She looked up as her most loyal and trusted colleagues shuffled in one by one. First Filius… she was painfully aware of how old she and he were. Could they really protect the students? Tonight’s attack… she glanced at the clock on her desk, yesterday’s attack had been a far cry from what the Death Eaters were truly capable of.
Next came Neville, who silently took a seat in front of her desk. A quiet but grim determination burning in his eyes. Sometimes she wondered about the smoldering rage that he harbored deep inside. She wondered what he was truly capable of.
Sirius came in last, firmly shutting the door behind him, “Harry is doing another last round about the hallways and making sure that there are no more students wandering about.” He looked at Minerva’s wretched face, “what have you heard from Poppy?” he asked as gently as he could. He knew that all those present had to know the latest news. None of them had quite yet been able to accept that one of their own had been a casualty of the skirmish.
“He won’t let go of her,” Minerva said as she wiped the tears from her eyes. “Poppy says he’s been sitting there for hours. She tried to reason with him, but he snapped at her and said she’d have to pry her from his arms.”
“He’ll come around eventually, he needs time for his grief,” Flitwick said in a voice that squeaked with emotion.
“Someone has to tell the children,” Neville Longbottom said quietly.
The four professors all looked at each other, no one wanting to do the necessary. Each waiting for someone else to volunteer.
Finally Neville stood up, practically knocking his chair over. “I’m the twins’ Head of House, I’ll tell them. Somehow…” he headed for the door, wanting nothing more than to stay in the warm sanctuary of Minerva’s office, especially with what he had to do.
Minerva buried her head in her hands. They had rounded up close to half of the Death Eaters involved in the attack and they had been shipped off to Azkaban. But with the government as it was there was no telling how long they would stay there.
Neville paused in the doorway, “are we sure this is the best way? Shouldn’t we wait for Severus to tell them? He is their father after all.”
Minerva looked down at her hands, which she had laid listlessly in her lap, “I think that this time… they will need as much compassion as possible. It will be better if we handle this matter ourselves.”
Sirius rose, running rough ringers through his lanky hair. There were still soot smudges on his face and the fine hairs on the back of his hands had been completely singed off, “Minerva, unless you need me here, I’m going to go home for a few hours. Maybe shower…”
Minerva choked back a sob, knowing his intent, even if he had tried to cover it up, “make sure you show compassion in the right way Sirius, “she advised him, “a bottle of firewhiskey is not going to solve Kamen’s problems.”
Sirius nodded mutely in agreement, “I’ll floo Viviane as well, I’m sure she’ll be here as soon as she can.” He hurried out of Minerva’s office, he couldn’t bear to see the defeated looks on his colleagues faces. It was too depressing. And now he had to go tell two young people… It was an unfair situation, no matter the circumstances, but he couldn’t help but think that this was even crueler than even fate would allow.
“For a Gryffindor I can be remarkably cowardly,” Minerva confessed to Flitwick, her only remaining companion, “I am going to wait and let either Severus or one of the children explain the situation to Olivia. I can’t and I won’t tell her!” She made a show of straightening her robes in an effort to hide her tears.
“I’ll make sure that the grounds have been secured,” Filius volunteered, “and I’ll make sure that all the Gryffindors have been accounted for, while Neville is…doing what must be done.”
“Thank you Filius,” Minerva said sincerely. There were so few of them left now, the ones who had lived to face Voldemort three times. She wondered if this time would be different, if they would really see the final battle. Her hands shook slightly as she reached for parchment and a quill, they would need a new Ancient Runes professor. She kept her head down as she wrote, knowing she wouldn’t be able to bear the looks of pity and compassion coming from the former headmasters and headmistresses who lined the walls. She was getting too old to do this, not when so much heartbreak was involved, and she knew it.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Draco carefully eased the door open and stepped out into the dark and deserted hallway. Only a few of the wall sconces sputtered back to life in response to his presence, but it was enough to show him that he was alone. Of course that didn’t mean that the Death Eaters had left the premises, they just may not have made it down this far. It didn’t seem wise to call out either, he had no idea whose attention he would attract.
“Mr. Malfoy, it has been a long time since I last saw you here.”
Draco started and turned to find the Bloody Baron hovering a few inches off the ground next to him. “It has been a long time…” he had to forcefully bring himself back to the present, there was nothing good that could come out of dwelling in the past. “Have they all gone?”
“Yes, the school is safe. For now.”
Draco nodded, of course he didn’t think that he would ever be able to fully relax, he’d endured too much. But he’d never had that luxury as a child either… so it wasn’t any different than what he was used to. He went back into the heavily guarded room and lifted Olivia, who was soundly asleep, into his arms. “What time is it?” he asked the floating specter has he stepped back into the hall.
“It is nearly dawn.”
“I suppose I should take her back to her parents…” what he really wanted was to get a few hours of sleep himself. He hadn’t dared sleep during the night, he had sat there tensely alert, trying to be ready for whatever could have happened.
“Take her back to their rooms, but stay with her,” the Baron advised. “Someone will come to collect her.” He didn’t let on what he knew, it wasn’t his place, but he knew what the best course of action would be.
