E Pluribus Unum
folder
Harry Potter › General
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
54
Views:
3,496
Reviews:
269
Recommended:
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Currently Reading:
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Category:
Harry Potter › General
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
54
Views:
3,496
Reviews:
269
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
Christmas Morning
A/N - A little light in the darkness this time, slightly tear-ful, but sweet. Thanks Kate for helping me correct these bits.
Deblovesdragon - Yes, they know! Mwa ha ha ha!
Helen - Min\'s mom is such a sweetie, though....well, who knows, the decision is up to Dumbledore. :)
Droxy - Uncle Sev would so hex his butt!
JCC, Kateri - Thank you for reading and reviewing! YAY!
Chapter 32 – Christmas Morning
Kathryn woke to the soft sound of Severus’ breathing. She had grown sensitive to its nuances while he had been in the hospital wing. Any faltering or laboring and she had come instantly awake, ready to scream for Poppy if necessary. She turned her head to see his haggard face on the pillow beside her and felt the strange gratitude well up in her again. Whatever power or divinity had saved him she thanked with all her heart.
Rolling onto her elbow, she dropped a kiss onto his brow and whispered into his ear.
“Last one to their presents gets hexed.” His eyes flew open and they both leapt from the bed racing for the front room. She beat him despite the fact he tossed obstacles into her path in an attempt to slow her down. His Slytherin competitiveness wouldn’t allow him to do anything but fight her with every ounce of his cunning, but her reflexes and training were just a hair superior and he groaned as the hex hit him.
She changed the bright green hair as soon as she could stop laughing enough to speak the counter-spell. He glared at her the entire time, looking decidedly un-amused as she sat on the floor howling with laughter. In his black nightshirt with his bare legs and dark eyes, the neon green hair had just been a bit too much for her to keep her composure.
“You are precisely how old?” He snapped, but his eyes were warm so she knew she hadn’t pushed him too far, as of yet.
“Thirty-seven.” She replied as she wiped the tears of laughter from her eyes.
“Hmm.” He snorted and headed towards the small tree he had allowed to be placed on a side table. Beneath its branches were the presents that Pére Noël had brought them. “Father Christmas has been generous this year.” Severus raised an eyebrow at her and she grinned in response.
Winky came bouncing in with Ryan in tow; he was dressed in a green and red Christmas romper and set up a happy squealing at the sight of his parents. Kathryn opened her arms to him and he flung himself the short distance between Winky and Kathryn with gleeful abandon. She caught him dexterously and sighed at his fearlessness. He was a Black through and through and her only prayer was that he wouldn’t end up in Gryffindor. While she had no prejudices about it, she could not say the same for Severus and it would be a bone of contention between father and son.
Kathryn accepted her gifts with a small gracious nod that made Severus’ lips twitch in appreciation and settled herself and Ryan primly onto the couch to open them, paying him back for the crack about her maturity.
Severus separated their presents from Ryan’s and settled down to tear open his first gift, while Winky helped Ryan with his and Kathryn opened hers.
From her mother she had received a book entitled \"Attractiveness Charms and How to Use Them\"; she tossed it onto the coffee table and watched as Severus rolled his eyes in disgust. From her father there was a book of Musashi’s haiku, which she set aside for later reading. From Grand-mére there was some racy lingerie that made her blush and Severus laugh. Gabriel had sent her a book of rare curses and counter-curses and Raphael had sent her a family photo of himself with his wife and Lisle waving happily from the porch of Lieu D’Asile; his wife was pregnant and her ungainly figure sent a pang of envy through Kathryn that caught her off-guard. She set the photo aside and reached for the next present.
Severus, she noticed, had received a gift from Grand-mére as well; it was a sliver pocket watch -- dwarven-crafted, from the Appalachian Colony she guessed, based on the delicate inlay work that edged the watch case in copper Celtic knotwork as fine as a baby’s hair. When he flipped it open, it revealed an enamel portrait on the inside lid. Kathryn gasped in recognition at the too tall curvy eighteen-year-old with her hair in an elaborate chignon and a pale apricot ball gown clinging to the body she had yet to become comfortable with. The girl she had been blinked up at Severus and smiled shyly at him.
“Is this what I think it is, Kathryn?” Severus asked her as he clutched the watch in whitened knuckles.
“Yes.” She answered with a trembling voice. It was tradition in the old families to send a portrait of the debutantes to all those who were being invited to bid on them. If a suitor were particularly favored he would be sent a gift along with the portrait. It was obviously Grand-mére’s way of conveying her approval of a match in a manner that every pureblooded family in the Magical World could understand. Severus stared at it the unexpected gift with tears welling in his eyes and then tucked it into his pocket and stalked out. Kathryn smiled and kissed Ryan on his forehead, feeling rather misty-eyed herself.
She turned back to her gifts, saving Severus’ for last, and contemplated her bounty. There were packages from Minerva, Hagrid, Poppy, Harry, Minuet, Hermione, Draco, and Albus. She picked up the one from Albus first with a smile on her face.
She had conspired with Harry this year and everyone had sent Dumbledore socks for Christmas; she had found some in New Orleans with golden fleur-de-lis on them and she knew Harry had sent red and gold stripped ones. Severus hadt hit him a pair with snakes, of course. She was curious what Albus had sent her, as last year’s gift of a fuzzy pink muffler was so very ... whimsical.
She opened the box and pulled out a small locket, silver and heart-shaped. The suspicion of a conspiracy rose in her mind as she opened it. Inside was a picture of a gawky youth, around eighteen years of age. He had a sullen, world-weary expression on his face. A face dominated by a beak of a nose, two dark eyes and a thin slash of a mouth. He was sneering when she opened it, but he caught sight of her and his lips twitched into something that was almost a smile of welcome. Kathryn held the image of Severus’ lost youth in her hands and wept, while Ryan stared at her in dismay and confusion.
