Chapter 2: The Remainder of Summer
Lily I
Saturday, 24 July 1982
Roughly three months had passed since Lily got the job at Slug & Jiggers. Apart from working the counter, it was also her job to take inventory at the end of the day, both things which she'd expected when she applied. What surprised her was the additional responsibility of brewing potions to sell after the doors were shut for customers, although that had more to do with the previous potioneer abruptly resigning for undisclosed reasons; when Lily disclosed she was expecting, however, the owner instead offered to do all the brewing if Lily could compensate by looking over the morning inventory as well. The pay was as decent as she could expect from a job like this (14 Galleons a week), but the conversion to Muggle currency would take some getting used to if she was to stay with her sister.
Roughly three weeks had passed since Lily finalized her divorce from James. Petunia and Marlene had both been outraged when Lily refused to take what she was entitled to, but neither of them seemed to understand no matter how many times Lily tried to explain. If she took what she was entitled to, it was an admission to James and herself that she needed his money, and Lily didn't want one bloody knut from the toerag apart from what the children needed; she'd even gone as far as to return to him every article of clothing and piece of jewelry he'd ever bought for her, slowly replacing her wardrobe with what she'd bought with her own wages. Instead of additional financial assistance, she'd asked to have the children on weekdays (receiving them on Sunday evening), while James could have them on weekends (receiving them on Friday evening); that way, she could make sure they were schooled until they started attending Hogwarts, as she was sure James wouldn't do the same.
Six days had passed since Sirius started delivering Harry to the agreed-upon spot: the Leaky Cauldron. Remus had been the one to suggest it, and he acted as a mediator between Sirius and Marlene (the latter offering to go in Lily's stead whenever picking up or dropping off Harry). Lily didn't hate Sirius as much as she hated James, but she wasn't ready to speak with him in person any time soon, not after the number of times he could've told Lily the truth but chose not to.
And three hours had passed since Lily gave birth to a rather plump Marlene Evans (Marley, for short), during which time Marlene McKinnon had cried nearly non-stop after finding out she was both the namesake and godmother; in fact, Lily was fairly sure Marlene had Disapparated at one point to return to her parents' house, which would explain the arrival of Mary MacDonald and the remainder of the McKinnon family. Of course, being in a Muggle hospital had drawn some odd looks from members of staff, but Lily soon realized it had less to do with the McKinnons' choice of clothing (only for the older members) and more to do with them being Irish. The biggest objector to the presence of the Irish was, unsurprisingly, Vernon, resulting in him and Petunia (and Dudley) leaving the delivery room to wait outside. If only Marley had been born one day later; he might've been too busy with golf to show up.
Lily wasn't very fond of Vernon, but he was more welcome company than the man who stood just outside the threshold of the room. James (holding Harry) was waiting with Sirius and Remus, with Marlene having gone out to them to explain how they would visit so that Lily didn't have to tolerate James's presence; Marley would be handed off to Marlene, who would hand her to Remus, who would hand her to Sirius, who would hand her to James, and then the inverse when returning her to Lily. But of course, before that, Harry would be allowed to see his sister.
Lily looked down at Marley, taking her mind off James as she stroked the newborn's tufts of red hair. The baby's eyes opened, and Lily smiled as she looked into her almond-shaped eyes, just as green as her grandmother's.
"Good morning, sweetheart," Lily whispered. "Hi."
Marley yawned quietly before sticking her chubby hands out of the swaddling cloth the nurse had wrapped around her, reaching up to touch Lily's face.
Lily leaned down and let the thick fingers brush her cheek. "Are you saying hi to Mama?" she asked, letting the baby grab her thumb.
Marley's hand tightened around the thumb as she burbled, almost exactly like Harry had when he was born.
"Lily?"
Lily looked up from Marley to see Marlene and Mary standing beside her, Harry balancing on his feet while holding each of their hands.
"How's Mini-Me?" Marlene asked.
"Grabby," Lily answered with a laugh.
"How about we see your sister, Harry?" Mary asked.
