She groaned aloud as she thought about why she missed Hogwarts. William. Now there were just several major obstacles that she had to overcome… She mentally counted them off. First, there was the slight inconvenience of the fact, yes she was returning to Hogwarts come fall, but William had graduated. Second, she knew she had a hopeless crush on him, but did he think about her that way? And third, there was Sirius.
The thought of her biological father was perhaps the most disturbing. If she were with William would it matter to the wizarding world that his stepfather was her father? She wasn’t sure; it wasn’t as though they planned it. Besides, she hated Sirius.
She smiled as she looked down at the field below her. Remus was down with Cadmus’ tribe, cheering on a wrestling match. She wished he was her father instead of Sirius.
She continued to scan the men below her and caught sight of Scamander. She found, as she watched him practicing with his bow, that she felt nothing for him.
She finally remembered the clay jar sitting at her feet and picked it up heading towards the well to collect the water she had been sent to fetch. Temple life always remained the same. She could go away for months and come back to the exact same way of life she had left behind.
~~~~~~~~~~~
“Try this one wizard,” Cadmus said as he tossed Remus a short sword.
“The weight is good, better than the last one,” Remus said as he tested the blade.
“You’ll be an expert with that thing by the time I get through with you. We’ll also have you more than efficient with the javelin and bow. No pale scholarly men for my Kalliope, she deserves a warrior, one who you can tell spends his days outdoors.”
“If you painted his portrait on an amphora now he would be a white figure,” one of the men added, much to the amusement of the rest of the warriors.
“That’s a low blow,” Remus said as he tested the sharpness of the blade, “even I know what an insult that would be.”
All the men laughed good naturedly as they went back to what they were doing. Cadmus clapped him on the back, “you’ll do just fine here wizard. In no time at all you’ll think you’ve never lived anywhere but with us. We’ll see to it.”
Remus glanced up towards the temple and a small smile played at his lips. He would have never imagined himself here. He had always thought of himself as one more suited to scholarly pursuits, teaching had been a good fit for him. But he had a feeling he could get used to this life, Kalliope was well worth it.
~~~~~~~~~~~
“Repeat the rules for me so that I know you understand them.”
Olivia shifted from foot to foot as she kept glancing at the table that had been set up for her, “I’m only allowed to touch what you set out for me on my table, everything else is off limits.”
“And…” Severus prompted her.
“I have to be quite so I don’t disturb you while you’re working.”
“What else?”
“I’m not allowed to try anything I make or give it to the cat.”
Severus nodded, nothing he had given her to play with would be harmful if she ingested it, no matter how she combined it, but he didn’t want to take any chances either. As for the cat… if it wouldn’t devastate Serena, not to mention he had been the one to get the cat for her… he wouldn’t care in the least if the mangy beast met with some unfortunate end.
“Can I play with it now?” Olivia asked impatiently as she eyed her toy cauldron longingly. She was already starting to get bored several days into summer break. There were no other children her age around and she could only entertain herself for so long. The toy cauldron seemed like a good diversion.
Severus gave a curt nod of approval and turned to Dierna who was busy sorting ingredients for him.
“Don’t you dare ask me what you’re planning on asking me.”
“What?”
Dierna mimicked his one raised eyebrow, “I am not watching her while she plays, you said I could assist you this summer and that does not include babysitting, I want to do real work.”
“Attitude,” he warned.
Dierna rolled her eyes, “I am not giving you attitude by saying I won’t baby-sit the kid when I could be doing something useful.”
“I will watch the child if the two of you have work to do.”
“Bloody hell Eric! If you do not…”
“My dear Severus, if you do not watch your language that little one will soon be repeating phrases that you will not be happy to hear coming from her,” Eric cut him off lazily.
“Out, now.”
“Now Severus,” Eric’s tone was deliberately patronizing, “I’m not harming anything.”
“I think I’m going to ask your grandson for a couple of dragons to put outside my home so I can keep you
out.” “That would work if I came in the front door. That’s the truly lovely thing about mirror travel.”
“I have made it clear on several occasions,” Severus’ voice was dangerously low; it was the one that made first years cry, “That I do not want you near my children, nor do I want you in my home.”
“Dad, let him stay,” Dierna said as she carried an armful of jars to one of the storage cabinets that lined the walls.
“Stay out of this,” Severus growled at her before turning his attention back to Eric.
“Is this anyway to treat a fellow member of the Order? One who is determined to prevent a reign of the dark lord…?” Eric caught Dierna’s eye and winked at her, causing her to smile. A smile she quickly hid as she noticed her father’s dark expression.
“Fine, stay if you must, but I’m charming all the mirrors in this house so you cannot come through them again.”
“I have good reason for making sure your home is connected to my sanctuary,” Eric spoke quietly, for Severus’ ears alone. “Should an attack be attempted here… I wanted to make sure Morgan and the children have a way out.”
