Seven Years Later...
Chapter 26 Part 1
"As Unions of the Daughters prevail..."
This Chapter, both parts, is about to explaion alot about our ideas of Severus's and Remus's Teenage years... And it's kinda funny too...
Ron awoke, yawning contentedly as he stretched, comforted by the warm body curled next to him. He opened his eyes and lazily looked down at Alexis curled beside him, but frowned upon seeing the look of unease on her features. He brushed the hair out of her face with his hand, leaning down and kissing her on her head. She rolled over, grumbling to herself as she turned away from him. He sighed, guessing she was in no better mood than the night before.
"Lexy, you feeling any better honey?" He asked softly. She curled tighter into herself, mumbling darkly. "What do you think?"
Ron shook his head, slightly hurt by her snappy words, but pushing it aside seeing as she just woke up. He watched her for a minute, wondering what he could do to make her feel better. He smirked and sat up, turning around to face her. He poked her softly in the side. She squirmed a little bit, but still faced away. He poked her twice more, and she grumbled something he didn't catch, and he grew bolder. He leaned over, trying to tickle her. Alexis took it for a moment, and then sat up abruptly, startling Ron and making him almost tumble off the bed. She turned to him with glaring unfocused eyes.
"Ron, I'm not ticklish. Leave me alone." She hissed, turning and placing her feet on the floor, standing and stalking into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. Ron watched her go with shock on her features. Damn, she went from bored and depressed, to bad tempered in one night... He thought to himself, a little worried about the way she was acting. Maybe she should ask Hailey, she knew more about being sick and stuff than he did, if that was what she was. He sighed, sitting up and bed and scratching his head in thought, hearing water running in the bathroom.
Alexis turned on the sink in her bathroom after having gotten dressed, leaning on her hands on the counter and staring at herself in the mirror as the sink filled. She didn't know why she was so irritated, and with Ron above all people. Whatever it was that was bugging her last night was still annoying her this morning, and she guessed she was just sick of it. And poor Ron was the only one to vent at the present moment.
The sink filled with cold water and Alexis quickly doused her face with it, trying to wake up and rid herself of her bad mood. She towel dried her face, glaring at herself in the mirror. She almost felt like she was missing something, or someone...
"No. Not possible. Me, Alexis Whyte, miss the jerk that has tormented me for ages? Naw, not happening." She scolded herself, trying to convince herself that Severus being gone had nothing to do with her boredom, depression, and/or bad mood. She shook her head, looking at herself proudly.
"Nope. Not in this universe." She told herself, then sighing, still not feeling any better. She threw her towel across the bathroom angrily, turning and stomping out the bathroom. Ron was sitting on the edge of the bed, dressed and watching her a bit warily. She sighed, giving him a small smile.
"Sorry... I'm just... not in the mood." She tried to explain, failing horribly. Ron smirked, standing and walking up to her.
"It's alright. Sorry too." He said softly.
Alexis shook her. "What're you sorry for? I have the attitude."
Ron smiled, leaning down and kissing her softly. She was the first to pull away, Ron looking down at her worriedly. "I smell food. And I'm starving." She informed, turning and leaving the Tower, Ron following her.
Alexis trudged down the stairs, grumbling about why they had a no apparating spell with these many damn steps. She reached the bottom floor, looking around with a dark expression. She grumbled once more to herself. "And why do we have so many bloody rooms in this damn place? It's not like we need them..." She heard Ron snicker behind her, and grumbled something about snickering. Alexis didn't know why, but she felt like complaining about stuff today, and grumbling about it was actually interesting. Hmmm... Now I know why Severus always does it... nope, not thinking about that dork... Alexis thought to herself, trudging towards the Dining room.
Most everyone was still seated, and Alexis discreetly looked towards Severus's seat, seeing it still vacant. She sighed, shaking her head roughly as she trudged around to her seat, grumbling about how it was placed so far from the door. She plopped down in her seat, mumbling to herself as the people waited for the rest of the Manor occupants to arrive before eating.
"Why do we have to wait for the slowpokes? If they were hungry, they would've been here earlier. Be their loss if we started eating before them and finished off the food... better learn how to wake up early if they wanted to eat then..." Alexis complained quietly.
A few people looked over at Alexis oddly, knowing she wasn't one to grumble often. She glared back, growling. "What? Staring problem?" A few shook their heads and turned back to their own business, a few snickering at her. Alexis ignored them all, staring down at her plate and grumbling some more just for the hell of it.
