Note: some dialogues and scenes came from The Chamber of Secrets movie and I just added a few details.
November 1992
Saturday evening
Severus arrived at home and was greeted by loud conversation and laughter coming from the kitchen – which had him smiling as he suddenly remembered that the twins were going to spend that weekend home.
He entered the kitchen and his four kids shouted: "Dad!"
"We just got here too, dad." said Nicholas, hugging his father after James.
"It's so good to see you two home." said Severus looking at the twins. "Your mom is right, you know…" he sighed. "You're growing too fast."
"Not you too, dad!" complained James, rolling his eyes.
Florence smiled looking at the three of them by the door of the kitchen. "You know... I remember eleven years ago, the three of you by the door of the library, you two trying to copy your dad's pose. You barely reached my hips then, and now..." Her eyes were filled with tears again. "You're so tall. I really can't believe it's been 14 years I gave birth to you two." she shook her head.
"C'mon, mom." Said James, hugging her. "Stop that." He kissed her cheek and Nick hugged her on the opposite side.
Severus watched that sweet scene while Liz and Chris hugged him; he knew why Florence was so emotional near the kids – she was afraid of the future, afraid of the small signs they had been seeing. Since the petrification of Mrs. Norris, the message on the wall and the Parseltongue whispers, she'd been more worried than before.
"Go to the table, kids." He said, going towards Florence, as the kids walked out of the kitchen, and pulling her into his arms, reminding her of their promise: "Together, Flor."
"I know. Together." She looked into his eyes and kissed him. "Love you, husband."
Severus sat down at the head of the long dining room table, and Christopher quickly jumped onto his lap.
Florence sat on a chair to his right, looking around the table and smiling.
Melody and Tiffany floated their dinner onto the table and they began eating.
"We really miss Tiffany's food." Said James.
"Why's that? I remember the food at Durmstrang being very good." Said Florence, frowning.
"It's not bad. But... Tiffany's is the best!" said Nick, winking at the elf.
"Thank you, Master Nick." Tiffany said, blushing.
Severus cut some steak for Chris and the boy went to sit on his own chair to eat; then he told his wife: "Harry is spending the night in the hospital wing."
"Why? What happened to him?" Florence asked, worried.
"A bewitched Bludger followed him around the Quidditch pitch earlier today. But that's not the worst of it; the Bludger only managed to break his arm and he caught the Snitch anyway. The worst is that Lockhart decided to fix his arm."
"Oh, no." Florence whispered, looking at him incredulously.
"Oh, yes. I had just got to my office when Pomfrey came running through the dungeons, asking for some Skele-Gro."
Florence stared at her husband:
"You're telling me that that imbecile Lockhart simply made all the bones in Harry's arm disappear?"
"Exactly. The boy is going to spend the night drinking Skele-Gro…" said Severus.
"Eww." said James. "I remember how horrible that thing tastes."
"Don't remind me of that episode, Jamie…" Florence rolled her eyes..
"What happened? Why did you have to drink Skele-Gro, Jamie?" asked Elizabeth.
"Nick had broken my big toe and I was crying because it was hurting a lot. Mom wasn't home and grandma was changing your diaper in your room." began James.
"And I was feeling so bad about breaking his big toe that I was crying with him." said Nicholas, smiling.
"Well, we knew the spell to put my toe back in place but we were six, we didn't have any wands. So Nick found grandma's in the living room and tried to Episkey my toe, but…"
"I made four of his toes lose their bones instead." Nick finished, wincing.
"And that's why I had to drink Skele-Gro for a whole night. I still remember the taste and the pain…" James shuddered. "It was horrible."
"Maybe I should go to Hogwarts after dinner." Florence said, looking at her husband.
"You know you shouldn't." Severus said softly. "Harry doesn't know a thing about you, love, the boy would freak out if you began treating him as…"
"As if I cared about him?" Florence interrupted him. "Because I do. I am his godmother and I love that boy! I should be the one looking after him…" and she stopped talking, knowing she would end up crying if she went on.
There was a moment of silence, where Severus just looked at her with compassion. But Florence didn't say anything else.
"Sometimes I think about him." James said, after a while.
"We remember him." Nicholas said. "We remember a few things about him. He used to stay with us at grandma's. I liked him."
