Custody Battle

A/N: So terribly sorry for the ridiculously long delay in updating this story, but life has been rather hectic. Boys are complicated. And I hate them. The only man I’ll ever give my heart to is Severus, and even he won’t have me because why would he want me when he could have someone as wonderful as Hermione…that is if he gets wise and realizes she loves him and needs him. Well if not, then there is always me. :P Without further babbling and rambling, I present the next chapter. Please review!


“I want pizza.”

“I don’t think they serve pizza here,” Severus said glancing over the menu of the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater. They were seated in the novelty car booths, Jocelyn and Caterina at the front, and Emma sat beside him tucked on the inside in the back seat.

“I want pizza,” Emma repeated.

Jocelyn turned around, leaning over her seat to face them. “You’d better get her pizza. She’ll fuss up a storm if you don’t.”

He sighed. “But they don’t serve pizza here.” The seven-year-old shrugged her shoulders.

“Use magic,” Caterina suggested.

Severus rolled his eyes. “Yes, that’s your solution for everything, isn’t it?” He put his hand on the back of his daughter’s shoulder, leaned up and whispered. “It’s not a bloody solve-all and there are way too many muggles present.”

She shrugged, completely apathetic to the fact that he’d even spoken to her. “Daddy, this is Disney World, the most magical place on earth, who’s going to notice?”

“I want pizza!” Emma screamed.

“Emma, they don’t serve pizza here.” Severus said, trying to reason with the toddler, a foolishly impossible task if he’d ever set himself to one. She began to pout. “Don’t cry,” he said, trying to adapt a soothing, coddling tone. This proved to be difficult for the man who’s heart was often compared to a gaping arsehole, though not because he couldn’t find the gentle nature within him but rather because he was used to being able to bark orders, inspire fear, and have his will done when he spoke it.

“Here she goes,” muttered Jocelyn.

“Pizza!” The young girl screamed.

Severus scooped her up in his arms, stood up, and began bouncing her gently up and down. “Shh…Emma…shh…we’ll get you some pizza, just shh…” A moment passed before the girl quieted down, but as she did, she buried her face in his shoulders. “There, that’s a good girl.” He kissed her on the cheek and blew a raspberry against her neck. The girl shrieked and squealed as little ones so often do when being tickled. Settling back down into the booth, he muttered a curse under his breath. On the kids menu, just beneath chicken fingers, the word ‘pizza’ appeared.

The waitress seemed confused when the order was placed but said that it was likely a new addition that was released on the menu prematurely. Emma was very excited about the whole ordeal and by the time the ice cream arrived for dessert she was wearing a saucy mess all over her face. “Lovely,” Severus commented as she attempted to wipe her face on his sleeve. “I think we need to get you cleaned up before you eat ice cream.”

“What for? She’s only going to make another mess once you give her the ice cream,” Caterina said, spoon already in mouth.

“Pizza sauce and vanilla ice cream do not mix.” He said and proceeded to wipe Emma’s face clean with a wet napkin.

“Ice cream! Ice cream!” the toddler chanted.

“Yes, yes,” he said and pushed the bowel in front of her.

“Hello.” Everyone but Emma, who promptly began making a mess of her ice cream, gazed up at Hermione. Jocelyn waved, as did Caterina, but both girls focused their attention on devouring as much ice cream as possible before their mother could address them properly. Severus held her gaze for a moment before offering her the seat beside him, which she took with a cautious nod. “Thanks,” she muttered, “For bringing the girls…”

“They’ve been no trouble.” An awkward silence passed between them, their only distractions were the flickering pictures of the giant green swamp monster on the silver screen, and Emma’s attempts at eating her dessert.

“Mum,” Caterina said, breaking the silence between her parents. “What are we doing after lunch?”

Hermione looked at her daughter, a moment of confusion spreading across her face. She hadn’t thought about what came after lunch. Molly’s advice had been to go be with her daughters and in her emotionally wrecked state she’d only thought about the advice literally. “Erm…”

“We’re headed off to the Muppet Vision 3-D.” Severus said. “Will you be joining us?”

Caterina’s eyes were glued to her mother’s lips as if her very life depended on the woman’s answer.

Hermione gazed at Severus for a moment and then shook herself from her pause, “Yes, of course, sound great. As soon as you girls finish up your ice cream your father and I—” she stopped herself. It was awkward only because for a brief moment her mind had considered him both father and husband to all her children, as if Blake had never existed. “I mean—”

“It’s okay, Mummy,” said Jocelyn. “He made Emma shut up better than daddy ever does.” Severus turned pink, avoiding Hermione’s gaze by looking down into his own bowl of ice cream. The chocolate in his bowl of Neapolitan had disappeared. Glancing over at Emma, he rolled his eyes. The girl’s hands and face were covered in chocolate, more of the ice cream around her mouth than actually in it.

“You couldn’t have stolen the strawberry, could you?” he said and then picked her up, grateful for the distraction. Setting to the task of cleaning the toddler’s hands and face once more, Severus didn’t notice Hermione giggling at his father-like tendencies. “Now, do you think you can manage to stay clean?” Emma just giggled and grabbed his hair in an attempt to hug him. “Ow,” he said flatly.

“She’s really quite taken with you,” Hermione said.