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Severus groaned as he rolled over, smelling the delicious smell of sausage. He opened his eyes to quite a surprise.
"How in the hell did I get here?" He asked himself and another voice answered him.
"You forgot something, or that's what you told me." Artimis drawled, leaning against the wall by his door, obviously enjoying the startled look on his face.
"Well, I'm not sure if you are eating with us or not, but if you are, you better get down there quickly." Artimis spoke, snickering as she headed out of the door and down the stairs.
"Bloody woman." He hissed as he got out of bed and looked down at his rumpled clothes, cursing himself because he didn't have any to change into. He pulled his boots on and attempted to straighten himself out. He finally, being at his last straw, used his wand to fix it. He stretched and smirked, smelling food drifting up from the room below him.
"I think after a pancake the world will be better again." He mused as he headed downstairs slowly. He heard noise from downstairs and for some reason, that stir within him had calmed. He stalked down the stairs in full 'Snape' fashion and then walked over to the dining hall. He stepped in and the room silenced. He looked and saw that his seat at the table was vacant, so he walked over to it and sat nonchalantly, as if nothing were out of the ordinary. He looked and saw Alexis grumbling at her empty plate and for some reason; it brought a smile to his face, which surprised him. But what surprised him the most was Alexis's reaction to his return.
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Alexis stared at her plate, trying to find something wrong with it as well so she could keep her mind off of other thoughts. She heard the familiar clicking of boot heels on linoleum, and her ears perked up curiously. She heard the scraping of a chair, and the room she realized was oddly quiet. Alexis smirked slightly, sniffing the air.
Quietly, she spoke aloud. "I smell... Snape."
Ron looked up from his plate in confusion. "What?" He turned to look, meeting Severus's smirking face. "Oh..."
Alexis smirked as she heard Severus Snape's annoyingly deep voice counter her statement. "I smell... waffles."
Suddenly, that feeling that was bugging Alexis to the point of anger... it just vanished.
She looked up slowly, meeting his smirking face and upraised eyebrow. "I didn't know I had a particular scent... hmm, learn something new every day..." He added, smirking back at her. It wasn't an evil smirk, nor a mocking one... it was just, a smirk.
Alexis smiled, speaking before she could catch herself. "You're back! She said too chipperly for her comfort, and everyone immediately looked over at her with shocked expressions, even Severus. Alexis blushed deeply, diving her head back down and gazing at her plate intently, trying her hardest to hide the smile on he face. She thought curiously to herself. Am I glad that Severus is back? Dude, this is kind of scary... I'm suppose to be happy he's gone... was gone...
She shook her head, ignoring the several or so laughs around the table as she started filling her plate, keeping her head low. Wait a minute... if he's back... then I have someone to bug! I can bug everyone else, yeah... but I don't get the reaction I get from Snape... I know he wouldn't try to hurt me over annoying him... Now I won't be bored! Alexis thought happily to herself, shocked that she was even glad at seeing him here. She went several minutes being silent, trying her hardest not to say anything to Severus. She looked around, picking up her spoon and looking it over quizzically. She looked over at Snape discreetly, suddenly getting a great idea. She dipped her spoon in the nearest oatmeal dish, coming away with a huge glob. She looked at it, then at Ron's confused expression. She hid slightly behind his shoulder, bringing up the loaded spoon, taking careful aim at Severus's face. She squinted, and then flicked the spoon, the huge glob of oatmeal smacking him square in the face. He froze in place, a look of shock on his face. The room went silent, staring between him and Alexis as Alexis bust out in laughter. She never knew that could feel so good.
Suddenly, something splat against the side of her face as well, and she froze, bringing up her hand and feeling sticky oatmeal. She slowly looked over at Severus, who was holding a spoon and smiling smugly, oatmeal dripping off his cheek.
Alexis narrowed her eyes, smirking as she stood and picked up a syrup-covered pancake, aiming it at Severus as he stood as well, holding a jam covered piece of toast, smirking too. The people seated beside the two quickly scooted out of the way. Suddenly, a loud stern voice echoed in the Dining room.
"Children... this is not playtime..." Artimis stood, mockingly scolding both Severus and Alexis. Alexis lowered her pancake, Severus doing the same with his toast. Alexis looked up and made eye contact with the Potion's master.