"And I remember the times we visited Aunt Lily…" James said. "I hated him so much."
"I remember that." Florence chuckled.
"I feel sorry for him." Elizabeth said, sipping her strawberry juice. "He could have grown here, with us, with love, but he never had any of it. And now dad says that Harry would freak out if mom treated him as a kid must be treated, with love… it's just sad."
"Yes, it really is." the twins said, softly.
Christopher looked at his mother and whispered:
"Poor Harry."
Aren't they the most empathetic group of Slytherins you've ever seen? Severus asked, trying to make his wife laugh.
It somewhat worked, for Florence smiled at him.
He picked up her left hand and kissed her wedding ring.
"Oy, you two!" said James, throwing a balled-up napkin at his father. "Don't start that!"
Florence chuckled and quickly kissed her husband's lips.
"You're exaggerating, Jamie!" Elizabeth chuckled. "Dad only kissed mom's hand!"
"Shut it, Liz. I'm protecting you and Chris from the things I've seen!"
The girl just rolled her eyes.
"You've never seen anything, James." Florence shook her head.
"I've seen enough." James replied.
Can you imagine these kids in Hogwarts? Florence asked her husband. The amount of trouble they'd get themselves in.
Severus just shook his head, adding through their bond: James wouldn't even need to put the Sorting Hat on, he'd cross in front of it and the thing would shout DURMSTRANG! Take this one to Durmstrang!
And Florence laughed.
December 1992
Hogwarts
High table
When Lockhart approached him during lunch one day, Severus knew it couldn't be anything good.
"Prof. Snape! Headmaster Dumbledore has given me permission to reopen the Duelling Club!"
Florence and her husband glanced at Dumbledore who was sitting two chairs away from them.
"And?" Severus asked, arching an eyebrow.
"Well, he told me to ask you to be my assistant in a demonstration. And I hope Madam Delacour accepts my invitation to watch us duelling." Lockhart looked at Florence and winked.
Will you do it? She asked her husband.
He keeps winking at you. What do you think?
Florence hid her laughter with her glass of juice.
"Of course, Lockhart. I'll be your... assistant." Severus replied slowly.
"And I wouldn't miss that for the world." Said Florence, smiling.
"Excellent!" exclaimed Lockhart, leaning forward to speak to the man. "And don't worry, Severus. I'll go easy on you."
They watched Lockhart walking to Dumbledore and telling him that Severus had accepted to be his assistant.
"Tell Pomfrey to have a bed ready for him." He whispered to his wife.
"I wouldn't expect anything less." But Florence paused, thinking. "However, I wouldn't put it past dear Albus to make me, and not Poppy, look after Lockhart just to spite you."
Severus grimaced at the prospect. "You're right. I'll just humiliate him then."
"No injuries? That will be no fun."
Severus smirked, Love that sense of humour, princess.
Duelling Club
Later that day
One of the four big tables of the Great Hall had been turned into a long stage with a moon plastic cover on it to protect the wood from damage. All students stood around it, waiting expectantly for the two professors to duel.
Florence was standing near the stage, close to Draco Malfoy and his friends. While Severus stood at one end of the table, both hands clasped behind his back, looking like he'd rather be cleaning cauldrons.
Lockhart saw Florence and walked quickly towards her, taking her hand and laying a kiss on it, holding it longer than necessary.
"What a delight to see you here, Madam Delacour! Hope you enjoy this little demonstration of my abilities!" there was another wink, before he walked onto the stage. "Can everybody see me? Can you all hear me? Excellent! In light of the dark events of recent weeks Prof. Dumbledore has granted me permission to restart this Duelling Club to train you all up, in case you ever need to defend yourselves – as I myself have done on countless occasions." he smiled at Florence. "Let me introduce you my assistant, Prof. Snape." and Severus walked onto the stage, looking bored. "He has sportingly agreed to help with a short demonstration. Now, I don't want any of you to worry." he winked at Florence again. "You'll still have you Potions Master when I'm through with him. Never fear!"
"My godfather is going to end that pompous git." Draco Malfoy murmured to his friends.
Florence just smiled at the boy, hearing the pride in his voice when he called Severus his 'godfather'.
