“You try telling her that,” Remus spat, his voice rising slightly.
Penelope gave him a conspiratorial smile, “I would never presume to tell the high priestess what to do, but I think perhaps you might be able to convince her.” She wrapped her mantle around her shoulders, “just try and keep her in bed,” another grin, “you have my permission to use whatever means necessary to make sure that she stays there.”
“Does that include binding and gagging?”
“Only if you can hold her down long enough… I think you’d be better off using your charm, werewolf.”
Remus snorted at that, and waited for the door flap to fall back in place after Penelope left before crossing the room to sit on the edge of the bed next to his wife, “how are you feeling?”
“Tired,” Kalliope said softly, “and rather useless.”
“Do you think you can stand to stay in bed for a few more days? Or, even better, stay in bed until the baby comes? It’s only a couple of more weeks.”
“I thought she was coming today,” Kalliope placed a protective hand over her extended stomach, “it’s been so long since I had my little girl, I was so scared when I couldn’t tell if the pains were this one ready to get out or something else.”
“Penelope said it was just the stress…”
“I know very well what it was, I have been trained in the healing arts.” Kalliope softened her voice, “thank you for staying with me, men aren’t usually allowed to be in the room when it comes to anything having to do with childbirth, but I… it means a lot to me.”
“Are you trying to apologize for snapping at me earlier?” there was a slight trace of amusement in Remus’ voice.
Kalliope suddenly became very interested in smoothing out the blankets lying across her legs, “the high priestess is accountable to no one, especially not a man,” she said in a superior tone.
“Keep telling yourself that,” Remus said flatly as he helped her adjust the pillows behind her back.
“Remus?” Kalliope pulled on his arm and waited before he had seated himself next to her, “thank you…” she leaned against him. She hadn’t realized how nervous she had been that she might have pushed him away from her until he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, encouraging her to rest her weight against him.
“There now, that wasn’t so hard, was it? The next one I’m going to teach you is ‘I’m sorry’,” he kissed her lightly on the forehead. “But for now, you are fine and the baby is fine, and that is all that matters.”
“You matter too.”
“I rather like you when you’re bedridden, it goes a long way to softening that tongue of yours. And in case you didn’t realize it, that is a good thing.” He smiled as he laid a hand against her stomach and felt the baby move.
“She already loves you almost as much as I do,” Kalliope said as she yawned. Perhaps a few days off from her temple duties wouldn’t be so bad after all.
~~~~~~~~~~~
“Don’t ask me, she won’t tell me what it is that’s bothering her, I’ve tried, and she’s being difficult,” Colin announced without preamble as he let Morgan in the door. “Talk some sense into her.”
“Trouble in paradise?” Morgan asked, a wry smile in place as she remembered some of the absolutely ridiculous arguments she had with Severus during there first couple years of marriage.
“She kicked me out of the flat all yesterday, said she needed some space to think. So now I’m on my way out again, and I’m hoping that by the time I get back she’ll have at least told you why she’s so upset, and then maybe she’ll be ready to tell me.”
“How well do you think you know Viviane?”
Colin sighed, “point taken, Mum, I know, she’d tell me if she thought it was the right time. I guess I just have to accept that this is a girl thing?”
“Probably. Now get going, and I’ll have my daughter all sorted out for you by the time you get back, I promise.”
“I’m counting on it,” Colin grabbed a book as he headed out the door, “I’m going to be crashing at the Weasley’s if you need me.”
The moment the door shut behind Colin Viviane poked her head around the corner to make sure that her husband was gone.”
“What, in Merlin’s name, is going on?” Morgan demanded of her oldest daughter. She had no idea what to think. Viviane had always been the type of girl to meet a challenge head on. She didn’t back down, she didn’t hide. If there was one thing all of the Snape children had inherited from their father it was his stubbornness. But right now Viviane looked like one miserable mess.
Viviane sniffed, her eyes were clearly red from many spent tears, “I think I’m pregnant.”
Morgan eyed her daughter cautiously, “you don’t look happy about that possibility.”
Viviane’s tears overflowed as she sought her mother’s embrace, “I can’t do this Mum, not now. I’m not raising a child while Voldemort is still out there. I won’t do it. I don’t know how you did it.”
“Shhh…” Morgan gently stroked her daughter’s hair, “let’s get this all straightened out.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Where is Eva?”
“She went into town.”
Severus growled in frustration, obviously his plan to leave Olivia with her tutor was not going to work. His mind instantly began cycling through other possibilities of who he could leave her with for the day.
“I want to go with you.”
“Child, I do not have the time or the patience to watch you today.”
“I’ll be good, and really quiet, you won’t know I’m there, please…” Olivia pleaded.
Severus sighed, “you will do exactly as I tell you. Is that clear?”
“Yep!”