(Well, what do you say to that?) Alexis thought to him, keeping a mind block from Artimis.
I think you already know... Severus thought back, smiling.
As quick as lightning, Severus and Alexis both picked up spoons and filled them with oatmeal, flicking them towards Artimis before she could even move.
Two large globs of the sticky substance hit Artimis, one on her forehead, the other on her cheek and nose. She froze, hearing ripples of laughter as Severus and Alexis smirked proudly. Artimis narrowed her eyes and shot out her arms, making two huge hands of shadow appear and latch onto Alexis and Severus, holding them in place. The room went silent, Alexis looking at Artimis a bit smugly, immune to the shadow power.
"You might be immune to the cold and such, but I can still hold you in place." Artimis snapped at her and Alexis stuck out her tongue. Severus merely shivered, staring at Artimis in surprise.
"Now, food is to eat, not to play with. Capeshe? God, you two are like Fred and George... only, not related nor twins..."
"Excuse us?" Fred spoke, looking at her with offense.
"We eat our food." George added.
"And throw everyone else's." Fred spoke, both Twins nodding.
Artimis shook her head, letting go of Alexis and Severus. Alexis stood there, while Severus sat quickly, shivering slightly. Alexis smirked, discreetly picking up a buttered biscuit. Suddenly, the hand of shadow was back, and Alexis was being lifted into the air. Artimis shook her a good few times, growling. "That's enough now."
She set Alexis back down in her chair. Alexis looked around dizzily for a minute, dropping the biscuit, the room spinning. Alexis made the mistake of trying to follow it, and ended up falling out of her chair, landing on the floor on her back, staring up at the moving ceiling. There were several laughs and Alexis couldn't help but grin dizzily. This was how a day in the manor was supposed to start, Severus and all.
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Artimis wiped her face angrily as Severus and Alexis sat quietly. She tried her hardest to get the tiny oats out of her hair, failing miserably but trying nonetheless. She threw her napkin on the table and yelled.
"Goddamn it! I give up, I just give up." She spoke loudly and the whole room looked at her as she buried her head in he hands and began to cry. She tried to hold it back but knew it was futile. She felt arms around her shoulders and a soft voice in her ear.
"Sweetheart, it's ok. Its just oatmeal." He tried to comfort her and Artimis reared her head up at him.
"It's not the oatmeal. If I can't keep twiddle-dee and twiddle-dumb from misbehaving, how in the hell am I supposed to make my own kid behave?" She whined, pointing at Severus and Alexis.
"You know I've been wondering the same-" Severus began but received the killer glare from Artimis and Draco and he quickly shut up.
"Honey, don't worry about that now... Just relax." Draco spoke softly, almost caring and Artimis sighed, feeling herself calm down. She looked at her plate picked up a sausage link, eating it with contentment. After a moment she looked up and smiled.
"Alexis, I will need your help today. I'm going through my mother's stuff today, looking for my baby stuff. Wanna help? I'll help you go through your mum's stuff if you want." Artimis asked cheerfully and Alexis looked at her like she was nuts.
"Ok, Artimis, I don't know what you need, but we need to find you a potion that fixes this whole, 'I'm crying, I'm happy' stuff." Alexis stated and Artimis heard Severus briefly whisper.
"Only thing to fix that is a sedative."
Artimis glared at him and then looked at Alexis.
"Dear, I think you two need your "We hate each other' Potion, cause your starting to freak me out. And will you help me?" Artimis spoke and Alexis looked at her indignantly.
"Hey, I still hate him." She declared and Severus looked at Artimis as well.
"And I loathe her entirely." He chimed in and Artimis rolled her eyes as Alexis sighed.
"Yeah I'll help, I gotta find this jacket my mom had for the Police force, and I wanna run around in it." Alexis told her and Artimis smirked at her.
"Good, we can do it this afternoon, cause I need a nap." Artimis spoke and Draco looked over at her with concern.
"But honey, you just got up." He asked and Artimis rolled her eyes.
"And I went to sleep at two. I'm exhausted sweetheart. Being pregnant is tiring." She groaned as she got up and began walking out of the dining hall.
"Hey Artimis!" Alexis yelled and Artimis turned around just as a syrup cover pancake hit her in the side of the head. Artimis grabbed it off her head and glared, throwing it to the floor.
"You are so lucky you can run faster than me right now." Artimis snarled as she stormed out of the room, needing a shower before she could sleep now.
