I know it seems like an endless buildup, but I promise, things are going to get very interesting very soon. I just don't like to keep my readers waiting, and with the holidays, it's terribly busy around here. Thanks so much to all of the followers who are staying with me.
Harry barely registered Albus' "good night" as they entered the house. He pondered the conversation that he'd had with Draco before they'd gone shopping, and after the meal. Harry felt that Draco was making an attempt to share something personal, but he wasn't certain what. He heard the floo sounding and apparated up to his bedroom, casting a spell for privacy. After tossing in a pinch of powder, Ginny's head appeared in the flames.
"I've been trying to reach you," he said, settling on the floor in front of the hearth.
"I've been busy. It's the run up to the World Cup, you know."
"Right. I just thought, you'd make some time—"
"To do what, exactly, Harry?"
"I don't know Ginny—talk?" he sighed. "I don't want to fight with you, but we need to work things out and the sooner the better. After all, you and I aren't the only ones affected by this."
"Now you're thinking of the children?" Ginny shook her head. "Wow."
"Stop it, Ginny!" Harry snapped. "You're acting like Ron used to when he was in a strop!"
"I beg your pardon!"
"The fact of the matter is that Albus heard us that night, before you walked out. He knows about Gordon."
"He—I—what? You told him? Harry!"
"Are you listening to me? He heard us. He thinks you're never going to come here, and that we're splitting up."
"Fucking, Merlin, Harry! What did you say to him?"
"I told him the truth—"
"The truth? Which version? The truth according to Harry Potter?"
"I told him that he'd heard everything correctly. I confessed that I haven't been as attentive to the needs of the family as I should have been, and that whatever problems you and I are having; we will have to work through them. By the way, I received a ridiculously long text message from Hermione. She said you got splinched a few nights ago, and that you told her what happened. I'm guessing she hasn't told Ron, given that he hasn't made an unannounced portkey visit."
"I guess not, or Mum would have been right with him. She's still upset that I would let you and Albus go there on your own. I've received no less than five howlers demanding to know when I'm going to join you. One of them included a clipping from World Quidditch magazine, with a classified listing for a coach and instructor position at Ilvermorny." She scoffed. "Everyone wants me to give up my career! Me, teaching Quidditch and flying at my son's school?"
"Erm, actually, Albus isn't going to Ilvermorny," Harry confessed, scratching the back of his neck.
"What?" The flames grew taller, magnifying the size of Ginny's expression. "How could you allow him to drop out of school? Albus is only fifteen!"
"Ginny! I never said I'd allowed him to drop out of school. I said he isn't going to Ilvermorny. He said he wanted to enroll in a muggle school."
"But—"
"I'll still be teaching him the magic that he needs to know. I spoke with a representative from the Office of Magical Relations and Education at MACUSA. She assured me that home-schooled students are eligible to sit for the Advanced Wizarding Examinations, and Hermione says that the Ministry of Magic accepts A.W.E.s as requisites for N.E.W.T.s. There's even an extensive study guide available."
"God, Harry!" Ginny shook her head once more.
"What do you want from me, Ginny? Honestly."
"I want you to care!" she shouted.
"I do care!"
"No you don't! I want you to care that I fucking cheated on you! I want you to be jealous, to…to…I don't know." She deflated.
"Is that why you started seeing Gordon? From where I stand, it seems his affections for you are very real. What about you?"
"I—" she began.
"Ginny, I do care…and I love you. Everything you said about me was true. I do tend to rush headlong into the fire without considering the consequences. I've lived with this yoke of responsibility for so long, that I don't know how to live without it. Still, the happiness of my family is important to me, and it's obvious that you're not content." Harry's chest felt tight. What was he doing? Ginny was silent for almost a minute. Despite the flickering of her image in the flames, he could see the tears that wet her face. "Ginny?"
"I—I have to go!" She disappeared. Harry leapt forward, reaching towards the fire.
"Wait! Gin—" The flames flared up a moment before returning to normal. "What just happened?" he whispered to himself.
Draco's fingers danced over the piano's keyboard as if guided by magic itself. It had been quite some time since he'd ever played Liszt's Liebesträum No. 3. Yet, as he played, the music flowed forth, hovering above the grand piano as if it had only been a day. The song spoke to him, and had always been one of his favorites. As he played, he reflected upon the last time he had performed the piece.
Draco had moved a piano into their suite of rooms, first, for Astoria to amuse herself—she played while he or Scorpius accompanied her on violin. Sometimes they all played together—she on piano, Scorpius on violin, and Draco on viola or cello. When she became too weak, Draco serenaded her with her favorite tunes. On this day, he had carried her to the settee in the boudoir, where she asked him to play for her.
