Disclaimer-Harry Potter is a franchise owned by J. . I do not, in any way, own the characters, places, movies, books, etc….. The Ocs, however, are my characters. There are families whose surname is Maurya, but I'm not using any of them as a character. So all Oc characters and NAMES would be my own creation. Any character resembling any person living or dead is entirely a coincidence.
***~~WIWATTD~~***
CHAPTER IV
Severus sighed as he turned onto his side, trying to rest his mind and sleep. But he couldn't. He was still reeling with what had happened in the meeting earlier that day.
FLASHBACK-
"Come, Severus!" The Dark Lord hissed, looking at him with red, bloodshot eyes.
"My Lord," Severus murmured, bowing his head for a moment and looking up, keeping his shields in place.
"Tell me, faithful servant, what is the latest news from the Order?" The megalomaniac asked, searching for any emotion in his spy's eyes, but there was none, as usual.
"The old coot has ordered Hagrid to form an alliance with the giants, my Lord. He has been trying to get the upper hand but in vain. And also, the plan to get Potter out of his hiding place has succeeded. The Order was in an uproar when they found out that Potter was given a letter of expulsion. But Dumbledore pulled some strings somehow. There's to be a hearing soon," Severus explained, exactly as he had planned with Dumbledore.
"Hmm. And what of Lupin's task with the werewolves?" The Dark Lord asked smoothly. Some of the men at the back, possibly Fenrir and two members of his pack chuckled at the question.
"Unsuccessful as usual, my Lord. He's grasping at straws obviously," Severus said, forcing a smirk on his face before his face went blank. Voldemort chuckled.
"Well, if Fenrir didn't have a certain… liking… to that filthy, no-good half-breed, then I'd have him killed already," Voldemort hissed, smirking maliciously. Severus stopped himself from widening his eyes at that statement. He kept his emotionless mask up at all costs.
"Rise, Severus," he ordered, coming close to the professor as he stood.
"I want you to keep a close eye on all of them," Voldemort said, and dismissed him with a wave of his hand.
"Yes, My Lord," Severus answered, bowing and stepping back in the crowd.
"Parkinson?" Voldemort barked. The man stumbled from the back to get in front of the snake-like man. Severus rolled his eyes at the portly man.
What a moron…
"My Lord!" He exclaimed, bowing low. Beside Severus, Lucius snorted silently.
"Seriously," Lucius muttered, sneering at the man. Severus rolled his eyes. Sometimes, Lucius acted like a jealous peacock, wanting the attention of his Master more than anything.
"Did you find the information on those girls?" Voldemort hissed. Severus became rigid. He was having a very, very bad feeling about this.
He doesn't mean… does he?
"Yes, my Lord! They are the Maurya Heiresses, Anusha Maurya, and Anya Maurya! They are one of the Royale 15, My Lord! They are rumored to be the oldest family in the world, My Lord!" Parkinson recited.
"And?"
"That is all I could find my lord. They keep their secrets close, sir. What we only know is that the girls live with their grandparents, sir. Their mother had died in 1990 and we have no idea who their father is. Apparently, he's a businessman who is away most of the time. We neither know of his name, nor we know of his blood status, My Lord," Parkinson said, sweating a little.
Severus sucked in a breath and calmed his racing heart.
Okay, Severus… Calm down, it's their names and the general information that he has… Raman and I had made sure that only this amount of information was provided to the public the moment I got married to Amisha… Seems that it worked…
Voldemort growled in frustration and fury and all but destroyed one of the walls of the room, frightening his servants. Voldemort pointed his wand at Parkinson, who blanched.
"My Lord-"
"Crucio!" The snake-like man screamed, putting in all his anger, rage and frustration behind that spell. Parkinson fell down, convulsing and withering in pain. He let out a huge scream.
After what felt like an eternity, Voldemort finally canceled the spell. Parkinson was laying on the ground, sucking in deep breaths.
"Lucius!" Voldemort barked at him suddenly. Severus took in a deep breath as Lucius went off to stand at the center, bowing to the man.
"My Lord?" He murmured, looking down in submission.