Severus sighed, “fine, come along then.” He kept a close eye on Olivia as she scampered down the hall ahead of him, occasionally calling her back with increasing annoyance as she got too far away. “If you do not stay close to me you will spend the rest of the day in your room.”
“With all my toys?” Olivia asked as she ran back and slipped her hand into her father’s.
“I see I shall have to limit the amount of time you spend with your siblings, you are getting far too cheeky.”
“But you still love me.”
“Hmpf.”
“That’s ok, I know you do,” she tried to swing from his arm.
“Olivia…” Severus warned. His already thin patience had just about worn out by the time they reached the hospital wing. He lifted her up on a bed close to the entrance, “stay here, I do not want to come back and find that you have moved so much as an inch from this spot.” He looked back once as he crossed the hospital wing to make sure she was staying right where he told her, before shutting himself in with Poppy in her office.
Olivia hummed to herself as she swung her legs back and forth from her perch on the edge of the hospital bed. However, her curiosity soon outweighed all orders to stay put. She decided to investigate the one other occupied bed. She carefully climbed down and darted to the bed at the other end of the long room. She dragged a chair over to stand on so that she could see better as she quietly watched the sleeping man.
“Aren’t you rather young to be a student here.”
“I’m almost eight.”
“Then definitely too young to be a student,” the blond man carefully pushed himself up into a sitting position as he opened his eyes fully.
“My parents teach here, I have a tutor.”
“That sounds more reasonable.”
Olivia climbed from the chair to sit on the edge of the bed, “who are you? Why are you here? What’s that scar from?” she started rattling off questions as she made herself comfortable.
“Too many questions at once little one,” he smirked, “my name is Draco, I’m here because I was hurt, and the scar is from the people who hurt me. Who are you?”
“Olivia. Who tried to hurt you?”
“Some bad wizards,” he was rather amused by this game of twenty questions, and after years spent either in captivity or on the run he found this inquisitive little girl rather endearing, “you said your parents teach here, who are they?” He watched as the girl’s eyes grew almost comically large as she looked past him.
“I didn’t mean to move!” she quickly protested.
Draco turned to see an irate Snape, an image he remembered well from his days as a student, glowering down at them. “Does she belong to you?” he asked, the connection clicking as he looked up at his former Head of House.
“She may not once I get through with her.”
“At least I didn’t leave the room,” Olivia pointed out, “so I mostly did what you told me.”
“It’s my fault, I asked her to come over,” Draco quickly inserted, not quite sure why he was standing up for the girl he just met.
“Do not lie, Mr. Malfoy, it is very unbecoming. Besides which, she knew very well she was supposed to stay put.” He turned his attention back to his daughter, “give me one good reason why I shouldn’t punish you for disobeying me.”
Olivia crawled over Draco’s legs to thrown her arms around her father’s waist, “because I’m cute.”
Draco snorted and tried unsuccessfully to muffle his laughter, “I believe I just witnessed the definition of divine retribution.”
“Do not encourage her,” Snape growled. “Olivia, go see if Madam Pomphrey needs your help.” He lifted her down from the bed and watched to make sure she did as she was told. “Mr. Malfoy, I believe the time has come for you to explain yourself.”
Draco set his jaw in a hard line, “I’ll do whatever is necessary to prove to you that I am not in league with the Dark Lord.”
“Are you quite certain of that Mr. Malfoy?”
“Yes.”
“Very well,” Severus reached into his robes and withdrew a small vial of clear liquid, “I trust you know what this is.”
“Veritaserum.” He knew what was coming, and he knew that he wouldn’t stop it. He needed to prove himself.
Snape picked up the water glass by Draco’s bed and carefully measured a few drops into the liquid. “Drink it,” his tone left no room for refusal, not even from an adult ex-Death Eater. No one who had ever been in Snape’s House would have dared say no to one of his demands. He downed it in one swallow.
Severus watched as Draco’s eyes glazed over, his usually sharp look dulling as his face slackened. “Why did you join the Death Eaters?”
“Because my father said he’d disown me if I didn’t and that he’d kill me.”
“Why did you leave the Death Eaters?”
“Because I couldn’t be one,” his voice was flat and emotionless, “it was too horrible, I didn’t want to be one. Voldemort is wrong.”
“Will you rejoin him?”
“No.”
Severus weighed his words carefully, faulty questioning could result in faulty answers, “Who are you loyal to?”
“Professor Snape.”
“Why?”
“Because I trust him.”
“Were you present at a raid of a temple in Greece years ago?”
“Yes.”
“Did you kill a child there?”
“Yes.”
Snape sighed, keeping Kalliope from coming back to make sure she really did kill Draco this time was going to be difficult. “Go back to sleep Mr. Malfoy.” He turned the vial of Veritaserum over in his hands. He felt certain that he could trust him, but convincing others of that could be near impossible.
~~~~~~~~~~~
