Severus' Daughter: Year One

Chapter 7: Learning to Walk Again

A week passed in which Severus continued helping his daughter bathe, and massaging her legs with the salve, as well as doing the exercises. Rosalie and Sirius spent a lot of time together, Sirius only really spoke when Rosalie was with him. Well, he spoke with the other three in the cottage as well, but he didn't speak as openly. He was more quiet and reserved. The three other adults in the house enjoyed the times they would watch him and Rosalie together because those were the only times in which they could see that he still had some of his old joyfull self in him.

But he was getting better, he was talking to them more. It was just slow going. They just had to make sure that he knew that they were there for him. Always.

It was during the night of Sirius' return to the cottage that Rosalie asked her father how men are able to get pregnant, remembering that she hadn't asked before. By that time Remus and Sirius had already gone to bed and it was just Rosalie and Severus together in her room, doing her exercises.

"Daddy, I forgot to ask this when you told me, but how do men get pregnant? I never heard of a case like that in the Muggle world." Rosalie asked quietly.

"There are many ways a man can become pregnant, but only in the Wizarding World. Some men, like you Uncle Padfoot, are called natural bearers, meaning they have the equipment needed to get pregnant as well as the equipment needed to get someone pregnant." He paused, he had given Rosalie the talk a few days ago, before explaining that Sirius had been pregnant when he was sent to Azkaban, but he forgot to tell her that same sex couples could have children as well. "I am also a natural bearer. There are also special potions and spells that can be used to give men the equipment needed to get pregnant and carry a child if they don't already have what they need. So, it is okay to be gay in the Wizarding world because either way you can have a child to carry on the family name. There are spells and potions that allow lesbian couples to have a child together as well." Severus explained.

"So, you can have a baby?" She asked, intrigued.

"If I wanted to, yes, I could." He replied.

"Do you get periods, like I will? Or is it different with men?" Rosalie was indeed a very curious girl.

"No, I don't get periods. With natural bearers it is different than with women. We don't have eggs that join with the sperm to create the child. We just have the uterus and the birth canal. What makes the child is our magic, which is lining the inside of the uterus, mixing with the sperm and creating an embryo. Which is why it sometimes takes longer for men to fall pregnant, unless the two trying for a child are magically strong, then it happens rather quickly. I believe it only took Remus and Sirius a month to fall pregnant, going by how far along Sirius was when he miscarried anyway. And that is fast for a bearer." Severus explained to the curious girl.

"That's cool. At least I know what I want for Christmas now!" She joked, laughing quietly at her fathers' shocked face.

It was after running a diagnostic scan on Rosalie's legs at the end of the week that Severus deemed his daughters' leg muscles strong enough for her to be able to learn how to walk again. To say that Rosalie had been excited would be an understatement, she was ecstatic. As much as she loved her new family, she was bored of having to be carried around, and bored of having to stay seated or laid up all day. She wanted to be able to walk around the garden without being in her fathers' or godfathers' arms. She wanted to be able to cook with her grandma without having to sit on a chair as she did so. She wanted to be able to walk around the lovely cottage on her own. She wanted to be able to go to the toilet on her own, or shower or bath on her own.

After transfiguring Rosalie's clothes into some comfortable cotton, black shorts and a baggy light grey t-shirt, Severus called for Remus, Sirius and Minerva to enter the room, knowing that they may need some help, and that the three of them would love to see Rosalie walk again.

Rosalie blushed as the three entered, but didn't fight it as she knew she would be unstable on her feet for a while and would need some help. And she knew that it meant a lot to all of them to be there to help her walk again. It meant a lot to her as well that she had people in her life that actually wanted to help her.

Severus gently rolled Rosalie onto her side, from her back, so that she would be able to sit up easier. He then helped her to, slowly, sit up so that her legs were dangling off the side of the bed. He had given her a pain relieving potion earlier so that she wouldn't feel any pain whilst learning to walk again. Severus helped her budge forwards slightly so that her feet was touching the floor.

"Are you ready, Rosie?" Severus asked gently, still holding her hands in his.