"I want to know the moment those girls surface! I know for a fact that the old coot Dumbledore would make sure that they're under his thumb! You will tell me the moment you come to know about them. Keep your eyes and ears open for any such news," Voldemort demanded.
"Yes, My Lord," Lucius said simply, nodding. Voldemort huffed in anger. He then looked at everyone in the room.
"GET OUT, ALL OF YOU!" Voldemort screamed and a wave of powerful magic blew past them. All of them bowed and got out of the room quickly.
END FLASHBACK
The Order meeting had been a blur for him. There was no good news, Hagrid was trying his hardest to get control of the task that was given, but he wasn't lucky enough. They hadn't heard from him for a while. Lupin, on the other hand, looked tired and was too silent to say anything other than what he had been doing. The Aurors and the other ministry workers were all giving the same news as before, which made Black angrier and grumpier than before. It was frustrating for everyone because there weren't getting enough information. And also, they were being trailed by some ministry workers that were under Fudge.
He had spoken to Albus later, telling him about the ordeal personally. That was also when he had got the news of a new Defense against the Dark Arts teacher. He growled lowly, clenching his fists as he thought of the conversation.
FLASHBACK-
"Albus," Severus called out after the Headmaster, as the meeting was adjourned for the day.
"Ah, Severus, my boy," Albus said, his eyes twinkling merrily.
"I wanted to give you another piece of information, personally."
"Well, I wanted to speak to you too, my boy. But now isn't the time. Let us step into my office," Albus said, as they reached the fireplace. He simply threw in some floo powder and called out 'Dumbledore's office, Hogwarts!' and stepped in, Severus following him quickly.
"What is it you wanted to speak about, Albus?" Severus asked as they stepped into the office.
Albus motioned him to take a seat and called for some tea. After a few minutes, both men had a cup of tea each.
"I had been notified by the ministry and the board of governors that since I was not able to select a suitable Defense against the Dark Arts Professor this year, they have chosen one of the ministry workers as a professor in my stead. They shall be sending the said ministry worker in a few days."
Severus' fists clenched. He had wanted the job for years and was again losing it, this time to a ministry worker.
"Oh, fantastic! As it is, the ministry has the inability of finding their bare arses with both hands and a map combined! Now they are going to send a ministry worker who doesn't even know the meaning of the subject?"
"I'm sorry, my boy, but it seems that they want someone to act as their spy at the school," Albus said, appeasing him.
"Of course. I applaud at their attempts in subtlety," Severus said, sneering and rolling his eyes. Albus chuckled.
"Well, my boy, you look a little down in the dumps! What is it that you wanted to tell me?" Albus asked, steeping his fingers together.
"The Dark Lord knows about my daughters. He had Parkinson find out their names and the information there is on them. Fortunately, I and Raman had regulated the amount of information that is privy to the public, but if he finds out that they're at Hogwarts, or that they're my daughters, then this would be catastrophic for them. He's having Lucius listen out for any mention of those two."
Albus hummed softly, frowning in thought before his eyes brightened a bit with a peculiar gleam.
"Well," The old Headmaster began, "if it isn't a bother to you, you could send them to the Grimmauld Place. It is protected by the Fidelus; so the girls would be safe for a while, they can get to see you every day and we can also prevent the ministry from finding out about them. And it is always a pleasure for teenagers to be surrounded by others of their age, rather than us old, tired, cantankerous people."
Severus looked at him for a long while, trying to find another way out of this. No doubt, if the girls were told that they would be sent back to India after just two weeks of their summer, then they would certainly protest and clearly would get another portkey to get back here and stay with him(Of course they'd be like their mother- stubborn, determined and never giving up), which would be a huge problem because now, it was the Dark Lord and his followers that were keeping an eye out for them and he'd never want to think about what would happen if even one of his little girls is in HIS grasp.
He sighed and thought of getting them away from here the moment this month ended. He didn't want them to stay here and ultimately get involved in this war.
Well, at least they'd be pleased enough to stay in an old and battered shack which is being used as a safe house by some of the most powerful members of this world…
"Are you sure, Albus?" Severus finally asked, looking into the man's eyes after a long moment.
