I really don't have much to say about this chapter other than the fact that I hope you enjoy it and Review!

Chapter 4

Aurora knew that she would get it later, but in the heap of emotion she always acted before thinking. She wouldn't wander too far from the house, just to the church and after she had a couple minutes to calm down she would head back. The church was empty because it was Saturday but Aurora knew that it was always open around the back.

The church had a smell to it that Aurora just absolutely adored. It was a warm scent that just sort of made Aurora's heart melt. This was a place where Aurora could just be herself, sort of. She was never allowed to let people know the true history of her past. She was only allowed to tell them what Severus let her. They went with the story that Lily and him had married and then divorced and he had only discovered that Aurora was his child when school had started. It wasn't that hard to keep up with but she did feel bad about lying in a place of worship.

On the brighter side it was nice to be in a place where people did not stare at her scar or make comments about her triumph over Voldemort. Sighing Aurora went and sat down on one of the pews. It was surprisingly cool in the church and Aurora found herself having to wrap her robe tightly around herself. She was glad no one was in here, without thinking she had run out still in her pajamas.

"Good morning, Aurora."

Of course someone would just pop up out of nowhere. It just had to happen, her being in her pajamas and crying begged for someone to come and view this rare spectacle.

"Maybe not so good," Mr. Marks commented. "If you are crying."

"It's fine." Aurora sniffled.

"Now," Mr. Marks smiled, handing her a tissue. "Nothing can be good if you say it like that."

"They're…they're happy tears?" Aurora breathed, trying to smile.

"Just like your father," Mr. Marks chuckled. "Trying to hide your true feelings because you feel the need to be the strongest one in the room."

Aurora bowed her head as another few tears slid down the bridge of her nose. Even if she wanted to tell Mr. Marks what was bothering her she never could; not the real reason anyway. Mr. Marks was not a wizard and even if he was he was a religious man, there was no way he would support it.

"I miss my mum." She whispered, lamely.

"Ah," Mr. Marks said sadly. "Severus told me about Lily and James…some man murdered them?"

Aurora nodded.

"It's all my fault." She sobbed. "He got away because of me."

"You were a baby." Mr. Marks said appalled. "And God blessed you enough to make sure you survived."

He just wasn't getting it, and Aurora desperately wished that she could correct him and tell him the true story…but Severus had made her promise not to reveal what they were to any muggles. So as best as she could she stopped the many tears that were rolling down her face and she put a small smile on her face.

"I know that smile," Mr. Marks said sadly. "Severus would wear it when he knew that he could not tell me something."

"I'm sorry Mr. Marks." She said sniffling. "I'm okay really."

"I'm not going to pry," he said warmly. "But if you ever need to talk to someone I'm here. I know you have Severus, but sometimes talking about things is easier when it's not your parents."

Aurora nodded sadly and stood from the pew. She wasn't sure what she should expect going back to the house. Severus would probably yell at her and what if Professor Dumbledore had taken offense to her actions! More tears started to stream down her cheeks, she really hoped he wasn't upset…the gift had been a beautiful token of the Headmaster's appreciation for her. She really did love it, just in a heap of emotion and angst she had to leave for a moment.

"Would you like me to drive you home?"

"It's not that far of a walk," Aurora whispered. "I'll be fine."

"It looks like it's about to rain."

Aurora turned to the darkened sky and sighed, she knew that she wouldn't make it home before the rain but she didn't want to take up anymore of Mr. Marks's time.

"It's fine really, I'll run."

"If you insist," Mr. Marks said walking her to the front entrance. "But if you get home and you do decide you need someone to confide in please do not hesitate to get in contact with me."

"Okay," Aurora said, with a nod. "I'll see you Sunday Mr. M."

Just as Aurora had thought, she could not beat the rain home. It wasn't a cold rain though and it actually felt pretty good on the walk home. Her robe and hair got drenched but she really didn't mind. As mentioned before it felt very good on her skin. But Aurora knew that she was in deep; she didn't know what her father would say to her exactly but she knew that nothing good was going to come from it. Aurora's fast pace walk sunk into one of a slow sort of trudge; if she was going to get grounded again there was nothing wrong about enjoying the little freedom she had at the moment.

