They Didn't Know We Were Seeds
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Severus and Aunt Vesta are not able to convince his mother that moving to Scotland is a poor idea. With a stubborn frown that Severus knows he wears just as often as his mother, she perseveres. By July's end, the house has been thoroughly cleaned, repainted, and new appliance placed in the kitchen and secondhand furniture from Demitri fills the cottage. All that it is missing is the flattie she promised she would get.
But it won't be for much longer, the Fawcetts, who breed the dog, had a litter mid-June that will be ready to go to homes in another week. Severus is quite relieved it won't be just himself and his mother in the tiny house for too long. A dog really isn't much of a buffer, but they need walks and time outside, don't they? If the house ever begins to feel cramped or suffocating, he can just take the flattie pup out and breathe in the Scottish countryside. There, out in the green grazing pastures and among barley, he can remind himself his return to Hogwarts is not far away at all.
In spite of all of the ways Severus tries to soothe himself, promise himself it won't be so terrible living alone with his mother, he can't squash the gnawing, stomach-churning fear that this will not be okay. The worry everything will go back to what it was like before he removed his mother's memories. Perhaps she'll find another unhealthy fixation and drive herself mad on that. Maybe without Aunt Vesta around to pester her about her comings and goings, the people she sees and talks with, she'll keep everything going on in her life to herself and he'll come home for winter hols to find that she's found a new man who's just as abusive as his dad to shack up with.
Severus quakes at the thought. He drops the quill he is trying to write with on the desk and buries his face in his hands. Merlin, he can't think like this. His mother is getting better. She won't do something so stupid. Severus is pulled abruptly from his doubts when a knock sounds at his bedroom door.
"Come in," he calls from behind his hands.
In steps Sage, his pale face somber and flinty eyes assessing. "Are you really going to move with your mum tomorrow?"
He looks up at his brother, furrowing his brows with incredulity. "Yes," he answers, "what choice do I have?"
Sage's expression turns into one of frustration. "You always have a choice. If you don't want to move, you don't have to."
"Sure," he replies. "But you know just as well as I how that will go over."
The teenager falters a moment. Then, hesitantly, he asks, "I could tell her for you if you don't want to move?"
"No, don't," he tells Sage. "I do want to move with Mum. Really." He looks away. "I just… I'm worried." Quieter, to himself, he murmurs, "So very worried."
He jolts when he feels his brother's hand settle on his shoulder. "Maybe I could come stay with you and Aunt Eileen for a few days?" Gaze searching, he inquires, "Do you think that will help you? To not be alone with her so soon?"
Severus should be able to handle this on his own. He's a man, even if he looks like a half-grown child. He's gone through so much worse alone than this, yet… He brings a hand up to grip Sage's with his own. "Mum did mention my bed is a trundle."
Sage grins, all tension melting away from his contours. Severus returns the smile with a small upturn of his own lips. Briefly, he wonders if Sage has been just as fearful of what life alone with his mother will be like as Severus has with been with his. Perhaps Sage is asking just as much for himself as he is for Severus if he really needs to move.
If so, he can't find it in himself to be upset. He's terribly fond of his brother these days. He's been having trouble imagining life without Sage so close to him too.
-o-O-o-
With Sage there to keep him company, his first week at the cottage goes very well. They spend a lot of time playing chess and cards in the little drawing-room and when his mother tires of listening to their games from where she reads and writes in the kitchen between meals and errands, she shoos them outside to explore. There's really not much in the way of hidden gems to find outside, but the fields around the home are big and Severus's mother promises it won't be long at all before a concealment charm and Muggle-repellent expert is by to strengthen the old spells on the cottage and set up new ones so he and Sage can start flying brooms around their new home.
Severus wonders why she didn't have it done beforehand, but then it seems a number of little things slipped his mother's mind as she was preparing their home. Things like curtains for the windows, a food dish for the dog they will soon have, updating their address with the Ministry so official mail will come to them at the cottage, rather than at Aunt Vesta's. He does his best not to think too hard about these things. They're easy enough tasks to fall through the cracks in a move and it's not a sign of anything more nefarious (even so, his fingers itch to write his grandfather, ask if he's noticed changes in the letters he knows they exchange).
