Owls and Musings - The Sequel

Chapter 4 - On Avian Wings

Brigida Snape was having problems with her Latin. The eleven-year-old was propped up on her elbows in front of the Floo, her light blue primary school robes puddled around her on the floor. Her socked feet were animatedly waving in the air as she concentrated on the parchment in front of her, her book and dictionary spread out nearby as well. It was a wonderful afternoon in early June, and the windows were open to let in the light breeze. The wind teased at her curly hair that was the same colour as her mother's, and she absent-mindedly tucked some errant curls behind her ear. She bit her lip as she drew a scrap piece of parchment to work out a translation before committing it to her homework page. She did not even think it strange that here she was working on extra credit in Latin while her siblings and friends were out playing on the Quidditch pitch with the older students. The game held no interest for her, while being as ready as she could be for next September when she would be starting regular classes, did.

She didn't even hear her father come home until he reached out a hand and put a halt to her waving legs.

"Da!" she said, startled enough to jump slightly.

"Sorry, Bree. Where is everybody?"

"Rhys and Becca are out with the Lupin boys, and Mum is either in class or at her appointment with Madame Pomfrey. Are you sure it's a boy this time, Da?"

"Positive," he reassured her.

"Good. You know, Da, we need a clock like Mr Weasley's mum," she suggested.

"I have considered it, believe me," he sighed. He shifted the stack of exam papers in his arms. "If you need me, I'll be in the study -marking. What are you working on?" He peered curiously at the stack of books and parchment spread out on the sitting room rug.

"Extra credit for Latin." He nodded in understanding and, after giving her feet an affectionate tickle that made her giggle and kick her legs even harder, headed across the room to the doorway to his study. He had discovered many years earlier when the older kids had been little, that he preferred marking at home rather than in his dungeon office - much more comfortable, and he didn't feel as if he was missing out on what happened with them on a daily basis.

The students of Hogwarts during the eighties and nineties would have had a hard time reconciling the Severus Snape of then with the one of now. Twelve years of marriage and raising a family without the constant threat of Voldemort hanging over his head had wrought quite a change in the Potions Master. Gone was the angry young man consumed with guilt and bitterness, and constantly looking over his shoulder - wondering if today was the day his secrets would be revealed.

In his place was a somewhat mellower gentleman, finally at ease with himself, his position in society and his roles as father and husband. He was even known to crack a sarcastic joke in class - on very rare occasions.

The only people he did not let up on were his Slytherins. They were still in danger of joining the dark elements of wizarding society, and he worked constantly at beating back those forces from his dungeons. These days he won more than he lost, and sometimes, on rare occasions, the lost even made it back to the fold.

He still favoured his black frock coats and teaching robes when not relaxing with his family, and he still maintained a severe demeanour while around students. Some things just lent themselves to maintaining discipline; and discipline was paramount in the potions classroom for safety's sake. However, he no longer insulted and ridiculed students in class unless they absolutely deserved it for putting other students at risk, and his punishments were meted out fairly to all, for the most part. For Severus Snape that meant that he now took points from Slytherin and gave points to the other Houses.

He finished marking the papers and entering the results into his book. These would magically transfer to the headmistress's book for end-of-year results. He filed away the test papers. He had heard his other children enter the outer room, but as they were not making too much noise, he was not worried. As he closed the file drawer, he heard a small rap at the door.

"Come in, Brigida, I'm finished," he called out.

She never wondered about how he knew it was she; Da always knew which child was at his door. "Da, I'm having a problem with this last translation. It's not making any sense in English."

"Let me take a look," he said holding out his hand for her textbook with a scrap of parchment marking the troublesome passage. He sat back down in his chair, pulling up another for his daughter. After reading the paragraph he checked her notes on the scrap.

"Ah, I see your problem. Sometimes you need to go for the alternate meanings. Try this instead and see what happens." He wrote a word on the scrap and gave it back to her. She leaned over her work for a few more minutes and gave an excited cry.

"That's brilliant, Da! Take a look now." She handed the parchment back to her father, and he nodded his head.

