Family Portrait

Remus was made to pause mid-step when, through one of Hogwarts floor-to-ceiling windows, he saw a small procession of children walking away from the castle. He took in their varying sizes, there was a taller blonde one at the start of the line followed by progressively smaller children until they sprung back up in height about halfway through. Then they were nearly the same height until the last, an auburn-haired boy, who was even taller than the blonde at the front.

He continued to watch the procession in fascination as they disappeared out of sight. Who were they? Where were they going? It was a Thursday morning and ought to be too early for students to be disappearing off into the grounds. Absently, Remus considered going back to the Great Hall to ask his fellow professors if they had any ideas.

"Don't frown so," said a warm, feminine voice. "The older ones will be back in time for class."

He turned his head and relaxed when he saw it was his colleague, Charity Burbage. "Ah, Charity," he greeted.

She nodded, eyes sparkling with amusement at having startled him. "How do you do this morning, Remus?"

"Well enough," he answered. Remus paused before he asked, "And you?"

"I am optimistic about the day," she replied after a pause.

"Good," he murmured, bobbing his head. "Good." He returned his attention to the window, a thread of anxiety knotting in his stomach. Children, even a group of them, shouldn't be wandering so far from the view of Hogwarts. "You say they'll be back? Where have they gone?" he questioned.

"Those were the Snape girls and Bones children," explained Charity. Quieter, she told Remus, "They went to see Lottie Snape's grave."

"I see," he said. He glanced back at the window, mind's eye picturing the earlier procession. "I take it today is the anniversary of her death?" he asked. Why else would they have gone to visit the girl's grave?

Remus thought back. He remembered Lottie Snape's passing a little. It had not been small news when she died a few years ago. She was the first child to meet their end on Hogwarts grounds since Myrtle. At the time, Remus had even felt a little sorry for Severus. He could only begin to imagine what it was like to lose a child so young and hoped for Lottie's sake her death had been quick.

Charity nodded, her lips pulling downward in sadness. "It is," she replied in a murmur.

Remus considered the witch. "You didn't know her, did you?" he asked.

She shook her head and sighed. "No, she died the year before I began teaching," admitted Charity.

"Oh," replied Remus. He wondered if it was the air of the other professors that had affected her. Or perhaps she knew a bit about the girl and her unfortunate accident. Carefully, Remus pressed, "I don't suppose you've heard too much about her?"

"Not really," replied Charity. "Just a story here and there. It seems she was a doer, not a thinker," she explained. Covering her mouth, Charity snorted. "She must have driven Severus barmy."

Remus gave the witch a half-smile. "Yes," he agreed. "She must have."

The little Charity had to offer made Remus imagine the girl. The witch was right the girl must have exasperated Severus regularly. He was a methodical man and probably found his daughter's behavior to be perplexing on a good day. His levity began to drip away as he wondered if it wasn't that very trait that caused her death. Did Severus and his wife blame themselves for their daughter's passing? Did they wonder if they encouraged her more to look before she leaped would she be alive?

Remus tossed that thought away as soon as he finished it. No, the Snapes didn't think that. Or they shouldn't at least. If Lottie had been even a little like Severus and her aunt, that child was probably obstinate to a fault. She probably would have found herself in that accident no matter how much she was scolded, cajoled, and punished to act with more consideration.

What happened was an unfortunate tragedy and nothing else.

"It's sweet they all go together to see her, don't you think?" asked Charity, her pink, bowed lips shaping themselves into a small smile.

He nodded. "It is," he replied. Remus meant it too. He knew children weren't always good at being so organized. A thought came to him. "What about Severus and his wife?" he questioned. "Do they visit on their own? Or do the girls visit again with them later?"

Charity cast her attention back to the view outside the window. "No," she answered. "I believe they have their own way of remembering their daughter's passing."

Remus hesitated. Did he ask? He didn't want to seem nosey. "You don't say?" he said in the end, hoping it would encourage Charity to elaborate, but also accepting it might not.

Thankfully, his reply encouraged the response Remus was after. Charity returned her gaze to Remus and told him, "I'm not sure what that is, but I reckon you haven't seen Edie once in the last week or so, have you?"

