Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Pilfered Progeny - Stolen Dreams	By : SisterGryffindor Category: Harry Potter AU/AR > Slash - Male/Male Views: 14679 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: We do not own any part of the Harry Potter series/charachters/movies/books and we do not profit from our writings regarding them.

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Severus folded his arms, scowling darkly at his female mate. He’d argued all he cared to at home about this and he’d had quite enough of it; he had no intention of continuing that conversation here. “Tonks, the lives of one of my dearest friends and their granddaughter hangs in the balance; there is no time for the same argument at the moment!” Severus asserted. “We have discussed this enough…”

She scowled back at him; she had no intention of backing down this time or letting it go. “Oh, there’s time. Lucius said you’re not leaving until sunset. As I see it that gives us hours and you damned sure can take the time to talk to me!”

“Talk? You have no intention of talking, woman!” Snape retorted. “Your goal in life lately seems to be to force me to bend to your will. I’ve conceded to the wishes of both you and Remus over the years, giving up things that I desired because I wished to take care of you and Lupin. I did that because I’ve WANTED to. Taking care of these children is something that I wish to do to help Lucius and Narcissa. I will do this, Dora, whether you want me to or not, I’m making a difference!”

She was not fazed by his argument. “The only difference I can see that it’s making is you are more and more absent from our lives. We NEED you around, Severus…”

That comment clearly ruffled Severus. “I think you’ve been listening to those fools over at the ministry too much. You’re starting to believe the claptrap going about that the only thing that makes my living worth enduring is the fact that I am unparalleled at potions making, aren’t you?” he asked with a sneer.

She scowled at him. “No, it’s not that at all, you know I don’t listen to those fools…!”

“Somehow I tend to believe that you do listen to it.” He retorted angrily. “My powers of working with the mind are equally as important as my skills in the lab. Without what I can do, at least two of these children would be unsalvageable.”

“I don’t see how…”

“No you don’t; and you don’t bother to find out, do you?” he asked, turning and stalking out of the room.

Nymphadora glanced at Hermione. “Can you stay here?” She asked.

“Sure.” Hermione said, nodding. “I’d rather be here than back at the Ministry anyway…”

“Good; I’ll just be a moment.” she said as she hurried out of the room after Severus.   She saw him stalking down the hallway and followed, trying to catch up but he clearly had no intention of allowing her to do so, walking in his longest stride with his robes snapping about him.

When she finally did catch up to him he had entered the playroom and was near the center of the room, standing quietly and watching a group of children.

Mallek still was upset by the separation that morning and he sat in Alerick’s lap, holding his arms around him and glaring at anyone who came near. Alerick seemed quite content to hold his little Prince, singing him a soothing lullaby. Erin sat looking very lost and confused with her brother nowhere in sight. Alyssa sat with her stuffed creature in her arms near Mallek and his consort, humming along with the consort in an effort to comfort him.

Nymphadora moved to Snape’s side. “Those are the Dark Circle kids…?”

“They are. And if you force me to leave them without any help, Dora, I can assure you that young Erin stands no chance at life; she will be dead. Her twin brother will have less chance than she to live once it is known what he knows. The spells the two of them have been trained in are more than just deadly.”

She looked at him with a bit of surprise. “These kids know the Unforgiveable curses…?”

“Both Erin and Erik were trained in all three unforgiveable curses and more. They learned not only spell and motion, but practiced them as well.” He explained in a quiet voice, and then took a deep breath to push onward with what he had to say. He really did want her to understand. “Dora; I don’t have a chance to have my own children but I can SAVE these children.” He insisted. “How can you look at them and deny that they have a right to a chance at life?”

“That’s not my concern, Severus.” Nymphadora said quietly. “I won’t deny that they deserve a chance. But why does it have to be you?”

“There really is no other choice for them.”

“Other people can do what you do, Severus.” she pointed out but he wasn’t going to allow her to continue that thought.

“I intend to provide them every chance at life that I am capable of giving. And there is no other choice, I’ve told you that. If word gets out about what they are capable of the Ministry won’t hesitate to have them eliminated as a danger to our society. I don’t think you care to know, but I’ve already done the touchiest work with Erik; he was the most volatile of the children. Alerick there, the one that looks like Draco, is the eldest and he has very powerful shields. He will be difficult too but I felt that the bodyguards needed to have their powers neutralized first.”