“Yes, well that’s not hard to do I’ve given her pizza and ice cream all in one setting. If I was a toddler I’d be quite taken with me too.” He chuckled for a moment and turned his attentions back to the girl, who was still tugging at his hair.

“Can we go to the Muppet show now? Everyone’s done their ice cream,” Caterina said.

“What does that make me?” Severus narrowed his eyes at his daughter. “Chopped liver?”

“In all fairness, Emma did eat most of yours,” Jocelyn said. “So can we go?” She paused a moment, batting her eyes at him. “Please, dad?”

Severus and Hermione froze. For a seven-year-old girl she was particularly clever. But to take that extra step and call him dad, it was just a bit more than he was expecting. He’d come to like Hermione’s children, especially her daughters as he’d spent more time with them than he had the twins. However, being called ‘dad’ made his head spin, it was heard enough hearing it from one daughter, let alone another that wasn’t his. Hermione said nothing, though she should have corrected the girl.

Jocelyn and Caterina were close, despite their four year age difference, and although she know that her younger daughter would accept Severus as a part of Caterina’s life and family, she never thought that she’d be trying to make him part of her own as well. Her stomach lurched forward thinking about how Blake would react to hearing his oldest daughter reference Severus as her father.

“Hello? Earth calling Daddy, come in Daddy,” Caterina buzzed her lips together, imitating the radio tower control noise. “My sister asked you a question, over!”

He stared at the girls, contemplating them for a moment and then nodded his head. “Yes, we can go.”

“Yes!” Caterina cheered.

“Awesome.” Jocelyn flashed him a toothy grin and then high-fived her sister. “Muppet Vision 3-D here we come!”

~*~

With Emma hoisted up on his shoulders, Severus led the way through MGM Studios, heading back toward the large studio that housed the Muppet Attraction. Hermione followed closed behind, a girl on either side of her, each telling her the exciting tale of The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and the Rock ‘N’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith.

As the day wore on, the girls insisted that each attraction was better than the last, with the exception of the “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids” Movie Set Adventure, which was of course, was the best attraction of them all. Severus had spent nearly fifteen minutes chasing Emma through a giant tunnel made out of an oversized cardboard roller. They did not encounter Blake and the twins at all.

AS the sun began to set, the group found themselves beneath the giant Mickey’s Sorcerer Hat. “I think it’s about time we head out, the park will be closing soon.” Hermione said.

“No way!” cried Caterina, “We’ve got to see Fantasmic!”

“What’s Fantasmic?”

“Experience the fun, fancy and fears of everybody's favorite heroic mouse as he battles the forces that turn his vibrant dreams into a vivid nightmare. Mickey faces off against Disney villains in a lavish spectacular of dancing water, dramatic music, breathtaking animation, lasers, fireworks and surprises.” Severus said, looking up from the park map, which he promptly folded and stuffed in his back pocket. “Located at Sunset Boulevard in the Hollywood Hills Amphitheater.”

The girls giggled, and Emma, who had hopped down from his shoulders with the assistance of her oldest sister, began to jump and up and down. “Fantasmic! Fantasmic!”

“Well, Fantasmic it is, I suppose.” Hermione smiled. Her three daughters began squealing and giggling, sheer excitement written all over their faces. “Let’s go then!” she said, scooping to life Emma, only the girl was already scrambling to get back onto Severus’ shoulders. He hardly noticed Hermione’s moment of disappointment as he tickled the toddler.

“To Fantasmic!” Caterina pointed ahead and took off running.

“Wait for me!” Jocelyn cried and took off after her, Hermione, Emma and Severus close behind them.

Seated together in the giant stone amphitheatre, Emma refused to leave Severus’ lap. Bright fireworks and epic stunts had them all gazing with rapt attention to the water flooded stage. Hermione jumped as the evil purple and green witch transformed into the magnificently terrifying black and purple dragon. “Amazing animagus transfiguration,” Caterina whispered in awe.

Severus quirked a brow at his daughter, but could not draw his eyes away fro Mickey Mouse’s valiant attempt to defeat the creature. “Surely Minerva’s not started on animagi? That’s fourth year…” But whatever her response, if she gave one at all, was lost as the action on stage came to a grand climax.

“Haha!” Shouted Mickey Mouse. “This is my imagination!” A loud boom of fireworks and triumphant music dazzled the audience as the dragon was defeated. A chorus of song erupted and suddenly the mouse appeared on the top of a large triple-decker steamboat, with Steam Boat Willie, in black and white, at the helm.

“That was awesome!” Caterina cheered as the smoke from the fireworks cleared and bright floodlights from overhead filled the stadium. “Did you see the way he used wandless magic to banish the dragon?” She began a rather animated conversation with Jocelyn as they all rose and slowly began to exit the amphitheater.

With Emma up over one arm, head lulling asleep atop his shoulder, he turned to Hermione, and offered her a hand up the steps. “She’s got your insatiable thirst for knowledge…animagus transformations? Minerva certainly doesn’t teach that to her first year students.”

She blushed. “Well she gets that from me, but she’s certainly got an eye for precision, never misses a beat.”

“She gets that from me, I guess,” he smiled weakly at her as she gave his hand a warm squeeze. “We should head back,” he added.

“I’m worried about Blake and the boys, I haven’t seen them all day.”

“You’ve spoke too soon,” he muttered gazing ahead at her frowning husband.