Come Back to Me (Don't Save Me Book 3)

Chapter 68: Animals and Friends

Y/n's POV

An emptiness filled the hallway, settling in my chest, as Severus had left Grimmauld Place, heading who knows where and toward who knows what. I headed toward the kitchen, hearing the murmuring of voices as I stepped through the door.

"Ah, Y/n! Lovely to see you," Molly exclaimed.

"Hi, Molly," I said, taking a seat next to Remus who had pulled out the chair for me. I chuckled as he pushed in the chair before taking a seat beside me.

"Everything go alright, Y/n?" Arthur asked.

"Perfectly fine, Arthur. Thank you," I answered. Remus placed a hand on my back as Sirius spoke up.

"What did Snivellus want?" he asked and I sighed, glaring at him.

"Brilliant, Pads," Remus spat.

"Just asking," Sirius answered, throwing his hands in the air.

I cleared my throat, deciding how to best explain the situation without blowing our cover. "He just came to talk... but we had nothing to talk about."

"You were certainly out there a long time for someone who 'had nothing to talk about,'" Sirius retorted and I scoffed.

"Why do you care so much?" I spat.

"You know why!" he answered. My eyes widened and I looked down, taking a breath as I tried to keep myself calm.

"He's hurt and he has every right to be. I judged him because of his past... It doesn't mean I can actively trust him but it wasn't fair of me to judge him either... It's complicated right now. He just wanted to talk but as I said we had nothing to talk about."

"I just don't understand why you were out there so long, especially alone with him. What if he would've taken you to the Death Eaters right then?!" Siirus hissed.

"He wouldn't have done that, Sirius! With all of you just down the hall? He's not stupid, Sirius!"

"I beg to differ."

I opened my mouth, preparing to argue but I quickly decided against it. "I'm not doing this with you, Sirius... especially not right now."

He looked away from me, sighing before looking up again. "I'm sorry."

"Yeah, I've been hearing a lot of sorrys lately," I chuckled darkly, growing tired of the numerous apologies with no actual change. "Just... change it for next time, Pads," I said, trying to avoid another fight, especially in front of everyone.

He nodded, placing a hand on top of mine. I looked down, my eyes locking on his fingers as they moved delicately over my skin. I could feel my heart racing and I tried to ignore the strange feeling in my stomach. I cleared my throat, looking up at him as he met my eyes, giving me a warm smile. He lifted his other hand, cupping my cheek. I could practically smell the fumes of the Hogwarts train as I remembered the way he'd held me back then. Things had finally fallen into place. My uncle was rotting in Azkaban. My friends were graduating but I knew I would see them again. Sirius had finally told me how he'd felt about me and, at that particular moment in time, I wasn't afraid of anything. I had a home, a family, and people who cared about me, all things I never thought I'd have. The memory played in my mind, causing a small smile to spread across my face. Sirius had boarded the train and I'd turned toward Minerva but I bumped into someone. Severus. Instantly the smile dropped from my face as Severus's face filled my mind. Oh, Merlin... What am I doing? I pulled away quickly, clearing my throat and looking down as the memory faded and I remembered where I was. I was no longer that 16 year old girl who was just happy to have a home. I was no longer that girl who felt safe, for I was no longer safe anywhere.

I could feel several pairs of eyes on me as I fiddled with my fingers in my lap.

"You alright, love?" Remus whispered softly next to me.

I nodded and he pulled me into a hug, his hand gently rubbing my back as he tried to soothe away the guilt I felt gnawing at me. I could see the looks of confusion and some pity as the room fell silent.

"Sure smells good in here, Molly," Remus announced, sensing my discomfort. What would I do without this man? I thought to myself. Molly easily took the hint and beamed as she began serving the food.

"Well, it certainly has to if it's going to call you animals down here," she answered, chuckling.

"Uhm, excuse me! Don't lump me in with these animals!" I exclaimed and I heard Remus's deep laugh from next to me.

"But, mom!" he exclaimed, looking down at me. "Who do we think we learned to act like animals from?"

"Mr. Remus Lupin!" I exclaimed. "I did not raise you to speak to your mother this way!" I sat up and our laughter filled the room.

"I thought Molly was our mom. What happened, mate? Or do you just prefer calling Y/n mommy?" Sirius asked, looking at Remus who shook his head.

"Oi! You can have more than one mom, Padfoot!"

"What is this 'mommy' stuff?" Molly asked, confusion crossing her face. I couldn't contain it anymore and I burst out laughing, quickly followed by Remus and Sirius. We heard footsteps running down the stairs as the kids entered the kitchen.

"What's so funny?" Ron asked, sitting at the table.

"I don't think they want to know," I chuckled.

"Then you'd..." "Be absolutely..." "Wrong..." "In assuming that."

I laughed as Fred and George completed the other's sentence. I turned to Remus who raised a brow.

"Molly was just asking us to explain what a 'mommy' is," I answered. The looks of horror on the kids' faces had the room filling with laughter once more.

"Nope! Absolutely not! You'll put me off my dinner," Ron said.

"Oi! All we said is Y/n is a mommy," Sirius answered.

Harry choked on his pumpkin juice. "What!?"

"Goodness, Harry!" Molly exclaimed. "Be careful or you'll end up in the hospital wing before the start of term!"

Harry cleared his throat, setting his cup down. "You're pregnant?"

At this Remus really lost it, tears slipping down his cheeks as he tried to control his laughter.

"I thought you and Snape broke up! How-?" He looked at Sirius and I could see him looking between the two of us so I quickly put a stop to that.

"Nope. Definitely not pregnant, Harry," I said.

"Wait-. Oookay. Definitely didn't need to picture my aunt being called mommy. No thank you." It looked as if another thought crossed his mind and he visibly shuddered. I chuckled as I realized he'd probably thought of Severus calling me that.

"Oh... Oh, dear," Molly said, finally realizing what we'd meant. "You're all going to be grounded if you don't watch that language at the dinner table."

"Okay but what about the lunch table?"

"Same rules apply."

I laughed, giving her a warm smile as she placed plates of food in front of us and we began to eat. A warm atmosphere settled around us and I felt at home. I smiled to myself as Molly discussed Alastor's plan for getting Harry to Hogwarts safely. We conversed over the meal, completely unaware of the looming danger ahead of us.