They Didn't Know We Were Seeds
Severus doesn't have a chance to talk things through with his grandfather before the holidays are upon them. To no fault of the old man's this time. Severus avoids him. He doesn't look his way during Defense classes, watches his every move to make sure not a single detention can be assigned to him, and the one time the man tries to ask him to stay after, he purposefully downs a bottle of ink to make himself ill. He's quite sure his grandfather caught onto that, though. His half-digested lunch was coated in black.
After that incident, however, Demitri lets him be (which is all Severus wants right now). Yet even if he's not bothering him, he obviously did not let what little was said between them be forgotten. A short time after the disaster of a meeting with his grandfather he receives his first letter from Mum in months. And it's a real letter, full of fluff about this and that going on in the world outside the stone walls of Hogwarts, a snippet or two about Aunt Vesta, a mention of some preparations that Boyd has come by the Montague manor to make for his wedding. It ends with a short series of questions for him and a final note on how "someone" reminded her she might like to write her son more now that it's an option and she's very sorry if she gave him the impression that she doesn't care about him.
Severus senses a bit of passive-aggressiveness in the last bit, but he lets it go in favor of just marveling over a whole parchment sheet of his mother's writing. There's not a single mention of Dad in it. Severus thinks he'll keep this one tucked away in the hidden compartment of his trunk. He chances a look in the old man's direction. His gaze is passive and focused on the cup of tea sitting in front of him. All the same, Severus is sure Demitiri knows. To thank him, he makes a show of folding up the letter and tucking it away in the inside pocket of his robe, and, then, he smiles.
He can't be certain, but he thinks the old man's lips lifted with the smallest of grins.
-o-O-o-
A few days later Lily and Severus are on the Express waiting for it to take off for London. In a few hours, they will be separated. Lily will be going home with the Evans to Cokeworth and Severus to the Montague Manor with Sage and their mothers. Lily swings her feet as Severus thumbs through a text on magical reptiles. There's not much on basilisks. students Severus can safely say he appreciates the quiet. Even if it's only for the moment.
As they were boarding the Express fifteen minutes ago, a pig-tail wearing Ravenclaw firstie approached, Severus, Lily, and Sage. She asked if Sage wouldn't mind helping her find her rat – which had escaped the cage clutched against her round stomach. Sage, far too polite for his own good when it came to girls, had agreed. The girl never requested Severus or Lily's help. So, with a shared look of knowing amusement, they left the two to find the firstie's rat, Pippi.
Once Sage remembered the incantation for the locator spell, he'd come find their compartment and join them. Perhaps the girl would join them even, depending on deeply she fancied Sage, anyway.
Unfortunately for Severus, Lily's tolerance for silence is much smaller than his own. Eyes still on the world outside, she asks, "Is your grandfather going to be at Boyd's wedding?"
Suspicious of the question, Severus bends down the corner of the page he's on in his book and puts it aside. "Yes," he answers. "Or at least Aunt Vesta has made it sound like he is."
She turns to look at him. "Will you talk to him there?"
"…About what?" he returns, not entirely sure he knows what she's on about or if he likes it.
Lily shrugs. "Your mum? At the very least you should thank him for getting her to finally write you a half-way decent letter."
Severus relaxes slightly. "Do you think so?" he asks. "It's been a bit since I got her letter."
"Better late than never, I reckon!" she replies with a smile.
Severus falls quiet for a moment. "Perhaps," finally he says.
Before anymore can be said on the topic, the door to the compartment slides open. An uneasy looking Sage steps in. "'Lo," he greets. Glancing back, he asks, "Is it alright if Phyllis sits with us?"
Lily nods. "Yes, of course!" Jumping to her feet, she goes to greet the girl (not quite) hiding behind Sage. "Lily Evans, nice to meet you!"
Juggling her now occupied rat-cage into the crook of her elbow, the girl offers a crooked smile and takes Lily's offered hand. "Phyllis Tuft! The pleasure is all mine!"