"Yes! The girls would love it there!"
"Ah, of course! They'd love to stay in a drab, dingy house rather than a huge, majestic castle with countless corridors, many surrounding forests, which, according to them, are waiting to be explored, a huge library and a large Quidditch pitch with just the two of them to use it all," Severus said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. The Headmaster's expression turned slightly sheepish.
"Well, I understand Severus; Hogwarts does have a certain splendor, but they would love to have more company there," Albus said, smiling at him. Severus rolled his eyes again and sighed.
"Alright, fine. I'll have to inform the girls about this. When is the 'Ministry worker' coming?"
"The new Professor would be here in about a week," Albus answered.
"Alright, I'll explain it to them somehow and get them out in a few days," Severus said, getting up from his seat. He placed his cup down and nodded to the Headmaster, walking down the stairs to the door.
END FLASHBACK
The day had been, in a word, frustrating for him. Amisha would've chuckled at his expression and told him to keep his cool.
Severus sighed and turned again, feeling an old pain stir up in his chest whenever he thought of his wife. He closed his eyes to let sleep claim him.
Severus had sat the girls down next day and told them about the situation he was in.
"So we have to leave this castle?" Anusha asked, sighing a little.
"That is the general idea, yes," Severus answered, looking at them both.
"Where are you sending us?" Anya asked curiously, her black eyes shimmering.
"And why aren't you sending us back to India?" Anusha asked, frowning.
"I can't send you two back home because… a week after you both arrived, I had got a letter from Raman, telling me that he had observed some suspicious people around your Nana. He was almost attacked," Severus said, totally ignoring his daughters' stiffening and clenching their fists and continued, "but your Mama intervened in time."
The twins breathed a sigh of relief, relaxing.
"But before he could apprehend the man he disapparated," Severus said, clicking his tongue.
"So, he asked me to keep you both here for the time being, till he could diffuse the situation. So, going back to India right now is dangerous, because you might become more vulnerable there. I didn't tell your grandparents about the situation we are facing here; they'll worry for you both endlessly. Your Nani would take you straight back and lock you both. Only Raman knows and he is finding out about the men and working on stabilizing the situation. The Dark Lord is looking out for you both and now that he knows your names, he is determined to find you both and get you both under his thumbs. You both are the heiresses to an influential and powerful family and HE would do his best to get to you both."
For a while, the room was filled with silence.
Then Severus smirked at them.
"And of course, I can't exactly trust you both not to simply steal a portkey and get back here can I?" Severus said, tweaking both their noses softly.
The twins gasped in anger.
"Hey!" Anusha exclaimed, glaring at him playfully.
"When have we ever done that?" Anya grumbled with a smirk.
"You haven't, but that doesn't mean that you're not going to start now."
"Ha ha ha," Anusha said sarcastically, rolling her eyes as she settled on the sofa more comfortably.
"Very funny Papa," Anya said, crossing her arms over her chest.
"But where is it exactly that you're sending us?" Anusha asked after a while, looking at him curiously.
"I can't say."
The twins frowned.
"Why not?" Anya asked, frowning at him.
"It's protected and only the Headmaster can tell you about the place."
The twins scrunched their noses, thinking about what their father said before they caught on and nodded.
"Fidelus Charm," Anusha voiced out.
"That is correct," Severus commented, smirking at them. They smiled back, their eyes brightening a little.
Suddenly, the fireplace turned green and Albus' voice rang out through the room.
"Severus, my boy! May I come through?" Albus asked.
"Yes, Headmaster!"
A few moments later, Albus stepped through the fireplace. He took out his wand to clear away the soot on his robes and smiled.
"Good afternoon, Severus, Ms. Snape, Ms. Snape."
The girls murmured a 'Good afternoon' to him, while Severus merely inclined his head.
"Well, I assume he told you about his decision to send you both to a Safehouse," Albus said, looking at them both.
"Yes sir," both of them answered.