When it comes time to retrieve their new puppy Severus asks his mother beforehand if he may invite others by in a couple of days to meet the pup once it's settled in. His mother smiles at him and brings a hand up to push his hair out of his face. "That's a lovely idea. We can have your aunt, grandfather, Boyd, and his wife come by too."
He does want Aunt Vesta and Boyd to meet the puppy, but he has reservations about everyone coming all at once. "If I invite Lily, they might not want to come," he reminds her.
She purses her lips at his remark and says, "They will if they know what is good for them."
The words make Severus terribly uneasy. A new rift between his mother and her family is the last thing he wants – especially not over something as silly as having a friend by the cottage to meet their new dog. "Please, Mum," he begs, "if they don't want to come, don't make them. It's fine if they'd rather come on another day."
"It's not," the woman rebukes. "But that's not something you should be fretting about. I'm the parent, not you. I will handle it."
Severus bites his tongue almost hard enough to bleed and sends a silent prayer to whoever may be listening for this not to be the start of a second estrangement between his mother and her family.
-o-O-o-
Much to his surprise, his mother does manage to convince the Montagues (except for Violet, who has a previous engagement with her mother and sister-in-law) and Demitri to come and meet Severus and his mother's new flattie, Ichabod, at the same time as his guests. In spite of having a fair idea of who will and who will not come even before he sends off his invitations, Severus is surprised by who all shows up. Like he expected, it's just Sirius who makes an appearance from the Black family, as Regulus is grounded for sneaking Severus into his cousin's reception. Soon after his entrance, both Lily and Petunia come with James tagging along so he can spend the afternoon with 'Tuney and Sirius, by extension of him being there too.
For a time after that, Severus, Sirius, the Evans girls, James, and Sage play Exploding Snaps beneath one of the yard's bigger shade-trees. As they are finishing their third round, his mother calls for him to come greet his latest guests with her.
"Should we wait for you to come back?" Sage asks as he gets up.
He shakes his head. "No, play without me. You can take over for me until I get back."
His brother nods his head and goes on to add Severus's cards with his own while Severus joins his mother in the cottage to say hello to their latest guests. He is initially confused when he sees the Jones family; as Mr. Jones is holding an unfamiliar baby in his arms. Surely one of the girls would have mentioned the baby before if it is a sibling? Before he can even start to ask, however, Mrs. Jones is quick to apologize for the addition; explaining the infant, who appears to be not quite a year old, is Mr. Jones niece, Gwenog. Her mother took unexpectedly ill in the morning and she and the baby's father are at St. Mungo's for the day.
Severus's mother smiles politely and tells them, "It's quite alright, everything can't always go according to plan. Here, why don't you and your husband come sit outside with my cousin, Vesta. You know her, yes? I'm sure she'll be happy to catch up while I get you two tea."
Mr. and Mrs. Jones relax at the reassurance and gratefully take Severus's mother up on her offer as Gwendolyn and Hestia run off to meet Ichabod. He goes to join the girls for a time, showing them how to pet the puppy kindly and Ichabod's favorite pastime, fetch. Hardly before Severus finishes throwing the stick a second time for Ichabod, his mother comes out of their home with a trio of little girls crowded behind her.
He furrows his brows a moment, wondering who they are, when Scabior comes trailing out after the group, frowning at a little boy he's holding hands with. When he sees Severus's less than welcoming gaze, he ducks his head. Before Severus can do anything, Ichabod is nuzzling his knee, the stick he went to fetch between his milk teeth.
Severus pries it out of the pup's mouth and hands it to Gwendolyn. "Why don't you throw it for him a bit, hm?"
The girl's ruddy face lights up. "Okay!"
With her, Hestia, and Ichabod occupied for the moment, Severus goes over to Scabior. "So?" he says in greeting and question.
