In-Laws
Eight days had passed by with little note. Students went to their classes. Teachers taught. Every now and then, students and staff would stop for a moment and glance at one of the deep scars that lined the castle's walls now. They'd stare briefly at a fallen stone on the floor before someone would quickly pick it up and silently remove it. Their hearts were collectively broken, but clearly not their spirits. Life was slowly going on at Hogwarts.
With her blue-tipped curls bouncing wildly around her face, Celes chased after Toby as he continued walking up ahead of her through the courtyard with Harry at his side. She could hear her robes flapping in the wind behind her as she ran after him. Honestly, some days she had truly pondered the idea of stepping on the back of his robes to slow him down. He always walked with so much purpose in his stride, clearly not stopping for anyone.
At the sight of Toby sitting down on a bench with Harry a few moments later, she sighed in relief. It was about time they stopped. For a minute there, she was convinced she'd have to chase them through the whole castle in order to catch up to them.
Silently approaching Toby from behind, she felt a bit playful for once, a mood she hadn't been in since the Final Battle last May. Her slender hands quickly covered his eyes, feeling him tense initially before relaxing soon after. She leaned forward, her lips next to his ear.
"Guess who?" she whispered, smiling widely. She heard Harry's laugh beside her instantly.
"Luna?" Toby replied, clearly teasing.
"You arse." She laughed and removed her hands, smiling down at him.
"Ah. Well, you were going to be my second guess." Toby grinned cheekily up at her. He chuckled when she rolled her eyes at him.
"So, what are you two troublemakers up to today?"
Toby shrugged before he held his hand out to her and silently led her around the bench.
"I'm trying to see if the rumors are true," Harry answered with a laugh. "But he's not giving me anything of course."
"Rumors?" Her smile faltered for a moment. Her eyes shot towards Toby.
"He's trying to see if I'm going to try out for the Quidditch team tomorrow," Toby said with a snort, gently pulling her onto his lap and loosely wrapping his arms around her as soon as he could. "He's worried that Ravenclaw might be a contender this year."
"Really?" She glanced towards Harry, who was clearly trying to keep from laughing. It was nice to see the young man happy for once. Circe knew that poor Harry deserved a little happiness after all. Deciding to keep the playfulness going, she crossed her arms. "Well, I'll have you know that my boyfriend would mop the floor with you, Potter. No one's a better flier than him."
"Is that right?" Harry laughed shortly, glancing at Toby. "Because I'm imagining him coming off the broom looking like he just swallowed a bug or something, Celes."
All three of them knew the memory the young man was referring to. The ill-fated Hufflepuff vs. Gryffindor debacle, where Snape had refereed to keep Quirrell from trying to curse Harry again. Toby merely snorted again, shaking his head.
"I think you'd find that appearances can be quite deceiving, Harry," Toby drawled.
"Isn't that what they all say before they lose?" the Gryffindor shot back with a laugh. "I'll warn you. I learned from the best when it comes to intimidating the hell out of your opponent."
"Oh?"
Harry's smile widened as his green eyes found Toby's. "I learned from Professor Snape."
"You mean, the git who clearly needed a shag or two?" he joked.
"Or four," Celes cut in with a shrug. She smiled deviously when their eyes darted to her in clear shock. "What? According to the other girls, he was rather uptight."
"I, um, I think I'm going to head back to the tower now," Harry quietly said with a grimace. He nodded towards Toby. "Anytime you want to show me your mad skills, you know where I am."
"What about tomorrow afternoon? We've both got a free period then. Unless you're scared?" Celes purred, smiling.
"Tomorrow it is then." Harry chuckled before he silently walked away.
"Someone's in a good mood today," Toby quietly stated, pulling her sideways to sit crossways on his lap now.
"He was in a good mood today, wasn't he?" She smiled faintly. "Good for Harry."
"I was talking about you, Celes."
She laughed, running a hand through her hair. "Yeah, I know you were." She then exhaled slowly. "I just feel real good today. I don't know why."
He nodded. "Well, I'm glad that you're doing better," he stated, kissing her forehead a moment later. When he heard her sigh of annoyance, he chuckled. "What?"
"Nothing." She shrugged. "It's just you're my boyfriend now."
He ran his fingers through her curls with a faint smile. In other words, you want me to snog you breathless, he sent through their mental link. He caught her shrug instantly and snorted. "And then?" he said, glancing at her. He wanted to hear her voice her wishes.
"Well, it's just I thought we could do, you know, boyfriend-girlfriend stuff."
"We are." He gestured to the both of them. "You're sitting on my lap right now, aren't you?"
"Yeah, but it's not the same," she whined. "You won't even kiss me around others. It's like you're embarrassed of me or something."
"Hardly." His eyes darted to the opposite side of the courtyard where he saw Granger and Draco walking off together. I'm just a little rusty when it comes to all this dating crap, he thought, knowing she would hear his thought. It has been three years since I've had to do any of this after all, woman. He heard her loud sigh and glanced at her with a frown. "What?"
