Disclaimer: I do not own any of the people or places that belong to the wonderful world of Harry Potter, as they belong to J.K. Rowling. The OCs (Katherine, Septimus, Helena, Christoph, Elisa, Henry & Nick) are entirely my own.
Chapter 2: Tell Me Everything
Severus woke suddenly as the bed shifted beside him; his eyes opening just in time to see Katherine's backside disappear through the bathroom door. He rolled over onto his back, staring up at the pine wood ceiling. The sun was just starting to light the sky through the east windows.
One day. It had been one full day since the Dark Lord had fallen. One full day since the Dark Mark had burned away. One full day in this new life. Severus closed his eyes, relishing in the peacefulness that surrounded him.
Upon hearing the bathroom door creak open, Severus opened his eyes and turned his head towards the sound. He expected to find Katherine smiling softly at him as she headed back towards the bed, but instead he saw her leaning against the doorframe. Katherine's face was pale and she was rubbing her forehead with one hand, while the other clutched the frame's wood.
"Katherine?" Severus frowned, as he sat up in the bed. "Are you alright?"
"I'll be fine in a moment," Katherine muttered. Her eyes were closed as she continued to rub her head. "The morning sickness set in again, that's all."
With a swift turn, Severus swung his legs over the edge of the bed, and rose. In three long strides he reached her and gently pulled her from the doorframe. Severus guided Katherine slowly back to the bed and helped her to lie down.
"Rest," Severus told her, as he covered her naked body with the comforter. "We probably should find something to eat, since neither one of us has eaten since Friday."
"There should be some canned goods in the pantry," Katherine said quietly, her eyes still shut tight. "The pantry is in the cellar. Furthest door from the stairs."
"I'll see what I can find," he said, leaning over and planting a quick kiss to her forehead, before heading out into the sitting room.
A thought hit Severus as he found the door that led to the basement; he was starkers. He had no clothes here except for the one's that he wore when he arrived. All in all he knew he would have to Scourgify his old clothes, so he could get somewhere to buy more.
Buy. How the hell would he buy anything. His money was sitting in Gringotts, untouchable because he was more than likely already considered dead to the Britain Wizarding World. He definitely wouldn't let Katherine pay for any of it; she shouldn't have to.
Severus sighed, shaking his head as he made his way down into the damp basement, making him realize how naked he truly was. He paid little attention to the rooms around him as strode to the last door and opened it up to reveal a dark room.
He silently cursed himself for leaving his wand in the bathroom upside, but quickly gathered himself. Wandlessly and silently he thought 'Lumos' and was rewarded with a faint, but steady light that filled the room.
Hundreds, upon hundreds of glass jars lined the walls; glistening in the faint light. They seemed to be sorted by fruits, vegetable, grains and what looked like, even some pickled meats.
Severus decided to start with the canned fruit, pulling a jar of peaches from the second highest shelf. To his pleasure, he noted that Katherine had organized each section alphabetically, which allowed him to find a few more items before heading back up to the main floor.
Katherine's eyes were still closed upon his return to the bedroom. Severus had managed to find plates and forks from the kitchen, and brought them all, with the food to the bed. He placed the items on the nightstand beside her, and began opening the first jar when a soft tapping noise stopped him in his tracks. It was coming from the French doors that led to the deck.
"That's probably Hermes," Katherine muttered into her pillow. "Could you let him in Sev."
"Hermes?"
"My owl," she murmured. Severus strode to the doors, but not before quickly transfiguring a towel from the bathroom, into a robe. Once tied securely around his waist, Severus threw open the doors, expecting to see an owl fly into the room, but unfortunately it was not an owl.
Severus ducked just in time, as a large, gold and crimson bird flew into the bedroom, just missing his head. The bird floated into the room, singing a heartfelt song as it landed on the headboard just above Katherine.
"A phoenix?" Severus muttered in disbelief. "Katherine is that...?" He stopped, watching Katherine raise her head towards the headboard and opened her eyes. A soft smile played on her lips, and slowly she reached out to stroke the bird's plumage.
"Hello Fawkes," Katherine whispered to the phoenix. "Glad to see that you got here in one piece."
"Fawkes?" Severus' eyes widened at the bird. "How...?" He stuttered, watching the interaction between the witch and the phoenix.
"Before Uncle Albus' death," Katherine said, slowly turning to face Severus once again. "He instructed Fawkes to come here after his death. After his death, Fawkes belonged to me." Severus watched her silently, as she waved a hand to the phoenix. The bird took flight again, and soared out of the French doors, out into the morning sun.
"Come Severus," Katherine said, patting the spot on the bed beside her. "Let's eat and talk. I can see it in your eyes that you have many questions to ask."
After a short while, the four canned foods had been consumed, and Severus and Katherine were leaning against each other, sitting up against the headboard. They had eaten in silence, allowing Severus to gather his thoughts. So many questions were running through his head, but he wanted to know the important ones first.
"Well," Katherine said, shifting her body so she could look up at him. "What would you like to know?"
"There are many things," Severus sighed, running a hand through his hair. "But why don't we start with an obvious one."
"Which would be?"
"Our son," Severus said, looking down at the blonde, who was leaning into him. "When and how did that happen?"
