Thank you for reading! I don't own any of Harry Potter! Please let me know if you enjoy! Updates every Saturday!

—————————————————————

Harriet had been in her room all morning.

Lily had taken extra care to prepare a large breakfast for the family, hoping to lift her daughter's spirits while giving Ellery the response letter that had arrived from the Delacours before sunrise.

Severus quietly ate the delicious food his beloved flower had cooked while she smiled across the table at their son, "Where's your sister, sweetheart?"

Ellery shrugged, "I knocked on her door, but she didn't come out. She said she was going back to sleep."

Severus scowled.

"I see……." Lily nodded as her smile faded for a brief second.

Ellery had barely frowned at his mother before she forced herself to brighten quickly as she handed the sealed envelope across the table, "This came a short while ago from the Delacours! Why don't you open it, love?"

Ellery's black eyes widened as he snatched the letter and exclaimed, "They wrote back this quickly?!"

Severus kept his scowl as he and Lily exchanged a knowing glance while Ellery nearly shredded the envelope in his haste.

"I imagine Gabrielle was going to ask her parents something similar to what you requested from us, dear." Lily said to Ellery while she gazed at Severus.

The dismayed gasp that left their son's lips caused Lily and Severus to snap their heads towards him.

Severus's scowl slipped into a morose frown as he recognized the blatant look of disappointment on his son's pale face.

"Sweetheart?..." Lily asked tensely as she leaned towards Ellery, "...What's the matter? What does it say?"

Ellery glanced up at his mother with a pitiful pout of wounded rejection before he let the parchment slip from his hands.

"Ellery?..." Lily asked as he silently stood, pushed his chair under the table, turned, and stomped up the stairs.

"ELLERY!" She called.

Severus kept his miserable expression while he reached across the table, took the letter, and began to read its lines out loud in his languid voice:

To the Snape Family,

We thank you very much for extending such a kind invitation. Unfortunately, we must humbly decline. Our daughters are pursuing extra curricular training this season and as a result, our family will be unable to attend any social gatherings.

Regards,

Monsieur and Apolline Delacour

Lily let out an anguished breath as Severus finished and glanced up at her.

"I'll talk to him." She nodded as she rose from her seat.

"Shall I come with you?" He asked.

"If you like, Sev," Lily shrugged, "I was just going to tell him-"

Knock, knock, knock!

"Oh, who could that be?!" She huffed in irritation at the downwardly-spiraling morning which she had hoped would be pleasant instead.

"I'll answer the door, my love." Severus nodded, "Go and tend our son. Perhaps his mother would be the best comfort for him now."

"I think another woman in particular might better fit that role, actually!" Lily chuckled as she walked out of the cottage's dining area and up the stairs towards Ellery's room.

Knock, knock, knock!

Severus's vexation at the impatient rapping was more than apparent as he grit his teeth while he rose to his feet.

Silently, he glided towards the front door as his black robes trailed behind him.

Once he turned the knob and pulled the door open, his dark eyes widened in surprise.

"Severus! Good morning!" Remus nodded at his co-worker.

Sirius stood silently besides him, although he had traded his tattered prison uniform for a much nicer suit made from striped tweed and purple velvet.

Severus moved to slam the door shut, but Remus bravely stuck his arm out and stopped the entrance to the Snapes' cottage from closing in front of his face.

"We're not leaving until we've had a proper chat, Severus." Remus defiantly informed his old enemy.

"Are you trying to get us all killed?! You'll be seen!" Severus hissed.

"...Not if you allow us to come in." Sirius smirked.

Reluctantly, with a heart full of utter loathing, Severus relinquished his battle to close the door and swept himself to the side.

It nauseated him to willingly allow Remus and Sirius inside his home.

Their very presence there, in that place he shared with Lily and his children, seemed like a grotesque violation.

—————————————————————

Lily smiled as her son opened his bedroom door and frowned at her.

"Hello, sweetheart." She said with a warm smile, "May I come in?"

Ellery nodded as he silently moved to let Lily pass by.

After she walked into the room, he sat down on his bed with a quiet sigh as she sat next to him.

"It's my fault." She began as she took her son's hand, "I didn't bother to consider the fact that Gabrielle is part Veela. Surely there's quite a bit her and her sister have to do over the summer."

Lily didn't dwell on the very real possibility that the Delacours may not have been keen on having Ellery court their youngest daughter.

Ellery stayed quiet as he nodded.

"You can still write to her every day, my darling." Lily said as she gave Ellery's hand a gentle squeeze, "...And just think! A few more weeks, that's all, then school will be back in session!"

"But Gabrielle won't be there, Mum….." Ellery frowned.

"She may be!" Lily said enthusiastically, "You'll just have to wait and see, love. Who knows? Perhaps your father and I can arrange a field trip to Beauxbatons…..anything is possible!"

Although Lily had hoped her words would inspire her son, heavy tears welled in his eyes.

