midorisakura

oranges_and_wildfires

Uncle Sev and Uncle Remus' story always starts the same way, with hate. This has been ingrained in Violet's mind since she barely reached her Uncle Sev's knees. Now she's almost as tall as he is, and she has two younger siblings -- Scorpius (who's the spitting image of Da, aside from his sapphire blue eyes) and Minnie (whose real name is Frederica Muriel-Cissa; she looks just like their Dad, even though she's Scorpius' twin)-- who have never heard her uncles tell the story of how they fell in love.

Uncle Sev and Uncle Remus have children of their own -- Teddy, Eileen and Andromeda (everyone calls her Andy, though) -- and many grey hairs to blame on them. Even so, other than the story of how her own fathers fell in love, her uncles’ story is her favorite story to hear.

"Uncle Sev, tell us the story of how you and Uncle Remus fell in love," Violet prompts. The upraised eyebrow (sardonic -- a word her uncle had taught her) and slight upward quirk of his lip makes Violet smile, and she settles down in front of him on the floor of her Grandma Molly's living room, letting Scorpius and Minnie crawl into her lap.

"You've heard this story a million times, Vi," her uncle says, but there's no rancor (another word he'd taught her) in his voice and he leans back in the armchair, beckoning Uncle Remus to join him, pulling him into his lap when he does, making Uncle Remus blush and give him an exasperated look.

"Can't tell this story without you, my love," Uncle Sev says, kissing Remus on the lips, causing the younger twins to scrunch their noses and stick out their tongues with loud noises of protest against the public display of affection.

"Hush, you two, or you'll miss the story," Violet says, and they settle in her lap, adorable pouts on their lips.

"It begins, as many a story does, on a rainy day," Uncle Sev says, winking at Remus who rolls his eyes and sighs.

"Might'se well add that there was a raging storm, billowing winds, and encroaching darkness on the horizon," Uncle Remus says.

He and Uncle Sev exchange a heavy look, much as Violet's fathers do whenever they talk about the past. She's always wondered what the look means, but has never gotten a straight answer when she asks, other than from her Aunt Mione who tells her snippets from the two wizarding wars that took place before she and Victor were born.

They were dark times, Aunt Mione always says when she's finished sharing something with Violet and the others. Times that we do our best to put behind us.

"You mean the war, right?" Victor asks as he enters the living room and flops down onto the floor beside Violet.

Their cousins trickle into the room with him and station themselves throughout the living room, sitting on the floor to listen to a story most of them have heard many times, and a few, like Scorpius and Minnie, have never heard before.

"Who's telling this story?" Uncle Sev asks, eyebrow raised.

Violet knows that it's his way of bypassing any discussion of the war, and while it frustrates her, because she's not a little girl anymore (she's fourteen and has read all about the war at Hogwarts), she knows that it hurts her uncles to even think about the wars, let alone talk about them.

"Sorry, Uncle," Victor says.

"That's quite alright, you and Vi have heard the story ample times to tell it on your own, no doubt," Uncle Remus says, voice soft and teasing. He gives Victor a smile and ignores Uncle Sev's derisive (yet another word Uncle Sev has taught Violet) snort.

Uncle Remus absently pats Uncle Sev's hand and settles himself more comfortably on the man's lap. Uncle Sev wraps his arms around Uncle Remus' waist and rests his chin on his husband's shoulder. There's a fond look on his face, affection in his eyes, and, for a moment, Violet feels like she's intruding on something intimate.

"Severus, let's not keep the kids hanging," Uncle Remus prompts. There's a touch of amusement in his voice. "After all, it's a beautiful summer day."

"You have got a point, my love," Uncle Sev says, eyes glittering. "Perhaps we should postpone storytelling until this evening so that the kids can enjoy every bit of this fine summer day."

Violet groans, and the twins squirm in her lap. It's Scorpius who speaks up, though, with, "But we want to hear how you and Uncle Remus fell in love."

"More than you want to play dragon race with your Uncle Charlie and his new beau, or Quidditch with your Auntie Gin and Uncle Harry, or with the life-sized board of Wizarding Chess that your great Aunt Minerva gifted your Dad with?" Uncle Sev asks.

Scorpius crosses his arms over his chest, and adopts a determined look on his face that reminds Violet of their Da. He raises an eyebrow in an uncanny imitation of his acerbic (another Uncle Sev word) uncle and says, "More than a batch of Granny Molly's double chocolate chip cookies fresh from the oven."

Uncle Remus whistles. "That's serious, my love. I'm not sure our story is worth one of Granny Molly's double chocolate chip cookies, let alone an entire batch of them."