I assure you, Severus would be able to reach you both every day! And you can use the floo to contact him anytime! And of course, Sirius and the others would love your company!" Albus said, the twinkle in his blue orbs intensifying. He projected a totally innocent, grandfatherly aura, while on the inside he was patting himself for seizing the opportunity at the right time. He had the time enough to search for the right excuse to involve them both in this war against the dark side.
"They'd be delighted to have you both with them!" Albus gushed, clapping his hands.
"Yes, of course, and pigs can fly," Severus retorted, looking away with a sneer. Albus sighed at the young man's behavior. The girls looked at their father in confusion.
"Severus, they won't take out their misconceptions on a pair of fifteen-year-olds. They both are grown men now," Albus tried to reason with him, while the twins looked on between the two of them curiously.
"So you say," Severus muttered loudly.
"When have they ever done that?" Albus questioned him. Severus barked out a humorless laugh.
"I believe you are actually forgetting the five miserable years I spent here before my mother transferred me to India for an early apprenticeship," Severus said bitterly. Albus sighed again.
"They were harmless pranks, Severus-" Albus began.
"Oh, I didn't realize hexing someone mid-flight in the middle of a Quidditch game was a 'harmless prank'," Severus snarled. The twins hissed, wincing a little. They looked at each other and spoke to each other in their minds.
"Some fucker hexed Papa mid-flight," Anusha said in an eerily calm voice.
"Oh, we need to find out who that fucker is," Anya said, nodding her head. Anusha nodded back.
"We certainly need to," Anusha answered and turned back to the conversation in front of them.
"Severus, I admit, Sirius went out of hand that one time-" Albus said exasperatedly as if they had that conversation many times before.
"-And many other times," Severus muttered.
"-And I apologize for that, but you can't keep holding on to grudges like this! And you gave back as good as you got!"
"That was self-defense!"
"Was it always self-defense, Severus?" Albus asked sternly, looking at Severus like he had been caught red-handed in stealing a toffee. Severus huffed.
"You know what? I don't care what that arsehole Black and his sidekick werewolf think of me. Frankly, I'd rather go and learn ballet. But if I get to know that they even tried getting on with their prejudices against my daughters, then even you won't be able to stop me from what I'll do, do we have that clear?" Severus growled, standing up and looking as intimidating as he could. He was a few inches taller than the Headmaster, but the height didn't serve the purpose at all.
The girls sighed exasperatedly, their faces turning pink.
"Papa!" Anusha whined.
"You're being unnecessarily overprotective!" Anya said, burying her face in her hands. Albus chuckled.
"Your daughters are right, Severus. You're acting paranoid!"
"Gee, I wonder why," Severus said sarcastically, sitting down again.
"I promise you, the two of them won't do that. They've grown up, Severus. They're not the teenagers you had encountered at Hogwarts," Albus said calmly.
"They sure do act like grownups," Severus retorted. Albus sighed, standing up and shaking his head at the Potions Master.
"Well, if that is all, then I'll see you three at supper," Albus said, nodding at them. Severus nodded back.
"Good day," the Headmaster wished them, taking some floo powder and throwing it in the fireplace, calling out the name of his office and stepping into the flames. The flames turned back normal again. For a moment, there was silence as the girls watched their father look into the distance.
"I think I need some tea. Would you both have some?"
The girls nodded at him.
"So, who is this 'mutt' and 'werewolf'?" Anya asked, as her father threw some floo powder and called out, "The kitchens!"
Severus stiffened for a second before he turned to his daughters.
"When I was studying here, there were a group of four boys in my year. They were best friends the moment they met each other and they hailed themselves as the 'Marauders'. They were James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew. We… umm, we didn't get along," he said, grimacing for a moment as he thought of his childhood tormentors.
"Didn't get along?" Anusha asked as she and her twin raised their eyebrows.
"That reaction that you had there, that is certainly not what 'didn't get along' means," Anya said, crossing her arms.
Severus rolled his eyes. Sometimes, his daughters were too clever.
"Polite terms! Anyway, we didn't get along and that caused… some issues between us. Do you both need anything else?" Severus asked, changing the subject quickly. They replied in negative. They remained silent for a moment.
