Chapter 66

In July, we moved back to the house at Spinner's End.

To me, that place held special meaning. It carried so many memories—a wonderful second childhood, the perfect wedding, a happy newlywed life... it was a part of our life.

Under the protection of the Fidelius Charm, the children and I could stay peacefully at home. Even if Voldemort himself tried to find our address, he wouldn't be able to. Only Severus, who had kept the secret in his heart, could reveal it.

Severus had gone to Hogwarts before the term started to help Professor Slughorn with the preparations, as teaching was not an easy task, involving the syllabus and class preparations. Once the term began, Severus would live in his private quarters at Hogwarts and have less time to come home. He was taking on not just the role of Potions Master, but also the Head of Slytherin House, which required night patrols and attending to the students' affairs at any time.

"Ten classes per week for first to fifth years, and one advanced Potions class each for sixth and seventh years; preparing the potion materials for daily classes; piles of essays to grade; four night patrols per week; and providing the designated potions for the hospital wing—although there's supposed to be a teaching assistant, he's not entirely trustworthy. I can understand why Professor Slughorn was so eager to retire," Severus grumbled, almost through gritted teeth.

"Maybe you could have the students do some labor to help you prepare materials?" I suggested while tidying up toys scattered all over the room, making them return obediently to their boxes.

"From my experience with Gryffindors in Potions class, having them handle materials is a waste of time and resources," Severus said, rubbing his temples while sitting on the couch. "Once term starts, my personal research time will be greatly reduced."

"Calm down and don't overexert yourself," I summoned a cup of tea. "Delegate the tedious tasks to Kent. He's the only one you need to be wary of at Hogwarts. Keep him busy so he doesn't have time for any tricks."

Severus sighed lightly, muttering, "At least the salary is decent."

I laughed, "At least we've covered the baby's formula expenses."

"It seems Dumbledore isn't always stingy. He used to ask for big discounts on potions for the Order of the Phoenix," Severus finally looked a bit more relaxed.

"Now the salary comes from the school board, so there's no need to be stingy. I actually considered applying for the Defense Against the Dark Arts position back then—I got an Outstanding in it," I reminisced about my school days at Hogwarts.

"No. Stay home and take care of the children," Severus said somewhat autocratically, and I found it hard to argue. Now, the three little ones were the focus of my life, and I had to make concessions for anything that might affect them.

"Alright, I was just saying," I said. Perhaps, one day, I might return to Hogwarts—maybe when Poppy retires?

When Severus was at school, I sometimes found myself idle at home. The children would have their quiet and peaceful moments, and besides reading, I now had entertainment activities.

When we renovated the house, we installed a television and a telephone. The house already had cable lines set up, so it was just a matter of activating them and handling the accounts. With the help of memory modification and Obliviate spells, we easily managed these tasks.

Severus despised these electronics and couldn't understand what was so appealing about the "boring" acting in TV dramas.

The phone we installed was an old-fashioned rotary dial phone, reminding me that it was the early 1980s.

Having a phone made it easier to contact my parents. Although we hadn't seen each other in a long time, we often talked on the phone. Some wizard families with Muggle backgrounds also had phones, like those in Godric's Hollow where Lily lived.

Lily's house didn't have a phone, but we had the two-way mirror.

She told me they hadn't yet implemented the Fidelius Charm and planned to do so next month when they returned home. As for the Secret Keeper, James didn't take our suggestion of Severus and me. According to Lily, James and Sirius had a "brilliant" plan to keep the secret so secure that even Dumbledore wouldn't know.

But she secretly confided in me that the plan was to publicly name Sirius as the Secret Keeper, while the actual Secret Keeper would be Peter. No one would suspect this, ensuring Peter's safety and, by extension, their own, placing the danger on Sirius.

The plan was good, and Sirius was indeed noble, but why choose the timid and cowardly Peter? I thought they'd at least choose Remus.

"It was Sirius's idea. He said the more unexpected, the safer," Lily's small face appeared in the mirror, looking helpless.

"Then, by that logic, having Severus as the Secret Keeper would be the most unexpected. Anyone checking would see that James and Severus were enemies at Hogwarts and never really got along. Who would believe that James would trust him?" This plan would be even more perfect.

"I told James the same thing, but he said he didn't trust Severus. He actually told me not to tell anyone—including you—about our plan, but I can't see why I shouldn't trust you, so I decided to tell you anyway." Lily's emerald eyes gazed at me from the mirror, filled with deep trust, honesty, and sincerity.

I wanted to fly over and hug her, my most trusted and trustworthy friend. But leaving the house would break the charm's protection, and I couldn't take that risk.

"Lily, you know how much we love you! So, take good care of yourself!"

"I know—you love me just a little less than you love Severus, right?" Lily's eyes sparkled with amusement in the mirror.

"And you love me enough to make James jealous, right?" I made a silly face, prompting a hearty laugh from Lily.

Two moms laughing together at a mirror—it was a strangely comforting scene.

On Halloween, Severus skipped the school's festive dinner and came home early.

"Daddy! Oh—" Severus had just stepped out of the fireplace when Roy pounced on him, getting a face full of soot. She wrinkled her little face, pouting at her daddy.