“And I appreciate that, but it doesn’t mean I like having you in my home.”
Eric redirected the subject, “has Minerva informed you of the staff changes this year?”
“Yes. What did you think of Potter’s decision in the matter?”
“I was surprised.”
“I was not.”
“Then why on earth did you bother asking my opinion on the matter?”
Severus spoke as he removed several jars from a locked cabinet, “because Minerva was very surprised. Not that I can blame her, she always favored Potter.”
“That’s not what I’ve heard,” Eric said as he surveyed the lab setup.
“And I’m sure you heard that from Minerva.”
“I never reveal my sources of information; you should know that by now.”
“Fair enough.”
“Has your girl started to make plans for after graduation yet?” Eric gestured towards Dierna, who was consulting measurements with a large book open in front of her.
“She has mentioned interest in an apprenticeship.”
Eric shook his head, “makes me wish I was on better standing with the British Ministry, I would love to take her on. Her passion and talent for potions… she’s every master’s dream apprentice.”
Severus’ brow lowered, “I do not think I would be at all comfortable with you taking her on, even if the Ministry wasn’t trying to hunt you down.”
“Hmmm… there’s always Jean-Luc LeBeau, he runs a decent sized research lab. Who else is there… Prokofiev… Margolin… you need to get her out Severus, introduce her to some of the men and women you’ve worked with in the past. They may take her on because she’s your daughter, but they’ll keep her because of her talent.”
“We shall see, however the timing… I would rather we were not in the middle of the war while we think about this.”
“Look at her hands,” Eric said as he watched Dierna measure out a blue liquid from one of the vials, “they don’t shake at all, perfectly steady… so much poise in one so young… be careful Severus, she may just eclipse your achievements one day with her own.”
~~~~~~~~~~~
“What are you making?”
“A strengthening potion.”
“What are you going to use if for?”
“Some tests, I want to try and combine it with a couple of other potions to see if I can get them to last longer.”
“Why?”
“Because I can.”
“Can I do that too?”
Dierna smiled down at her little sister, “no, because you would get in trouble for touching stuff that Dad doesn’t want you touching, and I would get in trouble for letting you touch it.”
“I don’t want to get in trouble,” Olivia’s eyes had grown large.
“Neither do I,” Dierna confided, “besides I don’t need your help, I do it often enough on my own.”
Olivia giggled behind her hand, “me too.”
“Hey girls, you want to get out of here for awhile?” Kamen asked quietly from the stairwell.
“I can’t… I’m supposed to be watching this…” Dierna gestured towards the cauldron set up in front of her and her notes scattered around it.
“You’re no fun anymore,” Kamen accused, still keeping his voice low, hoping his father wouldn’t notice his presence. “How about it short stuff? Are you game?”
Olivia nodded excitedly, quickly forgetting about her toy cauldron in hopes of a new adventure.
“Shhhh…” Kamen held a finger to his lips, “we don’t want Dad to catch us leaving, come on,” he took her hand and swung her up on his shoulders so he could quietly creep up the stairs.
“Does he honestly think he just snuck out of here?” Severus asked without turning around.
Dierna shrugged, “probably, he’s not quite the brightest crayon in the box.”
Severus sighed, “Finish what you’re doing, clean up, and then get out of here.”
“Are you kicking me out?”
“Yes.”
Dierna rolled her eyes, “fine, I’m going.”
~~~~~~~~~~~
“Where are we going?”
“Out.”
“Out where?”
“You’ll just have to wait and see short stuff.”
“Kamen,” Olivia thumped him on the back from her perch with balled up fists, “tell me!”
“We, ya little hellion, are going over to William’s so that he and I can discuss plans for moving out and our try out times.”
“Do you have to move out?” Olivia pouted, “I don’t want you to leave…”
Kamen sighed, “I know kid, but I need to get out, I need to be on my own, without Mum and Dad always hovering over me. I can’t live like that anymore. I need and want my freedom.”
“Can I move out with you?”
Kamen chuckled, “I’m sure Mum and Dad would really love that. I don’t think so, but I promise you can come and visit me. Is that enough to appease you or do I have to bribe you with something as formidable as a cookie?”
“I want a cookie.”
“I figured that would distract you.”
“Do I get my cookie now?”
“I see you’re not easily dissuaded, but you’ll have to wait just a little longer,” Kamen shifted her off his back and into his arms so he could hold her closer, “hang on tight, we’re traveling by floo since I have you along. I wouldn’t want to lose you.”
Kamen was nearly choked as Olivia wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. She was taking him very seriously.
“Ok sweetie, you’re choking me, let go now,” Kamen said as he stepped through the fireplace.
“Took you long enough to show up,” William said as he helped rescue Kamen from Olivia’s death grip.
