Gaelic Blessing

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Previously……

Severus looked on in confusion as the familiar figure of Holly Creevey tumbled out of the Great Hall fireplace and looked around wildly until she spotted him. With her eyes locked on Severus she seemed to sag with relief and she flung herself across the room as him as he stood up. He caught her as he rounded the table.

“Holly? What’s the matter? Why aren’t you at Heathmore?”

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At his questions Holly started sobbing “It’s Uncle Harry. Something’s wrong with him. I can’t wake him up. Violet and Rob said he’s been ill for a while but then this afternoon he went for a nap and now he won’t wake up. Uncle Severus, you have to come and help him.”

At her words an icy grip had taken hold of Severus’ heart. He gently soothed Holly and then looked up

“Poppy, Molly, I’m going to need your help. If you could both go and pack a bag with enough clothes for a few days and all the potions you think we’ll need. Holly, you come with me to get my things and I’ll meet you back here in 15minutes.”

To his relief the two witches didn’t question him, they merely did his bidding, hurrying up to the hospital wing. Severus simply called a house-elf that brought up his already shrunken luggage whilst Severus created a portkey out of a spare piece of parchment.

Less than 10minutes later the two witches hurried back slightly out of breath. Before he could say anything Molly spoke “Severus, is Holly talking about our Harry?”

Severus simply nodded and held out the parchment; no words were necessary. As soon as the four of them were touching it he muttered the activation word “Heathmore”. The swirling took over them as the portkey activated and when the spinning had stopped they found themselves in the entrance hall of Heathmore House.

As always the house was decorated in anticipation of the return of those students at Hogwarts. Having never had the opportunity to celebrate Christmas as a child Harry now had a tendency to go slightly overboard. Fresh holly, mistletoe and greenery decorated the tops of paintings, mirrors and mantelpieces. The sitting room was dominated by a huge Christmas tree that measured six feet at least. It was in this room that all the children were gathered. As soon as Severus walked in with Poppy, Molly and Holly the children flung themselves at him, desperate for a familiar figure for comfort. After he had spoken to each of them he turned to Poppy and Molly with all of the children around him and the two youngest in his arms.

“Poppy, if you could help me with Harry, and Molly I would be ever so grateful if you could look after the children.” As the woman nodded her consent he carried on talking “This is Holly, Lucia, Alfonso and Alexander who I’m sure you recognise from Hogwarts. Then there are Violet, Robert, Max, Cameron, Cillian and Natalie whilst these two are Georgiana and Elizabeth. Children, this is Grandma Molly and Aunty Poppy that Uncle Harry and I have told you about.”

Molly simply walked over to Severus and with a minimal lack of fuss she had Georgiana and Elizabeth in her arms, the rest of the children settled around her, talking to them quietly.

Satisfied that the children were as settled as they were going to be Severus gently guided Poppy up the stairs and into the master bedroom that belonged to Harry. Severus had been highly amused when Harry had first shown him the room as the Gryffindor golden boy had a bedroom decorated in shades of green and cream with silver accents. However, upon walking into the room now he was struck by how dark the room was and how there was a lingering smell of sweat and general malaise. While Severus lingered by the door Poppy hustled into the room flicking her wand to open the curtains and casting several freshening charms.

Even though Severus knew that Harry was ill he was unprepared for the sight that greeted him. Harry normally looked completely fit and healthy with a golden tan that set his hair and eyes off perfectly. Now however, his skin was pasty white, he’d visibly lost weight, his hair was greasy and stringy and there were deep bags under his eyes. To top it all off he was sweating and tossing and turning restlessly. Poppy looked up exasperatedly and barked at him

“Severus Octavian Snape! Get your arse over here at once and give me a hand.”

Severus obeyed her immediately and helped her to hold Harry down whilst she ran several diagnostic charms with her wand. Finally, thirty minutes later she looked up with a grimace as she sheathed her wand and started rummaging through the potions bottles.

Severus frowned at her “Well woman? Are you going to tell me what’s wrong with him?”

Poppy just huffed. “He’s completely exhausted. The poor dear’s been working too hard. From what I can tell he caught the flu from one or more of the children. In all likelihood he was too busy looking after them to look after himself so it’s developed into pneumonia. He appears to have had a sickness bug as well because there’s no traces of food in his digestive tract so he’s completely dehydrated. Lots of liquids, a few potions and lots of rest and he’ll be as right as rain. He will need constant attention for at least a week though.”

“That’s not a problem Poppy. I was due to spend Christmas here with Harry and the children so I’ll look after Harry. Dobby and Winky can take care of the cooking and cleaning anyway. Perhaps Molly would help me with the children for a couple of hours each day?”

