Unwanted

Two weeks later, Severus was sitting in his daughter's nursery feeding her the bottle of milk prepared by the house elf when he felt the Dark Mark upon his arm burn and sizzle. He closed his eyes against the pain and kept himself from flinching while holding Tristyn. Between planning with the Order, taking care of Tristyn, and apparating all over the North American continent to look for his wife, he was tired, and hoped it would end soon. He sighed and called the house elf to take care of his daughter.

"Maaki, I'm being summoned. Tristyn is to remain here, do not let anyone in the house, unless it is me, Albus Dumbledore, or Harry Potter. Take care of my daughter, please." He handed the almost sleeping child into the care of the house elf, his heart lurching, wondering if this would be the last time he saw her. He regretted most of all not being able to help Hermione before the birth of the baby, so she could have been here to care for their child. If anything happened to him, there was a list of people he'd approved to take control of Tristyn's future, the Weasleys at the top of the list after Albus and Potter. He hoped it wouldn't come to that.

Before leaving the nursery, he turned back to Tristyn and bent to kiss her forehead and cheek, rubbing one finger down in a loving caress. Standing, he straightened his back and walked out before he told Albus and Voldemort to bugger themselves and go off with his daughter. But he'd taken a stand to see the Dark Lord fall and tonight was the night he'd see it end one way or another.

Death Eater cloak and mask in hand he hurried down the stairs to the living room and floo'd the headmaster.

"Albus, it's time."

"We'll be there, Severus. Give us a quarter hour to rally and prepare. Do you have your transfigured daughter?"

Severus turned away from the fireplace and waved his wand at the vase of flowers on the coffee table. It turned into a squalling limb waving newborn. The spell wouldn't last long, most transfiguration spells didn't when something was turned into a human figure. He just needed long enough for Potter and the Order to follow his apparation signature and stop his Master. He created a small bag for baby paraphenilia to make it look real, grabbed the 'baby' and rushed out the front door. Maaki watched from the shadows of the staircase, her big round elf eyes taking everything in before she returned to the nursery and her little charge. She hummed as she searched through the closet for the tiny set of baby dress robes, looking over her shoulder now and then. Tristyn was sleeping on her side in her crib, one fist crammed into her little mouth, milk bubbles blowing and deflating with every breath. Maaki smiled as she put the robes on the changing table and starting going through the dresser, looking for a few outfits to pack.

"Maaki, what is you doing in here? Master is gone and little miss sleeps. You should come to kitchen for dinner." Dopey entered the nursery, smiling. He'd hoped to maybe mate with the little nanny elf, if Master Severus would approve.

Maaki ignored him and continued to levitate a pile of clothes into a bag.

"What is this, Maaki?" He asked again.

"I is doing my Master's work. I's a good house elf." She finally stopped and faced him, waving one hand and paralyzed the male house elf instantly. His little body dropped hard to the floor near the doorway, his eyes following Maaki's movements. She was dressing the baby in the robes, the baby sleepily fussing but not giving Maaki a hard time. "I is sorry, Dopey, but my master wants to see the little miss. If Master Severus had just brought her with him, I's not having to do this. Good bye, Dopey." She gathered the baby in her arms, the bag of clothes and nappies floating behind her as she left. Dopey could hear her descend the stairs, walk through the living room, talking to the little miss as she did, then opening the front door to leave.

Dopey's eyes fluttered left and right frantically, his mouth open, no sound emitting as he called for his master's friends to come and stop Maaki.


A/N~~wow chapter 19. Keep the reviews coming, I love them! Hope you're enjoying the story and the way it's going. Hermione shows back up in chapter 22, briefly, then the big stuff. Hopefully that's enough information to keep the die-hard readers interested lol. Keep it up, will be back in a day or two!

Marti