Chapter 7 - Aurors and Wards
Severus had drank several tumblers of firewhiskey, but the memories that the confrontation with Madame Hermione Black had brought back into the fore of his brain were not subsiding. It was only a few days after the fall of the Dark Lord and he knew it was only a matter of time for the Aurors to arrest him and take him to Azkaban however briefly that would be. Dumbledore had vowed to exonerate him. He poured himself more when there was a insistent pounding on his door.
Here they are, he thought. Took them long enough.
He stood steadily the great amount of alcohol in his system only slightly slowing his motor skills. He opened the door to find...
He found the very same woman he had been cursing only some minutes ago, Madame Hermione Black, at his door clutching her one year old son whose wide eyes were scared and restless, because something was troubling his mother who was normally very calm.
"Madame Black," he said as if not quite believing that she was there at his door.
"Severus, can we- can we stay here for the night. There's nowhere else for us to go," she pleaded. Not quite registering her words, he made space and gestured for her to come in. Once the young mother had passed him he was able to gather his wits about him.
"You told Walburga, didn't you?"
She nodded.
"May I?" she asked gesturing to a side table. He nodded. She took out her wand and transfigured the table into a crib. She lowered the little toddler into it and hummed a lullaby for him while tucking him in. Something about the scene struck Severus nothing short from amazing. The little boy fell asleep immediately and she waved her wand over the crib warding and casting monitoring spells that would alert her if her son needed her.
"What happened?" he asked in an almost bored tone. The young witch took a few steadying breaths and blinked rapidly trying to keep herself together. She was however unsuccessful and began sobbing uncontrollably. Having a crying woman in his quarters with a small child sleeping by had come as an utter surprise and he was at a quite a loss of what to do. Acting on instinct he took hold of her hands and led her to the sofa sitting her down and gently caressing her hair. Sensing that she needed even more comfort he gathered her into his arms and let her cry. Soon her sobs quieted, but she did not withdraw immediately. When she did, she cleared her throat a few times before pulling out a handkerchief from her sleeve to dry up her tears.
"I'm sorry for barging in on you like this, Severus, especially after our earlier... disagreement, but Wallburga was still at the cottage when we left and I'm afraid what she will do with it. It is my house, by the small inheritance Regulus left me, the rest is in a fund for Cepheus, but I could not stay in fear of what she might do to Cepheus knowing he is a half-blood," she explained and sighed dejectedly. "It's not really what happened today that got to me. I just miss him so much. Sometimes I feel like I can't go on another day. I only have my son."
"I understand," was all he said as they sat in silence in his sitting room. After some time he said, "I do have duties to perform tomorrow, so I must bid you goodnight, but if it is any help, I can go to the cottage tomorrow after classes to see if it is safe for you to return to. You can take the bedroom."
"I would be forever grateful if you could do that and help me reset the wards as to not allow Wallburga access. And no, I can sleep out here. It is best I am close to my son."
"As you wish," he said with a nod and got up and left the room. He turned and watched through the crack of the door as she got up and took of her shoes and then transfigured her cloak in to a quilt. Before she lay down she bowed over the cot and stroked her son's hair and kissed his forehead humming a lullaby softly. The homely scene filled his heart with a foreign longing in his heart. He wanted to see a woman taking care of a child of his own. All his life Severus Snape had abhorred children and had come to dislike them even more after beginning teaching just the year before, but perhaps his own child would be different, especially if his or her mother was of as a keen intellect as he.
He shut the door feeling like an intruder. He could imagine all too clearly how his long gone friend Regulus would come and encircle the witch's waist and nuzzle her neck as they would gaze at their beautiful progeny. And she would bring her hand up to caress her husband's cheek lovingly, the three of them peacefully blissful in their own private world. Alas, it was not to be for the likes of him.
As morning came, so came the Aurors and he had no time to go check on the cottage or begin with his classes. He didn't even have time to exchange words with Hermione Black before he was taken to Azkaban to await his trial. He prayed that Albus would keep true to his word and belatedly asked the gods to keep Cepheus and Hermione safe.
She was quite suddenly woken by the cries of Cepheus and the violent knocking on the door. Getting up she took her son into her lap and crooned soothingly at him wondering if she should answer the door. Deciding it was not her place, she instead knocked at the bedroom door of Severus Snape.