"Who needs kids with her. Poor Ron." Artimis mused as she walked upstairs and went into her room, intent on getting a good nap.
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Artimis and Alexis trudged toward the storerooms of to the side of the ballroom on the third floor. Artimis walked up to the door and unlocked it with her key, opening it slowly. Artimis watched as Alexis drew her wand and turned on all the lamps, making the short hallway fill with light.
"So what are you looking for again?" Artimis asked as they walked in the door, leaving it cracked open behind them.
"My mum's police jacket and her badge." Alexis replied as they walked up to the first two doors across from each other. Artimis looked at her door, her name ornately burned into the wood. Artimis turned around to see Alexis leaning back a bit to admire her own handiwork on her door, smirking as she looked at a drawn bird that had been burnt to a crisp by a dragon in her mural of the door.
Artimis shook her head and opened her storage room, saying her own private password. The door swung open and Artimis smiled as her gaze fell over the old furniture and boxes filling the room. Artimis lit the lamps in her room and eased her way around a dresser to see her very own crib. Artimis ran her hands over the wood, smiling that she would soon need to use this.
"Hey Alexis, Draco's gonna have a good time getting this out. It's all the way in the back." Artimis yelled out and Alexis grunted at her in a muffled fashion, meaning Alexis had dived headfirst into her boxes. Artimis eased out from behind all the furniture, looking over to the boxes. A single box caught her eye. Miranda's Important Work Papers. Artimis finished moving from behind the furniture and walked over to the box, shaking her head.
"Work papers? When did Mum work?" Artimis thought aloud and she received a reply.
"What'd you say?" Alexis asked from across the hall and Artimis shook he head.
"Nothing, just mumbling." Artimis shouted and she received another muffled grunt as her reply. Artimis grabbed the box and tried to pull it down with out hurting herself. She got the box down and realized it was heavy, there must have been a lot of work papers. She set the box down and grabbed a dusty chair, sitting down as she opened the box. She looked at a bunch of papers and Artimis picked some up, reading them, but realized they were just written down recipes.
"Odd." Artimis thought as she set them down and picked up some more. But the papers didn't catch her eye, what caught her eye was what was lying underneath them. Artimis set the papers down and pulled out a pair of leather pants. Artimis's eye grew wide as she looked at them, one thing racing through her mind.
Work papers... Leather pants?... Oh my god, was my mum a stripper!... Artimis thought as she looked inside the pants, reading the tag and realized that they were men's pants.
"Oh, must be dad's from his wild school days... gonna move them over there." Artimis whispered as she set them down. She looked in the box to see a button up black shirt. She picked it up, knowing it was a man's, but knowing that the shoulders were too narrow for her dad, well at least her dad as she knew him, but hey, he could have been a scrawny kid. She put it with the pants and then looked into the box, finding a book. She picked it up and read the cover.
My sixth year at Hogwarts... Party Party Party... Artimis read it and opened up the cover to look at the pictures of her mum, but she did not get what she expected.
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Alexis stopped in the doorway of her own storeroom, scanning over the multitude of boxes, large and small, stacked in the small room, and she smiled. Opening boxes was always fun, that's why Alexis had put most everything she had stored in boxes. She remembered that she once put a box of cotton in here somewhere, just to see if she would find it sometime later by surprise.
She snickered as she walked towards them, seeing a few labeled Clothes. She took a leap and dove onto them, feeling them squish beneath her, but hearing nothing breaking.
"Hey Alexis, Draco's gonna have a good time getting this out. It's all the way in the back." Artimis yelled out from across the hall, and Alexis grunted back an acknowledgment, too preoccupied to answer. She stood and walked to a far corner of extra dusty boxes, moving a few aside and plopping in the midst of them, cross-legged. She looked around, reading labels.
Shoes... schoolwork, hmm... books... Important Work Papers? Alexis listed to herself. She saw the last pretty large box, pulling it up to her, it having a good weight on it.
"Work papers? When did Mum work?" She heard Artimis talk to herself, and Alexis looked toward the door quizzically.
"What'd you say?" Alexis asked, wondering if they both actually had similar boxes.
"Nothing, just mumbling." Artimis replied, and Alexis mumbled an 'okay' as she looked down at the taped up box curiously.
"Hmm... Maybe Mum's badge is in here..." Alexis mumbled to herself, tearing the tape off. She opened the box, looking down and seeing... clothes.