Harry looked between Marlene and Mary and smiled, tugging on both their hands until both witches pulled him off the ground and onto the bed with Lily and Marley. Harry sat down beside his mother and stared at the bundle in her arms. He leaned over to look Marley in the face before smiling and looking back up at Lily.
"Her name's Marlene," Lily explained. "But we'll call her Marley."
"... Mum!"
Lily's smile flattened in shock, her heart racing. "Harry?"
"Mum!" Harry repeated, this time louder.
Lily let out a breath as she covered her mouth.
"Harry, was that your first word?!" Mary asked, crouching down beside the bed and holding his hand.
"Mum!" Harry repeated with a wide smile on his face, now turning to Mary and pointing at Lily.
"Looks like he's talking again!" Any warmth in Lily's chest vanished as James walked into the room, ignoring Remus and Marlene as they tried stopping him.
Again?
"James," Remus was saying, "hold on-"
"We went over this!" Marlene objected. "Sirius, please!"
"I'm just going to see my children," James said with a smile. He stopped beside the bed and ruffled Harry's head. "Like your sister?"
"Dad!" Harry said happily, reaching up for James to pick him up.
Lily's heart sank.
James lifted Harry off the bed and held him once more as he knelt down to look at Marley. Lily felt her blood boil as her ex-husband disregarded the boundaries she'd set, looking away from him.
"Well, aren't you giving her over?"
Lily's mind went blank. "... what?" she asked, turning back to James's uncomfortable stare.
"It's Saturday, isn't it? I get them on the weekends."
Before Lily could answer, Marlene stepped up to James. "Now, look here!" the other witch objected. "You can't just take her away; it's only been a few hours!"
"I wasn't the one who decided who gets the kids on what days," James replied, looking back to Lily without saying a single word, just blinklessly looking her in the eye. "Besides, I checked with the doctor; Marley's free to come home."
That couldn't possibly be right! Lily barely felt Sirius scoop Marley out of her arms, but she was brought back to what was going on when Remus exclaimed, "Sirius, be reasonable here!"
"It's really not up to me, Moony," Sirius said. Lily could see some regret on his face, but not enough to stop him. "It's one of James's days. They'll both be with Lily tomorrow evening."
"Sirius-" Lily quickly said.
"Tomorrow," James cut in with a quiet voice. He was staring at Lily with unbroken, uncomfortable eye contact once more. "Unless the Ministry has to be involved."
Only when Lily looked away from discomfort did James leave the room with Harry, Sirius following him with Marley in his arms. And only then, after the four had left, did reality set in for Lily. The reality that, even on one of the most meaningful days of her life, James found a way to ruin it.
Severus I
Tuesday, 27 July 1982
"No, it's pronounced 'insects'," Severus explained to Isla as they looked at the sign on the wall beside the exhibit. A few other zoo-goers were looking at the two of them in shock before guiding their children away. "Like the letter 'k'," he continued, focusing his attention on Isla.
"But that's a 'c'," Isla argued, her tiny brow furrowing as she pointed at the word.
"And what did we discuss?"
"'C' can sound like 's' or 'k'," Isla repeated in a sing-songy way.
"Very good."
"But why?
"What?"
"Why is it a 'k' and not an 's'?"
Severus didn't pretend to know how the English language developed, only that it had Germanic roots and borrowed from every other European language in one way or another. Fortunately, his time at Hogwarts had helped him study Latin. "It's from the Latin insectus," Severus explained.
"What's Latin?"
"A language once spoken by the Romans."
"Who's that?"
... Severus realized he'd have to buy a few history books for Isla, although he'd have to censor some of the events. "How about we stop by the bookstore after we leave?"
Isla nodded with a small smile as she once more took hold of Severus's collar, something she was in the habit of when she needed comfort. "How many ince- how many insects are there?"
"Population or species?"
"... what?"
"The number of insects in the world, or the number of types of insects?"
"Types?"
"You know how the ice cream shop has different flavors?"
"Oh! Okay, types!"
"More than one million."
"How much?"