The twins sensed it was a sore spot for him and decided to tread delicately.
"So, what happened to them all? I mean, you mentioned two of them. What happened to the other two?"
Severus swallowed, thinking about Lily and her husband. He wasn't really able to put her death behind him.
"One of them, James Potter, was the father of Harry Potter. He was killed by the Dark Lord in 1981, along with Lily Potter, nee Evans."
"Wasn't Lily Evans your best friend?"
"Yes. The red haired girl, whose pictures I showed to you two," Severus said.
"Your best friend got married to the guy who bullied you?" Anya asked disbelievingly. Severus shrugged.
"I didn't believe her too. But she claimed that he had changed. Anyway, the other guy, Peter Pettigrew, was their secret keeper who betrayed them to the Dark Lord and blamed it on Sirius Black, the mutt and he spent twelve years in Azkaban because of that, but he got out two years ago and has been hiding. The werewolf, Remus Lupin, was too depressed to notice that his best friends' son was sent to a muggle family to care.
"But the fact is, they're prejudiced. From the moment they've met me, they made me their personal target. I confess I gave a damn when I was a teenager, something about restoring my pride and honor and gave them as good as I got. I would still defend myself even now, but I don't show the same immaturity as they do, especially that mutt, Sirius Black."
"But, why did you agree to let us stay in a place with your past tormentors?" Anusha asked confusedly.
"Because the Headmaster is right. You both need to be kept away from the eyes of the ministry. The Death Eaters have already infiltrated it, and Fudge is in control of Lucius Malfoy, who's the Dark Lord's right-hand man. I know that the moment he gets to know about you both, he'll whisk you both straight to HIM and I can't have that. So, contrary to my beliefs, you both would actually be safe there. Provided that the occupants of that bloody house won't hurt you both."
"Occupants, huh? So, there are more than two people who'd hurt us," Anya said, sighing, as she looked at her father.
"You sure do have friendly folks around you," Anusha said sarcastically.
"I can't help it. I am a spy; of course they'd be wary of me," He said, shrugging.
And so, the next day, the twins had packed up their things, shrunk them and put them in their pockets.
"Do you have everything with you?" Severus asked, for the hundredth time that morning, as the twins got out of their room. They were dressed in simple jeans and shirt, with a jacket. They always dressed in the same clothes; they liked to confuse people around them.
The twins sighed in exasperation.
"Papa, if, by chance, we forgot something, we'd be sure to tell you, okay? But, for now, we have everything that we had brought with us," Anya said.
"Are you sure?"
"Absolutely."
"Then we can leave," He said, taking some floo powder and throwing it in the fireplace, calling, 'Headmaster's office!' and stepped in. The girls followed him.
Getting out of the fireplace, they saw Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall waiting for them.
"Good morning, Severus, my dears!" Dumbledore wished them, a smile on his lips.
"Are you both ready?" Minerva asked her hands behind her back. The girls nodded.
"We have to apparate, I'm afraid. The Fidelus Charm won't allow them to enter through the floo," Albus said, coming to stand at the center of the room.
"You can apparate from here?" Anusha asked as they all went to grab his hand.
"Ah, yes, my dear. One of the many perks of being a headmaster of Hogwarts," He answered.
"Everyone ready?" He asked after the four of them grabbed his arm. They nodded and felt the familiar tug at their naval as the Headmaster apparated them.
They felt their feet hit solid ground a moment later. They straightened themselves and controlled themselves in time. It wouldn't do to puke in front of the headmaster right now. After the feeling of nausea passed off, they looked around curiously.
They had apparated to someplace in London. It was quite desolate. There were rows of houses that were lined up on both sides of the street. Some were well maintained and others had seen much better days.
"Come along now, this way," Albus said, walking to his right with their Father and Professor McGonagall. The girls followed them quickly. Soon, they stopped at a quiet area and were standing in between two houses marked '11' and '13'. They looked on confusedly and turned to their father, who simply handed them a piece of paper and said, "Read this, and think of this in your mind."