“Severus, you said you wanted to help them because you can’t have children of your own.” Dora said quietly, stepping closer to him. “I know you’re angry about the arguments we’ve been having, but things are different now. I just want you to listen.”

Snape sighed softly, but he did not take his eyes off the children. As he saw it, he was their only hope for any sort of a future. “I’m not angry, Dora.” He admitted in a quiet tone. “It’s you and Remus who are the ones who insist on being angry, but you won’t change my mind. I’m doing this, regardless of what you say.”

Nymphadora sighed. “We need you, Severus. And I will NOT have you absent when my time comes.”

“What are you talking about?” He frowned slightly. “I’m not essential in our household; you and Remus are quite capable of getting along without me, you’ve done so before. Besides, I spoke with Lucius and he assures me that it would be fine if you came to stay with me while I get things done here. I have to do this, Dora…”

She scowled at him. How could he be so dense? “I’m not trying to talk you out of anything!” she said crossly. “I just think you’d want to be there through my pregnancy!”

Severus looked at her, eyes narrowing slightly as he studied her face. “You’re with child…? Have you told Remus yet…?”

“I will. But I wanted to tell the baby’s father first.” She said quietly, her hand slipping over his. She gazed up at his face and saw that he still did not comprehend.

“Remus isn’t here, Dora, how can you…?” Severus began but she interrupted him this time, putting a finger to his lips to stop him.

It was clear she’d have to tell him directly. “You’re so brilliant with your potions but Remmy and I have to explain every little thing about relationships to you.” she said with a soft smile. “This is OUR baby, Severus; yours and mine.”

“Mine? But… how…?” he murmured.

She couldn’t help but smirk at his startled expression and the simple question. “If I have to explain that to you, Severus Snape, there’s no hope for you.” She commented, giving his hand a gentle squeeze.

Her sarcasm snapped him out of the stunned moment. “When did you find out?” he asked, still rather amazed. He was a father?

She gave him a soft smile. “Only yesterday; I told you I had an appointment with my medi-wizard.”

It was his turn to use the sarcasm this time. “You have an appointment with your mediwizard every other month, how was I to know this time it wouldn’t be routine? You go regularly and you never get news like this!”

She chuckled. “You have a point there, old man.” She agreed.

He touched her cheek, “How far along are you? When…?”

“Don’t you dare tell me to go sit down and put my feet up, or fuss at me to be like some little old thing with the vapors, Severus Snape.” She laughed softly. “I’m only a month along, Remus hadn’t even noticed my change in scent yet though the medi-wizard says he should within a week or so. My mediwizard says I am very healthy and the baby has a good firm start. And now that I’ve told you, I can finally let Remus know as well; I know he’ll be a lot more supportive of me than you seem to want to be…” she teased.

“Our last conversation didn’t exactly involve a child.” He retorted, pulling Tonks closer to him, gazing down at him. “You’re sure it’s mine…?”

“The timing makes it undeniable. Remus was feeling poorly last month; remember he had a particularly bad session because he had neglected to take his potions…?”

Severus knew that was definitely a fact. Remus had not been himself for two or three weeks… “Yes.”

“We both know when he gets like that he much prefers your attentions over mine. And he was very true to form for over two weeks; he wanted to hold me but not to do more. During that time you and I were together.”

“Yes, but just twice…”

“And once is all it takes.” She rested one hand on his chest. “It was just time: time for us to have our child, now that Teddy is all grown and out of the house.”

An expression she did not expect crossed his face; concern. “Are you ready for this?” He asked softly.

“Do I have a choice?” She smirked at him.

He frowned at her reaction. This wasn’t a joking matter; he’d seen plenty of pregnancies go wrong in older women in his work at the hospital. “I’m serious, Dora. Neither of us is young…”

She interrupted him yet again. “Maybe not, but James Potter’s parents were twice our age when he was born. I really don’t see what the problem is.” She said, rolling her eyes.

That soothed him a bit but he was still rather troubled. The complications involved could be very dangerous for her or could cause damage to the unborn child. “True, but I want to be sure that you know what we’re getting into, starting with a child… are you ready for this…?”

"I know what I’m in for; I carried and gave birth to Teddy. I was there for the burping, and the nappies, and all of it. You’re the one who came in once he was a toddler and got to play daddy. I fully expect you to be a sharing partner in raising our baby. The three of us will be able to handle anything.” She said with pure confidence.

