Just Around the Riverbend

Okay....we have another update!! Yay!!!! We are making progress...slowly but surely. I have a feeling this is going to be a nice long story. Not that any of you are complaining. @_@

sampdoria
margaritama
Heidi19197
angeles
meankitty69
Anathema

Ah yes, and a little warning to all who read these little spoofs. There is a tantalizing little nugget at the end of this chapter. Oh so evil, but so very wonderful at the same time.
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Lucius stood at the door to his cousin’s bedroom, staring at the open window. He felt a whirlwind of very conflicting, very confusing emotions. He was still incredibly angry that Daisy would risk her life to chase after some idiot thief…he was also incredibly angry that she had run off again. He also felt indescribably bad that he had been so rough with her. If he hadn’t lost his temper she might not have run off.

There was no use going after her. She would never allow herself to be found a second time. She had probably gone straight to the centaurs this time too, and they would never give her away because of ‘The Tree’ or whatever nonsensical bollocks she had helped them with. He didn’t like this waiting game. He wasn’t even sure she would come back on her own.

Hermione looked up at Lucius’ face, and saw the storm in his icy blue eyes.

“She’ll come back of her own accord.” She said softly. Lucius turned his gaze on the petit witch beside him.

“Maybe.” He said. He looked over at her dresser, which was still open from her frenzied packing. But she hadn’t taken everything in the drawer. He approached the dresser, and looked down into the open drawer. Several articles of clothing in various shades of brown were in this drawer. He reached down and picked up what appeared to be a sleeveless shirt. The stitching was impeccable and sturdy, the material soft but durable. It was deerskin. She had a lot of that clothing. It was a testament to her Native American half.

In the face of fear, and a little danger, she had gone to a place where she felt safe. And Lucius felt an un-ignorable twinge in his belly to think that she felt safer in magical woods than she felt in this home. He wouldn’t, nor couldn’t, let her get away with her debacle in Diagon Alley, but if she came back he would have to remember not to lose his patience with her.

“Mr. Malfoy…”

He turned to see Hermione still in the doorway, an unreadable expression on her face.

“I think we need to talk for a bit.” She said gently. He put the small shirt back into the drawer, and closed it gingerly.

“I am not an errant child, Miss Granger.” He snarked, but Hermione could tell his heart wasn’t in it. He just walked forlornly over to Daisy’s bed post, and untied the sheets from around it, pulling the makeshift rope back into the room. He paused at her night stand, looking at a large photo she had sitting there. He could tell it was her in the picture, though she was much younger. She was sitting on a man’s shoulders, her arms wrapped around his head to keep from falling. The man, who could pass as a brother to Lucius, except with neatly trimmed hair, had one hand on one of Daisy’s legs, and the other was around the shoulder of a dark-haired woman. She was petit, like Daisy, but she held herself with pride and elegance. Her hair was long and unbound, falling in two silky sheets around her face. They were all laughing, though the picture was a muggle still. Hermione’s voice brought him out of the distraction of staring at the tiny, happy family.

“I know. But I don’t think you really understand why she ran off. She’s only been here a few weeks, Mr. Malfoy. She still doesn’t know you very well. And you don’t know her, either.” Hermione stated. Lucius turned to snap at her, but paused. She was right. He didn’t know his little cousin. He didn’t know how she had been raised. He knew nothing of her values. He had been making generalizations based on what he knew of Americans. “You terrified her and like a deer she fled. I’m not saying it was the right thing for her to do. Because it wasn’t. Running from a problem only delays facing it. But you cannot lose your temper with her. She is still so young. She has had her entire life turned upside down. Her parents are gone, she’s in a new and foreign country, and she’s living with a man she wrote to in desperation. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t hold her responsible for her actions, or punish her for doing wrong, but you must think further than your wounded pride. Do you really want her to fear you so early in the game? Could you really live with yourself if that happened?”

Lucius frowned. He hadn’t meant to frighten Daisy so. He was just upset that she was careless. But he would have to curtail his temper if he didn’t want to make her irreparably afraid. Granger was right….damn it.

“What if she doesn’t come back?” he said, looking out her window at the forest. He sounded fucking pathetic! Grr…..damned little hormonal teenage girls!

“Then we’ll just have to look for her again…”

~~

Daisy walked alongside Arbino, still rather shaken by the whole ordeal with her cousin. She shivered, and reached up to rub one arm, wincing at the painful bruise. Arbino watched her, but wisely said nothing.

Daisy was greeted warmly back at the camp. All of the centaurs had heard of her exploit with The Tree, and were all very eager to reunite with the little human who had fallen into their midst not too long ago. Garita patted her head gently, and Daisy gushed with the affection she was receiving.

Arbino called the attention of his heard, and they all listened intently to the snow white centaur.

“This tiny human has done more for us than we will ever be able to repay. She will be staying with us for a few days, and all will be respectful of her. The one who brought our beloved Tree back to life is among us, and tonight we will feast in her honor!” he said. The herd cheered loudly, and Daisy flushed scarlet. She was humbled by the attention, not being in the least used to it.

The feast itself was wonderful. Centaurs were very much like humans when it came to their culinary interests. There was roasted meat, vegetables, wild salads, and a most interesting dessert made with wild fruits and sweetened with honey.