Severus pinched her nose playfully, took off his dusty cloak, handed it to me, and cast a quick cleaning spell on Roy, making her clean again. Roy flinched a bit at the spell's discomfort, made a face, then cuddled up to her daddy.

"Roy helped Mommy feed the baby today. Roy was good, right? Roy likes mashed potatoes, and so does the baby! Roy doesn't like carrots, and neither does the baby! He's definitely Roy's little brother."

"Yes, Roy was good," Severus answered seriously.

"She threw the disliked carrots to Evan, and Evan screamed, flipping the bowl. I thought she'd be upset, but she cheerfully concluded that Evan was a good brother because he also didn't like carrots," I said, hanging a stray pumpkin decoration from the ceiling.

"So, does that mean Joanna, who likes carrots, isn't a good sister?" Severus asked with a tolerant smile.

"Joanna is the best sister! Because she helps me eat the hated carrots," Roy said solemnly.

Severus and I exchanged a glance and smiled.

"Roy, go help Joanna with the puzzle. She needs her good sister's help!" I affectionately ruffled her hair.

"Okay!" She nodded, kissed Severus's cheek, then mine, slid from Severus's arms, and hopped over to Joanna on the carpet.

"Severus," I said, once Roy had gone, putting on a serious face, "you were home half a month ago. Although we communicate daily through the mirror, I miss you terribly. I must complain to Dumbledore for better arrangements for newlyweds." I spoke earnestly.

"I agree," Severus replied solemnly. "It's been hard on you. I should have more time to help with the children."

I leaned into his embrace, inhaling the familiar scent, "It's not hard, but I agree you should have more time to watch the children grow. It's a joy."

"Waaah—" Evan's cries grabbed our attention. I sighed exaggeratedly, "Sometimes it's also a trouble."

We hurried to soothe the neglected Evan. Upon seeing Severus, he cooed, "Papa..." forgetting to cry.

Severus sat on the couch with Evan, watching the sisters play their puzzle game. The tension in his face relaxed, and I was enchanted by the warm and harmonious scene.

After dinner, Roy rode her toy broomstick, hovering a few feet off the ground, flying around Evan and Joanna, making them giggle.

Since our traveling escape ended, we hadn't had such carefree playtime with the children.

Evan yawned repeatedly, tired from playing. Severus picked him up, and he quickly fell asleep. Severus carefully carried the sleeping Evan upstairs, while I coaxed the sleepy twins to bed.

The phone rang.

Maybe it's my parents? I couldn't think of anyone else who'd call at this hour.

"Hello, Snape residence."

"Sawyer? It's Gina! Oh my God! Oh..." The voice on the other end was excited, almost hysterical. Gina was a young, pretty girl, unfortunately a Squib, but she had loving parents. She lived near Lily in Godric's Hollow.

"What's wrong? What happened? Gina, calm down and tell me!" I tried in vain to soothe her.

"Something happened at Lily's house! It must be!" she was almost hysterical.

My heart sank, "What happened? Gina, speak clearly!"

"I just saw flashes of light from their house, visible from afar, and it was a ghastly green! At first, I thought it was a Halloween prank, but then there was a loud bang, and half the house collapsed. I couldn't see clearly, but it was terrifying! And I heard a distant, eerie wailing! So scary!" Her voice trembled, almost in tears.

I felt a chill. Something had definitely happened to Lily. Severus had come downstairs by then, sensing my distress, looking at me seriously.

I heard my voice, strangely calm, "Did you notify Dumbledore?"

"My father contacted Dumbledore... I'm so worried about Lily! And little Harry..." Gina started sobbing.

"The situation is unclear. You also need to stay safe! We'll be in touch." I quickly hung up and grabbed Severus's arm tightly, "Lily's in trouble. It seems their house was attacked!"

I suddenly remembered something and frantically searched the living room. Severus accurately retrieved what I was looking for from the shelf by the fireplace—the mirror linked to Lily.

"Lily! Lily, answer me!"

The mirror reflected my own anxious face, no fiery red hair, no bright emerald eyes.

"Severus, maybe Lily left the mirror somewhere and can't hear me." Why was my voice trembling? "And weren't they protected by the Fidelius Charm? Peter—"

My eyes widened, realizing I couldn't convince myself that Peter was reliable. Timid, always scared Peter, who would easily yield under a curse. But only the involved parties—including Sirius, and I—knew he was the Secret Keeper.

"Peter? What about him?" Severus, confused, looked worried about Lily.

"Peter is the Secret Keeper. Sirius is just a decoy. That's their plan, and Lily told me behind James's back," I grew more desperate. "One of them betrayed Lily and James!"

Severus's expression was terrifying, suppressing anger. He turned to the fireplace and grabbed his cloak, putting it on briskly.

"I'm going to Godric's Hollow now. You stay here."

"No! I'm coming with you!" I stepped forward, firmly grabbing his arm, staring defiantly.

Severus glared at me for two seconds, then frustratedly and angrily called, "Tito!"

"Yes, Master Severus!"

"I command you to protect the twins and Evan without any harm!"

Tito shivered at Severus's stern tone and screamed, "Tito obeys! Master!"

Severus grabbed my arm, pulling me into the crowded tube.