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, Justin, Kyle, Carlos, Mike, Nurse Canter, Headmaster Mickels, Hunfrith, Olwen, Huffie, Sorsek, Bilik, Fossum, Lars and Sven) are entirely my own.
Chapter 10: Father & Son
The sudden anger towards his son unnerved Severus greatly. It was the same anger he had felt towards Draco just last year, when the boy had the nerve to tell off his godmother several times.
But this was different. Katherine did not burst into tears over her godson, like she did now. She had snarled back at Draco in return, even though deep down, it probably broke her heart to do so. Severus watched as his wife sat down heavily on the pier's bench; a hand covered her mouth in disbelief, as the tears still flowed freely from her ice blue eyes.
"I expected him to be angry..." Katherine whispered through her soft sobs. "But not like this. He's never lashed out like this before..." But that was all she could get out, before a heavier sob wracked her body.
"Katherine," Severus said softly, as he moved in front of her. "Calm down, please, before you make yourself sick."
"But Sev..." Katherine sobbed again.
"Shh..." Severus whispered, as he knelt down in front of her. Gently, he took her hands in his, rubbing his thumbs over the backs of her hands. "Stay here. I'm going to go talk to him."
"But Sev..."
"Katherine," Severus interrupted her. "The boy needs to fully understand the past. He didn't give you time to fully explain why you did what you did.
"Take some deep breaths," Severus continued, as he rose and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. "I'll be back soon."
Leaving Katherine on the dock, Severus stormed his way up the pier and through the yard towards the green cottage. Thousands of thoughts ran through his mind, but one stuck out most of all. The boy said he had been lied to, but what Septimus didn't realize was that Katherine couldn't tell him the truth.
Severus stomped through the house and up the stairs that stood to the left of the stone fireplace in the living room. Katherine had shown him Septimus' room earlier that week. It was filled with Quidditch posters and banners, photos of him and his friends from school, and three bookcases filled to the brim with any type of book you could think of.
Severus stopped at his son's door, and rapped twice. But upon getting no response, he knocked again.
"Septimus!" Severus said in a low voice, but the boy still didn't respond.
"Fine," Severus said to himself. "If he won't respond to me, then we'll do it my way." Severus took out his wand, and pointed it towards the doorknob. "Alohomora." A faint click was heard from the door's lock, and Severus slowly reached out and opened the door.
The room was brightly lit, as sun poured in from the four panes bay window that overlooked the lake. That's were Severus found Septimus. He was sitting on the window seat, looking out towards the pier where his mother sat. Music, from the wireless, echoed softly through the room. Severus silently observed his son for a few moments before addressing him.
"Septimus," Severus said, taking a deep breath, trying to keep himself from exploding at the boy. "I want to talk to you."
"What if I don't want to talk to you," Septimus responded coldly. The younger wizard didn't even bother to look in Severus' direction.
"Then at least listen to what I have to say," Severus told him, as he sat down on Septimus' school trunk, that was at the foot of the boy's bed. "I know you said that your mother lied to you, but..."
"Well, she did," Septimus interrupted.
"But..." Severus snarled, but stopped himself from letting his anger rise and took another deep breath. "Septimus...your mother could not tell you the truth. If she would have, it would have..."
"Put me in danger," Septimus interrupted again. "I'd rather be in danger from knowing the truth about my parents, then have been lied to like I have my whole life."
"WILL YOU LET ME FINISH," Severus snapped, his anger rising again. Septimus' head snapped towards his father. His eyes wide at the older wizard's sudden outburst, and they only became wider as he watched Severus rise from the trunk and move to loom over him.
"YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOUR MOTHER WENT THROUGH TO KEEP YOU SAFE," Severus snarled. "IT'S NOT LIKE SHE..." But Severus lost his train of thought as his dark eyes focused on his sixteen old year son's. For something in the young wizard's eyes unnerved him even more.
Fear.
Panic.
Alertness.
The same look that Severus remembered on his own face and the face of his mother when they were the target of Tobias Snape's alcoholic, or even non-alcoholic, rage. Severus swallowed hard and closed his eyes; slowly taking a deep breath, once again, to calm himself.
It was what he feared too. Becoming just like his father; the man that he had hated so much in life, had seemed to come out of him at that moment of anger towards the son he had just officially met.
When he opened his eyes again, he saw Septimus still staring wide-eyed at him, but with less fear, and none of the panic. Slowly, he sat down on the next to the boy, on the opposite side of the window seat. His eyes lingered out the window, focusing on what he could see through the trees.