"Well done. Professor Weasley will be proud of you." He tweaked her nose affectionately to make her smile and laugh. "I know I'm proud. Now, go put your things away, and we'll have a game of chess before dinner. I believe I detected your siblings coming in earlier?"

She nodded. "Except Mum. She told Rhys she would be late - and we might have to go without her."

"Did she tell Emrys why?"

"Marking."

"Well, we will see her when we see her, then. Now, off you go - I'll be out in a moment."

She jumped up and impulsively gave her father a bear hug before hurrying out to the parlour.

After giving her retreating form a fond look, Severus walked over to the office Floo and throwing a pinch of powder into the grate, firecalled his spouse.

"Esme, it's almost time for dinner - are you going to be able to join us?"

"Hallo darling, I'm almost finished. Just marking them in my book. I really don't want to walk all the way home and then back to the Great Hall. Why don't I meet you there?"

"Half an hour?" he suggested.

"Should be about right." She smiled at him and threw him a kiss through the flames, then laughed as she pulled her head back to return to her marking.

He pulled his head back out of the grate and walked out to the parlour to start a game of wizard's chess with his middle daughter.

++++

A week later found the Snape family getting ready for the end of term feast. Tonight was what Minerva had dubbed a Hogwarts Family Night. On great feast nights and at least once a week, all the staff families were required to eat in the Great Hall. Over the years two other families, the Longbottoms and the Weasleys, had joined the Snapes and Lupins along the second floor corridor.

Neville had joined the staff to take over from Professor Sprout when she had finally retired, and Hermione had joined the staff on a part-time basis to teach Muggle Studies. The rest of her time was spent tutoring the staff children until they were old enough to be sorted. In addition to the children already in residence, Neville and Hermione had added their own broods to the dynamics along the second floor corridor. Neville and Luna had two children, one adopted little girl named Nancy, who was the same age as the twins, and another little girl, Anita. Hermione and Ron had four children, all under the age of seven. Ron had managed to snag a job, after being an Auror for a few years, with his beloved Chudley Canons as a trainer. Luna worked for her father at the Quibbler, which was still going strong.

Severus and Esme lined up the three children still at home and made sure they were all neat and clean. The children wore their primary school robes, light blue with the Hogwarts crest over the left breast. Nodding his acceptance of their appearance, Severus offered his arm to Esme, who took it graciously and thankfully. She was starting her third trimester and appreciated the unobtrusive help. Minerva was walking with them this last evening of the term and Emrys, being the next oldest male in the family, offered his arm to his Great Aunt. Brigida took Rebecca's hand.

The family made their way down the main stairs to the entrance hall and then through to the Great Hall. They seated themselves along the head table where Minerva sat as Headmistress joined by Severus being Deputy Headmaster, a post he had taken when he had returned to Hogwarts. More tables had been added along the front to accommodate the other families and the numerous single teachers.

Minerva wasted no time in ordering the feast to begin. She looked out over her staff tables benevolently. Soon the next batch of Hogwarts letters would be going out and there would be some empty beds in the married quarters on September first.

++

"Pssst, Rhys, what are you guys doing this summer?" Roger Lupin elbowed his neighbour.

"Dunno," Emrys replied. "Probably going to the cottage for most of the time. That's what we do every summer. You guys are coming out for the annual hunt, aren't you?"

"Far as I know, we're supposed to; Dad's taking us to Disneyland France at the end of July, then we're stopping at Uncle Harry's place for a few days." Roger was the oldest of the Lupin boys. Remus and Tonks had adopted two more boys after Roger and recently had a baby of their own. Tonks was sitting at the end of the table with the baby asleep against her shoulder, attempting to eat without waking him up. "When are you going to Diagon Alley?"

"Probably right before term starts."

Brigida chimed in from the other side of her brother, "I can't wait - my first wand!" Her eyes took on a dreamy look. Professor Weasley had practised beginner's wand movements and charm pronunciation with them - but had used chopsticks.

Roger looked at his best friend and rolled his eyes. "There she goes again."

