"No, he is not tactful, yet have you ever noticed that there are people who do things which are most indelicate, and yet, at the same time, beautiful?"
― E.M. Forster, A Room with a View
August 26th, 2011
At Henry's request, his mum accompanied him and Katherine to the grounds so he could introduce her to Hagrid. Katherine was in awe of him, just like he knew she would be. Hagrid offered to show them around the grounds while his mum was preparing for the start of term, and after much begging on both his and Katherine's parts, she relented.
They were near the lake now. Hagrid was describing the giant squid and other creatures that could be found in its depths when a centaur appeared around a bend in the tree line. Katherine pointed in amazement.
"Hagrid, is that a centaur?" At this, he turned and appeared flummoxed.
"Yeah, that'll be Firenze. You two wait here, and I'll see if he's up for company," the kids exchanged glances as Hagrid walked toward the centaur.
They decided to sit at the lake's edge, keeping an eye on Hagrid and Firenze's interaction but chatting with one another.
"Have you noticed the past couple of days our parents are… I don't know. It seems like they are avoidi-" Katherine cut him off before he could finish his thought.
"Yes! They have… I think maybe our plan is working, and they aren't sure about their feelings yet. You saw how they were when we walked in on them in your mum's study the night of her release party. My dad can be really stubborn, so we'll just have to keep pushing him in the right direction."
Henry nodded solemnly. His mum was stubborn too, he knew. He just wanted to see her happy, and he knew Katherine's dad had made her that way. She always brightened when he entered a room, and he was very good at reading his mum's cues at this point.
"Flowers!"
He looked confused and jumped a bit at her raised voice, "Huh?"
"We can pick flowers and start leaving them in the room," he understood where she was going with this.
"So my mum thinks they're from him!" He grinned, "That's brilliant, but what if she asks him about them?"
Katherine shrugged, "Maybe she'll think he's lying, especially since no one else would admit to it."
At this point, Hagrid was waving for them to come over; they stood at once and began running across the field to the line of trees to meet a centaur for the first time.
Henry had convinced Hagrid to take them over to the greenhouses, where they found his Uncle Neville pruning flowers. Katherine was ecstatic as Neville allowed them to choose what flowers they would like cut, especially after Henry questioned him on the meanings and uses of nearly every plant in the garden.
"Henry be careful, your dad will have me in if you start to take after me with a love for plants," Neville smiled as Henry questioned him on the meaning of the next row of shrubs.
"He already deals with me not taking after him for liking quidditch, so he'll live… what do these mean?" He gestured at flowers that Katherine believed represented several blue Pygmy puffs clustered on stems.
"The blue hydrangeas represent apologies and understanding," he paused, and Katherine already knew what Henry's next question would be, so she spoke before he did.
"And the other colours?"
Neville laughed, "White represents purity and sometimes vanity, pink is all about romance and true feelings, and purple shows pride and royalty."
The two children exchanged glances before nodding, "Can I have a few pink hydrangea cuttings, please, Professor Neville," Katherine questioned politely, keeping her face even, her hands behind her, twisting as she rocked back and forth.
Henry pretended to be interested in the next row of flowers while Katherine asked him; the less others knew of their plan, the better.
She caught up with Henry further down the row, holding a large bouquet of pink hydrangeas in a green vase.
"Got them! He even gave us a vase! Your uncle is so nice. I can't wait to have him in class next year."
"He is! Now hurry up. Let's get these on the table before our parents finish whatever they're doing."
They bade Neville farewell and found Hagrid back on the grounds. He did not question the flowers but gave them a peculiar look, "Must be time to return you lot to the castle. Follow me, and I'll get you back to the professor's quarters."
They stayed close behind Hagrid just as a shield if they were to come across any onlookers, but they passed no one else as Hagrid dropped them off.
Katherine spoke first, "It was nice meeting you, Hagrid; thank you for showing us around!"
He smiled at the kids and muttered something that sounded like, "They grow up so fast," with a sparkle in his eyes before he turned to walk away.
