Chapter VII

"I am needed at home," Albus Severus informed his friend as he hurriedly packed his luggage.

"Alright, I'll pack immediately," Scorpius said.

"You do not have to come with me. After all, we just arrived in Rome."

"Nah, I can always return at a later time. So why are you crying, tough man?" Scorpius asked.

"Mother lost the baby," Albus Severus replied.

"I'm sorry. We need to hurry if we are to catch the ten o'clock Portkey."

...

James Potter read the crumpled paper.

"You need to leave now, if you want to get in time to the Portkey Authority," his teammate offered.

"We have a game to play. I can't leave," James explained.

"Nobody will think anything of it. Family emergencies come first," his fellow athlete insisted.

"Look, I'm sorry that this happened, but I can't destroy my career, just because my mother had the idiotic idea to get pregnant at her age. It was obviously meant to happen. I'll send her a get well card and some chocolates, and she will be fine." James shrugged the matter off as inconsequential.

"You are a cold fish," his teammate said and left with a disapproving frown.

...

Lily sat next to her mother's bed and held her hand. It was the first time that her mother looked old. Her father had spent the entire previous night here, but when her mother had woken up, she had sent him away. It had looked almost as if her mother resented her father.

...

Minerva McGonagall felt a sudden pain in her chest, and suddenly she could hardly breathe.

The portraits saw and raised the alarm.

Severus Snape felt the disturbance in his wards and immediately headed for the castle.

Within five minutes he was in the Headmistress' office. She was still alive, and because of that no one else had managed to break into her office to assist her. He opened the medicine cabinet, took out the potions required, mixed two of them together and added a few drops of a third one and finally he administered it to the Headmistress.

It took a couple of seconds, but at last she breathed normally. She opened her eyes and smiled at him.

"I knew it. I have known ever since you took the burden of the wards on yourself. The Castle, it recognized you as its Headmaster and as Head of Slytherin House. That's why I've never felt comfortable as Headmistress. That's why Hamilton is about to leave, as his predecessors did," she told him.

"Rest now, Minerva," he told her. With a wordless command he released the wards on the door and vanished through the fireplace.

A bunch of people entered the office in order to assist the Headmistress.

Minerva kept her silence regarding her visitor and claimed she had been able to get the potion from the cabinet herself.

...

Astoria took her nightgown off and looked at herself in the mirror. She was not old, but there were a few signs of age on her body. Her breasts, they were a bit heavier, and her midsection was a bit rounded. Her legs were not as smooth as they had once been, and she had a couple of laugh lines on her face. She closed her eyes and tried to think of internal signs of age.

Suddenly she felt hands on her breasts. She opened her eyes and saw her husband standing behind her. He massaged her breasts with his hands and then used his fingers to tease her nipples. As he pulled them gently at first and more insistently then, she moaned.

He grinned and kissed her neck.

"Come to bed, wife," he ordered pseudo sternly. She followed him eagerly. Age and maturity had their advantages.

...

Albus Severus arrived at the hospital together with Scorpius. They saw Lily drinking a cup of tea in the waiting area outside the rooms.

Albus hugged her closely. "How is she?" he asked, concerned.

Scorpius cleared his throat.

"I'm sorry, Lily, for your family's loss. I will be on my way now. I only came with Albus so that he would not get lost," he added.

Lily extended her arm and grabbed him. She then left her brother and hugged Scorpius. In his arms she allowed herself to let her tears fall.

Scorpius stood awkwardly, but continued to hold her and gently patted her on the shoulder.

As he took her hands in his, he could not help noticing her bracelet. He was surprised, but he did not let it show. Lily and Albus were in no condition to discuss jewels.

...

Severus Snape lay on the bed.

"Come on, woman. Provide the services I pay you for," he called irritably.

She climbed on the bed and bent to do what she did best. She tried a lick here and there and a little sucking, but within seconds she found herself with his member pressed deep in her mouth. She was skilled enough and good in managing not to gag. She used her hands to play with his balls while he strove to reach her throat. She hated this. She did not know when she had started to, but after he had become her only client, she had started resenting his cold skin and tasteless come, his paleness and the sameness of sex with him. It was true that he was almost clinical in his approach and had never hurt her despite his demands. Sometimes though she wished he would just show some emotion, even if it would be rage.

When he was finished, he had her lie down on the bed. He bent his head over her leg and bit on her left thigh. Intellectually she knew that he would bite her every time they had sex, but she never remembered much about the biting. It did not hurt after the initial shock, and it was always hazy in her memory.

