Zingaro

I own nothing from the Harry Potter universe. It all belongs to JK Rowling.

Chapter 63

As promised, over the next few months, Paula arrived at Hogwarts several times a week to help with the rebuilding. Along with the staff, Ministry allocated workers, and many of the parents and older student, the school was slowly beginning to look like its old self again.

Even Hagrids hut was restored, larger now and with more rooms and a rear exit.

Paula was disappointed to find her hearse in a none repairable condition. It looked to have been stood on by one or more of the giants that attacked the castle and was nothing more than a mangled mess.

She was eventually persuaded to move her camp back top the grounds of Hogwarts, though she warded it with heavy anti-detection spells.

Not long after she began helping repair the castle, Ministry officials arrived, insisting she accompany them to the Ministry itself and give her version of the part she played in the final battle. They too had heard about her defeat of the dementors, as well as overcoming the group of vampires and the slaying of werewolves. Greyback in particular.

Paula maintained that she did no more than any other participant in the fight, and that they already knew what she was. She also discovered that her beloved friend Eggy, had been killed when Voldemort took over the Ministry.

They interrogated her over the missing remains of one Severus Snape. They had been told that she was close to him and wanted to know if she knew his whereabouts.

Paula did not lie to them, merely saying she was sure he would want to be near to his friends, even in spirit. That she did indeed have a relationship with him and he would always remain in her heart.

Fortunately for her, Kingsley Shacklebolt was the new Minister for Magic and although he was not certain what she was hiding from them, he took her at her word and called of the investigation.

Each day, Paula tended the man she loved, cleaning his wound, packing it with herbs, the Whitefire-Moon diamond stayed permanently in place as she fed him mixtures of herbs and potions and fed him weak broth to keep up his strength.

It was eleven months before he opened his eyes to take in his surroundings. Paula was sitting at the table plaiting unicorn tail hairs when he saw her.

“Pau.” He croaked.

Her head whipped round to the direction of his voice and she leaped from her place to his side. “Shh Severus. Do not try and speak.” She grabbed a phial from a nearby shelf and gently lifted him enough that she could place it at his lips.

He swallowed eagerly, his throat and mouth parched. “Warer.”

She brought a glass of water to his lips, letting him sip a little before removing it.

He tried to reach out for it, wanting more.

“In a little while Severus. Too much and you will be sick.”



He didn’t hear her response. The small effort it had taken to drink had exhausted him and he fell into a natural sleep.

Paula smiled down at him, her eyes wet with tears before she raced to the castle to tell Minerva and Albus that Severus had finally woken.

The next time he woke, it was to the sound of some horrible mewling sound that pierced his senses, hurting his sensitive hearing.

Paula did not rush to his side this time and when he called her name, albeit quietly, she did not appear. He turned his head to try and discover where she was, but the wagon was empty. Oh well, at least he knew what he was in, if not where. He fell back to sleep.

Paula heard Severus call her name, but she was feeding their daughter and could not immediately go to him. By the time Luminitsa (Romany name meaning ‘Little light) had taken her fill from both breasts and settled down to sleep, Severus was again fast asleep.

It was a further two days of waking and sleeping before he realised they were sharing the wagon with a third party.

“What the hell is that?” He asked grumpily, when Luminitsa once more woke him with her bawling demand for food.

“That is your daughter Severus. She is hungry.” Paula smiled down on him before turning to retrieve the small, wriggling bundle from an open drawer that served as a makeshift crib.

“M-my what?” He asked, eyes wide, his voice a high pitched squeak that would have put Flitwick to shame.

“Our daughter, Luminitsa. It means little light. She is two months old, would you like to meet her?”

Severus closed his eyes, unable to comprehend what was happening. At least until a tiny hand brushed against his cheek. He turned to see the most beautiful little being he ever thought possible.

She was dark skinned with full, rosy little lips that formed in a small pout as she studied this newcomer now in her line of vision.

Severus was about to speak when the tiny fingers grabbed hold of his bottom lip and tightened, sharp little fingernails digging in and drawing blood.

“Amgnn!” He said, shocked and awed at the same time.

Paula laughed softly and carefully removed the fingers from his lip. “She has just leaned to grab whatever is at hand.”

The small hand, once released, instead grabbed his nose, making his eyes water as the nails scratched the sensitive area just inside. “Ow! Are you certain she is human?” He grumbled. His eyes remained fixed on her however. “She is really… Luminitsa you say. Two months old. Paula, how long have I been here? Wherever here is.”

“It is eleven months since you took the bite Severus.”

His mind whirled as patches of memory from that day came back to him. He managed to extract his nose from the cling grip of his daughter and gently stoked her delicate little cheek. “My daughter.” He whispered. “I remember… Albus, we were… I don’t know where we were, but he was there. And you, we could see you. You were bent over me, the body of me, but I wasn’t in my body, I was somewhere else, watching you.” He flopped back down onto the pillows and flung an arm over his face confused.

Luminitsa gurgled and brought his attention back to her.

He stared down at the minute little being now laid in the crook of his arm. Her eyes were dark, not black, yet not brown. He could not put a name to their colouring as yet.

“Eleven months ago? I have been asleep all that time?”



Paula nodded, unfastening her blouse before taking the baby and sitting down to place her at the breast.

He stared for a few minutes, fascinated with the sight of HIS daughter suckling at her mothers nipple. He swallowed hard. “She… you… alone…”

“I was not alone Severus. I had Minerva and Poppy to help me. Along with most of the staff that insisted on being here when she was born.”



“Here? You gave birth in this wagon?”



“Of course here. Here is where you are, I could not have had her anywhere else.”

Paula had just finished feeding and changing Luminitsa when a tiny pale blue light appeared in the vurdon. “Harry,” She whispered. “I wondered when.”

After making arrangements for Filius to stay with Severus until her return, Paula called for Riley and they made their way to the Burrow.

When next he awoke it was to find Filius Flitwick as his only company.

“Filius, what are you doing here? Where Paula, and Luminitsa?”

TBC