Two days before Christmas, the hordes of people lining the streets of Diagon Alley are nauseating. People shout, bump into one another, packages zoom in and out of shops, owls and children screech all around you. Inside of the shops is no better, everyone is shoulder to shoulder, scrambling to find any last-minute gift, it didn't even matter what they were buying at that point.

She should have done this weeks ago, she tells herself that every year, and yet, every year she puts herself in this exact situation. Of course, the previous years she had no idea that there was a vault of gold with her name on it at her disposal. The vault and the gold are still there, only a short walk away. Danu looks over her shoulder, through the fat, wet snowflakes dancing in the air, and towards Gringotts Wizarding Bank; her marble walls looming above every other shop, casting dark shadows in the snow.

Severus had told her that there was a lifetime's worth of gold kept safe within her vault, yet she did not know the exact number, had never even stepped foot inside of the vault. Danu had gone there after he had told her that he had left it for her, but only for confirmation from the goblin at the front desk. When he had been bitten, he had left a note explaining that the vault was hers but had been under the impression that he had changed it back to his own name once he began working at Saint Mungo's, and since he had not left the key when he had left her, she had been certain that it no longer belonged to her. While Severus lie unconscious at Saint Mungo's following the war, Danu survived solely on what meager amount of gold Severus had kept in a leather pouch atop the mantle in the headmasters quarters, and food that Harry had brought her from Molly. Since she had begun working, her wages were handed to her each week in a small cloth sack and were usually long gone by the beginning of the next week, making a trip to Gringotts to safely store it redundant. She truly had no idea what Severus finances looked like, before or after the war. Surely, a professors salary was not enough to last someone a lifetime, despite the nearly twenty years he had been employed at Hogwarts, and she knew from poverty-stricken town that they each hailed from that the home on Spinner's End which she sold going on three years ago now was the only form of inheritance he had received. For whatever reason that Severus was keeping to himself, he was adamant that she quit her job and stay home with Lorna. She had already stepped away from her night job after Severus had accused her of not spending enough time with Lorna, and money was tight.

Severus had been apparating back to the cottage every evening after Lorna was put down for bed and staying the night with her since the first time he had stayed two weeks prior. Last night, however, the two had argued, and he went home, only to return the following morning with a scowl, only two minutes before she was meant to be at work. He hadn't said a single word to her as she rushed passed him to apparate to Diagon Alley.

It had been a normal evening; Danu bathed Lorna, gave her a snack, allowed her to marvel at the Christmas tree with bright baubles and colorful lights that Severus had helped her decorate two weeks prior, tucked her into bed with Simon and Bram, and read her to sleep. As she creeps down the stairs, she is met with a dark, looming figure stoking the fire. Danu smiles to herself and makes her way to the kitchen to pour a glass of red wine. She did not drink, not since the indecent at Hogwarts years before, but a glass of wine now and then would not hurt anything, and it truly was rare that she indulged.

Danu pours a light hand of the burgundy liquid, only filling the glass a quarter of the way full, three swigs and it would be gone, and then she would retire for the night. The fear of the addiction that consumed her while attempting to learn more of her past ate at her, preventing her from ever reaching out for the bottle after her glass had been drained, no matter how badly she wanted to some days. She makes her way to the sofa and plops down, propping her aching feet on the coffee table in the process. She sighs and turns towards Severus who was now taking his seat next to her. Before she can say a word, a strange look crosses Severus' face as he raises one eyebrow at her, she furrows hers in response.

"Is that wise?" Severus asks, his deep voice resonating throughout the otherwise silent home.

"What?" Danu asks, truly not understanding what it was that he was referring to.

"I seem to recall you having a…dependency when it comes to alcohol."

"I'm having one glass of wine, I hardly think-"

"It was meant to be one drink with Albus, was it not?" Severus demands, his cheeks growing red with frustration in the glow of the firelight.

"It was different then, I was-"

"You were foolish is what you were." Severus states bluntly as he narrows his eyes at her.

"I know. What I'm trying to say is, I won't let that happen again." Danu responds firmly, feeling remorse and anger begin to grow within her.

"As though you intended for it to happen in the first place?" Severus questions. Danu's eyes shift to catch sight of his hand clenched tightly on the arm of the sofa, then back to his face to see his jaw clenched just as tightly.

"Why are you trying to argue with me? I've had a long day, I'm exhausted, I just wanted to sit here with you and relax."

"I am simply stating that I do not believe it wise for someone with your…condition to have the temptation lying around. It is beyond foolish, and-"

Danu stands abruptly, cutting Severus off, and stalks towards the kitchen, wine glass gripped tightly in her hand. She turns towards him once more as she reaches the sink, and glares at him as she dumps the contents of the glass down the drain before popping the cork from the bottle and dumping it as well.

