Saturday at the Cabin

Minerva arrived back at the cabin early on Saturday. She discovered the young people busily preparing breakfast. Their noisy banter ceased when she entered.

"Carry on with your tasks," she said calmly. "Mr. Goyle, I wish to speak with you."

Goyle froze, forgetting that she was no longer his headmistress. With one nervous glance at Draco, he followed her back outside.

The rest of the group looked around at each other.

"She can't give him detention, right?" asked Luna brightly.

"If anyone could, it'd be Professor McGonagall," said Ron. "I wonder what she really wants."

Harry and Draco thought they might know, but after one glance at each other, they returned to preparing the meal.

Presently Goyle came inside and he was almost unrecognizable to the rest of them, because he was beaming.

"Vince, she wants to see you," he said faintly, sinking down on a chair at the table.

Crabbe went outside, looking less tense than his friend had.

"What did she say?" asked Ron curiously.

"She offered me a contract at Hogwarts, assisting Madam Pince in the library," Goyle said. "Starting this summer and going through the coming school year."

"How can you think that's a good thing?" demanded Neville, picturing the sour-faced librarian with a shudder. "She'll treat you like a slave!"

Goyle grimaced and said, "My other job prospect is to be an assistant at Borgin and Burkes, where I'd be treated like a slave too. It's a choice now, whether I want to be in Knockturn Alley or at Hogwarts. Professor McGonagall offered to pay me more than B and B too."

"Good for you," said Hermione stoutly. "Zelda and Professor Snape will be at Hogwarts and you'll be learning to take care of the books. You can read them too, when Madam Pince isn't looking!"

Draco realized that Zelda had come through for his friends. He had no doubt that Professor McGonagall had found a way to employ Crabbe too. It sounded as though the work would be hard and not glamorous, but a good alternative to what their families would find for them.

When Professor McGonagall and Crabbe entered the cabin, he too looked very relieved, although a little scared. He said nothing though, merely sitting down between Goyle and Harry.

"Is anyone else awake?" asked Minerva. "I expected to see one or two adults."

"We heard Alaric crying in the night," offered Hermione. "Zelda was awake an hour ago, but she looked exhausted and said she wanted to try to sleep again."

"That hardly explains the others," snorted Minerva, but her eyes twinkled.

"I'll see if my parents are awake," said Ginny, heading off without waiting for an answer.

"Miss Granger, I'm aware of everyone else's new position, but what will you do next?" asked Minerva.

Hermione flushed and said, "I'm going to be a summer intern in the office of the Wizengamot and I hope to get a real job with the Ministry after that. I want to learn how our government works."

"Do you aspire to a political career?"

"I haven't decided. What I've seen of politicians hasn't been great, not in the Muggle or the magical world. But I think government should do the right thing," she replied earnestly.

A door opened and Kingsley Shacklebolt appeared, looking alert and ready for mischief.

"Good morning, everyone," he said pausing to pet Rowena as she greeted him. "Minerva, I learned recently that you created a getaway for yourself here. Will you show it to me?"

"I'd almost forgotten it," she said. "It's a very pleasant little bolt hole, and was convenient for meeting Severus discreetly last summer."

She led him into the living room, and the young people all looked at Crabbe.

"Well?" asked Harry.

"She offered me a choice of positions at Hogwarts," said Crabbe. "I dunno what to do. I can assist Filch… Mr. Filch, I mean. Or I can help Professor Hagrid this summer. Either way, if it works out I can stay on during the next school year."

"What's wrong with that?" asked Luna.

"Are you kidding? It's Filch!" said Ron. "Choose Hagrid, Crabbe."

"But… I dunno, he never liked us, did he? We were… And there's the creatures…" muttered Crabbe. "But I want to go back to Hogwarts."

"Vince, I'm going to work for Madam Pince," said Goyle encouragingly. "I'm sure Zelda'll keep working with me and I want to learn a lot this coming year."

Crabbe looked to Draco, as he often had in the past.

"If these blokes say to work with Professor Hagrid, do it," he said. "We'll get together on weekends and you'll see Zelda often."

Crabbe and Goyle looked at each other and nodded. It wouldn't be easy, but it seemed to be their best choice.

&&&&&&&&&

"May I request a favor from you young people?" said Minerva as they ate breakfast. "If you're doing Muggle activities today, Professor Clearwater would like to join you."

None of them had taken Muggle Studies in the past year, so they knew little of the new teacher.

Grudgingly Harry said, "Sure, I guess."

"Come on, Harry, the more the merrier," said Elijah. "Um, the guy's not a creep, is he?"

"He seems all right," said Luna. "He's not as old as the rest of them."