"One-" Severus stopped himself. He'd have to buy a math book while they were at the bookstore. "Many."
"Whoa."
Severus smirked. "Would you like to see any more?"
"Are spiders insects?"
"No, they're arachnids."
"What's that?"
"I'll show you." Severus walked over so that they were in front of one of the spider exhibits. "We could read the plaque together."
Isla looked at the tarantula inside and immediately let out a shriek, tucking herself into Severus's chest.
"What's wrong, dear?"
"Scary!" Isla's voice was muffled.
"How about we see the reptiles?"
"... okay," Isla said with a nod.
As Severus took her elsewhere, he asked, "Do you like the zoo so far?"
Isla nodded again. "I like the birds."
"What's your favorite?"
"Favorite?"
"What do you like the most?"
"Oh... a raven."
Severus remembered the ravens they'd seen flying overheard. "Not the ones in the exhibit?"
"No," Isla explained. "Ravens look like you."
"Like me?"
"You wear black all the time, and you've got a big nose."
Severus raised an eyebrow and was about to respond, but Isla's next words stopped him.
"That's why they're my favorite."
Severus felt his chest tighten as he adjusted how he held Isla, taking her to where the reptiles were. Clearing his throat, he said, "We've arrived at the reptiles."
Isla peeked out from where she'd been hiding her face, pointing at the exhibit in front of her. "Baby snakes!"
Lily II
Saturday, 31 July 1982
Lily was keeping herself busy by helping Petunia in the garden (Vernon and Dudley had gone out for ice cream against Lily's advice, she didn't think the two-year-old ought to have ice cream before dinner), wondering how Harry's birthday was going. James hadn't invited her or even brought up the idea of her stopping by to deliver presents to their son; instead, he'd sent Remus as a middleman to deliver them on her behalf. The conversation between her and Remus hadn't been too pleasant, although most of the hostility had admittedly been on Lily's part, while Remus (as usual) tried to be diplomatic.
"You have to understand," Remus had said slowly, "that James isn't taking any of this very well."
"This is our son's second birthday!" Lily had objected.
"He thinks that, since you have the children five days out of the week, he's allowed to spend more time with them without you being there."
"And what about when he showed up on my days this past week?!"
"I want to say that I don't agree with his reasoning, but-"
"But you won't even try," Lily had said, cutting him off.
"- but I'm not Harry's or Marley's father," Remus had finished. "And before you say anything, Sirius and I have spoken to James about this."
"Oh, is that so?"
"It didn't really do much, to be honest."
"Oh, I bet it didn't."
"Lily," Remus had said, exasperated, "I'm not as close with James as you think."
"I noticed that, funnily enough," Lily had said dryly. "Missed our wedding, missed our Hallowe'en parties, missed Easter, missed Harry's birth-"
"You and I both know Dumbledore had me spying on Greyback."
"You volunteered!"
Remus had gone silent with that comment, which prompted Lily to turn their conversation back to Harry's party by handing him the presents she'd picked out for him: a stuffed owl and a scarf. He'd left not long after, barely saying a word to Petunia, Marlene, and Mary, who'd all come back from a shopping trip to find Lily crying, which now led to Lily and Petunia gardening together while Marlene and Mary offered to prep ingredients for dinner.
Gardening took Lily back to when Mum was still alive; she and Petunia would often help her with the weeding and watering (honestly, Petunia had done most of the work, while Lily watched and pointed). It was, perhaps, the only time when the Evans sisters didn't argue very much, something which had even survived into Lily attending Hogwarts and learning more about magic. Of course, that had ended when Petunia moved out, and Lily had believed she'd never do this again after Vernon and James had that argument on their first (and last) double-date.
Given how everything had gone, Lily didn't think she'd be going on another double-date any time soon. And after James, she wasn't sure she even wanted to.