She quickly turned and pushed herself up off him before grabbing his hands and tugging him upwards. When he gave her a look of confusion, she laughed loudly, downright giddy for some reason now. "Come on. I've got an idea of something we can do."
"Celes?" Was this another of her strange mood swings? Her smile widened, which made him secretly worry. Was he going to find himself being—for the lack of a better word—manhandled in another classroom again?
No sex, I promise, she sent him through their link. Just a little devious fun.
His brow rose. Devious fun? Now, why did that make him worry even more? He stood up, though, and let her pull him through the courtyard. His eyes narrowed briefly when she led him towards the Transfiguration classroom.
"What are you doing, Celes?"
"I've got to ask Professor McGonagall a quick question."
He blinked in confusion before deciding just to follow her. His wife and McGonagall were quite close after all. If she needed to see her, then he'd let her. Maybe it'd distract her enough to make her forget about this 'devious fun' of hers. When she pulled him into the classroom a moment later, he glanced around before he quickly realized that McGonagall wasn't there. He then heard the door close behind them and turned back to her, crossing his arms.
"She's not here."
"I know," Celes said with a wide smile. She then wrapped her arms around his neck. "But we are." She rolled her eyes when he likely wore a look of complete bewilderment. We need to start making it obvious we're together, right? He inclined his head. Well, let's make it obvious then, Severus. He quickly pulled back from her with wide eyes.
"No. No. Absolutely not!" he exclaimed, feeling slightly warm as his face flushed with embarrassment. "I am not shagging you on her desk!" Dear Merlin above, how could she even suggest such a thing? McGonagall and she practically had a mother-daughter relationship. Once the truth was out for good, he wouldn't be able to face the Head of Gryffindor for a year out of embarrassment.
She laughed, shaking her head in clear amusement. "I'm not suggesting that. Circe."
"Then I don't follow." When she grabbed his robes a moment later and yanked him hard into her, he fell forward on top of her, pinning her upper body against the cherry-top desk. He let out a strangled cry as her lips slammed against his.
Just keep kissing me, she sent through their link. And if she catches us and knows it us, I'll take the blame since it's my idea.
She'll kill me. There was no way in hell Minerva McGonagall, Miss Prim and Proper herself, would kill Celes after all—if she knew Celes was really Aurora. Experience had taught him that his wife could get away with murder when it came to McGonagall being in charge. So, naturally, he'd be the one who'd get killed for this plan.
Where's your sense of adventure? Celes teased, holding his eyes as she lightly bit his bottom lip. You old stick in the mud.
I'm the one who's going to get into—
She doesn't know it's me, though. All she'd see is two fifteen-year-olds snogging like hell on her desk. It'd likely turn into her going on about 'the gall' and 'never in all her years' or something. Come on. Admit it. You want to break a few rules, too. And just think about it. No one has done this in the history of Hogwarts to her.
His eyes darkened slightly as he gave her his 'not amused' look. Likely because they're not that foolish, he replied, ever so slightly starting to kiss her back—purely on instinct of course.
Well, Severus wouldn't do it for sure. But I'm not Aurora and you're not Severus right now.
She's going to murder me, he grimly thought, his hands moving to either side of her before he started to deepen their kiss. He couldn't deny that there was a part of him—very small, mind you—that did find it rather alluring that he was snogging her atop of McGonagall's desk. It was like the ultimate payback for all the times the Gryffindor had either embarrassed him or made him look foolish. But a bigger part kept reminding him of the fact that McGonagall considered Aurora as her daughter. Therefore, the older witch would flay him alive for this.
I say detention for a month, Celes sent through their link.
He ignored her, though. He was so going to go to hell for this. His right hand found Celes's tight curls, twirling them around his finger as he pressed her head further against his. His left hand, though, slowly trailed down her body before snaking underneath the lower part of her robe. His fingers grazed her inner thigh a moment later. He chuckled when he felt her jerk in surprise. Served her right.
Just be careful where you put that hand, she chided in his mind.
He snorted before he deepened their kiss once more, his tongue dueling hers. Every now and then, he'd get a taste of her lip gloss, causing him to swallow at how surprisingly good it tasted. After a bit, he couldn't stand the brief accidental tastes anymore. He soon concentrated all his energy on her lips, licking and sucking on them to taste more of that delicious lip gloss.
A loud gasp then echoed around the room followed by a sharp sting as Toby was magically yanked back from Celes. His eyes quickly darted to the door, seeing McGonagall clutching her chest in the doorway. He couldn't recall the last time was that he had seen her this angered.
"Never in all my years as a Deputy Headmistress have I ever seen such disgraceful behavior!" she shouted at the young couple, her green eyes flashing. "Well? What do you have to say for yourselves?" she demanded, her thick Scottish accent filtering into her speech.