"Ookaayy..." Alexis spoke out, picking up a shirt, holding it up to look at. It was awfully big to be her mother's, knowing her Mum had been a small woman.
"Definitely not her uniform..." She mumbled, putting it aside and picking up another clothing item. Lifting them up, her eyes widened once she realized they were pants. Too big for her mother for one, men's pants as well. She shook her head, quickly setting them beside her. She found two more pairs, a little weirded out by now.
"Maybe they were MacNair's..." Alexis thought to herself, pulling out a sock.
"What the-" She asked herself quizzically, holding the sock with two fingers away from her.
"Mum had some weird fetishes, I swear..." Alexis mumbled, pushing aside another brown shirt and seeing something wrapped in paper. She picked it up, finding it light and flimsy. She carefully unwrapped the paper, pulling out a photo.
She studied it carefully, eyes widening in shock, recognizing some of the clothes in the box as the clothes on this particular person in the picture with her mother. This person, who was definitely not her father, MacNair.
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Severus sat in the lounge, Remus sitting across from him giving him a smirk.
"So you came back Severus?" Remus asked slyly and Severus snorted at him.
"Only because I forgot something." He replied angrily and Remus smirked.
"That was?" He questioned and Severus glared at him.
"I forgot." Severus retorted and Remus leaned back snickering.
"How convin-" Remus was cut off as two loud female voices echoed panically from upstairs.
"SEVERUS!" Artimis was heard screaming.
"REMUS!" Alexis shouted down at them. Severus and Remus immediately jumped, and Remus took off at a run, rushing up the stairs as Severus quickly stalked up there. They reached the top floor and saw the storage room door open and Remus dashed in that direction. Severus followed him, wondering why he felt this air of dread around him. They moved into the hallway past the door to see Artimis and Alexis standing in the hallway. Suddenly the door was slammed closed behind them and Severus spun around to see a hand of shadow crawl back along the wall. Severus looked at Artimis and Alexis and they both seemed to be holding something in their arms, some kind of books.
"This way." Artimis hissed, walking into the open door beside her and Remus looked at Severus and gulped.
"Sev?" Remus whispered in a worried voice.
"What?" Severus asked cautiously as they watched Alexis follow Artimis into the room she had walked in, wondering what was going on.
"You do know what is in these rooms right?" Remus asked cautiously as they both began to walk forward.
"Not particularly, what is this, their torture chambers?" He asked curiously as they grew closer to the door. Severus felt a dread and knew something was wrong here.
"No, worse. Their mothers' things are up here." Remus informed him, adding to that dread.
"What!" Severus asked, looking back at the door closed behind them in a paranoid manner.
"Yeah." Remus stated as they came next to the door. Severus had to think quickly of a plan of escape if that was really why they were trapped up here.
"Damnit, lets just sit and listen." Severus sighed dejectedly at Remus and he nodded as they entered the room. Artimis was already sitting in a chair, her hand over her stomach, glaring. Alexis looked at them both in disdain and snarled, pointing to two chairs opposite Artimis.
"Sit." She barked and Remus moved over the chair quickly and Severus followed him sitting down. Alexis began pacing in front of them, grumbling and growling to herself, as Artimis seemed to be focusing on controlling her breathing. Severus knew at the moment that the girls knew something about both Remus and himself that they would never live down.
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Alexis stood in the middle of the hallway, rigid, arms crossed, as she glared toward the open storage room door, seeing Severus and Remus burst in. Her eyes narrowed dangerously at them, and she felt the caution and fear radiating off of them as they were commanded to enter Artimis's storage room. Alexis followed, still holding the picture, trying to keep back her anger, biding her time until she burst.
They knew... they BOTH knew... more than knew, were close to Mum...
She spun on them, stabbing a finger at two chairs, snapping at them angrily. "Sit."
They quickly obeyed, swallowing nervously, Alexis reveling in the fear in their eyes, knowing they had much to be afraid of. She began pacing in front of them, trying to piece together sensible words for their comprehension that clearly expressed her frustration. She grumbled lowly to herself, to where only she could hear.
"They went to school with her... both of them... hung out together... went places together... didn't bother telling me..."
She stopped, clenching her fists and closing her eyes, trying to keep a hold of her temper.