“Where will you be?” Draco asked as he started to walk, the Baron gliding along at his side.
“The Slytherin Common Room. Professor Snape is otherwise occupied at the moment and with the excitement of last night it will be necessary for someone to maintain order.”
“You’re very good at maintaining order,” Draco smiled the faintest of smiles as he remembered his own school days. There had been a time when he had felt completely safe and secure. It was when he had been under the watchful eyes of Snape and the Baron.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Nimue watched the rolling sea from her perch on top of a large, smoothly worn boulder. It was dark and grey and menacing. Cadmus had told her that there would be no more boats from the mainland until March. He said he was surprised that the sailing season had lasted as long as it had. The only way off the island now was to apparate. Which meant that Kalliope and Remus were the only ones capable of leaving. A single tear rolled down her cheek as she watched the waves beat mercilessly at the shore, trying to come to terms with what she had Seen. She knew that there was no chance of her leaving the island.
“Here you are,” Remus came skidding down the path among a cloud of grey dust and the clattering of loose pebbles. He climbed up on the boulder next to Nimue, he was feeling years younger these days, despite his recent lack of sleep. “I was beginning to wonder about you. You didn’t come for breakfast this morning,” he shielded his eyes as the morning sun began to rise above the horizon.
“You don’t have Angelos with you,” Nimue commented, hoping her voice sounded normal.
“No, Kalliope finally managed to wrest him away from me,” a silly grin fell into place. Remus was finding that fatherhood agreed with him. He was ready for at least five more already. He wondered if Kalliope would be up for that…
“I don’t need any company,” Nimue said softly, “you can go if you want. I’m fine here by myself.” She said it more in wishing that it could true than in any actual truth.
Remus was suddenly stopped short in the middle of his mental planning for the future, “what’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” Nimue openly lied for probably the first time in her life and Remus knew it.
“Do I have to ask you again?” he pushed as gently as he could.
Nimue sighed and leaned against Remus. But she wasn’t satisfied with the fatherly arm he wrapped around her shoulders. She wished she was home and that it was her mother’s arm around her… another tear escaped against here will. Or at the very least she could be home with her father and her siblings. She missed them. As much as she loved Kalliope and Remus it just wasn’t the same. Of course it wouldn’t be the same at her now either… it would never be the same again.
~~~~~~~~~~
Severus wearily eased himself into the hard metal chair next to the bed that Morgan was laid out on. He ran the backs of his fingers across her rosy marble skin, let them slowly brush over her splayed curls, brushed his work-roughed and calloused thumb across the perfect silkiness of her perfect lips. She was so still. He had never seen anyone lie that still.
He rose as he saw Poppy crossing the wide of expanse of the Hospital Wing, coming towards him. He gently laid Morgan’s limp hand back at her side.
“Severus, I’m going to give you my honest opinion,” Poppy stared straight into the hard black eyes of the Potions Master, all too aware of the still form of his wife lying on the bed next to where they stood. “If we move her to St. Mungo’s she will die.”
“And if she stays here?”
“I can’t see any hope for it either way,” Poppy said gently, “she’s being kept alive by magic. Her heart has stopped twice and she can’t breathe on her own. She was prepared to die Severus, you will have to let her go.”
“NO!” Severus roared as he towered over the nurse, “you will keep her alive.” He couldn’t describe how he felt when he managed to get his wife to the Hospital Wing only to find out that there was still some life in her, but it was fading quickly. There was a chance, and he didn’t care how small it was, he would make sure that Morgan was kept alive no matter what.
“I’m not just thinking of her,” Poppy pushed on, not about to let herself be cowed by Snape, no matter how enraged he was. “I am thinking of you Severus and how hard it will be on you to get your hopes up at all only to have to say goodbye again. As it is…” she sighed, “if there is anything you want to say to her do it now. Time is running out.”
~~~~~~~~~~
Serena and Dierna stopped short at the sight of Draco sitting at their father’s desk in their parents’ living room. They stared at him and he stared at them for several very long and quiet minutes.
“Where’s Olivia?” Serena finally broke the silence. Dierna felt a little bit guilty, she hadn’t even thought about their little sister since Professor Longbottom had told them about their mother.
“She’s sleeping in her room,” Draco replied carefully as he rose. The Baron had finally informed him of what had happened. There was more uneasy silence as neither party knew what to say.
“You can go,” Dierna finally said, “we’ll be here to watch out for Olivia.”
Draco raised one eyebrow, his people skills may be a bit rusty, but even he didn’t think the children should be alone on their own at a time like this. Any concerns he had were crushed as he found Harry leaning against the wall out in the hallway, Nearly Headless Nick keeping him company. He joined them in their quiet watch out side the Snapes’ quarters.
“What should we do?” Serena finally asked.
“I don’t know,” Dierna said, looking around as though she had never been in her parents’ rooms before. She felt helplessly lost. She wanted someone to hold her and tell her that everything would be alright. But that wasn’t going to happen.