"Yep," his friend agreed. "Start mentioning school and she's a goner." They both chuckled in amusement. Brigida came back to earth to pierce them each with a look worthy of her father. She had inherited his black eyes and could do a fair imitation of the man at his scariest, although the curly auburn hair took away from the sheer ferocity.

"Well, I intend to learn everything I can," she declared. "Professor Weasley says you can never have too much knowledge. It helped her and her friends defeat Voldemort all those times!" she said in a huff.

"Bree, we live here - we already know more than the standard firstie!" her brother pointed out, exasperated with his sister.

"Yeah, Bree, lighten up - it's the start of the summer. We'll get our letters soon enough. Enjoy yourself!" Roger added.

"I will enjoy myself. Mum is going to give me lessons on the Viola de Gamba this summer," she said proudly. Esme had insisted that all her children learn to read and perform music on several instruments, but only Brigida would think that learning another instrument over the summer was fun.

The boys groaned in unison rolling their eyes skyward.

"Rhys, you've got to get her out more often!" Roger whispered to his friend, his eyes bulging out at the variety of desserts that had just appeared on the table in front of them.

"I try, Rog, really I do. But the girl is obsessed," Emrys whispered back, choosing a huge slice of chocolate cake and digging his fork into the confection.

"Maybe you need to talk to your parents?" Roger suggested, reaching for a huge strawberry tart.

"Maybe, but I doubt that will work. They're as mad about learning as she is!" Roger just grunted in response, his mouth full of tart. Rhys was correct on that account. Heck, he had lived next to them all his life, he should know how they were about education - they were his godparents, for Merlin's sake, and they had given him and his brothers educational gifts every year for Christmas and birthdays since they were old enough to talk.

"Look, just try, all right? You've got all summer to turn the bookworm," he pleaded, half in earnest.

Emrys considered this. "And what do I get if I do?" He wanted to make sure it was worth the effort he was going to have to put out. Getting Brigida's nose out of a book was like un-sticking your teeth after eating Hagrid's treacle fudge: nigh on impossible. He'd been trying for years, without any gains.

"I'll take your first detention with you," his best friend offered. Considering that most detentions were spent with the horrid Mr Filch, who on all accounts had not improved his disposition towards students over the years, this was a very generous offer.

"Deal," he agreed.

They spit in their palms and shook hands.

"That's disgusting!" was all Brigida said as she finished her slice of cheesecake. The boys chuckled evilly and dug back into their desserts.

After pudding was over and cleared, NEWT results were handed out to the seventh-years by the headmistress, assisted by Professor Snape. After that came the awarding of the House and Quidditch cups (Ravenclaw and Gryffindor), and when the applause died down, McGonagall called for attention again.

"Three years ago we resurrected an old Hogwarts tradition that had not been needed for several decades; the giving of Hogwarts letters to the children of faculty who've reached or will have reached the age of eleven by September first. Three years ago, the first letter went to Alisha Snape." A bit of good-natured ribbing went on at the Ravenclaw table where the third-year Alisha sat. She blushed prettily, but looked proudly up at her great aunt.

"Now if the following prospective students and their parents would come forth, and if their tutor, Professor Weasley, would also join me?" McGonagall reached into her robes and pulled out a stack of the familiar Hogwarts acceptance letters. She read from them, calling out the students' names. "Emrys and Brigida Snape, Roger Lupin, Nancy Longbottom - please come and stand in front of me."

Severus helped Esme down from the platform and stood next to her behind their children, one arm supporting her from behind. The Lupins and Longbottoms joined them, and Hermione came down to stand behind the headmistress.

Minerva beamed a kindly and proud smile down at the students over the top edge of her reading glasses. "What an honour it is for me to hand you these letters. I've had the privilege of watching all of you grow up here in the castle, and now you will be joining the ranks of the regular students in September, where I am sure you will do your Hogwarts family proud. Now, as I call your name, please come forward to receive your letter; Emrys McGonagall Snape." Emrys stepped forward toward his great aunt and before she handed him his letter, Professor Weasley stepped forward and, running her wand over his primary robes, transformed them into black student robes minus the crest, as he still needed to be sorted. Minerva then handed him his letter, and he stepped back into line.