Once again, when he left, there was more than enough money on the bed and three vials of potions in the next room.

...

Scorpius sat between his parents as he told them of his travelling and of the reasons for his early return. After he had finished, his father told him of his newest business ventures, trying to tempt him as always to choose this path as a career. Scorpius, however, had suddenly had an epiphany during the last few hours and thought that he might have found the right career for him. He was, however, not ready to reveal it to anyone. So he turned to another subject.

"Mother, how come that Lily Potter was wearing an original Billenwise bracelet today?" he asked.

It was common knowledge that Billenwise jewels were the most exclusive jewels to be bought in the wizarding world. However, no one outside the family knew that their creator was Astoria Malfoy. What made these jewels and especially the bracelets unique was that each one of them was designed with the specific recipient in mind, and somehow Scorpio doubted that Lily's parents had asked the company's sales department for such a present for their daughter.

Astoria smiled.

"That, my son, falls under business confidentiality. We would not want someone suing us, would we now?"

Scorpius groaned. It would be easier to get his father to tell him, but he would have to wait to catch him alone.

...

"My brother is named after you," Lily confronted her mentor with her new-found knowledge of his identity.

"Your father was always an idiot," he replied indifferently.

"You are a hero. Why do you let people believe that you are dead?"

"If it has escaped your knowledge, I am undead. As to the hero part, that could not be farther from the truth."

He scowled at her and she smiled in reply.

"Now pay attention to this potion. It is still developing, and small changes might be required in the future," he informed her.

"I brewed the Wolfsbane for my uncle," Lily informed him, upset that he had not inquired how she had found out his identity.

"I wish you had not done it. It might complicate things," he told her.

He had lived these three last decades without any mortal knowing of his continued existence. Now, in the space of two weeks, this had changed. He would need to consider the potential ramifications. Both, Minerva and Lily, were trustworthy, but people might start wondering. Maybe he should not have taught the girl how to brew the Wolfsbane, but there was no way he regretted saving Minerva. And it never paid to regret what had already been done.

...

The woman touched her bruised face. She was angry with herself. A client was responsible for this, but it was not the one who had requested exclusivity. The cold man who had demanded to be her exclusive client had never touched her in anger, had never caused her any pain, had never requested anything she was not willing to give. Now, she wondered why she despised him, why she had chosen to break her promise, why she had gone out to find other clients. The bruise caused her pain, but the real agony was her fear of when her "exclusive" client found out that she had broken her promise and had taken other clients. She was not truly repentant. If only she had chosen wiser and taken another less abusive client, no one would be the wiser. Now she would have to find a way to keep this from him. She caressed her sleeping daughter's hair and prayed for everything to be alright.

...

Ginny was tired of Harry coddling her. She wanted him to go away, to leave her alone. It had been weeks since she had returned from St. Mungo's. She snapped at him, but he did not get it. He kept doing it. He would bring her breakfast to bed, along with her favourite magazines. He would send her flowers and had even cut back on his work hours to be more at home. She only wanted to be left in peace.

The one thing she had asked him to do, he had refused. She had demanded that he forgave James for not coming. Harry had refused, and the chasm between her husband and son had grown even wider.

...

Draco threw a card in the middle and then placed his hand over his wife's thigh. George looked at his cards, chewed his cigar. He then took another card and raised the stakes. Astoria checked her cards and her last remaining chip. She pouted and turned to Draco. "Will you lend me one more?" she asked.

"No," he replied and moved his hand to her waist.

George looked at her and tossed her one chip.

"Here, take this. I can't stand watching pouting females."

She offered him a million-watt smile, and he blushed.

She then blew him a kiss from afar. Draco laughed at her antics.

She lost both chips in that round, so she just quit and watched the game between her husband and George. George kept chewing at his unlit cigar during the next rounds, while her husband's hand kept roaming on her body in between rounds.

George won the game, and when he stood up to leave, Astoria hugged George and for the first time ever gave him a peck on his left cheek.

"Thank you for the chip. And don't forget to come on Friday to watch the Quidditch game with Draco.

He will be all alone at home, since I will be attending a meeting of the Witches' Christmas Events Committee."

George nodded, embarrassed by both her kiss and invitation. "Yes, madam. Good night Astoria, Draco!"

...

Many thanks to WriterMerrin for beta-ing!