Katherine was still sitting on the pier, probably worrying about what might be happening in her son's bedroom at that very moment. Severus took one more deep and calming breath, before turning back to Septimus. The boy's eyes were no longer on him; instead they were looking out towards the lake once again, focusing on his mother.
"Septimus," Severus said quietly. "Do you know how an Unbreakable Vow works?"
"No," Septimus muttered. "We don't learn about that type of thing until our last year of NEWT Defense."
"An Unbreakable Vow is a magical incantation in which one wizard makes an oath to another," Severus began; feeling like he was teaching class all over again. "If the person who accepts the conditions of the vow breaks them...they die."
"What?" Septimus breathed, as his head snapped back towards his father. "But mom..."
"Made two, yes," Severus sighed. "The first one she made kept her from breaking the bonds of allegiance to Voldemort, but yet allowed her to spy on him, and only relay that information to her uncle. It also contained her to keep that vow until the ultimate destruction of Voldemort occured."
"Which was last Saturday," Septimus stated, still staring into his father's dark eyes.
"Yes," Severus nodded. "The second vow, however...dealt with you."
"Me?"
"Your mother's uncle found out about you as soon as she had," Severus said, looking intently into the boy's eyes. "The vow she took did not allow her to talk about her past. It sent her into hiding in order to protect herself...me...and most of all...you. She was not allowed to disclose to anyone, except Elisa and Christoph, of who she was, what she was, or where she was truly from. Then upon her Uncle's orders, she had to return to England when called."
"So that's why she lied to me," Septimus's eyes widened. "The truth would have really killed her."
"Every letter she sent to you over the last two years put not only herself at risk, but you as well," Severus continued. "Without your mother and what she has done over the course of this war, I don't know where I would be. I would have probably never known about you, or more than likely I would be dead." Severus stopped and turned to look back down at the blonde waiting on the pier.
"She loves you more than anything Septimus," Severus said quietly. "She's barely stopped talking about you over the last week. She wanted some much to write to you when we returned, but we decided that as long as you didn't know our true identities, we would wait to talk to you until you came home. She's so very proud of you."
The two dropped into silence, both watching the witch who was their wife and mother from the window above. The music still echoed softly through the bedroom; the trees from the outside world began casting shadows across the hardwood floor.
"Dad," Septimus whispered, causing Severus to turn back towards his son. "I'm sorry. I only heard what I wanted to hear, and didn't take in the full truth...I'm sorry."
"I'm sorry too," Severus said. "I'm sorry I missed the first sixteen years of your life, but I do plan on being around for the rest."
"So mom's really going to have a baby?"
"Yes she is," Severus stated, as he rose from the window seat. "She due around the third week of December."
"Do you know what it is yet?"
"No," Severus smirked. "We decided to wait until the child is born."
"Oh," Septimus said, looking back down at his mother. "Do you think she'll forgive me for my outburst before?"
"I think she will."
Katherine sat quietly on the pier; the lake was peaceful and tranquil, which helped to calm her distress. Her eyes were still red and slightly puffy, but no more tears were being shed. The pier creaked under the weight of two pairs of feet, which caused Katherine to turn towards the sound.
Septimus stood near the center of the dock, while Severus had remained behind on the shoreline. Katherine slowly rose from her seat, and fully turned to face her son.
"Mom," Septimus said quietly. "I'm sorry." Tears filled Katherine's eyes once again and she closed the distance between her son and herself.
"I'm sorry too," Katherine said as she embraced the boy tightly in her arms. "I love you."
"Love you too mom," Septimus whispered, holding her even closer.
"Sev?" Katherine's mind reached out to Severus, as she glanced up at her husband. "Thank you."
"You're welcome." Severus smirked slightly. "He's not the only one that loves you."
"I know," Katherine smiled at him. "I love you."
"I love you too."
a/n: Sorry about this being late again, but I lost another great-aunt this weekend and the visitation was last night, and the funeral was today. She had been suffering for the past four years with Alzheimer's and died peacefully on Saturday at the age of 94.
Chapter 11 should be posted some time around Saturday night, and hopefully things will calm down at work and in life, so that I can post by that day.
A big thanks to Mira Severus Sirius Black-Snape, Edwardswife1988, LemonDropsWoolSocks, RequiemWolfenstein87, tigerlili48, sandradee27, MRSSPICY, brandon279 and AccioSS for their wonderful reviews!