Applause started to swell as the each child came forward to have their robes transformed and accept their letters. Then their parents urged them to turn and face the rest of the school. Esme, Tonks and Luna all had misty eyes while they looked on as their children took another step towards adulthood.

As the noise died down the Headmistress announced, "The train will be leaving tomorrow promptly at ten in the morning. Be packed and ready to go. DISMISSED!" Her voice rang out across the hall, and a bit of good-natured cheering occurred.

The students started clearing the Great Hall, immediately heading to finish packing or visit one last time with friends from other Houses. Alisha fought against the tide of students to come up to her parents; Severus had crooked a finger at her when Minerva had dismissed the students. She finally broke free and rushed up to give the twins hugs.

"Brilliant! I can't wait for September when we will all be in school together again!" She turned towards her parents to give them hugs as well. "Hallo Da, Mum. Hey squirt!" she hugged her little sister as she came down from the platform to join her family.

"Allie!" Becca squealed. The seven-year-old adored her oldest sister, idolising her.

"Becca," Emrys chided, "it's not like you don't see her all the time anyway!"

"Don't care," the little girl declared. "She'll be home all summer!" She started hopping up and down, holding on to the older girl's hand, in her excitement.

"Idgit!" Alisha said in a fond voice, ruffling Rebecca's auburn hair.

"Alisha, don't forget we are planning to leave for the cottage tomorrow afternoon. Your trunk needs to be down in the parlour by noon so Wizby can move it with everything else," Severus reminded her.

"Don't worry, Da, I'll be there!" She gave him another hug, kissed her mother and ran off to join her friends who were waiting for her at the doors.

"All right, children, let's go home," Esme announced. "We have a lot to do still, and I need to check on the Gryffindors and write up some recommendation letters. Severus, don't be too long." She kissed him lightly and headed her brood up the central aisle.

Severus looked fondly after his family and nearly jumped when McGonagall spoke near him, but managed to cover his startle.

"Did you ever think you would be here today, twenty-some-odd years ago?"

"Never. I could hope, but I never envisioned a family," he said truthfully.

"Those children are a credit to you two, Severus," she fondly pointed out.

He smiled down at the older witch and inclined his head in her direction in thanks. They started walking the length of the deserted hall.

"Are you planning to join us anytime this summer?" he enquired.

"In a few weeks. I wanted to talk to you this evening though, about a new hire I am going to make."

"Oh?" He held the door open for her, and they started up the stairs toward her office. Students were still roaming the hallways celebrating end of term, tracking down lost equipment and meeting with friends.

"Yes, but not here," she said. "Wait until we get to my office." Snape nodded his head and followed his headmistress to the gargoyle on the seventh floor. When they entered her office they headed for the divan near the fireplace.

"Right. To the point," she started, conjuring two glasses of sherry and handing one of them to her deputy headmaster. "Remus wants to cut back, and with the new baby Nymphadora can't share his class time. So," she paused, taking a deep breath before plunging on, "I've decided to hire Potter as the other DADA instructor." She chanced a look at her Deputy Head. His face was inscrutable, as usual. "Lupin will teach the lower forms concentrating on learning about dark creatures and how to deal with them. Harry will teach fifth- through seventh-years concentrating on actual defensive spells and shields and will also take on first-year flying lessons and Quidditch refereeing."

Severus was quiet for a few moments thinking over her news. "I take it he is retiring from the Aurors, then?" he finally asked.

She nodded her head in agreement.

"And Rolanda is retiring as well." Minerva nodded again and took a sip from her glass. She had received Madam Hooch's resignation the day before. "What is wrong with Remus?" he inquired, crossing his arms and legs and shooting a piercing look at his superior.

"I told you, Severus, he wants to cut back on class time. If there is anything beyond that, other than concentrating on his family a bit more, you'll have to ask him. I'm sure I don't know."

Snape hardly believed that last statement, but he let it go. He would have to talk to Lupin; that was obvious.