Severus II
Monday, 30 August 1982
Severus felt Isla grip his hand as they passed through the entrance to Platform 9 3/4 for the first time together, feeling the girl hug his leg tightly after passing through and out where the other witches and wizards were. When the platform wasn't flooded with students on their way to and from Hogwarts, it was relatively less crowded save for today. Fortunately, Severus had a ticket reserved for Hogwarts members of staff, although he would be sitting alone given that most staff members could simply Apparate to and from Hogsmeade, or make use of the Floo network.
Severus rolled their luggage up to the train and straight to the Hogwarts staff carriage, showing his and Isla's ticket to the ticketmaster before boarding. There was a seat near the window, which he decided would be Isla's, and he set their luggage up in the overhanging compartment before sitting beside her. "The ride will take some time," Severus said to her.
"May I have Basil, please?"
Severus got back up and retrieved Basil from the smaller light-blue trunk, giving it to Isla before sitting once more.
"Thank you," Isla mumbled as she hugged the stuffed fox. "This is a train?"
"It is. We'll be riding along the track."
"Track?"
"Two metal bars along the ground that the wheels are attached to. It'll take us all the way up to the Scottish Highlands."
"Papa?"
"Yes, dear?"
"You said we live next to Birmingham," Isla began, pointing to an invisible map on the table with her tiny finger. "That's in the middle of England."
"Britain, but yes."
"Britain," Isla repeated. "And we went to London for the train." She traced her finger down.
"Right."
"And it's south of Birmingham." Isla then pointed back at the original spot where her finger had been.
"Right."
"And we go all the way up north?" Isla asked as she traced her finger upward.
"Correct."
"... Papa, why go south when we have to go north?"
"Because there's no train station in Birmingham that can take us there."
"Why?"
"Because-" Severus stopped. The logic didn't surprise him; he'd had similar thoughts when it came to public transportation. His mother had only ever delivered him to King's Cross once, afterwhich he'd had to save up money to commute to and from London on his own. What did surprise him was that this logic was coming out of the mouth of a three-year-old. "- because," he answered, "there isn't a large wizarding community in Birmingham."
"Why not?"
"... I've no idea," Severus admitted.
"You don't know?" Isla sounded shocked.
"No."
"Why don't you know?"
"I-" Severus felt relief as he heard the train whistle blow, which grabbed Isla's attention. "The train's departing."
"It is?!" Isla planted her face against the window, smushing her tiny forehead. She started to smile as the train slowly chugged forward, the platform disappearing behind them within a few minutes. "Papa, we're going!"
"We are," Severus said with a smile, watching as his daughter's smile grew wider.
"Do trains always do this?" Isla asked.
"Only if they're built properly."
"Can trains fly?"
"What?"
"You're magic, and people can fly with magic, can't they?"
"Not without a broom."
"How do brooms fly?"
"They're enchanted with magic."
"Could a train fly if it was enchanted too?"
"... I suppose it could."
Severus sat quietly while Isla continued to stare out at the scenery, her mouth opening and closing depending on if something interesting passed by. He could only imagine how she'd react when she found out this would be their method of transportation to and from Hogwarts every year from now on.
Albus I
Albus hadn't seen Isla or her father since delivering her to Number 13 Spinner's End, but he hadn't heard the end of members of staff talking among themselves about Severus having a daughter. The loudest and most excited of the voices was Horace, which Albus had suspected would be the case, which just so happened to be the sound he was greeted with as he stepped into the staff office.
"It's been too long," Horace was saying to Minerva. "I still remember- oh, you remember Eileen Prince, don't you?"
"I recall," Minerva replied. Albus could see his deputy headmistress was on edge; this hadn't been the first time Horace had asked the question. She turned to see Albus approaching. "Good evening, Albus."
"Minerva," Albus said with a smile. "I take it everyone has been notified of Professor Snape's arrival?"
"You won't find a portrait in the castle that doesn't know," Minerva answered. "Rubeus is waiting at the station as we speak."
"Very good. I think we ought to give Severus a warm welcome, don't you?"
"Of course." Minerva had an uncertain look on her face.
"Is something the matter?"
"Minerva's feeling a bit off is all," Horace said. "Oh, I ought to go and greet Severus in person!"