Oh, fuck it... Alexis thought to herself, turning and lunging at the two men, having every intention of choking the life out of them. She felt hands clamp down on her arms, holding her in place while she struggled to jump at them, Remus and Severus both backing up in their chairs, watching her fearfully. Artimis yanked Alexis back, pushing her down into a chair and holding her there as Alexis calmed somewhat, still breathing raggedly, anger blazing in her eyes.
Calm down... use anger to yell, not hurt... not yet anyways... Alexis thought to herself, looking up and nodding at Artimis, who slowly let her go, going back to her seat, holding her stomach, looking a little strained.
"I can't be moving that quick Alexis..." Artimis spoke lowly, Alexis nodding apologetically. She stood back up, pacing once more, tapping the picture against her leg. Remus and Severus followed her movements carefully. Alexis stopped, turning to face them. She was quiet a moment, and then hissed lowly. "You two have a lot of explaining to do."
The two professors exchanged a look, and then gazed back up at her. She then lifted the picture, holding in front of their vision. They flinched at her quick movement, eyes scanning the picture, trapped looks in their eyes.
The best description of Remus's face was with eyes the size of dinner plates looking from a head the size of a saucer as he stared at the familiar picture of himself dipping back Vanessa Whyte, kissing her deeply.
Severus looked up at Alexis, asking quietly. "What do I have to explain about this?"
Artimis snapped lowly, holding up the book she had found. "Oh, you have plenty to explain."
Severus's eyes widened as well, and he looked back down at the floor.
Alexis shook the picture once, asking Remus angrily. "Would you mind explaining this to me! Was this just a friend thing, or something more!"
Artimis spoke lowly. "Alexis, I saw the picture and that wasn't just some friend thing."
"Thank you Artimis. Remus? Any comments?" Alexis snapped, watching Remus expectantly.
"Um... um... um..." Remus stammered, not really knowing what to say at the moment.
"Oh, and with this, I found a few items. That might've belonged to you at some point in your life." Alexis added, eyes narrowed dangerously.
"Um... Uh... I, um..." Remus stammered some more.
"Alexis, why don't you go get your, items in question. I have a few things I would like to say." Artimis interjected. Alexis glared between Remus and Severus, pointing at Remus first. "I am so not done with you yet." She pointed to Severus. "And I'm not even gonna start with you yet."
She hissed, stalking out the door to her storage room, grumbling angrily. Remus looked like a man on death row, while Severus looked after Alexis with confusion before turning to face Artimis.
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Artimis watched as Alexis paced, feeling the anger rage with in her friend. Artimis sat calmly, hand over her stomach because this had upset her to the point that the baby now seemed upset and was kicking. Artimis saw Alexis leap for them and she jumped quickly, grabbing a hold of Alexis, keeping her from killing Severus and Remus. Alexis calmed after a moment and Artimis let her go; now feeling a little worse for moving so quickly. Artimis slowly let her go, going back to her seat, holding her stomach, feeling a little strained.
"I can't be moving that quick Alexis..." Artimis spoke lowly, almost in worry, as Alexis nodded apologetically and went back to her pacing. Artimis didn't even bother to listen to her friend's rantings, her eyes fixed on Severus in indignation.
That bastard... All these years he's known me and he never told me he knew my mother on more than good terms... I know that's a hard topic to breach, but hell, he's known me for fourteen years... Artimis thought as Severus spoke up.
"What do I have to explain about this?" He asked Alexis and Artimis knew she was furious.
Artimis snapped lowly at him, menacingly holding up the book she had found.
"Oh, you have plenty to explain." She snarled and his eyes widened as he looked down at the floor. Artimis went back to thinking to herself as she half-listened to Alexis tear into her adopted father. She heard nothing but a bunch of 'ums' from him and she just could not take that much longer.
"Alexis, why don't you go get your items in question. I have a few things I would like to say." Artimis interjected swiftly and Alexis nodded at her and then turned to the professors, glaring as she warned that she was not done. Artimis watched her walk out and then stood in her fury, looking in satisfaction at the worried look on Severus's face.
"So, Severus, anything you would like to tell me about you and my dear mother?" She hissed in warning, feeling very, very, betrayed. He looked at her like a dear in headlights and she smirked evilly. She put her hands on the book's cover and opened it, flipping through a few pages until she found the one she wanted. She turned the book and held it in his face for him to see. He looked at the picture of him with Miranda lying in his arms sleeping as he kissed her forehead softly on a Slytherin couch and then looked at Artimis fearfully.