Severus smiled softly and stroked her cheek with a work-calloused hand. “Yes; that we can.” He agreed, allowing himself to feel the joy of the situation.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.

Hermione lifted up a book that was in the middle of the stack of a dozen or so books that were piled upon the table in Lucius’ study. “The information is all here; I wrote it down so that I could explain it to Angel when she was old enough.” She opened the book to leaf past the first few pages.

Lucius caught a glimpse of a dedication to Angel in the front of the book then inside were wizarding photos surrounded by beautifully written scrolling calligraphy. One photo was of a healthy round-faced little baby girl sleeping on her tummy on a furry rug with a full head of dark curly hair. Another shot of a woman’s hand open, and the tiny baby’s hand resting in hers, grasping a finger to show how tiny the baby was.

“I made it into a baby book for them both, so they could talk about the pictures and the story it told while they discussed her newfound powers.” Hermione explained in a soft voice, touching the edge of a photo of a beautiful young woman with long dark hair and large brown eyes.

“That’s Angel’s mother…?” Harry asked. He was standing beside Hermione, gazing down at the book.

“Yes.” Hermione said, then sighed and turned the page. That friend was lost to her forever thanks to some horrible stroke of fate. She flipped through several pages then stopped on one with an Indian woman standing beside what was clearly an English manor with an elderly wizard. “That woman there is where she gets her power.”

“And where she gets her beauty.” Lucius said quietly, allowing himself for a moment to admire the exotic beauty in the woman’s face.

“She was a tribal shaman. Not all tribes allowed women to reach this point in their training, but she was, from what I understand, exceptional. Edmund Everard, after he retired from his post at Hogwarts, went to America to explore. He found Miakoda there and the story was that she had been married into a neighboring tribe, and her husband and the rest of the tribe had been wiped out by smallpox. Everard found her alone in the encampment attending to the needs of the dead. He aided her in sending them on according to her traditions. He spent months there and eventually asked her to be his wife and come back across the pond with him. She accepted…”

“Obviously.” Lucius said drolly. “I want details on the skill she has, not a family history, I can find that in any wizarding history book…”

“No, Mr. Malfoy, you can’t find this in history books. They kept her origins quiet and it took me months of digging to find her name, and her original tribe. Miakoda even changed her name from her Native American name to hide her true history. She blamed the English settlers for the death of her first husband and she was probably right about that. The history books all say that the last wife of Everard was a woman named Elizabeth.”

“Can’t blame her there; the settlers nearly wiped out loads of tribes over there I understand…” Harry commented.

“The TALENT…?” Lucius interrupted impatiently.

Hermione rolled her eyes and turned the page; it was covered with detailed sketches showing how spirit projection was done. “This shows how it’s done; she goes into a focused trance and reaches out, and when she can touch what she wants, she is there. It can be done in the final moments of life too even if the person has never done it before; it’s instinctual. It can be trained, and focused to allow for ease of using the skill at any time but that is training which I don’t have any details about. The living members of her tribe chose not to train her, though once they find she has this skill that choice may change. They may ask for her.”

“They can ask all they want. She’s my granddaughter.” Lucius said with clear possessiveness. “Now what the bloody hell does this all have to do with finding her?”

Hermione gave him an irritated look. “You’re the one who asked me for this information!” She retorted.

“Can she lead us to her?” Harry asked.

“I don’t think so. But it’s rather amazing that she can focus on what is around her there while she is projecting here. Normally one is in a trance to do spirit walking, so I guess anything is possible.”

“This is a waste of time.” Lucius straightened, turning away.

“Hermione, she knows and trusts you. If she comes back get any information you can from her on where she is; I’ll take my cell phone so you can call and let me know if she comes back.”

“Sure.” She agreed quietly. “You know I’ll do anything you need me to…”

“Thanks.” Harry turned to follow Lucius. Ron, who had been standing quietly in the corner with his broom in hand, moved over to give his wife a warm embrace before following the others out.

  Lucius led the way out of the room, summoning his broom to hand as he walked. “Let’s go… we can each take an area and search. We’ll find them faster that way…”

“And then what?” Severus asked pointedly.

“You even have to ask? We bloody well kill that bastard for touching our family.” Lucius snarled.