"Play the Liebesträume, my dear," she had requested, as he carefully tucked blankets and pillows about her. "The Number Three, you play it so beautifully." Her voice was barely a whisper. Draco gave her a smile, lightly brushing her thin hair away from her face before he went to the piano and sat. He took a deep breath and began to play. As his fingers lifted from the final notes, Draco turned to see her lying with her eyes closed, and he rushed to her side.
"Astoria!" he breathed, taking her hand. She squeezed it back and opened her eyes.
"I'm here, love. I was only enjoying the beauty of the music. The nocturne so tenderly speaks to the heart, and the title is most appropriate. O lieb', solang du lieben kannst! Do you know what it means?"
"If my German is correct, it means, Love as Long as You Can."
"Yes. Have you ever been in love, Draco?" she asked.
"What? Of course! I love you, Astoria. I cherish every moment we've had with one another, and with Scorpius." Draco creased his brow. He knew that grave illness occasionally caused some patients to lapse into dementia near the end.
"Oh, you! There has never been a doubt in my mind that you care deeply for me, Draco, but I know true love when I see it. I am talking about that ever abiding, hearts in cadence, can't go on in this world without you type of love. The kind that leaves you breathless at the sight of that certain someone; I mean the love that leaves a mark—amour courtois."
"I—I don't—Astoria, I love you." He sniffled, kissing her hand, and closing his eyes.
"Draco…Draco, please look at me," she said. "The time is past for pretending—"
"But, I—"
"I know your heart, Draco. That deep love, you've reserved for another, and carried it quietly and deeply within for years. I don't even know if you recognize it for what it is any more, but you told me of it early on—of how you placed yourself in grave peril at the height of the war, only for the hope of saving your one and only from the Dark Lord." Draco's jaw dropped, and he realized the truth of her words at last. She touched his face, her fingers cool.
"Astoria!" he sighed.
"Draco, promise me that you will not allow my departure from this place resign you to a life of seclusion. If there is a spark of chance for you, pursue it as a knight for his lady." She tucked a lock of his pale hair behind his ear, and he took her hand, kissing it once more.
"You tire yourself, darling," he said, noting her labored breathing. She smiled weakly.
"Be the best example for Scorpius. Love as long as you may." Astoria closed her eyes and her grip went slack in his.
Draco played the final chords of the selection and sat quietly, gazing out of the curved windows towards the line of trees that separated his property from Harry's.
"I don't know what I am doing, Astoria, but I promise I will try."
"Amen." Lilac pushed herself up from her knees and drew back the covers on her bed. There was a soft knock at the door.
"Lilac!" her father softly called her name. She pulled open the door a fraction and peeked out, holding the collar of her robe.
"Is she sleeping?" she asked.
"Meet me in the garage in five minutes!" he whispered.
She closed her door and dashed to her closet, where she knelt and pushed aside her old toy box. Lilac poked her finger into a knothole, and pulled up the floorboard. She reached inside and removed a tattered-looking flute case, tucking it under her arm as she stepped into her slippers. She crept down the stairs and tiptoed past her mother's bedroom just in time to see her father disappear out the side door.
Eric Snape pulled a chain and lit the single bulb that illuminated the detached garage behind the small cottage just off the public lake access road, referred to by some as Gypsy Bottom, due to the fact that many of the homes there were occupied by seasonal workers and vacationers. He reached behind several buckets of paint on a low shelf, and retrieved a slightly dented greenish-turquoise tackle box with an embossed 12" ruler on the lid, a silver metal handle and a rusty latch. He set it on the workbench and opened it. Beneath a plastic tray which held an assortment of fishing lures lay an eleven-inch wand crafted of willow, with a hilt that resembled a row of beads. He looked over his shoulder before removing it from it hiding place and casting protective enchantments upon the space.
"Muffliato! Repello Muggletum!" he said, just as Lilac stepped into the building. "Lock the door." She did so and went to the workbench, where she opened the flute case and removed her own wand.
The twelve-inch pine wand had a golden finish that Lilac had found mesmerizing from the first day that she'd curled her fingers around the hilt. She held it up to the light with a reverence of a small child with its first special toy.
"I thought that tonight we would work on some more offensive and defensive spells."
"Okay." Lilac brushed her hair out of her face.
"This one is kind of strong, so stand well out of the way, alright?" Eric gestured for her to move to the wall. It's an area spell that, in a pinch, will protect you in all directions. The incantation is Radii Inspiratione."
"Radii Inspiratione," his daughter repeated.
"Good. Place that old sewing mannequin just there, hon." Lilac summoned the mannequin to the spot her father indicated. "Very good!" Her father smiled. She grinned in response. "Alrighty then. Here we go!" He took a breath and stabbed his wand downwards forcefully. "Radii Inspiratione!"