'It is,' Violet can't help but think, though she would not refuse a cookie should her Granny offer her one. It would go perfectly with the story they're about to hear, provided that Uncle Sev and Uncle Remus stop perseverating and get to the actual storytelling.

"Where should we start?" Uncle Remus asks, tilting his head to catch Uncle Sev’s eye.

"I believe we'd already started with a variation of the tried and true cliché commencement of many a narrative, 'It was a dark and stormy night,'" Uncle Sev says, warming up to the telling.

"It was rather dark and stormy when we first met, you a scrawny thing, me a robust..."

Uncle Sev clears his throat and casts his husband a disparaging look, making Minnie giggle. When Uncle Sev turns the look upon her, she quickly covers her mouth with both of her hands, trying (and failing) to stifle her giggles.

"Robust is a bit of an overstatement, don't you think. I believe that both of us were rather scrawny when we were eleven," Uncle Sev amends.

Laughing, Uncle Remus shakes his head and gives the children a conspiratorial wink. "Whatever you say, love. Perhaps my memory isn't what it used to be."

“Maybe it’s all of that moon gazing that you do,” Uncle Sev says, tone light and teasing.

Everyone knows that Uncle Remus is a werewolf and that Uncle Sev has spent many years working on a special potion that keeps him from transforming into a wolf during a full moon. He’s famous for it. Violet has met a number of werewolves at her uncle’s apothecary, all of them falling over themselves with thanks that he brushes off in a brusque manner -- No thanks necessary.

“Are you accusing me of being moonstruck?” Uncle Remus teases right back.

“Perhaps just a bit moony,” Uncle Harry says as he enters the room and sits on the floor next to Violet and Victor.

Everyone laughs, though Uncle Sev sends a glare in Uncle Harry’s direction that he responds to with a cheeky smirk. Violet’s overheard her Dad and Da talking about the antipathy between her uncles and how it took years for the both of them to get over the past and learn to appreciate and even love each other as a sort of found family. She’s happy that they’ve gotten past their differences because she doesn’t know what life would be like without both of them in it.

“How lovely of you to join the children for storytelling,” Uncle Sev says.

Uncle Harry shrugs and smiles at the man. “You’ve always accused me of being childish.”

“I’m surprised that the rest of the Golden Trio isn’t here as well,” Uncle Sev says.

“We are here, the rest of us chose not to make as grand an entrance,” Dad says as he slips into the room, arm around Da’s waist, to sit on the couch. Aunt Mione and Aunt Pansy wave as they enter the room and join Dad and Da on the couch.

“Looks like we’ve got a full house, Severus,” Uncle Remus says. “We’re going to have to step up our game.”

“Dads!” Teddy rolls his eyes and gives his fathers a move-it-along gesture. “We’re growing old, here.”

“Better you than us,” Uncle Remus says, and Sev glares at their oldest who, unrepentant,  sticks out his tongue.

“Youth today, so impatient,” Eileen says in a perfect imitation of her father who turns his glare upon her.

“You forgot imperinent,” Andy says.

“You mean impertinent, not imperinent,” her sister corrects.

Andy sticks her tongue out at her sister, and Teddy moves the younger girl onto his lap before she can hit Eileen. He whispers something in her ear that has her giggling, and Eileen lifts her nose in the air at the two of them.

“If everyone is finished criticising, and telling us how quickly we should be telling our story, I believe we left off at --”

“The beginning,” Minnie adds helpfully, interrupting Uncle Sev. “Both of you were super skinny, like sticks, and there was a terrible storm, probably like the one that made Whiskers hide underneath my bed all night long. It was scary.”

“I’m sure it was a scary storm, and that you kept Whiskers safe,” Uncle Remus says.

Minnie nods. “I slept under the bed with him. It was like camping.”

Scorpius clamps a hand over his twin’s mouth before she can say anything else. He makes a face when she licks his palm, but does not remove his hand until he’s glared her into a single nod, signifying that she won’t interrupt anymore. Sometimes Violet envies her younger siblings ability to communicate with each other silently. She doesn’t really have that with Victor, though they look more alike than Scorpius and Minnie, they couldn’t be more different if they’d been born to different families.

“As Minnie’s so charmingly and eloquently recapped, yes, it was storming when Remus and I first met, and, despite what my husband might say to the contrary, we were both scrawny specimens at the time,” Uncle Sev says in his storytelling voice, which is smooth as velvet (something Violet has heard Aunt Mione say).