“He’s not a bad wizard skill-wise, Lucius; even though I would say that on a regular day he isn’t a match for any one of us. The trouble is, I don’t believe that man has been sane in quite some time and there’s no telling exactly what he is capable of.” Remus said quietly, having a feeling that he knew where Severus was taking this. He was still a bit giddy from the announcement of another baby; he didn’t think that he’d hear the sound of unsteady little baby feet wandering around the house again. He was even happier that the baby was Severus’. He had responded to Severus’ request for assistance, agreeing that Nymphadora did not need to be involved in the search at the moment.

“I’m pretty sure I could handle the old bastard.” Harry growled softly. After all the things that Parkinson had done to his family he would LOVE to get his hands on that man…

“Will you always be so cocky, Potter?” Severus snorted, and then shrugged. “I suppose some things will never change,” he commented dryly. “But personally I have reason to keep from being killed at this point in time. I had enough trouble with his daughter; I don’t care to take any chances with the father.”

“That’s not the same; she caught you off guard…” Lucius grunted, not wanting to give any of that family clan credit for any type of skill.

“And her father knows we will be coming after them. He will be ready for us with more than one type of trap I’m certain. I agree with Remus; we need to stay together in each area for the search; at least close enough to respond should any one of us find them.” Severus said firmly, knowing that he was going to get complaints from the others.

“What? No! That will take far too long! Teams of two at least…!” Lucius objected immediately.

“He’s right.” Harry said softly and Lucius looked at him in surprise, scowling. The younger man shrugged, knowing that his father in law would be angry no matter how he explained it. “Each of these reserves is at minimum fifty miles wide. Even on my broom I couldn’t cover that myself in less than a day, if I wanted to cover every inch of ground. And Angel told us it was a jungle-type area; old abandoned buildings like what she said they were in will be difficult to see in a quick fly-over…”

“Even the way YOU can fly, Potter.” Severus agreed. “Perhaps we should call in some favors with your Quidditch playing friends and have their help as well.” Severus suggested.

“Already done; Ron brought back his broom with the books that Hermione sent him after.” Harry answered, and then looked back at his father-in-law. “We have to do this right, Lucius, or we’ll have a good chance of flying right past them and never finding them at all.”

“I don’t like it but we need to get started; three continents to search for my family and every moment is another wasted…”

“Then let’s not waste another moment.” Harry said, taking his broom in hand.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.

Angel tugged at the door again, more angry than she was frightened. “You bad man! Bring back my Nona! Bring her back!” she said, and then finally gave up, falling to a seat on her rump beside the door, tears rolling down her cheek. “Bring her back… please…” she mumbled.

After a few moments she pushed back to her feet and kicked at the door, then went back over to the wall with the high window. It had been mostly boarded over, but it was cracked and let in plenty of light to show her just how old and empty the room was. There were actually cracks in the bricks that made up the walls and in one or two places the vines pushed through the blocks themselves. The room was intact, though; she’d already explored the whole thing when Nona had taken a nap.

She jumped, reaching for the edge of the window but she couldn’t catch it. She glared up at it, frustrated. She had to do something… she had to help her Nona and this bad man liked to hurt her and make her cry. She jumped again and caught the very edge, then scrambled with her toes to get a foothold on the crumbling bricks. She pulled herself up to stare out again at the trees; maybe there was something she could see that she could see that would let Nonno and Daddy and Papa know where she was.

She looked around and let go of the shelf and let herself fall to the floor when she heard the telltale sounds of the door unlocking. She scraped her left arm on the sill when she fell, but she did not cry out. She just tried to hide the injury and pulled her feet up under her so it looked like she had been sitting there the whole time.

Narcissa stumbled into the room, her hands out in front of herself to catch herself as she fell to her knees.

“Where is your husband?! He was supposed to answer that message I sent to him, to meet my contact in Diagon Alley over an hour ago! All I want is the boy back. The Dark Prince belongs to me! He is MY child!”

“I don’t know, I don’t… he would have been there, I know he would have.” She murmured.

The door slammed behind her and Angel could hear the bad man saying some words that one of her foster brothers had gotten his mouth washed out with soap for saying. She didn’t care, though, hurrying over to her grandmother. “Nona… did he hurt you…?” she asked softly.

“I’m all right love…” Narcissa murmured softly, giving her a smile but Angel was sure she wasn’t telling the truth. She turned and sat there on the floor, reaching for Angel and pulling her into her arms. “Are you all right…?”

