“Isn’t Sirius going to come down?” Ron asked.
“No,” Harry replied as he glared into the mug of tea in front of him, “I have a feeling it’s because Snape is here again.”
“Why can’t that greasy git learn that he’s not wanted and stay away from here?”
“Because, Ron,” Hermione clipped, “he’s a member of the Order and in case you haven’t noticed, Grimmauld place happens to be the headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix. It’s only natural that he would spend a certain amount of time here.”
“Would you mind if I joined you?”
“You went out with Oliver Wood. Are you still with him?” Ron asked.
“Honestly Ron! Try to show some tact! Of course you can join us,” Hermione glared at the offending Weasley, “you were a prefect, weren’t you Morgan? I was wondering if you could give me any insight into what to expect, tell me what the position really entails…”
“Great, she wants to be even more bossy,” Ron muttered under his breath, causing Harry to snort into his tea.
Harry and Ron rolled their eyes at each other as Morgan and Hermione fell into easy conversation, “maybe there’s something that says girls have to enjoy ordering us around,” Harry suggested. The boys were still trying to smoother their laughter when Mrs. Weasley came in carrying a small bundle.
“Oiy, Mum! Where did you get the baby?” Ron asked.
“From upstairs,” Molly replied.
“That’s not what I meant,” Ron muttered.
“She’s Morgan’s,” Molly supplied, “I found her lying awake upstairs and thought she might want her mother.”
“I’m sorry Molly,” Morgan got to her feet to retrieve Viviane, “I hope she wasn’t making too much of a fuss.”
“Not a sound, she was just laying there, eyes wide open. I’ve never seen such a quiet little thing. Of course my bunch was rather a loud crew.”
“Oh, she’s adorable!” Hermione exclaimed, “Can I hold her?”
“Of course,” Morgan smiled as she passed her daughter into Hermione’s arms.
“Let’s leave before they get any more mushy,” Ron suggested.
“Definitely,” Harry agreed as they pushed away from the table, however, they met a wall of black at the door.
“Do try to stay out of the way for once, Potter,” Snape sneered as the boys took an involuntary step backwards to get out of his way.
“On the other hand, maybe we should stay,” Ron suggested quietly, “he’s going to take one look at this room full of women and leave, thereby able to terrorize us wherever we decide to go.” However, his and Harry’s mouths fell open in shock when Snape pulled out the chair next to Morgan’s and sat down.
“I… I have some reading I wanted to do,” Hermione said, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable as she handed Viviane back to Morgan.
The boys’ jaws dropped even lower when Morgan asked Snape to hold the baby while she got more tea. Harry swore his legs were going to go out from under him when Snape took the pink bundle without protest, or even one of his trademark underhanded comments.
“She is hungry,” Snape said as he removed the bit of blanket from Viviane’s mouth that she had been trying to suck on.
“Again?” Morgan leaned over Snape’s shoulder to run a hand over the fluff of chestnut curls that covered her daughter’s head, “you’re going to be as round as you are long soon,” she informed the infant.
“At least she has some weight on her. You should be eating more yourself,” Snape snapped as he glared up at Morgan, “and however fitting it might be… try to refrain from gapping like a pair of fools,” he hissed as he turned his head to glare at the two boys who still stood by the door.
“Come on you two, out you go,” Molly said as she grabbed her tea and ushered the boys out of the kitchen, “leave them in peace so that Morgan can nurse the little one without an audience.”
“Then why is that greasy git staying?!” Ron practically shouted once they were out the door, “I wouldn’t leave that man alone with a helpless woman and baby.”
“First off, Morgan is far from helpless,” Mrs. Weasley informed them as she herded them up the stairs, “besides which, Severus is her husband, there is no reason why he shouldn’t stay.”
“She didn’t marry him voluntarily, did she?” Harry couldn’t help asking.