards and winery business." She paused and looked sad for a moment, "I seem to be the only one to have suffered a tragedy unfortunately."
"Yes, Albus mentioned something about that, Patty. I'm sorry for your loss." Severus told her most sincerely.
"Oh, it was years ago, Sevvie. He had been having an affair anyway, which I found out about when his mistress claimed or tried to claim half of his and my estate from his will," Cil laughed. "She didn't know he had been married."
"Any children?" Severus asked.
"Three miscarriages, and one daughter who is now at university in New Zealand. She's studying Magical Law." Cil told him proudly.
"You couldn't have moved further away from your family, Patty." Severus commented.
"Too true, Sevvie but then we lived in New Zealand for a fair few years when Voldemort was in power so Saffy- my daughter, is at home there, and she's big enough to not want to see her mother every day. or week to think about it."
"I missed you, Patty." Severus stated as he stared down at the desk in front of him.
"Oh, I missed you too, Sevvie. I was too young to understand why our parents had suddenly separated us. I wasn't even allowed to write to you. I did try but my owls were intercepted and they bound my magic for a long time until I understood why we could not contact each other."
"They bound your magic!" Severus asked, aghast and annoyed.
"Yes, for a year, Sevvie." Cil nodded.
"Had I known. Patty."
"There was nothing you could have done, Sevvie. Nothing at all," Cil said, shaking her head. "I'm here now though, that's the main thing."
"Indeed it is," Severus replied as he leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. There was a commotion at the back of the room as Cil's next class started to enter. "Okay, Patty. I'd best be off as I also have a class. See you at dinner, and it's so good to see you again. We should catch up properly sometime."
"I will keep you to that, Sevvie." Cil whispered to him as she kissed him on the cheek as well. She handed Callum back over in a now transfigured Moses basket and welcomed her class. As Severus turned to leave he saw Chris standing at the back of the room staring at him wide eyed. Severus smiled slightly and nodded his head before exiting the room the happiest he had been in a long time.
~~*~~
Severus sat himself down is his private study, a side room to his and Hermione's private chambers. Callum had been kindly taken off his hands by Albus at dinner time and he would be returned later in the evening. Severus had prepared himself for the task of reading the final pages in the diary this evening and his heart was pounding at the prospect of what he might find contained within. He settled himself down and took a sip of the firewhiskey he had poured himself before opening the book to where he had previously left off. The writing was not Hermione's, as he had expected anyway but Michael tended to write a lot bigger and therefore there didn't seem as much to read as he had expected.
Ancient Egypt, Old Kingdom, 2457 BC.
So, I can tell you nothing happened this evening. Sekhmet appears to be having a night off for once. I guess Hathor is simply too tired to wreak carnage across the land. erm. nothing to tell so that's it for today. I meet with Re tomorrow evening so I'll let you know what happens.
~~*~~
Okay, one day after the last entry, Severus. It's been raining all day. the annual floods aren't due as yet so the locals are now worried their gods are angry with them. I met with Re this evening. He has pleaded for my help to stop his daughter but I assured him about the local people's plan and he seems convinced this is the best course of action. I am very dubious personally, I feel sure that it will not work despite what history says.
I asked Re about the crop circles. He said the desert people write them and they are magical creatures in origin. He showed me a picture of one of the desert people making a crop circle. it's one of the usual hieroglyphic paintings but the desert people look distinctly like House Elves to me. so you may want to ask one of them about this as they seem to be aware of the power of the Book of Shadows.
Re can translate the crop circles being a senior god. Apparently the last messages told him that the gods were not happy and unless Hathor was stopped then they would send floods to cleanse the land. He is now very anxious due to the amount of rain that has so far fallen today. He has asked me to help him with my magic. I'm not sure what I can do.
I didn't get to see Hermione today. she was sleeping. She's fine. apparently just exhausted. She did however send me another of the ingredients we need for the potion to destroy the book. she sent to me some samples of the aquatic plants from the headdress of Hapy. I assume the God of the Nile was at the palace to speak with Re about the impending flood. So I forwarded this back to the Hogwarts sub dungeons personally; along with a feather from the goose headdress Geb usually wears.