They took the parchment. It was a bit dog-eared, but the words were clear. It said The Headquarters of The Order Of The Phoenix, Number 12 Grimmauld Place can be found here.
The twins looked at one another and nodded. Anya took the paper and kept it in her pocket and then everyone looked ahead and thought of the words in their minds. Just then, the space between the two houses started increasing, as a door and windows were starting to appear. They looked on in astonishment as the space expanded and soon enough, they stood in front of 12 Grimmauld Place.
"Well," Anusha started, "I suppose I expected more from this."
"Come," Albus said, going to stand in front of the door. He opened it, letting everyone in, before closing the door behind him. The house vanished again.
As they entered the house, the twins couldn't help but connect this house to the feeling of death and isolation and looked at the rotting walls with mild disgust.
As they walked behind the adults, Anya sneezed from the dust entering her nose. The adults looked at her with mild horror.
"Oh, dear Merlin," Minerva said faintly.
Just then, a huge portrait hung on the wall, which was covered with a filthy cloth on Anusha's left side started screaming, "Filth! Mudbloods! Blood traitors in my house! Dirty blood in the ancient and noble house of Black!"
The girls winced at the screeching voice and turned to look at the covered portrait with annoyance.
Anusha pulled up the blinds to see the portrait of a woman. She was wearing dark, stiff clothes, and had an equally stiff, sour, bitter face. She was looking at Anusha, her face frozen at the moment of surprise.
"What has got you sneering and shouting like this…" Anusha looked down at the frame and reading out the name of the woman, "Lady Walburga Black of the noblest and most ancient house of Black?"
"Didn't get a chance when you were alive, did you, Lady Black?" Anya said, raising an eyebrow. The portrait huffed, looking at the girls in front of her in disdain.
"Well, I never! You both should feel honored and privileged! I'm one of the Sacred 28," The woman boasted, looking them down from her nose. The girls raised their eyebrows.
"And we're one of the Royale 15, Lady Black. If anyone's to be honored, then it should be you," Anusha retorted, sneering at her. The woman's jaw dropped as she did her best imitation of a fish.
"And I'd watch my mouth if I were a portrait and standing in front of me," the fifteen-year-old spoke dangerously, fingering her wand. The woman shut her mouth quickly, looking at Anusha's wand fearfully.
"You may be married into one of the oldest families of Wizarding Britain, but we're from one of the oldest families of the Wizarding World. So, I'd be really careful if I were you," Anya said, taking out her wand and twirling it around her fingers. The woman panicked a little, but stood in a dignified manner.
"Girls, stop it," Severus hissed at them.
The girls shrugged after a few moments, straightening themselves.
"Albus? Is it you?" a woman's voice called out from the room ahead. They snapped their heads in that direction.
"Yes, it's me, Molly!" Albus said as he went ahead. Severus gestured them ahead, pulling the covers on the portrait again and following them.
They went behind him and entered the room, which seemed to be the dining room. In the room, there was what seemed like an army of Redheads sitting. All siblings; they all had similar faces. An older redhead was sitting in between the identical twins. He was, presumably, the father.
A handsome, but haggard black haired man was sitting with another man who had dirty blond hair and wore shabbily, but clean clothes. Both of them were their father's age, and were presumably, the ones who were 'mutt' and 'werewolf', as they looked at him with slight disdain. Surprisingly, there wasn't a drop of that disdain when they turned their eyes to them.
Besides the redheads, a black messy-haired boy with round glasses sat with a bushy-haired girl of his age. He, along with everyone else looked up at them. A pair of Brilliant green eyes looked at the twins, but his eyes lingered on Anusha as he gazed into her eyes. She blinked surprisingly and stared back into his. They maintained eye contact for a few moments. Then he looked at their father and his face crinkled with distaste. It seemed to be the case with some others too. Only the red-haired girl and the bushy-haired girl did not have that expression on their faces.
"Albus, Severus, Minerva! Come in! I've just made some breakfast! Sit down!" said a plump redheaded woman who was standing at the kitchen counter. She wore a yellow dress and had an apron tied around her waist. She had neck- length hair and she looked motherly, with slight lines on her face and forehead. She gestured them all to the table, all the while whisking a plain batter into a bowl. She reminded them of their Nani, in a lot of ways.