"Happy?" Danu asks as she places her hands on her hips and glares at him from across the room. "It's done, no more."

"Clearly you are having a hard time juggling work and home life." Severus begins as he stands and makes his way towards the kitchen. Danu watches as he places both hands on the dining table to raises his brow at her.

"No. I have a hard time being talked down to. You have no right, and no reason to speak to me the way that you do." Danu can feel the anger rising in her throat, her hands begin to shake slightly at her sides as she pants in an effort to calm herself before she shouts and wakes Lorna.

"I believe it would be beneficial for you, as well as Lorna, if you resigned from your position." Severus reminds her once more.

"For the last time Severus, that is my decision to make, not yours. The gold in the vault is for Lorna, in case anything happens to us."

"Selling the house on Spinner's End that was far cheaper to upkeep, and was long since paid off to move here, was that for Lorna, or for you?"

"It was for Lorna!" Danu spits through clenched teeth. "You grew up there too, you know what it was like! I wanted her to be able to run, play, breathe fresh air; not get hit by a car the moment she steps outside and cough herself to sleep every night!"

"Is she doing any of that here? It seems to me she spends far more time being shuffled back and forth between the Weasley's and whomever else will watch her than running and playing in the gardens. You are present, what, one day a week? You see her long enough to bathe her and put her in bed." Severus straightens himself to stare down at her as he smirks. It takes everything she has inside of herself not to lunge across the table to maul his face with her fingernails.

"It wouldn't be this way if you hadn't of left!" Danu booms just as Severus produces his wand to cast a silencing around the two of them to keep from waking Lorna. Danu slams her opened palm down on the counter causing the sting of it to travel up her shoulder before pushing herself away and pointing towards the door with one shaking hand. "Leave. Just fucking go."

Danu shudders at the memory of the argument as she steps inside of Second-Hand Robes in an effort to find a new winter coat for Lorna. Once inside, a black pea coat fitted to a hovering, headless mannequin catches her eye. She reaches a hand out and strokes the soft wool before she even realizes that she had walked up to it. The coat is beautiful, well-tailored, well cared for, and looks to be exactly Severus' size. The silver buttons trailing down the front are shaped like curling snakes; small glistening emeralds are fitting into minuscule divots meant to be the snakes eyes. Upon further inspection after opening the front of the coat, the inside is stitched with a glistening green thread in an intricate damask pattern. The coat is slightly above her price range, but was truly gorgeous, and she had not purchased a gift yet for Severus. No matter how angry she was at him for their argument, he did not deserve to be empty handed on Christmas morning, as it was unlikely that anyone else would be gifting him anything. She could always put Lorna's name on the box and be done with it.

She throws the coat across her arm, making the decision final, and ventures further into the store for her original mission. Twenty minutes later, she spots a small black pea coat, nearly identical to the one she had chosen for Severus, minus the Slytherin affiliations, and pays for the items before departing the shop, her shopping trailing behind her. The sun has long set, the wind whips her hair around her as she tugs her coat closed tightly, snow swirls around her feet on the frozen ground. Danu takes a long, exaggerated breath, balances her shopping in her arms, and apparates back to the cottage.

Danu leaves her shopping on the snow-covered stoop to keep Lorna's curiosity from getting the best of her, and creeps into the kitchen door. Lorna is curled up on Severus' lap, her head resting on his chest as he reads to her from a warn leather bound book. Lorna yawns, stretches, and turns her head ever so slightly to catch sight of her creeping through the kitchen. She launches herself from Severus' lap and barrels across the room, arms spread ahead of her.

"Mummy!" Lorna shouts, Danu drops down to her knees in the floor to allow her daughter to wrap her arms around her neck and takes her into her arms for a hug.

"Hi baby." Danu murmurs into her daughters damp, lavender scented hair. Severus had given her a bath. "Did you have a good day with Daddy?"

"I missed you. Daddy got fish and chips for dinner, but it wasn't like Nan makes, and we played and made potions, and then Daddy gave me a bath and then we read stories." Lorna releases her hold on her mother's neck and bounces excitedly from foot to foot as she recalls her day.

"I'm glad you had a good day. I missed you so much!" Danu reaches out and tickles Lorna's stomach, she squeals excitedly and rushes back to Severus,' who was glaring at her over the rim of his reading glasses, his thumb holding their place in the book she recognizes now as being the copy of Little Women by Louisa May Alcott that he had gotten her for Christmas what now seemed like a lifetime ago. "One more chapter and then it's time for bed. Alright?"

Lorna is sound asleep on Severus' chest long before the end of the chapter. Severus stands and cradles her in his arms as he carries her upstairs to her bed, Danu follows right behind him and turns the quilt on her bed down for him to tuck her in. She smooths the long, waving locks of raven hair from her forehead before kissing her gently between the eyes.