Should I tell you how I retrieved this feather from Geb? Alright. He was with Ptah in Memphis when I came back from my daily work at the Necropolis and spreading the word of Re. They had both been arguing about something and as I entered Ptah left saying he needed to attend to matters in the temple. So, I was left alone with Geb. He must have been at a formal function of some kind as he was wearing his ceremonial headdress and the tube-like bejewelled penis thing around his waist. So at his utmost insistence I approached slowly. He wanted something from me. need I write what? I let him.erm.suck me off in exchange for a feather. Now, I feel dirty. how low I have stooped for such a small prize.
I very quickly left with the feather and brought it back to the sub dungeons myself. whilst there I used every single cleaning spell I could remember and I will now cast a low level obliviate of that memory since I have written the gist of what happened here.
So, we now have three of the ingredients necessary and only one more to collect from a god and then the water from the Nile. I hope beyond all hope that Shu does not require the same services as his father did. perhaps I will wait until he is asleep before I obtain the feather from his headdress.
Oh, when I returned to the sub dungeons everything seems to be the way we left it. The Tempus Fugit Aversus Potion is still in its state of limbo. not that we can finish it any time soon anyway. It is nice to know that the sub dungeons do not appear to warrant any kind of checking up on by the staff or students of the past though.
I have some more pictures for you. these are basically of Memphis and some of the carnage that has happened in neighbouring Dahshur. I could see some of it from the highest point in the Necropolis. Of course I performed an ocular spell in order to enhance my long distance vision.
Hogwarts, Present Day
Severus turned the pages. He saw several pictures of landscapes and fallen bodies. The carnage was indeed vast. The pictures of Memphis showed the flood water slowly rising and it wouldn't be long before the entire town would be water logged. Turning the last page Severus found one short paragraph left to read.
. so, there you have it, a few more pictures for you. I think that if this rain keeps up we shall all have to move into the upstairs accommodation here in Memphis. I'm currently sitting in the chambers that Hermione and I were given when we had our job promotion. I've just heard a noise. this place is usually exceptionally quiet but you never know with Sekhmet on the rampage these days, especially as she only comes out at night. and it's dark now. What.oh my word.
Severus frantically read the last few words again and again. What on earth had happened? There was a spot of dried blood on the page and it conjured any amount of horrible thoughts in his over active imagination. What had that noise been? What if it really had been Sekhmet? Was Michael dead? Was Hermione completely stranded now and all alone in the past? Severus couldn't take it anymore. He stood up and closed the book as he placed it on the side table and began to pace. He simply couldn't take it anymore.
Seven weeks of worry to go before he would be able to do anything at all in order to help.
Seven weeks.
There was a knock on the door and it suddenly opened giving entrance to Albus and Callum. "Severus? Have you finished the diary already?" Albus asked as he headed off towards Callum's cot and tucked him into it as he was already fast asleep again.
"I have, Albus." Severus said in a quiet voice as he moved into the living room and sat down by the fireside.
"Anything to report?"
"I suggest you read the last paragraph, Albus. The diary is in there on the table." Severus said as he stared into space and pointed in the general direction of his study. Albus moved to retrieve the book and brought it to the couch where he made himself comfortable before opening the diary and reading as instructed.
"Hmm," Albus said, breaking the silence after a few moments. "We cannot read too much into this Severus. We must remain strong, seven weeks is not too long a time to wait unless you prey on what has been written here. There is always a solution." Severus simply stared at the Headmaster before nodding his head solemnly. "Are you pleased to be able to see your cousin again?" Albus asked, trying to change the subject.
"Of course, Albus, it has been so long since we last communicated. We were always very close, Patty and I." Albus nodded. They both sat in silence for a long moment before Albus, recognising that Severus would tolerate no more small talk, broke the silence.
"I shall leave you now, Severus. You know where to find me if you need anything." Albus rose from the couch and left the chambers for his office via the floo network.
Severus sighed and headed off to check on Callum, he had slept quite a bit today but he assumed Albus had been making him practice his magic and therefore this would have tired him out. Callum was sleeping peacefully. Severus changed and clambered into bed for a fitful night of sleep.