Henry calmed her before she expressed concern, "He's like that; he'll be okay. Quick, let's place the flowers and act natural!"
Katherine carefully sat the bouquet at the centre of the table in their common room area before scuttling off to where Henry sat on the sofas opposite the room. They busied themselves reading, drawing, and writing so as not to raise suspicion when one of their parents came in.
Hermione sat in her office on the first floor, head in her hands as she considered the subjects outlined before her. There were four major sections of arithmantic studies: predictive patterns, numerical divination, magical encryption, and elemental calculations. Third through sixth years covered these four topics, while NEWT seventh-year students completed an independent study for the year.
Her state was mostly derived from a fear of failure at the moment - she knew her content, arithmancy had always been one of her favourite subjects. She was more afraid to break down what she knew and convey it to large groups of students who may not respect her. The fear of lack of respect was not something she had considered when she accepted the job; no, that fear did not begin until they had arrived and met with Minerva.
Classroom management was not a topic she knew much about until Minerva asked her what her plans were for unruly students. She had to confess that she honestly had not considered it, which led to an extensive lecture from her new boss, most of which overwhelmed her more than she already was.
She grabbed the stack of parchments in front of her and stacked them on top of her arithmancy texts for each level. I could take a break and continue working from the comfort of my sofa.
The children might enjoy visiting Hogsmeade, and she could use a butterbeer from The Three Broomsticks to calm her nerves. Standing with her tower of books and parchments, she turned to the closet door behind her desk leading to their private quarters, an interesting convenience that she was unaware of during her time at Hogwarts.
Opening the door, she saw the kids sitting on the sofa; Katherine was writing in a journal, and Henry was reading. They were such good-natured children who stayed out of trouble, which elevated her fears because not all children were like them. She considered what it would be like to have George's twins in class and shuddered; she needed to talk to Severus about how to command a classroom…
As she laid her books down on the table with the extensive stacks of parchment, she noticed a bouquet of hydrangeas on their centre table, "Hi, kids! I hope you had a wonderful time down on the grounds with Hagrid," she paused to touch the bushels of pink gently, "And what do we have here?"
Henry looked at Katherine before looking at his mum and shrugged, "Not sure. They were already here when Hagrid dropped us off earlier."
She hummed, turning the vase all around as if checking for a card or any indication of where they had come from.
"That's odd, perhaps a job-warming gift from Minerva…" she wondered aloud. Hermione admired the flowers a moment more and then looked at the children.
"How would you two like to visit Hogsmeade? I'm becoming a headcase already trying to prepare lessons and need to get away for a few hours." At their vigorous nods, she grabbed her cloak and gestured for them to do the same. They were at her side at once before setting off.
Severus rarely discarded old belongings, which made his lesson preparation all the easier once he located the journals he kept during his tenure at Hogwarts. He knew he would need to tweak things as needed for this new generation of magical children, but he doubted his methods would change altogether.
He was considering how much he should alter his demeanour, given that he would have his own child in class next year. He couldn't imagine being the austere Professor Snape in a classroom where his child sat. He finally concluded that he should fall somewhere in line between the man he was before he left Hogwarts and the man he is when he teaches Katherine and Henry in their private studies. He would not allow this next generation to walk all over him because they knew more of who he was at his core. A moral person can still protect their peace and have boundaries.
At this decision, his mind wandered to more selfish thoughts. He and Hermione were now cohabitating roommates with their children. They had essentially been co-parenting the children for some time now, and to any unfamiliar eyes such as Krema's, they must appear to be a couple.
The more he thought about Krema's slip-up, the more he found he was not uncomfortable about it. In fact, it made him consider Hermione for the witch she was.