“I know, I know… but I had a bit of trouble convincing Mum that I really was coming over here only to discuss moving plans. For some strange reason she thinks we were going to go out partying or something.”
“You don’t think that would have anything to do with the rather large collection of empty bottles Filch found in Gryffindor tower, do you?” Sirius asked as he entered the room.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, those must have belonged to the other boys, the two of us,” Kamen wrapped his arm around William’s shoulders “would have never brought alcoholic beverages into Gryffindor tower, we would have never done anything to corrupt the innocent little students of our beloved house.”
“Exactly, how you can accuse us two innocents is beyond me,” William put on an affronted look.
Sirius rolled his eyes heavenward, “I actually think I’m rather glad the two of you won’t be back at Hogwarts next year, I have a feeling you would start running out of excuses.”
“You know you’ll miss us, Transfiguration won’t be half as fun without the two of us there to wreak havoc.”
“Yes, being the chief disturbers of peace took a lot of responsibility, you’ll have a hard time finding someone to fill our shoes,” William looked deadly serious.
“Responsibility… oh great, I’ve already lost the kid,” Kamen looked around for Olivia, “not sure if I will be able to explain this one to Mum and Dad…”
“She went upstairs with Willow,” William supplied.
“Good… that means I don’t have to keep an eye on her. Are we ready to talk business?” Kamen asked as he rubbed his hands together.
“Of course,” William led his friend into the kitchen, “you still taking us flat hunting tomorrow?” he tossed over his shoulder to Sirius.
“Yes, and you should be feeling damn lucky I talked your Mum out of going.”
“Thank you,” William said sincerely, “if I had to look at places with her… death would have been a merciful option.”
“Oh… yours been as bad as mine?” Kamen asked, “Mum wants to make sure we get a ‘nice place’,” he rolled his eyes, “she even said something about coming over and decorating for us. I say, as long as it has a bed I’m happy.”
“Same here.” William agreed.
“The two of you have some harsh realities in store for you,” Sirius said as he put a pot of water on the stove. He couldn’t help stop the smile that appeared on his face. He and William had come a long way in the past months. He still wasn’t quite sure where they stood or how to characterize their relationship. The best he could say was that it was somewhere between father and friend. He didn’t fit into either category as far as William was concerned, but the bitterness had diminished a bit.
“I think we can handle just about anything that comes our way,” William said as he grabbed a couple of mugs, “we’re not completely defenseless you know.”
Sirius’ grin broadened, “not quite everything. There are some things you boys are far from being able to handle.”
“Like what?” Kamen asked.
“Women.”
“Professor Black… Sirius,” Kamen walked around the kitchen table and draped his arm around Sirius’ shoulders, “just between you and me, I know a few things about the fairer sex. I have quite a way with the ladies, twisted around my little finger they are.”
William snorted as he filled his mug with hot water from the stove, “he is quite the ladies man Sirius.”
“Oh, I’m not talking about conquests here boys. I’m talking about mothers. Specifically mothers who have already decided to go shopping for your flat.”
“No!” the boys looked at each other in horror.
“Oh yes,” Sirius was thoroughly enjoying the looks of horror on the boys’ faces, “they have been shopping. Sheets, towels, curtains, a few pieces of furniture, cleaning supplies…”
“Dear Merlin… they’re trying to make our lives miserable,” Kamen muttered.
“It gets better.”
“Please don’t say that,” William pleaded.
Sirius filled his own mug and sat down at the table, “I saw some of the stuff they bought.” He gave them both an amused look before turning his full attention to the mug in front of him, “how do you feel about pastel sheets and towels with these absolutely adorable dragons embroidered on them?”
“Please say you’re joking,” Kamen looked desperate.
“Sorry boys, apparently they’re ready to let you move out, but are not convinced that you can take care of yourselves.” Sirius looked at their shell-shocked expressions and would have laughed if they didn’t look so miserable. He stood up, “well, I’ll leave you two to think about decorating options, wouldn’t want to pick out any furniture that will clash with your daisy yellow and summer green sheets, would you?”
“Think we could use the sheets to hang ourselves?” William asked hopefully.
“No… they’d probably be upset, would think we ruined them,” Kamen replied glumly.
“Oh, I almost forgot,” Sirius came back and set a shopping bag on the table, “consider yourselves lucky that I’m such a sympathetic and understanding guy… and don’t tell your mothers.” He turned and walked back out of the room.
Kamen gave William a questioning look, but all William did was shrug his shoulders. He was in the dark on this one too.
“Well, I suppose we should open it,” William took the bag and peered inside. He couldn’t stop the grin that spread across his face.
“What is it?” Kamen asked.
“Sheets and towels. Plain white sheets and towels. I don’t think I can hate Sirius after this, he’s just become our savior.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~