Toby instantly glanced at the floor and shifted his weight. He was so going to hell for this.
"Nothing?" She scoffed. "A wise move on your parts clearly," McGonagall briskly stated. "One hundred points will be deducted from both of your houses."
"That's it?" Celes blurted out, blinking in shock.
Toby groaned inwardly before he glanced at her. When he saw Celes's eyes widen, he knew that she had realized then that she had said it aloud.
"That most certainly is not it, Miss Martins, I assure you," McGonagall snapped. Her eyes flashed once more before she pointed at the door. "Headmaster's office. Now!"
Toby sighed silently. So much for staying out of trouble this time.
"March. Or I'll deduct fifty more points from both of your Houses."
The two students moved faster then, heading for the door. Both of their heads hung as they walked through the seemingly empty corridors towards the office. Reaching the white phoenix statue a moment later, they waited for McGonagall to give the password.
However, before she could say a word, the white wizard appeared from a nearby alcove. His usual twinkle in his blue eyes was strangely absent, replaced with a look of extreme somberness.
"Minerva?" Dumbledore spoke quietly, glancing between them curiously.
"Headmaster." She smiled thinly before pointing towards the young couple. "These two were—"
Dumbledore quickly held a hand up and shook his head slowly. "Whatever you decide is appropriate I'll agree to. I trust your judgment." His dull blue eyes then glanced at the phoenix statue for a brief moment before he turned away and headed away from them.
McGonagall's brows raised instantly before she quickly came back to herself. Her eyes then darted back at the young couple as she stood a little taller and straighter.
"You'll both be serving two-months detention with me, and letters will be sent to both of your parents concerning this egregious incident. Is this understood?"
"Yes, Professor," the couple quietly replied.
"I cannot believe the lack of serious judgment you two have shown today." McGonagall's eyes then met Toby's. "Especially you, Mister Brooks. I thought you would have known better, seeing as how you're the sensible one."
Toby just barely kept the smile from his lips. That was a hell of a compliment she gave him.
"Dismissed." The couple silently left the corridor a moment later.
~Rising~
Having decided not long after leaving that they had to inform Toby's parents about what was going on lest ruin it all, Toby and Celes quickly found themselves standing outside of the Defense classroom. They walked in a moment later, Toby holding the door open for her before following her inside. Soft noise from up in the office led them to believe that Orin was there, so they headed up the stairs and knocked once against the closed door.
"Enter," Orin called out from inside. His eyes narrowed for a second when they walked in before he chuckled and shook his head. "Somebody looks like they swallowed the canary today," he remarked, waving his hand to magically close the door behind the young couple. The privacy wards quickly crackled around them, signaling that it was okay for them to speak freely. "What's going on?"
Toby shifted and cleared his throat instantly. He'd let Celes take the lead this time.
"Well, um, Minerva's going to be sending you an owl shortly."
"Already?" Orin blinked. "But I just sent that letter to her."
"Huh? What letter?"
Toby glanced from father to daughter, noticing that the two clearly seemed to be referring to two different letters. He smiled faintly and kept quiet.
"Never mind that. Why is she sending me an owl?" When he received only silence, Orin's paternal side quickly kicked in. He shot up from his desk and looked his daughter over instantly, as if to check her for any visible injuries. Rounding his desk with purposeful strides, he reached her moments later. "What is it? Did you have a flashback? Or hurt yourself? Or—"
"Nothing like that, Dad," she replied with a soft smile, resting her hand on her father's arm to calm him once more. "I'm good. Really."
Toby watched the older man's shoulders slump and lose the tension suddenly at her reply. Clearly Orin was who she got her quick emotional response from. Toby stood silently by Celes's side and forced a smile when her father glanced at him.
"Then what is it?" Orin asked, clearly puzzled.
"Minerva caught Toby and I snogging earlier."
Clearing his throat loudly, Toby gave her a look that urged her to tell the whole story.
"In her classroom." She paused and glanced down, adding quietly, "On her desk."
"You did what? Oh, dear Merlin above." Orin snorted, shaking his head before chuckling. "I take it there was a reason behind that other than hormones?"
"Well, yeah, but it was sort of fun, too," Celes replied.
"Oh but of course it was," Orin drawled before he glanced at Toby. "I guess that explains why your lips are so shiny today." He handed him a tissue with a soft chuckle when Toby quickly snatched it and started rubbing at his lips fiercely. "All right. So I'll ignore it then and send something off to Tobias so he doesn't think he lost his mind. Speaking of which, have you talked to your dad yet?"
Toby paused in his lip gloss removal before he shook his head. "Not yet."
"We've been sort of busy with classes, you know," Celes remarked.
"Not so busy to keep from snogging, though," Orin pointed out, giving his daughter a look. He ran a hand through his salt-and-pepper hand slowly then. "However, I know you what you mean. I've been meaning to talk with you as well, baby girl. Just things keep coming up before I get that chance."
