The Circle Game

"Daddy! I'm done! Come wipe my butt!"

Snape sighed and gritted his teeth. Tiberius refused to handle toilet paper at all, except to unroll it and throw it around the bathroom, particularly if he had just gotten out of the bath. The effects of bathwater on a roll of toilet paper were actually quite fascinating to Tiberius, or so it seemed. Severus and Hermione both had taken to hiding all rolls of toilet paper before Tiberius's bath time, but he still seemed to find a roll at least once a week.

Dropping an armful of toys into a large chest, Snape stalked to the bathroom to take care of his son.

"Daddy, can I sweep wif you tonight since Mummy's gone?"

Snape pulled his son's jeans up and buttoned them, then lifted him into his arms. "I suppose so." He would be surprised if all three children weren't in his bed that night.

"Good. 'Cause I don' wanna sweep awone if Mummy isn't 'ere."

Snape didn't either, if it came to that.

Snape was glad that Tiberius didn't shy away from his kisses like Augustus did lately. He knew that Augustus was getting a little old for such things, but Snape had gotten very few kisses as a child, and never wanted his children to feel left out or unloved.

"Fortuna, we're going to sweep wif Daddy tonight!" Tiberius called to his sister as Snape carried him into the living room.

Fortuna turned and glared at her brother. "I'm sleeping with Daddy tonight, not you!"

"If you two continue bickering, then everyone will be sleeping in their own beds tonight-alone."

"We can all sleep with Dad tonight," Augustus said, walking into the living room with a bowl filled with far too much ice cream.

In a flash, Snape had the bowl in his hand and shook his head at his son. "Not if you continue eating this much. Has everyone else had their pudding?"

Fortuna and Tiberius both shook their heads.

"Very well, I'll split this between all of us."

He walked into the kitchen, wondering how long he would have to split the ice cream four ways before his children turned on each other. He didn't know why they always bickered so. Certainly the Weasley's never had this trouble. In fact, the Weasley's always went out of their way to protect each other-especially during the war. It was the only way that all of them came out of it alive. He wondered if his children would ever form a bond, or if having two parents who were bookworms and socially inept, not to mention only children, would keep all of them from forming bonds. He hoped not.

As he walked back into the sitting room, he saw that all three of his children were occupied; Augustus was reading-he had been given The Chronicles of Narnia for his birthday and was slowly making his way through them. Fortuna sat quietly coloring, her crayons worn down almost to nubs, the papers protecting them long forgotten. Snape made a mental note to buy her some more when he was next near the shops. Tiberius was the one who always made him wonder. The boy sat on the sofa, watching as a large spider spun its web in the corner of the ceiling.

"Ice cream," Snape said to them, sending the bowls over to the coffee table.

Fortuna looked down at her bowl of ice cream, and continued to formulate her plans. As far as she could tell, she had her daddy all to herself for the entire weekend save for two minor inconveniences. Her brothers, however, could be disposed of easily she was sure. Normally, Fortuna was fiery and always ready for a fight so that when her brothers picked on her, she would challenge them back. This behavior garnered little sympathy from her parents, and she often found herself on the wrong end of a discussion that started with "But you're older than Tiberius" or, "Augustus is just trying to get you in a temper. Just ignore him."

This time, she was determined that her brothers would not steal her daddy from her. Without her mummy present, she was sure that her daddy would side with her, and he would make it so that the boys were in trouble and sleeping in their own rooms while she had him all to herself. She mulled over her options and decided that Tiberius would be the first brother she would eliminate. If Tiberius was banished to his room, Augustus would undoubtedly be forced to sleep in his regular bed in their shared room to keep Tiberius company.

Ever so carefully, Fortuna allowed a brown crayon to roll towards Tiberius. The next page in her book was that of a hippogriff, and she knew that Tiberius would not be able to resist coloring it in. He loved hippogriffs.

"I was thinking, Augustus," her daddy said, distracting her momentarily. "Why don't you go and see your friend James tomorrow night. I'm sure that I can arrange it with his father and mother."

Augustus marked his place in his book. "Can I really? Even on a Saturday night?"

Saturday nights were family nights, according to Fortuna's mummy.

"Mum has gone off, so we don't need to have family night tomorrow. Just this once."

Fortuna felt that her luck was looking up. With Augustus gone, then she would only have Tiberius to contend with, and she could easily push him out of the bed. Any time he began to fall, his magic always caught him, so he wouldn't even wake up!

She turned back to her colors with new determination, only to let out a scream of dismay. Tiberius had not used the brown crayon to color in the hippogriff on the opposite page that she had been working on, but he used it to color in the face of the jarvey that she had been coloring herself! Worse than that, she had been coloring it for her daddy especially! And then Tiberius went and ruined it! She was so mad, she could just punch him!

