Princes in Exile

Hi everyone! I told ya there'd be a real update soon, LOL. And to answer someone's question, my ex (the bastard, I believe he was called)was served papers that gave me the right to call police enforcement of custody orders. Unfortunately, the court date was two days after our son's transplant and both of us opted to dismiss the cases against each other so that our son would have both parents with him in the ICU in Boston. It pissed off the judge, but meh... it's not his life, it's mine. Not sure when the next one will be, as I'm heading BACK to Boston tomorrow, but I figured I'd add this chapter before I leave.

Enjoy, and don't forget to review!!!


Love,
Marti!!!!

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Chapter 19

With a jerk, Mina came awake, sitting up in the bed above the Leaky Cauldron. She rubbed her arms, felt the goose-bumps under her fingertips. She shivered and looked at the clock; three hours had passed since she’d lain down for her nap. She looked up as Tob—no, Severus entered the bedroom, closing the door quietly behind him. Through it she had heard her daughters’ giggles and laughter.

“Are you alright, love? I heard you moan and gasp. You didn’t have your… nightmare again, did you?” Severus advanced to the bed, but hesitated. She had been very angry before having her lie down and he didn’t wish to anger her even more.

Instead of looking at her husband, she gazed out the window. Her dream had answered so much, let her see clearly that from which she had been hiding.

“When I first got to Hogwarts, I didn’t have any friends. Lavender and Pavarti and the others were girly girls. I was the brain on legs,” she started to talk without looking at him. “It didn’t bother me at first, because that’s what it was like before, when I went to Muggle schools. But, I was bothered, after what Ron said that Halloween.”

“The one where you three confronted the bloody troll?” he asked drolly and she nodded her head, but absently, still caught up in her nightmare.

“I was crying in the girl’s lavoratory. The boys felt bad and came looking for me after Quirrell announced the troll in the dungeon.” She smiled suddenly at the memory of her two friends fighting the troll. “Harry had jumped on its back and stuck his wand up the damn thing’s nose! The reason I was crying was… I overheard Ron call me a ‘know-it-all’ to Harry and it hurt but… it was all I’d ever been. I didn’t have friends as a child because I was so much smarter than the other children; I was more mature and understood the adult world better. It was like living my childhood all over again when I wanted a change by coming to Hogwarts.” She looked at her husband for the first time. “I never felt like I belonged; not in the Muggle world and not in the Wizard world. But worse, I felt like I didn’t deserve to be a witch. P—Percy kept saying it over and over.”

Severus remembered his former master’s regime that Muggle-born magic-folk weren’t deserving of their abilities. His wife had been the smartest witch of her generation and that must have galled her attacker to no end. Percy Weasley, a pureblood son of a poor but influential family, must have despised her for years before his assault. He sat on the edge of the bed and rested his hand on her hip, stroking her through the blanket and her robes soothingly. She was in crisis, remembering her rape and all the little horrors throughout her youth. He wanted to console her, but wasn’t sure how to do so.

“You are a better witch than most Pure-blooded members of the so-called best Wizarding families. You are a far better woman, a wonderful mother and a loving mate. We may not have had a choice at first about our marriage, but you are the woman I’ve loved since you defended me to your friends.” He smirked at the memory of her slapping Ron Weasley when he’d insulted the Potions Master. At that moment he’d realized he had fallen in love with the brave little lioness, even if she was the friend of his most hated student.

“But I never knew that.”

“Mione, I can’t do this alone. I need you with me, here in our world to help raise our daughters in the Wizarding fashion. We always knew it wouldn’t last, the hiding.”

“I know! But every year nothing happened and it was so easy to forget that everything before that night existed.”

“Will you give this a chance, love? Just for this school year. After, if you still feel the same, we’ll return to America and to hell with Arthur and Molly. For me?” His dark eyes pleaded with her, begged her to let him return to his former life. Until he married her, it hadn’t been the best of lives, but it was his at least. Hell, until he’d married the little chit, he had been fully prepared to die for Albus Dumbledore while spying on Voldemort. Knowing Hermione was home waiting for him had kept him alive during that dark time.

It still galled him that he’d kept her safe during Voldemort’s regime, but she’d been raped by a hidden Death Eater, someone who had walked into their home under the guise of friendship.


Her chocolate brown eyes looked up at him, the terror of her nightmare still echoing in the depths of her gaze.

“I’ll try, To—Severus.” She actually cringed at the sound of the name on her tongue. He gave her a slight smile and cupped her cheek in his hand.