Uncle Remus chuckles, eyes taking on a faraway look as he remembers when they’d first met. “I thought you were roguishly handsome, but when I opened my mouth to say, ‘hello,’ you scowled at me and--”

“As I recall,” Uncle Sev says in a sharp voice, cutting off Uncle Remus’ reminiscence. “You were surrounded by your cronies, Potter, Black and Pettigrew.” He practically spits the names out, leaving little to the imagination for how he feels about those three, all of whom are dead now.

Uncle Remus laughs and shakes his head. “Don’t remind me. They were my friends, but they were foolish and undisciplined and--”

“Complete menaces,” Uncle Sev says with a growl.

“Yes, love,” Uncle Remus says, patting his husband’s hand and pressing a kiss to his cheek. “They were quite the mischief-makers.”

“You sound just like Dumbledore,” Uncle Sev says, and Violet swears that her uncle is pouting.

“I believe we have a story to finish telling,” Uncle Remus prompts, following it up with a gentle tap.

“Quite right you are,” Uncle Sev says, stirring himself out of his pout. “Where was I?”

All of the children groan and Uncle Sev’s eyes seem to twinkle at the reaction. If Violet didn’t know better, she’d guess that her uncles enjoyed keeping them in suspense.

“I believe I heard someone mention my double chocolate chip cookies?” Granny Molly enters the room just as Uncle Sev opens his mouth to continue the story, and Scorpius throws his head back and raises his hands in exasperation, even as he accepts a few cookies from his Granny.

“Thank you, Granny,” Scorpius says around a mouthful of cookie.

A glass of milk (soy for Minnie and Scorpius and almond milk for Sev and Remus’ children) appears beside everyone and Granny settles herself on the couch between Da and Aunt Mione. It’s a tight fit, but no one begrudges her the seat. She smiles at Uncle Remus and Sev as though she hasn’t interrupted a story that has already taken ages for them to tell (not that it doesn’t always take ages for them to tell the story).

“Sorry for interrupting, my dears,” Granny Molly says.

“No problem at all,” Uncle Sev says, though his tone says otherwise.

“Hmm...I believe that we left off where we met for the first time and --”

“Hated each other at first sight,” Uncle Sev says, tone dry.

Minnie’s shoulders sag, and the little girl sighs. She reaches for her twin’s hand and he squeezes it.

“I thought this was going to be a love story,” she whispers.

“Sh,” Victor says. “It is, it just starts out with hate, like Dad and Da’s.”

Scorpius pales. “Do all love stories start out with hate?”

Victor shakes his head. “No, just Uncle Remus’ and Sev’, Dad and Da’s, Aunt Mione’s and Pansy’s, U--”

“But I don’t want to marry Margot!” Scorpius wails.

“What makes you think you have to marry Margot?” Violet asks her distraught little brother.

“Because I hate her,” he says. “I hate her so much that I despise her.” He crosses his arms over his chest. His bottom lip trembles and tears well up in his eyes.

“Oh, you poor thing.” Granny Molly pulls Scorpius into her lap and cradles him to her chest. Da rubs a soothing hand over Scorpius’ back.

“Love, not everyone marries the person they hate at first sight,” Da says calmly. “I didn’t marry your Uncle Harry or your Aunt Mione we loathed each other when we were younger.”

“You promise?” Scorpius asks, rolling his head to the side so he can look his Da in the eye.

Da nods. “Pinkie swear,” he says, holding a pinkie out for Scorpius to snag and swear on.

Sniffing, Scorpius hugs Granny Molly tight before turning so that he can see his uncles who are watching him with looks of mild amusement. Truth be told, Violet had thought the same thing once upon a time, before she’d grown up some and realized that not every love story started out with hate.

“Are we finished with the histrionics?” Uncle Sev asks.

“Severus!” Uncle Remus chides, slapping his husband on the arm.

“Alright,” Uncle Sev says, frowning.  “Scorpius, your Granny and Da are right, not everyone who hates each other at first sight, like your uncle and I did, are destined to be married,” Uncle Sev says, in a tone that’s a little more gentle than he normally uses. “As a matter-of-fact, usually it’s love at first sight that presages marriage.”

“That’s a fairytale,” Uncle Remus says. “You don’t want to fill their heads with that kind of rubbish, do you? Having them believe in such fantasies as true love and love at first hardly seems like you.” The glint of mirth in his eyes shows that he’s only teasing and Uncle Sev grunts in response.

“Right you are, love,” he says.