"By all means," Albus said, allowing Horace to leave the room. He turned back to Minerva. "Whatever is the matter?"
"Are you certain this is wise?" Minerva asked, and Albus knew exactly what she was about to say; she'd made similar remarks ever since Albus had announced Severus's employment. "Professor Snape might be suitable for the position, but to take care of a small child at the same time-"
"I've already discussed that matter," Albus replied. "And young Isla will have a house-elf caring for her while Severus is occupied."
"Yes, but Snarky?!"
"Snarky's a rather attentive elf, I should think."
"Forgive me, Albus, but he doesn't exactly inspire much sense of comfort or security."
"Comfort? Perhaps you're right. Security? Isla couldn't be safer. And between you and me, she would find comfort in security, don't you think?"
"Well..." Minerva paused. "... and what about Snape? Working at Slug & Jiggers is no basis for the Defense post!"
"I believe I've told you once before that Severus's academic and practical performances have guaranteed him the post." That was partly true, but Severus had proven himself far more between graduation and Voldemort's downfall. "There is no candidate more suited for the job."
"Not even me?" Minerva asked defensively.
"Minerva, there's no one I know more capable in the field of Transfiguration. If there was, you would have gotten the Defense post already."
Minerva shifted in discomfort.
"... is there a personal reason for why you doubt Severus?"
"... it's not that I doubt him," Minerva admitted. This was a new development, at least as far as Minerva divulging this information.
"Is it to do with his 'associates' when he was a student?"
"Partly. I think he may hold a grudge against me for how James Potter and Sirius Black behaved. And don't even get me started on the incident with Remus Lupin!"
"Personally, I would've thought the incident by the lake would be more damning," Albus commented.
"Well, that certainly didn't help." Minerva crossed her arms.
"But you don't bear any ill will toward Severus, do you?"
"Not unless he does toward me first," Minerva answered.
"I suppose that'll do," Albus said, forcing a smile as he heard a commotion outside the staff room. "That must be them."
Albus and Minerva turned as Argus entered the room, Horace and Rubeus following close behind, and finally Severus and Isla behind them. The girl had fallen asleep with a stuffed fox pressed between her and her father's chest, leaving Severus to carry her while handling both trunks, at least until Rubeus had taken the larger of the two for convenience's sake.
"Ah, so good to see you, Severus," Albus greeted. "I see you're earlier than expected-"
Severus shot his hand up to put a finger to his lips, gesturing to the sleeping Isla.
"Apologies," Albus whispered. "Perhaps, you'd prefer to retire for the evening and meet the staff in the morning?"
Severus nodded, only for concern to grow on his face as Isla stirred, her eyes opening as she let out a whimper, which soon turned into a sob. "Are you awake?" Severus asked Isla as he turned his head to her.
Isla sniffled and nodded, clearly exhausted as she buried her head into his shoulder. "'M tired, Papa," the girl whimpered.
"We'll go to bed, then, yes?"
"... okay," Isla mumbled, the tiny girl grabbing her father's collar before peering out, making eye contact with Albus. "Alby?"
"Good evening, Isla," Albus said with a smile. He was happy she remembered him from the orphanage. "Did you have a good trip?"
Isla nodded, drying her eyes with Severus's shirt.
"We have a wonderfully comfortable bed for you."
"Papa's?"
Albus nodded. "Your father's as well."
"Thank you," Isla said politely.
"Argus, if you would?"
Argus nodded and looked up at Rubeus before turning to Severus. "Follow me, professor," the caretaker said, passing them by as he led Rubeus, Severus and Isla out and up to the new professor's quarters.
"Rather well-spoken, isn't she?" Horace wondered with a laugh. "I wager she's got her father's intelligence, yes?"
"Oh, I'd think so," Albus replied. "Thoughts, Minerva?"
Minerva's lips were pursed, but she inclined her head. "... rather polite."