Severus recognizes the name. Or her surname to be more specific. He's quite sure her grandmother was the Minister of Magic at one point. A well respected one at that. Scratching a little deeper into his wealth of knowledge he begins to believe her father, or maybe her uncle, was also a Minister for a time. Whoever followed after her grandmother, Severus is sure they were kicked out after they tried to start some kind of controversial program. What Phyllis's future holds, Severus doesn't know. Whatever it was, he's certain she never got tied up in either side of the war.
He looks at Sage and quirks an eyebrow.
The boy sheepishly mouths back, "Couldn't shake her."
Severus rolls his eyes. "Of course not," he wants to say. If Sage has any virtues, it's he's not an arsehole to girls. Especially ones younger than himself. Or, at least, he isn't most of the time. But it also comes with the vice of being a doormat. The boy couldn't say no even if you threatened to kick him in the bloody nads should he say yes. So, instead, Severus opts for picking up his book and ordering, "Come take a seat next to me, Sage."
Phyllis Tuft's smile slips into a pout the moment Sage leaves her side to join Severus. Silently, he thinks to himself, 'This is going to be a long train ride.'
-O-
His mother's not there when they reach the station. Aunt Vesta is. Boyd too, despite having a wedding in less than a week from now. Severus says a quick goodbye to Lily and waves at the Evans before he and Sage join the older Montagues. The pair stares at him with pitying eyes and say, "Your mother has fallen ill."
Severus looks between them. "With what?" he finally asks.
"We don't know," Aunt Vesta finally answers. "I took her to St. Mungo's early this morning."
He frowns. "When did she become ill?"
Boyd looks at his mother. Aunt Vesta's gaze turns distant as she focuses her attention on the families reuniting for hols around them. Severus can't help but think they must be the most unhappy of all of the families gathered. Idly, he wonders if the Montagues were a happier family in his last lifetime without him and his mother sullying everything.
He glances to Sage. Sage smiles tentatively at him. "It'll be okay, Sev," he whispers.
Severus nods. Perhaps they had been. Or perhaps they'd been just as miserable. There's no way he can change anything now and it's best he just focus on making sure all of the Montagues reach the future alive and healthy.
"Shortly before she went to bed," Aunt Vesta finally says, "but after your grandfather visited."
All of the air leaves his lungs. "What?" he croaks.
"Your grandfather. Surely he's mentioned visiting your mother?" Aunt Vesta prompts, a worried furrow coming between her brows. "He's been by several times this month."
Severus immediately inflicts upon himself the blame. If he'd just talked to the man, he would know. But he didn't. Now, he looks like a fool and knows nothing about what is going on between them. Quietly, he fibs, "Demitri didn't mention visiting Mum."
Aunt Vesta begins to cluck. "You poor dear. Do you want to visit her right now?" She wraps an arm around his shoulders and brings him flush against her side. He immediately wants to pull away, the smell of her powdery perfume overwhelming Severus. But she only holds tighter when he tries to. "Boyd and Sage can take your things back to the manor for you," the Montague woman tells him.
Reluctantly, he agrees. "Yes, I'd like that." Perhaps he can talk to his mother while he's there. Maybe, if he's lucky and she's not in too foul a mood, she will be willing to share with him what it is that brought his grandfather to her for in-person conversations. Severus has a sinking feeling it's not about him.
-O-
When they arrive at St. Mungo's, Aunt Vesta leads him at a brisk down the white corridors to his mother's room. Nervously, she babbles, "I had to call Boyd to speak to the healer, but I managed to impress upon him how important it is your mother have a room all to herself."
"Thank you," Severus says absently as they pass an old healer in her lurid lime robes reading the day's Daily Prophet. "She does like her privacy."
Aunt Vesta chuckles. "Perhaps a bit too much. She's put wards on her room to keep poor Topper out! He was beside himself when he realized it was impossible for him to go in and clean! I had to stop the poor thing from beating his legs with my good serving spoon."