"Yes." She replied nervously after taking a deep breath.

"Okay. Sirius, Remus, could you stand on either side of Rosie and help if she needs it, please?" Severus asked his friends who moved to do exactly that, Sirius standing on her right and Remus on her left, Severus staying in front of her, holding her hands. "Now, Rosie, when you're ready I need you to try and stand up, okay? Use my hands and arms to help you, and if you need extra help then Remus and Sirius can help also. Okay? Whenever you're ready." Severus told her kindly, smiling at her.

She smiled back and took a deep breath, waiting for a few seconds before trying to stand. She gripped her fathers' hands tightly and tried to use them to pull herself up, her face straining with the effort. She was only able to make it up a short way before falling back down, loosening her grip on her fathers' hands.

"It's okay, it will get easier, Rosie. Are you ready to try again? Sirius and Remus can help you up if you need them to." Rosalie nodded in reply and tried again, gripping her fathers' hands as tight as she dared.

It took seven more attempts at standing before Rosalie was on her feet, still clinging to her fathers' hands as she wobbled on her unused legs. Sirius and Remus were both ready to catch her should she fall. Severus smiled at her proudly and she gave him a shaky smile back.

"That's it, Little Snake. Now, are you ready to try to take some steps, or do you want to sit down and rest for a while? This can go at your own pace, Rosie. You don't need to push yourself. Just do what you're ready to do." Severus said gently. "If you aren't ready to try to take a step now we can try again later." He reassured her.

"N-no. I want to try." She replied shakily.

"Okay. When you are ready, slowly move one foot forward and place it on the floor." Severus instructed, still smiling at his little girl.

Rosalie took another deep breath and slowly lifted her right foot shakily from the ground, still clinging to her fathers' hands as tight as she could, and moved it forward a couple of inches before placing it back on the floor and trying to regain her balance.

"That's it, baby. You're doing wonderfully. Now, when you are ready, move the other foot so that it is on the floor next to the one you just moved. Okay?" Severus beamed proudly at his daughter who shakily smiled back at him, nodding in reply.

Slowly and shakily she did as her father asked her to, clinging to him for dear life as her legs were shaking harder and harder. But as she took her first steps in weeks her father, and the rest of her family, wouldn't stop beaming at her, all of them looking proud of her.

She managed another two steps before her shaky legs gave out on her and she fell to the floor, only to be caught by Moony and Padfoot and half carried back to her bed.

"I'm so proud of you, Rosie." Severus told his daughter, smiling as he wrapped her in his arms.

"We all are." Minerva added brightly.

"But I didn't even walk that far." She replied, always the one to doubt herself.

"We didn't expect you to walk that much during your first time in weeks. You need time to adjust and get stronger. But soon you will be walking again, properly. This is just the beginning. You will get stronger, I predict that you will be walking normally again by your birthday, which is in a week. And no matter what you do, we will always be proud of you, and we will always love you. Supposing that everything you do is good anyway. We can try again later today if you wish, the more you try the sooner you will be walking again." Severus said, smiling down at his daughter, who smiled shyly back at him.

…

The rest of the week was spent with the four adults helping Rosalie to walk again. Every time she was able to walk further than the previous time. And the more she tried the lower the need for the pain relieving potions before walking, during or after walking.

The four adults were immensly proud of her, and Rosalie basked in the pride, never having anyone, let alone a family member, be proud of her before.

And just like Severus said, she was walking properly, all around the house, on her own, the day before her birthday. All throughout the week the various adults in the house would go out at random times to buy presents for the young girl whom would be turning eleven. Rosalie didn't know, she believed her birthday would be like it usually was, with her receiving no gifts and being locked in her room for the day. She would, indeed, be in for a shock when she woke up that fine summer morning.

Hello all, I hope you are all well. Sorry for the wait but I have been ill, and have been incredibly busy with life, trying to find a new job, and I've had a few money issues lately, etc. But here is the new chapter and I hope you enjoyed it.

I will update again soon.

Please review!