Thunder clapped in the sky and Aurora cringed. She used to remember nights like that, if she even heard the smallest bit of thunder her mind tricked her into thinking it was Uncle Vernon storming downstairs prepared to rip her out of bed. Aurora's hands became cold and she quickly shook the thought away. Christian said that she would often experience flashbacks, but it had been months since she had really thought of anything like that before. If Severus found out he would double her therapy sessions to twice a week again. So it remained seen that Severus would just not know, and she would move on from it like nothing happened.

Her feet finally carried her far enough so that she was right on the front step. Aurora placed her hand on the door knob and sighed. So what would her approach be on this? Of course she would apologize to Professor Dumbledore for being so rude; as well as assured him that she adored her birthday present. Then her father would no doubt scold her into oblivion for running off and then send her to her room so she could think things over, hopefully she kept her head long enough to keep the two of them from ending up in some sort of argument.

So with her lip firmly bit Aurora opened the front door and slipped inside. Surprisingly there was no one in the living room and Aurora felt that this was a great time to slip her drenched robe off and dump it in the clothes bin downstairs. But just as she was about to enter the kitchen a firm hand landed on her shoulder; and out of sheer reflux Aurora spun around and pulled it off. However to her relief, at least until she saw the expression he wore, Severus was standing over her.

"I know," Aurora breathed, amazed at how hoarse she sounded. "I know…and I know that sorry is not good enough…"

Severus crossed his arms over his chest and cocked his one eyebrow.

"But please…daddy, don't yell at me…I know that I should have been more careful…and that I'm reckless…and that you could probably do a lot…b-b-better than me…"

Aurora felt warm tears mix with the warm rain water, she didn't know where this need for self pity was coming from…maybe it was just a brief feeling of just overwhelmed grief that had washed over her when Professor Dumbledore gave her that gift.

"I…I really did love the present," she cried. "But…but I saw her face…and his…and I heard….I heard her voice…I didn't m-m-mean to look like a brat…I'm sorry…"

Severus's heart melted the moment she started crying, and he knew that Aurora was genuinely sorry. But he hadn't been angry with Aurora, just worried that he didn't know where she was heading. He knew that Aurora knew well enough to come back, but he did not want her getting hurt in the process. He had figured out where she had gone when he saw the direction she was running. So he assumed that she would be in good hands so long as Mr. Marks was in the church. The only implication as far as Severus could see was the fact that she was drenched in rain water and hysterical.

Aurora waited for him to yell at her but it didn't happen, rather he wrapped his arms around her and held her close. To Aurora that was far worse, if he yelled at her she would get angry and stop crying…but if he hugged her because he felt sympathetic then she just felt worse than before. Which resulted in her crying harder.

"Rory," Severus said gently. "I could find no better than you, because you are my one and only daughter."

Rory felt her eyes well up once more and she buried her face farther into Severus's robes.

"You are forgiven Aurora," he breathed. "And I know that you did not do that to be rude, you are having some difficulty expressing emotions because you are a teenager."

Severus chuckled and said, "most teens do."

"I…I'm still…sorry dad." She whimpered.

"And I believe you Aurora," Severus cooed. "And I know that Albus understands as well. All you need is some time to cope and I think some time when your father is not out working."

Aurora looked up at Severus, tears carefully balanced in her lovely hazel eyes. Severus felt his stomach clench slightly, those damn eyes that belonged to James. Still he smiled warmly down at her and wiped the few stray tears that were on her cheeks.

"I'm sorry I have been putting in so many hours at St. Mungo's." he apologized. "I will be home from now on and you will have me for as long as you need me all school year long."

Aurora smiled and hugged Severus once more. That was all she wanted, she wanted the promise that things would go back to the way they were. Then again she supposed it took two to make that happen, this year she would have to behave.

"Did Papa Albus leave?" Aurora sniffled.

Severus smiled and shook his head.

"Actually he is sitting in my study waiting for you to go in," he placed his palm on Aurora's moist shoulder. "He is not mad, but before you talk to him go and get dressed."