Severus III
Wednesday, 1 September 1982
The Great Hall was as crowded as Severus remembered it being whenever he'd sat at the Slytherin table, but he wasn't accustomed to sitting from the perspective of a professor. The first-year students, having just been Sorted, were now sitting with their new housemates as Dumbledore made the pre-feast announcements.
"Now as some of you are aware," Dumbledore said, "our previous professor for Defense Against the Dark Arts, Professor Smith, suffered an incident involving a wardrobe and rocking chair, and will therefore not be teaching this year."
Severus noticed as some of the students whispered to themselves before going silent once more to listen. He adjusted his footing to prepare to stand, as he'd seen with every other new professor he'd seen introduced when he was a student.
"This year," Dumbledore continued, "we would like to introduce our new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. Please welcome Professor Severus Snape!"
Severus stood, scooting his chair out and careful not to accidentally bump into Isla, who was sitting at a small table behind him. He gave a stiff bow as he heard applause, nothing out of the ordinary, before sitting once more.
"And now," Dumbledore concluded, "Let the feast begin!"
Food appeared on every plate and platter in the Great Hall, and Severus turned as he heard Isla gasp, her plate hosting sliced chicken accompanied by peas, carrots, broccoli, and mashed potato. The girl gingerly took her fork and poked a slice of carrot, eating it and chewing with her mouth closed (precisely as they had practiced). Severus turned back to his plate and began to eat. He managed to eat one forkful and take a single sip before he felt a tiny hand tug on his shirt. He looked down, Isla staring back up at him; in his periphery, he knew McGonagall, sitting right beside Severus, was looking at the two of them; it wasn't new, and it was getting old.
"Yes, dear?"
"Papa, I have a question," Isla said politely.
"Of course."
"No, but..." Isla leaned in. "I have to sit on your lap."
"Is it that serious?"
Isla nodded.
Severus felt his face heat up, not daring to look up and accidentally at McGonagall or the students. He took a slow breath before relenting, picking his daughter up and resting her on his knee, upon which he heard the chattering of the students grow quieter and turn to whispering. "Yes?" he asked Isla, keeping his focus on her.
Isla leaned in and whispered, "Why'd Alby call you 'Severus'?"
Severus blinked. "That's my first name."
"Why?"
"My mother named me that."
"Why?"
"Because it's the name of a Roman emperor."
"You mean the Latin people?"
Severus nodded.
Isla's eyes widened. "... you're a Roman?!"
"No-"
"I thought they all died!" Isla exclaimed.
"No, they- we'll go over our Roman history later."
"Okay." Isla looked around before tucking her head into Severus's chest, afterwhich Severus heard a few of the female students (more than a few, actually) making some sort of affectionate sound in his general direction.
"What's the matter, dear?"
"Everyone's looking at me," Isla said, sounding afraid.
Severus felt a pressure in his forehead as he looked up at the students, most of which were looking at him, and glared. Very quickly, the students turned away and back to their food. "Not anymore," Severus whispered to her, patting her back. "How about you go and eat?"
"Do I have to eat the green stuff?" Isla asked.
"Vegetables help your mind grow," Severus said. "You'll be as smart as me."
"Really?"
"I guarantee it."
"... okay." Isla slipped down from Severus's lap and returned to her meal at the small table.
Severus sat up straight once more, returning to his meal, as he ignored whatever look McGonagall was giving him. It didn't take very long for the ghosts of Hogwarts to come out and greet the students, most of the first-years shrieking in surprise while their older housemates laughed. He recalled a young Lily's face when Sir Nicholas had greeted her for the first time, and it would've been enough to make him spit out his pumpkin juice if they'd been sitting together as he'd once hoped they would. He'd been naive to think she could've been Sorted into Slytherin-
"Hi," Isla said, snapping Severus out of his memories and back to the present as he turned to find her talking to Sir Nicholas, of all ghosts.
"Hello there, Miss Isla," Sir Nicholas greeted, floating down so he was eye-level as he bowed. "Are you enjoying dinner?"
"Mm-hmm," Isla answered, eating some of her broccoli with a smile.
Severus felt the corner of his mouth curl. She was brave for her age.