"Severus, wake up! There is someone at the door!" she called out and went to the fireplace to Floo the kitchens for some breakfast for them.
Soon the Potions master emerged from his room fully clothed to answer the door. Before he could do anything, the Aurors came in and arrested him confiscating his wand. Hermione quickly transfigured the cot back into a table and went about feeding the porridge the house-elves had sent to Cepheus as if nothing odd was going on. After last night and sleeping in a strange place she thought that he needed even a modicum of regularity in his recently fairly turbulent life.
As the Magical Law Enforcement swept through the rooms they first paid no heed to them, but after they had finished their breakfast and Cepheus wanted to try his walking abilities to explore the new place, a rare treat for him, one of the Aurors stopped and asked her:
"Who are you?"
"Herminia Black," she answered without hesitation. "I am a close friend of Severus'. Well, not as close as my husband was."
"Your husband wouldn't be the murderer, Sirius Black, would it?" the Auror asked.
"No, I was married to his younger brother, Regulus."
"And what of him?" another Auror inquired.
"Dead, never did find anything to bury," she answered sadly. They seemed to sense this and one of the politer once said,
"We are sorry for your loss, Mrs. Black."
While they were talking Hermione had been holding Cepheus' hand in hers, but he was clever already at a young age and had slipped from her hold only to tug on the robes of the Auror who had originally questioned her.
"And who is this little man?"
"My son," she answered simply.
"May we inquire what is your current relationship with Mr. Snape?" the Auror asked.
"What are you implying? I haven't seen my friend for a long time, surely it is not a crime to share breakfast with him?" Hermione asked and arched an eyebrow. "Ceph, come here."
Cepheus smiled mischievously and hid behind the Auror thinking they would play. Hermione did not wait, but swooped her son up.
"If you would excuse me, I have something I must discuss with the Headmaster," she said and made her way to the door.
"Mrs. Black," the Auror called out. Hermione stopped in her tracks and turned to look inquisitively at the man. "Do you have information of Mr. Snape's activities during the years of 1978 to only a few days ago?"
"No, I'm afraid I have no idea. I never did meet him before I was betrothed to my husband during Easter holiday 1979 and the next time I met him was during my wedding in the beginning of the very same summer. We only became close after the birth of my son. We live in a remote place. Not much news comes our way," she said.
"Thank you, Mrs. Black. If we have more questions, how can we contact you?"
"Through the Headmaster," was her simple answer and she made her way quickly from the dungeons. When she was on her way to the staircase to the main hall she came across the very person she was looking for. He was speaking to a light brown haired man who seemed to be young, but weathered and weary.
"Headmaster," she called out and the two men turned to look at her. The Headmaster smiled at her with a twinkle in his eye when the young man face was marred with a frown.
"Madame Black, what can I do for you?" Dumbledore asked. The frown on the other man's face turned into an expression of surprise. Hermione opened her mouth to say something when the younger man interrupted.
"Madame Regulus Black? The one Sirius came to meet?" he asked. She nodded and fought to keep the recognition from her face. The young man extended his hand, "Remus Lupin, I am- was a..."
"Friend of Sirius'. Yes, I know," Hermione said. "Hermione Black and this is Cepheus. Would you like to hold him?"
Remus nodded and Hermione handed her son over and then turned to Dumbledore.
"Albus, I need you to come with me to the cottage. Severus was going to come, but he was detained. I'm afraid of what Wallburga might have done," she whispered urgently.
"Hermione, afraid I cannot come at the current moment. I must to the Ministry. I am sure Remus can help you. I assume you know him from your time?" the Headmaster answered. When Hermione nodded, he turned to Remus and said, "She will need your help at resetting the wards at her home. This is of a great importance and must be done with utmost confidentiality."
"Yes, Headmaster," Remus answered. They walked in silence to the gate and Hermione apparated them both to the moor over Loch Choire.
Remus had never imagined meeting Madame Regulus Black, a mysterious woman who had sent a letter to his traitorous friend Sirius about a son and the death of his father and brother. After the meeting they had crowded him with questions, but Sirius had refused to answer any one of them. He had been unnaturally tight lipped and serious. There had been a subtle change in his demeanour and he had become more responsible, especially after Harry was born and he had become a godfather.