The younger releases the hand of the little boy he's holding. The child darts off in the direction of the girls, whom his mother appears to be introducing to the Jones girls' parents, Aunt Vesta, Boyd, and his grandfather. "Sorry," Scabior says. "Mam said I couldn't come unless I found my own way 'ere and brought the others too. I would'a said something, but…"
"Afraid I'd change my mind about inviting you, if I knew you wanted to bring all of your siblings?" Severus looks at the girls and the boy Scabior brought. They look more or less like each other, but he never did clarify just how many siblings Scabior has before now. "They all are your sisters and brothers, aren't they?"
Scabior nods his head. "Yeah, thank Merlin Aunt Sally wasn't watching my cousin Liam's kid, or I would'a 'ad to bring 'im too. Romy can't stand being left outta anythin'!"
Severus shrugs. "I wouldn't have minded," he tells his friend. "Aunt Vesta let Mum borrow Topper today to help with preparations and I know he made more food than we needed."
The boy's body sags with relief. "Still, I'm sorry. I know I should'a asked first."
He waves off the apology. As his mother said to the Jones' family, everything can't always go according to plan. Severus is just relieved Scabior's at least contrite about his deception.
Scabior starts to look around, "Is this everyone?"
He smirks at his friend. "Not quite," he answers as he hears the floo flare to life with more company. "Come on inside, the last person's here." The boy's expression turns into one of befuddlement, but he follows Severus back into the cottage. There, at the hearth, stands Mei Wong, blinking owlishly at his home's kitchen.
"Mei!" Scabior exclaims, delight and shock intermingling in his breathy tone.
Severus lets the feeling of accomplishment warm him. He knew it would be a good idea to invite the girl. Scabior appeared to truly like Mei and enjoy her company towards the end of the school year. It also seemed pertinent to have a child a closer in age to Scabior around for him to talk to and play with when the rest of them began to get caught up in discussing upper-year matters and interests.
The girl's eyes snap to them, a shy smile starting at the corners of her lips. "Hi," she returns. "It's nice to see you two again."
"You as well," Severus replies as Scabior speeds over to the girl and grabs her hand.
Grinning at her, he tells Mei, "All my siblings are 'ere. You 'member 'ow I told you you'd like Mari? Well, you can meet 'er now instead of at 'Ogwarts!"
Mei lets herself be pulled along out of the cottage by the now exuberant Scabior, leaving Severus to shake his head at the two as he follows them out at a more sedate pace.
-O-
A while later, after everyone's begun to settle down and pair off or form small groups, Severus sits down beneath a tree and watches on as the Jones girls and a couple of Scabiors little sisters and brother chorus at the puppy, "Here, Ichabod! Here, boy!" Ichabod, who'd been sniffing at some tall grass, turns his head at the shouting. When he sees the group of young children crouched low with open arms, he gives something akin to a grin before bounding off into the direction of the girls and little boy. They shriek with joy as Ichabod takes a couple of them down into the grass and starts to slobber all over them.
A feeling of mirth tugging at his chest, he chuckles.
"Remember how we used to spend hours rolling around in the grass with my neighbor's dog?" asks Lily as she comes to sit next to him, two plates of Eton mess in hand.
Severus takes the plate that's offered to him. Picking up the fork, he takes a bite. "I do," he replies.
She grins at him. "Do you think we looked just as ridiculous?"
"Without a doubt," he answers, smiling back at her.
Lily scoots closer after that and lays her head on his shoulder to watch the little Scabiors and Jones play with Ichabod more comfortably. When Severus finishes his plate, he puts it down and rests his head atop Lily's. If there's any day of this summer he wants to remember forever he thinks it will be this one.
Here's a (mostly) happy chapter for you all :) How do you like it? Any criticism?
Thank you guys times a million for reading!
P.S. If you are a reader of my fic Saudade, I've uploaded a couple of new chapters over the last two weeks that you can check out :)