Daisy was stuffed before the sun fell, her eyes drooping tiredly. Arbino approached her, a flask of some sort of wild wine in his hand. “Farrol and Grint set up you tent for you, little two-legs. You may retire if you are so inclined.” He said, his eyes a bit shinier than usual. Daisy nodded, and trudged between the centaur shelters to find her little tent. Ironically, the centaur shelters were very similar to hers, except they had erected sturdy poles inside their shelters for them to lean on while they slept, because centaurs rarely knelt.

She pulled back the flap of her tent, and nearly laughed to herself to see what they had concocted. The sweet creatures had erected a hammock for her between two resting posts. She’d have to ask them in the morning how they knew what a hammock was. But until then….

She retrieved her fur blanket from the corner of her little shelter, and climbed onto the rather sturdy hammock. Full of good food and feeling rather safe she drifted off.

But her night-time peace wasn’t to last.

She was awoken sometime in the night by Garita shaking her, calling her name.

“What? What happened?” she asked, nearly flipping out of her raised bed.

“You cry and flail like someone is attacking you, child. What is the matter?” she asked, a bit breathless. Daisy didn’t remember a nightmare, but she must have been having one.

“It was probably a nightmare….” She said. Garita looked confused.

“What do mares have to do with the night?” she asked. Daisy looked confused for a moment, before realizing that centaurs must not have dreams.

“Oh! No….a nightmare is just a bad dream. Dreams are involuntary visions and pictures that humans see in their heads when they sleep.” She said.

“Ah….is it painful?” Garita asked.

“No….but bad dreams can be frightening. I hope I didn’t wake you all….” She said softly. Garita’s head turned towards the flap of the tent. Actually….she had woken nearly every member of the herd, but she felt it wasn’t necessary to tell the little human that. She simply shook her head and tucked Daisy back into her bed.

“I am sorry your…nightmare…woke you. Will it go away?”

“Probably.” Daisy said. Garita left the tent, and Daisy sighed softly. She could hear soft talking, and felt guilty for waking up whoever she had. She hadn’t told anyone, but a vast majority of the nights since her parents had been killed she had nightmares. It was disheartening to see her mother and father’s dead faces night after night. And she couldn’t take Dreamless Sleep….her strange magic messed with some of the ingredients…it made for a horrible sleep.

~~

Severus sat at his table, the scratch of his quill against parchment the only sound in his house. He was hand-transposing potions from an old text for easier reading, and rather enjoying the silent work. He was quite disappointed, and more than a little miffed, when a resounding knock sounded at the door. He growled softly and put down his quill, standing to answer the door. He took his time with it, too, trying to make the stranger feel some of the inconvenience he felt from having his evening interrupted. He yanked the door open, just as the visitor was about to knock again.

It was a rather short, pudgy little man in dark blue robes. He was balding, and had beady little brown eyes that reminded Severus of brown beetles. He was holding a most peculiar package. A toddler, one year old, give or take a month, holding the saddest excuse for a teddy bear Severus had seen since his own childhood. The little boy had a cloud of black hair, and the most peculiar….black….eyes….oh shit.

“What is that?” Severus asked, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable.

“This, Mr. Snape, is a baby. Your baby.” The man said.

“I haven’t….that’s not….” Severus wasn’t usually a stutterer, but, the gods forgive him, he was pretty sure this wasn’t happening.

“Do you know a lady by the name of Abigail Terrinor?” the man asked. Severus wracked his memory, before putting a face with the name. About a week after the fall of the Dark Lord, celebrating his own newly announced innocence, Severus had downed a few beers at a pub that breached the Magical/Muggle barrier much like the Hog’s Head. He had run into the pleasant company of a most beautiful witch named Abigail…..

His eyes widened at the recollection.

“See? There you go.” The man said.

“Why…is the boy here? What happened to his mother?” his mouth had cone dry, as if he had been chewing on cotton.

“Died. Just a few days ago, in fact. Horrible accident involving a flying carpet… You’re his only blood relative. It’s you or the orphanage for this little one. And between you and me, there aren’t any good magical orphanages left in England. Though no one can prove it, there’re too many accusations of….fondling.” the man said baldly. Snape’s black eyes narrowed, suddenly a bit angry. There would be no fondling of any child that belonged to him!

“Give him here.” He said. The man placed the toddler in Severus’ hands, and gave a small smile.

“Hope you two have a happy future. By the way, his name is Nicholas Snape, but I’m told his mother called him Cole.” He said, and then disappeared.

“Wait! I don’t know……anything….about….oh gods fuck me.” He said, and closed the door. He looked down at the toddler, who was looking up at him quietly with his somber black eyes.

“What are you looking at?” he said, upset beyond belief that he had just been saddled with a toddler he didn’t even know he’d fathered until……now. Nicholas, eh? “Nicholas Snape…” he said, testing the sound of the name. The baby wrinkled his nose slightly, as if he were offended. Well at least he had his mother’s nose. “So you don’t like Nicholas, then? Fine…Cole.” He said. Cole tilted his head at his father, still quiet.

Suddenly, Severus’ large nose wrinkled.

“Holy fuck! What’s that smell?”
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Snape with a baby? Not an everyday occurance. Looks like Sevvie-Wevvie got a little 'excited' during his celebrations. He's not normally forgetful, you know....but it just takes one slip....

So...you've read the chapter, now it would make me happy if you'd all rate/review the story. These chapter updates might make your day, but those reviews really make mine. They.....inspire me. JUST DO IT!!!