As far as meeting her if he had ever imagined a wife of Regulus Black it seemed that Hermione Black had not been it. He had gathered she was French from the use of monsieur and madame, but she spoke an English that was not accented with a foreign tinge and she seemed oddly at home in the cold, dreary weather of Scotland.
The moor they apparated to seemed uninhabited by anything human. There was a loch to the south. When they had stopped, she gently put her son down, a beautiful child who looked all the bit a aristocratic member of the house of Black as Sirius had, and pulled out a parchment and quill. She wrote something down on it and gave it to him to read. As he did the parchment incinerated and when he looked up and saw a lovely cottage that seemed to have been grown from the very moor. She exhaled deeply, a sigh of relief. At his questioning look she hastened to explain that she had had a row with Wallburga, better known to Remus as Mrs. Black, and she had not been sure the cottage would be there today.
Remus came to the conclusion that she wanted to him to see if it was safe to go inside. He walked in his wand drawn and discovered a wonderful library/dining room/sitting room beyond the foyer. The extra bedroom downstairs and the kitchen were empty of any nasty charms or inhabitants as wall of the downstairs. He moved carefully to the upper level to where he found the master bedroom, nursery and what seemed to be guest room. It held no personal items. Again, all was safe.
He went downstairs and motioned to her that it was safe. Her son had been running around and when the young mother picked him up, he rest his head on her shoulder and closed his eyes. She smiled and bypassed Remus to take her son to the nursery for a nap.
"Would you like some tea before we recast the Fidelius charm and reset the wards?" she asked as she came down.
"That would be lovely, Madame Black," he responded and followed her to the kitchen. She smiled.
"Hermione," she corrected.
"Then you must call me Remus."
She smiled again and nodded.
He observed her as she went about the kitchen preparing tea in a Muggle-way like his mother had when she had been alive. He found this and the absence of a house elf peculiar.
She was a small, yet shapely woman with a curly brown mane with chocolate eyes and a ready smile. There was air of youth and inner beauty around her that was laced with a deep sorrow and surprisingly, apprehension. He didn't know if her apprehension was directed towards his presence or was caused by something else. He found that he felt she was trustworthy. It was not a feeling one could commonly associate with a member of the Black family, but he had to remember she was only a member by matrimony.
There was not much of her even though she had the most wonderful sized breasts and round hips that must have only benefitted from bearing a child. He imagined to his consternation what it would feel like to hold her and be her beloved. He imagined she had madly loved her husband and found it hard to move onwards. She was a very beautiful woman.
"You will be happy, you know."
Her words took him by surprise and he was shaken from his reverie to see she was handing a cup of tea towards him. He took a sip and noted that she had known how to make it to his liking, which was odd since they had never met before. At least he could not remember seeing her before the main hall at Hogwarts.
"Excuse me?" was all he could do to respond.
"Well, you seemed to be far away and I know you have a hard time of it, because of your condition. But you will be happy one day. Never loose faith and when happiness comes your way, do not hesitate, because you deserve it."
"You know what I am?"
He couldn't help it. He was panic stricken. Was it so obvious what he was?
"Yes, a very gentle werewolf. But don't worry, your secret is safe with me and I have my ways of knowing many things. You cannot be found out by observation," she said in a way to reassure him. He nodded dumbly and they lapsed into silence.
"May I ask what your row was about?" he voiced after some time. She looked at him a bit sharply and answered.
"I told her I was a Muggle-born. She wasn't too happy about it."
"I can imagine," he said and she snorted. They finished the tea and went about recasting the heavy protection that was set on the dwelling. At one point Hermione went up and got Cepheus to join them outside as they continued working far into the afternoon.
"You will be one of those allowed to visit as will, like Dumbledore. If you ever need a place to stay for a longer period of time, please free welcome and make yourself at home. I hope we can become friends, but never discuss my existence with anyone else but Albus and Severus. Oh, and Sirius if you happen to see him again. He is also welcome here," she said as he was getting ready to leave.
"You don't want Sirius here, or haven't you heard the news?" Remus asked.
"Yes, I have. Family, remember? But I believe he can be trusted and that there is more to his story," she said.
"I doubt it," was his answer.
"We'll see, when the time comes," she said knowingly and he never had a chance to ask what she meant before she had closed the door.