Severus frowns. "When did she do this?"
"Late September? After you went boys went back to Hogwarts, anyway," replies Aunt Vesta.
His unease only grows. He's sure his mother was trying to negate the possibility of anyone finding her notes on his father's murderer. If she put wards on her room… What is she plotting? How sadistic is the revenge she has planned that she fears a House Elf will sell her out?
"Ah! Here's her room," the Montague woman exclaims, stopping abruptly in front of a closed door. She walks up and gives the wood a firm knock. There's no muffled answer. Frowning, Aunt Vesta knocks again and then tries for the doorknob. It opens. Poking her head in, she calls, "Eileen?" She sighs. "Wait here, Severus," she tells him before slipping into the room.
Severus, of course, does not. He pushes the door open all of the way and stands on the threshold. He watches Aunt Vesta go to the lone bed where his pale mother is stretched out. She gives Mum a small shake. Mum does not so much as twitch. "Eileen, wake up!" the Montague woman pleads.
Mum doesn't.
Quietly, Severus steps back. Looking down the corridor to the right, he sees no one. When he looks to the left, he, thankfully, spies the healer from earlier. He waves a hand and shouts, "We need help down here!"
The healer hurries toward them. Stopping beside Severus, he gets to stumble back and away from her bug-eyed stare. "What is the problem here?"
"My mum won't wake up," he informs her, pointing into the room where Aunt Vesta shakes Mum desperately now. She's begging brokenly for the younger to "just open her eyes".
The woman sucks in a breath. "Damn," the healer mutters before hurrying into the room and ordering Aunt Vesta to back off. A few moments later, the healer uses a spell to call for another healer. That one, a stout, pig-faced blond, pushes them out of the room and says, "Go sit in the waiting room. We'll inform you if there are any changes or when we know anything."
Severus is not the only one displeased by the man's briskness. Even so, after they share an annoyed look, Aunt Vesta and he go to the waiting room. There, in two metal, uncomfortable chairs, they wait.
Twenty minutes later the bug-eyed healer that Severus called to for help appears. Her white hair is a frazzled mess and she approaches, feet scuffing the marbled floors of St. Mungo's waiting room quietly. "Hello," she starts. "Mrs. Montague? And… Mr. Montague?"
"Snape," Severus corrects.
The healer blinks. "Snape," she repeats. She's quiet for a moment. Then, with a tired exhale, she tells them, "Mrs. Snape is currently stable. But… She appears to have fallen into a coma."
"Why?" Aunt Vesta demands. "She was just fine when I left her this morning. A little tired, but she was awake and talking to myself and my son!"
"We are currently running a number of tests to answer that very question," the healer explains. "I'm very sorry I have nothing more to offer you at this time. The moment we do, I promise someone will come speak to you."
Face red and angry, the Montague woman gets to her feet. "You can contact us at my home," she spits at the healer. "My cousin has had a long day already after his trip home from Hogwarts. He doesn't need to wait in these uncomfortable chairs for hours while you give us no answer!"
"Aunt Vesta–" Severus tries to break in. He doesn't mind waiting here, actually. In fact, he would prefer it.
The woman throws up a hand. "Hush, Severus!"
He rolls his eyes and settles in to watch her continue her tirade. Once she's calmed down they can probably have a rational conversation about him staying at St. Mungo's while she goes home to Montague Manor.
Thoughts? What did you like best this chapter? Have any criticism for any of the scenes? Or the characters?
For anyone interested, I have a sequel called Cross-Pollination posted for TDKWWS! Of course, it contains some spoilers for TDKWWS, so, if you're one those people who don't like stories spoiled (even if it's just a little) don't read it! But I uploaded it as it's set so far off in the future and what is revealed is so minor that it really gives nothing away about TDKWWS's plot that you can't already figure out. Also, I'm one of those people who likes spoilers. So, for those after my own heart in that regard, I uploaded for you :)
Thank you a million for reading!