Powerful. Compassionate. Intelligent. Determined. Logical. Opinionated. Stubborn. A terrible cook…
There was no question that the witch was beautiful; when he first reacquainted with her, she had worn her curls in a smart plait. As time passed, she let her hair free more and more, framing her heart-shaped face, complete with freckles, a pert nose, delicate eyes, and her lips-
He shook himself, readjusting how he was seated. He needed to get his mind off of her. Perhaps Nabirye would be in the lab, grabbing his cloak with swiftness as he set off out the door to his office and headed toward Nabirye's office. He had taken Slughorn's old office, presumably not desiring to be a bat of the dungeons.
As he strode from his office, he heard the sounds of giggling coming from below. He glanced down into the Great Hall from his view on the first floor. He saw the curly hair that had been on his mind moments ago with his daughter and her son in tow. They must be doing more exploration. His lips quirked upward in fondness of the picture before him.
Thankful that he had someone he could trust to care for his daughter, he made his way up the spiral staircase to the sixth floor.
Nabirye's office door was open as he approached, and he could smell the bicorn horn and salamander blood. The radio was on, with music from the wizarding wireless playing loudly. He considered knocking but assumed he would be unable to hear. Walking into the office should have been familiar, but it was brighter. Curtains were non-existent, and one could see the grounds from the window, which offered an excellent view of the mountains and lake.
The decoration was extremely minimal, with a few abstract paintings and one portrait hanging that appeared to be of Nabirye and a group of people that could be his family.
Making his way to the private potions lab that were in the back of the quarters, the music grew in volume, and he had to stomach his laughter at the sight before him.
Nabirye was clad in trousers and an undershirt, bobbing before a cauldron as he stirred a potion. Severus cleared his throat, but this still did not faze the man. He decided to walk further into the room, and before he knew it, he was against a wall.
His senses were clearly weakened over the years because he had not expected that in the slightest. He almost immediately was released as Nabirye realised his mistake and cut off the music with a flick of his fingers. Severus had forgotten that Uagadou students were taught to control their magic without a wand; he felt a twinge of jealousy at that fact after witnessing it.
Coughing, he laughed as Nabirye stammered in surprise, "I am so sorry, Professor. I did not expect visitors."
"No apologies necessary. I would have likely done something similar had someone crept up on me in brewing," this was a lie. Hermione had done so many times; however, in his prime, he guaranteed he would have done so without question, a white lie at best.
Nabirye summoned a shirt from across the table with a slight lift of his wrist, continuing to stir with his free hand. "I have not had any visitors in my lab before. Only a handful of students visited my office last year. To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"I recalled our conversation at Miss Granger's publishing party, and you, in part, were the reason I accepted the Defense Against Dark Arts position," another white lie.
"I would like to observe your style and, of course, read over your research before agreeing to take you on as an apprentice, but based on what I see in front of me, you are… creative," he finished.
Nabirye grinned as he responded, "Thank you so much, Professor. You will not regret this, I promise you!" He watched as he placed a stasis charm on the cauldron once he finished stirring.
He walked to his desk to grab a thin red leatherbound journal, handing it to Severus as he walked further into the lab. "This is all my research on post-traumatic stress and potential brews that alleviate the effects. I have not moved on to human testing as I am still an apprentice, but a few show promise in animal testing."
Severus nodded as he took the journal, "I will review your notes. When Minerva delivers our timetables, we can determine a time to meet so I can observe your work… I look forward to working with you, Nabirye."
"And I you, Professor."
Hermione returned from Hogsmeade two hours later with the children in tow, clad with sweets of all kinds from their visit at Honeydukes. Entering their quarters, she saw Severus sitting at the table with a journal in front of him, his engrossed in work as he jotted notes down on parchment.
Katherine threw her arms around his neck, and he smiled, turning his attention to her. "Daddy, Hermione took us to Hogsmeade and bought us lots of sweets!" His focus now fell on her with a raised brow of judgment; she shrugged, playing the part of innocence by avoiding his eyes.
She noticed the flowers were still there from earlier and smiled fondly before speaking to Severus, "I am the daughter of dentists; they deserve sweets now and again regardless of the potential of tooth decay."
"I am less concerned about their tooth decay and more about the energy level they will let run amiss in these quarters," he responded sardonically.