"Hmm..." He whispered as he gulped slightly, leaning back farther in his chair.
"Well? Anything you wanna tell me? Cause this could easily be mistaken as something it's not." She asked him and he looked away from her and back down at the floor. Just as he did that Alexis came into the room, dragging a box and grumbling lowly. She stood up straight and looked at Artimis oddly.
"Artimis, are you ok? You look really pale. What did that bastard say to you?" Alexis hissed, walking forward and looking between Severus and Artimis. Artimis shook her head and sat back down, knowing she needed to remain calm.
"I'm fine, just all this shock and stress feels like it's gonna throw me into early labor." Artimis replied and Alexis looked at her with concern.
"But your only just about six months pregnant." Alexis spoke and Artimis shook her head at her, looking back at Severus who surprisingly was assessing her with his eyes.
"So Alexis, who should we make explain it first?" Artimis asked with anger and Alexis smirked down at her.
"I dunno. I am just trying to let this all sink in." Alexis replied looking at Severus and Remus looking at each other. Artimis nodded and thought for a minute, looking at the two of them.
(Are you sure you're alright?... Could just kill them and then you can go rest...) Alexis asked Artimis mentally and Artimis shook her head at her.
"Not necessary. If you were to kill them, any knowledge of who you mother really was is lost with them." Artimis spoke, making sure they could hear her.
"Well, how about afterwards?" Alexis pleaded and Artimis shook her head.
"Don't think so dear." Artimis replied and Alexis pouted looking at them angrily.
"So, who's gonna spill first." Alexis hissed and Remus automatically pointed to Severus as Severus glared at him.
"Alexis, do you wanna know first or what?" Artimis questioned and Alexis shrugged at her.
"Nah, let's let Severus tell us what the hell this all means and then Remus can give us his story, which better be good." Alexis mused as she sat herself down in an old dusty chair, her eyes fixed on Severus.
"Well, Severus, what the hell went on between you and my mum? And you better tell me the truth." Artimis hissed and Severus looked at the ground.
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Severus thought to himself of what he was going to say. He could just lie to her, but also then again, not only would she prove him wrong, but also that would be disloyal to Miranda, something he had yet to be. He looked up at Artimis in all her fury, realizing that he was actually going have to talk about the events that changed his life all those years ago. He looked at Alexis, who was glaring at him.
"Well... Um..." He began but he couldn't seem to find the words to explain what was between himself and Miranda. "Oh bloody hell... You wanna know, fine. But your not gonna like it one bit." He snarled as he leaned back in his chair and drew in a breath.
"Originally I thought you mother was the cruelest woman in the world. She was cold, calculating, and very manipulative. But all that changed when I go to know her." Severus began and Artimis leaned forward, watching him intently.
"One day I was rather bored, so I went to watch the Slytherin Quidditch team practice, something that you were not allowed to do. Well practice had ended so I took off running, trying to leave before Captain Lestrange caught me. It had already been a bad day. Well your mum swoops up and pins me to the ground. Then as her teammates came following her, she made me get on her broom and she flew to the rooftop, for some unknown reason to me then. Then after a short argument, she flew us down to the courtyard and surprised the hell out of me. She kissed me and told me I was the densest kid she had ever met and then she ran away. That is how our relationship began." He spoke, forgetting to whom he was talking to until she spoke.
"Relationship? What kind of relationship?" Artimis inquired and Severus snapped his head up looking at her.
"Um... A relationship. You know damn well what I mean, like I was her boyfriend and she was my girlfriend." He snorted and Artimis gasped as she looked at him.
"She lied to me. She bloody lied to me." Artimis whispered and she looked back up at him.
"What happened to you two then, if you were dating?" Artimis questioned, wondering where her father fit into all of this.
"Well, Miranda and I grew very, fond, of each other over time. We were quite involved with each other, until Vanessa opened her damned mouth." Severus snarled and both Remus and Alexis glared at him.
"Her damned mouth? I'm gonna rip your damned head off if you say that again." Remus snarled at him and Severus glared at him with anger as Alexis drew back with the 'whoa' look.