“He don’t let me out of here Nona, I’m not as special as the other kids are.” She said, cuddling into her arms and hugging her tight.

“You are special, Angel. Don’t let him convince you of anything other than that. Always remember that.” She said firmly, wishing she could see, hating that she could not look the child in the eyes and reassure her.

“I know you love me Nona, and Nonno loves me to…” she murmured softly. “And Daddy and Papa…”

“And everyone else who gets to know you.” Narcissa added, stroking the child’s hair, taking her own comfort out of the simple action of comforting the child.

Angel sat quietly in her lap for a while, content to finally have her Nona back with her. “Is the bad man going to keep us forever…?” she asked in a soft, timid voice.

“No. He doesn’t want to keep us. He wants little Mallek. He thinks he has the right to be Mallek’s father…”

“But he’s not. Nonno told me that Mallek is my uncle and that bad man is not his daddy.”

“That’s exactly right, but it doesn’t stop him from believing that he truly has a right to take Mallek away with him…” Narcissa explained.

“He can’t…”

Both of them flinched and Angel gave a little scream as the window suddenly shattered; Narcissa held her close, sheltering her in her arms as tiny shards of old glass from the window rained down on them.

Angel gazed upward once the glittering shower faded. “Nona, it’s a tree. One of those nut trees with the big leaves broke the window.” She said as she looked over at the wall with the window. The top of a coconut palm that now was sticking partially into the window, completely blocking it off. “It’s sticking into the room now.”

“Nut tree? Do you mean coconuts, Angel..?”

The girl considered a moment, looking at the fruits that were still attached to the tree. “I think so but these are all big and weird and green. Coconuts aren’t like that, they’re round and brown and hairy…”

Narcissa smiled at her granddaughter’s innocent words and she felt for the wall, pushing herself to her feet. “If it is a coconut, Angel, the bit that you’re thinking about – the brown and hairy part -- lies inside the middle of one of the big green pods.”

“It does?” she asked, watching as Narcissa made her cautious way along the wall to the window where she reached up to feel what was protruding into the window. “Oh yes… this is a coconut all right…” she said, using her fingers to feel the shape of the nuts. She pulled one off with a bit of effort, hefting the seed pod.

Narcissa found herself smiling. The coconut in its husk had a good weight and she could get a good grip on it; Malcolm was in for a surprise when he came back. But she had other plans for this one. They had been locked in here all day and she knew that Angel had not had anything to drink; this fruit was a gift from Heaven. The girl had not complained but she knew that the girl had to be horribly thirsty, as she herself was. She knelt on the floor and began feeling the sides of the pod, finding where the stem attached. “Stand back, Angel.” She advised, kneeling on the ground.

She lifted the husked nut high and slammed it as hard as she could against the cement floor of their room. It bounced hard with a bit of a cracking noise, jumping out of her hands and narrowly missing her face. Angel hurried over to pick it up and give it back to her. Narcissa continued until she could get her fingers through the husk and peel it away, revealing a hairy dark round nut inside.

“There it is!” Angel said, smiling as she saw the very familiar shape of the nut that her mother used to buy.

“And it’s more than just a coconut, Angel.” Narcissa said, taking the nut in her hands and moving to the windowsill. She felt for the corner, and then turned the nut in her hand until she had lined one of the soft points up with the corner of the cement windowsill. She struck the nut lightly, then harder just until she heard the telltale crack.

“How can it be more?”

Narcissa tapped out another hole, and then held out the nut. “Come here and see.”

Angel moved forward curiously and took the nut from Narcissa, hearing the liquid sloshing inside. She looked up at her grandmother. “It sounds like water…”

“It’s called coconut milk. Go on, little love. Drink it.” She urged gently, reaching to pull another off the tree. She could only feel two more husks on the tree. She wanted to keep one for a weapon, but they could dine and drink the other two. It would give them energy to endure until help arrived.

“I want you to drink too, Nona.” Angel said, frowning at her.

“There is more than one. Drink, Angel; please.” Narcissa urged the girl.

Angel drank finding the taste quite odd but very good, as she was very thirsty. She did not drink it all, seeing that her grandmother was not opening the other nuts yet. She moved back to Narcissa and pressed the shell into her hands. “Your turn.” She insisted.

Narcissa smiled fondly and reached to stroke the cheek of the child, then took the nut to drink a bit herself.
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