"Another secret club meeting with Potter?" Severus sneers as the two of them reach the bottom of the stairs.

"No." Danu replies as she pushes past him to retrieve her shopping from outside. "I needed to do some last-minute shopping for Christmas and didn't want to risk being out too late tomorrow. I needed to get Lorna a new winter coat, hers wa—"

"If you paid any attention at all, you would know that I got her a new coat a week ago."

"I didn't realize." Danu admits, guilt flooding her insides and settling in the back of her throat.

"No, you did not. I waited a week for you to notice the sleeves of her last one were too short before I bought her one myself!" Severus shouts from across the room as he casts a silencing charm once more.

"I knew they were getting short, I had to wait until I got paid to buy her a new one."

"Stop letting our child go without necessities to prove a point! The gold is there for you to use, so use it."

"I do not let her go without! if something were to happen to us, that is all she would have! I can't just throw it all away now to buy things she will outgrow in a month's time."

"If you are that concerned about hypotheticals," Severus sighs as he drags his hands down his face in annoyance. "Then tell me what you spend, and I will replace the gold, or go purchase it myself."

"I'm doing the best I can." Danu mumbles as she turns her attention back to the shopping, unpacking everything from the bags and stacking it on the counter, careful to keep Severus' coat hidden.

"You are not doing enough! You are never here, you come back later and later every week, you need to be present."

"You weren't here for most of her life." Danu slams her hands down on the counter and glares at Severus looming over her.

"And you aren't here now." Severus quips, staring down his nose at her.

"I get it, I'm a bad mom. You don't need to remind me constantly."

—

"Mummy." Lorna's voice whispers in her ear. Danu grumbles and attempts to roll over, Lorna climbs on top of her and presses her forehead against hers, making escape impossible. "Mummy, presents."

"After breakfast, Lorna." Danu mumbles as she lies on her back, Lorna's weight on her chest making her unable to take a deep breath. Danu rolls on top her side, taking Lorna with her so the two lay side by side on the bed, Lorna's hot morning breath on her face as she breathes through her mouth.

"Mummy, make me breakfast."

Lorna is halfway through her breakfast of oatmeal and toast, and Danu drains her second cup of coffee when a soft knock at the kitchen door halts them both. Danu opens the door wide and allows Severus and his generous pile of neatly wrapped gifts to enter. Lorna pushes herself from the table and runs for Severus, wrapping her small arms around his leg.

"Presents now?" Lorna asks as she grins up at her from over her shoulder.

"Finish your breakfast first, then you can open presents."

"It is seven in the morning on Christmas, and you are eager to open gifts? They are meant to be opened after dinner." Severus raises his brow and smirks down at Lorna, taunting her.

"Mummy said after breakfast!" Lorna whines as she whips her head back to stare at her in astonishment.

"Then you need to finish your breakfast." Danu replies as she crosses her arms.

Lorna scoffs down her breakfast in record time before barreling towards the tree where Severus had left her gifts; the bicycle he had planned to get her nowhere to be seen. She begins ripping through the paper on her gift, revealing a practice wand, dress up set, tea set, a doll, and several books from her mother, then moves on to the gifts from Severus. An enchanted primrose in a glass orb that Severus explains will bloom every morning, a starter potions set, minus a cauldron, and a thin golden necklace with a violet charm, its petals have amethyst inlays that sparkle when held up to the light. Lorna's eyes light up as Severus drops down to secure the necklace around her neck before brushing the tips of her fingers over the intricate flower. A twinge of sadness passes over Danu, remembering the exact way she had ran her fingers over the strand of pearls Severus had clasped around her neck so many times, and now they are long gone.

"Mummy, look." Lorna gasps as she walks up to her, her neck bent in an attempt to look at the necklaces charm held firmly between her fingers.

"That's so beautiful. Do you want to give Daddy his gift now?"

Lorna nods her head enthusiastically and takes the box containing Severus' pea-coat from her hands. She had helped her wrap it the night before. Danu had held her small hand in hers, helped her to cut the wrapping paper, handed her small squares of clear tape to secure it down, and then held her hand once more to sign her name on the small slip of parchment secured to the front. Severus takes the package from Lorna and opens it slowly, his face never showing a hint of emotion. Danu watches intently as Severus runs his long, slender fingers over the coat's wool, his fingers stopping briefly over the snake shaped buttons before placing the box next to him on the sofa and pulling Lorna into a tight hug.