"Well, let's be honest here Remus, if she hadn't had her damned vision that I was gonna kill Miranda in a act of passion, then Miranda and I would have gone on to live happily ever after. But nooo, Vanessa is a seer, she knows All, and she can't be Wrong. It didn't matter that I loved Miranda, no, all that mattered is that Vanessa said that and Vanessa is All Mighty." Severus yelled sarcastically, gesturing wildly with his hands at Remus and Remus drew back from him. Severus thought about what he said and then grimaced, knowing he had definitely said too much. He turned to look at Alexis who was seething as she looked at Artimis.
"A seer? You mean like 'into the beyond' crap? That would mean I was one too, wouldn't I? But I'm not..." Alexis protested and Artimis sighed, looking at her.
"Yes you are." Artimis replied and she then set the image of Alexis giving her prediction to Alexis who sat up ramrod straight.
"Whoa... YOU DIDN'T TELL ME?" Alexis yelled as she turned and looked at Remus, who winced.
"Alexis, calm down. Severus hasn't finished his story." Artimis spoke with menace and Severus winced a bit.
"Calm down! I'M A FREAKING SEER, AND YOU WANT ME TO CALM DOWN?" Alexis screeched and Artimis held her head, wincing a bit.
"Lexy, if you don't shut up I'm gonna knock you out." Artimis told her and Alexis glared at her and then her glare moved to Severus. Severus knew he would have to say more so he inhaled deeply.
"Well, what happened?" Artimis asked and Severus glared.
"Your father believed Vanessa so much, that he MADE me break her heart. He told me that he would not allow me to kill her and he threatened me till I made the biggest mistake ever, even bigger than coming back here last night." He spoke and Artimis looked at him with a sigh.
"So you and my mum, you two were just a school relationship. It never progressed into your adult lives. I can deal with that." Artimis asked him and he thought for a moment.
"Sure." He replied and she looked at him with a deadly gaze.
"It is not wise to lie to a pregnant woman with a newly acquired power." She hissed and he gulped, thinking quickly.
"Well, not exactly." He replied and she looked at him.
"What does 'not exactly' mean?" She questioned and he looked at her with a stern gaze.
"Just what I said, not exactly."
"Well then, you are going to tell me exactly what it did do then." Artimis hissed and Alexis piped in her own. "Yeah."
Severus rubbed the bridge of his nose, remembering that he had swore to himself that no one would ever know what ensued after school but for some weird reason, a voice in the back of his head was telling him that this was the time to speak things that no one but he and Miranda knew.
"Well, your mother and I... we met again and 'reacquainted' ourselves with each other, a little after your sister was born." Severus spoke lowly, and Artimis sighed.
"Reacquainted how?" Artimis questioned and he looked at her dead seriously and shook his head.
"You, of all people, should know exactly what that means." He told her and she inhaled sharply as he looked back down at the floor.
"How long were you two seeing each other behind my father's back." She hissed in anger, as he had expected, and he just looked at the floor.
"Up until she died. I was with her that very day." He spoke dejectedly as if there were a tinge of regret in his voice.
"Severus, what the hell! What about the sanctity of marriage?" Remus questioned and Severus turned his anger on him.
"She was my soul mate, I was hers. Had we not been forced apart, we would have been married, you of all people should understand that feeling." Severus hissed as Remus and Remus looked away back at the ground.
"Is there anything else I should know?" Artimis asked and Severus thought to himself deeply about what he was about to say.
She would kill me... But she may anyways... He thought as he looked up at her with a tinge of unease in his voice.
"Well, let's see, when your mother found out she was pregnant with Apollo, she went through this whole 'who's is it' dilemma until she and I finally tested and found that Apollo was truly Andres's son. After that we promised that were it ever to happen again, we would automatically assume it was Andres's child." Severus stated and in an instant Artimis was on her feet and in his face.
"What are you saying?" She asked, all the rage in her apparent in her now black eyes.
"You know what I am saying Artimis. I am not saying one way or another, just that your mother never checked." He told her and she shuddered as he saw the wheels turning in her head. He saw Alexis rush forward and pull Artimis back as Artimis stood and began to let shadows rush from her. He only felt a glimmer of the cold, but he saw the anger in Artimis and he doubted he would live past this day.
"Ok, enough trauma with Severus. Remus, why don't you tell me what the hell went on between me and my mum and how come you never told me." Alexis asked as Severus watched Artimis sit in her chair, watching, as she seemed to have the whole world crumbling down around her. She looked so pale that he even worried about her, but she had asked and he had simply told her the truth. He looked at Remus as Remus sat up straight and looked at Alexis.