Zelda met Severus's gaze and stifled a giggle.

"He probably wants to observe the way you novices react to Muggle culture. He won't get in your way," she said. "Since he's teaching my curriculum, please take him along."

When it seemed they'd all agreed, Kingsley offered to Apparate to Hogwarts and collect their guest.

"Thank you, Kingsley," Minerva said graciously.

So while the rest of them cleaned up after breakfast and prepared for the day, Kingsley Apparated away. Five minutes later he returned with Piers Clearwater, who looked around him at the sunny day and the cabin in the clearing.

"Piers, I'm glad you could come today," said Zelda. "I think you know who almost everyone is, but I want you to meet my children."

She took his hand and led him into the cabin.

"Eli, this is Piers Clearwater," she said to her son.

"Nice to meet you," said Elijah, holding out a hand.

"Thanks for allowing me to join you," he said. "Watching magical folk explore Muggle culture for the first time will help me work with my students."

"Well, Lily's the oldest, so you'd better fall in line in her monkey parade. We all do," said the experienced younger brother.

"I think she's in the living room," said Zelda.

Lily was sitting on the couch with Hermione, holding Alaric. They turned as Zelda brought the new arrival to them.

"Lils, this is Piers Clearwater. He wants to play with you all today," said Zelda. "Piers, this is my daughter Lily."

Lily looked up and saw a tall young man with her mother. He had light brown, curly hair and twinkling blue eyes.

"Hi, it's nice to meet you," she said, holding out her free hand as she held Alaric with the other.

"I'll try not to spoil your fun. I've never visited America before and I've had few opportunities to see magical people explore the Muggle world, so I appreciate being allowed to come along."

Zelda decided to leave them to get to know each other, so she took Alaric from her daughter and went in search of her husband. She found him deep in conversation with Minerva.

"Crabbe chose to work with Hagrid," she told him. "He told me he wishes to be at Hogwarts, so he can continue to work with Zelda. I believe he's nervous about the creatures, but he seems quite stubbornly determined."

"It's good of you to arrange this," said Severus. "There's no precedent for it."

"There's no reason why Hagrid and Poppy shouldn't have assistants. Zelda was quite determined that she didn't want those young men being dragged back into dark magic by their families."

"They seem quite unlikely protégées for her, but she's appallingly fond of them."

"Of course I am, they're very sweet," said Zelda, coming to stand next to him. "They never had the chance to be kind before, but they have a definite knack for it."

Arthur and Molly Weasley emerged from the guest room.

"What a marvelous day, " said Arthur. "How soon are we leaving?"

"It sounds like Michael and Lily are in charge, so ask them," said Zelda, smiling at him. "Molly, are you going too?"

"I can leave them and Apparate back here if it seems too awkward, but Lily told us about shopping malls and I'm very curious."

"It'll be interesting. But Molly," here Zelda lowered her voice, "I hope you can keep an eye on Vincent and Gregory. This'll be strange for them. I know Michael will be there for them, but…"

"Of course I will," the witch promised.

Molly was wearing a very pretty summer dress lent to her by Zelda and looked lovely. Arthur was wearing lightweight clothes procured by Michael and had no glaring errors to be discovered.

"You two look quite convincing," said Minerva. "We should have acquired Muggle fashion consultants long ago."

Lily stood up and clapped her hands like a kindergarten teacher getting her class's attention.

"Is everyone here?" she asked. "We're going to our house first and then we'll decide what to do."

Michael was partnering everyone up to Side-Along Apparate.

"Looks like we have enough people to do this," he said. "Let's head outside and we'll be off."

They all said goodbye to Zelda, Severus and Minerva. Elijah detoured to kiss the baby.

"We'll see you at supper time," he said. "We'll bring Pedro's, okay?"

"Wonderful," said Zelda. "Have fun."

Then there was silence, such a change that Rowena trotted to them and nosed Severus's hand.

"It's a good thing they're gone," he told the dog. "If you want to, you may herd Alaric this morning or take a nap."

The dog licked his hand and sat before him, gazing up alertly at him.

Minerva tried and failed to stifle a guffaw. "Severus, I'd never have imagined you as a dog owner."

"She's Zelda's," he replied reflexively. "What would you like to do now?"

"I brought some correspondence along," said Minerva. "I'll attend to that while things are quiet here, and after lunch I thought of taking a nap. Normally I have no opportunity for such an indulgence, but today's a holiday for me."

"Alaric's going to take his morning nap in the shade," said Zelda. "We'll be outside if you want us."

Severus had arranged a small cot outside and had brought Zelda's old hammock, something that brought a blush and a smile to her face when she saw it.