The woman finally noticed the twins and asked, "Albus, who are these girls?"
The twins sucked in a breath, as they waited for the adults to speak.
Albus looked at Severus and Minerva, who nodded at him. He said, "They are Severus' daughters, Anusha and Anya Snape."
The reaction to that sentence was something that none of the girls would ever forget. All redheads, except for the matriarch and the girl, choked on their breakfast. They all looked at Severus in shock. The matriarch dropped the spatula that she was holding in her hand, her mouth agape. The boy with the emerald green eyes, along with the black haired man and his friend looked at them with a disbelieving expression on their faces. The bushy haired girl was in shock too.
"Wow," Anusha said dryly.
"Lovely to see the contents of your half-chewed breakfast," Anya said, crossing her arms and looking at them with raised eyebrows. All of them closed their mouths abruptly, their faces turning pink.
The black-haired man stood up at once, looking at their father with disdain and disgust.
"I should've expected you'd stoop low enough to force a woman-"
"Stop right there, Sirius," Albus said, looking at Sirius with cold, blue eyes. Suddenly, the temperature of the room dropped as everyone looked at the Headmaster warily. It was at moments like this when they saw the man who defeated Grindlewald and was feared by Voldemort himself, not the good-natured, eccentric old Headmaster of Hogwarts. Sirius turned to look at Albus with a shocked expression, before clearing his throat and sitting down. Albus let out a deep breath, regaining the twinkle in his eyes.
Yes, as I was saying, he's been married for almost... When was it that you got married, Severus?" Albus asked the young man.
"Winter of 1977," came the mumbled answer, after Severus shot him a long glare.
"So, almost eighteen years," Albus remarked, the twinkle in his eyes brightening.
There was Deathly silence in the room. Even the black-haired man had no response.
"Well," The blonde haired man remarked, "I can see a powerful disillusion charm on the play, Severus."
He looked at Severus' left ring finger pointedly. Severus sighed and took out his wand and tapped on his finger. The charm vanished to reveal a simple yet beautiful gold band.
There was a tense silence as everyone saw the band. He tapped his finger and disillusioned his ring again.
The man turned to observe the girls for a moment and smiled thinly.
"I assume they are Harry's age," He commented, glancing at Severus, who answered with a simple nod. The man hummed.
The room was abuzz with gossip as they stared at the girls.
"Well, then," Albus said, "Now that the girls are introduced, I believe that there are some important matters at hand."
The table went silent again as they turned to look at the Headmaster.
"If you remember, there was an attack by the Death Eaters on a muggle village a few weeks back. The one in which two teenage girls were up against some of the Death Eaters till the team of Aurors came up and diffused the situation. Well, these girls were the ones fighting them," Albus explained helpfully. The people in the room gasped, while some looked at the girls carefully. Severus looked at the girls sternly. The twins looked away, unable to see their father's glare directed towards them.
"What?!" The woman, 'Molly' screeched, coming up to them quickly. The twins barely flinched, as the woman looked on at them very carefully, trying to look for any sign of injuries.
"What compelled you two to go on gallivanting around like that?" The redhead demanded. The twins looked on at her wide-eyed.
"Wow," Anusha commented through their connection.
"Nani would love her," Anya remarked.
"Don't worry Molly; they were just at the wrong place at the wrong time. They got injured and were reprimanded thoroughly by their father and their Grandparents, and they've learned their lesson."
"Good. No child should be fighting such dangerous people," Molly said, putting her hands on her hips and glaring at them.
"But why were you there?" The bespectacled boy asked, frowning in confusion. The girls looked at their father, who nodded reluctantly.
"We had given out fourth-year examinations, so our Nana decided to send us here for a few weeks for a holiday," Anusha started.
"But the portkeys were malfunctioning for some reason and we got transported to one of the muggle villages," Anya continued.
