The Redemption of Severus Snape

Part 76

Little Teddy had settled quickly. Lin left Ron's dirty dishes on the floor; she'd clean them in the morning. She climbed the stairs while softly singing a lullaby to Teddy. She entered her bedroom and laid her precious cargo in his bassinet and gently covered him with his little yellow blanket. She turned and checked Nikki, who was sleeping. She stood upright and immediately rounded on Severus, who was already in his nightshirt and was swallowing a noxious-smelling potion. Lin's voice was low, but her tone was vicious.

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

"I couldn't help myself. I was overcome with rage when I saw Potter and Niketas."

"You owe Harry an apology."

"I'll do nothing of the sort." What you did to Harry was rude as hell, but what you did to Teddy was horribly cruel."

Severus looked bewildered. "I did nothing to Lupin's child."

"You frightened him and made him cry."

"Is that all?" said Severus with a shrug.

"Is that all?" repeated Lin. "He's a baby, Severus."

"So he'll get over it. He's probably already forgotten it."

"Early childhood trauma can stay for life and can manifest in debilitating ways."

Severus rolled his eyes. "I suppose we'll just have to wait and see."

"Or," replied Lin tartly as she gathered her nightclothes and headed for the bathroom to freshen up and change for bed, "you could make a concerted effort not to frighten infants because of a simple grudge."

"Grudge?" spat Severus. His face turned an ugly shade of red and the veins in his neck and temples bulged. "Potter ruined my life!"

"That was James, not Harry," said Lin from the bathroom. "And lower your voice, you'll wake the babies."

"Shall I use sign language, or will that upset the precious little tots too?"

"No one likes a smart-ass, Severus, including me," said Lin as she exited the bathroom and headed for her bed. "It's late. Come to bed. You can brood over Harry tomorrow."

Severus' temper cooled as fast as it had flared. The potion he'd taken had settled his stomach, but had no effect on the wine he'd drunk, and he was feeling quite sleepy. His hatred for Potter could rest until morning. Severus slept heavily and didn't have any disturbing dreams despite having seen Potter holding his son. It was late morning when he woke. Lin had risen before him. He rose slowly, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. There was a try on the table near the center of the room; it was charmed to stay warm and contained a light breakfast. He checked the bassinets and both were empty. Lin must've taken both babies to visit Mama Sophia, which suited Severus. He had no interest in looking after Lupin's child. He went into the bathroom and splashed cold water on his face before sitting down to breakfast. He had no trouble eating as he wasn't the slightest bit hungover despite drinking more than he normally would have. Despite being naturally very thin and pale, he had a hearty constitution that was difficult to perturb.

His behavior the night before played through his mind, and he felt a little ashamed of himself, though not enough to apologize to Potter. It was a rare event for Severus to lose control of his temper, and he blamed his outburst on the wine. But, to be honest, Potter had a way of bringing the worst out of Severus without even trying. When he finished eating, he dressed and descended into his study. He pulled a large sheet of parchment from his desk drawer and drew a huge stick figure on it. He wrote a description in red letters accompanied by red arrows all the places on the figure's body that were not to be touched while in the company of others. The figure's shoulders, arms, and hands had words written in green ink accompanied by green arrows detailing the parts that were permissible to touch. He placed the parchment in Niketas' bassinet as he knew Lin would see it.