Love and Parenthood

Love and Parenthood

Disclaimer: All canon characters are the property of JK Rowling and those with whom she has agreed contracts. This story was written for practice not profit.


Upholding Traditions


“What are you doing in here Arthur?” asked Severus sternly.

The two men were standing in the hallway of the birthing centre. I juI just came to look in on Molly and the boy.”

“He’s a week old. You’re not meant to see either of them until the naming ceremony. That’s the rule.”

“Some rules were meant to be broken. Anyway sneaking in visits is half the fun. Molly’s mum used to have to chase me out all the time in the old days.”

“She’s supposed to have this time to concentrate on the baby. You’ll distract her.”

“We’re used to being together. She gets upset when I don’t see her. Just you wait until your kids are born. You’ll never last the month if you care about your wife as much as I think you do.”

“I have the discipline to observe the tradition fully.

“And does Hermione?”

“Of coushe she does. She may be young but I consider her to be exemplary despite her origins.”

“She’ll be teary and emotional and she’ll miss you like mad. Anyway Molly and I have decided she’s going to move back to the Gatehouse today.”

“But you can’t live under the same roof!” said Severus in horror.

“Fred and George are going back to the Burrow this morning. I’ing ing to use their room in the cottage until the month is up. Molly would much rather share with Liz and Mike than sit it out in here. Molly needs no instructions on what to do with a newborn baby and Mistress Finch supports the decision. We agreed it yesterday at dinner.”

“I suppose my mother-in-law will approve. If the pair of you are intent on behaving like Muggles I suppose it’s only right that you should live with them. I’ll have the elves make arrangements within the hour.”

“Thank-you Severus. I’ve got to get to the Ministry now. I’m running late. I’ll see you tonight.”

“Depending on if we have any more deliveries today.”

“Hermione must be ready by now.”

“They’re all ready as far as I can see. If I had my way they’d be taking it in turns to go jogging to prompt things along.”

His exasperation showed in his face and his voice.

“There are more enjoyable forms of exercise to encourage labour,” said Arthur jovially.

“I am expecting pupils later Arthur. I must be getting along.”

He turned on his heel and walked away from Arthur, who was trying to suppress his amusement.


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Severus managed to oversee Molly’s relocation and was happy to leave her in the Gatehouse with the Grangers, Madam Minton, Hermione, Melissa and Ginny for company. Madam Minton seemed to derive a great deal of pleasure from helping with the care of the babies and had already offered to stand in as a birth attendant should it become necessary. Severus reflected that the longer these babies held on, the more likely it was that they would end up with several girls in labour at once. In that kind of scenario they would need all the help they could muster.

He walked back up to the Manor to be greeted by his first pupil of the day.

He saw two more pupils before making his way to the refectory to meet Hermione for lunch. She wasn’t there when he arrived so he helped himself from the buffet table and sat down to wait.

After a few moments Madam Minton arrived and joined him.

“Is Hermione still down at the Gatehouse?” she enquired.

“She’s probably lost track of time. She was supposed to be meeting me here for lunch.”

“Maybe she went to have a lie down.”

“Possibly. She’s not exactly comfortable at the moment.”

“All the girls are on edge though. I’m told it’s normal for first babies to be a bit sluggish about making their entrance.”

“Do you have any children?”

“No. I wasn’t married for very long. My husband was an Auror and he was crippled in an incident. He took a few years about dying but we never lived together again. I used to visit him in St Mungo’s and I had to work to pay his hospital bills but eventually the job was kind of a consolation. I’ve got plenty of nieces and nephews though.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It was a long time ago. I’m sure if I’d wanted I could have tried again but than there’s always the risk of suffering another loss.”

“I can understand that. I was a widower for a long time.”

“I heard about that. You lost your baby as well didn’t you?”

“I did. My wife was murdered by her brother twenty years ago when she was pregnant.”

“And yet you have adopted his son.”

“I didn’t adopt Draco, although if I were still unmarried I might have done. He is still my nephew and as his father managed to wipe out most of the immediate family, it was appropriate for me to support him.”

“Speaking of adoption, I’ve received the names of some people seeking to adopt any unwanted babies. I left the list in my quarters. I thought you might like to go through them with the girls so we can get things in motion.”

“Yes we’ll need to move on that. I’m going to have to pop over to my quarters to satisfy myself about my wife’s whereabouts. If you could collect your list on the way we could put aside an hour or so for discussing it before I receive my next pupil.”

“That will be convenient. I promisedstopstop by and visit Diana and the little girl. She’s getting very attached to the baby. I know it’s only been a couple of days but the longer they’re together the harder it will be to part them. Athena and the other one…”

“Loretta,”

“Yes Loretta…. They just seem totally uninterested and irritated by their predicament but Diana seems to have the instinct.”

“Diana was actually quite a sweet child as a first year. You never would have guessed her background. In light of what I now know, I think the only reason the Hat put her in Slytherin was that she aspired to escape her fate. I should have known what was happening to her. I should have paid more attention.”

“You’re not a mind reader….. Except you are in a way.”

“Believe me, you don’t want to dwell in a teenager’s mind. It could drive you mad.”

“Are you ready to go?”

“Yes, I’ll walk with you.”

The two of them left the refectory and made their way back to the rooms Severus and Hermione shared, stopping off to collect the list on the way.

As soon as they got to the office Severus went over to survey the map on the wall. Created by Remus it used the same principles as the Marauder’s Map, showing everyone present as named dots. The pregnant women and nursing mothers showed as purple dots. Birth attendants showed as red dots. Babies were green, visitors were black and all other residents were blue.

Severus scanned the map and registered that Hermione was still at the Gatehouse. He smiled in his relief and turned to give Madam Minton his full attention. Suddenly cold fear gripped his stomach and he turned back to the map. His instinct was correct.

“I think we have a problem,” he said slowly.

“How so?”

“There is only one baby on this map… Diana’s… and where the fuck are the Aurors?”


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