"The night after the attack on Edgar Bones' family," Katherine said. "If you remember, I was hurt pretty bad, and you took me back to the house and healed me. After I woke, we...we joined. I took the contraceptive potion in the morning, but the potion you gave me to heal me counteracted it.
"I found out I was pregnant with Septimus a week before my fake capture," she continued, watching Severus' face closely. "I was so scared, that I went to Uncle Albus right away. There are some days that I wish I wouldn't have, but I can't erase the past." Katherine went silent, waiting for Severus' next question.
"What's the boy full name?" Severus asked quickly, while his mind still sorted through different questions.
"Septimus Severus Prince."
"Prince?" Severus raised an eyebrow at her. "Why the bloody hell would you use my mother's maiden name for the boy?"
"It's just not Septimus' surname," Katherine pause. "It's mine as well. And yours."
"Mine?"
"Here, you are known as Severus Prince...my husband," she said. "I chose your mother's maiden name because the blood that flows through our son is one quarter Prince blood. If anyone was to question the name, we could have a parentage chart to follow from."
"So here, in the states you are Katherine Prince?" Severus asked, as Katherine nodded in reply. "When his birthday?"
"Well...his due date was May 8th," Katherine smirked. "But he came a few days early...he was born on the second of May in nineteen eighty-two."
"You're telling me his birthday was yesterday?" Severus' eyes widened again. "That means he's..."
"Sixteen," Katherine said, finishing his sentence. "He turned sixteen yesterday."
"Where has he been staying since you left?"
"With Christoph and Elisa Fuerst," Katherine said, leaning back into Severus' person. "Christoph is my unspeakable from the Department of Wizarding Relocation, while Elisa is my healer and midwife. They're also Septimus' godparents and my two closest friends here. They have three children; Helena is Septimus' age, only a few months younger than him; Heinrich, or Henry as we call him, would be a third year now, and then there's Johan Nicklaus, or Nick, who is a first year right now."
"When did Septimus and Helena start dating?" Severus asked suddenly. He remembered the dream that he had last summer, of the small boy and girl sitting on a pier and a quick kiss from the boy on the girl's cheek.
"They're not dating Sev," Katherine chuckled. "I've always suspected they would one day, but they aren't yet."
"Then what about the kiss?"
"What kiss?"
"The one on the pier," Severus said, as Katherine sat up fully to look at him. "The one I saw in the dream..."
"Dream?"
"Last summer, I had a dream about a young boy that looked like Septimus," Severus sighed, knowing he had been caught about the dreams he had had. "He was sitting on a pier with a girl that looked just like Helena. It was sunset, and he quickly turned and placed a small kiss on her cheek."
"Oh that...they were only eight when that...," Katherine stopped in midsentence, to look at him oddly. "That wasn't in my pensieve. How do you know about that?"
"Like I said," Severus frowned. "I had a dream about it. But it was like I was looking through someone else."
"Merlin's beard," she sighed, rubbing her forehead. "Albus' was right. I let my guard down while I was sleeping. It could have blown everything. You were seeing my memories while I slept."
"Well," Severus sighed, pulling Katherine back to him. "At least it was your memories I was seeing and I wasn't having some sort of Sybill prophecy."
"Severus," Katherine laughed. "You are no great seer. Then again, Sybill isn't really the greatest seer either."
"True," Severus chuckled. "But she did have at least three of them right."
The two continued their question and answer conversation well into the afternoon. The questions ranging from Septimus' schooling and Quidditch matches, to Katherine's time in the states to the day she first arrived back at Hogwarts.
It was close to eight in the evening before they had finished, and after a quick spot of dinner from the pantry once again. Severus made his way to the bathroom to have a quick shower before bed, while Katherine retreated to the kitchen to put away their dishes.
Severus stood under the hot water, let it wash over his body, relaxing his muscles even further. He stood there thinking about everything Katherine had told him, especially about the boy.
He had to admit to himself that he was looking forward to meeting his son. He felt proud that the boy was a good student and talented in potions just like the both of them. Of course the boy took after Katherine on the flying front, which actually relieved him to no end.
But the question that floated through his mind was the next child. He had yet to meet his first, but there was already another on the way. Silently he promised himself to be a better father than his old man ever was. He would be there not only for his son and future child, but Katherine as well. Severus closed his eyes, letting the water sooth him further.
But a sudden scream jerked him out of his thoughts. Quickly Severus jumped out of the shower, not even bothering to turn it off, and grabbed his wand from the bathroom counter. He bolted out of the bathroom, dripping wet and completely naked, but his thoughts were only on Katherine and why she had screamed.
He sprinted across the living room towards the kitchen, only to stop with wide eyes and raised wand at the sight before him.
a/n: First off, sorry about not posting this sooner, but my real job is keeping me busy with Christmas coming and all.
Second, yup, a cliffhanger. Wondering why Katherine screamed? You'll find out in chapter 3, which will be posted sometime next week.
Third, thank you to all of those who have been adding this story to their favs and/or alerts already! It makes me feel hopeful about this story :)
And finally, a big thank you to RequiemWolfenstein87, Edwardswife1988, grumpirah, Mira SeverusSirius Black-Snape, LemonDropsWoolSocks, sandradee27, Laurette94, ShadowDust74, ireyick and Accio SS for their wonderful reviews!
