“Sometimes more, I’ll be here as much as I’m able,” Harry neatly avoided answering the question, but managed not to crush his daughter’s hopes at the same time. “And, I think that since I’ll be around a bit more this year Ralph can safely remain here to keep you company.”
Lily seemed relatively satisfied with that, but she still didn’t look like she was completely convinced. “But you will be coming home?” she pressed, one more time.
Harry avoided his daughter’s piercing gaze as he tucked his wand into his robes, however he did share a long look with Ginny, “I shall do my best,” he said, but his thoughts were a whole other matter. He knew that it wouldn’t be likely. Times were too dark. There were too many enemies. There were too many uncertainties. And there would be more.
~~~~~~~~~~~
“I am astounded. Madame Pince is nowhere in sight and yet you are not taking advantage of the situation by sneaking into the restricted section.”
Dierna shrugged and looked down at the worn book she was turning over in her hands.
Severus leaned against the table Dierna was sitting at and crossed his arms over his chest, “you are being awfully quiet,” he observed, mentally noting that quietness usually proceeded trouble, at least with his children.
“Just thinking…”
“How enlightening.”
Dierna realized that her father was pushing for more information without asking for it. Not that he ever really asked. He either made subtle hints or demanded. She sighed softly and set the book aside.
“Something is bothering you.” It wasn’t a question.
Dierna shrugged again.
Severus tried to keep his temper in check, but his daughter’s short and non-verbal answers were starting to work their way under his skin. “Dierna…” his voice held a low warning tone.
“Dad, I…” but Dierna snapped her mouth shut again.
Severus suddenly feared that he might be treading on ground best left in the sole discretion of women, “perhaps you would rather speak to your mother about this.”
Dierna instantly realized what her father was thinking and managed a small smile, “it’s nothing like that, I promise.”
Although he tried to hide it, Severus looked slightly relieved as he raised a questioning eyebrow and waited for his daughter to continue.
“It’s just that… well… I love Stefan, and I know he wants to marry me. And I know that I want to marry him,” eventually, she added in her head. “But, after you took me to Florence I started thinking…”
“You were never meant to just be some man’s wife,” Severus took the opportunity to cut in, “you deserve more than that. You are worth more than that. As much as you may feel you care about Stefan,” he couldn’t bring himself to think, let alone say out loud, that his seventeen year old daughter truly knew what love was, “if he is standing in the way of what you truly wish to do with your life, you may have to ask yourself if he is worth it.”
Dierna looked suitably shocked, the thought of ending her relationship with Stefan, after all they had been through together, after she had thought she had lost him, she couldn’t imagine it. “I don’t think he’s the sort of man to stand in the way of my dreams…” she whispered, still not quite sure what to make of all this.
“Tell me, Dierna, exactly what is it that you want out of life.”
Dierna opened her mouth, ready to answer, but nothing came out. A look of confusion crept into her eyes, finally, forced to answer in some way, she simply murmured, “I don’t know sir.”
“Then I am going to make a suggestion.”
Dierna waited eagerly, hoping for some brilliant piece of insight that would solve her dilemma.
“Do not go accepting any marriage proposals,” leaving aside the fact that I’ll have to kill any man who attempts to take you away, “do not even discuss the possibility of marriage,”especially since you have a whole year left at Hogwarts, what are you thinking girl?!, “until you know what it is you want to do with your life. Do not let anyone impede you on that decision. It must be purely your own.”
Dierna looked more confused than ever.
“The wizarding world likes to think of itself as being far ahead of the muggle world,” Severus continued, a bit more gently, “after all, two of the founders of this school were women. However, what were rather forward ideas in the 11th century are the same ideals we still have. It is a terrible thing to see girls with promising futures throw it all away to get married as soon as they graduate.”
“But Mum…”
“Your mother is a rather exceptional case.”
Dierna frowned, “but other women still have careers after they get married.”
“Molly Weasley.”
Dierna looked up questioningly.
Severus elaborated, “Molly and Arthur graduated shortly before I entered Hogwarts, but soon enough afterwards so that stories of how brilliant Molly’s grades had been were still circulating. She would have made a fantastic auror. But, she gave up what could have been an incredible career to get married and have a child every couple of years so that Arthur could work a low-paying job in the bottom rungs of the Ministry. It pains me to see how many of my students, particularly the female ones, have followed that same path. Our laws are a further detriment to the matter.”
“Like marriage ceremonies?”