"Are you all right with Harry coming on staff?" she asked, worried about the old hooded look that had come over his face.

He startled out of his reverie. "What? Yes, fine. We came to an understanding years ago. He'll be living along the second floor corridor, I assume? Do we have enough room? He and Ginny have as many children as I do."

"The castle will accommodate, not to worry," she assured him.

Severus grunted in response. "I am being surrounded by Gryffindors," he mock complained.

Minerva chuckled as she offered to refill his glass.

"Are you sure there isn't a fellow Slytherin amongst all those children?" she teased.

"Please, as if," he said before taking a sip. "The closest any of them come is Alisha, who was sorted into Ravenclaw, and Brigida will probably also end up there as well. Emrys is Gryffindor through and through along with Roger Lupin. Nancy seems to be a bit Hufflepuffish - but she could also be a Ravenclaw," he mused out loud.

"Poor Severus, alone in a sea of Gold and Red," she said, grinning. "How are the Slytherin's coming along?" she asked with a little more concern in her voice.

He frowned a bit. "I was unable to convince Mr Constantine to drop his associations with the old crowd. He took his initiation last night." He twirled the stem of his glass, watching the firelight reflecting through the red liquor. He always felt a bit ill when he lost a student to the dark forces.

"I'm sorry, Severus, I know you tried," the headmistress sympathised. Albus' portrait also nodded his agreement in the background.

"Well, as usual, I've given his name to the authorities to keep an eye on him. He may come around yet; others have, in the past," he pointed out.

"Indeed they have," she said giving his knee a kindly pat.

"Speaking of which, I need to get downstairs and make sure they are getting packed." He finished his drink and, after thanking Minerva for the nightcap, headed out the door.

As he walked along the second floor corridor to his rooms, he thought about the DADA position change. Something was not clicking. He needed to talk to his friend. He went past his own door and announced himself to the Lupin's door portrait. Remus opened the door.

"Severus, what can I do... ahhh, you've spoken with Minerva." He gestured towards the home office. "Come on in." After the door to the office had closed behind them, Remus led Severus to the seating group of comfortable leather wing-backed chairs near the fireplace. "Sherry?"

"I just had one with McGonagall, but thank you," he declined. "What's up, Remus?"

"Nothing, Severus - well, all right, not much." He began to pace. "With the recent rescission of the werewolf legislation of fifteen years ago, the Ministry wants me to take some time and get the word out to the wild packs that it is safe to reintegrate as long as they take the new Wolfsbane. With the new formulation," he nodded to his guest, "being available for free from the Ministry it should be relatively easy to convince them." He finally sat down opposite Snape. "Really, Severus, we have you to thank for that rescission. The new formula is a life saver, literally."

A few years back, Severus and Esme had used her research into magic and music to improve the effectiveness and taste of the potion. As long as the afflicted individual took the new version they were rendered not only harmless, but non-infectious as well - even while transformed. Retaining patent rights, they had sold the formulation to the Ministry for quite a hefty amount of gold with two caveats: it had to be provided free of charge, and the previous legislation banning werewolves from most employment opportunities was to be rescinded.

Severus inclined his head in acknowledgement of Remus' gratitude. "I was afraid something dire was going on that you had not told me," he said, rising to leave.

"No, everything is fine. It is just going to take time to track the wild packs down," Remus said as he escorted his friend to the door.

"We'll see you in August for the hunt, then?"

"Most definitely. The whole family is looking forward to it," he said smiling. "Good evening, Severus."

"Lupin."

Severus entered his quarters to a chorus of "Da!" from his offspring and "Hallo, Professor" from Roger and Nancy, who were spending the night before the close friends separated for the summer.

He looked at the mantel clock. "Becca, it is time for bed, off you go now." He sent her down the hall with a quick hug and firm guidance between the shoulders.

"The rest of you, lights out at ten o'clock. I'll be in the study if you need anything. Please keep the exuberance down to a dull roar," Severus said while pinching the bridge of his nose in mock irritation. "Where's your mother?" he added as an afterthought.