With a somewhat hesitant nod Aurora headed towards the stairs and made her way upstairs to her bedroom. She didn't know what she planned on wearing and she really felt absolutely no need to get dressed up. Stripping herself of her wet clothes and going into her bathroom to get a towel she pulled a pair of blue jeans from her closet and a white cammie from the dresser drawer. It was simple and perfect for this warm weather. As soon as Aurora felt presentable and her hair was in a nice bun she walked downstairs to her father's study.

She got to the door and just froze; she really hoped she did not hurt Professor Dumbledore. He was a grandfather to her and Aurora absolutely adored him with all her heart. It felt like she was outside in the rain once more. What would she say to him? Maybe she would be able to just say a simple, "I'm sorry, Papa Albus." And that would be enough. Sighing she opened the office door and walked inside.

To her great dismay her grandfather sat in Severus's chair, his eyes glued to the Daily Prophet. She really didn't want to have to interrupt him, but she also did not want to stand and wait for him to finish his paper.

"Hem," she coughed and that was surprisingly all it took before Dumbledore's head came up.

He smiled warmly at Aurora, which made her feel so horrible. Her eyes fell to the ground and she eyed her bare feet as they moved across the hardwood floor.

"Child," the Headmaster said gently. "Come here, do not act like a stranger because you think you offended me."

Aurora still did not look up but she did as Dumbledore asked and moved so that she was hovering over him.

"I…I'm sorry Professor Dumbledore…I really do love my present…and it was very nice of you to do that for me."

Dumbledore's hand reached out and touched her arm, gently.

"My dear girl," he said warmly. "I do not blame you for your reaction, I understand that it must be hard for you and I do not care for you any less."

Aurora nodded, and smiled slightly.

"Come and sit next to me for a moment so we can talk," he said, still as gentle as ever. "Grandfather to granddaughter."

Aurora went and dragged one of her father's office chairs and brought it over so that her and Dumbledore were sitting down next to one another.

"You still do not believe that I hold no grudge against you." Dumbledore said with a small sigh.

"I'm sorry, sir-

-now, now." Dumbledore said, patting her knee gently. "Today is your birthday-

-actually yesterday was, sir." Aurora said, sadly.

"Very well," Dumbledore chuckled. "Today shall count as part two of your wonderful existence."

Wonderful? Aurora smiled and looked up at Dumbledore to see his wise eyes glitter in front of her.

"You are a very sweet girl my dear." Dumbledore said standing. "You do not know how much you mean to both Severus and me."

Very gently he placed a kiss on his forehead and stood from his chair.

"I am so glad you love your present and I cannot wait to see you at the start of term feast."

"Yes, sir."

"And remember my dear," he said at the door. "All is forgiven."

Aurora nodded as Professor Dumbledore readjusted his glasses and walked out of the study leaving her there to sit and ponder things over. So the Headmaster was not mad, that was a good thing…she still felt horrid about the way she had behaved. Maybe it would be best if she looked at the album and actually tried to enjoy the site of her mother. But to Aurora's great dismay, she wasn't sure where to find it. And she really did not want to ask her dad where it was, she knew that Severus had said he had forgiven her but she really just wanted to pretend that this whole day had never happened.

Taking her leave Aurora went upstairs to her bedroom and decided that she would finally finish her Summer homework. The kitchen was usually where she did her homework but Aurora knew that it would be better for her to finish her reading assignment first and then she would do the writing work later, when Severus was in the basement brewing potions.

Her hands continued down her bookshelf until it stopped upon an unfamiliar book binding. Biting her lip she held her finger there. It was the album, she couldn't very well ignore it all her life. What was she afraid of anyhow? It was nothing but pictures, moving pictures, but it wasn't like they could talk. She wasn't staring at the mirror of Erised, she would not have to listen to her mother's sweet voice…they were just pictures. So Aurora pulled the album from its shelf and opened it.

Her mother really was beautiful, but Aurora did not know how people could say she looked even a bit like her. To Aurora Lily's beauty far surpassed her own. And James, James was so handsome! She could see where her bad eyes had come from…James was wearing glasses too! Turning a page in the album Aurora found another picture with her mother, father, and her as a baby. Smiling Aurora walked over to the bed and sat down, her mom held the baby so tenderly that it looked like Lily was afraid she would break in her arms.