At this point, the children were indeed jumping about the room, discussing their plans for the rest of the week and tossing a throw pillow back and forth over the sofa.
"Oh hush, it'll be fine. Once it wears off, they'll sleep like babies. What are you reading?" She sat beside him, pulling the journal closer to her, changing the subject with ease.
He leaned back in his chair, stretching, likely from sitting in the same position for too long. She had to avert her gaze from the patch of skin and line of hair that trailed down his centre.
"It's Nabirye's journal about his post-traumatic stress potions research. He seems to hold promise if this is his level of aptitude. He included alchemy in his developmental stage, which is rare in potion development. I still want to observe him brewing, but I believe he will make a fine apprentice."
As she flipped through the journal, she saw what Severus meant; he would not make a quick judgment without observing the man unless his research showed promise. This was proof, however, that he truly had taken the job in part to take Nabirye as an apprentice.
"This does show a great deal of promise, Severus," she flipped through a few more pages before closing the journal and sliding it back over to him. Instead, she grabbed the notes he had taken regarding the research. Her fingers slid across the parchment gently, tracing the spiky cursive letters.
"Your notes are brutal as ever, though - will you grade his work as well?" she remarked, intending to come across as playful. Gods, I am so bad at… what? Is this my attempt at flirting?
He smirked at her, "No, I believe I will reserve that for the dunderheads that grace these halls in a few short days," after the briefest of pauses, he added, "And, of course, a witch I am acquainted with that seems to require constant reassurance."
She laughed, "Actually, speaking of that… Could you assist me in classroom management? Minerva gave me a long list of methods ranging from immediate consequences in assigning detentions to the newer concept of building relationships that she said her younger professors utilise. I am terrified these children will run all over me, Severus; not everyone raises children like ours." This all came out rapidly, but she was genuinely nervous.
"Minerva truly did a number on you," he sighed. "Hermione, I am likely not the person to ask about this. If you recall, my goal in teaching was to terrify the shite out of you. It was emphatically not to build relationships at all."
"Right, exactly. So, I want to command respect, perhaps not scare them with a theatrical performance as you did, but I would like to put the slightest expectation of respect lest they be… punished?"
He laughed; she truly loved to hear the rich baritone of his voice when she managed to get a laugh out of him, "My 'theatrical performance', as you say, was my method of expecting respect. I showed students that the art of potionmaking is exceedingly dramatic, as was I."
She quickly retorted, "Oh, don't use was, Severus. Surely, with your great return, you plan to be as dramatic as ever."
"Actually, I was considering that today. I am not…" she watched as he glanced over at the children who were now playing gobstones before he continued. "I am not the same man I was 12 years ago. I don't know if I can even pretend to be him for show; it would feel dishonest, wrong even. For someone like me…" He appeared to be unable to get the words out.
Naturally, she softened at this. Severus Snape was a good man. A flawed one, as we all can be, but a good one.
"For someone like you, Severus, who was forced to live a dishonest life for a very long time, you can't fathom doing so again," she laid a hand atop his own to give comfort. He looked down at their hands for a moment before pulling away, running it through his hair.
"Regardless, I will still be stern, as it is my natural demeanour. I may hesitate to give a monologue, that remains to be seen."
She sensed the change in his tone, knowing he would not go any deeper with her. His feelings occasionally rose through the surface, but he was a complex man to probe at. He would shut down if he felt she was going further than he wished to share.
A loud thud caused them both to jump, and she raised her voice slightly after seeing what caused the ruckus before Severus had a chance, "I resent the fact that you two are proving me wrong and Severus right. I will reconsider buying you sweets next time," Hermione glanced at her watch, "And it's after ten. I suggest you both get ready for bed!"
The children padded away dismally after they fixed the upturned table and cleaned up the gobstones strewn about.
A moment after the children left the room, he added, "You are quite bossy, Granger. I do not believe you will have a problem commanding a classroom."
"Oh, shut it."
"My point, exactly."