"In the office," Brigida supplied, while dealing a game of exploding snap with Nancy.

"See, we don't need Molly's clock," he teased, "we have you!" All the children giggled as he turned towards the study. When he looked back over his shoulder, though, the boys were back to perusing 'Quidditch Today', the girls back to playing their game, and the volume on the radio had been turned back up to highlight an old Weird Sisters hit.

He shrugged out of his teaching robes, tossing them at the cloak tree that reached out and grabbed them before they fell to the floor, as he walked through the study doorway. His wife looked up briefly as he came in, smiled warmly at him and turned back to her own paperwork. He headed for his desk and pulled a stack of parchment towards him to start his quota of recommendation letters. Sounds filtered through the door, but they were normal and became a comfortable buzz in the background. The professors worked on in companionable silence, quills scratching away.

A knock at the door brought them out of their concentration, and Esme quirked an eyebrow at Severus.

"Enter," he declared, setting down his quill.

The tousled hair of his son peeked around the corner. "Just wanted to let you know we're heading to bed."

"Thank you, Rhys," his mum said. "I'll be there in a few minutes," she assured him.

The boy nodded and shut the door behind him. She sighed and laid down her quill rubbing her hands over her burgeoning belly. Severus came around the desks and, standing behind her chair, unpinned her braid to let it hang down in her lap, like a coiled red and silver snake, and began to knead the muscles in her back, shoulders and neck. She closed her eyes in ecstasy, relaxing gradually to the ministrations of his long fingers massaging away all the tension. She revelled in the feeling of his thumbs finding and eliminating the little knots that always cropped up in her shoulder and neck muscles when she was pregnant.

She let him bend her head forward until it rested on her crossed arms on the desk, as he rubbed the heels of his hands in circles on her lower back.

"Keep this up," she murmured, eyes closed in appreciation and relaxation, "and I'll fall asleep right here."

He chuckled quietly as he brushed his hands down the length of her back a few times to resettle the energies in a straight line, then helped her to stand. He took her in his arms and kissed her lovingly. Her arms convulsed around his neck as his tongue entered her mouth, teasing her sensually. All of a sudden he received a hard kick to his midriff, and they broke apart laughing.

"A beater in the making!" she joked heading for the office door, with Severus nox-ing the lights behind them.

"He does seem more active than the others," he noted in an amused voice.

"Trust me!" They nox-ed the lights in the parlour as they walked through the flat, stopping at the girls' room on their nightly rounds. They found Becca asleep in her corner bed, Bree and Nancy already in their pyjammas and plaiting each other's hair for the night.

"Everything all right in here?" Esme asked.

"No problem, Mum. 'Night!"

They closed the door and repeated the ritual with the boys and Wizby before finally heading to their own sanctuary.

Severus woke in the middle of the night and reached out for his wife only to find she was not next to him. He looked around the chamber - ahh, there she was. He relaxed back into the pillows as he gazed at the image of her standing in the moonlight, leaning up against the doorjamb of the opened French doors and taking in the Scottish night air. She had let him unplait her hair earlier and now it cascaded down the length of her body like a silver waterfall in the moonlight. Her sleeping gown swirled about her ankles with the small gusts of wind coming through the doors.

Slowly and quietly he made his way over to her, placing his hands on her shoulders before drawing her into his embrace, nuzzling an ear. "Knut for your thoughts," he breathed.

She leaned back against his solid chest, letting his warmth seep into her as she brought her own arms up to embrace his.

"Nothing, really, just enjoying the night. Rebecca woke up with a bad dream, and I've just finished putting her back to bed. Hmm, that's nice..." she said as he continued to drop kisses down the side of her neck and along her shoulder. "Nights like this I would love to go for a flight, but it's 'not advisable when I am expecting'." She sighed after having paraphrased Pomfrey.

"Well," he whispered," you might not be able to fly on avian wings, but I can always take you on a flight of ecstasy." He flicked his fingers at the duvet, and it obliged him by floating over and pooling on the balcony floor in front of them, pillows soon following.