They were still standing there, lost and helpless when Kamen arrived. Tragedy had lent him a new sense of maturity in a way that nothing else could. But it didn’t provide any comfort. The three of them looked at each other hopelessly and by mutual agreement sank onto the floor in front of the fire. It wasn’t the sort of warmth that they needed, but it was all they had.
“This is ridiculous,” Kamen finally said, startling his sisters out of their silent and painful reverie. “We shouldn’t just be sitting here. We should be doing something… anything.”
“Like what?” Serena asked, resting her chin on her knees, which she had drawn up to her chest. “I don’t particularly feel like doing anything,” her voice was nearly as dark as her ebony hair.
“I personally want something to do, I’m going to go mad if we just keep sitting here,” Dierna said flatly.
Kamen nodded, “go wait outside the Hospital Wing, find out what you can. And find out… try to find out if Dad is ok.” The Snape children all knew that they were loved, even if Severus possessed a severe inability to show it. But they also knew that it was their mother that he lived for.
“Alright,” she stood and looked down at her twin, “are you coming?” it was actually a desperate plea not to be left alone.
“Sure,” Serena stood as well, “are you going to be alright here?” she asked Kamen. She couldn’t believe they could converse calmly like this. It felt so surreal… everything felt like a dream, a horrible horrible dream.
“Yeah, I’ll be fine. Besides, someone has to stay here with Olivia, and Viviane should be here soon.”
“Are you going to tell Olivia?” Serena asked, “or are you going to wait and see if Dad…”
“If she wakes up I’ll tell her something, but I have no idea what. That was the agreement I made with Viviane. I tell Olivia if she tells Nimue. Not sure who got the worst end of that one…” Although personally he was hoping that his youngest sister would stay asleep for a long time.
He wasn’t that lucky. As if things weren’t bad enough Olivia came wandering into the living room not ten minutes later dragging Tristan behind her, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders like a cape.
“Kamen!” she launched herself at her brother. She clung to him ecstatically, she hadn’t seen him for several weeks.
“Hey kid,” he helped her crawl up into his lap, wondering how much he was going to have to say.
“Why are you here?”
“I’m here to watch you for awhile.”
“Mum and Daddy left me with Mr. Malfoy last night, but they didn’t tell me why. He didn’t really tell me why either. Why are you here to watch me?”
“Well…” Kamen looked down at his littlest sister. He was forced to remember that she had lost one set of parents already and was likely to lose her new mother. His mother… He also knew that this was a job that his father should be doing. But he knew that it would go better if he handled this personally.
“Why aren’t Mum and Daddy back yet?”
Kamen held Olivia close to him as he looked down into her face, “do you know who the Death Eaters are?”
“They’re bad people. They killed my first parents.”
“That’s right. And some of them came to the school last night.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. Most likely just because they’re bad people.”
“Are they gone now?”
Kamen rested his chin on top of Olivia’s head, “yes, they’re gone now. But the teachers here had to fight them last night to make sure that they wouldn’t hurt you or any of the students. Mum and Dad helped to fight them off to make sure that the school stays safe.”
“If all the Death Eaters are gone why aren’t Mum and Daddy back yet?” Olivia asked, clutching Tristan tightly in one hand and the front of Kamen’s robes in the other. She liked it when he held her. It felt safe in his arms, just like how it felt safe when Severus held her.
“Olivia, Mum got hurt last night, so Dad is with her in the Hospital Wing.”
“Will she be back to tuck me in tonight?”
“No, she won’t. She was hurt very badly. I’m not sure when she’ll be well enough to come back.” He chickened out at the last minute. He couldn’t tell Olivia that their mother was dying. He just couldn’t do it, he wouldn’t do it. There was nothing that could convince him otherwise.
“Is she going to die?”
Kamen stiffened, “I don’t know,” he gave her the gentlest honest answer that he could. He wasn’t sure what to say next. He felt like he would reassure her, but that didn’t seem fair. He didn’t want to get her hopes up. From what he had heard it was already hopeless.
“Can I see her?”
“I think we can arrange that. I want to see her too.”
“Let’s go,” Olivia jumped up and tugged on Kamen’s hand, “she won’t die,” she tried to assure her brother, “Daddy will make a potion to fix her.” She spoke confidently, but Kamen could clearly see the doubt in her eyes. Eyes that were far too old for a seven year old.
“I hope you’re right kid,” Kamen muttered quietly under his breath. But he had a feeling that by this point that option had been considered and overturned. If there was anything else for their father to do he wouldn’t still be in the Hospital Wing. “Let me leave a note for Viviane telling her where we’ll be…”
“No need,” the eldest of the Snape children stood in the doorway. She met Kamen’s eyes, conveying to him that they needed more time to talk alone after they found out a bit more. Both of them knew that they were probably going to have to take on a lot more responsibility in the days to come. Perhaps she should take Olivia home with her, at least for a few days… she sighed, they’d have to talk to their father, and it wasn’t likely to be pleasant. She knew what his temper and moods were like. She also knew that their mother was the only one able to pull him out of them… things were only going to get worse.
~~~~~~~~~~~