Deblovesdragon - Yes, they know! Mwa ha ha ha!
Helen - Min\'s mom is such a sweetie, though....well, who knows, the decision is up to Dumbledore. :)
Droxy - Uncle Sev would so hex his butt!
JCC, Kateri - Thank you for reading and reviewing! YAY!
Chapter 32 – Christmas Morning
Kathryn woke to the soft sound of Severus’ breathing. She had grown sensitive to its nuances while he had been in the hospital wing. Any faltering or laboring and she had come instantly awake, ready to scream for Poppy if necessary. She turned her head to see his haggard face on the pillow beside her and felt the strange gratitude well up in her again. Whatever power or divinity had saved him she thanked with all her heart.
Rolling onto her elbow, she dropped a kiss onto his brow and whispered into his ear.
“Last one to their presents gets hexed.” His eyes flew open and they both leapt from the bed racing for the front room. She beat him despite the fact he tossed obstacles into her path in an attempt to slow her down. His Slytherin competitiveness wouldn’t allow him to do anything but fight her with every ounce of his cunning, but her reflexes and training were just a hair superior and he groaned as the hex hit him.
She changed the bright green hair as soon as she could stop laughing enough to speak the counter-spell. He glared at her the entire time, looking decidedly un-amused as she sat on the floor howling with laughter. In his black nightshirt with his bare legs and dark eyes, the neon green hair had just been a bit too much for her to keep her composure.
“You are precisely how old?” He snapped, but his eyes were warm so she knew she hadn’t pushed him too far, as of yet.
“Thirty-seven.” She replied as she wiped the tears of laughter from her eyes.
“Hmm.” He snorted and headed towards the small tree he had allowed to be placed on a side table. Beneath its branches were the presents that Pére Noël had brought them. “Father Christmas has been generous this year.” Severus raised an eyebrow at her and she grinned in response.
Winky came bouncing in with Ryan in tow; he was dressed in a green and red Christmas romper and set up a happy squealing at the sight of his parents. Kathryn opened her arms to him and he flung himself the short distance between Winky and Kathryn with gleeful abandon. She caught him dexterously and sighed at his fearlessness. He was a Black through and through and her only prayer was that he wouldn’t end up in Gryffindor. While she had no prejudices about it, she could not say the same for Severus and it would be a bone of contention between father and son.
Kathryn accepted her gifts with a small gracious nod that made Severus’ lips twitch in appreciation and settled herself and Ryan primly onto the couch to open them, paying him back for the crack about her maturity.
Severus separated their presents from Ryan’s and settled down to tear open his first gift, while Winky helped Ryan with his and Kathryn opened hers.
From her mother she had received a book entitled \"Attractiveness Charms and How to Use Them\"; she tossed it onto the coffee table and watched as Severus rolled his eyes in disgust. From her father there was a book of Musashi’s haiku, which she set aside for later reading. From Grand-mére there was some racy lingerie that made her blush and Severus laugh. Gabriel had sent her a book of rare curses and counter-curses and Raphael had sent her a family photo of himself with his wife and Lisle waving happily from the porch of Lieu D’Asile; his wife was pregnant and her ungainly figure sent a pang of envy through Kathryn that caught her off-guard. She set the photo aside and reached for the next present.
Severus, she noticed, had received a gift from Grand-mére as well; it was a sliver pocket watch -- dwarven-crafted, from the Appalachian Colony she guessed, based on the delicate inlay work that edged the watch case in copper Celtic knotwork as fine as a baby’s hair. When he flipped it open, it revealed an enamel portrait on the inside lid. Kathryn gasped in recognition at the too tall curvy eighteen-year-old with her hair in an elaborate chignon and a pale apricot ball gown clinging to the body she had yet to become comfortable with. The girl she had been blinked up at Severus and smiled shyly at him.
“Is this what I think it is, Kathryn?” Severus asked her as he clutched the watch in whitened knuckles.
“Yes.” She answered with a trembling voice. It was tradition in the old families to send a portrait of the debutantes to all those who were being invited to bid on them. If a suitor were particularly favored he would be sent a gift along with the portrait. It was obviously Grand-mére’s way of conveying her approval of a match in a manner that every pureblooded family in the Magical World could understand. Severus stared at it the unexpected gift with tears welling in his eyes and then tucked it into his pocket and stalked out. Kathryn smiled and kissed Ryan on his forehead, feeling rather misty-eyed herself.
She turned back to her gifts, saving Severus’ for last, and contemplated her bounty. There were packages from Minerva, Hagrid, Poppy, Harry, Minuet, Hermione, Draco, and Albus. She picked up the one from Albus first with a smile on her face.
She had conspired with Harry this year and everyone had sent Dumbledore socks for Christmas; she had found some in New Orleans with golden fleur-de-lis on them and she knew Harry had sent red and gold stripped ones. Severus hadt hit him a pair with snakes, of course. She was curious what Albus had sent her, as last year’s gift of a fuzzy pink muffler was so very ... whimsical.
She opened the box and pulled out a small locket, silver and heart-shaped. The suspicion of a conspiracy rose in her mind as she opened it. Inside was a picture of a gawky youth, around eighteen years of age. He had a sullen, world-weary expression on his face. A face dominated by a beak of a nose, two dark eyes and a thin slash of a mouth. He was sneering when she opened it, but he caught sight of her and his lips twitched into something that was almost a smile of welcome. Kathryn held the image of Severus’ lost youth in her hands and wept, while Ryan stared at her in dismay and confusion.