"We decided to contact our Granddad, but instead, as soon as we entered the village, it was attacked by Death Eaters. Anya played the heroine, rescued someone, drawing the ire of those men. I didn't want her to bear the brunt of the ire so I helped her out till the Aurors came," Anusha said, smirking at her twin, who just rolled her eyes and huffed.
"We got distracted and injured as a result and woke up in the infirmary at Hogwarts, stayed there for a few weeks and then we're told to stay here. The ministry is sending some new teacher and Papa didn't want the ministry to know about us. So, Headmaster Dumbledore decided to let us be here," Anya finished, looking at each one of them.
"Well," Molly said, after a few moments of awkward silence, "One of you can sit beside Harry," She gestured to the bespectacled boy, "and there is a seat beside Hermione as well!" She gestured to the bushy-haired girl. Both the teenagers smiled at them hesitatingly. Their smiles brightened as the twins returned it.
I'll whisk up some pancakes for you all! Come now, all of you!" She ordered loudly, clapping her hands and setting to work on her pancakes again.
The twins hesitated at that, suddenly feeling shy at all eyes on them.
"Oh, don't be shy! Sit down!" Molly coaxed them gently, smiling at them. The twins smiled at her, nodding.
"Thank you," They said together, as Anusha sat beside Harry. Anya took the seat beside Hermione. The adults remained standing. Molly huffed.
"Come now Albus, don't you love my pancakes?"
Albus chuckled.
"Of course Molly! But before that, Sirius, I believe I'm correct that there are some more rooms left in the house?" Albus asked the black-haired man, 'Sirius'. The twins turned their heads at the man curiously, waiting for his answer.
Sirius nodded, and said, "Yes, there are."
"So I hope you will be able to accommodate them."
Sirius gave the girls a scrutinizing gaze, but after a while sighed and said, "Yeah, I'll be able to accommodate them. It is a good excuse to look at some new faces for some time."
The girls inclined their heads.
"Thank you, Mr..." Anusha started.
"Sirius Black, but you can call me Sirius, or Padfoot," The man introduced himself, grinning at them charmingly. The twins controlled their expressions as they heard the name.
"Anusha, he's that fucker," Anya whispered urgently through their connection.
"Yeah, but keep calm. We can deal with that later," Anusha said, smirking and nodding at Sirius.
"This is my best friend, Remus Lupin," He gestured to the man beside him. They inclined their heads to Remus, who nodded back.
The girls turned to look at their father, who was taking his leave.
"Apologies, Molly-"Severus started. But both the twins grabbed his hands, which stopped him. He looked at them both, confused.
"Where're you going?" Anusha asked confusedly.
"I have some paperwork to do, so I'll be seeing you both later," Severus replied, prying his hands away from them.
"I'll come with you too, Severus; I have something to discuss with you about the classes," Minerva said, standing up.
"Can't we do that in the evening?"
"I'm leaving in the evening, remember? I have my niece's wedding to attend and I'll be seeing you only after the deadline," Minerva explained. Severus sighed.
"Alright then," He said, nodding. He turned to the twins.
"Be careful, don't get into any mischief, and don't you dare give Mrs. Weasley any trouble, understand?" Severus said sternly, gesturing to the woman.
"Yessir," They answered, nodding at him. He nodded and stepped towards the fireplace, Minerva behind him.
"Bye, Papa!" They said, as he stepped through the flames. He nodded, giving them a small smile as he disappeared in the flames. Minerva stepped after him with a smirk on her lips.
Severus and Minerva stepped into the Headmaster's office. Severus turned to see Minerva looking at him with a smile on her lips. He frowned confusedly.
"What?"
"You're a good father, Severus," Minerva said, clapping a hand on his shoulder. Severus snorted.
"Hardly, Minerva. If I were a good father, then I'd have made sure to keep them away from my past tormentors," He said, turning away with a slightly bitter expression.
"Severus, do have some trust on them both. They have grown up from those boys who had bullied you long back. Believe me, if they try to do something, then I promise I'll be the first one to retaliate against them. Is that fair enough?" Minerva said softly, turning him to look at her. Severus sighed after a few moments and nodded.
"So, about the classes…"