What stopped Fortuna from causing bodily harm to her brother was the sudden influx of her power that she could feel coursing through her. She managed to grasp ahold of her emotions quick enough to see that Tiberius looked absolutely petrified, and the gratification she felt at that helped her with her plan as she threw herself across her daddy's lap and began to cry pitifully.

"Fortuna, what is it, love?" her daddy asked in a very soft voice as he lifted her up to cradle her against his shoulder.

"Tiberius colored the picture...I wanted to color it for you, Daddy!" she sniffled several times and made her breath very shaky like it was when she really cried hard.

Snape was at a complete loss as to what was wrong with his daughter. He had never seen her cry so much or so often at such very odd things. First she got the idea that Hermione hated her, and now she was overwrought because her brother had colored on her picture? It wasn't like Fortuna at all. She would get angry, like he and Hermione always did. Her temper was so erratic that he and his wife often found themselves issuing counter-curses for hours. Instead of unleashing her holy anger, however, here she was in tears. Anger he could easily contend with. But tears? Over a drawing?

"Here, my love, I'll fix it so that you can color it yourself."

"It's too late now," she whimpered. "I wanted it to be a surprise. It isn't any more..."

"I'm sowwy, Fo'tuna," Tiberius whispered, looking down at the floor, the brown crayon held out in his palm, as though he were giving a carrot to a Thestral.

Fortuna cried even harder into Snape's shoulder.

"All right, all right," he said soothingly, attempting to hide his frustration. Merlin, but the child could bawl if she wanted! "That's enough now, Fortuna. Tiberius is very sorry."

"Yes I am," Tiberius whispered.

"You need to punish him!" Fortuna insisted.

Snape repositioned his daughter so that she was no longer attached to his neck, and sitting calmly on his lap. "Fortuna, it would be very wrong of me to punish your brother for something that he did without malice. He thought he was helping you. Now, I will fix the picture so that you can continue to color it for me. It will still be a surprise, as I do not know which colors you will use."

Merlin, he was starting to talk like Hermione! He needed to get Augustus out of the house quickly. Perhaps Tiberius as well.

"While you color, I'm going to go Floo Mrs. Potter to see if Augustus can stay with them." Tonight, hopefully, as well as the rest of the weekend.

Thanks, Dad!" Augustus said, picking up his sister's discarded bowl of ice cream. Snape shook his head and walked back into the kitchen where the Floo Network was set up.

He called out the directions, but before he could put his head through, he heard the voice of Ginny call out that he should stay away.

"What is it?" he asked, concerned.

"Severus...James has a horrible case of Dragon Pox!"

Dragon Pox were highly contagious among minors, but could be passed on to adults very easily, if the adult had never been infected.

"I've had them already, Ginny," Snape insisted. "Is there anything I can do for you? A potion, perhaps?"

Good grief. Not only was he now saddled with all three children all weekend, but he was offering to put himself out, as well!

"No, we're all ready for the worst. But Severus-you should know that Gus has been exposed to the Pox. They lie dormant for over a week, you know. Gus has been here almost every day for the past month!"

Snape rocked back on his heels. This was not something he had considered quite yet.

"Oh dear," he whispered.

"Is there anything I can get you?" Ginny asked with a laugh.

Fortuna looked up as her daddy stalked back into the living room, his face looking hard. She knew in that instant that Augustus was not going to his friend's house. She was not, however, expecting her daddy to insist that Augustus lift his shirt off.

"Why?" Augustus argued.

"Just do it."

Her daddy sounded very tired, and he was pinching his nose like he did when he was really upset. Fortuna hoped that her brother had done something bad to Jimmy Potter, because then she could still find a way to sleep all alone with her daddy.

Augustus lifted his shirt, revealing his long, pale, thin chest. He had a spot of something just below his nipple, and Tiberius reached out and touched it.

"You haf' a wed fweckle," he giggled.

Augustus looked down at his chest. "It's just a rash," he shrugged. "I have more on my thighs."

Tiberius turned to Fortuna and lifted his shirt. "I want wed fweckles," he said wistfully.

Their daddy pinched his nose again. "How do you feel, Augustus? Tired? Sore? Sick?"

Augustus shrugged. "I'm fine. Just hungry."

Fortuna lifted her dress and looked down at her tummy, and promptly screamed. "Augustus gave me his red freckles!"

"That's not fair!" Tiberius yelled, scratching the back of his right thigh.

Fortuna's daddy grabbed Tiberius and pulled down his shorts.

"Ha! You've got 'em on your arse!" Augustus hollered. "Happy now?"

"Yup," Tiberius decided with a smile.

Fortuna heard her daddy sigh. "All right...everyone in the bathtub!"

TBC