Lilac felt a whoosh of air as the ground rumbled beneath her feet, and the sewing mannequin that stood just a few feet in front of her father fell to the ground. The lightbulb overhead exploded with a small pop.
"Lumos! Lumos!" They lit their wands.
"Holy crap!" Lilac exclaimed. She went to a closet near the door and retrieved a box of lightbulbs while her father vanished the damaged remains of the broken bulb. He flipped the breaker, and held out his hand for the replacement.
"Normally, the electronics and wiring is protected from magical surges with the spell that I showed you, but the Area Spell is just strong enough to override it. You have to be very careful with that spell, hon. It's like unleashing an electromagnetic pulse in the immediate area, and No-Majs will definitely notice that something has happened. If you had been standing within six or seven feet of me, you'd have been stunned." He screwed in the replacement bulb, and the room was again awash with light.
"What about a shield charm?" she asked, picking up the mannequin.
"Even with a shield charm, you would have been propelled backward significantly, if not knocked completely off your feet."
"Oh." Lilac nodded thoughtfully. "Can I try it?"
"Sure! Stand here."
Lilac stood where her father indicated, and licked her lips before casting the spell. She was delighted when the light was blown out, and her father smiled broadly. They practiced a number of defensive spells and charms, including Depulso, the freezing charm, Carpe Retractum, and the severing charm. Lilac cleanly sliced through a scrap of diamond plate steel.
"I'll tell you what, little lady! You're something else!" Eric Snape exclaimed, giving his daughter a broad smile.
"Thanks, Daddy." She helped him repair the items that they had broken, and put everything away.
"You look like there's something on your mind, puddin'."
"Well…" she hedged.
"Lilac, you can tell me anything. You know that, right?"
"I know, just…well, what's the point of having a wand, if I can't use it?" Lilac set her wand into the old flute case once more, trailing her fingers over it.
"Honey, wizards are forbidden to use magic in the presence of No-Majs. It's an international law. When I was born, the United States had only allowed mixing with non-magical people for a few years."
"Yeah, I know. You told me all of that, and I read it in your books, but—well, why couldn't I go to that school—the one you went to—Idyllwild?"
"It's Ilvermorny," Eric chuckled. "If things had been different, Lilac, I would have sent you to school there, but your mom—she's so entrenched in the church and what they say."
"Well…never mind." Lilac closed the flute case with a sigh. "Why did you marry her? I don't understand. If you knew that she hated magic—"
"It's not that simple, Pud. When your mom and I got married, she didn't think the way she does now. It wasn't until we became involved with Second Salem, that she began to get these ideas in her head. Religious conservatism and a belief that we should be eradicated—all this is new. Surely, you remember how things used to be. She'd only be frightened and upset to learn the truth." Eric placed his hands on his daughter's shoulders and looked into her eyes. "I love your mother, Lilac. I know things aren't easy, and you probably think that they should be better because we have magic to help things along."
"Well—"
"Magic doesn't automatically make everything better, kiddo. As you get older, you'll understand. I know that sounds terribly cliché, but there's truth in it, I promise. You'll be seventeen in two years, and then you can make your own decisions about your magic. If you promise to finish school, I'll even consent to your emancipation. Until then, it's safest if no one knows about us." He held up his pinky, and she hooked it with her own. "No unsupervised magic." Lilac shifted her gaze.
"Uhh…"
"Lilac…what did you do?"
"Well, I sort of jinxed Bella Cain during English class." She shrugged, guiltily.
"Li—I told you not to—wait—how did you do that?"
"She pissed me off, and when she was heading back to her seat, I cast a jelly-legs jinx and she fell down." Lilac pressed her lips together to suppress the smile of satisfaction at the memory.
"Without a wand?" Eric's eyes grew large as he looked at his daughter.
"Yeah."
"And no one heard you utter the incantation?" he asked.
"I didn't say anything, I just sort of thought it," she replied.
"You—I—you—" Eric backed slowly away from her and began to pace, raking his hands through his hair. "Witch cake and poppets!" he exclaimed.
"I'm—what's wrong? I'm sorry, Dad!" Lilac anxiously watched her father pacing.
"It's—no, hon. You didn't exactly do anything wrong. It's just—well, nonverbal wandless magic is typically very difficult, even for mature witches and wizards. Granted, the jelly-legs jinx isn't a complex spell, but—oh, Lilac! You have to promise me that you won't give yourself away!"
"I won't! I promise!"
"Alright, sweetheart. Good, girl. Umm, I'm thinking maybe tomorrow night, we work on the memory charm."
"Uh, okay," Lilac replied, doubtfully. Eric enfolded her in a tight hug, kissing the top of her head.