"Dad, really. I'm fine. You don't need to worry. Today's a good day."
"Yeah. You're right." He smiled softly before he kissed the top of her head and hugged her. He chuckled as he glanced at Toby. "I forgot how short she was."
"Hey!"
"She's still short, sir. Just nowadays she wears her boots to hide it," Toby said with a laugh.
"Oh, hilarious. Aren't you two just a regular bunch of comedians today?" She rolled her eyes.
"We try, don't we, son?" Orin joked, his smile reaching his eyes now.
Toby only smirked in response.
"So," Orin drawled. "What are your plans for tonight?"
Celes shrugged. "Well, Toby needs a new broom for tomorrow, so we'll probably sneak out and get one for him." That was news to Toby, but he wisely stayed quiet just in case she was being sarcastic.
"You're going to draw a lot of attention to yourselves if you're both out and about in London tonight," her dad pointed out. "Albus likely would hear about that and start to wonder about you two. Then where would you be? Unless you've got an excuse all lined up?"
It was a valid question. How would they explain being away in London? They did look fifteen again with slight alterations of course. Two fifteen-year-olds out late on a school night would make people look twice and wonder about them.
"I don't know. But he needs a broom. And one that he picked out, too," she shot back.
Toby snorted, shaking his head. He wasn't even certain he was going to try out for the Ravenclaw Quidditch team tomorrow. Then again, Quidditch was something one wouldn't usually associate with Severus Snape, so it would throw people off. Plus, he had to admit that he did want to try new things while he was younger, get a second childhood so to speak.
"Fair enough. And I've got a way you two can do that tonight." Orin's eyes then narrowed on his daughter in his usual fatherly manner. "One where you don't have to sneak out and get in more trouble," he added. "Or make me sit up late at night worrying about you either."
"Yes, Dad," she drawled, rolling her eyes. "So, what's this way?"
"Well, I still owe you two that reward for making it through the course first since you never came two weeks ago." He shrugged. "I can ask Albus for permission for taking you two out tonight. As long as I'm with you two, I don't see a problem with it."
"You'd take us to London under the guise that we're being rewarded?"
"Yeah, sure. Why not? Minerva rewards her lions all the time."
"With House points, not a trip to London."
"It's just dinner. I've got the tickets already. Plus, I seem to recall Albus doing this with some of his students. Not to mention Horace," Orin said. "I won't make it obvious that I'm taking you guys to London to go shopping for a broom, but, well, we do need to talk. And there's no place better than there to do it. Okay?" She inclined her head slowly. "Good. Wear your street clothes and meet me in the Entrance Hall at six. We'll go then." He hugged his daughter briefly once more before they left.
~Rising~
A few minutes before six, they quietly walked hand-in-hand from Toby's room in Ravenclaw Tower to the Entrance Hall. Toby couldn't help but take quick peeks at Celes every now and then. Her definition of street clothes was very different from his. While he wore faded blue jeans and a grey-and-white checkered three-quarter sleeve shirt, she on the other hand wore a blue halter and a skimpy black skirt. She looked more like she was going clubbing than out with her father, Toby thought.
"Toby?" she quietly said when they were nearly to the Entrance Hall.
"What?"
"Why do you think he wants to talk to us tonight?"
He exhaled slowly and shrugged. "Maybe because we've been putting it off with him. We never did really talk with either of them after that day."
"Yeah, but we need time. I mean, I'm not—today's the first day in a long time I've felt good."
"I know," Toby softly replied, squeezing her hand.
"I don't want to talk about that day. I just move on and forget it ever happened."
He leaned towards her and kissed the top of her head with a sigh. "I know you do, but we sort of have to let them in, too. It didn't just affect us." He closed his eyes briefly when he heard her scoff. "They just want to know if we're all right. That's it. They're just worried about us. It'll be all right, though, okay? Just trust me."
"Yeah." She clearly didn't sound happy about dinner with her father in the slightest, which was yet another sign of the damage the Final Battle had on her. "Toby?"
"Yes?"
"Should we tell him tonight about," her voice trailed off as she glanced around the corridor for a second to check if anyone was around. "About you know? Or should we wait?"
"If you want to tell him, then we will. If not, we can wait." He drew in a slow breath before pressing his lips tightly together to keep silent. However, he soon realized that he couldn't hold back his words. "Though, if we tell them now, then it helps us in the long run with you not be so stressed later on." Her being stressed constantly had been a frequent issue they had been forced to deal with during her last pregnancy. Of course he wasn't blaming her. The Dark Lord being in charge of the Ministry and Hogwarts would stress anyone out.
"So, we should tell him then?"
"If you want," he replied noncommittally. He heard her groan instantly and glanced down at her. He knew her well enough to know that she hated being the one to decide these things, but he wouldn't choose for her this time.
"Fine. We'll tell him." She exhaled loudly.