She looked at the stage again and Lockhart seemed ready to begin.
"On the count of three." said Lockhart. "One. Two. Three."
"Expelliarmus." Severus cast.
And Lockhart lost his wand before stumbling backwards a few meters, nearly falling on his ass at the far end of the stage.
Some students cheered, while others (mostly girls) looked worried.
Lockhart slowly regained his balance and walked back towards the centre of the stage, picking up his wand on the way.
"Excellent idea to show them that, Prof. Snape. But if you don't mind my saying so, it was pretty obvious what you were about to do. If I had wanted to stop you it would have been only too easy…" Severus was looking murderous and Lockhart certainly noticed, because he suddenly said: "Enough demonstrating! Let's have a volunteer pair. Potter. Weasley. How about you?"
"Weasley's wand causes devastation with the simplest spells. Madam Delacour will be taking Potter to the hospital wing in a matchbox. Mind if I choose someone from my own house? Malfoy, perhaps?" and then he pointed to the boy and Draco got up on the stage.
Florence shook her head. Feeding the animosity, Severus?
If Harry can't hold his own against Draco, we'd better send him back to the Dursleys.
She had to agree to his logic.
Both boys bowed and, before Lockhart had finished counting, Draco was casting his spell:
"Everte Statum!"
Harry fell back with the impact of the throw-back spell, but quickly got up, casting:
"Rictusempra!"
And Draco flew up in the air, laughing and falling next to Severus's feet, but Harry's spell was weak and the effect soon wore off. Severus pulled his godson up by the shirt and Draco walked towards Harry, casting:
"Serpensortia!"
Then a big black snake was on the stage, raising itself, choosing its target, getting ready to strike a Hufflepuff student.
Severus, do something! The snake will attack Fletchley! Florence told him, a little alarmed
He quickly walked towards the hissing animal. "Don't worry, Potter. I'll get rid of it, no one move!"
"Leave it to me, Prof. Snape " said Lockhart, casting a spell that sent the animal flying up in the air.
"What an idiot." Florence muttered, receiving a smiling glance from the students around her, Draco amongst them.
And the snake got really angry, furiously hissing and going towards the Hufflepuff student again. Florence got closer to the stage, watching that scene, waiting for her husband to do something. But then everybody heard a second hissing sound – and it was coming from Harry.
No one in the Great Hall said a word and both teachers looked shocked.
Severus quickly looked at his wife.
He's calming the snake down. She let him know.
And he just nodded.
Once the animal had stopped hissing and was just staring at Harry, as if waiting for his next order, Severus pointed his wand at it and muttered:
"Vipera Evanesca."
And the snake vanished.
Florence and Severus ran to the Headmaster's office, where they found Dumbledore alone, but the paintings had already told him what had happened at the Duelling Club.
"I told you Harry was a Parselmouth!" Florence shouted at her husband. "I heard Granger's thoughts that night and I told you that Harry had heard the same as I!
"I can't understand how this is possible!" Severus looked at Dumbledore.
"I don't understand it either." the Headmaster said.
"Of course you don't." Florence murmured sarcastically. "Do you think it can be Harry who is opening the Chamber of Secrets?" she asked them.
"No. Harry has a good heart, he wouldn't attack muggleborns." said Severus. "Hermione Granger is muggleborn and she's one of his best friends."
"We both know that having muggleborn friends doesn't guarantee a person won't turn against them, Severus." Florence said, angrily.
"Ok, ok. Let's not fight, children." said Dumbledore noticing she was reacting too angrily at that situation. "Florence, you don't seem yourself, dear, are you ok?"
"That's because I'm not!" She exclaimed. "My father possessed a teacher and was walking these hallways until months ago! Now I'm hearing Parseltongue, there's an unknown creature on the loose and Harry can talk to snakes too!" she exclaimed, her eyes getting a shade lighter than usual.
Dumbledore glanced at Severus, seeing that he was worried too, and then he said: "I understand."
"No!" she interrupted. "I don't think you do! You knew about Quirrell and let him stay!"
The Headmaster didn't deny.
She got angrier. "You exposed us to him! You..."