"Erh, no," he answered. He hadn't seen Edie much even before that. Remus suspected she avoided where he might be most of the time. Probably because Severus told her everything about him. It was insulting, but Remus supposed he couldn't blame the witch. Too many in their world had been raised to be terrified of werewolves and it wasn't an easy fear to let go of. And if she was one of the few not scared of his beast, she probably thought it easier to appease Severus by keeping herself and her youngest daughter away from Remus.

She nodded. "The past few years, I've noticed I don't see her around this time of the year. Severus? Of course. The girls? Yes. Even little Calliope still goes about with Darla and Severus." A dewiness coming to her eyes, Charity said, "I think poor Edie must be in so much pain during this time she can't bear to go on like normal. She won't start being a regular part of the castle again for another week or so."

"Ah," said Remus, feeling bad for the witch. He supposed he understood in a way. His parents both got emotional around the anniversary of his turning. Edie likely laid around her family's quarters crying and ruminating about her daughter. "Poor witch," he murmured.

Charity agreed, "Yes. I hope to God I never have to experience what she has." She sighed. "Severus seems to handle it a little better, he carries on like normal even during this anniversary, but, well…"

Remus found himself making an expression between a wince and a smile. "I've noticed he's been rather sour-faced these last few days and students complain in my class he's being snappier than usual."

She chuckled only to cover her mouth. "Sorry," she apologized. "It's not amusing, but that is exactly it. Severus is downright ornery this time of the year and so help you if you do something to upset him. He's not going to measure his words with near the care he does typically."

Remus snorted. "Typically?"

Charity's hand fell and there was an amused grin on her face. "Perhaps not with us, but he does show a little more restraint with the children."

He nodded. Yes, Severus did seem a touch more choosey with his words when it came to the students. That surprised him when Remus first came to Hogwarts. He'd hoped Severus would have grown out of his prickliness, but not held his breath. At first, after their initial encounter, he'd dashed his hopes. However, he later saw him with students and realized he had improved. Just not for the likes of colleagues. Remus was both impressed and unimpressed.

"I think he prefers visiting where she passed."

Remus blinked. Then, he furrowed his brows. He had never felt compelled to visit the places of his mates' untimely demises on the anniversaries of their deaths. Perhaps there was a reason Severus did, however. "Was he the one to find her?" he asked in a bid to understand. Maybe he'd held her as she passed. The details had been sparse in the papers.

Charity shook her head. "Thank God, no," she replied. "Darla was the one there with Lottie when she died. The first person she found on her way for help was Argus. I believe he went and waited with Lottie's body while Darla got Poppy."

Remus absorbed this with a small frown. "Darla witnessed the death?"

"It was kept out of the papers," explained Charity as she wrapped her arms around herself. "I believe they did it to protect her. Darla was in enough pain, she didn't need people badgering and questioning her about what happened on top of her grief."

Remus fell into silence as he worked to recall the stories back from the time of Lottie's passing. She'd died in an accident. What kind of accident had it been? Remus began to worry the inside of his cheek, thinking he would have to ask Charity to remind him when it came to Remus.

Lottie had died in a broom flying accident.

Remus winced. How terrible. He hoped she had fallen in such a way her death had been fast and she had not suffered long. As much Remus did not like Darla after almost a whole year of being scowled at by the teenager as he taught her, he felt sorry for her. To have been there…

He turned and looked at Charity, feeling utterly incredulous. "I know grief does strange things to a person, but what comfort can Severus draw from visiting that spot?"

Charity, arms still wrapped around herself, shrugged and turned a distant gaze on the grounds outside. "Who's to say he goes there for solace?" she said. "Maybe he finds it easier to grieve where she died. None of the girls or Edie go anywhere near that part of the grounds these days." Charity's gaze returned to Remus, sadness shining in her eyes. "A man like Severus isn't going to break in front of his family. He thinks he has to be strong for them. When he needs to fall apart, I imagine he goes to a place where he knows he will be alone and they won't see."

Remus swallowed. "I think you could be right," he replied. Remus was impressed. Charity had been an astute girl during their schooldays and the years appeared to have only honed her understanding of people. Folding his hands behind his back, Remus stepped away from the window and Charity.

Offering her one last smile, he said, "Thank you for informing me of today's anniversary. I teach Esther later today and will make sure to be sensitive to her mood."

"You're welcome," Charity replied, watching him go with warm, understanding eyes.

How do like the way I found to include Lottie in this story? Only one more Snape left after this!

Thank you for reading