"All right then," Toby agreed, shrugging slightly. They then continued the rest of the way in silence before reaching their destination a few moments later.
"Ah, there you two are. Excellent," Orin happily announced, wearing jeans and a t-shirt. His warm chocolate eyes quickly passed over Celes before he made a soft noise of obvious dislike. Without a word, Orin flicked his wand at her and smiled in clear satisfaction a moment later when her skirt lengthened to her knees.
Toby had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing. She should've thought about how her dad would react to her state of dress—or lack thereof—in the first place. Wisely, he glanced away at the sight of her glare leveled on him now. He knew there had been a reason why he liked his father-in-law so much.
"I can't believe you did that," she grumped, crossing her arms in front of her chest.
"Well, you are dressed a bit too provocatively for my liking, Miss Martins," Orin chided in his usual fatherly tone. "I'd do the same to my thirty-seven year-old daughter if she dressed like that."
Without a doubt, Toby knew that Orin meant his words, too. The man likely would do that to Aurora under normal circumstances. No father wanted to see his daughter dressed like some common whore after all. No husband really did either . . . at least not around other men.
Quietly, the trio walked out of the castle and headed for the main gates. Toby remained at her side while Orin flanked them, the man's wand still in hand. The young Ravenclaw noticed how tightly Orin was holding onto his wand and frowned after a moment. The man clearly was worried about something, but Toby knew it couldn't be that Orin was expecting an attack at any moment. So something else had to be working on the man.
When the gates magically opened a moment later, Toby winced inwardly. He wished Hogwarts would have accepted his resignation when he had tendered it, because all these signs that it didn't were rather unfortunate and made him feel rather guilty inside. Dumbledore was clearly the better headmaster than him by a long shot. At least only one person had died under Dumbledore's long tenure. His brief time as headmaster had left fifty dead on the other hand.
"Huh. That's odd," Orin remarked as they quietly walked through the opened large cast-iron gates. "Must be some sort of residual effect from last year."
"Yes. Must be," Toby was quick to agree, desperately wanting the conversation to drop.
"You did re—"
"Of course I did, Celes," he sharply snapped, feeling his heart race slightly. He hadn't told her yet—or anyone for that matter—about the other day in Albus's office.
"All right then. Shall we?" Orin quietly said a few moments later as the awkward silence settled around them. He flashed a brief smile before he turned sharply and Disapparated away. Toby and Celes quickly followed suit, arriving in Diagon Alley not long after.
The narrow cobblestone street was unusually busy for six on a weeknight. Witches and wizards darted like mad in and out of various shops, bustling about as if there was a fire somewhere. Shopkeepers would yell out their specials to entice more customers before hurrying back inside.
Toby started towards the Quidditch shop at once, only to stop when Orin suddenly grabbed his arm gently. He frowned and glanced at the older man.
"Let's head to the Leaky Cauldron first, all right?" Orin softly suggested.
"Dad," she said under her breath so only they could hear her. "We can eat and talk after he gets his broom, all right?"
"I know, but I," his voice lowered slightly, "have to talk to Tom for a second."
Had Toby not been a master Legilimens, he might not have caught the fact that his father-in-law had just lied. However, he was and had loads of experience when it came to identifying the signs of a person lying, so he found himself oddly curious. He could tell that Celes hadn't caught the slight change in her father's voice, so she likely didn't even realize that her father just lied to her.
"Fine," she groaned, following Orin into the Leaky Cauldron with Toby by her side.
They walked through the busy pub, slowly heading up the stairs when it was obvious that Tom wasn't downstairs. A moment later, Orin stopped in front of a closed door and slowly opened it, ushering the young couple inside. Toby stepped closer to Celes, his arm now wrapping around her waist loosely as he moved his wrist slightly to slide his wand into his hand. They silently walked into the darkened room soon after.
"Bout damn time you show up," a gruff familiar voice called out before the candles around the room suddenly lit magically. "Thought you got lost there for a moment, Sinistra."
"Yeah, yeah, Snape," Orin replied with an amused chuckle. "Next time you can get them here."
Toby blinked as he stood staring in front of him at the three other people in the room. He then glanced at Orin before shaking his head. His father-in-law had tricked them into meeting with his parents. He supposed he could understand it, but he truly didn't like it one bit.
"Holy hell above, sis!" a young blond woman, his sister-in-law to be exact he noticed, exclaimed before she fiercely hugged her older sister. "This is what you looked like back then? Really?" The blond whistled, smiling widely. "How in the nine hells didn't you two hook up back then?"
"Oh, shut up, Jez," Celes laughed, tenderly running her hand down her younger sister's head.
Toby shifted his weight slightly and glanced towards his parents. Merlin, he felt awkward right now. He couldn't even imagine at this point what his mother would say or do. He never could really.
"Mother," he started to say before he winced instantly at the hard cuff to the back of his head.