"You haven't really been trying to hide anymore, have you?" Dumbledore interrupted her. "Tom would know about you sooner or later. The whole wizarding world knows at least one rumour about you two." He looked at them both over the rim of his half-moon glasses. "Now, about the Chamber of Secrets: although Harry is a Parselmouth, I don't think it's him who is opening the Chamber." He looked at Florence. "And, for the record, I don't think it's your presence here either – if that was the case, this would've happened years ago. No. Someone is actually opening the Chamber and controlling the monster."
"But who?" asked Severus. "Who else has connection to Slytherin?"
Dumbledore shook his head, seeming sincere. "I don't know, and for that reason, I think it would be good if you, Florence, stayed a couple of nights here in the castle, maybe you'll hear someone speaking Parseltongue again."
She looked at the Headmaster, still a hint of anger in her light green eyes.
"Sure, Dumbledore." she said, getting her veela under control.
"She'll have a fake room in the dungeons." Said Severus a little angry.
"But not near your quarters." Dumbledore said. "We already have enough gossip about you two going around the castle."
"But she'll stay in the dungeons." Severus repeated. "I don't want Lockhart anywhere near her. You have no idea how much I want to strangle him just for kissing her hand."
Florence looked at her husband and smiled a little at his jealousy.
However, even though Florence stayed in the castle, and she didn't hear anything, more students – and even a ghost – fell victims of the unknown monster: the Gryffindor ghost, Nearly-Headless Nick, was petrified, as well as a Hufflepuff second-year student, Justin Finch-Fletchley and a Gryffindor first-year, Colin Creevey, but no new clues were uncovered.
The petrified victims were kept in the hospital wing and Florence stopped sleeping every night in the castle, for her kids needed her home.
But, on Christmas night, Florence was called by Pomfrey, right after dinner, to go quickly back to the hospital wing for she needed someone better at spells than herself.
"Pomfrey! I'm here!" Florence exclaimed, walking out of the infirmary's fireplace and instantly finding out the reason she'd been called. "Miss Granger!" she said as she saw the half-girl half-cat sitting on one of the beds.
"I believe she needs the counter-spell for Polyjuice Potion." Said Pomfrey, angrily, adding: "Don't you think we already have enough problems, Miss Granger?" she pointed at the petrified victims on the other beds.
Florence walked closer to examine the girl, identifying right away what had caused her condition.
"I know you are clever enough to not use animal hair on a Polyjuice Potion, Hermione." Florence said.
"It was an accident, I thought they were human hair!" Hermione cried. "Will you be able to help me?"
"Yes, dear. But you'll have to stay here a few days. Now lie back and I'll cast the counter-spell, which I'll probably have to cast a few times... and Pomfrey will give you something for the fur balls."
"Fur balls?" the girl asked, shocked.
"You're a cat now, Miss Granger!" Said Pomfrey. "Well, half-cat. Some fur balls are to be expected!" then she went to her potions storage to get some vials.
"Now," Florence said, pointing her wand to the girl's face. "Polyfluis reverso." And some of the fur vanished. "In a few hours, I'll cast it again. And in about two days, I believe, you'll be back to normal."
"Thank you, Madam Delacour." Hermione whispered, trying to relax on the bed.
"Now, I have to ask you: why did you use Polyjuice for, Hermione?"
The girl averted her gaze, her little hands fidgeting on the bed covers, showing her nervousness. Then she whispered: "We wanted to make Malfoy confess he's the one opening the Chamber of Secrets. But it turns out he's not."
"Of course he's not, dear." Said Florence. "Any Genealogy book in the library would tell you that! The Malfoys' only connection to Salazar Slytherin is having worked for You-know-who."
"So I could've just got a book about wizard families instead..." she looked at Florence, surprised at the fact she hadn't thought of that.
"Instead of spending a month brewing a potion that would help you learn nothing except the feeling of having a tail?" Added Florence, nodding. "Yes. I do have to congratulate you, though, for being able to successfully brew it."
"Will you tell Prof. Snape?" Hermione grimaced.
"I won't." Florence lied. "I know you've stolen some ingredients from him. Don't worry about any more punishment." She covered the girl with the duvet. "Take whatever Pomfrey gives you and I'll be here in five hours to cast the spell again."
"Thank you, Madam Delacour."