Severus' coat was the last gift under the tree, and despite not expecting him to get her anything for Christmas after doing nothing but fighting for the last several days, Danu swallows a lump in her throat and forces a smile on her face as Severus stands abruptly and stalks towards the kitchen door, shutting it softly behind him. Lorna pays no attention; she is far too busy flipping through the pages of her new books in front of the fire. Severus returns before long, pushing a small, white bicycle with a matching white basket strapped between the handlebars, and stabilizers in the back. Lorna looks up from her book, her face alight with interest. Her eyes are as wide as saucers, her mouth hangs open slightly.

"What is it?" She gasps, still lying on the floor with her hand holding the page opened in her book with one hand.

"It is a bicycle." Severus announces seriously.

"Does it fly?" Lorna asks, one brow raised in question.

"Does it fl—no it does not fly. You ride it." Severus pinches the bridge of his nose and grimaces slightly as if he couldn't believe she had asked the question.

"How do you ride it?" Lorna asks as she props herself up on her knees and studies the bicycle before her.

"You sit on it, and you peddle." Severus explains as he points down at the peddles.

Lorna overcomes her scrutiny, and slight disappointment of the lack of magic surrounding the bicycle and climbs on. The next two hours, Severus pushes her around the house on the bicycle as she learns to peddle and steer. Just when Lorna begins to get the hand of it, a knock sounds at the door, startling them all. Danu opens the door to find Draco and Astoria standing in the snow, each smiling warmly and holding a package beneath their arms.

"Come in. Severus is here." Danu warns as she grabs Astoria's gloved hand and pulls her inside. Draco stiffens slightly at Severus' name, but steps inside anyway.

"DRACO!" Lorna announces as she throws herself from the bicycle and throws her arms around Draco's neck just as he bends down to one knee to catch her.

"I hear it is Christmas, and I just found these packages for you in my house. How did that happen I wonder?" Draco asks as he tickles Lorna's stomach.

"I don't know!" Lorna giggles as she dances away from Draco, allowing him to stand.

Severus backs himself into the stairway, hiding himself in the shadows. Lorna excitedly unwraps the gifts from Draco and Astoria; a dragon stuffy that sends puffs of smoke form its nostrils and makes a roaring sound when squeezed and set of magical paints that swirl and change colors, even after dried. Lorna shows them her toys, described in detail how the bicycle works, and even demonstrates while Danu makes tea. After a while, Severus drifts out of the shadows and into the kitchen to sit at the dining table. He hadn't said a word to her all day, had barely even looked at her. Part of her was angry at this, the other part sad. She wouldn't let it show, she refused to ruin Lorna's first Christmas with her father. Danu pours out four mugs of tea, and a hot cocoa for Lorna as Draco comes into the kitchen and places his hand on Severus' shoulder.

"May I speak with you?" Draco asks quietly as Severus look up at him with a scowl. "In private."

—

Hours later, after everyone leaves and Lorna is tucked into bed, Danu creeps downstairs for a glass of water. Severus had left silently before dinner, he kissed Lorna on the head and hugged her tightly to his chest. All day he sat there in her home, and not once did he speak to her. She had cried over him enough throughout the years, she refused to shed another tear over a man who clearly cared nothing for her.

Upon entering the kitchen, Danu freezes. Every surface of her kitchen was filled with plants in varying degrees of growth, and seeds of every kind. Some are magical, others are muggle. There are houseplants, muggle flowers she had mentioned liking in passing on their evening walks during the summers while there were staying on Spinner's End, magical herbs, Muggle herbs, fruit bearing plants, and vegetable seed packets. Danu runs her fingers over the spike of an aloe vera plant when an envelope leaning against the pot of a small monstera adansonii catches her attention.

Danu,

It was not my intention to attempt to make any decisions regarding your life, I simply believe you would be much happier being home with Lorna. You once had passions and dreams, and now you do not. I do not mean to imply that you are not passionate about being a mother, it is clear to see that you are.

Outside of being a mother, you are also a person. You are an excellent herbologist; I hate to see the care and passion you once held for it go to waste. I wish to see you rekindle that passion, and perhaps pass it on to Lorna. You have taught her the names and uses of some common plants, that is a start. Go further, teach her everything that you know.

The quality of herbs available for purchase has drastically decreased, and I no longer have my connection to the Hogwarts greenhouses to secure anything of proper value. Outside of Sprout, you are the only person I trust to deliver proper inventory. I will construct a greenhouse for you in the garden if you would like, I think it would be beneficial for you.

I am interested in purchasing an apothecary in Henford that has recently been listed for sale. I believe it would be a rather profitable business venture, if you are willing to accept. I would appreciate your assistance.

You are not a bad mother. I truly apologize if I made you feel as though you are. I appreciate your patience, as well as your kindness the last several months. I do not deserve it after all I have done, though I am thankful for the time I have spent with you and Lorna.

Happy Christmas,

Severus