"Now, El," his dad cut in. "Come on. He's here now. No use hitting him over it."
His mother, however, ignored his dad and harshly started in on her son. "You may be fifteen again, young man. However, I expect better behavior than that from you. Do you have any idea the thoughts that went through our heads when we received that letter today?"
"Mother—"
"No. You will listen, Severus," Eileen quickly replied, interrupting her son. Her voice hadn't risen at all, but it was quite clear how disappointed and angry she was. "For months now, you've ignored us. Not telling us anything about either of you. You've shut us out of your lives. And then today of all days we get a letter from Hogwarts stating that you were snogging that witch on Minerva's desk."
"Eileen, that was my—" Celes started.
"Silence," Eileen hissed, her eyes flashing dangerously at Celes to silence her. "I will deal with you in a moment." She raised her brow challengingly when Celes opened her mouth only to close it a second later. "Wise move." Her eyes then darted back to her son. "We understand that you've been dealing with your traumas. However, this is insane. Certifiably so. What good will honestly come from you two de-aging yourselves, acting like hormonal fifteen-year-olds again?" She held her hand up to cut Toby off. "Nothing good will come from this I assure you. All you two are doing is delaying your pain and frankly acting like cowards. Something I would not have thought about either of you honestly." Her voice then hardened, a clear sign that she was about to hit them upside the head with her blunt truth. "Deal with your pain like the rest of us and move on. Honestly. You two are not the first ones in the history of the world to lose a child." She then lowered her hand. "Talk."
He frowned deeply. "I am not a dog, Mother."
"Good. I'm glad you realized that," Eileen replied dryly.
"We didn't de-age ourselves to escape our pain. We did it so Celes could complete her coursework she took over the summer." He took a quick step sideways and pulled his wife further against him when he noticed Eileen start towards her.
"Coursework?" Eileen screeched, her eyes flashing dangerously. "What sort of idiot class were you taking exactly that required you to do this stupid stunt?"
"It's not an idiot class," Celes answered quietly. "It's supposed to make me more effective when it comes to my students and their problems."
"Oh, yes, clearly. By having you become one of the horrid little brats. However, I don't seem to recall the stage where one shags on a professor's desk."
"We didn't shag!" Toby argued, clenching his jaw.
"Only because Minerva returned for her grade book!"
"El, come on. Lay off them."
"Lay off them?! Tobias, you may—"
"We don't know the whole story, okay? Just sayin' that we should maybe listen to them and find out what's going on before we jump down their throats, El."
"No. What you're saying is that we should continue to use kid gloves with them. Well, I for one am not going to coddle them any longer. They're adults and should act like it."
Toby could feel Celes tense against him as his parents bickered. He went to grab her hand, only to close his eyes somberly when Celes pulled her hand back sharply. Her good day was effectively ruined thanks to his mother. Lovely.
"They should deal with their pain instead of shoving their tongues down each other's throats."
Without warning, several nearby objects in the room rattled violently as waves of raw energy came off the young witch. Celes's dark eyes, usually so full of warmth, were cold coals now. She looked like she was one moment away from strangling Eileen herself.
"Shut up! Just . . . shut . . . up!" Celes snarled, glaring at her mother-in-law. "You think it's so easy, don't you? You think you have all the answers. You don't, Eileen. You're nothing but a—"
"All right, baby girl," Orin quickly interrupted, cutting in and grabbing his eldest daughter around the waist to pull her away from Eileen. "Let's go get some air." He didn't leave any room for her to argue as he led her into adjoining room.
"Oh, yes, she's perfect for you, Severus. Absolutely perfectly crazy."
"Knock it off, Mother," he growled back. Why couldn't she just lay off for one damn day?
"Letting her sulk and feel sorry for herself will do no one any good. She lost a child, and that's tragic. But she has to move on. I'm merely giving her a shove."
"Yes, a shove off the deep end." He glanced towards the semi-closed door, just barely making out Celes and her dad. "Today was a good day for her, and you had to ruin it."
"It's been four months since that day. And you continue to treat her like glass. Well, I refuse to do that. She needs to get over her pain and move on."
"You don't think she's trying?" He scoffed. "Merlin. Not everyone is like you, Mother. Not all of us have the ability to shut off our emotions and not let things affect us."
"Oh, cease in the dramatics. Your wife is clearly indulging herself in some pathetic fantasy about how life is truly wonderful, all the while ignoring her own suffering. I'd imagine she's had you do the same just so it wouldn't be so difficult on her."
"She lost a child!"
"So did you, Severus, and yet you're not carrying on like that."
"It's different for me."
"Oh? How so? The child wasn't yours?"
"No," he hissed, his hand clenching into a fist by his side. "Because I didn't have seven months of feeling it grow inside me or kick me or any of the things she had. I was an outsider to all of it."
"She is not the only woman to lose a child."