As they talked they had managed to get several glasses of water and a fever-reducer down Harry’s throat before changing his pyjamas for a clean pair. After placing a monitoring charm on Harry that would inform them if anything changed. As soon as they entered the sitting room Severus was besieged by all of the children with the exception of Georgiana and Elizabeth who were curled up asleep on Molly’s knee. Five year old Natalie claimed his lap whilst seven year olds Cameron and Cillian claimed both his sides. The rest of the children claimed perches either side of the two boys or curled up at Severus’ feet. It was Alex who spoke for all of them

“Uncle Severus, Uncle Harry is going to be okay isn’t he? He’s not going to die?”

Severus moved swiftly to reassure them “No, Uncle Harry isn’t going to die. He’s going to be fine, he’s just ill and exhausted from looking after you lot so I need to look after him for a while. Now, I’m just going to go talk to Aunty Poppy and Grandma Molly for a while so you guys stay here. Holly, call for Dobby or Winky if you need anything.”

With that Severus ushered the healer and the Weasley matriarch down the corridor to Harry’s study. Before Severus could say anything Molly spoke

“Poppy, is Harry going to be okay? Can I see him? What’s going to happen?”

Poppy smiled at the ginger-haired witch “He’s going to be fine Molly, he just needs rest. He’s had a stomach bug that’s left him dehydrated and flu that’s turned into pneumonia. He just needs to have a couple of days break from looking after the kids and to have someone look after him.”

“Well, Arthur and I would be more than happy to have the kids at the Burrow. It’s to quiet there now that everyone’s moved out.”

Severus hesitated fractionally before speaking “Actually Molly, I’d prefer it if the children stayed here. They wouldn’t be happy leaving Harry and truthfully I’d rather have them here.” He winced seeing the crestfallen look on Molly’s face “However, I would really appreciate it if you could help out. Maybe come and spend a few hours with the children each day? Once Harry’s better maybe you could all come for Christmas? I know he’d love to see you. Plus, Harry loves Christmas – he always goes completely over the top.”

Molly smiled thankfully “That would be wonderful. I’d love to help out.”

Severus breathed a sigh of relief and smiled gratefully “Thank you Molly that would be wonderful. None of the children are trouble but they do get over-exuberant at Christmas. Plus, I have to admit they were rather excited as it’s the first Christmas I’ve spent here in three years due to the lack of Slytherins staying for the holidays.”

“Severus, I brought up Fred and George, I hardly think your lot are going to be a handful.”

“Molly, there are 12 children where you only had two. On the other hand….”

He trailed off as Molly gave him an exasperated look “I have just three words for you Severus Snape… Weasley’s Wizarding Wheezes. Now, I need to get home and cook Arthur’s dinner. Is it possible for me to floo home? In that case I’ll see you tomorrow at nine AM Severus, Poppy have a good Christmas.”

As Molly flooed home to the Burrow, Poppy left a few last minute instructions as for what to give Harry before she flooed back to Hogwarts. Severus paused to check the monitoring charm before he made his way back to the children. When he reached the sitting room he was amazed to discover that they were all sat patiently waiting for him to return although Natalie, Georgiana and Elizabeth were more asleep than awake.

“Right, it’s just us for the moment children. Have you eaten dinner?” he looked at Holly who nodded that they had “In that case I’m going to take Natalie, Ana and Beth to bed. Max, Cameron and Cillian you have thirty minutes before I expect you to get yourselves ready for bed. I’ll come up and see you before you go to sleep.”

By the time he had finished speaking Natalie had woken up but was still extremely lethargic. Therefore, whilst Severus picked up Georgiana and Elizabeth settling one on each hip Natalie attached herself to the back of Severus’ robes and tucked one thumb firmly into her mouth, allowing Severus to pull her along to the bedroom that she and the other two young girls shared. As with all of the children’s rooms, and indeed the décor of the house in general, Harry had truly outdone himself. He had taken great pride in making Heathmore feel like a true home rather than just another of the Black stately houses. The three younger girls shared a huge room that was resplendent in white and shades of pink and lilac. The three younger boys also shared a room whilst those at Hogwarts each had their own bedroom.

Severus transfigured Ana and Beth’s day clothes into nightgowns whilst Natalie sleepily changed into her own. Gingerly he tucked them in, feeling incredibly out of practise. In fact, it was nearly always Harry who tucked the children in whenever Severus visited. With the girls asleep or well on their way he made his way across the hallway to the blue room shared by Max, Cameron and Cillian. Standing in the hallway he could hear the boys whispering to each other as they got changed for bed and brushed their teeth. He waited a few moments for the whispers to die away before he opened the door and walked in. The threesome was already in bed but he was forced to read them a story before they would consider going to sleep. With the youngest six in bed he made his way to Harry’s room, knowing that Holly and the others would go to bed without being told.