“You may call me anything you want, as long it’s said with love, my dear,” he whispered against her lips before he bent forward to kiss her gently.

“What if I get mad at you?”

“Even pissed off, I know you love me. Just as you know that I would never hurt you intentionally, luv.”

“I know. It still hurts, though.”

“I know.” His response mirrored hers. “I love you so much.”

“We have to go to The Burrow tonight.”

“I can owl them and tell them we cannot attend.”

Mina groaned and rested her head against his shoulder. His arms went around her automatically. He’d been holding her close to his heart for over 11 years; he wasn’t going to stop now. “No, it’s the party for Victoire and Jenny going to Hogwarts this year. Teddy’s going to be there, and the girls have been so looking forward to meeting him. I’ll be alright tonight, sweetheart. I promise; no emotional breakdown. I’m sick of crying.”

“I’m sick of seeing you sad. I don’t know how to help you.”

Her eyes watered again and she pulled his head down for a passionate, deep kiss. Pulling away from him a minute later, breathing heavily, she nipped his bottom lip playfully, with a little smile. “Being here helps me more than you could imagine.”

It had been over two weeks since they’d made love, and being this close, in this mood was arousing him more than he thought possible. His soothing hand slid up the inside of her thigh, pulling the skirt up with it until his fingertips felt the wet edge of her knickers. He groaned and bent down to kiss her again, pushing her down to recline on the pillows again. His breath hissed through his teeth as her nimble little fingers unbuttoned his shirt and stroked his chest, her nails scraping his nipples alternately. His moan reverberated through her mouth.

“We can’t. The girls are in the next room, awake.”

“Not even a quick one, husband?” she purred, one of her hands stroking his chest, the other having roamed down to cup his cock through his jeans. She was amused that he’d pull back from her when she was in an obviously amorous mood.

“No. You slept quite a bit, luv. The girls will be ready for –god, stop that, woman – their dinner. And we promised them a movie tonight, remember, after the party at the Burrow?” With a lingering kiss of promises fulfilled later, Severus pulled away from his wife. Regretting it, but knowing their five daughters would be ravenous and slightly hyper; he stood and extended a hand to his wife. She sighed, pretending to be put out by his refusal to make love, but she knew he was right. Their daughters wouldn’t allow them much time alone to do anything more than get themselves worked up, then they’d have to sit during dinner horny as teenagers.

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Taking five girls with budding magical powers into Muggle London was a challenge, but they survived. Luckily, there was a MacDonald’s around the corner from The Leaky Cauldron. They took the girls there for a snack and to play in the gym. Severus despaired of getting the girls to eat home-cooked meals again, but Mina assured him that when they got to their new home in Hogsmeade, she’d return to cooking all his favorite foods again. She was teasing, but subdued, but at least she was talking to him again, which put the girls at ease.

Severus was sure that if any of his former students had seen him sitting in a fast food joint with his five daughters, playing in the gym with them and laughingly allowing Marika to put a paper crown on his head, they’d willingly allow St. Mungo’s to take them away to their psychiatric unit. He’d probably have a bed next to the Longbottoms, who still resided there, visited faithfully by their son and his family every other weekend and holidays.

Seri stopped at the top of the slide, watching down at her father with Milana, kissing her elbow where she’d bumped it when she fell off the ladder. She smiled, her parents weren’t arguing anymore and the angry waves weren’t washing off of them and making her sad. Her mommy was still sad, but not like before lunch. Her gaze drifted off behind her father, out the big windows to the sidewalk and her smile disappeared: the red man was back and watching her mother again. Anger and hatred rolled off of him, red hues that swirled and blended together to make her shiver, even as far away as she was, and inside the restaurant.

His gaze moved around, from one member of her family to the next until alighting on her. She shivered and crossed her arms over her tiny chest, hugging herself. She could feel his anger, rage, pain, all dark colors that drowned out the bright happy tones of her loving family. Their eyes held and she started to cry, rolling tears sliding down her cheeks. She sat down and pushed herself to the bottom of the slide, her happiness all but gone.

“Seri, what’s wrong, luv?” Mina knelt in front of her middle daughter, her arms enfolding her little body, warming her as she shook in terror. “Baby?”

All Seri could do was put her head on her mother’s shoulder and cry as she felt the red man’s anger cover her, engulf her entire body and soul. She closed her eyes and held onto her mother as she called for her father.

The family outing was over.