“So, if you hated each other when you were both skeletally thin, then how did you fall in love?” Scorpius asks in a voice that is small and filled with no small amount of fear, despite the reassurances he’s gotten that, just because he hates Margot now, does not mean that he’ll have to marry her in the future.

“We hated each other for a long time, well I didn’t really hate your Uncle Sev as much as I felt like we were always at odds with each other,” Uncle Remus says. “A terribly bad trick was played on your uncle, one that could have cost him his life.”

The children who’ve not heard the story before gasp and lean forward to hear more of the story. Violet holds Minnie’s hand and Victor leans closer to the two of them. Even though they’ve both heard the story before, they are still incensed when they hear about the ‘trick’ that Black played on their beloved uncle.

“What happened?” Minnie asks.

“Black led me on a mission that was thwarted by Harry’s father,” Uncle Sev says.

“You see, children,” Uncle Remus says, leaning closer to the listening crowd. “Your uncle was led to believe that he would be uncovering something like underage drinking or students out of their beds after curfew, but what happened was nearly a disaster. You see, it was the full moon, this was before your uncle created the potion that enables werewolves, like myself, to remain wholly in their human minds and bodies during a full moon, and --”

“You almost ate Uncle Sev!” Minnie says, scandalized and furious. Her hands are locked in tight fists at her side, and her cheeks redden with anger.

“It’s alright, child,” Uncle Sev says. “Really. Your Uncle Remus was not in his right mind at the time, though Black was, and after that, I, well, even though it wasn’t really your Uncle Remus’ fault, I hated him even more and did my best to get him kicked out of school.”

“Did you get him kicked ou?” Scorpius asks, clutching his Da’s hand.

Uncle Sev shakes his head, there’s a wry grin on his face. “Not even when he returned to Hogwarts, decades later, as a professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts, though it wasn’t for lack of trying.”

“So, do you still hate Uncle Remus?” Minnie asks.

Uncle Sev shakes his head. There’s a smile playing about his lips, the same smile’s on Uncle Remus’ lips as well. “No, I don’t hate your uncle.”

“What made you love each other?” Andy asks, she’s sitting in Aunt Mione’s lap, thumb in her mouth.

“I knew I loved your father, dear one, when he was at death’s door,” Uncle Sev says. “You see, I, too, was at death’s door and was ready to move on because I thought, mistakenly, that my life’s work was over and that I could finally rest.”

“Both of us were in proverbial hot water,” Uncle Remus says. “Dying, thinking we’d be better off anywhere but where we were. Both of us had suffered a great deal in life and believed that the greater good would be served in our deaths.”

“You were wrong,” Uncle Harry says, voice soft. “You belong here, with all of us.”

“I’m glad we were wrong, Harry,” Uncle Sev says. “And that death let go of the grip he had on us and allowed us to see a better way, a life where love, rather than hate, leads the way.”

“So death made you fall in love?” Scorpius asks, frowning.

Uncle Remus chuckles. “Not quite. Life after death gave us a chance to put hatred behind us and when that happened, love blossomed in its absence. Nearly dying opened our eyes, allowed us to see, or at least me, to see that I didn’t really hate Severus, but that I was allowing this perception of hate to cloud my mind.”

“Does that mean that you didn’t hate daddy when you first met him?” Andy asks.

“I didn’t. I was afraid of him, and, to be honest, I was in awe of him. No matter what anyone threw at him, he would rise above it,” Uncle Remus says. His eyes are on Uncle Sev’s, and both of them are staring at each other as though they’re the only two people in the world.

“I was jealous of you,” Uncle Sev says in a quiet voice. And this is not something that Violet’s heard before, so she leans forward, Victor beside her, straining to hear more.

“I was nothing but a jealous fool. You were every bit as scrawny and shabby looking as I was, yet you had friends and I didn’t,” Uncle Sev says.

Uncle Remus cups Uncle Sev’s cheek in his hand and searches his eyes for something that Violet doesn’t understand yet. His own eyes grow soft and understanding and then he moves in for a kiss that has the children holding their breaths.

“So it wasn’t hate at first sight,” Scorpius says, triumphant, breaking the moment and causing everyone to laugh.

Granny Molly wipes tears from her eyes, and Dad and Da are staring at each other, much in the same way that Uncle Sev and Remus were. Aunt Mione and Pansy are holding hands and sharing an intimate gaze of their own. Violet wonders what kind of story she’ll end up telling her children, nieces, nephews, and grandkids one day. She hopes that it’s half as good as Uncle Sev and Remus’ story, and that, no matter how many times she tells it, there’ll be something new to add, something to make each telling of it as special as that of her uncles’ story.