Severus nodded gravely, “I find it rather abhorrent that our laws still mandate that a woman must pledge herself completely to her husband. In matters of fidelity this is ideal, but in other circumstances… one would have thought that patria potestas would have died with the Roman Empire, unfortunately the wizarding world has kept it alive.”
“But that’s not often exercised anymore,” Dierna pointed out.
“True, but the power of life and death over family members should not even be an option. Although, it might make a good threat the next time you talk back to me…” Severus said the last dryly, a slight smirk pulling at his mouth. “I do grow rather tired of the lack of respect you show me.”
Dierna wrinkled up her nose, “I don’t think Mum would appreciate it if I told her you were thinking about abusing your position in that manner. I think she’s grown rather fond of me.”
Severus slowly shook his head at the rather morbid turn this conversation had taken, “I told your mother I would be back in our rooms to have tea with her. Would you care to join us?”
Dierna cocked her head to the side, “no, I think I need some more time on my own to think.”
Severus headed towards the door of the library, but turned around and came back to where his daughter was still sitting. “Last school year… you acquired the rather annoying habit of spending your free period in the dungeons bothering me…”
Dierna looked up, not quite sure what to expect.
“Should you continue to do so this year…” Severus nearly faltered over his words, biting sarcasm was his forte, not sentimentality, “I think I would rather enjoy it.”
Dierna smiled, “then I shall strive to come down and annoy you at my every convenience. And you can’t give me detention for it because you gave me permission to do so.”
Severus nodded and turned on his heel to sweep out of the library.
“I was looking for you,” Morgan appeared at his side the moment he stepped into the hallway.
Severus looked down at his wife, “you needn’t have done so, I told you I was coming back down.”
Morgan gladly slipped her hand into the arm that her husband offered her, “I was doing a bit of exploring actually.”
“Exploring?” Severus managed to sound suitably condescending.
Morgan smiled to herself, “yes. I was putting a few things away and happened to remember my favorite retreat, a small corridor behind the mirror across from the Charms classroom.”
“Looking for a place to hide?”
“Yes.”
“Who from?”
“You.”
Severus raised an eyebrow, but didn’t look down at his wife, “is there a particular reason why you might wish to hide from me?”
Morgan smiled, but looked intently at the floor.
“What did you do?” Severus demanded.
“Nothing.”
“Morgan…”
Morgan’s grin widened, “really, I did absolutely nothing, you’re just too quick to assume the worst in everyone.”
Severus snorted, “and you have given me plenty of reasons not to trust you when you are attempting to look innocent.” He undid the wards to their chambers and held the door while his wife preceded him in. “What have you been up to this morning?”
“Nothing very exciting, just finishing putting a few things away, like I already told you. However, some people just aren’t very trusting…” she kicked off her shoes, not failing to notice how her husband grimaced as she did so. Severus abhorred the way she insisted on going barefoot whenever possible. He insisted that civilized people wore shoes. He also hated picnics. Civilized people ate while sitting at a table. Morgan made sure to leave her shoes in the middle of the floor. Severus hated all clutter. And she took delight in aggravating him whenever possible.
“I think it’s too hot for tea,” she announced as she took a seat on the couch, tucking her feet under her, “just sit with me for awhile?” she asked.
Severus nodded and took a seat at the opposite end of the couch.
Morgan rolled her eyes, that was not what she had meant. Trying her hardest to look the picture of innocence she stretched out and propped her feet up in her husband’s lap. She wriggled into a more comfortable position, “rub my feet?” she requested as she noted the expected look of disgust that registered on her husband’s face. “Oh honestly Sev! They’re just feet.”
“And Merlin knows what may be on them, especially with the way you insist on walking through the halls without shoes like a savage.”
Morgan nearly chocked on the laugh she tried to suppress, “really, I went straight from my bath to find you, I promise they’re clean.”
Severus eyed his wife warily and performed a quick cleansing charm to the pair of small feet in his lap, which made Morgan roll her eyes again, before he acquiesced to her request.
Morgan practically purred as Severus pressed his thumbs into her arches. “Would it kill you to not look so disgusted while you do that?” she couldn’t help asking finally.
“Yes.”
Morgan closed her eyes and lay back, “fine, continue to not enjoy yourself while you make your wife extremely happy…”
“Are you sure there is not another part of your body that you would like rubbed?”
Morgan didn’t open her eyes, “of course, however, that will have to wait until later.”
“I wish I knew why you insist on torturing me like this.”
~~~~~~~~~~~