"Let's keep it here," she said. "That hammock has some special memories for me."

"One in particular for me," he replied. "But Minerva's here, so behave yourself."

"Me?" she asked innocently. "I have to feed the child again before his nap, so I'll need a chair."

He Levitated a comfortable one out of the sunshine and she settled down to feed Alaric. Severus lay down on his back in the hammock and looked at her, a hint of a smile on his normally harsh face. He often watched her with their son, drawn by her tenderness and the joy that radiated from her in these quiet moments.

Zelda shifted the baby's small weight to ease her back and then relaxed and watched him. Alaric's eyes darted everywhere when he heard a new sound, but he never forgot that his primary mission was nourishment. When she spoke, he'd look up at her so trustingly that it brought tears to her eyes.

"Sweet little love," she said softly, putting a finger down to play with his free hand.

She looked over at Severus and their eyes met. No words were necessary as their feelings mingled, causing an almost breathtaking surge of shared emotion. Whatever happened in the rest of her life, she thought, this moment was perfect.

&&&&&&&&&

Minerva emerged from a peaceful, uninterrupted work period to have lunch with Severus and Zelda. They sat at the small table under the trees, enjoying the slight breeze and talking. Alaric sat in his bouncy chair and watched them, cooing and chortling happily.

"Professor Sinistra is gone from Hogwarts," said Minerva. "She left last week."

It was a sore subject for Severus, but he breathed a sigh of relief all the same.

"Did she go quietly?" asked Zelda. "I thought she seemed too stubborn for that."

"Well…" said Minerva slowly, "I must say she argued with me. First she denied that Amortentia was involved, and said that Severus approached her spontaneously. But when I told her I'd spoken with witnesses, she argued there was no law against using a love potion."

"Perhaps there should be," said Zelda softly. "It seems to me that Amortentia is the potion equivalent of the Imperius Curse."

"I agree, but too many magical people see it as a lighthearted joke. Anyway, Aurora blustered about seeking redress from the Wizengamot. I don't know if she'll follow through."

Severus felt ill at the thought of being publicly exposed in such a way.

"I've heard nothing since then, so likely she's thought better of it," said Minerva bracingly. "I'm interviewing new Astronomy teachers now."

Severus maintained his impassive expression, hoping he masked his misgivings. He saw that Zelda shared his worry, but there was nothing to be done, so they allowed Minerva to change the subject.

"I'm grateful that you both came to Hogwarts," she said. "The students in this year were the most effected by Voldemort and the war. These wouldn't be looking forward to such promising futures without your assistance."

"They deserve their chance," said Zelda. "We owe it to our children to give them a good start."

Alaric chose this moment to screw up his face fretfully and begin to fuss. They all laughed as Severus picked up the child and studied him.

"Do I detect unhappiness?" he murmured, putting his face close to his son's.

Alaric was briefly distracted and grabbed his father's hooked nose in a random gesture, bringing a smile to Severus's face.

"Impudent child," he murmured, kissing the soft cheek.

"You know what he wants," said Zelda, rising and holding out her hands.

She took Alaric to the chair she'd sat in that morning and began to feed him, leaving Minerva and Severus still sitting at the table.

"What are your plans for the summer?" asked Minerva curiously. "Surely you'll be bored by this peaceful domesticity."

One black eyebrow rose in a gesture of disbelief.

"Do you think I crave danger?" he asked coolly.

"Occasionally. But also, intellectual stimulation," replied the witch knowingly.

"I've been approached by my publisher to write my own version of the Potions curriculum textbooks, beginning with the introductory volume," he said. "At first I had no interest in the project, but I don't wish my years of research wasted, and I've no intention of spending the rest of my life teaching that bloody course."

"I had a letter from Madam Maxime recently and she mentioned that Beauxbatons has selected your textbook for their curriculum," said Minerva. "There seems to be a demand for your work."

"I rarely used the old textbooks, and I plan to order the curriculum differently in my books," he said. "I hope there'll be some money out of it. I relish the thought of a quiet, comfortable life from this point on."

She smiled wryly and said, "I cannot imagine you and Zelda sinking into mere domestic tranquility. Perhaps I'm mistaken, of course, but enjoy this time with young Alaric. Unless something urgent comes up, I won't require your presence at Hogwarts for another month."

"Wonderful, Zelda has many plans for the house," he replied. "Magic helps, but she keeps having brilliant ideas."

"And I see how much you enjoy that," chuckled Minerva. "I must return to my work. A few more hours and I'll be in the rare position of being caught up with my work."

"We plan to rest a bit while Alaric takes his nap," said Severus smugly. "We'll see you at dinner, when the pizza arrives.