"My darling, don't cry……." Lily cooed as Ellery squeezed her hand for support,

"Mum, I just…….." He sniffed as he wiped his face with a hand, "I just wish I knew when I'll get to see her again!"

His voice broke as he finally gave into the chest-wracking sobs that issued from his broken heart.

"Oh, there, there, love.,...There, there……" Lily whispered as she enveloped Ellery in her protective embrace.

While her son cried into her chest, Lily rocked him back and forth gently.

She lovingly pressed a kiss to the back of his head as she thought.

It made her smile to recognize Severus's hair there, which hung around Ellery's shoulders in soft, black strands.

"It will be alright, my darling." Lily whispered to Ellery soothingly, "...It will be alright in the end."

—————————————————————

Harriet frowned up at the ceiling of her bedroom with a sigh as she pulled her weary body from the covers and pushed her glasses onto her face.

Her hours-long chat with Anuman had soothed her wounded soul, but the sleep deprivation began to punish her physical form after a mere two hours of rest.

With her head pounding and her heart struggling to find a decent rhythm against the crippling fatigue, Harriet reluctantly dressed while Anuman slept in his cage.

She had been unable to resume her slumber after her younger brother had knocked on her door an hour earlier.

Harriet couldn't possibly blame Ellery for his unknowing mistake, though she lamented the loss of sleep in which his actions had resulted.

She yawned as she walked over, opened her door, and stepped out into the hallway.

Harriet knew she could go downstairs and ask for breakfast, then-

"-To what end and for what purpose, Black?"

Close to the stairwell, she stopped abruptly as her father's low voice cut through the air like an angry knife.

Harriet crept closer and peered through the balusters at the scene below.

Her eyes widened as she saw her father speaking to Professor Lupin and the man who had approached her before……Sirius Black.

Downstairs, in the Snapes' living room, Severus stood across from Remus and Sirius while the three held a heated discussion.

"What are you holding out for, Snivelly?! You know his plans! You know what's coming! If you can shield your wife, why can't shield your daughter too?...Or is it that you're not that good after all?" Sirius sneered.

"Now, now, Sirius, let's calm down, shall we?" Remus chuckled nervously.

"Speak to me like that again in my own house, Black…..." Severus threatened, slowly enunciating each syllable while his dark eyes narrowed at his old enemy, "...And have those words become the last……you……utter."

Remus tried to maintain what fragile peace existed while Sirius and Severus stared each other down.

From between the balusters that bordered the overlook onto the living room, Harriet silently watched.

What was Professor Lupin doing in her house?

,...And that strange man who had approached her once before in Hogsmeade?

………Sirius Black?

……….The escaped murderer?

"It's not right……It's not right to James……What you've done!" Sirius spat, "It's not right at all!"

"I hardly think of James Potter as a hero in any form or fashion." Severus quipped, "Regardless, the feelings of a dead man fail to interest me, Black………My wife and children's safety remains my utmost concern."

"Why don't you just admit it?!" Sirius snapped.

Harriet narrowed her eyes.

"Sirius, Severus…..I'm certain we can reach an agreement." Remus nodded politely.

He cautiously moved in front of Sirius after his friend took a step towards Severus.

Harriet couldn't contain her curiosity.

Instead of maintaining her vantage point in the shadows and continuing to eavesdrop, she stood and padded down the stairs, eager to take part in the mysterious conversation.

"You're being irrational, Black." Severus calmly smirked, "Then again, you always were a slave to emotional outbursts."

"Tell the girl the truth, Severus!" Sirius thundered.

Sirius attempted to stagger towards Severus while Remus kept them apart, his chest in front of Sirius and his arms spread to prevent a physical altercation.

Severus's black eyes glimmered with bitterness while traumatic memories of what he had endured as a teenager at Sirius, Remus, Peter, and James's hands played through his mind.

"Whether or not you care to acknowledge it, Black……" Severus began as he leaned down towards his shorter foe's face, "...She is my daughter……… I swear it to you……She is not ready to know-"

"-I'm not ready to know what?"

All three men looked over in the direction of the unexpected voice.

Severus's black eyes widened.

A look of relief spread over Sirius's face but Remus grit his teeth nervously.

"Go on, Dad. I can take it." Harriet shrugged as she stepped off the stairs and approached the three men, "Hello, Professor Lupin."

"Hello, Harriet." Remus nodded politely, despite his awkward position blocking Sirius and Severus from brawling.

"Sorry if this sounds rude, but what are you doing here?" Harriet blinked. Her emerald eyes moved to Sirius as she pointed and asked, "Who is that man?...That's Sirius Black, isn't it?"

Before any of them could answer, Harriet frowned at Severus and pressed, "Is that what you aren't telling me, Dad?...That you consult with more murderers than I know?"

Severus hoped with all his heart that he would be faster than Remus or Sirius.

Quickly, he thought up a believable lie while Sirius opened his mouth to spew the hideous truth.