"Which she knows. Hell, it's not even her first miscarriage. It's just that we went through months of her pregnancy convinced that we were going to get our little girl. Only to have her ripped away from us in the worst way possible."
"Nothing prevents either of you from trying again."
"Oh, a hell of a lot prevents us now," he growled, the words tumbling out of his mouth. "But it doesn't matter. None of that does. I have her, and that's all I need."
"If she does not deal with her loss, though, face it head on, she will drag you down with her."
"You're wrong. She is dealing with it. It's just taking time. She goes to her sessions with Pomfrey, just like I do. She is healing. Just please. Lay off and give her time. You pushing her like this isn't good for her."
"Well, if she's an idiot and hurts herself later, that is hardly my fault."
He clenched his jaw and shook his head. This was precisely why he didn't want his parents anywhere near his wife. He knew his mother would push and push and push until Celes snapped. He sighed inwardly when he saw through the crack Jezlyn and Orin embrace his wife warmly. When he felt his dad's heavy hand land on his shoulder, he glanced up at the older man.
"Contrary to what your mother thinks, I'm glad yer both here," his dad stated. "Know it ain't exactly nice of Orin to trick you like that, but he needed this almost as bad as we did."
"What do you mean?"
"Eh, well, far be it from me to start things," his dad said with a shrug, "but Orin left Syra."
"What?" He blinked rapidly before he glanced back through the crack towards Orin. Obviously his wife didn't know about her parents splitting. "Why did he leave her?"
"Well, sure as hell ain't going to come as a surprise to you I'm sure, but let's just say Syra showed her true colors after learning about you two losing the baby."
"She made a comment?"
"Oh, several. None I'll repeat in present company, of course."
Toby frowned and shook his head. He had only met his mother-in-law once, but that was more than enough times for him. She had called him every name under the sun and directed pure vitriol at him in those brief moments. Of course she hadn't been his mother-in-law at the time. It had been a complete accident that he had been in Aurora's rooms for a meeting when Syra and Orin showed up, but it didn't take him long to realize how much of a bitch Syra truly was.
"Let me guess. She stated that I had killed the baby and Aurora was covering for me?"
"Didn't say that one actually." His father scratched his chin and sighed. "You see, I went over there to talk to her parents. Ask them about heading over to Hogwarts together, since Pomfrey was doing her usual and telling us no to visiting you two. Syra heard me ask that and said something like Aurora ain't their daughter anymore. That their daughter had died long ago, and some bitch was now masquerading as her or some such junk. He went ballistic at that. Course it was, like, right after you two nearly died. Not even a week I'd say actually."
"I see."
"Yeah, so I've been helping him out lately. Dumbledore reckoned that job at Hogwarts might be just what he needed, too. And so far he's been right. Orin's been doing real good since he's been near you two. Course he gets his share of bad days sometimes too, but it's mostly been good."
His black eyes glanced back to the small crack where he could see his wife and sister-in-law hugging each other. "Does her sister know?"
"Jezlyn? Oh yeah. She knows," his father replied dryly. "Seems like she knew it was a long time coming, though, so she ain't all choked up over it." His father then shrugged slightly. "Orin might have left Syra, but he ain't got a bad bone in his body. He left Syra the house and everything. Said all he needed was his girls, and he'd be fine. Course it sounds like Syra just fell off the face of the planet now. So naturally Orin's been worrying about her."
He could relate with that feeling of intense dread and worry. After he had woken up in the Great Hall on May 2 to the sound of loud cheering, he nearly had to be tied down to keep from trying to find his wife. Everyone had claimed they had last seen her on the Astronomy Tower, a part of the castle that was badly destroyed. However, when people had searched it for survivors, she wasn't found. By mere accident she had been found when Harry, Weasley, and Granger entered the badly broken Headmaster's office to speak with Dumbledore's supposed portrait an hour after the Dark Lord's death.
"You all right there, son?" his father quietly asked, his kind blue eyes narrowing on the young fifteen-year-old out of clear concern.
"Yeah," he replied, his voice crackling slightly. "I'm just thinking."
"Has she hurt you, Severus?" Eileen suddenly asked, her eyes darting suspiciously at the semi-closed door before falling back on her son.
"No, Mum," he answered with a sigh. His hand ran through his messy long black hair. Some days he swore his mother was part-guard dog with the way she always kept at trying to learn the truth.
"You're hiding something," Eileen slowly stated with a fierce look of disappointment in her eyes. "It's clear as day on your face."
"How fascinating," he dryly mumbled. When he felt another sharp sting to the back of his head, his head whipped around towards his mother. "Will you stop doing that?" he snarled.
"Tell me what's going on, and I will," his mother replied coolly.
"Nothing is going on." He grabbed his mother's wrist when she went to cuff him upside the head again. "Mother. Stop it."
"You're lying, Severus. Quite obviously, too. Now, tell me what's going on."