Aurora turned another page and her eyes widened! It was Severus…Severus and her mom when they were students. And Aurora knew this because they were both in uniform and Severus was unmistakable. She smiled at the moving picture of her father and Lily who was sitting near the Black Lake smiling widely up at the camera. She had never seen Severus so happy before or so young. He was a very pale boy; Aurora could only imagine how hard it would be for him to spend time in the sun. Maybe that was why he preferred the Dungeons so much and the reason for people referring to him as a Dungeon Bat.

This really was a wonderful well thought out present and Aurora felt horrible with how she had treated it. She promised that nothing would happen to this photo album, it was her way to see what her parents looked like and she owed the Headmaster so much for giving it to her. Aurora laid back on her bad clutching the album close to her chest. Professor Dumbledore had been so thoughtful to give this to her. She knew that he said he had no qualms when it came to her behavior; but she just could not help but feel that she had royally messed up when it came to her grandfather.

Maybe that was just her over thinking things again.

Severus read over this case file Michael had mailed to him by owl. He knew why Mike had mailed this to him; this person needed a potion of some sort. And from the looks of the poison this person had ingested it would take more than a bezoar to cure her. This potion would take him all night to brew; but Aurora was upstairs doing her homework. Surely he could get away with brewing these potions and she would not suspect a thing. He had promised his little girl that she would stop working, but if the one who needed this potion did not get it in time they could very well die.

Taking the letter downstairs with him Severus left to disappear into the basement. It was colder downstairs and Severus was always reminded of the potions lab when he was downstairs. He normally wouldn't allow Aurora downstairs, but as her interest in potions grew Severus brought her downstairs often to teach her how to brew more complicated elixirs. Smiling slightly Severus set up his cauldron and prepared himself for a very complicated brewing.

Aurora sighed, she just could not understand this one essay question her father had assigned. Leave it to Severus to leave her with the one question she could not bring herself to figure out on her own. Taking her book and parchment she set out to find Severus and see if he would be willing to aid her when it came to her homework.

"Dad?" she called, coming down the stairs.

The living room was empty as was Severus's study and the kitchen. It was not like Severus to up and leave without telling her. So that meant there was only one other place he could be and not be able to respond to her calls. He was in his potions lab downstairs. Aurora left her parchment upstairs and continued down to the lower level of the house.

She could see Severus in front of a bubbling cauldron stirring and mixing various ingredients into the frothing liquid. Aurora crossed her arms over her chest and cocked her one eyebrow.

"So…what's this?" Aurora asked, skeptically.

The Potions Master looked startled to see her at first but he quickly regained his composure.

"Rory," he said gently. "You should be doing your homework."

"I was," she said, coldly. "I needed help, but I can see that you are once again far too busy for me."

"Aurora-

-no, it's okay…work comes first, I guess."

Aurora bowed her head slightly, turned her back on him, and made her way back up the steps. She could do the homework alone, she didn't need her father's help. She had finished all of her other assignments this essay was her final one. But she didn't need Severus's help, she could figure out the answer herself.

Severus watched as Aurora slowly trudged back up the steps into the kitchen. He looked down at his potion and immediately felt something he could not stand feeling. Guilt, how far was he going to push Aurora until she was completely gone from him? He knew that Aurora understood that he had to work, but he knew that what he was doing now was not his usual work schedule. He couldn't do this anymore, it was time for him to give up his job as a private practice Healer. He needed to spend some quality time with Aurora and show her that he loved her dearly. So, it was a very heavy heart that he would have to ask Dumbledore to help him financially.

They were leaving for the school tomorrow morning. Severus was going to drop Aurora off at the Platform with Ashley and then he would meet them at the school. It was good that he would get there before her, because while Aurora was riding to Hogwarts on the train he would be able to discuss a raise in his salary while she was away. He would finish this potion because it would be a waste of very expensive potion ingredients if he didn't and then he would explain to Aurora the situation when he saw her at school tomorrow evening.

(no flames :) )