"Thanks for helping me with my homework," said Scorpius. He lay on his stomach, the two-way mirror, propped on a pillow in front of him, as he smiled at Albus.
"I didn't actually help with your homework. I just showed you how to use the computer."
"Well, since I wouldn't have been able to complete my assignments without it, you helped me with my homework." Albus held his mirror, using his free hand to pet the ferret curled in his lap, as he sat cross-legged on the sectional beside the window.
"Ah, whatever. You know, now that you have a computer, we can use them to do the same thing as the mirrors."
"Really? How does that work?"
"There's apps and programs that use the computer's camera and let people chat via wireless, or internet."
"Wicked!"
"Hey, Scorpius, how do you think Bella fell over?"
"Well, I know it wasn't me!" Scorpius replied. He rolled onto his back.
"Do you think someone else at Lakeshore could be a wizard?" Albus wondered.
"But why wouldn't they be at Ilvermorny?"
"We're not at Ilvermorny!" Albus pointed out.
"True. Did I tell you that Bella told me Lilac was a witch?"
"She what?" Albus exclaimed, startling Gonçalo, who hissed indignantly before scampering away.
"Lilac denied it when I asked her. Apparently, here witch also means a freak or…outcast, I suppose."
"She could have been lying. After all, you didn't tell her you were a wizard did you?" Albus chased after Gonçalo and placed him in his cage, before opening the window for Fancy.
"Hey! Where'd you go?" Scorpius called out.
"I'm right here." Albus picked up the mirror and carried it to his bed. "I was putting up Gonçalo, and opening the window, so Fancy will be able to get in whenever she comes back."
"Oh ho! Remember Bella's face when she flew in!" Scorpius laughed. Albus joined in.
"Ha ha ha! Priceless! 'Who has an owl for a pet?'" he mimicked chortling.
"She'll get over it," said Scorpius, pulling his shirt over his head. "She's so gaga over you; she'll probably go out and buy one!"
"Merlin's wand! I hope not!" Albus retorted. "Anyway, Tucker has made it quite clear, in no uncertain terms that he has no plans to part ways with her."
"Did he threaten you?" A worried expression crossed Scorpius' face. Albus shrugged.
"What can he do, beat me up?"
"Well, yes, actually!"
"Then I'll have to seriously work on my defensive spells and memory charms. Besides, growing up with James has given me plenty of practice boxing, and dodging bullies. Are you naked?" he raised a brow, holding the mirror more closely.
"Not yet." Scorpius winked. Albus felt his heart skip a beat as he watched Scorpius step away from the mirror, giving more than a view of his torso. The button at his waistband was open.
"Oh, my god!" Albus whispered, averting his eyes.
"In five years, you've never taken a peek? In the lav? While we were dressing?" Albus shook his head. Scorpius laughed. "Well, in the interest of transparency, I did once take a peek at you." Albus gasped.
"You did? When?"
"Third year. I don't think you saw me. I was sitting on my bed with the curtains drawn; only there was a gap. I think you'd spilled something on your robes and came back to change. Anyway, I saw you." Scorpius blushed. "That's when I knew I—I favored wizards to witches."
"Oh," Albus softly replied.
"So, there's that…erm…I suppose I owe you a bit of reciprocity." He slid his zipper down.
"Oh, I—" Albus protest died on his slightly parted lips as he watched Scorpius slowly drawing down his trousers.
"What are you doing?"
"Oh, shit!" Lilac cried when her mother slammed the refrigerator door, startling her as she entered the house.
"Lilac Snape!" Toviyah Snape sternly admonished her daughter.
"Sorry, Ma." Lilac apologized contritely. "I thought you were asleep."
"Reflux," her mother stated. She unscrewed the top of a bottle of water. "What are you doing outside in your bedclothes, young lady?"
"I was looking for my flash drive. I saved my English homework on it," she lied. Her mother looked at her suspiciously.
"Then why are you carrying that raggedy old thing?" she asked.
"I found it under the seat in Dad's truck. I thought maybe I could repurpose it for a jewelry box or something." Lilac shrugged.
"God knows your heart, Lilac. Sinners will reap what they sow."
"Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord."
"That's very good, my darling." Toviyah sipped her water. "Have you said your prayers?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"Well, before you go to sleep, you ask God to forgive you for your immodesty."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Well, get moving! It's a school night."
"Yes, ma'am. Goodnight, Ma." Lilac raced up the stairs to her room.
Toviyah went to the window, sipping thoughtfully. She looked across the narrow expanse of yard between the house and garage, where she saw her husband's silhouette behind the drawn window shades.
"You might hide from me, but you cannot shield yourself from the omnipresence of the Lord," she whispered.
Did you guess it? Toviyah is the femine form of Tobias.