He clenched his jaw and released her in a manner similar to a man grabbing hot coals. "We will tell you when we are ready. Not a moment before."
"Tobias, make your son answer me," Eileen ordered.
"El, come on," his dad countered. "Let's give the kids some time."
"We've given them more than enough time, Tobias." She then raised herself up to her full height. "Fine. If you won't tell me, then I'll get the answers myself." She whirled around and headed towards the closed door. When he leapt towards his mother and grabbed her arm, she brushed him off easily with a harsh look.
"Mother, I beg of you not to do this!" he hissed, trying to pull her back from the door. He groaned a moment later when the door burst open.
"What are you and my son hiding from us, girl?" Eileen demanded, looking similar to a deranged woman, which in his mind didn't take much actually.
"Hiding?" Celes softly repeated before she glanced towards her husband.
"You don't have to answer that," he said, holding her panicky look with his quiet resolute one.
"Oh, she very much does have to answer that," Eileen snapped. "Did you hurt him? Is that why we're going through with this ridiculous charade? To escape your guilt?" she nastily asked.
He growled. The words burst out of him before he even had time to register what he had said. "I hurt her, Mother. Not the other way around." When he saw Eileen take a step back in clear shock, he knew she had heard his words. He also noted Orin's eyes flash of anger directed at him. "Happy now? Or would you like to know the details?" he hissed.
"What do you mean, you hurt her?"
"I mean just that. I lost my temper, and I slapped her as a result." He then glanced towards his father-in-law, noticing the man's understandable fury. "She thankfully left me for a bit, which I admire her for doing. I was sorely out of line. So, as soon as I could afterwards, I went to Madam Pomfrey. There is a record of it in both our files and a letter of reprimand in mine."
"You involved Dumbledore?"
"Yes. To make certain there was record of it in the case of it occurring again."
"And?" Orin cut in. "Has it happened again?"
Celes stepped towards her father and gently rested her hand on his chest. "No, Dad. It was just that one time. And he's continued to flog himself for it."
"As he should," Eileen stated harshly, glaring at her son. "I did not raise you to be a coward who beats women, Severus." She then shook her head and looked on him in pure disgust.
"He didn't beat me! It was just a slap!"
Eileen's cold black eyes darted to her instantly. "Oh?" she sneered. "Then is rape considered just sex you didn't have time to consent to, Aurora?" The young couple and Orin all flinched violently.
"You're out of line, Eileen," Orin quietly said, his voice shaking slightly. He seemed to be the only one who could open his mouth to reply.
"Hardly. Your daughter is, however, for thinking that a slap is not a serious form of abuse like rape and beatings are."
"Mother, stop it," Toby shouted at Eileen. He then caught his father grabbing her arm and shaking his head at her.
"Let me educate you, you foolish child," Eileen stated coldly, pointedly ignoring both her son and her husband. "It starts out with a slap. A sharp sting to your cheek that you dismiss as being a onetime thing. Then the next time, it's a fist against your face. A bruise you cover up the next morning. Then comes the shoving and punching as you try to get away from the fists that pound you. A broken bone that forces you to move slowly, to breathe differently, and to smile even more forcedly. Then do you know what happens afterwards? A cracked rib, you screaming doesn't stop it anymore. It all starts with that first slap, Aurora. I assure you."
Tears ran down her cheeks as she stared back at Eileen with a horrified look. "He's not like that."
"Did he apologize after he hit you?" his mother asked.
Toby's insides clenched, and he took a step back. Just what was his mother playing at exactly? Hadn't he made up for that grave mistake? He thought he had. He knew words weren't good enough, but he hadn't slapped her since. He had gone through counseling, made certain that there was record of it, and had punished himself for months after it. Just what more did his mother think he had to do?
"Yes, but he's not like that. He made certain it didn't happen again."
"It's been what, a few months since then? Hardly enough time to be—"
"No!" Celes cried. "No. You're wrong. He didn't mean to do that. He didn't mean to hurt me. I-I just pushed him and kept pushing until he snapped." She gasped for air, clearly working herself up. She brushed off both her dad and her husband. "No. No I-I have to make her understand." Her tear-filled eyes then darted back to her mother-in-law. "We're both . . . we're not right anymore. I mean, we are in a way, but then we're not." She ran a shaky hand through her long curls. "I clung to him, because I wanted our daughter back. We weren't ready, though. Neither of us. And now-now we know that we get another chance at being parents. But we're still not ready. And I keep bouncing from one mood to another, and he just holds me and tells me it'll be all right. He's been my rock through this. He wouldn't hurt me again. I know that in my heart. That's the one damn thing I know right now. That as long as I have him, it'll be all right. That we'll get through this together."
"You're pregnant?" whispered Orin, his eyes wide before he enveloped his daughter in a fierce hug. "Oh, sweetheart." He kissed the top of her head. "Everything's going to be all right."
"I know. Because I have Severus," she said, glancing at her husband, "and he has me."